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16 Pages Price 20,000 Rials 1.00 EURO 4.00 AED 39th year No.13280 Monday DECEMBER 17, 2018 Azar 26, 1397 Rabi’ Al thani 9, 1440 Main culprits behind Turkey would consider Iran, Croatia New Persian Chabahar attack working with Assad if boost cooperation exegesis of Quran

arrested 2 he won election 13 15 published 16 Forex market to stabilize: Top tech experts, fin. min. ECONOMY TEHRAN— Iranian culture (ICCIMA) at the place of the same deskFinance Minister Far- organization, Dejpasand added that in had Dejpasand announced that domes- case forex market experiences stability, tic foreign currency exchange market is economy will also become steady. moving toward balance, real rates and “Some €60 million were offered at Iran’s stability, IRIB news reported on Sunday. domestic Forex Management Integrated researchers lauded Making the remarks in a meeting System (locally known as NIMA), which is See page 10 with the members of Iran Chamber of an acceptable figure showing that the mar- Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agri- ket is moving toward steadiness,” 4

Iran lauds global awareness to Yemen disaster POLITICS TEHRAN — Irani- for the Yemeni people,” Qassemi told deskan Foreign Ministry the Mehr news agency in an interview spokesman Bahram Qassemi has praised published on Sunday. global awareness about the calamities of the He suggested that a ceasefire should be Saudi-led war on Yemen, expressing hope announced in under the supervision of the that it would help end the war in the country. UN and efforts to deliver humanitarian aid “We hope that by actions that have been be facilitated to the war-stricken country. taken, we would enter a new phase to get According to the UN World Food Pro- close to achievement of all the ideals and gramme, about 12 million Yemenis are wishes of the international community facing devastating famine. 2 Hudaydah cease-fire starts Tuesday Clashes shook Yemen’s flashpoint city of Residents were hoping that the cease- Hudaydah Sunday after airstrikes and fire reached in Sweden Thursday would deadly fighting on the outskirts - over provide them a respite after months of night, residents said, despite a UN-bro- clashes which have seen a push by Saudi

Maryam Kamyab kered ceasefire between pro-government Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to forces and rebels. seize Hudaydah thwarted. Saudi airstrikes and fierce clashes have But heavy clashes broke out on the shaken the outskirts of Yemen’s Huday- outskirts of Hudaydah overnight follow- dah despite a UN-brokered ceasefire that ing fresh attempts by Saudi and Emirati Yemenis already feared could collapse at troops and their mercenaries to advance Tehran Times/ Tehran Times/ any moment. into the city amid aerial bombings. 13

ARTICLE Theorizing religion in international relations not only feasible but essential: Prof. REPORT Hanif Ghaffari feasible but essential.” cannot treat it as such. Taking this as a point EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Roohullah Ghasemian Political analyst By Javad Heirannia Following is the full text of the interview: of departure forces us into a different field When did the religious issues has been a of play, epistemologically and politically. It Journalist TEHRAN — Elizabeth Shakman Hurd, professor matter of great in Theorizing of International becomes clear that any attempt to single out of politics and religious studies at Northwestern Relations? religion as a platform from which to develop The U.S. Senate’s University, says “religion was never excluded A: My first work was among the first to open law and public policy ends up privileging from international affairs, but has assumed dif- up new conceptual and political spaces in which some religions over others. Looking ahead, U.S. trying to role in the killing of ferent forms and occupied difference spaces in to think and talk about religion in the study of we need to embed the study of religion deeply different regimes of governance, some of which International Relations. Religion was never ex- in a series of social, institutional, and inter- avenge defeat at the Yemeni children are described as secular.” cluded from international affairs, but has assumed pretive fields. This requires disaggregating She adds that “religion has never been absent different forms and occupied difference spaces in and complicating the category. It requires United Nations he U.S. Senate voted on Thursday to from the practice of international relations, different regimes of governance, some of which considering what the world looks life after we end American military assistance for although it is the case that IR theory ignored are described as secular. This was the subject of move beyond the ideology of separation and he U.S. House of Representatives TSaudi Arabia’s war in Yemen. This or refused to deal with the subject for several my first book on “The Politics of Secularism in secularization, and also beyond the ideology and Senate approved a new draft was reported by the media as the strongest decades.” International Relations” (Princeton University of restoring or accommodating religion to Tlaw against leaders of Hamas and show of bipartisan defiance against Trump’s Professor Hurd also says that theorizing Press, 2008). public life. Neither is sufficient. They mirror Hezbollah. Approval of the draft law follows support for the Saudi family over the killing religion in international relations “is not only Religion is not an isolatable entity and we each other, in fact. 7 the recent failure of the United States to of Jamal Khashoggi, the Sausi journalist who condemn Hamas. was against bin Salman policies. Zionist broadcasts have claimed that Accordingly, the New York Times wrote; Hamas marks anniversary with parade of new missiles Hamas and Hezbollah leaders have been “The 56-to-41 vote was a rare move by the Tens of thousands of Palestinians have attended by the movement. the anniversary of the first Palestinian Intifa- using civilians as human shields, among Senate to limit presidential war powers a huge rally in the besieged Gaza Strip to mark The movement’s special units staged a march- da, which broke out in 1987 after four young other charges. The U.S. sources also and sent a potent message of disapproval the 31st anniversary of the establishment of the past during which truck-mounted missile defense Palestinians were killed by Israeli soldiers at emphasized that the draft law would for a nearly four-year conflict that has Hamas resistance movement. systems were driven through the streets. a checkpoint in Gaza as well as the shooting be presented for final signature by U.S. killed thousands of civilians and brought Hamas was established in 1987 soon after the The movement also honored its fighters who death of a 17-year-old boy during an unarmed President Donald Trump. The law was famine to Yemen. Moments later, senators first Palestinian Intifada or uprising broke out outed and neutralized an Israeli infiltration near protest. introduced and approved following ef- unanimously approved a separate reso- against the Israeli occupation. The movement Khan Yunis last month. An Arabic word that literally translates to forts of the Zionist lobby in the United lution to hold Crown Prince Mohammed has been administering Gaza since 2007 when Undercover Israeli special forces infiltrated into “shaking off,” Intifada has been used to refer States. bin Salman of Saudi Arabia personally it scored a surprise parliamentary victory. the territory in a civilian car near Khan Yunis, to legitimate means of resistance against op- Donald Trump, since taking office responsible for the death of the journalist, On Saturday, Hamas marked the anniversary opening fire and killing local commander Noor pression across the Middle East for decades. In almost two years ago, has taken a con- Jamal Khashoggi.” of its foundation with a military parade featur- Baraka when they were discovered. the Arab-Israeli conflict, it means a concerted siderable action against the Palestinians, It countinues; “Together, the votes were ing the Palestinian resistance movement’s new The unit was chased by Hamas fighters Palestinian effort to shake off Israeli occupation among which the most important is rec- an extraordinary break with Mr. Trump, defensive hardware. who killed a ranking Israeli officer. Israel then and gain independence. ognition of Jerusalem as the capital of the who has refused to condemn the prince Members of the group’s military movement, launched dozens of airstrikes on Gaza, drawing Palestinian teenage boy killed by Zionist regime and, worse, the transfer of and dismissed United States intelligence the Izzddin al-Qassam Brigades, showcased var- Hamas retaliation. During a two-day flare-up, more Israeli forces laid to rest the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. agencies’ conclusions that the heir to the ious military vehicles and weapons. than 500 rockets were fired at Israel, forcing Tel Palestinians have held a funeral procession Now, the new aggressions against Hamas Saudi throne directed the grisly killing.” The ceremony was held in the southern city Aviv to accept a hasty declaration of a ceasefire. for a teenager shot dead by Israeli forces during is in line with the same basic policy of the Although the U.S. Senate has initially of Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip which is ruled The Saturday ceremony also coincided with clashes in the occupied West Bank. 13 U.S. government and Trump particularly. approved the draft resolution, it seems The recent move by the United States that the American representatives are to set up a new draft law against the lead- currently unwilling to put it into effect! ers of the Hamas resistance movement On the other hand, Republican represen- can be seen as a kind of retaliation by tatives in the House have announced that Washington because of its recent fiasco they would prevent the realization of this in the United Nations General Assembly. resolution so that the United States would The U.S. tried to condemn Hamas. The be able to go on with exporting arms to draft measure required approval by two- the Saudi regime. thirds of the members of the UNGA (the In other words, the Republican officials United Nations General Assembly). The have explicitly advocated the killing of Volunteers build sole governments that voted in favor of the Yemeni people. But is this “vicious this draft were the United States, the Zi- support” limited to the Republican mem- houses for the onist regime, Australia, Liberia, Marshall bers of the Congress? Haven’t Democrats Islands and Nauru. played any roles in the massacre of the A few minutes before the vote on this Yemeni people over the past four years? underprivileged draft, another vote was taken at the General Accordingly, there are some points that Assembly, which determined the majority need to be taken into consideration: TEHRAN — Volunteers have built 19 houses needed to approve the proposed draft. In Firstly and most importantly, the Yeme- for the underprivileged, orphaned children the vote, the U.S. proposed that it would ni war began at the time of Barack Obama’s as well as people with disabilities in the be enough to obtain a simple majority presence in the White House. In April 2014, Persian Gulf island of Hormuz, southern of votes, but Kuwait suggested that the this harsh and unequal battle was raised by province of Hormozgan. adoption of such a draft requires a vote Democrats who claimed to be traditional sup- The houses have been built by Mar- of at least two-thirds of the members. Fi- porters for peace the Human Rights Doctrine, tyr Ahmad Kazemi Volunteer Group nally, the Kuwaiti proposal was accepted. by Jimmy Carter and other party leaders. At that in the island. The volunteer group is The U.S. and Zionist authorities, after time, Saudi Arabia was supposed to conquer planning on building more houses for the UNGA vote, have not been able to Yemen within two weeks and defeat Yemeni Tehran Times the underprivileged in Hasht Bandi hide their anger at the non-adoption of a resistance groups. 7 district as well. resolution against Hamas. 7 I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y POLITICS DECEMBER 17, 2018 MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS 12 books Iran can’t abandon boosting unveiled on Leader’s strategic thoughts military power ‘even for a second’ POLITICS TEHRAN — Defense have foiled the U.S. plots to destabilize the POLITICS TEHRAN — The Marine Industries deskMinister Amir Hatami Middle East region. deskOrganization of the Defense Ministry on said on Sunday that Iran cannot abandon Referring to inauguration on the Kowsar Sunday hosted a conference on “Elaborating the Defensive boosting its military capabilities “even for a fighter jet, Hatami noted that the Defense Thoughts of Imam Khamenei”. second” in view of threats against the country. Ministry follows the Leader’s guidelines During the conference, 12 books were unveiled with regard The remarks by the defense minister and does not depend on foreigners for to the strategic thoughts of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution comes as the United States has created a military equipment. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Mehr reported. commotion over a test of mid-range bal- On November 3, the Defense Ministry Army Chief Abdolrahim Mousavi, Army Ground listic missile by Iran, claiming that the test inaugurated production line of the home- Forces Commander Kioumars Heydari, Defense Minister contravenes the resolution 2231 which en- grown supersonic Kowsar fighter jet. Amir Hatami, and other senior military commanders dorsed the 2015 nuclear agreement. U.S. Kowsar is an advanced fighter jet with attended the conference. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo even at- a close air support (CAS) role that has tended a UN Security Council session on made Iran one of the few countries with Establishing December 12 to create a consensus against the know-how of designing and manu- Iran. However, he failed. facturing such jets equipped with the SPV faced with “Today, the enemies are disappointed 4th generation avionic and fire-control problems: with threatening [Iran] and exert pressure systems. against us about missiles out of frustration. Hatami said in the inauguration ceremony Qassemi We know well that we cannot ignore boosting that production of the fighter jet is a symbol defense capability even for a second,” he said of resisting the hegemonic system and its POLITICS TEHRAN — Foreign Ministry spokes- desk during a conference at the Defense Ministry. excessive demands. man Bahram Qassemi said on Sunday that Speaking at the Doha Forum on Saturday, He noted that production of the establishing the special purpose vehicle (SPV), a European Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif fighter jet was a big step in line with mechanism which aims to facilitate trade with Iran in defiance said Iran’s missiles are for defensive purpos- tary than anybody else in the region and that Iran would strengthen its defense capabili- reducing effects of sanctions and boost- of U.S. sanctions, has been faced with a number of problems es and reiterated that the country’s missile is why we have said from the beginning that ties and deterrence power by capitalizing on ing defense capabilities. as it is the first time such mechanism is implemented. program is “not negotiable”. our missiles are not negotiable.” the guidelines set by Leader of the Islamic The defense chief added that the country Qassemi said facilitating trade between Iran and Europe “Iran’s missiles are defensive. We need ‘Relying on the Leaders’ guidelines’ Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. will manufacture more advanced generations is a substitute for the United States’ withdrawal from the them for deterrence. We use far less for mili- Defense Minister Hatami went on say that Hatami added that the Leader’s guidelines of the warplane in the future. 2015 nuclear deal that Iran signed with world powers in July 2015, ISNA reported. He also called on the United Nations to defy Washington’s Zarif: Blame Saudi Arabia and U.S. for Some overlook Trump’s possible policies with regard to the deal by remaining committed to the international agreement. regional instability downfall: senior analyst By staff and agency POLITICS TEHRAN — A senior Main culprits Foreign Minister Mohammad Ja- deskpolitical analyst believes vad Zarif has rejected the label of that some in Iran are mistaken to disregard behind Chabahar the world’s top sponsor of terrorism the strong possibility of the U.S. president’s ascribed to Iran by Saudi Arabia and impeachment, while Trump is facing serious attack arrested: the U.S. problems within America. MP In an interview with CNBC on Sat- Some in Iran “do not regard as serious urday at the Doha Forum in Qatar, the U.S. president’s move toward internal POLITICS TEHRAN — The main culprits behind Zarif accused Riyadh and the U.S. of clashes with rivals and even some Republi- deskthe December 6 terrorist attack on Iran’s fomenting “dangerous escalations” in cans, and citing Trump’s economic record, southeastern port city of Chabahar have been arrested, a top the Middle East. they already consider him the winner of lawmaker said on Sunday. “I think actions speak much louder 2020 elections,” Davoud Hermidas-Bavand, Heshamtollah Falahatpisheh, chairman of the Majlis than words; what is happening in our professor of political science and interna- National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, also said region, now people are witnessing the tional law, said in an article published in the explosives used in the Chabahar attack might have been source of instability in region, be it the Shargh newspaper on Sunday. smuggled into Iran via the sea, ISNA reported. in Yemen, be it elsewhere,” he said. the previous administration. The U.S. But the point is that Trump himself has “If the trend of disclosures about Trump con- The terrorist attack in Chabahar, Sistan-Balouchestan He added, “It’s the wrong policies government has negotiated it, they referred to his impeachment as a move against tinues and his ties with Russia during the [2016] province, on December 7 left two policemen killed and tens that are being followed, not only by have violated it and it puts them in no America’s economic interests and a blockage elections are proven, without a doubt Trump’s of others wounded. The Ansar al-Forqan terrorist group has Saudi Arabia but by its allies in the position to accuse us of this.” of his projects, which is likely to happen given impeachment will be set in motion,” he argued. claimed responsibility for the suicide blast that occurred West who have given it a blank check to President Donald Trump withdrew that the Democrats won the U.S. House of According to CNN, Trump’s campaign, near a police station. continue to make these very dangerous the U.S. unilaterally from the 2015 Representatives in the November elections, transition, inaugural committee and pres- escalations in the region.” nuclear deal in May and ordered sanc- Hermidas-Bavand remarked. idency are now under active criminal in- Elsewhere, Zarif said that the U.S. tions against Iran. The first round of Pointing to the investigations sur- vestigation. His business – the Trump Iran condemns is actually “the party that’s violated sanctions went into force on August 6 rounding the U.S. president, the analyst Organization – and his defunct charity deadly terrorist the nuclear agreement.” and the second round, which targets said, “In the past, similar corruption cases – The Trump Foundation are also under He added: “It doesn’t matter Iran’s oil exports and banks, were involving U.S. officials have had serious investigation. His college – Trump Uni- attack in Pakistan whether this admin negotiated it or snapped back on November 4. consequences for them.” versity – has already been deemed a fraud.

POLITICS TEHRAN — The Iranian Foreign Ministry deskhas strongly condemned a recent attack on UK university tells Iranian student: Go home and get tuition fees in cash a border checkpoint in Pakistan’s Balochistan province which Iranian university students in the UK are facing suspension as a high-risk country, exposes the university to justifiable led to the death and injury of a number of Pakistani troops. from their courses because of U.S. President Donald Trump’s criticism. Parsa himself feels that carrying several thousand In a statement issued on Saturday, ministry spokesman newly reimposed sanctions on the country. pounds in cash is dangerous. Bahram Qassemi sympathized with the Pakistani govern- Law student Parsa Sadat of the University of Reading is The university has an opportunity here to be seen to take ment and people as well as the families of the victims in the among those Iranians who risk being unable to graduate, a stand against a clear injustice that flows directly from terrorist incident, the Foreign Ministry website reported. and possibly having their student visa removed, because President Trump’s policy towards Iran.” Qassemi renewed Iran’s call for any joint campaign with they are unable to pay tuition fees. The Labour MP for Reading East, Matt Rodda, has Pakistan against the scourge of terrorism in the region The 23-year-old’s family has the money but he has been written to the university, saying: “Parsa is a victim of forces “in any form or shape”. unable to get it out of Iran because money transfers from beyond his control. I would request that you consider According to the Star Tribune, some 30 militants attacked the country have been targeted by U.S. sanctions. flexibility on the receipt of his third-year fees – if only the Frontier Corps convoy on Friday, killing six soldiers and The university has told him that the “only viable op- on compassionate grounds.” wounding 14. Four attackers were killed in the shootout. tion” is for him to travel home to Tehran over Christmas Maziar Bahari, the editor of IranWire.com, said the The militants captured around a dozen Iranian border and return with the £5,350 tuition fees payment in cash U.S. sanctions were affecting hundreds of Iranian uni- guards near the border in October. for the next term. versity students in the UK and that some had started An email from a senior university official said: “This Labour MP says “Parsa is using cryptocurrencies in an attempt to circumvent the Iranian, Pakistani should hopefully provide you with sufficient time to bring banking restrictions. the money back from Iran after the Christmas break. a victim of forces beyond “They are using Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in MPs discuss If payment is not received by this date, you would be his control.” order to get money,” he said. suspended from your course.” Bahari said that a friend had recently told him that “many” border security Sadat said he had received at least six warnings telling It is unclear how many students are affected by the sanc- University of Cambridge students are struggling to get UK him that he is liable to be suspended, most recently on 5 tions but the Iranian Association, based in London, described bank accounts due to the sanctions. December. The student is in his final year and has already their plight as really sad. A statement from the university said: “We recognise that POLITICS TEHRAN — Iranian and Pakistani lawmak- paid £30,600 to cover his first two years. “I am not in a unique Sadat’s tutor, Mai Sato, associate professor in criminol- this student is facing exceptional circumstances and are deskers have discussed bilateral ties and border position. One of the other students has his parents coming ogy, said: “Even if the funds for the flight and fees can be monitoring the situation. We are working with him to try security on the sidelines of the Global Conference of Young and bringing in cash. They’re hitting ordinary people. It’s raised, requiring Parsa to transport large amounts of cash to resolve this issue.” Parliamentarians of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). basically an economic blockade,” he said. within and from a country classified by the Foreign Office (Source: The Guardian) During the meeting, the issue of the abducted Iranian border guards was raised, IRNA quoted MP Khadijeh Rabiei as saying on Saturday. Rouhani felicitates Kazakhstan on Independence Day Rabiei added that the Pakistani lawmakers had prom- President Hassan Rouhani sent a message President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, The Islamic Republic of Iran and the ised to do their best to follow up on the issue. to his Kazakh counterpart to offer congratu- I would like to offer my sincerest con- Republic of Kazakhstan have common re- Hadi Bahador, Mohammad Damadi and Sakineh Al- lations to him and the people of the country gratulations to Your Excellency and the sponsibilities and interests in promoting masi were the other Iranian participates of the two-day on that Independence Day of the Republic people of Kazakhstan on the Independence regional stability and security and Islamic event, which kicked off in Baku on Friday. of Kazakhstan, expressing hope that ties Day of the country. solidarity. In doing so, continuous ne- between the two countries further deepen. During that past years, relations between gotiations between the two countries at Baghdad hosts President Rouhani’s message is as follows: the two countries have developed and deep- different levels is essential. In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, ened in accordance with common interests. I wish Your Excellency health and success quadripartite the Most Merciful I hope that by relying on valuable past ex- and the brotherly and friendly people of the Your Excellency Mr. Nursultan Naz- periences, relations further deepen to serve Republic of Kazakhstan prosperity and felicity. meeting on arbayev, the welfare of the two nations. (Source: president.ir) intelligence sharing POLITICS TEHRAN — The annual quadripar- desktite meeting among Iran, Russia, Iraq Iran lauds global awareness to Yemen disaster and Syria was held in Baghdad on Sunday with the aim 1 Saudi Arabia along with the UAE have been pounding UN-brokered peace talks between the warring parties to reach a final agreement to end the war in the country. of intelligence exchange. It came on the anniversary of Yemen since March 2015 to restore the toppled government in Yemen’s conflict began on December 6 and ended on Qassemi said, “This agreement shows that the Yemeni defeating Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group in Iraq. of Mansour al-Hadi. December 13 in Sweden. groups who attended the talks have understood the disastrous The meeting was chaired by Major General Saad Qassemi said, “Undoubtedly, this aggression by a delu- UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Thurs- situation of the oppressed Yemeni people and prioritized Mozher Al Allaq, head of Iraqi Military Intelligence, sional country (Saudi Arabia) against the people who are day that the Yemeni parties had reached an agreement on humanitarian aid and prevention of the worsening of the ISNA reported, citing Al Ekhbariya. living in the worst situation is a clear example of a human a ceasefire in the Red Sea port city of Hudaydah, bringing situation over their interests.” Al Allaq presented the achievements of intelligence ex- catastrophe and war crime which cannot be continued.” the first round of the Sweden talks to a close. On December 14, the U.S. Senate voted to withdraw U.S. change among the four nations, saying the efforts made by He added, “History reminds us that no country can reach Qassemi said on Thursday that Tehran welcomes prelim- military aid for Saudi Arabia’s war on Yemen. the four countries was one of the factors in defeating Daesh. a result and inhuman objective through aggression against inary deals between the warring Yemeni sides, describing The vote is the first time any chamber of U.S. Congress He added that the four countries will continue cooper- another country and occupation of it through use of force them as “promising” for continuation of talks. has agreed to pull U.S. forces from a military conflict under ation in the future. and violence.” He expressed hope that the truce would pave the way the 1973 War Powers Act. I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y DECEMBER 17, 2018 INTERNATIONAL

Malaysia’s Mahathir says no rights to UN calls for ‘credible’ probe recognize Jerusalem as Israeli capital into Khashoggi murder Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Moham- but reaffirmed his country’s support for a ad on Sunday criticized Australia’s move to Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem under recognize West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a two-state peace deal. saying countries had “no rights” to do so. Israel’s Foreign Ministry responded tep- Australia’s move follows U.S. President idly, calling the Australian move “a step in Donald Trump’s decision to move the U.S. the right direction”. At the cabinet meeting embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv in May, on Sunday, Netanyahu declined to elaborate. which infuriated Palestinians and the wider “We issued a statement at the Foreign Islamic world and upset Western allies. Ministry. I have nothing to add to it,” he told “Jerusalem should remain as it is now and reporters at the outset of the meeting. not the capital of Israel,” Mahathir told Reu- Tzachi Hanegbi, Israel’s minister for regional ters on the sidelines of an event in Bangkok. cooperation and a Netanyahu confidant in the “Jerusalem has always been under Pal- right-wing Likud party, was more openly crit- estine, so why are they taking the initiative ical of Australia, though he deemed it a “deep to divide Jerusalem not belonging to them, and intimate friend of many years’ standing”. but to divide the Arabs and the Jews? They “To our regret, within this positive news have no rights,” he added. they made a mistake,” Hanegbi told reporters Malaysia is a majority-Muslim country outside the cabinet room. and has long supported a two-state solution “There is no division between the east UN chief Antonio Guterres called Sunday for a “credible” probe in the Palestine-Israel conflict. of the city and west of the city. Jerusalem is into journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder in Saudi Arabia’s con- The status of Jerusalem, home to sites one whole, united. Israel’s control over it is sulate in Istanbul. holy to the Muslim, Jewish and Christian eternal. Our sovereignty will not be partitioned “It is absolutely essential to have a credible investigation and faiths, is one of the biggest obstacles to a peace nor undermined. And we hope Australia will to have the punishment of those that were guilty,” Guterres said agreement between Israel and Palestinians soon find the way to fix the mistake it made.” at a conference in Doha. who want East Jerusalem recognized as the lem move moved not recognised internationally. Pal- Morrison’s move first surfaced in Octo- The UN chief said he had no information on the case except capital of a Palestinian state. Israel signaled displeasure on Sunday with estinians want East Jerusalem as capital of ber, when it was viewed cynically in Aus- what had been reported in the media. Israel regards all of Jerusalem as its capital, Australia’s recognition of West Jerusalem as the state they hope to found in the occupied tralia because it came days before a crucial Khashoggi, a Saudi contributor to the Washington Post, was including the eastern sector that it annexed its capital, with a confidant of Prime Minister West Bank and the Gaza Strip. by-election in an electorate a strong Jewish killed on Oct. 2 shortly after entering the kingdom’s consulate in a move not recognized internationally, Benjamin Netanyahu saying it was a mistake A year ago, U.S. President Donald Trump representation. His party lost that poll. in what Riyadh called a “rogue” operation. after the 1967 Middle East war. to gainsay Israeli control over the whole city. outraged Palestinians by recognising Jerusa- Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat Saudi Arabia has repeatedly rejected Turkish demands to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison The premier, for his part, stayed silent on lem as the Israeli capital, a designation that said Saturday’s move was born of Australian extradite suspects connected to the murder of the journalist, a reversed decades of Middle East policy by Canberra’s move at a weekly Israeli cabinet did not acknowledge their claim on the east “petty domestic politics”. critic of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. the country but said there are no immediate meeting that is usually his opportunity to of the city though it left open the question “All of Jerusalem remains a final-status Turkey’s foreign minister said Saturday that his country would plans to move the Australian embassy from hold forth in public on major diplomatic of its final borders. issue for negotiations, while East Jerusalem, “not give up” on establishing the truth about the murder. Tel Aviv. developments. On Saturday, Australian Prime Minister under international law, is an integral part of “We haven’t received any new information or outcome of Israel signals displeasure at Israel captured Arab East Jerusalem in Scott Morrison said Canberra formally rec- the occupied Palestinian territory,” he said. the investigation from the Saudi side,” Mevlut Cavusoglu said. Australia’s “mistaken” West Jerusa- a 1967 war and annexed it as its capital in a ognises West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital (Source: Reuters) “Turkey will not give up on this, we will go to the end.” Earlier this month, the minister said Turkey was in talks over a possible United Nations investigation into the killing which has provoked global outrage. According to Turkey, a 15-member Saudi team was sent to Car bomb goes off at marketplace in Syria’s Afrin, kills 8 Istanbul to kill Khashoggi, a palace insider turned critic of the regime. At least eight civilians have been killed and dozens more of concern, adding that such unilateral moves would un- Riyadh has since detained 21 people over the murder. were injured after an explosives-laden vehicle exploded at dermine efforts by a Western military alliance in Syria Despite speculation that the powerful crown prince ordered a marketplace in Syria’s northern province of Aleppo. that alleges to be fighting the ISIL terrorist group and the hit, the kingdom has strongly denied he was involved. The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights other militants. The murder has damaged Riyadh’s international reputation, (SOHR) reported that the explosion struck al-Hal market “The statements of a possible Turkish military operation and Western countries including the United States, France and in the city of Afrin, situated 43 kilometers north of the pro- in northeast Syria are a source of concern,” said Mogher- Canada have placed sanctions on nearly 20 Saudi nationals. vincial capital city of Aleppo, on Sunday afternoon. ini, adding, “We expect the Turkish authorities therefore (Source: AFP) The Britain-based monitor group added that security to refrain from any unilateral action likely to undermine forces have sealed off the attack scene, members of the so- the efforts of the Counter-Daesh Coalition or to risk further called White Helmets are rushing to the area to provide instability in Syria.” help to the victims The top EU diplomat further urged Turkey to help preserve The death toll is expected to rise as some of the injured West’s efforts meant to end the ISIL-led militancy in Syria. Germany sees notable drop are in a critical condition. “As the fight against Daesh is entering its final stages, all No militant group has claimed responsibility for the parties must work towards the goal of ensuring its upcoming in asylum applications in attack so far. defeat” she said. Afrin was captured in March this year from the Kurdish Mogherini’s statement came days after the United 2018 People’s Protection Units (YPG/Yekîneyên Parastina Gel) States, which leads the so-called anti-ISIL coalition in Syr- by Turkish armed forces and Ankara-backed Free Syrian ia, condemned Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s The German government anticipates a drop in asylum appli- Army militants. announcement that Ankara was planning to launch an of- cations in 2018, even including the thousands of babies born to The explosion came as Turkey said that there would be a purportedly fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant fensive against the United States-backed Kurdish militants recent migrants. campaign against “terrorists” in the eastern Euphrates region. (ISIL/Daesh) terrorist oufit remnants in eastern Syria, which of People’s Protection Units in northern Syria. The Bild newspaper reported Sunday on a preliminary re- “It is time to realize our decision to wipe out terror groups would allow the Takfiris to spread again. Ankara and Washington have been largely at odds over port it obtained showing about 166,000 asylum applications in the east of Euphrates,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip “We are ready for any attack and will respond strongly the YPG and its role in Syria as Turkey continues to designate will have been filed by year’s end, including 30,000 babies born Erdogan said on Wednesday. ... within our areas. Till now, our diplomatic attempts are the group as terrorist while the U.S. claims it has been a to migrants in Germany. “We will start the operation to clear the east of the Euphra- ongoing to deter this,” he said. major help in the fight against ISIL and other terror groups. That’s down from 198,317 in 2017 and well below the gov- tes from separatist terrorists in a few days,” Erdogan added. Kobani said Turkey had been mobilizing militants from Washington has tolerated Turkey’s previous military op- ernment’s target of a yearly maximum of no more than 180,000 The commander-in-chief of the so-called Syrian Demo- the so-called Free Syrian Army at fronts bordering the region, erations against Syrian Kurds in areas west of the Euphrates to 220,000. cratic Forces (SDF) said on Thursday that his fellow fighters where SDF forces control areas in northern Syria. river but there is a serious risk the two NATO (North Atlantic More than 1 million asylum-seekers entered Germany in 2015- would respond strongly to any Turkish attack, but noted EU calls on Turkey to refrain from any uni- Treaty Organization)-allied countries might directly clash 16, most seeking refuge from violence in Syria, Iraq, and Afghan- that the U.S.-supported Kurdish-led forces were pressing lateral action in Syria with each other if Ankara decides to expand its offensive to istan. Since then the flow of migrants has slowed significantly. diplomatic efforts to deter an assault. Meantime, European Union’s top foreign policy official the east of the river. The head of Germany’s employers group says the integration of Mazloum Kobani told Reuters that Washington had made has called on Turkey to avoid taking any unilateral action The Pentagon said on Wednesday, hours after Erdogan migrants into Germany’s workforce is going faster than expected, “serious attempts” to prevent a Turkish offensive, but the in Syria that could destabilize the country. said that Turkey was “determined to bring peace and security with 400,000 already in jobs or training. US should ramp up its efforts further. Federica Mogherini said in a statement on Saturday to areas east of the Euphrates”, that any unilateral military (Source: AP) Kobani warned that a Turkish assault would tie up mil- that Turkey’s promise for launching a fresh offensive into action in northern Syria would be “unacceptable”. itants from the People’s Protection Units (YPG), who are northern Syria to battle Kurdish militants was a source (Source: Press TV) North Korea condemns Thousands of LAUSD teachers march in downtown LA for U.S. sanctions, warns better pay, smaller class size denuclearization at risk As a teachers’ strike looms over the na- smaller class sizes — which would mean hir- North Korea on Sunday condemned the U.S. administration tion’s second-largest school district, about ing more teachers — more social workers for stepping up sanctions and pressure on the nuclear-armed 50,000 educators, parents and students and nurses and librarians in every school. country, warning of a return to “exchanges of fire” and that dis- marched through downtown Los Angeles Its demands also include giving teachers arming Pyongyang could be blocked forever. Saturday morning demanding higher pay more leeway in testing and more say over The North’s stinging response came after the United States said and smaller class sizes throughout the charter schools. on Monday it had introduced sanctions on three North Korean sprawling district. The district’s offer includes 6 percent officials, including a top aide to North Korean leader Kim Jong Streets and sidewalks from LA City Hall pay raise and smaller classes only at schools Un, for alleged human rights abuses. to the Broad Museum turned into a sea of red where the student population is considered Denuclearizing North Korea has made little progress since with teachers proudly wearing their union “high needs.” Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump met in Sin- T-shirts. Others wore red in solidarity. The main point of disagreement comes gapore in June in a historic summit. The two sides have yet to The protesters held signs, used drums from how much the district has to spend on reschedule working-level talks between U.S. Secretary of State and noisemakers and chanted: the contract. Mike Pompeo and senior North Korean official Kim Yong Chol, “When our students and teachers are under UTLA argues the district’s $1.9 billion which were canceled abruptly in November. attack, what do we do? Stand up. Fight back.” in savings can be used to fulfill its contract While crediting Trump for his “willingness” to improve rela- The union is prepared to call for a strike demands. District officials say the majority tions with the North, also known as DPRK, Pyongyang accused in January, United Teachers Los Angeles of that money is already allocated for pur- the U.S. State Department of being “bent on bringing the DPRK- President Alex Caputo-Pearl said in an in- poses like employee raises, discretionary U.S. relations back to the status of last year which was marked terview. On Friday, Los Angeles Unified funds for schools and to fill an ongoing $500 by exchanges of fire.” School District students were released for million operating deficit. They project this North Korea’s foreign ministry said in a statement that Wash- their three-week winter break. School is back fiscal years’ ending reserve balance will be ington had taken “sanctions measures for as many as eight times in session on Jan. 7. $689 million. against the companies, individuals and ships of not only the DPRK “If we are forced to strike, it will be because During the 1989 strike, nearly half of the but also Russia, China and other third countries...” we think our kids deserve more, because we fore teachers can legally strike. An inde- If teachers do take to the picket lines, it district’s students stayed home. If the U.S. administration believed that heightened sanc- dare to have high expectations, because we pendent fact-finding panel is expected to would be their first strike in nearly 30 years. The district plans to staff classrooms with tions and pressure would force Pyongyang to abandon its dare to be audacious about all of our kids’ issue its report early this week regarding As they marched, several educators told administrators, substitute teachers, and other nuclear weapons, “it will count as (its) greatest miscalculation, futures,” Caputo-Pearl told the crowd, to the contract dispute. The district has 10 the Daily News that they didn’t want to strike employees. and it will block the path to denuclearization on the Korean chants of “strike, strike, strike.” “If we are days publicly release the report, which is because their students would lose instruction- The district issued an information guide peninsula forever - a result desired by no one,” according to forced to strike, it also will be a strike of hope. expected to contain a set of facts and rec- al time and they would lose pay. But many to parents in the event of a strike. Officials the statement. And there is hope in the air.” ommendations to end the stalemate. But said they felt a strike would result in better have encouraged parents to continue to send The foreign ministry statement was released under the District officials Saturday declined to the panel’s findings are non-binding. The working conditions and a better education their children to school and sought to reas- name of the policy research director of the Institute for Amer- comment. district must then give its final offer before for their students. sure them that student safety is a priority. ican Studies. Negotiations are in the final stages be- teachers can strike. The union is asking for a 6.5 percent raise, (Source: Los Angeles Daily News) (Source: Reuters) I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y 4 POLITICSECONOMY DECEMBERDECEMBER 17, 17, 2018 2018 ELECTION COUNTDOWN STOCK MARKET TSE launches futures contract as an TEDPIX 161708.1 IFX 1826.63 Sources: tse.ir, Ifb.ir instrument for more market balance

By Mahnaz Abdi instruments to grab the opportunities for market arbitrage (purchasing and selling TEHRAN — In a ceremony on Sunday, CURRENCIES the same security at the same time in Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) officially different markets to take advantage of a USD 42,000 rials launched futures contract, a new financial price difference between the two separate instrument in Iran’s capital market. EUR 47,498 rials markets). Futures contracts (more He also announced that launching GBP 52,871 rials colloquially, futures) are financial contracts short-selling and warrant by the end of obligating the buyer to purchase an asset or AED 11,380 rials the current Iranian calendar year (March the seller to sell an asset at a predetermined 20, 2019), Iran’s basket of capital market’s Source: iribnews.ir future date and price. The ceremony to launch the futures classic instruments will be complete, “while contract, which was held at the place of Central we are already complete in terms of Islamic Securities Depository of Iran (CSDI), was financial instruments including sukuk.” participated by a number of Iranian capital Elsewhere in his remarks, Mohammadi COMMODITIES referred to the noticeable growth in the WTI $51.20/b market official including Iran Securities and Exchange Organization (SEO) Head Shapour number of financial entities in the country Brent $60.28/b Mohammadi and TSE Head Ali Sahraei. and said, “We will have 650 financial entities CSDI is the sole registrar, central custodian by the end of current [Iranian] year that can OPEC Basket $58.67/b and clearing house for the Iranian financial strengthen all these instruments.” ‘A turning point in developing Gold $1,239.95/oz market of four exchanges including TSE, Iran’s over-the-counter (OTC) market known new financial instruments’ Silver $14.61/oz also as Iran Fara Bourse(IFB), Iran Mercantile Mahmoud-Reza Khajehnasiri, a board Exchange (IME), and Iran Energy Exchange member of SEO, was the other speaker in Platinium $792.30/oz (IEE). the ceremony, who said that the speed of TSE Head Ali Sahraei speaking in the ceremony of launching futures contracts on Sunday Sources: oilprice.com, Moneymetals.com Addressing the Sunday ceremony, TSE launching and operating the new instruments Head Ali Sahraei said that futures contract derivative for hedging in the capital market.” some very important instruments for the in the stock market of country indicates is one of the risk management tools (also “Today we launch futures for seven indexes market balance, while they are also some the proper group work behind it which is a called hedging tools) which is today becoming mainly in vehicles, banking, base metals, strong hedging tools. turning point in development of new financial Number of electricity operational at the TSE. minerals, refined products and petrochemicals They provide investment opportunities for instruments. He said: “Jurisprudence Committee of the sectors”, Sahraei further announced. those who are seeking the amount of profit He believes that the new financial consumers exceeds 35m SEO [which oversees compliance of capital ‘Futures highly significant for more than they can earn in the normal market instruments will empower the capital market instruments with sharia rules] has market balance’ deals, the official noted. market and fill many gaps. “Enjoying these ENERGY TEHRAN – The number of electricity con- approved the regulations related to the futures Addressing the same ceremony, SEO Head He further highlighted the significance instruments and specialized financial entities desksumers connected to Iran’s power network has and we hope that it will act as a highly-applied Shapour Mohammadi said that futures are of taking the advantage of new financial we will bring wealth and profit”, he stressed. increased by 633,000 in the first seven months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 22 - October 22) to exceed 35 mil- lion, IRIB reported on Sunday. 2018 Tehran hosting IRAN TRANS EXPO ECONOMY TEHRAN — The 3rd edition of Iran’s addition to shipping departments are presenting their latest deskLogistics, Transportation, and Related achievements and services during this three-day exhibition. Industries Exhibition (IRAN TRANS EXPO 2018) kicked off 1st Iranian-made locomotive engine starts on Sunday at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Mosalla, the portal operation of Transport and Urban Development Ministry reported. On the sidelines of the exhibition, the roads and urban Senior officials including the Roads and Urban Develop- development minister unveiled the first ever Iranian-made ment Minister Mohammad Eslami and his deputies attended locomotive engine via a video conference during which a the opening ceremony. locomotive with the mentioned engine started operation. Iranian Transport and Urban Development Minister Over 263 companies active in a variety of areas including According to the manufacturers, the Iranian engine com- Mohammad Eslami cutting the ribbon on the 3rd edition According to the energy ministry›s news portal (known as light and heavy vehicles, intelligent transportation, road plies with Euro4 standards for reducing fuel consumption of Iran’s Logistics, Transportation, and Related Industries Paven), of the mentioned figure, 28,552,000 subscribers are construction, bitumen and asphalt, road safety equipment, and competes with the best European engines in terms of Exhibition (IRAN TRANS EXPO 2018) at Tehran’s Imam household consumers, 1,668,000 from public sector, 436,000 as well as contractors, consultants, and some publications in quality. Khomeini Mosalla on Sunday from the agricultural sector, 242,000 subscribers from industrial sector and 4,570,000 consumers are from other business areas. As reported, in the mentioned time span the total number of electricity consumers has increased by 3.1 percent as compared Forex market to to the same period last year. stabilize: fin. min. OPEC has shown it can reach 1 he said, “By the help of Iranian exporters deal despite splits: Zanganeh and the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) which is apply- ing some policies to manage demand and increase Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh praised OPEC on Saturday supply as well as controlling artificial demand, the for what he said was the producer group’s ability to reach agree- market will do toward stability.” “One of the main plans of the Rouhani adminis- ment despite intense internal political differences. IN THE NAME OF GOD The Organization of the Pe- tration has been having a dialogue with the private Second Announcement troleum Exporting Countries sector who has been the leading sector under sanc- and its Russia-led allies agreed tions era and in cooperation with the government,” ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN BROADCASTING on December 7 to cut output Dejpasand said, “the private sector is able to over- by more than expected, despite come the crises and help the government to do so.” pressure from U.S. President Making some remarks at the same event, ICCIMA EXTENSION OF INTERNATIONAL TENDER NO. 97-05/162 Donald Trump to reduce the Head Gholam-Hossein Shafeie, for his turn, named price of crude. modification of banking system, privatization, tax Tender Holder: amendments, and managing non-generative sectors “OPEC ... has shown the ca- ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN BROADCASTING (IRIB) pacity in which members can as the most significant requirements to be done in hold talks and reach important Iran’s economy. results regarding their common He urged the government to take the advices Subject of Two-Stage Tender: interests despite having the most from Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah intense political disputes or even Ali Khamenei who recommend the government to (Feeding of the System Supplying Refrigeration of the Chillers) according to the tender documents military conflicts (such as during pay specific attention to the private sector’s points of view. the Iran-Iraq war),” Zanganeh Deadline of Receiving Documents: said on Twitter. The OPEC deal had hung in the balance for two days - first on Japan plans to cut As of publishing second announcement of advertisement latest by the business hour dated on Saturday fears that Russia would cut too little, and later on concerns that December 22, 2018. Iran, whose crude exports have been depleted by U.S. sanctions, would receive no exemption and block the agreement. 6th JGB issuance for (Source: Reuters) Place of Receiving Documents: straight year Secretariat of Tenders’ Commission, Technical Purchasing (KALA) Dept., Media Technology and Japan plans to trim its annual government bond Development Deputy Office, Bldg. No. 2, IRIB, Jam-e Jam St., Vali-e Asr Ave., Tehran Germany plans to lower issuance by 3.6 percent during the financial year beginning April 1, sources with direct knowledge of threshold for probes of the plans told Reuters on Sunday, as part of govern- Type and Amount of Guarantee for Participating in Tender: foreign takeovers ment efforts to curb public borrowing. The amount of USD 17,857 which should be in the form of extendable bank guarantee Japan’s Finance Ministry is planning to issue 129.4 Berlin plans to cut to 10 percent the threshold at which it can launch trillion yen ($1.14 trillion) in Japanese government national security probes of stake purchases by non-European bonds (JGBs) in the next fiscal year, down from 134.2 Time and Place of Delivering Priced Bid: companies in German firms, business newspaper Handelsblatt trillion yen in the initial budget for the current year, The sealed A, B & C packages/envelopes should be submitted within one main envelope marked with reported on Sunday. two people told Reuters on condition of anonymity The decision follows years of mounting concern at the risk because the plan has not yet been announced. tender number no later than 15 p.m. on Monday January 21, 2019 and submitted to the Secretariat of posed to the German economy by cash-rich Chinese investors That will mean the sixth consecutive year of Commission of Tenders. buying stakes in strategically important companies, gaining ac- reductions. cess to valuable know-how and inside knowledge. The government is expected to announce its The takeover of robotics firm Kuka by China’s Midea in 2016 initial budget plans for the 2019/2020 fiscal year Time and Place of Opening Envelopes spooked Germany, as did the surprise purchase earlier this year this week. The Finance Ministry was not available The date of opening envelopes A&B is at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday January 23, 2019 in the office of Vice of a 9.7 percent stake in Daimler by Chinese carmaker Geely for comment outside office hours. President of IRIB Planning and Financial Resources and opening of envelope C will be after technical [GEELY.UL]. Another cut would mark an ongoing decline in Ministers agreed the trigger threshold for probes of stakes in JGB issuance from a record high 156.6 trillion yen evaluation. companies in areas relevant to national security should be cut in the 2013 fiscal year. It would also further reduce It should be noted that bidders should hold license from the authorized bodies. from the current 25 percent, Handelsblatt said, citing the draft the need for the Bank of Japan to buy bonds from legislation, which it had seen. the market, a pillar of the central bank’s super-loose In an interview with Reuters on Friday, Economy Minister monetary policy. For more information, please contact the following phone numbers: 0098-21-22166313 Peter Altmaier said rule changes were due. Annual issuance for two-, five-, 10- and 20-year It is obvious that cost of publishing two advertisements shall be borne by the winner of tender. The move comes amid mounting Western concern at the security maturities will be reduced by 1.2 trillion yen each to implications of investments by an increasingly assertive China. 24.0 trillion yen, 22.8 trillion yen, 25.2 trillion yen Public Relations Dept. of IRIB The United States has been urging European countries not to and 10.8 trillion yen respectively. buy advanced telecommunications infrastructure from China’s Issuance plans for 30- and 40-year bond maturi- Huawei, for fear it could plant technology accessible to the Chinese ties will remain unchanged at 8.4 trillion yen and state. Huawei has denied it would ever do this. 2.4 trillion yen respectively. (Source: Reuters) (Source: Reuters) I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y DECEMBER 17, 2018 ENERGY 5

Crude oil to be range-bound as China aims to boost ethanol production demand-supply confusion prevails China’s demand for cleaner alternatives to fossil fuels is on track to skyrocket over next few years as the government continues Crude oil prices continued under pressure Ahead, crude oil prices may continue to make strategic moves toward a greener future. As part of this on concerns about whether OPEC’s planned range-bound. Russia’s pledge to cut initiative, it is projected that China will more than triple its capacity output-cut would suffice to curtail oversupply. production and Saudi Arabia’s plan to cut for production of ethanol in little over a year. According to a Dou Global equities continued to experience a exports to the U.S. have lifted optimism that Kejun, a researcher at the China National Renewable Energy sell-off on concerns about a global economic the global supply glut could be curbed. The Centre, the nation is already constructing or seeking approval slowdown. The EIA spoke of U.S. crude oil IEA has said that unplanned outages from to construct new ethanol plants with a total production capacity production averaging 12.06 million barrels members such as Iran and Venezuela could of over 6.6 million tons of the mostly corn- and cassava-based a day in 2019, up 1.18 million barrels per double its intended curbs. However, U.S. biofuel each year. day (b/d) from the year prior. Hence, rising crude-oil production continues to increase 6.6 million tons is an especially stunning figure when you consider crude-oil production in the U.S. weighed on rapidly. This is a niggling concern for the that China’s entire ethanol production in 2017 was just 2.8 million sentiment. market. tons. Feng Wensheng, a manager at Henan Tianguan Group Co However, the American Petroleum The IEA has retained its demand growth Ltd., a major Chinese producer, estimates that current capacity Institute reported a huge drawdown in forecast, at 1.4 million b/d for 2019 as the has already risen to about 3.38 million tons, including some plants inventories. This provided much-needed impact of lower prices has been offset by that are still under construction after very recent approval. A major relief to crude oil prices. Short covering lower economic-growth assumptions, a factor in this massive uptick is the government’s announcement last after the sharp fall also provided relief to strong dollar and falling production from year that they would now be requiring gasoline supplies nationwide crude oil prices. some oil producers such as Venezuela. For to be blended with ethanol by just 2020. This requirement alone Saudi Arabia plans to cut shipments to non-OPEC supply, the IEA has cut its growth will require about 15 million tons of ethanol per year. U.S. refiners to avoid an expansion of U.S. forecast for 2019 by 415,000 barrels a day Unlike ethanol in the United States, the vast majority of which stockpiles. OPEC crude-oil production due to expected cuts from Russia and to lower is corn-based, less than half of China’s current ethanol produc- declined in November due to a decline in growth in Canada. However, the IEA said tion is derived from corn, a larger portion (1.7 million tons) being Iran’s production, while Saudi Arabia’s it’s too early to say whether oil-supply cuts sourced from cassava. Other sources of Chinese biofuels include production rose sharply. This raised doubts announced by OPEC and its allies last week wheat, sorghum and rice. about OPEC’s plans to cut production from with the U.S. rose to a record high of $35.5 against China’s Huawei Technologies CFO if would succeed in balancing global markets. China’s newly soaring demand for ethanol has garnered quite January 1. The IEA said that unplanned billion in November. Hence, the trade war doing so would help close a trade deal. This Inventories have also been quite volatile. a lot of attention from the international biofuels industry, as most supply losses from members such as Iran is unlikely to ease between the globe’s two supported base metals. Overall, much uncertainty prevails. The believe it’s highly unlikely that China will be able to produce enough and Venezuela could effectively double the largest economies. Nevertheless, sentiment was bearish as market will keenly monitor how the shifting ethanol on domestic soil to meet the nation’s soaring thirst. Con- intended cutback pledged by OPEC. Further, the sell-off in global equities China’s industrial production and retail demand-supply scenarios are being played trary to the predominant belief within the industry, researcher On the other hand, base metals continue weighed on base metals. However, U.S. sales were weak. Also, the dollar index is out in coming sessions. Overall, the outlook Dou reported to Reuters that China’s planned growth in produc- to bleed due to the ongoing trade war between President Donald Trump said he would hovering around 97, keeping base metals for crude oil is mixed. tion capacity would take the country “quite close” to the volumes the U.S. and China. China’s trade surplus intervene in the Justice Department’s case under pressure. (Source: Money Control) necessary to meet its 2020 objective. He hedged this statement by saying the process is not set, but dynamic and subject to change. Meanwhile, many industry insiders predict that China will need Baghdad plans increased oil production and exports for 2019 to import large volumes of ethanol from other major international producers of the biofuel such as the United States and Brazil, the Building on its oil production growth this by the OPEC+ alliance by repeatedly over- including diversifying export terminals and The new Iraqi government is maintaining world’s first and second biggest ethanol producers, respectively. year, Iraq is to further expand its oil capacity shooting its assigned level. introducing new pipelines, Baghdad hopes the restored Kirkuk volumes at modest lev- This dynamic is muddied considerably, however, by the ongoing in 2019 as Baghdad continues to face eco- Iraq’s crude production jumped as much to achieve an export capacity of 8.5 million els and putting those barrels into storage at trade war between China and the United States. After Chinese nomic challenges, including substantial as 6 percent in 2018, thanks to strong output bpd. This would involve 6.5 million bpd of Ceyhan as it tests its relationship with Erbil President Xi Jinping imposed tariffs on U.S. ethanol imports and reconstruction costs. from its southern oil fields. Exports from capacity from southern fields with 1 million and to not antagonize the OPEC+ alliance. the U.S. takes a step back from overall trade in China, a surprising Iraq’s new oil minister has made it abun- those fields account for 95 percent of state bpd of additional capacity from a second Concern about heightened Iraqi oil output player has stepped up to fill China’s unflagging demand. Over dantly clear that little should stand in Bagh- revenues. Former Oil Minister Jabbar Al-Lu- pipeline from Kirkuk to Ceyhan. may have been behind Saudi Oil Minister the course of just two months, Malaysia--a nation with negligible dad’s path to boosting its crude production aibi announced that Iraq produced a record The resumption of limited volumes of Khalid al-Falih’s visit to Baghdad in November levels of use or production of ethanol--has shocked the industry by capacity in 2019 to 5 million barrels per day 4.78 million bpd in October, though other Kirkuk crude to Turkey in November after a when he met with Ghadban. displacing the United States and China’s biggest ethanol supplier. (bpd), even though that agenda might run industry estimates put that month’s output year’s stoppage suggests that the Abdul-Mahdi Baghdad, however, is banking on higher Where is Malaysia getting all of this ethanol? From the very same counter to plans by other oil producers for at 4.65 million-4.69 million bpd. government is feeling out the Kurdish gov- oil exports to meet its 2019 budget needs. A nation they displaced. Far from becoming an ethanol producer collaborative output cuts in 2019. Thamer Ghadban, who was approved ernment on resolving their issues, not only on draft 2019 budget of $111.9 billion is based the size of the United States or Brazil, Malaysia is just playing Baghdad’s production capacity goals may in October by the Iraqi parliament as oil Kirkuk oil flow but on the sharing of revenues on projected crude exports of 3.8 million go-between between the quarreling superpowers, as the Southeast come at the expense of its tenuous cooper- minister in the new Iraqi government led of Kurdish oil exports to Turkey and federal bpd at a price of $56 per barrel. The draft Asian nation has simultaneously ramped up their imports of U.S. ation with the coalition of OPEC members by Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi, is fully budget allocations to Erbil. budget projects an increase in spending of ethanol to record quantities. Malaysia serves to fill a loophole in and independent producers — referred to backing Baghdad’s plans for achieving 2019 The restart of Kirkuk exports came after $24 billion and a deficit of $22.8 billion. It the complicated trade relations between the U.S. and China, as as OPEC+ — that is looking to bolster crude production capacity of 5 million bpd and Baghdad acquiesced to pressure from the has been rejected by Iraqi lawmakers who shipments from Malaysia to China are tax-free. Heather Zhang, prices. As part of that coalition, Iraq agreed to export capacity of 3.8 million bpd. Trump administration to stop trucking its argue that it does not include reconstruction an analyst for global biofuel industry research firm PRIMA, based participate in the group’s December 7 decision After hitting a record export high of 3.58 Kirkuk barrels to Iran, which appears to be costs for provinces hardest hit during the in Singapore, says that the sudden and extensive involvement of to reduce combined output by 1.2 million bpd million bpd in August, Iraqi export levels a quid pro quo for Baghdad being granted a 3-year war against ISIS. Malaysia has been an unforeseen shock to the industry, but, “it for six months. One telling signal will be if dropped the three months following, partly sanctions waiver allowing it to receive nat- During Falih’s visit, Ghadban suggested shows some merchants are enthusiastic in their effort to generate Iraq’s government restores full volumes of because bad weather impeded loadings at the ural gas and electricity from Iran to meet that international oil prices more than $70 per profitability and adapt to change in the international trading Kirkuk crude through a pipeline crossing southern ports. November exports averaged domestic demand. barrel would be “fair” but that the higher the environment during this unusual trade war event.” from northern Iraq through Kurdistan to 3.37 million bpd, the lowest levels since April. For now, the Iraqi government intends price, the “better” for Iraq. Both Abdul-Mahdi (Source: oilprice.com) the Turkish port of Ceyhan. Such export challenges have regularly to keep the Kirkuk volumes being piped to and Ghadban have previously held the Iraqi As OPEC’s second-largest producer, bedevilled Iraq as it seeks to increase its oil Ceyhan at 50,000-100,000 bpd, a fraction oil portfolio, so they are no doubt on the Iraq’s booming oil output has come under production capacity. Ghadban said enhancing of the 300,000 bpd routed through Kurdish same page as to how to increase Baghdad’s increasing scrutiny from other producers. export capacity, particularly in the south, “is territory before that flow stopped in Octo- oil production and export capacities while Trump administration hails Baghdad has demonstrated weak compliance a top priority.” ber 2017 when Baghdad reclaimed Kirkuk also navigating OPEC politics. with implied production targets recommended He stated that by upgrading infrastructure, territory from Erbil. (Source: Reuters) record offshore wind sale to show it likes renewables too

With Saudi Arabia preparing to slash shipments to U.S. refiners, The Trump administration hailed a record offshore wind lease sale off the coast of Massachusetts, trumpeting the success as crude may be one big inventory draw away from sparking rally evidence that its emphasis of U.S. energy dominance includes re- newable energy along with fossil fuels. It’s been over a week since the OPEC-led group early weakness to post its highest close for the buildup of American stockpiles. OPEC plans to remove from the world markets. “To anyone who doubted that our ambitious vision for energy of exporters announced it would trim 1.2 million week. Although there was no follow-through Bloomberg’s report went on to say that the Saudi Arabia’s plan is pretty clear. Their dominance would not include renewables, today we put that rumor barrels per day from production starting on to the upside on Friday, I think the price action Saudi state-controlled oil company has warned strategy is to cut exports to the United States to rest,” Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said. “With bold leadership, January 1. Last week’s consolidation suggests on Thursday should be looked at more closely U.S. refiners to brace for a steep drop in car- in order to prevent a build in U.S. crude oil faster, streamlined environmental reviews, and a lot of hard work the aggressive selling pressure has subsided, because the catalyst behind that move may be goes next month, according to people briefed supply. Since they plan to make their move with our states and fishermen, we’ve given the wind industry the but without a bullish catalyst to shake out some what drives prices higher over the near-term. on its plans. Additionally, American refiners starting in January, this is likely to have a more confidence to think and bid big.” of the weaker short-sellers, the market is go- First, let’s look at Friday’s price action. WTI have been told to expect lower shipments from immediate effect on prices then predictions of The sale, conducted over 32 rounds of bidding in two days, gener- ing to have a hard time defeating the current and Brent crude oil futures settled lower on Saudi Arabia in January compared with recent lower “future demand”. ated more than $405 million in winning bids toward three offshore bear market. Friday but inside the previous day’s session. months after last week’s OPEC agreement to If you’re bullish crude oil then you’re going wind lease opportunities — the highest grossing offshore wind lease Although U.S. West Texas Intermediate Driving the markets lower, or preventing buyers cut production, according to the people. to have to be patient. It may take a couple of sale in Interior’s history. The largest single bid was $135.1 million. and international-benchmark Brent crude from following-through to the upside were the On Thursday, prices were also supported weeks of bigger-than-expected drawdowns The previous high was Norwegian oil and gas giant Equinor’s $42.47 oil finished lower for the week, February WTI reports of weaker-than-expected economic data by a report of a large drop in stockpiles at the in crude oil inventory to spook some of the million bid in 2016 to build an offshore wind farm near New York. crude oil managed to hold the minor bottom at from China and Europe. So basically the selling U.S. storage hub in Oklahoma, as well as an weaker shorts out of the market. Three companies out of 11 participants were deemed winners $50.31, while remaining well-above the main was fueled by concerns over future demand. International Energy Agency (IEA) warning Furthermore, since the hedge funds are of the auction: Equinor Wind, Mayflower Wind Energy, and Vine- bottom at $49.60. February Brent crude oil The key phrase here is “future demand”. that global supplies may be more fragile than short, all we need to see is a major hedge fund yard Wind. held its minor bottom at $58.39 and its main In other words, the reports didn’t show that previously thought. aggressively covering their short positions to The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s offshore wind auction bottom at $57.78. crude oil demand had fallen, but based on the Stockpiles could fall at the storage hub at fuel the start of a serious rally. This is because covered 390,000 acres, an opportunity that could support 4.1 gigawatts At the same time, WTI remained well-below numbers, it could fall in the future. Cushing, Oklahoma because of lower shipments of the “Herd Theory”. of electricity and power nearly 1.5 million homes, the bureau says. its recent minor top at $63.71 and Brent under This brings us back to the news from Thurs- from Saudi Arabia. Additionally, a report from Hedge funds don’t like quiet markets. They “Wow,” said BOEM’s Acting Director Walter Cruickshank in a its last minor top at $63.71. day that drove prices higher. According to the IEA said that combined output losses from like volatility. So if we start to see big withdrawals press call. “We are truly blown away by today’s result.” For the most part, the daily ranges remained Bloomberg, oil prices jumped on December 13 Iran and Venezuela could reach 900,000 bar- from inventory then this may be the catalyst The strong results suggest that what was once a fringe and costly tight. However, the widest range occurred on as Saudi Arabia prepared to slash shipments to rels a day during the second quarter of next that starts the next rally. investment is becoming America’s newest energy-producing industry. Thursday when the markets recovered from U.S. refiners in an effort to prevent a price-killing year, more than doubling the 800,000 barrels (Source: fxempire.com) BOEM now has 15 active wind leases, covering nearly two million acres in federal waters. “[The result] is indicative of the strength of a growing industry Mexico targets 50% jump in oil output under ‘Pemex rescue’ of offshore renewable energy,” Jim Bennett, program manager for Mexico aims to lift oil and gas production by almost 50 percent out by his predecessor, Enrique Pena Nieto. BOEM’s Renewable Energy Program, said on the press call. “There in the next six years and in January will award infrastructure and The veteran leftist says he will respect 110 private oil contracts is just a growing interest and large number of companies that want drilling contracts to develop 20 fields, state oil firm Petroleos awarded under Pena Nieto, but this month challenged oil majors to get into this market.” Mexicanos said on Saturday. to start pumping oil quickly, offering them a three-year “truce,” Bennett, along with outside experts, credited Massachusetts for Octavio Romero, chief executive officer of the company without giving further details. setting ambitious offshore wind targets. generally known as Pemex, said the new government would In the meantime, Mexico will speed up exploitation of 20 Stephanie McClellan, director of the special initiative on offshore increase exploration investment by around 10 percent annually mostly offshore fields in the Gulf of Mexico, Romero said. wind at the University of Delaware, told the Washington Examiner to reverse dwindling output as he presented a new plan for To this end, contracts for the necessary infrastructure will that states from Maryland to Massachusetts have committed to the industry. be awarded on Jan. 15 and to drill wells on Jan. 31, he added. projects equal to 10 gigawatts of offshore wind. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who took office Most of the fields are offshore and the government plans “The swift and expeditious action by the states to issue solicita- on Dec. 1, wants to revive Pemex, which has become heavily to issue “integrated” infrastructure contracts, Romero said. tions for offshore wind and the willingness of utilities to contract indebted as crude output fell from a peak of nearly 3.4 million The drilling of the wells would be “turnkey” contracts that for offshore wind power is showing the offshore wind industry that barrels per day (bpd) in 2004 to less than 1.8 million in October. made the companies or consortiums responsible for delivery. the U.S. market is not just a political aspiration of renewable energy “It’s a new Pemex rescue,” Lopez Obrador said alongside Pemex will be responsible for the engineering and supervision advocate governors and legislatures, but rather that it is a part of Romero in the port of Ciudad del Carmen in the southern Gulf of the services. By December 2019, the 20 fields should yield those states’ energy portfolios going forward,” McClellan said. of Mexico shortly before his government was due to present 73,000 bpd of output, Romero said. Northeast states like New York and New Jersey, with huge pop- its first budget with Pemex’s finances under close scrutiny. Saturday suggested output would continue falling until 2020. Energy Secretary Rocio Nahle told reporters in the city that ulations along their coasts, are targeting offshore wind as a major Under the plan, Mexican crude output is due to climb to Mexico’s previous government sought to increase production priority would be given to Mexican firms in the contracting component of their efforts to increase their renewable portfolios. some 2.624 million barrels bpd by the end of 2024, while gas by opening up production and exploration to private capital. process, based on a restricted list of invitees. The Interior Department has also begun a process to auction production will also rise by about 50 percent. But the decline has yet to bottom out. Romero said nine companies had expressed interest in offshore federal waters off the coast of New York, and is exploring Output will stabilize in the coming months and start to pick Lopez Obrador, an admirer of Lazaro Cardenas, the president drilling the offshore wells, and five others had done so for the the prospects of doing the same off the coast of California for the up toward the end of next year, the Pemex CEO said. However, who nationalized Mexico’s oil industry 80 years ago, was opposed four onshore fields. All are majority Mexican-owned, he said first time ever. projections presented in the government’s first budget later on to the 2013-14 constitutional overhaul of the industry carried . (Source: Reuters) (Source: washingtonexaminer.com) ساعت: 17:00 امضاء صفحه آرا: ساعت: امضاء مسئول صفحه: ساعت: امضاء ادیتور: ساعت: امضاء سردبیر:

I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y 6 INTERNATIONAL DECEMBER 17, 2018 Washington sends the Saudis The revolution that Europe desperately needs a long-overdue bill By Guy Verhofstadt The Pentagon’s $331 million invoice to the Kingdom and the UAE The spontaneous street protests in Paris over the past month come almost exactly 50 years after the mass revolt of May 1968. But that is not to say the two events are comparable. “Les evene- was another blow after a difficult week ments de mai 1968” was an anarchist uprising by students and By Samuel Oakford members of Congress struggled to get ba- workers against the traditionalism and apparent authoritarian- sic details about the refueling. As late as last ism of President Charles de Gaulle. Today’s “Yellow Vests,” by Things are not going well for Saudi Arabia year, several congressional offices had been contrast, have eschewed intellectual and political debate, and in Washington. told informally that refueling had ceased; quickly degenerated into a rioting mob. On Thursday, the Senate voted unani- this had not been the case. What started as a decent, middle-class protest against a new mously to blame Crown Prince Mohammed In March, Democratic senators made three tax on diesel fuel has been hijacked by professional thugs and bin Salman for the murder of the Saudi jour- important requests, formalized in a letter to extremists railing against migrants, the European Union, and nalist Jamal Khashoggi, and 56 members Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis. The group, French President Emmanuel Macron. “Paris is burning,” gloated — a clear majority — -cast votes to end U.S. led by Senator Richard Blumenthal of Con- Steve Bannon, U.S. President Donald Trump’s populist former support for the Saudi-led war effort in Yemen. necticut and Senator Reed, asked for details consigliere, at a recent appearance alongside Marine Le Pen of the The rebuke was followed shortly afterward of the servicing agreements with Saudi Arabia far-right National Rally (formerly the National Front). Accord- by a revelation about the Defense Depart- and the UAE, and the statutorily required ing to Bannon, “The yellow vests ... are exactly the same type of ment’s refueling of that bombing campaign: congressional notifications that are meant people who elected Donald Trump ... and who voted for Brexit.” According to the Pentagon, the department to accompany them. They also asked how Worse still, the extremist activism has already spread to neigh- had somehow failed to bill the Saudis and Saudi Arabia was offered inflight refueling boring Belgium and the Netherlands, which now have Yellow the Emiratis for at least $331 million in fuel assistance in the year before it ultimately Vest movements of their own. and servicing costs. The Saudis, it appears, signed a provisional ACSA in May 2016. Fi- And in Italy, Matteo Salvini, the xenophobic interior minister, never directly paid the U.S. a penny. nally, the group asked for “a full accounting of has capitalized on the riots to launch a broadside against Macron’s The Pentagon’s admission, relayed to reimbursements by both the UAE and Saudi policies. Never mind that Italy is in even more desperate need the Senate, came a week after The Atlantic Arabia for inflight refueling provided since of a Macron-style reform agenda than France. revealed “errors in accounting” in how the March 2015.” The fact that alt-right agitators are using the Yellow Vest U.S. had tracked and billed the Saudi-led In April, the military told the senators movement as a platform to spew hate and lies should worry all coalition for refueling costs—a service that that it was still calculating the costs; it said Europeans. In one way or another, many of today’s populist par- was among the most visible and controver- Washington’s support began in March 2015 the same last week, when The Atlantic re- ties and movements draw financial support from the Kremlin. sial elements of support as civilian casual- ported that “errors in accounting” had led to ties grew. Washington’s support began in under President Barack Obama, without The alt-right has been highly successful at exploiting people’s explicit congressional authorization, and undercharging. Forty-eight hours after the fears to undermine global solutions for global challenges such March 2015 under President Barack Obama, story was published, the Pentagon told The as migration and climate change. without explicit congressional authorization, continued under the Trump administration, Atlantic that Centcom had finished recalcu- For those struggling to make ends meet, right-wing mes- and continued under the Trump adminis- amid growing outrage in Congress over lating the costs and was notifying the Saudis saging about refugees and migrants taking jobs and destroying tration, amid growing outrage in Congress and Emiratis. That process was evidently European culture can resonate powerfully. over Saudi conduct. That changed last month Saudi conduct. complete by Thursday, when the Pentagon And for rural households facing slightly higher fuel taxes, when the Pentagon said it had ended aerial informed senators of the $331 million debt. it is convenient to believe that climate change is just a hoax refueling at Riyadh’s request. The Pentagon’s underscores the need for strong oversight of stead, it was funneled fuel — at least accord- “The fact that DoD is just now realizing that propagated by political elites and “the media.” acknowledgement puts a number to at least the Department of Defense,” Senator Jack ing to Pentagon ledgers — via a preexisting it had failed to properly bill the Saudi-led coali- A countermovement against such disinformation is long past part of the expansive assistance that the U.S. Reed of Rhode Island, the ranking member of servicing agreement that Washington had tion after all these years is quite troubling,” said due. The first step in stemming the populist, Euroskeptic tide provided to the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen the Senate Armed Services Committee, said with the UAE. As of the most recent defense- Seth Binder, an advocacy officer at the Project is to tell the truth and point out the lies. But let us not be naive. over the last few years. in a statement. “The Pentagon is taking action spending bill, such third-party transfers are on Middle East Democracy, who focuses on Countering the alt-right threat to our societies will also require For years, the Pentagon proved slow to reduce accounting errors of this nature now prohibited. In May 2016, a provisional U.S. security assistance in the region. deep reform. A common populist criticism of the EU is that it or altogether unable to accurately inform and Congress must continue to be vigilant agreement between the U.S. and the Saudis “Congress must now continue to inves- functions opaquely and often incomprehensibly. Yet, if anything, Congress of the extent of refueling for the and fulfill its oversight mission.” was put in place, but it was never formalized. tigate how such an error could occur and the EU tends to be rather weak in the face of global challenges. Saudi-led campaign — or to fix any issues The Pentagon said that the $331 million “Department of Defense is in the process force accountability upon the department Contrary to populists’ claims of overreach, European institutions in its tabulation of assistance. Top military shortfall was split between $36.8 million in of seeking reimbursement from KSA and as well as fix the loophole that could have almost always do “too little, too late.” officials also said that the results of Ameri- fuel and $294.3 million in U.S. flight hours. UAE through their respective Acquisition allowed this to occur.” That must change, and radically so. We need to make the EU can refueling weren’t being monitored: U.S. It’s unclear how much the Saudis and Emiratis and Cross-Servicing (ACSA) agreements,” It is far from clear whether the Pentagon far more democratic, transparent, and effective which is to say, Central Command chief General Joseph Votel owe individually. In response to a question said the Pentagon spokesperson Commander has fixed the issues that led to its failures in more sovereign than it is today. told senators that the U.S. military did not about whether either had reimbursed the Rebecca Rebarich in a statement. “Our part- tracking and accounting. ACSAs are not widely This does not require us to reinvent the wheel. We need only track Saudi or Emirati jets after they were U.S. at all, the Pentagon stated that the “UAE ners have been individually notified about our tracked, and their use to fuel the Yemen war return to the ideas of Europe’s founding fathers: Jean Monnet, refueled, to see if they carried out strikes has provided some repayment for refueling intent to seek reimbursement, and have been made it more difficult for Congress to track Paul-Henri Spaak, Robert Schuman, Alcide de Gasperi and others. that harmed civilians. services.” The Pentagon later confirmed that given estimates as to how much they owe.” American involvement. The Government These leaders had a clear vision of a simpler yet stronger Union, It now turns out that there was a lot else the Saudis have not made any payments — a The Pentagon confirmed to The Atlantic Accountability Office is expected to release led not by a 28-member commission, but by a real government they weren’t tracking. It is no coincidence that stunning revelation given the amount of at- on Friday that there was still no official ACSA a report on their use this spring. with 12 ministers. the Pentagon’s admission came from pressure tention the campaign has received. The Saudi in place with the Saudis, only the provisional Meanwhile, the outcry against Saudi Arabia They would have allowed Europeans to vote directly for a in the Senate, where legislators have agitated embassy did not respond to a request for one that has remained in use since 2016. The in Washington appears to only be building Parliament with full competencies and legislative authority, and to punish the Saudi regime over Khashoggi’s comment. The Emirati ambassador, Yousef Pentagon said this month that the agreement up steam. The Senate’s historic rebuke on without the system of unanimity that has allowed rogue member killing. The sustained pressure signals that Otaiba, told The New York Times on Friday remained incomplete—and therefore led to Thursday of the Trump administration’s Saudi states such as Hungary to tie the entire bloc’s hands. Above all, the Saudis may not continue to enjoy the that “the UAE will cover its bills.” no congressional notification—-because Ri- policy, while mostly symbolic, showed that we must not equate liberal democracy with the status quo, which level of support from Washington that they Part of the confusion stemmed from the yadh had failed to fulfill “all of its internal Congress appears, at the very least, more all but ensures slow, ar- have received in years past. In parallel, the fact that for the first year of the campaign, the procedures necessary for an Agreement to willing to scrutinize military cooperation with duous decision-making. Pentagon may also expect further congres- Saudis didn’t have a servicing arrangement, enter into force.” America’s allies in the Persian Gulf. That may If the EU suddenly Countering the sional oversight. known as an Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Even as pressure built on Capitol Hill surely mean more bad news for the Saudis. were to make collective alt-right threat to “This is good news for U.S. taxpayers and Agreement, in place with Washington. In- against U.S. support for the Yemen war, (Source: The Atlantic) decisions by simple our societies will majority, the problems confronting it would no also require deep longer seem intractable. reform. The next Merkel? not quite Europe would finally be BY Paul Hockenos and Germany’s Muslim community. able to stand on its own and address citizens’ concerns. For ex- This, however, is the hitch in the logic of Kramp-Karren- ample, with a European army serving as an autonomous pillar The election on Dec. 7 of Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer to bauer as savior of the party and leader of a more harmoni- within NATO, the EU would no longer have to defer to the U.S. lead Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has been ous, united nation. The same surveys that show her fawned on security decisions. hailed as a victory for the outgoing party chair, Chancellor over by the left also show her rejected categorically by AfD With a single European digital market, European alternatives Angela Merkel. She was Merkel’s preferred successor as voters and even seen as somewhat suspect by many tradi- to Google, Facebook, Amazon, Samsung and Huawei could finally leader of Germany’s center-right party and is now the pre- tional conservatives. In fact, only 4 percent of AfD backers in emerge. And with a European border patrol and coast guard, sumptive favorite to become the first head of government the Spiegel poll see her favorably. (SPD support for her is 10 Europeans would be far less reliant on Turkey, Russia and others in the post-Merkel era, which will begin, at the latest, at times greater.) Just 2 percent of the AfD supporters surveyed when it comes to managing migration flows. Germany’s next scheduled national election in 2021. said they believed that Kramp-Karrenbauer could lure back Of course, controlling our borders does not mean closing German commentators seem certain that Kramp-Kar- stray former CDU conservatives now voting AfD. Another ourselves off from the outside world. Europe will always need renbauer’s leadership will represent both a continuation of poll yielded a similar result: AfD supporters were the least to engage with other powers. But it must do so from a position Merkel’s moderate style of conservatism—which kept the convinced of all the parties that she would unite the CDU. of strength. If the EU can rediscover its democratic potential, CDU in power in national politics for over a dozen years by Given Kramp-Karrenbauer’s genuine conservative cre- the alt-right will no longer have grounds on which to launch steadily draining the center-left of support—and an improve- dentials, why do her charms fall so flat on AfD fans? The attacks against international cooperation and multilateralism. ment over her mentor’s deficits. most likely answer is among the most ignored: misogyny. In a more democratic Europe, citizens who took to the streets It’s not hard to understand why Germans would assume The AfD is the most male of all Germany’s parliamentary would do so not to scapegoat migrants and journalists, but to Kramp-Karrenbauer, widely referred to in Germany simply parties. In 2017, nearly twice as many AfD voters were men demand solutions for the real challenges we face. as AKK, is a sort of mini-Merkel. Like the current chancellor, Annegret Kramp- than women, and in eastern Germany the party is even more Before it was co-opted, the yellow vest movement was based she’s a personable and unassuming middle-aged woman, Karrenbauer is like her strongly male than in the west. on a genuine concern about economic security. The lesson for all someone who prefers to publicly seek consensus rather than mentor in style, but not A political commentator for the conservative daily Die EU member states is that we must shore up our national social- use polarizing ideological rhetoric—unlike her male rivals Welt, Susanne Gaschke, summed up the problem concisely: security systems, while moving forward on EU-level reforms. With for the leadership position, who were more pronounced con- in substance—and, for “From the beginning, there was hatred in certain circles a full-fledged banking union, citizens’ savings would be secured, servatives. So why not expect marginal changes to Merkel’s Germany, that will make all for Angela Merkel, which had nothing at all to do with her and taxpayers would not end up on the hook for private-sector political strategy, with accordingly marginal improvements the difference. policies. … The Merkel hatred of the past three years, in my profligacy. And with a complete monetary union and an autono- to the (largely successful) political outcomes? opinion, has at least as much to do with frustrated masculinity mous joint budget, the eurozone would be far more resilient in This analysis misunderstands, however, the political situ- Greens (the latter who have benefited in recent years from the as with concrete and legitimate questions about migration.” the event of another financial crisis. ation that Kramp-Karrenbauer is being asked to confront at SPD’s Merkel-fueled collapse). Greens polled by the weekly Just maybe, hopes Gaschke, Kramp-Karrenbauer will catch Until Europe gets serious about reforms, our economy will home—and, more important, it misunderstands the political newsmagazine Der Spiegel viewed her even more positively less of it than Merkel: “Perhaps it is enough that Annegret continue to underperform structurally vis-a-vis the rest of the identity she will be bringing to the task. She may seem like (65 percent) than do CDU members (62 percent). “If the Kramp-Karrenbauer has three children and neither Merkel world. Since 2010, the average annual growth rate in the euro area Merkel in style, but she differs in substance. And that will CDU elects a woman, and twice in a row,” a Berlin Green nor East German.” Alas, nothing points in that direction has been 1.3 percent, compared to 2.3 percent in the U.S. This make all the difference. Party member told FP, “it shows that all of the other parties now— on the contrary. gap represents 1.2 trillion euros ($1.4 trillion) from 2010-2018, The thought is that Kramp-Karrenbauer will asymmetrically can too, but they’re not doing it. It shows them up.” With such Kramp-Karrenbauer obviously understands the softness or approximately 500 billion euros lost in terms of tax revenue. demobilize the center-left—that is, she will persuade its voters star quality, Kramp-Karrenbauer might even prove able to of her support on the right and thus is already making moves For France alone, this amounts to 10 billion euros every year to either defect for the CDU or stay at home on election day—by demobilize the Greens in the same way Merkel did the SPD. to make herself more appealing to the AfD. She has signaled the budgetary cost of what Macron recently proposed to meet the cribbing from its policy, just as Merkel did while driving the At the same time, many conservatives are hoping she that she’ll begin by talking with opponents of the govern- Yellow Vests’ original demands. The uprising that Europe needs Social Democratic Party (SPD) to its current lowly 15 percent can leverage her Catholic faith to win back far-right voters. ment’s migration policies. Her new deputy, Paul Ziemiak, will not happen in the streets of Paris or Brussels, but within the standing in national polls. Meanwhile, the new leader’s identity Throughout her career, Kramp-Karrenbauer has been an comes from the party’s right wing. She will initially be fo- EU’s paralyzed institutions. as a Roman Catholic mother of three from deep in former West avowed, if mild-mannered, social conservative: She’s on the cused on uniting the CDU after earning a narrow victory For more than five decades, power within Europe has been Germany—which is more in keeping with the party’s traditional record against same-sex marriage, and she firmly opposes over more stridently conservative rivals for the job. “The divided between conservatives and socialists who, collectively, profile than Merkel’s East German biography—is thought to any loosening of Germany’s relatively restrictive abortion fact that the election was so close also means that there is have failed to address the challenges of the day. be capable of healing divisions in the CDU that had opened laws; her rhetoric on migration policy—which has included a need for a clear conservative policy in the CDU,” opines It is time to leave the European talking shop behind us. The up under Merkel and perhaps even reversing defections to the suggestion of sending refugees back to Syria—has oc- the daily Berliner Zeitung. Kramp-Karrenbauer won’t be current era demands action. In the May 2019 European Parlia- the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which has casionally fallen on the CDU’s far-right wing. Indeed, there’s able to get away with making occasional rhetorical feints ment election, “Generation Europe” can break the old political expanded from 12.6 percent of the vote in 2017 to as high as little reason to believe that she would have initiated any of to the right; she will have no choice but to endorse clearly order and take the revolution out of the streets and into the 18 percent support in some recent polls. the openly liberal social policies that Merkel undertook in conservative priorities and perhaps even reversals of some hallways of European democracy. It’s true that surveys show Kramp-Karrenbauer’s vague recent years, such as ending mandatory military conscription of Merkel’s policies. (Source: The Daily Star) policy agenda is highly popular with Social Democrats and and initiating conciliatory dialogue between the government (Source: Foreign Policy) ساعت: امضاء صفحه آرا: ساعت: امضاء مسئول صفحه: ساعت: امضاء ادیتور: ساعت: امضاء سردبیر:

I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y DECEMBER 17, 2018 ANALYSIS & INTERVIEW 7 Theorizing religion in international relations The U.S. Senate’s role in the not only feasible but essential: Prof. killing of Yemeni children 1 We can see the inevitable interplay involving the politics of difference in contem- of politics and religion in the current refugee porary public life. Let me give two examples. crisis, in claims for asylum in Germany. Be- The first is the legal protection of groups cause asylum claims coming from Pakistani as “religious minorities.” I am interested in Christians carry more weight in Germany, the forms of subjectivity, both individual and there has been an uptick in conversions to collective, that are cultivated and reinforced Christianity among asylum-seekers. Both through the law when groups are defined and politics and religion are being transformed legally protected as “religious” minorities. The in ways that cannot be disentangled. To at- Alevis of Turkey are a fascinating case. They tempt to separate the fields of religion and hover at the boundaries of modern distinc- politics, or to “bring religion back in” misses tions between secular/religious/superstitious the point. In the case of the asylum-seeks, as they interact with modern state-building those who cannot or choose not to identify as projects. The Alevis as a community and a recognizably religious are simply less likely category were formally constituted as part to be legally protected. These are the kinds of the Turkish nation-building project. In of dynamics that we need to pay attention taking up their case I sought to understand to. This means adjusting our conceptual how ordinary social and religious belonging frames so that we can ask better questions, gets translated, and transformed, through the and provide more sophisticated analyses of process of becoming legalized. What happens contemporary religion and politics. when we designate groups legally as religious Some argue that if the theory of In- minorities? I argue that adopting religion as ternational Relations means a constitutive a category to draw together individuals and and critical theory, then bringing religion communities as corporate bodies that are 1 Yet, about four years have passed since the beginning into International Relations is possible, but seen as in need of legal protection to achieve of the Yemeni war, and the result of the presence of Mohammed if the theory of International Relations is an As I mentioned above, religion has never freedom is a risky business. We need to think bin Salman and his mercenaries in Yemen has been nothing but explanatory-empirical theory, the theoriz- twice before rushing to create these legal the defeat for Saudi Arabia. During the Yemeni war, the Demo- ing religion in International Relations is not been absent from the practice of international regimes. I develop this argument through a cratic senators (who are now oppossing to this war) said nothing possible and, in fact, there is not theological relations, although it is the case that IR theory study of two legal constructions of Alevism, by against the killing of Yemeni children, but directly and indirectly positivism theory in International Relations. ignored or refused to deal with the subject for the Turkish state and the European Court of supported it many times What is your opinion? Human Rights. They are premised on differing Next, during the presidency of Donald Trump, he continued A: I do not think it is useful to divide the several decades. That has changed now, as assumptions about Alevism, but both erase the same way which Obama administration took in support for field up using these categories. My research discussed in my 2008 book mentioned above. the indeterminacy surrounding Alevism as a the war in Yemen. Meanwhile, some of Mohammed bin Salman’s works on all of these fronts. My recent book lived tradition. They also bolster the role of atrocities, and Trump’s excessive investments on the slaughterous “Beyond Religious Freedom: The New Global Some scholars such as “Michael Allen bers of non-traditional religious groups in the state in defining and overseeing Turkish prince of the Saudi Arabia, attracted the attention ofthe most Politics of Religion” (Princeton University Gillespie” in the book “The Theological Or- RelHarmony activities.” religiosities. My intention in that chapter is Democrats and some American senators, such as Lindsay Graham. Press, 2017), for example, disaggregates igins of Modernity” believe that modernity Religious-outreach programs operate on to encourage readers to see the inevitability The repeateds defeats of Saudi Arabia in Yemen, and the global discourse about religion into three catego- was not initially against religion, and in later the questionable assumption that all religions of legal protections for religious minorities awareness about the crimes against Yemeni people, especially ries: expert religion, official religion, and years, as a result of social, cultural and po- can be treated equally. This masks the power in a new light, and to seek out and affirm women and children, also accelerated the process. Besides, the lived religion. The idea is to break down litical conditions, it has led to secularism. relations involved. The religions of the ma- other possibilities and forms of identity and murderer of Jamal the monolithic category of religion, and to So Based on this conception, religion is not jority, of the orthodox, of the ruling class, of solidarity. during the Khoshoggi worked try to understand religious practices as they conflict with modernity, so can it be said that allies of the United States, the United Nations, A second example is the category of “reli- as an accelerator in intermingle, shape, and are shaped by law, religion is not conflict with the International corporate interests or some other government gious violence.” There is a sense that if we talk presidency of this regard. This was history, and politics. I am working toward Relations theory stemming from modernity? or power broker inevitably carry more political about religion and politics we are talking either Donald Trump, he while the American a more integrative approach to religion, law A: I do not think there is one thing called weight than others. Less-favored groups are about religious freedom or about religious continued the same Senators kept silent and society, in which religion is seen as always “religion” or one thing called “modernity,” likely to be classified as cults or extremists. violence, or both. I am not convinced that over the bombing already part of history rather than standing and so generalizations like this do not make The former U.S. Ambassador for International these constructs help us understand what way which Obama of Yemeni school apart from it. sense to me. As I mentioned above, religion Religious Freedom, Suzan Johnson Cook is actually going on in the world around us. administration took bus which led to the The analytical framework of “Beyond Re- has never been absent from the practice of spoke about this during workshop attended One problem with talk of religious violence in support for the killing of dozens of ligious Freedom” illustrates this argument. international relations, although it is the case by U.S. religious leaders and scholars: “There is that when we declare religion or religious children. I distinguish between religion as construed that IR theory ignored or refused to deal are certain areas where the U.S. government difference to be the cause of an act of violence war in Yemen. Finally, we shoul by those who have legal and political pow- with the subject for several decades. That has muscle,” she said. Her chief example: we obscure or submerge a much bigger pic- say that the current er (“official or state religion”); religion as has changed now, as discussed in my 2008 the promotion of foreign religious leaders. ture. A lack of religious toleration shoulders opposition of American senators to the Yemeni war is not due construed by experts who generate knowl- book mentioned above. How do we square this with our domestic the blame for an incident or episode. The to their “peaceful metality” or because they believe war is a bad edge about religion (“expert religion”); and An example of how religion has always tradition of disestablishment? This is one explanation for violence becomes: they’re thing! It is, however, the result of the heavy costs that they had religion as lived and practiced by ordinary been with us in practice is a program I write of the questions I am thinking about now. doing this because they are religious and to pay for their ally’s failure in Yemen. This process continues people (“lived religion”). Expert religion is about in “Beyond Religious Freedom”. Rel- Some argue that the current Interna- they don’t like other religions. until the war is stopped in Yemen. religion as defined by those who generate Harmony was a U.S. Agency for Internation- tional Relations theory cannot explain some They are religiously intolerant, backward, The opposition of Democratic and Republican senators to what is known is as policy-relevant knowl- al Development-supported project to bring of the current phenomena of international anti-modern. The minute we adopt this sto- Trump’s support for bin Salman, is due to the intensification of edge about religion. This includes scholars, interfaith understanding and tolerance to relations and we need a religious theory of ryline, however, we make ourselves incapable opposition and hatred of bin Salman among the people all over the policy experts, government officials, and Albania in the 1990s. The aim was to create International Relations, especially with regard of seeing the broader, often institutionalized, world, and among the American citizens. However, we shouldn’t religious authorities. When we hear experts the social, political and legal conditions in to religious issues. What is your opinion? In often state-sponsored, often racialized, and ignore the fact that American senators aren’t basically opposed (religious or secular) talk about religion which political and religious ‘extremism,’ general, theorizing Religion in International always politicized contexts in which violence to war and bloodshed in the West Asian region and the Muslim today, we often hear it either celebrated as defined by the U.S. and the EU, would Relations is feasible? and discrimination actually occur. Religion world, but have been one of the main causes of these crimes over as a source of morality and cohesion, or wither on the vine. The reality was of course A: It is not only feasible but essential. I is one part of that story. the past few years. And this same rule applies to Yemen’s war. feared as a danger to contain. You have more complex. What does it entail politically study how “religion” has a category and set But we need a broader lens to see how probably heard versions of both narratives: and religiously to “engage with top religious of practices is interpreted to shape projects religionized, racialized, and nationalist good religion versus bad religion. Rather leadership?” When officials court those lead- of law and governance. This has both theo- politics become intertwined. An example than the privatization of religion, today we ers, as they did in this program, the heads retical and empirical implications—I do not from my recent book is the current violence U.S. trying to avenge defeat hear about the need for governments to of nontraditional religions and unorthodox separate the two. against the Rohingya people of Myanmar. support good religion and tame or disrupt versions of protected religions are ignored. If theorizing Religion in International I tell a different story about their situation at the United Nations bad religion all over the world. The good/ RelHarmony’s final report acknowledged this, Relations is possible, can this religious the- that de-dramatizes the religious element, bad religion narrative is a powerful form noting that “religious leaders from Albania’s ory in International Relations explain all the without ignoring it, while drawing our at- of knowledge about religion; it’s a form of traditional religious groups were supportive unresolved issues and problems? tention to other factors driving the violence expert religion. This is an interesting shift of interfaith initiatives, but that their views A: Certainly not all of them! But we can against them. We need to tell more stories in public discourse that is worth following. differed on the question of including mem- offer insight into some perduring dilemmas like this one. Nigeria police force re-arrests prominent activist, Deji Adeyanju, couple of days after release, over murder case INTERNATIONAL ABUJA - The federal capital territory desk(FCT) Abuja, police have detained Deji Adeyanju again, his consociate have said. Deji Adeyanju is a prominent Activist in Nigeria who stand against any form of injustice and seriously criticising the present government of burahi for incompetence, calling 1 Nicky Haley said: “We cannot talk about peace in the the attention of the government towards the corruption, Middle East, unless we agree on the Hamas condemnation.” crisis, inhuman treatment towards the ordinary people and Zionist ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, also mass slaughter of its citizens by even the security agent, criticized the failure to approve the draft U.S. anti-Palestinian hes reawakening the consciousness citizens towards their resolution. He praised Haley’s efforts on Twitter. civic rights and the civic responsiblities of the government The United States still fails to realize that the world is no longer Deji Adeyanju vehemently goes against the atrocities unipolar. The Americans have shown they continue to believe that perpetrated on the Islamic movement of Nigeria (IMN) by the universe is unipolar, and that it is only Washington that can the Nigerian military and the unjust detaintion of sheikh put forward the first and last words on some matter. Washing- Ibrahim zakzaky and demand justice to this cruelty. ton, before the start Ariyo-Dare Atoye, a friend of Adeyanju told Premium Americans are of the Friday poll Times the political activist was arrested after 3:00 p.m. on pursuing their on an anti-Palestin- Thursday. Were by Deji Adeyanju was released from de- ian resolution at the taintion some days earlier before the re-arrest. hostile and UN General Assem- Form the look of things the police are demanding to estab- discouraging moves bly, even threatened lish the conclusion of a murder trial involving Mr Adeyanju the members of the in the mid and late 2000s, during his university period. to achieve what assembly that if there “He is been held at the Inspector-General of Police Mon- the Zionists could was no positive vote itoring Unit over a murder case from his university days,” not accomplish on the resolution, it Mr Atoye said. It is crystal clear that these are fallacy and would have heavy mere accusations with no base, “Even though it is true that in the military consequences for he was arrested and charged for murder when he was a battleground with them. student of Bayero University Kano, we are very sure that he Mr Atoye included. “We find this extremely embarrassing for until 2009, and I can tell you categorically that he was not the Palestinian Americans are was discharged and acquitted in the case,”said Mr Atoye. our country, but we would try and get the copies tomorrow.” only discharged but also acquitted,” Mr Keyamo said by pursuing their hos- Mr Adeyanju was at the unit, which was specially estab- Mr Adeyanju spent four years in prison between 2005 telephone Thursday night according to source. Islamic Resistance tile and discouraging lished to tackle specific serious crimes such as kidnapping and 2009 after he was arrested with three others on murder Mr Keyamo said he represented Mr Adeyanju on a pro-bono groups in the Gaza moves to achieve to armed robbery, to retrieve the last of his three mobile charges while a student of Bayero University. (free) basis at the time, buoyed largely by his longstanding what the Zionists telephone devices which the police seized from him when Festus Keyamo, a rights lawyer and current campaign interest in helping students from legal dilemma. Strip. could not accom- he was first arrested on November 28. spokesperson for President Muhammadu Buhari, defended “Immediately I heard he was a student, I picked up the plish in the military battleground with the Palestinian Islamic As of 9:30 p.m., Mr Atoye said he had contacted lawyers on Mr Adeyanju and the three others. One of the other three case and by the grace of God we won it and he was discharged Resistance groups in the Gaza Strip. What seems to be clear is behalf of Mr Adeyanju. The police reported that he skiped bail was Musa Daura, said to be a relative of Mamman Daura, and acquitted,” Mr Keyamo emphasised. that, as much as possible, further efforts of the United States in 2005 and are asking for him to provide the certified true copy President Muhammadu Buhari’s nephew. From the event of things is show the present government against resistance groups are planned, though they may be as of the case in order to establish that he was indeed discharged, “I represented Deji Adeyanju in the matter from 2005 lacks essentiality of democracy but Autocracy in disguise. ineffective as the recent U.S. defeat at the UNGA. I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y 8 ADVERTISEMENTS DECEMBER 17, 2018

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How meditation impacts What to know about cancer Cancer causes cells to divide uncontrollably. This can result in tumors, damage to the immune system, and other impairment that can be fatal. the way we learn In the United States, an estimated 15.5 million people with a Many anecdotes and some studies suggest non-meditators, which may help to explain history of cancer were living as of January 1, 2016, according to that meditation can be a powerful tool some of the psychological benefits they ex- a 2018 report from the American Cancer Society. for mental and physical health. New re- perience from the practice,» he adds. In this article, we examine types of cancer, how the disease search shows that it may have yet another Meditation›s effect on the brain develops, and the many treatments that help improve the quality benefit: to help us learn faster from past In the new study, the team also measured of life and survival rates. experiences. the participants› brain activity during their What is cancer? According to new findings, meditation tasks by using electroencephalograms (EEGs), Cancer cells do not die at the natural point in a cell’s life cycle. alters the way in which we learn. a method that records the electrical activity Cancer is a broad term. It describes the disease that results when In a new study, researchers from the in a person›s brain. cellular changes cause the uncontrolled growth and division of cells. University of Surrey in the United Kingdom The EEGs showed that while all the partic- Some types of cancer cause rapid cell growth, while others focused on one particular type of meditation ipants responded in the same way to positive cause cells to grow and divide at a slower rate. — «focused attention meditation» — and feedback during the exercise, those who did Certain forms of cancer result in visible growths called tumors, whether it affects how a person learns. not meditate had a more intense response to while others, such as leukemia, do not. This meditation practice requires a person negative feedback than meditators. Most of the body’s cells have specific functions and fixed to focus their attention on a particular object Among participants who meditated, those lifespans. While it may sound like a bad thing, cell death is part — a burning candle or one›s own breath, with the weakest response to negative feedback of a natural and beneficial phenomenon called apoptosis. for instance — and maintain that focus for were the most experienced practitioners. A cell receives instructions to die so that the body can replace a period of time. Knytl and Prof. Opitz believe that regular it with a newer cell that functions better. Cancerous cells lack People often use focused attention medi- meditation may impact levels of dopamine, the components that instruct them to stop dividing and to die. tation as a gateway into other types of medi- which is a neurotransmitter that plays an im- As a result, they build up in the body, using oxygen and nutrients tation, as it is easier to learn and to practice. portant role in mood regulation and physical that would usually nourish other cells. Cancerous cells can form «Meditation is a powerful tool for the body agility, among other things. This, in turn, tumors, impair the immune system and cause other changes that and the mind; it can reduce stress and improve may render meditators less responsive to prevent the body from functioning regularly. immune function,» says study co-author Prof. negative feedback. Cancerous cells may appear in one area, then spread via the lymph Bertram Opitz. People often use focused attention meditation The scientists also note that previous nodes. These are clusters of immune cells located throughout the body. But can it also help us train our minds to as a gateway into other types of meditation, as it research has found that people with Par- Causes learn faster from feedback or information kinson›s disease — who have much lower There are many causes of cancer, and some are preventable. acquired through past experiences? is easier to learn and to practice. levels of dopamine than normal — tended For example, over 480,000 people die in the U.S. each year Prof. Opitz and Paul Knytl, who is a doctoral not to perform well on learning tasks that rest non-meditators. This, Prof. Opitz and Knytl explain, sug- from smoking cigarettes, according to data reported in 2014. student at the University of Surrey, suggest required them to respond to positive feedback. In addition to smoking, risk factors for cancer include: that the answer to that question is «yes.» For the purpose of this study, the inves- gests that meditators tend to learn from pos- «What we have found is that [meditation] tigators trained the participants to do well itive outcomes, while non-meditators most heavy alcohol consumption The two explain their research findings in can [...] impact on how we receive feedback, excess body weight a paper now featured in the Journal of Cog- in an activity in which they had to select likely learn from negative outcomes. i.e. if we quickly learn from our mistakes or images that were most likely to bring them «Humans have been meditating for over physical inactivity nitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience. if we need to keep making them before we poor nutrition Learning from positive vs. neg- a particular reward. 2,000 years, but the neural mechanisms of find the right answer.» In this exercise, the participants saw pairs this practice are still relatively unknown,» Other causes of cancer are not preventable. Currently, the ative feedback «If it is the latter [then] this can impact most significant unpreventable risk factor is age. According to The researchers worked with people of images, each with different probabilities says Knytl, who is specializing in the neuro- how individuals perform in the workplace of bringing a reward if selected. logical mechanisms associated with focused the American Cancer Society, doctors in the U.S. diagnose 87 who were meditators and people who did or classroom. Such individuals may benefit percent of cancer cases in people ages 50 years or older. not meditate. There were 35 participants in The researchers noticed that those who attention meditation. from meditation to increase their productivity practiced meditation had a higher success «[Our current] findings demonstrate Is cancer genetic? total, of which nine identified as Buddhist or prevent them from falling behind in their Genetic factors can contribute to the development of cancer. meditators, 12 practiced meditation in a sec- rate in choosing reward-associated images that, on a deep level, meditators respond studies,» Prof. Opitz suggests. compared with their non-meditating peers. to feedback in a more even-handed way than A person’s genetic code tells their cells when to divide and ular context, two practiced Qi Gong, and the (Source: Medical News Today) expire. Changes in the genes can lead to faulty instructions, and cancer can result. Genes also influence the cells’ production of proteins, and Spray-on gel could stop cancer spreading after surgery proteins carry many of the instructions for cellular growth A key line of treatment for many cancers is surgery, but frustrat- tells the body not to attack the tumor. The new spray-on gel However, it’s important to remember that so far, the and division. ingly, this doesn’t always get rid of the disease. Once a tumor has contains an antibody that blocks this protein, allowing the new spray has only been tested on mice, not people. More Some genes change proteins that would usually repair damaged been removed, it can return, and the cancer can spread to other body’s immune system to identify and kill the cancerous cells. research is needed before it can be clinically tested in hu- cells. This can lead to cancer. If a parent has these genes, they parts of the body. Now, scientists have found a way to potentially The antibodies are loaded onto tiny nanoparticles made man patients to see if it actually works. Still, the results are may pass on the altered instructions to their offspring. stop this from happening, all thanks to a simple spray-on gel. from calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate is a key ingre- certainly promising, with half of the mice surviving for at Some genetic changes occur after birth, and factors such as Publishing their results in the journal Nature Nanotech- dient of eggshells and dissolves in surgical wounds as they least 60 days without any cancer regrowth. smoking and sun exposure can increase the risk. nology, a team from UCLA tested the gel on mice whose are slightly acidic. As it dissolves, it slowly releases the an- “This sprayable gel shows promise against one of the Other changes that can result in cancer take place in the chem- advanced melanoma tumors had been removed through tibodies into the wound. It also boosts the activity of a type greatest obstacles in curing cancer,” Zhen Gu, who led the ical signals that determine how the body deploys, or “expresses” surgery. They found that it reduced regrowth of the original of immune cell called a macrophage, which detects and kills research team, said in a statement. “One of the trademarks specific genes. tumor, which in turn helped to prevent the cancer from unwanted cells by eating them. of cancer is that it spreads. In fact, around 90 percent of Finally, a person can inherit a predisposition for a type of popping up elsewhere. The researchers also discovered that their gel could activate people with cancerous tumors end up dying because of tumor cancer. A doctor may refer to this as having a hereditary cancer So, how does it work? another important immune cell called a T cell, enhancing recurrence or metastasis. Being able to develop something syndrome. Inherited genetic mutations significantly contribute Rather than actively attacking the cancer cells, the gel the body’s response to the cancer even more. According to that helps lower this risk for this to occur and has low toxicity to the development of 5–10 percent of cancer cases. actually works by boosting the patient’s immune system. lead author Qian Chen, this provided “another line of attack is especially gratifying.” Treatments Cancer cells release a protein called CD47, which basically against lingering cancer cells.” (Source: iflscience.com) Innovative research has fueled the development of new med- ications and treatment technologies. Doctors usually prescribe treatments based on the type of Internet-based CBT effective for Diabetes and hypertension drug cancer, its stage at diagnosis, and the person’s overall health. The side effects of chemotherapy include hair loss. However, ad- treating severe depression combo kills cancer cells vances in treatment are improving the outlook for people with cancer. Below are examples of approaches to cancer treatment: New research finds that cognitive behavioral New research, published in the journal Chemotherapy aims to kill cancerous cells with medications therapy sessions delivered via an app can Cell Reports, finds a drug combination that target rapidly dividing cells. The drugs can also help shrink effectively treat various forms of depression, that kills cancer cells by depleting them tumors, but the side effects can be severe. including a severe form of the condition. of energy. Hormone therapy involves taking medications that change iCBT enables people with depression In order to multiply, cancer cells need a how certain hormones work or interfere with the body’s ability to manage their symptoms using a cell lot of energy. to produce them. When hormones play a significant role, as with phone or tablet. Metformin is a common drug in the prostate and breast cancers, this is a common approach. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is fight against type 2 diabetes. Immunotherapy uses medications and other treatments to a short-term form of therapy that helps It lowers blood sugar by slowing the boost the immune system and encourage it to fight cancerous change people’s thought patterns. release of glucose from the liver and the cells. Two examples of these treatments are checkpoint inhibitors primary care physicians more often than and spread as fast as they do. However, an The technique can successfully treat absorption of sugar from food in the gut. and adoptive cell transfer. others,” explains Prof. Lorenzo-Luaces. obstacle in the way of cancer’s metabolic depression, anxiety and panic disorder, The drug also treats insulin resistance Precision medicine, or personalized medicine, is a newer, “They have more medical problems, and needs is a molecule called NAD+. This bipolar, substance use disorders, and many by sensitizing the body’s cells to insulin, as developing approach. It involves using genetic testing to deter- their depression sometimes gets in the way molecule turns nutrients into energy. other mental health conditions. well as treating obesity and aiding weight mine the best treatments for a person’s particular presentation of their taking their medication for other “In order to keep the energy-generating In recent decades, more and more stud- loss in people who do not have diabetes of cancer. Researchers have yet to show that it can effectively medical problems.” machinery running, NAD+ must be contin- ies have been pointing to the benefits of or prediabetes. treat all types of cancer, however. So, for the new review, the team ex- uously generated from NADH,” Benjamin Internet-based CBT (iCBT) for depression. Recently, scientists have brought more Radiation therapy uses high-dose radiation to kill cancerous amined 21 existing studies using meta-re- explains, adding,”[B]oth metformin and iCBT can help overcome many obstacles uses of the drug to light. Physicians pre- cells. Also, a doctor may recommend using radiation to shrink a gression analysis. The analysis concluded syrosingopine prevent the regeneration of that are often in the way of treating mental scribe metformin to help treat polycystic tumor before surgery or reduce tumor-related symptoms. that CBT apps were effective for treating NAD+, but in two different ways.” health conditions. ovary syndrome, and some researchers Stem cell transplant can be especially beneficial for people mild, moderate, and severe depression. Many cancer cells rely on glycolysis in Such treatment barriers include ge- have suggested that the drug may improve with blood-related cancers, such as leukemia or lymphoma. It Some of the trials included in the re- their metabolism, which means that they ographical distance, the social stigma fertility and help regulate menstrual cycles. involves removing cells, such as red or white blood cells, that view compared a CBT app with a sham break sugar down into lactate. When there surrounding mental health problems, Some have even suggested that met- chemotherapy or radiation has destroyed. Lab technicians then app. In these studies, the real apps were is too much lactate, however, glycolytic the often prohibitive cost of treatment, formin may improve longevity. Animal strengthen the cells and put them back into the body. also significantly more effective at treating pathways are blocked. and the insufficient numbers of mental studies have found that the drug may in- Surgery is often a part of a treatment plan when a person has depression. So, to avoid this, cancer cells dispose of healthcare providers that are available. fluence the metabolic processes associated a cancerous tumor. Also, a surgeon may remove lymph nodes to Prof. Lorenzo-Luaces comments on lactate via special transporters, and this Until now, however, it was unclear with aging and age-related conditions, and reduce or prevent the disease’s spread. the findings, saying, “Before this study, is where the drug combination comes in. whether the studies hailing the benefits clinical trials of metformin’s effects on Targeted therapies perform functions within cancerous cells to I thought past studies were probably “We have now discovered,” Benjamin of iCBT for depression also included peo- human lifespan are currently under way. prevent them from multiplying. They can also boost the immune focused on people with very mild de- points out, “that syrosingopine efficiently ple living with severe depression or those Around 2 years ago, researchers from system. Two examples of these therapies are small-molecule pression, those who did not have other blocks the two most important lactate trans- living with anxiety or alcohol use disorder the Biozentrum at the University of Basel drugs and monoclonal antibodies. mental health problems and were at low porters and thus, inhibits lactate export. in addition to depression. in Switzerland found that metformin, in Doctors will often employ more than one type of treatment risk for suicide.” High intracellular lactate concentrations, The concern that such biases were combination with a blood pressure drug, to maximize effectiveness. “To my surprise, that was not the case,” in turn, prevent NADH from being recycled artificially inflating the benefits of iCBT can stop cancer tumors from growing. Types he goes on to say. “The science suggests into NAD+.” drove researchers to examine the effects In new research, scientists now show The most common type of cancer in the U.S. is breast cancer, that these apps and platforms can help a Metformin, meanwhile, blocks the sec- of iCBT in more depth. how this drug cocktail works: the combi- followed by lung and prostate cancers, according to the National large number of people.” ond of the two cellular pathways that help Lorenzo Lorenzo-Luaces, who is a nation of metformin and the antihyper- Cancer Institute, which excluded nonmelanoma skin cancers However, he cautions, “This is not to NAD+ regenerate. So, when metformin is clinical professor in the Department of tensive syrosingopine cuts off cancer’s from these findings. say that you should stop taking your med- combined with syrosingopine, NADH can Psychological and Brain Sciences at In- energy supply, resulting in the death of Smoking increases the risk of many different types of cancer. ication and go to the nearest app store.” no longer be recycled into NAD+. This, in diana University in Bloomington, led the cancer cells. Each year, more than 40,000 people in the country receive “People tend to do better when they have turn, creates an energy shortage. new study, which was just published in The new study was conducted at Bi- a diagnosis of one of the following types of cancer:bladder, co- a little bit of guidance,” admits Prof. Loren- The energy shortage ultimately leads to the Journal of Medical Internet Research. ozentrum in collaboration with Basilea lon and rectal, endometrial, kidney, leukemia, liver, melanoma, zo-Luaces, but he adds that 10–15-minute the death of cancer cells, which no longer iCBT successfully treats severe Pharmaceutica International Ltd. Don non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, pancreatic, thyroid, Other forms are face-to-face check-ins may be enough for have an energy supply. The combination depression Benjamin, from Biozentrum, is the first less common. According to the National Cancer Institute, there most people. of the two drugs, therefore, “may prove Prof. Lorenzo-Luaces explains the need author of the study. are over 100 types of cancer. In their paper, Prof. Lorenzo-Luaces a viable anticancer strategy,” conclude for iCBT in treating mental health issues. Cutting off the energy supply Doctors classify cancer by: its location in the body,the tissues and colleagues conclude: the researchers. “Close to 1 in 4 people meet the criteria of cancer cells that it forms in, For example, sarcomas develop in bones or soft “A conservative interpretation of our Cancer is still one of the leading caus- for major depressive disorder,” he says. The dose of metformin for treating di- tissues, while carcinomas form in cells that cover internal or findings is that the patient population es of death worldwide and in the United “If you include people with minor de- abetes is not enough to stop tumors from external surfaces in the body. Basal cell carcinomas develop in sampled in the literature on self-guided States. According to the National Cancer pression or who have been depressed for growing. However, adding the blood pres- the skin, while adenocarcinomas can form in the breast. iCBT is relatively comparable with that of Institute, in 2018, doctors will have diag- a week or a month with a few symptoms, sure drug into the mix boosts metformin’s When cancerous cells spread to other parts of the body, the studies of antidepressants or face-to-face nosed more than 1,700,000 new cases in the number grows, exceeding the number anticancer effects. medical term for this is metastasis. psychotherapy.” the U.S. alone. of psychologists who can serve them.” The researchers explain how this occurs. A person can also have more than one type of cancer at a time. (Source: medicalnewstoday.com) (Source: medicalnewstoday.com) People with depression also tend to “visit Cancer cells need a lot of energy to grow (Source: Medical News Today) I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y 10 TECHNOLOGY DECEMBER 17, 2018

Top tech experts, researchers Blockchain can help improve lauded

TECHNOLOGY TEHRAN — The 19th festival for commending Iran’s economy: official deskIranian tech-savvy experts and researchers was TECHNOLOGY TEHRAN — Blockchain future, he said. held in Tehran on Sunday, Mehr news agency reported. desktechnology can help im- Daliri said that blockchain would decrease prove the national economy, the head of bureaucratic procedures. management development department of The vice presidency do its best to support the vice presidency for science and technology, and facilitate activities of the private sector Alireza Daliri, IRNA reported on Saturday. active in the field of blockchain technology. “This is possible with boostsing the in- In early December, a group of blockchain frastructure of the blockchain technology experts from Tehran’s Sharif University of with the help of government and private Technology announced that they are devel- sector,” he explained. oping a startup which is to introduce the first The science and technology vice presidency Iranian blockchain-based taxi app. is responsible for development and hi-tech The startup founder Amir Abbas Emami like blockchain, he said. said that they have launched Initial Coin “We should coordinate with other countries Offering (ICO). in the world in terms of new technologies and The latest report of Europe Union the blockchain is one of the issues,” he added. Blockchain Observatory and Forum Nowadays over 140 countries are now (EUBF) details that for blockchain to benefiting from blockchain technology realize its potential within government through the world, he said. institutions, they must focus on using the The event was held concurrent with “research week” (De- Daliri then explained about the meaning technology to build two things: digital cember 15-19) under the theme of “purposeful research, efficient of blockchain, a chain of blocks for recording identity systems, and digital versions of technology promoting domestic production”. information, which is shared with all member their national currencies. Some 24 top tech-savvy experts and researchers were lauded of the blockchain network and no one can “Digital identity is the fundamental build- out of 226 individuals. change it due to its strong cryptography. ing block and a key area for governments to Health Minister Hassan Qazizadeh-Hashemi, Science Min- Some governments concern about block- focus on,” the report reads. “Another impor- ister Mansour Gholami, First Vice-President Es’haq Jahangiri, chain technology, however, its benefits are Iran boosts the infrastructure of the tant building block … is having digital versions and vice president for science and technology Sourena Sattari more than damages, he explained. blockchain technology with the help of of national currencies on the blockchain, for attended the event. The vice presidency decides to use this example through blockchain-based central technology in different fields in the near government and private sector bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Much more bandwidth for Iranian ‘Over 1,000 knowledge-based firms messaging apps: ICT ministry

TECHNOLOGY TEHRAN — The Ministry of Information active in health sector’ desk TECHNOLOGY TEHRAN — About 3,700 knowl- “A total of 52 knowledge-based companies export their and Communication Technology (ICT) plans desk to provide over 1,000 gigabits per second of bandwidth for edge-based companies have been regis- products to other countries,” he continued. Iranian messaging applications by the next two weeks, Mehr tered in Iran, of which 1,150 are active in the health sector, a He said that the firms have exported about $70 mil- reported on Sunday. health ministry official said, Tasnim reported on Saturday. lion to other countries during the past Iranian year 1396 “The Iranian messaging apps Hossein Vatanpour explained that 170 of these com- (ended March 20). can benefit from over 1,000 panies are active in the field of herbal medicine and In July, Deputy Health Minister Reza Malekzadeh said that gigabits per second of added Iranian traditional medicine. 73 types of medicine produced by Iranian knowledge-based bandwidth, which is double “We plan to support companies active in the field of herbal companies are being exported to other countries. the total bandwidth of foreign medicine technology in near future,” he added. Over 1,200 knowledge-based companies are active in social networks in the country,” Up to now over 2,500 knowledge-based products of herbal the field of healthcare products in Iran, of which 458 are the managing director of Tele- medicine have been offered in the domestic market, he said. in 60 incubation centers in different parts of the country. communication Infrastructure Company Hamid Fattahi an- nounced on his Twitter account. 37% of tech experts worry AI will make humanity worse by 2030 He said that the ICT Min- More than a third of AI experts surveyed by most experts, regardless of whether they are and improving the ability of medical pro- need to work aggressively to make sure tech- istry used the capacity of the Pew Research said they are concerned that optimistic or not, expressed concerns about fessionals to diagnose and treat diseases. nology matches our values.” National Information Network artificial intelligence will leave humanity the long-term impact of these new tools on Among the optimists is Erik Brynjolfs- And while AI is expected to create some for bandwidth. worse off in 2030 than they are now, with the essential elements of being human,” Pew son, director of the MIT Initiative on the new jobs as well as make other jobs more The managing director of Tele- “However, many messaging the majority optimistic that the benefits will wrote in its survey findings released this week. Digital Economy, who told Pew, “I think productive, some respondents said that it communication Infrastructure applications have not used their make life better for individuals. “2030 is not far in the future. My sense it is more likely than not that we will use could also lead to widespread job losses, and Company Hamid Fattahi previous bandwidth capacity Pew surveyed 979 “technology pioneers, is that innovations like the internet and this power to make the world a better place. the sense of meaning that comes with work. completely,” he lamented. innovators, developers, business and policy networked AI have massive short-term For instance, we can virtually eliminate “The answer depends on whether we The replacement of Telegram, as the most popular messaging leaders, researchers and activists,” asking benefits, along with long-term negatives global poverty, massively reduce disease can shift our economic systems toward app in Iran, with Iranian messaging applications has turned into whether they thought that AI advances would that can take decades to be recognizable,” and provide better education to almost prioritizing radical human improvement a challenge on the national level. leave most people better off by the year Andrew McLaughlin, executive director of everyone on the planet.” and staunching the trend toward human Telegram, with 40 million subscribers in Iran, was on top list 2030. Will it “enhance human capacities the Center for Innovative Thinking at Yale, Brynjolfsson also said that humans would irrelevance in the face of AI,” said Bryan of messaging applications in the country. It was banned in the and empower them?” Pew asked. Or will said in response to Pew’s question. need to work to guard against the negative Johnson, founder and CEO of Kernel, a country on April 30. Hundreds of people and companies in Iran it “lessen human autonomy and agency,” Many of those surveyed said the good or potential of artificial intelligence. “AI and developer of neural interfaces. “I don’t mean used the app for their marketing and sales. leaving them worse off? bad effects of AI applications will depend on ML [machine learning] can also be used to just jobs; I mean true, existential irrelevance, The alternatives for Telegram is a number of Iranian messaging Overall, 63% said they were hopeful that how they are built and deployed. Most of increasingly concentrate wealth and power, which is the end result of not prioritizing applications introduced during recent months. people will be better off by 2030, with 37% the anticipated benefits of AI center around leaving many people behind, and to create human well-being and cognition.” Up to now, five messaging applications have been approved by believing they will not be better off. “Yet, making people more effective in their work even more horrifying weapons,” he said. “We (Source: msn.com) the National Center for Cyberspace, an organization established by the Supreme Cyberspace Council. Soroush, Gap, iGap, BisPhone Plus and Wispi are the applications First tourism rocket ship launched The World Cup, Meghan Markle topped developed by Iranian experts and are supported by the center. into space Google’s 2018 global search trends Domestic messaging applications eye officials for further support to help them to convince subscribers to move to another application.

Ditch your smartphone for a year, win $100,000

Vitaminwater is issuing a low-tech challenge to smartphone ad- dicts: Ditch your device for a year, and win $100,000. That’s right, all the successful contestant must do to go scroll- free and claim the $100K prize is not use his or her smartphone — or anyone else’s — for 365 days. But first you must be selected. Enter the contest by sharing a post on Twitter or Instagram explaining what you’d do instead of scrolling through social media posts. All legal residents of the United States Sir Richard Branson, who cried during the Virgin’s billionaire founder Sir Richard The World Cup, Meghan Markle and Simon Rogers, a data editor at Google who are 18 or older and own and use a smartphone are eligible to test, has said a commercial flight could cried, high-fived and hugged spectators, “Black Panther” topped Google’s 2018 News Lab, introduced the trends in a blog enter, Vitaminwater said, adding that applications will be judged take place as early as March 2019. as hundreds of the firm’s employees and global search trends, while Unicorn cake, post, reflecting on the search engine’s role on originality, brand relevance, humor and other factors. Virgin Galactic has successfully launched family members watched the launch. “Fortnite,” and “how to apply magnetic during the year’s turbulent “highs and lows.” People required to use a smartphone for work or other com- a tourism rocket ship into space for the first One of the pilots handed Sir Richard a lashes” rose to the top of searches in the U.S. “In a year when we said goodbye to many mitments “need not apply,” according to the official rules. And time - with Sir Richard Branson hoping a com- small Earth stress ball when the two hugged Google released its annual search engine cultural icons, like Anthony Bourdain and no cheating, please: The company will administer a lie detector mercial flight will take place by March 2019. after the space ship landed safely following trends on Wednesday, revealing the top Aretha Franklin, people searched for how test to help ensure honesty and adherence to contest rules. The Virgin Space Ship (VSS) Unity took about an hour’s journey. searches of 2018 throughout the world as they, too, could influence the next genera- The seemingly simple challenge includes reverting to a 1996- off from the Mojave test center in Califor- He said: “The now-astronauts, who well as in the U.S. The terms reflected a tion, asking ‘how to be a good role model,’” era mobile phone for an entire year. No smartphone or tablet use nia and climbed 51 miles (82km) before were pilots before, had this incredible variety of major events in subjects including Rogers wrote. “And when first responders is permitted, even if the device belongs to a friend. Laptops and beginning its descent early on Thursday. experience, being in space... and had the politics, pop culture and tech. rescued a team of soccer players from a desktop computers are OK to use, as are voice-activated devices The company considers the altitude to ride of a lifetime.” The World Cup reigned as the most- cave in Thailand, the world was inspired like Google Home or Amazon Echo. be the boundary of space, which contradicts The billionaire said he aimed for a com- searched topic in the U.S. and across the — searches for ‘scuba diving lessons near The contestant who only lasts nine months will receive $10,000. a long-held view that it is reached at 62 mercial space flight with passengers, including globe. The rest of the global top 10 was me’ increased by 110% that week.” Twitter users peppered the platform with submissions this miles (100km). himself, as early as March next year. filled with celebrities who passed away in Google continued to dominate the search week, with many hopeful winners earnestly vowing they’d use Virgin Galactic CEO George White- He said: “Today we have shown Virgin 2018, including electronic dance music pio- engine market in 2018, serving as a platform the time to bond with family, learn new languages, and improve sides noted that recent research favors Galactic can open space to the world.” neer Avicii, rapper Mac Miller, comic book for people to search for not only “everyday their relationships. the lower altitude. Sir Richard added: “Space is Virgin ter- legend Stan Lee, chef and television star queries, but also the moments, people, “’Dad, how come you’re always on your phone?’ Those words And just after the successful return to ritory!” And he later told Sky News that Anthony Bourdain, rapper XXXTentacion, ideas, and questions that made that trip ring in my ears. How can I teach my kids about relationships Earth, Richard Branson told Sky News: while he is “wary about making predictions” physicist Stephen Hawking and designer around the sun so unique,” Rogers wrote. when I’m too distracted to practice it? I’m up for the challenge “After 14 hard years, to have taken Virgin he hopes to go into space himself in the Kate Spade. Google also broke down the most popu- to change some habits and show my family how important they Galactic into space has been a momentous, coming months and then, “the moment Meghan Markle, who married into the lar searches by subject, providing a window are,” Michael Plaisier said. historic occasion.” we can say every box is ticked” and the British royal family in May, ranked No. into some of the major U.S. trends of 2018. Another contestant cheekily suggested he’d spend his money Two, which ignited its rocket engine journey is safe, the flight will be open to 6 on Google’s global search list for 2018 In beauty, “how to apply magnetic lashes” — and almost all his time in 2019 — drinking vitamin-fortified and released the plane at an altitude of the paying public. and was the only living person to make was the top search. In video games, smash water, of all things. around eight miles. Mission official Enrico Palermo said: the top 10. hit “Fortnite” led the pack. In diets, the “The $100,000 from #nophoneforayear can buy 4,332 24-packs Two test pilots Mark “Forger” Stucky “We made it to space!” The top U.S. searches included Hur- high-fat, low-carb Keto diet topped the list. of vitaminwater or 103,968 bottles. There are 525,600 mins/year. and former NASA astronaut Rick “CJ” Sir Richard is battling other billion- ricane Florence, Mega Millions lottery The most post popular how-to question Drinking 103,968 vitaminwaters in 1 year would be drinking 1 Sturckow then hurtled the craft upward aire-backed ventures to offer space flights results and “Election Results.” Google of the year in the U.S. was “How to vote,” every 5 minutes. I don’t think I’ll have enough time to swipe and out of sight. The rocket plane re-en- to tourists, including one from Amazon Trends released the most popular search while the most searched-for politician in during this #contest,” Matt Davenport said. tered the atmosphere at 2.5 times the speed founder Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. topics for 67 individual countries, as well 2018 was Stacey Abrams, Georgia’s Dem- (Source: cbsnews.com) of sound and landed a few minutes later. (Source: news.sky.com) as global trends in the Google search box. ocratic gubernatorial candidate. I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y DECEMBER 17, 2018 SCIENCE 11

Satellite spies methane bubbling up from MIT engineers have devised a way to create 3-D nanoscale objects

Arctic permafrost, research team says Researchers have invented a new way to fabricate nanoscale 3D objects of nearly any shape. They can also pattern the objects with Temporarily trapped in ice, these bubbles of The team compared the satellite data with a variety of useful materials, including metals, semiconducting methane seeping up from melting permafrost field measurements of methane at 48 lakes, quantum dots, and DNA. at the base of an Arctic lake will eventually and then used the correlations they found to MIT engineers have devised a way to create 3-D nanoscale objects escape into the atmosphere, where the potent analyze emissions at more than 5,000 lakes by patterning a larger structure with a laser and then shrinking greenhouse gas can amplify global warming. in 5 regions across Alaska. “For the first time, it. This image shows a complex structure prior to shrinking. For the first time, scientists have used a we can move up from a handful of lakes and MIT researchers have invented a way to fabricate nanoscale satellite to estimate how much methane is look across the landscape,” says Katey Walter 3-D objects of nearly any shape. seeping into the atmosphere from Arctic lakes. Anthony, a biogeochemist at the University “It’s a way of putting nearly any kind of material into a 3-D Preliminary data presented this week at a of Alaska Fairbanks, who helped to conduct pattern with nanoscale precision,” says Edward Boyden, an meeting of the American Geophysical Union in the research. associate professor of biological engineering and of brain and Washington DC help to explain long-standing Climate models cognitive sciences at MIT. discrepancies between estimates of methane Finding better tools to estimate Arctic Using the new technique, the researchers can create any shape emissions from atmospheric measurements methane emissions will help scientists to and structure they want by patterning a polymer scaffold with and data collected at individual lakes. bridge data gaps and improve projections a laser. As icy permafrost melts to form lakes, from climate models, says Clayton Elder, These tiny structures could have applications in many fields, microbes break down organic matter in a biogeochemist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion from optics to medicine to robotics, the researchers say. The tech- the thawing ground beneath the water and Laboratory in Pasadena, California. nique uses equipment that many biology and materials science release methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Elder presented new findings at the labs already have, making it widely accessible for researchers Researchers have measured the amount of meeting from a high-resolution airborne who want to try it. methane seeping out of hundreds of lakes, one sensor that NASA has deployed as part of a Boyden, who is also a member of MIT’s Media Lab, McGovern by one, but estimating emissions across the decade-long field campaign to assess how Institute for Brain Research, and Koch Institute for Integrative Arctic remains a challenge. Understanding climate change is affecting the Arctic. Cancer Research, is one of the senior authors of the paper, which how much methane is being released by these In a 2,000-square-kilometre area around appears in the Dec. 13 issue of Science. lakes is crucial to predicting how much Engram’s team found that the sensor of ice that forms on Arctic lakes in autumn the Barrow Peninsula in northern Alaska, aboard the Japanese satellite was sensitive and winter. “It’s really exciting,” she says. Existing techniques for creating nanostructures are limited permafrost emissions could exacerbate for instance, the team calculated that lakes in what they can accomplish. Etching patterns onto a surface future climate change. enough to detect how constant streams of “We can see roughness in the ice — divots release an average of 0.6 grams of methane rising methane bubbles deform the surface created by methane bubbles.” with light can produce 2-D nanostructures but doesn’t work for Solving the problems per square meter of water surface each year 3-D structures.el Oran and Samuel Rodriques. In an effort to solve this problem, a team led — which equates to around 141 kilograms of It is possible to make 3-D nanostructures by gradually adding by Melanie Engram, a remote-sensing scientist Understanding how much methane is methane per square kilometer. That is about layers on top of each other, but this process is slow and chal- at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, turned being released by these lakes is crucial to 84% lower than some previous estimates lenging. And, while methods exist that can directly 3-D print to the synthetic-aperture radar measurements based on measurements at individual lakes, nanoscale objects, they are restricted to specialized materials taken by Japan’s Advanced Land Observing predicting how much permafrost emissions Engram says, but lines up well with estimates like polymers and plastics, which lack the functional properties Satellite. This type of radar measures changes could exacerbate future climate change. based on atmospheric measurements. necessary for many applications. in ground height. (Source: scientificamerican.com) (Source: Science Daily)

How complexity science can quickly detect For these critically endangered marine turtles, Researchers identify irisin’s climate record anomalies climate change could be a knockout blow receptor in bone and fat

Exercise helps beef up bones, but exactly how hasn’t been clear. A study published today (December 13) in Cell points to irisin, dubbed the “exercise hormone,” as a messenger between muscle and bone tissue that triggers the process of replacing old or damaged bone cells with new ones. “This is a pretty big discovery because in the past years, nobody has identified the receptor for this particular hormone,” says Jake Chen, a bone biologist at Tufts University who studies irisin but was not involved with this work. Irisin is a hormone secreted from muscles during exercise. In animal studies, researchers have found it plays a part in strength- ening bones and burning calories. Previous studies on irisin were mired in controversy, and peo- ple even doubted its existence because of inconsistencies in the assays used to detect it. But these concerns have largely died down since 2015, when Bruce Spiegelman’s group at Dana-Farber Can- cer Institute and Harvard University and collaborators, which first The history of our climate is written in art processing facility helped scientists Hawksbill turtles aren’t the only marine and subtle effects of a changing climate on identified irisin in 2012, used mass spectroscopy to directly detect ice. Reading it is a matter of deciphering pull water isotope records from the ice. turtles threatened by the destabilizing the sensitive incubation process. the hormone in human plasma. the complex signals pulled from tens of The result is a highly resolved, complex effects of climate change, but a new study “Research is lacking on how climate This new research sought to understand exactly how irisin works thousands of years of accumulated iso- dataset. Compared to previous ice core from researchers at Florida State University change may influence hawksbills, and in bones, with the ultimate goal of exploiting the knowledge to treat topes frozen miles below the surface of data, which allowed for analysis every 5 shows that this critically endangered species this population in particular,” said former diseases such as osteoporosis. Antarctica. centimeters, the WAIS Divide core permits could be at particular risk. FSU graduate student Natalie Montero, Earlier studies have shown that low doses of irisin build stronger When making sense of the massive analysis at millimeter resolution. In a study published in the journal PLOS who led the study. “We chose to study bones in mice. In this latest study, Spiegelman’s team injected mice amount of information packed into an “One of the exciting thing about ice ONE, researchers from FSU’s Department how climate change may impact hatchling with low doses of irisin and observed a boost in the production of ice core, scientists face a forensic chal- core research in the last decade is we’ve of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science production because significant changes to sclerostin in mouse osteocytes, one of the major types of bone cells. lenge: how best to separate the useful developed these lab systems to analyze the suggest that projected increases in air how many baby marine turtles are born can Sclerostin is a protein that helps break down bone, presumably so information from the corrupt. ice in high resolution,” says Tyler Jones, temperatures, rainfall inundation dramatically alter population stability.” that the tissue can be rebuilt. A new paper published in the journal a paleoclimatologist at the University of and blistering solar radiation could As reptiles, marine turtles’ body Based on his team’s results, Spiegelman says, he likens irisin to Entropy shows how tools from information Colorado Boulder. “Quite a while back significantly reduce hawksbill hatching temperature regulation relies on external a message from the muscle that gives instructions to bone to begin theory, a branch of complexity science, we were limited in our ability to analyze success at a selection of major nesting sources of heat. That makes hawksbills and this process of reconstruction. (Source: the-scientist.com) can address this challenge by quickly climate because we couldn’t get enough beaches. their cousins especially dependent upon homing in on portions of the data that data points, or if we could it would take Earth’s history abounds with examples and responsive to air temperature. require further investigation. too long. These new techniques have giv- of climate shifts, but researchers say Extreme temperature Supermassive black hole “With this kind of data, we have limited en us millions of data points, which is today’s transforming climate, paired with fluctuations opportunities to get it right,” says Joshua rather difficult to manage and interpret unabated human development, imperils Nowhere is that responsiveness more violently swallows star, Garland, a mathematician at the Santa Fe without some new advances in our (data) hawksbills and other marine turtles in new apparent than in marine turtle nests, Institute who works with 68,000 years of processing.” and alarming ways. where extreme temperature fluctuations researchers find data from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet The information theory Adapted to climatic changes can influence egg incubation, dictate sex Divide ice Core. “Extracting the ice and The West Antarctic Divide ice core “Marine turtles have been around for ratios and determine hatching success. The immense power of a supermassive black hole’s gravity pulled processing the data takes hundreds of contains over a million data points, and millions of years, and during this time For some marine turtle species, rising in a star, ripped it to shreds and then ate it, researchers said. people, and tons of processing and analysis. 68,000 years of Earth’s climate histo- they have adapted to substantial climatic temperatures may not necessarily mean less Scientists Miguel Perez-Torres, of the Astrophysical Institute Because of resource constraints, replicate ry. Joshua Garland, a mathematician at changes,” said Assistant Professor of successful incubation. For example, a study of Andalusia in Granada, Spain, and Seppo Mattila, of the Uni- cores are rare. “ the Santa Fe Institute, explains how his Oceanography Mariana Fuentes, co-author from Montero and Fuentes published earlier versity of Turku in Finland, staffed with a team of 36 scientists, The initial drilling team uses information theory to quickly of the study. “In the past they have adapted this year revealed that, for loggerhead turtles were surprised when they caught the supermassive black hole By the time Garland and his team got flag which portions of massive data set by shifting their nesting grounds and in the temperate nesting beaches of North in the act while observing the galaxy through radio and infrared a hold of the data, more than 10 years stand out nesting season to align with more favorable Florida, changing conditions could yield telescopes. had passed from the initial drilling of the In previous cores, Garland notes that conditions. However, increasing impacts to potential short-term increases in hatching ice core to the publishing of the dataset decades, even centuries, were aggregated nesting habitats from coastal construction, success by 1 to 7.6 percent. it contained. The two-mile ice core was into a single point. The WAIS data, by storms and sea level rise are jeopardizing Montero and Fuentes found that rising extracted over five seasons from 2007- contrast, sometimes gives more than forty their ability to adapt.” air temperatures, accompanied by increased 2012, by teams from the multiple uni- data points per year. But as scientists move To evaluate climate change’s effects on rainfall and solar radiation, are projected versities funded by the National Science to analyze the data at shorter time scales, hawksbill hatching success, FSU researchers to reduce overall hatching success at the Foundation. From the field camp in West even small anomalies can be problematic. analyzed more than 5,000 nests from the five Brazilian nesting sites by up to 11 percent Antarctica, the core was packaged, then “As fine-grained data becomes avail- Brazilian beaches where a majority of the by the year 2100. Higher temperatures may shipped to the National Science Foun- able, fine-grained analyses can be per- region’s hawksbill nesting occurs. The team warm nests beyond the threshold for healthy The black hole, positioned between colliding galaxies called dation Ice Core Facility in Colorado, and formed,” Garland notes. “But it also makes focused specifically on five climatic variables incubation, they said, and increased rainfall Arp 299 more than 150 million light-years away, is 20 million finally to the University of Colorado. At the analysis susceptible to fine-grained -- air temperature, rainfall, humidity, solar could saturate the soil and suffocate the times larger than the sun. The star the black hole ate was more the Stable Isotope Lab at the Institute of anomalies.” radiation and wind speed -- in order to render embryos. than twice the sun’s mass, according to the scientists. Arctic and Alpine Research, a state-of-the- (Source: phys.org) a more comprehensive model of the various (Source: eurekalert.org) This is the first time scientists have witnessed this type of astronomical event. “Never before have we been able to directly observe the for- mation and evolution of a jet from one of events,” Perez-Torres Digikala Launches Online Shopping Celebration in Longest Night of Year ‘YALDA’ said in a statement, referring to the jets of material that spew out Like previous years, “Digikala” will launch the largest online Iranian products. All products in this prestigious festival been cited as some of these activities, the report added. of the star at the speed of light when it’s ripped apart. shopping event on the eve of the Longest Night of the Year have been made domestically and will be offered to the For the first time, “Digikala” will publish a report Researchers believed that black holes eat stars fairly regu- ‘YALDA Night’, running on Dec. 18-21, 2018, the Public noble people of the country through online services. entitled “Digikala Record” which is based on the realities larly, but previously had not witnessed the act. When stars are Relations Dept. of the company reported. As mentioned in above, Digikala is supporter of 1,500 from feedback of customers of this prestigious company. consumed, the material from the star creates a “rotating disk In 2018 Amazing YALDA, Iranian high-quality products high-quality Iranian products. It should be noted that 4th Edition of Competition of around the black hole, emitting intense X-rays and visible light.” and brands play a leading role in this respect. This celebration In line with gaining customers’ satisfaction, “Digikala” Highest Quality Products of Digikala started last week One of the tools scientist used to see the jet material that is held in cooperation and collaboration with more than is improving and developing supervisory and control which is a bedrock for the reflection of Iranians’ outlook blasted across galaxies was the National Science Foundation’s 3,000 top suppliers of Iranian high-quality products, selected tools on the performance of suppliers in its Marketplace from the most popular brands and products as supplied Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA), a radar that amplifies and from 15,000 Marketplace Platform suppliers of ‘Digikala”. Platform. in the past year. records the on-goings in space using a 25 meter antenna. In this memorable night, a number of 20,000 types Improving transparency in performance of suppliers in This competition was held in nine groups including the Supermassive black holes, with a gravitation pull so strong that of high-quality goods and products will be offered to the each economic condition and in various sectors [such as the topmost Iranian brands of manufacturer of home appliances, light can’t escape, are present in most galaxies, the researchers applicants. way of pricing, preventing fake discounts, improving goods the topmost Iranian brand of producer of supermarket and said. But the recent discovery will help scientists comprehend “Digikala”, Supporter of Iranian Businesses and Brands delivery processes and return of orders, differentiating food products, garments, accessories, mobile handsets, what exactly happens in black holes and the type of environment in 2018 YALDA selected suppliers with the desirable performance, ranking the most creative innovation in electronic goods, the best present when galaxies first came into being. 2018 Amazing YALDA is a fully Iranian festival with the them according to the opinion of customers and also avoiding video game of the year, the most successful company in “By looking for these events with infrared and radio telescopes, aim of promoting and boosting the culture of purchasing activity of suppliers with lackluster performance, etc.] have the field of digital technology, etc. we may be able to discover many more (jet streams), and learn from them,” Mattila said. (Source: USA Today) I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y 12 SOCIETY DECEMBER 17, 2018

University entrance exam to be Earthquake risk high in 78% of eliminated within 3 years: minister

SOCIETY TEHRAN — The Iranian science minister, deskMansour Gholami, has announced that cities in Iran, says IRCS Konkur, annual multiple choice exam for gaining admission to universities in Iran, will be eliminated by the next three SOCIETY TEHRAN —There he lamented. years, IRIB reported on Sunday. deskare 120 active faults Salimi went on to say that it is project- Elimination of Konkur being rigorous and impossible is a in Iran and about 78 percent of cities ed that in Tehran with a population of misconception, the ministry has seriously considered the issue nationwide are located in earthquake 10 million, more than million buildings and it must be implemented by the next few years, Gholami prone regions, director of the Iranian will be razed to the ground and about 1.5 stated. Red Crescent Society (IRCS) Rescue and million will die. Last year, 85 percent of the students gained admission to Relief Organization, Morteza Salimi, said He further underscored the importance top state-run universities due to their professional academic on Saturday. of forming highly trained urban search background rather that their Konkur exam results, so this can Salimi made the remarks over an In- and rescue teams in the country which be considered as the first step to remove the demanding exam, ternational Search and Rescue Advisory live up to international standards. he further explained. Group (INSARAG) training program for Salimi also expressed hope that with search and rescue teams here in Tehran, the Iranian Red Crescent Society’s Res- Tasnim news agency reported. cue and Relief Organization joining the INSARAG is a global network of more INSARAG in near future would make the than 80 countries and organizations under matter more feasible. the United Nations umbrella. INSARAG 3,544 schools in Tehran sus- deals with urban search and rescue (USAR) ceptible to quake related issues, aiming to establish mini- Ahmad Sadeqi, director of the Tehran mum international standards for USAR Disaster Mitigation and Management teams and methodology for international Organization also said on Saturday coordination in earthquake response based that Tehran is very much vulnerable to on the INSARAG Guidelines. earthquake and that some 3,544 schools The event was co-organized by the Unit- in Tehran are susceptible to a temblor. ed Nations Office for the Coordination Iran, is also at risk for a big quake and risk is 70 percent, he explained. He further underlined the importance of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Iran has been awaiting a devastating earth- However, the last powerful quake hit of establishing local and national search office, the National Disaster Management quake measuring over 7 on the Richter Tehran 182 years ago and that means and rescue teams to offer relief services Organization, and the Embassy of Austria scale for years. the imminent earthquake of Tehran has soon after the quake hits, YJC reported. and with regard to the overriding need for Based on the studies and pervious 24-year-old delay, he added. Buildings which are not resistant to He went on to say that the universities are required to training urban search and rescue teams. quakes reported in Tehran the city is most Had an earthquake hit Tehran the city, earthquake and run-down areas are the come up with their own specific plans and guidelines for Moreover, Salimi warned, the me- likely to be stricken with a massive quake which is also the cultural and economic most important issues which must be dealt admission policies. tropolis of Tehran, as the capital city of every 158 years, he said, adding that the hub of the country, will face a catastrophe, with in no time soon, he noted. We intend to connect small universities to state-run or private top universities in order to receive more support and expert supervision, he stated, adding that it is also planned to close Rainfalls bring back life to Bamdej Charity foundation provides wheelchairs or merge small universities. Referring to a huge number of graduated unemployed youth, wetland, southwestern Iran for 3,000 people with disabilities he regretted that universities have never been training human ENVIRONMENT TEHRAN — Bamdej SOCIETY TEHRAN — Eh- resources but graduating numerous job seekers. deskWetland, located 40 desksan-Barekat Charity Iranian universities ranked first in the region and sixteenth kilometers northwest of Ahvaz, Khuz- Foundation has provided some 3,000 in the world in the field of research and development, he high- estan province, has been filled with water wheelchairs to people with disabilities lighted, adding that to increase the applicability of university after autumn rainfalls, while suffering in underprivileged areas, director of researches, we need to conduct researches ordered by govern- a significant drop in water level during Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order mental or non-governmental organizations [to raise finances]. summer, deputy director of Khuzestan said on Sunday. The Ministry focuses on theses tailored to meet the needs of province’s environment department Following a campaign launched by organizations, and so far, have focused on applied university general said. the charity called Charkh-e Zendegi researches of pilot areas of 10 provinces of the country, while The fresh water wetland covering an (literally meaning the wheel of life) any misconduct in the authorship of the theses will be pursued area of 4,000 hectares, is home to over wetland, however, increased precipitation public have started making generous have joined hands in helping with pro- in the court of law, Gholami added. 40 different animal species including levels in Autumn led to the flow of water donations, so that 3,000 wheelchairs viding people with physical disabilities Referring to allocating 15 percent of university budgets fox, jackal, wolf, hyena, marten, bat, in the wetland again, he explained. are bought and dispatched to deprived with wheelchairs by taking part in the to research, he noted that universities and institutions of hedgehog, frog, toad, turtle, gecko and Considering recent rainfall and provinces, Mehr news agency quoted campaign, he added. higher education are not satisfied with the amount of budget snake. It also is a preferred habitat to good water condition in the wetland, Mohammad Mokhber as saying. Ehsan-Barekat Foundation offers they are receiving. many birds including Basra reed warbler, the diversity and density of migratory There are 450,000 physically chal- social services to the underprivileged to However, the provision of laboratory equipment for the African sacred Ibis, white-tailed plover, birds is expected to be higher than last lenged people living in Iran and some eradicate social harms, and is affiliated expansion of research and development is among the Min- duck and Iraq babbler. year, he added. are living in financial distress and can to the Execution of Imam Khomeini’s istry’s priorities, he added. “With water level rising, the number Referring to census for migratory barely afford to have wheelchairs Order and Barekat Foundation which Elsewhere in his remarks, Gholami noted that next year, of migratory birds choosing the wetland birds as one of the main environmental and may even are trapped at homes has been established on December 11, university faculties and students will be provided with study to pass the winter on, is increased,” ISNA issues, he highlighted that the accurate not having wheelchairs, Mokhber 2007, in order to act as an organization to and research opportunities in the country’s industries for quoted Adel Mola as saying on Saturday. data of migratory birds’ population in this regretted. uproot deprivation, to realize economic a six-month period. This summer (June 21-September 22), wetland will be reported on mid-January However, over the past few days the and social empowerment and to carry water levels have started to fall in Bamdej concurrent with annual bird census. public and other charity organizations out public affairs. LEARN ENGLISH COP24: Environmental groups criticize ‘morally unacceptable’ Job Interview III climate deal reached after major Poland summit A: Very good. Now, I have a couple of final questions. B: I hope they’re not too hard! Diplomats from around the world have agreed a major cli- dioxide need to drop sharply by 2030 to prevent potentially steps forward together,” said Michal Kurtyka, a senior Polish A: Well, why should we hire you? mate deal after two weeks of United Nations talks in Poland. catastrophic global warming. official chairing the talks. B: I think that I would be a perfect fit in this company. But climate campaigners warned the deal – effectively a And the meeting postponed decisions on pledging more But Gareth Redmond-King, head of climate change at set of rules for how to govern the 2015 Paris climate accord ambitious action to fight global warming and on regulating WWF-UK, said world leaders were in a “state of denial” I have a unique combination of strong technical acumen, – agreed between almost 200 countries lacked ambition or the market for international carbon emissions trading. about the problem. with outstanding soft skills; you know, I excel at building a clear promise of enhanced climate action. Jennifer Morgan, executive director at Greenpeace “They’ve made important progress, but what we’ve seen strong, long-term customer relationships. For example, Activists cautiously welcomed elements of the plan, say- International, said: “A year of climate disasters and a in Poland reveals a fundamental lack of understanding by when I headed the customer support department in my ing “important progress” had been made on ensuring that dire warning from the world’s top scientists should have some countries of our current crisis,” he added. previous company, our team resolved about seventy percent efforts to tackle climate change by individual nations can led to so much more. “Luckily, the Paris Agreement is proving to be resilient to of our customers’ problems. I decided that we needed better be measured and compared. “Instead, governments let people down again as they the storms of global geopolitics. Now we need all countries information and technical preparation on our products, so But environmental groups were also highly critical of ignored the science and the plight of the vulnerable. to commit to raising climate ambition before 2020, because after I implemented a series of training sessions in the agreement, warning it lacked ambition and clarity on “Recognizing the urgency of raised ambition and adopting everyone’s future is at stake.” coordination with our technical department, we were able key issues, including financing for climate projects for de- a set of rules for climate action is not nearly enough when A recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate to solve ninety percent of our customers’ issues. Given the veloping countries. whole nations face extinction.” Change, or IPCC, concluded that while it’s possible to cap opportunity, I could bring this kind of success to this company. The COP24 deal, which is aimed at providing firm guidelines Ms Morgan added: “Without immediate action, even the global warming at 1.5C by the end of the century compared to A: Impressive! So, what would you consider to be your for countries on how to transparently report their greenhouse strongest rules will not get us anywhere. People expected pre-industrial times, this would require a dramatic overhaul greatest weakness? gas emissions and their efforts to reduce them, was confirmed action and that is what governments did not deliver. This of the global economy, including a shift away from fossil fuels. B: To be honest, I struggle with organization and time on Saturday evening after talks overran from Friday. is morally unacceptable.” Alarmed by efforts to include this in the final text of the management. Punctuality has never been a strength of The agreement establishes rules to govern the 2015 Par- The talks in Poland took place against a backdrop of meeting, the U.S., Russia, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait blocked mine. I find it hard to organize my time efficiently. I have is climate accord, which includes a goal of capping global growing concern among scientists that global warming is an endorsement of the IPCC report midway through this temperature increases at no more than 1.5C. proceeding faster than governments are responding to it. month’s talks in the Polish city of Katowice. actually addressed this weakness recently, by attending a However scientists say emissions of gases such as carbon “Through this package, you have made a thousand little (Source: The Independent) workshop on efficient time management. It helped me a lot, by providing me with great insights on how to get organized and use my time efficiently, so I think I’m getting better now. A: Great... Well, let me tell you that I am very pleased with this ENGLISH IN USE interview. We are short-listing our candidates this week, and next week we will inform our short listed candidates LEARN NEWS TRANSLATION of the day and time for a second interview with our CEO. B: Great, thanks a lot! I hope to hear from you! Good bye. Key vocabulary a perfect fit: the right person for the job Rare Corsac fox coming to the روباه ترکمنی به داالن مرگ میرود acumen: the ability to think clearly and make good decisions excel: be superior to, among the best verge of extinction دشــت »اینچــه« تنهــا زیســتگاه روبــاه ترکمنــی در ایــران دیگــر امــن نیســت و در head: to be the leader of something The Corsac fox, a small intelligent hunter, having a limited range in Turkmen ســایه تخریــب زیســتگاه هــا ُکرســ اک در معــرض انقــراض اســت. implement: to make something active or effective training session: a meeting where people acquire skills Sahara, northeastern Iran, is endangered due to habitat fragmentation and محمــود شــکیبا، رئیــس اداره نظــارت بــر حیــات وحــش اداره کل حفاظــت محیــط .and knowledge about a subject lack of safety, Mehr reported on Tuesday زیســت گلســتان بــه خبرنــگار مهــر اظهــار کــرد: شــرایط روبــاه ترکمنــی در کشــور struggle: have a difficult time An official with the Golestan DOE, Mahmood Shakiba, said that living آنقــدر بــد شــده کــه بــه عنــوان گونـ ـهای نــادر در ایــران مطــرح اســت و دیــدن چنــد punctuality: arriving or doing something at the expected conditions for this rare species in the country is so improper that spotting a or planned time few nests of the specie is a pleasure. النــه از ایــن جانــور باعــث خوشــحالی اســت. (.address: to deal with (a matter, issue, problem, etc short list: to select a few candidates in order to make a final selection or decision Supplementary vocabulary PREFIX/SUFFIX PHRASAL VERB IDIOM prospect: someone or something that is likely to succeed or to be chosen “-ise, -ize” Talk down to somebody Not have a clue CV: curriculum vitae; a short document that describes your education, work experience, etc. Meaning: resemble or become Meaning: to talk to someone as if they are stupid, Explanation: don’t know anything about something shortcoming: a weakness that someone has For example: How should I organize my research? although they are not For example: My wife’s grandmother’s maiden name? asset: a valuable or beneficial thing or ability that a person has For example: The students felt that they were talked I don’t have a clue! (Source: irlanguage.com) down to as though they were children. ساعت: 19:40 امضاء صفحه آرا: ساعت: امضاء مسئول صفحه: ساعت: امضاء ادیتور: ساعت: امضاء سردبیر:

I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y DECEMBER 17, 2018 WORLD IN FOCUS 13

Hudaydah cease-fire Turkey would consider working with Syria’s Assad if starts Tuesday he won a democratic election UN warns Yemen could face ‘much worse’ in 2019 Turkey and other world powers would consider working with 1 UN chief Antonio Guterres warned was no sign that the Saudis were “going to Syrian President Bashar Assad if he won a democratic election, that “much worse” lay in store for the impov- stop their aggression against the innocent Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told a conference erished country in 2019 unless its warring people of Yemen despite the ceasefire deal.” in Qatar Sunday. parties strike a peace deal and head off a Abdulsalam called on the Yemenis to re- Asked whether Turkey would work with Assad, Cavusoglu said humanitarian crisis. main vigilant, especially in Hudaydah and Syria must hold an election. If Assad won, he told a conference in A high number of Yemenis have been Tai’zz, and continue supporting the Yemeni Doha and “if it is democratic election, and if it is a credible one dying in “very dramatic circumstances” as army and popular committees. then everybody should consider [working with him].” a result of food shortages, Guterres told a ’Ceasefire date set for Tuesday’ Assad won re-election in June 2014, securing 88.7 percent news conference in Doha. On Sunday, a spokesperson for the Houthi support. The United Nations Thursday brokered leadership said the UN had set the Hudaydah Turkey supported the opposition to Assad in the Syrian war a cease-fire accord between the fugitive gov- ceasefire date for December 18. that broke out in 2011 and continues to support rebel fighters ernment and Houthi to end hostilities in the “The Houthis received a message from who control part of northwest Syria. A year ago Turkish President flashpoint port city of Hudaydah. the UN, setting the date to begin the ceasefire Recep Tayyip Erdogan said it was impossible for Syrian peace The deal followed a week of negotiations between the warring parties in the city of efforts to continue with Assad. in Sweden as the United Nations bids to end Hudaydah on December 18,” he told Do- (Source: Reuters) the war in impoverished Yemen. ha-based Al Jazeera broadcaster. “The fact that famine was not yet declared The chairman of the Supreme Revolu- does not in any way diminish our huge con- tionary Committee of Yemen, Mohammed Thousands march in Brussels cern with a very high level of hunger that Ali al-Houthi, said he hoped that the op- exists in Yemen” and “people dying in very posite side would observe the Hudaydah against UN migration pact dramatic circumstances”, said Guterres. truce. “Without peace, we will be facing in 2019 Sare’e said on Saturday that dozens of Saudi regime agreed Thursday to cease fighting “We hope that the U.S.-Saudi-UAE co- Thousands of people marched in Brussels on Sunday against a a much worse situation than today.” air raids had targeted residential neighbor- and withdraw their forces from Hudaydah alition and its allies in Yemen will commit UN pact aimed at fostering cooperation on migration, eclipsing A military source loyal to Yemen’s former hoods across the impoverished country and following week-long peace talks in Sweden. to the date of the ceasefire in the field, as a smaller demonstration in support of the deal, the signing of Saudi-backed regime told AFP that least 29 dropped cluster bombs on citizens’ farms UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres a beginning of ending the aggression,” he which brought down Belgium’s government last week. fighters, including 22 Houthis, had been in Hudaydah. said the ceasefire agreement would see “a tweeted on Saturday. Police said some 5,500 people marched in the bigger protest, killed on Saturday night. In a statement carried by Yemen’s of- mutual redeployment of forces from the Hudaydah, a lifeline for millions of Yem- organized by Flemish right wing parties in the part of the capital He also claimed that seven Houthi fighters ficial Saba news agency, Sare’e said Sau- port and the city,” with the UN playing “a eni people, is the entry point for most of where main European Union institutions are located. had been taken captive during an attack by di mercenaries, supported by heavy shelling leading role” there to facilitate humani- the country’s commercial goods and vital A separate counter-demonstration of around 1,000 people, pro-Saudi militants in Hudaydah Province’s of artillery and rockets, had tried to infiltrate tarian access. aid. The port has seen some of the heaviest organized by left-wing groups and non-governmental organiza- Durayhimi district. into Durayhimi from several directions. The truce was the first significant break- fighting in the four-year Saudi war on Yemen. tions, took place in the city center. A Hudaydah resident said the fresh “They tried to sneak into the positions of through in Yemen’s peace process, which is Saudi Arabia and the UAE launched their Belgian right-wing N-VA, which is the biggest party in par- fighting was “fierce” and that the sounds our forces but the army and Popular Com- aimed at ending the Saudi war that has killed offensive against Hudaydah in June but they liament, pulled its ministers from the ruling coalition last week of fighter jets, operated by Saudi Arabia mittees responded, killing and wounding tens of thousands of people and pushed the have faced a strong resistance put up by after Prime Minister Charles Michel refused its demand that he and its allies, could be heard throughout a number of them,” he added. country to the brink of famine. Yemeni armed forces – led by the Houthis not sign the UN migration compact in Marrakesh. the night until Sunday morning. The clashes came after Yemen’s Houthi However, Houthi chief negotiator Mo- -- as well as the city’s residents. Michel had secured a large parliamentary majority in favor of Yemen’s army spokesman Brigadier Yahya movement and the former Saudi-allied hammed Abdulsalam said on Friday there (Source: agencies) maintaining Belgium’s support of the UN text, with support from the opposition socialists and greens. Critics said the N-VA’s move was the opening shot in a campaign before federal elections in May. The UN pact was agreed in July by all 193 UN members except Hamas marks anniversary with parade of new missiles the United States, but only 164 formally signed it at the meeting 1 The Palestinians marched through the soldier in May. Islam Abu Hamid was arrested during a last Monday. streets of Ramallah on Saturday to attend the funer- raid of the camp in June. It has run into criticism from European politicians who say al of Mahmoud Nakhla, 18, a day after Israeli regime In reaction, the Palestinian government released a it could increase immigration to Europe as the bloc has turned forces killed him during clashes in Jalazone refugee statement, holding the Tel Aviv regime responsible for the increasingly restrictive on accepting refugees and migrants alike camp in Ramallah. deterioration of the situation on the ground as a result of since a 2015 spike in arrivals. Several people were also injured in the clashes that erupted its incursions. Ten countries, mostly in formerly Communist Eastern Europe, between Palestinians and Israeli forces during protests in Palestinian government spokesman Youssef al-Mahmoud have pulled out of the non-binding pact. Ramallah against the Israeli settlement construction and described the incursion as a “scene of collective punish- With a record 21.3 million refugees globally, the United Na- the seizure of their land. ment,” demanding “immediate international intervention tions began work on the pact after more than one million people Israeli forces also clashed with Palestinian protesters in and provision of international protection for our unarmed arrived in Europe in 2015, many fleeing civil war in Syria and other areas across the occupied territories. They shot and Palestinian people.” poverty in Africa. injured several protesters in the city of al-Bireh. The demolition came amid an intense search opera- (Source: Daily Star) In the besieged Gaza Strip, 85 Palestinians, including tion across the occupied territories after two soldiers were seven medics and three journalists, were also wounded killed near Ramallah. by Israeli gunfire as thousands demonstrated near the On Friday, the military said it had rounded up as many three Palestinians in separate operations over the span fence, separating Gaza from the occupied territories, as 40 Palestinians, trying to hunt down the suspect. of six hours. Brexit pressure rises, but on Friday. The two Israeli troops were killed after an attacker emerged In total, seven people were killed in the most violent UK government says no to Separately on Saturday, Israeli forces raided the al-Am’ari from a vehicle and shot at soldiers near the settlements of day to hit the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem al-Quds refugee camp in the south of al-Bireh and demolished the Beit El and Ofra on Thursday. in months. second vote home of a Palestinian prisoner accused of killing an Israeli The alleged shooting came after Israeli forces killed (Source: agencies) Britain’s government is not preparing for a second referendum on Brexit, ministers said on Sunday, sticking to the script that Prime Minister Theresa May’s deal could still pass through par- France’s National Rally links to violent far-right group revealed liament with a few changes. Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit has exposed of a two-part documentary called Genera- to hide them from voters, she said. because they promote too much violence,” close links between high ranking figures in tion Hate. “We need the greatest number of peo- she said. France’s National Rally (NR/Rassemble- The first film, broadcast last week, shows ple to come to our side to obtain the Mathias Destal, a French journalist who ment national, RN/National Front/Front a GI activist carrying out a racist attack on highest vote, in order to win,” she said. investigates the country’s far right, said he national/FN) and a violent far-right move- an Arab teenage girl. It also shows other “Then we can do what we want when we was shocked by Lechevalier’s claim that ment that calls for the expulsion of Muslims activists admitting to a series of assaults are in power.” many National Rally leaders “support the from Europe. on Arab and Muslims and making Nazi Asked why Le Pen didn’t want sen- program and ideas of Generation Identity”. A new documentary, broadcast on Sun- salutes. ior party members to mix with GI, the “But the second thing which is telling for day, shows senior National Rally politicians GI is one of Europe’s fastest-growing legislator said: “She doesn’t want us me, is to see a National Front MEP, in an mingling with Generation Identity (GI) ac- and most prominent far-right movements. to show ourselves. She doesn’t want identity bar, surrounded by violent, openly tivists at a private bar that functions as the The second film shows high-profile people to see us … She doesn’t want racist activists,” he said. group’s headquarters in the city of Lille, and members of the National Rally, attending the media to take control of our im- Other prominent members seen at the expressing support for GI’s anti-immigra- the GI’s bar, called the Citadelle, during the age. That’s the only reason Marine isn’t Citadelle included Sylvie Goddyn, who was tion policies. weekend of the party’s annual congress in personally against this. But in public, a National Rally MEP at the time. She has In a secretly filmed conversation Lille earlier this year. we need to be careful.” since left the party. May delayed a vote last week on her agreement to leave the in March, Nicolas Crochet, Marine Le The politicians included Christelle Lechevalier said many National Rally When our undercover reporter asked European Union because she was set to lose in parliament and Pen’s former accountant and key ally, Lechevalier, a National Rally Member of politicians wanted to come to the Citadelle, Goddyn if a prominent party figure should has tried to secure “assurances” from the bloc to try to better sell told our undercover reporter that the the European Parliament (MEP), who was “but wouldn’t dare because they are scared be seen at a GI bar, she replied: “We have it to skeptical lawmakers. Brussels said last week it was ready National Rally would introduce “remi- voted on to the party’s national committee their photos will be taken and people will the same objectives.” to help but warned her that she could not renegotiate the deal. gration” - a program to send immigrants at the congress. see them”. Crochet echoed the same sentiment: “We With less than four months before Britain is due to leave in back to their countries of origin - if it “We fight for our identity, our culture,” When Lechevalier was interviewed by Al don’t give a s**t. We are Identitarians. We March, Brexit, the biggest shift in trade and foreign policy for came to power. she told our undercover reporter. “When Jazeera at the party congress, she denied don’t care. That’s just how we are.” more than 40 years, is proving anything but smooth, complicat- “Yes, it will happen. If we win, it will you see Islam which is winning out against any links between the National Rally and Following the broadcast of Generation ed by the deep divisions in parliament and across the country. happen,” he said. Christianity. No!” groups that promote violence. Hate, the mayor of Lille called for the Citadelle With May facing deadlock in parliament over the deal and the He added: “You see all those pieces of Lechevalier said that most National “The small groups who claim to be on to be closed down and the province’s public EU offering little so far, more politicians are talking about the s**t. You see the migrants. You see them all.” Front politicians, and most of its leaders, the far right will remain small. These days prosecutor launched an inquiry. possibility of Britain leaving without an agreement or a second The revelations came in the second film held similar views as the GI. But they had they are not allowed to join a political party (Source: Al Jazeera) referendum that could stop Brexit from happening. Asked if the government was preparing for a vote, education minister Damian Hinds told Sky News: “No, a second referendum Qatar signs new UN partnerships at Doha Forum would be divisive. We’ve had the people’s vote, we’ve had the Qatar has signed a host of United Nations partnerships Program and a multi-year non-earmarked contribution of (IOM), UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) referendum and now we’ve got to get on with implementing it.” on the sidelines of the Doha Forum in order to strengthen $500m to fund UN agencies. and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Trade minister Liam Fox also said a second referendum would cooperation between the world body and the Persian Gulf Doha also signed an agreement with the UN De- Affairs (OCHA). “perpetuate” the deep divisions in Britain, adding that the prime tiny state, including the establishment of four new United velopment Program (UNDP) and an agreement with The agreements were signed by Qatar’s Foreign Minister minister was securing the necessary assurances to persuade par- Nations offices in the country. the UN Office for Counter-Terrorism. The four new Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Anto- liament to back her deal. The UN and Qatar signed a memorandum of understanding UN offices to be opened in Qatar are for the UNICEF nio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General on the sidelines He said that would take some time. on Sunday, endorsing cooperation between both parties, (United Nations International Children’s Emergen- of the Doha Forum. “It will happen over Christmas, it’s not going to happen this which includes the establishment of a Junior Professional cy Fund), International Organization for Migration (Source: Al Jazeera) week, it’s not going to be quick, it will happen some time in the New Year,” he told the BBC’s Andrew Marr show. But the longer it takes, voices urging a change of tack are getting louder and the pressure on the main opposition Labor Bahrain FM defends Australia’s decision on al-Quds Party to move against the government is rising. Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed “Australia now recognizes West Jeru- them being East Jerusalem as the capital of He has previously also said Israel has May survived a no confidence vote among her Conservative al-Khalifa has defended Australia’s decision salem - being the seat of the Knesset and Palestine, and it does not contradict the Arab the right to defend itself against regional lawmakers last week, but opposition parties are calling for Labor to recognize West al-Quds (Jerusalem) as many of the institutions of government - Peace Initiative,” he tweeted on Saturday. power house Iran, which Bahrain blames to propose a parliamentary motion of no confidence against the Israel’s capital, saying the move would not is the capital of Israel,” Morrison said in a Bahrain’s foreign minister has issued a num- for stoking unrest within its borders. government this week. affect the establishment of a future Pales- speech in Sydney. ber of statements supportive of Israel recently. The status of al-Quds (Jerusalem), Labor has repeatedly said it will call such a motion at “the best tinian state with East al-Quds (Jerusalem) The Arab League (AL) issued a state- Earlier this month, after Israel launched home to sites holy to the Muslim, Jewish time”, or when it knows it can win, and for now will try to force as its capital. ment criticizing the Australian decision a military operation to destroy cross-bor- and Christian faiths, is one of the biggest the government to bring its deal to parliament sooner. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison as “blatantly biased towards the positions der tunnels built by the Lebanese resist- obstacles to a peace agreement between Israel Andrew Gwynne, Labor’s policy chief for communities and on Saturday recognized West al-Quds (Jerusa- and policies of the Israeli occupation”, but ance movement of Hezbollah into Israel, and Palestinians, who want East al-Quds local government, said: “We will be using whatever mechanisms lem) as Israel’s capital, becoming one the few Bahrain’s FM disagreed. the foreign minister issued a statement (Jerusalem) recognized as the capital of a we have at our disposal next week to try and force the government governments around the world to follow the “Australia’s stance does not impact the calling the tunnels a “flagrant threat,” to Palestinian state. to bring forward that deal for a vote before Christmas.” United States President Donald Trump’s lead. legitimate Palestinian demands, first among Lebanon’s stability. (Source: agencies) (Source: Reuters) I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y 14 WORLD SPORTS DECEMBER 17, 2018

Tottenham’s Dier ruled Modric: When there’s a trophy at out until 2019 after having appendix removed stake, we’re motivated ‘Amazing’ is one way of describing the year coach in October and though Santiago Solari’s Luka Modric has had. But given that it has appointment as his successor was seamless Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Eric Dier will miss the their festive seen him lift the UEFA Champions League, enough, recent results have cast doubts on fixtures after undergoing surgery to remove his appendix, the finish a runner-up at the 2018 FIFA World the team’s style of play. Premier League club said on Sunday. Cup Russia™, where he won the adidas “We’re working to be better physically and Dier, who was an unused substitute in Tuesday’s Champions Golden Ball, and also walk off with the Best to be able to express our talent and abilities League clash against Barcelona, missed Spurs’ 1-0 league victory FIFA Men’s Player award, it is a word that on the pitch better,” said the 33-year-old. over Burnley on Saturday, with what was initially described as perhaps fails to do his 2018 justice. “We’re trying to stick together more on the a “virus” by manager Mauricio Pochettino. Though the last 12 months have been pitch and to be a team. I think we’ve got “The England international midfielder was diagnosed with intense, the Croatian is ready for what lies better under Solari in that respect. There appendicitis after contacting our medical staff due to acute Ab- ahead: “I feel much better going into this are still some areas where we can improve dominal pain,” Spurs said in a statement. tournament than I did at the start of the but I think we’re heading to Abu Dhabi in “He received immediate treatment to assess and then remove season. I struggled to find my rhythm again pretty good form. When there’s a trophy at the appendix. He will now undergo a period of recovery before after what was a very tough World Cup. I was stake, we’re motivated.” commencing rehabilitation and it is expected he will return to worn out physically and mentally, but in the After a spectacular year that he hopes will training with the squad in January.” last few matches I’ve been feeling better in end with more glory in the UAE, Modric is That rules out Dier from Wednesday’s League Cup clash a physical sense.” now turning his thoughts to the challenges against local rivals Arsenal, along with league games against Despite everything he has achieved, Modric that lie ahead: “My objectives are to win more Everton, Bournemouth and Wolverhampton Wanderers in the is still striving for more. The next challenge titles: the Champions League, the league and last week of December. is to win the FIFA Club World Cup for the the Copa del Rey, which we haven’t won since Dier has scored two goals in 13 league appearances this season third year in a row and take Real Madrid 2014. I’d like to win it again. I try to win every for Spurs, who are third in the standings. the adidas Golden Ball, an individual award Club World Cup, which is an important title past Barcelona as the most successful club competition I play in. I’m still very hungry (Source: Reuters) that is not the be all and end all for him: “The for all of us. After that we’ll just have to wait in the competition’s history. most important thing is the group as a whole, and see what happens at an individual level.” and I’m going to work hard to be at the level Last year’s tournament ended with the that and the team playing well. I try to help Los Blancos have had a testing start to I need to be to help the team.” midfielder collecting a winner’s medal and in any way I can. My only goal is to win the the season. Julen Lopetegui was sacked as (Source: FIFA) Qatar 2022 organizers unveil Dressel snatches gold to burnish US Alvarez overwhelms Fielding in third designs for Lusail Stadium superiority at swim worlds for supermiddlweight title

Qatar 2022 World Cup organizers have unveiled designs for the stadium where the tournament’s final will take place. The 80,000-capacity Lusail Stadium will be the largest venue used during the tournament, which is the first to take place in the Arab world. Situated 15km from Doha, the stadium will also host the opening game of the World Cup. The Qatar World Cup is the first to be staged in winter and will kick off on 21 November 2022. “It has now been eight years since we won the rights to host the 2022 Fifa World Cup and we told the world to expect amazing,” said Hassan Al Thawadi, secretary-general of Qatar’s supreme committee for delivery and legacy. “With this stunning design of our showpiece stadium, I am proud today to once again be delivering on that promise.” After the completion of the World Cup, the stadium will be transformed into a multi-purpose community hub. “The new stadium is a nod to our past and a symbol of an exciting future,” Al Thawadi added. “On the very same land as the home American swimming’s new golden boy women’s 100m butterfly. Mexican superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez It was a brave effort from the 31-year- of our nation’s founder, it sits at the heart of a brand new city. Caeleb Dressel emerged at the death to Dressel then produced a lightning third brutally overpowered England’s Rocky old from Liverpool, who deserves great “It’s a city for the future, and once the World Cup is over pip Russia’s Vladimir Morozov by just leg in the 4x100m medley relay to haul Fielding with a dominant display on his credit for accepting the task of entering it will form a crucial part of the legacy of the tournament as it 0.02secs and win the 100m freestyle at the US men to another gold -- America’s New York City debut Saturday to become the ring against the brilliant flame-haired transforms to become the heart of a brand new community.” the short course World Championships 16th of the meeting -- with Russia in silver. a three-weight world champion. Mexican, who extended his record to 51-1-2 Concerns have been raised about the treatment of migrant on Sunday. The Russians got their own back on their Alvarez, who is the reigning World Box- with 35 knockouts in his first appearance workers building new infrastructure in Qatar for the World Cup, The 22-year-old Dressel has drawn lofty old foes in the men’s 200m backstroke as ing Council and World Boxing Association since signing a record-breaking 11-fight, with human rights organizations condemning labor practices. comparisons with US swim legend Michael Evgeny Rylov grabbed the lead late on to middleweight world champion following $365 million contract with sports streaming Amnesty International said in September that dozens of Phelps but he left it to the last few strokes stun Ryan Murphy. his thrilling victory over Gennady Golovkin service DAZN. migrants working on the city that will host the final had gone to pinch a thrilling victory in 45.62secs in Rylov clocked a winning time of 1:47.02, in September, had little trouble in moving This was Alvarez’s first bout at su- unpaid for months. the Chinese city of Hangzhou. 0.32 secs ahead of Murphy, the reigning up in weight class and defeating Fielding, per-middleweight. He fought Julio Chavez (Source: BBC) South Africa’s Chad le Clos, a 200m double Olympic champion. who held a second tier version of the WBA’s junior at a 164-pound catch-weight in a butterfly Olympic champion, took bronze, Cameron van der Burgh, the 30-year- super-middleweight title. non-title match-up in 2017, and although 0.27secs behind the tattooed Dressel. old South African, signed off in style with Alvarez sent Fielding to the canvas in he is set to move back down to 160 pounds Dressel does not like the Phelps compar- victory in the men’s 50m breaststroke. the very first round with a crunching body for his next fight in 2019, his performance isons, which came about last year after he It was a second gold to go with the one shot and remained in complete control. He in front of a sold-out Madison Square Gar- Stuttgart captain’s father dies became only the second swimmer after his he won in the 100m breaststroke, after delivered a similar punch in the second den crowd was evidence of his ability to in stadium after Bundesliga decorated compatriot to win seven golds at which he had announced that he would which was also too much for the English- perform whatever the weight class. a single long course world championships. be retiring from swimming following the man to take before the fight was stopped “I felt good and strong. I want the best game Dressel did not have it all his own way Hangzhou showpiece. towards the end of the third following two fights, and to make sure my name is held in Hangzhou, however, having to settle The Americans got Sunday’s session off further knock-downs. up high,” Alvarez said. for silver in the 50m freestyle -- behind to a bang by triumphing in the women’s “I thought he would use his distance but Fielding, coming into the bout with just The father of Stuttgart captain Christian Gentner died in the Russian rival Morozov -- and in the 100m 4x50m freestyle in a championships-re- luckily he didn’t,” Alvarez said in the ring one defeat from 28, had won his previous stadium immediately after the Bundesliga side’s 2-1 win over butterfly. He got his revenge on Sunday, the cord 1:34.03. after becoming the ninth Mexican fighter six fights, including a memorable victory Hertha Berlin on Saturday. last day of competition, recovering from And they ended it in much the same to be a champion in three different weight over Germany’s Tyron Zeuge in July which Stuttgart said the club are “mourning the loss of Herbert third place at the 50m mark to bring the way, their women’s 4x100m medley relay divisions. It was, ultimately, a total mis- brought him world title glory. Gentner” and that their thoughts are “entirely with the Gentner United States their 13th gold medal and team forcing another championships-re- match. Fielding just didn’t have the power Yet the proud and rangy Liverpudlian, family at this difficult time”. confirm their dominance in the 25m pool. cord time for a 17th and final gold medal. to compete, and when he went down twice who possessed a five-inch height and reach The cause of death is not yet known. Annie Lazor made it a golden 14 by win- Russia were the nearest challengers to in the third, referee Ricky Gonzalez cor- advantage, was unable to cope with his op- Gentner, a 33-year-old midfielder with five caps for Germany, ning the women’s 200m breaststroke and the US, winning six golds overall. rectly stopped the fight with 22 seconds ponent’s supreme speed and punch power. played the whole of Stuttgart’s home victory and set up Mario it was soon 15 thanks to Kelsi Dahlia in the (Source: AFP) left of the round. (Source: Eurosport) Gomez’s winner. Gomez had pulled Stuttgart level after Max Mittelstadt’s opener for Hertha. Hertha Berlin posted on social media: “Everyone from Hertha would like to send their thoughts and condolences to Christian Real Madrid boss Santi Solari plays down supporters’ whistles and boos Gentner and his family after today’s sad news.” Real Madrid coach Santi Solari proclaimed himself very With local reporters disputing Solari’s impressions of the (Source: BBC) satisfied with his team’s performance and form despite whis- game, the mood in the press room got increasingly tense. And tles from a frustrated Bernabeu crowd and anger from local the Argentine was asked why, if their team were supposed media after Saturday’s uninspiring 1-0 La Liga win at home to be in such great form, the Bernabeu fans had whistled to Rayo Vallecano. at the end, as they did after Wednesday’s 0-3 UCL home Triple-doubles from James, Karim Benzema’s well-taken early strike was enough defeat to CSKA Moscow. for the three points versus a Rayo team struggling against “I was delighted with the support of the fans through Ball fuel Lakers relegation, with Madrid having just four shots on target all the whole game,” Solari replied. “Then there was that last game, and Blancos goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois making a chance, and that is football. We have won our Champions double save in added time to ensure the victory. League group, made the next round of the Copa del Rey, Lonzo Ball joined LeBron James in elite territory Saturday as With his side having moved to within two points of La and have cut the gap at the top of La Liga.” their twin triple-doubles lifted the Los Angeles Lakers to a 128- Liga leaders Barcelona, albeit with one more game played, Galactico Gareth Bale and back-up forward Mariano Diaz 100 NBA victory over the Hornets in Charlotte. Solari claimed at the postmatch news conference that he both missed Saturday’s game through injury, while Benze- James, a four-time NBA Most Valuable Player, scored 24 had seen a satisfactory performance from his team. ma and out-of-form winger Marco Asensio limped off with points with 11 assists and 12 rebounds and Ball, the second over- “I am very satisfied,” Solari said. “We played a very good apparent ankle and thigh muscle problems, respectively. all selection in the 2017 draft, added 16 points, 10 assists and first half, moved the ball well and created many chances. While giving no details on any injury matters, Solari 10 rebounds. It was the first time two NBA teammates posted We should have had a bigger lead at the break. had a problem in front of goal. admitted recovery time was tight with the team flying to triple-doubles in the same game since Jason Kidd and Vince “But football is like that, if you are not decisive, then “We will try and score more goals,” he said. “Today we Abu Dhabi on Sunday ahead of Wednesday’s Club World Carter did it for the Nets in 2007. you can suffer at the end. It is normal that this happens. If had many more chances than at Huesca [another 1-0 win Cup semi-final against Japan’s Kashima Antlers. James and Ball became the only Lakers teammates to do we had scored a second it would have been very different.” last week] when we made a big sacrifice to be together in “I think [Karim] just got a bang, and Marco too,” Solari it besides Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1982. Twenty-four goals in their first 16 La Liga games is Ma- defence. Today with our good play we kept the ball and said. “I don’t think it is more than that. We will see tomorrow, “We just tried to do a little bit of everything to help our team drid’s lowest total since 1993, and Benzema with just six is made lots of chances. We should have had a bigger result, although the plane is tomorrow, so we don’t have much time.” win,” James said. “Try to put the ball in the hole, rebound so we their top scorer. But Solari said he did not think the team and the next day those chances will go in.” (Source: Soccernet) could start the break and then get our guys the ball. “That’s the most important to both of us,” James added, “get- ting our guys involved. It’s a great feeling when you’re able to get the ball to a teammate and see them make a shot.” Courtois: Simeone criticises us ‘to be popular with his fans’ Both James and Ball had completed their triple-doubles with Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois Antoine Griezmann should have won the in the world. “In my case, he said I had won that trophy plenty of margin. After helping the Lakers out-score the Hornets has accused Atletico Madrid boss Diego Ballon d’Or ahead of Real midfielder Luka “Everyone’s opinions have to be respect- because I played for Real Madrid, but in the 40-17 in the third quarter James sat out all of the fourth quarter Simeone of criticising Real “to be popular Modric, with Modric accusing him of having ed, and everyone can say their personal World Cup I was at Chelsea, and in the The and Ball played just five minutes of the final period. with his fans.” “a need to undermine” Real. opinion. Best Award the votes were closed in July. Ball added five steals as the Lakers came back with a venge- Earlier this month, Simeone claimed for- Speaking after Saturday’s 1-0 home win “But I was there [at Chelsea] for three “[Atletico Madrid’s Jan] Oblak is also ance from a 126-111 loss to the Houston Rockets on Thursday. mer Chelsea keeper Courtois had won FIFA’s over Rayo Vallecano, Courtois told Real years and, when you always fight against a great goalkeeper and could have had “It was a good win,” Ball said. “We didn’t want to lose two in The Best Goalkeeper award only because he Madrid TV: “Simeone criticises Madrid so Real Madrid, who are the best team in the more points, but there are a lot of people a row. We came out strong ... got it done.” plays for Real. as to be popular with his fans. He always world, you’re going to say things to generate who vote.” (Source: France24) The Atleti coach also said star forward does it -- attacks Madrid for being the best populism. (Source: ESPN) I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y DECEMBER 17, 2018 SPORTS 15

Iran, Croatia Iran’s Mardani takes gold at World Taekwondo Grand boost cooperation Slam Champions series SPORTS TEHRAN — Reza Sale- The two sides agreed to step up ex- SPORTS TEHRAN — Sajad Mardani from Iran claimed deskhi Amiri, President of perience sharing in the sports field and deska gold medal at the World Taekwondo Grand Iran’s National Olympic Committee exchanges of athletes, coaches, teach- Slam Champions series in Wuxi, (NOC), met with his Croatian counter- ers and sports knowledge, especially in China on Sunday. part Zlatko Mateša on Saturday. football and water sports. The Iranian representative In a meeting which was held at the Croa- “Croatia’s sport has improved a lot defeated Stephan Lambdin tian Olympic Committee (COO) headquar- in the recent years. For example, the from the U.S., South Korean ters, both sides agreed to further strengthen country’s football advanced to the final Bil-young Byeon and Qiang bilateral relations in sports fields. match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup and Xu from China en route to the Salehi Amiri was accompanied by they can be a role model for others,” +80kg final. Iranian Ambassador to the Republic of Salehi Amiri said. Mardani beat defending Croatia Mohammad Reza Sadegh and “Iran also is strong in some sports champion Kyo-don In of South head of Iran Swimming Federation Mo- and our athletes have performed well Korea in the final. hsen Rezvani in the meeting. in Asia and in the world. But we believe Mardani also won $50,000 Zlatko Matesa, former Prime Minister that we need to strengthen our sports cash prize. of Croatia, who currently is President of in the future,” he added. Armin Hadipour from Iran the Croatian Academy of Sciences, Presi- Salehi Amiri also met with Suker in also won a bronze medal in the dent of the Croatian Football Federation, this meeting. competition. Davor Suker, and head of the Croatian The legendary Croatian footballer, Hadipour defeated number Olympic Committee’s Department for who helped the Chequered Ones finish one seed Tae-hun Kim from South Korea in the -58kh to win the International Cooperation, Ljiljana Ujlaki third in the 1998 World Cup, said he is future. Suker also said the Croatian to play friendly match with Iran Olympic bronze medal. Subic attended the session. interested in visiting Iran in the near U-23 football team can travel to Iran football team. He also won a $5,000 cash prize.

Kashima’s Oiwa aiming for Marco Reus plays like ‘Ferrari’ in middle of Alhaji Gero parts ways with Real Madrid field - Nuri Sahi Esteghlal

TASNIM — Esteghlal of Iran’s Nigerian striker Alhaji Gero parted company with the Iranian team. Gero moved to the Iran Professional League side Esteghlal from Ostersunds on a three-year contract in August after successful medicals but failed to meet the expectations. The 24-year-old attacker replaced Mame Baba Thiam who scored 12 goals in 13 matches for Esteghlal but he has netted just one goal in nine matches for the Blues. “The moment you stop challenging is the moment you stop moving forward. It has been an amazing experience playing in one of the best teams in Asia. Fun with everything since the first day I arrived here. I want also thanks my coaches, my teammates, and the club officials and also a big thanks to the lovely fans with their unbelievable heart support and once again thanks to everyone for my time I spent here in Iran and Esteghlal. Wish you all the best in the future,” Gero posted on his Instagram account.

Server Djeparov edges close to Esteghlal return Kashima Antlers coach Go Oiwa imme- after just three minutes against Guadala- Werder Bremen midfielder Nuri was very nice to be here and see the diately set his sights on European giants jara but fought back thanks to second-half Sahin compared former teammate fans today.” Real Madrid after watching his side come goals from Ryota Nagaki, Serginho and Marco Reus to a Ferrari after Borus- Meanwhile, Dortmund were crowned Persian Football — Uzbekistani midfielder Server Djeparov from behind to beat Guadalajara 3-2 in Hiroki Abe. sia Dortmund beat Werder Bremen as the unofficial “Herbstmeister” (au- is on the verge of a return to the Esteghlal club in the January their FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2018 Oiwa revealed that at half-time he told 2-1 on Saturday night to extend their tumn champions) on Saturday since transfer window. quarter-final on Saturday. his players they had a duty to improve their winning streak to six games. they cannot be knocked out of first place Djeparov, 36, currently plays at Zhetysu of Kazakhstan. The 2018 AFC Champions League performance for the Kashima supporters Reus scored the winning goal in the before the end of the year with a nine- Djeparov joined Esteghlal in 2017, however his internal winners scored three second-half goals to who had travelled to Al Ain. 27th minute after Paco Alcacer had point lead over Borussia Moncheng- contract could not be registered with Esteghlal due to a FIFA advance to Wednesday’s semi-final, where “We conceded a goal at an early stage opened the scoring 19 minutes into the ladbach and FC Bayern and only two imposed transfer ban. Later he joined Sepahan on loan until the reigning European champions await in the match and our positioning wasn’t game. Max Kruse’s wonderful strike rounds left to play in December. the end of the season. in Abu Dhabi. good,” he said. “I felt we were playing too from distance 10 minutes before half- Team captain Reus was, however, Last season, Djeparov was a key player of Esteghlal and helped It is a rematch of the 2016 FIFA Club much of their game and allowing them to time wasn’t enough for the guests to not fully pleased with his team’s per- the team win Iran’s Hazfi Cup. World Cup final, which Real won 4-2. But set the pace. come away with a point, though. formance. He told Sky after the game: Djeparov was also named “Persian Gulf Pro League top assister Oiwa, who was Kashima assistant coach “At half time I told my players we had to Sahin, 30, singled out Reus as the “We didn’t play well in the second half. of the Year at the end of the season. two years ago, is now focused on causing change and take the game to Guadalajara main source of Bremen’s problems We just should have made it 3-1. Ahead Nigerian striker Alhaji Gero left Esteghlal on Sunday. an upset this time around. and identified how we would do this. after the game. of Christmas, these games cost a lot of “In 2016 we made a great impact on a “I also told the players that a lot of fans “The problem is Marco playing energy. We could have easily avoided lot of people,” Oiwa said in his post-match had made the trip from Japan to support between the lines. When a Ferrari or that today.” Iran ready to host international press conference. “In that final against Real us and they were making plenty of noise Lamborghini plays between the lines BVB coach Lucien Favre agreed Madrid we really wanted to win and it was for us, so I said we had to show our fighting it gets very difficult,” Sahin said. with the 29-year-old, telling his news car racing in 2019 disappointing. spirit and perform for our fans.” It was an emotional day for Sahin, conference: “Marco has it right. We “But now, right here we have the op- While Kashima were celebrating victo- who returned to the Westfalenstadion were up 2-0 early and you mustn’t IRNA— Head of Motorcycle and Automobile Federation of Iran portunity to put that disappointment ry, Guadalajara were left to ponder what for the first time since joining Bremen in concede then. That made it much said meetings would be held with the specialized committees and behind us. We will try to show what we might have been. The Mexicans’ coach Jose the summer, receiving a warm greeting tougher. Bremen played very well in proposals would be offered to host an international competition didn’t manage to do against Guadalajara Carodzo bemoaned his side’s lack of focus from the Dortmund fans before and a 4-4-2 diamond. They outnumbered in Iran in 2019. and play aggressive football and take the but took responsibility for their failure to after the game. us in midfield and found the gaps too “The cost of hosting is high and we should be able to create a game to Real Madrid.” hold on to their lead. The central midfielder came through easily. We will correct that. new approach in Asia by introducing one of the branches of the Oiwa is still able to call on a number of “After the first half we talked about BVB’s youth ranks and remains the “Bremen had too much possession as federation,” Mahmoud Seydanlou added Sunday. players who played in the 2016 final and staying organized but then we lost our youngest Bundesliga debutant at 16 we couldn’t win the ball often enough. “At a meeting with president of the International Motorcycle the 46-year-old believes that the memo- way. I am the only one to blame for this. years old. He was the key-player in Fifty-two percent possession is not Federation, we discussed effective positions in Asia and the world ry of defeat could spur his side on to an The players gave everything but they lost BVB’s first championship under Jurgen enough for our standards. That makes for Iran,’ he said while referring to the efforts to win Asian and unlikely victory. a little mental strength, we lost our focus. Klopp in 2010-11 before joining Real the match very problematic for us. How- international seats. “I must analyze Real Madrid fully be- It’s very painful because everybody worked Madrid. He rejoined the Westphalians ever, it wasn’t undeserved to win and “Regarding the years of history of Motorcycle and Automobile fore I decide on the team for the match hard to get here.” after unsuccessful stints at the Bernabeu we should have scored the 3-1 sooner.” Federation of Iran, we have good practitioners and champions on Wednesday. Madrid is Madrid but we Guadalajara now play Mexico’s Es- and at Liverpool in 2013. Dortmund will travel to 16th-placed who can enter into various commissions to defend the sport of will be solid and aggressive in our fighting perance, who lost 3-0 to Al Ain in their “It was very special to be here, to Fortuna Dusseldorf on Tuesday night the region and the country.” spirit and the way we approach the game, quarter-final on Saturday, in the fifth-place be back at home,” Sahin said. “It was before hosting second-placed Gladbach then we will see.” playoff on Tuesday. a strange feeling to play here as an on Friday night to close out 2018. Kashima found themselves 1-0 down (Source: the-afc) opponent, but on the other hand it (Source: ESPN) Qatar’s Al-Arabi eye Iranian defender Morteza World Cup heartache drives Cheshmi Pouraliganji Islamic Republic of Iran defender Roozbeh Cheshmi has “I think people saw at the World Cup that we were fight- admitted the injury suffered after the first game of the 2018 ing until the 90th minute in every match and gave it all we FIFA World Cup Russia that subsequently ruled him out had to make our country successful. TASNIM — Iranian international defender Morteza Pouraliganji of the tournament motivates him to fight even harder for “This is the most important thing he has brought to the has been reportedly linked with a move to Al-Arabi of Qatar. the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 title. national team, and now the dedication and spirit of the Pouraliganji, who currently plays for KAS Eupen, had been Cheshmi was a rock in the center of defense as Iran Iranian players is very clear.” previously linked to join the Iranian football teams. scored late to open their campaign with a 1-0 victory Iran suffered the disappointment of exiting Australia over Morocco in Saint Petersburg, but he was injured 2015 after penalty shootout defeat to Iraq in the last eight before the next game and had to watch from the sidelines to mean their wait for a fourth continental title dragged as his teammates put in valiant performances against into its fourth decade. Spain and Portugal. But the Central Asians were superb in progressing to Team Melli ultimately narrowly missed out on qualification the FIFA World Cup, going nine games without conceding to the next stage to end their and Cheshmi’s dream of a first in the third round of qualifying, and then went toe-to-toe appearance in the knockout rounds, but the 25-year-old is with Korea Republic during the FIFA World Cup qualifiers with some of the best sides on the planet. now back to full fitness and raring to go ahead of UAE 2019. in August 2017, after Iran had already confirmed their They will travel to the AFC Asian Cup as many people’s “That injury was a very sad moment for me as I lost place in Russia, and the defender did enough to persuade favorites ahead of their Group D opener against Yemen in the chance to play against Spain and Portugal,” reflected coach Carlos Queiroz that he was worthy of a place in the Abu Dhabi on January 7, before games against Vietnam Cheshmi, who was part of the Esteghlal side that progressed final 23-man squad. and, once again, Iraq. to the 2018 AFC Champions League quarter-finals. Since returning from injury he has been a regular fix- “I think, as always, Japan, Korea Republic and Australia “But that regret only motivates me to fight more for the ture in the national team set-up and, with Iran feeling are the teams who have the biggest chance of winning the Asian Cup, to me part of Team Melli’s side and to get good of the benefit of the long-serving Portuguese’s near eight title, along with Iran, and it will be the same this time,” The 26-year-old defender was a member of Al Sadd of Qatar results. It was a bad time [personally], but it has given me years at the helm, the next aim is to break a run of three added Cheshmi. from 2016 to 2018 and now is a target to join Al-Arabi football a huge desire for the rest of my football career. successive quarter-final eliminations and lift a title they “When you think that a country, a generation, is sup- team, Qatari newspaper Al-Arab reports. “It is every young football player’s dream to play for their last won in 1976. porting you and they are praying for you to succeed, it’s a Pouraliganji will be a key players of Iran national football national team and I am so glad this dream has come true “Of course, Queiroz’s tactical knowledge has helped us very precious feeling which makes me proud. We will do team in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in January. for me. I will always give everything when I play for Iran.” all, but the most important thing is the fighting spirit he our best to make our people happy.” Team Melli have been drawn along with Iraq, Yemen and Cheshmi made his international debut in a goalless draw has given us,” admitted Cheshmi. (Source: the-afc) Vietnam in Group D. Prayer Times Noon:12:00 Evening: 17:13 Dawn: 5:38 (tomorrow) Sunrise: 7:08 (tomorrow) DECEMBER 17, 2018 ART&CULTURE I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y www.tehrantimes.com Managing Director: Ali Asgari Editor-in-Chief: Mohammad Ghaderi Editorial Dept.: Fax: (+98 21) 88808214 — 88808895 New Persian exegesis of [email protected] Switchboard Operator: Tel: (+98 21) 43051000 Advertisements Dept.: Telefax: (+98 21) 43051450 Public Relations Office: Tel: (+98 21) 88805807 Subscription & Distribution Dept.: Tel: (+98 21) 43051603 www.eshterak.ir Distributor: Padideh Novin Co. Quran published Tel: 88911433 Webmaster: [email protected] ARTTEHRAN – A new Persian Printed at: Rooztab - ISSN: 1017-94 deskexegesis of the Holy Quran No. 18, Bimeh Alley, Nejatollahi St., Tehran, Iran has recently been published by Bustane Ketab, P.o. Box: 14155-4843 a publishing company in Qom. Zip Code: 1599814713 Hojjatoleslam Mostafa Borujerdi, the Iranian ambassador to Tunisia, is the writer of “Tafsir Shams”, which was unveiled at the International Quran News Agency in Tehran on Sunday. Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, the director of the Department of Islamic Sciences at the Iranian Academy of Science, Ayatollah Seyyed Mostafa Mohaqeq-Damad, and a large GUIDE TO number of Quranic scholars attended the un- SPIRITUAL AWAKENING veiling ceremony of the book. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif A sleep which is based on certainty, is better also sent a message that was read by the dean of the School of International Relations, Mo- than a prayer which is performed with doubt. hammad-Hassan Sheikholeslam. Imam Ali (AS) “We witness the birth of this invaluable book after ten years of strenuous efforts,” Zarif wrote. “I feel honored when I see that our colleagues are working persistently in the promotion of Islamic thought and Quranic sciences on the “Look at This Way” sidelines of their weighty activities in diplo- macy,” he added. published in English Ayatollah Seyyed Mostafa Mohaqeq-Damad also delivered a brief speech. ARTTEHRAN – Iranian children’s book “This book eschews any ideological agenda, deskwriter and illustrator Ali Khodai’s “Look divisive issues among Muslims and contuma- at This Way” has been published in English in Tehran. cy,” he noted. Siamak Mazlumi is “Shams is a center of the light, and the writer Hojjatoleslam Mostafa Borujerdi (3rd L), Ayatollah Seyyed Mostafa Mohaqeq-Damad (4th L) and several unidentified clerics unveil the translator of the has avoided exhaustive writing while providing “Tafsir Shams”, a new Persian exegesis of the Holy Quran, at the International Quran News Agency in Tehran on December 16, 2018. book published by the a valuable and appropriate exegesis,” he added. (IQNA/Ali Chashnigir) Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (IIDCYA), Opera to stage story from Italian filmmaker Gianfranco Pannone the publisher announced on Sunday. “The Conference of the Birds” admires Iranian cinema The book tells the story of a group of jungle animals who find an obscure painting. Each of them tries to understand the picture and look at it in its own way. Moreover, the University of Science and Technology of China Press has acquired Front cover of Iranian children’s the rights to the book and it book writer and illustrator Ali will be released in China in Khodai’s “Look at This Way”. the near future.

Pakistani qawwali group performs in Tehran

ARTTEHRAN – Renowned Pakistani singer Fareed deskAyaz Abu Muhammad and sons performed a qawwali, a form of Muslim Sufi musical performance, at Tehran’s Andisheh Hall on Saturday. A poster for “Seven Cities of Love”. Italian documentarian Gianfranco Pannone poses during a photocall for “Mondo ART Za” during the 12th Cinema Verite festival at Tehran’s Charsu Cineplex on December TEHRAN – An opera Vocalist Salar Aqili and pop singers 15, 2018. (DEFC) deskis scheduled to be per- Ruzbeh Bemani and Ruzbeh Nematollahi formed at the Grand Hall of the Interior will also collaborate with the troupe as ARTTEHRAN – Italian and cinema,” he stated. Ministry in Tehran next week, which will Esfandiar Qarebaghi, Abbas Abedinzadeh, deskdocumentarian “I introduce the celebrated Iranian recount a story from “The Conference of Vadud Moazzenzadeh, Shahid Arian and Gianfranco Pannone has said that he knows filmmakers like Abbas Kiarostami and the Birds”, Farid ud-Din Attar’s allegorical Hadi Qozzat will sing the tenor solos. Iranian cinema well and loves Iranian culture Asghar Farhadi to my students. I adore masterpiece from the Persian classical The troupe is scheduled to give six and cinema. Kiarostami’s point of view. I believe his film literature. performances, the first of which will be He made remarks during a meeting at “Close-Up”, without a doubt, is one of the A number of screen stars such as on December 22. the 12th Cinema Verite festival in Tehran five world’s best films ever,” Pannone said. Merila Zarei, Mohammadreza Forutan The opera was first set to be performed on Saturday. “I also admire Farhadi, who depicts and Abolfazl Purarab head the cast of the for three nights, but co-producers Marzieh Pannone was in Tehran over the past middle-class families in his movies and opera “Seven Cities of Love”, which will Mahdizadeh and Ali Aqinasab have agreed few days to promote his latest documentary puts the spotlight on women. He is a really Renowned Pakistani singer Fareed Ayaz Abu Muhammad be directed by Mohammad Abdizadeh, to arrange three more performances due “Mondo Za” at the documentary film festival modern director,” he concluded. and sons performs a qawwali at Tehran’s Andisheh Hall on the Persian media have announced. to popular demand. and also to hold a workshop during the event. The 12th edition of Cinema Verite, December 15, 2018. The Tehran Symphony Orchestra will VIP tickets for the opera are being sold “Although I have never been to Iran, I Iran’s major documentary film festival, Poems from Allama Iqbal and Iranian poets Rumi, Ferdowsi perform along with the troupe, including by scalpers online for 10,000,000 rials know it very well through the Iranian films will come to an end at Tehran’s Andisheh and Hafez were recited during the performance, the Embassy of about 200 actors and performers. (about $240), four times the original price. I have seen. I love Iranian culture, music Hall tonight. Pakistan announced on Sunday. The performance was organized to promote cultural relations between Pakistan and Iran. 1947 best-picture Oscar sells Janet Jackson gets Rock Hall Pakistani Ambassador Riffat Masood welcomed the audience and expressed his hope that organizing such events would help for nearly $500,000 at auction of Fame place on Brit-heavy list reinforce the close relationship between the two countries. LOS ANGELES (AP) — One Academy LOS ANGELES (Reuters) — Janet Award trophy sold for nearly $500,000 Jackson finally won her place in the Rock Tokyo meeting reviews and the second for well over $200,000 in and Roll Hall of Fame on Thursday when a rare auction of Oscars that ended Friday the pop singer was named as one of seven Persian, Japanese poetry in Los Angeles. music acts to be getting a place in music A best-picture Oscar for “Gentleman’s history. ARTTEHRAN – The Iranian Embassy in Tokyo Agreement,” the 1947 film starring Greg- Jackson, 52, the younger sister of the deskorganized a meeting on Saturday to discuss the ory Peck that took on anti-Semitism, sold late Michael Jackson, will join Fleetwood similarities and differences between Persian and Japanese poetry. for $492,000. A best picture statuette for Mac singer Stevie Nicks and five British 1935?s “Mutiny on the Bounty” fetched bands - Def Leppard, Roxy Music, $240,000. Radiohead, The Cure and The Zombies Both were outpaced by an archive of - as the latest inductees, the Rock Hall papers on the origin and development of announced. “The Wizard of Oz” that brought in $1.2 Billboard magazine said it was the million. biggest British line-up in the 33-year Singer Janet Jackson makes a heart symbol Auction house Profiles in History This undated file image provided by history of the Cleveland-based Rock and Profiles in History shows the best pic- after receiving the Global Icon award at announced the results after four days of Roll Hall of Fame. the 2018 MTV Europe Music Awards at bidding on Hollywood memorabilia that ture Academy Award for “Gentleman’s Janet Jackson, a five time Grammy Agreement”.(Lou Bustamante/Profiles Bilbao Exhibition Center in Bilbao, Spain, brought in more than $8 million in total. Award winner, had been nominated twice November 4, 2018. (Reuters/Vincent West) Other items sold include a TIE fighter in History via AP, File) previously, but never made the cut with the helmet from the original “Star Wars” that Oz” document chose to remain anonymous. 1,000 artists, historians and members of first recording at least 25 years ago to be The former Japanese ambassador to Iran, Kinichi Komano, went for $240,000, a Phaser pistol from Auctions of Oscar statuettes are very the music industry who select the inductees. eligible for induction. speaks at a meeting on Persian and Japanese poetry at the the original “Star Trek” TV series that uncommon because winners from 1951 “We did it u guys. Thank U for all your “What a way to wrap up an incredible Iranian Embassy in Tokyo, Japan on December 15, 2018. (IRNA) fetched $192,000, a hover board Marty onward have had to agree that they or their love and support,” Jackson tweeted on year,” tweeted Glam metal band Def The former Japanese ambassador to Iran, Kinichi Koma- McFly rode in “Back to the Future II” that heirs must offer it back to the Academy of Thursday. Leppard, which formed in 1977 in northern no, who is also the head of the parliamentary friendship group sold for $102,000, and a golden ticket from Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for $1 Nicks, 70, a two-time Grammy winner England and toured North America and of Iran-Japan, and Iranian cultural attaché Hossein Divsalar “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” before selling it elsewhere. The academy known for her haunting vocal style, was the UK in 2018. attended the meeting entitled “A Comparative Study between that brought in $48,000. has said it firmly believes Oscars should inducted into the Hall 20 years ago as The Zombies, formed near London in Persian and Japanese Poems”. The “Mutiny on the Bounty” Oscar price be won, not bought. a member of the popular 1970s group 1961 and best known for their hit singles Speaking at the meeting, Komano praised Persian poet Sadi came close to auction-house projections, Neither of the Oscars sold this week Fleetwood Mac. She will be inducted this “She’s Not There,” and “Time of the (C. 1213-1291), famous worldwide for his masterpieces Bustan but the “Gentleman’s Agreement” statuette approached the record of $1.5 million paid time for her solo career. Season,” were part of the British invasion (The Orchard) and Gulistan (The Rose Garden). brought in more than twice what was ex- by Michael Jackson to acquire David O. All seven acts will be formally inducted of pop music that made it big in the United He also recited some poems from Hafez, Sadi and Rumi and pected, for reasons that are not clear. The Selznick’s “Gone With the Wind” Oscar at a ceremony in Brooklyn, New York on States in the 1960s along with The Beatles, compared them with poems from Japanese literature. buyers of both Oscars and “The Wizard of in 1999. March 29. Artists must have released their The Rolling Stones and The Kinks.