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THE FIRST ENGLISH LANGUAGE DAILY IN FREE KUWAIT Pages 15 & 16 Page 15 ice hockey Established in 1977 / www.arabtimesonline.com

SUNDAY, MARCH 14, 2021 / SHABAAN 1, 1442 AH emergency number 112 NO. 17636 16 PAGES 150 FILS CHICKEN CULL AFTER BIRD FLU FIND ON 2 FARMS No shortage of ‘foodstock’

By Najeh Bilal and Abdel Nasser Al-Aslami Al-Seyassah Staff and Agencies No residency renewal to KUWAIT CITY, March 13: In a move to contain the spread of bird flu, the Kuwait Municipality and Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR) have culled 98,000 chick- ens infected with the disease, after the cases were discovered on two farms in Al-Wafra and Al-Abdali. This was done upon instructions of the Minister of State for Mu- nicipal Affairs, the Minister of State for Housing Affairs, Shaya non-vaccinated after Sept Al-Shaya, and the Director General of the Public Authority for Agriculture and Fish Resources Sheikh Muhammad Al-Yusef un- der the supervision of the Deputy Director of Livestock Affairs, Mishaal Al-Qurayfah. After monitoring the poultry farms 24/7 hours 98,000 birds were culled from two farms. Vaccines okay He added, the Kuwait Municipality and the ministries of Com- merce and Health called the bird flu a natural phenomenon that affects poultry, especially during the onset of summer according By Khaled Al-Hajri to the specialists in the concerned authorities, but the temperature Al-Seyassah Staff gradually eliminates the viruses found near the these farms. PAAAFR confirmed that there is no shortage of food stocks or the KUWAIT CITY, white meat such as poultry, as the percentage of surplus is 118 percent, pointing out that the stock is sufficient to last more than six months. March 13: The Cabi- He pointed out Kuwait is very superior in terms of hens laying net is looking into is- chicken and covers a high percentage of the local market, not less suing a set of key deci- than 90%, pointing out that the high air temperature in Kuwait in summer and cold in winter makes the owners of farms export their sions during a meeting products to Iraq, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. scheduled to be held PAAAFR announced the concerned authorities are monitoring this week in the context the spread of bird flu in all poultry farms in the country, stressing that all veterinary health measures are followed in this regard, and of the precautionary the application of the emergency plan to combat any case of the measures implemented spread of bird flu. Abdullah Behbehani, a preventive health doctor, to curb the spread of told Kuwaiti media that it is very difficult for birds to transmit the virus in humans, except in a very few cases. According to infec- the COVID-19 virus in tions recorded globally, only humans that were in direct contact the country, especially with the bird contracted the virus, Behbehani added. with the continuous in- He indicated that the diseases affect all kinds of birds and that the H5N1 virus is the most common type of the disease. crease in the number of new COVID-19 cases and deaths. Meanwhile, a ministerial Opinion source revealed that the Cabi- net is studying the possibil- ity of reducing the number of hours of the curfew from 12 hours to only 10 or even nine Tehran happy on hours, such that the curfew would start at 7:00 pm or 8:00 pm and end at 5:00 am the next day. the ‘wrong side’ Despite affirming that there is no intention to issue any de- cisions to disrupt the current By Ahmed Al-Jarallah curfew, which is due to end on Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times April 8, the source alluded to the possibility of extending it THE leaders of Tehran are under the illusion that the for another month beyond the multiple stances that it shrouds itself with every day and month of Ramadan. through the media would plunge the international com- Restrictions munity into fear. In reality, this represents nothing but the gibberish tongue that this regime has been blessed with. In order to ease the restric- This regime has transcended all limits of crimes against tions, the source highlighted humanity – both internally and externally – and practices a recommendation to allow the most extreme forms of oppression and abuses against citizens and residents to ex- its citizens. It has taken up terrorism and aggression as its ercise inside their residential motto to impose itself on the world. areas during the curfew hours, To be frank, the more this regime gets entangled in cri- by setting an hour or more for ses, the more confused it becomes, let alone getting closer that purpose, while adhering to to its fall, especially at a time when the official govern- health requirements and ensur- ment spokesperson Ali Rabiei urges the American admin- ing there would be no gather- istration to return to the nuclear agreement for his country ings. without preconditions, and not to put obstacles in the dip- He also indicated the pos- lomatic path. sibility of issuing a decision to According to the diplomatic custom, the phrase “with- allow restaurants and stores to out preconditions” means to set preconditions. carry out home deliveries dur- While on one hand Rouhani and Zarif talk about dia- ing the curfew hours in the last logue and cooperation between Iran and the neighboring two weeks of the decision, with countries, the Revolutionary Guard on the other hand the requirement for the delivery continues to practice aggression against the Gulf states. workers to undergo new PCR Even though Ali Khamenei is forbidden to possess nuclear tests. weapons, he publishes a tweet that bears an affirmation of his country’s endeavor to possess this type of weapon. Concerning vaccines and According to his tweet, if the Islamic Republic of Iran vaccinations, the source re- decides to get access to a nuclear weapon, neither he (here vealed that the vaccination of he means the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu) nor any- expatriates will start from June one greater than him can prevent them from doing so. and will extend over a period of Over the last four decades, Iran has proven its arrogance three months. and unwillingness to leave open any channels of dialogue He stressed that, after the with the international community. This has rendered it iso- deadline in September, renew- lated. Even the countries that still maintain relations with ing the residency of any expatri- it exercise cautious diplomacy because it is well aware that ate will not be allowed unless he the Mullahs would murder and then attend the funeral of Photo by Rezk Taufi q has obtained the necessary vac- its victim. The Japanese flag displayed on the Kuwait Towers to celebrate Kuwait-Japan ties. cination. There is ample evidence in this regard, such as its ag- This comes at a time when gression against Kuwait, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the circle of countries that have Bahrain, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, France, and most recently decided to stop using the Astra- Belgium, where it planted terrorists in the capacity of dip- MPs to boycott oath-taking Newswatch Zeneca-Oxford vaccine against lomats seeking to commit criminal acts against Iranian COVID-19 expands, with Den- dissidents. mark recently joining South Af- Because of such hostile demenour, the international over Prosecution’s referral rica, Austria, and Switzerland in community cannot trust those who consider wars, murder KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait Ministry of Health said Friday this decision. and terrorism as the only means to be universally accepted. By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh Thamer Ali Al-Sabah from the politi- 1,356 people tested positive for the coronavirus while However, the Ministry of Iran is missing out the fact that those who practiced all eight persons died of the virus in the past 24 hours. Arab Times Staff cal arena. Health affirmed that it will con- these deplorable acts went to the dustbin of history. Start- The new cases increased the number of registered tinue to administer this vaccine ing with Nero and not ending with Saddam Hussein, and Constitutional expert Dr Muham- mad Al-Muqatei said the decision infections to 207,249 and deaths topped 1,156, MoH as part of the COVID-19 vacci- before him Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, and others who de- KUWAIT CITY, March 13: The de- spokesman Dr. Abdullah Al-Sanad told KUNA. stroyed their countries and put their people in miseries. cision of Interior Minister Sheikh of the interior minister has malicious nation campaign. intent, considering the press confer- He said 195 patients were at the intensive care units, Indeed, there are other countries that have gone to disinte- Thamer Ali Al-Sabah to refer those while 14,676 people were receiving medical care. It insisted that no cases of gration, such as the Soviet Union. who participated in the press confer- ence was held after obtaining the ap- Al-Sanad said health care workers conducted 7,807 blood clots or other such side All the reports issued by the observers of the Interna- ence held recently in the house of MP proval of the minister. He expects the swab tests in the past 24 hours to reach a total of 1,893,772. effects were detected or deaths tional Atomic Energy Agency have proven that Tehran Badr Al-Dahoum to the Public Pros- prosecution to dismiss or withhold He said infections-to-tests ratio was 17.4 percent. were recorded among all who continues to increase the level of uranium enrichment to ecution continue to draw parliamentary the case, adding the decision could He called on the public anew to abide by health regula- received the AstraZeneca-Ox- levels much higher than what was approved in the nuclear reactions, especially after the spread of be used as basis for filing a complaint tions like wearing masks and maintaining physical dis- ford vaccine in the country. agreement. In this regard, President Trump’s decision was rumors that former National Assembly against the minister. tancing, and avoiding crowds. (KUNA) According to a specialized very wise to withdraw from the agreement because it is Speaker Ahmed Al-Saadoun is among In another development, MP Ab- ❑ ❑ ❑ team from the ministry that has more like the Munich Treaty of 1938, which gave Hitler those covered by the decision. dulkareem Al-Kandari called for been monitoring the side effects MP Mehalhal Al-Mudaf disclosed suspending the decision to allow ex- KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait Ministry of Health said Friday it the opportunity to prepare for the start of World War II. was closely following up updates by the European Medi- of the COVID-19 vaccines, it is There is no doubt that the crisis into which the Mullahs that the MPs will not cooperate with patriates working in the public sector constantly following up all local the government or HH the Prime to transfer to the private sector; as cines Agency (EMA) and World Health Organization regime has dragged its people will sooner rather than later (WHO) regarding safety of Covid-19 vaccine by Oxford- and international developments lead to the disintegration of this great nation, which has Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled this move contradicts the statement related to the safety of vaccines. of the government that it is serious in Astrazeneca. been plagued by a group of people with a peculiar mindset, unless the decision is suspended. An MoH statement said EMA said there was no indication Regarding the suspension of and are still living in the darkness of the Middle Ages and Under such circumstances, the MPs addressing the lopsided demographic structure issue. He stressed the need Astrazeneca has caused blood clotting, after afew European the use of this vaccine by the trying to impose their backwardness on the world. will not attend the session slated for countries paused their vaccinations with Astrazeneca. health authorities in Denmark Iran will not escape from the tunnel of its crises except the constitutional oath taking of new to cancel the decision, especially A spokesman of Astrazeneca confi rmed to the MoH since the private sector is already full and Austria until the verifica- through a single solution, which is implementing a sys- ministers in the Assembly, he as- there were no indication that the use of the vaccine con- tion of the results of some cases serted. of marginal workers. tem based on freedom without turbans and beards that rule tributed to blood clot or lung blockage, following vaccina- of blood clotting that were de- over its people falsely in the name of religion. Until that He pointed out the Ministry of Meanwhile, MP Hamad Rouhal- tion of more than 10 million people. (KUNA) Interior should have advised the deen forwarded queries to Minister of tected, the team stressed that the time, the 80 million Iranians have to endure this cruel ex- ❑ ❑ ❑ procedure is considered routine perience ... But for how long? citizens to refrain from attending the State for Municipality, Housing Af- press conference, instead of allowing fairs and Urban Development Affairs KUWAIT CITY: A team at Kuwait Ministry of Health and precautionary procedure Email: [email protected] them to attend the event only to re- Shaya Ahmed Al-Shaya about the confi rmed Thursday it has not detected any blood clotting by the health authorities in the or deaths related to Covid-19 vaccines. event of any unexpected symp- Follow me on: fer them to the prosecution later. He issuance of building permits to citi- warned the escalation of tension and zens who received plots in Mutla’a The team is tasked with monitoring side-effects of vac- toms until their cause is verified. creation of crises will result in non- and South Abdullah Mubarak resi- cines and is following domestic and international devel- It reassured citizens and resi- cooperation between the legislative dential areas. He wants to know the opments about safety of vaccines, and was reacting to a dents that some side effects of temporary freeze of Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccines in Den- [email protected] and executive authorities, indicating number of permits issued; and if no the two vaccines – Pfizer and this could lead to the dismissal of such permit has been issued so far, mark and Austria. (KUNA) AstraZeneca – are expected, and Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid and Sheikh he inquired about the reason for not they are not risky. ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, MARCH 14, 2021 2

Futurist underscores need for change Global governance structure to tackle borderless problems

n a riveting conversation on Day 1 of the World Government Summit globe.” Professor Saffo also criticized the weakness of international systems IDialogues (WGS Dialogues), Professor Paul Saffo, eminent futurist To a question on whether we had the choice to start better in some — that could be attributed to weak nation states not giving up control of and technology forecaster warned the world to start reprioritizing and other space, Prof Paul Saffo, quipped: “My feeling about that is that if sovereign issues. He quoted the UN CITES agreement an example to build more sustainable ways of living as it comes together to manage we can’t fi x earth, we are sure not going to do better in Mars. It is not show more needed to be done and said: “We really have to fi gure out an global, borderless problems that are increasingly confronting humanity. a fun place to be. The atmosphere is primarily CO2 — I am not sure I entirely new structure. The Paris Agreement is fi ne, but it does not go far In a conversation with Corinne Iozzio, Editor-in-Chief of Popular Sci- want to live there.” enough. The diffi culty is with human nature, we fi nd it diffi cult to think ence, he pointed out that the failure to do so will see the human race He encouraged governments to take a gardener’s perspective - look at long term. “ become climate refugees in less than 30 years. the problem and leverage patience and attention to take small steps to fi x He added: “Globalization is a test for humanity. And so far, we are Contradicting the belief that the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate the planet rather than work to achieve dramatic moves that could lead to failing the test. We are constitutionally incapable of thinking long-term crisis caught the world unawares, Prof Saffo said with climate change, dramatic consequences. and acting long-term. In an age of unpredictable climate catastrophes, we have had plenty of warning — we have known about the climate Asked whether we had enough time to fi x the situation, he said: “We we will become climate refugees over the next 30 years. The key to crisis since the 1970s, and yet have chosen to do nothing as a globe to don’t have a choice. The events of the last 12 to 24 months indicate building an effective global society is to focus on social cohesion and to tackle the problem. that we are in an age of unpredictable climate catastrophes. The Atlantic fi nd a way to strengthen the realization. We are all passengers on Space- He pointed out that now, the world can approach the climate change Meridional Overturn Circulation (AMOC) and the changing levels of ship Earth. Our fates are intertwined. If we can build social cohesion crisis in two ways — turn back the clock to what the climate was two salt in the oceans could see Europe witnessing a freeze, and lower lati- things will fall into place. “Inequality is coming up more and more — at centuries ago and recover what we can, or to fast track into the future tudes start overheating. Several places around the world could become a social, cultural and economic level, hoarding things we don’t need is and implement geo engineering and biotechnology. He pointed out that uninhabitable. That starts to cascade. We are all going to become climate creating inequality. Sugar is an example. Our ancestors needed to collect while we cannot practically reverse time, moving ahead with geoengi- refugees over the next 30 years.” it for survival, today it is available in abundance. We need to come up neering appears to be a challenge too without a proper global governance He noted that yet another challenge was communicating the signifi - with a new way of being in a world of abundance or it will literally kill structure. cance of these developments to ensure the message reaches all corners us.” He noted that this explained the relevance of the World Government of the globe. Prof Saffo said lasting changes would only grow out of the myriad Summit, and said: “We live in a world of global borderless problems “We have gone through dramatic media transformations. Media in the small changes. Inspirational leadership that aggregates these changes and yet we have no governmental structure to tackle those problems. age of TV was mass media and everyone had the same experience and alone may help us out of this crisis environment. He added that the act We have a world of quarrelling nation states and our institutions at an shared reality,. With the arrival of world wide web and social media, we of buying and hoarding toilet paper during the lockdown was an act of international level are not strong enough to coordinate geoengineering. have shifted from mass media to personalized media. No longer is this a control — people wanted to have some semblance of control in the midst My fear is that we are going to see some nations unilaterally engage in shared experience but more fragmented than ever. From considering the of an environment where everything was going crazy. While they had geoengineering, without the permission or engagement of the rest of the world a single global village, social media and the internet have recre- the right instinct about control, it needs to be channelized in a different world, and then we are going to be fi ghting over what to do to fi x the ated the world as a collection of several global villages.” direction.

His Excellency Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi

COVID a turning point in development countries World urged to adapt lessons from pandemic

is Excellency Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabi- Positive Vision WGS Dialogues also featured a session titled ‘Asia’s Future Outlook’ Hnet Affairs and Chairman of the World Government Summit Organ- He also commended the hard work of the scientists, the private sector that witnessed the participation of Nandan Nilekani, Co-founder of In- ization, stressed that successful future governments will be those capable and government in the development of the vaccine in eight months and fosys, and Dr. Samir Saran, President of the Observer Research Founda- of adapting the lessons from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic to said: “This was a bold achievement for humanity and a cause for hope tion (ORF). The session highlighted the role of the Asian continent in identify growth opportunities. and celebration. We must fan this great spirit of global cooperation to shaping the future of the new world order post COVID-19. Gergawi said the pandemic is a turning point in the development of ensure a fair distribution of vaccines worldwide. We must remember that For its part, the ‘Decentralizing Finance for an Inclusive Economy’ countries’ economies and sectors and is an opportunity to design new no meaningful recovery is possible, and no one is safe until everyone is session featured the participation of Jutta Steiner, CEO and Founder of mechanisms to provide services for their citizens, in his keynote address safe.” Parity Technologies, and examined how the pandemic had highlighted on ‘Major Global Trends in the Next Decade’ on Day 1 of the two-day The World Bank has estimated that more than 150 million more peo- the importance of fl exible and non-central alternatives for traditional fi - World Government Summit Dialogues, held under the patronage of His ple were plunged into extreme poverty due to the pandemic. More than nancial systems as well as the utilization of coded data and new fi nancial Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President 40% of the world population — almost 3.3 billion people now live below technologies in global economic activities. and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. the poverty line. This has rolled back a decade of hard work and put mil- Another session titled ‘Is Crypto the New Currency Beyond 2021?’ His Excellency Al Gergawi said: “Every year in the past, mankind has lions of lives at risk. was headlined by Anthony Di Iorio, Founder and CEO of Decentral faced different challenges. 2020 was a milestone – although we faced His Excellency said: “Getting our economy back on track and getting and Co-founder of Ethereum, Denelle Dixon, CEO and Executive Di- challenges, we found opportunities. Our healthcare system was tested. more people back to living productive jobs are our top priority. We have rector of the Stellar Development Foundation, Brock Pierce, Founder Our education system was also tested. No sector was left unaffected. come to appreciate in very real terms that the economy of the future of Blockchain Capital, and Saqr Ereiqat, a blockchain expert and gov- Governments were tested on their agility and now on their recovery. needs to be more resilient – it must include new metrics for success. This ernment sector advisor at IBM. The participants shared insights on the Over two days we will hear from world leaders, CEOs, thinkers, innova- means harnessing technology, inclusivity, ecology, and most critically, future of blockchain technologies and pointed out that cryptocurrency tors and game changers on how 2021 will unfold. What to expect and sustainability. Competitiveness is not a zero sum game. Protectionism is. solutions could replace banks and banking services in the next few more importantly how to stand strong and united after experiencing one We are at a crossroad and have before us an opportunity for large scale years. of humanity’s most challenging years.” transformation. A new chapter has begun and valuable lessons have Other insightful sessions on Day 1 included ‘Crafting Decisions in Testing Governments’ Readiness and Designing the Future emerged. The time for business as usual is over.” Times of Uncertainty’, featuring Dr Daniel Kahneman, a psychology The Minister noted: “Pandemics are not new. The world was undeni- Sessions Focusing on Global Challenges professor and Nobel Prize Winner in Economic Sciences, and one head- ably caught unprepared. The pandemic served as a great equalizer and Sessions of the fi rst day of the World Government Summit Dia- lined by Nechemia Peres, President of the Peres Center for Peace and highlighted that we are all linked and inter-dependent – to each other logues focused on major shifts in vital sectors. The ‘Embedding Trust Innovation, and Maurice Levy, Chairman of Publicis Group on ‘Finding and to nature – regardless of classes and ethnicities. It has deepened our and Authenticity in the Next Generation of Leaders’ session featured Peace Within Crisis...Moving Beyond the Pandemic’. social fabric and cohesion. The world is now facing a parallel pandemic. Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman, who highlighted the importance The WGS Dialogues concluded Day 1 with a session titled ‘2021: Nine out of 10 Generation Z individuals have experienced at least one of collaboration and transparent interaction between governments, Forecasting the Year Ahead’ that featured a conversation between Pro- physical or mental symptom caused by depression, sadness, demotiva- the private sector and society to address urgent challenges including fessor Paul Saffo, a futurist and Professor of Engineering at Sandford tion or lack of energy. The generation that lived through this pandemic sustainability, enhancing future skills, and ensuring accurate data and University, and Corinne Iozzio, Editor in Chief of Popular Science mag- will have the same issues as the one that came out of World War II. With information. azine, on the importance of taking imperative steps to prevent the human a set of mental health challenges but a new wave of motivation.” Tony Elumelu, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Heirs Holdings, race from becoming climate refugees in the next 30 years. He underscored that the current generation faces the risks of economic United Bank of Africa and Transcorp, and Founder of the Tony Elumelu The virtual event drew the participation of global leaders, entrepre- security, job security and career growth potential, a sustainable life and Foundation, participated in a session titled ‘Africa’s Future Post 2021’. neurs, representatives of international organizations and experts, to a healthy state of mind. Governments will need to work on a multi-level The session reviewed ways to activate the tremendous potential of the discuss the most prominent emerging global trends and share visions approach to tackle multi-generational and multi-dimensional challenges continent, and explored how African leaders could collaborate to achieve and ideas to enhance the readiness of governments in overcoming future for the future of humanity.” qualitative shifts for societies. challenges.

editor’s choice ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, MARCH 14, 2021 3

Weather Expected weather for the next By Night: Rather cold to cold with Abdaly 24 12 Prayer Timings 24 hours: light to moderate north westerly Bubyan 23 15 By Day: Fair and a significant Jahra 23 15 Fajr ...... 04:41 Asr ...... 15:22 wind with speeds of 10-35 km/h and decrease in temperature with light some scattered clouds will appear. Salmiyah 26 17 Sunrise .. 06:00 Maghrib ...18:55 to moderate north westerly wind Ahmadi 24 17 Zohr ...... 11:58 Isha ...... 19:11 with speeds of 12-38 km/h and Station Max Exp Min Rec Nuwaisib 23 16 some high clouds will appear with Kuwait City 25 16 Wafra 24 15 a chance for haze. Kuwait Airport 23 16 Salmy 23 12

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

‘Prepare lists of expat teachers for retirement’ MoC panel formed for regulating licensing of land transportation KUWAIT CITY, March 13: Replacement policy: Assistant Und- Undersecretary of the Ministry of ersecretary for Administrative Affairs Communications Engr Kholoud at the Ministry of Education Rajaa Al-Shehab announced that the min- Bouarki has instructed all sectors to istry has formed a committee for prepare lists of expatriate teachers finalizing the scenarios to issue the and administrators covered by the executive regulations for granting replacement policy for the current new licenses for land transportation academic year -- 2020/2021 -- based of all kinds such as internal and on the data extracted from the inte- external transport, and the transpor- grated systems, reports Al-Qabas tation of passengers and goods for a daily quoting a reliable source. period of three months to complete The source revealed that the its work as required, reports Administrative Sector has deter- Al-Qabas daily. mined the number of expatriate In a press statement, Engr employees subject to the replace- Al-Shehab explained that one of the ment policy, clarifying the con- committee’s tasks will be to develop cerned departments will decide who a new executive regulation for land among these employees will be ter- transportation licenses that includes minated. The source quoted Bouarki the conditions for the mechanism of as saying that Assistant granting these licenses, and the pro- Undersecretary for Public Education posed fees. Usama Al-Sultan confirmed the ter- It will also work on establishing an mination of 148 non-Kuwaiti automated link among the Ministry of employees in June. Communications, the Ministry of He said many educational entities Interior, the Ministry of Commerce and are facing manpower shortage in the Industry, and the Public Authority for job groups covered by the replace- Manpower to develop work and avoid ment policy, especially the public the existing shortcomings. It will work education and educational develop- on studying the operational card for ment bodies. road transportation, which will be uni- He urged the concerned authori- fied according to the recommendations ties to postpone the replacement in of the last meeting of the transportation sectors suffering from manpower ministers of the Gulf Cooperation shortage; particularly the technical Council member states. Photo by Rizk Taufiq jobs like Science lecturers, research- Dense sandstorm took over the whole of Kuwait on Friday evening which is still prevalent. Engr Al-Shehab indicated that the ers, accountants and legal profes- ministry is still continuing to renew sionals. He pointed out the replace- KPA suspends maritime traffic all previously expired licenses of all ment policy should first be applied kinds, according to the procedures for some specializations as Kuwaiti The Kuwait Ports Authority (KPA) temporarily weather condition stabilizes in the country. The daily also said the Kuwait International and conditions followed for land graduates are available to fill up the suspended the maritime traffic and the move- It is worth mentioning the country is cur- Airport told the daily air traffic at the airport transportation. posts that will be vacated by expatri- ment of cargo and container handling at the rently exposed to a dense dust wave and from Friday morning until eight in the evening ❑ ❑ ❑ ates. ports of Shuwaikh, Shuaiba and Doha due to dust storms due to the deep depression, was normal, indicating the operation of flights bad weather conditions, which has led to a decrease in horizontal vis- – passenger and cargo – were normal and The authority work will be resumed after the ibility to less than 500 meters. were not affected by the ‘dusty weather’. Link to be launched soon Bid to avert fraud in Covid tests KUWAIT CITY, March 13: Deputy 27 held for violating curfew Director General for Kuwait 44,000 on list International Airport Affairs Engr Saleh Al-Fadaghi said the date for MEW issues 600 warnings to violators launching the link for external testing Relief for needy laboratories on Kuwait Mosafer plat- KUWAIT CITY, March 13: The emer- form will be announced soon in more gency committee of charitable societ- By Munif Nayef/Mohammad Ghanem than 20 countries, which constitute Al-Seyassah Staff ies will hold a meeting this week to set more than 90 percent of passenger up a new mechanism for providing KUWAIT CITY, March 13: The Ministry movement, reports Al-Anba daily. support and relief baskets to the needy In a statement to the daily, and the affected during the days of the of Interior announced it had arrested 27 curfew, which will last for a month with people for violating the curfew in all gov- Al-Fadaghi disclosed the new system was implemented by the Directorate the possibility of extension, reports ernorates, including 19 Kuwaitis and 8 Al-Qabas daily. General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in According to reliable sources, the non-Kuwaitis, and referred them to the cooperation with the Ministry of upcoming meeting will focus on set- competent authority. Health to accredit external testing ting up a coordination mechanism with The ministry stated the Ahmadi governorate record- laboratories in order to prevent relevant government agencies, head- ed 12 cases of breaking the curfew, Hawalli 8, manipulation of corona test certifi- ed by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Mubarak Al Kabeer 2, Jahra 1, Farwaniya 1 and the cates from abroad. He affirmed the the Ministry of Interior, regarding cam- Capital Governorate 3. health authorities in Kuwait approved paigns for the distribution of relief food In a related context, security sources said the Ministry of baskets and financial aid. the Interior has stressed the violators of the curfew were the external testing laboratories, A study will be conducted to activate caught especially in the chalets, farms and on the bridges, which are connected to Kuwait registration on the Ministry of Social and that the women violators of the curfew are dealt with by Mosafer platform where the corona Affairs aid platform and link them with the women police officers and are referred to the concerned test certificate will be uploaded. those participating in order to prevent authorities. He added the corona vaccination the recurrence of benefiting from the However, Minister of Interior Sheikh Thamer Al-Ali certificate will be uploaded on the same people and targeting the largest continues with his security tours at the checkpoints, and the platform as well to be part of docu- number of those affected. Undersecretary of the Ministry, Lieutenant-General Essam The sources revealed that the total Al-Naham, continues his tours to inspect the security check- KUNA photo ments stored in the system for future number of people registered on the points to ensure the smooth handling of the situation and A huge turnout to receive the corona vaccine. use, especially when traveling to platform during the recent curfew ensure those on the road during the curfew have the permit. other countries or entering Kuwait. exceeded 44,000 families and individ- Meanwhile, the deputy head of the judicial seizure team Huge rush at vaccination center He went on to day that Kuwait uals in different parts of the country. and a member of the bachelors committee at the Ministry of continues to limit the number of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy, Ahmed Al-Shimmari said over the past 10 days the committee has People continue to show up in droves to Health workers and interior ministry arrivals to 35 passengers per flight Al-Sabah approved the risk and issued 600 verbal warnings to those violating Law 48/2005, vaccination sites across Kuwait, all of personnel are on hand to maintain order until further notice in order to match infection allowance for medical per- Ministerial Resolution 121 of 2017, and Ministerial them with online appointments, with the at these designated centers, as Kuwaitis the bed capacity of hotels participat- sonnel in hospitals, health centers, Resolution 255 of 2010. common belief that getting their COVID- and expatriates alike, undeterred by a ing in the institutional quarantine for laboratories, vaccination centers and In a statement to Al-Seyassah, he stressed the team will 19 shots is the only way to topple a rag- 12-hour lockdown to rein in spiraling infec- ing pandemic. tions rates, rush to get vaccinated. (KUNA) arriving passengers -- currently 47 quarantine centers as they are continue its mission to confront violations that threaten the exposed to various risks directly and integrity of the country’s electrical grid, which is one of the hotels. nation’s capabilities which must be preserved and protected Smart toilets eyed in governorates He confirmed that DGCA allows indirectly, reports Al-Rai daily quot- from violations and called it a red line and that violations anyone in or outside Kuwait to regis- ing sources. will not be tolerated. ter on the platform and make hotel On the leave days balance of the Al-Shimmari said the campaign during the aforemen- reservations on behalf of the traveler, abovementioned employees, sources tioned period in the northern region, especially the indus- All public toilets currently shut indicating that payments through disclosed these employees will be trial zones, after several reports were received about serious allowed to use their leave balance violations of laws and regulations and reconnection of the credit cards and K-Net are accepted power supply illegally after it was disconnected the ministry on the platform. provided they complete the required in coordination with the concerned authority took all mea- in view of corona spread rules Health Minister Sheikh Dr Basel minimum working hours. sures, including cutting the power supply to these violators. KUWAIT CITY, March 13: All public meters in Qibla Area (Plot 3) and to Al-Shimmari called for the need for real estate owners in toilets of Kuwait Municipality have study the allocation of a second site the commercial, investment and industrial sectors, and even been closed in the current period, for toilets in the gold market parking private housing, to warn the caretakers of those building and those responsible for buildings not to tamper with the power based on the Cabinet’s decision to fol- in the same area. A request was made network and water service facilities and stay away from low the precautionary measures, until to allocate new lands to construct toi- secondary power transformers. the fifth stage of the plan for the return lets in all governorates, in addition to to normal life, reports Al-Qabas daily allocating sites in surface parking quoting sources from Kuwait projects in return for collecting funds 1st batch of Indian domestics Municipality. for their construction and operation to arrive in Kuwait in 10 days They explained that there are 29 after the issuance of legislation. public toilets in all six governorates - The sources affirmed that the KUWAIT CITY, March 13: Chairman of Kuwait Union of 12 in the Capital Governorate, 5 in Municipality will not stop at this point, Domestic Labor Offices (KUDLO) Khaled Al-Dakhnan Ahmadi Governorate, 7 in Farwaniya but will request the establishment of announced that the first batch of Indian domestic workers will arrive in Kuwait within 10 days, reports Al-Rai daily. Governorate, and 5 in Hawally smart toilets in the governorates, In a statement to the daily, Al-Dakhnan pointed out this Governorate. which in turn will offer them in a pri- came after the operations of domestic labor offices were Regarding the lack of public facili- vate bid. suspended for one year and a half. He admitted it will take ties especially toilets, it was necessary They indicated that the entity con- time for these offices to fully provide domestic workers to to address the projects sector, the cerned with the projects sector is the local labor market – around one year or more due to the urban planning sector and the struc- working on the restoration and main- challenges they are facing in light of the spread of coronavi- tural planning sector in order to pro- tenance of the public toilets that fall rus. He added the Indian domestic workers did not face obstacles other than the suspended operations of recruitment pose new places near the beaches or in under the supervision of the munici- offices. public markets to establish toilets. pality in the six governorates through Regarding the Filipino domestic workers, Al-Dakhnan This is because the current public toi- follow-up contracts in the governor- pointed out the repatriation of about 280 Filipino domestic lets do not fulfill the purpose required ates. workers one week ago is a positive indicator in the process to serve the public - the citizens, resi- The sources said proposing any of resolving pending issues in the file of recruiting workers dents, the elderly, people with special places to establish new public toilets from the Philippines. needs, and visitors to Kuwait. does not fall within the jurisdiction of He said the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) exerted tremendous efforts to address the employment prob- The projects sector held several the projects sector, which is consid- lems of Filipino workers, indicating the trip back home of meetings with the public utilities com- ered an executing party if it receives the abovementioned Filipino workers was made possible in pany. A proposal was made to allocate any sites for its establishment in all the cooperation with the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait. a site of an area of about 31 square governorates. ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, MARCH 14, 2021 LOCAL 4

‘No law obliges government to publish decisions in Official Gazette’ Govt’s resolution to impose partial curfew ‘administrative decision’ KUWAIT CITY, March 13: The wait Al-Youm’, sources explained was published on audio and visual proved bills in the Official Gazette. ity to recommend imposing curfew, minister to issue decisions on taking government’s resolution to impose the publication of any decision is media platforms, in addition to daily This article states: “Ordinances shall sources pointed out that Epidemiol- measures and precautions; such as total partial curfew was based on an ad- aimed at informing everyone about newspapers and official government be published in the Official Gazette ogy Law of 1969 grants the minister isolation of areas where infected cases ministrative decision, not a sover- it and anyone can appeal against websites. The judiciary plays a role within two weeks of their enactment exceptional powers to protect the are discovered – not allowing entry or eign decision, reports Al-Anba daily a decision not published in the Of- here, especially in settling disputes and shall come into force within one country from the epidemic as agreed exit by any means except those autho- quoting sources. ficial Gazette on grounds that he is regarding decrees and decisions, month from the date of their publica- with the concerned ministers, in ad- rized by the Ministry of Health, and Asked about the demand to can- not aware of it. However, there is sources added. tion. That period may be extended or dition to asking for the assistance of imposing curfew in some areas within cel the partial curfew because it was no law obliging the government to On the other hand, sources clari- curtailed by a special proviso in the the police and armed forces to imple- a certain period which is necessary for implemented without being pub- publish its decisions in the Official fied Article 178 of the Constitution Ordinance itself.” ment his decisions. compulsory vaccination of residents or lished in the Official Gazette ‘Ku- Gazette. The partial curfew decision stipulates the publication of ap- On the health minister’s author- In addition, the law authorizes the other measures. Amir congratulates Republic Govt missing opportunities of Mauritius on National Day KUWAIT CITY, March 13, (KUNA): His Highness the Deputy Amir and His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al- Crown Prince Sheikh Meshaal Al-Ah- Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah sent on Friday mad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and His High- to revitalize economy: FTTA a congratulatory cable to the President of ness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah the Republic of Mauritius Prithvirajsing Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah sent similar Roopun on his country’s National Day. cables. Institutional quarantine cited first missed opportunity

KUWAIT CITY, March 13: The Fed- eration of Travel and Tourism Agen- cies (FTTA) thinks the government has been missing oppor- tunities to revitalize the economy due to the way it deals with the repercussions of the coronavirus cri- sis, reports Al-Jari-

da daily. Photo by Mahmoud Jadeed Member of the Board One of the restaurants at the Avenues Mall with empty chairs as it is not allowed for customers to dine in. Government has allowed only take away services in a bid to of Directors and Chair- control the spread of corona cases. man of the Media Com- mittee in the federation Hussein Al-Sulaiteen said: “The first missed opportunity was the mandatory institutional Photo by Rizk Taufiq Education Committee meeting in progress. quarantine for arriv- ing passengers as it ‘Support should include bedoun students’ led to wastage of mil- lions of Kuwaiti dinars The head of the Educational ter the meeting, MP Al-Matar said agreed that the allowance should for the local economy. Committee in the National As- “We discussed five proposals for include Kuwaiti students married The State delayed the sembly, MP Hamad Al-Matar, a law, all of which aim to increase to non-Kuwaitis. implementation of insti- announced the committee has student rewards, and the commit- He indicated the committee is agreed to increase the student tee agreed to increase the remu- aware of the size of the finan- tutional quarantine for allowance for higher education neration for all students in higher cial problems that Kuwait is ex- several months; there- students from 200 to 300 dinars, education, including students of periencing, but this is part of the by, creating economic provided the same is given to Kuwait University, the Public Au- human element must be taken opportunities for nearby bedoun students, reports Al- thority for Applied Education and care of, as “we know that the countries.” Seyassah daily. Training.” prices of books and notebooks He disclosed another In a statement to reporters af- He added: The committee also are high.” missed opportunity is the number of people getting vaccinated; indicating a total of 320,000 citizens Al-Jarida photo and expatriates have been The honey buzzard after it is set free. vaccinated so far; yet the government did not ben- efi t from their vaccination Honey buzzard treated, set free as it treats them like other people at risk of infec- The Environment Public Authority re- rehabilitate it before releasing it again, sponded to a citizen’s report that there reports Al-Jarida daily. tion, considering they are was a ‘honey buzzard’ ‘struggling for life’ The Environment Public Authority subject to the same pro- in one of the residential areas, and sent thanked the citizens and residents for cedures as those who are a specialized team to the site, and took their concern for the Kuwaiti environ- not vaccinated. the bird to the zoo for medical care and ment and its preservation. Distinguish He believes the gov- Society holds workshop for students ernment’s insistence to continue its current ap- proach to not distinguish Kuwait takes presidency of ALRS between those who re- ceived the vaccine and KUWAIT CITY, March 13: Rheumatology ness among patients. those who did not will re- Consultant at Jaber Hospital, President of Meanwhile, the Kuwaiti Society for Sup- fl ect on its performance. the Arab Association of Rheumatology So- port of Inventors and Innovation, in coop- He pointed out the gov- cieties, President of the Kuwaiti Association eration with the Intellectual Property Train- ernment used to complain of Rheumatologists, Dr Fatima Boutaiban, ing Center of the Gulf Cooperation Council about the unwillingness said Kuwait has taken over the presidency states, organized a training workshop under of the Arab League of Rheumatology Soci- the title ‘Think and play with creative activi- of many to be vaccinated; eties (ALRS) during the closing ceremony ties’, through the “Zoom” platform, with the but when people started of the association’s conference in Jordan, participation of students of various nation- registering for vaccina- reports Al-Seyassah daily. alities at primary and intermediate levels, tion, it insisted on treating Kuwait’s tenure will be from 2021 to reports Al-Seyassah daily. those vaccinated the same 2023, and the next con- The workshop in- as those who have yet to ference will be held in cluded 6 different get the vaccine. Kuwait in 2023. activities presented He asserted the number Boutaiban said by the trainer, Dr Ai- of people who got vac- in a press statement sha Al-Houli, which cinated is a glimmer of the Arab League of kicked off under the hope for many economic Rheumatology Soci- title ‘Put lines to get eties was established a meaningful shape’. sectors in the country; in 1985, and since its The activities fo- provided the immunity inception, it aims to cused on encourag- they have developed must deepen ties between ing the participants be exploited such that all Arab rheumatologists, Dr Boutaiban Dr Al-Houli to think creatively services must be open to exchange experiences in an easy, entertain- them, especially travel between participants, work to establish links ing and fun way at the same time. It also options. In this manner, between health centers of the participating simulates the age and abilities of students. the economy will move countries and global health centers, and en- Al-Houli emphasized these activities once again and save the courage continuous scientific research. contribute to developing creative abilities in tourism sector from col- She indicated the next goal is to place the various ways, as students can make things Arab League on the world map and include through logical thinking, which in the future lapse, he added. it as a recognized member of the World As- will held the student to solve life’s various He said the govern- sociation of Rheumatology Societies, and a problems, and to create and take the neces- ment can fully ben- representative of the Arab world. sary constructive decisions. efit by distinguishing She stated the Kuwaiti Association of She pointed out the activities also aimed vaccinated citizens Rheumatologists was established in 1995 at developing creativity so that the student and expatriates us- and is under the umbrella of the Kuwait is sensitive to problems, deficiencies, gaps ing an electronic pass- Medical Association, and is considered one in knowledge, and missing elements, mean- port (vaccination cer- of the most active medical links in establish- ing the ability to think to reach a diverse and tificate), which allows ing scientific workshops and conferences for new production that can be implemented, them to travel without its members, as it is concerned with scien- whether in the field of science or drawing, undergoing PCR test, as tific research and increasing medical aware- and others. well as abolishing the institutional and home quarantine requirements KPC putting final touches for signing imposed on them. He pointed out that accord- collective insurance policy contract ing to studies, those vaccinated are no longer KUWAIT CITY, March 13: Kuwait Petro- insurance policy in the oil sector reached vulnerable to infection leum Corporation (KPC) is putting the fi nal more than 23,000 employees in KPC and its and they are not carriers touches for signing the collective insurance subsidiaries. of the disease. policy contract for life, personal accidents Sources added the Risk Management and work injuries in the oil sector for the Department in KPC prepared the required He added this will 2021/2022 insurance year, reports Al-Anba documents to obtain comprehensive cover- encourage other citi- daily quoting sources. age for the insurance of all employees. zens and expatriates to Sources confi rmed that KPC obtained ap- Sources affi rmed the oil sector is keen on get vaccinated; thereby, proval from the State Audit Bureau (SAB) taking care of human resources, indicating leading to herd immuni- last week to sign the contract with the win- the insurance coverage guarantees a decent ty which will then move ning company, indicating the contract value life for workers and their families in case the the economic wheel for- is KD12.2 million. employees are injured or they die due to an ward. Sources disclosed the benefi ciaries of the accident inside and outside work. ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, MARCH 14, 2021 LOCAL 5 REMEMBER WHEN

Local Mosques This mosque in old Kuwait is and effi cient design refl ected the unique among the mosques of the values of the community it served. old city. Its minaret is built over the However, new architectural ideas entrance outside the mosque court- from Persia and Iraq incluenced the Photograph courtesy yard. Its grace and beauty, howev- later designs of mosques in Kuwait. of The Center for Re- er, are unquestionable. The once humble minaret of early The mosque was one of the more mosques was replaced by a tall one search and Studies on prominent features of any fi reege which rose majestically above its Kuwait and the work or quarter in the old city. The en- surroundings. tire male population assembled The blessings of these mosques of Dr Yacoub Al- there fi ve times daily for prayers. A continue, for had it not been for their Hijji in the book Old- mosque was also a resting place for survival, young Kuwaitis would not Kuwait: Memories a traveler or a poor man in need of be able to locate their fi reege or know shelter for a short time. where their parents’ houses once in Photographs fi rst Mosques were built of locally stood. (From the book ‘Old Kuwait: published in 1996. available materials and their simple Memories in Photographs’)

Courtesy of The Center for Research and Studies on Kuwait

© N.M.M. diwaniya A DIGEST OF PUBLIC OPINION ‘With weak opposition, summer polls will bring political stability’ “UNFORTUNATELY, it is now clear that the opposition is disintegrating, and parliament about covering the deficit facing the budget, MPs started claiming COVID-19 virus at the health and political levels, starting with the level of the government was able through the decisions it took to absorb the strength of that this deficit is not real, but rather the government has created it to deny what disrupting the livelihood of the citizens and residents, but reaching the level the opposition, including not attending the sessions, followed by its resigna- the MPs are demanding, such as dropping loans and raising salaries,” columnist of official and social media platforms and publication sites that fail to confront tion, the long period of its formation and the decision to suspend the sessions Abdulmohsen Hamadah wrote for Al-Jarida daily. rumors that cause panic and fear regarding many issues besides the COVID-19 for a month. So the government has won all these political battles,” columnist “Thus it becomes clear that we are not facing a financial crisis as much as it situation. Tha’ar Al-Rashidi wrote for Al-Anba daily. is a devastating cultural crisis. A culture that some members and many other “The strange and unconfirmed information that is published about the CO- “Dismantling the opposition has no direct relationship to the government members of society have designed makes them incapable of knowing the bit- VID-19 virus is that it is due to the activities and actions that are prohibited because the opposition includes different political spec- ter truth that confirms that Kuwait is not a very rich society as they fancy, but from time to time. What is also circulated is incorrect in terms of pictures and trums. rather a simple society with limited income. clips calling for concern and panic. “There is no political ideological convergence base “Under this perception, we have to act with wisdom and rationality in order “After the follow-up, it became clear that most of what was published but an agreement on temporary principles, so its disinte- to plan for a better future for us and for future generations just as the men who during the previous and recent periods are scenes and cut-out clips of soap gration is natural and expected, and now it has begun to founded the Future Generations Fund and drafted laws to preserve this fund operas, films and fabricated situations, where they show life is normal even decrease to less than ten, and the truth is that the number under the slogan ‘Austerity to ensure a decent life for future generations’. in the countries where this pandemic continues to take a huge toll on the of opposition MPs who have agreed to confront the gov- “Therefore, we must move away from the policy of extravagance and waste population. ernment is only 6, and they may get support from one or that the government and people are practicing without reason, especially with “What is required in this crisis is to be careful about adhering to the instruc- two more MPs. regard to public money. Waste is a bad behavior that should not be character- tions and decisions, and not forwarding what is published in news, videos, and “As for the rest of the deputies, they are swinging ei- istic of man or society. recordings that are calling for obsession, especially on WhatsApp. Unfortu- ther way and are not forced to support the opposition “Islam did not forbid a person to choose beautiful clothes or good food. God nately, there are those who claim heroism in political accountability at a time except for public pressure that is formed with the an- is beautiful and loves beauty, but He commanded men to be moderate and not when I do not think we need such a political escalation. nouncement of any parliamentary questioning. Tha’ar Al-Rashidi to exaggerate spending, as happens with us during weddings and many spe- “The fact that Kuwait has come a long way even though it is difficult to keep “But what I mentioned will not be achieved in the cial occasions, so what is thrown from excess food on those occasions may be up with many countries of the world. The COVID-19 virus is spreading in the questioning of the Minister of Health since the opposition will not support him called blasphemy. world in a way that is difficult to imagine, and the issue is not specific to strict and prepare him for popular pressure unless it finds in this question a door and “Returning to the topic of the article on how to deal with the budget deficit, measures, a certain community, expatriates or a group of citizens, but it is an an introduction to target the prime minister and if this questioning is politically I say here if we deal with it this year through debt or withdrawals from the affliction and distress. We pray to Allah to lift it away from the world.” worthy. Anyhow, the opposition will support the questioning of the Minister of Future Generations Fund, then what will we do in the coming years? The debt ❑ ❑ ❑ Health if it embarrasses the Prime Minister. will recur as long as we spend more than the income, and His Highness the late “This questioning will determine the life of the parliament and many ob- Amir Sheikh Sabah, may God have mercy on him, advised us and called for “Various State institutions have exerted tremendous efforts to officially and servers agree that the life of the parliament is very short, but I believe that if rationalizing spending, and achieving this requires sacrifices and difficult deci- urgently implement partial curfew and closures due to the terrifying graphical the parliament is dissolved and early elections are called in the summer, the sions, the least of which is to reduce salaries, especially the ‘fat’ salaries that indicators on the increasing number of infections and deaths due to the corona changes that will follow in the government and its presidency will be drastic devour more than 70% of the budget, and impose income and consumption tax pandemic,” columnist Mohammad Al-Saqr wrote for Al-Anba daily. and will completely change the political scenario, and will restore us to what and to find another source of income, and let us bear the burden of responsibil- “Despite the closure of borders and flights to and from our country to curb was before 1999, in my opinion, political stability will follow and the changes ity as citizens to save the state. the spread of corona and considering the exhaustion of those involved in the which we are expecting. “We hope the MPs will be interested in discussing the urgent problems of the medical field and health protection, there is no life for those who shout and call “The opposition has to deal realistically with the current political situation, state, and contribute to providing solutions to them and to educate our children with the red light as their sign as everyone seems indifferent and some parties stop a little from the intensity of its rhetoric and rearrange its priorities. The and youth to hate extravagance and waste. excel in disobedience and tampering with what is and what was!. only thing that the opposition possesses is the public opinion that stands with it ❑ ❑ ❑ “However, the anomalies increased in various regions and governorates -- in because the public hates the government decisions, not because of their belief secret and in public, as disastrous gatherings have prompted the decision-maker or conviction in the opposition’s proposal or thought. “The Ministry of Health has been daily announcing an increase in the number to implement curfew and quarantine with the hope of achieving the necessary “Therefore, in order to increase its association with the street, it must re- of COVID-19 related cases and deaths, despite the strict government measures. protection. However, what makes people fear more and become obsessive is the misinfor- adopt popular demands and declare them a priority over their political ones.” “Thus, their traps for parties, gatherings and others made the government mation and fake news that seem to have more prevalence than COVID-19”, Also: columnist Abdul Aziz Al-Khuraibet wrote for Al-Shahid daily. speed up the implementation of the decision to save what could be saved and “The state is facing a serious financial crisis represented by the budget defi- “Fake news is widespread throughout social media, as well as the spread of stop the devastating epidemic despite the vaccination campaign! cit, and this deficit showed its ugly face since 2015, and it was treated by with- an organized wave on a wide scale that shows inaccuracies in the information “On the other hand, we are now facing the consequences of the manipula- drawing from the general reserve fund until it dried up, as nearly 50 billion concerning COVID-19 virus, which causes a disease that has no treatment ex- tive acts of some who are keen on serving their own interests in spite of the dinars were withdrawn from the that fund over the past five years, i.e. approxi- cept human immunity and isolation. epidemic.” mately 12 billion dinars every year, and these days when the debate began in the “We have a chronic problem - it is the ignorance in dealing with the new — Compiled by Ahmad Al-Shazli 23 stores shut, 45 citations issued Other Voices ‘All must stick to health requirements’ ’Chute hovering over PAFN KUWAIT CITY, March 13: Lieutenant Gen- By Ahmad alsarraf ous effect on our mental, physical and psychological health, especially eral Abdel Fattah Al-Ali (Retd) who heads lthough I trade in about twenty the committee that has been formed to ensure since cheating by adding substances Atypes of foods and can benefit from to any food product in the name of that everyone adheres to health requirements selling expired foodstuffs if the per- ‘improvement, colors and appetizers’ in order to preserve the safety of everyone son at the helm of the authority Public has become a worrisome factor and an and limit the spread of the Corona virus, Authority for Food Nutrition (PAFN) international crime. told Al-Seyassah daily on the sidelines of a turns a blind eye A few days ago, the Chairman of the tour to a number of stores and health clubs in exchange for a Board of Directors of PAFN along with small bribe, I must the authority’s general manager put in the Ahmadi Governorate, accompanied remember that I by teams from the Kuwait Municipality, the down their resignations and since then consume double this vital position remains vacant. Public Manpower Authority, the Ministry of the amount of food It is possible for those who assume Commerce and Industry and the Public Au- sold by others. this position to amass wealth to his thority for Food, that the stores are required I say this be- satisfactions and the satisfaction of the to apply health requirements including social cause the head of others if the government fails to put the distancing, wearing face masks, provide had the PAFN is the right man in the right place and bows to sterilizers, provision to measure temperature watchdog over the desires of the deputies or infl uential what we consume and everything that is required by the nature alsarraf people. and that he must It is therefore important to be very of their work, says Al-Seyassah. not be complacent in the performance Lt Gen Abdel Fattah Al-Ali (Retd) and members of the committee during the tour. careful in choosing a person to replace Al-Ali team affirmed that, by emphasizing the of his task and not be carried away by the outgoing offi cial, and for the new application of health requirements, “our goal is to material benefi ts because the expired government, which has already shown Salons, health clubs raided protect everyone from this dangerous pandemic or spoiled foodstuffs if goes unnoticed its fl imsiness. We don’t want parachute and not to put restrictions on people because we and allowed to be sold in the market in appointments through an intermediary, are passing through exceptional circumstances exchange for a small sum in the form of because the issue is sensitive, the health bribe may end up in his own stomach or of an entire population should not be an that require everyone’s cooperation with the state in the stomach of a member of his fam- Strict check on weddings, parties that has harnessed all its capabilities to overcome area for complacencies and buying loy- ily days later, which he will not be able alties. KUWAIT CITY, March 13, (KUNA): The Health committee has intensifi ed inspections on beauty this crisis and eliminate this pandemic.” to control when the health deteriorates Al-Ali stated everyone has to be responsible, and Dr. Reem Al-Fulaij, Deputy and Requirements Committee’s women team on Friday salons and warned them to comply with the health and the money he received in bribe will acting Director General, is consid- carried out a series of intensive campaigns on wom- requirements. adhere to the decisions issued by the Council of Min- not come to his rescue. isters because the matter does not allow to be lenient ered one of the best competencies in en’s beauty salons and health clubs to ensure the ap- Regarding weddings and parties, Al-Moham- The law was issued to establish the her field, and Dr. Zikra Behbehani, plication of coronavirus-related health requirements. mad stressed that the committee is intensifying with this epidemic since the lives of people are en- Public Authority for Food and Nutrition dangered, as “we continue to lose friends, brothers Deputy General Manager is equally Team Leader Hanan Al-Mohammad said in a its efforts to prevent any violations in this regard. (PAFN), in its confusing name got the competent and experienced, and the press statement that the health requirements com- She pointed out to the lack of commitment by and sisters on daily basis because of this pandemic, nod after an unjustifi ed delay for de- and everyone must be aware of the extent of the dan- new president and general manager mittee consists of the Public Authority for Man- customers to the social distancing within salons cades. should not be appointed from outside power, Kuwait Fire Force’s Prevention Sector, and sport clubs, and failure to wear masks trigger ger gatherings pose and not adhering to the applica- PAFN has become necessary be- the authority, and if it happens, it will Ministry of Trade and Industry, Interior Ministry legal measures. tion of health requirements, whose goal is to preserve cause of the fraud and tampering with be a disaster, technically, morally and and Kuwait Municipality. Al-Mohammad called on salons and health the lives of people.” the production dates, packaging and administratively. She added that the committee has since the be- clubs to implement a timetable system to avoid Al-Ali confi rmed the health requirements com- storing foodstuffs, both locally and ❑ ❑ ❑ ginning of its work registered violations in 422 any irregularities and to comply with health re- mittee teams paid 4,802 visits within 24 hours internationally. What we push down commercial establishments that did not comply quirements to combat the spread of coronavirus only and issued 45 citations, 290 warnings and our throats has a direct and danger- email: [email protected] with the health requirements, pointing out that the COVID-19. closed 23 stores for violating health requirements. ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, MARCH 14, 2021 LOCAL 6

Al Hamra plays leading role in raising awareness about gender diversity, women economic empowerment Al Hamra Business Tower shines purple in celebration of Int’l Women’s Day KUWAIT CITY, March 13: To cel- Business Tower consists of more than ness. Internally, Al Hamra has held high- the overall safety of our women staff. ebrate 2021 International Women’s Day 7,000 employees within business, politi- level leadership training programs and Today, I am honored to say that the Al and in solidarity with the global move- cal and diplomatic leaders and entrepre- regular workshops to ensure these prin- Hamra business community comprises ment to uplift and advance the role of neurs. ciples are endorsed at every level of the of more than 30 % women executives women, Al Hamra Business Tower was The Chief Administrative Offi cer organization. Our commitment to cham- and leaders who have contributed to lit in purple and the women workforce - CAO of Al Hamra Real Estate Com- pioning this cause remains undeterred changing the corporate landscape in the were presented with purple face-masks. pany, Mrs. Abrar Abdulaziz Al Habeeb, and have contributed to an environment private sector.” Established as a gender balanced em- stated: “As one of the fi rst companies in that enables and empowers women of all As a proud WEP signatory, Al Hamra ployer and business partner, Al Hamra Kuwait to have offi cially endorsed the walks of life, both within our organiza- also joined hands with UN Secretary- has consistently played a leading role in Women’s Empowerment Principles in tion and in society.” General, António Guterres, the United raising awareness about gender diversity 2018, a core part of our National Devel- She further added,” In lieu of the on- Nations Secretary-General’s UNiTE and and women economic empowerment opment plan and the New Kuwait vision going pandemic, we provided the op- UN Women, in the global campaign ‘Or- within the community. Together, the 2035, we have since, formally integrated tion for remote working/telecommuting ange the World’ to end violence against Al Hamra Shopping Center and iconic a gender-balanced approach in our busi- and fl exible timings to accommodate women by 2030. Kuwait’s #MeToo moment: Women denounce harassment and violence Women challenging deeply patriarchal society

By Isabel Debre And one journalist used a hidden cam- online, as women in the region’s more skeptical that the proposals will result in era to document how women are treated repressive countries have done recently. signifi cant change, especially with the DUBAI, March 13, (AP): in the streets. The Lan Asket account thrust sexual nation in the midst of a fi nancial crisis Abrar Zenkawi was cruising The spark may have come from fash- harassment, long shrouded in shame, and with Parliament now suspended be- ion blogger Ascia al-Faraj, who vented into the limelight. cause of a political standoff. toward the beach in Kuwait in January on Snapchat to her millions From there, the conversation moved The frustration is familiar for activ- City when she saw a man of followers after being hounded by a to traditional media. A well-known fe- ist Nour al-Mukhled. For years, she and waving and smiling in her man in a speeding car. In such episodes, male journalist at state-linked al-Qabas other women have struggled to abolish men often try to “bump” a woman’s car, newspaper went out at night with a a law that classifi es the killing of adul- rearview mirror. but many serious accidents result, as in hidden camera and captured motorbike terous women by their fathers, brothers Elsewhere, this may have been Zenkawi’s case. riders recklessly trying to catch her at- or husbands as a misdemeanor and sets a benign highway fl irtation. But “It’s terrifying, all the time you’re tention, men yelling sexual slurs on the the maximum penalty at three years in Al Hamra Business Tower in Kuwait, it’s a haunting routine feeling so unsafe in your own skin,” al- street and strangers pulling the hair of prison. Such leniency remains common that often turns dangerous. The Faraj told The Associated Press. “The female passersby - offering proof to across the Gulf, although the United man pulled up beside her, inched responsibility is always on us. … We millions in Kuwait of the harassment Arab Emirates criminalized “honor kill- closer and fi nally drove into her. must have had our music too loud or our women were describing. ings” last fall. windows down.” Kuwait also has statues that let kid- Zenkawi’s car, carrying her toddler Shayma Shamo, a 27-year-old doc- Discussions nappers evade punishment by marry- nieces, sister and friend, fl ipped six tor, sought to seize the momentum of “It seems rudimentary, but we’ve ing their victims and empower men to times. al-Faraj’s viral video, creating an Insta- never had these discussions before,” “discipline” their female relatives with “It’s considered normal here. Men al- gram page called “Lan Asket,” Arabic said Najeeba Hayat, who helped organ- assault. ways drive way too close to scare girls, for “I will not be silent.” ize the Lan Asket campaign, which is “In Kuwait, there can be no legal chase them to their homes, follow them Shamo’s rage had been building for also training bus drivers to report har- change without cultural change, and to work, just for fun,” said Zenkawi, 34, weeks. In December, a female employee assment, organizing an ad campaign to this is still culturally acceptable,” al- who spent months in the hospital with a of Kuwait’s Parliament was stabbed to raise awareness and creating an app that Mukhled said. Only in August did Par- shattered spine. “They don’t think about death by her 17-year-old brother, report- allows women to anonymously report liament pass a law that opened shelters the consequences.” edly because he didn’t want her working abuse to police. “Every single girl has for victims of domestic abuse. But that may be changing as women as a security guard. It was the third such kept this in her chest for so long.” But progress is happening outside of are increasingly challenging Kuwait’s case - described as “honor killings” - to As the movement gained steam, law- offi cial circles, activists say. In recent deeply patriarchal society. In recent make headlines in as many months. The makers scrambled to respond. Seven weeks, a growing number of female col- weeks, a growing number of women National Assembly, all-male despite a re- politicians, from conservative Islamists lectives have sprung up, in homes and have broken taboos to speak out about cord number of female candidates in the to stalwart liberals, submitted amend- on Zoom - a mirror to the custom of the the scourge of harassment and violence recent election, offered none of the cus- ments to the penal code last month that “diwanyia,” gentlemen’s clubs that of- that plagues the Gulf nation’s streets, tomary condolences. would defi ne and punish sexual harass- ten vault men to top jobs. Women also highways and malls, in an echo of the ment, including one that called for a have turned to Clubhouse, the buzzy global #MeToo movement. Silence $10,000 fi ne and one-year prison sen- app that lets people gather in audio chat An Instagram page has led to an out- “The silence was deafening,” Shamo tence. rooms, to hold discussions of sexual as- pouring of testimony from women fed said. “I thought, OK, that could hap- “The Kuwaiti penal code doesn’t cov- sault and harassment. up with being intimidated or attacked pen to me, and anyone could get away er harassment, there are just some laws The horizon for equality may be far in a country where the criminal code with it.” Kuwait, unlike other oil-rich that cover immorality that are so vague off, but campaigners say their ambitions doesn’t defi ne sexual harassment and Arab Gulf sheikhdoms, has a legislature that women can’t go and report to the lo- are modest in the short term. lays out few repercussions for men who with genuine power and some tolerance cal police,” said Abdulaziz al-Saqabi, a “Right now, attempted murder is con- kill female relatives for actions they for political dissent. But restrictions to conservative who was among those who sidered ‘fl irting,’” said Hayat, one of the consider immoral. A wide variety of slow the the spread of the coronavirus drafted amendments. organizers of the Lan Asket campaign. news and talk shows have taken up the prevented Shamo from staging a protest But women’s rights activists, whose “We just want to be treated like human subject of harassment for the fi rst time. and forced her to take her grievances input the lawmakers did not solicit, are beings, not as aliens and not as prey.” ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, MARCH 14, 2021 LOCAL 7

Spending level in Kuwait witnessed a decline of KD 4 billion Increase in consumer, installment loans in 2020 compared to 2019 KUWAIT CITY, March 13: Consumer Such a situation is happening despite issued by the Central Bank of Kuwait, compared to KD 12 billion at the end However, this contributed to the cember 2019. and installment loans increased by KD calls for dropping interest on loans, or POS transactions and ATM transactions of 2019. annual growth of Kuwait’s foreign re- The indebtedness of investment 914 million, reaching KD 14.318 bil- rescheduling the principal for many both at home and abroad recorded those The increase in the value of the re- serves, and increase in total currency companies decreased by KD 200 mil- lion by the end of December 2020, with years. values during 2020. However, the lowest serves comes with Kuwait resorting to and deposits by 22.04 percent to reach lion, reaching KD 2.58 billion by the consumer loans reaching KD 1.607 bil- In the same context, the spending total of recorded transaction values in the the assets of the sovereign fund during KD 13.84 billion, compared to KD end of 2020, compared to KD 2.7 bil- lion and installment loans KD 12.711 level in Kuwait has witnessed a de- last three years was KD 3.25 billion dur- the current year to consolidate its po- 11.34 billion in December 2019 with a lion at the end of 2019. billion. In the end of 2019, the total cline of KD 4 billion. Consumer card ing the period from April to June. sition and reserves, and to compensate monthly growth of 1.09 percent. The volume of liquidity increased consumer and installment loans were transactions recorded KD 19.27 billion The offi cial reserve assets of Kuwait for the decline in the state’s oil rev- The Central Bank of Kuwait’s sta- recorded an annual increase of 3.78 KD 13.404 billion, with consumer in 2020, compared to KD 23.27 billion achieved an annual increase of KD enues as a result of the decline in oil tistics showed that the assets of local percent at the end of December to loans being KD 1.44 billion and install- in 2019 due to the repercussions of the 2.65 billion at the end of December demand and oil prices due to the COV- banks achieved an increase of KD 2.3 reach KD 39.57 billion, compared to ment loans KD 11.959 billion, reports COVID-19 pandemic. 2020, with the value of offi cial reserve ID-19 outbreak, and fears of economic billion, amounting to KD 73.33 billion, KD 38.13 billion in the same month of Al-Nahar daily. According to the monthly statistics assets amounting to KD 14.65 billion, recession. compared to 71 billion at the end of De- 2019.

We will never forget the Kuwaiti kindness & generosity: Takaoka Kuwait expresses distress on The following is a message from Japan Ambassador to the State of Kuwait His Excellency Masato Takaoka: apan and Kuwait established UN report on Syrian children Jdiplomatic relations sixty years ago and have since come a long way together. Our two countries are friends ‘Violations committed by all parties of confl ict’ in need and friends indeed. The most unforgettable epi- GENEVA, March 13, sode was ten years ago when Japan was devastated by horri- (KUNA): The State of Ku- ble earthquakes and tsunami on wait Thursday expressed March 11th, 2011. distress over a UN inde- At the time of deep despair for Japan, Kuwait came to help us pendent fact-fi nding com- mission on Syria’s reports with incredible support, includ- His Excellency Masato Takao- ing fi ve million barrels of crude ka, Japan Ambassador to the which mentioned the de- oil. State of Kuwait. teriorating conditions of His Highness the late Amir Sa- bah paid a state visit to Japan a the people of Kuwait once again children, whose rights have year later to reaffi rm the ties of for the warm and caring gesture been violated. friendship between our two coun- to the people of Japan as the Ku- Violations are committed by all tries. wait Towers will soon be illu- parties of the confl ict in Syria and We will never forget the Ku- minated with our two countries’ Kuwait underlines importance of waiti kindness and generosity. national fl ags to mark the day of paying further attention to chil- I take this opportunity to thank March 11th. dren, millions of them “don’t know nothing about life but war,” Kuwait Permanent Representative to UN and International Organizations in Oil & commodities under spotlight Geneva Jamal Al-Ghunaim said. He was addressing a meeting of UN in ABCK-AmCham Kuwait webinar Human Rights Council about fi ndings of the fact-fi nding commission. KUWAIT CITY, March 13: ABCK- and their super-cycles as he empha- KUNA photo It is painful to see more than 2.8 mil- ‘Tarahum’ team donating humanitarian aid. AmCham Kuwait in coordination sized the fact that all last year, lion children not attending schools in with Citigroup held a fireside chat outof32 commodities like base met- Syria, 40 percent of them are girls, said with Citi Group’s Global Head of als, emissions, and fuel, 25 of them Al-Ghunaim, and this number could be ‘Tarahum’ donates aid to Syrian refugees in Turkey Commodities Strategy Citi Research were down in price in the beginning higher due to the coronavirus spread. Dr. Edward Morse. The event was of the year and 7 were up in price like He said one in every three schools in The Kuwaiti Tarahum charitable team affi liated to the ian aid come within the framework of the “One Body 69” supported by the American Chambers gold and silver. He added: “Oil and Syria was either destroyed or used for International Islamic Charitable Organization donated solidarity campaign. of Commerce in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, gas were down last year, but 27 of the military purposes. humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees in Turkey, which He added that the teams of Ataa Association dis- Qatar, Oman, and Saudi Arabia. commodities are now up in 2021 and were distributed by Turkish Ataa (giving) Association. tributed Kuwaiti aid, which included food baskets and Mr. Fatah Adour, General Manager 5 are down”. Dr. Morse also warned Health In a telephone statement to KUNA, director of Ataa blankets, to the Syrian refugees residing in the old city of Citibank Kuwait kick started the that some people thought there will There are UN reports, he added, Association Osama Al-Shidon said that the humanitar- in Mardin, southeastern Turkey. (KUNA) webinar by thanking the participants be a massive supply gap; he confi rming attacks on educational fa- for their attendance and AmChams in explained: “We had a dip in pricing, cilities in Syria while the confl ict was reparation,” she said. With the overwhelming majority family, causing continuing trauma for GCC for their collaboration in this starting 2014 that lasted until 2016, affecting physical and mental health The High Commissioner particular- of victims being men, families’ daily them and severely curtailing the enjoy- webinar then handed over to Mr. the world in 2014 was spending a of children. Many children suffered ly stressed the need to address the is- existence can become a huge struggle. ment of their human rights,” the UN David Walker,Head of Public Sector little less than 900 billion dollars a from disabilities and devastating psy- sue of missing and disappeared people, Women can face practical, fi nancial, Human Rights Chief stressed. Banking for Citigroup in Europe, year in finding and developing oil”. chological traumas which make them already a serious concern in Syria prior legal and emotional challenges in sup- Bachelet joined the call for the crea- Middle East and Africa to moderate Between 2014 and 2016,the spending vulnerable to attacks. to 2011. Given the UN Human Rights porting themselves and their children. tion of an independent mechanism the discussions with Dr. Morse. fell by more than 50%. The Al-Ghunaim said Kuwait cooper- Offi ce’s lack of access to Syria, it is They often take on the responsibility with an international mandate to clari- ated with neighboring countries to Thanked International Energy Agency diffi cult to establish with any precision of searching for the missing relative, fy the fate and whereabouts of missing announced that unless there is an support education for Syrian children, the number of missing men, women potentially exposing themselves to risk people, identify human remains, and offering fi nancial assistance through Dr. Morse thanked the chambers upturn in new investment, there will and children, but the fi gure is estimat- when they seek information from offi - provide support to their families. for their efforts in setting up the UNESCO and establishing schools in ed to be in the tens of thousands. cials. Individuals also prey on families, “As we mark this tragic milestone, be 25 million barrel a day in supply neighboring countries. webinar and hoped that next year’s The missing include those forcibly offering to supply information about I also urge all parties to the confl ict, by 2020 and even after 2014 the He cited Kuwait’s late Amir Sheikh webinar would be in person. On the number never went above 500 billion disappeared and detained in offi cial and the relative or secure his or her release and those States with infl uence over oil market, Dr. Morse noted that it Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah’s call to dollars. As a result,the average cost support the Syrian children and youth makeshift facilities run by Government in exchange for money. “Enforced dis- them, to halt arbitrary detentions and has been on the rise by 75% since of finding oil went down. forces across Syria, as well as victims of appearance is a continuous crime that enforced disappearances, and ensure November 2020 and that there are in the midst of confl ict in their country. As for geopolitical concerns, Al-Ghunaim said the report called detention and enforced disappearances has an appalling impact on the individ- that those being arbitrarily detained are several factors that led to a dramatic Morse mentioned the 2016 agree- by non-State armed groups. ual whose fate is unknown and on their immediately released,” she stressed. drop in global oil inventories like for urgent steps to unveil fate of miss- ment between Russia and Saudi ing, citing a Kuwait-proposed draft crude oil. These include the willing- Arabia while covering its political resolution to UN Security Council in ness of OPEC to withhold oil from connotation. He said that both coun- 2019 over importance of fi nding miss- the market for a longer period, which tries signed an agreement for bilateral ing persons in confl ict zones. was aided by Saudi Arabia’s decision cooperation in the oil market. From Kuwait, which had an agonizing to take out one million barrels extra a an oil perspective, 2016 was an exis- experience, called anew on the interna- day for the February and March tential moment for oil producing tional community to exercise pressure months. countries due to the fall to $30 a bar- on the warring parties in Syria to stop Dr. Morse explained that this also rel for oil and its fluctuation through- violations, count the missing and sup- boosted demand that was unantici- out the year and that Saudi Arabia port their families. pated because of the pandemic has a price currency that has been Kuwait, said Al-Ghunaim, fi rmly becoming more in control. He contin- pegged to the U.S. Dollars. believed the Syrian confl ict could only ued: “The oil prices have gotten be solved politically on basis of the ahead of themselves in terms of Addressing 2012 Geneva communique and UNSC rebalancing of demand and supply He concluded the talk by address- Resolution 2254. With Syria about fundamentals;the sign we look at ing the change from oil to the energy to enter its 11th year of violence and every single week is the ratio of transition. He mentioned that there confl ict, the pursuit of truth, justice people who are long in the financial are energy companies that want to and reparations for victims must not market against people who are short reduce their carbon footprint without only continue but be stepped up, UN in the financial market and that ratio changing the nature of their business High Commissioner for Human Rights now shows a bit of exuberance”. by altering their supply line so they Michelle Bachelet on Thursday said. Dr. Morse noted that one must are supported by cleaner energy and Violence look at “money managers”, large- they believe they can survive as an “The violence that spiraled into scale institutional investors which energy firm producing hydrocarbons. an armed confl ict has left hundreds include pension funds and hedge They do not believe it is worth their of thousands Syrians dead, millions funds. This group of investors is investing in alternative energy and to displaced both within and outside the always investing “long” due to the eradicate oil and natural gas in their country, and many Syrian families pension funds and other institutional energy systems. He also noted that struggling to establish the truth of investors having a bias in investing in alternative energy like solar energy what happened to their loved ones,” long only instruments.“The ratio has have seen their costs down by 15% said Bachelet in a press release on the gone above average which brought per year for ten years making it com- occasion or the 10th anniversary of the the oil prices up as well which is petitive with coal. confl ict in Syria. anticipated to stay as is for the year”. The event concluded with closing “This past decade has seen a blatant Dr. Morse discussed commodities remarks by the Chairman. disregard for the protection of civil- ians by all parties, who have commit- ted countless violations and abuses - some of which may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity,” she said. “We owe it to the victims to ensure the next decade is one of ac- countability and remedy, with their rights and needs addressed so they can rebuild their lives.” The recent conviction of a former Syrian intelligence offi cer by a Ger- man trial court for aiding and abetting crimes against humanity was an im- portant step forward on the path to jus- tice, the High Commissioner said. This decision follows a series of criminal Organizers judgments in recent years in national courts outside Syria addressing cases of grave criminality committed over the last decade of confl ict. The Inter- national, Impartial and Independent Mechanism established by the General Assembly has also played a key role in bolstering such proceedings. “There have been repeated attempts to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court but with such efforts stalled, it remains vital that national courts continue to con- duct fair, public and transparent tri- als and reduce the accountability gap for such serious crimes. These trials should be complemented by other ini- tiatives which further realise victims’ Oil & Energy webinar participants. rights, including the rights to truth and BMW profi t fell 23% in 2020 Edsel B. Ford II retires

German luxury automaker BMW says covery in China, where 2020 sales Edsel B. Ford II is retiring from the board of Ford net profi t fell 23% last year to 3.86 bil- topped the year before by 7.4%. Motor and will be replaced by another member of In this fi le photo, lion euros ($4.62 billion) as the pan- China, the company’s largest sin- the Ford family. visitors gather demic shuttered factories in the fi rst gle market, helped BMW offset sharp Two members of the Ford family will actually near a BMW M8 part of the year. The maker of the X5 drops in sales in Europe and the US. join the board because like Edsel Ford, John model on display sport utility and 3-Series sedan said Earnings were also supported by Lechleiter, the retired chairman and CEO of Eli at the Auto China 2020 show in a strong second half meant it started growth in the upper luxury segment Lilly, also served notice that he does not want to Beijing, China. 2021 with “a favorable tailwind.” including the large 7-Series sedan be considered for re-election. Operating profi ts for the second half and the X7, which the company de- Edsel Ford has been on the board for 33 years. of last year were 9.8% higher than the scribes as an SAV, or sport activity The Detroit carmaker is nominating Alexandra second half of 2019. The Munich- vehicle. Those offerings carry higher Ford English and Henry Ford III, both great-great based company’s sales were boosted profi ts per vehicle than smaller cars. grandchildren of company founder Henry Ford, by the early and strong economic re- (AP) as replacements. (AP)

Market Movements 12-03-2021 Change Closing pts Change Closing pts AUSTRALIA - All Ordinaries +61.69 7,014.61 GERMANY - DAX -67.00 14,502.39 JAPAN - Nikkei +506.19 29,717.83 EUROPE - Euro Stoxx 50 -12.28 3,833.36 FRANCE - CAC 40 +12.79 6,046.55 INDIA - Sensex -487.43 50,792.08 S. KOREA - KRX 100 +77.58 6,620.88 PHILIPPINES - PSEi +9.37 6,728.55 PAKISTAN - KSE 100 +1,008.32 43,788.08 CHINA - Shanghai SE +16.25 3,453.08 Business U.S. ECONOMY HEALS SLOWLY FROM PANDEMIC US job openings rise, layoffs fall

Jobless claims fall to 712,000 Brexit cuts exports WASHINGTON, March 13, traveling, shopping, dining out and attend- ing entertainment venues. Cities and states (AP): Companies posted more restricted the hours and capacity of restau- UK’s GDP shrinks 2.9% open jobs in January while lay- rants, bars and other businesses. Even where offs decreased as the economy restrictions didn’t exist, many Americans amid COVID lockdown heals slowly from the pandemic. for months chose to stay home to avoid the There were 6.9 million jobs available risk of infection. LONDON, March 13, (AP): The British economy shrank Now, though, as vaccinations are increas- 2.9% in January as the nation was hit by a new round of on the last day in January, up from 6.7 ingly administered around the country, busi- million in December, the Labor Depart- coronavirus restrictions and Brexit slashed exports to the ness limitations are gradually eased and European Union. ment said Thursday. That suggests em- consumers grow more comfortable engag- ployers are getting ready to hire in the The Offi ce for National Statistics said Friday that the drop ing face to face with others, optimism about in gross domestic product was fueled by declines in retail coming months. the economy is rising. Last month, consum- Hiring actually began to pick up in Feb- trade and education as efforts to slow the spread of COV- ers bounced back from months of retrench- ID-19 shut nonessential shops and schools across the U.K. ruary, according to last Friday’s jobs re- ment to step up their spending by 2.4% - the port, which showed that employers added sharpest increase in seven months and a sign Britain’s economy is about 9% smaller than it was before 379,000 jobs, the most since October, while that the economy may be poised to sustain the coronavirus pandemic began in February 2020, the ONS the unemployment rate fell to 6.2%, from a recovery. said. 6.3%. While the economy still has 9.5 mil- In the meantime, the number of confi rmed Manufacturing declined for the fi rst time since April, driv- lion fewer jobs than before the pandemic, new COVID-19 cases has dropped to an av- en by a drop in exports as the nation felt the full effects of its February’s job gain was much higher than erage of around 50,000 a day from nearly departure from the January’s and came after a sharp job loss in 250,000 in early January. UK trade with the European Union plunged in January as December, suggesting the economy, after A brightening outlook for the economy Britain’s departure from the bloc and widespread coronavi- stalling out late last year, is mending. was reinforced Wednesday, when Congress rus restrictions dealt a double blow to the nation’s struggling Thursday’s report tracks gross job gains A ‘Now Hiring’ sign is displayed, March 4, 2021, in Salem, New Hampshire. US em- gave fi nal approval to a $1.9 trillion COV- economy. and losses, while last week’s fi gure is a ployers added a surprisingly robust 379,000 jobs in February in a sign the economy ID-19 relief bill that will provide $1,400 Goods exports to the EU fell 40.7% from a month earlier net change in total jobs. The data released is strengthening as virus cases drop, vaccinations ramp up, Americans spend more payments to most adults and extend $300 and imports dropped 28.8%, the Offi ce for National Statis- Thursday also showed that layoffs fell to and states ease business restrictions. (AP) weekly unemployment benefi ts into early tics said Friday. The fi gures contributed to a 2.9% month-on- month decline in overall economic output. just under 1.7 million in January, the same powerGroup’s survey found. That category coronavirus cases and signs of an improving September. The legislation will also provide pace of job cuts that was occurring before money for viral vaccines and treatments, Britain left the European single market on Jan. 1, end- includes restaurants, bars, hotels, and enter- economy. ing almost half a century of free trade and triggering the pandemic. tainment venues, the same industries that The Labor Department said Thursday that school re-openings, state and local govern- Many recipients of unemployment aid ments and ailing industries ranging from tariffs, increased paperwork and border delays on both also report having to apply multiple times have suffered some of the worst job losses. applications for unemployment aid dropped airlines to concert halls. sides of the English Channel. While the drop in trade was to get through overwhelmed state systems, About 37% of companies in leisure and by 42,000 from 754,000 the week before. Many economists suggest that the com- magnified by stockpiling ahead of the new rules, econo- potentially lifting the number of jobless hospitality expect to add jobs in the next Though the job market has been slowly bination of substantial federal aid, a rising mists said the scale of the decline reflected the disruption claims. three months, the highest among the 12 strengthening, many businesses remain un- pace of vaccinations, continually low bor- caused by Brexit. Other measures of the job market also large industries that ManpowerGroup sur- der pressure, and 9.6 million jobs remain rowing rates and the increased willingness “The signifi cant slump in U.K. exports of goods to the show that employers are increasingly look- veyed. Next was transportation and utili- lost to the pandemic that fl attened the econ- of consumers to spend will unleash a robust EU, particularly compared to non-EU trade, provides an ing to hire. ties, which includes delivery drivers and omy 12 months ago. economic recovery later this year. Still, ominous indication of the damage being done to post-Brexit According to a survey by Manpower- warehouses, where 26% of companies plan All told, 4.1 million Americans are re- defeating the coronavirus remains vital to trade with the EU by the current border disruption,” said Group, an employment agency, nearly one- to add workers. And third was professional ceiving traditional state unemployment ben- achieving a full recovery of the economy Suren Thiru, head of economics for the British Chambers of quarter of companies surveyed said they and business services, which includes high- efi ts. Counting supplemental federal unem- and the job market. Commerce. “The practical diffi culties faced by businesses plan to add workers in the April-June quar- paying sectors such as architecture and en- ployment programs that were established to “These are welcome policies, but they are on the ground go well beyond just teething problems.” ter. That’s the most since the pandemic be- gineering, with 25% of fi rms in that industry soften the economic damage from the virus, still temporary relief,” said AnnElizabeth Overall, Britain’s exports dropped 19.3% and imports fell gan. And one-third expect to return to their expecting to hire. an estimated 20.1 million people are collect- Konkel, economist at the Indeed Hiring Lab. 21.6%, the biggest monthly declines since records began pre-pandemic hiring levels by July, while Meanwhile, the number of Americans ing some form of jobless aid. “To fully heal the labor market, the public in 1997, the ONS said. Shipments to non-EU countries in- more than half expect to do so by the end seeking unemployment benefi ts fell last The continuing job cuts refl ect the ex- health situation must be under control. Cor- creased slightly, and imports from countries outside the bloc of the year. week to 712,000, the lowest total since early tent to which the pandemic disrupted nor- onavirus started this mess and continues to declined about 8%. Hiring in the second quarter will be led November, evidence that fewer employers mal economic activity and kept consumers cause massive economic damage on a daily Prime Minister Boris Johnson has backed Brexit, saying it by leisure and hospitality companies, Man- are cutting jobs amid a decline in confi rmed hunkered down at home rather than out basis.’’ would allow Britain to regain control of its laws, borders and fi sheries, while helping the U.K. negotiate free-trade deals with countries outside the bloc. But the EU is Britain’s closest and biggest trading partner, accounting for more than 40% of exports. Brexit critics say it will be very diffi cult for trade with other countries to counter the impact of increased barriers to trade with the EU. The government said Friday that the January fi gures don’t refl ect the current state of trade with EU, and overall freight volumes have been back to “normal levels” since the start of February. Is oil at $70 a barrel the magic number?

By Kamel Al-Harami Independent Oil Analyst LAST month, OPEC-Plus’ discipline in terms of the crude oil production pushed the oil price closer to the level of $70 per barrel. It led Saudi Arabia and its other partners to put its production in order and keep the oil prices climbing up ... But at what level? Will OPEC-Plus continue with its full commitment for another month and beyond April? Will Saudi Arabia continue withholding back one million barrels well into April? Or is it time to relax production ... but when? Strangely, the US shale producers are not yet willing to pour more oil into the mar- ket or retain its 13-million production target. It is tak- ing advantage of the strong Al-Harami oil prices for generating cash fl ow and paying dividends to its shareholders, after years of lack of profi ts. The February production fi gures of the 13 OPEC members and 8 non-members stood fi rm and pre- vented any leakage of extra oil into the world. They emulated their leader Saudi Arabia in its sacrifi ce and in keeping its one million barrel away from the world market and losing an income of about $65 million per day. The challenging question here is - At what level should oil price reach in order for countries to relax and pour more volume? Will it be until the US oil consumers start complaining, and the oil prices hit the US gasoline consumers’ pocket with $4 per gal- lon, or when they become so angry that some sort of pressure will fall on the US shale producers to pour and produce more oil? While waiting for positive world trade move- ments, will the $1.9 trillion package to stimulate the US economy, and the trade and commercial move- ments of China give OPEC the needed confi dence to open its production taps? Next month’s meeting will be an indication about the direction of oil movement in terms of both vol- ume and price. However, it again depends on Saudi Arabia’s outlook! ❑ ❑ ❑ email: [email protected] ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, MARCH 14, 2021 BUSINESS 9

Ant Group CEO resigns for personal reasons

The CEO of Ant Group, the world’s big- dominant online payments services. quirements but gave no details. Ant said gest financial technology company, has re- Over a billion users use Alipay to pay for later that it would suspend its Hong Kong signed from the company due to personal purchases both online and in stores, to debut due to the Shanghai suspension. Rakuten’s CEO Hiroshi Miki- reasons. Ant Group thanked Simon Hu on send money to friends and to pay bills. In December Chinese regulators or- tani speaks during a press Friday for his contributions to the business. Ant Group has come under increased dered Ant Group to rectify its businesses conference with Japan Post He had served as CEO since 2019. The scrutiny and tighter regulation as it ex- and comply with regulatory require- Holdings President Hiroya company named Eric Jing as its new CEO, panded the range of financial technol- ments. The People’s Bank of China, Masuda, March 12, 2021, in effective immediately. ogy services it offers. In November its the country’s central bank, summoned Tokyo. (AP) Alibaba Group, the world’s biggest e- planned stock market debut was sus- Ant executives that month and ordered commerce company by sales volume, pended in Shanghai and Hong Kong. them to formulate a rectification plan and spun off its Alipay payments service to The Shanghai stock exchange cited an implementation timetable of its busi- create the company that became Ant regulatory changes in Ant’s industry and ness, including its credit, insurance and Group. Alipay is one of China’s two a possible failure to meet disclosure re- wealth management services. (AP) US stocks edge to more records

World shares mixed; Tokyo’s benchmark rises 1.7%

NEW YORK, March 13, cans would spend even more time consumer sentiment index for (AP): A late-afternoon online. March came in at a reading of ‘The Amazon of S. Korea’ IPO biggest in years But as the pandemic eases this 83.0, well above the reading of burst of buying helped year, and bond yields rise, more 80.0 that economists had expect- nudge several U.S. stock expensive stocks such as these ed. indexes to all-time highs have struggled. World shares were mixed after S. Korea’s Coupang debuts on NYSE The increase in bond yields broad gains lifted several major Friday, despite a pullback NEW YORK, March 13, (AP): in Big Tech companies as comes as President Joe Biden indexes to all-time highs on Wall signed into law the $1.9 trillion Street as the U.S. stimulus package The biggest IPO in years is roll- bond yields headed high- stimulus plan, which will include fi nally became law. ing out Thursday on the New er. $1,400 checks for most Americans Shares fell in Paris and Frank- York Stock Exchange where as well as additional payments for furt but rose in Tokyo and Shang- Coupang, the South Korean The S&P 500 rose 0.1% af- equivalent of Amazon in the ter having been in the red for those with children or those who hai. Oil prices fell and the yield on collected unemployment benefi ts the U.S. 10-year Treasury rose to US, or Alibaba in China, will most of the day. The bench- last year. 1.58%. begin trading under the ticker mark index also notched its President Biden also laid out a On Thursday, the S&P 500, the “CPNG.” second straight weekly gain. plan, in a primetime speech Thurs- Dow Jones Industrial Average It’s actually the largest initial Financial and industrial com- day, to expand vaccine eligibility and a measure of small-company public offering from an Asian to all Americans by May 1. stocks all closed at record levels as company since Alibaba went panies led a broad rally, out- public about seven years ago. weighing the slide in tech- These moves have given inves- President Joe Biden signed a $1.9 tors confi dence that the U.S. and trillion economic relief bill into And it’s the biggest in the U.S. nology and communications global economy will likely ex- law. since Uber raised more than $8 stocks. perience a strong recovery in the Tokyo’s benchmark rose 1.7%. billion in 2019. The Dow Jones Industrial Av- second half of the year as well as Hong Kong declined but the Coupang has raised about $4.6 erage and Russell 2000 index of potentially increase the rate of in- Shanghai Composite index recov- billion, outsizing last month’s $2 smaller company stocks also hit fl ation. ered from early losses. billion capital raise by the dating all-time highs for the second day Wall Street got another sign Oil prices fell and the yield on app Bumble. in a row. Coupang priced 130 million In this photo provided by the New York Stock Exchange, Coupang Founder Friday that infl ation is creeping the U.S. 10-year Treasury rose to and CEO Bom Kim, (third left), and his colleagues, joined by John Tuttle, The tech-heavy Nasdaq compos- higher. 1.57%. shares at $35 each, valuing the NYSE Vice Chairman, (second from right), rings the NYSE opening before ite fell, shedding some of its gains The Labor Department said its Germany’s DAX fell 0.5% to company at about $60 billion, ac- his company’s IPO, Thursday March 11, 2021. (AP) from a day earlier. producer price index, which mea- 14,491.77 and the CAC 40 in cording to regulatory fi lings. The bond market was the domi- sures infl ation before it reaches Paris lost 0.2% to 6,025.96. In That big price tag refl ects the That has helped to push Cou- quarter of 2020. nant force in pulling tech stocks consumers, rose by 0.5% last Britain, the FTSE 100 was flat, recognition of how vastly the pan- pang’s asking price for a share Coupang says it’s already the mostly downward, because as month following a record jump of at 6,736.71. demic has accelerated the shift to higher, from the initial range of third-largest employer in Ko- yields push interest rates higher, 1.3% the month before. Over the U.S. futures augured a lacklus- online shopping. between $27 and $30, to between rea, adding almost 25,000 new they make high-fl ying stocks look past year, wholesale prices are up ter start to Friday trading, with the Amazon’s fourth-quarter rev- $32 and $34, and now $35 each. jobs last year. Its goal is to cre- expensive. 2.8%, the largest 12-month gain at contract for the S&P 500 down enue shattered records, blowing The company also bumped up ate 50,000 new jobs in Korea by After remaining stable for the wholesale level in more than 0.4% and that for the Dow almost past the $100 billion level for the the number of shares it is offer- 2025. most of the week, the yield two years. fl at. first time, to reach $125.56 bil- ing because of strong demand by Like Facebook’s Mark Zuck- on the 10-year Treasury note Some economists fear that infl a- The respite for markets is lion. Target and Walmart have 10 million, for a total of 130 mil- erberg, Coupang’s founder and jumped to 1.62% from 1.52% a tion, which has been dormant over likely to be brief, with the talks also aggressively pushed into lion shares. CEO Bom Suk Kim will hold day earlier. the past decade, could begin to rise between U.S. and Chinese of- online sales. Target said this Revenue growth at Coupang all of the company’s outstanding Investors had sold off stocks late under the extra demand generated ficials scheduled for March 18 month that online sales soared has been explosive, jumping from Class B shares. That will repre- last week after that yield crossed by the government’s new $1.9 tril- in Anchorage, Alaska, expected 118% during the critical holiday $900 million in the fi rst quarter of sent about 76.7% of the voting above the 1.60% mark. lion stimulus package signed into to tackle intense disagreements quarter. 2018, to $3.8 billion in the fourth power. “Bond investors are trying law Thursday. over trade, the pandemic and hu- to determine how much future Others disagree, pointing out man rights issues, Secretary of growth is in the economy and that there are 9.5 million fewer State Antony Blinken told law- what that means for inflation,” jobs in the American economy makers. said Chris Zaccarelli, chief in- than there were before the pan- It will be the fi rst face-to-face vestment officer for Independent demic hit a year ago, and argue talks since Biden took offi ce at a Advisor Alliance. that unemployment will keep a lid time of growing strains between “It could be over the course on infl ation. the two largest economies. of this year or the next couple in “The fact remains that there is a In Asian trading, Tokyo’s terms of trying to find the right tug-of-war regarding the infl ation Nikkei 225 added 1.7% to level.” question,” said Quincy Krosby, 29,717.83. The S&P 500 rose 4 points to chief market strategist at Pruden- Rakuten jumped 8.6% and Ja- 3,943.34, extending its winning tial Financial. pan Post shares advanced 4.9% af- streak to a fourth straight day. “And that is, whether or not the ter the two companies announced The Dow added 293.05 points, inflationary pressure that some the postal giant will invest about or 0.9%, to 32,778.64, lifted in the market expect, whether or $1.4 billion in an 8% stake in the by industrial stocks like Boe- not it’s temporary or transient as e-commerce venture to strengthen ing and Caterpillar. The Nasdaq the Fed characterizes it, or a pre- a partnership in deliveries, fi ntech dropped 78.81 points, or 0.6%, to lude to a higher inflationary en- and other areas. 13,319.86. vironment as the U.S. economy South Korea’s Kospi climbed The Russell 2000 picked normalizes.” 1.4% to 3,054.39. In Australia, up 14.25 points, or 0.6%, to Meanwhile, shares of big banks the S&P/ASX 200 added 0.8% to 2,352.79 and ended the week have climbed. Banks are often a 6,766.80. 7.3% higher. proxy for a broader economy, as Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed That blows away the S&P 500’s the ability for borrowers to repay 2.2% to 28,739.72, while the 2.6% gain for the week. debts matters to banks’ balance Shanghai Composite index gained The stock indexes were mostly sheets and higher interest rates 0.5% to 3,453.08. lower for much of the day as tech- means they can charge more to Benchmark U.S. crude slipped nology stocks, which had spent borrowers. 40 cents to $65.62 per barrel in most of the week holding steady The KBW Bank Index of the 24 electronic trading on the New or climbing, fell broadly as bond largest banks rose 1.7% and is up York Mercantile Exchange. It yields rose. 26% this year. gained 2.5% on Thursday. Brent Apple fell 0.8%, Facebook Investors got another piece of crude, the international standard dropped 2%, Google’s parent com- data that showed that American for pricing, lost 28 cents to $69.35 pany slid 2.4% and Microsoft lost consumers are feeling increas- per barrel. 0.6%. ingly confi dent about returning to The U.S. dollar cost 109.11 Jap- These giant tech companies normal, and hopefully returning to anese yen, up from 108.53 yen late soared last year as investors bet their old spending habits. Thursday. The euro fell to $1.1937 that pandemic-quarantined Ameri- The University of Michigan from $1.1983.

In this photo provided by the New York Stock Exchange, traders work on the trading floor on March 12, in New York. (AP) Korea’s LG to invest $4.5bn in its US battery business

LG Energy Solution says it will building a $2.3 billion battery General Motors has changed sion for the future. invest more than $4.5 billion factory in Lordstown, Ohio, its corporate logo and launched GM is likely to need far more in its U.S. battery production near Cleveland, that will em- an electric vehicle marketing battery capacity if it’s able to This fi le photo shows the business by 2025 as automak- ploy about 1,000 people when campaign to reshape its image deliver on a goal of converting corporate logo of LG Elec- ers ramp up production of elec- it is completed in 2022. The as clean vehicle company, rath- all of its new passenger vehi- tronics in Goyang, South tric vehicles. site is fairly close to GM’s er than a builder of gas-pow- cles from internal combustion Korea. (AP) The Korean company, which two other designated electric ered pickups and SUVs. The engines to electricity by 2035. has a joint venture with U.S. vehicle plants, one in Detroit 112-year-old Detroit automaker The consulting fi rm LMC Au- automaker General Motors, and the other north of the city has promised to roll out 30 new tomotive predicts that U.S. said the investment will help in Orion Township, Michigan. battery-powered vehicles glob- battery powered vehicle sales create 10,000 jobs, including The companies hope to have a ally by the end of 2025 and said will hit over 1 million per year subcontractors. decision on a second site in the Friday that the new campaign starting in 2023, reaching over GM and LG are currently fi rst half of the year. will highlight its progressive vi- 4 million by 2030. (AP) Business PPluslus Companies in worst-hit sectors envisioning years of reduced demand Why the pandemic left long-term scars on global job market

she was furloughed a year ago. Over the summer, her job was eliminated. Now a part-time cashier at an Albertsons grocery store, Beza is still seeking full-time work in the restaurant industry, which employed her for 37 years. She’s holding out hope that Las Vegas will rebound and tourists will re- turn to restaurants, hotels and casinos. But it may be impossible, she knows, for laid-off workers like her to land jobs that offer the kinds of solid wages, tips and benefi ts they used to enjoy. In Europe, government jobs pro- grams have prevented a devastating spike in unemployment. Unemploy- ment in January was 8.1%, up only modestly from 7.4% a year earlier. Yet an economic reckoning has be- gun, with companies in the worst-hit sectors envisioning years of reduced demand. Consider commercial airlines. Lufthansa’s workforce shrank from 138,000 to 110,000 in 2020. British Airways plans to cut 12,000 jobs from its 42,000-strong workforce. UK-based regional airline Flybe took 2,000 jobs with it when it collapsed a year ago. Germany’s hotel and restaurant association says that despite gov- ernment support to help maintain payrolls, employment sank from 2.45 million pre-pandemic to 2.09 million. Holger Schaefer, a labor economist at the German Economic Institute in Cologne, suggested that behavioral changes - more digital meetings, for example, and less business travel - would result in permanent job losses in some companies. By contrast, some other sectors of the economy should benefi t from pent-up demand once the virus is defeated. Schaefer is optimistic about restaurants, for one. “There is a fundamental demand for such services,” he said. “I can’t imag- Hotel housekeeper Esther Montanez looks at her cell phone outside the Hilton Back Bay, March 5, 2021, in Boston. Montanez refuses to give up hope of returning to her cleaning job at the hotel, which ine that when everyone is vaccinated she held for six years until being furloughed since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 virus outbreak. The single mother cannot bear the idea of searching for work that will almost certainly mean earning and it’s safe, that there will still be near the minimum wage. (AP) problems in that area.” Around the world in the Chinese By Paul Wiseman and Alexandra through their union to press the hotel enough to return in signifi cant The Fed also reported last month city of Xuzhou, northwest of Shang- Olson to reinstate their jobs. numbers to restaurants, bars, movie that employment in the lowest-paid hai, Guan Li, a convenience store Getting it back could prove a strug- theaters and shops, allowing those jobs was running 20% below pre- owner, said he hired four out-of-work sther Montanez’s housecleaning gle for her, along with millions of decimated businesses to employ as pandemic levels. For the highest- relatives but had to lay them off after Ejob at the Hilton Back Bay in Bos- other unemployed people around the many people as they did before? paying jobs, by contrast, the shortfall sales fell by half. Now, he and his ton was a lifeline for her, a 31-year- world. Even as viral vaccines increas- How much will white-collar profes- was just 5%. wife run the shop themselves. old single mother with a 5-year-old ingly promise a return to something sionals continue to work from home, Services workers had long been “People just don’t want to buy,” he son. close to normal life, the coronavirus leaving downtown business districts thought to be safe from the threats said. Guan, who is close to 60, and his The pay was steady and solid – seems sure to leave permanent scars all but empty during the week? that menaced factory employment: wife plan to retire because the shop’s enough to pay her bills and still have on the job market. At least 30% of the Will business travel fully rebound Foreign competition and automation. income may no longer cover their money left over to sock away for a US jobs lost to the pandemic aren’t now that companies have seen the But more and more, as employers costs. Owners of two similar shops Jobs are changing - savings account for her child. Mon- expected to come back - a sizable ease with which co-workers can col- have sought to save money in a time nearby also plan to close, he said. ‘ tanez liked her co-workers and felt proportion of them at employers that laborate on video platforms at far less of uncertainty and to promote social In Egypt, Mohammed Gamal used industries are chang- pride in her work. require face-to-face contact with cost? distancing in the workplace, machines to earn a decent living working six But when the viral pandemic consumers: Hotels, restaurants, retail- “Jobs are changing - industries are are reaching beyond the factory fl oor days a week at a café in Giza, twin ing ... We’re creat- slammed violently into the US econo- ers, entertainment venues. United changing,’’ said Loretta Penn, chair of and into retail, restaurants and hotels. city of Cairo. But pandemic restric- my a year ago, igniting a devastating Here, Montanez’s union, says 75% the Virginia Ready Initiative, which Tamura Jamison, for instance, came tions and dwindling business shrank ing a new normal recession, it swept away her job, along of the 300,000 hospitality workers it helps workers develop new skills and back to a changed job when she was his workweek and slashed his income with many tens of millions of others. represents remain out of work. fi nd new jobs. “We’re creating a new recalled to work in June as a front by more than half. It didn’t help when every day Since then, in desperation, Montanez The threat to workers in those oc- normal every day.’’ desk agent at the Paris Las Vegas the government banned “sheesha,’’ has siphoned away money from her cupations, many of them low-wage The habits that people have grown Hotel & Casino, owned by Caesars the hookah water pipe that’s popular ’ son’s savings to help meet expenses. earners, marks a sharp reversal from accustomed to in the pandemic - Entertainment. Her hours were cut across the Middle East and is a major At Christmas, she turned to charities the 2008-2009 Great Recession, when working, shopping, eating and enjoy- from 40 to about 32 a week, resulting moneymaker for cafes. to provide presents for him. For now, middle- and higher-wage construction, ing entertainment from home - could in a pay cut of about $700 a month. In mid-2020, he sent his wife and she’s getting by on unemployment aid factory, offi ce and fi nancial services prove permanent for many. Though Just 26 of 45 workers on her team two children back to his parents’ and, for the fi rst time, has applied for workers bore the brunt of job losses. these trends predated the virus, the were brought back. Existing self- house in Beni Mazar, south of Cairo. pandemic accelerated them. Depend- service kiosks used to be optional for food stamps. Now, he shares a room with a friend No one knows exactly what the job ing on how widely such habits stick, guests checking in. No longer. Now, “The truth is, I want my job back,’’ market will look like when the virus to save on rent. demand for waiters, cashiers, front- agents must direct guests to the kiosks “I just work three days a week, and said Montanez, who has banded with fi nally ends its rampage. desk clerks and ticket takers may and intervene only if needed. That her former colleagues and worked Will consumers feel confi dent this is not enough even for a single never regain its previous highs. means fewer commissions for room person,” said Gamal, 31. The consultancy McKinsey & Co. upgrades; guests can request them on In Mexico City, Gerardo González, estimates that the United States will their own. wearing a suit, a black mask and a lose 4.3 million jobs in customer and As a union shop steward, Jamison plastic face shield, waited recently food service in the next decade. knows that her missing colleagues on the sidewalk outside the delivery In a study, José María Barrero of won’t likely be recalled. service Didi. He had hoped to fi nd Mexico’s ITAM Business School, “At this point,” she said, “they have work a month after he lost his job at Nick Bloom of Stanford University to move on with their lives.” a bakery where he did cleaning and and Steven Davis of the University of Jamison wonders whether the front displayed merchandise. Chicago concluded that 32% to 42% desk operation will eventually be He’s applied for jobs at fi ve com- of COVID-induced layoffs will be eliminated altogether, the jobs lost to panies. permanent. automation. Guests, she notes, will “I can’t get anything,” said The US Labor Department, too, has soon have keys on their smartphones, González, 51, who supports his wife tried to estimate the pandemic’s likely allowing them to go directly to their and two young children. To meet impact on the job market. Before rooms. his family’s expenses, he’s burned taking the pandemic into account, the “This is the start of a new Vegas,” through his savings. department last year projected that US Jamison said. “The front desk doesn’t “We hope that with the vaccine, jobs would grow 3.7% between 2019 really have to be there. There are ways things will start going back to nor- and 2029. to eliminate our jobs.” mal,” he said. Last month, it estimated that if the In a study out last month, Stefania Melinda Harmon lost a job she outbreak’s lasting economic effects Albanesi of the University of Pitts- loved as a bartender at Milwaukee’s were limited mainly to increased work burgh and Jiyeon Kim of the Korea Fiserv Forum last year. First, she from home, job growth over the 10 Development Institute warned that in found work as a health care aide for years would slow to 2.9%. a world still fearful of the virus or of $9.25 an hour. Even after receiving a But if the pandemic exerts a deeper, other health threats, many companies raise to $10, she struggled to support longer-lasting impact - with many could replace employees with ma- her two sons. Frustrated, she resigned consumers going less frequently chines rather than redesign workspac- and took on a new job as a security to restaurants, movie theaters and es to facilitate social distancing and guard for $12 an hour. She’s been shopping centers - job growth would reduce the threat of infection. switching off lights to save money for slow to just 1.9%, the department The services occupations that have electricity and has had to delay hair- predicted. In that worst-case scenario, absorbed the biggest job losses, they cuts for her two beloved Pomeranians. the department estimated, employ- say, “have high susceptibility to au- Yet she remains optimistic that the ment would tumble 13% for waiters tomation.’’ That “raises the prospect Fiserv Forum will reopen and that and waitresses, 14% for bartenders, that as the economy recovers, at least she will one day be mixing drinks for 16% for fast food cooks and 22% for some of the jobs lost may not be Bucks fans again. hotel desk clerks. reinstated.’’ “I do believe things will go back,” The coronavirus recession has been Few places have been hurt more said Harmon, 39. especially cruel, victimizing people ruinously by the pandemic than Las In New York, Bill Zanker is also at the bottom of the pay scale. Lael Vegas, whose economy is powered by envisioning a comeback after being Brainard, one of the Federal Reserve’s out-of-town visitors and live entertain- forced to close his luxury gym, Grit governors, said last month that the ment. Until 12 months ago, Sharon Bxng. He’s raising money to launch poorest 25% of American workers Beza was among 283,000 workers in an at-home fi tness business in the fall, were facing “Depression-era rates of the city’s tourism and hospitality fi eld. which will mean eventually hiring to unemployment of around 23%’’ in She had worked as a cocktail waitress support a online business, including mid-January - nearly quadruple the at Eastside Cannery hotel-casino from customer service and supply special- national jobless rate. the time it opened in 2008 to the day ists. (AP) ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, MARCH 14, 2021 SCIENCE 11

Coronavirus

Cases, deaths decline Residents of nursing homes can get hugs WASHINGTON, March 13, (AP): Nursing home residents vaccinated against COVID-19 can get hugs again from their loved ones, and all residents may enjoy more indoor visits, the government said Wednesday in a step toward pre-pan- demic normalcy. The policy guidance from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, comes as coronavirus cases and deaths among nursing home residents have plummeted in recent weeks at the same time that vaccination acceler- ated. People living in long-term care facilities have borne a cruel toll from the pandemic. They represent about 1% of the US population, but account for 1 in 3 deaths, according to the COVID Tracking Project. Government offi cials acknowledged that isolation deep- ened the misery for residents as long- term care facilities remained locked down much of last year. Loneliness contributed to physical as well as mental decline. The ban on visits went into effect almost one year ago and only in the fall were facilities al- lowed to begin socially distanced out- door visits and limited indoor ones. “There is no substitute for physical contact, such as the warm embrace Fulmer between a resident and their loved one,” CMS said in its new guidance, “Therefore, if the resident is fully vaccinated, they can choose to have close contact (including touch) with their visitor while wearing a well-fi tting face mask and perform- In this Feb 10, 2021 file photo, a man receives a COVID-19 vaccine in North Las Vegas. President Joe Biden’s pledge that all US adults will be eligible for coronavi- ing hand-hygiene before and after.” rus vaccines by May 1 is putting a new challenge in front of the nation. For that to happen, the federal government must deliver doses to hundreds of new vaccination So while hugs are OK again for residents who have com- sites and recruit more health care workers to administer the shots. (AP) pleted their vaccination, precautions such as wearing masks and using hand sanitizer remain in place as a counterbalance to risk. CMS also underscored that maintaining 6 feet of separation is still the safest policy, and outdoor visits are Coronavirus preferable even when residents and visitors have been vac- cinated. “All of us feel enormous relief that we are at this next juncture and feel confi dent that reopening visitation can Denmark halts AstraZeneca jabs be achieved safely, given all we have learned during the pandemic,” said Terry Fulmer, president of the John A. Hartford Foundation, which works to improve care for older adults. “A great deal more has been learned about infection AZ vaccine probed for blood clots control, and families and facilities are ready.” COPENHAGEN, Denmark, March 13, Flexibility (AP): Denmark has temporarily sus- Before the pandemic, there was a lot of fl exibility when pended use of the AstraZeneca coro- WHO grants emergency authorization visiting a loved one living in a nursing home or getting re- navirus vaccine after reports of blood hab care in one. Family members came and went at different clots in some people, but its health hours of the day. Spouses were able to spend the day to- authority said Thursday it has no evi- for Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine gether, even if one of them was confi ned to a nursing home. dence the vaccine was responsible. Other experts pointed out that of the GENEVA, March 13, (AP): The A massive study that spanned But at the height of the crisis, the closest that friends and World Health Organization granted three continents found the J&J vac- family could get was waving on the other side of an exterior millions of AstraZeneca vaccine shots an emergency use listing Friday for cine was 85% effective in protect- window. administered elsewhere, including in the coronavirus vaccine made by ing against severe illness, hospital- The CMS guidance moves back in the pre-COVID-19 A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off Britain, there have been no reported Johnson & Johnson, meaning the izations and death. That protection direction, saying that nursing homes “should allow indoor from Cape Canaveral Space Force cases of the vaccine causing blood one-dose shot can now theoreti- remained strong even in countries visitation at all times and for all residents, regardless of Station, Fla, March 11. The rocket is clots or related problems. cally be used as part of the inter- like South Africa where variants Denmark’s Health Authority said its vaccination status.” Several exceptions are fl agged, such as carrying 60 Starlink communications national COVAX effort to distribute have been identified that appear satellites. (AP) decision was “based on a precaution- vaccines globally, including to poor to be less susceptible to other li- when a resident is known to be infected or in quarantine. ary principle” and that one person who countries without any supplies. censed vaccines, including the one “Now that millions of vaccines have been administered to developed a blood clot after vaccina- In a statement, the UN health agen- made by AstraZeneca. nursing home residents and staff, and the number of COVID tion had died. cy said “the ample data from large The UN backed COVAX effort cases in nursing homes has dropped signifi cantly, CMS is “At present, it cannot be concluded clinical trials” shows the J&J vaccine previously announced it had an ini- updating its visitation guidance to bring more families to- whether there is a link between the is effective in adult populations. The tial agreement with J&J to provide gether safely,” Dr. Lee Fleisher, a senior agency medical vaccine and the blood clots,” authori- emergency use listing comes a day 500 million doses, but that is not offi cer, said in a statement. ties said. Danish offi cials did not say after the European Medicines Agen- legally binding. Under the new guidance, homes in counties with high whether the patient had any underly- cy recommended the shot be given Dr. Bruce Aylward, a WHO se- rates of COVID-19 can still have indoor visits, provided ing conditions and did not provide any the green light across the 27-country nior adviser to Tedros, said he other details. European Union. hoped J&J might be able to provide they take precautions. When an outbreak occurs at a facil- “As new vaccines become avail- at least some of those doses in the ity, it doesn’t have to go on lockdown for 14 days. Visits can In a statement on Thursday, the Eu- able, we must ensure they become coming months. still happen as long as the outbreak is isolated to an area or ropean Medicines Agency said “the part of the global solution and not “We’re hoping by at least July unit of the facility. vaccine’s benefi ts continue to out- another reason some countries that we have access to doses that Compassionate care visits should be allowed at all times, Bird Obrador weigh its risks and the vaccine can and people are left further behind,” we can be rolling out, if not even the guidance said, even if there’s an outbreak or a resident continue to be administered” while WHO director-general Tedros Adh- earlier,” Aylward said. He added is unvaccinated. The term “compassionate care” doesn’t re- a closer evaluation of the blood clot anom Ghebreyesus said at a Friday that officials were particularly keen fer just to situations when a resident is near death, but also Ecology cases continues. press briefing. WHO has previously to get J&J doses to countries be- encompasses circumstances in which a patient is having “There is currently no indication signed off on COVID-19 vaccines cause it requires only one dose and trouble adjusting. that vaccination has caused these con- developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and can be stored at regular refrigerator ditions,” the regulator said. It said the AstraZeneca. temperatures. CMS is also urging nursing homes to consider scheduling Mexico spurns porpoise: A Mexican number of people with blood clots in visits and using time limits. Visitors should be encouraged government body met Friday to consider vaccinated people was no higher than to get vaccinated as soon as possible. several proposals that would almost cer- those who hadn’t been inoculated. two weeks, the agency said, adding to pause its use of AstraZeneca shots The nursing home industry says it’s prepared. tainly harm the vaquita marina porpoise, Some doctors pointed out that peo- it hinged on an evaluation by the EU “a dramatic step.” “This is the right thing to do,” said Katie Smith Sloan, the world’s most endangered marine ple now being immunized against medical regulator. “The vaccine has been given to sev- president of LeadingAge, which represents nonprofi t facili- mammal, and try to blame the porpoise’s COVID-19 are more likely to already “Like others, I fi nd (the pausing) eral million people all over the world ties. “Federal policy now refl ects the real progress that has plight on the United States. have health problems and that it would and its consequences annoying. It’s and we have not had similar reports been made in vaccinating nursing home residents and staff.” The inter-agency group is considering be diffi cult to determine whether a vac- too early to conclude in this case and of vaccine-induced clotting,” he said, Infection control has long been a challenge for nursing lifting endangered-species protection on cine shot is responsible. when there is a risk, it must be inves- adding that the blood clots were more homes, and many facilities also are short on staff. They be- the totoaba, a fi sh whose capture often tigated,” Danish Prime Minister Mette likely to be “separate, unconnected results in by-catch of vaquitas, as few as Vaccinated Frederiksen said. events.” came an ideal environment for the coronavirus to spread, 10 of which remain. The Environment among medically frail residents living in close quarters. Department said the group’s recommen- “The vast majority of people being After the Danish announcement, Britain’s medicines regulator react- Researchers believe the virus most likely got into homes dations won’t be made public until March vaccinated at the moment are elderly or Norway decided to follow suit and ed by noting there was no confi rmation through staffers exposed in the community and unwittingly 26. It had no immediate comment on the have got underlying diseases,” said Dr. temporarily suspend the Anglo-Swed- that the reported blood clot was caused bringing it with them. proposals. Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at ish company’ s vaccine, which was de- by the AstraZeneca vaccine. “People But now fi gures from the Centers for Disease Control Opening up legal fi shing of totoaba the University of East Anglia. “They veloped by the University of Oxford, should still go and get their COVID-19 and Prevention show that nearly 1.4 million nursing home - whose swim bladder is considered a will be at increased risk for all sorts of also saying that there are no proven vaccine when asked to do so,” it said. delicacy in China and is worth thousands adverse outcomes, regardless of wheth- links. In addition, Italy’s pharmaceuti- But Hendrik Streeck, a German vi- residents and more than 930,000 staffers have been fully cal agency on Thursday ordered a pre- rologist at the University of Bonn, said vaccinated. Nursing home cases peaked around the end of of dollars - would probably increase er or not they have been vaccinated.” the deaths of vaquitas. But such a move Hunter said there were 11 reports of cautionary ban on a particular batch of the Danish decision was the right one. December and then declined sharply, particularly since the would provide a windfall for some fi sh- blood clots in Britain among the more the AstraZeneca vaccine after what it “It’s not clear what the cause was, middle of January. Deaths among residents fell from 7,042 ermen in Mexico. Mexico’s President is than 11 million people given the As- said were “serious adverse events.” that’s why the vaccinations are being the week ending Dec. 20 to 1,112 the week ending March 7. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. traZeneca vaccine, and none have been In an interview with the broadcaster stopped for now,” Streeck told Ger- Also: “This agenda is focused on maintaining shown to have been caused by the shot. La Sexta, Spanish Health Minister man broadcaster n-tv. “In very rare the status quo and abandoning the vaquita He said pausing immunizations was Carolina Darias said there had been cases, there can be a problem with a DUBAI: The World Government Summit Dialogues saw marina and returning to fi shing for totoa- also a risky decision in itself. no similar incidents in Spain and said specifi c batch. Now they are looking to world leaders outline solutions to humanity’s most urgent ba,” said Alex Olivera, the Mexico rep- “When you stop vaccinating, you only minor side effects had been re- see what caused the clot.” challenges during the virtual event on 9-10 March. resentative for the Center for Biological know that some people will die of ported from the AstraZeneca vaccine. “We don’t want to put anybody at The World Government Summit Dialogues saw world Diversity. “It is disappointing that this Dr. Bharat Pankhania, an infectious risk, but I’m not concerned,” he said. administration has ruined everything that COVID-19,” he said. leaders outline solutions to humanity’s most urgent chal- had been done” in a decade-long fi ght to Denmark’s suspension of the As- diseases expert at Britain’s University “The exact right thing is being done in lenges. Dr. David Nabarro, Special Envoy on COVID-19 save the tiny, elusive porpoise. traZeneca vaccine will last for at least of Exeter, called Denmark’s decision Denmark.” to the World Health Organization (WHO), claimed the un- The meeting, which was closed to the fair weighting of vaccine access in favour of rich countries public, is also considering reducing the will delay the global recovery from the healthcare and eco- protection area for the vaquita marina that the endangered species has increased two decades ago. The program has pit- ing case involves a rewrite of the agency’s nomic crises, potentially beyond 2022. in the upper Gulf of California, the only its numbers, according to the US Fish and ted environmentalists, rural residents and management plan for the animals. “While the COVAX effort is commendable, if a few place the vaquita lives. That would open Wildlife Service. wildlife managers against one another, Some of details of the survey done over countries take the majority of the supplies and leave mini- up more areas to gill nets used for totoaba Reintroduction of Mexican wolves to prompting many legal challenges over the winter were included in court fi lings mal cash and vaccine supplies behind for the rest, this is not and other species that trap and drown the American Southwest began more than management of the effort. The latest pend- made this week. ethical,” Dr. Nabarro said. vaquitas. Environmentalists said they were hope- The group also revived an old, dis- ful about the numbers but that the wolves The current “free-for-all” approach to vaccine supplies credited theory that blames the vaquitas’ with “a small number of nations trying to outbid one an- were still in a precarious position. decline on the lack of water fl ows from Bryan Bird, director of the Southwest other”, doesn’t work. But “fair access to vaccine for every- the US through the Colorado River, which program for Defenders of Wildlife, said body, the objective for immunization, at least by 2022, is a starts in the United States and empties ensuring that wolves and people can co- reasonable prospect,” he said. into the Gulf, also known as the Sea of exist will continue to be an essential part Earlier, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director-General, Cortez. of long-term success for the species’ re- WHO, said: “Vaccine nationalism will only prolong the “It appears we are returning to the past covery. He said he was hopeful the feder- pandemic, and the human and economic suffering that goes with the discussion of the Colorado River al government would make wolf recovery with it. Health must be seen not as a cost to be contained ... as a cause of the die-off of the vaquita more of a priority, marina,” said Olivera. “So, while it is encouraging to see an but as an investment in productive and resilient populations, The Colorado River theory posited that and a key to sustainable development.” increase in wolves, limited genetic diver- a decline of fresh water from the river sity and high rates of illegal killing con- Later, the Right Honourable Lord Martin Rees, Presi- due to US usage had increased salinity dent, the Royal Society, said reasons to study and explore tinue to slow recovery efforts,” he said. in the upper Gulf, somehow affecting the “There is still work to be done to estab- other planets must be carefully considered. He claimed: vaquita. (AP) lish a self-sustaining Mexican gray wolf “The idea of Elon Musk to have a million people settle on ❑ ❑ ❑ population.” Mars is a dangerous delusion. Living on Mars is no better Wolves wild population up: Once on Michael Robinson of the Center for than living on the South Pole or the tip of Mount Everest. the verge of extinction, the rarest subspe- Biological Diversity said more stringent “The only reason for humans to go to space would be for cies of the gray wolf in North America protections are needed for the wolves and adventure. To live on Mars is not going to be easy. Mars has has seen its population nearly double over more effective releases from captivity a hostile environment.” the last fi ve years, with more gains being into the wild. His thoughts were backed-up by the eminent astrophysi- reported in 2020, US wildlife managers Meanwhile, ranchers and rural resi- cist, Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, who said: “To ship a billion said Friday. dents who live in the mountainous regions people to another planet to help them survive a catastrophe The results of the latest annual survey Licensed vocational nurse LeShay Brown inoculates California Health and Hu- of southeastern Arizona and southwestern on earth seems unrealistic.” show there are at least 186 Mexican gray man Services Secretary Dr Mark Ghaly at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza in New Mexico where the wolves roam say wolves in the wild in New Mexico and Los Angeles, March 11. The California Department of Public Health is highlight- livestock deaths due to predation continue Arizona. That marks the fi fth straight year ing the new one-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. (AP) to escalate as the population grows. (AP) Music SUNDAY, MARCH 14, 2021 FFeatureseatures the Mediterranean island nation’s the Mediterranean islandnation’s fully dancingandcelebrating during bizarre andcolorful costumes,joy- Cyprus, whenresidents letloosein usually thehighlight oftheyearfor are evaluatingalloptions.”(AP) reach themeritsofappeal.We its supervisoryauthorityanddidnot late Divisiondeclinedtoexercise policy issuespresented,theAppel- said. “Despitetheimportantpublic pop artist appeals courtruledagainstfamed collections,” attorney under policiescoveringfi the valuationofinsuranceclaims and novelquestionsconcerning to thestateSupremeCourt. and consideringwhethertoappeal said hewasreviewingtheopinion undisturbed. and leftthelowercourt’sdecision its rulingthatitlackedjurisdiction Thursday’s ruling. sold attheseprices,”accordingto likely wouldnotinthefuturebe and thattheentirebodyofworks the itemshadnotsoldinpast looked thepossibilitythatmanyof and thatMax’sapproach“over- the valuationswereappropriate including posters. discount tosomeentirecategories, damaged worksbyapplyinga rectly calculatedtheworthof panies allegethejusticeincor- designated toresolvethedispute. Jersey SupremeCourtjusticewas for thedamages,aformerNew Lloyds, couldn’tagreeonacost Great AmericanSecurityand court documents. late October2012,accordingto Superstorm Sandyhittheareain in northernNewJerseywhen aged atawarehousein posters andotherworksweredam- too low. $48 millioninsuranceawardwas 1960s, hasclaimedanarbitrator’s exhibited inmuseumssincethe posters andpostagestamps have beenwidelyreproducedon distinctive psychedelicdrawings house duringSuperstormSandy. works thatweredamagedinaware- over millionsofdollars’worthhis fahi, theCEOofLosAngeles-basedEMHProductions.Thebrothers, Shiraz andraidedtheirstudio,saidSasy’smanager,FarshidRafeRa- popular musicarrangerswhoworkedonthesonginsoutherncityof video wentlivelateWednesday,Iraniansecurityforcesdetainedtwo patrol socialmediaplatformsbeyondtheirreach.Hoursbeforethe media likenewspapersandtelevision,authoritieshaveusedcourtsto LIMASSOL, Cyprus: LOS ANGELES: gram insteadoffi take alcoholshotsiftheycan’tfallasleepandtoscrollthroughInsta- previous songalsofeaturingapornactress,heinstructedteenagersto Iranian conservativesseeastaintingthecountry’smoralprobity.Ina million viewswithinaweek. short bodycondressesatopcarsandinsidebars.Thecliprackedup18 actresses, includinganAmericanpornstar,gyratinginkimonosand Yafteh’s, newmusicvideo.Called“TehranTokyo,”thevideofeatures cism ofpopularundergroundIraniansinger,“Sasy,”orSasanHeidari Western behavior. said Thursday,inTehran’slatestefforttohaltwhatitdeemsdecadent based Iranianpopsinger,hismanagementcompanyandmedia have arrestedmultiplemusicproducersconnectedtoaCalifornia- DUBAI, UnitedArabEmirates,March13,(AP):Iranianauthorities Iran cracksdownoncontentiouspopmusicvideowitharrests “This appeal raises important “This appealraisesimportant An attorneyrepresentingMax The appealscourtalsowrotein A lowercourtjudgehadruled Max andhisassociatedcom- When Maxandhisinsurers, Thousands ofhispaintings, The German-bornMax,whose In Iran,wherethegovernmentretainstightcontrolsovertraditional Over theyears,Sasyhasbecomeknownforcontentiouslyricsthat The arrestscomeasIraniansocialmediahasbeenawashwithcriti- ❑ Peter Max A nishing theirhomework. New Jersey in a dispute inadispute Bradley Nash Carnival is Carnival is Lyndhurst ne arts

Jenna Ortega,(fromleft),JenniferGarner,JulianLerner,EverlyCarganillaandEdgarRamirezappearinascenefrom‘YesDay. fl ahead lastyear,this yearcarnival’s erings. Althoughthe paradewent lockdowns andbans onpublicgath- revelry hastakena backseat to the country’srichandpowerful. festooned fl costume marchalongelaborately biggest annualpartyscene. oats, huge puppetsandother deco- Iranian conservatives seeSasy’sIranian conservatives songastaintingcountry’s moralprobity But in the COVID-19 era, the But intheCOVID-19era, Revelers ineveryconceivable it wasworthashot. medic geniusinhisperformance“Joy”andthought done acomedybefore,butArtetahadseensparksofco- loved theidea.HesuggestedRamirez,whohadnever kids bebiracialtomorerefl character’s husbandbeofLatinodescentandthattheir say notoamoviecalled‘YesDay’?” tic andbestpartofme,”Artetasaid.“Andhowcanyou the Terrible,Horrible,NoGood,VeryBadDay.” rect. She’dworkedwithhimbeforeon“Alexanderand you’re justhungoverfrombeingsotired,”Garnersaid. to Garner. next dayyoumightlookalittle“haggard,”according sleeping outsideandwhatnot.Justbeforewarned,the are nevertoocrazy,mostlyicecreamforbreakfastand own YesDays. laughing athowmanythingshadbeeninspiredbytheir really personal.” oped fromscratch.Becauseofthat,thestoriesinitare time,” Garnersaid.“Thisthefi years. Carganilla. It’sthefi two littlerones,playedbyJulianLernerandEverly ited kids,ayoungteenagerplayedbyJennaOrtegaand Garner andEdgarRamirezastheparentstothreespir- had arevelation:Thisshouldbemovie. her YesDay“morningafter”photosonInstagramand the household. It becameabelovedandexhaustingannualtraditionin dren’s demandsalmostadecadeago,theywerehooked. 24 hourswhereparentshavetosayyestheirchil- covered AmyKrouseRosenthal’sbookaboutacrazy J Garner invitesfamiliestohave‘YesGarner Day’ Arteta wastheonewhoactuallysuggestedthather “I loveJensomuch.Shebringsoutthemostoptimis- For “YesDay,”GarnerwenttoMiguelArtetadi- “You feellikeyouwereoutpartying,butreally For YesDaycuriousparents,Garnersaidtheasks During thevirtualpremiere,shesaid,herkidskept “I justwentintokindofakidmodeforreallylong “Yes Day,”whichdebutedonNetfl Then afewyearsagoproducerfriendsawoneof Yes Day.Butwhensheandhermiddledaughterdis- ennifer Garnerdidn’tcomeupwiththeconceptofa Variety oats thatoftenmock By LindseyBahr rst fi lm Garnerhasproducedin10 ect amodern family.She rst thingI’veeverdevel- Sundance FilmFestivalinAsiatolaunchthissummer Film since leavinghiscareerasasuccessfulundergroundrapperinIran site helpedsponsorthemusicvideo. cusations stemmedfromamisunderstanding,giventhatpokerweb- ning gamblingwebsitesatSasy’sbehest.Rafahisaidtheac- Revolutionary Guard,alsoaccusedthemusicproducersinIranofrun- “contrary toculture.” Wednesday, allegingthatSasy’sassociatesinIranhadproducedmusic Sasy isnowapermanentresidentoftheUSandhaslivedinexile The Farsnewsagency,believedtobecloseIran’sparamilitary Semi-offi havoc, it’stomakepeoplehappy.” said Rafahi,referringtoAlexisTexas.“Sasy’smissionisn’tcreate music video,she’snotdoinganythinginappropriateinthesescenes,” on thoseassociatedwithpublicizingorproducingtheclip. the video.Soon,Iran’sguardiansofconservativemoralscrackeddown consternation thatauthoritiespledgedtoinvestigatetheappcarried former AlexisTexasdancingtoclubbyFarsipop,fueledsuchpublic nal courtinTehran,headded. Mohsen andBehrouzManouchehri,nowfaceprosecutionbyacrimi- ahMax Nash “It’s prettycrazy,she’sjustdancinglikeanypersoninordinary A weekago,thesong’steaser,featuringwell-knownpornper- ix Friday,stars cial newsagenciesinIranconfi to epic waterballoonfi everybody’s upforgettingbacktogether.” ally loveeachother.Theyhavethatchemistry.I’mglad excited becausethisfamilyisreallyspecial.Theydore- revealed they’realreadydevelopingasequel.“I’mvery movie comesstraightfromherheart,”saidArteta,who work togetheragain. help. character inparticularhastolearnhowstepupand dynamics. just howgratefultheyarethatthefi said. “ThatiswhatI’msoproudofaboutthismovie.” but youhavetospeaktheparentsaswell,”Garner down toalittlekid.Andyouwantitbefunwatch engaging foreveryonefrom,youknow,my15-year-old But it’salsoabouttheparents. working withsincethefi on stuntcoordinatorShaunaDuggins,whoshe’sbeen sometimes requiredstuntdoubles.Garnerevenbrought (during whichover40gallonswereconsumed),that and over30,000balloons)toanicecreameatingcontest NEW YORK: Jakarta, Indonesia “Yes Day”isfullofveryphysicalhijinks,froman “Jen Garnerwasthebestpartnerasaproducer.This Arteta andGarnerarecurrentlyfi “In away,it’salsolovestory,”Ramirezsaid.His They’ve alreadyheardfrommomsaroundtheworld “It’s diffi so gratefultoJenandMiguelbecausethisisarefl jects thatarehappeninginsociety,”Ramirezsaid.“Iam and wasjustdelightedtobedoingsomethingdifferent. energy tothesometimeschaotic(inagoodway)set you beenallmylife?”Healsobroughtalotofpositive both immediatelyclickedandthought,“Wherehave see thatonscreen.” families thatyouseearoundeveryday.It’simportantto Los AngelesandastatelikeCalifornia,thesearethe of theworldwelivein.Inagreatmulti-culturalcitylike Culture “I lovecomedyasavehicletotalkaboutgreatersub- Ramirez hadneverevenmetGarnerbefore,butthey cult tofi The SundanceFilmFestivaliscoming fi the season’sannual theme. Carnival, thelead fl of thisisthesecret outingofKing virus restrictions.Theculmination ing someeventsthatcomplywith completely witheraway,organiz- aren’t lettingthefestivespirit rations aresittinginwarehouses. cial incharge oforganizingthe Skevi Antoniadou But Limassolcityauthorities nd somethingthat’sreallyfunand rmed severalarrestson ght (whichtookfi Contest thissummer,theSundanceIn- Also: rst seasonof“Alias,”toassist. oat thatmarks lm speakstomarital , acityof- guring outhowto ve daystofi songs throughVPNsandproxies. manage workarounds,accessingsocialmediatoshareSasy’soutlawed YouTube andFacebooktoTwitterTelegram.YoungIraniansstill blocked accesstovariouswebsitesandsocialmediaplatforms,from hit song“Happy”in2014. young IranianswhoappearedinvideosdancingtoPharrellWilliams’ ties havecrackeddownonmusicinthepast,forinstancearresting from dancinginpublicorappearingoutsidewithoutthehijab.Authori- reach intomostaspectsofIraniansociety,withlawsbanningwomen system thatendurestoday,theRevolutionaryGuardhasextendedits uncertain whetherpolicealsodetainedanyofthelip-syncingfans. ated withSasy”wouldface“decisivejudicialaction.”Itremains many women wear bright lipstick and few cover their hair with the hijab. many womenwearbrightlipstickandfewcovertheirhairwiththehijab. ran Tokyo”intheirlivingrooms,kitchensandworkplaces.Intheclips, videos onsocialmedialip-syncing,dancingandstrikingposesto“Teh- the catchybeat,scoresofhipteenagersandtwenty-somethingsposted teachings, thousandsinthecountryareofadifferentmind.Inthrallto with internationallegalauthorities,”accordingtotheFarsreport. 2009. Sincethevideocameout,Iranhaspromisedto“pursuehiscase ection lm Under pressurefromhard-liners,theIraniangovernmentlonghas Since the1979IslamicRevolutioninstalledclericallyoverseen Iranian semi-offi While hard-linersconsiderthesongaWesternassaultonIslamic stronger,” Antoniadousaid. we’ll bounceback fromthiseven you backnextyear, because we’re lookingforward tohaving avoid massgatherings. oughfares withoutpriornoticeto rounds ofLimassol’smainthor- in adancingpose,willmakethe which hasanabstractfi Carnival festivities,saidthefl “The messagetoall isthat from stars screening of“WestSideStory”withnewinterviews service. on bothitscablechannelandtheHBOMaxstreaming TCM saidWednesdaythatits12thinstallmentwillrun this year—it’scomingstraighttoyourlivingroom. to HollywoodfortheTurnerClassicMoviesFestival tors like MacGraw will betributestopeoplelike Tamblyn Denzel Washington on fi ing cinephiles!”(AP) fan —whetherthey’renewtothisworldorcard-carry- tival willofferinterestforeverykindofclassicmovie head ofTCM,inastatement.“Thebreadththisfes- presentations tochoosefrom,”said proach givesfansevenmoremovies,starsandunique across twoplatforms—linearandstreaming.Ourap- festival. programs andeventswillbeshownthroughoutthe Won’t BelieveMe”from1947.Morethan80fi LOS ANGELES: The festivalbeginsMay6witha60thanniversary “We’re thrilledtoexpandthisyear’svirtualfestival fi to theboldandvibrantenergyofAsianindependent Lab initiativesaimedatAsiantalent. fi mer withfi Film Festival:Asiawilllaunchsometimeinlatesum- stitute andXRMMediasaidThursday.TheSundance Sundance FilmFestival,inastatement. Asian citiesforfutureeditions. munity.” develop andshowcaseAsiantalenttotheindiecom- committed tobringthestrengthofInstitutehelp that, “Indonesiaisanemergingfi lmkn, said lmmaking,” lmmakers, travelrestrictionsdepending,andSundance lms thathavebeenforgottenoroverlooked,like “We havelongwantedtodeepenourconnection XRM Mediaco-founder The SundanceInstituteintendstoexploreother Rob Reiner . Overthecourseoffourdays,there , newintroductionstofi Rita Moreno,GeorgeChakiris cial newsagenciesreportedthatthosewho“cooper- lms fromthe2021festival,adelegationof ’ (AP) Don’t worryaboutmakingthetrip gure frozen ❑ ’s “AntwoneFisher”and“They and Tabitha Jackson oat, Mira Nair Danny Glover Michael Y.Chow festive songs. (AP) guitars andmandolins, singing dress upandwalk thestreetswith the Spanishequivalent —who as famous streetsingers,stillknown party. OnestapleisLimassol’s gatherings tothemassivestreet over timefromsimplehome back centuriesandhaveevolved lm market,andweare Carnival festivitiesinCyprusgo Cantadori lms fromdirec- Pola Changnon , andspotlights , theDirectorof and and —aderivativeof Russ lms, added Ali , ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, MARCH 14, 2021 NEWS/FEATURES 13

People & Places

Film

Reunites with Cruz Almodóvar returns to female universe

NEW YORK, March 13, (AP): Pedro Almodóvar ex- posed all his vulnerability in the semi-autobiographi- cal fi lm “Pain and Glory.” Now he returns his focus to women not only with the short fi lm “The Human Voice”, an Oscar hopeful that arrives this week in the United States, but with an upcoming movie that reu- nites him with his muse Penélope Cruz. “Madres paralelas” (“Parallel Mothers”) will begin production on March 21 in Madrid “if the virus does not interfere,” said the Spanish director, who took ad- vantage of the confi nement and wrote the script after his plans to shoot for the fi rst time in the US were thwarted by the pandemic last year. “I return to the female uni- verse and to motherhood as well, which is a subject that has always fascinated me. But in this case, the mothers that ap- pear are very different from the ones Penélope has played be- fore,” Almodóvar said in Span- ish during a recent interview with The Associated Press via Zoom from Madrid. “These are very imperfect mothers and as an author that’s Almodóvar what interested me the most, especially because I have al- ready done several self-sacrifi cing and heroic moth- ers,” he said. “So this is a little bit about descendants, children, but also about ancestors, about family.” That’s not all he has in mind. Having shot his fi rst English production with Tilda In this Sept 11, 2019, file photo, John Prine performs at the Americana Honors & Awards show in Nashville, Tenn. The icon earned two posthumous Grammy nomi- Swinton — an adaptation of Jean Cocteau’s play “The nations, including best American Roots performance and best American Roots song for ‘I Remember Everything.’ Prine died April 7, 2020, from complications of Human Voice” — he plans another English-language the coronavirus. He was 73. (AP) short in a genre he hasn’t explored yet: the Western. The thing is that making short fi lms “has been very refreshing for me, like recovering new airs,” said Almodóvar. “I have recovered a bit of that playful feeling that Music fi lming was for me in the fi rst years, because I have allowed myself more freedom than I have been able to afford lately.” “The Human Voice” opens Friday in northern Cali- Masks and precautions: It’s different, but fun fornia, Miami and Chicago before expanding to other markets. Almodóvar, 71, who had COVID-19 just before the quarantine began in Spain a year ago, spoke with the A peek behind pandemic Grammys AP about the confi nement of his protagonist in “The Human Voice,” the technical freedoms that he took in this fi lm, as well as the role of streaming during the By Marcela Isaza pandemic and his desire to work with “The Queen’s Gambit’s” star Anya Taylor-Joy. have covered the Grammy Awards For Noah, Grammy Awards a return Answers have been edited for brevity and clarity. Ifor the Associated Press for 15 AP: You’ve been fl irting with the idea of adapting years. But this strange year feels like to in-person hosting, performances “The Human Voice” for many years. Did the fact that the first time. the story unfolds in confi nement had anything to do Built around performances, full of singing and shouting, and with the big- LOS ANGELES, March 13, (AP): artists perform their song. What’s with the decision to make it now? Trevor Noah took a careful ap- made it unique is that we’ve man- Almodóvar: The truth is that I had it in mind before gest crowd of any awards show, the Grammys seem uniquely wrong for a proach hosting “The Daily Show” aged to make a show that is a full the confi nement started, but the fi lm is, besides the story from his New York apartment dur- show for you at home. When you of a woman desperate because of her lover’s abandon- world still in the coronavirus pandem- ic. But organizers are taking extraor- ing the pandemic, but he said trav- watch it, you won’t be spending the ment - that is confi nement, the fact of not seeing the light French actress Laure Calamy poses eling across the country to host the whole time like ‘Aww man, this is at the end of the tunnel when someone is as madly in love after winning the Best Actress award dinary measures to pull it off, and the AP was one of just a few media outlets Grammys was an opportunity he a pandemic show.’ Like no, this is as Tilda Swinton in the movie. It becomes a metaphor for for ‘Antoinette dans les Cevennes’ couldn’t pass up. one of your favorite concert shows.” this time, because she is confi ned fi rst in the set that we (My Donkey, My Lover and I) during invited inside during the preparations, “If you get asked to host the The Recording Academy said have created as her house, but then that set is part of an- the 46th Cesar Award ceremony on so long as our reporters took constant Grammys, I don’t think you take music artists in attendance will be other closed space where she moves like a ghost, which March 12, 2021 in Paris. (AP) COVID-19 tests and observe many long to say ‘yes,’” said the Emmy socially distanced while playing “mu- is the studio where we fi lmed. other restrictions at the hyper-cautious winner, who will host Sunday’s sic for each other as a community AP: The camera leaves the walls of the apartment scene. Grammy Awards from downtown and celebrate the music that unites more than once to show the set and the equipment to For nearly all of my years as an AP Los Angeles. “All you figure out is us all.” The show was originally sup- represent the outdoors. It seems a nod to the theater Variety video journalist doing interviews on the how.” posed to take place on Jan. 31, but and an emphasis to the confi nement in which we fi nd the party-like red carpet at the Gram- Initially, Noah wondered if the the event was delayed because of ourselves. mys, they have been held at Staples Grammys would be like most other the coronavirus pandemic. Almodóvar: As an experiment, I really wanted to Center, a place where the Los Ange- major award shows that were held Beyoncé is the leading nominee LOS ANGELES: J-Rod has split. les Lakers play basketball and music’s get out of the set and show the matter of the cinemato- Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez virtually during the pandemic. But with nine. Swift, Dua Lipa and Rod- graphic artifi ce - the wood, the construction, the empty called off their two-year engagement, biggest superstars perform concerts. he was assured that his first time dy Ricch each earned six nomina- walls. But it was also not only a visual whim but for according to multiple reports based on This year there is no red carpet out- hosting the ceremony honoring mu- tions. example, the fact that a woman is on a terrace looking anonymous sources. The former slugger side, and the ceremony is next door at sic’s best would be in person. Other feature performers include at the skyline and we verify that there is no skyline but proposed to the actor a couple years ago the Los Angeles Convention Center, Noah said the ceremony, which Megan Thee Stallion, Harry Styles, what there is a wall gives the impression that her lone- after the celebrity couple started dating in a place where the upcoming schedule airs at 8 p.m. Eastern on CBS and Bad Bunny, Dua Lipa, Ricch, Chris liness is greater, that she lives in the dark almost like early 2017. includes the Bride World Bridal Show Paramount+, will have a “music Martin, John Mayer and Brandi Carlile. a ghost. The fact of also having the (telephone) con- The New York Post’s Page Six & Expo and the American Academy of festival vibe” with parts of the show Noah said he is looking forward versation in motion with the earphones and not see- was the fi rst to report on the couple’s Otolaryngology’s Head & Neck Sur- held outdoors. He expects an en- to all the performances, but he’s ing who she is addressing gives the character a much breakup. A representative for Lopez did gery Annual Meeting. tertaining show with several per- particularly excited to watch Bruno greater feeling of loneliness. I tried to unite something not return an email request for comment. It’s hardly the stuff of show busi- formers set to hit the stage includ- Mars - his favorite live performer. The last time Lopez and Rodriguez ness glitz, though it has signifi cance ing Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Cardi Under the R&B group name Silk purely theatrical, which is the monologue, with some- B and BTS. Sonic, Mars and Anderson Paak thing essentially cinematographic, which is the place posted a photo together was last month in for me as the place I took the oath to the Dominican Republic. become a US citizen in 1996. And its “Unlike most award shows, the expect to hit the stage together on where it is shot. It is not fi lmed theater, but it is theater Grammys also are about the per- Sunday. within cinema. The couple was given the nickname, multiple cavernous halls and spacious J-Rod, three years ago after they landed formances,” said Noah. Past hosts So far, Noah said venturing out AP: Swinton delivers a magnetic performance. walkways are well suited to putting on include Alicia Keys, James Corden to prepare for his Grammy host- on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine. a pandemic show. What was it like working with her? In 2019, Rodriguez said he and Lopez and LL Cool J. ing duties around other people Almodóvar: I was a little scared to work in English, had similar backgrounds and her latest Quiet “So, at the Oscars, you can’t has been “amazing” and “surreal.” but on the other hand it was also one of the reasons for fi lm “Second Act” refl ected the ties that have like Denzel (Washington) per- While watching rehearsals, he said making this short, the fact that it’s 30 minutes was kind drew them together. Those halls and walkways are so form his movie,” he continued. “But the performances gave him and of an exercise to see if I was able to direct in English. But Lopez is regarded as the most in- eerily quiet and empty as you walk the Grammys, you can have the others life. the truth is that Tilda’s intervention has been key because fl uential Hispanic performer in North them, unlike the buzzy, hectic scene from the fi rst rehearsals there was an incredible chemis- America, credited with breaking ethnic you usually see during the run-up to try between the two. We understood each other from the barriers in the entertainment industry. the Grammys, that it’s hard to believe ping your mask even for a moment will fore involved mouth swabs and ther- fi rst moment and I didn’t feel that I was speaking in a dif- Lopez is considered a global icon, and we’re just a couple of days from Sun- bring a scolding from security, and we mometers. By the time Sunday’s show ferent language. Ultimately, the language we both spoke is often described as a triple threat per- day’s telecast. The show will be hosted can’t bring in any of our own food or starts, I will have had fi ve COVID-19 was the language of the cinema. former. (Agencies) by Trevor Noah and will include per- water. tests in 11 days. When we get a (fi n- AP: Your last short fi lm was 2009’s “The Cannibalistic ❑ ❑ ❑ formances by Cardi B, BTS, Doja Cat, We have to keep our distance from gers crossed) negative result, we get a Councillor.” How did it feel going back to this format? Billie Eilish, Megan Thee Stallion, the musicians we interview, who are credential to go in, but still have our THE HAGUE, Netherlands: Lou Ot- the only people allowed to be mask- temperature taken daily before we en- Almodóvar: You know, when I fi nished “Pain and tens, the Dutch inventor of the cassette Harry Styles, Taylor Swift and Dua Glory” ... what I wanted to do and what I dreamed of tape, the medium of choice for millions Lipa. less, just long enough to be inter- ter. was making this short fi lm. It’s not that I had lost my of bedroom mix tapes, has died, said “You know, it’s defi nitely different, viewed. Some request that we also During a normal Grammys week, freedom while making “Pain and Glory,” not at all. But Philips, the company where he also but it’s been fun to just be in a bubble wear plastic face shields. I’d be all all over town covering the the one hour and a half or two hours footage force you to helped develop the compact disc. with my team and my dancers and re- My camera operator uses a six-foot crowded events that are part of the do some things that you shouldn’t have to take into ac- Ottens died Saturday at age 94, Philips ally just getting ready for the night,” boom mic to keep his distance. ritual, like Clive Davis’ annual gala. count. I mean, being 30 minutes, I allowed myself more confi rmed. Lipa told me as she stood inside the In a separate, cordoned-off area of Anthony Hamilton, who’s perform- freedom than in a feature fi lm for a mere narrative fact. A structural engineer who trained at Convention Center on a spaced-out the center’s biggest hall, performers ing with Roddy Ricch and DaBaby AP: Like getting off the set... the prestigious Technical University in backstage interview-and-photo area who would normally be packed togeth- on the telecast, told me “It’s almost Almodóvar: Of course. I wouldn’t have been able Delft, he joined Philips in 1952 and was that is the only red carpet we have this er on the Staples Center stage amid a like Mardi Gras out in L.A. when it’s to get off the set in a feature fi lm, because it wouldn’t head of the Dutch company’s product year. “I’m just really thinking about writhing crowd are instead using four Grammy time.” make the sense it makes here. development department when he began the performance and I’m just so ex- separate stages facing each other so “I’m used to everybody being here AP: You’ve always been an advocate for the big work on an alternative for existing tape cited and so grateful to just be on that artists performing together can stay all at one time,” he said as we stood screen experience. Has the pandemic changed your recorders with their cumbersome large stage again.” distant, with virtually no audience. nearly alone in the interview space, perception of streaming? spools of tape. Many cautious performers have Outside the sprawling building, “a room full of people, all your peers, Almodóvar: No, but the truth is that streaming has His goal was simple. Make tapes and stayed private and steered clear of the carpenters and technicians have been every musician you ever wanted to fi lled the void left in me of not being able to go to their players far more portable and easier to use. media area, even with its tight anti- building the stages that will be a hub see in the music, in the media room the movies. In Madrid there are cinemas open, but viral protocols. The AP workspace is for Sunday’s awards. and running into people at the mall, the programming is very modest because the great “During the development of the cas- sette tape, in the early 1960s, he had a set off with high, thick black curtains, The protocol for security and cre- running around with all the different fi lms are hijacked by the studios. Even so, I still go wooden block made that fi t exactly in his and they are constantly replenishing us dentials at the Grammys have always fashion houses and just having a good at least once a week. I’m not such a fan of TV se- coat pocket,” said Olga Coolen, director with masks and hand sanitizer. Drop- been very strict, but they’ve never be- time, a big party.” (AP) ries, but the last one I’ve seen that I liked a lot is “The of the Philips Museum in the southern Queen’s Gambit” and I absolutely adore the actress, city of Eindhoven. “This was how big who I’ve read in an interview wants to work with me the fi rst Compact Cassette was to be, and I’m going to tell her yes. I will contact her to tell making it a lot handier than the bulky her absolutely because she has an appearance that’s tape recorders in use at the time.” Morton, Timothy Thedford, Jonathan DNA,” said Aulston Taylor, St Augus- very interesting to me; she can be a thousand different The fi nal product created in 1962 later Batiste and Luke James are each up for tine’s chief development offi cer. “These characters and she’s a very good actress. I also follow turned into a worldwide hit, with more best album in different categories at the four notable gents certainly embody that faithfully “The Crown,” which is a real spectacle. My than 100 billion cassettes sold, many to awards show Sunday, The Times-Pica- spirit and we are profoundly proud of struggle is that the model of the movie theaters does music fans who would record their own yune/New Orleans Advocate reports. their nominations for this year’s Gram- not disappear but coexist with the fi ction on (stream- compilations direct from the radio. (AP) The school congratulated the four mys.” ing) platforms. It is very important to be in a room ❑ ❑ ❑ nominees on a billboard along the Pon- Morton is nominated in the best gospel where the screen is much larger than the house where NEW ORLEANS: A New Orleans high tchartrain Expressway in New Orleans. album category for his “Gospel Accord- you live in. Big movies, good movies, deserve to ab- school is celebrating Grammy nomina- “The ability to make an impact on ing to PJ.” Thedford, better known as Jay sorb you completely. tions for four of its graduates. the world is what our school preaches, Electronica, is up for best rap album for St Augustine High School alumni PJ promotes and ingrains into our men’s Rodriguez Lopez “A Written Testimony.” (AP) ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, MARCH 14, 2021 SPORTS 14

Lewis and Hope set strong foundation West Indies beat Sri Lanka by 5 wickets to win ODI series NORTH POINT, Antigua, March 13, Indies’ highest successful ODI run Dushmantha Chameera bowled a finishing off the game and it was a (AP): A 192-run opening stand chase against Sri Lanka. tight 49th over, conceding only four total team effort.” between Evin Lewis and Shai Hope The West Indies came to the 48th runs, and the West Indies came to the Sri Lanka batted first after winning and cool finishing by Nicholas Pooran over needing 31 runs from 18 balls. last over still needing nine runs to win. the toss and slumped to 50-3 in the steered the West Indies to a five-wick- Fabian Allen hit a six from the first The first ball was a dot ball but ninth over. et win over Sri Lanka in the second ball from Nuwan Pradeep to eat into Pooran went down on one knee to strike Danushka Gunathilaka’s luck turned one-day cricket international. the deficit but was out next ball, leav- a superb cover drive for four from and his 96 from 96 balls led Sri The West Indies also earned a win- ing the match still in the balance. Pradeep’s second ball, putting the West Lanka’s recovery. Gunathilaka seemed ning 2-0 lead in the three-match series. Indies five runs from victory. Pradeep to have been wronged when he was Lewis made 103 and Hope 84 to set bowled a full toss which Pooran sliced given out for obstructing the field in the strong foundation that allowed the CRICKET behind point for four, and another full the first ODI which the West Indies West Indies to overtake Sri Lanka’s toss which the batsman chipped into the won by eight wickets. 273-8 with two balls to spare. leg side for the winning run. He batted superbly on Friday, re- A middle order slump which saw Pooran hit a four from the next “You could say (it was too close for establishing the Sri Lanka innings in a the home side slip to 233-4 when cap- delivery to ease some of the pressure comfort),” Pollard said. “But at the partnership of exactly 100 for the tain Kieron Pollard was out in the 46th on the home side and the West Indies end of the day we take the win. The fourth wicket with Dinesh Chandimal, over put late pressure on the West was in a stronger position when guys batted well. who made 71. Indies. But Pooran made an unbeaten Pradeep’s over conceded 18 runs, “Evin scored a hundred and in the A quick-fire innings of 47 from 31 35 from 38 balls to steer his team leaving 13 runs to be scored from the dressing room we asked him for a balls by Winandu Hasaranga lifted Sri home in the final over in the West last 12 balls. hundred. It was nice to see Pooran Lanka to a competitive total. Team NZ and Luna Rossa San Francisco Giants’ Heliot Ramos (80) steals second ahead of Colorado Rockies second baseman Alan Trejo (83) during the sixth inning of a spring training baseball game, on March 12, in Scottsdale, Arizona. (AP) tie 3-3 in America’s Cup Tatis homers in return Bogaerts, Sawamura debut for Italian challenger exploit defender’s mistake to win first race Bosox in 8-2 victory over Rays BOSTON, March 13, (AP): The four. David Price followed with three AUCKLAND, New Boston Red Sox have plenty of ques- scoreless inning. Zealand, March 13, (AP): tions heading into the season, and Max Muncy and Austin Barnes shortstop Xander Bogaerts doesn’t homered for the Dodgers. An uneasy stalemate in the want to be one of them. Eddie Rosario had a two-run single. 36th match for the Bogaerts, 28, is coming off a season Andrés Giménez went 0 for 3 and is in America’s Cup continued when he batted .300 with 11 homers a 1-for-14 slump since collecting hits and 28 RBIs while earning AL MVP in his first four at-bats. Giménez is bat- Saturday when defender votes for the third year in a row. But he tling Amed Rosario for the starting Team New Zealand and reported to the shortstop job. Both players came to Italian challenger Luna Red Sox com- Cleveland in the Francisco Lindor plex in Fort trade with the Mets. Rossa each took advantage Myers, Florida, of a pre-start error by the with a sore shoulder, which BASEBALL other to leave the best- manager Alex of-13 race series tied at 3-3. Cora attributed Luna Rossa exploited Team New to Bogaerts Anthony Gose, formerly a speedy Zealand’s mistake in the pre-start to pushing himself outfielder with Toronto and Detroit win the first race of the day by 18 too hard at who’s been trying to pitch since 2017, seconds and, in a mirror image, home in Aruba threw a perfect inning for the Indians, Team New Zealand pounced on during the off- Bogaerts striking out Corey Seager and retiring season. Justin Turner on a fly ball. The Luna Rossa’s mistake to win race Also, right-handed reliever 30-year-old left has pitched four score- six by 1 minute, 41 seconds. Hirokazu Sawamura made his spring less innings this spring. training debut. He got two quick outs Brewers 8, Cubs 3 (7) SAILING on a fly ball and a strikeout, then got into trouble with a double and three Brandon Woodruff made his second straight walks. start for Milwaukee, allowing five hits in two scoreless innings. Keston Hiura One team has to win both races in a Athletics 5, Padres 4 hit an RBI double and Jace Peterson day to break the deadlock but Luna Fernando Tatis Jr. led off the game had a bases-loaded triple. Rossa co-helmsman Jimmy Spithill said with his second spring home run, a Jake Arrieta struggled in his sec- the teams can only focus on the next race. Italy’s Luna Rossa is towed back after sailing against Team New Zealand in race 6 of the America’s Cup on ond start for Chicago, surrendering Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour, New Zealand, on March 13. (AP) smashing return after missing six days “We’re not looking too far ahead,” with a non-virus bug. The San Diego two runs on four hits and three walks he said. “Each day we come in and try shortstop got two hits and is 6 for 12 in in 3 1/3 innings. Joc Pederson went 2 to focus on the race ahead. exhibition play. His homer came off for 2 with a double, raising his aver- “There will be quite a lot of lessons Crusaders crush Chiefs in Super Rugby Aotearoa Sergio Romo. age to .579 in his first spring with the learned from both races today. We’ll Chris Paddack made his third start, Cubs. go back, as I’m sure will the other CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand, match of the full Super Rugby penalty to give the Chiefs a 10-0 pitching three innings and giving up a Giants 9, Rockies 8 (8) guys, and just come back fighting, March 13, (AP): The Hamilton- tournament in 2020, all eight lead after only nine minutes. run on three hits. C.J. Abrams, the stronger and ready to roll.” based Chiefs gave up an early 10-0 matches in New Zealand’s domes- The Crusaders struck back with Padres’ top prospect, hit his first home Germán Márquez was roughed up in Until Saturday, each of the four starts lead to lose 39-17 to the tic Super Rugby competition that a try to winger Leicester run. his second start for Colorado, yielding in the series had been won by the team Christchurch-based Crusaders year, under British and Irish Lions Fainga’anuku, made by a long Chad Pinder and catcher Tyler three earned runs on six hits and three Saturday and equal the record los- pass from David Havili. With two walks in three innings. Trevor Story which had port entry to the start box ing streak by a New Zealand team penalties to flyhalf Richie Mo’unga, Soderstrom, Oakland’s top prospect, and the team that won the start won the each hit doubles. hit his third home run. in Super Rugby. RUGBY the Crusaders edged ahead 11-10 Kevin Gausman made his first start race. New Zealand skipper Peter Defending champions the at halftime. Cardinals 4, Astros 3 Burling called that coincidence and was for San Francisco, allowing one hit in Crusaders are unbeaten after three That was the start of the Adam Wainwright kept up his two scoreless innings. Scott Kazmir, out proved right when the team coming in matches in Super Rugby Aotearoa coach Warren Gatland, and their Crusaders rally. They were much from starboard, or right-hand side of the strong spring, pitching four shutout of the majors since 2016 and attempting this season while the Chiefs’ first two matches of the current more effective running into the innings of one-hit ball. In three starts a comeback at 37, allowed two hits in a course, won both races Saturday. 11-match losing run equals the season. breeze, dominating set pieces and Races five and six were sailed on record set by the Highlanders in the Their effort to stave off the record pinning the Chiefs in their own half. so far, the 39-year-old St. Louis star scoreless inning, striking out two in his course A off Takapuna Beach in 2012 and 2013 seasons. started with promise when fullback The Chiefs had the final say with has allowed just one run and two hits first appearance for San Francisco. Auckland in a consistent sea breeze of The Chiefs’ streak extends over Damian McKenzie scored a try, a consolation try to Etene Nanai- in nine innings, striking out nine with Rangers 3, White Sox 2 around seven to 11 knots, slightly full- three seasons, embracing the last added the conversion and kicked a Seturo. one walk. Yadier Molina and Tyer O’Neill Chicago ace Lucas Giolito struck er in the first race than the second. homered for the Cardinals. Robel out five in four shutout innings, allow- The conditions again seemed per- But while Saturday’s 1-1 tie again New Zealand tried to wear off speed “We obviously just fell off the foil Garcia and Ronnie Dawson homered ing two hits and a walk. Top prospect fect for Luna Rossa, whose boat is left many questions unanswered, it and fell off its foils. Burling had to above them,” Burling said. “We for Houston. Andrew Vaughn had two hits. modeled to sail best in the lighter wind seems the boats are almost perfectly push the bow down to regain enough thought we had a little more time to Texas starter Jordan Lyles gave up a range. Luna Rossa’s larger foils make matched in terms of boat speed in those speed to be able to tack and in the kill than we actually did. We didn’t Dodgers 9, Indians 2 (6 1/2) run and two hits in two innings. Khris it more able to stay up in light wind, conditions and the starts are decisive. meantime Luna Rossa swept over the quite manage to get going again and to Walker Buehler made his third start Davis went 0 for 3 and is batting just also make it more stable and able to In the first race Saturday, on a time line and sailed away to an immediate take off and they shut down the race for Los Angeles, yielding two runs on .063 in his first spring with the maneuver faster in the light sea breeze. and distance run to the start line, Team 200-meter (yard) lead. pretty well from then.” five hits in three innings, striking out Rangers. ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, MARCH 14, 2021 SPORTS 15

Rutgers pummels Indiana in Big Ten quarterfinals Oklahoma State ousts Baylor in Big 12 Tournament semis KANSAS CITY, Mo., March 13, (AP): Cade Cunningham Carolina 69-66 in the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast scored 25 points, Avery Anderson III added 20 and No. 12 Conference Tournament. Oklahoma State was nearly perfect from the foul line down Balsa Koprivica had a career highs of 17 points and 11 the stretch in beating second-ranked Baylor 83-74 in the rebounds to lead the second-seeded Seminoles (16-5), who Big 12 Tournament semifinals. blew a 13-point lead, then rallied from five down midway Rondel Walker also had 11 points for the No. 5 seed through the second half to grind out a tough win that came Cowboys (20-7), who will play No. 13 Texas for the title down to the final seconds. Saturday night. The Seminoles will face Georgia Tech in the champion- The third-seeded Longhorns advanced earlier Friday ship game. The Yellow Jackets advanced when their semi- when their semifinal against No. 11 Kansas was canceled final against No. 16 Virginia was canceled because of because of a positive COVID-19 test that forced the COVID-19 issues in the Cavaliers program. Jayhawks to withdraw from the tournament. While the Caleb Love scored 13 points to lead the sixth-seeded Tar Cowboys have two Big 12 tourney titles to their credit, Heels (18-10). Texas has never won the event in six appearances in the Creighton 59, UConn56 finals. In New York, Marcus Zegarowski made two key baskets in a decisive nine-point run late in the second half and BASKETBALL Creighton held UConn without a field goal over the final six minutes to beat the Huskies in the Big East Tournament semifinals. MaCio Teague scored 17 points and Jared Butler had 16 The second-seeded Bluejays (20-7) will play eighth- for the top-seeded Bears (22-2), who had won 10 of their seeded Georgetown in the championship game Saturday last 11 against the Cowboys after sweeping them in the night at Madison Square Garden. regular season. Down 53-48 with 5:44 left in the second half, the Bluejays took over behind Zegarowski. The junior guard started a 9-0 Illinois 90, Rutgers 68 run with a driving layup and capped it with a mid-range In Indianapolis, Ayo Dosunmu scored 23 points and jumper that put Creighton up 57-53 with 2:35 left. Illinois easily beat Rutgers in the quarterfinals of the Big Zegarowski finished with 13 points and Damien Jefferson Ten Tournament. led Creighton with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Dosunmu shot 8 for 11 from the field, 7 of 9 from the line James Bouknight scored 14 to lead the third-seeded and added six assists and five rebounds. Huskies (15-7). Illinois (21-6) has won 12 of its last 13 games and San Diego St. 77, Nevada 70 avenged a regular-season loss to Rutgers to advance to Baylor’s Matthew Mayer, (left), blocks a shot by Kansas State’s DaJuan Gordon (3) during the first half of an NCAA Saturday’s semifinals against No. 5 Iowa. college basketball game in the second round of the Big 12 Conference tournament in Kansas City, Mo., on March In Las Vegas, Matt Mitchell had 24 points and eight Ron Harper Jr. scored 21 points and Jacob Young had 13 11. (AP) rebounds to lead San Diego State past Nevada on Friday in for the Scarlet Knights (15-11). the Mountain West Tournament semifinals. of 5 free throws. Wave (10-13), who stayed with a Top 10 team into the The Aztecs (22-4) advanced to their fourth straight con- Michigan 79, Maryland 66 D’Mitrik Trice led sixth-seeded Wisconsin (17-12) with second half after beating seventh-seeded Tulsa 77-70 in the ference championship and seventh in eight years. San In Indianapolis, Michigan coach Juwan Howard was 19 points. first round. Diego State will make its 15th appearance in the Mountain ejected midway through the second half after getting into a Alabama 85, Miss. State 48 Arkansas 70, Missouri 64 West title game, where it will play either Utah State or shouting match with the Maryland bench, and the In Nashville, Tenn., Jahvon Quinerly scored 14 points off In Nashville, Tenn., Reserve JD Notae scored a season- Colorado State. Wolverines beat the Terrapins to reach the Big Ten semifi- the bench, Jaden Shackelford had 13 points and Alabama high 27 points, and Arkansas overcame a 10-point deficit to Jordan Schakel scored 15 points, Trey Pulliam added 13 nals. blew out Mississippi State in a Southeastern Conference beat Missouri and advance to the Southeastern Conference and Lamont Butler chipped in with 10 for the Aztecs. Mike Smith scored 18 points and set a Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal. Tournament semifinals. Grant Sherfield scored 25 points for Nevada (16-10). Tournament record with 15 assists for top-seeded Michigan Warren Washington finished with 19 points, while The No. 6 Crimson Tide (22-6) will face Tennessee in The second-seeded Razorbacks (22-5) won their 12th (20-3). The Wolverines rallied from a 12-point first-half straight SEC game. They will play LSU in the semifinals Desmond Cambridge Jr. added 17 for the Wolf Pack. deficit and will face No. 9 Ohio State in Saturday’s semifi- Saturday’s semifinals. Playing as the tournament’s top seed for the first time Saturday. Colorado 72, USC 70 nals. Justin Smith scored 16 points before fouling out for Michigan swung the game by ending the first half on a since 2002, the Crimson Tide followed a couple of small In Las Vegas, D’Shawn Schwartz scored on a rebound early runs before going on a 17-0 surge over five minutes Arkansas, and Davonte Davis added 11. slam with 3.3 seconds left, McKinley Wright IV shook off 16-2 run and starting the second half on an 11-4 spurt. Xavier Pinson led Missouri (16-9) with 14 points. Dru But during a timeout with 10:44 to go, Howard walked for a 43-13 cushion just before halftime. an elbow to the head to score 24 points and Colorado held Iverson Molinar scored 18 points, Tolu Smith had 11 and Smith added 11 for the Tigers, who have never reached the off Southern California in the Pac-12 Tournament semifi- toward midcourt and shouted toward the Maryland bench. SEC Tournament semifinals. The refs called two technical fouls on Howard and another Abdul Ado grabbed 11 rebounds for ninth-seeded nals. on Terrapins coach Mark Turgeon, who was not ejected. Mississippi State (15-14). Ohio State 87, Purdue 78, OT The third-seeded Buffaloes (22-7) shot 12 of 24 from Franz Wagner and Eli Brooks each scored 16 points for Houston 77, Tulane 52 In Indianapolis, Seth Towns scored six of his season-high 3-point range to reach the Pac-12 Tournament title game for the league’s regular-season champs. 12 points in overtime, and Ohio State beat Purdue in the Big the first time since winning it in 2012. Colorado moves on In Forth Worth, Texas, DeJon Jarreau had his first career to play No. 5 seed Oregon State on Saturday. Eric Ayala scored 19 points and Darryl Morsell added 16 triple-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, Ten Tournament quarterfinals. to lead the eighth-seeded Terrapins (16-13). Duane Washington Jr. scored 20 points for Ohio State Evan Mobley had 29 points, nine rebounds and five helping Houston beat Tulane in the quarterfinals of the blocked shots for No. 2 seed USC (22-7), which trailed by Iowa 62, Wisconsin 57 American Athletic Conference Tournament. (20-8), which led by 18 at halftime. Trevion Williams finished with 26 points, 14 rebounds 10 with 4 1/2 minutes left. The Trojans tied it after Mobley In Indianapolis, Luka Garza scored 24 points, Joe Quentin Grimes scored 15 points and Marcus Sasser and five for Purdue (18-9), which had its five-game win- hit a 3-pointer and Tahj Eaddy scored on a three-point play Wieskamp made two key baskets late and Iowa fended off added 14 as each connected on four 3-pointers to help the ning streak end. Jaden Ivey added 19 points. with 35 seconds left. On Colorado’s final possession, Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals. Cougars (22-3) recover from a cold-shooting first half from Wright had a 3-pointer rim out and Schwartz sneaked along The third-seeded Hawkeyes (21-7) rallied from a six- long range. Houston will play the UCF-Memphis winner in Florida St. 69, N. Carolina 66 the baseline to slam the ball down. The Trojans couldn’t get point halftime deficit behind Garza. Their all-time leading the semifinals Saturday night. In Greensboro, N.C., Anthony Polite hit the go-ahead off a final shot after Wright deflected a pass in Colorado’s scorer dominated inside, making 10 of 15 field goals and 4 Kevin Cross scored 11 points for the 10th-seeded Green 3-pointer with 2:06 left, and Florida State held off North end. Maryland routs Northwestern Baylor women pound TCU Russian rookie Kaprizov scores to reach Big 12 semifinals KANSAS CITY, Mo., March 13, Saturday. Maryland nearly doubled hat trick as Wild blank Coyotes (AP): NaLyssa Smith scored 26 points, Northwestern in shooting efficiency, Dijonai Carrington had 17 and No. 6 hitting 59% to the Wildcats’ 30%. Baylor beat TCU 92-55 to advance to Veronica Burton had 14 points for the Big 12 Tournament semifinals. Northwestern (15-8). The top-seeded Lady Bears (23-2) and six assists for the Wildcats and are two wins away from winning their Jordan Hamilton added 10 points. ninth Big 12 Tournament in the last 10 W. Virginia 58, Kansas St. 56 years. Baylor will face Texas on Saturday in the semifinals. In Kansas City, Mo., Kirsten Deans Baylor has scored at least 90 in its made a layup at the buzzer to lift West last three games and has won 10 of its Virginia past Kansas State in the Big last 11 by double digits. 12 Tournament quarterfinals. Deans scored seven of her 11 points Maryland 85, Northwestern 52 in the last 36 seconds. Kysre In Indianapolis, Alaysia Styles Gondrezick led the Mountaineers (20- scored 15 points and Maryland routed Northwestern to reach the Big Ten title game. BASKETBALL The top-seeded Terrapins (23-2) will face Iowa in the championship game 5) with 26 points. They will face Oklahoma State winner Saturday in the semifinals. Christianna Carr and Rachel Ranke each scored 12 points for the Wildcats (9-18). Missouri St. 70, S. Illinois 59 In Moline, Illinois, Brice Calip scored 12 of her 17 points in the first half to help Missouri State beat Southern Illinois in the Missouri Valley Conference quarterfinals. The top-seeded Lady Bears (21-2) will face Bradley in the semifinals Saturday. Missouri State was undefeat- ed in conference regular-season play for the first time in program history. Abby Brockmeyer led Southern Illinois (9-16) with 18 points. FGCU 59, LIPSCOMB 44 In Kennesaw, Ga., Aaliyah Stanley TCU forward Yummy Morris (5) hit six 3-pointes and scored 25 points Minnesota Wild’s Nick Bjugstad (27) and Arizona Coyotes’ Jakob Chychrun (6) go after the puck during the third period of an NHL hockey game, on charges into Baylor forward Caitlin and Florida Gulf Coast won its 24th March 12, in St Paul, Minnesota. (AP) Bickle (51) during the first half of an straight game, beating Lipscomb to NCAA college basketball game in reach the Atlantic Sun championship the quarterfinal round of the Big 12 game. McDavid helps Oilers sweep Senators women’s tournament in Kansas Florida Gulf Coast (25-2) will face City, Mo., on March 12. (AP) Liberty for the title Sunday. ST. PAUL, Minnesota, Paul on Sunday and Tuesday night. Toronto. Sharks 6, Ducks 0 Oilers 6, Senators 2 Thomas Chabot and Brady Tkachuk In Anaheim, California, Devan March 13, (AP): Russian scored for Ottawa. NHL Results/Standings rookie Kirill Kaprizov had In Edmonton, Alberta, Connor Dubnyk made 34 saves for his 33rd McDavid had a goal and two assists Golden Knights 5, Blues 4, OT career shutout, Tomas Hertl had a goal his first NHL hat trick and and Edmonton beat Ottawa to sweep In St. Louis, Reilly Smith scored on and an assist in his return to San Jose’s Cam Talbot made 25 saves the three-game series and improve to a power play at 2:38 of overtime to lift lineup and the Sharks dominated WASHINGTON, March 13, (AP): Results and standings from the NHL games on for his first shutout of the 7-0 against the Vegas past St. Louis. Anaheim. Friday. Kevin Labanc had a goal and two Minnesota 4 Arizona 0 Colorado 2 Los Angeles 0 season in the Minnesota Senators this Smith connected on a one-timer off Vegas 5 St Louis OT 4 San Jose 6 Anaheim 0 season. Jonathan Marchessault’s pass. assists, Timo Meier and Evander Kane Edmonton 6 Ottawa 2 Wild’s 4-0 victory over the McDavid also had a goal and an assist, and Erik East Division West Division Arizona Coyotes. needed just 10 Karlsson and Fredrik Handemark GP W L OT Pts GF GA GP W L OT Pts GF GA Kaprizov opened the scoring seconds after the ICE HOCKEY added goals, NY Islanders 27 17 6 4 38 80 60 Vegas 24 17 6 1 35 78 55 opening faceoff Hertl missed six games after being Washington 26 16 6 4 36 89 83 Minnesota 25 16 8 1 33 79 63 5:47 into the third period and to score his 17th Pittsburgh 26 16 9 1 33 86 79 St Louis 27 14 8 5 33 87 87 added his second just over two placed on NHL’s COVID-19 list on Boston 24 14 6 4 32 70 56 Colorado 25 15 8 2 32 74 59 of the season, Mark Stone, Tomas Nosek, Alec Feb. 24. Philadelphia 24 13 8 3 29 79 78 minutes later for his first multi- Los Angeles 26 11 9 6 28 78 74 beating Joey Martinez and Marchessault also scored Avalanche 2, Kings 0 NY Rangers 25 10 12 3 23 68 71 Arizona 27 12 11 4 28 69 81 goal game. He scored his third in Daccord on the for Vegas. Marc-Andre Fleury, play- New Jersey 23 8 12 3 19 58 76 San Jose 24 10 11 3 23 72 88 Buffalo 25 6 15 4 16 58 85 the final seconds after Jonas In Denver, Mikko Rantanen had a Anaheim 28 8 14 6 22 62 92 game’s first ing after being removed from COVID- Central Division Brodin added an empty-netter. shot. McDavid 19 protocol due to a false positive, goal and an assist, Philipp Grubauer North Division McDavid GP W L OT Pts GF GA Kaprizov has four goals in the last pushed his made 19 saves. stopped 18 shots for his fourth shutout Carolina 26 19 6 1 39 93 67 GP W L OT Pts GF GA two games and 10 overall. The NHL-leading points total to 51 in 29 Vladimir Tarasenko, Zach Sanford of the season and the Colorado Tampa Bay 25 18 5 2 38 91 57 Toronto 28 19 7 2 40 97 70 23-year-old leads NHL rookies in games. and Ryan O’Reilly scored for the Avalanche beat the Los Angeles Kings. Florida 26 17 5 4 38 89 76 Edmonton 29 18 11 0 36 99 85 Nathan MacKinnon also scored for Chicago 28 14 9 5 33 87 88 Winnipeg 26 16 8 2 34 86 76 scoring. Leon Draisaitl and Tyler had a goal Blues, and Jordan Binnington made 35 Columbus 28 10 12 6 26 75 94 Montreal 26 12 7 7 31 85 71 Minnesota is 10-2-1 since Feb. 18, and an assist, Tyson Barrie, Darnell saves. the Avalanche, who held to recent Nashville 27 11 15 1 23 64 90 Calgary 27 12 12 3 27 73 81 leading the NHL in wins, points and Nurse and Gaetan Haas also scored The Blues have played four form by continuing to pile up shots Dallas 22 8 9 5 21 64 59 Vancouver 30 12 16 2 26 84 99 without getting many goals. Colorado Detroit 28 8 16 4 20 63 95 Ottawa 30 9 20 1 19 79 121 goals in that span. and Mike Smith made 23 saves. straight overtime games, losing the Note: Two points for a win one point for overtime loss. The top four teams in each Adin Hill made 28 saves in his sec- Edmonton improved to 18-11-0 to last three. had a 45-18 edge in shots. division will qualify for playoffs under this season’s temporary realignment. ond start of the season for Arizona. take sole possession of second in the The teams will complete the two- Calvin Petersen made a career high The teams will meet again in St. North Division, four points behind game set Saturday. 44 saves for the Kings. ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, MARCH 14, 2021 16

Newcastle’s Joelinton, (left), and Aston Villa’s Tyrone Mings challenge for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match be- tween Newcastle United and Aston Villa at the St James’ Park Stadium in Newcastle, England, March 12. (AP) Sports Latest sports scores at — http://sports.arabtimesonline.com 76ers complete sweep of Wizards Jazz hand Rockets 15th straight defeat

WASHINGTON, March 13, (AP): Joel Embiid scored 23 points but sus- tained an apparent leg injury and left midway through the third quarter in the Philadelphia 76ers’ 127-101 victory over the Washington Wizards on Friday night. Embiid, an MVP contender for the Eastern Conference-leading 76erss, was in his fi rst game back following a week-long absence for contract tracing. He entered Friday averaging 30.2 points and 11.6 re- bounds. He had also had seven rebounds be- fore his departure with 6:20 left in the third. Following a dunk for his last points, Embiid landed awkwardly on his left leg, his knee joint appearing to bend slightly forward. He laid on the fl oor for several minutes, and a stretcher was briefl y brought onto the court, but the center eventually limped off under his own power. Even with Embiid’s exit and Ben Simmons also out for contact tracing after both players were exposed to the same barber who tested positive for COVID-19, the 76ers cruised to a sec- ond straight comfortable win follow- ing the All-Star break. BASKETBALL

Shake Milton scored 18 points off the bench Philadelphia. Furkan Korkmaz added 12 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter as the Sixers com- pleted a three-game season sweep of the Wizards. Russell Westbrook scored 25 points, and Bradley Beal added 19 for the Wizards. Jazz 114, Rockets 99 In Salt Lake City, Donovan Mitchell Houston Rockets guard Sterling Brown (right), defends against Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell during the second half of an NBA basketball game, March 12, in Salt Lake City. (AP) had 28 points, eight assists and seven rebounds and Utah opened the second half of the season by handing Houston NBA Results/Standings ‘Japan not consulted by IOC’ Magpies salvage its 15th straight loss. Mike Conley added 20 points and a draw with Villa Rudy Gobert had 14 points and 13 WASHINGTON, March 13, (AP): rebounds to help the Jazz get back NBA results and standings on Friday. NEWCASTLE, England, March on track after dropping their fi nal two New Orleans 116 Cleveland 82 Denver 103 Memphis 102 Oly host Japan will not take 13, (AP): Skipper Jamaal Las- games of the fi rst half. Philadelphia 127 Washington 101 celles rescued Newcastle at the Kevin Porter Jr. scored 27 points for Miami 101 Chicago 90 death when he equalized in injury Houston. He was 1 of 9 from 3-point San Antonio 104 Orlando 77 time to deny Aston Villa victory range and 11 of 25 overall. Sterling Utah 114 Houston 99 LA Lakers 105 Indiana 100 and rekindled hope of English Brown and Kenyon Martin Jr. each Eastern Conference part in China vaccine ‘offer’ Premier League survival. had 15 points. Atlantic Division Lascelles powered home a last- The Rockets’ slump is their longest W L Pct GB Philadelphia 26 12 .684 - TOKYO, March 13, (AP): Japan will The IOC has indicated it is a sports The IOC clarifi ed on Friday that gasp header to snatch a 1-1 draw since losing 15 straight in 2001. Brooklyn 25 13 .658 1 at St James’ Park just as it looked Nuggets 103, Grizzlies 102 not take part in China’s offer - accepted body and will not meddle in domestic athletes in countries which have not Boston 19 18 .514 6-1/2 by the International Olympic Commit- issues in China. authorized Chinese vaccines for use as though Ollie Watkins’ 86th- In Memphis, Tenn., Nikola Jokic New York 19 19 .500 7 Toronto 17 20 .459 8-1/2 tee - to provide vaccines for “partici- The IOC initially said it would not could not benefi t from the program. minute effort, which looped in off had 28 points, 15 rebounds and seven unfortunate former Villa defender assists and scored Denver’s fi nal fi ve Southeast Division pants” in the postponed Tokyo Games require athletes to get vaccines, but “This offer will really only apply to W L Pct GB and next year’s Beijing Winter Games. only encourage it. The deal with China (national Olympic committees) in ter- Ciaran Clark, plunged them deep- points to help the Nuggets hold off Miami 20 18 .526 - er into the mire. Memphis. Charlotte 18 18 .500 1 Olympic Minister Tamayo Maru- puts more em- ritories where the Chinese vaccination Atlanta 17 20 .459 2-1/2 kawa said that Japan had not been con- phasis on get- has been approved by their national Magpies coach Steve Bruce Memphis had a chance to take the Washington 14 22 .389 5 might have been left bemoan- lead with about three seconds remain- sulted by the IOC about the Chinese ting vaccines to health authorities,” said James MacLe- Orlando 13 25 .342 7 vaccines, and that Japanese athletes young, healthy od, the IOC offi cial who works with ing his luck had his captain not ing when guard Ja Morant went to the Central Division W L Pct GB would not take them. She said the vac- athletes and oth- those Olympic bodies. intervened after substitute Jacob rim against Jokic but came up short Milwaukee 23 14 .622 - Murphy hit the crossbar minutes against the Denver center. The Nug- cines have not been approved for use ers. Indiana 16 20 .444 6-1/2 in Japan. The IOC has earlier. While his side have won gets then ran out the clock for their Chicago 16 20 .444 6-1/2 OLYMPICS Cleveland 14 23 .378 9 “We have been taking comprehen- said it will pay only twice in 19 games in all com- fi fth straight victory. petitions. Will Barton and Michael Porter Jr. Detroit 10 27 .270 13 sive anti-infectious disease measures for the vaccines Western Conference China, where the COVID-19 out- On a night when he and coun- had 21 points each for Denver. Jamal for the Tokyo Games in order to allow but gave no in- Southwest Division break emerged in late 2019, has ac- terpart coach Dean Smith might Murray was held to a season-low three W L Pct GB participation without vaccinations,” dication of the tively engaged in vaccine diplomacy, ordinarily have hoped the likes points, missing 13 of 14 shots. San Antonio 19 15 .559 - Marukawa said. “There is no change cost or quantity. Dallas 19 17 .528 1 Bach using doses developed by Sinovac and of Allan Saint-Maximin or Jack Brandon Clarke and Dillon Brooks to our principle of not making vaccina- Marukawa Memphis 17 17 .500 2 tions a prerequisite.” pointed out that Sinopharm. Vaccines made by Chinese Grealish might have lit up the led Memphis with 20 points each. New Orleans 16 22 .421 5 Announced by IOC President Thom- companies are being used in 25 coun- contest, it failed to ignite in their Morant had 16 points - on 5-of-16 Houston 11 25 .306 9 the Olympics are being held as if vac- Northwest Division as Bach on Thursday, the surprise deal cines are not available, relying on test- tries despite a dearth of public data on absence until the closing stages. shooting - and nine assists, and Jonas W L Pct GB comes as China faces mounting inter- ing, masks, social distancing and keep- how well they work and what side ef- ❑ ❑ ❑ Valanciunas added 14 points and 11 Utah 28 9 .757 - national pressure over the internment ing athletes in a “bubble.” fects were encountered in testing. rebounds. Denver 22 15 .595 6 Borussia Mönchengladbach Heat 101, Bulls 90 Portland 21 15 .583 6-1/2 of at least 1 million Muslim Uyghurs, Distribution of China’s vaccine will Bach said Thursday “that a signifi - Oklahoma City 16 21 .432 12 which has been labeled a “genocide” be through international agencies or cant number of Olympic teams have captain Lars Stindl missed a pen- In Chicago, Jimmy Butler scored Minnesota 8 29 .216 20 by several governments and human existing vaccine agreements countries already been vaccinated.” He did not alty and the team’s losing streak 28 points against his former team, Pacifi c Division stretched to six games across all W L Pct GB rights bodies. have with China, Bach said. name the countries. Goran Dragic added 20 of his 25 Phoenix 25 11 .694 - competitions at Augsburg in a points in the fourth quarter and Mi- LA Lakers 25 13 .658 1 3-1 Bundesliga defeat. ami beat Chicago for its ninth win in LA Clippers 25 14 .641 1-1/2 Gladbach has lost every game 10 games. Golden State 19 19 .500 7 since the club announced that Butler, who played his fi rst six sea- Sacramento 15 22 .405 10-1/2 coach Marco Rose will be joining sons in Chicago, added eight assists. league rival Borussia Dortmund The Heat improved to 20-18 after Love, who had missed 33 games next season. moving above .500 for the fi rst time since injuring his right calf in late De- this season by beating Orlando on cember, played 10 minutes and had Thursday. four points and a rebound. Nance, who SOCCER Zach LaVine led Chicago with 30 missed 12 games after injuring his left points. hand, had 11 points, four rebounds and The latest defeat will strength- Pelicans 116, Cavaliers 82 a block in 28 minutes. Collin Sexton en fans’ calls to let him go before In New Orleans, Brandon Ingram Tuesday’s Champions League scored 28 points, Zion Williamson had 19 points. Spurs 104, Magic 77 game against Manchester City. added 23 and New Orleans routed Gladbach has a two-goal deficit In San Antonio, Rudy Gay had 19 Cleveland. to make up against City from the Ingram played just 25 minutes and points, Dejounte Murray and Derrick first leg of their last-16 tie. Williamson 18 because of how lop- White each added 17 and San Antonio “We’d rather have a week’s sided the game became. Steven Adams to beat short-handed Orlando. training to prepare for the core had 10 points and 17 rebounds in his The Spurs opened the AT&T Center tasks at the moment, namely 21 minutes on the court. to the public for the fi rst time since points in the Bundesliga,” said The Cavs welcomed forwards beating Dallas on March 10, 2020, the Rose, whose team looks likely to Kevin Love and Larry Nance Jr. back day before the league shutdown opera- lose further ground in the race for to the starting lineup after extended tions due to COVID-19. Seating was European qualification places. absences, and both announced their limited to 3,200. Stindl’s penalty miss was the returns with early 3s. But their roles San Antonio held an opponent under visitors’ biggest chance in a first were relatively limited and did not 80 points for the fi rst time since beat- half that they dominated. signifi cantly infl uence the result of a ing Golden State 89-75 on March 19, Raphael Framberger conced- match-up with a Pelicans squad that 2018. ed the spot kick in the 37th minute looked inspired and determined to Nikola Vucevic had 26 points and for a foul on Marcus Thuram, bounce back from an embarrassing nine rebounds for the Magic in their but Stindl shot to the left of the 30-point loss to Minnesota a night seventh straight loss. They had seven Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr (1) looks to shoot ahead Memphis Grizzlies forward Justise Winslow (7) goal. earlier. players out with injury or illness. and guard De’Anthony Melton in the second half of an NBA basketball game, March 12, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP)

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