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MoPH, partners mark World Mental Health Day todayTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) and health sector insti-tutions will celebrate the World Mental Health Day, today under the theme ‘Mental Health for All: Greater Investment – Greater Access’.

Qatar’s expansion of mental health services and improved access to care has enabled the healthcare system to meet the increased demand for professional mental health support throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Director of Public Health at the MoPH, Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Al Thani said that Qatar’s proactive approach to healthcare service delivery during the pandemic resulted in the rapid implemen-tation of new services that have

benefited access to care.“As more people have had

to cope with COVID-19 impacting their physical and emotional health during these unprecedented times, this has led to many people having to cope with higher than usual levels of anxiety and stress,” explained Dr. Al Thani.

“However, where fear of stigma may previously have inhibited some people seeking an appointment in a clinic, the launch of the mental health hel-pline in April 2020 has proven to be immensely successful with people of all ages and national-ities who are looking for advice on coping with stress, anxiety and depression,” added Dr. Al Thani.

Deputy National Lead for Mental Health and Wellbeing

and Executive Director of Oper-ations at PHCC, Dr. Samya Ahmad Al Abdulla explained that since its launch, the free and confidential national mental health helpline has handled over 13,000 calls and the launch of mental health virtual consultations across the healthcare system has also enabled greater access to care, resulting in increased in activity across the system.

“We have found that many people prefer the telephone con-sultation approach because of the convenience and the relative anonymity in receiving care, especially for those individuals who are concerned about stigma. As a result, we have seen far fewer people miss their scheduled appointments across

the public healthcare system in the past six months than when we offered only clinic-based appointments,” said Dr. Samya.

Chair of the Mental Health Service at HMC, Dr. Majid Al Abdulla explained that the appointment of experienced mental health professionals and clinicians have enabled the pri-oritisation of dedicated new patient slots which has meant more new patients have been seen than ever before.

“The changes have resulted in an increase in the number of new patients seen and, therefore, waiting time for patients have reduced. A triage service has also been intro-duced and is run by a clinical fellow under the direct super-vision of a consultant.” �P2

NMoQ exhibition celebrates close Qatar-Kuwait tiesRAYNALD C RIVERA THE PENINSULA

The recent reopening of permanent galleries of the National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ) also marked the unveiling of Splendours of the Ancient East: Antiquities from The Al Sabah Collection, an exhibition which celebrates the close historical and cultural links between Qatar and Kuwait.

Hosted at NMoQ’s Temporary Exhibition Gallery, the exhibition fea-tures more than 170 objects which provide an overview of the artistic and material culture of the ancient world, while also revealing new insights into the roots of Islamic art.

The objects on show are part of the collection of H E Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah and H E Sheikha Hussa Sabah Al Salem Al Sabah of Kuwait. Formed between the mid-1970s and the present day, the collection is said to be one of the most comprehensive and distin-guished in the world.

Visitors to the exhibition are

glutted with a treasure trove of objects spanning from the third mil-lennium BCE until the fifth century CE. The exhibition is divided into four distinct sections starting with a segment on the Bronze Age fol-lowed by Iron Age through to the Hellenistic Age concluding with the Late Antiquity with particular focus on the Sasanians and South Arabians.

For this exhibition the selected objects made of wide ranging pre-cious materials of such exquisite craftsmanship include jewellery, household furnishings, anthropo-morphic and zoomorphic figurines and ritual objects, decorative ele-ments, and carved gemstones and seals.

Among the fascinating objects showcased are important bronzes, ranging from Early Dynastic Mes-opotamian offering stands and South Arabian figural sculptures to a large figure of a Sasanian lady. A beaker formerly owned by the Assyrian king Esarhaddon, and later by a provincial Elamite king; some

zoomorphic pouring vessels probably made in the late 7th century or early 6th century BCE in western Iran; and exquisite examples of Hellenistic silver ware, many with Dionysian imagery are among the silver vessels on display.

The collection is distinguished by jewellery pieces such as a Bronze Age gold scorpion necklace set with hardstones, and earrings and appliqués made of gold and set with hardstones from eastern Iran and Central Asia dating from the Hel-lenistic period and later.

Videos which provide details and stories behind some of the most important pieces on display help enhance the visitors’ understanding of the collection and their significance.

The exhibition runs until January 3 and is open for public viewing during NMoQ’s opening hours from 9am to 7pm from Sat-urday to Thursday and from 1.30pm to 7pm on Friday. Tickets to the exhibition can be booked at Qatar Museums’ website.

Jewellery pieces on display at the Ancient East: Antiquities from The Al Sabah Collection exhibition at the National Museum of Qatar. PIC: QASSIM RAHMATULLAH/THE PENINSULA

Italian food products’ import up 9.2% in 6 monthsSANAULLAH ATAULLAH THE PENINSULA

Ambassador of Italy to Qatar, H E Alessandro Prunas, has said that the import of food and agri-cultural products from Italy to Qatar reached worth over ¤23m from January to June 2020, registering a 9.2 percent rise compared to first half of the last year.

“Trade between Qatar and Italy is not limited to food products but it includes many other sectors like luxury goods

and cars,” Ambassador of Italy to Qatar, H E Alessandro Prunas told The Peninsula

during a recent event. The Ambassador said that

Lulu Hypermarkets is preparing to open an export facility in Milan city of Italy which will help import authentic food products at competitive prices from Italy to Qatar taking the trade relations between the two countries to a new height.

He said that Italian food products which are exported to Qatar are healthy, of high quality, and meet safety and environ-mental standards certified by Coldiretti Italy, a farmers’

association. “Coldiretti Italy is not only ensures the quality of Italian food products but also makes the products competitive in the inter-national markets because it cuts middlemen,” said the Ambassador.

Director of Lulu Group International Dr. Mohamed Althaf said that ‘Y International Italy’, an arm of Lulu Group International will open soon a facility in Milan city of Italy which will help boost import of high quality Italian food products to Qatar.

“We are now almost close to completing our next project in Italy. We have completed the formation of our Italian branch of the company. Practically all works are completed. The project is expected to open soon in Milan. The project will help increase hugely in bilateral trade,” said Dr. Althaf.

He said that the facility will include foreign testing, halal certification, traceability, label translation and other necessary things to make the export ready from Italy to Qatar. �P2

Qatar to host ACL

East Zone fixtures

from November 18

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

Qatar will host the cream of Asian football when it hosts the leading sides from the East Zone of the continent in the AFC Champions League (ACL), the Qatar Football Association (QFA) and the Asian Football C o n f e d e r a t i o n ( A F C ) announced yesterday.

After successfully hosting the AFC Champions League West Zone tournament from September 14 to October 3, the AFC had asked for Qatar’s help to provide a bio-safe envi-ronment for teams from the East Zone in order to complete their matches – which were curtailed in March by the COVID-19 outbreak.

Qatar agreed to host the matches in order to support Asia’s premier club compe-tition and ensure it could be completed as close to the original schedule as possible.

Sixteen teams from six countries will take part in the East Zone tournament from November 18 to December 13, with matches taking places in four stadiums.

The teams and officials who travel to Qatar for the tournament will adhere to a strict health and safety framework to ensure the safe participation of players, offi-cials and members of the Local Organising Committee. During the West Zone tournament, Qatar carried out more than 7,900 COVID-19 tests in an effort to detect cases as early as possible, with the positive rate being only 1.7%. �P2

September sees 31% rise in building permitsQNA — DOHA

Building permits issued by state municipalities saw an increase of 31 percent in September on a monthly basis, with all munic-ipalities seeing growth except for Al Shamal.

The Planning and Statistics Authority said in its statement yesterday that the total number of building permits issued were 757, compared to 577 in August.

The increase was noted in the majority of the municipalities: Al Sheehaniya (127 percent), Al Da’ayen (43 percent), Umm Slal (35

percent), Al Doha (33 percent), Al Wakrah (28 percent), Al Rayyan (24 percent), Al Khor (18 percent), On the other hand, there was a clear decrease in the municipality of Al Shammal (6 percent).

As for data on building com-pletion certificates issued during the month of September 2020 based on geographical distribution, Al Rayyan munic-ipality came top where the number of building completion certificates issued were 111 (30 percent) of the total issued cer-tificates, while municipality of Al Wakrah came in second

place with 88 certificates (24 percent), followed by munici-pality of Al Doha with 55 certif-icates (15 percent), then Al Daayen municipality with 54 certificates (15 percent).

The rest of the municipal-ities are: Umm Slal 23 certifi-cates (6 percent), Al Sheehaniya 17 (5 percent), Al khor 16 (4 percent), Al Shammal 4 percent (1 percent). In terms of type of certificates issued, data indicated that the new building completion certificates (residential and non-residential) constitutes 77 percent (283 certificates) of the total

building certificates issued during September 2020, while the per-centage of additions certificates constituted 23 percent (85 certificates).

Villas were the top in terms of new residential buildings com-pletion certificates data accounting for 62 percent (153 certificates) of all new resi-dential buildings completion certificates, followed by dwellings of housing loans cer-tificates by 33 percent (81 certif-icates), then apartments buildings and others residential buildings by 4 percent (10 certificates). �P2

World Food

Programme wins

Nobel Peace Prize

AFP — OSLO

The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the World Food Programme (WFP) yesterday for feeding millions of people from Yemen to North Korea, as the coronavirus pandemic pushes millions more into hunger.

The WFP was “a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict”, Nobel com-mittee chairwoman Berit Reiss-Andersen said on unveiling the winner in Oslo. Founded in 1961 and funded entirely by dona-tions, the UN body helped 97 million people last year, distrib-uting 15 billion rations to people in 88 countries.

The WFP prides itself on being “the leading humani-tarian organisation” in a world where, by its own estimates, some 690 million people— one in 11 — go to bed on an empty stomach.

“First of all everyone was quite shocked, and now a little bit overwhelmed by the whole thing,” WFP country director for South Sudan Matthew Hollingworth said.

SEE ALSO PAGES 5 & 10

Trade between Qatar and

Italy is not limited to food

products but it includes

many other sectors like

luxury goods and cars.

H E Alessandro Prunas

Ambassador of Italy

Qatar’s proactive approach to healthcare service delivery during the pandemic resulted in the rapid implementation of new services that have benefited access to care.

The launch of the mental health helpline in April 2020 has proven to be immensely successful with people of all ages and nationalities.

Since its launch, the free and confidential national mental health helpline has handled over 13,000 calls.

FROM PAGE 1

“We have introduced a triage service with a view to ensuring that patients in need can be seen and guided to the most appropriate place, without compromising the access of those patients with scheduled appointments.

“The introduction of the triage service allows all patients who are known to the service to have quicker access to the service in times of crisis,’’ said Al Abdulla.

The opening of two new hospitals, Sidra Medicine and Naufar, has also boosted the provision of healthcare services in Qatar and helped the healthcare sector meet increase demand

Chair of Psychiatry at Sidra Medicine, Prof. Muhammed Azeem said: “At Sidra Medicine we have invested in developing

a wider spectrum of mental health services covering children, adolescents as well as reproductive and perinatal psy-chiatry under our women’s mental health program. Since

2016, demand for mental health services at Sidra Medicine has significantly increased year on year.”

“Our partnership and col-laboration across the

healthcare network especially during these challenging times is critical in ensuring we provide mental health services for people of all ages and backgrounds,” said Prof. Azeem.

OFFICIAL NEWS

02 SATURDAY 10 OCTOBER 2020HOME

W ALRUWAIS : 30o → 34o W ALKHOR : 26o → 36o W DUKHAN : 28o → 34o W WAKRAH : 24o → 37o W MESAIEED : 24o → 37o W ABUSAMRA : 26o → 34o

Hot daytime with slight dust and

mild by night.

Minimum Maximum30oC 37oC

WEATHER TODAY

LOW TIDE 02:19 – 00:00

HIGH TIDE 11:15 – 00:00

PRAYER TIMINGSPPPPRAYRRRAAAYARA MMMMIINNNNNNNNNGGGGGGMMMMMMMMMIIINNNNNNGGGGNNNNGGGIINNNNGNNNNNNNNN

PRAYERTIMINGS

FAJRSUNRISE

04.12 am 05.30 am

DHUHR 11.21 am

ISHA 06.44 pmMAGHRIBASR 02.42 pm

05.14 pm

Amir congratulates President of UgandaDOHA: Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin

Hamad Al Thani and Deputy Amir

H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad

Al Thani sent yesterday cables of

congratulations to President of the

Republic of Uganda H E Yoweri

Kaguta Museveni on the occasion

of the anniversary of his country’s

Independence Day. Prime Minister

and Minister of Interior H E Sheikh

Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al

Thani also sent a cable of congrat-

ulations to Prime Minister of the

Republic of Uganda H E Ruhakana

Rugunda on the occasion of the

anniversary of his country’s Inde-

pendence Day. -QNA

Qatar’s Embassy delivers aid to MexicoQNA — MEXICO CITY

The Embassy of the State of Qatar in the United Mexican States has delivered medical aid provided by Qatar Charity to Mexico as a contribution to the efforts to combat COVID-19, and as an emphasis on the importance of bilateral relations as well as high-lighting the continued support of the State of Qatar to Mexico.

The medical aid has been delivered specially to the state of Puebla and the municipality of Nezahualcoyot.

Deputy Secretary of Foreign Affairs for Multilateral Affairs of Mexico, H E Martha Delgado; Sec-retary of Economy in the State Government of Puebla Olivia, H E Salomon Vivaldo; Mayor of Nisawalcoiotel, H E Juan de la Rosa, and several officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the State Government of Puebla attended the delivery of the aid.

In a speech on this occasion, H E Martha Delgado expressed her thanks and gratitude to the State of Qatar and its wise lead-ership on behalf of Mexican Sec-retary of Foreign Affairs, H E Marcelo Ebrard and referred to the continued support of the State of Qatar and the mutual friendly relations between the two countries.

She said that the State of Qatar repeatedly reiterates its support as a clear example of the importance of relations between the two countries in the face of the current difficult circum-stances, expressing her thanks to Qatar Charity, the embassy, and the organisations that contributed to the delivery of the aid shipment.

In a speech on this occasion, Ambassador of the State of Qatar to Mexico, H E Mohammed bin Jassim Al Kuwari stressed the importance of cooperation during COVID-19 pandemic, affirming the importance of being united in facing the eco-nomic and public health conse-quences of pandemic.

In this regard, H E the Ambassador referred to the assistance provided by the State of Qatar to a large number of

countries to confront the pan-demic and its continuous coop-eration with Mexico and its friendly people.

He expressed his pleasure to participate in supporting the efforts and sacrifices that many people make daily to combat COVID-19 in Mexico, expressing his wishes that everyone will overcome these difficult days soon.

On behalf of the people and government of the state of

Puebla, H E Olivia Salomon Vivaldo thanked the State of Qatar and Qatar Charity for the support and assistance provided to the people of her state.

She emphasised that the State of Qatar’s assistance to them represents a window of hope in the current difficult pan-demic circumstances, and referred to the Qatari foreign policy, which is considered an ideal embodiment of the wise leadership’s directives and the Qatar National Vision 2030.

Mayor of Nisawalcoiotel H E Juan de la Rosa expressed his thanks to the State of Qatar for the new aid from Qatar Charity, which will allow them to con-front the pandemic, recalling the food aid previously provided by the Embassy of the State of Qatar for low-income families.

Deputy Secretary of Foreign Affairs for Multilateral Affairs of Mexico, H E Martha Delgado, and Ambassador of Qatar to Mexico, H E Mohammed bin Jassim Al Kuwari, with other officials.

SC prioritises mental health wellbeingTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) has reaffirmed its commitment to mental health wellbeing among its workforce to mark this year’s World Mental Health Day (WMHD).

Promoted by the World Health Organization, the WMHD is held on October 10 each year and aims to raise awareness of mental health issues and amplify efforts and programmes which support mental health wellbeing.

For the SC, it’s an oppor-tunity to illustrate its many longstanding mental health wellbeing initiatives and reaffirm the importance of hosting the FIFA World Cup, at a time when the mental health of many is being tested by the COVID-19 pandemic, the SC said on its website.

Hassan Al Thawadi, Sec-retary General of the SC, con-tinues to be a strong advocate of mental health awareness and wellbeing.

“We have always placed an

emphasis on supporting the mental health of our staff and workforce, and have amplified these efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. For many people, this period of time is particularly tough and brings unique challenges. We wanted to make sure they knew when and how to seek professional help, if they needed it,” he added.

In response to increasing mental health issues during the pandemic, the SC has built on its longstanding mental health initiatives to support its construction workers, col-laborating closely with spe-cialists at the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) and the Mental Health Service at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) to develop a COVID-19-specific mental health awareness campaign.

This effort revolved around the proactive distri-bution of information via dif-ferent mediums to educate staff and workers on the importance of maintaining mental health, tackling key

issues, including depression, anxiety, general wellbeing and the importance of staying active.

The contents of the cam-paign were translated into the eight main languages of the SC workforce, and distributed to more than 18,000 workers via a dedicated mobile app, SMS, WhatsApp, embassies representing large worker communities, and the wider worker community in Qatar.

Prior to the outbreak of the pandemic, the SC’s Workers’ Welfare Department forged a partnership with MoPH and HMC to develop a mental health pathway for SC workers.

Mahmoud Qutub, the Executive Director of the Workers’ Welfare Department spoke about the different ways that mental health has been central to their health and wellbeing efforts.

“As part of our com-mitment to ensuring workers’ health and safety in December 2019 we identified the need for a dedicated and secure

channel to provide our workers with the mental health support they may need,” he said.

“We developed a compre-hensive mental health pathway along with our partners, including targeted screenings and dedicated clinics, providing free consul-tation and treatment for workers. This is a first-of-its-kind initiative for workers in Qatar, highlighting our con-tinuous efforts in ensuring the welfare of our workers.”

Moving forward, Al Thawadi looks forward to the opportunity to celebrate all the sacrifices and efforts made by communities around the world in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“When the FIFA World Cup comes to Qatar, it will be an opportunity to rejoice in how the beautiful game can unite people from around the world. We are optimistic that by November 2022, we’ll be able to host a safe and secure event and welcome fans from every part of the world.”

206 new virus cases: MoPHTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Ministry of Public Health yesterday announced 206 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. As many as 191 of these are from community and 15 from travellers returning from abroad.

Also 232 people recovered from the virus bringing the total number of cases recovered in Qatar to 124,559. Besides, the Ministry announced one new death, aged 67 — who was receiving the necessary medical care.

All new cases have been introduced to isolation and are receiving necessary healthcare according to their health status.

The Ministry further said that measures to tackle COVID-19 in Qatar have suc-ceeded in flattening the curve and limiting the spread of the virus and the number of new daily cases and hospital admis-sions is continuing to decline each week.

Ambassador of Qatar to Mexico, H E Mohammed bin Jassim Al Kuwari, stressed the importance of cooperation during COVID-19 pandemic, affirming the importance of being united in facing the economic and public health consequences of pandemic.

MoPH, partners mark World Mental Health Day today

Chair of the Mental Health Service at HMC, Dr. Majid Al Abdulla

Director of Public Health at the Ministry of Public Health, Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Al Thani

Italian food products’ import up 9.2% in 6 months

Ambassador of Italy to Qatar, H E Alessandro Prunas

Qatar to host ACL

East Zone fixtures

from November 18

September sees 31% rise in building permits

FROM PAGE 1

The General Secretary of QFA, Mansoor Al Ansari, said: “We are very happy to provide a safe environment for the AFC in order to complete the AFC Champions League and look forward to hosting the leading clubs from the east of the region during November and December. Qatar knows how important football is to Asia so is pleased to be able to offer the world-class sporting infra-structure and operational health and safety expertise that exists in the country to allow for the resumption of competitive con-tinental football once again.”

The AFC yesterday expressed its appreciation for the QFA’s support in ensuring the success of the 2020 AFC Champions League.

“Everything from the arrival of the teams, the efficient immi-gration process, the rigorous health screenings, hotels with biosecurity measures, to the state-of-the-art training facil-ities and stadiums were of the highest possible standard as the AFC insisted that the welfare and well-being of the players, offi-cials and match officials was our top priority,” AFC General-Sec-retary Dato Windsor John said.

“We recognize the huge amount of work undertaken by the QFA, in conjunction with the AFC, the Qatar Local Authorities and Ministries, to ensure the smooth delivery of the AFC Champions League (West) and we look forward to a similarly positive collabo-ration for the AFC Champions League (East),” he added.

Four clubs from both China and the Korea Republic will compete in the competition, along with three from Australia, three from Japan and one each from Malaysia and Thailand.

All team members and vis-itors will be tested upon arrival and throughout the tour-nament, while all venues will be disinfected regularly, including training and media facilities. Medical staff will be stationed in stadiums throughout the competition to ensure all health and safety are strictly followed.

FROM PAGE 1

On the other hand, com-mercial buildings were found to be in the forefront of non-resi-dential buildings completion certificates with 53 percent (19 certificates), followed by and

industrial buildings e.g. work-shops and factories with 22 percent (8 certificates), then other of nonresidential buildings with 11 percent (4 certificate).

Comparing number of cer-tificates issued in September

2020 with those issued in the previous month saw an increase of 33 percent. This increase was clearly noted in most of the municipalities: Al Khor (100 percent), Al Sheehaniya (70 percent), Al Daayen (69 percent),

Al Rayyan (48 percent), Al Doha (38 percent) , Al Wakkrah (16 percent), On the other hand, there was a clear decrease in the municipality of Al Shammal (33 percent), Umm Salal (23 percent).

FROM PAGE 1

“Lulu Hypermarkets are offering over 1,000 types of Italian products such as canned vegetables, pasta, rice, cheese and dairy products, bis-cuits, coffee, olive oil, fresh fruit and vegetables, chocolate, sauces, spices, and condiments among many more,” said Dr. Althaf.

Italian Trade Agency through its Office in Doha, with the coordination of the Italian Embassy is promoting and facilitating in importing foods

and agricultural products from Italy to Qatar.

Giosafat Riganò, ITA Trade Commissioner said that foods and agricultural products from Italy to Qatar reached over 23m euro, rising 9.2 percent during first six months of 2020.

However, he said that trade exchange between the two countries reached 1bn euro from January to June 2020. Riganò said that trade exchange between Qatar and Italy recorded 2.7bn euros in 2019.

Director of Lulu Group International, Dr. Mohamed Althaf

Deputy National Lead for Mental Health and Wellbeing at PHCC, Dr. Samya Ahmad Al Abdulla

03SATURDAY 10 OCTOBER 2020 HOME

EduCanada Fair tobe held virtually on October 14

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Embassy of Canada to the State of Qatar has announced that the annual EduCanada Fair will take place on October 14, 2020 with a large virtual group of 60 Canadian universities and colleges.

Due to the ongoing global pandemic, this year’s event will take place virtually on an advanced platform that mimics a traditional fair and allows for direct interaction with recruiters and representatives from schools. The aim of the Edu-Canada Fair is to promote study opportunities in Canada. Pro-spective students and parents in Qatar can learn about education options in Canada and interact virtually with a diverse mix of institutions from across the Canada. Questions related to the admission process, programs of study, campus life and visas will be addressed.

Ambassador of Canada to the State of Qatar, H E Stefanie McCollum said, “The Embassy is keen to promote Canada as a study destination to students and parents in Qatar. This year’s virtual format allows for dou-bling the number of institutions compared to previous years”.

“Canada consistently ranks as one of the best countries in the world to live, and our schools offer academic qualifications respected around the world. I am proud to say that the ‘warm and friendly’ stereotype about Cana-dians is true. When you come to Canada, you will find a wel-coming country with a unique Canadian culture that embraces diversity. Canada is considered one of the safest countries in the world for international students,” said the Ambassador.

The Embassy invited stu-dents and parents to participate in the EduCanada Virtual Fair on October 14 from 5pm to 9pm. Registration can be made at: https://educanadavirtual.com/middle-east.

Ambassador of Canada to Qatar, H E Stefanie McCollum

Mental health experts discuss coping-up strategiesFAZEENA SALEEM THE PENINSULA

It is important for everyone to try to balance their concerns and precautions regarding pandemic-related measures with their wellbeing and mental health, according to mental health experts at Sidra Medicine.

“Most people can benefit from having a variety of dif-ferent coping strategies to maintain their emotional, cog-nitive, spiritual and physical health,” Division Chief of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Sidra Medicine, Dr. Ahsan Nazeer, told The Peninsula.

Today on World Mental Health Day, WHO together with partner organizations, is calling for a massive scale-up in investment in mental health. To encourage public action around the world, a World Mental Health Day campaign, ‘Move for mental health: let’s invest’ has been launched.

This year’s World Mental Health Day comes at a time when daily life has changed considerably as a result of COVID-19. For students and adolescents, the challenges include adapting to taking classes from home, with little contact with teachers and friends, and anxious about

their future.According to Dr. Nazeer,

the ‘learning from home’ model has definitely had a sig-nificant impact on students during the COVID-19 pan-demic. For a minority, partic-ularly those who may have some social anxiety or chal-lenges interacting with peers, they have actually found solace in attending class via video calls rather than in person, and some of them have even gained confidence in their ability to respond to teachers’ questions.

“However, in my obser-vation, the majority of children and teenagers are finding it difficult. The initial novelty of online learning starts to wear off and students begin to miss the everyday interactions they used to have in person with

friends and school staff. We have observed how many stu-dents became quite disen-gaged in their learning and increase in symptoms of anxiety and depression,” said Dr. Nazeer.

“Thankfully, some schools have adopted ‘hybrid learning’ models where students are able to attend classes in-person, during some days of the school week. This still has challenges as there continue to be social distancing rules, but it offers some relief to the social isolation and loneliness that can be associated with online learning alone,” he added.

Sidra Medicine offers child and adolescent mental health services in the form of psychi-a t r i c a n d

psychological interventions. The team consists of physicians, clinical psychologists, psycho-logical counsellors, and nursing staff. Sidra Medicine provides assessment of emotional and cognitive functioning as well as psychotherapy and psychop-harmacological treatment.

“We have seen some teen-agers present to our clinic with COVID-19 related anxiety. This typically happens in young people who are already pre-disposed to anxious thinking, perhaps those with tendencies toward obsessive and com-pulsive behaviour regarding personal hygiene or clean-liness,” said a Psychologist at Sidra Medicine Dr. Omar Mahmood.

“The community wide pre-cautions for avoiding exposure and protecting oneself against infection like using face masks, hand sanitisers and Ehteraz app can sometimes exacerbate the fears of illness in people who already have underlying anxiety about their health. For other teens who don’t have these underlying anxieties, the COVID-19 related stress has more to do with the frustra-tions of being under ‘lockdown’ or losing many of the personal freedoms we used to enjoy before the pandemic changed things in society,” he added.

Dr. Omar Mahmood Dr. Ahsan Nazeer

QEERI leads in making Qatar’s farm sector environment-friendlyTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), part of Qatar Foundation’s Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), has been working closely with the agricultural sector to provide sustainable solutions to commercial farms in Qatar.

In its pilot phase, QEERI part-nered with a farm located in the south-west of Doha to build an integrated solar photovoltaic (PV) system to supply the farm with the required electrical energy. With the farm’s switch to PV com-plete, the next stage is to optimise water usage on the farm.

Led by QEERI’s Senior Research Director for the Water Center Dr. Jenny Lawler, the team is now exploring where and how water can be recycled and reused, thus allowing agricultural yield to remain the same while using less water.

“While Qatar’s drive to

increase its agricultural output to meet local needs is commendable, what is equally important, if not more, is that sustainable farming practices are adopted to ensure we use the country’s severely limited water resources in a responsible manner,” said Dr. Lawler.

“Farms in Qatar currently rely heavily on groundwater for their irrigation needs. It is common practice for wells to be dug on farms for direct access to ground water. Groundwater is currently being extracted at a much higher rate than it is replenished, with the annual rate of extraction almost five times that of

recharge,” said Dr. Lawler. The groundwater in Qatar has a high salt content, compelling farmers to first desalinate the water to make it suitable for irrigation.

“We are looking at a number of potential ways to convert this waste salt into something of value, such as recovery of useful chem-icals or novel energy recovery technologies,” according to Dr. Lawler.

Dr. Lawler said, “These greenhouses use what is called an evaporative cooling system. It consists of cardboard pads on one end of the greenhouse and fans on the other. Water is poured down on the pads. When the fans operate, air is pulled through the wet pads and water evaporates, leading to a temper-ature drop of 10-15 degrees Celsius in the greenhouse. The problem is, the amount of water used in this process is about four times the amount used to irrigate the crops.”

Dr. Jenny Lawler

QRCS provides shelters for vulnerable families in MongoliaTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) has implemented a COVID-19 response project in Mongolia with a view to support the vulnerable families affected by the pandemic.

Co-implemented with the Mongolian Red Cross Society (MRCS), the project is part of a large-scale programme to support coronavirus control efforts in 22 countries.

The $20,000 project involves providing shelter and nonfood items for the poor families who have lost their income amid lockdown and precautionary measures. The beneficiaries were selected by Mongolia’s Min-istry of Labour and Social Pro-tection. According to progress reports, traditional shelters and the household items were pur-chased under a public tender and delivered as per the announced specifications.

A total of 28 families, or around 200 persons, benefited

from the project in many parts of the country, including Ulaan-baatar City, Sukhbaatar Province, and Khentii Province.

The beneficiaries who met the criteria include 11 vul-nerable households with dis-abled members, five single elderly people, seven vul-nerable households with over four children, and five single mothers with over two children.

QRCS’s initiative to back the fellow National Societies in 22 countries across six continents is aimed at protecting 320,000 persons against the virus with a total budget of QR2,236,827.

These countries are Pal-estine, Afghanistan, Pakistan,

Nepal, Tajikistan, Mongolia, Laos, Vanuatu, Ethiopia, Chad, Senegal, Mauritania, Ivory Coast, Mali, Sierra Leone, Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, Vene-zuela, El Salvador, Peru, and Panama.

The list of activities con-ducted by QRCS in support of those countries includes pro-vision of equipment and sup-plies for health facilities, pro-vision of medicines and medical supplies, protection for medical professionals and volunteers, provision of food and shelter for families affected by loss of income and provision of pro-tective supplies like masks, gloves, sanitisers.

NU-Q panel discusses recent floods in Pakistan, Sudan

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

Panelists from Northwestern University in Qatar discussed the role government policies and poor planning have had on intensifying the impact of natural disasters, why marginal communities have been the most affected, and how inter-national aid for disasters has not been delivered evenly.

The webinar on ‘The Floods in Pakistan and Sudan: Natural or Manmade Disasters?,’ fea-tured Anto Mohsin, assistant professor of science and tech-nology studies, student Zeest Marrium, and alum Abdullah Gamil.

Mohsin pointed out that the impact of natural disasters like the recent flooding in Pakistan and Sudan often depends on the country’s preparedness and planning. “Human decisions, such as building towns in dis-aster-prone areas, or con-structing a building that cannot withstand earthquakes, or not

having an effective early-warning system and evacuation routes can worsen these dis-asters,” he said.

Mohsin also noted that because of the role governments can play in creating policies that exacerbate disasters, many dis-aster studies researchers claim that there is no such thing as a ‘natural’ disaster — rather, he said, they are “natural hazards that can affect communities that are vulnerable to their impact.”

Marrium pointed to the floods in Pakistan to illustrate Mohsin’s point, explaining that despite Karachi being the business hub of Pakistan and “generating more than 65 percent of the country’s revenue,” the city’s urban planning and sustainable devel-opment is overlooked, and Paki-stani authorities have not taken any steps to implement emer-gency response strategies or systems that could use the excessive rainfall for irrigation or energy.

“The neglect of Karachi’s development is the main reason behind the recent crisis,” she said, “even without the floods, roads collapse, sewage overflow, and there are power-shortages,” which is a shame because a “this influx of rain could have been a game-changer” for a city that has long suffered from droughts.

Echoing the same argument, Gamil explained that Sudan was not prepared for its heavy rainfall either, despite experiencing similar situations in the past. “A mismanagement of the resources and infrastructure, like dams and drainage, needed to deal with such floods” contributed to the deaths and devastation around the country, he said.

Panelists also discussed reasons why marginalised and underprivileged communities are hit the hardest by natural disasters. “Disaster recovery efforts favour the wealthy, more politically connected, and those with a capitalist agenda,” said Mohsin.

Three arrested for violating home quarantine rulesQNA — DOHA

The competent authorities yesterday arrested three people who violated the requirements of the home quarantine, they committed to follow, which they are legally accountable for, in accordance with the procedures of the health authorities in the country.

It is in implementation of the precautionary measures in force in the country, approved by health authorities represented in the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) to ensure the achievement of public safety and to curb the spread of the coro-navirus. The three people being referred to the competent pros-ecution are Mesfer Gibran Saad

Ali Al Hababi, Mansour Ahmad Mansour Al Saadi Al Yafei and Hisham Al Taher Al Siddiq Mohammed.

The concerned authorities in the State called on citizens and residents who are subject to quarantine to fully adhere to the requirements set by the Ministry of Public Health to ensure their safety and the safety of others.

They warned that anyone who violates these conditions will be subject to the penalties stipulated in accordance with the provisions of Article 253 of the Penal Code No. 11 of 2004, and the provisions of Law No. 17 of 1990 regarding the prevention of infectious diseases, and Law No. 17 of 2002 on the protection of society.

Ambassador of Canada to the State of Qatar, H E Stefanie McCollum, said: “The Embassy is keen to promote Canada as a study destination to students and parents in Qatar. This year’s virtual format allows for doubling the number of institutions compared to previous years.”

The $20,000 project involves providing shelter and nonfood items for the poor families who have lost their income amid lockdown and precautionary measures. The beneficiaries were selected by Mongolia’s Ministry of Labour and Social Protection.

MME to mark World Migratory Bird Day today

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

The State of Qatar, represented by the Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME) will participate in the celebration of the World Migratory Bird Day today.

World Migratory Bird Day aims at highlighting the need to preserve migratory birds and their habitats by increasing awareness in this regard.

Starting this year, according to the United Nations, the World Migratory Bird Day will be marked on Saturdays of May and October of each year, coinciding with the migration cycle, to organize events in all countries of the world at peak times of migration.

The State of Qatar attaches great importance to the envi-ronment and its preservation within the environmental devel-opment objectives included in the Qatar National Vision 2030.

Qatar is an important habitat for migratory birds in their journey in which they fly for hun-dreds and thousands of kilom-eters, along historical routes, to find the best available habitat and food. Qatar is a permanent home

to around 300 species of birds.The State also attached great

importance to protecting wildlife and their natural habitats, and in this regard, it has established many conservation areas and natural reserves for the purpose of protecting and maintaining ecosystems and their components.

Al Karaana Lagoon has been added after its rehabilitation, as a new home for wild and marine life, providing a natural and healthy environment that includes different types of birds, swans and others. The lagoon also provides a green rest station and clean water for flocks of migratory birds that pass over the country.

Despite the desert climatic conditions of the State of Qatar, the long coastline of the peninsula provides shelter for all types of wading birds, from long flamingos to the smallest plover birds. Many species of bird cross the country twice a year on their migration route, especially after the establishment of many areas including wetlands, farms, parks and gardens, which have greatly increased the number of birds visiting the State of Qatar.

The migrating birds which pass through Qatar include strep-topelia turtur, falco subbuteo, phoennicopterus roseus, anser anser, larus cachinnans, burhinus oedicnemus, buteo rufinus among many more.

Migratory birds

Reciting prayers for the late Kuwait Amir

04 SATURDAY 10 OCTOBER 2020MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

The Americans have so

far done all they could

against the great nation

of Iran. They cannot break

the resistance of the

Iranian nation with these

inhumane actions. All

countries witness that

America’s attempts are

completely against

international laws and

regulations, and in the

time of the coronavirus

are against human right

Hassan Rouhani

Iran President

Mourners recite prayers by the grave of Kuwait’s late Amir H H Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, at Sulaibaikhat cemetary in Kuwait City, yesterday.

Iranian hospitals battling coronavirus to stop non-emergency treatmentREUTERS — DUBAI

Iran said yesterday large numbers of coronavirus infec-tions meant its hospitals would not treat non-emergency patients and extended a lockdown in the capital, which has been the hardest hit, for a second week.

The daily death toll from COVID-19 reached a record of 239 this week in a third wave of infections in Iran, which has the highest official death toll in the Middle East. Authorities have been warning for days of severe shortages of hospital beds.

“Due to the large number of coronavirus outpatients and patients, hospitalisation of non-emergency patients is not allowed until further notice,” Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi was quoted as saying by Iranian media. A report by the semi-official news agency Mehr made clear he meant across Iran.

Other countries issued similar orders earlier in the pandemic but this would be the first time Iran has done so.

Military hospitals will now also admit civilian coronavirus patients, state media said.

Schools, mosques, shops, restaurants and other public institutions in Tehran closed for a week on October 3 and the governor extended the closure yesterday for another week. Masks, which had been com-pulsory in public indoors, must be worn anywhere in public from today.

Underlying the seriousness of the situation, state television showed footage of 211 newly-dug graves at a cemetery outside the capital in prepa-ration for new victims of COVID-19. The Health Ministry registered 210 deaths yesterday,

taking the total toll to 28,098. There were 4,142 new cases, bringing the total to 492,378.

State television said the virus has now killed more than 1,500 in one week. Officials urged Iranians to observe pre-cautions against the spread of the virus while attending the burial of Mohammad Reza Shajarian, Iran’s most cele-brated musician, after thou-sands of fans gathered outside the Tehran hospital where he died of cancer on Thursday.

Some shops and restaurants in Tehran were still open this week and their owners told

state TV that they had not received any directive to close. The television showed a vendor striking a female reporter who asked him why he was not wearing a mask and gloves.

Public anger has deepened in Israel over a bitterly unpopular second coronavirus lockdown after reported viola-tions by high-profile figures, including a hairdresser visiting the prime minister’s wife.

Israel, which currently has one of the world’s highest COVID-19 infection rates per capita, has re-imposed dra-conian movement restrictions,

with people compelled to remain within a kilometre of their homes. A spokesman for the family of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his wife’s decision to summon a hairdresser to their official residence, saying it was part of her efforts to contain the virus.

Meanwhile , Kuwait reported yesterday 635 new COVID-19 cases over the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 110,076. There were also seven deaths, bringing the total number of deaths to 649, reported QNA.

Rouhani: New US sanctions cannot break ‘resistance’AFP — TEHRAN

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani yesterday dismissed new US sanctions as unable to break the Islamic republic’s “resistance” and said Wash-ington has already done all it can to pressure Tehran.

US President Donald Trump’s administration imposed sweeping sanctions on Iran’s banking sector on Thursday by designating 18 major Iranian banks to “stop illicit access to US dollars”.

“The Americans have so far done all they could against the great nation of Iran,” Rouhani said, according to his official website.

“They cannot break the resistance of the Iranian nation with these inhumane” actions, he added. According to Rouhani, the US administration is following “domestic aims” by such “political-propaganda attempts”.

The sanctions are part of Washington’s policy of “maximum pressure” against Tehran aimed at reining in the Islamic republic, the arch-foe of US allies Saudi Arabia and

Israel. They were reimposed after Trump in 2018 unilat-erally withdrew the US from a landmark accord with world powers and Iran, which limited the Islamic republic’s nuclear programme in exchange for international sanctions relief.

T h e U S c l a i m s

that transactions involving humanitarian goods such as food and medicine are exempt and that sanctions are “directed at the regime.”

Yet statements from experts and right groups point to the dire humanitarian conse-quences and the suffering sanc-tions impose on the Iranian people.

Rouhani said the sanctions are “attempts to create serious obstacles in fund transfers for medicine and food” and called them “cruel, terrorist and inhumane”.

He also called on the world ’s “human r ights advocates” to condemn the move.

“All countries witness that America’s attempts are com-pletely against international laws and regulations, and in the time of the coronavirus are against human rights,” Rouhani said.

Iran has been struggling to contain the Middle East’s worst Covid-19 outbreak since Feb-ruary, with the virus so far killing more than 28,000 and infecting over 492,000 in the country.

Israel admits holding body of martyred PalestinianAFP — OCCUPIED JERUSALEM

The Israeli army said yesterday it was holding the body of a Palestinian shot dead in a West Bank clash earlier this week, ending days of uncertainty over his fate.

The announcement follows a policy change last month in which Israel said it would not return the bodies of any Palestinian killed during or as a result of an anti-Israeli attack.

On Monday, 27-year-old Palestinian Samir Hamidi was martyred by Israeli sol-diers near the northern West Bank settlement of Einav after allegedly throwing

petrol bombs. “Troops spotted three assailants who hurled Molotov cocktails at them,” the army said yes-terday. “The troops responded with fire.”

In an initial statement on Monday, the army had not mentioned Hamidi was killed, but his death was then reported by Palestinian media.

Yesterday, after repeated requests including from AFP, the army named him.

“The body is being held by the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) according to existing procedures, until a decision is made in accordance with the guidance from elected

officials on the issue of holding the bodies of ter-rorists,” the army statement added.

The family of Hamidi, from the village of Beit Lid, close to the Israeli settlement at Einav, have refused to receive condolence visits until his body is returned.

Hamidi is reported to have been released from an Israeli prison in 2018, after a 40-month term for 'throwing stones and petrol bombs at Israeli traffic'.

Security coordination between Israel and the Pal-estinian Authority has been at a standstill since May, in protest over Israeli plans to

annex parts of the West Bank, a move since suspended.

Palestinian government spokesman Ibrahim Melhem said that in “the absence of any coordination”, they were told of Hamid’s death by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

In early September, Israel said it would withhold the bodies of all slain Palestinian fighters. Prior to the decision, Israel retained only the bodies of fighters from Hamas, the Islamist rulers of Gaza. At the time, Defence Minister Benny Gantz said the policy change was part of a broader campaign of “deterrence”.

In Yemen, children begin classes in the ruins of war

AFP — TAEZ, YEMEN

With its walls pounded by artillery, roofs torn open and concrete beams in shreds, Al Wehdah school lies in ruins as students return for the first day of Yemen’s school year.

At the school near Taez, the third-biggest city in a country shattered by years of war between the government and Iran-backed Houthi rebels, there are no doors or windows, let alone desks.

Instead the students use old exercise books to jot down their lessons, as they sit in makeshift classrooms with a handful of teachers brave enough to join them under crumbling ceilings.

Yet in a country where nearly a third of children don’t go to school at all, these are the lucky ones. Al Wehdah school was hit in a 2016 air strike.

Ali Sultan, a parent of one of the students, points out to AFP a warning sign in red letters written on a perimeter wall. “Beware of Mines,” it reads.

The school is located in the middle of a minefield, that was partially cleared to allow the students to return.

“We were faced with a dif-ficult choice, either leave them at home or face the risk of bringing them here to study in this rubble,” Sultan said.

Children first returned to the school the year after the strike.

“We have been through very difficult times,” Sultan said, referring to the fighting in the southwest city, which is held by government forces but besieged by Huthi fighters.

In Taez city alone, 47 schools were “totally destroyed in the fighting,” said Abdel Wassae Chaddad, provincial director of education.

“As far as destruction is concerned, we got the lion’s share,” he said.

Lifting subsidies would cause 'social explosion': Lebanon PMREUTERS — BEIRUT

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab said yesterday any step to lift subsidies now on key goods would be unacceptable and would cause a “social explosion”.

In a televised address Diab, who resigned two months ago after a huge explosion damaged much of Beirut and worsened the country’s economic crisis, said $4bn had been spent so far in 2020 on subsidising food, medicine, flour and wheat imports.

Meanwhile, Lebanon’s leading Sunni Muslim politician, former prime minister Saad Al Hariri, called for the restoration of a French plan to lift the nation out of its worst financial crisis since its 1975-1990 civil war.

Former colonial power France, which has led foreign aid efforts, has tried to rally Lebanese leaders to launch reforms to tackle the crisis. But they have failed to agree a new government - the first step in the French roadmap — and drawn a rebuke from French President Emmanuel Macron.

Lebanon urgently needs foreign cash to get out of a financial meltdown which has slashed the value of the cur-

rency since last year. “I call on political parties to

think well so as not to waste this chance...French President Macron’s initiative still stands and we can still enact it,” Hariri said in a TV interview late on Thursday. “If we let it fail, it would be a crime.”

Talks on a new cabinet hit

a logjam as politicians wrangled over ministerial posts, with Iran-backed Hezbollah and its ally Amal demanding they name the finance minister. Hariri and Hezbollah have blamed each other for the deadlock.

President Michel Aoun will hold consultations with

lawmakers next week to pick a new prime minister, in a bid to reach a breakthrough on naming a new government.

Hariri added that he would only return as prime minister — a post he has already held three times — if there was agreement by Lebanon’s frac-tious parties on securing an

International Monetary Fund deal.

His coalition government was toppled a year ago by huge protests by Lebanese furious at an entrenched ruling elite that has overseen a state riddled with graft and drowning in debt.

Hariri, a Western ally tradi-tionally aligned with Gulf Arab states, also said Lebanon had no way out of the crisis other than a programme with the IMF.

Foreign donors have made clear there will be no fresh aid unless Lebanese leaders launch reforms to tackle graft and improve governance, and engage in IMF negotiations.

IMF talks stalled this year over a row among Lebanese government officials, bankers and political parties about the vast scale of financial losses.

Hariri warned that he feared civil strife as the crisis spirals. It has fuelled unrest in a country where divisions run deep since the war, which was fought along sectarian lines by factions still dominating Leb-anese politics.

“What is happening in terms of carrying arms and what we are seeing in terms of military displays in the street...means the collapse of the state,” he said.

Subsidised items are pictured inside a supermarket in Beirut, Lebanon, yesterday.

Palestinian negotiator

Erekat facing ‘difficult’

coronavirus symptoms

REUTERS — OCCUPIED JERUSALEM

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said yesterday he was suffering “difficult” symptoms after contracting coronavirus, but that things were “under control”.

Erekat, 65, a lawmaker from Jericho in the occupied West Bank, said on Twitter that he was in isolation and receiving medical treatment at home one day after he confirmed that he had caught the virus. In tweets, Erekat said he was experiencing “difficult symptoms resulting from my lack of immunity as a result of lung transplantation”. But he thanked well-wishers and said “things are under control, thank God”. He underwent a lung trans-plant in the United States in 2017.

Sudan peace will cost $7.5bn: MinisterAFP — KHARTOUM

Sudan’s landmark peace deal with rebels that seeks to end decades of war will cost $7.5bn, the finance minister has said — a vast sum for the poverty-stricken nation. Under the October 3 deal between Khartoum

and a coalition of rebel groups, the government pledged to fund major development projects in areas ruined by years of war, including in the western Darfur region.

“The implementation of the peace plan requires at least $7.5 billion over 10 years,” Heba Mohamed Ali Ahmed said,

according to Sudanese media reports yesterday. Ahmed made the announcement a day earlier during a discussion with governors and local officials.Sudan’s economy is in crisis, laid low by long years of civil war, US sanctions and the 2011 secession of the oil-rich south.

05SATURDAY 10 OCTOBER 2020 MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

WFP fights hunger in food-deprived places, war zonesAP — DUBAI

The World Food Program won the Nobel Peace Prize yesterday for its efforts to combat hunger amid the coronavirus pandemic, recognition that shines light on vulnerable communities across the Middle East and Africa that the UN agency seeks to help, those starving and living in war zones that may rarely get the world’s attention.

From Yemen to South Sudan, food insecurity is a growing scourge, made worse by a mixture of military conflict, environmental disaster and the economic fallout of the pan-demic. Last year alone, the Rome-based organisation pro-vided aid to almost 100 million people in 88 countries. Here’s a look at some of those places:

In war-torn Yemen, described as the world’s worst humanitarian disaster, millions of people depend each month on the WFP for survival. Over the course of nearly six years of conflict between the Iran-backed Houthi rebels and a Saudi-led military coalition, the agency has faced major chal-lenges in getting relief to Yemenis in need. Violence rages and many aid recipients live in notoriously remote regions. The rebels, who control the capital, Sana'a, and much of the coun-try’s north, have long blocked food aid, diverting it to front-line combat units and selling it for profit on the black market.

Still, WFP’s large-scale operations are considered indispensable in the Arab world’s poorest country, where 20 million people are suffering from a hunger crisis and another 3 million face starvation due to the knock-on effects of the pan-demic. The agency helped avert famine two years ago.

Few places in the world are as ravaged as South Sudan,

where over half the population is hungry, even two years after the official end of a civil war that killed nearly 400,000 people and sent more than 2 million fleeing the country.

Now widespread flooding has displaced well over a half-million people, further compli-cating the efforts of the WFP and aid partners in reaching hard-hit areas with assistance as food prices rise amid the COVID-19 pandemic. And the threat of deadly violence remains a daily concern in what remains one of the world’s most dan-gerous countries for humani-tarian workers. Just this week, gunmen fired on a WFP boat convoy carrying food aid to flood-stricken communities. The WFP said three crew members were wounded and another was missing and likely dead.

In Sudan, where inflation has soared to 166% amid the coronavirus pandemic, an unprecedented 9.6 million people are facing potentially life-threatening levels of food insecurity. The cash-strapped

transitional government that took power after the ouster of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir is struggling to stop the tailspin. During the pandemic,

the number of children going hungry has doubled to 1.1 million. From the war-ravaged region of Darfur, Ibrahim Yousef, director of the largest

displacement camp, welcomed the news of WFP’s Nobel award as a bright spot in a desperate time. “We have been counting on WFP for decades,” said

Yousef, director of the Kalma displacement camp in South Darfur, noting that the agency’s food aid has most recently helped fend off malnutrition for those in camps suffering from the fallout of virus-induced lockdowns, severe floods and bouts of ethnic violence. “Without their grain many people here would have nothing at all to eat. We want this award to send a message to the world that we need even more help now than before.”

In Syria, rival groups but mostly government forces have imposed months-long sieges as a weapon of war, leading to major shortages of food in pop-ulated civilian areas. The eastern suburbs of the Syrian capital of Damascus, the central city of Homs and rebel-held parts of the northern city of Aleppo, Syria’s largest, all came under siege by government forces at over the course of the country’s civil war. During truces, the World Food Program occasionally managed to take limited amounts of food into besieged towns, where dozens have died of malnutrition and hunger-related illnesses.

In this file photo taken on July 8, 2019, displaced Yemenis from areas near the border with Saudi Arabia sit amidst World Food Programme (WFP) food aid, being distributed, in the northern district of Abs in the country’s Hajjah province.

AFP — SANA'A

Yemen’s rebels, previously accused of diverting humanitarian aid in the war-torn country, claimed yesterday that the World Food Programme (WFP) lacked neutrality, after it won the Nobel Peace Prize for fighting global hunger.

Iran-backed Houthi insurgents have been fighting for control of Yemen since 2014. A Saudi-led military coalition inter-vened in support of the government the following year. “We find that the WFP has largely failed in the biggest task for which it was chosen (for the Nobel Peace Prize), and that is combatting hunger,” Talaat

al-Sharjabi, a Houthi spokesman, said shortly after the announcement.

“A large number of people suffer from malnutrition... and there is also a failure on the WFP’s part to be neutral in terms of humanitarian aid distribution,” he said.

Yemen’s government, meanwhile, praised the organisation. “The WFP plays a pivotal role in relief efforts in Yemen... and has been able to impose its conditions on the Houthi (rebels) and implement dif-ferent programmes,” the chairman of Yemen’s relief committee, Abdul Raqib Fateh, said. The WFP has had a troubled relationship with the insurgents, who control much of the north of the country,

including the capital Sanaa. At the end of 2018, the UN organisation

accused the rebels of “criminal behaviour” and of selling food aid, to which the Houthis responded by claiming that the WFP was sending “rotten food”.

The organisation halted deliveries in Houthi-controlled areas for two months last year as it pushed for a biometric reg-istration scheme to avoid the diversion of supplies. In early August 2019, it reached a deal to resume deliveries after the Huthis offered guarantees concerning the benefi-ciaries. That same month, rebels destroyed tonnes of food aid they said had expired after it was reportedly held up for months.

Houthis slam WFP after Nobel Peace Prize win

Nigerian serial killer sentenced to death

AFP — PORT HARCOURT, NIGERIA

A Nigerian man yesterday received the death sentence for the serial murders of nine women in hotel rooms in the country’s oil hub in what appeared to be ritual killings.

Gracious David-West, 40, was arrested in September last year after several women were found strangled to death in different hotels in Port Har-court, the capital of the south-eastern Rivers state.

They had white cloth wrapped around their necks and waists, possibly indicating ritual crimes, according to police. The killings sparked outrage and prompted women to take to the streets of the city to demand better police protection.

Judge Adolphus Enebele found David-West guilty of the murder of nine women and the attempted murder of another, and sentenced him to death by hanging.

David-West’s lawyer Vincent Chukwu said that they would appeal the court’s decision. When David-West was arrested, police paraded him through the streets and published a video on Twitter showing him admitting to the murders.

A month later, he retracted his statement and pleaded not guilty in court.

People gather at the road to a government house during a demonstration to call for the scrapping of the controversial police unit at Ikeja in Nigeria, yesterday. Nigeria’s top police chief banned a controversial anti-robbery unit and other special agents from mounting roadblocks and carrying out stop-and-search operations over accusations of abuses.

Police fire teargas at Nigerians protesting at alleged brutalityREUTERS — LAGOS

Nigerian police used teargas yesterday to disperse dozens of people in the capital Abuja who had gathered to protest at alleged brutality by members of a special police unit, witnesses said.

Protesters, some holding placards, ran as clouds of teargas hung in the air. Multiple people at the incident said on Twitter that police had fired the canisters. A spokesman for the police did not immediately respond to a message and call requesting comment.

“They poured teargas on each and every one of us, it’s so hot I had to put water on my face. This is what Nigeria has turned into,” protester Anita Izato said.

“We just got there with our placards and decided, they started throwing us teargas. That was it,” another protester said.

Sporadic protests have broken out across Nigeria in recent days after a video circu-lated last week alleging to show members of the Special Anti-Robbery squad, known as SARS, shooting dead a man in Delta state.

The police pledged to

reform the unit soon after the alleged incident, including by banning SARS agents from car-rying out routine patrols and requiring them to wear uni-forms when on duty. But pro-testers have called for the unit to be abolished.

Nigerians and international rights groups for years have accused SARS of brutality, har-assment and extortion, and there have been multiple pledges in the past, including from the government of Pres-ident Muhammadu Buhari, to reform the unit.

#EndSARS has been trending on Twitter in Nigeria for several days, popular singer Naira Marley held an Instagram chat with a police spokesman over the issue watched live by more than 30,000 people and even the deputy governor of Lagos state said he had been harassed by SARS agents.

“Every citizen of Nigeria should be upset,” Lagos state government spokesman Gboyega Akosile said in a Tweet, sharing a video of Lagos state Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat addressing protesters and sharing his own story of harassment.

Gunmen abduct Kenyan acquitted in shopping mall attack trialREUTERS — NAIROBI

Gunmen abducted a man moments after he was released from state custody in the Kenyan capital a day after he was acquitted in one of the country’s most high-profile terrorism cases, his sister said yesterday.

A Kenyan court had acquitted Liban Abdulleh Omar on Wednesday of charges of helping Al Qaeda-linked Somali militants storm Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall in a 2013 attack in which at least 67 people were killed. Two other defendants were found guilty of assisting the jihadist attackers.

The abduction occurred on Thursday as Omar was in a taxi accompanied by some relatives heading home after

anti-terrorism police freed him that morning, according to his sister Sahara Abdulle Omar, who was in the vehicle.

Minutes after the taxi departed the police station, another vehicle forced it to stop, several men jumped out of the car, pulled Liban out of the taxi and took him away, Liban’s sister Sahara said by phone.

“They were armed, more than five of them. They took my brother by force and sped away,” she said.

She said the gunmen were wearing civilian clothes along with face masks many Kenyans now wear to protect themselves from the coronavirus pandemic.

Omar’s lawyer Mbugua Mureithi told Reuters he believed that his client was

abducted by Kenyan anti-ter-rorism police, though he did not offer evidence to substantiate the claim.

Kenyan police spokesman Charles Owino did not respond to phone calls requesting comment on the alleged abduction.

Wednesday’s verdict marked the end of the only prosecution Kenya has mounted over the 2013 shopping mall assault by Somali al Shabaab militants that left at least 67 people dead.

The attack on the upscale mall - frequented by the coun-try’s growing middle class and foreigners — came two years after Kenya sent troops into Somalia following a series of kidnappings and raids on Kenyan soil claimed by al Shabaab.

Panel orders Zuma to testify in graft probe

AFP — JOHANNESBURG

A South African judicial panel yesterday ordered former president Jacob Zuma to testify next month over alle-gations of state corruption during his nine-year rule, forcing the embattled poli-tician to appear in court despite his plea that the judge was biased against him.

The subpoena came just weeks after the scandal-tainted former president hit out at the commission chairman, requesting that he recuse himself as he was partisan.

Algeria expels thousands of migrants to Niger: HRWAFP — ALGIERS

Algerian security forces have arrested thousands of migrants and asylum seekers, cramming them onto trucks and buses before expelling them across the border in Niger, Human Rights Watch said yesterday.

“Algeria is entitled to protect its borders, but not to arbitrarily detain and collectively expel migrants, including children and asylum seekers, without a trace of due process,” HRW said.

Over 3,400 migrants have been expelled in the past month, HRW said in a statement issued in Beirut.

It brings the total number expelled this year to over 16,000, the watchdog added, basing its calculations on reports from aid groups in Niger.

Around a half of those are Nigerien, but include people from at least 20 nationalities.

Landlocked Niger is on a key cross-Saharan route for African migrants trying to reach the Mediterranean and then cross to Europe. “They pushed us into the desert and left us there, saying, ‘This is the way to Niger,’” Abdul, from Sierra Leone, told HRW.

Others told the rights group that police seized people’s belongings before dropping them in the desert in the baking heat.

“They told us, ‘You came to Algeria with nothing, and you will leave with nothing,’” said a 28-year-old man from Ivory Coast, HRW reported.

From Yemen to South Sudan, food insecurity is a growing scourge, made worse by a mixture of military conflict, environmental disaster and the economic fallout of the pandemic. Last year alone, the Rome-based organisation provided aid to almost 100 million people in 88 countries.

06 SATURDAY 10 OCTOBER 2020ASIA

Moscow hosts Azerbaijan-Armeniatalks as hopes rise for truceAFP — STEPANAKERT

Azerbaijan and Armenia held their first high-level talks yesterday after nearly two weeks of fierce clashes over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, with hopes rising that a ceasefire could be brokered in Moscow.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who has repeatedly vowed to use his military to retake the breakaway province, said the talks represented a his-toric opportunity for Armenia.

“We are giving Armenia a chance to settle the conflict peacefully,” he said. “This is their last chance.” Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said his country was “ready for the resumption of the peace process” led by international brokers.

France, which along with Russia and the United States is part of a group mediating the two countries’ long conflict, said there was a chance of a

breakthrough at the talks but it was far from certain.

“We are moving towards a truce tonight or tomorrow but it’s still fragile,” President Emmanuel Macron’s office said in a statement.

Armenian and Azerbaijani defence officials said heavy clashes continued overnight and reported further civilian deaths, after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the meeting in Moscow late on Thursday and appealed for a ceasefire on humanitarian grounds.

Shelling started again yes-terday in Stepanakert, the pro-vincial capital of Karabakh, where a witness heard several loud explosions and saw the remains of a rocket in a crater next to a cemetery for dead soldiers.

Renewed fighting over Karabakh — an ethnic Armenian region of Azerbaijan that broke from Baku’s control in a devastating war in the early

1990s — has claimed some 400 lives and forced thousands of people from their homes.

The heavy clashes erupted late last month, with both sides blaming the other for the biggest outbreak in violence since a 1994 ceasefire left the status of Karabakh in limbo.

The region’s declaration of independence has not been rec-ognised by any country -- even Armenia -- and the interna-tional community regards it as part of Azerbaijan.

The Kremlin said late on Thursday that following a series of calls with Pashinyan and Aliyev, Putin had invited their foreign ministers to Moscow and called for an end to hostil-ities “to exchange dead bodies and prisoners”.

Putin’s announcement of the talks came shortly after international mediators from France, Russia and the United States launched their first efforts to resolve the fighting in Geneva.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (centre) chairs a meeting of Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Armenia’s Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan (right) in Moscow, yesterday.

Nepal warns of crisis as virusinfections surpass 100,000REUTERS — KATHMANDU

Nepal’s total coronavirus infections passed 100,000 yesterday, the health ministry said, and are rising at a faster rate than both Pakistan and Bangladesh which have far larger populations.

The country of 30 million people wedged between China and India has reported 100,676 total cases of coronavirus and 600 deaths. Yesterday, it reported 2,059 new daily cases and ten deaths after per-forming 13,279 tests, according to official data.

The number of new infec-tions per day has been consist-ently increasing and are second only to India in the South Asia region, according to a tally.

Nepal’s biggest city of Kathmandu and its sur-rounding areas account for more than one third of all infections, and authorities said cases were on the verge of slipping out of control.

“If the infections in the Kathmandu valley continue to increase at this rate hospitals

will not be able to support the burden,” health ministry spokesman Jageshwar Gautam said.

He said there were 181 intensive care units and 76 ventilators in Kathmandu and neighbouring cities of Lalitpur and Bhaktapur with four million people. Less than half were occupied now, he said.

But patients interviewed by local media said ICU beds were hard to find and some hospitals were refusing to admit the COVID-19 patients.

Nepal enforced strict lockdown measures after its

second positive case in March and infections were below many South Asian neighbours, with Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli playing down the risks. Cases increased expo-nentially after the government began to ease restrictive measures in June to prop up its faltering economy.

Experts also say the gov-ernment failed to enforce strict protocols — wearing masks, individual distancing and san-itation — and failed to keep those suspected of having the virus under strict supervision.

“In absence of proper mon-itoring of home quarantines, infected people moved freely to mingle with crowds and spread the virus,” said Rab-indra Pandey, a public health expert. Nepal’s government says the country has the capacity to test 23,000 samples every day, but Pandey said daily average was cur-rently around 13,000, leading to some cases not being traced and isolated.

“These people in turn became the source of trans-mission,” Pandey said.

Sri Lanka Presidentinsists Chinese-fundedprojects are viableAP — COLOMBO

Sri Lanka’s President asked a visiting delegation led by a senior Chinese diplomat yesterday to assist him in disproving a perception that China-funded megaprojects are “debt traps” aimed at gaining influence in local affairs.

President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa made the request to the delegation led by Yang Jiechi, a Communist Party Politburo member and former foreign minister.

China considers the Indian Ocean island nation to be a critical link in its massive “Belt and Road” global infrastructure building initiative and has pro-vided billions of dollars in loans for Sri Lankan projects over the past decade. The projects include a seaport, airport, port-city, highways and power stations.

During their talks, Rajapaksa hailed Chinese assistance in upgrading

infrastructure facilities and said the seaport in the island’s south had been proposed by the Sri Lankan government and funded by China.

“Many geopolitical analyses interpret this project as a ‘debt trap’ set up by China to gain control over Sri Lankan affairs. I want to prove that it is not the case and that this large-scale project will help improve the living standards of the people. Assist us in this endeavour,” Rajapaksa told the delegation, according to a statement released by his office.

The statement did not explain what help he sought from China. Critics say the Chinese-funded projects are not financially viable and Sri Lanka will face difficulties in repaying the loans.

In 2017, Sri Lanka leased out the Chinese-built port located near busy shipping routes to a Chinese company for 99 years to recover from the heavy burden of repaying the Chinese

loan the country received to build it.

The facility is part of Bei-jing’s plan for a line of ports stretching from Chinese waters to the Persian Gulf. China has also agreed to provide a $989 million loan to Sri Lanka to build an expressway that will connect its tea-growing central region to the Chinese-run seaport.

China expanded its footprint in Sri Lanka during the lead-ership of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the older brother of current President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. Mahinda Rajakapaksa, who is currently prime minister, held separate talks with Yang yesterday.

China’s economic influence over Sri Lanka has worried its closet neighbour, India, which

considers the Indian Ocean region to be its strategic backyard. Yang’s visit comes days after the top diplomats of four Indo-Pacific nations - the US, Japan, India and Australia - met in Tokyo to increase their involvement in a regional ini-tiative called “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” aimed at coun-tering China’s growing assert-iveness in the region.

Surfer missing after shark attack off Australian coastAFP — SYDNEY A surfer is missing after being attacked by a shark off Australia’s southwest coast yesterday, in an area notorious for great white encounters.

The surfer, believed to be a man, was attacked on Friday morning off Kelp Beds beach, near Esperance — about a seven hour drive from Perth, local police said.

A nearby surfer tried to help the man after the attack but could not pull him from the water, Western Australia premier Mark McGowan told media.

“It sounds like it’s a very,

very difficult and very serious situation going on there at the moment,” McGowan said.

The man’s surfboard washed-up on shore showing “obvious signs of shark attack” but rescuers were still scouring waters for the surfer, Western Australia Police Force Senior Sergeant Justin Tarasinski told national broadcaster ABC.

“Unfortunately at this point in time, no we’ve not recovered the surfer that was involved in the attack and the search oper-ations are ongoing,” Tarasinski said.

The beach had been busy at the time with about eight surfers in the waves and

several more people on shore, he said.

In January a man was killed by a great white at a nearby diving spot and three years earlier a 17-year-old girl was mauled to death at the same beach.

While in 2014, a young surfer lost parts of both arms after being attacked by two great whites, also off Esperance.

There have been six fatal shark attack in Australian waters so far this year, according to Australian Shark Attack File maintained by Taronga Conservation Society Australia.

Sri Lanka Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa (right) and China’s Director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Office Yang Jiechi pose for a picture in Colombo, yesterday.

Australia records

second day without

COVID-19 death

REUTERS — SYDNEY

Australia reported its second straight day without any COVID-19 deaths yesterday, the longest stretch without any fatal-ities from the virus in three months.

Australian states and terri-tories reported 16 cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, down from 28 on Thursday, and no deaths for two days, the first time Australia has gone 48 hours without a COVID-19 death since July 11. The results cement optimism that Australia has con-tained a second wave of COVID-19 infections.

The country’s second most populous state Victoria, the epi-centre of Australia’s COVID-19 outbreak, said they now have less than 200 active infections.

“These are the results that come from a really determined effort to defeat this second wave,” Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews told reporters in Melbourne. Australia has reported more than 27,000 virus infections and about 900 deaths - far fewer than many other developed countries.

Indonesian Muslim and union groups to fight new jobs law in court

REUTERS — JAKARTA

Indonesian President Joko Widodo came under increasing pressure to repeal his new controversial jobs law yesterday, with union and Muslim groups preparing to challenge it in court and some regional leaders publicly opposing the legislation.

The president, widely known by his popular name Jokowi, defended the law, saying demonstrations that have seen thousands of people across the world’s fourth-most populous nation take to the streets in sometimes violent protests this week were fuelled by disinformation in social media.

Jokowi says the “omnibus” jobs creation bill, passed into law on Monday, will boost Indonesia’s ailing economy by cutting red tape and attracting more foreign direct investment. Protesters say the law under-mines labour rights and weakens environmental protections.

The KSPI labour group, among the organisers of three-day protests and national strikes that ended on Thursday, is preparing to lodge a case against the law in the Constitu-tional Court, the group’s pres-ident Said Iqbal said in a statement.

Nahdlatul Ulama, Indone-sia’s biggest Muslim group with millions of followers, would

also challenge the law in the court, it said in its official Twitter account.

Clashes erupted in some cities on Thursday, including in the capital Jakarta where pro-testers burnt public transport facilities and damaged police posts. At least six provincial governors have said they would pass on protesters’ demands to the president or publicly opposed the law.

Repealing the law would prevent further clashes “that could create prolonged insta-bility amid a pandemic and an economic recession”, West Kalimantan Governor Sutar-midji said in a statement.

In a televised address, the president said Indonesia

urgently needed to create more jobs for its young population, adding that the law would also help those laid off during the coronavirus pandemic.

“I’ve emphasized we need the Job Creation Law... because every year there are 2.9 million young people entering the labour market,” Jokowi said.

Police detained more than 3,800 people nationwide during rallies that have at times turned violent this week, including students, workers and u n e m p l o y e d p e o p l e , spokesman Argo Yuwono said in a news conference.

There were smaller protests on Friday in several cities on Java and Sumatra islands, according to local media.

Over 95% COVID-19 deaths due to comorbidities: Goa CMIANS — PANAJI

More than 95 percent deaths of COVID-19 positive patients have occurred on account of comorbid conditions, while five per cent patients have died due to delay on their part in seeking treatment, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said yesterday.

Speaking at a ceremony organised in Panaji to formally launch free COVID-19 kits for patients in home isolation, Sawant said that the death rate in the state, pre-pandemic and post pandemic in comparative time periods has remained the same.

As many as 484 people have died in Goa after testing positive for COVID-19, even as the state has recorded a total tally of 37,102 confirmed coronavirus cases. The Chief Minister said that if one analysed the death statistics in the state in the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods, the rate of death has not increased because of Covid-19 infections.

“There is no difference in mortality rates. At that time (pre-pandemic) causes of death were attributed to diseases, accidents, kidney failure, etc. Deaths have not increased,” Sawant added.

Nepal’s biggest city of Kathmandu and its surrounding areas account for more than one third of all infections, and authorities said cases were on the verge of slipping out of control.

07SATURDAY 10 OCTOBER 2020 ASIA

Kyrgyzstan President says he is ready to resignREUTERS — BISHKEK

Kyrgyzstan’s President Sooronbai Jeenbekov said yesterday he was ready to resign once a new cabinet was appointed, as politicians sought a way out of a power vacuum that has prompted Moscow to talk about Russia’s obligation to ensure stability.

Opposition groups have quarrelled among themselves since seizing government buildings and forcing the can-cellation of a disputed election result this week.

They made the first step towards consolidation, raising hopes of an end to a crisis, but thousands of their followers took to the streets at rival rallies that politicians said posed a danger of violence.

The opposition is divided among 11 parties which rep-resent clan interests in a country that has already seen two presidents toppled by popular revolts since 2005.

Russia has described the situation in Kyrgyzstan, which borders China and hosts a Russian military base, as “a mess and chaos”.

The crisis tests the Krem-lin’s power to shape politics in its former Soviet sphere of

influence, at a time when fighting has erupted between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Belarus is also engulfed in protests.

After forcing the cabinet to resign and the election com-mission to annul the results of Sunday’s parliamentary election, Kyrgyz opposition groups have so far failed to agree on who would lead a provisional government.

In a first step towards con-solidating, two rival candidates for the premiership, Omurbek Babanov and Tilek Tokto-gaziyev, said yesterday they would work together, with the latter becoming a deputy prime minister. They were backed by four parties, local news website 24.kz reported.

A third candidate, Sadyr Zhaparov, backed by the Ata Zhurt party, had yet to comment on their move, and

six other opposition parties had yet to make their positions clear. Supporters of the Babanov-Toktagaziyev duo staged rallies in Bishkek, as did Zhaparov’s supporters, and those of Almazbek Atambayev, who was president from 2011-2017.

Parliament deputy Elvira Surabaldiyeva urged police to maintain public order, saying the nation was going through a “crucial moment”.

Babanov said President Jeenbekov could avoid impeachment — which would leave him vulnerable to sub-sequent prosecution — if he quit after signing off on a new cabinet line-up.

Parliamentary deputy Maksat Sabirov told Russia’s Interfax news agency that the legislature, which has the exclusive power to appoint a new cabinet, would try to

convene on Friday.The parliament’s previous

attempts to gather a quorum have failed as some deputies said they feared for their safety.

Two political parties close to Jeenbekov swept Sunday’s parliamentary vote, but the 11 opposition parties refused to accept the results and Western observers said the election was

marred by credible allegations of vote-buying. So far, veteran officials who supported the revolt have been in control of the security forces.

Yesterday, self-appointed provisional heads of the interior ministry and the state security service left their respective buildings and handed over the leadership to their deputies.

The two state bodies said the move was meant to ensure security forces remained apo-litical. The State National Security Committee said yes-t e r d a y n e i g h b o u r i n g Uzbekistan had handed over to it three people who illegally crossed the border on October 6, including a district mayor, Tilek Matraimov, from a polit-ically influential family.

Supporters of Kyrgyzstan’s former president Almazbek Atambayev attend a rally in Bishkek, yesterday.

Pakistan’s telecom regulator blocks TikTokREUTERS — ISLAMABAD

Pakistan’s telecom regulator blocked TikTok yesterday for failing to filter out “immoral and indecent” content, another blow to the social media app that has come under increasing scrutiny as its popularity has surged across the globe.

The ban comes in view of “complaints from different seg-ments of the society against immoral and indecent content on the video sharing appli-cation,” said the Pakistan Tele-communication Authority (PTA).

The PTA said it would review its ban, subject to a sat-isfactory mechanism by TikTok to moderate unlawful content.TikTok said it was “committed to following the law in markets where the app is offered.

“We have been in regular communication with the PTA and continue to work with them. We are hopeful to reach a conclusion that helps us continue to serve the country’s vibrant and creative online community,” it said.

TikTok, owned by China-based ByteDance, has become hugely popular in a short period of time, by encouraging young users to post brief videos. Its quick rise has caught it in a fire-storm, with a number of coun-tries raising security and privacy concerns over its links to China.

In June, it was blocked in India — then its largest market by users — which cited national security concerns at a time of a border dispute with China. Sep-arately, it faces the threat of being barred in the United States, and scrutiny in other

countries including Australia.TikTok has long denied that

its links to China pose a security concern in other countries.

Three Pakistani officials said earlier yesterday that a ban on the app in Pakistan was imminent.

“We have been asking them repeatedly to put in place an effective mechanism for blocking immoral and indecent content,” one of the top officials directly involved in the decision said.

“The platform, however, hasn’t been able to fully satisfy Pakistani authorities.” Muslim-majority Pakistan has media regulations that adhere to con-servative social customs. In July, the telecommunications regu-lator issued a “final warning” to TikTok over provocative content.

The decision was taken after Prime Minister Imran Khan took a keen interest in the issue, said a second Pakistani official, adding that Khan has directed the telecoms authorities to make all efforts to block vulgar content.

Usama Khilji, director of Bolo Bhi, a Pakistani group advocating for the rights of Internet users, said the decision undermined the government’s dreams of a digital Pakistan.

“The government blocking an entertainment app that is used by millions of people, and is a source of income for thou-sands of content creators, espe-cially those coming from smaller towns and villages, is a travesty to democratic norms and fundamental rights as guar-anteed by the constitution,” said Khilji.

China joins COVAXinitiative for vaccinedistribution AP — TAIPEI

China, which has at least four coronavirus vaccine candidates in the last stage of clinical trials, said yesterday it is joining an international initiative to distribute COVID-19 vaccines to countries worldwide known as COVAX, a move that may help the country find an international market for its coronavirus shots.

The country signed an agreement with Gavi, the co-leader of the project, on Thursday, China’s foreign min-istry said. Initially, China did not agree to join the alliance, after missing an early deadline to join in September.

“We are taking this concrete step to ensure equitable distri-bution of vaccines, especially to developing countries, and hope more capable countries will also join and support COVAX,” min-istry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a statement.

She added later at a daily news briefing that many Chinese vaccine companies expressed a willingness to join the part-nership and that China would buy vaccines for about 1 percent of its population through COVAX.

The exact terms of the agreement and how China will contribute are not yet clear. Countries can choose to buy

vaccines to cover up to 50 percent of their population but many developed countries are using COVAX as a type of insurance policy to obtain extra doses on top of any bilateral deals signed with pharmaceu-tical companies.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping previously said the country would make the vaccine a global public good and would distribute its shots in Africa — but only after China’s own immunisation pro-gramme had been completed.

The World Health Organi-zation, which also leads COVAX, welcomed the announcement, saying in a statement that “the number of countries joining the COVAX facility grows every day, and we are pleased to see China formally join.”

The initiative is designed so that richer countries agree to buy into potential vaccines and help finance access for poorer ones, but critical questions remain about how its goal will be carried out. Many countries including Britain, the US, France, Germany, and others have directly negotiated their own deals with pharmaceutical com-panies to receive billions of doses, meaning that the vast majority of the world’s vaccine supply next year is already reserved.

People arrive at Beijing Railway Station after an eight-day National Day holiday amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease, in Beijing yesterday.

Japan, Mongolia to cooperate on ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific’AP — TOKYO

The foreign ministers of Japan and Mongolia agreed yesterday to cooperate in promoting a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific,” a vision that Tokyo is pushing with the US and other “like-minded” countries to counter China’s growing assertiveness in the region.

Japanese Foreign Minister

Toshimitsu Motegi held talks in Ulaanbaatar on Friday with his Mongolian counterpart, Nyamt-seren Enkhtaivan. Motegi’s visit came after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo canceled a trip to Mongolia because of President Donald Trump’s COVID-19 infection.

Motegi, who agreed with counterparts from the US, Aus-tralia and India at “Quad” talks

in Tokyo on Tuesday to seek more countries’ support for the FOIP concept of security and economic cooperation in ensuring open sea lanes to the Middle East. China claims most of the South China Sea.

The Japanese and Mongolian ministers said at a news con-ference yesterday that they pledged further cooperation in achieving the FOIP, while

agreeing to step up security, medical and economic cooperation.

The two sides also signed a $235m emergency loan to help the pandemic-hit Mongolian economy and fund medical equipment. Japan and the US have been pushing the FOIP as a way to bring together countries that share concerns about China’s growing influence in the region.

North Korea gearsup for militaryparade todayREUTERS — SEOUL

North Koreans wearing medical masks have gathered in the capital of Pyongyang, state media reported, ahead of what is expected to be a big military parade today, possibly featuring the country’s latest ballistic missiles.

The holiday marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, and events include concerts, art and industry exhibitions, a light show, visits to monuments and ceremonies to mark the completion of construction projects.

South Korea’s Yonhap news agency cited unidentified sources as saying there were signs that the North’s state television was preparing to broadcast a parade, though it is unclear whether it would be live. Leader Kim Jong Un could also deliver an address, Yonhap said.

Officials in South Korea and the United States say that North Korea could use the parade to show off a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

“There is a possibility that North Korea will unveil new strategic weapons, such as new intercontinental ballistic missiles or submarine-launched ballistic missiles, to draw attention at a time when its economic achievements have been sluggish,” the South’s Unification Ministry, which handles relations with the North, said on Thursday.

Unification Minister Lee In-young told lawmakers that displaying a new missile could be a “low-intensity demonstration of force” ahead of the US presidential election that would be less provocative than

a launch or nuclear test.Kim has not displayed ICBMs at a

parade since he first met US President Donald Trump in 2018, but their talks on unwinding the North’s nuclear and missile programmes have stalled and Pyongyang has signalled increasing impatience with Washington.

“The display of new ICBMs would signal that North Korea was moving on from this strategy and may indicate that North Korea will resume long-range missile testing,” said Jeffrey Lewis, a missile researcher at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.

Foreign diplomats in Pyongyang, who are often invited to observe on such hol-idays, were told not to approach or take photographs of this weekend’s events, NK

News, a Seoul-based website that monitors North Korea, reported.

North Korean state media outlets showed photos of large crowds of delegates and other visitors in masks as they arrived for holiday events. North Korea has not reported any confirmed cases of the coro-navirus, but the government has imposed strict border controls and quarantine measures and analysts say an outbreak could be devastating for the economically and politically isolated country.

“Such an event is extremely risky in that if only a few people were COVID-19 pos-itive in the crowd they could create a deadly super-spreader-like event,” said Harry Kazianis, senior director of Korean Studies at the Center for the National Interest in Washington.

A file photo of North Korean soldiers participating in a military parade at Kim Il-Sung square in Pyongyang.

Nobel nomination nod to women’s

campaign, says Afghan negotiator

AP — KABUL

Afghan peace negotiator Fawzia Koofi says her nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize demonstrates global support for the women of Afghanistan amid historic talks between the country’s warring sides.

One of four women repre-senting the Afghan government, Koofi has been sitting down at the negotiating table with members of the Taliban for talks that began

last month in Qatar.The female members of the

21-person negotiating team have vowed to preserve women’s rights in any power-sharing deal with the Taliban.

Koofi, a 45-year-old women’s and human rights activist, former member of parliament and sur-vivor of two armed attacks, says the Peace Prize nomination “gives us more strength and authority so that we can better defend and represent Afghan women.”

In a first step towards consolidating, two rival candidates for the premiership, Omurbek Babanov and Tilek Toktogaziyev, said yesterday they would work together, with the latter becoming a deputy prime minister. They were backed by four parties, local news website 24.kz reported.

08 SATURDAY 10 OCTOBER 2020VIEWS

CHAIRMANDR. KHALID BIN THANI AL THANI

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFDR. KHALID BIN MUBARAK AL-SHAFI

editorinchief@pen.com.qa

ACTING MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED SALIM MOHAMED

m.salim@pen.com.qa

DEPUTY MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED OSMAN ALI osman@pen.com.qa

EDITORIAL

THE Qatar government’s new decision to allow Qatari and non-Qatari citizens, residents and non-residents “the right to free ownership of residential units inside residential complexes and shops inside malls” will not only pull foreign investment to Qatar but will also boost confidence of local businesses.

Qatar under its economic diversification plans has already taken a number of business friendly decisions in recent years making the country a destination of choice for investment.

Under the new decision, owners of property that is worth no less than QR730,000 ($200,000) will be offered residency. Owners of the property are granted resi-dency for themselves and their family for the duration of their ownership. The Ministry of Interior and the Min-istry of Justice also worked on implementing a new system that allows non-Qataris to obtain their residency as soon as they complete the purchasing.

Owners of property worth no less than QR3,650,000 ($1 million) will get the same benefits of permanent res-idents in terms of healthcare, education, and some com-mercial activities. Cabinet Resolution No. 28 of 2020 has also determined the areas in which non-Qataris may own and benefit from real estate, and the terms, conditions, benefits and procedures for their ownership and use of them.

The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Interior also launched an office for Non-Qatari Real Estate Own-ership in the Pearl, in order to provide real estate own-ership and utilisation services through one window for investors.

The office enables the beneficiaries to obtain the title deed in less than an hour. It also provides, through an automated system developed by the Ministries of Interior and Justice, the issuance of residency upon completion of ownership or usufruct procedures, in case the property of the owner or the beneficiary is in the category whose value is not less than QR 730.000, equivalent to USD 200.000, so that the owner of the property from this category obtains a residence permit for himself and his family without a recruiter for the duration of his ownership of the property.

The Committee for the Regulation of Ownership and Use of Non-Qatari Property also launched a special section for non-Qatari ownership and usufruct of real estate, on the website of the Ministry of Justice.

Local and foreign businessmen and investors have termed the decision as a very good initiative. “This is a very good initiative on the part of government that will bring more investment to the country. It is a very pos-itive step for the overall economy and will add value to the country,” Qatar Chamber First Vice-Chairman Mohamed bin Ahmed bin Towar Al Kuwari said.

A great initiative

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Quote of the day

We are deeply humbled to receive the

#NobelPeacePrize. This is an incredible

recognition of the dedication of the @WFP family,

working to end hunger everyday in 80+ countries.

David Beasley, World Food Programme Chief

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs H E Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi attending the Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement by video conference, yesterday.

The State of Qatar participated in the Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), which was held yesterday by video conference technology, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, under the theme: “Bandung+65: More Relevant, United and Effective NAM against Emerging Global Chal-lenge Including COVID-19”.

The State of Qatar was represented at the meeting by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs H E Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi.

In the speech of the State of Qatar to the meeting, His Excellency said that the Non-Aligned Movement has made great efforts during its march to face international chal-lenges and create an interna-tional environment that ensures progress and pros-perity for the peoples of the Movement’s countries, and strengthens international peace and security.

He added that the coinci-dence of the 65th anniversary of the Bandung Conference with the exceptional circum-stances in which the world is facing as a result of the Coro-navirus (Covid-19) pandemic represents an opportunity to renew commitment to the principles and goals of Bandung, which is still able to achieve the goals we aspire to.

He stressed that the weight that the Non-Aligned Movement represents in the international arena and the number of its members in the United Nations qualifies it to play an effective role in solving international crises and achieving its goals, based on the movement’s rich his-torical legacy and the goals for which it was founded.

The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs said that based on the commitment of

the member states to the goals and purposes of the United Nations, and given that this commitment is con-sistent with the goals of the movement and serves the interests of the member states, the translation of this commitment must be reflected in our policies as member states of the movement, and abandoning any measures or policies that harm other countries under motives and justifica-tions prohibited by the UN Charter and international law.

In this regard, he referred to the unilateral measures and the unjust blockade imposed on the State of Qatar more than three years ago by member states of the Non-Aligned Movement, in a fla-grant violation of interna-tional law, the UN Charter and NAM principles, which has long issued decisions and declarations rejecting such illegal measures.

The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs said that in light of the risks entailed by such policies, and the fact that they pose a serious threat to the movement’s unity, inter-national peace and security, and its serious violation of the human rights, the NAM action to prevent such policies not only serves the interests of states that are subjected to unjust and illegal measures, but rather strengthens the role and status of the movement in the international arena and serves the interests of its countries.

He stressed that the movements endeavor, since its establishment, to achieve a

world dominated by respect for international law and the UN Charter, is completely consistent with the policy of the State of Qatar and its firm commitment to cooperate with the member states on the basis of mutual respect and non-interference in the affairs of others and its support for just causes of the Non-Aligned Movement members.

He reiterated the State of Qatar’s appreciation for the Non-Aligned Movement support for international legitimacy decisions related to the Palestinian cause, and reiterated Qatar’s support for international efforts aimed at achieving a just and compre-hensive peace based on inter-national legitimacy decisions and the Arab Peace Initiative, and on the basis of the two-state solution, and the rights of the Palestinians, including the establishment of an inde-pendent state of Palestine on the 1967 borders with Al-Quds as its capital, and to end to the Israeli occupation of all occupied Arab lands, to halt settlements, and lift the siege on Gaza Strip and the rest of the Palestinian territories.

He also renewed the State of Qatar’s support for all international efforts to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis in accordance with the Geneva-1 statement, in a manner that puts an end to the suffering of the Syrian people and enhances security and stability in the region.

He said that Qatar con-tinues to support interna-tional efforts to combat ter-rorism and confront extremism and terrorism in

all its forms and their supporters,

He also renewed the State of Qatar’s categorical refusal to use terrorism as a pretext to offend states and make false accusations to achieve unlawful political goals.

The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs said that it is within the framework of Qatar’s commitment to con-front the repercussions of the Coronavirus pandemic, and in line with the outcomes of the summit of heads of state and government of the Non-Aligned Movement organized under the theme: “United Against COVID-19”, which was held last May, Qatar has con-tinued to carry out its humani-tarian duty to support coun-tries facing this pandemic, especially the NAM member states, as the State of Qatar has provided urgent medical aid to nearly 78 countries.

He pointed out that aid amounted to approximately $89m, in addition to the support provided to the World Health Organization in the amount of $10m, the Global Vaccine Alliance with an amount of $20m, and the support of the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees UNHCR. Qatar also provided financial support of $150m to Gaza Strip to improve the humanitarian sit-uation and confront the effects of the coronavirus crisis.

He reiterated Qatar’s commitment to work within the Movement’s framework and support its efforts to achieve the goals sought by the peoples of the NAM member states.

JAPAN NEWS-YOMIURI

It is quite natural that a system that is difficult for medical institutions to use has not become widespread. The government must listen to medical workers on the front line and do its best to reduce their burden.

In order to prevent the spread of the novel corona-virus, it is important to establish a system in which the central and local govern-ments can quickly grasp the situation surrounding infec-tions in an integrated manner. To this end, the central gov-ernment introduced the Health Center Real-time information-sharing System on COVID-19 (HER-SYS).

Under the Infectious Dis-eases Control Law, medical institutions are obliged to submit a "notification of occurrence" that contains the

name of a patient, symptoms such as fever and test results. In the past, the information was sent to public health centers by fax, and then each public health center compiled the information and reported it to the central government. The conventional system revealed a large delay in inte-grating information.

With HER-SYS, public health centers, the central government and local gov-ernments can instantly share notifications of occurrence that each medical institution has entered online. As it is also possible for public health centers to type into the system the behavior history of infected people and those with whom they have been in close contact, HER-SYS should have been a trump card for speeding up infor-mation sharing for that purpose.

However, since HER-SYS was introduced at the end of May, usage has not increased as expected. According to a survey by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, only about 40% of the 318 medical institutions that responded to the survey said that they use the system, and about half of the respondents still use fax machies and other devices.

In 108 local governments, public health centers input data on notifications of occurrence received from medical institu-tions into HER-SYS on behalf of the medical institutions. Such circumstances have not helped reduce the burden on public health centers.

The reason for the low rate of utilization of HER-SYS is that there are as many as about 120 input items, increasing medical workers' workload. As expected, there has been a spate of

complaints from medical workers on the front line saying that "data entry is too cumbersome when there are many patients."

The health ministry might have introduced the system too hastily to grasp the reality of front line medical workers. The ministry plans to designate about 30 priority input items, including patients' symptoms, infection routes and dates of onset, to encourage use of the system. Measures should be taken immediately to reduce the burden on medical workers on the front line.

Amid mounting concerns about a "twindemic" of influenza and coronavirus as the winter season approaches, the government is calling for the establishment of a system in which family doctors examine patients suspected of being infected with the coro-navirus and test them.

Non-Aligned Movement has made great efforts during its march to face international challenges

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H E Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi reiterated the State of Qatar’s appreciation for the Non-Aligned Movement support for international legitimacy decisions related to the Palestinian cause.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) warned in a report that border closures and travel bans had left large numbers of migrants stranded.

09SATURDAY 10 OCTOBER 2020 EUROPE

Merkel warns of tougher measures if infections don’t stabilise in 10 daysAFP — BERLIN

Chancellor Angela Merkel warned yesterday that corona-virus hotspots in Germany will be given 10 days to tackle their rising case numbers before tougher action is taken.

“We all sense that the big cities, the urban areas, are now the arena where we will see if we can keep the pandemic under control in Germany as we have done for months, or if we lose control,” Merkel said after talks with mayors.

“The coming days and weeks will decide how Germany gets through the pan-demic this winter.”

Capital Berlin and financial hub Frankfurt both joined a growing list of high-risk zones on Germany’s map this week, after crossing the threshold of 50 new cases per 100,000 people over the past seven days.

Among the new measures

that kick in once that level is reached are wider mask requirements, including out-doors in busy areas, as well as earlier closing hours for clubs and restaurants and limits on group sizes.

Merkel said past experience had shown it takes “about 10 days” to see if such efforts succeed in slowing the out-break. If the infection rate does not stabilise in that time, “further targeted restrictions are unavoidable in order to further reduce public contacts”, according to the text agreed at the talks.

Germany is on heightened alert after the number of new daily cases spiked from 2,828 on Wednesday to just over 4,000 cases on Thursday — the highest daily figure since early April. The country’s Robert Koch Institute for disease control warned that the virus could “spread uncontrollably”

if people let their guard down.Yesterday, the RKI reported

4,516 new cases. Merkel again asked Germans to stick to the well-known rules of mask wearing, hand washing and social distancing.

She also urged them to use the country’s coronavirus warning app and regularly air out rooms as colder weather approaches and people spend more time indoors.

Merkel also issued a direct appeal to young people, who have been seen as driving the current spike in infections, urging them to think of the health of elderly relatives and also of their own job and edu-cation prospects.

“It will all come back: Par-tying, having fun,” she said. “But what matters now is something else. We have proven that we can stick together against all this. And we must continue to do so.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel gives a statement following her video conference with officials from Germany’s largest cities on COVID-19, at the Chancellery, in Berlin yesterday.

Madrid back in COVID-19 lockdownAFP — MADRID

Spain’s government yesterday declared a state of emergency in the Madrid area to enforce a partial lockdown to curb rampant virus infections, over-riding opposition from the regional authorities.

“The government has decided to declare a state of emergency... for the next 15 days,” said Health Minister Sal-vador Illa following an urgent two-hour cabinet meeting.

The measure, which comes into effect immediately, was rushed through ahead of a long holiday weekend for Spain’s

National Day on October 12, raising concerns people could take advantage of the legal limbo to head out of town.

Ministers met a day after a bombshell court ruling which effectively cancelled mobility restrictions on 4.5 million people in and around the capital to slow the rapid spread of the virus.

The court ruling had been welcomed by Madrid’s rightwing regional authorities which had opposed the partial lockdown over its economic impact.

But in a late-night phonecall, Spain’s socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez issued an ultimatum to regional

leader Isabel Diaz Ayuso: Either the region passed the measures itself, or the government would declare a state of emergency to push them through.

“Protecting the health of Madrid’s people is absolutely essential,” insisted Illa, saying 66 people had died over the past week and some 500 were “fighting for their lives in intensive care”. “Patience has a limit,” he said, pointing the finger at Madrid’s leaders for failing to act. “Measures must be taken to protect the health of the people of Madrid and to prevent this from spreading to other regions.”

Virus curbs strand over2.7 million migrants: UNAFP — GENEVA

More than 2.7 million migrants who wished to return home have been stranded abroad because of restrictions put in place to fight the coronavirus pandemic, the United Nations said yesterday.

The world needs to urgently step up cooperation to allow people to return in a safe manner despite the coronavirus constraints, said the UN’s Inter-national Organization for Migration. The IOM warned in a report that border closures and travel bans had left large numbers of migrants stranded.

It defined stranded migrants as people outside their country of habitual residence who wanted to return home but were being prevented by restrictions related to the pandemic.

IOM chief Antonio Vitorino urged countries to do more for the roughly 2.75 million people stuck in limbo.

“The scope and subsequent enforcement of tens of thou-sands of mobility restrictions, including border closures and nationwide lockdowns related to COVID-19, requires states to reach out to their neighbours

and to migrants’ countries of origin to address their needs and vulnerabilities,” he said in a statement.

“Migrants can be returned home in a safe and dignified manner despite the constraints imposed by COVID-19.” IOM said it had calculated the 2.75 million figure from official sources on known cases up to July 13 of migrants stranded abroad in need of assistance, including food, water, shelter and repatriation.

They include seasonal workers, temporary residence holders, international students, migrants who travelled for medical treatment and sea-farers. The Middle East and North Africa had the most stranded migrants, with 1.26 million stuck, followed by Asia and the Pacific with 977,000.

There were a further

203,000 in the European Eco-nomic Area and Switzerland, and 111,000 in North and Central America and the Car-ibbean, it found.

Based on data from 382 locations in more than 101 countries, it “is considered a large underestimation of the number of migrants stranded or otherwise impacted by COVID-19”, IOM said.

The IOM said it had received requests to assist nearly 115,000 stranded migrants to return home safely and voluntarily, and had been able to do so for more than 15,000 of the most vulnerable in recent months. “Once stranded, some migrants are at a higher risk of abuse, exploitation and neglect,” it warned.

“The loss of livelihoods can increase vulnerabilities and expose them to exploitation by criminal syndicates, human traffickers and others who take advantage of these situ-ations.” The organisation said that too often, migrants were excluded from national coro-navirus response and recovery plans due to their irregular status.

“The COVID-19 mobility policies and measures — spanning from various travel restrictions, health require-ments and measures to full border closures and nation-wide and/or localised lock-downs — have, in some cases, created new challenges for migrants whilst in parallel exacerbated their existing vul-nerabilities,” the report said.

It also raised the issue of some 400,000 seafarers cur-rently stranded at sea, some of whom have been aboard their vessels for up to 17 months — six months longer than the maximum allowed.

Migrants awaiting to enter Croatia walk on the side of a road near Northern-Bosnian town of Bihac, in this September 28, 2020 picture.

EU agrees colour code system to end pandemic travel curbsAFP — BRUSSELS

EU members agreed yesterday on a method to determine safe travel destinations within Europe, hoping to unify the bloc’s haphazard patchwork of travel restrictions due to COVID-19.

Envoys from the EU’s 27 member states agreed on a list of recommendations, which will include a colour code for identi-fying risk areas: Green, orange or red depending on the situation.

The recommendations will

remain voluntary, however, with individual countries free to adopt the suggestions or ignore them completely.

The travel industry, which has been ravaged by the coro-navirus pandemic, is hoping the measures will be widely adopted and help to make travel within Europe less chaotic.

The methodology was agreed just as the pandemic is going through a second wave in Europe, with new infections growing to alarming levels in Madrid, Paris and other major EU

destinations. “This is an important step which, with common risk analysis, will lead to more predict-ability and transparency when travelling under Covid conditions in the EU,” a spokesman for the EU presidency tweeted.

As was already the case at the start of the pandemic last spring, the EU states are cur-rently taking very different approaches to travel restrictions due to COVID-19.

For example, Germany has issued a travel warning for Belgium, while France has not.

Hungary meanwhile has issued a general ban on all visits, with exceptions for travellers from Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

In an attempt to make things simpler for travellers, the European Commission recom-mended the colour code system.

In the plan, member states commit to provide the nec-essary data on a regional and not just national level.

The EU’s criteria include the number of positive cases per 100,000 people as well the test

rate in a given population.The European Centre for

Disease Prevention and Control issues an updated map based on this data on a weekly basis, but how member states use the data will remain up to them.

The proposal also urges that “member states should continue their coordination efforts regarding the duration of quar-antine and alternative options.” The proposal is due to be for-mally adopted at a meeting of European Affairs Ministers on Tuesday.

Pantomime returns to London despite virusAFP — LONDON

Britain’s beleaguered enter-tainment industry got a small dose of cheer yesterday with news that at least one pan-tomime production will go ahead in London.

Most British theatres have stayed shut since a national coronavirus lockdown took effect in March, unable to afford the overheads of reopening with the drastically smaller audiences required by government rules on social distancing.

The pantomime season gen-erates up to 40 percent of some British theatres’ annual revenue, according to the acting union Equity. But the London Pal-ladium owned by composer Andrew Lloyd Webber said it would mount a production from December 12 with a cast of comedians and stage stars, after receiving a subsidy.

Lloyd Webber, whose hit productions include “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”, “Cats” and “The Phantom of the Opera”, said Christmas needed a pantomime, and this year’s season “has never meant so much to our industry and our audiences”.

“Opening ‘Pantoland at The Palladium’ will provide crucial support to struggling restau-rants, hotels and other hospi-tality businesses across the West End, leading to thousands of vital jobs on stage, off stage

and backstage,” he said.Performers featuring in the

new production include actor Nigel Havers, singer Beverley Knight and comedian Julian Clary. Dozens of pantomime artistes took part in a colourful protest march to parliament last month to highlight the plight of the coronavirus-ravaged arts sector.

“There is no doubt producing a show of this size and scale is a risk -- but it is a risk we have to take,” said Michael Harrison, director and producer of “Pan-toland at The Palladium”.

“This is not a long-term fix, nor a solution to the tragic sit-uation our industry is in, it simply provides a sticking plaster on a very big theatrical wound as we hopefully prepare for full openings in 2021.”

The entertainment industry reacted furiously to finance min-ister Rishi Sunak’s failure to offer more help to struggling artistes and backstage staff. The minister said all workers needed to adapt to a new climate of job losses caused by the virus, but insisted he was misquoted in reports that had called on actors and musi-cians to retrain.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said the government was pushing ahead with “Oper-ation Sleeping Beauty” to try to reopen more theatres by Christmas, pointing to a support fund of £1.57bn ($2bn) for the entertainment industry.

Spanish National Police officers wearing protective masks stand at a traffic checkpoint during a partial lockdown amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease, in Madrid, yesterday.

Poland and Lithuania recall 35 diplomats from BelarusAFP — WARSAW

Poland and Lithuania recalled 35 diplomats from the former Soviet republic of Belarus yes-terday, as part of a growing diplomatic row over their support for the protest movement in Belarus.

Along with several other European Union member states, Poland has already recalled its ambassador and its move to pull out more staff follows a request from Bela-rusian authorities.

“Limiting Polish per-sonnel is an unfriendly gesture to which Poland will respond in a timely and appropriate form,” Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz told PAP news agency, announcing that Poland was pulling out 30 diplomatic staff.

Lithuania, which like Poland is an EU member that borders Belarus and has taken a strong stance against Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko, said it was recalling five diplomats.

Foreign ministry spokes-woman Rasa Jakilaitiene said Lithuania hoped that the recall move would “preserve chances for dialogue” but warned that “we will take reciprocal actions if Belarus further escalates the situation”.

The EU has refused to rec-ognise Lukashenko’s disputed victory in an August 9 election and has approved sanctions against top officials seen as responsible for a violent crackdown against protests following the polls.

But Lukashenko, who has been in power for 26 years, has ruled out new elections for now and is backed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Lithuania has further angered Lukashenko by giving shelter to 38-year-old Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, a political novice who ran against him and claims victory in the election.

The World Food Programme (WFP) said that winning the Nobel Peace Prize was a “powerful reminder” that ending global hunger was inextricably linked to ending wars and conflict. “This is a powerful reminder to the world that peace and #ZeroHunger go hand-in-hand,” WFP said on Twitter.

10 SATURDAY 10 OCTOBER 2020EUROPE

Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the Nobel Committee, shows a displayed image with the logo of the World Food Programme, which has been announced as the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, in Oslo, Norway, yesterday.

WFP ‘deeply humbled’ by Nobel Peace Prize: ChiefAFP — ROME / GENEVA

World Food Programme chief David Beasley said yesterday that the UN agency was “deeply humbled” by winning the Nobel Peace Prize, adding it had ren-dered him “speechless”.

“We are deeply humbled to receive the #NobelPeacePrize. This is an incredible recognition of the dedication of the @WFP family, working to end hunger everyday in 80+ countries,” he said on Twitter.

Beasley, the UN agency’s executive director, posted a video of his reaction on hearing the news, where he could be seen to be barely containing his excitement. “This is the first time in my life I’ve been speechless. This is unbe-lievable,” he said.

“And this because of the WFP family, they’re out there in the most difficult, complex places of the world. Whether it’s war, conflict, climate extremes, it doesn’t matter. They’re out there, and they deserve this award,” he added.

WFP delivers food assistance in emergencies, from wars to civil conflicts, natural disasters and famines. In addition to providing food aid

to millions worldwide, the Rome-based agency handles logistics for the overall UN organisation.

The WFP said that winning the Nobel Peace Prize was a “powerful reminder” that ending global hunger was inextricably linked to ending wars and conflict. “This is a powerful reminder to the world that peace and #Zero-Hunger go hand-in-hand,” WFP said on Twitter.

Spokesman Tomson Phiri, who had been on the podium at the UN in Geneva for a regular press briefing when the announcement landed, described the win as “hum-bling” and a “proud moment” for the UN organisation.

“One of the beauties of WFP activities is that not only do we provide food for today and tomorrow, but we also are

equipping people with the knowledge, the means to sustain themselves for the next day and the days after,” he said.

Phiri, who only recently became WFP’s spokesman in Geneva but who has worked for the organisation for nine years most recently in South Sudan, said he had “seen the extent to which people are dedicated across the globe to go the extra mile”.

WFP, which in addition to providing food aid to millions worldwide handles logistics for the overall UN organisation, had especially in the midst of the coronavirus crisis gone “over and above the call of duty”, he said.

“At one point we were the biggest airline in the world,” he said, pointing out that, “when most if not all commercial air-lines ground to a halt, we were

able to move assistance.” He stressed the clear link between working for peace and ensuring people don’t go hungry.

“What we have seen hap-pening in countries such as South Sudan, Syria, Yemen, and Afghanistan, is that where you have conflict, assistance become irregular,” he said.

“It becomes inadequate, assistance also sometimes is delayed and in some cases is even suspended.” Billions of dollars have been spent pro-viding desperately needed aid to countries that have

descended into conflict.But even when aid goes in,

Phiri said, you still “need peace”. “You also need stability in those countries, and that is the bedrock. Everything else become less daunting when you have peace.”

This is the 12th time the Peace Prize has gone to the UN, one of its agencies or per-sonalities — more than any other laureate.

The award consists of a gold medal, a diploma and a cheque for 10 million Swedish kronor (€950,000, $1.1m).

New #MeToo wave challenges Denmark’s image as haven of equalityAFP — COPENHAGEN

Thousands of women across Denmark have come forward in recent weeks with stories of harassment in the Nordic country which is often viewed as a bastion of gender equality.

On Wednesday, Morten Ostergaard, leader of the Social Liberal party, resigned after it emerged he had harassed a female colleague 10 years earlier. “Morten has apologised and I have forgiven him” MP Lotte Rod wrote on Facebook.

“The problem is no longer what happened but the way it was handled,” she added,

calling for “a change of culture”.In 2017 a public discussion

arose in Denmark as the #MeToo movement emboldened women across the world to speak out about their experiences of dis-crimination and harassment.

However a widespread change in attitudes did not materialise in the Nordic nation, which regularly scores highly in international measures of equality. #MeToo was often considered “a minority issue, something that was not really Danish,” Camilla Mohring Reestorff, associate professor in culture and media studies at Aarhus University, said.

Danes tend to see themselves as “progressive, free and equal,” she said. In recent months, however, the issue has risen to the fore as thousands of women, including celebrities, doctors, academics and musicians, have begun sharing their accounts of harassment or mistreatment.

The testimonials are “trig-gering a domino effect and making people conscious of the need for collective change,” said Christian Groes, anthropologist at the University of Roskilde.

“In 2017-2018 there was a debate, now we have a movement of social justice,” he said. The issue became a

national talking point in late August when presenter Sofie Linde, a household name, stunned viewers of a live TV gala by recounting how a senior television executive offered to advance her career in exchange for pleasure, 12 years earlier.

The revelation led to Equalities Minister Mogens Jensen saying he wanted to “end harassment in the workplace”, and 1,600 women signed an open letter declaring that they had experienced harassment during their careers.

Prime Minister Mette Fred-eriksen also took to Instagram to call for a cultural shift. “We have failed to create workplaces with

equal relationships. We’re going to change that and it starts now,” he wrote in late September.

However the Social Dem-ocrat leader was forced to reit-erate her confidence in her foreign minister, Jeppe Kofod, who stepped down in 2008 as his party’s foreign affairs spokesman after admitting having relations with a 15-year-old girl at a party event.

Denmark’s age of consent is 15. Then 34 years old, he apol-ogised at the time for a “lapse of judgement” and a “morally inappropriate relationship”. He was appointed foreign minister after 2019 elections.

Russia shuns new curbs despite rise in infectionsAFP - MOSCOW

Russia registered its highest-ever number of new corona-virus infections yesterday after officials warned that tight restrictions could be set back in place if people continued to flout anti-virus rules.

Restaurants and clubs in Moscow were bustling and many residents were ignoring orders to wear masks in public as nationwide infections surged in September, but officials stopped short of imposing new sweeping measures to slow the spread of the virus.

Officials in Russia, which has the world’s fourth-highest caseload behind the United States, India and Brazil, have so far dismissed the idea there is a second wave of infections or any need for a new lockdown.

An official government tally registered 12,126 new cases yes-terday, surpassing the country’s previous record set in May by several hundred cases.

“I’m really afraid that things will go back to how they were

in the spring, that everyone will be quarantined and we won’t be allowed to go to work,” Vladimir, a teacher in Saint Petersburg who declined to give his last name, said.

Russia imposed one of the most severe nationwide lock-downs at the beginning of the

pandemic. Non-essential busi-nesses were shuttered and Moscow residents only per-mitted to move freely with gov-ernment-issued digital passes.

But most restrictions were lifted ahead of a large com-memorative WWII military parade in June and a nationwide

vote on amendments that pave the way for Russian President Vladimir Putin to remain in power until 2036. Officials in Moscow, which is the epicentre of Russia’s pandemic, have taken only minor steps to slow the spread of cases.

Mayor Sergei Sobyanin

this month ordered the elderly and vulnerable to stay at home and told employers to keep at least a third of staff working remotely.

Mask-wearing is com-pulsory on public transport and inside shops, but some Musco-vites are not convinced other residents of the capital are doing enough to stop the spread of infections.

“The city is making the nec-essary decisions. But it won’t work without people responding to these measures, helping themselves and those around them,” Sobyanin said yesterday.

The head of Russia’s con-sumer rights watchdog, Rospot-rebnadzor, which is spear-heading the country’s virus response, warned earlier this week of “new measures” if the current rules were not fol-lowed. The Kremlin said yes-terday that if the situation continues to deteriorate it will “require some actions, deci-sions” without specifying what they could be.

A medical worker wearing protective gear transports a patient on a stroller into a hospital in Kommunarka, outside Moscow. yesterday amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Italy ‘second wave’ fears grow as virus cases top 5,000AFP — ROME

Italy was grappling yesterday with fears of a second corona-virus wave similar to the ones seen in Britain, France and Spain, as it registered over 5,000 new infections in 24 hours.

“We’re under extreme pressure,” the World Health Organization’s Italian gov-ernment adviser Walter Ric-ciardi said, warning that spaces in COVID-19 hospitals were running out in the worst-hit regions.

Italy registered 5,372 new cases yesterday, the health ministry said, nearly 1,000 more than on Thursday. The country has not seen such high numbers of recorded new infections since mid-April.

New infections are still well behind Britain, France and Spain, which are regis-tering between 12,000 and 19,000 cases in 24 hours.

But Ricciardi said the rise in cases could reach those levels in Italy just as winter begins and common influenza strikes. “When the flu comes, we risk having 16,000 cases in a day,” he said in an interview with broadcaster Sky TG24.

“I am very worried... (about) sub-intensive units because there are infectious patients who need to be treated in a certain way and beds are already running out. And that’s before the flu hits,” he said.

The government moved to tackle the sharp rise in case numbers earlier this week, making wearing face masks compulsory in outdoor spaces across the country, on top of all indoor spaces apart from homes.

According to official figures, more than 36,000 people have died of the virus in Italy, where a nationwide lockdown lasted over two months. Drained by years of budget cuts, southern Italy’s overstretched health care system escaped the brunt of the virus after movement between regions was banned, preventing cases from trav-elling down the country.

But there are fears it would not escape a second wave. The Italian Association of Hospital Anaesthesiolo-gists said that hospitals in the south, where infrastructure is weaker, were not ready for an escalating crisis, despite efforts made to boost beds and staff numbers.

Hungary chlorine gas leak injures 28 at refinery

AFP — BUDAPEST

Twenty-eight workers at a bioethanol refinery in central Hungary were injured yes-terday after a chlorine leak, the company that owns the facility said in a statement.

The workers became ill after the accident at the Irish-owned Pannonia Bio plant at Dunafoldvar, 80km south of Budapest. Emergency services told local media that 13 staff were seriously injured, suf-fering from shortage of breath.

A further 15 reported minor symptoms of poisoning such as irritated throats and eyes. Some of the injured were transported to hospitals in nearby cities by four ambulance helicopters.

Pannonia Bio said that the accident occurred when a large quantity of chlorine gas was released into the air after nitric acid was added to a storage tank “for as yet unclear reasons”. Production at the plant has continued uninter-rupted, the company said.

Emergency services added that dangerous levels of the gas have not been measured outside the immediate vicinity of the accident area.

As a precaution, the town’s mayor advised schools to keep children indoors and residents to close windows. The refinery, in operation since 2012, is “the largest single site bioethanol plant in Europe,” according to Pannonia Bio’s website.

New curbs likely in BritainA woman wearing a protective face mask passes by boards displaying information how to restrict the spread of COVID-19, in Nottingham, central England, yesterday. Restaurants and clubs in virus hotspots look set to face fresh restrictions after Downing Street said new data suggests there is “significant” transmission taking place in hospitality settings.

UK trial hears last messagesof Vietnamese migrantsAFP — LONDON

“I am sorry. I cannot take care of you. I cannot breathe.” British jurors yesterday heard heartrending phone messages left by a group of Vietnamese migrants who suffocated to death in a sealed truck container.

The prosecutor at the trial of four men said the 39 migrants — including two boys aged 15 — may have died because “greedy” people-smugglers attempted to carry out two lorryloads in one, after a previous one was intercepted by authorities.

The migrants’ bodies were found in the container in Essex, southeast England, last October 23 after it had been transported on a cargo ship from Zee-brugge in Belgium.

The container had docked in the port of Purfleet just after midnight, and the Vietnamese passengers had been sealed inside in the dark for at least 12 hours, in unbearably high temperatures.

Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones said that haulage company boss Ronan Hughes had, via a Snapchat message, instructed lorry driver Maurice Robinson to “give them air quickly but don’t let them out” once he picked up the container in Purfleet.

Security camera footage showed Robinson park the lorry after leaving the port, walk to the rear and open the door slightly. Robinson and Hughes have pleaded guilty to manslaughter and to conspiring in people-smuggling. The trial began on Wednesday and is expected to last up to six weeks.

Schools and government offices were closed, residents boarded windows and moved out of the storm’s path. Officials ordered evacuations in those communities facing the second major hurricane in as many months.

11SATURDAY 10 OCTOBER 2020 AMERICAS

Louisiana residents flee as Hurricane Delta bears downREUTERS — LAKE CHARLES

The streets in this southwest Louisiana city were deserted yesterday as Hurricane Delta approached, threatening to add misery to people struggling to recover from the damage inflicted by a hurricane less than two months ago.

Delta was a Category 3 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale early Friday, packing winds of 115 miles per hour (185 kph) and soaking parts of the state with heavy rain. New Orleans will see only gusty winds, forecasters said, but central and southwest communities could face a “life threatening” storm surge of up to 11 feet.

“In this community, there are a lot of homes that were damaged and so a lot of people are concerned about staying in that structure again,” Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter said.

Hurricane Laura, which struck the city in late August, “is still very fresh and very raw and

I think that had something to do with more people evacuating for Delta,” Hunter said.

Schools and government offices were closed, residents boarded windows and moved out of the storm’s path in several parishes. Officials ordered evacuations in those communities facing the second major hurricane in as many months.

“I know people in Louisiana, especially the southwest, are very strong and very resilient, but they are going to be tested here,” Governor John Bel Edwards said at a Thursday news conference.

Forecast models show Delta making landfall as a Category 2 hurricane, according to the National Weather Service. It could also unleash tornadoes as it moves over land and drop up to 10 inches of rain.

Laura damaged tens of thou-sands of homes, leaving roofs throughout the region dotted with protective blue tarps, and left more than 6,000 people still living temporarily in hotels.

Along a pasture east of Lake Charles, Addison Alford manned a mobile weather radar station brought in from Oklahoma on Thursday because the per-manent station was damaged during Laura.

He and a colleague plan to ride out the storm from inside a heavy vehicle equipped a

A tree that fell during Hurricane Laura is seen on top of a house as Hurricane Delta approaches in Lake Charles, Louisiana, US, yesterday.

radar dish. “We’re really trying to make sure the data streams stay up during the entire event,” he said.

Cities along the Gulf Coast from Galveston, Texas, to New Orleans are experiencing gusty winds, rain and local flooding.

Louisiana and Mississippi received federal emergency declaration that will bring addi-tional resources to the region.

Energy companies halted 92% of offshore oil output and 62% of natural gas production. The US Coast Guard closed ports

from Beaumont, Texas, to Lake Charles ahead of the storm.

When Delta reaches the northern Gulf Coast, it will be the 10th named storm to make a US landfall this year, eclipsing a record that has stood since 1916.

Brazil’s poor squeezed by less virus aid and surging food costsAP — RIO DE JANEIRO

Many people in Brazil are strug-gling to cope with less pandemic aid from the government and jumping food prices, with mil-lions expected to slip back into poverty.

Brazil’s government, starting this month, halved the amount of its monthly emergency cash transfers to help Brazil’s poor withstand the hardship of the economic meltdown, down to 300 reais ($54).

The program, which started in April, has been the main driver behind lifting 15 million people from poverty, including 2 million from July to August

alone, according to a report that the Getulio Vargas Foundation, a university, published yes-terday. Poverty, which the FGV defined as income equal to half a minimum monthly salary, or 523 reais, has reached its lowest level since at least the 1970s, according to Marcelo Neri, the report’s author.

As the government winds down the program through year-end, with unemployment still high, many of those people who benefited will become newly impoverished, said Neri, director of the FGV’s social policy center. Half of those who ascended are expected to fall into poverty in October, he said.

Marcio Santos, 27, used to sell water at traffic lights in Sao Paulo. Nobody wants to buy from him anymore, fearing COVID-19 contamination, so he’s been relying on the gov-ernment’s pandemic cash program. Receiving 300 reais monthly instead of the 600 reais he collected for months is blowing a hole in his finances.

“For a family that receives aid of 300 reais, how can we take care of our 5 kids with this? There is no way we can buy milk, diapers, food,” he said.

President Jair Bolsonaro told the United Nations General Assembly last month that the pandemic cash program had

buoyed the livelihoods of 65 million Brazilians, making it one of the world’s largest such initiatives.

Political analysts have widely attributed the jump in his popularity to the program’s success. Some 40% of Brazilians surveyed by pollster Ibope rate Bolsonaro’s government as good or excellent, according to a poll published Sept. 24.

But the Brazilian government lacks the fiscal space to maintain the costly program. What remains to be seen is whether Bolsonaro’s approval ratings will tumble as aid is withdrawn.

Meanwhile, rising food prices have also been hurting

the poor. Inflation data that Bra-zil’s statistics agency released yesterday showed a 2.3% jump in food and beverage prices in September, its biggest increase for that month on record since 1994. Food prices have increased 7.3% during 2020, with some staples like rice, milk and tomatoes jumping 41%, 30% and 26%, respectively.

Higher food costs are being driven by a weaker exchange rate, boosting Brazil’s exports and reducing domestic supply, according to Pedro Kislanov, who coordinates the statistics agency’s inflation survey. There’s also been heightened domestic demand due to the

government’s COVID-19 aid program.

A caregiver for the elderly, Cleide Valente, visits the same Sao Paulo street market every week, and on Thursday she com-plained about the cost of food. ”(Before the pandemic) I could do a good purchase with 120 reais. Today, I already spent 160 reais here,” Valente, 57, said.

According to the World Bank, up to 150 million people globally could slip into extreme poverty, living on less than $1.90 a day, by late 2021. The exact amount will depend on how much economies shrink during the COVID-19 pandemic, the bank said in a report.

Under Trump pressure, Pompeo vows to put out Clinton emailsAFP — WASHINGTON

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, facing open criticism from President Donald Trump, promised yesterday that he would release emails by Hillary Clinton avidly sought by con-servative activists before November 3 elections.

Trump, trailing in the polls and confined to the White House after a COVID-19 diag-nosis, has returned to his familiar demands for the emails of his 2016 rival while she was secretary of state.

Asked about Trump’s rare attack on him over not finding and releasing the emails, Pompeo said in a Fox News interview: “We’re gonna get there. We’re going to get this information out so the American people can see it.”

Pressed on whether he would follow through before the vote, Pompeo said: “Doing it as fast as we can. I certainly think there will be more to see before the election.”

If Pompeo asks State Department employees to work on Clinton’s emails, he would

likely trigger questions of legality as the 1939 Hatch Act bans federal employees from most political activity.

Clinton — who is not on the ballot this year — has acknowl-edged using a private email server, in violation of regula-tions, when she was America’s top diplomat from 2009 to 2013. Then FBI chief James Comey, in the run-up to the 2016 election, found that Clinton was careless but that there was no criminal intent.

The emails have animated Trump’s voters, who with his

encouragement would chant “Lock her up!” at his rallies in 2016.

“You’ll remember there was classified information on a private server. It should have never been there,” Pompeo said.

“Hillary Clinton should never have done that. It was unacceptable behavior.”

Pompeo — who made his name as a Republican con-gressman with his fiery ques-tions of Clinton over the deadly 2012 attack on the US mission in Benghazi, Libya — has until now been one of the few aides

never to cross the mercurial Trump and is known for his eager defenses of him.

But Trump in a Fox Business interview on Thursday said he was “not happy” with Pompeo over the emails. On Friday, Trump said Clinton should be imprisoned over the emails.

A probe last year led by House Democratic lawmakers found that Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner, both advisors to the president, have themselves used personal email for White House business.

US slaps sanctions on Nicaraguan officialsAP — MANAGUA

The US Treasury Department slapped sanctions yesterday on Nicaragua’s attorney general, the US-born private secretary to President Daniel Ortega and a savings-and-loan business.

The US Office of Foreign Assets Control said the sanction decision “targets corrupt financial operations and Ortega regime supporters”. The move blocks the US assets of the offi-cials and prohibits US citizens from dealing with them.

Those sanctioned yes-terday include Attorney General Ana Julia Guido De Romero. The office said she formed a group of prosecutors who worked with police "to fabricate cases against political prisoners and their families”.

The sanctions also hit Sec-retary of the Presidency Paul Herbert Oquist Kelley. The office claimed “Oquist has pled the Ortegas’ case interna-tionally with an unrelenting flow of lies to conceal or justify the regime’s abuses”. The office slapped the same sanc-tions on a sort of savings-and-loan association, the Cooper-ativa De Ahorro Y Credito Caja Rural Nacional RL.

Known by the acronym “Caruna,” the office said Ortega used the savings and loan to siphon off government funds, noting “the Ortega regime has used these funds as a financial resource to remain in power and pay a network of patronage”.

This year, the office has already sanctioned Ortega’s son, Juan Carlos Ortega, as well as his communications company, for alleged ties to drug trafficking.

The US has also slapped sanctions on Gen. Julio Avilés, the head of Nicaragua’s army, Treasury Minister Iván Acosta and the country’s National Police. The US government says it is pressing Ortega to hold free and fair elections and respect basic rights.

Michigan Governor 'was aware of plot against her'

AP — LANSING, MICHIGAN

Law enforcement took steps to protect Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and her family as authorities tracked the men who allegedly plotted for months to kidnap her, the state’s Attorney-General said yesterday.

Dana Nessel disclosed the detail to “CBS This Morning.” She said the Democratic gov-ernor was consistently updated about the investigation over the past couple months.

“She was aware of things that were happening,” Nessel said. “At times, she and her family had been moved around as a result of activities that law enforcement was aware of.”

Authorities announced on Thursday that that they foiled a stunning plot to kidnap Whitmer in a scheme that involved months of planning and even rehearsals to snatch her from her vacation home before the November 3 elections. Whitmer’s first term as governor does not end until 2022.

Six men were charged in federal court with conspiring to kidnap the governor in reaction to what they viewed as her “uncontrolled power”, according to a federal complaint. Sepa-rately, seven others linked to a paramilitary group called the Wolverine Watchmen were charged in state court for

allegedly seeking to storm the Michigan Capitol and seek a “civil war,” including four who allegedly helped to surveil Whit-mer’s house. The two groups trained together and planned “various acts of violence,” according to the state police.

Surveillance for the kid-napping plot took place in August and September, according to an FBI affidavit, and four of the men had planned to meet on Wednesday to “make a payment on explo-sives and exchange tactical gear”. “We thought it was time to move in before anybody lost their lives,” Nessel said.

Whitmer, who was con-sidered as Biden’s running mate, has been widely praised for her response to the coronavirus but also sharply criticized by Repub-lican lawmakers and people in conservative areas of the state.

The FBI quoted one of the men accused of conspiring to kidnap Whitmer as saying she “has no checks and balances at all. She has uncontrolled power right now. All good things must come to an end.” That same man, Adam Fox, who was described as one of the leaders in the alleged plot, livestreamed a video to a private Facebook group “in which he complained about the judicial system and the state controlling the opening of gyms,” according to the federal complaint.

Drought depletes Paraguay RiverAP — ASUNCION, PARAGUAY

The Paraguay River has reached its lowest level in half a century after months of extreme drought in the region, exposing the vul-nerability of landlocked Para-guay’s economy.

Some 85% percent of Par-aguay’s foreign trade is con-ducted via the river, which has been depleted because of a lack of rainfall in the Pantanal area of Mato Grosso state in Brazil. The river flows from that area and also runs through Bolivia and Argentina.

The fall in the water level has slowed down cargo vessel

traffic on the Paraguay River, causing significant cost overruns for the transport of fuel, fertilizer, food and other imported goods. The crisis has also exposed the precariousness of Paraguay’s access to drinking water.

“We have never had a situ-ation as serious as the one we are experiencing now. We are approaching the end of the year, a time when more products must enter,” Nery Giménez, president of the Par-aguayan Importers Center, said.

The government had announced the lifting of the strictest parts of its

pandemic-related lockdown, but hopes of a resurgence of economic activity have been undermined by the river problem, Giménez said.

Esteban dos Santos, pres-ident of the Paraguayan Ship-owners’ Center, said losses in Paraguay’s river transport sector have already reached $250m.

“What worries us the most is that the river is going down at a rate of 3 or 4 centimeters (1.2 to 1.6 inches) per day. The navigation situation is critical. In a week, no boat will be able to reach Asunción, ”dos Santos said.

Venezuela poll technology platformA woman simulates her vote as the Venezuela’s National Electoral Council presents the technology platform for the upcoming parliamentary elections in Caracas, Venezuela, yesterday.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been raising questions about Trump’s mental fitness since his COVID-19 diagnosis and demanding more transparency about his health. “This is not about President Donald Trump — he will face the judgement of the voters,” Pelosi said at a press conference at the Capitol.

With about 240,000 ballots mailed, that meant one in five voters received a wrong ballot.

12 SATURDAY 10 OCTOBER 2020AMERICAS

Pelosi unveils bill to assess presidential capacityAP — WASHINGTON

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled legislation yesterday that would allow Congress to intervene under the 25th Amendment to the Constitution to remove the president, insisting it’s not about President Donald Trump but inspired by the need for greater congres-sional oversight of his White House.

Pelosi has been raising questions about Trump’s mental fitness since his COVID-19 diag-nosis and demanding more transparency about his health.

The bill would set up a com-mission to assess the president’s ability to lead the country and ensure a continuity of gov-ernment. It comes one year after Pelosi’s House launched impeachment proceedings against Trump.

“This is not about President Donald Trump — he will face the judgement of the voters,” Pelosi said at a press conference at the Capitol.

Just weeks before the November 3 election, with no hopes of the bill becoming law, the rollout was quickly dis-missed as a stunt by Trump’s team and top allies.

“It’s an absurd proposal,” said White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Fox. “Absolutely absurd,” said Senate Majority Leader McConnell

during an appearance in Shep-herdsville, Kentucky.

The President’s opponents have discussed invoking the 25th Amendment for some time, but are raising it now, so close to Election Day, as the campaigns are fast turning into a referendum on Trump’s handling of the coro-navirus pandemic.

Pelosi said Trump needs to disclose more about his health after his COVID-19 diagnosis and when, exactly, he first contracted COVID as others in the White House have become infected.

More than 210,000 Amer-icans have died and millions more have tested positive for the virus, which shows no signs of abating heading into what public health experts warn will be a dif-ficult flu season and winter.

The legislation that would create a commission as outlined under the 25th Amendment, which was passed by Congress and ratified in 1967 as a way to ensure a continuity of power in the aftermath of President John F Kennedy’s assassination.

It says the vice-president and a majority of principal officers of the executive departments “or of such other body as Congress” may by law provide a declaration to Congress that the president “is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.” At that point, the vice president would immediately assume the powers of acting president.

“Let Congress exert the power the Constitution gave us,” Pelosi said yesterday standing before a poster of the amendment. Pelosi was joined by Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., a constitutional scholar, who has proposed similar bills in the past. “In times of chaos we must hold fast to our Constitution,” he said yesterday.

Raskin said the commission would be launched “only for the most extreme situations.” But, as Congress showed by impeaching - and acquitting the president over the past year - the legislative branch is deter-mined to exert itself at times as a check on the executive

branch. “Congress has a role to play,” Raskin said.

Trump says he “feels great” after being hospitalized and is back at work in the White House. But his doctors have given mixed signals about his diagnosis and treatment. Trump plans to resume campaigning soon.

Congress is not in legislative session, and so any serious con-sideration of the measure, let

alone votes in the House or Senate, is unlikely. But the bill serves as a political tool to stoke questions about Trump’s health as his own White House is hit by an outbreak infecting top aides, staff and visitors, including senators.

In a stunning admission, McConnell said on Thursday that he had stopped going to the White House two months ago

because he disagreed with its coronavirus protocols. His last visit was Aug. 6.

“My impression was their approach to how to handle this was different from mine and what I insisted we do in the Senate, which is to wear a mask and practice social distancing,” McConnell said at a campaign stop in northern Kentucky for his own reelection.

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stands next to a 25th Amendment display as she announces her plans for Congress to create a “Commission on Presidential Capacity to Discharge the Powers and Duties of Office Act”, during a Capitol Hill news conference in Washington, US, yesterday.

Trump looks to rescue election with ralliesAFP — WASHINGTON

President Donald Trump took to the airwaves while pushing for live rallies this weekend, despite questions over his recovery from COVID-19, in a frenetic attempt to catch up with challenger Joe Biden.

With just 25 days before the November 3 election, Trump is frustrated, constrained by a coronavirus outbreak in the White House, and losing badly to Biden in the polls.

He was due to host what was billed as “the largest radio rally in history” on The Rush Limbaugh Show — a popular right-wing chat show.

And late on Thursday, in one of two lengthy interviews he gave to friendly right-wing hosts on the Fox television network, he announced ten-tative plans for a rally in Florida today and another in Pennsyl-vania the next day.

He was due back on Fox for an interview with another loyal host, Tucker Carlson, in what will be his first on-camera media appearance since testing positive for coronavirus last week.

“He is ready to go. He wants to talk to the American people, and he wants to be out there,” Trump’s press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told Fox News. Trump spent three nights in hospital with coronavirus last week and the rest of this week under treatment, but his doctor issued a statement on Thursday that the

President will be fit for a “safe return to public engagement” from today.

There is widespread scep-ticism about Trump’s true state of health given doctors’ refusal to give key data, including precise explanation of when he was infected and when he last had a negative coronavirus test.

Biden is surging in polls, with political strategists starting to speculate openly about a possible landslide victory. Biden leads heavily in key demographics including women and the elderly.

And Trump’s biggest liability — overwhelming public dissat-isfaction over his handling of the coronavirus crisis — has returned as the headline issue of the campaign thanks to the Pres-ident’s own infection.

It had long been expected that Trump would attempt to use the three presidential debates to try to inflict a late, mortal wound to Biden’s challenge. But that too is turning the wrong way for the Republican.

Polls show that his angry, often near-shouting per-formance at the first debate in Cleveland lost him yet more support. The second debate looks unlikely to take place after Trump rejected the decision by organizers to move to a virtual format, citing the risk of coronavirus. That would leave only a final opportunity to debate Biden on television on October 22.

Democrats embrace early voting in PhiladelphiaAFP — PHILADELPHIA

Hundreds of voters line up for Joe Biden: Less than a month before the presidential election, images from Philadelphia are likely to irritate President Donald Trump who says the Democratic stronghold is a potential source of fraud.

This week, a line of voters wearing masks stretched around the town hall of the largest city in the swing state of Pennsyl-vania to cast “mail-in ballots” for the Democratic candidate under the supervision of municipal employees and police.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, for the first time, this year, any voters in this key state can request a ballot by mail, and then return it via post or drop it off in person at a temporary office to ensure it is counted on time.

Since these offices opened on September 29, thousands of citizens have dropped off their ballots early, with several hundred thousand expected to have done so by polling day on November 3.

In 2016, 82 percent of voters in Philadelphia plucked for Hillary Clinton and Trump is unlikely to fare better this year. All but one of 16 people asked by AFP said they were voting for Biden.

Nancy Rasmussen, 74, said she felt like November 3 had arrived already. “I gotta be here. Because it’s so important (to get rid of Trump), so I’ll stand in a long line to get this vote in,” she said, teary-eyed.

Kenneth Graitzer, a retired librarian, said he chose to vote in advance because he con-siders it “safer” due to heightened political tensions, which include Trump calling on his supporters to monitor polling stations.

“I’m afraid of him, and I’m afraid of people that are on the edge. And I just think he’s a danger to the country, and it’s been a disaster,” he said.

Curtis Adams, a club owner and art historian, said he had no fear of intimidation but he still felt happier getting his vote in early. “I didn’t want to take

a chance on my vote not being counted. I had to wait an hour or two, but I wanted to get it in,” he said.

Lisa Deeley, the chair-woman of the city’s commis-sioners, which oversees voting, said early voting had been “tre-mendously popular” but added that “the pressure is real” to ensure the elections are con-ducted properly.

She has recruited hundreds of extra people to manage the advance poll, the ballots of which will not be opened until election day. But she is worried about the suspicions Trump is

raising about the city’s vote.“Bad things are happening in

Philadelphia,” he said during his TV debate with Biden last month after one of his supporters was ejected from a polling station for filming on his mobile phone without authorization.

No fraud has ever been proven in Philadelphia, but that hasn’t stopped local Republican officials from suggesting it might occur. Connie Winters, an elected representative, says “the system is open to fraud,” and claims to have seen elec-toral lists with names of people who could not be found.

US Democratic vice-presidential nominee and Senator from California, Kamala Harris (left), listens as presidential candidate and former vice-president Joe Biden speaks to supporters at the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America’s training center, in Phoenix, Arizona, on Thursday.

Twitter tightens limits on candidatesAP — OAKLAND

Twitter is imposing tough new rules that restrict candidates from declaring premature victory and tighten its measures against spreading misinformation, calling for political violence and spreading thoughtless commentary in the days leading up to and following the November 3 US election.

The social platform will remove tweets that encourage violence or call for people to interfere with election results.

Tweets that falsely claim a can-didate has won will be labeled to direct users to the official US election results page on Twitter.

Twitter said yesterday that it is will also make it more difficult to retweet posts it has labeled to high-light the presence of misleading information - whether about COVID-19, civic integrity or for including manipulated photos or videos.

Beginning next week, people who want to retweet such posts will see a prompt pointing them to credible information about the topic

before they are able to retweet it. The step is designed to make people pause and think, potentially slowing the thoughtless retweets that are often a problem on the platform.

Beginning on October 20, and at least through Election Week in the US, Twitter says it will also encourage people to add their own commentary to retweets. People who try to retweet someone else’s post will first be directed to the “quote tweet” feature, which lets them add their own comment.

Twitter said in a blog post it hopes this “will encourage everyone to not only consider why they are amplifying a Tweet, but also increase the likelihood that people add their own thoughts, reactions and per-spectives to the conversation”.

The San Francisco company is also placing tighter limits on politi-cians with more than 100,000 fol-lowers, a category that includes President Donald Trump with 87 million and his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, with 10 million. If these users tweet misleading information, the tweets will get a label saying the information is disputed. Anyone who

wants to see the tweets will have to tap through the warning; even then, they won’t be able to like, retweet or comment on it.

The changes come a day after Facebook announced similar new restrictions ahead of the election, which is less than three weeks away. Early voting has already started in some states.

Unlike Facebook, which imposed new restriction on political ads on Thursday - banning them on November 3 after the polls close for at least a week - Twitter hasn’t allowed any political advertisements for some time.

Social media companies appear to be learning how to rapidly respond to existing and anticipated threats to the election process. Trump’s campaign and its GOP allies have been going to new lengths to contest election procedures and to question the integrity of mail-in ballots.

Trump has also refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses, although both parties have rejected his comments and vowed a peaceful transition.

Ohio county says nearly 50,000 voters received wrong ballotsAP — COLUMBUS, OHIO

Nearly 50,000 voters received incorrect absentee ballots in the county that is home to Ohio’s capital, elections officials said yesterday as they promised corrected ballots would be mailed within 72 hours.

With about 240,000 ballots mailed, that meant one in five voters received a wrong ballot. The error happened on Saturday afternoon when someone changed a setting on a machine that places absentee ballots into mailing envelopes, Franklin County elections officials said on Thursday.

Some ballots had an incorrect con-gressional race, while others had the correct information but were sent to voters in a different precinct. The Franklin County Elections Board said 49,669 voters received incorrect ballots out of 237,498 that were mailed.

The process to print, stuff the replacement ballots in envelopes and mail them was under way yesterday, the Franklin County Elections Board announced. The board also said it will mail postcards to all affected voters detailing the situation and highlighting

voters’ options moving forward. Those options include voting in-person at the board’s offices on the city’s north side.

The elections board said multiple checks are in place to ensure only one voter can cast a ballot, including rejecting any replacement ballots if someone went ahead and voted in person.

The news of the incorrect ballots brought renewed focus on an election seeing an unprecedented number of absentee ballot requests, spurred by the coronavirus pandemic and concerns about in-person voting.

On Tuesday, Ohio’s elections chief announced that Ohio’s 88 elections boards had a record number of absentee ballot applications.

Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose said 2,154,235 applications had been received — more than double the 1,091,188 absentee ballots applications at the same time four years ago.

The expansion of the Job

Support Scheme will

provide a safety net for

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doors, giving them the right

support at the right time.

Rishi Sunak

UK Treasury Chief

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BusinessSATURDAY 10 OCTOBER 2020

QSE FTSE 100 DOW BRENT6,016.65 +38.62 (0.65%) 28,582.49 +156.98 (0.55%) $42.80 (-0.52) 10,032.13 +99.70 (+1.00%)

JPMorgan commits $30bn to fixbanking’s ‘systemic racism’We can do more and do better to break down systems that have propagated racism and widespread economic inequality.

Business | 14Jamie Dimon JPMorgan Chase CEO

13

UK announces new job support planAP — LONDON

The British government said yesterday it will pay two thirds of the salaries of workers in companies that have to close as a result of new coronavirus restrictions widely expected to come into effect next week.

In a change of policy, Treasury chief Rishi Sunak (pic-tured) has responded to calls from businesses, local leaders and unions to provide a financial support package to prevent mass job losses in sectors that will be subject to new restrictions.

Restaurants in large parts of the north of England, where the coronavirus is spreading fastest, are expected to face a gov-ernment order to shut their doors again, barely three months after reopening from

“I have always said that we will do whatever is necessary to protect jobs and livelihoods as the situation evolves,” Sunak said.

“The expansion of the Job Support Scheme will provide a safety net for businesses across the UK who are required to

temporarily close their doors, giving them the right support at the right time.”

Under the salary support programme, the government will pay 67 percent of the sal-aries of workers who won’t be able to work, up to a maximum of £2,100 ($2,730) a month. Employers will not be required to contribute towards wages.

Sunak said cash grants for businesses required to close will also be increased to up to £3,000 per month.

Businesses will only be

eligible to claim the grant while they are subject to restrictions and employees must be off work for a minimum of 7 consecutive days. The changes will take effect from November 1 and will be available for six months, with a review in January.

The move comes ahead of a widely anticipated announcement in the coming days of further restrictions in virus hot spots around England, such as the big northern cities of Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle.

Hundreds of thousands of jobs could be affected, particu-larly at restaurants, which the government’s chief medical officer says have been largely behind the recent spike in new coronavirus infections.

A more generous nationwide programme will expire at the end of October. At the height of that programme, the government paid 80 percent of the salaries of furloughed workers, keeping a lid on unemployment. That is being succeeded by the narrower Jobs Support Scheme, which will see the government pay up to 22 percent of wages for workers who return to work from their furlough from November 1.

The new programme announced yesterday is a marked improvement on that.

“The Chancellor’s more generous job support for those under strict restrictions should cushion the blow for the most affected and keep more people in work,” said Carolyn Fair-bairn, director general of the Confederation of British Industry.

“But many firms, including

restaurants, will still be hugely disappointed if they have to close their doors again after doing so much to keep cus-tomers and staff safe.”

The sector had been emerging from the tumult of the lockdown and was the main motor of eco-nomic growth in August. New figures released yesterday showed it was largely behind the 2.1 percent growth recorded from the previous month.

Many parts of England are seeing dramatic increases in virus infections, which has already led to tighter restrictions on businesses. Because the virus has been spreading at differing speeds, the government has opted to impose localised restrictions. But the differing rules have caused confusion.

The UK as a whole has suf-fered Europe’s deadliest out-break, with over 42,600 deaths.

The latest daily figures pub-lished Thursday showed 17,540 new cases, more than double the level from a week earlier. The number of people being hospitalised increased by 609 while the death toll rose by 77.

OECD's corporate tax reform proposal gaining broader supportREUTERS — BERLIN

More than 130 countries have agreed on a blueprint to introduce global rules on corporate taxation to be discussed by G20 finance ministers next week, German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said yesterday. “With a unanimous agreement on a blueprint for reforming the global corporate tax code we have taken a major step forward,” Scholz said in a statement. “This is a positive signal and I’m sure that by the summer of next year we will be able to reach a final agreement on this reform plan.” The Organ-

isation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has been developing rules to make digital companies pay tax where they do business, rather than where they register subsidiaries. This could boost national tax revenues by a total of $100 billion a year, the OECD estimates.

But a recession sparked by the coronavirus in many indus-trialised nations have cast doubt on the OECD’s goal of reaching a deal among more than 130 countries this year. Scholz said the main goal of any agreement would be to ensure that digital giants such as Google, Amazon and Facebook were made to pay their fair share of tax.

Turkey to revise upward its major gas discovery in Black SeaBLOOMBERG

Turkey expects to raise its estimate for the amount of natural gas discovered in the Black Sea and plans to announce the new guidance as early as next week, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter.

The government will outline a sizable revision to the initial discovery of 320 billion cubic metres of recoverable gas, unveiled in August, once exploratory drilling is com-pleted this month, the people said, asking not to be named due to the sensitivity of the find.

The energy discovery in the Black Sea is critical for Turkey’s

current-account balance which is dragged down by the need to import nearly all of the 50 billion cubic metres of gas the country consumes annually.

Drilling to a depth of around 4,500 metres (15,000 feet) at the Tuna-1 discovery would penetrate two additional for-mations that appear promising, a senior Turkish energy official said last month. A second drill ship is likely to be moved to the region next year.

Ankara has dramatically expanded energy exploration in the Black Sea and contested waters of the eastern Mediterranean.

It’s keen to find sizable energy reserves to ease its

heavy reliance on imports from Iran, Iraq and Russia, and support one of the biggest econ-omies in the Middle East.

Shares of Turkish oil refiner Turkiye Petrol Rafinerileri, or Tupras, gained as much as 2 percent following the news, while petrochemical company Petkim Petrokimya Holding climbed as much as 4.5 percent.

They were trading 1.7 percent higher and 3.8 percent higher as of 4:05pm, respec-tively. Shares of energy com-panies Aksa Enerji Uretim and Aygaz each rose 2.3 percent.

But the searches have mired the government in territorial disputes with two countries in the Mediterranean.

China to issue 10 million digital yuan in first public test

REUTERS — SHANGHAI

China’s central bank is issuing 10 million yuan ($1.5m) worth of digital currency to 50,000 randomly selected consumers in what some see as the coun-try’s first public test of the digital yuan payment system.

The People’s Bank of China’s (PBOC) campaign comes as central banks worldwide race to issue digital currencies to modernise payments systems, as well as to fend off potential competition from privately issued cryptocurrencies. Starting yesterday, any individuals in China’s southern city of Shenzhen can apply to join the programme through the coun-try’s Big Four banks. But only some will be awarded a 200-yuan “red envelope” via a lottery, according to the local government and the lenders. The winners can use the digital currency in 3,389 retail outlets in Shenzhen including Sinopec gas stations, Walmart stores, CR Vanguard malls and Shangri-La hotels. PBOC said in April it was conducting tests of a digital yuan payment system in four cities across China, including Shenzhen, and intends to pilot the system at future Winter Olympics venues. China is seeking to win a first-mover advantage in its efforts to develop a digital currency. Yes-terday, a group of seven major central banks including the US Federal Reserve set out how a digital currency might look, in a bid to catch up with China’s “trail blazing” and leapfrog private projects like Facebook’s Libra stablecoin.

China’s digital ambitions are not limited to the domestic market. A PBOC published com-mentary said China needs to become the first nation to issue a digital currency in its push to internationalise the yuan and reduce its dependence on the global dollar payment system.

Biggest oil hedges get pricier on global aviation collapseBLOOMBERG

The cost for oil producers to lock in the price at which they sell their crude has soared because of the collapse in the aviation industry.

It emerged this week that Mexico may be trying to organise its annual oil-price hedge, the biggest sovereign programme of its kind in the world. As well as Mexico, producers everywhere from Oklahoma to the North Sea will try to guarantee the future price for their barrels, often through options trades that pay out if the oil market collapses.

However, their efforts have been rendered far costlier in the past few months because airlines are not making the opposite side of the trade by insuring them-selves against high prices. With international flights still way down on where they were before Covid-19 struck, the airlines have all but abandoned the options market, meaning the cost of the contracts for oil producers has spiraled.

“It’s becoming extremely dif-ficult for big producers to hedge without the large airline flows

around,” said Thibaut Remoundos, founder of Com-modities Trading in London, which advises oil producers on their hedging strategies. “Some don’t have a choice and have to spend premium to buy puts, which are expensive.” In normal times, producers like Mexico will buy bearish put options, whose volatility would normally be a fraction higher than an equivalent bullish call option. When air travel ground to a halt in the depths of the virus outbreak, that rela-tionship, known as the skew, exploded. In other words, puts to insure against a price crash soared relative to comparable calls. The relationship shows no sign of returning to normal.

In the esoteric world of the oil options market, consumers, notably airlines, tend to manage their fuel bills by purchasing call options to cap what is normally their single biggest cost. They will also sell puts to cheapen that transaction. But with air travel so restrained, far fewer are selling the put options that producers want to buy, ramping up the cost of producer deals.

The premium for puts showed up clearly on Thursday. A set of contracts for 2021 that would lock in $40 a barrel for a producer traded at a cost of $4.10 a barrel. On average last year, when oil was higher and volatility was lower an equivalent option

would have been between $1.25 and $1.50 cheaper, Remoundos said. While the issue is one that affects all oil producers, the Mexican hedge, if it’s happening as many traders suspect, would be the starkest example. In pre-vious years, the country paid $1

billion to lock in the value of its crude sales.

“The hedge market for the Mexican mix is very thin,” Mexican Finance Minister Arturo Herrera said last month.

The slump in consumer flows comes after airlines suffered

billions of dollars of losses on oil derivatives that proved to be useless when the virus stopped people flying. The collapse in global air travel meant they were holding loss-making positions that covered fuel that would no longer even be used.

There’s little sign the situation will improve any time soon. In July, European airline Ryanair Holdings said it won’t resume fuel hedging until the market is clear of Covid-19. The more carriers that follow suit, the fewer com-panies there would be to effec-tively make the opposite side of oil-producer hedges.

As long as put options remain expensive, it’s going to be more costly for everyone from US shale producers to North Sea com-panies, and producer states, to use options to lock in their output.

“With implied volatility high versus a year ago, the cost of hedging in turn will be a little bit higher if you are only buying an option,” said Harry Tchilinguirian, head of commodities strategy at BNP Paribas. “You can lower your actual hedging cost, in the case of a producer, by selling a call.”

Airplanes seen berthed on the tarmac of Marcel-Dassault airport at Chateauroux during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease in France, in this June picture.

14 SATURDAY 10 OCTOBER 2020BUSINESS

JPMorgan was one of 27 major New York-based companies that joined a programme to recruit 100,000 workers from the city's low-income, predominantly Black, Latino and Asian communities over the next 10 years.

JPMorgan commits $30bn to fix banking’s ‘systemic racism’AP — NORTH CAROLINA

JPMorgan Chase said Thursday it will extend billions in loans to Black and Latino homebuyers and small business owners in an expanded effort toward fixing what the bank calls “systemic racism” in the coun-try’s economic system.

The New York bank said it is committing $30bn over the next five years toward programmes that include earmarking more money for getting Black and Latino families into homeown-ership and providing additional financing to build affordable rental housing units.

“Systemic racism is a tragic part of America’s history,” said JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon (pictured) in a statement. “We can do more and do better to break down systems that have propagated racism and widespread eco-nomic inequality.”

In the immediate aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd, JPMorgan announced a commitment of $1.75bn toward programmes they said would help address racial inequalities. But since then, as protests have remained constant in some

urban centers, there has been a push for banks to do more.

Citigroup announced last month it is committing $1bn toward closing “the racial wealth gap” in the United States, including $550m toward home-ownership programmes for racial minorities.

JPMorgan, which has $3.2 trillion in assets, said it expects the $30bn to help finance 40,000 additional mortgages for Black and Latino house-holds, another 20,000 loans that will refinance mortgages and help construct 100,000 affordable rental units.

Additional funds will go to finance 15,000 small business loans to Black and

Latino-owned businesses. There will also be programmes to place 1 million customers in low-cost checking and savings accounts, partly by opening new branches in minority-majority neighborhoods.

Black households are several times more likely to be what is known as unbanked, meaning they do not have a primary checking account with a traditional bank, or under-banked, where households still rely on high-cost financial services like check cashing, pawn shops and payday loans.

American banking still has a

long way to go to fix the problems of the past. Banks large and small are still regularly cited for discriminatory practices, including allegations of “redlining” Black homebuyers.

Redlining is a practice in which banks deny or avoid pro-viding credit services to con-sumers because of racial demo-graphics or the neighborhood where they live.

Ed Golding, the executive director of the MIT Golub Center for Finance Policy, said JPMor-gan’s investment is impressive but narrowing the gap requires more fundamental changes to the financial system. He noted that there’s a 30 percent gap between Black and white homeownership, amounting to about 4.5 million households. JPMorgan’s investment would go to a fraction of those.

“We are not going to do it overnight,” said Golding, who served as the head of the Federal Housing Administration under the Obama administration. “I applaud the energy and the direction but it’s going to take massive government policy changes to really move the needle and make up for hundreds of years of systemic racism.”

According to a recent study that Golding co-authored, African Americans on average pay higher mortgage interest payments, insurance premiums and property taxes than white families, adding an average of $67,320 to their homeown-ership costs. The study said Black families are disadvan-taged by a risk-based pricing system, which charges higher mortgage rates for lower down payments and credit scores. Golding called for a system that would pool risk among borrowers.

The Black Lives Matter pro-tests have pushed dozens of companies to announce initia-tives and policies to fight racial inequities, from pledges to bring more African Americans into leadership roles, to new invest-ments intended to promote Black owned businesses.

JPMorgan was one of 27 major New York-based com-panies that joined a programme to recruit 100,000 workers from the city’s low-income, predominately Black, Latino and Asian communities over the next 10 years. Mastercard announced a $500m investment last month in Black

communities, including pro-viding Black-owned businesses access to affordable capital. IBM is investing $100m in tech-nology education at historically Black universities.

Stephanie Creary, an assistant professor of man-agement at University of Penn-sylvania’s Wharton School, said many of the programmes appear promising because they are strategically targeted.

“That’s when I get excited is when it’s targeted toward something very concrete and that they are not just throwing money at the problem and hoping that people on the other side will figure out what to do with it,” said Creary, who researches diversity and inclusion issues. But she said the question remains whether com-panies will continue investing in minority communities at this scale beyond this year. “We’ve never seen this type of cor-porate response before and it feels a little hard to trust that it’s going to be long-term,” Creary said. “It feels like a window of opportunity, and right now cor-porations are paying attention, but one would hope that it becomes an annual moment.”

Most US shoppers say they won’t set foot in a mall this year

BLOOMBERG

For most Americans, this holiday shopping season won’t include one longtime staple: the mall.

Just 45 percent of US con-sumers plan to go to a shopping mall this season, down from 64 percent who visited last November and December, according to an International Council of Shopping Centers survey released yesterday.

The forecast is a fresh blow to American malls already reeling from the coronavirus pandemic, which has upended the economy, shifted spending habits and made people wary of crowded places. Dozens of mall-based retailers have filed for bankruptcy this year, including J.C. Penney and J. Crew.

This year will also bring an increase in e-commerce and deals spread out over a longer period, the council found. More than three-quarters of respondents said they expected

to start shopping earlier than usual this year.

Even with the changing behaviors, a majority of American holiday shoppers, about eight in 10, said they will still spend in a physical store during the coming months. More than half of respondents plan to purchase more from small businesses hurt by the Covid-19 outbreak.

Malls usually shine during the holidays, serving as gath-ering places where families can browse, eat and take pictures on Santa’s lap. But health con-cerns have been ever-present since the pandemic began.

In the ICSC report, which surveyed 1,004 US respondents from September 28 to 30, Baby Boomers, whose age puts them at higher risk for the corona-virus, were least likely to say they would visit a mall this holiday season.

Given the anomalous nature of this year, the trends may not represent a death knell for malls, according to ICSC Chief

Executive Officer Tom McGee.“We have to look at this year

somewhat in isolation,” he said in an interview. “We’re in the midst of a pandemic and that’s clearly going to temper people’s appetite for going out to public spaces.”

Malls should play up their advantages over online retailers, he said, such as expe-

riential elements.“A big part of the holiday is

creating that holiday mood experience, so you’ll see a lot of investment in that,” McGee said. “Walking around a mall that’s heavily decorated with music playing and so forth does put you in a holiday mood that you’re not going to get sitting behind a PC.”

In this file photo, a shopper walks through the Hudson Yards mall in New York, in September.

London Stock Exchange tosell Italian unit for $5.11bnAP — LONDON

The London Stock Exchange Group has agreed to sell its holding in the parent company of the Italian stock exchange to rival Euronext for at least €4.33bn ($5.11bn).

The LSE said yesterday that it began talks to sell Borsa Italiana Group because of expectations that European Union regulators will require it to shed the business as a condition for approving the

acquisition of financial market data provider Refinitiv. The deal is contingent on regulators calling for the divestment.

The London exchange in August 2019 agreed to buy Ref-initiv in a deal that values the company at $27bn. “We believe the sale of the Borsa Italiana group will contribute signifi-cantly to addressing the EU’s competition concerns,’’ said David Schwimmer, chief exec-utive of LSE Group.

UK’s antitrust chief says all tech deals should face scrutinyBLOOMBERG

Britain’s top antitrust enforcer laid out plans for a new regulator, saying the largest tech companies would face scrutiny for any transaction, no matter how small.

Andrea Coscelli, who leads the Competition and Markets Authority, said he wanted to see a “special parallel regime” for the tech giants that have strategic market status. The new pro-gramme could also apply a stricter test before clearing any deal, Coscelli said in a speech delivered remotely to a New York conference.

The CMA is increasingly voicing concerns about internet giants swallowing up smaller firms and the new system would automatically have oversight of deals like Facebook’s purchase

of Giphy. The renewed effort to roll back the dominance of these companies comes as the UK’s departure from the European Union gives the CMA leeway to devise new approaches to antitrust.

“For me, the case for regu-lation is clearly made,” Coscelli said. The largest firms can use their strategic position “to exploit the many consumers and busi-nesses who rely on them and act to exclude or quash innovative competitors.” Coscelli, who has long been keen to challenge the power of firms such as Google, said the new scrutiny could include a test that goes beyond the CMA’s current approach to mergers. The CMA is set to deliver its final recommenda-tions to the government at the end of the year.

China Golden Week holiday pumps up tourism, boon to economyAP — HONG KONG

Some 637 million residents of China travelled inside their country during the recent eight-day Golden Week holiday, spending tens of billions of dollars at a time when officials hope to get consumers to spend more and perk up the economy.

More than 45 percent of China’s 1.4 billion people trav-elled during the holiday, which began on October 1. They spent 466.6bn yuan ($69.5bn), according to data from China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

That’s 21 percent fewer trips and 30 percent less spending than last year, but the numbers show consumption is beginning to bounce back fol-lowing the battering it took earlier in the year from the coronavirus pandemic.

The numbers are a “positive sign” both for China and the rest of the world that econ-omies can revive pretty quickly once the coronavirus is under control, said Shivaji Das,

managing director of research and consulting firm Frost & Sullivan in Asia Pacific.

Fewer people travelled and those who did spent less out of caution over the pandemic, which has waned in China but not elsewhere.

“Many people have lost income or were without jobs during the worst times of the pandemic so people are trying to be more careful from a financial perspective,” he said.

Travel within China, and sometimes even within cities, was restricted beginning with the Lunar New Year in late January as China fought the spread of the coronavirus that emerged in the central city of Wuhan. During the five-day Labor Day holiday in May, domestic tourism revenue was down nearly 60 percent from the previous year.

“Chinese consumer confi-dence has been significantly recovered due to the proper control of pandemic, gov-ernment pro-consumption pol-icies and stimulus and faster than expected resumption of

business activities,” said Jen-nifer Ye, PwC’s China con-sumer markets leader.

The Golden Week tourism and spending figures indicate

domestic consumption is recovering, partly due to so-called “revenge buying” to make up for the previous months when people were

unable to travel, she said.With many Chinese tourists

unable to travel abroad due to global restrictions, those who previously traveled to Hong

Kong and South Korea for duty-free shopping turned to the southern Chinese island of Hainan instead, spending 530m yuan ($78m) at duty free shops during the first five days of the holiday, according to a report by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

The Chinese province raised duty-free shopping limits on July 1, hoping to attract domestic tourists and compete with shopping hubs in Europe and other parts of Asia.

China has reported no locally transmitted coronavirus infections since August 16, and restrictions have been eased.

To boost domestic tourism, local governments and online travel platforms like Ctrip and Fliggy are offering discounts on attraction tickets, hotels and tour packages.

According to a Ctrip report, the number of bookings for flights, private tours and attraction tickets on its platform was up 100 percent compared to the same time last year.

A visitor to the popular Nanluogu alley wears a mask to protect from the coronavirus in Beijing, on Thursday.

Nigeria to bolster spending, sees budget gap stableBLOOMBERG

Nigeria’s government unveiled record spending plans for next year as it bets that a swift recovery in Africa’s biggest economy will help keep its budget deficit stable.

President Muhammadu Buhari presented a budget of 13.1 trillion naira ($34bn), up 21 percent from this year.

The government expects the fiscal deficit to remain steady at about 3.6 percent of

projected gross domestic product.

The economy of Africa’s biggest oil producer is likely to have contracted in the third quarter and entered its second recession in four years, Buhari told lawmakers Thursday in the capital, Abuja.

Next year, it’s likely to expand 3 percent, he said.

Projected growth for next year is realistic, but the legisla-ture’s poor record of approving budgets on time could affect

expenditure, analysts at a unit of South Africa’s FirstRand said in a research note.

The government plans to plug the budget shortfall by borrowing as much as 4.28 trillion naira spread evenly between domestic and foreign lenders.

That’s less than the 5.4 trillion naira approved for this year that consisted mostly of domestic bond sales and con-cessional loans from abroad.

After a two-year hiatus, the

government is open to returning to international debt markets in 2021 if yields are attractive. While the coronavirus pan-demic has hit domestic demand and capital inflows, the worst may be over for the West African nation, according to Fitch Ratings.

The company last month revised its outlook for Nigeria’s credit rating to stable from neg-ative, citing more stable oil prices and easing global conditions.

15SATURDAY 10 OCTOBER 2020Sport

MotoGP: MIller tops French practiceAFP – LE MANS, FRANCE

Jack Miller came out on top in the practice times for this weekend’s French MotoGP following yesterday’s crash-laden second session at Le Mans.

Ducati-Pramac rider Miller posted one minute, 34.356 seconds, shaving nine seconds off the time which gave Bradley Smith top spot in the morning’s wet opening practice.

Briton Smith was one of five riders to crash and fin-ished back in 18th, more than two seconds behind the Aus-tralian leader.

Miller was 0.144sec ahead of Yamaha’s Maverick Vinales, who is third in the overall standings, and half a second in front of Honda’s Takaaki Nakagami.

Championship leader Fabio Quartararo improved on his disappointing morning by finishing in 11th, 1.133sec behind, with Suzuki’s Joan Mir, who is eight points behind the Frenchman in the standings, 1.029sec back in ninth.

F1: German fog ends MickSchumacher’s practice hopesREUTERS – NUERBURGRING

Bad weather denied Mick Schumacher a Formula One practice debut at the Eifel Grand Prix yesterday, with the medical helicopter grounded by fog and cars unable to run.

Organisers had set the clock running for the 90-minute session at a cold and damp Nuerburgring but kept the pit lane exit closed.

After two half-hourly updates, they announced there would be no running. The afternoon session at the German circuit was similarly affected.

Schumacher, the Formula Two championship leader and son of seven-times world champion and former Ferrari great Michael, had been due to replace Italian Antonio Gio-vinazzi at Alfa Romeo for the opening session only.

The debut had attracted global interest, with Schu-macher stepping onto the Formula One stage at the circuit closest to his father’s childhood home in Kerpen and one where his father won five times.

Britain’s Callum Ilott, second in the F2 championship and also a Ferrari Academy driver, had also been due to take part with the Ferrari-powered Haas team.

Hat-trick of stage victories for Demare on Giro d’Italia

REUTERS – BRINDISI, ITALY

French champion Arnaud Demare claimed his third stage win in this year’s Giro d’Italia when he prevailed at a canter in the seventh stage, a 143-km ride between Mantera and Brindisi yesterday.

Demare, who had already won the fourth and sixth stages, benefitted from a perfect lead-out by his Groupama-FDJ team mates to beat triple world champion Peter Sagan by a bike length.

Australian Michael Mat-thews took third place.

Portuguese Joao Almeida retained the overall leader’s Maglia Rosa.

“The work my team did was amazing,” said Demare. “I waited a little bit and I launched my sprint at the right moment.”

France’s Arnaud Demare gestures as he crosses the line for victory in the seventh stage of the Giro d’Italia, yesterday.

Jack Miller in action yesterday.

Qatar’s Nasser Al Attiyah and his French co-driver Mathieu Baumel of Toyota Gazoo Racing in action during the penultimate stage of the Andalucia Rally in Spain yesterday. The former Dakar Rally champion won yesterday’s 233km third stage with a time of 1 hour 45 minutes and 24 secs, 46 secs adrift of initial winner Yazeed Al Rajhi of Saudi Arabia, who was eventually handed a 10-minute penalty for overspeeding. Thirteen-time Dakar Rally champion, French veteran Stephane Peterhansel finished one minute and 53 secs behind the Qatari star who now leads the overall standings by 6 minutes 48 secs. The rally concludes today after covering a total of 1000 kilometres in four days.

Andalucia RallyAl Attiyah wins penultimate stage after Al Rajhi handed penalty

Al Arabi players taking part in a practice session on the eve of the Ooredoo Cup final.

Al Sadd, Al Arabi set for Ooredoo Cup title clash

Messi fires Argentina to WC qualifying win over Ecuador

AFP – BUENOS AIRES

Lionel Messi put his Barcelona troubles behind him to fire Argentina to an opening 1-0 victory over Ecuador in World Cup qualifying on Thursday.

The 33-year-old great has been in open conflict with his club but it had no detrimental effect on his form as his 13th minute penalty was the difference in a tight encounter.

The six-time Ballon d’Or winner unsuccessfully tried to force his way out of the Catalan giants in the close season but he seemed much happier in the light blue and white jersey of his country.

And Argentina needed him to be on top form in a bid to avoid slipping up at home to Ecuador for the second suc-cessive time in an opening World Cup qualifier having lost 2-0 to the same opponents four years ago.

In the surreal atmosphere of an empty Bombonera -- the iconic stadium in Buenos Aires that is usually bouncing from the passion of fervent fans was left barren by coronavirus restrictions -- Argentina never looked in danger of another shock defeat.

The hosts predictably dominated possession but struggled to break down an organized and physical Ecuador outfit that proved a different

proposition to the one dispatched 6-1 in a friendly a year ago.

The breakthrough came after a reckless challenge by Pervis Estupinan sent Lucas Ocampo sprawling in the box, with Messi stepping up to lash home his 71st international goal.

Ocampos was presented with a glo-rious chance to double the lead early in the second half but goalkeeper Alex-ander Dominguez dived full length to keep out his low shot from eight yards.

Rodrigo De Paul fired narrowly wide for the hosts with the last kick of the match.

In Montevideo, Luis Suarez scored a record extending 60th international goal for Uruguay before substitute Maxi Gomez bagged an injury time winner against Chile.

Atletico Madrid forward Suarez opened the scoring from the penalty spot on 39 minutes after Sebastian Vegas was harshly penalized for handball.

Inter Milan’s Alexis Sanchez equalised with a low shot on 54 minutes but Gomez had the last word with a stunning half-volley from 20 yards to complete the 2-1 win.

It was honors even between Par-aguay and Peru in Asuncion as Angel Romero for the hosts and Andre Car-rillo both scored a brace.

Argentina’s Lionel Messi celebrating

after scoring against

Ecuador during their 2022 FIFA World Cup South American

qualifier at La Bombonera Stadium in

Buenos Aires on Thursday.

Al Sadd coach Xavi Hernandez giving instructions to his players as the team prepares to take on Al Arabi in the Ooredoo Cup title clash which will take place at Al Duhail Stadium today. TOP RIGHT: Al Sadd's Santi Cazorla in action during a practice session on the eve of the title clash.

Swiatek confronts Kenin for French Open titleAFP – PARIS

Sofia Kenin and Iga Swiatek are the last women standing at a French Open tour-

nament unlike any other, full of surprises and held in the autumnal Paris chill after it was delayed four months by the coronavirus pandemic.

Australian Open champion Kenin is tar-geting a second Grand Slam of the year while the 19-year-old Swiatek has her sights set on becoming Poland’s first major singles champion.

Kenin arrived at Roland Garros having suf-fered an embarrassing double-bagel defeat by Victoria Azarenka in Rome, her lone warm-up match on clay, a surface she used to despise.

The American had never advanced as far the quarter-finals on clay before this fort-

night, but now stands a win away from

becoming the first woman to capture two Slams in the same season since Angelique Kerber won the Australian and US Open in 2016.

The 21-year-old is hoping her Melbourne experience will give her an edge over Swiatek, who has blasted through to the final for the loss of just 23 games.

“I’ve been there, done that. I know what the emotions are getting into your first Grand Slam final. I’m hoping she’s going to be a little bit nervous,” said Kenin.

Kenin’s hunger and desire ranks among the best, as does her ability to adjust and counter an opponent armed with greater power as wit-nessed in her victory over Petra Kvitova.

Kenin has gone to three sets in four of her six matches and will need to be at her uncom-promising best to subdue an opponent who has ruthlessly swept aside the competition, including

top seed and favourite Simona Halep.At 19, Swiatek is the youngest player to reach

the women’s French Open final since Kim Cli-jsters in 2001.

She has matched the run of compatriot Jadwiga Jedrzejowska -- the most outstanding Polish player of the interwar period -- who finished runner-up at Roland Garros in 1939. Swiatek is only the second Polish woman to reach a Grand Slam final in the Open era after Agnieszka Rad-wanska at Wim-bledon in 2012. She had never previously been beyond the last 16. Sofia KeninIga Swiatek

Lowry and Fitzpatrick share halfway lead at WentworthAFP – LONDON

British Open Champion Shane Lowry and England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick shared the lead at the halfway stage of the PGA Championship after they scored matching 65s at Went-worth yesterday.

The two golfers set a testing clubhouse target of 12 under par after taking advantage of favourable early scoring conditions.

Overnight co-leader Tyrrell Hatton was able to get within one shot of the leading pair as the weather changed in the afternoon but they remained the men to catch heading into the weekend.

Lowry notched seven birdies in a spotless second round, while Fitzpatrick had been on course to break the tournament record for the lowest opening 36 holes after an eagle and seven birdies before a double bogey on his final hole.

England’s world number 15 Hatton finished his round with three birdies in his final four holes to sign for a 67 and jump to 11 under.

Frenchman Victor Perez and Dane Joachim B. Hansen were two shots further back in a tie for fourth.

THE PENINSULA – DOHA

Mohammed Saeed Haidan stole the show on the opening day of the new season of the Longines Hathab Qatar Equestrian Tour when he guided Miss Chili to a brilliant win at the Qatar Equestrian Federation's Indoor Arena yesterday.

Haidan won the Medium Tour in the opening round of the 12-leg series following a flawless ride on his favourite mare, com-pleted his round in 32.88 secs to win the top price of QR7,500 yesterday.

What A Pleasure, with Nasser Al Ghazali in the saddle, completed the same task in 33.78 to win the second spot on the podium as he got richer by QR6,000. Khalid Mohammed Al Emadi (Eglantine du Cas-telet, 34.83 secs) won QR4,500 after fin-ishing third. Jaber Rashid Al Amri (Argelith Squid, 35.71 secs), and Cyrine Cherif (Brennus Villelongue, 35.87 secs) completed the top five.

Team Limited Edition Cars, comprised of Haidan and Alqaqa Adel Nassar (Verona), won the team event and they won QR15,000 in prize money.

Earlier, Khalifa Abdulla Al Khaldi won the Small Tour with Dusty after the duo completed the second phase in the 100/110cm event in 29.09 secs.

He received his trophy from Head of Public Relations at the Social and Sports Activities Support Fund, Ghanim Essa Al Rumaihi.

Naville Z, ridden by Mohammed Al Ghazali was placed second with a time of 29.15 while Best Of Des Forets, with Saeed Nasser Al Qadi in the saddle, finished third after clocking a time of 29.72 secs.

Hussain Saeed Haidan (Belucci Van 'T Vleminkhof, 30.45 secs) finished fourth as Mohammed Nasser Al Qadi (Vlacido, 31.16 secs) rounded up the top five in the event which saw a long list of 47 entries.

The 12-leg series, organised by the Qatar Equestrian Federation and Al Shaqab, is sup-ported by The Social & Sport Contribution Fund and is sponsored by Longines, Exxon-Mobil and Salam International.

Today is the second and final day of the opening round.

SportSATURDAY 10 OCTOBER 2020

Iga Swiatek confronts Sofia Kenin for French Open titleI’ve been there, done that. I know what the emotions are getting into your first Grand Slam final. I’m hoping she’s going to be a little bit nervous

Sport | 15Sofia Kenin

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FRENCH OPEN: MEN'S SINGLES (SEMIS) Nadal (2) bt. Schwartzman (12) 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (0), Djokovic (1) bt. Tsitsipas (5) 6-3, 6-2, 5-7, 4-6, 6-1

IPL: Delhi in big win over RajasthanIANS – SHARJAH

Delhi Capitals yesterday beat Rajasthan Royals by 46 runs at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium to claim their third consec-utive win thus far in the IPL. After scoring 184/8 wickets in 20 overs, DC dismissed RR for 138 in 19.4 overs in what was the lowest scoring match in Sharjah this season.

Kagiso Rabada (3/35) led what was an all-round bowling and fielding per-formance from the Delhi Cap-itals. Eight of the 10 RR wickets that fell came through catches and all six of the DC bowlers got at least one wicket.

Ravichandran Ashwin was the most economical of the bowlers, recording figures of 2/22 in four overs and his wickets included that of the dangerous Jos Buttler (13). Marcus Stoinis followed up his innings of 38 off 29 balls with figures of 2/17 in the two overs he bowled. He dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal (34) and ensured that Sanju Samson (5) failed to fire yet again.

Earlier, Jofra Archer (3/24) led the way as Rajasthan Royals (RR) restricted Delhi Capitals (DC) to 184/8 in the 23rd match of the IPL.

It was the first time this season that a team batting first in Sharjah did not score more than 200 runs.

Brief scores: DC 184/8 (Shimron

Hetmyer 45, Marcus Stoinis 39; Jofra Archer 3/24) beat RR 138 all out in 19.4 overs (Rahul Tewatia 38, Yashasvi Jaiswal 34; Kagiso Rabada 3/35) by 46 runs

Al Khaldi guiding Dusty over an obstacle on his way to win the Small Tour competition yesterday.

Khalifa Abdulla Al Khaldi, winner of the Small Tour, receiving his trophy from Head of Public Relations at the Social and Sports Activities Support Fund, Ghanim Essa Al Rumaihi.

Haidan and Miss Chili steal the limelight as new Longines Hathab season kicks off

COMP. (1) SMALL TOUR, 100/110CM, PRIZE MONEY QR20,000Rk Horse/Rider Phase 1 Phase 2 Prize Money1 Dusty/Khalifa Abdulla Al Khaldi 29.95 29.09 QR5,0002 Naville Z/Mohammed Al Ghazali 30.99 29.15 QR4,0003 Best Of Des Forets/Saeed Nasser Al Qadi 32.30 29.72 QR3,0004 Belucci Van 'T Vleminkhof/Hussain Saeed Haidan 32.11 30.45 QR2,0005 Vlacido/Mohammed Nasser Al Qadi 30.90 31.16 QR1,400

COMP. (2) MEDIUM TOUR (INDIVIDUAL), 120/130CM, PRIZE MONEY QR30,0001 Miss Chili/Mohammed Saeed Haidan 27.67 32.88 QR7,5002 What A Pleasure /Nasser Al Ghazali 30.31 33.78 QR6,0003 Eglantine du Castelet/Khalid Mohammed Al Emadi 27.31 34.83 QR4,5004 Argelith Squid/Jaber Rashid Al Amri 25.34 35.71 QR3,0005 Brennus Villelongue/Cyrine Cherif 25.50 35.87 QR2,100

COMP. (2) MEDIUM TOUR (TEAMS), 120/130CM, PRIZE MONEY QR30,0001: Team Limited Edition Cars 68.82 secs (Prize Money QR15,000) Miss Chili/Mohammed Saeed Haidan 27.67 32.88 Verona/Alqaqa Adel Nassar 29.87 35.94 2: Team Exxonmobil 70.70 secs (Prize Money QR9,000) Eglantine du Castelet/Khalid Mohammed Al Emadi 27.31 34.83 Brennus Villelongue/Cyrine Cherif 25.50 35.873: Team Salam International 74.89 secs, 16 errors (Prize Money QR6,000) Argelith Squid/Jaber Rashid Al Amri 25.34 35.71 Ulano/Faleh Suwead Al Ajami 30.11 39.18 Ambre de Beaufour/Mohammad Hazim Abara 24.85 (4) 38.26 (12)

Mohammed Saeed Haidan guiding his horse over an obstacle on his way to win the Medium Tour competition at the QEF indoor Arena yesterday.

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic

celebrates after winning his semi-final

match against Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Djokovic survives Tsitsipas test to set up Nadal finalREUTERS – PARIS

World number one Novak Djokovic defended reso-lutely to outlast big-hitting Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-2, 5-7, 4-6, 6-1 in an enthralling contest yester-dayto advance to the final of the French Open.

The Serb will meet 12-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal, seeded second, in another mouth-watering clash tomorrow with the Spaniard also bidding to equal Roger Federer’s record men’s haul of 20 Grand Slam singles titles.

Djokovic, whose 2016 Roland Garros triumph fea-tures among his 17 major titles, had a match point in the third set but saw the 22-year-old Tsitsipas fight back spectacularly to level the match at two sets apiece.

Tsitsipas, seeded fifth, ran out of steam in the deciding set but saved another match point before the 33-year-old sealed the win with a crushing service

return in three hours and 54 minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier.

Nadal showed no sign of relinquishing his French Open crown as he suffo-cated Argentine Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-3, 7-6(0) in the semi-final to move within one win of a

record-equalling 20th Grand Slam title.

The Spaniard, also chasing a record-extending 13th triumph at Roland Garros, is now undefeated in 13 French Open semi-finals.

Nadal, who advanced into the Paris final without

dropping a set for the first time since 2017, will equal Roger Federer's men's singles record of winning 20 majors if he triumphs tomorrow. Schwartzman, the 12th seed, kept Nadal on court for over three hours but managed only 24 winners in the contest.

"With these conditions it's very difficult, and it's still incredible to be in the final again. Thanks to my team, my family. It's a beautiful moment for me," said Nadal, who has now pro-gressed to the final without losing a set for the sixth time.

Spain’s Rafael Nadal celebrates after winning against Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman during their men’s singles semi-final on Day 13 of The Roland Garros 2020 French Open in Paris, yesterday.