editor@omanobserver.om www.omanobserver.omfollow us @omanobserverEstablished 1981

OMAN DAILY

Editor-in-chief : Abdullah bin Salim al Shueili

FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 25, 2020 | SAFAR 7, 1442 AH VOL. 39 NO. 316 | PAGES 12 | BAISAS 200

PRAYER TIMINGSFAJR: 04:41DHUHR: 12:04ASR: 15:29MAGHRIB: 18:06ISHA: 19:16

WEATHER TODAY

MUSCATMAX: 380CMIN: 270C

SALALAHMAX: 310CMIN: 240C

NIZWAMAX: 400CMIN: 240C

SUNRISE 05.57 AM

AS COVID SURGES EUROPE WARNS OF ‘TWINDEMIC’ P5

N KOREAN TROOPS KILLED MISSING OFFICIAL P4

INSIDE

WORLD

REGION

EU migrant plan suffers blow

7 dead in Egypt prison break

BRUSSELS: A group of eastern European countries on Thursday rejected the EU’s new plan for handling migrants because it was not tough enough, dealing a blow to efforts to solve one of Europe’s thorniest problems. The leaders of Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic — who all have a tough anti-immigration stance — held talks with top EU officials as the bloc tries to reform asylum rules five years after the continent was engulfed by a migrant crisis.

CAIRO: Egypt held military funerals on Thursday for three policemen killed as they prevented four convicts on death row from escaping a notorious Cairo prison. The four men convicted to hang on terror charges were shot dead by security forces in the rare escape bid from the heavily-fortified Tora prison complex, the interior ministry said late on Wednesday. It said the three policemen also died in the botched prison bust. — AFP

OMAN AIR TO RESUME FLIGHTS TO SALALAH FROM OCTOBER 1

MUSCAT: Oman Air will operate two daily flights to Salalah from October 1. By resuming this Muscat-Salalah route, Oman Air will have returned to all its scheduled domestic flights. Oman Air will maintain its comprehensive safety programme to ensure a safe and reassuring travel experience for its guests. Passengers must wear masks onboard the aircraft and at airports. — ONA

TOWERS OF

MANAL

Manal has more than 14 towers and fortresses surrounding the village from all sides. They all tell about the hardness and the ingenuity of the Omanis in building these towers to defend the residents of the village. The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism has restored four of these towers. SEE P2

Palestinian factions agree to hold elections in 15 yearsRAMALLAH/GAZA: A

Palestinian official said on

Thursday at the conclusion of

three days of reconciliation talks

between Hamas and Fatah in

Turkey that elections should be

held within six months.

Jibril Rajoub, who headed the

Fatah delegation in Turkey, said

on Palestine TV that after holding

an “intensive strategic dialogue,”

the parties have come up with “a

clear vision of the mechanisms

for building national partnership

through holding elections.”

He said these would start with

the Legislative Council elections,

then presidential elections, and

finally the Palestinian Liberation

Organization’s National Council

elections.

He said this should be done

within six months.

The last presidential elections

were held in 2005. Legislative

elections were held in 2006 when

Hamas defeated Fatah and gained

a majority of seats. In June 2007,

Palestinian division ultimately

began when Hamas took over the

Gaza Strip and the Palestinian

Authority ruled in the West Bank.

The new elections are expected

to reunite the two parts of the

Palestinian Territories. Mahmoud

Abbas, 84, has served as president

since 2005. A president’s term is

supposed to last four years.

A well-informed Palestinian

source, however, said some

differences remained over the

mechanism for holding the

elections and how to control

the situation in the Palestinian

Territories, including the

jurisdiction of the Hamas-run

courts in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi

Barhoum said that the meetings

with Fatah “constitute a new

starting point for the embodiment

of a Palestinian form based on

unity and partnership.” — dpa

Seventh package of activities to reopen will be announced soonMUSCAT: Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed

al Saeedi, Minister of Health, Member

of the Supreme Committee tasked

with tackling developments resulting

from coronavirus (COVID-19)

pandemic, said that the directives of

His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik

to the Supreme Committee focus on

protecting public health and the life

of all.

“Accordingly, nobody’s life will

be exposed to risk and no action

whatsoever will be undertaken

except on the basis of available

epidemiological data,” the minister

added.

The minister made the statement

during the COVID-19 Control

Supreme Committee’s 16th press

conference held at the Ministry of

Education on Thursday.

Dr Al Saeedi pointed out that, one

day, the health sector in the Sultanate

crossed the 190 Intensive Care Unit

patient-mark, a precedent in the

sector’s history. He urged all to stick

to preventive measures and cautioned

that the registered deaths are not

only among the old-aged or people

suffering from chronic diseases. A

proof of that is the death of a 15-year-

old person, along with the demise of

patients in the age-group of less than

20 years. “It is a serious disease and

the journey to the shores of safety

requires the cooperation of all,” said

Dr Al Saeedi.

The minister called upon

all travellers to shoulder their

responsibilities and to know

precautionary measures adopted by

other countries where the passengers

wish to go. Omanis have to obtain

health insurance to cover their

COVID-19 tests and treatment, if any.

He reiterated that passengers arriving

into the Sultanate have to undergo a

14-day health quarantine.

Speaking about donations, the

minister said that the total sum of

COVID-19 donations stood at RO

33,188,162 of them RO 10 million

as a generous contribution by His

Majesty Sultan Haitham. Of this sum,

a total of RO 29,150,193 has been

spent so far.

The minister said that as many as

2,848 infection cases were registered

among medical teams in the Sultanate

since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Of these, one doctor and one nurse

died, said the minister, noting that

22 per cent of the cases of infection

in medical crew happened in health

establishments, 42 per cent in society

and 36 per cent of unknown sources.

Dr Al Saeedi explained that the

most important indicators to know

about the seriousness of the disease do

not cover the number of tests. Instead,

they are based on the numbers of

people hospitalised and admitted

to ICUs. The technical team at the

Ministry of Health is considering the

reduction of the health quarantine

period, the minister said.

He added that a contract was

concluded over the past few weeks

with an international firm specialised

in conducting diagnoses at the level

of the Sultanate. An increase in the

number of tests will be observed, he

said.

Dr Al Saeedi said that a decision

on the opening of mosques has been

left for the Ministry of Awqaf and

Religious Affairs.

The mosques will be monitored

to check that they abide by the

precautionary measures, said the

minister, who stressed that meetings

are under way between him and

officials concerned at the Ministry

of Health and that a joint committee

was formed to look into the matter of

mosques.

MUSCAT: Following the

approval of the Supreme

Committee tasked with

tackling developments of

coronavirus (COVID-19)

pandemic, it has been

decided to resume sports

activities for all parties

operating in sports fields,

including associations,

committees, clubs and

private teams, among

other sports activities.

The Ministry of Culture,

Sports and Youth said in

a statement that sports

activities in the Sultanate

will be conducted

without the attendance of

spectators (members of the

public).

The statement

instructs the organisers

of such activities to

stick to preventive and

precautionary measures

aimed at ensuring the

safety of all.

The parties holding

sports activities should

heed the rules and

regulations of the Supreme

Committee governing

the comportment of

individuals and facilities,

said the ministry. — ONA

HM’S DIRECTIVES TO SUPREME COMMITTEE: PROTECT HEALTH, LIFE OF ALL

Passengers arriving into the Sultanate have to undergo a 14-day health quarantine

More than 2,800 health workers infected and two dead with virus in last 7 months

Decision to reopen mosques will be taken by Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs

Sports to resume

TURN TO P2

A Palestinian man passes in front of an Israeli checkpoint as he walks towards his house in Al Shuhada street in West Bank. — AFP

P9RELAXED HALEP HEADS INTO FRENCH OPEN AS CLEAR FAVOURITE

CORONAVIRUS FUELS LEGAL BATTLE OVER VOTING AS US ELECTION LOOMS

P6BUSINESS MORALE BRIGHTENS IN GERMANY AND FRANCE

P7

FROM PAGE 1

Dr Abdullah bin Nasser al Harrasi, Minister

of Information, Member of the Supreme

COVID-19 Control Committee, commended

the efforts of public awareness exerted by

all media organisations, including the radio,

the television, the newspapers and electronic

websites, in addition to activists in social media.

He hailed the efforts of all media in

explaining the risks posed by the disease, means

of infection and precautionary measures which

aim at safeguarding the health of all people

in society and protecting them against the

disease’s multiple impacts. The media has a role

in combating rumours and addressing wrong

information about COVID-19 and causes of

infection with the disease and its methods of

treatment.

The minister said that the role of the media

combines with the efforts of the State under the

wise leadership of His Majesty Sultan Haitham

bin Tarik whose main concern is to protect

individuals and society.

The media’s role was not limited to spreading

information about the disease only through

the publishing of precautionary measures and

methods of protection. This role expanded to

cover the dissemination of scientific knowledge

in an unprecedented manner that keeps abreast

of developments of diseases in general and

established methods of protection against

them, he added.

Dr Abdullah pointed out that exposing

of offenders by publishing their names in the

media has been discussed in the Supreme

Committee’s meetings but no decision so far

has been taken to enforce the threat. “The

Committee is fully aware of gatherings in farms

and other places, and these types of assembling

are closely monitored and the idea of

(blacklisting) public announcement of names

of offenders is still an option, but we do not

want to take this approach,” said Dr Abdullah.

He explained that COVID-19 taught us a lot

and alerted us to many aspects of the problem

in which we did not focus before due to the

nature of normal life. Some of these (positive)

sides include the practice of direct import to

the Sultanate, the development of practical

ways to benefit from sciences and knowledge

and distance learning, among other aspects

which can be of use in future, said the minister.

On his turn, Eng Said bin Hamoud

al Maawali, Minister of Transport,

Communications and Information Technology,

said that the 7th package of activities and

businesses will be approved by the Supreme

Committee in its next meetings. Eleven new

commercial activities have been discussed in

the previous meeting of the Committee and

3 of these activities have been resumed, while

the rest remain closed due to the high rate of

infections, Al Maawali explained.

He added that, in accordance with

the decision of the Supreme Committee,

international flights will be resumed with effect

from October 1 depending on health data of

the selected destinations and the agreements

governing such flights. Also by that date,

domestic flights will be operated between

Muscat and Salalah, he said.

Al Maawali pointed out that the travel of

citizens and foreigners will continue without

the need for approval that precede travel,

depending on health procedures. He added

that similar steps will be applied in the case of

travellers returning to the Sultanate, including

COVID-19 insurance for non-Omanis.

The minister said that the issue of visas was

discussed during the meeting of the Supreme

Committee and that priority will first be

given to citizens and residents who hold valid

residency visas and the rest will follow.

Al Maawali pointed out that public

transport services will be opened next Sunday

and explained that ship crew have been allowed

to change shifts in the Sultanate’s ports, a good

indicator about the increase in vessel traffic.

The minister noted that the pandemic was

an opportunity to reactivate Omani ports,

enhance their direct routes and increase the

rate of import. He added that, shortly, the

Sultanate’s ports will be connected with the

ports of Colombia, Kuala Lumpur, Jeddah and

the Al Sakhna port in Egypt.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Civil Aviation

Authority (CAA), Dr Mohammed bin Nasser

al Za’abi, has reaffirmed the preparedness of the

civil aviation sector to undertake its mission in

accordance with the approved plans after the

Supreme Committee endorsed the October 1,

2020 as a date for resumption of international

air traffic in the context of health data about the

selected destinations and relevant agreements.

Dr Saif bin Salim al Abri, Director-General

of Disease Surveillance and Control at the

Ministry of Health, said that procedures

governing the entry of any person arriving into

the Sultanate from abroad will be by registration

in Tarasud Plus app. Those who arrive for a

stay of more than 7 days will have to undergo

a quarantine period, while at the same time

wearing tracking bracelets. This will be applied

to all arrival passengers, whether by land or air,

said Dr Saif, who pointed to the availability of

PCR test for arrival passengers via land and air

routes. He spoke, without elaborating, about “a

new mechanism for arrival passengers via land

checkpoints”.

Giving more information, Dr Saif al Abri

said that the Ministry of Health conducted

2,910 tests yesterday and that the number of

tests conducted in the Sultanate so far crossed

the 376,000 mark. He added that, so far, we

have no proof that a COVID-19 patient has

been infected twice, but, he explained, “The

virus could often remain in the body of the

patient for a period of more than four months.”

Dr Saif al Abri reaffirmed that the health

system in the Sultanate is still intact, both at the

level of primary healthcare centres and at the

level of hospital. He added that the preventive

procedures and public health procedures are

still 100 per cent functional.

Dr Saif advised any suspected person or

anyone who shows symptoms of COVID-19

will be treated as a patient. He reminded that the

Third Phase of the National Epidemiological

Survey of COVID-19 will begin on Sunday.

OMANDAILYOBSERVERF R I D A Y l S E P T E M B E R 2 5 l 2 0 2 02

insideoman

Towers narrate deep-rooted history of ManalSAMAYIL: Manal is one of the villages of

Wadi Bani Rawaha in the Wilayat of Samayil

in the Governorate of Al Dakhiliyah. The

village overlooks the main street heading to the

governorates of Al Dakhiliyah, Dhofar and Al

Dhahirah, and from there to the Governorate

of Muscat.

Manal is an example of a village with

authentic Omani heritage that tells the story

of the originality of the Sultanate’s deep-rooted

history. Buildings of the village were built with

mud and lime mortar, locally called “sarooj”.

The village also hosts ancient tombs, mosques

and old houses.

Shaikh Is’haq bin Mohammed al Hashami

says, “Manal village is located at a small

mountainside. The village houses Al Qasr

mosque. Towers were built around it in the

rocky heights. The history of the village goes

back to the end of the second millennium BC,

when an ancient cemetery was discovered

behind the rocky slopes located to the west

of the village. The excavations indicated that

the village was inhabited at the end of the

second millennium and the beginning of

the first millennium BC. Bronze tools, shells

and animal bones were found at this site, in

addition to some Islamic inscriptions and

rock drawings”.

The modern houses at Manal village slope

towards the east. As for the Al Qasr mosque, it

was built far from the village. It is distinguished

by its beautiful Mihrab and Islamic decorations.

In 1998, the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism

restored the mosque.

There are more than 14 towers and fortresses

surrounding the village from all sides. They all

tell about the hardness and ingenuity of the

Omani citizen in building those towers in order

to defend the village’s residents. The Ministry

of Heritage and Tourism restored four of these

towers. — ONA

HM’s directives to Supreme Committee: Focus on protecting health, life of all

The Committee is fully aware of gatherings in farms and other places, and these

types of assembling are closely monitored and the

idea of (blacklisting) public announcement of names of offenders is still an option, but we do not want to take

this approach

DR ABDULLAH BIN NASSER BIN KHALIFA AL HARRASI,

Minister of Information, Member of the Supreme COVID-19 Control Committee

OMANDAILYOBSERVERF R I D A Y l S E P T E M B E R 2 5 l 2 0 2 0 3

region

US renews waiver for Iraq to import Iranian energy for 60 daysWASHINGTON: The United States

said on Thursday it had renewed a

waiver for Iraq to import Iranian

electricity, this time for 60 days to

enable Baghdad to take “meaningful

actions” to reduce its energy

dependence on neighbouring Tehran.

The waiver will continue to exempt

Iraq from US sanctions reimposed

on Iran, hobbling its oil-dependent

economy, after President Donald

Trump withdrew Washington from

world powers’ 2015 nuclear deal with

the Islamic Republic. Washington has

repeatedly extended the waiver for

Baghdad to use crucial Iranian energy

supplies for its struggling power grid,

usually for periods of 90 or 120 days.

Renewals for shorter periods,

analysts said, could be one reflection

of relations between the two countries

that have been strained over repeated

militant attacks on US forces stationed

in Iraq.

“The waiver ensures that Iraq is

able to meet its short-term energy

needs while it takes steps to reduce

its dependence on Iranian energy

imports,” a US State Department

official said.

“We believe it is possible within the

60 days for the government of Iraq to

take meaningful actions to promote

energy self-sufficiency...,” he said. The

United States has insisted that oil-rich

Iraq, OPEC’s second-largest producer,

move towards self-sufficiency as

a condition for its exemption for

importing Iranian energy.

Iraq relies heavily on Iranian gas

to feed several power stations. The

Trump administration has said it is

disappointed that Iraqi forces have

failed to protect US forces stationed

in Iraq.

They have come under multiple

rocket attacks this year alone, over

which Washington has pointed the

finger at a militia that also support

Iraq’s government. — Reuters

A 3D printed oil pump jack is seen in front of displayed Opec logo in this illustration picture. — Reuters

Yemen group marks 2,000 days of ‘resistance’ with stacks of cash

SANAA: Ansar Allah marked

2,000 days of “resistance” against

the coalition in war-torn Yemen on

Thursday with a display of stacks

of cash, food and other donations

presented to their fighters.

The coalition intervened in the

Yemen war in March 2015 to bolster

the internationally recognised

government of President Abedrabbo

Mansour Hadi against the fighters,

who took over the capital Sanaa in late

2014.

In a country that the United Nations

says is teetering on the edge of famine,

piles of food donated by tribesmen

were loaded on trucks and displayed at

Sanaa’s Al Sabeen Square.

In the middle of the square was

a multi-layered pyramid of Yemeni

riyals, closely guarded by armed

fighters, and another set of stacks on

the ground spelling out “2000”.

Other banknotes were arranged to

spell out September 21, the date on

which the Ansar Allah fighters seized

control of the capital.

In 2017, the fighters — who control

much of the north — marked 1,000

days since the intervention of the

coalition with a parade in the Yemeni

capital. Since then, attempts to find

a political solution to the ruinous

conflict have made little headway.

Tens of thousands of people —

mostly civilians — have been killed in

the conflict between the government

and the Ansar Allah fighters.

A majority of the population relies

on aid for survival, according to the

United Nations, which has called the

situation in Yemen the world’s worst

humanitarian crisis. — AFP

A fighter loyal to Ansar Allah stands guard next to a stack of bills in the capital Sanaa on Thursday, during a ceremony by the group to collect cash, food and other donations for their fighters. — AFP

The coalition intervened in the Yemen war in

March 2015 to bolster the internationally

recognised government of President Hadi

PARIS: Former French president

Nicolas Sarkozy lost his bid on

Thursday to throw out an inquiry

into claims he used Libyan cash for

his 2007 presidential campaign, a

ruling that could require him and

several associates to stand trial.

A Paris appeals court upheld

the validity of the investigation,

launched in 2012 after reports

that Sarkozy accepted millions of

euros from the regime of former

strongman Muammar Gaddafi.

Sarkozy, 65, has denied the

allegations. His lawyer declined

to comment after the hearing

on whether he would appeal the

decision to France’s top criminal

court.

But the failed legal challenge

means the inquiry by two anti-

corruption judges can continue,

though it remains uncertain if they

will eventually seek a trial.

Sarkozy has been accused by

former members of Gaddafi’s

regime that he took millions from

the slain Libyan dictator, some of it

delivered in cash-stuffed suitcases,

in his successful 2007 presidential

run. The investigation began

after the Mediapart published

a document in 2012, allegedly

signed by Libya’s intelligence chief,

purporting to show that Gaddafi

agreed to give Sarkozy up to 50

million euros ($58 million at

current exchange rates).

Judges are also investigating

claims by a French-Lebanese

businessman, Ziad Takieddine,

who said he delivered suitcases

carrying a total of five million

euros from the Libyan regime to

Sarkozy’s chief of staff in 2006 and

2007.

Also charged in the case is

Alexandre Djouhri, a businessman

known to be close with several

top right wing politicians, who is

suspected of acting as a middleman

for the cash transfers.

The former president was

charged in 2018 with taking bribes,

concealing the embezzlement of

Libyan public funds and illegal

campaign financing.

Two of his former ministers,

Claude Gueant and Eric Woerth,

are among several others who have

also been charged in the case.

“I think the judges proved

they were able to resist all sorts of

pressure being put on them,” said

Vincent Brengarth, a lawyer for the

Sherpa anti-corruption NGO, one

of the civil parties in the case.

LEGAL HEADACHES

The allegations that Sarkozy

took money from Gaddafi —

whom he welcomed to Paris with

pomp and ceremony shortly after

his election victory — are the most

serious to emerge from several

investigations that have dogged

him since he left office.

The claims first emerged

in 2011, as France and Britain

were preparing a Nato-backed

intervention to support rebels

seeking to end Gaddafi’s tyrannical

41-year rule.

Besides the claims of cash-

stuffed suitcases, investigators

suspect that Sarkozy’s campaign

got cash from the 2009 sale of a

villa on the French Riviera to a

Libyan investment fund managed

by Bashir Saleh, Gaddafi’s former

chief of staff. — AFP

French former president Nicolas Sarkozy

GOOD CATCH

A girl catches a fish in the marshes of the southern district of Chibayish in Dhi Qar province, about 120 kilometres northwest of the southern city of Basra. Iraq’s southern marshes are blossoming thanks to a wave of ecotourists picnicking and paddling down their replenished river bends. — AFP

Cash-from-Libya case: Sarkozy

loses challenge

The waiver ensures that Iraq is able to

meet its short-term energy needs while it

takes steps to reduce its dependence on Iranian

energy imports

US STATE DEPARTMENT

OFFICIAL

A Paris appeals court upheld the

validity of the investigation,

launched in 2012 after reports that Sarkozy accepted millions of euros

from the regime of former strongman Muammar Gaddafi

OMANDAILYOBSERVERF R I D A Y l S E P T E M B E R 2 5 l 2 0 2 04

asia

The Philippines’ health ministry

on Thursday reported 2,180 new

coronavirus infections and 36

additional deaths. In a bulletin, the

ministry said total confirmed cases

had increased to 296,755, still the

highest in Southeast Asia, while

deaths had reached 5,127, nearly

half of which were recorded in the

past 30 days.

Last week, President Rodrigo

Duterte extended for one year a “state

of calamity” imposed in the country

at the start of a lockdown to contain

the spread of the coronavirus. The

emergency measure, which is now

in effect until September 12, 2021,

allows government units to release

funds and dispatch resources faster

to ensure critical response to the

outbreak. Duterte first placed the

country under the state of calamity

for six months in March to help

the government implement the

coronavirus lockdown.

The government began to ease

restrictions on June 1, allowing

public transport, businesses,

commercial establishments to

resume even on limited capacities.

On Wednesday, death toll from the

coronavirus outbreak topped 5,000.

The Department of Health reported

44 additional deaths, bringing the

total number of fatalities to 5,091.

Of the additional deaths, nearly 50

per cent occurred in May to August,

but were only reported now.

MANILA

Philippines confirms 2,180 new virus cases

Japan’s new prime minister,

Yoshihide Suga, spoke to South

Korea’s president for the first time on

Thursday, calling for both countries

to repair their frayed ties and

cooperate to counter any threat from

North Korea.

Relations between the two US

allies have deteriorated sharply over

the past year over war-time history

and trade, in particular the issue of

Korean labourers forced to work at

Japanese firms during Japan’s 1910-

1945 colonial rule.

“I told President Moon that we

cannot leave our current very difficult

relations where they are now,” Suga

told reporters after a telephone call

with South Korea’s President Moon

Jae-in. “Cooperation between Japan

and South Korea, as well as between

Japan, the United States and South

Korea, is crucial to deal with North

Korea and other issues.” Japan would

“continue to firmly seek appropriate

action from South Korea”, he said. He

did not elaborate. South Korea had

asked for the telephone call, Japan

said.

More than a thousand Thai protesters

rallied at parliament on Thursday as

it debated amending the constitution,

one of the demands behind

nearly two months of almost daily

demonstrations. The two-day special

session of parliament was convened

on Wednesday and was expected to

vote late on Thursday on whether to

accept a motion for constitutional

changes. But a lawmaker aligned

with the government proposed that

the vote be postponed to November

and that a new committee be set up

to study details around the process of

making such changes first.

TOKYO/SEOUL BANGKOK

Japanese PM Suga for better ties with Koreas Protesters rally as parliament considers reforms

S H O R T T A K E S

Australia plans disposal of stranded whale carcassesSYDNEY: Australian officials were

focusing on the grim task of disposing

of almost 400 whale carcasses on

Thursday, while attempts to rescue

the few remaining survivors of one of

the world’s worst mass strandings was

expected to extend another day.

Rescuers had managed to free

almost 90 of the long-finned pilot

whales beached off the country’s

remote southern coast by late

Thursday. The majority of those freed

had reached deeper water, officials

said, but four had to be euthanised

and others might return when the

tide turns.

The clock was ticking for a small

group of whales still floundering in

shallow water on a wide sandbank,

four days after the 470-strong pod was

first spotted off the northwest coast of

the island state of Tasmania. “There is

a likelihood that we will be continuing

the rescue efforts tomorrow,” said Nic

Deka, the incident controller for the

state government’s Parks and Wildlife

Service. “While we have live animals

that have a chance and we have the

crew to shift them, we will give it a

go,” he told a media briefing. After

a positive veterinary assessment, a

rescue attempt would continue on

Friday for a mother and calf that

appeared in footage posted by local

media on Twitter.

The video showed the calf

swimming among rescuers as they

tried to save its mother. Alongside

these measures, authorities were also

developing a plan to dispose of around

380 dead whales at sea. Options

included loading the carcasses onto

a barge or gathering them into a

group to tow, Deka said, adding that

a barge with a crane attached was due

to arrive on Monday. “Realistically it

could take several days.

We are intending to start

tomorrow. If we get a method that

works efficiently it may be by early

next week we will have made a real

dent.”

‘ETHICAL AND HUMANE’

Euthanising those animals too

exhausted to swim to safety was

another daunting but necessary task,

experts said. “For large whales, very

sadly, it could take weeks for them

to die, and they get blistered in the

sun, so you would be thinking about

an ethical and humane thing to do,”

Mike Double, a zoologist that leads

the Australian Marine Mammal

Centre, said.

While larger whales can require

a lethal dose of potassium chloride

to the heart or explosives, smaller

whales like the long-finned pilots

are usually shot with a firearm. More

whales were likely to be euthanised

on Friday, Deka said. The effort has

taken a physical and emotional toll

on rescuers, and a fresh crew was due

to arrive in the next day, Deka said,

adding that counselling was being

made available to those involved.

“The emotional toll can be

significant,” the department’s wildlife

biologist Kris Carlyon said. “Most

crew are really focused on just getting

the job done, so it might be a little

bit later that they start to really think

about it, and it starts to sink in.”

More than 60 government

scientists and volunteers had dashed

to the remote location, braving

freezing cold waters in an arduous

refloating process. As many as four or

five people per whale were needed to

attach slings to the animals and guide

them as they were pulled to deeper

water by boats. The stranding, the

biggest on record in modern Australia

and one of the largest in the world,

has drawn attention to a natural

phenomenon that remains largely a

mystery to scientists. — Reuters

Rescuers load a whale onto a trailer in Macquarie Harbour on Tasmania’s west coast on Thursday. — AFP

N Korean troops killed missing official, burned body: S KoreaSEOUL: North Korean troops shot

dead a South Korean fisheries official

who went missing earlier this week,

before dousing his body in oil and

setting it on fire in what was likely

an effort to prevent a coronavirus

outbreak, South Korea’s military said

on Thursday.

South Korea’s military said

evidence suggested the man was

attempting to defect to the North

when he was reported missing from

a fisheries boat on Monday about

10 km south of the Northern Limit

Line (NLL), a disputed demarcation

of military control that acts as the de

facto maritime boundary between

the two Koreas. Why the 47-year-old

official was shot was not known but

North Korean troops appear to have

been acting under anti-coronavirus

orders, South Korea’s military said.

The presidential Blue House’s

national security office said the killing

was a “crime against humanity”, and

called on North Korea to apologise

and put measures in place to prevent

a recurrence of similar incidents in the

future.

Citing intelligence sources, the

military said the unidentified man

appeared to have been questioned at

sea, north of the NLL and about 38 km

from where he went missing, before

he was executed on an “order from a

superior authority”.

Troops in gas masks then doused

the body in oil and set it on fire.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in

said the North’s shooting of a South

Korean civilian was “shocking” and

“unpardonable”, Yonhap news agency

said, citing a presidential Blue House

spokesman. Moon also ordered the

South Korean military to tighten their

alert to protect the lives of citizens.

The military said it sent a

message on Wednesday to the North

through the land border demanding

explanations, but has not received

any response yet. “Our military

strongly condemns such an atrocity,

and strongly demands North Korea

provide explanations and punish

those who are responsible,” General

Ahn Young-ho, who is in charge of

operations at the Joint Chiefs of Staff,

told a briefing.

CORONAVIRUS FEARS

The US military commander in

South Korea said this month that

North Korean troops had been given

“shoot-to-kill orders” to prevent the

coronavirus entering the country.

Such strict enforcement of those

orders may be an attempt to prevent

an outbreak from disrupting a major

military parade expected to be held

on October 10 when the country

commemorates the founding of the

ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, said

Chad O’Carroll, CEO of Korea Risk

Group, which monitors North Korea.

“In many ways, this parade is a huge

potential viral risk,” he said in a post

on Twitter.

And it seems paranoia about

that risk is at play (with) shoot-to-

kill rules.” In July, a man who had

defected to South Korea three years

ago triggered a coronavirus scare

when he crossed back over the heavily

monitored border into North Korea,

which says it has had no cases of the

disease.

His arrival prompted North

Korean officials to lock down a border

city and quarantine thousands of

people over fears he may have had the

coronavirus, though the World Health

Organization later said his test results

were inconclusive. Last week, South

Korean police arrested a defector who

they said had tried to return to North

Korea by breaking into a military

training site in South Korea’s border

town of Cheorwon. — Reuters

The Mugunghwa 10 fisheries patrol vessel (C) is seen at sea off the western border island of Yeonpyeong on Thursday after a fisheries official disappeared from the patrol vessel near the island. — AFP

Indonesia sees another daily record virus casesJAKARTA: Indonesia reported on Thursday its

biggest daily rise of coronavirus cases for a second

consecutive day as new clusters appeared, though

epidemiologists said its low testing rates could be

masking far greater infection numbers.

Indonesia has for months been battling its first

wave of infections and has struggled to stem a rise in

transmission, with 262,022 confirmed cases in total

and a death toll of 10,105 that is Asia’s second highest

after India.

The peak comes after Indonesia reported several

days of over 4,000 new cases, with Thursday’s 4,634

the highest so far. The capital Jakarta is seeing

infections rise sharply, and its governor on Thursday

extended restrictions until October 11 to try to take

pressure off of hospitals.

Epidemiologists say the steady rise in infections is

a combination of new clusters emerging and a testing

rate that remains among the world’s lowest, making

it difficult to see a clearer picture of the contagion.

Wiku Adisasmito, spokesman for Indonesia’s

COVID-19 task force, said the public was not taking

the virus seriously enough and gathering too often

in crowds.

“Over time, we’ve seen that the people have

lowered their guards... it’s almost like they don’t have

empathy even when they see every day so many new

victims,” he told reporters. Indonesia’s testing should

be higher, Wiki added, citing a need for more testing

personnel and social stigma preventing people from

seeking tests.

Task force epidemiologist Dewi Nur Aisyah on

Wednesday said some of the most prominent clusters

were found in health centres, families and offices.

Recent epidemic models by international research

groups indicate Indonesia’s daily infection numbers

could be far higher than those detected, with

Imperial College London putting it at 40,000 a day

and the Seattle-based Institute for Health Metrics

and Evaluation pointing to 60,000 daily cases.

Wiku did not immediately respond to Reuters

request for comment on those models. — Reuters

A woman takes her dog for a walk along a street in Jakarta on Thursday. — AFP

The unidentified man appeared to have been

questioned at sea, before he was executed

on an ‘order from a superior authority’

SOUTH KOREA’S MILITARY

OMANDAILYOBSERVERF R I D A Y l S E P T E M B E R 2 5 l 2 0 2 0 5

world

Two cops shot amid Louisville protests

LOUISVILLE: Two police officers

were shot and wounded late on

Wednesday in Louisville, Kentucky,

during protests of a grand jury ruling

decried by civil rights activists as

a miscarriage of justice in the fatal

police shooting of Breonna Taylor in

March.

The grand jury decided that none

of the three white officers involved

in the deadly police raid on Taylor’s

apartment would be charged for

causing her death, though one

officer was indicted on charges of

endangering her neighbours. The

indictment came more than six

months after Taylor, 26, a Black

emergency medical technician and

aspiring nurse, was killed in front of

her armed boyfriend after the three

officers forced their way into her

home with a search warrant in a drug

trafficking investigation.

Her death became a symbol, and

her image a familiar sight, during

months of daily protests against racial

injustice and police brutality in cities

across the United States. Last month

media mogul Oprah Winfrey featured

Taylor on the cover of her magazine

calling for prosecution of the officers

involved in her slaying.

Following the grand jury

announcement, protesters

immediately took to the streets of

Kentucky’s largest city and marched

for hours chanting, “No lives matter

until Black lives matter,” amid

sporadic clashes with police in riot

gear.

The demonstrations remained

mostly peaceful until several

gunshots rang out as heavily armed

police closed in on a throng of

protesters at nightfall, ordering the

crowd to disperse about a half hour

before a 9 pm curfew was due to go

into effect. A Reuters journalist on the

scene heard gunfire erupt from the

crowd moments after police had fired

chemical irritants and “flash-bang”

rounds.

Two officers were shot and

wounded, interim Louisville

Metropolitan Police chief Robert

Schroeder told reporters. One suspect

was arrested, and the two wounded

officers were in stable condition — one

undergoing surgery — with non-life-

threatening injuries, Schroeder said.

He gave no further details. Earlier

in the day about a dozen people

were arrested in a skirmish between

hundreds of demonstrators and a

group of law enforcement officers

in the Highlands neighbourhood

just outside downtown Louisville.

Some windows of nearby businesses

were also broken. The crowds largely

dissipated after Wednesday night’s

shooting.

Police said at least 46 arrests were

made in all. Sympathy protests of

varying sizes also were held in several

other cities on Wednesday, including

New York, Washington, Atlanta and

Chicago.

‘GUT-WRENCHING’ CASE

In announcing the grand jury’s

conclusions, Kentucky Attorney

General Daniel Cameron said the

panel had declined to bring any

charges whatsoever against two of the

three white policemen who fired into

Taylor’s apartment on March 13.

The two officers, Sergeant

Jonathan Mattingly and Detective

Myles Cosgrove, were found to have

been justified under Kentucky law in

returning fire after Taylor’s boyfriend,

Kenneth Walker, shot at them,

wounding Mattingly in the thigh,

Cameron said.

Walker has contended he believed

intruders were breaking into Taylor’s

home and that the couple did not

hear police announce their arrival,

contrary to the account of the officers

and a neighbour. The third officer,

former Detective Brett Hankison, was

indicted on three counts of wanton

endangerment in the first degree, an

offense that ranks at the lowest level of

felony crimes in Kentucky and carries

a prison sentence of up to five years.

Cameron said those three counts

stem from the fact that some of the

rounds Hankison fired — 10 in all —

travelled through Taylor’s apartment

into an adjacent unit where a man, a

pregnant woman and a child were at

home. Cameron, however, said there

was “no conclusive” evidence that any

of Hankison’s bullets struck Taylor.

Six bullets struck Taylor, he said, and

ballistics investigators found only one

shot, fired by Cosgrove, was fatal,

Cameron said. — Reuters

Protesters march against police brutality in Los Angeles, on Wednesday, following a decision on the Breonna Taylor case in Louisville, Kentucky. — AFP

As COVID surges in Europe, officials warn of ‘twindemic’

LONDON: A surge in COVID-19

cases in Europe risks becoming a

deadly double epidemic of flu and

coronavirus infections, EU health

officials warned on Thursday as

they urged Europeans and their

governments not to let their guard

down.

“It is abundantly clear that this

crisis is not behind us. We are

at a decisive moment,” the EU’s

commissioner for health, Stella

Kyriakides, told a media briefing.

With winter approaching in the

region, she warned of the risk of

a potentially lethal “twindemic of

COVID-19 and the flu” and urged

governments to encourage people to

get seasonal flu vaccines and adhere

to social distancing measures to

reduce transmission of the novel

coronavirus.

“This might be our last chance

to prevent a repeat of last spring,”

Kyriakides said. Adults at high risk from

flu are also most at risk from COVID-19.

Research by scientists at Public Health

England (PHE) released this week

suggested the risk of death more than

doubled for people who tested positive

for both flu and COVID-19, compared

to those with COVID-19 alone.

Seasonal flu viruses cause between

4 and 50 million infections each

year across the European region —

depending on whether the region

experiences a severe or relatively

mild flu season — and an estimated

15,000 to 70,000 Europeans die each

year of causes linked to flu.

Kyriakides and Andrea Ammon,

director of the European Centre for

Disease Prevention and Control,

which monitors disease across the

European region, said there had been

a worrying increase in COVID-19

cases since August, with some

countries already seeing higher case

numbers than during the March

peak. — Reuters

A near-deserted tourist boat travels past the Lndn Eye in central London on Thursday, during the COVID-19 pandemic. — AFP

EU migrant plan suffers blow as eastern Europe says noBRUSSELS: A group of eastern

European countries on Thursday

rejected the EU’s new plan for

handling migrants because it was

not tough enough, dealing a blow

to efforts to solve one of Europe’s

thorniest problems.

The leaders of Hungary, Poland and

the Czech Republic — who all have a

tough anti-immigration stance — held

talks with top EU officials as the bloc

tries to reform asylum rules five years

after the continent was engulfed by a

migrant crisis.

The European Commission, the

bloc’s executive, published new plans

on Wednesday for tougher border

controls and streamlined procedures

for expelling rejected asylum-seekers.

But Hungarian Prime Minister

Viktor Orban said the measures did

not go far enough, insisting refugees

must be screened in camps outside

Europe.

“There is no breakthrough — there

are many changes but that is not yet a

breakthrough,” Orban told reporters

after talks in Brussels with his Czech

and Polish counterparts and European

Commission President Ursula von der

Leyen.

Together with Slovakia, the three

countries make up the Visegrad

Group, which has vehemently resisted

previous EU efforts to distribute

refugees using a mandatory quota

system.

“Breakthrough would mean

outside hotspots, so nobody can

step on the ground of the European

Union without having permission to

do,” Orban said, referring to the idea

of screening centres located outside

Europe. Orban said the “tone of the

proposal” was more to his liking, but

said “the basic approach is unchanged”.

“They would like to manage

migration and not to stop the

migrants,” he said.

“The Hungarian position is: ‘Stop

the migrants’. That’s two different

things.”

The EU plan to reform the so-called

Dublin regulation on asylum-seekers

— which von der Leyen herself admits

has failed — was launched two weeks

after fire destroyed an overcrowded

migrant camp on the Greek island of

Lesbos, thrusting the issue back into

the spotlight.

Under the plan, EU countries that

do not want to take in more migrants

could instead take charge of sending

those whose asylum requests are

rejected back to their homelands.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej

Babis dismissed the idea of countries

unwilling to house migrants ensuring

their repatriation as “fundamental

nonsense”.

“At first sight it seems the European

Commission still hasn’t understood

that to stop illegal migration we have

to stop illegal migrants when they

arrive on European soil,” Babis said.

His Polish counterpart Mateusz

Morawiecki said the Visegrad group

would stick by its demands for “the

most rigorous and effective border

control policies”. — AFP

A group of more than 80 migrants from Asia and Africa besiege the gates of camp “Usivak”, near Sarajevo, on Wednesday. — AFP

Sir Harold Evans, a British-American editor whose 70-year career as a hard-driving

generation, died on Wednesday at the age of 92.

according to his wife Tina Brown. A former editor of Britain’s Sunday Times and,

and advocated for clean air

thalidomide children who had

million crowns this year, daily

in today’s money according

while he was recovering from a

denied any involvement in the incident and said it has yet to see

— Agencies

ief

TRAILBLAZING JOURNALIST HAROLD EVANS DEAD

NOBEL WINNERS TO GET $110,000 MORE

NAVALNY’S BANK ACCOUNTSFROZEN

NEW YORK

STOCKHOLM

MOSCOW

The grand jury decided that none of

the three white officers involved in the deadly police raid on Taylor’s apartment would be charged for causing

her death

Oman Daily ObserverAnalysisFriday, September 25, 2020

Website: omanobserver.om EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Abdullah bin Salim al Shueili e-mail: editor@omanobserver.om

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this page are solely those of the authors and do not reflect the opinion of the Observer.

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6

Nuts to politics:

ex-air steward

eyes to lead

S Korea partyKANG JIN-KYU

Former South Korean air steward Park Chang-

jin never imagined a bag of macadamia nuts

would lead him to a career in politics.

Park — now seeking the chair of South

Korea’s third-largest party — was on the

receiving end of what became known as the “nut

rage” incident six years ago, when he was made

to apologise by a South Korean airline heiress.

The episode made headlines worldwide and

turned him into a symbol of workplace abuse in

a hierarchical society.

In December 2014, a Korean Air flight

from New York to Seoul had a particularly

demanding passenger in first class: Cho Hyun-

ah, the daughter of the chairman of the South

Korean conglomerate that controls the flag-

carrier, and a senior airline executive herself.

When a stewardess presented her with a bag

of pre-departure nuts, Cho flew into a rage,

screaming they should have been served on a

plate.

“A flight attendant came to me... looking

half-dead, telling

me Cho had gone

mad with her over

the nuts,” said

Park, who was

then the cabin

crew chief.

Cho ordered

them both to

kneel in apology

and berated them.

“I implored

her to calm

down,” Park said.

“But I could feel

my dignity as a

human was falling

apart... It was

the longest five

minutes of my

life.” Cho pushed

him away and

demanded he left

the plane, then

ordered the taxiing aircraft back to the gate —

actions that later saw her convicted of violating

aviation safety laws.

“Walking back into the terminal felt like

walking into my coffin,” said Park.

The encounter with Cho, he said, had given

him “a new perspective on society and the true

nature of human beings”.

“I realised that without a change in politics

and laws, the status quo would never change.”

After the incident Park — who at 49 retains the

clean-cut looks and polite manner of his former

role — was demoted to the same rank he held

when he first joined the company.

A court later ordered Cho and the airline

to pay him 100 million won ($90,000) in

compensation, and he left the firm in January to

go into politics full-time.

He is now seeking the chair of the left-wing

Justice party in a vote to be announced this

weekend.

‘TOP-DOWN MANAGEMENT’

South Korea is dominated by a few sprawling

conglomerates known as “chaebol”, whose

founding families often retain only small

ownership stakes but maintain control through

complex webs of cross-shareholdings, with

family members rapidly promoted up the

hierarchy.

Workplace bullying is more common at

firms managed by the controlling family rather

than unrelated professionals, according to

Chung Sun-sup, head of corporate analysis firm

chaebul.com. — AFP

The encounter with Cho had

given me a new perspective on

society and the true nature of human beings. I realised

that without a change in politics

and laws, the status quo would never

changePARK CHANG-JIN,

Aspiring politician

THE PANDEMIC

HAS TURNED

WHAT WERE ONCE

MINOR HURDLES,

SUCH AS WIT-

NESS SIGNATURE

REQUIREMENTS,

INTO POTENTIALLY

MAJOR OBSTACLES,

WHILE EXACER-

BATING EXISTING

CONCERNS

JOSEPH AX

The November 3 contest between

President Donald Trump and Demo-

cratic challenger Joe Biden has gener-

ated an unprecedented wave of elec-

tion-related litigation, as both sides

seek to shape the rules governing how

votes are tallied in key states.

With 40 days left, the court clash-

es have spread to every competitive

state amid the coronavirus pandem-

ic, which has fuelled pitched battles

over seemingly mundane issues such

as witness signatures, US mail post-

marks and the use of drop boxes for

ballots.

Trump’s unfounded attacks on vot-

ing by mail and delivery delays amid

cost-cutting measures at the US Post-

al Service have only intensified the

urgency of the litigation.

An analysis of state and federal

court records found more than 200

election-related cases pending as of

Tuesday. Overall, at least 250 election

lawsuits spurred by the coronavirus

have been filed, according to Justin

Levitt, a Loyola Law School professor

who has been tracking the litigation.

The pandemic has turned what

were once minor hurdles, such as

witness signature requirements, into

potentially major obstacles, while ex-

acerbating existing concerns.

“In the past, long lines would be

disenfranchising or deterring, but

in this case they can be deadly,” said

Myrna Perez, who directs the vot-

ing rights and elections programme

at New York University’s Brennan

Center for Justice. Democrats gener-

ally have sought to ease restrictions

on mail ballots, which are surging as

voters want to avoid the risk of visit-

Coronavirus fuels historic legal battle over voting as US election looms

US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

TRUE NATURE

ing in-person polling sites.

“The Biden campaign has assem-

bled the biggest voter protection

programme in history to ensure our

election runs smoothly and to com-

bat any attempt by Donald Trump to

interfere in the democratic process,”

Mike Gwin, a Biden spokesman, said.

Republicans say they are trying to

prevent illegal voting, although ex-

perts say voter fraud is exceedingly

rare.

“Democrats are working to shred

election integrity measures one state

at a time, and there’s no question

they’ll continue their shenanigans

from now to November and beyond,”

said Matthew Morgan, general coun-

sel for the Trump campaign.

A flurry of court decisions this

month have delivered several Demo-

cratic wins, although many remain

subject to appeal. In the key states

of Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wiscon-

sin and North Carolina, officials will

count ballots that arrive after Novem-

ber 3, as long as they were sent by

Election Day.

Several pending cases, including in

competitive Texas, Pennsylvania and

Michigan, could have a major impact

on those states’ elections. — Reuters

Workers install one of 123 Vote by Mail Drop Boxes outside a public library in Los Angeles, California. — Reuters

Distribution of experienced cadre for the benefit of development

After the Royal Decrees

were issued to merge

and restructure

certain government

organisations and

ministries, all its employees were

absorbed in these entities according

to their expertise and specialisations.

This was to make these entities more

productive and fruitful for the national

economy. The idea was to make them

more beneficial for attracting more

investments in commerce, industry,

oil, minerals, tourism, economic and

agriculture sectors. It is necessary that

whatever has been left by these merged

entities are distributed rationally.

Those organisations which are helpful

in the diversification of sources of

income should be taken into account

for an increase in their capacities and

capabilities in line with economic

planning. A re-look at the postings of

the trained cadre is not a bad idea.

There is no doubt that redistribution

of cadre following mergers would prove

good for the government. It is proper

investment in human capital in a better

way. It will add value for the country and

its people in near future. Posting right

cadre in right positions will help expedite

development and investment services in

economic sectors. This is how the efforts

made by these cadres will prove more

beneficial for achieving the set goals.

This is what the country was waiting for

to speed up the movement of economic

development.

In view of the needs of the investment

and management of economic activities

in a better way, there is a dire need of

strengthening these organisations and

entities. It should be given priority

if we are serious in attracting more

investments and expanding the services

to meet the requirements of modern

days.

If we put these cadres just to run

routine work and not in value-added

products and services, the entire effort

will prove futile.

Just increasing the size and volume

of these organisations without making

them active and effective will not bring

desired results.

This is a crucial part of the entire

process which needs to be taken into

account. Therefore, it is important

to assess what every employee is

offering and serving and what is their

productivity level compared to the cost

of their hiring. These entities should not

become charity organisations working

for these employees without any benefits.

It is not necessary that employees

of these merged entities remain in the

same positions if they have sufficient

manpower to meet the requirements.

They should utilise modern means and

technologies not just to save time and

efforts, but also to reduce the number

of employees and redistribute them in

the places where they will prove more

productive.

We are confident that the

organisations in the country will take all

these aspects into account and focus on

what we are aspired to do in future in a

more effective and beneficial manner.

Qualitative transformation is necessary

in investment sectors by focusing on

optimum utilisation of human capital.

This scientific approach will help in

achieving economic development which

we all are looking forward. This is the

spirit of the Supreme leadership which

we should follow.

POSTING RIGHT

CADRE IN RIGHT

POSITIONS WILL

HELP EXPEDITE

DEVELOPMENT

AND INVEST-

MENT SERVICES

IN ECONOMIC

SECTORS

Ali Al Mataniali.matani2@gmail.com

FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 25, 2020 | SAFAR 7, 1442

BUSINESS REPORTERMUSCAT, SEPT 24

The Sultanate’s authorities have

made it mandatory for visitors to

have health insurance coverage

for coronavirus treatment when

commercial flights resume with

effect from October 1, 2020.

The announcement was made

during the weekly press conference

on Thursday hosted by the Supreme

Committee tasked with managing the

country’s response to the COVID-19

pandemic. A travel guide issued

later in the day by the Civil Aviation

Authority (CAA) of the Sultanate

reaffirmed this requirement.

“All visitors are required to have

health insurance that covers the

costs of treatment with COVID-19

for a period of one month,” the

Authority stated in its ‘Coronavirus

Travel Guide’.

It also noted that Omani citizens

travelling overseas are also required

to have valid health insurance that

includes COVID-19 coverage.

Significantly, a number of local

insurance firms have already begun

offering health insurance coverage

specifically tailored for COVID-19

testing and treatment. Travel

agencies have also tied up with

insurers to offer airfare packages

bundled with travel and COVID-19

health coverage.

PCR test, which is a mouth and

nose swab which tests for the active

virus, is also mandatory for arriving

passengers. The cost of each test will

be RO 25, according to the Authority.

Aircraft crew, and children from the

age of 15 years and less are exempted

from the PCR test.

The ‘Coronavirus Travel

Guide’ also prescribes a number

of safeguards and guidelines for

inbound and outbound travellers

covering not only their behaviour

and movement within airports in the

Sultanate, but also how they conduct

themselves within the airport.

Arriving travellers, for example,

are to fill in and sign a health

declaration form to confirm that

they do not have COVID-19 and

its symptoms. Further, to avoid

crowding at security checkpoint

as well as within the aircraft, cabin

baggage is limited to one item per

passenger, plus an additional bag for

duty-free goods.

In other guidelines set out by

the Authority, all passengers shall

have their temperature measured

upon entering the terminal building.

Access will be granted if their

temperature is below 38 Centigrade.

“Social distancing shall be

practised by all passengers at all

times, and they shall adhere to

the regulations and instructions,

and ground labels that are used

to maintain order at the airport.

Whenever possible, it is highly

recommended to pay electronically

and use self-service counters at the

airport.”

COVID-19 insurance coverage must for visitors from Oct 1

business editor@omanobserver.om www.omanobserver.omfollow us @oman_biz

BERLIN/PARIS: Business morale

in Germany and France improved

for the fifth month in a row in

September, boosting hopes that the

euro zone’s two biggest economies

had enjoyed a solid recovery from

the coronavirus shock suffered in

the first half of the year.

The surveys, published on

Thursday by Germany’s Ifo institute

and France’s statistics office,

suggested that both countries are

set for strong growth in the third

quarter, though the outlook is

clouded by rising infections and

new restrictions to contain the

spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ifo institute said its business

climate index rose to 93.4 from a

downwardly revised 92.5 in August.

That was the highest reading since

February, when the index stood

at 95.9. “The German economy is

stabilising despite rising infection

numbers,” Ifo President Clemens

Fuest said.

The German economy

contracted by 9.7 per cent in the

second quarter as household

spending, company investments

and trade collapsed at the height

of the pandemic. The government

has since March unleashed an array

of rescue and stimulus measures,

financed with record new

borrowing, to cushion the impact.

In a sign that Berlin’s response

to the crisis seems to be paying off,

business morale in manufacturing

improved considerably on upbeat

export expectations, the survey

showed. In the service sector,

however, sentiment fell for the first

time in five months as morale in

tourism and hospitality deteriorated

due to rising infections.

For the third quarter, Ifo now

expects the German economy to

grow by 6.6 per cent on the quarter

and then growth to slow to 2.8

per cent in the fourth quarter, Ifo

economist Klaus Wohlrabe said.

The survey shows that the easy part

of the recovery is over. Infections

are on the rise in many countries

that are important trading partners

for German manufacturers, KfW

chief economist Fritzi Koehler-

Geib said.

In France, the business

confidence index rose to 92 from

August’s 90, reaching its highest

level since February, before France

went into a two-month lockdown

to contain the outbreak, plunging

the economy deep into recession.

The index for the industrial

sector improved particularly

sharply, jumping to 96 from 92,

exceeding the average expectations

in a Reuters poll for a reading of 95.

The index for the bigger services

sector rose to 95 from 93.

The improvement comes even

though the French government

has had no choice but to increase

restrictions on gatherings in the

face of a surge in new COVID-19

cases to record levels. The data

also contrasted with surveys from

IHS Markit, which showed that

private sector activity in Germany

and France slowed in September

on weaker-than-expected services

activity. — Reuters

Business morale brightens in Germany and FranceThe German economy

contracted by 9.7 per cent in the second quarter as

household spending, company investments and

trade collapsed at the height of the pandemic

MUSCAT STOCK

MARKET

CRUDE OIL PRICE

3,627.00Oman Crude $ 41.19Brent Crude $ 41.79Light Crude $ 39.95

ISTANBUL: Turkey’s central bank raised its benchmark interest rate by 2 percentage points to 10.25 per cent on Thursday to bolster the lira, which has depreciated to record lows.

The currency has declined by more than 20 per cent this year, and this week alone hit all-time lows of more than 7.6 against the dollar and 9 against the euro.

The lira was rallying after the announcement by the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee, which has kept the rate at 8.25 per cent at its last three consecutive meetings. The bank announced that it was raising the one-week repo rate from 8.25 per cent to 10.25 per cent.

It said that “inflation followed a higher-than-envisaged path,” adding that “tightening steps taken since August should be reinforced in order to contain inflation expectations and risks to the inflation outlook.” The move was unexpected as the bank is under political pressure -most notably from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — not to hike interest rates.

Erdogan favours rate cuts as opposed to market pressure for a hike that would curb inflation. His unorthodox view that lower interest rates mean lower inflation is the opposite of conventional economic theory.

“The rates decision is huge — just wonder if they had to go to presidential palace to get sign off,” said Timothy Ash, strategist at BlueBay Asset Management in London. The bank’s move “helps restore some of their battered credibility,” Ash tweeted.

“I wonder if the risks from US elections and a Biden win, plus the situation in the Eastern Med weighed on their decision.” — dpa

Turkey hikes interest rate to 10.25 per cent in surprise move

LONDON: The European Union on Thursday

presented plans to expand and bolster its capital

market to help reboot companies hit by the

coronavirus and reduce the bloc’s reliance on

the City of London after Brexit.

Companies need to refund themselves as

they emerge from recession caused by pandemic

lockdowns, with Brussels wanting them to use

stock and bond markets and reduce reliance on

bank loans. The plans would help give the EU

market “strategic autonomy” when Britain exits

the bloc’s single market on December 31, the

EU launch documents said.

Digital finance forms a core plank of the

bloc’s third batch of measures in five years to

create a Capital markets Union (CMU) by

including what EU officials describe as the

world’s most comprehensive set of rules for

cryptoassets.

“The strength of our economic recovery will

depend crucially on how well our capital markets

function and whether people and businesses

can access the investment opportunities and

market financing they need,” the EU’s financial

services chief Valdis Dombrovskis said in a

statement.

European Commission officials say top

political support will be needed to push through

the reforms after patchy success with previous

attempts at building the CMU.

“There is a lack of vision for CMU on where

we want to get to in 10 years’ time, and on how

to consolidate the hopelessly fragmented and

expensive investment funds market,” said Karel

Lannoo, chief executive of Brussels think-tank

CEPS. Pablo Portugal, managing director for

advocacy at banking and markets industry

body AFME said it was time that policymakers

delivered on CMU.

The collapse of German payments

company Wirecard has raised questions about

supervision. The CMU plans stop short of

calling for a single markets supervisor, but

stresses the need for more convergence. “It is

an essential condition for a well-functioning

CMU.

This will be particularly relevant in a post-

Brexit world with multiple financial centres

across the EU,” it said. The plans include the

first set of rules specifically for supervising

providers of cloud computer based services

as banks outsource more and more critical

information technology. — Reuters

Brexit and coronavirus spur EU to deepen capital market

View on the Container Terminal Tollerort of Hamburg Hafen und Logistik AG Ports in Hamburg, Germany. — dpa

A money changer counts US dollar and Turkish lira bills, at a currency exchange office in central Istanbul. — Reuters

European Union flags flutter outside the European Commission headquarters at the European Council headquarters, in Brussels, in this file photo.— Reuters

KEY SAFEGUARDS: Outbound citizens required to have suitable health coverage too

OMANDAILYOBSERVER8business

F R I D A Y l S E P T E M B E R 2 5 l 2 0 2 0

Businesses cheer, unions fear contentious Indian labour reformsNEW DELHI: Business groups on

Thursday welcomed contentious

and long-delayed labour reforms

passed by India’s parliament this

week, aimed at making hiring and

firing workers easier and imposing

restrictions on trade unions.

The reforms to India’s decades-

old labour laws are a key part of

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s

moves to liberalise conditions for

investment. But they have met with

resistance from trade unions that

plan to join a nationwide agitation

on Friday against these and several

other bills passed by the government.

Three key bills on labour

reform were approved by India’s

upper house of parliament late on

Wednesday, and will become law

after receiving presidential approval.

They were approved by the decision-

making lower house on Tuesday.

“This change is welcome and

bound to create more attraction for

foreign investments in small-scale

sectors,” said KE Raghunathan,

convener of Consortium of Indian

Associations, an umbrella group

representing small businesses.

“At the same time, workers

might fear losing their rights in

certain cases, and the onus is on

the employers to make sure this

feeling is eliminated.” Under the

Industrial Relations Code, one

of the three new laws, companies

employing up to 300 workers will

not require government permission

to lay off workers or close plants —

an increase from the previous cap

of 100 and a major demand from

industry over the years.

The code also puts restrictions

on the recognition of trade unions

— making it mandatory for them

to represent at least 10 per cent of

workers in a given sector — and

prohibit them from striking without

prior notice and during conciliation

proceedings. businessman Vinod

Kumar, who employs just over 100

people at his factory making parts

for India’s Tata Motors in the north

Indian city of Lucknow, said the code

will help him to expand operations.

“This will give us some power and

rein in the labour unions, who have

now a habit of blackmailing us in the

name of increasing remuneration,”

he said.

Rick Rossow, a senior adviser at

the Washington-based Center for

Strategic and International Studies,

who specialises in US-India business

ties, said the reforms were likely to

prove attractive to overseas investors.

“Foreign companies have

long listed India’s stifling labour

regulations as a key deterrent to

making larger investments,” he said.

The northern state of Rajasthan,

that introduced similar laws for

companies with fewer than 300

workers in 2014, has seen an increase

in the average number of employees,

he added. Indian state governments

are allowed to pass their own labour

laws, but the new codes issued by the

federal government will over-ride

these.

Six states have this year already

relaxed labour laws, including

raising caps on work hours, in what

they say is an attempt to kick-start

their economies badly damaged by

the novel coronavirus pandemic, to

the concern of groups including the

United Nations’ labour wing.

Amarjeet Kaur, general secretary

of the All India Trade Union

Congress, one of the biggest trade

unions in the country, said the new

codes will make it would be almost

impossible for workers at small

industrial units to form a trade

union.

“Workers will be at the mercy

of their employers who could fire

them for any flimsy reason,” she said.

AITUC, along with at least 10 major

trade unions, will launch nation-

wide protests against the labour

code, and will join farmers on Friday

to protest against the government,

she added. — Reuters

Workers walk in front of the construction site of a commercial complex on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, in this file photo. — Reuters

LONDON: British finance minister

Rishi Sunak announced a new jobs

support scheme on Thursday that

would help firms employ people on

shorter hours, but warned he could

not save every business or job.

“The government will directly

support the wages of people in

work, giving businesses who face

depressed demand the option of

keeping employees in a job on

shorter hours, rather than making

them redundant,” Sunak told

parliament.

“It will support viable jobs to

make sure that employees must

work at least a third of their normal

hours and be paid for that work

as normal by their employer,” he

added. “The government, together

with employers, will then increase

those people’s wages, covering two-

thirds of the pay they have lost by

reducing their working hours.”

Britain’s existing furlough

scheme, the Coronavirus Job

Retention Scheme, which supported

around 9 million jobs at its peak in

May, is due to stop at the end of next

month. It is expected to cost around

50 billion pounds ($64 billion).

Around 5 million jobs were still

supported by the programme at the

end of July, according to tax data,

and earlier on Thursday Britain’s

statistics agency estimated that

one in eight workers were being

helped by the programme in early

September.

The CJRS paid employers 80 per

cent of the salaries of furloughed

workers, up to 2,500 pounds a

month. — Reuters

Britain’s Sunak announces new job support scheme

BANGKOK: Thailand’s central bank

left its key interest rate unchanged at

a record low and upgraded its GDP

outlook slightly as Southeast Asia’s

second-largest economy showed

some signs of recovery from the

coronavirus jolt.

The bank said private

consumption and investment were

likely to improve, but it expected a

record contraction in gross domestic

product this year, with the economy

taking at least two years to return

to pre-pandemic levels as the key

tourism industry reels from a ban on

foreign visitors.

The Bank of Thailand’s monetary

policy committee voted unanimously

to keep the one-day repurchase rate

steady at an all-time low of 0.50 per

cent for a third straight meeting, as

was widely expected.

“The committee viewed that the

extra accommodative monetary

policy since the beginning of the year

as well as fiscal, financial, and credit

measures additionally announced,

helped alleviate adverse impacts

and would support the economic

recovery after the pandemic

subsided,” it said in a statement.

Phacharaphot Nuntramas, an

economist with Krung Thai Bank

who predicts a contraction of 8.8 per

cent this year, said, “It’s a surprise

that their outlook was better this

year. We don’t know what signs the

BOT saw.”

While the bank raised its 2020

GDP forecast, it still expects the

economy to shrink by a record

7.8 per cent in 2020 versus a

previous forecast for an 8.1 per cent

contraction. — Reuters

Thailand avoids further stimulus, upgrades 2020 GDP forecast

WASHINGTON: As businesses shuttered and

millions hit the unemployment line last spring,

the most dour predictions saw the United States

heading for another Great Depression of spiralling

collapse and years of massive joblessness.

The worst has been avoided.

But new academic research and commentary

this week from Federal Reserve officials suggest

the path of the US recovery remains much in

doubt, and the programmes approved last spring

to buffer the economy from the pandemic may

still be in for their stiffest test.

Cash that households socked away over the

summer from rich unemployment benefits will

begin to run dry; small business loans appear

to have limited bankruptcies and closures so far

but were not designed for the long haul; Federal

Reserve programmes that helped unlock a

massive round of private corporate financing may

have left companies with difficult-to-service debt

if business does not fully rebound.

“Given the magnitude of the economic

downturn triggered by the pandemic, we still

face the possibility of a coming wave of credit

downgrades and defaults,” authors including

Jeremy Stein, a Harvard University professor

and former Fed Governor, warned in a paper

being presented on Thursday at the Brookings

Institution, one of several which spelled out

the risks facing the US economy in the coming

months.

After its emergency credit programmes allowed

companies to sell a record $1.7 trillion in corporate

bonds to private investors through August, the

Fed may have to rescue those markets if the bonds

start to go bad, or risk the sort of financial crisis

that has so far been avoided, the authors wrote.

The problems may not spool out all at once. But

heading toward winter, when epidemiologists fear

the spread of the virus will accelerate, renewed

health fears may curb spending, make businesses

less likely to hire and invest, and even prompt new

restrictions — a phase the UK is entering, and

which other European nations may face as case

counts rise. Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren

said the steps taken so far “would have been fine

if the pandemic lasted three months, but the

pandemic isn’t lasting three months.”

“My baseline is that the pandemic gets worse

this fall and winter,” he said on Wednesday.

“Some parts of the country will do a lockdown

or people will choose to do so...Either way it is

going to result in a decrease in economic activity,”

he added. — Reuters

A roller coaster six months leaves US economic recovery uncertain

A closed barber shop is shown in Encinitas, California. — Reuters

New baht banknotes are

unveiled during a news conference

at Bank of Thailand

headquarters in Bangkok, in this

file photo. — Reuters

MELBOURNE: Oil futures fell on Thursday on concerns the economic recovery in the United States, the world’s biggest oil consumer, is slowing as the coronavirus outbreak lingers and a resurgence in European cases led to new travel restrictions there.

Those fears prompted a rally in the dollar as investors turned to safer assets, adding pressure to oil prices. A stronger dollar makes oil, priced in US dollars, less attractive to global buyers.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 36 cents, or 0.9 per cent, to $39.57 a barrel at 02:17 GMT, while Brent crude futures fell 28 cents, or 0.7 per cent, to $41.49 a barrel.

Both benchmarks climbed slightly on Wednesday after government data showed US crude and fuel stockpiles dropped last week. Gasoline inventories fell more than expected, sliding by 4 million barrels, and distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and jet fuel, posted a surprise drawdown of 3.4 million barrels.

Still, fuel demand in the US remains subdued as the coronavirus pandemic limits travel. The four-week average of gasoline demand was 8.5 million barrels per day (bpd) last week, the government data showed, down 9 per cent from a year earlier.

Prices turned down after data showed US business activity slowed in September, US Federal Reserve officials flagged concerns about a stalling recovery, and Britain and Germany imposed restrictions to stem new coronavirus infections — all factors affecting the fuel demand outlook.

“As those demand concerns and comments from the Fed filtered through, prices fell,” said Commonwealth Bank commodities analyst Vivek Dhar.

On the supply side, the market remains wary of a resumption of exports from Libya, although it is unclear how quickly it can ramp up volumes. — Reuters

Oil falls on fuel demand growth concerns

This change is welcome and bound to create more attraction for

foreign investments in small-scale sectors

KE RAGHUNATHANConvener of Consortium

of Indian Associations

Rishi Sunak arrives at Downing Street in London, Britain. — Reuters

A placard reading "Diesel sold out" is seen at a gas station in Porto, Portugal. — Reuters

OMANDAILYOBSERVERF R I D A Y l S E P T E M B E R 2 5 l 2 0 2 0 9

sport

Relaxed Halep heads into French Open as clear favouritePARIS: Former champion Simona

Halep arrives at the rescheduled

French Open as the player to beat in

a women’s draw missing title holder

Ashleigh Barty and recent US Open

winner Naomi Osaka, two of the

world’s top three.

Serena Williams can never be

discounted as she launches another

bid for a record-equalling 24th Grand

Slam singles crown, but Roland Garros

is the American’s least successful

major despite her wins in 2002, 2013

and 2015.

Garbine Muguruza, who defeated

Williams in the 2016 final, is another

contender while fellow former world

number one Victoria Azarenka is

hoping to take the momentum from

her run to the US Open final into the

clay swing.

Last year’s runner-up Marketa

Vondrousova will again target a deep

run in Paris having rediscovered some

form at last week’s Italian Open, where

she made the semifinals before losing

to compatriot Karolina Pliskova.

The fourth-ranked Czech retired

from the final with a thigh injury

after dropping the first set to Halep,

who extended her winning run to

14 matches after capturing a second

consecutive title coming out of

lockdown. Pliskova, the second seed

in Paris, said Halep was undoubtedly

the favourite for a tournament pushed

back from its traditional spring slot for

the first time in its history due to the

coronavirus. “I think she’s going to be

the (top) favourite from the women’s

tournament, because I think also the

way she played, she played already

(won) Prague on clay. She won this

tournament.

“So I feel like she’s confident. For

sure she’s going to be dangerous.

“I know the weather is not looking

that great in Paris, so I think the

conditions just to like play aggressive

game against her is going to be quite

tough.”

SEVERAL TOP 10 PLAYERS

RETURN

Halep, who also won in Dubai

before the five-month tour suspension,

spent the break working hard on

her fitness, but said the global health

crisis had given her a fresh outlook on

tennis.

“I’m more mature, I think. The

pandemic got me in a place that I

really dreamed to be,” she told WTA

Insider. “I am more relaxed because I

could see that the most difficult things

are in life in general, not in sport.”

No woman has successfully

defended the French Open title since

Justine Henin won three times in a

row between 2005 and 2007, a trend

set to continue with Barty pulling out

over the coronavirus fears that also

prompted her to skip the US Open.

A sore hamstring has sidelined

three-time Grand Slam champion

Osaka, while Bianca Andreescu, the

2019 US Open winner, will miss the

tournament as well. The Canadian

hasn’t played since hurting her knee

last October at the WTA Finals.

Despite the notable absentees, the

field here is stronger than the US Open

where six of the world’s top 10 players

skipped the event, with the return of

Halep, Elina Svitolina, Kiki Bertens

and Belinda Bencic.

“As I said always, many girls from

the top 10, top 15 have a chance to win

a Grand Slam,” said Halep.

“Roland Garros is very open,

because it’s clay court but it’s a little bit

faster, so also the big hitters can win it

easy.”

The Romanian holds a 20-2 record

this season and is unbeaten since

January — her only losses came to

Aryna Sabalenka in Adelaide and

Muguruza in the Australian Open

semifinals. But she added: “I cannot

think about winning the title in Roland

Garros, because the tournament didn’t

start yet. But I will give my best. I will

dream for it, for sure.”

As for Williams, who turns 39

on Saturday, she has not added to

her Grand Slam haul since winning

the 2017 Australian Open while

pregnant.

The window of opportunity

is closing for her to finally match

Margaret Court’s total, with an

unmistakeable sense of an opportunity

gone begging after her semifinal exit at

Flushing Meadows.

Williams withdrew from last week’s

Rome event with an Achilles strain,

meaning she will arrive in the French

capital without having played on clay

this year. — AFP

Romania’s Simona Halep as she celebrates winning the final with the trophy after Czech Republic’s Karolina Pliskova retired from the match after sustaining an injury. — Reuters

D J O K O V I C out to make amends in Paris for US Open fiasco

BELGRADE: If recent form is

anything to go by, world number one

Novak Djokovic is perfectly poised

to launch a challenge for his second

French Open title and an 18th major

honour after one of the lowest ebbs of

his trophy-laden career.

Djokovic was disqualified from

the US Open earlier this month after

hitting a line judge in the neck with

a petulant swipe of the ball but he

bounced back in style by winning his

fifth Italian Open title on Monday.

The Serb’s 7-5 6-3 defeat of

Argentine Diego Schwartzman brought

him a record 36th ATP Masters crown,

helping put behind an acrimonious

exit at Flushing Meadows during a

fourth-round clash with Spaniard

Pablo Carrenno Busta. Djokovic, who

stretched his hot streak to 31 wins in

2020, acknowledged the success in

Rome had helped him overcome the

disappointment of being defaulted in

New York in an incident that put him in

the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

“I did experience mentally some

ups and downs in the first four-five

days after that happened,” he said.

“Obviously having a tournament a

week after helped a lot because I really

wanted to get on the court and get

whatever trace of that out of the way.

“It was a great week, a very

challenging week,” Djokovic said after

grinding down Schwartzman at the

Foro Italico, having fought back from

dropping the opening three games in

front of a smattering of fans.

“I found my best tennis when

I needed it most. Now we turn to

Paris and I couldn’t ask for a better

tournament here in Rome.” There is

little doubt that Djokovic will face a

strong challenge at the French Open

from the tournament’s record 12-times

winner Rafael Nadal and Austrian

Dominic Thiem, who won his maiden

grand slam title in New York.

Nadal was stunned by Schwartman

in the Italian Open quarterfinals but

Djokovic stressed the Spaniard was

still the obvious favourite to triumph

in Paris, adding that he’d have to raise

his game in order to be a contender.

“He’s the player who has the highest

chance of being in the final... if it’s

Roland Garros it’s Rafa you bet on,”

said Djokovic.

“I don’t think I played my best

tennis (in Rome) to be honest, I don’t

want to sound arrogant here. I am very

satisfied and pleased to win a title. I

know I still have a couple of gears.

“Hopefully I’ll be able to raise that

level for the French Open because

that’s going to be necessary if I want

to go deep in the tournament.” In

addition to the Italian Open, Djokovic

also won the Australian Open, the

Dubai Championship and the Western

& Southern Open this season, having

also lifted the inaugural ATP Cup

with Serbia. He will now need to hit

top gear at Roland Garros if he is to

erase the US Open debacle, where he

was the hot favourite after Nadal had

pulled out due to COVID-19 concerns

while Roger Federer is out for the

season after knee surgery. — Reuters Serbia’s Novak Djokovic celebrates winning the final against Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman. — Reuters

OMANDAILYOBSERVERF R I D A Y l S E P T E M B E R 2 5 l 2 0 2 010

sport

The Football Association

has warned new coronavirus

restrictions will have a “huge”

impact on the game, with clubs

facing the bleak prospect of six

more months in empty stadiums.

A plan to bring fans back into

English sports venues on a socially

distanced basis from October 1

has been scrapped because of fears

over rising infection numbers.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson

said the measures announced on

Tuesday could stay in place for six

months. It is a devastating blow to

sporting organisations, many of

whom rely heavily on match-day

revenue for survival, and there

have been calls from governing

bodies for emergency funding.

— AFP

LONDON

FA warns of ‘huge’ impact of virus restrictions

Barcelona striker Luis Suarez

thanked the club’s fans during a

tearful goodbye on Thursday before

signing for Atletico Madrid. The

Uruguayan forward, 33, completed a

move to Atletico late on Wednesday,

but spoke to reporters in an

emotional farewell news conference.

“Thank you to the fans for all their

love, which I appreciate and will

never forget, and many thanks to the

staff too,” said Suarez. — dpa

Eddie Byrom’s unbeaten half-

century led Somerset’s response

after a strong start from Essex on

a rain-affected opening day of the

Bob Willis Trophy final at Lord’s.

Somerset reached 119 for four

as just 44 overs were possible at the

home of cricket due to rain.

Byrom’s 51 not out prevented an

outright collapse from the Taunton

side, but reigning county champions

Essex made some handy inroads in

between the showers.

— AFP

BARCELONA LONDON

Suarez departs Barca with tearful farewell Somerset respond to early Essex blitz

S H O R T T A K E S

Former Australia batsman Dean Jones dies aged 59MUMBAI: Former Australia batsman

Dean Jones died of a cardiac arrest on

Thursday, Indian broadcaster Star

India reported.

He was 59. Jones, regarded as one

of the finest batsmen of his generation,

was part of Australia’s World Cup-

winning team in 1987.

He played 52 Tests and 164 one-

day internationals in an international

career that spanned 10 years from

1984 to 1994.

Jones is best remembered for his

performance in the tied Test against

India in Chennai in 1986, when he

battled extreme heat and physical

exhaustion to notch a memorable

double century.

He ended his career with 3,631 runs

in Tests at an average of 46.55 with 11

hundreds and 14 half-centuries, and

over 6,000 runs in ODIs with seven

centuries and 46 fifties.

Jones was in Mumbai as part of

Star India’s commentary panel for

the Indian Premier League. “It is

with great sadness that we share the

news of the passing away of Mr Dean

Mervyn Jones AM. He died of a

sudden cardiac arrest,” Star India said.

“We express our deep condolences

to his family and stand ready to

support them in this difficult time. We

are in touch with the Australian High

Commission to make the necessary

arrangements.”

Former Indian leg-spinner Anil

Kumble paid tribute to Jones on

Twitter.

“Shocking news. This year gets

even worse. Was joking with Deano

last week about carrying a red book

with me to the match. Terrible ... My

heartfelt condolences to the family,”

Kumble said.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)

said they were devastated by the news

of Jones’ death. “On behalf of Pakistan

cricket, the PCB offers its heartfelt

condolences to his family, friends and

the entire cricket community,” the

PCB tweeted.

Jones retired from all forms of

cricket in 1998, going on to work as

a coach and commentator. He was

inducted into the Australian Cricket

Hall of Fame in 2019.

— Reuters

Dean Jones. — AFP file photo

HERRO SCORES 37 AS HEAT HOLD OFF CELTICS

ORLANDO: Rising star Tyler Herro

scored a career high 37 points and

Jimmy Butler chipped in 24 as the

Miami Heat seized command of their

Eastern Conference final series with a

112-109 win on Wednesday.

The 20-year-old rookie Herro

made five of 10 threes as Miami took

a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series

in the NBA’s quarantine bubble in

Orlando, Florida.

“It is a good win for us. I feel good

we are up 3-1 but we still have a lot of

work to do,” Herro said. “We put a lot

of effort into preparing for game four

and we got it done.”

Herro’s point total is the second

most in a playoff game for a player

20 or younger, behind only Magic

Johnson who had 42.

The win moved them to within one

victory of an NBA finals berth which

they will try to secure in game five on

Friday.

“Not too many people get an

opportunity to make it this far in the

playoffs and be in a game like this, but

for him it’s another day in the office,”

said Butler of Herro. “He’s just going

to keep playing basketball the right

way.”

Goran Dragic had 22 points, and

Bam Adebayo added 20 points and 12

rebounds for Miami, who rebounded

from just their second loss of the

postseason in game three.

Jayson Tatum scored a team high 28

points, all coming in the second half,

and Jaylen Brown had 21 for Boston,

who were looking to win consecutive

playoff games for the first time since

the start of their second-round series

against the Toronto Raptors.

Kemba Walker scored 20, Gordon

Hayward 14 and Marcus Smart had 10

points and 11 assists.

The Celtics turned the ball over 19

times in the game.

“We’ve got to do a better job of

handling the ball and taking care of it,”

said coach Brad Stevens.

Miami went on a 10-4 run at the

end of the first half after Hayward hit a

pair of free throws to tie the score 40-

40 with 3:38 left in the second.

“Just trying to get a rhythm going

early,” said Herro. “Once you see a

couple shots go down, the rest of the

game is easier for you. Tonight was

definitely a good night.”

Herro nailed a three pointer with

just over four minutes left in the fourth

quarter to give Miami a 98-90 lead.

Brown made a three pointer and

Smart dropped in a layup to get the

Celtics within three, but Dragic and

Butler each made baskets to pad

Miami’s lead.

Dragic responded from beyond the

arc and Herro added a layup to put

Miami up by nine with 56 seconds left

in regulation.

Boston got within three again on a

Brown three-pointer with 16 seconds

to go, but free throws by Herro and

Butler sealed the victory. — AFP

Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro (right) passes the ball against Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) during the second half of game four of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2020 NBA Playoffs. — USA Today Sports

OMANDAILYOBSERVERF R I D A Y l S E P T E M B E R 2 5 l 2 0 2 0 11

sport

DORTMUND TO STOP PLAYERS FROM GERMANY DUTY BECKER PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO CHARGES BERLIN:

10. — AFP

LONDON:

— AFP

SHARMA HITS

80 AS MUMBAI

BREAK UAE JINX

IN IPL

THIEM HOPES FOR THIRD TIME LUCKY IN PARIS

PARIS: Next week’s French Open will

be like no other due to the COVID-19

pandemic but that could work in

Dominic Thiem’s favour, with the

newly-crowned US Open champion

hoping it will be third time lucky for

him in Paris.

After being beaten by Rafael

Nadal in the Roland Garros final in

2018 and 2019, and losing a thriller

to Novak Djokovic at the Australian

Open earlier this year, the Austrian

finally got his hands on a Grand Slam

title at Flushing Meadows last month.

While Thiem did not have to

face Nadal, Djokovic or Federer in

New York he proved well worthy of

becoming the first new name on a

men’s Grand Slam trophy in six years,

clawing his way back from two sets

down to beat big-serving German

Alexander Zverev.

Now back on the French clay, his

favourite surface, the 27-year-old says

the US Open win will only be good

for his game.

“I hope to carry this momentum

that I got with my win there and use it

in Paris,” Thiem said upon his return

to Austria.

“I hope and expect from me to be

better and more relaxed now. Even if

I did not want to say it to myself I had

been playing the last few Grand Slams

under a lot of pressure. But now this

is gone.”

If he is to win a second consecutive

Slam he will have to adapt quickly

to a very different French Open,

one which has been moved from its

traditional spring dates, will have

limited numbers of fans and where

players will again be in a ‘bubble’ to

minimise the risk of infection.

Most players have had limited

match practice on clay in a

fragmented season. Thiem has had

none having skipped last week’s

Italian Open, giving his biggest rivals

a slight advantage.

Spaniard Nadal won two matches

before losing in the quarterfinals in

Rome while Djokovic claimed the

fifth Italian Open title on Monday, for

a record 36th ATP Masters crown.

Thiem’s coach Nicolas Massu,

however, says his charge will not

be stressing out about his lack of

preparation on clay. Or anything else

for that matter.

The US Open win has made sure

of that. “I think this will help Dominic

to be more calm because everyone

talks a lot about the new generation,”

he added. “Now he is going to be

more calm playing in the next Grand

Slam.” — Reuters

I hope to carry this momentum that I got with my win there and use it in Paris. I hope and expect from me

to be better and more relaxed now

DOMINIC THIEMAustria

MUMBAI INDIANS: De Kock c N Naik b S Mavi ..................1R Sharma c P Cummins b S Mavi ..... 80S Yadav (run out) .............................. 47 S Tiwary c P Cummins b S Narine .... 21H Pandya (hit wicket) b Russell ........ 18 K Pollard (not out) ............................ 13K Pandya (not out) ..............................1 Extras: (LB-2, NB-1, W-11): ............ 14Total (For 5 wkts, 20 overs) 195Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-98, 3-147, 4-177, 5-180. Bowling: S Warrier 3-0-34-0, S Mavi 4-1-32-2, P Cummins 3-0-49-0, S Narine 4-0-22-1, A Russell 2-0-17-1, K Yadav 4-0-39-0.

KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERSS Gill c K Pollard b T Boult ...................7

S Narine c De Kock b Pattinson ...........9D Karthik lbw R Chahar .................... 30N Rana c H Pandya b K Pollard......... 24 E Morgan c De Kock b J Bumrah ...... 16A Russell b J Bumrah ....................... 11N Naik c H Pandya b T Boult ................1P Cummins c H Pandya b J Pattinson......................................................... 33 S Mavi st De Kock b R Chahar .............9 K Yadav (not out) .................................1 Extras: (LB-2, W-3) ............................5Total (For 9 wkts, 20 overs) .......... 146Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-25, 3-71, 4-77, 5-100, 6-101, 7-103, 8-141, 9-146. Bowling: T Boult 4-1-30-2, J Pattinson 4-0-25-2, J Bumrah 4-0-32-2, R Chahar 4-0-26-2, K Pollard 3-0-21-1, K Pandya 1-0-10-0.

SCOREBOARD

DUBAI: Skipper Rohit Sharma on Wednesday

struck a brisk 80 to help holders Mumbai Indians

win their first match in the United Arab Emirates

in seven attempts during two IPL editions.

Mumbai lost five matches in the 2014 season

— the first half of which was played in the UAE

due to elections in India — and went down in

the opener of the Twenty20 tournament this

season.

Sharma put on a key second-wicket stand of

90 with Suryakumar Yadav, who hit 47, to guide

Mumbai to 195 for five and a 49-run win over

Kolkata Knight Riders in Abu Dhabi.

“It was only two players (Sharma and Kieron

Pollard) from the 2014 squad (that are with

Mumbai this season),” Sharma, named man of

the match, said.

“It was all about how we executed our plans

today, we were in good positions and it was all

about being ruthless.”

Sharma hit sixes in his 54-ball knock to take

his sixes count to 200 in the IPL.

Mumbai bowlers including Trent Boult,

James Pattinson, Jasprit Bumrah and Rahul

Chahar took two wickets each to restrict Kolkata

to 146 for nine.

Meanwhile Kolkata’s Australian quick Pat

Cummins — the most expensive foreign player

for the 2020 season with a $2.17 million fee —

gave away 49 runs in his three overs.

But later Cummins, who played three one-

day matches in England ending September 16

before coming to the UAE, smashed 33 runs off

12 balls while coming in to bat at number seven.

“It is very unfair to judge him right now. He

is off quarantine,” KKR skipper Dinesh Karthik

told reporters.

“He is a world champion bowler. From

whatever I have heard and seen he is one of

the best going around in the world. I trust him

completely. I am sure he will come good.”

The 13th edition of the world’s richest T20

league is being held in the UAE behind closed

doors after being shifted out of India due to the

rising coronavirus cases. — AFP

FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 25, 2020 | SAFAR 7, 1442 AH

editor@omanobserver.om www.omanobserver.om

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NADAL’S PARISIAN PROCESSION THREATENED BY LONG LAY-OFF

MADRID: Rafael Nadal has the

perfect chance to equal Roger

Federer’s record 20 Grand Slam titles

at the French Open he has made his

own, but for once the conditions

are stacked against the King of

Clay heading into the rescheduled

tournament.

A record 12-time winner at

Roland Garros, Nadal usually lands

in Paris in May fresh from romping

through the claycourt season from

Monte Carlo to Rome, before

pummelling the pretenders to his

crown at Roland Garros.

Three of his French Open crowns

have been achieved without even

dropping a set. But this time he

heads for the French capital after

playing only three matches in the

last six months because of the

COVID-19 pandemic that prompted

his decision to sit out the US Open

over concerns about the virus.

He resumed with a couple of

wins against Dusan Lajovic and

Pablo Carreno Busta in the Italian

Open last week but the rustiness of

the long lay-off was evident during

his shock quarterfinal defeat to

Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman.

Nadal made 30 unforced

errors against Schwartzman and

surrendered his serve five times in

the straight sets defeat, explaining

the loss as due to a “completely

special and unpredictable year”.

For six-time Grand Slam

champion Boris Becker, Nadal’s

scant preparation could prove costly.

“Even a Rafael Nadal needs match

practice, and that’s missing this year,”

Becker said.

“He remains my number one

for the title, but I think the others’

chances are much better this year.

This year is different.”

While there are doubts about

Nadal’s form, his two closest

competitors Dominic Thiem and

Novak Djokovic will be better

prepared.

Federer is missing the tournament

due to recovering from knee surgery.

Thiem, beaten by Nadal in the last

two Roland Garros finals, will be

feeling confident after winning the

US Open to finally land a first career

Grand Slam, while world number

one Djokovic went on to beat

Schwartzman in the Italian Open

final.

Nadal has had the better off

Djokovic on clay in recent years but

he will have to cope with different

conditions this time due to a cooler

climate than the usual warmth and

the addition of night games.

“Definitely Diego showed that

Rafael is beatable on clay,” Djokovic

said after the Rome final.

“The conditions that they played

on, obviously heavy clay, not much

bounce, humid, night sessions, we

are going to have that as well in

Paris. I’m pretty sure that he does not

prefer that to a high bounce. I know

he likes the high bounce.

“He likes the hot and warm and

fast conditions, where he can use

his spin a lot. Let’s see. It’s going to

be interesting. Even though he’s the

favourite, I think there are players that

can win against him there.” — Reuters