‘solidarity and stability’...prosecutor, chancellor dr ahmed mohammed al hammadi. the new...

• Landmark summit ends on note of optimism

• Cable of gratitude is sent to King Salman

TDT | Manama

His Royal Highness Prince Sal-man bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, yesterday returned from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia after leading Bahrain’s delegation, on behalf of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, at the 41st Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit, held in Al Ula, Saudi Arabia.

Upon arrival, HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister was received by the Representative of His Majesty the King for Humanitarian Work and Youth Affairs, National Security Advisor and Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sport, HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Minister of the Royal Court, HE Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, the Minister of Inte-rior, General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, the Governor of the Southern Governorate, Shaikh Khalifa bin Ali Al Khalifa, and a number of senior officials.

HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Min-ister sent a cable of gratitude and appre-ciation to King Salman.

In the cable, HRH thanked King Salman for the warm and generous reception and hospitality during the summit, which reflects the depth of historic relations

between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Min-

ister expressed the Kingdom’s pride in receiving the presidency of the next session of the Supreme Council of the GCC, noting the continuation of realis-ing the aspirations of GCC citizens for a prosperous present and future.

He looked forward to the outcomes of the Al-Ula Summit, and its role in re-es-tablishing GCC cohesion, while prioritis-ing the security, stability and prosperity of GCC countries and their citizens.

In this regard, HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister highlighted the im-portance of strengthening GCC dialogue, a commitment to unity and a new phase in brotherly relations progressing the GCC journey.

The summit’s final communique and the Al-Ula declaration were then signed.

Their Highnesses, the leaders of the GCC countries’ delegations, were also in attendance at the summit, chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Moham-med bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of Saudi Arabia, on behalf of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdu-laziz Al Saud.

HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Min-ister expressed his sincere gratitude to the Saudi royal leadership and the government and its citizens for their customary warm and generous hospital-ity, which reflect the depth of relations.

HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Min-ister attended a lunch banquet, hosted by HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman in honour of the delegations attending the Summit.

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HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister expressed the Kingdom’s pride in receiving

the presidency of the next session of the Supreme Council of the GCC, noting the

continuation of realising the aspirations of GCC citizens for a prosperous present and

future.

Individuals vaccinated

Last update - 9:00 pm5 January 2021

KNOW WHAT

HM the King congratulates Saudi Monarch on 41st GCC Summit success

• Leading role in joint GCC action hailed

TDT | Manama

His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa sent a cable of congratulations to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Ab-dulaziz Al Saud on the suc-cess of the 41st Summit of the Supreme Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) held yesterday in the Al-Ula Governorate.

HM the King lauded the tre-mendous efforts exerted by

Saudi Arabia, led by King Sal-man and Crown Prince, Depu-ty Premier and Defence Min-ister, HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saudi, to prepare well for the Summit through harnessing

all potentials and removing all obstacles, which contributed to its success.

HM King Hamad expressed appreciation and pride in the leading role played by the Sau-di King and Crown Prince to develop joint GCC action and enhance cooperation and co-ordination among GCC states in order to meet the aspirations of brotherly GCC peoples for more unity, cooperation and complementarity.

HM the King wished the Sau-di Monarch abundant health and happiness, and the broth-erly Saudi people further pro-gress and prosperity, under his leadership.

HM the King

‘Solidarity and stability’HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister calls for GCC unity to confront challenges facing the region

HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister upon his arrival

HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister signs the summit’s final communique and the Al-Ula declaration

Saudi Arabia and allies restore full diplomatic relations with QatarAl Ula, Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have restored full diplomatic re-lations with Qatar, the King-dom’s foreign minister said yesterday, marking the end of a three-year dispute.

“What happened today is... the turning of the page on all points of difference and a full return of diplo-matic relations,” Prince Faisal bin Farhan told a press conference at the conclusion of a landmark regional summit in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi state media said that Crown Prince Moham-med bin Salman met sep-arately with Qatar’s ruler Shaikh Tamim bin Ham-ad Al Thani, after the pair publicly embraced at the airport.

720 laptops distributed to needy UoB students

• Grant is within “Feena Khair” Campaign launched by Shaikh Nasser

• Eligible students must register on the following link: http://tiny.cc/dhx5tz

TDT | Manama

A total of 720 laptops have been distributed so far to needy students at the Univer-sity of Bahrain (UoB) as part of the national campaign “Feena Khair”.

Student Affairs Dean Dr Fati-ma Mohammad Al Maliki said that the university will distrib-ute a total of 2,500 computers to its students, according to the criteria set by a committee from the deanship.

She called on students who meet the eligibility criteria to register by filling in the form

on the following link: http://tiny.cc/dhx5tz

Dr Al Maliki pointed out that the Students’ Affairs Deanship has completed the distribution of the sixth batch of laptops granted within the “Feena Khair” Campaign, launched by His Majesty the King’s Rep-resentative for Humanitarian Work and Youth Affairs, Na-tional Security Advisor and the Royal Humanitarian Founda-tion (RHF)’s Board of Trustees Chairman, Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

A total of 2,500 laptops will be distributed to UoB’s eligible students to ensure the continu-ity of the academic year 2020-2021 in which remote studying has been approved.

She extended sincere thanks to Shaikh Nasser for his kind humanitarian initiative, which adds to the series of similar initiatives that benefited UoB students over the past years, noting that the “Feena Khair” Campaign reflects the extent of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa’s interest in

Bahraini students, and constant care for low-income segments.

She added that the out-standing success of the “Fee-na Khair” Campaign reflects the royal confidence in Shaikh Nasser and the RHF, as well as the solidarity spirit embraced and adopted by the citizens and residents.

The beneficiaries expressed delight at the initiative which has helped them continue stud-ying online without any obsta-cles, praising the efforts of the RHF to meet their needs.

They also expressed thanks to the UoB for facilitating the registration and distribution of the laptops.

Attorney General Dr Ali bin Fadhel Al Buainin received in his office the new Assistant Prosecutors who were sworn in yesterday, in the presence of Senior Advocate General, Chancellor Wael Rashid Buallay, and Advocate General and Chief Prosecutor, Chancellor Dr Ahmed Mohammed Al Hammadi. The new Assistant Prosecutors were appointed per edict 41/2020 which was issued by the Attorney General who urged them to fully adhere to judicial customs and traditions and do their utmost to foster justice, wishing them every success.

02WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2021

2,500The total number

of laptops to be distributed to UoB’s

eligible students.

Test of skills for students using artificial intelligence• Registration on for Third Khalid bin Hamad Innovation in Artificial Intelligence Competition

TDT | Manama

Preparations are underway for the staging of the Third Khalid bin Hamad Innovation in Artificial Intelligence Com-petition.

The event tests the capabil-ities of the participants in ac-complishing innovative projects that use the cloud computing

services of Microsoft. Each team will compromise two to four participants.

The High Organising Com-

mittee of the event held a virtual meeting under the chairman-ship of Shaikh Ali bin Abdulrah-man Al Khalifa, Deputy Chief

Executive Officer of Resourc-es and Information Affairs at the Bahrain Polytechnic, to discuss the preparations for

holding the competition, in co-ordination with Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa’s Media Office.

It is part of the directives of Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, First Deputy Chair-man of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports and Bahrain Olympic Committee President.

The committee announced that the registration had already started yesterday and will run until February 5.

Secondary school and univer-sity students below the age of 25 years are eligible to participate and they can register on the fol-lowing link: https:\\hackfest.polytechnic.bh .

The High Organising Committee holds a virtual meeting

New Assistant Prosecutors sworn in

On road to recovery!Bahrain economy grows slightly in third quarter of last year under the shadow of pandemic and decline in global oil prices

• Finance Ministry publishes Q3 2020 Bahrain Economic Quarterly report

• Oil sector grows at 1.7% QoQ and non-oil sector GDP at 1.3%, both QoQ

• Hotels and restaurant fastest growing sector with real GDP growth of 71.1%

TDT | Manama

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Kingdom of Bahrain is on the road to achieving economic recovery and growth.

The resilience of the King-dom’s economy has been evi-dent after registering a modest real GDP growth of 1.4% Quarter on Quarter (QOQ), or 10.8% in nominal terms, during the third quarter of last year.

The recovery came after the contractions over the first half of the year as a result of the pandemic and the decline in global oil prices.

The Ministry of Finance and National Economy yesterday published the Q3 2020 Bahrain Economic Quarterly report for the Kingdom on the Ministry’s website (www.mofne.gov.bh).

The report reflects the state of the Kingdom’s economy and the performance of its econom-ic sectors and key economic indicators during the third quarter of 2020.

Bahrain’s real GDP growth on a quarterly basis comes as a result of the real growth in both the oil sector GDP, of 1.7%, and the non-oil sector GDP, of 1.3%, both QoQ.

Meanwhile, the Kingdom’s real GDP contracted in Q3 2020, by 6.9%, and 9.2% in nominal terms, compared to Q3 2019.

The leadership of His Majes-ty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khali-fa and the direction of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, which saw the announcement of an unprecedented package of policy measures, with a value to date exceeding BD4.5 billion,

and the gradual reopening of business activity have led the way for the growth in a number of non-oil sectors.

The hotels and restaurant sector was the fastest growing sector with real GDP growth of 71.1% QoQ supported by the in-crease in the number of visitors through King Fahd Causeway and through the Bahrain In-ternational Airport of 42.9%, and 147.3%, QoQ ,respectively, as well as the increase in the average hotel occupancy rate at 4-and 5-star hotels which increased by 53.8% QoQ.

This was followed by the transport and communications

sector which grew at 22.4%, the manufacturing sector at 4.2%, supported by the QoQ increase of Bapco’s refinery production by 11.8%, and the financial cor-porations sector at 3.0%.

The oil sector growth was driven by increase in the overall production in both the Bahrain and Abu Saafa fields by 0.3% QoQ as well as the increase in the production of natural gas by 7.4% also QoQ.

Major infrastructure projects continued to see progress over Q3 2020, as the value of the funded projects under the GCC Development Fund increasing during Q3 2020 by $0.2 billion, following the awarding of sev-eral contracts for the provision of electricity and water services and housing units in Madinat Salman.

Moreover, the construction on Bapco’s oil refinery expan-sion project, the biggest in the Kingdom’s history, reached 60% completion and is on track for completion by the third quarter of 2022.

The report highlights the Kingdom of Bahrain’s latest achievements in several inter-national rankings.

The Kingdom ranked second among the Arab countries in the Human Capital Index 2020 is-sued by the World Bank Group.

KNOW WHAT

The report reflects the state of the Kingdom’s

economy and the performance of its

economic sectors and key economic indica-tors during the third

quarter of 2020.

UoB students benefit from the campaign

Hotline number set up for elderly patients’ visitorsTDT | Manama

The Ministry of Health has set the guideline for citi-zens wishing to visit patients who are receiving treatment at the Elderly Care Hospi-tal in Muharraq. A hotline 32220336 was set up to allow visitors to get updates on pa-tients.

The medical team at the hospital said that it is part of the precautionary measures taken in the Kingdom of Bah-rain to curtail the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) and ensure the safety of all elder-ly patients, visitors and staff.


Clear evidence of virus ‘mutations’Lecture stresses importance of genetic factors of coronavirus 2 and genetic makeup of infected individual

TDT | Manama

Genetic changes were the topic of a lecture by Dr Mohammed Dahmani Fathallah, a professor of genet-ics, molecular biology and bio-technology at the Arabian Gulf University’s College of Graduate Studies.

The lecture focused on mu-tations that occur in the Coro-navirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which generate new strains that must be carefully studied to examine the extent of its impact on the spread of infection and the speed of spread of the COVID-19 disease in the community.

Dr Fathallah said that the number of changes that have occurred in the DNA sequence of Coronavirus 2 since its spread at the beginning of this year to this day has exceeded 10,000.

This is clear evidence that this virus is subject to genetic chang-es, contrary to what is known about viruses with DNA of the RNA type.

Dr Fathallah also pointed out the importance of the genetic structure of the genetic receptor of the virus, the ACE2 receptor, found on the surface of human cells, especially in lung cells in-fected with COVID-19 disease.

This receptor has a large number of genotypes at a rate of about 200 patterns and this count can reach over a thousand, precisely to 1,700 in China, he

added.Dr Fathallah presented the

results of the study that he con-ducted with a team of young researchers in the Department of Life Sciences at AGU, which was published last November in a global platform specialised in publishing research related to the COVID-19 virus.

He said that the important results of this study confirmed that the ability of the virus to penetrate into human cells is connected to the virus’ attach-ment via the (S) molecule that the virus uses as a key to over-whelm cells with the ACE2 re-ceptor (the lock).

This activity also determines the genetic mutations carried by the virus, as well as the genotype of the ACE2 receptor, i.e., the genetic makeup of the infected person.

The study found that there are more than 350 genetic mutations introduced in the coronavirus since its spread at the beginning of this year, and these mutations have contributed to reducing its severity by 80%.

However, he explained that these mutations are the equiv-alent of 350 different keys to receptors located on the surface of body cells, which are like the locks that the virus must open in order for it to enter the cell and infect it.

Dr Fathallah said that these receptors (locks) have 230 mul-

tiple types that are genetically determined for every person, so that the efficacy of infection is linked at the same time to the type of mutation that the virus carries and the genotype of the receptors (locks) in each person.

This represents a scientific explanation of the discrepancy between individuals and coun-tries in the number and severity of clinical injuries, according to the study.

Based on this unique infor-mation, Dr Fathallah stressed the critical importance of continuous follow-up studies of the virus transmitted be-tween people at every point of infection.

This is done to limit it, to iden-tify the genetic mutations that occur on the virus, as well as to diagnose the genetic makeup

that is most present in the pop-ulation of the country.

This allows the study of the relationship between the genetic makeup and the type or patterns of the rampant virus.

Based on these scientific data, it is possible to make periodic adjustments in the preventive measures put in place by the competent authorities in a man-ner appropriate to the epidemi-ological situation.

Dr Fathallah presented the results of a study, which he had done with the same team at AGU and Dr Abdel Halim Deifalla, on six strains of Coronavirus 2 that were isolated in the labora-tories of the Bahraini Ministry of Health and put them in the GISAID data bank.

He highlighted that the study that was carried out using bi-ological computing sciences, which showed that these strains could not have a negative impact on the epidemiological situation

in Bahrain. This was confirmed by the available data on the in-fection rate, which today is t very scant in Bahrain.

Dr Fathallah concluded by saying that his work is ongoing and that he has formed an inte-grated research team to develop

and study the interaction of the immune system with infections caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

This is an important step to-wards scientific follow-up stud-ies of the vaccine and to antici-pate any possible development of the pandemic, he said.

Participants listening intently

Dr Fathallah speaks at the lecture

The number of changes that have occurred in the DNA sequence of Coro-navirus 2 since its spread at the begin-ning of this year to this day has exceed-

ed 10,000. This is clear evidence that this virus is subject to genetic changes, contrary to what is known about virus-

es with DNA of the RNA type.

KNOW WHAT

Expatriate workers held for fishing law violation Expatriate workers on-board four fishing boats were arrested for violating Ministerial Resolution No. 201 which limits the number of foreign workers on-board ships to only two for boats and six for al-Boanish. This was announced by Maritime Control Department of the Agency for Agriculture and Marine Resources which calls on all owners of fishing licenses to abide by the provisions of Decree 20 of 2002 regarding the regulation on fishing and the decisions related to it in order to preserve the marine wealth of the Kingdom of Bahrain.

The Civil Defense, in cooperation with security and concerned authorities, took the necessary precautionary measures to control a leak in the fuel station tanks in Jableh Habashi area on Al-Badi Street yesterday. The station was immediately closed and secured as a precaution to ensure public safety, and work is underway to find out the cause of the leak.

Fuel station tanks closed and secured following leak

Full precautionary measures compliance call for everyone

• Recklessness may put health of community at risk

TDT | Manama

Ministry of Health Public Health Assistant Undersecretary Dr Mariam Al Hajri, has urged all citi-zens and foreign residents to adhere to the guidelines and precautionary measures recommended by the Na-tional Medical Taskforce for Com-bating the Coronavirus.

Dr Al Hajri, also a member of the taskforce, emphasised that it is not possible to succeed in confronting the pandemic in light of any laxity

or recklessness that may put the health of the community at risk.

She called on everyone to remain vigilant and cautious in order to maintain the continuous success of the national efforts being exerted to limit the spread of the virus.

Dr Al Hajri noted that the king-dom has provided a pioneering model for an effective response to the pandemic on carefully studied and accurate bases, earning it wide international praise.

She urged to limit the size of gatherings at home and at outdoor spaces, avoid contacts, always wear face masks when outside the home and adhere to all preventive and precautionary measures, as non-compliance poses a threat to everyone’s health.

Café shut down, owner finedTDT | Manama

A café was shut down and ordered to pay BD2,000 and its owner fined BD1,000 for failing to adhere to the COVID-19 precautionary meas-ures.

The head of the prosecution for

ministries and public entities said that the café did not keep the re-quired distance between the tables and exceeded the 50% seating lim-itation.

Inspectors reported the violations, and the case was referred to the court, the prosecution said.

Students’ career and life skills upgraded

UoB helps them meet challenges in education and enhance future job opportunities

• International conference recommends the refinement of technical and professional skills

• English Language Center holds a series of training workshops through visual platforms

• Primary goal is to prepare them for the labour market and achieve educational interests

TDT | Manama

The English Language Center at the Universi-ty of Bahrain has started upgrading the career and life skills of its students, in response to one of the outcomes of the third international conference it held last November.

The conference, where ex-perts in higher education par-ticipated, recommended the re-finement of students’ technical and professional skills in order to enable them to adapt to the changes in the means of edu-cation and ensure their future career success.

The director of the English Language Center at the Univer-sity, Dr Ghada Ahmed Jassem, said: “The curtain has recently come down on the effective-ness of the job and life skills programme that the English Language Center has set up in cooperation with Shabaka Pro-ductions.

“One of the axes of the uni-versity’s strategy of develop-ment and modernisation is to support the students’ skills and abilities in a creative and effec-tive manner in order to meet all challenges in the field of education and enhance future job opportunities for Bahrain’s 2030 vision.”

The center, in cooperation

with the Shabaka Productions company, held a series of train-ing workshops within an inte-grated pilot programme for stu-dents through visual platforms.

The primary goal of the work-shops is to develop students’ job skills, prepare them for the la-bour market, as well as enhance self-confidence and motivation to achieve educational inter-ests, and enable them to build a strong base that helps them engage on the job market.

T h e p ro g ra m m e, s p o n -sored by University of Bah-rain president Prof Dr Riyad Yusuf Hamzah, enrolled 212 pre-school students who were able to complete 1,379 training courses, which equates to 5456 training hours.

The programme ran from 14 to 27 December 2020.

The CEO of Shabaka Pro-ductions expressed his hap-piness for the participation of the students, which exceeded all expectations, stressing that the company is keen to extend bridges of cooperation with the university, and to support to students by all available means.

The students received cer-tificates of completion of the programme from the compa-ny, and the English Language Center will issue the certificates through BlockChain.

Dr Ghada Jassim announced the names of the first three students who will have the op-portunity to obtain practical training with Shabaka Company this month.

She pointed out that 32 par-ticipants will be given an op-portunity to participate in the YouTube Masters event, where students will be able to apply the technical and profession-al skills acquired through the programme to contribute to or-ganising the event in July and August this year.

The programme focuses on several skills, such as critical analysis, creativity, self-man-agement, ability to solve prob-lems, leadership skills, pro-gramming skills, and emotional intelligence.

Dr Jassim pointed out that the focus on these skills came after a comprehensive and exhaus-tive study of the recent World

Economic Forum report, whose main recommendations were the necessity of joining efforts of higher education institutions and labour market institutions to give priority to these skills that would enable students to obtain the necessary skills to enter the market smoothly.


The programme focuses on several skills, such as

critical analysis, creativity, self-management, ability to solve problems, leadership skills, programming skills,

and emotional intelligence.

The programme enrolled 212 pre-school students who were able to complete 1,379

training courses, which equates to 5,456 training

hours.

KNOW WHAT

5,456

The University of Bahrain’s English Language Center

One of the axes of the university’s strategy of development and modernisation is to support the students’ skills and abilities in a creative

and effective manner in order to meet all challenges in the field of education and enhance

future job opportunities for Bahrain’s 2030 vision

DR GHADA AHMED JASSEM, ENGLISH LANGUAGE CENTER AT THE UNIVERSITY DIRECTOR

US magazine highlights Bahrain’s effective response to pandemic

TDT | Manama

The Kingdom of Bahrain’s effective management of the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis has caught the atten-tion and won the admiration of some of the most prestig-ious media institutions in the world, most recently the pres-tigious American magazine Foreign Policy.

The new issue of the mag-azine narrates how countries are facing the pandemic with special mention of Bahrain’s positive response to the still growing problem.

It highlights the Kingdom’s life moving at a normal pace amid the pandemic and how health authorities are imple-menting preventive and pre-cautionary measures such as wearing of face masks, social distancing, among others to contain the spread of the virus.

On June 11, 2020, Bayan School of Bahrain organised a ceremony for the graduation of a new batch of its students in the arena of the Bahrain In-ternational Circuit (BIC), in

the presence of parents and guests in their cars to witness the graduation of 26 students while following strictly the precautionary and preventive measures.

The magazine carries an el-oquent picture that expresses the students’ joy at their grad-uation ceremony in the pres-ence of parents in their cars.

It reflects the vitality of Bah-rain, at a time when growing infection rates are becoming a daily problem for most coun-tries around the world. And in many countries, they had no choice but to cancel grad-uation ceremonies due to the outbreak of the virus.

The ceremony has received wide adulation in foreign me-dia as it highlights Bahrain’s ability to face the health crisis with more creativity and in-novation.

The Foreign Policy mag-azine, founded in 1970, is producing journalistic con-tent concerned with current global affairs, as well as do-mestic and international politics.

A unique Bahrain graduation ceremony photo published by the magazine

National Guard Staff Director receives Peninsula Shield Forces Commander

National Guard Director of Staff Major General Shaikh Abdulaziz bin Saud Al Khalifa received Commander of the Joint Peninsula Shield Forces Major General Abdulaziz bin Ahmed Al Balawi. The meeting discussed a number of common interest issues for the National Guard and the Peninsula Shield Forces. The National Guard Staff Director praised the distinguished efforts made by the Peninsula Shield Forces and the cooperation level between the two sides.

Using technology to sustain learning

• Public school students participate in virtual educational trips to several monuments

TDT | Manama

Schools in the Kingdom of Bahrain continue their efforts in providing students with various services in the pandemic period.

However, this time it is through creative digital meth-ods, which confirm the extent of the Kingdom’s educational staff’s keenness to provide stu-dents with quality education.

In this context, the Depart-

ment of Social Subjects at Omar Bin Abdulaziz Primary School for Boys has organised virtual educational trips for students.

The aim of this activity was to enhance the students’ sense of citizenship and belonging, learn about Bahrain’s heritage and history, and develop writ-ing skills and digital empower-ment for students.

The students participated in interactive displays of a num-ber of sites and exhibitions prepared by the Bahrain Au-thority for Culture and Antiq-uities (BACA), such as the Her-itage Gallery and Bahrain Fort. They took part in recording information and impressions about the sites they visited, in an atmosphere of fun.

A student is exploring the wonders of digital learning

1,641China had a total 1,641

rural banks at the end of September, data from the CBIRC showed, covering

1,206 counties in 31 provinces.


Oil prices up $1 on OPEC output cut talks, Iran tension

Reuters | London

Oil prices rose by around $1 yesterday as tension sim-mered following Iran’s seizure of a South Korean vessel and as the OPEC+ group studied a possible production cut in February.

Brent crude futures for March rose 96 cents to $52.05 a barrel by 1206 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermedi-ate crude for February was at $48.53 a barrel, up 91 cents.

Both contracts fell more than 1 per cent on Monday after the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, known as OPEC+, failed to agree on changes to February’s oil output.

Saudi Arabia argued against pumping more because of new lockdowns that are likely to limit demand, while Russia led calls for higher production, citing recovering consump-tion.

An OPEC document dated Jan. 4, showed the group was studying a 500,000 barrel per day (bpd) cut for February, and other scenarios that in-clude stable production or an increase of 500,000 bpd.

“It is no secret that the bull-ish kick which crude markets have received through much of the last quarter (crude rose almost 30pc in Q4-2020) and again this morning is support-ed by a particularly hands-on approach from OPEC+ to tight-en crude markets and bring in-ventories lower through 2021,” JBC Energy said in a note.

OPEC+ is due to resume talks at 1430 GMT.

Tensions around OPEC mem-ber Iran’s seizure of a South Korean vessel continued, as Iran said the Asian country owed it $7 billion.

For a Factbox on the im-portance of Gulf waters on oil shipping click.

More bearishly, given the implications for fuel demand, England began a new lock-down on Monday as its coro-navirus cases surged.

“Near-term demand growth is stalling due to the resur-gence of COVID-19 across North America, Europe and the Middle East and is likely set for deeper declines over the next several months,” Fitch Solutions said, adding that Brent is expected to average $53 a barrel this year.

The OML 25 Shell flow station, which was shut down by protesters, is seen in Kula kingdom in Akuku Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria

Britain to set out next COVID-19 economic support in March Reuters | London

Britain will set out plans for the next package of COVID-19 economic support at the time of its March budget, finance minister Rishi Sunak said yesterday in re-sponse to suggestions businesses faced a

“cliff edge” when current measures ended.“I think the budget in early March is an

excellent opportunity to take stock of the range of support that we’ve put in place, and to

set out the next stage of our economic response to coronavirus at that particular time,” he told

reporters.

Chinese watchdog to encourage rural bank mergersReuters | Beijing

China’s top banking watchdog said yesterday it would en-courage founders of rural banks to boost capital, and would pro-mote mergers and acquisitions in the sector to cut financial risks.

China’s Banking and Insur-ance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) also said in an online notice it would encourage eli-gible investors, including local companies and non-bank finan-

cial institutions, to acquire and inject capital into rural banks.

“A small group of rural banks have become high-risk finan-cial institutions in recent years due to various factors, serious-ly affecting and limiting their sustainable development and financial service capabilities,” the CBIRC said.

To reduce financial risks in the sector, founders of rural banks are encouraged to increase cap-ital and stakes in those lenders, and dispose of non-performing

loans.For some high-risk rural

lenders, local regulators are al-lowed to explore the option of turning them into branches of state-owned banks or joint-stock banks operating in the region.

For institutions where a “res-cue would not be meaningful,” local CBIRC bureaus can urge founders to restructure, offer assistance to takeovers and even shut down the lender, the CBIRC said.

Surveillance cameras are seen outside the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) building in Beijing

Bitcoin likely to outshine GoldBitcoin emergence as ‘digital gold’ could lift price to $146,000, says JPM

• JPM strategists said the upside is conditional on the volatility of bitcoin

Reuters | London

Digital currency bitcoin has emerged as a rival to gold and could trade as high as $146,000 if it becomes established as a safe-haven as-set, investment bank JPMorgan (JPM) said yesterday.

Interest in the world’s biggest cryptocurrency has soared this year, with investors viewing bit-coin as a hedge against inflation and an alternative to the depre-ciating dollar. The rush led to bitcoin prices more than tripling in the past six months to a re-cord peak of $34,800 on Jan. 2.

“Bitcoin’s competition with gold has already started in our mind,” the Wall Street bank’s strategists said in a note, citing

recent $7 billion outflows from gold and more than $3 billion of inflows into the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.

That could mark a new dawn for the volatile digital currency after years as a play for specula-tors and retail punters.

“Considering how big the fi-nancial investment into gold is, a crowding out of gold as an

‘alternative’ currency implies big upside for bitcoin over the long term,” JPM said.

Bitcoin is likely to outshine gold as millennials become a more important component of the investment market over time and given their preference for “digital gold” over tradition-al bullion, JPM added.

With a market capitalisation

of $575 billion, the bitcoin price would need a nearly fivefold jump to $146,000 to match the value of private gold wealth held in gold bars, coins or ex-change-traded funds, the bank’s note added.

JPM strategists said the upside is conditional on the volatility of bitcoin converging with that of gold in the longer term.

Though JPM sees the possibility of “current

speculative mania” propelling bitcoin to

between $50,000 and $100,000, it warned that such levels would prove unsustainable until its

volatility levels out.

“We note that the spectacu-lar bitcoin rally of the past few weeks has moved bitcoin into more challenging territory, not only in terms of its positioning backdrop, but also in terms of its valuation,” the bank said.

A representation of virtual currency bitcoin is seen in this illustration

Amazon buys 11 aircraft to expand air cargo fleetReuters

Amazon.com Inc said yesterday it bought 11 Boeing 767-300 aircraft, as it looks to quicken delivery with an expanded fleet.

The aircraft, including seven from Delta Air Lines and four from WestJet Air-lines, will join Amazon’s air cargo network by 2022, the online retailer said in a statement.

Honda halts UK car output

Reuters | London

Japanese carmaker Hon-da said it was halting output at its British factory on Tuesday and Wednesday due to global supply delays.

Honda also suspended production for a few days in December as some major container ports, such as Fe-lixstowe, struggled to cope with disruption caused by COVID-19, pre-Brexit stock-piling and Christmas.

Apple names Lozano to board

Reuters

Apple Inc said yesterday that it had named Mon-ica Lozano, chief executive officer of College Futures Foundation, to its board.

Lozano also serves on the boards of Target Corp and Bank of America Corp.

IBM names new vice chairman

Reuters

International Business Machines yesterday ap-pointed former Goldman Sachs Group Inc president Gary Cohn as vice chair-man.

Japan’s state of emergency seen triggering first-quarter economic contractionReuters | Tokyo

Japan’s likely decision to de-clare a state of emergency in the Tokyo area will most probably trigger a contraction in January-March, analysts say, adding to the headache for policymakers struggling to cushion the blow to the econ-omy from the pandemic.

The world’s third-largest economy rebounded sharply in the third quarter last year from a record April-June slump caused by the pandem-ic, heightening expectations a moderate recovery.

But such hopes have been dashed by a resurgence in COVID-19 infections that have forced the government to con-sider imposing a state of emer-gency that could last about a month.

Media reported on Monday that preparations were being made for a state of emergen-cy that would take effect by Friday.

While the restrictions will be far less sweeping than those during last year’s nationwide state of emergency, analysts expect them to inflict severe damage on consumption.

Georgia votes in runoff electionsReuters | Atlanta

Control of the US Senate - and with it the ability to block or advance Dem-ocratic President-elect Joe Biden’s agenda - is on the line in a pair of runoff elec-tions in Georgia yesterday after a dizzying campaign that shattered spending and early turnout records.

Republican Senators Da-vid Perdue and Kelly Loef-fler are trying to hold off Democratic challengers Jon Ossoff, a documenta-ry filmmaker, and the Rev. Raphael Warnock, a pastor at a historic Black church in Atlanta, in a state Biden narrowly carried on Nov. 3.

The tumultuous contest’s final days have been domi-nated by President Donald Trump’s continued effort to subvert the election results. On Saturday, he pressured the state’s Republican sec-retary of state to reverse Biden’s victory, claiming massive fraud, contrary to evidence.

Illustrating the high stakes, both Trump and Bid-en campaigned in Georgia on Monday, Trump in the state’s northwest and Biden in Atlanta.

The president called the Nov. 3 election “rigged” and falsely claimed he won the state on Monday,

THE REAL TEST IS NOT WHETHER YOU AVOID THIS FAILURE, BECAUSE YOU WON’T. IT’S WHETHER YOU LET IT HARDEN OR SHAME YOU INTO INACTION, OR WHETHER YOU LEARN FROM IT; WHETHER YOU CHOOSE TO PERSEVEREBARACK OBAMA

QUOTE OF THE DAY

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2021

1649 1912 1941 1987TODAY IN

HISTORYThe English Rump Parlia-ment votes to put Charles I on trial for treason and other “high crimes”

Geophysicist and meteorologist Alfred Wegener pre-sents his controversial theory of continental drift in

a lecture at the Geological Association (Geologischen Vereinigung) at the Senckenberg-Museum, Frankfurt

US President Franklin Roosevelt makes his “Four Freedoms” speech (freedom of speech and worship; freedom from want and fear) during his US State of Union address

Astronomers at University of

California see 1st sight of birth of a galaxy

TOP

4TWEETS

04

03

01

Illegal immigration burdens our economy, hurts American work-ers, presents public safety risks, and enrich-es criminals. So we took unprecedented steps to strengthen our borders.

@SecPompeo

If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide call 1-800-273-8255 and press 1 if you’re a #Veteran or live chat @800273TALK. Re-member, it’s okay to say you are not okay.

@SecondLady

Trump’s threat against the Secretary of State of Georgia is outrageous. It is the most consequen-tial attack on American democracy in the history of our country.

@BernieSanders

I’m asking you to give everything you’ve got for one more day — be-cause that one day can change America.

@JoeBiden

Disclaimer: (Views expressed by columnists are personal and need not necessarily reflect our

editorial stances)

02

86,261,376

1,864,098

61,206,169

Deaths

Recovered:

New cases

New deaths +132,758

+3,518

Country Total cases

new cases

Total deaths

New Deaths

Total recovered

Active cases

Egypt 143,464 7,863 114,601 21,000

Saudi Arabia

363,259 +104 6,265 +9 354,755 2,239

UAE 214,732 682 191,455 22,595

Kuwait 152,027 +312 938 147,784 3,305

Oman 129,774 +190 1,502 122,406 5,866

Qatar 144,852 +208 245 142,056 2,551

Middle East

Country Total cases Total deaths

1 USA 21,355,530 362,139

2 India 10,357,569 149,886

3 Brazil 7,754,560 196,591

4 Russia 3,284,384 59,506

5 UK 2,713,563 75,431

6 France 2,659,750 65,415

7 Turkey 2,255,607 21,685

8 Italy 2,166,244 75,680

9 Spain 1,958,844 51,078

10 Germany 1,799,261 36,221

11 Colombia 1,686,131 44,187

12 Argentina 1,648,940 43,634

13 Mexico 1,455,219 127,757

14 Poland 1,330,543 29,502

G l o b a l t a l l y

C O V I D - 1 : 9 C o u n t r i e s w o r s t a f f e c t e d

Figures as of closing

News in brief u Indian health authorities are ready to roll out a COVID-19 vaccination programme by next week, the country’s top health official said yesterday, days after the drug regulator gave emergency approval to two vaccines. The government would make the final decision on precisely when to start it, federal health secretary Rajesh Bhushan said.

u COVID-19 vaccine scams are on the rise, according to European and US government officials who are warning the public of fraudsters out for money and personal data. A search online, in dark web forums and on messaging app Telegram found seven different offers for alleged COVID-19 vaccines. Scams include emails promising entry to supposedly secret lists for early vaccine access and robocallers impersonating government agencies. Message boards on the so-called dark web have added

COVID-19 vaccines to more traditional illicit goods for sale. The US FBI and Interpol, among others, have warned of emerging

pandemic-related fraud schemes, saying false cures and vaccines advertised on fake websites could pose cyber threats and a significant risk to peoples’ health, or even lives.

u Ukraine’s average annual air temperature in 2020 exceeded the average long-term level by 2.2 degrees Celsius and reached a record high 10.7 degrees, Ukrainian state-run weather forecasting body said yesterday.Previously, only in 2007, 2015 and 2019, did the average annual temperature exceed 10 degrees, it said in a report.

u Indonesia will begin its nationwide COVID-19 mass vaccination programme on Jan. 13, the country’s health minister said yesterday, as the world’s fourth most populous country battles the worst coronavirus outbreak in Southeast Asia. The programme will launch in Jakarta, with President Joko Widodo set to be given the first shot, Budi Gunadi Sadikin said in a statement, while vaccinations in other regions will start in the following two days. The government

has previously said 1.3 million frontline workers are due to be among the first to receive the vaccines made by China’s Sinovac Biotech. Indonesia has received 3 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine, named CoronaVac .

Online scams surge as slow vaccine rollout frustrates

Ukraine’s average temperature rises to record in 2020

Indonesia says mass vaccinations to begin January 13, president to get first

shot

India ready to start COVID-19 vaccinations by

next week

Tuna goes for $200,000 at Tokyo market’s New Year auctionReuters | Tokyo

A bluefin tuna sold for 20.8 million yen ($202,197) in the first auction of the new year at Tokyo’s Toyosu fish market yes-terday when it reopened after the holiday break.

This was sharply down from the 193 million yen the highest-selling tuna fetched at last year’s first Toyosu auction.

One major bidder, Kiyomura Corp, said they had refrained

from bidding high this year out of fear that a large number of

customers would be inspired to flock to their restaurants since high bids for high quality tuna

usually attract media attention.

The government has said eating and drinking out is one of the

major causes of coronavirus in-fections.

Selling prices in the first tuna auction fluctuate widely from year to year in Japan, with a re-cord 333.6 million yen paid in 2019.

“The spread of the new corona-virus will eventually be contained when vaccines and treatment will be in widespread use,” said Koh Ehara, president of wholesale company Tohto Suisan.

“Until that day comes, we, as

one team of all in this market, are determined to continue with the stable supply of fresh food with-out disruption.”

The Japanese government said on Monday it was considering declaring a state of emergency in and around Tokyo as coronavirus cases climb. New cases in Tokyo surged to 1,278 yesterday, the sec-ond highest daily total since the pandemic began, the city said, with serious cases at a new high of 111.

A 208-kilogram bluefin tuna that was auctioned for about 20.8 million Japanese yen, or around 200,000 dollars, is displayed after the first tuna auction of the New Year in Tokyo, Japan

Why bluefin tuna is expensive?One factor that makes bluefin tuna so expensive is the law of supply and demand, or as The Atlantic cleverly

describes it — “sushinomics.” To put it bluntly, there’s only so much bluefin tuna in the ocean. All three

species of the bluefin are overfished and the fish don’t breed in captivity.

KNOW WHAT

Britons ordered to stay at home

Third national lockdown begins

• Britain has been among the countries worst-hit by COVID-19

• Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the new lockdown late on Monday

• Since the start of the pandemic, more than 75,000 people have died in the United Kingdom within 28 days of testing positive for coronavirus

Reuters | London

Britain began its third COVID-19 lockdown on Tuesday with citizens under orders to stay at home and the government calling for one last major national effort to stem the virus before mass vaccinations turn the tide.

Finance minister Rishi Sunak announced a new package of business grants worth 4.6 bn pounds ($6.2 bn) to help keep people in jobs and firms afloat until measures are relaxed gradually, at the earliest from mid-February but likely later.

Britain has been among the countries worst-hit by COVID-19, with the second highest death toll in Europe and an economy that suffered the sharpest contraction of any in the Group of Sev-en during the first wave of infections last spring.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the new lockdown late on Monday, saying the highly contagious new coronavirus variant first identi-fied in Britain was spreading so fast the National Health Service (NHS) risked being overwhelmed within 21 days.

In England alone, some 27,000 people are in hospital with COVID, 40 per cent more than during the first peak in April, with infection numbers still expected to rise further after in-creased socialising during the Christmas period.

A Savanta-ComRes poll taken just after John-son’s address suggested four in five adults in England supported the lockdown.

“I definitely think it wa s the right decision to make. The NHS hos-pitals are really full so we’re in a similar position as we were in lockdown number one,” said Londoner Kait-lin

Colucci, 28.“I just hope that everyone doesn’t struggle too

much with having to be indoors again.”Since the start of the pandemic, more than

75,000 people have died in the United Kingdom within 28 days of testing positive for coronavi-rus, according to official figures.

Under the new rules in England, schools are closed to most pupils, people should work from home if possible, and all hospitality and non-es-sential shops are closed.

The semi-autonomous executives in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have imposed sim-ilar measures.

As infection rates soar across Europe, other countries are also clamping down on public life. Germany is set to extend its strict lockdown until the end of the month, and Italy decided on Tuesday to keep nationwide restrictions in place this weekend while relaxing curbs on weekdays.

More than a million people in Britain have already received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The government aims to vaccinate all elderly care home residents and their carers, every-

one over the age of 70, all frontline health and social care workers, and everyone who is clini-cally extremely vulnerable, by mid-February.

But senior minister Michael Gove urged cau-tion in terms of when that might translate into an easing of restrictions.

Johnson cancels India visit to oversee virus responseReuters | London

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson yes-terday cancelled a planned trip to India later this month, citing the need to oversee the pandemic response at home.

“The prime minister spoke to (Indian) Prime Minister Modi this morning, to express his regret that he will be unable to visit India later

this month as planned,” a Downing Street spokeswoman said.

“In light of the national lock-down announced last night, and

the speed at which the new

corona-virus vari-ant is spread-ing, the prime minister said that it was important for him to remain in the UK so he can focus on the domestic response to the virus.”

Last month, the government had an-nounced Johnson’s intention to visit India as part of efforts to speed up talks on trade, with Britain in search of new bilateral deals after leaving the European Union.

“The prime minister said that he hopes to be able to visit India in the first half of 2021, and ahead of the UK’s G7 Summit that Prime Minister Modi is due to attend as a guest,” the spokeswoman said.

Iran tests drones in military exerciseReuters | Dubai

Iran launched exercises fea-turing a wide array of domes-tically produced drones yes-terday, Iranian media reported, days after the anniversary of the US killing of a top Iranian general by a drone strike in Iraq.

Iran and the regional forces it backs have increasingly re-lied in recent years on drones in Yemen, Syria, Iraq and the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Gulf.

Iran’s armed forces are to test combat drones used as bombers, interceptors and in reconnais-sance missions in the two-day exercises in central Semnan prov-ince, the semi-official Fars news agency said.

Beyond surveillance, Iranian drones can drop munitions and also carry out a “kamikaze” flight when loaded with explosives and flown into a target, according to a U.S. official who spoke to Reuters last year.

Iran has developed a large do-mestic arms industry in the face

of international sanctions and embargoes that bar it from im-porting many weapons.

Western military analysts say Iran often exaggerates its weap-ons capabilities, though concerns

about its long-range ballistic mis-sile programme contributed to Washington leaving Tehran’s 2015 nuclear pact with world powers.

The exercises coincided with increased tensions between Iran

and the United States, two days after the first anniversary of the killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in a US drone strike at Baghdad airport, and two weeks before President-elect Joe Biden

takes office. Biden aims to revive the nuclear agreement, though di-plomacy is expected to be tricky.

On Monday Iranian forces

seized a South Korean tanker in the Gulf, and Tehran also an-nounced plans to increase urani-um enrichment.

Drones are seen during a large-scale drone combat exercise of Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in Semnan Iranian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri and other top commanders visit Iranian-made military drones as they are unveiled in an exhibition in Semnan

A South Korean-flagged tanker vessel which was seized by Iran. is seen in Gulf, Iran

Tehran denies seized Korean ship and crew are being held as hostages

Reuters

Iran denied yesterday it was using a South Korean ship and its crew as hostages, a day after it seized the tanker in the Gulf while pressing a demand for Seoul to release $7 billion in funds frozen under US sanctions.

The seizure of the MT Hankuk Chemi and its 20-member crew near the strate-gic Strait of Hormuz has been seen as an attempt by Tehran to assert its demands, just two weeks before President-elect Joe Biden takes office in the United States.

South Korea summoned the Iranian ambassador, called for the ship to be released and said it was dispatching a delegation to Iran to discuss it. Iran says the ship was held over environmental violations. South Korea’s Foreign Minister, Kang Kyung-wha said yesterday she was making diplomatic efforts to secure the release of the tanker and had made contact with her counterpart in Tehran. In addition to a South Korean delegation expected to go to Iran as soon as possible to try to free the ship, South Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister, Choi Jong-kun, is scheduled to visit Iran on Sunday.

The ship’s Busan-based operator, Taikun Shipping Co. Ltd., said there had been nothing to indicate before the vessel was seized that Iranian authorities were probing possible violations of environmental rules.

“If it really was marine pollution, as they say, the coastguard was supposed to approach the ship first,” Taikun’s management director, Lee Chun-hee, said by telephone. “But instead, armed soldiers approached the crew and said they needed to be investigated.”

Last Sunday, the Tehran Times newspaper reported Iran was hoping to nego-tiate an agreement to use the frozen funds to trade for commodities, including coronavirus vaccine doses.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 202108 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 202006

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‘solidarity and stability’...prosecutor, chancellor dr ahmed mohammed al hammadi. the new...

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