bahrain diplomatic ties restored...2020/11/19 · hamad bin isa al khalifa and his royal highness...

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Stage set for Kingdom’s showpiece horseraceHH Shaikh Isa bin Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa attends Post-Position Draw ceremony

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210 fils (includes VAT)

TOTAL CASES

ACTIVE CASES

DEATHS

DISCHARGED

NEW CASES

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85,356

1,758

337

83,087

174

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BAHRAIN

US unveils star-spangled pavilion for Expo 20205BUSINESSGeorge Clooney confirms he gifted $1M to each of his 14 closest friends 10 CELEB

Diplomatic ties restoredBahrain and Israel seal deal to open embassies and set up online visa systems

• Weekly flights between the two countries soon

Reuters | Jerusalem

Bahrain and Israel said yes-terday they would open embassies, establish on-line visa systems and launch weekly flights between the two countries soon, in a broadened cooperation promoted by Wash-ington as an economic boon.

On the first official visit by Bahraini officials to Israel, Bah-rain Foreign Minister Dr Abdul-

latif Al Zayani said a Sep. 15 deal normalising relations spelled “a warm peace that will deliver clear benefits to our peoples”.

Al Zayani’s trip coincided with a visit to Israel by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who hailed the regional rapprochement

brokered by the Trump admin-istration. He was welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the meeting.

Al Zayani announced that, as of Dec. 1, Bahrainis and Israelis will be able to apply online for entry visas. He also submitted a request to open a Bahraini em-bassy in Israel and said an Israeli embassy had been approved.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Askenazi, who is due to visit Manama next month, said he hoped opening ceremonies for the embassies would be held by the end of 2020.

Al Zayani expects 14 such flights weekly starting next year, as well as flights to the smaller Israeli destinations of Haifa and Eilat.

(Related report and more pic-tures on Page 2)

Minister Al Zayani with Prime Minister Netanyahu

‘Bahrain is committed to regional peace and prosperity’Tel Aviv

Foreign Minister Dr Abdella-tif bin Rashid Al Zayani has underscored keenness of the Kingdom of Bahrain on com-mitting to peace, cooperation, stability and prosperity in the Middle East.

He was speaking during a meeting in Tel Aviv yesterday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu marking the Bahraini delegation’s visit to Israel.

Dr Al Zayani noted that the regional peace initiative, spear-headed by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and His Royal Highness Prince Sal-man bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and Prime Minis-ter, is a priority for the govern-ment which devoted all capabil-ities to ensure its success.

For his part, Prime Minister Netanyahu stressed that the outcome of the visit and its suc-cess will open new prospects for

bilateral cooperation, mainly on exchanging visits and imple-menting joint projects.

He also underlined the impor-tance of the visit in achieving the aspirations of both coun-

tries and serving their interests as well as promoting regional peace and stability.

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From strength to strengthHH King, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Jordan King bolster cooperation

• Health and food security among vital sectors discussed in summit

Abu Dhabi

Strengthening relations and boosting regional coopera-tion were among the major topics discussed during yester-day’s tripartite summit held in Abu Dhabi.

His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa joined Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Su-preme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces HH Shaikh Mo-hammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Jordanian Monarch HM King Abdullah II Ibn Al-Hussain in the discussion.

His Royal Highness Prince Sal-

man bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and Prime Minister was also present in the event.

T h e l e a d e r s a s s e r t e d deep-rooted and strategic frater-nal relations between the three countries and discussed ways of

bolstering them to achieve com-mon interests.

They also reviewed ways of boosting cooperation and inte-gration in various vital sectors, including the fields of health and food security.

They discussed joint efforts to

combat coronavirus pandemic and handle its economic, health and social repercussions.

The leaders underlined the im-portance of continuous coordi-nation and consultation between the three countries regarding issues of common interest, in

order to serve Arab issues.They spotlighted the latest re-

gional and international develop-ments, including the Palestinian issue and the need to achieve a just and comprehensive peace on the basis of the two-state solution.

HM the King at the summit

Minister Al Zayani signing the agreement as Prime Minister Netanyahu looks on

Israel President Reuven Rivlin receives Minister Al Zayani

HM King receives cables of condolencesTDT | Manama

His Majesty King Ham-ad bin Isa Al Khalifa received cables of condo-lences from world leaders and a number of senior of-ficials following the death of His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khal-ifa.

The cables were from King of Spain Felipe VI, Afghanistan President Dr Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, Kazakhstan President Kass-ym-Jomart Tokayev, Laos President Bounnhang Vo-rachith, Japan’s Emperor HM Naruhito, Greece Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitso-takis, Bhutan Prime Minis-ter Lotay Tshering, Poland Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Saudi Arabia’s His Royal Highness Prince Sultanbin Salman bin Abdu-laziz Al Saud and His Royal Highness Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and Algerian Ambassador Kadri Al Sayeh.

HRH the Prime Minister receives cables of condolencesTDT | Manila

His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and Prime Minister, yesterday received cables of condolences from world leaders and a num-ber of senior officials over the death of His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa.

The cables were from Pal-estine Prime Minister Dr Mohammad Shtayyeh, Sin-gapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Norway Prime Minister Erna Solberg, Saudi Arabia’s His Royal Highness Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Kuwait’s Deputy Min-

ister of Amiri Diwan Affairs Shaikh Mohammed Al Ab-dullah Al Mubarak Al Sabah, Kuwait’s Minister of Amiri Di-wan Affairs Shaikh Ali Jarrah Al Sabah, and Commander of the US Naval Forces Central Command, US 5th Fleet, Vice Admiral Samuel Paparo.

HRH the Prime Minister

US imposes new sanctions on Iran

• Foundation controlled by Khamenei targetted

Reuters | Washington

Th e US ye st e rd ay a n -nounced a sweeping new sanctions package on Iran tar-geting a foundation controlled by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as Washington accused Iranian officials of hu-man rights abuses a year after a deadly crackdown on anti-gov-ernment demonstrators.

The sanctions imposed by the US Treasury Department marked the latest action to re-

inforce the “maximum pres-sure” campaign on Tehran pursued by President Donald Trump’s administration and came just over two months before he is due to leave office after his Nov. 3 election loss.

The department imposed the sanctions on what it de-scribed as a key patronage net-work for the supreme leader. It said it blacklisted the Bonyad Mostazafan, or the Founda-tion of the Oppressed, which is controlled by Khamenei, as well as 10 individuals and 51 entities it said were associated.

The charitable foundation – an economic, cultural, and social welfare institution – has amassed vast amounts of wealth.

Regional peace initiative is a priority

for the government which devoted all

capabilities to ensure its success.”

FOREIGN MINISTER DR ABDELLATIF BIN RASHID AL ZAYANI

Towards digital transformation

Shaikh Khalid hailed for supporting artificial intelligence virtual conference

• Discussion to focus on application of A1 and technical learning

TDT | Manama

Supreme Council for Youth and Sport First Deputy Chairman and Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) President His Highness Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa is sponsoring the “2020 Artificial Intelligence for All Virtual Con-ference” set for next month.

Organised jointly by Bahrain Polytechnic and Bahrain Insti-tute of Banking and Finance

(BIBF), the event is part of Shai-kh Khalid’s support towards digital transformation, espe-cially the future sciences and artificial intelligence.

Experts of the industry, pro-fessionals and researchers, as well as academicians and stu-dents, are taking part in the event.

Deputy CEO for Resources and Information Affairs Shaikh

Ali bin Abdulrahman Al Khalifa expressed his sincere gratitude to HH Shaikh Khalid for his sponsorship of this conference.

He stated that HH Shaikh Khalid’s support has contrib-uted to the launch of Bahrain Polytechnic Artificial Intelli-gence Academy in 2018, which is a first of its kind in the Middle East. It welcomed its first batch of students last September.

BIBF Director Dr Ahmed Al Shaikh expressed utmost ap-preciation and gratitude to HH Shaikh Khalid for his kind spon-sorship to the conference.

He said that HH Shaikh Khalid’s support will bolster Bahrain’s position regionally in this sector.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Centre for Digital Transforma-tion and Project Management, Ahmed Naimi, said that the main themes of the conference will be about the concepts sur-rounding the application of arti-ficial intelligence and technical learning.

For those who want to share scientific summaries, they may send them to [email protected] by December 1, 2020. To know more about the con-ference, visit www.bibf.com/aiforall/.

Support for media among council’s priorities• Speaker receives Information Affairs Minister

TDT | Manama

Council of Representatives Speaker Fawzia bint Abdul-la Zainal has stressed that sup-porting national media outlets and press institutions is among the priorities of parliamentary work in Bahrain.

This came as the Speaker re-ceived yesterday Information Affairs Minister Ali bin Mo-hammed Al Romaihi as they discussed ways to enhance joint cooperation for the best interests of the nation and the citizens.

The Speaker praised the Min-istry’s efforts to support the na-tional press and mass media, as well as their distinguished

works and programmes.For his part, Al Romaihi af-

firmed the government’s keen-ness to enhance cooperation with the council to meet the aspirations and needs of Bah-

raini citizens.He highlighted the ministry’s

interest in developing the me-dia system, supporting press and media institutions, as well as consolidating practices to

protect freedom of expression.The minister also expressed

appreciation to the council for strenghtening cooperation be-tween the executive and legis-lative branches.

Nine arrested for trafficking and selling banned tobacco

TDT | Manama

The General Directorate of Capital Governorate Police announced yesterday the arrest of a gang of nine for trafficking, dealing and selling illegal types of tobacco in the Kingdom.

The Capital Governorate Po-lice Director General said that an investigation led to identi-fying the gang members who distributed the banned items

in different locations to sell them. The seized stored items worth BD350,000 and some of them with a selling value of BD100,000

Further probe revealed that the gang is managed by one person, while another is responsible for trafficking it through one man living in a Gulf country.

Legal proceedings are being taken to refer the case to the Public Prosecution.


HH Shaikh Khalid’s support will bolster Bahrain’s position regionally in this

sector.” BIBF DIRECTOR DR AHMED AL SHAIKH

Speaker Zainal with Minister Al Romaihi

Seafarer urged to be cautious while crossing two maritime areas

TDT | Manama

The Coast Guard urged yesterday seafarers to be cautious while crossing Ras Al Bar and Hawar Islands mar-itime areas “as shown in the map” from today until De-cember 31.

The electricity grid opera-tions in the area required to stay away by a distance of not less than 500 metres on both sides.

Fishermen would be al-lowed to remove fishing equipment from the area for one week starting today.

Map of the maritime areas

The banned items

His Highness Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa

Artificial intelligence is the future

Bahraini-Jordanian military cooperation discussedBDF Chief-of-Staff Lieutenant General Dheyab bin Saqr Al Nuaimi headed Bahrain’s delegation to the 17th virtual meeting of the High Bahraini-Jordanian Military Cooperation Committee. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Major General Yousef Huneiti headed the Jordanian delegation. They reviewed bilateral relations, emphasising on developing cooperation in all fields especially the military field.

Highway lanes set for closureTDT | Manama

The Ministry of Works, Mu-nicipality Affairs and Ur-ban Planning has announced, in cooperation with the Gen-eral Directorate of Traffic of the Ministry of the Interior, that the installation works of electrical cables on Highway 35 near Zinj Area necessitate

the closure of two lanes for southbound and one lane will be provided for traffic move-ment.

The closure will be effective starting from today at 10pm and will last for a period of six days. All road users are re-quested to observe and obey the traffic rules for the safety of all.

Another zero COVID-19 deaths; 174 new cases and 187 additional recoveriesTDT | Manama

There were zero deaths from COVID-19 in Bahrain for the second consecutive day yesterday, while 174 new cases and 187 additional recoveries were reported.

The death toll stands at 337, while there is a total of 83,087

survivors from the ailment.Following 9,694 tests,

fresh infections included 65 expatriate workers and 104 from contacts of active cases, while five were trav-el-related.

The new cases brought the overall number of confirmed cases in Bahrain to 85,356.

BDF participates in Egypt joint Arab drillTDT | Manama

A Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) unit is participating in the joint military exercise, “Saif Al-Arab” (The Sword of Arabs), along with troops from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan and Sudan.

Held at the Mohamed Na-guib Military Base and other parts of northern Egypt, the joint drill kicked off yesterday, and will run until November 26.

Troops and equipment from the UAE, Bahrain, Jordan and Sudan arrived in Egypt via airbases and marine ports in recent days.

Saudi Arabia is participat-ing in the manoeuvres as an observer.

The BDF’s combat group had finalised all the necessary preparations in order to be ready for participating in the

various phases of the drill, alongside forces from broth-erly countries.

The first phases of the joint exercise featured many theo-retical and practical lectures to unify operational concepts and coordinate joint efforts to implement all planned train-

ing tasks.The joint drill is within the

framework of joint Arab mil-itary cooperation for the aim of enriching the combat and command experiences of the participating forces, enhanc-ing coordination mechanisms and exchanging military ex-

pertise and skills.It is aimed at meeting the

requirements of joint military action because of their impor-tance and effective role in rais-ing the level of military com-petence and upgrading combat and administrative readiness in facing all challenges.


Virtual classes and challengesTeachers need to find ways and means to improve online teaching and overcome hurdles

• Substitute for regular face-to-face teaching

• It will be the ‘new normal’ for some time

• Internet connectivity is another major issue

TDT | Manama

Online teaching is recognised as a formal method in the Kingdom of Bahrain’s 2020-2021 academic year and it will be the ‘new normal’ for some time.

With education being thrown into disarray by the coronavirus (COVID-19), teachers are forced to teach their students from home to allow teaching and learning to continue.

COVID-19 has given teachers and students an opportunity to explore online teaching and learning when face-to-face classrooms are not possible. It is not an easy task es-pecially for teachers.

We cannot deny the fact that this is a challenging period for teachers during an extraordinary global situation. All of a sudden, students are learning remotely and teachers are facing new challenges they haven’t faced before.

First of all, they need to learn the ropes of this technological pathway and update their skills in order to fulfil their role as effective teachers.

Teachers who are unwilling to learn will find themselves ren-dered redundant. So, this is a ques-tion of a teacher’s professional survival.

They will have to be familiar with Internet-based technologies and online teaching tools, adjust their teaching plans and teaching methods, and quickly adapt to the new situation.

Using technology in day-to-day business of keeping in touch with students, sending reminders, shar-ing pictures and videos, setting assignments and tests have to be rethought for online classes.

Although it is not necessary to have advanced technical skills,

it is important for both teachers and students to feel comfortable using a computer and navigating the Internet.

However, Internet connectivity is another issue. Slow connections can make teaching and learning frustrating.

Teachers also need to improve their teacher-student interaction and maintain student interest and engagement during online teach-ing.

Even in a physical classroom, it is not an easy task to keep the students engaged and motivated.

And now that they’re teaching from home, in virtual classes, the challenge becomes even bigger.

Students who are new to the online environment or who have lower motivation and drive may fall behind or get confused.

The question is, how can a teacher keep his or her students happy, engaged, and motivated in an online classroom setup? Well, by finding the right tools for them to genuinely progress, and letting them enjoy their learning experi-ence from a fresh perspective.

Creating a structure for the

class and clearly communicating deadlines and due dates for assign-ments can help teachers overcome this challenge.

Apart from that, offering them an online learning environment will allow them to increase their self-confidence once they see they are at their own pace learning while having fun.

Teachers are hardpressed to keep track of their students’ pro-gress away from them. They will always have to evaluate where their students stand academ-ic-wise.

In essence, one of the musts of every classroom is having the stu-dents interact with each other and work together. This is the only way in which teamwork ability will be developed and strengthened.

But how can teachers have their students really interact with each other when each one of them is learning from a different place? Well, the answer is being creative, and that is another tough chal-lenge for teachers.

They will need to use different strategies for teaching, engage-ment and assessment of their students in no face-to-face online environment.

Teachers have a new challenge before them

Using technology to keep in touch with studentsThe challenge to keep the students engaged and motivated

Participants in the military drill

They need to learn the ropes of this

technological pathway and update their

skills in order to fulfil their role as effective

teachers.

KNOW WHAT

Man jailed for insulting religious figures

• The defendant had delivered several sermons, in which he disdained the companions of the Prophet Mohammed

TDT | Manama

A Bahraini man was sen-tenced to six months in jail by the Third Minor Criminal Court for insulting religious figures and per-sons glorified by Muslims.

Northern Governorate Chief Prosecutor Abdulrah-man Al Mannai confirmed that the Public Prosecution investigated the matter once it was reported and discov-ered that the defendant had delivered several sermons, in which he disdained the companions of the Prophet Mohammed.

“The prosecution re-viewed recordings of these sermons, which included insulting and cursing phras-es against the companions of Prophet Mohammed,” the Chief Prosecutor said, explaining that the man was arrested and referred to the criminal court for trial after he was confronted with the content of the recordings and admitting to the crime.

Explaining further, he said: “The defendant was charged with contempt of religious figures and per-sons glorified by Muslims and the court issued its aforementioned verdict to convict the defendant and punish him.”

Al Mannai affirmed that “these disgraceful prac-tices and the likes, which affect religious symbols or undermine the values and constants, cause strife in the society, and they do not fall under the concept of freedom of opinion and ex-pression.

“Such practices constitute an explicit violation of those values, freedom of expres-sion, that the law intends to preserve and defend, and then the Public Prosecution firmly assesses criminal re-sponsibility for them.”

BDF chief receives US 5th Fleet commander

BDF Commander-in-Chief Field Marshal Shaikh Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa received Commander of the US Naval Forces Central Command of the fifth fleet, Vice Admiral Samuel Paparo. Defense Affairs Minister Lieutenant General Abdullah bin Hassan Al Nuaimi, was present. The commander-in-chief praised the historical relations between the two countries, especially in the military field.


Shop & Win: LuLu Hypermarket gives away BD25,000 to 400 winners

Fourth raffle draw of Shop and Win promotion

TDT | Manama

Lulu Hypermarket’s Shop & Win fourth Raffle draw took place on Tuesday at Lulu Hypermarket, Hidd.

A fourth group of 400 lucky shoppers were selected to take home BD 25,000 worth of Lulu shopping gift card.

All winners can contact the Customer Service counter at Lulu Hypermarket, Hidd and

collect their prizes. There are 150 winners of BD

100 shopping card; 150 winners of BD 50 shopping card and 100 winners of BD 25 shopping card.

So far a total of 1600 shoppers have won LuLu Gift Card worth of BD 100,000 till date. The Lulu Shop & Win Promotion is one of the biggest in the Kingdom, and BD 150,000 worth of LuLu Shopping gift card in denomi-nations of BD 100, BD 50 and BD

25 are being awarded to shop-pers through an e-raffle draw till the end of the year. There will be two more raffle draws at intervals. Customers enter the e-raffle draw with every BD 5 spent at any of the eight Lulu Hypermarkets in the Kingdom and there are also special brand promotions where they get double points for purchasing specific brands, thus increasing their winning chances.

Shop & Win 4th Raffle draw held at Lulu Hypermarket Hidd

US unveils star-spangled pavilion for Expo 2020

• Among the 192 participating countries, including Israel

• The United States pavilion will “showcase our values

• Once opened, visitors will be taken on a tour via a moving walkway that meanders through the building

AFP | Dubai

Star-spangled and featuring a SpaceX rocket module, the US pavilion at the gi-gantic Expo 2020 Dubai site was handed over yesterday less than a year before the delayed launch of the world fair.

The six-month mega event, a milestone for the Gulf emirate which has splashed out $8.2 billion on the eye-popping ven-ue in the hope of boosting its soft power and resetting the economy, will open its doors in October 2021 after the coronavi-rus pandemic forced a one-year

postponement.But despite the delay, armies

of workers in protective masks were still racing to complete dozens of pavilions among the 192 participating countries, in-cluding Israel, which signed a normalisation agreement with the United Arab Emirates in September.

The United States pavilion will “showcase our values”, US ambassador to the UAE John Rakolta Jr. told journalists dur-ing a handover ceremony.

The theme of the silver build-ing draped in stars is “life, lib-

erty and pursuit of the future”, he said.

Once opened, visitors will be taken on a tour via a moving walkway that meanders through the building.

Set to highlight American val-ues, the pavilion website said the US delegation aims to ex-hibit “American freedom, ideals, enterprise and innovation”.

The US pavi l ion nearly failed to get off the draw-ing board because of funding issues.

But in January the State De-partment announced it had

found a way to finance it -- through the UAE government, a close ally of President Donald Trump’s administration.

“The Emiratis have been very generous, they provided the op-portunity for us to participate... and we are very grateful,” said Rakolta, donning a black mask with the official logo of the UAE printed on it.

US ambassador John Rakolta, unveils the star-spangled US pavilion for Dubai Expo 2020, the delayed world trade fair that is one of the Gulf emirate’s biggest marquee projects

Before the pandemic, Dubai hoped the largest event ever staged in the Arab world -- billed as the “World’s Greatest Show” -- would attract some 25 million visits.

But the virus forced a one-year postponement, creating a

logistical headache for organ-isers who grappled with the complexities of rescheduling

and construction.

KNOW WHAT

Bugatti and Lamborghini to be headed by one chiefReuters | Berlin

Bugatti President Stephan Winkelmann will also be-come head of luxury brand Au-tomobili Lamborghini, taking on a double role from Decem-

ber, parent group Audi said yesterday. The move comes at a time when Audi’s owner Volkswagen is legally separat-ing its Lamborghini supercar and Ducati motorbike brands, as it seeks to streamline its op-

erations and focus on mass-pro-ducing electric cars.

As Lamborghini chief, Win-kelmann will succeed Stefano Domenicali, who will move to the Formula One as head of rac-ing, Audi said.

Iraq-Saudi Arabia border crossing opens for trade, first time since 1990Iraq , Al Nukhaib

Iraq and Saudi Arabia opened the Arar border crossing for trade for the first time in three decades, the Iraqi bor-der ports commission said yesterday.

Arar has been closed since 1990 after the two countries cut ties following Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait.

Iraqi and Saudi officials in-cluding the Saudi ambassa-

dor to Iraq toured the site on Wednesday.

“The Saudi-Iraq relations have been cut for about 27 years, and now we celebrate an accomplishment that suits the Saudi-Iraqi relations,” Saudi Ambassador Abdulaziz Alshamri said.

“We welcome all Iraqi prod-ucts to be exported to Saudi and through this border, there will be an exchange of visits between the two countries...,” he added.

Hyundai faces lawsuit over EV fires as GM launches recallReuters | Seoul

Hyundai Motor Co is being sued over a string of bat-tery fires in its electric vehicles (EVs), just as General Motors Co recalls nearly 70,000 EVs with batteries from the same maker, LG Chem Ltd.

The owner of a Hyundai Kona EV, a South Korean civil servant who asked to be iden-tified only by his surname Kim, is among some 200 peo-ple who lodged a class-action lawsuit against Hyundai last week, seeking compensation for what they say is the re-duced value of their EVs and other losses, Kim and two law-

yers representing them told Reuters.Kim had initiated a petition drive to sue the Seoul-based carmaker after the same brand of EV caught fire in his neighbourhood, forcing about 20 residents to evacuate their homes.

One of the lawyers said they were initially seeking 8 million won ($7,200) per plaintiff but they could increase demand as the trial proceeds.

The plaintiffs want Hyundai to replace the entire battery pack - the most expensive part of the vehicle - of their Kona EVs, not just update the soft-ware, as the company’s recall provides.

MANY OF LIFE’S FAILURES ARE PEOPLE WHO DID NOT REALIZE HOW CLOSE THEY WERE TO SUCCESS WHEN THEY GAVE UP.THOMAS A. EDISON

QUOTE OF THE DAY

THURSDDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2020

56,111,415

1,346,693

39,101,709

Deaths

Recovered:

New cases

New deaths +172,704

+3,666

Country Total cases

new cases

Total deaths

New Deaths

Total recovered

Active cases

Egypt 111,284 6,481 101,288 3,515

Saudi Arabia

354,208 +290 5,710 +18 341,515 6,983

UAE 154,101 +1,292 542 +4 145,537 8,022

Kuwait 138,337 +452 857 +9 129,839 7,641

Oman 121,129 +411 1,360 +10 112,014 7,755

Qatar 136,441 +219 235 133,473 2,733

Middle East

Country Total cases Total deaths

1 USA 11,698,280 254,315

2 India 8,923,445 131,114

3 Brazil 5,911,758 166,743

4 France 2,036,755 46,273

5 Russia 1,991,998 34,387

6 Spain 1,535,058 41,688

7 UK 1,410,732 52,745

8 Argentina 1,329,005 36,106

9 Italy 1,238,072 46,464

10 Colombia 1,211,128 34,381

11 Mexico 1,011,153 99,026

12 Peru 939,931 35,317

13 Germany 837,651 13,288

14 Iran 801,894 42,941

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 Taiwan has grounded all of its F16 fighter jets for safety checks as rescuers continue to search for one that went missing during a training exercise, authorities said yesterday. The decision removes around 150 planes from Taiwan’s skies, leaving the democratic island relying on an even more limited fleet to warn off Chinese jets that have been buzzing it at an unprecedented rate in recent months. The air force said a single-seat F16 flown by a 44-year-old pilot disappeared from radar at an altitude of some 6,000 feet (1,800 metres) two minutes after taking off from Hualien air base in eastern Taiwan on Tuesday night.

u President Donald Trump plans to represent the United States at a virtual Asia-Pacific summit

this week in which his Chinese counterpart President Xi Jinping also plans to participate, a U.S. official told Reuters. The news comes after Trump’s outgoing administration faced criticism for lower-level participation at last weekend’s virtual East Asia Summit, on the sidelines of which 15 countries signed a major China-backed regional trade deal. “POTUS is doing APEC,” said a U.S. official, who did not want to be identified, using the acronym for the President of the United States.

u The US issued an emergency use authorization for the first self-administered rapid coronavirus test Tuesday, as more parts of the country increase restrictions in an attempt to halt a Covid-19 surge. The Food and Drug Administration approved a testing kit for people age 14 and older whom a doctor suspects to have Covid-19. The test, which is by prescription only, delivers results in 30 minutes.“We continue to demonstrate unprecedented speed in response to #COVID19,” tweeted FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn.

u Taiwanese regulators declined to renew the licence of a major news channel yesterday, saying interference by its staunchly pro-China owner had violated press freedom. The unanimous decision by the National Communications Commission targeting CTi is the first time it has rejected a news channel’s licence. Regulators took aim at the station’s major shareholder Tsai Eng-meng, the billionaire head of food company Want Want and a businessman with extensive investments in mainland China. He has sparked criticism in the past for being overtly pro-Beijing and imposing his political preferences on the media outlets he owns.

Trump to represent US at this week’s virtual APEC summit, official says

US approves first rapid home Covid-19 test

Taiwan pulls plug on China-friendly news channel

Taiwan grounds all F16 jets after one

goes missing

A huge ‘relief’ UK diplomat in China says huge relief when the woman resumed breathing

• The woman, who is 24 and has not been publicly identified, has invited Ellison to a meal to express her thanks, which said he would be “delighted” to join.

Reuters | Beijing

A British diplomat hailed as a hero for rescuing a drown-ing student in southwest China over the weekend said he felt a deep sense of relief when he saw that the woman had resumed breathing and would be all right.

Stephen Ellison, Britain’s con-sul general in Chongqing, had been at a nearby scenic spot last Saturday when suddenly “there was a big commotion” after a fe-male student accidentally fell into the river, he told Reuters during a video call on Wednesday.

Ellison, 61, who assumed his post in Chongqing in October, has been widely praised on Chinese social media, where dramatic vid-eos of the rescue have become a top-trending item.

“It was pretty clear quite quick-

Screengrab of British diplomat saving drowning student in southwest China

Dietary trends to see four billion people overweight by 2050: studyAFP News

More than four billion peo-ple could be overweight by 2050, with 1.5 billion of them obese, if the current global dietary trend towards processed foods continues, a first-of-its-kind study predicted Wednesday.

Warning of a health and envi-ronmental crisis of “mind-blow-ing magnitude”, experts from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) said that global food demand would leap 50 percent by mid-century, push-ing past Earth’s capacity to sus-tain nature.

Food production already hoo-vers up three-quarters of the world’s fresh water and one-third of its land -- and accounts for up to a third of greenhouse gas emissions.

Providing a long-term over-view of changing global eating habits between 1965 and 2100, the researchers used an open-source model to forecast how food demand would respond to a variety of fac-tors such as population growth, ageing, growing body masses, declining physical activity and increased food waste.

They found that “business as usual” -- a continuation of cur-rent trends -- will likely see more than four billion people, or 45 percent of the world’s population, overweight by 2050.

The model predicted that 16 percent would be obese, com-pared with nine percent cur-rently among the 29 percent of the

Both sides claim big wins as Ethiopia fighting enters third weekAFP | Addis Ababa

Both sides in Ethiopia’s raging internal conflict claimed military successes on Wednesday, creating a muddied picture of fighting even as the government promised it would soon be over.

A communications blackout in the northern Tigray region, where Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has ordered military operations against the ruling party, has made it difficult to get a clear view of hostili-ties now entering their third week.

“We’re inflicting heavy de-feats on all fronts against the forces that came to attack us,” Tigrayan leader Debretsion Ge-bremichael said in a statement, referring to federal forces.

“I call upon all the Tigrayan people to go out en masse to drive out the invaders,” he add-ed.

But army chief Berhanu Jula said in a statement of his own that Ethiopia’s army was “win-

ning on all fronts” and that the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) was “in a state of desperation.”

“The TPLF’s plan to drag Ethiopia into civil war and tear it apart has failed. It is currently in a desperate mode

as it is surrounded,” Berhanu said.

Abiy, last year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner, announced the military campaign in Tigray on November 4, saying it was in response to TPLF attacks on federal military camps.

A woman carries an Ethiopian national flag in ceremonies at the prime minister’s compound in Addis on Wednesday to honour the armed forces

AFP | Gumatapura, India

Dozens of exuberant villag-ers scooped up handfuls of cow dung to mould and toss at each other like snowballs this week for the Gorehabba festi-val, a local conclusion to India’s most important festival, Diwali.

Similar to Spain’s “La To-matina” -- an eccentric toma-to-hurling celebration of the local fruit -- residents of Gu-matapura village instead fling something more earthy at each other: cow dung.

The festival is unique to a vil-lage where locals believe their god -- Beereshwara Swamy -- was born in cow excrement.

Some Hindus believe cows and everything they produce is sacred and purifying. Hin-du nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pushed for greater protection of the beasts, and many Indian states have long banned their slaughter for meat.

“People from neighbouring villages and districts come to participate in this festival and enjoy it,” local headmaster

Shambu Lingappa said yester-day.

The day begins with the col-lection of “ammunition” from cow-owning homes in the vil-lage, which lies on the border of the southern states of Kar-nataka and Tamil Nadu.

The manure is brought to the local temple on tractors pulled by cattle adorned with mar-igold flowers, before a priest performs a blessing ritual.

After that, the dung dumped in an open area -- with men and boys wading in to prepare their weapons for the battle ahead.

Women and girls take cov-er, but they risk “shrapnel wounds” when they try to re-cord the revelry on their mobile phones.

Some may poo-poo the event, but for those in attendance the festival is as much about fun as it is about the perceived health benefits.

“By lifting cow dung with your hands, it cures a lot of dis-eases... and there is a strong be-lief that participants will never get sick,” said school teacher Mahendra.

Indian dung festival celebrates end to Diwali

People take part in the “Gorehabba” festival in Gumatapura village on the border of India’s Karnataka and Tamil Nadu states

Danish minister resigns over mink virus rowAFP | Copenhagen

Denmark’s agriculture minister resigned yes-terday following criticism of his handling of a mink cull ordered after the discovery of a mutated version of the coronavirus at some of the country’s mink farms.

Mogens Jensen admitted last week that the govern-ment’s order to cull all of Denmark’s 15 to 17 million minks had no legal basis.

“I no longer have the nec-essary support from the par-ties in parliament,” he told Danish public television DR yesterday. Some mink farm-ers protested against the or-der, as media revealed that Danish legislation allowed the government to order the cull of minks only on affect-ed farms and not a general cull, which the government later admitted.

1477 1626 1916 1978 1993TODAY IN

HISTORYFirst English dated printed book “Dictes & Sayengis of the Phyloso-phers” by William Caxton

St. Peter’s Basilica is consecrated, replacing an earlier basilica on the same site and becoming the world’s largest Christian basilica

British General Douglas Haig finally calls off the 1st Battle of the Somme in World War I after more than 1 million soldiers had been killed or wounded

In Jonestown, Guyana, 918 members of the Peoples Temple are murdered

or commit suicide under the leadership of cult leader Jim Jones

Black and white leaders in South Africa approve

new democratic constitution

TOP

4TWEETS

03

02

01

Today, @KamalaHa-rris and I met with some of our country’s most experienced na-tional security experts to discuss the challenges facing our nation, our in-stitutions, and the world. We’re ready to tackle the challenges our admin-istration will inherit on day one.

@JoeBiden

President @realDon-aldTrump promised the American people a safe and effective vaccine by the end of 2020 and he DELIVERED! Because of his leadership & Opera-tion Warp Speed, Pfizer completed its trial with a vaccine that is 95% effec-tive on patients, including Seniors.

@Mike_Pence

Spoke to US Presi-dent-elect @JoeBid-en on phone to congrat-ulate him. We reiterated our firm commitment to the Indo-US strategic partnership and dis-cussed our shared prior-ities and concerns - Cov-id-19 pandemic, climate change, and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific Re-gion.

I also conveyed warm congratulations for VP-elect @KamalaHarris. Her success is a matter of great pride and inspira-tion for members of the vibrant Indian-Ameri-can community, who are a tremendous source of strength for Indo-US re-lations.

@narendramodi

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

editorial stances)

KNOW WHAT

A huge ‘relief’ UK diplomat in China says huge relief when the woman resumed breathing

ly that she was in trouble. She couldn’t swim and she was sub-merged when she came up and she was floating on the surface of the water,” he said.

Seeing that she “was going to lose her life”, the former civil en-gineer said some lifeguard train-ing 50 years ago in Malta “clicked in”.

“I whipped my shoes off and jumped in,” he said.

“I got to her quite quickly and turned her over. But she wasn’t breathing and she was uncon-scious so I really did fear the worst for a few moments actual-ly,” Ellison added.

People on the riverbank threw Ellison a lifebuoy and dragged the two to safety.

But for about half a minute, as they were approaching the shore, the woman still did not breathe.

“When she started breathing again it was just a really, really deep sense of relief,” Ellison said.

After he was sure the woman would recover, Ellison was taken in by the villagers “and looked after very well,” he said.

They washed and dried his clothes and gave him coffee be-fore he was reunited with the woman he saved.

“She came and we met which was very sweet,” he said. “She was clearly a little shocked but she was in good shape.”

The woman, who is 24 and has not been publicly identified, has invited Ellison to a meal to ex-press her thanks, which said he would be “delighted” to join.

“It’s a great story, and if peo-ple take some pleasure from that, then great,” Ellison said, declining to be drawn on whether his ac-tions could improve strained rela-tions between China and Britain.

“I don’t think it matters wheth-er one is a diplomat, civil engi-neer, a student or whatever, that when things like this happen, then there’s a human reaction which is quite heartening isn’t it? That we feel that we can help, and that’s the way it should be,” he said.

I don’t think it matters whether one

is a diplomat, civil engineer, a student

or whatever, that when things like this happen, then there’s

a human reaction which is quite

heartening isn’t it? That we feel that we can help, and that’s the way it should beSTEPHEN ELLISON, BRITAIN’S CONSUL

GENERAL IN CHONGQING

Screengrab of British diplomat saving drowning student in southwest China

Dietary trends to see four billion people overweight by 2050: studypopulation who are overweight.

“The increasing waste of food and the rising consumption of animal protein mean that the

environmental impact of our agricultural system will spiral out of control,” said Benjamin Bodirsky, lead author of the study published in Nature Sci-entific Reports.

“Whether greenhouse gas-ses, nitrogen pollution or de-

forestation: we are pushing the limits of our planet -- and exceed-ing them.”

While trends vary between regions, the authors said that

global eating habits were moving away

from plant- and starch-based di-ets to more “affluent diets high in sugar, fat, and animal-source foods, featuring highly-processed food products”.

At the same time, the study found that as a result of increasing inequality along with food waste and loss -- food that is produced but not consumed due to lack of storage or overbuying -- around half a billion people will still be undernourished by mid-century.

“There is enough food in the world -- the problem is that the poorest people on our planet have simply not the income to pur-chase it,” said co-author Prajal Pradhan.

“And in rich countries, peo-ple don’t feel the economic and environmental consequences of wasting food.”

Modi calls Biden to advance tiesReuters | New Delhi

Indian Prime Minister Nar-endra Modi has spoken to US President-elect Joe Biden by telephone to con-gratulate him on his election victory, which he said showed the strength of US democracy, and he vowed to deepen stra-tegic ties.

Modi initially sent his con-gratulations to Biden in a so-cial media message soon after US television networks pro-jected him to be the winner of the Nov. 3 election even though President Donald Trump has refused to concede defeat.

Modi followed that up with a phone call to congratulate Bid-en and reaffirm his commit-ment to a strategic partnership between the two big democra-cies, Modi said on Twitter late yesterday.

“Prime Minister Modi warmly congratulated Presi-dent-elect Biden on his elec-tion, describing it as a testa-ment to the strength and resil-ience of democratic traditions in the United States,” the Indi-

an foreign ministry said.During the telephone call,

Modi also extended his best wishes to Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, the daughter of an Indian immigrant whose election to the second high-est public office in the Unit-ed States has been cheered in India.

The two leaders also dis-cussed their priorities, includ-ing containing the novel coro-navirus pandemic, promoting access to affordable vaccines and tackling climate change, the foreign ministry said.

India’s Prime Minister Modi

The model predicted that 16 per cent would

be obese, compared with nine pc currently among the 29 pc of the popula-

tion who are overweight.

Twitter apologises to India for China geo-tagging errorReuters | New Delhi

Social media giant Twitter Inc has apologised to an Indian parliamentary panel for showing a northern Hima-layan region as part of China, promising to make corrections by month-end, the panel’s chief said yesterday.

Twitter’s chief privacy of-ficer, Damien Kieran, sent an apology letter to the Joint Committee on the Personal Data Protection Bill after the company geo-tagged India’s northern territory of Ladakh as being in neighbouring China, the panel’s head Meenakashi Lekhi told Reuters.

“They have apologised in writing for hurting the feel-ings of Indians,” said Lekhi,

also a lawmaker from India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“We are committed to pro-tecting assets of India - both physically and digitally”.

Twitter has assured the pan-el that the matter will be re-solved by Nov. 30, she added.

Twitter executives last month appeared before the panel to explain the error, with Lekhi accusing the company of disrespecting India’s sov-ereignty.

The mistake came to light af-ter some Twitter users tagged their posts as being in Ladakh but the geo-tag showed their location in China.

Twitter at the time said the mistake had been quickly fixed.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 202008 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 202006

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bahrain diplomatic ties restored...2020/11/19 · hamad bin isa al khalifa and his royal highness...

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