Iraq’s Sistani Urges Heavy Turnout in Elections to ‘Eliminate Corrupt Figures’

Arab World

October 1st, 5:52am

Baghdad – Asharq Al-Awsat

Iraqi security forces stand guard as officials of the Independent High Electoral Commission conduct a draw to select candidates in the upcoming parliamentary election, in the central city of Najaf on July 7. (AFP)

Iraq’s highest Shiite religious authority, Ali al-Sistani will resume Friday sermons on October 1 after a two-year break and just ten days before the country holds parliamentary elections. Sistani will hold the sermon from the city of al-Najaf. He had stopped holding the weekly sermon for “disclosed and undisclosed” reasons. It was widely understood that he had stopped the sermons due to his disapproval of the practices of the ruling political class, especially the Shiite forces and parties. The coronavirus pandemic was another excuse to stop holding them. Sistani declared that he would resume his sermons in a statement on Wednesday. He also called for a heavy turnout in the elections, which are set for October 10, “to prevent corrupt figures from making it to parliament.” He called on voters to draw lessons from the past, stressing that the heavy turnout will prevent corrupt figures from again making it to power. In spite of their flaws, he noted, the elections remain the safest way to lead the country towards a better future and to avoid falling into chaos and political deadlock. “The voters must understand the value of their vote,” he stressed. They must “seize the opportunity to create real change in managing the country and to keep away corrupt and unqualified figures from taking control.” All political forces and figures were quick to express their support to his statement. Sistani has since 2015 refused to welcome any Iraqi politician. He has however, met with foreign officials who are keen on meeting with him when making trips to Iraq. His most significant meeting was with Pope Francis, who traveled to Iraq in March. No Iraqi official was present at their talks. Sistani also occasionally meets with UN envoy to Iraq Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert and met last year with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. Meanwhile, President Barham Salih said the elections will be a “turning point” in Iraq. In televised remarks, he acknowledged vote-buying was taking place, but stressed that authorities have made the necessary preparations to hold the polls. “Iraq has endured difficult times and everyone realizes the importance of reform and that the current system is incapable of providing the people with a dignified life,” he added. Commenting on Sistani’s statement, he tweeted that his orders are “a keen national stance that was made during a critical time for the sake of protecting the nation and championing the people.” MP and electoral candidate Hussein Arab told Asharq Al-Awsat that Sistani’s call for a heavy turnout will be witnessed during the elections. His call also offers “major hope to and boosts the chances of independent and non-partisan candidates”. “The call will largely change the equation given the influence the religious authority has and the respect the people have for him,” he remarked.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3219916/iraq%E2%80%99s-sistani-urges-heavy-turnout-elections-%E2%80%98eliminate-corrupt-figures%E2%80%99

Prowler Preaching Neighborliness

Opinion

October 1st, 5:44am

Amir Taheri

Amir Taheri - Amir Taheri was the executive editor-in-chief of the daily Kayhan in Iran from 1972 to 1979. He has worked at or written for innumerable publications, published eleven books, and has been a columnist for Asharq Al-Awsat since 1987

In his first statements on foreign policy, Islamic Republic’s new President Dr Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi made two claims: First that he would be the ultimate arbiter of Tehran’s foreign relations and, second, that his top priority is to “establish close ties with neighbors and promote peace and stability in Western Asia. (The ruling mullahs now use the term West Asia which was circulated by the Soviet Union, instead of the Middle East which they regard as a term coined by “Infidel powers.”) Just week into his tenure, however, it is hard to find evidence to support Raisi’s claim. True, the new Islamic Foreign Minister Amir Abdullahyan is no Muhammad-Javad Zarif with his flamboyant style, personal ambitions and powerful American friends, and thus in no position to think of upstaging his boss. Nevertheless, Raisi has not managed to impose some discipline on the few hundred mullahs and brigadier-generals who form the core of the ramshackle regime. Thus the mullah from back of the beyond and the brigadier-general who has never seen a battle except on television, continue to make foreign policy comments mostly to threaten the very neighbors that the Dr-Ayatollah hopes to seduce. Worse still, such interventions go beyond mere rhetorical outbursts. Consider some events of the past 10 days or so. Pakistan security arrested three men, identified as “citizens of Iran” and, according to Islamabad sources, members of the Quds Force, on a charge of plotting to kill 25 Chinese engineers by planting a roadside bomb near the Pakistani port of Gwadar on the Gulf of Oman. The alleged plot claimed the lives of several Baluch children. A few days earlier, units of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched a series of artillery attacks on 22 villages in the Kurdish Autonomous Region in Iraq where, Tehran claims, anti-Iran Kurdish “secessionists” have set up a number of bases. Neither Baghdad nor Erbil authorities were forewarned while the IRGC promised to repeat the deadly exercise. Tehran’s disregard for Iraqi sovereignty came in other forms as well. The official media threatened Baghdad and Erbil with “consequences” unless those who had organized a private seminar on normalization with Israel were “dealt with”. The fact that the seminar in question was in conformity with Iraqi Constitution and law, guaranteeing freedom of opinion and expression, was conveniently ignored. The Erbil authorities were forced to be economical with the truth by claiming they didn’t know about the seminar and would not allow similar events in the future. The Baghdad authorities went further by issuing arrest warrants for three people, one of whom was in Germany at the time of the seminar. The new violation of Iraqi sovereignty came a bit later and on a much larger scale. Baghdad had announced the closure of its borders with the Islamic Republic as a means of controlling the spread of Covid-19 which is wreaking havoc in Iran. Iranian pilgrims wishing to go to “holy cities” in Iraq for Arba’in, marking the 40th day of Imam Hussein’s martyrdom, were told that only those travelling by air could do without obtaining a visa. Yet, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims, and people trying to make a fast buck during the pilgrimage, gathered at land border crossings and managed to dismantle the barriers and march into Iraqi territory to board buses heading for “holy cities”. Islamic Republic border guards either watched the “invasion” or even helped speed it up. On eastern borders, the Islamic Republic closed its borders with Afghanistan to prevent thousands trying to flee the new situation in Kabul. At the same time, however, hundreds of suspected Al-Qaeda members and their families living in exile in Iran for almost 20 years, mostly in the Dost-Muhammad area in Sistan-and-Baluchistan province were “ advised” to return to Afghanistan. However, the biggest show of “good neighborliness” promised by Raisi came inside the (former Soviet) Republic of Azerbaijan and along its borders with Iran and Armenia. What Tehran media described as “a multi-faceted task force” consisting of helicopter gunships, tanks, armored vehicles and elite Special Units under the personal command of IRGC’s Chief of Land Forces Gen. Pakpur was assembled on full alert within sight of Azerbaijani troops and their Russian “advisers”. This large-scale sabre rattling coincided with the first anniversary of the war between Armenia and Baku over the enclave of High Qarabagh (Artsakh). Tehran put in motion a roadshow in three stages. In the first stage, a few days before the anniversary, a long line of Iranian heavy trucks, passing through the Lachin Corridor theoretically under Russian control, to enter High Qarabagh to deliver supplies to Armenians. The idea was to show that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev’s claim of having won a great victory in last year’s war was an empty boast as Russia, not his government, controls entry points into Azerbaijan and the disputed Artsakh enclave. To save face, Aliev called in Tehran’s ambassador to Baku and demanded that Iran stop sending trucks without proper visas from Baku. In the second stage, Tehran replaced Iranian number-plates with Armenian ones to claim that the lorries in question came from Armenia proper to supply fellow-Armenians in Artsakh. For Aliev this was like turning the knife in the wound, reminding people in Baku and environs that their president’s claim of victory at the cost of thousands of lives followed by the virtual occupation of parts of the country by Russian troops bore little relation to reality. Iran’s claim that matters had been cleared with Levon Jagarian, the Russian Ambassador in Tehran, poured salt on the wound as Moscow’s man in Iran is an ethnic Armenian as is Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. An angry Aliev, already under domestic pressure for mismanagement, corruption and nepotism lashed back by announcing a total ban on truck traffic from Iran and claiming that “Azeris all over the world” back his position. This was seen in Tehran as an act of deliberate provocation by Aliev as Iran sees itself as the true home of all Azeris including the 12 million or so who live in the Baku republic and the Russian federation. Raisi’s claim of “good neighborliness” remains just a claim. The fact is that either Tehran turns the Middle East (or West Asia as the Kremlin prefers) into something like the Khomeinist Islamic Republic or the latter becomes more or less like other regimes in the region. An outsider, a prowler, cannot have normal, let alone good, relations, with others in a neighborhood.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3219901/amir-taheri/prowler-preaching-neighborliness

In Afghanistan’s Darkest Hour, the Taliban Must Know We Are Watching

Opinion

October 1st, 5:31am

Ruth Pollard

Ruth Pollard -

We’re just six weeks into the Taliban’s second shift as Afghanistan’s rulers, and the picture could not be bleaker. Bodies hang in public squares and women are banned from their jobs. High schools are closed to girls, the women’s ministry has been replaced by the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, while former government officials, public servants, civil society activists, journalists and minorities are being targeted in a ruthless house-to-house crackdown. Afghans rightly feel deserted by the international community, and betrayed by the US’s chaotic and deadly exit from their country. But while the news cycle has moved on, those working to protect the gains made over the past 20 years and investigate the human rights abuses committed by all parties — the US-led coalition forces and the Afghan Government troops included — have kept going, both inside and outside the country. Calls by human rights campaigners for an independent fact-finding mission to investigate those abuses were growing louder even before the Taliban arrived in Kabul. Spurred by a spike in targeted killings — which worsened after the US-Taliban deal was signed in Doha in February 2020 — the push has taken on fresh urgency as the security situation deteriorates across the country. Taliban officials now speak of the resumption of executions and amputations as punishment, creating a “culture of impunity and an environment of fear,” Shaharzad Akbar, the chair of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, told an online forum Monday on the sidelines of the latest UN Human Rights Council meeting. The Taliban are targeting former national security force members and their families, beating and torturing journalists, and erasing women from public spaces, Akbar said. There also have been forced displacements of the ethnic Hazara minority from their homes in several villages. “This is a really hopeless moment for Afghanistan,” she said. “In this moment of darkness we need member states to step in.” There’s an immediate need for the international community to work out a way to deliver aid to a population where as much as 97% are at risk of sinking below the poverty line in the coming months. But there is also more pain-staking work to be done to document past and future abuses and reform the sanctions regime, which essentially operates outside the rule of law and without consistent humanitarian exemptions, says the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on counter terrorism and human rights, Fionnuala Ní Aoláin. “Afghanistan is ground zero of post-9/11 counter-terrorism and our experiment of trying to address the violence committed by non-state actors like the Taliban, Al-Qaeda and the ISIS,” Ní Aoláin told me. That’s led to 20 years of systematic human rights abuses in Afghanistan — not only by the Taliban and other groups — but serious violations by the Afghan government and acts of torture and violence by the US-led coalition, she said. “I know there is a cry for clear, grand gestures from the international community, but we need something more old-fashioned and reliable.” Syria — with the Assad regime’s sustained human rights abuses and the myriad terrorist groups operating within its borders — provides a possible way forward. After the failure of the UN Security Council to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court (thanks to Russia and China), the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism was born. Created by a UN General Assembly resolution in 2016, the mechanism — properly funded and with some heavy-hitting jurists on board — has been collecting, preserving and analyzing evidence of human rights violations in Syria with the aim of expediting criminal proceedings against perpetrators. It’s already had some early success with the February sentencing in a German court of a former Syrian intelligence officer for complicity in crimes against humanity. Another trial is ongoing. In a separate action in July, a Syrian doctor was charged for his alleged role in torturing prisoners in military hospitals in Homs and Damascus. These are important advances for the principle of universal jurisdiction for such violations, which allows national courts — like the ones in Germany — to prosecute individuals for serious crimes against international law. A similar body could be established on Afghanistan. Those who’ve been gathering evidence on the Taliban and other groups for 20 years will continue to do so — whether they’re part of the growing diaspora or members of the country’s civil society who were unable or unwilling to flee since the hardline Islamist group took control on Aug. 15. Along with the evacuation of many of those working in the field, a significant collection of human rights records has been safely taken out of Afghanistan in these last weeks that could feed into those investigations, Ní Aoláin said. It’s even more important since the International Criminal Court announced Monday the resumption of its Afghanistan investigation — which was welcomed by those seeking justice for victims. However its clarification that it would prioritize alleged crimes committed by the Taliban and the local Islamic State affiliate over those perpetrated by US and other coalition troops and the Afghan National Security Forces was roundly condemned. When decades of serious violations have taken place, laying the seeds for accountability, for acknowledging to the victims what happened, who was killed and harmed by whom, can prove key to future endeavors to rein in impunity. It can also send a powerful message to the Taliban that their actions — not their words — are under a microscope. Bloomberg

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3219886/ruth-pollard/afghanistan%E2%80%99s-darkest-hour-taliban-must-know-we-are-watching

Saudi FM Discusses with Mangoush Supporting Stability in Libya

Gulf

October 1st, 5:23am

Riyadh - Asharq Al-Awsat

Prince Faisal holds talks with his Libyan counterpart in Riyadh. (SPA)

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah received in Riyadh on Thursday his Libyan counterpart Najla Mangoush. Talks focused on bilateral relations between their countries and ways to bolster them in all fields. They stressed the importance of supporting all international efforts to consolidate security and stability in Libya and to forge ahead towards development and prosperity in the North African country. They also exchanged views on various regional and international issues of interest.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3219881/saudi-fm-discusses-mangoush-supporting-stability-libya

Blinken: Ball in Iran's Court on Nuclear Deal

Iran

October 1st, 5:15am

Asharq Al-Awsat

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during the release of the "2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices" at the State Department in Washington, DC, US, March 30, 2021. Mandel Ngan/Pool via REUTERS

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken renewed warnings Thursday that time was running out for Iran to return to a nuclear deal, saying it was up to Tehran to act. "The ball remains in their court, but not for long," Blinken told reporters in Pittsburgh where he took part in US-EU trade talks. "There is a limited runway on that, and the runway is getting shorter." Blinken reiterated that President Joe Biden was willing to return the United States to a 2015 accord in which Iran drastically scaled back nuclear work in return for promises of economic relief. Former president Donald Trump trashed the deal known formally as the JCPOA and reimposed sweeping sanctions, which Iran wants removed before it undoes a series of steps out of compliance that it took to protest the pressure campaign. "Simply getting back to the terms of the JCPOA at some point will not be sufficient to recapture the benefits of the agreement because of the progress Iran has made," Blinken said. Blinken said that the Biden administration has been engaged "in very good faith for many months" in indirect talks in Vienna with Iran on returning to compliance. Iran requested a break in talks in June due to a political transition as the ultraconservative Ebrahim Raisi became president, replacing Hassan Rouhani who entered the nuclear deal and favored better relations with the West. No date has been set for talks to resume, although Raisi has said that he backs diplomacy to end sanctions. On a visit to France, which remains in the nuclear deal, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said that analytical work by Tehran will end soon. "I assume that in a few weeks we are in a position to set a date with our friends in Europe," he told a gathering in Caen. "We are not going to waste even a minute to get back to Vienna," he said. Khatibzadeh had earlier told Le Monde newspaper that the new Iranian administration would return to the talks more quickly than Biden's did. Negotiations had resumed on April 6 in Vienna, 77 days after Biden took office on January 20. However, "it has only been 50 days since the new Iranian government took office," he said.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3219876/blinken-ball-irans-court-nuclear-deal

Bahrain King Receives Israeli FM: Peace Bolsters Coexistence

Gulf

October 1st, 4:56am

Manama – Asharq Al-Awsat

King Hamad with FM Lapid in Manama. (BNA)

Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa received in Manama on Thursday Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid. The officials reviewed the progress of bilateral relations, and the steps that would contribute to broadening areas of cooperation between the two countries, in light of the signing of the Declaration Supporting Peace and the principles of the Abraham Accords, reported Bahrain’s state news agency (BNA). King Hamad stressed that the signing of the agreements is “an important historic accomplishment towards achieving a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East, as well as meeting the aspirations of the peoples of the region for security, stability and prosperity.” “Peace is a strategic option for the kingdom, and that Bahrain’s vision and approach are based on fostering the values of understanding, dialogue, cooperation, peaceful coexistence, tolerance and rapprochement among peoples,” he added. The kingdom is keen to support all efforts aimed at achieving peace, stability and development that would benefit all, continued King Hamad. He highlighted the role played by the United States in reaching peace agreements, and efforts to push peace forward for the sake of ensuring a more prosperous and stable future for all the peoples of the region. Lapid had arrived in Bahrain on Thursday, making him the most senior Israeli official to visit the kingdom since their countries established official ties in 2020. Later on Thursday, he, along with his Bahraini counterpart Dr. Abdullatif Al-Zayani, inaugurated the Israeli embassy in Manama. Lapid expressed his appreciation for the warm reception and hospitality, hoping the people of Israel and Bahrain can live in peace and prosperity, reported BNA. Zayani said the opening of the embassy reflects the growing cooperation and common interests between their countries.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3219866/bahrain-king-receives-israeli-fm-peace-bolsters-coexistence

Iran to Set Date in 'Weeks' to Return to Nuclear Talks

Iran

October 1st, 4:46am

Asharq Al-Awsat

European External Action Service (EEAS) Deputy Secretary General Enrique Mora and Iranian Deputy at Ministry of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi wait for the start of a meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission in Vienna, Austria April 17, 2021. EU Delegation in Vienna/Handout via REUTERS

Iran's new government will in the next few weeks decide on a date to return to nuclear talks in Vienna, a spokesman said on Thursday. "I assume that in a few weeks we are in a position to set a date with our friends in Europe," Saeed Khatibzadeh said at a gathering in the French city of Caen. "Then possibly we can start negotiations in Vienna." The analytical work will end "maybe in a few days, less than a few weeks", he said. "We are not going to waste even a minute to get back to Vienna," AFP quoted him as saying. Khatibzadeh had earlier told Le Monde newspaper that the new Iranian administration would return to the talks more quickly than Biden's did. Negotiations had resumed on April 6 in Vienna, 77 days after Joe Biden took office on January 20. However, "it has only been 50 days since the new Iranian government took office", he said. The 2015 nuclear deal with Iran offered to lift sanctions in return for Tehran committing to abandon any ambition to develop nuclear weapons and for a drastic reduction in its atomic program and submission to tighter UN control. But after the unilateral withdrawal of the Americans from the agreement in 2018 under Donald Trump, Tehran has gradually abandoned most of its commitments.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3219856/iran-set-date-weeks-return-nuclear-talks

China’s Bureaucrats Have Their Own Crackdown Under Way

Opinion

October 1st, 4:37am

Shuli Ren

Shuli Ren -

In the US, central bankers trade stocks and federal judges hear cases of companies in which they hold financial interests. The first is legal (but controversial); the second is illegal but not uncommon. In China, however, the official position on such issues is: No. As President Xi Jinping reins in business tycoons and tightens regulations, his own bureaucrats aren’t spared scrutiny. The message is clear: Don’t mix business and government. The high-profile corruption cases that dominated the news earlier this year were just the beginning of the campaign. Lai Xiaomin, former boss at China Huarong Asset Management Co., majority-owned by the Ministry of Finance, was executed in January for receiving 1.8 billion yuan ($278 million) in bribes. In September, Yuan Renguo, former chair of state-owned liquor giant Kweichow Moutai Co., got life in prison for taking bribes of 112.9 million yuan. In August, China said it was investigating Hangzhou’s top government official for serious disciplinary violations, sending shockwaves at the tech hub, home to Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and its affiliate Ant Group Co. On Sept. 20, China’s top graft watchdog issued its first set of detailed guidelines listing 101 types of crimes it will investigate. The potential charges are far-ranging, from bribery and dereliction of duty to insider trading and signing off on suspect commercial bills. In fact, anyone can be subject to a graft probe, not just government bureaucrats: workers at a public hospital or a state-owned steel mill, or a state-appointed director of a company. In the first-half of 2021, the government opened 321,000 probes and penalized 265,000 personnel, the most since a similar public disclosure of such figures in 2017, the watchdog said. Anyone who handles money needs to be extra careful. Anti-corruption officials will soon start inspecting 25 financial units, including the banking watchdogs, the policy banks, the giant state-owned financial institutions, distressed loan managers and insurers. It will be the widest in scope since 2016, according to Caixin, an influential local media outlet. With scandal after scandal, Beijing’s patience is running thin. For example, it came up against a near-Lehman moment in May 2019. Regulators had to take over Baoshang Bank Co., a regional lender based in the western province of Inner Mongolia. Funding costs in the interbank markets shot up, while lending froze. Baoshang was contagious despite its smallish size because it had been doing business across China. Two years on, China charged Xue Jining, former head of the banking regulator at the Inner Mongolia branch, for taking in 400 million yuan in bribery. Without Xue advocating for Baoshang, the regional bank would not have gotten the nod to open branches in bigger cities such as Beijing and Shenzhen, thereby creating a “regulatory vacuum,” the graft watchdog concluded. In his confession, Xue said he had “shut his eyes” and allowed Baoshang to expand outside the province, leading to severe consequences. Then there was CEFC China Energy Co., which shot to global fame for buying a $9 billion stake in Russia’s Rosneft PJSC in 2017. After an equally spectacular default a year later, Hu Huaibang, former chair of China Development Bank, was named by China State Central Television as helping facilitate a $4.8 billion credit line for the obscure energy trader, which had no apparent state links. The policy lender, which gives out billions of dollars of fiscal loans, has recently been hit with graft probes. Hu was sentenced to life imprisonment. The graft watchdog will only get busier. One focus will be state-owned distressed loan managers, because of their official mandate to offload government-owned assets for cheap. It’s often tempting to package a few prized bites into a jumbo deal and sell them to family and friends. Bureaucrats — ranging from loan bankers to financial licensing officers to insurers’ portfolio managers — can take advantage of the many gray areas in China’s sprawling financial system if they chose to be unscrupulous. On its website, the watchdog complains about lost souls a lot: Wanting to be “rich and powerful,” unprincipled officials have “lost their idealism,” “indulged in feasting,” “pursued inferior hobbies,” and were “surrounded” by lobbyists. The anti-graft watchdog hopes that the crackdowns teach China’s bureaucrats to “dare not, cannot, and not want” to be corrupt. The loopholes in China’s labyrinthine system are tempting to exploit. But with so much harsh sentencing, who would dare? Bloomberg

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3219851/shuli-ren/china%E2%80%99s-bureaucrats-have-their-own-crackdown-under-way

Saudi Arabia Raises Capacity to Receive 100,000 Umrah Pilgrims Daily

Gulf

October 1st, 4:28am

Makkah – Asharq Al-Awsat

Saudi authorities have raised the capacity at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah to receive 100,000 worshippers and Umrah pilgrims on a daily basis. (SPA)

Saudi authorities have raised the capacity at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah to receive 100,000 worshippers and Umrah pilgrims on a daily basis. The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah said on Friday that the decision will be effective as of October 1. Worshippers can register through the Tawakkalna app to sign up to perform the Umrah and prayers at the Grand Mosque. The General Presidency for the affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque ordered that the necessary social distancing signs be placed at the Grand Mosque in line with COVID-19 regulations. It ordered that lanes be set up for people with special needs also in line with social distancing rules. Spokesman for the General President, Hani Haidar said efforts are underway to raise the capacity at the Grand Mosque even further. The General Presidency has prepared the ideal environment and comprehensive plans of services, procedures and precautionary and preventive measures to receive worshippers and Umrah pilgrims, he stressed.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3219846/saudi-arabia-raises-capacity-receive-100000-umrah-pilgrims-daily

UN Extends Mission to Libya, but Only Until January

Arab World

October 1st, 4:20am

Asharq Al-Awsat

FILE PHOTO: Members of the United Nations Security Council gather during a meeting about the situation in Venezuela, in New York, US, February 26, 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

The UN Security Council on Thursday unanimously adopted a resolution extending its political mission in Libya -- but only until January 31, shortly after the country is to stage its presidential election, after a fierce struggle between Britain and London over the text. The 15-member Council had been on track to extend the mission in mid-September for a year, key in the run-up to elections on December 24, which are intended to turn the page on a decade of war. But a dispute erupted between Britain and Russia, both of which have veto-wielding power on the Council, AFP reported. Moscow rejected the language in a resolution drafted by London that would have called for the withdrawal of foreign troops and mercenaries from Libya, as well as a clause on the future of the UN envoy to Libya. Mired in the standoff, the Security Council was forced to technically extend the mission's mandate by 15 days, until September 30, to give more time for negotiations between Moscow and London -- but the talks were in vain. On Wednesday, Moscow once again threatened to veto the resolution as amended. And then Russia pushed the issue even further by putting forth its own text in a rare act of defiance. After an emergency meeting on Thursday between the five permanent members of the Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- they adopted an abbreviated resolution, extending the mission until January 31, 2022. Western and African members of the Council deplored the outcome on Thursday. The United States called it "unfortunate," while Kenya called for an African to lead the process.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3219841/un-extends-mission-libya-only-until-january

Saudi Minister of Culture Inaugurates Riyadh International Book Fair on Behalf of King Salman

Varieties

September 30th, 8:42am

Riyadh - Mirza al-Khuwaildi

Preparations for the opening of the Riyadh International Book Fair (Photo: Bashir Saleh).

On behalf of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Minister of Culture Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan inaugurated on Thursday the Riyadh International Book Fair (RIBF), with the participation of more than one thousand local, regional and international publishing houses from 28 countries. In its new edition, the RIBF is held under the slogan, “A New Destination, A New Chapter”, and extends from Oct. 1-10 in its new location in Riyadh. The most prominent cultural event in Saudi Arabia in the field of books and the publishing sector is organized this year by the Saudi Ministry of Culture, with the presence of Iraq as “guest of honor.” In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Iraqi Minister of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities Dr. Hassan Nadhem said that his country’s participation as a guest of honor at the Riyadh International Book Fair this year comes in light of the “growing relations between Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and tireless diplomatic work to build real partnerships with the Kingdom at various levels.” The activities of the cultural program, which is held on the sidelines of the RIBF, will kick off on Friday, in the presence of prominent Saudi, Arab and international writers, thinkers and critics, who will meet in a set of seminars, lectures and workshops to discuss various fields of cultural creativity. The exhibition celebrates the experiences of pioneers of literature and arts, including Muhammad Mahdi Al-Jawahiri, Badr Shakir Al-Sayyab, Ali Jawad Al-Taher, Wassini Al-Araj and Prince Khalid Al-Faisal. Prominent participants include Dr. Abdullah Al-Ghadami, American author Jordan Belfort, and his compatriot Chris Gardner. Poetry evenings will be held by poets from Saudi Arabia and Iraq, and musical and artistic gatherings will be attended by Egyptian musician Omar Khairat, Iraqi Naseer Shamma, and Iraqi singer Saadoun Jaber. The cultural program also celebrates Iraq as guest of honor, through a series of seminars and poetry evenings, in the presence of the Iraqi minister of Culture. The RIBF cultural program is divided into three main parts: the first is “Book Talk” evenings, in which nine Saudi, Arab and international authors will be hosted to talk about their experiences in writing. Those include: Prince Turki Al-Faisal, Sheikha Hend Al-Qasimi, the Saudi traveler and author Abdullah Al-Jumah, Kuwaiti novelist Meshaal Hamad, Jordanian novelist Ayman Otoom, American author Jordan Belfort, Kuwaiti novelist Saud Alsanousi, American chef and author Marco Pierre White, and American writer Chris Gardner, author of the famous book, “The Pursuit of Happyness.” In the second part, “Cultural Encounters,” more than 100 intellectuals and critics of different nationalities will talk about urgent literary and cultural subjects through 36 seminars and lectures held over the ten days of the exhibition. The third part will be devoted to evenings and prizes honoring authors and icons who served Arab culture, including Prince Khalid Al-Faisal, Advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Emir of Makkah Al-Mukarramah Region, who will be honored by the Arab World Institute in Paris in a grand ceremony hosted by the exhibition, in return for his immense contribution to Arab culture. The exhibition will also host over the next Monday and Tuesday the activities of the Publishers Conference - the first of its kind in the Kingdom - in order to discuss the reality of the publishing industry in the Arab world and the ways to make it more competitive at the international level. Furthermore, the exhibition will organize more than 60 workshops of various stripes and cultural trends, presented by more than 100 experts and specialists in a variety of fields, including workshops on writing and composition, filmmaking, theater, culinary arts, children’s arts and creativity, heritage fashion, science fiction writing, and many others.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3218291/saudi-minister-culture-inaugurates-riyadh-international-book-fair-behalf-king

ABB Launches the World’s Fastest Electric Car Charger

Technology

September 30th, 8:32am

Asharq Al-Awsat

The logo of Swiss power technology and automation group ABB is seen at a plant in Baden, Switzerland January 28, 2019. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo

ABB is today launching an innovative all-in-one Electric Vehicle (EV) charger, which provides the fastest charging experience on the market, Reuters reported. ABB’s new Terra 360 is a modular charger which can simultaneously charge up to four vehicles with dynamic power distribution. This means that drivers will not have to wait if somebody else is already charging ahead of them. They simply pull up to another plug. The new charger has a maximum output of 360 kW and is capable of fully charging any electric car in 15 minutes or less, meeting the needs of a variety of EV users, whether they need a fast charge or to top their battery up while grocery shopping. “With governments around the world writing public policy that favors electric vehicles and charging networks to combat climate change, the demand for EV charging infrastructure, especially charging stations that are fast, convenient and easy to operate is higher than ever,” said Frank Muehlon, President of ABB’s E-mobility Division. “The Terra 360, with charging options that fit a variety of needs, is the key to fulfilling that demand and accelerating e-mobility adoption globally.” “It’s an exciting day for ABB, who as the global leader in electric vehicle fast charging, is playing a key role in enabling a low carbon society,” said Theodor Swedjemark, Chief Communications and Sustainability Officer at ABB. “With road transport accounting for nearly a fifth of global CO2 emissions, e-mobility is critical to achieving the Paris climate goal. We will also lead by example by switching our entire fleet of more than 10,000 vehicles to non-emitting vehicles.” Available in Europe from the end of 2021, and in the USA, Latin America and Asia Pacific regions in 2022, Terra 360 is designed with the daily needs and expectations of EV drivers in mind. Leveraging the rich field experience gained by ABB E-mobility’s large installed base, the Terra 360 delivers speed and convenience along with comfort, ease-of-use and a sense of familiarity. Its innovative lighting system guides the user through the charging process and shows the State of Charge (SoC) of the EV battery and the residual time before the end of an optimal charge session. The world’s fastest EV charger is also wheelchair accessible and features an ergonomic cable management system that helps drivers plug in quickly with minimal effort. As well as serving the needs of private EV drivers at fueling stations, convenience stores and retail locations, Terra 360 chargers can also be installed on an organization’s commercial premises to charge electric fleet cars, vans and trucks. This gives owners the flexibility to charge up to four vehicles overnight or to give a quick refill to their EVs in the day. Because Terra 360 chargers have a small footprint, they can be installed in small depots or parking lots where space is at a premium. Terra 360 chargers are fully customizable. To personalize the appearance, customers can ‘brand’ the chargers by using different foiling or changing the color of the LED light strips. There is also the option to include an integrated 27” advertisement screen to play video and pictures. ABB is a world leader in electric vehicle infrastructure, offering the full range of charging and electrification solutions for electric cars, electric and hybrid buses, vans, trucks, ships and railways. ABB entered the e-mobility market back in 2010, and today has sold more than 460,000 electric vehicle chargers across more than 88 markets; over 21,000 DC fast chargers and 440,000 AC chargers, including those sold through Chargedot. ABB high-power chargers are already being deployed around the world through the company’s partnerships with international charging operators such as IONITY and Electrify America.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3218281/abb-launches-world%E2%80%99s-fastest-electric-car-charger

Bahrain King, Crown Prince Meet Turki bin Mohammed bin Fahd

Gulf

September 30th, 6:37am

Manama – Asharq Al-Awsat

Bahrain’s King holding talks with Saudi Prince Turki bin Mohammed bin Fahd at Safriya Palace(SPA)

Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Issa Al Khalifa met Saudi Minister of the State and Member of the Cabinet Prince Turki bin Mohammad bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz at the Safriya Palace on Thursday. The Saudi Prince conveyed the greetings of King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. For his part, King Hamad hailed the distinguished brotherly ties that bring together both brotherly countries and peoples in all fields. Bahraini Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa also met with Prince Turki and the two discussed historical bilateral relations and means of developing them.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3218036/bahrain-king-crown-prince-meet-turki-bin-mohammed-bin-fahd

R. Kelly Convicted on all Counts in Sex Crimes

Entertainment

September 30th, 6:32am

Washington - Asharq Al-Awsat

R&B singer R. Kelly appears at a hearing before Judge Lawrence Flood at Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago, Illinois, US, June 25, 2019. (AFP Photo)

R. Kelly was convicted by a federal jury on Monday of racketeering in his sex trafficking trial, where prosecutors accused the R&B singer of exploiting his stardom over a quarter-century to lure women and underage girls into his orbit for sex, according to Reuters. Jurors in Brooklyn federal court deliberated for a little more than a day before voting to convict the 54-year-old Kelly on all nine counts he faced. Kelly kept his head down as the verdict was read, with his face shielded by a white mask. A woman watching from an overflow courtroom cried as the verdict was read. A lawyer for Kelly told reporters that the defense was disappointed. "I'm sure we'll be appealing," he said. Kelly faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years behind bars, and could face up to life in prison at his May 4, 2022 sentencing. During the six-week trial held in Brooklyn, nine women and two men took the stand and confirmed R. Kelly sexually abused them. They also accused him of rape, enforced drug abuse, obstruction, and children pornography. #MeToo Movement The singer, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, is one of the most prominent people tried on sex charges during the #MeToo movement, which amplified accusations that had dogged him since the early 2000s. The movement exposed many men involved in sexual abuse and harassment including artists, politicians, and businessmen. Tens of prominent figures were forced to quit their positions following these accusations, many of which have been investigated by the police. It's worth mentioning that many of Kelly's victims are black. Some of Kelly's charges were exposed in a documentary dubbed "Surviving R. Kelly" aired on the Lifetime network. For years, the "I Believe" singer denied all the sexual abuse charges including those mentioned in the documentary. He won three Grammys, and has a long record of hit songs like "Bump N' Grind" and "Your Body's Callin". The famous singer is still facing tough charges related to sexual abuse in Chicago, Illinois, and New York.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3218026/r-kelly-convicted-all-counts-sex-crimes

New Study: Age Contributes to Illness more than Genetics

Varieties

September 30th, 6:28am

Berlin - Asharq Al-Awsat

A woman gets a shot of a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at the Central Vaccination Center in Bangkok, Thailand, July 23, 2021. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa.

The interplay of age and vulnerability to illness has been under an unprecedented spotlight during the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed mostly older people affected by preexisting conditions or "co-morbidities," with huge death tolls in nursing homes in many countries, according to the German News Agency. But while the conventional wisdom – that people are more likely to get sick as they get older – still holds, according to the University of Oxford, their health in general, for good or bad, is less likely to be affected by genes as time catches up. According to a research team led by the university's Gil McVean, "the genes we inherit from our parents influence our risk for almost all diseases but there is a tendency for genetic relative risk to decline with increasing age." McVean and colleagues wrote in an article published in the journal PLOS Genetics that while "new genomic technologies" can be used to forecast "future disease risk," the accuracy of predictions can be offset by sex, ethnicity and age. The research was based on information on half a million British National Health Service (NHS) patients stored in the UK Biobank, which McVean and colleagues analyzed to see how genes affect a person's risk of falling ill with common conditions such as cancer, heart disease and hypertension. McVean said that while "genetic factors are most important in determining whether you will get a disease early in life, other factors come to dominate risk" as a person gets older.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3218011/new-study-age-contributes-illness-more-genetics

Israel Officers Kill Woman after Jerusalem Stabbing Attempt

Arab World

September 30th, 6:20am

Asharq Al-Awsat

Illustrative: Border Police officers deploy at the Qalandiya checkpoint north of Jerusalem after an apparent stabbing attack, September 18, 2019. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Israeli police fatally shot a woman who tried to stab officers in Jerusalem's Old City on Thursday, police said. According to a police statement, the attacker attempted to stab police in one of the streets leading to the Al-Aqsa mosque, where an AFP journalist heard gunshots and saw the body of a woman on the ground, later draped in a survival blanket. Israeli police "opened fire" at the assailant and "medical forces who arrived at the scene determined her death," police said, adding that the attempted attack did not result in any casualties. The 30-year-old assailant, who was not immediately identified, was leaving the Al-Aqsa compound, Islam's third holiest site, when she approached officers, the police said. Israeli security forces are stationed at each entrance to the site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism. The mosque compound lies in east Jerusalem, the Palestinian sector of the city which Israel occupied in 1967 and later annexed in a move never recognized by the international community. In May, days of clashes at the site between Palestinians and Israeli forces were the prelude to 11 days of conflict in Gaza between Israel and the territory's Islamist rulers Hamas, the heaviest fighting between the two sides in years. Five Palestinians were killed on Sunday after an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank sparked gunbattles with Hamas militants, officials said.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3217991/israel-officers-kill-woman-after-jerusalem-stabbing-attempt

UN Voices Concern over Worsening Living Conditions of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon

Arab World

September 30th, 6:12am

Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat

Syrian refugee, Asua, from Homs, lives in the economically challenged Bab al-Tabbaneh neighbourhood in Tripoli, northern Lebanon. UNHCR/Diego Ibarra Sánchez

The UN voiced concern on Wednesday over the rapid deterioration in the living conditions of Syrian refugees in Lebanon. The UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned that almost the entire Syrian refugee population living in the country is unable to afford the survival minimal expenditure basket. The preliminary findings of the 2021 Vulnerability Assessment of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon (VASyR), released today, reveal a dire situation, with nine out of ten Syrian refugees still living in extreme poverty. According to the survey, in 2021, the vast majority of refugees continued to resort to negative coping strategies to survive, such as begging, borrowing money, not sending their children to school, reducing health expenses or not paying rent. “In 2021, more family members took poorly paid jobs, high-risk jobs or extra shifts to make the same income the household made in 2020,” the survey said. “Over the last 18 months, the Lebanese currency lost more than 85 per cent of its value. Prices have skyrocketed, and mere survival has become out of reach for Syrian refugee families. The crisis will have a long-term impact on refugees’ well-being and the future of their children and is threatening past gains such as access to essential services,” said Ayaki Ito, UNHCR Representative in the country. He noted that Lebanese families are struggling too. “Stronger support for Lebanese, refugees, and other vulnerable communities is urgently needed at this most critical juncture. We cannot fail them now,” he added. The study shows that almost 60 percent of Syrian refugee families live in dangerous, substandard, or overcrowded shelters. It also shows an increase in the average rent in all shelter types and in all governorates, and an increase in the risk of eviction. "Inflation impacted food prices significantly. Between October 2019 and June 2021, the cost of food increased by 404 per cent, resulting in worrisome food insecurity levels among Syrian refugee families. In June 2021, 49 percent of Syrian refugee families were food insecure. About two-thirds of the families had to limit food portion sizes or reduce the number of meals consumed per day," the UN report read. “This has been a tough year for everyone in Lebanon. We have seen food prices slip out of reach for many families,” said Abdallah AlWardat, WFP Representative and Country Director in Lebanon. "Thanks to generous support from donors, WFP is helping more than 1.1 million Syrian refugees and 600,000 Lebanese nationals every month. We’re providing cash assistance and food parcels and also organizing activities to support and protect people’s livelihoods,” he added. As for basic hygiene, two out of ten refugee families did not have access to basic baby care items, and one out of ten did not have access to female hygiene items. Meanwhile, the UN said that Syrian refugee children are bearing the brunt of the crisis. “Thirty percent of children in school age (ages 6-17) have never been to school. Primary school attendance for children between 6 and 14 years old dropped by 25% in 2021,” it said, adding that the upward trend in child labor among Syrian children continued in 2021, with at least 27,825 Syrian refugee children currently engaged in child labor.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3217976/un-voices-concern-over-worsening-living-conditions-syrian-refugees-lebanon

Algeria Begins Sinovac Covid-19 Vaccine Production

Arab World

September 30th, 6:03am

Asharq Al-Awsat

A lab technician holds a vial of Chinese Sinovac's CoronaVac vaccine against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) during the inauguration of a production lab designated to manufacture the vaccine, in Constantine, Algeria September 29, 2021. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina

Algeria on Wednesday started producing the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Chinese firm Sinovac in partnership with state pharmaceutical products company Saidal, with production expected to be eight million doses a month. Prime Minister Aimene Benabderrahmane, who attended the launch of the production process at a factory in the eastern city of Constantine, called it a "big achievement". Production could be doubled in the country if needed, officials said. "Algeria... aims to achieve other projects of this kind," Benabderrahmane said, praising the country's pharmaceutical industry. Lotfi Djamel Benbahmed, Algeria's minister for the pharmaceutical industry, has said the country plans to export the vaccines. He said Saidal, the firm making the jabs, was so far the only African company to be licensed to produce the jab. Following a sharp spike in Covid-19 cases in past months, Algeria has seen a drop in recent weeks. Algeria, the biggest African nation by size, announced this month a campaign to vaccinate some 70 percent of its 44 million population by the end of the year.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3217966/algeria-begins-sinovac-covid-19-vaccine-production

China Still Loves Apple, Politics Aside

Opinion

September 30th, 5:55am

Adam Minter

Adam Minter -

Relations between China and the US may be scraping new lows, but that hasn’t stopped Chinese consumers from snapping up the iPhone 13. Shortly after pre-sales for the phone opened on Sept. 17, some colors sold out in minutes. Apple Inc.’s China website crashed. Social media erupted. A week later, as in-store sales began, eager buyers stampeded through a shopping mall. Sales of the handset on JD Daojia, a leading e-commerce platform, ran 470% over last year’s iPhone 12. Of course, a frenzy over a new Apple product isn’t unheard of. But for the past few years, Chinese consumers have increasingly embraced domestic products after decades of favoring foreign ones. Trade wars, patriotism and US sanctions on Huawei Technologies Co. have all played a role. So have anti-Apple campaigns by the authorities. Yet the iPhone, arguably the most prominent US product sold in China, hasn’t lost its allure. Why? Consumer nationalism has a long history in China. In 1911, the local silk industry faced an existential crisis. Following the fall of the last imperial dynasty, the new government encouraged Chinese to adopt modern fashion, including Western-style clothes. Worried that this push would favor foreign-manufactured wool, the industry (which employed millions) helped organize a National Products Movement that promoted locally made goods as a form of anti-imperial resistance. In 1915, after “humiliating” Japanese incursions on Chinese sovereignty, the movement inspired a national boycott of popular Japanese products. Over the next century, through China’s economic collapse and revival, bursts of angry nationalism were paralleled by surges of patriotic consumption. In 2005, Japan’s effort to join the United Nations Security Council inspired nationwide protests, riots (during which Japanese cars and businesses were trashed), and boycotts. Four years later, similar protests erupted over Japanese sovereignty claims in the East China Sea. In 2018, Canada’s detention of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou spurred nationwide calls for a boycott of the down jackets made by Canada Goose Holdings Inc. In recent years, younger Chinese have been embracing a trend called “guochao” — roughly, “China chic” — in which products (especially apparel and luxury goods) featuring Chinese elements are esteemed. The authorities have done their part with campaigns — sometimes subtle, sometimes not — to disparage foreign brands and companies. In 2013, the state-owned People’s Daily ran a weeks-long campaign accusing Apple of “unparalleled arrogance” for offering warranties in China that were less robust than those offered elsewhere. (Apple eventually apologized.) Such efforts have rarely held up for long, however. Nine months after the 2012 anti-Japan protests, Japanese car imports had rebounded sharply. Similarly, two years after calls for a Canada Goose boycott, the retailer announced a plan to double its stores in China. Despite rising tensions with the US, the same seems to be happening for Apple. In the second quarter, Apple owned an 11.9% share of China’s smartphone market — up from 8.3% in the same period last year. Several factors explain the persistence of foreign goods in the Chinese market. First, they’re often made in China. Japan’s automakers own massive Chinese factories; so do Apple contractors such as Foxconn Technology Co. (which employs more than 1 million people on the mainland). Chinese consumers are also increasingly spending on premium products, and — right or wrong — “premium” is still typically associated with “foreign.” One 2016 survey found that fully half of 10,000 respondents said they seek the “best and most expensive” product. In China, where low-cost, low-quality goods predominate, that leaves a lucrative niche for Apple, Canada Goose and other high-end brands. Finally, China’s growing young consumer class remains far more cosmopolitan than prior generations, and that translates into a continued openness to foreign products and experiences. In 2019, Chinese travelers spent $255 billion abroad, the equivalent of about 1.5% of gross domestic product. Despite Covid concerns, a survey in January found that a whopping 43% of Chinese want to go overseas for their next holiday. That’s hardly the picture of a generation turning inward. None of which is to say that foreign brands can take China for granted. Last year, Huawei’s high-end Mate smartphones were beginning to offer Apple stiff competition. Thanks to US sanctions, that competition was cut short. But Apple shouldn’t rest easily. Eventually, Chinese brands will realize they don’t need politics and boycotts to convince people to buy Chinese. They just need better products. Bloomberg

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3217951/adam-minter/china-still-loves-apple-politics-aside

Cristiano Ronaldo Saves Manchester United From More Villarreal Misery at Old Trafford

Sports

September 30th, 5:55am

Asharq Al-Awsat

Ronaldo came to the rescue. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

Solskjaer’s men were staring down the barrel of another embarrassing group stage exit from the Champions League after deservedly falling behind early in the second half to Paco Alcacer’s smart finish. Alex Telles’ stunning strike quickly levelled, but they looked set to drop more points in Group F until Ronaldo’s late intervention. Despite the result, there was little in the performance to quell the growing questions as to whether Solskjaer is the man to get the best out of a squad of supremely talented individuals that are yet to click as a collective. “That’s what happens at Old Trafford, we had to throw caution to the wind and got lucky in the end,” said Solskjaer. “When you’ve got Cristiano on the pitch there is always a chance.” Ronaldo’s late show beat Solskjaer’s famous strike to win the Champions League in 1999 as United’s latest winning goal in the competition, AFP reported. The 36-year-old took his shirt of and showed off his ripped physique as he celebrated the last-gasp winner. However, for most of the 95 minutes Villarreal were the better side and were left to rue not taking their chances as they sit bottom of the group on one point from two games. “We’re annoyed. The game was basically over, we just needed to see it out and we didn’t,” said Villarreal defender Pau Torres. “We were impeccable before that. We took the lead, were creating chance and were better than Man United at Old Trafford.” United were without three of their first-choice back four with Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw sidelined by injury, while Aaron Wan-Bissaka was suspended after being sent off in the 2-1 defeat to Young Boys on matchday one. A makeshift defense looked as such in the first half as Villarreal wasted a host of chances to inflict more misery on the Red Devils after beating them in May to win the Europa League. Goalkeeper David de Gea was the fall guy in the Europa League final as he was the only player of the 22 on both sides to fail to score in a marathon penalty shootout. However, he has started the season in supreme form and made brilliant saves from Arnaut Danjuma and Alcacer to keep the game scoreless at half-time. United did not heed their warnings as eight minutes into the second period another promising break from Danjuma finally got the finish it deserved as Alcacer prodded through the legs of de Gea at the near post. Telles was at fault for the opening goal as he played Danjuma onside. But the Brazilian quickly made amends in spectacular fashion as he volleyed home Fernandes’ free-kick from outside the area for his first United goal. Solskjaer had named an extremely offensive line-up with Ronaldo flanked by Jadon Sancho and Mason Greenwood, and Paul Pogba alongside Fernandes in midfield. But it was another night to forget Sancho since his move from Borussia Dortmund in July. The England winger was easily kept in check by Juan Foyth before being replaced 15 minutes from time by Edinson Cavani. The Uruguayan had a golden chance to instantly make himself the hero, but somehow headed wide with the goal gaping from Greenwood’s perfect cross. De Gea saved United once more five minutes from time in a goalmouth scramble to deny Moi Gomez and Boulaye Dia. And Villarreal’s profligacy in front of goal came back to haunt them as the all-time top goalscorer in Champions League history showed them how to finish. Jesse Lingard turned a loose ball Ronaldo’s way deep into stoppage time and his effort had too much power for Rulli.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3217946/cristiano-ronaldo-saves-manchester-united-more-villarreal-misery-old-trafford

Hamas: No Sick Pay for Unvaccinated Gaza Civil Servants

Arab World

September 30th, 5:47am

Asharq Al-Awsat

A general view shows Gaza City September 2, 2021. Picture taken with a drone. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem/File Photo

Civil servants in Gaza who are not vaccinated against Covid-19 and contract the virus will not be paid during sick leave, Hamas movement said Wednesday. Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007, has been trying to combat vaccine hesitancy in the Israeli-blockaded territory, home to some two million Palestinians. Gaza's health ministry has said it had received 768,000 vaccine doses, but only 140,000 residents have been fully inoculated. "Legal measures must be taken against those employees who do not follow the instructions regarding vaccination," said Salama Maruf, the head of Hamas's media office. A similar measure for unvaccinated civil servants has been in place for several weeks in the West Bank. Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh has said that "most" new infections in the West Bank are among the unvaccinated. In the West Bank, under Israeli military occupation since 1967, more than 234,000 Covid-19 cases have been recorded and nearly 2,700 people have died from the virus. More than 596,000 have been fully inoculated with two jabs against coronavirus in the territory, home to some 2.3 million Palestinians, according to the Palestinian Authority. In Gaza, some 168,000 covid cases have been recorded, with 1,375 deaths.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3217941/hamas-no-sick-pay-unvaccinated-gaza-civil-servants