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02Regn opens for Khalid bin Hamad Innovation, AI competition

03SMC doctors to perform 12 kidney transplant surgeries

04Gulf national given five years sentence for ‘drug trafficking’

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Plane skids off runway killing one, injuring 157

Istanbul

A Pegasus Airlines plane flying into Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen airport skidded off the end of the wet runway and broke into three pieces after landing on Wednes-day, killing one person and in-juring 157 others, Health Min-ister Fahrettin Koca said.

Speaking to reporters in the eastern province of Van, Koca said that one person had died in

hospital after the accident but that none of the other wounded were in critical condition.

Istanbul Governor Ali Yer-likaya said earlier that the plane was carrying 177 passengers and six crew from the western province of Izmir. He said the wounded were being treated at 18 hospitals in the area.

“The plane could not hold on the runway due to poor weath-er conditions and skidded for around 50-60 metres,” Yerlikaya told reporters at the airport.

A picture shows the crash site of a Pegasus Airlines Boeing 737 airplane.

His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa received His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier, at his residence in Germany, yesterday. HRH Crown Prince visited HRH Premier to get assured about his health after his full recovery. HRH the Prime Minister expressed sincere thanks and appreciation to HRH the Crown Prince for his kind visit, highlighting the visit’s great importance. HRH Crown Prince expressed deepest congratulations to HRH the Prime Minister on his recovery, praying to Allah the Almighty to bless him with abundant health and wellness, as well as safe return to the Kingdom.

Israel hits Hamas targets Jerusalem

Israel struck Hamas mili-tant targets in Gaza ear-ly yesterday in response to rocket fire towards Israeli communities overnight, the military said, the latest flare-up following the release of the Trump administration’s Mideast plan, which the Palestinians have fiercely rejected.

The military said it target-ed a Hamas weapons manu-facturing site and that no one was wounded. The exchange comes amid an uptick in cross-border rocket and “ex-plosive balloon” launches from the Hamas-controlled territory, as well as violent protests in the West Bank.

The Gaza Strip has been relatively calm in recent months as part of an infor-mal truce between its Hamas rulers and Israel, but tension has increased since Presi-dent Donald Trump unrolled his favourable plan for Israel last week.

EU to sanction Turkish officials

Brussels

The EU has agreed to sanctions against two officials from Turkey’s state petroleum company.

The action against the officials of Turkish Petro-leum will be given approval by EU lawyers on Thursday before they are formally an-nounced, diplomats say.

It is the first time EU sanc-tions will be used against people linked to Turkish ex-ploration and drilling in the eastern Mediterranean off Cyprus.

• HRH Princess Sabeeka underlined the role of the award in adopting policies aimed at achieving gender balance.

• The first place in the public institutions category was clinched by the Education and Training Quality Authority.

Manama

Her Royal Highness Prin-cess Sabeeka bint Ibra-him Al Khalifa, Wife of His Majesty the King and President of the Supreme Coun-cil for Women (SCW), praised

the perpetual advancement of Bahraini women, describing it as a landmark feature of the Kingdom’s prosperity under the leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

She also lauded active par-ticipation of public and private institutions, non-government organisations as well as individ-uals in supporting this progress and promoting the kingdom’s status as a regional and interna-tional model to emulate.

HRH Princess Sabeeka was speaking during a ceremony to announce the winners of the sixth edition of her Award for the Empowerment of Bahraini Women which was held at Isa Cultural Centre. She praised practices adopted by institu-tions and individuals to support Bahraini women, stressing that they deserve to be promoted internationally through various mass media.

She affirmed that those mod-els are worth of every respect and appreciation, stressing the role of the award in boosting the status of Bahraini women as an active player in development.

HRH Princess Sabeeka under-lined the role of the award in supporting the institutional and individual efforts to adopt pol-

icies aimed at achieving active partnership and gender balance in various sectors. She noted that the growing interest in the award puts a responsibility on SCW to develop the award’s cri-teria and ascertain they cope with women’s development.

In this context, she com-mended the efforts of the

award’s committee and its keenness to develop scientific and objective criteria to pre-pare an organisational and ad-ministrative environment for tapping on Bahraini women’s potentials.

HRH Princess Sabeeka hon-oured the winners. The first place in the public institutions category was clinched by the Education and Training Quality Authority while the award in the official institutions category went to the Shura Council and Economic Development Board.

Meanwhile, the first place in the private sector institutions category was grabbed by Zain Bahrain and in the NGOs cate-gory, the award went to Bahrain Investment Professionals Soci-ety. In the individual category, it was granted to Aisha Khalifa Matar who was nominated by Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities.

Crown Prince visits Premier

Women power

HRH Princess Sabeeka Award for Empowerment of Bahraini Women winners named

HRH Princess Sabeeka hands over the award to Mr Al Saleh.

HRH Princess Sabeeka at the award ceremony yesterday.

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Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, Wife of His Majesty the King and President of the Supreme Council for Women (SCW), yesterday received winners of the first edition of her International Women Empowerment Award which was announced in March, 2019, in New York, in co-operation with the UN Women. The meeting was held in the presence of the UN Women Representative and the authority’s Acting Regional Director Dr Moez Duraid and members of the international award committee. HRH Princess Sabeeka welcomed the winners, congratulating them on their achievement. She stressed Bahrain’s keenness on assessing the positive impact of the award on exchanging experience in the field of women empowerment. She thanked the UN Women for preparing to launch the second edition of the award, calling on the winners to get closely informed about maturity of the kingdom’s experience and the high competitiveness shown in the sixth edition of the award’s national edition. She pointed out the need to project the goals of the award and highlight its success at the international level.

His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier deputised Commander-in-Chief of Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) Field Marshal Shaikh Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa to attend the distribution ceremony of the documents of the housing units in Salman City. The celebration was held yesterday in conjunction with the 52nd BDF anniversary. On arrival, the BDF Commander-in-Chief was welcomed by Minister of Defence Lieutenant-General Abdullah Al Nuaimi, Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Dhiab Al Nuaimi, Defence Ministry Undersecretary Major-General Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa and senior officers.

Commander-in-Chief of the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF), Field Marshal Shaikh Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, patronised, at the BDF General Command yesterday, a ceremony to confer the medals awarded by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the Supreme Commander, to a number of senior BDF officers, marking the BDF’s 52nd Anniversary. Chief of Staff, Lieutenant-General Dheyab bin Saqr Al Nuaimi, and the Defence Affairs Ministry’s Undersecretary, Major-General Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, were present. The commander-in-chief conferred the Order of Bahrain of the First Class on a number of senior BDF officers. Field Marshal Shaikh Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa conveyed greetings and appreciation from HM King Hamad, the Supreme Commander, to the honoured officers. He also congratulated them on their honouring, and lauded their dedicated work and high morale, wishing them further success in their military career, and in serving the Kingdom.

Regn opens for Khalid bin Hamad Innovation,

AI competition TDT | Manama

Under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, First Deputy Presi-dent of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports, and Bah-rain Olympic Committee Pres-ident, Bahrain Polytechnic, in cooperation with the Media Office of HH Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, announced that registration is open for the third edition of the “Khalid bin Hamad Innovation and Artificial Intelligence Com-petition”, which takes place at Bahrain Polytechnic in Isa Town. The final date for reg-istration has been set on Feb-ruary 28, 2020.

The competition comes in partnership with the Informa-tion and eGovernment Author-ity, Microsoft and Al Moayyed Computers Middle East, and is supported by Al Ahli United Bank as a platinum sponsor, BanaGas as a silver sponsor, Bahrain Bay for Financial Technology.

The competition is open for participation for all university and secondary schools’ stu-dents, who can register online through www.hackfest.poly-technic.bh.

Participants’ capabilities to create innovative projects, us-ing one of Microsoft’s cloud computing services, will be

tested in the competition. The participating (one to three member) teams will be allowed five weeks to work on their projects. Throughout this pe-riod, several workshops will be organised to support the participants. Each project will be evaluated by a jury and win-ners will be honoured in the closing ceremony.

On the occasion, Bahrain Polytechnic CEO Dr Jeff Za-budsky stated: “This compe-tition is a great opportunity to showcase talented individuals in the field of artificial intel-ligence. At Polytechnic, our goal is to constantly update our software to meet the lat-est trends in the market, and to organise such events with Microsoft that further support achieving this goal. I wish all the participants good luck at all stages of the competition, and I hope this platform will

allow them to show their cre-ativity to the public.”

For his part, Microsoft Bahrain and Oman General Manager Shaikh Saif bin Hi-lal Al Hosni affirmed that the company continues its efforts that are dedicated towards enabling national competen-cies and talented individuals in the Kingdom , noting that this approach is in line with the Kingdom’s ambitious eco-nomic vision 2030 to achieve economic growth that is based on knowledge.

He also stressed on the cru-cial role such initiatives play in enabling and rehabilitating the youth so they can cope with the requirements of the fourth industrial revolution, and take leading future positions in the competitive labour market, guaranteeing them jobs in both the public and private sectors in the Kingdom.

Dr Jeff Zabudsky Shaikh Saif


SMC doctors to perform 12 kidney transplant surgeries

Organ transplant programmes progressing at rapid pace, says Health Ministry

• Health Ministry sources said Bahraini doctors are well-equipped to carry out the procedures after seeking international expertise.

• Health Minister revealed that around 10 kidney transplant surgeries take place, on an average, in the Kingdom every year.

TDT | Manama

The Kingdom’s largest hospital will be able to handle 12 kidney trans-plant surgeries this year, it emerged.

According to Health Ministry officials, the organ transplant programmes are progressing at a rapid pace at Salmaniya Med-ical Complex.

This follows the successful completion of 10 kidney trans-plant surgeries last year.

Among the surgeries per-formed was the case of a 30-year-old man who donat-

ed his kidney to his younger brother.

Health Ministry sources said Bahraini doctors are well-equipped to carry out the pro-cedures after seeking interna-tional expertise, especially from Jordan if required.

Recently, it was announced that the Kingdom’s first ever liv-er transplant will be performed this year.

The Minister of Health, Faeqa Al Saleh, who was responding to a query by a parliamentari-an said that Bahrain expects to make great strides in its organ transplant programmes this year.

The minister also revealed that around 10 kidney trans-plant surgeries take place, on an average, in the Kingdom every year.

She added that Bahraini doc-tors are being continuously being trained to perform such surgeries.

Around 700 patients visit Sal-maniya Medical Complex and the government dialysis facility in Busaiteen to undergo dialysis three times per week.

According to Consultant Nephrologist at Salmaniya Med-ical Complex Dr Ali Hassan Al Aradi, a large number of people have also been receiving the di-alysis treatment at the Bahrain Defence Force Royal Medical Service, the Kingdom’s military hospital.

He said that there are oth-ers who receive treatment from home. The doctor said preva-lence of kidney disease is also causing people to undergo kid-ney transplant.

He said that such demand of kidney treatment also necessi-tates services of more doctors and specialists and there for the government may need to be hire more doctors to meet the requirements.

He added that obesity, dia-betes and stress are all big con-tributors to kidney disease. He urged the public to maintain a good weight and adopt healthy lifestyle choices.

Food security measures discussed Manama

Deputy Premier, Chair-man of the Ministerial Committee for Development and Infrastructure Projects, Shaikh Khalid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, received Emirati Minister of State for Food Security Mariam bint Mo-hammed Saeed Hareb Al Muhairi.

Shaikh Khalid expressed his aspiration for this visit, through the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the two sides, to open more horizons of co-operation, exchange ex-periences, information and studies in the fields related to the file of food security.

Deputy Premier point-ed out that food security is an important interest to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, which is followed-up by the gov-ernment headed by the Prime Minister His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, and supported by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander, First Deputy Prime Minister.

He emphasised that the Ministerial Committee is following up the develop-ment and implementation of the strategic project for na-tional food production, to in-clude the allocation of multi-ple sites for fish farming and plant production, with the aim of developing national capacities in the field of food industries and raising the proportion of local produc-tion, and maintaining local expertise to be an important part in the success of these projects.

Shaikh Khalid noted that the Emirati-Bahraini part-nership in the file of food se-curity adds a new dimension and a vital field for the ex-isting bilateral co-operation and co-ordination, thanks to the keenness and interest of the two leaderships in both countries.

Minister Al Muhairi af-firmed Bahrain’s advanced status in the field of plant and animal production, which can be developed through exchanging expe-riences between specialists in both countries, and hold-ing joint training programs aimed at preparing nation-al cadres specialised in the field of food security.

Nod for private sector to invest in gardens TDT | Manama

A proposal to allow private sector companies to invest in gardens was approved by the Southern Governorate.

The proposal aims to assist in the development of gardens in the governorate. Head of South-ern Municipal Council, Badel Al Tamimi said that stronger co-op-eration with private sector can yield fruitful results.

He added that such a collabo-ration can also lead to advancing Bahrain’s sustainability goals.

The authorities are also con-sidering a plan to impose fees on using restrooms at all public parks across the Kingdom by this year.

It is believed that the new measure, if implemented, would generate hundreds of thousands

of Bahraini dinars that would cover for the maintenance of the facilities in the parks.

A source in Works, Municipal-

ities Affairs and Urban Planning Ministry, told Tribune on grounds of anonymity, that the plan will include all public parks and gar-

dens in the Kingdom, and it aims to combat the negligence and mis-use of such facilities, and cover the huge budgets annually spent

on their maintenance. The source revealed that the

Capital General Secretariat spends BD75,000-BD100,000 an-nually for the maintenance of 60 parks in the Capital Governorate.

The maintenance works in-clude revamping the restrooms, playgrounds and the other facil-ities in these parks.

Paving the road to implement the new plan at all four gover-norates, Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Min-ister Essam Khalaf recently ap-proved a proposal presented by Muharraq Municipal Council to privatise the facilities in public parks and gardens in Muharraq Governorate, and to impose cer-tain fees to benefit the budget of the municipality and compensate the maintenance expenses.

SMC is well-equipped to carry out organ transplant surgeries, according to Health Ministry.

700patients visit Salmaniya Medical Complex and

the government dialysis facility in Busaiteen to undergo dialysis three

times per week.

The proposal aims to serve an impetus in the development of gardens in the governorate.

Manama Souq development project ‘work progressing’ TDT | Manama

Headed by the Chief Exec-utive Officer of the Bah-rain Tourism and Exhibi-tions Authority (BTEA), Nader Al Moayyed, the Manama Souq Devel-opment Committee held its eighth meeting yesterday at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Con-vention Centre.

The agenda of the meeting cov-ered several topics including the approval of the previous meeting minutes and reviewing the latest developments of the Manama Souq project.

The project aims to maintain and preserve the authentic and tradi-

tional identity of the market, but en-suring it is maintained up to a mod-ern standard, this includes changing the signage and shopfronts.

Once completed, the revamped Souq will also facilitate the flow of traffic.

The edifice works include the revamping of the facades of dilapi-dated buildings, renovating the sig-nage and storefronts of 275 shops located on four main streets in the Souq, which include Bab Al Bahrain Avenue, Sheikh Abdulla Avenue, Al Tijjar Avenue as well as the Crown Prince Avenue.

“BTEA is closely following the progress and development of the Manama Souq project to ensure that

it continues to be implemented in a seamless manner and being car-ried out to the highest international standards. The work includes uni-fying the design of storefronts and the maintenance of the buildings to maintain their traditional style.

“All of these efforts are aimed at

preserving the old Souq given its importance as an authentic tourist destination and historical landmark in the Kingdom of Bahrain,” com-mented the Chief Executive Officer of BTEA, Nader Al Moayed.

The meetings are held on a peri-odic basis, and involve all concerned

parties, in order to discuss the latest developments of this pioneering project, which aims to revitalise the tourism sector in the Kingdom of Bahrain and increase its contribu-tion to the national economy.

The Manama Souq Develop-ment Committee comprises of rep-

resentatives from the Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning, Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, Urban Planning and Development Author-ity, Economic Development Board, Capital Municipality, Capital Secre-tariat Council as well as a number of Manama Souq traders.

BTEA is working closely with the government entities and private authorities involved in the develop-ment of the Manama Souq project, which comes in line with BTEA’s efforts to enhance one of the most popular Souqs in the Kingdom with the aim of providing a renewed ex-perience for visitors touring this vital landmark.

Attendees during the eighth Manama Souq Development Committee meeting.


Gulf national given five years sentence

for ‘drug trafficking’ 2,960 narcotic pills hidden in slippers

were seized by customs officials TDT | Manama

The Fourth High Crimi-nal Court has sentenced a Gulf national, who at-tempted to smuggle 2,960 nar-cotic pills into the Kingdom by hiding it in his slippers, to five years imprisonment followed by deportation, and fined him BD3,000.

The defendant was caught at Bahrain International Airport while arriving from Jordan.

On October 24, 2019, the Pub-lic Prosecution indicted the man with the following charges: First, bringing the psychotropic substance amphetamine with the intention of trafficking it in circumstances other than those prescribed by law, as indicated in the investigations. Secondly, ac-quiring and possessing narcotic cannabis and the psychotropic substance amphetamine with intention of using the drugs in circumstances other than those prescribed by law, as indicated in the investigations.

The incident took place when the defendant came to the King-dom through Bahrain Interna-tional Airport from Jordan, and upon passing through the cus-toms, the first witness suspected

him.The first witness, a customs

officer, searched him thoroughly and found 2,960 pills that were hidden in his sandals.

Also, the results of the labo-ratory showed that these pills contained the drug effect of am-phetamine.

Moreover, the second witness conducted investigations that confirmed that the defendant brought the pills with the inten-tion of drug trafficking.

Furthermore, the results of the investigation made the defend-ant confess to the Public Prose-cution about consuming drugs, after the lab results of his urine contained traces of cannabis and amphetamine.

The court said that it has demonstrated authentic ev-

idence against the defendant, as attested by the first and sec-ond witnesses, the defendant’s confession, and the technical reports.

At the Public Prosecution, the first witness testified that on the day of the incident, he was on duty at the customs inspection point at Bahrain International Airport.

The customs officer told that he suspected the defendant, so he did a thorough search on him and found in the slippers that he was wearing 2,960 pills that were believed to contain fenethylline.

The second witness, who is a Chief Prosecutor at the Public Prosecution, presented his testi-mony that stated that the investi-gations proved that the defend-ant brought narcotic drugs into the Kingdom with the intention of drug trafficking.

The defendant confessed to the investigations of the Public Prosecution regarding the use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.

Additionally, the examination report of the defendant men-tioned the drug effect of amphet-amine, as his urine showed trac-es of cannabis and amphetamine.

Chinese expats ‘buying, exporting face masks to

their home country’

TDT | Manama Rajeevan Puravankara

Many Chinese citizens in the Kingdom are buy-ing face masks in large numbers and sending home in bid to address the shortage for face masks there following the outbreak of coronavirus, it emerged.

Speaking to Tribune, many pharma store managers said that Chinese citizens have been vis-iting pharma outlets to buy face masks in bulk in the past three days.

Bahrain Pharmacy Financial Controller Francis Kaitharath said Chinese nationals repre-senting many Chinese civil soci-ety groups, purchased 20 cartons of face masks yesterday alone.

He said that two types of face masks are popular among the customers - surgical and N95. And among them “surgical face masks are mostly in demand”.

It is estimated that 35 million face masks are being sold in Chi-na on a daily basis following the outbreak.

Face masks were out of stock at many pharma stores across the Kingdom as people began

buying them in large numbers over coronavirus fear. The short-age is attributed to declining supply and increasing demand in the Kingdom.

Meanwhile, the Wuhan coro-navirus outbreak continues its deadly spread.

The novel illness, provision-ally known as 2019-nCov, has infected over 20,000 people ac-cording to the latest data. There have been over 500 deaths, with cases springing up in 27 coun-tries. Chinese authorities have implemented wide-ranging travel restrictions to control the outbreak.

The Kingdom is facing a huge shortage of face masks.

3,000Bahraini dinars in fine was

imposed by the court on the defendant.

Man gets three months jail for stalking Bahraini actress

TDT | Manama

A male Gulf national was recently convicted of stalking a Bahraini ac-tress for almost six years.

He was sentenced by the Fifth Lower Criminal Court to three months imprisonment and deportation without re-entry after the execution of the pun-ishment.

The details of the incident date back to six years ago, when the defendant met the actress during a theatrical performance.

He began messaging her via mobile phone and through social media networks.

This personal matter did not stop until it reached her work-place, and that’s when the ac-tress lodged a complaint against the stalker to the police.

Court files showed that the man’s comments on social me-dia sites caused problems to the Bahraini actress; and then, he started communicating with her family members.

It was also shown that this matter continued until it got to the point of him chasing her to the workplace, where she was shocked to see him waiting.

She sought help from by-standers, and he was captured and handed over to the police, according to Prosecutors.

Draw winner named Mohamed Matar has been named the winner of Nissan Patrol after Ansar Gallery conducted a mega car raffle draw under the supervision of the Ministry of Commerce. This was part of Ansar Gallery’s ‘Win 10 Nissan Patrol and Ford Expedition SUV cars raffle draw’ which also offers 30 valuable gifts as well as other surprise gifts until April 15, 2020. To enter the draw, customers should make a purchase of BD5 or more. Next draw will be held on February 13, 2020 while mega car raffle draw (winner will receive Ford Expedition 2020) will be held on February 27, 2020. Winners list are available on www.ansargallery.com.bh.

The victim sought help from bystanders who nabbed the defendant and handed over to the

police. PROSECUTORS

Three Bahraini women on ‘Forbes Power Businesswomen’ list TDT | Manama

Three Bahraini wom-en have been named by Forbes Middle East in its annual ‘Power Businesswomen in the Middle East’ list, which is packed with 100 exceptional businesswomen in the region.

Najla Al Shirawi, Mona Yousuf Almoayyed and Narjes Farookh Jamal found their way to the list after working their way up a steep career ladder for dec-

ades to reach the top of their professions.

“If there were glass ceilings to be smashed, these are some of the titans that first smashed them,” the report said.

Mona Yousuf Almoayyed ranked ninth on the list is the Managing director of Y K Al-moayyed and Sons, a diversi-fied group established in 1940, with divisions specialising in trading, contracting, concrete products, air-conditioning, tel-

ecom services and property de-velopment.

Najla Al Shirawi placed 66th on the list is the CEO of SICO,

which has an asset base of $440 million as of September 2019.

In November 2019 the Saudi Capital Markets Authority gave SICO regulatory approval to of-fer asset management services in the Kingdom.

Narjes Farookh Jamal, who ranks 80th on the list is the COO of Bahrain Bourse. Bahrain Bourse introduced new Listing Rules in January 2020, which aim to clarify the regulatory and organisational framework gov-erning all operational aspects of the Bourse.

Mona Yousuf Almoayyed Najla Al Shirawi Narjes Farookh Jamal

05 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2020

Mechanism: It is envisaged that the offer will be implemented by way of a voluntary conditional offer to the shareholders of AUB by KFH to acquire no less than 100% of the issued and paid up ordinary shares of AUB by way of share swap, at the exchange ratio, in line with the provisions of the TMA Module, and subject to approvals, exemptions and/or waivers granted or may be granted by the CBB.

Offer finance sources: Excluding the impact of fractional entitlements and issuance of AUB bonus shares for the year ending 31 December 2019, the consideration of the offer will be financed through an issue of 3,773,011,682 new shares in KFH, which has been approved by the extra ordinary general assembly held on 20 January 2020. The final consideration number of new KFH shares will be determined and announced by KFH as part of the offer process.

Conditions to which the offer or the posting is subject: The implementation of the offer will be subject to the fulfilment or waiver, where applicable, of the following conditions precedent. For the avoidance of doubt, the offer shall not become unconditional unless the below conditions precedent are fulfilled or waived by KFH:a. The Offeror having received valid acceptances in respect of AUB Shares that represent at least

85% of the total issued share capital of AUB.b. Following receipt of the requisite acceptances referred to in (a) above, the AUB shareholders

approving, amongst other things, and subject to any legal and regulatory requirements, converting the AUB business in Bahrain to Sharia’a compliant at the AUB extra ordinary general assembly meeting by a majority vote of two thirds of the AUB Shares represented at the AUB meeting.

c. Receipt of all regulatory and statutory approvals, exemptions and/or waivers in connection with the offer and the acquisition of no less than 100% of the issued and paid up ordinary shares of AUB, including receipt of the Central Bank of Bahrain and Central Bank of Kuwait final approvals, exemptions and/or waivers required to implement the offer, receipt of the Kuwaiti Capital Markets Authority approval for the issuance of the new KFH shares and receipt of any other approval required from any regulatory or statutory authority as may be determined.

d. KFH successfully completing a cross-listing on Bahrain Bourse in line with the applicable rules and regulations of the Central Bank of Bahrain and Bahrain Bourse.

In respect of condition (b) above, the invitation to the extra ordinary general assembly meeting will be published upon declaring the offer unconditional as to acceptances in line with the provisions of the TMA Module and the Decree Law No. 21 of the year 2001 promulgating the Commercial Companies Law in the Kingdom of Bahrain, as amended from time to time.Shareholders and/or potential investors of AUB should note that the offer shall be subject to the satisfaction or, with the exception of conditions (a) and (d) above, waiver (where applicable) of the conditions and conditional upon, the offer becoming or being declared unconditional in all respects. Accordingly, the offer may or may not become unconditional. Shareholders and/or potential investors of AUB should therefore exercise caution when dealing in the securities of AUB. Persons who are in doubt as to the action they should take should consult their licensed brokers, dealers, solicitors, professional accountants or other professional advisers.

Offeror’s intention for the future of the company: Following the successful implementation of the offer and acquisition of shares, KFH intends to maintain AUB’s commercial registration, however, KFH intends on changing AUB’s name to become “Kuwait Finance House – Bahrain”, in due course. AUB will continue to operate under normal course of business and maintain its operations as a wholly owned subsidiary of KFH where disruption to or cessation of any significant line of operations of AUB is not expected to occur as a result of the proposed acquisition of shares under the offer.KFH’s strategy for AUB post-acquisition commences with the process of converting the business of AUB in the Kingdom of Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq and the United Kingdom to Sharia’a compliant offering full range of Sharia’a compliant banking products subject to approval of CBB.Following the successful completion of the offer, KFH will commence converting AUB’s subsidiary in Kuwait to a digital bank as requested by the CBK. Immediately following the successful completion of converting AUB’s business to Sharia’a compliant, KFH will commence the process of conducting a statutory merger to merge its two wholly owned subsidiaries in Bahrain, being AUB and KFH Bahrain.

Details of any existing holding of AUB Shares and rights over the AUB Shares: None. No AUB Shares have been acquired by KFH in the last 12 months.

Details of any outstanding derivative in respect of the AUB Shares entered into by KFH or any person acting in concert with it: None.

Details of any arrangement (whether by way of option, indemnity or otherwise) in relation to the KFH shares or AUB Shares which might be material to the offer: None.

Details of any relevant securities of AUB in which KFH or any person acting in concert with it has an interest or has a right to subscribe: Except as disclosed otherwise, none of the KFH directors have any direct or deemed interest in the AUB Shares as of the date of this firm intention. However, the table below depicts the KFH directors’ share ownership in AUB as of the date of this firm intention:

KFH Board of DirectorsShares currently owned or controlled in AUB

Ownership % No. of sharesHamad Abdul Mohsen Al Marzouq 0.163 14,306,762Abdul Aziz Yacoub Alnafisi - -Fahad Ali AlGhanim - -Muad Saud Al Osaimi - -Khaled Salem Al Nisf - -Noorur Rahman Abid - -Hanan Yousef Ali Yousef - -Barrak Ali Alsheatan - -Motlaq Mubarak Al-Sanei - -Salah Abdulaziz Al-Muraikhi - -Total 0.163 14,306,762

Details of any relevant securities of AUB which KFH or any person acting in concert with it has borrowed or lent, excluding any borrowed shares which have been either on-lent or sold: None.

Details of any agreements or arrangements to which KFH is party which relate to the circumstances in which it may or may not invoke or seek to invoke a pre-condition or the consequences of its doing so, including details of any break fees payable as a result: None.

Details of any arrangement for the payment of an inducement fee or similar arrangement: None.

DISCLAIMER STATEMENTTHE CENTRAL BANK OF BAHRAIN AND BAHRAIN BOURSE ASSUME NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CONTENTS OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT, MAKE NO REPRESENTATION AS TO ITS ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY LIABILITY WHATSOEVER FOR ANY LOSS HOWSOEVER ARISING FROM OR IN RELIANCE UPON THE WHOLE OR ANY PART OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN INVITATION OR OFFER TO ACQUIRE, PURCHASE OR SUBSCRIBE FOR SECURITIES OF KUWAIT FINANCE HOUSE K.S.C.P.

DIRECTORS’ STATEMENTTHE DIRECTORS OF KUWAIT FINANCE HOUSE K.S.C.P. ISSUING THIS NOTIFICATION OF FIRM INTENTION TO MAKE AN OFFER, WHOSE NAMES APPEAR IN THIS DOCUMENT JOINTLY AND SEVERALLY ACCEPT FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY OF INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS NOTIFICATION. TO THE BEST OF THE KNOWLEDGE AND BELIEF OF THE DIRECTORS, WHO HAVE TAKEN ALL REASONABLE CARE TO ENSURE THAT SUCH IS THE CASE, THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS NOTIFICATION IS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FACTS AND CONTAINS NO OMISSIONS LIKELY TO AFFECT THE IMPORTANCE AND COMPLETENESS OF THIS NOTIFICATION.

Important note: Pursuant to TMA-2.7.6 of the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) Rulebook, Volume 6, Takeovers, Mergers and Acquisitions Module (TMA Module), the offer document must be sent to the offeree company by or on behalf of the offeror within 21 calendar days of the date of the announcement of the terms of the offer.

Date of submission of the statement of firm intention: Kuwait Finance House K.S.C.P. (the Offeror or KFH) notified the board of directors of Ahli United Bank B.S.C. (the Offeree or AUB) on 5 February 2020 after trading hours, that it has a firm intention to make a voluntary conditional offer to acquire 100% of the issued and paid up ordinary shares of AUB by way of a share swap, subject to the fulfillment, or waiver by KFH, of the conditions outlined below.

Identity of the Offeror making the statement of firm intention to make an offer: Kuwait Finance House K.S.C.P., PO Box 24989 Safat 13110 Kuwait, Telephone: + (965) 22445050KFH is registered with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in the State of Kuwait under commercial registration number 26066 as a Public Kuwaiti Shareholding Company whose ordinary shares are listed on Boursa Kuwait (the BK).KFH is licensed by the Central Bank of Kuwait (the CBK) as a locally incorporated bank operating as an Islamic bank and provides a wide range of banking Sharia’a compliant products and services.KFH has an authorized share capital of KWD1,117,648,920.200 and an issued and paid up share capital of KWD697,648,920.200 divided into 6,976,489,202 ordinary shares with a nominal value of KWD0.100 each.

Shareholders of the Offeror: The summary of principal shareholdings in KFH is given below:

Shareholder’s Name % owned in KFH* No. of SharesKuwait Investment Authority 24.079% 1,679,888,678Public Authority for Minors Affairs 10.484% 731,430,456General Secretariat of Awqaf 7.296% 509,009,141The Public Institution for Social Security 5.91%** 412,387,713Other Public 52.231% 3,643,773,214Total 100% 6,976,489,202*As at 31 December 2019, unless otherwise provided **Indirect shareholding as at 7 January 2020

Board of Directors and Management of the Offeror: KFH’s Board of Directors currently comprises of ten board members, as follows:

Board of Directors TitleHamad Abdul Mohsen Al Marzouq ChairmanAbdul Aziz Yacoub Alnafisi Vice ChairmanFahad Ali AlGhanim DirectorMuad Saud Al Osaimi DirectorKhaled Salem Al Nisf DirectorNoorur Rahman Abid DirectorHanan Yousef Ali Yousef DirectorBarrak Ali Alsheatan DirectorMotlaq Mubarak Al-Sanei DirectorSalah Abdulaziz Al-Muraikhi Director

The current management team of KFH is:

Management Personnel TitleMazin Al-Nahedh Group Chief Executive OfficerShadi Zahran Group Chief Financial OfficerWaleed Mandani Group Chief Retail and Private Banking OfficerAbdulwahab Al-Rushood Group Chief Treasury OfficerAhmed Al Kharji Group Chief Corporate Banking OfficerFahad Al-Mukhaizeem Group Chief Strategy OfficerGehad El-Bendary Group Chief Risk OfficerFrederick Carstens Group Chief Human Resources OfficerSrood Sherif Group Chief Information OfficerAbdullah Abu Al-Hous Group Chief Operations OfficerWissam Sami El-Kari Group Chief Internal AuditorDr Khaled Mohammed Al-Jumah Group General Manager Legal

Intention to make an offer to purchase securities of: Ahli United Bank B.S.C., Building 2495, Road 2832, Al Seef District 428, PO Box 2424, Manama, Kingdom of BahrainAUB is registered with the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism in the Kingdom of Bahrain under commercial registration number 46348 as a Public Bahraini Shareholding Company whose ordinary shares are listed on the Bahrain Bourse (the BB) and BK.AUB is licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain (the CBB) as a locally incorporated bank operating as a conventional retail bank.AUB has an issued and paid up share capital of USD2,193,611,070.250 divided into 8,774,444,281 ordinary shares with a nominal value of USD0.25 each.

Details of securities for which an offer will be made: AUB shares that comprise 100% of AUB’s issued and paid up share capital. That is inclusive of 8,774,444,281 AUB shares of a nominal value of USD0.25 each and any AUB shares that may be issued, whether as dividends shares or otherwise (the AUB Shares).

Consideration for the offer: The consideration for the offer is new shares in the Offeror at a share exchange ratio of 1 KFH share for each 2.325581 AUB Shares.The offer price (which determines the number of shares that will be issued to AUB shareholders in KFH as a result of the offer) was agreed between KFH and AUB following valuations and other analysis prepared by the independent international advisors, financial analysis prepared by the financial advisor, and detailed commercial negotiations between the two banks confirmed on 12 September 2019.

KUWAIT FINANCE HOUSE K.S.C.P.(Incorporated in the State of Kuwait) Commercial Registration Number 26066

NOTIFICATION OF KUWAIT FINANCE HOUSE K.S.C.P.’S FIRM INTENTION TO MAKE A VOLUNTARY CONDITIONAL OFFER TO ACQUIRE 100% OF THE ISSUED AND PAID UP ORDINARY SHARES OF AHLI UNITED BANK B.S.C. BY WAY OF A SHARE SWAP

On behalf of the Board of Directors of KFH

Hamad Abdul Mohsen Al MarzouqChairman

1051-Sico Project Delta Firm Intention Press Ad-DT-FP-V8-Final.indd 1 2/5/20 6:30 PM

06THURSDAY, FEBRURAY 6, 2020

490lives were lost in China to Cornovirus outbreak that

so far infected over 24,000 people, mostly in Hubei

China virus toll nears 500• More Chinese cities shut down

• More than 24,000 cases reported

• Countries found cases that were not imported from China

• 10 people tested positive for the virus on a ship quarantined off the coast of Japan

Hangzhou | China

Millions more people have been ordered to stay indoors as China battles to curb the spread of a new virus that authorities said Wednesday has already killed nearly 500 people.

With more than 24,000 cas-es in China, a growing number of cities have been imposing a range of restrictions in recent days far from central Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak, as authorities struggle to contain the virus.

Global concerns have risen as more countries found cases that were not imported from China and 10 people tested positive for the virus on a ship quarantined off the coast of Japan.

Some 56 million people in Hubei have been under virtual lockdown since last week, with its capital Wuhan at the heart of the health emergency.

In Hangzhou, some 175 kilo-metres (110 miles) southwest of Shanghai, green fences blocked streets near the headquarters of Chinese tech giant Alibaba as a fighter jet circled overhead.

Alibaba, one of the world’s most valuable companies, ap-peared shut down, while de-liverymen moved in and out of the nearby fenced-in residential areas to drop off groceries. Many people were also seen going out.

The firm is inside one of three districts where some three mil-lion people were told this week that only one person per house-hold would be allowed outside every two days to buy neces-sities.

“Please don’t go out, don’t go out, don’t go out!” blared a message on a loudspeaker urg-ing people to wear masks, wash their hands regularly and report any people who are from Hubei -- a common fear in other parts of the country that people from the province might infect others.

At least three other cities in eastern Zhejiang province -- Taizhou, Wenzhou and parts of Ningbo -- have imposed the same measures, affecting some 18 million people.

Similar policies were encour-aged by authorities in two cities as far as China’s northeastern-most province, Heilongjiang, and a handful of others along the east coast.

In Henan province, which borders Hubei, a district in the city of Zhumadian decided that only one person could leave each household every five days. Res-idents there have been offered cash rewards for informing on people from Hubei.

Global jittersThe disease is believed to

have emerged in December in a Wuhan market that sold wild animals, and spread rapidly as people travelled for the Lunar New Year holiday in January.

The death toll has steadily in-creased, rising to 490 in China after Hubei reported 65 more people had died.

Most deaths have been in the province and officials have noted that the death rate, at around two percent, is below the mor-tality rate of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.

The new coronavirus is from the same family of pathogens as the one that causes SARS, which killed some 800 people in 2002-2003.

The epidemic has prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a global health emergency, several governments to institute travel restrictions, and airlines to suspend flights to and from China.

United and American Airlines

said Wednesday they have added Hong Kong to their China flight suspensions.

On Wednesday Japan said at least 10 passengers on a cruise ship carrying 3,711 people have the virus.

Japanese authorities began testing those on board after a former passenger who disem-barked in Hong Kong was diag-nosed with the illness.

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on Tuesday ad-vised Britons to leave China “if they can”, to minimise their risk of exposure to the virus.

‘Window of opportunity’But the WHO said Tuesday

that dramatic measures taken by China offered a chance to halt transmission.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the great majority of cases are in China.

“That doesn’t mean that it won’t get worse. But for sure we have a window of opportunity to act,” he said.

Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand all reported new infec-tions not imported from China on Tuesday.

Two fatalities have been re-ported outside the mainland, in Hong Kong and the Philippines.

Semi-autonomous Hong Kong has closed all but two land cross-ings with the Chinese mainland.

As countries battle to keep the virus off their shores, the WHO chief accused wealthy countries of falling short on their duties in sharing data.

“Of the 176 cases reported outside China so far, WHO has received complete case report forms for only 38 percent,” he said.

Medical staff hug each other in an isolation ward at a hospital in Zouping in China’s easter Shandong province

Japan has quarantined a cruise ship carrying 3,711 people and was testing those on board for the new coronavirus

Lock down in Chinese city far from epicentre of SARS-like virus

Alibaba’s headquarters are inside one of three Hangzhou districts where some three million people were told this week that only one person per household would be allowed outside every two days, to buy necessities

Mothers may pass corona to unborn children: Chinese doctors

Reuters | Shanghai

Pregnant women infected with the new coronavirus may be able to pass it to their unborn children, doctors at the Wuhan Children Hospital said yesterday, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

The doctors said it was possible after an infected coronavirus patient gave birth to a baby on Feb. 2. The newborn was given a test 30 hours later and confirmed to have the virus, the doctors said.

Wuhan city is the epicenter of the outbreak that has since spread across China and overseas. In mainland China, it has killed 490 people and 24,324 infection cases have been con-firmed.

The newborn has stable vital signs and no fever or cough, but was experiencing shortness of breath, the doctors said. Chest x-rays showed signs of infection and there were some abnor-malities in liver functions.

“This reminds us to pay attention to mother-to-child being a possible route of coronavirus transmission,” said the chief physician of Wuhan Children Hospital’s neonatal medicine department, Zeng Lingkong.

The hospital also disclosed details of a second case involving an infant who was born healthy on Jan. 13. The baby’s nanny was later diagnosed with the virus and the mother days later. The baby started showing symptoms on Jan 29.

“Whether it was the baby’s nanny who passed to the virus to the mother who passed it to the baby, we cannot be sure at the moment. But we can confirm that the baby was in close contact with patients infected with the new coronavirus, which says newborns can also be infected,” Zeng said.

However, he added that none of the infected infants were in critical condition.

China’s Xi says virus controls at crucial stage - state media

Reuters | Beijing

China’s efforts to control a coronavirus outbreak are at a crucial stage and au-thorities must prevent the epidemic from spreading, Xinhua news agency quoted President Xi Jinping as saying yesterday.

The government must re-port coronavirus outbreak information accurately in a timely manner, and will crack down on coronavirus related rumour-mongering, Xi said.

Xi also said the government would ensure donated goods would be fully used in virus controls.

Some 56 million people in Hubei have been under virtual lockdown since last week, with its capital Wuhan at the heart of the health emergency


Trump set for Senate acquittalWashington

President Donald Trump was set to win acquittal from impeachment in the Senate on Wednesday, hours after his partisan State of the Union speech triggered unprec-edented protests from Demo-crats in a seething display of US political divisions.

The Democratic-led House of Representatives impeached Trump for abuse of office and obstructing Congress back in December, after weeks of inves-tigations into his alleged cor-ruption.

But far from being forced from office like Richard Nixon, Trump is set to see himself de-clared not guilty by his Republi-can party majority in the Senate.

The finale to the trial won’t mean an end to Democratic-led investigations, but it gives Trump momentum in his bid to win another four years after a tumultuous, scandal-filled first term.

Although he has never got ap-proval ratings over 50 percent during his presidency, this most polarizing of politicians was able to celebrate a personal best on the eve of the impeachment ver-dict -- 49 percent, according to Gallup.

With a ferociously loyal right-wing base packing his frequent rallies around the country, Trump thinks he has enough strength to win.

And he got more encourage-ment when the fractured Dem-ocratic party messed up its first battle in the primary season, held in Iowa, with results being held back for a full day due to technical glitches.

Political warAmerica’s pre-election divi-

sions were on excruciating dis-play in Congress during Trump’s annual State of the Union late Tuesday.

After an address of one hour and 18 minutes, filled with Trump’s boasts and claims of a “great American comeback,” the Democratic speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, ripped up her copy of the speech live on television.

But the event had begun with no less animosity, when Trump first walked in and refused to shake the speaker’s hand -- as is customary.

Pelosi put out a hand and Trump turned away, leaving her arm in thin air.

Democrats responded to Trump’s speech by refusing to follow Republicans in repeated standing ovations, often booing, and in several cases walking out.

Right-wing heroMuch of Trump’s speech was

taken up with proclaiming his successful economic policies and the “America first” outlook.

“We have shattered the men-tality of American decline and we have rejected the downsizing of America’s destiny,” he said.

The Republican said his poli-cies of deregulation and tax cuts -- criticized by opponents as damaging the environment and favoring the wealthy over the poor -- were responsible for “un-paralleled” economic success.

He listed the North Ameri-can USMCA trade pact, a trade deal with China, massive mil-itary spending, “unprecedent-ed” measures to stop illegal im-migration, and his bid to “end

America’s wars in the Middle East” as examples of fulfilling his commitments to voters.

He threw his conservative base strings of red meat -- tough talk on abortion, prayer in schools and right to bear arms.

But flourishes that could have come right out of Trump’s days as a reality TV show entertainer grabbed the real attention.

At one moment he paused his speech to praise Rush Limbaugh,

one of the fathers of America’s hugely influential right-wing radio landscape, who disclosed this week that he has advanced lung cancer.

To the surprise of the packed audience, Trump announced that his wife Melania, who was alongside Limbaugh, was go-ing to present the ideological star with the coveted Medal of Freedom -- the highest possible civilian award.

Later, Trump outdid even this stroke of theatrics by sin-gling out a woman in the au-dience whose army husband had been away for months on foreign deployments, then tell-ing her he had “a very special surprise.”

It was her husband, in full uni-form, coming down the stairs for a tearful, surprise reunion -- in front of a primetime national television audience.

Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi tried to shake hands with President Donald Trump but he turned away, leaving her arm in thin air

Donald Trump has got a lot of good news this week despite being only the third president ever to go to impeachment trial

US President renews vow to withdraw from AfghanistanWashington

US President Donald Trump renewed his vow to nego-tiate a troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying he had no desire to kill “hundreds of thou-sands” in unending fighting.

In one of his few foreign-pol-icy points in a highly partisan State of the Union address to Congress, Trump offered his blessing for ongoing negotia-tions with Taliban militants.

“I am not looking to kill hundreds of thousands of people in Afghanistan, many of them totally innocent,” Trump told the joint session of Congress.

“It is also not our function to serve other nations as a law enforcement agency. These are war-fighters, the best in the world, and they either want to fight to win or not fight at all,” he said.

“We are working to finally end America’s longest war and bring our troops back home.”

Trump has long questioned the wisdom of keeping troops overseas and has described the war in Afghanistan launched after the September 11, 2001 attacks as a drain on blood and treasure.

But last year he abruptly said that he had cancelled a previ-ously unannounced summit at the Camp David presidential retreat with the Taliban be-cause of an attack that killed an American.

He later allowed veteran US negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad to resume the talks, which had taken place for months in Qatar.

Under a draft deal, the United States will withdraw troops, and the Taliban will promise

not to allow extremists to use Afghanistan as a base as well as to open talks with the inter-nationally recognized govern-ment in Kabul.

The Taliban has more recent-ly proposed a limited reduction in violence, an easing of posi-tion after previously refusing any halt to attacks it sees as leverage.

Little foreign focusTrump earlier spoke force-

fully against Venezuela’s leftist leader Nicolas Maduro, inviting his rival Juan Guaido to watch the speech from the gallery.

But his speech otherwise fo-cused little on foreign policy, with no mention of North Ko-rea, a year after Trump used the State of the Union to announce his second summit with the nuclear-armed state’s leader, Kim Jong Un.

Trump only briefly men-tioned his pro-Israel plan for the Middle East, which he un-veiled last week next to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after more than a year of delay.

On Iran, Trump highlighted his pressure campaign against the clerical regime and boasted of the controversial strike he ordered last month that killed Iran’s best-known general, Qa-ssem Soleimani.

“Because of our powerful sanctions, the Iranian econo-my is doing very poorly,” Trump said.

“We can help them make it very good in a short period of time, but perhaps they are too proud or too foolish to ask for that help.”

Top Democrat Pelosi rips up Trump speechWashington

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ripped up her copy of Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday, in a pointed political gesture after listening tight-lipped to the president tout his achievements to Congress.

The tension between Trump and his Democratic nemesis was palpable from the outset, as Pelosi extended her extended her hand for a handshake -- and the president failed to return the favor.

Seated in silence behind the president in the House of Rep-resentatives, Pelosi frowned, repeatedly shook her head and smiled disbelievingly until he finished speaking and Republi-cans erupted in applause -- at which point she rose and very visibly tore up the papers in front of her.

Asked afterwards by a reporter to give a reason for her ges-ture, Pelosi replied: “Because it was the courteous thing to do, considering the alternatives.”

And in a follow-up tweet, the 79-year-old Pelosi said Dem-ocrats would “never stop extending the hand of friendship to get the job done.”

Trump was impeached by the Democratic-controlled House six weeks ago, and the flashpoint with Pelosi comes one day before the US Senate is all but certain to vote to acquit him on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of justice.

During the impeachment crisis, Trump, 73, has repeatedly assailed the speaker for her impeachment “hoax,” branding her “nervous Nancy” and “crazy Nancy” on Twitter.

Pelosi’s gesture capped a night where the country’s bitter political divide was on full display, as Trump’s address earned a triumphant reception from the Republican half of Congress -- but sullen silence, boos and jeers from the Democrats present.

Chuck Schumer, the senior Democrat in the Senate, said that the speech was “more like a Trump rally than a speech a true leader would give”.

“It was demagogic, undignified, highly partisan and in too many places, untruthful,” he said.

The White House was quick to hit back at Pelosi, saying she had insulted the Americans honored in Trump’s speech, from a veteran airman to a premature baby or a mourning military family.

“That’s her legacy,” it said.Republican Senator Lindsey Graham doubled down, tweet-

ing: “Tearing the speech up is not going to tear up the accom-plishments of this President.”

His fellow Republican Senator Marco Rubio said Pelosi had “embarrassed herself” by ripping up the speech.

“So pathetic,” he added on Twitter.

Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi ripped up President Donald Trump’s speech

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley chats with US President Donald Trump after he delivers the State of the Union address at the US Capitol

KNOW WHAT

Trump in 2018 withdrew from an internationally

backed nuclear deal negotiated under his predecessor, Barack Obama, and imposed sweeping sanctions

aimed at reducing Iran’s regional clout.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2020

Hon. Chairman Najeb Yacob Alhamer | Editor-in-Chief Mahmood AI Mahmood | Chairman & Managing Director P Unnikrishnan | Advertisement: Update Media W.L.L | Tel: 38444692, Email: [email protected] | Newsroom: Tel: 38444680, Email: [email protected] & circulation: Tel: 36458394 | Email:[email protected] | Website: www.newsofbahrain.com | Printed and published by Al Ayam Publishing

JOHAN CHACKKO

For the second time in a year, the US and the Taliban stand faltering on the brink of an agreement to wind down their now generation-long conflict. Taliban attacks on major cities have reduced and last month, the group’s leader-ship proposed a 10-day ceasefire to prevent the kind of optics that led President Donald Trump to cancel his Camp David peace summit last September.

Why is a group whose name is shorthand for fanaticism and brutality going to such lengths for dialogue? It certainly isn’t be-cause they are losing militarily. The Pentagon gave up on assessing the number of districts and people under Taliban control last year. Meanwhile, the most recent report by the US special inspector gener-al for Afghanistan reconstruction indicates that the Taliban’s ability to mount attacks is undiminished even after a decade of US-led coa-lition operations.

The Tailban’s choices cannot be understood until Pakistan’s enor-mous influence on the movement is taken into account. That is why Washington’s point man for Afghan peace, Ambassador Zalmay Khal-ilzad, headed to Pakistan on Febru-ary 1 in search of the breakthrough that has eluded him in Doha. A US-Taliban peace deal is something that the Pakistani government and its military believes is in its vital national interests, so long as Islam-abad is kept in the loop.

So what are these interests? Pakistan has spent the last dozen years in an increasingly untenable

position, caught in the crossfire between its most irreplaceable pa-tron, the US, and its most useful client, the Taliban. It has proved unwilling to give up either rela-tionship even in the face of attacks in its own territory – whether by Pakistani Taliban sympathisers or US forces. On one hand, since the country’s birth in 1947, Pakistan’s leadership has seen American aid, expertise and diplomatic support as vital to national survival. On the other, since 1971, when the coun-try’s eastern half broke off to be-come Bangladesh, Islamabad has feared its western provinces on the Afghan border might also be torn away, enticed by ethnic links to Afghanistan’s Pashtuns. The only inoculation from irredentism, in Pakistan’s eyes, is the cultivation of Afghan allies who can manage Kabul for it.

At the heart of Pakistan’s exis-tential fears are its perennial con-flicts with India, which it thinks it cannot survive unless it has both the US and the Taliban on its side. At their most ambitious, Pakistan’s generals in the 1990s were unwill-ing to accept anything less than complete control of Kabul for its own allies. But following traumatic levels of terrorist blowback from the Taliban’s friends – and steadily increasing Pashtun activism – the Pakistani establishment has rec-onciled itself to a power-sharing arrangement that constrains the Taliban’s power. More important-ly, the Pakistan Army has used its considerable leverage to persuade a reluctant Taliban leadership to take up a similar view.

Persuading the United States,

however, has been a different mat-ter. Pakistan has never believed that the US would escape the British and Soviet fate in Afghanistan; it would eventually seek a negotiated exit from an expensive and intermina-ble sideshow of a war. But America proved to be exceptionally dogged in its commitment to military victo-ry, and increasingly bitter towards Pakistan, a country it believed was having it both ways.

Mr Trump’s firing of General HR McMaster as US national security adviser in 2018 was the turning point Pakistan had been waiting for. It marked the end of Pentagon influ-ence in the Oval Office, and Paki-stan’s relationship with the Taliban turned from a liability into an asset

overnight. Prime Minister Imran Khan has been rewarded with a visit

THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE SCHOOL ROOM IN ONE GEN-ERATION WILL BE THE PHI-LOSOPHY OF GOVERNMENT IN THE NEXT.ABRAHAM LINCOLN

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Persuading the United States, however, has been a different matter. Pakistan

has never believed that the US would escape

the British and Soviet fate in Afghanistan; it

would eventually seek a negotiated exit from an

expensive and interminable sideshow of a war.

Pakistan is now

discussing Taliban with

America After years of violent double

games, Islamabad sees peace as a means to increase its influence

in Kabul

RASHMEE ROSHAN LALL

This was supposed to be the year that Vancou-ver became the world’s “greenest city”, to quote the ambitious action plan adopted by its administrative council in 2011. On Monday, western Can-ada’s coastal, mountain-fringed metropolis acknowledged that it wasn’t quite there yet, when it launched a residents’ dia-logue on how to “get real” about achieving its lofty green objec-tive. This is a worthy topic of conversation for cities, which are home to more than half the world’s population, consume much of the world’s energy and generate more than two-thirds of global carbon emissions.

I was in Vancouver as it got ready to admit the scale of the challenge it faces. It illustrated the need for realistic goal-set-ting, planning and execution, as cities wrest control of the fight against climate change from national governments.

In Vancouver, the debate is expected to be lively. In a theatre downtown, the city organised an evening of dis-cussion and live music called “Bold Actions for a Climate Emergency”. It was meant to motivate and inform residents about ways “to move the dial on climate change in the dec-ade ahead”. Onward to 2030 then, but it would be inaccurate to say Vancouver hasn’t been

serious about its green action agenda in the past decade.

In fact, the city has managed to change many of the habits of urban daily life, not least the way it gets around, deals with waste and greenlights new building projects. More than 50 per cent of all local trips in Vancouver are made by bike, on foot, or via the public transit system. Solid waste landfill and incineration disposal have been reduced by 28 per cent. Almost all new building projects will be carbon neutral this year. The city’s air is clean, public green space is plentiful and its prized “view corridors”, which allow people to see the spectacular North Shore mountains, are well protected. Vancouver’s commitment to nurturing sus-tainable recycling habits is ev-ident in the kitchens of its res-idents, who uncomplainingly make space for sorting bins for plastic, paper, metal foil and food waste.

But Vancouver’s carbon emissions have fallen only by 12 per cent since 2011, well short of the 33 per cent target. This compares poorly with Den-mark’s capital, Copenhagen, which has managed to reduce carbon emissions by 42 per cent in the past 15 years, as part of its goal to be the world’s first carbon-neutral city by 2025.

By all accounts, Copenha-gen stands a good chance of achieving its objective. More

than two-thirds of the city’s ho-tels have an eco-certificate, and recycling is a way of life even outside the home, with vend-ing-style machines in public spaces coughing up a deposit every time a plastic cup or can is inserted.

In a 2016 report titled Co-penhagen Climate Projects, Morten Kabell, the city’s mayor of technical and environmental affairs, said that after a new bi-omass plant was operational in 2020, 80 per cent of Copenha-gen’s heating system would be

carbon neutral. Coal, Mr Kabell added, would be “completely phased out of Copenhagen’s power plants in 2020”, leaving the city to grapple only with plastic waste, which is “the big-gest source of CO2 emissions”.

A once-grimy industrial city, Copenhagen launched its plan to be “green, smart, car-bon-neutral” in 2009, two years before Vancouver unveiled its goal to be the world’s green-est city. But Copenhagen gave itself more time – 16 years as opposed to nine for Vancouver

– to be net carbon neutral.Their different timelines,

target dates and outcomes are worth noting, especially in the context of two recent devel-opments. First, Jakarta will reportedly be the first world’s capital city to become a victim of climate change because it is sinking faster than any ma-jor metropolis. Second, more than 70 cities worldwide have pledged to become carbon neutral by 2050, meaning they aim to produce no more cli-mate-changing emissions than

they can offset by the half-cen-tury mark.

And for 11 years, Abu Dha-bi’s annual sustainability week has promoted investment in responsible patterns of pro-duction, consumption and of-fered a platform to start-ups and young innovators from around the world to present viable solutions to the chal-lenge of climate change. But as Vancouver shows, there can be a significant gap between stated goals and achievements and sometimes, it is not for lack

Vancouver and

Copenhagen are doing

their bit to ensure their

carbon-neutral goals

are met

What we should learn from the world’s greenest cities?

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2020


JOHAN CHACKKO

For the second time in a year, the US and the Taliban stand faltering on the brink of an agreement to wind down their now generation-long conflict. Taliban attacks on major cities have reduced and last month, the group’s leader-ship proposed a 10-day ceasefire to prevent the kind of optics that led President Donald Trump to cancel his Camp David peace summit last September.

Why is a group whose name is shorthand for fanaticism and brutality going to such lengths for dialogue? It certainly isn’t be-cause they are losing militarily. The Pentagon gave up on assessing the number of districts and people under Taliban control last year. Meanwhile, the most recent report by the US special inspector gener-al for Afghanistan reconstruction indicates that the Taliban’s ability to mount attacks is undiminished even after a decade of US-led coa-lition operations.

The Tailban’s choices cannot be understood until Pakistan’s enor-mous influence on the movement is taken into account. That is why Washington’s point man for Afghan peace, Ambassador Zalmay Khal-ilzad, headed to Pakistan on Febru-ary 1 in search of the breakthrough that has eluded him in Doha. A US-Taliban peace deal is something that the Pakistani government and its military believes is in its vital national interests, so long as Islam-abad is kept in the loop.

So what are these interests? Pakistan has spent the last dozen years in an increasingly untenable

position, caught in the crossfire between its most irreplaceable pa-tron, the US, and its most useful client, the Taliban. It has proved unwilling to give up either rela-tionship even in the face of attacks in its own territory – whether by Pakistani Taliban sympathisers or US forces. On one hand, since the country’s birth in 1947, Pakistan’s leadership has seen American aid, expertise and diplomatic support as vital to national survival. On the other, since 1971, when the coun-try’s eastern half broke off to be-come Bangladesh, Islamabad has feared its western provinces on the Afghan border might also be torn away, enticed by ethnic links to Afghanistan’s Pashtuns. The only inoculation from irredentism, in Pakistan’s eyes, is the cultivation of Afghan allies who can manage Kabul for it.

At the heart of Pakistan’s exis-tential fears are its perennial con-flicts with India, which it thinks it cannot survive unless it has both the US and the Taliban on its side. At their most ambitious, Pakistan’s generals in the 1990s were unwill-ing to accept anything less than complete control of Kabul for its own allies. But following traumatic levels of terrorist blowback from the Taliban’s friends – and steadily increasing Pashtun activism – the Pakistani establishment has rec-onciled itself to a power-sharing arrangement that constrains the Taliban’s power. More important-ly, the Pakistan Army has used its considerable leverage to persuade a reluctant Taliban leadership to take up a similar view.

Persuading the United States,

however, has been a different mat-ter. Pakistan has never believed that the US would escape the British and Soviet fate in Afghanistan; it would eventually seek a negotiated exit from an expensive and intermina-ble sideshow of a war. But America proved to be exceptionally dogged in its commitment to military victo-ry, and increasingly bitter towards Pakistan, a country it believed was having it both ways.

Mr Trump’s firing of General HR McMaster as US national security adviser in 2018 was the turning point Pakistan had been waiting for. It marked the end of Pentagon influ-ence in the Oval Office, and Paki-stan’s relationship with the Taliban turned from a liability into an asset


THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE SCHOOL ROOM IN ONE GEN-ERATION WILL BE THE PHI-LOSOPHY OF GOVERNMENT IN THE NEXT.ABRAHAM LINCOLN

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Persuading the United States, however, has been a different matter. Pakistan

has never believed that the US would escape

the British and Soviet fate in Afghanistan; it

would eventually seek a negotiated exit from an

expensive and interminable sideshow of a war.

Pakistan is now

discussing Taliban with

America After years of violent double

games, Islamabad sees peace as a means to increase its influence

in Kabul

RASHMEE ROSHAN LALL

This was supposed to be the year that Vancou-ver became the world’s “greenest city”, to quote the ambitious action plan adopted by its administrative council in 2011. On Monday, western Can-ada’s coastal, mountain-fringed metropolis acknowledged that it wasn’t quite there yet, when it launched a residents’ dia-logue on how to “get real” about achieving its lofty green objec-tive. This is a worthy topic of conversation for cities, which are home to more than half the world’s population, consume much of the world’s energy and generate more than two-thirds of global carbon emissions.

I was in Vancouver as it got ready to admit the scale of the challenge it faces. It illustrated the need for realistic goal-set-ting, planning and execution, as cities wrest control of the fight against climate change from national governments.

In Vancouver, the debate is expected to be lively. In a theatre downtown, the city organised an evening of dis-cussion and live music called “Bold Actions for a Climate Emergency”. It was meant to motivate and inform residents about ways “to move the dial on climate change in the dec-ade ahead”. Onward to 2030 then, but it would be inaccurate to say Vancouver hasn’t been

serious about its green action agenda in the past decade.

In fact, the city has managed to change many of the habits of urban daily life, not least the way it gets around, deals with waste and greenlights new building projects. More than 50 per cent of all local trips in Vancouver are made by bike, on foot, or via the public transit system. Solid waste landfill and incineration disposal have been reduced by 28 per cent. Almost all new building projects will be carbon neutral this year. The city’s air is clean, public green space is plentiful and its prized “view corridors”, which allow people to see the spectacular North Shore mountains, are well protected. Vancouver’s commitment to nurturing sus-tainable recycling habits is ev-ident in the kitchens of its res-idents, who uncomplainingly make space for sorting bins for plastic, paper, metal foil and food waste.

But Vancouver’s carbon emissions have fallen only by 12 per cent since 2011, well short of the 33 per cent target. This compares poorly with Den-mark’s capital, Copenhagen, which has managed to reduce carbon emissions by 42 per cent in the past 15 years, as part of its goal to be the world’s first carbon-neutral city by 2025.

By all accounts, Copenha-gen stands a good chance of achieving its objective. More

than two-thirds of the city’s ho-tels have an eco-certificate, and recycling is a way of life even outside the home, with vend-ing-style machines in public spaces coughing up a deposit every time a plastic cup or can is inserted.

In a 2016 report titled Co-penhagen Climate Projects, Morten Kabell, the city’s mayor of technical and environmental affairs, said that after a new bi-omass plant was operational in 2020, 80 per cent of Copenha-gen’s heating system would be

carbon neutral. Coal, Mr Kabell added, would be “completely phased out of Copenhagen’s power plants in 2020”, leaving the city to grapple only with plastic waste, which is “the big-gest source of CO2 emissions”.

A once-grimy industrial city, Copenhagen launched its plan to be “green, smart, car-bon-neutral” in 2009, two years before Vancouver unveiled its goal to be the world’s green-est city. But Copenhagen gave itself more time – 16 years as opposed to nine for Vancouver

– to be net carbon neutral.Their different timelines,

target dates and outcomes are worth noting, especially in the context of two recent devel-opments. First, Jakarta will reportedly be the first world’s capital city to become a victim of climate change because it is sinking faster than any ma-jor metropolis. Second, more than 70 cities worldwide have pledged to become carbon neutral by 2050, meaning they aim to produce no more cli-mate-changing emissions than

they can offset by the half-cen-tury mark.

And for 11 years, Abu Dha-bi’s annual sustainability week has promoted investment in responsible patterns of pro-duction, consumption and of-fered a platform to start-ups and young innovators from around the world to present viable solutions to the chal-lenge of climate change. But as Vancouver shows, there can be a significant gap between stated goals and achievements and sometimes, it is not for lack

Vancouver and

Copenhagen are doing

their bit to ensure their

carbon-neutral goals

are met

What we should learn from the world’s greenest cities?


TOP

4TWEETS

04

01

“The Democrats want to run a Country, and they can’t run a Cau-cus.” Brad Blakeman @FoxNews Iowa is a complete disaster for the Dems. They should bring in Mini Mike Bloomberg ASAP!

@realDonaldTrump

03

There is a poverty that we must accept, that of our own being, and a poverty that we must seek instead - a concrete one - from the things of this world, in order to be free and to be able to love. #GeneralAudience #Be-atitudes

@Pontifex

Disappointed to see @SpeakerPelosi rip up the speech that men-tioned lives we’ve lost and heroes we celebrated at the SOTU. No matter how you feel or what you dis-agree with, remember others are watching. This was unbecoming of some-one at her level in office.

@NikkiHaley

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Today, I am sanction-ing Bulgarian judge Andon Mitalov due to his involvement in signifi-cant corruption. This is the first designation of its kind in Bulgaria and a strong signal that the U.S. is firm in its commitment to stand with Bulgaria in its fight against corruption.

@SecPompeo

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

editorial stances)


to Washington and a resumption of training and technical support for Pakistan’s armed forces– a change after years of cuts in US military aid. All of this has been especially vital at a time when Pakistan’s economy is struggling and its military skir-mishes with its southern neighbour have reached a level of intensity not seen in almost 20 years.

New Delhi, meanwhile, has been unenthusiastic about the Doha talks. Pakistan’s success in reviving its strategic relationship with the US limits the Indian government’s ability to isolate it internationally. India also has a long-term interest in ensuring that any government in Kabul is neutral towards New Del-hi, if not friendly. At the same time,

the US special inspector general’s report makes it clear that Afghan forces cannot defeat the Taliban on their own, and American efforts to do a deal with the Taliban are motivated by diminishing confi-dence that its own support can help the situation. The Trump adminis-tration wants out, and India can-not afford to offend the American president by opposing a high-level priority. Furthermore, India has an interest in curtailing the spread of extremist groups in the region, so the right long-term peace deal would also serve it well.

The Afghan government, which finds itself in an extraordinarily vulnerable position, holds views that mirror those of India. Acute fears of abandonment and betrayal – as well as the loss of many gains made in human rights since 2001 – abound. Any deal the US makes with the Taliban is likely to signif-icantly empower the latter.

For Pakistan, therein lies the golden opportunity. It would suc-ceed in its mission to give its client a powerful seat in Kabul, while benefiting from Washington’s sub-sequent satisfaction that US troops can go home. If the Taliban’s seat at the table is too powerful, how-ever, the price would be paid by Af-ghan women, minorities and other groups it has long oppressed.

There is another option however. Even if the US succeeds in ending its involvement as a combatant, it must remain engaged as a champi-on for peace in Afghanistan. Amer-ica’s unique ability to reassure and restrain Pakistan may be the only way to prevent the tragedy of his-tory repeating itself.

1833Otto becomes the first modern King of Greece.

1840Signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, establishing New Zealand as a British colony.

1843The first minstrel show in the United States, The VirginiaMinstrels, opens (Bowery Am-phitheatre in New York City).

1851The largest Australian bushfires in a populous region inrecorded history take place in the state of Victoria.

TODAY DAY IN

HISTORY

Bahrain needs to accelerate afforestation

The impact of climate change is resulting in far reaching con-sequences for all the nations of the world. Some countries are facing the heat in the form extreme weather events whereas other nations are witnessing abnormal drop in agricultural produc-tivity and severe drop in ground water table leading to sharp water shortages. The carbon footprint of the global population seems to be ever increasing but this is being set off to some extent due to the presence of forests of the world which are acting as natural carbon sinks. Take the Amazon forest for example, this natural wonder of the world is capable of absorbing two billion tons of carbon dioxide per year or approximately five per cent of the annual emissions. Forests therefore are those natural assets that are very crucial in neutralizing to some extent the adverse impact of climate change. But has Bahrain has enough of this amazing natural resource?

Bahrain has no natural forest cover nor formally declared forested regions, however the archipelago has comparatively lush vegetation as compared to other nations of the region.

In the background of such negligible green cover, the government’s efforts have given a much-needed impetus to increasing the green cover by multiplying the predominantly desert plant species such as the halophytic in Bahrain. As a result of this determined efforts of the government, the forest cover increased by nearly 15 per cent between 1990 to 2000. But since the last one decade, things on the afforestation front have been witnessing a clear lull. This mainly due to the changed circumstances brought about by climate change over the past one decade. On one hand the mangroves in the coastal areas are reducing in their area thanks to rising sea levels that are causing the salinization of the soil resulting in the land becoming unsuitable for further mangroves propagation and growth. On the other hand, the land use for real estate and falling ground water table is making

the date palm trees disappear at a concerning rate.Some of the notable green zones of Bahrain are the

800-hectare Al-Areen wildlife sanctuary, UBF stream wildlife reserve and Ras Sanad Mangrove Forest. These areas are still able to afford some much-needed green cover for Bahrain, but clearly the nation needs more mainly due to the mounting challenges posed by climate change. Owing to this pressing threat the Kingdom has made appreciable efforts in changing the narrative and as a result as on 2016 approximate-ly 0.784 per cent of Bahrain came under forest and vegetation cover. But there is an imperative need to do much more in order to ensure a befitting reply to climate change. As a part of this, the strategy will have to be asses the role played by the indigenous species of trees and vegetation in offsetting the carbon footprint and handling the ambient temperatures.

Since water availability is a challenge, Bahrain must have concentrated focus on dry planting species of trees and shrubs that are drought resistant and able to withstand the vagaries of the desert like topography of

island nation. This approa

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