SEE ALSO P6 SHARE JOY, EID MUBARAK · Hatim al Abdulsalam. Eid Mubarak. SHARE JOY, EID MUBARAK...

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FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2020 DHUL HIJJAH 10, 1441 AH ESTABLISHED IN 1981 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI VOL. 39 NO. 260 | PAGES 16 OMAN DAILY Be Careful, Be Responsible! #Living_with_COVID19 www.omanobserver.om [email protected] MUSCAT: This is the second Eid during the pandemic and at a time when all the governorates are under dusk-to-dawn lockdown. While visiting people have been referred as counterproductive to the measures taken to contain the coronavirus by breaking the chain, the health experts say even exchange of food is not a good idea – which is yet another Eid custom practised in the Sultanate. A bank in Oman has also come up with an innovative way to ensure the practice of Eidiya – children especially look forward to this feature of Eid as they visit the elders, family and friends. This could have gone completely missing but now with the latest facility from Bank Muscat you can electronically send out Eidiya to the people one wants to. The changes and challenges are not going to have an impact on the spirit of Eid al Adha if one is positive. Hatim al Abdulsalam has not been at home to celebrate Eid al Adha for the last 15 to 16 years. As member of Sultan Qaboos Information Center on Islam, he would have been in Mina by now as he has been the last 16 years if there were no pandemic. “This Eid al Adha is indeed a unique one. My family is busy preparing the house for the festival. This is a great opportunity to express our gratitude to Allah for being able to prosper and carry on with our daily activity. I am sure there are a lot of families out there who might have a family member or relative in the hospital suffering from COVID-19. We have to be law abiding citizens as per the Supreme Committee because it is for our own good as well as for everyone else too.” TURN TO P2 Let us be creative in celebrating the festival during dusk-to-dawn lockdown SHARE JOY, EID MUBARAK LAKSHMI KOTHANETH MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik on ursday received Eid al Adha greetings from Khalid bin Hilal bin Nasser al Maawali, Chairman of Majlis Ash’shura; Dr Yahya bin Mahfoudh al Manthri, Chairman of the State Council; and Lt Gen Said bin Ali al Hilali, Head of the Internal Security Service (ISS). ey wished His Majesty the Sultan good health and happiness. Al Maawali said, “On the domestic front, Your Majesty has accorded Royal attention to Omani citizens, as well as residents in Oman’s land. Many insights can be derived from Your Majesty’s follow-up of efforts exerted by health workers, personnel of security and military services and all civil sectors. Your Majesty’s directives constitute a programme of work that heralds bounties and inspires resourcefulness.” Dr Al Manthri said, “Praise be the Almighty Allah, the Sultanate has been, under Your Majesty’s wise leadership, the centre of attraction of the world due to the model of development devised by Your Majesty and your steadfast keenness to foster ties of amity with countries of the world, testimony to which is Your Majesty’s foreign policy, which aims at establishing regional and international peace to contribute to stability in the region and the world at large.” TURN TO P2 HM RECEIVES EID GREETINGS FROM DIGNITARIES A PRAYER OF REPENTANCE Masked pilgrims at Mount Arafat on Thursday pray in the climax of this year’s Haj, the smallest in modern times after massive crowds in previous years. SEE ALSO P6

Transcript of SEE ALSO P6 SHARE JOY, EID MUBARAK · Hatim al Abdulsalam. Eid Mubarak. SHARE JOY, EID MUBARAK...

Page 1: SEE ALSO P6 SHARE JOY, EID MUBARAK · Hatim al Abdulsalam. Eid Mubarak. SHARE JOY, EID MUBARAK 11-KM STRETCH OF QURAYAT-SUR DUAL ROAD OPENS FOR TRAFFIC 2 FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2020 OMAN

FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2020 DHUL HIJJAH 10, 1441 AH

ESTABLISHED IN 1981 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI VOL. 39 NO. 260 | PAGES 16

OMAN DAILY Be Careful,Be Responsible!

#Living_with_COVID19

[email protected]

MUSCAT: This is the second Eid during the pandemic and at a time when all the governorates are under dusk-to-dawn lockdown.

While visiting people have been referred as counterproductive to the measures taken to contain the coronavirus by breaking the chain, the health experts say even exchange of food is not a good idea – which is yet another Eid custom practised in the Sultanate.

A bank in Oman has also come up with an innovative way to ensure the practice of Eidiya – children especially look forward

to this feature of Eid as they visit the elders, family and friends. This could have gone completely missing but now with the latest facility from Bank Muscat you can electronically send out Eidiya to the people one wants to.

The changes and challenges are not going to have an impact on the spirit of Eid al Adha if one is positive.

Hatim al Abdulsalam has not been at home to celebrate Eid al Adha for the last 15 to 16 years. As member of Sultan Qaboos Information Center on Islam, he would have

been in Mina by now as he has been the last 16 years if there were no pandemic.

“This Eid al Adha is indeed a unique one. My family is busy preparing the house for the festival. This is a great opportunity to express our gratitude to Allah for being able to prosper and carry on with our daily activity. I am sure there are a lot of families out there who might have a family member or relative in the hospital suffering from COVID-19. We have to be law abiding citizens as per the Supreme Committee because it is for our own good as well as for everyone else too.”

TURN TO P2

Let us be creative in celebrating the festival during dusk-to-dawn lockdown

SHARE JOY, EID MUBARAK

L A K S H M I K O T H A N E T H

MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik on Thursday received Eid al Adha greetings from Khalid bin Hilal bin Nasser al Maawali, Chairman of Majlis Ash’shura; Dr Yahya bin Mahfoudh al Manthri, Chairman of the State Council; and Lt Gen Said bin Ali al Hilali, Head of the Internal Security Service (ISS). They wished His Majesty the Sultan good health and happiness.

Al Maawali said, “On the domestic front, Your Majesty has accorded Royal attention to Omani citizens, as well as residents in Oman’s land. Many insights can be derived from Your Majesty’s follow-up of efforts exerted by health workers, personnel of security and military services and all civil sectors. Your Majesty’s directives constitute a programme of work that heralds bounties and inspires resourcefulness.”

Dr Al Manthri said, “Praise be the Almighty Allah, the Sultanate has been, under Your Majesty’s wise leadership, the centre of attraction of the world due to the model of development devised by Your Majesty and your steadfast keenness to foster ties of amity with countries of the world, testimony to which is Your Majesty’s foreign policy, which aims at establishing regional and international peace to contribute to stability in the region and the world at large.” TURN TO P2

HM RECEIVES EID

GREETINGS FROM

DIGNITARIES

A PRAYER OF REPENTANCE

Masked pilgrims at Mount Arafat on Thursday pray in the climax of this year’s Haj, the smallest in modern times after massive crowds in previous years. SEE ALSO P6

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MUSCAT: As a further extension to the Qurayat-Sur dual carriageway, the Ministry of Transport has opened the11-km stretch of LNG company roundabout-Blad Sur roundabout dual carriageway project.

The 11-km stretch saw the construction of a roundabout in the Al Ghalila area to ease traffic and serve surrounding

residential areas, commercial complexes, and the Sur industrial city (Madayn). The road also comes with vehicles underpass, box culvert for drainage, services roads.

This portion comes with two (3.75m wide) lanes in each side, (2.5m wide) external asphalt road shoulders, and (1.5m wide) internal asphalt road shoulders. Also, traffic safety facilities, including iron fences, concrete protective barriers and pavement floor painting.

FROM PAGE 1On Thursday, most people expressed their closeness to their family members and friends by sending out sweets and gifts for the occasion.

“Let us not forget our brothers and sisters who are less fortunate. Some of them have lost their jobs or their businesses hit hard. Spare some of the goodies and charity to those who are in need because Eid is about all of us being in happiness and joy and not only one’s own family. If each one of us selects one family who is in need and provides them with the necessities to celebrate this Eid, then

we will do wonders as a community and no one will be in need or hungry on the day of Eid,” he reflected.

Hatim explained how the pandemic is a temporary phase and with God’s grace we will overcome it soon. “Be patient and being locked in your own house is much better than being in a hospital in an ICU. Let us be creative with our children – there is no harm spending these hours with our children by having movie nights, board games, connecting with other family members through the various platforms, etc.”

So what would have he been doing if he were performing the Hajj as he had been the last 16 years?

“The Day of Arafah is the busiest days of Hajj, what we would have done today is that we would have left camp of Mina before sunrise and headed towards the Mount Arafah and we would spend the entire day praying and supplicating, asking Allah for forgiveness, praying for our loved ones and friends and for those who are less fortunate and after sunset we would walk towards Muzdalifa which is an open area,

where we would spend the night, we would have millions of people sleeping on the ground. It teaches you to appreciate what you have back home. Even though it is crowded and it is uncomfortable to sleep on the ground, you sleep well. The next day is Eid and we wake up early before sunrise for the prayers and walk to throw stones at Jamarat, after that we proceed for the sacrifice of a goat. The next step is to go to shave our head and change our clothes to normal attire,” explained Hatim al Abdulsalam. Eid Mubarak.

SHARE JOY, EID MUBARAK

11-KM STRETCH OF QURAYAT-SUR DUAL ROAD

OPENS FOR TRAFFIC

2 FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2020 www.omanobserver.om

OMAN

S T A F F R E P O R T E R

HIS MAJESTY

RECEIVES EID

GREETINGS

FROM

DIGNITARIES

FROM PAGE 1Lt Gen Al Hilali said, “Your Majesty, It has been the Almighty Allah’s providence that this notable occasion coincides with the passing of 200 days since Your Majesty has assumed the reins of power in this dear homeland, which, with your coronation, has been bedecked in splendor, nestled in security and tranquility and then marched forward in the paths of modernisation under Your Majesty’s vigilant attention. It is prime time we thanked the Almighty Allah for placing Oman, since antiquity, in the hands of most of the magnificent men, till its helm has been passed on to Your Majesty, as pure and as glorious as can be.” — ONA

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Extra caution urged as Sultanate

celebrates Eid al Adha today

MUSCAT: The Sultanate is celebrating Eid al Adha on Friday even as the Supreme Committee has urged members of society, both citizens and residents, to be extra cautious during the Eid holidays and to minimise their movement as far as possible during daytime and not to visit any public place.

The committee has also reminded all to avoid all

sorts of family and social gatherings as it has been scientifically proven that gatherings can cause the spread of COVID-19 among a large number of people.

“No public prayers or any congregational prayers can be held on Eid day or during Eid holidays as this will amount to violation of the instructions and the law of the land. Hence, all are requested to pray inside their homes with their immediate family members in attendance,” Abdurahiman al Khalili, Head of the Department of Islam and Culture at the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs, told the Observer.

Failing to abide by the instructions in the present pandemic situation will attract legal consequences and those who violate its decisions will be sternly dealt with, according to the Supreme Committee.

“The Supreme Committee appreciates the great commitment to the decisions by citizens and expatriates which will, God willing, protect the

individuals and society in general from the infection and its adverse health complications,” a statement, issued after the meeting held on Monday, said.

Strict social distancing should be maintained throughout the Eid days and holidays and none is supposed to visit any public place, touristic destination, beach or park.

Also, all the rules and regulations of the night lockdown are in force and all are expected to follow the lockdown rules as well.

The lockdown is the total ban on movement between governorates and closure of all public places and commercial stores from 7 pm to 6 am, which took effect from July 25 until August 8.

K A B E E R Y O U S U F

www.omanobserver.om FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2020 3

OMAN

MOH Statement 154

Today's Total Cases

Omanis Non-Omanis

Deaths TestedRecoveries

Newlyadmitted

Currentlyadmitted

CurrentICU admissions

Total Total Total

Admitted Cases

Total Cases

421 30565161421

590

9 19401181

63 511 187

79159

496 94

@omanobserver

Together, we shall overcomeOMAN OBSERVER

@OmanObserverNews

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MUSCAT: India has added 19 new flights from Oman in Phase 5 of Vande Bharat Mission, starting on August 6.

According to the Indian Embassy, Air India will start issuing tickets from August 2 during office hours between 8.30 am and 5 pm.

Indian nationals who wish to travel are expected to confirm and provide information.

As in the case of flights operated earlier under Vande Bharat Mission,

passenger lists for all the flights will be finalised by the embassy on the basis of information received by it. The embassy will be floating an online form for seeking confirmation of passen-gers to travel on a particular flight and then share the list of registered people with Air India.

All such people will be contacted by Air India directly for booking of tick-ets.

The passengers, after registering on the online form, may also approach Air India offices in Ruwi and Wattaya (National Travels, General Sales Agent

of Air India) directly to book tickets on a first come first serve basis.

However, priority will be given to medical emergency cases, pregnant women, workers in distress, senior citizens as well as to other Indian nationals who are stranded in difficult situations.

The cost of tickets will have to be borne by the passengers themselves. All passengers are required to confirm acceptance of all conditions of travel, including quarantine requirements in India as well as health requirements in order to board the flight.

19 more repatriation flights to India

MUSCAT: The Ministry of Health on Thursday issued guidelines for home isola-tion, which are as follows:

Stay in a well-ventilated single room with an attached toilet. Do not go out unless you need to visit a healthcare institution.

Only one assigned family member should take care of the isolated person.

The caregiver should wear surgical masks and use disposable gloves when attending the isolat-ed person and should dis-pose of them after use, then wash hands using soap and water immedi-ately.

Visitors and family visits

should not be allowed dur-ing isolation. Wash hands often thoroughly with soap and water.

Avoid sharing household items, like dishes, drinking glasses and towels with other family members. Household items should be

allocated for the isolated person.

The isolated person should clean his room and toilet daily by shaking the soiled linen.

Clean the clothes and other linens used by the isolated person separately

and keep them away from the clothes of other people at home.

The home isolation peri-od is for 14 days. The iso-lated person should not end his isolation unless informed by healthcare providers who supervise him.

The isolated person should wear surgical masks when visited by a medical team or visit a healthcare institution.

Please follow the attached instructions for suitable waste management in the house.

Non-adherence to isola-tion procedure will make the person liable to prose-cution according to com-municable diseases law 32/2020.

The Schedule 1. August 6 — Muscat-Kannur 2. August 7 — Salalah-Kochi 3. August 7 — Muscat-Delhi 4. August 8 — Muscat-Kochi 5. August 8 — Muscat-Mumbai 6. August 8 — Muscat-Trivandrum 7. August 9 — Muscat-Delhi 8. August 10 — Muscat-Bengaluru/ Mangalore 9. August 10 — Muscat-Tiruchirappalli10. August 10 — Muscat-Calicut11. August 11 — Muscat-Hyderabad12. August 11 — Muscat-Chennai13. August 12 — Muscat-Lucknow14. August 13 — Muscat-Vijayawada15. August 14 — Salalah-Muscat/ Delhi16. August 14 — Muscat-Trivandrum17. August 14 — Muscat-Kochi18. August 15 — Muscat-Kochi19. August 15 — Muscat-Mumbai

4 FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2020 www.omanobserver.om

OMAN

MoH issues guidelines for home isolation

STAFF REPORTER

STAFF REPORTER

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www.omanobserver.om FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2020 5

OMAN

MUSCAT: A study entitled ‘The effect of distance edu-cation at the university level’ due to the impact of COVID-19 was carried out recently by students of Sultan Qaboos University (SQU).

The study was jointly pre-pared by Dr Yassin Bouchareb, Assistant Professor, Department of Radiology and Molecular Imaging, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, and Noor bint Mohammed bin Amer, a Canadian student who specialises in Medical Physics at the College of Science. The questionnaire for the study received tre-mendous response from students of last year. The study highlighted the impact of distance education on the level and performance of the students during this pandemic, especially among last year students.

The study also recom-mends that all universities and colleges to prepare technical means to provide lectures, applications and tests, taking into account the quality of communications network in the Sultanate.

It noted that academic specialists had worked to

continue offering curricula using the institution’s edu-cational site in addition to various e-applications namely BBB Meeting, Zoom, Google Meet and Moodle.

Dr Bouchareb, who spearheaded the survey, says that they sent out questionnaires covering all colleges and universities. This received tremendous interaction among stu-dents of last year with about 73 per cent respond-ing to the questionnaire as compared to students from previous batches.

“Due to the lack of experi-ence by colleges towards managing such emergency situations and the students’ inability to organise their time which had a positive impact on achievements

and performance of the stu-dents in general,” says Dr Bouchareb.

Canadian student Noor says the study showed a positive result for gradua-tion projects, and students were able to collect and write information in a more comprehensive and accurate way with regard to theoretical projects.

“This is despite the stu-dents have faced prob-lems in completing the results required to achieve goal of the research project and the clarity of its idea due to stoppage of work at labo-ratories and the difficulty of conducting experiments remotely,” she adds.

Despite these challenges,

the role of the academic supervisor for each project and the extent of his perse-verance in supporting stu-dents to complete the results and achieve project goals became clear, notes the survey.

The study further shows that distance education has had a major role towards addressing the sudden impact of the edu-cational sector due to the pandemic. This also pro-vided opportunities to ana-lyse the pros and cons during the period to cre-ate an appropriate envi-ronment for study and preparing academics and specialists towards such conditions in future.

The study also mentions that it is necessary to pro-vide lessons for students to prepare themselves for the effective and optimal use of technology available at uni-versities and colleges.

This, the survey notes, will help reduce the impact of such an emer-gency on higher education as well as the level of uni-versity frameworks in order to meet the require-ments of the labour mar-ket in all sectors of the Sultanate.

MUSCAT: Indian School Darsait has organised yet another Online Competition, Knock out COVID-19 – a family skit competition for ISD family as a part of the Parent Outreach Programme during this global pandemic.

The school received six entries which were scripted, acted, video graphed in ideal settings and directed by the parents themselves.

The competition, which was conceived and intended

to make the ISD family stress-free, was live-streamed on Google Meet, Facebook and YouTube on July 24 from 5 pm, thus helping lovers of acting all over to enjoy. The live programme included a formal inauguration, the adjudication of the competition followed by the declaration of results.

Alexander Gee Varghese, Acting Principal, delivered the welcome address and Sebastian Chungath, Vice-President SMC, inaugurated the event. Jaikish Pavithran, President SMC, also spoke.

ISD ORGANISES FAMILY SKIT CONTESTS TA F F R E P O R T E R

S TA F F R E P O R T E R

SQU study highlights effects of distance education on students

Dr Yassin Bouchareb Noor bint Mohammed bin Amer

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6 FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2020 www.omanobserver.om

WORLD

RIYADH: In years before the coronavirus, some 3 million white-clad pil-grims from across the world flocked to Islam’s holiest sites to attend Hajj under Saudi Arabia’s blistering sun.

With the pandemic making large gatherings impossible, only a few thousand pilgrims - Saudis and foreign resi-dents - are gathering this year on Mount Mercy on the plains of Arafat for the most important ritual. They share a common plea.

“Everyone will be pray-ing for this pandemic to end, and for all the peo-ple of the world to see better months to come after all the suffering caused by coronavirus,” said Ammar Khaled, a 29-year-old Indian pil-grim who is an IT profes-sional in Jeddah.

Over the years, Saudi Arabia has spent billions of dollars on making one of the world’s biggest religious gatherings more secure.

This year it faces the challenge of keeping Hajj, a once-in-a-lifetime duty for every able-bod-ied Muslim who can afford it and a major source of income for the government, safe from COVID-19.

For the first time in modern history it has dramatically reduced the number of pilgrims to ensure social distanc-ing measures are adhered to.

The Hajj minister said in June the number of pilgrims would be limited to around 1,000, but no official number has been given for those perform-ing the rituals this week. Some local media cited a

figure of some 10,000.Saudi healthcare and

security professionals, on the frontlines of the battle against the dis-ease, make up about 30 per cent of the total, with the remainder coming from 160 nation-alities residing in the Kingdom.

Mask-wearing pilgrims circled the Kaaba - a stone structure that is the most sacred in Islam and the direction which Muslims face to pray - in small groups of 50 peo-ple, each keeping a safe distance apart and accompanied by a health professional monitoring their movements.

Unlike past years when they lunged towards the Kaaba, pilgrims are not allowed to touch the plain stone cube building covered in black cloth and wrapped in Arabic

writing in golden silk.Workers sanitised the

structure, rubbing Oud perfume, the popular Arab sweet and woody scent, on its walls and carrying incense as they moved around the premises of the Grand Mosque.

Crowds of millions of pilgrims from around the world could be a hot-bed for virus transmis-sion, and in the past some worshippers have returned to their coun-tries with respiratory and other diseases.

The government is being cautious this time around.

Pilgrims took several medical tests and were asked to quarantine for a week before starting their journey, then iso-late for another week in their hotel rooms.

— Reuters

Pilgrims pray at the Namira Mosque on Arafat day, the climax of the Hajj pilgrimage, in Mecca on Thursday. — AFP

In Mecca, a fortunate few pray

for a pandemic-free world

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www.omanobserver.om FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2020 7

WORLD

D A I L Y C O U N T N E A R S 3 0 0 , 0 0 0 M A R K ; T H E C U R V E S H O W I N G N O S I G N O F F L A T T E N I N G

Global virus cases top 17 million

WASHINGTON: Economies from Europe to the United States on Thursday reported record economic slumps and companies from banks to car makers warned of losses in the latest fallout from the pandemic that has infected more than 17 million people across the globe.

Six months after the World Health Organization declared a global emergency, countries around the globe are struggling to control infections even as they seek to restart damaged economies.

Even nations that appeared to have largely curbed the disease are being gripped by resurgences, with Australia on Thursday reporting a record number of new infections and its deadliest day of the pandemic.

Despite efforts in place to contain the virus, COVID-19 has killed more than 666,000 people around the world and total infections have passed 17 million since the disease first emerged in China late last year.

Global daily cases are now approaching the 300,000 mark, with the curve showing no sign of flattening — it took just 100 hours for one million new cases to be

recorded.Southern and western

regions of the United States were grappling on Thursday with a renewed surge of coronavirus infections as the death toll in the world’s worst-affected nation passed 150,000.

Brazil is second to the US in terms of cases and fatalities, and also reported a sobering figure as it surpassed 90,000 deaths.

Days after Australian

authorities expressed hope that a Melbourne lockdown — now in its third week —was bringing persistent outbreaks under control, the surge is a warning that initial successes in managing COVID-19 can quickly unravel.

Thirteen deaths and 723 positive tests were reported in the southeastern state of Victoria alone, well beyond the previous nationwide record of 549 cases set on

Monday.Prime Minister Scott

Morrison said the steep rise in numbers was “very concerning”.

In Hong Kong, where authorities fear a worrying third-wave of infections could cripple the healthcare system, the government reversed a day-old ban on restaurants serving dine-in customers following widespread public anger.

— AFP

ATHENS: Hidden and protected for millennia, an ancient shipwreck in Greece opens to the public for the first time on August 3, fusing archaeological won-ders in the depths of the sea with the mar-vels of modern-day

artificial intelligence.Access to under-

water sites is typical-ly restricted in Greece to preserve their integrity. But authorities have been able to allow recreational diving at the shipwreck at Peristera, thanks to

computer surveil-lance technology.

Underwater cam-eras monitor the site, and use image rec-ognition software to alert administrators

instantly if the wreck is in danger of being disturbed.

The site is located off a tiny outcrop off the Aegean island of Alonnisos, where a

wooden vessel sank in the late 5th centu-ry BC, taking with it thousands of ampho-rae, pointy-bottomed clay jugs used for commerce across the ancient Mediterranean.

“We were lucky to start with one of the most beautiful ancient wrecks in the world. They call it the Acropolis of sea wrecks,” said George Papalambrou, an assistant professor of power propulsion at the National Technical University of Athens. — Reuters

ANCIENT

‘ACROPOLIS OF

THE SEA’ OPENS

TO DIVERS

George Papalambrou watches a live stream of the ancient shipwreck of Peristera islet, at his office in the Polytechnic school of Athens. — Reuters

A medic takes a nasal swab from a man at a drive-through testing centre for the COVID-19 in Sydney on Thursday. — AFP

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8 FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2020 www.omanobserver.om

ANALYSIS

Work together on vaccines

Investigators and scientists are racing the clock to develop a vaccine to arrest SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COV-ID-19 as cases and death toll continue to

mount and the world economy lies in tatters. The scientific community was never this

enthusiastic about developing any other vaccine as it is today for COVID-19. In less than six months, nearly 180 vaccine candi-dates have been registered and nearly three dozen of these have entered the human trial stage.

Six vaccines have entered the phase III of clinical trials to assess their efficacy and two of these — one from University of Oxford in the UK and the other under development by Moderna in the United States — are be-ing considered as front runners. The re-sults from early-stage clinical trials of these vaccines have shown promising outcomes on safety and immunogenicity parameters. They have also generated both antibodies and T-cell responses.

However, we have to be very cautious as there are many challenges ahead. We know that there is no vaccine yet for Malaria and HIV after years of research costing billions of dollars.

But the updates from Oxford are encour-aging. The success of the vaccine lies in trig-gering the formation of antibodies and T cells to fight the virus.

It has not yet shown if it can prevent the infection. What we know that such vaccines have generated immune responses.

Surprisingly, there is no global collabora-tion to develop the vaccine despite the world facing such a catastrophic pandemic. In-stead what we hear are reports of hacking research data.

The next challenge is how to produce enough vaccines and distribute it across the world.

Many people are hopeful of a successful vaccine by year end. But my prediction is early 2021, which I would love to be proven wrong.

In the absence of a vaccine and herd im-munity, we have no choice but to live with the virus.

The author is a physician, medical innovator & educator.

As most of the world either orders or rec-ommends the use of face masks, with even US president Donald Trump seen wearing

one, Nordic nations are the remain-ing holdouts.

In supermarkets, on buses, and along the streets of capitals — such as Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo, Helsinki and Reykjavik — face masks are a rare sight, worn only by a small minority — mostly tour-ists.

“I have the impression that if the government doesn’t say clearly ‘we advise you to wear a mask’, nobody will,” 21-year-old French student Camille Fornaroli said, adding she was shocked to see how rare masks were in Stockholm.

Birgitta Wedel, a 63-year-old pen-sioner, said she would have pre-ferred if Sweden’s authorities rec-ommended masks, at least on pub-lic transport.

But she added that she would keep going without one unless there was a shift in official policy.

Sweden has received global atten-tion for its softer approach to curb-ing the spread of the virus which, coupled with a relatively higher death toll, has led to the region’s largest country being shunned by its neighbours.

But when it comes to masks, the Nordic nations look staunchly unit-ed.

“Except for Sweden, there are very few cases in those countries,” KK Cheng, an epidemiologist at the University of Birmingham’s Institute of Applied Health Research said.

“So I don’t blame them for not doing it, as long as they have rea-sonable social distancing and con-tact tracing is done properly,” Cheng added.

Asked Tuesday what might change his mind on recommend-ing the use of face masks, Sweden’s chief epidemiologist Anders Tegnell said he was still waiting for “some form of proof that they are effective”.

For Cheng, such logic is question-able.

“I think it’s wrong, it’s irresponsi-ble and it’s stubborn,” the epidemi-ologist said. — AFP

NORDICS BRUSH OFF MOUTH COVERS

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

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M A R C P R É E L

In supermarkets, on buses, and along the streets of capitals — such as Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo, Helsinki and Reykjavik — face masks are a rare sight, worn only by a small minority — mostly tourists.. — AFP

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Oman Drydock eyes repair order-book of 200 ships per year

MUSCAT: Oman Drydock Company (ODC) is targeting a major increase in the throughput of vessels call-ing at its modern yard at the Port of Duqm for repair and maintenance services.

According to a senior offi-cial of the state-owned yard — part of the government’s transport and logistics arm Asyad Group — ODC is eye-ing a repair order-book of at least 200 ships per annum starting from 2021. This is in addition to an array of steel fabrication, sludge treatment and other specialised services provid-ed by the yard to the mari-time, industrial and off-shore markets.

“Our plan is to reach 200 ships per year, compared to 176 ships handled last year,” said Ahmed al Shueili (pic-tured), Marketing Manager. “This year, the target is 200 ships too, but due to the COVID-19 situation, we may not reach that number. However, from next year onward, we aim to achieve this target annually.”

Participating in an online panel discussion hosted by the Special Economic Zone Authority of Duqm (SEZAD) on Tuesday, Al Shueili said the yard has so far handled over 900 ships since it came into operation in 2011. Its strategic location at the entrance of the Arabian Gulf, makes it attractive for vessels sailing in from either the Suez Canal or the Indian Ocean, he noted.

Ahead of the yard’s plan to add newbuildings to its portfolio of capabilities, ODC is also gearing up for a siz-able expansion of the size of its workforce, said Al Shueili.

“We currently have around 3,500 workers, but our aim is to increase it to 4,000, the majority of whom are blue-collar workers from India, Philippines and Vietnam with experience in ship repairs. Having proven our-selves to be reliable in the repair and maintenance of ships, now is the time for the yard to move into new-buildings.”

In recent years, the yard has ramped up its capabili-ties to offer a range of val-ue-added services to ship-owners bringing their ves-sels for dry-docking and repairs. Notable is the fab-rication and installation of on-board scrubbers and ballast water systems designed to help ships meet their emission and effluent control requirements.

Spacious and well-equipped workshops also support the yard’s ambi-tions to grow its steel fabri-

cation business catering to both ships and the indus-trial market. With these capabilities, the yard is able to build platforms, upgrade

the topsides of offshore rigs and jack-up rigs, and under-take conversions for FPSOs, and storage units of off-shore platforms.

Earlier, the yard launched a first of its kind facility for the handling and treatment and sludge and slop — oily water and tanker bottoms that must be safely disposed of at suitably equipped reception centres. This facility not only caters to sludge and slop wastes from visiting ships but also refineries and petrochemi-cal plants operating in the country.

Significantly, ODC is work-ing with SEZAD to attract specialist service providers that can complement the yard’s repair and mainte-nance offerings, said the official. The goal, he said, is to position ODC as a one-stop provider of end-to-end ship and maintenance serv-ices, as well as newbuilds.

C O N R A D P R A B H U

www.omanobserver.om FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2020 9

BUSINESS

PROMISING GROWTH: Wholly

government-owned Oman Drydock

Company has so far handled over 900

vessels since it came into operation in 2011

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10 FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2020 www.omanobserver.om

BUSINESS

BERLIN: German gross domestic product (GDP) col-lapsed by 10.1 per cent in the second quarter as the coro-navirus pandemic unleashed chaos on Europe’s largest economy, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) said on Thursday.

It was the sharpest quar-terly fall since records began in 1970, the office said, citing preliminary figures.

By comparison, the German economy contract-ed by 4.7 per cent at the height of the financial crash in early 2009.

Compared to the second quarter of 2019, GDP fell by 11.7 per cent.

The German economy already shrank by 2.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2020 — before the brunt of the lockdown-type meas-ures introduced in mid-

March was felt.Sweeping restrictions on

public life, closed borders and forced production stop-pages dealt near-cata-strophic blows to a number

of key industries in Germany in the months that followed.

Destatis noted that both exports and imports of goods and services plum-meted in the second quarter

as demand fell worldwide, while private household spending and investments in machinery and equip-ment also took a severe hit.

Meanwhile, the German government upped its spending in response to the crisis. Economists expect that the economy is set to recover in the latter half of the year, provided that Germany can prevent a sec-ond wave of infections.

The restrictions put in place to stem the spread of the virus have been gradu-ally eased or lifted across the country since May.

The German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) said that there were signs “clearly pointing to econom-ic recovery,” while noting that it would take two years for the economy to return to pre-crisis levels. — dpa

Employees of a car manufacturer Porsche wear face masks as they work on power trains for the Taycan full-electric sportscar at the production site in Stuttgart. — AFP

Beware of COVID scams

During times of hardship, people tend to be more scared in gener-al, but surpris-

ingly also more gullible and prone to be scammed. This is especially true when vic-tims thought they were engaging with institutions and official organizations, but the reality was much dif-ferent. Over the past few months, scams have prolif-erated all over the world. Here are some of the most common examples, so beware and always stay vigi-lant.

A general rule of thumb is to always ask for proof of identity when interacting with any stranger online. If this is good advice during normal times, it is even more important during the COVID emergency. Scammers might be impersonating medical staff or officials of the World Health Organisation, asking for money to test COVID-19. In doubt, always refer to the guidelines and the state-ments of the Ministry of Health published on www.moh.gov.om

Some scams bring up charities and relief funds. Before you donate, ensure that there is a real organisa-

tion behind the donation or alternatively, donate only to people that you know per-sonally and are currently in need. Beware also of any email claiming that you are entitled to refunds for expenses that you cannot remember having had. For example, if you are told that you are going to receive a refund for something that you did not buy, quite likely the scammer will pretend to send you an amount of money to your account, then claim that the amount was wrong and demand that you

return the difference. The problem is that there was no transfer to start with, hence the money will only leave your account.

In some cases, websites have advertised anti COVID-19 products that claim to be virus resistant. Even when it comes to basic prevention products such as hand sani-tisers, masks and gloves, many scams have been reported whereby the prod-ucts were paid in advance, but never received. Moreover some products are not in line with the guide-

lines of the World Health Organization, therefore not effective preventive meas-ures to keep the virus away.

For those who live in coun-tries where partial or total lockdowns are in place, there is a scam that claims that the internet connection has been compromised. The scammers will pretend to be a technician and help “fix-ing” the problem, but in the process will install malware on the computer of the vic-tim. Similar scams claim that additional TV services needs to be paid.

On social media, some pro-files have been cloned. A friend of mine went through this scam. Scammers cloned his profile then wrote his friends, including me, claim-ing that he had contracted COVID-19 and needed imme-diate financial help. Always call your friend at the mobile number when you receive such peculiar social media messages. I did so, and my friend immediately asked Facebook to block his imper-sonator.

Lastly, beware of any investment scheme that claims to be safe from eco-nomic downturn. In times of vulnerability, scammers become even more unscru-pulous.

German economy collapses by historic proportions

STEFANO VIRGILLI

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BUSINESS

www.omanobserver.om FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2020 11

WASHINGTON: The US economy likely contracted at its steepest pace since the Great Depression in the second quarter as the COVID-19 pandemic destroyed consumer and business spending, potentially wiping out more than five years of growth.

The bulk of the historic plunge in gross domestic product expected to be reported by the Commerce Department on Thursday occurred in April when activity almost ground to an abrupt halt after restaurants, bars and factories among others were shuttered in mid-March to slow the spread of coronavirus.

Though activity picked up starting in May, momentum has slowed amid a resurgence in new cases of the illness, especially in the densely populated South and West regions where authorities in hard-hit areas are closing businesses again or pausing reopenings. That has tempered hopes of a sharp rebound in growth in the third quarter.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday acknowledged the slowdown in activity. The US central bank kept interest rates near zero and pledged to continue pumping money into the economy.

“The bottom fell out of the economy in the second quarter,” said Sung Won Sohn, a finance and economics professor at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. “The outlook is not very good. Americans are not behaving well in terms of social distancing, the infection rate is unacceptably high and that means economic growth cannot gain any traction.”

Gross domestic product probably collapsed at a 34.1 per cent annualized rate last quarter, according to a

survey of economists. That would be the deepest decline in output since the government started keeping records in 1947.

The drop in GDP would be more than triple the previous all-time decline of 10 per cent in the second quarter of 1958. On a non-annualized basis, GDP likely tumbled 10.6 per cent. The economy contracted 5 per cent in the first quarter.

“The forecast implies that the level of real GDP actually fell by roughly 11 per cent in the first two quarters of 2020,” said Lou Crandall, chief economist at Wrightson ICAP in Jersey City. “If so, that would wipe out more than five years of growth, and pull real GDP back to its levels last seen in the middle of 2014, at least as currently reported.”

With the second-quarter

GDP report, the government will publish revisions to data going back five years. The economy slipped into recession in February.

The plunge in GDP and faltering recovery could put pressure on the White House and Congress to agree on a second stimulus package. President Donald Trump, whose opinion poll numbers have tanked as he struggles to manage the pandemic, economic crisis and protests over racial injustice three months before the Nov. 3 election, said on Wednesday he was in no hurry. Economists say without the historic fiscal package of nearly $3 trillion, the economic contraction would have been deeper. The package offered companies help paying wages and gave millions of unemployed Americans a weekly $600 supplement, which expires on Saturday. Many companies have exhausted their loans. This, together with the sky-rocketing coronavirus infections is keeping layoffs elevated.

— Reuters

US economy suffered historic plunge in second quarter

THE DROP IN GDP WOULD BE MORE THAN TRIPLE THE PREVIOUS ALL-TIME DECLINE OF 10 PER CENT IN THE

SECOND QUARTER OF 1958. ON A NON-ANNUALIZED BASIS, GDP LIKELY TUMBLED 10.6 PER CENT. THE ECONOMY

CONTRACTED 5 PER CENT IN THE FIRST QUARTER

Shipping containers sit at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, California, in this file photo. — Reuters

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12 FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2020 www.omanobserver.om

WASHINGTON: Google and Facebook took particularly sharp jabs for alleged abuse of their market power from Democrats and Republicans in a much-anticipated congressional hearing that put four of America’s most prominent tech CEOs in the hot seat.

The chairman of the US House of Representatives antitrust panel holding the hearing said afterwards that the four CEOs had acknowledged concerning behavior.

“What we heard from witnesses at the hearing confirmed the evidence that we have collected over the last year,” Representative David Cicilline, a Democrat, said.

Facebook Inc’s Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon.com Inc’s Jeff Bezos, Google owner Alphabet Inc’s Sundar Pichai and Apple Inc’s Tim Cook — whose companies have a combined market value of about $5 trillion — parried a range of accusations that they crippled smaller rivals in their quest for market share.

The videoconference hearing was the first time the four CEOs have appeared together before lawmakers.

Though it was Bezos’ first congressional testimony, he appeared the least fazed. Cook drew fewer barbed questions than Bezos and handled them efficiently. Zuckerberg suffered the most damage, stumbling at times when confronted with internal emails.

Pichai, CEO of both Alphabet and Google, took the most heat from conservatives on the panel and looked the worse for it, as he repeatedly told lawmakers he would be happy to look into various

situations and get back to them.

The Big Tech hearing triggered scorn from viewers over its own tech issues. Bezos escaped questioning for about an hour in what may have been a tech issue and was caught on screen reaching for what appeared to be a snack.

Poor audio, flat-screen televisions switching off, and chief executives appearing together as thumbnails on a large screen led to mockery of the virtual set-up on Twitter.

Lawmakers descended into shouting at each other at points, with a pandemic twist. One yelled: “Put your mask on!”

Cicilline set the tone for the hearing when he began by accusing Google of theft. “Why does Google steal content from honest businesses?” he asked. He alleged Google stole reviews from Yelp Inc and threatened to delist Yelp

from search results if it objected.

Pichai responded mildly that he would want to know

the specifics of the accusation. “We conduct ourselves to the highest standards,” he added, disagreeing with the

characterisation.Facebook’s Zuckerberg

took a series of questions about the company’s purchase of Instagram in 2012 and whether it was acquired because it was a threat, as he dubbed it in an email obtained by the committee.

Zuckerberg responded that Instagram at the time was a tiny photo-sharing app rather than a social-media phenomenon.

In one of the more notable exchanges, Representative Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat, pushed Zuckerberg on whether Facebook had ever copied its competitors. “We’ve certainly adapted features that others have led in,” he said.

“How many companies did Facebook end up copying?” she asked. “Is it less than five? Less than 50?”

“Congresswoman, I don’t know,” Zuckerberg said.

— Reuters

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies via videoconference before a hearing of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on antitrust, in Washington. — Reuters

BUSINESS

THOUGH IT WAS BEZOS’ FIRST

CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY, HE

APPEARED THE LEAST FAZED. COOK DREW

FEWER BARBED QUESTIONS THAN

BEZOS AND HANDLED THEM EFFICIENTLY.

ZUCKERBERG SUFFERED THE MOST DAMAGE, STUMBLING

AT TIMES WHEN CONFRONTED WITH

INTERNAL EMAILS

US lawmakers accuse

Big Techof crushing rivals to boost profits

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SPORTS

www.omanobserver.om FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2020 13

The NBA relaunches its 2019-2020 season on Thursday with 22 teams

based inside a secure ‘bubble’ at Disney World in Florida due to complete the remainder of the cam-paign.

A look at some of the key questions and issues sur-rounding the unprece-dented restart:

WHAT IS THE BUBBLE?From the moment the

NBA season was halted in March after the pandemic brought the United States to a standstill, the NBA began looking at the ques-tion of how or if the sea-son could be restarted safely.

The NBA began exploring the feasibility of basing all teams at a single location, creating a giant quaran-tined safe zone or ‘bubble’ and completing the sea-son there.

Las Vegas and Orlando quickly emerged as the front-runners, with the NBA eventually opting for the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida as the best venue.

Twenty-two teams are now based in the campus, with players requiring to test nega-tive for COVID-19 twice

after arrival before being allowed to enter.

WHO IS ALLOWED IN?Team and NBA person-

nel are staying in three hotels dotted throughout the complex, with a small number of media, spon-sors and inactive players. Games will take place without fans at three dif-ferent venues on the com-plex.

In the early weeks of the restart, no guests will be allowed although those rules will be relaxed once the play-offs start.

After the first round of the play-offs, players will be allowed to reserve one hotel room each for guests, who will be required to self-quaran-tine for seven days. Any guests entering the bubble

must also test negative twice for COVID-19 in the 72 hours before entering. Any guests testing positive will not be allowed to enter.

Those guests who are admitted will be required to undergo daily testing.

CAN PLAYERS LEAVE?Players are allowed to

leave the bubble in excep-tional circumstances but face a mandatory four days in quarantine before being readmitted. Players must also undergo daily testing when they leave the site.

The regulations have already tripped up two NBA players — the Los Angeles Clippers’ Lou Williams and Richuan Holmes of the Sacramento Kings — both were ordered to serve a 10-day quarantine.

LIFE IN THE BUBBLESince arriving in

Orlando, most players have adjusted to life in their tightly controlled environment. A Twitter account — @nbabub-blelife — which docu-ments the daily activi-ties of NBA players based in Orlando has quickly amassed a large

following, depicting play-ers doing everything from getting haircuts to playing golf or fishing.

Despite being inside the bubble, players

are still required to follow conven-

tions such as

social distancing and wearing face coverings. Players are also barred from entering each oth-er’s rooms.

WHO IS PLAYING?Twenty-two teams will

complete the season — 13 from the Western Conference and nine from the Eastern Conference.

Invited teams include the 16 franchises who were in the play-off positions when the league halted play in March, plus six teams that were six games or fewer behind the eighth seed in each conference.

Teams will start off with seeding games to deter-mine the final play-off line-up, with the play-offs start-ing on August 17, when each round will be best of seven.

Eastern Conference teams: Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, Orlando Magic, Washington Wizards.Western Conference teams: Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz, Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, Portland Trail Blazers, New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix

Suns. — AFP

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SPORTS

14 FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2020 www.omanobserver.om

SYDNEY: World number one Ashleigh Barty pulled out of the US Open on Thursday over “significant risks” from the coronavirus pandemic in a major blow for the Grand Slam, which is scheduled to start in New York on August 31.

The Australian is the big-gest name so far to with-draw from the tournament, with her decision coming as the United States marked a grim milestone when its COVID-19 deaths topped 150,000.

“My team and I have decid-ed that we won’t be travel-ling to the US for the Western and Southern Open and the US Open this year,” she said in a statement to Australian media.

“I love both events so it was a difficult decision but there are still significant risks involved due to COVID-19 and I don’t feel comfortable putting my team and I in that position.

“I wish the USTA all the best for the tournaments and look forward to being back in the US next year,” she added.

Her decision came despite

the New York area keeping coronavirus cases at a rela-tively low level since spiking in March and April while areas such as Florida, Texas and California have become hotspots.

There have been more than 4.4 million detected infections in America so far.

It was not unexpected from Barty, who last month expressed concerns about the US Open going ahead, and she won plenty of support on Thursday on social media for her “sensible” decision to give it a miss.

The 24-year-old, who surged to the top of the rank-ings last year and h a s s t a y e d t h e r e since, said she would continue to monitor the s i t u a t i o n

before deciding whether to travel to Europe to prepare for a defence of her French Open crown.

“I will make my decision on the French Open and the surrounding WTA European tournaments in the coming weeks,” she said, with Roland Garros due to start on September 27.RESHUFFLED CALENDAR

Barty was one of sev-eral leading women

players not on the entry list on Wednesday for the ATP and WTA Western and Southern Open, a

tune-up event for the US Open from

August 20-28 in a quaran-tine environ-ment with-out specta-tors at F l u s h i n g Meadows.

W h i l e S e r e n a Williams was

conf irmed, others miss-ing included w o r l d

number two Simona Halep, the current Wimbledon champion, plus fifth-rated Elina Svitolina and last year’s US Open champion, sixth-ranked Bianca Andreescu, along with Japan’s Naomi Osaka.

Whether they play the US Open remains to be seen.

In contrast, world number one Novak Djokovic, the reigning Wimbledon and Australian Open champion, and second-ranked Rafael Nadal, the current US Open champion, were among the men’s entries, signalling their likely intent to play the Grand Slam.

Also on the list was Barty’s fellow Australian Nick Kyrgios, who last month blasted the ATP as “selfish” for pressing ahead with plans for the US Open.

Calendars have been reshuffled with the WTA tour scheduled to restart on August 3 in Palermo, Italy.

The men are set to get back under way at the Western and Southern Open, one of the few times since the tour-nament began in 1899 that it has not been held in the Cincinnati area. — AFP

BARTY SKIPS US OPENW O R L D N O 1 C I T E S ‘ S I G N I F I C A N T ’ V I R U S R I S K S

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www.omanobserver.om FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2020 15

SPORTS

SILVERSTONE: Lewis Hamilton can celebrate a record-stretching sev-enth British Grand Prix win on Sunday but the Formula One leader will be doing none of the usual crowd-surfing after what may be the weirdest home race of his life.The second triple-header of a pan-demic-hit season will be in front of empty grandstands and behind closed doors at Silverstone, celebrat-ing 70 years since the first World Championship Grand Prix there in May 1950.

The windswept circuit will host two races on successive weekends for the first time, the second as the anniversary race, but Hamilton’s army of flag-waving fans will have to cheer from afar.

“The British Grand Prix is the best Grand Prix, particularly because of the fans, the thousands that turn up and really create the spectacle,” the six-time world champion said after winning in Hungary. “So it’s going to be super-weird.”

Mercedes have been dominant so far, with Hamilton now on for a hat-trick of wins after victories in Austria’s Styrian Grand Prix and Hungary. Team-mate Valtteri Bottas won the opener at the Red Bull Ring.

The pair have also been alone on pole so far and Silverstone’s long and fast lap will suit their car, but team boss Toto Wolff is taking noth-ing for granted.

“We’ve had a good start to the sea-son: we resolved the issues that troubled us on the first weekend, won three out of three races and scored a good amount of points,” said the Austrian.

“But the first three races have also highlighted another crucial factor: the importance of reliability in this shortened season.

“We’re one of only two teams that have finished all races with both cars this year and we know how quickly a DNF (no-finish) can make a lead in the points disappear.”

Hamilton is five points clear of Bottas but 30 ahead of third-placed Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, who has been on the podium in the last two races. “We know the areas we need to work on and with Silverstone being a home race close to the facto-ry, that’s good news,” said the Dutch youngster. “I think we can hopefully get a good result there, historically it’s been a pretty good track for the team, and it’s one I really enjoy driv-ing.” — Reuters

HAMILTON EYES THIRD STRAIGHT WIN

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

DRIVERS1. Lewis Hamilton (GBR) 63 pts, 2. Valtteri Bottas (FIN) 58, 3. Max Verstappen (NED) 33, 4. Lando Norris (GBR) 26, 5. Alexander Albon (THA) 22, 6. Sergio Perez (MEX) 22, 7. Charles Leclerc (MON)

18, 8. Lance Stroll (CAN) 18, 9. Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP) 14, 10. Sebastian Vettel (GER) 9, 11. Daniel

Ricciardo (AUS) 8, 12. Pierre Gasly (FRA) 6, 13. Esteban Ocon (FRA) 4, 14. Kevin Magnussen

(DEN) 2, 15. Antonio Giovinazzi (ITA) 2, 16. Daniil Kvyat (RUS) 1

CONSTRUCTORS1. Mercedes 121 pts, 2. Red Bull-Honda 55, 3.

McLaren-Renault 40, 4. Racing Point-Mercedes 40, 5. Ferrari 27, 6. Renault 12, 7. AlphaTauri-Honda 7,

8. Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari 2, 9. Haas-Ferrari 2

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www.omanobserver.om FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2020 16www.omanobserver.om FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2020

SPORTS

MILAN: Juventus crashed to a humiliating 2-0 defeat at Cagliari on Wednesday, days after sealing their ninth consecutive Serie A title, with their Champions League last 16 return leg looming. Cagliari’s 20-year-old forward Luca Gagliano tapped in the opener eight minutes into his first Serie A match, beating veteran Juventus keeper Gianluigi Buffon to score his first top division goal.

And the young Italian then teed up Giovanni Simeone in first half stoppage time to give

Cagliari their first win over Juventus in 11 years.

Cristiano Ronaldo missed the chance to keep pace with Serie A’s leading scorer Ciro Immobile, the Portuguese now four goals behind the Lazio forward’s tally of 35 with one match remaining.

It was a worrying performance for Maurizio Sarri’s side, who have won just two of their last seven games, with key forwards Paulo Dybala and Douglas Costa fighting for fitness ahead of the Champions

League showdown with Lyon on August 7 in Turin, when they need to overturn a 1-0 first-leg deficit.

IMMOBILE ON TARGETIn Rome, Immobile moved to within one goal of equalling the Serie A single season scoring record as Lazio beat relegated Brescia 2-0 to stay in the race for second place. Immobile struck eight minutes from time to close in on Gonzalo Higuain’s record of 36 goals, scored for Napoli in 2015-16. — AFP

ITALIAN SERIE A RESULTS ON WEDNESDAY:

Lazio 2 (Correa 17, Immobile 82) Brescia 0

Sassuolo 5 (Traore 26, Berardi 39, Caputo 66, 77, Raspadori

74) Genoa 0

Udinese 1 (Samir 36) Lecce 2 (Mancosu 40-pen, Lapadula 81)

Sampdoria 1 (Askildsen 87) AC Milan 4 (Ibrahimovic 4, 58, Calhanoglu 52, Leao 90+2)

Hellas Verona 3 (Di Carmine 7, 11, Faraoni 47) SPAL 0

Fiorentina 4 (Chiesa 48, 54, 89, Milenkovic 74) Bologna 0

Torino 2 (Berenguer 14, Singo 65) AS Roma 3 (Dzeko 16,

Smalling 23, Diawara 61-pen)

Cagliari 2 (Gagliano 8, Simeone 45+2) Juventus 0

J U V E C R A S H T O H U M I L I A T I N G C A G L I A R I D E F E A T