SATURDAY | MAY 13, 2023 | SHAWWAL 22, 1444 AH
180 | PAGES 12 | BAISAS 200
Established 1981. Editor-in-chief: Abdullah bin Salim al Shueili
P4
SUDAN WARRING
SIDES MAKE
HUMANITARIAN PLEDGE
WITHOUT TRUCE
MUSCAT
GCC MINISTERS
FOCUS ON DIGITAL
INNOVATION
The periodic consultative meeting
of GCC ministers of commerce
and industry and the heads of
commerce chambers was held in
Muscat on Thursday under the
auspices of Qais bin Mohammed
al Yousef, Minister of Commerce,
Industry and Investment Promo-
tion. The ministers discussed
methods to establish a mechanism
to provide business incubators for
digital projects and artificial intel-
ligence start-ups in GCC states.
They also stressed the importance
of the GCC Commercial Fran-
chise Law and the setting up of
a ‘unit for commercial content’.
The ministers elaborated on
the smooth operation of supply
chains and the drafting of uniform
designation for the Gulf National
Product and ways to promote the
growth of the economic sector
in GCC countries. The meeting
also laid emphasis on the need
to form a permanent emergency
crisis committee, the preparation
of a strategy to search for import
alternatives, while at the same
time devising a unified policy for
purchasing food and pharmaceu-
tical commodities. — ONA
CRUDE PRICE
AT $73 A BARREL
Oman oil price for July delivery
on Friday reached $73 comprising
a decrease by $3 from the price
of Thursday which was $76. The
monthly average price of crude
oil for delivery in May amounted
to $78 per barrel, down by $3 and
74 cents compared to the price of
April delivery. US crude futures
edged up 0.4 per cent to $71.17
per barrel, while Brent crude
gained 0.3 per cent to $75.24 per
barrel. — ONA
INSIDE
THAILAND PARTIES LAUNCH
LAST PUSH TO WOO VOTERS P5
THE GLOBAL CLIMATE SYSTEM’S
HIMALAYAN HOTSPOT P6
WEATHER MUSCAT: Max 400 C
P8
UK ECONOMY
MAKES SLOW START
AS INFLATION
HEADWINDS PERSIST
TAKING FLIGHT FOR CONSERVATION: WMBD TODAY
World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) is an annual global event celebrated on the second Saturday of May and October, dedicated to raising awareness about the
importance of migratory birds and their conservation. This international initiative aims to highlight the remarkable journeys undertaken by millions of birds as they
traverse vast distances between their breeding and wintering grounds. With its slogan ‘Sing, Fly, Soar - Like a Bird!’, WMBD brings together bird enthusiasts, scientists,
conservationists, and communities worldwide to promote the protection of migratory birds and their habitats. Out of the 546 species of birds in the Sultanate of
Oman, some are residents. Others are visitors found in various natural environments. The eastern coast of the Sultanate of Oman and its islands are considered a
unique site for many types of migratory birds between Asia, Africa, and Europe. These birds play a significant role in preserving the ecosystem, pollinating flowers,
spreading seeds, and eliminating harmful pests and insects. DETAILS ON P3
FIERCE GAZA FIGHTING RENEWS
AS TRUCE HOPES FADE
GAZA CITY: Israel and the border with the Gaza
Gaza fighters traded heavy Strip, as well as blaring in
fire on Friday as hopes faded an Israeli settlement near
of securing a truce to end Jerusalem in the occupied
days of fighting that have West Bank.
killed dozens, all but one of Violence broke out on
them Palestinian. Tuesday when Israel killed
The violence has been three top members of the
met with international IJ activist group, while
calls for de-escalation, subsequent strikes have
with the European Union killed at least three other
pushing for an “immediate senior figures. A high-
comprehensive ceasefire”. ranking commander, Iyad al
Israel announced it Hassani, was killed in a strike
was “striking IJ targets” on a Gaza City apartment
in the densely populated on Friday, a spokesman
Palestinian territory, while for the group said. Hours
journalists saw air strikes hit earlier, IJ said the latest
Gaza City. rocket fire was a “response
Sirens warning of to the assassinations and the
incoming fire meanwhile continued aggression against
rang out in Israeli the Palestinian people”.
communities close to SEE ALSO P4
‘Journey to the Land of Frankincense’ in Lyon’s Museum
LYON: The National Museum of will continue until September
Oman, in collaboration with the 10. The exhibition showcases 25
Ministry of Culture, Sports, and items that highlight the beauty,
Youth, has launched an exhibition cultural richness, and historical
and activities to commemorate significance of the Sultanate of
Oman Day. Titled ‘Journey to Oman.
the Land of Frankincense,’ the It offers a glimpse into Omani
exhibition is being held at the traditions, beliefs, knowledge-
Museum of Fine Arts in Lyon, seeking endeavours, and
France. commercial heritage.
Under the patronage of Gregory The exhibition aims to
Doucet, Mayor of Lyon, the event strengthen cultural diplomacy and
Min 310 C SALALAH: Max 330 C Min 270 C NIZWA: Max 420 C Min 270 C
GCC shows solidarity
with Sudan in Geneva
GENEVA: The Gulf Cooperation
Council (GCC) has unequivocally
expressed its unwavering support
for Sudan in the face of ongoing
challenges.
Counsellor Fahd bin Sulaiman
al Kharousi, Deputy Permanent
Representative of the Sultanate
of Oman to the United Nations,
and international organisations in
Geneva, in his speech reaffirmed
the GCC’s complete solidarity with
Sudan and called for calm, dialogue,
and the restoration of stability.
The GCC countries emphasised
the importance of unity, wisdom,
and engaging in peaceful dialogue
to address the current situation
in Sudan.
Their primary focus is to restore
PRAYER TIMINGS SUNRISE: 05:26
VOL. 42 NO.
Pakistan court orders
Imran Khan’s release on bail
A Pakistani court ordered former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s
release on bail for two weeks, his lawyer said on Friday, after his
arrest in a land fraud case ignited deadly protests and a tussle
with the military. The arrest, which the Supreme Court ruled
‘invalid and unlawful’ a day earlier, has fuelled instability in the
nation of 220 million at a time of economic crisis, with record
inflation, anaemic growth and delayed IMF funding. Khan
welcomed the court’s order and said the judiciary was Pakistan’s
only protection against the “law of the jungle”. SEE P5
editor@omanobserver.om
P9
SWIATEK GETS
OFF TO PERFECT
START IN
ITALIAN OPEN
Award imminent
for Oman’s first
green hydrogen
block via auction
MUSCAT: The Sultanate
of Oman is just days away
from announcing the winner
of its first green hydrogen
block offered to international
developers in a competitive
auction process overseen
by Hydrom, the country’s
independent orchestrator for
this emerging sector.
The revelation came in a
keynote address by Eng Salim
bin Nasser al Aufi, Minister
of Energy and Minerals, at
the World Hydrogen Summit,
which concluded in the
Dutch port city of Rotterdam
on Thursday. Media reports
quoted Al Aufi as saying that
the maiden award will be
announced “in the next few
days”, with a second award
likely in June. The land blocks,
each covering an area of
around 320 sq kilometres and
located in Duqm in Al Wusta
Governorate. DETAILS ON P7
This initiative, backed by
international solidarity and
efforts from Quartet countries,
the tripartite mechanism, and
the Intergovernmental Authority
on Development (IGAD), aims
to facilitate a truce, establish a
ceasefire, and enable the delivery of
much-needed humanitarian aid.
The GCC further welcomed any
regional initiatives geared towards
political stability, drive economic resolving the crisis and achieving an
recovery, and promote prosperity agreement among political forces
for Sudan and its people. to restore security and stability
Counsellor Fahd al Kharousi in Sudan. The GCC countries
also acknowledged and welcomed also reiterated their commitment
the initial discussions taking place to preserving the cohesion of
in Jeddah, led by Saudi Arabia Sudan’s state and institutions while
and the United States, as part of a supporting the aspirations of the
collaborative initiative. Sudanese people. — ONA
foster friendship between Oman civilisations to the present day.
and France. The Museum of Fine The event kicked off with a
Arts in Lyon, one of the prominent musical performance by Omani
museums in France, is hosting the artist Musallam bin Ahmed
exhibition, marking the first-ever al Kathiri, accompanied by Al
Omani museum exhibition in the Balad Musical Band.
country outside of Paris. The exhibition delves into the
historical trade routes connecting
CAPTIVATING HERITAGE Oman with Mesopotamia,
Visitors will have the opportunity the Indus Valley, ancient
to explore Oman’s captivating Egypt, East Africa, and the
heritage, from its ancient Roman Empire. – ONA
FAJR: 04:03 DHUHR: 12:08 ASR: 15:32 MAGHRIB: 18:45 ISHA: 20:03
oman
2 OMANDAILYOBSERVER
S AT U R DAY l M AY 1 3 l 2 0 2 3
Art of Leadership
programme on May 15
STAFF REPORTER
MUSCAT, May 12
The ‘Art of Leadership’
programme organised by the
Art of Living, will be held from
May 15 to 17 at the Hilton
Garden Inn, Al Khuwair.
The programme will be
conducted by Dr Virat Chirania,
a renowned corporate trainer
and TEDx speaker who is known
for his expertise in the field of
stress management, effective
team building,boosting
productivity, mind management,
personal excellence and
emotional intelligence.
Dr Chirania, who has trained
various multinational corporates
including Shell, Toyota, Nasa,
Google, Microsoft, The World
Bank, Cisco, Deloitte, City Bank,
Tata Communications, Bosch,
Oracle, L&T, is an Engineering
graduate with a Masters in
Management from New York
and a PhD in Emotional
Intelligence.
Dr Chirania’s approach has
been proven to yield results that
have inspired and empowered
Hydrocarbon to be the driver of Oman’s growth
KABEER YOUSUF
@kabeeryousef
Hydrocarbons will take the lead
in driving Oman’s future growth
while the rate of growth will
stay positive around 4 per cent,
according to financial experts.
Oil prices are expected to
remain near breakeven prices
during 2023, which is $70 while
liquidity conditions will remain a
major concern.
Speaking at the 14th edition
of Business Summit 2023, His
Highness Sayyid Dr Adham bin
Turki al Said, Assistant Professor
of Economics at the College of
Economics and Political Science
at SQU, said that many factors
contributed to the advantage of
Oman’s economic growth last
year and will continue the streak
this year too.
“Oman’s GDP stood at RO 44
billion in 2022 while real year-
Students forum concludes at Oman Across Ages Museum
BADRIYA AL BALUSHI
MANAH, MAY 12
The 20th Students’ Forum of
the University of Technology
and Applied Sciences (UTAS)
concluded on Wednesday at Oman
Across Ages Museum in a festive
atmosphere.
Dr Said al Rubaie, UTAS Vice-
Chancellor, presided over the
event, and attended by deans of
UTAS branches, academic and
administrative staff, and students
from various branches.
The ceremony concluded with
the announcement of the first
three winners of all 20th Students’
Forum competitions, including the
thousands worldwide, fostering
effective leaders in both their
personal and professional lives.
Through his unique leadership
programmes, many individuals
have become key drivers of
success within their respective
teams.
The workshop is specifically
designed for corporate leaders,
senior management and middle
management cadre,
professionals, entrepreneurs /
business owners, decision
makers, and all those aspiring to
be modern business leaders
who desire to bring about
positive change in the shortest
span of time.
The workshop aims to equip
participants with essential
leadership skills that will
enhance their leadership
capabilities and positively
impact their organisations.
Participants will be able to gain
insights into effective leadership
practices, understand the
importance of emotional
intelligence in leadership, and
learn how to manage stress and
boost productivity.
to-year growth was up by 4.4 per
cent backed upon a 10-per cent
oil sector growth and 1.6 per cent
non-oil growth.
This scenario is owing to many
reasons such as the fallout from
the war in Ukraine, normalisation
of Iran-Saudi relations, oil price,
BRICS countries and decoupling
of dollar which have helped
Hackathon and Students’ Creativity
Competitions.
Additionally, all branches of
UTAS that participated in the event
were rewarded. The Proficiency
Shields were given to the first
Construction workers feel the
heat as mid-day break yet to start
SHADDAD AL MUSALMY
@shadadm
Even though summer has just
kicked in, the mid-day break
period for outdoor workers
especially those in construction
sector has not started but their
woes have. Many of whom are
expatriates, they feel that the break
could have been set earlier.
According to National Centre
for Statistics and Information
(NCSI), Oman’s construction
sector employs the largest number
of expatriate workers.
The three-month mid-day
break which normally begins on
June 1 with outdoor employees
suspending work between
12.30 pm and 3.30 pm, calls on
companies to comply with such
humanitarian rule but there are a
few who do not follow it and often
face heavy fines from authorities.
Oman achieve this position,” he
said.
Hydrocarbons hold paramount
economic importance because
the economy is still heavily
reliant on hydrocarbons despite
the ongoing diversification.
Hydrocarbons supplied over 75
per cent of government revenue
and over 60 per cent of export
three winners, with UTAS Nizwa
receiving first place, UTAS Muscat
receiving second place, and UTAS
Sohar receiving third place. All
winners expressed their happiness
through endless smiles and
Tamjeed Mohammad, a worker
for a construction site, said, “I wish
the authorities added another 20
days or a month before June 1. It is
already hot and we get exhausted
in no time. The temperature
comes down only after 5 pm and
each year, summer begins earlier
by around two weeks.”
Another construction worker,
revenue in the previous years.
Hydrocarbons encompass the
constituents of the major fossil
fuels, petroleum and natural gas,
as well as plastics, waxes and oils.
The first quarter of 2023 has
been highly promising for the
Sultanate as revenues showed
an increase of 7 per cent while
expenditure decreased by 4
per cent, according to financial
experts.
External trade balances
continue to improve in 2023 as
well while the FDI stock increased
by 10 per cent during the first 3
quarters of 2022.
The summit held under
the auspices of Shaikh Salim
bin Mustahail al Mashani also
featured a fireside chat with
Pankaj Khimji, Adviser for
Foreign Trade and International
Cooperation with the Ministry
of Commerce, Industry and
Investment Promotion (MoCIIP).
greetings exchanged among one
another.
One of the outstanding teams
that outperformed in more than
one competition was the group of
students from UTAS Shinas named
local@omanobserver.om
Email us on:
Faizul Haq, said, “We wish the
break starts earlier than June and
extended till September 30. At
the moment, the mid-day break
calls for a strict regulation and
prohibition of work for workers in
the heat from 12.30 pm to 3.30 pm
from June to August.”
Under Article 16 of Ministerial
Decision No 286/2008, outdoor
TUHR VOLUNTEER TEAM HOLDS
CARNIVAL IN NIZWA
AMAL AL RIYAMI
NIZWA, MAY 12
The Tuhr volunteer team of Dar Al
Atta’a Association, in partnership
with the Nizwa Cultural Centre of
the Ministry of Culture, Sports and
Youth, organised a volunteer forum
in Nizwa Cultural Centre on
Thursday and Friday.
Held under the auspices of
Ahmed bin Nasser al Abri, a
member of Majlis Ash’shura and
representative of Nizwa, the forum
continued for two days.
Tuhr Volunteer Carnival took
place in the Nizwa Cultural Centre.
There were entertainment games
and theatres for children. The event
had a choice for everyone.
It also had an exhibition
accompanying productive families
that contained accessories, food
products, cosmetic products, books,
perfumes, incense, toys for children,
and others.
A corner also contained
donation machines to donate
directly to Dar Al Atta’a.
Nasser al Abri spoke about the
Tuhr team’s generosity and
appreciated their volunteering
Khawla al Omrani, Walaa al Shidi,
Al Anood al Issaei, Mohammed
al Muqbali, Ahmed al Muqbali,
Manar al Saeedi and Amal al
Hosni. In the Best Company Idea
Competition, they ranked first for
workers in Oman are banned from
working in high temperatures
during the summer months.
Some concerned citizens say
there is a need for humanitarian
considerations for such workers.
“While driving from work
every afternoon, I am often
overwhelmed seeing these
workers at many construction
sites on the way having no
choice but to bear the heat. The
scorching sun makes it more
difficult, but they have no choice.
There is a need for the authorities
to do something about it,” Amour
al Tauqi, a concerned citizen from
Al Amerat, said.
According to health experts,
high temperatures can cause
fatigue and exhaustion, which
result in reduced concentration,
vigilance and alertness and
consequently cause many other
health risks.
efforts. He also talked about
volunteering with ideas, time, design
and directing. He expressed his
thanks to everyone who contributed
to this humanitarian work.
Ishaq al Sheryani, CEO of
Bawareq Nizwa International for
Investing, talked about the zakat of
money and charity that benefits the
person in all areas of life. And that
everyone is required to do positive
deeds wherever they are. This giving
is not limited to money, but also
includes spreading knowledge and
encouraging others.
Mahmoud bin Hamad al Jamudi,
head of the Tuhr volunteer team,
spoke about the Tuhr team, a team
of eight people from the Nizwa
University of Technology and
Applied Sciences affiliated with the
Dar Al Atta’a Association.
their project titled ‘Dojj Company,’
which is related to food security.
“We have been working on this
idea that we have participated
with since 2019. We did our best
to come up with this rank, it is a
source of pride for us and for our
university, and indeed the project is
in the field of food security, which
is an essential one that Oman has
given a major focus since a long
time,” they stated while talking to
the Observer.
Ali al Hajri, the head of Students’
Activities in UTAS who headed
all the competitions of the 20th
Students’ Forum of UTAS, said,
“The innovative ideas of all branches
of UTAS were exceptional.”

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S AT U R DAY l M AY 1 3 l 2 0 2 3
MAY 13: WORLD MIGRATORY BIRD DAY
HUMAN-DRIVEN
DEMAND DEPLETING
WATER AREAS FOR
MIGRATORY BIRDS
TEXT & PHOTOS BY
YAHYA AL SALMANI
U
nder the theme of ‘Water:
Sustaining Bird Life’
the Sultanate of Oman
is participating in the
celebration of World
Migratory Bird Day. As the spring
season ends, around 4,000 species of
birds, comprising 40 per cent of all birds
worldwide, migrate back to their original
habitats. In addition, hundreds of thousands
of birds embark on challenging journeys to
find safe sources of food, search for safer
habitats, and avoid obstacles that hinder
their lives during their long migration path.
The Sultanate of Oman is home to over
546 species of birds, some of which are
residents, and others are visitors found in
various Omani natural environments, such
as coastal beaches, high mountain peaks,
valleys, plain areas, and extended deserts,
which provide a suitable location for living
and breeding.
The two peak days of World Migratory
Bird Day 2023 are on May 13 and October
14, reflecting the cyclical nature of seasonal
bird migrations. The celebration is a call to
attention to the importance of water and
its associated habitats to migratory birds.
Unfortunately, increasing human demand
for water, human-driven pollution, and
climate change threaten many water areas
on which migratory birds depend.
Avian migration is a natural miracle.
Migratory birds fly hundreds and thousands
of kilometres to find the best ecological
conditions and habitats for feeding,
breeding, and raising their young. When
conditions at breeding sites become
unfavourable, it is time to fly to regions
where conditions are better. Different birds
have different migration patterns, with the
majority migrating from northern breeding
areas to southern wintering grounds.
However, some birds breed in southern
parts of Africa and migrate to northern
wintering grounds, or horizontally, to enjoy
the milder coastal climates in winter. Other
birds reside in lowlands during the winter
months and move up a mountain for the
summer.
spotlight
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
3
In the Sultanate of Oman,
out of 546 species of
birds, some are residents.
Others are visitors found
in various Omani natural
environments. The eastern
coast of Oman and its
associated islands are
considered a unique site
for stopping many types of
migratory birds between
the continents of Asia,
Africa, and Europe
Migratory birds have the perfect
morphology and physiology to fly fast and
across long distances. The Red Knot, for
instance, travels up to 16,000 kilometres
twice a year, breeding in Siberia and
overwintering on the west coast of Africa,
with some even going down to the tip of
South Africa. They navigate with pinpoint
accuracy, orientated by the sun during the
day, the stars at night, and the geomagnetic
field at any time. Some species can even
detect polarised light, which many migrating
birds may use for navigation at night.
Flying long distances involves crossing
many borders between countries with
differing environmental politics, legislation,
and conservation measures. International
cooperation among governments, NGOs,
and other stakeholders is required along the
entire flyway of a species to share knowledge
and coordinate conservation efforts.
The legal framework and coordinating
instruments necessary for such cooperation
are provided by multilateral environmental
agreements such as CMS and AEWA.
In the Sultanate of Oman, out of 546
species of birds, some are residents. Others
are visitors found in various Omani natural
environments. The eastern coast of the
Sultanate of Oman and its associated
islands are considered a unique site for
stopping many types of migratory birds
between the continents of Asia, Africa, and
Europe. These birds play a significant role
in preserving the ecosystem, pollinating
flowers, spreading seeds, and eliminating
harmful pests and insects. Their presence
anywhere indicates the safety and health of
the site for a living.
Ornithological studies confirm that
different types of birds gather together to
travel in similar paths, following specific
routes that include suitable habitats to rest
and refuel along the course of their flight.
Most species of birds have a habitat and
geographical locations in which they stop
during their arduous journey. Each species
prefers certain places that adapt to its
environmental conditions and climate. Birds
reproduce during their journey in areas
where they are away from some predators.
Each species of bird chooses the most
appropriate place to adapt.
world
4 OMANDAILYOBSERVER
S AT U R DAY l M AY 1 3 l 2 0 2 3
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UN refugee agency: 200,000 have fled Sudan

Sudanese refugee children who have fled the violence in Sudan’s Darfur region eat their breakfast beside makeshift shelters Sudanese refugees who have fled the violence in Sudan’s Darfur region, sit at their makeshift shelters near the border
near the border between Sudan and Chad in Koufroun, Chad — Reuters between Sudan and Chad in Koufroun, Chad. — Reuters

GENEVA: Some 200,000
people have fled from Sudan to
neighbouring countries since
violence erupted last month,
a spokesperson for the U.N.
refugee agency said on Friday,
including many malnourished
children arriving in Chad.
Some 60,000 have arrived
through the desert to Chad,
including about 30,000
in the past few days, UN
refugee agency (UNHCR)
spokesperson Olga Sarrado told
a Geneva press briefing. Nearly
90 per cent of the new arrivals
are women and children, she
said, and one fifth of the young
children are malnourished.
“UNHCR calls for
immediate financial support
for all actors involved in
the response to avoid a
humanitarian catastrophe,
prevent tensions over strained
resources and support those
forcibly in a dignified manner,”
she said.
“Support from the private
sector has been slow compared
to other emergencies, despite
the urgency and severity of the
crisis,” she added, saying a new
appeal was expected after the
agency called for $445 million
last week.
At the same briefing, a
spokesperson from the UN
children’s agency said that
a factory in Sudan’s capital,
Khartoum, producing food for
malnourished children had
burnt down.
“This is the darkest, most
distinct illustration to date
of how this conflict threatens
the lives of children through
multiple means,” said UNICEF
spokeperson James Elder. He
did not know whether the
factory, which produces 60% of
the ready-made food cartons
in Sudan, was deliberately
torched. — Reuters

Sudan warring sides 29 Palestinians killed, one fatality in

make humanitarian
pledge without truce
KHARTOUM: Warplanes roared
overhead as explosions rocked
Khartoum on Friday, just hours
after Sudan’s warring parties
signed a commitment to respect
humanitarian principles in their
spiralling conflict, without a truce
in sight.
Nearly one month after the
outbreak of the fighting that has
killed more than 750 people and
displaced hundreds of thousands,
the two sides signed the agreement
late on Thursday during talks in
the Saudi city of Jeddah.
But already by the next
morning the situation on the
ground appeared unchanged, with
the forces of two rival generals
again exchanging fire in the
Sudanese capital, which is home
Israel as violence escalates
GAZA: Israel and Gaza fighters
traded heavy fire on Thursday, the
third day of the worst escalation
of violence in months, which has
killed 29 people in the blockaded
Palestinian enclave and one in
Israel.
Air strikes by the Israeli army
since Tuesday have killed fighters
as well as civilians, including
several children, said officials in
UN Special Representative the crowded coastal territory.
in Sudan Volker Perthes Rocket fire from the Gaza
speaks during a news
conference in Khartoum, Strip killed one person in the
Sudan. — Reuters central Israeli city of Rehovot and
injured at least two others, Israeli
UN envoy police said. Three others sustained
shrapnel injuries elsewhere in
upbeat Israel.
Cairo was mediating efforts
on Sudan towards a truce between Israel and
ceasefire talk the Islamic Jihad militant group,
while European Union foreign

to five million people.
A witness in south Khartoum
reported “fighter jets overhead
and the sound of clashes and
explosions”, while another in the
city’s north reported “air strikes
and the sound of anti-aircraft
missiles”.
Envoys in Jeddah representing
the two generals — army
chief Abdel Fattah al Burhan
and paramilitary commander
Mohamed Hamdan Daglo —
agreed to “affirm our commitment
to ensure that civilians are
protected at all times”.
The agreement commits
both sides to let in badly needed
humanitarian assistance after
looting and attacks targeting aid in
the impoverished country, Africa’s
third largest in area.
The declaration calls for the
restoration of electricity, water
and other basic services, the
withdrawal of security forces from
hospitals and “respectful burial” of
the dead.
The United States and Saudi
Arabia, which together led the
diplomatic drive, said talks were
ongoing with a proposal on the
A
UN senior
official
expressed
optimism on Friday that
mediators would reach a
ceasefire in the next few
days, saying that he had
assurances from one of
the sides that they would
continue negotiating in
Saudi Arabia.
“I think the most
important element of
this understanding
that was signed
yesterday night is that
both sides commit to
continue their talks,”
Volker Perthes, Special
Representative of the
Secretary-General for
Sudan, told journalists
in Geneva, adding that
he had spoken to one of
them this morning.
— Reuters
table for a 10-day truce, which
would lead, in turn, to negotiations
on a longer-term end to fighting.
— AFP
policy chief Josep Borrell called
for “an immediate comprehensive
ceasefire”.
The United States stopped
short of a clear call for a truce,
but State Department spokesman
Vedant Patel said the casualties
were “tragic and heartbreaking”,
while urging that steps be “taken
to ensure that violence is reduced”.
German Foreign Minister
Annalena Baerbock said “the
bloodletting must end now”, and
the UN warned of “a negative
impact on an already difficult
humanitarian situation in Gaza”.
A source close to Islamic Jihad
later disclosed that “a final formula
for a ceasefire” was said to be
under discussion in Egypt.
The Israeli army, however, said
just before midnight (2100 GMT)
that it was continuing to strike
Islamic Jihad targets.
Gaza fighters have fired 620
rockets at Israel since Wednesday,
the military said, adding that 179
had been intercepted by the Iron
Dome missile defence system.
The army said 25 per cent of
rockets fired from Gaza fell into
the territory itself, killing four
Smoke rises above buildings in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, following an Israeli military strike on Friday. Israel and
Gaza fighters traded heavy fire as hopes faded of securing a truce to end days of fighting that have killed dozens, all but one
of them Palestinian. — AFP
people, including three minors.
AFP could not immediately obtain
confirmation from Islamic Jihad
or Hamas.
Shops in Gaza were shuttered
and the streets largely abandoned
as Israeli military aircraft circled
the territory, where several
buildings lay in ruins.
Islamic Jihad confirmed it had
lost five military leaders in strikes
in recent days, including Ahmed
Abu Deka -- the deputy of Ali
Ghali, commander of a rocket
launch unit, who was also killed
by Israel on Thursday.
The Israeli army said it had
fired at 191 targets across Gaza on
Thursday.
The militant Popular Front for
the Liberation of Palestine said
four of its fighters had also been
killed.
The United Nations Office for
the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA) said on Thursday
evening that it had documented 26
dead on the Palestinian side -- 13
civilians, seven of them children,
as well as four members of armed
groups and nine others whose
status was not yet determined.
WAVE OF ESCALATION
In Gaza City’s Al Rimal district,
Mamoun Radi, 48, said: “We hope
that the wave of escalation will
end, but we support revenge for
the martyrs.
“Israel assassinated a leader
of (Islamic) Jihad at dawn today
because it does not want calm.”
Across southern Israel, sirens
wailed intermittently through the
night and on Thursday morning.
Ashkelon resident Miriam
Keren, 78, said a Gaza rocket
had destroyed a workshop and
damaged her house.
“All the shrapnel is in the
room; the house was shaken very
powerfully, the glasses fell, the
walls were damaged,” she said.
“Luckily, I have a safe room
and I entered it immediately and
closed the door.
“This isn’t the first time the
house was hit but I’m not afraid,
neither was I yesterday. You’re
shocked for a moment, but it’s not
about fear. It’s more unpleasant,
very unpleasant.”
An Islamic Jihad source said
Mohammad al Hindi, who heads
the group’s political bureau,
arrived in Cairo on Thursday for
talks with Egyptian intelligence
officials. An Egyptian source,
meanwhile, said a security
delegation from Cairo would be
in Tel Aviv later on Thursday for
talks with Israeli officials on a
ceasefire.
Israeli officials confirmed
Egypt’s involvement in attempts
to facilitate an understanding
between the sides aimed at halting
the hostilities. — AFP
 world
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S AT U R DAY l M AY 1 3 l 2 0 2 3 5
TURKIYE POLL CAMPAIGN HITS FEVERISH PITCH
Imran Khan granted
bail after unlawful arrest
ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan
prime minister Imran Khan was
granted bail by the Islamabad
High Court on Friday, after his
arrest on corruption charges
this week sparked deadly clashes
before being declared illegal.
“The court has granted Imran
Khan two weeks interim bail and
has directed the authorities not
to arrest him in the (graft) case,”
Khan’s lawyer Khawaja Harris
told reporters.
The high court also ruled that
Khan, who remained on the court
premises, could not be arrested
before Monday in any other case
registered against him, including
Supporters of Turkish President and Leader of the Justice and Development (AK) Party, Recep Tayyip Erdogan wave Turkish Policemen escort Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan as he arrives at the
national flags as they attend the incumbent President’s campaign rally in the Sultangazi district of Istanbul. Turkish President charges related to the violent
high court in Islamabad. — AFP
Recep Tayyip Erdogan prepared to meet his hardcore supporters to showcase enduring strength in the face of his toughest riots ignited by his detention this
election challenge of his two-decade rule. — AFP week, said another one of his
lawyers, Tahir Malik.
Khan has become tangled in
a slew of legal allegations — a
frequent hazard for opposition

Ukraine claims Bakhmut

figures in Pakistan — since he
was ousted from power last April
and launched a campaign of
defiance against the military.

gains after uptick in fighting General elections are due

KYIV: Ukraine claimed on
Friday to have retaken swathes
of ground near the frontline
city of Bakhmut, as Russia
reported having repelled an
attack along a broad stretch of
the front line.
The rival reports from
the battlefront indicated an
increase in fighting after
months of relative stability, as
expectations grow over Kyiv’s
spring offensive.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the
head of the Wagner mercenary
group, who is spearheading
Moscow’s attack on Bakhmut,
accused the Russian army
of “fleeing” from around the
eastern Ukraine city.
The question of when and
where Ukraine might launch
its high-stakes fightback has
been the subject of steady
speculation, even after
President Volodymr Zelensky
insisted this week that his
army needed more time to
prepare.
The fresh fighting came
as China said it would
send a special envoy next
week to Europe as Beijing
pursues efforts to cast itself as
peacemaker.
Beijing plans to send its
high-ranking diplomat Li Hui
to Ukraine, Poland, France,
Germany and Russia to
“communicate with all parties
on the political settlement of
the Ukraine crisis”.
From Ukraine to the Middle
East, Beijing in recent months
has sought to position itself as
a mediator with a leading role
in solving the world’s crises.
But while China says it is a
neutral party on the Ukraine
war, it has been criticised for
refusing to condemn Moscow
for the invasion.
Zelensky is also expected
in Rome on Saturday for talks
with political leaders and
possibly Pope Francis, his
first visit to Italy since Russia’s
invasion.
On the battlefield, Ukraine
said its forces had advanced
two kilometres near Bakhmut
— the scene of the longest and
bloodiest battle since Moscow’s
more than year-long invasion.
Bakhmut, which once had
a population of around 70,000
people, has been destroyed
as Russian forces posted
incremental gains in recent
months, amounting to some
80 per cent of the city.
Moscow denied Ukraine
had made any breakthroughs
in the flashpoint city, adding
on Friday that it had repelled
Kyiv’s forces along more than
95 kilometres of front near the
eastern town of Soledar
Russia’s defence ministry
said Ukraine had deployed
more than 1,000 military
personnel and up to 40 tanks.
Wagner chief Prigozhin
however said Moscow’s
conventional army “simply
went fleeing from the flanks”
near Bakhmut. — AFP
no later than October, and the
former cricket star has accused
the shaky incumbent coalition
government of supplanting him
in cahoots with top generals.
The 70-year-old has also
made explosive claims that
they puppeteered a November
assassination attempt which
saw him shot in the leg as he
campaigned for snap polls.
The interior minister has
vowed to re-arrest Khan, who
remains wildly popular, and
police fired tear gas on protesters
who marched towards the high
court.
Khan was manhandled into
custody by paramilitary troops
at the Islamabad High Court on
Tuesday, but the Supreme Court
later declared the arrest unlawful
and demanded the process be
“backtracked”.
On Friday, he returned in a
secure convoy and walked into
the building flanked by dozens of
police and paramilitaries.
“Khan, your devotees are
countless,” lawyers for his party
gathered in front of the court
chanted as the ousted leader
raised a fist above his head.
Khan was arrested under the
A policeman fires a teargas shell towards Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party activists
and supporters of former Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan trying to reach the
Islamabad High Court during Khan’s hearing in Islamabad. — AFP
Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
The high court also
provinces, according to
ruled that Imran Khan authorities.
could not be arrested On Thursday, Chief Justice
before Monday in any Umar Ata Bandial said the arrest
other case registered was unlawful because it took
against him place on court premises, where
Khan had intended to file a bail
application.
“Your arrest was invalid, so
the whole process needs to be
orders of Pakistan’s top graft backtracked,” he told Khan.
agency as he arrived for a routine Khan remained in the bench’s
court appearance in the capital. custody overnight under police
Two days of chaos followed, protection for his own safety
with several thousand of his until he arrived at the Islamabad
supporters rampaging through High Court, where hundreds of
cities across the country in security forces were deployed and
protest, setting fire to buildings nearby roads shut.
and blocking roads. Islamabad police had issued
At least nine people died in the an emergency order banning all
unrest, police and hospitals said. gatherings in the capital city after
Hundreds of police officers Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)
were injured and more than party called for supporters to
4,000 people arrested, mostly in come together. — AFP

Thailand political parties launch last push to woo voters

BANGKOK: Thailand’s political
parties prepared for rallies on
Friday in a final push to galvanise
support and woo the undecided
ahead of a Sunday election when
voters will choose whether to stay
the course with military-linked
conservatives or opt for change.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-
ocha, a former army chief who
ushered in years of military rule
with a 2014 coup, is hoping to lead
conservative forces to victory over
an opposition led by the populist
Pheu Thai party, backed by the
billionaire Shinawatra family.
The rivalry between pro-
military, royalist conservatives and
a brash, technocratic opposition
has defined Thai politics for nearly
20 years, much of it in turmoil
that has included bloody street
clashes and two coups.
The latest opinion polls show
parties led by Prayuth and his
coalition allies trailing Pheu Thai
Incumbent Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha at United Thai Nation
Party’s rally event ahead of the upcoming general election in Bangkok. — Reuters
and another opposition party,
Move Forward.
“A Pheu Thai landslide will
change the country instantly,”
Srettha Thavisin, a property
tycoon and one of Pheu Thai’s
prime ministerial candidates, told
a crowd through a loudspeaker
on the back of a truck late on
Thursday.
While the rivalry between old
and new political forces is at the
forefront of many voters’ minds,
the economy is also looming large
in a country heavily reliant on
tourists that was battered by the
Pheu Thai Party’s prime ministerial candidate Paetongtarn Shinawatra during the
party’s final major campaign event in Bangkok ahead of Thailand’s May 14 general
election. — AFP
Covid-19 pandemic.
The tourists, and growth, are
making a comeback but high
levels of household debt are
clouding the outlook and all
parties are promising bold fixes.
Pheu Thai and its previous
incarnations have won every
election for 20 years. It wants a
landslide this time to ensure no
repeat of the last polls in 2019,
when it won the most votes
but was not allowed to form a
government due to electoral rules
drafted under military rule.
Two of the party’s former prime
The latest opinion polls
show parties led by
Prayuth and his coalition
allies trailing Pheu Thai
and another opposition
party, Move Forward
ministers, Thaksin Shinawatra,
and his sister, Yingluck
Shinawatra, are in self-imposed
exile after being ousted in coups.
Thaksin this week said he was
hoping to return home in July
after 17 years.
His youngest daughter,
Paetongtarn, 36, is another Pheu
Thai nominee for premier.
Prayuth, 69, has been
campaigning hard with his newly
former United Thai Nation party,
urging voters to hold firm with
him.
“We must be united. I want to
see this country in peace,” Prayuth
told a rally in the south. — AFP
 6 Opinion SATURDAY MAY 13, 2023
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Conflict wreaks havoc on small businesses FIREWORKS EXTRAVAGANZA

At a market outside Sudan’s capital, of impoverished Sudan’s gross domestic

where battles continue to rage, Ibrahim
Abdelqadir sat for hours waiting for
customers to buy his produce but by
the end of the day, it remains unsold.
With fighting in Khartoum showing
no signs of abating, small business
owners are struggling to stay afloat.
Getting produce to market
represents a significant challenge,
let alone selling it — with fuel prices
skyrocketing 20-fold and trucks loaded
with goods at risk of getting caught in
the crossfire.
“Buyers are offering 2,000 Sudanese
pounds for 10 kilogrammes of
tomatoes, which doesn’t even cover the
transport cost,” said Abdelqadir at the
Al Kamlin market in Gezira state south
of Khartoum.
“This is all because of the war,” he
said.
Deadly violence broke out on April
15 between forces loyal to Sudan’s de
facto leader Abdel Fattah al Burhan,
who commands the army, and his
deputy turned rival Mohamed Hamdan
Daglo, who commands the paramilitary
Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
At least 750 people have been killed
and 5,000 wounded.
For Abdelqadir, who used to
travel from Gezira, his home state, to
Khartoum to sell his goods, the conflict
has eroded his livelihood.
Many Sudanese, especially in the
capital of five million residents, have
been unable to afford the inflated prices
required to escape, sheltering instead
in their homes as they run desperately
low on food and water supplies, amid
frequent power cuts.
Al Khatib Yasin, 40, grows peanuts
in his village north of Khartoum and
says he has “one problem: there are no
more buyers”.
Agriculture generates 35-40 per cent
product, according to the World Bank,
and employs 70-80 per cent of the
workforce in rural areas, according to
the International Fund for Agricultural
Development.
Hussein al Amin, another farmer
growing five acres of okra, says he made
his last sales the day before the fighting
erupted in Khartoum.
Since then, his crops have been left
to rot.
“The crops are starting to go bad,”
said Amin, adding that severe fuel
shortages made it difficult to water his
fields.
“We hoped the war would stop
quickly, but this seems far-fetched.”
Well before the conflict began, 65
per cent of Sudan’s population was
already living below the poverty line,
according to a 2020 UN report.
Nearly 16 million people face severe
food insecurity in Sudan, according
to World Food Programme, which
warned the fighting could plunge a
further 2.5 million more into hunger.
Haram Adam had to abandon her
MANY SUDANESE
Khartoum business selling tea with
HAVE BEEN mint and aromatic coffees with ginger
UNABLE TO and cardamom.
AFFORD THE The mother of three fled the
INFLATED PRICES fighting to Hasaheisa, a city some 120
REQUIRED kilometres south of Khartoum.
“My daily income used to be 100,000
TO ESCAPE,
Sudanese pounds... now it’s no more
SHELTERING than 10,000 pounds per day,” she said,
INSTEAD IN seated on the street near other women
THEIR HOMES tea vendors.
AS THEY RUN Adam Eissa, a tailor, had to abandon
DESPERATELY his livelihood of three decades as his
LOW ON FOOD sewing machine was too heavy to bring
with him when he fled Khartoum’s
AND WATER
fighting. He now sits with a rented
SUPPLIES, AMID machine in the alleyways near shops in
FREQUENT Hasaheisa, drinking coffee and waiting Fireworks light up the sky to welcome participants and to commemorate the victims of war and disasters,
POWER CUTS for business to trickle in. — AFP during the G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting in Niigata. — AFP

The global climate system’s

Himalayan hotspot
I
n our collective imagination,
the Himalayas — the roof of
the world — are an archetype:
glistening white, distant, even
otherworldly. Climbing them
is proof of humanity’s daring, courage
and drive — a spirit recently captured
in 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible,
a Netflix documentary chronicling
one mountaineer’s attempt to summit
the world’s highest peaks in seven
months.
And yet, despite rising 6,993
metres above sea level, the summit
of Mount Machapuchare in central
Nepal resembled a black rock
pyramid this winter, devoid of ice and
snow. Glaciers near Mount Everest
have turned into large lakes.
More than a tourist attraction
or a place for high adventure, the
Himalayas play a crucial role in
regulating the planet’s climate. They
are also the source of fresh water for
billions of people and for the region’s
rich (though increasingly degraded)
ecosystems. As a result, rising
temperatures and glacial melt are
having far-reaching consequences that
already pose grave risks to humanity.
The Tibetan Plateau is at the centre
of High Mountain Asia, an area
known as the Third Pole because it
is Earth’s third largest store of frozen
Kunda Dixit
The writer is a visiting
faculty member at
New York University
Abu Dhabi
Sophia Kalantzakos
The writer is Professor
of Environmental
Studies and Public
Policy at New York
University Abu Dhabi
water, after Antarctica and the
Arctic.
The region has about 15,000
glaciers that cover almost 100,000
square kilometres of High
Mountain Asia, containing 3,000-
4,700 cubic kilometres of ice. The
glaciers supply the Amu Darya,
Brahmaputra, Ganges, Indus,
Irrawaddy, Mekong, Salween,
Tarim, Yangtze and Yellow river
basins.
The Hindu Kush Himalayas
stretch across 3,500 kilometres
and span India, Nepal, China,
Bhutan, Pakistan, Afghanistan,
Bangladesh and Myanmar, all
of which have sought to subject
the mountains, including their
water, air and ecosystems, to their
sovereign control. As the climate
crisis makes monsoons more
erratic, dries springs, lowers
the water table and threatens
the food supply, the lack of
cooperation and coordination
among these states augurs trouble
— and represents a global policy
failure that starkly demonstrates
the absence of credible
international leadership.
In 2020, a group of professors,
researchers, students and
alumni of New York University
Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) and
other universities launched
the Himalayan Water Project
to highlight the urgency of
the crisis and the paucity of
interdisciplinary approaches
needed to help countries prepare
for the worst.
But encouraging cooperation
has not been easy in a region
where intense rivalries, territorial
disputes and suspicion are rife,
and China’s growing economic
and political clout has stoked
hostility.
Calls for the resurrection of
a bipolar world order, in which
democracies are decoupled
from autocracies, further
undermine the cooperation
that interdependence demands.
To the extent that this mindset
prevails, it will be impossible for
policymakers to understand and
address the multifaceted climate-
related hazards stemming from
the crisis in the Himalayas.
The International Centre
for Integrated Mountain
Development in Kathmandu,
which includes eight Himalayan
countries, is currently the only
regional organisation trying
to grapple with the complexity
of the crisis. But the initiative
focuses heavily on the exchange
of data, as if only scientific
knowledge were “neutral”
enough to flow between member
states.
Yet even this type of exchange
can be thwarted by regional
disputes. It is, moreover,
unimaginative to constrain policy
to the scientific realm, especially
in an era when so many
governments and international
organisations are touting their
commitment to inclusion, equity
and different forms of knowledge
production.
With the exception of the
Indus Waters Treaty between
India and Pakistan, there are
no genuine regional efforts to
cooperate in the management of
riparian resources. In fact, states
continue to invest in waterway
infrastructure that obstructs
and redirects the natural flow of
rivers that gives life to ecosystems
and people. Engineers shape
policy in the belief that humans
can dominate and control the
environment, an outlook that
may seem to produce quantifiable
benefits in the short term but is
destructive in the medium and
long term.
@Project Syndicate, 2023

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SATURDAY | MAY 13, 2023 | SHAWWAL 22, 1444 AH

business
Award imminent for Oman’s first New hydrogen export
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green hydrogen block via auction hub at Al Jazer planned

CONRAD PRABHU
MUSCAT, MAY 12
The Sultanate of Oman is just
days away from announcing the
winner of its first green hydrogen
block offered to international
developers in a competitive
auction process overseen
by Hydrom, the country’s
independent orchestrator for this
emerging sector.
The revelation came in a
keynote address by Eng Salim
bin Nasser al Aufi (pictured),
Oman’s Minister of Energy and
Minerals, at the World Hydrogen
Summit, which concluded in the
Dutch port city of Rotterdam on
Thursday.
Media reports quoted Al Aufi
as saying that the maiden award
will be announced “in the next
few days”, with a second award
likely in June.
The land blocks, each covering
an area of around 320 sq
kilometres and located in Duqm
in Al Wusta Governorate, were
offered for development as part of
Round 1 of Phase A of Hydrom’s
multi-year auction programme.
Bids were due in by March 15,
2023.
The winning consortiums are
expected to develop integrated
projects covering the full
green hydrogen value chain,
encompassing solar and wind
World Hydrogen Summit — Rotterdam
farms (upstream), production
of green hydrogen through
electrolysis (midstream) and
a green energy end-product
comprising either hydrogen,
ammonia or derivative for
domestic consumption or export.
Separately, Hydrom had
signed term sheets with a
number of developers of green
hydrogen projects dubbed ‘Legacy
Initiatives’ because they were
initiated before issuance of a clear
regulatory framework by the
Ministry of Energy and Minerals
being the policy maker and
regulator of the sector.
These agreements, initialed
in March this year, pertain to 6
Legacy Projects located in the
proximity of Duqm or Salalah
ports: BP Alternative Energy
Investments Limited (for a project
in Duqm and another in Dhofar),
Green Energy Oman (GEO),
Green Hydrogen and Chemicals
SPC (owned by ACME), Hyport
Duqm consortium and SalalaH2
consortium.
These developments will
require an installed capacity
of approximately 15GW of
renewable energy, with total
expected investments projected
at around $20 billion (including
shared infrastructure). The
projects are expected to provide
over 750,000 tonnes of green
hydrogen per annum, which
would be further processed in
local industries and into energy
carriers for export.
In his address to the World
Hydrogen Summit in Rotterdam,
MUSCAT: Given the cost-competitive volumes
mammoth scale of Oman’s domestically is expected
Al Aufi also gave an overview renewable hydrogen to attract investments
of Oman’s ambitious green industry expected to in industries and
hydrogen strategy, which targets materialise over the manufacturing activities, he
a production of around 1 million coming days and its vast pointed out. To cater to this
tonnes/year of green molecules geographical footprint, a growth, hydrogen pipelines
by 2030, rising to around 8 new export hub for green are planned to travel all the
million tonnes/year by 2050. He molecules is being weighed way north to Suhar and Sur
stated that this would necessitate at Al Jazer on the country’s by 2040, and potentially
investments in electrolyser Al Wusta coast. connect Muscat as well by
capacity starting from 10GW in The proposed Al Jazer 2050, he noted.
2030, and climbing to 100GW by facility, envisioned further Further, as a green-field
2050. south of the industrial hub industry, the minister said
Al Aufi’s participation in of Duqm, will supplement that investments in all of
the Rotterdam forum marked green energy export the key building blocks
the culmination of a roughly infrastructure planned not necessary to achieve Oman’s
weeklong visit to Europe, which only at the Port of Duqm but 2050 green hydrogen
also included key meetings with also at the Port of Salalah on production targets are
authorities in Belgium as well Oman’s Dhofar coast. estimated at $150 billion.
as the representatives of the Plans for the new Material resources
European Commission. renewable hydrogen port required to achieve this
In Brussels, he signed an infrastructure were outlined goal are staggering as well:
agreement for a Green Energy by Eng Salim bin Nasser 300 million solar panels, 44
Certification pilot project for al Aufi, Minister of Energy million tonnes of concrete,
the ‘Hyport Duqm’ project, and Minerals, at the recent 25 million tonnes of steel,
joint venture between Belgium’s World Hydrogen Summit at 5.1 million tonnes of glass,
DEME Concessions and Oman’s Rotterdam. as well as massive quantities
OQ Alternative Energy for While much of Oman’s of metals like copper,
renewable hydrogen project in renewable hydrogen aluminium, silicon and
Duqm. output is earmarked for nickel, he added.
In the Netherlands, Al Aufi export, its availability in — Conrad Prabhu
met with Liesje Schreinemacher,
Picture for
Minister of Foreign Trade and illustration only
Development Cooperation;
Micky Adriaansens, Minister of
Economic Affairs and Climate
Policy; Ahmed Aboutaleb,
Mayor of Rotterdam, and Allard
Castelain, CEO of the Port of
Rotterdam.

Risk of US default adds to woes facing slowing global economy

NIIGATA: The risk of a US
default is adding to problems
facing the slowing global
economy, with rising interest
rates and high debt levels already
choking back investments needed
to fuel higher output, World Bank
President David Malpass said on
Friday.
Group of Seven (G7)
finance officials meeting in
Japan discussed the “very high
importance” of raising the US debt
limit and averting the negative Clearly, distress in the
repercussions of a potential world’s biggest economy
default on US government debt
would be negative
for the first time ever.
“Clearly, distress in the world’s
for everyone. The
biggest economy would be
repercussions would be
negative for everyone,” he said on bad to not get it done
the sidelines of the G7 meeting.
“The repercussions would be bad
DAVID MALPASS
World Bank President
to not get it done.”
US Treasury Secretary Janet
Yellen on Friday reiterated that
failure by Congress to raise the front, noting how difficult it was
$31.4 trillion debt limit would for countries to attract investment
result in economic and financial until debt restructuring
catastrophe, and urged the agreements were concluded and
Republican-controlled House of implemented.
Representatives to agree to lift the Malpass said some progress
federal debt limit. Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem, Canada’s Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, Bank of Italy Governor Ignazio Visco, Itlay’s Economy and Finance Minister Giancarlo had been made during the first
Giorgetti, Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda, Japan’s Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki, Germany’s Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel, Germany’s Finance Minister
Malpass said there had two meetings of a new Global
Christian Lindner, US Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Jerome Powell, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Secretary-General of the
been discussion during the G7 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Mathias Corman, President of the Eurogroup Paschal Donohoe, Bank of England Deputy Governor Jon Sovereign Debt Roundtable,
meetings about the need to boost Cunliffe, European Commission Commissioner for the Economy Paolo Gentiloni, France’s Director General of the Treasury Emmanuel Moulin, Governor of the Banque de which includes China — the
productivity and growth, and also France France’s Villeroy de Galhau, President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde, Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt, Managing Director of world’s largest sovereign creditor
the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva, President of the World Bank Group David Malpas and Chair of the Financial Stability Board Klaas Knot pose for a
deal with a high debt overhang group photo during the G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting at Toki Messe in Niigata. — AFP — and private sector creditors. A
facing a growing number of third meeting was now planned in
countries. June, he said.
Global growth was slated to debt that it would take a lot of worry, and especially for people growth and productivity.” fourth country to seek relief “To actually get to these debt
fall below 2 per cent in 2023, capital to service it, leaving too in poorer countries,” he said. Malpass said it was urgent under the Group of 20 Common reductions is so important ... for
and could stay low for several little investment for developing “The world’s in a stressful spot, to make progress on debt Framework. poor countries that have hit the
years, he said. One of the big countries, he said. but I think the financial systems restructuring for countries unable He said it was frustrating to wall in terms of unsustainable
challenges was that advanced “And that means a prolonged are holding up. The big question to service their debts. However, see the slow pace of progress on debt. It’s important to get it done
economies had taken on so much period of slow growth. That’s a big is growth, how do you get more he cited progress on Ghana, the the sovereign debt restructuring as soon as possible.” — Reuters
business
business
8 OMANDAILYOBSERVER
S AT U R DAY l M AY 1 3 l 2 0 2 3

Stocks cling to gains, hopes

for Fed pause lift dollar
LONDON: Global stock markets
clung to modest gains on Friday,
reassured by the prospect of a
steady start on Wall Street, though
worries over US government
finances capped investor appetite
for risk.
Oil prices shook off earlier
losses as signs of a supply deficit
countered worries over fuel
demand in the United States and
General view outside the Northvolt facility in Vasteras, Sweden. — Reuters file China.
The dollar edged higher,

Europe set for two new heading for its biggest weekly
gain since February as investors
bet that overnight data showing

gigafactories as it lures a slowing US economy would

prompt the US Federal Reserve to
pause on rate hikes.

battery makers The MSCI All Country stock

STOCKHOLM/BERLIN: Two
electric vehicle battery makers
plan to spend around $11 billion
on factories in Europe, they
said on Friday, a big win in the
region’s subsidy race with the US.
Both plants will start
construction in 2026, employ
thousands of people and supply
batteries to European car
makers.
Sweden’s Northvolt said it is
set to pick Heide in northern
Germany for its factory as long
as subsidies are approved, after
months of worry that it would
opt for an investment in North
America over Europe, while
Taiwan’s ProLogium announced
a plant in the French city of
Dunkirk.
Europe, home to carmakers
such as Volkswagen and BMW,
has been trying to lower
dependency on Asian countries
for batteries that will power
green electric cars.
Northvolt, alongside
Volkswagen, is the furthest
ahead among just a handful of
European players paving the
way for a home-grown battery
industry, with a large chunk of
planned capacity in Europe to be
owned by Asian players.
The plant by Taiwan’s
ProLogium would be its first
overseas car battery factory.
Both Germany and France
had to sweeten the subsidy pot
after the United States last year
unveiled major tax subsidies to
cut carbon emissions to boost
domestic manufacturing, giving
the battery makers an attractive
alternative.
The subsidies for Northvolt,
estimated to be around half a
billion euros, would be the first
provided by Germany from
Europe’s new ‘Temporary Crisis
and Transition Framework’,
adopted in response to Russia’s
war of Ukraine and expanded
this year to support green
transition projects.
The subsidies still need to
be approved by the European
Commission.
A second plant could also be
constructed in parallel elsewhere,
a Northvolt spokesperson said,
indicating the decision to build
in Germany did not exclude the
possibility of a further plant in
North America.
Foreign and domestic
companies have invested in
Germany to feed its growing EV
industry. CATL, which has been
expanding rapidly outside China,
is ramping up production of its
plant near Erfurt in Germany
and BASF is building a battery
materials site in Schwarzheide,
eastern Germany. — Reuters
index was flat and little changed
for the week, but still up about 7
per cent for the year.
Nasdaq futures and S&P 500
futures were firmer, with Tesla
Inc up 1.5 per cent in pre-market
trading as the electric vehicle
maker raised the US prices of
some models and boss Elon Musk
said he has found a new chief
executive for Twitter.
In Europe, the STOXX index of
600 companies edged up 0.4 per
cent, putting it slightly firmer for
the week as Richemont shares hit
a record high on news of strong
demand in the Asia Pacific region.
Britain’s economy grew in the
first three months of the year
— instead of recession that was
being forecast in late 2022 — but
recovery remains fragile.
Analysts said investors are
searching for fresh reasons to
push markets out of their ranges
as a generally positive earnings
season draws to a close and the
next batch of major central bank
rate-setting meetings are a few
weeks away.
“We have had an aggressively
sideways moving market and
people are looking for something
to give it direction,” said Mark
Tinker, chief investment officer at
Toscafund asset management in
Hong Kong.
A meeting between US
President Joe Biden and top
lawmakers that had been
scheduled for Friday has been
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York City. — Reuters
„OIL POISED TO END THE WEEK FLAT
„DOLLAR POISED FOR BIGGEST WEEKLY
GAINS SINCE FEB
„NIKKEI RISES 0.9 PC TO HIGHEST IN 1-1/2
YEARS
„US STOCK INDEX FUTURES UP AHEAD OF
WALL STREET OPEN
„BANKING FEARS LINGER AFTER FALL IN
PACWEST DEPOSITS
postponed to early next week,
with the IMF warning that a
US default would have “serious
repercussions” for the US
economy.
“We have a lot of things to
trip over in the next six months
and that is why people are not
committing to buying,” Tinker
said, pointing to the US debt
ceiling stalemate, ending the use
of Libor interest rates in June, and
how the war in Ukraine unfolds.
US data on Thursday added
confidence that the Federal
Reserve is almost certain to pause
its rate hikes at its policy meeting
in June, with futures markets
continuing to price in cuts of
about 78 basis points by the end
of the year.
Next week, investors will be
scrutinising a batch of US data
for rate clues, with retail sales and
industrial production figures.
“The former should get a lift
from robust auto sales, while the
latter will be held back by falling
production,” ING bank said.
CHINA LOSING STEAM
China’s economic recovery
seems to be losing steam, with
new bank loans tumbling in April,
consumer prices rising at the
slowest pace in more than two
years and imports unexpectedly
contracting, driving a plunge in
commodity prices from copper
and iron ore to oil.
China’s blue-chips fell 1.3 per
cent and looked poised to lose 1.7
per cent for the week, while Hong
Kong stocks were down 0.5 per
cent on the day.
In Asia, MSCI’s broadest index
of Asia-Pacific shares outside
Japan fell 0.6 per cent and was
headed for a weekly decline of 1.2
per cent.
Japanese shares outperformed,
however, with the Nikkei
climbing 0.9 per cent to its highest
level since November 2021, as
investors cheered announcements
of increased shareholder returns
during earnings season.
The US dollar benefited from
safe-haven flows amid growth
concerns and banking worries,
holding on to slim gains against a
basket of currencies.
The euro was trading at $1.089,
down 0.2 per cent on the day,
and sterling was slightly firmer at
$1.2527.
Treasury yields firmed, with
benchmark 10-year notes at
3.4177 per cent, while two-year
yields were at 3.9140 per cent.
— Reuters

UK economy makes slow start as inflation headwinds persist

LONDON: Britain’s economy
grew sluggishly in early
2023, better than the shallow
recession once expected, but
an unexpectedly sharp drop in
output in March underscored
how fragile its recovery remains.
Gross domestic product
(GDP) edged up 0.1 per cent in
the first three months of the year,
official data showed on Friday,
the same tepid pace as in the final
quarter of 2022 and in line with
economists’ forecast in a Reuters
poll.
Output was 0.2 per cent higher
than a year earlier, the Office for
National Statistics said.
But GDP in March alone
dropped 0.3 per cent, compared
with poll forecasts for it to hold
steady. While industrial output
and construction grew, the much
larger services sector dropped 0.4
per cent, reflecting weak car sales
and retail, hurt by unusually rainy
weather and high inflation.
Widespread industrial action
also weighed on economic
activity in the first quarter, the
statistics office said.
“With the key services side of
the economy continuing to slow
in the face of higher borrowing
costs and rising prices, it still
feels like we’re walking through
treacle,” said Tom Stevenson,
personal investing director
at fund manager Fidelity
International.
Britain’s inflation rate topped
10 per cent in March — double
the level in the United States and
higher than the euro zone’s too
— and on Thursday the Bank of
England raised its main interest
rate to 4.5 per cent, the highest
since 2008.
The jump in inflation largely
reflects the ongoing impact of a
surge in the cost of natural gas
imports and foodstuffs last year
after Russia’s war of Ukraine,
which the BoE says has made
Britain poorer.
The central bank forecasts
the economy will grow 0.25 per
cent in 2023 as a whole — a weak
expansion though an upgrade on
its prediction earlier this year of a
0.5-per cent contraction.
British GDP expanded at the
same pace as the euro zone’s in
the first quarter, but it has under-
performed since the start of the
Covid-19 pandemic — partly due
to post-Brexit trade barriers and
restrictions on hiring low-paid
migrant workers.
A worker serves customers in a fishmongers shop in Lewisham Market, south east
London. — Reuters file Output in the first quarter of
2023 was 0.5 per cent lower than
„UK GDP GROWS 0.1 PC IN Q1 2023, in the fourth quarter of 2019,
MATCHING FORECASTS before the coronavirus pandemic
— a weaker rebound than in any
other big advanced economy.
„ECONOMY UNEXPECTEDLY SHRANK Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt
BY 0.3 PC IN MARCH said Friday’s data showed “growth
is picking up much faster than
„STRIKES AND WEAK RETAIL anyone thought possible” but
the government needed to “stay
WEIGH ON ECONOMY focused on competitive taxes,
labour supply and productivity”.
Hunt’s counterpart in the
opposition Labour Party, Rachel
Reeves, said Prime Minister Rishi
Sunak’s Conservative government
was presiding over “managed
decline”.
Sunak is likely to call a national
election next year, ahead of a
January 2025 deadline.
Economic output in March
was only 0.1 per cent higher than
in February 2020, the last full pre-
pandemic month.
“While recession is probably
no longer on the cards,
vulnerabilities resulting from
higher borrowing costs and
tighter credit are likely to dampen
business and household activity
this year,” KPMG economist Yael
Selfin said.
Second-quarter growth is
likely to be slowed by the effect of
an extra public holiday in May for
King Charles’ coronation.
— Reuters
SATURDAY | MAY 13, 2023 | SHAWWAL 22, 1444 AH

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sport@omanobserver.om

Swiatek gets off

to perfect start
in Italian Open
ROME: Iga Swiatek started
her bid to win her third
straight Italian Open title in
perfect fashion on Friday, not
dropping a game in her straight-
set thrashing of Anastasia
Pavlyuchenkova.
World number one Swiatek
looked in exceptional form as
she demolished Pavlyuchenkova
6-0, 6-0 in just over an hour to
ease her way into the third round
in Rome.
Losing finalist in Madrid last
weekend, Swiatek looked in great
form in the tournament she won
last year before going on to blitz
the French Open.
Swiatek now faces either
Bernarda Pera or Lesia Tsurenko
in the last 32 after extending her
winning streak in the Italian
capital to 12 matches.
The only real resistance from
Pavlyuchenkova, who reached
the final of Roland Garros two
years ago, came in the final game
of the first set, when she saved
six set points from 0-40 down on
her serve.
Swiatek eventually came
through that game and swept
Pavlyuchenkova aside in the
second set, finishing the job
against the serve with her first
match point.
Earlier, Jannick Sinner cruised
into the men’s last 32 with a
straight-set win over Thanasi
Kokkinakis, 6-1, 6-4.
World number eight Sinner
took one hour, 18 minutes to
deal with Australian qualifier
Kokkinakis, and will now play
Russian Alexander Shevchenko,
who beat Argentinian Sebastian
Baez 6-3, 6-4.
“I’m happy with my level
today, it was not easy, it was a
little bit breezy, a bit windy,”
Sinner said on court.
“Especially in the second set
he played a little bit better. I also
had a couple of chances which I
didn’t use but very happy about
how I served, I struck the ball
very well.”
SHOW THE LOVE
Sinner, 21, did not drop a
single point on his serve in a
dominant first set in which the
gulf in class between the Italian
and Kokkinakis was painfully
evident. Kokkinakis, ranked
104 in the world, put up more
of a fight in the second set but
once Sinner broke in the seventh
game to take the score to 4-3, it
was only a matter of time before
the deal was sealed.
Sinner made no mistake,
serving to love in games eight
and nine to ensure comfortable
passage to the next round.
Rome has not seen an Italian
winner of the tournament since
Adriano Panatta in 1976.
With local boy Matteo
Berrettini out of action again
with abdominal problems,
Sinner will be getting the bulk of
the capital city’s support.
“It is a very special feeling
especially here in Rome,” Sinner
added.
“You know trying to be an
example for the young kids, also
spending a little bit of time with
them. It’s important to show
them the love.”
Sinner has had a decent
season, winning in Montpellier
in February and losing the finals
in Miami and Rotterdam to
Daniil Medvedev.
He also reached the semifinals
at Indian Wells, losing to
eventual winner Carlos Alcaraz.
Cameron Norrie strolled
past French qualifier Alexandre
Muller 6-2, 6-3 to set up a clash
with Marton Fucsovics or Alex de
Minaur in the next round. Muller
had won his first ever main draw
match in a Masters tournament
in the first round, beating another
Briton in Kyle Edmund, and was
no match for World number 13
Norrie. — AFP Poland’s Iga Swiatek makes a return to Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova during their second round match of the WTA Rome Open tournament. — AFP

Oman have high ambitions at Asian Cup: Ivankovic

ADIL AL BALUSHI
MUSCAT, MAY 12
Oman head coach Branko Ivankovic said that
the Red Warriors have high hopes for the Asian
Cup Qatar 2023 after the draw for the AFC
event took place in Doha on Thursday. The
Croatian coach said he is very proud of the
team who qualified for the finals of the Asian
Cup.
“I am very excited with the amazing draw
ceremony in Doha. Oman were positioned
in the second pot ahead of the draw and this
is happened for the first time. Playing against
tough teams will always assist to develop and
build up the experience of the team. Oman
will attend in the forthcoming Asian Cup finals
with high ambitions. Advancing from the group
stage is our first goal as top two teams will
progress directly to next round besides four
best second placed teams,” he said.
Responding to a query that Oman are always
grouped with Saudi Arabia, he responded:” This
is our destiny and we have accepted it. Saudi
Arabia are one of the favourites in the Asian
Cup and they are former champions besides
their top performance in the last Fifa World
Cup in Doha. We played against Saudi Arabia
twice in the World Cup qualifiers and we played
very well against them,” Ivankovic said.
The Oman coach concluded his comments
by voicing confidence that the Red Warriors
will show and make good performance in the
tournament.
Red Warriors were drawn in Group F along
with Asian favourites Saudi Arabia, Thailand
and Kyrgyzstan.
Oman will begin their campaign with a tight
match against three-time winners Saudi Arabia
on January 16 at Khalifa International Stadium
while they will meet Thailand on January 21
at Al Janoub Stadium and conclude group
games against Kyrgyzstan on January 25 at Al
Thumama Stadium.
sport
10 OMANDAILYOBSERVER
S AT U R DAY l M AY 1 3 l 2 0 2 3
J O K I C
Denver Nuggets centre Nikola Jokic (15) shoots over Phoenix Suns centre Jock Landale (11) during the second half of game
six of the 2023 NBA play-offs at Footprint Center. — USA Today Sports
Messi returns for PSG
after Saudi trip ban
SAINT-GERMAIN-EN-LAYE,
FRANCE: Paris Saint-Germain
coach Christophe Galtier con-
firmed Lionel Messi “will start”
Saturday’s Ligue 1 game against
Ajaccio, marking the Argentinian
superstar’s return from suspen-
sion. The 35-year-old World Cup
winner was banned by the club af-
ter an unauthorised trip to Saudi
Arabia.
“Yes, Leo is going to start to-
morrow,” Galtier told an eve of
match press conference.
“Obviously I’ve spoken to him,
he’s very relaxed, really keen to
play, and very determined to claim
another French league title.”
With PSG out of the Champi-
ons League and only four Ligue 1
matches remaining as they target a
record 11th title, this is likely to be
Messi’s penultimate appearance at
the Parc des Princes. After an un-
Nuggets down Suns to reach finals
N E T S T R I P L E - D O U B L E ;
inspiring two years in France, the
seven-time Ballon d’Or winner is
reported to be lining up a block-
buster deal to play in Saudi Arabia
next season where he would join
his old sparring partner Cristiano
Ronaldo.
His move to Saudi or even his
departure at the end of his con-
tract in June, however, have yet
to be confirmed by the club or his
agent father Jorge. But all the signs
are that he is on his way out.
“Messi is a done deal. He will
play in Saudi Arabia next season,”
a source close the negotiations
speaking on condition of ano-
nymity said this week.
Galtier said he did not want
to go into the six-day suspension
which forced Messi to miss last
weekend’s 3-1 win over Troyes
that left PSG six points clear of
Lens. — AFP
T A T U M K E E P S
LOS ANGELES: The Denver
Nuggets crushed the Phoenix Suns
125-100 on Thursday to become
the first team to reach the NBA
conference finals as the Boston
Celtics forced a decisive game
seven against the Philadelphia
76ers.
Western Conference top seeds
Denver dominated from start to
finish in Phoenix as they polished
off the Suns 4-2 in their best-of-
seven conference semifinal.
The Nuggets reached the
conference finals for the first
time since the Covid ‘bubble’ in
Florida in 2020 and will face either
reigning champions Golden State
or the Los Angeles Lakers, who
hold a 3-2 lead in their series and
host the Warriors on Friday.
Two-time NBA Most Valuable
Player Nikola Jokic delivered his
third triple-double of the series,
scoring 32 points with 10 rebounds
and 12 assists.
Jokic said the Nuggets
shrugged off the idea of a “hostile
environment” at the Footprint
Center and played with “the same
mindset that we are playing with
at home -- just be aggressive, move
them from the spots, make them
make tough shots.
“And I think we did that,” Jokic
told ESPN.
The Nuggets silenced the
Phoenix crowd as they dominated
virtually every facet of the game on
the way to an 81-51 halftime lead
-- which sparked a smattering of
boos from home spectators.
Jamal Murray, who was
questionable to start because
of illness, scored 26 points and
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added
21 for Denver, who out-scored
the Suns 62-46 in the paint, out-
rebounded them 41-29 and had 18
second-chance points to the Suns’
seven.
Cameron Payne drilled seven
of nine three-pointers on the way
to 31 points for Phoenix. Kevin
Durant added 23 and Devin
Booker 12.
But with veteran point guard
Chris Paul missing a fourth
straight game with a groin injury
and centre Deandre Ayton ruled
out with a rib injury, the Suns
endured another embarrassing
exit after last year’s elimination
Photo exhibition on Qatar World Cup
HYDERABAD: A one-day photo
exhibition on Qatar World Cup
2022 was organised in the South
Indian city of Hyderabad recently
by Snaps India CEO Mohammed
Shamsuddin.
The event was inaugurated by
Telangana State Home Minister
Mohammed Mahmood Ali at
Jubilee Hills International Centre
(JHIC) in the city on May 6.
Shamsuddin, who covered the
World Cup in Doha, is the son of
late MA Rahim, founder of photo
and news agency Snaps India.
The home minister lauded the
eminent founder of Snaps India
for pioneering photojournalism
in the undivided Andhra Pradesh.
On exhibit were 100 select shots sports spectacle.
of the football extravaganza that The exhibition was curated by
were captured by Shamsuddin, internationally-acclaimed photo
who was the only Fifa accredited journalist and a recipient of the
photojournalist from Telangana coveted Royal Photographic
State and Andhra Pradesh at the Society award, T Srinivas Reddy,
C E L T I C S
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) shoots the ball past Philadelphia 76ers
centre Joel Embiid (21) during the fourth quarter in game six of the 2023 NBA
play-offs at Wells Fargo Center. — USA Today Sports
on their home floor by the Dallas
Mavericks. Durant wasn’t around
for that one, having arrived in
February via a blockbuster trade
with Brooklyn. And he didn’t enjoy
this year’s version.
“It was a bad feeling. It was
embarrassing. They came out and
hit us in the mouth and we couldn’t
recover.”
TATUM COMES THROUGH
In Philadelphia, Jayson Tatum
scored 16 of his 19 points in the
fourth quarter as the Celtics held
off the 76ers 95-86 to level their
Eastern Conference semifinal at
three games apiece.
The star Boston forward had
made just one of 14 attempts from
the floor when he erupted with
four three-pointers in the final
period as the Celtics thwarted
Philadelphia’s comeback bid.
They’ll host game seven on
Sunday, trying to deny the Sixers
a first trip to the conference finals
since 2001 and stay on course
for a return to the NBA Finals
themselves.
Newly minted NBA MVP Joel
Embiid had 26 points with 10
rebounds for Philadelphia. But
former MVP James Harden scored
just 13 on four-of-13 shooting.
Tatum, who averaged 30.1 points
per game in the regular season,
said he never lost confidence even
as he struggled.
“I’m, humbly, one of the best
basketball players in the world,”
Tatum told ESPN in an on-court
who is based in Vijayawada.
Mahmood Ali said that
Shamsuddin had done well by
going beyond photography and
emerging as a sports promoter
by launching Academia Sports
G O I N G
interview of maintaining his
confidence. “Thankfully I’ve got
some great team-mates that held it
down... They tell me ‘Keep taking
great looks, it’s going to fall.’”
Marcus Smart led the Celtics
with 22 points. Jaylen Brown
added 17 and Malcolm Brogdon
scored 16 off the bench.
Even amid Tatum’s troubles the
Celtics raced to a 15-3 lead, Smart
and Brogdon carrying the early
load before the Sixers began to find
their feet.
Philadelphia cut the deficit to
three points before the Celtics
pulled away again, pushing their
advantage to 16 points twice in
the second period. But the Sixers
clawed back, finally taking the lead
on two free throws from Harden
that put them up 64-62 with less
than five minutes remaining in the
third quarter.
Philadelphia led 73-71 going
into the final frame and were up
by two when Tatum made his first
three-pointer of the game to put
Boston ahead.
Tatum then drilled a step-back
three-pointer over Tyrese Maxey
and another pair from beyond the
arc pushed the Celtics’ lead to 11
with 37.6 seconds remaining.
“All that mattered was we won
this game,” said Tatum, who also
had seven rebounds, six assists, a
steal and two blocked shots. “It’s
game seven, it doesn’t get any
better than that.”
Added Embiid: “Who doesn’t
love game seven?” — AFP
Village. He wished the entity all
success as it readies its own tennis
courts and a football ground in
Aziz Nagar in the city outskirts.
WHOLESOME PRAISE
Snaps India and Academia Sports
Village drew wholesome praise
from all the dignitaries present on
the occasion for their immense
contributions towards elevating
photography and sports.
They included British Deputy
High Commissioner Gareth
Wynn Owen; Honorary Consul
of Bulgaria Lion Dr Y Kiron;
Director, State Gallery of Art Dr
K Lakshmi, IAS, and the multi-
faceted PV Prabhakar Rao, son of
former Indian prime minister PV
Narasimha Rao.
Shamsuddin assured to take
forward his mission to make
sports accessible to all sections of
people.

OMANDAILYOBSERVER
S AT U R DAY l M AY 1 3 l 2 0 2 3
JAISWAL
HITS IPL’S
FASTEST 50 AS
RAJASTHAN
THRASH KKR
KOLKATA: Yashasvi Jaiswal on
Thursday hit the fastest 50 in
Indian Premier League history,
in just 13 balls, as Rajasthan
Royals hammered Kolkata
Knight Riders by nine wickets.
Jaiswal hit six fours and three
sixes on his way to his 50 in front
of a stunned Eden Gardens,
beating the previous record of
14 balls held jointly by KL Rahul
and Pat Cummins.
The 21-year-old, who moved
to Mumbai as a child and lived
in a tent to pursue his cricketing
dreams, hit 26 runs in the first
over off Kolkata captain Nitish
Rama.
The left-hander only missed
out on a century because
Rajasthan chased down the
modest target of 150 with a
massive 41 balls to spare, with
Jaiswal unbeaten on 98 with 12
fours and five sixes off 47.
“I prepare well and trust
myself to execute my shots.
I know the results will come.
I wanted to finish the game
and winning the game was my
motto,” the player of the match
said afterwards.
“I was only thinking about the
net run rate (for Rajasthan) and
not my century,” he said.
The only hiccup was Jos
Buttler being run out for a duck
in the second over, but Rajasthan
captain Sanju Samson (48 not
out) joined Jaiswal to see the
visitors home in the 14th over.
Jaiswal’s astonishing innings
was also the second fastest in
T20 history after India’s Yuvraj
Singh clubbed a half century off
sport
11
only 12 balls against England at
the 2007 World Cup in South
Africa.
Jaiswal won a place in the
Mumbai state team in 2019 and
became the youngest batsman,
at 17 years and 292 days, to
score a domestic one-day double
century.
The left-hander’s big break
came when he was snapped up
by Rajasthan Royals for $338,000
in the 2019 auction of the
world’s richest T20 tournament,
although his first three seasons
were unspectacular.
FIRST VICTORY IN
FOUR MATCHES
The previous quickest 50 in
the IPL, scored in 14 balls, was
by Rahul in 2018 for Kings
XI Punjab, a feat matched by
Cummins in 2022 playing for
Mumbai Indians.
The ease of the Rajasthan’s
first victory in four matches
meant that Joe Root, in only his
second IPL match, again did not
need to bat, although the former
England captain bowled a tidy
two overs for 14 runs.
Kolkata’s innings got off to
a poor start with Trent Boult
dismissing both Jason Roy for 10
and fellow opener Rahmanullah
Gurbaz for 18. Venkatesh Iyer
top-scored for the hosts with 57.
Kolkata had won the previous
two games but the loss puts
them in seventh place as the
IPL nears the business end of
the tournament. Rajasthan are
third behind Gujarat Titans and
Chennai Super Kings. — AFP

Punjab, Lucknow aim to put best foot forward

TEAM INFO – Sunrisers Hyderabad are in a try to act as spoil sports for other teams.
miserable position but with two wins from 3 Punjab have opted to play fearless cricket in
games, a ray of hope has enlightened in the this year’s edition and it would be interesting
fans of Hyderabad and they are very much to see, if they are still able to do so even when
optimistic of a miracle. Although their first in pressure of a must win.
challenge will be in terms of Lucknow which
have been struggling for form since the Head-to-Head - Played - 30; Won by DC – 15;
absence of their captain. Which of these two Won by PBKS – 15
sides will prevail, only time will tell.
DC possible 12 – D Warner, P Salt, M Marsh, R
Head-to-Head - Played - 2; Won by LSG - 2; Rossouw, A Patel, A Khan, R Patel, L Yadav, K
SRH VS LSG AT HYDERABAD Won by SRH – 0 Yadav, K Ahmed, I Sharma, M Pandey

QUALIFICATION CRITERIA – Currently,
Lucknow are on 11 points (5th position) and if
they win the remaining 3 games, they will
qualify. These 3 matches against Hyderabad,
Mumbai and Kolkata will all be run-feast.
Currently, Sunrisers are on 8 points (9th
position). They have 4 games and if they can
win all these 4 games, while improving on the
NRR, they can have a chance at qualification.
Hyderabad play Lucknow, Gujarat, Bangalore
and Mumbai in these 4 games.
PREVIOUS ENCOUNTER – Both the teams
contested in the 10th match of this edition of
IPL at Lucknow in a low-scoring encounter.
Going into bat first, Sunrisers Hyderabad could
only crawl to 121/8. The spin of Krunal Pandya
and Amit Mishra broke the back of Hyderabad
at regular intervals. Chasing 122 to win,
Lucknow made it an easy task with Mayers-
Rahul’s 35 runs and Rahul-Krunal’s 55-run
partnership seized the deal for Lucknow with a
5-wicket win.
SRH possible 12 – A Sharma, R Tripathi, A
Markram, H Klaasen, G Phillips, A Samad, M
Jansen, V Sharma, M Markande, B Kumar, T
Natarajan, A Singh
LSG possible 12 – Q De Kock, K Mayers, D
Hooda, K Pandya, M Stoinis, N Pooran, S Singh,
Y Thakur, R Bishnoi, M Khan, A Khan, A Badoni
Pitch & Weather Report – The pitch at the Rajiv
Gandhi International Stadium has always been
a belter to bat on. Hence the captain winning
the toss will prefer to bat first and bring the
opposition under pressure by posting a
mammoth total. It will be a very hot and humid
afternoon, with the temperature hovering
between 26 to 40 Degree Celsius.
Match Prediction – Hyderabad are certainly
playing at home and will have the home
advantage. Although, they have not been able
to make the most of it and that’s what has put
them in this miserable position. This is a
contest between the bowling of SRH and the
batting of LSG. Both the teams are going to
struggle with the heat. I feel that this one is
slightly tilted towards Lucknow and their
delicious meaty Lucknawi kebabs will be for
dinner on the land of Biryani.
DC VS PBKS AT DELHI
QUALIFICATION CRITERIA – Delhi is on the
last spot and with 3 games left for them, the
best they could reach is 14 points and even
then, the NRR would not be sufficient. Punjab
are eighth with 10 points. They need to win all
their remaining matches which are twice
against Delhi and one against Rajasthan.
Punjab would also like to work on their NRR in
the process as well.
TEAM INFO – Both these teams are again
going to clash in the 64th match at
Dharmasala. With Delhi not having anything to
lose, they will come out all guns blazing and
PBKS possible 12 – P Singh, S Dhawan, B
Rajapaksa, L Livingstone, J Sharma, S Curran, S
Khan, H Brar, R Dhawan, R Chahar, A Singh, N Ellis
Pitch & Weather Report – The previous match
at this venue witnessed considerable
assistance for the slower bowlers. The team
winning the toss in Delhi would be inclined to
bowl first, given the slow nature of the surface
and also with the threat of dew hampering the
bowlers in the second innings. It’s not going to
be easy for the players with the temperature
hovering between 27 to 41 degrees Celsius,
on a humid evening.
Match Prediction – Delhi have not used their
resources well in the entire IPL 2023 season.
On most occasion, they had sent Axar Patel
way late to bat and that has been their main
concern. A failure to be able to implement
their strategy, despite having Ricky Ponting
and Sourav Ganguly in the dugout. Despite the
Delhi Capitals being the stronger side on
paper, I would still go with Punjab Kings. So
expect some full-power bhangra on desi
Punjabi music in the heart of India.
sport
12 OMANDAILYOBSERVER
S AT U R DAY l M AY 1 3 l 2 0 2 3

Roma take narrow lead

over Leverkusen
ROME: AS Roma grabbed a
1-0 home victory over Bayer
Leverkusen in their Europa
League semifinal first leg on
Thursday thanks to 20-year-old
Edoardo Bove’s second-half goal.
Roma youth product Bove
stabbed in the winner on the
rebound in the 63rd minute for
his first European goal.
Roma, bidding to win back-
to-back European titles under
coach Jose Mourinho following
last season’s Europa Conference
League triumph, travel to
Leverkusen next week for the
return leg.
The winners will face Juventus
or Sevilla, who drew 1-1 in their
first leg, in the final.
“I’m especially happy with the
result,” Bove said. “It was essential
to win this first half and go there
on Thursday with the same desire.
“Today we put great intensity
into our game and we are happy.
At first they made it difficult for
us and it took us a while to adjust
but then we controlled the game
very well.”
It had all started according
to plan for Xabi Alonso’s
Leverkusen, who have not made
a European final since their 2002
appearance in the Champions
League showpiece.
In a lively start they came close
twice, with Robert Andrich’s
shot saved after 40 seconds and
Florian Wirtz wasting a golden
chance when he fired wide.
The hosts, missing several
players through injury and with
Paulo Dybala and Georginio
Wijnaldum not fully fit yet and
on the bench, responded with
Roger Ibanez’s powerful header
which Hradecky palmed wide
with a superb reflex save.
They broke the deadlock just
past the hour when Bove started
a move and stabbed in on the
rebound after Hradecky had
saved Tammy Abraham’s shot.
The visitors almost bagged an
unexpected equaliser towards the
end of a scrappy second half but
Jeremie Frimpong’s 87th-minute
shot was blocked on the line.
— Reuters
Juventus’ Italian defender Federico Gatti (rear) scores an equaliser during the Uefa Europa League semifinal first leg match between Juventus and Sevilla. — AFP

GATTI SNATCHES JUVE LATE

DRAW AGAINST SEVILLA
TURIN, ITALY: Federico Gatti
headed home in the 97th minute
to earn Juventus a 1-1 draw against
Sevilla in their Europa League
semifinal first leg on Thursday.
Youssef En-Nesyri gave the
record six-time champions the
lead in the first half and they
seemed set to take that advantage
back to Seville before Gatti’s late
intervention.
Moroccan international En-
Nesyri finished a sharp counter-
attack in the 26th minute to break
the deadlock in Turin.
Jose Luis Mendilibar’s side
deserved their lead at the break
and although Juventus improved,
the Andalucians shut them out
well in their bid to take their
advantage back to the rowdy
Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan next
week.
However, Gatti nodded home
from point blank range after
substitute Paul Pogba headed
the ball back into his path from a
corner.
“It’s a shame, given the game
that we played, that they levelled
in the last play of the match, but it
is what it is,” said Mendilibar.
AS Roma’s Italian midfielder Edoardo Bove celebrates after scoring the opening
goal during the Uefa Europa League semifinal first leg match between AS Roma “We stopped Juventus in every
and Bayer Leverkusen at the Olympic Stadium. — AFP moment and we played well at
times too, we have to think about
that, not the last moment of the
game.”
Sevilla, who dumped
Manchester United out in the
quarterfinals, have never been
knocked out of the tournament in
the semifinal stage.
The Spaniards, who won the
Europa League at the Juventus
Stadium in 2014, made themselves
at home in the first half.
The hosts should have taken the
lead when Dusan Vlahovic fired
over, perhaps put off by Sevilla
goalkeeper Yassine Bounou’s dive
at his feet.
After that Mendilibar’s side
started to impose themselves, with
Lucas Ocampos playing a key role.
The Argentine winger, recalled
from his loan at Ajax in January,
sent a shot inches wide from close
range, before making amends by
setting up the opening goal.
Ocampos drove forward and
played a low ball across the area,
which Bryan Gil left for En-Nesyri
to sweep home.
The forward has been in
sensational form since the World
Cup, with 16 goals in 2023 across
all competitions.
“On the counter-attack we were
EUROPA LEAGUE RESULTS ON
THURSDAY:
Semifinals, first legs
In Rome
Roma (ITA) 1 (Bove 63) Bayer
Leverkusen (GER) 0
In Turin, Italy
Juventus (ITA) 1 (Gatti 90+7)
Sevilla (ESP) 1 (En-Nesyri 26)
SECOND LEGS TO BE
PLAYED ON MAY 18
caught out because we didn’t track
back and left gaps,” Juve coach
Massimiliano Allegri told Sky
Sport Italia.
“(We) did well to fight back
and get a deserved draw which
leaves everything to play for in the
second leg.”
Sevilla were dealt a blow when
Ocampos limped off injured
shortly afterwards, but stayed on
the attack. Wojciech Szczesny
tipped over an Ivan Rakitic drive
from distance, while En-Nesyri
curled narrowly off target.
‘IT’S A PITY’
Massimiliano Allegri took action,
sending on Federico Chiesa and
young English winger Samuel
Iling-Junior at half-time in search
of the equaliser.
Juventus, second in Serie A
but waiting on the outcome of an
Italian football federation ruling
on illicit transfer activity, may
end up needing to qualify for
next season’s Champions League
through Europa League victory.
Former Chelsea youth
team player Iling-Junior cut in
dangerously from the left but
could not find a final ball as a more
composed Juventus enjoyed more
control.
It was another Juventus
substitution which proved crucial.
Veteran defender Leonardo
Bonucci, on his 500th appearance
in all competitions for Juventus,
was taken off with a groin injury
for Gatti after an hour.
Eventually their second-half
pressure paid off when Gatti
scored with virtually the last touch
of the game, leaving honours even
ahead of the return in Seville next
Thursday.
Gatti, who also struck for
Juventus in the quarterfinals
against Sporting, ensured the
Italians remained unbeaten at
home in the Europa League this
season. — AFP

West Ham, FC Basel take control of ECL semis

LONDON: West Ham moved a step closer to
a first European final for 47 years as Michail
Antonio sealed a 2-1 win over AZ Alkmaar
in the Conference League semifinal first leg
on Thursday.
While West Ham eye a landmark final
appearance, FC Basel are chasing history of
their own after seizing control of the other
semifinal with a dramatic 2-1 victory against
Fiorentina.
At the London Stadium, David Moyes’
side trailed to Tijjani Reijnders’ first-half goal
before fighting back with a stirring display
after the interval.
Said Benrahma equalised with a penalty
before Antonio bagged the late winner to put Winners Cup showpiece. Serie A side Fiorentina.
West Ham in control of the tie ahead of the
Europa West Ham’s win against Manchester Fiorentina took the lead in the 25th
second leg in the Netherlands on May 18.
Conference League United on Sunday effectively sealed their minute at the Stadio Artemio Franchi when
“It was a strange game to analyse. AZ 2023 Premier League survival. Cristiano Biraghi’s corner was flicked on by
played well in the build-up. We were a bit SEMI-FINALS 2ND LEG That leaves Moyes’ men free to Lucas Martinez Quarta and Arthur Cabral
Thursday, May 18, 1900 GMT
harum-scarum. We made some stupid concentrate on winning the club’s first pounced with a perfectly placed header.
decisions, shooting from 30 yards and not FC Basel (SUI) European trophy since the Cup Winners But they snatched an equaliser in the
taking chances. But in the end, I’m happy (2 - 1) (1st leg score) Cup in 1965. 71st minute as a flowing move culminated
with the result,” Moyes said. Fiorentina (ITA) But Moyes said: “We’ve got a really tough with Andy Diouf’s clinical finish into the far
West Ham have won 12 of their 13 games game to come. I’m too humble to say we’re corner from the edge of the area.
in the competition this season, taking them Alkmaar (NED)
already in the final. Alkmaar have some In the third minute of stoppage time, on-
to the brink of a first major trophy since the (1 - 2) good players and they showed it tonight.” loan Inter Milan forward Darian Males teed
1980 FA Cup. The east Londoners haven’t West Ham (ENG) Swiss club FC Basel have even less up Zeki Amdouni for a predatory finish that
reached a major European final since they European pedigree than West Ham, but that leaves Basel on the verge of becoming the first
Source: UEFA
were beaten by Anderlecht in the 1976 Cup could be about to change after they stunned Swiss club to reach a European final. — AFP