Stop fabricating lies - DT News

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Stop fabricating lies Arab Observatory of Human rights rejects EU resolution falsifying the rights situation in the Kingdom

TDT | Manama

The Arab Observatory for Human Rights yesterday “strongly” rejected the

resolution adopted by the Eu-ropean parliament on Bahraini rights situation as a “fabricated”, “false”, and “blatant” attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of Bahrain by politicising the rights situation.

Refrain from “politicising human rights issue to use it a tool to pressurise and blackmail others,” the Observatory told EU lawmakers in a statement issued yesterday.

The statement added: “The resolution, in reality, is the big-gest violation of human rights, and international rules and law, which guarantees non-interfer-ence in the internal affairs of countries.”

D e s c r i b i n g i t s e l f a s a “self-monitoring tool” of the rights situation in the Arab Countries, the Arab Observato-ry for Human Rights reminded EU lawmakers, “Bahrain and the Arab countries have national bodies, institutions and civil so-

ciety organisations for assessing this.”

“They issue periodic reports together with recommenda-tions aimed at upgrading and strengthening this system,” the Observatory said.

The European lawmakers, Ob-servatory warned, should move away from highlighting superfi-cial views, especially while deal-ing with sensitive issues.

The Observatory also termed the resolution adopted by the

EU as an “attempt to impose tu-telage on Arab countries under the false pretext of protecting human rights.”

“Their real aim is a deliber-ate distortion of the Arab coun-tries to harm their international

standing and reputation,” the statement said.

Urging the European Parlia-ment to respect the privacy of Arab societies, the top rights body also affirmed its complete rejection of the deeply concern-ing resolution.

“Do not issue invalid judge-ments while dealing with sensi-tive issues that matter the secu-rity and stability of the member states of the United Nations,” the Observatory warned the law-makers.

“The resolution adopted against Bahrain turns a blind eye to the human rights real-ity of Bahrain,” the statement said, adding, “EU completely ignores the reality of the rights situation in the Kingdom, its achievements and wide-ranging reforms adopted over the past years.”

The Observatory also called on EU lawmakers to refrain from politicising rights issues to achieve goals that serve the agenda of extremist organisa-tions that aim to spread vio-lence, devastation and strife in the Arab region.

Bahrain receives 300,000 doses of Sinopharma COVID-19 vaccine

P4Saudi King sacks hajj minister Saudi Arabia’s King Sal-

man dismissed Mo -hamed Benten as minister for the hajj and umrah, a royal decree carried by state news agency (SPA) said yes-terday.

State minister, Issam ben Saeed, was appointed acting minister.

“Mohammed Saleh ben Taher Benten, Minister of Hajj and Umrah shall be re-lieved from his position,” SPA said in a tweet. Benten was appointed minister in 2016.

The Observatory called on EU lawmakers to refrain from politicising rights issues to achieve goals that serve the agenda of extremist organisations

Verstappen sets fastest time in first day of F1 pre-season testing at BIC

Arab, Bahrain lawmakers reject EU resolution P3

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TDT | Manama

Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic arrived in Bahrain yes-

terday on a visit during which he will hold talks with His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani and Muharraq Governor Salman

bin Isa Bin Hindi Al Mannai wel-comed Vucic upon his arrival in the Kingdom.

Talks will focus on enhancing bilateral relations and the latest regional and international de-

velopments.Vucic was presented with ros-

es by students at his residence in the Kingdom.

Later, Representative of His Majesty the King for Humani-

tarian Work and Youth Affairs, His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, received Vucic at his residence in Bah-rain. HH Shaikh Nasser present-ed Vucic with a welcome letter

from His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

Serbia is a landlocked coun-try situated at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe.

02SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 2021

Information Affairs Minister, Ali bin Mohammed Al-Rumaihi, receiving the Assistant Undersecretary for Radio and Television Affairs, Abdulla Khalid Al-Dossari, and Director-General of the Bahrain News Agency (BNA), Abdulla Khalil Buhejji. Al-Dossari and Buhejji obtained their master’s degree in strategic and administrative studies from the Royal Command, Staff and National Defence College. They were also conferred the excellence medals by the Commander-in-Chief of the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF), Field Marshal Shaikh Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa. The minister congratulated their efforts, wishing them further success in their professional and academic life.

Coast Guard arrests a person with 400 kilograms of shrimpTDT | Manama

Coast patrol arrested a 21-year-old person with 400

kilograms of shrimp caught il-legally, said a top Coast Guard official.

The land-backup patrol of-ficers had also seized the vehicle the person was using to trans-port the shrimp.

“It is prohibited to sell or catch shrimps from the ter-ritorial waters of Bahrain are prohibited during this period

of the year as per a ministeri-al decision,” said Coast Guard Commander.

The Coast guard is taking le-gal measures to refer the case to public prosecution.

Coast guard patrol of-ficers had also seized the vehicle the person was using to transport

the shrimp

Patient attacks doctors and security officers at Salmaniya emergency wing TDT | Manama

Legal actions were taken against a patient at the Sal-

maniya Medical complex for attacking two doctors and a se-curity official there yesterday, said the hospital administration.

According to the hospital, a frequent visitor to the Accident and Emergency Department was responsible for the melee.

He started abusing one of the doctors there, and when that doctor reported it to a person-in-charge, the patient resorted to attacking him physically.

Hospital management said the patient attacked the doc-tor when he tried to calm him down.

The patient then continued his violent behaviour towards others at the department, also terrifying the patients there.

The patient also allegedly at-tacked the security officers at the department. Hospital man-agement said they took all legal

measures to protect the staff working in the complex.

In a statement, Dr Ahmed Muhammad Al-Ansari, the CEO of Governmental Hospitals, af-

firmed that the Salmaniya Med-ical Complex administration ensures citizens the best health services but rejects such actions inconsistent with the behaviour

of Bahrainis. Dr Al Ansari also affirmed

that the hospital would not re-frain from taking legal actions to deter such activities.

Serbia President arrives in Bahrain

Aleksandar Vucic with His Highness Shaikh Nasser Vucic upon his arrival in the Kingdom

Climate change: Bahrain, US discuss cooperation

TDT | Manama

Special Envoy for Climate Affairs and Chief Executive

Officer of the Supreme Coun-cil for Environment (SCE), Dr Mohammed bin Daina, held a phone-call with the United States Special Presidential En-voy for Climate, John Kerry.

During the call, they re-viewed ways to enhance bi-lateral cooperation in the climate field, as well as the international efforts aimed at reducing the effects of climate change, as part of the ongo-ing preparations for the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Dr Bin Daina lauded the return of the US to the Paris Climate Agreement and the efforts it is exerting to step up international preparations for COP 2 in Glasgow, Scotland. Dr Daina also affirmed Bahrain’s keenness to increase cooper-ation and exchange expertise to achieve sustainable devel-opment goals.

Dr Daina called for provid-ing developing countries with financial support and technol-ogy to continue their climate change-related work.

John Kerry requested Dr Bin Daina to convey his greetings to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and His Roy-al Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister.

John Kerry Dr Mohammed bin Daina

EU ignored Bahrain’s reality Arab, Bahraini lawmakers reject EU resolution adopted without fact-checking

• Arab lawmakers viewed the statements as “systematic and intentional targeting to distort the enormous reforms and developments witnessed in Bahrain.”

• EU lawmakers, Bahraini MPs said, are using human rights as a tool to achieve the goals of countries hostile to the Kingdom

TDT | Manama

Bahraini and Arab lawmak-ers came down heavily yesterday on their coun-

terpart in the European Parlia-ment for adopting a resolution degrading the rights situation in the Kingdom without conduct-ing due diligence.

The Arab Parliament, reiter-ating its categorical rejection of the EU resolution, said the statement reflects “absolute ig-norance of the realities of the situation in Bahrain.”

Continuing to move ahead with such resolutions “might impair the Arab-European rela-tions and put it to the test,” Arab parliamentarians warned.

Arab lawmakers viewed the statements as “systematic and intentional targeting to distort the enormous reforms and de-velopments witnessed in Bah-rain.”

The lawmakers also request-ed the European lawmakers to take care of the minorities and refugees exposed to continuous violations in European societies.

Arab lawmakers also urged the European Parliament to refrain from “politicising human rights issues and use it a pretext to in-terfere in the internal affairs of

Bahrain.”Arab MPs further called on

the Arab states to ignore such suspicious resolutions while ex-pressing their “strong” rejection of the “unacceptable vocabulary and lordly manner adopted” in the statement.

“Blatant interference”Reflecting the views of their

Arab counterparts, Bahraini lawmakers also expressed their strong condemnation of the Eu-ropean Parliament’s decision against the Kingdom of Bahrain.

EU lawmakers, Bahraini MPs said, are using human rights as a tool to achieve the goals of coun-tries hostile to the Kingdom.

“What they are trying to do is to interfere in the internal af-fairs of the Kingdom and reduce convicted terrorists,” the parlia-mentarians said.

“This is contrary to the in-ternational efforts to combat Terrorism and the drying up of its sources.”

The parliamentarians also called the EU resolution a “bla-tant interference on the Bah-raini judiciary, which is fair and impartial.”

The judiciary in the Kingdom, the lawmakers said, guarantees the rights and ensures impartial trial to all.

The parliamentarians also viewed that the EU lawmakers for adopting the resolution had turned a blind eye to achieve-ments in human rights and the reform process of the Kingdom.

In this regard, the parliamen-tarians renewed the official in-vitation by the speaker of the parliament to the European Par-liament members to visit the Kingdom and closely examine the rights situation, the progress and development online.

“Double-standard approach”Deputy Chairman of the Leg-

islative and Legal Committee, Deputy Bassem Al-Maliki, ex-pressed his rejection of the EU

resolution calling it an “unac-ceptable and blatant interfer-ence” in the internal affairs of the Kingdom.

Al Maliki also called the res-olution a “continuation of the hostile and double-standard ap-proach” followed by the parties seeking to destabilise Bahrain and tarnish its reputation.

The report contradicts the facts and the higher standards Bahrain maintain in the rights situation.

In this regard, Al-Maliki pointed out the modern penal system and the current approach to the open prison system.

Subversive agendasChairman of the services

committee, Ahmed Al Ansari, denounced the European Parlia-ment resolution stating that the report contradicts and ignores the advance rights situation in the Kingdom.

Bahrain, he said, is one of the first countries in the world to

implement the alternative pun-ishment system to modernise its judicial system.

He also highlighted the achievements of the Kingdom in battling the pandemic without discriminating against citizens and residents.

“The resolution does not re-flect the continued efforts of Bahrain to promote human rights,” Foreign Affairs, Defence and National Security Commit-tee Deputy Chairman Al Dosari said.

“Such reports rely mainly on falsifying facts to serve foreign subversive agendas targeting national security.”

“The EU resolution is unilat-eral and ignored human rights strides,” he said, urging the Eu-ropean Parliament to reconsider its reports and observe trans-parency.

Unacceptable interferenceArab Parliament Speaker

Adel Abdulrahman Al Asoomi

described the resolutions as a flagrant and unacceptable inter-ference in the internal affairs, in breach of international laws and conventions and parliamentary norms.

Al Asoomi also questioned, “What authority does the EU Parliament had over non-Eu-ropean countries and societies to assess their rights situation that too by relying on suspicious sources.”

He said that such resolutions have no legal or political values, adding that they unjustifiably defame human rights achieve-ments and guaranteed liberties of Bahrain, which won interna-tional recognition.

No to guardianshipThe head of the Foreign Af-

fairs, Defense and National Security Committee, Muham-mad Al- Sisi Al-Buainain, called the relationship between the EU and Bahrain as deep-rooted and friendly.

“But, we will not allow any at-tempt to impose a guardianship on the people of Bahrain, rep-resented by an elected council.”

The Foreign Affairs, Defence and National Security Com-mittee of the House of Repre-sentatives said,” Issuing such a statement without consulting the Bahraini parliament or its people constitutes a blatant vi-olation.”

The Committee expressed its deep regret at the European Par-liament on this matter, which contradicts the principles and foundations of parliamentary work.

Mohammed Al-Sisi Al-Buainain

The Foreign Affairs, Defence and National Security Committee of the House of Representatives

The Arab Parliament reiterating its categorical rejection of the EU resolution

Al Dosari Bassem Al-Maliki Ahmed Al Ansari Adel Abdulrahman Al Asoomi

CID rejects social media torture claims in Karana tyre burning caseTDT | Manama

Bahrain authorities yester-day rejected claims doing rounds on social media

platforms regarding “children torture” and the situation of the reformation and rehabilitation centres in Bahrain as false and untrue.

The General Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Fo-rensic Science (CID) said they pressed charged against four suspects based on physical evi-dence gathered.

The court sentenced Hussain Abdulrasool Salman, aged 16, and three others, based on ev-idence proving their involve-ment in the Karana tyre burning incident.

According to the General Di-rectorate of Criminal Investiga-

tion, Salman was summoned to the directorate on 30 November 2020 with his father.

“He confessed to committing the act with three others when

confronted with the evidence,” CID statement said.

Salman was presented before the public prosecution on 2 De-cember 2020. The public pros-

ecution ordered his detention. Following a trial, a concerned

court sentenced him to six months in jail on 11 March 2021.

“However, the court replaced the verdict with an alternative punishment considering his age,” the directorate said.

Sayed Hassan Ameen (16), Faris Hussain Habib (17) and Mohammed Jaffar Jassim (16) also received the same sentence.

They were all kept in the Detention Centre at a building considering their age and rights principles.

General Directorate affirmed that the case is clear. “Authori-ties documents all of the proce-dures with transparency in the presence of parents.”

“Corrective justice standards and dedication to ensuring chil-

dren welfare are well reflected in the judgement.”

Tribune earlier reported that a Bahraini court had ordered them to do community services instead of serving jail terms con-sidering their age.

In Bahrain, inmates had re-ceived alternative punishments, but never before a court had used it while passing a judge-ment.

The Public Prosecution told the High Criminal Court that it collected fingerprints and DNA samples of the suspects from the crime scenes to establish their crime.

The General Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Fo-rensic Science added that any children abuse or other allega-tions are unrealistic. “The sole

purpose of the justice system is to protect children from mis-behaviours and law-breaking practices.”

General Directorate also af-firmed that the systematic cam-paigns against the Kingdom would increase the determi-nation of law enforcement and legal authorities to reinforce se-curity and general safety.

The General Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Forensic Science af-

firmed that the systematic campaigns against the

Kingdom would increase the determination of law

enforcement and legal au-thorities to reinforce secu-

rity and general safety.

Saar Sewerage works, security guards for Finance Ministry, laundry service for Gulf Air and more

The tender board opened 45 bids for seven administrative bodies

• Saar Sewerage project received bids ranging between BHD 43,205.313 and BHD 45,714.952.

• Ten companies are vying for the Finance Ministry contract to hire security guards

• The Constitutional Court is taking insurance for its members and employees

TDT | Manama

Phase 3 works of the Saar Sewerage will start soon with a tender launched for

the project attracting bids from two parties.

The development came as the Tender board, the independent regulatory body charged with supervising government bidding and bidding practices, yesterday opened 45 bids received for ten tenders placed by seven admin-istrative bodies.

Saar Sewerage project, which

calls for conducting Package 5-Pipe replacement works, re-ceived bids ranging between B H D 4 3, 2 0 5. 3 1 3 a n d B H D 45,714.952. Jahecon quoted the lowest amount.

Works Ministry also had two other tenders opened by the au-thority yesterday. The second was for the operation and main-tenance of the HYBACS treatment system, part of the first phase

of the Tubli Sewage Treatment Center. Bluewater Bio Limited was the sole bidder of the project and quoted BHD 1,682,497.950 to take up the work.

The third tender for supply-

ing and fixing materials for soft landscape and irrigation system attracted eight bids ranging be-tween BHD 180,600.000 and BHD 499,149.000. Athena Construc-tion quoted the lowest amount.

The Ministry of Finance and National Economy said it is hiring 16 security guards at its building in the Diplomatic Area, Manama, and Awali.

Ten companies are vying for the contract. They quoted be-tween BHD 77,187.600 and BHD 194,208.000 to take up the job. Secure Services Limited made the lowest bid.

A tender by the Information and eGovernment Authority for hiring human resources for managing the National elec-tronic correspondence system attracted two bids. Atyaf Esolu-tions quoted BHD 166,320.000 to take up the jobs, which was also the lowest.

Another tender said the Con-stitutional Court is taking insur-ance for its members and em-ployees. The tender attracted three bids ranging between BHD 67,763.850 and BHD 93,499.350.

In the aviation sector, Gulf Air said it is seeking laundry service to clean aircraft cabin interiors, upholstery covers, curtains and seat belts. Gulf Hotel laundry

services was the sole bidder. They quoted BHD 245,543.960 for the job.

In the oil and gas sector, the committee opened two ten-ders for the Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco). The first for supplying additional spare parts for major overhaul and founda-tion repairs received a single bid from Howden Thomassen Middle East FZCO, which now stands suspended.

The second tender for hiring information technology experts for the Information Technol-ogy Department in Bapco re-ceived nine bids ranging be-tween BHD 599,655.000 and BHD 1,095,150.750. Nexcel Computer Solutions was the lowest bidder.

Finally, the committee opened eight bids received for the Hous-ing Bank tender for appointing a quantity surveyor for the Ramli housing project, Section IV.

Representatives of the ad-ministering authorities and the companies participating in the tenders were present at the bid opening process. The board said it would subject all bids to tech-nical and financial evaluation, and the best one will be award-ed based on conditions and the lowest price.

Works ministry awarded 5 projects worth BD32 m in February TDT | Manama

Five tenders worth BD32,572,161 dinars were awarded by the Tender Board for the Minis-

try of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning during February, said a top official.

The ministry also offered 17 tenders having an estimated value of 40,053,751 dinars, said Abdulaziz Al-Khayyat, the Undersecretary for Works Affairs.

The tenders were for projects in three sectors - roads, sanitation and buildings as per a work programme to enhance urban expansion.

One of the projects awarded during February was the BD29,662,314 Al-Fateh Street develop-ment project. The project extends from Sheikh Hamad Bridge in the north to the port intersec-tion Salman in the south.

Works include expanding Al Fateh Street to four lanes and developing a three-lane ground tunnel in each direction at Al Fateh and Awal Street intersection.

Other works include constructing a bridge with two lanes for traffic coming from Manama on Al-Fateh Street in the direction of Juffair to Prince Saud Al-Faisal Street and an overpass with two lanes of reverse circulation near the entrance

to Al-Fateh Corniche for traffic heading north.The ministry also awarded BD2,082,625 project

to develop the Ma’ameer Crossing at Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah to improve water flow in Tubly Bay.

In the road sector, one of the most prominent projects awarded during February was the ex-pansion and development of the sea bridge south of the Ma’ameer Canal (Alba Bridge) to improve the flow of water in the Gulf of Tubli.

Works also include constructing a bridge with a length of about 150 m and a width of 14 m and extending the Alba Bridge by 30 m to 180 m.

In the sanitation sector, the ministry awarded a project for the rehabilitation, operation and maintenance of the sludge drying plant in the Tubli wastewater treatment plant to reduce the emission of foul odour and enhance the produc-tion of triple-treated water. The deal also calls for the operation and maintenance of the HYBACS treatment system at the plant.

Other tenders awarded include a project to develop the Isa Town market, another to add a floor at building 19 at Bahrain Polytechnic Uni-versity and a development project of Maryam Bint Omran Elementary School for Girls.

Bahrain gets 300,00 doses of Sinopharam vaccine from China • The shipment, Al Saleh said, is the largest ever COVID-19 vaccine shipment received by Kingdom.

TDT | Manama

Bahrain yesterday received 300,000 doses of the Sino-

pharma COVID-19 vaccine from China, said the Minister of Health.

Faeqa bint Saeed Alsaleh said the jabs arrived in the Kingdom yesterday morning on a car-go-only flight operated by the Gulf Air.

The shipment, Al Saleh said, is the largest ever COVID-19 vaccine shipment received by

Kingdom. To date, the Kingdom has vac-

cinated 312,104 individuals.“The Kingdom is mobilising

all its resources to safeguard public health by making avail-able vaccines approved by the World Health Organisation and the National Health Regulatory Authority,” the minister said.

COVID-19 vaccines are admin-istered free of cost to citizens and residents in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Alsaleh expressed her ap-preciation for the support ex-tended by HM King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister.

The minister also thanked the Ambassador of China to Bahrain, Dr An Wa’er, for helping Bahrain

secure the vaccines amid supply constraints.

The Ambassador welcomed the heightened cooperation be-tween the two nations in ad-dressing the global spread of the virus and underlined China’s commitment to meet Bahrain’s vaccine demands as part of bi-lateral cooperation.

Gulf Air said it had redesigned its onboard experience to ensure passengers’ safety and is helping citizens and residents as part of the International COVID-19 Repatriation Programme (ICRP).

Gulf Air has also encouraged its employees to register for the COVID-19 vaccines, which re-main optional and free of charge for all citizens and residents. To date, over 85% of the air-line’s flight crew got inoculated against the pandemic.

69.41Benchmark Brent fell 22 cents, or 0.3%, to $69.41 a barrel by 1444 GMT while US West Texas

Intermediate crude was at $65.82 a barrel, down 20

cents, or 0.3%.

Oil steady near $70 on hopes of recovering demand

Reuters | London

Oil hovered near $70 a bar-rel on Friday, supported by

production cuts by major oil producers and optimism about a demand recovery in the second half of the year.

Benchmark Brent fell 22 cents, or 0.3%, to $69.41 a barrel by 1444 GMT while US West Tex-as Intermediate crude was at $65.82 a barrel, down 20 cents, or 0.3%.

Brent is on track to end the week flat after prices touched a 13-month high on Monday, following seven straight weeks of gains.

The Organization of the Pe-troleum Exporting Countries forecast a stronger oil demand recovery this year, weighted to the second half. OPEC, Russia and its allies decided last week to maintain its output curbs al-most unchanged.

“The stronger-than-expected

rebound in the second half of this year implies that the global economy and hence oil demand outlook is close to shaking off its COVID woes,” PVM analysts said.

RBC Capital analysts said the

fundamentals for summer gas-oline was the most bullish in nearly a decade.

The United States, world’s largest oil consumer, saw a big draw on US gasoline stocks last

week as the winter storm in Texas disrupted refining output.

Sustained higher oil prices are expected to encourage US producers to increase output, which could eventually weigh on prices, JPMorgan analysts wrote.

JPMorgan expects US oil out-put to average 11.36 million bpd this year compared with 11.32 m bpd in 2020. Commerzbank expects oil to ease to about $60 during 2021.

A sticker reads crude oil on the side of a storage tank in the Permian Basin in Mentone, Loving County, Texas, US

Microsoft says ransom-seeking hackers taking advantage of server flaws• Even though the security holes announced by Microsoft have since been fixed, organisations worldwide have failed to patch their software

• One security firm recently counted 10 separate hacking groups using the flaws

Reuters | Washington

Ransom-seeking hackers have begun taking advantage of a

recently disclosed flaw in Mi-crosoft’s widely used mail server software, the company said early

yesterday - a serious escalation that could portend widespread

digital disruption.The disclosure, initially made

on Twitter by Microsoft Corp security programme manager Phillip Misner and later con-firmed by the Redmond, Wash-ington-based company, is the realisation of worries that have been coursing through the security community for days.

Since March 2, when Micro-soft announced the discovery of serious vulnerabilities in its Exchange software, experts have warned that it was only a mat-ter of time before ransomware gangs began using them to shake down organisations across the internet.

Misner didn’t immediately respond to follow-up messages

and Microsoft did not return emails seeking further com-ment. The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the FBI also didn’t immedi-ately respond.

Even though the security holes announced by Microsoft have since been fixed, organi-sations worldwide have failed to patch their software, leav-ing them open to exploitation. Experts attribute the sluggish pace of many customers’ up-dates in part to the complexity of Exchange’s architecture and lack of expertise. In Germany alone, officials have said that up to 60,000 networks remained vulnerable.

All manner of hackers have begun taking advantage of the

holes - one security firm recent-ly counted 10 separate hacking groups using the flaws - but ran-somware operators are among the most feared.

Those groups work by locking users out of their devices and data unless the victims cough up big chunks of digital curren-cy. They now potentially have access “into a huge number of vulnerable systems,” said Brett Callow of cybersecurity compa-ny Emsisoft.

He said more modest compa-nies - many of which lack the ability or awareness to update their software - could be par-ticularly affected by the latest variant of ransomware.

“This is a potentially serious risk to small businesses,” he said.

A Microsoft logo is pictured on a store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US

Whole new level of cooperationIn summit with India, Japan and Australia, Biden says free Indo-Pacific ‘essential’

• India and Australia also emphasised the importance of regional security cooperation

• Modi told the session the Quad had “come of age” and would “now remain an important pillar of stability in the region”

Reuters | Washington

US President Joe Biden met leaders of Australia, India and Japan yesterday, and

said a free and open Indo-Pacific region was crucial to all of them.

The White House says the virtual meeting of the countries known as the Quad, the first at leader level, shows the impor-tance Biden places on the In-

do-Pacific region and that it will focus on tackling the coronavi-rus pandemic and the climate crisis, and on reviving economic growth.

“A free and open Indo Pacific is essential to each of our fu-tures,” Biden told the meeting from the White House. “The

United States is committed to working with you, our partners, and all our allies in the region, to achieve stability.” Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said he wanted the four “to forge strongly ahead toward the re-alisation of a free and open In-do-Pacific”.

India and Australia also em-phasised the importance of regional security cooperation, which has been enhanced by previous lower-level Quad meet-ings.

The Biden administration has said the Quad nations will an-nounce financing agreements

to support an increase in man-ufacturing capacity for corona-virus vaccines in India, some-thing New Delhi has called for to counter Beijing’s widening vaccine diplomacy.

US officials say the countries will also set up a group of ex-perts to help distribute vaccines in the region, as well as working groups for cooperation on cli-mate change, technology stand-ards, and joint development of emerging technologies.

Washington says the addi-tional vaccine capacity will be used in immunisation efforts in Southeast Asia.

The virtual meeting, which also included Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Indian Prime Minster Narendra Modi, aims to lay the ground-work for an in-person meeting later this year, the administra-tion said.

Modi told the session the Quad had “come of age” and would

“now remain an important pillar of stability in the region”.

Earlier, Morrison told report-ers: “When governments come together at the highest level, this shows a whole new level of co-operation to create a new anchor for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific.”

Japan’s Nikkei newspaper reported on Thursday that the four countries would also work together to secure rare earth metals essential for electric car motors and other products.

The Biden administration told Reuters on Tuesday the United States and Japan would help fund Indian firms manufactur-ing vaccines for US drugmakers Novavax Inc and J&J.

However, Indian government sources say US curbs on ex-ports of critical materials could hamper that effort and those to start large-scale distribution to Southeast Asia.

Yoshihide Suga, Japan’s Prime Minister, speaks while a monitor displays US President Joe Biden, Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during the virtual Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) meeting at his official residence in Tokyo, Japan

Tesla in talks with India’s Tata Power for EV charging infrastructure - reportReuters | Bengaluru

Tesla Inc is exploring an arrangement with Indian

conglomerate Tata Sons’ pow-er generation unit, Tata Power, to set up charging infrastruc-ture for electric vehicles in the country, CNBC-TV18 reported yesterday, citing sources.

Shares of Tata Power rose 5.5% to their best closing level since June 2014 after the re-port, which comes as the Palo Alto-based electric-car maker gears up for an India launch later this year with plans to import and sell its Model 3 electric sedan.

Tesla will set up an elec-tric-car manufacturing unit in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, according to a government document seen by Reuters.

The talks between Tata Pow-er and Tesla are in the initial stages and no arrangements have been finalised yet, the report said.

Tata Power’s electric vehicle charging business constantly

explores growth opportuni-ties but has not finalised any new agreements, the company said in a statement to stock exchanges. It also said the CN-BC-TV 18 report was “factually incorrect”, but did not elab-orate.

Tesla was not immediately available for comment.

In January, the US elec-tric-car maker incorporated Tesla Motors India and Energy Private Ltd with its registered office in the southern city of Bengaluru, a hub for global technology companies.

Tata Motors Ltd, the car-making unit of Tata Sons, last week denied any tie-up with Tesla, after media reports suggested the two companies were discussing a partnership.

FORTUNE FAVORS THE PREPARED MINDLOUIS PASTEUR

QUOTE OF THE DAY

SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 2021

624 1781 1903 1930TODAY IN

HISTORYBattle of Badr: Prophet Muham-mad’s Muslim forces win significant victory over Meccan army

William Herschel sees what he thinks is a “comet” but is actu-ally the discovery of the planet Uranus

Fall of the Sokoto Caliphate in Northern Nigeria, the Brit-ish claim supremacy on over 500,000 square miles

Clyde Tombaugh announces discovery of Pluto at Lowell Observatory

4TWEETS

Famine & hunger are no longer about lack

of food. They are now largely man-made – con-centrated in countries affected by large-scale, protracted conflict. We have a responsi-bility to do everything in our power to tackle both hunger and conflict, if we are to solve either.

@antonioguterres

We have only 30 days left to #AC-

Together! It’s in the best interest of every nation to work in solidarity to ensure #VaccinEquity and start vaccination of health workers and older people in ALL countries.

@DrTedros

While Senate Republi-cans told us we cannot afford to provide $1,400 direct payments to the working class, they had no problem introducing a bill this week to repeal the estate tax which would provide a $1.7 trillion tax break to the billionaire class. Total hypocrisy!

@BernieSanders

We are proving once again something I

have said time and time again: It is never a good bet to bet against the American people. This nation is coming back.

@POTUS

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

editorial stances)

France runs satellite war game in European firstAFP | Paris

France yesterday prepared to simulate an attack by a hos-

tile power on one of its satellites in a war game scenario the gov-ernment said is less outlandishly futuristic than it may seem.

President Emmanuel Macron was to watch onsite as his mili-tary chiefs started to play out a four-day sequence in which an unnamed space-capable power attacks a nation allied to France, and tries to take out a French communications satellite.

Germany, Italy and the US are participating in the AsterX space war game at France’s na-tional space agency CNES in Tou-louse, the first such exercise in France or in Europe.

It is an opportunity to simu-late modifying the flight path of satellites, sending backup

satellites to fix a breakdown, monitoring the transmission of sensitive data and scrambling transmissions by hostile satel-lites temporarily or even shut-ting them down completely.

The scenario of the exercise

may be fictional, Macron’s office said, but is far from implausible.

The French government ac-cuses Russia of having brought its intelligence-gathering sat-ellite Olymp-K, also known as Louch, into close proximity of

the French-Italian military sat-ellite Athena-Fidus in 2017 in what Defence Minister Florence Parly called “an act of espio-nage”.

Last year, the US claimed that Russia had conducted a non-de-structive anti-satellite weapons test from space.

Macron’s office said there had been other similar incidents since, but gave no details.

Before the exercise kicked off, Macron headed a meeting of the space command, a body created in 2017 to run France’s military strategy in space.

“We need to have the means for action if we detect dangers that weigh on our capabilities or those of our allies,” Macron’s office said, adding that an attack on a satellite could, for example, disrupt the military’s communi-cations network.

Gunmen abduct 30 students in Nigeria as payoffs ‘boomerang’Some 30 forestry college students kidnapped on outskirts of Kaduna city, in Nigeria’s fourth mass school abduction since December

• The abduction, which happened overnight in a forestry college near a military academy

Reuters | Kaduna

Gunmen kidnapped around 30 stu-dents in an overnight raid on a for-estry college in northwest Nigeria,

an official said yesterday, the fourth mass school abduction since December in a country where violence is on the increase.

An armed gang broke into the Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, located on the outskirts of Kaduna city near a mil-itary academy, at around 11:30 p.m. (2230 GMT) on Thursday, Kaduna state’s security commissioner, Samuel Aruwan said.

After a distress call, the army rescued 180 people in the early hours of yesterday but “about 30 students, a mix of males and fe-males, are yet to be accounted for”, he said.

“A combined team of army, air force, po-lice and DSS (Department of State Services) troops are conducting an operation to track the missing students.”

The city is the capital of Kaduna state, part of a region where banditry has festered for years. Hours before the kidnapping, Nigeria’s federal government said it would “take out” abductors after earlier criticising local deals to free victims.

Kaduna resident Haruna Salisu said he had heard sporadic gunshots at around 11:30 p.m. on Thursday from the area of the compound, where the concrete perimeter wall had a large hole in it yesterday.

“We were not panicking, thinking that it was a normal military exercise being con-ducted at the (nearby) Nigerian Defence Academy,” he said by phone.

“We came out for dawn prayers, at 5:20 a.m., and saw some of the students, teachers and security personnel all over the school premises. They told us that gunmen raid-ed the school and abducted some of the students.”

Yesterday morning, relatives of students gathered at the gates of the college, which was surrounded by around 20 army trucks.

RansomThe trend of abduction from boarding

schools was started by the jihadist group Boko Haram, which seized 270 schoolgirls from a school at Chibok in the northeast in 2014. Around 100 of them have never been found.

Armed criminal gangs seeking ransom have since carried out copycat attacks.

Within the last few weeks, 279 schoolgirls were freed after being abducted from their boarding school at Jangebe in northwest Nigeria’s Zamfara state. In the north-cen-

tral state of Niger, 27 teenage boys were released after being kidnapped from their school, along with three staff and 12 family members. One student was shot dead in that attack.

Military and police attempts to tackle the gangs have had little success, while many worry that state authorities are making the situation worse by letting kidnappers go unpunished, paying them off or providing incentives.

In Zamfara, state government officials said they had given ‘reformed bandits’ access to land for cattle grazing, while also building schools and medical facilities. They do not specifically identify the recip-ients as kidnappers.

In late February, the presidency said President Muhammadu Buhari had urged state governments to “review their poli-cy of rewarding bandits with money and vehicles, warning that the policy might boomerang disastrously”.

Buhari held talks with security officials and traditional leaders on Thursday to discuss the country’s multiple security challenges. The national security adviser, Babagana Monguno, after the talks said the government would take a tough stance on criminal gangs.

UK police confirm body found in woodland is of missing woman

Reuters | London

British police said yester-day that human remains

found in a wood outside London was the body of Sarah Everard, whose dis-appearance last week has sparked anger and fears among women about their safety.

Everard disappeared while walking home from a friend’s house in south London last Wednesday and police have arrested a serv-ing officer on suspicion of her kidnap and murder.

Detectives discovered a body in woodland two days ago and London Assistant Commissioner Nick Eph-grave confirmed that it was of the missing 33-year-old.

“I know that the public feel hurt and angry about what has happened, and those are sentiments that I share personally,” Ephgrave said outside the London po-lice headquarters.

“I also recognise the wider concerns that are being raised quite rightly about the safety of women in public spaces in London and also elsewhere in the country.”

Detectives on Thursday were given extra time to question the arrested of-ficer, who is aged in his 40s and whose job is to guard diplomatic buildings.

Investigators examine the area where the body was found

News in brief u More twins -- almost one in 40 children -- are being born than ever before,

according to research, citing the rapid rise in medically assisted reproduction as a major factor. More than 1.6 million twins are now being born every year, researchers said in a paper published in the scientific journal Human Reproduction. The rise of assisted reproductive technology (ART) in

developed countries since the 1970s contributed to the rise in multiple births as did mothers giving birth at an older age, when twinning rates are higher.

u Embattled New York Governor Andrew Cuomo found himself under increasing risk of impeachment over allegations of sexual harassment when the Democratic head of the state assembly -- until now a key ally -- greenlighted a formal investigation of the claims. Since the end of February, the 63-year-old Cuomo, whose third term is due to expire in 2022, has been under scrutiny after five women accused him of sexual harassment or inappropriate behaviour.

u A homeless man spent five hours last month freely

roaming the military base where the US president’s plane is kept, after easily passing through several layers of security, the Air Force admitted. The Air Force inspector general said in a report on the February 4 incident that the unauthorized intruder at Joint Base Andrews made his way onto a C-40 transport plane

on the tarmac, but did not get close to Air Force One or the secretary of defence’s dedicated Boeing 747s. The base, just south of Washington, is where the president, defence secretary, and other top officials fly from for official business

u US President Joe Biden condemned what he called “vicious hate crimes” committed against Asian Americans since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, calling such acts “un-American” and demanding they stop. “Too often, we’ve turned against one another,” Biden said in his first primetime address, detailing the progress made in the fight against Covid-19.

u A California man was sentenced to more than 200

years in prison after drowning his two autistic sons by driving his car off a pier in order to collect on life insurance policies he had taken out on them. Ali Elmezayen, 45, drove the family’s Honda sedan -- with his ex-wife and two sons inside -- off a wharf in San Pedro, south of Los Angeles, on April 9, 2015. His sons, aged eight and 13, drowned but his ex-wife, Raba Diab, was saved by a fisherman who threw her a flotation device.

Number of twins being born at ‘all-time high’, researchers say

Homeless man roams air base housing Biden’s plane for five hours

California man who killed sons in insurance scheme jailed for 200+ years

New York governor faces impeachment inquiry over harassment claims

Suu Kyi lawyer rejects military graft claims as ‘groundless’Britain advises its citizens to flee Myanmar amid fears of mounting violence

• At least 70 people have been killed since the coup according to the UN

Reuters | Yangon

Ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyer re-jected Myanmar junta

corruption claims against her as ‘groundless’ as Britain yesterday advised its citizens to flee the country.

The military authorities are cracking down with increasing severity on daily protests against their February 1 coup, with at least 70 people killed according to the UN’s top rights expert on the country.

The turmoil prompted Britain, the former colonial ruler, to urge its citizens to get out if they could, warning that “political tension and unrest are widespread since the military takeover and levels of violence are rising”.

“The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office advises British nationals to leave the country by commercial means, unless there is an urgent need to stay,” the British foreign ministry said.

The military -- which has de-fended its takeover by citing alleged voting irregularities in November elections won by Suu Kyi’s National League for Democ-racy party -- held a rare news con-

ference on Thursday accusing her of corruption.

Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun said the detained chief minister of Yangon admitted giving Suu Kyi $600,000 in cash, along with more than 11 kilograms ($680,000 worth) of gold.

‘Illegal mudslinging’ Suu Kyi’s lawyer Khin Maung

Zaw yesterday rejected the claims.“This allegation against Daw

Aung San Suu Kyi, the state coun-sellor, is groundless, especially regarding the dollars and gold bars -- it is the most hilarious joke of all,” he told AFP.

“I’ve never seen such an illegal mudslinging.”

Nobel peace laureate Suu Kyi faces other criminal charges in-cluding owning unlicensed walk-ie-talkies and violating coronavi-rus restrictions by staging a cam-paign event in 2020.

Suu Kyi -- not seen in public since being detained on February 1 -- has a court hearing on Mon-day, but Khin Maung Zaw com-plained that he has not been able to have a private meeting with her.

The junta has sought to stem the flow of news about the crack-

down, throttling the country’s internet connection every night, revoking media licences and raid-ing independent media offices.

Five journalists, including Asso-ciated Press photographer Thein Zaw, were formally charged yes-terday over their coverage of the protests under a law against “causing fear, spreading false news or agitating directly or in-directly a government employee”.

Anti-coup protesters occupy a street during a demonstration in Yangon

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny moved from initial detention facility - lawyerReuters | London

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has been moved from a deten-

tion facility in Russia’s Vladimir region where he was incarcerated last month and moved to an un-known location, one of his lawyers said yesterday.

Navalny, one of President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent critics, was moved from jail in Moscow last month to serve out a sentence of around two-and-a-half years after a court ruling the West condemned as political-ly-motivated.

He was initially held at the Kolchugino jail in the Vladimir region northeast of Moscow. The TASS news agency, citing a law en-forcement source, reported at the time that Navalny was being held there for quarantine before being moved to the IK-2 penal colony, also in the Vladimir region.

Vadim Kobzev, one of Navalny’s lawyers, said he had visited his client on Thursday, but that an-other lawyer had tried to see him yesterday only to be told, eventu-ally, that Navalny had been moved somewhere else.

“The prison said he wasn’t there and that’s it,” Kobzev told Reuters, adding that Navalny was in good health when he had visited him a

day earlier.Citing laws on protecting per-

sonal information, a spokeswom-an for the Federal Penitentiary

Service said she could not disclose information on Navalny’s where-abouts.

Navalny, 44, was arrested in January on his return from Ger-many following treatment for poi-soning with what many Western countries say was a nerve agent.

The Kremlin denied any in-volvement in what had happened to him, questioned whether he had really been poisoned, and sug-gested the whole thing may have been staged.

Navalny was jailed last month for violating parole on what he said were trumped-up charges and is set to serve around two-and-a-half years in prison.

South Africa’s Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini dies, aged 72Reuters | Johannesburg

King Goodwill Zwelithi-ni, the traditional lead-

er of South Africa’s Zulu na-tion, has died aged 72 after being hospitalized for more than a month, his family an-nounced yesterday.

Zwelithini had health problems related to diabe-tes, according to local news reports.

Zwelithini, the eighth Zulu king, reigned for more than 50 years, making him the longest-serving Zulu monarch.

As the traditional leader of the Zulu nation, Zwelith-ini did not hold political of-fice but had considerable influence over the country’s estimated 12 million Zulus, the largest ethnic group of South Africa’s 60 million people.

King Zwelithini was an outspoken critic of the gov-ernment’s planned land re-distribution policy, which could affect large tracts of land belonging to the Zulu nation.

Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny attends a hearing

French Minister of Defense Florence Parly sits during a presentation of the new Defence space Strategy (file photo)

A soldier sits on one of the trucks used to bring back the girls who were kidnapped from a boarding school in the northwest Nigerian state of Zamfara

This allegation against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the state counsellor, is groundless, especially regarding the dollars

and gold bars -- it is the most hilarious joke of all

SUU KYI’S LAWYER KHIN MAUNG ZAW

His whereabouts are unknown to

us once again. The administration is

supposed to notify relatives where he has been transferred. But, as practice has shown, this has not been done

OLGA MIKHAILOVA

The trend of abduction from boarding schools was started

by the jihadist group Boko Har-am, which seized 270 school-

girls from a school at Chibok in the northeast in 2014. Around 100 of them have never been

KNOW WHAT

The exercise is an op-portunity to simulate modifying the flight

path of satellites, sending backup sat-ellites to fix a break-down, monitoring the transmission of sensi-tive data and scram-bling transmissions by hostile satellites temporarily or even shutting them down

completely

KNOW WHAT

Myanmar’s first satellite held by Japan on space station after coupReuters | Johannesburg

Myanmar’s first satellite is being held on board the

International Space Station fol-lowing the Myanmar coup, while Japan’s space agency and a Jap-anese university decide what to do with it, two Japanese univer-sity officials said.

The $15 million satellite was built by Japan’s Hokkaido Uni-versity in a joint project with

Myanmar’s government-funded Myanmar Aerospace Engineer-ing University (MAEU). It is the first of a set of two 50 kg micro-satellites equipped with cameras designed to monitor agriculture and fisheries.

Human rights activists and some officials in Japan worry that those cameras could be used for military purposes by the jun-ta that seized power in Myanmar on Feb. 1.

119,355,687

2,645,452

95,618,504

Deaths

Recovered:

New cases

New deaths +248,572

+4,305

Country Total cases

new cases

Total deaths

New Deaths

Total recovered

Active cases

Egypt 187,716 11,082 144,917 31,717

Saudi Arabia

381,708 +360 6,556 +5 372,217 2,935

UAE 422,246 +2,250 1,378 +9 401,539 19,329

Kuwait 205,652 +1,983 2,228 +17 183,003 20,421

Oman 145,257 1,600 135,227 8,430

Qatar 169,284 +455 265 +1 157,577 11,442

Middle East

Country Total cases Total deaths

1 USA 29,931,946 543,792

2 India 11,333,402 158,483

3 Brazil 11,284,269 270,917

4 Russia 4,370,617 90,275

5 UK 4,248,286 125,343

6 France 3,990,331 89,830

7 Spain 3,178,356 71,727

8 Italy 3,175,807 100,479

9 Turkey 2,835,989 29,160

10 Germany 2,553,467 73,668

11 Colombia 2,282,372 60,676

12 Argentina 2,169,694 53,252

13 Mexico 2,151,028 193,142

14 Poland 1,868,297 46,724

G l o b a l t a l l y

C O V I D - 1 : 9 C o u n t r i e s w o r s t a f f e c t e d

Figures as of closing