An Independent Daily. VOL. 16 ISSUE NO Abu Garda: Implementation of National Dialogue Outcome Priority

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1 AL-HADAF AL-Hadaf Service Co. Ltd. Headquarters: Address: Riyadh, St. 117 P.O. Box:1770 Khartoum - Sudan - Cabin: Tel: Fax: Website: technical@el-hadaf.com Wad Medani Branch: Tel: Port Sudan Branch: Tel: Mobile: Kosti Branch: Tel: SATURDAY 7 April, th Rajab, 1439 OPINION P. 6 EDITORIAL: Thinking Out of the Box A leading media outlet of outstanding quality in press An Independent Daily VOL. 16 ISSUE NO Price SDG 6 Window of Objectivity بنك امدرمان الوطني OMDURMAN NATIONAL BANK THE YOUTH MASTER OF SUDANESE BANKS 87 ATM, spreading across the country 24 hours a day along the week THE PIONEER OF THE BANKING TECHNOLOGY We are bound to sustainability of excellence The WFB SITE: info@onb.com.sd 12 Pages Turkey Aims to Increase Trade Volume to $2B with Sudan Anadolu Ankara wants to increase bilateral trade volume with Sudan to $2 billion, Turkey s Food, Agriculture and Livestock Minister Ahmet Esref Fakibaba said on Thursday. «The bilateral trade volume between Turkey and Sudan is around $500 million. We aim to increase it to $2 billion in the medium term with the trade and economic partnership agreement that we have signed,» Fakibaba said at a meeting with Sudan s Agriculture and Forestry Minister Abdullatif Ahmed Ijaimi in the capital Ankara. By: KEM Khartoum- President of the Republic Field Marshal Omer Al Bashir has affirmed that Juba continues harboring and supporting the rebels with weapons and ammunitions. Addressing a mass rally at Kosti Stadium on Thursday, Al Bashir affirmed continuation of the government s efforts for realizing peace in South Sudan, adding that Juba s leaderships had deceived their citizens and Fakibaba said Sudan is a «brotherly» country and both countries can cooperate in plant production, livestock, rural development, trade, investment and mining. «We take it as our duty to give any kind of support to Sudan,» he added. Ijaimi said the current bilateral trade volume did not reflect the potential. «It is important for us to take trade volume to $2 billion in the medium term.» Late December, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Khartoum and called for greater Turkish investment in Sudan. Al Bashir: Juba Continues Supporting Rebels and We are Keen on Peace in S. Sudan Echo By: Muawad Mustafa Rashid Juba Leaders... The Bourbons President Omer Al Bashir has renewed accusations against Juba government saying it continues backing Sudanese rebels but vowed that Sudan would keep working for a lasting peace agreement in South Sudan. Juba, first, denied the claims but last year, it said all the armed groups had been expelled from the country. However, the two countries several months ago started the implementation of the 2012 Cooperation Agreement and deployed joint border monitoring teams. Also, they activated the border demilitarized zone. Isn t it strange that Juba provides shelter for Sudanese rebels to wage war against Sudan, while Sudan is hosting more than one million South Sudanese who fled the civil war to Sudanese towns where they were received warmly to the extent of working out a plan to construct schools and other facilities to ease their lives in their camps inside Sudan? Despite the hostile stances of Juba government towards Sudan, Al Bashir vowed that Sudan would nonetheless continue to welcome the South Sudanese refugees, affirming that Sudan will spare no effort to achieve peace in South Sudan. It is apparent that the international community is fed up with South Sudan government and its failure to end the conflict which enters its fifth year a matter which is leading to the collapse of the state. The UNSC, IGAD and the US Administration are taking serious steps to put pressure on South Sudan government to make a breakthrough in the upcoming round of talks scheduled to take place in April 23rd. But South Sudan government is just like the bourbons learnt nothing and forgot nothing and because of that it still hosts the Sudanese armed movements without any respect to the Sudanese government which hosts South Sudan refugees who found their former homeland as the save haven. The patience of the Sudanese government is commended, but that should not be understood to be weakness from Sudan; and the international community should practice more pressures on Juba to stop harbouring the Sudanese armed groups considering that patience has limits and Sudan might respond decisively to protect its sovereignty. pushed them to call for secession under allegations of their keenness on building a state similar to European countries. President Al Bashir affirmed continuation of government s procedures for provision of all requirements of the agricultural season. Al Bashir pointed out that he would receive the reports on performance of governors of states from the masses, saying that when they find the citizens are satisfied with the work of the governor this would be the best report about him. By: Haffiya Elyas Khartoum - Federal Health Minister and Chair of Liberation and Justice Party, Bahar Idris Abu Garda said application national dialogue recommendations was top priority, calling all political parties to press ahead with its implementation. This came during his participation the deliberations with leaders of political parties at Extended Immunization Hall in Al-Damazin, capital of Blue Nile State. Abu Garda hailed the President s initiative on unity of sons of the homeland under umbrella of national dialogue, referring to host By: SMC Khartoum - The Parliamentary Committee on Legislation, Justice and Human Rights has expected that the current session of the parliament would witness tabling of a number of bills in the context of implementation of the outcome of the National Dialogue and the state s reform of issues tackled by national dialogue including the issue of constitution. He said the upcoming period would witness formation of a number committees concerning the constitution and expansion of participating in process of making the national constitution that preserves rights of all and finds radical solutions to problems that hampered the country from progress and prosperity, stressing that the constitution would guarantee rights of participation and expression for all. The Chairman of Liberation and Justice Party affirmed that the The mass rally was also addressed by Governor of White Nile State Dr. Abdul Hameed Musa Kasha, reviewing the development projects implemented in the state during the period from February 5, 2015 till today. President Al Bashir inaugurated a number of development projects at Kosti Locality, including new premises for health insurance, Kosti Theater, Headquarters of Customs Police, Al-Tijani Mohamed Khair s Health Center and the first phase of Kosti -Ghali- Ed Doweim Road with a length of 45 kilometers. Abu Garda: Implementation of National Dialogue Outcome Priority Bills on Implementation of Dialogue Outcome Due to be Tabled before Parliament program. Chairman of the Committee Osman Adam Hassan Nimir said in a statement to SMC that the Legislation Committee is ready to study, present and approve laws which are to be tabled before the parliament by the executive organ in implementation of the outcome of the National Dialogue, referring to their keenness on expediting approval of the laws of the dialogue s document, being one of the state s programs. It is to be noted that Minister of Justice Hon. Dr. Idris Ibrahim Jamil indicated in a report during the previous session that there are a number of laws to be amended. national dialogue has identified apparent tracks of building of Sudanese state and there was no way other than implementing the national dialogue outcome to make the country come out of crises towards progress and prosperity. Abu Garda, meanwhile, said the economic problem has directly impacted the people s living and called for fighting speculators in prices and people staples. He called the political forces in Blue Nile to protect the people s gains by reactivating role of Council of Political Parties and providing objective and constructive criticism. GERD Talks in Khartoum Fail Khartoum and Washington to Resume Dialogue within Weeks By: Zuleikha Abdul Raziq Khartoum- Sudanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Prof. Ibrahim Ghandour and Acting US Secretary of State John Sullivan have agreed during a telephone call on starting the second phase of the dialogue within weeks for removing Sudan name from list of states sponsoring terrorism as the two sides have discussed the issue of Renaissance Dam and realization of peace and stability in South Sudan. According to a statement issued by Acting Spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Gafaar Somi, the Acting US Secretary of State, John Sullivan, affirmed that the coming days would witness launching of the second phase of the dialogue between the two countries. Ashorooq.net reported the statement explained that Mr. Sullivan referred to the importance of the relations between Sudan and his country and their looking forward for start of the second phase of the dialogue on removal of Sudan name from list of states sponsoring terrorism. The statement pointed out that Minister of Foreign Affairs Ghandour said that the Sudan looks forward for normal relations with US as it is and important and big state, so the start of the second phase of the dialogue between the two countries is very important, especially on the issue of removing Sudan name from list of states sponsoring terrorism. The two ministers discussed UN Security Council s resolution s on North Korea. Ghandour affirmed that there is no military cooperation between Sudan and North Korea, reaffirming Sudan s total commitment to the resolutions of the Security Council. The statement referred to Sullivan s welcome to the decision of President of the Republic Field Marshal Omer Al Bashir on declaration of cease-fire for three months till the 30th of next June as well as his welcome to the government s efforts through the IGAD organization in the peace process in South Sudan and the role being assumed by Khartoum concerning differences over the Renaissance Dam. Ghandour affirmed that the government would continue the process of completion of peace through the dialogue and the agreed upon mechanisms besides completion of the national project pertinent to the National Dialogue. By: Zuleikha Abdul Raziq Khartoum The Sudanese government has announced Friday the failure of the new round of talks held in Khartoum as northing has been reached over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Foreign Minister, Prof. Ibrahim Ghandour told reporters that they discussed several issues but did not manage to reach any agreement to come out with a joint communiqué. The foreign ministers and intelligence chiefs of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan met in Khartoum on Thursday, and after nearly 17 hours of discussions they failed to reach an agreement on issues concerning Addis Ababa s ongoing construction of the controversial Grand Renaissance Dam on the Nile. We didn t reach an agreement, Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour told reporters after the officials of three countries wrapped up their talks held at Corinthia Hotel. Ghandour also said that no new date had been fixed for the next round of talks. The latest round of discussion had been held after leaders of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan met in Addis Ababa last month and agreed to break the months long impasse over the dam.

2 2 HOME Doha Document Helps Stability in Sudan, Says Darfur Leader Cabinet Ratifies Dealing in Hard Currency Draft Bill Sudanese Transparency Expects Country to Achieve Progress in Annual Report By: Khalda Elyas Khartoum - The Sudanese Transparency Organization (STO) expects that the Sudan would be classified among states that have made progress in the report of Transparency International Organization, which is due to be issued this month. STO Chairman Dr. Al-Tayeb Mukhtar affirmed importance of Sudan s participation in the 30th Summit of the African Union, whose agenda included Mumtaz: We Will Be Sponsors of Culture in States By: SUNA Kosti - Minister of Federal Government Chamber and representative of President of the Republic, Hamid Mumtaz has praised the White Nile State people support to the political leadership, stressing that the Ministry of Federal Government Chamber would be sponsor of culture in the States. This came while the Minister was addressing the National Cultural Night Thursday evening held in the honor of inauguration of Kosti National Theatre by President of the Republic Field Marshal Omer Al Bashir. The event was attended by Governor of White Nile State, Dr Aadul Hamid Musa Kasha, Minister of Culture, Al-Tayeb Hassan Bedawi, Minister of Human Resources Development, Dr Al-Sadiq Al-Hadi Al- Mahdi, State Minister at Ministry of Communications, Engineer Al-Sadiq Fadlallah, Speaker of the White Nile State s Assembly, Ismail Nawai, delegation from Afro- Arab Digital Media Union and a number of executive and legislative officials. Mumtaz said the country has entered a new era of cultural development basing on Arab and African heritages. He said Sudan has long suffered from wars and conflicts and launching of Kosti Theatre was beginning of singing for peace, stability and production. The State Minister stated that the projects inaugurated by the President of the Republic stand as evidence of resolve and strong will of people of White Nile State and that the White Nile State is the leading state in By: Zuleikha Abdul Raziq Khartoum - The Council of Ministers in a meeting chaired by First Vice President and Federal Prime Minister, Lt Gen Bakri Hassan Salih, on Thursday ratified the draft bill on organizing hard currency dealings for the year 2018, as presented by the State Minister at the Ministry of Justice, Tahani Tour Al- Daba.Acting spokesman for the Council Osman Hussain has pointed out in press statement that the bill comes within the context of reinvigoration of the economic measures taken to combat smuggling and to protect the banking system against speculations that are harmful to the national economy, and against smuggling of gold and precious stones. He said the law also stipulates banning any dealing in Sudanese national currency outside the country, except to the extent allowed by the regulations and bans dealing in hard currency for parties other than those certified to deal in hard currency such as the banks and other institutions specified by the Central Bank, the Bank of the Sudan. He said it also commits exporters to return the value of the exports in the date specified by the Central Bank of Sudan. He added that the law also comprises clauses relative to the imports, exports and possession of gold, precious mineral and valuable stones The law, he stressed, incriminates smuggling of hard currency, attempting to smuggle hard currency as well as dealing with it or handling hard currency outside the banks or institutions or persons specified by the central bank to deal in hard currencies. The law sets the punishment of those violating its clauses to ten years in jail and to fine combating corruption, pointing that the summit represented a regional and continental move in the fight against corruption and recognition of risks posed by it for sustainable development and stability of the continent. Dr. Mukhtar indicated that the international organization is expected to cite the progress realized in Sudan according to the national integrity report as a result of the political developments that occurred in the country pertinent o transparency and combating corruption. The STO Chairman cited some of the national developments that have been achieved as regards combating of corruption, including the independence of the General Prosecution (2017), participation of Sudan in regional and international forums on combatting of corruption besides implementation of the recommendations of the National Dialogue, affirming that all this may lead to improvement of Sudan s position in the areas of culture and knowledge. On his part, the Governor of White State, Dr Kasha, pledged continuation of development of provision of services and that projects being inaugurated was implemented through collective work and with participation of all state institutions and the community sectors.minister of Culture, Al- Tayeb Hassab Badawi said culture would remain message of unity stability and production and promised completion cultural projects in the White Nile State, referring to numerous cultural projects launched by or to both punishments, and that the laws upon condemnation, allows for confiscation of the capitals involved, the vehicle and all means used to keep or commit the crimes. It also, he said, allows the court of law to confiscate the real estate in which the crime has been committed. annual Transparency International s report. Dr. Mukhtar referred to the actions taken by the Sudan against Sudanese citizens accused in a money laundering case in the United Arab Emirates, indicating that the United Nations Convention against Corruption, which is ratified by Sudan, obliges states to work out procedures in accordance with the basic principles and their internal laws to prevent corruption in the private sector. President of the Republic during his visit to the State. Minister of Culture, Informational and Tourism of White Nile State, Hamid Omer said inauguration of Kosti National Theatre would substance to role of cultural sector, saying culture and art are factors that boost national unity. He said the Kosti National Theatre was set up at cost of SDG 25M with capacity of five thousands onlookers and consists of electronic library, administrative offices, changing room, a mosque, parking and garden. Doha Document Helps Stability in Sudan, Says Darfur Leader QNA Khartoum: The head of Liberation and Justice Movement in Sudan, Dr. Al-Tijani Al- Sisi, said that the Doha Peace Document for Darfur served the internal stability of the country through its successful model of peace in Darfur, which reflected positively on the country. This came during a statement yesterday, broadcast by the Sudanese radio channel after meeting with Sudanese Assistant to the President, Dr. Faisal Hassan Ibrahim. Al-Tijani Al- Faisal Meets Al-Sissi By: SUNA Khartoum - The National Congress and the Justice and Liberation Parties have affirmed the necessity for the continuation of partnership between them with regard to the issues of mutual concern. This came when the Assistant of the President of the Republic and the NC PCP Approves Contents of President Statement before Legislature By: Najat Ahmed Khartoum-The Popular Congress Party (PCP) in a meeting held on Thursday approved the contents of the statement delivered by the President of the Republic before the National Legislature last Monday. In a meeting at its head office in Khartoum, chaired by the party Secretary General Dr Ali Al-Haj, the members of the party in the legislature appreciated the contents of the Two Billion Pounds for Supporting Voluntary Return in C. Darfur By: SMC Zalingei-The Government of Central Darfur State has allocated a sum of two billion pounds for provision of requirements of the villages of voluntary return during the first phase as it has disclosed Sisi, former Chairman of the Darfur Regional Authority, said that the meeting dealt with the overall peace process in Darfur and the national files related to dialogue, political stability, constitutional process and the establishment of dialogue commissions. Deputy Chairman for Party Affairs, Dr. Faisal Hassan Ibrahim met, Thursday, at the Republican Palace, Dr. Al-Tijani Al-Sisi, the Chairman of the Justice and Liberation Party and reviewed with him the implementation of the outcome of the National Dialogue, specially, the constitution and the establishment of the commissions. presidential statements and the parts dealing with the economic crisis, the fight against corruption, and the issues related to ending the war and achieving peace The meeting underlined the need to hold to the outcome of the National Dialogue The meeting decided to delegate Dr Suhair Mohamed Salah, member of the legislature as the spokesperson for the PCP member of parliament. setting up of a higher committee for following up implementation of the project. Minister of Physical Development in the state Mudathir Adam said in a statement to SMC that work has started in planning of the return villages besides provision of their requirements. He pointed out that the government of the state is exerting serious efforts to allocate more funds for supporting the voluntary return of the IDPs and refugees to their villages. Hassabo State Concern over Removal of Investment Obstacles Gomel State University to Cooperate with Universities of Sudan BelTA Gomel Francysk Skaryna State University will cooperate with universities of Sudan, BelTA learned from vice-rector for academic affairs Igor Semchenko. The main cooperation prospects were discussed during a visit of the delegation of the Gomel State University to Sudan. The talks were held in the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Sudan with the participation of the minister, deputy minister and more than 20 university rectors, and also in the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests. The parties discussed possible cooperation between the universities of Belarus and the institutions of Sudan, subordinate to the two ministries. The Belarusian delegation also visited the University of Khartoum and Sudan University of Science and Technology. The parties discussed cooperation in academic and scientific spheres, education of Sudanese citizens in the Gomel State University, joint scientific research, joint publications. The parties signed a memorandum of understanding to establish cooperation with six universities in Sudan: University of Science and Technology, the Alzaiem Alazhari University, the University of Gezira, Blue Nile University, and the University of Western Kordofan. A preliminary agreement was reached with these higher educational institutions on the exchange of students and academic staff, joint research and mutual consultations, participation in seminars and academic meetings, implementation of special short-term educational programs and projects, double degree programs, said Igor Semchenko. By: SUNA Khartoum - The Vice-President of the Republic, Hassabo Mohammed Abdul Rahman has affirmed the state s concern over removal of all obstacles impeding the investment in the country. Hassabo who met, Thursday, a delegation representing Kholouj Investment Company in the presence of the State Minister of Animal Wealth, Jalal Edeen Rabeh, was briefed on the projects presented by the company in the fields of development of animal wealth exports. The Company Director said his company works for the development of the rural communities through the modernization of the production tools according to the local community needs.

3 3 HOME Zero Thirst: For the Sake of Sudan and Sustainable Development Report by Najat Ahmed International reports confirm that the scarcity of resources and climate change is the most important crisis faced by various countries of the world. The rapid increase in the population of the world leads to the decline of arable land, and according to that, citizens must rationalize water use and preserve the environment for sustainable development. Dams Implementation Unit implemented, during the period from 2010 until now several programs in the field of water harvesting in North Kordofan State and then in all the states of Sudan, in addition to the implementation of the President s program for water harvesting in the administrative of Abyei, and the unit has recently started on the implementation of Zero thirst plan under the umbrella of the Ministry of Water Resources, Irrigation and electricity, which aims to reach integrated solutions to the problems of drinking water in the countryside and cities. The said unit affirmed that the Presidency relies on the project of Zero Thirst to solve the problem thirst in some parts of Sudan, where the projects aims to provide water sources through digging of wells, establishment of dams, and water harvesting. Aims of Water Harvesting Projects Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Moataz Mousa said that Sudan reviewed its strategic plan until 2031, where 50% of it was implemented through establishment of dams, and other projects of water harvesting at a cost of $ 7 billion. Government Commitment The government of Sudan affirmed the importance of water in sustainable development and in elimination poverty and hunger, insuring on connection between water, energy, food security and nutrition. Water experts see that Zero Thirst project put Sudan in the right direction to benefit from water resources. Engineer Mustafa Ahmed Abdul Rahim, Water Harvesting General Directorate of Dams Implementation Unit, said that said that the implantation of Zero Thirst at Sennar State goes according to the plan, indicating that the year of 2016 witnessed digging of 4 wells, while 2017 witnessed digging of 14 solar powered wells and that the work is currently going on to implement a number of projects during this year incompletion of water projects that implemented by the said unit, saying that the selection of projects is based on proposals submitted by the state after matching them with Water Atlas. Consultant of the program of water harvesting in Sennar State, Ahmed Mohamed said that the excavation works carried out by the National Drilling and Investment Company, as well as the manufacture of water equipment and installation of tanks. UN Efforts The General Assembly of the United Nations announced the launch of the International Decade for Action for Water between 2018 and 2028, with the aim of accelerating efforts to address the water challenges. The Decade coincided with World Water Day on 22 March 2018 and ends on March 22, 2028 The Decade focuses on sustainable development and integrated water resource management for the achievement of social, economic and environmental objectives and on the implementation and promotion of relevant programs and projects, as well as on strengthening cooperation and partnership at all levels to help achieve the internationally agreed water-related goals and targets, including goals of Sustainable Development Plan of The Decade highlights the importance of enhancing water use efficiency at all levels, taking into account the interdependence of water, food, energy and environment, and stresses the importance of full participation of all relevant stakeholders, including women, children, youth, elderly, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and local communities Targeted States Dams Implementation Unit confirmed that all projects are ready in terms of water supply. However, some states should maintain their projects by following up, maintaining and providing lines and installing water networks in areas of need. Water gap Dams Implementation Unit implemented a number of projects relat- ed to the harvesting of water, wells and (Haffers) in a number of localities and villages in North Kordofan State. Eng. Siddiq Al Nour, Director of the General Directorate of Water Harvesting, said that the work of water harvesting projects started in 2009 with (Hafeers) program in a number of localities. He stressed that the said unit exerted great efforts in providing water in the countryside, which had a great effect in reducing the water gap there through solar technology. Full Coordination Director of Water Harvesting in North Kordofan, Hassabo Fadlallah pointed to the coordination between the Water Harvesting Unit and the Ministry of Water in the state, pointing out that the Dams Implementation Unit has played its full role in providing water resources in areas that have been defied by the state, but the main problem in North Kordofan remains the management of water projects after its receiving from unit. The Unit s Approach in Implementing Water Harvesting Projects The unit determines the quota of each state of (Haffeers) and dams according to the approved plan and the budget available for each year, while the states specify the water harvesting projects to be implemented for the livestock or animal. The unit provides the funding and supervising the implementation. The state delivers the sites free of barriers and securing during the period of study and implementation. The unit implements the projects by contracting with consultants and contractors to carry out surveys, studies, designs, implementation and supervision works. The unit handed the projects to the state under a protocol that includes handing of installations, final drawings, operation methods and maintenance by training a competent staff of the relevant state Achievements 741 projects were implemented in the period from 2010 to 2016 distributed in all the states of the Sudan and include dams, (Hafeers) and wells, where million cubic meters of rain water was harvested in addition to a number of other water services projects Hafeers: A total of 448 ones were implemented with a total capacity of million cubic meters Dams: 28 dams (17 new and 11 as rehabilitation) were implemented with a total capacity of million meter Wells: 277 wells were implemented Remarkable Progress Dams Implementation Unit revealed the progress of the plan of the water harvesting program to Zero Thirst through the efforts of the program enforcement officials, where the engineer Ammar Ali affirmed digging of 200 wells under the plan implemented for the year 2017, in addition to the completion of the installation of 195 stations, while the work is in advanced stages in the installation of 25 stations and implementation of 11 wells, while the geophysical studies completed for 240 wells, pointing out to the rehabilitation of five dams by 100% and the implementation of 28 (Hafeers) in a number of states, stressing the need to establish workshops and seminars on how to manage facilities of harvesting and preserving water along with awareness on the importance of projects in all states. Eastern Sudan The Red Sea State confirmed the active contribution of water harvesting projects in supporting the water situation in the state, especially at the level of localities and rural areas. Eng. Ibrahim Hassan, General Authority for Water, said that the state was handed the water line extending from Hindub Dam to the city of Sawakin, length of 14 km, besides water line extending from Mouj Dam to the city of Port Sudan to feed the southern regions of the state, saying that the projects implemented by the Dams Implementation Unit included dams and (Hafeers) with large capacities that exceeded the storage rates of 27 million cubic meters, pointing out that the city of Port Sudan needs water exceeded 200 thousand cubic meters / day. For his part, Eng. Salahuddin Al-Awad, resident engineer for water harvesting projects, revealed the delivery of Wadi Arous Dam site, which works to store 8 million cubic meters of water, adding that the dam will provide water to the city of Port Sudan, besides 12 wells to be implemented during the year. It is worth mentioning that the Dams Implementation Unit (DIU) is continuing to implement the water harvesting program, which aims to provide drinking water in all the states of the country to reach Zero Thirst by the end of UNDP Turning Darfur Unemployed Youth into Entrepreneurs through YOVORED Project Imminent Visit of British Council of Lords Delegation to Sudan Report by Neimat al Naiem A delegation from the British Council of Lords will visit Sudan on 9th April The delegation is expected to hold meetings with Sudanese top officials, civil society organizations concerned on the religious freedoms. The delegate of 5-7 members will hold meeting with the Parliament, security officials to discuss terrorism issue; in addition to that the delegate will visit human rights commission. They will also visit Christian leaders to discuss religious freedoms, before their visit to Kadugli in South Kordofan. This is considered the third visit of the British Lords Council to Sudan, during the last few years. Since the lifting of US sanctions last October 2017, Western delegates of top officials, and international organizations from US and European countries visited Sudan held meetings with Sudanese top officials, the Parliament. Three months following the lifting sanctions witnessed a visit a huge number of American businessmen and investors to discover and explore investment opportunities in Sudan. All these visits and the expected ones from the world show that Sudan has strategic importance in the Afro-Arab region and the whole world. Stability, peace, security and safety are the most important requires to Sudan to receive such distinctive delegates. Sudan exerted great efforts in combatting terrorism as international issue, illegal migration, borders, refugees, smuggling, and human trafficking. Positive reports are issued from international concerned organizations saying that Sudan is exerted positive efforts in combatting terrorism. Sudan is still in the list of states sponsoring terrorism, despites all these efforts. These delegates who visited are considered the eyewitness for the real stability, safe and secured situations in Sudan. Most of them described Sudan as a safest place in the world. Sudan hosted last week the SIMFE Sudan international mining forum and business Exhibition SIMFE in the period from 26th- 28th March 2018, with a participation of international mining companies, geologists and experts. Most of the participants expressed great pleasure and amazing with the security, safe and stability in Sudan. They committed to invite others to come, saying that the situation is extremely stabled and attractive to visit Sudan, particularly after the lifting of the US sanctions last October 2017, pointing to the Potentials of Sudan in different fields. The expected visit of the delegate of the British House of Lords which was declared last March, will push forward and develop Sudan bilateral and external rela- Report from UN Development Programme In partnership with the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Sudan, under its Youth Empowerment flagship project - The Youth Volunteers Supporting Peace and Recovery in Darfur- (YoVoReD) launched the Start and Manage Your Own Business (SMYOB) challenge in February 2018 in all the five Darfur states. The competition was open to all youth in Darfur who were invited to submit business proposals for funding. The business incubation challenge consists of two stages, conducted separately in each of the five Darfur state. Out of 3,392 applications received in the first stage, 150 individual and group projects involving 190 youth were pre-selected. The selection panels consisting of UNDP, government and NGO representatives and business experts from the banking sector, assessed proposals based on established criteria including level of innovation, quality of market analysis, budget as well as its contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Through the SMYOB challenge, 3,392 young people in Darfur had an opportunity to learn more about the SDGs. In the second stage, the 150 best selected projects presented their business propositions with an emphasis on business feasibility, economic viability, innovation and contributions to the SDGs. Presentations were adjudged and ranked by a panel of business experts drawn from the Sate Ministries, NGOs and the banking sector who also provided technical advice to the youth. The finalists were awarded prizes in the form of business incubation grants to start small businesses. The value of the prizes depended on the rank of the projects. The best prize in West Darfur was won by a food processing (confectionery) project developed by Nagat Ishag. Nagat expressed her joy: The second stage workshop was very useful. I learned a lot from the panel s advice and presentations of the other winners. Now I know where I should improve in my project and I also learned new techniques. I will work harder so that my project will be successful. The other four top projects include the following: * North Darfur: Portable solar panel charger production project * South Darfur: Local herbal medicine production project * East Darfur: Women s training centre management project * Central Darfur: Poultry Farm Project One of the members in the selection panel, Mohamed Doka, Director of Savings and Social Development Bank in North Darfur encouraged stakeholders to promote youth entrepreneurship in Darfur. He said, Promoting youth entrepreneurship is one of solutions to youth unemployment in Darfur. Our bank is ready to support youth entrepreneurs by providing necessary training and advice in addition to funding according to the bank regulations. Mr. Doka also promised that the Savings and Social Development Bank will give additional business management training to the SMYOB winners in North Darfur. The workshops were organized in all the five Darfur states, with the support of State Ministries of Youth & Sports, Finance and Social Affairs, the Peace centres, MFIs and banks, El Fasher Tech (a private sector entity) and NGOs (VNWRHD, ERRADA, NIDO, CDCI, BORD, TDO and MDO). Through SMYOB, UNDP aims to improve entrepreneurial capacity of Darfuri youth by supporting their creative and bankable ideas through design thinking and innovation in order to create employment for themselves whilst providing needful services for the peace and recovery of their communities. YoVoReD Phase III is funded by Japan.

4 4 ART&CULTURE Enlightenment on the Taurat (Torah) Wahba Mahmoud Diyab (When men spread themselves over the earth, and became many nations, speaking diverse languages, and observing diverse customs and laws, the evils became multiplied, and one race or nations became alienated from another. The brotherhood of Man was now doubly forgotten; first between individuals, and secondly between nations; arrogance, selfishness, and untruth were sown and reaped in large fields: and Peace, Faith, Love and Justice were obscured over masses of men, as large tracts of land are starved of sunshine by clouds floating far on high.) Verily, It was We who did send down the Taurat (Torah)/who revealed the Law (to Moses) therein was guidance and light, by its standard the Jews have been judged by the Prophets who submitted themselves/bowed (as in Islam) to God s Will, by the Rabbis and the priests/ doctors of Law {also judged for the Jews by the Taurat/ Torah after those Prophets), for to them was entrusted the protection of God s Book, and they were witnesses thereto. Therefore fear not men, but fear Me, and sell not My Signs/ Verses for miserable price. And whosoever does not judge by (the light) of what God has revealed, they are the infidels/unbelievers/disbelievers. ن ا ا ن زل نا ال ت ور ا ة في ها ه دى و نور ي ح ك م ب ها ال ن ب يو ن ا والا ح بار بم ا ال ذي ن ا س ل موا ل ل ذي ن ها دوا وال رب ا ن يو ن ا س ت ح ف ظوا م ن ك تا ب االله و كا نوا ع ل ي ه ش ه دا ء ف لا ت خ ش وا ال نا س وا خ ش و ن و لا ت ش ت روا با ي ا تي ث م نا ق لي لا و م ن ل م ي ح ك م بم ا ا ن ز ل االله فا و ل ي ك ه م ال كا ف رو ن (٤٤) (Surat Al-Maida 5 verse 44) The Taurat is frequently referred to in the Qur an. It was well to have clear ideas as to what is exactly means. Vaguely we may say that it was the Jewish Scripture. It is mentioned with honor as has been in its purity- a true revelation from God. To translate it by the words THE OLD TESTAMENT is obviously wrong. The Old Testament is a Christian term, applied to a body of old Jewish records. The Protestants and the Roman Catholics are not agreeing precisely as to the number of records to be included in the canon of the Old Testament. They use the term in contradiction to the NEW TESTAMENT, whose composition will be discussed in separate article. Nor it is correct to translate Taurat as the Pentateuch, which is a Greek term meaning the (Five Books). These are the first five books of the Old Testament known as: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. They contain a semihistorical and legendary narrative of the history of the world from the Creation to the time of the arrival of the Jews in the Promised Land. There are in them some beautiful idylls, but there are also stories of incest, fraud, cruelty, and treachery, not always disapproved. A great part of the Mosaic Law is embodied in this narrative. The Books are traditionally ascribed to Moses, but it is certain that they were no written by Moses or in an age either contemporary with Moses or within an appreciable distance of time from Moses. They were in their present form probably compiled some time after the return of the Jews from the Babylonian Captivity. The decree of Cyrus permitting such return was in 536 B.C. Some books now included in the Old Testament, such as Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi were admittedly written after the return from the captivity, Malachi being as late as B.C. The compilers of the Pentateuch of course used some ancient material; some of the material is actually named. Egyptian and Chaldean terms are relics of local and contemporary documents. But there are some ludicrous slips, which show that the compilers did not always understand their material. Modern criticism distinguishes two distinct sources among the documents of different dates used by the editors. For the sake of brevity and convenience they may be called (a) Jehovistic, and (b) Elohistic. Then there are later miscellaneous interpretations. They sometimes overlap and sometimes contradict each other. Logically speaking, the Book of Joshua, which describes the entry into the Promised Land, should be bracketed with the Pentateuch, and many writers speak of the six books together as the Hexateuch (Greek term for Six Books). The Apocrypha contain certain Books which are not admitted as Canonical in the English Bible. But the early Christians received them as part of the Jewish Scriptures, and the Council of Trent (A.D ) seems to have recognized the greater part of them as Canonical. The statement in 2 Esdras (about the first century A.D.) that the law was burnt and Ezra (say, about B.C.) was inspired to write it, is probably true as to the historical fact that the law was lost, and that what we have now is no earlier than the time of Ezra, and some of it a good deal later. So far we have spoken of the Christian view of the Old Testament. What is the Jewish view? The Jews divide their Scripture into three parts: (1) the Law (Torah), (2) the Prophets (Nebiim), and (3) the Writing (Kethubim). The corresponding Arabic words would be: (1) Taurat, (2) Nabiyin, and (3) Kutub. This division was probably current in the time of Jesus. In Luke xxiv. 44 Jesus refers to the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms. In other places (e.g. Matt. Vii. 12) Jesus refers to the law and the Prophets as summing up the whole Scripture. In the Old Testament Book, Chronicles ll. xxxiv. 30, the reference to the Book of the Covenant must be to the Torah or the original Law. This is interesting, as the Qur an frequently refers to the Covenant with reference to the Jews. The modern Christian terms Old Testament and New Testament are substitutes for older terms Old Covenant and New Covenant. The Samaritans, who claim to be the real Children of Israel and disavow the Jews as schismatic from their Law of Moses, only recognize the Pentateuch, of which they have their own version slightly different from that in the Old Testament. The view of the school of Higher Criticism is radically destructive. According to Renan it is doubtful whether Moses was not a myth. Two versions of Sacred History existed, different language, style, and spirit, and they were combined together into narrative in the reign Hezekiah ( B.C.). this forms the greater part of the Pentateuch as it exists to-day, excluding the greater part of Deuteronomy and Leviticus. In the reign of Josiah about 622 B.C.- certain priests and scribes (with Jeremiah the prophet) promulgated a new code, pretending that they had found it in the Temple (Kings ll. Xxii. 8). This Law (Torah=Taurat) was the basis of Judaism, the new religion then founded in Palestine. This was further completed by the sacerdotal and Levitical/ Leviticus Torah, compiled under the inspiration of Ezekiel, say about 575 B.C., and contained mainly in the Book of Leviticus, with scattered fragments in Exodus, Numbers, and Joshua. We are entitled to accept the general results of a scientific examination of documents, probabilities, and dates; even though we reject the premise which we believe to be false, i.e. that God does not send inspired Books through inspired Prophets. We believe that Moses existed; that he was an inspired man of God; that he gave a message which was afterwards distorted or lost; that attempts were made by Israel at various times to reconstruct that message; and that the Taurat as we have it is [in view of the statement in (2) Esdras) no earlier than the middle of the fifth century B.C. The primitive Torah must have been in old Hebrew, but there is no Hebrew manuscript of the Old Testament which can be dated with certainty earlier than 916 A.D. Hebrew ceased to be a spoken language with the Jews during or after the Captivity, and by the time we come to the period of Jesus, most cultivated Hebrew used Greek language, and others used Aramaic (including Syriac and Chaldea), Latin, or local dialects. There were also Arabic versions. For historical purposes the most important versions were the Greek version known as the Septuagint- and the Latin version, known as the Vulgate. The Septuagint was supposed to have been prepared by 70 or 72 Jews (Latin, Septuagint= seventy) working independently and at different times, the earliest portion dating from about 284 B.C. This version was used by the Jews of Alexandria and the Hellenized Jews who were spread over all parts of the Roman Empire. The Vulgate was a Latin translation made by the celebrated Father of the Christian Church, St. Jerome from Hebrew, early in the fifth century A.D., superseding the older Latin versions. Neither the Septuagint nor the Vulgate have an absolutely fixed or certain text. The present standard text of the Vulgate as accepted by the Roman Catholic Church was issued by Pope Clement Vlll ( A.D). It will be seen therefore that there is no standard text of the Old Testament in its Hebrew form. The versions differ from each other frequently in minor particulars, and sometimes in important particulars. The Pentateuch itself is only a small portion of the Old Testament. It is in narrative form, and includes the laws and regulations associated with the name of Moses, but probably compiled and edited from older sources by Ezra (or Esdras- Arabic, Uzair) in the 5th century B.C. As Renan remarks in the preface of his {History of the People of Israel} the definite constitution of Judaism may be dated only from the time of Ezra. The very early Christians were divided into two parties. One was a Judaizing (Judaism) party which wished to remain in adherence to the Jewish laws and customs while recognizing the mission of Jesus. The other led by Paulbroke away from Jewish customs and traditions. Ultimately Pauline Christianity won. But both parties recognized the Old Testament in its present form (in one or another of its varying versions) as Scripture. It was the merit of Islam that it pointed out that as scripture it was of no value although it recognized Moses as an inspired Apostle and his original Law as having validity in his period until it was superseded. In its criticism of the Jewish position it said in effect: You have lost your original Law; even what you have now as its substitute, you do not honestly follow; is it not better now that an inspired Teacher is living among you- that you should follow him rather than quibble over uncertain texts? But the Jews in the Apostle s time (and since) went a great deal by the Talmud, or a body of oral exposition, reduced to writing in different Schools of doctors and learned men. Talmud in Hebrew is connected with the Arabic root in Talmiz= disciple, or student. The Talmudists took the divergent texts of the Old Testament and in interpreting them by a mass of traditional commentary and legendary lore, evolved a standard body of teaching. The Talmudists are of special interest to us, as in the sixth century A.D.- just before the preaching of Islam, they evolved the Massorah, which may be regarded as the body of authoritative Jewish Hadith; to which references are to be found in passages addressed to the Jews in the Qur an. The first part of Talmud is called the (Mishna), a collection of traditions and decisions prepared by Rabbi Judah about 150 A.D. He summed up the results of a great mass of previous rabbinical writings. The Mishna is the second Law - the Arabic Thani-in= second. In Matt. Xxii. 4. it bound heavy burdens, grievous to be borne, and laid them on men s shoulders. There were also many Targums or paraphrases of the Law among Jews. Targum is connected in the root with the Arabic word Tarjama = he translated. There were many Targums, mostly in Aramaic, and they constituted the teaching of the Law to the masses of the Jewish people. The correct translation of the Taurat is therefore: The Law. In its original form it was promulgated by Moses, and is recognized in Islam as having been an inspired Book. But it was lost before Islam was preached. What passed as The Law with the Jews in the Apostle s time was the mass of traditional writing which I have tried to review in this article. Authorities: Encyclopedia Britannica; Bible : Helps to the study of the Bible, Oxford University Press; A.F. Kirkpatrick, Divine Library of the Old Testament; C.E. Hammond, Outline of Textual Criticism; E. Renan, History of Israel; G.F. Moore, Literature of the Old Testament, and the bibliography therein (Home University Library; Sir Frederic Kenyon, The story of the Bible.

5 SPONSORED PAGE 5 CURRENT Pro-poor or Anti-poor? The World Bank and IMF s Approach to Social Protection By Stephen Kidd - Development Pathways Summary In recent years, the World Bank and IMF have played an influential role in shaping national social protection policies. Social protection comprises a significant share of World Bank loans, reaching almost 10 per cent of lending to low-income countries in 2017, while around 10 per cent of IMF loans include conditionality linked to social protection. While the institutions collaborate closely on social protection, there are serious shortcomings of the approach of both institutions to the issue. While it is generally accepted that social protection is a core public service, the design of national systems is highly contested. There are two broad camps in the debate: one regards social protection as a universal human right, arguing for inclusive schemes that offer high or universal coverage; the other promotes targeting social protection at the poor, often combined with sanctions or work obligations. The IMF and World Bank fall into the second camp. The two approaches result in very different types of social protection systems. The inclusive approach builds systems focused on relatively high-cost lifecycle schemes, in particular old age pensions and disability and child benefits. Universal pensions are the most common schemes in developing countries, often with budgets above 1 per cent of GDP, reaching 4.3 per cent of GDP in Georgia. While there are fewer inclusive disability and child benefits, their costs can also be relatively high: for example, Mongolia s universal child benefit cost 1.4 per cent of GDP in Although the World Bank and IMF argue that their approach to social protection is pro-poor and progressive, in reality, the opposite is the case. The World Bank and IMF s approach to social protection results in much lower cost programmes, often targeted at poor households rather than individuals. Countries rarely spend more than 0.4 per cent of GDP on these types of poverty reduction schemes. Low levels of investment in social protection align well with a neoliberal vision of low taxes and a small state and are consistent with the current austerity agenda found in some high-income countries. For example, the World Bank has argued that, Lesotho cannot afford to waste money [on its universal pension] by providing transfers to people who do not need them, while, in Kyrgyzstan, it proposed poverty targeting to achieve fiscal savings and greater cost-efficiency. In a paper that was not published, World Bank staff admitted that, The historical evidence suggests that the forces pushing for better targeting are more regularly motivated by cutting entitlement bills and ensuring financial sustainability than by helping the poor. The favoured programmes of the World Bank and IMF are conditional cash transfers (CCT), which make poor families fulfil behavioural conditions such as sending children to school to receive the benefit or else face sanctions. For example, a global 2016 World Bank report, Poverty and Shared Prosperity, promoted CCTs as one of six key policy areas for tackling inequality. Alternatively, they advocate workfare schemes often rebranded as Productive Safety Nets which give poor households transfers as long as they engage in public works. The World Bank and IMF s approach to social protection is similar to the model used by high-income countries in the 19th century when poor relief was dominant and schemes for the so-called undeserving poor were conditional on workfare. The World Bank and IMF appear convinced by the targeting approach, arguing that it offers the greatest benefits to those living in poverty. Yet, when tested against the evidence, it does not stand up to scrutiny. Key failings include: poverty targeting excludes the majority of people living in poverty from social protection; there is no robust evidence that sanctions and workfare are effective; and, poverty targeting results in lower transfers to the poor and, therefore, lower social and economic impacts. In reality, poverty targeting undermines international commitments to fulfil the Sustainable Development Goals. The Evidence on the Efficacy of Poverty Targeting At the heart of the World Bank and IMF s approach is the belief that poverty targeting can be undertaken successfully. They promote a targeting mechanism called the proxy means test (PMT) which employs a survey of household assets to estimate incomes frequently claiming that it is effective. In reality, PMTs are highly inaccurate, commonly excluding over half of the intended beneficiaries, with many performing much worse. For example, the World Bank found exclusion errors of 93 per cent in Indonesia s Program Keluarga Harapan (PKH) CCT scheme while, in rural Tanzania, the PMT is little better than random selection. In Pakistan, despite the World Bank and IMF claiming that the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) is well-targeted, Figure 1 shows this is not the case, with the vast majority of intended beneficiaries excluded. World Bank messaging on targeting can confuse policymakers. Often, in its policy advice it undertakes simulations of targeting that incorporate an assumption of perfect targeting, thereby exaggerating its effectiveness. The World Bank s flagship 2015 State of the World s Safety Nets publication argued that CCTs were better targeted than social pensions, despite the high exclusion of CCTs, and the limited exclusion of most universal social pensions. In Mongolia, the World Bank claimed that the universal child benefit was not well-targeted and not effective in protecting the poor, despite the scheme reaching virtually all children living in poverty. The World Bank frequently promotes Brazil s targeted Bolsa Familia CCT programme as a model for other countries, yet it has targeting errors of around 50 per cent and its impact on inequality is 20 times less than that of Brazil s inclusive pension system. The World Bank and IMF often place indicators in loan agreements sometimes linked to disbursement to demand greater poverty targeting. Recent World Bank loans to Bangladesh and Pakistan have stated that the proportion of all beneficiaries in the poorest two quintiles must increase to 80 per cent; and, in Mongolia, the IMF included a structural benchmark on targeting the universal child benefit to the poorest 60 per cent of children. The end result for countries following this advice is that, due to low budgets, limited coverage and high exclusion errors, the majority of those living in poverty are usually excluded from social protection. In contrast, inclusive schemes have high coverage and minimal targeting errors and are effective in reaching those living in poverty. So, for example, the best performing poverty-targeted programme in developing countries the Pantawid scheme in the Philippines excludes nearly half its intended beneficiaries while most universal old age pensions reach almost all older persons living in poverty. The Evidence on Sanctions and Workfare There is no robust evidence that the use of sanctions in CCTs is effective: experiments supported by the World Bank indicate that improvements in educational attendance in CCTs are the result of the additional cash received by families which enables them to send their children to school rather than the fear of being sanctioned. Sanctions also tend to exclude the most vulnerable children including those with disabilities since they find it most difficult to comply with the conditions. Despite this evidence, the World Bank continues to promote sanctions. In Indonesia, it will only disburse $10 million of a recent loan when 50 per cent of beneficiary households on the PKH programme have their compliance with conditions registered and, therefore, can be sanctioned while a further $500,000 will be given for each additional 1 per cent increase in compliance registration. There are indications that workfare schemes can make families poorer: for example, the highly-promoted Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) in Ethiopia partially financed by the World Bank has reduced per capita household consumption by $1.83 per month. Nonetheless, the World Bank has persuaded a number of countries such as Bangladesh, Tanzania and Uganda to take out large loans for similar schemes. Poverty Targeting Results in Less for the Poor As myself and others noted in an October 2017 paper, the promotion of poverty targeted programmes is self-defeating, since governments are reluctant to invest in them, due to their unpopularity with the majority of the population who are excluded. As a result, there is limited political or electoral reward for politicians promoting them. Consequently, not only are the budgets of poverty targeted programmes small, so are their transfer values, thereby diminishing their already limited effectiveness. In the Philippines, the low value of the Pantawid CCT programme s transfers has generated increased child labour, as families need higher incomes to cover school costs and avoid being sanctioned. In contrast, inclusive lifecycle schemes are popular since they can be accessed by the majority of the population. Politicians promoting inclusive schemes often win elections. This explains why inclusive programmes usually have higher budgets and transfer values than poverty targeted prostaff find this difficult to comprehend: when defending poverty targeting, a lead social protection specialist claimed that: There is no evidence that countries with universal programs have more sustainable and larger social assistance budgets. World Bank and IMF Threats to Universal Social Protection Schemes The World Bank and IMF not only advocate poverty targeting, they also criticise and threaten inclusive schemes that governments have established with their own funds. In recent years, the World Bank has recommended targeting a range of universal old age pension schemes, including in Nepal, Thailand, Lesotho, Mauritius and Namibia. In Kyrgyzstan, in January, the IMF supported by the World Bank persuaded the government to modify a law introducing universal child benefits so that they were targeted. In Iran, the IMF persuaded the government to introduce targeting into its main universal transfer, contributing to the protests in December In Mozambique, following the government s decision in 2016 to introduce universal benefits for older people and children, the World Bank and IMF lobbied against their implementation. Mongolia was threatened by the IMF and World Bank with the withholding of loans unless it targeted its popular universal child benefit, with the government eventually acquiescing in January Signs of change or a false dawn? In recent years, hopes have been raised that the World Bank and IMF are changing their approach. In 2016, the World Bank launched a global partnership with the International Labour Organization on universal social protection. Yet, a close examination of the launch indicates that the World Bank had no intention of embracing universal social protection, with World Bank President Jim Yong Kim stating that one of the most effective approaches for achieving universal social protection has been the increase of targeted safety nets, such as conditional cash transfers. The World Bank s subsequent behaviour in its engagement with countries with its continuing promotion of poverty-targeted programmes confirms this conclusion. A recent study by the IMF s Independent Evaluation Office has questioned the rationale of the IMF s commitment to poverty targeting, while a coalition of civil society organisations wrote to the IMF in December asking for a change in approach. In response, the IMF Board stated that it will take steps, to find an effective approach to program design and conditionality to mitigate the adverse impacts of program measures on the most vulnerable, and develop a new institutional view on social protection by February Conclusion Although the World Bank and IMF argue that their approach to social protection is pro-poor and progressive, in reality, the opposite is the case. Not only are the majority of those living in poverty likely to be excluded as a result of their policy advice, there is a danger that both institutions may, ultimately, undermine democracy while weakening economic growth and national social cohesion, a dangerous tactic in an increasingly uncertain world. Inclusive, lifecycle social protection systems are significantly more effective than poverty targeted systems in reaching those living in poverty while having much greater positive social, economic and political impacts. Nonetheless, despite the evidence on the inefficacy of poverty targeting and the indications of some signs of change in the public positions taken by the World Bank and IMF, there is clearly a long way to go before they reverse their commitment to poor relief and sanctions. A good start would be a decision to reverse the damage they have recently caused in Mongolia and Kyr-

6 6OPINION Editorial Thinking Out of the Box The opposition Sudanese Communist Party has disclosed a rare meeting that brought together a number of its leaderships with Director General of National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) 1st Lt. Gen. Salah Abdallah Gosh on Tuesday at NISS buildings in Khartoum at special invitation. A statement issued by the Political Bureau of the party said that NISS Director pointed out that the new stance of NISS is releasing of all detainees and that they are in a new era and would work to enable all to participate in solving the issues of the homeland. According to the statement, the Director General of NISS reiterated what is declared of combating corruption and the subversive activities in the economy and called for dialogue, and that he is personally against detentions. It is apparent that NISS Chief is serious in going ahead with his plan which he announced after he sworn-in in thinking out of the box. It goes without saying that the Sudanese Communist Party (SCP) is one of the inveterate political parties in the country which did not reconcile with any of the successive government in Sudan besides its rejection to join the national dialogue launched by the government. By absenting itself from the national dialogue the SCP missed the opportunity to engage in resolving the Sudanese outstanding issue while other political forces participated and were part of the national document. Back to the NISS Chief meeting with the SCP leaders, we all recall that Gosh is the first Sudanese official who initiated the dialogue with the political forces when he was the head of the security consultancy at the Presidency as he started the process before he was relieved. However, the next stage requires exceptions and waiver for the sake of building the Sudanese strong nation. The opposition should come round the negotiations table considering that the armed resistance did not pay off for almost three decades. It is the ballot boxes that give any political party the opportunity to rule according to its manifesto. Let us hope that our political forces learn from the lesson of thinking out of the box and start preparations for the upcoming election which is around the corner. Our Daily Call STOP WAR An Independent Daily General Manager Sahar Albushra albushras_sv_mg@yahoo.com Acting Editor-in-Chief: Muawad Mustafa Rashid khulud_10@yahoo.com Tel: Acting Managing Editor Alula Berhe Kidani alulakidani@yahoo.com Tel: Coordinator and Follow-up Al-Sammani Awadallah samani2500@yahoo.com Executive Secretary Lilly Lamunu delfinolilly@ yahoo.com News Editor Zuleikha Abdul Raziq zulikhahamza2012@gmail.com Art Director & Designers Jamal Osman Hamdan Hajir Al-Fahal Website Down-Loaders Abdulmonim Osman Ali Moaz Awad Mohamed sudanvisiondaily@gmail.com Address :Khartoum - Intersection of Ali Dinar Street and 21st October Street, East of Mac Nimir Street; between Sahafa and Mijhar Daily Newspapers Buildings. Tel: sudanvision@yahoo.co.uk Fax:(83) Published By Byader Media Distribution Co.Ltd. Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the writers and do not in any way represent the views of Sudan Vision. Moonlight Ahmed Hassan Omer (Hurga) hurga65@gmail.com Sudan s relations with People s Republic of China was described as an ancient friendship and comprehensive cooperation. The two countries have been working together particularly in last ten years, in the regional and international arenas for the benefits of the peoples of Sudan and China. Who he follows the political and economic cooperation between two States he will know that the Sudanese Chinese relations have witnessed rapid development in all the domains and can be easy described as deep-rooted friendship and comprehensive cooperation, the Sudanese Chinese relations would be strengthened further and move forward regardless of the international consequences and hardship because this relations based on solid cement and linked - Bloomberg View Asharq Al-Awsat By:James Stavridis When I served as Supreme Allied Commander at NATO from 2009 to 2013, I developed a friendly relationship with the head of the Russian armed forces, General Nikolai Makarov. He was a short, barrel-chested man with a congenial personal style, and given my own somewhat compact physique, I could at least tell my boss, Secretary of Defense Bob Gates, that I literally saw things eye to eye with my Russian counterpart. Our meetings occurred both in Moscow and several times in Brussels at NATO headquarters. I also had him over to my official residence in Mons, Belgium, where we had meaningful conversations. We argued about a variety of things from the Russian invasion of Georgia to an appropriate strategy in Afghanistan, but it was an open, sensible and pragmatic relationship. Probably the greatest disagreement we had involved the US desire to install a missile defense system in Europe -- intended not to oppose Russian strategic systems but to defend against Iranian ballistic missiles. We also developed a series of cooperative programs, from counter-piracy off the Horn of Africa to information-sharing on narcotics flowing from Afghanistan. Overall, that kind By:James Stavridis Towards the end of his life, Martin Luther King Jr. lamented that his dream had «turned into a nightmare.» The US civil rights leader was a weary man when he was cut down by an assassin s bullet at the age of 39 on the balcony of a motel in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, He was also a controversial man -- unlike the iconic figure celebrated today with a national holiday and an imposing granite memorial in Washington, said an Agence France Presse report on Sunday. «He s become frozen in time -- not as the man he was in 1968, but in the image of August 1963 when he gives the I Have a Dream speech,» said David Farber, a history professor at the University of Kansas. «It s easy for Americans to forget how polarizing a figure King actually was in the 1960s,» Farber said. «He d become a really radical figure in the United States -- an outspoken opponent of American foreign policy, demanding that justice extend not just to African-Americans but to all poor Americans.» A seminal moment came in April 1967, when King made a speech in New York opposing the war in Vietnam, where more than 11,000 US troops were to die that year. Sudan- China Relations Sweet Smelling with joint interests depend on exchanging respect in all fields. No doubt Sudan, as the biggest African countries, is of great importance to China and that the people of Sudan are respected by the people of China, adding that Sudan is an effective member in the international community but despite of these advantages it faces some of the challenges and conspiracies this constitutes impediments in front of communication process between Sudan and China, the last strategic forum held lately in Beijing capital of China between Sudanese National Congress Party and the Chinese Communist Party touched strategic issues concern them and encourage the two parties to work together to put a limit and specific plan to confront them, because China is original partner to Sudan especially in economic field which reflects the Chinese investments in Sudan. The people of Sudan have overcome many challenges and managed to achieve tangible achievements in all domains, all of the challenges were overcome by virtue of of military-to-military engagement is very helpful in defusing tension and avoiding unintended clashes. It matters at the tactical, operational and strategic levels. Given the subsequent invasion of Ukraine, annexation of Crimea, intrusion into US elections, and Russian support for the war criminal Bashar al-assad in Syria, those sorts of top-level relationships have been dormant for some time. I was therefore heartened by recent reports that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Joe Dunford, and the current Supreme Allied Commander, Army General Curtis Scaparrotti, are in serious discussions with the current head of the Russian armed forces, Valery Gerasimov. Phone conversations are occurring with some regularity, and most importantly, Scaparrotti and Gerasimov have tentatively scheduled a face-toface meeting in Europe. This is an important element if we are to avoid stumbling backward into a full-blown Cold War with Russia. What should be on the agenda when these two seasoned military leaders meet? Tactically, the two generals need to create an effective regime to avoid unintended confrontations between NATO and the Russians. In several instances over the past 12 months, NATO and Russian aircraft and ships have been on collision courses in the Baltic, Black and Mediterranean Seas. While the details would be classified, there have probably also been close and dangerous interactions under the ice in the Arctic. confidence between the people and government of Sudan, the Sudanese people aware by the challenges confronting Sudan so that they respond with their government which has taken a firm stance and refuses subordination, according to this solid stance China will be working with Sudan hand- in hand to solve all the problems and to remove all the challenges based the mutual respect and common understanding in order to maintain the stability and development of the Sudan. As we know that Sudan has supported China in its problems and challenges when Sudan recognized and revealed the supportive stances of the people and government of Sudan towards some Chinese issues such as Taiwan and Tibet. Sudan s stance comes in the context of the people and government of China adhere to the principle of one China as recognized by the United Nations and the World s States, the Sudan s supporting revealing the China appreciates its firm political stance from this issue and this shows that China s support is reciprocal A New Cold War Is Not Inevitable «King raised the ire of the entire civil rights movement and of government and much of the political structure when he came out against the Vietnam War,» said Henry Louis Taylor Jr., director of the Center for Urban Studies at the University of Buffalo. David Garrow, author of «Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference,» said opposition to the war was seen as «fringe» at the time, and anti-war sentiment was «not widely popular like it is, say, come 1972.» At the time of his murder by James Earl Ray, a white drifter with racist leanings, King had also been living for years under the constant surveillance of the FBI, which had dubbed him the «most dangerous» man in America. And his unwavering defense of nonviolence as the way to bring about change was facing a challenge from a younger, impatient generation of militant black youth. «The final 12 months of his life, King is so exhausted, so pessimistic about the future, so depressed,» Garrow said. «A dozen or more times in his final two years, he says The dream I had in Washington in 1963 has turned into a nightmare.» «One of the things we miss about King is how hard it was to do the The two leaders should see that their staffs confer on ways to reduce the potential for high-stakes accidents. This can include technical signals to use in operations, setting stand-off distances at air and sea, and tactical hotlines to keep each side informed of patrols. Operationally, the conversations should look at where forces are being assigned broadly. The Russians are extremely unhappy with increased NATO military presence on their borders. NATO, on the other hand, is justifiably critical of Russian troops in southeastern Ukraine. While neither side will immediately change deployments, a good starting point would be for each side to brief the other about current deployments and plans at a very broad, generic, unclassified level. Let the Russians explain what they are doing in Ukraine; and have the NATO commander defend the development and deployment of the new NATO Rapid Reaction Forces. There may be small compromises that could be suggested up the respective chains of command to reduce obvious areas of tension. In terms of operational exercises, more transparency and visibility would be good. There are existing mechanisms here, such as the Open Skies agreement, allowing some overflight and reconnaissance during another nation s military exercises. Additionally, the huge training programs run by both Russia and the US could allow on-the-ground observers in portions of the exercise as a confidence-building measure. Naval exercises in the Baltic and Black Seas work he s doing, the toll it takes,» said Jeanne Theoharis, a political science professor at CUNY s Brooklyn College. Fifty years after his death, the vision of racial equality that King outlined on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial remains elusive. Jason Sokol, a history professor at the University of New Hampshire, said there have been some advances for African-Americans over the years, culminating in the 2008 election of Barack Obama, American s first black president. But racial inequalities persist, «especially when you look at black poverty, the black incarceration rate and the issue of police brutality,» said Sokol. Taylor, the University of Buffalo professor, stressed that by the time of his death, King s ambitions had gone «beyond civil rights to embrace human rights.» «King s dream was anchored around imagining another possible world based on economic, social, political and racial justice -- things related to a good education, decent and affordable housing, good jobs with a living wage, quality and accessible health care,» he said. «So when we add flesh to King s dream, we realize that we haven t really made much progress over the for the interests of the people of the two countries. However, the volume of cooperation between Sudan and China reflects the depth of the close cooperation between two countries. Sudan does not depend on oil, it is an agricultural country because all agriculture s essential are provided and enables to produce good quality agricultural products such as cotton, sesame, sunflower and groundnuts which can be pave the way to China to join agriculture investment this no doubt would push forward the trade exchanging through the mentioned products which China can import them from Sudan. The Sudanese Chinese historic relations are continuing to the best according to joint interests which promote the confidence between them in all fields the strategic forum which held between Sudanese National Congress Party and Chinese Communist Party in Beijing lately is constituting an evidence indicating that the relations between two countries are witnessing development in all domains. could include a component with both sides working together practicing humanitarian operations or counternarcotics. Finally, at the strategic level, there is much to discuss. While these senior military officers are not in charge of their nations strategies, they can certainly illuminate them for each other. Scaparrotti should be prepared to discuss the Donald Trump administration s new National Security Strategy (largely drafted by the departing National Security Adviser H.R. Mc- Master). Gerasimov should be able to help the West understand why President Vladimir Putin is launching a series of new, dangerous weapons -- including a nuclear torpedo. In addition to working through challenges and tensions, the two generals should think together about possible areas of cooperation. Some to consider include counterterrorism, search-and-rescue in the Arctic, counter-piracy, and a return to cooperation in Afghanistan (where both nations have shared interests in reducing narcotics and stabilizing the region). Of course, none of this will immediately defuse all the tensions between NATO and Russia. There will be challenges aplenty in the relationship, including the most recent one -- an attack on British soil using an outlawed nerve agent. But by taking an approach that says we should confront where we must, but cooperate where we can, these two leaders can propose intelligent and realistic zones of collaboration in the current sea of confrontation. 50 Years Later, Martin Luther King Jr. s Dream Remains Elusive last 50 years in the realization of that dream,» he said. «While certainly there have been changes in the racial attitudes of individuals, the racism that is embedded in institutions and in structures in the United States has not changed much at all.» At the same time, King s legacy looms large in myriad ways. «King said in his Nobel Prize lecture in 1964 that the Freedom Movement was spreading the widest liberation in human history,» said Taylor Branch. King s legacy can also be seen in the Black Lives Matter campaign against police violence and other movements for social justice, Taylor said. «Most recently you saw it in the March for Our Lives in which millions of kids all over the country took to the streets,» he said. «I m extremely optimistic that out there we re seeing a new generation of folks in this country who are resurrecting the notion of King s dream,» he said. One of those kids at the March for Our Lives was King s nine-year-old granddaughter Yolanda Renee, who galvanized the crowd by recalling his most famous words. «I have a dream that enough is enough,» she said. «And that this should be a gun-free world, period.»

7 7 CURRENT Moiz Bakhiet: Full Bard in Poetry, Full Professor in Science By: Mohamed Osman Adam Sudanow KHARTOUM - Moiz Bakhiet, the man who takes your breath away every time he recites a poem about his sons: Mohamed (In The Waiting of The First Rose), Sara, Omnia or Omar or his beloved ones, is the same man P Biography: who leaves you short of breath when citing his scientific merits and achievements. To countless people, Professor Moiz Bakhiet is only one of a few, indeed a very few creative individuals, who have reconciled dry pure sciences with lofty, heavenly literary creativity. And he masters both to the limit of completeness. Moiz is one of few, if not the only one in our modern times in the Arab and Islamic worlds, that bring to your mind such oculus brains of Avicenna, Altawhidi, Albiruni, Alkhawarizmi, avinhaiatam, and other prominent Muslim scholars that excelled in every field they touched. your eyes glows and shines the breath of writing Laying away in ecstatic fresh bed To your homeland I belong The poems and ballads Those to me all along belong The end of my saying and my tenderness In thee I take refuge Where haven for grief and sadness is refused!! And to his son Mohamed he sings: To you my son, the Nile rises up For you my son, it whispers to tree Your face has comes up A full moon on the horizon Coming out in the small hours of the day That is an image you could never forget The man is a Full Bard in Poetry, a Full Professor in Science. Bakhiet s Scientific achievements: 1. Professor Bakhiet described the first protein that acts as liaison between the nervous system and the immune system and discovered the gene for it, which helps to understand the mechanism of action of the innate rofessor Moiz Bakhiet is the Chief Executive Director (Founder) of Princess Al-Jawhara Center for Molecular Medicine, Genetics and Inherited Diseases. He is a Professor and Chairman of the Department of Molecular Medicine, College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Arabian Gulf University and is a senior Consultant / Physician Neurologist at the University Medical Center, King Abdulla Medical City, Kingdom of Bahrain. immunity. This P 2. Described the relationship between the brain and immune cells and microbes and discovered the role of precise immune proteins in brain development. Furthermore, he illustrated how to control the immune proteins in the blood via natural antibodies and depicted new method for monitoring the immune responses. A patent was also obtained in this discovery: Lymphocyte stimulating factor- P-CA , AWAPATENT 3. Discover the exact role of immune proteins in brain growth. This work was published in Nature Cell Biology: Bakhiet M, Tjernlund A, Mousa A, Gad A, Str?mblad S, Seiger? and rofessor Bakhiet established the first and successful PhD program in Molecular Medicine in 2003 and Mater program in Personalized Medicine in 2014 in the Middle East. Andersson J. Rantes promotes growth and survival of human first trimester forebrain astrocytes. Nature Cell Biology. 2: Described how to control the immune proteins like cytokines in the blood through some natural occurring antibodies. 5. Describe the CRC method (Cell Released Capturing Method) for cytokine as the immediately releaed from the cell: Bakhiet M,?zenci V., Withagen C, Fredrikson S and Link H. A new cell enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay demonstrates gamma interferon suppression by beta interferon in multiple sclerosis. Clin Diagn Lab Immunol. 6: poetry books which have been collected recently in THREE full collections of poetry. He participated in more than 100 National, Regional and International poem festivals and recitations and won several prices. He also has several creativity contributions in many cultural, intellectual and creative forums in different countries of the world such as the Mirbad Festival in Iraq, the XIII But he stands apart in one thing: he never shows any snobbery attitude or pompousness as lesser talented people- by a whooping margin - tend to do. He is a different breed altogether. He has shown that he belongs to the few individuals who stood in the vicinity of superhuman being, people that God bestowed with genes that are of different caliber and magnitude. Compared to one winged creative individuals in science, he stand apart. Compare him to creative scientists, he stand aloof. He is what he is. How many times, were my eyes filled with water when I heard him recite his poems, I don t know. But every time, I hear him recite- and he is only one of few modern poets that I paid from my meager salary to secure his books- I remember the meaning of a saying attributed to our Prophet, Mohamed, peace and blessing of Allah be upon him that: some lyrics is pure charm (inna min al byan lasihra). How many people have cited his verses? That I rendered from Arabic of course traduttore, traditore as follows: Thine eyes stand as the yonder shore At their coast, the perfumes of Amber slept a shore Thine eyes blossomed genuineness Pure meticulous beauty and love lush Your adore is the greatest that could ever be Your heart is the homeland and home for me In H e served for several years as Head of Research and Director of the Brain Research and Neuroimmunology Laboratories at Huddinge University Hospital - Karolinska Institutet - Sweden, the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology Institute. compound would open the door of hope to find a cure for diseases of the immune deficiency and will detect cases caused by which the immune system can cause diseases as a result of immune activation which leads to the destruction of tissue. rofessor Bakhiet received his M.B.B.S. in 1985 from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum and his PhD in Medical Sciences in 1993 from Karolinska PInstitutet, Stockholm, Sweden. He also obtained a Clinical Specialty in Neurology in 1993 from the Swedish Board of Health and Welfare. The following patents were issued in this discovery: Immune System Mediator (place of issue: European Patent office, USA Patent and Trademark) and Immune system released activating agent ISRAA (place of issue: European Patent office). 6. Published more than 100 papers in high rated scientific journals as Cell, Nature, J Exp. Med., J Immunol., etc., published more than 40 abstracts and had several International Patents. 7. Participated in many PhD Examination Committees, acted as potential reviewer for many journals and several foundations, received several Awards and Fellowships and actively participated in international scientific congresses. 8. Active member in many International Scientific and Medical Societies and Associations. 9. Professor Bakhiet attended more than 20 national and international pedagogic courses, participated as teacher for lecturing at foreign universities and in international meetings more than 40 times and presented more than 35 national and international seminars. 10. He supervised more than 20 PhD, 8 Licentiate (M Phil) and 25 Master students with also regular lecturing and tutoring of undergraduate and graduate students. Literature and Thought: In the field of Literature and Thought, Professor Moiz Bakhiet Published TWELVE s a physician, Professor Bakhiet worked for 16 years as a consultant, 17 years as specialist and he had 30 years experience Aof on-call services and standby duties with main special clinical competence in General Neurology and Neuroimmunology. Ramtha Festival of Arabic poetry, Jordan. He presented several poem recitations in many Arab cities and in Europe, Americas and Asia and hosted by several TVs, radio and Arab and Western satellite channels. He is one of the founders of the Arab Swedish Cultural Society, Chairman of the Association of Culture and Cultural Secretary of the Association of Medical Students at the University of Khartoum, provider of television programs and TV late shows in Sudan from 1985 until 1989 and a Founder of a major cultural forum on the Internet. In press and media, Professor Moiz Bakhiet has many writings releases, articles and poems since the beginning of the eighties in the undergraduate until now. Professor Bakhiet is a founder of the Sudanese Movement for Change. Bakhiet is the man. He is what he is a unique poet, and a unique scholar, blended in one man a synopsis of nature.

8 8 SCIENCE Microsoft Vows to Cede Patent Rights to Customers for Jointly Developed Technology Geek Wire Microsoft, which has spent decades building its intellectual property war chest, says it will give ownership of patent and industrial design rights to its customers when the companies develop technology together. Under new guidelines issued Wednesday night, the Redmond tech giant will reserve the right to license back the patent rights for jointly developed technologies from its customers, but says it will limit its use of the licenses in those cases to improving its own platform, not using them to offer competing products. The new principles, part of what the company calls its Shared Innovation Initiative, were announced by Brad Smith, the company s president and chief legal officer. It s the latest example of the company s pragmatic approach under CEO Satya Nadella, seeking to use intellectual property as a selling point for customers rather than a weapon against open-source projects and other competing technologies. Microsoft competes against rivals including Amazon Web Services, Oracle, Salesforce, Google and many others for big corporate and institutional customers. As part of the new initiative, the company said it would also support the contribution of source code that it creates with a customer to an opensource project, if that s what the customer wants. These types of projects with customers are becoming more common, Smith wrote in a post, citing the example of a South Korean hospital that has worked with Microsoft on a motion-tracking AI technology for surgeons. As collaboration like this between tech companies and its customers increases, so will the questions regarding who owns the patents and resulting intellectual property, Smith wrote. There is growing concern that without an approach that ensures that customers own key patents to their new solutions, tech companies will use the knowledge to enter their customer s market and compete against them perhaps even using the IP that customers helped create. Microsoft last year announced an Azure IP Advantage program will allow customers to use the company s patents, free of charge, for lawsuits against their services that run on top of Azure. Breast Cancer Patients Facing Health Cover Gaps of More than $10,000, Survey Shows The Guardian Breast cancer patients are frequently incurring more than $10,000 in out-of-pocket medical expenses, a new survey shows, prompting renewed calls for an inquiry into Australia s private health insurance system. A survey of 1,200 people, conducted by the Consumers Health Forum of Australia, showed significant out-of-pocket expenses were becoming the norm for many patients, including for those with private health insurance. Out-of-pocket expenses were more than $10,000 for more than a quarter of breast cancer patients, and more than one-third for those with chronic conditions like multiple sclerosis. One in six of those surveyed said out-of-pocket medical costs had a significant impact on their lives, and one-third of respondents said they were not fully informed of expenses before treatment. In many cases, the report shows how even those with private health insurance are incurring large and unexpected expenses. One woman, Nancy, said she was advised to have a double mastectomy after her third diagnosis with breast cancer. Her out-of-pocket costs totalled more than $30,000, despite private health insurance, according to the forum s Out of Pocket Pain report. I opted to have a reconstruction but as I have had radiotherapy on each breast my options were limited and I was advised to have a flap reconstruction, which involved lengthy plastic surgery, she said. While my top-level private health insurance covered my hospital expenses and Medicare made a small payment towards the surgeons and anaesthetist fees, the gap was enormous, and greater than I had been advised. The forum s chief executive, Leanne Wells, backed Labor s call for a Productivity Commission report on private health insurance while launching the report at Parliament House on Thursday. She said patients were being forced to borrow from family or dip into their superannuation to afford the expenses. What we found is that, in a nutshell, being sick in Australia these days is a very expensive business, she said. Kathy Hayes spoke of amassing $18,000 in outof-pocket costs during breast cancer treatment, with her initial surgery costing $8,000 alone. Hayes was told the amount the surgery would cost before treatment but said she was dismayed by what was covered by private health insurance. But we were somewhat surprised with the gap that we had to pay as opposed to the private health insurance, she told reporters in Canberra on Thursday. The shadow health minister, Catherine King, said the report was further evidence of the need for an inquiry into the private health system. King said Labor would cap private health premiums at 2% for two years, should it win office. At the same time as Australians are struggling with medical expenses and being caught out by health insurance gaps Turnbull continues to defend the big insurers and protect their profits, King said. A Swarm of Black Holes May Be Lurking in Our Galaxy s Heart Science Magazine Hundreds of black holes may lie at the center of our Milky Way galaxy, according to a new study. Such a tight swirl of black holes, which had been theorized for decades but never detected, bolsters current models of how galaxies evolve, scientists say. Many galaxies, including our own, have one supermassive black hole at their core, which grows by slowly pulling in a host of smaller objects, including stars and entire star systems. Scientists have suspected that this core region may also contain numerous smaller black holes tightly orbiting the supermassive one, but they ve lacked evidence of such a swarm until now. In the new study, Charles Hailey, an astrophysicist at Columbia University, and his colleagues scrutinized the past dozen years of data gathered by the Chandra X-ray Observatory, an orbiting craft whose instruments are designed to detect high-energy radiation emitted by the immensely hot material surrounding exploded stars and near black holes. When they looked at the region of space within about 12 light-years of our galaxy s supermassive black hole, an object dubbed Sagittarius A*, they found hundreds of x-ray sources. And when they compared the x-ray emissions for those closest to Sagittarius A* with those a little farther away, they found big differences. Top of Form Bottom of Form For example, Hailey notes, several x- ray sources within 3.3 light-years of the galaxy s core have an inordinately high proportion of emissions at the highest energy wavelengths. Current models of galactic evolution suggest that only one such source could be Adler to Honor NASA Volcanologist with Women in Space Science Award keynote presentation at the April 24 Women in Space Science event, which also includes STEM-related workshops for about 250 young women from Chicago-area schools. Adler s Women s Board will also recognize Nathalea Espinosa, a graduating senior at Eric Solorio Academy High School in Gage Park, with the Paul H. Knappenberger Jr. Ph.D. STEM Award. Espinosa interned with Adler s astronomy department in 2015, when she learned to operate the planetarium s Doane Observatory Telescope. The following year, she coded her own game that was featured at Adler s Celestial Ball. She is a member of Adler s Youth Leadership Council and plans to combine her interests in science, computer science and social science to explore new, hybrid fields as she begins college next year. Last year, Adler s Women in Space Science Award went to Northbrook native Beth Moses, a former NASA aerospace engineer who now serves as chief astronaut instructor for Virgin Galactic. found that close to Sagittarius A*. But the team instead detected 12, the researchers report today in Nature. At least six of those x-ray sources and possibly all 12 are likely to be what astronomers call x-ray binaries, Hailey says. Typically, one member of the pair is a garden-variety star while the other is either a black hole or a neutron star. However, emissions from x-ray binaries that include neutron stars often surge suddenly and then subside at least once every 5 to 10 years, Hailey explains. Because the x-ray emissions from their sources haven t varied in the past 12 years, Hailey presumes that these binaries include small-mass black holes. This is a small number of sources, but they re very intriguing, says Fiona Harrison, an astrophysicist at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena who was not involved with the work. The balance of high-energy versus low-energy x-rays emitted by these sources are consistent with those from low-mass binaries with black hole companions, she notes. WTTW NASA scientist Rosaly Lopes was honored by the Guinness Book of World Records in 2006 for having discovered more active volcanoes than any other person. Lopes career is full of achievements, both scientific and cultural. A native of Brazil, Lopes has tracked volcanoes across the globe and even in outer space, where from she discovered 71 active volcanoes on Jupiter s moon Io. Today, Lopes is a senior research scientist at NASA s California-based Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a research facility that conducts robotic space and Earth science missions. She recently took over as editor-in-chief of the prominent scientific journal Icarus, which covers planetary science. Lopes is the first woman to lead the publication in its 56- year history. Later this month, Lopes will add another bullet point to her list of accomplishments when she receives Adler Planetarium s 2018 Women in Space Science Award. Presented by Adler s Women s Board on April 24, the award has recognized trailblazing women in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) for 15 years. Ann Kora, Adler s senior director of development, said Lopes was chosen because of her track record advocating for STEM education, diversity and outreach, including using her own vacation time to speak to students interested in space science. Kora said that Lopes was inspired to pursue her dream of working with NASA because of Frances Northcutt, a former engineer on NASA s Appollo Program during the space race. She wants to be able to provide that inspiration to other young women, Kora said. The rules are changing and Dr. Lopes is one of the brave people who are leading the way. Lopes, whose titles also include planetary geologist, volcanologist and scientific investigator, will deliver the

9 9 WORLD NEWS Russia Calls UN Meeting in Effort to Undermine UK over Nerve Agent Attack CNN Russia has called a United Nations Security Council meeting for Thursday as it seeks to undermine Britain s case that it was responsible for the poisoning of a Russian former spy. Moscow, emboldened after the UK was forced to withdraw a claim that its scientists had pinned the blame on Russia for the attack, will attempt to further embarrass Britain in front of its international allies. A month after former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned in the English city of Salisbury, the United Kingdom and Russia remain locked in a battle over who is to blame. UK Prime Minister Theresa May has said it was «highly likely» the attack was ordered by the Russian government, The Kremlin has repeatedly denied the accusation. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Thursday that the affair was a «pretext» for the expulsion of Russian diplomats around the world. On Wednesday, Moscow failed in its efforts to persuade the chemical weapons watchdog, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, to allow a joint UK-Russia investigation into the attack. The OPCW is already carrying out its own investigation at the UK s request, and expects to receive the results of its analysis within a week. Britain is also carrying out its own inquiry, with support from the OPCW. Attention will now turn to the UN. It will be the second time the Security Council has discussed the poisoning -- at a previous meeting on March 15, US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley blasted the Russian government for the attack and called for a firm international response. Skripal, 66 and his daughter Yulia, 33, remain in Salisbury District Hospital following the attack on March 4. Sergei Skripal is described as in a critical but stable condition, but Yulia Skripal is said to have responded welll to treatment and is out of danger. UK experts believe the pair were poisoned with a Russian-made nerve agent, Novichok. The Times of London, citing unnamed sources, reported on Thursday that UK security services have pinpointed the location of the Russian laboratory which manufactured the nerve agent. On Wednesday, speaking at a trilateral summit with Turkey and Iran, Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters he wanted to see «sound political processes based on international law.» «We are waiting for common sense to prevail in the end and for no more harm to be caused to international relations, contrary to what we saw lately,» he said, according to TASS. The UK expelled 23 Russian diplomats In the wake of the attack, sparking a wave of similar moves by UK allies around the world. The US expelled 60 Russian diplomats as part of the international effort. Moscow responded by kicking out diplomats from at least 23 countries, including 60 American diplomats. It also ordered the closure of the US consulate in St Petersburg. Other Russian officials have continued to condemn the United Kingdom. On Wednesday Foreign Intelligence Service Director Sergei Naryshkin told a security conference in Moscow that the nerve agent attack was a «grotesque provocation rudely staged by the British and US intelligence agencies,» TASS reported. UK Admits Contact with Libyan Group Linked to Manchester Bomber Middle East Eye LONDON - The UK government has admitted that it is «likely» that it was in communications with former members of a Libyan militant group linked to the Manchester bomber Salman Abedi and his family during the country s 2011 uprising against Muammar Gaddafi. Following last May s Manchester Arena attack, which killed 22 people, it emerged that Abedi, 22, the British-born son of exiled Libyan dissident, returned to the north African country in 2011 with his father to fight with factions linked to the former Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), alongside other anti- Gaddafi forces. MEE revealed that British security services operated an open door policy that allowed Libyan exiles and British-Libyan citizens to join the 2011 uprising even though some had previously been subject to counter-terrorism control orders. The rebels were also backed by NATO, with the UK, France and the US conducting air strikes targeting Gaddafi forces. Gaddafi himself was killed following an air strike on a convoy in which he was travelling in October But, for the first time the government has admitted that it was «likely» in contact with «former members of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group», an organisation which was once a banned terrorist organisation in the UK because of its alleged links to al-qaeda. The LIFG was founded in 1995 by anti-gaddafi Libyan fighters who had fought against the Soviet Union s occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s, and the group had contacts with the leaders of al-qaeda, which also emerged out of the same fight. But the LIFG subsequently distanced itself from al-qaeda and condemned the targeting of civilians and bombings. During the Libyan conflict in 2011 the British Government was in communication with a wide range of Libyans involved in the conflict against the Gaddafi regime forces. It is likely that this included former members of Libyan Islamic Fighting Group and 17 February Martyrs Brigade, as part of our broad engagement during this time, said Foreign Office Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt, in a written response to a parliamentary question. The LIFG was reported to have disbanded in 2010 but its key leaders were still active in 2011 and many of its former members joined the 17 February Martyrs Brigade, one of the main anti-gaddafi fighting forces as the revolution gathered pace in Many volunteers from Manchester also fought for the 17 February brigade, including Ramadan Abedi, Salman Abedi s father, who was reportedly a former member of the LIFG. Lloyd Russell-Moyle MP, who asked the question, said: «The Foreign Office has told me that it is likely it had links to the Libyan rebel group for which the Manchester bomber fought.» He said the response left the government with «serious questions» to answer over whether it faciliated Abedi s travel to fight in Libya. After his father returned to Libya in 2011 to fight for LIFG, Abedi reportedly travelled back and forth between his home and Manchester and Tripoli, and fought alongside his father during the school holidays. Other reports indicate he was injured in 2014 in eastern Libya while fighting for an Islamist militant faction. No questions asked Several former Libyan rebel fighters now back in the UK told MEE that they had been able to travel to Libya with «no questions asked» and that «old school LIFG guys» were allowed to travel to the country. At the time, sources told MEE that it appeared the government allowed the travel of Libyan exiles keen to fight against Gaddafi, including some who it had earlier deemed to pose a potential security risk. The UK government listed the LIFG as a terrorist organisation in 2005, describing it as seeking to establish a «hard-line Islamic state» and «part of the wider Islamist extremist movement inspired by al-qaeda». The US State Department has said that elements of the LIFG had pledged loyalty to Osama bin Laden and al-qaeda and designated the group a foreign terrorist organisation in Former members of the LIFG deny that the group had any links with al-qaeda and say it was committed only to removing Gaddafi from power. The LIFG became a significant anti-gadaffi force in Libya in the late-1990s, until a government clampdown forced many members to flee - and many were granted refugee status in the UK. But LIFG exiles found themselves under scrutiny in the UK following a rapprochement between the British and Libyan governments in 2004, which resulted in greater cooperation between the countries security services. According to documents retrieved from the ransacked offices of the Libyan intelligence agency following Gaddafi s fall from power in 2011, British security services cracked down on Libyan dissidents in the UK as part of a deal with Gaddafi, as well as assisting in the rendition of two senior LIFG leaders, Abdel Hakim Belhaj and Sami al-saadi, to Tripoli where they allege they were tortured. Belhaj later returned to Libya and was a leading figure in the uprising against Gaddafi, while another former Libyan exile subjected to a control order in the UK was later tasked with providing security for visiting dignitaries including British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, MEE understands. The Islamic State (IS) group, which was able to seize territory in Libya around the central city of Sirte as rival Libyan governments and militias emerged following the fall of Gaddafi, claimed responsibility for the Manchester bombing. The New York Times «Some European countries are in no hurry to follow London and Washington, preferring to sort the situation out,» he added. Questions continue to dog the investigation into the attack on the Skripals, who were found slumped on a bench at an outdoor shopping complex in Salisbury. UK police believe they came into contact with the military-grade nerve agent after it was smeared on Skripal s front door knob. On Tuesday, UK scientists said that while they had identified the nerve agent as Novichok, they were unable to say exactly where it had been manufactured. «We have not identified the precise source, but we have provided the scientific info to government, who have then used a number of other sources to piece together the conclusions you have come to,» Gary Aitkenhead, chief executive of the UK government laboratory at Porton Down, told Sky News Tuesday. Further complicating the picture, the UK Foreign Office confirmed on Wednesday it had deleted a tweet which claimed that British chemical weapons experts believed Russia had produced the nerve agent. The Foreign Office said the tweet was «truncated and did not accurately report» a briefing by the British ambassador to Moscow last month. The British government says the scientific analysis from Porton Down forms only part of the picture. It insists that only Russia had the capability to carry out the attack, that Moscow had identified former double agents as legitimate targets, and was known for its involvement in statesponsored attacks in the past. In its report on Thursday, the Times of London cited security sources claiming that the location for the manufacture of the Novichok had been identified «using scientific analysis and intelligence in the days after the attempted murder of Sergei and Yulia Skripal a month ago,» the newspaper reported. The Times said security sources didn t have «100% certainty» but there was a high degree of confidence in the location. The UK government had known about the facility s existence before the attack on March 4, it added. The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office refused to comment on The Times report. «We have nothing more to add to that story,» a spokesman told CNN. Herbert Kaiser, 94, Health Care Champion in South Africa, Dies In 1971, an American diplomat named Herbert Kaiser was doing a tour of duty in South Africa when he developed melanoma. It did not escape Mr. Kaiser s notice that, being white, he received excellent medical attention from a white doctor, while the country s nonwhite population was chronically underserved by the health system, in part because few medical professionals were people of color. A decade later, after he had retired from the State Department, Mr. Kaiser and his wife, Joy, thought back on that experience and looked into the disparities. We learned that out of a black population of over 20 million in 1984, there were only 350 black doctors, fewer than 20 dentists and less than 120 pharmacists, Mr. Kaiser recalled in a 2004 commencement address at his alma mater, Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. The figures for black infant and child mortality and for maternal mortality were appalling. We saw for ourselves overflowing waiting rooms for sick blacks and hospitals with 300 percent occupancy rates. Figure that one out: It meant two to a bed or on the floor. The Kaisers did something about the problem. In 1985 they founded Medical Education for South African Blacks, a nonprofit organization that provided financial and other support to students of color seeking health careers. Mr. Kaiser died on Friday at his home in Palo Alto, Calif. He was 94. His son Timothy said the cause was heart failure. By the time the Kaisers organization disbanded in 2007 it had helped some 10,000 South Africans of color receive training as doctors, nurses, midwives and more. The timing of the Kaisers initiative proved auspicious in two ways. One was that, when the organization (known by the acronym Mesab) was founded, South Africa was still under apartheid; a more equal health care system and stronger black professional class helped secure the country s survival when majority rule came in the 1990s. The other was that Mesab began producing health care professionals just as the AIDS crisis was devastating the country. Herbert Kaiser was born on June 8, 1923, in Brooklyn. His father, Max, was a house painter, and his mother, the former Nettie Slavititski, was a caretaker. The Depression years were difficult for the family, and Timothy Kaiser said that being on the receiving end of public charity left his father with a sense of obligation that he carried his entire life. After graduating from high school, Herbert worked briefly at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and then, in 1942, joined the Navy, serving on the submarine Dragonet, which was stationed off Japan in August 1945 when the atomic bombs were dropped on that country. He attended Swarthmore on the G.I. Bill, graduating in 1949, the same year he married Joy Dana Sundgaard, a fellow student. He took a job with the State Department and was posted to Glasgow in Later in that decade he developed an expertise in Eastern European affairs, and his career included postings to Yugoslavia, Austria, Poland and Romania. He retired in Mr. Kaiser was fluent in a number of languages, which enabled him to understand the nuances at play in the politically and socially divided areas where he worked. He needed those skills when he and Joy set up their nonprofit. Besides the tensions and factions within South Africa, the Kaisers had to deal with the international pressure that was causing many prominent people and companies to withdraw investments from that country. Raising money for their fledgling organization was difficult. But eventually a number of companies, including Johnson & Johnson, Kellogg s and Pfizer International, signed on, and community leaders in South Africa got behind the effort. Scholarship money alone, though, wasn t the answer. The organization found that it also needed to provide other kinds of support for students, both during apartheid and after. South African blacks have had to cope with decades of poor primary and secondary education, as well as social neglect, Saul Levin, Mesab s chief executive officer, said in Students who come into universities from rural areas are shellshocked. I have had students who tell me they ve never had a bank account or ridden in an elevator. Thus, accommodations were made for the program s students, like allowing them to repeat failed courses or to cut back on their course load if they were having academic trouble. A mentoring program was established.

10 10 SPORTS Manchester Utd Chasing Monaco Man Sidibe as Jose Mourinho Seeks Dominant Defense AFP Manchester: Manchester United have identified France international Djibril Sidibe as one of their principal summer transfer targets. The AS Monaco full back is wanted as part of an overhaul of the English Premier League team s back four proposed by manager Jose Mourinho, a club source has told Arab News. Sidibe can operate on both the right and left side of defense and would add energy and pace to a United defense in which the 32-yearolds Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young have been preferred at full back this season. Monaco signed Sidibe from Lille in 2016, extending the defender s contract until 2022 after his contribution to last season s unexpected French title success. According to a Monaco source, the 25- year-old is one of three senior players the club s Vice President Vadim Vasilyev expects to cash in on this close season as the next part of a transfer strategy that has raised unprecedented sums in recent windows. Monaco are said to want a minimum of 35million ($42 million) for Sidibe. Mourinho is pushing United to add as many as four new defenders ahead of a campaign in which he aims to bring the Premier League title back to Old Trafford for the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson s retirement. The recruitment of decisive individuals at center and full back would allow the deployment of more aggressive tactics against stronger opposition. With current personnel, Mourinho is often forced to protect his back four by deploying a low defensive line or a conservative midfield strategy. Jurgen Klopp s Attacking Style Finds Flaws in Pep Guardiola s City System AFP LONDON: Pep Guardiola sat down at his post-match press conference on Wednesday, ecstatic Merseyside voices still ringing in his ears, and proclaimed Jurgen Klopp as the best manager in the world for spectators, citing the German s overtly attack-minded approach. Klopp s side had just ripped apart his Premier League champions-elect in a breathtaking display of attacking verve and style in what was one of the most complete Liverpool performances since the charismatic German took over at Anfield. As we have come to expect from the Catalan, it was a gracious testimony. But it was also one he has had to offer Klopp far too often. Wednesday s halfhour blitz of the City back-four led to Klopp s seventh victory in 13 games against Guardiola, the best record of any coach. A few years ago, their Bundesliga battles were stuff of legend their eight clashes in Germany produced 22 goals as was this season s Premier League encounter, which Liverpool won 4-3. After Liverpool had gone 3-0 up it was clear that Guardiola s team selection was all wrong. From the outset, the Spaniard showed too much respect to Liverpool with his decision to drop Raheem Sterling and go with a slightly more defensive line-up. That has not been the City way at all this season, where Guardiola s charges swarm all over teams from the first whistle until the last. It was Klopp s team that launched wave after relentless wave at the City back-four, who could not cope. They lost their shape and appeared devoid of any idea as to how to wrestle back control. By the time Guardiola pushed Kevin de Bruyne forward and brought Sterling on in the second half, the damage was already done. Klopp has Guardiola s number simply by giving Guardiola a taste of his own medicine, the German knows no other way of playing other than attack. What Liverpool s barnstorming barrage shows is that, when push comes to shove, nor does Guardiola. Nerveless Arsenal Hammer CSKA to Move toward Europa League Semis AFP London: Arsenal romped toward the Europa League semifinals with a 4-1 thrashing of CSKA Moscow on Thursday in a match devoid of any of the political tension that threatened to overshadow the tie due to frosty relations between London and the Russian capital. Britain has suspended high-level diplomatic contact with the Russian government after former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with a nerve agent in the southern English city of Salisbury last month. However, with only around 200 CSKA fans making the long journey west, there was little bad blood inside the ground for the quarter-final first leg. And Arsenal quickly ended any doubt over the contest on the field as Aaron Ramsey and Alexandre Lacazette both scored twice in the first half to surely put the tie out of CKSA s reach. It was a spectacular first half played at a high pace, but as well an uncomfortable one for me because they looked dangerous, said Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger. By half-time we scored so many great goals in the first half, at 4-1 the target was not to concede anymore and maybe score one more. We did the first part of the job but not the second part. But it will help us to focus completely in the second game and not go there thinking it is job done. It remains to be seen if a more hostile atmosphere awaits Arsenal fans and players in the Russian capital next week. However, CSKA coach Viktor Goncharenko encouraged the Gunners support and England fans traveling for the World Cup in June to visit Russia. We still welcome you in Moscow, said Goncharenko. We can assure you there will be great stadiums and great football. Please come to Russia. Gary Meenaghan Belo Horizonte: The Chelsea website says he was born in Mogadishu. The Vitesse website says he was born in Mogadishu. Various newspaper articles, blogs and forums say he was born in Mogadishu. The player himself says he was born in Jeddah. Last year, he made his Saudi Arabia debut. Mukhtar Ali, whose parents are Somali, moved to London when he was an infant and joined Chelsea aged eight. The only player to appear in every game in the club s victorious UEFA Youth League and FA Youth Cup-winning team, he followed the path of many Chelsea products, joining Dutch side Vitesse on loan. The deal was made permanent in July and despite having represented England at Under-16 and U17 level, by October he was summoned by then-saudi Arabia coach Edgardo Bauza to attend a special training camp for muwallid, the term given to people born in the Kingdom to foreign parents. They knew I was born in Jeddah, Ali said of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation. My parents grew up in Saudi when I was a kid, so it wasn t a difficult decision. The Somalian community support it a lot as well and what my family thinks is the most important thing they are very proud and happy. It s my career and they just want the best for me. The deep-lying midfielder, who said he has visited Somalia only once, was fast-tracked by Bauza to train with the Saudi first team. He made his debut as a substitute against Jamaica in October, setting up the final goal of a 5-2 win, and came on for 10 minutes in a 3-0 defeat to Ghana. It was a special moment for me to get the assist on my debut, Ali told Arab News. I had a lot of family and friends watching, so they got to enjoy it too. The Saudi players are very good generally and they ve obviously qualified for the World Cup, proving they are one of the best teams in Asia. I definitely enjoyed the two games and there were a lot of young players involved. It was a great experience. If Ali s ascent from England youth to Saudi Arabia international was rapid, the speed with which he risks being forgotten could be just as quick. He celebrated his 20th birthday in October, but has not featured for Vitesse since. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, have dismissed Bauza, and new coach Languishing in sixth in the Premier League, 13 points adrift of the top four, Arsenal s last realistic hope of qualifying for next season s Champions League is by winning the Europa League in Lyon on May 16. And that desperation showed in a thrilling four-goal first 45 minutes. Ramsey opened the scoring by rounding off a fine team move on nine minutes by firing Hector Bellerin s cross into the roof of the net. While CSKA were unable to cope with Arsenal s speed of thought and movement at the back, they exposed the Gunners own defensive weaknesses. Aleksandr Golovin curled home a wonderful freekick after haphazard defending from Shkodran Mus- Mukhtar Ali Fit and ready for Saudi Arabia if World Cup Call Comes Juan Antonio Pizzi did not call on Ali for last month s training camp in Spain. To the player s knowledge, the national side do not have scouts actively watching him. I m not sure what chance I have of going to the World Cup because managers look at players playing time and I ve not played a lot this year, said Ali, who speaks English and Somali. But at the same time, I don t feel like I m behind on fitness; I m still training hard and I play games with the secondteam here. I feel fit and ready, and definitely believe I could go to the World Cup and perform. Ali remains quietly hopeful that if he can break into the Vitesse team, he might still get the call. Saudi s next camp will be in early May when they contest friendlies with Algeria and Greece. I haven t spoken to the new coach, Ali said. Obviously I haven t had many opportunities with Vitesse, but I feel like I am learning and getting better as a tafi and Laurent Koscielny to level six minutes later before Ahmed Musa passed up a huge chance to put CSKA in front. Arsenal got the slice of fortune they needed when Mesut Ozil was controversially awarded a penalty as he fell under Georgi Schennikov s challenge. Lacazette has endured a frustrating debut season at the Emirates, but made the most of the cuptied Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang s absence by confidently slamming home from the spot. Ramsey then doubled his tally for the evening in style with an audacious flick over Igor Akinfeev with the outside of his foot to give Arsenal some breathing space from a teasing Ozil cross. Ozil was again the creator when Lacazette also grabbed a double by shooting into the far corner for his first goal from open play in nearly three months. Arsenal are likely to have to beat the might of Atletico Madrid to end their season on a high, though, as the favorites for the competition eased past Sporting Lisbon 2-0 in the first leg of their quarter-final. Arab News London: Tiger Woods has played down expectations he will break his 10-year Major duck with victory at the US Masters on Sunday. The big beast has confounded all expectations by not only turning up at Augusta, but also appearing as one of the favorites. Last year Woods underwent a fourth surgery on his back and was later arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence when he was discovered asleep at the wheel of his car he was found to have five prescription drugs in his system and pleaded guilty to reckless driving. After his police mugshot was seen around the world, it was feared Woods would never be a force again. Just four months into his comeback, however, the American has recorded consecutive top-five finishes and is viewed as a firm favorite to claim a fifth Green Jacket, a feat Woods sought to play down. I don t think there is one clear-cut favorite, the 42-year-old said. I think there are so many guys playing well at the same time. That s what is making this year s Masters so exciting. There are guys from the early 20s to Phil at 47 who have all played well. We know we re going to have to play well in order to win, and it s going to be quite a challenge. It s going to be fun. One of the biggest surprises about Woods comeback has been his swing speed. Just months after the back-fusion operation, he is swinging the club quicker than most of his rivals. With that has come a return of the old swagger that thrilled fans and scared opponents, an aura not seen since his last Major victory back in For some reason, I don t have any pain, he said. Yes, I m much tighter and I have to work on strength in different ways, but I m hitting speeds I hit in my prime. UFC Star Conor McGregor Turns Self into Police after Backstage Scuffle AP UFC star Conor McGregor has turned himself into police in the wake of a backstage scuffle he instigated that has forced the removal of three fights off UFC s biggest card of the year. Video footage appears to show the promotion s most bankable star throwing a hand truck at a bus full of fighters, after a press conference for UFC 223 at Barclays Center. McGregor was being processed and no charges had been filed as of Thursday night. Video showed McGregor with a group of people causing chaos Thursday as they took an elevator to the loading dock at Barclays Center. He can be seen tossing trash cans and being prevented from throwing a barricade at a bus during his unannounced appearance in New York. The New York Police Department said McGregor threw a hand truck at a bus causing minor injury to an individual on the bus. UFC said three fights on Saturday s UFC 223 card have been scrapped as a result of the incident. The organization deems today s disruption completely unacceptable and is currently working on the consequences that will follow, UFC said in a statement. Individuals involved in the incident are not welcome at tomorrow s ceremonial weigh-in or Saturday s event at Barclays Center. McGregor hasn t fought for UFC since November 2016 and was stripped this week by UFC President Dana White of the 155-pound championship he had never defended. White also said this week he did not expect McGregor to attend Saturday s fights. He sure made his presence felt in Brooklyn. McGregor profanely responded on Twitter and wrote, You ll strip me of nothing. He was just getting started. McGregor last fought at all in a boxing match he lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Aug. 26, The popular Irishman is tight with UFC 223 fighter Artem Lobov, who was involved this week in a scuffle in a hotel with Khabib Nurmagomedov. Nurmagomedov fights Max Holloway for the lightweight championship left vacant by McGregor. Walking Miracle Tiger Woods Talks down His Masters Hopes as Augusta Hype Grows The reason I said I m a walking miracle is because I don t know anyone who has had a lower back fusion that can swing the club as fast as I can. Some of the guys have said: I need to fuse my back so I can hit it harder. While Woods was keen dampen expectations he might win, his rivals were less so. One favorite who is not ruling out a Woods renaissance at Augusta is Rory McIlroy, who said: He has a great chance. Look at how he has played the ast few weeks. He has had four wins here. Any time Woods is healthy and in this sort of form, he is dangerous at any tournament. But given his history here, I think even more so.

11 11 HUMAN DEVELOPMENT Edited by: Alula Berhe Kidani Five Theses For A New Left Let s face it: today s left is in a terrible muddle, caught between a world that once was and a world that still isn t. Most of the time, it just seems to be playing defence. And not doing that terribly well. The basic reason for this is simple. Capitalism is in a long transition from an industrial to a postindustrial, services-based model of society and so far the transition has not gone well. As this transition unfolded in the last two or three decades of the 20th century, Western capitalist societies saw a distinct slowdown in economic growth, twinned with a startling rise in inequality. The early 21st century continued these trends with the global financial crisis of dealing a grievous blow to advanced economies, the worst since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Many countries have recovered from this damage only recently and some have not yet done so. So we are now talking about many decades of poor economic performance, particularly as it has affected those with low or modest skills whose livelihoods were connected to the old industrial economy. Elites on both the right and the left have appeared powerless to either accelerate this transition so it arrives at a place good for most people or push it back to a better place. Thus mainstream parties and leaders are suffering and populist ones are rising. So: what to do? In my view, we need a New Left. The old ways are broken, having outlived their usefulness. Here are five theses for a New Left, based on the new realities the left faces. 1. Up with the new coalition. The left s potential coalition has shifted dramatically as the industrial working class has declined precipitously in numbers and moved to the right. It includes minorities and women who appreciate the fall of barriers to their full participation in society and the economy and see progressive government as a guarantor of further upward mobility. It includes professionals and the highly-educated who have fared relatively well from the transition, support the emerging cosmopolitan values of postindustrial society and see government as a provider of essential services and investments such UN Security Council Discusses UN Peacekeeping in Context of Reform Processes SD Knowledge Network The UN Security Council held a high-level open debate on improving UN peacekeeping operations. Over 70 speakers shared their perspectives on UN peacekeeping, with many highlighting the importance of shared responsibility and identifying synergies with UN reform efforts. The Netherlands convened the high-level debate in its capacity as the President of the Council for the month of March. Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte chaired the meeting. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reflected that UN peacekeepers are often underequipped, under-prepared and unready, which makes them vulnerable and targeted for attack. Guterres called for focusing on three key areas: refocusing peacekeeping with realistic expectations; making missions stronger and safer; and mobilizing increased support for political solutions and well-equipped, well-trained and well-structured forces. He urged support for the UN s Action for Peacekeeping initiative, stressing the need for a quantum leap in collection engagement and underscoring the importance of all Member States and partners in supporting peacekeeping efforts. Guterres concluded by urging the Council to streamline mandates and calling for Member States to push for inclusive peace processes. BY RUY TEIXEIRA a society needs. It also includes younger generations who support these new values, know that their future lies in post-industrial society and want government to help them find their place within it. And it includes or should include big chunks of the non-college white collar and service worker precariat whose situation is light years away from that of blue collar industrial workers of yesteryear. The left may no longer be the party of the latter but it should be the party of the former. 2. The left must unite. This is not an option, but a necessity. The rise of the disparate new constituencies in the left s new coalition has accentuated the possibilities for division. This is particularly noticeable in Europe, where left strength is frequently diffused across several different parties (social democratic, left socialist, green, left social liberal, left populist, etc.) that regard each other with suspicion. The failure to present a common front is madness. The era when one tendency like the social democrats could completely dominate the left and didn t need allies is over. The same applies to the Democrats in the United States; there is no way the Clinton supporters or Sanders supporters or minoritymobilization strategists or reachout-to-the-white-working-class advocates can take over the party and succeed on their own. To beat the right, a fractured left must unite, bringing all progressives together in effective alliances. 3. Down with inequality. The idea that capitalism is going to solve its ongoing problems with modest tweaks has been completely discredited. Inequality has now risen to such high levels it is nonfunctional. It holds down growth, African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat, who spoke via teleconference, called for closer cooperation between the UN and the AU. He supported the partnership between the UN Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council, suggesting that the AUC and the UN Secretariat increase joint site visits at the highest possible level. Mali highlighted the importance of regional organizations in enhancing the success of peacekeeping operations. it holds down living standards, it holds down upward mobility among the young, it leaves entire economic regions behind and it absolutely destroys healthy politics. The left must commit unreservedly to a policy agenda that pushes back sharply against these trends and does not accept the current model of capitalism. Younger generations will not take the left seriously otherwise. And they are right not to do so. 4. Forward to an open world. The world has become much more open on many different levels in past decades. There is far more tolerance and equality by gender, race and ethnicity than there ever has been before. There are far more connections, economic and otherwise, among the peoples of the world and far more mixing of cultures. This is, on balance, a very good thing and the left must embrace it. Younger generations clearly do. There is no going back anyway to a closed, tradition-bound world. You can t run history in reverse. And the left shouldn t try. 5. Ride the long wave. Historically, capitalist growth has occurred in long waves, driven by confluences of major technological and institutional change. The early, transitional parts of such periods are typically rough, delivering only modest benefits to big swathes of the population. The Industrial Revolution was like that; the first several decades of that wave had the famous Engels Pause, where wages rose very little for most workers before finally taking off. Our last several decades have been similar. But the economic potential of the current era, with its monumental technological changes, is vast, albeit held back by a lack of societal investment in the future and the retrograde policies pushed by the right. The left should be all about untapping that potential and riding the long wave. That s how living standards will finally go up. That s how green energy, an integral part of current technological change, will finally come into its own and end the threat of global warming. The left should not be afraid of a vision of an abundant, sustainable future. It can be done but only if they ride the long wave. The EU said discussions on peacekeeping operations effectiveness should be considered within the wider UN reform context, including initiatives on the development system, management and the peace and security pillar. Sweden, on behalf of the Nordic countries, expressed support for the Secretary-General s reform agenda and its emphasis on prevention and sustainable development. He said gender disaggregated data and a gender perspective are important in ensuring informed decisions on The Lesser Evil For The Eurozone By Jean Pisani-Ferry It was not supposed to happen like this. The formation of a new German government took so long that it was only after the Italian general election on March 4 resulted in a political earthquake that France and Germany started to work on reforming the eurozone. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron have now resolved to sort out their differences and deliver a joint reform roadmap by July. But they cannot ignore changes brought by the landslide victory of Italy s anti-system parties. Until then, populism had seemed contained. It has now become mainstream. For those who will have to draw the Franco- German blueprint, the message from Italy is that the policy framework that has dominated Europe since the mid-1980s no longer commands broad support. For three decades, the consensus on the need for market reforms and sound public finances has been strong enough to overcome opposition in small countries (Greece) and outlast procrastination in large ones (France). In the coming years, however, the eurozone playing field may well become a battleground. The first casualty is bound to be the European Stability and Growth Pact, with its plethora of fiscal rules, monitoring procedures, and eventual sanctions for excessive deficits. The 224-page Vade Mecum on implementing fiscal discipline in the EU is hopelessly complex, to such a degree that no finance minister, let alone parliamentarian, fully understands what his or her country must abide by. For populists, however, indecipherable rules made in Brussels are a simple, straightforward political target. In Baron Noir (Black Baron), a popular French TV series, a president engulfed in a financial scandal nearly escapes public indignity by mounting a coalition against EU deficit fines. With populism rising almost everywhere in Europe, reality may soon exceed fiction. For large countries, the threat of sanctions has always been a paper tiger. The difference now is that the EU s bluff may be called. Absent sanctions, what will ensure that participants in the eurozone behave? This is what Germany is understandably worried about. Whatever reservations one may have about Germany s fiscal obsession, rules of the game are required to deal with unsustainable public-debt accumulation in a monetary union. Policy ambiguity cannot be relied on, in a system deprived of a strong power center. If no one knows what will happen if a country does not behave, the expectation may turn out to be that debts will be monetized at a high inflationary cost. At a recent conference in Berlin, economists debated what to do if the euro proves unsustainable. Prominent German scholars expressed the view that, absent credible sanctions, only the threat of forced exit could discipline wayward eurozone members. In other words, governments should be facing a clear choice: behave or leave. Technically, this would not be hard to implement. peacekeeping. Norway, on behalf of Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Sweden, supported a gendersensitive and whole-of-system approach to ensure sustainable and peaceful settlement of conflict, such as through conducting independent reviews of missions. Germany supported the Secretary-General s reform proposals to sustain peace, and advocated for strengthening the safety and security of peacekeepers. Indonesia, on behalf of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said that reforms in UN peacekeeping should prioritize people on the ground and enhance performance and capabilities. The Maldives called for integrating the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development into peacekeeping operations, urging a greater focus on poverty alleviation and inclusive and economic and social development. Ethiopia supported an incremental approach to reform. Venezuela supported a holistic approach to peace and security, To force out a delinquent country, the ECB could simply unplug its banking system from euro liquidity. That nearly happened in 2015, when Greece was on the brink of exit, and Wolfgang Schنuble, Germany s finance minister at the time, considered pushing Greece out. It took a long, dramatic night of talks for eurozone leaders to agree not to do it. Pushing a country out would, however, have dire consequences. The irreversibility of the euro may be a myth nothing is irreversible but it is a useful myth. If businesses and savers were to start speculating about the next exit, trust in the common currency would soon vanish. People would move their savings to protect them from redenomination risk. A German euro would be worth more than a French euro, which in turn would be worth more than an Italian euro. That s why Mario Draghi, the ECB s president, said in 2012 that he would do whatever it takes to preserve the euro s integrity. So, what if sanctions don t work and the threat of exit is a cluster bomb that would hurt everyone? In a recent paper with French and German colleagues, we advocate making debt restructuring within the eurozone a credible possibility. We do not regard debt restructuring as benign, let alone desirable, and we do not advocate making it automatic or driven by numerical triggers. But, in a system without sanctions, fiscal responsibility can be enforced only if two conditions are met. First, governments and those who finance them must face the consequences of irresponsibility that is, ultimately, debt restructuring. Second, the ensuing financial disruption must be limited, so that policymakers do not want to avoid restructuring at all costs. This, in turn, requires a number of reforms that we spell out in our paper. This idea elicits strong reservations, not only in Italy, where the policy establishment is obsessed with the country s record indebtedness, but also in France, where debt repayment is regarded as the dividing line between advanced and developing countries. The memories of the Deauville summit an ill-conceived regime for addressing excessive public debt hashed out by Merkel and then-french President Nicolas Sarkozy are still vivid. The French view is that debt restructuring should not be contemplated, even as a possible outcome. But the French must confront the new reality. While the euro survived the financial disruption of , it is now confronted by a potentially more challenging political disruption. This threat must be faced. Absent a shared consensus on the sanctity of rules, there are not many possibilities. One is a euro without an anchor, something Northern Europe would not want to remain part of for long. Another is a euro with a wide-open exit door, something that would quickly lead to another financial crisis. And still another is a euro with defined and predictable internal debt-resolution mechanisms. The latter option is, admittedly, not without risks, but it is certainly safer than the exit threat. France, and Europe, should choose the lesser evil saying this objective must be supported by a comprehensive, parallel and inclusive political process. Kuwait emphasized the importance of coherence and coordination in peacekeeping challenges, and supported the Secretary-General s efforts to address obstacles that hinder the full implementation of mandates. Thailand supported the management of missions environmental footprint as a step in ensuring operations are fit for purpose while also supporting cost efficiencies, improving troop safety and delivering on the peacekeeping mandate. The EU also called for reducing the environmental impact of peacekeeping operations. Slovakia said South Africa and Slovakia, as co-chairs of the Group of Friends of Security Sector Reform, plan to organize a high-level round table on security sector reform and sustaining peace on 23 April to better position such reform within the broader sustaining peace agenda, including the UN General Assembly s highlevel meeting on peacebuilding and sustaining peace, on 24 and 25 April. A number of Member States supported greater delegation of power to field personnel, including Estonia and ASEAN. Member States also addressed issues related to accountability, budget and financing for peacekeeping operations, and language training, among other topics

12 LAST PAGE SATURDAY 7th April, th Rajab,1439 Omdurman National Bank Banking SMS System Omdurman National Bank For more details visit our website The Top Bank for the Third Successive Year, the Highest Profits for the Investment Deposits Revenues in 2017 For further information 6% for the Foreign call: 5656 or Currency Deposits Omdurman National Bank Committed to Sustaining Excellence 15% for Long Term Deposits 13.5% for Short-term and Absolute Deposits Quote of the Day: Easter egg creation- Chocolatier Dawn Jenks decorates a giant chocolate egg at Cadbury World in Birmingham. (PA) Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri (L) is welcomed by France s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian as they attend the international CEDRE conference in Paris on April 6, (AFP) I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. Nelson Mandela AFP Photographer Wins Arab Journalism Award for Jerusalem Protests AFP Dubai: AFP photographer Ahmad Gharabli on Wednesday took home first prize at the Arab Journalism Awards in Dubai for his work documenting protests in Jerusalem. Gharabli, who has been with Agence France- Presse since 2006, won first place in the photojournalism category at Admirers Mourn King, Pledge to Carry on Unfinished Work AP Memphis: Fifty years after a shot rang out in Memphis, killing the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., freedom rang from the balcony of the Lorraine Motel as a bell tolled 39 times to mark a life cut short by racism. King died among the most hated men in America, but admirers grateful for his life and legacy mourned his loss and pledged to carry on his unfinished work to end racial injustice and economic inequality. Nothing would be more tragic than for us to stop at this point, said the Rev. William Barber, who will renew King s Poor People Campaign this spring. We must go up together or go down together. What he said then is what we must do now. A host of tributes to the slain civil rights leader were held across the country. At the epicenter was Memphis, where King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, while in town for a sanitation workers strike. The dignity of the workers paralleled this year s anniversary, with teachers in Oklahoma and Kentucky walking out of schools to push for more funding. The triple evils of racism, poverty and war that King hammered at the end of his life linger from economic, educational, housing and health disparities to the looming threat of nuclear war. Both the speakers and marchers of the day pledged their commitment to picking up King s mantle. The Rev. James Lawson, who invited King to Memphis 50 years ago to assist with the sanitation workers strike, said more the Arab Media Forum for a series of images documenting Palestinian demonstrations in east Jerusalem. Among his work is a photo of four women huddled in fear against a shuttered storefront as an Israeli policeman on horseback dispersed a December 9, 2017 protest. Gharabli, 37, is himself a Palestinian from annexed east Jerusalem, which was seized by Israel in 1967 in a move never recognized by the international community. The annual Arab Media Forum, held Tuesday and Wednesday in Dubai, was dominated this year by the global fight against fake news. The forum also featured a talk by AFP global editor-in-chief Phil Chetwynd, who addressed the growing impact of visuals on the news in the digital era. Review of Farewell Damascus by Ghada Samman Manal Shakir CHICAGO: Farewell Damascus by Ghada Samman is a story set on the edge of social and political change in 1960s Syria. A young and courageous woman, Zain, also known as the Ziqaq Al -Yasmin Troublemaker navigates life as a university student, aspiring writer and soon to be divorcee through a heavily patriarchal Damascus. Ghada Samman, no stranger to the Arab literary world, has been publishing since the early 1960s, both literary and journalistic pieces. Known to push boundaries, Samman created her own publishing house, Ghada Al-Samman Publications, to avoid censorship of her work. She has written more than 25 volumes of stories, essays and novels. An unapologetic novelist, Samman s book, Farewell Damascus, is a force of literature not only in Samman s repertoire, but within the literary arena. Originally published in Arabic in 2015, the book was then translated into English by Nancy Roberts and published by Darf Publishers in There is lasting humor in the contradictions Zain finds herself in when exploring Damascus s old, traditional neighborhoods and its deep patriarchy. As a 17-year-old who falls in love with a rich young man and fights to marry him, she is rebuked by her family s older generation of aunts and uncles who tell her that you re not allowed to get to know someone before you marry him. You ve got to sign the marriage contract first! But Zain, with her father s permission, marries the man she loves, only to find a year later that she does not want to be married any more. When news spreads that she is getting a divorce, she is berated by her family s younger generation of cousins who had progress is needed toward King s goal of equality for all. I m still anxious and frustrated, said Lawson, his black hair turned gray. The task is unfinished. Speaking in King s hometown of Atlanta, the Rev. Bernice King recalled her father as a great orator whose message of peaceful protest was still vital decades later. We decided to start this day remembering the apostle of nonviolence, she said during a ceremony to award a prize named for her father. As painful as losing her father was, she said she wouldn t change history. Actually, I m glad that everything happened the way that it happened because I can t imagine the world that we live in without the contributions of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King and the sacrifice that they made, she said. As a march began in Memphis, people locked arms or held signs as they chanted and sang songs such as We Shall Overcome. Memphis police estimated the crowd at about 10,000. We know what he worked hard for, we know what he died for, so we just want to keep the dream going, said Dixie Spencer, who came from nearby Hardeman County, where she s an NAACP leader. only just mustered up the courage to tell their parents about the people they loved and wanted to marry. Now the parents are using Zain as an example to suppress their children s spousal choices. Unafraid and unapologetic, Samman s book is impactful, told with ease and wit. She writes with a clarity as she describes Damascus, with its vibrant history, ancient corners and the societal contradictions that fall within its walls. Samman does an incredible job of writing about Zain and her dreams, to seek freedom and independence in a world that does not allow many women that privilege. Samman s book is about desires versus reality. It is about what one wants in life and then what life gives you. Through Zain, Samman shows that life is what one makes of it, whatever the outcome. \ BRIEF Bollywood Hero Khan Forced to Spend Extra Day in Jail AFP NEW DEHLI: An Indian court Friday adjourned a bail plea by Bollywood superstar Salman Khan so that he can fight a fiveyear jail term for killing endangered wildlife. The decision means the 52-year-old actor will have to spend at least one more night in prison in the Rajasthan city of Jodhpur where the shock jail term was ordered on Thursday. Khan was not present at the sessions court in Jodhpur when the judge said he wanted to see the entire case record before deciding whether Khan should be granted bail. Khan applied for bail after the lower court Thursday ruled him guilty under wildlife protection laws and ordered the jail term. S. Korean Court Jails Former President Park for 24 Years for Bribery Reuters SEOUL: A South Korean court jailed former President Park Geun-hye for 24 years on Friday over a scandal that exposed webs of corruption between political leaders and the country s conglomerates. Park became South Korea s first democratically elected leader to be forced from office last year when the Constitutional Court ordered her out over a scandal that landed the heads of two conglomerates in jail. The court also fined Park, the daughter of a former military dictator, 18 billion won ($16.9 million) fine, after finding her guilty of charges including bribery, abuse of power and coercion. The defendant abused her presidential power entrusted by the people, and as a result, brought massive chaos to the order of state affairs and led to the impeachment of the president, which was unprecedented, judge Kim Se-yoon said as he handed down the sentence. The court ruled that Park colluded with her old friend, Choi Soon-sil, to receive 23.1 billion won from major conglomerates including Samsung and Lotte to help Choi s family and bankroll nonprofit foundations owned by her. Prosecutors sought a 30-year sentence and a billion won ($112 million) fine for Park. Park, 66, who has been in jail since March 31 last year, has denied wrongdoing and was not present in court. The judge said Park had shown no sign of repentance but had instead tried to sift the blame to Choi and her secretaries. We cannot help but sternly hold her accountable, Kim said. Friday s sentence dealt a bitter blow for Park, who returned to the presidential palace in 2012 as the country s first woman leader, more than three decades after she left it following the assassination of her father. Her ouster from office last year led to a presidential election won by the liberal Moon Jae-in, whose conciliatory stand on North Korea has underpinned a significant warming of ties between the rival neighbors. Moon s office said Park s fate was heartbreaking not only for herself but the nation. Published By: Byader Media Distribution Co.Ltd. - Printed by: Martyr Major Osman Omer.