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Man City extend lead at top as Chelsea stumble

LONDON (AFP) – Manchester City beat Brentford 1-0 early yesterday to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League to an ominous eight points as title rivals Chelsea conceded a last-gasp equaliser at home to Brighton.

Phil Foden’s first-half goal was enough to give Pep Guardiola’s champions a 10th consecutive league win as they took full advantage of injury-hit Chelsea’s slip-up at Stamford Bridge.

The defending champions now have 50 points after 20 matches, putting them eight clear of second-placed Chelsea.

Liverpool, who lost to Leicester on Wednesday, are a further point behind.

The coronavirus pandemic has ravaged English football’s fixture list, leaving some clubs needing to play catch-up, but 2021 will end with City out on their own.

Manchester City’s Phil Foden celebrates after teammate Aymeric Laporte scored a goal that was later disallowed during the English Premier League match against Brentford. PHOTO: AP
Brighton’s Danny Welbeck scores his side’s goal during the English Premier League match against Chelsea. PHOTO: AP

Brentford threatened in the opening stages in west London, but City took the lead in the 16th minute when Foden cleverly tucked in a pinpoint cross from Kevin De Bruyne.

Foden and Jack Grealish were left out of the starting XI for City’s wins over Newcastle and Leicester after they were pictured on a night out following the 7-0 home victory over Leeds.

But the England pair were back on the teamsheet yesterday and Foden’s goal made it a perfect 10 out of 10 for City.

Despite their dominance of possession, the visitors mustered just three shots on target in the entire game and Guardiola looked edgy in the latter stages as his team attempted to see out the victory.

They thought they had sealed the three points in the dying minutes when Aymeric Laporte rose to head home but his goal was ruled out by VAR for a marginal offside.

Guardiola, who hailed the “exceptional” Foden, refused to be complacent despite his side’s huge lead at the top of the Premier League.

“There are 54 points to play for,” he told the BBC. “It is not expected to have this distance for eight and nine, but Liverpool play one game less. But it is 54 points.

“In December no one is champion. We are going to lose games. I see in my mind Arsenal, Chelsea, Southampton coming. I cannot say more than congratulations to the team but we must focus.”

CHELSEA PAIN

Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea, who kicked off 45 minutes before City, looked poised for victory after Romelu Lukaku headed them into a first-half lead but Brighton substitute Danny Welbeck struck in stoppage time for a 1-1 draw.

Chelsea wing-back Reece James limped off in the 27th minute with a hamstring injury, to be replaced by Marcos Alonso.

The home side went ahead immediately, when Lukaku shook off the attentions of Neal Maupay after a tussle to power a header past goalkeeper Robert Sanchez from a Mason Mount corner.

But Graham Potter’s side came back strongly, with Adam Lallana and the impressive Yves Bissouma testing Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy either side of half-time.

It looked as though it was going to be a familiar story for Brighton, who have struggled to score this season, but substitute Welbeck had other ideas, heading home Marc Cucurella’s cross in the 91st minute.

Tuchel counted the cost of further injuries to an already stretched squad after James limped off and Andreas Christensen had to be substituted at half-time.

The club announced on Tuesday that left wing-back Ben Chilwell faced surgery on a knee injury and defender Thiago Silva missed the Brighton game due to a thigh complaint.

“Very frustrating, of course very disappointing because we gave everything and we had enough big chances to decide the match,” Tuchel told Amazon Prime.

“It was a very intense match and we have another two changes because of injuries (James and Christensen) so in the dressing room they are completely, completely exhausted but it is the same subject every single matchday now.”

City travel to face fourth-placed Arsenal tomorrow knowing a win would take them 11 points clear of Chelsea, who host Liverpool the following day.

US Navy seizes USD4M worth of heroin in Arabian Sea

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (AP) – United States (US) navy vessels seized 385 kilogrammes of heroin in the Arabian Sea worth some USD4 million, in a major bust by the international maritime operation in the region, officials said yesterday.

The USS Tempest and USS Typhoon seized the drugs hidden aboard a stateless fishing vessel plying Mideast waters, the international task force said in a statement. The seizure took place on Monday.

The Navy said the fishing vessel likely came from Iran. All nine crew members identified themselves as Iranian nationals, according to Commander Timothy Hawkins, a spokesperson for the US Navy’s Mideast-based 5th Fleet.

He did not elaborate on who manufactured the drugs or their ultimate destination.

As the task force ramps up regional patrols, it has confiscated illegal drugs worth over USD193 million during operations at sea this year – more than the amount of drugs seized in the last four years combined, its statement said.

Heroin is trafficked to the Middle East and even Europe by land from Iran and Afghanistan through well-worn land routes in the Balkans, Southern Caucasus mountains or Saudi Arabia, according to last year’s United Nations (UN) Global Synthetic Drugs Assessment. Smugglers from Iran have increasingly taken to sea to bring heroin into South Asia, the report added, with Iranian and Pakistani sailors often arrested near Sri Lanka.

Iran’s porous 1,923 kilometre-long eastern border with Afghanistan, the world’s largest producer of opium, has turned it into a key transit country for the illicit drug trade.

United States service members from coastal patrol ship USS Tempest (PC 2) and USS Typhoon (PC 5) inventory an illicit shipment of drugs aboard a stateless dhow vessel transiting international waters in the Arabian Sea. PHOTO: AP

Four killed in Al-Shabaab raid near Somalia capital

MOGADISHU (AFP) – At least four people were killed yesterday when fighters from the Al-Shabaab extremist group raided a town near Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, police said.

The attack came as the troubled country was in the grip of an escalating political crisis pitting the president against the prime minister.

The attackers, armed with machine guns, raided the town of Balcad, about 30 kilometres north of Mogadishu, police and witnesses said.

“The terrorists attacked Balcad early this morning targetting government security checkpoints,” police officer Abdullahi Mohamed told AFP by phone.

“The situation returned to normal now and the government forces are in full control.”

Witnesses said the Al-Shabaab fighters managed to enter some parts of the town, which lies along a road linking Mogadishu to rest of the country, before they were repelled.

President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed and Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble are locked in a festering feud over long-delayed elections in the Horn of Africa nation.

The president, better known as Farmajo, this week announced he was suspending the premier, who in turn accused him of an “attempted coup”.

Relations between the pair have long been frosty, with the latest developments raising fresh fears among international partners that the government could be distracted from its fight to quash the extremist insurgency.

Al-Shabaab has been waging a violent campaign against the country’s fragile government since 2007 but was driven out of Mogadishu in 2011 after an offensive by an African Union force.

But the al-Qaeda-linked insurgents retain control of vast rural areas of Somalia, from which they frequently launch deadly attacks in the capital and elsewhere against civilian, military and government targets.

Blood donation drive collects nearly 300 pints

James Kon

The second Brunei Darussalam National Olympic Council (BDNOC) blood donation campaign collected 296 pints of blood over a period of four days.

The campaign ended yesterday, and sought to increase the stock of the Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Hospital’s blood bank while promoting the significance of blood donations to athletes and the sports community.

The blood donation campaign took place at the Health Promotion Centre at Commonwealth Drive and was held adhering to strict COVID-19 prevention protocols.

Only donors with green or yellow codes were allowed to take part; have completed two doses of COVID-19 vaccine; and had a temperature check upon entering.

Face masks had to be worn at all times and hand hygiene practised before and after donating.

Registered participants received a gift pack containing a mask, lanyard and hand sanitiser, as well as a certificate of donation signed by His Royal Highness Prince Haji Sufri Bolkiah, the BDNOC President.

Vice President II of BDNOC Haji Muhd Zamri bin Dato Paduka Haji Hamdani was among the donors yesterday.

Vice President II of BDNOC. Haji Muhd Zamri bin Dato Paduka Haji Hamdani with other blood donation participants during the second BDNOC blood donation drive. PHOTO: BAHYIAH BAKIR

Thailand thump Indonesia 4-0 to take control of AFF Suzuki Cup final

SINGAPORE (AFP) – Chanathip Songkrasin scored twice as Thailand closed in on a sixth AFF Suzuki Cup title with a 4-0 thumping of Indonesia in the first leg of the final on Wednesday night.

The Thai captain opened the scoring at the National Stadium in Singapore in the second minute and added another just after the interval.

Goals by Supachok Sarachat and Bordin Phala then put the five-time champions in firm control ahead of the second leg tomorrow night (8.30pm Brunei time).

Indonesia’s disappointment in the competition looks set to continue. They have been beaten in their previous five appearances in the final including losses to the Thais in 2000, 2002 and 2016.

Thailand made seven changes to their starting line-up after their semi-final victory over defending champions Vietnam, but they started strongly and went in front after less than 90 seconds.

Thailand’s Chanathip Songkrasin celebrates after scoring during the first leg of the AFF Suzuki Cup final match against Indonesia. PHOTO: AFP

Philip Roller showed great persistence to get past two defenders on the right of the box before squaring for Chanathip to fire home.

The Thais almost extended their lead in the 14th minute when Bordin’s effort was cleared off the line and came back to Yusef Elias Dolah who headed over the crossbar.

Despite Thailand’s dominance, Indonesia had a chance to get back on level terms just before the interval when Alfeandra Dewangga blazed over with only goalkeeper Siwarak Tedsungnoen to beat.

The Thais tightened their grip with their second goal seven minutes after the interval.

Supachok was surrounded by three defenders in the Indonesian box but he laid the ball off for Chanathip to place a low shot past Nadeo Argawinata for his fourth goal of the tournament.

Irfan Jaya missed a golden opportunity to narrow the deficit when his effort was stopped by the feet of Siwarak.

And the Indonesians would rue that miss as Supachok rifled home a shot from outside the box to make it 3-0 in the 67th minute before Bordin completed the rout with his side’s fourth seven minutes from time.

Widespread flight cancellations continue as Omicron spreads

NEW YORK (AP) – Hundreds of flights were cancelled on Wednesday as the Omicron variant creates havoc both for travellers and for airlines that are having to cobble together flight crews as pilots, flight attendants and ground crews become infected or are exposed to others who have been.

Over 850 flights were cancelled by midday on Wednesday and that number has ticked higher throughout the day, according to data from the flight-tracking website FlightAware. There were nearly 1,300 cancellations for flights entering, leaving or inside the United States (US) on Tuesday, and about 1,500 on Monday.

Cancellations began to spike the day before the holidays during what is already a buzzing pace for airlines this time of year.

Delta, United and JetBlue have all said that the Omicron variant was causing enough staffing issues that flights were cancelled.

SkyWest led US carriers with 195 cancellations, followed by United with 158 and Delta with 103. SkyWest, a regional airline based in Utah, has suffered an elevated level of cancellations after severe weather hit several of its hubs, but it’s reporting the same staffing issues due to COVID-19.

Travellers walk through a terminal at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. PHOTO: AP

The Pacific Northwest was slammed with cold and heavy snow over the weekend. Among US airports, Seattle-Tacoma had the highest percentage of incoming and outgoing flights cancelled on Wednesday, according to FlightAware.

Omicron has intensified already significant staffing issues for airlines, which winnowed workforces in 2020 as air travel collapsed, only to be broadsided when vaccination rates jumped and millions of people felt comfortable flying again this year.

That could translate to travel headaches for hundreds of thousands of people if cancellations maintain the current pace into the weekend. The Transportation Security Administration expects the Monday after New Year’s will be one of the busiest days of the holiday season.

According to TSA checkpoint data, the numbers of people flying this holiday season far exceeds last year – before COVID-19 vaccinations were available – but still trails 2019 traveller numbers.

31 bodies retrieved from collapsed mine

CAIRO (AP) – Sudanese authorities said on Wednesday rescue workers retrieved at least 31 bodies from a collapsed gold mine in West Kordofan province.

The country’s state-run mining company said workers and villagers were still searching the Darsaya mine for more bodies or possible survivors. The mine is located in the Fuja village, around 700 kilometres south of the capital of Khartoum.

The defunct mine collapsed earlier this week, killing at least 38 people, the company said on Tuesday. It posted images on Facebook showing villagers gathering at the site as at least two dredgers worked to find possible survivors and bodies.

The Sudanese Mineral Resources Limited Company said the mine was not functional but local miners returned to work there after security forces guarding the site left the area.

Collapses are common in Sudan’s gold mines, where safety standards are not widely in effect.

People gathering as victims from a collapsed gold mine are buried in Kordofan, Sudan. PHOTO: AP

Sudan is a major gold producer with numerous mines scattered across the country. The industry, however, suffered from years of mismanagement and corruption.

The transitional government has begun regulating the industry during the past two years.

In nearby North Darfur province, an unidentified armed group late Tuesday attacked and looted a warehouse for the World Food Program (WFP) in the provincial capital of el-Fasher, said Khardiata Lo Ndiaye, United Nations (UN) humanitarian coordinator in Sudan. Local authorities in North Darfur imposed a curfew across the province starting on Wednesday.

As many as 1,900 metric tonnes of food had been stored at the warehouse, meant to be distributed to people in need in the area, the WFP said.

“Such an attack severely impedes our ability to deliver to the people who need it the most,” she said.

Sudan is one of the poorest counties in the world, with at least 14.3 million people in need humanitarian assistance, according to UN figures.

The attack on WFP’s warehouse came after another one on a former base for the UN peacekeeping mission in el-Fasher last week. The base, handed over to Sudanese authorities on December 21, was also looted, the UN said.

Dortmund eager to settle Haaland’s future

BERLIN (AFP) – Erling Haaland (AFP pic below) is one of the hottest properties in European football and his Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund are eager to learn if they will lose their star striker in 2022.

The 21-year-old has scored a phenomenal 76 goals in 75 games for Dortmund since his arrival from Red Bull Salzburg in January 2020.

A release clause in his Dortmund contract, valid until 2024, could allow Haaland to leave in 2022 and club CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke wants to know what the player’s agent Mino Raiola has planned.

“We will talk in the next few weeks,” Watzke said in early December, “and we will all make sure that we don’t wait until March or April to know the decision.”

In March of this year, Haaland became the fastest player to reach the milestone of 20 Champions League goals in a record

14 games. By comparison, Cristiano Ronaldo needed 56 Champions League games to reach the same goal tally. Lionel Messi took 40 matches.

At the same age as Haaland (21 years, six months), Ronaldo – the Champions League’s all-time top-scorer with 140 goals – had yet to score in Europe.

Haaland has a contract at Dortmund until 2024, but a release clause, reportedly for EUR80 million becomes active next year.

Haaland’s agent Mino Raiola fuelled speculation recently by claiming there is “a strong chance Erling will leave Dortmund, maybe this summer, maybe next summer”.

“He can – and wants – to take the next step,” Raiola added, listing Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester City as possibilities.

“When he signed for Dortmund, we all knew that this next step would come.”

Barcelona President Joan Laporta has already met Raiola, while Bayern President Herbert Hainer said before Christmas that they were out of the running.

“I only know for sure that Real Madrid are very interested in him,” Watzke revealed recently, adding that he “could also name 25 other clubs”.

Dortmund have brushed off the constant speculation.

“We are used to it, sometimes more, sometimes less,” Dortmund coach Marco Rose said of the speculation. “We take it as it is.”

With Haaland sidelined by a hip injury, Dortmund were eliminated from the Champions League and the team plays with more confidence and purpose when he is on the pitch.

Dortmund have already signed a back-up striker in Dutch forward Donyell Malen, who is finding form after a slow start since joining from PSV Eindhoven.

At 1.94 metres, Haaland often towers over defenders and has been demolishing goal records since leaving Norway as an 18-year-old to join Salzburg in 2019.

The Norwegian scored a hat-trick on his Champions League debut to inspire a 6-2 thrashing of Genk as he chalked up eight goals in the 2019/20 group stages.

After netting 29 goals in 27 games for Salzburg, Dortmund paid EUR20 million for him.

Five new cases detected

James Kon & Fadley Faisal

Five new COVID-19 cases – comprising three local and two import cases – were detected yesterday, raising the number of confirmed infections to 15,470, said Minister of Health Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham bin Haji Jaafar during the daily press conference yesterday.

The new cases were uncovered from 2,681 laboratory tests conducted in the past 24 hours, making the rate of positive cases yesterday at 0.2 per cent.

Seven cases recovered yesterday, bringing the total number of active cases in the country to 98, said the minister. Bed occupancy rate in isolation centres nationwide is 2.6 per cent.

As of Wednesday, 93.3 per cent of the population had received two doses of the vaccine, while 19.5 per cent had received three.

Also in attendance was Acting Minister of Education Datin Seri Paduka Dr Hajah Romaizah binti Haji Mohd Salleh.

On Wednesday, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah urged employers to give consideration and accommodate parents who must look after unvaccinated children who are not allowed to attend school next year.

The minister reiterated that offices in both the public and private sector are only allowed to operate at 75 per cent capacity, which will be in force until January 14, 2022 when it would be reconsidered.

Minister of Health Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham bin Haji Jaafar and Acting Minister of Education Datin Seri Paduka Dr Hajah Romaizah binti Haji Mohd Salleh at the daily press conference. PHOTO: JAMES KON

PBOC issues first loans to back financing for emissions cuts

BEIJING (CNA) – China has issued the first CNY85.5 billion (USD13.4 billion) batch of low-cost loans to financial institutions to promote green projects and corporate efforts to cut carbon emissions, the central bank said yesterday.

Under the carbon emission reduction facility (CERF), the first of its kind to be rolled out by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), financial institutions can apply for low-cost funding to back the loans they issue to finance companies’ emissions reduction efforts.

The CERF is part of China’s broader goal of bringing carbon emissions to a peak before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060, as well as to shelter the economy from the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the CERF, the PBOC will provide financial institutions with funds equal to 60 per cent of a loan’s principal at a one-year lending rate of 1.75 per cent. That would be at a discount to the seven-day reverse repo rate of 2.2 per cent.

The bank has also officially rolled out low-cost loans to support companies’ efforts to use clean coal, head of the PBOC’s monetary policy department Sun Guofeng said in a news conference. He did not say how much has been provided already.

People walk past the PBOC headquarters. PHOTO: CNA

The CERF could lead to CNY1 trillion per year being invested in projects related to clean energy after the monetary tool is fully rolled out in 2022, according to reports from Huatai Securities and Everbright Securities.

But banks are required to certify the loans have been issued to firms that can help the economy adopt cleaner energy or improve energy efficiency.

As targetted monetary policy tools, Sun said both the CERF and the special clean coal loans can contribute to the overall credit supply and stable credit growth.

In the next year, “China will give full play to monetary policy tools’ dual functions, that is, in terms of (adjusting the money supply’s) volume and the structure”, Sun said.

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Borneo Bulletin is the leading English daily in the country. It was first published by Brunei Press. Today, Borneo Bulletin has become the foremost source of information on local and foreign affairs, and the region’s business news.

© 2013 Borneo Bulletin Online - The Independent Newspaper in Brunei Darussalam, Sabah and Sarawak

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