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Premier League stars set for ‘exceptional’ AFCON

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) – Premier League trio Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Riyad Mahrez will be star attractions in Cameroon at the Africa Cup of Nations, which promises to be “exceptional” according to the top football official in the continent.

The 36-match group phase kicks off on January 9 at the newly built Olembe Stadium in Yaounde and the tournament concludes at the same 60,000-seat venue on February 6 with the final.

Champions Algeria top a 24-team cast that includes former title-holders Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Nigeria, Sudan and Tunisia.

While record seven-time winners Egypt will be making an unrivalled 25th appearance at the African football showpiece, Comoros and Gambia are debutants.

It is a wide-open competition with Algeria, unbeaten in 33 matches since late 2018, the logical favourites, but there are at least seven other nations capable of conquering Africa.

Cameroon, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal and Tunisia will believe they can go all the way while Burkina Faso, Ghana and Mali should not be underestimated.

ABOVE & BELOW: Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez, Senegal’s Sadio Mane and Egypt’s Riyad Mahrez. PHOTOS: AFP

Guinea, who rank among the outsiders, have been told by junta leader Mamady Doumbouya that they must repay state-funded preparation costs if they do not return to Conakry as champions.

The build-up to the biennial tournament has been marred by rumours that it would be postponed or cancelled owing to a worldwide coronavirus surge.

There have also been reports of Cameroon racing against the clock to complete preparations for the biggest African sporting event.

This is the fourth attempt by the central African state to play hosts after failing to meet 2019 deadlines and being replaced by Egypt, then losing out to unfavourable weather conditions and COVID-19.

But as Liverpool forwards Salah and Mane, Manchester City winger Mahrez and other Premier League stars prepare for action, Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe is upbeat.

“We are going to host with the people of Cameroon an exceptional tournament. It will be the most successful AFCON (Cup of Nations),” he said during a visit to Yaounde.

“The world will witness the best of African football and hospitality. We can host a football tournament as good as any in Europe.”

Motsepe and Cameroon football legend Samuel Eto’o, now head of the national football federation, have been stung by suggestions that the Cup of Nations should be delayed or scrapped over the pandemic.

“If the Euros took place this year in the middle of a pandemic, with full stadiums in many cities, why would the Cup of Nations not be played in Cameroon?,” asked Eto’o in a Canal+ interview.

“Or are people trying to say that, as always, Africans are not worth anything so we have to put up with it?”

As Cup of Nations organisers applied finishing touches to the six venues, from Douala on the Atlantic coast to Garoua in the north west, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp stirred a verbal storm.

Klopp referred to the Cup of Nations as a “little tournament” during a press conference only to later say “I did not mean it like that”.

Senegal coach and former star Aliou Cisse was furious, asking reporters in Dakar “Who does Klopp think he is?

“I respect Liverpool but not Klopp, who undermines African football. He is where he is today because of African footballers like Salah, Mane, (Naby) Keita and (Joel) Matip.”

Having to free Africans during the European season is a sore point with managers and Napoli boss Luciano Spalletti labelled the Cup of Nations an “invisible monster”.

The Serie A title challengers could lose Algerian Adam Ounas, Cameroonian Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Nigerian Victor Osimhen and Senegalese Kalidou Koulibaly for close to six weeks.

Senegal-born Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira said the Cup of Nations “needs to be more respected because this tournament is as important as the Euros”.

Another coach facing potential unhappiness is South Africa-born Pitso Mosimane from African and Egyptian club giants Al Ahly, nine of whose stars are in various Cameroon-bound squads.

Ahly are scheduled to compete at the Club World Cup in the UAE between February 3 and 12, creating a headache if any nation with Ahly stars reaches the early February semi-finals in Cameroon.

Huawei says revenues down 29pc this year

BEIJING (AFP) – Chinese telecom giant Huawei said yesterday its annual revenue had fallen by nearly a third from the previous year, as it continued to be weighed down by United States (US) sanctions that have hit its smartphone sales.

Huawei has been caught in the crossfire of a US-China trade and technology rivalry after the administration of former president Donald Trump moved to cripple the company over concerns it could pose a cybersecurity and espionage threat.

The firm’s revenue for this year fell by 29 per cent year-on-year to CNY634 billion (USD99.5 billion), said rotating chairman Guo Ping in an annual new year message.

“In 2021, despite all the trials and tribulations, we worked hard to create tangible value for our customers and local communities,” Guo said.

“We enhanced the quality and efficiency of our operations, and expect to round off the year with a total revenue of CNY634 billion.”

He added that the telecom carrier segment had “remained stable” and “overall performance was in line with our forecasts.”

Huawei’s revenue has fallen in 2021 due in part to the offloading of its budget phone brand Honor, which was sold late last year.

Huawei is not publicly listed, and the message did not give any other financial specifics.

Guo said the company was on a “bumpy, but rewarding” road, adding that 2022 will come with “its fair share of challenges.”

Huawei’s travails have forced it to quickly pivot into new business lines including enterprise computing, wearables and health tech, technology for intelligent vehicles, and software.

The US has barred Huawei from acquiring crucial components such as microchips and forced it to create its own operating system by cutting it off from using Google’s Android operating system.

This month, the company launched a new foldable phone and said 220 million Huawei devices were running its HarmonyOS system.

The group is the world’s biggest supplier of telecoms network gear and was once a top-three smartphone producer along with Apple and Samsung.

Unusual phenomenon causes fish to rain from sky in Texas town

UPI – Officials in Texas town said residents weren’t just imagining it when it seemed to be “raining fish” during a storm.

The city of Texarkana said in a Facebook post that it was indeed “raining fish” during Wednesday’s rainstorms.

Multiple residents took to social media to share photos of the fish that fell from the sky.

“Animal rain is a phenomenon that occurs when small water animals like frogs, crabs, and small fish are swept up in waterspouts or drafts that occur on the surface of the earth. They are then rained down at the same time as the rain,” the city’s Facebook post said.

Imams to Ummah: Self-reflect as we enter new year

Azlan Othman

Imams urged the Ummah to self-reflect and determine to excel and become more pious and loyal followers of the teachings of Allah the Almighty as the nation ushers in the new year.

“We hope to gain success and happiness in the worldly affairs and in the days of hereafter,”
Imams said yesterday during the Friday Sermon.

They said 2021 brought a slew of challenges, with a number of memorable events to be remembered and set as example.

“COVID-19 still does not show any signs of abating, jeopardising daily activities and impacting the economy, health and education,” the Imams said, adding, “We must be convinced that whatever happens is a testimony and provision from Allah the Almighty that asks of us to self-reflect for the betterment for the future.

“As a servant of Allah the Almighty, we are required to self-reflect whether we have intensified and fulfilled all the obligations ordered by Allah the Almighty.”

File photo of Ash-Shaliheen Mosque

Imams also called on the Ummah to assess the determination to be loyal to Allah the Almighty and perform the daily prayers, pay tithe, fast, not to engage in sinful acts like stealing, bribery and taking on interest.

“We should also reflect and ask ourselves whether we have executed our tasks. We should be responsible and carry on the tasks entrusted – as a parent, child, student, employee and head of a department.

“If our responsibilities and tasks are not up to the mark, we should strive for betterment.

“If there are still shortfalls and weaknesses, we should make changes by stepping up our efforts towards betterment.

“Mankind has many weaknesses and deficiencies.

Left unchecked, it would be difficult for us to assess our shortcomings and we are more inclined to assess flaws of others,” said the Imams.

Ex-Afghan president says had no choice but to flee Kabul

ISLAMABAD (AP) – Afghanistan’s former president said he had no choice but to abruptly leave Kabul as the Taleban closed in and denied an agreement was in the works for a peaceful takeover, disputing the accounts of former Afghan and United States (US) officials.

Former President Ashraf Ghani (AP file pic below) said in a BBC interview that aired on Thursday that an adviser gave him just minutes to decide to abandon Kabul.

He also denied widespread accusations that he left Afghanistan with millions in stolen money.

Ghani’s sudden and secret departure August 15 left the city rudderless as US and NATO forces were in the final stages of their chaotic withdrawal from the country after 20 years.

“On the morning of that day, I had no inkling that by late afternoon I would be leaving,” Ghani told BBC radio. His remarks conflicted with other accounts.

Former President Hamid Karzai told The Associated Press in an interview earlier this month that Ghani’s departure scuttled the opportunity for government negotiators, including himself and peace council chairman Abdullah Abdullah, to reach an 11th-hour agreement with the Taleban, who had committed to staying outside the capital.

After calling the government Defence Minister Bismillah Khan, the interior minister and police chief and discovering all had fled the capital, Karzai said he invited the Taleban into Kabul ” to protect the population so that the country, the city doesn’t fall into chaos and the unwanted elements who would probably loot the country, loot shops”.

But Ghani in his radio interview with British General Sir Nick Carter, former chief of defence staff, said he fled “to prevent the destruction of Kabul”, claiming two rival Taleban factions were bearing down on the city and were ready to enter and wage a bitter battle for control.

There was no evidence upon the Taleban entry of the rival factions Ghani referred to.

The insurgents, who in the days prior to the push into Kabul had swept over much of the country as Afghan government forces melted away or surrendered, quickly took control of the palace.

According to humanitarian aid workers, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they wanted to speak privately and who were there at the time, the Taleban moved to protect their compounds.

Still, the Taleban takeover was met with widespread fear and a deep longing by many to flee their desperately poor homeland despite billions of international money over the 20 years the US-backed governments had been in power.

In the BBC interview, Ghani denied widespread accusations that he left Afghanistan with a cache of stolen money. The US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko has been tasked with investigating those allegations.

Successive Afghan governments, as well as independent foreign and Afghan contractors, have been accused of widespread corruption, with dozens of reports by Sopko documenting the most egregious incidents. Washington has spent USD146 billion on reconstruction in Afghanistan since the overthrow in 2001 of the Taleban, who had harboured al-Qaeda and its leader, Osama bin Laden. Yet even before the insurgents returned in August, the poverty level in Afghanistan was at 54 per cent.

Earlier this week, Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, an investigative reporting organisation with 150 journalists in more than 30 countries, listed Ghani among the world’s most corrupt leaders.

After being told by his national security adviser Hamdullah Mohib that his personal protection force was not capable of defending him, Ghani said he decided to leave.

Mohib, who “was literally terrified”, gave him just two minutes to decide whether to leave, Ghani said, insisting he was not sure where he would be taken even after he was on the helicopter getting ready to take off.

Ghani did not address the rapid and swift collapse of the Afghan military in the weeks leading up to the Taleban takeover, but he did blame an agreement the US had signed with the Taleban in 2020 for the eventual collapse of his government.

RBPF marks 101st anniversary with religious ceremony

James Kon

The Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF) organised a recitation of the Surah Yaasiin and Doa Kesyukuran at Ash-Shaliheen Mosque, Jalan Perdana Mentiri, yesterday to commemorate the 101st ­anniversary of its establishment.

Commissioner of Police Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Mohammad Irwan bin Haji Hambali was the guest of honour. Deputy Commissioner of Police Sulaiman bin Alidin, DSP Mohamad Amirruddin bin Haji Tunjang as the chair of the Islamic religious body as well as directors, deputy directors, head of formation, commanding officers, senior officers and officials from RBPF were also in attendance.

The ceremony commenced with Sunnat Hajat mass prayer led by APO Sarjan 6472 Mohammad Yusri bin Haji Abu Bakar, to bless all members of the RBPF with good health and well-being while carrying out their duties. This was followed by the mass Asar prayer led by Iman of Ash-Shaliheen Mosque Haji Mohammad Izzat Izzuddin bin Begawan Pehin Khatib Dato Paduka Haji Emran, before concluding with the recitation of Surah Yassiin and
Doa Kesyukuran.

ABOVE & BELOW: Members of the Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF) participating in a religious ceremony at Ash-Shaliheen Mosque. PHOTOS: RBPF

Chinese tech stocks drive Hong Kong gains

HONG KONG (AFP) – Shares in Hong Kong finished with gains yesterday, as surging Chinese tech stocks helped it shrug off a weak lead from Wall Street on the last trading day of the year.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index closed up by more than one per cent, on a day when many Asian bourses – Indonesia, Japan, South Korea and Thailand – were closed for public holidays.

Hangzhou-based conglomerate Alibaba was up more than eight per cent, with food delivery platform Meituan up by over three per cent, pushing the Hang Seng tech index past gains of three per cent overall in a holiday-shortened trading session.

The daily gains signalled some good news at the end of a tough year for many Chinese tech giants, which have been battered by Beijing’s drive to rein in their outsized influence on the world’s second-biggest economy.

The Hang Seng Index has been the world’s poorest-performing major gauge in 2021, down about 14 per cent for the year, while the Hang Seng tech index is nearly halved from a February peak.

“The outlook for 2022 remains uncertain, especially during the first quarter because the regulatory risk is not totally over yet,” warned Steven Leung, executive director of UOD Kay Hian (Hong Kong).

A man looks at an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo. PHOTO: AP

Shanghai was marginally up at the close, while Sydney and Wellington posted slight losses.

During the previous trading day, global stocks were mixed as markets weighed the efforts to limit the health and economic effects of the latest fast-spreading COVID-19 wave.

The Omicron variant has led to record new caseloads of COVID-19 worldwide, but markets have remained sanguine in light of research suggesting the health effects will be milder than with earlier variants.

Paris and Frankfurt both climbed but London fell, and Wall Street paused its rally, with both the Dow and S&P 500 retreating from all-time highs.

“Worries about the Omicron variant have receded, but the speed of its spread is tempering sentiment,” analysts at Charles Schwab wrote.

And chief investment officer for private wealth at Glenmede Jason Pride told Bloomberg Television: “As we look forward to 2022 the gains are probably going to be more modest than they’ve been in the past year or so.”

But there was reason for optimism too, he said, since “we’re still in the recovery from the pandemic”.

Medvedev’s depleted Russia face tough ATP Cup defence

SYDNEY (AFP) – Russia head into their defence of the ATP Cup with a team depleted by injuries and COVID-19, but world number two Daniil Medvedev said yesterday it only made him want to win more.

Three of the four team members that triumphed for a ruthless Russia in the final against Italy in 2021 withdrew ahead of the 16-team event in Sydney, which starts today.

They included fifth-ranked Andrey Rublev, who contracted coronavirus at an Abu Dhabi exhibition this month. World number 18 Aslan Karatsev and world number 172 Evgeny Donskoy are also missing.

Evgeny Karlovskiy and Roman Safiullin were drafted in at short notice.

Rublev’s absence is a big blow with both he and United States (US) Open champion Medvedev winning every singles tie they played on their way to lifting the trophy.

But Medvedev is undeterred, despite Russia being in a tough group B that includes 2021 runner-up Italy, led by Matteo Berrettini, France and hosts Australia.

Daniil Medvedev hits a shot against Hubert Hurkacz during their first-round match at the ATP Finals in Turin, Italy. PHOTO: AFP

Only the winning nation progresses to the semi-finals from each of the four groups in the season-open tournament, which runs until January 9.

“Roman is going to be the underdog in probably all the matches, and that’s good. He has great potential, great skills in terms of tennis,” said Medvedev, who opens his campaign tomorrow against France’s Ugo Humbert.

“ATP Cup is a good chance for guys like this to win a lot of points, a lot of money, a lot of confidence coming into Australian Open quallies, and just become a better player.

“So I’m confident in Roman, in the team who are going to just try to do our best and who knows, maybe to win the title.”

He added: “I like this kind of pressure. It makes you play better. I think it’s going to make all of us four guys just play the best tennis that we can.”

A strong Italy boast not only world number seven Berrettini but Jannik Sinner, who is ranked 10, as their second singles player.

Each tie comprises two singles matches and one doubles.

Berrettini’s clash with Medvedev on Thursday could be pivotal and the Italian knows he has his work cut out.

“I mean, he’s really solid. He’s moving really well, playing deep, serving well, returning. He’s not missing at all when he’s playing good,” he said of the Russian.

“So especially on hard court he’s probably, together with Novak (Djokovic), the best player we have now.

“Personally last year I struggled to play against him, but I work hard to be ready for this match, so we will see.”

The ATP Cup gets underway today across two Sydney venues – the Ken Rosewall Arena and Qudos Bank Arena.

Inaugural champions Serbia, who are missing Djokovic, kick off against Casper Ruud’s Norway while Chile begin against Spain, who are without Rafael Nadal as he also recovers from COVID.

In other ties today, Argentina face Georgia and Stefanos Tsitsipas’ Greece take on Poland.

Embiid powers 76ers past Durant’s Nets, Warriors-Nuggets postponed

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Joel Embiid scored 34 points and Tyrese Maxey added 25 as the Philadelphia 76ers spoiled Kevin Durant’s return from the NBA’s Covid list with a 110-102 victory over the Nets in Brooklyn on Thursday.

Durant, who hadn’t played since December 16 as the Nets grappled with a COVID spike that eventually saw three of their games postponed, picked up where he left off with 33 points.

James Harden added a triple-double of 33 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists. But it wasn’t enough for the Eastern Conference-leading Nets against a Sixers team that played without coach Doc Rivers on the sideline because of coronavirus concerns.

Teams across the league were coping with COVID as the Omicron variant fueled a surge around the United States (US).

The NBA cancelled Thursday’s clash between the Western Conference-leading Golden State Warriors and Denver because the Nuggets, hit by COVID and injuries, couldn’t field the requisite eight players.

That decision sparked a sharp response from Warriors star Draymond Green, who would have been absent himself because of COVID.

Philadelphia 76ers centre Joel Embiid stares down Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant. PHOTO: AP

Green took issue with the 11th postponement of the season, saying cancelling games piecemeal as the league presses ahead with its season was unfair.

“How do you continue to cancel games when you’ve implemented rules to prevent this from happening?” Green said on Twitter. “Is that not a competitive advantage for other teams?

“The guys we didn’t have due to the protocol list played no role in Tuesdays loss? Pick a side but don’t straddle the fence.”

Green was among the Warriors absentees when Golden State came up short in an 89-86 loss to the Nuggets in San Francisco on Tuesday.

Now, he said, a rescheduled game will likely add a back-to-back to the Warriors schedule and let the Nuggets play the Western Conference co-leaders “at full strength… But they got to sneak a win when we weren’t at full strength, only two days ago??? Let’s make it make some sense here.”

NBA commissioner Adam Silver has insisted he sees no reason to pause the season. And in a bid to keep teams on track the league has made it easier for teams to call up players on short-term contracts from the developmental league and reduced the number of days that vaccinated, asymptomatic players must isolate after a positive test.

But the sheer number of cases means some teams have still been caught out as COVID combines with mid-season injuries to sideline players.

That’s why the Nets were thrilled to welcome back Durant, who missed three games.

Even with Durant and Harden, however, the Nets couldn’t hold off the Sixers.

In a game that featured four lead changes in the fourth quarter, Embiid converted a three-point play with 3:14 remaining to put the 76ers up 100-97.

Philadelphia wouldn’t relinquish the lead, Tyrese Maxey and Seth Curry draining late three-pointers to push the 76ers over the line.

With 15 seconds left Durant and Embiid exchanged words and were separated by teammates, each receiving a technical foul.

“We just respect each other so much, that natural competitive fire comes out,” said Durant, who exchanged a thumbs-up sign with Embiid as players departed the court after the game.

“It’s the name of the game… We love competition, and this is only going to make it better.”

Maxey said the victory, after two defeats this season to the Nets, was a “big win.”

“Coach Doc went down and we had a couple of players in the protocols, we wanted to come here and make a statement,” he said. “They already beat us twice so to come here and get a win on their court is big.”

In Orlando, two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 points to lead the reigning champion Milwaukee Bucks to a 136-118 victory over the Magic.

Jrue Holiday added 25 points and Khris Middleton scored 22 for Milwaukee, who won their fifth straight.

The Washington Wizards, buoyed by the return of Bradley Beal from COVID protocols, beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 110-93.

Beal scored 19 points and handed out 10 assists in his first game in almost two weeks.

Suspect in fatal Japan clinic fire dies in hospital

TOKYO (AP) – The suspect in a fire in Japan that killed 25 people has died at a hospital where he was being treated for burns and smoke inhalation, police said yesterday.

Morio Tanimoto had been under investigation on suspicion of arson and murder in the December 17 fire at a mental health clinic in Osaka in western Japan.

He died on Thursday.

Tanimoto, a clinic patient, was seen on security camera footage. He had bought a large amount of gasoline, and the incident drew comparisons to a 2019 arson attack on an animation studio in Kyoto that killed 36 people.

Japan’s nationally circulated Yomiuri newspaper said Tanimoto had been in a coma, adding that his death will likely mean much of the crime will remain a mystery. A retired metal worker, Tanimoto had troubled relations with his family, according to Japanese media reports.

The Osaka fire gutted an eight-story building, and people were trapped inside, although firefighters put out the blaze within an hour.

It raised serious questions about the safety of the building’s design, as there was only one way out, and the elevator and emergency stairs were located outside the clinic.

Among those killed were patients and the head doctor.

The suspect in the 2019 arson at the animation studio, Shinji Aoba, recovered, has been charged and faces trial.

Mourners in front of memorials to lives lost in a building fire. PHOTO: AP
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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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