LONDON: The fog has cleared ahead of OPEC’s next meeting, with Saudi Arabia and Russia clearly stating support to extend a global deal to cut oil supply for another nine months, said the OPEC secretary-general.
OPEC, plus Russia and nine other producers, have cut oil output by about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) since January.
The pact runs to March 2018 and they are considering extending it.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said this week he supported keeping the deal in place for nine months, following on from similar remarks by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“OPEC welcomes the clear guidance from the crown prince of Saudi Arabia on the need to achieve stable oil markets and sustain it beyond the first quarter of 2018,” OPEC’s Mohammed Barkindo told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference.
“Together with the statement expressed by President Putin this clears the fog on the way to Vienna on Nov. 30,” he said.
Oil prices fell on Friday after Brent rallied to just below $60 a barrel the previous session but support from the comments by the Saudi crown prince for extending OPEC-led output cuts created a floor.
Oil hit $59.55 on Thursday, its highest since July 2015 and more than 30 percent above its 2017 lows touched in June.
US crude prices have been capped by rising US production.
Oil prices have been hovering near their highest levels for this year amid recent signs of a tightening market, talk of an extension of production cuts and tensions in Iraq.
Friday’s announcement of a cease-fire between Iraqi forces and the Peshmerga from the country’s autonomous northern Kurdish region eased some concerns.
“Yesterday we saw the expiry of Brent options, and like last month it pushed up prices near $60 — now it’s just correcting lower,” Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix consultancy said, adding that the market reacted slowly to bullish Saudi comments.
— Reuters
Saudi Arabia and Russia ‘clear fog’ before OPEC meeting
Saudi Arabia and Russia ‘clear fog’ before OPEC meeting
Aston Villa beat Manchester City to deepen Guardiola’s pain
- City manager in the worst run of his glittering career said Friday “sooner or later” things will turn around
BIRMINGHAM: Aston Villa beat crisis-hit Manchester City 2-1 on Saturday to heap more misery on floundering manager Pep Guardiola, who has now suffered nine defeats in his past 12 matches.
Jhon Duran finished off a fine team move to give the home side an early lead and Morgan Rogers doubled Villa’s advantage in the 65th minute.
Phil Foden scored his first Premier League goal of the season in stoppage time but it proved to be too little too late.
Pep Guardiola, in the worst run of his glittering career, said Friday that “sooner or later” things will turn around but City’s fear factor has vanished.
The win lifts Unai Emery’s inconsistent Villa team to fifth in the Premier League table, one place above sinking City.
Guardiola made six changes to the team side that lost last week’s Manchester derby, bringing in goalkeeper Stefan Ortega and reshaping his defense with Rico Lewis, John Stones and Manuel Akanji.
Mateo Kovacic and Jack Grealish also returned.
But the defending champions started the match in chaotic fashion and could have been behind inside 20 seconds.
Untidy work from Josko Gvardiol allowed John McGinn to steal the ball and he fed Duran, whose shot from outside the box was pushed behind by Ortega.
Villa were millimeters away from taking the lead from the resulting corner, with Ortega, in for first-choice goalkeeper Ederson, producing a superb save to deny Pau Torres.
City then settled and their possession numbers topped 75 percent but they created little.
Instead it was Villa who took the lead through Duran after a superb team move, scoring his seventh Premier League goal of the season.
Youri Tielemans delivered a wonderful defense-splitting pass to Rogers, who burst through City’s backline with ease before finding Duran on his right and the Colombian international finished crisply.
Phil Foden tested Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez in the 35th minute after an incisive move involving Lewis.
And Gvardiol squandered a glorious chance moments before half-time, heading over a Grealish cross.
Guardiola brought on Kyle Walker for Stones at the break.
Minutes into the second half Villa’s Matty Cash lashed an attempt into the side netting after a speedy attack before Duran had a strike ruled out for offside.
Rogers hit the foot of the post just before the hour mark after an intricate team move down the left.
Emery’s men doubled their lead 20 minutes into the second half, with Rogers finishing unerringly from a McGinn pass.
City created little as they searched for a way back into the game until Foden pounced for a late consolation goal.
Saudi Arabic Language Academy launches comprehensive media glossary to standardize Arabic terminology
- Initiative seeks to provide reliable reference for researchers, journalists, and media professionals
RIYADH: The King Salman Global Academy for the Arabic Language, in collaboration with the Ministry of Media, has unveiled a comprehensive glossary of media terms aimed at standardizing and clarifying media-related terminology, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
According to SPA, the initiative seeks to provide a reliable reference for researchers, journalists, and media professionals, enhancing studies related to both traditional and digital media as well as other associated fields. It is also part of Saudi Arabia’s broader strategy to transform the media sector and promote a unified approach to media terminology.
Abdullah bin Saleh Al-Washmi, secretary-general of KSGAAL, explained that the academy prioritizes the creation of digital dictionaries to support scientific research and enhance local production at both individual and institutional levels.
He emphasized that such efforts aim to build a unified database providing researchers and specialists with access to accurate sources, in addition to digital linguistic data to support developers and programmers of technical applications, whether linguistic or non-linguistic.
Al-Washmi also highlighted the academy’s past achievements in producing specialized dictionaries in partnership with various government ministries and agencies. He noted that the media terminology glossary was launched in alignment with the significant transformations taking place in the media sector, offering a crucial linguistic resource to help understand these transformations and the evolving concepts within the field.
The glossary covers a broad range of terms related to traditional media — such as print journalism, radio, and television — as well as digital media, social media, live broadcasting, podcasts, online journalism, digital marketing, contemporary media platforms, audiovisual media vocabulary, and technical terms in the media field. It also addresses emerging concepts in new media.
Containing approximately 800 entries, the glossary provides each term’s Arabic equivalent, its grammatical category, the type of entry, its meanings, and English translations.
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Pakistan PM directs measures to increase sugar industry revenues, end hoarding
- Sugar remains one of the largest consumed food commodities in the South Asian country
- PM Sharif says government making efforts to ensure supply of sugar at affordable prices
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has asked officials to take steps to increase revenue collection from the sugar industry and to end hoarding of the commodity, Sharif’s office said on Saturday.
The prime minister issued the directives at a meeting he presided over in Lahore to review the implementation of a strategy to improve revenue collection.
Sugar remains one of the largest consumed food commodities in the South Asian country and is used in large amounts in food processing, beverages, and bakery items.
Owing to its huge demand, the government sets its procurement prices while the sugar industry is protected by a 40 percent import tariff to ensure prices remain stable.
“Revenue collection will improve after the installation of video analytics in the sugar industry,” Sharif was quoted as saying by his office. “These reforms will end sugar hoarding and help balance prices.”
The prime minister said the government was making all efforts to ensure the supply of sugar at affordable prices.
“Regular monitoring of sugar stocks should be carried out so that the sugar supply chain is not affected,” he instructed officials, calling for strict and indiscriminate action against sugar mills that were evading taxes.
Over the decades, Pakistan has failed to generate tax revenues in higher amounts due to a narrow tax base, low compliance rate, an inefficient tax administration and massive tax evasion.
The South Asian country has set an ambitious target of collecting $46 billion through taxes this financial year (July 2024 till June 2025), amid efforts to revive its fragile $350 billion economy.
Tariq Abdulhakim Museum to mark 1st anniversary with celebrations
- The two-day celebration will be held under the slogan “A Melody Between Heritage and the Future”
RIYADH: The Tariq Abdulhakim Museum in Jeddah’s historic Al-Balad district will host events and activities to commemorate its first anniversary from Dec. 27
The two-day celebration will be held under the slogan “A Melody Between Heritage and the Future.”
It will highlight the museum’s most significant milestones since its establishment and its contributions to showcasing Saudi musical heritage while fostering national identity, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Events include live musical performances, guided tours within the museum, theatrical activities and a light show projected onto the museum’s facade.
The Tariq Abdulhakim Museum, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, houses a collection of the artist’s personal belongings, musical compositions and audiovisual materials.
It also features a music research center, providing researchers with access to an extensive music archive, with the aim of preserving intangible cultural heritage.
Indian man denies hospital rape and murder of doctor
- The discovery of the doctor’s bloodied body at a government hospital in Kolkata on August 9 sparked nationwide anger
- The gruesome nature of the attack drew comparisons with the 2012 gang rape and murder of a young woman on a Delhi bus
KOLKATA: An Indian man on trial for raping and murdering a 31-year-old doctor has pleaded not guilty, his lawyer said Saturday, a crime that appalled the nation and triggered wide-scale protests.
The discovery of the doctor’s bloodied body at a government hospital in the eastern city of Kolkata on August 9 sparked nationwide anger at the chronic issue of violence against women.
Sanjoy Roy, 33, the lone accused in the case, pleaded not guilty before the judge in a closed court on Friday in Kolkata, his lawyer Sourav Bandyopadhyay told AFP.
“I am not guilty, your honor, I have been framed,” Roy told the court, Bandyopadhyay said, repeating his client’s words.
Roy, a civic volunteer in the hospital, was arrested the day after the murder and has been held in custody since.
He would potentially face the death penalty if convicted.
The court began hearings on November 11, listening to evidence from some 50 witnesses, but it was on Friday that Roy took the stand.
“Judge Anirban Das questioned him with more than 100 questions during the six-hour-long in camera deposition, that continued until late in the evening,” Bandyopadhyay said.
Roy had earlier proclaimed his innocence to the public while screaming from a prison van outside the court before a hearing in November.
Doctors in Kolkata went on strike for weeks in response to the brutal attack.
Tens of thousands of ordinary Indians joined in the protests, which focused anger on the lack of measures for female doctors to work without fear.
India’s Supreme Court has ordered a national task force to examine how to bolster security for health care workers, saying the brutality of the killing had “shocked the conscience of the nation.”
The gruesome nature of the attack drew comparisons with the 2012 gang rape and murder of a young woman on a Delhi bus, which also sparked weeks of nationwide protests.
The trial continues. The next hearing is set for January 2, 2025.
