Saudi football club Al Hilal were crowned the 2021 AFC (Asian Football Confederation) Champions League winners after a 2-0 victory over South Korea's Pohang Steelers in Tuesday's final.

Al Hilal's Nasser Al Dawsari scored a very early opener outside the penalty area in 16 seconds against the Pohang Steelers at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh.

It was later confirmed that this was the fastest goal in AFC Champions League final history.

In minute 63, Al Hilal forward Moussa Marega took a right-footed shot in the box to send the ball to the bottom left corner. Marega was assisted by Bafetimbi Gomis, who sent him a through-ball.

This goal cemented Al Hilal's victory for their fourth Champions League win after their 1991, 2000, and 2019 titles./agencies

Apple announced on Tuesday it has sued notorious “Israeli” spyware maker NSO Group over its allegedly "flagrant violations" of US law stemming from efforts to target iPhone users.

The suit is the latest against the beleaguered NSO Group after WhatsApp and Facebook parent company Meta took action in October.

Apple said it is seeking a permanent injunction to prevent NSO Group from ever again using any of its devices, software or services after the “Israeli” firm's Pegasus spyware was used to surveil and target Apple users.

“State-sponsored actors like the NSO Group spend millions of dollars on sophisticated surveillance technologies without effective accountability. That needs to change,” Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering, said in a statement.

“Apple devices are the most secure consumer hardware on the market — but private companies developing state-sponsored spyware have become even more dangerous. While these cybersecurity threats only impact a very small number of our customers, we take any attack on our users very seriously, and we’re constantly working to strengthen the security and privacy protections in iOS," he added.

Apple's legal complaint alleges that NSO Group implemented a since-patched exploit known as FORCEDENTRY in its spyware that allowed its users to break into Apple devices and install Pegasus.

Apple said it would be contributing $10 million, as well as an unspecified amount of damages it is seeking in court, to organizations that specialize in combatting spyware.

Ron Deibert, the director of the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab, hailed Apple's legal action, saying it is a step towards holding NSO Group "accountable for their abuses," and expressing hope that it will "help to bring justice to all who have been victimized by NSO Group’s reckless behavior."

"Mercenary spyware firms like NSO Group have facilitated some of the world’s worst human rights abuses and acts of transnational repression, while enriching themselves and their investors," he said.

NSO has maintained that it only sells its spyware to governments only for lawful purposes, but it has repeatedly been found to be at the center of controversy, including efforts to surveil journalists dissidents and heads of state.

The US sanctioned the company on Oct. 3 after it determined NSO and fellow “Israeli” surveillance firm Candiru "developed and supplied spyware to foreign governments that used this tool to maliciously target government officials, journalists, businesspeople, activists, academics, and embassy workers."

West and Central Africa had the highest number of children recruited and used by armed forces and armed groups involving more than 42,000 children between 2005 and 2020, UNICEF said on Tuesday.

“Over this same period, the region also ranks first – and worst – when it comes to numbers of rape and other forms of sexual violence committed against children, with more than 8,000 violations,” said Karin Heissler, UNICEF regional chief of child protection in West and Central Africa.

She was speaking at a UN briefing in Geneva on violations against children in armed conflict.

Heissler said the two African regions ranked second-highest worldwide in abductions with 4,800 cases and said the incidents are increasing.

“These are rankings we would rather not be part of,” said the UN official.

“And these are only the cases the UN was able to verify: the actual number of grave violations are much higher as many are unreported,” she added.

Half the population of the Central and West Africa, or 282 million, are children, according to Heissler.

Among grave violations Heissler cited are recruitment, killing and maiming, rape and other sexual violence, abduction, attacks on schools and hospitals, and denial of humanitarian access.

50% uptick in grave violations

Between 2016 and 2020, grave violation increased by 50%, said the UNICEF official.

“And there was a sadly exponential acceleration between 2019 and 2020, in the number of grave violations against children, increasing by 35%in one year,” she said.

In 2021, “a staggering 10%” of children living in conflict included in the UN Secretary-General’s report on children and armed conflict need humanitarian assistance.

Heissler said that Cameroon, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the multi-country emergencies, including crises in the Central Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin regions, have devastating consequences on children.

“For those children recruited and used, we call for the quick transfer of children from armed forces to civilian authorities and child protection actors to receive appropriate assistance, as children and as victims,” she said.

Between 2005 and 2020, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has consistently ranked first worldwide in the recruitment of children for conflict, Nigeria ranks fourth, and the Central African Republic ranks eighth, according to UNICEF./aa

Commenting on volatility in the foreign exchange markets, Turkey’s Central Bank on Tuesday decried “unhealthy” and “unrealistic” price formations in those markets, saying they are completely detached from economic fundamentals.

The Turkish Central Bank “implements a floating exchange rate regime and has no commitment to any exchange rate level," it said in a statement.

"Exchange rates are determined by supply and demand conditions according to free market dynamics. Under certain conditions, the Central Bank may only intervene in excessive volatility without aiming (in) any permanent direction," it added.

The bank said it found it necessary to warn companies and citizens against possible losses through trading at values completely detached from economic fundamentals under extremely volatile market conditions.

The value of the Turkish lira has recently plummeted more than 12% against major foreign currencies.

The US dollar climbed to as much as 13.4650 liras on Tuesday, while the euro saw 15.1692 liras. The British pound topped the 18-lira mark.

The levels later showed partial pullbacks.​​​​​​​/aa

US President Joe Biden Tuesday ordered sale from strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) to provide additional supply to the markets and lower crude prices, the White House said in a statement.

The US Department of Energy will release 50 million barrels of oil from the SPR, the largest stockpile of petroleum in the world used for emergencies.

While 32 million barrels will be an exchange over the next several months, 18 million barrels will be an acceleration of a previously authorized sale by Congress, according to the White House.

The move is a coordinated effort, a first of its kind, with the rest of the world "to maintain adequate supply as we exit the pandemic", it said, adding other major energy-consuming nations include China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, and the UK.

The White House said Biden is committed to doing everything in his power to bring down costs for the American people and continue economic recovery. The president also ordered examining anti-competitive practices, it added.

"There is mounting evidence that declines in oil prices are not translating into lower prices at the pump," the statement said.

Biden on Nov. 17 ordered the Federal Trade Commission to launch a probe into American energy companies for anti-consumer practices as the nation deals with soaring energy prices.

The president's actions come as crude oil prices hover around their highest level since 2014, creating upward pressure on inflation. Consumer prices in the US rose 6.2% in October, marking their largest 12-month increase since 1990.

The US had 606.1 million barrels of oil in its SPR as of the week ending Nov. 12, according to the country's Energy Information Administration data. It also had 433 million barrels in commercial stocks./aa

 The rainy season has been delayed for a couple of days or even weeks, which is yet another sign of Kuwait’s ever unpredictable weather, according to a veteran Kuwaiti meteorologist. “We expected this kind of weather from the end of October to early November, but Al-Wasem season was delayed,” said Adel Saadoun, meteorologist at Al-Fintas Observatory. While Kuwait has witnessed some drizzles of rain over the past couple of days, this ‘rainy weather’ is a far cry from heavy rains the country has seen in the past few years.

According to Saadoun, the delay in rain could be an indication of an especially cold winter. “There are some thunderstorms and lightning in the morning these days, which isn’t unexpected at this time of the year,” he said, commenting on yesterday’s rain. “Delays for the entry of Al-Wasem season are normal, but it could be an indication that we could have a very cold winter,” he added.

The winter season officially begins December 6 and lasts through February, but according to Saadoun, we can still expect the weather to continue being unpredictable. “You may predict and show some data, but you cannot be perfectly correct. No one in the world; not even the greatest weather expert could predict the weather with full accuracy,” he said. “There could be more rain in the coming weeks. Maybe we’ll witness another cold weather this year,” he added.

The period between December 5 and January 15 is normally cold and dry with strong westerly wind. Maximum temperature reaches around 13 degrees centigrade, and the minimum may reach 3.3 degrees centigrade, except for warm intervals resulting from the blowing of south easterly wind, in which maximum temperature could reach 23 degrees centigrade. “Normally we experience foggy mornings with zero visibility sometimes,” Saadoun said.

“From January 16 to February 15, we can also experience rainy days especially if south easterly winds affect the whole country. This period sometimes brings dust storms. Watch out for January as temperature could record subzero levels,” he warned. The record minimum temperature during the season reached -4° centigrade on January 20, 1964 at Kuwait International Airport./ Kuwait Times

The Ministry of Health yesterday called on all people above 18 to take the booster COVID-19 dose known as the third dose in a bid to strengthen immunity against the killer disease. Ministry spokesman Abdullah Al-Sanad said people who had taken the second dose at least six months ago can take the third dose without prior registration at the Ministry’s vaccination centers.

He said the dose boosts immunity, reduces the possibility of getting infected by the COVID-19 virus or its variants and also reduces the probability of death and complications from the disease. The main vaccination centers are open at Kuwait international fairground in Mishref, halls 5 and 6 from 9 am to 7 pm daily from Sunday through Thursday and from 10 am to 4 pm on Saturday, Sanad said. Kuwait has been recording extremely low numbers of new cases of the coronavirus despite returning to pre-closure life.

In the meantime, MP Ahmad Al-Hamad yesterday proposed amendments to the rents law in which he calls to exempt tenants from paying the rents during closure periods if they were enforced by authorities. In his proposal, Hamad said that in case the government orders closures due to health or security reasons or any other causes and that the tenants were prevented from benefiting from the leased housing unit, the rent should not be paid. The issue was repeatedly raised during the total closures of commercial and other activities to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic./ Kuwait Times

Hoping for a steady hand at the helm, a group of top British businesspeople on Monday instead got the premier invoking Peppa Pig. 

Not even his supporters could muster a defense of Minister Boris Johnson’s blundering speech to a flabbergasted audience of business leaders.

The Confederation of British Businesses (CBI) had sought clarity and leadership from the premier amid major uncertainties brought about by Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic. Johnson, however, delivered a farcical performance, with an incoherent speech that was described as “shambolic” by sources within his administration.

Speaking on the power of UK creativity, Johnson went off on a tangent, referencing the popular children’s cartoon character Peppa Pig and speaking of a visit to an associated theme park, arguing that it is a must for all to visit and a vision for the UK to follow.

“Yesterday I went, as we all must, to Peppa Pig World. I was a bit hazy about what I would find at Peppa Pig World, but I loved it. Peppa Pig World is very much my kind of place,” Johnson said in his address.

"It has very safe streets, discipline in schools, a heavy emphasis on mass transit systems I noticed, even if they are a bit stereotypical about Daddy Pig. The real lesson for me going to Peppa Pig World was about the power of UK creativity,” he told his bewildered audience.

Johnson’s bizarre performance did not stop there, however, as he began talking, or rather expressing his opinions, on the benefits of using electric cars on British streets, employing a variety of vocal sounds and noises to denote the car engine.

"Electric vehicles may not burble like sucking doves. And they may not have that 'vrrrom vrrrom raaah raaah' that you like. But they have so much torque that they move off the lights faster than a Ferrari,” he said in a speech reminiscent of former US President Donald Trump’s similar fascination with fire trucks and planes.  

Down from the mountain, into Red Square

Johnson’s act dove deeper into the depths of strangeness when he compared himself to Moses -- thee revered prophet of three religions -- as he "came down from [Mount] Sinai and [told] my officials [about] the new 10 commandments," a reference to a 10-point plan to support businesses’ turn to a greener model.

Stranger yet was Johnson’s quoting of Vladimir Lenin, the stern Marxist-Communist leader of the Soviet Union, which further astounded business leaders as well as his Conservative, pro-business and right-leaning party.

"Lenin once said that the Communist Revolution was Soviet power plus the electrification of the whole country. Well, I hesitate to quote Lenin before the Confederation of British Industry, but the coming industrial revolution is green power plus the electrification of the whole country," Johnson explained, perhaps less than helpfully.

The premier’s clownish speech seemingly came to a close during an awkward 21-second silence that could be felt among the audience of the country’s most prominent business leaders.

Fumbling with his papers and apparently at a loss of what to say next, Johnson mumbled “forgive me” occasionally before getting back on track.  

'Shambolic'

The prime minister’s peculiar performance left the audience confounded and confused over Johnson’s policies on repairing the economy, support for businesses and the country’s future growth.

Officials within the administration, as well as in the wider opposition, criticized him for failing to show leadership and clarity to one of the most important sectors of UK society.

"Business was really looking for leadership today and it was shambolic," an unnamed official at Downing Street said in a statement quoted by the BBC.

"Cabinet needs to wake up and demand serious changes otherwise it'll keep getting worse. If they don't insist, he just won't do anything about it.” the statement said, adding that there was a lot of concern “inside the building” about Johnson.

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey accused Johnson of failing to provide clarity to businesses who were eager for it.

"Businesses are crying out for clarity. Instead, all they got was Boris Johnson rambling on about Peppa Pig,” Davey was quoted by the BBC. ​​​​​​

"It is a perfect metaphor for Johnson's chaotic, incompetent government as it trashes our economy, but it is not worthy of a British prime minister,” he added./aa

The US State Department is set to impose further sanctions Monday in connection with the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, blacklisting a Russia-linked entity and two vessels. 

The agency submitted a report to Congress listing two vessels and Transadria Ltd. involved in the pipeline, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

They will be sanctioned under the Protecting Europe’s Energy Security Act of 2019 (PEESA) and Transadria Ltd.'s vessel, Marlin, will be identified as blocked property.

Blinken did not give details on the second vessel.

Washington has sanctioned eight persons and identified 17 vessels as blocked property in connection with Nord Stream 2 with the action

"Even as the Administration continues to oppose the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, including via our sanctions, we continue to work with Germany and other allies and partners to reduce the risks posed by the pipeline to Ukraine and frontline NATO and EU countries and to push back against harmful Russian activities, including in the energy sphere," he said.

The pipeline will carry gas from Russia to Germany, which will then be distributed throughout the European Union./aa