Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett has said he will keep his party in government, making an early election less likely.

In a dramatic press conference on Monday, Bennett, who heads the far-right, pro-settler Jewish Home party, slammed the record of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but stopped short of resigning.

“Something bad is happening to us from within,” said Bennett. “For quite a few years, including the last decade of the government headed by Netanyahu, that the state of Israel stopped winning.”

“I tell the prime minister here: we are withdrawing right now all of our political demands and will stand to help you in this great mission of getting Israel to win again,” he said.

“If the government would really start leading toward the right path, acting like a real right-wing government, it’s worth trying,” he added. “The ball is in the prime minister’s court.”

Bennett had last week threatened to withdraw from the coalition to protest a ceasefire in Gaza agreed between Israel and Hamas-led factions on Tuesday.

U-turn

Reporting from Jerusalem, Al Jazeera’s Stefanie Dekker said that Bennett’s announcement will likely postpone the prospect of early elections temporarily, given the slender one-seat majority of Netanyahu’s governing coalition.

Many people had expected Bennett to announce his resignation on Monday, rather than criticise Netanyahu, she added.

“He criticised, extensively, Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu,” said Dekker. “Particularly how he dealt with the issue with the Palestinians, whether it came to prisoner exchanges, or how he handled the Gaza border protests, how he handled Hamas, how he hadn’t yet demolished Khan al-Ahmar, the village in the occupied West Bank.

“But after all that criticism, he said, ‘well, I am going to remain in government.’ He doesn’t want to be seen… as the one to bring down the right-wing government.”

“Also, of course, it would have been handing a massive political victory to Hamas, in the aftermath of that ceasefire. First with the resignation of the defence minister and then with the potential fall of the government,” she said.

Last week Bennett and Justice Minister Ayalet Shaked threatened to withdraw from the government coalition if Bennett wasn’t named defence minister, in the wake of Avigdor Lieberman’s resignation.

Netanyahu subsequently said he would take on the defence portfolio himself.

In a televised address on Sunday, the prime minister said “there is no place for politics or personal considerations” when it comes to Israel’s security.

He also urged his coalition partners not to bring down the government, saying holding snap elections now would be “irresponsible” as Israel is in “one of our most complex periods in terms of security”.

Following the address, Jewish Home described the government as “nominally right-wing” and accused it of being weak on security issues in a statement.

Netanyahu’s meeting on Sunday with Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, a key coalition partner who has also pushed for early elections, was seen as a last attempt to prevent the collapse of the coalition – which currently has a one-seat majority in parliament – but ended with no conclusion.

Many viewed Netanyahu’s speech, in which he denounced those threatening to resign, to be the start of the election campaign.

SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies

Alexander Zverev stunned Novak Djokovic to win the season-ending ATP Finals on Sunday, earning the 21-year-old the biggest win of his career.

Six-time Grand Slam champion Boris Becker, who coached Djokovic to six major titles between 2014 and 2016, watched the match as a BBC Sport commentator.

He explains why his fellow German’s victory over the world number one is a significant moment.

Alexander Zverev winning the ATP Finals is a moment which the whole tennis world has been waiting for.

For years we have been saying tennis needs new faces and strong new players – and he has proved he is the best of the next generation.

Beating Novak Djokovic in the final was a big upset and a big victory for Sascha.

It was the big match which we were all waiting for from him.

Yes, he has won three Masters 1000 titles before, and has beaten Djokovic and Federer before, but to beat Novak and Roger back to back in one of the biggest tournaments in the world tells him, most importantly, but also the world, that he is going to be the next big thing.

The world saw a new superstar in tennis arrive on Sunday.

What Zverev needs to do to go deep in the Slams

We’ve been talking about the next generation for a couple of years now and Zverev is the best of the lot.

He showed it last year by reaching the number three ranking in the world and following it up this year by winning another Masters title in Madrid.

He has played consistent tennis throughout the year and will now finish it as number four in the world.

Winning the ATP Finals is a big step for him, now doing it over five sets at the Australian Open in January, and then the other Grand Slams, is where it really matters.

His mental resilience was impressive against Novak, as was his staying power.

After breaking Novak’s serve he had to serve out for the first set – and hit three aces. That showed his mental strength.

I was impressed with how he started the match, obviously he was the underdog, he lost in straight sets to Novak a couple of days ago, and he didn’t blink.

He held his serve easily – regularly hitting serves up to 140mph and finding the target with a high first-serve percentage – and made Novak start to worry.

He wasn’t afraid of getting into the long rallies, Novak seemed to be puffing a lot, a lot of running was done, he seemed to be on a mission.

Nobody can stay with Novak normally in long rallies but Sascha did and that frustrated Novak.

Now he has to do this consistently in five-set matches at the Grand Slams.

Lendl can take Zverev to the top

As the head of German men’s tennis I’ve been mentoring Sascha for the last two-and-a-half years so I have practised and travelled with him many times and know him very well.

He is a curious 21-year-old, he walks through life with an open mind and an open perspective.

Often he has asked me about what it takes to win. I’ve told him it is one thing winning a match or two and reaching a quarter-final, and another being successful at a major event like the ATP finals and Grand Slam.

I talk to him about the old days, when I won Grand Slams, ATP Finals and was number one in the world, what I did in those certain situations.

So I’m happy he now has Ivan Lendl as a coach because Ivan, who won eight Grand Slam titles, can tell him the same stories I can tell him and brings an understanding of the game to his team.

We have a lot of coaches, and no disrespect to them, but in order to win Grand Slam matches and become number one in the world it is easier to talk to people who have been there and about their own experiences.

Often it is a small margin and when you have someone on the sideline who has been there it has a big effect.

It is very brave for Sascha to ask someone like Lendl to join his coaching team.

It shows you Sascha’s motivation and his goals for the future. He wants to win and be the best so he is surrounding himself with the best.

Djokovic could dominate next year

Despite losing against Zverev, Novak has shown over the past week – and few months – that he is back to his very best.

There is not much difference between the Novak we have seen recently and the Novak who topped the world rankings for 122 weeks, and held all four Grand Slam titles, at his peak in 2015 and 2016.

To come back after a difficult start to the year and an injury to win Wimbledon and the US Open this year, and become the dominant player in the second half of the year, speaks volumes for his mentality and love for the game.

As his former coach, it is wonderful for me to see that because he obviously still has a lot of good tennis in him.

I think the time he had off earlier in the year rejuvenated him and made him realise how beautiful tennis is and how much he still has to give. He is more mature.

His serving is very good at the moment, he has shortened his swing to protect the elbow injury and that works in his favour.

Can he dominate the men’s game next year? Why not. He is playing amazing tennis.

Srinagar, Indian-administered Kashmir – As a child, Farhan Ganaie could usually be found playing football in the congested lanes of old Srinagar city.

It had never crossed his mind that the sport could be a career in a place where gunfights, curfews, and shutdowns were expected.

But earlier this month, he played with Real Kashmir FC, the small club from the disputed region, in a match under the I-league, the first division in India.

Security at the Real Kashmir ground is a reminder of the region’s challenges, which have resulted in three wars between India and Pakistan.

Armoured vehicles stand guard, policemen encircle the field and metal detectors are in place to check every spectator.

The team’s players come from the main city’s outskirts and have little professional training, but the young men, mostly in their early twenties, have already won hearts.

“From the age of five, when I started playing, it was only out of passion. Every time, my family would be upset. They thought I was wasting my time,” Ganaie, a midfielder, tells Al Jazeera.

The tall 23-year-old from Srinagar’s volatile Hawal area, who still struggles to afford new football boots at times, says representing Kashmir in the top-tier league is a “dream come true”.

“His father was always against him and wanted him to study hard and achieve something in life; that meant becoming a doctor or an engineer, never a footballer,” says Rafiqa Banoo, Ganaie’s mother.

“We were sure somehow, in a place like Kashmir, football meant no future.” 

But now, after playing for the league in Kashmir, their son has bought home an unexpected moment of pride.

“In winters, when he was a kid, I had to find a particular flexible shoe for him in the markets so that he could play on the snow. He was so fond of the game,” Rafiqa says. “It is not easy for our children to dream like people in other places.”

The match on home turf earlier this month was one of the biggest sports events held in the region in recent years.

Thousands of residents braved the winter cold to cheer on the team in their yellow and blue strip; the result was a goalless draw. 

“It was an emotional moment for us. To us it meant, football was taking a new birth in Kashmir and history was unfolding,” says the team’s striker, Danish Farooq.

Unlike Ganaie, for Farooq, a 22-year-old graduate, football had a legacy at home. 

His father was a professional footballer, and his grandfather and uncle also used to play.

“As I kid, I would hold my father’s hand and go to play with him at a local ground,” says Farooq, who dreams of playing for international clubs.

The two players live a few kilometres apart in an area where clashes between young people and security forces are routine.

“I would lie and say I am going to a friend’s place, and would go to play,” says 23-year-old Ubaid Haroon, another footballer. “[My family] had concerns about my safety.”

Defender Muhammad Hammad, 21, switched from cricket to football in 2015, when he wasn’t selected for the team.

“Cricket was my childhood game,” he says. “But to my disappointment, I never got a chance to play a single national game. I never made it to the list. It was a major setback for me and I gave up my all desire for the game.”

His friends insisted he joined the local football team in Batamaloo, in uptown Srinagar.

“When I played in the local team, a football coach spotted me and said I must get training. That’s how my journey to football began.”

Because of the situation, we cannot think of pursuing it as a career. People play here for love. Football has united the people.

Tabysh Peerzada, 22-year-old spectator and engineering student

The seeds of Real Kashmir FC  were sown in 2014 when two friends – Shamim Mehraj, a local newspaper editor and Sandeep Chatto, a hotelier – were looking for ways to keep young people entertained after devastating floods hit the region.

“My area was among the dozens that were saved in the 2014 floods. But when I would go out for an evening walk, I would see young kids, who I had earlier seen playing football, smoking cigarettes,” Mehraj told Al Jazeera.

“After that, I called my friends in different places for help. They asked if I needed money. But I told them to send 1,000 footballs to Kashmir. They did, and I distributed them among the kids.

“At that time I had no idea where we would reach, but that’s how the idea of the club was born,” said the 37-year-old football fan, who played in college and university.

The club took formal shape in March 2016, four months before a civilian uprising following the killing of rebel commander Burhan Wani. 

“The boys used to practice during the shutdowns, but when there was no chance, they could not do it,” says Mehraj. 

The team got a major push after David Robertson, a Scottish footballer, agreed to coach them.

“When he came to Kashmir, there was heavy snowfall. There was no electricity and the internet. He wanted to go back but I somehow convinced him to stay.”

In another mark of success, Adidas is the club’s kit partner. Real Kashmir FC is the only club in India with which the sports giant has partnered, says Mehraj.

On Tuesday, the team will compete against India’s Mohun Bagan club, which has a 129-year history.

“Football is an old passion in Kashmir,” says 55-year-old Kashmiri player Abdul Majid Kakroo, who captained India in the Nehru Cup. 

The game has undergone major changes in the two decades of conflict in the region, he added. 

“There were different tournaments and not a league like this. I played international football for India for nine years and was a captain. The situation was better when we used to play. But no tournament took place from 1990 to 1996.”

Hilal Parray, another former footballer, said the game’s popularity dropped in the 1990s.

There are nerves amid the excitement ahead of Tuesday’s game on home ground with residents wary of violence.

“We hope this will revive the game and bring back the enthusiasm that was among the players before the violence started in the nineties, when the armed rebellion began in Kashmir,” says 60-year-old Abdul Hamid, who travelled from the outskirts of the city to watch the first match.

Tabysh Peerzada, a 22-year-old engineering student, says that. compared with cricket, football has a younger set of fans. 

“Because of the situation, we cannot think of pursuing it as a career. People play here for love,” he says. “Football has united the people.”

A tale of two Tests matches.

On Saturday evening, Ireland showed the relentless ferocity and accuracy required to topple the best team in the world.

A few hours earlier, England lacked exactly the same qualities as they stuttered to victory over Japan.

There is no glossing over it, England were poor. That would be the verdict had New Zealand, Ireland, Wales, or any other top-drawer international side been troubled by Japan for 55 minutes or so.

The visitors are tenacious, fit and have some fabulous individual skills, but are ultimately limited. They are not, or should not be, powerful enough in the tight and set-piece to trouble the best teams in the world.

Eddie Jones protested afterwards that he was happy to see his England team tested. There are certain amounts of spin that any head coach has to do and I am sure it would have been very different behind closed doors.

He stressed the impact of England’s self-inflicted short preparation time and the changes he made in personnel.

That is no excuse for me. England don’t put out scratch sides any more. The Rugby Football Union handsomely compensate Premiership Rugby clubs to free up the players for all sorts of camps and get-togethers.

In addition, nearly three years into his England reign, there should be a certain style of play that is almost a reflex for Jones’ teams.

Jones himself outlined what England’s DNA should be – telling BBC Sport in October 2015 that a strong set-piece, strong defence and excellent discipline would be the basis of the national team.

They may make tweaks dependent on team changes and the opposition, but the key elements of their play should be ingrained and immutable regardless of who comes in.

Low errors and a low penalty count are the foundations for building Test-match pressure.

England gave away 12 penalties to Japan’s nine. They conceded 16 turnovers to Japan’s 13. Hooker Jamie George was sin-binned in the first half.

The best teams in the world just do not do that and, when the opposition do, they will convert that quantity of free ball to field position, points and victory.

Individually, there were disappointing afternoons for those fringe players hoping to stake a claim.

Saracens centre Alex Lozowski was making only his third start for England and his first in nearly a year, but was replaced at half-time.

He is a very talented all-round player, but that does not necessarily translate into the walking into a team and performing.

Henry Slade made his international debut in August 2015, but it is only in the past six months that he has established himself as a first-choice international midfielder.

Lozowski is going through a similar phase to Slade, struggling to get a foothold in the team. It is a shame, but I think he is good enough to get another opportunity.

Zach Mercer did not last much longer. The Bath number eight was replaced in the 49th minute. With England lacking front-foot momentum, he was perhaps trapped doing jobs that he is not best suited to.

He hardly had any carries in open field.

On a brighter note, Joe Cokanasiga did himself no harm at all. He has the size, strength and power to make yards or buy time for his support even in congested areas of the pitch.

That physicality is something that none of the other England wing options offer. He also showed good composure and awareness in England’s third-minute try.

Japan’s fly-half Yu Tamura prodded a kick over the top of England’s defensive line and towards the left touchline.

Crucially, though, the chase was fractured with only wing Akihito Yamada applying real pressure to Elliot Daly as the England full-back fielded the ball just outside his 22m.

Cokanasiga had worked hard to get himself in play, giving Daly a passing option and adding width to the counter-attack…

..as Daly drew his man and released the ball to Cokanasiga, hooker Jamie George, number eight Zach Mercer and scrum-half Danny Care all modified their movement to anticipate the wing gaining significant ground.

Cokanasiga didn’t let the adrenaline get the better of him, picking out Jamie George’s support line inside as fly-half Tamura came across to challenge him…

…and Care was just one of a clutch of England players queuing up to carry in the game’s opening score.

England could not maintain that clarity of thought and dynamism though.

It was noticeable that the introduction of some of England’s first-choice players in the second half improved the hosts’ variety and control.

There were too many simple one-out runners around the fringe in the first half that played into the hands of a Japan defence that was more committed than organised.

Here in the 55th minute, however, first receiver Kyle Sinckler had options off both shoulders.

The defence came up fast in his face, but the Harlequins prop showed deft hands to flick the ball onto Sam Underhill, changing the point of attack and making yards.

The combination generated quick front-foot ball for the next phase. Japan’s defence just about numbered up, but was stretched with full-back Will Tupou sprinting up from backfield to cover Cokanasiga and, crucially, George Ford able to run at space outside Michael Leitch.

With Japan number eight Kazuki Himeno unable to match Wilson’s effort on Ford’s inside, the Newcastle back row was able to run in unopposed as England finally regained the lead.

Jones will be pleased by those glimpses of quality, but they book-ended England’s most concerning period of play so far this autumn.

Over in Dublin…

In the aftermath of their defeat by Ireland in Chicago in 2016, New Zealand arrived in Dublin two weeks later and avenged the loss with a hugely physical performance.

Aaron Smith and Malakai Fekitoa were shown yellow cards and Sam Cane was fortunate to escape serious punishment for a high hit on Robbie Henshaw as the Kiwis ground out a 21-9 win.

Ireland made sure that was not going to happen again.

Joe Schmidt’s side physically dominated the All Blacks for most of the game with a performance of exemplary details and cohesion.

It felt like the complete performance that Schmidt has been building towards since taking charge five years ago.

All the post-match talk was on whether Ireland had taken on the mantle of World Cup favourites and it was fitting that Jacob Stockdale’s match-winning try was straight out the All Black playbook.

Back on 27 October, New Zealand scored a try against Australia off a scrum as TJ Perenara and Kieran Read broke open before Beauden Barrett suddenly switched play to the blindside with a long pass to Rieko Ioane.

It was history repeating to see Bundee Aki spring Stockdale with a near-identical play.

J.K. Rowling’s big screen Wizarding World is hardly on death’s door, but Warner Bros. can’t be happy about Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald‘s opening weekend.

Sunday estimates point to a $62.2 million start for the newly released sequel, which hit theaters on Nov. 16. That’s low. Low for a Wizarding World movie (and one that introduces a young and hot Albus Dumbledore, no less), and low for a November tentpole.

The Crimes of Grindelwald is shaping up to deliver the Wizarding World’s weakest box office opening to date. Its 2016 predecessor, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, is the previous owner of that dubious honor. 

The first Fantastic Beasts is also the poorest overall box office performer in the series, having ended its theatrical run with $234 million in U.S. ticket sales. The next one on the list, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban — the third of those movies, released in 2004 — ended its run with $249.5 million domestic.

If the opening weekend is any indication, The Crimes of Grindelwald is pacing to come in under its predecessor.

The weak start is especially noteworthy given November’s history as a platform for fall season blockbusters. The month’s all-time champs for box office openings include three Twilight movies, two Harry Potter movies, Thor: Ragnarok, Justice League, and all three Hunger Games sequels. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is November’s best overall, with a $158.1 million opening weekend.

The first Fantastic Beasts is 16th on that list. Grindelwald doesn’t even make the Top 20 — current estimates put it at #26, though it could climb a few spots higher if the final box office turns out to be a couple million more than expected. Any weekend higher than $67.6 million would put Grindelwald in November’s all-time Top 20 box office openings.

Of course, U.S. ticket sales don’t paint the whole picture here. Harry Potter and the Wizarding World in general are huge with foreign audiences. No movie in the series has earned less than $500 million outside the U.S. (and only one fell below $550 million — but only just). Grindelwald opened with $191 million internationally, a great start that’s quite a bit higher than the first movie’s $145.5 million start.

So yes, the Wizarding World movies are in no danger of disappearing. But Fantastic Beasts clearly didn’t find a Harry Potter-sized audience in 2016, and Grindelwald‘s (questionable) addition of Johnny Depp and a central role for Jude Law’s Dumbledore didn’t help.

The real question is how Grindelwald is going to perform during its whole theatrical run. A slow burn success could still make this sequel the better movie, box office-wise. But critics haven’t exactly been bowled over. 

All box office data provided by comScore and Box Office Mojo.

Saudi Arabia‘s King Salman is expected to make his annual address to the kingdom’s Shura council, following a nation-wide tour with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

In his speech on Monday, King Salman bin Abdulaziz will present Saudi Arabia’s internal and external policy, and inaugurate the proceedings of the Shura council, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The expected address comes as members of the US Congress renewed their calls to condemn the kingdom following an assessment by the CIA that the crown prince personally ordered the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

“It is certainly testing the position that the enemy of our enemy is our friend,” said Representative Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California, and a frequent critic of US President Donald Trump.

“The president needs to listen to what our intelligence community has to say.”

Senator Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally, said the crown prince has been a “wrecking ball” in the relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia.

“I hate to say that because I had a lot of hope for him being the reformer that Saudi Arabia needs, but that ship has sailed as far as Lindsey Graham’s concerned,” the South Carolina Republican told NBC’s “Meet the Press”.

“I have no intention of working with him ever again,” said Graham, who is in line to be the next chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Congressmen also gave mixed assessments of Trump’s pick for acting attorney general, Matt Whitaker, who was named to the post to temporarily replace Jeff Sessions.

“I don’t know if he’s the best choice,” said Graham on Sunday when asked whether he should be appointed to permanently lead the US Justice Department.

Whitaker has been a vocal opponent of the special counsel probe into Trump, leading some to fear that his appointment would jeopardise the investigation.

Whitaker told Graham last Thursday that the investigation will proceed, according to a person familiar with the meeting.

Sprinting great Michael Johnson said he had to apply an “Olympic mindset” during his recovery from a stroke.

The American, 50, says he is “pretty much back to normal” after suffering a transient ischemic attack in September.

Johnson, who won 200m Olympic gold at the Atlanta Games in 1996 in 19.32 seconds, said the same distance in hospital took him 15 minutes.

“I was achieving tiny incremental improvements and it gave me hope,” Johnson told the BBC.

“I told my wife I was confident of making a full recovery and not only will I do that, I will do it faster than anybody else has done before.

“I knew then the recovery was going to be down to hard work, focus and commitment to the process. That is something I am very familiar with.

“Almost three months on now from the stroke and I am pretty much back to normal and back to work.

“I am feeling good and I was really lucky. It has been quite an experience.”

‘Not knowing about recovery is scary’

Johnson won 4x400m relay gold at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 and followed it up with gold medals in the 200m and 400m four years later.

At the 2000 Games in Sydney, he defended his 400m title becoming – at 33 years 12 days – the oldest champion of any track event shorter than 5,000m.

Johnson said he had finished a training session at home when he felt a “a strange tingling down my arm and left side”. He “decided not to take any chances” and headed straight to hospital.

“After the MRI scan, I almost fell off the table. I could not walk or move my left leg,” he added. “The numbness of my arm was intense too. I could not feel my arm and moving my fingers was problematic.

“It was a lot of emotions. Once I was told I had suffered a stroke and I could not walk things get immediately real.

“You start to think: ‘What is my life going to be like going forward? What is my quality of life going to be like? Will I be able to dress myself? Will I be able to take care of myself or will my loved ones have to take care of me?’

“I had a great team of doctors and they said that is what all stroke victims ask but unfortunately there is no answer to the questions – only time will tell. Some people make a full recovery, some make a partial recovery and how much time that takes there is no answer. That is difficult to hear and pretty scary.

“You go from fear to anger asking, ‘why did this happen to me?’ The first thing doctors say is not to smoke, lose weight, work out and get fit – well that is what I was doing when this happened – and eat right. I was doing all the right things so I was pretty angry for half a day.

“Doctors said the best chance of recovery was to immediately get into physical therapy. I did that two days after the stroke and I got out of bed with assistance and got behind the walker around the hospital – and ironically it was around 200m. I timed it and it took me around 15 minutes to cover that distance.

“Ordinarily that would be very disconcerting and I would have no hope, – having been the fastest person in the world at that distance – but I was very encouraged. With every step I took, I could feel myself relearning.

“For the next few weeks I went back into an Olympic mindset and focusing on having the best training session I can today and using it to be better and get better.

“I could regain co-ordination and balance which I had lost. I did not lose any strength. Then I was getting back to walking properly, then more dynamic exercises and then into running.”

‘California wildfires difficult situation’

Johnson lives in California in the United States and has been affected by the wildfires which have killed at least 76 people, left more than 1,200600 people missing and destroyed nearly 12,000 buildings.

“I have been able to get home,” added Johnson. “Out of one thing into another.

“Where my home is in Malibu, we have been evacuated but I am back in my home and fine for me, fortunately.

“A lot of people have lost their homes, we have fires all up and down California and may have lost their lives. It is a very difficult situation, my heart goes out to all of those who have lost their lives and property.”

Image: Paul Kitagaki Jr.-Pool/Getty Images

Donald Trump’s comment about raking leaves has left some Finns scratching their heads.

It comes after a visit to the fire-ravaged Paradise in California on Saturday, where Trump suggested people could be cleaning up leaves to prevent blazes.

“You look at other countries where they do it differently and it’s a whole different story. I was with the President of Finland and he said we are a forest nation. He called it a forest nation,” Trump told reporters. 

“And they spend a lot of time on raking and cleaning and doing things, and they don’t have any problem.”

Since that comment, Finland’s President said he doesn’t even recall having that conversation, while others have pointed out the differences between the California and Finland, the latter of which has a colder climate, and trees which are less prone to catching fire.

That, and Finns don’t rake forests, only their parks and yards. Trump may have confused raking with the practice of thinning, where trees are selectively cut down to reduce the fire risk, according to the Finnish Forest Association’s Heikki Savolainen, who spoke to Ilta-Sanomat.

Nevertheless, Trump was trolled with pictures of rakes, and pictures of Finns raking.

All member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which includes Qatar, are expected to attend its next summit in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, according to Kuwait’s Deputy Foreign Minister.

“I am optimistic that the level of representation is expected to be high and reflects the keenness of GCC leaders to maintain this pioneering experience,” Khaled Al-Jarallah said in press statements carried by Kuwait news agency KUNA.

Al-Jarallah said the summit, slated to be held in December, offers a ray of hope in reviving efforts to resolve more than one year-old Gulf dispute.

All six attended last year’s GCC Summit in Kuwait as well, so nothing necessarily new here.

Keys will be what level of representation, what goes on the agenda, and how the reps interact during the sessions. https://t.co/qX49yKka7e

— Kristian Ulrichsen (@Dr_Ulrichsen) November 19, 2018

Kuwait has been mediating between Qatar and Saudi-led bloc, which imposed a land, sea and air blockade on Qatar last year.

In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain along with non-GCC member, Egypt, cut off all diplomatic relations with Qatar.

The four nations accused Qatar of supporting “terrorism” and “extremism” – allegations that Doha has repeatedly denied, calling the boycott a challenge to its sovereignty.

The GCC is a political and economic alliance of six countries in the Arabian Peninsula: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Gulf crisis

Earlier this month, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said he regretted the continuation of conflict with other Arab states, but added that “crises will pass”.

The United States, a GCC ally, has tried to mediate in the Gulf dispute, which it sees as a risk in its efforts to contain regional power Iran.

Qatar is home to the largest US airbase in the Middle East.

But Saudi Arabia and the UAE have repeatedly said that resolving the dispute was not a top priority for them. 

The diplomatic crisis over Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi‘s assassination, however, has put Riyadh in the dock.

Under pressure over Khashoggi killing, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) last month praised Qatar’s economy in a rare conciliatory remark.

‘Arab NATO’

The US push to counter Iranian threat has remained a top priority for the blockading nations led by Saudi Arabia, but Qatar has continued to maintain diplomatic relations with Iran.

Earlier this year, Qatar’s Defence Minister Khalid bin Mohammad al-Attiyah said that Doha maintains “friendly relations with everyone”.

“We are responsible for the supply of [an enormous amount] of the world’s energy. We have to have a smooth flow of energy, and that means we have to eliminate having enemies,” he said, referring to the country’s shared oilfield with Iran.

In October, Bahrain‘s Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa said a planned Gulf security alliance, expected to include Egypt, will be formed by next year.

Khalifa said the proposed Middle East Strategic Alliance (MESA) – an initiative pushed by US President Donald Trump to confront Iran – will help the Gulf remain “a pillar of stability”. 

MESA has been called an “Arab NATO” by White House officials.

SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies

Gerwyn Price became Wales’ first major PDC title winner after a testy 16-13 victory over Gary Anderson in the Grand Slam of Darts final in Wolverhampton.

Price trailed 11-8 in the best-of-31 match but won eight of the last 10 legs to claim the win.

Scot Anderson took exception to what he viewed as slow play and over-exuberant celebrations by Price and the two clashed verbally on several occasions.

“He can’t handle playing me,” Price told Sky Sports.

Defeat for two-time world champion Anderson, 47, came came at the end of a week that saw him forced to deny accusations that he had been breaking wind during Thursday’s 10-2 win over Wesley Harms.

He set aside the distraction of that episode to reach the final – beating three-time defending champion Michael van Gerwen in the semi-finals along the way – but came up short in what proved a hugely controversial meeting with Price.

The two men also squared up in the 15th and 28th legs of a bad-tempered encounter, the match finished without the customary handshake, and Price lifted the winner’s Eric Bristow Trophy amid loud boos from the crowd at the Aldersley Leisure Village.

“This trophy means a lot to me, it’s the first ever one named after Eric so nobody can take that away from me. I go down in history now, happy days,” added 33-year-old Price, who married his long-term partner last weekend.

“Sometimes the crowd is with you, sometimes it’s against you. If it’s against you, you have to feed off that. This week, maybe two or three times, they were against me, [but] it makes me play better. So next time, boo a little bit more.

“I’m loving it playing on that stage against the best players in the world. Five-six years ago I was a rugby player, and now I’m pinching money from the professionals’ pockets.”

Price, a former rugby player, also dismissed the suggestion that the running battle with Anderson on the oche influenced the result.

“I’m throwing my darts, he needs to wait for his turn. He doesn’t like it when it’s a little bit up him, so unlucky,” he said.

“I knew when he beat Michael [Van Gerwen] that I was going to beat him. Simple. He can’t handle playing me. He just moans every time that I’m doing this, doing that. Concentrate on your own game.”