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#lin bashar
ninjago-future-au · 2 years
Text
Character list and important info regarding this AU!
Team:
Avneesh Aziz - Master of Earth
Kay (Kanya) Zhāng - Master of Lightning
Taylor Smith - Master of Fire
Adrian Bashar - Master of Water
Nieves Cabello - Master of Ice
Taeko Aikō - Master of Energy/Light
Lin Bashar - Master of Amber
Allies
Enemies
Other
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i-am-just-a-kiddo · 3 years
Text
catching up
rules: answer the questions and tag nine people you want to get to know better/catch up with!
thank you for the second tag today, @vishcount 💞 since i dunno what to do with myself anyway, these are very welcome 
i am tagging @cortue , @intyalote, @the-cloud-whisperer (yes two tags in a day, i am sorry, please don’t feel pressured!!) @sassyassassy, @isabellaofparma
my ramblings under the cut: 
Three Ships: am going with the ones that have been giving me The FeelsTM  recently
WenZhou [Word of Honor] - if you’ve been following me, i am evidently going through it. they are just so good. i’ve been considering if i should read the novel because it seems quite different and i want to know the dynamic there? but do i have the attention span for it? idk. let’s see. all that matters here is that they hurt me in the best way possible
Lin Shu/MCS & Xiao Jingyan & Mu Nihuang [Nirvana in Fire] - after my rewatch of NiF, the emotions i have over these three people (and honestly, the rest of the characters as well), just crashed over me again. they love each other so much? and each time i curse MCS for doing what he did, but at the same time i know where he is coming from. it just hurts so much, seeing Nihuang embracing him and hoping for a future where they could be together, seeing Jingyan going through all that and then? ending up alone once again. they just hurt me. and honestly i like all interpretations of their relationships, but my personal take on it is that Xiao Jingyan is head over heels in love with both Lin Shu and Mei Changsu, while Mu Nihuang loves him as her dearest friend, as a platonic soulmate that she could spend her entire life with - and Mei Changsu? honestly, he is so torn inside i don’t think he knows himself what he feels, except fear and overwhelming love for his friends that he doesn’t want to face. In my mind, i see Nihuang and Jingyan supporting each other, sharing the burden and the heartbreak. (also at this point i want to mention Lin Chen because god, does he care for Mei Changsu and that last episode just broke me all over again) thanks for coming to my ted-talk, i don’t think i will ever be done with it.
Cha Cha/ Li Jia/Shi Cheng [The Journey Across The Night] - another very good trio, and Vishie could talk about them with more eloquence than me, but i just? love their dynamic so damn much? please just let them be in love with each other? i think it is one of my favourite friendship groups in any drama. they are such a delight and go through ups and downs, have fun together and there is just so much love radiating from the screen when i watch them. it’s a shame there is barely content for this drama because i need more people to appreciate it and i want to thank Vishie again for recommending it. chacha my beloved, you’ve never left my mind ever since
Last Song: SHILLET HAMAL بشار مراد - شلة همل (Bunch of Bums) by Bashar Murad - this song has been a bittersweet companion to my life for the past month. please go check out this artist! he is amazing and i hope he will publish more music in the future.
and as I was writing this 盲—王晰 from the WoH OST came on which I’ve been absolutely obsessed with. It’s probably my favourite song from the OST? 
Last Movie: Honestly I can’t remember the last movie i watched because i don’t watch that many? So i decided to list some video essays on youtube that i watched recently: 
Meghan and Harry by Khadija Mbowe
Race-baiting, queer-baiting, colorism, featurism, and performative diversity by Khadija Mbowe
What is *Good* Queer Representation in 2020? by Melina Pendulum
“Killing Stalking” and The Romancing of Abuse by James Somerton 
Other than that i’ve been watching AvenueX’s livestreams on WoH, which are a blessing because i miss this stupid drama. 
Currently Watching: The Sleuth of The Ming Dynasty - after the ending of WoH and finishing my NiF rewatch, i’ve been in a slump and don’t really feel like watching a new show? so am slowly continuing TSoTMD - so far it still needs to grab me properly but it is a solid and entertaining drama so far? i love my cutie Tang Fan or course, but honestly right now i just want to get properly into Wang Zhi because he??? i love this shady bastard. and my Oirat duo are my absolute faves, if anything happens to them i will kill everyone in this room and then myself. 
Currently Reading: i’ve talked about my native nations poetry anthalogy often already, so am not gonna go into that again. but hey, i got back to slowly doing research for my course on materiality in viennese modern design (1880-1930). currently i am reading Dagobert Peche by Max Eisler which is hilarious, because when i started reading this i was wondering why it was written so fairy-tale-like and subjective, until it dawned on me that this Dr. Eisler was a friend of Mr. Peche? So he just wrote a biography on our boy Dagobert and he has a...questionable way of describing him; don’t we all just describe our bros as a ‘gothic countenance of anguish made of ivory’ as said bro lies in his bed being sick with a fever? idk, you do you, dear Max. but please stop talking about his godly hands and elegant demeanor, if you really wanna convince me y’all are just guys being dudes. am here to learn about ceramics, damnit.
apart from that i am rereading War of The Foxes by Richard Siken because i finally ordered the physical copy and i love it more than ever. 
thank for the tag dear 💞
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thepoolscene · 5 years
Text
The Pool Scene - Albin Ouschan, Alex Pagulayan, Alexander Kazakis, Aloysius Yapp, Bashar Hussain, Billy Thorpe, Carlo Biado, Casper Matikainen, Chang Yu Lung, Chris Melling, Chung Ko Ping, Corey Duel, Daminanos Giallourakis, Dang Jinhu, Darren Appleton, Denis Grabe, Do The Kiem, Do The Kien, Eklent Kaci, Fedor Gorst, Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz, Jakub Koniar, Jalal Al Sarisi, Jang Moonseok, Jeffrey Ignacio, Johann Chua, Jung Lin Chang, Karol Slowerski, Lin Ta Li, Lin Wu Kun, Liu Haitao, Liu Ri Teng, Marc Bijsterbosch, Masato Yoshioka, Mateusz Sniegocki, Maximilian Lechner, Mieszko Fortunski, Mohammad Berjaoui, Naoyuki Oi, One loss side group matches, Pin Yi Ko, Radoslaw Babica, Results Final 64, Ruslan Chinakhov, Stephen Holem, Thorsten Hohmann, Tomasz Kaplan, Waleed Majid, Wojciech Szewczyk, Wu Jiaqing, Xu Xiaocong, Xue Zhenqi, Yip Kin Ling, Yu Hsuan Cheng, Yukio Akagariyama - Uncategorized
New Post on https://thepoolscene.com/?p=55467
FILLER FALLS IN DRAMATIC UPSET, WHILE VAN BOENING ALSO CRASHES OUT
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FILLER FALLS IN DRAMATIC UPSET, WHILE VAN BOENING ALSO CRASHES OUT
Finland’s Casper Matikainen takes down the defending champion in wild day in Doha as 32 players set for a sprint to the World 9-ball crown.
By Ted Lerner WPA Media Officer Photos Credit WPA
(Doha, Qatar)–Finland’s Casper Matikainen came into his round of 64 match at the World 9-ball Championship today versus the defending champion and world number 1 Joshua Filler feeling relaxed and ready for battle. He figured the German great would bring his usual fire, but he also knew that Filler might also take his eye off the proverbial ball. After all, the 23 year old Finn wasn’t exactly the most feared name in a field of absolute monsters.
So even when the self-described “King” of pool jumped out to a 4-1 lead, Matikainen never lost hope, as Filler had gotten a few lucky rolls and wasn’t playing all that great, while the Finn had a few rolls go against him.
The mental strategy soon started to bear fruit for the cool-headed blonde. Slowly, and increasingly surely, Matikainen crawled even, and then took the lead while at the same time Filler started to get sloppy, lose focus and even showed some signs of panic. From 4-1 down Matikainen calmly won 9 out of the next ten frames.  After a brief hiccup on the hill that allowed Filler to claim two quick racks, the steady Finn held his nerve and closed out the biggest shock of the tournament so far, an 11-7 upset of the defending champion.
“He’s the world champion and he’s playing and I’m not there in the big tournaments and maybe he’s thinking it’s an easy win,” the 22 year old Matikainen said afterward.  “I felt that Joshua had the pressure because he’s the world champion and I was really relaxed at the table and that helped me and I just got it done.”
Matikainen’s massive win was but one huge result on a dramatic day in Doha that saw some of pool’s biggest names dumped out, while others were taken to the absolute limits. With the field now down to the final 32, the next two days promises to be one of the most exciting and fascinating Battle Royale’s of 9-ball we’ve seen in years.
America’s Shane Van Boening had come to Doha a heavy favorite this year and for good reason. His last three starts here ended with two runner ups and a spot in the semis last year. But several early mistakes against Taiwan’s Liu Ri Teng was all it took for the Taiwanese to grab a commanding lead at 10-4. The American mounted a valiant fight back, but the alternate break format meant the hole was too deep. Liu sent Van Boening packing in the round of 64 with a humbling 11-8 defeat.
After his runner up finish at the US Open in Las Vegas last April, former champion Wu Jiaqing figured to go far here in Doha. But Wu came up against fellow compatriot Xu Xiaocong, who is one of a slew of quality young talents coming out of China. Xu has impressed all week here and  against Wu he turned his game up several notches, crushing the former Boy Wonder 11-5.
The Taiwanese are almost sure to have one, possibly two players in the semis after tomorrow as Team Taipei looked absolutely marvelous today. It isn’t easy picking a favorite out of these world beaters but World 10-ball Champion Ko Ping Chung would probably be at the top of most punters betting sheets.  The slightly built and painfully shy 22 year old is clearly at the top of his game but he even he barely escaped in a harrowing match against Hungary’s talented Oliver Szolnoki.
Szolnoki, another bright European prospect, played the match of his young career and had “Little” Ko on the ropes, shooting out to a 7-3, then 8-5 lead. The fresh-faced Hungarian reached the hill first, but Ko then displayed the courage and guts that only champions can pull off.  In a nervy and tense sudden death rack, the Taiwanese made a series of surreal pressure shots to eek out the victory.
Little Ko’s older brother and two-time former world champion Pin Yi also won today, easily defeating Japan’s Yukio Akagariyama, 11-5. Fellow Taiwanese Chang Jung Lin, Chang Yu Lung, Lin Wu Kun and Kevin Chang all won their round of 64 matches today. In all seven Taiwanese made it through to the round of 32.
2016 World 9-ball champion Albin Ouschan of Austria looks to be in very fine form this year, as he easily defeated Taiwan’s Lin Ta Li 11-5.  Fellow Austrian Max Lechner continued his rise this year with an 11-4 win over Lithuania’s Pijus Labutis. 
The Russian contingent also put in solid performances today. Veteran Ruslan Chinakhov took down American Corey Duel 11-3, while youngster Fedor Gorst stayed alive with an 11-8 win over Slovakia’s Jakub Koniar.
2012 World 9-ball Champion Darren Appleton has been quietly playing himself back into game shape over the last few months and his solid victory today over Albanian star and European Mosconi team member Eklent Kaci could be a portent for the rest of the field. The Englishman battled back from a 4-0 deficit, and then turned the screws on the Albanian for a quality 11-6 win. In his remarkable heyday from 2008 to 2015, Appleton famously grinded out championships by the truckload and that bulldog mentality definitely was on display this afternoon.
The Philippines had only three players in the final 64 but all three made it through today. 2017 World 9-ball champion Carlo Biado got taken to the limit by Qatari veteran Bashar Hussein, before breaking and running the last rack for an 11-10 win. Also winning today for the Team Pinoy were Johann Chua and Jeffrey Ignacio.
The Polish contingent has been getting stronger by the year and they showed their quality today with three of their stars pushing through to the final 32. Mieszko Fortunski, Wojciech Szewczyk, and Mateusz Sniegocki all won handily.
Also advancing today were the USA’s Billy Thorpe, Singapore’s Aloysius Yapp, China’s Liu Haitao, Greece’s Alexander Kazakis, Spain’s Francisco Sanchez Ruiz, Estonia’s Dennis Grabe, England’s Chris Melling, Canada’s Alex Pagulayan, Qatar’s Waleed Majid, Vietnam’s Do The Kien, and Hong Kong’s young upstart Yip Kin Ling.
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The penultimate day of the World 9-ball championship will be extremely busy as the field will be whittled down to the final four at the end of the days’ action. 
Play on day 3, Monday, Dec. 16th will begin at 10am Doha time(GMT +3). All matches will be single elimination knockout race to 11, alternate break.  
The winner of the 2019 World 9-ball Championship will receive $30,000. The total prize fund is $150,00.
*The 2019 WPA World 9-ball Championship takes place at the Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation in Doha, Qatar from December 10-17, 2019. The event is hosted by The Qatar Billiard and Snooker Federation(QBSF), and is sanctioned by the World Pool Billiard Association, the governing body of the sport of pool.
Fans around the world will be able to view live scoring, results, brackets and live streaming of many of the matches via the QBSF’s free live streaming platform at esnooker.pl.  Multiple tables will be available to view online at no charge to the public.
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Results Final 64
Casper Matikainen (FIN) 11 – 7 Joshua Filler (GER)
Yip Kin Ling (HKG) 11 – 5 John Morra (CAN)
Albin Ouschan (AUT) 11 – 5 Lin Ta Li (TPE)
Denis Grabe (EST) 11 – 8 Marc Bijsterbosch (NED)
Jung Lin Chang (TPE) 11 – 9 Dang Jinhu (CHN)
Mieszko Fortunski (POL) 11 – 8 Thorsten Hohmann (GER)
Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (ESP) 11 – 6 Konrad Juszczyszyn (POL)
Xu Xiaocong (CHN) 11 – 5 Wu Jiaqing (CHN)
Alexander Kazakis (GRE) 11 – 8 Radoslaw Babica (POL)
Liu Haitao (CHN) 11 – 9  Jalal Al Sarisi  (VEN)
Naoyuki Oi (JPN) 11 – 7 Petri Makkonen (FIN)
Johann Chua (PHL) 11 – 5 Enrique Rojas (CHL)
Alex Pagulayan (CAN) 11 – 3 Karol Skowerski (POL)
Chang Yu Lung (TPE) 11 – 9 Masato Yoshioka (JPN)
Billy Thorpe (USA) 11 – 6 Kong Dejing (CHN)
Carlo Biado (PHL) 11 – 10 Bashar Hussain (QAT)
Chung Ko Ping (TPE) 11 – 10  Oliver Szolnoki (HUN)
Lin Wu Kun (TPE) 11 – 7 Damianos Giallourakis (GRE)
Maximilian Lechner (AUT) 11 – 4 Pijus Labutis (LTH)
Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS)  11 – 3 Corey Duel (USA)
Chris Melling (ENG)  11 – 7 Mohammad Berjaoui (LEB)
Do The Kien (VET) 11 – 5 David Alcaide (ESP)
Wojciech Szewczyk (POL) 11 – 6 Jang Moonseok (KOR)
Waleed Majid (QAT) 11 – 10 Ralf Souquet (GER)
Pin Yi Ko (TPE) 11 – 5 Yukio Akagariyama (JPN)
Jeffrey Ignacio (PHL) 11 – 6 Stephen Holem (CAN)
Aloysius Yapp (SIN) 11 – 9  Xue Zhenqi (CHN)
Darren Appleton (ENG) 11 – 6 Eklent Kaci (ALB)
Fedor Gorst (RUS) 11 – 8 Jakub Koniar (SVK)
Yu Hsuan Cheng (TPE) 11 – 10 Tomasz Kaplan (POL)
Mateusz Sniegocki (POL) 11 – 7 Ivar Saris (NED)
Liu Ri Teng (TPE) 11 – 8 Shane Van Boening (USA)
One loss side group matches
Winner moves on to final 64 KO stage. Loser is out
Group 1
Mateusz Sniegocki (POL) 9 – 4 Hasan Hwaidi (IRQ)
Bashar Hussain (QAT) 9 – 6 Jerico Bonus (PHL)
Group 2
Fedor Gorst (RUS) 9 – 2 Mohammad Soufi (SYR)
Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS) 9 – 3 Kong Bu Hong (HKG)
Group 3
Dang Jinhu (CHN) 9 – 1 Gerson Martinez (PER)
Wu Jiaqing (CHN) 9 – 3 Saki Kanatlar (TRK)
Group 4
Jalal Al Sarisi (VEN) 9 – 8 Matt Edwards (NZL)
Thorsten Hohmann (GER) 9 – 1 Marc Vidal (ESP)
Group 5
Wojciech Szewczyk (POL) 9 – 8 Mohammad Al Amin (BAN)
Waleed Majid (QAT) 9 – 5 Woo Seung Ryu (KOR)
Group 6
Do The Kiem (VET)  9 – 6 Ali Alobaidli (QAT)
Tomasz Kaplan (POL) 9 – 4 Ricky Yang (IND)
Group 7
Radoslaw Babica (POL) 9 – 6 Abdulatif Alfawal (QAT)
Liu Ri Teng (TPE) 9 – 1 Nadim Okbani (ALG)
Group 8
Carlo Biado (PHL) 9 – 4 Hassan Shahada (JOR)
Lin Ta Li (TPE) 9 – 6 Abdullah Alyusef (KUW)
Group 9
Stephen Holem (CAN) 9 – 4 Khaled Alghamdi (KSR)
Casper Matikainen (FIN) 9 – 5 Phone Myint Kyaw (MYR)
Group 10
Mohammad Berjaoui (LEB) 9 – 5 Max Eberle (USA)
Yukio Akagariyama (JPN) 9 – 4 Ali Maghsoud (IRA)
Group 11
Karol Slowerski (POL) 9 – 4 Hunter Lombardo (USA)
Eklent Kaci (ALB)  9 – 3 Ahmad Aldelaimi (KUW)
Group 12
Marc Bijsterbosch (NED) 9 – 5  Niels Feijen (NED)
Daminanos Giallourakis (GRE)  9 – 3 Abdullah Alshammari (KSR)
Group 13
Masato Yoshioka (JPN) 9 – 4 Clark Sullivan (NZE)
Xue Zhenqi (CHN) 9 – 7 Luis Lemus (GTM)
Group 14
Darren Appleton (ENG) 9 – 6 Richard Halliday (RSA)
Jakub Koniar (SLV) 9 – 3 Fayaz Hussain (MAL)
Group 15
Jang Moonseok (KOR) 9 – 2 Robbie Capito (HKG)
Corey Duel (USA) 9 – 8 Wang Can (CHN)
Group 16
Xu Xiaocong (CHN) 9 – 0 Mohamed El Raousti (ALG)
Lin Wu Kun (TPE) 9 – 3 Riccardo Sini (ITA)
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bigbirdgladiator · 5 years
Link
(Bloomberg) -- An expanded soccer tournament, a direct flight, clandestine meetings and a pledge to release prisoners of war; diplomacy is breaking out as Gulf Arab nations back away from a Donald Trump-inspired confrontation with Iran. And the signs are everywhere.Last week, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain played their first games of the 2019 Arabian Gulf Cup in Qatar after a last-minute decision to take part -- an apparent breakthrough in a 30-month feud that saw them halt trade and flights over Qatar’s links with Iran and support for Islamist groups.Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition that’s fought Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen since 2015 began releasing jailed Houthis, as efforts to end the conflict gather momentum. Oman is quietly hosting high-level meetings, according to people familiar with the matter, and even Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has hinted at direct channels with the U.A.E.Spooked by the prospect of a catastrophic war with Iran and its proxy militias across the region, Gulf monarchies are in the midst of a strategic rethink. The U.A.E., whose economic model relies in large part on its international links, quickly realized it had most to lose from a military escalation. It had removed most of its troops from Yemen by the end of a turbulent summer that saw oil tankers targeted and a U.S. drone downed in the Gulf without significant American response.While the humanitarian catastrophe unleashed by the Yemen war trained an unwelcome spotlight on Saudi Arabia, it took a brazen strike on Saudi oil installations -- which knocked out half the country’s crude production -- to ram home the risks and prove that Trump was not about to ride to his allies’ rescue.“The attacks shattered any illusion of this magical U.S. security umbrella,” said David Roberts, an assistant professor at King’s College London who studies the Gulf. “It burst the bubble and showed that Iran had the willingness to both do something astonishing like the attack on Aramco facilities and the capability to carry it out.”Iran denies U.S. and Saudi assertions it carried out the Sept. 14 strikes, pointing to Houthi claims of responsibility. But people familiar with investigations into the attacks say they were almost certainly launched from southwestern Iran -- an explosive escalation in Tehran’s pushback against an economic offensive unleashed by Trump and enthusiastically backed by the Saudis.The Trump administration withdrew last year from the 2015 deal meant to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb, and reimposed sanctions that have crippled its oil exports. But the “maximum pressure” policy is designed to coax Tehran into more concessions not to drag the U.S. into a new Middle East war just as it draws down troops in Syria.Rolling back Shiite Muslim Iran’s power remains a priority for the Sunni Gulf Arab leadership. There’s an increasing recognition, however, that no one stands to gain from a military escalation in the world’s top oil-exporting region.Saudi Arabia’s Center for International Communication didn’t respond to an email seeking comment. The U.A.E. declined to comment. But in a Nov. 10 speech, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said he saw “a path to a deal with Iran that all parties might soon” be ready to embark on if Tehran demonstrated commitment.War to ‘Cold Peace’In search of a breakthrough, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, a former cricketer elected with the backing of a powerful army that provides extensive support for the Saudi military, shuttled between Tehran and Riyadh in October. He met Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Rouhani, as well as Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, describing talks as “encouraging.”Khan said he traveled at the request of Trump and Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir said the diplomacy wasn’t prompted by the kingdom. But deepening unease in the Gulf catalyzed the effort.Turning these overtures into lasting peace between countries that have grown further apart since the 1979 Iranian revolution remains far off.The Gulf states resent Iran’s deep reach into Arab nations. While ongoing protests in Iraq and Lebanon suggest Iran has reached the limit of its regional influence, they are unlikely to reverse political and military advances decades in the making.“Cold peace is possible but we are certainly far from a grand bargain,” said Afshin Molavi, senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute at Johns Hopkins. “For that, both Riyadh and Abu Dhabi would have to accept a role for Iran in Arab countries such as Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.”As they explore ways forward, Gulf states are moving at different speeds.The U.A.E. broke with the U.S. and Saudi Arabia by not naming Iran as the culprit behind attacks in May and June on oil tankers as they sailed toward the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s foremost oil shipping chokepoint.It sent coast guard officials to Iran for the first time in six years and Rouhani hinted at other meetings with senior U.A.E. officials. “We’re moving toward improved relations,” he said Oct. 14. Saudi Arabia is catching up.Washington built a multilateral naval operation to protect shipping in the Gulf after the attacks and sent more troops to Saudi Arabia. Both actions resulted in a “down tick” in Iranian actions,” U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Nov. 13. “The Iranians should not mistake our restraint for weakness.”Where the U.S. holds back, however, others are crowding in. Besides his role in saving Bashar al-Assad’s regime, Russian President Vladimir Putin has forged a partnership with Iran, created an oil alliance with Saudi Arabia and built ties with Egypt’s Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, who was warned by the U.S. last month against plans to purchase Russian jets.Putin traveled to Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. in October after visits by the Saudi king and the U.A.E.’s de-facto leader Mohammad bin Zayed to Moscow. The two Gulf countries and Russia have signed deals valued at billions of dollars.For Iran’s Rouhani, the case for regional engagement is obvious.“Don’t you know that Iran is going to stay here and we will remain neighbors throughout history?” he has said, referring to Iran’s Arab neighbors. “Trump will only be around for a few years and will go back to whatever it was he was doing.”\--With assistance from Golnar Motevalli and Glen Carey.To contact the reporter on this story: Zainab Fattah in Dubai at [email protected] contact the editors responsible for this story: Lin Noueihed at [email protected], Mark WilliamsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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weopenviews · 5 years
Link
(Bloomberg) -- An expanded soccer tournament, a direct flight, clandestine meetings and a pledge to release prisoners of war; diplomacy is breaking out as Gulf Arab nations back away from a Donald Trump-inspired confrontation with Iran. And the signs are everywhere.Last week, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain played their first games of the 2019 Arabian Gulf Cup in Qatar after a last-minute decision to take part -- an apparent breakthrough in a 30-month feud that saw them halt trade and flights over Qatar’s links with Iran and support for Islamist groups.Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition that’s fought Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen since 2015 began releasing jailed Houthis, as efforts to end the conflict gather momentum. Oman is quietly hosting high-level meetings, according to people familiar with the matter, and even Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has hinted at direct channels with the U.A.E.Spooked by the prospect of a catastrophic war with Iran and its proxy militias across the region, Gulf monarchies are in the midst of a strategic rethink. The U.A.E., whose economic model relies in large part on its international links, quickly realized it had most to lose from a military escalation. It had removed most of its troops from Yemen by the end of a turbulent summer that saw oil tankers targeted and a U.S. drone downed in the Gulf without significant American response.While the humanitarian catastrophe unleashed by the Yemen war trained an unwelcome spotlight on Saudi Arabia, it took a brazen strike on Saudi oil installations -- which knocked out half the country’s crude production -- to ram home the risks and prove that Trump was not about to ride to his allies’ rescue.“The attacks shattered any illusion of this magical U.S. security umbrella,” said David Roberts, an assistant professor at King’s College London who studies the Gulf. “It burst the bubble and showed that Iran had the willingness to both do something astonishing like the attack on Aramco facilities and the capability to carry it out.”Iran denies U.S. and Saudi assertions it carried out the Sept. 14 strikes, pointing to Houthi claims of responsibility. But people familiar with investigations into the attacks say they were almost certainly launched from southwestern Iran -- an explosive escalation in Tehran’s pushback against an economic offensive unleashed by Trump and enthusiastically backed by the Saudis.The Trump administration withdrew last year from the 2015 deal meant to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb, and reimposed sanctions that have crippled its oil exports. But the “maximum pressure” policy is designed to coax Tehran into more concessions not to drag the U.S. into a new Middle East war just as it draws down troops in Syria.Rolling back Shiite Muslim Iran’s power remains a priority for the Sunni Gulf Arab leadership. There’s an increasing recognition, however, that no one stands to gain from a military escalation in the world’s top oil-exporting region.Saudi Arabia’s Center for International Communication didn’t respond to an email seeking comment. The U.A.E. declined to comment. But in a Nov. 10 speech, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said he saw “a path to a deal with Iran that all parties might soon” be ready to embark on if Tehran demonstrated commitment.War to ‘Cold Peace’In search of a breakthrough, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, a former cricketer elected with the backing of a powerful army that provides extensive support for the Saudi military, shuttled between Tehran and Riyadh in October. He met Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Rouhani, as well as Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, describing talks as “encouraging.”Khan said he traveled at the request of Trump and Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir said the diplomacy wasn’t prompted by the kingdom. But deepening unease in the Gulf catalyzed the effort.Turning these overtures into lasting peace between countries that have grown further apart since the 1979 Iranian revolution remains far off.The Gulf states resent Iran’s deep reach into Arab nations. While ongoing protests in Iraq and Lebanon suggest Iran has reached the limit of its regional influence, they are unlikely to reverse political and military advances decades in the making.“Cold peace is possible but we are certainly far from a grand bargain,” said Afshin Molavi, senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute at Johns Hopkins. “For that, both Riyadh and Abu Dhabi would have to accept a role for Iran in Arab countries such as Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.”As they explore ways forward, Gulf states are moving at different speeds.The U.A.E. broke with the U.S. and Saudi Arabia by not naming Iran as the culprit behind attacks in May and June on oil tankers as they sailed toward the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s foremost oil shipping chokepoint.It sent coast guard officials to Iran for the first time in six years and Rouhani hinted at other meetings with senior U.A.E. officials. “We’re moving toward improved relations,” he said Oct. 14. Saudi Arabia is catching up.Washington built a multilateral naval operation to protect shipping in the Gulf after the attacks and sent more troops to Saudi Arabia. Both actions resulted in a “down tick” in Iranian actions,” U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Nov. 13. “The Iranians should not mistake our restraint for weakness.”Where the U.S. holds back, however, others are crowding in. Besides his role in saving Bashar al-Assad’s regime, Russian President Vladimir Putin has forged a partnership with Iran, created an oil alliance with Saudi Arabia and built ties with Egypt’s Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, who was warned by the U.S. last month against plans to purchase Russian jets.Putin traveled to Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. in October after visits by the Saudi king and the U.A.E.’s de-facto leader Mohammad bin Zayed to Moscow. The two Gulf countries and Russia have signed deals valued at billions of dollars.For Iran’s Rouhani, the case for regional engagement is obvious.“Don’t you know that Iran is going to stay here and we will remain neighbors throughout history?” he has said, referring to Iran’s Arab neighbors. “Trump will only be around for a few years and will go back to whatever it was he was doing.”\--With assistance from Golnar Motevalli and Glen Carey.To contact the reporter on this story: Zainab Fattah in Dubai at [email protected] contact the editors responsible for this story: Lin Noueihed at [email protected], Mark WilliamsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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worldnews-blog · 5 years
Link
(Bloomberg) -- An expanded soccer tournament, a direct flight, clandestine meetings and a pledge to release prisoners of war; diplomacy is breaking out as Gulf Arab nations back away from a Donald Trump-inspired confrontation with Iran. And the signs are everywhere.Last week, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain played their first games of the 2019 Arabian Gulf Cup in Qatar after a last-minute decision to take part -- an apparent breakthrough in a 30-month feud that saw them halt trade and flights over Qatar’s links with Iran and support for Islamist groups.Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition that’s fought Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen since 2015 began releasing jailed Houthis, as efforts to end the conflict gather momentum. Oman is quietly hosting high-level meetings, according to people familiar with the matter, and even Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has hinted at direct channels with the U.A.E.Spooked by the prospect of a catastrophic war with Iran and its proxy militias across the region, Gulf monarchies are in the midst of a strategic rethink. The U.A.E., whose economic model relies in large part on its international links, quickly realized it had most to lose from a military escalation. It had removed most of its troops from Yemen by the end of a turbulent summer that saw oil tankers targeted and a U.S. drone downed in the Gulf without significant American response.While the humanitarian catastrophe unleashed by the Yemen war trained an unwelcome spotlight on Saudi Arabia, it took a brazen strike on Saudi oil installations -- which knocked out half the country’s crude production -- to ram home the risks and prove that Trump was not about to ride to his allies’ rescue.“The attacks shattered any illusion of this magical U.S. security umbrella,” said David Roberts, an assistant professor at King’s College London who studies the Gulf. “It burst the bubble and showed that Iran had the willingness to both do something astonishing like the attack on Aramco facilities and the capability to carry it out.”Iran denies U.S. and Saudi assertions it carried out the Sept. 14 strikes, pointing to Houthi claims of responsibility. But people familiar with investigations into the attacks say they were almost certainly launched from southwestern Iran -- an explosive escalation in Tehran’s pushback against an economic offensive unleashed by Trump and enthusiastically backed by the Saudis.The Trump administration withdrew last year from the 2015 deal meant to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb, and reimposed sanctions that have crippled its oil exports. But the “maximum pressure” policy is designed to coax Tehran into more concessions not to drag the U.S. into a new Middle East war just as it draws down troops in Syria.Rolling back Shiite Muslim Iran’s power remains a priority for the Sunni Gulf Arab leadership. There’s an increasing recognition, however, that no one stands to gain from a military escalation in the world’s top oil-exporting region.Saudi Arabia’s Center for International Communication didn’t respond to an email seeking comment. The U.A.E. declined to comment. But in a Nov. 10 speech, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said he saw “a path to a deal with Iran that all parties might soon” be ready to embark on if Tehran demonstrated commitment.War to ‘Cold Peace’In search of a breakthrough, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, a former cricketer elected with the backing of a powerful army that provides extensive support for the Saudi military, shuttled between Tehran and Riyadh in October. He met Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Rouhani, as well as Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, describing talks as “encouraging.”Khan said he traveled at the request of Trump and Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir said the diplomacy wasn’t prompted by the kingdom. But deepening unease in the Gulf catalyzed the effort.Turning these overtures into lasting peace between countries that have grown further apart since the 1979 Iranian revolution remains far off.The Gulf states resent Iran’s deep reach into Arab nations. While ongoing protests in Iraq and Lebanon suggest Iran has reached the limit of its regional influence, they are unlikely to reverse political and military advances decades in the making.“Cold peace is possible but we are certainly far from a grand bargain,” said Afshin Molavi, senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute at Johns Hopkins. “For that, both Riyadh and Abu Dhabi would have to accept a role for Iran in Arab countries such as Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.”As they explore ways forward, Gulf states are moving at different speeds.The U.A.E. broke with the U.S. and Saudi Arabia by not naming Iran as the culprit behind attacks in May and June on oil tankers as they sailed toward the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s foremost oil shipping chokepoint.It sent coast guard officials to Iran for the first time in six years and Rouhani hinted at other meetings with senior U.A.E. officials. “We’re moving toward improved relations,” he said Oct. 14. Saudi Arabia is catching up.Washington built a multilateral naval operation to protect shipping in the Gulf after the attacks and sent more troops to Saudi Arabia. Both actions resulted in a “down tick” in Iranian actions,” U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Nov. 13. “The Iranians should not mistake our restraint for weakness.”Where the U.S. holds back, however, others are crowding in. Besides his role in saving Bashar al-Assad’s regime, Russian President Vladimir Putin has forged a partnership with Iran, created an oil alliance with Saudi Arabia and built ties with Egypt’s Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, who was warned by the U.S. last month against plans to purchase Russian jets.Putin traveled to Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. in October after visits by the Saudi king and the U.A.E.’s de-facto leader Mohammad bin Zayed to Moscow. The two Gulf countries and Russia have signed deals valued at billions of dollars.For Iran’s Rouhani, the case for regional engagement is obvious.“Don’t you know that Iran is going to stay here and we will remain neighbors throughout history?” he has said, referring to Iran’s Arab neighbors. “Trump will only be around for a few years and will go back to whatever it was he was doing.”\--With assistance from Golnar Motevalli and Glen Carey.To contact the reporter on this story: Zainab Fattah in Dubai at [email protected] contact the editors responsible for this story: Lin Noueihed at [email protected], Mark WilliamsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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7newx1 · 5 years
Link
(Bloomberg) -- An expanded soccer tournament, a direct flight, clandestine meetings and a pledge to release prisoners of war; diplomacy is breaking out as Gulf Arab nations back away from a Donald Trump-inspired confrontation with Iran. And the signs are everywhere.Last week, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain played their first games of the 2019 Arabian Gulf Cup in Qatar after a last-minute decision to take part -- an apparent breakthrough in a 30-month feud that saw them halt trade and flights over Qatar’s links with Iran and support for Islamist groups.Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition that’s fought Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen since 2015 began releasing jailed Houthis, as efforts to end the conflict gather momentum. Oman is quietly hosting high-level meetings, according to people familiar with the matter, and even Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has hinted at direct channels with the U.A.E.Spooked by the prospect of a catastrophic war with Iran and its proxy militias across the region, Gulf monarchies are in the midst of a strategic rethink. The U.A.E., whose economic model relies in large part on its international links, quickly realized it had most to lose from a military escalation. It had removed most of its troops from Yemen by the end of a turbulent summer that saw oil tankers targeted and a U.S. drone downed in the Gulf without significant American response.While the humanitarian catastrophe unleashed by the Yemen war trained an unwelcome spotlight on Saudi Arabia, it took a brazen strike on Saudi oil installations -- which knocked out half the country’s crude production -- to ram home the risks and prove that Trump was not about to ride to his allies’ rescue.“The attacks shattered any illusion of this magical U.S. security umbrella,” said David Roberts, an assistant professor at King’s College London who studies the Gulf. “It burst the bubble and showed that Iran had the willingness to both do something astonishing like the attack on Aramco facilities and the capability to carry it out.”Iran denies U.S. and Saudi assertions it carried out the Sept. 14 strikes, pointing to Houthi claims of responsibility. But people familiar with investigations into the attacks say they were almost certainly launched from southwestern Iran -- an explosive escalation in Tehran’s pushback against an economic offensive unleashed by Trump and enthusiastically backed by the Saudis.The Trump administration withdrew last year from the 2015 deal meant to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb, and reimposed sanctions that have crippled its oil exports. But the “maximum pressure” policy is designed to coax Tehran into more concessions not to drag the U.S. into a new Middle East war just as it draws down troops in Syria.Rolling back Shiite Muslim Iran’s power remains a priority for the Sunni Gulf Arab leadership. There’s an increasing recognition, however, that no one stands to gain from a military escalation in the world’s top oil-exporting region.Saudi Arabia’s Center for International Communication didn’t respond to an email seeking comment. The U.A.E. declined to comment. But in a Nov. 10 speech, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said he saw “a path to a deal with Iran that all parties might soon” be ready to embark on if Tehran demonstrated commitment.War to ‘Cold Peace’In search of a breakthrough, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, a former cricketer elected with the backing of a powerful army that provides extensive support for the Saudi military, shuttled between Tehran and Riyadh in October. He met Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Rouhani, as well as Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, describing talks as “encouraging.”Khan said he traveled at the request of Trump and Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir said the diplomacy wasn’t prompted by the kingdom. But deepening unease in the Gulf catalyzed the effort.Turning these overtures into lasting peace between countries that have grown further apart since the 1979 Iranian revolution remains far off.The Gulf states resent Iran’s deep reach into Arab nations. While ongoing protests in Iraq and Lebanon suggest Iran has reached the limit of its regional influence, they are unlikely to reverse political and military advances decades in the making.“Cold peace is possible but we are certainly far from a grand bargain,” said Afshin Molavi, senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute at Johns Hopkins. “For that, both Riyadh and Abu Dhabi would have to accept a role for Iran in Arab countries such as Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.”As they explore ways forward, Gulf states are moving at different speeds.The U.A.E. broke with the U.S. and Saudi Arabia by not naming Iran as the culprit behind attacks in May and June on oil tankers as they sailed toward the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s foremost oil shipping chokepoint.It sent coast guard officials to Iran for the first time in six years and Rouhani hinted at other meetings with senior U.A.E. officials. “We’re moving toward improved relations,” he said Oct. 14. Saudi Arabia is catching up.Washington built a multilateral naval operation to protect shipping in the Gulf after the attacks and sent more troops to Saudi Arabia. Both actions resulted in a “down tick” in Iranian actions,” U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Nov. 13. “The Iranians should not mistake our restraint for weakness.”Where the U.S. holds back, however, others are crowding in. Besides his role in saving Bashar al-Assad’s regime, Russian President Vladimir Putin has forged a partnership with Iran, created an oil alliance with Saudi Arabia and built ties with Egypt’s Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, who was warned by the U.S. last month against plans to purchase Russian jets.Putin traveled to Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. in October after visits by the Saudi king and the U.A.E.’s de-facto leader Mohammad bin Zayed to Moscow. The two Gulf countries and Russia have signed deals valued at billions of dollars.For Iran’s Rouhani, the case for regional engagement is obvious.“Don’t you know that Iran is going to stay here and we will remain neighbors throughout history?” he has said, referring to Iran’s Arab neighbors. “Trump will only be around for a few years and will go back to whatever it was he was doing.”\--With assistance from Golnar Motevalli and Glen Carey.To contact the reporter on this story: Zainab Fattah in Dubai at [email protected] contact the editors responsible for this story: Lin Noueihed at [email protected], Mark WilliamsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
0 notes
tendance-news · 5 years
Link
(Bloomberg) -- An expanded soccer tournament, a direct flight, clandestine meetings and a pledge to release prisoners of war; diplomacy is breaking out as Gulf Arab nations back away from a Donald Trump-inspired confrontation with Iran. And the signs are everywhere.Last week, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain played their first games of the 2019 Arabian Gulf Cup in Qatar after a last-minute decision to take part -- an apparent breakthrough in a 30-month feud that saw them halt trade and flights over Qatar’s links with Iran and support for Islamist groups.Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition that’s fought Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen since 2015 began releasing jailed Houthis, as efforts to end the conflict gather momentum. Oman is quietly hosting high-level meetings, according to people familiar with the matter, and even Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has hinted at direct channels with the U.A.E.Spooked by the prospect of a catastrophic war with Iran and its proxy militias across the region, Gulf monarchies are in the midst of a strategic rethink. The U.A.E., whose economic model relies in large part on its international links, quickly realized it had most to lose from a military escalation. It had removed most of its troops from Yemen by the end of a turbulent summer that saw oil tankers targeted and a U.S. drone downed in the Gulf without significant American response.While the humanitarian catastrophe unleashed by the Yemen war trained an unwelcome spotlight on Saudi Arabia, it took a brazen strike on Saudi oil installations -- which knocked out half the country’s crude production -- to ram home the risks and prove that Trump was not about to ride to his allies’ rescue.“The attacks shattered any illusion of this magical U.S. security umbrella,” said David Roberts, an assistant professor at King’s College London who studies the Gulf. “It burst the bubble and showed that Iran had the willingness to both do something astonishing like the attack on Aramco facilities and the capability to carry it out.”Iran denies U.S. and Saudi assertions it carried out the Sept. 14 strikes, pointing to Houthi claims of responsibility. But people familiar with investigations into the attacks say they were almost certainly launched from southwestern Iran -- an explosive escalation in Tehran’s pushback against an economic offensive unleashed by Trump and enthusiastically backed by the Saudis.The Trump administration withdrew last year from the 2015 deal meant to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb, and reimposed sanctions that have crippled its oil exports. But the “maximum pressure” policy is designed to coax Tehran into more concessions not to drag the U.S. into a new Middle East war just as it draws down troops in Syria.Rolling back Shiite Muslim Iran’s power remains a priority for the Sunni Gulf Arab leadership. There’s an increasing recognition, however, that no one stands to gain from a military escalation in the world’s top oil-exporting region.Saudi Arabia’s Center for International Communication didn’t respond to an email seeking comment. The U.A.E. declined to comment. But in a Nov. 10 speech, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said he saw “a path to a deal with Iran that all parties might soon” be ready to embark on if Tehran demonstrated commitment.War to ‘Cold Peace’In search of a breakthrough, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, a former cricketer elected with the backing of a powerful army that provides extensive support for the Saudi military, shuttled between Tehran and Riyadh in October. He met Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Rouhani, as well as Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, describing talks as “encouraging.”Khan said he traveled at the request of Trump and Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir said the diplomacy wasn’t prompted by the kingdom. But deepening unease in the Gulf catalyzed the effort.Turning these overtures into lasting peace between countries that have grown further apart since the 1979 Iranian revolution remains far off.The Gulf states resent Iran’s deep reach into Arab nations. While ongoing protests in Iraq and Lebanon suggest Iran has reached the limit of its regional influence, they are unlikely to reverse political and military advances decades in the making.“Cold peace is possible but we are certainly far from a grand bargain,” said Afshin Molavi, senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute at Johns Hopkins. “For that, both Riyadh and Abu Dhabi would have to accept a role for Iran in Arab countries such as Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.”As they explore ways forward, Gulf states are moving at different speeds.The U.A.E. broke with the U.S. and Saudi Arabia by not naming Iran as the culprit behind attacks in May and June on oil tankers as they sailed toward the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s foremost oil shipping chokepoint.It sent coast guard officials to Iran for the first time in six years and Rouhani hinted at other meetings with senior U.A.E. officials. “We’re moving toward improved relations,” he said Oct. 14. Saudi Arabia is catching up.Washington built a multilateral naval operation to protect shipping in the Gulf after the attacks and sent more troops to Saudi Arabia. Both actions resulted in a “down tick” in Iranian actions,” U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Nov. 13. “The Iranians should not mistake our restraint for weakness.”Where the U.S. holds back, however, others are crowding in. Besides his role in saving Bashar al-Assad’s regime, Russian President Vladimir Putin has forged a partnership with Iran, created an oil alliance with Saudi Arabia and built ties with Egypt’s Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, who was warned by the U.S. last month against plans to purchase Russian jets.Putin traveled to Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. in October after visits by the Saudi king and the U.A.E.’s de-facto leader Mohammad bin Zayed to Moscow. The two Gulf countries and Russia have signed deals valued at billions of dollars.For Iran’s Rouhani, the case for regional engagement is obvious.“Don’t you know that Iran is going to stay here and we will remain neighbors throughout history?” he has said, referring to Iran’s Arab neighbors. “Trump will only be around for a few years and will go back to whatever it was he was doing.”\--With assistance from Golnar Motevalli and Glen Carey.To contact the reporter on this story: Zainab Fattah in Dubai at [email protected] contact the editors responsible for this story: Lin Noueihed at [email protected], Mark WilliamsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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justsimplylovely · 5 years
Link
(Bloomberg) -- An expanded soccer tournament, a direct flight, clandestine meetings and a pledge to release prisoners of war; diplomacy is breaking out as Gulf Arab nations back away from a Donald Trump-inspired confrontation with Iran. And the signs are everywhere.Last week, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain played their first games of the 2019 Arabian Gulf Cup in Qatar after a last-minute decision to take part -- an apparent breakthrough in a 30-month feud that saw them halt trade and flights over Qatar’s links with Iran and support for Islamist groups.Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition that’s fought Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen since 2015 began releasing jailed Houthis, as efforts to end the conflict gather momentum. Oman is quietly hosting high-level meetings, according to people familiar with the matter, and even Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has hinted at direct channels with the U.A.E.Spooked by the prospect of a catastrophic war with Iran and its proxy militias across the region, Gulf monarchies are in the midst of a strategic rethink. The U.A.E., whose economic model relies in large part on its international links, quickly realized it had most to lose from a military escalation. It had removed most of its troops from Yemen by the end of a turbulent summer that saw oil tankers targeted and a U.S. drone downed in the Gulf without significant American response.While the humanitarian catastrophe unleashed by the Yemen war trained an unwelcome spotlight on Saudi Arabia, it took a brazen strike on Saudi oil installations -- which knocked out half the country’s crude production -- to ram home the risks and prove that Trump was not about to ride to his allies’ rescue.“The attacks shattered any illusion of this magical U.S. security umbrella,” said David Roberts, an assistant professor at King’s College London who studies the Gulf. “It burst the bubble and showed that Iran had the willingness to both do something astonishing like the attack on Aramco facilities and the capability to carry it out.”Iran denies U.S. and Saudi assertions it carried out the Sept. 14 strikes, pointing to Houthi claims of responsibility. But people familiar with investigations into the attacks say they were almost certainly launched from southwestern Iran -- an explosive escalation in Tehran’s pushback against an economic offensive unleashed by Trump and enthusiastically backed by the Saudis.The Trump administration withdrew last year from the 2015 deal meant to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb, and reimposed sanctions that have crippled its oil exports. But the “maximum pressure” policy is designed to coax Tehran into more concessions not to drag the U.S. into a new Middle East war just as it draws down troops in Syria.Rolling back Shiite Muslim Iran’s power remains a priority for the Sunni Gulf Arab leadership. There’s an increasing recognition, however, that no one stands to gain from a military escalation in the world’s top oil-exporting region.Saudi Arabia’s Center for International Communication didn’t respond to an email seeking comment. The U.A.E. declined to comment. But in a Nov. 10 speech, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said he saw “a path to a deal with Iran that all parties might soon” be ready to embark on if Tehran demonstrated commitment.War to ‘Cold Peace’In search of a breakthrough, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, a former cricketer elected with the backing of a powerful army that provides extensive support for the Saudi military, shuttled between Tehran and Riyadh in October. He met Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Rouhani, as well as Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, describing talks as “encouraging.”Khan said he traveled at the request of Trump and Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir said the diplomacy wasn’t prompted by the kingdom. But deepening unease in the Gulf catalyzed the effort.Turning these overtures into lasting peace between countries that have grown further apart since the 1979 Iranian revolution remains far off.The Gulf states resent Iran’s deep reach into Arab nations. While ongoing protests in Iraq and Lebanon suggest Iran has reached the limit of its regional influence, they are unlikely to reverse political and military advances decades in the making.“Cold peace is possible but we are certainly far from a grand bargain,” said Afshin Molavi, senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute at Johns Hopkins. “For that, both Riyadh and Abu Dhabi would have to accept a role for Iran in Arab countries such as Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.”As they explore ways forward, Gulf states are moving at different speeds.The U.A.E. broke with the U.S. and Saudi Arabia by not naming Iran as the culprit behind attacks in May and June on oil tankers as they sailed toward the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s foremost oil shipping chokepoint.It sent coast guard officials to Iran for the first time in six years and Rouhani hinted at other meetings with senior U.A.E. officials. “We’re moving toward improved relations,” he said Oct. 14. Saudi Arabia is catching up.Washington built a multilateral naval operation to protect shipping in the Gulf after the attacks and sent more troops to Saudi Arabia. Both actions resulted in a “down tick” in Iranian actions,” U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Nov. 13. “The Iranians should not mistake our restraint for weakness.”Where the U.S. holds back, however, others are crowding in. Besides his role in saving Bashar al-Assad’s regime, Russian President Vladimir Putin has forged a partnership with Iran, created an oil alliance with Saudi Arabia and built ties with Egypt’s Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, who was warned by the U.S. last month against plans to purchase Russian jets.Putin traveled to Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. in October after visits by the Saudi king and the U.A.E.’s de-facto leader Mohammad bin Zayed to Moscow. The two Gulf countries and Russia have signed deals valued at billions of dollars.For Iran’s Rouhani, the case for regional engagement is obvious.“Don’t you know that Iran is going to stay here and we will remain neighbors throughout history?” he has said, referring to Iran’s Arab neighbors. “Trump will only be around for a few years and will go back to whatever it was he was doing.”\--With assistance from Golnar Motevalli and Glen Carey.To contact the reporter on this story: Zainab Fattah in Dubai at [email protected] contact the editors responsible for this story: Lin Noueihed at [email protected], Mark WilliamsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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orendrasingh · 5 years
Link
(Bloomberg) -- An expanded soccer tournament, a direct flight, clandestine meetings and a pledge to release prisoners of war; diplomacy is breaking out as Gulf Arab nations back away from a Donald Trump-inspired confrontation with Iran. And the signs are everywhere.Last week, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain played their first games of the 2019 Arabian Gulf Cup in Qatar after a last-minute decision to take part -- an apparent breakthrough in a 30-month feud that saw them halt trade and flights over Qatar’s links with Iran and support for Islamist groups.Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition that’s fought Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen since 2015 began releasing jailed Houthis, as efforts to end the conflict gather momentum. Oman is quietly hosting high-level meetings, according to people familiar with the matter, and even Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has hinted at direct channels with the U.A.E.Spooked by the prospect of a catastrophic war with Iran and its proxy militias across the region, Gulf monarchies are in the midst of a strategic rethink. The U.A.E., whose economic model relies in large part on its international links, quickly realized it had most to lose from a military escalation. It had removed most of its troops from Yemen by the end of a turbulent summer that saw oil tankers targeted and a U.S. drone downed in the Gulf without significant American response.While the humanitarian catastrophe unleashed by the Yemen war trained an unwelcome spotlight on Saudi Arabia, it took a brazen strike on Saudi oil installations -- which knocked out half the country’s crude production -- to ram home the risks and prove that Trump was not about to ride to his allies’ rescue.“The attacks shattered any illusion of this magical U.S. security umbrella,” said David Roberts, an assistant professor at King’s College London who studies the Gulf. “It burst the bubble and showed that Iran had the willingness to both do something astonishing like the attack on Aramco facilities and the capability to carry it out.”Iran denies U.S. and Saudi assertions it carried out the Sept. 14 strikes, pointing to Houthi claims of responsibility. But people familiar with investigations into the attacks say they were almost certainly launched from southwestern Iran -- an explosive escalation in Tehran’s pushback against an economic offensive unleashed by Trump and enthusiastically backed by the Saudis.The Trump administration withdrew last year from the 2015 deal meant to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb, and reimposed sanctions that have crippled its oil exports. But the “maximum pressure” policy is designed to coax Tehran into more concessions not to drag the U.S. into a new Middle East war just as it draws down troops in Syria.Rolling back Shiite Muslim Iran’s power remains a priority for the Sunni Gulf Arab leadership. There’s an increasing recognition, however, that no one stands to gain from a military escalation in the world’s top oil-exporting region.Saudi Arabia’s Center for International Communication didn’t respond to an email seeking comment. The U.A.E. declined to comment. But in a Nov. 10 speech, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said he saw “a path to a deal with Iran that all parties might soon” be ready to embark on if Tehran demonstrated commitment.War to ‘Cold Peace’In search of a breakthrough, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, a former cricketer elected with the backing of a powerful army that provides extensive support for the Saudi military, shuttled between Tehran and Riyadh in October. He met Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Rouhani, as well as Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, describing talks as “encouraging.”Khan said he traveled at the request of Trump and Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir said the diplomacy wasn’t prompted by the kingdom. But deepening unease in the Gulf catalyzed the effort.Turning these overtures into lasting peace between countries that have grown further apart since the 1979 Iranian revolution remains far off.The Gulf states resent Iran’s deep reach into Arab nations. While ongoing protests in Iraq and Lebanon suggest Iran has reached the limit of its regional influence, they are unlikely to reverse political and military advances decades in the making.“Cold peace is possible but we are certainly far from a grand bargain,” said Afshin Molavi, senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute at Johns Hopkins. “For that, both Riyadh and Abu Dhabi would have to accept a role for Iran in Arab countries such as Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.”As they explore ways forward, Gulf states are moving at different speeds.The U.A.E. broke with the U.S. and Saudi Arabia by not naming Iran as the culprit behind attacks in May and June on oil tankers as they sailed toward the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s foremost oil shipping chokepoint.It sent coast guard officials to Iran for the first time in six years and Rouhani hinted at other meetings with senior U.A.E. officials. “We’re moving toward improved relations,” he said Oct. 14. Saudi Arabia is catching up.Washington built a multilateral naval operation to protect shipping in the Gulf after the attacks and sent more troops to Saudi Arabia. Both actions resulted in a “down tick” in Iranian actions,” U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Nov. 13. “The Iranians should not mistake our restraint for weakness.”Where the U.S. holds back, however, others are crowding in. Besides his role in saving Bashar al-Assad’s regime, Russian President Vladimir Putin has forged a partnership with Iran, created an oil alliance with Saudi Arabia and built ties with Egypt’s Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, who was warned by the U.S. last month against plans to purchase Russian jets.Putin traveled to Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. in October after visits by the Saudi king and the U.A.E.’s de-facto leader Mohammad bin Zayed to Moscow. The two Gulf countries and Russia have signed deals valued at billions of dollars.For Iran’s Rouhani, the case for regional engagement is obvious.“Don’t you know that Iran is going to stay here and we will remain neighbors throughout history?” he has said, referring to Iran’s Arab neighbors. “Trump will only be around for a few years and will go back to whatever it was he was doing.”\--With assistance from Golnar Motevalli and Glen Carey.To contact the reporter on this story: Zainab Fattah in Dubai at [email protected] contact the editors responsible for this story: Lin Noueihed at [email protected], Mark WilliamsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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newseveryhourly · 5 years
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(Bloomberg) -- An expanded soccer tournament, a direct flight, clandestine meetings and a pledge to release prisoners of war; diplomacy is breaking out as Gulf Arab nations back away from a Donald Trump-inspired confrontation with Iran. And the signs are everywhere.Last week, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain played their first games of the 2019 Arabian Gulf Cup in Qatar after a last-minute decision to take part -- an apparent breakthrough in a 30-month feud that saw them halt trade and flights over Qatar’s links with Iran and support for Islamist groups.Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition that’s fought Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen since 2015 began releasing jailed Houthis, as efforts to end the conflict gather momentum. Oman is quietly hosting high-level meetings, according to people familiar with the matter, and even Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has hinted at direct channels with the U.A.E.Spooked by the prospect of a catastrophic war with Iran and its proxy militias across the region, Gulf monarchies are in the midst of a strategic rethink. The U.A.E., whose economic model relies in large part on its international links, quickly realized it had most to lose from a military escalation. It had removed most of its troops from Yemen by the end of a turbulent summer that saw oil tankers targeted and a U.S. drone downed in the Gulf without significant American response.While the humanitarian catastrophe unleashed by the Yemen war trained an unwelcome spotlight on Saudi Arabia, it took a brazen strike on Saudi oil installations -- which knocked out half the country’s crude production -- to ram home the risks and prove that Trump was not about to ride to his allies’ rescue.“The attacks shattered any illusion of this magical U.S. security umbrella,” said David Roberts, an assistant professor at King’s College London who studies the Gulf. “It burst the bubble and showed that Iran had the willingness to both do something astonishing like the attack on Aramco facilities and the capability to carry it out.”Iran denies U.S. and Saudi assertions it carried out the Sept. 14 strikes, pointing to Houthi claims of responsibility. But people familiar with investigations into the attacks say they were almost certainly launched from southwestern Iran -- an explosive escalation in Tehran’s pushback against an economic offensive unleashed by Trump and enthusiastically backed by the Saudis.The Trump administration withdrew last year from the 2015 deal meant to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb, and reimposed sanctions that have crippled its oil exports. But the “maximum pressure” policy is designed to coax Tehran into more concessions not to drag the U.S. into a new Middle East war just as it draws down troops in Syria.Rolling back Shiite Muslim Iran’s power remains a priority for the Sunni Gulf Arab leadership. There’s an increasing recognition, however, that no one stands to gain from a military escalation in the world’s top oil-exporting region.Saudi Arabia’s Center for International Communication didn’t respond to an email seeking comment. The U.A.E. declined to comment. But in a Nov. 10 speech, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said he saw “a path to a deal with Iran that all parties might soon” be ready to embark on if Tehran demonstrated commitment.War to ‘Cold Peace’In search of a breakthrough, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, a former cricketer elected with the backing of a powerful army that provides extensive support for the Saudi military, shuttled between Tehran and Riyadh in October. He met Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Rouhani, as well as Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, describing talks as “encouraging.”Khan said he traveled at the request of Trump and Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir said the diplomacy wasn’t prompted by the kingdom. But deepening unease in the Gulf catalyzed the effort.Turning these overtures into lasting peace between countries that have grown further apart since the 1979 Iranian revolution remains far off.The Gulf states resent Iran’s deep reach into Arab nations. While ongoing protests in Iraq and Lebanon suggest Iran has reached the limit of its regional influence, they are unlikely to reverse political and military advances decades in the making.“Cold peace is possible but we are certainly far from a grand bargain,” said Afshin Molavi, senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute at Johns Hopkins. “For that, both Riyadh and Abu Dhabi would have to accept a role for Iran in Arab countries such as Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.”As they explore ways forward, Gulf states are moving at different speeds.The U.A.E. broke with the U.S. and Saudi Arabia by not naming Iran as the culprit behind attacks in May and June on oil tankers as they sailed toward the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s foremost oil shipping chokepoint.It sent coast guard officials to Iran for the first time in six years and Rouhani hinted at other meetings with senior U.A.E. officials. “We’re moving toward improved relations,” he said Oct. 14. Saudi Arabia is catching up.Washington built a multilateral naval operation to protect shipping in the Gulf after the attacks and sent more troops to Saudi Arabia. Both actions resulted in a “down tick” in Iranian actions,” U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Nov. 13. “The Iranians should not mistake our restraint for weakness.”Where the U.S. holds back, however, others are crowding in. Besides his role in saving Bashar al-Assad’s regime, Russian President Vladimir Putin has forged a partnership with Iran, created an oil alliance with Saudi Arabia and built ties with Egypt’s Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, who was warned by the U.S. last month against plans to purchase Russian jets.Putin traveled to Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. in October after visits by the Saudi king and the U.A.E.’s de-facto leader Mohammad bin Zayed to Moscow. The two Gulf countries and Russia have signed deals valued at billions of dollars.For Iran’s Rouhani, the case for regional engagement is obvious.“Don’t you know that Iran is going to stay here and we will remain neighbors throughout history?” he has said, referring to Iran’s Arab neighbors. “Trump will only be around for a few years and will go back to whatever it was he was doing.”\--With assistance from Golnar Motevalli and Glen Carey.To contact the reporter on this story: Zainab Fattah in Dubai at [email protected] contact the editors responsible for this story: Lin Noueihed at [email protected], Mark WilliamsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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The Pool Scene - Aloysius Yapp, Bashar Hussain, Billy Thorpe, Chang Yu Lung, Chris Melling, Chung Ko Ping, Damianos Giallourakis, Dang Jinhu, David Alcaide, Denis Grabe, Do The Kien, Enrique Rojas, Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz, Hunter Lombardo, Ivar Saris, Jakub Koniar, Jalal Al Sarsi, Jang Moonseok, Jeffrey Ignacio, Johann Chua, John Morra, Joshua Filler, Jung Lin Chang, Kong Dejing, Konrad Juszcayszyn, Lin Ta Li, Liu Haitao, Liu Ri Teng, Masato Yoshioka, Max Eberle, Max Lechner, Mieszko Fortunski, Naoyuki Oi, Oliver Szolnoki, Petri Makkonen, Phone Myint Kyaw, Pijus Labutis, Pin Yi Ko, Radoslaw Babica, Ralf Souquet, Results, Richard Halliday, Ruslan Chinakhov, Shane Van Boening, Stephen Holem, Tomasz Kaplan, Waleed Majid, World 9-Ball - World Pool Billiard
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32 Players Book Their Spots In The KO Rounds In A Roller Coaster First Day In Doha
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By Ted Lerner WPA Media Officer Photo Credits WPA
(Doha, Qatar)–If the first day’s play of the 2019 World 9-ball Championship is any indication–and by all measures it certainly is just that–then fans around the world better be prepared for a wild roller coaster ride over the next three days.  Drama, upsets, nerves, revelations, suprises, excitement and downright brilliant 9-ball at the highest levels were all on display as play commenced in the 28th running of pool’s premier crown. And with a loaded field just getting warmed up, it’s only going to get better leading to the final on Tuesday.
With 64 matches played on 16 tables at the Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation in Doha, Day 1 saw 32 players book their spots in the final 64 knockout stage which begins Sunday.  None of the 96 players have yet to see the exits, but there were plenty of upsets, near upsets, and upstarts making their mark on pool’s biggest stage.
The top 32 seeds were given a bye in the first round of their groups, so these players only had to win one match to reach the single elimination knockout rounds.  Defending champion Joshua Filler of Germany did just that, but not before a shaky start which saw him tied at 4-4 in the race to 9 alternate break match against Qatari veteran Bashar Hussain. The World number one was never in trouble, though, and cruised to a 9-5 win.
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2017 champion and runner up last year Carlo Biado of the Philippines didn’t fair as well as he got dumped over to the one loss side of his group with a shocking 9-3 loss to Chile’s Enrique Rojas. It was Rojas’ second straight victory of the day, the first coming over Kuwait’s Abdullah Alyusef. Rojas now books his well deserved spot in the Final 64 tomorrow.
The USA’s Shane Van Boening is one of the favorites here this week, but he looked a bit cold early on in his match with young talented Chinese player Xu Xiaocong. Xu is part of a large crop coming from China’s youth movement and he had the American down three quarters of the way through their match.  But SVB pulled it together at the last minute and squeaked by the Chinese, 9-8. Xu will get one more chance on Sunday.
Fellow American and Mosconi teammate Billy Thorpe also booked his spot in the final 64 with a 9-5 win over Canada’s Stephen Holem.
It was a solid day for team Taiwan. World 10-ball Champion Ko Ping Chung went up against Myamar’s rising star Phone Myint Kyaw, who also goes by the moniker, Muang Muang. Kyaw is a player that pool fans will want to pay attention to. He’s a former snooker player who has been winning regularly on the brutally tough Chinese 8-ball circuit, and he just grabbed two gold medals in the Southeast Asian games in Manila.  His stroke is one of the most solid in the game and anyone who watches him play instantly can see the potential in this young man.
But of course, Ko is a young prodigy who has already proven his metal in American pool with his recent win at the World 10-ball in July in Vegas.  Little Ko didn’t have much trouble with Muang Muang, winning handily, 9-4.
Little Ko will join his older brother Pin Yi in the final 64, who defeated the always stingy Jalal Al Sarisi of Venezuela, 9-4.  Other Taiwanese cruising into the final 64 include Chang Jung Lin, Chang Yu Lung, and Kevin Cheng.
The Philippines is surprisingly unrepresented in Doha this year with only four players in the field. With Biado losing early it was up to Johann Chua and Jeffrey Ingacio to save the day for the Pinoys. Both looked the goods and nabbed spots in the final 64.
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It was a mixed bag for the European Mosconio Cup team. Greece’s Alexander Kazakis is one of Europe’s top bets here this week and he qualified for the knockout round with an easy 9-5 win over Qatar’s Waleed Majid.  But Albania’s Eklent Kaci and former World 9-ball Champion Niels Feijen of the Netherlands weren’t so fortunate. Kaci lost big to the Netherlands’ Ivar Saris, who had earlier looked solid in a 9-6 win over Poland’s Karol Skowerski. Feijen went down to upstart Hong Konger Yip Kin Ling, 9-7, who took his spot in the Final 64 with his second  win of the day.
The surprises kept coming throughout the day. Lithuania’s Pijus Labutis first squeaked by Peru’s Gerson Martinez, 9-8. Then he took on former World 9-ball Champion Wu Jiaqing, and shocked the Chinese great with a 9-7 upset, and a spot in the knockout rounds.
Also booking a spot in the final 64 was Canada’s John Morra, who continued his return to fine form with a 9-8 win over Poland’s Mateusz Sniegocki. Singapore’s Aloysius Yapp showed that he’s clearly a dark horse to watch here in Doha with a 9-4 drubbing of China’s talented Dang Jinhu.  England’s Chris Melling came back from 6-2 down to defeat Vietnam’s Do The Kien, 9-7. Also advancing today were Japan’s Naoyuki Oi, Austria’s Max Lechner, China’s Lui Haitao, Estonia’s Dennis Grabe, Finland’s Petri Makkonen, Germany’s Ralf Souquet,  and Spaniards David Alcaide and Francisco Sanchez Ruiz.
Play on day 2 on Sunday, Dec. 14th will begin at 10am Doha time(GMT +3). The field will be whittled down to 64 players playing single elimination knockout race to 11.  The round of 64 will be completed in the first two session, and by the end of the day, the field will be down to the final 32. 
The winner of the 2019 World 9-ball Championship will receive $30,000. The total prize fund is $150,00.
*The 2019 WPA World 9-ball Championship takes place at the Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation in Doha, Qatar from December 10-17, 2019. The event is hosted by The Qatar Billiard and Snooker Federation(QBSF), and is sanctioned by the World Pool Billiard Association, the governing body of the sport of pool.
Fans around the world will be able to view live scoring, results, brackets and live streaming of many of the matches via the QBSF’s free live streaming platform at esnooker.pl.  Multiple tables will be available to view online at no charge to the public.
Results
Group 1
Bashar Hussain (QAT) 9 – 6 Hasan Hwaidi (IRQ)
John Morra (CAN) 9 – 7 Jerico Bonus (PHL)
Group 2
Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS)  9 – 5 Mohammad Soufi (SYR)
Mieszko Fortunski (POL) 9 – 6  Kong Bu Hong (CHN)
Group 3
Pijus Labutis (LTH) 9 – 8 Gerson Martinez  (PER)
Dang Jinhu (CHN) 9 – 7 Saki Kanatlar (TKY)
Group 4
Kong Dejing (CHN) 9 – 6 Matt Edwards (NZL)
Jalal Al Sarsi (VEN)  9 – 7 Marc Vidal (SPN)
Group 5
Waleed Majid (QAT) 9 – 5 Mohammad Al Amin (BAN)
Oliver Szolnoki (HUN) 9 – 3 Woo Seung Ryu (KOR)
Group 6
Tomasz Kaplan (POL)  9 – 5 Ali Alobadili (QAT)
Do The Kien (VET) 9 – 3 Ricky Yang (IND)
Group 7
Liu Ri Teng (TPE)  9 – 5 Abdulatif Alfawal (QAT)
Radoslaw Babica (POL) 9 – 1 Nadim Okbani (ALG)
Group 8
Lin Ta Li (TPE) 9 – 1 Hassan Shhada (JOR)
Enrique Rojas (CHL) 9 – 7 Abdullah Alyusef (KUW)
Group 9
Phone Myint Kyaw (MYR) 9 – 3  Khaled Alghamdi (KSR)
Stephen Holem (CAN) 9 – 6 Casper Matikainen (FIN)
Group 10
Yukio Akagariyama (JPN) 9 – 7 Mohammad Berjaoui (LEB)
Max Eberle (USA) 9 – 7 Ali Maghsoud (IRA)
Group 11
Ivar Saris (NET) 9 – 6 Karol Skowerski (POL)
Hunter Lombardo (USA) 9 – 1 Ahmad Aldelaimi (KUW)
Group 12
Damianos Giallourakis (GRE) 9 – 7 Marck Bijsterbosch (NED)
Yip Kin Ling (HKG) 9 – 8 Abdulla Alshemari (KSR)
Group 13
Xue Zhenqi (CHN) 9 – 5 Clark Sullivan (NZE)
Masato Yoshioka (JPN) Luis Lemus (GUY)
Group 14
Jakub Koniar (SLV) 9 – 8 Darren Appleton (ENG)
Richard Halliday (RSA) 9 – 4 Fayaz Ussain (MAL)
Group 15
Konrad Juszcayszyn (POL) 9 – 7 Robbie Capito (HKG)
Jang Moonseok (KOR) 9 – 6 Wang Can (CHN)
Group 16
Petri Makkonen (FIN) 9 – 0 Mohamed El Raousti (ALG)
Xu Xiaocong (CHN) 9- 2  Riccardo Sini (ITL)
Winners Side Matches Day 1.
Winner is through to the Final 64, Loser goes to one loss side of their group for one more chance
Group 1
Joshua Filler (GER) 9 – 5 Bashar Hussain (QAT)
John Morra (CAN) 9 – 8 Mateusz Sniegocki (POL)
Group 2
Denis Grabe (EST) 9 – 7 Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS)
Mieszko Fortunski (POL) 9 – 4 Fedor Gorst (RUS)
Group 3
Pijus Labutis (LTH) 9 – 7 Wu Jiaqing (CHN)
Aloysius Yapp (SIN) 9 – 4 Dang Jinhu (CHN)
Group 4
Kong Dejing (CHN) 9 – 6 Thorsten Hohmann (GER)
Pin Yi Ko (TPE) 9 – 5 Jalal Al Sarisi (VEN)
Group 5
Alexander Kazakis (GRE) 9 – 5 Waleed Majid (QAT)
Oliver Szolnoki (HUN) 9 – 3 Wojciech Szewczyk (POL)
Group 6
Chang Yu Lung (TPE) 9 – 6 Tomasz Kaplan (POL)
Chris Melling (ENG) 9 – 7 Do The Kien (VET)
Group 7
Johann Chua (PHL) 9 – 3 Liu Ri Teng (TPE)
Max Lechner (AUT) 9 – 6 Radoslaw Babica (POL)
Group 8
Liu Haitao (CHN) 9 – 3 Lin Ta Li (TPE)
Enrique Rojas (CHL) 9 – 3 Carlo Biado (PHL)
Group 9
Chung Ko Ping (TPE) 9 – 4 Phone Myint Kyaw (MYR)
Billy Thorpe (USA) 9 – 5 Stephen Holem (CAN)
Group 10
Yu Hsuan Cheng (TPE) 9 – 8 Yukio Akagariyama (JPN)
Alex Pagulayan (CAN) 9 – 3 Max Eberle (USA)
Group 11
Ivar Saris (NED) 9 – 4 Eklent Kaci (ALB)
Naoyuki Oi (JPN) 9 – 1 Hunter Lombardo (USA)
Group 12
Jeffrey Ignacio (PHL) 9 – 7 Damianos Giallourakis (GRE)
Yip Kin Ling (HKG) 9 – 7 Niels Feijen (NED)
Group 13
Ralf Souquet (GER) 9 – 8 Xue Zhenqi (CHN)
Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (ESP) 9 – 8 Masato Yoshioka (JPN)
Group 14
David Alcaide (ESP) 9 – 7 Jakub Koniar (SLV)
Jung Lin Chang (TPE) 9 – 4 Richard Halliday (RSA)
Group 15
Konrad Juszcayszyn (POL) 9 – 8 Corey Deuel (USA)
Albin Ouschan (AUT) 9 – 4 Jan Moonseok (KOR)
Group 16
Petri Makkonen (FIN) 9 – 5 Lin Wu Kun (TPE)
Shane Van Boening (USA) 9 – 8 Xu Xiaocong (CHN)
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(Bloomberg) -- Followers of Lebanon’s Iranian-backed Hezbollah took to the streets Friday, waving the armed movement’s yellow flags and defending its leader against criticism after nine days of nationwide protests demanding the ouster of the political elite.In a televised speech, Hassan Nasrallah said the revolt was being exploited by political parties and unspecified foreign embassies and agencies, and could drag the country into chaos and civil war.“Today the situation in Lebanon has become a regional, political and international target that is employing local groups. It’s no longer about a popular movement, protests, health and employment demands, corruption,” he said, questioning how protesters were funding their movement. Nasrallah called on his supporters not to engage demonstrators, after several were hurt in scuffles.As his speech ended, groups of apparent Hezbollah supporters who had been arguing and fighting with protesters began to leave the main centers. However, in the southern suburbs of Beirut -- Hezbollah’s stronghold -- and the city of Tyre, large numbers of people on motorbikes took to the streets in his support.Hezbollah’s show of strength and the appearance of party flags is a turning point in Lebanon’s uprising, which had transcended for the first time the sectarian and party divisions that tend to dominate Lebanese politics.Hezbollah, which has both political and military wings, performed well in the last elections and is part of the largest coalition in parliament and in the government. A Shi’ite Muslim movement supported by Iran, it led for years the fight against Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon, which ended in 2000, and later fought a war against it in 2006. The group also dispatched fighters to neighboring Syria to defend President Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Iran and its Lebanese proxy, during that country’s eight-year-old civil conflict.Saudi Arabia Isn’t Rushing to Bail Out Beirut Because of IranNasrallah called on the so-far leaderless street movement to name its representatives and answer the president’s invitation Thursday for a dialogue to end the crisis that has paralyzed the country. Main thoroughfares have been blocked by demonstrators and banks and schools have been shut since the revolt broke out last week over proposed tax increases. President Michel Aoun’s first address to the nation since the protests was met with disappointment on the streets where many were calling for concrete measures.Nasrallah urged the Lebanese public not to dismiss the government’s zero-tax reform plan unveiled earlier this week to address key economic demands and avert a financial crisis. He has opposed calls for the government to resign and hold early elections, saying the economic situation was too fragile.“A vacuum will lead to chaos,” he said.Lebanon Pledges Bank Tax as Part of Sweeping Drive to End UnrestTo contact the reporters on this story: Lin Noueihed in Beirut at [email protected];Dana Khraiche in Beirut at [email protected] contact the editors responsible for this story: Lin Noueihed at [email protected], Mark WilliamsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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bigbirdgladiator · 5 years
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(Bloomberg) -- Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have pulled back from the border town of Ras Al Ayn in the northern part of the country, after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to resume the offensive against Kurdish forces in northeast Syria if they don’t withdraw by the end of a U.S.-brokered truce on Tuesday night.Turkey and the Kurds have disagreed on the parameters of the truce, highlighting its fragility. The Syrian Democratic Forces has said the cease-fire was limited to the 120-kilometer (75-mile) strip between Tal Abyad and the town of Ras al-Ayn. Erdogan says the deal requires Kurdish fighters to withdraw from an area 444 kilometers long and 32 kilometers deep.The U.S. fought with the SDF for years to defeat Islamic State but withdrew from the area as Turkey began a long-threatened offensive this month to clear a part of northeastern Syria of Kurdish militants it considers a risk to national security. Abandoned by the U.S., the Kurds made a deal with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose troops have deployed to the border with Turkey, upending old alliances and pushing the eight-year Syrian war into an unpredictable new phase.Here is a rundown of major events in Turkish local time:Key DevelopmentsKurdish-led SDF evacuates the town of Ras Al Ayn in Northern SyriaTurkey vows to crush Kurdish militia if they do not withdraw by end of truceTurkey denies claims by Kurdish-led SDF of violating cease-fire, says safe corridor has been created to evacuate woundedU.S. Vice President Mike Pence, Erdogan announced cease-fire deal in Ankara after marathon talks on ThursdayTurkish markets rally a day after the U.S.-Turkey dealTrump faces Congressional rebuke for Syria pulloutKurdish-Led SDF Says it Withdrew from Syrian Ras Al Ayn (6:01 p.m.)SDF Forces started pulling back from the northern-bound city of Ras Al Ayn, according to a statement. Dozens of military vehicles were seen leaving with a medical convoy that entered the town on Sunday to transport the wounded.Johnson, Erdogan Talk, Propose Meeting with Macron, Merkel (1:30 p.m.)British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Erdogan spoke by telephone about the Syrian situation, and proposed a further meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.Turkey Says Soldier Killed by Kurdish Group in Cease-Fire Breach (10:10 a.m.)A Turkish soldier was killed and another one was wounded in an attack with anti-tank and light weapons by Kurdish YPG militants in the border town of Tal Abyad on Sunday, Turkey’s defense ministry said. The troops returned fire in self-defense, it said, adding that Turkish troops had come under 20 attacks since it paused the operation under the agreement with the U.S.Turkey Counters Kurds’ No-Safe-Passage Claim (10:40 p.m.)Turkey denied preventing the evacuation of wounded following claims by Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces that no safe corridor has been created.“There has been absolutely no prevention, and coordinates that can be safely used have been completely relayed to U.S. military officials,” Turkey’s Defense Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.A 39-vehicle convoy, mostly ambulances, “safely went in an and out of Ras al-Ayn today and evacuated the wounded,” according to the statement. “The issue is being closely coordinated with U.S. military officials.”Erdogan Vows to Crush Kurdish Militia If They Don’t Withdraw (4:12 p.m.)“The 120-hour pause on operations will end Tuesday night, we will continue crushing heads of terrorists if they don’t withdraw by then,” Erdogan told thousands of flag-waving supporters in the central Anatolian city of Kayseri on Saturday.Erdogan also said he would discuss during his planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin next week what to do about troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who have deployed to the border after striking a deal with the Kurds.“There are regime forces under Russian protection in parts of our operation area. We will discuss it with Putin. We’ve to find a solution,” he said.\--With assistance from Nick Wadhams, Saleha Mohsin, Rosalind Mathieson, David Wainer, Taylan Bilgic, Justin Sink, Tony Capaccio, Steven T. Dennis, Onur Ant and Abeer Abu Omar.To contact the reporters on this story: Selcan Hacaoglu in Ankara at [email protected];Lin Noueihed in Beirut at [email protected] contact the editors responsible for this story: Lin Noueihed at [email protected], ;Onur Ant at [email protected], Angela Cullen, Shaji MathewFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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(Bloomberg) -- Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have pulled back from the border town of Ras Al Ayn in the northern part of the country, after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to resume the offensive against Kurdish forces in northeast Syria if they don’t withdraw by the end of a U.S.-brokered truce on Tuesday night.Turkey and the Kurds have disagreed on the parameters of the truce, highlighting its fragility. The Syrian Democratic Forces has said the cease-fire was limited to the 120-kilometer (75-mile) strip between Tal Abyad and the town of Ras al-Ayn. Erdogan says the deal requires Kurdish fighters to withdraw from an area 444 kilometers long and 32 kilometers deep.The U.S. fought with the SDF for years to defeat Islamic State but withdrew from the area as Turkey began a long-threatened offensive this month to clear a part of northeastern Syria of Kurdish militants it considers a risk to national security. Abandoned by the U.S., the Kurds made a deal with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose troops have deployed to the border with Turkey, upending old alliances and pushing the eight-year Syrian war into an unpredictable new phase.Here is a rundown of major events in Turkish local time:Key DevelopmentsKurdish-led SDF evacuates the town of Ras Al Ayn in Northern SyriaTurkey vows to crush Kurdish militia if they do not withdraw by end of truceTurkey denies claims by Kurdish-led SDF of violating cease-fire, says safe corridor has been created to evacuate woundedU.S. Vice President Mike Pence, Erdogan announced cease-fire deal in Ankara after marathon talks on ThursdayTurkish markets rally a day after the U.S.-Turkey dealTrump faces Congressional rebuke for Syria pulloutKurdish-Led SDF Says it Withdrew from Syrian Ras Al Ayn (6:01 p.m.)SDF Forces started pulling back from the northern-bound city of Ras Al Ayn, according to a statement. Dozens of military vehicles were seen leaving with a medical convoy that entered the town on Sunday to transport the wounded.Johnson, Erdogan Talk, Propose Meeting with Macron, Merkel (1:30 p.m.)British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Erdogan spoke by telephone about the Syrian situation, and proposed a further meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.Turkey Says Soldier Killed by Kurdish Group in Cease-Fire Breach (10:10 a.m.)A Turkish soldier was killed and another one was wounded in an attack with anti-tank and light weapons by Kurdish YPG militants in the border town of Tal Abyad on Sunday, Turkey’s defense ministry said. The troops returned fire in self-defense, it said, adding that Turkish troops had come under 20 attacks since it paused the operation under the agreement with the U.S.Turkey Counters Kurds’ No-Safe-Passage Claim (10:40 p.m.)Turkey denied preventing the evacuation of wounded following claims by Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces that no safe corridor has been created.“There has been absolutely no prevention, and coordinates that can be safely used have been completely relayed to U.S. military officials,” Turkey’s Defense Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.A 39-vehicle convoy, mostly ambulances, “safely went in an and out of Ras al-Ayn today and evacuated the wounded,” according to the statement. “The issue is being closely coordinated with U.S. military officials.”Erdogan Vows to Crush Kurdish Militia If They Don’t Withdraw (4:12 p.m.)“The 120-hour pause on operations will end Tuesday night, we will continue crushing heads of terrorists if they don’t withdraw by then,” Erdogan told thousands of flag-waving supporters in the central Anatolian city of Kayseri on Saturday.Erdogan also said he would discuss during his planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin next week what to do about troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who have deployed to the border after striking a deal with the Kurds.“There are regime forces under Russian protection in parts of our operation area. We will discuss it with Putin. We’ve to find a solution,” he said.\--With assistance from Nick Wadhams, Saleha Mohsin, Rosalind Mathieson, David Wainer, Taylan Bilgic, Justin Sink, Tony Capaccio, Steven T. Dennis, Onur Ant and Abeer Abu Omar.To contact the reporters on this story: Selcan Hacaoglu in Ankara at [email protected];Lin Noueihed in Beirut at [email protected] contact the editors responsible for this story: Lin Noueihed at [email protected], ;Onur Ant at [email protected], Angela Cullen, Shaji MathewFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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(Bloomberg) -- Followers of Lebanon’s Iranian-backed Hezbollah took to the streets Friday, waving the armed movement’s yellow flags and defending its leader against criticism after nine days of nationwide protests demanding the ouster of the political elite.In a televised speech, Hassan Nasrallah said the revolt was being exploited by political parties and unspecified foreign embassies and agencies, and could drag the country into chaos and civil war.“Today the situation in Lebanon has become a regional, political and international target that is employing local groups. It’s no longer about a popular movement, protests, health and employment demands, corruption,” he said, questioning how protesters were funding their movement. Nasrallah called on his supporters not to engage demonstrators, after several were hurt in scuffles.As his speech ended, groups of apparent Hezbollah supporters who had been arguing and fighting with protesters began to leave the main centers. However, in the southern suburbs of Beirut -- Hezbollah’s stronghold -- and the city of Tyre, large numbers of people on motorbikes took to the streets in his support.Hezbollah’s show of strength and the appearance of party flags is a turning point in Lebanon’s uprising, which had transcended for the first time the sectarian and party divisions that tend to dominate Lebanese politics.Hezbollah, which has both political and military wings, performed well in the last elections and is part of the largest coalition in parliament and in the government. A Shi’ite Muslim movement supported by Iran, it led for years the fight against Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon, which ended in 2000, and later fought a war against it in 2006. The group also dispatched fighters to neighboring Syria to defend President Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Iran and its Lebanese proxy, during that country’s eight-year-old civil conflict.Saudi Arabia Isn’t Rushing to Bail Out Beirut Because of IranNasrallah called on the so-far leaderless street movement to name its representatives and answer the president’s invitation Thursday for a dialogue to end the crisis that has paralyzed the country. Main thoroughfares have been blocked by demonstrators and banks and schools have been shut since the revolt broke out last week over proposed tax increases. President Michel Aoun’s first address to the nation since the protests was met with disappointment on the streets where many were calling for concrete measures.Nasrallah urged the Lebanese public not to dismiss the government’s zero-tax reform plan unveiled earlier this week to address key economic demands and avert a financial crisis. He has opposed calls for the government to resign and hold early elections, saying the economic situation was too fragile.“A vacuum will lead to chaos,” he said.Lebanon Pledges Bank Tax as Part of Sweeping Drive to End UnrestTo contact the reporters on this story: Lin Noueihed in Beirut at [email protected];Dana Khraiche in Beirut at [email protected] contact the editors responsible for this story: Lin Noueihed at [email protected], Mark WilliamsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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