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Ateneo alumni football friendly series kicks off Feb. 24

THE 4th INTER-ATENEO Football Friendlies (IAF) will kick off again on Saturday, Feb. 24, at the Ateneo de Manila High School in Quezon City.

Alumni from the five Ateneo universities will compete in two separate divisions to crown this year’s champions. In the last edition of the IAF in Zamboanga last year, the home team, Ateneo de Zamboanga, topped the 40+ age group while the visitors from the Ateneo de Manila were declared champions of the 48+ division.    This edition of the IAF is the biggest one yet with organizers expecting 300 athletes representing 15 teams coming from Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Naga, Zamboanga, and Manila. Each team will play in at least 5 20-minute games with an 8-a-side format.

At stake are trophies and bragging rights, though the games are typically spirited, with old high school and college rivalries bubbling to the surface.

Despite the competitive energy on the pitch, the IAF’s unofficial motto is “kalaro kita, hindi kalaban.” According to an organizer: “We fight and play very hard but, at the end of the day, we’re all Ateneans united in our passion for this beautiful game.”

While former national team members and college varsity members dominate the rosters, the line-ups also have a healthy representation of weekend warriors and those who took up the sport later in life.

The IAF is presented by partner Bank of the Philippine Islands, and supporting sponsors Red Rock IT Security, SMC Infrastructure, Rebisco, Likha Residences, BMW Motorrad, PAGCOR, Thunderbird Resort and Casino, Arton by Rockwell, and Randy’s Donuts.

The IAF is an annual football tournament open to former students of the various Ateneo.

It first kicked off in Cagayan de Oro in February 2020. After a hiatus due to the pandemic, it re-started in Davao in 2022 and continued in Zamboanga in 2023. This year, it is Manila’s turn to host, to be followed by Naga in 2025.

Christian Daluz tops ‘Bolok’ Memorial Open rapid chess

CHRISTIAN MARK DALUZ -- FACEBOOK.COM/LETRAN.EDU

FIDE Master (FM) Christian Mark Daluz shocked Grandmaster Darwin Laylo in topping the Antonio “Bolok” Memorial Open rapid chess tournament at the Brgy. Jesus Dela Peña Covered Court in Marikina City on Saturday.

The 21-year-old Mr. Daluz, a native of Sorsogon, ended up with a perfect score of seven points in claiming the top purse worth P10,000 in a tournament bankrolled by Boy Bolok Santos and organized by Isagani “Fischer” De Ramos, Jr. FM Noel dela Cruz turned back Phil Martin Casiguran to seize solo second spot with 6.5 points.

Mr. Laylo slipped to an eight-player group at third with six points but still took No. 3 after emerging with the highest tiebreaker.

Rounding out the top 10 were Mr. Casiguran, Jeremy Marticio, Sherwin Tiu, International Master Daniel Quizon, Leonel Escote, Carlo Caranyagan and Jonathan Jota.

Antonella Berthe Racasa emerged the best Marikina junior player plum after finishing with 4.5 points. — Joey Villar

Liverpool responds to stay top after Manchester City win

MANCHESTER City claimed the Premier League summit only to be swiftly knocked off it by Liverpool on Saturday, in a sign of what is likely to be in store over the coming weeks in a nail-biting title race.

Erling Haaland’s double — his first goals since returning from a foot injury — earned champions Manchester City a 2-0 victory over an obdurate Everton side at The Etihad Stadium.

That cranked up the pressure on Liverpool but Juergen Klopp’s side duly responded by beating Burnley 3-1 with Dioga Jota, Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez all on target.

It meant the day ended as it had begun with Liverpool two points clear of City, who have played one game less.

Liverpool have 54 points from 24 games with City on 52 from 23 and third-placed Arsenal, who face West Ham United on Sunday, on 49 from 23 games.

Mr. Klopp’s side, beaten by Arsenal last week, were not at their best again and had to work hard to subdue Burnley who actually equalized through Dara O’Shea’s header and looked capable of taking something home as they battle against relegation.

Mr. Jota headed Liverpool into the lead in the 31st minute and Mr. Diaz and Mr. Nunez, also with headers, secured the victory after the break to return Liverpool above City.

City also found Everton a tough nut to crack and they did not muster a shot on target in the opening half.

Such is the firepower available to Pep Guardiola that even the stiffest resistance is usually pierced and Mr. Haaland’s return to the scoresheet was inevitable. His 15th and 16th goals of the season saw the Norwegian reclaim sole top spot in the league’s scorer list — his second set up by Kevin De Bruyne, also recently back from injury.

Tottenham Hotspur moved back into the top four — leapfrogging Aston Villa — thanks to Brennan Johnson who struck deep in stoppage time to secure a 2-1 home victory against Brighton and Hove Albion. — Reuters

Afif nets penalty hat trick as Qatar defeats Jordan, 3-1, to retain Asian Cup crown in Lusail Stadium

LUSAIL, Qatar — Qatar successfully defended their Asian Cup crown after beating Jordan 3-1 on Saturday at Lusail Stadium where Akram Afif converted three penalties as the hosts won their second continental title.

Jordan were playing in their first Asian Cup final and seeking their first major trophy, but it was Qatar who prevailed in front of 86,492 fans including Qatar’s ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

Yazan Al-Naimat had briefly given Jordan hope when he netted an equalizer in the second half but their dreams were shattered when they conceded two more penalties, put away by Mr. Afif who finished as the tournament’s top scorer with eight goals.

Mr. Afif, who was thrown into the air repeatedly by his team mates after the final whistle, also picked up the award for player of the match and most valuable player of the tournament.

Qatar took the lead when Mr. Afif won a penalty in the 20th minute as he tried to skip past Abdallah Nasib, with the referee immediately pointing to the spot as Jordan coach Hussein Ammouta reacted furiously on the touchline.

Qatar skipper Hassan Al-Haydos hovered near the penalty spot but once Jordan’s players were out of the way, he handed the ball to Mr. Afif and the forward stepped up to find the bottom corner from the spot.

The goal was the first Jordan had conceded since their dramatic last-16 win over Iraq and Mr. Afif celebrated his strike by performing a card trick for the cameras, displaying the letter ‘S’.

“’S’ is the first letter of my wife’s name, she’s from Kuwait. Today’s match was her first in the stadium,” Mr. Afif said. Jordan switched gears in the second half and pegged Qatar back as they began to find space in behind the defense.

Yazan Al-Arab nearly equalised with a sensational volley from a corner that was hit straight at the keeper while a back-heeled effort at the near post from Ali Olwan moments later went inches wide.

They finally found the equalizer midway through the second half when Mr. Al-Naimat controlled a cross with a sublime first touch, escaping his marker to fire home an uncontested shot for his fourth of the tournament.

Parity lasted only six minutes, however, as Qatar won another penalty after a VAR check for a trip by Mahmoud Al-Mardi and Afif made no mistake from the spot.

With 13 minutes added on, Jordan tried their best to find an equalizer once again but Qatar won a third penalty in stoppage time when Mr. Afif was through on goal and brought down by goalkeeper Yazid Abu Layla.

The forward kept his composure and stepped up one last time to put the game out of reach for Jordan as the home fans in the stadium erupted and unfurled a huge banner which featured their heroes from 2019 and the words “2023 loading.”

Opposition coaches who have faced him have praised his skills, with Tajikistan’s Petar Segrt saying it was only a question of time and whether the 27-year-old Al-Sadd forward wanted to return to Europe.

Since leading Qatar to the 2019 title with a tournament record 10 assists, Mr. Afif has become one of Asia’s most-feared players.

At the start of this tournament, he said he had dreams of returning to Europe having previously played for Eupen in the Belgian Pro League.

He later became the first Qatari player to be signed by a LaLiga club when he moved to Villarreal in 2016, but he was loaned out to Sporting Gijon before returning to Eupen and finally to Al-Sadd in 2018.

He has since developed and is arguably playing at his peak based on his Asian Cup exploits.

“I talked about becoming a professional player (in Europe). But it’s not me who decides. My wife also has to make the decision for me. It’s not easy to leave the club and country,” Mr. Afif told reporters after the final.

But he added: “I’d love to become a professional player (in Europe) … I’d say I would love to go.” — Reuters

Playing with fire

It’s hard to imagine Draymond Green and stability going together. After all, not for nothing has he been suspended twice this season alone for extraneous contact, the last for an indefinite period. Yet, it’s evident that he has been the foundation on which the Warriors hang their hats. If nothing else, their victory against the highly touted Suns yesterday underscored his importance to the cause; as has typically been the case, his contributions went far beyond the robust numbers he put up on the board.

Make no mistake. The Warriors can go only so far as Stephen Curry can take them. While fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson is clearly on the wane, he has remained an offensive machine capable of scoring in bunches with his smooth touch from unlimited range, as well as with his dribble drives off a ridiculous handle. He’s the rare player who has actually improved with advancing age, and to a level beyond his Most Valuable Player years — attributable to his enhanced fitness and greater upper body strength.

All the same, there can be no Curry at peak efficiency without Green. The latter’s court vision, extended wingspan, and willingness to do the dirty work — often literally and figuratively — is precisely why the National Basketball Association’s finest shooter of all time manages to wow even harshest critics. There can be no questioning his effort on defense, his uncanny anticipation and mastery of the opposition’s tendencies propping up his excellent on-ball and help coverage. Yet, he’s arguably more critical at the other end of the court, what with his sterling playmaking and capacity for sacrifice in pursuit of collective objectives.

The Warriors have gone seven and four since Green returned from his ban, and they’re becoming more and more confident with every outing. They own a four-game win streak, which could just as easily have been 10; they lost to the Kings and Lakers by one, and to the Hawks in overtime. In the process, they’ve gone back to sporting an even slate and moved up to 10th in West standings. If there’s one thing they need to cut down on, though, it’s their penchant for playing with fire. They’re simply in too many close calls for comfort.

That the Warriors stood pat at the trade deadline highlights their belief that they have enough to contend for the hardware. Green accounts for much of the cockiness off the floor. The rest of their 2023-24 campaign will show how he can provide the validation on it.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.

Palestinians brace for Rafah assault as Israel promises evacuation plan

A Palestinian man walks past the remains of a tower building which was destroyed by Israeli air strikes, amid a flare-up of Israeli-Palestinian violence, in Gaza City May 13, 2021. — REUTERS FILE PHOTO

DOHA/JERUSALEM — Israeli air strikes killed 17 people in Rafah on the Gaza border overnight, medics said on Saturday, as over a million Palestinians crammed into the city awaited a full-scale offensive with the rest of the enclave in ruins and nowhere left to run.

Four months into the war, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it had ordered the military to develop a plan to evacuate Rafah and destroy four Hamas battalions it says are deployed there.

The Israeli military said the air force killed two Hamas operatives in Rafah on Saturday.

Israel’s military ordered civilians to flee south before previous assaults on Gaza’s cities, but now there is no obvious place to go and aid agencies have said many people could die.

“Any Israeli incursion in Rafah means massacres, means destruction. People are filling every inch of the city and we have nowhere to go,” said Rezik Salah, 35, who fled from Gaza City for Rafah with his wife and two children early in the war.

A possible assault on Rafah prompted international concern, including posts on social media from British Foreign Secretary David Cameron and Dutch Foreign Minister Hanke Bruins Slot.

“Deeply concerned about the prospect of a military offensive in Rafah — over half of Gaza’s population are sheltering in the area. The priority must be an immediate pause in the fighting to get aid in and hostages out, then progress towards a sustainable, permanent ceasefire,” Mr. Cameron said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Hard to see how large-scale military operations in such a densely populated area would not lead to many civilian casualties and a bigger humanitarian catastrophe. This is unjustifiable,” Ms. Bruins Slot said.

AIRSTRIKES
The conflict in Gaza began on Oct. 7 when Hamas gunmen stormed border defenses to attack Israeli towns, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel responded with a massive bombardment and ground offensive in which about 28,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed, according to medical authorities in Hamas-run Gaza.

The conflict has threatened to spread across the Middle East, with Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah regularly trading fire, and flare-ups in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

In Yemen, the Iranian-backed Houthi militia held a funeral on Saturday for at least 17 militants killed during joint US-British airstrikes, the Houthi-run Saba news agency said.

The Houthis have used drones to attack merchant ships since Nov. 19 in what they say is a response to Israel’s military operations in Gaza, prompting retaliatory strikes from Britain and the United States.

The US Central Command said its forces conducted self-defense strikes against Houthi missiles and drones on Saturday.

In Lebanon, an Israeli strike targeted a Palestinian figure close to Hamas, security sources said. The target survived but three others were killed, including a member of Hezbollah.

Much of Gaza has been reduced to rubble by Israeli airstrikes, artillery fire and controlled detonations. More than 85% of Gaza’s 2.3 million inhabitants have been left homeless.

Most of the displaced have sought shelter in Rafah, on the border with Egypt, but after fruitless ceasefire talks, Mr. Netanyahu this week said Israeli forces would fight on until “total victory.”

On Friday night an airstrike on a Rafah house killed 11 people and wounded dozens and a second strike killed six people in another house, medical officials said. Earlier on Saturday two separate Israeli airstrikes killed five members of the Hamas-run police force in Rafah, including a senior officer, Hamas and medics said.

In the other main southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, where many displaced people initially fled before an Israeli offensive last month, the Palestinian Health Ministry voiced alarm at Israeli operations around the main Nasser Hospital.

The ministry said Israeli forces had surrounded the hospital and were shooting in the vicinity, raising concerns about 300 medical staff, 450 patients and 10,000 people sheltering there.

Footage circulating on social media, which Reuters could not independently verify, showed tanks at the hospital gates.

Israel’s military said its forces were continuing intensive activities in Khan Younis as well as northern and central Gaza, killing militants, seizing weapons and striking infrastructure.

It did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the situation at Nasser hospital.

FIERCE FIGHTING
In Gaza City, the first major population center targeted after Israeli ground forces invaded in October, residents reported fierce fighting on Saturday.

Israel said its forces had discovered a tunnel network hundreds of meters (yards) long running partly under the Gaza City headquarters of UNRWA, the main relief agency for Palestinians.

The military said it was evidence of how Hamas had exploited UNRWA, which has launched an internal probe and seen some donor countries freeze funding over Israel’s allegations that 12 of its roughly 13,000 employees in the Gaza Strip had participated in the Oct. 7 attacks.

UNRWA said its staff left its headquarters in Gaza City on Oct. 12 following Israeli evacuation orders.

“We have not used that compound since we left it nor are we aware of any activity that may have taken place there,” It said.

An Israeli official who declined to be named said Israel would try to organize for people in Rafah to be moved back north ahead of any assault.

Egypt has said it will not allow any mass displacement of Palestinians into its territory. Palestinians fear Israel means to drive them from their homeland, then forbid their return.

The continued warfare in Gaza City, long after Israel said it was redeploying some troops to other areas, shows the limitations of any evacuation proposal.

Palestinian rescue workers in Gaza City said they had found the bodies of a six-year-old girl and her family members, along with the ambulance team sent to rescue them, days after an audio clip of her call to dispatchers begging for help was released. — Reuters

Age, mental capacity dominate presidential campaign trail after report questions Biden’s memory

US PRESIDENT JOSEPH R. BIDEN — WHITEHOUSE.GOV

THE MENTAL ABILITY and age of the United States’ presidential candidates took center stage on the campaign trail on Saturday, following a report that suggested President Joseph R. Biden was suffering memory lapses.

Former President Donald Trump accused both Mr. Biden, the Democrat he will likely face in November’s general election, and Nikki Haley, Trump’s last remaining rival for the Republican presidential nomination, of lacking the mental capacity to be president.

Ms. Haley — like Trump, campaigning in South Carolina where the two will meet in a primary election on Feb. 24 — went after both men, calling Mr. Trump mentally deficient and saying Mr. Biden is too old to be president.

Meanwhile, the Biden White House, responding to the report on Thursday from a Department of Justice special counsel that said Mr. Biden had a poor memory, continued its full-scale attack on Mr. Trump’s age and mental acuity after Mr. Trump recently mixed up names and made other verbal gaffes.

“Every single time Donald Trump opens his mouth, he’s confused, deranged, lying, or worse,” T.J. Ducklo, a Biden spokesman, said in a statement released by Mr. Biden’s reelection campaign.

The issue of mental competency has become a major topic in this year’s presidential campaign. Mr. Biden, 81, and Mr. Trump, 77, are the two oldest men respectively to have been elected president. In recent days, Mr. Biden has mixed up the names of some world leaders.

The issue is a vexing one for Mr. Biden’s reelection campaign. In a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in September, 77% of respondents said they agreed with a statement that Mr. Biden was too old to work in government, while 56% said the same of Mr. Trump.

Ms. Haley, 52, has called for mental competency tests for presidential candidates over 75 years old. The issue was thrust front and center again after Special Counsel Robert Hur, a former US attorney in Maryland during Mr. Trump’s administration, said in his report that he chose not to bring criminal charges against Biden following a 15-month investigation into his handling of classified documents because the president cooperated.

Mr. Hur said the Democratic incumbent would be difficult to convict and described him as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” who was not able to recall to investigators when his son, Beau Biden, died. Mr. Biden angrily denied Mr. Hur’s allegations about his memory, saying in a White House appearance on Thursday night, “my memory’s fine.”

Trump, at a rally in Conway, South Carolina, said Hur’s report showed Biden “is not fit to serve as our commander in chief.”

Mr. Trump — who faces four state and federal criminal trials, including one for mishandling classified documents — is close to clinching the Republican nomination, and the prospect of a likely general election rematch with Mr. Biden in November. Ms. Haley, who has no clear path to the nomination after Trump’s consecutive wins in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada, is refusing to quit the race, making a potential last stand in her home state of South Carolina, where she trails badly in opinion polls behind Mr. Trump.

Mr. Trump on Saturday called his former UN ambassador “birdbrain” and “brain-dead,” suggesting she did not have the mental capacity to enter the White House.

Ms. Haley, beginning a two-week bus tour of South Carolina, called Mr. Biden “diminished.” She also cited a recent Trump speech where he confused her with former Democratic House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “It’s bigger than just Joe Biden. Whether it’s Donald Trump getting me confused with Nancy Pelosi … it’s time for a new generational leader,” Ms. Haley told reporters. — Reuters

Russia launches drone attacks on Kyiv, southern Ukraine, says Ukraine’s military

UKRAINE and Russian flags are seen through broken glass in this illustration taken March 1, 2022. — REUTERS

RUSSIA launched drone attacks overnight on Kyiv and southern Ukraine, injuring at least one civilian and damaging a gas pipeline and residential buildings in the river and sea port of Mykolaiv, Ukraine’s military said on Sunday.

Ukraine’s Air Force said on the Telegram messaging app that its air defense systems destroyed 40 out of 45 Russia-launched Shahed attack drones overnight.

“The air alert in the capital lasted almost two hours,” Serhiy Popko, the head of Kyiv’s military administration, said on Telegram.

He added that over Kyiv all the drones were downed on their approach. According to preliminary information, there were no casualties nor destruction in or near the capital. Skies over Kyiv were declared clear soon before 4 a.m. (0200 GMT).

Ukraine’s southern military command said on Telegram that its air defense systems were engaged for more than five hours and destroyed 26 Russia-launched Shahed drones over several southern regions, chiefly over the Mykolaiv region near the Black Sea.

At least one civilian was injured in the southern Ukraine attack, the military said.

“The priority for the enemy was again the coastal strip of infrastructure and agro-industrial facilities,” the military said.

Falling debris from a downed drone and the blast wave damaged residential buildings and a gas pipeline in Mykolaiv, the military command said.

Four drones downed over the Black Sea port of Odesa, the military said.

Reuters was not able to independently verify the reports. Both Russia and Ukraine have increased their air attacks away from the frontline in recent months, targeting each other’s critical energy, military and transport infrastructure. — Reuters

Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan’s party aims to form government, urges peaceful protests

World Economic Forum/Valeriano Di Domenico

ISLAMABAD — Candidates backed by the party of jailed Pakistani opposition leader Imran Khan plan to form a government, a senior aide to the former prime minister said on Saturday, urging supporters to peacefully protest if final election results are not released.

The nation of 241 million people voted on Thursday in a general election, as the country struggles to recover from an economic crisis and battles militant violence in a deeply polarized political environment.

Both Mr. Khan and his main rival, three-time former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, declared victory on Friday, increasing uncertainty over who will form the next government at a time when swift policy action is needed to address multiple challenges.

Gohar Khan, the chairman of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-Insaf (PTI) party who also acts as the former prime minister’s lawyer, called on “all institutions” in Pakistan to respect his party’s mandate.

At a press conference, he said if complete results of the polls were not released by Saturday night, the party would hold peaceful protests on Sunday outside government offices returning election results around the country.

Hundreds of Mr. Khan’s supporters rallied in the northwestern city of Peshawar led by two of his aides who said they had been declared losers despite having won the polls.

“We never expected it would happen to us,” said Taimur Khan Jhagra, one of Mr. Khan’s former provincial ministers.

The protesters chanted slogans against what they called a vote fraud. Mr. Sharif said on Friday his party had emerged as the single largest group and would talk to other groups to form a coalition government.

By 5 p.m. (1200 GMT) on Saturday, results were still not in for 10 of the 265 seats contested in the election — 48 hours after the polls closed.

The latest tally, posted on the election commission’s website, showed independent candidates had won 100 seats, with Mr. Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) taking 72 seats.

At least 90 of the victorious independent candidates were backed by Mr. Khan and his party, a Reuters analysis showed — putting them well ahead of Mr. Sharif’s party. Mr. Khan’s supporters were running as independents because they had been barred from contesting the polls under his party’s electoral symbol by the election commission for not complying with electoral laws.

Despite the ban and Mr. Khan’s imprisonment for convictions on charges ranging from leaking state secrets to corruption to an unlawful marriage, millions of the former cricketer’s supporters came out to vote for him, even though he cannot be part of any government while he remains in prison.

However, under Pakistan’s electoral laws, independent candidates are not eligible to be allocated reserved seats, 70 of which are meant to be distributed according to party strength. Mr. Sharif’s party could get up to 20 of these seats.

Mr. Khan’s close aide and media adviser, Zulfi Bukhari, told Reuters the party would announce within the next day the party banner they will ask independents to join. In Pakistan, independent candidates cannot form a government on their own and need to join a party.

“And we have no fear of independents going anywhere, because these are the people who have struggled for the last 18 months and endured all kinds of torture and oppression,” Mr. Bukhari told Reuters in a WhatsApp voice message.

Whoever seeks to form the next government would need support from other parties with no one close to the seat threshold for a simple majority in parliament.

Beside Mr. Khan and Mr. Sharif, the Pakistan Peoples Party of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the son of assassinated premier Benazir Bhutto, remains a major player with at least 53 seats.

The rest were won by small parties and other independents. This sets up a period of intense political negotiations over the next few days before a parliamentary vote to elect a new prime minister and government can take place.

“No one can form a government without us,” Mr. Bhutto Zardari told local Geo TV.

‘STABLE HANDS’
Pakistan’s army chief congratulated the country on Saturday for the “successful conduct” of the election, saying the nation needed “stable hands” to move on from the politics of “anarchy and polarization.”

The military remains the country’s most powerful institution and has for decades had a huge role in making and breaking governments. Mr. Khan accuses the military of a crackdown on him and his party. The military denies this. From jail, Mr. Khan released an audio-visual message created with artificial intelligence rather than having a statement read out by his lawyers, as is usually the case, in which he rejected Mr. Sharif’s claim to victory.

In the message posted on social media platform X, he called on his supporters to celebrate what he called a win that had been achieved despite a crackdown on his party and alleged poll rigging to limit the success of PTI-backed candidates.

The United States, Britain and the European Union on Friday each expressed concerns about the electoral process, urging a probe into reported irregularities.

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron cited “serious concerns” that raised questions “about the fairness and lack of inclusivity of the elections.”

Pakistan’s foreign office responded to the comments on Saturday, saying they ignored the “undeniable fact” that the election had been successfully conducted.

“It is our hope that the process will be concluded effectively and it will reflect the will of the people,” said former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, who is leading the Commonwealth team to observe the voting.

Jonathan called on those with grievances over the election to raise them in line with the laws of Pakistan. — Reuter

Russia closes presidential candidate registration with Putin, 3 others

KREMLIN.RU

RUSSIA’s registration of candidates for the March presidential election has closed, TASS reported on Sunday, with a list including President Vladimir Putin, who is expected to win, and three politicians who all support Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

The list did not include the Russian anti-war candidate Boris Nadezhdin after the Central Election Commission (CEC) barred him on Thursday from running, saying it had found flaws in the collection of signatures required for the support of his candidacy.

The CEC registered Vladislav Davankov, deputy chair of the Russian Duma and a member of the New People caucus; Leonid Slutsky, the leader of the Kremlin-loyal ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR); and the Communist Party nominee, Nikolai Kharitonov.

Mr. Putin, 71, who has chosen to run as an independent rather than as the candidate of the ruling United Russia party and who has been Russia’s paramount leader since 2000 and controls all the state’s levers, is expected to easily win next month’s vote.

While nobody has expected the 60-year-old Nadezhdin — who has characterized Putin’s war in Ukraine as a “fatal mistake” — to win, his trenchant criticism has surprised some analysts. The Kremlin has said it does not see him as a serious rival to Mr. Putin.

Mr. Nadezhdin said on Thursday he would challenge the CEC’s decision in Russia’s Supreme Court.

The war, which the Kremlin calls a “special military operation,” is nearing the end of its second year. It has killed thousands on both sides, displaced millions of Ukrainians, and turned scores of cities and villages into rubble. — Reuters

Hermes to raise prices after Q4 sales boom

PARIS — Birkin bag maker Hermes said it will raise prices this year after sales jumped 17.5% in the fourth quarter of 2023, demonstrating the resilience of high end shoppers despite economic headwinds.

Sales for the three months to the end of September totalled 3.36 billion euros ($3.62 billion), up 17.5% at constant foreign exchange rates. That was ahead of expectations for 14% growth, according to Visible Alpha consensus estimates.

The company plans to lift prices by between 8% and 9% this year globally, executive chairman Axel Dumas told reporters on Friday.

One of the most consistent performers in the luxury goods industry, Hermes has a track record of outpacing rivals when economic conditions deteriorate, thanks to its classic designs and careful management of production and stocks, which helps maintain the label’s aura of exclusivity.

Handbags like the coveted $10,000 plus Birkin model are affordable only for the wealthiest shoppers — who are typically the more immune to choppy economic conditions.

Hermes will pay a 4,000 euro bonus to each of its over 22,000 employees worldwide, the company said. — Reuters

New highs for Nikkei, nervous new year break for China

REUTERS

SINGAPORE — Japanese shares hit 34-year highs on Friday as world stocks eyed a third week of gains, while adjustments to interest rate expectations sent the yen to a two-month low and the Australian and New Zealand dollars in opposite directions.

In China, mainland markets were closed and Hong Kong traded thinly and shut early, with the Hang Seng down 0.8% amid nerves authorities may not deliver on promises for support.

The index lost 29% in the zodiac year of the rabbit and the dragon year begins with China sentiment in the dumps and expectations of some sort of support announcement in Lunar New Year holiday.

“I am betting that (decisive action) is happening,” said Chi Lo senior markets strategist for Asia Pacific at BNP Paribas Asset Management.

“But it is a leap of faith so to speak. Because the Chinese government has made too many promises and the market and investors have been frustrated by the lack of follow up … so we do need to see Beijing come up with concrete measures.”

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.3% though still eked a weekly rise.

Japan’s Nikkei, which has been receiving a gush of foreign inflows as investors flee China, rose 0.3%, aided by a retreating yen that traded at its weakest in more than two months at 149.49 per dollar.

SoftBank led gains in Tokyo with a 10% rise as it swung to profit and shares in its Arm chip design unit leapt almost 50% after an upbeat revenue forecast.

Nissan shares collapsed almost 12% for their largest fall in decades after the automaker cut its outlook on slumping China sales.

Margin improvement drove shares in building-materials maker Boral up more than 8% to a record high in Australia.

In commodities, Brent crude futures were at $81.46 a barrel and on course for a weekly gain of more than 5% following Israel’s rejection of a ceasefire offer from Hamas and a US strike on an Iran-backed militia commander in Iraq.

REVISION
This week bond markets have been on the back foot in the wake of a strong jobs report and a chorus of central bank comments labouring on reticence on rate cuts.

Australia’s top central banker warned on Friday there was still some way to go to meet the midpoint of its 2-3% inflation target, and markets pushed out rate cut pricing and had the Aussie dollar heading for a sixth weekly loss in a row.

Across the Tasman Sea, the odds of a further hike from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand are narrowing after ANZ called for two more rate rises in both February and April.

The next policy meeting is on Feb. 28 and markets have shifted to imply around a 38% chance of a hike, compared with almost no chance a week ago.

The New Zealand dollar rose 0.5% to $0.6129 and headed for a 1% weekly gain. The euro was steady at $1.0771. The yen has been weighed by Bank of Japan (BOJ) Deputy Governor Shinichi Uchida saying rapid hikes were unlikely.

Two-year US Treasury yields are up about eight basis points (bps) this week to 4.45%.

Ten-year yields seem to have settled above 4% and were steady at 4.15% on Friday, up 12 bps this week. Bitcoin is up 8.6% on the week to $46,254.

Later on Friday, US inflation revisions will be closely watched for any sign that market assumptions that inflation is in retreat need re-calibration.

“It sounds like something only economics boffins are interested in but last year the revisions were big enough to make the US’s inflation momentum stronger than first thought,” said Corpay currency strategist Peter Dragicevich in Sydney.

“There is a risk this occurs again.” — Reuters

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