BUSINESS | Page 1 SPORT | Page 1 Sailiya hope to halt losing INDEX QCB reserves more DOW JONES QE NYMEX QATAR 2-12, 31 COMMENT 29, 30 run against REGION 13 BUSINESS 1-9, 13-16 than required for 24,140.91 7,798.10 55.97 ARAB WORLD 13, 14 CLASSIFIED 10-12 -39.73 -114.38 -1.65 Duhail -0.16% -1.45% INTERNATIONAL 15-28 SPORTS 1-8 supporting riyal -2.86% Latest Figures published in QATAR since 1978

THURSDAY Vol. XXXVIII No. 10660 December 7, 2017 Rabia I 19, 1439 AH

GULF TIMES www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals Worldwide In brief outrage over QATAR | Diplomacy Emir to meet French president today Trump move His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron who arrives in Doha this morning on an off icial visit to Qatar. During the meeting at the Emiri Diwan on Jerusalem His Highness the Emir will discuss with the French president ways to consolidate the distinguished relations zMoving US embassy from Tel Aviv ‘to take years’ of friendship and co-operation zAmerica’s mediator role in Mideast jeopardised between the two countries. They will also discuss a number of regional zTurkey slams announcement as irresponsible, illegal and international issues of common zPresident Macron brands decision as ‘regrettable’ concern. Protesters wave Palestinian and Turkish flags during a demonstration against the US and Israel in front of the US consulate in Istanbul yesterday. Hundreds of people protested outside the consulate denouncing the US president’s move to recognise zPope Francis calls for city’s status quo to be respected QATAR | Phone call Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Emir, British PM Agencies saying they wanted to abide with inter- Washington/Jerusalem national norms. discuss bilateral ties Trump has tilted US policy toward His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim Israel since taking offi ce in January, bin Hamad al-Thani received a phone S President Donald Trump considering it a strong ally. call from British Prime Minister Emir warns US president abruptly reversed decades of US His decision on Jerusalem fulfi ls a Theresa May yesterday evening. Talks Upolicy yesterday and recognised campaign promise and will please Re- during the phone conversation dealt Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, gen- publican conservatives and evangeli- with the bilateral relations and means erating worldwide outrage, particularly cals who make up a sizeable portion of of enhancing co-operation, as well as from Palestinians and Muslim coun- his base of support. the latest regional and international of serious repercussions tries. Otherwise, the political benefi ts for developments. Trump said in a speech in the White him are unclear. House that his administration would “He cannot expect to side entirely QATAR | Offi cial QNA which guarantees the establishment of The Emir also held a telephone con- begin a process of moving the US em- with Israel on the most sensitive and Doha an independent Palestinian state on the versation with Turkish President Recep bassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a step complex issues in the process, and Emir congratulates 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem Tayyip Erdogan. expected to take years and one that his yet expect the Palestinians to see the Finland’s president as its capital. The conversation reviewed the stra- predecessors avoided so as not to in- United States as an honest broker,” said His Highness the Emir Sheikh is Highness the Emir Sheikh The Emir held a telephone con- tegic bilateral relations between the fl ame tensions. former US ambassador to Israel Daniel Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and His Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani versation with Palestinian President two countries, in addition to discussing The status of Jerusalem – home to Kurtzer. Highness the Deputy Emir Sheikh Hreceived a telephone call from Mahmoud Abbas. The conversation the latest developments in the Mid- sites holy to the Muslim, Jewish and “His stated desire for doing the ‘ulti- Abdullah bin Hamad al-Thani sent US President Donald Trump yesterday reviewed developments in Jerusalem, dle East, especially the US president’s Christian religions – is one of the mate deal’ is now a casualty of his own yesterday cables of congratulations evening. particularly in relation to the decision decision on Jerusalem, and its serious thorniest obstacles to reaching a peace policy naivete,” Kurtzer said. to Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto Talks during the phone call dealt of the US president to recognise Jeru- consequences for security and stability deal between Israel and the Palestin- Pope Francis called for Jerusalem’s on the anniversary of his country’s with the bilateral relations and means salem as the capital of Israel and move in the region. ians. status quo to be respected, saying new Independence Day. HE the Prime of boosting them, the offi cial Qatar the US embassy from Tel Aviv. The Turkish president informed the The international community does tension would further infl ame world Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh News Agency said. Sheikh Tamim reiterated Qatar’s fi rm Emir that he would call for an emer- not recognise Israeli sovereignty over confl icts. China and Russia expressed Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Trump also informed the Emir of his position towards the Palestinian issue gency summit in Istanbul for member- the entire city, believing its status concern the plans could aggravate al-Thani also sent a similar cable to intention to move the US embassy from based on international legitimacy de- states of the Organisation of Islamic should be resolved in negotiations. Middle East hostilities. Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila. Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. cisions and the Arab Peace Initiative, Co-operation in that regard. “I have determined that it is time to Several hundred protesters gathered The Emir warned of the serious re- which is based on the two-state solution The Emir also held a telephone con- offi cially recognise Jerusalem as the outside the US consulate in Istanbul EUROPE | Politics percussions of this step, which would that ensures the establishment of an in- versation with King Abdullah II of Jor- capital of Israel,” Trump said. “While over Trump’s decision. further complicate the situation in the dependent Palestinian state on the 1967 dan. previous presidents have made this a French President Emmanuel Macron Putin announces run Middle East and negatively aff ect the borders with Jerusalem as its capital. The conversation discussed the seri- major campaign promise, they failed to branded the decision from Trump as for re-election in 2018 security and stability in the region. The Palestinian president thanked ous repercussions of Trump’s Jerusa- deliver. Today, I am delivering.” “regrettable” and called for eff orts to Russian President Vladimir Putin has Sheikh Tamim reiterated Qatar’s po- the Emir for his constant support for lem move. The Emir stressed the se- Trump’s decision jeopardises the “avoid violence at all costs”. Macron confirmed that he will seek another sition on the Palestinian issue on the the Palestinian issue and the fraternal riousness of this decision, which will United States’ historical role as a medi- affi rmed “the attachment of France and term in off ice in next year’s presidential basis of the resolutions of international Palestinian people as well as for Qatar’s further complicate the situation in the ator in the Israeli-Palestinian confl ict Europe to the two-state solution, Is- election. “Yes, I will run as a candidate legitimacy and the Arab Peace Ini- eff orts and fi rm stances towards the region and negatively aff ect its security and frays relations with Arab allies. rael and Palestine living side by side in for the Russian presidency.” Page 21 tiative based on a two-state solution, just Palestinian cause. and stability. Israel considers the city its eternal peace and security within internation- and indivisible capital and wants all ally recognised borders, with Jerusalem embassies based there. Palestinians as the capital of the two states.” want the capital of an independent Pal- UN chief Antonio Guterres said there estinian state to be in the city’s eastern was no alternative to the two-state so- sector, which Israel captured in a 1967 lution, “There is no Plan B.” war and illegally occupied in a move Trump said his move is not intended Qatar off ers Kuwait chance to host Gulf Cup never recognised internationally. to tip the scale in favour of Israel and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin that any deal involving the future of Je- By Anil John Kuwait over alleged government inter- countries – hosts Qatar, Oman, Yem- on Twitter, much to the joy of Kuwaiti Netanyahu hailed Trump’s announce- rusalem would have to be negotiated by Sports Editor ference has been lifted after the coun- en and Iraq – were left in contention, fans. ment as a “historic landmark” and the parties. try’s parliament passed a new sports making the event a non-starter. QFA chief Sheikh Hamad congratu- urged other countries also to move Seeking to soften the blow of his an- law on Sunday in accordance with the Kuwait had to miss the qualifi ers for lated Kuwait saying it was a happy oc- their embassies in Israel to Jerusalem. nouncement to the Palestinians, he in- n a grand gesture combining great world football governing body’s re- the 2018 FIFA World Cup as well as the casion for Kuwait as well as for the Gulf Palestinian President Mahmoud Ab- sisted he was not taking a position on sportsmanship with diplomatic quirements. 2019 Asian Cup because of the FIFA Cup football fans. bas called the city “the eternal capital “any fi nal status issues, including the Imaturity that has been the hallmark The Gulf Cup was scheduled to ban thereby depriving the football fans “We congratulate Kuwait on the oc- of the state of Palestine”. Abbas said specifi c boundaries of the Israeli sover- of Qatar’s dealings with its neighbours begin in Doha later this month but of the country the chance to see their casion of the lifting of their ban and we Trump’s decision was tantamount to eignty in Jerusalem, or the resolution of throughout the ongoing blockade, the was clouded in a bit of uncertainty team in action in high-profi le tourna- wish the Kuwaiti football team the very the United States abdicating its peace contested borders.” country has off ered Kuwait the oppor- because Saudi Arabia, the UAE and ments. best in the future,” he said. mediator role. The president called on the region to tunity to host the prestigious regional Bahrain refused to send their teams to But FIFA chief Infantino fl ew to Ku- Sheikh Hamad added that he had Palestinians say Trump’s move will take his message calmly. Gulf Cup football tournament. Qatar and Kuwait was serving out the wait yesterday to meet with offi cials previously stated that the Gulf Cup mean the “kiss of death” to the two- “There will of course be disagree- The off er was made by Qatar Foot- FIFA ban rendering its football team before making the eagerly-awaited an- would be incomplete without Ku- state solution. ment and dissent regarding this an- ball Association president Sheikh Ha- ineligible to take part in any interna- nouncement in the afternoon, bringing wait who have dominated the tour- No other country has its embassy in nouncement but we are confi dent that mad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed al-Thani tional events. the country back into the international nament with 10 titles, and now that Jerusalem. Two small Latin American ultimately, as we work through these yesterday and comes in the wake of The tournament’s rules require the football fold. they are back he wouldn’t mind if states, El Salvador and Costa Rica, pre- disagreements, we will arrive at a place FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s an- presence of fi ve teams for it to go ahead, “The suspension of the Kuwait foot- the event is hosted by them. viously had embassies in Jerusalem be- of greater understanding and co-oper- nouncement that the ban imposed on but Kuwait’s ban meant that only four ball association is lifted,” Infantino said To Page 13 fore shifting them to Tel Aviv in 2006, ation,” Trump said. To Page 13 MSCI to use local FX rates for Qatari riyal in its indices

By Santhosh V Perumal Qatari riyal in the MSCI Indexes until fi rmed willingness to guarantee to all situation and postpone the decision. market and may potentially decide to provide suffi cient lead time for imple- Business Reporter further notice.” investors in QSE trading their Qatari “In order to refl ect these recent de- switch to the off shore FX rates in the mentation,” it said. Since the launch of MSCI’s consulta- riyals at an exchange rate equivalent to velopments and the feedback from future, should the situation “materially BMI, a Fitch company, had viewed that tion on November 21, 2017 on the pro- the Qatari offi cial onshore FX rates. market participants, MSCI will not im- deteriorate”. Qatar has the ability to inject dollar liquid- lobal index provider MSCI has posal to use the off shore FX rates for The views of market participants plement the switch at this time,” it said. Consequently, MSCI may decide to ity in order to narrow the gap between the decided to use the local foreign the Qatari riyal in the MSCI Indexes, have evolved accordingly over the pe- The continuing existence of a spread switch to using off shore FX rates for the onshore and off shore currency rates. Gexchange (FX) rates for the Qa- the spread between the off shore and riod of the consultation. While 90% of between the off shore and local FX rates Qatari riyal in the MSCI Indexes, with- “The QCB has much more than the tari currency in its indices, after Qatar local FX rates for the local currency has the feedback received prior to the QSE’s (about 2% as of December 5, 2017) is out further public consultation, should required foreign reserves to cover all Central Bank (QCB) guaranteed an ex- “substantially” narrowed, and some announcement on November 28 was in still seen as an issue by investors that there be any material and persistent investors’ requirements,” QSE said, change rate equivalent to the offi cial market participants reported that the favour of the proposal to switch to the use the off shore FX market to trade the increase in the spread between the off - highlighting the QCB’s commitment onshore rates. level of accessibility of the local FX off shore FX rates, more than 50% of Qatari riyal. shore and local FX rates, it cautioned. to provide foreign currencies at the of- MSCI said it has decided to “con- market has improved. participants revised their initial feed- The index provider cautioned that “In the event of a potential decision fi cial exchange rates for investors in- tinue using the local FX rates and not Also, on November 28, 2017, the QSE back after the QSE announcement and it would continue to “closely moni- to use off shore FX rates for the Qatari cluding local and foreign individuals switch to the off shore FX rates for the publicly announced that the QCB con- suggested to continue monitoring the tor” the accessibility of the Qatari FX riyal in the MSCI Indexes, MSCI would and institutions.

Gulf Times 6 Thursday, December 7, 2017 QATAR

Qatar’s envoy to UK attends Buckingham Palace reception

At the invitation of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Qatar’s ambassador to the United Kingdom Yousef bin Ali al-Khater participated in the annual reception held at Buckingham Palace on the Cabinet voices concern occasion of New Year’s Day. The ceremony was attended by Queen Elizabeth II, members of the royal family, a large number of British and international dignitaries, and Arab and foreign ambassadors accredited to the United Kingdom. Foreign Ministry off icial meets envoys over US Jerusalem move Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Aff airs Dr Ahmed bin Hassan al-Hammadi held separate meetings with the French QNA meeting, HE the Minister of Jus- GCC at its scheduled time de- members of the GCC. ees in some entities. ambassador to Qatar Eric Chevallier, Charge d’aff aires of the United Doha tice and Acting Minister of State spite the critical developments. The cabinet then reviewed The Cabinet reviewed and States embassy in Doha Ryan Gliha, and Charge d’aff aires of the United for Cabinet Aff airs Dr Hassan The Cabinet stressed that the topics on the agenda. took the required measures re- Kingdom embassy Peter Chamberlain yesterday. Bilateral relations and Lahdan Saqr al-Mohannadi eff orts made by the emir of Ku- The Cabinet took the neces- garding the Ministry of Economy issues of mutual concern were discussed. he regular Cabinet meet- said the cabinet called on the wait to enhance GCC’s work will sary measures to issue a draft law and Trade’s report on the Cabi- ing, presided over by HE US to carry out its impartial always be appreciated. It sup- endorsing the State budget for net’s draft decision to amend the Qatar gives financial aid to Dominica Tthe Prime Minister and role in the peace process, and ported the proposition made by the fi scal year 2018, after review- specialisation of some admin- Interior Minister Sheikh Ab- to support what is right and put him to establish a mechanism to ing recommendations of the Ad- istrative units comprising the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica Roosevelt Skerrit dullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa pressure on the Israeli govern- settle disputes within the GCC visory Council on the draft law. ministry. met Qatar’s on-resident ambassador to the Commonwealth of al-Thani, yesterday expressed ment to end its constant acts that boosts co-operation to help The Cabinet approved draft The Cabinet reviewed and Dominica Khamis Batti al-Sahouti. During the meeting in Rousseau, concern over the US administra- of aggression against the Pal- in facing the recent regional and decision of the Minister of Econ- took the necessary measures re- the ambassador provided financial aid, granted by Qatar Development tion’s plan to recognise Al Quds estinian people and withdraw international challenges. omy and Trade amending certain garding the Ministry of Economy Fund, for the victims of hurricanes Irma and Maria that struck Dominica (Jerusalem) as a capital of Israel from occupied land. provisions of Decision No and Trade’s report on amend- in September. The Dominican prime minister thanked the government and move the country’s embassy The Cabinet also reaffi rmed The cabinet reaffi rmed 242 of 2017 “regarding the ing some provisions of Decision and people of Qatar for their contribution to alleviating the grave there, warning of the dangerous Qatar’s support for the national Qatar’s support for the terms, controls and procedures No 134 of 2017 concerning the consequences of hurricanes Irma and Maria on the island. He also repercussions this would have and legitimate rights of the Pal- national and legitimate of granting temporary licences establishment of sections in the praised the humanitarian stand of Qatar in such circumstances. on security and stability in the estinian people, and their right rights of the Palestinian for some place and parts of plac- administrative units which com- The meeting was attended by the Minister for Foreign Aff airs of Middle-East. of establishing an independent people es where they engage in similar prise the ministry. Commonwealth of Dominica Francine Baron. The cabinet said that such a state with Al Quds as its capital. commercial, industrial or public The Cabinet reviewed and move would contradict com- Yesterday’s cabinet meeting The council also stressed works or to engage in domestic took the necessary measures Real estate transactions pletely international law and also praised the commitment of the support of Qatar to the ef- business”. regarding the report of the Min- legitimacy, as well as all peace the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah forts of Kuwait led by the emir The Cabinet approved the va- ister of Economy and Trade on The trading volume of registered real estates between November 26 eff orts based on a two-state so- al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah in resolving the current GCC lidity of the provisions of Law No Qatar’s participation in EXPO and 30 at the Ministry of Justice’s real estate registration department lution. to the unity of the GCC and to crisis through dialogue to 24 of 2002 regarding retirement 2017 Astana which was held in stood at QR406,850,682mn. Most of the trading took place in Rayyan, Giving details of yesterday holding the 38th summit of the end any differences between and pensions on Qatari employ- Kazakhstan. Doha, Umm Salal, Wakrah, Daayen, Shamal, Al Khor and Al Thakhira. Qatari businessmen discuss trade relations with UK

QNA government’s ongoing work to off er. Wales is an outward facing with the trade missions that have “It is important that all areas “For Welsh businesses in par- and businesses across Wales and Doha help businesses in both Wales and welcoming nation, and we already taken place, will help us of the UK benefi t from engage- ticular, this new route will be the South West of England are and Qatar capitalise on the trad- are proud of our strong record of to build new trade links, increase ment with Qatar. I am sure that extremely benefi cial, as it will transformational. ing and export opportunities welcoming high profi le overseas export levels and attract more this visit will make a real diff er- enhance investment and ex- “The service will bolster the atari businessmen met associated with the launch of investors and exporting quality inward investment opportuni- ence to this agenda,” the ambas- port opportunities by provid- critically important relation- here yesterday with the new Qatar Airways daily, di- goods all over the world”. ties in Wales, and I look forward sador underlined. ing businesses with new links to ship between Qatar, Wales and QWelsh Cabinet Secretary rect fl ights between Cardiff and “The launch of daily direct to businesses in both our coun- Meanwhile, Qatar Airways markets around the world using the United Kingdom which is for Economy and Transport Ken Doha, which will begin in May fl ights between Doha and Cardiff tries working closely and pro- Chief Commercial Offi cer Ehab our award-winning airline,” he being substantially strength- Skates to discuss means of en- 2018. next year, along with the direct ductively together in the months Amin said that Cardiff is a stra- added. ened. I am confident Qatari hancing trade co-operation be- Welsh Cabinet Secretary for fl ights already operated between and years ahead,” he added. tegically important destination Roger Lewis, Chairman of businesses will make the most tween the two sides in the fi elds Economy and Transport Ken Manchester and Doha which For his part, British ambassador for Qatar Airways, and the new Cardiff Airport, stated that the of the fantastic opportunities of investment and tourism, Skates said: “This is my fi rst serve the North Wales economy, to Qatar Ajay Sharma, said that the route will most certainly benefi t new daily Qatar Airways service to develop trade and invest- ahead of the launch of new direct visit to Qatar and I am so pleased off ers us huge opportunities to UK-Qatar relationship is extremely both leisure and business travel- represents a pivotal moment for ment in the region, and look Qatar Airways fl ights between to have had the opportunity to strengthen the relationship be- strong, and the new fl ights between lers by connecting passengers to Cardiff Airport. forward to welcoming more Cardiff and Doha next year. speak to the business commu- tween our two countries. I am Doha and Cardiff will grow that re- our expanding global network of The far reaching consequenc- visitors through our airport The visit was part of the Welsh nity here about all Wales has to optimistic that this visit, along lationship further. more than 150 destinations. es of these fl ights for passengers from next May,” he noted.

Gulf Times 8 Thursday, December 7, 2017 QATAR ‘Qatar committed to combat traffi cking in human beings’ By Ramesh Mathew Staff Reporter

atar is sparing no eff orts to combat traffi cking in Qhuman beings at diff er- ent levels and the country would strive to put an end to the smug- gling of migrants, HE the Minis- ter of Administrative Develop- ment, Labour and Social Aff airs Dr Issa Saad al-Jafali al-Nuaimi said yesterday. He was addressing the open- ing of the 2-day Interpol Global Conference on Traffi cking in Human Beings and Smuggling of Migrants. The 5th edition of the confer- ence is attended by more than 300 experts from police forces from across the world, besides HE the Minister of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Aff airs Dr Issa Saad al-Jafali al-Nuaimi Interpol Executive Committee (Americas) vice-president Todd Shean speaking at the opening of the Inter- representatives of civil societies addressing the Interpol conference’s opening session yesterday. pol Global Conference yesterday in Doha. PICTURES: Jayan Orma and non-governmental organi- sations. tiatives of the national and civil being done in association with of Human Traffi cking and the combating all types of traffi cking would accelerate their eff orts to bound to act sternly against such While recalling the country’s society institutions in combat- the United Nations Offi ce on country would continue to co- in human beings. combating human traffi cking criminal activities. efforts of recent years, HE Dr ing trafficking and smuggling Drugs and Crime and the League operate with the UN bodies and Interpol Executive Committee and smuggling of migrants. The UN offi ce on Drugs and al-Nuami said Qatar has estab- of migrants. of Arab States”. other international and regional (Americas) vice-president Todd Shean said both the traffi ck- Crime vice-president Haytem lished the National Committee “At the regional level, Doha The minister reminded the organisations to combating traf- Shean and director (Combating ing in human beings and smug- Fouad Ali, and Qatar’s National for Combating Human Traf- has sponsored a major initiative gathering Qatar has been one of fi cking in humans. He asserted organised and emerging crimes) gling of migrants to diff erent Committee for Combating Hu- ficking with the sole mission to build national capacities to the prime donors to the UN Vol- that the country would whole- Paul Stanfi eld stressed that the destinations amount to modern man Traffi cking vice-president of uniting the efforts and ini- combat human traffi cking. It is untary Trust Fund for Victims heartedly support its eff orts in police bodies across the world day slavery and every country is Fayssal al-Henzab also spoke.

A view of the audience at the opening of the Interpol Global Conference yesterday. PICTURES: Jayan Orma Security experts call for enhanced cross-sector role

nternational policing and security experts Ihave called for enhanced cross-sector involvement to protect people from some of the world’s most vulnerable organised crimes like traf- fi cking in human beings and smuggling of migrants. The experts’ call came yesterday in Doha at the opening of the Interpol Glo- bal Conference on Traffi ck- ing in Human Beings and Smuggling of Migrants. The meeting, they said, will focus on the essen- tial role of the public and private sectors in detect- ing and preventing crimes, reporting, disrupting and ultimately prosecuting those responsible for crimes Interpol Director for Organised and Emerging Crimes Paul which have no borders. Stanfield speaking at the meeting yesterday. At the two-day meeting the participants will explore Vice-President for the Interpol is fi ercely dedicat- emerging trends such as Americas of Interpol’s Ex- ed to,” said Stanfi eld. traffi cking for forced crimi- ecutive Committee Todd The senior offi cial point- nality including cultivation Shean said: “While our fo- ed to the recent success of of drugs or even organised cus will remain on law en- Interpol’s Operation Eperv- pickpocketing among oth- forcement and prosecution, ier as an example of effi cient ers which are reported in we must also strengthen our cross-sector collaboration. large numbers at major cit- collective eff orts to ensure The operation, which saw ies. that victims are protected the rescue of 500 victims The meeting will also throughout law enforce- from sexual exploitation focus on how the private ment and judicial processes. and forced labour, as well as sector is developing tools Only by co-ordinated ef- the arrest of 40 suspected to help law enforcement in forts can we hope to develop traffi ckers, was held simul- preventing traffi cking and concrete, sustainable ac- taneously across fi ve Afri- smuggling activities. tions.” can countries and involved Yesterday Qatar’s Minis- Interpol Director for prosecutors, international ter of Administrative Devel- Organised and Emerging organisations, social serv- opment, Labour and Social Crimes Paul Stanfi eld un- ices and NGOs. Aff airs HE Dr Issa Saad al- derlined the world police Interpol also supports Jafali al-Nuaimi body’s long-standing com- its global membership via highlighted the coun- mitment to tackling traf- its secure communications try’s eff orts to act on local, fi cking in human beings and system known as I-24/7. regional and international the smuggling of migrants. This gives police real-time levels. “Interpol is a neutral and access to criminal data- “Our collective eff orts, vital global platform where bases containing millions however, will not be suc- the world’s police and key of records on identity docu- cessful unless we addressed stakeholders can converge ments, biometrics. the root causes of the phe- to sharing best practices, Its notices can also be nomenon, whether they are assessments, and intelli- used to alert member coun- cultural, economic, politi- gence. Tackling the horrors tries to fugitives, criminals, cal, ideological or social,” he of modern slavery requires a modus operandi or missing said. massive global eff ort, which persons. Gulf Times Thursday, December 7, 2017 9 QATAR WISH conference to focus on eye health he World Innovation Summit Dr Robert Walters, Orbis trustee, for Health (WISH) has an- who accompanied Sophie on her visit Tnounced ‘eye health’ as the fi rst to Qatar, commented, “As an oph- of nine research topics that will be the thalmologist, I know the devastating focus of next year’s global summit. impact a lack of access to eye care can A report outlining the fi ndings of have on people and their families. Or- the research will be published and bis is about partnership and innova- presented during a panel discussion tion – establishing new and improved at WISH 2018, on November 13 and ways to train people across the world 14, in Doha. to tackle avoidable blindness, wheth- The announcement of ‘eye health’ er through our Flying Eye Hospital, as a research topic was made during a Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, is pictured with HE the Minister of Public long-term programmes, or online visit by the Countess of Wessex, So- Health Dr Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari, Dr Robert Walters, Orbis Trustee and mentoring platform Cybersight.” phie, to Sidra Medicine recently. Sultana Afdhal, acting CEO of WISH. WISH 2018 will gather the world’s As global ambassador of the Inter- healthcare leaders in Doha to highlight national Agency for the Prevention focus on the prevention of blind- Medical Corporation and Sidra Medi- and address some of the world’s most of Blindness, Countess of Wessex ness and the treatment of blinding cine by HE the Minister of Public pressing healthcare challenges. Groups recently visited Bangladesh to view eye diseases in developing countries, Health Dr Hanan Mohamed al-Ku- of experts from around the world will the work of Orbis, a non-profi t, non- through hands-on training, public wari. work together to build evidence-based governmental organisation that oper- health education, advocacy, and part- Sultana Afdhal, acting CEO of research on nine topics in the months ates the world’s only accredited Flying nerships. WISH, met with the Countess of leading up to the summit and will Eye Hospital. The British royal was given a tour Wessex as well as Dr al-Kuwari during present their fi ndings in reports that The charity runs programmes that of the eye health facilities at Hamad their visit to Sidra Medicine. will be published in time for the event.

QIB grants 18,000 reward points to customers to mark National Day

n celebration of Qatar National Day D Anand, general manager of QIB’s (QND), Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) is Personal Banking Group, said: “QIB is Irewarding its customers 18,000 QIB thrilled to grant its customers such excit- reward points upon subscription to a wide ing rewards on the most special day of the range of fi nancial services. year, Qatar National Day. This is a pro- The promotion will run from December motion for everyone to participate in and 10 to 17 and will grant customers 18,000 benefi t from. QIB reward points upon seeking fi nance “On the occasion of QND, we extend worth QR100,000 or above, opening a our heartfelt congratulations and greet- fi xed deposit or Certifi cate of Deposit of ings to the people of Qatar, we hope for QR100,000 or above, or applying for a more returns of this memorable occasion credit card. and wish that Qatar always enjoys se- Through this campaign, QIB is encour- curity, welfare and prosperity under the aging everyone to partake in the QND fes- wise leadership of His Highness the Emir tivities “and come together to celebrate Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.” our beloved country, Qatar,” QIB said in a For more information and details about the statement. QND promotion, visit www.qib.com.qa. Gulf Times 10 Thursday, December 7, 2017 QATAR Meeting of training Mwani hosted 411 vessels centres on chemical weapons starts

QNA bition of Weapons, Lt Abdulaziz He added that the State of university students, workers in Doha al-Ahmad said the meeting, Qatar is an important partner chemical industries, customs, which coincides with the 20th is implementing the conven- chemical trade and civil defence anniversary of the chemical tion and is one of the dedica- companies. he third meeting of train- Weapons Convention coming tion members in cooperation He called on the interna- ing centres on assistance into force, is the core for the es- with OPCW, referring to its tional community to do more Tand protection under Ar- tablishment of an international embracement to Doha Region- to strengthen national meas- ticle X of the Chemical Weap- network of training centres as- al Center for the Training of ures and optimise the use of the ons Convention, organised by sociated with the OPCW under Weapons of Mass Destruction, chemical Weapons Convention National Committee for the Article X of the chemical Weap- where the National Committee and to support the organisa- Prohibition of Chemical Weap- ons Convention. These will for the Prohibition of chemical tion’s eff orts to eliminate these ons, in collaboration with the develop the capacity of states Weapons expanded its activities weapons and to prevent them Organisation for the Prohibition parties to respond to chemi- to cover all the mass destruc- from reaching terrorists and of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), cal incidents, providing an op- tion weapons. proscribed groups. through Doha Regional Center portunity for fi eld training for Al-Ahmad added that the aim On his part, Head of the for the Training on Weapons of participants in the advanced of the centre is training all those OPCW’s Assistance and Pro- Qatar Ports Management Company (Mwani Qatar) yesterday announced that it hosted 411 vessels at Mass Destruction, started yes- course. related in the private and public tection Branch, Shawn De- Hamad Port, Doha Port and Ruwais Port in November 2017. Infographic courtesy of Mwani Qatar terday. Speaking at the meeting, al- sectors as well as researchers Caluwe, valued the fruitful co- The two-day meeting is held Ahmad highlighted the role of to heighten their capabilities in operation of the State of Qatar under the patronage of HE the the State of Qatar in the fi eld the fi eld of eff ectively imple- with the organisation and its Deputy Prime Minister and of maintaining international menting weapons of mass de- eff orts in the training fi eld to Minister of State for Defence peace and security and com- struction conventions. implement the conventions Aff airs Dr Khalid bin Moham- bating terrorism, in addition to The centre also aims to estab- related to weapons of mass de- med al-Attiyah. its policies that respect inter- lish co-operation with regional struction. The meeting will include a national charters and conven- and international organisations He said the meeting seeks discussion on the training pro- tions. and states parties to the con- to review all the training pro- German cruise ship grammes provided by the As- He added that the State of vention to develop training pro- grammes adopted with a view sistance and Protection Branch Qatar initiated the signing of grammes on a sustainable basis to enhancing them and maxim- of the OPCW with the support the chemical Weapons Conven- in the areas of chemical assist- ising their use to states parties of states parties, a review of fu- tions and ratifying it the same ance, protection, safety and se- of the convention and ensuring ture projects and the develop- year it came into force in 1997. curity, he said. smooth training programmes in docks at Doha ment of states’ capacities in the The State also is keen on join- Al-Ahmad said the centre the future. area of assistance and protec- ing the other treaties related to has so far organised more than He hoped that the Doha tion against such weapons. eradicating weapons and aim to 50 national and international meeting would constitute an ruise ship TUI Mein General Secretary of the Na- achieve peace and stability in training and awareness pro- important starting point in this Schiff 5 has visited Doha tional Committee for the Prohi- the world, al-Ahmad said. grammes for high school and regard. CPort for the second time this season, carrying around 3,500 passengers, Qatar Ports Management Company (Mwani Qatar) has announced. The German vessel had pre- viously docked at Doha Port on CRA holds outreach event November 22, making it the fi rst mega ship of Qatar’s 2017/2018 cruise season. Mein Schiff 5 measures 293m in length and rises 15 decks high. for telecom consumers Other cruise ships that have arrived in Doha since the launch of the season on October 26 he Communications Regulatory Au- and learn more about the CRA’s complaints are Seabourn Encore, Azamara thority (CRA) has announced that it resolution process. Journey and Crystal Symphony. Tis organising an outreach event at As- The authority’s stand will also include a A total of 21 cruise ships are pire Park on December 9. special section to connect with consumers expected to arrive at Doha Port Mein Schiff 5 anchored at Doha Port during its second visit of the According to a press statement from the who follow the CRA social media accounts this season, which runs until season. Picture courtesy of Mwani Qatar authority, the event is part of the CRA’s to get their feedback about the e-awareness April 2018, according to an ear- initiatives to educate consumers about their campaigns and identify the topics they want lier statement by Mwani Qatar. Mein Schiff 5 is not the only Doha Port is set to receive a rights and responsibilities. to know more about. The 2017/18 cruise schedule, mega cruise ship to carry thou- “record number of tourists”, “This is an opportunity for the CRA to “CRA seeks to balance the rights of con- which is available on Mwani sands of passengers to Doha. Mwani Qatar recently said. connect with telecom consumers and raise sumers with the obligations of telecom serv- Qatar’s Twitter page, shows Italian mega ship MSC Splen- From 4,000 passengers in awareness. CRA’s team will be on hand to ice providers. Consumers need to be aware that Mein Schiff 5 is expected dida, which carries 3,900 pas- 2015, the port is expected to provide useful tips to help visitors better of their rights and responsibilities in order to arrive in Doha six more times sengers, is also scheduled to receive 60,000 tourists this understand their rights and responsibilities to make informed decisions. I would like to during the season, including make six calls to Doha Port this year, and the goal is to reach and to educate consumers on other topics invite all telecom consumers to join us at the once more towards the end of season, Gulf Times had report- 500,000 passengers by 2022, it related to roaming, spam SMS messages and event to know more about their rights and this month. ed earlier. stressed. scam calls,” the statement noted. responsibilities,” said Amel Salem al-Hana- Visitors will also be able to lodge telecom Amel Salem al-Hanawi, Consumer Aff airs wi, the CRA’s Consumer Aff airs manager. complaints against service providers onsite Department manager, CRA. The outreach event takes place next to Sugar & Spice café, Aspire Park, from 2pm to 9pm on Saturday. One of the CRA’s consumer protection in- Mercedes S-Class of 2015 recalled itiatives is the ‘Arsel’ app. The app has a “us- er-friendly interface and an extensive range of useful features that gives users the ability he Ministry of Economy paign comes within the frame- repairs are carried out. to check if there are any network coverage is- and Commerce (MEC), in work of its ongoing eff orts to The MEC has urged all cus- sues reported in their area”. Additionally, the Tcollaboration with Nasser protect consumers and ensure tomers to report any violations app has speed test functionality that allows Bin Khaled Automobiles, has that car dealers follow up on ve- to its Consumer Protection and users to check Internet speed (Mobile/Wi- announced the recall of Mer- hicles’ defects and repair them. Anti-Commercial Fraud De- Fi) and report this directly to the CRA. cedes-Benz S-Class model of The MEC said that it will partment through the following The app also allows users to lodge com- 2015 because the software for co-ordinate with the dealer to channels: Call centre: 16001, e- plaints against service providers using the engine control unit and fuel follow up on the maintenance mail: [email protected], Twitter: accurate location-based information, fol- system control unit may not and repair works and will @MEC_Qatar, Instagram: MEC_ low up on their complaints, send relevant comply with specifi cation. communicate with customers Qatar, MEC mobile app for An- documents and receive updates. The CRA The MEC said the recall cam- to ensure that the necessary droid and IOS: MEC_Qatar follow a certain resolu- tion process for telecom complaints; consumers with a complaint are free to approach the CRA if a complaint lodged di- rectly to their service provider remains unre- solved for 30 calendar days, or if they are dis- satisfi ed with the reso- lution off ered, the state- ment adds. Complaints are then assessed by the CRA against a set of criteria to determine if a com- plaint is valid or not. The authority receives and investigates complaints by working with both consumers and service providers to fi nd a fair and mutually acceptable resolution. Consumers can con- tact the CRA in a va- riety of ways: the 24/7 hotline number is 103, e-mail CRA at consum- [email protected], the ‘Arsel’ mobile applica- tion, by tweeting direct- ly to @CRAqatar, CRA’s online complaint form or by visiting the CRA headquarters at Al Nasr Tower B. Gulf Times Thursday, December 7, 2017 11 QATAR Katara to celebrate anniversary of rights declaration

he Cultural Village edonia. Also scheduled are a stitution constantly seeks to Foundation – Katara in Katara fi ne Art Symposium, conduct various activities to Tco-operation with the which is to feature 20 artists strengthen partnerships and offi ce of the United Nations - Qatari nationals and expa- co-operate to achieve mutual High Commissioner for Hu- triates. A concert will be held goals. Dignitaries at a Nama event. man Rights and the National by the Qatar Philharmonic Or- The director of the Unit- Human Rights Committee chestra on December 10. ed Nations Human Rights will organise ‘The Celebration Speaking on the occasion, Training and Documentation of the 70th anniversary of the Katara general manager Dr Center for South-West Asia Universal declaration of Hu- Khalid bin Ibrahim al-Sulaiti and the Arab Region, George man Rights’ through diversi- stressed that Katara through Abu al-Zulf expressed his fi ed events and activities from its diverse activities provides happiness on holding the tomorrow to Sunday. an array of opportunities for event in co-operation with The events cover a wide array fruitful dialogue and use- Katara and the National Hu- Nama Centre takes of entertaining and informa- ful cultural interaction, and man Rights committee. tive events suitable for all ages. provides a rich platform for He also called on citizens The events include; workshops communication, in an atmos- and residents to visit the for children, a series of games, phere of freedom that is vital events tent and the open ar- and a wall expressing human in cultural, artistic and crea- tistic event which is open to rights perspectives. tive activity. the public. It is taking place In addition, the Cultural Di- Maryam bint Abdullah al- on the open stage at Katara’s part in Volunteer versity Festival will have tra- Attiyah, the secretary-gener- Amphitheatre from tomorrow ditional performances from: al of the National Committee until Sunday between 4pm Day celebrations China, Algeria, and Mac- for Human Rights said the in- and 9pm. ama Centre, one of Qa- The centre’s fi rst voluntary als, groups and institutions, in Nama’s project for the develop- tar Foundation for So- work forum was launched in recognition and honour of their ment of social entrepreneurs. Ncial Work (QFSW)’s af- 1998, organised by its volun- work, in addition to raising The project is implemented fi liated centres, has participated teers, to encourage individuals awareness of the role of volun- through two channels: the in the 2017 International Volun- and institutions to contribute teering in the development of ‘Moqbeleen’ and ‘Sama Nama’ teer Day celebrations. to volunteerism and instil the society and motivating individ- projects. The participation comes meaning and value of voluntary uals and institutions to nurture Maryam bint Abdullatif al- within the framework of its work in the hearts of citizens it. Mannai, acting executive man- “ongoing encouragement of and residents. Other key initiatives include ager of Nama Centre, said: “The voluntary work and the pro- In 1999, the Volunteer Award the National Campaign to Pro- celebration of this day is a great motion of community partici- was launched and has been cel- mote Volunteerism and the Qa- opportunity to continue eff orts pation, while reaffi rming the ebrated annually ever since on tar Volunteers Network initia- to expand the voluntary work importance of volunteering as International Volunteer Day, tive. framework through the launch a noble humanitarian value and which falls on December 5 every The strategic directions of the of new voluntary social devel- the need to support volunteers year. centre, 2017-2022, include an opment projects and developing for their pivotal role in achieving The Volunteer Award aims to integrated strategy to promote existing ones, as well as the dis- comprehensive development in promote a culture of giving and youth participation in com- semination of volunteerism on a their communities”, Nama has nurturing voluntary and hu- munity service and allow them larger scale and the recruitment said in a press statement. manitarian eff orts of individu- to develop and interact within of more young people.” Artists at work at Katara in preparation for the event.

Seven students competed in the finals of Ignite Doha, a competition that challenges students to give fast and fun five- minute presentations, while also testing their ability to be clear and concise. Safi n Bayes wins Ignite Doha 2017

exas A&M University at Qatar our graduates, 21st century engineers showed me that preparation translates (Tamuq) electrical and computer have to be adaptable and creative com- into confi dence. I was able to deliver a Tengineering student Safi n Bayes municators in order to succeed in the good presentation because of the hard won Ignite Doha 2017 with an insightful workplace. An engineer can have an in- work I had done before the presentation. and informative presentation on the Big novative idea, but if he or she can’t com- It helped me understand my nervous- Bang theory recently at the Texas A&M municate it to others, nothing happens.” ness and how I can overcome it.” Engineering Building in Education City. Seven students competed in the fi - Ghazali added, “Ignite your speaking Ignite Doha, like a TED talk, asks stu- nals. Abdullah Yousef placed second and thinking skills to explain a complex dents to introduce a topic of their choice and Sofi an Ghazali came third. The oth- topic to people of all ages in fi ve minutes. to a general audience in an engaging er fi nalists included Qishu Zhang, Alaa Not as easy as it sounds, but worth it!” manner. The format challenged stu- Abdulla, and Shaheen al-Kuwari and The judges were last year’s winner dents to give fast and fun fi ve-minute Jassim al-Matwi, who presented jointly. and electrical and computer engineering presentations, while also testing their The presenters “all performed excep- senior Abdulaziz Saad al-Qahtani, ca- ability to be clear and concise. tionally in front of a crowd packed with reer services co-ordinator Sarah Aboul- Ignite Doha is a STEAM (science, fellow students, staff , faculty and judg- hosn, mechanical engineering professor technology, engineering, arts and math) es”, Tamuq said in a press statement. Dr Eyad Masad, head of outreach at Qa- initiative of Texas A&M at Qatar that Presentations ranged from refl ections tar Foundation Research and Develop- develops communication, organisation, on black holes, inspiration to do what ment Abtesam Yousuf, distinguished visual literacy and presentation skills. you love and to do it with others, the career professor of business commu- ‘Writing Across the Curriculum’ power of music, and why Americans call nication at Carnegie Mellon University co-ordinator and instructional assist- football soccer. in Qatar Patrick McGinnis, petroleum ant professor in the Liberal Arts Pro- After his presentation on how the cold engineering former student Maryam gramme, Dr Amy Hodges, said: “As we temperature in classrooms aff ects stu- al-Bishri and Oxy Qatar director of EOR know from the companies that employ dent performance, Yousef said: “Ignite and Development John Bolling.

Site showcases Medical City hospitals

amad Medical Corpo- bilitation Institute, Women’s cess to specialised surgeries ration (HMC) has an- Wellness and Research Cent- by minimising wait times and Hnounced the launch of er, and the Ambulatory Care allowing patients to recover a website dedicated exclusively Center – will house 500 new in the comfort of their own to the new Medical City hospi- hospital beds and 3,000 staff . home,” said Dr Abdulla al- tals. “Our Medical City hospitals Ansari, acting chief medical Ali Abdullah al-Khater, are delivering on a promise to offi cer, HMC, chief communications offi cer expand world-class facilities Al-Khater added that the HMC and chair, Healthcare for the people of Qatar. They new website has been designed Communications Committee Ali Abdullah al-Khater have been designed with the to bring the hospitals directly said the new website is part of experience of our patients and to patients, allowing them an eff ort to help patients, and the-art environment in which their families in mind. From to explore the facilities from other members of the commu- care will be off ered, but we are enhanced privacy off ered their own home, or from their nity to get to know the three confi dent it will also lead to the throughout our 240 private phones. facilities as well as their staff same sense of pride everyone inpatient rooms at Women’s The website provides an op- and services. at HMC feels in our new hos- Wellness and Research Center, portunity to register interest “The website is interac- pitals,” said al-Khater. to new and expanded treat- in visiting the new hospitals in tive. In addition to informa- HMC’s new Medical City ment options like our daycare person, with a number of tours tion about services off ered complex represents the biggest programme at Qatar Reha- planned for next year. There at each of the new hospitals, healthcare facility expansion bilitation Institute, these new is also an option to sign up for it includes photographs and in the region and will bring hospitals are helping ensure regular updates on new clinic 360-degree virtual tours of new services and care options we provide the best quality and service openings. The the facilities. This functional- to the people of Qatar. Once care and treatment to our pa- new website can be accessed ity will not only enable people fully operational, the three tients. The Ambulatory Care at http://www.newhmchospi- to experience the state-of- new hospitals – Qatar Reha- Center is also improving ac- tals.qa. Gulf Times 12 Thursday, December 7, 2017 QATAR Kerala housing Finalists of Huawei ICT group in Doha onfi dent Group, one Thiruvananthapuram, Ko- of the best housing chi, Thrissur, Kozhikode Cbrands of Kerala is now and Kottayam are of inter- in Qatar. “Customers can book national quality. Customers their dream home at amazing can directly book luxury villa skill contest announced prices and attractive off ers,” an projects which are available offi cial said. from Rs7.8mn and apartment amad Bin Khalifa Uni- Confi dent Group represent- projects with a starting price versity (HBKU) and atives will be available from of Rs3mn. HHuawei Technologies December 8 to 10 at MovenPick “Benefi ts of Central gov- announced the Qatar fi nalists Hotel, Corniche Road, Doha, ernment schemes are avail- of the international ICT Skill from 10am to 8pm. Customers able with Confi dent Group Competition at a ceremony held can book villas and apartments projects,” the offi cial added. at HBKU yesterday. situated at premium locations More information may be The event was attended by of Kerala. obtained from 30647607 or offi cials from local ministries, The projects available at 30463504. delegates from the Chinese em- bassy, top executives represent- ing Huawei as well as competi- tors, staff and faculty members Off icials and finalists at the ceremony. from each of the participating universities, including HBKU, to explore and experiment, and tion’s youth, particularly in an globally co-ordinated initiative groups over an advanced practi- Qatar University (QU), Com- to take the lead when it comes area which will contribute to a that specifi cally targets univer- cal application and technology Strong winds munity College of Qatar ( CCQ) to fi nding solutions for a better fi eld crucial to the success of sities and students in order to knowledge programme. and Carnegie Mellon University tomorrow.” Qatar’s national vision and pro- develop the ICT ecosystems of The fi nalists will be compet- in Qatar. “We are proud to partner gramme,” said Zong Yan, chief participating countries. ing for a prize of $30,000 during Dr Ahmad M Hasnah, presi- with an esteemed and prestig- executive offi cer, Huawei Qatar. Notably, the three fi nalists in- the last stage of the tournament. dent, HBKU, said, “Innovation ious organisation like HBKU. The stated goal of Huawei’s cluded students from HBKU, QU Two teams will claim second and drop in is a central theme at HBKU, Such a dynamic partnership competition is to empower and CCQ. The last stage of the place, and three will claim third. and technology is the vehicle will put Qatar academia at the youth, nurture local talent, competition will take place in The three fi nalists representing through which innovative so- cutting-edge of technological and bridge the gap between China over a fi ve-day period at Qatar will also have the oppor- lutions materialise. As a re- advancement and innovation. the classroom and the work- the end of this month. The fi nal tunity to visit Huawei’s interna- search-focused university, we Furthermore, we are excited to force. With participation from will involve all the participating tional headquarters and network temperatures urge our students to go beyond contribute to the development 10 countries across the Mid- countries’ qualifying contestants with global industry leaders and the confi nes of the classroom, and empowerment of the na- dle East, the competition is a competing in their respective experts. forecast Al Nokhba members t is getting cooler in the perature is expected during country as the Qatar Met de- the weekend. Ipartment has forecast strong The Met department has can redeem Nojoom winds from tomorrow along called on everyone to be with a drop in temperatures careful and avoid sea ac- over the weekend. tivities during this period in points at Salam Stores Already, the mercury level view of the expected con- has dipped sharply in parts of ditions. It has also issued the country – with Abu Samra a statement on the marine oredoo in the south recording a low of warning (from tomorrow has an- 9C yesterday. until Sunday) separately on Onounced In a report yesterday, the social media. that its Al Nokh- Met department said weather Meanwhile, today’s detailed ba members can now redeem Nojoom Points at maps indicate that the coun- forecast says hazy to misty two more Salam Stores branches at The Mall and try will be aff ected by fresh to conditions are expected in Mall of Qatar. strong winds in most areas, the early hours of the day, fol- On top of the new store branch options, Al starting from dawn on Friday lowed by mild daytime condi- Nokhba members can also redeem Nojoom Points until Sunday. tions and some clouds. It will with boutique brands owned by Salam Stores, The wind speed is ex- be relatively cold by night. Ooredoo has said in a press statement. pected to range from 15-25 Hazy and partly cloudy The winning team of CMU-Q. Eighteen new brand outlets are included in knots inshore, going up to conditions are likely in off - this update, including designer names such as 30 knots, and from 18-25 shore areas at times. Hugo Boss, Just Cavalli, Moschino, Paul Smith, knots off shore, going up to The minimum temperature Red Valentino and more. 35 knots. The sea level during today is expected to be 9C in Al Nokhba is Ooredoo’s exclusive customer rec- this period will vary between Abu Samra, 12C in Wakrah and ognition programme for its premium customers 7ft and 10ft, reaching a high Mesaieed, 13C in Al Khor, 14C CMU-Q team wins bronze and membership is based on invitation. of 12ft in some areas, the in Dukhan, 17C in Ruwais and Previously, Salam Stores had been an exclu- report says. 18C in Doha. sive partner for Al Nokhba only through their Due to northwesterly wind Yesterday, the mercury level outlet at The Gate Mall. Now, with the update, activity, horizontal visibility dipped to 9C in Abu Samra, members can enjoy a “luxurious shopping ex- is expected to decrease to less 12C in Mesaieed, Turayna, Ka- achievement at MIT contest perience at one of the programme’s premium than 2km as a result of dust. rana and Jumayliyah, while in partners”, the statement adds. Also, a noticeable drop in tem- Doha it was 18C.

arnegie Mellon Qatar (CMU- lines. A rapid and reliable test could at CMU-Q. After their experience Q) student team was awarded lead to the oil industry reducing their in Boston, the team will present the Cbronze achievement at the use of biocides, which would in turn project at the Qatar Foundation An- International Genetically Engineered lessen the negative impact on the ma- nual Research Conference in 2018. Machines (IGEM) competition host- rine ecosystem. The next step is to de- The interdisciplinary student team ed by the Massachusetts Institute of velop a strain of harmless bacteria that includes Yasmin Abdelaal, Albandari HEC Paris holds orientation Technology (MIT) in Boston, US. This would replace the biocide altogether. al-Khater, Dina Nayel al-Tarawneh, is the fi rst time CMU-Q has fi elded “This project is exciting because Najlaa al-Thani, Aisha Fakhroo, al- a team at the annual IGEM compe- it has a practical application that can Reem Johar, Saad Rasool, Kawthar tition, which included 310 teams make a big impact on the health of the Alsadat Jafarian and Fatema Abdul from 44 countries. ecos3ystem in the waters around Qa- Salik. The team received additional session for new batch The team developed an easy, quick tar,” said Annette Vincent, assistant coaching by Cheryl Telmer, a re- way for the oil industry to test if there teaching professor of biological sci- search biologist at Carnegie Mellon’s is biofi lm build-up in off shore pipe- ences and the team’s faculty adviser Pittsburgh campus. EC Paris, a world leader in ex- ecutive education, has wel- Hcomed the fi rst cohort of the Class of 2019 for its specialised mas- Temporary diversion on Mazrooah interchange ter’s degree in Strategic Business Unit A temporary traff ic diversion will be in a parallel route for a distance of roundabouts alike. Management (SBUM) in Doha. place on Al Mazrooah interchange on 1.8km long, which incorporates one The speed limit will be reduced to An orientation session was held re- North Road to continue construction lane in each direction in place of 50km/hour while the speed limit on cently on the Doha premises of HEC of a multi-level junction on New Orbital two lanes. Al Shamal Road main carriageway Paris at Tornado Tower in this regard. Highway and Truck Route. The northeast exit ramp and remains at 80km/hour. It was attended by alumni members, The diversion, designed in co- northwest entry ramp at Al Mazrooah Ashghal will install road signs participants, faculty and staff . ordination with the General interchange connecting traff ic from advising motorists of the closure. The cohort gathers 34 participants, Directorate of Traff ic, starts tonight and to the Temporary Truck Route Ashghal requests all road users to representing various industries such and will last until 4am on Sunday. (TTR) and Al Shamal Road will be abide by the new speed limit and as healthcare, education, fi nance and Group photo with the participants. During the minor detour, traff ic closed, providing direct exits from follow the road signs to ensure their banking, oil and gas, sports, public on the bridge will be shifted onto the two nearby eastern and western safety. sectors and NGOs, among others. HEC Paris in Qatar, followed by a pres- Abdulla al-Kharaz - leadership devel- HEC Paris said in a statement that entation about the programme by Prof opment specialist, Qatar Petroleum. the “diverse group of participants, with Wolfgang Amann, academic director of The specialised master’s degree in seven nationalities and 75% women, the programme. Strategic Business Unit Management represents a wide range of professional The new cohort was welcomed with underlines HEC Paris’ “commitment backgrounds, skills and experiences, keynote addresses provided by distin- to contribute to the development of a which will enhance shared learning, a guished HEC Paris alumni, including knowledge-based economy in Qatar key component of the programme”. Dana al-Hajri – honour student, SBUM and to strengthen corporate competi- The programme was inaugurated 2014; Lolwa al-Naemi - manager of tiveness in the region”, the statement by Dr Nils Plambeck, dean and CEO, Facilities, Qatar National Library; and adds.

QF to mark National Day at Darb Al Saai

atar Foundation (QF) is set four morals of its Akhlaquna initia- overcome, and, most importantly, look to celebrate National Day by tive – mercy, tolerance, honesty, and ahead to the future. Indeed, this year, Qhosting a tent at Darb Al Saai. generosity. Qatar’s celebrations serve as a tangible The QF tent at Darb Al Saai will run Additionally, QF will host fun activi- demonstration of the values and the from December 9-20. It will be open ties based on Siraj, its 3D educational TV morals that defi ne us as a nation. from 8am-12noon and 4pm-10pm series which aims to instil a love of the “Our various activities at Darb Al from Saturday - Thursday, while on Arabic language, and its national read- Saai, which are represented by QF’s Fridays it will open from 2pm. ing campaign, which promotes a passion four core mission areas – Pre-Uni- The QF tent will be centred around for reading among young people. versity Education, Higher Education, the QF timeline, as well as the col- Mayan Zebeib, chief communica- Science and Research, and Commu- ours of the Qatari fl ag. Visitors will be tions offi cer, QF, said: “Qatar National nity Development – demonstrate our given the opportunity to learn about Day represents an important occasion ongoing dedication to supporting the QF through its immersive ‘globe’ ac- for this country. It’s an opportunity development of Qatar, as well as our tivity, record wishes and memories on for us, as a nation, to come together belief in this country’s great leaders the dedicated ‘pledge wall’, and nomi- as one, to refl ect on our accomplish- and their vision for the future,” Zebeib nate individuals who best embody the ments, the challenges we have had to added. Gulf Times Thursday, December 7, 2017 13 REGION/ARAB WORLD Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel’s capital

From Page 1 Islamist movement in the Gaza Trump acted under a 1995 law Strip, told journalists. that requires the United States Jordan condemned Trump’s to move its embassy to Jerusa- recognition of Jerusalem as lem. His predecessors, Bill Clin- amounting to a violation of ton, George W Bush and Barack international law and the UN Obama, had consistently put off charter. “The decision of the that decision to avoid infl aming American president to recog- tensions in the Middle East. nise Jerusalem as Israel’s capi- Trump ordered a delay to any tal and the transfer of the US embassy move from Tel Aviv embassy to this city constitutes since the United States does not a violation of decisions of inter- have an embassy in Jerusalem national law and the United Na- to move into. A senior adminis- tions charter,” said government tration offi cial said it could take spokesman Mohamed Momani. three to four years to build one. Turkey slammed Trump’s Trump’s decision has drawn Jerusalem announcement as sharp criticism, with the signifi - irresponsible and illegal. “We cant exception of Israel. condemn the irresponsible Here are key reactions from statement of the US adminis- around the world: tration... the decision is against The secretary-general of the international law and relevant Palestine Liberation Organisa- UN resolutions,” Turkish For- tion said Trump had destroyed eign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu any hopes for a two-state solu- wrote on Twitter. tion to the Israeli-Palestinian Prime Minister Theresa confl ict. “He destroyed the two- May said the British govern- state solution,” Saeb Erekat, who ment disagreed with Trump’s long served as the Palestinians decision, saying it was “un- Palestinians react during a protest against US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip yesterday. top negotiator, told journalists. helpful” for peace eff orts. “We Hamas said Trump’s deci- disagree with the US decision sion would “open the gates of to move its embassy to Jeru- hell” on US interests in the re- salem and recognise Jerusalem gion. “This decision will open as the Israeli capital,” she said the gates of hell on US interests in a statement. “We believe it in the region,” Ismail Radwan, is unhelpful in terms of pros- an offi cial with the Palestinian pects for peace in the region”. Palestinians seethe over Trump’s move Reuters dent of the walled Old City. sabotage things and people will Israeli occupation from 1987 to would be a test for Arab leader- Jerusalem “This decision will ignite not accept it.” 1993 then from 2000 to 2005, ship at a time of regional chaos a fire in the region. Pressure Palestinian newspapers also the latter ignited by a visit by and shifting alliances. The Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah leads to explosions,” he said. decried the move. “Trump De- then-opposition leader Ariel The Jerusalem uproar could presenting FIFA president Gianni Infantino with a Kuwaiti national alestinians seethed with Jerusalem — specifically its fies the World,” thundered Al- Sharon to the shrine area. affect Egyptian-brokered ef- team kit, bearing his name in Kuwait City yesterday. anger and a sense of be- eastern Old City — is at the Ayyam. Another, Al-Hayat, Violent confrontations also forts to bring Gaza, which has Ptrayal over US President heart of the Israeli-Palestinian roared “Jerusalem is the Sym- took place in July when Israel been under Hamas control for a Donald Trump’s decision to rec- conflict. bol of Palestinian Endurance” installed metal detectors at an decade, back under the author- ognise the disputed city of Jeru- Palestinians want it to be the in a red-letter headline over entrance to Al-Aqsa compound ity of US-backed Palestinian salem as the capital of Israel. capital of a future independ- an image of the city’s mosque after gunmen holed up there President Mahmoud Abbas. Kuwait to host Gulf Cup Many heard the death knell ent state and resolution of its compound flanked by Palestin- killed two of its policemen. Hamas spokesman Hazem for the long-moribund US- status is fundamental to any ian flags. Four Palestinians and three Qassem said Trump’s move sponsored talks aimed at end- peace-making. Palestinian leaders have also Israelis died in ensuing vio- showed the United States was From Page 1 in the blockading nations send- ing the Israeli-Palestinian “This is insane. You are warned the move could have lence. biased. He added that the Arabian ing their teams to the tournament conflict and establishing a Pal- speaking about something dangerous consequences. In the Palestinian coastal “The United States was nev- Gulf Cup Football Federation, which can then have its full quota estinian state alongside Israel. fateful. Jerusalem is the capi- Israeli security forces braced enclave of Gaza, demonstrators er a neutral mediator in any of which he is the president, of eight teams, thus making it a They also said more violence tal of the state of Palestine and for possible unrest but police chanted “Death to America”, cause of our people. It has al- will hold a meeting next week very competitive aff air could erupt. neither the world nor our peo- said the situation in Jerusalem “Death to Israel” and “Down ways stood with the occupation to discuss the matter further It may be added that the 23rd “Trump wants to help Israel ple will accept it,” said Samir was calm for now. with Trump”. They also burned (Israel),” he said. and work out the modalities edition of the tournament was take over the entire city. Some al-Asmar, 58, a merchant from That could quickly change, posters depicting the US, Brit- He said Abbas’ adminis- in case Kuwait decides to take supposed to be hosted by Ku- people may do nothing, but the Old City. given the religious passions ish and Israeli flags. tration should “rid itself of up the offer. wait originally but moved to others are ready to fight for “It will not change what Je- that swirl around the Old City. Youssef Mohamed, a the illusion that rights can be If Kuwait indeed decides to Qatar after FIFA decided to ban Jerusalem,” said Hamad Abu rusalem is. Jerusalem will re- Palestinians mounted two 70-year-old resident of a refu- achieved through an Ameri- host the event, it could also result Kuwait. Sbeih, 28, an unemployed resi- main Arab. Such a decision will uprisings, or intifadas, against gee camp, said Trump’s move can-backed deal”. Saudi air strikes on Yemen intensify, Russian attacks kill 24 residents in capital stay indoors civilians in east Syria Reuters Arabia and its allies. Political Aden/Dubai sources said the Houthis had arrested dozens of Saleh’s allies AFP and army offi cers affi liated with Beirut Call to ‘deliver’ Assad delegation to peace talks Saudi-led coalition his party in and around the city. stepped up air strikes on Several had been killed in the The United States and France tions and part of the discus- AYemen’s Houthis yes- raids. ussian air strikes killed called on Russia yesterday to de- sion,” US Secretary of State Rex terday as the armed movement Yesterday, several dozen 24 civilians yesterday in a liver the delegation of President Tillerson told a news conference tightened its grip on Sanaa a women gathered in a main Rvillage held by the Islamic Bashar al-Assad to Syria peace in Brussels. “We have left it to day after the son of slain former Sanaa square holding Saleh’s State group near the Euphrates talks in Geneva after discus- the Russians to deliver them to president Ali Abdullah Saleh portrait and demanding his River in eastern Syria, a monitor sions on ending the six-year war table.” A diplomat in Geneva said vowed revenge for his father’s body be handed over for burial, said. resumed with no sign of the it was likely, but not confirmed, death. but they were forcibly dispersed The Syrian Observatory for government attending. that the delegation would return Former president Saleh by Houthi security forces, eye- Human Rights said the bombing The eighth round of negotia- to Geneva tomorrow. plunged the country deeper into witnesses said. raids hit the village of Al-Jerzi tions began last week and after Russia’s RIA news agency turmoil last week by switching The Houthi-controlled in- on the eastern bank of the river, a few days with little apparent quoted an unnamed source as allegiances after years help- terior ministry distributed a which cuts across Deir Ezzor progress, UN mediator Staff an saying they would arrive on Sun- ing the Houthis win control of video of dozens of seated bare- province. de Mistura said the govern- day or Monday. Syrian off icials much of the country’s north in- foot men it said were pro-Saleh After reporting earlier yester- ment delegation, led by Bashar have not said if Ja’afari will re- cluding the capital. fi ghters detained in one of its day that the strikes killed 21 ci- al-Ja’afari, was returning to Da- turn to the talks but opposition He was killed in an attack on People load belongings on a van as they evacuate their house located party headquarters. vilians, the Britain-based moni- mascus to “consult and refresh”. spokesman Yahya al-Aridi said his convoy on Monday. on a street where Houthis have recently clashed with forces loyal to Media rights group Report- tor said the toll had risen. De Mistura expected talks to on Monday a government boy- The pro-Houthi Al Masirah slain Yemeni former president Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa, yesterday. ers Without Borders appealed “More people died and more resume “around Tuesday” Dec cott would be “an embarrass- television station said yester- for the release of 41 journalists bodies were found,” Observatory 5, but Ja’afari left Geneva on ment to Russia”, which is keen day Saudi Arabia and its allies Twitter account. He posted a are trying to shoot military men it said have been held “hostage” head Rami Abdel Rahman said. Saturday and said he might not to see a negotiated end to the had bombed Saleh’s residence picture of himself sitting near and (Saleh party) members.” by the group since it overran “Ten children and four women come back because the opposi- war. The opposition negotiating and other houses of his fam- Ahmed Ali. Yemen’s confl ict, pitting the the headquarters of the Saleh- are among the dead in the Rus- tion had stated that Assad could team arrived at the UN off ices ily members now controlled by Ahmed Ali had been widely Houthis against the Saudi-led owned Al-Yemen Al-Youm TV sian air strikes targeting resi- not play a role in a future interim in Geneva yesterday morning the Houthis. Air strikes also hit expected to leave the UAE, a key military alliance which backs a station on Saturday. dential buildings in Al-Jerzi,” he government. A source close to to resume talks with de Mistura, northern provinces including member of the Saudi-led coa- government based in the south, Nearly a million people in said. the Syrian government’s nego- who declined to comment late Taiz, Hajjah, Midi and Saada, it lition fi ghting the Houthis, for has unleashed what the United Yemen have been hit by a chol- The monitor relies on a net- tiating team told Reuters the on Tuesday when asked about said. Yemen to help in the war amid Nations calls the world’s worst era outbreak, and famine caused work of sources inside Syria and delegation was still in Damascus the absence of Ja’afari’s negotia- There was no immediate media reports that some Saleh humanitarian crisis. by warring parties blocking food says it determines whose planes on Wednesday. “We have said to tors. “It takes two to Tango, but word on casualties. loyalists have been switching The proxy war has killed supplies threatens much of the carry out raids according to type, the Russians it is important that at the same time you need to The intervention by Saleh’s sides. Many Sanaa residents more than 10,000 people, with country. The UN secretary-gen- location, fl ight patterns and mu- the Syrian regime be at the table talk to the other party,” Aridi told son Ahmed Ali, a former com- were staying indoors yesterday more than two mn displaced. eral’s special envoy for Yemen, nitions used. and be part of these negotia- reporters yesterday. mander of the elite Republican out of fear of a Houthi crack- Saleh’s decision to abandon Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, It says IS, which used to con- Guard who lives in exile in the down. the Houthis was the most dra- called on all parties to show re- trol swathes of Deir Ezzor prov- United Arab Emirates and was On Tuesday, Saleh supporters matic development in three straint. “Increased hostilities will ince, has been ousted from all had also received support from leaguered forces. Those strikes once seen as a successor to his said his nephew Tareq, another years of stalemate. further threaten civilian lives and but 8% of the oil-rich region. Moscow. have helped Assad regain control father, has provided the anti- top commander, and the head of Top Houthi offi cials called exacerbate their suff ering,” he The militants have lost vast Russian warplanes had given over much of war-ravaged Syria. Houthi movement with a po- his party, Aref Zouka, had both it high treason backed by their said in a briefi ng to the Security swathes of it to separate off en- air cover to the Kurdish People’s More than 340,000 people tential fi gurehead. been killed. Saudi enemies. Tens of thou- Council on Tuesday. sives by Russian-backed Syrian Protection Units (YPG) as they have been killed since the con- Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mo- “There’s a scary calm in the sands of Houthi support- US Defence Secretary Jim troops and an alliance known as fought against militants in Deir fl ict broke out in March 2011 hamed bin Zayed al-Nahayan, city,” said Ali, a 47-year-old ers staged a rally in Sanaa on Mattis said on Tuesday that the Syrian Democratic Forces. Ezzor, according to the YPG and with protests against Assad, who the de facto leader of the UAE, businessman who declined to Tuesday to celebrate what the the killing of Saleh would likely The SDF has long been backed Moscow’s defence ministry. launched a brutal crackdown. visited Ahmed Ali at his resi- use his full name. Houthis had said was the defeat worsen an already dire humani- by US-led coalition bombing of Russia fi rst launched bombing IS has also lost most of the dence to off er his condolences, “People are reporting that of a major conspiracy by Saleh, tarian situation in the country in IS in Iraq and Syria, but its Kurd- raids in 2015 in support of Syrian territory it held in neighbouring according to Sheikh Mohamed’s there are many arrests and they chanting slogans against Saudi the short term. ish component recently said it President Bashar al-Assad’s be- Iraq. Gulf Times 14 Thursday, December 7, 2017 ARAB WORLD

Libya launches voter registration

Reuters Tripoli

ibyan electoral offi cials announced yesterday the Lopening of a two-month voter registration period, though it is unclear when elections will next be held in the divided na- tion. The United Nations is sup- porting the voter registration process as it seeks to reconcile rival factions and relaunch a po- litical transition that would lead to new polls. The UN Libya mission has previously said it hopes elections can be held by the end of next year, but has also acknowledged complex security, political and legislative challenges to organis- ing a vote. Libya last held elections in 2014 but the results were dis- puted, deepening divisions that emerged after the country’s 2011 uprising. French President Emmanuel Macron visits the Librairie du Tiers Monde bookstore in Algiers, yesterday. The poll led to an escalation of armed confl ict and to rival par- liaments and governments being set up in the capital and the east. Some Libyan political fi gures have called for elections as a way to break the deadlock after the stalling of a UN-backed peace Macron says time to move on deal signed in late 2015, with a new UN push to amend that deal so far producing no break- through. UN Libya envoy Ghassan Salame expressed sympathy with that view at a joint press from Algeria’s colonial past conference with Libya’s High National Election Commission Reuters “I’m not here to judge those here.” Franco-Algerian re- (HNEC) yesterday, calling elec- Algiers in the past. There have been lations are also a sensitive tions “the best way to separate crimes and there were people subject in France. Macron competitors”. that also did good things. Your angered many at home when “I heard a large number of resident Emmanuel Ma- generation must not allow this. he described France’s colo- those demanding elections, cron, visiting Algeria, said It’s not an excuse (to blame the nial rule as a “crime against some of whom decided on the Pyesterday he would not past) for what is happening to- humanity” during his presi- type of elections and some who be held hostage by France’s co- day,” he said. dential campaign. left it vague,” Salame said. lonial involvement there and he An inter-governmental fo- “The new relationship that But he said certain conditions urged young Algerians to build rum presided by the countries’ I want to build with Algeria had to be met first, includ- for the future and not dwell on prime ministers will take place and that I propose to Algeri- ing electoral legislation being past “crimes” committed in the in Paris today to discuss how to ans is to build an equal part- passed and Libyans agreeing to independence war. develop an economic roadmap. nership, built on frankness, accept the results in advance. The relationship is scarred Economic ties between the reciprocity and ambition,” he “You do not want these elec- by the trauma of the 1954-1962 two countries have margin- earlier told El Watan newspa- tions to be another area of disa- war in which the North Africa ally progressed since 2012 and per. greement between Libyans,” country broke with France and France is now behind China as Some Algerians disagreed. Salame said. in which hundreds of thousands the main partner. ”Excuse me but France will The voter registration period of Algerians were killed and tor- Annual trade stands at about have to apologise for the mar- is aimed at updating the voter ture was used on both sides. 8bn euros compared with tyrs we lost,” said a woman register and allowing citizens The French leader was in the 6.36bn five years ago. who gave her name as Nadia. who have not registered in the capital Algiers for talks with More than 400,000 Algeri- Facing high unemployment, past to do so, said HNEC head President Abdelaziz Boutefl ika Algerians gather on the balconies of a building to watch as the French president meets people in the ans are given visas for France low oil prices, austerity and Emad Alsayah. and senior offi cials mainly to street below in Algiers. annually, almost twice as many political uncertainty, Algeria’s “The registration process bolster economic ties. as in 2012. youth is likely to warm to Ma- will last for 60 days, and the ex- But many in Algeria have seen lika, 80, an old war veteran who a more conciliatory tone in recognise what we did, but Al- While walking near the cron’s call to look to the future tension of process can be con- the prospect of Macron off ering fought against French occupa- dealing with Algeria but also geria’s youth can’t just look to university, young Algerians more than the war veterans. sidered as required,” he said. an offi cial apology for the past tion and has been in ill-health stopped short of apologising. its past. came out in force, calling out: “There must be no taboos be- Libyans living abroad will be given his statement earlier this since suff ering a stroke in 2013. Instead, Macron’s message to It needs to look forward and “Visas, Please!” tween us. But there has to a be a able to register online from Feb year when he described France’s The 39-year-old Macron young Algerians was not to har- see how it will create jobs,” But highlighting just how project for the future and I think 1. Turnout in national elections colonial rule as a “crime against seemed unlikely to go any fur- bour grudges from the past but Macron said answering ques- divided opinion remains the Algerians must build their in 2014 was low, with 630,000 humanity”. But Macron seemed ther than his predecessor, look to the future. tions from people as he walked some others called out: “Go future from Algeria,” Macron out of the 1.5mn registered likely to disappoint Boutef- Francois Hollande, who sought “I’ve already said we need to through downtown Algiers. home! We don’t want you said responding to questions. casting a vote. Women in rural Tunisia mix hot sauce with business

AFP Menzel Mhiri

hese Tunisian women have some sauce, pooling Ttheir resources and a sea- soned culinary expertise handed down the centuries from mother to daughter. Their secret? Harissa — the spicy hot pepper paste used to add zing to dishes tradition- ally prepared in North Africa’s Maghreb region. These days, when Najoua Dhi- fl aoui prepares harissa, it is no longer just for her family. She and another 150 women are now making money by pro- ducing and even exporting their ancestral savoir faire. Harissa, made from sun-dried Tunisian women pick tomatoes in a field in Menzel Mheri, in the governorate of Kairouan. Women are now making money by producing and even exporting their ancestral savoir faire. chilli peppers, freshly prepared spices and olive oil to both pre- The women were able to take Tahadi now has 164 peo- such as harissa onto the mar- women a certain financial au- inces, according to a 2015 report “She feels a sense of respon- serve and soften its heat, is add- advantage of an offi cial project ple working for it, and is one ket. tonomy,” she said, boosting by the National Institute of Sta- sibility, she sets goals she can ed to most dishes in restaurants to support local produce and of the first firms in Tunisia to “The main thing is to create their confidence and enabling tistics. reach — and she’s working to in Tunisia, and is also popular were given training in the tech- work exclusively with local ru- working conditions for them as them “to move forward”. Dhifl aoui said that many of improve her living conditions.” abroad. nical, hygienic and commercial ral women under a rotational soon as possible,” he said. Since the launch of the co- the women who now work at Ben Salah said Pampat could In 2013, a group of women aspects of their venture. system — its members work ac- The harissa makers are paid operative, the farmers “have Tahadi used to labour in the help Tahadi diversify its pro- farmers in Menzel Mhiri near For the past two years, they cording to a flexible schedule. “slightly more than the agri- encouraged each other to make fi elds in “terrible conditions” duction to give the co-operative Kerouan in rural central Tunisia have marketed their harissa un- In a spotless white labora- cultural wage, around 15 di- their mark. No longer do you or “waited until their husbands more opportunities to employ banded together to form a co- der the “Errim” trade name. tory lined with machinery that nars” (five euros) per working have to be a teacher or doctor, brought money home”. women who live in rural areas. operative they dubbed “Tahadi” That’s Arabic for small gazelle, grinds, kneads and fills, the day, said Ben Salah. now they too can work and feel Their new role has “made Errim Harissa is already mak- — Arabic for “challenge”. also a symbol of feminine beauty. gloved women wash and pre- Others work from home, they have a place in society.” them bloom” and given them ing a name for itself. Dhifl aoui and her co-workers “It’s a way of representing pare locally harvested ingredi- performing essential tasks Women in rural Tunisia are “liberty”, she added. Sold in gourmet food stores certainly rose to it. They went the Tunisian woman — hard- ents to make the red paste. for the project and generating particularly aff ected by gender “There’s a big diff erence be- nationally, it can also be found in “door-to-door to convince oth- working, authentic and fiery,” Women play a key role in the some income by cleaning and discrimination and lack of job tween a woman with her own Switzerland and Germany, and ers to join them, to combine their said Dhiflaoui with a smile, her Tunisian economy, said Fa- drying peppers on the roofs of security. monthly salary and a woman orders have been dispatched to knowledge and sell their prod- forehead beaded with sweat rouk Ben Salah of Pampat, a their houses. While female unemployment who relies on a husband,” said France and Italy. ucts together”, the dynamic for- from both the heat and the UN, Swiss and Tunisian project Dhiflaoui is full of is 22.5% at a national level, the Chelbia Dhifl aoui, Najoua’s Talks are also underway to ex- tysomething said. peppers. aimed at getting rural products enthusiasm.”This work allows rate exceeds 35% in rural prov- cousin who also works at Tahadi. port the delicacy to Canada. Gulf Times Thursday, December 7, 2017 15 AFRICA

CHANGE IN CUSTODY OUT OF TUNE REPORT PLAN Nigeria replaces commander Tanzanian opposition Two charged for presidential Congo worst-hit in world Niger to develop security in fight against Boko Haram members detained protest pop song in Uganda by conflict displacement strategy to fight terror

Nigeria is replacing the military commander of Thirty-eight members of Tanzania’s main opposition Two Ugandan musicians were released on bail Over 1.7mn Congolese fled their homes due Niger said yesterday it had begun work on a new the fight against Boko Haram after half a year party, including two lawmakers, have been in custody yesterday after being charged with disturbing the to violence in the first six months of this year, national security and defence policy as part of its following a string of insurgency attacks despite for a week following local elections, their lawyer said peace of veteran President Yoweri Museveni for a the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre campaign to fight terrorism, in a country where years of off icial claims the group has almost yesterday. MPs Susan Kiwanga and Peter Lijualikali, song suggesting he should retire, their lawyer said. (IDMC) said in a statement yesterday, more attacks by Boko Haram and the Islamic State are been defeated, military sources said yesterday. as well as 36 other members of the Chadema party, Singer David Mugema and music producer John people than fled in Syria, Yemen or Iraq. “For frequent. During a forum of experts and military The shake-up underscores the fragility of the were arrested on November 29 in Morogoro, 200km Muwanguzi were accused of having composed and the second year running, Congo is the country brass in the capital Niamey, the president’s chief security situation in Nigeria’s northeast, where west of Dar es Salaam. They are charged with illegal disseminated via the Internet a tune titled “Wumula”, worst aff ected by conflict displacement in the of staff , Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou, announced the conflict with the Islamist insurgent group is assembly and damaging property, while the two MPs meaning “retire”, their lawyer Abdallah Kiwanuka world,” the Norwegian Refugee Council’s country that the meeting marked the “first phase” in a now in its ninth year. Ibrahim Attahiru, theatre also face an extra charge of incitement to violence. told AFP. Prosecutors said the song “attacked and director, Ulrika Blom, said. “It’s a mega-crisis. The strategy that would bring in pro-active and long- commander of the operation against Boko All deny the charges. “This is a purely political case,” disturbed the peace” of Museveni, Kiwanuka said. A scale of people fleeing violence is off the charts, term measures. “We no longer want to remain Haram, is being replaced by Major General their lawyer Peter Kibatala said. “They plead not bill to remove presidential age limits was introduced outpacing Syria, Yemen and Iraq,” she said. The on the back foot (with) short-term measures,” Rogers Nicholas in the wake of a series of guilty.” The party said their members were arrested in parliament in September, seen as paving the way IDMC attributes the rise in displacement to new Mahamadou said. The four-pronged approach will “embarrassing” attacks, two military sources after they challenged election results won by the for 73-year-old Museveni — who has been in power armed conflicts, existing conflicts and an upsurge combine “military strategy”, internal security, the told Reuters. ruling party of President John Magufuli. since 1986 — to run for a sixth term in off ice in 2021. in violence due to a delay in presidential elections. fight against terrorism and cyber-crime, he said.

Campaigners Nations to work ‘towards slam failings in Africa’s a pollution-free planet’ Aids war By David Esnault, AFP By Mariette Le Roux, AFP The UN Environment Programme Abidjan Nairobi said it has received 2.5mn anti-pol- lution pledges, including from na- tional governments, municipalities, ngry Aids activists are urging western he world’s nations yesterday businesses and individuals. They in- and central Africa to step up the fi ght vowed to curb plastic and clude commitments, which are non- Aagainst HIV, saying millions of people, Tchemical contamination of binding, to ban plastic bags, curb air especially children, are at risk from compla- the air, soil, rivers and oceans, calling pollution, or green public transport. cency and underfunding. for a steep change in how goods are Some 88,000 individuals made A six-day conference in Africa has thrown a produced and consumed. pledges too, undertaking to switch to stark light on the problems in a region whose Government envoys issued a po- less-polluting fuel, for example, or two dozen nations extend from Mauritania in litical declaration outlining the path to use less plastic and recycle more. the north to Gabon in the south, and include to “a pollution-free planet” at the Taken together, if all the commit- some of the poorest countries in the world. third UN Environment Assembly ments by governments, businesses Coalition Plus, an alliance of Aids groups, (UNEA). and civil society are honoured, they said Aids-related deaths in western and central “Pollution is cutting short the would lead to 1.4bn people breathing Africa are running at 5.1%, more than twice the lives of millions of people every clean air, said Jacqueline McGlade, 2.1% in the rest of the continent. year,” said the call to action adopted who co-authored a pollution report The region accounts for just 6% of the global in Nairobi at the world’s highest- for the assembly. population, but has at least 16% of the total of level decision-making forum on en- Furthermore, 480,000km — a the world’s adults — categorised as people aged vironmental issues. third of the world’s coastlines — will over 15 — who live with HIV. “Every day, nine out of 10 of be unpolluted, and $18.6bn will be The share rises even more dramatically, to us breathe air that exceeds WHO invested in anti-pollution research 25%, in the category of infected children aged (World Health Organization) guide- and innovation. from birth up to 14 years. lines for air quality and more than The assembly heard this week Even though the HIV pandemic is more than 17,000 people will die prematurely that pollution has become the big- four decades old, nearly 80% of the estimated because of it,” the declaration added. gest killer of humans, claiming 9mn 540,000 infected children in West and Central It committed governments to pro- human lives every year — one in six Africa are not getting life-saving antiretroviral moting “sustainable economic pro- deaths worldwide. therapy, the UN’s children’s agency Unicef and ductivity”, and to encouraging more Of the annual tally, nearly 7mn Aids programme UNAIDS said on Tuesday. “sustainable lifestyles” by making it people succumb from inhaling toxins “HIV and Aids pose direct threats to the lives easier to reuse and recycle products, in the air — from car exhaust fumes, of 820,000 children and adolescents,” they said reducing waste. factory emissions and indoor cook- in a report issued at the ICASA conference which “What we need to do next is to ing with wood and coal, according to ends on Saturday. “Yet we know what works.” move concretely to a plan of action,” a recent report by The Lancet medical In 2016, an estimated 60,000 children were UN Environment Programme deputy journal. Lead in paint alone causes newly infected with HIV in West and Central head Ibrahim Thiaw told journalists brain damage in more than half-a- Africa, it said. on the fi nal day of the December 4-6 million children every year. Among adolescents aged 15-19, Aids-related pollution-themed gathering. All 193 Ellie Goulding, award-winning British artist and now UN Environment’ Global Goodwill Ambassador, attends a talk The president of the UNEA meet- deaths are on the rise. UN states are members of the UNEA. by young environmental entrepreneurs on the sidelines of the United Nations Environment Assembly at the UN ing, Costa Rica’s environment minis- Among the 10-19 age group, 16,000 people “Some of the actions will have to headquarters in Nairobi. ter Edgar Gutierrez, yesterday lament- died last year, a rise of 35% over 2010. do with the way we produce and the ed that humans “haven’t done a good “The rise in youth mortality is a scandal,” way we consume,” Thiaw said. duction and consumption that harm national and local level, said Thiaw, tonnes to 12.7mn tonnes of plastic in job” managing Earth’s natural bounty. Marie-Pierre Poirier, Unicef’s director for West “Our models of production and the environment and keep killing us.” such as banning single-use plastic our oceans and generate over 40mn “The room we have for making and Central Africa, told AFP. consumption will have to change. We This would require “very clear shopping bags. tonnes of electronic waste,” the min- more mistakes is very narrow,” he “Most of these teenagers are unaware of their do not have to have models of pro- policies” from governments at the “Every year we dump 4.8mn isters said. warned. HIV status,” she said. “Everyone is responsible. Support from in- ternational donors is insuffi cient for the re- gion’s needs. And governments must give pri- ority to the fi ght against Aids, even if they have limited resources,” she said. The situation is not entirely bleak — the re- Harare agrees post-Mugabe loan deal with Beijing gion slashed mother-to-child transmission of HIV by a third from 2010 and 2016 — nor is it the same everywhere. Reuters has vowed to rebuild the country’s The loan for refurbishing the Rob- But he said Beijing was still willing caused acute dollar shortages that Adult HIV prevalence ranges from less than Harare ravaged economy and re-engage with ert Gabriel Mugabe airport is payable to deal with Zimbabwe. crippled the fi nancial system and led 0.4% in Niger to 6.2% in Equatorial Guinea, the the international community. in 20 years with interest rates of 2% “The Chinese government under- to long queues outside banks. fi gures show. “This (airport) project) and the per year and a seven-year grace pe- stands the economic situation we are The issuance of billions of dollars Nearly half of all infected children in the re- imbabwe’s new government budget we are presenting tomorrow riod. going through,” he said. of domestic debt to pay for a bloated gion are in Nigeria. yesterday signed a $153mn loan will show we are serious about re- The other two agreements are “We’re under sanctions and had no civil service — a key component of But the major problems are common, say ex- Zagreement with China, its fi rst shaping our economy,” Finance Min- for grants worth 400mn yuan lines of credit coming into the coun- the ZANU-PF patronage machine perts. One is the lack of so-called point-of-care post-Mugabe deal with a foreign ister Patrick Chinamasa said after ($60.48mn) for a new parliament try. This is why we call them ‘all- under Mugabe — also triggered a col- HIV tests, so that a patient can be diagnosed government, to expand and refurbish signing the agreement, one of three, building and for expansion of a com- weather friends’.” lapse in the value of Zimbabwe’s de and immediately treated — a major step in pre- its international airport in Harare as with Chinese ambassador Huang puting centre at the University of Chinamasa is scheduled to present facto currency and ignited infl ation. vention. Another is availability of antiretrovi- it bids to attract investors and tour- Ping. Zimbabwe. the 2018 national budget today. He One of Mnangagwa’s most press- ral drugs, which suppress the virus but do not ists. The deal means “we are back in Chinamasa, who was re-appoint- had been fi nance minister since 2013 ing tasks will be to patch up relations eliminate it. Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was business to build the capacity to hon- ed to the fi nance ministry post last until he was shifted to the new minis- with donors and the outside world and “We have to shift up gears, to that of ‘emer- sworn in as president on Novem- our our obligations not only to China week, admitted that the country had try of cybersecurity in October. work out a deal to clear Zimbabwe’s gency response,’ we have to mobilise all of soci- ber 24 after a de facto military coup but also to our international credi- failed to repay China for previous During his time in charge, the $1.8bn of arrears to the World Bank ety — government, civil society, families,” said ended Robert Mugabe’s 37-year rule, tors,” Chinamasa said. loans. economy stagnated. A lack of exports and the African Development Bank. Poirier. Panic and vengeful mobs as ‘vampire’ scare rattles Malawi

By Felix Mponda, AFP fascinated crowd as people edged pulled out of the region in Octo- ter a fi ve-hour standoff . Eric Yohane. “It is a big lie.” Mulanje, Malawi closer to listen. “I know my blood ber but they have now returned. “There is no truth about blood Malawi’s national blood trans- was sucked.” One purported victim, Flor- suckers, but jealous people and fusion service — the only institu- “I saw light on the corner of ence Kalunga, 27, says she was thugs want to take advantage to tion mandated by the government amiya Bauleni is one of the my roof. I failed to stand up from sleeping alongside her husband attack rich people,” Chaponda to collect blood for hospitals from people claiming to have fallen my bed and felt something pierc- in their home when she saw a said. volunteers — says that rumours of Jvictim to a wave of alleged ing my left arm,” she said, point- light “like fi re”. “If you have a nice car, you are vampire activity have also begun vampire attacks that have trig- ing near her breast. “I heard the door open. I felt a bloodsucker.” to set back activity. gered deadly vigilante violence in Bauleni, who makes a living something like a needle in my Anthony Mtuta, assistant “This issue has aff ected us a Malawi. selling wild pea stew, said that fi nger,” she said. lecturer in anthropology at the lot. It has prevented us from go- She recounted her experience before she fell unconscious she The people targeted by venge- Catholic University of Malawi, ing to collect blood in the aff ect- before barefoot children in Ngo- heard someone fl eeing the scene. ful mobs are often wealthier in- said the roots of the vampire ed areas,” said Bridon M’baya, longoliwa village in the country’s She was taken to a clinic and dividuals in rural parts of the scares were in “economic hard- medical director of the service. south, which has been at the later discharged after being given southern African country, where ships and inequalities”. At least 250 people have been heart of recent panic over ru- vitamin supplements, but she grinding poverty and poor edu- “It’s the rich versus the poor. arrested in Malawi over the mob mours of vampire activity. chose not to report the attack. cational standards are the norm. The poor believe the rich are violence, and 40 more arrested Her story is part of a long line The latest bout of vampire Entrepreneur Orlendo greedy and are sucking the blood over similar crimes in neigh- of similar testimonies in Malawi, rumours allegedly originated in Chaponda narrowly avoided of poor people,” he said. bouring Mozambique. where belief in witchcraft and Mozambique and spread across an attack when 2,000 villag- Malawi is largely reliant on Entrepreneur Orlendo Chaponda stands at his maize mill building on Malawian President Peter vampire activity is widespread the border to Malawi’s districts ers, some carrying machetes and foreign aid, but some locals view his farm in Mulanje district. Mutharika was even forced to and rouses revenge mobs that kill of Mulanje and Phalombe, ac- stones, stormed his home in Thy- the assistance with suspicion. step in and insist that the gov- those suspected of black magic. cording to the United Nations. olo on September 30. “To villagers, the thinking is handle contemporary issues”. “The communities rely on vis- ernment had the situation under Bauleni, a 40-year-old single At least seven people have been “They said I was keeping blood that no gift is for free...you pay McDonald Kolokombe, a clerk itors to feed their families work- control. mother with one child, said that killed in Mulanje district after suckers,” said Chaponda, who back through blood,” said Mtuta. at the state-run Likhubula forest ing as tour guides, porters and “There is no evidence of blood an attacker sucked her blood being hunted down, police say. was out at the time. “They could He has researched the vampire reserve, noted that the number selling curios,” he said. suckers. It’s a lie meant to desta- on the night of October 2 at her As public anger over supposed have killed me if they found me.” phenomenon and has warned that of tourists visiting the Mulanje “We are starving because of a bilise the region,” he said recently. home in Thyolo district. vampires grew, UN workers and He called the police who fi red violence would “resurface unless area had collapsed since mid- bad rumour about blood suck- “Those spreading rumours will “This is not hearsay,” she told a US Peace Corps volunteers were tear gas to disperse the crowd af- the government learns how to September. ers,” added amateur tour guide face the law.” Gulf Times 16 Thursday, December 7, 2017 AMERICA

1,000 fi refi ghters battle Calif. blaze

Reuters by small but growing 50-acre Ventura, California brush fi re early Wednesday that forced the partial closure of heavily travelled Interstate ore than 1,000 fi re- 405, near scenic Mulholland fi ghters battled an un- Drive. Mrelenting wildfi re yes- The nearby Getty Center mu- terday that threatened more than seum shut down for the day to 12,000 homes in and around protect its art collection from Ventura, the biggest of several smoke damage, it said. uncontrolled Southern Califor- California Governor Jerry nia blazes fanned by intensifying Brown declared a state of emer- dry Santa Ana winds. gency on Tuesday, freeing state The Thomas Fire raged in the funds and resources to assist. foothills above and in the city of More than 250,000 homes lost Ventura some 80km northwest power, utilities said. of Los Angeles, fi re offi cials said Classes were cancelled at all late Tuesday. schools in the Ventura Unifi ed The blaze, which began on School District yesterday. Monday, had charred more than Thomas was the largest of a 50,000 acres, they said. number of wildfi res that broke “We are still in the middle of out across Southern California an aggressive and active fi re- following the onset of the Santa fi ght on the ground,” said Rob- Ana winds. ert Welsbie, spokesman for the In the San Fernando Valley Ventura Fire Department. “If the north of Los Angeles, the Creek winds pick up, we will face quite Fire had blackened more than a challenge.” 11,000 acres and forced the The fi re, which was entirely evacuation of 2,500 homes and a uncontained, was being whipped convalescent centre north of In- by unpredictable Santa Ana terstate 210. winds, which blow in from the Three fi refi ghters were injured California desert. and hospitalised in stable con- Wind gusts were forecast to dition, the Los Angeles Fire De- top out at 115kph yesterday and partment said. remain strong through the week. Los Angeles Mayor Eric There were no immediate reports Garcetti declared a state of of fatalities, Welsbie said. emergency while 11 Los Angeles Some 1,000 fi refi ghters bat- Unifi ed schools cancelled yester- tled to save homes, with one suf- day classes. fering a minor injury, Welsbie Some 30 structures were de- said. stroyed by the Creek Fire by The Los Angeles Fire De- Tuesday evening, the Los Ange- The Thomas Fire burns along a hillside near Santa Paula, California. More than a thousand firefighters were struggling to contain a wind-whipped brush fire in southern California partment responded to a near- les Fire Department said. that has left at least one person dead, sent thousands fleeing, and was choking the area with thick black smoke.

‘Silence breakers’ named as Time Democrat turns up Person of the Year

AFP in their fi elds have been fi red or New York suspended, their brilliant ca- reers in tatters. One of the fi gures singled attacks on Roy Moore ime magazine named out by Time, Ashley Judd was as Person of the Year the fi rst actress to come for- A loss for Moore would hit the legations and said they were a result of On the campaign trail, Jones, a former Obama’s healthcare law, unpopular stances Tyesterday “the silence ward on the record to make ac- president’s agenda “dirty politics.” He said last week he had US attorney who prosecuted the Ku Klux in Alabama. But he said he never considered breakers” who triggered a na- cusations against the 65-year- never met any of the women involved. Klan members convicted of a 1963 church moderating his views to improve his chances. tional reckoning by revealing old Weinstein. Reuters Reuters has not independently verifi ed bombing in Birmingham that killed four “The key to any campaign and any pub- the pervasiveness of sexual She was followed by more Birmingham, Alabama any of the accusations. young girls, has cited his own background lic offi cial is being true to what you believe, harassment, assault and abuse than a hundred others, and a Moore, who was twice removed from the to draw a contrast with Moore. and that’s what we’re putting out there,” in US life. watershed moment began. state Supreme Court for refusing to abide “I damn sure believe and have done my Jones said in an interview last month. President Donald Trump “When a movie star says ame-calling is not unusual in US by federal law, was a “source of embarrass- part to ensure that men who hurt little Trump’s endorsement freed the Repub- was runner-up in the prestig- #MeToo, it becomes easier to politics. But “child abuser” is not ment” for the people of Alabama, Jones said. girls should go to jail — not the US Senate,” lican National Committee to open its wal- ious ranking, ahead of his Chi- believe the cook who’s been Nusually one of the names. The raw tone has become typical of a Jones said in Birmingham. let for Moore, who had been cut off by the nese counterpart Xi Jinping. quietly enduring for years,” a In the fi nal stretch of a bruising US Senate race transformed by the Moore allegations, Moore’s rebound in the polls highlights national party when the misconduct alle- Time designated as “si- Time article read. race in Alabama, Democrat Doug Jones has opening the door for a possible Democratic the challenge for Jones as he tries to boost gations became public. lence breakers” the individu- “This reckoning appears to cranked up his attacks on Republican Roy upset in the conservative Southern state that turnout among the state’s African-Amer- Not every Republican is falling in line. als, mostly women, who came have sprung up overnight. But Moore over allegations of sexual misconduct would deal a blow to Trump’s agenda and ican voters while peeling away support Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona, who has forward this year to publicly it has actually been simmering and made those charges central to his argu- dramatically improve Democratic chances of from moderate Republicans alienated by frequently tangled with Trump, tweeted expose patterns of sexual har- for years, decades, centuries. ment that Moore is an unsuitable choice. regaining Senate control in next year’s con- Moore in a state where many voters are re- a photo of his $100 donation to Jones. assment, assault and even rape “These silence breakers have Jones, who avoided directly addressing gressional elections. sistant to the Democratic label. “Country over Party,” Flake captioned it. by some of society’s most pow- started a revolution of refusal, the sexual allegations when they surfaced in Jones has cranked up his attacks as the ini- “He is the Republican candidate and I am Some of Alabama’s black leaders worry erful public fi gures. gathering strength by the day, early November, has begun to cite them to tial wave of voter outrage over the allegations a Republican. I stand in support of what he about the risk of lacklustre turnout among Those recognised by Time and in the past two months attack Moore’s character. has shown signs of fading, enabling Moore to supports,” Jenny Mann, 35, said of Moore. African-Americans, who make up about range from famous actresses alone, their collective anger On Tuesday, one week before the Decem- regain a slight lead in several recent opinion Mann, a self-described stay-at-home a quarter of the state electorate and vote who took on disgraced Holly- has spurred immediate and ber 12 special election and a day after Re- polls in a state that went for Trump by 28 mom in Ider, Alabama, said the allegations strongly Democratic. wood mogul Harvey Weinstein shocking results: nearly every publican President Donald Trump endorsed percentage points last year. Alabama has not against Moore “would concern anybody, “There is not a high level of energy in to ordinary women who shared day, CEOs have been fi red, mo- Moore, Jones said women who allege that elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1992. but I also believe you are innocent until the black community about this race,” said their stories of abuse using the guls toppled, icons disgraced. Moore assaulted or pursued them when they Jones, who holds a fundraising advantage proven guilty”. Democratic state Senator Hank Sanders. hashtag #MeToo and its for- In some cases, criminal charges were teenagers and he was in his 30s de- on Moore and has accumulated four times as Jones, making his fi rst run for public of- Sanders might have been talking about eign language equivalents. have been brought.” served to be believed. much cash on hand for the stretch drive, has fi ce, has cast himself as a problem solver Freddy Haley, 55, a black retired military vet- The accusations against The Person of the Year an- “I believe these women and so should launched an advertising blitz focusing on the who would work across the aisle to help eran from Fayette who said he was a Demo- Weinstein, who has denied nouncement came as The New you. This is about rising above political misconduct allegations. Alabamans on “kitchen-table” issues like crat but had not kept up with politics. wrongdoing, proved a tipping York Times published a report party to do what’s right for Alabama, and “They were girls when Roy Moore im- healthcare and jobs, while Moore has por- “With the holidays and everything, I point for a fl ood of sordid rev- detailing a widespread “com- for the country,” Jones told voters during a morally pursued them. Now they are wom- trayed him as a liberal Democrat straight haven’t had time to check it out,” Haley said elations involving other titans plicity machine” of power- speech in Birmingham. en,” the narrator says in one ad as pictures out of Washington. while Christmas shopping in a Birmingham of Hollywood, big business, ful relationships that enabled Moore, a 70-year-old Christian con- of the accusers fl ash by. “Will we make Jones supports abortion rights and op- suburb with his family. “When is the elec- politics and the news media. Weinstein to silence or intimi- servative, has denied the misconduct al- their abuser a US senator?” poses repealing former President Barack tion?” Many once-admired leaders date his accusers for years. Suit against Trump Trump’s fi rst year in offi ce marked by protests

Reuters ing the media of framing photo- strated at airports in opposition. campaign with Russia to infl uence Washington graphs of the inauguration in a way Trump would ignite protests the election outcome. that appeared to understate the again in August, when he was asked Russia has denied meddling in crowd size. to respond to white nationalists the election and Trump has denied ess than 24 hours after Donald Press Secretary Sean Spicer ar- marching in Charlottesville, Virgin- any collusion. Trump took offi ce, his presi- gued that the images were not what ia, including one who drove his car Soon afterwards, the justice de- Ldency started generating con- they seemed and that crowds of his- into a crowd of counter-protesters, partment named former FBI chief troversy. toric size watched Trump take the killing a woman. Robert Mueller as special counsel to Photographs showing that the oath of offi ce. The president argued there were lead the investigation. crowd at Trump’s swearing-in was Protests would become a hall- bad people “on both sides”. Paul Manafort, who had briefl y smaller than at Barack Obama’s fi rst mark of Trump’s fi rst year. Following his remarks, busi- served as Trump’s campaign man- presidential inauguration in 2009 On January 21, the day after the ness leaders resigned from Trump’s ager, and his business associate Rick caused the fi rst ruckus in his admin- inauguration, hundreds of thou- business councils and the panels Gates were indicted by Mueller’s istration — but not the last. sands of women jammed the streets were disbanded. team in October, accused of illegally Trump’s fi rst year in offi ce was of Washington to demonstrate op- A defi ning feature of Trump’s fi rst lobbying on behalf of foreign gov- coloured by an investigation into position to Trump. year in offi ce was the investigation ernments. whether his campaign colluded A week after taking offi ce, the into whether his campaign colluded A month later, Michael Flynn, with the Russian government to af- Republican president signed an ex- with Russia during the election. who briefl y served under Trump as fect the election outcome, insults ecutive order to prevent citizens Trump ignited a political fi re- US national security adviser, plead- and threats of war with North Ko- of seven predominately-Muslim storm in May when he fi red Federal ed guilty to lying to the FBI about his rea, and an eff ort to pass business- countries from travelling to the Bureau of Investigation Director conversations last December with Summer Zervos, a former contestant on The Apprentice, appears in New York State Supreme Court friendly legislation. United States. James Comey, who had been leading Russia’s then-ambassador in Wash- during a hearing on a defamation case against US President Donald Trump in Manhattan, New From the start, the White House Known by critics as the “Muslim an investigation into possible collu- ington just weeks before Trump York. took a combative approach, accus- ban” protesters quickly demon- sion by the Trump 2016 presidential took offi ce. Gulf Times Thursday, December 7, 2017 17 ASEAN Cambodia seizes shipment of ivory hidden in logs

AFP “When the containers arrived the trade in endangered species. Phnom Penh at the port we found strange ob- Ivory is prized for its beauty jects in the scanners,” said Lim while demand for traditional Bun Heng, deputy prosecutor for medicine has led to the smug- ambodia has seized nearly Preah Sihanouk province. “We gling of rhino horn and pan- a tonne of ivory hidden requested the company owner to golin scales. Chinese demand Cin hollowed-out logs and open the containers but no one has driven a decade-long rise in discovered inside an abandoned showed up,” he said, adding that elephant poaching, especially shipping container, an offi cial eventually authorities seized the in Africa. China has pledged to said yesterday. shipment. phase out ivory sales by the end The country has become a key An inspection uncovered the of the year. regional transit point for the il- ivory, some of it hidden in logs. In December last year, Cam- licit wildlife trade. Cambodia’s elephant population bodian authorities found 1.5 Nearly 280 pieces of ivory – is small but demand for ivory in tonnes of mostly ivory and pan- full and partial elephant tusks China and Vietnam – and in the golin parts in containers on the – were found in the container at smaller domestic market – has outskirts of the capital Phnom the southwestern port of Siha- made it a hub in recent years Penh, also originating from Mo- noukville after sitting there for for the banned trade in wildlife zambique. a year. parts. Corruptible offi cials and Local media reported earlier The shipment, owned by a weak law enforcement are an at- this year that the government company based in Mozambique, tractive mix for wildlife smug- had decided to keep ivory stock- left Ivory Coast and arrived in glers, more so as neighbouring piles instead of destroying them, Cambodia in December 2016, an Thailand tries to improve its rep- sparking criticism from conser- Cambodian authorities holding pieces of ivory after a shipment was seized in Preah Sihanouk province. Cambodia has seized nearly a tonne of offi cial said. utation as the regional centre for vation groups. ivory hidden in hollowed-out logs and discovered inside an abandoned shipping container, an off icial said yesterday.

Two charged in Singapore for renting out on Airbnb

Cambodian leader Rainsy Two men have been charged in Singapore with illegally rent- ing out apartments on Airbnb, the first such prosecutions in the city-state under new rules, local media reported yesterday. Regulations introduced in May to be sued for treason: PM ban homeowners from leasing property for less than three Reuters of war and genocide. The United months without approval from Phnom Penh States has withdrawn an off er to authorities, meaning many help fund the election and the short-term rentals on Airbnb European Union has raised the should be illegal. ambodia’s exiled opposi- possibility of withdrawing trade Housing policy is tightly tion leader Sam Rainsy preferences. controlled in space-starved Chas committed treason Sam Rainsy, who stepped Singapore, where 80% of the by inciting soldiers to defy or- down as leader of the CNRP this population lives in public hous- ders, Prime Minister Hun Sen year in what turned out to be a ing which is subsidised by the said yesterday, and he will face futile bid to forestall a ban on government. Singaporeans new legal action over the com- his party suggested in a video Terence Tan En Wei, 35, and ments. posted on his Facebook page on Yao Song Liang, 34, appeared The threat of more legal ac- Tuesday that soldiers would not in court Tuesday charged with tion against Sam Rainsy, who obey orders to shoot civilians. illegally leasing out four apart- has lived in France since 2015 “Around the world, at any ments in a luxury private con- to avoid a series of convictions, time, armed forces don’t obey dominium in central Singapore, comes weeks after a court dis- orders given by dictators to kill according to court documents solved his opposition party, people and we say that Hun Sen seen by AFP. removing any signifi cant chal- is not immortal, we must not Sam Rainsy The Straits Times newspaper lenge to Hun Sen extending his protect Hun Sen,” Sam Rainsy reported that they had used decades-long rule in a general told supporters in Paris. Sokha, who took over after Sam babwe’s Robert Mugabe. Airbnb. They face a fine of election next year. Hun Sen, who has held power Rainsy stepped down, was ar- He urged Western states to up to S$200,000 ($148,000) The dissolution of the Cam- for more than 32 years, a said the rested for allegedly plotting to impose targeted sanctions. if convicted. The Urban bodia National Rescue Party military would fi le a lawsuit in overthrow the government with A government crackdown on Redevelopment Authority, (CNRP) has been condemned response. “This is a treasonous American help. Kem Sokha, dissent has included the pros- Hun Sen which regulates housing, said by the opposition, rights groups crime, an incitement of soldiers who rejected the accusation, is ecution of several rights activ- it would take action against and some Western countries as to disobey orders,” Hun Sen in prison. In an interview with ists, reporters and the closure of give up power after losing a UN- to China and dismisses Western anyone responsible for letting the most serious blow to democ- told garment workers in Phnom Reuters last month, Sam Rainsy several media outlets. organised election in 1993. Hun pressure to improve rights. He out property for short-term racy since an international peace Penh. said Cambodia was at a “tipping Sam Rainsy served as fi nance Sen purged his coalition part- has warned of a return to civil accommodation. Despite the deal and UN-run elections in The Supreme Court banned point” and that Hun Sen would minister in an ill-fated coalition ners in a 1997 putsch. war if he were to lose the elec- new rules, California-headquar- the early 1990s ended decades the CNRP after its leader, Kem be driven from power like Zim- set up when Hun Sen refused to Hun Sen has built close ties tion. tered Airbnb remains popular in Singapore with the company saying it has over 8,700 listings in the city-state. An Airbnb spokesman said current rules do not reflect how Singaporeans use their Bangkok street food eatery awarded Michelin star homes and travel, and the company hoped to work with local authorities to find a way AFP fare has earned one of the din- and curries. Though classifi ed leased yesterday, which said the star rating. Jay Fai cooks the name but I did not know it had forward. “The current frame- Bangkok ing scene’s highest honours: a as street food, Jay Fai is more ex- Thai capital’s culinary scene was food herself while wearing large to do with cooking,” she told AFP work also stands in contrast Michelin star. Jay Fai, named pensive than your average road- as “diverse as it is surprising”. goggles to deal with the endless after obtaining the star. “I am with Singapore’s commitment after the 72-year-old proprietor side stall, with a typical special- A total of 17 restaurants in the steam from the dishes. The ac- very proud,” she said, adding that to innovation,” the spokesman n a city famous for street who took over from her father, is ity costing upwards of $20. city serving up a mix of Thai and colade was a welcome one even she must be back in the kitchen said. Airbnb, which allows food, a roadside restaurant located in old Bangkok and fea- It was the only streetside es- international cuisine received if the owner was not so familiar tomorrow. “We do not have a lot homeowners to share their Iin Bangkok with plastic ta- tures an open-air kitchen known tablishment listed in Michelin’s either one or two stars, though with the company behind it. of staff because I’m a bit diffi cult homes for a fee by marketing bles and simple but sumptuous for churning out crab omelettes fi rst-ever Bangkok guide re- none clinched the coveted three- “Before, I knew the Michelin and crazy.” them online, has become a popular and often cheaper alternative to hotels for many travellers. But the company has faced mounting criticism Pets enjoy creature comforts that it worsens housing short- ages and squeezes the long- term rental sector, with cities including New York, Miami and Berlin cracking down on it.

Over 40 killed in tropical cyclone on Indonesia’s Java island

The death toll from flooding and landslides triggered by a tropical cyclone on Indonesia’s Java island has risen to 41, the country’s disaster manage- ment agency said yesterday. Cyclone Cempaka wreaked havoc in central and eastern parts of Java island, displac- ing nearly 30,000 people and damaging thousands of houses, said national disaster management agency spokes- man Sutopo Nugroho. At least 25 people were killed in the worst-hit district of Pacitan in East Java province, he said. A Bengal cat sits on a cat tree in the Palace Feline Suite at The Wagington Floods and landslides are com- luxury pet hotel in Singapore. Bobo, a British Bulldog, receives a shower after a swim at The Wagington luxury pet hotel in Singapore. mon in Indonesia during the rainy season. Gulf Times 18 Thursday, December 7, 2017 AUSTRALASIA/EAST ASIA Moon to visit China for talks on N Korea

AFP Seoul

outh Korean President Moon Jae-in will visit Chi- Sna next week for talks on North Korea and other issues, his offi ce said yesterday, amid tenta- tive signs of diplomatic move- ment after months of high ten- sions over Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile threats. The announcement came as a high-level United Nations repre- sentative held talks with a senior North Korean offi cial during a rare trip to Pyongyang. Jeff rey Feltman, UN undersec- retary general for political aff airs, arrived Tuesday to discuss what the world body described as “is- sues of mutual interest and con- cern”. US Air Force B-1B Lancer bomber (left), two US F-35A and two US He and vice foreign minister F-35B stealth jets (far) flying over South Korea with South Korea’s two Pak Myong-Kuk discussed “co- F-16 (right) and two F-15K (centre) jets during a joint military drill. operation between the DPRK and the UN Secretariat and as- spokesman Geng Shuang said the trigger a nuclear war. The fi ve- sistance from UN agencies to the visit would discuss “internation- day Vigilant Ace drill — involving DPRK and other matters of mu- al and regional issues of common some 230 aircraft including F-22 tual interest”, the North’s KCNA concern” including “increasing Raptor stealth jet fi ghters — began news agency reported, using the communication and co-ordina- Monday, fi ve days after the North’s acronym for the country’s offi cial tion on the Korean peninsula nu- ICBM test. name. clear issue”. Moon will arrive in Beijing next Feltman’s trip — the fi rst by China has proposed that the Wednesday for a four-day state a UN diplomat of his rank since North suspend missile and nu- visit, his fi rst trip to China since 2010 — comes less than a week clear tests in exchange for a sus- taking offi ce in May. The two after North Korea test-fi red a pension of US-South Korean countries are trying to improve ties new ballistic missile said to be military exercises, a suggestion strained by Seoul’s deployment of Moon Jae-in capable of reaching the United Washington has repeatedly re- a US missile defence system. States. jected. Seoul and Washington say imposed a series of sanctions on Discussing ways to “peacefully A US B-1B bomber fl ew over the Terminal High Altitude Area South Korean fi rms and banned resolve North Korea’s nuclear is- the Korean peninsula yesterday, Defense (THAAD) system is in- Chinese tour groups from going sue” will be on Moon’s agenda Seoul’s defence ministry said, tended solely to counter missile to the country in moves seen as when he meets President Xi Jin- as part of a major joint air exer- threats from North Korea but economic retaliation. The tour ping next week, Moon’s offi ce cise slammed by the North as an Beijing sees it as a threat to its group ban has since been par- US Air Force B-1B Lancer bomber (centre), two US F-35A and two US F-35B stealth jets (top) flying over said. Chinese foreign ministry “all-out provocation” that could own military capabilities. It has tially lifted. South Korea with South Korea’s two F-16 and two F-15K fighter jets (bottom) during a joint military drill.

China slams Australia amid Australian citizenship crisis growing interference fears widens, more MPs in doubt AFP Chinese infi ltration in Australia. nist Party doctrine. The embassy Sydney “Those reports, which were said these reports “unscrupu- made up out of thin air and fi lled lously vilifi ed” the Chinese com- Reuters including four members of country where half of the popu- with cold war mentality and munity in Australia with “racial Sydney Prime Minister Malcolm Turn- lation were either born overseas eijing accused Australia ideological bias, refl ected a typi- prejudice”. bull’s centre-right government. or have parents who were. yesterday of stirring “anti- cal anti-China hysteria and (are) “Some Australian politicians Turnbull’s tenuous hold on The government, behind in BChina hysteria” after Can- paranoid,” an embassy spokes- and government offi cials also ustralia faces a series of power would come under threat opinion polls and keen to avoid berra proposed a suite of foreign person said in a statement. made irresponsible remarks to by-elections that could if any of his four coalition col- further by-elections, has so far interference laws, labelling com- Rhetoric has escalated from the detriment of political mutual Atopple the government, leagues are found to be dual resisted sending its own law- ments by some government offi - inside Canberra over the past trust between China and Aus- which trails in opinion polls and citizens, which would mean makers to court. cials as irresponsible. week, after a key Australian La- tralia,” the embassy statement has lost its slender majority, in they must resign from parlia- However, one government Prime Minister Malcom Turn- bor MP, Sam Dastyari, was forced reads. “We categorically reject a bizarre citizenship crisis that ment and by-elections ordered member, former tennis star John bull on Tuesday announced to resign as deputy opposition these allegations.” has engulfed both sides of par- for their seats. The Liberal-Na- Alexander, has already resigned wide-ranging reforms to tackle whip after reports that he told a Turnbull announced a host liament. tional coalition under Turnbull his lower house seat when it rising concerns of foreign inter- Chinese businessman his phone of new initiatives Tuesday, in- Senator Katy Gallagher, from is clinging to a minority govern- emerged he may also hold Brit- ference, noting “disturbing re- was likely being tapped by intel- cluding broadening espionage the opposition Labor party, was ment after the citizenship crisis ish citizenship. ports” about Chinese infl uence. ligence agencies. The June probe laws and a ban on foreign dona- referred to the High Court yes- removed its one-seat majority in Turnbull’s government would That came after Turnbull or- said intelligence agencies had tions to political parties, with terday to determine whether she the lower house of parliament. Malcom Turnbull have to rely on the support of a dered an inquiry in June in the major concerns that China was legislation to be introduced to holds British, as well as Aus- Deputy Prime Minister Barn- handful of independent MPs to wake of media revelations that interfering in Australian insti- parliament this week. “We have tralian, citizenship. She is the aby Joyce briefl y lost his posi- “There are many inadequate retain power if Alexander loses a the nation’s spy agency had tutions and using the political recently seen disturbing reports eighth parliamentarian to be tion when it was found he also disclosures that ask more ques- by-election for his theoretically warned the country’s political donations system to gain access. about Chinese infl uence,” he told referred to Australia’s highest held New Zealand citizenship tions than provide answers,” safe Sydney seat on December elite two years ago about taking Beijing denied the allegations as reporters. court to have their citizenship but won his seat back in a by- Labor leader Bill Shorten told 19, or if the High Court ousts donations from two billionaires “totally groundless”. “I take those reports, as do my decided. election last weekend. reporters in Canberra. another coalition lawmaker with links to the Chinese Com- There have also been mount- colleagues, very seriously.” Dual citizens are ineligible for The citizenship status of at Labor later asked parliament from the lower house. munist Party. The Chinese em- ing concerns within Australian Foreign interference is a “glo- elected offi ce under Australia’s least the latest nine lower house to refer four of its own members, “It’s uncertain territory, we bassy in Canberra issued a furi- universities about Beijing’s use bal issue”, he said, adding that 116-year-old constitution. Par- lawmakers was called into ques- as well as four from the govern- still don’t know for sure who ous response to the proposed of nationalist student groups Russian meddling in the Ameri- liament was also due to debate tion after a deadline for politi- ment and an independent law- is eligible and who’s not,” Uni- laws yesterday, saying Australian to monitor Chinese students, can political system had helped yesterday a Labor proposal to cians to disclose the birthplace maker, to the High Court for de- versity of Queensland politics media had “repeatedly fabri- and challenge academics whose Australian foreign interference send the cases of another nine of their parents and grandpar- termination, the latest twist in lecturer Chris Salisbury told cated” stories about “so-called” views do not align with Commu- reforms gain momentum. lawmakers to the High Court, ents passed on Tuesday. a strange citizenship crisis in a Reuters.

Taiwan president Star parade hails act dealing with authoritarian past

The passage of an act dealing with Taiwan’s authoritarian past is a milestone for the self-governing island’s democracy, President Tsai Ing-wen said late yesterday. Tsai’s remarks came one day after Taiwan’s legislature enacted a law to establish a so- called transitional justice system to review the legacy of injustices left by former administrations of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). Under the act, authoritarian symbols – such as statues, buildings, and memorial halls honouring former dictator Chiang Kai-shek – will be removed or modified. It also aims to help open political archives and redress injustices in court cases, state-run Central News Agency said. At a weekly meeting of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Tsai said she hopes that in the future any political party in Taiwan would no longer have to bear the burden of authoritarianism. “And the people of Taiwan would no longer hate each other because of painful historical memories,” Tsai said. The new law targets the period from August 15, 1945, when the Japanese colonial rule of Taiwan ended, to November 6, 1992, when martial law on Taiwan’s From left: Cast members Mark Hamill, Adam Driver and producer Kathleen Kennedy attend a promotional event of the movie Director Rian Johnson (left) and Star Wars character C-3PO attend a outlying islands of Kinmen and Matsu Star Wars: The Last Jedi in Tokyo, Japan. promotional event of the movie Star Wars: The Last Jedi in Tokyo. ended. On the main Taiwan island, martial law was lifted in July 1987. Gulf Times Thursday, December 7, 2017 19 BRITAIN/IRELAND

Elections at risk from perfect storm of threats, says watchdog

Guardian News and Media waiting for evidence from Face- campaigners to identify them- ease with which foreign trolls and There are proposals to do that. happening here too. But we don’t nies provided information to the London book, Google and Twitter. selves on online advertising to fraudsters can swing close votes The government needs to give it have a clear picture yet on the ex- commission in “real time” so The regulator said that in or- combat Russian or other external following allegations in the US, legislative time,” Holmes said. tent of that. they could “intervene”. der to police the electoral system interference in elections. the UK and France. Holmes, a former diplomat “We are talking to Google, “We can’t regulate what Rus- he head of the elections properly, and hold politicians and z Increases in fi nes for political The commission announced who has been stationed in Mos- Twitter and Facebook and others sians are doing, we don’t have the watchdog has demanded campaigns to account, wholesale parties that fi nd ways around elec- an inquiry last month into Rus- cow, said the commission is about what they know about in- power to do that, but we can try Turgent reform of the elec- changes were necessary. tion spending laws or fail to declare sian interference in the Brexit speaking to digital giants about terference there might have been to work with others to make sure toral laws and warned that the “We must avoid complacen- the source of their funding. vote and has two continuing in- any Russian involvement in the from the outside. there is maximum transparency,” country faces a “perfect storm” cy to stop a perfect storm from z A new system requiring all quiries into the two main leave Brexit referendum, and is waiting “We only asked them relatively he said. of threats that could put the in- forming which would put out voters to show photographic ID campaign groups, Leave.EU and for any evidence, if it exists. recently, but formally asked them Following investigations into tegrity of the system at risk. democratic processes in peril,” in polling stations. Vote Leave. It faced criticisms “The new digital methods of in- within the last month. They have how the Conservative party moved Sir John Holmes, the chair of he said. z A move away from only con- for taking 18 months to scrutinise terfering from the outside are very promised to (respond to the com- campaigners and staff from its na- the Electoral Commission, also In an interview with the ducting votes on Thursdays and whether rules were complied diff erent to the old ones,” he said. mission) by the middle of this tional headquarters to boost local confi rmed to the Guardian that Guardian, Holmes outlined a set in schools or community halls. with during the run-up to the “That is what we saw in the US month.” party eff orts in 2014 and 2015 – the body has launched an inquiry of reform proposals which in- His proposals come amid poll on June 23, 2016. election and the revelations there He added that in future sys- without properly declaring their into possible Russian interfer- clude: heightened public concern over “Electoral legislation is old, have been from Facebook and so tems needed to be put in place hotel bills and expenses – the party ence in the EU referendum and is z New rules to require political voting systems and the apparent complicated and needs changing. on. We want to see what has been to ensure that Internet compa- was fi ned £70,000.

Police snatch Charity initiative squads to Premier faces nail moped muggers

London Evening Standard growing Tory London

ndercover police squads are dragging suspected Umoped thugs off their ve- hicles in a radical tactic to com- civil war over bat thieves and smash-and-grab raiders. Teams of plain-clothes of- fi cers are mounting ambushes on criminals as they ride into the West End. They are deploy- ing the snatch squads at traf- soft Brexit deal fi c “pinch points” and striking when the moped riders are forced London Evening Standard of us accept that regulatory align- membership after Brexit would to come to a halt. London ment is the way forward.” protect jobs and growth, while al- It comes amid a surge in She hit back at former Tory lowing free movement across the moped crime, with 24 pedestri- leader Iain Duncan Smith, who Irish border. It could be achieved ans targeted in a rampage across heresa May yesterday called on Britain to pull the plug by joining Efta or by applying to north London on Monday. Four faced a deepening Tory on talks with the EU and stage a join the European Economic Area, thieves on two mopeds robbed Tcivil war as MPs said her hard Brexit. “It would be crazy to which united the EU and Norway, people of phones in Islington and latest Northern Ireland talks walk away from the talks now,” Liechtenstein and Iceland. Camden before police deployed opened the way for the UK to she said. But Tory Right-winger The shadow Brexit secretary, a “stinger” device to trap one of stay inside the world’s biggest Nigel Evans branded the idea Sir Keir Starmer, yesterday re- the bikes in Islington. trade bloc. a “Hotel California solution — peated that Labour is prepared Earlier that day, seven men on Conservatives opposed to a where you can check out but to keep membership of the single mopeds raided a watch store in cliff -edge Brexit said the prime never leave the EU”. market and customs union on the Fleet Street while brandishing a minister’s policy of “continued Evans said the idea was being table. “We certainly wouldn’t samurai sword, metal bars and regulatory alignment” was the off ered by Labour but he believed rule it out” he said on the BBC’s knives. basis for a Norway-style trade Britons would not tolerate having Today show. “We’d want to have The “snatch and grab” tactic deal within the European single to obey the single market rules, a conversation.” is being deployed by offi cers in market of 500mn customers. which include free movement of Although hard-Brexiteers be- Westminster as an alternative to The rift opened as Brexit Sec- workers and an annual payment lieve they have a whip-hand over the more risky approach of pur- retary David Davis said leaving for membership. May while she is at No 10, the suing moped robbers at speed the EU would result in a “para- “If the single market and customs campaign for a soft Brexit may through the streets. digm change” for the economy. union are on the table, we would be have a majority in parliament. So far, two moped riders have John Stevenson, the Conserv- unable to control immigration and A recent study by LSE said been dragged off their vehicles ative MP for Carlisle, said there would have to pay money for the Brexit without a trade deal would by police. One was jailed for was growing cross-party support privilege. That is the worst deal you cost London over £100bn over three years for robbery and the in parliament for being members could get and it seems to be Labour fi ve years, while staying in the other youth, aged 14, has been of Efta, the European Free Trade policy now,” he said. single market would reduce the charged with a series of moped- Association, which includes Ice- Economists say single market losses to some £58bn. enabled crimes. A third youth land, Norway and Switzerland. was later tracked down and ar- “There is a lot of support, in- Border talks could resume in new year: Varadkar rested and charged. The tactic cluding among Brexiteers who is one of several methods being backed the idea of an Efta-style Brexit negotiations can move to ment yesterday. “It is the desire pursued. Police are also using solution during the referendum phase two next week only on the and ambition and wish of this stingers to burst tyres and a fo- debate,” he said. basis of the tentative Irish border government that we should move rensic spray to mark individuals “People talk about a Nor- agreement which collapsed on onto the phase two talks but if it committing offences and iden- wegian model, but I think they Monday, otherwise talks to break isn’t possible to move to phase tify them later. would soon be talking of the Brit- through the impasse will resume two next week because of the Detectives have been forced to ish model. It would take an awful in the new year, Irish Prime Minis- problems that have arisen, well adapt because of the risks of pur- lot of heat away from the Irish ter Leo Varadkar said yesterday. then we can pick it up in the new suing scooters through crowded border issue.” “As far as we’re concerned and year.” Varadkar said he understood streets. Fleeing suspects exploit Nicky Morgan, the former edu- as far as the European Commis- May had diff icult political problems strict police rules on pursuits by cation secretary who now chairs sion are concerned, we stand by to manage, but it was up to Britain taking off helmets so that it be- Queen Elizabeth II leaves after attending Scripture Union’s 150th anniversary service of the Treasury select committee, the text that had been agreed on to come back to negotiators in comes too dangerous to chase celebration at St Mary’s church in Islington yesterday. Scripture Union (SU) is a Christian charity. said: “There cannot be a separate Monday,” Varadkar told parlia- Brussels and Dublin. them. deal for part of the UK, so many Labour drops probe into Newspaper sorry claims against Sargeant for headline gaff e Agencies “100pt” refers to large, London 100-point text size, and the print- Guardian News and Media ian, McNicol said: “It is no longer He apparently took his own life ed text was a placeholder com- London possible to take forward any inves- at the family home in Connah’s monly used by newspapers until tigation under our procedures and Quay, north Wales, on November local newspaper in the uni- they have fi nalised a headline. therefore the Labour party deems 7. A complaint by Sargeant’s family versity city of Cambridge has Chris Rand, a Cambridge- n investigation by the La- its investigation closed.” and friends is that he did not know Aapologised after the headline based journalist, said on Twitter bour party into allegations McNicol said the Labour party what allegations he was facing and “100pt splash heading here” domi- that he expected the front page to Aof inappropriate behaviour had acted in accordance with its had been left in limbo. nated its front page yesterday. be “featured in newspaper sub- by the politician Carl Sargeant, procedures. He wrote: “As you Speaking to the BBC, the Welsh “The Cambridge News is issu- editing courses for years.” who died four days after being know our procedures require that fi rst minister said he felt loss but ing an apology to its readers after “Oh dear, oh dear. This is what sacked as a Welsh government after a complaint has been re- not guilt over Sargeant’s death. an error with the front page of to- happens when you cut newspa- minister, has been dropped. ceived the Labour party sends an “Carl was a good friend. I knew day’s edition of the newspaper,” it per staff and budgets to the bone,” The party said it was no longer agreed formal statement of the Carl for many, many, years. We said. Cambridge-based writer Stuart possible to take forward the investi- complainant to the respondent so never once argued. I’m confi dent “Due to a technical problem, the Roberts tweeted. gation into Sargeant. The fi rst min- that the respondent may revert. that I did everything as I should main headline did not appear on But Tom Evans, an editor for ister of Wales, Carwyn Jones, also “The Labour party received the have done. Could I have done the Cambridge edition, although the Liverpool Echo, defended the said he did not feel guilty that he had initial complaint on November something diff erent? No. The only the correct one was printed in the newspaper. sacked Sargeant and insisted that he 3 and was waiting for the formal way I could have done it diff erent Cambourne edition of the paper,” “I don’t know for sure, but I’d was confi dent he had acted properly. statement to send to Sargeant would have been to have ignored it said, referring to a village near bet the house on this being a sys- Investigations have begun into when the tragic news reached us of the allegations.” There was no the city. tem glitch (page reverting to a pre- how Jones handled the allegations his passing. suggestion that Sargeant “was in The newspaper’s editor-in-chief vious version), rather than any- against Sargeant, and whether “At no stage did the Labour a state that was vulnerable to do David Bartlett apologised and said thing to do with human error or news of his sacking was leaked. party assume or confer any guilt what he did”, he said. “we are still looking into how this staff cuts,” Evans wrote. A third inquiry is to focus on on any individual… The Labour Jones criticised the former lo- happened and want our readers to Readers were quick to poke fun allegations of bullying within the party rejects any liability for costs cal government minister Leighton know we take this seriously.” at the paper on social media, with Labour Welsh government. in this matter. We are confi dent we Andrews, who said that the at- Bartlett said the headline should some suggesting a headline com- The Labour general secre- have acted in accordance with our mosphere in the Welsh govern- have read ‘£2mn for ‘sex lair’ school,’ petition. tary, Iain McNicol, has written to procedures at all times.” ment was toxic during the last referring to an allocation of £2mn One person suggested “austerity Sargeant’s family solicitor to say Sargeant was dismissed as assembly term. The fi rst minister by local authorities for repairs to a ate our headline” as a possible entry. the party’s investigation into him Cabinet secretary for communi- said Andrews was running “some school whose former principal had Another commented: “The would not continue. In the letter, ties and children on that same day, kind of trial by Twitter” against “spent funds on holidays and mak- 100PT Splash heading... doesn’t get which has been seen by the Guard- November 3. the government. Carl Sargeant: did not know what allegations he faced ing a sex lair on the premises.” as much coverage as it should.” Gulf Times 20 Thursday, December 7, 2017 BRITAIN

DECISION VERDICT TRAGEDY TRIAL ANGER Verdict on 21st Century Drug dealers convicted for Reality TV police off icer Former aide to Fallon Decision to clear police in Fox’s Sky deal delayed traff icking teenage girl killed in car crash accused of sexual assault musician’s death slammed

The UK competition watchdog has delayed by Two members of a criminal gang who used a An on-duty police off icer who died along with A former special adviser to ex-defence secretary Five Metropolitan police off icers involved in the a month its provisional decision on 21st Century young woman to carry and sell drugs have been a 91-year-old woman in a crash on the A4 in Sir Michael Fallon has appeared in court charged arrest, restraint and detention of the musician Fox’s £11.7bn proposed deal to take full control of convicted for human traff icking in a landmark Berkshire was due to become a father. Constable with sexual assault. Richard Holden, 32, is accused Sean Rigg will not face charges, prosecutors have Sky in order to allow suff icient time to consider case in Britain, police said. The two men, Mahad James Dixon, whose wife Samantha is pregnant, of attacking a woman in her 20s at a party in announced almost 10 years after his death in police the thousands of submissions it has received. The Yusuf, 20, and Fesal Mahamud, 19, pleaded guilty died when his motorcycle was in collision with a London last December. It is alleged that while custody. Following a fresh review of evidence at Competition and Markets Authority expects to on Tuesday at Swansea Crown Court in Wales to car near Hare Hatch on Tuesday. The 39-year-old appearing to be under the influence of alcohol, he the request of the Rigg family into what happened publish its initial verdict in mid-January rather than traff icking a young person for the purposes of had appeared in the Sky TV programme Road touched her inappropriately. Holden, from south- in south London and at Brixton police station in December 18. A spokesperson for the CMA said: exploitation under Britain’s Modern Slavery Act, Wars. The pensioner, who was a passenger in the east London, denies the charge. He was employed August 2008, the Crown Prosecution Service “It is not unusual for us to update our timetables. and to conspiracy to supply class A drugs. The car, was also killed while the female driver was as a media adviser until earlier this year and had has decided not to prosecute. The family, who In this case, we have received a large body of gang lured the victim into a car in London after taken to hospital. The incident has been referred to previously worked in a number of roles for the called the CPS decision “shameful”. Rigg, 40, had evidence – including numerous face-to-face making contact on social media and drove her to the Independent Police Complaints Commission. Conservatives, He also spent several years in the paranoid schizophrenia and was living in a hostel. hearings and more than 12,000 submissions – so it South Wales, where Yusuf held the 19-year-old in The IPCC said Dixon was on a training exercise and Tory press off ice. He appeared at Westminster Police were called after he allegedly smashed up is vital that we spend the time to reach an informed a property for five days and forced her to store was not responding to an emergency or pursuing Magistrates Court and is due to appear at a gazebo and made karate moves, which staff and considered provisional view.” drugs against her will, investigators said. the vehicle he collided with. Southwark Crown Court on January 3. believed to be threatening. Former model Royal couple at children’s summit at heart of the Profumo aff air dies aged 75

Guardian News and Media He introduced her to a party London scene attended by aristocrats and VIPs, and through him, in 1961, she met both Profumo, then 46 hristine Keeler, the former and secretary of state for war, and model at the centre of the the Russian military attache Yevg- CProfumo aff air that shook eny Ivanov, having aff airs with British politics in the 1960s, has both men. died aged 75, her family and a close When the relationships came to friend have said. light in 1963, amid fears of a Cold Keeler, then a teenage model War security leak, the scandal and showgirl, became famous rocked the Harold Macmillan gov- for her role in the 1963 scandal ernment. that rocked the establishment Profumo told the House of when she had an aff air with the Commons there was no “impro- Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, meet children as they arrive to attend the Children’s Global Media Summit at the Manchester Tory Cabinet minister John Pro- priety” in their relationship after Central Convention Complex in Manchester yesterday. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attended the Children’s Global Media Summit, where the Duke gave fumo and a Russian diplomat at being asked about it by opposition a keynote speech, and the Duchess joined a forum hosted by Sesame Street’s Workshop, the charitable foundation of the famous children’s TV show, on research the same time at the height of the MPs who voiced concerns about commissioned into kindness. Cold War. Profumo was eventually national security implications. forced to resign after lying to par- Eventually, after more newspa- liament about the aff air. per stories emerged, he admitted Keeler’s son, Seymour Platt, 46, lying to the house, and resigned told the Guardian she died at the from the Cabinet and the Com- Princess Royal university hospital mons. His fall from grace was in Farnborough. deemed a contributory factor in She had been ill for several the fall of the Macmillan govern- months, and suff ered from the ment, with Labour winning under lung disease COPD (chronic ob- Harold Wilson in 1964. Man charged with plot structive pulmonary disease). Keeler met Mandy Rice-Davies A major BBC series revisiting when they worked as dancers in the scandal is due to start fi lming Soho and both women were in- next year. volved with Ward’s social set. Keeler, who had been living un- Ward would later be convicted of der the name of Sloane for many living off immoral earnings, with years, was briefl y married twice, Keeler and Rice-Davies as the to kill prime minister both marriages ending in divorce. main witnesses, but he took a fatal She had two sons – James from her overdose before the jury returned Agencies with a further count of assisting be carried out with a suicide vest, tremists are being caught trying has seen a much tighter degree of fi rst marriage, and Seymour from their guilty verdict in August 1963. London Imran. They appeared in the dock pepper spray and a knife,” he told to carry out atrocities. security from armed police in re- her second – and a granddaughter. At the height of the Profumo af- at Westminster magistrates court the court. “The Palace of Westminster cent months,” he told the Lords. Platt, who lives in Ireland, said fair, Keeler gave newspaper inter- yesterday and spoke only to con- Rahman was carrying two inert he, his wife and their daughter had views and also posed for the now man has appeared in court fi rm their names, ages, addresses explosive devices when he was ar- Terror suspect ‘urged attack on Prince George’ last seen his mother a week ago. famous photograph of her sitting charged with a terror plot and nationalities. rested last week, the court heard. “There was a lot of good around naked on a chair. Ato carry out an attack at 10 Imran, a British-Pakistani, and “His purpose was to attack, A man posted a picture of Prince Magistrates Court that this Chris’s rather tragic life, because The aff air only came to light Downing Street and kill the prime Rahman, who said he was Bang- kill and cause explosions,” Car- George, 4, and the address included posting a picture of there was a family around her that after an incident with Aloysius minister. ladeshi-British, were arrested in roll said. Neither man was granted of his London school as part Prince George, son of Queen loved her,” he said. “Lucky” Gordon, a man whom Naaimur Zakariyah Rahman, raids by the Metropolitan police’s bail. The case was sent to the Old of a series of possible targets Elizabeth’s grandson Prince “I think what happened to Keeler’s family and friends 20, was accused of planning a counter-terrorism command in Bailey, where the next hearing will for militants, a court heard William and Kate and destined her back in the day was quite said abused and stalked her. bomb and knife attack in West- London and Birmingham on No- be on December 20. yesterday. Husnain Rashid, 31, is to be the future king, next to damaging.” Gordon fi red shots into the minster earlier this year. vember 28. A Downing Street spokesman accused of posting information a silhouette of a militant. The Born in Uxbridge, Mid- home of Ward, where Keeler Rahman was also charged with Prosecutor Mark Carroll told declined immediate comment on on the Telegram messaging post included the address dlesex, and raised by her was temporarily seeking helping Mohamed Aqib Imran, 21, the court Rahman planned to the case. Meanwhile, armed po- service to encourage militants of his school in southwest mother and stepfather, refuge. When she was who in turn was accused of trying detonate an improvised explosive lice patrols have been stepped up to carry out attacks along with London which he started Keeler was working as a cab- questioned during the to leave the UK to join the Islamic device at the gates of Downing at Westminster amid a rise in ter- information to help them with attending in September and was aret dancer in Soho in Lon- subsequent police in- State group. Street and gain access to May’s ror plots. possible targets such as stadia. accompanied with the caption don when she met Stephen vestigation and prosecu- Each man was charged with one offi ce in the ensuing chaos and kill Defence Minister Earl Howe Prosecutor Rebecca Mundy “even the royal family will not be Ward, an osteopath, artist tion of Gordon, details of count of planning acts of terror- her. told peers how security has been told London’s Westminster left alone”, the court heard. and “man about town”. the aff air became public. ism, while Rahman was charged “The secondary attack was to beefed up as more and more ex-

Turner Prize winner Police investigating Millions ‘unaware of personal data thefts’ multi-academy trust London Evening Standard by the companies involved and London found out only when they read the news. Guardian News and Media transferred from schools into the trust’s fi nances, seen by TES, also Noddle said this meant more London trust’s accounts. raised concerns that Ramsay had illions of British victims than 21mn customers of the com- A spokesperson for West York- been paid more than £82,000 for of data breaches are una- panies analysed did not know they shire police said: “Following fur- 15 weeks’ work, despite the fact Mware their personal data were aff ected. The survey was car- olice have confi rmed they ther discussions with the local that the trust faced a large budget has been stolen, according to re- ried out before the data thefts at are looking at the conduct council, information has been defi cit. search published yesterday. ridesharing fi rm Uber and credit Pof a multi-academy trust now passed to us which we are The multi-academy trust About 30 high-profi le hacks agency Equifax, which suggests accused of asset stripping its looking at. No crimes have been model came under renewed scru- over the past two years were ana- the fi gures could be higher. Noddle schools before collapsing. recorded at this stage and con- tiny this weekend when it was lysed, including on TalkTalk, said people concerned that they Wakefi eld City Academies sultations are ongoing with rel- revealed that more than 40,000 Yahoo, PlayStation, the AA and were aff ected should check credit Trust announced days into the evant authorities.” children are being educated in Three, with researchers calculat- scores for unusual activity. new term in September that it WCAT declined to comment. “zombie schools” – academies ing up to 77% of Britons had fallen An overhaul of data protection would divest itself of its 21 schools Giving evidence to the educa- waiting to be transferred to an- victim to cybercriminals. laws proposed for next year will because WCAT could not under- tion select committee on Tues- other chain. DfE fi gures, ob- However, of 2,000 customers of force companies to tell custom- take the “rapid improvement” day, Sir David Carter, the na- tained through a freedom of in- these fi rms quizzed for a survey by ers if there has been a signifi cant they needed. The department for tional schools commissioner, formation request, showed 64 credit fi rm Noddle, 58% said they breach of data. Firms in the UK education is in the process of ar- blamed the DfE for giving WCAT academy schools were waiting did not know that their details had that suff er a serious breach could ranging for new trusts to take over an “impossible” task by allowing to fi nd a new sponsor after being been compromised. be fi ned up to £17mn. The current management of the schools. it to take on 14 schools in special given up by, or stripped from, the Personal information taken by maximum fi ne that companies can In October, it was revealed that measures in 32 months. trust originally managing them. hackers, which often ends up for suff er for breaking data protection the trust had transferred millions Before its collapse, WCAT had Half of those schools were sale on the dark web, has included laws is £500,000. of pounds of its schools’ reserves been dogged by scandal. In Oc- waiting to be transferred from names, addresses, phone num- The information commis- to centralised accounts before tober 2016, it emerged that the two chains: WCAT and the bers, bank account details and sioner’s offi ce will have its powers admitting that new sponsors trust had paid almost £440,000 Education Fellowship Trust. In passwords. But almost half of sur- strengthened to help it police the would need to be found for them. to IT and clerking companies March, the latter became the fi rst vey respondents who knew about regime. Jacqueline Dewey, man- Last month, Wakefi eld city owned by its then chief ex- trust in England to give up con- the attacks admitted not chang- aging director of Noddle, said: “If council backed a motion call- ecutive, Mike Ramsay, and his trol of its 12 academies, including ing their passwords or being vigi- your personal details are stolen ing for police to investigate the daughter. The trust insisted the a school in the prime minister’s Artist Lubaina Himid (centre) poses with D J Goldie (left) lant for phishing e-mails, despite they could be sold on and used to trust’s fi nances and insisted that contracts had represented the Maidenhead constituency, fol- and Tate director Maria Balshaw after being announced as knowing the fraud risks. take out fraudulent credit cards, the education department en- best value. lowing concerns about educa- the winner of the Turner Prize in Hull. Sixty percent of customers sur- loans, a mobile phone contract or sure “full restitution” of money A draft of a DfE report on the tional standards. veyed said they had not been told even a mortgage.” Gulf Times Thursday, December 7, 2017 21 EUROPE

FUGITIVE CEREMONIAL POST NOT BLACKMAIL REVERED Former Catalan leader to Alain Berset voted president Police clear suspect package Romania in mourning after stay in Belgium for now by Swiss parliament amid blackmail plot jitters former king passes away

Former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont, The Swiss parliament yesterday elected Interior Authorities in southern Germany yesterday Romania will observe three days of national facing arrest in Spain for organising an illegal Minister Alain Berset to serve in the largely examined a suspicious package delivered to a mourning next week to mark the death of its independence referendum in October, has said symbolic position of president next year, pharmacy, but found that it contained nothing former king Michael, who was one of the last he would stay in Belgium for the time being. making him the youngest to hold the post in a more than an advertising gift. Employees in a surviving World War II leaders. The national flag Spanish authorities dropped an international century. The choice of the 45-year-old member pharmacy in Ulm called the police when they will be flown at half-staff from December 14-16, arrest warrant for him on Monday in order to of the Socialist Party came as no surprise, since found a package without a return address. A which will coincide with the return of his body from bring his case solely under Spanish jurisdiction it was his turn among the seven members of package sent to a pharmacy in Potsdam last Switzerland to the castle north of Bucharest where and avoid a lengthy extradition process through the Swiss government to take on the rotating week was found to contain nails, batteries he was born. Michael, who died Tuesday aged the Belgian courts. “For the moment we will stay one-year presidency. Berset, who has been a and a metal cylinder assembled in a way that 96, had largely withdrawn from public life after here,” Puigdemont said at a press conference member of the government since 2011, was resembled a bomb. That package contained an announcing last March that he was seriously ill with in Brussels. Puigdemont and four ex-cabinet voted through with the support from 190 voters online blackmail letter threatening to send more leukaemia. But he remained a revered monarch for members travelled to Brussels shortly after he out of a total 210 approved ballots, underlining dangerous packages during the busy Christmas many Romanians, with candles and flowers being Candles and flowers lies next to portrait of late was sacked by the central government. His former strong support across the country’s political period unless DHL paid a sum of money in the placed outside the Royal Palace as well as at his King Michael of Romania at the former Royal No 2, Oriol Junqueras, is in custody in a Madrid jail. divides. millions of euros. residence, Elisabeta Palace, in Bucharest. Palace in Bucharest.

$47mn bail Pulling no surprises, Putin for Russia billionaire

AFP says will seek re-election Aix-en-Provence

Reuters n appeal court in southern Moscow France yesterday ordered Abillionaire Russian busi- nessman and senator Suleyman resident Vladimir Putin yesterday Kerimov to post bail of 40mn eu- confi rmed Russia’s worst kept ros ($47mn) pending a tax fraud Ppolitical secret, saying he would investigation. run for re-election in March 2018 — a Kerimov, 51, was arrested in late contest he seems sure to win comfort- November in the city of Nice over ably and extend his grip on power into suspected tax evasion related to a third decade. the purchase of luxury properties Putin, 65, has been in power, either on the French Riviera, provoking as president or prime minister, since an angry reaction from Moscow. 2000, longer than veteran Soviet leader He posted bail of 5mn euros and Leonid Brezhnev and outstripped only handed over his passport after he by dictator Josef Stalin. was charged with tax fraud on No- If he wins what would be a fourth vember 23, but prosecutors lodged presidential term, he will be eligible to an appeal for a heftier bond. serve another six years until 2024, when The oligarch, who has denied he turns 72. any wrongdoing, left the appeal Backed by state TV, Putin regularly court in Aix-en-Provence fl anked enjoys approval ratings of around 80%, by bodyguards without speaking and his decision to run for re-election to reporters. — which he announced at a car-making The case has signalled French factory in the Volga river city of Nizhny prosecutors’ willingness to pur- Novgorod — was widely expected. sue alleged money laundering and “I will put forward my candidacy tax evasion in the top-end prop- for the post of president of the Russian erty market in the south of France Federation,” Putin said, in answer to which has long been a favourite a question from a factory worker who destination for the rich and fa- told the Russian leader that “everyone mous. without exception” in the hall sup- Nice prosecutor Jean-Michel ported him. Pretre said Monday that between “There’s no better place or opportu- 500mn and 750mn euros in “se- nity to make this announcement,” said cret money” was involved. Putin. “I’m sure that everything will Investigators suspect that a work out for us.” shell company used huge amounts The workers then broke into a chant of undeclared cash, drawn from of “Russia!” accounts in Switzerland and Mo- Allies laud Putin as a father-of-the- naco, in the purchases of fi ve nation fi gure who has restored national luxury villas on the exclusive Cap pride and expanded Moscow’s global d’Antibes peninsula on Kerimov’s clout with interventions in Syria and behalf. Ukraine. Some of the transactions were Critics accuse him of overseeing a thought to exceed 100mn euros. corrupt authoritarian system and of One property has since been illegally annexing Ukraine’s Crimea in Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives to give a speech at a forum of volunteers in Moscow yesterday. sold, while authorities have seized 2014, a move that isolated Russia inter- the other four. nationally. The challenge for Putin though is not succession plan, and likely jockeying ploy to split the liberal opposition vote brand Vladimir Zhirinovsky, 71, — both The court also released estate Opposition leader Alexei Navalny, other candidates — nobody, including for position among Russian elites for while injecting a patina of interest, TV political retreads — are likely to run. agent Irina Sadikova, the only who is unlikely to be allowed to run Navalny, looks capable of unseating him. dominance in the post-Putin era, is be- celebrity Ksenia Sobchak, the daughter They are broadly supportive of the suspect detained in the aff air who against Putin due to what he says is a Instead, his toughest task will be to coming the biggest political risk. of Putin’s political mentor, is standing Kremlin’s policies and have repeatedly was held for two weeks. trumped up criminal conviction, said mobilise an electorate showing signs of Putin, once re-elected, will have against him, off ering voters unhappy run for president, behaviour critics say She was ordered to pay bail of Putin was overstaying his welcome. apathy to ensure a high turnout which to choose whether to leave Dmitry with his rule someone to back. is a ruse to create the illusion of genuine 300,000euros. “He wants to be in power for 21 in the tightly-controlled limits of the Medvedev as prime minister, or to ap- A political ingénue, Sobchak has political choice. She has admitted to earning a years,” Navalny wrote on social media. Russian political system is seen as con- point someone else. scant chance of winning. Putin draws much of his support 2mn euro commission for the sale “To my mind, that’s too long. I suggest ferring legitimacy. That decision will trigger a round of Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov from outside the two biggest cities — of a villa and stashing the money we don’t agree.” Whilst next year’s election in March intrigue over the succession, as who- has denied her candidacy is a Kremlin Moscow and St Petersburg — where in Switzerland. Despite the Central Election Com- is devoid of real suspense about who ever holds the prime minister’s post is ploy. many credit him with raising their liv- Listed by Forbes magazine as mission ruling him ineligible to stand, will win, what follows is more unpre- often viewed as the president’s heir ap- Sobchak said yesterday that Putin ing standards despite an economic cri- Russia’s 21st richest person with Navalny has organised mass protests dictable as attention will turn to what parent. would probably win “as always,” but sis Russia is only now recovering from. an estimated net worth of $6.3bn, and set up campaign headquarters happens after Putin’s fi nal term — un- In the meantime, perhaps the Krem- that she still planned to run to represent State TV, where many Russians still Kerimov made his transition from across the country, hoping he can pres- der the current constitution — ends. lin’s biggest task will be to make it look as people who wanted change. get their news, aff ords Putin blanket rags to riches during the privati- sure the authorities into allowing him There is no obvious successor. if Putin faces real electoral competition. Otherwise, Communist leader Gen- and uncritical coverage while ignoring sations that followed the break- to stand. Many investors say the lack of a clear In a move critics suspect is a Kremlin nady Zyuganov, 73, and nationalist fi re- or denigrating his opponents. up of the Soviet Union. France mourns death of ‘French Elvis’ Johnny Hallyday

Reuters Macron said: “Homage will be music into trains, while Brus- Wild stage antics sparked riot- Paris paid.” sels City Hall said his biggest hits ing at concerts. Hallyday sold more than 100mn would be aired over loudspeakers The Harley Davidson fan won albums over the decades, mostly at the famous Grand Place square a name for his hard-living streak ohnny Hallyday, whose death in the French-speaking world. in an evening tribute. as well as his chart-topping al- at 74 was announced by his He never quite conquered the American newspaper USA To- bums. Jwife and the French president United States, where he lived in day once dubbed Hallyday “the Drugs, alcohol and Gitanes yesterday, was a rock and roll gi- Los Angeles in later years. greatest rock star you never heard cigarettes, the latter apparently ant in his native France, surviving “I write these words without of,” but in France he was a monu- adopted on the advice of rocker drug use, family strife and near- believing them. But yet, it’s true. ment known simply as ‘Johnny’. Keith Richards, helped carve out death episodes to strut the stage My man is no longer with us,” his He drew huge crowds and sang the husky voice and craggy face for more than 50 years. wife said in a statement. to more than 750,000 at a free that were trademarks before age Known for his cowboy swag- Police were posted outside his concert he held near the Eiff el too took its toll. ger, gravelly voice, abundant tat- house west of Paris. Tower on France’s Bastille Day In 1965 he married pop singer toos and leather biker jackets, the Broadcasters provided wall- national holiday in 2009. Sylvie Vartan, with whom he ‘French Elvis’ had tens of mil- to-wall coverage of the rocker’s Hallyday’s 2011 album ‘Jamais had a son, David Hallyday, now a lions of fans, above all in his na- life, with reams of black-and- Seul’ went straight to number singer. tive France, where he sold more white fi lm and song tapes tracing one despite his reputation among Divorce in 1980 was followed records than any other singer. the history of a man regarded by younger generations as passé. by four other marriages, one that Hallyday died after a battle many, non-fans included, as part A star who forged his career lasted 62 days and two to the with lung cancer. of French national heritage. recycling rock gems such as The same woman, Adeline Blondiau. His wife Laeticia phoned Lawmakers in France’s lower Animals’ version of ‘House of Hallyday’s fi fth marriage was French President Emmanuel Ma- house of parliament paid their the Rising Sun’ or Jimi Hendrix’s to Laeticia Boudou in 1996, with cron at about 2am with news that respects with a standing ovation. ‘Hey Joe’, Hallyday also starred in whom he adopted two daughters, triggered an outpouring of grief French-Canadian singer Ce- movies and adverts. Joy and Jade. from fans, politicians and celeb- line Dion took to Twitter to He once claimed to have been After back surgery in 2008, he rities. mourn the loss of “a true icon”. born in Oklahoma and said his was put into an artifi cial coma to “For more than 50 years, he American singer Lenny Kravitz stage name Hallyday came from A policeman carries flowers brought by fans in memory of late French singer and actor Johnny Hallyday treat pain caused by an infection, was a vibrant icon,” read a state- posted a tweet saying: “Repose a doctor there who saved an ac- in Marnes-la-Coquette, near Paris. which he had sought for weeks ment by Macron, who this sum- en Paix (Rest in peace). Your soul quaintance. to keep at bay with ever-larger mer attended a concert Hallyday is pure Rock and Roll.” Born Jean-Philippe Leo Smet when his parents split up. stage himself at 12 and singing Elvis Presley in ‘Loving You’. amounts of alcohol. gave days after a dose of chemo- In Belgium, his father’s birth- in Paris to Huguette Clerc and He spent his early years on the country songs dressed as a child His fi rst single, ‘T’aimer Folle- His daughter Laura Smet, by therapy. place, the underground railway Belgian-born Leon Smet in 1943, road with his cousins in an acro- Davy Crockett. ment’ (To Love You Madly), came third wife Nathalie Baye, is an Later, during a visit to Algeria, authority said it would pipe his Johnny was raised by his aunt batic dance troupe, taking to the He changed style after seeing at age 16. actress like her mother. Gulf Times 22 Thursday, December 7, 2017 EUROPE

10 YEARS ON ESPIONAGE INDICTED NUMBER CRUNCH Protesters teargassed on Polish ex-military spy held Bosnian town mayor Renzi loses more allies as Greece riots’ anniversary in ‘collaboration’ probe charged with war crimes Italian election nears

Greek police yesterday fired teargas at A former Polish military counterintelligence The Bosnian prosecutor’s off ice said yesterday Former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, youths marching in Athens to mark the ninth chief was detained yesterday for allegedly it had charged a Bosnian Serb mayor with whose Democratic Party (PD) is shedding support anniversary of the killing of a teenager by police, collaborating with Russia, in a move the country’s war crimes committed during the 1990s war. in opinion polls, yesterday suff ered a further an incident that sparked Greece’s worst riots for opposition denounced as politically motivated. Miroslav Kraljevic, 49, who led a Bosnian setback when two allies said they would not decades. A few hundred students, among them General Piotr Pytel was accused earlier this year, Serb special police unit in the eastern town contest next year’s election. Giuliano Pisapia, a dozens of black-clad youths, marched through along with his predecessor Janusz Nosek, of of Vlasenica during the 1992-1995 war, was former mayor of Milan, yesterday announced that central Athens chanting “Resist!”, waving red and overstepping his duties by signing a cooperation indicted with three others, notably over the his small leftist party called the Progressive Camp black flags in a tribute to 15-year old Alexandros agreement with Russia’s FSB security service murder and disappearance of at least 22 Bosnian (CP), which had been expected to join forces with Grigoropoulos who was shot dead in 2008. during the withdrawal of Polish troops from Nato Muslims. They are also accused of imprisoning the PD at the election, was disbanding. Hours Some of the protesters set garbage containers operations in Afghanistan via Russia in 2010. “An several dozen people who suff ered torture and later, Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano, leader on fire and hurled stones at police outside investigation against General Pytel is ongoing. He persecution in 1992 and 1993, the prosecutor’s of the centrist Popular Alternative party (AP) People attend an anniversary rally of the parliament during the march. Police fired teargas is accused of illegally cooperating with the FSB,” statement said. “In spring 1993, almost all which governs with the PD, said he would not be 2008 police shooting of 15-year-old student, to disperse them and formed protective cordons Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz was quoted the Muslim population from this region was running at the election, throwing into doubt the Alexandros Grigoropoulos, in Athens yesterday. outside parliament and hotels in central Athens. as saying by the Polish news agency PAP. expelled,” it said. future of the party he founded. Centre-left torn over new pact with Merkel

By Frank Zeller, AFP Berlin

ermany’s Social Democrats, the country’s second-largest party, plans to decide today whether or not to help Chan- Gcellor Angela Merkel end months of political paralysis in Europe’s biggest economy. Party leader Martin Schulz has asked his deeply divided SPD to give him the green light for exploratory talks on joining Merkel in another coalition government starting in early 2018. “For us, nothing is pre-determined, nothing is automatic,” Schulz said this week, while also noting that another option would be to allow Merkel to run a minority government, an idea she has so far opposed as too unstable. Schulz, a main loser of September’s elections who now may be kingmaker, has vowed to extract maximum concessions for his 150-year-old labour party, including social welfare gains and steps toward greater “solidarity” in Europe. He also supports French President Emmanuel Macron’s sweep- ing vision for EU reform as well as a departure from Berlin’s insist- ence on austerity in crisis-hit economies. If the tough coalition poker indeed kicks off next week, Schulz will have to prove he can drive a hard bargain with Merkel, having back- fl ipped on his repeated vows to take the SPD into the opposition. For now, it is still a long and rocky road toward a new “grand coalition” government of Merkel’s conservative bloc and the SPD — and new elections loom if they fail to reach a deal. For Schulz, a former European Parliament president, it is the An overview from a drone yesterday shows the site of a train accident in Meerbusch-Osterath, western Germany. next phase in a roller-coaster ride since he splashed onto the Ger- man political scene only a year ago, tasked with defeating veteran leader Merkel. He was initially celebrated within his party as a messiah, win- ning 100% party support in January and seeing SPD poll ratings briefl y shoot up some 10 percentage points. But over the following months Schulz met the fate of Merkel’s previous challengers, with his campaign, built on fi ghting social inequality, losing steam amid a string of regional poll defeats. In the September 24 general election, in which the far-right 41 injured after train Alternative for Germany (AfD) protest party siphoned millions of votes from all mainstream parties, the SPD scored just under 21%, its worst showing since World War II. Minutes after the dismal outcome was announced, Schulz pledged to rebuild the SPD on the opposition benches, a move widely cheered by the party’s rank and fi le. Most members felt that the past four years — in which the SPD was Merkel’s junior partner in an unhappy “grand coalition”, or derails in Germany “GroKo” in German political shorthand — had badly wounded party support and morale. AFP fi re department said in an up- in a state of shock, police said. clining to speculate on whether Rescuers were able to reach Thousands of members had already defected from the histori- Berlin dated toll. Images from the Tuesday’s late the crash was caused by human those injured by 9.15pm, with the cal working-class champions when former chancellor Gerhard A total of 173 people were on night scene showed moderate error or a technical problem. “We last people evacuated from the Schroeder slashed back the welfare state in the early 2000s. board the National Express re- damage to the passenger train’s are only at the very beginning of train just after midnight. Schulz was forced to take back his repeated snubs to Merkel in erman investigators were gional train when it smashed into fi rst carriage, while the other our investigation,” he stressed. The regional express train recent weeks after her talks aimed at forming a coalition with two working yesterday to de- a DB Cargo train around 7.30pm blue-and-white carriages ap- Passengers recounted hearing was travelling from the west- smaller parties unexpectedly collapsed last month. Gtermine what caused the on Tuesday near Meerbusch- peared largely unaff ected. a loud bang when the two trains ern city Cologne to the town With the main parties wanting to avoid the risk of new elec- collision between a passenger Osterath station in North Rhine- The train remained standing collided but 19-year-old Lu- of Krefeld while the cargo train tions that might give an even bigger boost to the AfD, pressure has train and a stationary freight Westphalia, Germany’s most upright on the tracks. kas Kehler said people remained was bound for the Dutch city of grown on the SPD, from within Germany and elsewhere in Europe, train near the city of Duesseldorf populous state. Some of the cargo train car- calm. Rotterdam. to avert a political crisis. that injured 41 people. Rescue workers and offi cials riages however were thrown off “There was no sense of panic,” National Express is the only President Frank-Walter Steinmeier — an SPD veteran who, as Early indications suggested praised the driver for slamming the rails as a result of the impact. he told local television station private rail operator active in head of state, is supposed to operate above party politics — has the passenger train had been on on the emergency brake as soon “The regional train should WDR. North Rhine-Westphalia, where since been brokering talks between party chiefs. the wrong track, but officials as he noticed an obstacle on the not have been on that section The crash sparked a large res- it has been running two regional At the three-day SPD congress starting today in Berlin, Schulz said it remained unclear how tracks, likely preventing a much of the track,” said Gerd Muen- cue operation involving some services since 2015. will have to convince sceptical members, including a passionately the mistake could have hap- bigger collision. nich, a spokesman for the Federal 400 emergency workers but ac- Germany’s deadliest train ac- anti-GroKo youth wing, to allow him to at least sound out another pened. “We were very lucky,” said Railway Accident Investigation cess to the train was initially hin- cident happened in 1998 when pact with Merkel. Seven of the 41 hurt were badly spokesman Marcel Winter of Board (BEU). dered by ruptured overhead lines a high speed train operated by Schulz will seek to convince the party that the SPD, back in injured in Tuesday’s accident, Britain’s National Express. “It The cargo train had been which fi rst had to be made safe, state-owned Deutsche Bahn de- power, would be better positioned to improve the lives of ordinary while one person was in a serious could have been much worse.” standing still waiting for a signal according to the Meerbusch fi re railed in Eschede in Lower Saxo- Germans. condition, the local Meerbusch The driver was unharmed but to proceed, he added, while de- department. ny, killing 101 people. Finland celebrates 100 years of independence from Russia

AFP offi cial buildings in the capital to the alliance, in a bid to secure Helsinki mark the nation’s unilateral dec- its tacit protection from Russian laration of independence on De- threats. cember 6, 1917, in the wake of the Illustrating the recurring ten- inland, a former Russian Bolshevik revolution. sions between Moscow and Bal- Grand Duchy, yesterday After belonging to Sweden for tic Sea states, Finland’s defence Fcelebrated the centenary six centuries — until 1809 — Fin- ministry on Tuesday claimed of its independence with parades land only gained its independ- that “a Russian state owned Tu- and street parties in a festive ence after the fall of the Tsarist polev TU-154” aircraft had vio- mood, despite fl aring tensions Russian empire. lated Finnish airspace the previ- between Moscow and the West. Yet the Nordic country still had ous day. Buildings across the Nor- to defend its territory against the The foreign ministry imme- dic country were draped in the Red Army during the winter of diately summoned the Russian blue-and-white of the national 1939-1940 and then again from ambassador. fl ag, and the government sent a June 1941 to September 1944. “Russian ambassador sum- text message to all Finns wishing The human and territorial moned to MFA (ministry of for- them ‘Onnea Suomi’ — or ‘Hap- losses of those confl icts remains eign aff airs) and informed of py Birthday Finland’. very present in the collective alleged violation of airspace. “Congratulations Finland, memory of today’s 5.5mn Finns Russia requested to provide ex- the best country in the world,” and their leaders, who exercised planation,” Foreign Minister Prime Minister Juha Sipila wrote caution toward their powerful Timo Soini wrote on Twitter on on Twitter, while President Sauli neighbour during the Cold War. Tuesday. Niinisto urged his fellow citizens The collapse of the Soviet Un- Almost 30 countries celebrat- to brave the cold to celebrate the ion in 1991 changed everything. ed the centenary by draping some event in the streets. Remaining militarily non- of their monuments in Finland’s On Tuesday evening, hundreds aligned, Finland rapidly joined colours — including St Peters- of people gathered under snowy the European Union in 1995, and burg’s Museum of Ethnogra- skies at Helsinki’s Market Square swapped its currency, the mark- phy and the National Theatre in near the presidential palace for ka, for the euro in 2002. Petrozavodsk in eastern Karelia, The Students’ Independence Day Parade passes by the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland yesterday as Finland celebrated the centenary the fi rst festivities. It has continued to forge closer a province occupied by Finnish of independence. The Finnish fl ag was raised on ties with Nato, without joining troops during World War II. Gulf Times Thursday, December 7, 2017 23 INDIA Sibal remarks on Babri case spark huge political row

IANS Haji Mehboob, one of the litigants, need adjournment. I have no objection Dhandhuka, Gujarat/New Delhi said Muslims wanted resolution of the to it,” Ansari said. dispute at the earliest, diff ering from However, Uttar Pradesh Sunni Waqf Sibal’s stand. Board chairman Zufar Ahmed Farooqui demand by senior lawyer Kapil But some of the petitioners in the distanced himself from Sibal’s state- Sibal that the Supreme Court case said they supported Sibal’s plea. ment. “The UP Sunni Waqf Board’s case Ashould hear the Ayodhya dis- They also emphasised that Mehboob is being handled by two advocates, Sha- pute only after the 2019 general elec- is neither a member of the Sunni Waqf hid Rizvi and Shakeel Ahmed Saeed, in tions triggered a major political storm Board nor does he represent the Board the apex court,” Farooqui said. yesterday. in any capacity. According to him, Sibal isn’t the Prime Minister Narendra Modi at- Board’s counsel but representing one tacked the Congress and congratulated “The PM did not check the fact of the private parties in the case. the Sunni Waqf Board for distancing that actually I never represented Latching on to this, Modi con- itself from Sibal’s plea. the Sunni Waqf Board in the gratulated the Board “for their brave Muslims shout slogans during a demonstration to mark the 25th anniversary of the razing of the 16th century Babri However, Sibal clarifi ed he did not Supreme Court and yet he stand on the matter and disassociat- mosque in Ayodhya, in Mumbai, yesterday. represent the Sunni Waqf Board, but thanked them. I request the PM ing themselves from the statement of one of the individuals in the case. to be a little more careful before Sibalji”. He was addressing an election It all started with Modi repeatedly making such public comments” rally in Gujarat. citing the statement made by Sibal in “When Sibal asked that, the Con- the Supreme Court on Tuesday that “Whatever Kapil Sibal said in the gress says it is Sibal’s personal and the hearing in the Babri Masjid case be Supreme Court yesterday was said af- individual issue. I ask you how does Security tight in Ayodhya deferred till after 2019 Lok Sabha elec- ter thorough consideration and after the 2019 general elections aff ect Kapil tions. taking us into confi dence. We totally Sibal personally or the Waqf Board? Is “Yesterday in the Supreme Court, a support his stand,” said Zafaryab Jilani, Sunni Waqf Board contesting the elec- DPA Muslims for decades. 1992 was followed by sectarian riots Congress MP, Kapil Sibal, was arguing a member of the Babri Masjid Action tions?” Lucknow Hindu rightwing groups like the across the country in which more than which is his right for the Babri Masjid. Committee, who is actively involved in Sibal also clarifi ed that he didn’t Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Ba- 2,000 people died. He is entitled to do that, but is it right the case since the beginning. represent the Board in the Supreme jrang Dal had given a call to observe the The dispute dates back to the mid- for him to say postpone the hearing till He said it could be Mehboob’s per- Court and was only appearing on be- ecurity was tight in the northern anniversary yesterday as victory day, 1850s and has been the subject of a 2019?” Modi said. sonal opinion but not the offi cial stand half of Ansari. town of Ayodhya yesterday on the India Today news channel reported. court case since 1949. “Why does he have to link a Ram of any of the parties involved. “Our PM comments without know- S25th anniversary of the demoli- They asked residents of the twin Both Hindu and Muslim groups fi led mandir with elections? Is such think- Shakil Ahmed, one of the lawyers ing things sometimes. Amit Shah and tion of a mosque that led to widespread towns of Ayodhya and Faizabad to light civil suits and the government pro- ing proper?” Modi asked, accusing the representing the Sunni Waqf Board, the Prime Minister said I represented riots in the country. up their homes with lamps. claimed the premises a disputed site Congress of linking the temple issue said Mehboob has “no connection” Sunni Waqf Board. I was never a Sunni People and their belongings were Some Muslim organisations like the and locked the gates. with the elections. with his client and was “just another Waqf Board lawyer. I can understand frisked at multiple checkpoints across Indian Union Muslim League said they There are two major cases currently “Now the Congress links Ram Man- plaintiff ”. your president (Shah) saying such a the temple town and sniff er dogs and would observe it “as a black day.” being heard in the courts, one over dir with elections. They are least both- Iqbal Ansari, the son of late Hashim thing because I don’t expect anything bomb squads were deployed, addi- In New Delhi a talk on the subject rights to the disputed site, and the oth- ered about the nation.” Ansari who was the fi rst litigant in the better from him. tional superintendent of police Sanjay by controversial Bharatiya Janata er in which several politicians, includ- The Congress on Tuesday night dis- case, too said he had no objection to “The PM did not check the fact that Kumar said. Party leader Subramanian Swamy ing from the governing BJP, are accused tanced itself from Sibal’s stand saying Sibal’s arguments. actually I never represented the Sunni The 16th century Babri mosque was was cancelled at the Jawaharlal Ne- of criminal conspiracy in the demoli- it did not represent the party’s view. “Our lawyers told us that some doc- Waqf Board in the Supreme Court and demolished by Hindu fanatics on De- hru University amid security con- tion of the mosque. Throughout the day there were uments have to be prepared and a lot yet he thanked them. I request the PM cember 6, 1992. cerns, a member of the organising The BJP has promised to build a tem- statements made by leading activists of documents are to be scrutinised to to be a little more careful before mak- The site has remained a fl ashpoint of committee said. ple at the disputed site in every election of the Muslim community. prepare the arguments and hence they ing such public comments.” religious tensions between Hindus and The demolition of the mosque in manifesto. Modi takes dig at Congress claim on Gujarat poll victory

IANS He continued, “We bow to such great Ahmedabad leaders. By continuing with the devel- opment works in Gujarat, the people of Gujarat should pay respect to the great rime Minister Narendra Modi yes- leader.” terday took a jibe at the Congress However, Congress spokesman Ran- PParty on its claim of winning the deep Surjewala attacked the prime min- upcoming Gujarat elections, referring ister and said Modi was “baffl ed” on see- to the “big hullabaloo” about Cyclone ing the Bharatiya Janata Party “losing” Ockhi that was set to hit the state in a big the Gujarat elections and that’s why he way, but did not. is forced to resort to making irrelevant Disregarding the Ockhi alert and statements and talking about everything continuing his scheduled programme else other than Gujarat. of three days’ campaigning, the prime “If he would have reacted to the state- minister was in Dhandhuka, a southern ments made by his own party members part of Ahmedabad district. Once again like Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie and he began his speech mentioning the Shatrughan Sinha, rather than reacting Congress, after reminiscing on his rela- to Congress, that would have been bet- tionship with the place. ter. When he talks about internal democ- Referring to the alerts about Cyclone Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays racy within the party, he should be talk- Ockhi, he said, “Whatever that makes a tributes to Dr B R Ambedkar on his ing about what happened to Lal Krishna big hullabaloo and is said that it is com- 61st death anniversary at Parliament Advani, Keshubhai Patel, Anandiben Pa- ing, never does. House in New Delhi yesterday. tel, the murdered leader Haren Pandya, He was hinting at the Congress, which Kanshiram Rana, Murli Manohar Joshi, has been campaigning in the state and Addressing the crowd, Modi said, Sanjay Joshi,” Surjewala said. claiming it is going to win the elections. “We think that the Congress meted out “It is because he is baffl ed about The cyclone was on Tuesday headed to- injustice to Sardar Patel, but let me tell the BJP’s huge loss in the state assem- wards Gujarat but yesterday it weakened you, he was not the only one. Their one- bly elections. We can understand the while over the Arabian Sea, sparing the family which rules meted out injustice to prime minister’s confusion. We request poll-bound state. the maker of the Constitution, Bhimrao the prime minister in a statement that The Dhandhuka crowd, many of them Ambedkar and all those who were get- though you may lose the decency of comprising children who were made to ting signifi cance in politics. Ambedkar words and break political boundaries and sit in chairs in order to show a packed had to go all the way to Bengal to fetch a precedents, we are Gandhi’s heirs, and as crowd, was totally unresponsive to any membership in the constitutional body Mahatma Gandhi taught us, against all of Modi’s interactive questions. Some elections. The Congress could not even your violence, we will answer with non- were even seen laughing. Modi’s style of aff ord to honour him with the Bharat violence, against all your ‘goondagardi’, questioning the audience and then get- Ratna. Baba Saheb was never remem- we shall answer with decency, this is ting affi rmative answers from them did bered during the entire Congress regime Rahul Gandhi’s simplicity and his way,” not seem to be working on them. in the central government.” added Surjewala.

School principal sacked in child abuse case

IANS guardians that the present principal has They said they would hold regular Kolkata been relieved of her duties and responsi- meetings with the school authorities to bilities with immediate eff ect. The exist- discuss the betterment of the school. ing vice principals would run the schools “Several of our suggested measures, school in Kolkata yesterday from now on,” parent said. including no male teachers in the sen- sacked its principal over the al- “They (school authority) informed ior and junior sections, installation of Aleged sexual assault of a four- that the ‘removal’ is a legal term and re- CCTV cameras, posting of female at- year-old girl. The decision by the G D quires due process. The school will reo- tendants in the school and its buses and Birla Centre for Education came after pen from December 7,” she said. separate toilets for boys and girls have massive protests by parents of students. A section of the guardians were de- been taken note of by the school man- The school also announced that classes manding the ouster of the principal for agement,” they said. would resume today. allegedly trying to cover up the issue of Terming the outcome of the meeting The announcement came after a long sexual assault and indirectly support- as a “moral victory”, chairman of West meeting between the school authorities, ing the accused instead of taking action Bengal State Commission for Protec- the parents, senior police offi cers, mem- against them. tion of Child Rights (WBSCPCR) Ananya bers of the state Child Rights Commission The guardians also said the school had Chakraborty said it could be achieved and other stakeholders yesterday evening. agreed to form a body of guardians with through sheer dedication of the guard- “The school authorities informed the representatives from all the classes. ians. Gulf Times 24 Thursday, December 7, 2017 INDIA

CONTROVERSY MYSTERY CRIME INVESTIGATION INSURGENCY Sharad’s disqualification Woman, daughter found Ola driver locks up woman Police crack soldier’s Five women among 7 from RS illegal: Kejriwal dead in Greater Noida flat in cab, misbehaves murder in Kashmir Maoists killed in gunbattle

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal yesterday A woman and her 11-year-old daughter were App-based taxi operator Ola yesterday said it One of four militants who killed a soldier while on At least seven suspected Maoists, including five termed the disqualification of rebel Janata found dead in their flat near Noida and a had suspended one of its drivers after a woman leave in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian district women, were killed in a gunbattle near Zinganur Dal-United leader Sharad Yadav as illegal blood-stained cricket bat was recovered from in Bengaluru filed a complaint alleging he locked has been arrested, police announced yesterday. A forests in Maharashtra yesterday, off icials said. and unconstitutional, and demanded it be the room, police said yesterday. The woman’s her up in the car and misbehaved with her. The statement from the police said Muzamil and the other Security forces overcame the firepower of the revoked. “It is political vendetta. We strongly 16-year-old son was missing and police are incident took place on Sunday night at around three hatched a conspiracy to kill Irfan Dar who was Maoists in the deep jungles and eliminated condemn it and demand that disqualification probing his possible involvement in the 10.30 when the 23-year-old woman took an Ola cab with the Territorial Army. Muzamil was described as a seven of the attackers. Details of the Maoists be revoked,” Kejriwal tweeted. The chief murder, an officer said. The bodies of Anjali to go home. “We regret the unfortunate experience co-conspirator. The bullet-riddled body of the soldier killed were awaited even as the security forces minister’s remarks come two days after Vice Agarwal, 42, and her daughter Manikarnika the customer had during the ride. We have zero was recovered from Wuthmula village on November launched combing operations to find others President M Venkaiah Naidu, who is also the were found in a bedroom of their flat on tolerance for such incidents,” an Ola spokesperson 25. “Investigation conducted so far has revealed who may be hiding in the forests in Sironcha Rajya Sabha chairman, disqualified Yadav 11th Avenue of Gaur City 2 at Greater Noida said. “The driver has been suspended from the that militants Saddam Padder, Touseef and a newly sub-district. Maoist groups are currently and another rebel JD-U leader Ali Anwar as around 11.30pm on Tuesday, the police platform.” The woman: “The cab driver misbehaved recruited unidentified militant along with the arrested observing their annual ‘Peoples Liberation members of the upper house of parliament. said. The flat was locked from outside. The and tried to touch me. He locked up the car. So I Muzamil hatched a criminal conspiracy to kill Dar,” Guerilla Army (PLGA)’ week from December Naidu, in a detailed order, ruled that Yadav officer said the bat could have been used couldn’t open the doors and he tried to come close the statement said. Police said Muzamil went to Dar’s 2-8. Since the last week of November, Maoists had “voluntarily given up membership” of to bludgeon the two to death but they were to me. I immediately started banging the car’s village and took him to Wuthmula where the other have struck on several occasions and killed at the party by attending and addressing a waiting for the autopsy report to confirm the windows with my fist in an attempt to make noise. three militants were already present at an orchard. least five civilians suspecting them to be police Rashtriya Janata Dal rally and hence indulged cause of death. That is when he finally released the lock and I ran “They came out from the orchard and fired at Dar, spies. They also gunned down two security in anti-party activities. out of the cab.” resulting in his death on the spot.” personnel. Infant dies week after wrongly declared dead by Delhi hospital

Agencies survival in extreme preterm New Delhi births is rare, it is always pain- ful for the parents and family. We wish them the strength to newborn who was mis- cope with their loss,” the state- takenly declared dead ment said. Ahours after birth a week A three-member panel set ago by doctors at a Delhi hospi- up by the Delhi government, in tal died yesterday, family mem- its preliminary inquiry report bers said. submitted to Health Minis- The Kumar family was in- ter Satyendar Jain, has found formed hours after the prema- the Max doctors guilty of not ture birth of twins last week following medical norms in that the girl had died and the dealing with the premature boy was critical. newborn, due to which he was Mayor of London Sadiq Khan looks at the bullet marks on a wall during his visit at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar yesterday. Soon after they were told declared dead even though he that the boy too had died. was alive. But the baby boy started The panel had scrutinised moving in the body bag as fam- hospital records and met the ily members made their way to staff . the funeral. “No ECG was done to see The infant was rushed to an- whether the child was alive. other hospital where he died The body was handed over yesterday after treatment for a without written instructions. UK ‘must apologise’ for week. Deceased and alive children But the family refused to ac- were not kept separately,” said cept the body till the doctors a Delhi government spokes- responsible were arrested for person, shedding light on the medical negligence. report. Doctors at the Agarwal Jain has said the fi nal report Nursing Home where the new- will be available in three days Jallianwala massacre born was admitted after the and “the strictest possible ac- earlier blunder by Max Super tion” will follow. Agencies British governments have fallen ‘massacre’,” Khan told reporters in a statement: “As the former 24 hours. The Golden Temple Speciality Hospital in Shalimar On Tuesday, Chief Minister Amritsar short of delivering a formal apol- after visiting the Jallianwala Bagh prime minister said when he is a spiritual home for tens of Bagh declared the child dead at Arvind Kejriwal said the gov- ogy to the families of those who complex. visited the Jallianwala Bagh in thousands of Londoners of the 12pm, the baby’s father Ashish ernment was preparing a legal were killed,” Khan said. “It was incredibly moving to 2013, the massacre was a deeply Sikh faith and millions of Sikhs Kumar said. framework against hospitals ayor of London Sadiq “I’m clear that the government visit Jallianwala Bagh. The trag- shameful act in British history around the world come to Amrit- “We will not accept the body involved in criminal negligence Khan called on the Brit- should now apologise, especially edy in 1919 on Baisakhi is one we and one that we should never sar to pay their respects to wor- as we want doctors of Max and looting of patients. Mish government yester- as we reach the centenary of the must never forget. Our thoughts forget. ship,” he said . Hospital to be arrested fi rst for Meanwhile in another case, a day to make a formal apology for massacre. This is about properly are with all those who died,” “It is right that we pay re- Also, sharing the same sen- wrongly declaring the baby committee set up by the Hary- the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh mas- acknowledging what happened Khan wrote in the visitor’s book spect to those who lost their timents in the visitors’ book of dead on November 30,” a bitter ana government to investigate sacre in which nearly 400 Sikhs here and giving the people of after paying fl oral tributes at the lives and remember what hap- the Golden Temple, he wrote: Kumar said. the death of a seven-year-old were shot dead by British Indian Amritsar and India the closure memorial. pened. The British government “The warmth, hospitality, spir- He said the family will hold child in a Gurugram hospital army soldiers. they need through a formal apol- Khan went around the Jalli- rightly condemned the events ituality are a lesson to us all. a protest till their demand was has found it guilty on various During a visit to the Golden ogy.” anwala Bagh complex and saw at the time.” Thank you for providing me met. counts and a case would be Temple in Amritsar, the most Khan, who is from the opposi- the Martyr’s Well and the bullet Later yesterday Khan visited with memories that will stay Police have registered a case registered against it, a minister important pilgrimage site of tion Labour Party, does not speak marks on the walls. the Golden Temple complex, with me forever”. of medical negligence against said. Sikhism, Khan called the mas- for Britain’s Conservative gov- “Britain and the world owe a where the holiest of Sikh shrines, On Tuesday evening, Punjab Max Hospital based on the The high-level probe panel sacre one of the most horrifi c ernment. huge debt to the Sikh servicemen the Harmandir Sahib, is located, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, family’s complaint and an in- found Fortis Hospital in Gu- events in Indian history. Former Conservative prime and women who fought along- and off ered prayers. Local Bodies Minister Navjot vestigation is ongoing. rugram guilty of “grave negli- On Sunday April 13, 1919, some minister David Cameron visited side British troops during the The Shiromani Gurdwara Par- Singh Sidhu and others met Khan The hospital has sacked two gence, lapse, unethical and un- 50 soldiers led by Brigadier Gen- Amritsar at the end of a trade First and Second World Wars,” bandhak Committee gave Khan a at a dinner hosted for him. doctors involved in the case but lawful acts in the death of Adya eral Reginald Dyer began shoot- mission to India four years ago Khan said. ‘siropa’ (robe of honour) during Khan, who was on a three-city has said its internal investiga- Singh in September,” Health ing at unarmed civilians who in a show of contrition over the “These brave individuals sac- the visit. tour of India, visiting Mumbai, tion was not complete yet. Minister Anil Vij said. were taking part in a peaceful massacre but stopped short of rifi ced an enormous amount to He also visited the Langar hall, New Delhi and Amritsar, later Max Healthcare, which runs He said the government protest against oppressive laws making a formal apology. defend the freedoms that we en- the largest community kitchen in crossed over to Pakistan from the a chain of hospitals includ- would get a case registered enforced in Punjab by British co- Khan, on his maiden visit joy today and it is only right that the world, in the shrine complex Attari-Wagah land border, about ing the one in Shalimarbag, against the leading private hos- lonial authorities. to Amritsar, paid tributes to there is a memorial in our capi- and partook ‘langar’ sitting on 30km from here. expressed condolences to the pital, adding that legal opinion At least 379 Sikhs were killed, those who died at the sprawling tal city to honour the Sikhs who the fl oor. The mayor, of Pakistani-ori- parents. was being sought on how it but the fi gure is still disputed. ground. fought to preserve our freedoms.” “It has been a privilege for gin, will visit Lahore, Karachi and “While we understand that could be done. “It is wrong that successive “Some people use the word The British Foreign Offi ce said me to be in Amritsar for the last Islamabad. There was no warning on Military must stay away cyclone, says Kerala CM from politics: army chief IANS politics in the army... gradually, we New Delhi fi nd we are inching towards that but IANS deep, deep depression about permanently disabled will get that is best avoided,” he said. Thiruvananthapuram 170km off Kanyakumari (Tamil Rs500,000 each. The army chief also stressed on Nadu) coast. In the next one week, all rmy chief General Bipin a synergy with other organisations, “Even at that time, there was adults engaged in fi shing will Rawat yesterday said the and said contradictions should not erala Chief Minister Pi- no mention of cyclone. And by get Rs60 per day while their Amilitary should keep away come out in their statements. narayi Vijayan yesterday that time, fi shermen had al- children will be paid Rs45 a day from politics, adding that the “Military does not function Kdenied his state had got ready ventured into the sea. as allowance. armed forces will do well by re- alone. There are other organi- advance warning about Cy- “Even the union ministers Free ration will be given to maining above politics. sations within the country... it clone Ockhi, and announced a who came here said there was coastal villages for a month, the “Of late, we have seen politici- is important for the military to compensation of Rs2mn to the no fault on the part of the state chief minister said. sation of military. We operate in a understand the functioning of families of those who died and government and in an hour’s “All those who lost their fi sh- very secular manner. We have a very other organisations...” Rs500,000 to the permanently time the defence personnel be- ing craft and gears will be com- vibrant democracy, where the mili- “... because there are adver- disabled. gan rescue work.” pensated. The children of those tary should stay far away from the saries who are looking at con- Under fi re over the way res- Vijayan said this was one of killed and those missing will get polity,” the general said at an event. tradictions that emerge from cue operations were handled, the biggest-ever rescue opera- free education and job training.” “In that aspect, whenever the various establishments within Vijayan also announced fresh tions done. It was ongoing and The cabinet meeting also de- issue of linking any military es- the country and then they take measures to tackle similar ca- would continue till the last fi sh- cided that from now on all those tablishment or military person- advantage of that and overplay lamities so that damages can be erman was brought back. who go for fi shing will have to nel with political entity comes, I the issues,” he added. minimised. Offi cials have put the death register with the Fisheries De- think that is best avoided.” Rawat also said Defence Min- Addressing reporters after a toll in the cyclone at 33. Many partment every day. Rawat said: “The Indian de- ister Nirmala Sitharaman has cabinet meeting, Vijayan said more were injured. “All the boats that go into the fence forces would do well to promised to resolve the issue of the fi rst information the state “About 2,600 fi shermen, in- sea should be fi tted with GPS fa- remain above (politics)... where a cap of Rs10,000 on educational government got about the cy- cluding 1,130 Malayalees, were cility where two-way communi- they are expected to remain, and expenses paid to the children of clone was on November 30 rescued and as per the records cation regarding the weather will do not meddle with politics....” defence forces martyrs. noon. with us 92 are still missing,” the be available,” Vijayan said. Asked later what exactly his He said Chairman of the “There was no advance infor- chief minister said. “Two hundred people will be statement meant, he said it was Chiefs of Staff Committee, navy mation about Cyclone Ockhi at He said Rs2mn had been an- recruited to the Coastal Police a clear statement and refused to chief Admiral Sunil Lanba, has all. On November 30, at 8.30am nounced for the families of and preference will be given to elaborate. informed her of the issue, and the India Meteorological De- each person who died in the the children of fi shermen who Army Chief General Bipin Rawat speaks at the 33rd USI National “In the good old days, we always she has said the it will be ad- partment told us about a very cyclone. Those who have been lost their lives or are missing.” Security Lecture in New Delhi yesterday. said we don’t discuss women and dressed on priority. Gulf Times Thursday, December 7, 2017 25 LATIN AMERICA

DEMAND LAW AND ORDER TRAGEDY POLICY CORPORATE Cuba must end ‘targeted Bone fragments to be Five electrocuted Paraguay legalises planting Petrobras to receive attacks’ on envoys: US tested for DNA links in Guatemala of medical marijuana $200mn graft repayments

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson yesterday Mexican authorities said they will aim to identify Five people have been killed in Guatemala as Paraguay’s Congress has passed a bill creating Brazilian state oil company Petroleo Brasileiro demanded that Cuba halt mystery “targeted some 3,000 bone fragments, apparently human, they decorated a Christmas tree, the local fire a state-sponsored system to import marijuana SA will receive about 650mn reais ($201mn) in attacks” on US diplomats in Havana, dismissing found at the weekend in the northern state of brigade said. The victims were busy decorating seeds and grow the plant for medical uses. The funds recovered from the country’s largest-ever complaints that Washington has provided little Coahuila, where organised crime has been blamed the tree on the central square of the town of landlocked South American nation had authorised corruption investigation, known as Car Wash, the evidence about what happened. Over the past for the loss of thousands of lives. State prosecutors Malacatan, near the border with Mexico, when the importing of cannabis oil in May, under control federal prosecutors off ice for the state of Parana year dozens of US and Canadian staff working said they were sending the remains to a genetic they accidentally touched a power cable causing of the health ministry, and Tuesday’s decision said. The amount, which is set to be formally at their embassies in Cuba have fallen sick with laboratory to assess whether they could be linked electricity to surge into the metal-framed tree was celebrated by patients their and loved ones delivered at an event in the city of Curitiba symptoms including brain trauma, that off icials to people who have disappeared. According to and electrocute the five young people, local for making it more readily available. “We are very today, will be the largest remuneration payment initially suggested may have been caused by government data, nearly 18,600 people have media reported. The dead, who included at least happy because this will also allow for the import resulting from a corruption investigation in an unidentified acoustic weapon. US off icials no disappeared since President Enrique Pena Nieto two teenagers, were killed instantly, El Periodico of seeds for oil production,” said Roberto Cabanas, Brazil’s history, prosecutors said. Since 2015, longer use that term, and have not been drawn on took off ice in December 2012. In November, he reported online. Prosecutors have opened an vice president Paraguay’s medicinal cannabis Petrobras, as the company is commonly known, what may have caused the injuries, leaving Cuba signed into law a national commission dedicated investigation. Residents said the Christmas tree organisation. His daughter has Dravet syndrome has received 800mn reais in recovered funds, to allege it has been unfairly exposed to diplomatic to finding people who have disappeared. It will add had been erected in the same place for the past and the family was paying $300 a month for and payout today will bring that total to 1.45bn sanctions and a travel warning that hurt tourism. some $25mn to fund search eff orts in its first stage. 20 years without any problems. imported cannabis oil. reais. Mexico army executed two people, reveals rights body

Reuters where extrajudicial killings, tor- Mexico City ture and disappearances are car- ried out by both security forces and criminal gangs. exican soldiers arbi- “Adopting a new legal frame- trarily executed two work to regulate the operations Mpeople after an illegal of the armed forces in internal raid last year, a national rights security is not the answer. The body said, releasing its fi ndings current draft law risks weaken- as protests disrupted a debate in ing incentives for the civilian au- the Senate over a contentious bill thorities to fully assume their law to give the military more powers. enforcement roles,” Zeid said in a The military, deployed in Mex- statement. ico’s war on drug gangs for over Protesters successfully blocked a decade, has been embroiled in discussion of the bill for much of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro holds a gold bar during a meeting with representatives of the mining sector in Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela. several rights scandals including Tuesday, barring access points to the extrajudicial killings of gang the senate, and laying out placards members and the disappearance warning against the militarisation of 43 students near one of its bases of the country while pointing to a in 2014. massive rise in killings since presi- The case reported by the Na- dent Felipe Calderon fi rst put the tional Human Rights Commis- army on the streets in 2016. sion on its website related to a raid In his presidential campaign, on a home in the western state of Pena Nieto promised to develop Maduro’s cryptocurrency Jalisco last year. a large new national police force, The commission, chosen by but has ended up relying on mili- the senate and autonomous from tary forces for high-profi le opera- Mexico’s federal government and tions. its president, said the soldiers had Murders in Mexico in 2017 are tortured and sexually abused peo- on track to be the worst on record, prospects bleak: experts ple they found there. with 20,878 nationwide in the fi rst After arbitrary detention, sol- 10 months. Reuters and mismanaging its existing crude Orinoco Belt, plus gold preciated more than 99% under accusations of human rights diers killed two of them by break- Lawmakers are expected to Caracas bolivar currency. and diamonds. Maduro. violations and the undermining ing their necks, the commission push the bill through commit- Without such confi dence, the Bitcoin, the world’s most Basic food and medical items of democracy, have eff ectively said. tees and later put the measure “petro” would neither help Vene- popular cryptocurrency, has are increasingly out of reach for blocked the country from is- While its rulings are not bind- to a full vote on the senate fl oor. enezuela’s plan to create zuela raise funds nor help it avoid soared in recent weeks to nearly most citizens, fuelling malnu- suing new debt and have made ing, the commission’s recommen- Lower house lawmakers moved an oil-backed crypto- sanctions levied by US President $12,000 in what detractors call trition and preventable diseases. global banks increasingly wary dations are infl uential and require quickly on the bill last week after Vcurrency faces the same Donald Trump’s administration. evidence of a bubble but sup- Maduro says the country is of working with Venezuela. a response from the institutions it it had languished in committees credibility problems that dog “If any government is willing porters insist is the start of a the victim of an “economic war” But Venezuela is unlikely to reports on. for years. the ruling Socialist Party in fi - to set up a fair set of rules for a new monetary system not de- led by political adversaries with fi nd foreign companies willing The timing is awkward for Pres- The law has broad support from nancial markets and is unlikely cryptocurrency, it would be a pendent on central banks. the support of Washington. to accept payment for food or ident Enrique Pena Nieto’s gov- the ruling party and members of to fare any better than the strug- great thing,” said Sean Walsh of Venezuela’s infl ation is ex- Maduro has not outlined the medicine in newly minted pet- ernment, as it faces widespread the opposition National Action gling Opec member itself, inves- Redwood City Ventures, a bit- pected to top 1,000% this year, rules that would govern the pro- ros and has little chance of con- criticism over legislation passed Party who say it will give clear tors and technical experts said. coin and blockchain-focused driven by unchecked expansion posed currency, including what vincing creditors to accept them in the lower house and now in the rules limiting the use of soldiers to President Nicolas Maduro on investment fi rm. of the money supply and a cur- rights its holders would have in lieu of dollars when mak- senate that seeks to enshrine in fi ght crime. Sunday fl oated a plan to cre- “But if an administration has rency control system that critics over Venezuela’s oil reserves. ing payments on its distressed law the use of the military in crime “The law is aimed at avoiding ate the “petro” that would be a history of unfair treatment of say provides favourable treat- “The fact that the bolivar’s bonds, the experts said. fi ghting. the discretional use of the armed backed by the world’s largest the population, then tacking ment to well-connected offi cials value has plummeted shows “Given that there is no stable The United Nations human forces by the president,” PAN crude reserves, amid a crippling on a buzzword like ‘cryptocur- and business people at the ex- that people have very little judicial system in Venezuela, no rights chief called on Mexican senator Roberto Gil Zuarth told economic crisis worsened by US rency’ isn’t going to change that pense of everyday citizens. faith in Venezuela,” said Yazan one will trust anything that the lawmakers not to pass the bill, reporters. “Right now there are no sanctions that limit Venezuela’s behaviour.” Under the 15-year-old foreign Barghuthi of Jibrel Network, a government claims is backed saying Mexico needed a stronger rules. He doesn’t have to tell any- capacity to borrow money. The information ministry exchange regime, state agen- blockchain development fi rm. by assets of any kind,” wrote police force. body.” Cryptocurrencies rely on did not respond to requests for cies receive dollars to import “A tokenized asset will still have Marshall Swatt, founder of bit- UN High Commissioner for However, rights campaigners confi dence in clear rules and comment. food and medicine at a rate of 10 the same problem: Do we trust coin exchange Coinsetter, in an Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hus- worry the law opens the door to equal treatment of all involved, In further comments on bolivars, while private citizens the institution that is backing e-mail. “Even if the technology sein said the law did not contain military intervention in protests, three experts said, adding that Tuesday, Maduro said Venezue- now pay more than 108,000 per this to fulfi ll the promises that were proper and prevented gov- strong enough controls to protect as well as expanding military Venezuela was widely seen as la’s new virtual currency would greenback on the black market. this token represents?” ernment meddling (impossible civilians from abuses in Mexico, powers to spy on citizens. fl outing basic property rights be backed by oil from the heavy- The black market rate has de- US sanctions, in response to to imagine), it is dead on arrival.”

Crackdown China’s exports Honduras opposition to Cuba slump seeks full vote recount Reuters goods in 2016, followed by Ven- Havana ezuela. The economic crisis in Venezuela, lower revenue from Reuters coup and now backs Nasralla, said Authorities took a week to count commodity and related exports, Tegucigalpa that the opposition was seeking a votes in the nation of 9mn people, hinese exports to Cuba the devastation wrought by total recount of the vote, or legis- but the Organisation of Ameri- have plunged this year Hurricane Irma and the Trump lation to permit a run-off , which is can States (OAS) said results were Cin the latest sign of a administration’s tightening of he Honduran opposition not used in Honduras. marked by irregularities and er- worsening in the Communist- business and travel restrictions battling President Juan Hernandez, who has been rors. run island’s fi nancial situa- have left Cuba without cash to TOrlando Hernandez over praised by the US for his crack- The tribunal has not declared an tion, which began in 2015 with pay some suppliers and invest- a disputed presidential election down on violent street gangs, in- offi cial winner, but the results gave the economic crisis in its top ment partners. has proposed that a run-off be dicated his party might be willing a 1.60 percentage point advantage trading partner Venezuela. Western diplomats and busi- held if authorities would not re- to check all votes. to Hernandez over Nasralla, who Chinese exports to Cuba nessmen estimate Cuban state- count the entire vote. “We’re open to checking, that says tally sheets from ballot boxes slumped 29.8% to $1bn from run banks, which must pay TV star Salvador Nasralla, who there’s a review of one, two, three, were altered and has declared January through October com- suppliers, have fallen behind by claimed victory in the Novem- however many,” he said. “They talk himself the rightful winner. pared with the same period last anywhere from $800mn to well ber 26 election after early results about 5,000 (polling stations), of On Tuesday, the top offi cial at year, according to Chinese cus- over a billion dollars since 2015. put him ahead of Hernandez, has more, of less; there’s no problem, the electoral tribunal, David Mata- toms. Chinese exports peaked “China’s exports to Cuba been locked in a bitter row over the but it has to be under the proce- moros, invited the opposition to at a record $1.9bn in 2015, nearly are experiencing diffi cult times vote count since the process broke dures established by Honduran compare their copies of voter tally 60% above the annual average and the pressure continues for down and suddenly swung in the law.” sheets with the offi cial body’s ver- of the previous decade. They many businessmen due to the president’s favour. Hernandez has not claimed vic- sions. slipped slightly last year to economic diffi culties this Car- The dispute has sparked deadly tory in broadcast comments in re- Matamoros also said the tribu- $1.8bn. ibbean nation is going through,” protests and a night-time curfew cent days, but said “there will soon nal would extend a deadline for le- China sends a broad array of Hong Xiao, economic and in the poor, violent Central Ameri- be time to celebrate,” and praised gal challenges to Friday from yes- supplies to Cuba, from machin- commercial counsellor at the can country. his centre-right National Party for terday. Street protests in favour of ery and transportation equip- Chinese embassy, told Chi- Nasralla said the electoral tribu- containing itself during the tur- Nasralla that began last week have ment to raw materials, chemi- nese business representatives nal should review virtually all the moil that has followed the vote. been continuing. cals and food. attending a Havana trade fair voting cards. “If you don’t agree “That doesn’t mean it’s not a Nasralla’s centre-left Alli- The Chinese commercial of- last month, according to news with that, let’s go to a run-off be- vigorous party, and when they see ance bloc previously demanded fi ce in Havana said the decline agency Xinhua. tween (Hernandez) and Salvador it in the street, they’ll see some- a recount of nearly a third of tally Brazilian armed forces members patrol during an operation was due to Cuba’s payment Cuba’s trade in goods last Nasralla,” he said on Twitter. thing extraordinary they haven’t sheets, a request that was backed against drug traff icking gangs in the Mangueira slum, in Rio problems. year was $12.6bn, compared Former president Manuel Ze- seen yet,” he added, without elab- by the OAS and European Union de Janeiro, Brazil, yesterday. China ranked as Cuba’s fi rst with $15bn in 2015, more than laya, who was ousted in a 2009 orating. election observers. trading partner in terms of 80% imports. Gulf Times 26 Thursday, December 7, 2017 PAKISTAN

KP sets PPP puts rider on support up food safety for ruling party in Senate authority Internews Internews moon. Our demands are very tion provides that seats in the taining the share of Fata (12). would be carried out of 1pc es of origin and not in the prov- Peshawar Islamabad clear and are meant to ensure National Assembly shall be allo- According to the proposed census blocks. The proportion inces of their present residence. transparency in the process,” cated to each province, the Fed- reallocation, seats will increase of census blocks where the re- It had also missed illegal resi- PPP parliamentary leader in the erally Administered Tribal Areas for Balochistan (2 general seats verifi cation exercise is to be dents who were a great burden n a bid to standardise the he deadlock over the Senate Taj Haider says. (Fata) and the federal capital on + l woman seat), Khyber Pa- carried out was changed to 5pc on the provinces in which they quality of food being pro- electoral constituencies’ He said the PPP would not al- the basis of population in ac- khtunkhwa (4+l) and federal when the bill was passed by the were residing. Iduced and sold in the market, Tdelimitation law per- low passage of the constitution cordance with the last preceding capital (l+0), while seats for National Assembly. The internationally accepted the government in Pakistan’s sists as main opposition Paki- amendment bill in the upcom- census offi cially published. Punjab will decrease (-7 and -2). Senator Haider said that if de facto method, which records northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa stan People’s Party (PPP), of ing session of the Senate sched- There is a consensus among The seats for Sindh will remain the faulty methodology used in residents at their present place province has fi nally set up the Bilawal Bhutto, which enjoys a uled for December 11 if it’s just political parties that for pur- the same. the census 2017 was repeated in of residence, was the only Food Safety and Halal Food Au- dominant position in the Sen- demands were not met. poses of the next general elec- The inter-provincial Council the Post Enumeration Survey method to record popula- thority. ate, has refused to co-operate The bill, which paves the way tions to be held in 2018 and by- of Common Interests (CCI) had (PES) of 5pc selected blocks by tion correctly and this method Set up under the Khyber Pa- with the ruling Pakistan Muslim for the allocation of seats in the elections, allocation of National at a meeting on November 13 the same organisation that had should be used in the PES of the khtunkhwa (KP) Food Safety and League - N (PML-N), of Nawaz National Assembly and delimi- Assembly seats should be made approved publication of provi- carried out the census, the re- 5pc selected blocks. Halal Food Authority Act 2017, Sharif, unless its demands on tation on the basis of provision- on the basis of provisional re- sional results of the census for sults would once again become He called for the use of inter- the body will formulate stand- the modus operandi for a third- al census results, has already sults of the census 2017 with- purposes of Article 5l(5) as pro- controversial. nationally recognised templates ards, procedures, processes, and party audit of the census in 5% been passed by the National As- out changing the existing total vided in the bill. He said the de jure method for enumeration that record the guidelines for food labelling, census blocks are accepted. sembly. number of general seats (272) The CCI had also decided used in the census had regis- data and transmit it online to food additives and other food- “We are not asking for the Article 51(5) of the constitu- and women seats (60) and re- that a third-party validation tered migrants in their provinc- controlling offi ces. related enforcement. Offi cial sources said yester- day the authority will monitor and regulate the manufacture, storage and distribution of food How’s that? around the province. It will also Mother of missing activist regulate the regional sales and imports. The authority will have a cen- pleads for his safe return tral directorate in Peshawar apart from seven divisional headquar- ters across the province. DPA wherever he is, please send Food Safety and Halal Food Islamabad him back,” she pleaded. Authority director general Riaz Khan worked in collabora- Mehsud stated they have divided tion with an Indian initiative, food businesses into three cat- he elderly mother of a Aaghazedosti, which means egories - A, B and C. Pakistani rights activist “the beginning of friendship,” Category-A includes enter- Twho disappeared on the aimed at connecting people prises dealing with margarine, weekend, yesterday pleaded from the two countries. vanaspati, fat spreads, halal for her son’s safe recovery in a The disappearance coincid- animal fat, ghee, fi sh oil, edible video message. ed with the arrest of a young oil, spices, cereal products, soft Raza Khan, who works man in a northern Pakistani drinks, aerated water, fruits and for an organisation promot- town for writing pro-Indian vegetables, food additives and ing contacts between people slogans on the wall of his ingredients and cold storages. in Pakistan and neighbour- house. Category-B covers creamer- ing India, went missing in the He might face up to seven ies, dairies, dairy farms, bakers, eastern city of Lahore on Sat- years in jail. hotels, eateries and other small- urday, his brother told police. The Independent Human scale food companies. Category- India is considered a rival Rights Commission of Paki- C contains food manufacturing by Pakistan’s powerful mili- stan said it was the sixth dis- units. tary and activists from simi- appearance of a rights activist To test the quality of food lar goodwill organisations are in the country this year. products being manufactured often victims of threats and “We are worried and con- or sold in the province, Mehsud intimidation. cerned about it,” HRCP chair- said that they have three types of “We all are people who want man Mehdi Hasan told DPA laboratories including scientifi c, peace and harmony in Paki- from Lahore. appellate and medical. stan. We want Pakistan free In January, fi ve bloggers He said, additionally, fi eld of terrorism,” Khan’s mother whose writings were seen as staff can also conduct an on- said in the message posted on- critical of the army’s political the-spot medical test of food line. role went missing from diff er- handlers at production units, ea- “I am addressing to the ent cities. Disabled men play cricket on their wheelchairs following the observance of International Day of Disabled Persons, in Peshawar teries and kitchens, adding that prime minister and the presi- At least two of them later yesterday. International Day of Disabled Persons is observed across the world on December 3 with the aim to promote and the authority has been mandated dent of Pakistan, consider it as said they were picked up by Pa- understand disability issues. by law to issue licences to food an appeal by a mother. Please kistani intelligence agencies. operators in these categories. Rights of minorities should MPs’ pension proposal rejected

be secured more: top court Internews The Finance Division The Finance Division was of be introduced or moved in Islamabad was of the view that the view that grant of pension parliament except or with the Internews longing to minority faiths at the the government was refurbish- grant of pension to to members of parliament (MPs) consent of the federal cabinet. Islamabad provincial and federal levels. ing Hindu places of worship and members of parliament would lead to putting extra bur- The Parliamentary Aff airs Di- Justice Afzal remarked that a temple in the Karak district he federal cabinet has (MPs) would lead to den on the exchequer. “Moreo- vision informed that Rule 118 (3) the rights of minorities should of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He turned down a proposal putting extra burden on ver, fi ve years tenure was not of the Rules of Procedure and he Supreme Court of be taken into as much consid- said that the landmark Hindu Tfrom Bilawal Bhutto’s the exchequer enough admission of pension for Conduct of Business in the Na- Pakistan has ruled that eration as the rights of special Marriage Act had been passed Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) parliamentarians.” tional Assembly 2007 provided Tminority faith groups needs children are in policy earlier this year. to grant pension to members of retariat had conveyed that Second, the Finance Divi- that on receiving the consent of should feel that their rights circles. The deputy attorney general parliament after running into member of National Assem- sion had further conveyed the government or sanction of are the most secure in Pakistan “Those belonging to mi- assured the judges that all of opposition from the fi nance di- bly Shagufta Jumani wanted that suffi cient medical cover the president where necessary, than other citizens. nority faiths should feel as if the court’s orders pertaining to vision. to give notice for introducing was available to members of the member shall be intimated A three-member bench of they are given special consid- minorities’ rights were being A PPP lawmaker wanted par- a private member’s bill ti- parliament under the federal accordingly for moving private the apex court, headed by Jus- erations compared to ordinary implemented in Balochistan liament to approve the proposed tle ‘The Members of Parlia- medical attendance rules, 1990 member’s bill. tice Ejaz Afzal and comprising citizens in Pakistan,” he added. and Sindh as well. plan to grant pension to parlia- ment (salary and allowance) and therefore, they were not The cabinet was informed Justice Dost Muhammad and He remarked that minorities Justice Muhammad re- mentarians once they ceased to (Amendment) Bill 2017’ in required to grant pension that that the law and justice division Justice Ijazul Ahsan, said this should feel that their rights are marked that even the major- be parliamentarians on the com- National Assembly which would result in fi nancial com- had advised that the approval while hearing a suo motu case the most secure in Pakistan. ity seems to be in the minority pletion of their tenure. falls under the defi nition of plications for the country and of the cabinet was necessary for pertaining to the preservation During the course of pro- now as a minority can hold us A senior government offi cial the Money Bill requiring prior put additional burden on the conveying the consent or dissent of minorities’ rights in Pakistan, ceedings, Deputy Attorney hostage anytime it wishes to. revealed that the proposal was consent of the federal govern- national kitty. of the federal government for in- according to court sources. General Sohail Mehmood as- He also directed that minori- submitted in a cabinet meeting ment under the constitution. A senior government offi cial troduction of the proposed bill. The case was initiated in sured the court that all places ties be referred to as non-Mus- held last month. It was also informed that the of the Parliamentary Aff airs The cabinet discussed the 2014 on the request of Dr of worship belonging to mi- lims rather than minorities, as During the meeting chaired Finance Division was contacted Division said that the cabinet proposal in details and decided Ramesh Kumar. The bench di- nority communities were being enshrined in the Constitution. by Prime Minister Shahid to seek comments which had op- was also informed that Arti- not to give consent for the intro- rected the state to make special provided security. Later, the court disposed of Abbasi, it was informed that posed the legislation with some cle 74 of the Constitution en- duction of the proposed bill in considerations for people be- He also assured the court that suo moto notice case. the National Assembly Sec- reservations. joined that a Money Bill should parliament.

Bomb blast kills nine near border A bomb rigged to a motorcycle Year 2017 proves stellar for music industry exploded in a militant-plagued part of northwest Pakistan near the Afghan border, killing nine Internews A glimpse of their immeasurable With a voiceover from Randeep Hooda, to grow on one with each listen. on the scene earlier this year when Za- people, off icials said yesterday, Lahore popularity can be gauged from the fact the black and white toned music video is Ali Zafar, pop star and movie star in far sang it on Coke Studio. Reuters reports from Miranshah. that tickets for their gig, presented by directed by Amaan Ahmed. The single, equal parts, has been showcasing his Unlike the original, this version of ‘Ju- The bomb was detonated by Salt Arts, have sold-out twice now as ‘Main to Yahin Hoon’ is also featured on humanitarian side a lot more these past lie’ stripped down and has a brilliant per- remote control late on Tuesday he year 2017 is proving to be a additional tickets too went on sale and the soundtrack of Main Aur Charles, a few months. formance-based music video as well which when an army vehicle passed spectacular year for Pakistani were bought just as quickly. They are Bollywood fi lm, starring Hooda. He raised $1mn for Shaukat Kha- features Zafar alongside a number of mu- in Mir Ali town in the North Tmusic industry with many sig- also active on Instagram where fans The video’s timing is also important num Memorial Cancer Hospital and sicians including guitar god, Asad Ahmed. Waziristan region, said three nifi cant moments worth celebrating. have been sharing stories of their fi rst given the simple but powerful belief Research Centre from a fi ve-city tour Running over 5 minutes, the track is off icials who declined to be Apart from consistent new music memory of Strings which tells you that art is beyond borders and can bring of the US and also released ‘Kuch Tou a complete departure from the Coke identified as they are not releases from newer and edgier artists about their pioneering role in pop mu- people together in these divisive, diffi - Ghalat Horaha’ video that encapsulates Studio style. Sitting on a sofa and belt- authorised to speak to the media. throughout the year, music afi cionados sic history. cult and maddening times. life as it stands (with poetry written ing out the verses, this jazzy-bluesy A spokesman for the Pakistani are looking forward to the announced Also back in the spotlight is Ali Az- Atif Aslam and Ali Zafar, modern and recited by Zafar). version is just as eff ective as the origi- army, which is responsible for welcomes of the country’s music heav- mat, who is gearing up to unveil a brand music’s two most revered names in Pa- Zafar’s latest, a collaboration with nal and more to the point does a great security in the volatile, ethnic yweights getting back in the ring. new music video. A teaser of the video kistan, have also released new material. Patari, Pakistan’s largest audio stream- job of highlighting Zafar’s vocals and Pashtun region, did not respond Pakistan’s longest standing music was released recently and it looks like In the former’s case, the song ‘Dil ing platform, and Lightingale Produc- his ability to shift styles, something to calls seeking comment. group, Strings, featuring Faisal Kapa- Azmat is one artist whose work is im- Diyan Gallan’ is from the soundtrack tions is just as signifi cant. you don’t see every day. “Waziristan is bleeding once again,” dia and Bilal Maqsood, is all set to take proving with age. of the upcoming high profi le Bolly- As part of Patari Funkariyaan (whose At a time when Patari is backing some said police off icial Tahir Khan in the stage in Karachi over the coming It is also apparent that he is noticing the wood fi lm, Tiger Zinda Hai starring earlier releases have featured the likes of the most innovative ideas and artists Peshawar, the main city in the weekend. After taking a backseat as discontent outside and within and using it Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif. And of Abid Brohi, Kashmir, Ali Hamza, Ali from the new generation, it is important northwest, who said he had heard studio artists for four years in order to to fuel the narrative in this video just like though most Atif Aslam-sung Bolly- Sethi, Mahira Khan and Haroon Sha- for industry icons to show support and about the blast but had no details. spearhead Coke Studio, Strings will be he’s done it in the past with records like wood tunes blend into each other, this hid), Zafar has performed a live and raw Zafar’s collaboration, will hopefully, No militant group claimed celebrating 30 years come 2018. Social Circus and Klashinifolk. one is quite pleasant and has potential version of ‘Julie’, a song that appeared inspire others to do the same. responsibility. Gulf Times Thursday, December 7, 2017 27 PHILIPPINES

Watchdog uncovers possible fatality of dengue vaccine

By Jeff erson Antiporda tion done by former offi cials Manila Times of the DOH led by then Sec- retary (Janette) Garin during the administration of former nti-corruption advo- President (Benigno) Aquino,” cates yesterday said a Jimenez said. A10-year-old girl who The Food and Drugs Admin- died six months after being in- istration (FDA) of the Philip- oculated with Dengvaxia may pines has ordered the recall of have been the fi rst fatality of Dengvaxia. the dengue vaccine. The previous administra- Dante Jimenez, chairman of tion spent P3.5bn to procure the Volunteers Against Crime the newly registered Dengue and Corruption (VACC), said vaccine. his group is gathering cases Jimenez said his group is of children who died or fell ill investigating two other cases after getting the anti-dengue similar to Christine’s – one in vaccine developed by French Bulacan province and another pharmaceutical giant Sanofi in Bataan. Pasteur. He added that VACC cen- Jimenez cited the case of tral Luzon co-ordinator Pyra Christine Mae de Guzman, a Lucas is looking at the case of grade four pupil from Bataan a child in Tarlac who showed who died six months after re- “symptoms” of the vaccine’s ceiving the initial dose of the ill- eff ects. vaccine in 2016. “We will make sure that af- The girl’s parents said their ter we have gathered all the child has not been infected evidence, a class suit against with the dengue virus before the supplier and those who her immunisation on April implemented the vaccina- 4, 2016 as part of the Dengue tion programme will be fi led,” School-Based Immunisation Jimenez said. Activists hold anti-government slogans during a protest at the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) headquarters in Manila yesterday. They were denouncing the government’s programme, of the Depart- The VACC will also deter- war on drugs, the extension of martial law in Mindanao and the crackdown on activists. ment of Health (DoH). mine if there was corruption Six months after she re- in the procurement of the vac- ceived the dose, Christine cines. fell ill. She died on October The vaccine was only regis- 15, 2016 at the Bataan Gen- tered with the FDA on Decem- eral Hospital (BGH) in Balanga ber 22, 2015 and the govern- City. Doctors said the cause of ment made the procurement death was intravascular coag- on March 2016 and adminis- Duterte wants another ulation and severe dengue. tered it to children in Central “The case of Christine is the Luzon, Southern Tagalog and result of massive irresponsible the National Capital Region and indiscriminate vaccina- (NCR) in April. year to end drug menace Miss Universe begins four-day tour of nation

By Catherine S Valente “This drug problem, it will narcotics trade. The president Newly-crowned Miss Universe of its “Bring Home A Friend To Manila Times not stop. It’s a non-issue to ‘Mass arrest’ of communist leaders planned said he ordered the participa- 2017 Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters The Philippines” campaign. me and I will not answer it tion of the PNP anew because of South Africa began her The 2017 Miss Universe anymore, except to say that my President Rodrigo Duterte yester- wanted. You demanded. I gave of the “notable resurgence four-day tour around the contestants – Miss USA, Miss resident Rodrigo Du- oath of office demands that I day said he will order the “mass too much too soon,” Duterte said. in illegal drug activities and Philippines yesterday, with Canada, Miss Great Britain, terte yesterday asked for protect the Filipino people and arrest” of the communist leaders “I concede to your brilliance crimes committed” since he the historic Intramuros as her Miss China, Miss Russia, Miss Panother year to end the that the Republic of the Philip- who were freed to participate or whatever, your ideologues, directed the PDEA to handle first stop. With her were Miss Italy, Miss Netherlands, Miss In- drug menace, virtually admit- pines is safe. That is the long in the peace negotiations. The but then the simple matter is the drug problem. Universe 2016 Iris Mittenaere dia, Miss Malaysia, Miss Spain, ting that he needs more time to and short of it,” Duterte said in president, speaking during the really sovereignty is owned by The PNP, he said, was of France who was crowned Miss Singapore and Miss Ko- curb the “resurgence” of illegal his speech. oath-taking of newly promoted the Filipino people and nobody brought back to the drug war in Manila by Miss Universe rea – made a stop at Rizal Park drugs. “I hope to finish the prob- military off icials in Malacanang, else. And one day, I will just hope anew to curb the narcotics sale 2015 Pia Wurtzbach back in and took photos beside the On the campaign trail, Du- lem. Maybe give me just an- said he was fed up with the recent you’re arrested. You want to fight in the country. January; Top 10 placer Binibin- national hero’s monument. terte had promised to eradicate other year,” he added. actions of the communist rebels the country, create a revolution, “The police will return, they ing Pilipinas-Universe Rachel They also explored the nearby the drug problem within three Duterte made the statement and reiterated that he is no longer fine. We’ve been fighting you for will return…My request is very Peters; and several other Intramuros and Fort Santiago, to six months after getting a day after he signed Memo- inclined to talk with them, Manila 50 years and we will fight again simple. It is doable by anybody, candidates from around the marvelling over Spanish archi- elected. randum Order 17 directing Times reported. “And for those for another 50 years. That’s what with no effort at all,” Duterte world who competed in Las tecture from the 16th to 18th Speaking before newly ap- the Philippine National Police who are out temporarily, any day, you want. I just have to prepare said. Vegas in November, Manila centuries, which survived the pointed government officials in (PNP) to provide “active sup- I will order for their mass arrest. I the country for such eventuality,” “When I was mayor and then Times reported. Accompanied Japanese bombings during Malacanang, Duterte said the port” to the Philippine Drug can’t do anything, that’s what you he added. I became president, I only had by Miss Universe Organisation World War II. government’s fight against ille- Enforcement Agency (PDEA), one message for everybody: president Paula Shugart, the Later, the most beautiful wom- gal drugs will continue despite which remains the lead agen- ‘Do not destroy my country be- bevy of beauties were invited en of the universe proceeded widespread criticisms over the cy tasked to address the drug rules the October 10 memoran- maintain police visibility while cause I will kill you. Do not de- to the country by the Depart- to Resorts World Manila for a alleged extrajudicial killings of menace. dum signed by Duterte, which the PDEA conducts its nation- stroy the young Filipinos, they ment of Tourism (DOT) as part press conference. suspected drug personalities. Memorandum Order 17 over- instructed the PNP to merely wide operations against illicit are our only assets,’” he added. Confi scation crusaders in eff ort to save paradise

AFP just a few minutes. Tata appears tongue was cut off . His testi- Mesecoy unfl appable during the gruelling cles were cut off and placed in his mission, showing no fear or hint mouth,” Chan says. of fatigue. “So it was a message that this is ata gives hand signals The 50-year-old has had a where we buried your man and that for his men to drop to lifetime of confl ict to steel him, if you keep on doing this kind of Tthe rainforest fl oor as having led a private militia for a work this is what’s going to happen the searing whine of a chain- corrupt general before fl ipping to you.” saw fades, their mission to save sides two decades ago. Twelve PNNI para-enforcers a critically endangered piece of But during a short meal break have been murdered since 2001, paradise in the Philippines sud- of rice and dried fi sh after the most recently in September when denly on hold. confi scation, the stump of a 49-year-old Ruben Arzaga was Former para-military leader once-giant Apitong behind him, shot in the head while approaching Efren “Tata” Balladares has been Tata breaks down as he despairs an illegal logging site. leading the other fl ip fl op-wear- at the corruption that led him to Chan, who studied in Manila at ing environmental crusaders up become a civilian para-enforcer. the Philippines’ most prestigious and down the steep mountains “This should be the work of private college, says the deaths of Palawan island for the past 15 the government but they are not make him question whether he hours in the hunt for illegal log- doing their job. Who else is go- should continue the programme. gers. ing to stop this if we’re not here,” “Every time we lose someone we One of them is nursing a swol- File photo shows Efren “Tata” Balladares (third left), one of the he says. File photo shows environmental para-enforcer Gilbert Badul, from get weaker. We get more afraid and len left arm that was broken a leaders of the Palawan NGO Network Inc (PNNI), standing in front of Palawan is often called the Phil- the Palawan NGO Network Inc (PNNI), inspecting illegally cut wood we lose some of the idealism that few days earlier when he fell other para-enforcers from the group on the outskirts of a forest near ippines’ last ecological frontier, as on Palawan island. we initially had when we came to- during a reconnaissance trip. the tourist town of El Nido on Palawan island. it is home to most of the nation’s gether,” he says about a week after He has yet to see a doctor and remaining forests and its waters They use a little-known citi- lounge room sofas that were confi s- Arzaga’s death. “I can’t help but it is just wrapped in a bandage. scend like a pack of wolves on the chainsaw. Tata starts asking the are renowned as a global biologi- zen’s arrest law, plus the support cated for mining gold. feel I am somehow responsible for Having slept overnight for two loggers, who are sawing into loggers questions, using a com- cal hotspot. of local communities, to confi scate Home-made rifl es and pistols pushing not just him, but the others just 30 minutes on a forest track, the cut-down trunk of an Api- manding but non-threatening With its stunning limestone chainsaws, mining drills, cyanide seized from illegal loggers and fi sh- who have died before him, into this.” they should be exhausted from tong tree, a critically endangered tone of a well-trained policeman cliff s, lagoons with turquoise fi shing gear and any other equip- ermen hang on the walls inside the A perennial lack of funds com- the hike. hardwood that is a favourite or soldier. waters and long stretches of un- ment used to destroy Palawan’s en- small, four-room headquarters. pounds the problem, with potential They could also be forgiven among developers in the nearby “Do you have a permit for the touched beaches, top tourist vironment. Displaying the confi scated equip- donors often deeming their actions for being frozen with fear: team tourism boom town of El Nido. lumber? Is the chainsaw regis- magazines rate Palawan one of the The para-enforcers have con- ment in such an audacious manner too confrontational. But Chan and members have been murdered to As the para-enforcers ap- tered?” world’s most beautiful islands. fi scated more than 700 chainsaws sends a message to the powerful his para-enforcers have always stop their operations and others proach, Tata’s voice roars for the The loggers, squatting on the But it is also a magnet for cor- since PNNI was established nearly that the para-enforcers will not be emerged from post-death depres- bear scars from the razored teeth fi rst time all day: “Stop! Stop! fallen tree trunk with the para- rupt businessmen, politicians and two decades ago, according to its intimidated, according to Chan. sions, while somehow fi nding a way of the chainsaws they seek to Stop! Face down! Face down.” enforcers holding their shoul- security forces seeking to plunder founder and leader, environmental “We want to dispel that idea that to keep fi nancing their operations. confi scate. The loggers, young men ders, meekly respond in the the island’s natural wealth. lawyer Bobby Chan. nothing can be done for big envi- On the way to Arzaga’s funeral But with their targets so close, wearing ragged clothes similar negative. With weak or corrupt authori- In the small front yard of the ronmental crimes,” Chan says. they stop in the forest near where just a short sprint through ferns to their new foes that indicate “Ok, this is how it goes. We ties often unwilling to take on the group’s headquarters in Puerto But they are willing to pay a price he was murdered to try to confi scate and other scrappy lowland rain- mirrored lives of poverty, are are the Palawan NGO Network, fi ght, the Palawan NGO Network Princesa, the capital of Palawan, a that most other environmental another chainsaw. forest foliage, the adrenaline of stunned and simply stand in be- or PNNI,” Tata says. Inc, or PNNI, seeks to fi ll the void. Christmas tree made up of more campaigners won’t: their lives. They come across two sites the hunt’s imminent climax is wilderment or fear. “We’re here in the mountains The group has a strangely cor- than 100 chainsaws stands two Chan recounts how he and his where trees have been recently cut surging through them. The para-enforcers do not because according to reports, il- porate name for an anti-estab- storeys high.The property’s fences team found the body of para-en- down. The chainsaw starts up again brandish any weapons them- legal logging is rampant here.” lishment band of cash-strapped are made up of other chainsaws, forcer Roger Majim buried in a shal- It is raining heavily and the log- after a few minutes, providing selves. The para-enforcers give the environmentalists who believe and the back yard is scattered with low grave on a beach in 2004. gers have not returned to take away the necessary noise to silence But within a few seconds Tata loggers a receipt documenting traditional campaigning to save more. “The loggers put his fl ip fl ops on their new planks, so the para-en- their approach. and his men disarm the loggers the confi scation of the chainsaw the island’s resources can do little Also crammed in the front yard the mound where they buried him. forcers walk out of the forest emp- Tata whispers fi nal instruc- of their machetes, scan the site and scurry back into the forest, to stop the onslaught of corrup- is a large boat that had been used When we unearthed him he had, I ty-handed. But they have proved tions. to ensure there are no hidden in the remote district of Mese- tion. to transport illegal logs to Malay- think, 16 stab wounds. that, although weakened, they are The seven para-enforcers de- rifl es or pistols, and seize the coy, after an encounter lasting Their answer is direct action. sia, and two heavy drills the size of His eyes were gouged out. His not yet defeated. Gulf Times 28 Thursday, December 7, 2017 SRI LANKA/BANGLADESH/NEPAL

Lanka to hand port ICT sector to create 2mn to Chinese fi rm, receive jobs by 2021, says Hasina $300mn By Mizan Rahman The ICT division in collabo- crossed 80mn within eight with the fl ourishing informa- in 1996 broke the monopoly of ing, the Prime Minister said Reuters Dhaka ration with Bangladesh Associ- years of time,” she said. tion technology and Bangladesh mobile phone sector by giv- Bangladeshi freelancers attain Colombo ation of Software and Informa- She said that the ICT sector could play a leading role as it ing licenses to a number of the second position and will tion Services (BASIS) organised is expected to create about 2mn has huge number of young peo- companies. retain the top position soon. angladesh Prime Minis- the exposition. jobs in the country by 2021. ple which is the main element of “At the same time, the serv- The PM said the govern- ri Lanka will hand over ter Sheikh Hasina yes- Hasina called upon all to The prime minister also said industrial revolution. ices reached the remote areas of ment made the ICT education commercial activities in Bterday said the govern- work together to build Sonar people are now availing 200 Hasina said although the the country.” compulsory at the secondary Sits main southern port to ment will set up one high-tech Bangla as dreamt by Father of types of government services number of work force is de- She said her government set level from 2011 and supplying a Chinese company on Saturday park in all 64 districts across the Nation through turning the ‘through mobile apps sitting at creasing in the developed world up union digital centres in 2010 computers and other necessary and receive around $300mn out the country to promote the country into a welfare-orient- home. for the use of information tech- which were extended to munic- materials free of cost alongside of a $1.1bn deal soon after, Ports information communication ed, peaceful, knowledge based Hasina said the government nology but the age of 65% peo- ipal and city corporation levels setting digital classrooms. Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe technology (ICT) sector. digital one. has taken steps to take the gov- ple of Bangladesh is under 35. in 2013 and 2014. Hasina said training pro- said. “Necessary incentives will The PM said the dream she ernment services to the door- The government has already Information services were grammes on ICT have been ex- The deal, signed in July, will also be given if investors come and her party had showed the steps of people by reducing the taken projects to turn the huge made easily accessible to all panded across the country as see China Merchants Port Hold- up to invest in this sector in country’s people before the prices of Internet bandwidth, young force capable and suit- through introduction of the about 50,000 youths are being ings, handling the Chinese- proposed 100 economic zones 2008 general election to make development of infrastructure able for the challenge using the biggest web portal with 25,000 given skill development training. built Hambantota port on a across the country,” she said at ‘Digital Bangladesh’ is now a and reducing the price of digital demographic dividend of the government websites, she She said about 10,000 ICT 99-year lease. the inauguration of four-day reality. equipment to remove the digital country. added. graduates are coming out The Chinese fi rm last year Digital World, an ICT exposi- “In 2009 when our govern- divide. The prime minister said the Mentioning that her gov- every year from universities agreed to pay $1.12bn for an tion, at Bangabandhu Interna- ment assumed offi ce, only She said an opportunity of a prices of mobile sets and call ernment is trying to make the and they have been able to 80% stake in Hambantota port, tional Conference Centre with 1.3mn people of the coun- new industrial revolution has rates have been reduced re- young generation self-reliant attract the eyes of the world which is located near the main the theme ‘Ready for Tomorrow’. try used Internet and now it been opened for the country markably when her government by engaging them in freelanc- community. shipping route from Asia to Europe. But the deal triggered protests by opposition groups and trade unions, saying they feared China would take control of the port. When humanoid robot catches up with PM Government and diplomatic sources said that the United States, India and Japan had also By Mizan Rahman tional Conference Centre in asked how she knew her (prime daughter is Sophia,” the smil- raised concerns that China might Dhaka Dhaka. minister). In reply, Sophia said ing prime minister informed use the port as a naval base. A humanoid robot is a robot that she had read much infor- the audience who were clapping Both sides then agreed to re- with its body shape built to re- mation about the prime minis- loudly. draw the deal and the Chinese ophia, the new sensation semble the human body. ter and Bangladesh. Hasina then questioned her fi rm will now hold 70% stake in of the world, yesterday After the inaugural speech of “I know you are the daugh- on what she knows about the a joint venture with the state- Scaught Prime Minister the prime minister, the organis- ter of the great leader father of vision of the prime minister and run Sri Lanka Ports Authority Sheikh Hasina by surprise as ers announced to bring Sophia the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh ‘Digital Bangladesh’. (SLPA), part of a plan to convert the humanoid robot readily told on stage to meet Hasina. Mujibur Rahman. You are also Sophia fl awlessly told various $6bn of loans that Sri Lanka her about various facts relating Then wearing yellow-white known as the Mother of Hu- facts about the vision and ‘Dig- owes China into equity. to the prime minister. top and skirt Sophia came on manity in the world and you are ital Bangladesh’. Sri Lanka has said the Chinese PM Hasina met Sophia, the stage and the prime min- implementing ‘Digital Bangla- The world’s fi rst artifi cially fi rm will invest an additional the robot that generated ister asked her: “Hello Sophia, desh’,” she said. intelligent robot and Saudi citi- Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina interacting with human- $600mn to make Hambantota quite a buzz among the youth how are you?” Sophia also said she knows it zen Sophia came in Dhaka on oid robot Sophia in Dhaka yesterday. port operational and $1.12bn and the artifi cial intelligence “Hello honourable prime very well that the name of the Tuesday from Hong Kong to at- from the deal will be used for industry around the world, minister, I am feeling proud. prime minister’s granddaughter tend Digital World-2017. tors at the Hall of Fame inside Hong Kong-based Hanson debt repayment. at the inaugural ceremony of This is very nice to meet you,” is Sophia too. Sophia interacted with the Banganandhu International Robotics made Sophia having India is in advanced talks with four-day long Digital World Sophia replied. “Yes, the name of Joy’s (prime visitors at the expo yesterday. Conference Centre at a session the expressiveness, liveliness, Sri Lanka to operate an airport at Bangabandhu Interna- The prime minister then minister’s son and ICT adviser) She took questions from visi- titled ‘Techtalk with Sophia’ and interactivity features in it. near Hambantota port. Demand for welfare measures Bangladesh moves ahead with Rohingya relocation plan

IANS hectares in size, more than 37 The relocation plan was ap- well-being at risk,” said Patnaik. Dhaka miles from the mainland, of- proved by Bangladesh’s Prime In response to complaints, fi cially uninhabited and mostly Minister Sheikh Hasina on No- the Bangladesh navy conducted fl ooded during heavy rain or vember 28 and the same day a study which found that the angladesh is moving monsoon season. Amnesty International called island could be made habitable ahead with a controver- The international commu- upon the Bangladeshi govern- with land reclamation and work Bsial plan to move Ro- nity has praised Bangladesh ment to abandon the proposal, to protect the shoreline. hingya refugees to a low-lying, for taking in the refugees but calling it a “terrible mistake”. The government plans to build fl ood-prone island, with con- its plan to move some of them “Having opened its doors to nearly 1,500 barrack houses and struction of facilities to begin to Thengar Char has been met more than 600,000 Rohingya 120 shelter centres on 60 hec- “very soon”. with strong criticism. over the past three months, the tares of land on the island. About 100,000 of the 1mn Some 626,000 mainly Ro- Bangladesh government now “Although the land is fl ooded Rohingya refugees living in hingya Muslims have arrived risks undermining the protec- due to tidal eff ect of sea, it is very Bangladesh will be moved to in Bangladesh since August, tion of Rohingya and squander- much controllable by land de- Thengar Char, a remote island joining an existing Rohingya ing the international goodwill it velopment and shore protection in the Bay of Bengal by Novem- refugee population of up to has earned,” said Amnesty In- work,” Kamal’s statement said. ber 2019, according to details of 300,000. They say they’ve fl ed ternational’s South Asia direc- Bangladesh is also building the $278mn plan released by the widespread violence perpetrat- tor Biraj Patnaik. a 3,000-acre refugee camp at Disabled rights activists take part in a protest in Colombo yesterday, to draw attention to the plight offi ce of Bangladesh’s Minister ed by the military in the north “In its desperation to see Kutapalong, near the border of disabled people in the country. Disabled rights activists in Sri Lanka are urging the introduction of Planning Mustafa Kamal, of Myanmar’s Rakhine state. Rohingya leave the camps and with Myanmar, where most of building codes to allow disabled people better access to buildings and greater welfare measures. CNN reported. However, the Mynamar mili- ultimately return to Myanmar, Rohingya are currently living in The island is about 30,000 tary denies any wrongdoing. it is putting their safety and makeshift camps. Call for large-scale action to protect Guarding polling station Himalayas from climate impact

IANS More than 400 experts from lives and livelihoods,” she told a Brij Rathore, chief policy ad- Kathmandu 26 countries are taking part in session”. visory for natural resource man- the conference “Resilient Hin- She also called for the need agement at the International du Kush Himalaya: Developing for wealth equalising insti- Centre for Integrated Mountain cientists, policymakers Solutions towards a Sustain- tutions and value-based ap- Development (ICIMOD), said and experts have urged the able Future for Asia”. proach in HKH region. Besides, that active partnership of people Scountries in the Hindu Kush She said large-scale action re- mountain specifi cities must be in social and political fora is must Himalaya (HKH) region to take ac- quires system-based thinking for addressed to lower the moun- for redefi ning and elaborating tion without further delay to pro- bottom-up policymaking. The tain poverty, build resilience public policy and governance. tect the region from the increasing main mantra for sustainable large- and close income gaps between “The whole idea of political will impact of climate change. scale action is building social the plains and mountains. relies on people’s engagement, who Stressing on the need for large- capital and involving communities Sunil Roy, director, A N Sinha actually suff er from the impact of scale action, they said it is impor- that address structural issues. Institute of Social Studies (AN- climate change,” Rathore said. tant for addressing the challenges The HKH sources 10 major SISS) based in Patna, said while Gholam Rasul, food security and complexities of climate river systems in Asia that pro- framing policy-based resilience scientist at ICIMOD, said that change in the HKH region. vide water, ecosystem services action plans, people must be the relationship and interchange “Failing to take resilient action and livelihoods to more than engaged in the process. between upstream and down- immediately would only deepen 210mn people. The region “The communities must be at stream communities character- poverty, joblessness, food inse- holds and distributes water for the centrestage of the discourse ises much of the work that takes curity and malnutrition,” the ex- more than 1.3bn people living on climate resilience for local place in the HKH region. perts warned yesterday. in the downstream river basins. communities are best placed to Nearly all researchers agree Mona Sherpa, deputy country Carolina Adler of the Moun- recognise the problems and pro- that this relationship is of para- director, Helvetas Swiss Interco- tain Research Institute said pose appropriate decisions ac- mount importance to the HKH operation, Nepal, said during the that resilient action is urgently cordingly,” Roy said. region and requires improved deliberations at an international needed to halt poverty from He said that the formal and regional co-operation for a conference: “A number of steps getting worse. informal institutions in the sustainable and productive Police stand guard at a polling station on the eve of the second round of general election voting in such as strong coherence in poli- “Policy-based resilient action HKH countries should be in- future, he said, while address- Kathmandu yesterday. Nepal is gearing up for the second phase of its first national elections under cies, plans and actions, blending must be taken without further clusive and promote participa- ing the participants of the ses- the new constitution, introduced as part of the peace deal that ended the country’s brutal Maoist of technical and social solutions ado to address these impacts of tion of all stakeholders at local, sion “Regional Co-operation insurgency, cementing its transformation from a monarchy to a secular federal state. and a strong political will.” climate change on the people’s regional and global levels. in HKH”. Gulf Times Thursday, December 7, 2017 29 COMMENT Qatar Rail reaffi rms support for local rms fi

QNA Doha

s part of its commitment to Qatar National Vision 2030 and in line with the Agovernment’s diverse initiatives to encourage the local private sector, Qatar Rail has solidifi ed its commitment to support the private sector in Qatar. Since inception, Qatar Rail has been steadfast in the inclusion of various local private companies in the delivery of its projects. The company has long prioritised the provision of opportunities to the Qatari private sector through its projects related to build and design and accompanying works. Since its establishment in 2011, Qatar Rail began procuring civil works design and build contracts for Doha Metro Phase 1, completing procurement of the last of these contracts in 2014. To ensure local participation, Qatar Rail stipulated An artist’s impression of a Doha Metro station. that each civil works contractor must have at least one Qatari member at the for Doha Metro Phase 1 and Lusail CEO Engineer Abdullah al-Subaie said continuous support, our ambitious joint venture level with the vision that Tram systems. In line with the that Qatar Rail is a staunch advocate plans and achievements thus far this will fast-track the development of company’s commitment to generate of greater participation of the Qatari wouldn’t have been possible. It is their the local construction industry. more jobs locally, this contract is private sector. Qatar Rail has awarded support that keeps us both on track As a result, the Qatari construction shaped in a way that it will create up to over 80% of the projects being and on schedule”. sector now has greater experience of 1,500 jobs in the local private sector. implemented so far to the private For his part, Chairman of Al Bidda The completed Red Line South elevated track works. large complex projects and is better Furthermore, Qatar Rail is now sector. Switchgear Sheikh Suhaim bin able to support development of key looking to provide opportunities Since the beginning, Qatar Rail has Abdulaziz al-Thani expressed his pride expressed his commitment to guidance you have helped us shape national infrastructure for 2030 and for private sector investment to sought to encourage local companies at the Qatar Rail project as it supports continue to support Qatar Rail and the our business to best comply with the beyond. partner with Qatar Rail on several to take part in joint ventures with the Qatar National Vision 2030, and delivery of the railway system. highest standards set not only locally In addition to participation at joint future projects including Transit- international companies. The local added that his company managed to “At Qatar National Aluminium but internationally,” he said. venture level, Qatar Rail requires its oriented developments, Park-and- businesses can provide their expertise deliver to this mega project products Panel Company we make every eff ort Mohamed al-Jufairi, managing contractors to maximise the use of Ride facilities, future metro and on existing systems in the Qatari that are fully manufactured on Qatari to ensure our products and services partner of NFFCO Qatar pledged to local Qatari companies at subcontract tram projects, private use of state- market, while international companies soil. are delivered to the highest standards, continue being a part of the project, level. This obligation is written into owned transport infrastructure can share their knowledge on the He noted that Qatar Rail has worthy of this landmark project we noting that it is a true refl ection of every contract awarded by Qatar Rail. for advertising, communications establishment of a world-class rail continuously provided the company are privileged to be a part of. The Qatar National vision 2030. Consequently, 1,998 subcontracts, and other uses, renewable energy network. Such partnerships add value with the support needed, working support that we received from Qatar He said that the opportunities which amounts to 84% of all schemes, provision of feeder systems to both the company itself and the with them like partners rather than Rail is unwavering, your patronage given to the company in some of the subcontracts, were awarded to Qatari for moving passengers in the fi rst and project it is implementing, al-Subaie suppliers. has played crucial role in promoting packages are remarkable, recognising companies. last portions of their journeys, and so added. Meanwhile, Chairman of Qatar local companies and providing them the immeasurable support and Most recently, Qatar Rail has forth. He expressed sincerest thanks to all National Aluminium Panel Company with unparalleled opportunities for commitment of Qatar Rail towards the awarded the service provider contract Qatar Rail’s Managing Director and local partners. “Were it not for their (Q-NAP) Sheikh Naif Ali al-Thani growth. Through your leadership and country’s economic development.

Putting Europe’s unemployed back to work Three-day forecast TODAY unemployment, at least when unemployed people who have lost lower spending for unemployment Maximum Temperature : 260c By Alois Stoger and Nicolas Schmit Minimum Temperature : 180c Vienna suffi cient jobs are available. But all hope into workers with a renewed insurance and other social benefi ts for people who are 50 or older, the sense of dignity. In each country, will off set a large part of the financing FRIDAY termination of a work contract all too workers are being given a new chance costs. Given that older long-term Maximum Temperature : 230c lthough the European often leads to prolonged joblessness. to contribute productively to society. unemployed workers are unlikely Minimum Temperature : 160c Union is in the midst of For example, among unemployed In Austria, a new programme called to fi nd another job in the private SATURDAY an economic recovery, Europeans 50 and over, 60.3% “Aktion 20,000” aims to halve the sector, we believe it is well worth the Maximum Temperature : 220c Along-term unemployment have been unemployed for more number of long-term unemployed limited expense to upgrade them from Minimum Temperature : 170c – joblessness and job-seeking than a year; but for all unemployed by mid-2019, by creating 20,000 unemployed to active workers. Fisherman's forecast that lasts at least a year – remains Europeans of working age, that additional jobs exclusively for long- As the ministers overseeing stubbornly high in many of the number falls signifi cantly, to 46.6%. term unemployed workers who are 50 or labour-market policies in Austria and WARNING Inshore : Nil countries that were hardest hit Behind these statistics are above. The programme will subsidise up Luxembourg, respectively, we hope Offshore : Nil by the 2008 fi nancial crisis and individual stories of personal tragedy, to 100% of labour costs, and its success that these programmes will provide a its aftermath. Unfortunately, the self-doubt, despair, and lost faith will be assessed according to two model for other European countries WEATHER Inshore : Hazy to misty at places European Commission’s proposals for in society. Consider the case of a criteria: newly created jobs must serve to follow as they look for ways to at first becomes mild addressing the problem are in many 53-year-old chief IT offi cer with a a genuine economic purpose, and they address the problem of long-term day time with some cases insuffi cient. doctorate who was laid off from a must be a net addition to existing jobs, unemployment. And, at the European clouds, relatively cold Europe needs far more innovative medium-size Austrian company. not a replacement. level, we believe that an ambitious but by night. WIND labour-market policies to spur job While unemployed, he sent out In the three months since the not impossible goal should be added Inshore : Southeasterly - South- creation and reduce long-term hundreds of job applications. But on programme’s launch, the best- to the EU’s agenda: To provide every westerly - 5-15 KT unemployment, which can be the few occasions when he was called performing pilot region has already long-term unemployed person who is Offshrore : Northwesterly - Southwesterly 03-12 KT particularly destabilising for society. in for an interview, employers fi rst managed to reduce the rate of long- able, ready, and willing to work with reaches 15 KT at north As we have seen, unemployment told him he was “too expensive” or term unemployment among older the opportunity to do so. by night. has been an important factor in the “overqualifi ed.” people by an astonishing 43%. That Under current fi scal rules, achieving Visibility : 4-8/3 km rise of populist parties that are now Discrimination based on age, amounts to almost a thousand people this goal will require some fl exibility to SEA STATE threatening social cohesion, democracy, though illegal in the EU, is a routine who have found jobs through the allow countries with particularly high Inshore : 1-2 FT and the rule of law in Europe. occurrence. The fact is that the labour programme so far. levels of unemployment to fi nance Offshore : 1-3 FT, Rises to 4 FT at According to Eurostat, the market does not work properly for Similarly, Luxembourg launched innovative labour-market policies places at times. statistical arm of the European prospective workers at the end of their a programme in September 2017 and job-creation programmes. In the Around the region Commission, 10mn people across the prime years. But that needs to change that will backstop newly created long run, the cost will be well worth it. Weather Weather EU’s 28 member-states were suff ering if we are going to restore trust in our permanent employment contracts Project Syndicate tomorrow Max/min tomorrow Max/min from long-term unemployment in political system. Those who are willing for long-term unemployed people Baghdad Cloudy 16/04 Sunny 16/03 2016. Of these, around 8mn are in the and able to work deserve support so of any age. Like Austria’s initiative, zAlois Stoger is Federal Minister for Kuwait City Cloudy 23/08 Sunny 18/07 eurozone, and more than a quarter are that they do not end up permanently Luxembourg’s programme is focused Labour, Social Aff airs, and Consumer Manama Sunny 26/18 Cloudy 21/15 50 and over. excluded from opportunities to do so. primarily on creating new jobs that Protection in Austria. Nicolas Schmit Muscat Sunny 24/17 Sunny 25/19 For young people, a university The governments of Austria, will reinforce and add to existing is Luxembourg’s Minister of Labour, Tehran S Showers 13/01 Sunny 08/00 education or vocational training Luxembourg, and Greece are at the social or public-sector activities. Employment, and the Social and can insure against long-term forefront of eff orts to transform In both programmes, savings from Solidarity Economy. Live issues Eating almonds, chocolate may lower cholesterol

“Almonds alone lowered LDL The exact amount of calories in By Lisa Rapaport Around the world Reuters Health cholesterol levels and chocolate and meals and snacks was calibrated to cocoa did not, but they also did not each participant’s current weight and Weather Weather increase LDL cholesterol levels, ”said designed to help them maintain that today Max/min tomorrow Max/min verweight and obese people senior study author Penny Kris- weight during the study period. Athens Sunny 17/09 Sunny 17/09 who eat almonds and Etherton, a nutrition researcher at The study was small, and it’s Beirut P Cloudy 16/12 M Sunny 18/12 chocolate every day may Penn State University. possible results would be diff erent Bangkok P Cloudy 34/26 P Cloudy 33/23 have lower cholesterol than The results don’t mean it’s wise for with a larger group of people. Berlin P Cloudy 06/04 Showers 06/00 O Cairo Sunny 20/10 Sunny 21/11 their counterparts who don’t consume people to eat almonds and chocolate Kris-Etherton and other authors these foods, a recent experiment by the pound, however. received funding from the Hershey Cape Town Sunny 34/24 Sunny 29/18 suggests. per day. Everyone also had a four- “We do have about 270 Company and from the Almond Board Colombo P Cloudy 29/24 Sunny 30/24 Consumed separately, almonds week period of adding both the nuts discretionary calories that we can of California. Dhaka P Cloudy 28/20 Showers 23/19 and chocolate have each been linked and the dark chocolate with cocoa to include in our diet, and I tell people Even so, the fi ndings add to existing Hong Kong P Cloudy 23/17 M Sunny 21/13 to lower blood sugar, blood pressure, their diet. to use their discretionary calories evidence that nuts and cocoa have Istanbul P Cloudy 11/08 Sunny 13/10 cholesterol and hunger levels in Adding just the almonds reduced wisely,” Kris-Etherton said by health benefi ts, said Samantha Heller, Jakarta S T Storms 32/26 S T Storms 32/26 previous studies. All of these things participants’ levels of low-density e-mail. That means having almonds a registered dietician and author in Karachi Sunny 27/12 Sunny 28/12 are risk factors for heart disease. lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol – the and chocolate in moderation, and New York City who wasn’t involved London Rain 13/01 P Cloudy 04/-1 For the current study, researchers bad kind that can build up in blood instead of other sweets and treats, in the study. These foods can help Manila S T Storms 31/24 T Storms 31/25 tested cholesterol levels in 31 vessels and lead to clots and heart not in addition to cookies, candy and fi ght infl ammation, provide fi bre and Moscow Cloudy -4/-9 Cloudy -5/-6 overweight and obese people. For four attacks – by 7 percent, the study desserts. healthy fats, among other things. New Delhi P Cloudy 24/11 Sunny 26/11 weeks, all of them followed a typical found. Participants in the experiment But moderation is key, Heller said New York Sunny 09/02 M Cloudy 06/02 American diet. Every day for another Combining almonds with dark ranged in age from 30 to 70 years, by e-mail.“Eating nuts and dark Paris Rain 11/02 Showers 05/-2 four weeks, they all added almost chocolate and cocoa also reduced and all of them were overweight or chocolate in place of other less Sao Paulo S T Storms 27/20 T Storms 26/19 one-third of a cup of almonds to the small, dense LDL particles that obese. healthy foods such as chips, fast Seoul P Cloudy 06/-8 Sunny -1/-6 typical diet. In another four-week are a risk factor for cardiovascular During the study, people got roughly food, commercial candy or cookies, Singapore T Storms 31/25 T Storms 30/24 period, participants added almost disease, researchers report in the half their calories from carbohydrates, in appropriate portions, along with Sydney M Sunny 28/18 S T Storms 24/17 one-quarter cup of dark chocolate and Journal of the American Heart about 16% from protein and about 33 an overall healthy lifestyle, may off er Tokyo Clear 12/03 Cloudy 10/05 about 2.5 tablespoons of cocoa powder Association. to 36% from fat. health benefi ts,” Heller said. Gulf Times 30 Thursday, December 7, 2017 COMMENT

Chairman: Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Attiyah Editor-in-Chief: Faisal Abdulhameed al-Mudahka Deputy Managing Editor: K T Chacko

P.O.Box 2888 Doha, Qatar [email protected] Telephone 44350478 (news), 44466404 (sport), 44466636 (home delivery) Fax 44350474 GULF TIMES A month after Hariri saga, Saudi’s Lebanon gambit backfi res His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani holding talks with the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah in Kuwait on Tuesday. His Highness the Emir was in Kuwait to attend the 38th Gulf Co-operation Council Summit. A month ago, Saudi Arabia pressured Lebanese premier Saad Hariri to step down in an audacious endeavour to rein in regional rival Iran. But the aftermath brought just the opposite. Not only did Hariri rescind his resignation on Tuesday, but Riyadh’s power play paradoxically led divided Lebanese GCC Summit reaffi rms factions to come together in order to avoid a political breakdown. The Lebanese cabinet issued a joint statement on Tuesday to reaffi rm their commitment to staying out of regional confl icts and apparently put an end to the month-long Hariri saga. His resignation caught Lebanon and outside countries by commitment to unity surprise, and was seen as a direct result of the escalating power struggle between Riyadh and Tehran that has seen QNA of Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu a comprehensive strategic dialogue to its eff orts in confronting the so- them square off from Syria to Yemen. Kuwait Musa were also condemned. develop the GCC’s relations with Iraq called Daesh and other terrorist Saudi Arabia has supported Hariri for years, hoping he The GCC underlined that Iran in all political, security, economic, organisations. would fi ght back against Shia armed movement Hezbollah. should cease its support of terrorist cultural and other fi elds. The Supreme Council affi rmed he 38th Gulf Co-operation groups that have a destabilising On Syria, the Supreme Council its rejection of the role of Iran and But in 2016, a landmark compromise deal in Lebanon cut Council Summit, which impact on the region, particularly the affi rmed its fi rm positions and Hezbollah’s terrorist organisation in across those political lines, bringing Hariri in as the head of a ended in Kuwait on Tuesday, Gulf. resolutions on the Syrian crisis and destabilising Lebanon, weakening its government that included Hezbollah ministers. Texpressed the bloc’s The attending delegations also the Geneva resolution, and Security political and security institutions, By the time Hariri’s premiership turned a year old, the commitment to unity and keenness expressed support of the agreement Council resolution 2254 which breaking up national unity and fuelling Saudis had grown exasperated with Hezbollah’s growing to attain further co-ordination and signed between the six-nation GCC provides for the establishment of sectarian confl icts. infl uence and threatened to push back fi nancially, a source integration across all domains. and the US, which aims to block the a Transitional Authority for the The Supreme Council reiterated In its final communique carried funding of terrorism through the administration of the country, the its keenness on the security, stability close to the premier said. by Kuwait News Agency, the session launch of a centre with the goal. drafting of a new constitution for and unity of the Libyan territories “When Hariri travelled to Saudi Arabia (in early said the six member-nations’ leaders The summit also condemned the Syria and the preparation of elections and supporting the eff orts exerted November), he got a huge shock,” the source said. were committed to the GCC’s goals deadly attack on a mosque in Egypt’s for a new future for the Syrian people. to confront the so-called Daesh and “He thought he was going to discuss economic projects. and were convinced that the bloc Al-Arish in northern Sinae. The Supreme Council welcomed other terrorist organisations. He found himself faced with a list of economic sanctions serves their peoples’ hopes and On Palestinian aff airs, the the results of the second expanded The Council stressed its support brandished by the Saudis against Lebanon.” aspirations. document reiterated support of meeting of the Revolutionary Forces for the role of the United Nations in Riyadh threatened to expel 160,000 Lebanese nationals They reiterated support of Palestinian statehood with a capital and the Syrian opposition held in reaching a political solution to the proposals, including late Saudi King of Jerusalem, according to the 1967 Riyadh last November, which united Libyan crisis, praising the efforts working in the Gulf and force regional businessmen to Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud’s borders, the Arab Peace Initiative and positions of the opposition parties of Dr Ghassan Salama, the UN withdraw their investments from Lebanon. aim, to transform the bloc from international laws. and the establishment of a negotiating Secretary-General’s envoy to achieve “This would have been catastrophic for the country. Hariri a council to a union, build a joint It also rejected Israeli practices team to the Geneva meeting to this. had his back up against the wall,” the source said. defence mechanism and for economic that breach international rules and contribute to achieving the aspirations On the issue of Rohingya Muslims The 47-year-old premier integration. regulations and aim to alter the legal, of the brotherly Syrian people. in Myanmar, the Supreme Council wrote his own resignation Separately, the session expressed diplomatic or political status of The fi nal communique stressed condemned the ethnic cleansing, Saudi has announcement, crafting it “extreme condemnation” of the Jerusalem. its support for the mediation of the massacres and brutal attacks Houthi attacks on the holy city of The Supreme Council welcomed the United Nations and its envoy to Syria, against the Rohingya Muslims in supported in a way he thought would Makkah and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, generous initiative of Kuwait to host Stefan de Mistura. the Republic of Myanmar, their appease the Saudis. the former by Iranian-made ballistic an international donor conference The Supreme Council stressed expulsion from their homes and Hariri for “He was not a prisoner missiles. in 2018 to support the stability and the importance of working on the the systematic destruction of in the literal sense but the It described the Houthi group’s reconstruction of liberated areas in return of refugees and displaced their villages, reiterating its call years, hoping Saudis told him, ‘if you recent killing of Yemen’s former Iraq from the so-called Daesh. Syrians to their cities and villages on the international community go back to Lebanon, we’ll leader Ali Abdallah Saleh as a “tragic It called for a positive international under international supervision and to condemn these policies and act he would fi ght development,” saying GCC leaders co-operation in this conference and rejected any attempt to bring about urgently to stop these acts. think of you as Hezbollah, are following up on the matter with to assert the importance of refugees demographic changes in Syria. The Supreme Council expressed its back against and your government as an “anxiety.” return to their homeland under the On Lebanon, the Supreme Council deep appreciation and gratitude to the enemy,’” the source said. Iran’s destabilising activities and international organisations concerned affi rmed the GCC’s positions on the Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber Hezbollah Karim Bitar of the intervention in the internal aff airs in co-ordination with the Iraqi importance of maintaining stability of al-Sabah for the warm welcome and Paris-based Institute of neighbouring nations, its support government. Lebanon, reiterating its commitment hospitality, expressing satisfaction for of International and Strategic Aff airs said Riyadh’s plan of “terrorist groups” in Bahrain and The Supreme Council directed the to Lebanon’s security, stability and the next convention of the summit in spectacularly backfi red. occupation of the UAE’s three islands Secretariat to begin preparations for territorial integrity and supporting Oman next year. “The Saudis wanted to send a powerful message demonstrating their determination to push back on Iran’s foray into the Levant,” said Bitar. “But it produced a real boomerang eff ect.” After his resignation, Hariri spent two weeks in Riyadh amid furious speculation he was being held “hostage” there by Saudi authorities. Eventually, he returned to Beirut, put his resignation on hold, and dove into consultations with political rivals. On Tuesday, he held his fi rst ministerial meeting since his return, declaring he had rescinded his resignation and that Lebanon remained committed to “disassociation,” or neutrality in regional confl icts. “As fi ctitious, provisional and fragile as it is, this forced rapprochement between the two Lebanese camps is necessary and welcome, since security and economic risks are real,” Bitar said. He expected Riyadh would continue demanding Hezbollah withdraw its forces from Yemen. Back at the helm, Hariri will attend crisis talks in Paris tomorrow with top foreign offi cials, including US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. But if the Saudis pursue their policy of “one-upmanship,” Bitar warned, “France and Europe may not be able to do much to protect Lebanon from the escalating dangers on the regional level.”

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2017 Gulf Times. All rights reserved Gulf Times Thursday, December 7, 2017 31 QATAR Qatar, S Korea to foster ties in medical fi eld: envoy

By Joey Aguilar three-hour seminar on hepatobiliary world. “The second medical forum is Staff Reporter surgery with a panel from the Korean as much signifi cant as the fi rst one. On Asan Medical Centre (AMC) and an the occasion of the fi rst forum, 19 pro- advanced laparoscopic liver surgery fessionals along with Qatari partners he success of the second Qatar- with the participation of 10 mem- conducted operations on fi ve patients Korea Medical Forum, held in bers of Hamad Medical Corporation’s in three diff erent departments under TDoha, is expected to strengthen (HMC) hepatobiliary team. the wise leadership of Asan Health- bilateral co-operation in the medical Senior consultants, doctors, and care System president Dr Sung-Gyu fi eld between the two countries, South surgeons from the two medical insti- Lee,” Park said. Korean ambassador Heung Kyeong- tutions exchanged views and experi- AMC manager Dr Kwan Kim echoed park has said. ence before doing the non-invasive the envoy’s statements saying that the Speaking to Gulf Times, the envoy liver operation. two medical forums had been suc- expressed confi dence that this event After the fi rst medical forum in No- cessful, which provided one-of-its- will facilitate further collaboration in vember last year, which featured the kind treatment and healthcare to pa- professional training and patient re- fi rst living donor liver transplantation tients in Qatar using HMC’s advanced ferral, among others, in the near fu- in Doha, Park said Qatari authorities facilities. ture. have fully recognised Korean special- The procedures used in the two “There are many areas to be ex- ist licence. medical forums are very diffi cult and plored, the country has many Qatari HMC and South Korean doctors complex techniques, according to Dr (medical) professionals and South also conducted one knee and one hip Kim. Korea is ready to provide training,” he replacement, and three heart surger- “The surgery (advanced laparo- said, as he expects more expert ex- ies while breakout sessions were held scopic liver surgery) went out perfect changes to take place between South a day before the actual procedures. without any bleeding or complica- Korea and Qatar. South Korea is a world leader in organ tions and the patients are doing well Park also cited the strong support of transplantation, carrying out more now and we hope they will recover Qatar’s Minister of Public Health HE than 1,200 liver transplants each year. very soon,” he added, as he lauded the South Korean ambassador Heung Kyeong-park (fourth left) and AMC professor and hepatobiliary surgery and liver transplantation Dr Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari in the The country has one of the highest liv- facilities at HMC saying that “every- chief Dr Ki Hun Kim (third right) join the Korean delegation who took part in the second Qatar-Korea Medical Forum in Doha recently. success of the forum, which featured a er transplantation success rates in the thing is state-of-the-art.” PICTURE: Shaji Kayamkulam

From left: HMC’s associate director for Undergraduate Medical Education and CPD Dr Maggie Allen, South Korean ambassador Heung Kyeong-park and AMC professor and hepatobiliary surgery and liver transplantation chief Dr Ki Hun Kim. HMC welcomes Korean delegates

amad Medical Corporation (HMC) welcomed the South Korean delegation to the second Qatar-Ko- Hrea Medical Forum at its Medical Education Cen- tre for bilateral educational talks focusing on hepatobiliary surgery. Members of the Asan Medical Centre’s (AMC) Hepatobiliary team included a multi-disciplinary group of physicians and nurses led by its chief of hepatobiliary sur- gery and liver transplantation, professor Ki Hun Kim. They were joined by HMC clinicians from the respective surgical teams. In a statement, Dr Abdullatif al-Khal, deputy chief med- ical offi cer and director of Medical Education at HMC, said the forum is a continuation of collaboration between both healthcare systems, which began during the fi rst successful Qatar-Korean Medical Forum in November 2016. “We are delighted to have moved forward with this part- nership that has seen our two organisations explore areas of collaboration in medical care,” Dr al-Khal said. “Staff from HMC and AMC have planned and performed complex surgical procedures together. We look forward to continuing to share ideas and developing more ways to im- prove the care we give to patients in Qatar,” said Dr al-Khal. South Korean ambassador Heung Kyeong-park said the second medical forum took place with the strong support from the Qatari side, particularly Qatar’s Public Health Minister HE Dr Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari, also the man- aging director of HMC.

Visit to Baladna Farm

Al Khor and Al Thakhira Municipality director Juma bin Khamis al-Muraikhi has toured the Baladna Farm, as part of the regular visits to the various services and facilities within the municipality’s jurisdiction. Senior municipality off icials, including the Technical Aff airs Department manager Jassim bin Ali al-Muhannadi and the Health Control Section head Matar bin Mo- hamed al-Kuwari, accompanied him. Throughout the tour, they reviewed the various sections of the farm and met the off icers to discuss with them any issues that were facing and find immediate solutions. In the meantime, the local honeybee festival resumes its activities at Al Khor and Al Thakhira yard today and it would go on for three days. The same activities are set to held at Al Wakrah yard from December 14-16. The event was launched last week at Al Mazrouah yard, where 1,027kg of locally produced honey were sold, in addition to 39kg of honey combs.