BUSINESS | Page 1 SPORT | Page 1 El Jaish target Nasaf scalp INDEX DOW JONES QE NYMEX QATAR 2 – 8, 28 COMMENT 26, 27 ExxonMobil Qatar REGION 9 BUSINESS 1 – 9, 14 – 20 17,792.30 10,234.36 36.60 ARAB WORLD 9 – 11 CLASSIFIED 10 – 14 Tamayoz empowers +45.00 -17.61 -0.19 INTERNATIONAL 12 – 25 SPORTS 1 – 12 +0.00% -0.17% -0.52% local participants Latest Figures published in QATAR since 1978

TUESDAY Vol. XXXVII No. 10049 April 5, 2016 Jumada II 27, 1437 AH

GULF TIMES www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals Deputy Emir meets Russian president’s envoy Monitor to In brief

REGION | Diplomacy audit SC’s Renzi to visit Iran next week Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi will visit Iran next week, his off ice said yesterday, three months after the Iranian president came to labour Europe to rebuild ties as years of economic sanctions ended. The two sides signed business deals worth billions of dollars during Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s visit in January, and Renzi said then that they were only the standards beginning of future co-operation. European countries and businesses The addition of the independent centre of everything we do, as we work to are eager to establish trade ties third party external monitor will understand how and why labour stand- with the $400bn economy, which mean independent audits of the SC ards abuses occur, to support reme- rejoined the global trading system and its contractors take place on a diation for any individual whose rights in January following a deal to lift regular basis, completing the four- have been infringed and to build systems crippling sanctions in exchange for HH the Deputy Emir Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad al-Thani meeting with the Russian president’s special representative for the tier auditing process and practices to support decent jobs limiting its nuclear ambitions. Middle East and Africa, Mikhail Bogdanov, who is also the deputy foreign minister, and his accompanying delegation. The for workers now and in the future,” said meeting at the Emiri Diwan yesterday covered bilateral relations and ways to promote them, in addition to issues of mutual he Supreme Committee for Deliv- Rosey Hurst, director of Impactt. concern. ery & Legacy (SC) has appointed Impactt is a leading consultancy spe- TURKEY | Politics TImpactt Ltd as an independent cialising in ethical trade, human rights Erdogan rejects third-party external monitor to bolster and labour standards. the auditing and inspections process of In addition, the workers’ welfare ‘democracy lessons’ the SC Workers’ Welfare Standards. standards related to the issue of ethical Turkish President Recep Tayyip These standards are a set of enforce- recruitment have been bolstered by the Erdogan yesterday lashed out able principles and regulations which introduction of a requirement that con- Panama Papers’ revelations are incorporated into all contracts for the tractors obtain a signed statement from at the West for giving Turkey “lessons in democracy”, rejecting 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. their recruitment agent evidencing the mounting US and EU criticism over “In line with our continued commit- agent’s compliance with them as well as an alleged clampdown on press ment to making tangible progress on a requirement for the contractor to share freedoms under his rule. “Those trigger international probes workers’ welfare, this appointment of an with the SC a completed “new starter who attempt to give us lessons independent third party external moni- checklist” on each worker they recruit. in democracy and human rights pain, France and several other journalists who were “former offi cials tor is an important step for us,” SC sec- The SC has maintained an open must first contemplate their own countries launched tax evasion from the (US) Department of State, retary general Hassan al-Thawadi said in dialogue with stakeholders, including shame,” Erdogan told a meeting of Sprobes yesterday after a massive the CIA and other special services”. a statement yesterday. governments of countries from where the Turkish Red Crescent in Ankara. leak of confi dential documents lifted Off shore fi nancial dealings are not “We will keep improving on every step the labourers come, and international Page 18 the lid on the murky off shore fi nancial illegal in themselves but may be used of our journey as we make sure our ap- NGOs. dealings of a slew of politicians and to hide assets from tax authorities, proach to workers’ welfare progress is In addition to numerous visits by celebrities. launder the proceeds of criminal ac- transparent and our updated standards NGOs to SC projects, the WWU and AMERICA | Operations The scandal erupted on Sunday tivities or conceal misappropriated or are eff ectively and stringently enforced senior SC management conducted a Obama and Nato chief when media groups began revealing politically inconvenient wealth. throughout the entire supply chain and two-day trip to London in January this the results of a year-long investiga- The probe named about 140 po- life cycle of our projects,” he explained year to brief Amnesty International, discuss fi ght against IS tion into a trove of 11.5mn documents litical fi gures, including 12 current or in the statement published on the SC Engineers Against Poverty, Building and US President Barack Obama and from the law fi rm Mossack Fonseca, former heads of state. website. Wood Workers’ International (BWI), Nato secretary-general Jens which specialises in creating off shore The Panama Papers, from around The second edition of the workers’ Humanity United and the International Stoltenberg said yesterday they shell companies in the tax haven of 214,000 off shore entities covering al- welfare standards, published on March Labour Organisation (ILO) on the up- had discussed how Nato could Panama. View of a sign outside the building most 40 years, also name sporting and 1, sets out the SC’s requirements regard- dated standards, progress to date and to help train and assist troops in Iraq, Among those accused are close as- where Panama-based Mossack movie stars, including Hong Kong’s ing the recruitment, employment, living get feedback from these organisations. Jordan and elsewhere fighting sociates of Russian President Vladimir Fonseca law firm has its off ices in Jackie Chan and India’s Amitabh and working conditions of everyone en- As part of its holistic approach to Islamic State (IS) militants. “We Putin, relatives of Chinese leader Xi Panama City. Bachchan. Almost all of them denied gaged on an SC project. workers’ welfare, the SC’s WWU has are continuing to co-operate on an Jinping, Iceland’s Prime Minister Sig- any wrongdoing. Developed by the SC’s Workers’ Wel- been working closely with NGOs from ongoing basis about operations mundur David Gunnlaugsson as well tax authorities in the Netherlands also French newspaper Le Monde cited fare Unit (WWU) in close consultation around the world to accelerate positive potentially in areas like Libya as Barcelona striker Lionel Messi. announced investigations in those documents showing that Syria used with stakeholders including contractors, initiatives already underway in Qatar where you have the beginnings of a “We have opened an investigation countries. Mossack Fonseca to create shell com- FIFA and non-governmental organisa- with the help of additional expertise. government,” Obama told reporters for money laundering in relation to The trove of documents, known as panies to help it break international tions (NGOs), the new requirements up- One of these NGOs was the interna- after meeting Stoltenberg in the the law fi rm” Mossack Fonseca, a ju- the Panama Papers, was anonymously sanctions and fund its war eff ort. date the original workers’ welfare stand- tionally-recognised organisation Verité, Oval Off ice. Page 26 dicial source at the National Court, leaked to German daily Sueddeutsche “I think the leak will prove to be ards, which were published in February who have worked with the SC since early Spain’s top criminal court, told AFP Zeitung and shared with more than probably the biggest blow the off shore 2014. this year to help appoint the external after the release of the documents 100 media groups by the International world has ever taken because of the “The revised standards are now in monitor. PHILIPPINES | Health which named Messi and Oscar-win- Consortium of Investigative Journal- extent of the documents,” said ICIJ the process of being further embedded “In January of this year, Verité was Mass vaccination ning Spanish fi lm director Pedro Al- ists (ICIJ), with more information ex- director Gerard Ryle. throughout the supply chain in a series commissioned by the SC to develop the modovar among others with off shore pected to be released over the coming One of the Panama law fi rm’s of workshops with contractors and sub- technical scope of services for the ap- against dengue holdings. days and weeks. founders, Ramon Fonseca, told AFP contractors,” according to SC. pointment of an independent external The Philippines yesterday The footballer’s family immediately The fi rst revelations elicited a cho- the leaks were “a crime, a felony” and With two years’ experience of ap- monitor to assess compliance with the kicked off the world’s first mass came to his defence, saying “that Li- rus of denials, including from the “an attack on Panama”. plying the workers’ welfare standards Worker’s Welfare Standards on all SC vaccination against dengue, onel Messi has not carried out any of Kremlin, which suggested a US plot “Certain countries don’t like it that collaboratively with contractors and projects,” said Dan Viederman, CEO of aiming to protect about 1mn school the acts attributed to him, and ac- after the ICIJ said that banks, compa- we are so competitive in attracting sub-contractors, the WWU introduces a Verité. children against the mosquito- cusations he created a... tax evasion nies and close associates of Putin had companies,” he said. number of amendments in Edition Two, “The scope requires the external borne disease. About 800 students plot, including a network of money- “secretly shuffl ed as much as $2bn Panama’s government said it had seeking to bolster regulations on audit- monitor to continuously review and as- from a school in Marikina City laundering, are false and insulting”, it through banks and shadow compa- “zero tolerance” for shady deals, and ing and inspections, as well as ethical sess the extent to which SC contractors in metropolitan Manila were the said in a statement. nies”. vowed to “vigorously co-operate” recruitment. and sub-contractors – including their first to be inoculated with the Messi has been charged with tax “Putin, Russia, our country, our with any legal investigations. The addition of the independent third recruitment agents - and the SC itself anti-dengue vaccine. The $76.1mn fraud in a separate case that is due to stability and the upcoming elections More than 500 banks, their subsidi- party external monitor will mean inde- are in compliance with the standards. programme targets students in go to trial in May. are the main target, specifi cally to aries and branches have worked with pendent audits of the SC and its contrac- We also assisted the SC in identifying three regions in the Philippines that Australia said it had launched a destabilise the situation,” said Krem- Mossack Fonseca since the 1970s to tors take place on a regular basis, com- potential tenderers and the technical have the highest number of dengue probe into 800 wealthy Mossack Fon- lin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, add- help clients manage off shore compa- pleting the four-tier auditing process. evaluation of tenderers for the external infections. Page 24 seca clients. Prosecutors in France and ing the reports were likely the work of nies. Pages 15, 17, 20, 22, 23 “Our approach is to put workers at the monitor role,” added Viederman. Ooredoo prepares ground for 5G launch in Qatar

oredoo Qatar’s chief executive millions of devices to the network. networks that can support billions brings together industry profession- In addition, the conference pro- offi cer Waleed al-Sayed has Ooredoo is already laying the foun- of connected devices, as well as mil- als, academics and individuals from gramme includes workshops, tutori- Ooutlined the company’s vi- dations for 5G services in Qatar, re- lions of people. Our investment in government agencies to exchange in- als, panel discussions, and industrial sion to become the leading integrated cently announcing it has signed agree- the Ooredoo Supernet means that we formation and ideas on the advance- forums. ICT provider in Qatar and detailed its ments with global technology leaders will be ready for this technological ment of wireless communications and The 2016 edition of the IEEE con- ongoing work to prepare to launch 5G to build the region’s fi rst 5G research evolution and will off er our custom- networking technology. ference will run until April 6. Ooredoo services in Qatar at an event in Doha. and development centre in Doha. ers the latest solutions as they become During his keynote speech, al- is the platinum sponsor of the event. He was addressing the IEEE Wire- He presented the company’s vision available. Events like the IEEE Wire- Sayed showed a video on the incred- Customers wishing to evaluate the less Communications and Networking in a keynote speech at the opening less Communications and Network- ible services that the Supernet would power and potential of Ooredoo’s ex- Conference taking place in the city. event of the conference and outlined ing Conference enable us to transfer bring to customers in Qatar. panding IoT portfolio can do so at its Across its footprint, Ooredoo how this investment would support knowledge and build partnerships for The IEEE Wireless Communica- OASIS Lab in its Doha headquarters. is pursuing a strategy of network the deployment of Internet of Things the future, as we push to become the tions and Networking Conference Customers can visit the OASIS Lab evolution that will deliver a “bet- innovations across a range of indus- leading integrated ICT provider in Qa- features numerous technical sessions during working hours via an appoint- ter Internet experience” for cus- tries. Al-Sayed addressing the IEEE Wireless tar.” with papers showcasing the latest ment with Ooredoo’s business team to tomers, as well as enabling a host Al-Sayed said: “The rise of the ‘In- Communications and Networking The IEEE Wireless Communica- technologies, applications and serv- experience its range of “innovative” of smart technologies that connect ternet of Things’ means that we need Conference in Doha. tions and Networking Conference ices. business solutions. Gulf Times 2 Tuesday, April 5, 2016 QATAR

Deputy PM meets Russian official Moroccan PM arrives in Doha In brief

Qatar leaders send National Day greetings

HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, HH the Deputy Emir Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad al-Thani and HE the Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani have sent cables of congratulations to Senegal President Macky Sall on his country’s National Day. HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Aff airs Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid Moroccan Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane arrived in Doha yesterday on a two-day visit during al-Mahmoud met Russia’s presidential envoy on the Middle East and Africa Mikhail Bogdanov in which he will chair the Moroccan side in the meetings of the sixth Qatari-Moroccan Joint Higher Economy Minister Doha yesterday. Talks during the meeting dealt with bilateral relations and means to develop them Committee, due to be held today. The Moroccan Prime Minister and his accompanying delegation in diff erent spheres in addition to a host of regional and international issues of common concern. were greeted at Hamad International Airport by HE the Minister of Energy and Industry Dr to participate in Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Qatar Nurmakhamad Kholov attended the meeting. Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada. Paris meetings

Qatar will take part in the Cadran Hotel meetings scheduled to be held in Paris today. The Qatari delegation to the one-day meetings will be headed QTA summit discusses marketing plans by HE the Minister of Economy and Commerce Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed al-Thani atar Tourism Author- portant tourism event Arabian with a number of chief executive ity (QTA) offi ces abroad, Travel Market where Qatar will off icers (CEOs) and businessmen Qalong with members of display a strong presence.” taking part. the sector in Qatar, gathered in Marketing Qatar internation- The meetings seek to Doha recently for their Quarterly ally involves close collaboration strengthen trade and Framework Marketing Summit between the public and private investment relations and for the second quarter of 2016. sectors, according to al-Qurese. support community dialogue QTA representative offi ces that “Hotels and other tourist fa- between businessmen of both include the GCC region, the UK, cilities and services form key countries in order to develop France, Germany, South-east factors in the selection of the the partnership between the Asia, and Italy presented their tourism products that QTA pro- Qatari and French companies fi rst quarter achievement and motes worldwide,” he noted. and work to increase exports of second quarter marketing plans. The new format of individual Qatar at the French market. During the fi rst quarter, these Market Place stations during The meetings are considered overseas offi ces had organised this Q2 Summit provided net- an important step towards six trips to Qatar for 36 repre- QTA overseas off ice representatives convened at the summit to working opportunities for all expanding co-operation and sentatives of international me- present their marketing plans for the next quarter. QTA off icials led by al-Qurese at the summit. QTA Marketing personnel to creating new opportunities for dia, as well as 35 travel agents, to meet private sector representa- establishing investment projects familiarise them with the desti- assists them in developing ex- branding will continue during We place great importance on mentation of Qatar’s message tives face-to-face. between diff erent companies nation. pertise on Qatar and its tourism the forthcoming Arabian Travel promoting the key attractions and ensure we create a strong The Summit further aff orded and businessmen in both In addition, the number of off ering. Market in Dubai from April 25 to that give Qatar its distinctive and positive Qatar brand posi- the QTA overseas offi ce repre- countries. tour operators selling trips to March also saw the introduc- 28. cultural edge. It is a question of tioning that continues to reso- sentatives with opportunities to Qatar increased to 192 with tion of the Qatar destination “These meetings are conduct- synergy,” QTA’s chief Marketing nate in our key overseas mar- interact with their counterparts Minister of Culture continuous independent travel brand in the German market ed quarterly to maximise and ex- and Promotion offi cer Rashed kets,” he added. “This message in Qatar, as well as to familiarise agents registering for QTA’s on- during the Internationale Tour- pose the impact of the nation’s al-Qurese said. will gain momentum in the re- themselves with the destination meets Moldovan line Tawash programme, which ismus-Börse Berlin, and this marketing eff orts and resources. “We continue to avoid frag- gion during the forthcoming im- and its latest developments. counterpart

HE the Minister of Culture and Sports Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser al-Ali met the Moldovan Minister of Culture Monica Babuc in Doha yesterday. They discussed the scope of bilateral co-operation in the cultural field. Minister Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser al-Ali also met Azerbaijan’s Minister of Culture and Tourism Abulfas Garayev. They discussed bilateral co-operation in the cultural Ahmed Sobh with the panel of judges. fields and in sports. They also discussed ways to enhance co- operation in the two fields. Assistant FM QU college celebrates fi rst recipient meets Russian of MSc in clinical pharmacy president’s envoy HE the Assistant Foreign atar University dean Dr Ayman El-Kadi, cases our eff orts.” Minister for Foreign Aff airs College of Phar- CPH assistant professor Ahmed said: “I have Sultan bin Saad al-Meraikhi has Qmacy (QU-CPH) of Clinical Pharmacy and always had a passion to met the Russian President’s Masters student Ahmed Practice, Assessment and teach and do research in Special Representative for the Sobh recently successfully Accreditation co-ordina- the fi eld of clinical phar- Middle East and Africa and defended his thesis “Eval- tor and project supervisor macy and practice. Work- Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail uation of a Cumulative Dr Kyle Wilby, as well as ing with my supervisor Bogdanov, currently visiting the Exit-from-degree Ob- around 50 CPH under- Dr Kyle, we developed country. jective Structured Clini- graduate and graduate and conducted a research During the meeting, they cal Examination in a Gulf students, and faculty. project which I believe will discussed bilateral relations and Context”, becoming the Dr El-Kadi said: “This have a huge impact on the ways of enhancing them, as well College’s fi rst MSc Pharm milestone for the College future of pharmacy prac- as issues of mutual concern. graduate in Clinical Phar- of Pharmacy and Ahmed’s tice in Qatar.” macy and Practice. research, under the super- Dr Wilby said: “I ap- Advisory Council Ahmed gave a vision of Dr Kyle Wilby, is plaud the College’s vision 45-minute oral presenta- instrumental in reshaping in designing graduate pro- discusses draft law tion to a panel of judges the pharmacy education to grammes that align with on biological arms that included representa- refl ect the expanding role the needs of the healthcare tives from CPH, Weill of clinical pharmacists in sector and that are sup- Cornell Medicine-Qatar Qatar. CPH held the fi rst portive of national aspi- The Advisory Council yesterday and University of To- Final Cumulative Assess- rations towards fulfi lling held its weekly meeting chaired ronto. A 15-minute Q&A ment in the Middle East the National Health Strat- by HE the Speaker Mohamed bin followed with the audi- and we are delighted that egy and the goals of QNV Mubarak al-Khulaifi. ence that comprised CPH Ahmed’s research show- 2030.” At outset of the meeting, HE the Secretary-General of the Advisory Council Fahad bin Mubarak al-Khayareen read out the agenda. Then the Council Qatar- Sudan ties reviewed endorsed the minutes of its previous session. The Council discussed a report by the Legal and Legislative Aff airs Committee on a draft law on biological weapons. The Council decided to refer its recommendations thereon to the Cabinet. Meanwhile, the Advisory Council’s Services and Public Facilities Committee met yesterday under the chairmanship of its rapporteur Saqr Fahd al-Muraikhi. The committee resumed the study of a draft law on protecting privacy of personal HE the Assistant Foreign Minister for Foreign Aff airs Sultan bin Saad al-Meraikhi data and decided to invite yesterday met the Minister of State at the Sudanese Foreign Ministry Dr specialists from the Ministry of Obeidallah Mohamed Obeidallah who is currently visiting Qatar. During the Transport and Communications meeting, they discussed relations between Qatar and Sudan and means of to attend its next meeting to developing them, in addition to matters of mutual concern. present the ministry’s views on the draft law. Gulf Times Tuesday, April 5, 2016 3 QATAR Qatar-Azerbaijan ties discussed Vodafone launches Wi-Fi as a service for businesses

odafone has launched number of times a customer IT engineers to design, build Wi-Fi as a service that al- visited its restaurant and cre- and operate the network. Vo- Vlows business customers ate special off ers based on this dafone’s Wi-Fi service takes to off er in their facilities, Wi-Fi data. all the pain away from busi- Internet access to visitors and The product also provides ness customers by designing, employees. data about Wi-Fi users’ density, building and operating their Powered by a centralised which can be used by local au- Wi-Fi network then charging a authentication and web traffi c thorities for public areas in order monthly fee for the solution,” analysis platform, the service to eff ectively manage security said Mahmud Awad, Vodafone provides a rich set of features services. Qatar chief business offi cer. including a customised land- For example, the number of Delivered as a scalable solu- ing page, wide range of end- security personnel can be in- tion due to the centralised cloud user authentication methods, creased in agglomerated loca- infrastructure, new hotspots can usage reports and footfall tions and surveillance cameras be easily added. analysis. can be integrated for improved The solution is presented With this platform, end-users security. without any implementation get Internet access, while com- “In the lead up to Qatar 2022, costs, with the customer paying panies may extract end-users’ Qatar will witness a huge boom a monthly fee for the duration of HE the Minister of Economy and Commerce Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed al-Thani met data that are relevant for their in construction resulting in Mahmud Awad the contract. the Azerbaijan Minister of Culture and Tourism Abulfaz Garayev in Doha yesterday. They discussed business depending on their new corporate buildings, ho- The service provides organi- the two countries’ relations and aspects of co-operation especially in the field of tourism. The network’s traffi c. tels, hospitals, malls and pub- and managing a Wi-Fi network sations with highly secure pre- meeting was attended by Azerbaijan ambassador to Qatar Tofiq Abdullayev and a number of Qatar For instance, the owner of lic areas; all which will require is not easy and requires high mium internet bandwidth with Tourism Authority (QTA) senior off icials. a restaurant can fi nd out the Wi-Fi coverage. But building investment as well as skilled speeds of up to 1Gbps.

Three men jailed for attempting to steal building materials WISH to hold cardiovascular disease forum Three Bangladeshi men have been sentenced by a Doha Criminal Court to one year in jail and subsequent deportation for attempting to steal building materials. Local Arabic daily Arrayah reported yesterday that he World Innova- choices and broader tobacco threat to the economic develop- healthcare systems that have the defendants tried to pilfer copper pipes from an under construction tion Summit for Health controls, such as the impact of ment of many nations because found success in utilising the building. They were spotted by a person who alerted the police. One T(WISH) will hold a Car- smoking bans in public places. of the high burden of premature practice, among them WHO’s defendant was arrested on the spot while the others were nabbed later. diovascular Disease (CVD) Fo- Additionally, participants will deaths and disability. Eff ective mHealth NCD initiative in The trio admitted their guilt at the police and prosecution interrogation. rum during its 2016 conference learn about the potential poli- strategies for prevention across Senegal. in November. cies and innovations that can be the life course, based on avail- Egbert Schillings, CEO, The forum will off er a brief applied more broadly by policy- able knowledge of impactful WISH, said: “Cardiovascular 10-year jail for bid to smuggle drugs overview of coronary heart makers from prevention to treat- interventions, are an urgent pri- disease is estimated to account disease, including its epidemi- ment. ority for health policy and sys- for up to 50% of the global A Doha Criminal Court has sentenced a Bangladeshi man to 10 years ology, burden, and pressure on WISH, a global initiative of tems.” non-communicable disease in jail and a fine of QR300,000 for an attempt to smuggle illicit drugs healthcare systems, outlining Qatar Foundation for Education, CVD is now considered the burden. If some risk factors, into the country. Local Arabic daily Arrayah reported yesterday that the distinction between ill- Science and Community Devel- leading cause of death in the de- such as diabetes and obesity, the court also ordered his deportation upon completing his sentence. ness prevention and manage- opment, is a global healthcare veloped world and is set to be- continue to increase rapidly, The defendant had flown into Qatar on a work visa. As he was passing ment of acquired risk factors. community dedicated to captur- come the number one cause of CVD prevalence and associ- through the customs clearance section at the Hamad International Professor K Srinath Reddy, ing and disseminating the best death in the developing world, ated costs might increase even Airport (HIA), he panicked and tried to evade the off icers. Accordingly, president of the Public Health evidence-based ideas and prac- the forum will show. more. From a value-perspec- the off icer in charge ordered a full search of his luggage, from which Foundation in India, will chair tices. During the forum, experts tive, a focus on prevention were found three big packages, each carefully wrapped. When the forum. Professor Reddy said: “Car- will present ‘value pools’, a therefore promises the best opened, they were found to contain marijuana. At the interrogation, It will also outline innova- diovascular diseases constitute collection of policies for im- investment, but we also know Professor K Srinath Reddy will the defendant said that the packages found in his luggage belonged tions in strategies to ensure pre- the leading cause of death glo- proved outcomes and costs, that it is very challenging to do, chair the Cardiovascular Disease to another person who issued him a visa to Qatar. However, the court vention. These include lifestyle bally, and are now posing a major using a wide range of global not least politically.” Forum. convicted him based on the marijuana found with him. Gulf Times 4 Tuesday, April 5, 2016 QATAR

Thai envoy presents credentials

HE the Assistant Foreign Minister for Foreign Aff airs Sultan bin Saad al-Meraikhi received a copy of the credentials of Soonthorn Chaiyindeepum, ambassador of Thailand to Qatar yesterday. Al-Meraikhi wished the Thai ambassador success in his mission and the relations between the two countries further progress and prosperity.

More rains likely over next few days

ore rainfall is likely the minimum from 19-22C. day and Friday and it may and diff erent social media in Qatar over the In a statement yesterday, become thundery over some accounts. Mnext few days, the the weather offi ce said a areas. Easterly to southeast- Meanwhile, today’s fore- weather offi ce has said. “trough of low pressure in erly winds, moderate to fresh, cast says moderate tem- While there is a chance the upper levels of the at- are also likely during this perature is expected during of scattered light rain to- mosphere” was expected period - becoming strong the day along with scattered day and tomorrow, thun- to aff ect the country in the during thundershowers, the clouds and a weak chance of dershowers are expected coming days. weather offi ce has said. light rain in some places. on Thursday and Friday in “The skies will gradu- The Met Department Off shore areas will re- some areas, according to the ally become partly cloudy to has urged people to remain main partly cloudy. Met department. cloudy, and there is a chance cautious and avoid sea ac- The minimum and maxi- The temperature is ex- of scattered light rain on tivities during the thunder- mum temperatures in the pected to be around the av- Tuesday and Wednesday,” it showers. It has also advised country today are expected erage level for this time of noted. them to follow latest weath- to be 18C and 30C, respec- the year, with the maximum The chances of rain are ex- er updates and warnings tively, with the forecast for ranging from 29-32C and pected to increase on Thurs- through its offi cial website Doha being 20C and 30C. Gulf Times Tuesday, April 5, 2016 5 QATAR Sheikh Faisal Museum to host UCL exhibition

temporary exhibi- Sheikh Faisal’s collection. tion on the theme The journey of Qatar and A– “Shifting Sands its people will be presented – A Journey of Qatar and along with the stories that its People” will be inau- they collectively hold. Fur- gurated on April 7 at the thermore, Sheikh Faisal has Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al extended his support to the Thani Museum. The exhibi- students by providing more tion will remain open until than 120 photographs from June 7. his private archive. These This annual exhibition photographs explore and is being curated by UCL celebrate the sport of hunt- Qatar’s MA Museum and ing in Qatar through the Gallery Practice students. passage of time. The two-month-long ex- The exhibition will have hibition will feature memo- stalls under four vivid rabilia of early pioneer life Students prepare the stage for the exhibition. themes: Life in the desert, and aims to create a dialogue Changing landscape, So- between diff erent genera- cifi c focus on Qatari culture the exhibition. Visitors will cialising and Icons. To- tions and cultures through and its people. enjoy many fi ne exhibits gether, these will showcase the objects and the stories Diff erent mediums and from diff erent parts of the the rich cultural heritage of that will be showcased. The means of display such as museum, ranging from ar- Qatar with its diverse tradi- research has also led to the the use of story-telling, chaeological objects to a tions and cultures, leaving development of intercultur- interviews and videos will vehicle, and demonstrate a lasting impression on the al understanding with spe- be an attractive feature of the range and depth of visitors.

Michigan professor speaks at Tamuq

niversity of Michigan amples of RMS-centric Cornell University and his BS professor Dr A Galip features like customisation from Swarthmore College. UUlsoy has delivered fl exibility and convertibility Dr Ulsoy’s research inter- the third talk in Texas A&M functionality in a tool de- ests are in the dynamics and University at Qatar’s (Ta- signed by his research team control of mechanical sys- muq) Distinguished Lecture that can work on cylinder tems. He is widely recognised Series at Education City. blocks of any of the three and has received numerous Dr Ulsoy is the CD Mote major US auto manufactur- international awards, as well Jr Distinguished University ers: Ford, GM and Chrysler. as notable recognition in his Professor of Mechanical Engi- Dr A Galip Ulsoy He concluded the talk by fi eld in the US. neering and William Clay Ford showcasing the burgeoning He received the 2012 Pres- Professor of Manufacturing at These circumstances can application of RMS in the idential Special Award from the University of Michigan. vary from sudden free market fi elds of computer systems the Scientifi c and Techno- In his talk, Dr Ulsoy consumer whims to a factory and robotics and the key role logical Research Council of talked about reconfi gura- no longer producing a part. and the demand of “calibra- Turkey, and is a fellow of the ble manufacturing systems In such an unforeseen or tion” engineers in the design American Society of Me- (RMS), which are elements foreseen event, in any case, and operation of RMS. chanical Engineers, Society or settings in machines, for the goal of RMS is to provide A member of the US Na- of Manufacturing Engineers, instance, that can be rear- exactly the functionality and tional Academy of Engineer- the Institute of Electrical ranged through automation production capacity needed - ing, Dr Ulsoy received his PhD and Electronics Engineers or manually in response to exactly when it is needed. from the University of Cali- and the International Feder- changing circumstances. Dr Ulsoy described ex- fornia, Berkeley, his MS from ation of Automatic Control. Gulf Times 6 Tuesday, April 5, 2016 QATAR Honda City, Career adviser Pearl diving contest starts today Jazz models course to be recalled

he Ministry of nate with the dealer to fol- Economy and Com- low up on the maintenance held in May Tmerce, in collabora- and repair works and com- tion with Doha Marketing municate with customers atar Career Fair (QCF), a member of low individuals to further their professional Services Company (Do- to ensure that the neces- Qatar Foundation for Education, Sci- development. And it will off er in-depth masco), has announced the sary repairs are carried out. Qence and Community Development, knowledge of technology-based applications recall of Honda City mod- The MEC has urged all has opened registration for its Career Adviser that can be used to enhance careers.” els of 2012-2013 and Jazz customers to report any Training Course. Throughout the duration of the course and models of 2012-2014 over a violations to its Consumer Launched in 2015, it is the fi rst specialised six months thereafter, participants will have fl aw in driver airbag. Protection and Anti-Com- programme of its kind off ered for career ad- access to an online portal which will serve as The MEC said the recall mercial Fraud Department visers in Qatar and the Gulf region, and this a knowledge bank. comes within the frame- through the following year’s edition will take place from May 22 to Dr Spencer Niles, who currently directs The fifth edition of the Traditional Pearl Diving and Fishing Competition (Senyar) work of its ongoing eff orts channels: Hotline: 16001, 26. Kuder’s research programme and co-ordi- will be launched at Katara Beach today. The event which will go on until April 9 will to protect consumers and e-mail: [email protected], Certifi ed by Kuder, a world leader in ca- nates Kuder’s research review board, will have 948 participants across 69 teams. The competition includes three categories. ensure that car dealers fol- Twitter: @MEC_Qatar, In- reer planning services, the QCF course aims present the course along with Dr Moham- The organising committee has already finalised the technical inspection of all the low up on vehicles’ defects stagram: MEC_Qatar, MEC to equip participants with essential career mad Abul-Ola. participating dhows. Photo shows one of the teams from last year’s edition of the and repair them. mobile app for Android and guidance and planning skills, as well as the A distinguished professor and department contest celebrating a catch. The MEC will co-ordi- IOS: MEC_Qatar necessary tools to assist youth along their head for Educational Psychology, Counsel- career journeys. ling, and Special Education, Dr Niles cur- Off ered in both Arabic and English, the rently serves as the director of the Centre for course is open to the public and will be useful the Study of Career Development and Public for career advisers, academic and vocational Policy at Pennsylvania State University. counsellors, human resources personnel, Those who register to take the Career Ad- professors, instructors, scholars and parents. viser Training Course will automatically be Abdullah Ahmed al-Mansoori, director of accepted into the Introductory Career Ad- QCF, said: “We have attached a great deal of visery Course, which will be hosted by QCF importance to this course because it will al- on April 28 at the Education City Clubhouse.

Expert highlights need for accounting standards

t is necessary to develop forward by case study, also had Cairo legislation and regula- CBE asso- University professor of Itions related to the ac- ciate pro- accounting and Qatar counting and auditing pro- fessor of Football Federation fi - fession in Qatar and ensure account- nancial adviser Dr Ahmed their application in the ing and Sabai Qutb as a resource workplace, an expert urged dean of person. at a seminar organised by academic “The number and size the Scientifi c Accounting aff airs at Ahmed bin Mo- of the companies operat- Association at Qatar Uni- hamed Military College Dr ing in Qatar have increased versity College of Business Khalid bin Nasser al-Khater in line with the develop- & Economics (QU-CBE). (pictured). ment and growth of the The suggestion was put The seminar, an empirical country’s economy. This overshadowed the core role of accounting and au- diting in the economic ac- tivities in general, and the companies in particular,” Dr al-Khater said. He highlighted the need to apply the In- ternational Accounting Standards (IAS) and In- ternational Financial Re- porting Standards (IFRS). Therefore, the Company Law No 11 of 2015 needs to be modifi ed to change the term “The use of gener- ally accepted accounting principles” to “The use of the IFRS”. Dr al-Khater also high- lighted the need to estab- lish a council or an inde- pendent public body to be involved in the organisa- tion of the accounting and auditing profession. “A part of the respon- sibilities of this body is to identify the accounting and auditing standards and monitor the profes- sional performance of the practitioners,” he said. The academic also highlighted the need to enhance the support of the government for the organisations and as- sociations operating in accounting and audit- ing. He said it was also necessary to increase the community awareness of the accounting and au- diting profession and its improvement which will boost confi dence in the national economy. Dr al-Khater recom- mended development of a professional performance monitoring programme for auditors in Qatar to ensure the quality of their performance, in addition to developing and apply- ing professional rules of conduct. “The supervisory role of the authorities con- cerned should be activat- ed so as to highlight the need to oblige companies to follow the principles of corporate governance, which will help to adhere to in the application of international accounting and auditing standards,” he added. Attendees included as- sistant undersecretary for trade at the Ministry of Economy and Com- merce Yahya bin Saeed al-Nuaim, as well as min- istry offi cials, CBE fac- ulty and several members from the Association.

Gulf Times 8 Tuesday, April 5, 2016 QATAR QNRF, DIFI name awardees of Osra research grant atar National Research and family laws and practices. studies to family law to fam- well as the diversity of topics Fund (QNRF) and the The research fi ndings funded ily work balance in diff erent addressed. QDoha International Fam- under Osra will assist the de- Arab countries. It also included Osra falls under the Thematic ily Institute (DIFI) announced the velopment of evidence-based a proposal that aims to study and Grand Challenges Programme awardees of the Osra Research policies and programmes to pro- how social preferences are infl u- of QNRF, which aims to competi- Grant at the recently-held Qa- mote the well-being of the Arab enced in confl ict regions such as tively select research projects that tar Foundation Annual Research family. The initiative aims to Palestine. address research questions in an Conference 2016 (ARC ’16). unite researchers from all Arab Dr Abdul Sattar al-Taie, ex- identifi ed thematic area. Osra, meaning family in countries under one umbrella to ecutive director, QNRF, said the To qualify for Osra funding, a Arabic, is a QNRF-DIFI joint- begin identifying strengths and programme addresses an im- research project must be led by a funded grant that encourages fi nding solutions to challenges. portant area for Arab societies lead principal investigator with a research which can be used to Five proposals from Qatar and in general and Qatari society doctoral qualifi cation, who has develop a knowledge base on the the wider region were awarded, specifi cally. at least three peer-reviewed sci- Arab family. and included institutions from Noor al-Malki al-Jehani, ex- entifi c publications in a relevant Research areas included mar- Morocco, Lebanon, Oman, and ecutive director, DIFI expressed fi eld and is residing, and affi li- riage and family structure, Qatar. The topics of these pro- satisfaction with the response ated to an institution, in Qatar or parenting, family-work balance, posals varied from parenting of the fi rst cycle of the grant, as another Arab country. Noor al-Malki al-Jehani and Dr Abdul Sattar al-Taie signing the QNRF-DIFI pact. Work resumes at Mall of Qatar

onstruction work and informed of the fi re, following of everyone on the site and to velopers. It will feature more retail fi t-outs have re- which the Civil Defence, Traffi c contain the fi re,” said Kharbat. than 500 stores, including over Csumed at Mall of Qatar Department, Al Fazaa (Rescue “UCC has a comprehensive 100 food & beverage outlets and after an accidental fi re broke out Police) and Lekhwiya (Internal operations risk plan that gets re- fi ne-dining options. there around 2.30pm on Satur- Security Force) deployed their viewed regularly and also imple- The mall will off er visitors a day, Mowafaq Kharbat, project teams. ments stringent safety precau- wide selection of major interna- director of Urbacon Trading and The fi re was successfully put tions on a daily basis. This was tional brands, a fi ve-star luxury Contracting, said. out and there were no casualties. expertly put into action during hotel, part of the Curio Collec- Safety engineers were alert- “We are thankful that no this incident,” he added. tion by Hilton, and an array of ed immediately after the fi re one was harmed and our prior- Pending an investigation by family and mall-wide live en- was detected, which prompted ity right now is to continue con- the authorities concerned and tertainment as well as the fi rst the safe evacuation of 14,000 struction work and carry on with the offi cial outcome of their in- professional live theatre in a workers and staff on site and retail fi t-outs within the mall. quiry, the cause of the fi re is still mall in the world, with 360-de- in adjacent buildings, the of- We would like to express our unknown at this stage. gree acts and shows performed fi cial informed through a press gratitude to the authorities for Mall of Qatar will become on a multi-lift rotating Festival statement yesterday. their immediate and profession- the country’s largest mall when Stage with theatrical sound and Work going on at the main entrance to Mall of Qatar. The offi cial authorities were al support to ensure the safety complete, according to its de- lighting. Gulf Times Tuesday, April 5, 2016 9 REGION/ARAB WORLD

Illicit arms seized Yemen rebel delegation in Saudi for talks AFP dent Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. lowed by talks in Kuwait on April Riyadh “Talks with them are ongoing 18. with the aim of fi nding a politi- Previous negotiations have cal solution for the Yemen crisis,” failed and earlier ceasefi res were delegation of Shia Houthi Jubeir said. not respected, but analysts say the rebels from Yemen is hold- Saudi Deputy Crown Prince prospects of a deal have improved. Aing talks in Riyadh, Saudi Mohamed bin Salman was the Saudi Arabia and the Iran- Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir fi rst to reveal the presence of a backed Houthi rebels have re- said yesterday, ahead of a planned Houthi delegation in Riyadh, in an cently exchanged detainees and ceasefi re and renewed Yemeni interview with Bloomberg pub- agreed through tribal mediation peace negotiations. lished on Friday. to ease tension along the two “The Houthi delegation is in “There is signifi cant progress countries’ border. Saudi Arabia and the discussions in negotiations, and we have good The Houthis seized Sanaa in are ongoing. I believe we have contacts with the Houthis, with September 2014 then advanced made good progress,” Jubeir told a delegation currently in Riyadh. south, raising fears in Riyadh that In this March 31 US Navy handout photo, a cache of weapons is assembled on the deck of the guided-missile destroyer USS Gravely (DDG reporters. We believe that we are closer than the rebels would extend the in- 107) operating in the Arabian Sea. The weapons were seized from a stateless dhow which was intercepted by the coastal patrol ship USS Saudi Arabia is leading an ever to a political solution in Yem- fl uence of Iran in the kingdom’s Sirocco (PC 6) on March 28. The illicit cargo included 1,500 AK-47s, 200 RPG launchers, and 21 .50 calibre machine guns. This was the third Arab coalition that has been en,” the prince said. southern neighbour. seizure in recent weeks by international naval forces operating in the waters of the Arabian Sea. The shipment of illicit arms, which the US bombing the rebels for over a The revelation came ahead of The UN says about 6,300 peo- assessed originated in Iran, was likely bound for Houthi insurgents in Yemen. The weapons are now in US custody awaiting final disposition. year, in support of Yemen’s in- a UN-brokered truce slated to ple have been killed in the war, ternationally recognised Presi- enter into eff ect on April 10, fol- more than half of them civilians.

Riyadh suspends Mahan Air licence IS bombings, mortar fi re to use its air space Air France crew can Saudi Arabia has suspended opt out of Iran fl ights licences granted to Iran’s Mahan Air to fly through its air space or land at its airports due to over headscarf row and clashes kill 22 in Iraq violations of local safety rules, the General Authority of Civil Aviation AFP IS overran large areas north The group frequently carries Craw told journalists in Baghdad. (GACA) said in Riyadh yesterday. Reuters places. Unions had raised con- Baghad and west of Baghdad in 2014, but out suicide bombings in Iraq The militants are seeking “to Aviation sources said in January Paris/Berlin cerns over an Air France ruling Iraqi forces backed by US-led air targeting security forces and still stay relevant in the media, that around 150 direct flights obliging female crew to wear a strikes and training have since civilians. because that’s how they get their between Iran and Saudi Arabia headscarf on leaving a plane. uicide bombings claimed regained signifi cant ground, IS also launched an attack in message out,” McCraw said. that carry thousands of pilgrims ir France said it would The debate on the wear- by the Islamic State group, most recently in the western the Baghdadi area in Anbar prov- A suicide bomber blew him- every month had been halted allow female cabin crew ing of headscarves and other Sclashes and mortar fi re province of Anbar. ince, west of Baghdad, sparking self up following a football tour- after Riyadh severed diplomatic Aand pilots to opt out of religious symbols in public is killed at least 22 people in Iraq AFP journalists saw three clashes in which fi ve members nament south of Baghdad last relations with Tehran. fl ying routes to Tehran after particularly heated in France, yesterday, security and medical burned bodies at the scene of the of pro-government forces were month, killing more than 30 The GACA said in a statement some staff said they did not which attaches importance to offi cials said. Basra attack - two still inside ve- killed and at least seven wound- people. that several violations related to want to be forced to cover their the separation of state and re- The violence, which hit four hicles, and a third on a stretcher. ed. And more than 45 people died airline safety had been committed hair when in Iran. ligious institutions. diff erent provinces, also wounded The blast set vehicles alight And mortar fi re struck houses in a suicide truck bombing at a by flights operated by Mahan Air Air France, part of the Fran- “This obligation does not more than 70 people, the sources and damaged buildings in the in Abu Ghraib, west of Baghdad, checkpoint earlier in March. to the kingdom, “prompting the co-Dutch group Air France- apply during the fl ight and is said. In the deadliest blast, a sui- area, one of the journalists said. killing two people and wounding zAn Iraqi Mi-35 helicopter suspension of licenses granted to KLM, is preparing to restart respected by all international cide bomber struck a street in the Another suicide bomber at least seven. crashed south of Baghdad due to the company”. fl ights to Tehran from April 17 airlines serving the Republic of southern port city of Basra, killing struck a joint police and army Like the Basra governor, a US a “technical problem” yesterday, “This decision comes in the after an eight-year hiatus due Iran,” Air France said in a state- fi ve people and wounding 10. checkpoint in north Baghdad, army offi cer said that as IS loses security offi cials said, the latest context of the GACA (regarding) to sanctions. ment yesterday. The Islamic State group, “af- while a third attacked pro- territory, it is increasingly turn- in a series of military helicopters the safety of passengers and After a meeting between Air A spokeswoman for British ter the losses it suff ered in west- government paramilitaries in ing to bombings in a bid to stay to go down. to preserve their lives,” the France management and un- Airways, part of International ern areas, is seeking to move the Mishahada, north of the capital, relevant. A colonel in Iraq’s Joint statement said. There was no ions yesterday, the French car- Consolidated Airlines Group, battle to the southern areas,” and a fourth hit militiamen in a The group is “losing its promi- Operations Command said immediate off icial comment from rier said it would off er female which is planning to restart where many of the forces fi ght- restaurant south of the city of nence on the battlefi eld, and so an “Mi-35 training helicopter Iranian off icials. staff the choice of opting out of fl ights to Iran from Heathrow ing the militants are from, Basra Nasiriyah. what we’ve kinda seen recently is crashed as a result of a technical Trade between Saudi Arabia and the fl ights. on July 14, said it would make Governor Majid al-Nasrawi told IS issued statements claim- a lot more what we call high pro- problem,” but that the crew Iran is small compared to the size Under Iranian law, women recommendations to its crew journalists. ing responsibility for the blasts. fi le attacks,” Captain Chance Mc- survived. of their economies. must cover their hair in public nearer the time. Assyrian artefacts

Assyrian artefacts originally from Mosul are displayed at Iraq’s National Museum in Baghdad yesterday.

UAE court jails US leads anti-mines maritime exercise ‘Hezbollah’ trio AFP Dubai

AFP rying out commercial, economic Abu Dhabi and political activities without he US Navy said the world’s largest mari- licences,” the daily Gulf News re- time exercise kicked off yesterday bring- ported. Ting participants from 30 nations for n Emirati court sentenced It named the men as Cana- training across the Middle East. yesterday three Lebanese, dian-Lebanese Suhail Naif Ga- The International Mine Countermeasures Aincluding a Canadian dual reeb, 62, and Lebanese nationals Exercise (IMCMEX) is organised and led by national, to six months in prison Asaad Ameen Qansouh, 66, and Bahrain-based US Naval Forces Central Com- for forming a local affi liate of Ahmed Ebrahim Qansouh, 30. mand, which is responsible for more than 2.5mn Iran-backed Hezbollah, local Their trial opened in early Feb- sq miles of ocean. media said. ruary. “These participating nations are united by a The supreme federal court The Arab League last month common thread - the need to protect the free convicted the trio of “forming a declared the Shia movement fl ow of commerce from a range of maritime group for the terrorist Hezbollah a “terrorist” group, after Gulf threats including piracy, terrorism and mines,” (movement) in the country,” It- states took similar steps over the said Vice Adm. Kevin Donegan, commander, US tihad daily reported, adding that movement’s backing for the Syr- Naval Forces Central Command in a statement. they will be deported after serv- ian regime. “This region provides a strong training op- ing their sentences. Hezbollah is fi ghting in Syria portunity for nations worldwide as three of the They “were found guilty of in support of the government six major maritime chokepoints in the world are setting up an offi ce of the mili- of President Bashar al-Assad here: the Suez Canal, the Strait of Bab Al Man- tant group in the UAE and car- against opponents. deb and the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.

Gulf Times Tuesday, April 5, 2016 11 ARAB WORLD

Egypt US air strike offi cials put off Rome targeted top trip

Reuters Qaeda offi cial Cairo gyptian offi cials AFP have postponed a Beirut Etrip to Rome to dis- cuss the investigation into the murder of an Italian US air strike in Syria tar- student whose body was geted Al Qaeda mem- dumped on the outskirts Trucks wait to unload garbage inside the Naameh landfill, south of Beirut. Abers, reportedly killing its of Cairo in February, judi- spokesman, and the Islamic State cial and security sources group has been forced from a key said yesterday. town in the latest setbacks for the Human rights groups militants. have said torture marks Pentagon press secretary Peter on the body of Giulio To fl ee Lebanon’s Cook said the US military con- Regeni, 28, indicated he ducted an air raid on a meeting died at hands of Egyptian of offi cials of Al Qaeda affi liate Al security forces, an alle- Nusra Front on Sunday in north- gation the Cairo govern- east Syria, targeting Abu Firas al- ment denies. trash crisis, family Suri and other leaders. The case has raised “We assess that Al Qaeda sen- fresh questions about ac- ior leader Abu Firas al-Suri was cusations of police bru- in that meeting and we are work- tality in Egypt, a strategic ing to confi rm his death,” Cook ally of the West and an heads to Syria said yesterday. important trade partner He said Suri was a Syrian na- for Rome. tional and a “legacy” Al Qaeda Egyptian officials were AFP years, all have trouble eating and Riham estimates that she member who fought in Af- initially due in Italy on Naameh sleeping. spends about $1,000 per month ghanistan in the late 1980s and Tuesday but have now “It’s always worse at night than on doctor’s visits, inhalers, and 1990s. put it off. They will now during the day. The whole area is other medication for her chil- He “worked with Osama bin make the visit on Thurs- magine living near a trash swarming with the same smell dren. Laden and other founding Al day and Friday, judicial dump so putrid that you and the same sickness,” he says. Pointing to her bare fi nger, she Qaeda members to train terror- sources said, giving no Iwould rather move to war- Fayyad says it’s become so bad, says she had to sell her wedding ists and conduct attacks global- reason for the decision. torn Syria. he’s decided to fl ee across the bor- ring to cover the costs. ly,” Cook said, adding that Sun- They had earlier said That’s what Fayyad Ayyash, his der to the town of Libeen in south- “I wish my kids would eat food day’s strike killed several enemy there was no new date set wife Riham and their four young ern Syria, a country where a con- as much as they take medicine,” fi ghters. for the visit. daughters plan to do next week, fl ict has been raging since 2011. she says. Riham’s family hails According to the Syrian Ob- A senior Egyptian inte- leaving behind their home in Leb- The Naameh landfi ll opened in from Libeen, in Syria’s southern servatory for Human Rights, rior ministry offi cial said anon for neighbouring Syria. 1997 and was meant to be a tem- Sweida province. That’s where Suri, his son and at least 20 mili- the investigation con- Their modest two-storey porary dump, but an alternative she will travel to next week, in the tants of Al Nusra and Jund al- cluded that Regeni - who house in the town of Naameh, site was never opened. hope that the open plains there Aqsa and other fi ghters from Uz- A truck adorned with the Syrian flag drives amidst destruction in was researching the rise about 20km south of the Leba- For 20 years, the waste gener- will be good for her children. bekistan were killed in strikes on the town of Al-Qaryatain, in the province of Homs in central Syria, of independent trade un- nese capital, directly overlooks ated in Beirut and Mount Lebanon Sweida, the heartland of Syr- positions in Idlib province. yesterday after Syrian troops regained control of the town from the ions in Egypt - was be- the infamous and odorous land- - the country’s most populous ar- ia’s Druze minority, has come Seven were high-ranking mili- Islamic State group the previous day. ing watched by security fi ll by the same name. eas - was dumped in Naameh. under attack by militants of the tants, the Britain-based Observ- services but that it did not “We’re going next week. In The verdant valley swelled into Islamic State group but has seen atory said. has largely held since February high-ranking members in recent mean that they killed him Syria, there’s a possibility I might a trash mountain of more than less fi ghting than other parts of Aymenn Jawad al-Tamimi, 27, but it does not cover Al Nusra weeks, mainly to strikes by the as suspected by human die. Here, we’ll defi nitely die,” 15mn tonnes. Furious residents the country. a research fellow at the Middle and IS. US-led coalition that launched rights groups. Fayyad tells AFP. forced the closure of the site in “No, it isn’t safe, but I’m East Forum, a US think-tank, The break has allowed Russia an aerial campaign against the On March 25 Egyp- From his grassy backyard, July 2015, saying it was leading to forced to leave... I have a suitcase said Suri was a top militant of- and the US-led coalition that has militants in Iraq and Syria in tian police said they had dozens of large trucks carrying high cancer rates, skin diseases packed and ready on top of the fi cial. been bombing IS in Syria to con- 2014. discovered Regeni’s bag tonnes of waste can be seen - and and breathing problems. closet,” Riham says. Suri “was a very senior mem- centrate on their fi ght against the Last Wednesday, a drone strike and passport following a smelled - lining up to add their Uncollected rubbish began Farouk Merhebi from the ber of Al Nusra, but organisa- militants. near IS’s de facto capital Raqa shootout with a criminal load to the “trash mountain.” piling up around Beirut and its American University of Beirut tions like Al Nusra aren’t debili- Al Nusra has generally kept a killed Tunisian commander Abu gang whose members had The July 2015 closure of the no- suburbs, emitting a horrible says the smell has probably made tated because they lose a single low profi le since the truce bro- al-Haija. posed as policemen. torious landfi ll lies at the heart of stench that sparked protests in life incredibly uncomfortable for senior leader”, he said. kered by the US and Russia came On Sunday, the army seized Italian officials dis- Lebanon’s trash crisis, which has downtown Beirut demanding a hundreds living within a 1km ra- “Their organisational struc- into force. the town of Al-Qaryatain, one of missed the story and seen rivers of trash spread across long-term solution. dius of the dump. tures are well prepared for tar- But on Friday, the Al Qaeda the last IS strongholds in central Regeni’s family said it the Mediterranean country, trig- After months of political Before the crisis began, trash geted assassinations, which are affi liate and allied rebels pushed Syria, a week after the Russian- was clear Regeni had not gering protests nationwide. Then wrangling, Lebanon’s cabinet trucks would dump between usual business for them.” regime loyalists out of Al-Eis, a backed army scored a major been killed for criminal last month, the government made announced a four-year plan to 2,800 to 3,000 tonnes of waste Suri, whose real name was strategic town in the northern victory in the ancient city of gain. a controversial decision to reopen end the waste crisis - and its fi rst per day in Naameh, says Merhe- Radwan Nammous, fought province of Aleppo, killing 12 Palmyra, also located in the vast The case has caused it - and this was the last straw for step was reopening Naameh for bi, who is AUB’s director of envi- against Soviet forces in Afghani- members of the Lebanese Shia province of Homs. friction between Egypt residents like Fayyad. two months. ronmental health, safety and risk stan where he met Bin Laden and Hezbollah movement. The recapture of Al-Qaryatain and Italy, though it is un- Pulling out a bright blue inhal- “When the dump reopened, management. the founding father of “global “It was Al Nusra’s biggest op- allows the army to secure its grip likely to lead to a perma- er, he says his family has been suf- my baby immediately started “Now it’s about 8,000 to jihad”, Abdullah Azzam, before eration since the ceasefi re be- over Palmyra, where militants nent rift because of the fering from respiratory problems throwing up again,” Fayyad says. 9,000 tonnes. The operations returning to Syria in 2011. gan,” Observatory chief Rami destroyed ancient temples dur- two countries’ trade ties for months because of the dump. Fayyad and his Syrian wife, almost tripled because they’re A temporary ceasefi re between Abdel Rahman said. ing their 10-month rule and ex- and Egypt’s strategic role His daughters, whose ages Riham, are both Druze, an off - playing catch-up with the trash government forces and rebels IS has also lost a string of ecuted 280 people. in the Middle East. range from just under two to 10 shoot of Islam. that had accumulated,” he says.

Tunisia says Libya embassy to reopen to back unity govt

Tunisia yesterday announced the Prime minister-designate Fayez It was not immediately clear if the dictator Muammar Gaddafi. reopening of its embassy and al-Sarraj arrived on Wednesday in mission had in fact reopened or if it Both neighbours have seen an consulate in the Libyan capital the Libyan capital drawing the fury was about to resume work. emergence of militant Islam. following the arrival there of a UN- of the Tripoli government, but also Last year Tunisia reopened its The militant Islamic State group backed unity government. praise and pledges of allegiance from consulate in Tripoli but closed it has set up a stronghold in Gaddafi’s Tunisia closed its diplomatic missions several fronts. again following the abduction of 10 hometown of Sirte and claimed in neighbouring Libya in 2014 when Tunisia’s foreign ministry said as a staff members. attacks in both Libya and Tunisia. a militia alliance seized Tripoli and result it was reopening the Tunisian Tunisia has been wary of the chaos Tunisia has built a 200-km barrier set up a government and parliament embassy and consulate in Tripoli in a that spread across Libya in the that stretches about half the length opposed to the internationally bid “to support the political process aftermath of the 2011 uprising that of its border with Libya in an attempt recognised administration. in Libya”. ousted and killed longtime to prevent militants from infiltrating.

Israel razes Palestinian homes

Israeli authorities yesterday demolished five Palestinian-owned homes in the West Bank district of Nablus and Hebron, as well as in East Jerusalem, according to local sources. In Nablus district, Israeli troops broke into the village of Kherbet al- Marajem, where they demolished three homes belonging to two local Palestinians, under the pretext of construction without a permit. The Israeli demolitions in the village provoked clashes with local Palestinian youths, during which the Israeli army used teargas canisters against the youths, causing many cases of suffocation among them. Meanwhile, Israeli authorities demolished a house in the town of Surif, northwest of Hebron, also for lack of a construction permit. Gulf Times 12 Tuesday, April 5, 2016 AFRICA

ANC holds crisis talks Gunbattles rock Brazzaville over Zuma indictment after contested election Reuters Johannesburg Reuters Brazzaville outh Africa’s ruling Af- rican National Congress unbattles rocked the capital S(ANC) party yesterday of Congo Republic yesterday, held crisis talks to discuss the Gshattering a relative calm that fallout from a court ruling had followed President Denis Sassou last week that President Jacob Nguesso’s re-election in a disputed poll Zuma fl outed the Constitu- last month. tion, triggering calls for him to Former members of the “Ninja” militia resign. that fought Sassou Nguesso in a 1997 civil The ANC backed Zuma, 73, war raided and set alight military, police after the Constitutional Court and local government offi ces but the at- rebuked him for ignoring pub- tacks have been contained, said govern- lic protector Thuli Madon- ment spokesman Thierry Moungalla. sela’s order that he pay back Opposition leader Guy-Brice Parfait some of the $16mn spent on Kolelas came second in the March 20 upgrading his private Nkandla election and his father led the Ninjas home. during the civil war. But the scandal, one of sev- The group signed a peace accord with eral which have dogged Zuma the government in 2003 after years of over the past decade, could sporadic clashes, though rivalries per- strain relations between the sist along regional and ethnic lines. ANC and its allies the South Kolelas was not involved in the at- African Communist Party tacks, an aide said. (SACP) and labour federation “The government ... does not yet have COSATU, which have helped it proof that the candidates or their sup- to retain power since the fall of porters were involved in this aff air but apartheid in 1994. ... investigations are under way,” gov- ANC offi cials declined to ernment spokesman Moungalla said on give details of yesterday’s state television. meeting by the party’s nation- The fi ghting between security forces al working committee, which and unidentifi ed gunmen was some of follows that of the ANC’s top the worst to hit Brazzaville since 1997, six leaders on Friday. when Sassou Nguesso returned to power Analysts say the Constitu- after months of urban warfare between tional Court ruling is a blow to rival militia groups in the capital. Zuma’s credibility and could He had previously ruled the oil-pro- harm the ANC ahead of mu- ducing country from 1979 until he lost nicipal elections due between an election in 1992. May and August. Opposition supporters say they are National Assembly Speaker frustrated in the wake of the March 20 Baleka Mbete, who is also the election that one of Africa’s longest- ruling party’s chairperson, serving rulers can extend a tenure that said on Sunday parliament has already totalled 32 years. would today debate a motion Witnesses said young opposition by the opposition to impeach supporters chanted “Sassou, leave!”, Zuma. erected barricades near the main round- The motion is, however, about in southern Brazzaville’s Makele- Brazzaville residents flee clashes yesterday between Congolese security forces and unknown assailants. likely to fail in the house where kele neighbourhood and set fi re to the the ANC, in power since Nel- local mayor’s offi ce and police head- Heavy weapons fi re could be heard. gunfi re persisted in the afternoon, while onstrations against the referendum spokesman for opposition leader and son Mandela became the fi rst quarters. Hundreds of residents of southern some residents took refuge in Catholic changes. retired general Jean-Marie Mokoko, black president at the end of The gunfi re broke out in the oppo- Brazzaville, some carrying their posses- churches. Opposition candidates say the March who came third in the election, said white minority rule, still en- sition strongholds of Makelekele and sions on their heads, fl ed their neigh- Sassou Nguesso won re-election after vote was a fraud and have called for a Mokoko’s house had been searched and joys a comfortable majority, Bacongo at 3am local time (0200 GMT) bourhoods on foot toward the north of pushing through constitutional changes campaign of civil disobedience. A gen- no weapons were found. with 62% of the 400-seat as- and lasted until 6am. the city. in an October referendum to remove age eral strike last week held in southern “The other opposition candidates sembly. It resumed around 8am and intensi- Dozens of heavily-armed Republican and term limits that would have pre- Brazzaville but was ignored in the north don’t have weapons. They were chased “Zuma remains in control of fi ed in late morning as military helicop- Guard troops and police later headed vented him from standing again. of the city, where Sassou Nguesso is and mistreated (during the campaign) his party (even if slightly weak- ters patrolled southern Brazzaville, wit- towards the Kingouari neighbourhood At least 18 people were killed by se- popular. but they wanted, at any price, to go to ened) and with a signifi cant nesses said. of southern Brazzaville, where isolated curity forces during opposition dem- Michel Rodriguez Abiabouti, a the election,” he told Reuters. degree of electoral popularity, especially in rural areas and KwaZulu-Natal,” BNP Paribus Securities South Africa politi- cal analyst Nic Borain said. In a televised address to the nation on Friday evening, South Africa mulls legal rhino horn trade Zuma apologised and said he would pay back some of the money spent on the updgrades By Ed Stoddard, Reuters but the Private Rhino Owners Associa- Small groups of rhino cluster under ulate the insatiable demand for rhino tary General John Scanlon told Reuters at Nkandla, but denied acting Klerksdorp, South Africa tion estimates its members have around thorn trees along the ranch’s dirt roads. horn, and fuel further rhino poaching,” in a telephone interview. dishonestly. 6 tonnes and reckons the state has close Some hulking brutes weigh over two the International Fund for Animal Wel- Scanlon said forensics could discour- On Sunday, a jocular Zuma to 25 tonnes. tonnes, an intimidating presence which fare said on its website. age speculators who hope to poach rhino told a cheering crowd in his outh Africa will decide this month Rhino horn on the street in Asia sells would be all the more so if they still had A 2013 IFAW-commissioned study now and then offl oad the horn if the glo- home province of KwaZulu- whether to push to end a global for around $65,000 per kg, according to horns. concluded a legal trade would be fraught bal ban is lifted. Natal that he was still youthful Sban on buying and selling rhino off -the-record estimates by conserva- Hume dehorns his animals, which with uncertainty and that illicit dealers Trading rhino horn within South Af- and remained South Africa’s horn, a move that could unlock a $2bn tionists, so 30 tonnes could generate up makes them less enticing to poach- could respond by reducing prices to re- rica’s borders is legal, after a high court leader, making no specifi c bonanza and determine the fate of a to around $2bn. ers and adds to his stockpile than now tain their market share. late last year struck down a moratorium mention of the Nkandla issue. critically endangered species. Supporters of legalising the trade say amounts to fi ve tonnes. Dehorning is The South African cabinet will decide imposed in 2009. A permit is required Support for Zuma from ANC Rhino horn is prized in Asia for use the money could be used for conserva- done while the animal is sedated and this month whether to table a proposal for such transactions but no one has ap- allies has been somewhat re- in traditional remedies and surging tion by the South African government, does not hurt as the material is similar on lifting the ban when the Convention plied for one yet. strained. demand has meant more poaching. A whose fi nances are under mounting to human fi ngernails. on International Trade in Endangered The moratorium was briefl y put back In a statement, the SACP record 1,305 of the animals were illegally pressure as it faces possible debt ratings Private ranching of wild animals is le- Species (CITES) meets in Johannesburg in place as the Department of Environ- applauded Zuma for publicly killed in Africa last year. Buying and downgrades that could see its borrowing gal in South Africa, where about 6,200 in September-October this year. mental Aff airs fi led to oppose its lifting apologising on Friday for the selling rhino horn internationally was costs balloon. rhinos are in private hands, a third of the Having the international ban over- but in January this was set aside. debacle. banned in 1977. They also say the ban simply does not national population. turned would require two-thirds sup- “As from 20 January 2016, the High But it warned that the Con- But opponents of that ban say that, as work. “We are losing rhino, we are los- If South Africa does decide to submit port from the countries attending. Court’s order setting aside the domestic stitutional Court ruling was a rhinoceros’ horns grow back if cut from a ing the war. We have to change our tac- a proposal to lift the ban, it will face stiff One tool to prevent illicit horn from moratorium on the trade in rhino horn is signal to the alliance that “de- living animal, a properly monitored legal tics,” said John Hume, a private rancher resistance. Animal welfare organisa- coming to the market is forensics. For once more eff ective,” said Roopa Singh, cisive action is now impera- trade could help save the rhinos, rather who owns 1,293 rhinos - 4.5% of a global tions say a legal trade could encourage both rhino horn and elephant ivory, sci- spokeswoman at the Department of En- tive, otherwise the continuing than condemn them to extinction. population of around 28,000 in Africa more poaching by criminal gangs seek- ence can pinpoint when an animal was vironmental Aff airs. loss of moral authority, po- The stakes are high. and Asia. ing to launder “dirty” horns in clean taken and in many cases where. For Hume, a blunt-talking business- litical paralysis and fragmen- The government has not revealed the “It is not the demand that is killing our markets. “They are doing a good job in South man who made money in the resort and tation of our movement will size of its rhino horn stockpile - those rhinos, it’s the way we supply that de- “Legalizing rhino horn trade would Africa of developing a comprehensive hotel industries, the issue is clear. “The continue”. The party said it seized from smugglers as well as ones mand,” he said on his sprawling 7,000 hec- remove the stigma associated with con- data base. It determines where the rhino fact that we can’t sell a renewable, sus- was seeking an urgent meeting cut from animals that died naturally - tare ranch 170km west of Johannesburg. sumption of endangered species, stim- horn has been sourced,” CITES Secre- tainable product is absolute madness.” with ANC offi cials.

Genocide suspect abstains from guilty plea

AFP guilty of genocide, direct and public Kigali incitement to genocide, massacres, an extermination campaign and orches- trating mass rapes. op level Rwandan genocide sus- His lawyer Laurent Bugabo told AFP pect Ladislas Ntaganzwa ap- his client had not had enough time Tpeared yesterday in a Kigali court to examine his dossier, sent in 2012 but refrained from answering whether to Rwandan authorities by the UN- he was guilty of the charges including backed International Criminal Tribunal inciting massacres and mass rapes. Rwandan genocide suspect Ladislas for Rwanda (ICTR), based in Tanzania. The 53-year-old fugitive was ar- Ntaganzwa arrives at the Nyarugunga No date was given for the start of the rested in December in the Democratic Primary Court in Kigali yesterday. trial. Republic of Congo and extradited to According to a 44-page ICTR in- his homeland to face justice. crimes against humanity. He is ac- dictment, Ntaganzwa helped to es- Until his arrest, the former mayor cused of organising “the massacre of tablish, train and arm the local Intera- was one of nine genocide suspects thousands of Tutsis at various loca- hamwe militia, the ethnic Hutu youth still being actively sought by an in- tions,” the UN-backed Mechanism wing of the political party he ran in ternational tribunal for involvement for International Criminal Tribunals the Nyakizu area, “with the intent to in the 1994 Rwandan genocide which (MICT) said when he was arrested. exterminate the Tutsi population and claimed the lives of 800,000 people, “He was also alleged to have orches- eliminate its ‘accomplices’.” mainly ethnic Tutsis. trated the rape and sexual violence com- It also accuses Ntaganzwa of person- Ntaganzwa had a $5mn US bounty mitted against many women,” it said. ally leading a series of massacres of Tutsi on his head and has been indicted by Ntaganzwa said he was “abstain- civilians, including an attack on a church a UN-backed court for genocide and ing” when asked by the judge if he was where thousands had taken shelter. Gulf Times Tuesday, April 5, 2016 13 AMERICAS Princeton not fazed by Wilson’s racist past

Reuters Some alumni lauded Prin- New York ceton for sticking with the Wilson name, condemning his views as racist by today’s rinceton University will standards but arguing they keep president Woodrow should not overshadow his ac- PWilson’s name on cam- complishments. pus buildings despite student “He was president of the complaints about racism, with United States and you don’t offi cials saying yesterday that erase that by the fact that he “contextualisation is impera- did things that today are unac- tive” to the Ivy League school’s ceptable,” said New Jersey law- history. yer Eric Chase, Princeton class The New Jersey school’s of 1968. board of trustees said yesterday The Black Justice League, it would not remove Wilson’s which demanded Princeton name and image from its public scrub the Wilson name to ac- spaces and from its Woodrow knowledge the racism it says Wilson School of Public and the school was built on, did not The parents of Michael Slager look on during an emotional plea from Judy Scott, mother of Walter Scott, to deny bond for former police off icer Slager, in Charleston, South Carolina. International Aff airs. immediately respond to a re- Wilson, the 28th US presi- quest for comment. dent from 1913 to 1921, was a In retaining Wilson’s name, leader of the Progressive Move- “contextualization is impera- ment but also supported racial tive,” the school’s website cited segregation, part of public pol- the committee as saying yes- icy at the time, particularly in terday. southern states. Wilson served Of particular concern are “the as Princeton University’s presi- position he took as Princeton’s dent from 1902 to 1910. president to prevent the en- S Carolina still tense The trustees adopted the rolment of black students and recommendations of a special the policies he instituted as US committee formed after Prin- president that resulted in the re- ceton students demonstrated segregation of the federal civil and demanded the removal service”, the committee said. of Wilson’s name on campus “Wilson, like other historical in November, amid a wave of fi gures, leaves behind a com- protests at colleges across the plex legacy of both positive and over police shooting United States over the treat- negative repercussions. Use of ment of minority students. his name implies no endorse- The off icer’s arrest headed off any The entire police force is now equipped ary and is scheduled to be tried in October. The school also agreed to ment of views and actions that violence over the incident with body cameras and the department He has said he feared for his life after being several new initiatives to en- confl ict with the values and launched two new community outreach attacked by Scott following the stop. courage diversity on campus, aspirations of our times,” the Reuters programmes, including “front porch vis- He was dismissed from the force, and from encouraging a broader committee said. North Charleston its” aimed at forging relationships be- the city reached a $6.5mn wrongful death range of students to pursue “We have said that in this tween people and law enforcement. settlement with Scott’s family last fall. doctoral degrees, to displaying report, and the university must Driggers “has built a more responsive, An Austin police offi cer trying to sub- art and logos that refl ect a more say it in the settings that bear he South Carolina city where a yet gentler department than what we had due a suspect seen breaking into cars in an racially mixed Princeton. his name,” it said. white police offi cer shot dead an at the beginning of 2015”, Summey said. affl uent downtown neighbourhood of the Tunarmed black man one year ago Driggers did not respond to an interview Texas capital on Sunday was shot by the still simmers with racial tension as black request. man and then returned fi re, killing him, residents say they continue to be harassed The Charleston area justice ministry, police said. and humiliated by law enforcement. an interfaith group that works for social The offi cer, a nearly 10-year veteran of Patrolman Michael Slager killed mo- change, will ask the police department the force who was not named, was in sta- Mexican fl ag hung at torist Walter Scott on April 4, 2015, fi ring Former police officer Michael Slager to allow an external audit of its records ble condition after surgery to remove the eight times at his back as he fl ed a traffi c in court. for evidence of racial bias after the group bullet. The suspect, also not named, was stop for a broken tail light. A bystander said it collected anecdotes of unwarranted pronounced dead at the scene, Austin po- CanadaTrump Tower captured the shooting on cell phone video. Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). searches and questioning. lice chief Art Acevedo told a news confer- Scott, 50, was a father of four. Civil rights organizations are urging the The group plans to present its fi ndings ence. Slager’s arrest on a murder charge may US justice department to investigate the to the city this month, member Bill Tho- “Everything is on video and everything Agencies have helped spare North Charleston the police department. The NAACP’s legal de- mas said. is on audio,” Acevedo said of the incident, Vancouver rioting that took place in other US cities fense fund has collected testimonials they State records show black drivers con- adding the material would show the offi cer after police killings of black men. He is hope will bolster the request for a federal tinue to be stopped by North Charleston acted quickly, professionally and respon- awaiting trial, his lawyers saying he acted probe, said lawyer Monique Dixon. police at a higher rate than white drivers. sibly. he Mexican fl ag hung in self-defense. “We want to make sure it doesn’t hap- In both the nine months before Scott’s A security guard chased the suspect, from the roof of the African Americans say their demands pen again,” said Edward Bryant III, presi- death and the nine months after, black identifi ed as a man in his mid-30s, into a Tsoon-to-be complete for more transparency in police practices, dent of the NAACP’s North Charleston drivers were stopped at almost twice the parking lot and brought him to the ground. Trump Tower in downtown such as the creation of a citizen review chapter. No one should “act as judge, jury rate of white drivers. Total traffi c stops The offi cer arrived on the scene and tried Vancouver, put there by con- The Mexican flag hung from board, have gone unheeded. Some com- and prosecutor on the streets in a police dropped by more than half in the nine to take the suspected thief into custody. struction worker Diego Reyna, theTrump Tower in Vancouver. plain of being subjected to overly aggres- car.” months following the shooting, according “The suspect, then without any warn- a Mexican-Canadian. This was sive policing and racial profi ling. Mayor Keith Summey, who declined an to the state Department of Public Safety. ing, takes out a semi-automatic pistol and according to cbcnews.ca. night, his photo was shared “This has got to stop. It’s going to af- interview request, said in a statement that “I think they’re laying low,” James John- fi res one shot at our offi cer,” Acevedo said. He says he pulled the stunt more than 700 times. fect our children and our grandchildren. steps had been taken to rebuild trust in the son, president of the South Carolina chap- The offi cer was hit below his vest in his ab- because he was tired of hearing “Look at that building, look We need to clean house,” Milton Brewer, a city where 47% of the 106,000 residents ter of the National Action Network and a domen and then returned fi re. the building’s namesake, Don- how beautiful it is … and that is businessman and retired Air Force veteran, are black and about 78% of the city’s police North Charleston resident, said of police. Acevedo said the offi cer was conscious ald Trump, make comments a result of a coordination of all said last month at a community gathering force is white, as are Summey and police “They’ve been under scrutiny.” and alert, and added: “He is very fortu- and generalisations about the ethnic groups in Canada,” called by the National Association for the chief Eddie Driggers. Slager, 34, was released on bail in Janu- nate.” Mexicans during his Republi- he said, even though he has not can presidential campaign. been employed on the project. “I put a Mexican fl ag on the “I’ve seen every race and roof of the Trump Tower in every religion working in that Vancouver, just to show that building.” he is benefi ting from us and He hopes his message of that we are working hard on his “love and unity”, will reach Two Libyans moved to Senegal projects and that we are not all Trump. criminals,” said Reyna. Holborn Group, the owner The Port Moody, BC resi- of Vancouver Trump build- dent hung the fl ag on Saturday ing, said it would not com- and posted a picture of himself ment on matters related to US from US Guantanamo prison with it on social media. politics or Reyna’s stunt while By Sunday morning though, the tower, and others bearing the fl ag had been taken down, Trump’s name, have become Reuters civil confl ict and where militant Islamist but to his surprise, in one controversial. Washington groups are active. Obama’s blueprint for closing Guan- tanamo prison calls for bringing several Amtrak workers were on wrong track wo Libyans held for years at the dozen remaining prisoners to maximum- US military prison at Guantanamo security prison in the United States. US Maintenance workers were mistakenly on the wrong track when an TBay, Cuba, have been fl own to Sen- law bars such transfers to the mainland, Amtrak passenger train struck a large piece of railway equipment egal for resettlement, the Pentagon said and Obama has not ruled out doing so by on Sunday near Philadelphia and killed two people, according to on Monday, the latest move in president use of executive action. CNN. The network cited an unnamed source in reporting that the Barack Obama’s fi nal push to close the fa- The most prominent of those to be re- train hit the crew after a “colossal” error left them on an active track. cility. settled over the next several weeks is Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board were The two men were the fi rst of a group Tariq Bah Odah, a 37-year-old Yemeni on yesterday analysing an event data recorder and video recordings of about a dozen who are expected to be a long-term hunger strike. He has been recovered after the front of the train went off the tracks in Chester, transferred in coming weeks to at least two force-fed by nasal tube since he stopped Pennsylvania, about 25km southwest of Philadelphia. The accident countries that have agreed to take them, eating solid food in 2007. on Sunday morning also injured 35 people and left service according to a US offi cial who spoke on His weight had dropped to 74 pounds suspended for much of the day along the busy corridor between condition of anonymity. from 148 and his legal team feared he could Philadelphia and New York. People aboard Amtrak Train 89, bound With the latest departures, there are die of starvation, according to a Reuters at for Savannah, Georgia, from New York with about 330 passengers, now 89 prisoners at the US naval base in the end of December. described the jolt when the collision occurred. Steve Forbes, the US Guantanamo. Most have been held with- The transfers to Senegal were the second publishing executive and two-time former Republican presidential out charge or trial for more than a decade, to Africa in recent months. Two Yemeni hopeful, told CNN yesterday he was riding in the last car of the drawing international condemnation. detainees were sent to Ghana in January. train that crashed. “It was a matter of nanoseconds, but you felt the Obama, who in February presented A detainee inside Camp Delta in Guantanamo. Others were sent recently sent to Oman, train was coming to a screeching halt, then it eased up a bit, then Congress with a long-delayed plan for Bosnia and Montenegro. another screech,” Forbes said. “There was coff ee flying everywhere. shuttering the prison, is seeking to make tional security,” US secretary of state John US offi cials have said they expect to move Guantanamo prisoners were rounded up There was the smell of smoke.” The locomotive engineer was good on his long-time pledge before he Kerry said in a statement. The Pentagon out all members of that group by this sum- overseas when the United States became among those on board the train taken to hospitals with injuries, leaves offi ce in January. But he faces stiff identifi ed the two Libyans as Salem Abdu mer, sending them to their homelands or embroiled in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan none life-threatening, the NTSB said. Forbes said passengers opposition from many Republican law- Salam Ghereby and Omar Khalif Moham- other countries. following the September 11, 2001, attacks determined there was no fire and decided to stay inside the train makers, as well as some fellow Democrats. ed Abu Baker Mahjour Umar. Kerry thanked the Senegal govern- on New York and Washington. The facility, car to avoid contact with live electrical wires outside. They did not “We are taking all possible steps to re- They were among a group of prisoners, ment for accepting the two Libyans for opened by Obama’s predecessor George W receive instructions until first responders made their way to the duce the detainee population at Guantan- now numbering 35 following their depar- “humanitarian resettlement.” The United Bush, came to symbolise aggressive de- final car about 30 minutes later, he told CNN. Amtrak spokesman amo and to close the detention facility in a ture, who have been cleared for transfer by States has ruled out repatriating detainees tention practices that opened the United Mike Tolbert said the railroad was operating its normal schedule of responsible manner that protects our na- a US government inter-agency task force. to countries like Libya, which is locked in States to accusations of torture. train service along the busy Northeast rail corridor yesterday. Gulf Times 14 Tuesday, April 5, 2016 ASEAN Vietnam seizes Chinese oil tanker Qiong Yangpu was carrying “The captain, however, failed 100,000 litres of oil, the to present relevant documents to off icial agency said, adding prove the origin of the oil, while that it was captured and his two crew members have no impounded in the operating licence,” Tuoi Tre said. northern port of Hai Phong Vietnam and neighbouring China have longstanding terri- AFP torial disputes over the Spratly Hanoi and Paracel Islands, and often trade diplomatic barbs over oil exploration and fi shing rights in Cambodian security off icers push back protesters to prevent them from reaching the National Assembly during a protest against the trade union law in Phnom Penh yesterday. ietnam’s coast guard has the South China Sea. seized a Chinese oil tank- Vietnam regularly chases Ver which it claims intrud- Chinese fi shing vessels out of ed into Vietnamese waters, state waters it claims, but it is rare for media said yesterday, the latest authorities to hold a boat and its episode in a festering territorial crew. Cambodia passes disputed trade dispute in the South China Sea. In recent years China has be- The Qiong Yangpu was car- gun aggressively patrolling near rying 100,000 litres of oil, the the contested islands and Vi- offi cial Vietnam News Agency etnamese offi cials accuse it of said, adding that it was captured imposing fi shing bans and us- union law as tension fl ares Thursday and impounded in the ing patrol boats to keep foreign northern port of Hai Phong. trawlers out. The three-man crew was Hanoi says hundreds of its Reuters goods for Nike, H&M, Puma, fect our rights to hold strikes. industry that has grown rap- would push for amendments handed over to police, the report fi shing boat crews have been ar- Phnom Penh Marks and Spencer and Inditex, They (the government) will in- idly, partly because it undercuts but would not hold large pro- said. rested by Chinese authorities among more than a dozen global terfere in our work, they can China’s factories. tests due to fears of a repeat of “It was spotted and seized over the last few years. brands. suspend and dissolve us,” said The unrest has dogged previous violence and crack- by Hai Phong coast guards... 12 Beijing has occupied the Para- ambodia’s parliament Some of about 100 protest- Ath Thon, president of the Coa- Cambodia, with protests over downs by the authorities. nautical miles from the marine cels, known as Xisha in Chinese, approved a disputed ers clashed with security guards lition of Cambodian Apparel pay a perennial problem for Labour Minister Ith Sam delineation line in the Tonkin since a brief war with South Vi- Ctrade union law yester- outside the National Assembly Workers Democratic Union, the government and an issue Heng told parliament the leg- Gulf to the northwest of Viet- etnam in 1974. day without making changes before the bill was passed and The law sets rules on how un- for brands worried about in- islation would bring stability nam’s Bach Long Vi island,” the It also claims the Spratlys, as demanded by labour groups and at least two union activists suf- ions are formed, operated and terrupted orders and negative and bigger investment. Rul- report said. do -- in whole or in part -- Tai- the opposition, who decried fered bloody head injuries. dissolved and was passed in its publicity. ing party lawmaker Chheang Police, military, and coast wan, Malaysia, the Philippines it as too strict and designed to All 67 deputies present from original form, without altera- Unions and the CNRP had Vun defended the bill and said guard offi cials in Hai Phong de- and Brunei as well as Vietnam. limit workers’ rights. the ruling Cambodian People’s tions requested by unions, em- urged parliament to remove it would ultimately benefit clined comment yesterday. Beijing claims as its histori- The law is a hotly contested Party (CPP) supported it and ployers and rights groups. from the law all articles on workers. “This sector is the According to the state-run cal territory virtually all of the issue in Cambodia, where the the 31 opposition Cambodia Business owners requested suspending unions and re- rice pot for all of us,” he said. Tuoi Tre newspaper, the tanker South China Sea, which is be- $5bn textiles and footwear sec- National Rescue Party (CNRP) the rules in 2007 to prevent quirements for them to pre- “The government has the was selling oil to Chinese fi shing lieved to sit atop huge oil and gas tor is the biggest employer and delegates voted against it. strikes by unions representing pare financial reports. duty to protect this pot so there boats in the area. reserves. economic driver, producing “We’re worried as it will af- some 700,000 workers in an Ath Thon said union leaders is rice for us to eat.” Planes collide on Indonesia Parliament nod for PM’s runway, but no casualties ‘healthier’ new cabinet AFP said in a statement. Batik Air is services some domestic routes - Jakarta part of Lion Group, which runs would be temporarily closed fol- Indonesia’s biggest low-cost lowing the incident. Reuters changes were reassignments to carrier Lion Air. Edward Sirait, the president Phnom Penh other portfolios and only two wo passenger planes col- Transport ministry spokes- director of the Lion Air Group, ministers were moved out of the lided late yesterday on man J A Barata also confi rmed said the company would await cabinet. Tan airport runway in the there were no casualties and all the results of an offi cial investi- ambodia’s parlia- Commerce Secretary of State Indonesian capital, an airline passengers and crew were safely gation. ment endorsed a new Pan Sorasak was promoted to spokesman said, causing minor evacuated. Indonesia’s air travel industry C26-member cabinet minister and Veng Sokhon be- damage but no injuries to pas- The left wing of the Batik is booming, with the number of yesterday in a rare shuffl e of came minister of agriculture, sengers. fl ight was damaged in the clash domestic passengers growing an ageing leadership as Prime replacing Ouk Rabun, who is A Batik Air plane carrying 49 and the tail of the ATR craft op- signifi cantly over the past dec- Minister Hun Sen prepares for now minister of rural develop- passengers and seven crew was erated by TransNusa - another ade, but it has a dismal air safety a 2018 election set to be his ment. taking off from Jakarta’s Halim domestic airline mainly serving record and reputation for cha- toughest political fi ght yet. Sun Chanthol, the former Perdanakusuma airport when it the east of the archipelago - was otic regulation. During his three decades in commerce minister, became clipped a TransNusa plane being also mangled, Barata said. In 2013 a Lion Air jet with a power Hun Sen has surround- transport minister, replacing towed across the runway. Pictures on social media rookie pilot at the controls un- ed himself with loyalists and Tram Iv Tek, who was given the Andy Saladin, a spokesman showed scorch marks around the dershot the runway and crashed changed ministers rarely. He Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen voting during a meeting at the telecoms portfolio. Hun Sen’s for Lion Air Group, said the pilot damaged sections, with videos into the sea in Bali, splitting the said the shakeup was among a National Assembly building in Phnom Penh yesterday. close ally Hor Namhong, his aborted the takeoff of the Boeing posted online capturing a brief plane in two. series of “necessities” to im- foreign minister for 18 years, 737-800 aircraft to ensure the fi re before it was brought under In December the following prove the government’s per- “The year 2016 is suitable for effi ciency,” Hun Sen told the was replaced by Prak Sokhon, safety of those onboard. control by emergency crews. year an AirAsia plane crash be- formance. the government to check and National Assembly. the former telecommunications “All the passengers and crew Barata said the airport in Ja- tween Indonesia’s second-larg- Cambodia now had a more evaluate again the work of the The lineup was supported by minister. Hor Namhong re- are safe, and will be fl own using karta’s east - primarily a military est city Surabaya and Singapore qualifi ed, experienced and past half term and issue neces- 70 of the 107 parliamentarians mains in the cabinet as a deputy a replacement aircraft,” Saladin and government terminal that killed all 162 people on board. healthier cabinet, he said. sary measures to increase work present yesterday. Most of the prime minister.

TRAGEDY Seven dead Suu Kyi scales back after car plunges Myanmar student leader seeks off river ferry on ministerial jobs Seven people including five chil- dren drowned in Cambodia when end to repression of activists a car packed with passengers AFP tween the presidency and parlia- slipped off a ferry and plunged Yangon ment. into a river, police said yesterday. Last week the NLD said she AFP She and her fellow student protesters The incident took place on Sun- would take on four cabinet posts Yangon could face up to ten years in jail if con- day night in southern Kandal prov- yanmar’s Aung San Suu - foreign, energy, education and victed. ince when a driver boarded a local Kyi has dropped plans the ministerial position in the Some 120 former political prisoners now ferry at what investigators said Mto run two major min- president’s offi ce. Myanmar student leader on trial have seats in parliament. Most are NLD was an unsafe speed. “The driver istries but will act as spokes- But during a parliamentary over protests last year that were activists who, like Suu Kyi, spent decades had drunk two cans of beer... he woman for the country’s new session yesterday, the NLD put Aviolently quashed by authorities campaigning against junta rule. drove the car too fast onto a ferry president, a ruling party offi cial forward two new names for the called on Aung San Suu Kyi’s new govern- Phyo Phyo Aung said she hoped they and it fell into the water,” a police said yesterday. energy and education portfolios, ment yesterday to abolish laws repressing would now push through reforms to a se- report said. The group had been Banned from becoming presi- according to NLD spokesman political activists. ries of laws on assembly and national se- returning from worshiping at a dent by a junta-era constitution, Win Htein. Hopes are growing that the fi rst civil- curity long used to target activists. relative’s grave for the annual Suu Kyi has cemented control “Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will ian-led government in decades can accel- Detained Myanmar student leaders Phyo “They have more experience than us. Qingming festival - also known as over the country’s fi rst civilian- be the spokesperson for the erate Myanmar’s economic and political Phyo Aung (left) and her husband Lin Htet They should abolish the laws under which Tomb Sweeping Day - the report led government in decades by president,” he added, without rejuvenation after nearly half a century of Naing are seen at the courthouse following they were sentenced by discussing with added. The driver managed to taking on a string of senior roles elaborating on the rejig. brutal military rule. their trial in Yangon yesterday. legal advocates. Then our country’s future escape out the window but the in the new administration. The move will free up the The country witnessed a historic trans- will be better,” she said. rest of his passengers, includ- She has vowed to rule “above” 70-year-old’s already busy day- fer of power last week to an administration town of Letpadan in March 2015. According to the Assistance Associa- ing children aged between four the president, picking school to-day responsibilities while re- headed by Suu Kyi’s National League for Another 30 or so students are on bail but tion for Political Prisoners, 90 political and 13-years-old, died. The driver friend and close aide Htin Kyaw inforcing control over her proxy Democracy (NLD) party. facing similar charges. prisoners were in jail and more than 400 has since been arrested. Three for the role. president Htin Kyaw. But hundreds of political activists re- “Now that there are many NLD MPs in activists were facing trial as of February. other people who were part of Lawmakers from her National Hopes are growing that the main in jail. the parliament... I want them to dissolve The vast majority were arrested before the group had exited the vehicle League for Democracy party are newly sworn-in government can Among them are some 40 students fac- the laws that repress political activists,” last November’s landmark polls under before it boarded the ferry, police also pressing for a special “state accelerate the country’s eco- ing a variety of charges including unlawful student leader Phyo Phyo Aung, who has the government of army-backed presi- said. Impoverished Cambodia has counsellor” position for the No- nomic and political rejuvena- assembly and rioting over education re- been in jail for more than a year, said after dent Thein Sein, who oversaw remark- a poor health and safety record bel laureate, an appointment tion after nearly half a century of form protests. These were violently broken a day of court hearings in Mayagone town- able reforms but still cracked down on with road and industrial accidents that would allow her to liaise be- military repression. up by baton-wielding police in the central ship, Yangon. critics. commonplace. Gulf Times Tuesday, April 5, 2016 15 AUSTRALASIA/EAST ASIA Blossom watching Chinese ‘parachute kids’ fl ock to America

AFP but most of the teens adjust Beijing well to American life, said Re- nate Jeff erson, who oversees the exchange programme for rowing up in mainland the public school district. China, Hailun “Helen” “What they notice fi rst is the GZhou always knew blue sky,” she said. “They just that she would fi nish her high walk around in awe at the blue school education in America, sky. They think it’s beautiful.” whatever the cost. The students are also baf- “That’s what everybody fl ed by the freedom they enjoy does,” said the 17-year-old academically and the artistic from Sichuan province who has outlets available to them — a spent the last two years study- welcome change from the ing in California and will be rigorous, numbers-obsessed graduating this spring. “My fa- learning system in China. ther’s friends all sent their kids “If there is one word to de- abroad, so that was the trend.” scribe life here, it’s the word Zhou is among a growing ‘free’,” said Junheng “Carl” Li, number of Chinese teens who 19, who is graduating this year are fl ocking to US high schools, from a Catholic school in Mur- looking for a western educa- rieta. The Tokyo Tower (background) is seen lit up as visitors row boats in a moat surrounding Edo Castle to admire full-bloom cherry blossoms in Tokyo. Viewing cherry tion and a competitive edge in But many of the “parachute blossoms is a national pastime and cultural event in Japan, where millions of people turn out to admire them annually. gaining admission to US uni- kids” whose parents rely on versities and then fi nding a job shady intermediaries to help back home. them through the bewilder- But the pursuit of the Amer- ing application process are in ican dream can quickly turn for a hard landing in America, into a nightmare, experts warn, ill-equipped to navigate the as many of these so-called cultural transition and their “parachute kids” live in the US newfound independence. with little parental supervision Last month, three Chinese and can end up in trouble — teens enrolled at a private and even in prison. school in Rowland Heights, a Panama Papers: Kin of “It’s a huge industry,” said neighbourhood east of Los An- Joaquin Lim, who runs a com- geles, were given stiff prison pany that helps place Chinese sentences for attacking two students in American schools. other teens. “The last fi gure I read put it at $25bn.” “You basically have Of nearly 1mn international kids who are managing President Xi implicated students enrolled in public and themselves and have no private institutions in the US in one to answer to” Xi’s family have faced accusations of dollars in company shares and property an ICIJ investigation identifi ed nearly had reported themselves to the tax offi ce 2014-2015, about 304,000 — graft for a while now assets. 22,000 off shore clients from mainland under its so-called Project DO IT - Dis- or 31.2% — were from China, A judge said the case re- Since becoming president that same China and Hong Kong, including relatives close Off shore Income Today. The volun- according to the Washington- minded him of the novel the AFP year, Xi has staked his reputation on push- of former president Hu Jintao, former tary disclosure initiative, which closed at based Institute of International Lord of the Flies . Beijing ing for transparency by initiating a vast an- premier Li Peng and late leader Deng the end of 2014, allowed people to come Education. “You don’t send your child ti-graft campaign to clean the party’s ranks Xiaoping, the man credited with open- forward and avoid steep penalties and Some 30,000 of those stu- 6,000 miles before verify- of corruption and to reassert his authority. ing up China’s economy in the 1980s. criminal charges. dents attended secondary ing the school and who they he families of some of China’s top The daughter of former premier Li Peng The Australian Tax Offi ce (ATO) said However, the tax offi ce said the indi- schools, compared to fewer are staying with,” Lim said. communist brass — including Pres- — who was in power from 1987 to 1998 — yesterday it is investigating more than 800 viduals under investigation also include than 1,000 a decade ago. Police sergeant Steven Perez, Tident Xi Jinping — used off shore tax was also identifi ed in the documents. wealthy clients of a Panama law fi rm for “a large number of taxpayers who haven’t The majority of these “para- who was involved in the Row- havens to conceal their fortunes, a treasure They revealed that Li Xiaolin, the possible tax evasion. previously come forward.” chute kids” aged between 14 land Heights case, said offi cers trove of leaked documents has revealed. former vice president of state-run power “Currently we have identifi ed over 800 In New Zealand, the tax agency is and 19 land in southern Cali- are increasingly fi nding teens At least eight current or former mem- company China Power Investment Cor- individual taxpayers and we have now “working closely” with its tax treaty fornia. For the most part, they out on their own at night or bers of the Politburo Standing Committee, poration, was the benefi ciary of a Liech- linked over 120 of them to an associate partners to obtain full details of any New attend Catholic or Christian even living in homes bought by the ruling Communist Party’s most pow- tenstein foundation controlling a fi rm reg- off shore service provider located in Hong Zealand tax residents who may have been schools because of restric- their parents with little or no erful body, have been implicated, high- istered in the British Virgin Islands during Kong,” the Australian tax offi ce said in a involved in arrangements facilitated by tions by the US government on adult guidance. lighting the hot-button issue of wealth the period when her father was in offi ce. statement e-mailed to Reuters. It did not Mossack Fonseca, said John Nash, Inland foreign student enrolment at “You basically have kids among China’s ruling elite. A granddaughter of Jia Qinglin, a former name the Hong Kong company. Revenue’s international revenue strategy public schools. who are managing themselves The eight are among 140 political fi g- member of the Politburo Standing Com- ATO deputy commissioner Michael manager, in comments emailed to Reuters. In cities such as Murrieta, a and have no one to answer to,” ures around the world alleged to have links mittee, Li Xiaolin was also the sole share- Cranston said his offi ce was working with According to the Australian Financial rural community about 130km Perez said. “Or you have kids to off shore accounts, after an investigation holder in several off shore companies, the Australian Federal Police, the Austral- Review, New Zealand’s foreign trust re- southeast of Los Angeles, the basically renting a room where into the leak of 11.5mn documents from the through which she discretely controlled ian Crime Commission and anti-money gime allowed Mossack Fonseca to create number of Chinese students they are residents and they are Panama-based law fi rm Mossack Fonseca. companies within China. laundering regulator AUSTRAC to further trusts in New Zealand to protect contro- has ballooned in recent years, not accountable to those peo- One of the people named in the leaks is The so-called “Panama Papers” were cross-check the data from the documents. versial assets. bringing welcome cash to the ple either.” Xi’s brother-in-law Deng Jiagui, who set obtained from an anonymous source by “Some cases may be referred to the Se- Yesterday, New Zealand Labour Party school district as well as host Evan Freed, an attorney who up two British Virgin Islands companies German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung and rious Financial Crime Taskforce,” Cran- opposition leader Andrew Little called on families who care for the teens. represented one of the Row- in 2009 when his famous relation was a shared with media worldwide by the In- ston said in the statement. “The message Prime Minister John Key to come clean “It costs about $50,000 a land Heights teens who was member of the Politburo Standing Com- ternational Consortium of Investigative is clear - taxpayers can’t rely on these se- about what he knows about New Zealand year for the parents, who are sentenced to 13 years in prison, mittee but not yet president. Journalists (ICIJ). cret arrangements being kept secret and becoming a “haven for rich foreign inves- mostly middle class, to send said the case should serve as a Xi has been dogged by foreign media Chinese media remained silent on the we will act on any information that is pro- tors looking to hide their fortunes in secret their kids here but they consid- wake-up call to parents that reports of great family wealth. The claims revelations about the country’s elite. vided to us.” trust accounts”. er it an investment,” Lim said. they could be setting their kids are ignored by mainstream Chinese out- But while the the ICIJ’s website is offi - Treasurer Scott Morrison told ABC Ra- New Zealand revenue minister Michael “Three years ago, we had up for disaster rather than a lets, and their publication on the Internet cially blocked in the country, users of the dio yesterday that “our record when it Woodhouse said in a statement that “we about 40 Chinese students in bright future. in China is suppressed. micro-blog Weibo who had managed to see comes to tax avoidance and particularly tax people who live, work and do business high schools in Murrieta and “As my client told the court In 2012 the Bloomberg news agency the fi ndings began discussing them online. multinational tax avoidance is one of leg- here. We don’t tax foreign income earned today we have more than 300.” — she felt lost, she felt sad that published investigations into the vast “My confi dence in socialism has sud- islation and action.” by foreigners”. The sleepy town of about her family wasn’t here and that wealth said to have been amassed by Xi’s denly collapsed,” quipped one user, before The 800 individuals under investiga- According to Woodhouse, New Zea- 105,000 residents, many of she basically took advantage family, revealing that Deng and his wife the post was promptly removed. tion include some taxpayers who had pre- land’s tax rules require foreign trusts to be them retirees, is a far cry from of the freedom that she had,” had accumulated several hundred million The revelations come two years after viously been investigated and others who registered. China’s polluted mega-cities, Freed said. Bishop accused of Live fire exercise abuse cover-up dies

AFP this year for the way he handled complaints of abuse, was Sydney expected to be recalled to give further evidence to the commission following Pell’s appearance. In a statement, the Catholic Church said Mulkearns was bishop in charge during one of Australia’s dark- a dedicated priest. est periods of child abuse by Catholic clergy died “At the same time, bishop Mulkearns himself acknowl- Ayesterday, depriving an inquiry of further evidence edged that he had made some tragic mistakes during his from a man once closely linked to Vatican fi nance chief time as bishop,” it said. George Pell. “His death means the Royal Commission and survivors Ronald Mulkearns, the bishop of Ballarat in the state of will not be able to hear any further evidence that he might Victoria between 1971 and 1997, died from cancer aged 85, have given and this will be a disappointment to them.” the church said. One Ballarat child sexual abuse victim, Andrew Collins, A Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to said the Catholic Church’s response to his death would in- Child Sexual Abuse heard in February that he knew that dicate where they stand on abuse. notorious paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale and others “If they have a massive funeral and basically honour were sexually abusing children in his diocese. him, we would be very disappointed because obviously I Rather than inform authorities, he moved them be- don’t think he was someone who should be honoured,” he tween parishes, where they continued to off end. told national radio. Ridsdale, who once shared a home with Pell, was even- “Unfortunately he won’t be remembered as a great tually convicted of more than 100 charges of sexual abuse man, he will be remembered as the man who essentially against children. covered up and facilitated the abuses of children in the Last month Pell, who grew up and worked in Ballarat, Ballarat diocese.” appeared before the inquiry via videolink from Rome and Australia ordered the Royal Commission in 2012 after Projectiles are launched from South Korean Army 130mm Multiple Rocket Launcher vehicles during a live fire exercise was adamant he knew nothing about Ridsdale’s off ending a decade of growing pressure to investigate allegations in the eastern coastal county of Goseong, which borders North Korea, yesterday. South Korea conducted a large-scale despite being an adviser to Mulkearns from 1977. of paedophilia across the country. It has heard claims of live fire exercise on the East Sea, where North Korea has been upping tensions with a series of missile and rocket He accused Mulkearns of “a gross deception” by failing child abuse involving churches, orphanages, community, launches supervised by leader Kim Jong-Un. to tell him what was going on. Mulkearns, who apologised sports and youth groups and schools. Gulf Times 16 Tuesday, April 5 , 2016 BRITAIN

LAW AND ORDER PEOPLE PLAN VICTORY ENTERTAINMENT Terror police seize Contostavlos admits George Orwell statue to Leading surgeon back at Corbyn to appear at man at Gatwick drink driving charges welcome visitors at BBC work after unfair dismissal Glastonbury festival

Counter-terrorism officers have arrested a man Former X Factor judge Tulisa Contostavlos Plans for a statue of George Orwell outside A transplant surgeon is to resume his pio- Jeremy Corbyn is to join the likes of Adele and at Gatwick Airport on suspicion of Syria-related broke down in tears yesterday as she admitted Broadcasting House have been submitted four neering NHS work after the hospital trust that Muse by appearing at this year’s Glastonbury offences. The 24-year-old was detained before drunkenly crashing her £150,000 Ferrari Spider. years after BBC bosses reportedly branded it “too unfairly dismissed him agreed to give him his Festival. The Labour leader accepted an invitation boarding a flight, West Midlands police said. A The singer, 27, was on the wrong side of the road Left-wing”. The 2.5 metre-tall bronze statue of the job back. Professor Nadey Hakim reached the to speak in the Left Field, where pop and politics woman aged 20 was also arrested in west Lon- when she smashed into a Saab outside Southgate writer will be made by sculptor Martin Jennings, settlement with Imperial College Healthcare are brought together. The line-up of speakers and don. The pair are being held at a police station Tube station last September. A breathalyser test who created the statue of John Betjeman at St NHS Trust after winning an employment groups at the Left Field is being arranged by the in the West Midlands, while searches are being showed she was over the drink-drive limit. When Pancras Station. The proposal being submitted to tribunal case. Hospital bosses originally singer and activist Billy Bragg. carried out at two addresses in Birmingham. questioned by police Contostavlos claimed she Westminster council includes an inscription on indicated they did not want to re-employ Shadow chancellor John McDonnell has also Police said: “There was no risk to any passen- had been sleep-walking, the court heard. The the wall behind, bearing Orwell’s words: “If Liberty Professor Hakim, from Cricklewood, at Ham- been invited to speak. Union leaders have taken gers at Gatwick Airport or to the wider public in former NDubz star pleaded guilty to drink driving means anything at all it means the right to tell mersmith Hospital due to the poor relation- part in debates at Glastonbury in previous years relation to these arrests.” Figures published last at Highbury Corner magistrates’ court yesterday. people what they do not want to hear.” Orwell, ship between the transplant surgeons, but but Corbyn will be the first party leader to ap- month showed that there were 280 terrorism- Contostavlos spoke softly from the dock to enter who worked at the BBC during World War II, is backed down after employment judge Sarah pear. Many people attending the festival will be related arrests last year — down 3% on the year her plea and sobbed when asked to confirm best known for his political novels Animal Farm Goodman ruled last month that he should be there on June 23, the day of the European Union before. where she lives in Enfield. and 1984. reinstated. referendum. Teen rapper Taking the reins knifed to death in street

London Evening Standard pened on Twitter but I didn’t London know what so rang my brother. I’d been DJing and they didn’t want to message me. When I murder inquiry was found out, I just couldn’t un- launched yesterday af- derstand. We grew up together Ater an up-and-coming and he was known as Little M. teenage musician was stabbed He was such a happy face.” to death in a quiet residential A friend who visited the street. scene said: “He was a lovely, Student Myron Isaac Yarde, 17, loving boy. It’s disgusting. He was knifed after a fight broke was an innocent victim, just out among a group of young a child, a good boy. I want to people in New Cross. He was know why this happened. He found in a pool of blood on the wasn’t involved in bad things.” steps of a house. It is believed Myron’s mother The clash erupted in New Marcelle died of cancer aged 52 Cross Road at 7.41pm on Sun- last year and Myron performed day then spilled over into Ca- at a community concert in her sella Road and Camplin Street, memory in June. where the teenager collapsed. A friend said: “He had been London Air Ambulance doctors rapping for a couple of years. carried out emergency treat- He was in music school. He was Londoners who have never quite forgotten their childhood ambition to have riding lessons can finally get in the saddle — without having to brave the great outdoors. Instead, ment at the scene and he was talented. He was well-known they can try out a spot of cantering or dressage on a £50,000 simulator located in the warmth and comfort of a renovated stable in Wimbledon. The Racewood dressage taken to hospital but died at locally and really well-liked. He riding simulator is ideal for beginners wishing to emulate the likes of Victoria Pendleton, Sara Cox, and Olympian Zara Phillips. 9pm. wouldn’t have started some- Two youths, aged 15 and 16, thing. I don’t know why some- were arrested nearby and were one would do this. It’s a quiet being questioned yesterday by area around here.” detectives from Scotland Yard’s Another friend, whose murder squad. mother taught Myron at school, Police said the incident start- wrote on Facebook: “Another ed when it was still daylight and brother dead. Using knives appealed for witnesses. There doesn’t solve problems, it fu- were no signs the victim was els them and now another (boy) involved in gangs and detec- has left this earth.” Doctors serve legal tives said they were keeping an Community care worker Kim open mind about the motive. Bozek said: “Another young The street where Myron col- man’s life taken on the streets lapsed was cordoned off as we live in. It’s getting really bad teams of forensic officers be- out there, so many young kids gan their investigation. Blood- are getting killed for being in stained clothes and discarded the wrong place at the wrong action against Hunt medical bags were scattered time. I’ve heard he loved his along the pavement. music and singing — a wasted London Evening Standard explain how Hunt’s decision to better quality care for our pa- week and from 7am to 5pm on She wrote: “Ministers are Myron, a former pupil of talent of a young and popular London impose new shift patterns from tients. It will instead exacerbate Saturdays, while also increasing undermining their case and in- Deptford Green School, is the man.” this summer was legal. the staffi ng crisis we are already basic pay. fl aming tensions by misquoting second teenager to be murdered Father Owen Beament from The letter was served ahead of struggling with across the NHS.” Last week, the British Medical the evidence, which points more in London this year. Last year All Saints’ Church, near the ealth Secretary Jeremy the fourth junior doctors’ walk- The action, by Bindmans law Association announced separate to the need to improve senior 19 teenagers were victims of crime scene, said: “This area is Hunt was yesterday hit out this year, starting at 8am fi rm, claims Hunt has “no legal plans to seek a judicial review of the decision-making (by consult- homicide in the capital, and 15 relatively safe, you do not have Hwith a second legal ac- tomorrow and lasting 48 hours. power” to impose the contracts new contracts on equality grounds. ant doctors), nursing cover and of them were stabbed. to walk in fear on these streets. tion over NHS reforms, as junior Later in the month, junior doc- on the majority of the 54,000 Yesterday’s action accuses rapid access to investigations at Friends described him as a There are some hot-headed doctors launched a crowdfund- tors will stage their fi rst-ever junior doctors, and that his deci- Hunt of making “mislead- the weekends than to increase talented rapper who made doz- young people but I would not ed bid to block the imposition of withdrawal of all cover — in- sion is “legally fl awed, unreason- ing” statements to Parliament, junior doctor cover.” ens of music videos that were want people to get the im- “toxic” contracts. cluding emergency care — be- able and not rational” and will not a claim supported by the Tory Wollaston, who was a GP for watched hundreds of thou- pression it is dangerous. My A record £100,000 — four tween 8am and 5pm on April 26 achieve the desired eff ect. chairwoman of the Commons 25 years before becoming an sands of times online. Many thoughts and prayers are with times the initial target — was and 27. The department of health has health committee. MP, criticised the strike planned took to social media to express the young man’s family.” raised from almost 4,000 do- Dr Marie-Estella McVeigh, already admitted that it cannot Writing in the Guardian, Dr to be held without emergency their grief and pay tribute to a Detective chief inspector nations in four days by the Just from Just Health, said: “We feel force self-governing foundation Sarah Wollaston, MP for Totnes, cover. She said: “They cannot “kind, happy guy with an un- Rebecca Reeves said: “It was Health group to bring a High this contract imposition has hospitals, which make up the criticised Hunt’s “entirely un- justify such drastic action by forgettable smile”. still daylight when the alter- Court judicial review. been rushed through without majority of trusts in the NHS, to reasonable” approach, saying claiming to protect patients.” A cousin who grew up in the cation began and we believe Yesterday, lawyers for Just appropriate consideration and impose the new terms. that the new contracts would The department of health de- same house as Myron and now there could have been many Health served a “letter before due process. The changes would extend not solve the problem of higher clined to comment until it had works as a DJ told the Stand- people who may have seen action” on the department of “There is no evidence that “normal” working hours to be death rates among patients ad- seen full details of the legal chal- ard: “I saw something had hap- something.” health, giving it seven days to it will deliver a safer system or from 7pm until 10pm during the mitted at the weekend. lenge. I have no plans to slow London hospitals face down, says Judi Dench £1.2bn bill for repairs London Evening Standard rose from £133mn to £145mn over London the same period. The fi ve hos- Reuters most awards for a single produc- best actor for The Father, in which pitals in London with the high- London tion on the night, including best he portrays a man with dementia. est maintenance bills were: Im- musical revival and best actress In a category including nomi- ospitals in London face a perial College Healthcare NHS in a musical for Imelda Staunton, nees Nicole Kidman and Gemma soaring maintenance and Trust (£391mn); London North eteran fi lm, television and who opened the glitzy London Arterton, Denise Gough won best Hrepairs bill that has reached West Healthcare NHS Trust stage actress Judi Dench ceremony in character as Momma actress for People, Places And £1.2bn, it emerged yesterday. (£154mn); Barts Health NHS Trust Vpicked up her eight Olivier Rose. Things, a rehab drama in which she The costs include nearly (£146mn); Hillingdon Hospital Award on Sunday, a record tally at Gypsy also picked up awards for plays an addict. £145mn for urgent high-risk re- NHS Foundation Trust (£66mn); Britain’s biggest night for theatre. best actress in a supporting role in In her acceptance speech, pairs that may be needed to pre- and Epsom and St Helier Univer- The 81-year-old scooped the a musical for Lara Pulver and best Gough lamented the lack of di- vent a “catastrophic failure”. sity Hospitals NHS Trust (£51mn). Olivier for best actress in a sup- lighting design. versity among nominees - an is- It comes after Labour accused Fine print in the Budget con- porting role for The Winter’s Tale. Kinky Boots picked up three sue that overshadowed February’s the government of slashing NHS fi rmed that the NHS capital budg- “Ladies and gentlemen, I am awards, including best new musi- Oscars. money used for repairs by £1.1bn et for 2015-16 is £3.7bn, compared absolutely livid as I had a bet with cal, best actor in a musical for Matt “I love this industry so much in the last Budget. with £4.8bn in other years. my grandson, which I’ve now lost Henry and best costume design. and to be given an award is fantas- Shadow health secretary Heidi A department of health and I’m never going to be allowed Pop singer Cyndi Lauper, who col- tic but we have a responsibility,” Alexander said: “Five years of Tory spokesman said the government to forget it,” Dench said in her ac- laborated with playwright Harvey she said backstage. neglect have left many of our cap- is investing £10bn in the NHS’s ceptance speech. Fierstein on bringing the 2005 fi lm Robert Icke picked up the best ital’s hospitals with a growing bill plan for the future, and has made “I know everybody says what fi rst to the Broadway stage before director award for Oresteia while for urgent maintenance and ageing some £4bn available for capital a wonderful time they had do- London, also performed on the long-running musical The Phan- equipment. Hospitals need proper projects. He said no frontline ing something, I can truly say this night. tom Of The Opera won the audi- investment so they can carry out capital spending programmes time that in The Winter’s Tale, it Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, in- ence award - the sole prize voted these essential repairs and replace had been aff ected by the reduc- was an absolutely memorable time spired by the blues singer, won for by the public. out-of-date equipment.” tion to the capital budget. for me.” best revival while Hangmen, Nell Gwynn, which stars Arter- A question to ministers by Health bodies including the Asked backstage if she had any about the abolition of hanging ton, won best new comedy. Hampstead and Kilburn MP Tulip King’s Fund, Nuffi eld Trust and plans to slow her workload down, in Britain in the 1960s, won best The awards, celebrating their Siddiq revealed the increasing bills Health Foundation were already Dench said: “Who wants to slow new play. 40th anniversary, wrapped up faced by London trusts. The costs raising concerns about capital down? No, I want to be employed. Kenneth Cranham beat com- with past winners performing in the capital rose by a quarter be- funding last year. In a report they It’s putting the car in the garage petition from the likes of Benedict What I did For Love from A Chorus tween 2013-14 and 2014-15, from said there was a “growing tenden- that. You will never get it started.” Cumberbatch, Kenneth Branagh Line, which won best new musical Actor and director Kenneth Branagh and actress Judi Dench at the £957mn to £1.184bn. cy” to redirect capital spending to Gypsy picked up four prizes, the and Mark Rylance to be named at the 1976 ceremony. 2016 Laurence Olivier Awards in London. The bill for high-risk repairs shore up the revenue budget. Gulf Times Tuesday, April 5, 2016 17 BRITAIN Premier denies focus on EU vote has left govt in chaos

Guardian News and Media setbacks, including a backbench British ambassador to the US’s don’t accept the premise of your ers’ hair on fi re and getting very in its basic duty, is asleep at the Britain to stay in the EU, when London rebellion against Sunday trad- residence in Washington. question for one moment,” add- excited about this but it’s all a lot wheel and people are paying the voters go to the polls on June 23. ing laws, the resignation of the “You have got a government ing: “The world hasn’t stopped of processology. I can’t see what price,” he said. Julian McCrae, Cameron has already toured the work and pensions secretary, with a packed programme, de- turning, the government hasn’t the issue is.” the Institute for Government’s country making the case for re- avid Cameron has re- Iain Duncan Smith, and the be- livering that programme – but at stopped operating.” Despite Cameron’s protesta- deputy director, also warned main, and more public appear- sponded angrily to claims lated response to the threatened the same time we’re having a very He blamed media reporting tions, Tim Farron, the LibDem last week there was a real dan- ances are planned. Dthe government has de- closure of the Port Talbot steel- important debate about Europe,” for exaggerating the divisions in leader, said it was obvious that ger of ministers becoming dis- But restive backbenchers have scended into chaos because he is works. he said. his own party over Britain’s fu- the government had “taken its tracted because of the fallout blamed Downing Street’s focus too focused on fi ghting the EU But the prime minister insisted Asked if he had neglected the ture in Europe, telling journal- eye off the ball and is preoccu- from the referendum campaign. on averting the risk of Brexit for referendum. the government was carrying on day-to-day running of the gov- ists: “You spend too much time pied with infighting over Eu- Cameron and George Osborne a series of recent missteps, in- Labour has accused it of be- as normal, during a tetchy en- ernment to mastermind the ref- reading each others’ papers. You rope”. are devoting a large amount of cluding the unravelling of last ing in “disarray” after a series of counter with reporters at the erendum campaign, he replied: “I all go around setting each oth- “The government is failing time to winning the case for month’s budget.

Giant wedding cake Labour opposes Cameron ‘snooping’ powers under fi re proposals

Guardian News and Media London over Panama abour has written to Theresa May, the home Lsecretary, setting out sev- en areas of concern about the government’s new laws hand- ing more surveillance powers to Papers link the police, security services and other public bodies. Andy Burn- Agencies in Panama, from a wide range ain was “leading the pack in- ham, the shadow home secretary, London of sources, which is currently ternationally” on tackling tax said if the party’s objections to the the subject of intensive in- evasion and avoidance. new investigatory powers bill were vestigation,” Jennie Granger, Since Britain made the issue not resolved, Labour would with- he government yester- director general of enforce- a central plank of its G8 presi- draw its support. day sought to deflect ment and compliance at HM dency in 2013, 90 countries Labour’s letter comes after the Tany criticism of Prime Revenue and Customs, said in have signed up to the auto- legislation passed its fi rst stage Minister David Cameron over a statement. matic exchange of tax infor- in the House of Commons last his late father’s inclusion on a “We have asked the ICIJ to mation, Cameron’s spokes- month; Labour and the SNP ab- list of clients using a law firm share the leaked data that they woman said. stained in the vote, while the Lib- in the tax haven of Panama have obtained with us. We will She said Britain was push- eral Democrats voted against. and said it would investigate closely examine this data and ing its overseas territories and As more detailed parliamen- the leaked data. will act on it swiftly and ap- crown dependencies, many of tary scrutiny of the bill gets un- Cameron’s father, Ian, and propriately.” which are tax havens, to create der way, Burnham warned May: members of his Conservative Opposition Labour finance public registers of who owns “I hope you will accept that the Party were among the tens spokesman John McDon- companies in their jurisdic- seven points I have outlined are of thousands of rich and fa- nell said the Panama Papers tions. Britain’s own such reg- legitimate concerns and that you mous people named in a leak showed Cameron had failed ister will go live in June. will work with us to address them of documents from Panama- to end tax secrecy and crack Asked if Britain would leg- properly. “If I determine that our based Mossack Fonseca which down on offshore schemes islate to force territories such concerns are not satisfactorily showed how clients had evad- and called for “real action”. as the Cayman Islands and the dealt with during the passage of ed tax and laundered money. But the government said British Virgin Islands to publish the bill, then we will be unable to The documents, which Britain had brought in more the information, she said: “The support a timetable that puts the emerged in an investigation than £2bn from offshore tax prime minister has made clear bill on the statute book by Decem- published on Sunday by the evaders since Cameron took that should they fail to do so he ber this year. International Consortium office in 2010 and that Brit- rules absolutely nothing out.” “I hope that is not necessary of Investigative Journalists and that we can together produce (ICIJ), are a blow to Cameron, Mossack Fonseca ‘helped hide Brink’s-Mat loot’ a bill that commands a high degree a critic of tax evasion and tax of confi dence and trust.” avoidance. A Panamanian shell company may recovered, despite a number of The bill would give authori- In 2012, British media re- have helped hide millions of dol- convictions over the crime. British ties access to internet connec- ported that Cameron’s father lars from the Brink’s-Mat heist, a detectives believe the money still tion records showing the website ran a network of offshore in- British gold bullion robbery that is swills around criminal networks domains that people have visited. vestment funds to help build etched in criminal folklore, leaked through property investments It will also tighten controls on in- the family fortune. There is no tax documents allege. Dubbed and shadowy overseas holdings. terception of content, with judges suggestion he did anything il- the “crime of the century” by the Mossack Fonseca, the law firm required to give approval to war- legal. media, the caper saw a masked at the centre of a massive online rants signed by ministers. Asked yesterday whether gang make off with three tonnes “Panama Papers” leak, may have Top of Labour’s list of demands she could confirm that no of bullion worth nearly $40mn helped shield the cash from in- is a request for an amendment family money was still invest- from a Brink’s-Mat warehouse at vestigators, according to the ICIJ. stating there should be a pre- ed in those funds, Cameron’s Heathrow Airport in November Sixteen months after the robbery, sumption in favour of privacy. spokeswoman said: “That is a 1983. The gang tied up security Mossack Fonseca set up a shell Burnham also wants a higher private matter.” guards and doused them with company registered in Panama threshold for authorities to be HM Revenue and Customs petrol, with one of the villains called Feberion - on behalf of a able to access the records, arguing said it had asked for a copy of quipping “thanks so much for London-based money launderer it should only happen when seri- the leaked data so it could ex- your help, have a nice Christmas” Gordon Parry—according to the ous crimes are suspected and that It stands almost two metres tall and weighs well over 75kgs. Its central “skeleton” is made of amine the information. as they made off in a transit van ICIJ. Parry was jailed in 1992 over a smaller range of public bodies styrofoam, the rest was created from 63kgs of fondant, 7kgs of chocolate fondant, 7kgs of cake lace “We have already received laden with gold ingots. Most of the his role in handling the bullion should be allowed to make use of and 1,500 sheets of wafer paper — and you can eat it. a great deal of information on loot was melted down and never stolen in the heist. the powers. offshore companies, including Child survivors of Nepal Traitor spy details life quake ‘being sold’ in UK of betrayal in video AFP er”, having spent most of his life London trying to avoid publicity. Guardian News and Media She added: “No child, any- “We have supplied lads who He talks about how he rose London where in the world, should be have gone on to the UK. through the ranks of Britain’s Se- taken away from their home “Most of the ones who are he only known footage of cret Intelligence Service (SIS), the and forced to work in slavery. taken to England are Nepalese. Britain’s biggest Cold War foreign intelligence agency dubbed ome Secretary Theresa “For the supply of a Ttraitor, Kim Philby, discuss- MI6, while secretly passing on in- May has urged police “Take a Nepalese to boy, minimum Rs500,000 ing his life as a double agent has formation to his Soviet contacts. Hto investigate claims England. They are good (£5,300). Then you will have been unearthed in Berlin, the BBC “You have probably all heard that child survivors of the Ne- people. They are good at other costs associated with said yesterday. stories that the SIS is an organisa- pal earthquake and other vul- doing all the housework taking him to the UK, but In the grainy 1981 video, tion of mythical effi ciency, a very, nerable children are being sold and they’re very good that’s your responsibility extra Philby, who defected to the So- very dangerous thing indeed,” he to British families to work as cooks. No one is going to to what you pay us. viet Union, is seen giving an said. “Well, in a time of war, it domestic slaves. come aft er you” “Take a Nepalese to Eng- hour-long lecture to spies in then honestly was not.” An investigation by the Sun land. They are good people. communist East Germany. The He said he befriended the MI6 newspaper suggests that boys “That is why we introduced They are good at doing all the BBC said it found the footage in archivists by going out for drinks and girls as young as 10 are the landmark Modern Slavery housework and they’re very the offi cial archives of the Stasi, with them two or three times a being sold for just £5,300 by Act last year, which included good cooks. No one is going to the East German intelligence week. “Every evening I left the of- black market gangs operating enhanced protections for po- come after you.” service. fi ce with a big briefcase full of re- in India’s Punjab province. tential child victims of slav- A 7.8 magnitude earthquake It said the previously unseen ports which I had written myself, The paper says the gangs ery and sentences up to life struck Nepal on April 25 last footage shows Philby discussing full of fi les taken out of the actual are preying on the children of imprisonment for those found year, killing almost 9,000 how he went about betraying his documents - out of the actual ar- Nepalese refugees, as well as guilty.” people and leaving millions in country. chives,” he said. destitute Indian families. According to the Sun’s re- need of aid. Philby was one of the Cam- “I used to hand them to my So- May called child traffi ck- port, which appears on the It is estimated that millions bridge Five spy ring, a group of up- viet contact in the evening. The ing a “truly abhorrent crime” front of yesterday’s print edi- of people across the world are per class men shockingly uncov- next morning I would get the fi le and urged the National Crime tion, the desperate children victims of modern day slavery, ered as traitors to Britain. back, the contents having been Agency to investigate the news- are being sold to wealthy Brit- trafficked across borders and After his cover was blown, he photographed, and take them back paper’s fi ndings. She said the ish families to be used as un- forced to work in servitude. fl ed from Beirut to Moscow in 1963 early in the morning and put the paper should “share its disturb- paid domestic servants. In October 2015, the Modern and spent the last 25 years of his fi les back in their place. “That I ing fi ndings” with the agency, It reports that a trader it Slavery Act was brought in to life in the Soviet Union. did regularly, year in, year out.” “so that appropriate action can names as Makkhan Singh lined crack down on modern day In the footage Philby begins Philby died in Moscow aged 76 be taken against the vile crimi- up children for its undercover slavery and protect victims of his lecture with “Dear comrades”, in 1988 before the collapse of the nals who profi t from this trade”. reporter to pick from and said: trafficking. Theresa May: child traff icking a “truly abhorrent crime” then says he is “no public speak- Soviet Union. Gulf Times 18 Tuesday, April 5, 2016 EUROPE

Catalonia leader rules out Migrants sent back to independence declaration

AFP Conservatives inch Barcelona ahead in latest poll Spain’s conservative People’s he secessionist leader Party (PP) and newcomers Turkey from Greece of Spain’s Catalonia has Ciudadanos could claim a Truled out any declaration small majority in parliament if Reuters of independence for the wealthy a new election is called after Dikili, Turkey/Lesbos, Greece northeastern region during his months of failed coalition talks, mandate, in comments likely to according to a poll published see Madrid breathe a sigh of re- yesterday. he fi rst migrants deported from lief. The poll, by Sigma Dos for Greek islands under a disputed EU- Carles Puigdemont was conservative newspaper El TTurkey deal were shipped back to elected president of Catalonia’s Mundo, was the first to show a Turkey yesterday in a drive to shut down semi-autonomous government possible alliance between the the main route used by more than 1mn in January with the task of fast- PP - which runs the caretaker people fl eeing war and poverty to reach tracking the Spanish region to- government in the political Europe in the last year. wards independence from Ma- deadlock following Decem- Under a pact criticised by refugee drid within around 18 months. ber’s general election - and the agencies and human rights campaigners, But asked whether he would market-friendly Ciudadanos Ankara will take back all migrants and actually be declaring independ- (Citizens) party. refugees who cross the Aegean to enter ence within that timeframe, Pu- A Metroscopia poll for the Greece illegally, including Syrians. igdemont told Spain’s economic left-leaning daily El Pais on In return, the European Union will take daily Expansion that he would Sunday also showed the PP and in thousands of Syrian refugees directly not. Ciudadanos gaining ground, from Turkey and reward it with money, “Because it’s not planned and but found no possible two-way visa-free travel and progress in its EU it’s not our commitment,” he said majority except for a grand membership negotiations. in an interview yesterday. coalition of the PP and the So- Two Turkish passenger boats carry- But “we will do all the work cialists, an option that has been ing 136 mostly Pakistani migrants arrived necessary for this country to be- widely rejected. from the island of Lesbos in the Turkish come an independent state,” he Spain’s main parties on the town of Dikili, accompanied by two Turk- added. right and left have been strug- ish coast guard vessels with a police heli- Catalonia’s predominantly gling to assemble a group large copter overhead. pro-independence parliament is enough to form a government, A third ship carrying 66 people, mainly currently working to put in place but wide ideological diff erences Afghans, arrived there later from the is- administrative organs such as a and months of failed talks mean land of Chios. regional treasury and social se- a deal is looking increasingly The EU-Turkey deal aims to discourage curity system in view of creating unlikely. If there is no agree- migrants from perilous crossings, often in a separate state. ment by May 2, new elections small boats and dinghies, and to break the But until Puigdemont’s com- will be held, probably at the end business model of human smugglers who ments, it had always been un- of June. have fuelled Europe’s biggest infl ux since An activist holds a placard at the port of Dikili in Izmir, Turkey. clear whether they would actu- The El Mundo survey said World War II. ally declare independence at the the PP would take 128 seats and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan turnees set sail from Lesbos, Greek coast offi cials waited outside a small white tent try for refugees, and we’ve documented end of the 18-month timeframe. Ciudadanos, which has shown excoriated European governments’ re- guard vessels rescued at least two din- on the quayside at Dikili as the returned very clearly that it is not right now.” According to sources within willingness to form a coalition sponse to the crisis even as his govern- ghies carrying more than 50 migrants and migrants disembarked one by one, before Amnesty last week accused the Turk- Catalonia’s executive, who re- with acting Prime Minister ment cooperated with the EU scheme. refugees, including children and a woman being photographed and fi ngerprinted ish army of turning back thousands of fused to be named, the regional Mariano Rajoy’s party, would “As Turkey, we embraced 3mn Syrian in a wheelchair, trying to reach the island. behind security screening. Syrians trying to fl ee their country in the government plans to call new take 52 seats. victims, but it is clear who tried to keep “We are just going to try our chance. It The returnees from Lesbos were mostly last few months, sometimes using force. parliamentary elections when That would be enough to top them away,” he said in a speech in Ankara. is for our destiny. We are dead anyway,” from Pakistan and some from Bangladesh “The most important thing we lose the 18 months are up. the 176 seats needed to take an “Did we send our Syrian brothers back? said Firaz, 31, a Syrian Kurd travelling and had not applied for asylum, said Ewa sight of is that these are individuals who The newly-voted regional par- absolute majority in parliament No we didn’t. But they kept these people with his cousin. Moncure, a spokeswoman for EU border are fl eeing horrifi c scenes of war and liament - which they hope will be and form the next government. out of their countries by putting up ra- Asked if he knew the Greeks were send- agency Frontex. we’re playing some kind of ping pong composed of a majority of pro- zor-wire fences.” ing people back, he said: “I heard maybe Two buses escorted by gendarmes took with them,” van Gulik said. independence lawmakers like it EU authorities said none of those de- Iranians, Afghans. I didn’t hear they were the returned migrants to a “reception and The EU was determined to get the is now - will then be tasked with Catalonia already enjoys a ported yesterday had requested asylum in sending back Syrians to Turkey... At least removal” centre within a secure fenced scheme started on schedule despite such writing a constitution for a new large degree of freedom in edu- Greece and all had left voluntarily. They I did what I could. I’m alive. That’s it.” compound in the town of Kirklareli near doubts because of strong political pres- Catalan state. cation, health and policing. included two Syrians who had asked to Two groups of mainly Pakistani men, the Bulgarian border. sure in northern Europe to deter migrants A referendum will be called, But after years of fruitless return to Turkey. totalling around 100 people, were also in- Turkish EU Aff airs Minister Volkan from attempting the journey. and if the region’s 7.5mn inhab- calls for greater autonomy on European Commission spokesman tercepted yesterday by the Turkish coast Bozkir said any Syrians returned from There were small protests as the re- itants approve the constitution, the taxation front - Catalonia Margaritas Schinas said the fi rst returns guard near Dikili, a coast guard offi cial said. Greece would be sent to the city of Os- turns got under way. Catalonia will offi cially declare complains it pays more to Ma- were legal, even though Turkey has not Under the pact, the EU will resettle maniye, around 40km from the Syrian On Lesbos, protesters chanted “Shame independence from Madrid. drid than it gets back - the region yet made changes to its regulations that thousands of legal Syrian refugees di- border. on you!” when the migrant boats set sail. However the Spanish govern- lurched towards separatism. the EU said were necessary at the time of rectly from Turkey. For non-Syrians, Turkey would apply Volunteer rescuers aboard a nearby boat ment is likely to challenge these It tried to hold a referendum the deal. German police said the fi rst 32 Syrian to their home countries and send them hoisted a banner that read: “Ferries for planned steps in court. on independence in 2014 but The EU said at the time of the deal that refugees arrived yesterday in Hanover on back, Bozkir told Turkish broadcaster safe passage, not for deportation.” For the moment, Spain is the vote ended up being purely Ankara would need to change asylum two fl ights from Istanbul under the deal. Haberturk. Each migrant was accompanied on locked in political deadlock as symbolic as Spain’s then con- laws to give international protection to The European Commission said more Rights groups and some European Lesbos by a plainclothes Frontex offi cer. parties struggle to form a coali- servative government declared it Syrians who enter from countries other fl ights were due in Finland and the Neth- politicians have challenged the legality They had been transported in a night- tion government following in- illegal. than Syria, and to non-Syrian asylum erlands. of the deal, questioning whether Turkey time operation from the island’s hold- conclusive December elections. In the interview, Puigdemont seekers returned from Greece. German Interior Minister Thomas de has suffi cient safeguards in place to de- ing centre to the port. Greek riot police But all the main parties in- called on the future Spanish gov- Altogether, more people arrived on the Maiziere said on Sunday that the “high fend refugees’ rights and whether it can squads also boarded the boats. volved in negotiations for a fu- ernment to allow a referendum to Greek islands in the 24 hours to yesterday point of the migrant crisis is behind us”, be considered safe for them. At the Moria holding centre on Lesbos, ture government oppose inde- settle the matter once and for all. morning than were transported to Tur- but migration experts say the pressure to Amnesty International’s deputy direc- where more than 2,600 are being held, a pendence in Catalonia, although “If a prime minister or prime key, Greek authorities said, putting total reach Europe will continue, possibly via tor for Europe, Gauri van Gulik, visiting group of men gathered behind the barbed far-left Podemos supports hold- ministerial candidate suggests it, arrivals at 339. other routes. Lesbos, told Reuters: “It’s almost based wire fence and shouted to journalists, ing a Scotland-style referendum we will take a position and help A few hours after the fi rst boat of re- A few dozen police and immigration on the assumption Turkey is a safe coun- who are barred from the camp. on the issue. them,” he said. Erdogan rejects West’s ‘lessons in democracy’

AFP had branded him a “thief” and incompatible with freedom of Ankara a “killer” without being shut the press” and said there should down. be an end to the publication of “Such insults and threats are such “unacceptable” material, urkish President Recep not permitted in the West,” he he offi ce said. Tayyip Erdogan yesterday claimed. German weekly Der Spiegel ran Tlashed out at the West for Erdogan yesterday again a cover story deeply critical of giving Turkey “lessons in de- slammed the Constitutional Erdogan in its latest issue, with mocracy”, rejecting mounting US Court for allowing the two jour- a caricature of the Turkish presi- and EU criticism over an alleged nalists to be released during their dent - whom the magazine called clampdown on press freedoms trial. The reporters had spent “the wild man of the Bosporus” - under his rule. three months in detention until shaking his fi st. “Those who attempt to give us the decision was handed down in He looms large over a tiny lessons in democracy and human February. Merkel, holding an EU briefcase Airport employees carry baggage at the new temporary check-in area at the Brussels airport in Zaventem. rights must fi rst contemplate He said that the Constitutional with her head in her hand, while a their own shame,” Erdogan told a Court had “betrayed its very ex- paper airplane cut out of a news- meeting of the Turkish Red Cres- istence” with the ruling. paper pokes him in the backside. cent in Ankara. A Turkish court yesterday is- The headline on the story read: US President Barack Obama sued arrest warrants for several “The fearsome friend: President Brussels airport limps towards normalcy warned last week that Turkey’s opposition journalists, fi ve of Erdogan’s crusade against free- approach towards the media was whom were detained, local me- dom and democracy.” taking it “down a path that would dia reported. It is not the fi rst time Germany AFP Mulls said other companies such as Dutch bags will be checked before entering. Once be very troubling.” They are accused of violating has irked Ankara with its cover- Brussels carrier KLM will operate from tomorrow. inside, travellers will still have to go through Erdogan’s comments came as legal confi dentiality by reporting age of Erdogan. Last month Tur- The airport reopened Sunday for the the usual security barriers. local media yesterday reported on a corruption scandal which key summoned Germany’s am- fi rst time since two Islamic State terrorists The airport will initially only be acces- the fresh arrest of fi ve opposi- engulfed Erdogan’s inner circle in bassador to protest a two-minute russels airport scheduled nearly 40 blew themselves up in the departure hall sible by car, with no access for buses and tion journalists, without giving 2013/14 and was centred on the song lampooning Erdogan that fl ights yesterday, offi cials said, as Bel- on March 22 in coordinated blasts that also trains. Vehicles will be screened and subject details on who they were. illicit trading of gold with Iran. was broadcast on German televi- Bgium struggles to get back to normal struck a metro station in the Belgian capital, to spot checks. Turkey’s government has been The reporters are also ac- sion. after two suicide bombers blew themselves killing a total of 32 people. It will take months to repair the departure accused of increasing authori- cused of belonging to a “terrorist The TV show responded by re- up in the departure hall nearly two weeks Brussels Airlines planes fl ew Sunday to hall, according to airport chief executive Ar- tarianism and muzzling critical group” - the usual offi cial par- broadcasting the tune “Erdowie, ago. the Portuguese city of Faro, then Athens naud Feist. media as well as lawmakers, aca- lance for the grouping run by Er- Erdowo, Erdogan” that ridicules The number was a sharp rise over the and Turin before all three returned, offi cials The damage from the blasts was severe, demics, lawyers and NGOs. dogan’s arch foe Fethullah Gulen the president, and adding Turk- three fl ights at Belgium’s main air hub on said. with pictures from the scene showing the Two journalists from the who is accused of being behind ish subtitles. Sunday, but a far cry from the 600 the air- Two big white tents now serve as tempo- building’s glass-fronted facade in shatters, leading opposition daily Cum- the graft claims. The satirical song charges, port usually handles per day, offi cials said. rary check-in facilities and passengers were collapsed ceilings and destroyed check-in huriyet face life in prison after The fresh crackdown comes among other things, that “a jour- “Some 39 passenger fl ights, most of them asked to come three hours before departure desks. being charged with revealing after Turkish Prime Minister nalist who writes something that arriving from or departing to European cit- to allow time for tight new security checks. Feist said he expected the airport to start state secrets over a story accus- Ahmet Davutoglu told Ger- Erdogan doesn’t like/Will be in ies, are planned,” Brussels Airlines spokes- There was also a strong security presence running normally again from late June or ing the government of seeking to man Chancellor Angela Merkel jail by tomorrow”. man Kim Daenen told AFP, adding her com- inside the tents where passengers walked early July. illicitly deliver arms to rebels in that he was unhappy about the The row comes as the EU is ac- pany was the only operator yesterday. through metal detectors and had their bags Brussels airport, which claims to con- Syria. raft of stories criticising Erdog- cused of selling out its principles The airline will run 89 fl ights today, with screened before checking in and being al- tribute some 3bn euros ($3.4bn) annually to Erdogan met with Obama in an in German media in recent by off ering Turkey visa-free trav- 48 heading to European destinations, fi ve to lowed to enter the main building. the Belgian economy, has not released any Washington last week, and de- weeks. el and a fast-racked EU member- Africa and one to New York. Some 40 return Under the new system, only passengers fi gures on the economic impact of the shut- fended press freedom in Tur- In a telephone call, Davutoglu ship process, in exchange for help fl ights are planned. with travel and ID documents are allowed down, but Brussels Airlines has said it was key, saying some publications complained such stories “were on the migrant crisis. Brussels airport spokeswoman Florence into the makeshift departure hall, and all losing 5mn euros daily. Gulf Times Tuesday, April 5, 2016 19 EUROPE

Muslims exempted from shaking female teacher’s hand Male Muslim students in Swit- zerland will no longer need to shake hands with their female Nagorno-Karabakh clashes teachers, following a ruling that has caused an uproar and consternation in the country. Education authorities in the northern Swiss municipality of Therwil, in the canton of Basel- Country, reached the contro- could turn into ‘all-out war’ versial decision after two male students complained that the Reuters Swiss custom of shaking hands Baku/Yerevan with the teacher is counter to their religious beliefs if the teacher is a woman. rmenia’s president yesterday They argued that Islam does warned that an outbreak of vio- not permit physical contact with Alence in breakaway Nagorno-Ka- a person of the opposite sex, rabakh risked spiralling into all-out war with the exception of certain after a third day of fi ghting between Az- immediate family members. erbaijan and Armenian-backed separa- The decision triggered an tists in which more soldiers were killed. outcry across Switzerland with Ex-Soviet states Azerbaijan and Ar- Felix Mueri, who heads the menia fought a war over the territory parliamentary commission on in the early 1990s in which thousands science, education and culture, were killed on both sides and hundreds insisting that “shaking hands is of thousands displaced. part of our culture.” The war ended with a fragile truce in “This is a gesture of respect 1994 marked by only sporadic violence and good manners,” he told the over the years. But that ceasefi re was 20Minuten news site. shattered over the weekend with the Christoph Eymann, who fi ercest fi ghting in years, killing dozens heads the Swiss Conference of of people on both sides. Cantonal Ministers of Educa- Despite calls from international me- tion, meanwhile said that “such diators for an immediate halt to the exceptions to the rules are not fi ghting, the two sides exchanged artil- the solution.” lery fi re and reported clashes yesterday “We cannot tolerate that at several locations on the fringes of the women in the public service are mountainous enclave. treated diff erently from men,” Azerbaijan’s defence ministry said he told Swiss television. three of its soldiers were killed yester- Christine Akeret, in charge of day, while a representative of Nagorno- the Therwil school system, told Karabakh’s separatist leadership said media she was not satisfied with four of its military personnel had died. the decision, but had not seen “A further escalation of military ac- any other option. tion could lead to unpredictable and “It is diff icult when someone irreversible consequences, right up to refuses to adopt our way of life,” a full-scale war,” President Serzh Sark- she said, complaining that she syan said at a meeting with foreign had not received any support ambassadors in the Armenian capital, from the surrounding canton Yerevan. when she had raised the prob- A return to war would destabilise a lem with the authorities there. region that is a crossroads for strategi- Basel-Country canton au- cally-important oil and gas pipelines. It thorities, who have the power to could also drag in the big regional pow- overturn the Therwil decision, ers, Russia and Turkey. Moscow has a Armenians surround a coff in of a serviceman, killed in clashes in the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, during a memorial service at a church in Yerevan. did not immediately respond to defence alliance with Armenia, while requests for comment. Ankara backs Azerbaijan. had pushed Azeri forces out of almost tains, from Azeri troops dug into defen- In Paris, Hovhannes Guevorkian, a ments, forcing Azeri forces to defend Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lav- all of Nagorno-Karabakh and taken sive positions in the plains below. Karabakh representative, said Azerbai- themselves. rov said a statement by Ankara strongly control of surrounding districts. Azerbaijan’s military and the Arme- jan had ceased attacking with helicop- The separatists, and their backers in supporting Azerbaijan was one-sided. It was impossible to establish what nian-backed forces attacked each other ters and armed vehicles, but was now the Armenian government, said Az- Nagorno-Karabakh is a mountainous caused the weekend outbreak of vio- with tanks, helicopters, missile systems bombing “non-stop” with heavy artil- erbaijan was the aggressor. enclave with a large ethnic Armenian lence. Both sides blamed the other for and artillery. Each said they had cap- lery towns in the southern and northern Underscoring the economic risks of a population that lies inside the territory starting it. tured small chunks of territory from the parts of the territory. return to war, Azerbaijan’s manat cur- TRNC of Azerbaijan. The violence was a re- After the violence at the weekend, other side. “There is an accumulation of Azeri rency, which has already slumped in awakening of a long-festering ethnic France, Russia and the US, joint media- The fi ghting yesterday was slightly forces all along the frontline especially value because of low world oil prices, on confl ict between the mainly Muslim tors in the confl ict, called on both sides less intense than in previous days, with in the north and south of the country,” Monday suff ered its biggest fall against coalition Azeris and their Christian Armenian to stop fi ghting. Envoys from the three each side returning fi re. There was no he said. the dollar since December. neighbours. are to meet in Vienna on April 5 for talks sign of any concerted off ensives, ac- Reuters was not able independently Azerbaijan has always vowed to re- Tensions fl ared as the Soviet Union on the latest fi ghting. counts from Azerbaijan and Nagorno- to verify these assertions. store its control but in 1994, poor and collapses started to disintegrate. With help from The clashes were around the “con- Karabakh offi cials indicated. Azerbaijan’s defence ministry said riven by political infi ghting, it had to Armenia, the region’s ethnic Armeni- tact line,” a heavily-mined no-man’s The Armenian-backed military said it wanted to stop the fi ghting but that accept the truce. Since then though, it ans took up arms to try to throw off rule land that, since the 1994 ceasefi re, has it had destroyed an Azeri army unit, Armenian-backed forces were still “ag- has grown wealthy from exporting oil, AFP from Azerbaijan. separated the Armenian-backed forces, while Azerbaijan said it had struck a gravating the situation”, attacking Azeri and spent heavily on rebuilding its mili- Nicosia By the time of the 1994 ceasefi re, they in the foothills of the Karabakh moun- separatist command point. positions and shelling nearby settle- tary.

he ruling coalition in the breakaway Turkish Re- Tpublic of Northern Cy- prus (TRNC) collapsed yester- Dutch police day in a dispute over economic EU not willing to take action policy, paving the way for the premier’s resignation. take aim at Prime Minister Omer Kaly- oncu is set to submit the res- ignation of his government to drug gangs over Polish court imbroglio President Mustafa Akinci after a meeting of the ruling Republican Turkish Party (CTP). AFP Reuters The government collapsed after Amsterdam Warsaw ministers from the CTP’s coalition partner the National Unity Party (UBP) withdrew from the govern- undreds of police raided about 100 uropean offi cials are visiting ment in protest at economic pol- premises yesterday in a swoop on Warsaw this week to discuss al- icy in the cash-strapped statelet. Hdrug gangs in the southern Neth- Elegations of undemocratic be- UBP chairman Huseyin erlands, prosecutors said. Thirty-nine haviour in Poland but seem unlikely Ozgurgun complained that his suspects were detained in the ongoing to start a row over the migration crisis party did not accept a decision to “Operatie Trefpunt” (Operation Meeting and the looming vote over Britain’s EU pay civil servants salaries in in- Point) and more arrests were expected, membership. stalments and was also unhappy they said in a statement. Since sweeping into power last Oc- with the water distribution on “Around 1,500 police and law enforce- tober, the conservative Law and Jus- the parched territory. ment offi cers are involved in searching 100 tice party (PiS) government has drawn “Having come to a point homes and business premises,” the state- criticism from the European Union where there is no longer a pos- ment said. and rights’ bodies that its revamp of sibility and capacity to serve our The operation aims to step up the fi ght the country’s top court undermines people, it is not our goal to form against drug production, particularly can- democratic checks and balances. a government or share the of- nabis and ecstasy, it added. Warsaw could face punishment fi ce,” Ozgurgun said. Police raided a suspected meeting place such as the loss of voting rights from Their alliance, which was for criminal gangs at a business in the the European Union’s executive Com- formed in July last year, was the small village of Best, outside Eindhoven, mission if Brussels fi nds it has violat- fi rst such grand coalition ever which had been under close surveillance ed EU standards. between the two main parties. for several years. “This is not the time to go to war The CTP is the biggest party in “Some 700 people visited this meeting with Poland,” one EU diplomat told Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thornbjorn Jagland (left) holds talks with Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo the 50-member Turkish Cypriot place. They will all be intensely scruti- Reuters on condition of anonymity. in Warsaw yesterday. government with 20 seats but is nised to see whether they are guilty of any “My assumption is that everyone will well short of a majority with the off ences,” the statement said. make haste slowly.” after taking offi ce in 2010. Hungary services and public media, and ex- “Most Poles don’t even understand UBP holding 18 seats. “Police used its surveillance of the Two other EU diplomats said Lon- has also signalled it would block any panded state surveillance powers. what the constitutional court crisis is It is possible that the UBP premises to initiate other investigations don and Berlin also wanted the Com- attempts to sanction Poland. Critics say the top court revamp all about, but they will understand the could form a government along in which suspects were arrested, weapons mission to show restraint. Underlining the extent of interna- cripples its ability to review and rule 1,000 zlotys in their bank account,” a with independents and the found, drugs intercepted and drug labs The eurosceptical PiS government tional concern over Poland, which is on legislation. The court itself has senior government offi cial told Reu- Democratic Party of Serdar and cannabis plantations closed down.” has shown little willingness to com- due to host a summit of Nato lead- refused to implement the new rules, ters, speaking on condition of ano- Denktash, the son of the TRNC’s In another instance, police arrested a promise over the top court, saying ers in July, Washington has also sent setting off a constitutional crisis. nymity. hardline former leader Rauf man at his Eindhoven home and confi s- it has a broad mandate to reform key senior officials in recent months to Experts say a mix of economic Rafal Chwedoruk, a Warsaw Uni- Denktash who died in 2012. cated his Harley-Davidson motorcycle. institutions to purge them of post- discuss the constitutional court re- giveaways and nationalist rhetoric ce- versity political scientist, said he saw In 1974, Turkish troops invad- The police in recent years have stepped communist infl uences. vamp. ments the government’s popularity. “absolutely no risks” in the short- ed northern Cyprus in response up their focus on the southern Dutch To prepare for the discussion with But diplomats say the US, Poland’s This underscores a deepening po- term for PiS, adding that lowering to an Athens-engineered coup, provinces of Zeeland, Noord Brabant and Poland’s EU peers expected to start traditional key ally, is not likely not larisation between the urban, liberal the retirement age next year, another and later occupied the territory. Limburg which have seen an infl ux of or- tomorrow, Commission First Vice confront Warsaw openly a time of middle class and the poorer, the eld- election pledge, would likely secure it The TRNC was declared in ganised crime - particularly drug gangs - President Frans Timmermans travels Russia’s renewed assertiveness in erly and the inhabitants of smaller another term. 1982, recognised only by Ankara, from other provinces. to Warsaw today. eastern Europe. towns who welcome the government’s The party, which is run by Jaroslaw and decades of UN-brokered The region is close to Europe’s largest Yesterday, Thorbjoern Jagland, the Domestically, public opinion polls promise of more economic equality Kaczynski, the twin brother of late peace talks have failed to reach a port in Rotterdam as well as Antwerp in head of the 47-nation Council of Eu- show PiS’ popularity remains largely and national pride. President Lech Kaczynski, appears peaceful conclusion. Belgium, both seen as major drug entry rope which promotes democracy in stable despite protests and scathing On Friday, the government united despite the pressure, squash- However with Akinci, a mod- points into the continent. Europe, was in Poland for talks likely criticism in independent media. Some launched a large-scale child ben- ing any talk of early election. erate compared to his predeces- The Netherlands legalised the posses- to infl uence the Commission. polls show it at just under 40%, close efi t scheme worth an estimated 17bn While certain new backbenchers sors, forging a strong personal sion, consumption and resale by retail of The EU stood by largely powerless to its election score. zlotys this year. It will see parents of may be a little concerned by the depth relationship Greek Cypriot up to 5gm of cannabis in 1976. However its to stop Hungary’s Viktor Orban when Since coming to power, PiS has at least two children receive over 100 of state reform, “there are no visible counterpart Nicos Anastasiades cultivation and wholesale are banned and he challenged democratic norms like strengthened its grip on Poland’s euros per month, with more money cracks” in the ruling party’s structure, there is new hope that reunifi ca- mainly controlled by criminal gangs. the independence of courts and media key institutions, including the secret for every additional child. the senior offi cial said. tion is a genuine possibility. Gulf Times 20 Tuesday, April 5, 2016 INDIA

MURDER CONTROVERSY POLITICS JUDICIARY UNREST Namdhari sect ex-chief’s Congress, AAP seek Bengal finance minister’s SC grants bail to Violence erupts in widow shot dead in Punjab action against Ramdev assets worth over Rs70mn DU professor Saibaba Varanasi jail again

The widow of a former head of the Namdhari The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra, who The Supreme Court yesterday granted bail to Violence erupted in the Varanasi jail again, sect was shot dead by two unidentified yesterday demanded action against yoga guru is the Trinamool Congress’ candidate from Delhi University professor G N Saibaba, accused a day after clashes left over a dozen people assailants at a gurdwara complex near Ramdev for his statement that he would have Khardaha in North 24 Parganas, possesses assets of being associated with a front organisation of including two prison off icials injured, Ludhiana yesterday, police said. Chand Kaur beheaded those who refused to chant ‘Bharat in excess of Rs75mn. Mitra, whose annual income a banned Maoist outfit. The court granted bail authorities said yesterday. The second round Namdhari, 88, was shot dead by two men who mata ki jai’ if it was not for the law of the land. for the year 2014-15 stood at Rs1.4mn has movable to Saibaba noting that all the material witnesses of violence took place on Sunday night. The came on a motorcycle at Gurdwara Bhaini “Baba Ramdev’s threat to ‘cut heads off ’ at assets worth over Rs41mn and immovable assets in the case have already been examined and prisoners were furious that cases were being Sahib, the headquarters of the sect. The #RSS meet is a call to violent action and public in excess of Rs20.7mn, as revealed by his aff idavit there was no basis for keeping him confined. slapped against many of them for the Saturday assailants, whom eyewitnesses described as intimidation. Mr Modi, await your action. Now!” filed with the Election Commission. His movable The court was not moved as the lawyer for violence despite assurances to the contrary. turbaned Sikhs, fled as Kaur lay in a pool of Congress spokesman Sanjay Jha tweeted. assets mostly comprise bank and fixed deposits Maharashtra expressed the apprehension that Late on Sunday, prisoners thrashed an off icial. blood. Kaur, the widow of former Namdhari “Narendra Modi needs to tell India what action besides a car worth Rs168,000 and 4kg silver Saibaba would propagate his views if he is Security reinforcements were rushed to the sect chief Jagjit Singh and an aunt of present he will take against both Ramdev and the RSS,” valued at Rs128,000. A noted economist, who set free. The court said that does not hold as jail. The prisoners then set fire to barrack 5 in chief Uday Singh, was rushed in a critical he added. Ramdev made the controversial received his PhD from the Duke University, Mitra’s he would be doing so even if he was released a bid to prevent the police and the Provincial condition to the Apollo hospital where she comments at a rally organised by the Rashtriya immovable properties include two plots of non- later. Granting bail to Saibaba, the court said Armed Constabulary from entering. After died. Kaur had appointed Uday Singh as Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Rohtak on agricultural land in West Bengal and residential his release would be subject to the conditions extinguishing the fire, off icials searched the sect head in 2012 after the death of her Sunday. Aam Aadmi Party leader Ashutosh said apartments, jointly owned with his wife, in New by the trial court that he would make himself the prison to ensure there were no hidden husband. Ramdev should be arrested. Delhi and Gurgaon. available as and when required. weapons.

Mehbooba takes charge ‘Big B’ among as the fi rst woman CM of Kashmir 500 Indians

Agencies Jammu

ehbooba Mufti was sworn in yesterday as in ‘Panama MJammu and Kashmir’s fi rst woman chief minister, taking over from her father nearly three months after he died in offi ce. India’s only Muslim-majority state had been ruled directly from New Delhi since the death in Jan- Papers’ list uary of Mufti Mohamed Sayeed, who formed an uneasy alliance Government pledges action off shore entity is not illegal. The panel comprises the Cen- with the Bharatiya Janata Party against tax evaders In 2004, India legally allowed tral Board of Direct Taxes and (BJP) after the 2015 election. investments abroad by com- representatives of the Reserve His daughter, who heads the Agencies panies, and later individuals, Bank of India. People’s Democratic Party (PDP) New Delhi through the Liberalised Remit- Jaitley earlier said Indians who that he founded in 1999, had ini- tance Scheme. did who did not utilise a govern- tially appeared reluctant to con- Also named were Sameer Geh- ment scheme to reveal their illegal tinue the unpopular coalition ollywood mega star Am- laut of India Bulls, for properties assets stashed abroad will fi nd with the BJP. itabh Bachchan is among owned by Bahamas, Jersey and the such “adventurism extremely The PDP’s main support base B500 people from India who United Kingdom, and K P Singh of costly.” is among Muslims in the Kashmir feature in a massive leak of docu- DLF about companies registered The government is under pres- Valley, the epicentre of a separa- ments, some of which reveal hid- in British Virgin Islands. sure to reveal and recover black tist insurgency that broke out in den off shore assets, reports said Vinod Adani, the elder brother money, among the key poll prom- 1989, although the party stops yesterday. of industrialist Gautam Adani, ises made by Modi during his short of calling for independence Bachchan, simply known as the and politician Shishir Bajoria election campaign in 2014. for the state. “Big B”, was appointed director of from West Bengal and Anurag Ke- Jaitley, meanwhile, welcomed “Her key task will be to recoup at least four shipping companies jriwal of Loksatta Party were also the expose. the PDP’s credibility among her registered in off shore tax havens alleged to have set up companies “It appears in the next few days constituents (Kashmiri Mus- and set up 23 years ago. in tax havens. Bajoria told the In- more names are going to come lims), which is at an all-time low, The authorised capital of dian Express that that “erroneous out,” the fi nance minister said. and manage support from Delhi these companies ranged from benefi cial owner information” “I have been repeatedly saying vis-a-vis economic assistance,” just $5,000 to $50,000 but they was given by mistake. that the world is going to become political historian Siddiq Wahid traded in ships worth millions of The Express said it had carried increasingly more transparent,” said. dollars, according to the Indian out the investigations spread over he said. “Countries are co-oper- Mehbooba reached an agree- Express newspaper. eight month with several global ating with each other and slowly ment at a meeting with Prime The Express is among more newspapers. Many of the other all this information is going to Minister Narendra Modi last than 100 media groups which persons named in the Express come out as a result of various month, although the terms of have investigated a massive leak reports responded, some deny- global initiatives which have been their deal have not been dis- of 11.5mn documents from Mos- ing while others maintaining that launched.” closed. sack Fonseca, a Panama-based they had worked within the laws Last year, India signed the The PDP has nine cabinet and law fi rm with offi ces in 35 coun- of the country. Convention on Mutual Adminis- three junior ministers - the chief tries. But the documents come at a trative Assistance in Tax Matters minister included - and the BJP Bachchan, who has long since sensitive time in India. under the Common Reporting has eight cabinet and two junior resigned from the companies and Prime Minister Narendra Standard multilateral agreement ministers in the new government. has not commented on the docu- Modi’s government has vowed to automatically exchange fi nan- BJP leader Nirmal Singh re- ments, is not the only member of to crack down on the “menace” cial information. mains the deputy chief minister. his famous family named in the of so-called black money - vast At the G20 nations’ Australia Constitutionally, the Jammu leaks. sums stashed abroad to keep them summit in 2014, leaders endorsed and Kashmir council of ministers His daughter-in-law, actress secret from Indian tax authorities. a new global transparency stand- cannot have more than 25 mem- Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, was The government said it will in- ard by which more than 90 juris- bers. also director and shareholder of vestigate the allegations. dictions would begin automatic The PDP dropped two cabinet an off shore company, along with “Unlawful fi nancial holdings exchange of tax information, us- ministers - Altaf Bukhari and members of her family, before it abroad will face action,” Finance ing a common reporting standard Javaid Mustafa Mir and inducted was thought to have been wound Minister Arun Jaitley said in Del- by 2017-18. three-time legislator Zahoor Mir. up in 2008, according to the hi. The deal will allow the coun- The other new face brought in newspaper. “On the prime tries to extract bank details for as a junior minister by the PDP The media adviser of the minister’s advice, future and also make available ac- is Farooq Andrabi, who defeated former Miss World winner has re- we have constitut- count balance information of the state Congress president Ghulam jected the documents as “totally ed a multi-agency past fi ve to six years upon request. Ahmad Mir from Dooru. untrue and false”. group to monitor all Indian offi cials have said the The BJP dropped cabinet min- As with many of Fon- the information tax department is now more ac- ister Chaudary Sukhnandan seca’s clients, there is no and to collect tively pursuing penalties and and brought in his place Shyam evidence that the Bolly- further in- prosecutions with better access Lal Chaudhary. The party also wood A-listers used their formation in to information allowed by FATCA dropped a junior minister, Pawan Mehbooba Mufti shakes hands with Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra after taking oath during companies for improper this regard,” and the taxation agreements with Gupta. her swearing-in ceremony in Jammu yesterday. purposes and having an he said. 96 countries.

Gowda stages protest Court rejects Saritha petition 47 policemen get life for CBI probe against Chandy terms for ’91 massacre

By Ashraf Padanna Justice B Kemal Pasha said a per- nance minister K M Mani his job. DPA In the 1980s and 1990s, parts Gulf Times Correspondent son accused of cheating could not “The court is not interested in Lucknow of northern India, mainly Pun- Thiruvananthapuram seek such a demand from the court. playing politics when the elec- jab, faced a violent insurgency Instead the victim, whose state- tions are round the corner,” the by Sikh militants for an inde- ments were contradictory, should judge said. court in Uttar Pradesh yes- pendent homeland called Kha- he Kerala High Court yes- approach the court, the judge said. “There is no basis for whatever terday sentenced 47 police- listan. terday dismissed a petition The court also criticised her she says. She has had many oppor- Amen to life imprisonment Rights campaigners say there Tby Saritha Nair demand- saying she lacked credibility as tunities before, but she kept mum. for shooting dead Sikh pilgrims were massive human rights ing a Central Bureau of Investi- she approached the court against The truth is not something that is who they claimed were militants, abuses by security forces to gations (CBI) probe against Chief the chief minister just ahead of said at one’s whims and fancies.” 25 years after the massacre. stamp out Sikh militancy by the Minister Oommen Chandy in the crucial state elections. Nair has also accused Chandy The court had on Friday found mid-1990s. ‘solar panel scam.’ “The court has no interest in of taking bribes to promote her the policemen guilty of the “fake The policemen had stopped a Nair is the prime accused in the the political game,” Pasha said. solar panel business. encounters” in Pilibhit region in bus of Sikh pilgrims in Pilibhit scam. She told the court her busi- The setback for Nair comes a Chandy yesterday said he was 1991, prosecutor Satish Jaiswal on the night of July 12, 1991, and ness off ering “solar solutions” to day after a news channel claimed mulling legal action over the al- told reporters. forced 11 youth to get off . The customers fl opped after Chandy to have with it a copy of a letter legations made by Nair, adding it “In a historic judgment the men were divided into groups failed to keep his promises and from her that said Chandy sexu- was “rather strange” that the so- court held the policemen guilty and later taken to a jungle where sought a CBI probe. ally abused her. lar panel scam was still surfacing under charges of murder, ab- they were shot dead. Nair wanted the CBI to in- The court said there were sev- even after three years. duction in order to murder, and They were part of a group of vestigate the claim of one of her eral other petitions for CBI probe “I am working on steps to go criminal conspiracy,” Jaiswal 25 pilgrims returning home after victims, Sridharan Nair, that he into important cases and her re- forward with legal measures on Former prime minister and Janata Dal (Secular) president said. visiting a Sikh shrine in of Ma- entered into a deal with her to set quest was politically motivated. this. We feel this is a conspiracy H D Deve Gowda participates in a demonstration against “Fifty-seven policemen were harashtra. up a power plant and paid Rs4mn “Don’t waste the precious time and there is a mighty cash rich Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Bengaluru originally charged in the case, Police later claimed that the after an assurance from the chief of the court,” said Pasha, whose lobby behind these new disclo- yesterday. but 10 of them died during the slain men were all Sikh mili- minister. adverse remarks last year cost fi - sures,” the chief minister said. trial,” he added. tants. Gulf Times Tuesday, April 5, 2016 21 INDIA

Women barred from temple despite court order vow to keep fi ghting

Agencies worship that allows men access, will implement the honourable debate on women’s rights, with said they would fi le a contempt not be dragged to and decided by should be decided by the elders Mumbai and that the state should protect high court’s decision in true the hashtag #RightoPray trend- petition against the state if it the courts but should be resolved in the society. this right. spirit.” ing on Twitter. failed to do so. amicably by mutual discussions In the same vein, the Sena Yet villagers prevented the The Shani Shingnapur temple The popular Sabarimala Authorities at the Trimbake- by society peers and religious se- urged that the issue of whether cores of women who were women from entering the tem- in Ahmednagar in Maharashtra Ayyappa temple in Kerala, shwar temple in Maharash- ers,” an editorial in the Shiv Sena women should be permitted to barred entry to a Hindu ple, with police dragging away has barred women for centuries which denies entry to women tra, which is also the subject of mouthpiece Saamana said. go up to the deity at the Shani Stemple in Maharashtra de- and detaining the activists brief- from the inner sanctum that is of reproductive age, is the sub- protests by women for denying It said even today there was a Shingnapur temple should be spite a court order in their favour ly. dedicated to Shani, or Saturn. It ject of a petition in the Supreme them access, on the weekend debate on whether the revered left to the temple trustees, the have vowed to carry on the fi ght Maharashtra Chief Minis- is one of a handful of Hindu tem- Court. said it would not allow men or saint Saibaba of Shirdi in Mahar- villagers and the devotees. for equal access to places of wor- ter Devendra Fadnavis over the ples in the country that does not A separate group of women is women to enter the inner sanc- ashtra was a Hindu or a Muslim Referring to the high court ship, with the government also weekend reiterated his support allow women entry. demanding access to a landmark tum henceforth. but the courts cannot decide this ruling, the Sena questioned backing the court’s stand. for the court order. The fi ght for equal access Muslim shrine in Mumbai. Meanwhile, Shiv Sena party as it was a matter of faith. whether this would also applica- A Mumbai court last week “There is no place for dis- for women has sparked simi- Trupti Desai, leader of a group yesterday urged courts to keep Similarly, the courts cannot ble to women fi ghting for similar said it is the fundamental right crimination in Hindu culture,” lar campaigns in other places of that has led the protest for entry off religious issues. say with fi nality that Ram was rights in Muslim places of wor- of a woman to enter any place of he said at a public rally. “We worship and triggered a wider in the Shani Shingnapur temple, “Matters of religion should indeed born in Ayodhya and this ship. Jayalalithaa to contest from Chennai

IANS Former director general of po- Chennai lice R Nataraj is one of the new faces in the list. He will contest from Mylapore in the heart of amil Nadu’s ruling All In- Chennai. dia Anna Dravida Munne- The AIADMK candidates’ list Ttra Kazhagam party will is a mix of graduates, post-grad- fi eld a record number of 227 can- uates and those with profession- didates in assembly elections, al qualifi cations. Over 10% of the with Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa candidates are women. contesting from fl ood-battered Actors-turned-politicians R Chennai. Even the allies in the Sarathkumar and Karunas will remaining seven seats will seek contest from Thiruchendur and votes on the AIADMK symbol. Thiruvadanai constituencies re- Announcing the list of can- spectively. They are among the didates, Jayalalithaa, 68, said seven candidates from smaller she would seek re-election from parties allied with the AIADMK. Radhakrishnan Nagar constitu- AIADMK spokesperson Avadi Women queue to cast their ballots in the state assembly elections at a polling station in Diphu in the Karbi Anglong district some 215km from Guwahati in Assam yesterday. ency in north Chennai, an area Kumar said it was the fi rst time that was badly aff ected in the un- that the party was contesting in precedented December fl oods. more than 200 seats. The decision is signifi cant as Though the allies have been opposition parties were hoping given seven seats, they will con- to make the government’s han- test under AIADMK’s “two dling of the fl oods in the city a leaves” symbol. Thus, for the fi rst major election issue. The AIAD- time, the AIADMK symbol will be MK chief also said that her party seen in all the 234 constituencies. will contest all 30 seats in Pu- Jayalalithaa fi rst became chief First phase of polls ducherry and put up seven can- minister in June 1991 and was vot- didates in Tamil areas of Kerala. ed out in 1996. She again became Assembly elections in all three the chief minister in May 2001 but states will be held on May 16. stepped down in September that While a majority of the Tamil year due to legal problems. Nadu ministers have been re- She was allowed to return to tained as candidates, some out- her post in March 2002 and re- going legislators, including 10 tained it till May 2006. After sees high turnouts ministers, have been dropped. the May 2011 elections, she took Jayalalithaa rewarded those charge of Tamil Nadu again till BJP looking at making gains of parliament, which has been fi cial said in New Delhi that erjee is expected to remain in enous rights and has pledged a who switched loyalties to her party September 2014 when she re- in West Bengal and Assam blocking reforms seen as crucial the polling was “by and large power. crackdown on illegal immigra- from the DMDK, DMK and PMK. signed due to a legal row. to fuelling economic growth. peaceful”. But a row over the collapse tion from Bangladesh. The notable new entrant is She returned to the chief min- Agencies Most members of the upper The scheduled time of poll- last week of a fl yover under The BJP is not in power in Panruti S Ramachandran, who ister’s post in May 2015. New Delhi house, which has obstructed ing was reduced by two hours construction in Kolkata, which any of the states due to vote, quit the DMDK. He was one of In Puducherry, the AIADMK measures such as a planned in six insurgency-hit constitu- claimed 26 lives, could cost her however, and the elections are the leading lights of the AIAD- will contest all the 30 seats. In standardised goods and servic- encies of West Midnapore, four Trinamool Congress party some being closely watched to see if MK when its founder, the late M 2011, it had tied up with All In- olls opened yesterday in es tax, are indirectly elected by in Purulia and three in Bankura votes. the party is able gain ground in G Ramachandran or MGR, pre- dia NR Congress there. After West Bengal and Assam state legislatures. districts. The elections got over In Assam, over 78% of the regions where it has been tradi- sided over the state. Another old the elections which the alliance Pwhere Prime Minister However, the BJP will fall at 4pm in these constituencies. 9.5mn electorate cast their bal- tionally weak. timer who has been fi elded is C won, the relationship between Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Ja- short of a majority in Assam In fi ve other constituencies of lot in the fi rst round, offi cials Regional parties are expected Ponnaiyan, a former minister. the two soured. nata Party (BJP) is looking at after a tense anti-immigrant Purulia, polling ended at 6pm. said. to put up a strong showing in Though eight DMDK legisla- In neighbouring Kerala, the making gains after a setback in campaign, an opinion poll Security was tight, with They said no violence was West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. tors turned rebel and supported AIADMK has fi elded seven can- local elections last year. showed yesterday. several of the contested seats reported from anywhere during Leftwing parties and Con- the AIADMK during the most didates as against six in 2011. Elections will also be held Elections in West Bengal and located in impoverished re- the fi rst phase. gress are the main contenders part of the outgoing assembly The AIADMK tasted success in in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and the Assam are being held in phases. gions where Maoist rebels Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi in Kerala. and later joined the ruling party, six wards in last year’s Kerala federal territory of Puducherry The fi rst phase saw brisk vot- have long been battling gov- seemed optimistic. The BJP suff ered humiliating only K Pandiarajan out of them civic polls. next month and votes will be ing in both states. ernment rule. “Polling was good and it was defeats in elections in Delhi and has been given a ticket. For next month’s elections, Jay- counted for all states on May Nearly 81% of the 4mn voters Armed police have been de- due to the signifi cant increase Bihar last year. Jayalalithaa has also fi elded M alalithaa has fi elded three candi- 19, the Election Commission cast their ballot in three Mao- ployed, along with helicopters, in the number of young voters. Modi has been criticised for Kalaiarasu and P T Elangovan, dates each in Palakkad and Idukki said. ist-aff ected districts of West to try to ensure polling runs I am hopeful that the Congress not living up to his promises of who quit PMK, and Parithi Ilam- districts and one candidate in The BJP must win state elec- Bengal covering 18 constituen- smoothly, election commission will do well,” Gogoi said. faster development, job crea- vazhuthi, who left the DMK and Thiruvananthapuram. All the are- tions to gain more seats in the cies. offi cials have said. The BJP has teamed up with tion and bringing key economic joined the AIADMK. as have sizeable Tamil population. Rajya Sabha, the upper house An Election Commission of- Chief Minister Mamata Ban- local parties that support indig- reforms to propel growth. JNU, HCU ranked among Aadhaar crosses top four universities 1bn-member mark Agencies He said the government had New Delhi saved Rs150bn ($2.27bn) on its Agencies mark for education institutes Technology and Science at Pilani gas subsidy scheme alone - by New Delhi to improve their standing in the (9th), Aligarh Muslim University paying cash directly to biometric educational arena,” she said. (10th) and Visva-Bharati Uni- ndia’s biometric database card holders instead of providing Ironically, various mem- versity in West Bengal (11th). Ja- notched up 1bn members cylinders at subsidised rates. awaharlal Nehru University bers of parliament from Irani’s mia Millia Islamia in New Delhi Iyesterday, as the government He also said all adequate safe- and Hyderabad Central Uni- Bharatiya Janata Party, in vari- was ranked 83rd. sought to allay concerns about guards were in place to ensure Jversity, which recently faced ous speeches and public state- The Indian Institute of Man- privacy breaches in the world’s the personal details of card hold- controversies, have fi gured in ments they made over last two agement-Bangalore and the biggest such scheme. ers could not be stolen or mis- the top four rankings released by months have described the JNU Indian Institute of technology- The database was set up seven used by authorities given access the Ministry of Human Resource as a fortress of Maoist and anti- Madras have topped the charts in years ago to streamline ben- to the database. Development (HRD). national activities. the category of management and efi t payments to millions of poor “We have taken all measures The JNU has been placed at However, yesterday the HRD engineering institutions. people as well as to cut fraud and to ensure privacy. The data will the third spot while the Hy- ministry described these rank- IIT-Kharagpur, which came wastage. not be shared with anyone ex- derabad Central University is at ings as the country’s fi rst exer- third, said it lost out mainly due Under the scheme, called cept in cases of national secu- the fourth place in the rankings cise to rank higher educational to its faculty-student ratio. Aadhaar, almost 93% of India’s rity,” Prasad said. of top universities. The Indian institutions based on objective, “We lost out primarily due adult population have now reg- His comments come after par- Institute of Science, Bangalore, identifi able parameters. to our faculty-student ratio as istered their fi ngerprints and liament passed legislation last has topped the chart while the “The rankings are arrived at we were placed 8th in the list. iris signatures and been given a month giving government agen- Institute of Chemical Technol- after detailed analysis and vali- We have 11,300-plus students, biometric ID, according to the cies access to the database in the ogy has scored the second posi- dation of the data submitted by which is by far the largest. In government. interests of national security. tion in universities category. more than 3,600 higher educa- all other areas, our perform- IT Minister Ravi Shankar Pras- It was passed using a loophole “Designed with a transparent tional institutions in the country ance was very close to the top,” ad hailed it as “an instrument of to circumvent the opposition mechanism, the National Insti- classifi ed in six categories,” the IIT-Kharagpur Director Partha good governance” at a ceremony in parliament, where the rul- tutional Rankings will facilitate ministry said in a statement. Pratim Chakrabarti said in a Fa- in New Delhi marking the cross- ing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) choice, enabling higher education In the university category, cebook post. ing of the 1bn-member mark. lacks a majority in the upper stakeholders to make informed other top-ranked institutes were “We must not only improve Prasad said the initiative, in- house. and accurate decisions,” HRD the University of Delhi (6th), Ba- our faculty base but also make herited from the previous Con- The way it was passed, as well Minister Smriti Irani said releas- naras Hindu University at Vara- more eff ective use of our student gress government, had enabled as the legislation itself, raised ing the India Rankings 2016. nasi (7th), Indian Institute of strength as an asset for increas- Communications & Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar millions to receive cash benefi ts concerns about government “Each year, these rankings will Space Science and Technology ing our quality research output,” Prasad holds up a laptop showing the 1bn figure of Aaddhaar directly rather than dealing with agencies accessing private citi- serve as a performance bench- in Kerala (8th), Birla Institute of the director said. members during a press conference in New Delhi yesterday. middlemen. zens’ details. Gulf Times 22 Tuesday, April 5, 2016 LATIN AMERICA

CRIME ACCIDENT PEOPLE CORPORATE ENTERTIANMENT Colombian navy seizes German tourist dies Colombia ex-governor held Blackstone denies seeking Harrison Ford visit causes huge cocaine haul in Cuba bus crash captive since 2013 freed to acquire mall operator commotion in Ecuador

The Colombian navy said it had seized more A German was among two people killed when Colombia’s second-largest guerrilla group, Investment firm Blackstone Group has said it Actor Harrison Ford, star of the Hollywood film than a tonne of cocaine and a semi-submersible a busload of German and Austrian tourists the National Liberation Army (ELN), freed an is not considering an acquisition of Brazilian sagas Indiana Jones and Star Wars, arrived in “narco sub” in operations on the country’s Pacific was involved in a road accident in Cuba, state ex-governor held captive since 2013, in a new shopping mall operator BR Malls Participacoes, Ecuador for a visit to the famous Galapagos coastline. At the Natural Sanquianga Park, a television reported. Another 27 people were boost to peace eff orts. “Pleased by the release denying a report published by newspaper O Islands. His arrival in the country’s largest city reserve in southwestern Colombia, navy personnel injured, six seriously, when a truck’s container of (Choco department) ex governor Patrocinio Globo. “We are not actively engaged in acquisition Guayaquil caused a stir at the international discovered and destroyed “a semi-submersible crashed into a bridge and then spun down Sanchez Montes de Oca. Much support to him discussions for BR Malls,” Blackstone said. The airport, where eager fans sought autographs and designed like a torpedo” able to carry two tonnes onto the tourist bus, the report said. The and family. #welcometofreedom,” the Choco Brazilian newspaper, without citing sources for posed for photos with the 73-year-old American of cocaine, the navy said in a statement. The navy tourists were on their way to the central city governor’s off ice said on Twitter. The government its information, said early Sunday that Blackstone celebrity. The visit lit up social network Twitter said that it has destroyed or seized 91 illegal semi- of Trinidad at the time. The dead in the crash launched peace negotiations on Wednesday with had hired JP Morgan Chase to help it consider under the hashtag #Harrison Ford, which quickly submersible “narco subs” since 1993. This is the in Sancti Spiritus province were Cuban driver the ELN. Bogota hopes the talks with the ELN will acquiring a controlling stake in BR Malls, which is filled with comments and photographs. “What first one destroyed in 2016. Near the craft troops Alkier Barrera, 37 and a 64-year-old German bring it on board alongside Colombia’s biggest based in Rio and is Brazil’s biggest mall operator. is Han Solo doing in Guayaquil?” and “The force found an underground storage site hidden among tourist whose identity was not immediately rebel force, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of The paper said the acquisition would amount to is intense these days” were among the tweets, the bushes with packs of cocaine stuff ed in large given. Trinidad is among the most popular Colombia (Farc), in a bid to end what is seen as Brazil’s biggest-ever real estate transaction and making references to the Star Wars films. plastic bags weighing 652kgs. tourist attractions in central Cuba. the last major armed confrontation in the West. would be valued at as much as $3.38bn. Well-connected Mexican tycoon stashes fortune overseas

Tribune News Service ing Hinojosa’s assets to lawyers Toluca, Mexico at Mossack Fonseca. “Please note that we have been working together with the ne of Mexico’s wealthiest advisor of a very high profi le cli- tycoons, a civil engineer ent for some time,” Filipe Miguel Owho built his fortune on Fernandes de Matos Marcelo government contracts, sought to wrote to the law fi rm in an email conceal his wealth this past year dated July 1. He noted that the in an elaborate chain of off shore client had “portfolio accounts in trusts and companies. four banks,” listing the banks as Juan Armando Hinojosa Can- J P Morgan Chase, UBS Group, tu has a golden touch at winning Deutsche Bank AG, Morgan government business, and has Stanley and Wells Fargo. He put become successful under the the sums at “circa $100mn.” A cameraman stands outside the Arango Orillac Building where the Mossack Fonseca law firm is situated in Panama City. protective wing of President En- The $100mn “is only a small rique Pena Nieto. part of the client’s portfolio,” A security breach at a Panama- de Matos wrote, requesting the nian law fi rm that specialises in “utmost confi dentiality” in dis- registering off shore companies cussing potential business with around the world revealed the Hinojosa. eff orts of Hinojosa’s advisers to “He is one of the most promi- create a chain of off shore entities nent businessman in Mexico. that stretches to New Zealand. Unfortunately due to his success Data leak an attack on Hinojosa, a native of Reynosa, and high profi le, he has quiet of a crime-ridden city abutting number of people whom greatly the border with Texas, is both dislike him and unfortunately renowned and mysterious in there is a great deal of negative Mexico. publicity surrounding the cli- He fi rst attracted media atten- ent,” de Matos wrote. tion a year-and-a-half ago when a Hinojosa built his fortune in privacy: Panama fi rm Mexican news team revealed that the state of Mexico, where Pena one of his companies provided a Nieto was governor from 2005 Reuters fered a successful but “limited” “We’re dedicated to making pany and have presented and woman for Guardian News & $7mn mansion for Pena Nieto’s to 2011. Pena Nieto fostered a Panama City hack. legal structures which we sell to interpreted them out of context.” Media said: wife, Angelica Rivera, a former close relationship with busi- Fonseca, the fi rm’s co-found- intermediaries such as banks, When asked for reaction to “The fi les were obtained from soap opera star. She later said ness owners eager to tap into his er and until March a senior gov- lawyers, accountants and trusts, the comments from the law fi rm an anonymous source by the earnings from her acting career ambitious public works agenda, he head of a Panama- ernment offi cial in Panama, said and they have their end-cus- about the source of the docu- German newspaper Sueddeut- allowed her to repay Hinojosa. among them Hinojosa. Pena Ni- based law fi rm at the his fi rm has formed more than tomers that we don’t know,” said ments, an anti-privacy cam- sche Zeitung, which shared them After that report, and another eto became godfather to his son. Tcentre of a massive leak 240,000 companies, adding that Fonseca. paign and the accusation that with the International Consor- about a sweetheart housing deal Pena Nieto won the presidency of off shore fi nancial data de- the “vast majority” had been He said that all of the fi rm’s the information had been inter- tium of Investigative Journalists for Mexico’s fi nance secretary, in 2012, and Grupo Higa won nied any wrongdoing, and said used for “legitimate purposes”. clients had been notifi ed of “this preted out of context, a spokes- (ICIJ).” opposition members of Congress contracts across the country. his fi rm has fallen victim to “an The ICIJ report published on problem”, arguing that the fi rm began a study that found Hino- The scandal that fl ared in late international campaign against Sunday details billions of dollars has been caught up in an inter- Brazil politicians ‘linked to offshore firms’ josa’s companies or those man- 2014 about Hinojosa’s compa- privacy”. of fi nancial transactions moved national anti-privacy campaign. aged by his closest associates had nies providing luxury housing German newspaper Sued- through numerous off shore ac- “We believe there’s an inter- Politicians from seven parties party in the country, was also been awarded 99 contracts with deals to top levels of government deutsche Zeitung said it received counts. national campaign against pri- in Brazil were named as clients mentioned in the leaks, as well government-linked entities since hurt Pena Nieto, who had come a cache of 11.5mn leaked docu- Britain’s Guardian newspaper vacy. Privacy is a sacred human of a Panama-based firm at as others from the PDT, PP, 2005, making his group a clear fa- to offi ce promising transparency ments from the law fi rm’s data- said the documents showed a right (but) there are people in the the centre of a massive data PSB, PSD and the PTB parties. vourite with authorities. and reform. base, and shared them with more network of secret off shore deals world who do not understand leak over possible tax evasion, No politicians from Rousseff ’s About nine months after the But Pena Nieto did not retreat, than 100 other international and loans worth $2bn led to close that and we defi nitely believe in O Estado de S.Paulo said Workers’ Party were mentioned scandal broke over Rivera’s man- and Hinojosa remained nearby. news outlets as well as the Inter- friends of Russian President privacy and will continue work- yesterday. O Estado said names in the leaks, although it sion, Hinojosa’s advisers de- “He still travels on the presi- national Consortium of Investi- Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin ing so that legal privacy can in the leaked files included included at least 57 people or signed off shore trusts and shell dential plane. He was invited to gative Journalists (ICIJ). dismissed the report as aiming work,” he said. politicians from Brazil’s largest companies that had already companies to protect his wealth the state of the union speech. Ramon Fonseca, the director to discredit Putin ahead of par- The law fi rm said in a sepa- party, the PMDB, which broke been under investigation in far from Mexico. It’s really amazing how they still of Panama-based law fi rm Mos- liamentary elections. rate statement published by the away from President Dilma Brazil for alleged involvement A Miami-based adviser try- don’t get it,” said Juan E Pardi- sack Fonseca, specialised in set- Fonseca emphasised that the Guardian: “It appears that you Rousseff ’s coalition last week. in a far-reaching graft scheme ing to win Hinojosa’s business nas, head of the Mexican Insti- ting up off shore companies, said fi rm was not responsible for the have had unauthorised access to Political figures from the PSDB, at state-run oil firm Petroleo expressed amazement at his own tute for Competitiveness, a free- in a telephone interview with activities of the companies it in- proprietary documents and in- the most prominent opposition Brasileiro SA. good fortune in e-mails describ- market group in Mexico City. Reuters that his fi rm had suf- corporates. formation taken from our com- Caracas eyes energy cut Official visit Executions, arrests in as water at key dam falls Venezuela slammed AFP cases where evidence suggests Caracas that they were extrajudicial Reuters told Reuters in an interview. Romero, an engineer who said executions,” he said. Caracas Romero did not provide specif- he spent the night in a monitor- The security force raids were ics but said potential measures ing room analysing Guri’s levels, uman Rights Watch carried out under the left- would include rotating electricity said a nationwide blackout was yesterday denounced ist government’s Operation to enezuela will reduce rationing to minimise the impact not on the cards and called on Hextrajudicial execu- Liberate and Protect the Peo- power generation if wa- on the population, hospitals and Venezuelans to see rationing as tions and arbitrary deten- ple (OLP), which was created Vter levels at the key Guri food makers while the El Nino- crucial to avoiding “more com- tions in Venezuela that it said to rein in criminal gangs. dam, which supplies around half induced drought lasts. plex” situations. are being carried out under a The joint report, which was of the blackout-hit country’s Current generation levels government anti-crime pro- also issued by the Venezuelan electricity, falls below a mini- still cover Venezuela’s energy gramme. Human Rights Education-Ac- mum level that is fast approach- requirements, which hover be- The rights group said that tion Programme (Provea), said ing, an offi cial said. tween 15,000-16,000 mega- some 245 people have been that 14,000 arbitrary arrests A severe drought, coupled watts at peak demand, he said. killed in more than a hundred also have been made. with what critics say is a lack of But despite multi-billion-dol- operations carried out by po- Of these, fewer than 100 ar- investment and maintenance in lar investment in thermoelectric lice and military forces since rests resulted in prosecution. energy infrastructure, has hit the plants under the late president August 2015. “The government of Ven- South American nation which “Without a doubt if the level Hugo Chavez as of 2010, the Venezuela says the deaths ezuela has decided to tackle depends on hydropower for 60% reaches 240 metres we units are operating at only 50% to resulted from clashes between crime in an undemocratic of its electricity generation. will have to apply certain 60% of their capacity to produce criminals and security forces way,” said Provea general co- The massive Guri dam in Ven- operative measures” roughly 6,500 megawatts, ac- during operations, which were ordinator Rafael Uzcategui. ezuela’s central jungle is now at cording to Romero. mainly carried out in poor ar- In addition, some 1,700 Co- just 244 meters - its lowest level Frequent blackouts, especially Romero said the government eas of the country. lombian immigrants were de- ever and just four metres from a outside the capital Caracas, are is working on increasing thermo But testimony from relatives ported from Venezuela’s bor- critical point where water can- already driving voter ire against generation to more than 7,000 and witnesses, as well as the der, even though around 400 not feed its turbines. President Nicolas Maduro and megawatts in the coming weeks fact that only three police have had refugee status or were de- “Without a doubt if the level further complicating business in as lack of rain persists. been killed, “allows us to con- clared victims of paramilitary reaches 240 meters we will have the crisis-hit Opec country. The El Nino weather phenom- clude that the offi cial version is persecution, it said. to apply certain operative meas- Venezuela’s opposition says enon has led to drought in several not credible,” HRW’s Americas HRW and Provea also re- ures, which authorities will an- the leftist government is using Andean countries. Neighbour- Mexico’s President Enrique Pena Nieto welcomes South division director Jose Miguel ported that 976 homes in four nounce in due time,” Miguel Angel the drought as an excuse for dec- ing Colombia is mulling energy Korean President Park Geun-hye at the National Palace in Vivanco said at a news confer- states were demolished, after Romero, the head of generation at ades of corruption and misman- rationing amid the drought, its Mexico City yesterday. ence here. security forces killed or de- state-run energy fi rm Corpoelec, agement in the energy sector. president said this week. “We have documented 20 tained their inhabitants. Gulf Times Tuesday, April 5, 2016 23 PAKISTAN/AFGHANISTAN

SECURITY Data of foreigners living in Islamabad completed

Pakistani ministry of interior Sharif’s family hits back yesterday stated that all foreign- ers living in private houses in the capital Islamabad have provided their details to the police. It said reports that some of the foreign- ers living in private houses had disappeared was incorrect. It may be mentioned that a few years after Panama Papers leak ago the ministry decided to col- lect the details of foreigners living AFP in the federal capital but some Islamabad of them refused to provide their data. During a survey conducted in February 2014, the police found he family of Pakistani foreigners living in 430 houses in Prime Minister Nawaz the city. The police later collected TSharif yesterday de- the details of tenants from 127 fended their ownership of off - of the houses. Last month, the shore companies after they were ministry issued notices to the named in the Panama Papers, foreigners living in the remaining one of the biggest media leaks in 303 houses to provide their details history. to the police by March 15. Revenue generation is par- However, there were reports that ticularly sensitive for Pakistan’s foreigners living in 65 houses government, which is receiving a disappeared before providing $6.6 billion bailout package from their details. the IMF and has a tax-to-GDP The reports said when the police ratio of 11%, among the lowest in reached the houses, the owners the world. said they were not aware of the The leak, comprising 11.5mn whereabouts of the foreigners. documents from Panama-based However, on Monday, the ministry law fi rm Mossack Fonseca, of interior issued an off icial state- shows how some of the world’s ment claiming that all the foreign- most powerful people have se- ers living in the residential areas creted their money off shore. of the federal capital had provided Among those named are three their details. It also said reports of Sharif’s four children — Mar- In this file photo Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif looks on as he waits for the arrival of President Mamnoon Hussain at the venue of the Pakistan Day military parade in about the disappearance of the yam, who has been tipped to be Islamabad. (Right) A file phtograph of the daughter of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz (right) and her mother Kulsoom Nawaz waving to supporters during an election foreigners living in 65 houses his political successor; Hasan campaign rally in Lahore. The family of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was defiant, defending their ownership of off shore companies after they were named in the Panama were incorrect. and Hussain, with the records Papers, one of the biggest leaks in history. The statement said the data was showing they owned London being analysed and verified so real estate through off shore “There are more than 200 broadcaster Geo his family had in Pakistan for more than 138 raise uncomfortable questions ical and business leaders will be that it would be used for security companies administered by the Pakistanis which our report has done “nothing wrong”. days, then you are not required about why his family has kept hard-pressed to take the privacy arrangements. fi rm. identifi ed, and they include law- “Those apartments are ours to declare your assets”. their wealth abroad. defence given the worldwide “Nawaz Sharif does not own yers, lawmakers and some peo- and those off shore companies Regarding Khan’s call for the A report commissioned by move towards a better track of EDUCATION any company but having compa- ple from the judiciary,” Cheema are also ours,” he said. National Accountability Bureau Britain’s Department for Inter- money, tax evasion, laundering nies in the name of his children said. “There is nothing wrong with to investigate, he said “we vol- national Development last year and corruption. Pakistan’s open also raises questions,” Umar Opposition leader Imran Khan it and I have never concealed untarily present ourselves before said Pakistan’s economy was “This may also start more lo- varsity launches Cheema of the Centre for Inves- called for action against Sharif. them, nor do I need to do that. it or any other judicial and inves- facing an “existential crisis” cally focused probes as there are tigative Reporting in Pakistan, “Our stance vindicated again “It is according to British law tigative institution in Pakistan”. stemming from its woeful tax likely to be disclosure issues.” 9 short courses told AFP. as Sharif’s wealth stashed abroad and laws of other countries that Pakistan’s information min- collection rates and inability to The Panama Papers have The centre is partnered with exposed,” he tweeted, adding the it is a legal way to avoid unneces- ister Pervez Rashid also denied fi nance itself. whipped up a storm of contro- Allama Iqbal Open University the Investigative Consortium of country’s accountability watch- sary tax via off shore companies.” Sharif’s children had committed Ali Nadir, a fi nancial analyst, versy over off shore wealth, en- (AIOU) of Pakistan has launched Independent Journalists, which dog, tax authorities and election Hussain said he left Pakistan any crime. said the use of off shore compa- snaring political leaders, sports nine short-term agro-based spent months poring over the commission must take action. in 1992 and therefore is not resi- As prime minister, Sharif has nies was in some cases legiti- fi gures and underworld mem- courses to promote skill and documents before Sunday’s on- But Sharif’s son Hussain told dent, adding Pakistani tax law invited investment in Pakistan. mate. bers across the globe in the scan- knowledge in the agriculture line release. the country’s largest private “says that if you are not staying But the latest revelations could But he added: “I believe polit- dal. sector. The last date for admis- sions in these courses is April 11 (Spring 2016 semester). The courses relate to plant protection, oil seed crops production, farm machinery, dairy farming, poultry Afghanistan eases farming, ‘jadeed zirat’ improved Rescuers race to reach people methods of fruit production, home and farm operational manage- ment and farm income generating visa regime for skills. These schemes are aimed at enabling the people of rural areas stranded by Pakistan rains to earn their liveliness, said Vice- Chancellor professor Dr Shahid Pakistani media Siddiqui. The curriculum about AFP these courses is being updated Islamabad to equip their students with lat- Internews “I have made visas easier in est techniques and methods in Islamabad general. My focus is to change the field of agriculture. “We are escuers were battling the current environment of laying greater focus on the socio- yesterday to reach thou- mistrust,” the Afghan ambas- economic needs of the society, Rsands of people stranded fghanistan is off ering sador said. “And that is pos- he added. by fl oods and landslides in Pa- one-year multiple vi- sible by allowing broader in- kistan’s northwest and parts of Asas to Pakistani jour- teraction between Afghanistan VIOLENCE Kashmir, offi cials said, as the nalists as part of its policy to and Pakistan. The fi rst impor- death toll rose to 55. streamline the travel process tant step in that direction is Bomb kills two Disaster management offi - and make it easier to visit Ka- to allow and facilitate broader civilians in cials in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa bul, Afghan ambassador in Is- interaction,” he added. province, where 47 people have lamabad Omar Zakhilwal an- Dr Zakhilwal said that he Afghanistan died since the downpour began nounced yesterday. wants enhanced interaction Saturday night, said they were Pakistani journalists previ- between media, businessmen, At least two civilians were killed consulting with the military ously used to get Afghan visas youth and politicians of the in a bomb blast in eastern Af- about a rescue operation there for specifi c visits only after the two countries. Pakistan and ghanistan yesterday, a provincial amid fears the death toll could approval of the Afghan foreign Afghanistan do not charge for off icial said. The bomb was still climb. ministry. It was a time con- the visas on a reciprocal basis. planted close to a Local Police “We are trying to arrange a suming process, but now their Pakistan embassy offi cials in off icial’s house in Khiwa district in helicopter to reach the people visa section will issue visas in Kabul say they have a “friendly Nangarhar province. “The blast stuck under debris of their hous- a short time, usually within a visa regime” for Afghani- left 10 civilians wounded,” said es,” Latifur Rehman, a spokes- day, in line with the ambassa- stan and routinely issue visas Attaullah Khogyani, the provincial man for the Provincial Disaster dor’s announcement. to Afghan media persons on governor’s spokesman. The Local Management Authority, told Pakistani vendors try to salvage materials after flood water destroyed shops following heavy rain on the A group of three Pakistani the same day or at most in 48 Police are composed of villag- AFP. outskirts of Peshawar yesterday. journalists of state-owned and hours. ers and serve in the areas of the The authority said it had re- private TV channels, who were Pakistan embassy’s spokes- countryside where the presence ceived reports of damage to lages and other areas have been fi ve children died there when two the annual spring rains, which part of an offi cial delegation, man, Akhtar Munir, says the of regular security forces is slim, dozens of houses but had failed blocked... There is no movement houses were buried in a landslide are often heavy. were recently granted one- country’s diplomatic missions to defend rural areas against anti- to reach aff ected people in three at all,” Khalid Khan, a courier caused by the rains, local offi cial Severe weather hits Pakistan year multiple entry visas. Dr issue 1,500 to 2,000 visas to government militants. According districts of the northwestern company owner in Shangla dis- Abdul Hameed Kiyani said. annually, with hundreds killed Zakhilwal, who is also a spe- Afghans every day. to Nangarhar police, the Local province. trict of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mainly dry weather was ex- and huge tracts of prime farm- cial representative of President “Pakistan’s visa rejection for Police off icial was not hurt in the “We need to get bodies and told AFP, adding that local hos- pected in most parts of Pakistan land destroyed in recent years Ashraf Ghani for Pakistan, said Afghans is zero,” the embassy incident. All causalities are civilian,” the injured out from under the pitals lack the facilities to deal from Monday, according to the in a blow to the heavily agrarian on Monday that he has eased spokesman, told The Express said Hazrat Hussain Mashriqiwal, rubble and provide food and with the injured. meteorological department’s economy. the visa issuing process for Pa- Tribune yesterday. the provincial police spokesman. tents to the survivors,” Rehman In Pakistan-administered website, though thunderstorms During the rainy season last kistani nationals in general but Pakistan, he said, has adopt- Both the Taliban and Islamic State said, adding that four truckloads Kashmir’s Neelum Valley, of- are still predicted for Kashmir. summer, torrential downpours particularly for businesspeo- ed a more fl exible visa policy insurgents are active in a number of supplies had been sent to af- fi cials said thousands were Poorly-built homes across the and fl ooding killed 81 people and ple, politicians, media, civil for Afghans in the region, add- of the districts of Nangarhar prov- fected districts. stranded by landslides. country, particularly in rural ar- aff ected almost 300,000 across society representatives and ing that Afghans are routinely ince including Khiwa, but no one “All roads leading to vil- At least eight people including eas, are prone to collapse during the country and in Kashmir. youth. granted 6-month visas. has claimed responsibility so far. Balochistan’s fi rst female fi eld offi cer breaks barriers

Internews Against the backdrop of tar- shrugged off the notion of being litical pressure while executing (CSA), Assadi was posted for her family to her job, she said her resent all the social groups in Ba- Islamabad geted killings, bomb blasts, en- a female offi cer, saying “offi cers her duties in fi eld. some time in South Punjab’s Ra- father is a very co-operative and lochistan,” she said. forced disappearances, sectarian are a genderless species and cus- Recalling her previous em- him Yar Khan district as fi eld as- his reaction is positive. She also Assadi’s husband, Mohamed tensions, ethnic hatred and kid- todians of the government.” ployment as a lecturer of English sistant commissioner. expressed her special gratitude Ishaq, who is himself Quetta’s ust like its harsh and rough napping for ransom, many of- When questioned about the Literature at Balochistan Uni- Referring to that experience, to Quetta’s Commissioner Qam- additional commissioner, said geography, the politi- fi cers in the civil administration cultural impediments she might versity of Information Technol- she said Punjab is much better bar Dashti for being supportive offi cers were reluctant to per- Jcal landscape of Pakistan’s expressed their reluctance to be be facing in a male-dominated ogy, Engineering and Manage- in terms of services, administra- to her. form in Balochistan. southwestern province of Balo- posted in interior Balochistan. society, she said she viewed ment Sciences, she said teaching tion, having entirely diff erent “I am so lucky to have a senior He said if females can perform chistan is almost unforgiving for But one intrepid daughter the culture of Balochistan as a is also a noble profession and dynamics. who has helped me understand in other provinces, they can also government offi cials. of the soil, Sadaf Batool As- strength, and not as a weakness. female teachers are doing a great “But getting posted in Balo- many things about administra- work in Balochistan. “As regards The province has been going sadi, accepted the challenge and “Traditionally there is a lot job. chistan, despite knowing that tion,” she said. She also thanked my personal life, it has to be through a low key insurgency opted to become the fi rst-ever of respect for women in Balo- “However, if the locals will it is a confl ict zone, is my own the Hazara community’s social taken ahead with collaboration which intensifi ed in 2006 fol- fi eld assistant commissioner of chistan and in this context I re- not serve the province then who choice. I am a fi eld person and I media campaign in her favour and for that I don’t behave like lowing the assassination of Ba- the province despite its volatil- ceive much respect and honour else will do this job?” she asked. love being in the fi eld as I love to but said she does not limit her- a traditional husband but rather loch nationalist leader Nawab ity. Assadi, who belong to the when in the fi eld,” she said. As- After completing her training accept challenges,” she said. self to a particular ethnicity. share her responsibility at home, Akbar Khan Bugti. besieged Hazara community, sadi also denied facing any po- at the Civil Services Academy Asked about the reaction of “I, as a Pakistani citizen, rep- too,” he said. Gulf Times 24 Tuesday, April 5, 2016 PHILIPPINES Duterte closing in on Poe in presidential race: survey

By Catherine S Valente to track how the respondents Manila Times changed preferences. The SWS explained that the mobile survey is conducted avao City Mayor Rod- through mobile phones. For rigo Duterte is slowly this particular survey period, Dinching his way to only 733 or 61% responded the top as the latest Social to at least two to three ques- Weather Stations (SWS) tions. survey showed him statisti- Of the 34% who chose Poe cally tied with Senator Grace on March 30, 24% also voted Poe. for her on March 22, while In its March 30 Mobile Sur- 2% were former Binay voters, vey, the SWS said Poe got a 2% were former Roxas voters 34% rating while Duterte got and 1% were former Duterte 31%. Poe’s rating is one per- voters. Of the 31% who chose centage point lower than her Duterte, 20% were solid Du- showing in the March 22 sur- terte voters, 2% switched vey, while Duterte signifi cant- from Poe, 1% switched from ly gained fi ve points. Roxas and 1% switched from The survey, fi rst published Binay. in BusinessWorld yesterday, Of the 17% who chose Rox- has sampling error margins of as, 13% were solid Roxas sup- ±4% for national percentag- porters and 1% switched from es, ±7% in Metro Manila and Poe. Visayas and ±8% in Balance Of the 17% who chose Bi- Luzon and Mindanao because nay, 13% were solid Binay of a decline in the number of backers since March 22 and 1% respondents since the surveys switched from Poe. began. “The Bilang Pilipino SWS Former Interior Secretary Mobile Survey uses a nation- Philippine and US soldiers march with their national flags during the opening ceremony of the annual joint 11-day Balikatan (Shoulder-to-Shoulder) military exercise in Manila yesterday. Manuel Roxas and Vice Presi- ally representative sample of dent Jejomar Binay both got 1,200 validated voters, 300 17%. each in Metro Manila, Balance From the three mobile sur- of Luzon, Visayas and Mind- veys conducted on March 18, anao,” the SWS said in its re- 22 and 30, the pollster was able port on the survey. US, Philippines begin annual military drills

Reuters that, US offi cials have made clear Rodrigo Duterte (left) and Grace Poe . Manila the US would continue to chal- lenge what it considers China’s unfounded maritime claims. bout 8,000 US and Fili- China claims almost the en- pino troops began annual tire South China Sea, believed to Amilitary exercises yester- have huge deposits of oil and gas. Casino operator returns day against a backdrop of ten- The Philippines has sought sion over China’s greater assert- international arbitration on the iveness in the South China Sea dispute and a decision is ex- more money to panel though a Philippine commander pected late this month or in early played that down as the reason May. China has declined to take for the drills. part in the case. Manila Times sioner Emmanuel Dooc and Ex- Over the next two weeks, the Lieutenant-General John Manila ecutive Director Julia Abad. allies will test their command- Toolan, commander of US Ma- Ambassador to the Philip- and-control, communications, rine forces in the Pacifi c, told pines John Gomes, Bangla- logistics and mobility proce- the news conference it was pru- asino junket opera- desh Bank representatives and dures to address humanitarian Philippines and US off icials link arms during the opening ceremony of the 2016 Balikatan military exercises dent to plan for any situation tor Kim Wong returned Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and maritime security, Philip- at the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon city, Metro Manila that could occur and to practice CP38.28mn to the Anti- (BSP) Deputy Governor Vicente pine defence offi cials said. yesterday. Photo shows (from left): AFP Vice-Admiral Alexander Lopez, Philippine Defence Secretary Voltaire how the two allies would likely Money Laundering Council Aquino were present to wit- Their troops will also simulate Gazmin, Philippine undersecretary for migrant workers Jesus Yabes, US ambassador to the Philippines respond. Asked if that included (AMLC) yesterday in addition ness the turnover. “We turned retaking an oil-and-gas plat- Philip Goldberg, AFP Chief of Staff Hernando Iriberri and US Exercise Director Commanding General, US a security crisis in the South to the $4.63mn he surrendered over to the central bank exactly form and practice an amphibious Marine Forces, Pacific Lt Gen John Toolan. China Sea, Toolan said: “It does, last week as part of the funds P38.28mn,” Fernandez told re- landing on a Philippine beach. absolutely.” stolen by hackers from the porters during an ambush in- “The Balikatan exercise is de- “China is not part of the idea.” China’s more assertive pursuit it calls “freedom of navigation” Toolan said US forces would Bangladesh central bank. terview. signed not to address a particu- Ash Carter, will be the fi rst US of its claims in the South China patrols in the area, sailing near for the fi rst time in the Philip- Wong, represented by his le- The P38.28mn represents the lar concern but the whole lump defence secretary to observe the Sea over the past year or so has disputed islands controlled by pine exercises fi re a long-range gal counsels Victor Fernandez money abandoned by junket in the spectrum of warfare,” Vice exercises when he arrives next included land reclamation and China to underscore its right to truck-mounted multiple-rocket and Inocencio Ferrer Jr, turned player Gao Shu Hua in Eastern Admiral Alexander Lopez, the week, underscoring the signifi - the construction of air and port navigate the seas. launcher known as the high over the money to AMLC mem- Hawaii Leisure Company Ltd Philippine military’s exercise cance of the war games for both facilities on some isles and reefs. The patrols have drawn sharp mobility artillery rocket system ber and Insurance Commis- (EHLCL) and Midas Casino. director, told a news conference. countries. The US has conducted what rebukes from China but despite (HIMARS).

Historic dengue vaccine programme launched Pemberton’s jail term

AFP people annually develop more reduced to 10 years Manila serious symptoms - which can involve severe headaches, pain behind the eyes, a rash, pain in By Patrick Roxas of the prosecution panel, was he world’s first pub- the joints, muscles or bones and Manila Times in Cebu attending a seminar lic dengue vaccina- leaking blood vessels. and could not be contacted for Ttion programme was Asia is home to some 70% of comment. Private prosecutors launched in the Philippines cases worldwide. In the Phil- longapo Regional Trial hailed the court’s affi rmation yesterday as nurses began in- ippines 200,000 cases were Court (RTC) judge Ro- of the conviction, but were not jecting the first batch of a mil- reported in 2013, according to Oline Ginez Jabalde has pleased with the lighter penalty lion children with a French Sanofi . rejected the appeal of US Ma- imposed. drug to combat the sometimes The company said the vac- rine Lance Corporal Joseph Scott “It’s a bitter sweet victory for deadly disease. cine should prevent eight out of Pemberton for the reversal of his the Laudes and the Filipino peo- Several hundred children 10 dengue hospitalisations and December 1, 2015 conviction, but ple,” says Atty. Virgie Suarez, aged 9-10 queued in front of up to 93% of severe haemor- reduced his sentence to 10 years. one of the private lawyers for the government health workers at rhagic dengue fever cases. The decision, dated March Laude family, said in a text mes- a public school in eastern Ma- “This initiative sends a 29, 2016 affi rmed Pemberton’s sage. nila for the injections, capping strong message to the rest of conviction for homicide over “There is nothing clearer a 20-year, 1.5bn-euro ($1.8bn) the... world that dengue vac- the death of Filipino transgender than the court’s fi ndings of fact eff ort by French drug manu- cination is a critical addition to Jeff rey “Jennifer” Laude. It also that Pemberton killed Jennifer facturer Sanofi to develop the integrated disease prevention denied his appeal for bail. Laude,” Suarez said. vaccine. eff orts,” Sanofi said in a state- The court pointed out that However, she said the decision “We are the fi rst country to ment. since Pemberton has already does not deliver complete justice introduce, adopt and imple- Sanofi ’s two-decade eff ort to been convicted, he can no longer because a “foreigner-soldier- ment the fi rst-ever dengue vac- develop the vaccine included 25 be presumed innocent, and this killer” continues to enjoy the cine through the public health clinical studies in 15 countries. removes his right to bail. privilege of serving his sentence system and under public school This saw 29,000 volunteers re- The US Marine was earlier in a “jail” where only the US has settings,” said Philippine Health ceive a vaccine that, aside from meted a jail term from six years control. Secretary Janette Garin. the Philippines, has also been to 12 years, but this was cut to a “This is a mockery of our jus- The Philippines had in De- registered in Mexico, Brazil and minimum of six years to maxi- tice and legal system and an at- cember approved the vaccine, El Salvador, according to Sanofi . mum of 10 years. tack to our sovereignty,” Suarez the fi rst to be licensed globally Of 17,000 people who were However, private lawyers for added. to combat the mosquito-borne A nurse administers the anti-dengue vaccine on a student at Parang Elementary School in Marikina, west injected with the vaccine in the Laude family said they are Another private lawyer for disease for people aged between of Manila yesterday. the Philippines in February not pleased with the lighter pen- the victim, Harry Roque, said nine and 45. as part of the clinical study, alty, and called for a review of the “We are happy that Pember- Zelin Joice Carungay, aged they told us we need it to avoid lieved child said afterwards. more than 120 countries each just 27 developed side eff ects, Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) ton’s motion for reconsideration nine, cried briefl y as she and dengue,” the girl told report- Dengue or haemorrhagic fe- year, killing more than 25,000, proving it was an eff ective that governs the presence of US was not fully granted and we are her classmates fell in line for the ers. ver, the world’s most common according to the World Health vaccine, Health Undersec- soldiers in the country. happy that the decision remains vaccine on teacher’s orders. “In the end it felt nothing mosquito-borne virus, infects Organisation. Symptoms are retary Vicente Belizario told Olongapo City Prosecutor – that Pemberton is guilty of “I’m terrified of needles but more than an ant’s bite,” the re- an estimated 390mn people in often mild but more than 2mn reporters. Emilie Fe de los Santos, head killing Laude.” Gulf Times Tuesday, April 5, 2016 25 SRI LANKA/BANGLADESH/NEPAL/MALDIVES

14 foreigners detained 4 killed at power plant over $7.5mn drug bust

AFP protest in Bangladesh Colombo AFP against the construction of two ing 11 policemen, he added. One with fi nance from China,” “Police opened fi re as we plants in the village, which lies Chittagong coal-fi red power plants that offi cer was shot in the head, he government administra- brought out a procession on the edge of the Bay of Bengal. ri Lanka has detained they say will evict thousands said. tor of Chittagong district M against the power plants. They Chittagong-based S Alam 14 foreigners after seiz- from the area. Witnesses said at least fi ve Mesbahuddin said. even chased the villagers to Group plans to build two coal- Sing 110kg of heroin worth our people were killed Local authorities had people were shot dead and “At one stage police opened their homes,” Abu Ahmed, a fi red power plants at the area, $7.5mn from an Iranian fi shing after police opened fi re banned the demonstration more than 100 were injured fi re to disperse the agitators member of the village commit- which will have the capacity trawler in the country’s biggest Fon villagers at a protest from taking place and the po- by police. They also estimated and to bring the situation under tee that staged the protest said. to produce 1,224 megawatts of drug bust for nearly three years, against two China-backed lice said they opened fi re on the crowd at around 15,000 control,” he said. Ahmed said he was shot in electricity, the local Daily Star police said yesterday. power plants turned violent the crowd when the protesters protesters. Doctor Saiful Islam, of Chit- the leg. reported. Ten Iranians, two Pakistanis, in southeastern Bangladesh attacked them. “The clashes erupted when tagong Medical College Hospi- He said the villagers had been Two Chinese fi rms — SEP- one Indian and one Singaporean yesterday. Four people died, including a police came under attack tal, said seven people, includ- holding peaceful protests for COIII Electric Power and HTG were remanded in custody after Around 500 villagers had pair of brothers, district police by local villagers protesting ing four who were shot by live days after S Alam, the local con- — are fi nancing $1.75bn of the appearing in a magistrate’s court gathered in Gandamara, a re- chief Hafi z Akter said. against the move to install the rounds, were brought to his glomerate behind the project, plants’ estimated $2.4bn cost, in Colombo on Saturday, na- mote coastal town, to protest Dozens were injured, includ- power plant by S Alam group clinic. started purchasing land for the the newspaper said. tional police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said. “They have had Sri Lankans involved in this smuggling,” Gu- nasekera said. “We are hopeful of arresting them (Sri Lankans) very soon.” Lankans protest Acting on a tip-off , police and the navy boarded the trawler off the south coast on Wednesday. They arrested the crew — the 10 Iranians and one of the Pa- China funded kistanis — after discovering the 110kg (242 pounds) of heroin that authorities estimate was worth 1.1bn rupees ($7.5mn). “A Singapore national and an port city project Indian were (also) arrested fol- lowing a car chase on Saturday,” he said, adding that the other Pa- Agencies damalgoda of the People’s kistani was detained at a house in Colombo Movement Against Port City, Sri Lanka that was allegedly used which organised the protest, as a base for drug-smuggling. said the project will “not The seizure is the biggest since undreds of Sri Lankans, benefit ordinary citizens and August 2013 when police found including priests, en- will have a severe impact on 260kg of heroin hidden in a ship- Hvironmental activists the country’s marine re- ping container that had come and fi shermen, protested in sources and the livelihood of from Pakistan. Colombo yesterday, demand- fishermen. We urge the gov- Sri Lankan authorities have said ing the government halt a ernment to stop this imme- that such large quantities of heroin $1.5bn Chinese-funded port diately.” suggest that Colombo is being city project. Chinese President Xi Jin- used as a transit centre. Narcotics The city, to be built on re- ping inaugurated the project could be reshipped to the Far East, claimed land off Sri Lanka’s in 2014 during the tenure of according to authorities. west coast, is to include a golf former president Mahinda course, marinas, apartments, Rajapakse, who relied heavily hotels and malls. About 500 on China for infrastructure people demonstrated in Co- projects. It was suspended af- lombo, shouting slogans and ter Rajapakse lost an election displaying placards reading, in January 2015, with the new Sri Lankan activists demonstrate against a Chinese project to reclaim part of the sea for real estate development in Colombo yesterday. Murder “Port city will destroy the government saying it wanted whole country,” “Don’t disturb to review all projects to en- The government decided to Wickremesinghe is to visit China project, said a supplementary project’s impacts and mitiga- our fi shing” and “Save our na- sure they were environmen- allow it to proceed last month, in this week. environmental impact study tion measures in developing a accused ture.” tally viable and corruption- a move seen as an eff ort to reas- CHEC Port City Colombo, has been completed to “un- comprehensive plan to maxim- Catholic priest Sarath Id- free. sure China. Prime Minister Ranil which is constructing the derstand and fully assess the ise the benefits.” held after 20 years Militant den busted Maldives frees journalists IANS after blast kills two Kathmandu epal’s intelligence agen- cy, the Central Investi- arrested over protest The head of the local police gation Bureau (CIB), has AFP N Dhaka station said the two were sus- arrested a person accused in the Agencies ment the demonstration was tunity to meet with Maldives Haveeru, was eff ectively forced pected members of the banned 1995 murder in Kathmandu of an Male broken up because journalists journalists arrested during closed by a court order last week. militant group Jamayetul Mu- Italian national. were gathered in “a high security Sunday’s protest,” Keshap said This came as the ruling party angladesh police said jahideen Bangladesh (JMB). A gang of 13 men, led by Tashi zone, where protesting is prohib- on Twitter, posting a photo of of President Yameen Abdul yesterday they had “We’re yet to fi nd out their Gurung, had killed Carraro David at he journalists, which the ited”, adding that the group was himself with them. Gayoom has put forward legis- Bseized a large quantity identities. But we suspect the the Thamel-based Reggae pub fol- government said were detained for 10 hours in total. Sunday’s protesters were also lation that would infl ict fi nes of of explosives from a suspect- house was being used by the lowing a dispute after they harassed Treleased late on Sunday, Political turmoil in the Mal- attempting to pressure author- up to $324,000 on those con- ed Islamist militant hideout JMB,” Khan Erfan said. his girlfriend on October 13, 1995. have been ordered to report to dives has dented its image as ities to probe the mysterious victed of defamation. Those where two people were killed “The explosives we found Police yesterday said Gurung - police for questioning over the a peaceful paradise for well- disappearance of a reporter in who fail to pay the penalty making grenades. at the house are similar to the who holds a US Green Card and demonstration held outside heeled honeymooners. The In- 2014. The demonstrators also would be jailed for one year. Police recovered 20 gre- ones used by the group.” had been on the run - was arrest- President Abdulla Yameen’s dian Ocean nation adopted mul- denounced a court decision Newspapers and websites nades and a large quantity of Police have blamed the JMB ed a week ago from Kathmandu. offi ce in the capital Male. tiparty democracy in 2008 after to temporarily close the na- which publish defamatory con- the explosive gel used to make for a spate of deadly attacks in He came back to Kathmandu “We were told that we diso- decades of autocratic rule, but tion’s oldest newspaper over an tent could face revocation of them as well as four pistols recent months targeting the around three years ago. beyed police orders and they want has faced international criticism ownership dispute. their licenses. when they stormed a house in country’s religious minorities “The members of Tashi’s gang to question us further,” Zaheena over a recent erosion of rights. Maldivian media outlets and The draft law also says the the north of the country. and foreigners. had been absconding following Rasheed, an editor of the private Rasheed said the released their journalists have been fac- constitutional right to freedom “Some 200-300 gre- Experts say a long-running David’s murder,” said CIB chief Maldives Independent website, media met yesterday with US ing a variety of threats. of speech can be narrowed or nades could be made with political crisis has radicalised director inspector general Nawa said after she was released. ambassador Atul Keshap, who “Media offi ces have been at- restricted if an expression con- the gels that we’ve seized opponents of the government, Raj Silwal. Police used pepper spray was visiting from Sri Lanka tacked and there’s been numer- tradicts a tenet of Islam, threat- from the house,” Sherpur dis- leading to the unrest. “As many as eight accused are to break up Sunday’s protest where he is based. ous death threats against jour- ens national security, defames trict police chief Mohammad Since November at least still on the run,” he said. against the government’s move The journalists raised con- nalists, both over text messages or causes damage to an individ- Asaduzzaman said. fi ve JMB commanders have It was found that Tashi had to criminalise defamation, cerns about press freedom in the and also in person, as well as as- ual, or violates societal norms. “Our offi cers stormed the been killed in shootouts with fl own to the US one-and-half which media fear will be used nation, gripped by turmoil since saults,” said Rasheed. “There’s “This move by the government building after two people were security forces. years after the incident. The to stifl e freedom of speech. A the toppling of its fi rst democrat- been no justice for any attack on is aimed at silencing critics and injured as they were making a Bangladesh banned the number of Italian tourists dropped draft bill proposes heavy fi nes ically elected leader Mohamed journalists and media offi ces.” weakening the country’s already grenade at the house on Sun- group in 2005 after it carried sharply following David’s murder and jail terms for off enders. Nasheed in February 2012. The South Asian archipela- fragile media,” said the International day night. They died on the out a series of blasts across the as the incident sent a bad impres- The government said in a state- “Appreciated the oppor- go nation’s oldest newspaper, Federation of Journalists. way to hospital,” he added. Muslim-majority nation. sion about Nepal in that country.

Closing ceremony of youth forum Sri Lankan youth and foreign youth Everest climbing season starts gather in at closing ceremony of youth village in Sigiriya, some 170km northeast of Colombo, DPA an unknown number of locals for permits this year, he said. yesterday. Leaders of Sri Lanka’s Kathmandu employed to accompany the It was not clear how many of unity government have pledged to foreign climbers. those were climbers who saw build a country devoid of The government extended their trip cancelled in the past extremism and terrorism for the ore than 200 foreign the permits granted for 2014 by two years. younger generation to be proud climbers were headed fi ve years after all expeditions Each foreigner pays $11,000 of the Sri Lankan identity when Mtoward the Everest were cancelled that year fol- to climb Everest. The as- they participated in the closing base camp, authorities said lowing the death of 16 Nepali cents take place in May, but ceremony of the Yowun Puraya yesterday, after the mountain climbers hit by an avalanche the climbers spend time on youth camp on Saturday. The was closed in 2014 and 2015 while preparing the route. the mountain ahead of the Yowun Puraya Programme, which following fatal avalanches. In 2015, all the expeditions expedition, acclimatising. has been revived after 28 years, “Altogether 236 foreigners were cancelled again when an The Nepali assistants, known was held under the theme “Future in 22 teams have already left avalanche trigged by the April as icefall doctors, set the ropes Begins” at the Air Force Base for the Everest region, to accli- 25 earthquake killed 20 peo- and ladders for the climbers premises in Sigiriya from March matise themselves ahead of the ple on the mountain. Those ahead of the season. 30 to April 3 with the participation climb,” tourism ministry offi cial permits were extended for two They have already laid out of 5,000 Sri Lankan youth and 120 Gyanendra Shrestha said. years. the infrastructure this year, and foreign youth. A further 23 Nepalese climb- In addition to the 22 teams reported that the slopes looked ers had applied for their own heading for the base camp, safe enough for the visits to permits, he said, in addition to another six teams had applied make the summit. Gulf Times 26 Tuesday, April 5, 2016 COMMENT

Chairman: Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Attiyah Editor-in-Chief : Darwish S Ahmed Islamic State group takes Production Editor: C P Ravindran

P.O.Box 2888 Doha, Qatar its battle into cyberspace [email protected] Telephone 44350478 (news), Countering IS online will are successful in countering IS’s Carter urged US Cyber Command – 44466404 (sport), 44466636 (home delivery) require a continuously current sources of funding, including the arm of the military dedicated to Fax 44350474 oil smuggling and extortion. Indeed, cyberspace operations – to “intensify adaptive response IS has allegedly already solicited the fi ght” against IS. But the US would Bitcoin donations. be wise to consider expanding the By Colin P Clarke and The group is also using the dark fi ght by recruiting civilian volunteers. Isaac R Porche III web to recruit and disseminate its When it comes to cyber-attacks, Washington propaganda to aspiring militants. For numbers matter. Other countries, sympathetic audiences, an online such as Iran, China and North Korea, GULF TIMES push can sometimes be enough to already boast large cyber armies, with ven as the United States spark violent action. This is especially tens of thousands of recruits who can and its allies carry out aerial true for individuals who are already monitor, track, counter, and mitigate bombardments in Iraq and radicalised, such as Syed Farook and threats to the country. ESyria, their target, the Islamic Tashfeen Malik, the husband and wife In the US, the Michigan Cyber State (ISIS or IS), may be preparing who opened fi re on a holiday party Civilian Corps has organised itself to Windies win to retaliate on another front. By in San Bernardino, California, in respond to cyber-attacks. Replicating taking the battle into cyberspace, IS December. this programme – described as would gain many of the advantages of warning by the Nuclear Threat Perhaps most troubling from something between a “volunteer fi re asymmetric warfare – unless the US Initiative, a nonprofi t devoted to an operational perspective is the department and the national guard” fi tting climax organises itself to counter the group’s strengthening global security, that possibility that IS could use the dark – on a national level could bolster US eff orts. many civilian and military nuclear web to co-ordinate with operatives capabilities. The entry barriers to cyber warfare facilities are inadequately protected to plan and plot a major attack in The Department of Homeland are remarkably low, even for non-state against cyber-attacks. Europe or the US. Terrorists are always Security has already considered actors. Even if IS does not currently Late last year, computer and seeking to stay one step ahead of law creating a “cyber reserve” of to World T20 have the capability to carry out cyber- network security researchers revealed, enforcement and intelligence services; computer experts, and a report by attacks, it is unlikely to fi nd it diffi cult to little surprise or fanfare, that IS so IS can be expected to seek software Booz Allen Hamilton, a technology to recruit followers with the requisite was active on the so-called dark web. that encrypts a user’s IP address and and security firm, suggested similar For a format that encourages big hits to maximise expertise; in the past, other terrorist These websites, which are invisible routes Internet traffi c through a series efforts to provide the US with more entertainment value, it was perhaps fi tting that the World and insurgent organisations, including to search engines and accessible of anonymised servers. cyber warriors in the event of an Twenty20 fi nal culminated with Carlos Brathwaite blasting Al Qaeda, have done just that. There only through specialised software, To be sure, IS’s foray into attack. four sixes in a row to win it for West Indies. are bound to be cyber mercenaries, are often havens for purveyors of cyberspace creates opportunities To prevail against IS, the US and its When the 27-year-old Barbadian’s fi nal shot soared sympathisers and freelancers available child pornography, drugs, or other for Western law enforcement and cyber soldiers will have to be capable into the stands at a raucous Eden Gardens on Sunday, the if the price is right. illicit products, including hacking intelligence agencies to conduct of reacting quickly, while being guided Experts have cautioned that services and malicious software. This surveillance, if they can develop the by an overarching strategy. Countering undeniable attraction of cricket’s youngest competition IS could strike unprotected development was the fi rst sign that IS capacity to do so. Just as IS has proved IS online will require a continuously was given a thumping seal of approval with a breathtaking infrastructure or private residences. was actively seeking to develop a cyber far from omnipotent on the physical adaptive response. And it will require closing sequence. Hundreds of thousands of industrial capability that it could deploy even if battlefi eld, it can also be defeated in the manpower to make that possible. - “It was a stunning end to a stunning tournament and commercial control systems, it loses its footing on the ground. cyberspace. To fi ght eff ectively in this Project Syndicate that showcased the best of the modern game,” former including the rapidly growing Internet So far, terrorists have lagged borderless domain, the US will have England captain Mike Atherton wrote of his countrymen’s of Things, are leaving ever-wider behind their criminal counterparts in to work closely with its international zColin P Clarke is a political scientist heartbreaking loss in his Times column yesterday. swaths of everyday life vulnerable to adopting virtual currencies like the partners. But there are steps that it can at the RAND Corporation. Isaac R The success of the tournament will convince many that disruption. peer-to-peer currency Bitcoin. But take on its own. Porche III is a senior engineer at the the brevity and action-packed nature of Twenty20 cricket And far more troubling is the this could change if Western countries Recently, Defence Secretary Ashton RAND Corporation. make it the only feasible format able to break new ground and gatecrash multi-sports events such as the Olympics. The sixth edition of the fast-paced extravaganza was far from fl awless, however. Delays in issuing tickets and the uncertainty over World facing a new Weather report venues in Delhi, which left it late to get the necessary administrative paperwork in order, and Dharamsala, Three-day forecast deemed unsafe by Pakistan, added unwanted tension to TODAY preparations. nuclear arms race High: 30 C Doubt over Pakistan’s participation lingered for months Low : 20 C Moderate temperature day time with before foreign ministries and the organisers managed to scattered clouds and weak chance of By Doyle McManus light rain at places cajole the 2009 champions into agreeing to play by shifting Los Angeles Times/TNS the Super 10 contest against India from Dharamsala to Kolkata. WEDNESDAY ormer US defence secretary High: 28 C After three weeks of intrigue and excitement, the summit Low: 23 C clash pitted Twenty20 pioneers England, who introduced William J Perry, one of America’s wise men on Sunny the format to the world national security, delivered in 2003, against its F Australia will an arresting message last week: most free-spirited We’re about to fi nd ourselves in a new THURSDAY host the next practitioners. nuclear arms race. High: 31 C Sunday’s showdown “The danger of a nuclear The land-based missiles, by Low: 23 C edition of the was a classic encounter catastrophe today is greater than contrast, are more vulnerable. They’re P Cloudy and after 39.4 overs of during the Cold War,” Perry said. stuck in one place. Their locations tournament The danger stems not only from are known to the Russians and other plot twists and shifts in Fishermen’s forecast momentum, the men from terrorist groups like Islamic State, potential enemies. in 2020 aft er which would gladly steal or buy That means they face a dilemma OFFSHORE DOHA the Caribbean triumphed nuclear material on the black market, known as “use it or lose it”. If an Wind: SW-NW 05-15/18 KT it shift s from a in a tournament they too, but also from the huge nuclear apparent attack against US missile bases Waves: 2-4/5 Feet almost boycotted over a arsenals the US, Russia and other big is detected, offi cials will have only a few INSHORE DOHA Wind: SW-NW 05-15 KT two-year cycle rumbling pay dispute with powers maintain more than 20 years minutes to decide whether to launch the Waves: 1-2 Feet their board. after the end of the Cold War. missiles in response, or lose them. to a quadrennial England’s fearless brand Those nuclear forces are bigger And that makes them susceptible to Around the region of cricket was rewarded than they need to be - almost 16,000 false alarms - which actually occurred Weather Weather tomorrow one by a surprising run to warheads in all. And they still include several times in both the US and today Max/min Max/min hundreds of missiles on hair-trigger Russia during the Cold War. (Luckily, Abu Dhabi Sunny 29/18 Sunny 33/22 the fi nal, completing alert. offi cers realized that their radar was Baghdad Sunny 31/16 P Cloudy 31/15 Dubai Sunny a remarkable turnaround in white-ball fortunes after an “We’ve avoided a catastrophe malfunctioning.) Sunny 27/20 28/22 Kuwait City Sunny 27/20 S Showers 26/19 embarrassing loss to Bangladesh at last year’s 50-overs more by good luck than by good That vulnerability is still there. Manama Sunny 26/21 P Cloudy 27/22 World Cup led to an early fl ight home. management,” Perry told a meeting “The way to solve it is simply to Muscat Sunny 31/23 Sunny 32/24 There was also a tinge of sadness about South Africa’s at the Atlantic Council, a nonpartisan eliminate the ICBMs,” Perry said. Riyadh M Sunny 29/18 M Sunny 32/19 habitual ability to grab defeat from the jaws of victory at think tank. It’s an unorthodox suggestion, Tehran Sunny 20/11 P Cloudy 22/12 global competitions that culminated in another group stage In 2007, Perry joined with former and there are counter-arguments, of exit. senator Sam Nunn and former course - mainly that ICBMs provide secretaries of state Henry A Kissinger insurance if an adversary somehow Australia will host the next edition of the tournament in and George P Shultz - two Democrats, knocked out every submarine and 2020 after it shifts from a two-year cycle to a quadrennial two Republicans - to urge that the every bomber. one, meaning the illustrious trio of AB de Villiers, Hashim US make the abolition of nuclear But the doctrine sometimes sounds Amla and Dale Steyn are likely to never play in a World weapons a formal goal. President more like force of habit. Twenty20 again. Barack Obama embraced the idea, “It has worked for us for decades,” While it seems like an agonisingly long wait for the next negotiating a treaty with Russia to cut Air Force Secretary Deborah James instalment to arrive, lasting memories of the one just both countries’ arsenals. told a congressional committee last fi nished will remain etched in the minds of those who month. “The ICBMs are considered “The danger of a responsive, the sea-launched are witnessed them for years to come. considered survivable, and the The sight of a hamstrung Angelo Mathews going above nuclear catastrophe bombers ... are fl exible.” and beyond a captain’s call of duty in a heroic yet futile I think Perry has the better attempt to rescue Sri Lanka’s cause against England will today is greater than argument. The case for keeping land- probably be regarded as one of the tournament’s more based missiles is weak. The danger defi ning moments. during the Cold War” they present is real. Equally as dramatic was India’s group stage victory over But what I’d mostly like to see is a Bangladesh, when the hosts took three wickets off the last But since that 2010 pact, progress serious debate on these issues among three balls to record a one-run win as their opponents lost toward nuclear disarmament has the candidates for president. virtually stopped. Both Russia and Senator Bernie Sanders has said discipline when a historic triumph was within easy reach. Around the world the US have launched expensive plans he thinks the modernisation plan is a Weather Weather Everything, however, paled in comparison to Brathwaite’s to modernise their nuclear forces, waste of money. Hillary Clinton has today Max/min tomorrow Max/min blaze of boundaries in the last four deliveries to ensure West reaffi rming the weapons’ central role suggested that she’s worried about the Athens Sunny 25/14 Sunny 25/14 Indies became the fi rst team to win the title twice. in national security. cost, but hasn’t taken a fi rm position. Beirut P Cloudy 24/16 Sunny 24/16 Sunny Sunny 37/28 Senator Ted Cruz has said he wants Bangkok 36/28 So Perry is trying to revive a Berlin P Cloudy 23/10 P Cloudy 16/09 proposal that a handful of arms to spend more money on defence, Cairo Sunny 33/16 Sunny 32/17 control advocates have fl oated including nuclear weapons. Cape Town P Cloudy 23/16 Sunny 28/16 To Advertise in previous years: The US should And Donald Trump? When Colombo S T Storms 32/25 S T Storms 33/26 eliminate all of its 400-plus land- conservative radio host Hugh Dhaka T Storms 34/26 P Cloudy 36/26 [email protected] Hong Kong P Cloudy 26/21 P Cloudy 25/21 based nuclear missiles. Hewitt asked Trump for his position Istanbul Sunny 19/09 Sunny 21/09 Display For decades, US nuclear strategy has on the nuclear triad last year, the Jakarta S T Storms 32/26 T Storms 32/25 Telephone 44466621 Fax 44418811 relied on a “triad” of weapons platforms: businessman was fl ummoxed. Karachi M Sunny 32/22 Sunny 31/23 land-based missiles or ICBMs, manned “For me, nuclear is just the power,” London P Cloudy 16/05 Showers 13/04 Classified Manila P Cloudy 36/26 P Cloudy 36/25 bombers and submarines. Trump replied. “The devastation is Moscow P Cloudy 09/-2 M Sunny 13/02 Telephone 44466609 Fax 44418811 The basic idea was redundancy: very important to me.” New Delhi M Sunny 37/23 P Cloudy 36/21 If one system was knocked out by We deserve better answers. It’s a New York P Cloudy 06/-2 Cloudy 09/07 Subscription an enemy, the others would still be matter of survival. Paris Showers 16/06 M Cloudy 15/06 P Cloudy 32/18 available. Sao Paulo 30/18 M Sunny [email protected] Seoul Sunny 17/03 P Cloudy 23/09 Over the years, however, US nuclear zDoyle McManus is a columnist for Singapore S T Storms 33/27 P Cloudy 34/27 submarines have become virtually the Los Angeles Times. Readers may Sydney Sunny 27/18 M Sunny 32/18 2014 Gulf Times. All rights reserved undetectable. Stealth bombers are send him e-mail at doyle.mcmanus@ Tokyo Clear 16/ 10 Cloudy 18/09 diffi cult for opponents to fi nd, as well. latimes.com Gulf Times Tuesday, April 5, 2016 27 COMMENT Live issues Letters

Excellent work by India to the “regression” of Indian society in later years, explaining Science India Forum how advances made in sectors like medicine and steel-making in the Dear Sir, past were gradually lost out by How to handle birthday colonisation and domination by I would like to appreciate the European powers. excellent work of Science India His lecture ended with a call for Forum, Qatar, for its intense eff orts in people to adopt three principles promoting scientifi c interest among for achieving universal access to Indian students in the state. science: discovery-driven research parties in the workplace I have been participating in its instead of journal-based one, programmes for the past two years and product-oriented technology it always pleases me so much to be a development and a change of By Marie G McIntyre part of the forum’s activities. mindset. The lecture was peppered Tribune News Service Its programmes are very well with numerous examples and case organised. And one must not forget studies to stress the importance of the tasty snacks that the forum the three principles. UESTION: My staff members off er at these gatherings! What a marvellous journey it seems to be having a On April 1, it conducted a grand was! It is a rare opportunity to listen problem with birthday launch of their Shastrayaan 2016 to the words of such great minds. Qcelebrations. These and the chief guest on that day I thank Science India Forum for used to be handled by a birthday was Dr M S Valiathan who has creating such opportunities for committee, but that ended pioneered biomedical research students. a couple of years ago. Since in India and is credited with the It is truly said that a true scientist’s then, there has been no formal development of artificial heart goal must be to inculcate and recognition of birthdays in the valves, blood bags, oxygenerators, disseminate the information that he/ offi ce. However, some people vascular grafts, etc. she has gathered to as many people as like to surprise their friends by Very few scientists have the possible. Here the lecturer had done bringing a cake to share. quality of inspiring others and exactly that. I was recently advised that Dr Valiathan was one such great I admire the work done by Science employees who never receive person. His speech made the India Forum and hope it will continue a cake are feeling left out, and audience forget time and place. such eff orts. it was suggested that we stop He took the audience on a great celebrating birthdays altogether. journey, starting from science and Reegana Doulath Personally, I don’t see why technology in ancient and medieval [email protected] anyone should feel excluded simply because other people get neither the reinstatement of a time- Because he has been given additional now feeling isolated and abandoned. cake from their friends. After all, wasting birthday committee nor the responsibilities, he no longer has Given your boss’s increased these goodies are shared with elimination of happy celebrations. time to meet regularly or respond workload, a return to your previous Please send us everyone. What’s your opinion? Inform your staff that individual to e-mails promptly. He is basically relationship seems unlikely. birthday festivities are being replaced unavailable unless there’s a crisis. Therefore, you appear to have a your letters ANSWER: Since you seem to be with a monthly event honouring Previously, I often requested his choice. Either fi nd a job with more missing the point, I’m wondering everyone born during that month. input to be sure I was on the right accessible management or adapt to By e-mail whether you were one of those kids Help them agree on a celebration track, but now I only get feedback your increased independence. [email protected] who was chosen fi rst for every team strategy - sharing cake, having a during annual performance If you’re missing collaboration, Fax 44350474 and always asked to prom early. The group lunch, or anything else you fi nd reviews. Even though my appraisals perhaps you can locate one or more Or Post fact is that these gatherings for cake acceptable. If friends still want to are always glowing, the lack of mentors with whom to discuss your have become popularity contests in recognise a buddy’s actual day, they communication makes me uneasy. work. But if it’s approval that you’re Letters to the Editor which those with good friends have are free to do so without fanfare. What can I do about this? seeking, remember that your busy Gulf Times their special day recognised, while Just be sure to draft someone with boss is undoubtedly quite grateful P O Box 2888 others go unacknowledged. good organisational skills to keep an A: Since you’re getting outstanding that you require so little attention. Doha, Qatar Admittedly, this is a minor accurate record of birth dates. If the reviews, this disconnect doesn’t league matter about which some lack of a cake made people feel left appear to have aff ected your results. zMarie G McIntyre is a workplace people may not care at all. But as a out, being offi cially ignored could Unfortunately, however, your coach and the author of Secrets to All letters, which are subject to editing, should have the manager, you have to be concerned leave them seriously depressed. manager’s leadership style no longer Winning at Offi ce Politics. Send in name of the writer, address and phone number. The writer’s about any issue creating division matches your personal preference for questions and get free coaching tips at name and address may be withheld by request. in your group. Fortunately, this one Q: In recent years, my manager supervision. Whereas some people http://www.youroffi cecoach.com, or has a simple solution, requiring has become increasingly distant. would delight in being left alone, you’re follow her on Twitter @offi cecoach. Gulf Times 28 Tuesday, April 5, 2016 QATAR

Conference seeks to promote spirit of social responsibility

ocial Responsibility took vision, philosophy and culture of a giant leap forward in the the institutions and promoting Sregion with the recently the spirit of social responsibility concluded conference held un- amongst leaders in the various der the patronage of HE Sheikha institutions. Hind bint Hamad al-Thani, Other recommendations in- CEO, Qatar Foundation and un- clude a national and institu- der the auspices of Al Faisal So- tional legal structure to organ- cial Responsibility Centre. ise legislation and determine The international event at- the priorities and needs of tracted a cross-section of audi- the social responsibility pro- ence including ambassadors and grammes and raise community over 40 researchers representing awareness of social responsi- 14 countries. bility issues through official Al Faisal Centre for Social media. Responsibility will organise the “It was indeed heartening to second edition of the confer- see the tremendous response ence under the theme ‘Corpo- from the wide-ranging audi- rate Social Responsibility — risks ence which included academ- and challenges’ on March 28-29, ics, researchers, graduate stu- 2017. dents, training institutions, Ibin Ajayan Group CEO Ajayan Mehdi al-Ahbabi and Mahindra’s general manager (export international operations) Dinesh Choudhari are seen with other off icials during the launch of HE Sheikh Faisal bin Qas- media and marketing experts, the Scorpio Pik Up vehicle yesterday. PICTURE: Jayan Orma sim al-Thani said: “The unique opinion leaders in the commu- conference signals a new era in nity and civil society organisa- social responsibility and we feel tions. Their involvement has privileged to act as the fl agship contributed immensely to the for such a vital initiative. The subject of social responsibil- absorbing deliberations have ity and our consequent rec- thrown new light on the subject ommendations,” said Mubarka and consequently have led to Hamad al-Marri, manager, Al some practical steps that need Faisal Social Responsibility to be taken to ensure that this Centre. Mahindra’s Scorpio fi lters through all segments of The three-day conference government organisations and covered a wide range of sub- private sector companies.” jects such as Main platforms During the closing ceremony, for Social Responsibility, Social Sheikh Faisal and a big number Responsibility in Education, of the audience signed the “Al Social Responsibility and the Faisal Social Responsibility private sector, Social Responsi- Agreement.” bility from the legal perspective, Pik Up in Qatar foray The conference has come out Experiences and Practices of with several recommendations, Social Responsibility in the En- By Ramesh Mathew “We are very optimistic of our ‘Pik Up’ and service centre would provide excel- bassy fi rst secretary Dinesh Udenia was including eff orts to integrate so- ergy Sector, The reality of social Staff Reporter range in Qatar given the growing market lent maintenance support to Mahindra also present at the launch. Mahindra, cial responsibility in the mission, responsibility, amongst others. for such vehicles in many industries,” he vehicles, he added. established as Mahindra and Mohamed explained, while describing Qatar as one Ibin Ajayan Trading Group deputy in 1945, became Mahindra & Mahindra ahindra & Mahindra, a lead- of the important markets in the Middle general managing director Ayman Fa- three years later and now it is a $16bn ing Indian multinational auto- East.“With their tough yet stylish looks rouk, said: “Mahindra is a globally re- multinational group, headquartered in Mmotive brand, has launched in and better fuel effi ciency, our utility ve- spected brand and their vehicles have Mumbai. The group which has stakes in Qatar its Scorpio Pik Up range at a func- hicles are ideal for both leisure and com- developed a reputation for their ‘go a number of diversifi ed businesses em- tion held at the showroom of Ibin Ajayan mercial use,” Choudhari said. anywhere’ capability and strong value ploys more than 200,000 people in over Trading Company, the local distributor, Mahindra & Mahindra is confi dent proposition. 100 countries. which also represents a number of prom- of the remarkably good abilities of Ibin “Ibin Ajayan Group is honoured to Apart from automotive sector, the inent auto brands. Ajayan Trading Group in marketing a extend its relationship with Mahindra & company has signifi cant presence in such The Scorpio double cab Pik Up, has al- quality brand, the offi cial stated. Mahindra and extremely happy to rep- areas as information technology, fi nancial ready made a signifi cant presence in the “Ibin Ajayan Trading, a respected resent the vehicle manufacturer as their services, vacation ownership, agribusi- neighbouring Gulf markets and also in group in Qatar, has sound knowledge distributor in Qatar,” he said. nesses, aerospace, consulting services, some other countries of the Middle East, of business practices and professional Earlier, an audio-visual presenta- defence, energy, industrial equipment, Mahindra & Mahindra’s general manager expertise which would contribute to tion on Mahindras and their automotive logistics, real estate, retail, steel, commer- (export international operations) Dinesh the success of Mahindra vehicles in the manufacturing, R&D facilities in India, cial vehicles and two wheeler industries HE Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim al-Thani along with other officials at the Choudhari said. country.” The local company’s workshop Turin and Detroit was made. Indian em- among others. closing ceremony of the conference. Maersk backs Schools Olympic Programme

he fi nals of the ninth Schools Olympic Pro- Tgramme (SOP) concluded recently, marking the end of a competition that saw more than 30,000 students take part in over 13 Olympic sports. Organised by the Qatar Ol- ympic Committee and Supreme Education Council and exclu- sively sponsored by Maersk Oil Qatar, the SOP promotes the role of sports and exercise in achiev- ing a healthier lifestyle among Qatar’s youth. Maersk Oil’s sponsorship of the SOP is part of its “Action for Qatar” social investment pro- gramme, which is supporting the nity to compete in Olympic and in Qatar National Vision 2030 goals of Qatar National Vision Paralympic sports during this as a catalyst for the country’s The Doha Bank team at the beach clean-up. 2030 by delivering real, tangible year’s activities, the statement development and it plays a cen- and long-term benefi ts to Qatar noted. tral role in promoting health and for generations to come, accord- Besides promoting an active, wellbeing among the popula- ing to a statement. healthy lifestyle for young peo- tion. The SOP is an annual sport- ple, participants are also edu- “Our exclusive sponsorship of ing event, taking place over eight cated on a particular theme each the SOP from 2013-2016 shows months and culminating in a year, such as integrity, culture or our commitment to Qatar for Doha Bank staff ers in clean-up series of fi nals that take place at community, in line with the Ol- generations to come, by sup- various sporting venues in Qa- ympic values. porting young people in devel- tar. More than 30,000 students Lewis Affl eck, managing di- oping healthy lifestyles through from over 300 schools across the rector of Maersk Oil Qatar, said: sports activities and fun compe- campaign at Al Wakrah beach country were given the opportu- “Sport has an important place tition.”

oha Bank joined forces while inspiring community ef- an important habitat for sev- Thabet al-Yafei, director of the with the Ministry of fort towards keeping public eral aquatic creatures, and their public relations and media de- DMunicipality and Envi- spaces free of waste and pollut- maintenance refl ects on the partment at the MME, for the ronment (MME) and Al Wakrah ants, according to a statement positive image of Qatar, which support. Municipality to host a clean- from Doha Bank. welcomes people from around The campaign is part of up campaign at the Al Wakrah Dr R Seetharaman, CEO of the globe.” Doha Bank’s “Green Bank- beach. Doha Bank, said: “As one of The 2016 beach clean-up ing” project to pioneer initia- Organised under the theme, the country’s leading fi nan- campaign supports efforts tives that increase awareness “Save the Beaches for the Fu- cial institutions, Doha Bank is by the MME to monitor and on pressing environmental ture,” the campaign was led committed towards building a beautify Qatar’s coastline as issues. Prior to the clean-up by Doha Bank volunteer staff healthy society that is in har- popular beaches turn into drive at Al Wakrah beach, members and the management, mony with nature. tourist hotspots. In June last Doha Bank had hosted its an- who joined eff orts to remove “Doha Bank has been at the year, plans of developing a nual Al Dana Green Run in litter from the beach. forefront of collaborating with souq at the Al Wakrah beach January this year, which saw The initiative aimed to high- the government and sharing had forecast an increase in the participation of thousands light the importance of beaches its ideals of a clean and safe tourist visits, the statement of residents, to raise awareness in Qatar’s ecological sustenance environment for the people of noted. about environmental sustain- More than 30,000 students from over 300 schools across the country were given the opportunity to and in supporting aquatic life, Qatar. The country’s shores are Doha Bank thanked Omar ability and green living. compete in Olympic and Paralympic sports during this year’s activities.