ISO 9001:2008 CERTIFIED NEWSPAPER Home | 3 Business | 13 Sport | 19 Over QR14m was Oil hit its highest level England face a raised at an auction at for the year yesterday formidable task against Sotheby’s London to with Brent crude rising hosts Australia in their benefit ROTA’s ‘1 in 11’ $2.22 to $61.50 a barrel World Cup opener in education campaign. at 10.48am ET. Melbourne today. SATURDAY 14 FEBRUARY 2015 • 25 Rabial II 1436 • Volume 19 Number 6341 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com [email protected] | [email protected] Editorial: 4455 7741 | Advertising: 4455 7837 / 4455 7780 Tour of Qatar Health sector Qatar a victim workers can’t be transferred of media bias: temporarily DOHA: Public health authori- ties have barred health sector workers from being deputed 2022 official by their employers to another healthcare facility. Workers can, however, be shifted from one medical facility to another Global focus only on Qatar: Thawadi permanently provided the nec- essary approvals are in place, a DOHA: The man in charge of Russia, which is hosting the 2018 decision issued by the Supreme organising the 2022 World Cup World Cup, or the other countries Council of Health (SCH) says. says Qatar has been the victim with failed bids, he said. Deputations within the health- of ‘clear bias’ from the media, “I can’t say if there is a prej- care sector are temporary reports aljazeera.com. udice against Qatar but what I transfers of workers, which the Aljazeera English channel is can say is there is a clear bias,” SCH has banned. The Council all set to air an interview today Al Thawadi said in the interview. has also said that no healthcare with the Secretary-General “All the reporting on Michael provider can ink a contract of the Qatar 2022 World Cup Garcia, the description was, the with a company to provide its Committee, Hassan Al Thawadi. focus was on us, on Qatar, and services unless the company A two-minute video clipping that was inaccurate. The simple has a licence to provide those of excerpts of the interview was fact was the investigation was on Riders pass the Museum of Islamic Art during the sixth and final stage of the 2015 Tour of Qatar, between services. posted yesterday on aljazeera.com all bidding nations, 2018 along Sealine beach resort and Doha Corniche, yesterday. Dutch rider Niki Terpstra conquered the Tour of Qatar THE PENINSULA (the channel’s website). with 2022.” for the second time, successfully defending the title he won last year. See also page 22 SALIM MATRAMKOT Al Thawadi told Aljazeera that He added: “And yet never- he believes Qatar was unfairly theless, somehow, the focus still focused on during a corruption seems to be on us and I think investigation. that, if nothing else, clearly shows Qatar was cleared of serious there is a bias.” wrongdoing in the report that was Al Thawadi also told Aljazeera Saudis pull out Yemen embassy staff put together for FIFA, football’s that Qatar could still host the governing body, by American law- tournament in the summer SANAA: Saudi Arabia, staff,” the Saudi foreign ministry “unacceptable, dangerous and and tribesmen and Al Qaeda yer Michael Garcia. despite concerns over the coun- Germany and Italy became the said. with consequences for the suspects on the other, leaving at Thawadi said that despite the try’s climate. latest countries to withdraw The United States, Britain and region”. least four people dead, local gov- fact that Garcia came from a Qatar has said it has the embassy staff from Yemen yes- France have rushed to close their “We decided yesterday to ernment sources said. country that was Qatar’s com- technology for the games to be terday as an exodus of foreign embassies over security fears, temporarily close the embassy The Houthis stormed houses petitor in the 2022 bid, “We never played in stadiums with cooling diplomats gathered pace over with US staff destroying top- in Sana’a and the personnel in the city and detained residents raised the issue because we were technology. growing security problems. secret documents and sensitive departed the country early this they accuse of having links to Al confident of our position”. “Since the first days of the Yemen has descended into equipment before pulling out on morning,” she said. Qaeda, the sources said. He said Garcia was tasked with bid we’ve always said a summer chaos since Shia militiamen, Wednesday. The Italian foreign ministry Since seizing Sana’a, the investigating all the countries World Cup is feasible in Qatar, known as Houthis, seized Sana’a The Netherlands followed suit said: “We hope mediation efforts Houthis have pressed into cen- who bid for the 2018 and 2022 but whatever the football com- in September and ousted the gov- the next day. led by UN envoy Jamal Benomar tral and southern provinces and world cups, but Qatar had been munity decides, we will fulfil it,” ernment last week. The Houthis said Western will create security conditions clashed regularly with AQAP and singled out. said Al Thawadi. Riyadh, Berlin and Rome said powers had no reason to shut allowing a return of diplomatic local Sunni tribes. In his first interview since the Qatari officials are to meet they had temporarily closed their their embassies, insisting that personnel to Yemen as soon as Last week, they dissolved par- publication of the report’s sum- bosses of football’s world govern- missions in the capital Sana’a. security was solid in the capital. possible.” liament and declared a “presiden- mary last year, Al Thawadi said ing body FIFA later this month “Due to the deteriorating secu- “The situation is anything but Meanwhile, clashes erupted tial council” after Western-backed Qatar was not the only bid being in Doha to finalise the dates, with rity and political situation in the stable,” said a German foreign across several neighbourhoods in leader Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi investigated. many believing the tournament Yemeni capital, Saudi Arabia has ministry spokeswoman, call- the central city of Baida which resigned over what he said was an But the spotlight has fallen only will instead take place in winter. suspended all embassy operations ing the ouster of the govern- the militia entered on Tuesday, ungovernable situation. on the Gulf country and not on THE PENINSULA in Sana’a and evacuated all its ment by the Shia militiamen between the Houthis on one side AFP Clashes in Bahrain Two Al Jazeera Man wants ministry to journalists freed from Egypt jail pay his parking fines DOHA: A higher court is hear- Department pleading that the CAIRO: Two Al Jazeera jour- ing the case of a government fines be waived since it was not nalists were freed from an employee who is insisting that his fault, but in vain. Egyptian prison yesterday pend- the ministry he works for pay Fed up of being slapped with ing retrial, their families said, the parking fines slapped on him fines, he once drove his car into the after spending more than a year by the traffic authorities. compound, and when the security in jail in a case that provoked The man was taken to court by guard manning the entrance to global uproar. one of his bosses after he forced the ministry’s parking lot refused A Cairo court on Thursday his way into the ministry’s parking to let him in, he got down, lifted ordered the release of Canadian lot in spite of being officially told the aluminium barrier, drove his Mohamed Fahmy and Egyptian not to use it. car inside and parked it. Baher Mohamed, who face retrial When he had applied earlier for One of his bosses took him to on charges of supporting the a parking lot, the man was asked court for his defiance, saying he blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood. by the ministry to use a parking had broken the barrier. The lower “We finished the procedures for space outside its building, on the criminal court fined him QR1,000 the release of my brother a short roadside. He thought the place was for the offence. while ago,” Mohamed’s brother unsuitable for parking as his car The man challenged the court’s Assem said. could be hit by passing vehicles. ruling in the Court of Appeals and “He is at home for the first time So he used to park his car else- demanded that the ministry pay in more than a year.” where outside the building and the parking fines incurred by him. Fahmy’s brother Adel posted Protesters set tyres on fire as an armoured personnel carrier of Bahraini security forces approaches during occasionally got parking tickets. The case is still going on. on Twitter: “My brother has been clashes on Sitra Island, south of Manama, yesterday. The clashes took place as youth groups called a partial He went to the Traffic THE PENINSULA released from the police station! I strike to mark the anniversary of February 14 reform protests. am going on holiday before they arrest him again!” UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon welcomed their release, urging authorities to free other Qatar’s honey production soars to a sweet 16 tons journalists “in accordance with Egypt’s international obligations DOHA: With financial and techni- an agricultural development department, is today. The vegetable yards open Thursday clothing for beekeeping and honey collection. to protect the freedoms of expres- cal assistance from the Ministry of holding a three-day local honey festival at through Saturday, and only during the During the second phase of the support sion and association”.