QATAR | Page 2 SPORT | Page 1 Lamouchi confi dent Jaish will INDEX DOW JONES QE NYMEX QATAR 2, 3, 16 COMMENT 14, 15 Cultural events REGION 3 BUSINESS 1 – 8 reach entertain visitors 18,059.80 10,297.50 44.95 ARAB WORLD 3 CLASSIFIED 6 -256.27 -22.89 -1.34 INTERNATIONAL 4 – 13 SPORTS 1 – 8 at Souq Waqif last four -1.45% -0.20% -2.89% Latest Figures published in QATAR since 1978

WEDNESDAY Vol. XXXVII No. 10211 September 14, 2016 Dhul-Hijja 12, 1437 AH

GULF TIMES www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals Funeral prayer for martyred soldiers Aid eff orts In brief underway QATAR | Health HGH receives over 600 emergency cases The Hamad General Hospital (HGH) Emergency Department received as Syria more than 609 cases yesterday, with 35 patients admitted to the hospital for treatment. Most cases were minor and received treatment and left the hospital yesterday itself. Until 6pm yesterday, the hospital did not receive any cases truce holds of persons with severe injuries in accidents. The Hamad Medical The United Nations Special Envoy Outside the scope of the truce, Tur- corporation Ambulance Service HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani has performed the funeral prayer for Lance Corporal Mohamed Awadh Salem for Syria Staff an de Mistura sees key said yesterday that air strikes by a received more than 224 calls until and troopers Mohamed Dawood Khayyal and Mohamed Nasser Mohamed who were martyred while carrying out their significant drop in violence US-led coalition had killed three fi ght- 6pm yesterday, and 29 were about duty within the Saudi-led Operation Restoring Hope in Yemen. The prayers took place yesterday evening at the Mosque of ers from Islamic State. accidents, including 14 road traff ic Mesaimeer cemetery. HH the Emir attended the burial ceremony of the martyrs along with their families. HH the Emir off ered Reuters Moscow and Washington have agreed accidents, all with minor injuries. condolences to the families of the martyrs, praying Almighty Allah to grant their souls rest in Paradise. The funeral prayers Beirut, Geneva to share targeting information for The Emergency Department at Al were attended by HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani and a number strikes against fi ghters from the militant Wakra Hospital received more than of people. Yesterday evening, HH the Emir received a call from President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi of the Republic of Yemen, group and the former Syrian branch of 316 cases with no deaths or road during which he expressed his sincere condolences and sympathy to the Emir on the martyrdom of the three soldiers from new ceasefi re in Syria brought a Al Qaeda, the fi rst time the Cold War accidents. Most cases were due to the Qatari armed forces. The president expressed his condolences to the families of the martyrs and to the Qatari people. full day with no combat deaths foes have fought together since World heat and stomach complications. The Meanwhile, HE the Chief of Staff of the Qatari Armed Forces Major General Ghanim bin Shaheen al-Ghanim has reaff irmed that Ain the war between President War Two. Al Saad Paediatric Emergency Centre the Qatari forces taking part in the Saudi-led Operation Restoring Hope in Yemen are performing their duty fully as required Bashar al-Assad and his opponents, a The agreement has been accepted by received yesterday more than 596 and are giving dearly for the cause. Speaking after participating in the funeral prayers, the chief of staff said the martyrs had monitoring body said yesterday, and ef- Assad and, far more reluctantly, by most cases, followed by Al Rayyan Centre contributed to raising their country’s name high. forts to deliver aid to besieged areas got of the groups that oppose him. with 253, Airport PEC with 96 and cautiously underway. The international community’s fi rst Al Daayan centre 25 cases of sick Twenty-four hours after the truce goal is to deliver aid to civilians in Aleppo, children. Most cases were treated took eff ect, the United Nations Special Syria’s biggest city before the war, which and sent home. Envoy for Syria Staff an de Mistura de- has been divided for years and where the clared the situation had improved dra- opposition area is under siege. REGION | Reaction matically, saying UN aid access should In Geneva, de Mistura said there had be possible soon including to eastern been allegations of sporadic and geo- Concerns over Aleppo - the rebel-held half of the city graphically isolated incidents. US Congress bill which is under blockade. But he told reporters: “There is no The Muslim World League (MWL) The Syrian Observatory for Human doubt a signifi cant drop in violence.” has expressed deep concerns Rights said that it had received not a While stressing that only 24 hours of regarding the US Congress single report of combatants or civilians relative calm had yet passed, he said: issuing of legislation known as the killed by fi ghting in any areas covered by “Sources on the ground, which do mat- “Justice law against sponsors of the truce. ter, including inside Aleppo city, said terrorism” bill. “It clearly and frankly The ceasefi re, brokered by the United the situation has dramatically improved contravenes with the UN Charter States and Russia, is supported by coun- with no air strikes.” and the principles of international tries that back Assad and his opponents, While UN convoys have yet to enter law and as such act is contrary to and marks the second attempt this year Syria, de Mistura said that if the truce the basis of international relations to halt a war that has frustrated all peace sticks, “(aid) access should be taking based on the principles of equal eff orts since fi ghting began more than place very, very soon”, and that the peo- sovereignty, immunity of the state, fi ve years ago. ple of Syria could look forward to “no mutual respect and non-imposition It also marks the biggest bet yet bombs and more trucks”. of domestic laws of any state on by Washington that it can work with But he said the UN was still waiting the other state,” the league said. Moscow to end a war that President for Damascus to issue letters authoris- MWL secretary Dr Mohamed bin Vladimir Putin transformed a year ago ing the deliveries. “We are eagerly hop- Abdul Karim al-Issa, asserted when he sent warplanes to join the fi ght ing and expecting the government to is- that the issuance of such a law on Assad’s side. sue them very soon.” Page 3 would threaten the stability of the international system and would have many negative consequences in relations among nations.

BUSINESS | Energy Saudi king rejects exploitation of Haj for serving political agendas Oil prices fall on QNA fi ghting and rejecting all forms of ex- are hurtful to Islam and Muslims eve- adviser to the Custodian of the Two nowadays - that it has the capabilities oversupply worries Mina tremism which are threatening the se- rywhere. Holy Mosques and governor of the and competencies to manage this holy Oil prices finished sharply lower curity of Islamic nations. More than 1.8mn faithful from Makkah region, has said that Saudi Islamic occasion and to off er the best yesterday as production forecasts “Some parts of the Islamic world are around the world have been attending Arabia will not allow using Haj for any services to the pilgrims.” called for a continuing supply glut he Custodian of the Two Holy seeing tension and disputes; there- the annual pilgrimage which offi cially political slogans or trends. He said: “Through history, the pil- in 2017. The International Energy Mosques, King Salman bin Ab- fore, utmost eff orts should be exerted ends tomorrow. Saudi news agency SPA quoted al- grims have never been provided with Agency, which provides advice to Tdulaziz al-Saud of Saudi Arabia, to achieve unifi cation,” the king said at “Serving the guests of God is an hon- Faisal, who is the chairman of Haj services like those off ered in these oil-importing countries, said growth has reaffi rmed his country’s rejection an annual reception held yesterday to our for us,” King Salman told the gath- Central Committee, as saying: “There years. The kingdom is providing these in oil demand was slowing while of the exploitation of the Haj season honour senior fi gures who performed ering. “God almighty orders that Haj has been calls for internationalising services in order to receive the reward supply was rising, meaning the glut to serve political agendas or intensify their Haj. be performed by all Muslims without the supervision of Haj (pilgrimage), from Allah Almighty and to perform its was due to linger “at least through ideological diff erences. He urged Islamic nations to relent- distinction.” but the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has duties towards the Muslims who come the first half of next year”. The king stressed the importance of lessly combat extremist ideologies that Meanwhile, Prince Khalid al-Faisal, demonstrated - since its foundation to to this holy place every year.” Page 3 Ministry steps up cleanliness drive in public places he Public Cleaning Department at the Ministry of Municipality Tand Environment (MME) has intensifi ed its eff orts to maintain the cleanliness of the public areas across the country, in particular the beaches, where footfall increases considerably during Eid holidays. The director of the department Safar Mubarak al-Shafi pointed out that cleaning works have been going on well during Eid holidays accord- ing to the set plans and programmes. All refuse and rubbish are removed promptly. Cleaning works have been going on Adequate number of waste bins have been provided on the beaches Waste disposal teams and equipment have been deployed at all round the clock during the fi rst two visited by a large number of people. Cleaners distributing trash bags to the public. busy locations. days of the holidays and more fi eld work teams have been formed, giving A full work team was stationed on cleaning workers was increased to 100 to the Sealine, Al Wakrah, Ras Mat- throughout the day and provided ad- The department also continued its more focus to areas such as Corniche Doha Corniche to handle all the nec- to eff ectively keep the place clean at bakh, Al Ghariyah and other areas, equate number of trash containers, in eff orts in other areas thronged by the Street in Doha, parks, and public gar- essary cleaning works due to the in- all times. the department took the necessary addition to the distribution of bags to public such as mosques, slaughter- dens and beaches. fl ux of visitors there. The number of As a large number of visitors headed procedures to keep the places clean the public to collect garbage. houses and the central market. Gulf Times 2 Wednesday, September 14, 2016 QATAR

A group of visitors buying souvenirs

Artistes perform a traditional Arabic song and dance routine. Cultural events entertain visitors A ‘train’ running at Souq Waqif. PICTURES: Jayaram at Souq Waqif By Joseph Varghese from 4pm to 10.30pm daily. We are happy that we are here.” culture of the Arab world. Staff Reporter The venue was thronged by Several rides and special ac- The eateries at the venue were families. The crowd also includ- tivities at the venue have at- swarmed with people as families ed several visitors from the other tracted large number of children. came out in large numbers to try he Eid al-Adha celebra- GCC countries and beyond. There is a ‘train’ that takes them the traditional Arabic delica- tions at Al Ahmed Square, A group of four visitors from for a short ride. Pony and horse cies. Most of the restaurants had TSouq Waqif, in partner- two countries in Europe were rides are also sought after. a long line of customers from ship with Qatar Tourism Au- seen enjoying the events. One Several traditional enter- evening as people fl ocked in to thority (QTA), attracted a large of them said: “It is a nice ex- tainment programmes are try diff erent types of food. number of people yesterday, the perience for us and the loca- also being held at the venue. Vendors at the location also second day of the festivities. tion refl ects traditional Arab Many local artistes performed registered brisk sale as families The festivities that start- culture. The alleyways and the traditional Arabic songs and and visitors bought several sou- ed on the fi rst day of the shops selling special artefacts dances. There were also other venirs from the traditional souq. Eid will continue until Fri- and other items, enlightens us local programmes depicting More people could be seen at day. The programmes are about Qatar and the Arab world. the spirit of Eid as well as the shops that sell local items. People passing through one of the alleyways of Souq Waqif. Municipality in Al Khor set to develop fi sh market

he Municipality of Al was done before and after the for the following day’s work. health and hygiene regulations. Khor and Al Thakhira is slaughter process on each ani- The inspection campaigns Al Khor Family Park received Tset to develop the fi sh mal and carcass. Four carcasses conducted on the food outlets an infl ux of visitors during the market and upgrade its services were destroyed on account of and facilities at the municipal- fi rst two days of Eid holidays. with special focus on the health being infected with diseases. ity resulted in issuing a health The Municipality has taken all and hygiene aspects. The slaughterhouses were thor- violation to an eatery at a park the necessary procedures to pro- Issa Hassan al-Mohannadi, oughly cleaned and decontami- for the absence of valid health vide visitors with all the neces- A view of the Al Khor and Al Thakira fish market building. director, municipal control af- nated upon the conclusion of certifi cates for a worker, and sary amenities. The park is open fairs at Al Khor and Al Thakhira, the working day in preparation not abiding by the necessary for visitors from 8am until 10pm. stressed that the development of the fi sh market would take into consideration the future pros- pects of the city. Matar Mohamed al-Kuwari, head, health control section, said that daily inspection is conducted on all stalls of the fi sh market by a specialist vet- erinarian to ensure the safety of the fi sh on display for human consumption. Such inspection and control covers the full dura- tion of the working hours of the market. More than 362 heads of live- stock were slaughtered yes- terday at the slaughterhouses of Al Khor and Al Thakhira. People queue up to enter Al Khor Family Park. Routine veterinary inspection Municipal inspectors at work at an eatery. Rota volunteers attend English training course

each Out To Asia (Rota) facilitate adult learning, and responsibility and community a student at the Academic Bridge volunteer-tutors attended community-based learning development,” he added. Programme (ABP) in Qatar. Ra trainer training course tools. This year, 85 volunteer tutors “I believe I will be able to uti- held at Hamad Bin Khalifa Uni- Mohammed A Saleh, national attended the capacity building lise the skills I have learnt during versity (HBKU), ahead of Rota’s programmes director, Rota, said, course to ensure tutors gain a the course in other professional Adult English Literacy (RAEL) “The course is essential to en- better understanding of the low areas too. The course has taught programme for low income sure our RAEL tutors are fully skilled workers’ backgrounds me how to be a competent lit- migrant workers in Qatar. trained and equipped with the while acquiring new skills rele- eracy tutor and the importance Volunteer-tutors from across required skills to deliver our vant to teaching adults and com- of community development and Qatar took part in the train- Adult English Literacy course munity-based English literacy. lifelong learning,” added Aaqifa ing course, developed by Qatar in an eff ective and professional “I’m so grateful to Rota for Altaf, a student at Virginia Com- Milestone Training Solutions, to manner.” selecting me to be part of this monwealth University in Qatar. equip tutors with the necessary “Training the RAEL facilita- incredible initiative which posi- Rota’s Adult English Lit- skills to eff ectively facilitate the tors to become confi dent lit- tively impacts the lives of mi- eracy classes are taught over a RAEL initiative. eracy tutors will ensure that grant workers in Qatar. Taking 16-week period split into two The tutor training course cov- the migrant workers will reap the training course has helped terms. The fi rst term begins in ered a range of topics including the maximum benefi t from the me to feel more confi dent in October and ends in December, Rota’s literacy curriculum, is- Adult English Literacy pro- my ability to eff ectively facili- with the second term commenc- sues facing low-income migrant gramme. The course also reaf- tate and deliver the RAEL pro- ing in February and ending in workers, methods to eff ectively fi rms the importance of social gramme,” said Sarah al-Raeissi, April 2017. A training session in progress. Gulf Times Wednesday, September 14, 2016 3 QATAR/REGION/ARAB WORLD Attorney-general attends IAP conference in Dublin Emir holds telephone talks with Rouhani

H the Emir Sheikh ciples of good neighbourliness Tamim bin Hamad al- and mutual respect. HThani on Monday held He said that the Iranian- a telephone conversation with GCC diff erences should be Iranian President Dr Hassan settled through dialogue and Rouhani, during which they negotiation. exchanged congratulations For his part, the Iranian on the occasion of the blessed president wished for relations Eid al-Adha. between the two countries The Emir and the Iranian further development and en- president exchanged views hancement of co-operation HE the Attorney-General Dr Ali bin Fetais al-Merri participated in the 21st annual conference and general meeting of the International Association of Prosecutors (IAP) in on regional issues and chal- between the two countries in Dublin yesterday. He met on the sidelines of the conference with a number of prosecutors, including Ireland’s director of Public Prosecutions, Claire Loftus, and Switzerland’s lenges facing the region, par- order to fi nd solutions to the Attorney-General Michael Lauber. He also held two other meetings, the first with the UK’s director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders and the second with IAP president ticularly the phenomenon regional issues. He expressed Gerhard Jarosch. of terrorism, where the Emir hope that ties with the coun- asserted that the tyranny of tries in the region would be dictatorships and their exclu- strengthened. sionary policies were among z On Monday evening, HH the reasons for the aggrava- the Emir, in a telephone call, tion of this phenomenon, exchanged congratulations on stressing the need to address the occasion of Eid al-Adha the causes and eradicate its with Chadian President Idriss roots in order to combat and Deby. eliminate them. Relations between the two The Emir also stressed the countries and ways of en- importance of the GCC-Irani- hancing them were reviewed Amid welcome quiet, an relations based on the prin- during the call. Syrians wait for aid Qatari pilgrims AFP ton candy. We haven’t had them ed shortages in the eastern road, as we’ve heard, and that “We are waiting for essential this Eid,” he said. neighbourhoods. they can get some chicken in medical supplies to enter for in good health Aleppo “And ice cream – we haven’t The rebel-held part of the city because it’s my favourite food.” dialysis sessions,” added Abu had ice cream for two weeks. No has also come under frequent The United Nations said yes- Hamza, a technician in the local QNA transportation happened in yrian children played un- one in the area sells it any more government fi re, although yes- terday that aid convoys could dialysis unit. Mina a record of 30 minutes, the der quiet skies yesterday because there’s no electricity.” terday residents were savouring not begin moving until secu- “There is nothing left of shortest in Qatar Haj Sas a fragile truce held, but For Syria’s adults, the wel- a day out in the sun after a rare rity was assured, and that the the last aid” that entered in Mission’s history. their parents were waiting for come quiet was tempered by quiet night’s sleep. process of assessing the truce’s mid-June, he said. atari pilgrims con- Mohamed Saad al-Saad, much-needed food, fuel and anxiety about when the humani- Despite the calm, many mar- durability was taking time. “Any delay will have a nega- tinue their Haj in Mina president of a centre for sup- medicine to enter the country’s tarian aid promised under the kets remained closed because No aid has entered eastern tive eff ect on the health of the Qfor Tashreeq days porting Qatari pilgrims, said besieged areas. Russian-US accord might fi nally of lack of produce, with the Aleppo since early July, and resi- patients.” throwing pebbles follow- that the achievement was a In the Shaar neighbourhood of arrive. few stalls still open displaying dents there are among hundreds In government-held western ing in the Sunnah of Prophet result of extensive planning rebel-held eastern Aleppo, chil- “The truce is good, but it’s not meagre off erings of aubergines, of thousands of people living Aleppo, which is regularly tar- Muhammad. and co-ordination with Saudi dren laughed as they ran through enough. We want food to come courgettes and a few herbs such under sieges in Syria. geted by rebel rocket fi re, resi- Qatar’s Haj Mission said authorities. the streets, enjoying an oppor- in,” said Abu Jamil, a resident of as parsley. The US-Russian deal calls for dents enjoyed the quiet of the that all Qatari pilgrims are The centre helped the mis- tunity to escape the confi nes of the Ansari neighbourhood in be- “We saw on the television that the demilitarisation of the Cas- morning and expressed hope in good health. The mission sion on the best routes to take homes and bomb shelters. sieged eastern Aleppo. aid would come in after 20 hours tello Road route into Aleppo, that the truce would last. had succeeded in trans- from Arafat to Mina, as well One group played football un- “The situation is still bad of the truce, but we haven’t seen and Russia has already deployed The initial ceasefi re is due to porting all Qatari pilgrims as the best times to make the der the remains of a destroyed as the markets are empty,” the anything,” said 23-year-old troops on the road to monitor last 48 hours, and can be re- from Arafat to Mina. The trip. bridge, while others pushed each 55-year-old said. Mohamed Hashisho in eastern the area. newed every 48 hours after that other on swings. Some 250,000 people living in Aleppo’s Kallaseh district. In the rebel-held town of for as long as it holds. In the Fardos neighbourhood the ravaged east of Aleppo have In the Old City of Aleppo, Douma in Damascus province, “I hope it will be serious. I of eastern Aleppo, 11-year-old been under government siege Mahrus Ismail was at a butch- under siege since 2013, doctors hope I’ll no longer hear the cries Mohamed was playing with a for most of the past two months, er’s shop with a sheep to be said they were hoping the deal of the wounded in the hospital,” plastic toy gun. after the Syrian army seized the slaughtered for Eid. would mean the arrival of much- said Alaa Jomaa, who abandoned “I’ve been in the street since 11 key Castello Road running from “I bought this sheep nearly a need medical supplies. his studies in economics to be- QDF sends aid to this morning,” he said. Turkey into the city. month ago... it weighed 40 kilos “We’re waiting to fi ll up our come a nurse during the war. “The house is boring because I Rebel forces briefl y opened then,” he said. warehouses with medicine and “It is heartrending to hear the can’t watch television until 7pm a new route into Aleppo in Au- “Today it weighs nearly 33 ki- other essential materials that cries every time we remove rocket besieged areas (when the generators begin to gust, but the government sealed los because of the lack of fodder,” haven’t entered since we came un- shrapnel from people’s bodies. work).” that off in early September, re- he added. der siege,” said Yasser al-Shami, “Today, for the fi rst time, I QNA of the fi ve-year-long bloody “I miss toff ee apples and cot- storing a siege that has prompt- “I hope the truce will open the head of a makeshift local hospital. didn’t hear those cries.” Doha confl ict. The QDF move comes in the wake of the unprecedented he Qatar Development humanitarian needs in Syria as Stoning of Satan Fund (QDF) has sent a result of heightened clashes Thumanitarian convoys and the continuing humani- directed to the besieged areas tarian crisis, which caused the within Syria, on the fi rst day of deaths of hundreds of thou- the ceasefi re in country. sands and displaced millions The convoys were dis- of Syrians. patched in collaboration with A ceasefire agreement in Qatari humanitarian organi- Syria went into effect start- sations and in co-ordination ing the first day of Eid al- with United Nations organi- Adha in order to create safe sations active in the fi eld, in paths for the delivery of an eff ort to alleviate the suf- humanitarian aid to the be- fering of the civilian victims sieged areas.

War death toll tops 300,000: monitor

AFP The fi gure is an increase Beirut of nearly 9,000 on the last death toll published by the Observatory in early August. ore than 300,000 A new ceasefi re brokered by people have been Moscow and Washington went Mkilled in the Syr- into eff ect at sundown on Mon- ian confl ict since March 2011, a day and residents reported that monitor said in a new toll yes- it appeared to be holding on its terday, the fi rst full day of an fi rst full day yesterday. internationally-brokered truce. Turkish President Recep Tayy- More than 86,000 civilians ip Erdogan said the fragile cease- Pilgrims throwing pebbles at pillars during the Jamarat ritual, the stoning of Satan, in Mina. More than 1.8mn faithful from around the world have been attending the annual were among the 301,781 people fi re in Syria was largely holding pilgrimage which off icially ends tomorrow. killed, the Syrian Observatory and expressed hopes that it would for Human Rights said. become permanent. The civilian toll includes In televised comments in Is- 15,099 children and 10,018 tanbul, Erdogan said there were women, the Britain-based problems in two or three vil- monitoring group said. lages, and suggested that if eve- Rebel fi ghters made up 52,359 rything went well in the fi rst 48 of those killed. hours, there would be a chance 6 Western powers slam attacks on Libya’s oil hubs A total of 59,006 Syr- to sustain the truce. ian soldiers have been killed, “I hope that the ceasefi re will QNA ceasefire and called on the war- designated terrorist groups. moved into the area to imme- terminals further threaten the in addition to 48,048 other be permanent,” he added. Washington ring parties to avoid action that “Violence against fellow Liby- diately stop fi ghting and refrain stability and lead to a greater di- pro-government fi ghters from Turkish Foreign Minister could damage Libya’s energy in- ans undermines Libya’s stability from any further military escala- vision of the country. They fur- countries including Iraq, Iran Mevlut Cavusoglu hoped all frastructure. and encourages division. Politi- tion. ther restrict the oil exports and and Lebanon as well as Syria. sides would do their share for he weekend’s attacks There is an “obligation to en- cal agreements, not confl icts, Kobler said in a statement is- add to people’s suff ering.” Militants of the Islamic State the ceasefi re to be lasting. against oil terminals in sure oil revenues are used to must determine Libya’s future,” sued by the mission: “I urge all He further called for respect- group and the onetime Al Qae- “God willing, it will not be TLibya have been con- provide essential services for the the statement affi rmed. parties to avoid any damage ing the UN Security Council da affi liate now renamed the one-sided,” he said, quoted by demned by France, Germany, It- Libyan people,” the statement Meanwhile, UN Libya envoy to the oil facilities. Natural re- Resolution 2259 that recognises Fateh al-Sham Front accounted CNN-Turk television. aly, Spain, the UK, and the United said. Martin Kobler has expressed sources belong to all Libyans and the Government of National Ac- for 52,031 of the dead. Israel’s military yesterday de- States in a joint statement. “Libyan forces should unite grave concern over recent fi ght- preserving oil infrastructure is in cord consisting of the Presidency The Observatory said anoth- nied a Syrian claim that it had The governments of the six in fi ghting the so-called Is- ing in Libya’s oil crescent area the national interest.” Council and the cabinet as the sole er 3,645 victims could not be shot down two Israeli military countries urged for an immediate lamic State (IS) and other UN- and called on military forces that He said: “Attacks on the oil executive authority in the country. identifi ed. aircraft. Gulf Times 4 Wednesday, September 14, 2016 AFRICA SA’s Zuma denies any strife with Gordhan

Reuters ties across the economy,” Jonas Cape Town told 702 Talk Radio. “We feel confi dent there is no basis for the allegation. outh African leader Jacob We are not worried about Zuma attempted yester- that.” Sday to brush aside mar- Jonas also said he had met ket fears of a power struggle public protector Thuli Ma- with fi nance minister Pravin donsela, an anti-corruption Alleged illegal miners are questioned by police after they emerged from Johannesburg’s oldest gold mine in Langlaagte. Gordhan, declaring: “There is watchdog, as part of her in- no war between the presidency quiry into whether the wealthy and the treasury.” Gupta family, who are close to Zuma twice repeated the Zuma, have been infl uencing phrase in response to a ques- high-level political appoint- tion in parliament. “I am clari- ments. Jonas dropped a politi- fying that point. It must be as cal bombshell earlier this year clear as anything,” he told law- when he said the Gupta family makers. off ered to secure him his boss’s Desperation and death An elite police unit is inves- job. tigating Gordhan over a so- Nhlanhla Nene was the fi - called “rogue spy” unit at the nance minister at the time. tax agency, set up when he was Zuma has said that the Gup- at its helm. tas are his friends but denies Some analysts say Zuma’s doing anything improper. allies are driving the probe in The Guptas have also denied beneath the City of Gold a bid to oust Gordhan, some- making job off ers to anyone in thing the president denied. government. Reuters miners — mainly illegal migrants from Africa given the country’s mineral riches for trespass and breach of South Africa’s The aff air has rattled mar- A frustrated Zuma also com- Johannesburg neighbouring Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and the legions of poor people in the re- mining laws. kets in Africa’s most industr- plained about the constant Lesotho or Swaziland — are reluctant to gion. But the reality is the police are powerless ialised economy, which faces heckling he faces from oppo- alert authorities for fear of being arrested In Zimbabwe, unemployment is above to stop the zama-zamas. the risk of ratings downgrades sition parties when he tries to hen he lost his job as a Johan- and deported. 80% but on a good trip underground, a At Langlaagte, where the shaft lies just later this year. address parliament. nesburg gardener a month ago, When police and emergency services are zama-zama can recover gold worth 3,000 400m from a police station, the ground is Divisions within the African The ultra-left Economic W25-year-old Sibangani Tsikwe called in, mine-rescue teams often deem rand ($210) or more once the ore has been strewn with thousands of discarded bat- National Congress have wid- Freedom Fighters party earlier did what millions of men have done before the risk too great, especially after fl ooding, crushed, panned and then ‘cleaned’ with teries from head torches. ened since the ruling party suf- walked out of parliament after him: seek their fortune deep underground fi res or rockfalls in 100-year-old tunnels mercury to remove silt, miners told Reu- A half-drum barbecue even stands at fered its worst-ever local elec- initially disrupting Zuma’s an- in the gold mines that help to defi ne South compromised by unauthorised and un- ters. the entrance to greet the miners as they tion results last month, with swers to the national assembly. Africa. regulated digging and blasting. As a labourer, Tsikwe would have made return to daylight. analysts blaming the rifts on “Each time when I come The decision has probably cost him his Tsikwe and his friends had food and just 200 rand a day. The department of mineral resources, a confl ict between Zuma and here, I am abused by members life. water for four days and may well have de- “I’ll keep going down as long as I have which is responsible for disused mines, Gordhan. of your parliament, because Equipped with little more than a head- scended to depths of 4km and travelled strength in my body, as long as I’m alive,” says it has blocked up 200 shafts, but with Gordhan declined last instead of answering questions torch, pick-axe and nerves of steel, Tsikwe more than 20km through the tunnels. said 61-year-old Justice Ndlovu, a quali- thousands of ventilation and other open- month to obey a police sum- I sit here being called a crimi- and a group of fellow Zimbabweans de- When they failed to surface on time, fi ed tiler and father of 19 who has been ings dotted along the reef, it is never going mons linked to the inquiry nal, a thief. I think this house scended into the bowels of the earth on his 24-year-old brother Daroh raised the working as a zama-zama for fi ve years. to be able to plug all the holes. into whether he had used a tax must do something about it,” September 5 via a derelict shaft at Johan- alarm. “What else can I do? I don’t trust the Even blocked shafts seldom stay that service unit to spy on politi- he said. nesburg’s Langlaagte gold mine. Of a 16-strong rescue team of illegal government to give me money to live,” way for long, with zama-zamas known cians, including Zuma. In a rebuke that hit Zuma He has not been seen since. miners that went in the next day, four re- added the South African. to bring in lifting gear and explosives to He said he had done nothing fi nancially and politically, the In the annals of South African mining, main unaccounted for after they ran into Besides the frequent accidents, zama- dislodge concrete slabs or cement plugs, wrong, and the opposition has Constitutional Court ordered Langlaagte looms large as the farm where clouds of noxious underground smoke. zamas are blamed for outbreaks of vio- according to the Chamber of Mines, the called the investigation a witch him in March to return some prospectors fi rst stumbled upon gold in Early yesterday, a joint team of govern- lence, including underground shoot-outs main industry body. hunt. of the $16mn of state money 1886, a discovery that would open up the ment rescuers and illegal miners brought between rival gangs, environmental pol- Taking a diff erent tack, the police and Deputy fi nance minister spent on enhancing his private richest veins of gold-bearing rock man- up one body and a man who is now in criti- lution from the use of mercury and links gold companies have teamed up to target Mcebisi Jonas earlier said that residence, triggering claims kind has discovered. cal condition in hospital. to organised crime through the illicit gold those further up the supply chain who the probe into Gordhan was by opposition parties that he Since then, the metre-wide seams, or Neither was Tsikwe. supply chain. spirit the illicit bullion into the local and causing economic uncertainty. should resign. reefs, that stretch for hundreds of kilo- “I don’t know why he did it,” a dis- As such, the government takes a dim international mainstream, although so far “It does destabilise, not only Zuma denied he had acted metres east, west and south across the traught Daroh, a truck-driver, said as view of their activities. there have been few convictions. treasury, it creates uncertain- dishonestly over the upgrade. Witwatersrand Basin have produced more helmeted rescue workers peered into the Nor is the problem limited to disused The Chamber of Mines has even started than 2bn ounces of gold — roughly half of mouth of the shaft.”It was his fi rst time.” shafts, with mining companies such as to argue for partial decriminalisation. all the bullion ever mined. Known in Zulu as ‘zama-zamas’, which Gold Fields, Sibanye and Harmony hav- “Some artisanal mining, even where In Zulu, Johannesburg is called Egoli, loosely translates as ‘those who try to get ing to use elaborate and onerous security unlawful in the current circumstances, has the City of Gold. something from nothing’, illegal miners measures such as iris-recognition scan- the potential to become benefi cial to com- Yet history was probably the last thing are now a permanent fi xture of the shan- ners to prevent illegal miners getting into munities if properly regulated,” it said in a on Tsikwe’s mind as he clung to a length ties that ring Johannesburg and its satellite active mines. report published this year. of knotted string tied to a tree stump at towns along the gold reef. In 2012, then-mining minister Susan But until the economies of the region the shaft entrance and took his fi rst steps Thousands are thought to be operat- Shabangu said the cost to the economy start providing alternative sources of in- down the 30 degree slope into one of the ing at any one time, driven since the turn was at least 5 bn rand, mainly in the come for the millions of unemployed, little most dangerous work-places on earth. of the century by gold priced at more than form of extra security and the need to is likely to change. Scores of illegal miners die each year in $1,000 an ounce, and the joblessness and repair shafts rendered unsafe by zama- “Whenever I’m on leave, I come down the labyrinth of tunnels that stretch be- economic hardship that prevails across zamas. here,” said Sipho Moyo, a security guard neath the streets of Johannesburg and be- southern Africa. Standing at Langlaagte mine, Johan- from Zimbabwe who has worked as a za- yond, although police and the government Although illegal mining is a common nesburg police spokesman Kay Makhubela ma-zama for seven years.”There’s no work admit they have no idea of the precise toll. problem across many emerging markets, struck a defi ant tone, saying anybody in South Africa at the moment so you’ve Members of Julius Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters party In most cases after an accident, the it has become particularly acute in South coming out of the mine would be arrested got to make a plan.” stage a walkout during President Zuma’s address. Somalia hosts fi rst African summit since 1991

Reuters ti, and the prime minister of Ethiopia, the African Union AMISOM force. cy to topple the Western-backed gov- made on the margins of a historic one- ing communities relying on its export Mogadishu were in Mogadishu for the summit, of- Yesterday’s summit was being held ernment of president Hassan Sheikh day summit in the Somali capital. for their livelihoods. fi cials said. Uganda was represented just outside the perimeter at a nearby Mohamud, who seeks re-election later Speaking at the close of the summit Contacted by AFP, Somalia’s trans- by a minister at the meeting of IGAD, hotel. this year. of the eight-nation IGAD trade bloc, port minister Ali Ahmed Jama Jangeli omalia hosted regional African or the Intergovernmental Authority on “The presence of the heads of state in Security concerns mean that only a Kenya’s foreign minister Amina Mo- had refused to give any reason for the heads of state yesterday for a Development. Somalia is a clear dividend of returning fraction of Somalia’s 11mn people will hamed said “the leaders have discussed ban and no explanation had been of- Ssummit that was the fi rst of its “It symbolises the reconstruction of stability in the country,” AMISOM said vote in the election, with 14,000 people relations between the two countries fered by any other government offi cials. kind in the Somali capital since the Somalia and Somalia coming back to in a statement. gathered from the federal states choos- and... the Miraa ban will be lifted as of “This is a big loss to us,” Dave Muth- Horn of Africa nation plunged into the (family of) nations,” foreign min- Ordinary Somalis were forced to walk ing the 275 members of parliament, be- the 14th September”. uri, chairman of the Kenya Miraa Farm- confl ict in 1991. ister Abdusalam Omer told Reuters as around the capital as traffi c was blocked fore the lawmakers then pick the presi- Khat, which is also known as miraa, ers and Traders Association said last Streets were shut down to traffi c in heads of state fl ew in.”It signifi es that from many streets. dent. is a red-stemmed, green-leafed plant week. Mogadishu, which regularly faces at- we are defeating international terror- Al Shebaab has often used vehicles that has a mildly amphetamine-like ef- “Farmers are crying because of the tacks from the Islamist Al Shebaab ism.” packed with explosives to launch at- “It symbolises the reconstruction fect when chewed, like having one too loss they are incurring. It caught every- militants, for the one-day meeting of Somalia has hosted visits of individ- tacks on sites in Mogadishu, blowing up of Somalia and Somalia coming many espressos. one off -guard,” he added. IGAD, a grouping that includes Kenya, ual heads of state. security posts so fi ghters can storm in. back to the (family of) nations” Among Somalis it has long had so- Khat is banned in the US, Canada and Ethiopia, Uganda, Djibouti, Sudan, But Omer said this was the fi rst sum- Mogadishu still bears the scars of cial, cultural and religious uses but it is most of Europe — all places with large Uganda and Somalia. mit gathering for about four decades, war, with many buildings little more But that is still an improvement on the also frequently abused. diaspora Somali communities. The regional leaders were due to dis- since the rule of President Siad Barre, than bombed out shells. 135 elders who chose parliament in 2012, Early last week, Somalia’s govern- But no government or authority has cuss Somalia’s upcoming vote for a new whose toppling in 1991 was followed by But there has been a construction and which in turn picked Mohamud. ment suddenly banned aircraft that ever succeeded in banning it in Soma- parliament and president, as well the two decades of confl ict. boom in recent years, that has seen new Somalia yesterday agreed to lift a were carrying khat from entering So- lia, not the military dictatorship, the situation in South Sudan, where fi ght- Many senior visitors to Mogad- buildings erected, often fi nanced by week-old ban on imports of Kenyan mali airspace. warlords nor the Islamic extremists. ing in July has further destabilised the ishu stay in the airport area, a com- Somalis returning from abroad. khat after a storm of controversy from While it is enjoyed in Somalia, khat The one-day summit was the fi rst fi ve-year-old nation. pound surrounded by high blast walls Al Shebaab, which once ruled most of angry growers of the leafy narcotic in is grown in neighbouring Ethiopia and held there of the IGAD trade bloc since The presidents of Kenya and Djibou- with barbed wire and patrolled by Somalia, has been waging an insurgen- neighbouring Kenya. The decision was Kenya, both of which have large farm- its creation in 1986.

Gulf Times 6 Wednesday, September 14, 2016 AMERICAS

CONTROVERSY LEGAL DISCOVERY DECISION LAW AND ORDER Clinton server technicians Ecuador sets October date Ancient British ship found UN monitors to be Mexico arrests refuse to testify for Assange questioning in Canadian Arctic deployed in Colombia drug lord’s wife

Two computer technicians yesterday declined WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will The second of two British exploration ships The UN Security Council yesterday authorised Mexican police have arrested the wife of to answer questions from lawmakers about submit to questions in the presence of that vanished during a expedition to the Arctic the deployment of a UN political mission a jailed leader of the Beltran Leyva drug the unauthorised private e-mail system that Swedish officials as early as October 17 at in 1846 has been discovered, submerged to monitor the implementation of a peace cartel, authorities said yesterday. Clara Elena Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Ecuador’s embassy in London, the Ecuadoran but “perfectly preserved” in the Northwest deal between the Colombian government Laborin, 52, who is reportedly nicknamed Clinton used during her tenure as secretary government said yesterday. The Australian Passage, Canadian scientists say. The ill-fated and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of “La Senora” (The Mrs.), was detained in of state. Paul Combetta and Bill Thornton has been holed up in the embassy since HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, which were under Colombia (Farc). The monitoring team will Hermosillo, in the northwestern state of repeatedly invoked their constitutional right June 2012, when he took refuge there to the command of Sir John Franklin, left the verify the laying down of arms and monitor Sonora, the National Security Commission not to incriminate themselves during about 10 escape extradition to Sweden to face a rape shores of Britain on May 19, 1845, on a mission the ceasefire that was agreed to ending said without providing more details. Her minutes of questioning while under oath before accusation. Ecuador’s attorney general’s office to discover the Northwest Passage linking the more than 50 years of armed conflict in the husband, Hector Beltran Leyva, was arrested the House Oversight and Government Reform said the judicial procedures would begin Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. While the Erebus country. The council approved UN Secretary in October 2014, further weakening the once Committee. A third technician, Bryan Pagliano, October 17 although the questions submitted was located in 2014, the whereabouts of the General Ban Ki-moon’s recommendation to powerful criminal group. In 2009, the US did not appear at yesterday’s hearing despite by Sweden would not necessarily be put to Terror were unknown until September 3 when deploy 450 UN observers. Diplomats hailed treasury department sanctioned Laborin a subpoena from the committee ordering his him the same day. Ecuadoran prosecutor it was discovered by scientists from the Arctic the peace process and the establishment and 21 other individuals for their ties to the testimony. Lawmakers can jail people who defy Wilson Toainga has been tasked with taking Research Foundation, which showed the ship in of the UN observer force as a success for Beltran Leyva organisation, freezing any congressional subpoenas. Assange’s statement, it said. a video that aired on public broadcaster CBC. Colombia and the international community. assets they may have in the United States. Ohio voting Zika precautions restrictions to stay, rules top court

Reuters Week and shortened early voting Washington to 29 days from 35 days, which critics said directly limited op- portunities for minority voters he US Supreme Court to participate in elections. yesterday refused to rein- Ohio often is a pivotal state in Tstate for the November 8 US presidential elections. general election Ohio’s so-called Other state laws have required Golden Week voting procedures, specifi c forms of photo identifi - when people could register and cation to cast ballots, cut early cast ballots in the same week, voting periods and made it more that had been abolished by a Re- diffi cult to restore voting rights publican-backed law. to people with past criminal Rejecting a request by Ohio convictions. Democrats, the high court let Golden Week was introduced stand an August ruling by the in a bid to make it easier for peo- A county vector control team cross a road as they hand-spray a neighbourhood for adult Aedes mosquitoes after a travel-related case of Zika was confirmed in this Cincinnati-based 6th US Circuit ple to vote in Ohio after lengthy area of San Diego, California, US. Court of Appeals that upheld the lines at polling locations marred 2014 law that imposed new re- the 2004 election. strictions on when people could In 2008, 60,000 people voted register to vote and cast ballots. during the Golden Week period The law was one of numer- in Ohio and 80,000 did so in ous passed in recent years in 2012. Republican-governed states that The American Civil Liberties Democrats and civil rights activ- Union and the National Asso- ists have said were intended to ciation for the Advancement of make it more diffi cult for voters Coloured People had challenged including African-Americans, the law that erased Golden Week. Hispanics and others who tend In 2014, in an earlier round of Muslim woman set to back Democratic candidates litigation over the law, the high to cast ballots. court voted 5-4 to allow it to go “This much is perfectly clear: into eff ect for that year’s elec- Ohio is a place where it is easy to tion. vote and hard to cheat. In fact, The case is one of several with voting now slated to begin voting disputes being litigated in less than a month for the No- ahead of the November election vember election, Ohio is one of and is the third application for on fi re in New York the easiest states in the nation in emergency action to reach the which to register and cast your Supreme Court in recent weeks Agencies The 35-year-old woman was police said. Authorities did not demned the incident, which after a Brooklyn woman alleg- ballot,” Ohio secretary of state from three diff erent states. New York standing outside a luxury cloth- name her. it said followed an increasing edly beat two Muslim women as Jon Husted, a Republican, said in The justices have rejected all ing boutique on Park Avenue on One local report identifi ed number of attacks targeting they walked with pushchairs. a statement. three. Saturday evening when she felt the woman as a dentist from Muslims in the US. The prams were knocked over The appeals court had re- On August 31, the court re- ew York City investi- her left arm suddenly heat up Glasgow. “We are clearly seeing a spike but no-one was injured. versed a May ruling by a US dis- jected a bid by North Carolina to gators were yesterday and noticed her blouse was on The suspect fl ed before offi c- in attacks on individual Mus- Last month, a man killed a trict judge who blocked the law reinstate several voting restric- Nsearching for a man sus- fi re, city police said in a state- ers arrived. lims and Islamic institutions Muslim cleric and his associ- and found that it violated voters’ tions, including a requirement pected of setting fi re to a tradi- ment. Yesterday, police released in New York and around the ate on the street as they left a rights. that people show identifi cation tionally dressed Muslim woman “She patted out the fi re and video surveillance footage of country,” the Muslim advocacy mosque in borough of Queens. The Supreme Court’s brief or- at the polls. in a Midtown shopping area, observed a male standing next the suspect, a slim young-look- group said in a statement. “It Following the double murder, der did not note any dissenting Last Friday, the court rejected police said. to her with a lighter in his hand,” ing man wearing a backwards is time for the mayor and the New York mayor Bill de Blasio votes on the eight-member court, an eff ort by Michigan to rein- Police said they were investi- police said. baseball cap walking down a NYPD to put forward the nec- said in a press conference that which is evenly divided between state a ban on “straight ticket” gating the incident, which oc- The victim, who local me- sidewalk. No arrests have been essary resources to investigate Muslims in the city felt less liberals and conservatives. voting, the practice of using one curred the day before the 15th dia reported was a tourist from made. and prevent these attacks on the safe and issued extra protection Ohio’s Republican-controlled mark to vote for all candidates anniversary of the September Scotland, was not injured and The Council on Islamic Muslim community.” around mosques in the days af- legislature abolished Golden from one party. 11, 2001 attacks, as a hate crime. declined medical attention, American Relations has con- The latest attack comes soon ter the attack. Trump blasts Clinton’s Protesters disrupt Lochte dancing debut

‘deplorables’ remark Reuters onto the stage shouting as Lochte New York and his dance partner, Cheryl Burke, were being critiqued by Reuters ceremony in New York on Sun- bles in a prepared speech before judges after their foxtrot. Washington day marking the September 11, wealthy donors in New York City ancing with the Stars Four women in the audience, 2001, attacks. on Friday night,” Pence said. host Tom Bergeron wearing the same T-shirts, Trump himself has come un- The “deplorables” comment Dyesterday said he was booed and were shown leaving. epublican presidential der fi re for rhetoric against mi- featured at a Trump rally in Ashe- shocked and unnerved by pro- No one was injured. “We candidate Donald Trump norities during his campaign, ville, North Carolina on Monday testers who shouted “liar, liar” were shocked and we have a Ryesterday stepped up ef- including describing Mexican which saw a resumption of some and rushed the stage after a live very good security system here,” forts to wring maximum advan- immigrants as criminals and of the violence that disrupted his performance by Ryan Lochte, Bergeron told ABC’s Good tage from Democratic rival Hil- rapists, suggesting a judge could events earlier this year. the gold-medal US swimmer Morning America yesterday. lary Clinton’s comment that his not be fair because of his Mex- “Never in history has a ma- who made up a story about be- He denied the incident was a supporters are “deplorables” as ican-American heritage, and jor party presidential candi- ing robbed at the Rio Olympics. pre-arranged stunt. “There are he seeks to portray her as out of proposing a temporary ban on date so viciously demonised the The two protesters were always sceptics about every- touch with ordinary Americans. Muslim immigration to the US. American voter,” Trump told the tackled by security and arrested thing but look, it wasn’t a bit,” Clinton said in a speech last After struggling in opinion crowd just before a small protest for trespass and other people Bergeron said. “It was really week that half of Trump’s sup- polls in August, the real estate against him broke out. in the audience booed before unnerving and again, I applaud porters belong “in a basket of de- magnate has erased most of Clin- An apparent Trump support- being removed by security, the our security team for making it plorables” and accused them of ton’s lead in national surveys and er grabbed a male protester’s ABC network and police said. very short.” being racist and homophobic. She is competitive again in many bat- neck then clenched his fi st and Lochte, who was vilifi ed in Bergeron said that “the later said she regretted the remark. tleground states where the White punched him, video from NBC the US media for lying about mood in the room was defi - Trump hammered Clinton House race is likely to be decided. and ABC showed. The protesters being robbed and held at gun- nitely in Ryan’s corner after over the comment, in a post on In Washington, Trump’s vice were then escorted out. point during the Rio Olympics these guys were escorted out.” Facebook yesterday: “What a presidential running mate, Indi- Asheville’s Citizen-Times last month, appeared shaken In Rio, Lochte had said he disgraceful thing to say about ana governor Mike Pence, used newspaper said four people were by the incident on Monday and three teammates were fellow-hard working Americans! Clinton’s comment to try to build arrested at the rally. The Bun- night’s show. Afterward, he robbed at gunpoint but it was Vote Trump on November 8th — more unity among Republicans, combe County clerk’s offi ce con- told journalists he fi rst thought later revealed that they had keep Hillary’s HATE away from appearing at a news conference fi rmed the names of three arrested the disturbance was a joke. vandalised a gas station after a Washington, D.C.” with Paul Ryan, the speaker of the adults in the article but could not ABC yesterday released night of partying. Controversy over the remark House of Representatives, the top confi rm the location of the arrests. video of the incident, which After the lie was revealed, came at a bad time for Clinton, US elected Republican. Clinton was resting at her was not seen by audiences at Lochte lost all four of his spon- who was forced to cancel a West “I think millions of Americans home in Chappaqua, New York home when Bergeron cut to a sors and was suspended from Coast swing due to a bout of were shocked and saddened to see yesterday. She is expected to re- US President Barack Obama attends a campaign event in support of commercial on Monday night. US swimming competition for pneumonia that she kept secret Clinton refer to people across this turn to the campaign trail later US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in Philadelphia, It showed two men wearing 10 months. He apologised for until she nearly collapsed after a country as a basket of deplora- this week. Pennsylvania, yesterday. anti-Lochte T-shirts rushing the incident. Gulf Times Wednesday, September 14, 2016 7 AUSTRALASIA/EAST ASIA

ASSISTANCE DISPUTE OUTBREAK CRIME VERDICT Food aid reaches 140,000 Beijing for talks with Hanoi 200 Zika cases recorded Taiwan charges three US citizen sentenced hit by floods in N Korea on South China Sea issue in Thailand, says ministry over $2.6mn cyberheist to 20 years for murder

Food aid has reached more than 140,000 people Common interests between China and Vietnam far Thailand has recorded about 200 cases of Zika Taiwan has charged three foreigners over a A South Korean appeals court yesterday issued hit by recent floods in North Korea, but more outweigh diff erences, Chinese President Xi Jinping since January, the health ministry said yesterday, $2.6mn cyberheist that used malware to hack into a 20-year jail sentence to a US citizen charged is needed to help them through the country’s told Vietnam’s prime minister yesterday, calling for making it a country with one of the highest a major local bank’s ATM network, prosecutors in his teens for murdering a Korean man nearly upcoming severe winter, the UN World Food their dispute in the South China Sea to be resolved numbers of confirmed cases in the region. It said yesterday, adding that they were seeking two decades ago. The Seoul High Court upheld Programme (WFP) said yesterday. The floods in through talks. China claims almost all of the South was the first time Thailand’s health ministry has 12-year jail terms. The attack, the first of its kind in a lower court’s decision in January that found the country’s north were caused by heavy rainfall China Sea, where about $5tn worth of seaborne confirmed the number of Zika cases this year. The Taiwan, targeted the First Commercial Bank’s ATM Arthur Patterson, now 36, guilty of murdering Jo in late August and early September. More than trade passes every year. Brunei, Malaysia, the announcement comes a day after health experts network in July and saw money withdrawn from Jung-Pil, who was stabbed multiple times with a 140,000 were aff ected, but this number is likely Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims called on Thailand to be more transparent in dozens of machines in three cities. The suspects knife in a fast-food restaurant toilet. Prosecutors to rise as more of the aff ected areas are accessed, in the sea, believed to have rich deposits of oil reporting the Zika threat to the public after health had uncovered a security loophole in a server argued that Patterson, who was 17 years old WFP said. “Families have lost everything, including and gas. Vietnam is in the midst of a quiet military off icials played down risks from rising infections at the bank’s London branch off ice and used it at the time of the crime, showed a “devil-like their kitchen gardens and livestock, which many buildup analysts say is designed as a deterrent, to of the mosquito-borne virus. Health off icials have to plant the malware, according to the Taipei brutality” in stabbing Jo – a stranger to him – to households depend upon to supplement their secure its 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic expressed concern that disclosing information on district prosecutors off ice. Police said last month death for no apparent reason. Patterson, the diets,” Darlene Tymo, WFP’s representative and Zone, as China grows more assertive in staking its Zika, which is linked to serious birth defects, would they believed the heist was carried out by an son of a US military contractor, had denied any country director in North Korea, said claims in the South China Sea. damage Thailand’s lucrative tourism industry. international crime ring. involvement in the crime. Debate on Show of force against N Korea China poverty after mother kills children

AFP Yang, Li and their four chil- Beijing dren lived with Yang’s grand- mother and father in a small, dirt-floored adobe house with he killing of four children three cows and 12 chickens, by their poverty-strick- their most valuable posses- Ten mother — who then sions, the China Youth Daily committed suicide, followed by reported. her husband — sparked online Yang was still alive and able outrage and debate in China to speak when her grandmother yesterday over the gap between found her lying in the grass by rich and poor. an empty bottle of pesticide, Yang Gailan, 28, used an axe to traces of blood, and the bodies kill her three daughters, aged six, of her children, it said. fi ve and three, and her fi ve-year- “Why didn’t you at least Two huge US bombers flew over South Korea yesterday in a show of force against the North as a top US envoy said China must help close loopholes in sanctions fol- old son, police in the northwest- leave me Yifan?” her grand- lowing Pyongyang’s largest-ever nuclear test. The supersonic B-1B Lancers reached airspace over the US Osan Air Base at Pyeongtaek, 64kms south of Seoul, at around ern province of Gansu said. mother cried, referring to the 10am. Each aircraft, which had flown from the US Pacific Command’s Andersen Airforce base at Guam, was escorted by US and South Korean fighter jets. She committed suicide by eldest girl, her favourite, with drinking pesticide, they added whom she shared a bed every in a statement online, and her night. husband Li Keying poisoned Yang was taken to a local himself two weeks later, after hospital and though she did the funerals. not refuse treatment, she kept The family had been among repeating “don’t save me”, ac- the poorest in Agushan village, cording to the China Youth reports said, but were denied a Daily. government low-income allow- China relaxed its strict one- ance by the village committee, child policy earlier this year Australia political donation which claimed their annual per to allow families to have two person income put them above offspring, but even during the the poverty line benchmark of decades it was in effect, rural 2,300 yuan ($343) a year. households were allowed two Multiple media reports al- children if their first was a girl. leged corruption was a factor, In many instances, those liv- saying their benefits had been ing in remote rural areas like system review ‘imminent’ cancelled because they had not Agushan without the resources bribed local officials. to strictly enforce the law were Guardian News and Media ers, the new inquiry is expected The NXT has been pushing for nus, despite the initiative being marriage equality plebiscite. The “Ours is a brutal, man-eat- able to have more. Canberra to be confi rmed by the Turnbull cross bench involvement in the part of the agreement between procedural elements were put to ing society,” said one poster China’s boom has seen it rise government today. new donations inquiry, and One the Liberal and National parties, the coalition party room yester- on China’s Twitter-like Weibo to become the world’s second- The likelihood of imminent Nation has also signalled it wants and Labour off ered to limit ac- day. yesterday. largest economy, but inequality he government is poised agreement has prompted the to push the donations issue in the cess to the family tax benefi t – a During the discussion the Na- The situation “exactly re- remains stark and the Global to send a reference to the Nick Xenophon Team to with- wake of last week’s political con- supplement for families with tional senator from Queensland, flects the painful reality of the Times newspaper, citing the Tjoint standing committee draw a motion it wanted to push troversy that culminated in the adjusted taxable incomes below Barry O’Sullivan, and the as- extent of China’s poverty”, National Bureau of Statistics, on electoral matters requiring a through the Senate calling for resignation of the Labour senator $80,000. sistant minister for vocational wrote Xiang Songzuo, chief said 70mn people currently live fresh look at Australia’s dona- an inquiry foreign political do- Sam Dastyari from the Labour The government says it will education and skills, Karen An- economist for the Agricultural below the poverty line, prima- tions and disclosure system af- nations; sources of private (in- front bench. press on with plans to try and drews, expressed objection to Bank of China, on his verified rily in rural areas. ter negotiations with key Senate cluding corporate and union The government has agreed abolish an energy supplement for electorate-level data being re- social media account. It quoted Dang Guoying, a crossbenchers and the ALP. donations) and public fund- with that request. new recipients of various pay- ported after the plebiscite, on the “On the one hand are the rural development expert at The special minister of state, ing and contribution limits and The renewed push to examine ments, which would mean a cut basis the results might embarrass corrupt officials embezzling the Chinese Academy of Social Scott Ryan, has signalled he will caps; alternative funding prac- donations follows a high octane in a range of benefi ts for people members. hundreds of millions at every Sciences, saying: “This case ask the committee to examine the tices including consideration of parliamentary day yesterday, living below the poverty line, but The Victorian Liberal Russell turn and the rich spending shocked urban Chinese peo- question of foreign donations, comparative overseas models where the government came to it has accepted Labour’s refusal Broadbent countered that MPs thousands every day, fight- ple living in developed east- fundraising, and activity by third operating in Canada and the terms with Labour on its $6bn to allow any cuts to Newstart or needed to understand their re- ing to compare who can spend ern cities, because most of us parties, reporting by March. UK; transparency, accountabil- omnibus savings bill. the pension. sponsibilities as parliamentar- more, while on the other side cannot imagine that millions While negotiations were still ity and reporting measures, and To reach fi nal agreement on The Cabinet met on Monday ians, which meant sometimes are those in such poverty they of Chinese people still live in underway yesterday night with potential limits on election ex- the savings measures, the Coali- night to thrash out the proce- taking positions that their con- lose the hope of living.” poverty.” Labour and other key stakehold- penses. tion agreed to dump its baby bo- dural steps associated with the stituents didn’t agree with. Thai military courts will Damage inspection 13 Wukan villagers held over protests try 500 civilian cases AFP forces using tear gas and rubber Lufeng, China bullets, the South China Morning Post newspaper reported. AFP will go ahead because they have their rule, said the order was little Villagers threw stones at police Bangkok already entered court procedure,” more than window dressing. hinese authorities detained with riot shields, according to a Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu “If the NCPO is really sincere 13 residents of the rebel vil- video posted to the newspaper’s Krea-ngam told reporters. they should abolish all orders that Clage of Wukan yesterday, website. hailand’s military courts “There are 1,500 cases in the violate human rights...such as the police said, after jailing its chief — Photos published by the news- will still hear some 500 military courts, of which 1,000 military’s authorisation to arrest, who was elected after leading pro- paper showed bloodied residents, Tongoing cases against ci- cases have already fi nished and search and detain people without tests against Communist offi cials and others wearing motorcycle vilians, a senior junta offi cial said 500 cases remain,” he added. warrants,” he wrote on Facebook, — on corruption charges. helmets and holding bricks. yesterday, a day after the regime Thailand’s military courts tend using the offi cial acronym for the Wukan, a 13,000-strong fi shing The road into Wukan from announced an end to the contro- to have much higher conviction junta. village in the southern province of Lufeng, a nearby urban centre, was versial practice. rates and are far harder to appeal. Than Rittiphan, from the stu- Guangdong, became a symbol of empty yesterday afternoon, with A 2014 coup ushered in one of Some have handed down record dent protest group New Democ- resistance against corruption af- about a dozen police offi cers at a the most autocratic Thai govern- jail terms, including a 30-year sen- racy, which has nearly a dozen ter a mass uprising over allegedly roadblock waving away approach- ments in a generation with gener- tence for a series of Facebook posts members facing upcoming mili- illegal land grabs propelled it onto ing vehicles. als expanding the use of military by a civilian that were deemed tary trials, said: “We felt they just global front pages in 2011. A Lufeng city offi cial said the courts to try more than 1,000 ci- critical of the monarchy. do (this) to keep out international Lin Zulian, who played a key road was closed but would not vilians, especially those critical of The new order refl ects growing pressure. They have no intention role in those protests, was de- comment on the situation inside their rule or the monarchy. confi dence among junta leaders in respect of human rights at all.” tained in June, and police said that Wukan, and police escorted the But in a surprise move ahead of that they have successfully curbed The International Commission since then villagers had “con- media out of the area. a planned visit to the United Na- opposition. of Jurists, which has monitored tinued to fabricate rumours and The 2011 protests in Wukan tions in New York next week, army “It was about the right time to military court trials, said the move South Korean Cultural Heritage Administration deploy measures such as threats, were initially seen as just another chief-turned-Prime Minister relax as people are more happy was a “welcome step” but called off icials inspects the Cheomseongdae, an insults, force and bribes to insti- bout of social unrest in China, General Prayut Chan-O-Cha said and there is less of a resistance for all pending cases to be trans- astronomical observatory of the 7th century, in gate, plan and launch illegal mass where tens of thousands of such military courts would be phased movement,” Prayut told reporters ferred to civilian courts. Gyeongju after a powerful quake hit the southern part gatherings”. incidents occur each year. out for civilians. yesterday, though he rejected any The new policy will not aff ect of South Korea. South Korea was yesterday clearing Yesterday’s detentions were for But when a protest leader died Rights groups cautiously wel- suggestion international pressure Thailand’s three southernmost up after being struck by its most powerful earthquake “disturbing the public order and in police custody, residents took comed the order, which does not had instigated the change. provinces, which have been gov- since records began. The 5.4 magnitude quake sent public transport order”, police their demonstrations further, cover ongoing cases and off ences Watana Muangsook, a politician erned under emergency laws for people scurrying from buildings, unused to the kind said on verifi ed social media ac- barricading roads leading into prior to the announcement. loyal to the ousted government the past decade as Thai troops of seismic events that regularly shake neighbouring count. Wukan, and eff ectively expelling “The cases that are still under who has been detained by the mil- struggle to quell a festering Mus- Japan. After the arrests, villagers security forces for more than a the deliberation of a military court itary several times for criticising lim Malay insurgency. clashed with police, with security week. Gulf Times 8 Wednesday, September 14, 2016 BRITAIN

INVESTIGATION LAW AND ORDER TRIAL CRIME VIOLENCE Suspect sought over racist Fugitive fraudster Teen charged with Man due to give aunt a Polish man beaten by attack on pregnant woman jailed after 22 years planning terror attacks kidney stabbed to death gang in hate crime

Police have released CCTV images of a man A 66-year-old convicted fraudster, who twice A 19-year-old man from London has been charged A handyman was stabbed to death the day after Police yesterday said they were hunting for 20 they wish to speak to after a pregnant woman failed to turn up in court to be sentenced and under counter-terrorism law with preparing attacks, he received the go-ahead to donate a kidney to youths who seriously injured a Polish man in a lost her baby in a racist attack in Milton Keynes. fled to the US, has finally been jailed 22 years the capital’s Metropolitan Police force said yesterday. his aunt, his family revealed yesterday. Russell suspected racially motivated attack, the latest The 34-year-old woman was racially abused in a after the case was opened. Shariq Chughtai, who Haroon Ali-Syed, from Hounslow in the west of the Brown, 26, was celebrating the news at a friend’s in a number of hate crimes against eastern supermarket before the attacker followed her to helped run three UK trading companies, pleaded capital, was arrested last Thursday along with two flat in Bethnal Green when he was knifed multiple Europeans following the June vote to leave her car and kicked her in the torso, knocking her guilty to a so-called long firm fraud in July 1998 other men, who have been released on police times. He died in the early hours of Sunday after the EU. The 28-year-old Pole was kicked and to the floor. The victim lost her unborn child as a and was sentenced in absentia to four years in bail pending further investigation. The police said the attack, which took place at 4.35pm on Saturday. punched by a group of teenagers in Leeds, result of the assault, which happened on August 6. jail in 1999, the Serious Fraud Off ice (SFO) said Ali-Syed’s alleged off ence of preparing to commit His family say the injuries he suff ered meant the police said in a statement. The attack, which She was taken to Milton Keynes general hospital yesterday. Once he had been tracked down, the acts of terrorism took place between April and transplant was no longer possible. His aunt Tracy occurred on Friday night, left the man needing for treatment and has since been discharged. SFO started extradition proceedings with the September this year. They gave no further Happe, 55, will continue visiting hospital three hospital treatment for a head injury. Police Thames Valley police have released CCTV image US in 2015 and he was returned to the United details. The off icial security threat level in Britain times a week for kidney dialysis until a new donor said the incident was believed to be racially of a man they would like to speak to in connection Kingdom last week to start his sentence, which is currently set at its second-highest category of is found. Relatives paid tribute to Brown. His uncle aggravated because of comments his attackers, with the incident, which took place on Water was extended by three months for skipping “severe”, meaning that an attack by militants is Tony Happe, 52, said: “He was just celebrating that a group of males aged 16 to 18, had made to the Eaton Road, in Bletchley area of Milton Keynes. bail. considered highly likely. he could give a kidney to his auntie.” victim and his friend.

Hottest September day in 105 years Uber accuses mayor Khan of discrimination

Guardian News and Media cab regulations – not to im- London pose new costs on private-hire drivers at the behest of the Li- censed Taxi Drivers Associa- axi-hailing app Uber has tion (LTDA) and the London accused the mayor of Cab Drivers’ Club.” TLondon of discriminat- Sources close to Uber said ing against its drivers after he it had not been consulted on announced a plan to improve any of the new measures and taxi services in the capital. pointed out Khan’s apparent Sadiq Khan unveiled a se- closeness to the black-cab in- ries of policies to boost the cab dustry. trade, including new taxi ranks The statement accompa- and £65mn in grants for drivers nying Khan’s plan included who scrap older polluting cars a comment from the LTDA, and replace them with more while many of the measures fuel-effi cient models. are the same as those included He also reiterated plans to en- in a recent manifesto pub- force new English tests for pri- lished by the association. vate hire licensees and tighten These include new zero- up regulations governing their emission taxi ranks, more ac- A man cools down in a fountain in London yesterday. Britain recorded its warmest September day in more than 100 years yesterday with temperatures rising to over 34 insurance. cess to bus lanes and the in- degrees Celsius in the southern county of Kent. The Met Off ice said on its Twitter page the town of Gravesend recorded a temperature of 34.4 degrees Celsius, making it the But Uber said Khan’s policies clusion of taxi information in hottest day of the year. “This makes it the warmest September day since 1911,” it said. London’s Heathrow airport and Kew Gardens recorded temperatures of 32.8 Celsius, the showed favouritism towards Transport for London’s (TfL) Met said earlier. black-cab drivers, who have journey planner service. staged demonstrations against Khan said: “Our new taxi the San Francisco-based tech and private-hire action plan fi rm. will help us deliver a truly “These proposals favour world-class service for Lon- black cabs and discriminate doners and create a vibrant against drivers who use apps like taxi and private-hire market Uber,” said Tom Elvidge, general where all providers can con- manager of Uber in London. tinue to fl ourish. “While black cabs will get “From my fi rst day at £65mn from the taxpayer, the City Hall I have been deter- Top MPs to lose seat in mayor is piling extra costs mined to drive up standards and red tape on to licensed and improve safety for every private-hire drivers. This passenger in London, while plan will cost drivers who use protecting the future of our Uber hundreds of pounds, and iconic black cabs that provide thousands may lose their live- a unique and invaluable serv- lihoods as a result. Fewer driv- ice for Londoners.” changes to electoral map ers will mean longer waiting LTDA’s general secretary, times for passengers.” Steve McNamara, said: “The Guardian News and Media cians will fear that local mem- – and not only those in the Labour will have to contest a newly cre- on the policy, called the proposals In a separate e-mail to its taxi trade welcomes this plan London bers will take the opportunity of a party. ated constituency in west London “unfair, undemocratic and unac- customers, Uber asked them to and recognises its commit- shakeup to try to deselect them if Despite giving the Tories an with more wards that have voted ceptable”. e-mail the mayor to object to ment to raising safety stand- Corbyn retains the leadership later electoral boost overall, the plans Labour, although his popularity is He said it was wrong for the cal- the plans. ards in the private hire indus- eremy Corbyn, George Os- this month. could create a headache for There- likely to mean he wins again. culations to be based on the elec- “Many drivers who use Uber try.” borne and Boris Johnson are Some of the party’s MPs de- sa May as up to 17 of her MPs lose Corbyn is aff ected by the loss of toral register at the end of 2015, are immigrants,” it said. “They Uber has already taken legal Jamong high-profi le politicians scribed the plans – which analysts their current constituencies – the his Islington North constituency meaning that 2mn voters who work hard to look after them- action against TfL over plans who will see their seats redrawn in said could result in the opposition same number as the party’s work- but is unlikely to face any diffi cul- signed up in the run-up to the EU selves and their families. Driv- for new regulations for private a dramatic shakeup of the coun- losing 23 sitting MPs – as a “bare- ing majority. ties being selected for the reshaped referendum result are not includ- ing has given them an opportu- hire drivers seeking a licence in try’s electoral map that will alter faced gerrymander” and a “brutal Among the worst hit are the seat. His aides said he would be ed. nity to integrate into their local the capital, including written the constituencies of more than mathematical” cull. previous chancellor, George Os- able to contest a new Finsbury “Constitutional changes should community. The mayor should English tests. 500 MPs. The angry responses came after borne, whose Tatton constituency Park and Stoke Newington seat, be done fairly and consensually, to be supporting these drivers, not It objects to its drivers being Overall, Labour is worst hit by the proposals from the Bound- is broken apart. Priti Patel, Jus- although that could have a knock- ensure that everyone given a voice. penalising them. asked to take written English the shifting boundaries, which are ary commissions for England and tine Greening and David Davis are on eff ect for his close ally Diane There is nothing fair about re- “We understand that black- tests costing £200 and also part of an eff ort to cut the number Wales were handed out on Mon- three other Conservative cabinet Abbott. “I’m very confi dent of drawing boundaries with millions cab drivers are feeling the opposes plans to make drivers of politicians in parliament from day. ministers who are also likely to be the constituency changes that are left out, and reducing the number pressure from services like pay for commercial insurance, 650 to 600, with signifi cant The results, which aim to equal- aff ected. Patel will need to be para- suggested. But I have to say they of elected MPs while the unelected Uber. But the answer is to level even during periods when they changes for MPs including Yvette ise the number of voters in each chuted into another Essex seat, va- are a long way off ,” he said. House of Lords continues to grow,” the playing fi eld by reducing are not using their vehicle for Cooper, Tristram Hunt and Owen constituency, will pit MPs against cated by a retiring colleague. Jon Ashworth, who is a key he said, calling for the policy to be today’s burdensome black- work. Smith. Many opposition politi- each other in a battle for survival Johnson, the foreign secretary, shadow cabinet minister leading blocked.

Man Booker prize New ‘plastic’ £5 note shortlist announced enters circulation AFP was selected for Eileen, a portrait London of “an unassuming yet disturbed young woman” trapped between London Evening Standard Venezuela but runs an eques- curity features, making it hard- caring for her alcoholic father in a London trian shop in Kensington, was er to counterfeit. They include psychological crime squalid house and her job as a sec- also unable to damage the note a see-through window featur- thriller set in the Scottish retary at a boys’ prison. despite her best eff orts. ing the Queen’s portrait as well AHighlands and the tale The three other books short- he new “plastic” £5 She said: “A lot of eff ort has as Big Ben shown in gold foil on of a disturbed young woman listed are David Szalay’s All That notes hit the streets of been gone to and there is no the front of the note and silver in 1960s Massachusetts are on Man Is, a portrait of masculinity, TLondon yesterday — way I could rip that. Also the on the back. the shortlist for the prestigious Madeleine Thien’s Do Not Say and appeared to live up to the water made no diff erence. Bank of England governor Man Booker prize which was We Have Nothing about classi- Bank of England’s boast that “In my country, the infl a- Mark Carney said: “The new unveiled yesterday. cal music in revolutionary China they could survive the harshest tion rate is very high — people fi ver commemorates one of the Nobel-winner J M Coetzee and Paul Beatty’s The Sellout, a treatment. do not worry about what the greatest statesmen of all time, failed to make the six-name list satire on US urban life. The polymer fi ver is claimed money is made of.” Sir Winston Churchill, who re- for the world’s leading English- “The fi nal six refl ect the cen- to be “cleaner, safer and While some people may start marked that ‘a nation that for- language fi ction award, which trality of the novel in modern cul- stronger” and last fi ve years to see the new fi ver immediate- gets its past has no future’. featured only one previous ture — in its ability to champion longer than paper notes, which ly, for others it may take a few Banknotes are repositories nominee, South African-born the unconventional, to explore will be gradually withdrawn. weeks. of the United Kingdom’s col- British author Deborah Levy. the unfamiliar, and to tackle diffi - Testing the note in Kensing- The Bank of England has lective memory, and we will be Her Hot Milk is a story of an cult subjects,” jury chair Amanda ton yesterday, student Elliane been working with the cash reminded of Churchill’s enor- intense relationship between a Foreman, a historian, said in a Croce, 20, said: “I tried my industry to help get machines mous contributions as he once sickly mother and her daughter statement. hardest to rip it — but nothing. ready for the new £5 notes. It again becomes part of our daily set in a small Spanish fi shing “As a group we were excited Even pouring water on it made said not all machines will be lives as the fi ver fl ows out into village which the jury said in a by the willingness of so many no diff erence. It’s a tough note ready from day one and it will tills and pockets. “We expect statement examines “female authors to take risks with lan- and very strange to handle. It work with businesses to ensure polymer notes to last at least rage and sexuality”. guage and form,” she said. does not seem like plastic and it a smooth transition. two and-a-half times longer Scottish writer Graeme Macrae The Foyles bookshop chain is very pretty. I am impressed.” The old fi ver, featuring pris- than the current fi vers and Burnet’s His Bloody Project thrill- said in a statement that the The note features an im- on reformer Elizabeth Fry, can therefore reduce future costs of er “paints a painfully realistic pic- shortlist was “excitingly wide- age of Sir Winston Churchill still be used in shops until it production.” ture of poverty in the tiny croft- open, with Deborah Levy the and is claimed to be capable of ceases to become legal tender Novelist Jane Austen will be ing community of Culduie in the only well-known author left”. surviving a spin in the washing after May 5, 2017. the face of the new £10 note Scottish Highlands,” the jury said. The winner will be an- machine. The new £5 note paves the from summer 2017, which will Bank of England governor Mark Carney tests a new polymer £5 note as he First-time author Ottessa Mosh- nounced in London on October Raquel Vidal, 28, who is from way for a new generation of se- also be printed on polymer. buys lunch at Whitecross Street Market in London yesterday. fegh, a Boston-born 35-year-old, 25. Gulf Times Wednesday, September 14, 2016 9 EUROPE

Filipino killed in accident on ship

AFP cable or the fastenings” hold- Marseille ing the lifeboat in place gave way, the prosecutor said. The boat “fell suddenly into Filipino crewman was the water,” he added. killed yesterday dur- Royal Caribbean said in a Aing a safety drill on the statement: “We are keeping our world’s biggest cruise liner, the colleagues and their families in Harmony of the Seas, while it our thoughts and prayers.” was docked in Marseille, a city The Harmony of the Seas offi cial said. sailed into Marseille early yes- The 42-year-old and four terday from the Spanish Medi- other crew members were in a terranean island of Majorca. lifeboat that plunged 10m into The ship had been scheduled the water during a safety drill to set sail for Italy later yester- in the southern French port. day but the investigation into Three other Filipinos and an the lifeboat incident is expect- Indian man were hurt in the in- ed to delay its departure until cident, and two were fi ghting today at the earliest, the pros- for their lives. ecutor said. A fi re service spokesman The 120,000-tonne liner op- said: “One person is dead and erated by Florida-based Royal four are injured, including two Caribbean only entered service whose lives are in danger.” in May. Marseille’s deputy mayor Ju- At 66m, it is the widest lien Ruas told AFP the fi ve were cruise ship ever built, while the only people in the lifeboat its 362m length makes it 50m at the time when it became de- longer than the height of the tached from its fastenings and Eiff el Tower. “fell 10 metres” into the har- On its maiden voyage, it bour. sailed from Southampton on The city’s prosecutor Xavier England’s south coast to Bar- Tarabeux said a similar drill is celona. carried out every week on the Built in the STX shipyard in ship. the northwestern French port “It involves putting a life- of Saint-Nazaire, the Oasis- boat to sea,” he said. class liner has 16 decks and can A man suspected of being an Islamic State (IS) militant arrives at the Federal Supreme Court in Karlsruhe, southern Germany. An investigation has been carry more than 6,000 passen- opened to fi nd out why “the gers and 2,400 crew.

Norway PM aims to Germans arrest three work with Facebook

Reuters for cooperation between the Oslo social media giant and her elected government. “We have been working orway’s prime minis- with Facebook and other so- linked to Paris attacks ter said yesterday she cial media on education, espe- Nwanted to work with cially in confl ict areas,” she told More and more terrorists disguised as uments came from “the same workshop”. German authorities have urged the proposals for achieving a new ceasefi re Facebook to promote education Reuters.”So there will be rea- refugees are being discovered He said German police had monitored public not to confuse migrants and “ter- and starting the political process required in an apparent gesture of peace sons for us to have contact with the men for months and tapped their rorists,” but have acknowledged that more to reach a lasting peace. after a row with the company them on several issues.” AFP phones, meaning that at no stage was jihadists may have entered the country Ukraine and the West accuse Moscow of for deleting a Vietnam War “That’s my main reason for Berlin there a risk of an attack. among the around one million asylum fomenting a pro-Russian rebellion in the photo of a naked girl fl eeing a trying try to be in contact with Prosecutors said in their statement that seekers who arrived last year. east of the country; but Russia denies the napalm attack. them... Mahir al-H had joined IS in its de facto De Maiziere also said “it would be accusation. Facebook re-instated the if you are really going to get erman police yesterday arrested capital of Raqa, Syria by September 2015 wrong to place refugees under general The Minsk peace agreement, originally 1972 Pulitzer Prize-winning education into confl ict areas, three men with forged Syrian pass- and received some weapons and explosives suspicion”. agreed between Russia, Ukraine, Germany photograph on Friday after social media is probably one of Gports accused of being Islamic training. “Security forces have repeatedly re- and France in September, 2014, has helped Solberg and others accused those platforms they can use,” State (IS) militants and labelled a possible The following month, all three men had ceived tip-off s of individual terrorists or considerably reduce fi ghting in the indus- Facebook of censorship and of she said. “sleeper cell” with links to the Paris at- pledged to travel to Europe in talks with an sympathisers among the refugees... but trial Donbass region. editing history by erasing the Solberg, of Norway’s Con- tackers. IS fi ghter who was “in charge of missions most of these have turned out not to be But violations have occurred regularly image from their accounts un- servative Party, welcomed a More than 200 police commandos took and attacks” outside of the Syria-Iraq true.” and implementing further points of the der its restrictions on nudity. personal letter from chief op- part in the pre-dawn raids in northern region where the group has its self-pro- German foreign minister Frank-Walter plan, including holding regional elections Facebook backed down, erating offi cer Sheryl Sandberg Germany to detain the men, who were claimed caliphate. Steinmeier said yesterday he saw hope and returning control of Ukraine’s border ruling that the historical im- thanking Solberg for her role suspected of either plotting an attack or In Europe, “the three accused were for a lasting ceasefi re in eastern Ukraine, with Russia to Kiev, has long stalled. portance of the photo out- and saying the company would awaiting orders to commit one. meant to either execute a mission or await while Kiev announced the deaths of three The Ukrainian soldiers were the fi rst to weighed the company’s nu- learn from the dispute. The men were identifi ed only as Mahir further instructions”, the prosecution soldiers killed fi ghting separatist rebels in die in open fi ghting this month. dity rules. “It was a humble letter,” Sol- al-H, 17, Ibrahim M, 18, and Mohamed A, service said in the statement, adding that the past 24 hours. Ukrainian military spokesman Ole- And Solberg said she hoped berg said. 26, in a statement issued by federal pros- no evidence of “concrete orders or in- Steinmeier was speaking on the eve of ksandr Motuzyanyk said over the past day ecutors. structions” had been found. a visit to Kiev together with his French separatists had also used heavy weapons They left Syria last October and trav- The men had received mobile phones counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault, who will for the fi rst time this month and directly Greenland ice melts early elled via Turkey and Greece — a route used and four-fi gure cash sums in US dollars, hold joint talks with Ukrainian president attacked a Ukrainian position in the Lu- by tens of thousands of refugees and mi- as well as the fake passports, from IS, the Petro Poroshenko. hansk region. Temperature records were broken in Greenland this year after parts grants — and arrived in Germany in mid- statement said. Ukraine and the rebels had agreed a “A sabotage-and-reconnaissance group of the territory’s vast ice sheet began melting unusually early, the November. They were detained at three refugee truce to coincide with the start of a new crossed the river and attacked our service- Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) said yesterday. Interior minister Thomas de Maiziere shelters in the northern state of Sch- school year on Sept 1 - a ceasefi re that was men. “These new results give us new and robust evidence of the said the three apparently used the same leswig-Holstein by more than 200 com- broadly respected until the recent report- The fi ght lasted for 15 minutes,” Mo- tendency of warmer temperatures in the Arctic continuing,” John migrant traffi cking network as several of mandos of the federal police, BKA and po- ed rise in attacks. tuzyanyk said in a daily televised briefi ng. Cappelen, a climatologist at the institute, said in a statement. the IS gunmen who killed 130 people in lice forces of several states. Steinmeier said the truce, fragile as it Rebel leaders denied violating the truce, The average summer temperature was 8.2C in Tasiilaq on Paris in November last year. Police also raided several other asylum was, showed it was possible to improve the accusing the Ukrainians of attacking rebel Greenland’s southeast coast, the highest since records began in “According to what we know so far, the seeker shelters, Die Welt daily said. situation, and was encouraged after talks positions. 1895 and 2.3C above the average between 1981 and 2010. investigation of the (federal criminal of- Warrants for their arrest had been is- with his Ukrainian and Russian counter- They said separatist forces would ob- New highs were also recorded in the south and in the northeast fi ce) BKA points to links to the attackers sued by a federal judge on September 7, parts. serve a new unilateral ceasefi re, starting at this summer, after a balmy spring that broke records at six out of 14 of Paris from November 2015,” de Maiziere based in part on intelligence provided by “That is why I believe, after my discus- midnight on September 15. weather stations in the territory. told a press conference. Germany’s domestic security agency, the sions with Pavlo Klimkin in Berlin and “I call on the Ukrainian side to take this In April, DMI said that the seasonal melting of Greenland’s vast “There is every reason to believe that Federal Offi ce for the Protection of the Sergei Lavrov yesterday, that it is now seriously and show that they are prepared ice sheet had reached record levels, prompting it to check that its the same trafficking group used by the Constitution. possible to agree on a durable ceasefi re, to do this rather than merely paying lip “models were still working properly.” Paris attackers also brought the three In July, Germany suff ered two bloody without preconditions,” he said on a visit service,” Donetsk rebel leader Alexander Around 12% of the ice sheet was found to be melting almost one men who were arrested to Germany,” he attacks claimed by IS, which were carried to Riga. Zakharchenko said in a statement on Rus- month earlier than the previous top three dates for when more than said, adding that their forged travel doc- out by migrants. He said Germany and France had made sian television channel Rossiya-24. 10% of the ice had begun to melt, it said.

Who says you need an egg for an embryo? Bull spared

AFP “Our work challenges the dog- to fertilise them. The resulting mammals, and any parthenog- Paris ma, held since early embryolo- pups’ survival rate was a quarter enote created accidentally would gists fi rst observed mammalian that of other mice. not survive. eggs around 1827 and observed Though these are early days, One day, said Perry, it might e all grow up to accept fertilisation 50 years later, that the feat suggested that other be possible to print parthenog- certain unassailable only an egg cell fertilised with types of mitotic cell, such as skin enotes instead of having to tease Wfacts: water is wet, the a sperm cell can result in a live cells, may one day be used to cre- them from egg cells, meaning Earth is round, and to produce a mammalian birth.” ate off spring. “the egg feature of this would be baby you need an egg and sperm. There are two types of cell: This could open up the possi- history”. As it turns out, the last of these “meiotic” reproductive cells bility for older women or infer- Outside experts not involved may turn out not to be true. (eggs and sperm), and “mitotic” tile couples to have children with in the study welcomed the Yesterday, scientists an- cells which include most of the both parents’ DNA. world-fi rst achievement, but nounced they had produced baby tissues and organs in our bodies. “Imagine if any mitotic cell stressed a lot still has to happen mice by fusing sperm and a type Mammal reproduction re- could reprogram a sperm in the before the method can be used in of cell that is not an egg. quires a sperm and egg to fuse, same way. humans. The pups that survived this al- creating an embryo. Then there would be no need Robin Lovell-Badge of The chemy were healthy, with normal But instead of using a meiotic for eggs,” Perry told AFP. Francis Crick Institute, a bio- lifespans, and able to procreate egg cell to produce their mouse “This could revolutionise re- medical research unit in London, the traditional way, research- pups, the researchers used a type production.” described the result as a “techni- ers from Britain and Germany of mitotic cell called a parthe- For now, though, the team still cal tour de force”. reported in the journal Nature nogenote. need eggs to create their parthe- “I am sure it will tell us some- Communications. These are very early-stage, nogenotes. thing important about repro- “It had been thought that single-celled embryos that form Parthenogenesis is a technique gramming at these early steps of only an egg cell was capable of without fertilisation — in this employed by certain plants and development that are relevant reprogramming sperm to allow case by chemically activating a animals — some lizards, snakes to both fertilisation and SCNT Riders take part in the “Toro de la Pena” festival in the central Spanish town of Tordesillas embryonic development to take mouse egg. and worms for example — to fer- (cloning),” he said. yesterday. Locals scuffled with animal rights activists yesterday at the centuries-old Spanish place,” said the report’s senior Just before the parthenogen- tilise eggs and create embryos “It doesn’t yet tell us how, but festival being held for the first time since the event was banned from spearing its half-tonne author Tony Perry of the Univer- otes divided into two cells, they without the need for sperm. the paper gives a number of clear bull to death. sity of Bath. were injected with sperm nuclei It does not happen naturally in pointers.” Gulf Times 10 Wednesday, September 14, 2016 INDIA

INITIATIVE CONTROVERSY OUTBREAK TRAGEDY OFFBEAT Govt holds ‘substantive’ Lalu denies calling Spate of Chikungunya Nine electrocuted as Shah’s festive greeting nuclear talks with China Rahul Gandhi ‘joker’ deaths reported in capital power line falls on bus raises eyebrows in Kerala

The government yesterday said it had held Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Four people have died of Chikungunya at Nine people were killed and over a dozen BJP president Amit Shah greeted the people of “substantive” talks with China on its bid to yesterday denied that he had called Congress hospitals in New Delhi, in what are reportedly sustained serious injuries yesterday when a Kerala for ‘Vamana Jayanthi’ instead of Onam become a full-fledged member of the Nuclear Vice President Rahul Gandhi a “joker”, and said the first fatalities from the mosquito-borne high tension wire fell on their bus. The accident – raising eyebrows. State Public Works Minister Suppliers Group (NSG). Prime Minister Narendra that he made the reference of joker to Aam disease in the capital, doctors said yesterday. occurred in Etah on NH-91 involving a bus that G Sudhakaran has asked for a correction. “No Modi is campaigning to join the NSG to back a Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Kumar Vishwash. Delhi has been reeling from an outbreak of was going from New Delhi to Kanpur, police idea why he is trying to distort things. The multi-billion-dollar drive to build nuclear power “The media misreported my quote,” Lalu Chikungunya, dengue and other viral diseases said. The bus was crossing the Sahsari village need of the hour is to see that he corrects plants in partnership with Russia, the US and said. The RJD chief said that media persons with hospitals overflowing with sick people. when a high-tension wire snapped and fell it immediately,” he said. Shah’s Facebook France, and reduce India’s reliance on polluting had asked to him about AAP leader Kumar Three patients, all men between the ages of 61 on the bus, an off icial said. The injured have post also carried a picture of the mythical fossil fuels. Yet his bid to win accession to the Vishwash, and while he was replying, they to 65, have died of the disease at the Sir Ganga been admitted to the district hospital where Vamana placing his foot on the head of King 48-member group has so far failed to win over asked a question in connection with Rahul Ram Hospital since Monday, S P Byotra, head of the condition of two people is said to be Mahabali. Shah’s post received numerous strategic rival Beijing. The foreign ministry said Gandhi. “I have used the joker word for Kumar medicine at the hospital, said. A fourth patient critical. Senior police off icials and the district reactions, mostly critical of the BJP leader for in a statement that its chief nuclear negotiator, Vishwash but the media has linked it with a succumbed to the virus at Bara Hindu Rao magistrate are overseeing oversaw rescue the distortion. State BJP president Kummanem Amandeep Singh Gill, had hosted a Chinese wrong question,” he said. Lalu posted details Hospital. “Chikungunya is not life-threatening operations. District magistrate Ajay Yadav said Rajashekeran, however, downplayed the issue, delegation led by director general Wang Qun of of his talks with media persons in Mathura on disease in general, but in some cases leads to the families of the deceased would be given saying it was a matter of discussion and nothing the ministry of foreign aff airs. Facebook. complications that prove fatal,” Byotra said. Rs200,000 each as financial assistance. more should be attributed to it.

Three die in Kashmir, separatists’ Uneasy calm rally fails to materialise in Karnataka, IANS Srinagar

hree people died and many were injured as clashes be- Ttween protesters and secu- Tamil Nadu rity forces in parts of the troubled Kashmir Valley. With the city under a total clampdown, a separatist call for a march to the UN Military Ob- server Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) also proved a non- after protests starter. All roads leading to the UN- Modi appealed for peace in Kar- down across the city due to fear IANS nataka and Tamil Nadu. “The of being attacked by protesters. MOGIP offi ce in the high-security Bengaluru/Chennai Sonwar locality here had heavy violence and arson seen in the Buses, taxis and auto-rick- deployment of police and para- last two days is only causing loss shaws went off the roads. The military forces who blocked all n uneasy calm enveloped to the poor, and to our nation’s metro rail was suspended till vehicles and even prevented pe- Bengaluru even as pro- property.” evening. destrian movement. Atests erupted at Mandya Referring to the Supreme Hundreds of passengers Two of the dead were protest- and Mysuru in southern Karna- Court order to Karnataka to alighting at railway stations in ers killed in clashes with security taka yesterday over the Cauvery release 12,000 cusecs of Cau- Bengaluru and at the airport on forces – one each in Shopian and water row with Tamil Nadu. The very river water to Tamil Nadu the outskirts had a harrowing Bandipora districts – while one neighbouring state was peaceful, till September 20, Siddara- time reaching home in the ab- person died, apparently of heart with security beefed up for busi- maiah said: “It is difficult to sence of taxis, autos and buses. attack, after a teargas shell fell nesses owned by Kannadigas and implement the order but we State-run and private bus nearby. also for popular personalities of will ensure enough drinking services to and from Tamil Nadu Shahid Ahmed, 24, was killed in Karnataka origin. water for Bengaluru, Mysuru, from Karnataka have been sus- Shopian when a mob defi ed curfew However, angry truck own- Mandya and other Cauvery pended. But trains and fl ights and began pelting stones at secu- ers in Tamil Nadu told the media basin areas.” are operating to Chennai and rity forces. The forces retaliated that they would hold a demon- According to him, the Su- other cities in Tamil Nadu. with tear gas and pellets, resulting stration in Hosur town, con- preme Court’s order refl ects Cable operators in Bengaluru in Shahid’s death. Ten others were demning the burning of around Karnataka’s inability to imple- blocked all the 52 Tamil televi- also injured in the fi ghting. 45 trucks by hooligans in Kar- ment the September 5 judge- sion channels to prevent retali- Jallaluddin, 45, died of heart nataka. ment to release 15,000 cusecs atory attacks. attack when a teargas shell fi red In Bengaluru, India’s IT hub, per day. A quarter of the 10mn people at protesters outside fell into the one person was killed and two The Bengaluru police im- in Bengaluru are Tamils – the mosque where he was present. others were injured in police posed curfew for three days second largest community after Another youth, Murtaza, 25, was fi ring on Monday night to quell from early yesterday in the city’s Kannadigas. earlier killed in clashes in Ban- violence. north-west, south-west, north Vehicular traffi c on the 150km dipora. Clashes were also reported Violence erupted in Karna- east and central areas. “The Bengaluru-Mysuru highway re- from Batamaloo area in Srinagar. taka on Monday following stray situation is peaceful across mained aff ected due to the pro- With policeman Rouf Ahmed, incidents of violence in Tamil who was injured in a gunfi ght in the city,” said Bengaluru police tests. Nadu in retaliation to the attack Nowhatta town on August 15, suc- commissioner N S Megharikh. Condemning the attacks on cumbing yesterday, the death toll on a Tamil youth in Karnataka. Curfew was relaxed since Kannadigas and their properties in the ongoing unrest sparked by A hotel promoted by a Kan- morning for Muslims to off er in Tamil Nadu over the century- the July 8 killing of Hizbul com- nadiga and some vehicles with Eid prayers. old row, Siddaramaiah said the mander Burhan Wani has climbed Karnataka registration were at- Though schools, colleges, people in other states should to 86, according to police records. tacked at Rameswaram in Tamil government and private offi ces cooperate in maintaining law Thousands have been injured in Nadu. and banks have a holiday for and order. the violence. In Bengaluru, Chief Minister Eid, several IT fi rms and back In Tamil Nadu, police took Authorities said on Monday Siddaramaiah said: “It is true offi ces which are working told several steps to prevent any that the curfew had been ordered that violence is not a solution to their staff to work from homes. violence. More than 100 police across all 10 districts of the valley any problem. We have decided Shops, markets, malls, hotels, patrol teams were pressed into today as they had received intel- to impose law and order with an restaurants, cinema theatres service for round-the-clock ligence inputs that separatists had iron hand.” and commercial establishments protection of businesses owned planned large-scale violence. Police personnel take a miscreant into custody during a curfew in Bengaluru yesterday. Prime Minister Narendra observed an undeclared shut- by people of Karnataka origin. Dynamic Prabhu opts for dynamic ticket pricing ndian railways, which is about railway ministers from eastern In- services and earn people’s trust. parlance, surge-pricing. eral fi nancial support as its own has enough of them still left to to lose its special status of be- dia, especially from Bihar, had seen He had talked of introducing the Tickets for three high-profi le income-generating capacity is take the trains. All these add up to Iing the only ministry that gets to it that the railways remained the bullet train which, he expected, trains - the Rajdhani, Shatabdi highly shackled. How can inter- make sure that Prabhu’s eff orts at to present its own budget in par- poor man’s major transport op- would give Indian railways that and Duranto expresses – that nal revenues be improved if ticket generating extra revenue do not go liament, has perhaps done a good tion. Nothing wrong with that. Delhi much-needed shot in the arm. run the length and breadth of the prices cannot be increased? And waste. turn to the civil aviation ministry, A country of a billion-plus peo- But his chosen minister, country are now being sold under if the interests of the poor have That said, Prabhu may have in- or more precisely the domestic air- ple with a per capita income of a Sadananda Gowda, was hardly up the surge-pricing scheme which to safeguarded, then the rich will advertently given a leg up to the line industry. little more than Rs17 a day (1990) Diary to it. Not only did he lack ideas but envisages up to 40% rise in ticket have to pay. Something has got to airlines as well. There is serious Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu will have to make do with such lawyer-turned-politician Gowda prices during peak demand. give and Prabhu has taken the safer competition among the fi ve or six is known for his dynamism. He is facilities as are aff ordable. So, in- seemed to prefer to work from his The results, according one sen- route. major airlines on the domestic working relentlessly to get rid of stead of improving the in-train home city Bengaluru rather than ior railway offi cial, has been quite This is not to say that surge- routes. Like the railways, India’s the slothful image of the behemoth services and speed of the rolling By A K B Krishnan be in the thick of things in the na- encouraging. In the fi rst two days pricing will cure all the fi nancial ills air travel too is one of the world’s which, despite being the world’s stock, these ministers cut what- tional capital. It did not take long since the new policy was imple- of railways. The additional revenue cheapest. But unlike the railways, largest people mover, is decades ever corner possible in order to for Modi to replace Gowda with mented, more than 50,000 tick- will only be a small fraction of the the peak seasons for the airlines behind in innovation, technology keep the fares low. If trains run late Suresh Prabhu, a chartered ac- ets have been sold at higher prices huge turnover of Indian railways. are few and far between when and of course services. by several hours, so be it, as long as countant who is better suited for bringing an additional Rs16mn to Its 12,500 trains move as many as fares can go through the sky. But The reasons are not far to seek they run. luxury of neglecting technology. number-crunching. the railways’ coff ers. 23mn passengers every day. The every peak season is followed by a though. Indian railways has been But the economic liberalisa- During his campaign for the His two budgets stand testimo- Prabhu has been careful to re- daily receipts from passenger and near-dry season when fares hit the the prime example of Nehruvian tion under then prime minister P 2014 Lok Sabha elections, prime ny to the fact that Prabhu knows strict the new pricing policy to the freight traffi c is close to $70mn. rock bottom and often-times are socialism and the spirit has en- V Narasimha Rao changed the in- minister-hopeful Narendra Modi how best to get the right numbers. three trains because all of them The new pricing mechanism cheaper than train tickets. dured even half a century after the come levels of millions of Indians had time and again pointed out Naturally the dynamism of the are fully air-conditioned and are could at best bring in another With surge-pricing this can death of the fi rst prime minister. for the better (Rs230 per person that the railways required larges- minister has to translate into the mostly used by the middle class or million dollars a day during peak be a permanent feature. A Delhi- So you can travel from New per day in 2014-15) and, as a corol- cale revamping, including privati- lower echelons over time. Prabhu lower middle class. season. But when you are looking Mumbai ticket on Air India, if Delhi to Thiruvananthapuram, a lary, travel for business and pleas- sation because, as a public sector has grand designs for his charge. The less privileged travel in to fi nance massive development booked at least 15 days in advance, distance of 2,892km, for as low as ure received a major boost. monopoly, it will remain a major Apart from bullet trains, plan- slower, ordinary trains that off er projects every bit counts. could be around Rs2,870 while the Rs915, that too in the sleeper class. People’s aspirations and expec- drain on the exchequer, something ning for which is already much cheap tickets. The move did elicit The advantage for Prabhu is same journey by Rajdhani under An ordinary second class ticket tations also leaped skywards. While that India could ill aff ord. advanced, Prabhu is leveraging some protest from the Congress that the “peak season” for these the surge-pricing scheme could without the sleeper facility will comfort became one of the priori- But promises made during poll thousands of acres of prime real and the Aam Aadmi Party but they trains lasts almost the entire year. cost as much as Rs4,054. But one cost just half or even less. Yes, it ties, the need for speed turned out campaigns more often than not get estate that is in the possession of could not sustain it because Pra- Because of India’s varied climatic must hasten to add that this is on will take the better part of two days to be the deciding factor. side-tracked when parties get into the railways. But he is aware that bhu had left the poor man’s trains patterns from north to south and normal days. Peak season air tick- and two nights, but you will be A host of private airlines took the hurly-burly of governance. raising passenger fares to even part untouched. east to west and because there ets between the two metros could hard-pressed to fi nd a cheaper rail to the skies. Air India, which till The privatisation eff orts fell victim fi nance those designs would be There have been objections in is always a religious festival or cost anything up to Rs30,000. ticket anywhere in the world! then had a monopoly, was rel- to practical exigencies and labour counter-productive because it will some pink papers that Prabhu an auspicious week happening But as one railway offi cial put it, Of course, the fare goes up if you egated to the third place behind resentment. But Modi seemed to be seen as anti-poor. was exploiting a monopolistic somewhere or the other almost “not more than 10% of our traffi c opt for air-conditioned travel and Indigo and Jet Airways as, much have realised that if he could not Not even Prime Minister Modi situation by under-investing in throughout the year, the trains get will opt to fl y. That’s nothing when the comforts thereof. Nevertheless like the railways, it fell short in privatise the railways and make would agree to such a move. So he capacity and creating a systemic fi lled up without a hitch. While a we have a wait list of 400 for the train travel in India is dirt cheap. innovation and services although it profi table and competitive, he came up with the next best thing, shortage. But the railways have portion of business travellers may Mumbai Rajdhani almost every A long line of socialist-minded it could not have aff orded the should at least try to provide better dynamic pricing or, in the Uber been heavily dependent on fed- have graduated to fl ights, India day.” No problem if there is plenty! Gulf Times Wednesday, September 14, 2016 11 PAKISTAN/AFGHANISTAN 43 criminals Four policemen injured in held through bomb attack near mosque Hotel Eye AFP a suicide attack on another Shia off er Eid prayers. Police were Pakistan has been hit by According to local police Karachi mosque in 2015. able to stop him at the gate frequent sectarian violence in offi cial Abdul Razaq, the van Offi cials said two suicide outside the mosque,” A D Kha- recent years, most of it per- was targeted with a remote con- bombers tried to enter the waja, chief of police for Sindh petrated by hardline groups trolled bomb planted on the software suicide bomber injured Khanpur Imambargah but were province, said. against Shias, who make roadside. four policemen, one intercepted by police. Worshippers overpowered the up around one in fi ve of the “One policeman died on the Acritically, outside a Shia “Four of our men are injured second would-be suicide bomb- population. spot while another succumbed Internews them, 186,000 were the locals mosque in southern Pakistan of whom one is critical,” Umar er as the police were reeling from The January 2015 attack on the to his injuries later at the gov- Lahore while others were foreigners. in an attack claimed by the Pa- Tufail, a senior local police their injuries, he added. Shias in Shikarpur, blamed on ernment hospital in the city,” The system had traced 453 kistani Taliban as the country offi cer said. A faction of the Pakistani Tali- the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi group, another police offi cial Abdullah criminals at the hotels and marked the beginning of the Tufail added doctors were also ban, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, claimed led to a wave of nationwide Jan Afridi said. ahore police have arrest- guesthouses during the two religious festival Eid al-Adha trying to save the life of the other responsibility for the attack in a protests. He said the four policeman injured ed 43 criminals from ho- months. yesterday. suspected bomber, who was in- statement sent to media. In another incident yester- in the incident were stable. Ltels of the city through He said the previous man- The incident occurred in jured when the fi rst one blew Spokesman for the group Eh- day, two policemen died and Balochistan, which borders recently installed ‘Hotel Eye ual system of keeping record Shikarpur in Sindh province, himself up but failed to detonate san Ullah Ehsan said it was a part four were injured when their van Iran and Afghanistan, has oil software’. of the guests at the hotels around 470km (300 miles) north himself. of an operation which would was hit by a blast in Quetta city and gas resources but is affl ict- This new system has been was defective and faulty and of Karachi and the same district “The attackers came as the be spread to every area of the in the southwestern province of ed by militancy and sectarian introduced to tighten the it was not humanly possible where at least 61 were killed in worshippers were gathering to country. Balochistan. violence. noose around the hardened for police to collect particu- criminals. lars of every visitor since the It is stated to be the fi rst in- volume of guests had been in formation technology-orient- thousands, he said. ed initiative which has been Initially, Ashraf added, the Eid prayers introduced in hotels of Lahore police had linked nearly 500 NP panel to keep eye on the activities hotels with the software pro- of the criminals, suspects and gramme. The hotel authori- terrorists. ties had been made bound un- to inspect Making the Hotel Eye soft- der the National Action Plan ware permanent feature of (NAP) to make entry of every the security process, the po- visitor or guest in the newly- CPEC lice have linked nearly 500 installed system. hotels in the last two months Talking about the arrest with the crime database at of the criminals from hotels, progress its control room in the DIG Ashraf said as soon as the ho- operations offi ce. tel management entered their “We have provided android particulars or details, the em- IANS phones to the hotels’ manage- ployees sitting in the control Islamabad ment and linked their com- room got alert about their puterised system to the police notorious record and forward- through the software in order ed the cases to the section embers of the National to get details of all the visitors concerned. Assembly (NP) Stand- or guests,” DIG Haider Ashraf After verifi cation in a short Ming Committee on said. time, police teams were dis- Planning and Development will He said the software was patched to the hotels to arrest visit Gwadar to physically in- designed in collaboration them. Through this innovative spect the progress in implemen- with the Punjab Information scheme in Lahore, he said, the tation of the China-Pakistan Technology Board (PITB) in city police busted two dacoits’ Economic Corridor (CPEC). order to collect details of every gangs. Besides reviewing the progress guest, including foreigners, “The complaints have been of work on various projects be- staying in hotels. surfacing that hardened crim- ing executed under the CPEC as “During last two months, inals were using the hotels well as the Public Sector Devel- the police had arrested 43 as shelter after committing opment Programme, the com- criminals from hotels of the crime,” Ashraf said. mittee members will receive a city by locating them through He added that many ho- briefi ng from the federal and the software,” the DIG said. tels were still not in the loop provincial authorities on the He shared that through the as their owners were not co- establishment of a university in project, entries of 194,000 operating with the police but Gwadar, Dawn online reported Men attend Eid al-Adha prayers in Peshawar yesterday. guests were made in the ho- eff orts were on to bring them yesterday. tels and guesthouses. Of to in the network. The itinerary and agenda is- sued by the National Assembly Secretariat shows that the mem- bers plan to visit the port city of Balochistan on September 27. The members of the commit- tee, headed by Abdul Majeed Ethnic tensions, Taliban pose traps for Ghani Khan of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, will also receive a presentation on the “role, By James Mackenzie, Reuters though the insurgents were The deadline is set to expire a series of meetings, and govern- “Barring accidents, I don’t which have been awash with function and funding of Uni- Kabul pushed back, residents say it with none of those changes in ment unity is undamaged. think anything decisive will hap- angry comment. versity of Turbat and establish- is now a ghost town of empty place, which experts say under- “There’s an environment pen by the end of September,” How this will be judged by ment of its campus in Gwadar”, roads and shuttered shops. mines Ghani’s legitimacy at a time of better understanding and said Umer Daudzai, former in- foreign donors who meet in according to the agenda. aliban advances and a The fi ghting in Uruzgan and when the Afghan public is far from agreement,” said government terior minister and leader of the Brussels in October to approve Gwadar is at the centre of the shootout between gun- other provinces including Hel- happy with his performance. spokesman Shahhussain Mur- opposition Afghanistan Protec- support for Afghanistan re- $46bn CPEC project and more Tmen from rival ethnic mand in the south and Kunduz “It’s a manageable situation, tazawi. “What you see in the tion and Stability Council. mains unclear, although they than $1bn worth of projects are groups in Kabul that carried ech- in the north, plus a string of but the risk of it getting out of media doesn’t refl ect reality.” But he added: “Accidents have said they would continue to be developed around its port oes of Afghanistan’s 1990s civil attacks in Kabul in the last few hand becomes acute around While security and a lack of have always infl uenced things in to provide the billions of dollars by December 2017. war have underlined the threats months, provide stark evidence September,” said Scott Worden, jobs remain top priorities, the Afghanistan a lot.” needed over the coming years. Addressing the participants of facing President Ashraf Ghani of the Western-backed govern- director of Afghanistan and two must also keep a lid on eth- The Kabul attack in July on a “We have achieved most of the conference, Prime Minister two years after he came to power. ment’s inability to guarantee Central Asia Programmes at the nic tensions that fl ared up dur- demonstration by members of the goals set for us and we have Nawaz Sharif had announced The skirmish earlier this security, 15 years after the fall of United States Institute of Peace ing the dispute over the reburial the mainly Shia Hazara com- time to reach the remaining that the corridor’s western route month in the capital, sparked the Taliban. in Washington. of Habibullah Kalakani, a Tajik munity, which killed more than goals,” Murtazawi said. would be constructed fi rst for by a row over plans to re-bury a Nato and Afghan security offi - Ghani has the support of the bandit who briefl y reigned as 80 people, had already raised Seen by critics and some which funds would be released former Tajik king, was relatively cials are on alert for more attacks United States, Afghanistan’s king in 1929. fears of ethnic bloodshed, be- ministers as a remote techno- soon. minor by Afghan standards, but after the Eid holiday this week. key ally; Secretary of State John Although eventually re- yond the militant violence that crat given to micromanaging, The CPEC project will benefi t also a rare open display of hostil- So far, opposition groups Kerry said in April that Wash- solved, the dispute saw Tajik Ghani and the Americans hope Ghani lacks a clear power base. all regions of Pakistan equally ity between ethnic groups that have avoided calling openly ington does not consider the supporters exchanging fi re with to contain. While he may be able to including Gilgit Baltistan and often simmers under the surface for Ghani to go, wary of creat- deadline binding and expects those backing Vice President And the latest dispute has count on US and international remote areas of Khyber Pa- yet defi nes decades of confl ict. ing a power vacuum at a time the government to serve a full Rashid Dostum, an ethnic Uz- fuelled bitter exchanges not backing, his own people doubt khtunkhwa and Balochistan, At the same time, the Taliban when the Taliban insurgency is fi ve-year term. bek with his own large militia, only between Tajiks and Uzbeks, his ability to provide adequate according to offi cials. have stepped up operations only gaining in intensity. Whether it lasts that long who objected that the proposed but also Tajiks and Pashtuns, security and enough jobs. It aims to link Gwadar to Chi- weeks before a major confer- But this month is the deadline may depend on how Ghani gets burial site had connections with the country’s largest ethnic Renewal of ethnic rivalries na’s Xinjiang region via a vast ence of international donors to by which the government was to on with his chief executive Ab- their own history. group, as well as Hazaras, who risks boosting the power of re- network of highways and rail- Afghanistan in Brussels. have introduced a new structure dullah, who recently accused With the opposition unwill- have faced a long history of dis- gional and ethnic strongmen ways, allowing China access to Last Thursday, the militant following the disputed election the president of being unwill- ing to be seen destabilising the crimination. like Dostum, who scorn ef- the Arabian Sea, and making Pa- movement’s fi ghters appeared of 2014, which forced Ghani to ing to listen to his ministers and government, the threat of an Shrill rhetoric from diff erent forts to impose central control kistan a regional manufacturing to walk right into the centre of divide power with his rival, Ab- unfi t to hold offi ce. immediate political crisis ap- ethnic groups in the wake of the on their local power bases, and hub and an attractive market for Tarin Kot, capital of the cen- dullah Abdullah, in an awkward Senior aides say they have pears to have waned, though clash has fed into social media regularly complain of being foreign direct investment (FDI). tral province of Uruzgan, and “unity” administration. ironed out their diff erences after risks remain. and local television stations, shut out by Ghani. Over 1,000 provincial govt Feeding time for birds offi cers promoted this year

Internews ings was held in 2016, while A large portion of the promot- ture and livestock department. Peshawar the number of promoted offi c- ed offi cers include those of the The department upped the ers remains unprecedented,” education, health and establish- pace of promotions after agita- an offi cial of the establishment ment departments. A total 664 tion by offi cers of the Provincial he establishment de- department said. He request- promotions were recommended Management Services/Provin- partment of Pakistan’s ed anonymity as he was not a in the education sector. cial Civil Services. However, Tnorthwest Khyber Pa- uthorised to speak on the matter. In the health department, the an offi cial of the establishment khtunkhwa province has shown It includes 59 offi cers who promotion of 139 offi cers was department said these promo- a keen interest in holding more were promoted to BS-17, while recommended, while 164 em- tions were merely a coincidence Provincial Selection Board (PSB) there were a whopping 595 pro- ployees of the establishment as the secretary preferred to hold meetings since the onset of 2016. motions from BS-17 to BS-18. In department were promoted to regular meetings. Documents collected from addition, 347 offi cers of BS-18 higher grades. “The establishment secre- the establishment department were recommended for promo- The department promoted tary is holding meetings very showed that 1,067 provincial of- tion to BS-19. Similarly, 61 offi c- 32 officers from the industries regularly and that is the reason fi cers of various grades were pro- ers were promoted from BS-19 and technical education sec- more offi cers have been pro- moted from January 1 till August. to BS-20 and only fi ve offi cers tor, while 31 promotions were moted in 2016,” said the offi cial, An Afghan boy feeds pigeons at the Hazrat-i-Ali shrine in Mazar-i Sharif. “A record fi gure of PSB meet- to BS-21. recommended in the agricul- requesting anonymity. Gulf Times 12 Wednesday, September 14, 2016 PHILIPPINES President Duterte says he snubbed Obama at summit President Duterte has insisted that leys of profane tirades by unpredictable themselves to unnecessary risk” he cancelled a scheduled meeting President Rodrigo Duterte. from militant attacks. with the American leader Top offi cials moved to stem the dam- Duterte, 71, has said the row was age, saying that it was business as usual triggered by State Department criti- AFP between the Philippines and its power- cism of his controversial war on drug Manila ful ally, whose backing is essential as crime, which has left about 3,000 it jousts with China over the maritime people dead since he began his six- dispute. year term on June 30. hilippine President Rodrigo Du- “There is no shift in so far as our Obama has said Duterte must con- terte has insisted that he snubbed policy is concerned with respect to our duct his crime war “the right way”, PUS leader Barack Obama after close friendship with the Americans,” protecting human rights. Washington cancelled their scheduled foreign secretary Perfecto Yasay said Zachary Abuza, a Southeast Asian bilateral meeting in Laos last week. yesterday. security expert at the National War Duterte sparked a storm ahead of an The president’s spokesman also in- College in the United States, said Du- Asian gathering by insulting Obama sisted that Duterte’s comments were terte’s actions towards the US were and prompting the US leader to cancel providing context to the confl ict in the worrying in light of militant activity in planned talks between the two allies on south, not a reversal of policy. Mindanao. September 6. “These were not directives to leave, “It is going to take a lot of work to The pair met briefl y later after Du- OK? But this was a context on why we get this relationship back on track,” terte expressed regret. have a confl ict (in Mindanao).In other Abuza told AFP. But the fi ery Filipino leader said on words, he’s giving a broad historical, The United States said the Philip- Monday he skipped another meeting cultural landscape,” Duterte’s spokes- pine government had not offi cially there two days later between Obama man Ernesto Abella said. communicated president Rodrigo Du- and Southeast Asian leaders, follow- Yasay, who was fl ying to Washing- terte’s demand to pull US military ad- ing US criticism of Manila’s anti-crime ton later in the day for talks, added the visers out of the rebellion-torn south- campaign which has claimed almost Duterte administration would honour ern Philippines. 3,000 lives. existing defence agreements including Since 2002, up to 600 US advisers “I purposely did not attend the bi- a 2014 accord giving the US military have been deployed in the Mindanao lateral talks between Asean countries access to at least fi ve Philippine bases. region to train troops battling Mus- and the president of the United States,” One of the bases is located in the lim extremists but their numbers have Duterte said in a speech to police and southern region of Mindanao, where been scaled down in recent years. military personnel. the government is battling Islamic mil- In Washington, the Pentagon and “I really skipped that one.” President Rodrigo Duterte with Philippine Air Force (PAF) officials during the 250th Presidential Airlift Wing (PAW) itants who have off ered allegiance to Is- State Department said they had not been “You just cannot (lecture) a presi- anniversary at the Villamor air base in Pasay city, metro Manila, yesterday. lamic State gunmen in the Middle East. offi cially contacted by Manila about dent of a sovereign state. Even Obama. The Pentagon in June also deployed pulling out the remaining advisers. It would have been wrong for him to do crime war “the right way” and protect “We will not join any expedition of the Philippines and has been the main warplanes and about 120 personnel Yasay, interviewed by Manila’s that. That is why I disrespected them.” human rights, but Duterte dismissed it patrolling the sea,” he said in a speech at source of Manila’s defence equipment in the northern Philippines for short- ABS-CBN network, also confi rmed The former prosecutor mocked the as being none of America’s business. the air force.”I will not allow it because and material. term training missions aimed at ensur- the allies had not discussed Duterte’s “bleeding hearts” who criticised him Earlier Monday, Duterte said he was I do not want my country to be involved But Duterte has been very vocal ing the allies’ access to the South China demand. for his human rights abuses, and reit- ordering all US special forces to leave in a hostile act.” about his displeasure with the US, Sea. He said only around 100 US advisers erated his call for security forces to kill the troubled southern Philippines “I just want to patrol our territorial blaming Washington for the problems Duterte’s predecessor Benigno were left in the south of the country. drug suspects and other criminals. where they have been advising local waters,” he added. in his country’s strife-torn south. Aquino had pursued closer military Yasay, who was heading to Wash- Duterte won presidential elections troops in battling Muslim extremists, The United States and the Philip- ties with the United States as part of ington for talks, added the Duterte by a landslide in May after promising saying the West was at the root of the pines have been holding joint maritime President Duterte said yesterday his plans to improve the deterrence capa- administration would honour existing that tens of thousands of people would persistent Muslim insurgency. patrols in the contested South China country was not cutting ties with its al- bility of his militarily weak nation. defence agreements including a 2014 be killed in an unprecedented law-and- The US is the country’s main defence Sea in March to help build interoper- lies, a day after he called for the with- In April, the Philippine Navy be- accord giving the US military access order crackdown. ally and former colonial ruler. ability and improve the Philippine Na- drawal of US special forces. gan joint South China Sea naval pa- to at least fi ve Philippine bases, one of Security forces have relentlessly fol- The Philippines will not participate vy’s capability. “We are not going to cut our umbili- trols with the US as the Pentagon re- them in Mindanao. lowed his orders since he took offi ce on in joint patrols in the disputed South Duterte also directed defence secre- cal cord to countries we are allied with,” sponded to muscular Chinese actions Duterte’s spokesman Ernesto Abella June 30. China Sea, president Rodrigo Duterte tary Delfi n Lorenzana and the military Duterte said in a speech at a Philippine in the sea, including building artifi cial also said the president’s pronounce- But his actions have sparked a wave said yesterday, describing such patrols to check into purchasing arms in either air force event. islands over disputed reefs. ments were not to be taken as policy. of international condemnation, in- as “a hostile act”.Duterte said the Phil- Russia or China. Duterte also said the Philippines does Yasay attempted to downplay “These were not directives to leave, cluding from the UN chief Ban Ki- ippine navy and coastguard would only “We can buy the arms where they are not intend to fi ght any other country. Duterte’s comments, saying yes- OK? But this was a context on why we moon and the US State Department. patrol seas within the 12-nautical mile cheap and where there are no strings The Philippines assured the United terday they were “in the context of have a confl ict (in Mindanao).In other In a brief encounter in Laos, Obama limit of the country’s territorial waters attached and it is transparent,” he said. States yesterday it will honour its obli- wanting to save the lives of these words, he’s giving a broad historical, urged the Filipino leader to conduct his and not its exclusive economic zone. The US is one of the closest allies of gations as a military ally following vol- Americans who might be exposing cultural landscape.”

Plea for Mary Jane Supreme Court asked to nullify fi retruck deal

Manila Times cility Agreements entered into Makati between the Department of Finance and UniCredit Bank Austria AG. former lawmaker has The loans were to be paid in asked the Supreme 17 years. ACourt to nullify the But De la Cruz said both “identical” P3bn supply con- contracts were not covered by tracts entered into by the de- an appropriation from con- partment of interior and lo- gress. cal government (DILG) with He added that the supply a foreign supplier involving contract did not undergo any the acquisition of 156 units of public bidding. fi retrucks. “The absence of any of the In his 52-page petition for three – an appropriation law, certiorari, prohibition and a certifi cate of appropriation mandamus with prayer for and fund availability, and pub- the issuance of a temporary lic bidding – renders the sup- restraining order (TRO) and a ply contracts void from the writ of injunction, former par- beginning,” he said in his peti- ty-list representative Jonathan tion. Dela Cruz said the contracts under the department’s “fi re The deal by the DILG and protection capability pro- an Austrian corporation gram” violated the constitu- Rosenbauer international tion. was for delivery of 76 Dela Cruz was referring to units of Rosenbauer TLF Women’s rights activists hold a candlelight vigil in Manila for drug convict Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso who is facing execution in Indonesia. the deal entered into by the 4000 fi re trucks DILG and an Austrian corpo- ration Rosenbauer interna- “The clear purpose of these tional for delivery of 76 units requirements is to insure that of Rosenbauer TLF 4000 fi re government contracts are nev- Three cases of Zika reported trucks. er signed unless supported by The fi rst contract was ex- the corresponding appropria- Two more Filipinos were found to be infected with Manila, Malaysia share intel on ecuted on December 14, 2011 tion law and fund availability,” the Zika virus, bringing to three the number of locally when the department was he explained. transmitted cases in the Philippines, the health headed by Jesse Robredo. Named respondents in the secretary said yesterday. Sabah abductions In July 2015, a similar con- case were former executive The new patients lived in the same house as a 45-year- tract was entered into between secretary Paquito Ochoa, Jr, old woman who was diagnosed with the virus in the the DILG represented by then former Finance secretary Ce- central city of Iloilo last month, becoming the first Manila Times the direction of Alice reef and Bulubulu Island of Tawi-Tawi. secretary Mel Senen Sarmien- sar Purisima, former Budget locally transmitted case of Zika in the country. Zamboanga City “Coordination and intelligence sharing and exchange to and Rosenbauer Interna- secretary Florencio B. Abad, “All three cases have since recovered from their mild with Eastern Sabah Security Command is now being tional, also for the delivery of Roberto Tan (national treasur- illness and did not require hospitalization,” health done,” it said without further details. the same number of fi re trucks er), Emmanuel Esguerra in his secretary Paulyn Ubial said, adding that the patients he Philippine military on Monday said it is exchang- The fi shing company immediately reported the abduc- for P1.49bn. capacity as secretary general were quarantined at home. The three had no history ing intelligence with Malaysia following the abduc- tion to the police before dawn the next day. No individual The National Economic De- of NEDA, Michael Aguinaldo, of travel and were likely to have been infected through Ttion of three fi shermen by suspected Filipino gunmen or group claimed responsibility for the latest abduction, velopment Authority (NEDA), chairman of the commission mosquito bites, the health department said. in Sabah. Seven gunmen abducted the trio in a daring cross- but Sabah authorities said the gunmen fl ed towards Ta- which is also a respondent in on audit, chief superintend- Before the woman in Iloilo, four cases of Zika were border raid into the rich Malaysian state just off the south- wi-Tawi, one of fi ve provinces under the Muslim autono- the case, in its May 19, 2015 ent Rodrigo Abrazaldo, of- reported in the Philippines but those people were ern Philippine province of Tawi-Tawi on September 10. mous region in southern Philippines. meeting, confi rmed the In- fi cer in charge of the bureau believed to have been infected while travelling abroad. The armed men on board two green speedboats inter- The incident happened as the Philippine military con- vestment Coordination Com- of fore protections (BFP) and In 2012, a 15-year-old boy in the central province of cepted the trawler near the island of Pompom off Sem- tinues its off ensive against the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu and mittee (ICC) approval of the Sarmiento. Cebu tested positive for the virus but no transmissions porna town and snatched its skipper and two other crew. Basilan provinces. It was not immediately known wheth- project. The two controversial sup- were reported. Four other crew members were left unharmed and re- er the militant group was involved in the abduction, but The supply contracts were ply contracts were signed and The Zika virus, which is believed to cause brain damage ported the incident to their employer. the Abu Sayyaf is still holding over a dozen hostages, in- both fi nanced by a loan ex- implemented during the ten- in babies, is transmitted by mosquitoes that also cause The Western Mindanao Command, citing Malaysian in- cluding Malaysian and Indonesian tugboat crewmen, a tended by the government of ures of Robredo, Sarmiento dengue fever. telligence report, said the seven armed men sped off toward Norwegian man, a Japanese and Filipinos. Austria by way of Credit Fa- and Manuel Roxas 2nd. Gulf Times Wednesday, September 14, 2016 13 SRI LANKA/BANGLADESH/NEPAL

Mass prayer

Nepalese Muslims attend the mass prayer during the Eid al-Adha celebrations at the Kashmiri Takiya Jame mosque in Kathmandu yesterday. Right: Bangladeshi Muslims attend Eid al-Adha prayers at Baitul Mukarrom National Mosque under rainfall in Dhaka yesterday.

Lanka stops Nepal announces PM’s on-arrival visa for Bangladeshi offi cial visit to India nationals IANS then pay homage to Mahatma comes as Nepal Foreign Minis- By Mizan Rahman out the answer myself. I was Kathmandu Gandhi at Rajghat. ter Prakash Sharan Mahat met Dhaka not given any indication,” she On the same day, Prime Min- his Indian counterpart Sushma told newsmen. ister Prachanda will call on Indi- Swaraj at New Delhi on Mon- Asked if the on-arrival visa epal yesterday an- an President Pranab Mukherjee, day. ri Lanka has stopped is- will resume soon, the high nounced the four-day and hold offi cial meeting with Mahat, who is in New Delhi suing on-arrival visas commissioner said, “Bang- Nstate visit of Prime Indian Prime Minister Modi. to prepare the ground for the Sfor Bangladeshi na- ladeshis are always welcome Minister Pushpa Kamal Da- Some senior Cabinet mem- fi rst foreign visit of the Prime tionals without informing in Sri Lanka. We value Bang- hal ‘Prachanda’ to India from bers of the Government of India Minister, discussed issues re- Dhaka, offi cials at the foreign ladeshi visitors coming to Sri tomorrow- his fi rst foreign will call on Prachanda on the lated to Prachanda’s visit and ministry said. Lanka because more people- visit after taking over as prime same day. other bilateral issues during the Bangladesh also retali- to-people contacts help build minister last month. During the visit, Dahal will meeting. ated by stopping on-arrival this valuable relationship.” Prachanda is paying a state inspect the Nathpa Jhakri Hy- Mahat also met some political visa facilities for Sri Lankan According to the Bangla- visit on the invitation of Indian dropower Project in Himachal leaders in New Delhi during the nationals, they said. desh foreign ministry offi cials, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pradesh and visit Patanjali Yog- visit. These include Bharatiya In addition, the foreign the Sri Lankan action a few said a ministry of foreign aff airs peeth and its industrial/manu- Janata Party (BJP) leader Bhagat ministry summoned Sri days back came as a surprise statement. facturing units in Haridwar. Singh Koshyari, Nationalist Lankan high commissioner to to them. “Sri Lanka is a friend The prime minister will be ac- According to the statement, Congress Party general secretary Dhaka Yasoja Gunasekera to of Bangladesh with no thorny companied by his spouse, Sita Prachanda is also to interact with D P Tripathi, Janata Dal (United) the ministry. issue,” a senior offi cial said. Dahal. He will be staying at the the intellectual circle and busi- secretary K C Tyagi, Vijay Pratap During a meeting that The offi cials could not say Rashtrapati Bhawan in New ness community in New Delhi of Socialist Font, among other lasted more than an hour, if this measure is Bangla- Delhi as the state guest of the as well as with the Nepali com- leaders, the Kathmandu Post additional foreign secre- desh-specifi c or Sri Lanka has Government of India. munity in India during the visit. reported. tary (bilateral and consular) stopped this facility for other Foreign Minister Prakash Sha- The PM and his delegation will Mahat is to discuss about Kamrul Ahsan voiced Dha- countries too. ran Mahat who is currently in return home on Sunday. implementation of Panches- ka’s dissatisfaction over the “Whatever the reason is, no New Delhi in preparation for the According to the statement, wor Project, solution to Nepal’s development and wanted to country can take such a meas- high level visit, will accompany Ramesh Lekhak, Minister for energy crisis and other energy- know the reason or reasons, ure without informing the the prime minister. Physical Infrastructure and related issues with Indian Power said the sources. country concerned,” said the The prime minister will at- Transport, Members of the Leg- Minister Piyush Goyal. In response, the Sri offi cial. tend a reception to be hosted by islature-Parliament, secretaries He is to also meet Indian Road Lankan high commission- The offi cial said the for- the Nepal embassy in New Delhi and other offi cials from diff erent Transport Minister Nitin Gad- er said she herself did not eign ministry came to know tomorrow. ministries, media persons and kari to discuss construction of know and she will come about the development from On Friday, he will attend a representatives of business com- the Postal Road. back to the foreign ministry Mihin Lanka, a Sri Lankan Ceremonial Reception and in- munity will also be part of the He returned home yesterday. after consulting her foreign airline that operates direct spect a Guard of Honour at the delegation. Prachanda was Prime Minis- ministry in Colombo. fl ight between Dhaka and Rashtrapati Bhawan. He will Announcement of the visit ter earlier from 2008 to 2009. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ “I am still trying to fi gure Colombo. Plane Factory owner, Bangladesh allows suff ers tyre burst managers fl ee India, Nepal and

IANS Reuters Many fear the death toll could rise Kathmandu Dhaka further as the search continues and a few people remain missing after the Bhutan to use its port blaze caused a partial collapse of the Nepal Airlines fl ight from police case has been fi led factory building. New Delhi to Kathmandu, against the owner of Tampaco The cause of the fi re in the Tongi By Mizan Rahman India wants to use Bang- Talking to newsmen, and in next two three years, Awith 150 passengers on AFoils and seven other top man- industrial zone about 20km (12 miles) Dhaka ladesh’s seaports to carry Mongla Port Authority it will increase signifi cant- board, including Foreign Minis- agers of the food and cigarette packag- north of the capital, Dhaka, was not goods to its seven sis- (MPA) chairman Riazuddin ly. ter Prakash Sharan Mahat, suf- ing plant near Dhaka who have gone immediately known, but offi cials said ter states of Arunachal Ahmed said, “We are ready The MPA chairman, fered a tyre burst while landing into hiding, as the death toll from a fi re a gas line leak and a boiler explosion n a major move, Bang- Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, to handle cargoes of India, quoting various studies, at Tribhuvan International Air- at the factory over the weekend rose to probably triggered it. ladesh has allowed In- Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nepal and Bhutan. Almost said containerised cargo port (TIA) yesterday. 33 yesterday. Idia, Nepal and Bhutan Nagaland and Tripura. half of the total capac- handling of the port may All fl ights were delayed for an The blaze erupted early on Saturday Many fear the death toll to use its southwestern Nepal and Bhutan are ity of the port now remains see a big jump by 2018 hour due to the incident from morning and became Bangladesh’s could rise further as the Mongla port. also interested to use the unused.” when vehicles will start around 12.50pm. worst industrial accident since the search continues and The Prime Minister’s Of- ports for facilitating their In fi scal year 2015-16, the plying through the Padma Foreign Minister Mahat was collapse of the Rana Plaza building in a few people remain fi ce has asked the ministry external trade. port handled some 6mn Bridge. returning after a two-day of- 2013 that killed 1,135 garment workers. missing of shipping (MoS) to take Offi cials said the un- tonnes of goods against its Bangladesh has already fi cial visit to New Delhi to set It has raised renewed questions about necessary steps for pro- derused Mongla port will capacity to handle 13mn granted transit and trans- the stage for the visit of Nepa- industrial safety in the country, which “It may take two months to remove viding transit facilities to become busy and its earn- tonnes of goods. shipment facility to neigh- lese Prime Minister Pushpa is one of the world’s top garment the debris of the factory. The debris India, Nepal and Bhutan to ings will signifi cantly in- The port has handling bouring India. It is already Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ to New exporters. is more than that of Rana Plaza,” said use Mongla port, offi cials crease once India, Nepal, capacity of 0.25mn TEUs carrying goods to its seven Delhi, beginning Thursday, the The factory is owned by Syed Mok- Brigadier General Mahmud Hasan, said. and Bhutan start using (20ft equivalent units) of sister states using Ashuganj Kathmandu Post reported. bul Hossain, a former member of par- commander of the army unit working Prime Minister’s eco- the port. containerised goods while river port. The Nepal Airlines Corpo- liament. Hossain said on Saturday that on the search eff ort. nomic aff airs adviser The government is look- it handled nearly 43,000 In June last year, Bang- ration Airbus A320 plane got Tampaco was “fully compliant.” But he The fi re is the latest in a series of in- Mashiur Rahman conveyed ing for various options to TEUs of goods in last fi s- ladesh and India signed a stranded on the runway fol- could not be reached by telephone to dustrial accidents in the South Asian the message in a recent let- enhance use of the seaport cal year, said the MPA memorandum of under- lowing the tyre burst. The burst answer further questions yesterday. country. It comes just weeks after over ter to Shipping Minister as per its capacity. chairman. standing for letting Delhi also caused some damage on the Jahirul Islam, a director with the fi re 100 people fell ill after inhaling gas Shajahan Khan. The KCCI suggested “On an average, only use Chittagong and Mon- runway, the Post said. service department, said the Bangla- that leaked from a fertiliser plant in He mentioned that Prime making mandatory han- one or two ships stay in the gla ports for movement of The 158-seater plane named deshi army had joined search eff orts at Chittagong in southern Bangladesh. Minister Sheikh Hasina dling of raw materials of port. Most of the anchor- goods to and from India. Lumbini was fully occupied. the site of the fi re. Tampaco Foils makes packaging for took the decision on the factories located in Khulna, age points also remain un- But necessary agreement All passengers onboard were “We need to move a huge amount food and cigarettes for a number of lo- basis of a plea of the Khulna Rajshahi and Barisal divi- occupied,” Ahmed said. and protocols are yet to be safe and were shifted to the air- of debris otherwise searching is not cal companies and global brands like Chamber of Commerce and sion, and import of ferti- He said the port has been fi nalised for implementa- port terminal. possible,” he said. British American Tobacco and Nestle. Industry (KCCI). liser through Mongla port. further raising its capacity tion of the memorandum. Gulf Times 14 Wednesday, September 14, 2016 COMMENT

Chairman: Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Attiyah Production Editor: C P Ravindran The perils of politics

P.O.Box 2888 Doha, Qatar [email protected] based on fear and hate Telephone 44350478 (news), 44466404 (sport), 44466636 (home delivery) Our leaders must talk more Our efforts to protect ourselves Muslims rather than trying to bring opportunity that we still benefi t from Fax 44350474 ambitiously about what we have increased our suffering and positive change. today. left us less safe. Our policies A similar story applies to the But since September 11, 2001, are for and less about what designed to boost our economy have management of our economy. Fearing our society has gone in the opposite we are against increased inequality and diminished a loss in consumer confi dence after direction. We in America have allowed investments in critical public needs. the September 11 attacks, President fear to dominate our policymaking, Most ironic, our fight against hateful Bush famously told Americans to “go our public rhetoric and even our local By Jeremi Suri terrorists has made us a more hate- shopping”. In a matter of months, an behaviour. In this sense, the terrorists GULF TIMES filled society. inherited budget surplus turned into have won. The reactions of American The Dallas Morning News/TNS We see evidence of it today. Donald a defi cit, with much of the money leaders have done more to harm Trump’s rhetoric against Muslims, going to warfare, homeland security our society and diminish our future ifteen years ago, American Mexicans, immigrants and women projects, tax cuts and other eff orts prospects than the crimes conducted self-confi dence shattered is an extension of similar words and to stimulate the economy. This was abroad. Our wounds are almost Cost of occupation: amid the death and debris of attitudes expressed with ever more followed by reductions in government entirely self-infl icted. Fthe World Trade Center, the frequency since the United States regulations on lending and business But here is the good news: We Pentagon, a fi eld in Pennsylvania and began its “War on Terror”. In the years practices, many justifi ed by the fear still have time to reverse course. four hijacked aircraft. that followed 9/11, President George that restrictive laws would limit the The history of the past 15 years can How Israel stifl es The ripple eff ect has been felt ever W Bush spoke of a “crusade”. Sarah country’s ability to respond to new awaken us to the perils of politics since. Palin and other tea party activists threats and competition. based on fear and hate. What we Before these terrible terrorist encouraged Americans to arm The 2008 recession triggered yet need is more of a willingness to see Palestinian economy attacks, we in America believed themselves and stand their ground another set of larger spending projects beyond immediate and exaggerated history was on our side. Perhaps against suspected intruders in their to bail out bankers and businessmen threats, with a renewed focus on hopes rightly so – the forces of democracy communities, most of whom had who were allegedly “too big to fail”. and possibilities. In the aftermath The devastating Israeli occupation for decades and capitalism had torn down the darker skin. Some followers of this Fearful spending always makes of a fl awed, yet successful Summer has brought down the Palestinian economy to its walls of communist tyranny, and rhetoric still believe that the fi rst for bad investment choices. Look Olympics, our leaders have a chance to knees. But the economy could easily double – with the world was poised for an era African-American president is really at what the record budget defi cits re-introduce our country to the world of “perpetual peace” enforced by a secret Muslim, which is their way after September 11, 2001, bought us: and articulate a vision for increased exceptionally high unemployment and poverty levels unchallenged US power. In fact, of saying he is not a true American. rising inequality, stagnant wages and co-operation so we can better manage plummeting – if the occupation were lifted, the United foreign policy was barely discussed Trump has only added more gasoline crumbling public institutions. New climate change, nuclear proliferation Nations Conference on Trade and Development said during the 2000 presidential election. to this brewing hatred. spending went to consumers and and international trade. last week. The world was going our way. Making the hate deeper and investors, not the builders of schools, We also need a national economic Then September11, 2001, happened. more diffi cult to control are our bridges, parks or even sidewalks. policy that promises more Israel’s restrictions stifl e much of Palestinian It was a shock because it was not military failures in the Middle East. Only a few decades ago, American opportunities for disadvantaged economic life. It controls every access point, which supposed to happen. Since March 2003, we have spent infrastructure was the envy of the citizens through targeted investments, enables it to oversee all imports and exports. It Nineteen young men from the more than $2tn in Iraq on war and world. Now our telecommunications, regulations and assistance. creates bureaucratic hurdles that Palestinians say kill Middle East, carrying only box reconstruction. More than 4,000 electric grid and public transportation Our leaders must talk more entrepreneurship. cutters, killed almost 3,000 people Americans have died in that country, are just above Third World standards. ambitiously about what we are for and by fl ying airplanes into the World and at least 150,000 Iraqi civilians Where did all the money go? It less about what we are against. The widespread control on the movement of people Trade Center, the Pentagon and the have lost their lives. Yet, more than a followed the fear, not the country’s And most important, we must, as and goods; destruction of water sources, homes, fi eld in Pennsylvania, injuring more decade later, the situation in Iraq and needs. Spending on prisons, police Americans, work toward rebuilding a trees and other assets; and the expansion of Israeli than 6,000 others. They caused more the wider region is worse and more and surveillance increased rapidly, civic culture that values conversation settlements perpetuate the economic crisis in West than $3tn in damage, shutting down threatening. The Islamic State group, just as budgets for education and and compromise, discouraging hate, the fi nancial and political capitals which emerged as a reaction to the infrastructure have fallen. Both fear and violence. That is where Bank and the Gaza strip, UNCTAD said. of the United States. The mightiest war and American occupation, now Republicans and Democrats support the real courage resides – in the “Without occupation, the economy of the Occupied and wealthiest nation was exposed controls parts of Iraq and Syria. It transfer payments that protect these willingness to dream again, despite the Palestinian Territory could produce twice the GDP as a vulnerable collection of soft uses this territory to plan attacks on things, but neither has taken a strong scary shadows on the wall. (gross domestic product) it currently generates,” the targets. Overnight, the symbols of American and European targets with stand to protect investments in our American freedom and prosperity – greater zeal and eff ectiveness than future crop of talented citizens – zJeremi Suri holds the Mack Brown UNCTAD report said. offi ce buildings, tourist destinations, ever exhibited by the regime the US many of whom are, incidentally, dark- Distinguished Chair for Leadership The Palestinian economy was hard-hit by the airports, parks and even sports arenas overthrew in Iraq. skinned and female. in Global Aff airs at The University of devastating 2014 war in Gaza between Israel and – became sites of potential danger. Out of fear, we fought a long and The generation of Americans who Texas at Austin. He is the author and Hamas. The 50-day Israeli bombing campaign killed We in America have lived in fear costly war in Iraq that has made us less lived through the Great Depression editor of numerous books, including more than 2,200 Palestinians; while 73 died on the ever since that terrible day. The irony safe, less infl uential and less wealthy. and the Second World War followed Liberty’s Surest Guardian: American is that the fear, much more than the Many Americans are angry about Franklin Roosevelt’s prescient warning Nation-Building From the Founders to Israeli side. For Gaza, the economic fallout came close terrorists, has done enormous damage this, and for good reason, but they that “we have nothing to fear but fear Obama. Readers may send him e-mail to three times the size of its GDP. to our country. are directing much of their anger at itself”. They built a society of hope and at [email protected] Palestinian economic output could jump as high as 35% if the biggest chunk of West Bank territory were opened for development, the World Bank had said in 2013. Last week’s UNCTAD report also Offi cially, one pointed to the dire impact of Israel’s quarter of the unjustifi ed grip over population in the land designated as “Area C” in the 1993 the Palestinian Oslo peace, which territories are covers 61% of the West Bank and 66% unemployed of its grazing land. “It is estimated that the occupation of Area C costs the Palestinian economy the equivalent of 35% of GDP” ($4.4bn in 2015), UNCTAD said. Offi cially, one quarter of the population in the Palestinian territories are unemployed, while the rate in Gaza is 38%. But these fi gures signifi cantly underestimate the problem, UNCTAD said. “A shocking indicator of the grim situation in Gaza is the rising infant mortality rate ... (which) has risen for the fi rst time in 50 years,” the report said. The neonatal mortality rate nearly doubled between 2008 and 2013, from 12 to 20.3 deaths for every 1,000 live births. True, there have been international attempts, led People gathering at one of the pools at the National September 11 Memorial following a morning commemoration ceremony for the victims of the terrorist attacks 15 by the US, to broker an agreement in which Israel years after the day this Sunday in New York City. would peacefully co-exist with a new Palestinian state created in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip – lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 war. However, many Israelis and Palestinians are sceptical about Islamophobia hurts all Americans the chances of reaching a lasting peace deal in the decades-old confl ict. By Bob Roberts and Charles C Krulak victims of Islamophobia, which 5,000 Muslims are in the US military, religious freedom of Christians and “The closure of Gaza suff ocates its people, stifl es The Dallas Morning News/TNS prevents them from exercising their and thousands more serve their other religious minorities around the its economy and impedes reconstruction eff orts. basic rights, including their right to country in other ways, as teachers, world. religious freedom. It also threatens doctors, lawyers, social workers and In this way, and in many others, It’s a collective punishment for which there must be ust as the United States accepts their lives. Violence against Muslims public offi cials. hostility toward Muslims cuts against accountability,” says UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon. its 10,000th Syrian refugee, spikes after high-profi le incidents of Muslims stand ready to combat our own best interests. All the “civilised” governments in the modern calls to ban future Muslims terrorism, and a recent Georgetown extremism, but the bigoted rhetoric These debates are world now have given in their self-assigned “right” Jfrom entering the country have University report found that an of public offi cials and discriminatory understandably intense and full of to govern by force – more by compulsion than by reached a fevered pitch. In recent upsurge has coincided with the policies could make them reluctant to emotion, but emotion should never weeks, the patriotism of an American presidential race. Between March 2015 co-operate with law enforcement. A lead us to turn our backs on the choice. But Israel’s all-encompassing stranglehold Muslim soldier has been called into and March 2016, 12 American Muslims similar dynamic takes place overseas, values that have made us strong as over the Palestine territories explains the plight of an question without cause; a New York- were murdered in bias-motivated where American hostility toward a people and have made us a light estimated 6.8mn people, who are languishing in an based imam and his associate were attacks. Muslims alienates communities whose for the world. “open prison.” murdered and a county commissioner Yet Islamophobia isn’t a Muslim co-operation the United States needs Millions of Americans share a in Georgia temporarily blocked the issue. It is an issue for anyone who to wage a smart and eff ective battle passionate commitment to our founding construction of a new mosque. cares about the United States and the against terrorism. ideals, and no ideal is more foundational Thankfully, Americans of all values that undergird it. Calls for a blanket ban on Muslims than freedom of religion. It is this To Advertise political and religious backgrounds This shouldn’t need to be said, but refugees appear to validate the clash- freedom that allows us to practice are pushing back, which is good news lies have gained so much traction that of-civilisation propaganda of the our faith without from government [email protected] as we mark 15 years since a group we feel we need to: Terrorist groups Islamic State, which uses such rhetoric interference and that has formed Display of terrorists attacked the US on represent a miniscule fraction of to recruit followers. Conversely, a society of astonishing religious Telephone 44466621 Fax 44418811 September 11, 2001. Muslims worldwide, who are, after all, openness to Muslim refugees shines pluralism. That’s America, a place where Many Americans understand that both the primary victims and primary a light on Islamic State propaganda. people are free to worship according to Classified that hatred of Muslims is an assault on opponents of the Islamic State and Al Make no mistake: Islamophobia the dictates of their own conscience. Telephone 44466609 Fax 44418811 American ideals. We’ve spent our lives Qaeda. According to the FBI, the vast weakens US national security. working in diff erent spheres – one of majority of terrorist attacks in the It’s also important to remember zBob Roberts is the pastor of Subscription us is an evangelical Christian pastor, United States are committed by non- while Christians are a majority in the Northwood Church in Keller, Texas, [email protected] the other a retired US Marine general Muslims. Terrorists speak for Muslims United States, they are a minority a Dallas-Fort Worth suburb. Readers – but we’ve both seen fi rsthand how no more than the Ku Klux Klan speaks when they travel or move to many may send him e-mail at Islamophobia diminishes us all and for Christians. other countries. Treating Muslims bobroberts@northwoodchurch. 2016 Gulf Times. All rights reserved weakens our country. Nearly all Muslims are part of the with proper respect here improves org. Charles C Krulak is retired Of course, Muslims are the primary American mainstream. More than America’s standing to defend the commandant of the US Marine Corps. Gulf Times Wednesday, September 14, 2016 15 COMMENT Hidden data: a weapon that could beat hunger

Cutting hunger and growing Senegal are all working to open their more food is a huge challenge research data, Townsend said. In many sub-Saharan African as climate change makes countries “it’s a lot easier and more weather more erratic around palatable” to open up agricultural data than other kinds. There is greater the world motivation because 70% of employment and the economy is connected to By Laurie Goering agriculture in some way, she said. Thomson Reuters Foundation The US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation ith a single smartphone also announced last week a $15mn app, you can now get a programme to help developing pretty accurate forecast countries in Africa, Asia and Latin Wof the weather anywhere America improve their capacity to in the world. That’s largely thanks to a track agricultural data. decision by science agencies, a decade International agribusiness giants ago, to put online their satellite data such as Syngenta, a member of the and make it available for free. open data coalition, also are making “For hundreds of years, NOAA (the public some of their research. In US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Syngenta’s case, that includes data Administration) has been collecting on virus resistance and the effi ciency that data. But when it was made open of crops in diff erent climates in 41 and available, that’s when the apps countries, among other things. started appearing,” said Jaime Adams, Juan Gonzalez Valero, the an international aff airs adviser for the company’s head of public policy US Department of Agriculture. and sustainability, said Syngenta Now science, computer and believes making the data public agricultural experts hope to achieve “will allow people to make their own something similar for farming and assessments” of the progress of its food data. work, and will be “of value to farmers”. “We believe the solution to end US offi cial Adams said governments world hunger lies in the unavailable and other funders are increasingly data,” said Adams. requiring institutions that win Work is underway to fi nd and use “I consider a lot of the actions we’re farmers in language they understand, resources or trained people to put processes for sharing it at regional or research grants to make their fi ndings that information. taking band-aids,” Adams said. “For or online land records that help information online. national levels, or putting it online, available free online. Global Open Data for Agriculture a comprehensive solution that we can women lay formal claim to the land Kat Townsend, who works with Townsend said. But Code for Africa’s Townsend and Nutrition (GODAN), a look at long term, we need to put a lot they farm, Adams said. Code for Africa, a network of tech Then there is the thorny issue of said turning all the agricultural data consortium of 340 organisations from of information together.” But opening up the world’s workers across the continent, recently trying to make good use of the data coming online into genuinely useful international farming research groups Cutting hunger and growing more agricultural statistics is no easy task. came across university computer that does become available. solutions to boost harvests and cut to universities and agribusiness giants, food is a huge challenge as climate Satellite data takes huge amounts science students in Sierra Leone who Countries and regions often hunger will require not just data- will meet in New York on Thursday change makes weather more erratic of storage space. And getting hadn’t even touched a computer until have diff erent names for crops – crunching but direct contact between and Friday to discuss progress on their around the world, and as the global information from reports into a their third year. for example, corn in the United tech experts and farmers. “open data revolution to zero hunger”. population pushes from 7.4bn people searchable online format is rarely a The main barrier to opening States is maize in South Africa. And “You can have all the Nasa data By making public information today toward an estimated 9bn by priority for those that produce it, she agricultural data “is not a technology information is put on the Internet in a sets open, but if people who are really already being gathered from satellites, 2050. said. issue, by any stretch” but more basic huge variety of languages and formats, trying to tackle the issues aren’t in the fi elds and villages, GODAN aims to Data-based innovation could In some countries, data on problems such as a lack of trained ranging from household surveys to country, working hand-in-hand with spur innovation – from cheaper crop help in the form of cheaper and more groundwater levels or land fertility staff , she said. satellite photos. farmers, then the analysis done and insurance to farm weather apps – to accessible insurance for small-scale is considered a matter of national Villages often have “incredible Still, progress is being made, the insights that go out will be steps feed more of the estimated 800mn farmers, phone apps bringing real- security, to be kept secret. Other amounts of data” on things from land backers of the eff ort say. In Africa, removed from the problems people are people who go hungry each day. time weather and market data to countries don’t have enough fi nancial ownership to harvest records, but no universities in Kenya, Uganda and facing,” she said. Weather report Blanchett in plea for refugees ahead of summit Three-day forecast TODAY High: 37 C By Matthew Ponsford Low : 30 C Thomson Reuters Foundation Hazy to misty at places at first becomes hot daytime with some clouds. allet, phone, high school diploma and a one-way THURSDAY ticket – just a few of High: 37 C the things refugees may Low: 30 C W Sunny grab as they cast one last look around their home before fl eeing. “What they took with them” is a new video featuring Oscar-winning FRIDAY actor and UN ambassador Cate High: 38 C Blanchett and a cast of celebrities Low: 29 C urging governments to ensure Sunny schooling, health and shelter for refugees ahead of a major UN summit on the crisis. Fishermen’s forecast Launched by the UN refugee OFFSHORE DOHA agency (UNHCR) on Monday, the fi lm Wind: NE-N 03-12 KT shows Hollywood actors – including Waves: 1-3 Feet Keira Knightley, Jesse Eisenberg and INSHORE DOHA Wind: NW-NE 05-15 KT Chiwetel Ejiofor – performing a poem Tents are set on the beach next to a medieval fortification wall at the Souda municipality-run camp for refugees and Waves: 1-2 Feet listing items refugees took with them migrants on the island of Chios, Greece. as they fl ed into exile. Around the region “I think it captures the sense of ‘what ambassador, said she hoped to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon refugees who fl ed violence in Iraq and Weather Weather would I take?’, ‘what would I do?’” draw attention to the 65mn people on Friday ahead of an historic refugee Afghanistan at an event in London to today Max/min tomorrow Max/min Blanchett said to fellow Australian actor displaced worldwide, including the summit on September 19 at UN highlight their plight. Abu Dhabi Sunny 42/31 Sunny 41/29 Chris Hemsworth in an interview live- 4.8mn Syrian refugees. headquarters in New York. “The situation for all refugees Baghdad Sunny 43/24 Sunny 42/24 Dubai P Cloudy 40/31 Sunny The gathering will be the fi rst forced to fl ee their homes is appalling, 38/31 streamed on Facebook. The video urges viewers to sign the Kuwait City Sunny 42/26 Sunny 41/27 “For me, one of the powerful things #WithRefugees petition which asks top-level summit called by the United but there are particular hardships Manama Sunny 38/30 Sunny 39/29 in the poem was the word ‘housekeys’ governments to ensure every refugee Nations to seek an international for the women among them. Yet Muscat Sunny 32/26 Sunny 32/26 – that people take their housekeys, has an education, a safe home, and the response to the global refugee crisis. they are often silent,” Stevenson said Riyadh Sunny 40/24 Sunny 40/27 when they’re fl eeing, because they right to work. Yesterday, British actresses Juliet ahead of the event hosted by CARE Tehran Sunny 32/21 Sunny 34/21 want to return home.” The petition, with nearly a million Stevenson and Anne-Marie Duff International and Women for Refugee Blanchett, a UNHCR goodwill signatures, will be delivered to the read the testimonies of women Women. Live issues Anger: does it need managing?

By Oliver Burkeman second marriage will go poorly, for that causes the agitation to begin New York example. But you do want him or her with. Anger’s only real eff ect is to to hurt. And, sooner or later, if you’re make things worse, by turning your a rationalist like Nussbaum, you’ll attention from what can be changed ewspaper columnists, and have to confront an awkward fact: this to what can’t: “It makes one think other opinion-havers, desire for retaliation makes absolutely that progress will have been made if Around the world love few things so much as no sense. the betrayer suff ers, when, in reality, Weather Weather bemoaning our “culture Consider an extreme scenario: this does nothing to solve the real today Max/min tomorrow Max/min N Athens Sunny 32/20 Sunny 33/20 of outrage”. But we’re actually rather someone commits a horrifyingly problem.” confl icted when it comes to the sadistic murder. Naturally, lots of The jarring conclusion is that my Beirut P Cloudy 28/24 Sunny 28/24 Bangkok T Storms 31/25 S T Storms 32/25 subject of anger. Sure, it’s bad when people think he ought to be punished. anger is never justifi ed, even when Berlin Sunny 29/14 Sunny 27/14 our political opponents express it, yet There are excellent reasons to put the person I’m sparring with is Cairo Sunny 36/25 M Sunny 36/23 it’s amply justifi ed when it’s us; we him in prison: to stop him murdering utterly factually wrong, fi lled with Cape Town Sunny 24/11 P Cloudy 18/11 condemn some people for being angry, others; to dissuade other potential hate or causing harm to others. Is Colombo T Storms 29/26 T Storms 29/26 T Storms 32/26 and others for not being angry enough. murderers; perhaps to rehabilitate my anger understandable? Sure, I’m Dhaka 31/26 I T Storms Hong Kong P Cloudy 32/28 S T Storms 31/28 (And those tirades against outrage him. But what useful goal is only human. Is it forgivable? Maybe Istanbul Sunny 29/18 Sunny 29/18 culture often appear in publications accomplished by his suff ering, in and sometimes. But it’s never an actively Jakarta T Storms 31/25 S T Storms 32/25 that rely on outrage for clicks.) Nussbaum endorses Aristotle’s of itself? None. “Infl icting pain on the good thing. (You might be wondering Karachi Sunny 33/26 Sunny 33/26 The philosopher Martha Nussbaum, idea that anger inherently involves wrongdoer does not restore the thing about “righteous anger”. I think London P Cloudy 29/17 M Sunny 29/17 Manila T Storms 30/26 S T Storms 31/26 in her arresting new book Anger And an element of payback. If I’m honest that was lost,” Nussbaum writes. Nor Nussbaum would say the angry part Moscow Cloudy 13/08 S Showers 12/08 Forgiveness, has no such qualms. with myself, that rings true: when does it prevent future losses. The best isn’t righteous, because it involves the New Delhi Sunny 34/25 Sunny 35/25 Anger is essentially always wrong, I fi re off an angry tweet about, say, we can come up with is that it just desire to wound, while the righteous New York M Sunny 32/17 Sunny 25/17 she insists. It’s a mental error we’d do a certain dead-souled presidential “feels right”. part isn’t really anger.) Paris M Sunny 32/17 S Showers 22/13 P Cloudy Sunny 22/13 well to eliminate in ourselves and, if candidate, my secret wish is that he In other words, retaliation makes In short, it’s time to stop fi nding Sao Paulo 28/14 Seoul S Showers 28/18 P Cloudy 29/18 possible, in our kids. I can already hear might see it and feel wounded. This the urge to retaliate go away. But that’s sneaky justifi cations for my own Singapore S T Storms 31/26 T Storms 32/25 some people responding to this notion wish can be subtle, as Nussbaum like a smoker arguing that smoking anger, while condemning other Sydney S T Storms 23/12 Cloudy 21/12 with… well, outrage. But hold that explained in Aeon magazine: maybe is good because it calms you down, people’s. I won’t lie: that’s pretty Tokyo Cloudy 29/22 Cloudy 28/22 thought. you just idly hope your ex-spouse’s when really it’s nicotine withdrawal infuriating. Gulf Times 16 Wednesday, September 14, 2016 QATAR

Beauty and the Beast performers on stage at Dar Al Salam Mall. Right: A group of musicians welcome visitors to the mall. PICTURES: Joey Aguilar UK performers return for Beauty and the Beast show By Joey Aguilar val (shopping promotions) was from Staff Reporter Saudi Arabia, proof that they regu- larly visit the country. The mall offi cial expects the he Beauty and the Beast con- number of mallgoers and visitors to tinues to attract a growing further increase in the coming days Tnumber of spectators to Dar Al since a lot of people will be coming Salam Mall as part of the Eid al-Adha back from their vacation. celebrations. Dar Al Salam wants to provide Artistes from the UK have returned mallgoers a variety of events and ac- to Doha for another round of fasci- tivities such as family entertainment nating performances on stage, until shows, according to Mukadam. September 18 from 4pm to 9.30pm “First we had The Little Prince, daily. which was a show from Canada and “In the last three days we have then we had ‘Bob The Builder’, a com- been getting a lot of calls and peo- pletely diff erent show,” he added. ple are asking particularly about the “Then, we had Sleeping Beauty, and popular fairy tale show,” Wasim Mu- now we have Beauty and the Beast. kadam, the mall’s head of marketing, Besides free entry and special seats events and leasing, told Gulf Times. for children close to the stage, organ- “Children love the princess, when isers have also given them photo op- we have a photo shoot, everyone portunities with artistes right after wants to get a picture with her,” each show. he noted. “Previously we also had Performers like the Fritters, B- Sleeping Beauty, same artistes, but Boys and the young tots’ popu- with just a few changes.” lar characters, the Shopkins rotate Organised by Qatar Tourism Au- among participating malls every day thority (QTA), he stressed that mall to entertain visitors. shows have been attracting a lot of Each participating mall this Eid visitors, including those from other will continue hosting exclusive fam- GCC countries. ily entertainment shows until Sep- “There are a lot of customers from tember 18 from 4pm to 9.30pm. Saudi Arabia and they like these These include Tarzan (City Center kinds of shows in the mall, they keep Doha), Flying Super Kids (Al Khor coming back and it helps us in terms Mall), Alvin and the Chipmunks of sales and footfall,” Mukadam ex- (Ezdan Mall), Pirates from the Carib- plained. bean (Lagoona Mall) and Sinbad the He said one of the winners of the Sailor (performed in Arabic at Hyatt recently held Qatar Summer Festi- Plaza). Beauty meets the Beast. Sinbad the Sailor continues to draw spectators

he Sinbad the Sailor show at Katara – the Cultural Village has become a popular event to watch this Eid al-Adha holiday with Tthe esplanade receiving a large number of spectators since day one. The Eid off erings at Katara provide spectators a unique opportu- nity ‘to travel in time and visit the lands of adventures and mysteries’ through amazing performances and cutting-edge lighting and sound systems set for the exclusive shows. Speaking on the occasion, Katara general manager Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim al-Sulaiti said: “We continue to off er our local and foreign audiences and visitors the best recreational and cultural programmes and experiences. Katara has an established reputation as a renowned hub and fun house.” “We have selected Sinbad, or Al-Sindibad Al-Bahry, to narrate to the visiting children and their families a story they have always loved to read about or were waiting to see on stage one day,” he explained. “It is a dream coming true for many children to watch this show about Sinbad, the brave sailor from the Abbasid Caliphate and his sev- en voyages throughout the seas east of Africa and south of Asia where he had fantastic adventures going to magical places, meeting mon- sters and encountering supernatural phenomena,” he noted. “Katara promises children an unforgettable experience.” The story mainly depicts the voyage of Sinbad chasing his dream of fi nding the treasure across the oceans, according to Dr al-Sulaiti. Katara also designed a ship-like theatre structure to give the audi- ence a feel of the Sinbad’s adventure on the sea. A giant screen in the background of the ship-theatre shows footage depicting the seven voyages of Sinbad. Each show lasts for 50 minutes. There are three performances from 7pm to 11pm today and tomorrow too. The fi reworks is at 10.15pm. Katara also distributed Eidyah gifts to children during the fi rst and second shows. Sinbad the Sailor in action. PICTURE: Shaji Kayamkulam Another moment from Sinbad the Sailor. PICTURE: Shemeer Rasheed