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Framework for next Al Sadd and Al Wakrah oil freeze talks after to clash in Emir Cup consultations: Al Sada volleyball opener

TUESDAY 19 APRIL 2016 • 12 Rajab 1437 • Volume 21 • Number 6771 thepeninsulaqatar @peninsulaqatar @peninsula_qatar

PM meets UN Chief’s Special Adviser Emir telephones Women to get Ecuador President

DOHA: Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani had a tele- access to school phone conversation with Ecuador President Rafael Correa, during which the Emir offered his con- dolences for the victims of the earthquake that hit the coun- sports facilities try, reports Qatar News Agency (QNA). He wished the injured a quick recovery.

Khatab Secondary Independent School attended by Abdul Rah- Emir sends message Move part of efforts man Al Dosari, head of the Sports to promote physical Affairs Department at the Ministry to Djibouti President of Culture and Sports and Omar Al activity. Shahwani, head of joint services at DOHA: Emir H H Sheikh Tamim the Ministry of Education and Higher bin Hamad Al Thani sent yester- Education. Addressing the media, Al day a written message to President Dosari said that the agreement is the of the Republic of Djibouti, Ismail The Peninsula result of cooperation between the Omar Guelleh, reports Qatar News two ministries to lay down a strat- Agency (QNA). egy for utilisation of sports facilities The message pertained to at Independent schools to promote bilateral relations and ways of DOHA: The Ministry of Culture and community sports and provide a enhancing them. Qatar’s Ambassa- Sports and the Ministry of Educa- suitable environment to women for Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani met yesterday dor to Djibouti, Jassim Jaber Jassim tion and Higher Education yesterday physical exercise. with Philippe Douste-Blazy, Special Adviser to UN Secretary-General and Chairman of UNITAID, and Sorour, delivered the message yes- signed an agreement to open sports It also seeks to develop a his delegation. terday during a meeting with the facilities at Independent schools to plan to involve sports teachers at Djiboutian President. women in the neighbourhood, after schools to help women exercise school hours. and raise awareness among them The agreement aims to promote in this regard. He added that pro- physical activity among women and viding sports facilities for women thus contribute to national efforts is one of the biggest challenges fac- Robot duo dispenses medicines at HGH to fight lifestyle diseases, especially ing the ministry. The ministry has obesity, which is rising alarmingly in conducted several studies in col- the country. laboration with Qatar University on By Fazeena Saleem Kuwari, the Minister of Public Health. the scripts. It is the second automated capacity for both is 14,000 packs. It also comes as part of imple- ways of promoting physical exercise The Peninsula The biggest of its kind in the region, pharmacy system installed in an HMC “This will mean a shorter wait menting the principle that physical among women. “Sports facilities at the MACH 4 Omnicell are expected to hospital, with another operating at Al time for our patients and our highly exercise is the right of everyone in Independent schools are the best reduce the time patients spend wait- Wakra Hospital. trained pharmacists will be able to the society. Sports facilities in at least place for women and families to DOHA: Two pharmacy ‘robots’ ing for medicines at the pharmacy. The system combines two robots spend more time with each patient, some schools would be made avail- exercise in a secure place, since (MACH 4 Omnicell) that together The new equipment will be — the Medimat and the Speedbox imparting vital information and edu- able to women from all age groups they are close to their homes,” said can dispense 1,200 prescriptions per integrated with the new Clinical which work together to manage cation about their medications,” said during the forthcoming summer. Al Dosari. hour were yesterday officially inau- Information System (CIS), meaning dispensary for both complex pre- Dr Al Kuwari. The agreement was signed dur- gurated at Hamad General Hospital a better patient experience and less scriptions as well as for fast moving ing a media briefing at Omar bin → Continued on page 2 (HGH) by H E Dr Hanan Mohamed Al likelihood of human error in reading items in high demand. The total stock → Continued on page 2

Four Qataris win innovation awards

By Mohammed Osman the Qatari participants have won reduce traffic jams at the signals. The Peninsula medals. Muhsin Al Sheikh won gold “I feel happy and proud to for his innovative cheque printer, see Qatari innovators contesting Fahad Rashis Al Ubaid won silver in Geneva’s international exhi- DOHA: Four Qatari innovators for his device named “the third bition with others coming from have won laurels at the Interna- eye” developed to help border different parts of the world,” said tional Exhibition of Innovation of guards monitor military areas. Qatar’s Permanent representative Geneva 2016, held recently. They Hamad Jassim Al Bahr also to the UN Office in Geneva, Faisal have won gold, silver and bronze won a silver medal for his protec- bin Abdullah Al Henzab. “I appre- medals in the competitions. tive shield against bullets. Hatmi ciate the role being played by the The Qatari innovators com- Al Hatmi who participated for the Qatar Scientific Club in producing peted with more than 700 first time won bronze medal for excellent innovations.” innovators from 48 countries in his innovation on reprogramming the world and it is the first time all of traffic signals using sensors to → Picture on page 6 Project Qatar 2016 begins on May 9 with participants from 37 nations

By Raynald C Rivera at the show are Belgium, Bulgaria, Commercial Representative at the The Peninsula Canada, China, Czech Republic, Indian Embassy at the press confer- Denmark, Egypt, Germany, Greece, ence yesterday. India, Italy, Kuwait, Korea, Leba- Korean Ambassador Park Heung DOHA: Hundreds of companies non, Malaysia, Netherlands, Oman, Kyeong said Korea has been partici- from 37 countries will participate in Poland, Portugal, Romania, Saudi pating at the expo for four years now the 13th International Construction Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Turkey, and this year eight Korean compa- Technology and Building Materials United Arab Emirates, United King- nies are exhibiting high technology Exhibition (Project Qatar 2016) from dom, United States of America. products. May 9 to 12 at the Doha Exhibition “Project Qatar has established “Currently Qatar has plenty of and Convention Center (DECC). itself as one of the most prominent project opportunities, particularly For the first time, Project Qatar events in its category. During the in preparation for World Cup 2022 will be held at the DECC’s five halls last three years, an average of more which is the key motivation for spanning 32,000 sqm exhibition than 50 Indian companies has been Korean participants. I believe that space and will feature 15 national participating in the exhibition. This the Korean participants are willing pavilions. More than 35,000 visitors has provided them an opportunity to meet the various demands arising are expected to attend the four-day to interact and explore trading and from these infrastructure develop- event held under the patronage of investment opportunities, not only ment projects and also ready to show Prime Minister and Interior Minis- with the Qatari companies but also their quality technologies of prod- ter H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser with other international exhib- ucts,” he said. bin Khalifa Al Thani. itors present at the event,” said Among the countries represented Dinesh Udenia, First Secretary and → Continued on page 2 02 TUESDAY 19 APRIL 2016 HOME 550 papers presented at wireless conference

30 countries. institutions to exchange information Over 600 people The first day of the conference fea- and ideas on the advancement of tured tutorials and workshops given by wireless communications and net- from around the experts in wireless communications. working technologies. world attend the Texas A&M University at Qatar, Dr Mohammed Yousef Al Mulla, Qatar University and Hamad Bin MD & CEO, Qapco, said: “This event annual IEEE Wireless Khalifa University co-hosted the served as a valuable platform to Communications conference, sponsored by Ooredoo, advance the development of tech- and Networking National Instruments, Qatar Petro- nology in Qatar, and has contributed chemical Co. (Qapco), Qatar National to driving growth and innovation in Conference Research Fund and the US Office of our industry. Bringing together high (WCNC16). Naval Research Global. level academics, researchers and Ooredoo’s Chief Executive Officer industry experts strengthens industry- Waleed Al Sayed, who delivered a academia collaboration, leading to the keynote speech at the opening cere- adoption of innovative solutions aimed The Peninsula mony, outlined the company’s vision at generating greater efficiencies.” to become the leading integrated ICT The conference featured a com- provider in Qatar and its ongoing work prehensive technical program offering Minister of Transport and Communications H E Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti and other officials, delegates and to prepare for cutting-edge services numerous technical sessions with guests at the conference. DOHA: More than 600 people from like 5G in the country. This is the first papers showcasing the latest tech- around the world attended the annual time the conference was held in the nologies, applications and services. IEEE Wireless Communications and Middle East and North Africa region. In addition, the conference program Deputy Executive Director, QNRF, key industry and academic players, QNRF, highlighted that WCNC 2016 Networking Conference (WCNC16) A conference of the IEEE Com- included workshops, tutorials, key- said, “This conference represents WCNC 2016 provided a great platform addressed key challenges in present held under the patronage of Minister munications Society, IEEE WCNC is note talks from industrial leaders and the spirit of technological research for collaboration and networking, and future wireless communications of Transport and Communications the world’s premier wireless event renowned academics, panel discus- that we support and encourage at which is essential to nurturing Qatar’s and networks where the penetration H E Jassim Saif bin Al Sulaiti. that brings together industry profes- sions, an exhibition, and business and the Qatar National Research Fund, research environment through of mobile broadband services and About 550 technical papers were sionals, academics and individuals industrial forums. which is why we are pleased to spon- knowledge and technological trans- applications is expected to soar in presented by speakers from more than from government agencies and other Dr Abdulnasser Al Ansari, sor this event. With its inclusion of fer.” Dr Munir Tag, Director of ICT at the coming years. New system can carry two days’ medicine supplies Ministry to prepare

Continued from page 1 it can carry two days’ supply of school sports facilities medications, reducing the need to “We are always looking at ways “downtime” to restock. It also has to improve the patient experience a special section for ‘fast moving and train participants and this is an excellent example of medications’ for conditions like dia- this commitment. New technology, betes and blood pressure which can services and processes have been be dispensed quickly. Dr Haleema Continued from page 1 implemented to improve quality and Al Tamimi, Director of Pharmacy at initial phase, the plan will be imple- patient experience at all HMC hospi- HGH, said under the previous man- mented in few schools to assess the tals and facilities,” she added. ual system, around 1800 prescriptions He said the ministry will prepare response. Later it will be expanded HMC’s focus on continu- were handled daily. “The implemen- school sports facilities for this pur- to all Independent schools. ous improvement and quality was tation of this technology means we pose and provide trainers to educate Several incentives will be pro- recently recognized by the Joint Com- will be able to dispense medications the participants how to use the facil- vided to attract women for exercise mission International (JCI) when HMC more efficiently,” said Dr Al Tamimi. ities in the best manner. including specialists and a program became the first healthcare system “When integrated with the CIS, The two ministries will work to measure the impact of physical across the globe to have all of its hos- which goes live at the HGH soon, together to frame the rules and regu- exercise on their mental and phys- pitals accredited by the JCI under the patients will only have to show their lations for use of the sports facilities ical health. Academic Medical Center program. health card to pharmacy staff to in the coming days to develop an Al Shahwani said school sports The new system has the capacity receive their medications, making ideal strategy. This will be completed facilities will be open to women to not only dispense the medica- for a more seamless patient experi- Minister of Public Health H E Dr Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari inaugurating in two months and the facilities will in the neighbourhood during eve- tions in a more timely manner, but ence,” she added. MACH 4 Omnicell at Hamad General Hospital yesterday. be available for use during the forth- nings, without clashing with the coming summer, said Al Dosari. regular school hours. He said the The success of the initiative agreement is part of an initiative to depends on how many women can develop community sports centres Project Qatar 2016 a new gateway for Korean products be enrolled in sports activities. In the women, girls and the youth. Qatari projects in Gaza inspected

QNA of the Strip, Father Emir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani City Project, Salahuddin and Al Rasheed Streets and Hamad Rehabilitation GAZA: Ambassador Mohammed Al and Prosthetics Hospital. Emadi, Chairman, National Com- He congratulated those whose mittee for the Reconstruction of houses were rebuilt within the Gaza, along with his Deputy Kha- 1,000 housing units project, adding lid Al Hardan, inspected progress 98 percent of these units have been of projects funded by Qatar in Gaza completed. Officials at a press conference at the Indian embassy yesterday. Pic: Baher / The Peninsula Strip. The projects are part of one- He said Qatari projects in the billion grant donated by Qatar Gaza Strip do not face any prob- Continued from page 1 industry. The series will shine the kicked off yesterday and continues StoneTech 2016) and the 13th Interna- following the last war on Gaza as lems, and that entry of construction spotlight on GSAS and HSE awareness, today. Other conferences include the tional Exhibition for Heavy Machinery well as the previous grant amount- materials from border crossings “I hope the Project Qatar 2016 will product testing, construction wastes, third Future Interiors Qatar (September (Heavy Max 20165) will run concur- ing to $407 million. continued on a regular basis, add- be a new gateway for Korean products sustainable smart cities, energy effi- 5 and 6), the third Future Landscape rently with the expo. In a statement, Al Emadi ing that there are approvals for all to enter the Qatari market and support ciency and its dynamics, among others. & Public Realm Qatar (October 24 and This year’s sponsors include Al expressed satisfaction over the the requests by the Committee for the magnificent projects in the State of Project Qatar Business Intelligence 25) and the third Future Drainage Net- Sraiya group- Integrity Sponsor, progress of the Qatari projects, the entry of materials intended for Qatar,” he said. Series comes back this year with six works Qatar (December 5 and 6). There Industrial Standards, Gold and Silver which he visited during an inspec- Qatari construction projects. He said Organizers IFP Qatar in col- B2B conferences including two con- will also be free site visit tours for Sponsors, including QD-CPC, ASTM, tion tour. Al Emadi visited one of the efforts are under way to ensure entry laboration with the Qatar Chamber ferences same time as the show: the international exhibitors to three mega Nehme, Bitumode Qatar, Art Glass, houses built and funded by Qatar of cement for the private sector and of Commerce is once again hold- third annual LightingTech Qatar on construction sites in Qatar including Gulf Crafts – branding sponsor , the within one thousand housing units citizens in the Gaza Strip, pointing ing “Project Qatar Workshop Series” May 9 and 10 and the second Future the New Port Project, Lusail City, and Intercontinental Doha – The City projects in Al Bashir area east of out that he met representatives from which comprise 11 workshops aimed BIM Implementation Qatar on May 11 The Mall of Qatar. – official hotel , Airlink, the official Gaza City at a cost of $50m. the United Nations and the European at promoting the education and com- and 12. The 5th International Stone freight forwarder and Seib, the offi- He also visited apartment build- Union and discussed mechanism to mercial aspects of the construction The inaugural Smart Parking Qatar and Stone Technology Show (Qatar cial insurance company. ings in Al Huda neighbourhood east ensure entry of cement into Gaza. Toyota RAV4 models of Ooredoo’s 4G roaming services on 57 networks 2006-2012 recalled The Peninsula Customers can benefit from 4G “We’re continuing to add the The list of countries can be roaming in 38 countries on 57 net- number of roaming partners to viewed at https://www.ooredoo.qa/ The Peninsula The ministry said it will coordi- works, with the company recently ensure the widest possible footprint portal/OoredooQatar/roaming#. nate with the dealer to follow up on adding Telus Canada, Bouygues in and a premium experience for our To ensure great value for money maintenance and repairs and com- DOHA: Ooredoo customers can France; Singtel in Singapore; Belga- customers.” while roaming, Ooredoo offers cus- municate with customers to ensure now enjoy 4G roaming services on com in Belgium; and Telefonica Spain Ooredoo provides 654 roam- tomers the Ooredoo Passport, which DOHA: The Ministry of Economy repairs are carried out . 57 networks around the world, as the to its global footprint. ing partners around the world, of covers 71 countries around the world. and Commerce, in collaboration In a statement, the ministry also company continues to add roaming “The growth of our roaming part- which 57 are offering 4G-compati- The passport includes a pre- with Abdullah Abdulghani & Bros urged all customers to report any partners to set a new record of 654 nership footprint enables customers ble networks. activated 1GB data (2GB for GCC Co., dealer of Toyota vehicles, has violations to its Consumer Protec- partners this year. to keep using their Ooredoo SIM to Ooredoo’s 4G roaming enables countries) and 100 roaming minutes announced the recall of Toyota RAV4 tion and Anti-Commercial Fraud As a result of the ambitious enjoy high-speed data and voice serv- customers to connect to international for QR100 a week. It is available via models of 2006-2012 to repair the Department through Call Centre: growth strategy, Ooredoo can offer 57 ices in popular destinations around 4G networks, offering much faster SMS by sending ‘OP’ to 114 for Shahry rear seat cushion frame. 16001; email: [email protected]; international 4G-compatible roaming the world, and be confident that they speeds than 3G Internet, and take and 121 for Hala customers, the Oore- The ministry said the recall is Twitter: @MEC_Qatar; Instagram: partners and is on track to provide the will benefit from the great value advantage of the super speeds and doo App, or scratch cards at dealers part of its efforts to protect consum- MEC_Qatar; and the ministry’s highest number of roaming partners provided by Ooredoo,” said Yousuf smooth browsing experience to stay in Qatar. ers and ensure dealers follow up on mobile app for Android and IOS: of any regional telecommunications Abdulla Al Kubaisi, Chief Operating in touch, check emails and video call For details, please dial 111 or visit vehicle defects and repairs. MEC_Qatar company for its customers. Officer, Ooredoo Qatar. home even while travelling abroad. http://www.ooredoo.qa/en/op#. HOME TUESDAY 19 APRIL 2016 03 Qatar to host Arab Role of libraries takes centre stage forum on sustainable Director of Administration and Plan- ning at Qatar National Library was development agenda The Metropolitan also present. More than 100 partici- Libraries conference pants will attend the conference with many of them form Qatar and the By Sidi Mohamed MetLib 2016 Qatar region, according to Al Said. The Peninsula from April 23 will MetLib 2016 Qatar will discuss a discuss the vital number of topics relating to the role of public libraries in unleashing the role public and potential of their patrons of all ages DOHA: Under the patronage of metropolitan libraries and types, what innovative services H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Qatar public libraries can adopt to help ful- Social Work Foundation (QSWF) is play in communities. fil this role, the different partnerships gearing up to host from tomorrow that can lend support in this regard, an Arab conference on the Role community learning and unleash- of Civil Society in the sustainable ing the library staff potential through development agenda 2030. The two- By Fazeena Saleem opportunities for professional and day event will take place at Qatar The Peninsula personal development. Engineer Saadi Al Said, Director, Administration and Planning, Qatar National Convention Center. The annual conference aims to National Library, with Dr Claudia Lux, Project Director, Qatar National The conference is Qatar’s initia- provide an ideal platform for mem- Library, at a press conference yesterday. tive launched by QSWF to increase Amal Abdullatif Al Mannai, CEO, bers of metropolitan and public awareness about the global sustain- Qatar Social Work Foundation, DOHA: Focusing on the vital role libraries to share progressive ideas able development agenda, adopted addressing a press conference public and metropolitan libraries for the enhancement of the world- by 193 member states of the United play in communities, an international Associations and Institutions (IFLA). 47 years and this is the first time it’s wide information services sector. It yesterday. Pic: Salim M / The Nations in New York last September. library conference is set to be held in MetLib 2016 Qatar will be organ- happening in this region, and we are also envisions to create an extensive Peninsula It is being organised in col- Doha next week. ised under the overarching theme very proud that we can deliver. Also and long-lasting knowledge-sharing laboration with the United Nation Qatar National Library (QNL), of ‘Pearls in the desert: unleash- there will be papers submitted from network. Alongside senior leadership Development Programme, UN countries and some international of Qatar Foundation (QF), will host ing Potential.’ MetLib 2016 Qatar is the region including from Qatar,” she of QNL, IFLA and other regional and Population Fund/Arab Region, UN organisations.” It is first time Arab the annual Metropolitan Libraries hosted under the overarching theme said at a press conference yesterday. international libraries, MetLib 2016 Economic and Social Commission civil societies will meet after the (MetLib) conference, better known of Pearls in Desert: Unleashing poten- MetLib 2016 Qatar marks the first Qatar will be attended by librarians for Western Asia, the Arab League announcement of the global devel- as MetLib 2016 Qatar, between April tial. Just as a pearl inside a shell, the year the conference has received and industry professionals, providing and other entities. More than 200 opment sustainable agenda, which 23 and April 28. potential within every human needs paper submissions from the MENA key insights into what role libraries participants representing local and included 17 goals to be achieved by Held for the first time in the Mid- nurturing in order to develop into a region. “We have a few papers from can play to unleash the potential of its international civil society organ- 2030. dle East and North Africa (MENA) great skill or ability, according to Dr Qatar which will include about on patrons (children and adult alike), the isations will participate in the On the first day of the confer- region, MetLib is organised by the Claudia Lux, Qatar National Library’s child development and on library community, as well as its own staff conference, in addition to represent- ence, a public session will focus on Metropolitan Libraries Section of the Project Director. association with the public,” she and how it can fulfil this role through atives from the private sector and the sustainable development agenda, International Federation of Library “The conference is being held for added. Engineer Saadi Al Said, innovative services and partnerships. specialists in the development field. and a dialogue session on issues such Amal Abdullatif Al Mannai, as challenges in implementing the CEO, QSWF, told a press confer- global sustainable development ence: “The conference is a chance agenda 2030, with a focus on the for Qatari civil societies and other Arab region. Qatar, in its presenta- Qatar and Italy sign air transport agreement Arab societies to exchange experi- tion, will focus on the best practices, ences, especially in the current Arab integrated by the government, civil situation, where many civil societies society organisations and the pri- are assuming humanitarian roles in vate sector, Al Mannai said. QNA will be increased to 77 and cargo flights will Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority Abdulla many countries, which even some “We have established a coor- become 16 for both countries’ national carriers. Nasser Turki Al Subaey, and for Italy by director governments are not able to take. dination committee to follow up In a statement yesterday, CAA said that the general of ENAC (Italian civil aviation authority) The conference will offer a plat- on implementation of recommen- signing of this agreement comes within its ongo- Alessio Quaranta. The statement said the signing of form for civil societies to discuss dations. The panel will meet every DOHA: Qatar, represented by the Civil Aviation ing efforts to ink more international conventions the MoU came after a round of talks in Doha, during their issues and lessons from their month to discuss any developments Authority (CAA), signed a memorandum of under- to provide the national carrier with access to more which the Qatari side managed to add a number of policies, Al Mannai said, adding and includes a member from Arab standing in air transport field with Italy. international destinations. Italian cities to Qatar Airways’ destinations in Italy “we have sent invitations to all Arab League,” she added. Under the MoU, the number of weekly flights The agreement was signed for Qatar by HE which are now six major cities. NU-Q to study Qatar youngsters’ care about their health

The Peninsula at Qatar University’s Social and Eco- nomic Survey Research Institute (SESRI) where she is an assistant professor; and Dr Paul Amuna, who DOHA: A new study by Northwest- heads the research section of the Pri- ern University in Qatar (NU-Q) will mary Health Care Corporation and examine whether young people care will serve as consultant. about their health and pay attention “We are evaluating the channels to public health campaigns. adolescents use to find answers for The study, ‘Qatari adolescents: their health concerns to find what How do they use digital technolo- works best. We hope that information gies for health information and health that will improve the options availa- monitoring?,’ will be conducted in ble to them,” said Schoenbach, who collaboration with other research- will lead the research team. ers in Qatar and the US. better reach youth beyond typical Qatar’s youth are subject to some It will examine how Qatari youth media sources and school settings, the of the highest rates of obesity-risk in aged 13 to 18 acquire and evaluate study is being carried out by Dr Klaus the world, exposed to cultural vices information about health issues of Schoenbach (pictured), Associate such as shisha smoking and environ- all kinds. The study will probe into Dean for Research, NU-Q, and inter- mental restrictions such as extreme what is known about young people’s nationally known media researcher, weather conditions. specific health concerns and condi- and Dr Ellen Wartella, an expert in “The threshold for physical activ- tions and how they use technology to children’s media and health and Pro- ity is much higher in this part of the acquire and share such information. fessor of Communication, Psychology world than in most countries, so we’re The project is funded by a and Education, Sheikh Hamad Bin trying to communicate the best ways $300,000 grant from Qatar National Khalifa Al Thani at NU’s Evanston, to educate and train using digital Research Fund. Illinois campus in the US. sources,” Schoenbach said. Aimed at discovering how future They are joined by Dr Salma The research project begins this public information campaigns can Mawfek Khaled, Survey Researcher year and will be completed in 2017. 16 erring outlets closed down

The Peninsula

DOHA: The Doha Municipality has inspected 803 food outlets and salons since the beginning of this month and found 119 facilities not complying with the condi- tions required by law. A total of 684 food outlets and men’s and women’s salons complied with require- ments. The municipality closed down 14 erring outlets, five of them on Sunday. The outlets include restau- rants and food facilities. The duration of the closure is from 10 to 20 days. Violations included displaying food unfit for human consumption, preparing it in poor condition, not com- plying with specific standards and expired licences. Inspectors also destroyed 64.5 tonnes of food, including 26 tonnes of vegetables, 30 tonnes of fruits, 2.5 tonnes of fish and six tonnes of meat. Al Daayen Municipality, meanwhile, shut down two food outlets — a bakery and a supermarket. The bakery was closed for 14 days and the supermarket for An AC found not working at one of the outlets during 30 days for selling food unfit for human consumption. an inspection. 04 TUESDAY 19 APRIL 2016 HOME

Italian restaurant Cicchetti opens QU-CAS & Lund University plan joint research work

region, and to develop academic Ahmedna, as well as CAS faculty and exchanges in the field of education, staff. Deal to promote training and other activities that con- “This agreement does not only research in the field tribute to the promotion of cultural reflect the interest of Lund Univer- of humanities and exchanges between QU and Lund sity in developing bilateral relations University. between the two countries but it social sciences in It also includes joint research reflects the interest of the govern- Qatar and the region. projects related to epigraphy, lan- ment and the people of Sweden as guages, and cultures of Arabia; joint well,” said Polano. conferences, seminars and work- Dr Mustafawi said, “The MoU shops; training for research assistants signed today between the Center for The Peninsula or co-researchers; and student Humanities and Social Sciences at Italian Ambassador to Qatar Guido De Sanctis (left), Mohammad Al Jabar opening the new Italian exchange programmes. the College of Arts and Sciences and restaurant, Cicchetti, in Al Sadd yesterday.Pic: Abdul / The Peninsula The agreement was signed by the Center of Middle Eastern Stud- CHSS director Dr Kaltham Al Ghanim ies at Lund University, which is one DOHA: The Center for Humanities and Lund University Center for Mid- of the oldest universities in Europe, and Social Sciences (CHSS) at Qatar dle Eastern Studies director Prof Leif embodies CAS drive to enrich inter- University College of Arts and Sci- Stenberg in the presence of Ambassa- disciplinary research in the field QCRI team invents tool to identify malicious domains ences (QU-CAS) signed yesterday an dor of Sweden to Qatar Ewa Polano, of humanities and social studies in agreement with the Center for Middle CAS dean Dr Eiman Mustafawi, Qatar and the region.” Eastern Studies at Lund University, QU Social and Economic Survey She noted that this agreement The Peninsula without their owners’ knowledge can malicious domains, hanging around Sweden for joint research work and Research Institute (SESRI) director Dr will develop academic exchange propagate malware and send spam can be interpreted in different ways exchange programmes. Darwish Al Emadi, and CAS associate in the field of education, training, messages. including moving from one web- The agreement aims to promote deans for Outreach and Engagement research and other activities that The researchers, led by Issa Kha- hosting provider to another in flocks, research in the field of humanities Dr Khalifa Al Hazaa and for Research contribute to the advancement of DOHA: A group of scientists at the lil and Ting Yu, have developed a being hosted on similar IPs, accessed and social sciences in Qatar and the and Graduate Affairs Dr Mohamed knowledge on both sides. Hamad bin Khalifa University’s Qatar prototype that can detect malicious by similar set of clients, or having Computing Research Institute (QCRI) domains by analysing the move- similar registration records, among has invented a new tool to identify ments and previous associations of other behaviour.” unknown malicious domains by a domain address. An example used by the research- using a real-life ‘guilt-by-associa- Khalil said the tool, dubbed Guilt ers in developing the tool was a tion’ principle. by Association Inference of Malicious tendency by owners of malicious Malicious domains are involved Domains (GAIMD), used data from domains to “run”, changing the in many cyber security attacks public Domain Name Service (DNS) hosting of their domains from one including Distributed Denial of Serv- records and other interested parties service provider to another to avoid ice (DDoS) attacks, in which web to provide high-quality intelligence of being detected and blocked. The servers are attacked and become potentially malicious domains. “One research findings are to appear in unusable. They are also a source of would consider an unknown person the ACM AsiaCCS conference to be phishing, whereby criminals dupe suspicious if he mostly hangs around held in June. More information can be email users to disclose informa- with known criminals and trustwor- found at https://www.researchgate. tion by posing as reputable entities, thy if he hangs around with known net/publication/296678352_Discov- and are used to control botnets, good people,” Khalil said. ering_Malicious_Domains_through_ Officials from the Centre for Humanities and Social Sciences at College of Arts and Sciences and the Centre when armies of infected machines “Similarly, in the context of Passive_DNS_Data_Graph_Analysis for Middle Eastern Studies at Lund University, Sweden, at the agreement signing ceremony. WCM-Q’s Grand Rounds hears about quality and catheterisation Qatar Diabetes Association hosts The Peninsula told healthcare professionals at WCM-Q on a local level and ensuring it is moni- that prior to 2003 there were no standard- tored and shared with physicians and the camp for teenagers ised processes for reporting outcomes and management. risk adjustment in cardiac catheterisation. He said data capture should be consist- DOHA: The question of how to ensure This began to change when Boston Chil- ent but quality assurance and continuous QNA provided instruction on quality assurance in catheter procedures dren’s Hospital started to record detailed quality improvement should not be seen the importance of nutri- in children was the topic of this month’s data from its procedures and used it to as punitive. Instead it should be seen as a tion, physical activity Grand Rounds lecture at Weill Cornell Med- compare outcomes between operators. method of allowing individuals and pro- DOHA: Qatar Diabetes and self-esteem. And we icine – Qatar (WCM-Q). Other institutions joined the initiative grammes to identify potential areas for Association, member of thank the parents for their Cardiac catheterisation in infants and and formed the ‘Congenital cardiac cath- improvement. Qatar Foundation, hosted enthusiasm and support of children is a medical procedure to diag- eterisation Project on Outcomes’ (C3PO), Dr Thurayya Arayssi, Associate Dean, a Diabetes Prevention this initiative that encour- nose and treat certain heart conditions. a prospective registry on catheterisation Continuing Professional Development, said: Camp for 25 overweight ages a positive attitude It involves an interventional cardiologist procedures, he said. “Quality assurance and improvement is at teenage boys with a first about weight loss in young placing a long thin tube into a blood ves- “Until the first research paper was the heart of continuing professional devel- degree family history of men,” he added. sel that leads to the heart. released, I was unable to tell patients the opment. The Grand Rounds series is a great diabetes. The Qatar Diabetes Dr Ralf Holzer (pictured), Director, exact chance of an adverse effect happen- were able to get informed consent.” vehicle through which we can share knowl- The prevention camp, Association, which is a Cardiac Catheterisation & Interventional ing, but following that I was able to give Dr Holzer said every hospital could edge and ensure that we are continually started on 13th April and member of Qatar Founda- Therapy, and Acting Division Chief Cardi- patients and families very specific num- begin quality assurance and improve- learning and improving to provide the continue till 16th April and tion for Education, Science ology, Sidra Medical and Research Centre, bers. This meant that families and patients ment programme by collating information patient with the very best of healthcare.” took place in Sportel Hotel and Community Develop- -- Qatar Foundation, The ment, is at the forefront of camp aimed to educate the efforts in Qatar, and the adolescents about diabetes Middle East, to promote prevention through posi- the prevention, care and tive lifestyle changes. management of diabetes. Aimed at introducing The association’s the young population at work has gained ground risk of diabetes to healthy in recent years due to the living, the camp was dramatic increase in the designed to be a fun and incidences of obesity and interactive educational diabetes in Qatar, the Mid- experience. Throughout dle Eastern region, and the the three days, camp- rest of the world. ers attended educational Camp Manager, sessions and participate Mohamed Al Saadi, said: in group activities that “The Qatar Diabetes Asso- included self-defence ciation team focused on activities. As well as the development of the swimming, and aero- personal skills of the bics classes, and living boys to motivate them into skills and mind mapping using mind mapping tech- workshops. niques to draw their own Dr Abdullah Al healthy lifestyle informa- Hamaq, the Executive tion in diagrams.” Director of Qatar Diabetes “After their time at the Association, said: “The aim camp, the boys also were of the prevention camp is able to consciously adopt to equip youths with the healthy behaviours that necessary tools to reduce will help them reach their their risk of developing weight loss goals and pre- Type 2 Diabetes.” vent them from developing “The camp also diabetes,” he added.

Souq Waqif celebrations end

QNA

DOHA: The Souq Waqif celebrations that opened two weeks ago has concluded. The organisers held recreational, heritage, arts, music, games and con- tests. Games for children included swings, plane, crazy fire, crazy frog, dragon and family train. The organisers handed over 10,000 gifts to children. HOME TUESDAY 19 APRIL 2016 05

UN Asia Regional Qatar to attend GCC higher education meeting Forum on business QA to showcase A380 QNA The two-day meeting discusses top- and human rights ics of enhancing the GCC joint work and the joint investment in education, as well opens today First Class cabin at ATM as equality for the GCC youth in terms of DOHA: Qatar will participate tomorrow in the admission and treatment in the gov- the 18th GCC Higher Education and Scien- ernment universities and higher education QNA tific Research Ministers Committee, which institutions. The meeting will also discuss The Peninsula haven of tranquillity and relaxa- will take place today in Riyadh. the vision of the Custodian of the Two Holly tion while cruising at Mach 0.85 HE Minister of Education and Higher Mosques related to education. Particularly, The ‘World’s Best for business or leisure. Education Dr. Mohammed bin Abdul the equality between all GCC citizens in DOHA: Doha will host the First DOHA: Qatar Airways (QA) is Airline’ to take Visitors can also get a feel Wahed will chair Qatar’s delegation to terms of admission requirements in pub- UN Asia Regional Forum on Busi- preparing to bring its unique for the luxuriously appointed the meeting. lic universities in the GCC. ness and Human Rights today and offering to the Arabian Travel part in Arabian Dubai Premium Lounge located tomorrow. Market (ATM), the Middle East’s Travel Market and in Dubai International Airport’s During the forum companies, leading travel trade fair taking officially opens Concourse D. Available to QA governments, NGOs, workers and place in Dubai from April 25 to First and Business Class passen- community representatives will 28. luxurious new gers and Privilege Club Platinum, discuss key business and human This year, QA will showcase lounge at Dubai Gold and Silver members, the rights issues in Asia. the award-winning service and Dubai Premium Lounge is a The forum is being convened hospitality that the airline is International modern and sophisticated space by the United Nations Working renowned for, making memo- Airport Concourse where travellers can relax and Group on Business and Human rable experiences for passengers rejuvenate before their journey. Rights with the support of the world-wide. D. The recently opened lounge is Office of the UN High Commis- At its state-of-the-art exhi- decorated with artistic Arabic sioner for Human Rights. bition stand, QA will give visitors calligraphy, Mediterranean- Director of Human Rights a premier experience in its A380 style tiles and calming water Department at the Foreign Min- First Class cabin, which takes flexibility to convert the space fountains, featuring private istry Sheikh Khalid bin Jassim Al luxury travel to new heights. into a fully flat bed or extend family areas, shower facilities, Thani said in a in a statement that The cabin, featuring ultra-wide a table to invite a guest to dine spacious seating areas and an the forum is an opportunity to seats, privacy dividers and the with them, provides travellers a international cuisine buffet. accelerate and expand the aware- Speaking on the airline’s ness and implement the Guiding involvement in Arabian Travel Principles on Business and Human Market for this year, QA Group Rights in Asia. Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker Over two days, participants said: “Arabian Travel Market has will discuss the outstanding consistently been one of the most issues and prioritise the required exciting platforms for us to par- action at the local level by states ticipate in, providing us with the and businesses in order to protect opportunity to network with our human rights in business sector, he passengers and partners alike. said. Various workshops on a sub- “We are looking forward to regional level will be held to focus recreating the unique QA expe- on specific rights or certain sec- rience at our stand this year, FROM LEFT: Crowne Plaza Doha The Business Park General Manager Marcus tors in order to consider the issues enabling visitors to get a true Sutton; InterContinental Doha Resident Manager Cyril Mouawad; Crowne Plaza and propose solutions in a tangi- taste of what it means to be a Doha – The Business Park Director of Sales and Marketing Shadi Kassem; and ble way, he explained. QA passenger travelling to any IHG Regional General Manager for Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar and General The forum will centre on one of our more than 150 global Manager of InterContinental Doha, Andreas Pfister, at the event implementation of the UN Guiding destinations.” Principles on Business and Human Several senior represent- Rights, which were endorsed by atives from QA will be present UN Member States in 2011 as the during the event. On day one, InterContinental Hotels Group authoritative global standard to Al Baker will hold a press con- prevent and manage the risk of ference to discuss the airline’s business-related human rights expansion plans, upcoming holds Northern Gulf road show harm. developments, and the newest It will bring together some 400 additions to its growing portfo- The Qatar Airways Chalet. participants. lio of offerings. The Peninsula to meet corporate clients in tourism and travel industry. “This is a great exercise for IHG hotels in the region to further promote the hotel QC and Quality International Company ink deal DOHA: Crowne Plaza Doha – The Busi- brands, the exclusive offers and stay ness Park, one of the leading five-star privileges with the business and leisure business hotels in Qatar, hosted the travellers in mind,” said Shadi Kassem, third and last leg of the InterContinental Director, Sales and Marketing, Crowne The Peninsula Hotels Group (IHG) Northern Gulf Road Plaza Doha – The Business Park. Show bringing together sales leaders from The road show started in Kuwait with Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar. a three-day joint sales call and moved to The event aimed at promoting exclu- Bahrain and to Qatar as the last part of the DOHA: Qatar Charity (QC) and sive summer room promotions tailored tour. Participating IHG hotels were Crowne Quality International Com- for business and leisure travellers and fur- Plaza Thuraya City; Holiday Inn Salmiya pany have signed a partnership ther promote the hotels in the Northern and Holiday Inn Thuraya City for Kuwait; agreement and memorandum of Gulf region. InterContinental Hotel and Crowne Plaza understanding for cooperation to The road show started with a din- in Bahrain; and InterContinental Doha, implement activities to serve the ner reception at the Manar Ballroom of InterContinental Doha – The City and community and the humanitar- Crowne Plaza Doha – The Business Park Crowne Plaza Doha – The Business Park ian field. Qatar Charity and Quality International Company officials at the signing of the agreement. which gave sales leaders an opportunity in Qatar. Ali Atiq Al Abdullah, CEO, Executive Management of Local Development, QC; and Shamsud- in association with QC to enable “As Quality Retail Group has and said: “QC always ensures heen Olakara, Chairman, Quality customers to donate reward points six outlets and is preparing to to expand its partnerships with Group International, signed the on every purchase to QC. launch two projects in Al Rayyan public and private institutions to deal. Food basket donations at and Al Khor and is serving over reinforce social responsibility. Long-term coordination the cash counters will also be 1.5 million customers a month, we “Signing the agreement is between both entities will be encouraged. support the community more and part of our policy. We believe in established to activate the Drahim The deal will also instal Tayf more. the importance of spreading the campaign to donate the shopping boxes for donating new/used “We expect good respond culture of charity work in our payment balance of customers to clothes and related items; and from customers who will use our society and we believe through QC after their approval. automated donation machines at loyalty programme points to be such agreements we can,” he said. Hadaya Al Kire donation cards all Quality outlets. Public activities donated to QC that is making big He encouraged everyone to will be available at all Quality will also be held at Quality outlets. changes and development in char- interact with charity activities Retail outlets to enable people to Olakara said: “The Quality ity work. It will be available at all held in cooperation with private donate by purchasing the cards Group International is always Quality outlets and QC by the third sector institutions. “These events from the counter. looking to support the community week of May.” positively impact our society and A special Quality loyalty card since Quality Group was estab- Al Abdullah expressed pleas- help the needy groups around the (Hadyati Charity) will be launched lished in 2002. ure over signing the agreement world.” #MarriottTravels summer promotion begins

The Peninsula Members of Marriott Interna- located in.” Brands included in the with the addition of further bene- tional’s award-winning loyalty offer range from elegant to cheer- fits through our Marriott Rewards programme, Marriott Rewards, ful and include JW Marriott Hotels, programme,” he added. DOHA: With summer fast can also avail of further discounts Renaissance Hotels, Autograph Those wishing to avail of the approaching, Marriott Interna- through Marriott Rewards Mem- Collection Hotels, Marriott Hotels, offer need to select their destina- tional is inviting travellers from ber Rates, stay up-to-date and in Marriott Executive Apartments, tion online at deals.marriott.com/ the world over to discover the touch with friends and family as Courtyard by Marriott, Residence marriottravels and use the code Middle East and Africa with the complementary Wi-Fi is included Inn by Marriott and no less than B4F. To avail of Marriott Rewards launch of #MarriottTravels. for them. 12 Protea Hotels. Member Rates, those booking can Launched on Friday and avail- Neal Jones, Chief Sales and The offer is available at the sign up for Marriott Rewards, able at any one of over 50 regional Marketing Officer, Marriott Inter- majority of these brands in the while those already members properties for stays between this national, said, “The Middle East GCC, Jordan, Egypt, Algeria, need to log in. May 15 and September 17, #Mar- and Africa region is home to some Morocco, Ethiopia and South #MarriottTravels is open to riottTravels gives travellers from of the world’s most unique, his- Africa. travellers booking in the Mid- over 20 countries three nights for toric and exotic destinations. “As one of the world’s leading dle East and Africa region and the price of two, and up to 50 per- Through the #MarriottTravels travel companies, we endeavour those in the US, India, Germany, cent off on hotel dining. campaign, we will be welcom- to help our guests have enriching Ukraine, the UK, China, Korea, Those taking advantage of ing travellers from within the travel experiences, while at the and Japan. the offer will also enjoy comple- region, and as far afield as the US same time, offer them great value. For a full list of participating mentary breakfast, free dining for and China to explore our range “#MarriottTravels is indic- hotels and booking, visit http:// children and 30 percent off their of brands and properties and the ative of this ethos given its size, deals.marriott.com/marriotttrav- next booking. inspired destinations they are scale and value-added proposition els or call 800 Marriott. 06 TUESDAY 19 APRIL 2016 HOME / GULF

Parking details of malls Qatari innovators win global expo in Geneva on smartphones likely

Communications and many other partners Qatar Mobility Yousef Al Emadi, Head of Road Innovations Center Maintenance Department, at Pub- is launching a new lic Works Authority (Ashghal), while addressing the inaugural session service to provide underlined the need for smart park- information about ing facilities to address the shortage of parking space in Qatar and reduce parking at malls and traffic congestions. in public places to Smart parking is a solution to provide more parking space for vehi- motorists. cles utilizing less space. “We believe smart parking is Qatar Permanent representative to the UN Office in Geneva Faisal bin Abdullah Al Henzab, standing a significant plan and major traf- with the Qatari innovators who have won recently gold, silver and bronze medals in the International fic management tool. It should be Exhibition of Innovation/ Geneva 2016. By Sanaullah Ataullah implemented as part of the national The Peninsula transport event management Yousef Al Emadi, Manager, Roads strategy,” Operations and Maintenance “Smart parking can reduce traffic Department, speaking at the congestion and enhance road safety. DOHA: Motorists in Qatar may soon Smart Parking Conference at It could be implemented through Temporary closure on Al Shamal Road from tomorrow have access to information about the InterContinental City yesterday. public-private partnership based on availabilities of parking in major Pic: Baher / The Peninsula smart technology. It can improve the shopping malls and public places in quality of life and boost economy and The Peninsula the four northbound lanes for the diversion route to ensure the safety Qatar on their smartphones, thanks development,” he added. same length, in coordination with of road users and the project’s to a new service being launched by (QNCC) will be connected to the app, The conference aims to utilize the Traffic Department – Ministry workforce. Qatar Mobility Innovations Centre he added. new technologies and infrastruc- of Interior. This traffic diversion will The diversion is required to allow (QMIC). Masarak is a mobile application ture designs in parking facilities to DOHA: The Public Works Authority take place on Thursday 21 April 2016. for the construction of the bridge at A new service is being added to that was developed locally by QMIC advance urban planning strategies (Ashghal) will implement a tempo- The duration of the traffic diversion the intersection between Al Shamal Masarak’s iTraffic App to provide the in partnership with the Ministry of in Qatar. Participants floated inno- rary closure on part of Al Shamal is two months. Road and the New Orbital Highway, users accurate data about availabil- Municipality and Urban Planning vated ideas to solve the parking Road on the fast lane (left lane) of the Traffic will be diverted to a newly as part of the New Orbital Highway ity of parking in the places where (MMUP). crises in densely populated cities. southbound traffic heading to Doha. constructed diversion with the same and Truck Route Project, contract they are heading to, said Adnan Abu He was giving a presentation They include providing informa- The closure will start about 1km number of lanes adjacent to the four. Dayya, Chief Executive Officer of at a two-day even “Smart Parking tion about parking availability to the after Exit 35 (Al Khor Exit) at the closed section of the road. On the Ashghal will install road signs to QMIC. Qatar” which began here yesterday. motorists, building automated park- intersection of Al Shamal Road with southbound side of Al Shamal, three advice motorists of the diversion. The Initially parking lots at four The event is supported by Project ing facilities and banning shopping Al Khor Road, starting tomorrow. This lanes will remain open to traffic. authority requests all road users to places including City Center and Qatar in collaboration with Ashghal malls in crowded areas to reduced will be followed by a traffic diversion The speed limit will be reduced abide by the speed limits, and follow Qatar National Convention Center and the Ministry of Transport and traffic jams. on part of Al Shamal Road including from 120 kph to 80 kph along the the road signs to ensure their safety. Qatari wins Safari promotion More than 200 Somalis drown

Reuters them setting off from North Africa died”. He did not give a precise report from Malta. In an article on in rickety boats that are packed timing for the incident. One year the Somali National News Agency full of people and which struggle ago, an estimated 800 migrants (SONNA) website, President Hassan in choppy seas. drowned off the Sheikh Mohamoud on Monday MOGADISHU: Somalia’s “We have no fixed number but Libyan coast when the “sent his heartfelt condolence on government said yesterday about it is between 200 and 300 fishing boat they were travelling his behalf and on behalf of the 200 or more Somalis may have Somalis,” Somali Information in collided with a mercantile citizens of Somalia to the families drowned in the Mediterranean Sea Minister Mohamed Abdi Hayir told vessel that was attempting to who lost their loved ones”. while trying to cross illegally to Reuters by telephone when asked rescue them - the most deadly The president urged Somalis Europe, many of them teenagers, about possible Somali deaths in the Mediterranean shipwreck in to stand together in helping “stop when the boat they were on latest incident. decades. such hazardous trips to overseas”. capsized after leaving the Egyptian Another Somali government Egyptian, Italian and Greek Somalia has a large diaspora, shore. statement, which offered officials had earlier been unable with many Somalis in Europe and Italian President Sergio condolences, put the number at to confirm the report of a new the United States, after fleeing two Mattarella had said earlier on “nearly 200”, saying they were sinking. A U.N. refugee agency decades of conflict. The Western- Monday that several hundred mostly teenagers. It said the boat official told Swiss broadcaster backed government is seeking to people appeared to have died in a they were on had capsized after SRF he knew of 40 survivors from rebuild the Horn of Africa nation new tragedy in the Mediterranean, leaving Egypt. what appeared to be the same but is still battling an Islamist The First Qatari Winner of Safari Win 6 kg Gold Promotion Receiving his after unconfirmed reports spoke “There is no clear number incident. insurgency. prize from Safari Group Director and General Manager Zainul Abideen as of up to 400 victims of capsizing since they are not travelling “We know there are 40 Islamist al Shabaab rebels Manager Aziz Dhamani looks on. near Egypt’s coast. legally,” the minister said, adding survivors and that as many as often carry out gun and bomb More than 1.2 million African, that he understood the boat might 460 people may have been on the attacks, particularly in the capital Arab and Asian migrants have have been carrying about 500 boat who sailed from Egypt,” the Mogadishu, where some hardy streamed into the European Union people, of which 200 to 300 were UNHCR’s Beat Schuler told the Somalis business people are since the start of last year, many of Somalis “and most of them had broadcaster in what it said was a returning to from abroad to invest.

Migrants stand in line after disembarking from the SOS Mediterranean ship Aquarius at the Italian island of Lampedusa yesterday. US to send more troops to Iraq to tackle IS

Reuters use of Apache attack helicopters to help the Ira- and artillery. “This will put Americans closer to qis as they can provide quicker air support and the action,” US Defence Secretary Ash Carter precision fire. said. “Their whole purpose is to be able to help BAGHDAD: The US will send more troops to The advisers will accompany Iraqi units of those forces respond in a more agile way.” Iraq and will put them closer to the frontlines about 2,500 troops moving closer to the front- The decision to enlarge the US military force of battle there to advise Iraqi forces in the war lines of battle. Until now, the advisers were was made in close concert with Iraqi authori- against Islamic State militants. limited to larger divisions of about 10,000 ties, said Carter, who met US commanders and US defence officials said Washington will troops located further back from the battlefield. Iraqi officials including Prime Minister Haider deploy about 200 additional troops, mostly The change will allow them to offer quicker al-Abadi on a visit to Baghdad. as advisers for Iraqi troops as they advance advice to Iraqi troops as they try to retake Iraq is engulfed in a political crisis over towards Mosul, the largest Iraqi city still under Mosul, likely facing stiff resistance from an anti-corruption reforms that is crippling state Islamic State control. entrenched enemy. But it could also leave the institutions and threatening to slow the cam- The United States has also authorized the US advisers more vulnerable to enemy mortars paign against the militants. MIDDLE EAST TUESDAY 19 APRIL 2016 07 Syrian opposition asks UN to halt peace talks

only a postponement until the conditions are Hama, while there were heavy government air right,” Mohammad Al Aboud, a member of the strikes in Homs province to the south. Both sides have accused negotiating team, said. The Latakia and Hama assaults appeared the other of breaking The Western-backed opposition High to be part of a new battle announced by rebel Negotiations Committee (HNC) later con- groups early in the day, the Syrian Observa- the partial truce deal, firmed the decision in a statement, saying a tory for Human Rights monitoring group said. which does not include pause would be “a chance ... to respond to the A Syrian military source confirmed intense core subject of forming a governing body that fighting in the area. IS or Nusra Front, and has no role for Assad”. “Today they attacked in the northern Lata- which began to unravel The HNC emphasised that it was not kia countryside in several areas, in violation walking out of the talks, the first attempt to of the cessation of hostilities agreement, and as fighting escalated near negotiate a way out of the five-year-old con- also in the northwestern Hama countryside,” Aleppo this month. flict in two years; a diplomat said they wanted the military source said. the United Nations to publicly criticise the The Observatory reported that in northern government. Homs province heavy government air strikes Reuters “De Mistura must imperatively reassure killed four people, and said the death toll was the opposition,” one senior Western diplomat expected to rise, with more people wounded. said. “He needs to make a public statement Mohamad Al Shamsi, a doctor in the Homs BEIRUT/GENEVA: The mainstream Syr- putting pressure on the government. It’s in his area, said there had been at least 10 air raids ian opposition asked the United Nations to interest to keep the talks alive. He needs to say from early morning on Rastan and nearby Deir halt peace talks yesterday and rebel groups that the regime isn’t listening.” Foul and Al Houla. Schools had been evacu- launched a new offensive against govern- A February 27 cessation of hostilities ated and hospitals shut. ment forces, accusing the world body of bias agreement was meant to provide breathing Groups including factions fighting under in favour of President Bashar Al Assad. space for talks to end the war via a transitional the banner of the Free Syrian Army and pow- The opposition’s coordinator at the Geneva authority and elections. But the government, erful Islamist Ahrar Al Sham, said in their talks, Riad Hijab, said earlier it was unaccept- which is backed by Russia and Iran, says Assad battle announcement that they would respond able for talks to go on if the government and must stay in power pending national elections. “with force” against any government forces its allies pushed on with sieges and bombing Both sides have accused the other of that fired on civilians. civilian areas, echoing recent criticism of gov- breaking the partial truce deal, which does They announced the “formation of a ernment offensives elsewhere. not include Islamic State or Al Qaeda’s Nusra joint operations room to begin the battle ... in Only three delegates met UN envoy Staffan Front, and which began to unravel as fight- response to violations by the army”. de Mistura for talks yesterday, instead of the ing escalated near Syria’s second city Aleppo The Geneva talks aim to end a war that usual 15, after a letter signed by unspecified this month. has killed more than 250,000 people, created “armed revolutionary factions” said de Mis- Yesterday, rebels launched a fierce attack the world’s worst refugee crisis, allowed for tura and the government were trying to put against government forces in Latakia prov- the rise of the Islamic State group and drew Syrian Head of the High Negotiation Committee (HNC) Riad Hijab arrives for Syria forward “half-solutions”. ince, which lies on the Mediterranean coast, in regional powers. Russia’s intervention in peace talks in Geneva yesterday. “We asked for the postponement of talks, and made separate advances further east in the conflict swayed the war in Assad’s favour. Libya parliament delays Syria rocket fire kills four in Turkish town

confidence vote AFP lost their lives. The fire was con- firmed to have come from an area in Syria controlled by IS fighters, Dogan AFP kilometres (185 miles) from Italy said. Turkish armed forces hit back by across the Mediterranean. ISTANBUL: Four rockets fired from firing mortar shells at IS targets inside People smugglers are also feed- Syria slammed into the southern Syria, the report added. TRIPOLI: Libya’s parliament post- ing on the chaos, with a surge of Turkish town of Kilis yesterday, killing At least 10 people have now been poned a vote of confidence expected illegal migration to Europe from four Syrians including three children killed so far in strikes on the town to be held yesterday on a new UN- Libya. Formed under a power-shar- in the latest deadly cross-border from Syria but this was the heaviest backed unity government even as it ing deal agreed by some Libyan strike to panic residents, officials toll recorded so far in a single day. asserted its authority by assuming lawmakers in December, the GNA said. Two people were killed in Kilis control of two ministries. has been working to assert its Kilis — the only town in Tur- last week by IS rocket fire from Syria, Deputies told a special session authority but needs formal endorse- key where refugees from the war in prompting protests in the town over of the internationally-recognised ment from parliament and support Syria now outnumber Turkish locals the lack of security. parliament, to be held in the eastern from a rival adminstration. — has been repeatedly hit by rocket Turkey’s powerful intelligence city of Tobruk, failed to take place UN envoy Martin Kobler was in fire from areas in Syria controlled by chief Hakan Fidan made a rare pub- because of “big differences”. Tobruk for the vote and had earlier Islamic State (IS) jihadists in recent lic visit to Kilis last week while Prime “We couldn’t hold a session tweeted he was “encouraged” by the weeks. Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also vowed today. There are big differences on presence of “many” of the deputies in “Four Syrians living in Kilis, to protect the town. what should we vote on first: the the 198-member legislature. including three children were killed,” Turkish officials have repeat- confidence or amendment of the The GNA pushed ahead Monday the Kilis governor’s office said in a edly lauded the hospitality of people constitution,” MP Abu Bakr Beira with its efforts to assert its author- statement. in Kilis towards Syrians as an exam- said. “The session was postponed till ity by taking over the ministries of Five Syrians and one Turkish citi- A man carries an injured child yesterday in Kilis, after four rockets fired ple of how Turks are hosting the 2.7 tomorrow, and hopefully it will hap- housing and public works and social zen were also wounded by the rocket from Syria slammed into the southern Turkish town. million Syrians who have fled their pen.” Another MP, Khalifa Daghari, affairs in Tripoli. fire which hit the town centre in a country’s civil war to Turkey. said a committee was formed of sup- They were handed over to state two-hour period from 1130 to 1330 to a school where he was tending his killed and four more wounded when Neither the Islamic State group porters and opponents of the unity minister Mohammad al-Amari, an GMT, it added. flock, the Dogan news agency said. one of the rockets hit an apartment nor the Al Nusra Front are included in government to try to reach a deal. official statement said, adding with- A Syrian shepherd was among Ten of his sheep were killed while block in another district of the town, a truce brokered by the United States “If we reach it, we will hold a out elaborating that the takeover of those killed when one of the Katy- a 14-year-old Turkish schoolboy was Dogan said. It was not immediately and Russia that came into force on session tomorrow. If we don’t, we a third ministry — youth and sports usha-type rockets hit an area close also wounded. A second person was clear how the other tw victims had February 27. will keep trying,” said Daghari. — had been delayed. In contrast to the reservations on Deputy premier Ahmed Maiteeq the domestic front over prime min- had said the government would ister-designate Fayez al-Sarraj’s begin running the three ministries cabinet, British Foreign Secretary regardless of the result of the con- Philip Hammond flew into Tripoli fidence vote. The Foreign Office in 21 injured as bomb rips through Jerusalem bus on Monday hot on the heels of London said Hammond and Sarraj visits last week by the foreign min- discussed the GNA’s plans to rebuild isters of Italy, France and Germany the country, tackle IS and human AFP to another one as well as a car. having been stabbings. “A profes- battling to extinguish the blaze. for talks on shoring up the new trafficking. Israeli domestic security agency sional examination of police sappers Police said 21 people were administration. “Fighting Daesh and fighting Shin Bet referred to the explosion as has proven that a bomb exploded injured, with medics reporting at least The international community illegal migration is part of the same JERUSALEM: A bomb blast ripped a “terror attack”. on the back part of the bus, result- two hurt seriously. Police were inves- sees the Government of National agenda, and of course it must be for through a bus in Jerusalem yester- The bombing was expected to ing in the wounding of passengers tigating whether any of the wounded Accord (GNA) as the best hope for the Libyan people, the Libyan gov- day and sparked a fire, wounding at lead to a sharp increase in security and the burning of the bus,” a police were behind the bombing. oil-rich Libya which has been roiled ernment, to decide how to recapture least 21 people, Israeli police said, in ahead of an upcoming festival begin- statement. Authorities initially said most of by turmoil since the 2011 ouster and their country from the Daesh invad- an apparent escalation in a wave of ning Friday night. “In addition, another bus and car the wounded were passengers on the killing of Moamer Kadhafi. ers, but the international community violence. If confirmed as a Palestinian were damaged.” second bus, though conflicting infor- Concern has been compounded stands ready to support them, to Details were still emerging, but bombing, it would both reverse a An AFP journalist at the scene mation later emerged. by the expansion of the Islamic State provide training and technical police said a bomb had exploded on decline in a wave of violence that said one bus was completely burnt out Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin group in Libya, where the jihad- assistance in any way,” Hammond one bus in a relatively isolated area of erupted in October and mark an while another was partially burned, Netanyahu said “we’ll find whoever ists have set up a bastion just 300 said, using an Arabic acronym for IS. Jerusalem, sparking a fire that spread escalation, with most of the attacks with a large contingent of firefighters prepared this explosive device.” Palestinian circus lights up Gaza gloom

Reuters “We perform in kindergartens, in schools, through its frontier with the territory. Kalloub’s at areas near the border, in streets and every- troupe, which also performs in hospital wards, where people call us to,” he said. receives some funds, equipment and mentor- Wearing colourful track suits, the group ing from circus schools in Spain, the World GAZA: The circus doesn’t come to town any- trains in a garage. Jugglers practice with balls, Vision Organisation, Italy and in Ramallah, more in the Gaza Strip, so Palestinians have clubs and rings, while others climb ropes or in the occupied West Bank. But travel restric- created one of their own to try to bring some rode tiny bicycles. Some children do gymnas- tions have prevented him and other colleagues joy to the conflict zone. tics, jumping over each other’s shoulders. from going to Spain for training. “My ambition It is not the greatest show on earth — “We offer training for free because we is to create the first circus of Gaza in accord- there’s no Big Top, flying trapeze or animals. want to teach the younger generation some- ance to the international standards. I dream But about a dozen adults and 30 children thing new, we want to teach them how to act of having a permanent tent to hold the shows training to be clowns, jugglers and stilt-walk- and be happy,” Kalluob said. every week,” he said. ers are winning smiles in public performances. Four years ago, the Egyptian National Cir- Ibrahim Omar, a 16-year-old member of The Gaza Circus School is the brainchild cus performed in Gaza. But the border with the circus, said the world should know that of Majed Kalluob, a 24-year-old journalist Egypt, whose government is at odds with the Gaza has “children with many talents” that are with a penchant for theatre and some tute- enclave’s Hamas Islamist rulers, is now largely hidden in the shadow of the conflict with Israel lage from Belgian circus artistes who visited closed, and Israel maintains tight restric- “Circus has become part of our life, just Members of Gaza Circus Team train in a garage in the northern Gaza Strip. Gaza in 2011. tions on the movement of people and goods like study and other daily routine,” he said. 08 TUESDAY 19 APRIL 2016 MIDDLE EAST Turkey detains 105 EU pledges more aid Gulen supporters for Tunisia in new clampdown AFP

LUXEMBOURG: The European Union pledged They stand accused of “being a member yesterday to intensify efforts to aid Tunisia as it of a terror organisation” and “financing a ter- tackles economic troubles and a jihadist threat More than 40 of those held ror organisation”. in its transition to democracy five years after are staff of bank linked to Among the businessmen detained are its revolution. executives from leading Turkish construction “The European Union sees it is necessary Erdogan’s US-based foe. firm Dumankaya Insaat, including chairman and obvious to mobilise all our efforts to sup- Halit Dumankaya and board member Semih port the Tunisian government and people in Serhat Dumankaya, Anatolia said. order for the democratic transition and coun- Founded in 1963, Dumankaya is one of try to succeed,” EU foreign policy chief Federica AFP Turkey’s biggest property developers with Mogherini said after a meeting in Luxembourg a string of prestigious projects in Istanbul. with Tunisian Foreign Minister Khemaies The company is also the shirt sponsors Jhinaoui. of top Istanbul football team Galatasaray, In a joint statement, the EU pledged to ISTANBUL: Turkish police yesterday detained meaning its stars like Germany’s Lukas “intensify efforts to identify all the opportuni- at least 105 people, including top construction Podolski or Wesley Sneijder of the Nether- ties for extra assistance”. executives, in a new crackdown on support- lands wear the firm’s name on their kit. However, Tunisia must itself take steps to ers of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s arch “Our board members were called to give better absorb international aid and reinforce foe, the US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen. a statement at the Financial Crimes Depart- coordination with international sponsors, it Those detained are accused of provid- ment on Monday morning,” the company said. ing financing for Gulen, who the Turkish confirmed in a statement. The EU, a major partner of Tunisia since its government accuses of running a “terror It said that in over half a century of exist- revolution in 2011 launched the “Arab Spring,” organisation” seeking to overthrow his former ence, Dumankaya “has rigorously fulfilled all has doubled its financial aid to the country to ally Erdogan. its legal and financial obligations.” about ¤1bn ($1.13bn) in the last five years, Mogh- Turkish prosecutors have issued arrest “We have worked and continue to work erini told reporters. warrants for 140 people and 105 people have for the development of our country and our Loans of ¤500m were released in February. been detained so far, the state-run Anatolia people,” it added. The bloc is also currently negotiating a free- news agency reported. Those detained have been brought to the trade deal with the north African country and is Most of those detained were apprehended Istanbul police’s financial crimes department offering to help young Tunisians travel to Europe in Istanbul, it said, adding that the operation for questioning. Authorities will then decide to study and conduct research. involved some 800 police. whether to send them to court. It has also increased the quantity of Tunisian They have been accused of provid- Ankara accuses Gulen of running what olive oil exempted from import duties. ing some 50 million Turkish lira ($17.5m) it calls the Fethullahaci Terror Organisa- While Tunisia is hailed as a political success in financing to Gulen’s group between tion/Parallel State Structure (FeTO/PDY) and story of the Arab Spring uprisings, authorities Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks at a conference on “Prophet 2004-2015. seeking to overthrow the legitimate Turk- have failed to redress the economy, with tour- Over 40 of those detained were employ- ish authorities. Muhammad (PBUH), Tawhid and Wahdat” as part of the Holy Birth Week ism particularly hard hit by a wave of jihadist ees of Bank Asya, a bank linked to Gulen that But his supporters decry the accusations celebrations, at Sinan Erdem Sports Hall in Istanbul, Turkey, yesterday. The Week attacks. The Islamic State (IS) group claimed was put under state control last year. Another as ridiculous, saying all he leads is a more dedicated to mark the birth of the Prophet (PBUH) has been commemorated in attacks last year on the Bardo museum in Tunis 45 were described as businesspeople. informal group known as Hizmet (Service). Turkey since 1989 with lectures, workshops, and scholarly meetings. and a resort hotel that killed 59 tourists in total. Yemen peace talks flounder as rebels fail to turn up

AFP — loyalists of former president Ali Abdullah delegation in Kuwait City said that the rebels rebels, a Shia minority group that has long The UN’s Ould Cheikh Ahmed urged the Saleh — were meant to gather yesterday morn- “haven’t left Sana’a and are procrastinating.” complained of marginalisation, descended Houthi rebels and their allies not to “miss this ing in Kuwait for the negotiations. Speaking from Yemen’s rebel-held capi- from their northern stronghold to seize con- opportunity that could save Yemen the loss KUWAIT CITY: Crucial talks between Yemen’s But while a government delegation led tal, a source from the Houthi political bureau trol of Sana’a in 2014. of more lives.” government and rebels were delayed yesterday by Yemeni Foreign Minister Abdulmalek Al confirmed to AFP that the rebels, expected in As they advanced into other areas, Pres- He had earlier expressed hopes for the after the insurgents failed to show up, prompt- Mikhlafi was in Kuwait, the rebel delegation Kuwait alongside representatives from Saleh’s ident Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi and other talks, telling the UN Security Council on Fri- ing UN concern over the fate of peace efforts remained in Yemen. General People’s Congress party, had not left officials fled first to the main southern city day that Yemen has “never been so close to for the war-torn country. “Due to developments over the last few Sana’a. of Aden and eventually to Riyadh. peace”. The ceasefire, which has been in place The talks in Kuwait aim to bring an end to hours, the start of the Yemeni-Yemeni peace “They did not go to the Kuwait talks The loyalists have since managed to since April 11, has been repeatedly violated but more than 13 months of fighting that have dev- negotiations scheduled to begin today... will because of the continued Saudi aggression reclaim large parts of the south, establishing the rebels, the government and the Saudi-led astated already-impoverished Yemen. be delayed,” UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh on Yemen,” said the source, who requested a temporary capital in Aden, but have failed coalition have avoided talk of it collapsing, as A week-old ceasefire was meant to lay Ahmed said in a statement, without specify- anonymity. “Saudi Arabia did not commit to to dislodge the Houthis from Sana’a and other happened with three earlier truces. the groundwork for the talks but it has been ing when they might take place. the truce.” key areas. Previous attempts at peace talks — includ- repeatedly breached, with both sides trad- “The next few hours are crucial,” he said, Saudi Arabia is leading a military coalition Prior to the UN announcement of a delay, ing a failed round in January — have been ing blame. calling on all parties to “take their responsi- of Arab Sunni states which has been support- the Saudi government voiced hope for “the unable to stop the conflict, which the United Representatives of the internation- bilities seriously and agree on comprehensive ing pro-government forces with air strikes, success of consultations” in Kuwait, in a state- Nations says has killed more than 6,400 peo- ally recognised government as well as the solutions”. weapons and troops since March last year. ment published on the official Saudi Press ple and forced almost 2.8 million from their Iran-backed Houthi rebels and their allies A source close to the government It launched the intervention after the Agency. homes. Rebel leader Machar delays visit to Juba

AA

JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN: The highly-anticipated return of rebel leader Riek Machar to the South Sudanese capital Juba has been postponed yet again, sparking fresh concerns about the frag- ile peace process. Machar was expected in Juba yesterday to take charge as South Sudan’s first vice-presi- dent and forming a transitional government of national unity with President Salva Kiir Mayar- dit, which would bring an end to more than two years of civil war in the world’s youngest nation. However, William Ezekiel, spokesman of the rebels’ team in Juba, told journalists at the Juba International Airport yesterday that the visit had been delayed this time due to “logis- tical” hiccups. “The scheduled return of Dr Riek Machar to Juba has been postponed until tomorrow; this is due to some logistical challenges both at Pagak and Gambella,” Ezekiel said. He said the delay may be related to a failure File picture of South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir (left) and rebel leader Riek Machar to get flight clearance for the rebels SPLA-IO chief of staff, who was also scheduled to arrive exchanging peace agreement papers in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa. with Machar. William, however, acknowledged that clashes with the presidential guard escalated readiness of the United Nations to assist in all the obstacle to the travel plans had not been into a full-fledged war that took on a tribal efforts to bring peace to South Sudan. caused by the governments in Juba or Ethio- dimension. Under pressure from international pow- pia and instead pointed to possible problems in In remarks made in an emailed statement ers, the two men signed an initial peace deal eastern parts of the Upper Nile state, in Pagak yesterday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in August 2015 and agreed to share ministerial or Gambella. urged Machar and Kiir to quickly form the positions in January whereby Kiir gave Machar After being sworn in as first vice-president, “Transitional Government of National Unity,” his old job as deputy after several months of Machar and Kiir are expected to work on set- which he said was a crucial next step in the troubled negotiation and failed ceasefire ting up a power-sharing government and on peace process. Ban spoke with the two rivals agreements. Yet, the deal has broken down elevating rebel troops to an equal status as that via telephone, commending Kiir for his deci- repeatedly. Tens of thousands of people were of the South Sudanese military. sion to welcome Machar back to Juba; he also killed, and more than two million displaced Machar, who was ousted from his posi- applauded Machar for his decision to return and when war broke out in South Sudan three years tion as vice-president in July 2013 by Kiir, has urged him to work with the president to pre- ago in the power struggle between allies of Kiir not been to Juba since December 2013, when vent any further violence. He reaffirmed the and Machar. ASIA / PHILIPPINES TUESDAY 19 APRIL 2016 09 Philippines to Duterte defiant despite uproar over remarks

AFP making crude remarks about a female doing my duties for humanity. And never be joked about or trivialised. Australian missionary who was killed now they’re castigating me for my Violence against women and girls is get blimp from during a Philippine prison riot in 1989. mouth?” Asked if the bishop might unacceptable anytime, anywhere.” The video uploaded on YouTube be warning people not to vote for him, Duterte, who leads in the latest MANILA: Leading Philippine pres- shows Duterte, who was mayor of the a defiant Duterte said: “Correct.” opinion survey of presidential can- idential candidate Rodrigo Duterte, southern city of Davao where the riot Duterte warned he would not didates in the May 9 elections, has embroiled in an uproar for his appar- broke out, telling a crowd of laugh- change his coarse language even refused to apologise for his remarks, US for sea guard ent joke about the murder of an ing supporters: Villegas posted the though critics say it shows he is unfit saying he was merely relating a “nar- Australian woman, came under fire video on social media, telling the for the presidency. rative” of events during the 1989 riot yesterday from the church and Can- faithful: “Please watch the video and “If it is not acceptable to the cul- and not making a joke. Many Filipinos huge deposits of oil and gas. Brunei, berra’s envoy but remained defiant. judge for yourself. I will keep my own tured people, let it be. If it means my have embraced Duterte for his prom- Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan Duterte, who promises mass kill- judgement to myself.” In response to defeat, so be it,” he said. Australian ise to get tough on crime. He openly The blimp is a and Vietnam also have claims to ings of suspected criminals if elected Villegas, Duterte -- who is still mayor ambassador Amanda Gorely joined boasts in his speeches of the extra- balloon-borne parts of the waters, through which next month, has faced a storm of of Davao -- issued a statement yes- the critics, saying in a statement on judicial killing of suspected criminals about $5 trillion in trade is shipped criticism since a video showed him terday saying: “All the while I was Twitter: “Rape and murder should by vigilantes during his time in Davao. radar to collect every year. information and US Defense Secretary Ash Carter visited the Philippines last week to detect movements in reaffirm Washington’s “ironclad” the South China Sea: commitment to defend Manila under Australian PM Poe campaign Official a 1951 security treaty. China has been expanding its handed early presence on its seven artificial islands in the Spratly archipelago Reuters and on Monday landed a military election trigger plane for the first time on one of them, Fiery Cross Reef. AFP It comes ahead of a planned US MANILA: The United States will freedom of navigation patrol this transfer an observation blimp to the month near the Spratlys. SYDNEY: Australian Prime Min- Philippines to help it track maritime Carter’s visit also signals the ister Malcolm Turnbull was activity and guard its borders amid start of US military deployment in yesterday handed his trigger to call rising tensions in the South China the Philippines, with 75 soldiers to July elections after the Senate for a Sea, a US diplomat said yesterday. be rotated in and out of an air base second time rejected government Philip Goldberg, US ambassador north of Manila. legislation to re-establish a con- to the Philippines, said Washing- Goldberg said the two allies had struction industry watchdog. ton would give Manila, its oldest agreed to set up a system for “secure Turnbull has threatened to Asia-Pacific security ally, $42m of and classified communications” as hold national polls for both houses sensors, radar and communications part of a five-year, $425m initiative of parliament on July 2 unless the equipment. by Washington in Southeast Asia. Senate passed two stalled bills “We will add to its capability to Manila will receive some $120m relating to unions. But the Senate put sensors on ships and put an aer- US military aid this year, the largest on Monday evening rejected for a ostat blimp in the air to see into the sum since 2000 when the American second time legislation to rees- maritime space,” Goldberg said in military returned to the Philippines tablish a construction watchdog. an interview with CNN Philippines, for training and exercises after an It has already twice blocked a sec- The blimp is a balloon-borne eight-year hiatus. ond industrial relations bill. radar to collect information and They signed a new deal in 2013 “The result of the decision detect movements in the South allowing increased US military in the Senate a short while ago... China Sea, a Philippine military presence on a rotational basis and means that the constitutional official said. storage of supplies and equipment grounds for a double dissolution Presidential candidate senator Grace Poe is greeted by her supporters upon arrival during a campaign China claims almost the entire for maritime security and humani- election exist,” Attorney-General rally in Las Pinas City, south of Manila, Philippines, yesterday. South China Sea, believed to have tarian missions. George Brandis said. Malaysian PM warns of Daesh foothold in south of Philippines

Anatolia services forum in capital Kuala brokering a shelved peace deal On Monday, Razak called for Philippines. “We must not take for agreement is on hold, “terrorist” Lumpur yesterday, Najib Razak said between the Philippines govern- peace efforts in the South to be con- granted the regional stability that we groups may try and take advantage that destabilisation of the Philippines’ ment and the Moro Islamic Liberation tinued by the presidential successor. have enjoyed.” of local frustrations. south would invite militant groups Front (MILF) -- has taken precaution- “President Benigno S Aquino He added that to honor the peace Earlier this month, a 10-hour clash KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s prime -- mainly Daesh -- to establish a foot- ary security measures to prevent III has been endeavoring for the process, safe passage must be assured between the Daesh-linked Abu Sayyaf minister has warned of Daesh gain- hold in the Southeast Asian region. Malaysia and its regional peers from peacekeeping efforts. But this must so Bangsamoro basic law -- the law and the Philippines army left at least ing a foothold in the Philippines south, “If that happens, it would have becoming a target of Daesh. The final be continued [June 30] by whoever that seals the peace process -- can 18 troops dead in southern Tipo-Tipo as troops from its neighbor continue very serious consequences on all of peace agreement between the two is replaces him.” be brought to the new Congress and town. The army continues to track the to battle related groups on islands in us [Southeast Asian countries],” the presently shelved, while Philippines He underlined the investment that be enacted. militants, with a weekend statement its south. premier said. Razak said that Malay- Congress adjourns for presidential had gone into finding comprehen- Both the government and the saying it had killed 32 of the group’s Talking at a regional defense sia -- which played a major role in elections. sive long-term peace in the southern MILF have warned that while the members since the earlier battle.

China dispatches military plane US helps 100,000 stranded in Japan Nobel laureates to to disputed man-made island visit N Korea for ‘silent diplomacy’

AP January flew three commercial jets AFP to the island as a test. That move drew complaints from Vietnam, which along with SEOUL: A trio of Nobel laureates BEIJING: China’s navy dispatched a four other governments is enmeshed will take part in a “humanitar- military plane to one of the country’s a heated dispute with Beijing over ian” visit to North Korea later this man-made islands in the disputed large parts of the South China Sea. month, even as suspicions grow South China Sea, the Defence Min- Hanoi accused China of threat- that Pyongyang is preparing to istry said, in what is believed to be ening the safety of civilian flights by carry out a fifth nuclear test. the first openly acknowledged mis- failing to properly inform its aviation The Vienna-based Interna- sion of its kind. authorities of the flights beforehand. tional Peace Foundation, which A brief statement on the minis- The US also complained that the is organising the trip, said yester- try’s website said the plane was on flights raised tensions and reiterated day it was an exercise in “silent patrol when it was diverted to Fiery its calls for a halt to land reclama- diplomacy” that would focus on Cross Reef on Sunday morning to tion and militarization of outposts such topics as economic policy and pick up three injured construction in the area. medical development. Troops of Japan’s Ground Self-defence Force carry emergency aid supplies as part in relief efforts in workers. The Philippines, which also The three laureates from Nor- The plane then flew to Sanya on claims islands and reefs controlled Minamiaso, Kumamoto prefecture, yesterday. Japan enlisted US help to airlift supplies to some of the way, Britain and Israel, who won China’s southernmost island prov- by China, criticized the move. 100,000 people whose homes were damaged or destroyed by the earthquake. their Nobels for economics, med- ince of Hainan where it landed at Tensions have risen in the last icine and chemistry, will give Fenghuang International Airport, two years after China transformed speeches and hold seminars with the ministry said. Fiery Cross and other coral reefs in students at some of the North’s Details about the plane and the Spratly Island chain into islands elite schools, including Kim Il- where it was based were not given, that could be used to project its mil- Sung University. although a photo accompanying itary might far from the Chinese Thailand’s ‘7 deadly days’ with 440 deaths “The events will not engage in the report showed a four-propel- mainland. rhetoric by making political state- ler Y-8 transport being met by an Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei ments,” the foundation said in a ambulance. also claim territory in the South AFP to their home towns. The death toll World Health Organization in a 2015 press release. “Listening to and The Global Times newspaper China Sea that China says belongs over the past week surged 21 percent report. Daniel Kertesz, a WHO repre- engaging with the young gener- said Sunday’s flight marked “the to it. compared to last year’s holiday, with sentative to Thailand, said the lack of ation of (North Korea) may be a first time a Chinese military plane The new islands in the South 442 deaths in 3,447 accidents nation- helmet-wearing was a major factor gateway to establish a dialogue has openly landed on Yongshujiao,” China Sea have become a source of BANGKOK: Thailand recorded wide, according to figures provided behind the country’s high death rates. which could contribute to a wider using the Chinese name for Fiery tension between Beijing and Wash- more than 440 road deaths dur- by the Department of Disaster Pre- “Legislation and enforcement understanding beyond politics and Cross Reef. ington, which refuses to view them ing its new year festival dubbed the vention and Mitigation. are major challenges,” he added. power play,” added its founding The speed with which the legally as islands entitled to territo- “Seven Deadly Days”, officials figures Drink driving accounted for more Motorcyclists are involved in nearly chairman, Uwe Morawetz, who has mission was accomplished was a tes- rial seas and special economic zones. showed yesterday, in a 20 percent than a third of the accidents, the data three-quarters of Thailand’s fatal visited the North six times over the tament to China’s long-term policy of While the United States is not spike that undercut a junta crack- showed. In 2015, 364 people died on crashes. Thailand’s junta, which past two years to prepare the visit. patrolling over the South China Sea, a claimant state, it says it has a down on drink driving. the roads during the same period. seized power in a 2014 coup, has The trip is likely to be criti- said the paper, a nationalist tabloid national interest in the peaceful Thailand has some of the world’s Despite its relative wealth and approved harsher -- and more cre- cised in some quarters at a time published by the ruling Communist settlement of disputes in the South most lethal roads, with the accident infrastructure, Thailand has the ative -- penalties for driving under when the focus of the international Party newspaper People’s Daily. China Sea and in freedom of navi- rate peaking during Songkran, a second most dangerous roads in the the influence, such as impounding community is on tightening North China completed the runway gation in waters that are critical for booze-soaked week-long holiday world in terms of per capita deaths, cars and sending offenders to week- Korea’s diplomatic and economic on Fiery Cross Reef last year and in world trade. in April that sees Thais drive back according to data collected by the long “attitude adjustment” camps. isolation. 10 TUESDAY 19 APRIL 2016 VIEWS

ESTABLISHED IN 1996

CHAIRMAN SHEIKH THANI BIN ABDULLAH AL THANI

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF DR. KHALID BIN MUBARAK AL-SHAFI [email protected]

ACTING MANAGING EDITOR MOHAMMED SALIM MOHAMED [email protected]

DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR HUSSAIN AHMAD [email protected] German Chancellor Angela Merkel (left) and Indonesian President Joko Widodo inspect a military honour guard at the Chancellery in Berlin yesterday.

EDITORIAL The rise of the right America’s secret weapon slamophobia and anti-immigrant sentiments are rising to new levels in Germany. Most of the anger and made computers an invaluable tool support for breakthrough tools like us make the most of renewables. disappointment directed at Muslims is the result of the for productivity. Later, the Internet - drugs and bed nets. But to make There’s a lot of momentum right Irefugee influx caused by what critics call the ‘reckless policy’ another product of federal research the most of these opportunities, now on clean energy research. of Chancellor Angela Merkel. More than one million migrants - changed the game again. It is no we need to invest more in basic Last year, the leaders of 20 coun- entered the country last year, mainly Muslims fleeing wars in Syria, accident that today most of the top health research and specific areas tries, including the United States, Iraq and Afghanistan, after Merkel agreed to open the country’s tech companies are still based in the like vaccines. committed to double federal invest- borders. Merkel was showered with encomiums for her bold and United States, and their advances Energy is another great ments in this area. Complementing will have a massive impact in every example. American-funded that crucial effort, I helped launch benign gesture, but the initial euphoria soon fizzled out after a few area of human activity. research defines the state of the the Breakthrough Energy Coalition, unfortunate incidents of crime by immigrants and the terrorist My favorite example is health. art in energy production. Early a group of private investors who attacks in Europe. The resentment among sections of the people America’s investment in this advances in wind and solar will back promising clean-energy began to coalesce into something more toxic, which now stands area creates high-paying jobs at technology were developed companies. The next president will exposed in the form of some xenophobic and racist demands by the By Bill Gates universities, biotech companies, with federal money. And this have a chance to accelerate this anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Reuters and government labs. It leads to research offers a strong return momentum. new treatments for disease, such on investment. Between 1978 and Investing in R&D isn’t about the The AfD is pressing for bans on minarets and burqas at its as cancer therapies. It helps contain 2000, the Department of Energy government picking winners and congress in two weeks’ time, which could be part of an extensive deadly epidemics like Ebola and spent $17.5 billion (in today’s losers. The markets will do that. plan to target Muslims in the country. Zika. And it saves lives in poor dollars) on research on efficiency It’s about doing what we know The AfD call invited furious responses his presidential election has countries. Since 1990, the fraction and fossil fuels, yielding $41 billion works: making limited and targeted from the country’s Muslim community. A the country captivated. As of children who die before age 5 in economic benefits. Yet, until this investments to lay a foundation It’s leader of German Muslims compared the many commentators have has fallen by more than half. I think year, the DOE’s research budget for America’s entrepreneurs. This unfortunate party’s stand towards Muslims to that of pointed out, the primaries that’s the greatest statistic of all hasn’t seen a real increase since approach has been fundamental Tare more focused on personalities time, and the United States deserves the Reagan administration. to US leadership for decades, and that the anti- Hitler’s Nazis towards Jews, saying it is than policy. While the parties a lot of credit for making it happen. If we step up these investments, it will become only more impor- immigrant the first time since Hitler’s Germany that focus on who is going to represent The next few years could we can create new jobs in the energy tant in the years ahead. a community has been targeted en masse, them in the fall, I want to make bring even more progress. With sector and develop the technologies By the end of this summer, the AfD party vilified and existentially threatened. the case for something that I hope a little luck we could eradicate that will power the world - while political parties will have chosen is pressing The tension between the right every candidate will agree on in polio, a goal that is within reach also fighting climate change, their leaders and will start looking wingers and Muslims is likely to November: America’s unparalleled because of vaccines developed by promoting energy independence, ahead to the November election. for bans on capacity for innovation. When the US scientists. (Polio would be the and providing affordable energy The nominees will lay out their continue and even become worse in minarets and United States invests in innovation, second disease ever eradicated, for the 1.3 billion poor people who vision for America and their agenda the coming weeks and months as the it creates companies and jobs at after smallpox in 1979 - in which don’t have it today. Some of the more for achieving it. These visions will burqas in anti-immigrant parties and people home, makes Americans healthier the United States also played an promising areas include making fuel probably have more differences Germany. grapple with the reality of the presence and safer, and saves lives and fights irreplaceable role.) There is also from solar energy, much the way than similarities. But I hope we of so many immigrants on their soil. poverty in the world’s poorest exciting progress on malaria: The plants do; making nuclear energy can all agree that, no matter how Merkel, as a determined defender countries. It offers the next president number of deaths dropped more safer and more affordable; capture you see America’s future, there of German constitution, values and a tremendous opportunity to help than 40 percent from 2000 to and storing carbon; and creating will always be an essential role people in America and around the 2012, thanks in part to America’s new ways to store energy that let for innovation. liberal policies, is finding herself squeezed between two opposing world. forces – of those supporting tougher anti-immigrant policies and Of course, America’s capacity restrictions on their freedom, and secondly, immigrants who are for innovation is nothing new. We looking up to her to protect their rights. This balancing act will have been inventing for more than not be easy. Asked about the AfD’s remarks on Islam, Merkel said two centuries: think of Benjamin that freedom of religion was a right guaranteed by the German Franklin, Margaret Knight, Thomas Edison. By the end of World War II, constitution, known as the Basic Law, and any violation will be the United States led the world in dealt with according to the law. There is no doubt that the ban automobiles, aerospace, electronics, of burqa will be a violation of the fundamental right of Muslim medicine, and other areas. Nor is the women and the call for a ban on minarets is an attempt to erase formula for success complicated: the very identity of Muslims in the country. Government funding for our world- Will the AfD have its way? It’s difficult to say because Germany class research institutions produces is a democratic country and the ascension to power of rightist the new technologies that American entrepreneurs take to market. parties can make all the difference. The rise of AfD has been What is new is that more alarming. The party entered three state parliaments last month countries than ever are competing by luring voters angry with Merkel’s migrant policies. If the party for global leadership, and they know is able to continue its success, immigrants can look forward to a the value of innovation. Since bleak future. 2000, South Korea’s research and development spending (measured as a percentage of GDP) has gone up 90 percent. China’s has doubled. The United States’ has essentially flatlined. It’s great that the rest Quote of the day of the world is committing more, but if the United States is going to We have the most maintain its leading role, it needs to up its game. serious concerns that I have seen first-hand the impact that this type of research the Syrian peace can have. I was lucky enough to be negotiations could a student when computers came along in the 1960s. At first they were get bogged down if very expensive, so it was hard to get not collapse. access to them. But the microchip revolution, made possible by US Francois Hollande government research, completely changed that. Among other things UCLA’s Interface Message Processor (IMP) (right) is pictured in the birthplace of the Internet, French President it enabled Microsoft, the company I at 3420 Boelter Hall, the original location of the first ARPANET node at UCLA in Los Angeles, co-founded, to write software that California in this June 2, 2011 file picture.

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By Lisa Mueller and 3. Terrorism is a serious con- with France and the United States in an end to single-party rule, there have Lukas Matthews cern, but its threat may also act the war on terror, leading to riots last been alternating periods of author- The Washington Post to unify Nigeriens after the elec- year by Nigeriens who viewed the itarian backsliding and democratic tion. Terrorism in Niger has largely alliance as a neo-colonial affront consolidation. external roots. The country suffers to Islam. Take the national elections of incursions from all sides, espe- Yet, there is some evidence that 2011 as one example: Former presi- iger held concurrent pres- cially along its southern border external terrorist threats may unite dent Mamadou Tandja tried to change idential and legislative with Nigeria, where Boko Haram citizens who are otherwise bitterly the constitution in 2009 to outstay elections on February 21. is attempting to extend an Islamic divided across pro-government his two-term limit. Soldiers forcibly Incumbent Mahamadou caliphate. Upon reelection, Issoufou and opposition lines. Nationalist removed him after mass protests, NIssoufou won the first round just vowed to focus counterterrorism sentiment ran high at a rally in the boding poorly for democracy. To the shy of a majority, while challenger leadership in Africa is extremely Ballot-counters from the opposi- efforts in the south, leaving other capital last year during which pro- surprise of many observers, interim Hama Amadou - campaigning from limited. Niger is no exception to this tion estimate that only 11 percent frontiers more vulnerable to bomb- testers denounced Boko Haram with military leaders made good on their prison under charges of baby traf- pattern of recycled elites. Of the top of the country’s population voted. ings and kidnappings by AQIM. chants of “All united against Boko promise to hold free and fair elections ficking - came in second. Issoufou’s four presidential candidates - Iss- It is possible that the threat of ter- There are also concerns that Haram” and “Our army, our pride.” nine months later; democracy was PNDS party won 36 percent of the oufou, Amadou, Seyni Oumarou rorist attacks was one reason that violence could spread from remote 4. Contested elections do not arguably stronger as a result of the seats in the National Assembly. and Mahamane Ousmane - two citizens stayed home. Al-Qaida in border regions to the capital, Niamey, doom democracy in the long term. “corrective coup.” This experience In a runoff election on March have served as president, three as the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) killed in light of recent attacks on the cap- Democratization in Niger has not illustrates how quickly democratic 20, Issoufou won a landslide vic- prime minister, and all as presi- four national security officers three itals of Mali, Burkina Faso and the been a linear process. Ever since the politics can turn around in Niger, for tory, winning 92 percent of the dent of the National Assembly. They days before the runoff. Ivory Coast. Issoufou has cooperated National Convention of 1991 brought better or for worse. vote. The main reason for Ama- have been arrested a combined 13 dou’s loss of support between the times. Issoufou’s reelection frus- first and second rounds was the trates Nigeriens who were hoping for opposition coalition’s boycott of turnover, but an Amadou win would the polls amid alleged ballot fraud not have significantly reshuffled and politically motivated arrests. the political elite. The presidency is Amadou refused to suspend his the only major position that Ama- campaign. This was not the first dou has not held. time that he defied his coalition: In 2. Election observers did not the 2011 elections, Amadou backed guarantee a clean process. The out of an agreement with several Economic Community of West opposition leaders to help his now- African States sent a pre-election rival Issoufou take power. fact-finding mission and monitoring As the dust from this dramatic delegation to Niger in December. campaign season begins to settle, The International Organization of four points are especially worth the Francophonie oversaw correc- noting. tions for voters counted twice on 1. The major candidates were registration lists and the removal “recycled” elites. Prominent schol- of 300 “ghost” polling stations. ars of African politics Patrick Both missions increased pressure Chabal and Jean-Pascal Daloz on incumbent leaders to run clean note that the turnover of political and transparent elections. However, the opposition Coali- tion for Change complained about electoral irregularities, including the use of a single ballot for the The main reason for Hama presidential election but not the legislative election and the “vote Amadou’s loss of support by witness” order that the National between the first and second Independent Electoral Commission issued at the last minute to allow 1.5 rounds was the opposition million Nigeriens without identifi- coalition’s boycott of the polls cation papers to vote as long as two amid alleged ballot fraud and witnesses could positively identify them. Voting in the first round was politically motivated arrests. extended by a day because some polling stations lacked materials. A banner of Niger’s newly elected president, Mahamadou Issoufou, greets passersby in Niamey recently. Russian security chief makes Putin seem tame

people’s interests. These interests can foreign-owned and foreign-invested himself has never gone this far in his be attained through the common good, media companies to publish online. He public statements. In January, he gave not through the absolute freedom of also proposes “anti-extremist” Internet a very different definition of democ- certain representatives of society to filters for schools, colleges and librar- racy than Bastrykin’s: do as they please.” ies and the extra-judicial blocking of “As we have already established, Bastrykin’s argument is that, for any sites that the authorities might democracy is the power of the peo- the last decade or so, the U.S. and its consider “extremist.” ple and the people’s influence on the allies have been fighting a hybrid war That is the Putin regime’s catch-all authorities. We have been inoculated against Russia. Sanctions introduced term for speech that is seen as chal- against authoritarian rule by one polit- in response to Russia’s interference lenging the established order. There ical force -- the Soviet Communist in Ukraine are part of that offensive, has been a wave of prosecutions for Party. We made our choice long ago as are the recent drop in oil prices “extremist” convictions. The recipi- and we will perfect the domestic dem- By Leonid Bershidsky and the subsequent devaluation of ents of prison sentences include an ocratic institution.” Bloomberg the ruble. Yet, Bastrykin wrote, the anti-Semitic poet in Moscow, a Torah Putin’s actions, especially dur- Western “information war” has been teacher in Yekaterinburg, a “violence- ing his third presidential term, have even more destructive. The general inciting” singer in Kostroma, a Tatar belied these words. Media freedoms believes that the U.S. undermined activist in Tatarstan, and a number of have been under attack, the political eneral Alexander Bastrykin, the Soviet Union by fomenting eth- bloggers throughout the country. Bas- opposition has been worn out and mar- Enough playing at who runs the Russian equiva- nic strife, and is still at it, somehow trykin wrote that he would also use ginalized, and economic openness has fake democracy Glent of the FBI, has provided a getting Russian citizens to join radi- criminal prosecution against those who been curtailed. Yet Putin has steered The image of Russia rare insight into the thinking of Pres- cal Islamic organizations such as the express their opposition to the 2014 clear of introducing open censorship and following as a besieged ident Vladimir Putin’s select circle of Islamic State. The “so-called struggle annexation of Crimea from Ukraine: or turning his regime into an ideolog- pseudoliberal values. siloviki, or security men. His vision, against corruption” is also part of the According to him, Russia needs a law ical dictatorship along Soviet lines. fortress is almost published in the weekly Kommersant information war. The West, Bastrykin criminalizing the denial of the annex- Bastrykin’s bold leap could be a Democracy, or always part of the Vlast, includes Chinese-style Inter- says, is working to radicalize Russians ation’s legality. test of public opinion -- though Putin people’s power, is net censorship and the elimination and turn them against their country, Bastrykin also would criminal- is certain that the public supports him. nothing but power silovikis’s rhetoric, of “fake democracy” to ensure that and there is worrying evidence that the ize cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Bastrykin’s views were intended more though they seldom Russia can defend itself. approach is working: 1,329 “extremist which “push legal money off the mar- for Putin and other loyalists than for wielded in the express their views The image of Russia as a besieged crimes” were recorded in 2015, 28.5 ket and threaten the financial stability the readers of a relatively liberal mag- people’s interests. fortress is almost always part of the percent more than in 2014. of the state.” azine. It would only take a slight push publicly. The lengthy silovikis’s rhetoric, though they sel- “It’s time to put up a defense against This powerful official, whose now to get Russia on the path back to These interests can article by Bastrykin, dom express their views publicly. The this information war,” Bastrykin wrote. agency is charged with investigating its Soviet past, or some version of it be attained through lengthy article by Bastrykin, head of “A tough, adequate and symmetrical serious crimes, is imagining a coun- inspired by the example of China. In head of the powerful the powerful Investigative Commit- answer is needed.” try that is a lot like the Soviet Union: A the minds of the siloviki, that coun- the common good, not Investigative tee, goes beyond the usual cautious Bastrykin’s proposals start with clear government-imposed ideology, try was better equipped to fight the through the absolute pronouncements. It openly calls for the development of an official national no pretense of the freedom of speech, Western enemy. Committee, goes eliminating the last vestiges of democ- ideology to make young people more no “fake democracy” and a siege men- Still, Putin may use the opportunity freedom of certain beyond the racy and civil rights: resistant to radicalization. But that tality induced by the fear of a Western to state once more that he’s committed representatives of “Enough playing at fake democ- won’t be possible without censoring enemy. The article is the clearest call to democracy and the relative free- society to do as they usual cautious racy and following pseudoliberal the Internet. Bastrykin cites approv- for the restoration of the Soviet sys- dom of a largely uncensored Internet. pronouncements. values. Democracy, or people’s power, ingly the drastic limitations that China tem by a top regime functionary since Some of his men are so hard-line that please. is nothing but power wielded in the imposed last month on the ability of Putin came to power 16 years ago. Putin next to them, he might look benevolent.

All thoughts and views expressed in these columns are those of the writers, not of the newspaper. All correspondence regarding Views and Opinion pages should be mailed to the Editor-in-Chief. 12 TUESDAY 19 APRIL 2016 ASIA / AFRICA

Great bath Amnesty: Congo Heist: Link of govt bombed residential areas 20 foreigners Reuters

KINSHASA: Congo Republic’s gov- ernment has intentionally bombed revealed residential areas in the country’s south, reportedly killing at least 30 people, Amnesty International said yesterday. Manila, John Gomes, said the hack- No one was immediately ers were from nations other than the available for comment from the Bangladesh’s Philippines. government, which has denied ambassador in Alam said officers would seek targeting civilians in the past. assistance from Interpol in a bid to The central African country Manila, John Gomes, arrest the foreigners. Investigators has been gripped by political vio- said the hackers had earlier said local hackers were lence since a contested presidential likely involved as “the names of local election last month in which Pres- were from nations development projects were used in ident Denis Sassou Nguesso, who other than the the payment advices sent to the Fed- South Korean workers (left) use water to wash a bronze statue of King Sejong, the 15th century Korean has ruled for 32 of the last 37 years, Philippines. eral Reserve Bank”. king, as cameramen (right) take pictures during a street and park clean-up event for springtime at was declared the victor. Earlier this month, detectives Gwanghwamun plaza in Seoul, yesterday. The government has blamed found suspicious malwares in the Frederic Bintsamou, who led a central bank’s computer system militia that fought President Denis which had been sending informa- Sassou Nguesso during and after AFP tion to Egypt, although it is unclear a 1997 civil war, for deadly raids whether this played a role in the on police, military and local gov- heist. ernment bases in the capital on The spectacular cyber-theft has China steps up war of words with April 4. Witnesses told Amnesty DHAKA: Bangladesh police probing embarrassed the government, trig- that helicopters dropped at least a $81m electronic heist from the cen- gered outrage in the impoverished 30 bombs on April 5 on residential tral bank said yesterday that more country and raised alarm over the Taiwan over fraud suspects areas in operations targeting sites than 20 unnamed foreigners were security of Bangladesh’s foreign linked to Bintsamou, the organisa- involved in the audacious theft. exchange reserves of more than tion said in a statement. Hackers stole the money from $27bn. One witness told Amnesty the Bangladesh Bank’s account with The unidentified hackers man- Reuters Beijing. Taiwan, for its part, has been Communists in 1949. In a strongly that she saw at least 30 dead the Federal Reserve Bank of New aged to shift $81m bank in Manila infuriated by the forcible deportation worded editorial on Monday, the bodies after bombings near the York in February and managed to and then on to Filipino casinos of more than 40 Taiwanese people to influential state-run Chinese tab- village of Soumouna in the Pool transfer it electronically to accounts before the trail went cold. China from Kenya, also on suspicion loid the Global Times said Taiwan’s region, about 70km southwest of in the Philippines. They attempted to steal a fur- BEIJING: China stepped up its war of of telecom fraud. China says they are release of the 20 had disgraced the Brazzaville. Lead police investigator in the ther $850m bombarding the New words with Taiwan yesterday after wanted for crimes committed against island’s rule of law and politicised “Government forces have case, Shah Alam, said “at least 20 York bank with dozens of transfer Taipei freed 20 suspects in a telecom Chinese people in China. what should be a normal legal case. deliberately and unlawfully people from multiple foreign coun- requests, but the bank’s security fraud case linked to China, with state Such telecoms fraud typically It accused the pro-independence attacked people,” said Ilaria Alle- tries” have been found to have been systems and typing errors in some media accusing Taiwan of tolerat- involves calls from people pretend- Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), grozzi, Amnesty’s Central Africa involved with the robbery. requests prevented the full theft. ing crime and being taken hostage ing to be law enforcement officials or which won presidential and parlia- researcher. “It is shocking that “We’ve found concrete evidence The central bank governor, his by anti-Chinese forces. companies saying money is owed to mentary elections by a landslide they bombed residential areas that these people were involved in two deputies and the country’s top Malaysia had deported the 20 them, China says. China claims self- in January, of manipulating pub- in response to the violence that the heist,” Alam said, without giv- banking bureaucrat have lost their people, who were part of a group of ruled and democratic Taiwan as a lic opinion and stirring anti-China occurred in Brazzaville.” ing any details. “We cannot disclose jobs over the incident and the gov- 53 Taiwanese it arrested in March wayward province, to be brought feeling. Taiwan’s Criminal Investi- Death tolls from independent their identity at the moment as it ernment has been scrambling to on suspicion of fraud, according to under its control by force if needed. gation Bureau says the 20 were freed sources have yet to emerge from might hamper our investigation”. contain the damage from the spi- Taiwan’s foreign ministry. But their Defeated Nationalist forces fled to as there was insufficient evidence to the Pool, due to restrictions on Bangladesh’s ambassador in ralling scandal. release has prompted anger from Taiwan after losing a civil war to the detain them. access to the area.

Skills on display Suu Kyi vows to press greater autonomy for ethnic minorities

AFP said in a televised address marking groups, have yet to agree on exactly Myanmar’s New Year. how powers such as policing or rev- “Peace and a federal democratic enue raising might be shifted to union are closely intertwined and regional authorities under a federal YANGON: Aung San Suu Kyi yes- that’s why we need to change the system. But by reiterating the federal terday vowed to press for greater constitution. The most important pledge, Suu Kyi has sought to reassure autonomy for Myanmar’s ethnic thing is national reconciliation.” ethnic leaders that the NLD will not minorities, in an early move to soothe They were Suu Kyi’s first major squeeze out minority groups. Though the rebellions roiling the country comments as “state counsellor” -- a Suu Kyi belongs to the ethnic Bamar after her party’s ascent to power. role she took on following the hando- majority, her party picked up seats in Myanmar has been swept up in ver to her civilian-led government. many of Myanmar’s ethnic minority optimism for a more peaceful and The current charter, penned by regions in last year’s election. prosperous future since the National the military in 2008, centralises state She has however come under fire League for Democracy (NLD) took power. The former junta in part jus- from rights groups for not throwing power on April 1, ending nearly a tified its tight control of the country her moral weight behind the plight half century of military domination. with fears that ethnic divisions would of the embattled Rohingya, a largely But Suu Kyi warned its prospects fracture the nation. stateless Muslim minority pushed into hinge on ending ethnic conflicts that But the concept of federalism has grim displacement camps by waves Malaysian army personnel demonstrate combat skills in a war situation during the opening day of the have blistered the country since its gradually become central to peace of communal violence in 2012. 15th Defence Services Asia Exhibition in Kuala Lumpur, yesterday. Considered as one of the world’s independence in 1948. discussions steered by the quasi- Suu Kyi is beloved by many in top defence and security exhibitions, the four-day exhibit remains Asia-Pacific’s vital procurement To do so, the NLD government civilian government that replaced Myanmar but blocked from becoming hub for defence and security. would seek “a real federal democratic outright military rule in 2011. Nego- president by the constitution as her union”, the democracy figurehead tiations, which do not include all rebel two sons carry foreign citizenship. Tracking elephants as new railway cuts Kenya

AFP giant Tsavo national park will affect elephant is tracked on a map overlaid are killed for their tusks every year. the movement of elephants. with land use, logging their move- Later this month, Kenya is due to set It is hoped that the satellite radio ments as humans encroach ever closer fire to the vast majority of its ivory tracking collars fitted last month by on wilderness areas, helping experts to and rhino horn stockpile -- some 105 KENYA: Dangling from a helicopter the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) monitor the impact on elephant rang- tonnes of ivory, seven times the size of with a high powered rifle, a Kenyan and conservation group Save the ing patterns. any ivory stockpile destroyed so far, vet fires drugged darts at elephants Elephants, will help conservation- The elephant movement data “will as well as 1.35 tonnes of rhino horn to sedate them so they can be fitted ists monitor railway crossing points allow the country to secure space -- in a highly publicised symbolic ges- with satellite collars. to allow the animals to live in peace. for wildlife as the Kenyan popula- ture against poaching led by President Ten minutes after the elephant is “This project is the first of its kind tion grows,” KWS deputy director for Uhuru Kenyatta. darted, the lumbering creature stum- in Kenya and indeed in Africa,” said conservation Patrick Omondi said. The mass burning is expected to bles, and falls asleep. Ground teams Dr. Benson Okita, head of monitor- Though only elephants are being be attended by international celeb- are scrambled, rushing to the scene ing at Save the Elephants. “It seeks to tagged, the scheme will help experts rities, actors, conservationists and with just a 20 minute window to con- understand how elephant movements monitor the movements of other spe- heads of state. And though Kenya is duct tests and fit the collar before it are influenced by a major infrastruc- cies as well. striving to secure its economic future regains consciousness. tural project.” “We are only using elephants, as a with infrastructure investment like the More than 12,000 elephants live Once the railway is complete, a keystone species, but that will give an Mombasa-Nairobi road and rail link, in Tsavo Park, threatened daily by six-lane motorway is also planned, so indication on how this effects wildlife it is hoped that the elephant tracking poaching, but also more recently, by understanding what impact the rail- distribution in general,” said Sospeter project will ensure that development the construction of a new high-speed way has on the animals will be crucial Kiambi, who heads the KWS elephant does not come at the cost of wildlife. railway linking Kenya’s coast to the to limiting the disruption caused by a tagging programme.With ivory com- Kenya launched in 2013 the con- capital. The new 483km train route new road.Tsavo, spread over a western manding thousands of dollars per struction of a Chinese-funded $13.8bn linking Kenya’s Nairobi to the coun- and eastern park, covers a vast 20,812 kilo in Asia, conservationists have flagship railway project to dramat- A Kenya Wildlife Services veterinarian preparing to dart an elephant try’s main port Mombasa is worrying square kilometre (8,035 square miles) warned that African elephants could ically increase trade and boost the conservationists, who fear the new area of dense bush, about the size of be extinct in the wild within a gen- east African country’s position as a from a helicopter to set him a newly fitted collar at the Tsavo East infrastructure slicing through the Slovenia or Djibouti. Each collared eration. More than 30,000 elephants regional economic powerhouse. National Park in Nairobi. PAKISTAN TUESDAY 19 APRIL 2016 13 Island hideout UN issues grim report on Afghanistan of armed gang Agencies

KABUL: Schools and health facilities have come under increasing threat as violence spreads in Afghanistan, mak- pounded ing it harder for children especially to get access to education and medi- cal care, the United Nations reported kidnapping for ransom, murder and yesterday. robbery, were trapped on the island, Western-backed Afghan govern- The army’s push but police said their families were ment forces are locked in a protracted to deploy troops, believed to be accompanying them. battle with Taliban insurgents who Pakistan’s largest news network, are at their strongest since they were artillery and Geo News, also reported that a full- ousted by US-backed Afghan forces helicopter gunships scale operation had been launched. in late 2001. TV footage showed army comman- International donors have poured is an unprecedented dos firing machine guns at the billions of dollars into reconstruction use of force by the island and gunship helicopters fly- in Afghanistan, including education ing overhead. and health programmes, but the con- military in Punjab. The army’s publicity wing flict threatens to undermine services announced that General Ishfaq provided to millions of Afghans, the Nadeem Ahmed, the most senior new UN report said. Reuters commanding officer in the area, Although direct attacks on schools had arrived earlier in the day “to see and health facilities dropped slightly preparation for impending operation from previous years, UN monitors against criminals”. recorded 257 conflict-related incidents Afghan security personnel prepare for a operation against Taliban militants in Kunduz, yesterday. LAHORE: Pakistani helicopter gun- While Pakistan’s attention has in 2015, up from 130 in 2014. ships yesterday pounded the island for years been focused on the Tal- “It is simply unacceptable for hideout of an armed gang that has iban and al Qaeda threat on the teachers, doctors and nurses to be been holding 24 hostages on a 10km Afghan border in the remote north- subjected to violence or threats, and period. Reports of threats and intimi- in casualties among women and western Farah province, local gov- long island in the centre of the Indus west, militants and criminals have for schools and medical facilities to dation against medical and education children. ernment sources said five members River, media and army sources said. quietly expanded their influence be misused or attacked,” Nicholas workers also increased dramatically. Gen. Dawlat Waziri, a spokesman of the public order police had been The operation involving more and won recruits in the country’s Haysom, the UN Secretary-General’s Violence forced more than 369 for the Afghan Defense Ministry, has killed and three police vehicles than 2,000 security forces has heartland of Punjab. At least six Special Representative for Afghani- schools to close last year, affecting said the Afghan security forces were torched, although one eyewitness been ongoing for two weeks and the police officials have been killed in stan, said in a statement. more than 139,000 students and 600 prepared to confront the insurgents’ told Anadolu Agency that as many army’s push to deploy troops, artil- the battle for the island, launched in “All parties must take measures to teachers, according to the UN report. attempts to make fresh military gains. as 15 policemen had been killed -- lery and helicopter gunships is an a sweeping crackdown after a Tali- protect education and health services Among the hardest hit areas was The Taliban kicked off their new and a dozen vehicles torched -- in unprecedented use of force by the ban suicide bombing killed 72 people in Afghanistan,” he said. eastern Nangarhar province, which seasonal offensive -- dubbed “Oper- the incident. military in Punjab, which is the polit- in Lahore, the provincial capital, Sixty-three medical personnel borders Pakistan, where militants ation Omari” -- with a brazen suicide In the Badghis, Sar-i-Pul, Bada- ical power base of Prime Minister last month. A police spokeswoman were killed or wounded in 2015, most linked to the Islamic State militant attack in Jalalabad, capital of Afghan- khshan and Ghazni provinces, Nawaz Sharif. said policemen were among the 24 of them in a single, mistaken attack by group forced the closure of at least istan’s eastern Nangarhar province. meanwhile, the Taliban reportedly “We (army) had given the Chotu hostages. a US warplane on a Medecins Sans 11 clinics and 68 schools. In the northern Kunduz prov- staged several attacks and clashed gang until 2pm today to surrender The battle was taking place near Frontieres hospital in the northern city Insurgent groups were blamed ince, meanwhile, at least half a dozen with local security personnel. but they did not abide by the dead- Rajanpur, one of the poorest districts of Kunduz in October. for the majority of incidents, but civilians were killed in three days of And in the northern Baghlan line,” said a military official based in Punjab, where the Panjnad River In 2014, 25 health workers were pro-government forces were also clashes between Taliban militants province, recent Taliban assaults in the district of Rajanpur in south- flows into the Indus, Pakistan’s life- killed or wounded. reported to have harassed medical and security forces. have reportedly forced security forces ern Punjab where the battle is taking line. Previous military crackdowns A further 66 medical personnel workers and used schools as fight- The Taliban has claimed that its to withdraw from the strategically place. have focused on the lawless tribal were abducted in 2015, compared with ing positions. fighters had overrun a number of important Dand-i-Ghori locality. “Now there is no option left but regions where the Taliban and other 31 the year before. Deaths and injuries At least 600 civilians have been police checkpoints in the Sarkano According to Ferozuddin Aimaq, a a full-scale operation, which has militants are based. Paramilitary among teachers and other education killed in fighting so far this year, with district of Afghanistan’s northeastern member of the local provincial coun- started.” It was unclear just how Rangers also launched a crackdown workers were down, to 26 in 2015 another 1,343 wounded, UN human Kunar province, leaving 15 policemen cil, supply shortages forced security many members of the Chotu gang, on criminals in the violent southern from 37 the year before, but abduc- rights investigators said on Sunday, dead and large amounts of equip- personnel to retreat, allowing the Tal- blamed for hundreds of cases of port city of Karachi in 2013. tions spiked to 49 from 14 in the same with urban warfare causing a spike ment captured. And in Afghanistan’s iban to occupy the area.

Drop for a healthy future Role of Pakistan-US Knowledge Corridor for academic uplift outlined

Internews two countries will go a long way in US Embassy, Jeffery Sexton shared achieving remarkable outcomes and an overview of the partnerships targets. He said the partnerships are between the universities and appre- helping promote higher education in ciated HEC for its endeavours to ISLAMABAD: Under Pakistan-US Pakistan as the country’s universi- make the programme a success. Knowledge Corridor, as many as ties are utilizing the experiences “These partnerships show HEC’s 10,000 new PhDs will be produced of US partners. He hoped that both commitment to academic uplift,” he during the next 10 years. the sides will benefit from these maintained. This information was shared initiatives. Stressing the need for a He said the targets achieved at a workshop titled ‘Pakistan-US way-forward to sustain these part- through the programme so far reflect University Partnerships Follow-up nerships, he said the constraints lying the mutual interest of Pakistani and Workshop’ organised by the Higher in the way of accomplishing objec- US partners, adding that these part- Education Commission (HEC) Paki- tives of this flagship programme nerships are playing a significant role stan in collaboration with the US should not be allowed to disturb it. in building the bilateral relations. Embassy here. The workshop was He admired the US Government, He observed that the partner- aimed at sharing best practices in people and the US Embassy in Islam- ships have given a new perspective these partnerships. abad for their generous support to to scholars and critical thinking to A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child in Sarhrood districts of Nangarhar, Afghanistan, In his welcome address, HEC the people of Pakistan by taking keen faculties, who have witnessed new yesterday. Afghanistan is one of the two countries along with neighbouring Pakistan where polio is Executive Director Dr Arshad Ali interest in becoming of part of HEC’s teaching styles. He hoped that the still endemic, crippling hundreds of children every year. said the partnerships among the efforts to promote higher education mutual collaboration will thrive in higher education institutions of the in the country. Minister Counsellor, the years to come. ‘Instant paradise’: Journey of a child bomber in Afghanistan

AFP Mohibullah, whose story offers Afghan officials claim they are a troubling insight into how Afghani- prime Taliban recruiting ground. Kabul stan’s conflict has metastasised into a has fraught relations with Islamabad, hidden war on children, was nervously which it blames for sponsoring the AFGHANISTAN: At first glance slouched in a chair in the prison war- insurgency, and the Pakistani govern- Mohibullah looks at an ordinary Afghan den’s office, dressed in a green vinyl ment recently admitted after years of teenager, wide-eyed with a tender jacket and embroidered Kandahari hat. official denial that the Taliban lead- smile, a little peach fuzz and a boyish His handlers, he said, made him ership enjoys safe haven inside the dream of becoming a kick boxer. But choose from a list of five high-profile country. Observers in Pakistan fear this 15-year-old is languishing in prison targets. He picked one he considered the seminaries are breeding grounds -- jailed after the Taliban preyed on him pregnable: the district chief of for intolerance or even extremism, with to become a suicide bomber. Arghandab in Kandahar, a lush region repeated calls for more oversight. The runaway teen was apprehended filled with grape and pomegranate “The madrassas in Pakistan’s tribal in 2014 as he was about to blow himself groves. With hugs, garlands and the grounds are factories of suicide bomb- up outside a district governor’s office. A promise of an eternal afterlife, he said ers,” Brian Williams, who conducted failed mission that has left him locked he was taken on a circuitous journey a CIA study on suicide terrorism in up in juvenile detention in southern to Arghandab, passing from one han- Afghanistan, said. Kandahar city. dler to the next, spending nights in the “Afghanistan has unsuccessfully Mohibullah’s eyes welled up as he back of cars. tried closing down the pipeline for described how he was indoctrinated Tipped-off officials arrested him years. The children’s families often about the glories of martyrdom as a before he could reach his target and he don’t know that their sons have been shortcut to a paradise, filled with chaste was sentenced to four years in a juve- recruited... until they get payments virgins and lakes of milk and honey. nile prison. promised to their dead sons.” “You will feel no pain when you det- Mohibullah claimed during the The insurgents say “boys with no onate your suicide vest,” he quoted one interview that his indoctrination took beards” are never used in military oper- of his handlers as saying in an interview place at one of the thousands of unreg- ations, but Afghan authorities routinely inside the prison. “You will instantly be ulated madrassas in Pakistan, many report intercepting Taliban child bomb- The mother (centre) and brothers of would-be suicide attacker Mohibullah. in heaven’s embrace.” funded with Saudi money. ers -- some as young as six. 14 TUESDAY 19 APRIL 2016 INDIA

Mehsana calm; Sushma slams double-standards in terror fight Gujarat bandh call gets poor text being put for the first time on the table for inter-governmental nego- response Sushma Swaraj meets tiations. However, we need greater Chinese Foreign urgency on this issue. I seek the Minister Wang Yi in support of my Chinese and Russian IANS colleagues for taking the IGN (inter- Moscow during which governmental negotiations) process she raised the issue of forward,” she said. On the slowdown of the global AHMEDABAD: A ‘Gujarat bandh’ China vetoing India’s economy, the Indian minister said called by Patel community leaders bid at the UN to ban that as three large, emerging econo- received tepid response yesterday mies, India, Russia and China shared even as Mehsana town, which saw JeM chief Masood similar approaches and could bene- clashes between the Patidars and Azhar. fit “from coordinating our positions”. police on Sunday, remained peaceful. The minister also sought active Authorities lifted curfew and participation of all members in the prohibitory orders in the town in BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, the morning while police, State IANS South Africa) summit to be held in Reserve Police (SRP) and the Rapid Goa in October this year. Action Force remained deployed in India assumed the BRICS chair- the town and other north Gujarat manship this year. “We hope to have towns. MOSCOW: External Affairs Minister a very successful BRICS Summit in Mehsana Superintendent of Sushma Swaraj yesterday said that Goa in October,” Sushma Swaraj said. Police Chaitanya Mandlik said nations cannot afford to adopt dou- In a media statement following the shutdown call received no ble standards in the fight against the RIC meeting, she said that terror- response in the district. The police terrorism even as she took up with ism remained the foremost threat to have lodged complaints against 25 the Chinese foreign minister the issue international peace and security. people for the violence on Sunday. of Beijing vetoing New Delhi’s move “I stressed the need to craft an He told journalists: “You can in the UN to ban Jaish-e-Mohammed effective global strategy to counter look around and see that the traf- (JeM) chief Masood Azhar. terrorism, including at the UN. I look FROM LEFT: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Indian Foreign Minister fic is normal, the shops are open.” “If we continue to adopt double forward to working with both my col- Sushma Swaraj arrive for a press conference at Russian Foreign Ministry guest house in Moscow yesterday. Agitating Patel groups who had standards in dealing with terrorism, leagues, in this regard,” she said. rushed to the district jails in Meh- it will have serious consequences not Answering a question in press con- sana and Surat in south Gujarat to just for our own countries, but the ference after the RIC meeting, she said in its development and reconcilia- However, China asked the UN Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the court arrest on Sunday had clashed international community as a whole,” that all three countries — India, Russia tion efforts and in defeating terrorist sanctions committee to keep on hold sidelines of the RIC meeting during with the police who tried to pre- Sushma Swaraj said while addressing and China — have been victims of ter- forces,” she said. the Indian move, saying that Azhar which the latter briefed her on the vent them. the 14th Russia-India-China (RIC) For- rorism. “It is natural for us that we unite Sushma Swaraj started her day did not meet the UN criteria to be progress in the investigations into Mobs later burnt camp offices eign Ministers’ Meeting here. to lead the world in our fight against with a bilateral meeting with Chi- banned as a terrorist. the deaths of three Indian nationals of two state ministers, Nitin Patel Sushma Swaraj called on the RIC terrorism,” Sushma Swaraj said. nese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during “I would also like to tell you that in Russia earlier this year. and Rajnikant Patel, besides local countries to lead the way in getting In her media statement, she also which she raised the issue of China in the morning today, I met Chinese While Puja Kallur, 22, from MP Jaishree Patel as well as state the international community together said that she and the Russian and vetoing India’s bid at the UN to ban Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and in that Navi Mumbai, and her room-mate transport buses in Mehsana and to counter terrorism through joint Chinese foreign ministers had a pro- JeM chief Masood Azhar. meeting also I said to him that if we Karishma Udai Bhosle, 21, from Pune, Ahmedabad. action, including at the UN. ductive exchange of views on the India approached the UN in Feb- want to fulfill our commitment to perished in the fire which broke out They also burnt a couple of Raising the issue of UN Security situation in the Middle East. ruary to include Azhar in the UN fight terrorism together, then we must in their hostel on February 14 in the government offices and blocked Council reform, Sushma Swaraj said it “We also discussed the situa- Security Council’s 1267 sanctions rethink the position they have taken Smolensk State Medical Academy, a state highway in Saurashtra. demanded greater urgency and sought tion in Afghanistan and agreed that list, in the aftermath of the Pathankot on UNSC 1267 Committee,” Sushma Yasir Jawed, a medical student from The authorities had suspended support of Russia and China for this. it was important for the international airbase terror attack. In the strike in Swaraj said in the press conference. Srinagar died on March 8 after being mobile Internet services in north “There has been some positive community to remain engaged and early January by JeM terrorists, seven The external affairs minister also attacked by unknown people at Kazan Gujarat and Ahmedabad to pre- movement in this connection with a support the Afghanistan government Indian security personnel were killed. held a bilateral meeting with Russian city in the Tatarstan republic. vent the spread of rumours and incendiary information. The ban will continue till Tuesday morning. Mandlik maintained that Kerala techie gets Sardar Patel Group (SPG) leader Laljibhai Patel, detained on Sun- death and lover Non-bailable arrest warrant against Mallya day, had sustained a head injury during stone-throwing by the agi- tators and was not caned by the life term for IANS of Money Laundering Act. Mallya had diverted monies to make cases filed against him. police as claimed by Patel and his Following the warrant, the decks property investments abroad, coun- The ED has also raised appre- supporters. He cited primary med- double murder have been cleared for a red cor- sel urged the special court not to hensions about the possibility of ical reports to say that Patel was ner notice to be issued by Interpol pass any “coercive orders” sought the evidence being tampered hit by a stone. MUMBAI: Adding to the woes of against Mallya and he can also be by the ED against Mallya in the with. Meanwhile, the Gujarat gov- THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A liquor baron Vijay Mallya, a spe- arrested anytime and anywhere in matter. After he failed to appear in per- ernment on Monday called a court here yesterday sentenced cial court here yesterday issued an the country. The ED’s lawyer Hiten Ven- son on March 18, April 2 and April meeting between a ministerial a 42-year-old IT professional to undated non-bailable arrest warrant The special court also rejected egaonkar had filed the plea for an 9, Mallya sought time extension till committee set up by Chief Minis- death and his married lover to against the beleaguered businessman, the submissions made by Mallya’s NBW and also put forth his argu- May from the ED, as he is abroad ter Anandiben Patel and leaders double life imprisonment for mur- official sources said here. counsel Amit Desai and Pranav Bad- ments for issuing the NBW against since March 2 and reported to be in of Patidar groups to deliberate dering her four-year-old daughter The non-bailable warrant hekar that officials of the grounded Mallya. Britain. a possible solution to the nine- and mother-in-law in 2014. (NBW) was issued by Special Judge Kingfisher Airlines were fully coop- Yesterday, Venegaonkar reit- The ED’s April 15 plea before month-old agitation demanding Nino Mathew and Anu Shanti P R Bhavake in response to a plea erating with the ED and they should erated that Mallya must present the special court came soon after reservation for the community in were both colleagues at an IT firm by the Enforcement Directorate on not be accused of being evasive or himself before the ED, which has the central government suspended government jobs and educational in Technopark here. The two were April 15 before the special court un-cooperative. summoned him thrice earlier in con- Mallya’s diplomatic passport on that institutions under the Other Back- in love and planned to eliminate hearing cases under the Prevention Denying the ED’s contention that nection with the money-laundering day. ward Class (OBC) category. those who were opposed to their relationship. In April 2014, Mathew went to the home of 34-year-old Anu Shanti near the Technopark cam- Cool plunge India capable of making pus, and killed her daughter and mother-in-law, using a knife and a baseball bat. best warships: Navy chief After committing the cold- blooded murder, Mathew waited for the woman’s husband Lijesh to come home. IANS defence manufacturing has to be When the husband arrived, the driver. Without defence man- there was a tussle between the two. ufacturing, India can never grow Mathew escaped but was arrested in double digit and sustain growth soon. His lover — Lijesh’s wife Anu NEW DELHI: Indian Navy chief, trajectory for long,” Kant said in his — was also taken into custody. Admiral R K Dhawan, yesterday brief address at the event. The Thiruvananthapuram called for increased private invest- “In the last 15 months we have principal sessions court last week ment in defence manufacturing cleared licences for 125 defence found both of them guilty of the which, he said, is capable of pro- manufacturers. The key principle murders. ducing the world’s best warships was that the private manufacturers Yesterday, the court sentenced and submarines. would be treated at par with the pub- Mathew to death, and handed out a “The navy has outlined its sci- lic sector units,” Kant said. double life term to Shanti for help- ence and technology roadmap for He said the Narendra Modi gov- ing him escape after committing next 15 years and has shared it with ernment has adopted a balanced the murders by sending him pic- the industry, underlining nearly 100 approach so that “private manu- tures of the escape route he could sets of technologies which are to be facturers get a level playing field to take. absorbed in our warships and sub- compete and win contracts in India”. The court said Shanti was “a marines,” he said at an interaction The navy chief highlighted the shame to motherhood”. between private investors and naval opportunities where the private sec- The court also slapped Mathew A boy jumps into the Sabarmati river to cool off on a hot summer day in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, yesterday. officers here. tor can collaborate with the public with a fine of Rs50 lakh and Shanti Temperature in Ahmedabad reached 40 degree Celsius. Dhowan said the navy would sector in warship building. with a fine of Rs30 lakh. provide all the support to MSMEs “In the float components of (micro, small, medium enterprises) a warship which comprises the in research, design and development structures of it, India has achieved of weaponry. nearly 90 percent indigenisation. “The blueprint of the future of That’s because warship seals are Badal meets Modi to demand release of CCL Indian Navy is firmly anchored in being designed and developed by self reliance and indigenisation and the DRDO (Defence Research and I think this partnership with the Development Organisation) and is Indian industry, both public and being manufactured in the country,” IANS make timely payments to farmers procurement operations”. The chief chief minister’s office said in private, will ensure that our future Dhowan said. for wheat procured by government minister said “this could lead to dis- Chandigarh. warships, submarines and the avia- He added that the aircraft car- agencies. affection in the farming community, Pointing out to a “massive” gap tion sector will be 100 percent made rier Vikrant, which was being built Badal made the plea during a which might lead to law and order in the money spent on procurement in India,” he said. in Kochi, has an Indian seal. NEW DELHI/CHANDIGARH: Pun- meeting with Prime Minister Naren- complications”. of food grains and the actual stocks NITI Ayog Chief Executive Dhowan said India had achieved jab Chief Minister Parkash Singh dra Modi in New Delhi. “The prime minister assured lying in Punjab, the Reserve Bank of Officer Amitabh Kant said defence 60 percent indigenisation in the Badal yesterday urged the centre to Badal told the prime minister that Badal of positive action and said India recently stopped the release of manufacturing had to be the centre move components, where it was immediately release cash credit limit the “inordinate delay in CCL clear- he will get the issue resolved on CCL to the state government for wheat point of India’s growth story. building the propulsion and auxil- (CCL) of Rs20,094 crore to enable it ance would jeopardise the ongoing priority,” a spokesman of the procurement. “If manufacturing has to grow, iary machinery. INDIA TUESDAY 19 APRIL 2016 15

Will act against Saradha Women power scam accused: Rahul

“Modi talks of ‘Make in India’ out and her people were caught tak- Rahul urges programme. He said two crore youths ing bribes on camera,” Gandhi said, will get jobs. People believed him and referring to the sting operation in Congress and CPI-M brought him to power, but not a single which over a dozen Trinamool lead- workers to fight the youth got a job,” Gandhi said while ers were allegedly shown accepting campaigning in Raghunathganj in bribes. Trinamool together Murshidabad district. “Much like Modi says that he will on the streets and “The same goes for Mamata as bring back black money from abroad, well. She promised jobs to 70 lakh but does not act against (liquor baron) the polling booths youths. But is there a single youth Vijay Mallya or (former Indian Pre- and assured that he who got a job? Instead, they have to mier League chairman) Lalit Modi, migrate to other states in search of Mamata is also doing nothing,” the would stand by them livelihood,” the Congress leader said Congress leader said. in their struggle. in election meetings at Raghunath- He said Banerjee has also not ganj and Kandi. delivered on her promise to end ‘syn- The Congress has tied up with dicate-raj’ in the state. the Left Front led by the Communist Exuding confidence that an alli- Madhya Pradesh women Congress party workers argue with police personnel after they were stopped IANS Party of India-Marxist for the ongo- ance government with his party as from marching during a protest against Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan in ing assembly polls. a partner would come to power in Bhopal yesterday. He also accused Banerjee — who the state, he said: “We will take the wrested Bengal with Congress sup- toughest of action against those RAGHUNATHGANJ/KANDI: Accus- port — of changing overnight after involved in corruption cases, like ing Prime Minister Narendra Modi becoming the chief minister. the Saradha scam and the Narada and West Bengal Chief Minister “Once the polls ended and sting.” Mamata Banerjee of making “tall Mamata became the chief minister, Gandhi said farmers across the Kohinoor was gifted to UK: Govt promises” but not bothering to act on the very next day she changed. Her country were distressed, but noth- them, Congress vice-president Rahul working style changed, her way of ing had been done for them. Gandhi yesterday said the upcoming talking changed and she forgot all her “Mamata calls herself a leader of Congress-Left Front alliance gov- promises she made to the Congress the poor, but did not bother to imple- IANS directions to the government to presented to the then British mon- ernment would take strong action and the people of Bengal,” Gandhi ment the Food Security Act despite make efforts for getting the dia- arch, Queen Victoria, in 1850 after against those involved in scams like said. the then United Progressive Alliance mond back to India. the Anglo-Sikh wars, in which Saradha and caught in the Narada He also attacked Banerjee and government providing funds to the The court, while giving the Britain gained control over the sting operation. the Trinamool over the multi-crore- state,” he said. NEW DELHI: The central govern- government six more weeks, said Sikh empire in the then undivided He urged Congress and CPI-M rupee Saradha scam, the Narada At Kandi, Gandhi spoke of the ment yesterday told the Supreme that if it accepted the government Punjab. workers to fight the Trinamool sting operation and the Vivekananda Rs.440 crore sanctioned by the Cen- Court that the British East India Com- position and dismissed the PIL, Reacting to the development, together on the streets and the poll- flyover collapse in Kolkata in which tre’s erstwhile United Progressive pany did not take away the Kohinoor all future avenues for staking any Congress spokesperson Shakeel ing booths and assured that he would at least 26 people were killed. Alliance government for the Kandi diamond but it was gifted to Britain legitimate claim over the diamond Ahmad said: “People are emotion- stand by them in their struggle. “Your “After the flyover collapsed, Master Plan to combat floods and the by Maharaja Duleep Singh. will be shut. ally attached with the Kohinoor and government will be formed in a few Mamata ji is now talking of taking Jaldhara scheme initiated by the UPA The government stand on the The court gave the time as Solic- it is not a mere stone for them. The days,” he said. action. But I want to ask why didn’t to provide pure drinking water, espe- matter was conveyed to the bench itor General Ranjit Kumar told it that then government tried to bring it back He said that while Modi had spo- she act in the last five years when her cially to the eight arsenic hit districts of Chief Justice T S Thakur and Jus- the stand was that of the cultural in 1953 also but the efforts did not ken about giving jobs to two crore own men were constructing this fly- in the state. tice Uday Umesh Lalit in response affairs ministry but the “ministry of fructify. Nonetheless, the government youths, Banerjee had promised to over using spurious material. “Nothing has been done. UPA to a public interest litigation by external affairs is also a party and should not give up and must continue ensure employment for 70 lakh “I want to ask why she did not government had sent money, but an NGO, All India Human Rights their response is yet to come”. with its efforts to bring the Kohinoor people. act when the Saradha scam came Mamata ji has not utilised it.” and Social Justice Forum, seeking The 108-carat diamond was back to India.” Delhi embraces odd-even scheme but BJP’s Goel flouts it Manipur CM invites

IANS and petrol driven private four-wheel- working day after the second phase Minister Arvind Kejriwal threatened under which diesel and petrol driven insurgents ers, mainly cars, with odd registration began on April 15, which was a gov- “strict action”, including impounding private four-wheelers with odd regis- numbers stayed off the roads from ernment holiday on account of Ram of erring cabs. tration numbers will ply on odd dates for talks 8am to 8pm as part of the scheme Navami. “Fortunately, everything is Transport Minister Rai said the and those with even registration num- NEW DELHI: The second edition of aimed at curbing pollution. satisfactory,” he said. licences of the erring taxi drivers bers on even dates. As he drove out Delhi’s odd-even traffic scheme was Delhi Transport Minister Gopal The one problem that cropped would be seized and their permits of his house on Ashoka Road in a car a success on its first full working Rai said after a bus ride earlier in the up was over-charging by app-based cancelled. with an odd registration number, IANS day yesterday, the government said, day that “the people of Delhi have vol- taxi aggregators, including Ola and The threat had an immediate police promptly pulled him up. but BJP parliamentarian Vijay Goel untarily accepted the (second phase Uber, taking advantage of the rising effect. Uber and Ola suspended surge He was fined Rs2,000 for violat- flouted it to protest against what he of the) scheme too”. The first phase demand for cabs by those who did not pricing. ing the odd-even scheme, Rs1,000 said was “needless expenditure” on ran from January 1 to 15. use their cars. Former Delhi BJP president Vijay for not having insurance papers for IMPHAL: Manipur Chief Minis- its promotion. He said there were apprehensions As the anger against the compa- Goel became the first politician to his car and Rs500 for not carrying a ter Okram Ibobi Singh yesterday Hundreds of thousands of diesel about Monday since it was the first nies mounted on social media, Chief violate the odd-even restrictions, driver’s licence. invited all insurgent groups to the negotiation table to chalk out a peaceful solution. “The government has been striving for a peaceful solution to the Nursing the wounds GPRN/NSCN extends armed movement since it believes that all problems could be solved. A body without problems is like a ceasefire with govt dead person,” Okram Ibobi said at a function on “Art of Living and Med- itation” held at the Bhagyachandra Open Air Theatre in Imphal. IANS factions of the NSCN onboard Art of Living Foundation the peace accord inked between founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, who the government and the NSCN organised Monday’s event, said: (Isak-Muivah) on August 3, 2015. “Happiness and prosperity are NEW DELHI: The GPRN/NSCN, “The GPRN/NSCN, under the lead- achieved through peaceful means.” one of the strongest factions of ership of Khitovi Zhimomi and Gen. “Violence never helps people in the National Socialist Council of Neokpao Konyak, has fundamen- this regard. We need to sit down, Nagaland, yesterday extended its tally agreed in principle to bring talk and try to find out solutions to ceasefire with the Indian govern- about lasting and meaningful peace the problems so that there is devel- ment for another year, but made it in Nagaland with the Naga People. opment, prosperity and happiness clear that it won’t be joining the Naga “Therefore, we cannot simply all around.” peace accord as the pact is an under- jump into the present arrangement, During the Okram Ibobi gov- standing between the government which is the Naga peace process, since ernment in Manipur, agreements and the NSCN-IM. we have also entered into a bilateral on suspension of operations have The GPRN/NSCN — which also ceasefire agreement with the govern- been signed with over 20 insur- goes by the name of NSCN (Unifi- ment with unique political dispersions gent groups. cation) — said the ongoing peace and unique a political dimensions,” Although the first such signing process was not suitable or accept- Jack Zhimomi of the GPRN/NSCN took place in May 2005, the union able comprehensively for the other ceasefire supervisory board, said. government is yet to bring these A woman and a child undergoing treatment at a hospital after they were injured when a bus fell into Naga stakeholders. The GPRN/NSCN and NSCN (Ref- former insurgents to the negoti- a deep gorge near Deogarh, Orissa.. At least 25 people were killed and some 10 more critically injured The move may come as a jolt ormation) extended the ceasefire ation table. after a bus carrying a local folk opera troupe plunged into a gorge. to the Indian government, which with the Indian government in the Okram Ibobi had lifted the has been trying to bring all the presence of home ministry officials. Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act from seven assembly segments in the Imphal municipal areas on August 12, 2004 on experimental basis.However, the government Official unites with brother after 20 years with Facebook help was disappointed when within three days, militants attacked devotees at the ISKCON temple in Imphal killing six people including IANS The story, akin to a Bollywood stress after failing his matriculation among the three brothers and a sis- brother after 15 days. “Please don’t a child and injuring many others. drama, had its twists and turns examination. ter, was only nine months old search for me. I am fine and will The outfits which responded before Vijay Nitnaware finally met “Hansraj was a good student in his The family, with Vijay as the eld- return only after doing something had nothing good to say about his brother Hansraj. childhood, but he felt disturbed after est among siblings, hails from Wardha big,” the letter said. Okram Ibobi’s Monday offer. One NEW DELHI: A Delhi-based central Vijay Nitnaware, 48, who works death of my mother in 1995. He left district of Maharashtra and was stay- Vijay said he was happy to know group said it was only prepared to government employee’s 20-year-long in the library of Press Information the house at the age of 15, days after ing there when Hansraj left them. that his brother was alive but his talk about independence. search for his younger sibling finally Bureau here, last saw his younger he failed in the matric exam,” Vijay Vijay said he registered a com- hope to trace him dimmed a bit as Meanwhile, the Imphal West ended on a happy note last week with brother Hansraj Nitnaware in May Nitnaware said. plaint with the police about Hansraj the last two digits of the pin code of district administration relaxed the help from social networking site Face- 1996, when he left the family with- Vijay Nitnaware said his father having gone missing. To his surprise, the place of origin of letter were not indefinite curfew from 1pm to 5pm book. out informing anyone as he was under died when Hansraj, the youngest Vijay got a letter from his missing clearly visible. yesterday in Wangoi sub-division. 16 TUESDAY 19 APRIL 2016 EUROPE / UK

‘In’ camp leads but Brexit to hit UK economy hard: Osborne more undecided ahead of EU Osborne said. vote: Poll Three days after the official A decision to launch of campaigning for Britain’s leave would be an June 23 EU membership referendum, Reuters the government is due to present a extraordinary self- report into the long-term economic inflicted wound impact of a so-called Brexit. LONDON: The “In” camaign has Osborne, writing in The Times retained its seven percentage which would newspaper, said a decision to leave point lead ahead of Britain’s June damage trade and would be “an extraordinary self- 23 referendum on whether Britain inflicted wound” which would should stay in the European Union investment, the damage trade and investment. although more voters were unde- British Finance The latest appeal by Osborne, cided, according to a ComRes poll Minister. for Britons to vote to stay in the EU for the Sun newspaper yesterday. spurred accusations from “Out” cam- The telephone survey of 1,002 paigners that the government was people carried out last week found resorting to unreliable estimates. support for staying in the bloc was “We wouldn’t attempt to put pre- on 45 percent with 38 percent of Reuters cise numbers on the economy for voters backing a Brexit. 2030 because who knows what’s That meant the “In” camp’s going to happen,” John Redwood, a lead was unchanged from a similar Conservative lawmaker and a former ComRes poll last month although LONDON: British Finance Minister minister, told BBC radio. “I think their the number of undecided voters George Osborne said a vote to leave 2030 forecast is completely worth- had risen significantly to 17 per- the European Union would do per- less, ” he added. cent. Last month, 11 percent said manent damage to the country’s Brexit supporters say Britain’s they did not know how they would British Finance Minister George Osborne (centre), Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, economy and could cost each house- economy would flourish outside the vote, the poll said. Elizabeth Truss (left) and Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Amber Rudd speak at an event hold £4,300 ($6,100) a year by 2030. EU as it would be free to negotiate its “It is clear there is still con- Seeking to focus voters on what own trade deals and could chop the at the National Composites Centre at the Bristol and Bath Science Park, in Bristol, Britain, yesterday. siderable confusion about the he called the biggest question of bloc’s rules and regulations. referendum, which suggests a lack their generation, Osborne said all One of the leading “Out” cam- Osborne said that kind of agree- It is also central to Osborne’s government is selling Britain short of clarity from both campaigns,” the alternatives to remaining in the paigners, London Mayor Boris ment would not cover Britain’s calculation of economic damage, by saying it cannot stand alone. Tom Mludzinski from ComRes told union would leave Britain’s economy Johnson, has said Britain could strike powerful services industry and would which divides the value of a projected But the Treasury’s words chime the Sun newspaper. smaller than if it stayed in the world’s a trade deal with the EU similar to leave the economy 6 percent smaller growth shortfall among Britain’s with those of other economic insti- Phone surveys have generally biggest trading bloc. the one reached between the bloc and by 2030 than if it stayed in the Euro- roughly 27 million households. tutions, such as the International indicated support for remain- “Put simply: over many years, Canada, meaning Britain would no pean Union. Osborne and Johnson are rivals to Monetary Fund. ing in the EU firmly ahead of the are you better off or worse off if we longer have to contribute to the EU That estimate is higher than become Britain’s next prime minister. Last week, Osborne said Britain’s “Out” campaign, while online polls leave the EU? The answer is: Britain budget and keep its borders open to many other forecasts of the impact Opponents of the European homeowners could face higher bor- have the two sides running neck world be worse off, permanently so,” workers from around the bloc. of a Brexit. Union membership have said the rowing costs if there was a British exit. and neck.

Podemos rejects Taking charge backing Campaigners scale Socialist-led govt in Spain London landmarks AFP in clean-air protest

MADRID: Spain’s far-left Podemos party said yesterday its members AFP them would often be breathing had voted overwhelmingly against dangerous, illegal air,” campaigner backing a coalition government Areeba Hamid said. between the Socialists and cen- “That’s why we’ve given them trist upstart Ciudadanos. LONDON: British environmental face masks. Of course many mil- Fully 88.23 percent of the activists put face masks on famous lions of Londoners, including kids, roughly 149,000 party members statues across London on Monday are breathing that same air,” he said. who took part in the internal ref- including the one of Horatio Nelson London has some of the highest erendum opposed supporting such on Trafalgar Square to draw atten- levels of nitrogen dioxide in Europe a government, the party said in a tion to the problem of air pollution. and Britain has been ordered to statement issued yesterday. Two Greenpeace campaigners reduce pollution by the European The vast majority, 91.79 percent, scaled the 52-metre high Nelson’s Commission. backed a “government of change” Column yesterday to put a mask on Nearly 10,000 Londoners die made up of Socialists, Podemos and the famous naval commander. prematurely every year as a result several small regional parties, the New Belgian Transport Minister Francois Bellot (right) is sworn in before King Philippe of Belgium in Masks were put on 17 statues, of air pollution, according to calcu- statement said. Brussels, Belgium, yesterday. Bellot’s appointment was announced on Sunday after Jacqueline Galant including Queen Victoria near Buck- lations by King’s College London. The party plebiscite follows stepedd down facing critisim over security issue. ingham Palace, Eros at Piccadilly On May 5, the city goes to the a December 20 general election Circus and Winston Churchill out- polls to elect a new mayor to replace that resulted in a hung parliament, side parliament. Boris Johnson and both the main with power divided among four London’s Metropolitan Police candidates—Labour’s Sadiq Kahn main groupings, none of which said that eight people had been and Conservative Zac Goldsmith— has enough seats to govern alone. arrested—two on Trafalgar Square, have promised environmental The polls put an end to Spain’s Fewer Swedes back EU membership four on Parliament Square and two action. traditional two-party system. on Hyde Park Corner. “Kitting everyone out with face But the parties have not been A parliament spokeswoman masks is not the solution. Instead we able to agree on the formation of confirmed there had been “a minor need to see real political action from a government. They have until Reuters membership was a bad idea. countries has grown for not doing security incident on the parliamen- the new mayor,” Hamid said. May 2 to agree on a power-shar- “Clearly the asylum crisis ... plays enough to share the burden. tary estate” which was being dealt The current proposal for an ultra ing agreement, failing which fresh a very big role,” said Umea University “Rarely have so many people with by the police. low emission zone, which comes into elections will be held on June 26. political scientist Magnus Blomgren. been displaced as they are right Greenpeace said it aimed to force in 2020, offers protection to “The results are clear and the STOCKHOLM: Support for EU mem- More than 160,000 asylum seek- now, but rarely have so few Euro- highlight the health risks caused by residents and commuters only in popular mandate will guide the bership among Swedes has slumped ers arrived in Sweden last year. With pean countries stepped up and been the city’s poor air quality. central London. next steps,” deputy Podemos leader amid an ongoing asylum crisis, with a 10,000 a week arriving at the peak prepared to act,” Prime Minister Ste- “Monitoring shows that, if these Greenpeace has asked for the Inigo Errejon tweeted. majority saying the 28-member bloc in November, the country said it fan Lofven said last month. statues were real people, many of area to be expanded. Podemos leader Pablo Igle- is going in the wrong direction, a poll could no longer provide shelter for With the UK set to vote on sias called the referendum in showed yesterday. newcomers. whether to remain in the EU in sum- early April after three-way talks Just 39 percent of Swedes said The minority Social Democrat- mer, the future of the 28-member between his party and the Social- being in the EU was a good thing Green coalition have imposed border bloc has gained increased focus in ists and Ciudadanos broke down compared with 59 percent in autumn checks and tighter rules in a U-turn Sweden, which has also stayed out less than 24 hours after they had last year, the poll showed. Around a on decades of generous asylum pol- of the euro area and has been a close began. fifth of the 1,142 respondents said icies, as popular anger at other EU partner with Britain in Brussels. Queen to mark 90th birthday at Windsor Castle

AP of her birth, April 21, and one official full six weeks, climaxing with hun- Diana in 1997, but their popularity birthday in June, when there is a hope dreds of celebrations large and small. has rebounded with the marriage of of dry, sunny parade weather. “June is when everything is Prince William to Kate Middleton and Her customary reticence hasn’t happening. That’s the great big the arrival of their two children. LONDON: The longest-reigning mon- kept the nation’s media from going extravaganza, the street parties and “It’s just a golden moment for the arch in British history turns 90 on slightly bonkers at the approach- everything,” said Sophia Money- whole family after a tricky few years,” Thursday, but Queen Elizabeth II is ing milestone. ITV has already aired Coutts, Tatler’s features director. Money-Coutts said. “And the queen is not planning a major filled celebra- a celebratory “Our Queen at 90” “From now on, the coverage will be the figurehead of all that, with the line tion to mark the happy occasion. documentary to pump up its Easter relentless. of succession pretty assured. They are Just a gentle stroll outside the ratings, and Tatler magazine not only It’s not a good time for those who going through a glorious period.” grounds of Windsor Castle, the light- put the queen on its cover, foregoing oppose monarchy to peek above the Elizabeth — with her familiar ing of a beacon, and a night at home the youthful socialites that are its typ- parapet. The British public’s consider- smile, colourful outfits and eccen- with family are all that are on the ical cover fare, but published a special able affection for the queen surfaces tric if expensive hats — seems oddly royal plate. supplement in her honor. at times of national celebration — impervious to time. If she is tired, it No, she’ll save the pomp and The birthday events can be con- witness the million-plus crowd. doesn’t show. She has softened her ceremony for her next birthday. The sidered a dress rehearsal for the The queen and the royals have schedule, as a concession to 89 and monarch is such an eminent figure official celebrations planned in early endured some low points in the last counting, and she has cut back on in British life that she gets two birth- June. It also opens the door to a roll- two decades, particularly around grueling plane journeys, but she shows Gas mask placed by Greenpeace activists on statue of Oliver Cromwell, days each year, one on the actual date ing birthday season that will last a the time of the death of Princess no sign of physical or mental frailty. military leader, in Westminster in London, Britain, yesterday. EUROPE TUESDAY 19 APRIL 2016 17

Ukraine court Russian security chief talks tough on US sentences two Russian soldiers AFP strong national ideology, he con- Middle East by backing rebels in Syria. detailed check” to see if they were demned “falsification of information “I feel it is time to put up an effec- supporting extremism. to 14 years in jail Russia is struggling on historical facts” and proposed tive barrier against this information He proposed stripping bene- with a hybrid war, outlawing any criticism of Russia’s war. We need a harsh, appropriate fits to families of those convicted on MOSCOW: The powerful chief of controversial annexation of Crimea and symmetrical response,” Bas- charges of extremism and terrorism Russia’s equivalent to the FBI yester- unleashed by the US in 2014. trykin said. and confiscating their property, ech- AFP day called for sweeping new rights and its allies, said Russia should amend its extrem- Russia and the West have seen ties oing Stalin-era practices. restrictions, including curbing Inter- ism legislation to include “denial of slump to their lowest point since the “Someone who chooses to com- net freedoms and making it illegal to head of Russia’s the results of a public referendum,” Cold War over the crisis in Ukraine. mit these crimes should know that not KIEV: A Ukrainian court yester- question Moscow’s annexation of Cri- Investigative he said, likening this to an existing Bastrykin praised China’s blocks only will he be buried in an unmarked day sentenced two alleged Russian mea from Ukraine. ban on Nazi propaganda. on websites of foreign media to grave, but he will also strip his close soldiers to 14 years in prison for The head of Russia’s Investiga- Committee Alexander Russia is struggling with a “hybrid “defend the national information relatives of support from the govern- fighting in the rebel east, in a ruling tive Committee Alexander Bastrykin Bastrykin. war, unleashed by the US and its space” and proposed that “to a rea- ment,” Bastrykin said. that could prelude a swap for pilot backed a radical crackdown citing the allies” and has entered a phase of sonable degree we could very well Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov Nadiya Savchenko jailed by Russia. need to counteract the “destructive” “open confrontation,” he said. add this experience to our armoury in 2014 vowed to destroy the homes The verdict from a panel of influence of the United States. He accused the US of funding in Russia.” of relatives of insurgents, prompting three judges read out in court “It’s time to stop playing at high-profile criminal investigations opposition parties that openly crit- Bastrykin further called for the torching of several houses. He said sergeant Aleksander Ale- pseudo-democracy, following in a comment piece in Kommersant icise the Kremlin, stirring up the all religious, cultural and youth was rebuked by President Vladimir ksandrov and captain Yevgeny pseudo-liberal values,” argued the Vlast weekly, in Moscow yesterday. recent fighting in breakaway Nagorny organisations in the country to Putin, who has now backed him to Yerofeyev were guilty of partic- official in charge of the country’s most Calling for Russia to impose a Karabakh and destabilising the be subjected to a “wide-scale and serve another term. ipating in “an aggressive war” against Ukraine and committing “a terrorist attack”. Kiev insists that the duo were serving as members of an elite Relief to Renzi as Italian April (Af)fair ends Russian military intelligence unit when they were captured in the pro-Moscow separatist region of Lugansk in May 2015. Russia says referendum flops both had resigned from active duty before crossing into the war zone of their own free will. AFP recent scandal that saw a top min- Many observers doubt that ister resign over alleged favours to the Russian duo will serve their French oil giant Total. sentences in Ukraine as the ver- But Renzi dismissed the refer- dict is seen as a potential step ROME: A closely-watched Italian endum as “a hoax” this week and towards a much-anticipated pris- referendum on oil and gas drill- said a win for the “Yes” camp— oner exchange for Ukrainian pilot ing concessions failed to reach the backed by environmentalists and Nadezhda Savchenko. required turnout threshold, in a win opposition parties—would lead to Ukrainian President Petro for Prime Minister Matteo Renzi rig closures and massive job losses. Poroshenko has proposed swap- (pictured) who had urged voters to The referendum also fuelled a ping the soldiers for Savchenko, stay home. bitter internal battle within Renzi’s who was sentenced to 22 years in Pitting environmentalists against party, with some PD members saying prison by a Russian court. the government and big indus- it was unacceptable for the premier The trial of Aleksandrov and try, the referendum was seen a key to be the head of the pro-abstention Yerofeyev has driven yet another challenge for Renzi’s centre-left campaign. wedge between Moscow and Kiev, Democratic Party (PD) after two “Those who wanted to settle with the two sides locked in a bitter years in office during which he has accounts at all costs have lost. The feud over Russia’s 2014 annexation pushed through a string of pro-busi- winners are the 11,000 people whose of Crimea and alleged responsi- ness and political reforms. jobs were at risk,” Renzi said in a bility for the war in east Ukraine. About 90 minutes after polls speech after the polls closed. Ukraine holds up capture of closed at 11pm (2100 He added that he the soldiers as further proof that GMT), the interior was ready to con- Fireworks light up the sky of Seville on the last day of the April Fair in Seville, Spain, yesterday. The Moscow deployed troops to fight ministry said near- tinue the dialogue April Fair is one of the most popular fiestas of Seville. alongside rebels despite Kremlin complete figures about the country’s refutes the claim. showed turnout energy policies and stood at around 32 that he wanted percent. Italy to become Under Italy’s “the greenest coun- Slovak PM Fico in referendum law, a try in Europe”. Swedish minister Kaplan quits after referendum is only A “Yes” victory hospital after valid if more than would have been a 50 percent of the heavy blow to the suffering chest pain country’s nearly 47 premier ahead of comparing Israel to Nazi Germany million registered a constitutional electors cast their reforms referen- BRATISLAVA: Slovak Prime Min- vote. dum in October, ister Robert Fico is to remain at a AFP old video footage of him making 2015 dinner in Sweden with Turk- The result will be on which he has bet specialist clinic until at least the controversial remarks about Israel’s ish ultranationalists, which sparked savoured by Renzi, who had openly his political career. end of this week after suffer- politics towards Palestinians. strong reactions from the opposition, called on Italians to shun the ballot in As for the energy companies, it ing chest pain last week and will During a March 2009 debate on media, and the public. the hopes of sinking the referendum, a would mean that the 92 platforms therefore miss presenting the new STOCKHOLM: A Swedish cabi- Islamophobia organised by a Somali Among those attending the din- stance that frustrated the opposition within the 12-mile limit would have cabinet’s programme in parliament. net minister of Turkish origin who organisation, Kaplan, who was a ner was Ilhan Senturk, Swedish head and deepened a rift within his own to start closing from 2018, with the Deputy Prime Minister for compared Israel to Nazi Germany member of parliament, said there of the ultranational “Grey Wolves” camp. The referendum centred around last in 2034. Observers had said Investments Peter Pellegrini will and was photographed with Turkish were “similarities” between the per- organisation known for political vio- whether Italians wanted to repeal a ahead that the referendum outcome step in, government spokeswoman ultranationalists resigned yester- secution of Jews by Nazi Germany lence in the 1970s and 1980s. new law about drilling near the coun- would have little effect on govern- Beatrice Szaboova said. day, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan during the 1930s and the everyday Kaplan, born in Turkey and try’s coast. ment income. Parliament is expected to Lofven announced. lives of Palestinians. moved to Sweden when he was eight, The current legislation, passed Concessions within the 19km debate the programme for sev- “Mehmet Kaplan has submitted Israel’s ambassador to Sweden, also came under fire from media in January, says existing conces- band brought in a relatively mod- eral days before approving it and his resignation and I have accepted Isaac Bachman, branded the remarks and political opponents for his ties sions within 19km of the coast est €38m ($43m) in royalties in 2015, giving the new cabinet a vote of it,” Lofven told reporters, nonethe- as “deeply anti-Semitic.” to Islamic organisations, especially should remain valid until the fields according to official data. Opponents confidence later this week.The less praising the outgoing housing “I have on several occasions Milli Gorus which is suspected of pro- are depleted—to the dismay cam- had warned that if the referendum four-party coalition has a com- minister’s “humanistic and demo- criticised the actions of the state of moting religious fundamentalism. paigners for renewable energy. failed, the door would be flung open fortable majority of 81 votes in the cratic values.” Israel severely, but I am clearly not He acknowledged those ties, Environmentalists claim plat- to underhand dealings. 150-member parliament. Kaplan, a member of the junior anti-Semitic... My criticism of Israel but “that doesn’t mean I agree with forms near the shore present risks “The biggest favour to oil and “His health hasn’t worsened coalition partner Green Party, told does not make me less critical of the them on everything,” he told Swed- to health and protected habitats. gas—extending extraction indefi- but we want to be sure,” senior reporters he was opposed to “all anti-Semitism that exists in Sweden,” ish television. They argued that reversing the nitely—allows them to avoid shelling doctor Vasil Hricak said. “Fico forms of extremism” and stressed his Kaplan wrote in a comment pub- Opposition leader Anna Kinberg law would send a clear signal the out money to dismantle the plat- made the decision to stay himself dedication to “human rights, democ- lished on website of daily Expressen Batra of the conservative Moderates country wants to go green and stop forms once the concessions have based on our recommendations.” racy and dialogue.” after his resignation was announced. criticised Prime Minister Lofven, a what they call “dirty deals” that ben- expired,” said Michele Emiliano, The 51-year-old Fico is a regu- He was been in hot water since Last week, media had published Social Democrat, for “being passive efit oil companies, in the wake of a president of the Puglia region. lar jogger and plays football. the weekend when media published photos of Kaplan attending a July and slow” to react to the controversy. German network aims to integrate refugees

AFP locals and foreigners, except that the Freiburg, with plans to also launch to have direct contact with someone emphasis is beyond swapping vocab- soon in Hamburg, Munich and Dres- who is actually from there opens up ulary and grammar tips. den. In the cosy kitchen of a central a whole new perspective. In Start with a Friend, the local Berlin apartment, Nina Winzen, 27, “For me, this exchange is a real BERLIN: As Germany seeks to inte- volunteers also help migrants find is chatting and cooking with her new enrichment, not only because of what grate over one million refugees and internships, jobs or apartments, or to Syrian friend Ehab Masood, 26, as I bring to Ehab, but also because of the migrants, one Berlin non-profit group navigate the bureaucratic thicket of “Everybody’s Got to Learn Some- things he teaches me.” argues that the first step is simple: German asylum procedures. time” by British pop band The Korgis The project in people-to-peo- “Start with a Friend”. The aim is to also help them get is playing. ple cultural bridge building comes That message is the name of the to know Germany better and, in an “When I met Nina, I asked her: as Germany takes a breather from small but fast-growing organisation exchange of equals, build relation- why are you doing this for me?” said last year’s mass influx and searches which teams up newcomers who fled ships that are mutually rewarding Masood, speaking in German he learnt for practical ways to turn into reality war and misery with local volunteers and long-lasting. since arriving in Berlin more than Chancellor Angela Merkel’s motto of who can lend them a hand as they Last year the group facilitated one year ago. “She said: ‘I have eve- “we can do it”. start their new lives. some 200 partnerships, and it aims rything in Germany.’” Winzen added: Merkel’s coalition government “At our first meeting, there were for more than 1,000 this year. “Here we grow up with such a privi- last Thursday approved a package of 10 people,” said its founder Franziska Such has been its success that leged background, we have so much. measures governing the integration of Birnbach. “And then, when more and Birnbach, 27, and her project partner And, parallel to that, people arrive with refugees, their rights and duties, which more people arrived in Germany... last Sarah Rosenthal have now left their nothing and are trying to build a new she labelled “a first in the history” of year, we were literally inundated with jobs to devote themselves full-time to life.” It seemed only logical to her to get post-war Germany. A woman holding a crying baby asks for information, as refugees and offers (from volunteers), and it hasn’t “Start with a Friend”. involved in the programme, she said. “This can be done,” agreed stopped since.” The group now has seven coor- “We speak a lot about Syria,” said Winzen, insisting however that “this migrants wait to board a bus to take them from a makeshift camp at The concept mirrors language- dinators and has branched out from Winzen. “We hear about it every- will only be possible together” and “if port of Piraeus to a newly-built relocation centre in the port town of study “tandem” partnerships between Berlin to the cities of Cologne and day, we see images on television. But everybody plays their part”. Skaramagkas, in western Athens, Greece, yesterday. 18 TUESDAY 19 APRIL 2016 AMERICAS Candidates wage final campaign in New York

senator Hillary Clinton and Brook- her on course to scoop the 2,383 lyn-born Sanders—can each claim needed to secure the party’s ticket Democrats and New York as home. for the White House, where she last Republicans go to the Hillary Clinton is steeling herself lived as first lady from 1993-2001. for a big win, determined to quash With 247 Democratic delegates polls in the country’s the momentum generated by her self- up for grabs in New York, including fourth most populous styled Democratic socialist rival who 44 super-delegates, Sanders desper- has won seven out of the last eight ately needs a win in the state of his state today to elect primary and caucus votes. birth to keep alive his hopes of win- their nominee for the She was to campaign with New ning the presidency. White House. York senator Kirsten Gillibrand and On the Republican side, a some- former Arizona congresswoman what toned-down Trump hopes Gabby Giffords, who survived being that winning the majority of the 95 shot in the head, on issues of women’s Republican delegates can lessen his AFP rights and raising incomes. chances of facing a contested nom- The Democratic establishment ination at the party convention in has swung behind the former first Cleveland in July. lady. She is endorsed by the New Republican voters in rural upstate NEW YORK: US presidential hope- York mayor and the state governor areas and fallen manufacturing cities Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton greets unionised car wash workers at the Hi-Tek Car Wash fuls launched a final campaign swing will join former president Bill Clin- have warmed to his populist message through New York yesterday on the ton in hitting the phones upstate, her despite a growing backlash among in the Queens borough of New York City, US, yesterday. eve of the state’s most decisive pri- campaign aide said. party elites opposed to his decisive mary in decades as Hillary Clinton While nationwide polls edge campaign that has insulted women, to the bosses—I am millions of VOTES another rally scheduled in Queens, his people come out to vote, we can win and Donald Trump lead the polls and Clinton just 47-46 percent over the Mexicans and Muslims. ahead!” Trump tweeted yesterday. campaign manager said. this thing,” he told the CNN. their rivals fight to catch up. 74-year-old Sanders, in New York Later in the day, he was to lead a Trump has blasted Republican The Vermont senator has gal- But he signalled that he could be Registered Democrats and she leads by a whopping 53.7-40.9 campaign rally in Buffalo, New York’s party rules as “rigged” as he has lost a vanised millions with his call for willing to swing behind Clinton, should Republicans go to the polls in the percent, based on a RealClearPoli- second largest city and part of the string of recent delegate hauls to right- universal health care, free public col- she win the nomination, provided she country’s fourth most populous state tics poll average. upstate belt. wing evangelical Cruz. lege and campaign finance reform, take on causes that he has highlighted. today to elect their nominee for the “The margin will probably be The 69-year-old tycoon com- Cruz, who is widely disliked in exhorting youth voters and working He said Clinton had “moved to the White House in a fraught race still a little tighter than people might mands a thumping home state New York for insulting its “values” ear- people to get more involved in politics. left in this campaign” but not gone far competitive on both sides. expect, but we think we’re going to advantage at 52.6 percent, with Ohio lier in the campaign, was to spend the But he suffers a major disad- enough to propose solutions. It shines an unprecedented spot- pull this out and that is going to be a Governor John Kasich and Texas Sen- day at a rally in Maryland, sandwiched vantage in New York, where today’s “It’s a two-way street,” he said. light on the overwhelmingly state, very meaningful victory,” Clinton’s ator Ted Cruz languishing at 22.9 and by private meetings and television voting is closed to independents, “The Clinton people are also going to which normally has little sway in campaign press secretary Brian Fal- 17.9 percent respectively, according appearances. many of whom have swung behind have to listen to what these people are presidential campaigns, in a year lon told CNN. to RealClearPolitics. Sanders, who on Sunday addressed his message. fighting for. And the Clinton people are when three of the candidates—Man- Clinton holds 1,790 delegates “Lyin’ Ted Cruz can’t win with what he said were 20,000 support- “If voter turnout is high, work- going to have to say, you know, maybe hattan billionaire Trump, former compared to 1,113 for Sanders, putting the voters so he has to sell himself ers in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, had ing people come out to vote, young Bernie has a point,” he said.

Woman enters tiger enclosure to retrieve hat US Supreme Court split over Obama’s immigration plan Reuters remained behind a second fence happened on Saturday afternoon,” She said the tiger, Hari, would and the woman climbed back out said zoo spokeswoman Jennifer not have been traumatised by of the enclosure unharmed, accord- Tracey in a statement issued to the the incident and was displaying Reuters the legal claim instead of deciding it ing to the video, which was widely media. “instinctive behaviuor” that does on the narrow procedural question TORONTO: The Toronto Zoo said circulated on YouTube. Tracey said it is not unusual for not concern the zoo, the Canada’s of whether the states had legitimate yesterday it is investigating a video A spokeswoman for the zoo, a items to fall into animal enclosures, largest. grounds to sue. Texas said it had that shows a woman climbing into sprawling forested park that fea- but she urged people to contact zoo The video, shot by zoo patron WASHINGTON: The US Supreme “standing” to sue because it would be part of its tiger enclosure to retrieve tures thousands of animals, told staff because they have equipment Jared Sales, showed a man yell- Court appeared closely divided hurt by the additional costs it would a hat. reporters that the zoo was unaware to safely retrieve lost items. ing at the woman and calling her a yesterday as it weighed whether to incur by providing driver’s licenses The woman’s actions caused of the incident until the video sur- “No need to go after them your- “moron” for jumping into the enclo- revive President Barack Obama’s to those who obtain legal status. the animal to lunge at her, but the faced and is investigating. self. Follow the signs, there is a sure. She appeared to be with at plan to spare from deportation Roberts asked tough questions seven-year-old Sumatran tiger “My understanding is it reason they are there,” Tracey said. least one child. roughly four million immigrants in of the Obama administration on that the country illegally, raising the pos- point, but seemed less aggressive on sibility of a 4-4 deadlock that would whether government had the author- block the programme. ity to implement the programme. Based on questions asked dur- Conservative Justice Anthony ing the 90-minute oral argument in Kennedy, who frequently casts California The challengeds’ best friends a case that tests the limits of pres- the deciding vote in close cases, idential powers, the court’s four expressed concern that the admin- student says liberal justices seemed poised to istration had exceeded its authority back Obama while the four conserv- by having the executive branch set airline removed atives were more skeptical. immigration policy rather than carry If the court is to avoid a 4-4 split, out laws passed by Congress. Chief Justice John Roberts could be For the president to take action him for Arabic the most likely member of the con- ahead of Congress is “just upside- servative bloc to join the liberals in down,” he said. voting to reinstate the programme. Among the liberals, Justice Ruth AP One possible compromise outcome Bader Ginsburg noted the “basic would be that the court could uphold problem” that the government does Obama’s plan while leaving some not have the resources to deport all LOS ANGELES: A University of legal questions unresolved, including of the estimated 11 million people California, Berkeley student who whether the government can provide who live in the country illegally, came to the US as an Iraqi refu- work permits to eligible applicants. meaning it must set priorities. gee says he was unfairly removed The court is evenly divided ide- “There are these people who are from a flight at Los Angeles Inter- ologically following the February here to stay no matter what,” Gins- national Airport earlier this month death of conservative Antonin Scalia. burg said. because a fellow passenger was A 4-4 split would leave in place a Obama’s plan was tailored to alarmed by an innocent conversa- 2015 lower-court ruling that threw let roughly 4 million people—those tion he was having in Arabic. out the president’s executive action, who have lived illegally in the United Southwest Airlines said in which bypassed the Republican-led States at least since 2010, have no a statement that the passenger, Congress. criminal record and have chil- Khairuldeen Makhzoomi, was The case, one of the biggest of dren who are US citizens or lawful taken off the April 9 flight the court’s current term ending in permanent residents—get into a from Los Angeles to Oakland, June, pits Obama against 26 states programme that shields them from California, for questioning and Valentina Espindola (left) and Magdalena Espuey travel in the subway assisted by their service dogs in led by Texas that filed suit to block deportation and supplies work the plane took off while that Buenos Aires, Argentina. Two women in wheelchairs and an autistic child travelled, for the first time his immigration plan. permits. The programmeis called was happening. But the airline in their lives, on the Buenos Aires subway with the assistance of their trained service dogs, a moving If the court does muster a major- Deferred Action for Parents of said it has not received a direct experience for some fellow passengers. ity to decide the case, it appeared the Americans and Lawful Permanent complaint from Makhzoomi, and justices would resolve the merits of Residents (DAPA). he has not responded to several attempts to reach him. Makhzoomi, a 26-year-old senior at UC Berkeley, said that he was calling his uncle before the flight to tell him about a speech he Cuba’s foreign minister calls Obama visit ‘an attack’ had attended by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. “I was very excited about the Reuters Cuban leaders have hardened economic reforms adopted in 2011 Rodriguez accused Obama of May 1, Carnival is to become the first event, so I called my uncle to tell their language against the United that allowed more small businesses. coming to “dazzle” the private sec- US cruise company to sale to Cuba, him about it,” Makhzoomi told the States since Obama became the first The measures have been only tor, highlighting concern that the US but the trip is in doubt over a ban on New York Times. US president to visit the island in 88 partially implemented, a reflection promises to empower Cuban entre- Cuban-Americans sailing. Makhzoomi told his uncle HAVANA: US President Barack years, with Fidel Castro accusing him of resistance from hard-liners who preneurs were aimed at building The United States and Cuba re- about asking a question on the IS Obama’s visit to Communist-led of sweet-talking the people. distrust market economics and fear opposition to the single-party sys- established diplomatic relations group at the event. He said he used Cuba was an “attack” on its history President Raul Castro referred the detente with the United States at tem in office since 1959. after Castro and Obama announced the phrase “inshallah,” meaning and culture aimed at misleading a to the United States as “the enemy” a time when Cubans are increasingly “Socialism and the Cuban revo- in December 2014 the two countries “god willing,” at the end of the con- new business class, Foreign Minister in the opening speech of the party vocal about their needs. lution are the guarantees that there were seeking to normalise ties. versation, and those things might Bruno Rodriguez said yesterday, the congress over the weekend and told “The harsh rhetorical push- can be a non-state sector that is not Despite the rhetoric, US musicians have led to suspicion. latest sign of anger after the ground- Cubans to be alert to US attempts to back by the ideological wing of the that of big North American compa- Smokey Robinson, Usher and Dave He said the woman sitting in breaking trip last month. weaken the revolution. Communist Party suggests their nies,” he told state television. Matthews were in Havana yesterday front of him on the plane began “In this visit, there was a deep The congress, held every five heightened sense of vulnerabil- Cuba has struck deals with US as part of a delegations representing staring at him. “That is when I attack on our ideas, our history, our years, must make decisions about ity,” said Richard Feinberg, a former companies such as hotel chain Star- Obama’s arts and humanities com- thought, ‘Oh, I hope she is not culture and our symbols,” Rodriguez the future of Cuba’s elderly leader- national security adviser to US Pres- wood and is in talks with others mittee. A group of US architects also reporting me,’ “ Makhzoomi said. said at the Communist Party congress. ship and the progress of market-style ident Bill Clinton. including Google-parent Alphabet. On visited yesterday. AMERICAS TUESDAY 19 APRIL 2016 1917 Ecuador earthquake survivors tell harrowing tales

More than 2,000 were also injured local hotel, its roof jack-knifed and in Saturday’s 7.8 magnitude quake, crumbling. Many residents, including The death toll rose which ripped apart buildings and Rayo and her family, spent a restless to 350 as rescuers roads and knocked out power along Sunday night sleeping outside on mat- the Pacific coastline. tresses in the muggy tropical night, hunted for survivors, President Rafael Correa, giving wary of aftershocks. victims clamoured the new tally of fatalities from the Others, too uneasy to sleep, town of Portoviejo inside the disas- watched from the sidelines as fire- for aid and looting ter zone, said the number of dead had fighters continued rescue operations, broke out in Andean increased to 350 but said he feared the calling for silence so they could listen nation’s shattered number would rise further. for cries for help. “Reconstruction will cost billions More than 600 people were coastal region. of dollars,” said Correa, as survivors treated for injuries at tents in the begged him for water. town’s soccer stadium, which survived “It was my siblings who saved us, the quake, or were transported by the rescue teams hadn’t arrived yet,” ambulance or helicopter to regional Reuters said Rayo, who runs a restaurant on hospitals. Most of the corpses recovered the bottom floor of a now-shattered were taken to the stadium, where some hotel in the worst-hit town of Peder- 40 coffins were stacked on Monday. nales, a rustic beach location on the Around 26 bodies had not been identi- PEDERNALES, ECUADOR: During Pacific coast. fied by families, police said. Wakes and a terrifying five hours trapped in the Her three brothers and sisters, burials were being quickly arranged. rubble of her quake-hit restaurant, also from Pedernales, came looking Queues for bottled water, blan- Filerma Rayo almost lost hope. for Rayo and her husband, who suf- kets, food and other supplies snaked “I was yelling and yelling and fered head injuries, after the quake. along the stadium walls, as govern- then, at the end, I started to think I Guided by her shouts, they managed ment and Red Cross workers rushed would die there,” said Rayo, 33, as to remove the rubble and pull her out with aid supplies to the lush, hilly zone she nursed a crushed foot, which around midnight, well before emer- next to Pacific beaches. Rescuers and residents search for victims in Jama, in the Ecuadorean coastal province of Manabi, yesterday. had been pinned by a falling piece of gency crews arrived. Residents complained that a cement when a 7.8 magnitude earth- At least 136 neighbours in Peder- lack of electricity was keeping them quake shook Ecuador on Saturday. nales were not so lucky. from using mobile phones to contact station awning early yesterday. family members but Reyna had still back to Quito as soon as we can, at The death toll rose to 350 yester- They died when the earthquake loved ones. “There’s nothing left of Reyna, her daughter and son had not seen her parents or other daugh- least until things calm down here.” day as rescuers hunted for survivors, struck, sending pastel top floors the houses and nowhere safe to stay,” traveled from Quito in search of rel- ter, though she had made contact with More than 1,000 policemen victims clamoured for aid and loot- crashing to the ground, punching said housewife Betty Reyna, who was atives when they heard about the them and knew they were unharmed. patrolled Pedernales’ streets ahead of ing broke out in the Andean nation’s holes in the façade of the church on keeping watch over a dozen members destruction in her hometown. Her father, however, had suffered an expected visit by President Rafael shattered coastal region. the main square and obliterating a of her family as they slept under a gas They were able to find some head injuries. “We’re taking everyone Correa.

1 dead and 7 Brazil impeachment drive accelerates to Senate missing after AFP to move the case forward. to kickstart Brazil’s economy. storms cause Cheering and confetti burst from The country is in the grip of its opposition ranks when the vote worst recession for decades and passed, countered by jeering from political paralysis in the capital has havoc in Chile BRASÍLIA: The fight to oust Brazil’s Rousseff allies—a snapshot of the prevented reforms that might attract President Dilma Rousseff speeded up divisive mood consuming the country back foreign investors, scared off by yesterday after lawmakers authorised just four months before Rio de Janeiro Brazil’s junk credit ratings. Reuters impeachment proceedings against hosts the Olympics. But the expected euphoric reac- her, deepening the country’s politi- Rousseff is accused of illegally tion at market opening yesterday cal crisis. manipulating budget figures. But did not materialise after being out- SANTIAGO: Heavy rains battered Opponents of the 68-year-old Rousseff’s attorney general, Jose weighed by the dampening effect of central Chile over the week- leftist leader said they would go to Eduardo Cardozo said the charges tumbling world oil prices. end, leaving one person dead, the Senate to formally hand over were flimsy and amounted to “a coup If, as many expect, the Senate seven missing and millions with- impeachment case, following over- against democracy.” goes on to start a trial, Vice President out drinking water as landslides whelming approval in the lower Carla Selman, an analyst at a Michel Temer, who abandoned Rous- caused havoc and rivers breached house. The Senate is expected to vote consultancy, said events could move seff to become a key opponent, will their banks. in May on whether to open a trial, at quickly given the decisive nature of assume power. He would also stay A woman was killed by a land- which point Rousseff would have to the lower house vote. on if the trial ended in impeachment. slide in the San Jose de Maipo step aside, with her vice president tak- “This is likely to accelerate a Newspapers printed pictures of valley, a mountainous region ing over. A two thirds majority in the vote in the Senate, where the pro- him smiling as he watched the vote. southeast of Santiago, while police Senate would then force her from office. impeachment camp is also expected But the celebrations could be short suspended search for three people The marathon vote saw 367 of to win,” Selman said. Financial mar- lived, analysts say. Temer would who disappeared in a landslide in the 513 deputies in the lower house kets have been betting heavily on inherit a country wallowing in eco- the same area. Opponents of President Dilma Rousseff celebrate after the Lower of Congress back impeachment, well Rousseff’s exit and the advent of a nomic disarray and a dysfunctional Seven people have gone miss- House of Congress voted for her impeachment, in Brasilia. over the two thirds majority needed more business-friendly government political scene. ing, 95 homes have sustained major damage and about 80,000 people are without electricity, said Chile emergency office Onemi. Over the past four days, San- Court clears Google Democrats press for $1.9bn to fight Zika tiago has seen about 80mm of rain, nearly five times the amount it normally gets for the whole month book-scanning project AP Senate vote on additional Zika funds. pregnant women,” the letter read. of April, said Cristobal Torres, The White House says the money is Obama has redirected more than meteorologist with the state mete- urgently needed to fight the spread $500m in unspent funds to fight orology service. Light showers are AFP Google said in a statement, “We of mosquitoes that transmit the virus, Ebola but the White House says it’s forecast for today Tuesday morn- are grateful that the court has agreed WASHINGTON: Democrats are develop a vaccine and help other only a temporary solution. ing, said Torres. to uphold the decision of the Sec- pressing top Senate Republicans countries battle Zika. Republicans are signaling that Dirt and debris from the sur- ond Circuit (appeals court) which to stop dragging their feet and act “For more than two months, they’ll provide some Zika money, rounding Andes mountains were WASHINGTON: Google’s massive concluded that Google Books is immediately on President Barack Congress has failed to respond to but they haven’t said how much or washed into Santiago’s potable book-scanning project cleared its transformative and consistent with Obama’s request for $1.9bn to com- the administration’s Zika request. how soon. But it appears plain that water supply. An estimated 4 mil- final legal hurdle yesterday as the copyright law.” The statement added: bat the Zika virus. But more importantly, Congress has they want to provide some Zika lion people suffered cuts to their US Supreme Court denied an appeal “The product acts like a card catalog More than 40 of the chamber’s failed to address a disease that has money before departing Washing- water supply and authorities asked contending it violates copyright law. for the digital age by giving people Democrats yesterday signed on to a infected nearly 700 Americans in ton for seven weeks for the political residents to stock up on drinking The top US court denied with- a new way to find and buy books letter to Republican Majority Leader 40 states, Washington, DC, and 3 US conventions and the traditional water, prompting a rush on bottled out comment a petition from the while at the same time advancing Mitch McConnell, demanding a territories, including more than 65 August recess. water at the city’s supermarkets. Authors Guild to hear the appeal of the interests of authors.” a 2013 federal court ruling seen as The Authors Guild said it was a landmark copyright decision for disappointed. “Blinded by the pub- the digital era. lic benefit arguments, the Second Nine found beaten In a decade-long case, authors Circuit ruling tells us that Google, Cross cultural dance and their backers claimed Google not authors, deserves to profit from to death and was illegally scanning and digitising the digitization of their books,” said millions of books without compen- Mary Rasenberger, executive direc- sation to the copyright holders. tor of the authors group. hanged in Mexico But the ruling by federal judge The ruling, she said, “misunder- Denny Chin, backed by an appel- stood the importance of emerging MONTERREY, MEXICO: Nine late panel, said the colossal project in online markets for books and book men were found beaten to death which Google allows users to search excerpts. It failed to comprehend the and hanged in a home in this books and see snippets of text was very real potential harm to authors northern Mexican city plagued “fair use” under copyright law. resulting from its decision. The price by drug-related violence, prose- The appeals panel last Octo- of this short-term public benefit may cutors said. ber rejected the arguments of the well be the future vitality of Amer- In a departure from the norm Authors Guild, several prominent ican culture.” in such cases, guns were appar- writers and leading publishers that In the October appellate ruling, ently not used in the killings. the Google Books programme and its Judge Pierre Leval wrote that the “There were two beaten with Library Project would eat into their longstanding interpretation of cop- a blunt object and seven hanged,” earnings potential by allowing read- yright law has for 300 years been Roberto Ramirez, Nuevo Leon ers free access to the books. that authors do not have “absolute state prosecutor, said in this fairly Backers of Google contended control” over their works, and that well-off industrial city close to the that digitisation offers numerous there are important exemptions for US border. The victims had their public benefits for researchers and “fair use,” including news reporting, hands bound with thick tape, he others. Krista Cox of the Association historical analysis, parody and other said. Their bodies were being of Research Libraries hailed the rul- “transformative” purposes. examined by the forensics unit. ing, tweeting, “Win for #fairuse.” The court said the snippets made Some narcotics residue and Nancy Sims, a University of Min- available by Google were not a viable Matachines dancers participate in a religious festival in Saltillo, Mexico. Matachines dancing is a drug paraphernalia were found nesota copyright librarian, said. substitute for works and it was imma- masked dance introduced by Spanish missionaries and has been adopted by cultures from Peru to at the home, located in an upscale “This is a pretty great outcome for terial if Google made a profit from its northern Mexico. residential area, the prosecutor libraries and the public.” search business using the books. said.

PRAYER TIMINGS WEATHER Minimum: 23o C Maximum: 35o C

FAJR 03.49 am ZUHR 11.33 am MAGHRIB 06.00 pm HIGH TIDE 03:00 - 16:15 Slight dust with some clouds. SHOROOK 05.08 am ASR 03.03 pm ISHA 07.30 pm LOW TIDE 09:45 - 21:30

20 TUESDAY 19 APRIL 2016 MORNING BREAK

ONLINE CHART BUST Low fat diet Animated artistes www.thepeninsulaqatar.com can cut breast MOST READ cancer risk

Saudi Arabia to announce post-oil QNA 1 plan on April 25 Oil prices plunge after Doha 2 output talks fail NEW YORK: A diet containing low-fat food items is likely to aid women to keep R ebels launch attacks in western Syria, away from breast cancer as well as lower 3 heavy government air raids: Monitor the mortality risk rates associated with the deadly disease, finds a study. The findings showed that women who stayed on a low fat diet for approximately TWEET OF THE DAY eight years reduced their risk of death from invasive breast cancers. They also improved their survival rates by 82 per cent when compared with women who had not followed the die- tary regimen. Women who did not follow the diet were at 78 per cent overall sur- vival risks. "This was the first time we had examined the deaths after breast cancer among this group, and we found that a sus- tained low fat diet increased the survival rates among postmenopausal women after a breast cancer diagnosis," said Rowan Hong Kong actor and animator Raman Hui (centre) and characters from 'Monster Hunt' and Kung Fu Chlebowski from the Los Angeles Biomed- ical Research Institute in the US. Panda' arrive for the opening ceremony of the 6th Beijing International Film Festival at the Beijing Also, heart disease mortality rate was Yanqi Lake International Convention and Exhibition Centre in Beijing, China, yesterday. The film festival seen to be lower in the dietary group. started on April 16 and will run till 23. However, most of the breast cancer characteristics - including size, nodal status, and distribution of poor prognosis, triple negative cancers and HER2 positive INSTAGRAM OF THE DAY cancers -- were found similar between the two groups of women. "The study also sug- The Jungle Book tops box office gests that women would need to remain on the low fat diets to maintain the benefits of the dietary intervention," Chlebowski AFP live-action movie uses computer gest debut of the year, after "Batman Mohsen suggested. To determine the effects of a wizardry to bring to life the charac- v Superman" ($166m) and "Deadpool" Bukshaisha low fat dietary pattern on breast cancer, ters from Rudyard Kipling's classic ($132m). "Barbershop: The Next Cut," from Qatar in the team conducted additional analyses stories about a boy named Mowgli the latest installment in the comedy Action during of a randomised clinical trial that had fol- LOS ANGELES: Disney's highly who is raised by animals. Neel Sethi franchise, was a distant second in its Asian snooker lowed 48,835 postmenopausal women. anticipated remake of "The Jungle as Mowgli, Hollywood heavyweights debut with $20.2m. Slapstick com- championship The women were aged 50-79, had no Book" trounced the competition at Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley and Idris edy "The Boss" slipped to 3rd place in Doha. Photo prior breast cancer and had normal mam- the box office on its opening week- Elba provide the voices of Baloo the after its 2nd week in theaters, taking by @basitqu mograms as wells as had an intake normal end, grossing $103.6m, industry bear, Bagheera the panther and Shere $10.2m over the weekend, lifting its dietary fat. estimates showed, yesterday. The Khan the tiger. It was the third big- total domestic take to $40.4m. Pulitzer prizes Afghan teenager braves threats announced to lead women’s orchestra

AP Reuters girl play music?’ Especially in our tribe, where even a man doesn’t have NEW YORK: The winners of the right to do it.” Now living in an Pulitzer Prizes in journalism and orphanage in the Afghan capital of the arts were announced in New KABUL: Like many teenagers, Kabul, Negin leads the Zohra orches- York City, yesterday. This is the 19-year-old Negin Khpalwak from tra, an ensemble of 35 women at the contest’s 100th year. The Pulitzer Kunar in eastern Afghanistan loves Afghanistan National Institute for Prizes will recognize the best jour- music, but few people of her age have Music that plays both Western and nalism of 2015 in newspapers, battled as fiercely to pursue their Afghan musical instruments. magazines and web sites. passion in the face of family hos- When she went home on a recent The Associated Press has won tility and threats. visit, her uncles and brothers threat- the Pulitzer Prize for public service Playing instruments was banned ened to beat her for a performing for articles documenting the use outright during the period of Tali- appearance on television, and she of slave labor in the commercial ban rule in Afghanistan, and even had to return to Kabul the next day. seafood industry in Indonesia and today, many conservative Muslims “Compared to women outside Thailand. AP journalists Margie frown on most forms of music. Negin Afghanistan, we feel we are in a Mason, Robin McDowell, Mar- took her first steps learning music in cage,” she said. In a country noto- tha Mendoza and Esther Htusan secret, before eventually revealing rious internationally for harsh (TOO’-san) documented how men her activity to her father. He encour- restrictions on women in most areas from Myanmar and other coun- aged her, but the reaction from the of life, Negin’s story highlights a dou- One of the paintings stolen in Camaiore from the house of the then Prince of Luxembourg. tries were imprisoned, sometimes rest of her conservative Pashtun ble challenge. “I am not that Negin in cages, in Indonesia and forced family was hostile. anymore,” she said. “I have been to work on vessels that sent sea- “Apart from my father, every- leading this orchestra for six months food to Thailand. body in the family is against it,” she now, and leadership takes a lot of “Hamilton,” the hip-hop stage said. “They say, ‘How can a Pashtun effort.” biography of Alexander Hamilton, Nazi-looted paintings recovered has won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for drama. The Tampa Bay Times and the Reuters the House of Bourbon-Parma, the said, with two unnamed people Sarasota Herald-Tribune have won paintings were plundered in 1944 accused of receiving stolen goods. the Pulitzer Prize for investigative by German troops from a villa in the Experts from Italy’s culture minis- reporting for a project on mental Tuscan town of Camaiore, where try said they were not able to give a hospitals. MILAN: Three late 15th century Prince Felix, consort of the Grand value for the art pieces. “In for a Penny, In for a Pound” paintings missing since they were Duchess of Luxembourg, once lived. “For the time being, there are no by Henry Threadgill has won the looted by Nazi troops from a Tuscan Most of the stolen pieces, kept in parameters we can use to quantify Pulitzer Prize for music. villa over 70 years ago have been the villa of a high-ranking member how much they are worth,” art his- Other finalists included “The recovered and two people have been of the Nazi SS military organisation, torian Strada said. Blind Banister” by Timo Andres accused of receiving stolen goods, were found and returned to Luxem- The pieces include the “Trinity” and “The Mechanics: Six from the police announced yesterday. bourg soon after the end of the war. by Alessio Baldovinetti, a scholar of Shop Floor” by Carter Pann. “Black The works, of religious themes, The paintings recovered in Renaissance painter Beato Angelico, Flags: The Rise of ISIS” by Joby seized in two private homes in Milan Milan, and held in the city’s Pinaco- and the “Presentation of Jesus to the Warrick has won the Pulitzer Prize last July, were described by art his- teca di Brera art museum since July, Temple”, by Verona-based Girolamo for general nonfiction. Warrick is torian Paola Strada as “of immense were three of almost 40 pieces still Dai Libri, a famous miniaturist artist. a journalist with The Washing- interest because of their unique missing. According to Antonella Ranaldi, ton Post and a previous Pulitzer character, and because they are A criminal investigation linked superintendent for the arts at the cul- Negin Ekhpulwak, leader of the Zohra orchestra, an ensemble of winner. The Washington Post has from artists considered rare on the to the recovery of the paintings has ture ministry, the paintings require won the Pulitzer Prize for national market”. been initiated, the head of of the Art restoration as “their state of conser- 35 women, conducts during a rehearsal at Afghanistan's National reporting. Part of a vast collection of art of Crimes department Riccardo Targetti vation is not great”. Institute of Music, in Kabul, yesterday. www.thepeninsulaqatar.com PAGE | 22 QE 10,231.52 -42.30 PTS PAGE | 23 DOW 17,999.16 +101.70 PTS CRA to come out Aamal looking to FTSE100 6,353.52 +9.77 PTS with fresh Quality of expand maritime Service policy BRENT $43.04 -$0.06 operations

TUESDAY 19 APRIL 2016 • 12 Rajab 1437 thepeninsulaqatar @peninsulaqatar @peninsula_qatar

Framework for next oil freeze talks after consultations: Al Sada

The Peninsula oil producing countries. Before the implement this freezing, Dr Al Sada, was a good platform for opening factors that control the oil prices. next round of discussions the con- who is also the President of Opec said. communication channels between These factors have been deciding the cerned parties will also consider Each scenarios were separately eval- the concerned oil producing coun- oil prices during the past 12 months.” . the oil market movements, QNA uated and discussed extensively, he tries. These channels still remain “We respect the position adopted DOHA: Minister of Energy and reported. added. On the possibilities of conven- open. Any misunderstanding between by all the countries in the meeting, Industry H E Dr Mohammed bin The talks in Doha between Opec ing another meeting on the matter, the participating countries concern- including Iran. The agreement on the Saleh Al Sada (pictured), has and non-Opec oil producers yester- the ministers said it will be decided ing the mechanism of freezing oil output cap would have been more explained that the procedures day tried to address several concerns after the talks and discussions production can be removed, Dr Al efficient and effective if all the players regarding the possibilities of next related to global oil market. Possibil- between the participating countries Sada said. in the oil market, both within Opec round of ‘oil output freeze’ discus- ities of freezing oil production were and will also be depending on the oil On the market impact of Doha and non-Opec, had unanimously sions will be held after proper talks also discussed as well as several sce- market movement. summit the Minister said: “We can agreed on it, which would ultimately and discussions with the concerned narios regarding, when and who will The February meeting in Doha understand that there are many help rebalance the market”.

Oil prices Doha Bank records QR354m Q1 net profit steady

from QR45.2bn to QR51.4bn in Q1, Reuters 2016 reflecting the bank’s strong Bank’s total liquidity position. assets increased Announcing the financial results, by QR10.5bn, a Sheikh Fahad bin Mohammad Bin NEW YORK: Oil prices steadied Jabor Al Thani, Chairman of the Board yesterday as a strike in Kuwait off- growth of 14.2%, of Directors of Doha Bank said the set concern over producers’ failure from QR74.2bn to bank’s core revenue streams have to agree on a plan to curb global shown strong growth over the prior supply at a meeting in Qatar, while QR84.7bn. year period reflecting on the Bank’s world stock markets rose. intrinsic strength towards recur- Gains in energy and consumer ring earning capacity and also on shares helped to lift Wall Street. The Peninsula the Bank’s productive operational Walt Disney rose 2.5 percent to performance. $101.09 a share after its “Jungle Sheikh Abdul Rehman bin Book” film dominated the week- FROM LEFT: Chairman of Doha Bank Sheikh Fahad bin Mohammad bin Jabor Al Thani, Managing Director Mohammad Bin Jabor Al Thani, Man- end box office. The S&P energy Sheikh Abdul Rehman bin Mohammad bin Jabor Al Thani and Group CEO Dr R Seetharaman. DOHA: Doha Bank recorded a net aging Director of Doha Bank said the index was up 1.4 percent. profit of QR354m for the first quarter bank has become extremely strong The strike in Kuwait slashed of 2016. The bank sustained the core over the years with total equity, as at as at 31 March 2016 which is a clear The new enhanced version of Doha Doha Bank recently won the the country’s oil output by more income, as the net operating income is 31 March 2016, standing at QR 12.8bn, demonstration of the effective uti- Bank mobile banking application ‘Product of the Year in Middle East than half. Weighing on oil prices marginally up by 0.4 percent as com- an increase of 19.6 percent during the lization of shareholder’s funds and offers users the option of using fin- 2016 for Doha Bank’s Mobile Banking earlier was the failure in Doha of pared to same period in 2015. last twelve months. optimum asset allocation strategies”. gerprints to authenticate identities to Experience’ from ‘The Asian Banker’ some 18 oil-exporting nations, The bank’s total assets increased “Through the strategic utilisation Throwing light on the key inno- sign in to mobile banking - instead of in recognition of the superior service including Opec members, to agree by QR10.5bn, a growth of 14.2 percent, of the shareholder’s funds by way of vations and achievements by Doha user ID and password. The other new offered through the mobile bank- to stabilize output at January lev- from QR74.2bn as at March 31, 2015 to increasing our performance levels Bank in Q1, 16, Dr R Seetharaman features introduced in the applica- ing application. Also, on account of els until October 2016. A pact fell QR84.7bn as at March 31, 2016. Net the return on average shareholders’ said: “In testament to Doha Bank’s tion also include local fund transfer, displaying best practice and trans- apart after Saudi Arabia demanded loans & advances increased to QR equity is 15.9 percent as at 31 March commitment to offer latest services D-Cardless withdrawals, Western parency in investor relations, Doha that Iran join in. 56.9bn from QR50.8bn for the same 2016 one of the best in the industry. to customers in digital banking and as Union Money Transfer, remittances Bank was awarded as the best Qatari Brent crude was up 20 cents, period last year, registering a growth The bank, given the scale of opera- another proud ‘first’ for Qatar, Doha through credit card, click card reload company for ‘Excellence in Inves- or 0.4 percent, at $43.30 a bar- of 11.8 percent. Deposits showed a tions, has achieved a very high return Bank launched ‘Biometric Access’ etc in addition to its extensive list of tor Relations’ under the mid-cap rel after falling $3 earlier in the year-on-year increase of 13.7 percent on the average assets of 1.69 percent for mobile banking application. services.” category. session, while US crude was off 31 cents, or 0.8 percent, at $40.05 a barrel. Earlier oil prices steeply dropped towards $40 after a deal to freeze oil output by the world’s Masraf Al Rayan profit up 5.1% OECD bats for benchmarking biggest oil producers falls apart. The market response came yesterday, just hours after Iran, of SME policies in GCC which is trying to ramp up out- The Peninsula achieve sustainable performance with an put as international sanctions are upward trend”. lifted, stayed away from a weekend Return on Assets of the bank continues to meeting of 18 Opec and non-Opec be one of the highest in the market at 2.5 per- By Sachin Kumar (of the meeting) is to focus on a and they should try to be part oil producers in Doha, Qatar. DOHA: Masraf Al Rayan yesterday cent while return on shareholders’ equity of The Peninsula benchmarking process of SME of supply chain of multinational Saudi Arabia said on Sunday announced a net profit of QR537m for the the bank reached 19.07 percent compared to policies in order to learn more companies. that it would not back the deal if first quarter of 2016, reflecting a 5.1 percent 19.35 percent for the period ended 31 March that what is successful may be “The role of SMEs in a Iran was not involved. growth compared to the same period in 2015. 2015. Earnings per share for the period in one country which can be country should be to boost Oil exporting nations, includ- Dr Hussain Al Abdulla, the Chairman reached QR0.716 compared to QR0.681 for DOHA: The Organisation for copied in other countries,” he innovations, to find new busi- ing non-Opec Russia, had gathered and Managing Director of Masraf Al Rayan, the period ended 31 March 2015. Non-per- Economic Co-operation and said. ness models and new business in Doha to strike a deal to stabi- underlined the prudent approach taken forming financing (NPF) ratio remained at Development (OECD) is push- Benchmarking of policies ideas because they are more lise output at January levels until by Masraf Al Rayan to optimise the bank’s 0.09 percent reflecting a very strong and ing for benchmarking of policies will help in implementing suc- agile and flexible,” said Kap- October. resources to overcome the ongoing challenges prudent credit risk management policies for Small and Medium Enter- cessful policies of one country ferer. “One aspect which is But the deal crumbled when in the local, regional and global markets ema- and procedures. prises (SMEs) in GCC countries. in another and countries will be relevant in this region is to try Opec heavyweight Saudi Arabia nating from different sources, primarily from Total assets of the bank reached QR87.4bn “Three weeks ago we had a able to learn from each other. to be part of global value chain. demanded that Iran join in despite the lower oil prices and resultant liquidity compared to QR83.46bn as of 31 March meeting in Bahrain talking with “The idea is if we can link dif- You can see it in eastern Euro- its repeated assertions it would challenges. 2015, an increase of 4.8 percent. Financing different countries from gulf ferent gulf countries, it is easier pean countries like Slovenia not do so until it had reached pre- Adel Mustafawi, Group Chief Execu- activities reached QR65.43bn compared to region about a new approach to adopt strategies which may and Slovakia which are not so sanctions levels of output. tive Officer at Masraf Al Rayan, stated that QR63.11bn as of 31 March 2015, an increase on SMEs. I discussed with Qatar be successful in Qatar, also in big countries. They do not have Brent crude futures fell almost “the results represent consolidated financial of 3.7 percent. Development Bank (QDB) about Bahrain or something which multination companies like in 7 percent in early trading before results including subsidiaries and affiliates; Investments reached QR14.16bn com- potential cooperation with col- worked in Dubai could be Germany, France, UK or US. bouncing back to $41.70 per bar- including Al Rayan Bank UK Plc”. pared to QR14.99bn as of 31 March 2015, an leagues here in Qatar. We will adopted in Qatar. So I think the There SMEs are often a part rel at 1335 GMT, down 3.35 percent Mustafawi added that the announced increase of 5.9 percent. Customer depos- invite them to take part in this idea is benchmarking policies to of the global value chain. That since their last settlement. Traders financial results alongside the key ratios its declined to QR56.13bn compared to meeting and projects,” said Ste- learn from each other,” he said. means they are producing inter- said an oil worker strike in Kuwait and financial indicators demonstrate once QR60.83bn as of 31 March 2015, a decrease fan Kapferer, Deputy Secretary Talking about role of SMEs mediaries for large companies. that cut the country’s crude out- again the resolve and focus of the man- of 7.7 percent. Financing activities reached General, OECD on the side- in a country like Qatar, he said They innovate, they learn from put by some 60 percent prevented agement and staff in implementing board QR11.26bn compared to QR10.56bn as of 31 lines of conference organised small and mid- sized firms these relationship with multina- Brent from tumbling below $40 per approved prudent policies and strategies to March 2015, an increase of 6.6 percent. last week in Doha. “The agenda should focus on innovation tional companies. barrel. 22 TUESDAY 19 APRIL 2016 BUSINESS Mazaya and Global Securities to set up investment funds

ate Shariah-compliant real estate brotherhood between Qatar and investment funds in Turkey that Turkey as well as the strong regional MoU was signed will be offered to qualified inves- interest in Turkish real estate mar- to create Shariah- tors, locally and internationally. ket, we are certain that this new These funds will be structured with fund structure will attract qualified compliant real estate a particular focus on near comple- individual and institutional investors investment funds in tion projects and income producing in our region,” said Al Hedfa, Maz- Turkey that will be assets in Turkey. aya Qatar’s CEO. The MOU was signed at Istan- Real Estate Investment Fund offered to qualified bul Congress Center in Istanbul structure is relatively new in the investors, locally and by Hamad bin Ali Al Hedfa, Maz- Turkish market and is projected to aya Qatar’s Board Member and appeal both local and international internationally. Chief Executive Officer, ErolGöker investors. Chairman of Global Securities and “In context of this vision, I believe and Gaye Braida Fernandez Chair- that this agreement of Global Securi- Officials of Mazaya Qatar Real Estate Development and Global Securities during the signing ceremony in person of Global MD Portfolio ties with one of the leading real estate The Peninsula Management. companies of Qatar will breathe new Istanbul. “We believe Global Securities, life into the local and international with its many accomplishments and private and corporate investors,” international real estate investment local and international investors. create and manage in line with the stra- firsts throughout Turkish market, said ErolGöker, Chairman of Global fund”. “All the parties to the agreement tegic partnership, will at the same time DOHA: Mazaya Qatar Real Estate will be the right partner to structure Securities. “We are extremely proud Gaye Braida Fernandez, Chair- believe that this strong partnership let the Gulf investors to invest in real Development and Global Secu- and roll-out real estate investment and happy for achieving another person of Global MD Portfolio may set a suitable foundation for the estate through a highly secure financial rities have signed Memorandum funds in Turkey. Considering the first in Turkey with this agreement Management, said real estate invest- creation of successful real estate invest- instrument instead of investing directly of Understanding (MoU) to cre- strategic macro relationship and which is aimed at creating the first ment fund will be attractive for both ment funds. These funds that we aim to into real estate,” said Fernandez. CRA to come out with fresh Shangri-La Hotels launches Event Planner Rewards Quality of Service policy HONG KONG: Shangri-La Hotels earn double points for any subse- and Resorts yesterday launched quent meetings or events booked in the Shangri-La Events Collection the same calendar year. The Peninsula and Golden Circle Event Planner “With Event Planner Rewards, Rewards, an industry-leading meet- Golden Circle has significantly ing and events loyalty programme for broadened the value we offer group meeting and travel professionals. and event planners worldwide. DOHA: The Communications Reg- This programme will offer meet- Event organisers can now earn ulatory Authority (CRA) is busy ing and travel professionals and any Golden Circle points on all confer- giving final touches to a new Qual- Golden Circle member the ability to ences, meetings and events as well ity of Service (QoS) Policy to outline earn elite status as well as earn and as redeem points towards their future the objectives and approach to the redeem points for groups, meet- events and meetings or use them for regulation of the quality of commu- ings, conferences and events across leisure travel and unique culinary nication services provided to the the Shangri-La, Kerry and Hotel Jen venues of choice for hosting heads of hotel reward programmes. experiences.” said Shangri-La Inter- public. Once finalised, the Policy will portfolio. state, Fortune 500 companies, high- Golden Circle Event Planner national Hotel Management Ltd. Chief become a key part of CRA’s man- With nearly 100 hotels located profile product launches, weddings Rewards offers the highest level of Marketing Officer Steven Taylor. date to set performance standards around the world from Lhasa to and social events. The new meet- rewards of any meetings and events As part of its focus on delivering for quality of service and to moni- London, Shangri-La offers one of ings and events loyalty programme loyalty programme. Planners can personalised experiences, Shangri-La tor compliance with these standards the most extensive collections of dovetails with Shangri-La’s “Loy- earn up to 40,000 Golden Circle has revamped its meetings offering by service providers. inspired meeting and event venues, altyIs” conversation and ongoing Points on an event booking – the with the launch of the Events Collec- The Policy includes clearly boasting more than 300,000 square loyalty transformation, which aims equivalent of 40 complimentary tion, which provides planners greater defined parameters, targets, metres of dedicated event space. to make Golden Circle one of the room nights. In addition, it is the only flexibility as well as rich personalisa- reporting procedures, compliance independent measurement surveys The group’s hotels are known as the most attractive and meaningful programme that allows members to tion and experiential options. requirements and enforcements ensure compliance. Full details of procedures. CRA regulates com- the Policy will be made available to munications and postal sectors, the general public through the CRA as well as access to digital media website. and advanced, innovative, and The Consumer Affairs depart- Finland Tech Roadshow reliable communication serv- ment within CRA is responsible for ices provided by operators in monitoring quality of communica- these sectors. tions services in Qatar in addition to “The main objective of QoS Pol- receiving and investigating telecom icy is to introduce greater clarity, consumer complaints. Consumers transparency, predictability, equal- can contact CRA using a variety of ity and certainty with respect to QoS communication channels: the 24/7 regulation for the benefit of both the hotline number 103, email at con- customers and the providers,” said [email protected] , using the Amel Salam Al Hanawi (pictured), CRA’s online complaint form or by CRA’s Consumer Affairs Depart- tweeting directly to @CRAqatar. ment Manager. “The Policy is based The CRA is the communications on a forward looking approach. For regulator in the state of Qatar estab- example, it states that the key per- lished by virtue of Emiri Decree (42) formance indicators (KPIs) should in 2014. CRA regulates the commu- be resilient to address both present nications & information technology and future customer needs and at sector, postal services, and access to the same time enable competition,” digital media. she added. CRA uses its regulatory pow- Service Providers will be ers mandated by the Emiri decree required to measure their quality of to protect consumer rights, ensure Bader Al Dafa (second left), former ambassador of Qatar to Finland; Mohammed Ahmed Al Obaidly (second right), Board member of services against the KPIs set in the competition, manage the resolution Qatar Chamber, and Ritta Swan (centre), Ambassador o f Finland to UAE, with Marko Vanska (left) and Marika Makela of Finpro, athe t QoS Regulation and report to CRA. of disputes, and manage the electro- Finland Tech Roadshow held at the Marsa Malaz Kempinski, The Pearl, in Doha yesterday. Pic: Salim M/The Peninsula However, CRA shall also conduct its magnetic spectrum. Lexus RX350 named ‘Best Small Premium SUV’ Gulf Air boosts services to Gassim in Saudi Arabia

The Peninsula delightedthat the Lexus RX 350 has been picked as the best vehicle in its The Peninsula 2016, to 32 weekly flights while its class at MECOTY 2016. We would like Jeddah service was increased to a to take this opportunity to thank our total of 4 daily flights in February DOHA: Lexus earned top honours customers for their support as well.” MANAMA: Gulf Air, Bahrain’s 2016. at the 2016 Middle East Car of the The Lexus RX created the blue- national carrier, has announced “Following on from recent Year Awards (MECOTY), the pre- print for the crossover utility segment the upcoming increase of its Gas- increases to other Saudi Arabian mier annual award ceremony for when it was first launched in 1997, sim service, which was launched destiantions, Gulf Air’s most recent the region’s automotive industry, and has set the tone for luxury cross- in January 2015. Service to Prince schedule enhancement to Gassim not winning the award in the ‘Best Small overs ever since. Nayef bin Abdulaziz Regional Air- only helps us further satisfy passen- Premium SUV’category for its popular The Lexus RX is available with port will, effective from April 24, be ger need but also creates improved luxury crossover Lexus RX 350. The two powertrain choices: the RX 350 served with daily flights. This is the connections for those passengers RX 350 was selected as the winner model comes with a 3.5-liter, V6 airline’s third Saudi Arabian desti- connecting to and from Gulf Air’s net- by a jury of 12 independent motoring petrol engine mated to a new eight- nation to witness a frequency boost work of onwards destinations across journalists from leading automotive speed automatic transmission, while over the past three months; Gulf Air the globe” said Gulf Air A/Chief Com- publications throughout the Middle the RX 450h is equipped with a 3.5- increased its Riyadh service,in March mercial Officer Ahmed Janahi. East. liter, V6 petrol engine and revised The mix of sharp creases and hybrid powertrain components. curves of this perennial best-sell- and technology features to make blendselegance with utility while The hybrid-powered powertrain Schedule ing luxury crossover represents a this the best Lexus sport-utility offering an abundance of luxury in the Lexus RX is the latest, most Flight Frequency From Dept Time To Arrv Time bold evolution in the model’s styl- vehicle offering to date. and safetyfeatures to pamper its advanced iteration of the Lexus ing, sharing the same design DNA Sharing his excitement over the occupants.The RX 350 also exhibits Hybrid Drive system. Its key com- GF 0187 MON, WED, SAT, SUN BAH 09:35 ELQ 10:55 with other recently launched models win, Takayuki Yoshitsugu, Chief Rep- superb performance while offering ponents and control systems have GF 0188 MON, WED, SAT, SUN ELQ 11:45 BAH 12:45 in the Lexus line-up. Moreover, the resentative of Middle East & North agreat driving experience and it’s not been enhanced and reengineered winning RX350 comprises of new Africa Representative Office, Toy- hard to see why the RX has been a to deliver impressive fuel economy, GF 0185 TUE, THU, FRI BAH 16:40 ELQ 18:00 redesigned powertrains, sophisti- otaMotor Corporation, said, “The perennial favourite with customers low emissions and excellent on-road GF 0186 TUE, THU, FRI ELQ 18:45 BAH 19:45 cated safety technologies, driver appeal of the RX 350 goes beyond throughout the region.” performance that will satisfy the All times local aids as well as new convenience its stunning looks. It is a vehicle that Yoshitsugu added: “We are most demanding driving enthusiast. BUSINESS TUESDAY 19 APRIL 2016 23 M&A value hits $1.5bn in Q1; telecoms most targeted

By Satish Kanady targeted in the Middle East, entirely Deal value in the Telecommu- across the Middle East, following a Eastern M&A and Private Equity The Peninsula as a result of Saudi Telecom Com- nications sector grew significantly, record-breaking 2015 for cross-bor- Forum will be attended by leading The total number pany’s $494m acquisition of Kuwait totalling $494m in the first quarter der M&A globally and regionally. MENA transaction professionals, of deals are same Telecommunications — the highest of 2016, compared with $223m in the The food and beverage and tele- who will examine deal trends in as in Q1 2015, but valued deal of the quarter. same period last year. communications sectors have been the region as well as share ideas on DOHA: A total of 13 M&A deals at Kirsty Wilson, Global Research Other sectors that experienced particularly active across the GCC, the outlook for M&A in the Middle total deal value an estimated value of $1.5bn were Editor at Mergermarket, commented: considerable growth were Con- and notwithstanding the low oil East. The Forum will be hosted in has declined by announced in the Middle East region “The UAE attracted the highest struction, which recorded $135m prices and macroeconomic uncer- strategic partnership with Baker & during the first quarter of 2016. The number of deals during the quar- in Q1 2016, compared with $41m in tainty, companies have continued McKenzie, EY, Standard Bank and 39.7% from $2.5bn, total number of deals are same as ter, with the announcement of seven 2015, and Transport, with deal value their strategic expansion and/or con- Instinctif Partners. The Forum will Mergermarket, the in Q1 2015, but total deal value has deals totalling $447m. The highest totalling $90m in the first quarter, solidation plans. The region remains be followed by Mergermarket’s inau- declined by 39.7 percent from $2.5bn, valued UAE deal of the quarter was compared with $21m in the same attractive to cash rich international gural Middle Eastern M&A Awards, world’s leading news Mergermarket, the world’s leading the $292m acquisition of e-commerce period last year. private equity investors and given the which will recognise transaction and intelligence news and intelligence service for platform Souq.com by Standard Char- Will Seivewright, Corporate/ current healthy pipeline of both M&A advisory achievements across a range mergers & acquisitions stated yes- tered Private Equity limited, Baillie M&A Partner at Baker & McKenzie and private equity related deal activ- of sectors including Consumer, Mining service for mergers & terday. Gifford and International Finance Habib Al Mulla, based in the UAE, ity, we expect this trend to continue & Utilities, Industrials & Chemicals, acquisitions said. Mergermarket identified the tel- Corporation, in a funding round that commented:“Cross-border M&A in Q1 into the next quarter.” Medical & Biotech, Real Estate, and ecommunications sector as the most valued the company at $1bn.” 2016 has continued to be very busy Mergermarket’s upcoming Middle Financial Services. Aamal looking to expand maritime operations

By Mohammad Shoeb Advanced Pipes & Casts Company, The Peninsula Innovative lighting, Senyar Indus- tries Qatar Holding, Doha Cables, Elsewedy Cables Qatar, Doha Trans- DOHA: Aamal Maritime Transpor- formers, Ci-San Trading, Gulf Rocks, tation Services (AMTS), a newly Aamal Trading and Distribution, established subsidiary of Aamal Aamal Medical, Ebn Sina Medi- Company, is looking to acquire cal, Ebn Sina Health Care Solutions, more vessels to expand its oper- Foot Care Center, Al Farazdaq Com- Ali bin Fahad Al Hajri, Ambassador of Qatar to Oman and Salem Al Mannai, Deputy Group President & ations, a senior official of the pany, and Aamal Optical Supplies, Company said. City Center Doha, Aamal Real Estate CEO – QIC MENA during the inauguration of OQIC’s new branch at Avenues Mall in Muscat. “We started our operations with and Aamal ECE, Aamal Travel LCC, one ship, which was very encourag- Aamal Services, ECCO Gulf and John- ing and successful. The Company’s son Controls Qatar. Board was very happy with the On plans of overseas expansion, Oman Qatar Insurance Company AMTS’ performance ,and decided to Sheikh Mohamed, said: “We have acquire the second vessel. So if we The company transport aggregates established a very efficient team come across with some attractive such as gabbros, limestone and to take care of our well-diversified opens new branch at Avenues Mall opportunities we would definitely other primary raw materials from investments within Qatar. Setting up like to have the third ship or even Al Fujairah in the UAE to Mesaieed operations outside the country is cur- more,” Sheikh Mohamed bin Faisal Industrial City in Qatar. It ensures rently not on our agenda.” The Peninsula from 10am to 10pm between Sunday customers and to better serve our bin Qassim Al Thani (pictured), Vice security of supply for Gulf Rocks, Company’s net profits in 2015 to Wednesday and from 10am to 11pm existing customers, we’re building an Chairman of Aamal Company told and also makes capacity available increased by 9.4 percent to QR on Thursday to Saturday. extensive network of branches across The Peninsula on the sidelines of its to third party operators to optimizse QR656.7m. But, despite the excel- It was inaugurated by Ali bin Oman. With the opening of this new AGM on Sunday. vessels’ utilisation rates and profita- lent performance, the Company’s DOHA: In response to growing mar- Fahad Al Hajri, Ambassador of Qatar branch, we are now well placed to Sheikh Mohamed added: “Ear- bility. These vessels are also capable board decided not to distribute div- ket demand, Oman Qatar Insurance to Oman in the presence of Deputy offer a range of insurance solutions lier all the ships that we used of shipping industrial and non-indus- idends to its shareholders this year Company, (OQIC), premier insurer in Group President and CEO – QIC to meet the needs of the residents of transporting different kinds of trial materials. keeping in view the current eco- Oman and a subsidiary of Qatar Insur- Mena region, Salem Al Mannai, CEO Muscat.” goods and materials were rented Aamal Company is one of the nomic outlook. ance Group yesterday announced the of OQIC, Ewen McRobbie and staff He added: “Opening of the new- ones. So we saw the opportu- GCC’s fastest growing diversified However, the Vice-Chairman of opening of a new branch at Muscat’s of OQIC. est branch of OQIC at Avenues Mall nity and established AMTS with conglomerates, with a market capi- Aamal expressed his firm confidence leading Avenues Mall. Al Hajri said: “I would like to also aligns with our objective of one ship. Currently we have two talisation of QR8.3bn ($2.2 bn) as on saying that the decision will not upset The new full-service one stop congratulate OQIC on the success- reaching out by establishing a local each with the capacity of between April 14, 2016. The Group has four shareholders and also not have any branch now offers a full range of ful opening of its branch at Avenues presence in the heart of Muscat and 50,000 and 60,000 tonnes, and major divisions which include Real adverse impact on the performance personal insurance products (car Mall. Not only would the new branch by being part of the local business looking forward to expand our Estate and Property, Industrial Man- of the Aamal’s stocks. insurance, home insurance, and facilitate employment and boost the life in Oman. The new branch pro- operations in the coming years.” ufacturing, Trading and Distribution “Aamal shareholders are long- travel insurance) to existing and local economy, but would also pro- vides customers with improved Aamal holds one percent of the and Managed Services. The Company term investors who are very loyal to prospective customers residing in vide distinct service benefits to its access to our products and services shares in AMTS directly, while the generated total revenues of QR2.9bn the Company. They are well aware the Greater Muscat area. customers residing in the area.” and allows us to enhance further remaining 99 percent is held by ($ 791.4 m) in 2015. about the current market situation The new branch will also Al Mannai added: “It is a great our understanding of our custom- Gulf Rocks, another subsidiary of The Company has an exhaus- and also about the vision and mission enhance OQIC’s service levels in pleasure to have Mr Ali bin Fahad ers’ insurance needs. We welcome Aamal. However, the Group (Aamal tive list of subsidiaries, but some of of the Group, which aspire to become the areas of motor claims surveys, Al Hajri joining us for the inaugura- our customers to this new branch Company) has an overall effective the prominent ones include Aamal one of the biggest diversified compa- claims processing and claims settle- tion of our new branch. As part of our and look forward to a long and suc- interest of 74.75 percent in AMTS. Readymix, Aamal Cement Industries, nies in Qatar and GCC.” ment. The new branch timings will be strategy to expand our reach to new cessful relationship.” Scared of early 2016 market Qatar Process Safety Symposium begins conditions: Emaar chairman The Peninsula

Reuters better than he expected in the first quarter and he was “pleasantly surprised” with the company’s DOHA: The seventh annual Qatar performance. Process Safety Symposium (QPSS), DUBAI: The chairman of Emaar He gave no specifics. An ana- co-hosted by ConocoPhillips and Properties has admitted that he lyst at SICO Bahrain has forecast Texas A&M University at Qatar, began was “really scared” of market con- the company will make a net profit yesterday at The Hilton Hotel. ditions coming into 2016 but said in the quarter of 1.22 billion dirhams, The two-day event, entitled “Build- the performance of Dubai’s larg- which would be a 19.1 percent year- ing Competency in Process Safety” est developer in the first quarter on-year increase in earnings. addresses topics which include process looked good after some severe cost Emaar survived an attempt from safety management, hazardous phe- cutting. some shareholders to increase its nomena, consequence analysis and risk The Dubai real estate sector proposed dividend for 2015 to 20 assessment. The Qatar Process Safety The speakers at the seventh annual Qatar Process Safety Symposium (QPSS), co-hosted by ConocoPhillips has softened since late-2014 after a percent, equivalent to 0.20 dirhams Symposium (QPSS) has expanded this three-year boom fed by inflows of ($0.05) per share. A vote of share- year to include an exhibition for the and Texas A&M University at the Hilton Doha, yesterday. cash from politically-unstable Arab holders present, approximately 55 industry to showcase products and nations. Consultants CBRE registered percent of the roster, approved the services relevant to process safety in – Qatar extension in 2013, we have controlled, and the barriers that we Dr Luc Vechot, assistant profes- a 15 percent drop in prices in 2015 cash payout at 15 percent, in line the oil and gas sector. worked to educate a new generation have in place are maintained. Build- sor of Chemical Engineering at Texas and are forecasting a further 10 per- with the board’s recommendations. “We are honoured to co-host of engineers and practitioners with a ing competency in the organisation A&M University at Qatar and manag- cent decline this year. The developer, in which Dubai’s the seventh annual QPSS with long- commitment to safety.” invests in people which are the most ing director of the Mary Kay O’Connor However, last week Emaar government owns a minority stake, time partner Texas A&M University Michael Hatfield, vice president, valuable asset we have.” Process Safety Center – Qatar also unveiled plans for a tower which paid 15 percent in both 2013 and at Qatar,” said Gary Sykes, president health, safety and environment for Prof Paul Amyotte, professor of said: “The event is playing a key role would surpass in height of the 2014, although the latter was sup- of ConocoPhillips Qatar. “Supporting ConocoPhillips, gave the keynote Chemical Engineering and C D Howe in providing a forum where academia, world’s currently tallest building, plemented by a special dividend symposiums like this which provide a speech on Managing Process Safety Chair in Process Safety Dalhou- industry and public institutions discuss the Burj Khalifa. after Emaar floated a stake in its forum to share collective approaches Competency which explored why sie University (Canada) and Editor of and progress process safety issues of On the sidelines of Emaar’s malls business and returned cash within our industry allows us to draw process safety is a critical compe- the Journal of Loss Prevention in the high relevance to Qatar and the Mid- annual shareholder meeting, to its shareholders. on our global expertise and support tency at ConocoPhillips. Process Industries, also gave a keynote dle East region.” Mohamed Alabbar admitted condi- Emaar has outlined plans to spin the Qatar National Vision 2030. “A competent workforce is fun- speech on process safety concepts for An award ceremony recognised tions earlier had him worried. off a number of its units, including Dr Eyad Masad, vice dean of damental to creating a safe working the prevention of major accidents. “The Mohamed Basser, health, environ- “We were really scared of 2016. its hospitality business, but Alabbar Texas A&M University at Qatar com- environment,” Hatfield said. “The Qatar Process Safety Symposium has ment, safety and security manager, Preparing for our cost budget, we ruled out floating this in 2016 due to mented, “The QPSS has grown each complexity of engineering and become the must-attend event in proc- Total E&P Qatar, as the recipient of basically went back to a cost budget turbulent financial markets. year and has become an influential operations in the oil and gas indus- ess safety in this region,” commented the QPSS Process Safety Excellence base of two years ago, just to be cau- “I don’t think it’s the time now, gathering of experts and practi- try requires that people have the Dr Sam Mannan, executive director Award. Additionally, Nisa Ulumuddin, tious,” Mohammed Alabbar told so we’ll wait and watch,” said Alab- tioners. The Symposium addresses knowledge, skill and behaviors to of Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety master student in Chemical Engineer- reporters. “Did we cut costs? Yes, of bar. “We are not rushing because real-world challenges and has a understand the risks and safely per- Center (MKOPSC). “It has also become ing at Texas A&M University at Qatar course, a severe cost cut,” he said, we want to cash out. We want to positive impact on an evolving form their jobs. Competency should the crossroads for process safety pro- and research assistant at MKOPSC- declining to quantify this. do genuine business when the time field. Since the launch of the Mary be viewed as a larger demonstra- fessionals from all walks of academia, Qatar received the QPSS Process Sales activity had been much is right.” K O’Connor Process Safety Center tion that risks are understood and government and industry.” Safety Excellence Student Award. 24 TUESDAY 19 APRIL 2016 BUSINESS Saudi working to soften subsidy cut blow: Prince

Bloomberg revenue from the public, which has pay 50, we will give you the SR1,000 founding. A comprehensive plan to “We have our own programs that by an average 25 to 30 percent a year, grown accustomed to government lar- and increase the price of electricity,” prepare the kingdom for the post-oil don’t need high oil prices,” Prince he said. gess in exchange for political loyalty. he said. era will be announced on April 25, the Mohammed said. “This year, we kind of reverse- A survey released this month “You will have two options: You prince said. Still, oil revenue made up 73 engineered the process where we RIYADH: Saudi Arabia will limit the found that 86 percent of Saudi youth either spend the 1,000 on electricity One component will be the percent of government revenue in started with the expense side and impact of subsidy cuts on its citizens think electricity and fuel should be bills like you used to, or you can lower National Transformation Programme, 2015. As the oil price slump pres- focused on that,” he said. “Then we as the world’s largest oil exporter subsidised by the government, and your electricity consumption and use to be announced a month to 45 days sured state finances last year, net see how are we going to fund that overhauls its economy for the post-oil last month’s water price increase led it on something else.” later, which focuses on ways to boost foreign assets held by the central through the various revenue sources.” era, Deputy Crown Prince Moham- to a flurry of complaints reported in While higher gasoline and elec- economic growth, create jobs, attract bank declined by $115bn, while the With the new process in place, Al med bin Salman said. local media. tricity prices were implemented investors and hold government offices benchmark Tadawul All Share Index Sheikh said Saudi Arabia will be able The government is developing a As producers from Oman to Ven- without affecting ordinary citizens, more accountable. tumbled 17 percent. to sustain spending growth of 3 to 5 mechanism to provide cash to low- ezuela feel the pinch in global energy the new water tariff was applied in The plan to transform Saudi The International Monetary percent a year, with the budget bal- and middle-income Saudis who rely markets, Saudi Arabia has raised an “unsatisfactory” way that will be Aramco from an oil company into Fund predicted in October that if the anced by 2020, he said. on subsidies, Prince Mohammed said prices for petrol, electricity and rectified, the prince said. an energy and industrial conglom- status quo held, Saudi Arabia risked Prince Mohammed said his con- in an interview in Diriyah, the origi- water to rein in spending. Including “Honestly speaking, what hap- erate, as well as the future of the draining its financial reserves in five cern over the kingdom’s fiscal policy nal home of the Al Saud family. Under future cuts, the subsidy restructur- pened wasn’t in accordance with the Public Investment Fund, will also be years. The budget deficit ballooned started before the plunge in crude the previous system, 70 percent of the ing is expected to generate $30bn a plan that we’ve approved,” he said. included, he said last year to nearly $100bn, equiva- prices. subsidies benefited high income peo- year by 2020, part of a broader plan “Now, we are working diligently on Other Gulf nations, including lent to about 15 percent of economic “Most concerning was when oil ple, he said. to raise non-oil revenue by $100bn reforms within the water ministry so Kuwait and the United Arab Emir- output. prices went up to over $100 and we “We don’t want to change the life to reduce the kingdom’s reliance on that things will be in accordance with ates, are also scaling back subsidies The government has revamped started increasing our spending as if of the average Saudi,” the prince said. crude. the agreed plan,” he said, without pro- and other welfare payments to cope the way it plans the budget, Minister it will continue to stay over $100,” he “We want to exert pressure on wealthy The prince also suggested viding details. with declining oil revenue. of State Mohammad Al Sheikh said in said. “This is when I started to be con- people, those who use resources that cash handouts may reduce Prince Mohammed, who is the Saudi officials say that low crude an interview last month. Previously, cerned. When they went up, we should extensively.” consumption. king’s son and second-in-line to the prices have allowed the government to budget planners looked first at rev- not have increased our spending. We Past rulers of Saudi Arabia have “Let’s say the international price throne, is leading the biggest shake-up push through reforms that would have enue, before deciding on spending. should have used this to fund future largely avoided seeking additional for electricity is SR1,000 and you only of the economy since Saudi Arabia’s been taboo when prices were high. The government was overspending programmes.” Steel producers to urge China to cut output

“will discuss how governments can with fresh tariffs, but the Brussels China produces about facilitate market-driven industry based bloc has so far proved reluctant restructuring and aims to agree on to challenge Beijing more directly on half of the globe’s steps to reduce competition-dis- the issue. steel output and is torting policies,” said a statement by French Economy Minister organisers, the OECD. Emmanuel Macron will meet the accused of flooding China produces about half of the EU’s Trade Commissioner Cecilia the world market globe’s steel output and is accused of Malmstroem on the sidelines of the flooding the world market with over- meeting to press for a tougher stance with oversupply supply sold at below cost in violation against China. sold at below cost in of global trade rules. The EU currently has dozens of Indian giant Tata Steel put its anti-dumping measures in place violation of global loss-making British operation up for against China, several involving the trade rules. sale last month leaving thousands of steel industry, but critics argue these jobs at risk, in the latest example of are not enough. the crisis hitting the steel industry. “The Europeans have been more Britain’s business minister Sajid negligent than anybody,” said Mario AFP Javid will join counterparts from Bel- Longhi, chief executive of US Steel, gium and France to make the case the biggest steelmaker in the United to China that will be represented by States, in an interview last week. Assistant Trade Minister Ji Zhang. China made no official declara- BRUSSELS: Key players in the The OECD, the grouping of world tion before the talks, but an editorial world’s struggling steel industry gath- industrialised countries, plans to by the official Xinhua news agency ered in Brussels yesterday to try to issue a joint statement at the end of accused governments of embracing push China to scale back overpro- the talks, but a source said divisions protectionism which will damage the A general view of the Brazilian steelmaker Usiminas in Cubatao, Brazil, yesterday. duction blamed for causing plant made any positive outcome uncer- global economy. closures and job losses. tain. Angry steel manufacturers in “Blaming other countries is domestic economic woes, but fin- said. “The last thing the world needs official data showed last week, despite The meeting by ministers and Europe have urged the EU to mirror always an easy, sure-fire way for ger-pointing and protectionism are is a trade war over this issue,” it added. repeated pledges by the world’s top representatives from 30 countries the United States in punishing China politicians to whip up a storm over counter-productive,” the editorial Chinese steel output rose in March, producer to cut capacity.

Saudi Cement Q1 net profit PepsiCo Q1 sales slip, miss analysts’ estimates falls 12.5% AP and profit rose. In saturated markets bottles that fetch more per ounce. broadening its portfolio to lessen ended March 19, PepsiCo said sales such as the US, PepsiCo and other Another tactic is trying to give the reliance on sodas for sales. declined 3 percent to $11.86bn, Reuters food and beverage companies are try- soda some hipster appeal, such as Nooyi said the company gets just which was also shy of the $11.9bn ing to lift sales in part by introducing with PepsiCo’s recently introduced 12 percent of its revenue from Pepsi that analysts, according to Zacks PURCHASE, NEW YORK: PepsiCo’s new products or snazzier packaging Caleb’s and 1893, which are posi- globally, and less than 25 percent Investment Research. The Purchase, profit and sales dipped in the first that convince people to pay a little tioned as “craft sodas.” The names from sodas overall. New York-based company earned DUBAI: Saudi Cement reported quarter, stung by a strong dollar and more. are references to the Caleb Bradham’s Representatives for PepsiCo did $931m, or 64 cents per share. A year a 12.5 percent drop in first-quar- some weakness overseas. As people have continued moving creation of Pepsi in 1893. not immediately know how those fig- earlier, it earned $1.22bn, or 81 cents ter net profit yesterday, hurt by a But the maker of Mountain Dew, away from soda, for instance, PepsiCo Even while trying to shore up its ures have changed in recent years. per share. decrease in sales and an increase Gatorade and Naked Juice said that and rival Coca-Cola have both tried to struggling soda business in North Nooyi said PepsiCo is also Stripping out an impairment in energy costs. when excluding the unfavorable wean people off cheaper options like America, PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi reshaping its stable of products to charge, earnings were 89 cents per One of the kingdom’s larg- impact of currency exchange rates 2-liter bottles and toward single-serve said during a call with analysts yes- better reflect the growing interest in share in the latest quarter, topping the est cement firms by market value and an impairment change, its sales bottles or mini cans and aluminum terday that the company has been health and nutrition. For the period 81 cents analysts expected. made a net profit in the three months to March 31 of SR265m ($70.7m), down from SR303m in the corresponding period of 2015, according to a bourse filing. Morgan Stanley profit falls Kuwait plans to boost oil The average forecast of five analysts polled by Reuters was for a quarterly net profit of SR269.9m. production despite strike It didn’t elaborate on the rea- sons for its earnings performance beyond the reference to sales and Reuters energy prices. Saudi companies issue brief earnings statements early in the reporting period before publishing RIYADH: Kuwait plans to increase crude oil production to normal levels, more detailed results later. despite an open-ended strike by Kuwaiti oil workers, an official from state Construction-related firms refiner Kuwait National Petroleum Co (KNPC) told Al Arabiya television. have been put under pressure Khaled Al Asousi, KNPC’s deputy chief executive for support services, though by a slowdown in the sec- said output was now 1.1 million barrels per day but would reach normal lev- tor, caused by cutbacks in state els in coming days. spending due to lower oil prices. “We have several alternative plans - today some of the staff returned to Saudi Cement also expects their places of work. Partner companies are participating in the increase in the fuel and electricity price hikes production. The situation is reassuring.” announced in the 2016 government Thousands of Kuwaiti oil and gas workers are on the second day of a budget to increase its production strike to protest a government plan for public sector pay reforms. Unions costs by 68 million riyals this year. have not said how long the walkout will last. Non-Kuwaiti workers in the However, Saudi Arabia has industry are not on strike. Union members said there had been no develop- The corporate logo of financial firm Morgan Stanley is pictured on the company’s world headquarters lifted a ban on exporting cement, ments in the strike or negotiations with the government. the local Al Riyadh newspaper in the Manhattan borough of New York City, yesterday. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly profit fell by more Before the strike, Kuwaiti oil production was running at about 2.8 mil- reported on April 12, a move that than half as the Wall Street bank’s fixed-income trading and investment banking businesses took a lion bpd, data shows. “We expect a big increase in crude inventory in the would allow companies to export hit from market volatility. coming days and we have enough stocks for export and we have no fears of excess supply. a stoppage of any shipment,” Asousi said. BUSINESS TUESDAY 19 APRIL 2016 25

Michelin expands network Panama Canal Japan’s Toyota and restricts ship depth due to other firms hit by drought quake damage AFP PANAMA CITY: Officials run- ning the Panama Canal yesterday resumed full operations at its plants started imposing restrictions on in nearby Nagasaki and Oita which the depth of ships passing through Toyota said it would also produce the sensors - used in because of lower water levels suspend operations smartphone cameras, including caused by a severe drought. Apple Inc’s iPhone. The measure trims ships’ max- in stages at most of Also on Sunday, semiconductor imum allowed draft—the distance its vehicle assembly manufacturer Renesas Electron- from the waterline to the bottom plants across Japan ics Corp confirmed it had sustained of the hull—by 5.9 inches (15 cen- damage to some equipment at its timeters), from the usual 39.5 feet for roughly a week. plant in Kumamoto which produces (12.04 meters) to 39 feet. microcontroller chips for automo- The Panama Canal Authority biles. Having suspended operations announced the restriction a month following the first earthquake on ago and has already said it would Reuters Thursday, the chipmaker said it further reduce the accepted draft would assess damage at the entire by another 15 centimeters from facility before deciding when to April 29, then again by the same TOKYO: Toyota Motor Corp, the resume production. The logo of French tyre maker Michelin is seen on an empty podium in Paris, France. Michelin North amount on May 9. world’s biggest-selling automaker, Toyota said it would suspend America will now offer the Michelin Commercial Service Network across Canada. Three years of drought have said that it would suspend much of operations in stages at most of its badly depleted water in the canal, its production at plants across Japan vehicle assembly plants across Japan through which around 35 to 40 this week after earthquakes in the for roughly a week beginning yester- cargo ships pass every day. Some country’s south led to a shortage of day as it was unable to source parts five percent of world maritime parts, while some other manufac- from some of its suppliers including traffic travels through the canal. turers extended stoppages due to affiliate Aisin Seiki. Europe may become swing LNG Panama Canal Authority damage to factories. Earlier this year, Toyota offered vice president Carlos Vargas told The earthquakes on Thursday limited details about what changes it Telemetro television that there and Saturday, which killed at least 41 made to its production system after the buyer as market braces for surplus are no early signs the drought will people, reflected the vulnerability of 2011 quake exposed the vulnerabil- break. “Unfortunately, there is no Japanese companies to supply chain ity of the “just in time” system, which positive news,” he said. “Quite the disruptions caused by natural disas- allows companies to operate without contrary.” ters, and also highlighted the “just in big and costly inventories and instead Bloomberg of LNG, meaning if somebody has northeast Asia in four to eight weeks The canal depends on two time” philosophy pioneered by Toyota receive small quantities of parts from excess supply they will dump in the fell to $4.15 a million British thermal lakes for its water, and both are and followed by many others. suppliers only when needed. European market.” units yesterday, according to assess- well below their average levels Companies had made efforts to Japanese supply analysts have LONDON: Europe may soon buy The start of US exports of shale ments by New York-based World Gas for this time of year. address these problems after a 2011 said that other domestic suppli- excess supply of liquefied natural gas in February marked the start of a Intelligence. That compares with about The last three years have been earthquake and tsunami, which ers have stuck to the core ideas of gas, helping determine global prices, boom in flexible supply amid waning $3.75 a million Btu in Europe and $1.95 Panama’s driest in more than a led to a nuclear disaster and nearly “lean” production, although they according to MET Holding AG, a Swiss demand in Japan and South Korea, in the US. Lakatos said he cannot rule century, and El Nino, a cyclical 20,000 deaths, badly dented out- have made moves to make it more energy trader focused on eastern the biggest LNG users, where spot out further price declines as costs are weather phenomenon, has exac- put. The way that companies deal resilient to natural disasters. Europe. prices collapsed almost 80 percent still above producers’ variable costs. erbated the drought since last year, with the impact of the latest quakes Since 2011, Toyota, which spent As the price gap between US and over the past two years. Global LNG As the gap between regions narrows, the authorities say. will likely show how robust these weeks at the time identifying how Asian gas narrows, surplus cargoes production will expand by 146 mil- the cost of transportation will become Central America’s rainy season changes have been. its suppliers had been affected by will end up in Europe, Benjamin lion metric tons a year through 2020, ever more important, he said. is expected to break the drought. Honda Motor Co. said it would the quake, and Nissan have both Lakatos, chief executive officer about half the capacity of existing “We are getting to a global price,” The precipitation is predicted to keep production suspended at its developed supply chain databases of MET, said in an interview at the plants, according to Danish utility he said. “In the past, it was about begin in “late May or early June,” motorcycle plant near the quake- which offer a detailed view of their Financial Times Commodities Glo- Dong Energy A/S, which expanded arbitrage, now it’s about logistical Vargas said. The canal’s new hit city of Kumamoto in southern supplier base to identify how their bal Summit in Lausanne, Switzerland. its LNG desk this year. optimization.” MET has been expand- restrictions would not greatly Japan through Friday, though Nis- supply chain may be disrupted dur- The company, already trading gas, “We believe we are in an over- ing its natural gas operations and now affect revenue, which typically san Motor Co said it would resume ing emergencies. power and oil, entered the LNG mar- supplied market and we want to be trades in most of the European hubs brings Panama a billion dollars a operations at its plants north of the Aisin Seiki, whose plants in ket this year to take advantage of a a buyer of this oversupply,” Laka- including the U.K.’s National Balanc- year, the official added. epicentre from yesterday. Kumamoto sustained damage from buyers’ market, he said. tos said, adding that the company ing Point and the Dutch Title Transfer “It affects us, but it is not sig- Electronics giant Sony Corp said the quake, said it would make the “In three to five years, Europe can would target distressed cargoes. Facility, the continent’s biggest, he said. nificant for the Panama Canal’s production would remain halted at parts produced in the quake-hit be the swing buyer,” he said Tues- “There’s excess regasification capac- As the industry consolidates, with big- finances,” he said. Work on its image sensor plant in Kumamoto, city in other facilities at home and day. “Just like in oil, the US is a swing ity in Europe, so the infrastructure ger players buying up smaller ones, it expanding the canal to take big- as the electronics giant assessed abroad. The parts include sun roofs, producer that determines the price. is there. All you need is traders that was important for MET to scale up its ger ships and triple its capacity structural and equipment damage. door handles, semiconductors and In natural gas, there is a chance that are willing to take the risk and can activities, including with its two LNG is just about complete after nine But the company said it had other products. Europe might be the swing buyer manage the risk.” LNG for delivery to traders, he said. years and around $7bn.

Next ECB chief must be Argentina to borrow German, say cash again via bonds Merkel’s allies AFP Argentina’s diplomatic and finan- cial ties. He has scrapped currency controls and raised utility prices, Reuters triggering angry protests from BUENOS AIRES: Argentina seeks Argentines who say their spending to end 15 years of financial isolation power is declining. BERLIN: The next European Cen- when it sets out to borrow cash on South American countries gen- tral Bank president should come international credit markets for the erally borrow at 3.0 to 4.0 percent from Germany, German conserv- first time since a 2001 default. interest, but analysts forecast Argen- ative politicians said yesterday, The country is looking to boost tina would have to offer a higher rate ramping up pressure on what its struggling economy and settle a in its new bond issue. they see as too much free-spend- 15-year lawsuit by US investment Edward Glossop, an analyst at ing by the ECB and not enough funds which its ex-president Cristina research group Capital Econom- rigour. Kirchner branded “vultures”. “Argen- ics, estimated it would have to offer One said the current president, tina is back,” said Finance Minister investors a yield of between 7.0 and Italian Mario Draghi, had weak- Alfonso Prat-Gay in Washington this 9.0 percent. ened the ECB’s reputation. Such weekend. “The issuance of external debt The headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt, Germany. conservatives have complained Now that a US court has cleared is likely to have a significant impact loudly in recent weeks that the the way for Argentina to start bor- on the economy over the medium ECB’s ultra-low rates are creating current ECB President Mario Draghi, Markus Soeder, finance minister some lawmakers in Merkel’s coa- rowing again, the government term,” he said. After the 2001 crisis, a “gaping hole” in savers’ finances an Italian, had “lead to a massive loss for the state of Bavaria, told the Bild lition government are raising the planned to issue up to $15bn in some Argentines object to taking on and pensioners’ retirement plans of credibility. am Sonntag paper it was time for a topic now underscores how fraught medium- and long-term bonds soon. new debt—not least Cristina Kirch- as returns have dropped. “The next ECB chief must be a “change of direction” and more Ger- relations between the euro zone’s “It is an important, epoch- ner and her allies. Germany also has a long his- German, who feels bound to the man influence. biggest country and Draghi have changing event,” said Gaspard “Once again history is repeat- tory of preferring strict fiscal and German Bundesbank’s tradition of A spokeswoman for the German become. Estrada, a specialist at French Latin ing itself and catching the Argentines monetary policy. Hans-Peter Frie- monetary stability,” Friedrich added. Finance Ministry said the question of Mario Gruppe, an economist at America affairs observatory OPALC. out. Debt, devaluation, layoffs, drich, a leading lawmaker for the Hans-Peter Uhl, the CSU’s who will succeed Draghi was not rel- Nord LB, described the latest com- “It serves partly to pay the vulture political persecution, price rises,” Christian Social Union (CSU) and spokesman on interior affairs, called evant at present since he is not due ments as a new episode in a serial funds, to finalize an agreement with Kirchner said in a speech last week. former interior minister, told mass- for a German financial specialist to to step down until November 2019. called “The Germans get annoyed the remaining creditors, and to give “These are just a few of the calam- selling daily Bild the policy of head the central bank. Meanwhile, Nonetheless, the fact that about monetary policy”. the government room to maneuver ities that the new government has to restart the country’s economy.” caused in barely four months.” “It is a major step forward,” said Argentina did not borrow in the Agustin Carstens, head of the Inter- 12 years under Kirchner and her national Monetary and Financial late husband and predecessor Nes- Spain’s CaixaBank in second takeover bid Committee of the IMF, on Saturday. tor, Estrada said. “It is very good to have a country as Excluding the previous debt important as Argentina putting the to the holdouts, it lowered its debt house in order.” thanks to high prices paid for its AFP cash per share, an offer which val- Angolan investor Isabel dos Santos Santoro Finance’s stake in BPI in a He warned however that Argen- commodity exports, which have ues the Portuguese bank at ¤1.62bn over the sale of her stake in the Por- deal which would see Isabel dos San- tines would have to endure tough since fallen. euros ($1.83bn). tuguese bank had broken down. tos end up with BPI’s controlling stake economic cutbacks to stabilize Getting access to Latin Amer- MADRID: Spain’s CaixaBank yester- Spain’s third-biggest lender said Dos Santos, the daughter of in Banco de Fomento Angola (BFA), the economy and public finances. ica’s third-biggest economy is an day announced its second takeover the offer was conditional on obtaining Angolan President Jose Eduardo Under new rules by the European Cen- “Needless to say in the short term appetizing prospect for foreign bid in just over a year for the 56 per- over 50 percent of BPI’s share capital dos Santos, owns 18.6 percent of tral Bank (ECB) exposure to Angolan some measures may be difficult to banks. The finance ministry said it cent of Portugal’s fourth-biggest bank and the Portuguese bank lifting a 20 BPI through holding firm Santoro credit and debt must by fully provi- digest,” Carstens said in Washington. has enlisted Deutsche Bank, HSBC, BPI that it does not already control. percent cap on shareholders’ voting Finance. Angola is an oil- and dia- sioned and BPI could face daily fines Conservative President Mauricio JP Morgan, Santander, BBVA, Cit- Barcelona-based CaixaBank said rights. The bid comes just a day after mond-rich former Portuguese colony. if it fails to cut its exposure to the Afri- Macri has been scrapping Kirchner’s igroup and UBS to organise the in a statement it would offer ¤1.113 in BPI announced that its talks with CaixaBank was seeking to buy can country. protectionist policies and opening up bond sale by today. 26 TUESDAY 19 APRIL 2016 BUSINESS

QE INDICES SUMMARY QATAR STOCK EXCHANGE QE Index 10,231.52 0.42 % QE Total Return Index 16,553.91 0.42 % QE Al Rayan Islamic Index 4,014.46 0.21 % QE All Share Index 2,852.46 0.18 % QE All Share Banks & Financial Services 2,753.67 0.23 % QE All Share Industrials 3,133.2 0.42 % QE All Share Transportation 2,545.79 0.66 % QE All Share Real Estate 2,538.85 0.48 % QE All Share Insurance 4,552.67 2.00 % QE All Share Telecoms 1,160.8 0.42 % QE All Share Consumer Goods & Services 6,650.26 0.86 %

QE MARKET SUMMARY COMPARISON 18-04-2016 Today 17-04-2016 Previous day Index 10,231.52 10,189.22 Change 42.30 48.95 % 0.42 0.48 YTD% 1.9 2.3 Volume 8,628,489 4,962,897 Value (QAR) 285,481,782.79 156,117,499.04 Trades 4,660 3,309 Up 17 | Down 23 | Unchanged 03

WORLD STOCK INDICES Index Day’s Close Pt Chg % Chg Year High Year Low All Ordinaries 5204.937 -19.153 -0.37 5379.6 4762.1 Cac 40 Index/D 4485.28 -9.89 -0.22 4586.11 3892.46 Dj Indu Average 17897.46 -28.97 -0.16 18351.4 15370.3 Hang Seng Inde/D 21161.5 -154.97 -0.73 21794.84 18278.8 Iseq Overall/D 6207.05 -4.31 -0.07 6791.68 5611.89 Karachi 100 In/D 33759.97 -7.15 -0.02 34154.7 29785 Nikkei 225 Index 16275.95 -572.08 -3.4 18951.12 14865.77 S&P 500 Index/D 0 0 0 2134.72 1810.1

EXCHANGE RATE Currency Buying Selling US$ QR 3.6305 QR 3.6500 UK QR 5.1317 QR 5.2041 INTERNATIONAL MARKETS - A LIST OF SHARES FROM THE WORLD Euro QR 4.0931 QR 4.1504 COMPANY CLOSE NET VOLUME COMPANY CLOSE NET VOLUME COMPANY CLOSE NET VOLUME COMPANY CLOSE NET VOLUME CA$ QR 2.7969 QR 2.8523 NAME CHG TRADED NAME CHG TRADED NAME CHG TRADED NAME CHG TRADED Swiss Fr QR 3.7517 QR 3.8039 Yen QR 0.0333 QR 0.0340 A C C-A/D 1469 -0.9 11656 Escorts Fin-B/D 4.05 -0.13 19680 Kakatiya Cem-B/D 311.6 14.8 41843 Thirumalai-B/D 210.5 -2.3 3822 Aus$ QR 2.7815 QR 2.8373 Aarti Drugs-B/D 468.5 4.1 2009 Escorts-A/D 171.4 3.05 303306 Kalpat Power-B/D 216.6 4.65 6142 Timexgroup-T/D 32.05 0.45 45893 Ind Re QR 0.0542 QR 0.0553 Aban Offs-A/D 182.6 -5.2 170433 Eveready Indu-/D 261 1.2 11894 Kalyani Stel-T/D 169 1.9 17645 Tinplate-B/D 70.9 -0.1 26709 Ador Welding-B/D 308 6.4 2884 F D C-B/D 188.65 2 2783 Kanoria Chem-B/D 66.75 -2.1 14379 Ucal Fuel-B/D 103.9 -1.2 11113 Pak Re QR 0.0345 QR 0.0352 Aegis Logis-B/D 111.25 0.7 126416 Federal Bank-A/D 45.1 0.45 159751 Kg Denim-B/D 92 0.6 22196 Ultramarine-B/D 120.5 0.2 6979 Peso QR 0.0781 QR 0.0797 Alembic-B/D 36.95 -0.75 52482 Ferro Alloys-B/D 5 -0.12 21180 Kilburnengg-Xd/D 58.4 -1.6 40946 Unitech P -A/D 5.1 0.01 3776772 SL Re QR 0.0248 QR 0.0254 Alok Indus-A/D 4.75 -0.05 803603 Finolex-A/D 379.45 10.5 38920 Kinetic Eng-B/D 96.8 4.85 6713 Univcable-B/D 80.6 -0.2 4365 Taka QR 0.0460 QR 0.0470 Apollo Tyre-A/D 173.35 3.9 264650 Forbes-B/D 1295 18 2272 Kopran-B/D 51.9 -0.4 40517 Uppergsugar-T/D 131.9 6.7 67925 Nep Re QR 0.0341 QR 0.0347 Asahi I Glass-/D 163.1 -2.95 9623 Gail-A/D 359.45 -9.1 120709 Lakshmi Elec-B/D 386.5 12.9 2418 LONDON Ashok Leyland-/D 109.2 -1.1 1315210 Galada Power-B/D 14 -0.05 1010 Lgb Broth-B/D 492.9 14.7 1070 SA Rand QR 0.2476 QR 0.2527 Ballarpur In-B/D 17.21 0.51 484849 Gammon India-T/D 12.39 -0.4 86018 Lloyd Metal-B/D 29.7 -2.4 81309 Bata India-A/D 551.4 7.35 29417 Garden P -B/D 23.5 0.05 2151 Lok.Hous&Con-B/D 4.95 -0.07 20164 3I Group/D 478.036 -1.9 282972 GOLD AND SILVER Beml Ltd-A/D 952.5 11.65 44664 Godfrey Phil-B/D 1203 -22.25 7904 Lupin-A/D 1571.1 27.25 109661 Assoc.Br.Foods/D 3355 -2 182221 Bh Electronic-/D 1204 11.75 22377 Goodricke-B/D 179.8 -5.1 45282 Lyka Labs-T/D 88.6 0.95 38741 Barclays/D 166.95 0.05 12568424 GOLD QR145.3827 per gramme Bhansali Eng-T/D 19.6 -0.05 12302 Goodyear I -B/D 509.2 -11.9 2225 Mafatlal Ind-B/D 281 3.4 2752 Bp/D 351.9 -4.05 12948042 SILVER QR1.9036 per gramme Bharat Bijle-B/D 963 16.25 11897 Hcl Infosys-B/D 45.9 -0.35 295300 Mah.Seamless-B/D 203 -3.2 35955 Brit Am Tobacc/D 4255.375 23 605663 Bharatgears-B/D 76.9 3.95 6695 Him.Fut.Comm-T/D 18.75 0.1 746567 Maha Scooter-B/D 1330 53.25 1182 Bt Group/D 454.8 10.8 8279624 Bhartiya Int-B/D 455 0.1 5546 Himat Seide-B/D 212.05 18.55 287597 Mangalam Cem-B/D 240 -0.4 4559 Centrica/D 234.9 -3.4 7289041 Bhel-A/D 132.35 -1 866346 Hind Motors-T/D 5.3 -0.03 56127 Maral Overs-B/D 27.4 0.1 1890 Gkn/D 285.5 0.7 1588785 Bom.Burmah-B/D 413.4 3.35 17112 Hind Org Chem-/D 15.75 -0.3 17212 Mastek-B/D 154.4 3.7 66751 Hsbc Holdings/D 447.7 -2.8 7798765 Bombay Dyeing-/D 48.75 0.75 97434 Hind Unilever-/D 896.7 1.2 57294 Max Financial-/D 357.7 4.2 13423 Kingfisher/D 359.4 2.1 1577962 US stocks rise amid Camph.& All-B/D 574 -4.2 1002 Hind.Petrol-A/D 868.5 18.65 249079 Mrpl-A/D 67.1 0.05 100042 Land Secs Grou/D1102.7251 -7 573779 Canfin Homes-B/D 1243.4 -66.35 8509 Hindalco-A/D 97.1 0.8 1027782 Nahar Spg.-B/D 100.85 -0.9 11434 Legal & Genera/D 238.6 -0.5 3620780 earnings reports Caprihans-Xc/D 88.5 -2.65 2364 Hous Dev Fin-A/D 1127.3 14.1 389633 Nation Alum -A/D 45.2 4 1008846 Lloyds Bnk Grp/D 67.943 -0.26 31680990 Castrol India-/D 378.95 -1.5 28771 I F C I-A/D 24.9 0.1 546522 Navneet Edu-B/D 88.9 0.75 24206 Marks & Sp./D 443.1 0.5 1180768 Bloomberg Century Enka-B/D 191.2 2.6 15431 Idbi-A/D 71.4 1.45 1098370 Nepc India-T/D 1.52 -0.06 16486 Next/D 5444.8911 -10 156562 Century Text-A/D 618.05 4.2 82517 Ifb Ind.Ltd.-B/D 386.55 20.95 9059 Neuland Lab-B/D 741.25 10.25 2115 Pearson/D 837.5 0.5 1020670 Chambal Fert-B/D 59.65 -1.05 82312 India Cement-A/D 93.55 0.35 336915 O N G C-A/D 207.75 -5.25 261471 Prudential/D 1382.5 -12.5 918368 Chola Invest-A/D 793 1.6 102846 India Glycol-B/D 86.4 -3 12320 Oil Country-B/D 30 4.35 161124 Rank Group/D 252.4 4.9 2117825 NEW YORK: US stocks advanced, pushing the Dow Chowgule St-T/D 18.32 0.87 6802 Indian Hotel-A/D 108 2.65 48264 Orchid Pharm-B/D 41.2 -0.65 64966 Rentokil Initi/D 176.05 0.9 309471 Jones Industrial Average past 18,000 for the first time Cimmco-B/D 73.15 0.05 1485 Indo-Tcount-T/D 1060.05 57.85 14099 Orient Hotel-T/D 23.25 0.85 4375 Rolls Royce Pl/D 660.6 -4 724383 in nine months, while Treasuries fell as Brent crude Cipla-A/D 524.15 12.4 187364 Indusind-A/D 987.8 -0.4 60411 Orient.Carb.-T/D 495 8 5334 Rsa Insrance G/D 470.2 -0.3 279274 erased losses amid falling output in Kuwait. City Union Bk-/D 95 -2.25 10979 J.B.Chemical-B/D 249.25 -0.35 5177 Orient.Carb.-T/D 495 8 5334 Sainsbury(J)/D 288.5 3.6 4990016 The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed to a four- Colgate-A/D 845.15 10.15 23205 Jagson Phar-B/D 36.4 0.15 12508 Oudh Sugar-B/D 84.05 10.6 261578 Schroders/D 2570 -17 77511 month high, paced by gains in Hasbro Inc and energy Container Cor-/D 1330.9 62.8 26140 Jamnaauto-B/D 148.3 0.5 31558 Patspin India-/D 8.95 0.07 2960 Severn Trent/D 2250 -7 64764 producers. Crude erased losses as a strike reduced Kuwait’s Dai-Tichi Kar-/D 390.6 -19.3 2087 Jbf Indu-B/D 213.4 6.5 23538 Punjab Chem.-B/D 173.9 2 2720 Smith&Nephew/D 1205 3 632239 contribution. Brazil’s Ibovespa erased losses amid an Dcm Shram Ind-/D 134.9 11.2 9873 Jct Elect P -B/D 0.31 -0.01 3728 Radico Khait-B/D 88.5 0.6 34279 Smiths Group/D 1088.5 -4 147575 impeachment vote. Treasuries fell after a Federal Reserve Dhampur Sugar-/D 92.75 5.15 243306 Jct Ltd-B/D 4.69 0.03 793794 Rallis India-A/D 192 2.6 45576 Standrd Chart /D 516.4 -4.5 4877481 president said US economic news is “mostly favorable” and Dr. Reddy-A/D 3091.5 -9.1 17291 Jenson&Nich.-B/D 8.53 0.3 87852 Rallis India-A/D 192 2.6 45576 Tate & Lyle/D 595 5.5 284418 cited improvement in Europe’s growth outlook. E I H-B/D 107.1 -1.65 214211 Jik Indust-B/D 0.92 0.04 1077 Reliance Indus/D 430.7 -6.4 49164 Tesco/D 180.35 0.8 8265143 New York Fed President William Dudley added to E.I.D Parry-A/D 238.15 9.2 141248 Jktyre&Ind-A/D 86.45 0.9 355212 Ruchi Soya-B/D 29.75 0 22398 Unilever/D 3282 2.5 789882 confidence in the U.S. economy with comments that Eicher Motor-A/D 20252.9 356.05 6001 Jmc Projects-T/D 225.1 0 5261 S Bk Bikaner-B/D 498.25 -5.85 3124 United Util Gr/D 954.5 -6.5 271527 suggest inflation will firm, and corporate earnings have Electrosteel-B/D 18.4 -0.15 142462 Kabra Extr-B/D 95.85 1.3 4951 Saur.Cem-B/D 68.75 1.65 64058 Vodafone Group/D 228.2 -1.55 7249281 so far largely topped estimates. “We’ve cut our overnight decline in oil and that Emco-B/D 27 -0.2 4535 Kajaria Cer-A/D 1046 49.75 24862 Sterling Tool-/D 498.5 15.5 1734 Whitbread/D 3763 23 202650 bounce-back has helped,” Matt Maley, an equity strate- gist at Miller Tabak & Co LLC, said. “Unless there’s a big move in crude people will wait to see what happens and will be watching earnings. Revenues are down at these big banks but they beat expectations, they had already priced in negative earnings, and they were able to bounce. Major Gulf stock markets rebound in late trade The S&P 500 rose 0.5 percent at 1:40pm in New York, while the Dow average rose 0.5 percent to 17,978.20, the highest level since July 21. Energy pro- Reuters 0.2 percent higher, led by the climbed 6.3 percent after reporting development,” the Tadawul bourse Holding Group, a real estate devel- ducers surged 1.4 percent, erasing a loss. Hasbro Inc petrochemical sector. National a 35.3 percent fall in first-quar- said in a statement. It “will establish oper, rose 1.1 percent. jumped 5.2 percent on earnings that topped estimates Industrialisation Co (Tasnee) ter net profit to SR168.9m versus a stock market segment targeting Cairo’s main index added 1.9 thanks to sales of Star Wars items. Walt Disney Co surged 9.8 percent after posting analysts’ average estimate of just small and medium companies by percent to 7,662 point as foreign jumped 2.5 percent. DUBAI: Major stock markets in a first-quarter net loss of SR94.8m SR1.13m. the beginning of 2017”, enabling investors bought shares aggres- Corporate earnings season picks up speed as Mor- the Gulf rebounded in late trade ($25.3m), beating analysts’ forecasts Saudi banking sector earnings them to finance their activities. sively, bourse data showed. gan Stanley results beat analyst estimates. International yesterday to close higher, while of a SR272.9m loss. NCB Capital have mostly been above analysts’ Other Gulf bourses also bounced Business Machines Corp and Netflix Inc are due to Egypt’s bourse surged to a six- attributed the result to higher- expectations, and Arab National from early lows. Dubai’s index was HIGHLIGHTS release results after markets close. month closing high. than-expected gross margins on Bank, one of the last in the sector down as much as 2.5 percent but SAUDI ARABIA: The index rose The Stoxx Europe 600 Index erased a decline of 1.4 After the outcome of Sunday’s the back of improved efficiency to report, also came in ahead of finished 0.1 percent higher. Builder 0.2 percent to 6,425 points. percent to finish higher by 0.4 percent. TUI AG pushed Doha meeting, Brent crude tum- and higher operating rates. forecasts. Its shares rose 1.3 per- Drake & Scull, the most heavily DUBAI: The index edged up 0.1 travel-and-leisure stocks to the biggest advance among bled more than 5 percent at one Saudi Arabia Fertilisers Co cent after it posted a first-quarter traded stock on the bourse, added percent to 3,525 points. industry groups after Berenberg Bank raised its rating on stage. But it later came well off its (Safco), slumped 3.8 percent to net profit of SR749.2m, a 2.8 percent 3.5 percent. Emirates NBD, the big- ABU DHABI: The index edged the company to buy from hold, saying the recent under- lows to stand only 2.6 percent down SR62.75 after reporting a 51.5 per- drop. Analysts polled by Reuters gest bank, gained 2.5 percent. up 0.03 percent to 4,557 points. performance of tour operators is overdone. BMW AG at $42 a barrel. This was a relief cent decline in net profit to SR286m. had forecast SR685.8m. In Abu Dhabi, the index edged QATAR: The index rose 0.4 per- led carmakers higher. The Ibovespa fluctuated. Cana- to Gulf bourses, which were also Analysts had expected the unit Saudi Arabia’s bourse said up 0.03 percent, helped by banks. cent to 10,232 points. dian stocks climbed as energy shares rebounded and encouraged by some positive first- of Saudi Basic Industries to make that it plans a market for small Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank gained EGYPT: The index jumped 1.9 gold producers gained. quarter earnings in Saudi Arabia SR314.6m. Riyad Capital attrib- and medium-sized enterprises 4.4 percent and First Gulf Bank, percent to 7,662 points. West Texas Intermediate lost 1.4 percent to $39.81 a that suggested the region’s eco- uted the fall mainly to lower urea (SMEs) next year, under a push for the most valuable listed lender, KUWAIT: The index dropped barrel, paring declines of as much as 6.8 percent, after nomic slowdown was not hurting prices and revised its target price SME development in a restructured added 0.4 percent. 0.5 percent to 5,290 points. Kuwait’s crude production tumbled by 60 percent to 1.1 corporate profits as much as feared. for the stock to SR70 from SR80, economy. “This initiative comes in In Doha, where companies are OMAN: The index fell 1.3 per- million barrels a day and its refineries scaled back oper- The Saudi stock index, which maintaining a “hold” rating. view of the importance of the role expected to start reporting earn- cent to 5,660 points. ations as the state oil company took emergency measures fell as much as 1.6 percent in Another commodity producer, of this segment in supporting the ings at the end of this week, the BAHRAIN: The index rose 0.3 to cope with the first day of an open-ended labour strike. early trade, rebounded to close Saudi Arabian Mining Co (Ma’aden), national economy and accelerating index added 0.4 percent. Ezdan percent to 1,127 points. BUSINESS TUESDAY 19 APRIL 2016 27

Draghi brings German China growth hopes reduce olive branch back to urgency of more stimulus steps ECB bruised by row

By Alessandro Speciale and to finance southern European Rainer Buergin nations. The institution’s next Bloomberg head should be German, he said. Finance Ministry spokes- woman Friederike von Tiesenhausen told reporters f Mario Draghi brought a sou- on Monday that the question of venir back from his trip to Draghi’s succession is not an issue IWashington, it might just be right now. The ECB president’s an olive branch. As the European term expires in October 2019. The Central Bank prepares for a policy institution, which is modeled on decision this week, its president the Bundesbank, has never been will return to his desk armed with led by a German. an endorsement of stimulus by the Germans’ trust in the ECB has International Monetary Fund, and almost halved since the beginning an apparent truce with one of of crisis, with just one third of the his most prominent critics. Ger- population expressing confidence man Finance Minister Wolfgang in the central bank in the latest Schaeuble ended days of politi- Eurobarometer survey in Novem- cal needling by describing Draghi ber 2015. as a “friend.” Even if Schaeuble and Draghi While the discussion between settled their differences in Wash- the euro area’s two most power- ington, distrust from the currency ful financial policy makers at a bloc’s largest economy is likely to dinner on Friday remains pri- remain a concern for an institu- vate, that remark may relieve tion that is already struggling to officials after a week of bruis- stay credible after three years ing German attacks on the ECB. of missing its inflation goal. In a Facing elections next year as a Bloomberg survey published on populist right draws pensioners Monday, most economists said the Labourers work at a construction site in Beijing, China, recently. hurt by low interest rates, Schae- central bank will probably have to uble had kicked ECB policies in ramp up stimulus yet again after a free-for-all that alarmed the the summer. institution and prompted the Bun- Draghi’s stance is uncontested By Kevin Yao China’s main stock indexes ended slightly services and consumers. desbank to defend central-bank among most global finance min- Reuters lower on Friday on worries that the data Leaders have sounded more positive independence. isters and central bankers, who would prompt Beijing to ease up on about the economy in recent weeks. On “We have already started to pledged on Saturday to “employ providing extra policy support for the April 8, Premier Li Keqiang said China’s see more balanced comments a more forceful and balanced economy. Since late 2014, the central bank economic indicators had shown signs of and tones, and it is obviously policy mix” to strengthen glo- hina’s leaders sound more has cut interest rates six times in its most improvement in the first quarter, although good to see the situation nor- bal growth. The IMF’s top policy confident that the world’s aggressive easing campaign since the glo- such improvement was not solid yet due malizing,” said Marco Valli, chief advisory committee also recom- second-largest economy has bal financial crisis . to a sluggish world economy and market euro-area economist at UniCredit mended that “accommodative arrested a slide in growth to It has also cut bank reserves - the volatility. Bank AG in Milan. “Ultimately, no monetary policy should con- quarter-century lows, but their bank reserve requirement (RRR) - five “The overall situation is better than country of the euro area would tinue in advanced economies Cpolicy advisers caution it is too early to times. Reducing reserves frees up cash expected,” Li was quoted by state media benefit from a weaker and de- where output gaps are negative call an end to a cycle of easing that began that the banks can then use for lending. as saying. Some market economists agree. legitimized ECB.” and inflation is below target.” in 2014. But three government economists said After March inflation data, ANZ Bank German irritation has been For its part, the ECB has no Signs the economy is picking up give they still expected the People’s Bank of scaled back its expectations for mone- mounting as the ECB embarks on plan to change its policy and is the central bank room to keep its policy China (PBOC) to cut bank reserves three tary policy easing this year to one more ever more unorthodox policies to concerned that inflation will powder dry for now so it has the ammuni- or four times this year and reduce official RRR cut this year, instead of three. restore euro-area price stability. recover far too slowly if govern- tion later to cope with any possible shocks interest rates at least once. On Friday, UBS upgraded its 2016 The rumbling discontent erupted ments don’t help with structural from domestic economic restructuring Policy decisions have been made more economic growth forecast to 6.6 percent this month when Schaeuble told a reforms and fiscal stimulus where and expected US rate rises, the policy difficult by the financial markets tur- from 6.2 percent, and said it no longer German economic think-tank that they have room. insiders said. moil in 2015 and early this year. Leaders expected an interest rate cut this year. But Draghi shared the blame for the German Chancellor Angela “We still need to loosen policy and have been wary of cutting interest rates the investment bank said there were con- electoral rise of the Alternative for Merkel urged her European there is room for cut- excessively in case it revives downward cerns about the sustainability of growth Germany party. He also said ECB peers last week to do their part ting interest rates, but the pressure on the yuan and fresh capital and about debt. policies were creating “extraor- to promote growth and gener- urgency for doing so has outflows. Indeed, there was a surge of new dinary problems” for German ate inflation as a way to enable been reduced,” said one “A rise in inflation has narrowed room debt at the start of 2016 which could retirement planning, trigger- the ECB to alter its policy. Draghi policy adviser. The advis- for further interest rate cuts and RRR cuts have helped the economy gain strength ing an unusually blunt response told international finance chiefs ers requested anonymity may not happen soon as capital outflows in March. Yuan loans rose 25 percent over from Bundesbank President Jens that the Governing Council because of the sensitivity ease,” said an economist at a top govern- a year earlier. Weidmann. “will continue to do whatever is of the matter. ment think-tank. Rising debt levels in China is a concern “The independence of mone- needed to pursue its price-sta- Data on Friday showed To be sure, the central bank can use though. In a report last week, the Interna- tary policy is an important asset,” bility objective.” To be sure, the that the annual pace of eco- other policy tools, including special lend- tional Monetary Fund flagged the risks he told Schaeuble on Friday. “It The trigger for more action central bank can use nomic growth slowed to 6.7 ing facilities, to help cushion the economic of commercial bank loans to the corpo- mustn’t put the focus on needs of may well be increased volatility in percent in the first quarter, pain from restructuring the economy, even rate sector, saying 15.5 percent of them, or any individual countries, and it financial markets similar to that other policy tools, its weakest pace since early as the government leans more on fiscal $1.3 trillion, were now held by borrowers also mustn’t calibrate its policy observed at the start of the year— including special 2009. Growth for all of 2015 spending and tax cuts to support growth. without sufficient income to cover inter- based on the wishes of individual related to the UK’s referendum lending facilities, was the slowest in 25 years. “The window is open as the central est payments. groups, be it creditors or debtors.” on its European Union member- But stronger-than-antic- bank wants to boost liquidity and lower Continued strong lending to a weaken- Another sideswipe from Ger- ship or rising interest rates in the to help cushion ipated activity indicators for borrowing costs, but the central bank has ing corporate sector would sap potential many came on Sunday when US An unwarranted tightening of the economic pain March suggested the econ- many means - it has developed many economic growth because the loans would Bavarian finance minister Markus the monetary-policy stance was from restructuring omy was gaining momentum new policy tools,” said Zhang Jun, dean only refinance existing debt rather than Soeder said in an interview with one of the contingencies that led as it headed into the second of Fudan University’s School of Econom- new projects, the IMF said. Bild, the country’s biggest-selling to the ECB’s quantitative-easing the economy, even quarter, fuelled partly by a ics. The central bank did not respond to “China is climbing a ridge in its restruc- newspaper, that the ECB’s zero program and is still very much as the government surge of new debt. Indus- emailed requests for comment. turing, the restructuring pain continues, the interest-rate policy “creepingly a concern for central bankers trial output, exports and China’s economic slowdown in recent real economy has more difficulties and the expropriates” the nation’s savers around the world. leans more on fiscal retail sales were all surpris- years has caused jitters in world markets downward pressure can not be ignored,” spending. ingly strong. at a time when the government wants to Sheng Laiyun, spokesman of the National Rather than celebrating, reduce a reliance on industry in favour of Bureau of Statistics, said on Friday. Countries look to draw expatriate cash with ‘diaspora bonds’

By Karin Strohecker naming Goldman Sachs and Stanbic as advisors is clear. Investors with a personal link to a coun- Georgians visiting the homeland. Reuters on a proposal in 2014. try are often happier than other outsiders to take These offer a mix of entertainment, sports and But not all such efforts succeed. Many coun- risks in the local currency, and at lower yields, investment pitches. The ministry has even donated tries overestimate the generosity of their natives says Dilip Ratha, manager of the World Bank’s its own Christian icon for expatriates to pray to abroad. One high-profile example was Greece, Migration and Remittances Unit, who advises gov- when returning home. growing roster of developing states are turn- which proved unable to raise a hoped-for $3bn ernments on diaspora funding. They can also be Other initiatives are more ad hoc. Within ing to their compatriots abroad to raise cash from the million-strong Greek community in the more willing stick around in a crisis than the big three months of the imposition of the nuclear A by marketing “diaspora bonds”, a funding United States at the height of its debt crisis in 2011. funds that dominate emerging market debt, he sanctions in 1998, Indian officials had brought strategy successfully pioneered by India and Israel Ethiopia’s 2009 bond to fund a hydro-electric dam added. together expatriate surgeons and fund managers Cash raised by but sometimes tricky to imitate. failed chiefly because it could not convince inves- “When you have hundreds of institutional in a Manhattan restaurant. governments Some 250 million people, around 3 percent tors it would repay the debt. Some also objected investors...there is a big probability of herd men- It is not only governments who are after of the world population, live outside their native to the project on environmental grounds. tality: You see a little bit of a scare and run for the diaspora cash. Riddle said she has held meetings directly by countries, according to World Bank data from In 2009 and 2010, Nepal raised a fraction door,” Ratha said. That is less of a problem with a with several big asset management firms which marketing 2013. They are an important source of funding of its target when it offered yields below 10 per- wider pool of expatriate investors scattered across are considering launching country-specific funds for their homelands: Last year they sent home cent over five years on rupiah bonds - well below the globe, he added. to be marketed to diasporas. securities to their around $440bn - three times more than global local rates at the time. Moldova also decided not to Governments dreaming of cheap funds from Homestrings, a platform created to put overseas citizens development aid. Cash raised by governments issue diaspora bonds, concluding that Moldovans loyal expatriates in hard times can look to the potential diaspora investors in touch with represents just directly by marketing securities to their overseas abroad who were willing to invest in its currency example of India. Diaspora funds bailed it out opportunities, has raised funds for infrastructure citizens represents just a tiny fraction of that, but would probably prefer local bank accounts that from a 1991 balance of payments crisis and raised projects in Kenya, and offers US-based a tiny fraction of looks set to grow, judging by a number of recent pay 25 percent interest. $4.2bn in 1998 to offset international sanctions Macedonians the chance to invest in small that, but looks announcements. “Many governments need to really look at imposed after nuclear tests, double the amount businesses back home. With falling remittance Egypt has announced debt certificates denom- themselves in the mirror, as to what has been their initially sought. costs, advances in technology and the movement set to grow, inated in dollars and euros to ease hard currency historic relationship with their diaspora and use Some countries have gone to great lengths to of people that shows no sign of abating, Riddle says judging by a shortages. Kosovo, which estimates a third of peo- that reality in their calculation when they offer forge lasting emotional ties that could translate diaspora investments can only grow. ple of Kosovan descent live abroad, proposed investments,” said Liesl Riddle, a George Washing- into investments one day, said Riddle, highlighting “Diaspora’s involvement - psychological, number of recent issuing bonds for expatriates last month. Sri ton University professor, who has studied diaspora Georgia, which has established a ministry of social, economic and even political - is much announcements. Lanka discussed such bonds last year, and Nigeria financing. diaspora affairs and organises regular get- higher than it was five years ago,” she said. “The has tried to revive plans for a diaspora issue after The lure of a diaspora as an investment pool togethers in the capital Tbilisi for overseas diaspora is becoming a transnational actor here.” 28 TUESDAY 19 APRIL 2016 BUSINESS

BACK TO BUSINESS sight China’s Silicon Valley dream Turkish central bank seen cutting powers rise of health start-ups rates today Bloomberg go back to college in 1977 after the Cultural Revolution, eventually earn- By Seda Sezer and Behiye left its main one-week repo rate ing his PhD at Iowa State University. Selin Taner unchanged at 7.5 percent for 13 His primary research focus now is 3D Reuters consecutive months, even when oled up in a shiny glass bioprinting, a new frontier of med- inflation came to 10 percent. building in the Chi- icine aimed at creating replicas of Inflation most recently nese city of Chengdu, Y human organs. was more than 7.5 percent. It is James Kang spends his His team has been developing urkey’s central bank expected to reach 7.91 percent days researching ways techniques to repair damaged skin, is expected to cut the by the end of the year, accord- Hto repair damaged hearts, livers and hearts, livers and brains in animals upper band of its inter- ing to a central bank survey brains — with the help of stem cells including pigs and monkeys through est rate corridor when it released on Friday. With econo- and 3D printers. regeneration—a process that involves Tmeets for the first time under its mists expecting a 50-basis-point The Chinese-born and US-trained creating 3D printed structures that new chief today, a Reuters poll reduction in the upper band, any biologist set up his health-care star- can replicate, for example, a layer of showed, a meeting seen as a test additional cutting could damage tup, Revotek, in this southwestern city skin or a blood vessels. For organs like for incoming Governor Murat investor confidence in the direc- in 2014. At the time, he was attracted a damaged heart, a specialised cathe- Cetinkaya. tion of monetary policy. by the region’s rich local supply of ter is used to deliver “bio-ink” or stem Seventeen out of 21 analysts “As the new governor is just monkeys that were ideal for test- cells mixed with nutrients and other surveyed by Reuters predicted a being appointed and at his very ing human treatments. In Chengdu, growth factors. cut of 50 basis points in the over- first meeting, we think cutting the company has drawn 215m yuan Globally, scientists have already night lending rate , now at 10.50 very fast would not be welcomed ($33m) in funding from a local real- succeeded in recreating body parts percent and the highest of the as it could send mix signals to estate company seeking to diversify. engines of growth as the country’s has set up seven start-up focused like bones, but functioning organs three rates the bank uses to set the market,” said Nilufer Sezgin, A few miles from Kang’s lab, All- economic expansion hits its slowest funds backed by private capital tota- are still some way off. In general, policy.President Recep Tayyip an economist at Is Portfolio. Tech Medical Systems has developed pace in 25 years. That’s encouraged ling 700 million yuan to promote 3D printing of tissue is still relatively Erdogan has repeatedly railed Only three of the econo- and is selling MRI systems intended provinces across the country to cre- industries like telecommunications, unsophisticated at this stage and against high interest rates, say- mists polled by Reuters said to compete with multinational giants ate special zones where new ventures health and biotech. The science and many groups around the world are ing they cause higher inflation, they expected the bank to trim such as General Electric Co., Royal can tap funding opportunities and technology bureau has a dedicated working on the science, said Anthony a stance at odds with orthodox 25 basis points. One expected Philips NV and Siemens AG, which other incentives. While technology team to help banks assess start-ups Weiss, a biochemistry professor at the economics. Investors fear polit- a 75-basis-point cut. One ana- have dominated the market. Its MIT- start-ups have been some of the big- based on the value of their technol- University of Sydney. ical pressure on the central bank lyst predicted a reduction in the trained founder, Zou Xueming, chose gest beneficiaries, medical research ogy and patents. It also has incubators Although Chengdu has pushed for further cuts that Cetinkaya benchmark interest rate or over- Chengdu to start his second company firms are also getting a boost—giv- that provide office space and training to develop its tech industry for may not be able to resist. night borrowing rate. after selling his Cleveland-based star- ing new life to a Chinese industry that to new businesses. “There are strong years, “the weight of conventional “My guess is they will do as The previous governor, tup to GE in 2002. AllTech hopes to lagged the West for years. driving forces,” in Chengdu, said All- sectors and high-tech sectors have much as the market will tolerate. Erdem Basci, was the architect submit an application to go public by Since it was launched in 2014, Tech founder Zou. “Policies to attract not changed significantly,” said Wei For political reasons, they refuse of Turkey’s complex inter- the end of next year, with Zou planning China’s campaign to encourage entre- talent and land and tax policies are Yuangang, an official with the city’s to raise the policy rate,” said est rate corridor, which uses a to raise $50 million to $100 million. preneurship has helped create tens of very favorable.” Development and Reform Commis- Mike Harris, head of research system of multiple rates and is They are among a string of local thousands of small companies. But Like Kang’s firm, most of sion. “But after we implement this at Renaissance Capital. aimed at achieving price sta- businesses that stand to benefit from it remains to be seen whether the Chengdu’s start-ups are many years new innovation development strat- Cetinkaya’s appoint- bility and financial stability a push by the Chinese city to attract bureaucratic machinery of a coun- away from making big profits off their egy, we believe the trend will change ment marks the first time that simultaneously. researchers and venture capital try with large state-backed firms and businesses. That means Chengdu’s significantly.” an Islamic banker will take The bank controls the cor- investors. Known for its spicy cui- tight government controls can truly government also has a long wait If the city wants to have the same charge of Turkey’s central bank. ridor between its lending and sine and leisurely lifestyle, Chengdu nurture an entrepreneurial culture. before it sees major benefits to the dynamic culture as Silicon Valley, it Cetinkaya, whose academic borrowing rates by adjusting the has in recent years attracted the likes Still, Chinese officials have been local economy. needs to create vibrant communities background is social sciences, volumes of money available at of Intel Corp. and IBM, which have eager to publicise their efforts. Ear- Dozens of Chinese cities are where people can easily work, live not economics, has spent his each rate. As a result, a reduc- set up research and manufacturing lier this month, Chengdu officials took launching similar programs, and and find entertainment while avoid- career in Islamic finance, which tion in the upper band does not bases there. More recently, the flurry reporters on a tour, introducing them these new ventures also offer a win- ing the mistake many other Chinese prohibits charging interest. necessarily mean a change in of investment activity is in response to local businesses like Zou’s and dow into the rising ambitions of cities have made in building sterile Last month, the bank cut the borrowing costs. The average to Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s call Kang’s and seeking to highlight their Chinese researchers, many of whom office blocks around massive streets, overnight lending rate for the first cost of funding stood at 8.72 per- for innovation and entrepreneurship. efforts in providing support to start- have trained overseas. Kang was said Katrina Lv, an associate partner time since February 2015. It has cent as of Thursday. China’s leaders are seeking new ups. In Chengdu, the local government among the first batch of Chinese to at consultancy McKinsey & Co.

As an industry we have gone down a Anne Richards, Capital very narrow benchmark channel and The investment chief of have sometimes lost sight of the bigger Aberdeen Asset Comment picture for individuals. Management, UK

TOP TWEETS BLOGS AND VIEWS

Argaam Plus @ Name in the Market ArgaamPlus WEALTH ADVISER #Crude seen to near NON-OPEC OIL PRODUCTION $30 after #Doha talks fail: analysts Frugal investors often assume that index funds IIF @IIF will save them money. #Turkey: New Central But that’s not always the Bank Governor coming and more case. rate cuts look likely:

Fitch Ratings @ HEARD ON THE STREET FitchRatings Risks Emerge from #Chinese #Insurers’ Off- shore Investments Exporters’ failure to reach Deutsche Bank @ agreement in Doha is a DeutscheBank blow to sentiment. But #German #GDP: longer-term the market is growth in 2016 still creaking in the right will be even more skewed towards direction. domestic demand www.thepeninsulaqatar.com PAGE | 30 PAGE | 31 Champions Ayana Amazing Grace and Cheruiyot wins Heritage title to clash in Doha by two strokes

TUESDAY 19 APRIL 2016 • 12 Rajab 1437 thepeninsulaqatar @peninsulaqatar @peninsula_qatar Muaither, Al Shamal advance in Emir Cup

Goals from Faridon and Boutahar help Al Shamal to victory over Al Markhiya

The Peninsula

DOHA: Muaither edged Al Shahaniya 4-1 in the pen- alty shoot-out while Al Shamal trounced Al Markhiya 3-1 in the opening day matches of the 44th edition of the Emir Cup to move into the second round here yes- terday. The match between Muaither and Al Shahaniya, the two sides which will feature in next sea- son’s Qatar Stars League, was Action from the first round of the Emir Cup matches at the Al Arabi Stadium in Doha yesterday. locked goalless at the end of the normal 90 minutes of play forcing Muaither defeated Al Shahaniya 4-1 while Al Shamal trounced Al Markhiya 3-1. the organisers to apply the penalty shoot-out top break the impasse. In the other match, Al Shamal QSL sides and four Second Divi- Al Shahaniya finished second took the lead in the tenth minute Emir Cup Results sion sides of the Qatargas League. in the Qatargas League with 38 through Ali Faridon. Muaither 4 Al Shahaniya 1 The Emir Cup will be played out in points. In the second half, Saeed Bou- Al Shamal 3 Al Markhiya 1 five phases and at three venues. Al Shamal and Al Markhiya tahar made it 2-0 scoring in the The most keenly-awaited football are the other teams which saw 74th minute while Faridon added tournament in the country, Emir action in this year’s Qatargas a second one in the 84th minute. after 90 minutes of play. Cup will end on May 20. League. Daniel pulled one back in The decision has been taken All of the games will be tele- The partners of this year’s Emir injury time for Al Markhiya. into account since Qatar Stars cast live by Al Kass Sports Channel Cup include: Shell - Lead Partner. The Qatar Football Association League sides Lekhwiya and El and other media outlets through- Sony/51 east - Official Partner, (QFA) had announced that there Jaish have a busy AFC Champions out the five stages of the event. The Nike - Official Supplier, QNB will be no extra time allowed in League games in early May. organisers have planned a series - Strategic Partner, Ooredoo - Offi- Emir Cup matches and penalty The move comes to allow rest of activities for the April 18 to cial Telecommunication Sponsor, kicks will be used to decide the to players of Lekhwiya and El May 20 period, it was announced AAB Toyota - Official Car, Al Kass winners if games finish with same Jaish in case they win their next at the draw ceremony yesterday. - Official Broadcast Partner, The scores in regulation time. AFC Champions League clashes in Muaither topped the Qatargas Look Company - Branding Partner, Extra times are used when first week of May. League with 44 points last month Aamal - Sponsor and Qatar Air- teams fail to get an outright winner The tournament is open for 14 to qualify for the QSL. ways - Official Exclusive Carrier. Volleyball: Al Sadd and Al Wakrah clash in opener

The Peninsula held at the Qatar Volleyball Associ- ation (QVA), Al Shamal where drawn EMIR CUP STARTS ON to take on Al Ahli in the second match APRIL 30 on the opening day of the champion- DOHA: Al Sadd will take on Al Wak- ship which will be contested by 11 tops rah in the inaugural match of the Emir clubs. QVA officials while explaining Cup Volleyball which kicks off from The initial rounds of the champi- the draw format to the officials of the April 30 at the Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya onship will played on a knockout basis participating teams said the two top Arena in Al Sadd. while the semi-finals will be a best- teams from the recently concluded At yesterday’s draw ceremony of-three affair. Qatar Volleyball League (QVL) have got a bye. Two other teams, El Jaish and Police have also got a bye into the sec- ond round while the draw also smiled on Al Gharafa. The organisers said the winner of the Al Sadd-Al Wakrah clash will face Al Rayyan on May 3 while Al Gharafa face Police on May 4. The best-of-the-three semi-finals, will be played on May 7, 9 and 11. Qatar Volleyball Association (QVA) officials during the Emir Cup draw ceremony at the QVA headquarters Two matches will be played every in Doha yesterday. day, the first one at 4.30 pm and the second one at 6.30pm. Emir Cup Volleyball The final will be played on May 13 behind to beat Police 3-2 (17-25, 25-17, planning to hire a professional player at 6.30pm. 21-25, 25-22, 15-12) to complete their for the Cups.” Also on Friday, GCC Fixtures On May 1, Al Khor square to Qatar dominance by winning their 16th con- champions Rayyan overcame Al Ahli April 30 – Al Sadd vs Al Wakrah, Al SC, the winner taking on Al Arabi in secutive match. This year was unlike Club in five sets to finish second. Eight- Shamal vs Al Ahli the second round on May 4. the last three years when Rayyan time champions Rayyan maintained May 1: Al Khor vs Qatar SC Al Arabi, the QVA League winners, had emerged victorious. This season, pressure on the rivals, keeping the May 3: Al Sadd/Al Wakrah vs Al along with Al Rayyan, the second place Maaouia Lajnef’s boys showed con- lead mainly through Russian Dmitriy Rayyan, El Jaish vs Al Shamal/Al team, have got a bye into the second sistency, losing only one match during Ilinykh, Mubarak Dahi Waleed and Ahli round along with three other teams. their entire campaign. Their only loss Cassiano De Toni. May 4: Al Gharafa vs Police, Al On Friday, Al Arabi capped a suc- came against Ahli in their fourth game. Al Rayyan coach Igor Arbutina Khor/Qatar SC vs Al Arabi cessful QVL season with a win over “It was a superb season for us. We said: “We’re delighted to win the Semifinals Police in the last round. had our plans for the season and we match. For us, it was really important Al Arabi, who had captured their executed it properly,” Al Arabi coach to recover from the defeat and some Best of three on May 7, 9, 11 25th QVL title with a 3-1 (21-25, 25-16, Lajnef had said. injury problems. Al Ahli played a good Final 25-21, 25-22) victory over arch- Talking about the upcoming Qatar game, but we managed a 3-2 victory . May 13 Qatar Volleyball Association (QVA) officials conducting the draw rivals Al Rayyan in the penultimate Cup and Emir Cup, he said: “We are Meanwhile the Qatar Cup will be Venue: Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena ceremony. round of the league, came back from confident of good show as we will be played from April 22 to 28. 30 TUESDAY 19 APRIL 2016 SPORT World champions Ayana and Cheruiyot set for scintillating clash in Doha

metres races in history. I am very excited to see if we will witness A host of star a rerun of that this year as we Women’s 5,000m world athletes under prepare to kick-off the Diamond champion Almaz Ayana League series for the seventh the spotlight as time.” Doha set to host The 2014 contest was indeed the mega athletics one of the finest ever, with Kenyan Hellen Obiri leading a parade of extravaganza eight runners under 8:30 en route to her 8:20.68 African record. Finishing second in that race was another Kenyan, Mercy Cherono, The Peninsula who returns to Doha as the fast- est woman in the field, courtesy of her 8:21.14 run behind Obiri in the thrilling 2014 contest. Cherono, DOHA: World champions Almaz 24, was fifth in the 5,000m at last Ayana and Vivian Cheruiyot will year’s World Championships and meet in a scintillating 3,000m in 2014 lifted the Diamond Race clash at the opening event of the Trophy in the event. 14-leg IAAF Diamond League The quality field also includes series in Doha next month. Ethiopians Senbere Teferi and The star duo will be off the Gelete Burka, the 2015 World blacks on Friday, May 6 and will Championships silver medal- be among a host of other world lists in the 5,000m and 10,000m Kenya’s renowned athletes during the respectively. Kenyan Viola Kibi- Vivian Cheruiyot prestigious meet wot, fourth in Beijing last summer, In what is sure to be one of will also be on the start line. the most anticipated early season The field in the men’s 3,000m middle distance showdowns, the steeplechase is led by two-time rank No. 10 all-time. Diamond Race Trophy and a sec- meeting’s longest race pits Ayana, Olympic champion Ezekiel Kemboi Brimin Kipruto, the 2008 ond successive victory in Doha. the 5,000m winner at the World of Kenya and his young compa- Olympic and 2015 world bronze Among her chief rivals will be Championships in Beijing last year, triot, Jairus Birech, who last year medallist and African record Caster Semenya of South Africa, against Cheruiyot, who returned won his second successive Dia- holder, also returns gunning for the 2009 world champion and from maternity leave last season mond Race Trophy. his first victory in Doha. Kipruto 2012 Olympic silver medallist. to strike world gold in Cheruiyot’s Kemboi, who triumphed at the clocked 7:53.64 in Monaco in Watch also for Briton Shelayna triumph in Beijing was the fifth at 2004 and 2012 Olympic Games, 2011, missing Qatari Saif Saaeed Oskan-Clarke and Malika Akka- a World Championships for the captured his fourth straight world Shaheen’s world record by a scant oui of Morocco, both finalists at 32-year-old Kenyan whose pre- title last year after three successive 0.01 seconds. Also in the field is last year’s world championships. vious season-long consistency on world silver medal finishes. The his namesake Conseslus Kipruto, Two years ago Chanelle Price the track was rewarded with Dia- 33-year-old, whose career best of a former world youth and world of the US chased Sum to the line mond Race Trophies in 2010, 2011 7:55.76 ranks him No. 6 all-time, junior champion who collected sil- to finish second just 0.42 seconds and 2012. will be gunning for his fourth win ver medals at the last two World behind. Price, that year’s surprise Meanwhile, Ayana, 24, is the in Doha after victories in 2009, Championships - both before his world champion indoors, also Ethiopian national record holder 2010 and 2014. 21st birthday. The meet record returns. in the 3,000m, her 8:22.20 set last Birech meanwhile is a ris- holder Paul Kipsiele Koech who The middle distance pro- season ranking her 11th fastest of ing force who took the event by ran a 7:56.58 in 2012, is also in the gramme also includes the men’s all-time. storm in 2014 when he won the field. 1,500m, whose field was pre- “With these two world cham- African and Continental Cup titles Meanwhile, Eunice Sum, the viously announced. There pions meeting in the same race, and nabbed victories at six out of 2013 world champion and last three-time world champion and we have again shown our commit- seven Diamond League meetings. year’s world bronze medallist, Doha meeting record holder Asbel ment to bringing the best of middle The only series title that eluded the will command the spotlight in the Kiprop of Kenya leads another and long distance racing to Doha,” 23-year-old that year was Doha. women’s 800m. strong field that includes five said Qatar Athletics Federation Birech, who finished fourth at The 27-year-old Kenyan other men who have run under Two-time Olympic champion Ezekiel Kemboi of Kenya (left) and Jairus Birech, who President Dahlan Al Hamad. last year’s World Championships, improved her career best to 1:56.99 3:30, among them Kenyan Elijah “Two years ago Doha hosted brings a personal best of 7:58.41 last season and this year will be Motonei Manangoi, the world last year won his second successive Diamond Race Trophy, will be in action in the one of the best women’s 3,000 from 2014 to the Qatari capital to gunning for a fourth straight championships silver medallist. men’s 3,000m steeplechase event of Doha Diamonf League. Asian Snooker Championship Asia Rugby impressed with QRF

The Peninsula ASIA RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION III TOURNAMENT

DOHA: Asia Rugby consultant Aaron Stockdale expressed his extreme receives from the Qatar Olympic satisfaction with the overall set up, Committee. At a time when the finan- planning and organisation of the cial crises are affecting a greater part Asia Rugby Championship Division of the world it’s very important that III tournament which is currently tak- governments support rugby and its ing place in Doha. grassroots development. Rugby is He said, “I take my hat off to the now an Olympic sport and an invest- QRF for a splendid job. I am aware ment in rugby is an investment is in that Asia Rugby has set rules in place an Olympic dream”. and at times can prove too demand- QRF senior coordinator Samuel ing. Full credit to Yousef, Ali and Sam Rico said “We are delighted to wel- who I know are all hands on peo- come Asia Rugby, Iran and Lebanon ple. They have brought Rugby to to Qatar. Their presence has sparked the forefront in Qatar and should a rugby fever keeping us all busy. The be commended on their work. They QRF wishes all teams a successful and have also exceeded Asia Rugby safe tournament and we thank Asia expectations meeting all criteria Rugby for the opportunity to host this Ahmed Saif of Qatar in action during his game on the third day of (From left) Iranian captain Mohammed Reza, Qatar rugby captain and standards”. championship”. the Asian Snooker Championship at the Qatar Billiards and Snooker He made these remarks at a Speaking about last Saturday’s Tom Featherstone and Lebanon’s vice captain Ray Finan pose for a Federation Academy yesterday. More than 55 players press briefing hosted by Qatar Rugby match he said “Congratulations to pohotograph with Asia Rugby consultant Aaron Stockdale during a from 20 countries take part in the seven-day championship under Federation and Asia Rugby at the Tom Featherstone who lead Qatar to press briefing hosted by Qatar Rugby Federation and Asia Rugby at 12 groups in the preliminary rounds. The final will be played on Copthorne Hotel yesterday, where victory over the Iranians last Saturday the Copthorne Hotel yesterday. April 23 at 11.00am and will be a best of 11 frames affair. BELOW: the captains from all three participat- night in front of huge home crowd. Qatar’s Mohsen Bukshaisha in action during his game. Pictures by ing nations (Qatar, Iran and Lebanon) The championship, the victory and Abdul Basith/The Peninsula were also present. the recent sevens league has triggered always good to see local talent play- and have not met the Qatar team”. Commenting about the facilities intense rugby interest. Even the press ing rugby. Rakan is no exception. He Speaking about the Iranian Stockdale who is also the Asia Rugby has shifted our stories from the mid- has top speed and good skills. He is an team he said “We watched them tournament director said “I have seen dle hidden pages to the front pages of asset to Qatar and the national team. play last Saturday and their style is many parts of the world including their newspapers. I’m guessing the I hope the federation can breed a few very physical. I believe we can out- this region and I have not seen the federation must be doing something more like him”. play them as we have done before. standard of facilities that Aspire has right to get such great coverage”. Iranian captain Mohammed Reza They have a developing side and in provided for this championship. The The Qatar national Rugby captain said “We are a young team and we 5 years time they will be a much dif- pitch is immaculate, the grass is per- Tom Featherstone echoed Rico words played a better more professional ferent team”. fectly raised, the amenities are ideal saying “Full credited to our federa- side. Qatar was strong and powerful. Iran will meet Lebanon in the and overall it is a fantastic facility tion for putting on such a spectacle Our young boys are of no match. But second match of the Asia Rugby Divi- second to none. I think the QRF and and to my team for a great win. It was for us the loss is not important what sion III championship today evening Aspire Foundation Zone have formed fantastic to win by that margin. Iran is important is that we learn from the at 7.00pm at the Aspire warm up and a great partnership and it’s exactly is certainly not easy beats. They are experience”. purpose built rugby track. Should Iran the partnership that Asia Rugby seeks very physical and they keep coming at Lebanon’s vice captain Ray Finan lose the match they will be knocked from its unions”. you. They are a youthful side and in said “We are excited to be in Qatar. out of contention. The Asia Rugby representative the coming years they will be a force”. We have been waiting to play them The event will be attended by continued saying, “I am also aware Featherstone praised Qatari new (Qatar) for some time now. We have the Iranian Ambassador Moham- of the strong support the federation comer Rakan Mutawaa. He said “It is won this division three years straight mad Javad Asayesh Zarchi. SPORT TUESDAY 19 APRIL 2016 31

Nadal closes Hamilton seeks positives in on top four after ‘horrifying’ race AFP

Reuters FORMULA ONE PARIS: Rafael Nadal stays at world number five in the latest ATP rank- ings released yesterday, but cuts the gap to the top four after claim- SHANGHAI: Formula One world what could have been a remarka- ing his ninth Monte Carlo Masters champion Lewis Hamilton cast ble drive to the podium. He finished title. around for a silver lining after a seventh. “horrifying” Chinese Grand Prix “It was a horrifying race, really,” ATP TOP 20 weekend and found some solace in he said. the numbers. “But there were some good expe- 1. Novak Djokovic (SRB) 15,550 pts “Not as bad as I thought,” the riences, obviously the overtaking. 2. Andy Murray (GBR) 8,175 Briton told reporters after discov- At one point when I went around 3. Roger Federer (SUI) 7,785 ering he was ‘only’ 36 points behind someone on the outside through turn 4. Stan Wawrinka (SUI) 6,460 Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg seven and then through the outside 5. Rafael Nadal (ESP) 5,595 with 18 rounds remaining. of someone at turn eight. 6. Kei Nishikori (JPN) 4,490 Rosberg has now won six races “I love doing that stuff, you in a row, the last three of 2015 and know ... so there were some proud 7. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) 3,400 (+2) first three of 2016, and the German moments for sure.” Rafael Nadal (left) of Spain and Japan’s Kei Nishikori pose for photographers next to the tournament’s trophy 8. David Ferrer (ESP) 3,190 is in the form of his life. Hamilton can take heart from 9. Tomas Berdych (CZE) 3,120 (-2) during the presentation of the 64th Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell Conde de Godo tennis tournament at “It’s been awkward but these the 2014 season, when he trailed Tibidabo amusement park in Barcelona, northeastern Spain yesterday. The Barcelona Open starts today. 10. Richard Gasquet (FRA) 2,840 things happen and these things are Rosberg by 29 points at one stage 11. Milos Raonic (CAN) 2,740 (+1) sent to try us,” Hamilton said after before coming back to take the title starting from the back of the grid in with six wins from the last seven 12. Marin Cilic (CRO) 2,680 (-1) Shanghai. races, and his mindset is different 13. David Goffin (BEL) 2,605 “Of course I don’t sit here at all now too. 14. Gael Monfils (FRA) 2,460 (+2) with an amazing feeling but I have “Definitely don’t feel the dark 15. Dominic Thiem (AUT) 2,420 (-1) the utmost confidence in this team,” cloud that I’ve had in the past over Nadal targets Vilas’ added the triple champion. me right now,” Hamilton said. “Of 16. John Isner (USA) 2,235 (-1) Contact with another car at the course it’s a trying time and for 17. Roberto Autista Agut (ESP) 2,015 first corner then damaged his Mer- sure lots of different emotions and 18. Gilles Simon (FRA) 1,900 cedes and wrecked his chances of thoughts are going through my mind. 19. Kevin Anderson (RSA) 1,840 20. Nick Kyrgios (AUS) 1,765 record in Barcelona Serena leads Pirelli warns of F1 exit few years, but I’ve had better prep- Nadal will start against another aration this year, even with a tough fellow Spaniard with the winner of WTA top 10 After lifting his 28th start to the season,” said Nadal after Marcel Granollers and Daniel Munoz Masters title on lifting his 28th Masters title. de la Navas awaiting him in round Reuters This is it. We cannot do our job with- AFP Sunday, the Spanish “I hope it helps my season with two. out this. We cannot deliver. We are confidence for the next few tourna- Japan’s Kei Nishikori has occu- being asked to make very significant super star aims 49th ments. I’ve been able to play well for pied Nadal’s thrown for the past changes, by changing the driveability PARIS: Serena Williams remains clay court titles on two events in a row -- Indian Wells two years and the world number six LONDON: Sole supplier Pirelli has of the tyres,” said Hembery. streets ahead of the rest in the and here -- winning against very is seeded second on the other half warned that it could walk away from Hembery and the FIA were not latest WTA rankings released home soil tough opponents so that is very good of the draw. Nishikori is making his Formula One after the current season immediately available for comment. on Monday, with the top 10 for my confidence.” debut on clay this season having if the sport fails to ratify tyre testing Motorsport.com said Pirelli had unchanged. Enigmatic Italian Fognini has skipped Monte Carlo after reaching plans by close of play yesterday. written to the FIA earlier in April been a thorn in Nadal’s side in the the final of the Miami Masters ear- The motorsport.com website to make clear that it would with- WTA TOP LIST AFP past two years as he has twice lier this month. quoted Pirelli motorsport director draw from the 2017-19 contract if defeated the Spaniard on clay and “I am happy to be back in Barce- Paul Hembery as saying there would the test programme was not sorted 1. Serena Williams (USA) 8,625 pts came from two sets down to beat the lona,” said Nishikori. not be enough time to prepare new, immediately. 2. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) 5,775 14-time Grand Slam champion at the “I feel good and hope to win my wider tyres planned for 2017 if the Formula One is preparing for 3. Angelique Kerber (GER) 5,740 BARCELONA: Fresh from claiming US Open last September. third consecutive title here.” governing FIA’s Formula One com- major rule changes next season 4. Garbine Muguruza (ESP) 4,831 his first title in nearly two years at the The two could meet again in the Nishikori appears to have an eas- mission stalled on approving rule aimed at making cars faster, harder 5. Victoria Azarenka (BLR) 4,530 Monte Carlo Masters, Rafael Nadal quarter-finals as Nadal has been ier route to the final than Nadal as changes. to drive and with more downforce. 6. Simona Halep (ROM) 3,785 can tie Guillermo Vilas’ record of 49 handed a tricky draw with compa- he starts against either Dutchman Pirelli won a tender for the 2017- As part of the plans, wider tyres clay court titles on home soil at the triot David Ferrer also potentially Thiemo de Bakker or Sweden’s Eliam 19 contract in October but that has will be subjected to heavier loading 7. Petra Kvitova (CZE) 3,763 Barcelona Open this week. awaiting in the semis. Ymer with the fourth top 10 player in yet to be signed off with the Interna- and faster cornering speeds. 8. Roberta Vinci (ITA) 3,595 Nadal is a serial winner in the “I’ve been given a tough route the field Richard Gasquet potentially tional Automobile Federation (FIA) Teams are currently subject to 9. Maria Sharapova (RUS) 3,432 Catalan capital having won the and, moreover, I am coming back awaiting in the semi-finals. due to the testing issues. strict limits on track testing before 10. Belinda Bencic (SUI) 3,340 title eight times, but has slumped to from injury,” said Fognini. World number eight Ferrer starts “When I land (in Europe after the and during the season but the regu- 11. Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP) 3,160 shock defeats in each of the past two “I hope I can have a good tour- against Santiago Giraldo or veteran Chinese Grand Prix), if I don’t have lations now allow for 12 days of tyre years to Nicolas Almagro and Fabio nament and take advantage of some Radek Stepanek, whilst Gasquet will an email confirming it’s approved, testing. Pirelli also want clarifica- 12. Flavia Pennetta (ITA) 3,033 Fognini. players arriving a little tired after face Malek Jaziri or Hyeon Chung in or something else positive, then you tion on what cars and drivers they 13. Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) 3,010 “I had a tough season in the last playing in the past few weeks.” round two. will be calling me for a different story. can use. Amazing Grace wins Heritage title by two strokes Day remains Reuters top of world

SOUTH CAROLINA: South Afri- rankings can Branden Grace delivered a final-round master class to clinch a long expected first victory on the AFP PGA Tour by two shots at the RBC Heritage in South Carolina on Sun- day. PARIS: Jason Day (pic- The world number 14, who tured) of Australia remains thrust himself into the limelight the leader in the latest world at the game’s highest level with golf rankings released yes- top-four finishes last year at the terday. The top 10 was U.S. Open and PGA Championship, unchanged, but South Afri- closed with a superb five-under- ca’s Branden Grace climbed three places to 11th par 66 at the Harbour Town course after claiming his first US PGA Tour victory on Hilton Head Island. at the RBS Heritage in South Carolina at the Helped by pinpoint distance weekend. control with his irons and bril- liant putting on lightning-fast greens, Grace mixed seven bird- WORLD TOP 20 ies with just two bogeys to post a 1. Jason Day (AUS) 12.43 average pts nine-under total of 275 in the first 2. Jordan Spieth (USA) 11.61 PGA Tour event after last week’s 3. Rory McIlroy (NIR) 9.19 Masters. 4. Bubba Watson (USA) 8.36 Third-round leader Luke Don- ald of England, striving to end a 5. Rickie Fowler (USA) 7.63 four-year title drought on the U.S. 6. Henrik Stenson (SWE) 7.57 circuit, carded a 71 to share sec- Branden Grace hits a shot from the sand on the 17th hole during 7. Adam Scott (AUS) 7.07 ond place with Scotland’s Russell the final round of the 2016 RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf 8. Dustin Johnson (USA) 6.79 Knox (67). It was Donald’s fourth Links on Sunday in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. 9. Danny Willett (ENG) 6.40 runner-up spot at the event. American Bryson DeCham- 10. Justin Rose (ENG) 5.94 beau (68), making his professional to this place ... I like the type of golf putts from 10 feet to forge three “That last stretch of five holes, 11. Branden Grace (RSA) 5.47 (+3) debut after ending his amateur GOLF: 2016 RBC you have to play on this place and ahead. He did well to save par you can’t really force things. As 12. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) 4.93 HERITAGE career with a tie for 21st at last it’s worked this week.” with a clutch 12-footer at the 16th, soon as you do, it’s going to back- 13. Patrick Reed (USA) 4.91 (-2) week’s Masters, finished joint Grace began the final round where he found sand with his first fire. You just have to stay patient 14. Hideki Matsuyama (JPN) 4.68 (-1) fourth at five under. three strokes off the pace and two shots, and then bogeyed the and grind it, and that’s what I man- Grace, who clinched his sev- “It put me on the map a lit- moved into a tie for the lead with tricky par-three 17th after being aged to do.” 15. Sergio Garcia (ESP) 4.36 (+1) enth European Tour victory with a tle bit,” Grace, 27, told CBS Sports Donald and Knox when he rolled bunkered off the tee before com- Australian world number one 16. Brandt Snedeker (USA) 4.26 (-1) successful title defence at the Qatar about his tie for seventh at the Her- in a four-footer to birdie the par- fortably parring the last. Jason Day, joint leader after 36 17. Zach Johnson (USA) 4.08 Masters in January, was delighted itage 12 months ago. “It gave me four sixth. “When I got to 12 and 13 where holes before he tumbled down the 18. Brooks Koepka (USA) 4.00 to triumph at a venue where he that little push and drive to finish Out in four-under 32, he tight- I made a couple of nice putts, I leaderboard with an error-strewn 19. Phil Mickelson (USA) 3.92 effectively kickstarted his PGA things up in the future. ened his grip with birdies at the knew I was in there with a chance,” 79 in the third round, shot a 68 to Tour career last year. “I was really amped to get back 12th and 13th, sinking consecutive said Grace. tie for 23rd. 20. Charl Schwartzel (RSA) 3.83 32 TUESDAY 19 APRIL 2016 SPORT

Warner steers Pakistan names Inzamam Hyderabad to Misbah sets sights stunning win as new chief selector over Mumbai AFP Zimbabwe and qualification for the beyond England tour main rounds of the World Twenty20 IANS -- the high point of which was their win over eventual champions the LAHORE: Pakistan yesterday West Indies in the group stages. HYDERABAD: Leading from appointed former captain and bat- Former spinner Tauseef Ahmed, the front, skipper David Warner Veteran Pakistani ting great Inzamam-ul-Haq as their all-rounder Wasim Haider and smashed an unbeaten 90 to sin- new chief selector, part of wholesale opener Wajahatullah Wasti will gle-handedly steer Sunrisers captain is determined changes following the team’s disas- round out the selection commit- Hyderabad to a stunning seven- to play on, pending trous exit from the World Twenty20 tee whose first task will be to pick wicket victory over Mumbai in India. squads for the tour of England where Indians in an Indian Premier ‘form and fitness’ The 46-year-old resigned as they play four Tests, five one-day and League (IPL) match at the Rajiv Afghanistan coach on Sunday to a Twenty20 starting in July. Gandhi International Stadium here take on his new job, arguably among Inzamam, who replaces former yesterday. the most thankless in the sport with batsman Haroon Rasheed, said Batting first, Mumbai lost the holder routinely turfed out fol- he will do his best to lift country’s AFP wickets at regular intervals and lowing the team’s failure in a high cricket. “It was my long time wish could manage only 142-6 in 20 profile event. to serve Pakistan cricket,” said overs. Ambati Rayudu (54) was the Pakistan Cricket Board chair- Inzamam who played 120 Tests top scorer for the visitors. man Shaharyar Khan told reporters: and 378 one-day during an illustri- In reply, Warner struck seven ISLAMABAD: Ageing Pakistan Test “Inzamam agreed to take over as ous career for Pakistan. boundaries and four sixes, as the captain Misbah-ul-Haq yesterday chief selector and we are thankful to “I will try my best to be on the home side comfortably chased confirmed he will not only lead his Afghanistan cricket board for releas- same page with captains and coach down the total, posting 145-3 in side in their four-match series in Eng- ing him,” adding his tenure will be of the team for better results.” 17.3 overs. land this summer, but is determined “until further orders”. Pakistan is likely to name a head Chasing 143, the home side got to play on until next year’s tour of During his six months as coach later this month after Waqar off to a disappointing start losing Australia. Afghanistan’s coach, Inzamam led Younis resigned following team’s opener Shikhar Dhawan (2) in the He is Pakistan’s most successful cricket’s up-and-comers to one-day failure to reach the last four in the very first over. The poor form for Test captain, having led his country and Twenty20 series victories over World Twenty20. the left-handed batsman continued to 20 wins, 11 draws and 11 defeats as he was cleaned up after failing in his 42 matches in charge – a bet- to read an inswinging yorker from ter record than the legendary Imran pacer Tim Southee. Khan. But his desire to continue has But his opening partner and been in doubt since Pakistan’s 2-0 skipper David Warner used his win over England last November, experience to good effect to hold with doubts over his hunger to con- on and score runs at a good pace tinue compounded by a calf injury to keep his team well in course in January that flared up during the towards a win. Pakistan Super League a month later. He was well supported at the Misbah, who turns 42 next month, This file photograph taken on November 1, 2015, shows Pakistan’s other end by Moises Henriques said he had now made up his mind (20) as the duo struck an impor- and was determined to play on, pend- Misbah-ul-Haq as he plays a shot during the first day of the third Test tant 62-run partnership for the ing form and fitness. against England in the Gulf Emirate of Sharjah. second wicket before Henriques “I am working on my fitness,” he was dismissed in the 11th over to said. hand Mumbai some hope of getting “I am trying to get a contract with Sussex counties. The first of four Tests planning to play until the Australia back into the game. Hyderabad a county so that I can get some prac- will start at Lord’s from July 14. tour as there is not that much gap were then 66/2. But Warner held tice ahead of the England tour but if Surprisingly, Misbah has not between the two series. on to take his team over the line that doesn’t come through then I played a single Test in England dur- “All my plans are related to fit- in style. will be touring England with Paki- ing a 61-match career -- and the fast ness and form and that’s my priority,” Southee (3-24) was the pick of stan ‘A’ ahead of the four Tests to get paced tracks are expected to Test the he added. the bowlers for Mumbai. acclimatised.” reflexes of the veteran. Pakistan will play two Tests Earlier put in to bat, the Pakistan’s second string will “I know it’s a big challenge, so I against the West Indies in Septem- This file photograph taken on March 22, 2016, shows Afghanistan’s defending champions got off to play four-day matches with county am doing the best preparations for ber and October followed by two disastrous start, losing debutant teams in June before the national the tour and realise the strength of Tests in New Zealand (November) coach and former Pakistan batsman Inzamam-ul-Haq (left) as he hard-hitting batsman Martin Gup- team contests two three-day prac- the opposition,” said Misbah. “ and three in Australia (December- speaks with captain Asghar Stanikzai during a training session at till (2) in the first over itself to have tice matches against Somerset and After the England tour I am January 2017). the Feroz Shah Kotla Cricket Ground in New Delhi. the team on the backfoot. His opening partner Parthiv Patel (10) also departed in the fourth over after striking two boundaries to leave the team Injured Malinga ruled out of IPL struggling at 23-2. From there on, Ambati Rayudu (54) and skipper Rohit Sharma (5) held on for a couple of overs to Agencies on their official Twitter handle late The injury casts doubt over his help the team reach 40/2 in the Sunday. availability for Sri Lanka’s tour of powerplay. In this file “Malinga was expected to miss England starting next month. But a big confusion between photograph the first few matches of MI’s IPL ‘16 Malinga was dropped as Sri the two saw the skipper being run taken on May 23, NEW DELHI: Sri Lankan fast bowler campaign but the recovery period is Lankan captain on the eve of the out in the eighth over to leave the 2012, Mumbai Lasith Malinga has been ruled out of longer than previously expected. World T20 in India in March-April team in a spot of bother at 43-3. Indians Sri this season’s Indian Premier League “MI will now look for a worthy because of injury after presiding Despite the wicket, Rayudu Lankan cricketer because of the lingering knee injury replacement for Lasith Malinga this over Sri Lanka’s dismal showing in played positively along with Jos Lasith Malinga that also sidelined him at the World season,” the team said. the Asia Cup. Buttler (11) to take the team to a bowls during the Twenty20. Sri Lankan Cricket on Sunday The 32-year-old has a long his- stable position. IPL Twenty20 Malinga, the IPL’s highest all-time warned Malinga against playing in tory of injury problems and retired Next up, all-rounder Krunal match against wicket-taker, has flown back to Sri the lucrative Twenty20 league with- from Test cricket in 2010, saying he Pandya (49 not out), who was pro- Chennai Super Lanka from India where he had been out first getting clearance from the was unable to withstand the rigour moted up the batting order, played with his Mumbai Indians team, but board. of five-day matches. Kings at the M positively with a couple of bound- had not played in any of their three Malinga is slated to undergo a Nicknamed ‘Slinga Malinga’ Chinnaswamy aries and sixes to help the team matches. fitness assessment on Wednesday because of his bowling action, the Stadium in cross the 100-run mark. “MI’s star pacer, Lasith Malinga in Colombo after which “the board curly-haired Malinga is an invalua- Bangalore. has been ruled out of IPL 2016 due will decide what course of action will ble member of the national team and SCOREBOARD to a knee injury,” the team wrote be taken”. a key figure for Mumbai. MUMBAI INDIANS M J Guptill c Ojha b Kumar 2 P A Patel b Sran 10 West Indies turn down A T Rayudu c Henriques b Sran 54 England propose points system R G Sharma (run out) 5 J C Buttler c Ojha b Sran 11 Pakistan T20 series tour K H Pandya (not out) 49 to determine Test series winner H H Pandya b Mustafizur Rahman 2 Harbhajan Singh (not out) 1 AFP Extras (LB-2, W-6) 8 Reuters ENGLAND TO HOST SL THIS Total (for 6 wkts in 20 overs) 142 SUMMER Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-23, 3-43, 4-60, KARACHI: Recently crowned World 5-123, 6-135. COLOMBO: England have attempted Twenty20 champions the West

Bowling: B Kumar 4-0-17-1; B B Sran a minor shake-up of the largely con- points, while a draw earned the Indies have turned down a request 4-0-28-3 (4w); M C Henriques 4-0-23-0 ventional world of Test cricket by teams two each. from Pakistan to play matches in (1w); Mustafizur Rahman 4-0-32-1 (1w); offering to use a points-based sys- The points-based system is aimed the militancy-wracked South Asian Bipul Sharma 4-0-40-0. tem to determine the winner of their at injecting more excitement into the country due to security fears, a sen- SUNRISERS HYDERABAD home series against Sri Lanka. tour and add context to matches that ior official said yesterday. D A Warner (not out) 90 Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) sec- otherwise maybe of merely academic Pakistan are due to host the West effort but the West Indies Cricket S Dhawan b Southee 2 retary Mohan de Silva confirmed interests. Indies in two Tests, five one-day and Board have refused saying they receiving the proposals covering The ECB, according to British two Twenty20 internationals in Sep- have security fears, so the full series M C Henriques c Patel b Southee 20 the three Tests, five one-dayers and media, might consider employing tember and October this year. will be played in (the) United Arab E J G Morgan c H H Pandya b Southee11 a Twenty20 International set to be the proposal. it for the subsequent home series Nearly all the country’s home Emirates.” D J Hooda (not out) 17 played between the teams from May The England and Wales Cricket against Pakistan and the points- series have been played in the neu- The West Indies’ refusal came Extras (LB-2, W-2, NB-1) 5 19 to July 5. Board (ECB) introduced the points- based system has also piqued interest tral grounds of the UAE since a 2009 after a suicide bomber killed 73 Total (for 3 wkts in 17.3 overs)145 “We have received the proposals based scoring for the women’s Ashes in Australia. militant attack on the Sri Lankan people in a park in Lahore on Easter but we haven’t decided yet,” De Silva in 2013, awarding six points for every “We’ve noted the trial and we cricket team, but Pakistan had hoped Sunday last month. Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-66, 3-100. (pictured) said. Test victory, while two points were will see how it plays out before con- the T20 leg of West Indies’ tour could Pakistan hosted Zimbabwe for Bowling: T G Southee 4-0-24-3 (1w); M “We’ll discuss it in our next board on offer for a one-day or Twenty20 sidering any changes to our current be played in Lahore. two Twenty20s and three one-day J McClenaghan 3.3-0-33-0; J J Bumrah meeting and announce our decision International victory. system, whether it be at home or in Pakistan Cricket Board chair- internationals in Lahore last year 3-0-19-0 (1nb); Harbhajan Singh 4-0-38- in a week or two,” said the official, For the women’s Ashes last year, away series,” CA’s team performance man Shaharyar Khan (pictured) hoping the tour would pave the way 0 (1w); H H Pandya 3-0-29-0. declining to elaborate, saying he had ECB and Cricket Australia (CA) manager Pat Howard was quoted as said: “We wanted the Twenty20s to for more international teams to visit not gone though the details yet about decided Test wins were worth four saying by www.espncricinfo.com. be played in Pakistan and made an -- a hope that has yet to be realised. SPORT TUESDAY 19 APRIL 2016 33 Cavs edge Pistons in play-off opener

in the final period saw the Pistons Trio of LeBron James, NBA PLAY-OFFS match their largest lead of the con- test at 83-76. Kyrie Irving and Kevin The Cavs called a timeout to get Love shine in 106-101 James back in the game and less than draining 15 three-pointers as they shot two minutes later it was tied at 83-83 opening win 52 percent from long range. and Cleveland were on their way to James denied that the Pistons a win. caught the top-seeded Cavaliers James finished with 22 points, 11 AFP off-guard. rebounds and six assists. “We did it to ourselves,” James Irving added 31 points and six said. assists and Love contributed 28 points “We were a step slow on some of and 13 rebounds for the top-seeded our coverages and they made us pay Cavs, who host game two tomorrow. WASHINGTON: Cleveland’s top trio for it. Irving was playing in his first of LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and “In the second half we knew we post-season game since injuring a Kevin Love combined for 81 points had to play a little bit more close knee in last year’s NBA Finals, while on Sunday as the Cavaliers battled attention, a little bit more close to our Love was knocked out of the first to a 106-101 victory over determined details that our coaching staff told us round last season with a shoulder Detroit in their NBA play-off opener. to do.” injury. The Pistons, back in the play-offs Detroit led at halftime and enter- James, meanwhile, played in his for the first time in seven seasons, did ing the fourth quarter. A three-pointer 179th career post-season contest -- all they could to steal an away win, from Reggie Bullock with 11:03 left tied with Michael Jordan for 17th in history. “For these two guys, they were just excited to get back to this moment,” James said of his team-mates. “These guys have been work- ing hard, Kyrie on his knee, Kevin on his shoulder just to get back to this moment. LeBron James (right) of the Cleveland Cavaliers drives Reggie Jackson of the Detroit Pistons during the second “It was great to be out on the floor with them and for them to put quarter of the NBA Eastern Conference quarter-finals at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio on Sunday. together the performance that they did,” added James, whose Cavs are trying to get back to the NBA Finals strong. “We fear nobody and experi- Hassan Whiteside added 21 points was Whiteside’s hook shot with 4:42 after falling to Golden State in the ence is going to be our best teacher,” and 11 rebounds in his playoff debut left in the period that gave Miami their championship series last season. he said. “We think we have a chance.” making nine of 11 shots and blocking first double-digit lead. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored It wasn’t close in Miami, where the three shots. Unlike the Heat’s regular-season 21 points for the Pistons and Marcus Heat bolted to a 41-22 first-quarter Dwyane Wade scored 16 points finale at Boston on Wednesday, when Morris scored 20 -- but just one in the lead and never trailed en route to a and Goran Dragic had 10 assists in they squandered a 24-point halftime second half. 123-91 rout of the Charlotte Hornets. his Miami play-off debut. Amar’e lead and lost by double digits, Miami Reggie Jackson, who had 17 points British NBA veteran Luol Deng Stoudemire and Joe Johnson were never let up on the accelerator. Detroit Pistons forward Marcus Morris (left) drives on Cleveland Cavaliers and seven assists but was handed a scored 31 points in his first play-off Miami’s other double-figure scorers They opened the second half with forward Kevin Love during the first quarter in game one of the first late technical foul when he charged appearance for the Heat, connecting with 11 points each. a 7-0 scoring run, and the Hornets can toward an official to argue a non-call, on 11 of 13 attempts from the field and Deng scored 14 points in the first only hope to bounce back in game two round of the NBA Play-offs at Quicken Loans Arena on Sunday. said the Pistons would come back five of seven from three-point range. quarter and Whiteside added 10. It tomorrow. NHL: Predators take Hickey’s winner gives 2-0 lead over Ducks NY Islanders 2-1 lead

Agencies upper-left corner of the net for his Reuters Islanders’ zone. Alex Petrovic’s shot third career play-off goal in his 10th from the faceoff circle was deflected playoff game. Weber extended the by Greiss and bounced to the right of Predators’ lead with 38.8 seconds the net, where Bjugstad whiffed as he NEW YORK: Shea Weber and Craig remaining in the period on a power SEOUL: Thomas Hickey scored with tried to put back the rebound. But the Smith scored in the second period to play. With nine seconds left on David 7:29 left in overtime on Sunday as the puck skittered to Smith, who fired a give the Nashville Predators a 3-2 Perron’s penalty, Weber one-timed a New York Islanders beat the Florida shot past a sprawling Greiss for his victory over the Anaheim Ducks in slap shot from the left point. Panthers 4-3 in Game 3 of the East- fourth goal of the series. the second game of their Stanley Thompson drew Anaheim within ern Conference quarterfinal series A third goal was overturned at Cup Western Conference quarter- one goal by shoveling a backhanded at Barclays Center. 3:47, when Barkov maneuvered the final series on Sunday night in front shot from the top of the slot with 2:42 The Islanders lead the best-of- puck behind the net before passing of a sellout crowd of 17,174 at the to play. seven series two games to one. Game to Ekblad, whose shot sailed past a Honda Center. Before Cogliano began the scor- 4 is scheduled for Wednesday night diving Frans Nielsen and under Gre- Mattias Ekholm added a goal, ing, Anaheim played short-handed at Barclays Center. iss’ right shoulder. But Islanders head Filip Forsberg and Roman Josi each for four minutes in a span of 4 min- Rookie Ryan Pulock scored coach Jack Capuano used his replay contributed two assists and goalie utes, 30 seconds early in the first his first career play-off goal for challenge and it was determined Pekka Rinne stopped 27 shots for the period. Corey Perry went to the the Islanders, who also received Panthers center Jonathan Huber- Predators, who take a 2-0 lead in the penalty box for hooking at 7:16, goals from Shane Prince and Frans deau was offside on the play. best-of-seven series. then 30 seconds after his team- Nielsen. Goalie Thomas Greiss The Islanders capitalized just 94 The third and fourth games will mates defused that situation, Perry recorded 36 saves. seconds later. Penalties on Petrovic take place at Nashville’s Bridgestone returned to serve an interference Reilly Smith scored the Panthers’ (interference) and Jussi Jokinen in a Arena tonight and Thursday. penalty at 9:46. first goal and also finished with two span of 25 seconds created a 5-on-3 Andrew Cogliano and Nate But Nashville managed only two assists. He has eight points in the for New York, which cut the lead in Thompson scored for the Ducks, who total shots during both power plays. three games. half when Pulock’s sizzling slap shot killed four of five penalties while Cogliano gave the Ducks a 1-0 Aleksander Barkov and Nick sailed past Luongo. receiving 24 saves from goalie John lead at 14:20 of the period. Weber Bjugstad also scored for the Pan- The Panthers went ahead 3-1 on Gibson. tried to pass the puck from the thers. Goalie Roberto Luongo made a heads-up play by Bjugstad, who The Predators never held a left boards in the neutral zone but 35 saves. swooped into the crease as he fol- 2-0 lead in any of their previous Cogliano intercepted the pass, went Hickey’s goal – in which he lowed a shot by Smith. His skate hit 11 playoff series dating from 2004. on a breakaway and deposited the took a pass from Brock Nelson the puck and bounced off the post, The Ducks have never won a play- puck between Rinne’s legs for his from behind the net – brought an after which Bjugstad tapped the puck off series after losing the first two first goal of the play-offs. end to a chaotic game filled with into the corner of the net. games. Smith broke a 1-1 tie at Nashville responded with 55.4 wild momentum swings. After the The Islanders tied it with two 9:55 of the second period. Roman seconds left in the period, when Panthers scored the lone goal in the goals in a span of 5:07. First, Prince Josi intercepted a pass from Ducks Ekholm tied the score with his first first period, the two teams combined scored after crossing in front of defenseman Hampus Lindholm near goal. Colin Wilson dug the puck out for five goals in the second before a Luongo, taking a perfectly placed The Nashville Predators hug at the end of the third period of a game the right corner and sent the puck from the left corner and passed to scoreless third. pass from Pulock and sent a shot to Filip Forsberg behind the net. Ekholm, whose backhanded shot in against the Anaheim Ducks of Game Two of the Western Conference The Panthers went ahead just soaring past Luongo. Nielsen scored Forsberg quickly passed to Smith, front of the crease deflected off Gib- quarter-finals during the 2016 NHL Stanley Cup play-offs at the Honda 2:25 into the first period when Smith 43 seconds after Dmitry Kulikov was who dragged wrist shot into the son’s right forearm. Center yesterday. capped an extended sequence in the whistled for clipping Matt Martin.

BASEBALL RESULTS Yankees end losing streak with win over Mariners NY Yankees 4 Seattle 3 Atlanta 6 Miami 5 Tampa Bay 3 C White Sox 2 Agencies 12th matchup of Japanese pitchers season-high 14 hits, had lost six of inning to give Washington the lead Cubs (9-3) suffered their second loss NY Mets 6 Cleveland 0 while facing his former teammate their last seven games against the with his sixth homer of the season. in three games and dropped their first Pittsburgh 9 Milwaukee 3 from the Rakuten Golden Eagles Red Sox, including the first two of But it was not enough as Phildae- series of the season. Toronto 5 Boston 3 in Japan’s Pacific League. Tanaka their four-game Patriots’ Day week- lphia shortstop Freddy Galvis drove a Mets 6, Indians 0 Philadelphia 3 Washington 2 NEW YORK: Moved down to sixth allowed three runs (two earned) and end series at Fenway Park. Papelbon fastball deep into left field The New York Mets jumped on in the line-up, Alex Rodriguez six hits in seven innings. Phillies 3, Nationals 2 and the Nats lost for just the second former Cy Young Award winner Corey Houston 5 Detroit 4 homered on the first pitch he saw as Blue Jays 5, Red Sox 3 The Philadelphia Philles won 3-2 time this season. Kluber for six runs in the first two Minnesota 3 LA Angels 2 the New York Yankees beat the Seat- Aaron Sanchez gave up just one in 10 innings as Washington Nation- Rockies 2, Cubs 0 innings, Steven Matz pitched seven St Louis 4 Cincinnati 3 tle Mariners 4-3 on Sunday to end a run on two hits and struck out seven als closer Jonathan Papelbon, playing Tyler Chatwood’s perfect game scoreless innings, and the Mets rolled four-game losing streak. over seven innings, and Jose Bautista against his old team, blew his first bid fell short but he still outdueled to a 6-0 victory over the Cleveland Colorado 2 Chicago Cubs 0 Hitless in 19 at-bats, Rodriguez hit a solo home run and had two RBIs save of the season. Chicago ace Jon Lester as the Colo- Indians. Matz (1-1) gave up three hits, Oakland 3 Kansas City 2 lined a pitch from Hisashi Iwakuma as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Bos- National League MVP Bryce rado Rockies claimed a 2-0 win over struck out nine and walked two to Arizona 7 San Diego 3 (0-2) into the left-field seats. ton Red Sox 5-3. Harper crushed a deep shot into the Cubs. The Rockies (7-5) won their pick up the victory as the Mets won LA Dodgers 3 San Francisco 1 Masahiro Tanaka (1-0) won the The Blue Jays, who had a right-center field in the top of the 10th fourth game in five starts, while the two of three games in the weekend. 34 TUESDAY 19 APRIL 2016 SPORT Barca slump to fourth defeat in five

MESSI’S 500TH CAREER Atletico Madrid are GOAL IN VAIN Coach Enrique confident level on 76 points with Barca at the top a Barca fightback as their alarming despite dramatic slump collapse in recent weeks continued of La Liga with five after a 39-game unbeaten run. games remaining Having looked well set for a second consecutive treble just two AFP Enrique. weeks ago, Barca could now miss out “Perhaps it is more difficult than on all three major trophies as they normal when the team loses, for me, MADRID: Lionel Messi’s 500th career were dumped out of the Champions unjustly some of the games we have goal couldn’t prevent Barcelona’s League by Atletico in midweek and BARCELONA: Barcelona boss Luis lost. We lost two games in the first incredible slump in form from con- have taken just one point from their Enrique claimed his side are capa- 30 and now three in a row, it is not tinuing with a fourth defeat in five last four La Liga games. ble of winning their final five La Liga normal. games 2-1 at home to Valencia on However, in contrast to recent games to claim the title despite slip- “This sport generates a lot of Sunday. defeats, Barca boss Luis Enrique ping to a fourth defeat in five games surprises, I think we have criticised Atletico Madrid are now level on praised the performance of his side as they were beaten 2-1 by Valencia ourselves when it has been neces- 76 points with Barca at the top of La and believes they are capable of win- on Sunday. sary, but today is not a day to criticise Liga with five games remaining as ning their last five games to retain the The Catalans hadn’t tasted my players, it is a day to congratu- Barcelona’s Neymar reacts after missing a goal against Valencia they beat Granada 3-0, but the Cat- title. defeat in 39 games until losing to late them.” alans retain the lead thanks to their “Luck didn’t shine on the team. I during the Spanish League match against Valencia CF at the Camp Real Madrid earlier this month, but Barca dominated from start to superior head-to-head record. congratulate my players for how they Nou Stadium in Barcelona on Sunday. have since thrown away a nine-point finish against a Valencia side that Third-placed Real Madrid are also faced the adversity during the game,” lead at the top of La Liga and been had been dispatched 7-0 on their only a point behind thanks to their 5-1 said Enrique. springing to punch away Neymar’s lob Parejo played in Mina to fire into the dumped out the Champions League last visit to the Camp Nou just two win at Getafe on Saturday. “We still depend on ourselves. which seemed destined to evade him. far corner. Rakitic had a huge chance by Atletico Madrid. months ago under the tutelage of Valencia were beaten 7-0 by Our margin for error has run out and However, Valencia amazingly to make amends for his own goal a Barca still lead La Liga thanks Gary Neville. Barca on their last trip to the Camp we are aware of the challenge. went in at half-time two goals to the minute into the second-half, but to their superior head-to-head However, they enjoyed better Nou just two months ago under “Now we have a marvellous chal- good having had just one shot on pulled his effort tamely wide from record with Atletico with Real a luck in Pako Ayestaran’s third game former boss Gary Neville, but gained lenge, five games in which if we win target. Luis Suarez’s fine cut-back. point behind in third, but now need in charge as Ivan Rakitic’s own goal revenge thanks to Ivan Rakitic’s own them all we are champions” The visitors went in front on 27 However, Barca were finally given to win all five remaining games and Santi Mina’s fine finish put them goal and Santi Mina’s classy finish Barca started brightly, but were minutes when Rakitic turned Guil- hope when Jordi Alba’s low cross against Deportivo la Coruna, 2-0 up at half-time despite having before half-time. repeatedly denied by fine saves from herme Siqueira’s cross into his own was turned home by Messi to reach Sporting Gijon, Real Betis, Espan- just one shot on target. Messi ended a five-game goal Valencia goalkeeper Diego Alves. net at the near post and doubled another historic landmark. yol and Granada to keep matters Lionel Messi’s 500th career goal drought to bring up his 500th for The Brazilian blocked Messi’s vol- their lead thanks to a brilliant move Alves came to Valencia’s rescue in their own hands. gave Barca hope after the break, but club and country, but couldn’t inspire ley from close range before somehow in first-half stoppage time as Dani once more with his best save of the Moreover, they have now lost an inspired goalkeeping display from night low to his right to prevent Rak- three consecutive La Liga games Diego Alves and a shocking miss two itic equalising 15 minutes from time. for the first time in 13 years. minutes from time by Gerard Pique Neymar’s fiercely struck vol- “If there is a team capable of consigned the hosts to defeat. ley was somehow deflected behind doing it and much more given what “Feeling sorry for ourselves we by Shkodran Mustafi, but Valencia they have done, it is this Barca,” said won’t win anything,” added Enrique. should also have killed the game off at the other end when Paco Alcacer mis- cued from point-blank range allowing Sergio Busquets to clear off the line. Gerard Pique then had a glorious chance to salvage at least a point late on, but he pulled his shot wide with just Alves to beat. In contrast to Barca’s collapse, Atletico are flying in the final stages of the season as Fernando Torres struck his fourth goal in as many games in a routine win over Granada. “It will be tough (to win the league), but we will play as the sched- ule demands us to which is to win, win and win again,” said Atletico boss Diego Simeone. Koke ensured Atletico would have no hangover from their efforts in dis- patching Barca from the Champions League in midweek as he swept home the opener on 15 minutes before tee- Barcelona’s coach Luis Enrique (left) ing up Torres to dink home just before the hour mark. at the bench during the La Liga match Substitute Angel Correa rounded against Valencia FC at Camp Nou Barcelona’s Brazilian forward Neymar (left) vies with Valencia’s Tunisian defender Aymen Abdennour during off the scoring with a cool finish Stadium on Sunday. the Spanish League match at the Camp Nou Stadium in Barcelona on Sunday. seven minutes from time.

Kaka strikes early Late escape will be a title boost, says Ranieri as Orlando play New England to AFP Association, Ranieri protested the FOOTBALL: ENGLISH England forward’s innocence. controversial draw PREMIER LEAGUE “Jamie never dives, he goes very fast and at his speed if you touch a LEICESTER, United Kingdom: little...” he said. AFP Claudio Ranieri claims Leicester’s “Always I believe we could fight “You (the media) saw the situation dramatic escape in their 2-2 draw back. We showed this season every- better than me. I want to stay calm. against West Ham has bolstered his thing is possible. “I’m very sad, not because of the MIAMI: Brazilian playmaker Kaka players’ belief they are set to become “Psychologically it’s fantastic. It’s sending off but because he can’t play connected on the fastest penalty Premier League champions. more important than one point.” the next match.” kick in Major League Soccer his- Ranieri’s side were seconds away Moss’s performance infuriated A Tottenham victory yesterday tory but the real fireworks came from a damaging defeat at the King Leicester’s fans, who booed him off would put Leicester under pressure late in his Orlando City’s 2-2 draw Power Stadium on Sunday after late even after his generous late pen- for the first time since they opened up with visiting New England on Sun- goals from Andy Carroll and Aaron alty decision saved their team, but a substantial lead at the top and, with day. Cresswell put West Ham ahead fol- Ranieri refused to join the chorus of Vardy banned, they could be vulner- Kaka was on target from the lowing Leicester striker Jamie Vardy’s disapproval. able against Swansea. spot in the second minute -- pre- dismissal for diving. The Leicester boss insisted But Ranieri insisted there was cisely 1:37 into the contest -- after It was the kind of predicament criticising officials was pointless, no reason to panic because his team Julio Baptista drew a foul 15 sec- that would have finished off a less although he might also have real- have already achieved so much dur- onds into the contest. spirited team, but the Foxes refused ised his defenders had got away with ing their incredible campaign. Teal Bunbury equalized in the to surrender and won a dubious pen- several blocks and tugs in the pen- “We were worried at the begin- 37th minute, setting the stage for a alty deep into stoppage-time when alty area before Moss decided captain ning of the season to reach 40 points. second-half in which both teams referee Jonathan Moss ruled Carroll Wes Morgan’s shove on Winston Reid Now we enjoy,” he added. complained about the officiating. had tripped Jeffrey Schlupp. was worthy of the penalty converted “I never speak to the players The climax came five min- Leonardo Ulloa stepped up to by Carroll. about the gap. Everything is in our utes into injury time, when referee slam home the penalty to leave “I don’t want to tell you my feel- hands. Baldomero Toledo awarded New Leicester eight points clear of sec- ing. Never in my life have I spoken “If the other teams are better England a penalty for what he ond placed Tottenham. about referees,” Ranieri said. than us and win the title, well done called a hand ball by Servando Although Tottenham can close “From the bench it is very hard to to them, because we are playing at Carrasco. Television replays the gap to five points with a win see if it was a sending off or a penalty. our maximum.” appeared to show the ball hit at Stoke on Monday and Vardy will “If I say something what changes? West Ham manager Slaven Bilic Leicester City’s Carrasco’s shoulder and was not be suspended for next Sunday’s It is 2-2. Nothing changes. That is my took a harsher view of Moss after Leonardo Ulloa a hand ball. After intially calling game against Swansea, Ranieri philosophy.” the referee’s last-gasp penalty deci- celebrates after scoring for a free kick over the protests of refused to dwell on the negatives In truth, Vardy could have sion put a major dent in the visitors’ the equaliser from the Orlando players, Toledo spoke with and saluted the never-say-die spirit few complaints about his second hopes of qualifying for the Champi- penalty spot during other officials and determined of his players. booking for slyly trying to win a ons League. the English Premier the disputed hand-ball infraction “I’m so proud. I always ask our penalty by running into Angelo “Of course it’s not a penalty. What League match against came within the area and pointed players to give their soul and heart Ogbonna and then throwing him- happened makes us feel very frus- West Ham United to the penalty spot. until the end and that’s what they self to the turf. trated. That puts a shadow on one hell at the King Power Lee Nguyen duly converted did,” Ranieri said. But pressed on suggestions Vardy of a game,” he said. Stadium in Leicester, to give the Revolution a 2-2 draw, “When we conceded the second swore at Moss after the dismissal in “It is easy to say the ref shouldn’t Britain, yesterday. prompting Orlando City fans at the goal my players still wanted to draw. a petulant display that could see get influenced by fans but it is real Citrus Bowl stadium to toss items Unbelievable, fantastic. his ban extended by the Football life.” onto the field. SPORT TUESDAY 19 APRIL 2016 35

El Jaish player Yasser Aboobacker Essa Five things we celebrates during an earlier game of the AFC learned in Champions League. QSL round 26

TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE FOR QATAR SC

Former QSL champions Qatar SC El Jaish target went down to the Qatar Gas league with a whimper on Friday evening. The Kings just needed one goal to guarantee survival for the 2015/2016 season, as Al Kharitiyat where being soundly beaten by Umm Salal. Sebastio Lazaroni’s side spurned a host of chances in the final twenty minutes to top spot of take the lead, but luck was simply not on the Kings side. Qatar SC will now look to rebuild in the Qatar Gas League, expect a summer of change at the club. One player that the Qatar SC manage- ment must keep is midfielder Emiliano Vecchio. The diminutive Argentine Group D midfielder has been nothing short of a rev- elation in this stuttering Qatar SC side. His crosses and interplay where a joy to watch against Al Wakrah, it’s a shame he couldn’t inspire his side further and haul his side out of relegation. coach Sabri Lamouchi’s side. players picked up their second yel- El Jaish Having already The Qataris drew 2-2 with low cards of the group stages in the RACE FOR THE TOP SCORER former AFC Champions League 2-1 loss against Al Ain in Jeddah on coach Sabri booked their place winners Al Sadd in the Qatar Stars Matchday Four. Lamouchi ENDS IN A DRAW in the next phase League on Friday and the head “We are going into the match coach is determined to pick up all with one ambition which is to win The much anticipated race for the top of AFC Champions three points on Tuesday. and get the three points in order to scorer at the QFA awards ended in a stale- League, Sabri “Despite securing our place in maintain our chances of qualify- mate at round 26 drew to a close. Both the knockout stage, we will be still ing to the Round of 16,” said Gross, Rodrigo Tabata and Abderrazak Hamdallah Lamouchi’s side working with the same approach whose side beat Hajar 1-0 in the ended the QSL season with 21 goals each. looks to maintain that we previously had and hope- Saudi league on Saturday. Hamdallah took the lead in the race momentum fully we can get the three points “The defeat against Al Ain for the award on Friday evening with a against Al Ahli,” said Lamouchi. weakened our chances but our focus fine equalizing goal against Al Sadd, using “We want to remain on top of now is only on the El Jaish match. the Moroccan’s key attributes of strength the group although the next match “Our opponents are considered and deadly accuracy in front of goal. will not be easy. one of the best teams in the group However Al Rayyan’s talismanic The Peninsula “We have a lot of information and they have already secured captain struck back with a fine penalty on our opponents and we know that their place in the knockout stage. against Al Ahli, although it wasn’t enough they have several good players. We We have a lot of pressure as we are for Rayyan to slip to their third defeat have performed well in the compe- also battling for the league title but since lifting the falcon shield. DOHA: Qatar Stars League side El tition so far and our ambition is to hopefully we can get a good result The strikers now look to share the cov- Jaish will take on Saudi Arabia’s Al go as far as possible.” tomorrow that will give us a big eted QFA top scorer award when the QFA Ahli in Group D of the AFC Cham- On the other hand, Al Ahli will boost.” awards roll around at the end of May. pions League fixture which will be be boosted by the return from injury While Al Ahli lead their domes- played at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa of defender Motaz Hawsawi. Haw- tic league by three points from Al AL AHLI FINISH STRONG Stadium in Doha today. sawi who last featured in the ACL Hilal, they are bottom of Group D The Qataris have already against Al Ain in the UAE has recov- with just three points and must booked their place in the next ered from injury to return to the achieve a better result than that Five weeks ago, Al Ahli coach Yusef phase of the competition having squad, but former Tottenham Hot- recorded by Al Ain in their game Adam would have been shocked if you only failed to win one of their four spur manager Gross will be without against Uzbekistan’s Nasaf to stay were to tell him that his side where to fin- games so far and victory over Al suspended duo Waleed Bakshwn alive until the final round of group ish in sixth place in the QSL standings. Ahli will guarantee top spot for and Fahad Al Yamani after both matches. Ahli were looking at a relegation fight, and many wouldn’t have predicted the fine five game winning streak in the QSL. Over the run Ahli have beaten the likes of Umm Salal, Lekhwiya and Al Rayyan. Sydney FC, Lokomotiv and All teams who have finished just above Al Hilal look for different the Brigadeers in the QSL standings. Yusef Adam has galzanized his side and recent weeks, and can thank the attacking trio Al Nasr eye knockout stage of Mouchine Iajour, Meshal Abdulla and approach against Ndombe Mubele. Indeed it was Mubele who the star man The Peninsula between Saudi Arabia’s Al Ittihad and for Ahli against Al Rayyan, his brace was Iran’s Sepahan fail to produce a winner. proved the difference against Rayyan. Zobahan, meanwhile, could return Tractorsazi in Doha Yousef Adam’s side could be dark horses to the knockout stage of the AFC Cham- for the Qatar Cup. DOHA: Australia’s Sydney FC, pions League for the first time since 2011 Uzbekistan’s Lokomotiv and Al Nasr should they defeat Saudi Arabia’s Al The Peninsula EL JAISH GRAB SECOND of the United Arab Emirates head into Nassr at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex. today’s penultimate round of group And Al Nassr will be without sus- stages fixtures within touching distance pended midfielder Ibrahim Ghaleb for El Jaish took the spoils of second place of a first ever appearance in the last 16 a match in which defeat could spell DOHA: Al Hilal coach Geor- in an entertaining 2-2 draw with Al Sadd on of the AFC Champions League. elimination from the tournament gios Donis will utilise the Friday evening. Sabri Lamouchi’s side has Iran’s Zobahan, Qatar’s Lekhwiya, should Lekhwiya defeat Uzbekistan’s depths of his squad for the been one of the most consistent sides in the Japanese duo Urawa Red Diamonds and Bunyodkor. AFC Champions League QSL this year. They deservedly grabbed an FC Tokyo, Korea Republic pair Jeonbuk Elsewhere, 2006 winners Jeon- Group C meeting with Iran’s equalizer through defender Lucas Mendes Hyundai Motors and FC Seoul, and Chi- buk can secure a seventh consecutive Tractorsazi Tabriz with the on the 78th minute. na’s Shandong Luneng are also the hunt appearance in the knockout stage with Saudi Arabian giants bat- The result means that Jaish qualify for for a Round of 16 berth this week. victory over Group E leaders FC Tokyo tling at the top of the domestic the AFC champions league for next season. Despite domestic struggles Gra- coupled with a win for Vietnam’s league as well as looking to A competition that they are currently thriv- ham Arnold’s Sydney have performed Becamex Binh Duong over Jiangsu FC remain in the hunt for conti- ing in, importantly the result gives them impressively in the AFC Champions in China. nental honours. a mental advantage over Al Sadd in their League this year and the Group H pace- Hiroshi Jofuku’s FC Tokyo, though, Al Hilal trail Tractorsazi upcoming Qatar Cup clash. setters know a victory at home to Urawa need only to beat Jeonbuk to ensure a by a single point at the top of As the solders look to grab domestic would see Sydney top the table, while a second Round of 16 appearance, while Group C and the Iranians will silverware this season, they may look to draw would also be enough to advance a win for the J.League side and a draw advance if they draw. Al Hilal, this draw as being an important catalyst. and seal a maiden appearance in the between Jiangsu and Binh Duong would meanwhile, need victory to be Round of 16. also see the play-off qualifiers top the guaranteed their place in the “I’m just so happy for the players. group. Round of 16. Al Hilal coach Georgios Donis. IMPORTANT WIN FOR SAILIYA They’ve worked so hard and they’ve Defeat for the Vietnamese champi- “We will be giving a rest OVER A STUTTERING AL ARABI done their best every week and they ons against Jiangsu, meanwhile, would to some of our key players haven’t been rewarded and tonight’s a see Nguyen Thanh Son’s side eliminated in the match as we are bat- Champions League, was and remain on top of the reward for them, but we’re not there yet,” from the competition. tling on different fronts and amongst those not part of group,” said the former Team Al Sailiya leap past rivals Al Arabi in said coach Arnold after Sydney’s 1-0 win Finally in Group F, Shandong will this means that we should the club’s travelling party Melli coach. “We are playing the final game of the season following a over Pohang Steelers earlier this month. be without suspended duo Yang Xu and rotate our players to use all to Qatar, where the game is against a strong team and 2-1 victory on Friday evening. The result “I want us to finish on the top of the Zhao Mingjian when the Chinese Super of them in different matches,” being played due to the polit- the match will not be easy pushes the Peregrines up to seventh place group, it’s a reward for the fans, they’ve League side host Japan’s Sanfrecce Hiro- said Donis (pictured), whose ical tension and strained for us but I’m confident that in the QSL rankings. stuck by us through thick and thin.” shima chasing a win which would secure side are in second place in the diplomatic relations between our players will get a posi- The final league table will be good A win or draw for second-placed a place in the last 16 and simultaneously Saudi league after a 3-2 win the governments of Iran and tive result. reading for Sailiya coach Sami Trabelsi, Urawa in Sydney could also see the eliminate the J.League side. over Najran on Friday. Saudi Arabia. “I hope that we could whose side endured a torrid 11th placed J.League side advance with a match to And anything but a draw between “The match against Trac- Tractorsazi, meanwhile, secure our place in the finish last year. spare should Pohang fail to beat Chi- Shandong and Sanfrecce would see FC torsazi is very important drew with Saba Qom in the Round of 16 in this match day However his opposite number at Al na’s Guangzhou Evergrande on Tuesday. Seoul advance regardless of the result of because it comes at such a Iranian league on Thursday, although the game will not be Arabi, Gianfranco Zola will be disheart- Andrew Hoole will be missing due their home game against already-elim- delicate period of the sea- the first time the club has not easy. There are no big differ- ened with the final standings. to suspension for hosts Sydney, while inated Buriram United from Thailand. son. We will go into the match won in four games and Amir ence between our team and Al The Dream Team has endured a frus- Ryota Moriwaki is ruled out for Urawa. Choi Yong-soo’s FC Seoul would also with one target and that is to Ghalehnoy is hoping his team Hilal as we are only one point trating season this year, with inconsistent In the West, Lokomotiv and Al Nasr win the group with a game to spare if get the three points in order can continue to show the form ahead of them in the group results mixed with defensive lapses of are in a similar position as the top two they beat Buriram or both Group F to advance from the group.” that has seen them pick up which means that the match concentration. Bizarrely, Arabi where the sides in Group A meet in Dubai, with a games are drawn. Former AFC Player of the nine points from their first will be hard for both sides.” better side in this contest, yet still managed win for either side ensuring a debut in FC Seoul Midfielder Ju Se-jong and Year Nasser Al Shamrani, three AFC Champions League The match will be played to come away with the defeat, head coach the tournament’s knockout stage. Buriram’s Brazilian striker Kaio will, who was named Asia’s lead- matches this season. at Qatar Sports Club today, Zola must address these issues ahead of A draw would also be enough for however, miss the tie at Seoul World ing player after his exploits “We want to continue our with the kick-off set for the Emir Cup. both sides to advance should the contest Cup Stadium due to suspension. for Al Hilal in the 2014 AFC good run in the competition 6.35pm. 36 TUESDAY 19 APRIL 2016

QMMF President Abdulrahman Al Mannai flags off Sam Sunderland on the opening day of Sealine Rally yesterday. RIGHT: Qatar’s Nasser bin Saleh Al Attiyah in flying form with his Toyota Hilux Overdrive on the first day. Al Attiyah sets early pace at Sealine

“Tomorrow is a long stage and we POSITIONS AFTER SS1 mechanics discovered the new engine SEALINE CROSS-COUNTRY Chile’s Ignacio Casale try to get a good time. We could not was not running correctly and dump- RALLY push today. We were the first car (on Cars ing diesel into the oil. Catracchia also claims the stage) and to see the line and the 1. Nasser bin Saleh Al Attiyah (QAT)/Matthieu Baumel (FRA) Toyota Hilux Overdrive The team worked non-stop for win in opening round navigation is not easy. Now we can 2hr 00min 28sec two days to rectify the issue and took push. 2. Yazeed Al Rajhi (SAU)/Timo Gottschalk (DEU) Mini All4 Racing 2hr 01min 12sec the car for a test on Sunday evening, third checkpoint between Al Khar- as Sunderland and “It was a good stage and the first 3. Ricardo Porem (POR)/Tom Colsoul (BEL) Mini All4 Racing 2hr 08min 38sec but the unit would not run correctly rara and Al Wukair. Quintanilla held Quintanilla record time on these tracks with the Mini for 4. Khalifa Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Jean-Michel Polato (FRA) Toyota Hilux Overdrive 2hr 10min again and Orr confirmed that they a virtual stage advantage of just three me,” said a delighted Al Rajhi. 17sec would not be able to start. seconds over Sunderland. equal fastest time in “We learn the car and we did a Seeds would run close together Meanwhile, Al Attiyah had begun 5. Vladimir Vasilyev (RUS)/Konstantin Zhiltsov (RUS) Mini All4 Racing 2hr 11min 51sec motorcycle stage good job. We need to push a bit to throughout the stage, as the route the stage at the head of the car cate- make the gap smaller. That’s our goal.” 6. Marek Dabrowski (POL)/Jacek Czachor (POL) Toyota Hilux Overdrive 2hr 17min 24sec headed south along Qatar’s western gory and was beginning to ease away The shortest stage of the five-day 7. Yuriy Sazonov (KAZ)/Dmytro Tsyro (UKR) Hummer H3 III 2hr 19min 12sec coastline towards Al Jamaliya, before from Al Rajhi and Vasilyev. event provided competitors with an 8. Jutta Kleinschmidt (DEU)/Philipp Beier (DEU) X-raid CBRA 2hr 21min 24sec reaching PC1, after 76.54km. It was a He reached PC1 57 seconds in ideal opportunity settle in to what lies 9. Khaled Al-Feraihi (SAU)/Abdulhaleem Al-Busaidi (OMN) Nissan Patrol 2hr 39min 13sec nightmare start for Julian Villarru- front of the Saudi, but Al-Rajhi had The Peninsula ahead over four longer and more dif- bia, who drove to Sealine by mistake gained the virtual stage lead by 24 10. Hernan Garces (CHI)/Juan Pablo Latrach (CHI) Ford Ranger 2hr 40min 50sec ficult stages. to take the start on his Yamaha and seconds after 151km. The leading three motorcyclists realised the error of his ways a long Al Attiyah was not to be denied, rode together virtually all through the start was a good idea. If we had the it will be fantastic.” Michelle Cincotto time after the others had left the cor- however, and he regained a stage DOHA: Qatar’s Nasser bin Saleh Al- timed test and Dubai-based Briton start order from the last race, in the- and Zini Fulvio claimed the early T3 rect start. lead of two minutes after 183.81km Attiyah and Chile’s Ignacio Casale Sam Sunderland and Chilean rival ory, some guys have more chance to lead in the first of four Polaris RZR Taking the stage win on the first of and went on to snatch the stage win Catracchia shared the winner’s spoils Pablo Quintanilla reached the flying do well.” Toby Price was impressed 1000s and the Spanish girl Cris- five selective sections was important by 44 seconds from Al Rajhi. Sunder- on the opening 226.42km selective finish tied and two seconds in front of with the pace of his two rivals. tina Gutierrez, partnered by Sandra for all the leading riders, but Moham- land, Quintanilla and Price rode to the section of the Sealine Cross-Country the defending Dakar champion and “It’s difficult coming from Abu Labuscagne, was the first of the three med Al Balooshi stopped in a tunnel stage finish together and Sunderland Rally between Al-Zubara and Sealine FIM World Championship leader Toby Dhabi where you follow the way. Here, QMMF-backed Nissan Patrol drivers under the Dukhan highway after his and Quintanilla were handed a joint yesterday. Price. the navigation is a big change up and to reach the finish. engine ingested some standing water. stage win. The Toyota Hilux Overdrive pilot “The mass start is definitely some- the first time we have done this since Thirty-two cars were granted a Qatar’s sole motorcyclist Ahmed Poland’s Jakub Piatek crashed and the Yamaha rider won their thing strange that we have to account the Dakar.” start in the FIA section of the rally, Fahad Al Kuwari also stopped at the heavily and was hospitalised swiftly respective car and quad categories for,” said Sunderland. Local driver Adel Hussein Abdul- in addition to five running in the same point, although Al-Balooshi got by helicopter with a leg injury, while from Saudi Arabia’s Yazeed Al Rajhi “It was a little bit dangerous with lah earned a stunning lead in the T2 national rally, 15 motorcycles and going again and eventually reached Jose Ignacio Cornejo suffered techni- (Mini All4 Racing) and Poland’s Rafal all the guys together in the dust. But category in his Nissan Middle East- two quads. the stage finish 1hr 23min behind the cal issues and failed to finish the stage Sonik. I like the idea and, when you make a backed Patrol. There was bitter disappoint- stage winner. on his KTM. Portugal’s Ricardo Porem (Mini), mass start on the first day, everybody “I was competing with Yasir Sei- ment for Saudi Arabian rookie Saleh Qatar’s Sheikh Hamed Al Thani Today, competitors tackle the sec- Al Attiyah brother Khalifa (Toyota) starts the same. It’s fair for everyone.” dan all the stage and then I had a flat Abdullah and his experienced Ulster suffered a leaking oil pump, retired ond selective section from a start in and former FIA World Cup winner Quintanilla said: “Today was an tyre between PC2 and PC3,” he said. navigator Michael Orr on Sunday his Nissan from the national rally Al-Kharrara from 07.15hrs for the first Vladimir Vasilyev (Mini) rounded off important stage for the road book and “Then I caught Yasir, who was evening. stage and was soon joined by Abdul- of the motorcycles and 08.45hrs for the top five in the car category. the navigation. I did really well. I was stopped, stuck in the sand. We must After replacing their Toyota Land lah Al Rabban’s Buggy. the first of the cars. The stage runs “It was okay today, not easy navi- in front almost all the stage trying to respect our land, because if you don’t Cruiser’s engine with a new unit The group of front-running for 345.89km to finish near the old gation and I think Yazeed is pushing,” not make any mistakes. I feel really it will be so tricky. I am not aiming for after the ill-fated Abu Dhabi Desert riders passed PC2 together, after bivouac location at Sealine, south of said Al Attiyah. good. I think on this race the mass the first, but if I come to the podium Challenge, 4WD Jaton Racing Team 128.69km, and headed towards the Doha.

QSL launches Cup with Qatar Cup: Lekhwiya desperate to retain title

Media Day The Peninsula way to late January, and gave Djamel Belmadi some breathing space. The Peninsula Come the start of February AFC Champions League commitments DOHA: Champions Lekhwiya are meant that Lekhwiya’s league form DOHA: The Qatar Stars League looking to retain their prestigious dipped again. (QSL) has announced the Qatar Qatar Cup trophy as the Djamel Bel- They only managed three points Cup 2016 competition with a spe- madi’s side didn’t necessarily hit the from a possible twelve; although that cial Media Day event involving heights domestically this season, and was a big 3-0 win over top 4 rivals professional players and the cap- are seeing the prestigious tournament El Jaish. tains of the top four sides. as a realistic way of picking up silver- The final defeat in February Al Rayyan, El Jaish, Al Sadd ware this season. essentially halted their quest to regain and Lekhwiya will all square off in The coveted tournament fea- the Falcon shield, with a 5-0 hum- the prestigious Qatar Cup trophy. turing four top teams is starting this bling at the hands of Al Rayyan. Two players from each side weekend. The Red Knights started the Going into the final quarter of the took part in the event, in which QSL season impressively with three season, Lekhwiya’s form suffered promotional photo’s where taken, wins on the bounce, including an eye slightly picking up only two wins and along with media interviews for catching 7-0 thrashing of Al Khariti- a draw from the final 7 QSL games, both print and television chan- yat in round 2. this included three straight defeats to nels with both Arabic and English However, the former QSL cham- the likes of Al Sadd, Al Wakrah and a media. pions stuttered in the following five thrilling 5-4 loss to Al Ahli. For currently QSL champi- games only picking up one point from With form being everything going ons Al Rayyan were represented a possible fifteen including defeats into the Qatar Cup, it may seem that by Rodrigo Tabata and defender to Al Arabi, Al Rayyan and a narrow Lekhwiya may not have the best Hamid Ismail. El Jaish brought 1-0 loss to Umm Salal which piled the chance to regain the famous trophy. captain Abdurahman Abker and pressure on Djamel Belmadi. The majority of this squad have FROM LEFT: Lekhwiya’s Yusef Msakni, captain Karim Boudiaf, Al Rayyan’s Hamid Ismail, captain Rodrigo QSL top scorer Abderrazak Ham- Lekhwiya rallied in late Novem- won everything domestically in Qatar, dallah while Al Sadd brought ber to register eight straight wins and only need to register two wins to Tabata, Al Sadd’s captain Xavi Hernandez and his team-mate Hassan Haydoos, El Jaish’s Abdurahman Abker captain Xavi Hernandez and Qatar in the QSL, putting the Red Knights hoist the famous Qatar Cup. Belmadi and Abderrazak Hamdallah pose with the Qatar Cup trophy at a special media event in Doha yesterday. national team captain Hassan firmly in the Qatar Cup places. Eye can call on a host of players who have Haydoos. catching wins included a 4-2 win over plenty of experience. The South Korean international While he also registered 10 assists names of Djamel Belmadi’s team- Lekhwiya brought Tunisian rivals Al Sadd and a comprehensive No player will be more important has grabbed ten league goals this sea- for him team-mates. Nam has started sheet. Nam will have to be at his midfielder Yusef Msakni and cap- 4-0 win over Al Gharafa. for Belmadi than midfielder Nam Tae son, his second highest tally since twenty five of twenty six games in brilliant best if the Red Knights are tain Karim Boudiaf. The winning streak lasted all the Hee. joining Lekhwiya in 2011. the QSL, making him one of the first to succeed in the Qatar Cup this year.