BUSINESS | Page 1 SPORT | Page 1 Doha Bank Lorenzo optimistic on Qatar’s macro wins INDEX fundamentals season-opening DOW JONES QE NYMEX QATAR 2 – 10, 28 COMMENT 26, 27 REGION 11 BUSINESS 1 – 7, 13 – 16 17,492.00 10,414.65 39.44 ARAB WORLD 11, 12 CLASSIFIED 8 – 13 race in Qatar +107.00 -11.32 -0.76 INTERNATIONAL 13 – 25 SPORTS 1 – 12 +0.62% -0.11% -1.89% Latest Figures published in QATAR since 1978 MONDAY Vol. XXXVII No. 10034 March 21, 2016 Jumada II 12, 1437 AH GULF TIMES www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals Qatari sprinter wins silver medal Doha Metro In brief trial and QATAR | Talks Emir meets US Senate delegation HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin testing ‘by Hamad al-Thani yesterday met with a team of US senators, including Ben Cardin (Maryland), who is the deputy chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Cory Gardner (Colorado); Ed 2017 end’ Markey (Massachusetts); and Jeff Merkley (Oregon). Talks during More than 95% of the tunnelling fi rst phase of the Doha Metro would be the meeting at the Emiri Diwan of the 22km Green Line between over latest by the end of this year, the dealt with co-operation between Mansoura and Al Riff a is now Qatar Rail offi cials said that more than Qatar and the US in addition complete 95% of the tunnelling of the 22km to a number of regional and Green Line between Mansoura and Al international issues of common By Ramesh Mathew Riff a (via Mushereib and Mall of Qatar interest. Also yesterday, HE the Staff Reporter in Rayyan) was now complete. Prime Minister and Interior Minister More than 51% of the Green Line Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin project is also over. Of the 22km, as Khalifa al-Thani met with Senator Abdalelah Haroun of Qatar celebrates after winning the silver medal in the men’s 400 metres at the IAAF World Indoor Athletics he trial and testing operations much as 19km are underground. Com- Cardin. They reviewed areas of co- Championships in Portland, Oregon, on Saturday. Reigning champion Pavel Maslak of the Czech Republic won the gold in of the Doha Metro are expected muters will be able to travel the 22km operation between Qatar and the 45.44sec, while Haroun clocked 45.59 for the silver. Deon Lendore of Trinidad and Tobago took bronze. Sports Page 12 Tto start towards the end of next in 24 minutes as against more than 64 US and ways of developing them year, senior offi cials of Qatar Rail re- minutes by road. The Green Line con- in addition to topics of common vealed yesterday. sists of 11 stations. interest. Page 2 “The coaches, each nearly 20m More than 38% of the works on the long, are expected to arrive towards Gold Line between Ras Abu Aboud and the end of this year,” Qatar Rail man- Al Aziziya is complete and 80% of the AFRICA | Mediation aging director Abdulla Abdulaziz al- tunnelling is also fi nished. The 15km AU chief lauds Summit spotlight on Subaie stated. line will feature 11 stations. It has been announced earlier Al-Subaie said that almost 70% of Qatari eff orts that the fi rst phase of the ambitious the total contracts of the project were Commission of the African Union project, consisting of more than executed by local contractors even (AU) chairperson Dr Nkosazana 108km of tracks and 40 stations, though the quantum of fi nancial com- Dlamini Zuma has welcomed the challenges facing media would be operational towards the end mitments covered by their contracts release by the Eritrean authorities of 2019. were still to be worked out. of four Djiboutian prisoners of Al-Subaie was speaking at a cer- Replying to a question on tunnel- war who had been detained in he choice of the Middle East dom of speech and truth,” he told the seeking to present a distinguished emony to announce the completion of boring machines (TBMs), the project 2008 following a border dispute for the fi rst time to host the opening session of the two-day event media service that respects the intel- the tunnelling of the northern section director for the consortium of Im- between Djibouti and Eritrea. She TWorld Media Summit (WMS) in Doha last night. lect of the viewer and provides infor- of the 42km long Red Line, at Doha pregillo-SK E & C and Galfar al-Mi- commended Qatar for the role it Doha 2016 in its third round refl ects Sheikh Thamer affi rmed that such mation honestly with professional- Golf Club, in the presence of Qatar snad (ISG), Barry Crouchman, said played in this respect. Dr Zuma the growing importance of the region a situation demanded close co-oper- ism. Rail CEO Saad al-Mohannadi. that one had already been returned considered that the release of the as a major global focus point due to ation among all media organisations “Through its various media plat- Briefi ng journalists about the on- to Germany for refurbishing and de- prisoners of war to be a positive the fundamental transformations and to make the protection of journalists a forms and screens, Al Jazeera Media going works, the offi cials said that ployment elsewhere soon. Four more step in the right direction towards changes it has undergone, Al Jazeera global issue. Network has provided the opportuni- electrical, mechanical and signalling TBMs will be sent back in the next six the normalisation of relations Media Network chairman Sheikh Ha- “The rapidly advancing digital ty for the expression of opinions, sup- works in the tunnels were expected to to eight weeks while two are ready for between the Eritrea and Djibouti. mad bin Thamer al-Thani has said. technology for the means of com- porting the just causes of the common start towards the end of the year. This shipping after completing their tasks. She pointed out that the AU had “The choice of the topic ‘The Fu- munication and social media provide man. The main objective of Al Jazeera would be followed by more develop- It may be recalled that as many as repeatedly urged for the full ture of news and news organisations’ another fi eld of co-operation to make since its beginning has been to reach mental works, including the test runs 21 TBMs were at work simultaneous- implementation of the agreement for this prestigious summit refl ects our channels continue to be a main the truth wherever it could be and towards the last quarter of next year. ly in Qatar as part of the Doha Metro of June 6, 2010 signed by the two the common challenges facing the source of documented and true infor- convey the image of the event and the While expressing confi dence that project in a Guinness World Record. countries under Qatar’s auspices. media and media persons, especially mation and free opinion.” reality as it is with complete objectiv- tunnelling of more than 85km of the Page 2 the risks facing journalists in many Sheikh Thamer recalled that ever ity and integrity.” countries around the world. Many of since it was founded 20 years ago, Sheikh Thamer stated that as Al IRAN | Charge them have lost their lives for the free- Al Jazeera Media Network had been Jazeera Media Network worked at the Khamenei says US heart of this region, it would con- tinue to carry its message and assume still hostile aft er deal its professional responsibility. As an Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali important part of the media scene, it Khamenei accused Washington would also continue positive co-oper- of failing to respect the terms of ation with media organisations on dif- a nuclear deal that lifts sanctions ferent levels, including the World Me- on Tehran, in a speech yesterday dia Summit, while striving to achieve marking Persian New Year. “The the highest levels of excellence. Americans have not respected their At the third WMS being hosted by commitments,” he said in the speech Al Jazeera Media Network, around for Nowruz in the northeastern city 350 delegates from 100 countries will of Mashhad. Page 11 explore the major challenges media organisations are facing, from the decade-old giants, to the start-ups TURKEY | Attacks pushing the boundaries of content Minister blames IS and distribution. The WMS serves as an effi cient for suicide blast platform for media organisations to A Turkish Islamic State recruit, communicate and pool collective wis- Mehmet Ozturk, carried out the dom for their survival and develop- suicide bombing that killed four ment, convening every two to three foreigners on a major shopping years. The summit was jointly initiat- artery in Istanbul, Interior Minister Al Jazeera Media Network chairman Sheikh Hamad bin Thamer al-Thani addressing ed by Xinhua News Agency and other A tunnel boring machine achieving the “breakthrough” in the northern section of the Efken Ala said yesterday. Page 19 the opening session of the World Media Summit 2016 in Doha yesterday. leading media organisations. Doha Metro’s Red Line near Doha Golf Club yesterday. Investigators probe Flydubai jet crash Rain and thunder expected today AFP after circling for several hours. bris was spread across a wide area. ain and thunder, along with aff ected by an extension of a low- go up to 25 knots during the thunder- Moscow Investigators said all 55 passengers Investigators were spending the day strong winds, are expected in pressure system from this evening, showers. and seven crew - including nine diff er- combing the scene for clues of what Rthe country by this evening, the with chances of scattered rain that Off shore areas will see hazy-to- ent nationalities, with 45 from Russia caused the crash, Sokolov said, with Qatar Met Department has said.