BUSINESS | Page 1 SPORT | Page 1 Riders done with talking, now it’s INDEX DOW JONES QE NYMEX QATAR 2-8, 28 COMMENT 26, 27 Commercial banks REGION 9 BUSINESS 1 -7, 12-16 to gain from robust time for 20,905.86 10,406.79 48.18 ARAB WORLD 9, 10 CLASSIFIED 8-12 -8.76 +68.24 -0.60 INTERNATIONAL 11-25 SPORTS 1-8 credit demand: BMI -0.04% +0.66% -1.23% action Latest Figures published in QATAR since 1978

TUESDAY Vol. XXXVIII No. 10399 March 21, 2017 Jumada II 22, 1438 AH

GULF TIMES www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals ARCO honour for the Emir ‘Smart’ jersey In brief to save lives

QATAR | Astronomy Mercury closest to the sun on March 23 of players on The planet Mercury will be at its perihelion, or closest point to the sun, in its orbit on March 23 (Thursday) at 5pm Doha local time, according to a press statement by football pitch Qatar Calendar House. People in Qatar and the region can observe “smart” jersey that prevents Sports Medicine Journal, up to 90% of HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani was awarded the Abu Bakr Al-Siddique Medal by the Arab Red Crescent and Mercury from a desert area with no sudden cardiac death (SCD) all non-trauma-related sudden deaths Red Cross Organisation (ARCO), in recognition of his support for humanitarian action at the local, regional and international environmental and light pollution, Aon the football pitch could be- in sport are due to disorders of the car- levels, and the featured role of Qatar in this field. HH the Emir received the medal during a meeting at the Emiri Diwan with a noted astronomer Dr Beshir Marzouk come a reality in time for the 2022 FIFA diovascular system. delegation representing ARCO yesterday. HE the Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa has explained. The planet will appear World Cup Qatar, thanks to Challenge Elsherif explained: “With this idea we al-Thani attended the meeting. above the western horizon in the 22, an innovation award launched by hope to save the lives of players through Qatar sky by 11 degrees after sunset. the Supreme Committee for Delivery & preventative measures, especially since It will be visible for about 1 hour and Legacy (SC). researchers have determined that sud- 7 minutes after sunset before setting For one of the semi-fi nalists of Chal- den heart attacks exhibit signs and in- around 6.53pm (local time), he adds. lenge 22’s second cycle, the prevention dicators that, if fl agged early and im- Mercury will be at its perihelion of sudden cardiac death (SCD) on the mediately addressed, can forewarn us again on June 19. football pitch is a personal issue, ac- about a heart attack. While monitoring Brazil’s meat industry hit cording to a report on the SC website a player’s vital signs, the data is fed into AMERICA | Politics yesterday. a specifi c algorithm that runs an analy- Qatar resident Elsherif Mahmoud sis and raises alerts, if necessary.” FBI head denies was motivated to fi nd a solution after As a FIFA-accredited medical centre Trump wiretap claim he lost two of his uncles to SCD at a of excellence, Aspetar has examined as scandal gathers force The head of the FBI publicly young age. In order to prevent this hap- over 5,000 athletes, including every challenged US President Donald pening on the pitch, he and his team professional football player compet- AFP Brazil’s biggest meat export market, diately to halt exports by four com- Trump yesterday, denying the have come up with the idea to create a ing in the Qatar Stars League as a part Brasilia said it needed to know more about panies implicated in the scandal, the Republican’s claim that former “smart” jersey that provides data relat- of pre-participation screening pro- the allegations that major meatpack- bloc’s spokesman Enrico Brivio told president Barack Obama wiretapped ed to players’ cardiovascular perform- gramme. ing businesses bribed inspectors to get reporters in Brussels. his 2016 election campaign ance in real-time. The team has submitted their ad- he fallout from Brazil’s rotten health certifi cates and masked tainted Chile’s Agriculture Minister Carlos and confirming his agency had Since the tragedy of Marc-Vivien vanced proposal for the semi-fi nals of meat scandal gathered force meat as fi t for consumption. Furche said on Twitter that his gov- launched a criminal investigation Foe’s death during the FIFA Confedera- Challenge 22, providing more details to Tyesterday when China, a huge “Until it receives more information, ernment was imposing a “temporary” into any collusion between Trump’s tions Cup 2003 semi-fi nal, SCD contin- support the information they initially market, suspended imports and the China will not unload meat imported ban on meat imports from Brazil. campaign and Russia. FBI Director ues to claim lives on the football pitch. submitted. The exercise enabled them European Union called for a partial from Brazil,” the Brazilian agriculture It said the ban would stay in place James Comey said he had seen Elsherif said: “Our innovation could to solidify their idea and take it forward ban. ministry said in an online statement. until Brazil confi rmed that companies no evidence to support a claim by allow us to detect cardiovascular dys- into a more realistic project plan. A charm off ensive by President It said Brazilian Agriculture Minister exporting meat to Chile had been cor- Trump that Obama had wiretapped functions by placing portable electro- All Challenge 22 semi-fi nalists have Michel Temer, who even invited for- Blairo Maggi was to hold a videocon- rectly vetted. his campaign headquarters in cardiogram devices on players, giving had access to a network of mentors – eign ambassadors to a traditional meat ference late yesterday with Chinese At least 30 people have been arrest- Manhattan’s Trump Tower. Page 13 us a real-time feed of their cardiovas- along with two training workshops pro- restaurant in the capital Brasilia late authorities to off er “clarifi cations.” ed in the scandal, with Brazilian police cular performance without interfering vided by programme partner AstroLabs Sunday, failed to calm importers. The European Commission, the EU raiding more than a dozen processing BRITAIN | Politics with their athletic performance.” – to help develop their proposals. The China, which with Hong Kong is executive arm, called on Brazil imme- plants. Page 22 According to the Sudden Death in teams had six weeks to enhance their May’s govt to trigger Football paper published in Aspetar submissions, with judges (reviewers) Brexit on March 29 now reviewing submissions before they Britain said yesterday it will announce the fi nalists in mid-April. launch the process of leaving the Finalists will then be invited to Doha European Union on March 29, to take part in interactive trainings, setting a historic and uncharted mentorship sessions and workshops, course to become the first country all of which are designed to progress to withdraw from the bloc by their ideas ahead of presentations to March 2019. Nine months after the judging panel. the stunning referendum vote for Elsherif believes that the combined Brexit, Prime Minister Theresa May’s talents of his team – which includes government will finally trigger electrical engineering, biology and Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty medical expertise – and their shared next week, starting a two-year Challenge 22 semi-finalist Elsherif passion to innovate gives them every- departure. Page 16 Mahmoud. thing they need to win Challenge 22.

Two new services on Metrash 2 he Ministry of Interior (MoI) has or for any other To activate this free service of direct added two more new e-services reason. debit it is required to fi ll the special Tto its mobile app Metrash 2 and To enjoy this forms available at any branches of QNB its website. service the com- along with identifying the persons who The new service facilitates automat- pany should are granted the authority to access di- ic renewal of residence permits of the subscribe to di- rect debit service. The authorised per- employees in companies and institu- rect debit serv- sons can use it for any payment, even if tions in addition to the facility to sub- ice which allows the amount is higher. In the case of any scribe for direct debit service through transfer of the error the amount will be returned to the the Metrash 2 account. service fees di- account without delay. The new automated residence permit rectly from the The General Directorate of Informa- renewal will help a lot to save time and benefi ciary com- tion Systems at the MoI has urged all eff orts of the company representatives pany’s account to companies and establishments to reg- and can avoid fi nes for delay in renewal. the account of the ister for the automatic residence per- To avail this service it is required to add ministry. mit renewal to save their time and eff ort companies in the new service whereas The Metrash2 and avoid fi nes for delay in renewal. the system will automatically notify the subscribers or MoI website users can Almost 211 electronic services are list of individuals whose residence per- use the new direct debit service to make available through Metrash2 and the mits to be renewed soon. It also facili- payments for the required services. website of the MoI. The number of tates to remove or exempt anyone who Earlier this was possible through bank subscribers to Metrash2 has reached has terminated his job in the company cards only. 328,000 so far.

Climate change ‘makes deadly China pollution worse’

Global warming has boosted the cities, the number of days each year The main danger, experts agree, is frequency and severity of deadly air with weather tailor-made for extreme particle pollution, especially toxic, pollution peaks in northern China, smog rose from 45 to 50 in the period microscopic flecks smaller than 2.5 scientists said yesterday. 1982-2015 compared to the previous micrometres in diameter - about 40 Toxic particles in the air cause nearly a three decades, a 10% jump, the study times thinner than a human hair. million premature deaths in the country found. The burning of coal, along with vehicle every year, according to earlier research. The trend is set to worsen if warming emissions and dust, are the main “Climate change increases occurrences continues unabated. sources of these ultra-fine specks, which of weather conditions conducive to Persistent episodes of health-wrecking can cause severe respiratory problems Beijing winter severe haze,” a team haze would become another 50% more and increase the risk of heart disease. reported in the journal Nature Climate frequent - and last nearly twice as long Small enough to enter human cells, they Change. - during the second half of this century, can also aff ect the immune and nervous In Beijing and other major northern the scientists found. systems. Gulf Times 2 Tuesday, March 21, 2017 QATAR

Emir receives message from Saudi king Emir meets Arab League chief OFFICIAL

Emir sends Independence Day greetings

HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, HH the Deputy Emir Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad al-Thani and HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani have sent cables of congratulations to Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi on the anniversary of his country’s Independence Day. Qatar Chamber HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani has received a written message from the Custodian HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani met Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud of Saudi Arabia, pertaining to relations Gheit and his accompanying delegation at the Emiri Diwan yesterday. The Arab League secretary attends UAC between Qatar and Saudi Arabia and aspects of enhancing them. The message was handed over general briefed the Emir on the preparations and arrangements for the 28th session of the Arab meeting in Cairo by Saudi ambassador to Qatar Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Aifan when the Emir met him at the Emiri summit to be held in Jordan later this month. They also discussed the latest developments in the Diwan yesterday. region. Qatar Chamber participated in the 124th meeting of the Union of Arab Chambers (UAC), which took place recently in Cairo. The meeting discussed issues such as reviewing UAC’s recent activities, establishing a data base for the UAC and setting up a special committee to represent the private sector in the Arab Bigger, longer food festival to Initiative for Food Safety and Trade Facilitation. Talks also focused on improving the investment infrastructure to create more jobs and enhance trade between Arab countries. Head of Arab-EU SMEs Business celebrate cultural diversity Council Mohamed bin Youssef Bahzad gave a presentation on By Joey Aguilar investment opportunities in Small Staff Reporter Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Chairman of Qatar Chamber (QC) Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim al-Thani, ome-grown culinary who led the delegation at the talents will off er a wide meeting, said the chamber was Hrange of local and inter- committed to developing and national cuisine to celebrate cul- enhancing the trade among Arab tural diversity at the 8th edition countries. He noted that there of the Qatar International Food is ongoing coordination among Festival (QIFF) from March 29 to Arab chambers for stimulating April 8 at the Hotel Park. the intra-trade and maximising Some 130 participants, mostly the mutual investments. from the hospitality, and food and beverage sector, will take part in the 11-day festival, or- Advisory Council ganised by Qatar Tourism Au- thority (QTA), in partnership holds meeting with Katara Hospitality. Visitors can also benefi t from The Advisory Council yesterday the 2,500-capacity underground held its regular weekly session parking area at the venue, locat- under the chairmanship of HE the ed in front of the Sheraton Doha. Deputy Speaker of the Advisory “This year’s QIFF is not only Council Issa bin Rabea al-Kuwari. longer but has attracted a sig- Renowned chefs Aisha al-Tamimi prepares a delicacy at the press (From left) Mashal Shahbik, Saif al-Kuwari, and Salem al-Kubaisi at the press conference about QIFF 2017 The Advisory Council referred nifi cant increase in the number conference yesterday. PICTURES: Thajudheen yesterday. a draft law on establishing a of participants sharing the Festi- national address to the Internal val’s main platform at a new and previous edition, he noted that trolleys and trucks range be- pleasant outdoors. a more virtual world of food lighting our passion for creating and External Aff airs Committee to scenic location,” QTA’s festi- they hope to attract around tween QR5 and QR35. Visitors will also have the op- through the QIFF library which ultimate guest experiences,” he examine and present its report on vals and tourism events director 240,000 in this year’s celebration. The live cooking theatre re- portunity to watch food-related will be stocked with cook books noted. the subject. Mashal Shahbik told reporters at For the fi rst time, the annual turns to the event with the par- movies from 9pm to 10pm with and food-related literature. The event also introduces the The national address will be a a press conference yesterday. event will feature cuisines and ticipation of the Qatar Culinary the outdoor screenings set up by “QIFF has become a beacon new ‘QIFF Menu,’ which is of- collection of data upon which all She stressed that home- live cultural and entertainment Professionals and Qatar Univer- the Doha Film Institute and Qa- for Qatar’s growing hospitality fered from March 23 to April 8, future government and non- grown chefs and local busi- performances from 10 countries sity Culinary Club, which will tar Foundation (QF). industry and we are honoured allowing residents and visitors government related transactions nesses will enrich the festival’s at the ‘Cultural Zone,’ represent- take place from 4pm to 9pm Organisers will also put up to partner with QTA for the sec- to enjoy mouth-watering food will be based. The data will be off erings and provide thousands ed by their embassies in Doha. daily. child-friendly ‘edutainment’ ond consecutive year,” Salem groupings of at least three menu collected on a person, citizens of visitors with unique and au- These are Ethiopia, Germany, QIFF also features the high through daily screenings of Siraj, al-Kubaisi, chief corporate serv- items at a pre-set price of QR59, and residents alike. It could also thentic Qatari experiences. Italy, Japan, Mexico, Philippines, tea and fi ne dining pavilion that QF’s new 3D animation TV se- ices offi cer at Katara Hospitality, QR99, QR139 or QR179. be an entity and not just a person. QIFF is part of a strategy to South Africa, Turkey, the US, overlooks the Gulf waters and ries. QIFF partner, Jeem TV, said. Untouched and unsold food promote the role of festivals in and Qatar. for slightly more breezy and el- will also be screening its Baraem “With the aim of providing will be collected and repacked QFC welcomes new presenting a very touristic prod- Apart from the four-star to evated vistas of Doha. shows throughout the festival. unique yet diverse culinary ex- daily and given to people in need. uct in collaboration with the pri- fi ve-star food off erings and food New additions include the Another treat for visitors in- periences within our local and QIFF, in partnership with the Arbitration Law vate sector, according to QTA’s trucks, QIFF also brings back garden picnic at the 80,000sq clude a spectacular fi reworks international hotel portfolio, we Qatar Cancer Society, will also public relations and communi- the dinner in the sky pegged at m where families can collect a displays in the evenings to light place high importance on initia- run a health awareness com- Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) cation director Saif al-Kuwari. QR500 per person. Meanwhile, basket and blanket to enjoy a up the Doha skyline. tives that enhance our combined petition to raise awareness on Authority senior executives From 200,000 visitors in the prices of meals at food stalls, casual meal on the grass in the Book worms can explore product off ering while high- healthy living. welcomed the new Arbitration Law No 2 of 2017, which was introduced recently and gave Qatar International Court and Dispute Resolution Centre jurisdiction to oversee arbitration PHCC programme to hone teamwork skills cases in the State of Qatar in line with recent local and international developments. rimary Health Care Cor- Health Centre training venue. all health professionals under ing, PHCC, confirmed that The new law, which is based on poration (PHCC) repre- Dr Zelaikha, executive direc- PHCC through a phased train- the internal education sys- the United Nations Commission Psented by the workforce tor of Workforce Development ing plan, and in co-operation tem encourages more effec- on International Trade Law department, has launched the and Training, PHCC said the with the Operation Depart- tive communication and fur- (UNCITRAL) Model Law, contains fi rst session of the “Excellence competency based programme ment. She pointed out that the ther development of working several innovative features in eff ective communication is developed to embed core pri- training plan will be conducted relationship with colleagues, aimed at enhancing procedural and teamwork” programme to mary healthcare principles and for 3,000 health practition- as well as improving the level eff iciency, including revised develop basic skills in commu- values, as part of its strategic ers through two interactive of satisfaction among pa- procedures for the replacement nication, teamwork, resolving goal of ‘Excellence in Workforce workshops per month for three tients. She added that the of an arbitrator, the requirement HE the Minister of Municipality and Environment Mohamed bin confl icts and enhance the lead- and Organisational learning’. years. The course is followed by training courses have been for reasonableness of costs, and a Abdullah al-Rumaihi and Al Faisal’s founder and chairman HE Sheikh ership skills of the staff . Dr Noura al-Mutau’a, head, a test and a self-directed refl ec- provided through interactive review mechanism regarding the Faisal bin Qassim al-Thani shake hands after signing the MoU. The training was delivered Clinical Training Department, tive assignment. workshops to ensure effec- costs of arbitration. Commenting to 44 professional health care PHCC, maintained that the Dr Sara Mohamed al-Mar- tive participation by all par- on its issuance, QFC Authority practitioners at Al Thumama programme will be delivered to ri, head, Non Clinical Train- ticipants. CEO Yousuf Mohamed al-Jaida said: “The new arbitration law has come at an important Ministry signs MoU with time and will directly benefit international companies doing business in Qatar and prove to Al Faisal Foundation be an attractive off ering to them. We welcome the publishing of this new law and see it as an he Ministry of Munici- Qassim al-Thani, in the presence important step to meeting the pality and Environment of senior MME offi cials. economic and commercial needs T(MME) has signed a The memorandum aims at of those doing business in Qatar.” memorandum of understanding spreading public awareness on and co-operation with Al Faisal environmental, agriculture and Qatar-Indonesia Without Borders Foundation for health issues at schools, with charitable works to promote en- special focus on plant Qatar pro- ties reviewed vironmental awareness among gramme. students and community mem- Targeting schools students HE the Deputy Speaker of the bers in the country. at various stages, the pro- Advisory Council Issa bin Rabea The memorandum was signed gramme will focus on local al-Kuwari met his Indonesian yesterday by HE the Minister of foods, field visits to farms, counterpart Dr Agus Hermanto in Municipality and Environment learning the basic skills and Doha yesterday. Mohamed bin Abdullah al-Ru- principles of agriculture and They discussed parliamentary maihi and Al Faisal’s founder and how to be an active member in relations and the means to chairman HE Sheikh Faisal bin the local society. One of the sessions during the training programme. enhance them. Gulf Times Tuesday, March 21, 2017 3 QATAR

Emir meets ambassador of Libya

HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani met the outgoing ambassador of Libya to Qatar Abdulmonsif Hafez al-Bori at the Emiri Diwan yesterday. The Emir wished the outgoing ambassador success in his future assignments and further progress and prosperity for bilateral relations between the two countries. The ambassador thanked the Emir and the State’s officials for the co-operation he received during his tenure. Israel does not believe in two-state solution: Qatar

QNA resentative of the State of Israeli law itself, as well as a In this respect, the State Geneva Qatar to the United Nations violation of the rights of the of Qatar called on the inter- Offi ce in Geneva Ali Khal- Palestinian people. national community to take fan al-Mansouri, during an The Palestinian people the necessary measures to he State of Qatar interactive discussion with were forced to live under the end the siege and open the stressed that Israel is the UN Special Rapporteur “apartheid” regime prac- crossing to facilitate de- Tan occupying power on Palestinian territories tised by Israel, he added livery of humanitarian as- that does not believe in the occupied since 1967 within stressing that this calls for sistance and expedite the two-state solution and con- the 34 session of the UN the international commu- reconstruction process, re- siders itself above the law Human Rights Council. nity to hold accountable the iterating its fi rm stance on and violates all internation- The permanent repre- Israeli offi cials and leaders. the Palestinian issue, and al resolutions, stressing that sentative said that Qatar He added that the State full support for the rights the continuing violations condemns the Israeli law of Qatar strongly condemns of the Palestinian people and crimes committed by on the legalisation of set- what has been reported in in ending the occupation, Israel against the Palestin- tlements, which is consid- the UN special report on self-determination and the ian people are a major ob- ered a fl agrant violation of the human rights situation establishment of fully sov- stacle to the peace process the relevant laws and inter- in the occupied Palestinian ereign independent state in the region. national conventions and territories, that 2mn people with its capital in East Je- This came yesterday in resolutions, especially UN in Gaza Strip are subjected rusalem, on the borders of the speech of Qatar, deliv- Security Council Resolution to collective punishment 1967, according to a specifi c ered by the Permanent Rep- No 2334, a violation of the and unjust siege. timeframe. Gulf Times 4 Tuesday, March 21, 2017 QATAR WISH in MoU with Mental Health Friends Association

he World Innovation will support Weyak at its Summit for Health key mental health events T(WISH) yesterday throughout the year in signed a memorandum of Qatar, and utilise the lat- understanding (MoU) with ter’s network and exper- the Mental Health Friends tise within the community Association ‘Weyak’ to to jointly develop support establish a co-operative groups for caregivers and framework to promote people with mental health mental health in Qatar. issues. Weyak is a national vol- Egbert Schillings, chief untary association focused executive offi cer, WISH, on fostering understanding said: “HH Sheikha Moza of mental health issues with bint Nasser, chairperson outreach activities within of Qatar Foundation and the local community and founder of WISH is a strong Yousef al-Darwish and Mohammad Allam Ali of Gulf Publishing & Printing Co holding the winning coupons in the draw, the Arab world. champion of mental health alongside Ministry, Company representatives and other off icials. The agreement will al- causes. We have always em- low the two organisations Mohamed al-Binali and Egbert Schillings after signing the MoU. braced this key aspect of to exchange ideas and in- human health in our work formation of mental health while creating more visibil- Qatar’s residents and to a and sought to educate both issues on various platforms ity of Weyak’s community better world for all. policymakers and the pub- including websites, so- outreach within Qatar. The collaboration aims lic.With Weyak as a partner, Gulf Times-Al Raya cial media and commu- Mohamed Al- Binali, ex- to maximise outreach to we can support the excel- nity events. It will also help ecutive director, Weyak, a wider community base lent work being done in WISH and Weyak to expand hoped that through the that enables WISH to carry the local community and their networks by sharing MoU and co-operation with out research, surveys and in turn directly support their affi liations with local WISH, his organisation can disseminate policy and the national mental health subscribers win cars and regional organisations, contribute to the future of research reports. WISH strategy.”

ulf Times-Al Raya subscrib- Automobiles, who sponsored the of- cars available, BMW 318i and Mini ers won cars at the culmina- fered cars, was also present. James Cooper, both in their latest 2017 ver- Gtion of the three-month sub- John, Director-Marketing and Adel sions. The off er also gave options scription campaign for the leading Hammam, Circulation Manager, to subscribers to opt for a free extra Varsity holds library awareness day newspapers in English and Arabic, who were the real force behind the copy of either Gulf Times or Al Raya respectively. promotion, co-ordinated the event. or to get free subscription for the The widely-attended draw was The impressive subscription of- next year. atar University Library (QUL) hamed Faraj al-Khanji, and QUL section held at the Gulf Times-Al Raya main fer saw overwhelming participation The lucky subscriber who won the hosted the Library Awareness head of public services Saeeda Abdul offi ce on C Ring Road under the su- from across all communities and BMW 318i was Beena George (Cou- QDay 2017 on Sunday. The aim is Karim Y al-Sheerawi, as well as QU fac- pervision of the Ministry of Econ- nationalities, indicating the dailies’ pon 0001214) while Anil K Eldhose to raise student awareness on its various ulty, staff , and students. omy & Commerce representative, unmatched credibility and popular- (Coupon 0001436) won the Mini services and resources such as online The agenda included a presentation presided over by Yousef al-Darwish, ity, bringing the world headlines to Cooper. Both winners would shortly e-resources and digital and print books on QUL services delivered by assistant the Deputy General Manager of Gulf the people of the country for close to be felicitated at Alfardan Automo- and research journals. reference librarian Dalal al-Hajiri and Publishing & Printing Co. four decades now. biles offi ce when the keys will be Organised in collaboration with the assistant circulation librarian Shamsa The representative from Alfardan On off er were two of the popular handed over to them. Ministry of Culture and Sports, the al-Sada, and discussion sessions with event was part of QUL mission to nur- Dr Noora al-Khanji and engineer Ibra- ture QU’s academic and research aspira- him al-Sada, in which they highlighted tions and to support the community’s Engineer Ibrahim bin Hashem al-Sada. the library’s role in their writing career educational and professional needs. and their publications. The event was attended by QU vice director Hamad Mohamed al-Zakiba, Awards were distributed to the stu- Conference at Georgetown University president for Academic Aff airs Dr Has- Qatari Writer engineer Ibrahim bin dents who had borrowed the maximum san Alfadala, QUL director Dr Imad Hashem al-Sada, assistant professor at items from the library. On the sidelines Bachir, Ministry of Culture and Sports’ QU College of Arts and Sciences Arabic of the event was an exhibition for data- on Indian Ocean states concludes today Publications and Press Department Language Department Dr Noora Mo- base providers.

eorgetown University in Qa- tar’s annual faculty confer- Gence will come to a close to- day with wide-ranging discussions on the forms of nationalism, confl ict, geopolitics, and governance im- pacting the countries of the Indian Ocean. The two day conference, convened under the theme of ‘The Liberal State and its Alternatives in the Indian Ocean’, is held at GU-Q’s Education City campus. The fi rst day of the event saw ex- One of the sessions on the first day of the conference. perts and scholars from a range of local and international universities The programme for the second day Later sessions will focus on the is- exchange knowledge on subjects such of the event includes a discussion of sue of climate change in the Gulf and as ethnicity, urbanisation, migration, the diff erences in governance in Chi- the broader Indian Ocean, China’s and social development. na and India, how the rise of microfi - interests in the region, and the role of The symposium is made possible by nance and the growth of the garment chieftaincies in Somalia. The eff orts a Conference and Workshop Sponsor- industry in Bangladesh has impacted of state building after the partition ship Programme award from the Qatar local women, and the case of Singa- of countries in the Horn of Africa, as National Research Fund, a member of pore as a non-liberal electoral demo- well as issues of Arab nationalism will Qatar Foundation. cratic state. also be discussed.

Recall of 2012 Honda City, Jazz announced by ministry The Ministry of Economy and Commerce, in collaboration with Doha Marketing Services Company (Domasco), has announced the recall of Honda City and Jazz models of 2012 over potential malfunction in front passenger airbag. The MEC said the recall campaign comes within the framework of its ongoing eff orts to protect consumers and ensure that car dealers follow up on vehicle defects and repairs. The MEC will co- ordinate with the dealer to follow up on the maintenance and repair works and communicate with customers to ensure that the necessary repairs are carried out. The MEC has urged all customers to report any violations to its Consumer Protection and Anti-Commercial Fraud Department through the following channels: Hotline: 16001, e-mail: info@ mec.gov.qa, Twitter: @ MEC_Qatar, Instagram: MEC_Qatar, MEC mobile app for Android and IOS: MEC_Qatar Gulf Times Tuesday, March 21, 2017 5 QATAR Partnership eyes a more effi cient solar technology he Hamad Bin Kha- large-scale integration in the Scientists representing power, the partnering research lifa University’s Qa- grid. both EPFL and Qeeri met teams are working together to T tar Environment and The partnership aims to de- earlier this year at the HBKU create technologies and utilise Energy Research Institute velop innovative materials and Research Complex to review methods that are optimised for Participants attend a seminar on car care organised by United Cars Almana. (Qeeri) and École Polytech- concepts that would facilitate the progress made and dis- locations that experience hot nique Fédérale De Laussanne the realisation of low-cost en- cuss future steps. A group of climates and sunny weather, as (EPFL) in Switzerland have ergy generation in the near 15 prominent scientists from in Qatar. In their recent gath- partnered together to develop future, supporting the global EPFL travelled to Doha to at- ering, scientists have demon- a more efficient Photovoltaic transition to a low-carbon so- tend the workshop. strated signifi cant progress in Technology and address the ciety, one of the major issues of Seeking to fi nd more effi cient this partnership, successfully UCA gives tips to female technical issues related to its the 21st century. methods of extracting solar designing both silicon and per- ovskite solar cells exceeding 20% effi ciency. The collaboration sees sig- customers on car care nifi cant transfer of knowledge by leading experts and the joint intellectual property being de- nited Cars Almana cians focused on each of the in- strong relationship with our cli- veloped is of importance to the (UCA), the authorised struments, including tyre pres- ents and having our team of ex- global scientifi c community UChrysler, Jeep, and Dodge sure monitor, oil level warning perts give car owners advice on working in this fi eld. sales and service dealer in Qatar, lights, brake warning light, and what they can do to look after Dr Nouar Tabet, principal held a session with its female the engine warning system. their vehicles is our way of giving investigator at Qeeri, com- customers to give them a better The comprehensive educa- back,” said UCA general manager mented that the challenge is to understanding of their vehicles tion programme took the female Gurdeep Multani. develop cost-saving technol- and how to maintain them. attendees through all elements Jeep Wrangler Owners Club ogy that can efficiently con- The session, held at UCA’s of car maintenance, such as member Dina Mahmoud, who vert solar power, and inject it state-of-the-art showroom, how to check windscreen wiper attended the session, added: in the grid. was designed to give back to blades, where to locate the jack “This was a great initiative from “Through this new develop- loyal customers and thank them system, and how to operate it United Cars Almana. Every ment, we are looking towards for their continued support, in in the event of a fl at tyre. UCA’s driver should have some knowl- an actual path of utilising a line with the dealership’s goal highly-trained team also handed edge of the technical aspects and clean and free energy source, to provide the best in customer out detailed advice on how to maintenance requirements of the sun, as a tool to meet our service. inspect engine oil quality, en- their car. energy needs. We continue to Attendees, including mem- gine coolant levels and the car’s “By hosting this detailed ses- develop and experiment with bers of the Jeep Wrangler Own- battery. sion the team from UCA have novel approaches to develop a ers Club, were given an extensive A key message of the session shown just how much they are solar technology of better per- guided tour through the techni- was to advise why it is important committed to after-sales service. formance in hot climates.” cal elements in their vehicles, to care for your car like it is a fam- As a customer, programmes such HBKU’s Qeeri has played a including what each of the dash- ily member, and UCA highlighted as this make you feel valued.” signifi cant role in addressing board icons represents and what the quality service its dedicated The Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge the national energy and wa- action to take if one of the warn- team provides by showcasing its sales and service dealership is ter security grand challenges ing lights fl ashes or stays illumi- range of genuine Mopar parts and open between 8.30am and 9pm, through substantial research nated. accessories. Saturday to Thursday, and from Qeeri and EPFL experts who attended a recent workshop on Photovoltaic Technology. and development. The professional UCA techni- “We strive to always have a 4pm to 8pm on Friday. Gulf Times 6 Tuesday, March 21, 2017 QATAR

HE Jassim Seif Ahmed al-Sulaiti and Ralph Gonsalves signed an agreement on aerial transport co-operation in Doha yesterday. HE Dr Hassan bin Lahdan Saqr al-Mohannadi and Ralph Gonsalves signed an agreement on legal co-operation in Doha yesterday. Qatar, Saint Vincent sign two agreements he governments of the State is related to strengthening ties in the fi eld of aerial transport. DIPLOMATIC TIES of Qatar and Saint Vincent between legal experts of both The agreement is related to pro- ESTABLISHED: The govern- Tand the Grenadines yes- countries. It also focuses on ex- viding diff erent aerial services, ments of the State of Qatar and HE Sultan bin Saad al-Muraikhi and Ralph Gonsalves signed a joint statement on the establishment of terday signed two co-operation changing expertise in the legal including international ones. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines diplomatic relations between the two countries. agreements in the legal and aerial fi elds and organising workshops The agreement also focuses on yesterday signed a joint statement transport fi elds. and conferences related to train- co-operation in the fi eld of fl ight on the establishment of diplo- cent and the Grenadines by its ship and co-operation between The two countries agreed to HE the Minister of Justice ing and other legal matters. safety and other related matter. matic relations between the two Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves. their two countries in politi- establish diplomatic ties at the Dr Hassan bin Lahdan Saqr al- HE the Minister of Transport The agreement is the latest countries. The signing of the statement cal, economic, trade, scientifi c, ambassadorial level in accord- Mohannadi and Prime Minister and Communication Jassim Seif in Qatar’s eff ort to expand its The joint statement was comes within the desire of the technological and cultural fi elds, ance with the provisions of the of Saint Vincent and the Gren- Ahmed al-Sulaiti signed a co- aerial services agreements to al- signed for Qatar by HE the State Government of the State of Qa- as well as to establish bilateral Vienna Convention on Dip- adines Ralph Gonsalves signed operation agreement with Prime low its national carrier to expand Minister for Foreign Aff airs Sul- tar and the Government Saint relations in accordance with the lomatic Relations of April 18, the co-operation agreement Minister of Saint Vincent and its network and international tan bin Saad al-Muraikhi and for Vincent and the Grenadines to principles of the UN Charter and 1961, with eff ect from the date of in legal fi elds. The agreement the Grenadines Ralph Gonsalves destinations. the Government of Saint Vin- strengthen and develop friend- the international law provisions. signing of this joint statement. Minister honoured as CSR person

nder the patronage of HE Organisational Performance” plays a pivotal role in enhancing the Prime Minister and and delivered by QU College of the students’ culture and spirit UInterior Minister Sheikh Business and Economics associ- of teamwork. Qatar University Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa ate professor and member of QU stands as the top supplier of al-Thani, Qatar University (QU) CSR committee Dr Dalia Abdel graduates to the labour market. yesterday hosted the ceremony Rahman Farrag. Its graduates are equipped with to launch the fi fth edition of the It also included for the fi rst the necessary skills, competen- National CSR (Corporate Social time an exhibition of 21 booths cies and mindset that ease their Responsibility) Report. by Al Meera, Aspire Zone, AS- transition into the workplace.” During the ceremony, HE the TAD Project Management, QU president Dr Hassan al- Minister of Culture and Sports, Commercial Bank of Qatar, Doha Derham remarked, “Qatar Uni- Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser al- Bank, Es’hailSat, Gulf Ware- versity is proud to launch the Ali, was honoured as CSR Per- housing Company, Manateq, fi fth edition of the National CSR son of the Year 2016 in recog- Ministry of Foreign Aff airs, Min- Report. Over the years, the re- Khalifa al-Rayes receiving the award from QU president Dr Hassan nition of his role in supporting istry of Culture and Sports, LNG port saw a signifi cant improve- al-Derham. CSR and for being a role model Japan Corporation Company in ment and gained momentum in inspiring the youth of Qatar. Qatar, Morgan Stanley, Oore- through the contributions of Doha Bank was awarded with doo, Qatar Cool, Qatar Interna- various institutions from the the CSR Company of the Year tional Islamic Bank, Qatar Gen- public and the private sector.” 2016, and Annabi Int Gadha eral Insurance and Reinsurance “It is an honour to host the Commercial Bank’s Initiative founder Mohamed Co, Qatar Media Corporation, HE the Minister of Culture and al-Mohannadi and Sasol-Qatar Qatar Petrochemical Company, Sports Salah bin Ghanem bin general manager (public aff airs) HE Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser al-Ali (right) being honoured by Dr Ramaco Trading and Contract- Nasser al-Ali as CSR Person Jack Saba were honoured with Hassan al-Derham as CSR Person of the Year 2016. ing WLL, Sasol-Qatar, and Sharq of the Year 2016 and we con- community work the CSR Innovation Award. Law Firm. gratulate him on this signifi cant Leading companies and com- by QU in partnership with Qatar dia Corporation is the media HE al-Ali said, “QU is my award in recognition of his cru- munity representatives who CSR Network, will be distributed partner. university of choice if I had not cial role in supporting corporate are leaders in CSR were also to all Qatari embassies around The event included a pres- studied abroad. Qatar University social responsibility and for be- wins CSR award honoured. the world through the Ministry entation entitled “Strategic In- is a leading institution in Qatar ing a role model for the youth of The report, which is issued of Foreign Aff airs. Qatar Me- tegration of CSR in Qatar and and the region. The organisation Qatar,” he added. ommercial Bank has said support of Qatar’s national de- its work with the Qatari velopment in line with Qatar Na- Ccommunity has been tional Vision 2030. Commercial recognised with an excellence Bank strives to be an outstanding award at Qatar University (QU)’s corporate citizen by support- Expats in Company of the Year Award for Doha Bank CSR Exhibition and Conference. ing socio-economic initiatives The bank also participated in the that benefi t the Qatari commu- CSR Exhibition, during which the nity. We are delighted that our the dock oha Bank was honoured participates in key economic fi fth edition of the Qatar CSR Re- community work has been rec- with the Company of events, keynote sessions and port was launched and HE Salah bin ognised through this award and Dthe Year Award by Qatar other major local and global Ghanem bin Nasser al-Ali, Minister we are proud to support Qatar’s over fake University (QU) yesterday. programmes, he noted. of Culture and Sports, was awarded University’s valuable conference On receiving the award from Doha Bank’s ECO-Schools CSR Person of the Year. with our sponsorship. Dr Hassan al-Derham, presi- Programme is part of its Green In a statement, Commercial “Commercial Bank believes banknotes dent of QU, Doha Bank CEO Dr Banking Mission and the bank Bank stressed that its commit- that we have a duty working in R Seetharaman stressed that the has also “embraced sustainable ment to the Qatari community the private sector to give back to award was given for the bank’s business practices to satisfy its has been made through a wide the Qatari community of which Doha Criminal Court has contribution to sustainable customers and promote solid range of CSR activities that ben- we are a part, and to make a con- been reviewing the case development in Qatar. environmental stewardship”, efi t Qatari society as a whole. tribution to the human, social Aof two expatriates - an He said, “Doha Bank believes he observed. “In doing so, the These include humanitarian and economic wealth of Qatar Italian and a British - accused of in Qatar National Vision (QNV) bank has embarked on a green- projects and charitable work for for the benefi t of current and fu- counterfeiting and attempting 2030, which aims to direct Qatar er path in business and their the disadvantaged; educational, ture generations.” to circulate Qatari banknote of towards a balance between devel- personal lives.” training and personal develop- The CRS awards ceremony QR500 denomination. opmental needs and the protec- Dr Seetharaman said the fi - ment programmes for Qatari was attended by a number of Local Arabic daily Arrayah tion of its natural environment, Dr R Seetharaman receiving the award from Dr Hassan al-Derham. nancial sector could participate youth; sports and health initia- dignitaries, industry experts, has reported that the accused whether land, sea or air. in sustainable development by tives; support for Qatari arts and ministers and ambassadors, as have denied any wrongdoing “QNV 2030 includes an em- country’s environment for their the sustainability into the fu- taking initiatives to manage culture; and the bank’s Qatar well as representatives of NGOs, during their fi rst hearing ses- phasis on establishing an ef- children and the nation’s future ture. Doha Bank is also active climate change and mitigate National Day programmes that academic institutions and senior sion and the case was postponed fective legal framework and generations.” in supporting the youth of the global warming. “Doha Bank celebrate and preserve Qatar’s faculty from QU. to hear from more witnesses. the environmental institutions Dr Seetharaman highlighted nation from a human develop- Group, as part of its corporate cultural heritage. The Qatar CSR Report moni- The fraud came to light when that can serve as the guard- the measures of Doha Bank on ment perspective and conducts social responsibility, will dem- Receiving the excellence tors and evaluates the progress an employee at an exchange ians of Qatar’s environmental sustainable development, say- numerous programmes to help onstrate fair, open, effi cient award for CSR on behalf of Com- made each year in the area of centre suspected the banknotes heritage. QNV 2030 also em- ing: “Doha Bank advocates and develop indigenous talent.” and consistent business prac- mercial Bank, EGM Government sustainable development in so- submitted by one of the accused phasises the importance of practises Green Banking, which Further, the bank supports tices to mitigate climate change & Public Sector Khalifa al-Rayes ciety, with a particular focus on to be fake when he tried to ex- increasing citizens’ awareness is one of the core business phi- social integration across vari- and promote sustainable said: “Commercial Bank regards CSR and contributions to Qatar change them for US dollars. of their role in protecting the losophies that would support ous areas of society and actively development,” he added. CSR as integral to its business in National Vision 2030. According to the daily, the defendant submitted a sum of QR16,500, all in QR500 denom- ination, and wanted to exchange them for US dollars. But the employee in charge checked the QGBC campaign to reduce paper consumption from April 2 banknotes and confi rmed they were counterfeited and reported the issue to the police. atar Green Building tices and raise awareness of the at reducing recyclable waste tic bottles, plastic cups and Participating companies are more environmentally aware, When the man was arrested, Council (QGBC) has an- importance of sustainability. nationwide. It also serves as a jugs and aluminium and steel asked to drop their collected re- and look at ways to reduce re- his accomplice was arrested too Qnounced its fi fth annual ‘No Paper Day Qatar’ was celebration of Qatar’s eff orts to cans. cyclable waste to the QGBC Vil- cyclable waste. We believe it and the tools used in the coun- ‘No Paper Day Qatar’ campaign, established by QGBC to help successfully reduce its waste As part of reducing waste, la from April 2 - 4. Participants will encourage people to play terfeiting process were seized. which will take place across Qatar’s companies, institutions output. and in a drive to help those liv- will then be invited to attend the an active role in the country’s The technical lab report con- the country during the week and schools fi nd ways to reduce This year, companies and ing in less privileged communi- campaign’s closing celebration environmental and sustainabil- fi rmed that the notes in ques- starting April 2. paper consumption and con- individuals are encouraged ties, QGBC invites companies at QGBC on April 6. ity eff orts. This year’s campaign tion were counterfeited in a very The initiative is part of tribute to a sustainable future. to start saving and collecting and individuals to collect old Meshal al-Shamari, director, is focused on helping peo- clumsy way that could be dis- QGBC’s ongoing eff orts to en- The initiative aims to encour- recyclable waste limited to clothes and toys, which are in QGBC, said, “The ‘No Paper ple realise the tangible impact covered by any one easily. The gage the wider community in age local communities to adopt newspapers and magazines, good condition, for donation to Day Qatar’ campaign reminds their actions can make on the case is continues at the court. environment-friendly prac- eco-friendly initiatives geared offi ce paper, cardboard, plas- Qatar Charity. residents and businesses to be environment.” Gulf Times Tuesday, March 21, 2017 7 QATAR Global brands, great off ers at the ‘Magical Festival Village’ he second season of Magi- “We have seen an increasing outlets, including the possibility cal Festival Village, locat- number of visitors to the village of direct contracting through the Ted along the Katara Beach who enjoy the great discounts village site. Front, is off ering “great dis- and competitive prices off ered by “We have also cancelled the counts” and competitive prices the said global brands, especially rental deadlines to open the door on luxury products and interna- women’s brands.” of contracting to more than one tional brands showcased in the Al-Mohannadi said that most unit and granted larger spaces for 357 outlets within its premises. of the outlets are off ering special exhibitors. Ezdan World Company, which prices. “We have given our custom- manages the village, said the He also said that most of inter- ers the freedom to market and products on off er include shoes, national companies with outlets present their products to the bags, women’s supplies, furni- at the village come from India, public without any restrictions ture, antiques, technical sup- the UAE, China, and Germany, that may limit how or where they plies, and the latest fashion who have collectively rented would advertise or promote their trends. more than 80 outlets. products, allowing them to take Ezdan World Company gen- Al-Mohannadi said this indi- advantage of the village’s large eral manager Abdul Aziz al-Mo- cates the volume of global de- space and climate.” hannadi said: “The large turnout mand for the village as a family The “Magical Festival Village” witnessed by the village is due to entertainment project that pro- project, which runs until April it being the largest tourism and motes tourism and shopping in 30, stands on a 50,000sq m area shopping destination in Qatar, Qatar and enhances its position in the heart of Katara the Cul- as well as the good timing of the in the world tourism map. tural Village, and aims to be the village’s second season that came “The facilities provided by biggest entertainment attraction in conjunction with the tourism the village have been made for locally and regionally. and shopping festival in Qatar. exhibitors to overcome all the It also features some 200 “The facilities we have made obstacles associated with the ex- games and entertainment shows, available to the village exhibitors hibition spaces and rental proce- and features large areas custom- and outlets also played a key role dures. ised for commercial outlets, ca- the remarkable turnout of visi- “We have provided favourable fes, and restaurants in the style of tors from every corner of Qatar. conditions for the rental of the a European countryside. The ‘Magical Festival Village’ at night. CMU-Q students visit al khaliji headquarters

l Khalij Commercial Bank (al the two parties’ joint co-operation, strengthen the potential of students in The bank’s collaboration with Carn- khaliji) recently hosted Carn- and is considered the fi rst of a series various fi elds. egie Mellon is part of al khaliji’s cor- Aegie Mellon University in Qatar of initiatives and programmes that will The two parties will also be organ- porate social responsibility policy to (CMU-Q) students at its headquarters. be carried out with CMU-Q students. ising joint specialised conferences, partner with leading local institutions The students were taken on a tour A memorandum of understanding seminars and workshops, in addition in various fi elds and disciplines, with of the bank’s various departments and (MoU) was signed in January between to encouraging students to engage in the aim of raising the bar of perform- briefed on the role and functions of al khaliji and Carnegie Mellon to create volunteer work during al khaliji’s ac- ance and the standards of service at al each. close co-operation and co-ordination tivities for community service in Qa- khaliji, while advancing its community CMU-Q students with Al Khaliji off icials. The visit came in the framework of between the two organisations and tar. development eff orts in Qatar. Gulf Times 8 Tuesday, March 21, 2017 QATAR Doha Festival City underpins plea to investors

By Peter Alagos which is spread out over a total Business Reporter site area of 433,000sqm, has an expected footfall of 1.6mn visi- tors each month. The mall will be he Doha Festival City, home new brands and concepts, poised as “the largest mall including the largest Monoprix Tin the country” slated for Hypermarket in the world, Qa- its soft opening on April 5, places tar’s “fi rst and only” Harvey Qatar’s appeal to investors under Nichols department store, and the global spotlight, an offi cial the fi rst ACE Hardware in Qatar, has said. among others. Bawabat Al-Shamal Real Es- Shamma also described Doha tate Company (Basrec) CEO Kar- Festival City as a “smart mall,” eem Shamma said the project, with state-of-the-art technolo- which has a development cost gies like ‘digital wayfi nders’ and of more than QR6bn, highlights a smart parking system connect- Qatar as “an extremely attrac- ed via the mall’s free Wi-Fi. tive market” for investors. Michael Beggs, development Basrec is the parent company director at Al-Futtaim Group and owner of Doha Festival City Doha Festival City general manager Trevor Michael Hill. Basrec CEO Kareem Shamma. Real Estate, said sustainability and comprises four sharehold- and effi ciency “are major fac- ers, Dubai-based Al-Futtaim Qatar government to ensure we City houses 45,000sq m of lei- outlets, including a 3km ‘Out- tors” in the design and con- Real Estate Services, Qatar Is- are aligned with its long-term sure space that will include a door Leisure Trail’ for running, struction of the project. lamic Bank, Aqar Real Estate strategy to diversify the econo- state-of-the-art indoor and walking, or mountain biking, “The Ministry of Municipal- Investment Company, and a pri- my and increase tourism. outdoor entertainment zone, surrounding the entire project,” ity and Environment require vate Qatari investor. “Qatar is a growing market, including four innovative theme he said. developers in Qatar to comply Speaking to reporters yester- and with the many billions be- parks “with many attractions On the sidelines of the press with GSAS (Global Sustain- day, Shamma said: “We believe ing invested in infrastructure never seen before in the region.” conference, Doha Festival City ability Assessment System), a foreign investment and retail projects surrounding Doha Fes- “The project, at almost 1km general manager Trevor Michael green building certifi cation sys- sectors will continue to stay tival City, we are already a part in length, off ers almost 4km of Hill told Gulf Times almost 50% tem, which provides a star rating strong and that the 2017 forecast of this growth. So we must thank corridors in which to explore the of the mall’s retail outlets and of the development. The more is positive. From the early plan- the government for its support entertainment, retail and dining almost majority of the food and stars the higher the green build- ning phase, we had in mind the to date and going forward,” he options on off er. Doha Festival beverage destinations will be ing rating. Doha Festival City is Qatar National Vision 2030 and stressed. City will be home to more than open on the April 5 opening. set to achieve a three star rating,” have worked closely with the Shamma said Doha Festival 500 stores with over 100 dining Hill said Doha Festival City, he said. An interior view of Doha Festival City. PICTURES: Feroze Ahamed.

MoPH workshop pushes for a national action plan on antimicrobial resistance

he Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), point for AMR highlighted the importance in collaboration with the Eastern of drafting the national action plan for AMR TMediterranean Regional Offi ce of the during her talk. According to the offi cial, it World Health Organisation (EMRO/WHO), is one of the most important pillars for the conducted a workshop to develop national successful implementation of the national action plan to combat antimicrobial resist- AMR programme. ance (AMR) in Qatar. The plan is aligned with the objectives Huda al-Katheeri, acting director, of the global action plan developed by the Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety De- WHO as well as the Gulf Co-operation partment at MoPH and the national focal Council strategy.

Some of the participants at the workshop with off icials.

She also explained that the imple- The national focal points from Medical and Research Center, Asp- tional task force adopting “One mentation of the plan will start with the MoPH and the Ministry of Mu- etar, several private hospitals in the Health Approach” defi ning their continuous monitoring and evalua- nicipality and Environment together country and representatives from roles and responsibilities to con- tion against its objectives that were with experts from Hamad Medical tertiary education such as Qatar tain AMR problem at the national adapted from the WHO plan, nec- Corp, Primary Health Care Corp, University and Hamad Bin Khalifa level and prioritise the interven- essary for implementation of inte- Ministry of Interior Medical Sec- University participated in the work- tions based on the importance and grated multi-sectoral interventions tion, Qatar Armed Forces Medi- shop. the urgency of the country require- across all the relevant stakeholders. cal Section, Qatar Petroleum, Sidra It also aims at establishing a na- ments.

Best-selling author to address NU-Q’s graduating class

erek Thompson, author of Thompson, who has been de- al Public Radio that reaches an esti- a critically-acclaimed book scribed as one of the brightest new mated 4.5mn weekly listeners. Dand a senior editor at The At- voices in the world of American His achievements and insights lantic magazine, will be this year’s journalism, writes about economics, have received recognition from graduation speaker at Northwestern labour markets and the media at The Forbes and Inc magazines’ ‘30 Under University in Qatar (NU-Q). Atlantic, one of the most respected 30’ lists and Time magazine’s roster Thompson, who is a graduate of magazines in the US. of ‘140 Best Twitter Feeds’. Northwestern University, is the au- In his 2016 cover story, A World Thompson graduated from thor of Hit Makers: the Science of Without Work, Thompson probed Northwestern’s Medill School of Popularity in an Age of Distraction, Thompson ... Doha bound the future of technology and em- Journalism, Media, Integrated Mar- a best-selling book that discusses ployment. keting Communications in 2008 how content goes viral in today’s magazine and broadcast outlets — and He has also produced scores of with a triple major in journalism, crowded media environment. now has produced a major book. Tell- major stories on the millennial gen- political science and legal studies. “As a Northwestern alumnus, ing your stories across virtually all of eration and other topics. As an undergraduate, he wrote for Derek represents the best of the new the media platforms is the hallmark of Thompson is also a weekly con- two campus publications, The Daily digital generation who began his ca- contemporary journalism,” said Ever- tributor to Here and Now, a radio Northwestern and North by North- reer as a blogger, migrated to a major ette E Dennis, dean and CEO. news programme aired over Nation- western.

Novo brings 4D cinema to plush Mall of Qatar

ovo Cinemas, the pioneering entertainment destination Nin the Middle East under the Elan Group in Qatar, has launched the fi rst 4D cinema experience at their new fl agship cinema at Mall of Qatar, Doha. Engaging movie-goers on a brand-new level, MX4D is described as ‘the natural evolution of cinema.’ “Enjoy the adrenaline rush as the 4D seat rolls and tilts in a heart-pounding car chase. Im- merse yourself in a sea-faring scene with fog, wind, and the scent of ocean air”. MX4D theatre seats move in sync with the movie action and special EFX generators in the cinema, al- lowing guests to “feel” the movie’s motion, jolts, pokes, wind, water, even scents. These multiple EFX are pro- grammed to both sync with and enhance the action on the screen and sounds in the theatre for a more exciting and realistic movie-going experience. “As a cinematic leader in the Mid- dle East, Novo Cinemas is well- known for introducing the region to The Novo Cinemas lobby at the Mall of Qatar. pioneering technological fi rsts. By partnering with the leading inter- experiences, ensuring our patrons Novo Cinemas at Mall of Qatar range of alternative experiences active 4D cinema technology Me- have A Great Time Out,” said Debbie has 19 screens including the MX4D from the seven VIP 7-Star screens, diaMation, Novo Cinemas is once Stanford-Kristiansen, CEO, Novo experience, largest IMAX Laser Kids’ screen, 8-lane bowling alley, again delivering the latest in fi lm Cinemas. screen in the Mena region and a Sushi Minto sushi bar and more. Gulf Times Tuesday, March 21, 2017 9 REGION/ARAB WORLD Ban sought on expat drivers

AFP regulations are introduced Kuwait City to curb traffi c jams, although certain professions should be exempted. Kuwaiti lawyer fi led a Around 3.1mn foreign- lawsuit yesterday seek- ers, most of them Asians, live Aing a temporary driving and work in Kuwait alongside ban on millions of expatriates 1.35mn citizens. to ease traffi c congestion in For the past decade, au- the oil-rich Gulf state. thorities have imposed very Lawyer Mohamed al-Ansari strict rules on expatriates to called for a temporary suspen- obtain a driver’s licence. sion of their driving licences Most foreigners are required and a total ban on issuing new to hold a university degree, licences for expats. earn 600 dinars ($2,000) a He fi led the lawsuit on be- month and have lived legally half of a number of Kuwaiti in the emirate for at least two citizens aff ected by traffi c years before a license is issued. problems, Ansari said in a Their high number has been written statement. criticised by lawmakers and “The traffi c problem in the activists, with several MPs country has reached an un- calling for it to be lowered to bearable phase,” said the law- the same level as Kuwaiti citi- yer, adding that the govern- zens within fi ve years. ment had failed to resolve it. Others have called for taxes Ansari said the suspension to be slapped on their money should stay in force until new transfers out of Kuwait.

UAE denies attack Smoke billows following a reported air strike in the rebel-held parts of the Jobar district, on the eastern outskirts of Damascus yesterday. on refugee boat

DPA Citing preliminary investi- Abu Dhabi gations into the incident, the source said the armed forces Calm returns after strikes “have clearly recognised the he United Arab Emir- non-military nature of the ates denied yesterday boat which was carrying a Ttargeting a refugee boat large number of civilians.” off the western coast of Yemen The UAE welcomes an in- and called for an international dependent international in- pound eastern Damascus investigation into the incident vestigation into the incident, that killed 42 people last week. the source said, blaming the AFP After seizing several build- bombarded the Russian em- An airstrike on Friday hit Houthi rebel forces, who con- Damascus ings in Jobar, opposition fi ghters bassy compound in the capital’s a boat allegedly heading to trol most of Hodeidah prov- advanced briefl y into the neigh- Mazraa neighbourhood but that Sudan that was carrying 140 ince. bouring Abbasid Square area there were no casualties. migrants, from Yemen and The Gulf country is a mem- yrian government forces — the fi rst time in two years the The Faylaq al-Rahman rebel Somalia, off Yemen’s western ber of the coalition fi ghting clashed with rebels and opposition had broken into that group and the Fateh al-Sham Hodeidah province. the Houthi rebels, who seized Shammered opposition- district. Front — known as Al-Nusra “The UAE Armed Forces did control of the capital Sana’a held areas of east Damascus Abbasid Square was returning Front before it renounced its ties not target the Somali refugee and other parts of Yemen in yesterday, before calm returned to normal yesterday, AFP corre- to Al Qaeda — have a presence in boat which was travelling from 2014. to the capital after a surprise as- spondents said, as residents sur- Jobar. the coast of Yemen to Sudan,” As the situation in Yemen sault. veyed the damage from the latest Syria’s confl ict erupted in the offi cial state news agency worsens because of the war, In the north of the country, clashes. March 2011 with protests against reported quoting a source in Yemenis and foreigners are in- meanwhile, a Kurdish militia Inside the Abbasid Square Assad’s rule but has evolved over the armed forces. creasingly fl eeing the country. said the Russian military is to bus station, which rebels man- the years into a complex civil train Kurdish forces fi ghting the aged to overrun for few hours on war. More than 320,000 people Islamic State group. Sunday, several soldiers curled have been killed and millions Rebels and allied militants, up under a blanket to rest after more have been displaced by the led by former Al Qaeda affi liate hours of heavy fi ghting. confl ict. Fateh al-Sham Front, early Sun- Aircraft could still be heard Repeated peace talks over the Opposition fi gure charged day attacked government posi- overhead, but many of the years have failed to bring about tions in east Damascus, initially roads that had been sealed off a political solution, but another scoring gains. A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency by troops the previous day were round of negotiations is due to with ‘inciting hatred’ But forces loyal to President (Sana) yesterday shows a damaged area in an industrial zone reopened. begin in Geneva on Thursday. Bashar al-Assad drove them between Jobar and Qabun, on the eastern outskirts of Damascus. The clashes killed at least 26 In recent months, the regime back by nightfall and began a members of the regime forces has sought to secure territory ahraini liberal oppo- the justice ministry to dis- fi erce bombing campaign, a Control of the district — which tween Qabun and Jobar, but the and 21 rebels and militants, Ab- around Damascus with renewed sition fi gure Ibrahim solve the secular, opposition monitor said, before calm was has been a battleground for more area is now a front line and they del Rahman said. off ensives on besieged rebel BSharif was charged yes- National Democratic Action restored yesterday afternoon in than two years and is the clos- can no longer cross between the He did not have an immediate towns along with local “recon- terday with “inciting hatred” Society (Waed) of which he eastern Damascus where shops est rebel position to the heart of two,” Abdel Rahman said. toll for yesterday morning’s air ciliation” deals. against the regime with his was a founding member, the reopened and cars returned to Damascus — is divided between A Syrian military source said strikes. The war saw a turning point tweets, a human rights group group said. the roads. rebels and allied militants on one the army had recaptured “most State news agency Sana said when Russia intervened in Sep- said. Sharif who supported pro- The guns fell silent following side and government forces on of the positions where rebels ad- government troops were target- tember 2015 in support of the re- The Britain-based Bahrain tests in 2011, was released what Rami Abdel Rahman, head the other. vanced yesterday”. ing rebel bases around Jobar yes- gime, allowing pro-government Institute for Rights and De- from jail in July 2016 after of the Syrian Observatory for Earlier yesterday, regime forc- “The army foiled the armed terday. forces to regain signifi cant ter- mocracy (BIRD) said Sharif having served a year, also on Human Rights, termed “intense es clashed with rebel groups in groups’ plan to link the Jobar “The military operations ritory they had lost to the rebels. was questioned by the Gulf a charge of inciting hatred air strikes...on opposition-held an industrial zone between Jobar district with Qabun,” the source north of Jobar targeted the areas A spokesman for the Kurdish state’s public prosecution against the regime. positions in Jobar from which and Qabun, a besieged opposi- said, adding that “military op- from which the terrorists set out, People’s Protection Units (YPG) about comments he tweeted, He served a four-year jail the off ensive was launched”. tion-held district to the north. erations in the area are ongoing”. and a large number of them were said yesterday that Russia’s mil- AFP reported. term after the protests were He could not specify whether “In their assault yesterday Sunday’s rebel assault was killed,” it said. itary is to train the militia which Apart from voicing support crushed before being released the raids were carried out by Syr- (Sunday), rebels were able to their most important incursion The agency reported that op- controls large areas of northern for detained rights activists, under a royal amnesty in June ian or allied Russian warplanes. open a road for several hours be- inside Damascus in years. position fi ghters on Sunday Syria. Sharif questioned moves by 2015. Kuwait emir on Turkey visit Khamenei criticises Iran govt’s economic record

Reuters clear battle line before the presi- and called for citizens’ rights to Mohamed Khatami. “After this Dubai dential vote. be respected, points likely to res- new year period Mr Rouhani can The New Year, or Nowruz, is onate with his supporters in the expect to face a lot of pressure the country’s most important approaching election. and criticism.” ran’s supreme leader, Ayatol- national event, which involves “What we achieved in curbing Despite lifting of international lah Ali Khamenei, said yes- large family gatherings, gifts for infl ation (and boosting) econom- sanctions, the world’s top banks Iterday the government’s eco- children and vacations. ic growth and jobs in the past year have refrained from doing busi- nomic policies had fallen short Unemployment stood at was unprecedented in the past ness with Iran due to fears of be- and called for a new “resistance 12.4% in this fi scal year, accord- 25 years,” Rouhani said in a video ing penalised by US sanctions economy” to create jobs, piling ing to the Statistical Centre of message aired on state TV. that have remained in place de- pressure on the president before Iran, up 1.4 % from the previous Khamenei’s latest criticism spite the nuclear deal. This has May elections. year. About 3.2mn Iranians are came as a number of promi- slowed Iran’s eff orts to rebuild Hardliners led by Khamenei jobless, out of a total population nent political fi gures, includ- its foreign trade and lure invest- have repeatedly criticised Presi- of 80mn. ing Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, ment. dent Hassan Rouhani, particu- “I call the new year a year of the head of a body that selects Although infl ation dropped larly for the terms of a nuclear resistance economy, production Iran’s supreme leader, also criti- to single digits and real GDP deal he reached with world pow- and employment,” Khamenei cised Rouhani for his economic grew by as much as 7.4%, the ers which lifted economic sanc- said in the pre-recorded video policies. But conservatives, who IMF reported in February that tions and was supposed to boost broadcast on state television. hope to stop Rouhani winning “growth in (Iran’s) non-oil sec- the economy. Khamenei has coined the term a second four-year term, have tor averaged 0.9 %...refl ecting “I feel the pain of the poor and “resistance economy” to de- yet to identify their presidential continued diffi culties in access lower class people with my soul, scribe measures to make Iran’s candidate. to fi nance”. especially because of high pric- economy more self-suffi cient, “Mr Rouhani can’t expect the “Aware of people’s economic es, unemployment and inequali- in contrast to Rouhani’s policy Supreme Leader to take his side in woes, Ayatollah Khamenei is ties,” Khamenei said in his New of seeking to open Iran to more the elections. The past has shown trying to distance himself from Year’s message. international trade and invest- that the position of the Supreme (Rouhani’s) government and This handout photo taken and released yesterday shows Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip “The government has taken ment. Leader is more independent,” said move to the people’s side, mini- Erdogan welcoming Kuwait’s Emir Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah upon his arrival at positive steps but they do not In his New Year’s message, Saeed Leylaz, a Tehran-based mising responsibility,” said Hos- Esenboga International Airport in Ankara. meet people’s expectations and Rouhani touted the economic political analyst who worked as sein Rassam, former Iran adviser mine,” he added, setting out a achievements of his government an adviser to former president to Britain’s Foreign Offi ce. Gulf Times 10 Tuesday, March 21, 2017 ARAB WORLD

Jordan rejects woman’s extradition to US

AFP Amman

ordan’s Supreme Court yes- terday ruled against the ex- Jtradition of a woman placed on the US Federal Bureau of In- vestigation’s “Most Wanted Ter- rorist” list. The court upheld a ruling that had been previously issued by an appeals court, the offi cial Petra news agency reported. Displaced Iraqis from Mosul receive aid parcels as they arrive at the Hamam al-Alil camp yesterday. Right: Displaced Iraqis from Mosul at the Hamam al-Alil camp yesterday, during the government forces ongoing off ensive Ahlam Aref Ahmad al-Tamimi to retake the western parts of the city from Islamic State (IS) group fighters. was blacklisted by the United States in March and charged with “conspiring to use a weap- on of mass destruction against US nationals outside the US, re- sulting in death”. The US Justice Department said Tamimi, now in her mid- 30s, escorted a Hamas suicide Thousands trapped as Iraq bomber to Jerusalem on August 9, 2001, where he detonated a bomb, hidden inside a guitar, in a Sbarro pizza shop. The bomb killed 15, including two Americans, and wounded another 122. forces push into Old Mosul Tamimi was arrested and put on trial, where she pleaded AFP for the Old City, with its war- buildings, markets and narrow “Families are at risk of being city’s eastern side the previ- weeks,” the UN’s aid coordina- guilty, and sentenced in 2003 to Baghdad rens of alleyways, was always streets where the enemy is hid- shot if they leave and they are at ous month.More than 180,000 tion agency OCHA said. 16 life prison terms. expected to be tough. ing,” Brigadier General Mahdi risk if they stay,” she said. people have fl ed west Mosul, Grande said aid groups had She was released in a 2011 Is- Located on the west bank of Abbas Abdullah said. “It’s horrible. Hundreds the Iraqi government said yes- spent months preparing for the raeli prisoner swap with the Pal- raqi forces battled Islamic the River Tigris which divides Several buildings have been of thousands of civilians are terday. Mosul operation. estinian movement Hamas. State group fi ghters yester- the city, the densely populated retaken from the militants on trapped and they are in terrible About 111,000 have sought “But the truth is that the She faces a possible execution Iday to push into Mosul’s Old old centre is diffi cult for ar- the edge of the Old City in the danger.” shelter in 17 nearby camps and crisis is pushing all of us to our or life in prison if she is captured, City where thousands of civil- moured vehicles to navigate and past few days, Iraqi authorities Iraqi authorities launched the reception centres while many limits,” she said. The aid op- tried and convicted in the United ians remain trapped under mili- any use of heavy weapons there have said. off ensive to retake the city on others have stayed with rela- eration for western Mosul is “far States. tant rule. risks putting civilian lives in But the fi ghting for IS’ last October 17 last year, with the tives, the ministry of displace- larger and far more complex” Petra news agency, quoting a The city’s historic centre is danger. major urban stronghold in Iraq support of the US-led coali- ment and migration said. than in the east, she said. judicial source, said the extradi- home to the Al-Nuri mosque, Iraqi forces yesterday aimed puts civilians who remain in the tion that has been carrying out The Iraqi government says “The main diff erence is that tion cannot go through because where IS leader Abu Bakr al- to press forward to enter the Old City in “terrible danger”, an strikes against IS in Iraq and it can accommodate a further tens of thousands of families Jordan’s parliament has never Baghdadi in July 2014 pro- Old City from the Iron Bridge in aid co-ordinator for the United Syria since 2014. 100,000 displaced people in stayed in their homes in the ratifi ed an extradition agreement claimed an IS “caliphate” in an area rocked by heavy fi ght- Nations has warned. Recapturing Iraq’s second camps, but the United Nations east,” she said.”In the west, tens with the United States signed in militant-controlled territory in ing the previous day, the com- “People fl eeing are telling us city would be a major blow to says the numbers could rise way of thousands are fl eeing.” March 1995. Iraq and neighbouring Syria. mander of the Rapid Response that it’s very diffi cult to enter IS following months of militant beyond that. “If the number of people A ruling by a lower criminal The forces have recaptured Division’s 2nd Brigade said. or leave the Old City,” the UN’s losses in both countries. “Humanitarian agencies are leaving the city increases fast- court in October had said that several neighbourhoods from IS “The off ensive has resumed humanitarian co-ordinator Iraqi forces launched the bracing for the possibility that er than we can construct new conditions for an extradition since starting the push for west in the same area as yester- in Iraq, Lise Grande, said in a drive to retake west Mosul on an additional 300,000-320,000 plots, the situation could dete- have not been met. Mosul last month, but the battle day...which is made up of large statement yesterday. February 19, after seizing the civilians may fl ee in coming riorate very quickly,” she added. Tunisian I-Day celebrations Egypt’s president set to visit Washington in April

AFP over years of international ef- elected president in 2014. His Cairo forts to foster a two-state solu- relations with former president tion to the confl ict when he met Barack Obama’s administration Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin had been strained since the oust- gyptian President Abdel Netanyahu at the White House er of then-president Mohamed Fattah al-Sisi will visit in February. Mursi led by Sisi, who was defence EWashington in April for At that meeting, Trump broke minister at the time. talks with US President Don- with decades of US policy by say- The US had briefl y suspended ald Trump that will include the ing he was not bound to a two- its military aid to Egypt following stalled Palestinian-Israeli peace state solution to the confl ict and Mursi’s ouster. process, his offi ce said yesterday. would be open to one state if it Washington’s annual $1.3bn in A statement by the presidency meant peace. military aid was fully reinstated said “the Palestinian issue will The peace process has been in 2015. be discussed” with Trump dur- deadlocked since April 2014. In January Trump pledged in a ing Sisi’s “visit to Washington Yesterday’s announcement phone conversation with Sisi that early in April”. came as Sisi held talks in Cairo the United States remained com- Sisi “stressed the importance” with Palestinian president Mah- mitted to bilateral ties with Egypt. of the US administration’s “piv- moud Abbas, who is also due to “The president committed to otal role in pushing forward the travel to Washington in early April continuing military assistance to peace process” to try to fi nd a for talks with Trump, according to Egypt and working with Egypt to solution to the decades-old Pal- a Palestinian offi cial who request- ensure that assistance most ef- estinian-Israeli confl ict leading ed anonymity. fectively supports the Egyptian A woman holds the picture of Habib Bourguiba, the first President of the Republic of Tunisia, during Independence Day celebrations to the establishment of a Pales- Sisi’s visit to Washington would military’s fi ght against terrorism,” to mark the 61st anniversary of independence in Tunis, Tunisia, yesterday. tinian state. be the fi rst to the White House White House spokesman Sean Trump has cast uncertainty since the former army chief was Spicer said at the time. Banksy’s West Bank hotel opens doors to guests

AFP into the economy.” Toan Nguyen in years, has been donated to Tourists are allowed to visit the Palestinian territories. Bethlehem from Australia said he waited a the local community, the hotel’s even if not staying, with a few In February 2015, he alleged- long time online to get a bed. website says. mulling around inspecting a gal- ly sneaked into the Gaza Strip “I was in Israel for the last The artist closely protects his lery selling Palestinian art and a through a smuggling tunnel ecretive British street art- three weeks and by chance I identity and was not in attend- museum highlighting the history and painted three works on the ist Banksy’s hotel next to heard about the hotel,” he said. ance at the launch. of the region. walls of Gaza homes destroyed SIsrael’s separation wall Manager Wissam Salsaa said Elton John played by video Bea Kaufmann, a German liv- in Israeli air strikes during the welcomed its fi rst guests yester- they were nearly totally booked link at a launch party for staff ing in the Israeli commercial previous year’s conflict. day, two weeks after its surprise for the next three months. and local residents. capital Tel Aviv, said she had In 2007, he painted a number launch. “We have arrivals today from The West Bank wall is one of come with friends as she thinks of artworks in the West Bank The Walled-Off Hotel in Beth- six diff erent countries, and I the most striking symbols of Is- it is “important to see the other town of Bethlehem, including lehem is only four metres from think most of our clients are fl y- rael’s 50-year occupation, and side” of the conflict. a young girl frisking an Israeli the controversial wall which ing just to stay here,” he said. has become a major focus for The rooms themselves have soldier pinned up against a cuts through the occupied West He rejected criticism the pric- demonstrations and artwork — a deliberate faded luxury, with wall. Bank, and all the rooms face it. es were unaff ordable for many including by Banksy. typical Banksy touches. In 2005, he sprayed nine The nine rooms, which Banksy Palestinians, saying they had The hotel’s website encour- Above a bed in one room, an stencilled images at different described as having the “worst nearly 50 staff to pay and any ages guests to explore the pos- Israeli soldier and Palestinian locations along the eight-me- view of any hotel in the world,” A general view shows the Walled-Off Hotel (left), Banksy’s newly-opened profi ts would go back into the sibility of painting on the wall, protester fight with pillows, tre-high wall. range from $30 for a bunk bed in hotel, standing next to the controversial separation wall, in the occupied community. while a graffi ti supplies store while a television supposedly They included a ladder one room to $965 per night for West Bank town of Bethlehem yesterday. “Everyone that came here with “everything you need to showing CNN is cracked and reaching over the wall, a young the presidential suite. thinks this is the most amazing make your mark” was preparing backwards. girl being carried over it by bal- Guests, who will each put Paul Smith from the British He said he didn’t much care project for letting the voice of to open next door this week. In the presidential suite, a loons and a window on the grey down a $1,000 deposit to ward city of Bristol, where Banksy is for some of Banksy’s recent work the Palestinians be heard.” In the hotel, staff in red waist- working jacuzzi is fed from a concrete showing beautiful off theft of the dozens of new also said to be from, said he fl ew but was excited by this project. The hotel was announced coats served Walled-Off Salads leaking water tank similar to mountains in the background. Banksy works on the walls, be- in especially to visit the hotel. “I feel like this means some- unexpectedly at the beginning and afternoon tea in the lobby, those that adorn the roofs of His works, like elsewhere in gan arriving in the early after- “It’s bizarre — I feel like I am in thing — coming here and making of the month and the artwork, while a self-playing piano per- many Palestinian homes. the world, have become tourist noon. a painting.” the eff ort and putting something Banksy’s largest new collection formed classic pop hits. Banksy has a long history in attractions. Gulf Times Tuesday, March 21, 2017 11 AFRICA

APPEAL PARCHED ACCIDENT CONTESTED UNITED Zimbabwe again seeks 10 more killed in latest Mozambique crocodile SA minister to appeal order US, Ethiopia train AU help as floods kill 271 Kenya drought clash kills young footballer ousting police unit chief soldiers to fight Shebaab

Zimbabwe yesterday appealed to international At least 10 people have been killed in the latest A young Mozambican football player was South Africa’s police minister will fight a court Military personnel from the African Union donors for $200mn in aid, to help with the clashes in drought-hit Kenya between rural snatched and killed by a crocodile while order to remove the head of an elite police mission in Somalia (AMISOM) gathered aftermath of floods that, since December, have communities fighting over pasture to graze their training along the banks of a river, his club said investigation unit, popularly known as the yesterday in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa left 271 people dead and at least 2,000 homeless. animals, police said yesterday. Herders from the yesterday. Estevao Alberto Gino, 19, who played Hawks, after the court ruled his appointment for training aimed at countering the threat from Earlier this month, the government had appealed Borana and Samburu communities fought a gun for Mozambique’s second division club Atletico unlawful, media said yesterday. Berning Ntlemeza the radical group Shebaab. The Justified Accord for $100mn and put the death toll at 246. The battle on Sunday in an area in the centre of the Mineiro de Tete, lived near the Zambezi river in the was appointed in 2015 to lead the powerful Exercise 2017 — the first such training held in most recent flooding reportedly took place in country called Kom, where both groups had taken western province of Tete. The incident happened Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation, but Ethiopia — was organised jointly by the US and Tsholotsho district, about 450 kilometres south- their livestock to graze, said Charles Ontita, police last Thursday. “On that night, he was training and two domestic non-government bodies, Freedom Ethiopian armed forces, US military sources west of the capital, Harare. “The destruction is so chief of the town of Isiolo. He said 10 people were after jogging he stretched his hands into the water Under Law and the Helen Suzman Foundation, said. AMISOM members from Djibouti, Kenya, massive. Schools have been destroyed, bridges, killed in the confrontation and two wounded, and that was when the crocodile caught him,” applied to the High Court to have Ntlemeza Uganda and Ethiopia, as well as Somali soldiers, roads destroyed,” Vice President Phelekezela “but we have deployed more off icers there”. The coach Eduardo Carvalho told AFP. Two neighbours removed on the grounds that he was unfit for were attending the training facilitated by the Mphoko said. The destruction has sparked a deaths come a week after 13 people were killed who witnessed the attack estimated the crocodile the off ice. Sandile Ngidi, a spokesman for Police US, the Netherlands, Britain, the AU and the UN. cholera outbreak which has left two people dead, in the Baringo region when Ilchamus and Pokot to have been about 5m long, and “they could not Minister Nathi Nhleko, said Nhleko was appealing The training was aimed at eventually ending the according to the government. herdsmen clashed over grazing in Mukutani. do anything” to save him, said Carvalho. against Friday’s ruling, eNCA television reported. military mission of AMISOM in Somalia.

Mandela’s Pope apologises for Church grandchild dumps ANC

AFP role in Rwanda genocide Johannesburg

Reuters elson Mandela’s eldest grand- Vatican City child has publicly ditched the Nruling African National Con- gress party over its damaging and ope Francis yesterday asked for seemingly endless scandals. forgiveness for the “sins and Nelson Mandela led the ANC from Pfailings of the Church” during 1991 to 1997, carrying the party to an Rwanda’s 1994 genocide, saying he historic election victory at the end of hoped his apology would help heal the apartheid when he became South Af- African state’s wounds. rica’s fi rst black president in 1994. But Rwanda’s government indi- “I will not be voting for something cated it felt the apology did not go far that does not resonate with me any- enough, saying the local Church was more, and does not resonate for what still complicit in protecting the perpe- granddad and his comrades fought for,” trators of the genocide. Ndileka Mandela, 52, told the News24 At a meeting with Rwandan Presi- website over the weekend. dent Paul Kagame, Pope Francis said Ndileka said her decision followed that priests and Roman Catholic faith- scandals including the death of about ful had taken part in the slaughter of 100 psychiatric patients last year in some 800,000 people from the ethnic a neglect crisis and a social welfare Tutsi minority as well as moderates grants dispute that threatened pay- from the Hutu majority. ments to 17mn of the most vulnerable “(The Pope) implored anew God’s for- South Africans. giveness for the sins and failings of the “It’s one scandal after the next and Church and its members, among whom there’s no accountability. And our peo- priests, and religious men and women ple suff er for it,” she said. who succumbed to hatred and violence,” “I am highly upset. And this is not the Vatican said in a statement. a decision that has been made out of An offi cial Rwandan statement re- anger. I’ve been thinking about it for a peated the government’s long-stand- while,” she said. ing accusation of Catholic complicity “It’s so painful, it’s like wrenching in the massacres. my heart out of my soul.” “Today, genocide denial and trivi- Her pronouncement forced her alisation continue to fl ourish in certain cousin Mandla Mandela, an ANC law- groups within the Church and geno- maker, to make a public plea for her not cide suspects have been shielded from to turn her back on the party. justice within Catholic institutions,” “Please do not throw the baby out said a government statement. with the bathwater,” Mandla said in an Kagame, a Tutsi, led a rebel force to Pope Francis hosts Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame and his wife Jeannette Kagame at the Vatican. open letter. halt the slaughter in 1994 and accusa- “What we are dissatisfi ed within the tions immediately surfaced that some ing bulldozers to level a church, killing ering Tutsi refugees from his church of its members had fanned the ethnic has regularly apologised to victims and ANC, it is our obligation to set right. priests and nuns had taken part in the 2,000 people who were hiding inside. to militias who killed them. Later ar- hatred that led to the killings, but Kag- their families. Abandoning the ANC does not serve killings. Some of the ugliest massacres Rwandan authorities have said other rested in France, where he was a popu- ame said at the time that he wanted the Francis said yesterday he hoped his the people of South Africa.” were committed in churches, missions clergy implicated in the killings were lar priest in a rural parish, his case was Pope himself to say sorry. “humble recognition of the failings South Africa’s highest court last year and parishes where Tutsis who took allowed to start new lives in Europe eventually dropped and he was al- “Why doesn’t he apologise like he of that period, which, unfortunately, found President Jacob Zuma, the cur- shelter were hunted down by extrem- and were protected by the Church. lowed to remain working at the parish. does with other cases where more mi- disfi gured the face of the Church, may rent ANC chief, guilty of violating the ist Hutu militias. A Rwandan military court sentenced He has denied the charges. nor crimes were committed by com- contribute to a ‘purifi cation of memo- constitution after he refused to repay A UN court in 2006 jailed a former a missing priest in absentia to life in The Catholic Church in Rwanda last parison with here?,” he said, referring ry’ and may promote, in hope and re- taxpayers’ money used to refurbish his Catholic priest for 15 years for order- prison on charges of rape and deliv- year off ered an apology, saying some to sexual abuse cases where the Pope newed trust, a future of peace”. private rural house. He is also fi ghting a court order that could reinstate almost 800 corruption charges against him over a multi-bil- lion dollar arms deal in the 1990s. Increasing numbers of anti-apart- heid veterans, ANC activists, trade un- Falling tree kills 18 at Ghana waterfall ions, civil groups and business leaders have called for the president to resign. In August last year, the party record- Reuters The waterfall, near the town of “It was the upper part of one of the immediately with many of our men rows on the ground or piled into pick- ed its worst-ever election results at lo- Accra Kintampo, was busy with weekend biggest trees that came crashing down diving into the water. We used chain- up trucks. cal polls but remained the largest party daytrippers, many of them high school on them. saws and other cutting tools to chop The disaster occurred not long after by a wide margin. students, when the freak accident It was a horrifying scene as the area the tree in pieces in order to free the a rainstorm in the area located in Gha- South Africa is scheduled to hold its t least 18 people were killed happened on Sunday. was engulfed in screams and shouts victims,” he said. na’s middle belt Brong Ahafo region next general election in 2019. when a large tree fell into the A further 20 people were being for help as we arrived,” fi reman Kwaku Pictures used by local media showed which is known for heavy rains at this Mandela, who died in 2013, had three Apool they were swimming in treated in hospital, Desmond Owusu Boateng told Reuters. thick branches lying in a pool at the time of year. wives, six children and 17 grandchil- at the base of a waterfall in Ghana, Boampong, a local police commander, “It was a diffi cult operation be- base of the waterfall, which drops in Ghana’s Tourism Minister Cather- dren. He joined the ANC in 1944 before crushing and drowning people enjoy- told Reuters. cause...some untrained members of large steps over rocks. ine Afeku, who is heading to the scene it was banned under apartheid from ing a day out at a popular beauty spot, Another police commander said 22 the public joined in a desperate at- Other photographs showed bodies, to meet the families of victims, said an 1960 to 1990. He was jailed from 1964 police said. were injured. tempt to help. We swung into action some wearing bathing suits, placed in investigation would be conducted. until 1991. Cloaked in rags and dust, Somalis fl ee looming famine

By Tristan McConnell, AFP tants whose control begins just vived 2011, but it was this year’s too weak to feed, or those suf- “My other children are hungry Baidoa 15km away. drought which forced her to fering from outbreaks of cholera all the time, but they are not sick Successive seasons of poor abandon her home for the fi rst that have killed 286 and infected like this,” she said of Shamso, rains and failed harvests have time. over 11,000 nationwide this year whose diarrhoea and vomiting ariam Ibrahim, her left farming families like Ibra- She left the farming village of — are taken to the city hospital. caused her weight to plummet. seven children and two him’s destitute and on the brink Roobey in early March, trekking Inside, cholera patients lie on She said a local businessman Mneighbouring families of famine. four days northwards with her six blankets on the concrete fl oor or handed out cooked food at the were the last to leave their village The United Nations is warn- children to Baidoa. on metal bed frames, attached to camp a week ago: “That was the last in southwestern Somalia. ing of an unprecedented global Asked why, Kusow feath- intravenous drips. time we had three meals in a day.” They loaded their combined crisis with famine already grip- ers four slender fi ngers down Tuk-tuks race in, disgorging The growth of the camps is ac- belongings — blankets, cooking ping parts of South Sudan and her throat to mime swallowing, new victims. celerating. pots, sleeping mats, jerry cans, looming over Nigeria, Yemen and then holds out an empty hand: Visitors are sprayed with chlo- There are 133 of the settle- clothes — onto a hired donkey Somalia, threatening the lives of “Thirst. Hunger.” rine on the way out. ments, expanding towards one cart and walked beside it for 20mn people. Her youngest child, two-year- In the intensive care unit of the another across the barren, rocky 20km to Baidoa, the closest city. For Somalis, the memory of old Asiba, is skinny and pale, hospital’s malnutrition centre, land. “There is nobody left now,” the 2011 famine which left a lacking the strength to hold her nine beds are tightly packed into The UN records new arrivals said the 28-year-old. quarter of a million people dead head upright. a hot, dim room. by the household and says 2,929 She joined thousands of others is still fresh. At the Deeg-Roor Medical Or- All but one are occupied by arrived in the fi rst week of March. who are arriving in Baidoa each But Ibrahim said what is hap- ganisation — the name means mothers with their slowly recov- The fi gure for the whole of day, staggering from the parched pening now feels worse. “fi rst rains” — Abdirahim Mo- ering children. February was 3,967. Women carry firewood as they walk back to a makeshift camp on the countryside into the garrison First the food ran out, then the hamed says new outpatients Hamsia Ibrahim, 32, swirls The average household is es- outskirts of Baidoa. city, cloaked in rags and dust. wells emptied. are registering for the UNICEF- breast milk in a plastic bowl be- timated to number six people Clusters of stick and cloth And the little water that re- backed feeding programme at an fore trickling it into a syringe and meaning roughly 2,500 people a camp named, ironically, after In this part of Somalia — the domes are appearing across the mains is brackish or diseased. exponential rate. feeding it, through a nasal tube, are arriving in Baidoa every day. Somalia’s defunct Agricultural country’s traditional breadbasket outskirts of Somalia’s regional So when her village of Aliyow In February, 75 children were into the stomach of her seven- By mid-afternoon in the Development Corp that used to where surpluses of sorghum once capital. Mumin suff ered an outbreak of admitted to the clinic, more than month-old daughter Shamso. camps, the temperature tilts to- distribute surplus grain. grew — the 2011 famine is known Somali and Ethiopian soldiers cholera in late January, Ibrahim double the number in January Her husband and fi ve other wards 40 degrees, the hot wind With meteorologists pessi- as ‘terimbow’, meaning “the time — part of an African Union force decided to leave. and a fi gure he predicts will dou- children stay in a makeshift camp conjures dust devils and the mistic about the prospect of rain, of dying”. — secure the town against the Muslima Kusow was born into ble again in March. for the recently uprooted where thorny trees provide little shade. hope is an increasingly scarce This year does not yet have a Al-Qaeda-aligned Shabaab mili- famine 25 years ago and sur- The worst cases — youngsters they arrived last month. Everyone is hungry at ADC-3, commodity. name. Gulf Times 12 Tuesday, March 21, 2017 AMERICAS Illinois’ Trump estate bill pile a record $12.8bn The backlog represents court-ordered spending for $1,000 for every resident payroll and an array of health and human services. Reuters A massive bipartisan bill Chicago package to end the budget stalemate has been on hold in the state Senate since March llinois’ pile of unpaid bills, 1 when Republican support a barometer of the state’s evaporated. Ideep fi nancial problems, The package includes bills to hit an all-time high of $12.8bn, complete the fi scal 2017 budg- the state comptroller has an- et, which expired on December A Coast Guard vessel patrols Lake Worth Lagoon, near the Mar-a-Lago estate of US President Donald Trump on Palm Beach, Florida. nounced. 31, as well as to hike taxes, cut The nation’s fi fth-largest pension costs by about $1bn state is limping through a annually, authorise borrowing record-setting second-straight to pay down the bill pile, ex- fi scal year without a complete pand casino gaming, and freeze budget due to an ongoing im- local property taxes. passe between its Republican Illinois, which ended fi scal Dragon governor and Democrats who 2016 on June 30 with a $9.6bn Pastor, coder convicted of control the legislature. defi cit, is also struggling with With the bill backlog repre- unfunded liabilities of $130bn capsule senting $1,000 for every state for pensions and $33bn for resident, Illinois Comptrol- state retiree healthcare. ler Susana Mendoza called on Without a credible budget bitcoin exchange scam splashes Governor Bruce Rauner and fi x, Illinois’ triple-B credit rat- legislators to pass a budget. ing, the lowest among the 50 “Illinois is in the midst of a states, risks sliding closer to Reuters week of deliberations, accord- Murgio used the credit union mx was owned by an Israeli who down historic fi nancial meltdown,” the junk level or even into it. New Jersey ing to a spokesman for federal to evade scrutiny of banks wary was behind the breach, Gery Mendoza, a Democrat, said in “Nothing is off the table” prosecutors. of processing payments involv- Shalon. a statement.”Our social serv- given the fact no state has Lebedev was also convicted ing the virtual currency, pros- Prosecutors say Shalon, to- DPA ice agencies, schools and sen- gone 20 months without a New Jersey pastor and a of wire fraud and bank fraud. ecutors say. gether with Maryland-born Washington iors have suff ered during the budget, S&P Global Ratings Florida software engi- Henry Klingeman, Gross’s Lebedev was accused of Joshua Samuel Aaron, orches- 21 months we’ve waited for analyst Gabe Petek told a Aneer were convicted on attorney, said in an e-mail that working for Coin.mx through a trated cyber attacks that result- executive action on an actual credit forum audience in Chi- Saturday of scheming to help he would seek an order over- front called “Collectables Club”. ed in the theft of information paceX’s Dragon capsule budget.” cago last week. an illegal bitcoin exchange avoid turning the verdict, “and — if Over the course of a four-week from more than 100mn people. plunked on Saturday into Despite Illinois’ inability No US state has ever been having banks and regulators and when the time comes — a trial, lawyers for Lebedev and Prosecutors said they carried Sthe Pacifi c Ocean, hours to enact a spending plan, the rated at the junk level, ac- look into its activities. fair and lenient sentence”. Eric Gross tried to paint a diff erent out the hacks to further other after separating from the In- state is operating on continu- cording to records dating back The bitcoin exchange, Coin. Creizman, a lawyer for Lebedev, picture, saying their clients did schemes with another Israeli, ternational Space Station, the ing appropriations to cover about a half century from S&P, mx, was linked to an investiga- had no immediate comment. not know that Murgio was run- Ziv Orenstein, including pump- commercial space company an- big-ticket items like payments Moody’s Investors Service and tion of a data breach at JPMor- Prosecutors charged that ning an illegal operation and ing up stock prices with promo- nounced. for pensions and bonds, and Fitch Ratings. gan Chase & Co, revealed in Lebedev helped arrange bribes never acted with corrupt intent. tional e-mails. “Recovery teams en route to 2014, that exposed more than to Gross, including $150,000 in The trial followed a probe Shalon, Aaron and Orenstein Dragon,” SpaceX tweeted. 83mn accounts. donations to his church. rooted in the JPMorgan data have pleaded not guilty. The company said that a Pastor Trevon Gross, 47, and In exchange, they say, Gross breach, which lead to charges Murgio pleaded guilty to “good splashdown” was con- programmer Yuri Lebedev, 39, helped the operator of Coin. against nine people. charges related to Coin.mx in fi rmed for the unmanned space- were convicted of conspiracy mx, Anthony Murgio, take over Gross, Lebedev and Murgio January. craft, which was carrying sci- Proposals sought and bribery charges by a jury in a small credit union Gross ran were not accused of hacking. He is scheduled to be sen- ence and research cargo for US Manhattan federal court after a from his church. But prosecutors said Coin. tenced on June 16. space agency Nasa from the or- biting space station. for Mexico wall Nasa said early yesterday that a robotic arm on the station had released the Dragon with 2.45 Reuters night, the wall should be 30 tons of cargo, mostly samples for Washington feet high, built using concrete, biological research. and “physically imposing.” No special prosecutor for After Dragon was released, However, it says designs over 18 the spacecraft made three de- he US Department of feet high could be acceptable. parture burns to steer away from Homeland Security has “Designs with heights of less the space station, jettisoned its Tissued requests for pro- than 18 feet are not acceptable,” trunk, conducted a larger burn posals for prototypes for a wall the document said. Bridgegate plaint: judge to drop out of orbit and deployed along the Mexican border, say- It said the wall should have small parachutes, ing ideally it should be 30 feet features that do not allow peo- before opening its three main high and the wall facing the US ple to climb over it and should Reuters vowed to appeal. volvement or wrongdoing, but a run for governor, argued that a chutes in the fi nal minutes prior side should be “aesthetically prevent digging below the wall. New Jersey The complaint accused the three associates all testifi ed special prosecutor was needed to splashdown. pleasing in colour.” “The wall shall prevent/de- Christie of knowing about a at trial that the governor was at to avoid obvious confl icts of in- The mission, for which the A wall to stem illegal im- ter for a minimum of 1 hour the plot to shut down access lanes least aware of the closures at the terest. capsule docked with the station migration was one of Donald creation of a physical breach New Jersey judge has at the busy George Washington time. But Mizdol ruled that Bren- on February 19, was the 10th us- Trump’s main campaign prom- of the wall (e.g., punching ruled for the third time Bridge in September 2013 as an The scandal helped scuttle nan had no standing to question ing a SpaceX capsule. The com- ises and has been highly contro- through the wall) larger than Athat a special prosecutor act of retribution against a local Christie’s presidential run and prosecutors’ decision as a pri- pany has a contract to begin car- versial. The president has vowed 12 inches (30 cm) in diameter will not be appointed to inves- mayor who declined to endorse damaged his political standing vate citizen and pointed out that rying astronauts into orbit using to make Mexico reimburse the or square using sledgeham- tigate a citizen’s criminal com- the governor’s re-election cam- in New Jersey. the Bergen County prosecutor, Dragon spacecraft by 2020. US for its cost but Mexico has mer, car jack, pickaxe, chisel, plaint against Governor Chris paign. A municipal court judge who is appointed by Christie, The Dragon launch last month repeatedly said it will not do battery-operated impact tools, Christie over the Bridgegate Two former Christie associ- found probable cause for Bren- had recused himself from the was the fi rst by a commercial so. Earlier this week, the White battery-operated cutting tools, lane-closure scandal. ates, Bridget Kelly and Bill Baro- nan’s complaint to be referred to case. rocket from Complex 39A at House requested $3bn more for oxy/acetylene torch or other The decision from state Su- ni, were convicted in November the Bergen County Prosecutor’s “It is the responsibility of the Nasa’s Kennedy Space Centre. Homeland Security, with some similar hand-held tools,” it perior Court Judge Bonnie of orchestrating the scheme, Offi ce. prosecutor to investigate and The same launch pad hosted of that intended for planning said. The other document re- Mizdol may fi nally close the while a third, David Wildstein, But prosecutors decided not prosecute crimes,” she wrote.” the Apollo moon missions and and building the border wall. questing proposals has many book on the offi cial misconduct pleaded guilty and appeared as a to pursue the case, saying it The role of the victim or the space shuttle launches. According to one document of the same requirements but it complaint fi led in September by prosecution witness at trial. would be impossible to secure a concerned citizen is to report SpaceX was founded by tech- posted online by US Customs does not specify that it be solid retired fi refi ghter and activist Christie, who was not conviction. knowledge of criminal activities nology entrepreneur Elon Musk, and Border Protection Friday concrete. Bill Brennan, though Brennan charged, has denied any in- Brennan, who has announced to law enforcement.” chairman of Tesla.

Merger on table for rightist parties in Alberta A candidate with plans to merge Alberta’s splintered right-leaning factions has won the leadership of the province’s Progressive Conservatives (PC), the party said on Saturday, heralding a political shift in Canada’s oil heartland. The merger plan by former federal cabinet minister Jason Kenney has a high chance of going through as the other right-leaning faction, the Wildrose party, has agreed to it. But Kenney may not get to shepherd the merged conservative party, as Brian Jean, the head of the currently bigger Wildrose, has said he would vie for the new leadership. Terms of the merger are also unclear and subject to talks. Nonetheless, a tie-up would bolster the pro- business right against the incumbent left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP), which has drawn the ire of conservatives by imposing a carbon tax on the emissions-heavy energy sector and by what critics see as heavy government spending despite budget deficits. “Today we are sending a message to the NDP... You will be facing a strong, united opposition.” Kenney said after his victory in the province’s largest city of Calgary. “To our friends and fellow travellers in the Wildrose party... let us reunite the family.” The next election has to take place on or before May 31, 2019. A victory by the merged conservative party would restore the status quo for the mostly right-voting province and could bring drastic changes, as both the PC and Wildrose have opposed most of the NDP’s policies. Gulf Times Tuesday, March 21, 2017 13 AMERICAS

David Rockefeller dies aged 101 FBI probing ‘Russia

AFP The move was widely seen New York as spurring the Iranian revolu- tion led by the Islamic funda- mentalist Ayatollah Ruhollah avid Rockefeller, a Khomeini. former head of Chase Among his most important links to Trump team’ DManhattan bank and civic roles, Rockefeller served luminary in political and phil- as chairman of the Council The issue of links to Russia sought to steer the news focus cations had been broken into by tacts between Trump aides and operations and residence, Trump anthropic circles, died Monday on Foreign Relations and ex- will continue to trouble the by calling the Russia issue, which Russia-linked hackers. advisors and Russian offi cials Tower. at the age of 101, a spokesman ecutive committee chair of the administration has been a cloud over his Novem- Documents stolen in that during the campaign amounted “With respect to the presi- said. Museum of Modern Art, which ber victory, “fake news”. break-in were released in the to collusion, citing the need to dent’s tweets about alleged wire- He died in his sleep due to his mother founded. AFP His angry tweets added to the fi nal weeks of the campaign to protect an ongoing investigation. tapping directed at him by the congestive heart failure at The Rockefeller Founda- Washington huge political pressure from both embarrass Democratic candidate Ahead of the hearing, Trump prior administration, I have no his home in Pocantico Hills, tion mourned “the loss of parties on Comey and Admiral Hillary Clinton, who was the tweeted that former intelligence information that supports those just north of New York City, great man and philanthropist”, Mike Rogers, the director of the front-runner going into the No- chief “James Clapper and others tweets,” Comey told a public spokesman Fraser Seitel said. president Rajiv Shah said in a BI Director James Comey National Security Agency. vember 8 vote. stated that there is no evidence hearing by the House Intelligence The last living grandson of statement. confirmed for the first But the FBI director opened Comey told the panel yester- Potus colluded with Russia”. Committee. Standard Oil co-founder John “David was one of the Ftime yesterday that the the hearing with a bombshell — day that Moscow’s eff ort, alleg- “This story is FAKE NEWS and “The department of justice has D. Rockefeller, he led Chase world’s foremost advocates for agency is investigating Rus- confi rming longstanding reports edly directed by Russian Presi- everyone knows it!” asked me to share with you that Manhattan, now part of JP- the power of partnership and sian interference in last year’s that his agency is conducting a dent Vladimir Putin, had clearly The White House said that the answer is the same for the Morgan Chase, in the 1960s collaboration,” he said. presidential election and nota- counterintelligence probe into sought to damage Clinton’s bid position supported their view department of justice and all its and 1970s. “Long before it became bly Moscow’s possible collusion the Russian government’s covert and boost Trump. that the Russian issue is being components. Forbes magazine ranked popular wisdom, he believed with President Donald Trump’s eff ort to steer the 2016 presiden- “Putin hated Secretary Clin- overplayed by Democrats and the The department has no in- Rockefeller 581st on its an- eff ective partnerships across campaign. tial vote. ton so much that the fl ip side media. formation that supports those nual list of billionaires released sectors and geographies was He also rejected Trump’s claim “And that includes investi- of that coin was he had a clear As Comey was testifying, a tweets.” Monday with a fortune of the only way to aff ect lasting that predecessor Barack Obama gating the nature of any links preference to the person running senior administration offi cial said It was the fi rst time Comey $3.3bn. change.” wiretapped his Trump Tower in between individuals associated against the person he hated so in a written statement: “There is or the department commented His accomplishments in fi - Rockefeller’s grandfather New York, saying both the Fed- with the Trump campaign and much,” Comey said. NO EVIDENCE of Trump-Russia publicly on the claim that Trump nance included opening the was one of the original Ameri- eral Bureau of Investigation and the Russian government, and “They wanted to hurt our de- collusion and there is NO EVI- continued to repeat throughout fi rst Moscow offi ces of an can “robber baron” tycoons of the Justice Department had no whether there was any coordina- mocracy, hurt her, help him. DENCE of a Trump-Russia scan- last week, without off ering any American bank and the fi rst the 19th and early 20th centu- evidence to support such allega- tion between the campaign and I think, all three, we were con- dal.” evidence. in mainland China after Presi- ries, employing brass-knuck- tions. Russia’s eff orts,” he said. fi dent in at least as early as De- But offi cials soundly repudi- Yesterday’s hearing made clear dent Richard Nixon’s 1972 visit les business tactics to build The explosive testimony in the Comey dated the probe back to cember,” he said. ated the allegation Trump made the question of Russian interfer- there. his oil empire before the US House Intelligence Committee — July 2016, when the government Still, Comey and Rogers de- earlier this month that his pred- ence in the election will continue He also oversaw the growth Supreme Court ruled in 1911 the fi rst public hearing into both became aware that Democratic clined to comment on whether ecessor Barack Obama had wire- to trouble the Trump adminis- of Chase Manhattan’s opera- that his Standard Oil company controversies — came as Trump party computers and communi- the probe had found that con- tapped his Manhattan base of tration. tions in the Middle East, Latin should be broken up. America and Japan, Seitel said. Today’s oil giants, including Rockefeller was also well ExxonMobil and Chevron, are known in political circles in descendants of Standard Oil. the United States and overseas, However, Rockefeller fam- where he encountered heads of ily philanthropic organisations states from close to 100 coun- have strongly supported ac- tries and was known as an out- tion on climate change policy, spoken champion of American sparring with ExxonMobil and capitalism. providing fi nancing to research He famously helped per- and journalism groups that ac- suade then-President Jimmy cused the oil giant of know- Carter to allow the shah of Iran ingly supporting propaganda into the United States for can- questioning the science of cli- cer treatment in 1979. mate change.

Trump’s net worth ‘dwindled to $3.5bn’

Reuters Forbes editors Luisa Kroll and New York Kerry Dolan said. Trump’s current $3.5bn net worth compares with $3.7bn hile Donald Trump’s in October, when Forbes A family who claimed to be from Sudan are met by Royal Canadian Mounted Police off icers as they illegally cross the US-Canada border. political fortunes published its list of the 400 Wwere rising, his net wealthiest Americans and a worth was dropping to a mere month before his Election Day $3.5bn, or roughly a third of upset against Democrat Hil- what he claimed during his lary Clinton. successful campaign for the While campaigning for the Half of Canadians want illegal US presidency, according to Republican presidential nomi- the latest Forbes list of the nation in May, Trump’s team world’s billionaires. fi led a personal fi nancial dis- Trump tumbled more than closure form that said his net 100 spots to No 544 on the worth was more than $10bn. border crossers deported magazine’s 31st annual list, Critics have said he has in- largely because of the impact fl ated the true value of his of the slumping New York real wealth, saying his tax returns Reuters But Trudeau has come under President Donald Trump was of border crossers. “That’s what’s Brian Lee Crowley, head of the estate market on his holdings. would provide a more accu- Winnipeg, Manitoba pressure over the fl ow of the il- elected partly on his promise pissing most people off . These Macdonald-Laurier Institute “Midtown Manhattan real rate snapshot of his fi nancial legal migrants. to boost deportations, 50% of guys are jumping the border,” he public policy think-tank, said the estate is down; therefore, so is status. He is questioned about it every adults supported “increasing said. number of illegal migrants could Donald Trump’s fortune,” the But Trump has defi ed con- early half of Canadians time he appears in parliament, the deportation of illegal immi- Forty-six per cent of Canadi- spike as the weather warms, and business magazine said in a vention and refused to release want to deport people from opponents on the left, who grants”, according to a separate ans feel the infl ux would have no “if people become convinced statement. his returns. Nwho are illegally cross- want more asylum-seekers to Reuters/Ipsos poll that was con- eff ect on safety, while 41% said it there’s a large uncontrolled fl ow The developer-turned- Neither the White House ing into Canada from the United be allowed in, and critics on the ducted during the same week in would make Canada less safe, ac- of illegal immigrants, I think that politician, who ranked No 205 nor the Trump Organisation, States, and a similar number dis- right, who say the migrants pose the United States. cording to the poll. will be a very serious political is- last year, fell further behind to which Trump’s sons have run approve of how Prime Minister a potential security risk. Illegal migrants interviewed by “Refugees are much more sue for the government”. Bill Gates, the list’s perennial since their father’s inaugura- Justin Trudeau is handling the Canadians appeared to be just Reuters in Canada said they had welcomed when we have gone Canadian authorities dismiss leader. tion, immediately responded infl ux, according to a Reuters/ as concerned about illegal immi- been living legally in the United and selected them ourselves as a the idea they are being lax. Gates, the philanthropic to a request for comment on Ipsos opinion poll released yes- gration as their American neigh- States and had applied for asy- country, as opposed to refugees Dan Brien, a spokesman for co-founder of Microsoft Corp, the Forbes list. terday. bours, according to the poll, lum there. who have chosen us,” said Janet Public Safety Minister Ralph was followed this year by Berk- Gates maintained his No 1 A signifi cant minority, four out which was conducted between But they had fl ed to Canada Dench, executive director of Ca- Goodale, said “trying to slip shire Hathaway Inc Chairman spot for the fourth year in a of 10 respondents, said the bor- March 8-9. for fear of being caught up in nadian Council for Refugees. across the border in an irregular Warren Buff ett at No 2 and row, with his $86bn fortune up der crossers could make Canada Some 48% of Canadians said Trump’s immigration crack- Of those polled, 46% disagreed manner is not a ‘free’ ticket to Amazon.com Inc founder Jeff from last year’s $75bn. “less safe”, underlining the po- they supported “increasing the down. with how Trudeau was handling Canada”, noting that all asylum- Bezos at No 3. Buff ett, the legendary value tential political risk for Trudeau’s deportation of people living in In the poll, support for de- the situation, 37% agreed, while seekers were detained. While Trump’s net worth investor known as the Ora- Liberal government. Canada illegally”. porting the border crossers was 17% did not know. “If they are found to be inad- slipped, more people were cle of Omaha, reclaimed the The increasing fl ow of hun- When asked specifi cally about strongest among men, adults In January, a separate Ipsos missible without a valid claim, qualifying for the list. This No 2 berth after a two-year dreds of asylum-seekers of Af- the recent border crossings from who do not have a college degree, poll found that 59 % of Canadi- deportation procedures are be- year Forbes ranked a record hiatus.His net worth surged to rican and Middle Eastern origin the United States, the same people who are older and those ans approved of Trudeau, while gun,” he said by email when asked 2,043 billionaires. $75.6bn from $60.8bn. from the United States in recent number — 48% — said Canada with higher levels of income. 41 % disapproved. about the poll. “Booming stock markets, Third place went to Bezos, months has become a conten- should “send these migrants “There are so many people in Trudeau faces no immediate According to a separate Ipsos higher commodities prices and who apparently was the big- tious issue in Canada. back to the US. the world who want to come in threat, since the next elections poll in Canada, 23% of Canadi- plain old-fashioned entrepre- gest winner on the 2017 list. There has been broad bipar- Another 36% said Canada and go through the right chan- are not until 2019. ans listed immigration control as neurship helped make this a His wealth jumped to tisan support for high levels of should “accept these migrants” nels,” said Greg Janzen, elected Trudeau’s offi ce declined to among the top national issues in record year in terms of wealth $72.8bn, a gain of $27.6bn from legal immigration for decades in and let them seek refugee status. leader of a Manitoba border mu- comment on the poll, as did the March, up from 17% in Decem- creation around the globe,” last year, Forbes said. Canada. In the United States, where nicipality that has seen hundreds opposition Conservative Party. ber. Democrats raise doubts on top court nominee

Reuters from Colorado nominated by nation of federal appeals court Democrats highlighted cases Fellow Democrat Patrick review?” Leahy said. If Gorsuch Republicans kept this Supreme Washington Trump on January 31, and called judge Merrick Garland. on which Gorsuch has ruled and Leahy said he was worried that is confi rmed by the Senate, as Court seat vacant for more than him well qualifi ed for the lifetime “Our job is to determine questioned the infl uence of con- Gorsuch’s conservative method expected, he would restore a nar- a year and why they left 30 judi- job as a justice. whether Judge Gorsuch is a rea- servative interest groups in ad- of interpreting the Constitution row 5-4 conservative majority on cial nominees who had received emocrats raised questions Despite slim chances of block- sonable, mainstream conserva- vising Trump on his selection. “goes beyond being a philosophy the court. bipartisan approval of this com- yesterday about whether ing the nomination with Re- tive or is he not,” Feinstein, said Feinstein emphasized abortion and becomes an agenda” that The seat has been vacant for 13 mittee to die on the Senate cal- DNeil Gorsuch, President publicans controlling the Sen- in her opening statement. in particular. Conservatives have is anti-abortion, anti-environ- months, since the death of con- endar as President Obama left Donald Trump’s US Supreme ate, Democrats raised questions Republican Senator Chuck long opposed the landmark 1973 ment and pro-business. servative Justice Antonin Scalia offi ce.” Court nominee, would rule about Gorsuch’s suitability for Grassley, the committee’s plain- ruling called Roe v Wade in which “Will you allow the govern- in February 2016. Many Demo- Democrats focused on one against abortion rights and gun the court. spoken chairman, said the panel the court found that a woman has ment to intrude on Americans’ crats contend Trump’s party 2016 employment case as an ex- control while favouring corpora- The panel’s top Democrat, Di- is likely to vote on the nomina- a right under the US Constitution personal privacy and freedoms? “stole” a Supreme Court seat by ample of what they say indicates tions as his Senate confi rmation anne Feinstein, noted that Gor- tion on April 3, with the full Sen- to terminate a pregnancy. Will you elevate the rights of freezing out Garland. a pro-business bias. hearing began, with the court’s such has the chance to join the ate vote likely soon after. Feinstein called that ruling corporations over those of real “Your nomination is part of a Gorsuch voted against a truck ideological balance at stake. high court only because the Sen- Gorsuch was set to give his and others since then buttress- people? Will you rubberstamp Republican strategy to capture driver fi red after he disobeyed a Judiciary Committee Repub- ate Republicans last year refused opening statement later in the ing legalised abortion “super a president whose administra- our judicial branch of govern- supervisor and abandoned his licans praised Gorsuch, the con- to consider Democratic former day and face questioning by the precedents” that deserve special tion has asserted that executive ment,” Senator Dick Durbin told trailer at the side of a road after servative appeals court judge President Barack Obama’s nomi- committee on Tuesday. deference. power is not subject to judicial Gorsuch. “That is why the Senate the brakes froze. Gulf Times 14 Tuesday, March 21, 2017 ASEAN

JEST IN CASE WATERED DOWN CASH INJECTION RETURN TO SENDER SELF-DEFENCE 14-yr-old held for joking Drunk men open reservoir, Donations saves world’s Malaysia says intercepted Thai military defends about bomb on plane flood two Vietnam towns first elephant hospital N Korean arms shipment slaying of activist

A 14-year-old boy could face jail time for Police in central Vietnam have identified three An outpouring of donations totalling 39mn Malaysia intercepted and returned a shipment Thailand’s military yesterday defended itself over joking about a bomb in his jacket on a plane men they say are responsible for drunkenly baht ($1.1mn) has saved a struggling elephant of North Korean military communications the controversial slaying of a youth activist last at Bangkok’s main airport, police told DPA opening a flood gate and allowing water to foundation in Thailand, the group’s founder told equipment sent to Thailand in 2011, the country’s week, saying soldiers were acting in self-defence yesterday. Asked for his ticket as he boarded the inundate two rural communes, a local off icial DPA yesterday. “I am very grateful. I couldn’t police chief said yesterday, amid growing when they fired at the man. Chaiyaphum Pasae, a domestic flight bound for the northern city of said yesterday. The men, who had been drinking, believe the figure at first,” said Soraida Salwala, scrutiny of the southeast Asian nation’s dealings prominent campaigner for stateless communities Chiang Rai, the passenger — who was carrying broke into the control station at the Suoi Vuc from Friends of the Asian Elephant. The cash could with North Korea. The comments come after in the border regions, was shot dead on Friday bags in both hands — asked the flight attendant to reservoir and opened a water exhaust valve extend the foundation’s operations for another Malaysia’s foreign ministry this month rejected in northern Chiang Mai province after a vehicle take the ticket from his jacket pocket. “Be careful. around 2am on Wednesday, police said. The Son three years, she said. Last week, Soraida wrote a suggestions it may have violated UN sanctions he was travelling in was stopped at a checkpoint. I have a bomb,” he was quoted as saying by Nguyen and Suoi Bac communes subsequently letter addressed to her foundation’s committee, on North Korea. Inspector-General of Police In a statement yesterday, junta spokesman police spokesman Krisana Pattanacharoen, as he were flooded by about 2mn cu m of water, saying they might be forced to close down due to Khalid Abu Bakar said yesterday authorities Colonel Winthai Suvaree said soldiers found got on the Sunday evening flight. His comment according to police. “Police have banned them a lack of funding and personnel. They received an at Port Klang had seized 250kg of equipment, 2,800 amphetamine pills in the car. “Chaiyaphum prompted a search of the plane that found no from leaving their places of residence so they may unexpected outpouring of donations after Soraida manufactured by Glocom, identified in a Reuters pulled out a hand grenade and tried to throw at explosives, an off icial at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi serve the police’s investigation,” said Vo Duc Tho, posted the letter on social media. The elephant is report as running an arms operation out of authorities, so authorities had to use their weapons International Airport told local media. chairman of Son Hoa District of Phu Yen province. the national animal of Thailand. Malaysia. and fire to stop him for self-defence,” Winthai said.

Light fest! Indonesia to continue exporting maids

Reuters Jakarta

ndonesia said yesterday it would continue to send domestic helpers Ioverseas, in an about-turn welcomed by campaigners who said it would help prevent women falling prey to human traffi cking. Thousands of Indonesian women travel to places like Hong Kong, Singapore, Tai- wan and Malaysia every year to become maids, attracted by promises of higher sal- aries despite reports of widespread abuses and near slave-like living conditions. Jakarta had previously said it would stop sending maids overseas from this year, on the grounds of protecting the women, sparking concerns it would push more poor Indonesians desperate for jobs into illegal migration. However a senior offi cial at the Man- power Ministry told the Thomson Reu- ters Foundation that Jakarta would not People visit the Myanmar International Lighting Festival in Yangon on Sunday night. go ahead with the ban but it has been in talks with countries to ensure Indonesian maids are treated in a “humane” way. “We are not stopping Indonesians go- ing overseas to become domestic work- ers but we want better protection for them,” said Soes Hindharno, director for the protection and placement of Indone- sian migrant workers abroad. He said this includes preventing what he called “multi-tasking work” by Indo- nesian maids to reduce exploitation. Malaysia prepares to “If they are housekeepers, they are housekeepers — they clean, cook and iron. If they are babysitters, they are ba- bysitters — you can’t ask a babysitter to bathe your dog.” Currently, Indonesian women who work as maids abroad are required to stay at the home of their employer, handling upgrade its navy fl eet tasks from cleaning to looking after chil- dren or the elderly — a rule activists say Reuters That will be led by the procurement The navy hopes this will enable comes as tensions rise in the South be of any use, said Shahriman Lock- making them vulnerable to abuse. Kuala Lumpur of four littoral mission ships (LMS) them to eventually obtain a total of 18 China Sea, where Beijing’s creation man, a senior analyst with the Kuala Migrant activists welcomed the deci- built in collaboration with China. LMS. of artifi cial islands has alarmed some Lumpur-based Institute of Strategic sion, but said more needed to be done to “The LMS are designed for many Plans to acquire four LMS from Asian countries and stoked friction and International Studies. combat human traffi cking including en- alaysia is gunning for a re- aspects of maritime security such as China were fi rst announced in No- between China’s navy and the US air Shahriman said asset upgrades suring women aware of their rights when vamp of its ageing naval fl eet, dealing with cross-border crime, pi- vember. force. like Malaysia’s LMS programme are leaving for work overseas. Mas countries in the region racy, anti-terrorism and search and Over 500 exhibitors from 36 coun- China claims most of the South important, but stressed that such “It is a basic right to go abroad to work. prepare to face threats from the infl ux rescue operations,” Malaysian navy tries will parade their wares at this China Sea, through which $5tn in high-value procurements would If the government stops this, we will only of Islamic State (IS) militants fl eeing chief Ahmad Kamarulzaman Ahmad year’s LIMA, which is held every two ship-borne trade passes every year. end up sailing blindly without see more human traffi cking cases,” said Mosul, and from rising tensions in the Badaruddin told Reuters in an inter- years on the northern duty-free island The Philippines, Vietnam, Malay- strong intelligence sharing among Mulyadi, a co-founder of rights group South China Sea. view. of Langkawi. sia, Taiwan and Brunei also have over- the 10 Asean members, supported Migrant Care, who like many Indonesian Defence spending in the Asia Pacifi c “These ships would be very capa- Kamarulzaman said they are also in lapping claims. by a wide network of surveillance goes by one name. region is expected to hit $250bn from ble of dealing with the threat posed the fi nal stages of negotiations with Under President Joko Widodo, equipment. Indonesia since 2015 has banned 2016-20, IHS Janes Defence Weekly by Daesh and other maritime security French shipbuilder DCNS to launch a Indonesia’s total defence spending “We’re talking military patrol air- women from going to 21 Middle Eastern said in December, and Malaysia in- concerns,” Kamarulzaman said, refer- programme to build the larger litto- jumped around 26%, and last month craft, radars, drones...and in bigger countries following a series of abuse cas- tends to improve on its capabilities ring to the Arabic acronym for the IS. ral combat ships (LCS), which he said Thailand’s military government ap- numbers. Quantity is a quality of its es but high-demand for maids has en- alongside other states in the hotly Malaysia is expected to formalise should be formally announced in Au- proved a 13.5bn baht ($389.05mn) own. It doesn’t make sense to aspire couraged traffi ckers to fi nd ways around contested South China Sea, even as its the LMS deal with China at the Lang- gust or September this year. submarine deal with China after to top-of-the-range equipment but in the curbs. defence budget narrows. kawi International Maritime and Aer- The navy is also looking to acquire putting the purchase on hold last year. small numbers,” Shahriman said. Hindharno said the Middle East ban Malaysia’s navy aims to replace all 50 ospace Exhibition (LIMA) this week to three new multi-role support ships Members of the Association of “Equipment that contributes to would stay in place. vessels in its ageing fl eet as the country build four LMS and acquire the tech- (MRSS) and two more submarines to Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), maritime domain awareness ought to Domestic helpers make up more than cut its total defence budget by 12.7% to nology to construct more of the ships round off the eet.fl however, need to share intelligence be the priority for all. You can’t fi ght a third of the 6mn Indonesian working 15.1bn ringgit ($3.41bn) this year. at home. The naval build-up in the region if they want their big-ticket buys to what you can’t see.” abroad. Cambodia suspends human Crackdown breast milk exports to US

By Suy Se, AFP But yesterday, Cambodia’s cus- Chea Sam, a 30-year-old mother, Vice.com last week, co-founder Phnom Penh toms department confi rmed it had said she had been selling her breast Bronzson Woods defended the halted exports. milk for the last three months fol- business. “We have asked them (the com- lowing the birth of her son. He said he hit upon the idea ambodia has temporarily pany) to contact the Ministry of “I got my milk pumped six days while working in the country as a stopped an American com- Health because the product comes per week and I earned between Mormon missionary and that his Cpany from exporting local- from a human organ, so it needs 30,000 to 40,000 riel ($7.5-$10) a company encouraged local women ly-pumped human breast milk, permission from the Ministry of day based on the quantity of our to continue breastfeeding and pro- AFP has learned, after reports Health but they did not get it yet,” breast milk,” she told AFP. vide a steady income. highlighted how some of the coun- Kun Nhem, General Director of “I am poor, and selling breast In a video uploaded to a YouTube try’s poorest women were supple- Customs and Excise, told AFP. milk helped me a lot,” she added. account using the name Khun menting their income through the He said government offi cials “We all cried when the company Meada, a western man identifying trade. were planning to meet soon to “de- informed us about the suspension. himself as the father of Bronzson Utah-based company Ambrosia termine a policy about the product We want it to be in business,” she Woods asked Cambodia to allow a Labs claims to be the fi rst of its kind because it is a bit sensitive”. added, saying the knew of at least resumption of exports. to export human breast milk sourced AFP visited the offi ces of Am- 20 other mothers who made mon- “I’m confi dent that as the gov- overseas into the United States for brosia Labs last week in Stung ey through their milk. ernment here understands the mothers who want to supplement Meanchey, a poor suburb in the Cambodia remains one of Asia’s good that this is doing that they their babies’ diets or cannot supply capital Phnom Penh. poorest nations, with an aver- will be on board,” he said, adding enough of their own milk. The offi ce, which uses the name age annual income per person of the company had previously been The milk is collected in Cam- Khun Meada, was shuttered. $1,160. allowed to export milk on six pre- bodia, frozen and shipped to the Local women who sold their Ambrosia Labs did not respond vious occasions. States where it is pasteurised and milk said they had been told busi- to requests for comment. Cambodia’s Ministry of Health Thailand’s national police chief Jakthip Chaijinda holds a confiscated weapon during a sold by the company for $20 each ness operations had been sus- But in an interview with a Cam- did not respond to requests for news conference at the Royal Thai Police headquarters in Bangkok. 150ml pack. pended but they did not know why. bodia-based reporter published on comment. Gulf Times Tuesday, March 21, 2017 15 AUSTRALASIA/EAST ASIA

East Timor votes in presidential poll seen as sign of stability

AFP is the fi rst presidential election his CNRT party, the country’s Analysts say Guterres’s uni- concerns about government ac- a deeply poor country and the the more important parliamen- Dili, East Timor since the departure of United largest. “I am sure I will win, that fi ed candidacy will help stabilise countability. Guterres is from government has struggled to im- tary elections that will decide the Nations peacekeepers in 2012. there will be no second round,” a nation repeatedly rocked by a humble family and like many prove the livelihoods of its 1.1mn government and prime minister. But despite fears of violence Guterres, who is facing seven bouts of violence. members of East Timor’s politi- people. Well-known fi gures closely ast Timor voted for a new there has been only sporadic and challengers for the presidency, “That is good from the point cal class took part in the bloody As well as diversifying the re- associated with the independ- president yesterday, with low-level unrest in the run-up to said after casting his vote in the of view of stability, because struggle against Indonesian oc- source-rich economy away from ence struggle have in the past Ea former guerrilla fi ghter the vote. capital Dili. competitive politics can raise cupation. He was Fretilin’s un- a reliance on oil, the country’s held the presidency, including tipped for victory after winning Francisco Guterres — known He will have to secure over tensions,” Damien Kingsbury, successful candidate for presi- leaders must agree a new sea bor- Gusmao and Nobel Peace laure- the backing of the two biggest by his nom de guerre “Lu-Olo” — 50% of the vote to avoid a run- an East Timor expert from Aus- dential polls in 2007. der with Australia after tearing ate Jose Ramos-Horta. parties, in a new sign of stability is favourite to win the presidency, off in April. Democratic Party tralia’s Deakin University, told Vasco Pires de Jesus, a 58-year- up a contentious maritime treaty But many have now withdrawn for Asia’s youngest nation. which is largely ceremonial but politician Antonio da Conceicao AFP. old labourer, said he was voting that cuts through energy fi elds. from the front line of politics to The vote comes at a challeng- can have a key role in keeping the is seen as his closest rival in the Kingsbury said it suggests that for him because “he is a fi ghter Polls closed at 3pm (local time) let a new generation take over. ing time for the tiny half-island peace between feuding politi- fourth presidential election since the country will continue to be who fought alongside Xanana and preliminary results should be Indonesia moved into East nation 15 years after independ- cians. East Timor gained independence led by a unity government fol- Gusmao in the forest to bring in- known within a few days. Timor in 1975 after colonial mas- ence, with oil reserves running He is leader of the second- in 2002 following a brutal 24- lowing parliamentary elections dependence to this country”. Many of the candidates are ter Portugal withdrew. During dry and its leaders struggling to biggest party Fretilin and also year Indonesian occupation. later in the year. Whoever wins the vote will not serious contenders and are the occupation, around 183,000 reach agreement with Australia won the backing of independ- Current President Taur Matan But he added that the absence preside over a nation with huge more concerned with raising the people died from fi ghting, star- over lucrative energy fi elds. It ence hero Xanana Gusmao and Ruak is not seeking re-election. of a viable opposition could raise challenges. East Timor remains profi le of their parties before vation or disease.

Chinese police arrest dinosaur-egg bandit

Chinese police have arrested a man accused of stealing dozens of fossilised dinosaur eggs, state media said yesterday, but some eggs are apparently still unaccounted for. Ousted Park turns to The man surnamed Wang allegedly stole 80 of the eggs from a collec- tor in the eastern province of Zhejiang on the night of January 9 with the help of three accomplices, the off icial Xinhua news agency reported. Wang had previously visited the collector twice under the pretext of wishing to make a purchase, the report said. The four suspects divided the eggs between them and Wang took home 27 of them. Those 27 fossils were recovered by police after they arrested Wang in loyalists for defence his home town in Huanan county in Heilongjiang province on March 4, provincial police said in a statement. Reuters Wang’s three accomplices were also soon apprehended, according to Seoul the statement. It did not say what happened to the rest of the eggs. Contacted by AFP on Monday, Heilongjiang police confirmed Wang was in police custody but refused to confirm the status of the other suspects. lawyer known as her There have been numerous similar previous finds in China. “bullet-proof vest” is The southern city of Heyuan set the world record for the largest col- Aon former South Korean lection of dinosaur eggs, with nearly 17,000 found in the city since 1996 president Park Geun-hye’s le- when a group of children playing on a building site came across some gal team. So are two failed can- fossils. In December 2015 US police returned to China an illegally im- didates for parliament from her ported dinosaur bone fossil believed to be about 120mn years old. ruling party. Park has turned to a group of loyalists for her legal defence as she faces questioning from prosecutors as a criminal “Don’t use Taiwan,” Taipei frets suspect in a widening corrup- ahead of Trump-Xi meeting tion probe that has already cost her the presidency. Taiwan’s government, worried anticipates a meeting “soon.” Her legal lineup is a stark con- about being used as a pawn by At issue for Taipei is whether trast to the star-studded team China and the United States, a Trump-Xi meeting will harm assembled by Samsung Group said yesterday the self-ruled is- Taipei’s interests as Washing- head, Jay Y Lee, who is on trial land must protect its own inter- ton begins considering a big, on charges of bribing Park. They ests as concerns in Taipei rise new arms package for Taiwan, include high-powered former ahead of an expected meeting a move sure to anger China. prosecutors now with one of of US and Chinese leaders. “We should seek the greatest the country’s top law fi rms, Bae, Park Geun-hye. China has never renounced the advantage in the interaction Kim & Lee, known for its litiga- use of force to take back what between the United States and tion expertise. Park has denied or as a judge, normally part of banner, and losing each time. it deems a wayward province China, to reduce the possibility wrongdoing and has not been the resume when establishing He was seen visiting Park’s resi- and has been pressuring of Communist China guiding charged in the case. an infl uential private practice. dence several times last week Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, and manipulating the US-China- She could face more than 10 Among her offi cially appointed carrying a briefcase, but did not Yoo Yeong-ha, a lawyer for South Korea’s ousted leader Park who leads an independence- Taiwan relationship,” said Peng years in jail if convicted of re- team of seven lawyers, only two respond to reporters upon ar- Geun-hye, gets out of Park’s private house in Seoul, South Korea. leaning ruling party, to concede Sheng-chu, chief of Taiwan’s ceiving bribes from Lee and have previously been prosecu- rival and departure and declined Taiwan is a part of China. National Security Bureau. other “chaebol” bosses in re- tors, neither of them senior — a to comment for this story. Most of Park’s lawyers were Park might face is that she did The United States is Taiwan’s Peng, who was answering turn for favours in the scandal. departure from the usual pedi- Yoo, who has called Park his involved in her unsuccessful not gain personally from the only major political ally and questions at a parliamentary Park, 65, became the fi rst demo- gree of lawyers defending high- political mentor, said in an in- defence at the Constitutional chaebol’s contribution to the sole arms supplier. “We call on session, didn’t elaborate on cratically elected leader to be profi le persons in South Korea terview in December he did not Court trial, which turned on foundations backing her poli- the United States and China, what steps Taiwan should take, removed from offi ce when the criminal trials. hesitate for a moment when trying to discredit the process cies and did not pressure busi- when they improve relations, but said that based on the Constitutional Court on March Sohn said the legal team is off ered the job as her lawyer.”I and the integrity of the bench nesses leaders.” to not use Taiwan in their own bureau’s current intelligence, 10 upheld her December im- bigger than that. “There are have complete faith in the presi- rather than building a rigorous We will carry on what we’ve interest or as a chess piece,” it was not likely that a new peachment by parliament. more lawyers behind president dent.” legal case of her innocence. been saying at the constitution- Catherine Chang, Taiwan’s min- communique that could hurt Park’s lawyers said she would Park Geun-hye and seven ap- A senior attorney at one of One of them, Hwang Seong- al court and add some new facts ister in charge of China aff airs, Taiwan’s interests would result co-operate with the prosecu- pointed lawyers, but they did South Korea’s largest law fi rms wook, said it was his personal as time goes on,” Hwang said. the Mainland Aff airs Council, from a Trump-Xi meeting. tors. “I know and believe that not want to be known because said many high-profi le lawyers conviction about a client, not Her lawyers declined to pro- told reporters. “But we do not rule out the pos- Park is innocent, even if the they don’t want to go through were reluctant to take a strong- political considerations, that vide an estimate of Park’s legal Chang urged Beijing to com- sibility,” Peng said. press and the world have made hard times in media,” Sohn ly politically tinged case like determines whether he will take costs, which are generally not municate with Taipei “in order In December, Taiwan had her look like a criminal,” Sohn said. Park’s. a case. the same as Western countries. to maintain stability and peace celebrated a diplomatic coup Bum-kyu, one of the seven law- Yoo Yeong-ha, known as her The attorney declined to be “My own criteria to accept One source close to Park’s in the Asia Pacific region.” when Trump, as president-elect, yers appointed by the former “Bulletproof Vest” and who has identifi ed due to the sensitivity cases or not is this: if a person case said the fees were not ex- The comments come after US took a congratulatory phone leader, told Reuters. been Park’s legal voice since the of the subject. Moreover, many is a bad person no matter how travagant and Park was person- Secretary of State Rex Tillerson call from Tsai and raised ques- Sohn is a one-term member beginning of the scandal in Oc- of the country’s top lawyers or positive public opinions are ally paying the cost. told Chinese President Xi Jin- tions about whether he would of parliament who Park person- tober, is also on the legal team. their fi rm’s partners have al- about that man, I would say no. “They should be committed ping on Sunday in Beijing that stick with the four-decade-old ally campaigned for in his losing Yoo was a legal adviser to Park’s ready been retained by South It works the other way too,” and working hard on this long US President Donald Trump “one China” policy. bid for a second term in 2012. He Saenuri Party, standing for par- Korea’s embattled conglomer- Hwang told Reuters. Hwang said journey, rather than making a has not worked as a prosecutor liament three times under its ates, he said. key to the defence of any charges lot of money out of this,” he said. Face-off with pollution US immigration offi cials visit Nauru refugee camp

Reuters ity because of fears of jeopardis- ful about resettlement. “For me, Canberra ing their applications to settle in I really don’t believe anything the United States, told Reuters (about) when I get out from this by phone Homeland Security hell,” she said.”I heard too many S offi cials began taking offi cials did not ask any specifi c lies like this in this three and fi ngerprints of asylum questions. “It was not a normal half years.” Useekers in an Australian- interview, they just collected A spokeswoman for Austral- run camp on the Pacifi c island fi ngerprints and took my height ian Immigration Minister Peter of Nauru yesterday, signalling and weight,” the Iranian refugee Dutton declined to comment. that vetting of applicants for re- told Reuters. The Department of Homeland settlement in what US President Other refugees showed Reu- Security did not respond to a Donald Trump called a “dumb ters appointment slips to meet request for comment. The US deal” has restarted. US offi cials. Similar biometric security interviews with asylum Australia agreed with former data collection would begin at seekers on Nauru were cancelled US President Barack Obama late the Australian-run detention last month amid uncertainty last year for the United States centre in Papua New Guinea in about what constituted “ex- to resettle up to 1,250 asylum early April, detainees were told treme vetting” Trump promised seekers held in much criticised by immigration offi cials last to apply to the 1,250 refugees it processing camps on Papua week. agreed to accept. New Guinea and Nauru. In re- Australia maintains a strict Some asylum seekers said the turn, Australia would resettle policy of not allowing anyone latest developments gave them refugees from El Salvador, Gua- who tries to reach the country hope. “I think the deal will hap- temala and Honduras. by boat to settle there, instead pen, but the question we don’t Trump labelled the agree- detaining them in the camps on know is how many people will ment a “dumb deal” in a Tweet, Nauru and PNG in conditions be taken by the US,” Behrouz but said he would stand by it. that have been harshly criticised Boochani, an Iranian refugee Interviews with more than half by rights groups. held on PNG’s Manus Island for a dozen detainees on Nauru Some asylum seekers have nearly four years, told Reuters. confi rmed the US Homeland spent years in the camps, with With mounting international Security offi cials arrived on numerous reports of sexual pressure, offi cials at Manus Is- Saturday, with meetings with abuse and self-harm among de- land centre are increasing pres- detainees beginning on Mon- tainees, including children. sure on asylum seekers to return Women wearing protective pollution mask on a street in Beijing. The last coal-fired power plant in Beijing has suspended operations, with day. One 36-year-old woman told to their home countries volun- the city’s electricity now generated by natural gas, the state news agency reported as smog enveloped the city earlier this week. Two asylum seekers, who Reuters by phone from Nauru tarily, including off ering large spoke on condition of anonym- she did not want to be too hope- sums of money. Gulf Times 16 Tuesday, March 21, 2017 BRITAIN

PEOPLE POLICY CRIME TRAVEL VERDICT I am fine, says TV presenter Mayor puts child safety at Father questioned over Westminster Bridge cycle Pensioner jailed Hammond after bike crash heart of new policing plan hammer attack on twins lane works to cause delays for fatal car crash

Richard Hammond has assured fans he is “fine” Protecting young Londoners was yesterday put Detectives were yesterday continuing to question Motorists and bus passengers were yesterday A pensioner who killed a three-year-old girl weeks after falling off a motorbike while filming for The at the heart of a new four-year policing plan for a father over an alleged hammer attack on his warned of almost a year of delays when work after being told to stop driving because of poor Grand Tour. The presenter was shooting the London. Mayor Sadiq Khan said keeping children twin babies which left one dead. Bidhya Sagar starts next week to create two segregated cycle eyesight has been jailed for four years. Poppy- Amazon show in Mozambique. In an online post safe was key to ensuring they were able to fulfil Das, 33, was arrested on Sunday night after a lanes on Westminster bridge. The 155-year-old Arabella Clarke and her mother Rachel were struck called “Yes, I fell off but yes, I’m fine. Sorry”, he their potential and contribute to society. He set 20-hour manhunt. The hotel receptionist was bridge becomes the fourth Thames crossing to by John Place’s car as they crossed Chester Road wrote: “Thanks for enquiries re my slight shunt out key measures on knife crime, child sexual being questioned at an east London police station be fitted with protected bike lanes after bosses at in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, in July 2016. Her whilst filming for GT. I can confirm that yes, I fell exploitation and child protection on a visit to yesterday. The two 18-month-olds were found nearby St Thomas’ hospital ended a dispute with mother was also injured in the crash. Place, 72, off a bike, many times, in fact and yes, I banged a south London secondary school. Khan said: with critical head injuries at their home in Finsbury Transport for London. The hospital had feared that admitted causing death by dangerous driving and my head and everything else. But life goes on.” “Children and young people face risks their parents Park at 11pm on Saturday. Witnesses told how the patients arriving by bus would be at risk of injury causing serious injury by dangerous driving. At the The accident comes 11 years after Hammond, 47, never could have imagined when they were children’s mother, Cristinela Datcu, ran out into the by stepping directly into the path of cyclists due to time of the incident the traff ic lights were on red suff ered life-threatening head injuries in a high- growing up. This plan puts forward measures to street crying: “My kids! My kids!” The couple’s son, the use of “floating” bus stops, which sit between and the green light was flashing for pedestrians, speed crash during filming for BBC’s Top Gear. better protect and safeguard our children, tackle Gabriel, was pronounced dead in hospital early the 1.8m-wide cycle lane and the road. The work police said. Place, of Bakers Lane, Sutton Coldfield, He was in a coma for two weeks but made a full knife crime stop young people at risk of off ending Sunday. His sister Maria was in a critical condition begins on Wednesday next week and will last until told police he was not wearing his glasses and that recovery. from being drawn into a life of crime.” yesterday following emergency surgery. early next year. he had not seen the red light or the crossing itself.

Premier urged to Brexit to be rule out snap polls triggered on London Evening Standard London

hree former Conservative chairmen yesterday urged TTheresa May to rule out March 29: holding a snap general election or risk speculation getting out of hand. In interviews with the Stand- ard, Margaret Thatcher’s elec- tion-winning former chairman Lord Tebbit warned that going to government the country early could backfi re with voters who wanted West- AFP May’s Downing Street offi ce European Commission chief minster to “get on with the job”. London yesterday repeated that a deal is negotiator Michel Barnier will Grant Shapps, who chaired the possible, although lawmakers spearhead the talks with London. party at the 2015 election, warned have warned her government to “We are ready to begin nego- that if rumours continued to he government yesterday prepare for failure — and for Brit- tiations,” Margaritis Schinas, mount, May could suff er the fate said it will begin leaving ain to crash out of the EU with no the spokesman for European of Gordon Brown, who was ac- Tthe European Union on agreement in place. Commission chief Jean-Claude cused of “bottling it” in 2007. March 29, setting an historic and The prime minister has long Juncker, told a briefi ng. A third former party chair, Bar- uncharted course to become the said she would start the Arti- The government says the oness Warsi, simply said: “I would fi rst country to withdraw from cle 50 process by the end of this Brexit process is irreversible say No.” the bloc by March 2019. month. once Article 50 is triggered, al- The warnings came after days Nine months after the stun- Britain’s ambassador to the though experts have said there of feverish chatter at Westminster ning referendum vote for Brexit, EU, Tim Barrow, yesterday is no legal ban on member states and reports that all the main par- Prime Minister Theresa May’s morning informed the offi ce of changing their minds before ties are making contingency plans government will fi nally trig- EU President Donald Tusk that they have actually left the EU. for election campaigns. ger Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon it would do so on March 29, her May’s preparations for Brexit Downing Street has consist- Treaty next week, starting a two- spokesman told reporters. were wrong-footed last week ently said that May was against year exit process. “We wish the talks to begin when Scottish First Minister holding an election before 2020 — “We are on the threshold of promptly, but we fully respect Nicola Sturgeon announced the date currently set by law — but the most important negotiation that the 27 (other EU nations) plans to hold a new independ- has stopped short of fi rmly ruling for this country for a generation,” will want to agree their position ence referendum in order to keep one out. said Brexit minister David Davis. in advance,” the spokesman said. EU ties. Asked three times to rule out The European Commission The notifi cation of Article 50 The prime minister is ex- the possibility yesterday morn- said immediately that it was will take the form of a letter to pected to visit Scotland before ing, a senior No 10 spokeswoman ready to begin negotiations, al- Tusk, followed by a statement triggering Article 50, as part of replied with the same stock an- though a source in Brussels said by May to MPs in the House of a tour of Britain that began on swer: “The prime minister does it would take “four to six weeks” Commons. Monday in Wales and will also not think there should be an early to arrange a summit to agree a Tusk has said he would issue take in Northern Ireland. general election.” common EU position. draft guidelines for the negotia- “The government is clear in The phraseology leaves wriggle Britain is one of the oldest and tions within 48 hours, although its aims: a deal that works for room for May to change her mind largest members of the 28-na- these will need to be approved by every nation and region of the and argue that she was forced to tion bloc, and its departure has EU leaders. UK and indeed for all of Europe bring forward an election by op- raised fears for the EU’s future A special summit had been — a new, positive partnership ponents, such as Scotland’s First as eurosceptic movements gain pencilled in for April 6 but Brit- between the UK and our friends Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who support across the continent. ain’s timetable means this has and allies in the European Un- last week questioned the PM’s London has repeatedly said now been pushed back to late ion,” Davis said. mandate to govern. it wants to maintain good rela- April or early May, a European May’s decision to withdraw However, Lord Tebbit said: “I tions with its European allies, source said on condition of ano- Britain from Europe’s single think it could cause more trouble but major battles await, in par- nymity. market has also provoked con- than she wants. I would not be ticular over budget contribu- “We expect to need approxi- cern in Northern Ireland, by rais- advising her to take that risk.” He tions, immigration and future mately four to six weeks to pre- ing the prospect of the return of said that under the law, Tory MPs trade ties. pare and consult with the EU 27 customs posts with EU member would have to back a vote of no Britain has said it wants to member states,” the source said. Ireland to the south. confi dence in the government to agree its divorce and a new rela- Britain’s path will be set just Scotland and Northern Ireland force an election. He also said vot- tionship with Europe within the days after the EU celebrates the voted to stay in the EU in the June ers had become less predictable, two years. 60th anniversary of its found- 23 referendum, while England adding: “Electorates tend to say, Prime Minister Theresa May, Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones (left) and British Wales Secretary Alun The deal would have to be ing Treaty of Rome with a special and Wales voted to leave, result- ‘for goodness sake, get on with the Cairns attend a bilateral meeting at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea, south Wales yesterday. May has agreed by all the EU’s national summit on March 25, which May ing in a UK-wide vote of 52% for job.’” begun a tour of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland aimed at boosting support for Brexit. and some regional parliaments. will not be attending. Brexit, and 48% against.

Osborne clarifies Committees to probe air Google apologises for content fi asco pollution crisis launched Week Europe event in London. Reuters London Besides well-known British London Evening Standard highlights the degree of MPs’ con- MPs are concerned that a lack brands pulling the plug, some London cern at the government’s slow pace of cross-Whitehall working is of the world’s biggest adver- in cleaning up Britain’s air. It’s time hindering action to address dirty oogle yesterday apolo- tising companies responsible for action on a far bigger scale.” air. gised for allowing ads for placing vast amounts of Ps yesterday launched Ministers have been forced to The department for environ- Gto appear alongside marketing material for clients, a “super inquiry” into draw up new proposals to cut air ment, food and rural aff airs is re- offensive videos on YouTube said they were reviewing how MLondon’s toxic air scan- pollution after judges backed en- sponsible for air quality but steps as more high-profile firms they worked with Google. dal to force the government to vironmental lawyers ClientEarth such as cracking down on fumes such as Mark’s & Spencer and The boycott is the latest dramatically step up action to in two cases stating that the gov- from diesel vehicles would need HSBC pulled advertising for clash between advertising tackle the health threat to mil- ernment was failing to do enough the agreement of the treasury and British markets from Google companies and the Internet lions of people. to reduce nitrogen dioxide levels. department for transport. sites. giants that have built up domi- In an unprecedented move, four Draft plans are to be published Neil Parish MP, Tory chairman The government has sus- nant positions in digital ad- Commons committees are to grill shortly and the MPs want to en- of the Defra committee, said: “The pended its advertising on vertising by off ering not only ministers and air quality experts sure they not only meet legal re- solutions to cleaning up our air are YouTube after some public huge audiences but also the on the dangers from fi lthy air in quirements but also deliver maxi- not the responsibility of just one sector ads appeared next to ability to apply their user data the capital and other cities. The mum health and environmental minister. That’s why we have taken videos carrying homophobic to make ads more targeted and hearings by the health, transport, benefi ts. the unprecedented task of conven- and anti-Semitic messages, relevant. environmental audit and environ- Dr Sarah Wollaston MP, Con- ing four select committees so we prompting a fl ood of major For big advertising groups ment, food and rural aff airs com- servative chairwoman of the health can scrutinise the government’s companies to follow suit. such as WPP, Internet fi rms are mittees are timed to shape the committee, said: “Poor air quality eff orts from every angle and look Britain is the largest market both a client and a competitor, government’s latest plans to deal is aff ecting the health of millions for holistic solutions that are good for Alphabet Inc’s Google out- while traditional media groups with toxic air. of people across the UK because of for health, transport and the envi- side the US, generating $7.8bn such as newspapers and general Labour MP Mary Creagh, who the impact of invisible particulates ronment.” mainly from advertising in online news publishers are hav- chairs the environmental audit and other pollutants. Our joint in- More than 220 doctors wrote 2016, or nearly 9% of the US ing to compete with them for committee, said: “Ministers will quiry will include an examination to Theresa May last month urging giant’s global revenue. online dollars. face unprecedented scrutiny in of the scale of the harm caused her to start phasing out diesels. “I would like to apologise to “Google faces a hostile indus- Parliament to ensure they fi nally and the action necessary to tackle The government said it had com- Conservative Party MP and former chancellor of the our partners and advertisers try of media owners in Europe... step up to the mark to ensure it.” Scientists estimate that toxic mitted more than £2bn since 2011 exchequer, George Osborne, speaks in the House of who might have been aff ected and we expect they will be all too adults, and children in particu- air is to blame for an annual death to increase the uptake of ultra- Commons during an urgent question regarding Osborne’s by their ads appearing on con- happy to highlight future brand lar, do not have their health dam- toll of up to 9,400 in London, with low emissions vehicles, support appointment as the editor of the London Evening Standard troversial content,” Google safety failings,” said Brian Wi- aged by fi lthy air. Four committees emissions from diesel vehicles sig- greener transport schemes and newspaper in central London yesterday. EMEA president Matt Brittin eser, a senior analyst at Pivotal coming together for a joint inquiry nifi cantly blamed for the problem. was promoting clean air zones. said at the annual Advertising Research Group. Gulf Times Tuesday, March 21, 2017 17 BRITAIN

Charges dropped against man accused of raping student

Guardian News and Media Elgan Varney, a 33-year-old would no longer proceed. The Stubbs’s parents said: “Our the point where it all fell apart. 2015. He had been on uncondi- and more than two years since London student at the same university, CPS said the case had been kept overwhelming feeling is one of She was a very beautiful girl and tional bail and was suspended the allegations were made. appeared at Stoke crown court under regular review and pros- loss. And we don’t want what much loved by all who knew her. from university until the out- Varney said: “Police and CPS yesterday. He had previously de- ecutors were no longer satisfi ed happened to Hannah to defi ne We miss her very much.” come of the case. In a state- policy off ers no protection to man accused of raping nied two counts of rape and one there was a realistic prospect of her life or our memory of the kind One allegation of rape related ment, read out by his solicitor, those wrongfully accused and student Hannah Stubbs, of sexual assault. conviction. and loving person that she was. to the period between October 1 Holly Alcock, Varney off ered his many lives are left in tatters. It Awho killed herself while Stubbs, who was studying phys- Prosecutors had met the fam- She was very good at whatever and December 31, 2014, and the condolences to the family and is a problem that has to be ac- police investigated the alleged iotherapy, killed herself in August ily of the complainant to explain she turned her hand to, and could other between February 1 and 28, claimed he should never have knowledged and not ignored for crime, has had the charges 2015 while police were investigat- the reasons for the decision, a CPS have achieved anything. Hannah 2015. Varney denied these allega- been charged and had been put fear of putting genuine victims against him dropped. ing her claims against Varney. spokesman said. Ann Cotcher, had a love of life and particularly tions. Varney, of Staff ordshire, through a “horrendous ordeal”. off reporting. Because the real- Stubbs, 22, killed herself six A trial was listed to start yes- representing Varney, told the court the outdoors. She loved people. also pleaded not guilty to sexual He questioned the timing of ity is false allegations only harm months after reporting the al- terday but the prosecutor Ka- it had been a distressing and dis- “She had a lot of potential. Her assault on February 27, 2015. the prosecutors’ decision to drop the cause of those with a genuine leged attack at Keele University. rim Khalil told the court the case turbing time for both families. whole life was ahead of her until Varney was charged in March the case four days before a trial complaint.” Law lecturer Vera Lynn turns 100 forces brother out of fl at

London Evening Standard owns two other fl ats in Cam- London bridge and Southampton, had lived up to the “duty of candour” he owed his brother and was en- Cambridge-educated titled to expect Nikola would law lecturer is forcing take independent advice before A his Tesco security guard signing. brother out of their £750,000 Under the terms of the deal, flat in Hampstead thanks to a Nikola could live at the flat contract they agreed at their rent-free but a clause was in- local Costa. serted to allow either brother Filip Saranovic, 29, drew up to force the sale of the property papers for the property deal and after a year. explained the basics to his “ill- Martin Young, for Nikola, said educated” brother, Nikola, 41. the brothers previously enjoyed a He did not tell him about a clause “good relationship” but the legal allowed either sibling to force battle had caused a deep divide Vera Lynn, who entertained British troops during World War II with songs that captured a longing for home and peace, was honoured on her 100th birthday yesterday with her through the sale of the fl at. in their family. image projected onto the iconic White Cliff s of Dover. Known as the Forces’ Sweetheart, Lynn struck a chord with soldiers fighting overseas and with the public back in Britain Nikola, faced with being left “What Nikola wanted all along with We’ll Meet Again and other songs that gave voice to many Britons’ hopes and fears about the conflict with Nazi Germany. without a home, challenged the was to keep the home that he legality of the deal. He claimed thought would be his for as long his younger brother, who was as he wanted it,” he said. “Filip educated at Cambridge and knew that Nikola was relying on Harvard and is now a lecturer in him to know the nature of the maritime law at the University of document he was signing. He Southampton, had taken advan- thought the fl at was going to buy tage of his trust. a home for him and his family for However, a judge at Central the foreseeable future.” London county court has ruled Jonathon Upton, for Filip, Labour ‘in battle with Filip did nothing wrong and that said: “Nikola didn’t ask anyone Nikola should have sought legal to explain (the deed) to him. He advice before signing. didn’t read the covering letter. The brothers bought the flat He didn’t take any care.” in Holmdale Road in June 2014 In his ruling, Judge Berkley with money given to them by said Nikola “is not as dynamic as their mother, discussing the Filip” and trusted his brother to Momentum for future’ deal at the coffee shop before explain the document, but was signing documents drawn up by “willing to sign whatever Filip Guardian News and Media Labour leader, and says Unite know what’s going on inside organisation that were sort of ecutive committee and an ally Filip. told him to sign, provided that he London could formally affi liate to Mo- their union and they take action sharing ideas, and trying to cre- of Lansman, said the recorded While Nikola was looking at had the basic impact explained mentum if Len McCluskey is re- to block it. ate a debate. What Jon Lansman comments were “a non-story”, the fl at as a family home, his to him”. elected as the union’s leader. “But it’s also important for has outlined is a plan with Len and were primarily “a concerted brother’s “primary” reason for “I find that Filip chose not n apparent plan by the Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Labour party members to un- McCluskey, the leader of Unite, attempt to interfere in the inter- buying it was a lucrative plan to to explain the detail of the ex- leftwing Momentum or- Today programme yesterday, derstand that there will be votes to take control of the Labour nal election in Unite for general develop several attached garages. press power of sale and in par- Aganisation to take control Watson said Lansman had “out- at our conference on this, this party.” secretary”. Judge Michael Berkley agreed ticular the fact that either party of Labour amounts to “a bat- lined a hard left plan to control year, and they have to intervene McCluskey had to show lead- Speaking on Today, Shawcroft Nikola “had no express knowl- could elect to sell the property tle for the future existence” of the Labour party after Jeremy’s as well.” ership over the issue, Watson argued it was correct for Mo- edge” of the sale clause and had against the other’s wishes after the party, Tom Watson has said, departure”. At the meeting, Lansman said: “We could do with him mentum to seek to change the relied on his brother “to explain a year. urging Labour members to com- “I regard this as a battle says that while he hopes Cor- trying to understand how im- rules under which Labour lead- that important part of the trans- “I cannot fi nd anything that bat the threat. for the future existence of byn remains as leader, Mo- portant this is.” ership candidates need the action”. Filip did wrong. It is very unfair The party’s deputy leader said the Labour party. This is high mentum should seek to boost Lansman’s concern that Mo- backing of at least 15% of the But he ruled Filip had “done and inequitable to say that Filip he was unaware of the extent of stakes, and I hope my fellow the left’s representation in key mentum’s plan might be dis- party’s MPs and MEPs before nothing wrong” and that Niko- asserted undue infl uence in any- the plan before hearing com- members are going to under- Labour positions to secure rule rupted by an early general elec- they can stand. la, who is “not a details man”, thing that he did.” ments by Momentum’s founder, stand that.” changes that would help install tion also left Watson aghast. “I think there’s a democrat- hadn’t paid enough attention to The judge ordered that the fl at Jon Lansman, who was secretly It was vital for Labour and a leftwing successor when he “Our sole focus has to be ic defi cit in the Labour party, the papers he was signing. can go on the market in a month recorded addressing supporters Unite members who opposed leaves. a general election. Enough is where the structures of the Nikola, his wife Bojana and to give Nikola and his family at a meeting of a new branch in Momentum’s ambition to take Watson said he was not sure if enough. This has got to stop. I’m Labour party don’t refl ect the their four-year-old daughter some time to “adjust to the idea” London this month. action, Watson said. Corbyn was aware of the plans: afraid there are some people who support for Corbyn that’s been have now been given two months of leaving their home. He also In the recording, obtained by “That’s why I decided to “I’ll be raising it with him.” don’t have our electoral interests shown by the mass of the mem- to vacate the fl at, and could face said he would consider a written the Observer, Lansman calls for speak out. I think this is so seri- He said he was “shocked” at at heart, and we’ve got to deal bership.” a £200,000 bill for the cost of the plea for a reduction of Nikola’s activists to ensure they are rep- ous, I think it’s vital that ordi- the ideas outlined. “I thought with it.” She indicated that Watson legal battle. costs from the court case, esti- resented in key positions before nary members of Unite are made that Momentum were chang- Christine Shawcroft, a mem- and his allies were a bigger prob- Judge Berkley found Filip, who mated at £200,000. Jeremy Corbyn steps down as aware of this plan, that they ing, that they were becoming an ber of Labour’s national ex- lem for the party.

‘Pink Star’ on sale Envoy’s son spared Children run for cover jail over £10,000 theft as teen shot in car park 1987, did not attend court for the London Evening Standard London sentencing hearing. London Evening Standard two shots, it was so loud. through alley. I heard he had Lady Fretwell reported her son London There were children on green been with other boys and they to police in January after realis- space playing nearby and eve- were chased as well. There is he son of a former British ing through her credit card bill ryone dived for cover. It was a lot of drug dealing and vio- ambassador blew almost that he had spent £9,484 in just teenager was shot dead really frightening. We just lence around here. It does not T£10,000 on his mother’s over a month on his drug habit. as he cycled through a car wanted to make sure the kids come as a shock, sadly.” An- stolen credit card to feed his Fretwell’s parents have now paid Apark in a suspected gang- were all okay. There was an other local said: “We were in £300-a-day drug habit, a court for him to go into rehab at a pri- related attack. element of panic. We had no the garden and there were two heard. vate centre in Essex to tackle his Witnesses yesterday told how idea if a gunman was on the loud bangs that rang out. We Benjamin Fretwell, 50, used the latest drug relapse. children playing on the St Ann’s rampage or something.” ran inside and took cover. It card while staying at his parents’ Duncan Jones, defending, told estate in Barking dived for cover was really terrifying.” £2.5mn Kensington apartment, the court: “This was an oppor- after two shots were heard short- “We were in the garden One resident, a mother-of- withdrawing cash to fund his addic- tunistic act by a man in the grip of ly after 7pm on Sunday. and there were two two, said: “We heard the bangs tion to heroin and crack cocaine. an addiction to drugs. He has let Local police officers, fire- loud bangs that rang and then there were sirens, po- Hammersmith magistrates down his mother and father, who arms officers and paramedics out. We ran inside and lice and ambulances everywhere. heard he stayed clear of drugs over the years have supported him. found the 18-year-old victim took cover. It was really The paramedics were on the while working as a ski instruc- “He is addicted to crack co- with a gunshot wound to the terrifying” ground fi ghting to save his life. It tor in the Alps and tending to his caine and heroin and has been for head. He was taken to an east was an horrifi c scene.” family homes in France and Spain, the last 10 years and there was an London hospital where he had A neighbour said: “I heard A police cordon was in place but succumbed to “overwhelming overwhelming temptation when emergency surgery, but he died the shots. I looked out and around St Ann’s yesterday as temptation” during a spell in Lon- he saw his mother’s bank card. at 10.25pm. the guy was lying on his back. murder detectives and forensics don in December last year. “His addiction consumed his He is the third teenager to be He was in dark clothes and I offi cers scoured the crime scene His mother, Mary Fretwell thoughts and actions and he de- killed in London this year. thought he was dead so I called for clues. OBE, founder of pressure group scended into a £300-a-day drug The teenager is believed to the police. He had a bicycle Police said a 20-year-old man Passports for Pets which cam- addiction.” have been cycling through the next to him. There were about had been arrested in connection A model poses with a 59.60-carat oval mixed-cut pink paigns to change animal quaran- Jones said Fretwell is drug-free estate when he was shot in a car 15 young men around him. with the shooting and that en- diamond, known as “The Pink Star”, during a photocall tine laws, was in court to see her while living in Europe but suc- park. Yesterday, a police foren- Then a woman tried to give quiries were continuing. The vic- at Sotheby’s auction house in London yesterday. The son sentenced to eight weeks in cumbs to “bad infl uences” during sics tent covered the spot where him CPR before the emergency tim’s family have been informed diamond is returning to auction next month and could prison suspended for a year. stays in London. He added that he fell to the ground. An aban- services arrived. It’s a trag- and a post-mortem examination fetch a record $60mn, three years since it was sold for However, his father Sir John Lady Fretwell called police to get doned bicycle lay nearby. edy.” Another neighbour said: is due to be held within the next even more - only for the buyer to pull out of the deal. Emsley Fretwell, British ambas- help for her son and did not want A witness said: “There were “The boy went along a cut- few days. sador to France from 1982 to him to be prosecuted or jailed. Gulf Times 18 Tuesday, March 21, 2017 EUROPE Ministers meet in The world’s happiest Rome on curbing migrant fl ows

AFP African coast, relieving the Rome burden on Rome, which has country is ... Norway been forced to monitor and in- tervene well beyond its estab- AFP Nordics. Now I must fi nd some- piness levels had a lot to do with very generous welfare state. also really lucky to have these re- nterior ministers from the lished maritime surveillance New York thing new!” she said in a message “diff erences in mental health, “We won the lottery,” Arne sources.” central Mediterranean met zone. on Facebook in Norwegian. physical health and personal re- Larsen, a retired civil servant, The World Happiness Report Iin Rome yesterday to ramp Experts say that some of the “But even if we top this sta- lationships: the biggest single told AFP in Oslo. “Oil is part of it, was released by the United Na- up eff orts to curb migration equipment requested by Libya chilly climate isn’t keep- tistic now we (must) continue to source of misery is mental ill- but you shouldn’t exaggerate its tions on the International Day of from Libya amid a sharp rise in would fall foul of a UN embargo ing Norway from bask- prioritise mental healthcare, to ness”, the report said. importance because life was good Happiness. the number of people attempt- on arms imports into the coun- Aing in the glow of being improve follow-up of children “Income diff erences matter in Norway before, too.” It is the fi fth such report since ing the perilous crossing to Eu- try. named the world’s happiest and young people because many more in poorer countries, but “I think it has more to do with the fi rst was published in 2012. rope. France’s interior minister, country yesterday. are still struggling.” even their mental illness is a ma- fundamental societal factors: “Since then we have come a One year after a controver- Bruno Le Roux, stressed the The Scandinavian country The report found that “all of jor source of misery,” it added. Norway is quite homogenous, it’s long way. Happiness is increas- sial deal with Turkey to stop importance of making sure the surged from fourth place in last the top four countries rank high- Another major country, China, a country where the gap between ingly considered the proper migrants setting out across the Libyan coastguard lives up to year’s UN assessment all the way ly on all the main factors found to has made major economic strides the state and the people is not measure of social progress and Aegean Sea for Greece, the EU its EU training. to the top spot, according to the support happiness: caring, free- in recent years. very big, and where there is a lot the goal of public policy,” the re- is trying to set up a similar ac- Some 90 members of the World Happiness Report 2017. dom, generosity, honesty, health, But its people are not hap- of trust,” he said. port said. cord with confl ict-hit Libya, coastguard are currently com- Other top countries on the income and good governance”. pier than 25 years ago, the report Thea Sofi e Rusten Grastveit, While the 10 countries at the despite fi erce opposition from pleting skills training under list included Nordic neighbours Rounding out the top 10 were found. who works as an adviser for a hu- top remained the same as in a human rights campaigners. the EU, and Italy is preparing to Denmark and Iceland, as well as Finland, in fi fth place, The Neth- China ranked 79th in the study manitarian agency, echoed those 2016 update, those in the bot- More than 3,300 people return 10 coastguard boats to Switzerland. erlands (sixth), Canada (sev- of 155 countries. thoughts. tom 10, which had the lowest life were rescued from unseawor- Libya that it seized in 2011. Norwegian Prime Minister enth), New Zealand (eighth), and The United States slipped to Aged thirty and pregnant with evaluations, showed variation. thy vessels off the north Afri- They are expected to be op- Erna Solberg, who is facing a Australia and Sweden tied for number 14 because of less social her fi rst child, she is getting The Central African Republic, can country over the weekend, erational by the end of next tough re-election battle in Sep- ninth. support and greater corruption – ready to take a 16-month paren- which returned to the surveyed bringing the number of arrivals month or in early May, Minniti tember, welcomed the report as All in the top 10 were affl uent, the very factors explaining why tal leave, which she will share 50- group, came in dead last at 155, in Italy to nearly 20,000 so far said. “a nice validation on a Monday developed nations, though the Nordic countries fare better on 50 with her husband. with Burundi and Tanzania doing in 2017 – a signifi cant increase The idea is to intercept mi- morning”. report said that money was not the happiness scale. “One of the main reasons we only slightly better. on previous years. grants before they reach inter- “For many years, Norway has the only ingredient for happi- Norway, the largest oil pro- can do all this is the oil money,” Among the 20 largest losers, Interior ministers from Al- national waters and take them been behind Denmark in this ness. ducer in western Europe, is a she acknowledged. “We of course fi ve were in the Middle East and geria, Austria, Germany, Italy, to camps in Libya where their ranking. I’ve made a point of it In fact, among the wealthier prosperous country – despite a managed our resources well for North Africa and fi ve were in Libya, Malta, Slovenia, Swit- human rights would be pro- in many dinner speeches in the countries the diff erences in hap- recent drop in oil prices – with a the good of society, but we were sub-Saharan Africa. zerland, and Tunisia were tak- tected – “a big step forward” ing part in the meeting, along from current conditions in with the European Commis- the country’s migrant holding sioner for Migration, Dimitris camps, Minniti said. Avramopoulos. Critics also warn against Italy’s Interior Minister planned repatriations of Marco Minniti said the meet- asylum-seekers to a country ing would focus on “policies of where allegations of torture, development, social interven- rape and murder are rife. tion, border control and repa- Around 20 migrants were triation” and that he hoped it killed by traffi ckers earlier this would lead to “an increasingly month on a beach in Libya after shared management of migra- refusing to get onto a rickety tory fl ows”. boat for Europe because of bad Libya’s UN-backed unity weather at sea. government has requested Those picked up off Libya €800mn ($860mn) worth of and not entitled to interna- equipment to help patrol its tional protection would be coast and territorial waters, in- returned to their countries of cluding radars, boats, helicop- origin, Minniti said, without ters and all-terrain vehicles, saying what would happen to according to Italy’s Corriere those who are eligible for asy- della Sera daily. lum, subsidiary protection or There is also talk of a Libya- humanitarian protection. based operational centre to Some 40% of those who co-ordinate rescues in inter- seek asylum in Italy are granted national waters off the North some sort of leave to remain.

Firefighters control the flames of a burning ninot. Left: Ninots burn on the last Data shows fall night of the Fallas Festival in Valencia on Sunday evening. Right: A ninot made to resemble in number of TB Donald Trump is seen before it is burnt on the last night of the Fallas Festival in Valencia on Sunday evening. deaths in Europe

Reuters groups are not benefi ting from London this trend and we need to target Fireworks, burning sculptures our eff orts better if we want to end the TB epidemic.” he number of people de- She said providing testing wrap up Spain’s Fallas festival veloping and dying from to all TB patients for HIV, and Ttuberculosis (TB) is fall- vice-versa, followed by coun- ing in Europe, but among the selling and rapid treatment, Reuters night after nearly week-long fes- said to have evolved from pagan most vulnerable – including could reverse the negative co- Valencia tivities in the Spanish Mediter- rituals performed to mark the migrants, prisoners and people infection trend. ranean city. end of winter. who are HIV positive – there Global fi gures released last Each year, residents make “ni- The paper mache sculptures have been worrying increases, year by the WHO showed that ireworks and the burning nots”, or dolls, from paper mache are put on display beforehand, data showed yesterday. in 2015, some 1.8mn people of colourful puppet-like for the celebrations, which com- with the public voting to save Figures from the European died from TB. Fsculptures wrapped up Va- memorate Saint Joseph, the pa- their preferred fi gure from the Centre for Disease Prevention Of them, 400,000 were co- lencia’s Fallas festival on Sunday tron saint of carpenters, and are fl ames. and Control (ECDC) and the infected with the human im- Europe regional offi ce of the munodefi ciency virus (HIV) World Health Organisation that causes Aids. (WHO) showed new TB cases People with HIV are more Russia probes jail and deaths in the 53 countries vulnerable to TB because their death of off icial of the WHO’s European region immune systems are weak- Video games linked to sexism in teen: study fell each year by 4.3% and 8.5% ened. Russian investigators are respectively between 2011 and Experts estimate the risk of looking into the death of a senior 2015. developing TB is between 26 AFP Show on Italian public TV sparks sexism row the US also collaborated in the off icial for state space agency But new co-infections with and 31 times greater in HIV Grenoble project. Roscosmos, who was found dead TB and HIV together increased patients than in HIV negative An Italian TV show that listed reasons why Eastern European women Previous experiments had from stab wounds in a prison cell by 40% from 2011 to 2015, people. supposedly make better girlfriends than their Italian counterparts has shown that playing specifi c vid- in Moscow. showing that eff orts to control Zsuzsanna Jakab, the WHO’s he more time a teenage sparked accusations of sexism, prompting an apology yesterday from eo games for a few minutes can The body of Vladimir the disease need to be far more European regional director, spends on video gaming, the network chief, who is a woman. reinforce sexist attitudes, but Yevdokimov, an executive focused on high risk groups. said that the fl are-up of TB/ Tthe likelier he or she is The reasons included “they’re all mothers, and all in perfect shape after the new study is the fi rst large- director at the Russian equivalent “The general downward HIV co-infections, coupled to display sexist attitudes and giving birth”, “they forgive betrayal”, “they’re willing to let their man take scale examination of the phe- of Nasa, was found in the early trend in reported TB cases is with persistently high rates of gender stereotypes, a study of control”, “they’re perfect housewives”, and “they never snivel, get needy, nomenon among teenagers. hours of Saturday with knife encouraging,” the ECDC’s act- drug-resistant TB, were a seri- thousands of French gaming afi - or have bad moods”. The survey questioned teens wounds to the chest and neck, ing director, Andrea Ammon, ous threat to international ef- cionados has found. “This is an insane and unacceptable mistake,” RAI network chief Monica aged between 11 to 19, living in Russian news agencies reported. said in a statement. “But some forts to control the disease. The study carried out by a Maggioni told news agency ANSA. “I feel personally aff ected as a the southeastern cities of Lyon team of French and US research- woman, and I apologise.” and Grenoble. ers compared the time spent by The Usigrai union representing RAI employees slammed the “disgust- Begue cautioned that despite Unesco raises $75.5mn to protect heritage from war, terror 13,520 young people playing ing” list “of violent, crass and humiliating clichés” and said “as RAI the “statistically signifi cant” video games and their attitudes women and men, we are ashamed”. link, the infl uence of gaming Seven countries and an American donor on Monday destruction of historic sites in conflict zones, combat to women and gender roles. The weekend talk show on Italian public television that aired the contro- on teenagers’ attitudes remains pledged $75.5mn (€70mn) to a Unesco-backed fund the illicit trade in cultural artefacts and help restore The results published on Fri- versial views, called Parliamone sabato (Let’s Talk about it on Saturday), limited. aimed at protecting the world’s cultural heritage damaged relics. day in the Frontiers in Psychol- is presented by Paola Perego, also a woman. Religious fervour was a great- against war and terrorism. France pledged $30mn, followed by Saudi Arabia ogy journal suggest that in- er determinant of sexism, the French President Francois Hollande hosted the with $20mn and co-host UAE with $15mn. creased exposure to video games researchers noted. gathering at the Louvre museum in Paris of US philanthropist Tom Kaplan pledged $1mn. is associated with higher lev- sented in popular video games. 2014 almost half of video game Television, on the other hand, influential art patrons and world leaders at the A total of 40 countries pledged their support to the els of stereotyping and sexism They have passive roles, they are players were female. had a smaller impact than video initiative of the UN cultural body, the United Arab initiative at a conference in Abu Dhabi in December. among teenagers. princesses who need to be saved Both boys and girls partici- games. Emirates and France. After Islamic State (IS) group fighters seized “Sexist representations satu- or secondary, sexualised objects pated in the study (51% and 49% Begue said it would be “un- Their International Alliance for the Protection of the ancient ruins of Palmyra in May 2015, they rate advertising, television and of conquest,” he added. respectively), but results indi- fair” to tar all video games with Heritage in Conflict Zones (ALIPH), based in Geneva, systematically destroyed and looted the temples of cinema. Although women are the main cated that sexism was higher the sexism brush, saying the aims to raise $100mn by 2019. the Unesco World Heritage site. Video games are no excep- victims of stereotyping, men are among males. main off enders were the best- “At Bamiyan, Mosul, Palmyra, Timbuktu and IS also ravaged the Assyrian city of Nimrud in Iraq tion,” Laurent Begue, co-author also aff ected, being portrayed as Playing time varied from one sellers. elsewhere, fanatics have engaged in traff icking, using bulldozers and explosives and ransacked pre- of the study from Grenoble Alps “more active, armed and mus- to 10 hours a day. He called on developers to looting and the destruction of cultural heritage, Islamic treasures in Mosul’s museum. University, told AFP. cular”. Researchers from Savoie avoid trapping characters into adding to the persecution of populations,” Hollande Bamiyan, in Afghanistan, and Timbuktu, in Mali, are “Content analysis has shown According to the Entertain- Mont Blanc University in France gender stereotypes. “And that is said. other Unesco sites to suff er destruction at the hands that women are under-repre- ment Software Association, in and Iowa State University in true for men, too!” The funds will be used to help prevent the of Islamic extremists. Gulf Times Tuesday, March 21, 2017 19 EUROPE

Russia to shut site of Nemtsov shrine Merkel says Turkish By Andrew Osborn, Reuters Navalny sprayed Moscow green in attack Russian opposition leader and or more than 700 days presidential candidate Alexei and nights, in all weath- Navalny was sprayed with a Fers, a small group of green antiseptic outside a new- Nazi jibes must stop hardcore anti-Kremlin activ- ly-opened campaign off ice in ists has guarded a makeshift Siberia, he revealed yesterday. Reuters memorial to murdered Pu- Navalny went to shake a man’s Hanover/Istanbul tin critic Boris Nemtsov on a hand outside the new off ice bridge opposite Moscow’s Red in the Siberian city of Barnaul Square. when the man sprayed him in hancellor Angela Merkel The temporary shrine, made the face. has again demanded that up of fl owers, candles and por- “It really burned, and I thought CTurkey stop comparing traits, is meant as a precur- with terror that it was acid. But German bans on rallies by Turk- sor for a permanent memo- it was just ‘zelyonka’,” Navalny ish offi cials to Nazi tactics, and rial plaque at the site where said in a post on his website, us- said her government reserved the Nemtsov, a former deputy ing the common Russian name right to block future appearances prime minister, was shot dead for the antiseptic. unless Ankara complied with in February 2015 in a case that The green antiseptic, which can German law. has yet to be solved. leave a visible trace for days, is Berlin is growing increasingly A rallying point for a frag- commonly used to treat topical frustrated about Turkish Presi- mented opposition, it is often wounds. dent Recep Tayyip Erdogan re- pieced back together by the ac- Navalny joked that he resem- peatedly accusing it of applying tivists, who have been refused bled the main characters in “Nazi methods” by banning ral- a plaque over a regulation that Hollywood films like Shrek or lies aimed at drumming up sup- Putin himself circumvented in The Mask. port among Turks in Germany a diff erent case in 2013. He said the attacker jumped for a referendum that would Activists say that city clean- into a car that drove to a local strengthen the power of his pres- ers have dismantled the shrine government building. idency. almost 30 times, nationalist “My demand that Turkey thugs have assaulted them, and should stop Nazi comparisons police have detained them over most notable fi gures in Russian remains in force, with no ifs or allegations that they are dis- history was last organised by buts,” Merkel told reporters at the turbing public order. state TV, in 2008, Soviet dic- CeBIT technology fair in Hano- Now, the authorities have tator Josef Stalin came third, ver. “Unfortunately, we have ob- announced plans to close much refl ecting many Russians’ re- served that these comparisons of the bridge for repairs, de- spect for strong leadership have not stopped, and we will not priving the liberal opposition even if the cost – in human tolerate that every taboo is bro- of its most visible political lives – is high. ken.” platform. Public enthusiasm for Relations between Turkey, “The aim of this construc- Nemtsov is lower. Germany and other European tion work is simple,” said A Levada Centre survey countries have deteriorated in Lyubov Sobol, a prominent op- showed this month that 43% recent weeks amid growing ten- position campaigner. “To get of those asked opposed a me- sions over the April referendum Merkel and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are seen at the booth of German telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom during their rid of the people’s memorial in morial plaque in his honour vote and concern over an in- tour of the CeBIT technology fair in Hanover, central Germany, yesterday. front of the Kremlin until, at against just 25% in favour. creasingly authoritarian tone the very least, the presidential The rest didn’t know how to from Ankara. damage to relations between the in an anti-democratic manner by Erdogan had said in a speech reign of terror of the Nazis,” he election in 2018, and at best, respond. Merkel said that the German two countries. blocking elected Turkish minis- in Istanbul on Sunday: “Merkel, said in a statement. forever.” Some Russians associate foreign ministry had warned An- Turkish Deputy Prime Min- ters from speaking in European now you’re applying Nazi meth- German Foreign Minister Sig- The authorities say the work, Nemtsov with the 1990s, a pe- kara in an “unambiguous” diplo- ister Numan Kurtulmus said cities while allowing what he ods. Against my brothers who mar Gabriel said he worried that due to start in May and last 14 riod of food shortages when he matic communication, or “note yesterday that Turkey was using described as a demonstration by live in Germany, and against my the confl ict would spill over to months, is urgent and not po- was a deputy prime minister. verbale”, in recent days that metaphors about “fascism” be- the outlawed Kurdistan Workers ministers and lawmakers who ties between citizens of German litically motivated. State television has por- Turkish politicians could speak cause it was worried about Eu- Party (PKK). visit there. and Turkish descent. They made the same argu- trayed him as an irrelevant in Germany only if they complied ropean countries forgetting their “This is unacceptable and “Would this suit the ethics of “We belong together. We are ment in 2010, when they closed has-been and Putin’s spokes- with the country’s law, which history and falling into the trap of a stance that does not fi t our politics? Your mission is not to one people,” he said at an event a Moscow square, Triumfal- man has said he was “quite an explicitly bans malicious dispar- Nazism once again. friendship, our partnership and support terrorist organisations, in Berlin. naya Ploshad, that had become average citizen”. agement of the German govern- “European countries are the our long-standing co-opera- but to extradite them.” German lawmakers from the main venue for anti-Putin At a March 7 public hearing, ment. ones that suff ered the most from tion,” he said. “It cannot be ex- Josef Schuster, president of across the political spectrum also rallies, saying an underground Yuri Ivankov, head of Gormost, If laws are violated, “the Ger- fascism and Nazism between the plained by any democratic rule.” the Central Council of Jews in voiced concern about reports car park would be built there. Moscow’s bridge maintenance man government reserves the end of World War I and World Around 30,000 Kurdish sup- Germany, said that Turkey’s that Turkish consulates had con- It never was, but the site be- division, showed pictures right to take all necessary meas- War II. We are seeing and hear- porters rallied in the German Nazi comparisons demeaned the fi scated passports of Turks in came an archaeological dig for of rusty bridge parts he said ures, including a re-examination ing the footsteps of fascism and city of Frankfurt on Saturday, memory of those who perished Germany. two years and the square only proved it needed urgent atten- of all appearances approved as Nazism now,” he said. “We are chanting “Erdogan terrorist” and in the Holocaust and distracted Stephan Mayer, a member of reopened long after the 2012 tion. part of the diplomatic communi- not saying this to hurt them. We “freedom for Ocalan”, referring from the real threat of growing Merkel’s conservatives, said it presidential election. “A decision has been taken cation”, she said. are saying this so that they will to Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed anti-Semitism and right-wing was “not acceptable” for Turkey It has since been landscaped by the Moscow government to Merkel’s spokeswoman told a remember those bloody days in PKK leader, with many waving populism. to pressure its citizens through in a way to make protests im- repair the bridge ... and we will regular government news con- recent European history and not fl ags featuring his face. “The comparisons between such measures, and a clear reac- possible. repair it,” Ivankov said. ference that “Nazi comparisons fall into the trap of fascism again. The PKK is formally classi- the Federal Republic of Germany tion was needed from Berlin. Visible from Red Square Kremlin critics note there are unacceptable in any form”, We are saying this so that they fi ed as a terrorist group by both and National Socialism .... are “That is not the way a demo- when activists run up a fl ag are no plans to overhaul some adding that it was up to Turkey to can take precautions.” the European Union and United not only insulting and absolutely cratic government treats its citi- there, the shrine to 55-year- of the city’s older bridges, tone down its rhetoric and avert He said Europe was behaving States. wrong, they also diminish the zens,” he said. old Nemtsov sits on one of the and leading Moscow architect most popular routes for tour- Yevgeny Asse and other spe- ists, whose numbers will swell cialists say there is no need for dramatically next year when major repairs now. Russia hosts the World Cup. Ivankov, whose department The opposition, which is is the one which sends in the Top French presidential candidates in TV debate given no air time on state tel- cleaners, told activists at the evision, is unlikely to fi eld a hearing to stop asking him candidate next year capable of “political questions” about the Reuters Paris fraud squad offi ces hit by bomb threat unseating Putin, who enjoys shrine and try to legalise it in- Paris strong ratings. stead. Around 100 people were evacuated yesterday from the off ices of France’s But for many activists, the Authorities cite a rule stat- financial fraud prosecutors over a bomb alert, two days after an attack led memory of Nemtsov – he ing 10 years must pass before he top candidates in to the evacuation of the city’s second busiest airport. helped found the main anti- any memorial can be erected, France’s volatile presiden- An anonymous caller had told police that there was a bomb in the building Kremlin movements – and the although in 2013, Putin au- Ttial election went head- that houses prosecutors investigating high-level financial crimes, a police modest shrine, are a source of thorised a Moscow street to be to-head in a televised debate source said. hope. named after Venezuelan leader yesterday as polls show centrist Bomb disposal experts were sent to the site in central Paris, which was For the past two years, thou- Hugo Chavez four months after Emmanuel Macron and far right cordoned off . sands of people have marched his death. leader Marine Le Pen pulling The all-clear was given after “the usual checks” were carried out, the nearby on the anniversary of Ivankov told reporters that away from the pack fi ve weeks source said. his death. he would need authorisation before the fi rst round. The financial fraud wing of the Paris criminal court is currently investi- “The authorities don’t like from the FSB, the successor Macron, Le Pen and the three gating Francois Fillon, the conservative candidate in France’s April-May to be reminded of a person who to the KGB, the police and the other leading candidates took presidential election, on charges of misusing public funds. dedicated his life to fi ght for FSO, the agency that protects part in a nearly three-hour de- It is also investigating the far-right National Front party of Marine Le Pen democratic values or of a polit- Putin, to stop clearing away the bate on the main private channel over alleged fake jobs. ical murder near the Kremlin’s shrine, described on Gormost’s that started at 9pm (2000 GMT, The bomb scare comes after Saturday’s attack at Orly airport where a man walls,” Zhanna Nemtsova, the website as a health and safety Staff members prepare the set of the French private TV channel TF1 11pm Qatar time) yesterday and who had been investigated for links to radical Islam was shot dead after slain politician’s daughter, told risk. prior to a debate between five candidates for the French presidential expected to be watched by mil- assaulting a soldier on patrol and grabbing her rifle. Reuters. “Memory, in mod- Andrei Margulev, one of the election, in Aubervilliers, outside Paris. lions. ern history, is closely linked to shrine’s most tenacious de- The televised debate, the fi rst politics.” fenders, said that activists had held before the fi rst round of a at 17.5%, down 1.5% from two “We think the importance of Five Chechen men are on a backup plan to set up in an- Maverick surgeon’s seventh synthetic French presidential election, weeks ago. this debate should not be under- trial for Nemtsov’s murder. other location, which he asked may be crucial in helping viewers Only the top two candidates estimated. Only 60% of voters Investigators say their mo- Reuters not to disclose. organ transplant patient dies make up their minds. go through to the run-off , where polled by Ifop say they have made tive was purely commercial. It would be far less high pro- Opinion polls show almost Elabe tipped Macron to easily up their mind,” said Mizuho rates Olga Shorina, a long-stand- fi le than the political heart of A seventh patient of Italian surgeon Paolo Macchiarini, accused 40% of voters are not completely beat Le Pen by 63% to 37%, while strategist Antoine Bouvet. ing Nemtsov ally, said the re- the capital. of misconduct after claiming to have carried out groundbreaking sure who to back in the elec- cautioning that many voters did Pollster Ifop’s data show that pairs looked like an attempt to “This place is a small island synthetic organ transplant work, has died, her father said yesterday. tion, being held over two rounds not want to say how they would more than 80% of Le Pen’s sup- erase his memory. of humanity in a sea of inhu- Macchiarini performed two synthetic trachea transplants on Yesim on April 23 and May 7 against a vote in the second round. porters say that they would “The authorities have other manity. That’s why it’s so pre- Cetir, 26, in Stockholm in 2012 and 2013, but she suff ered brutal backdrop of high unemployment The latest daily Opinionway defi nitely vote for her in the fi rst heroes,” said Shorina. cious to us,” he said of the cur- complications until her death. and sluggish growth. poll showed Le Pen scoring 27% round. When a vote to identify the rent location. In the early hours of yesterday, her father Hayrullah Cetir Markets, surprised by Britain’s in the fi rst round, in front of Ma- By contrast, less than 49% of announced on his Facebook account that Yesim died at Temple Brexit vote last June, are nervous cron on 23% and Fillon on 18%. Macron’s backers were certain University Hospital in Philadelphia. about the possibility of a victory It found Macron comfortably that they would vote for him. “My daughter Yesim died tonight [Sunday] at 9.15pm; may she rest by National Front leader Le Pen, winning a run-off . The other two candidates in in peace,” he wrote, publishing a picture of her in a hospital bed. who pledges to take France out of An attack at Paris Orly airport the TV debate were the ruling Macchiarini operated on eight patients between 2011 and 2014, the euro and hold a referendum on Saturday, when a man known Socialist Party’s candidate Be- three of them at the prestigious Stockholm-based Karolinska on EU membership. to police as a radicalised Muslim noit Hamon and Jean-Luc Me- Institute, which selects the winners of the Nobel Prize in medicine. Polls show Macron and Le Pen was shot dead after trying to grab lenchon, who have split the left- Only one of the patients survived after having a synthetic trachea, establishing a clear lead in terms a soldier’s rifl e, has put security wing vote. designed and implanted by Macchiarini, removed during a surgery of voting intentions in the fi rst back in the spotlight after a series Macron, 39, a former economy in Russia in 2014. round, while conservative can- of Islamic attacks shook France. minister and investment banker Cetir was the victim of two failed surgeries as her trachea was first didate Francois Fillon, the one- That could play into the hands who has never run for elected badly damaged during treatment in Turkey before she received time front-runner who has been of right-wing candidates Le Pen offi ce, made a name for himself surgery in Stockholm. She went to the United States to receive a damaged by a fi nancial scandal, and Fillon, who advocate tougher by criticising sacred cows of the trachea from a donor, without being able to recover. has slipped back. security measures. French “social model” such as Macchiarini gained worldwide fame in 2011 by carrying out the For the fi rst time since the The premium that investors the 35-hour working week, iron- world’s first graft of an artificial plastic trachea, which was to be campaign began, an Elabe poll demand to hold French instead of clad job protection, and civil colonised by the patients’ stem cells. yesterday found Macron nudg- German debt rose to its highest servants’ jobs for life. While he said in the medical journal the Lancet that the technique ing ahead of Le Pen in the fi rst in almost two weeks yesterday, The other candidates were A woman adjusts flowers yesterday at the site of the was working, successive deaths of his patients and falsifications in round, registering 25.5% to Le refl ecting unease among inves- likely to attack his relative inex- assassination of Nemtsov in central Moscow. the article led him to be sacked. Pen’s 25%, while Fillon was seen tors before the debate. perience. Gulf Times 20 Tuesday, March 21, 2017 INDIA

JUDICIARY PARLIAMENT CRIME INVESTIGATION POLITICS SC declines more Notes ban will reduce Four held after human BSF to probe killing of YSR Congress chief’s time to Uphaar owner rich-poor divide: minister skeletons found in house 3 Tripura tribals by its men uncle loses polls

The Supreme Court yesterday declined Uphaar Demonetisation will lead to narrowing of the Four people were arrested after 10 human The Border Security Force (BSF) has ordered a In a major blow to opposition YSR Congress Party in theatre owner Gopal Ansal’s plea for more divide between the rich and the poor, Minister skeletons were found in a house in West court of inquiry into the killing of three tribals in Andhra Pradesh, its leader Y S Vivekananda Reddy time to surrender, as he said he has appealed of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal Bengal’s Burdwan district yesterday, police firing by its troopers in Tripura last week, off icials was defeated by the ruling Telugu Desam Party TDP to the President for mercy and pardon. “Sorry, said yesterday. The minister said the note said. “We recovered 10 human skulls and said yesterday. “Senior BSF off icials outside the candidate in the state legislative council elections. we can’t,” said a bench of Chief Justice Jagdish ban will eventually lead to increase in Gross several bones during a raid at a house in Udaipur (southern Tripura) sector would conduct Vivekananda Reddy, uncle of YSR Congress chief Y S Singh Khehar, Justice D Y Chandrachud and Domestic Product (GDP). Quoting Bhimrao Burdwan district’s Purbasthali region. Four the court of inquiry,” BSF Deputy Inspector General Jaganmohan Reddy, lost to TDP’s B Ravi by 34 votes in Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul as senior lawyer Ambedkar, the minister said in the Lok Sabha people, including three women, were arrested,” Hardeep Singh said. “Appropriate administrative Local Authorities Constituency in Kadapa. This is the Ram Jethmalani urged the court to give some political equality without social and economic a senior police off icer said. According to the actions have been initiated to prevent recurrence first electoral win for the TDP in Kadapa, the stronghold more days to Ansal to surrender. He was equality means nothing. “Why did you not police, the four were allegedly involved in an of such incidents in future,” he said. Three tribals, of late chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy’s family. scheduled to surrender by 5pm yesterday. The work towards bringing social and economic illegal business of selling human skeletons to including a woman, were killed and two others were Vivekananda Reddy, younger brother of Rajasekhara court had on March 9 rejected Ansal’s plea not equality,” Meghwal said targeting the opposition medical students. They kept the bones hidden injured in BSF firing in southern Tripura’s Chittabari Reddy, was elected twice to the Lok Sabha from to send him to jail to undergo the remaining Congress. “This programme of demonetisation in a secret chamber inside the house. “Three village along the India-Bangladesh border on March Kadapa constituency, twice to the state assembly from part of his one-year sentence in the Uphaar fire will do it,” he said. The minister then said the women members of the same family and their 17. The probe order came after Kolkata-based BSF Pulivendula, and once to the state legislative council tragedy case, but had extended the surrender divide between the rich and the poor was business partner Nokul Das were arrested. All Additional Director General R P Singh visited the from Kadapa Local Authorities Constituency (LAC). His time by ten days. increasing when other parties were in power, four of them have been remanded in 10 days in tension-ridden border areas and held meetings with defeat came as a big shock to the main opposition party and after demonetisation it is being reduced. police custody,” the off icer said. top Tripura government off icials. and especially to the YSR family.

ABVP seeks Demand for women’s reservation CBI probe into suicide Cabinet OKs of student

IANS New Delhi GST-related

he Akhil Bharatiya Vid- yarthi Parishad (ABVP) Tyesterday demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the suicide of Jawa- bills, rollout harlal Nehru University J Muth- ukrishnan and sought the sus- pension of teachers of Centre for Historical Studies, of which he was a student, to prevent them from infl uencing the investiga- tion. likely by July 1 “Four faculty members of the Centre are believed to have dis- criminated against Muthukris- IANS of tax by the central government time to peruse the details of the hanan. They are Neeladri Bhat- New Delhi on intra-state supply of goods law impacting them.” tacharya, Rajat Datta, Burton and services, the IGST bill does it As a corollary, Rastogi said: Cleetus and Kumkum Roy. for inter-state supply. “The assessees will be better “These teachers should be sus- he federal cabinet yes- Similarly, the UTGST bill is for prepared for implementation. pended for the time being, so that terday approved four the Union Territories like Anda- Let’s hope that all the state as- a fair probe can be conducted,” TGoods and Services Tax man and Nicobar Islands, Lak- semblies clear SGST on time as the student body said in a state- (GST)-related bills, which have shadweep, Daman and Diu, and well.” ment after submitting a memo- already been approved by the Dadra and Nagar Haveli, which Pritam Mahure, a GST expert, randum to the university author- GST Council after detailed dis- do not have their independent said: “Governments across the ities and SC/ST Cell of the JNU. cussions. legislative assemblies. world are conscious of the fact ABVP leader Saurabh Sharma The draft legislations include The Compensation bill pro- that the success of GST depends alleged that Muthukrishnan Central Goods and Services Tax vides for compensation to the on preparedness of the taxpay- was not happy with his adviser (CGST) Bill 2017, Integrated states for a period of fi ve years ers and have off ered two to three Burton Cleetus and wanted him Goods and Services Tax (IGST) for loss of revenue due to the im- years of time to taxpayers af- changed. He then approached Bill 2017, Union Territory Goods plementation of the Goods and ter GST laws/ rules were made another professor Neeladri Bhat- and Services Tax Bill (UTGST) Services Tax. available in public domain. tacharya, who also refused to 2017 and Goods and Services Tax “However, in India we are mentor him in his thesis. (Compensation to the States) Bill The introduction of GST looking at a very short time win- “He was not happy with his 2017. would also make Indian dow, of two to three months only adviser. Neeladri Bhattacharya “With the cabinet approval to products competitive and thus, Indian taxpayers are also refused to take him under these four bills, the GST regime in the domestic and looking at an adventurous GST after much dilly-dallying, saying in India is in the fi nal stages of international markets. ride in the coming months.” that his (Muthukrishnan’s) Eng- culmination and the GST law Studies show that this The world was watching lish wasn’t good. will most likely be implemented would have a boosting whether India could success- “All this is on record as he had from July 1. The four bills have impact on economic fully pull up the GST feat with- written about his unhappiness been earlier approved by the growth” out much teething troubles and with the situation in a letter to the GST Council after a thorough, emerge as an example of success- dean of the Centre about a week clause by clause discussion over The GST draft law will have to ful implementation of the GST before his suicide... he was also 12 meetings of the Council held be approved by all state legisla- regime, Mahure added. made to write his research pro- in the last six months,” the Fi- tive assemblies, including those “The introduction of GST posal 38 times before getting ap- nance Ministry said in state- of Delhi and Puducherry. would also make Indian products proval, he had said in a Facebook ment. “The Centre and states have competitive in the domestic and post,” Sharma said. The draft bills now need to be to carry forward the legislative international markets. Stud- “We demand the resignation of tabled in the parliament’s ongo- process. July 1 looks very much ies show that this would have a the dean and chairperson of the ing budget session. feasible. GST should be imple- boosting impact on economic Centre as well, since all this was Minister of State for Finance mented from July 1,” Economic growth. being done right under their nose Santosh Kumar Gangwar said Aff airs Secretary Shaktikanta “It is expected that the im- and after they had been apprised here yesterday that all the four Das told BTVi network in an in- plementation of the Goods and of it,” he added. draft legislations pertaining to terview. Services Tax law will lead to The Rashtriya Swyamsevak the GST would be moved in par- Abhishek Rastogi, partner, an increase in Gross Domestic Sangh-backed student body liament within next 10 days. Khaitan and Company, said: Product (GDP) of the country urged the authorities to criminal- “Within the next 10 days, we “The GST plan is well on time by 1-2%. This in turn will lead ly prosecute the teachers involved will place the bills in this Lok and July 1 looks realistic. The to the creation of more employ- and raised doubts about the sui- Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Kanimozhi speaks with Nationalist Congress Party MP Sabha session,” Gangwar said. timely approval of the bills by ment and increase in produc- cide, which it conjectured could Supriya Sule during a protest in support of Women Reservation Bill, in New Delhi yesterday. While the CGST bill makes the cabinet ensures that the in- tivity,” the ministry statement be a murder. provisions for levy and collection dustry would have reasonable added.

NIA issues fresh Irom Sharmila meets Kerala CM summons to Naik Sudheeran takes on The National Investigation Agency (NIA) yesterday issued fresh notice to televangelist Zakir Naik to appear before it in a case where he stands accused CM over prohibition of promoting enmity between groups on religious and racial grounds. Through the notice, the By Ashraf Padanna and beer and wine parlours, num- notice which would also include agency has asked the 51-year-old Thiruvananthapuram bering around 800, can continue. proceedings for contempt of the Islamic preacher to appear at His notice accuses Vijayan Supreme Court.” NIA headquarters in the national of acting on an “erroneous and He also reminds Vijayan that capital on March 30. The agency ongress leader V M Sud- strange” legal advice despite clear Rohatgi had in 2015 argued for had earlier this month issued the heeran has launched legal directions by the Supreme Court the hoteliers against the previous first notice to Naik, asking him Caction against Kerala Chief ordering banning the sale of liq- government’s prohibition policy to appear before it on March 14, Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for his uor within 500m of national and in the apex court which settled which the self-exiled preacher refusal to close down liquor bars state highways across the country. the matter in the government’s avoided. An NIA off icial said on highways. Bar owners who worked hard favour. that the notice was served at He has sent a notice through for bringing down the previous Seeking the AG’s resigna- Naik’s Mumbai-based Jasmine Kaleeswaram Raj, a Kerala High government for its phased pro- tion, Sudheeran had argued that Apartments in Mazgaon area. Court lawyer. hibition policy are also expect- his appearance for the hoteliers Naik first shot into the limelight The notice says the chief min- ing more waivers after the April fi ghting a state government was when his name cropped up during ister’s action amounts to a con- 12 parliamentary by-election in “neither fair nor ethical” and that the investigations into the terror tempt of court as it violated a Malappuram, Sudheeran said. his conduct now was “not correct strike at an upscale restaurant 2016 Supreme Court order to re- He said the court had ordered - legally, constitutionally, ethi- in Dhaka on July 1. One of the move all “liquor vends” on state “removal and closure” of liquor cally or politically.” terrorists involved in that attack and national highways. sale centres of any type and it has Analysts see Vijayan’s move in allegedly claimed to have been Sudheeran, who recently re- not stated anything on shifting taking on the government after inspired by Naik’s speeches. The signed as the chief of his party in them. quitting as party chief this month NIA later filed cases against Naik the state, yesterday sent a letter to But the government is pro- on “health grounds” as part of his under the Unlawful Activities India’s Attorney General Mukul viding police protection to sales eff orts to stay afl oat. (Prevention) Act for allegedly Rohatgi asking him to step down outlets “by openly suppressing A staunch critic of the develop- promoting enmity between for acting at the “behest of a few people’s protests” against shift- ment priorities of the then chief Irom Sharmila, the Manipuri activist who ended the world’s longest hunger strike last year to groups on religious and racial bar hotel owners” in Kerala. ing them to their neighbourhood. minister Oommen Chandy, Sud- enter electoral politics, meets Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in his off ice in the state grounds, and raided over a dozen Vijayan decided not to close the “In case you try to fl out (the heeran took charge in February capital Thiruvananthapuram yesterday. Sharmila is on a month-long vacation in the state after off ices, residential premises, liquor bars reportedly on the ad- judgment),” the notice warns, 2014, setting the ball, as many of she suff ered a humiliating defeat in Manipur’s assembly election in which she got only 90 his Peace TV off ices and other vice of the AG who said only shops “all legal actions would be initi- them see, for the downfall of his votes despite the support of communist parties. locations, besides freezing a bank are to be removed and liquor bars ated against you without further government. account of his NGO. Gulf Times Tuesday, March 21, 2017 21 INDIA Villagers want POSCO land to be returned to them

Reuters POSCO said at the weekend should be returned to them,” said “Not an inch of this land is But last year, the Supreme tant to give up land have stalled among those who surrendered Bhubaneswar it had expressed its intention to Prasant Paikray, with the anti- private land,” he said. Court said land bought by West major projects and put billions of their land, said they would give back the 2,700 acres of land POSCO group POSCO Pratirodh The 2005 project in the coast- Bengal state for a Tata Motors dollars of investment at risk, ac- resume farming on the land if it allotted to it for a long-delayed Sangram Samiti. al district of Jagatsinghpur was factory must be returned to cording to research published in is returned to them. rotesters and government $12bn steel project because it “Our movement will continue billed as India’s biggest foreign farmers after a decade-long bat- November. “The administration demol- offi cials in eastern India “will not be used urgently”. until the land is given back to the direct investment at the time. tle. Offi cials in resource-rich ished our betel vines and prom- Pclashed over the fate of A protest group yesterday said villagers,” he told the Thomson But it faced massive delays due The top court has also taken Odisha in eastern India have ised us other jobs. Since noth- land that South Korean steel- it has asked state offi cials to re- Reuters Foundation. to a regulatory maze and protests a dim view of special economic said projects such as POSCO’s ing is going to happen, our land maker POSCO has asked Odisha turn the land to villagers, while State Industry Minister Debi from local farmers. zones, asking seven states earlier are crucial to generating jobs should be given back, so that state to take back, the latest twist authorities in Odisha said the Prasad Mishra said the land As demand for land rises, it is this year why land bought for in- and raising incomes in the poor we can resume cultivation,” said in one of the most contentious land will revert to the state. would go into a land bank for rarely returned after being ac- dustry is lying idle. state. Tuna Baral, 30, a resident of battles over land in the country. “It is the people’s land and it other industrial projects. quired for a project. Confl icts with farmers reluc- Betel nut farmers, who were Gobindpur village. Role of Goa governor unjustifi ed: Congress

IANS up for discussion after lunch. New Delhi Minister of Parliamentary Af- fairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that since the matter was with he opposition Congress the Chairman, it should be left to Party yesterday demanded him to decide about it. Ta discussion in the Rajya Meanwhile, Goa Chief Min- Sabha on the conduct of Goa Gov- ister Manohar Parrikar retained ernor Mridula Sinha who invited the key portfolios of Home and the Bharatiya Janata Party to form Finance, and allotted one min- the government in the state. istry each to nine other cabinet The governor’s move came ministers. despite the Congress emerging While two BJP ministers – as the single-largest party after Francis D’Souza and Pandurang election in the assembly, Con- Madkaikar – have been given the gress members said. Urban Development and Power, Raising the matter in the up- three Goa Forward Party leg- per house, senior Congress lead- islators – Vijai Sardesai, Vinod er Digvijay Singh said that the Paliencar and Jayesh Salgaocar Sufi clerics Syed Asif Ali Nizami and Nazim Ali Nizami meet External Aff airs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Minister of State M J Akbar in New Delhi yesterday. matter should be discussed. – have been given respectively “As suggested, I have sub- the Town and Country Planning, mitted substantive motion (on Water Resources Department it),” he told Deputy Chairman P and Housing Board. J Kurien. Kurien then told him The Maharashtrawadi Go- that the matter was being “ex- mantak Party, which has two amined” by the chairman and he lawmakers – Sudin Dhavalikar would be informed about it. and Manohar Azgaonkar in the To this, Singh said: “This is cabinet – has been given the ‘Missing’ clerics back well taken. I understand. But the coveted Public Works Depart- urgency (of the matter) is lost”. ment and Tourism ministries. “We request you to kindly look Independent legislators Ro- into it. The role of the governor is han Khaunte and Govind Gawde, totally unjustifi ed and has gone who have extended their support against the Constitution and to Parrikar to form the new min- democracy,” said the Congress istry in Goa, have been allotted from Pak, deny charges leader, who as the Congress gen- the Revenue, and Art and Cul- eral secretary was in charge of ture ministries. IANS (RAW) – an allegation that ap- tained on the basis of the news- plight with top Pakistani offi - “I will keep going to Pakistan the party aff airs in Goa. The allotment of ministries New Delhi parently got them into trouble paper report which claimed cials after it became known that to spread love and peace,” he Singh said that it has been a was notifi ed in the state gov- in Pakistan. they were spying in Pakistan at they were missing. added. practice that in case of a frac- ernment gazette yesterday after Saying they had left for Paki- the behest of RAW. They were The clerics refused to divulge Meanwhile, Bharatiya Ja- tured mandate, the single-larg- formal approval of the governor wo Indian clerics who stan on March 8, Nazim Ali Ni- allowed to go after the interro- details about their meeting with nata Party leader Subramanian est party is called to form the earlier in the day. reportedly went missing zami said: “We had gone to meet gators realised the charges were Swaraj. Swamy claimed to have “inde- government. Parrikar was sworn-in as the Tin Pakistan returned here my aunt who is 90 and lives in false.” Nazim Ali, however, said they pendent information” that the “It’s a murder of democracy,” chief minister of the state on yesterday amid some confusion Karachi. My uncle met his sister After they reached Delhi, would go to Pakistan again. clerics were working against he added. March 14. over what really happened to after 26 long years.” the clerics visited the Hazrat “We went to Pakistan to India. To this, Telecom Minister Ravi Also yesterday Samajwadi Par- them in that country. He said a Pakistani Urdu Nizamuddin Dargah – built in spread the Nizammuddin Dar- “We have independent in- Shankar Prasad reacted sharply ty leader Ram Gopal Yadav said Syed Asif Ali Nizami and newspaper Ummat printed memory one of the most revered gah’s message of peace and love. formation that these two were and urged the Chair to get the that the Election Commission his nephew Nazim Ali Nizami, “fake pictures” about them Sufi saints, Hazrat Khwaja Syed I often go to Pakistan but my working against the country,” term “murder of democracy” should clear doubts over elec- both clerics with Delhi’s revered and alleged they were agents of Nizamuddin Auliya in the heart uncle this time went there to he told the media. expunged from the record of the tronic voting machines (EVMs). Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah, RAW and the Muttahida Qaumi of Delhi. meet his sister. “They are lying ... to get sym- Rajya Sabha proceedings. “We are not casting asper- fl ew in from Karachi and later Movement (MQM). The Sufi shrine is visited by “But elements who are pathy,” Swamy said. The Congress was support- sions over the commission’s in- met External Aff airs Minister Consequently, the two were tens of thousands of people in- against peace and love have Communist Party of India ed by Janata Dal-United and tentions. But the poll panel must Sushma Swaraj. detained and questioned by cluding from Pakistan. made false allegations against leader D Raja added: “There the Communist Party of India satisfactorily address the doubts They rubbished reports Pakistani authorities, Asif Ali After a warm welcome by us. They claimed we had gone to needs to be a proper investiga- (Marxist) on the issue. raised by several quarters,” Ya- charging them with links with Nizami’s son Syed Sajid Ali told family members, neighbours Sind. But how can we go there tion into all the revelations and Congress leader Ghulam Nabi dav, a Rajya Sabha member, said the Indian intelligence agency reporters here. and devotees, the clerics met when we did not have visa for the matter must be raised with Azad said that it should be taken outside parliament. Research and Analysis Wing “Father told us they were de- Swaraj, who had taken up their Sind? the Pakistani government.” Patients suff er as 4,000 New govt in Punjab doctors go on mass leave cancels wheat tenders IANS Commissioners of the con- Chandigarh cerned districts. The entire IANS mumbai Municipal Corp (BMC) fi cult to work under such life- tendering process would be Mumbai announced a series of tough threatening conditions”. completed by March 31, before measures to curb violence against “There have been attacks on he Punjab government the two-month procurement medicos, including limiting the medicos in Mumbai Sion and yesterday cancelled all process kicks off on April 1,” a edical services in 17 number of relatives who will be Wadia hospitals after which our Tthe labour and trans- state government spokesman government hospitals permitted to accompany patients. members decided to go on in- portation tenders issued dur- said. Min Maharashtra were Henceforth, only two rela- dividual action of availing CL,” ing the previous Parkash Singh The procurement begins on severely hit yesterday after over tives of any patient will be al- Kabra said. Badal government for the up- April 1 and will continue till 4,000 resident doctors went on lowed with special passes and Simultaneously, the MARD is coming wheat procurement May 31. Bulk of the wheat will a mass casual Leave to protest those found without passes will fi ling an affi davit in the Bombay season. be procured between April 13 growing incidents of attacks by be prosecuted, said Additional High Court to highlight how its The Congress government, (Baisakhi) and May 15. patients’ relatives. Municipal Commissioner I A orders on doctors’ security and led by Chief Minister Ama- The Reserve Bank of In- In the absence of any concrete Kundan. related aspects have allegedly rinder Singh, has invited fresh dia gives a Cash Credit Limit measures by the government on Earlier, while admitting that it not yet been implemented by the tenders while directing the (CCL) of over Rs200bn to Pun- their security, the doctors are was the duty of the civic body to state government. Deputy Commissioners (DCs) jab for smooth procurement of likely to go on a mass leave for ensure security, Mahadeshwar “In fact, last Friday we had to personally supervise the wheat. a second day today, the Mahar- urged the doctors to resume duty planned a day’s mass bunking procurement process begin- “The agencies would pro- ashtra Association of Resident by evening failing which the which we cancelled after assur- ning on April 1. cure an estimated 122 lakh Doctors (MARD) said. civic body would consider taking ances from the government. Wheat procurement is im- tonnes of wheat during this There have been at least fi ve action against them. “But that same night medicos portant in Punjab as it con- procurement drive. The Indian attacks on resident doctors in In this context, the BMC will were attacked in Sion Hospital tributes nearly 50% the food government has fi xed Rs1,625 one week, including two in the ask for additional armed forces followed by another attack yes- grains to the national kitty. per quintal as Minimum Sup- past 24 hours, said Indian Medi- from the Maharashtra State Se- terday,” Kabra said. The decision was taken after port Price (MSP) for wheat for cal Association (Youth) state curity Force which will be de- In Mumbai, the government a high-level meeting of DCs the current marketing season,” president Sagar Mundada. ployed in the hospitals. hospitals hit were KEM, Sion and Superintendents of Po- the spokesman said. “We met Mayor Vishwanath And entry points of each hos- LTMG, Nair and Sir JJ Group lice (SPs), chaired by the chief The Congress Party, in the Mahadeshwar but we have not pital will be designated for dif- where a large number of resident minister here. run-up to the Punjab assem- got any concrete assurances ferent types of patients. doctors work. “Fresh tenders could be sub- bly elections on February 4, on our physical safety while on MARD president Yashoward- Their counterparts in Kol- mitted till 5pm on March 24 had alleged misappropriation duty,” Mundada said, hinting at han Kabra said the sudden spate hapur Government Hospital and would be opened the next of Rs310bn in the food grain continuing the protest today. of attacks on the doctors had left continued to work but wore Doctors stage a silent protest outside the Sion hospital in Mumbai day by the respective com- procurement under the Badal Late in the evening, the Brihan- them shattered and “it was dif- black bands. yesterday. mittees headed by the Deputy government. Gulf Times 22 Tuesday, March 21, 2017 LATIN AMERICA Latin America struggles to stem pricey fuel imports

Reuters can countries. For refi ners in the 29% last year in Mexico and the retail market is liberalised, Any spike in oil prices would have little capital or outside in- Mexico and Argentina. “We Houston US, it is a bonus: they have in 75,000bpd or 94% in Brazil, before upstream reforms can hit countries hard, given the in- vestment interest in expansions are on the right path,” said their own backyard a ready mar- contributing to the gains. boost domestic production. creased volumes they need. or overhauls, Fuller said. Miguel Gutierrez, president ket for rising fuel exports. “We need to build joint ven- Cheaper fuel prices have made “With demand increasing and As fuel imports rise, crude of Argentina’s state-run YPF atin American countries Overall, the 30 nations in the tures to fi nd the capital the re- it easier for these countries to a stable refi ning capacity, the shipments from the region’s en- SA, when asked about politi- are becoming more reli- region bought 2.32mn barrels fi neries require,” said the head buy in recent years. region’s import needs will con- ergy producers are falling. cal change in his country ear- Lant on costly fuel imports per day (bpd) of diesel, gasoline of Mexico’s oil regulator, Juan Latin America’s bill for fuel tinue to grow,” said Jake Fuller, a Latin America exported 5.2mn lier this month. amid fl oundering eff orts to bol- and other fuels last year from the Carlos Zepeda, referring to his imports from the US fell to about senior analyst at consultants IHS bpd in 2016, according to Reu- Analysts off er a simple xfi for ster domestic oil output and ex- US, up 67% from 2011, according own country. “And we need to $47bn last year from $51bn in Markit. ters Trade Flows fi gures. Latin America’s dependence on pand refi nery capacity. to the Energy Information Ad- produce more gas,” he added in 2015. American refi ners along the The US buys just under half of fuel imports: build more refi n- Incomplete reform projects ministration. comments earlier this month. But if last year’s imports were Gulf Coast are well-placed to the region’s crude exports. eries and halt the subsidies that and budget cuts that have stalled Demands for US imports are But getting there will take time measured at 2012’s peak prices, continue supplying the region. Reforms that encourage push up demand. Political reali- investments are aggravating the rising in the region’s biggest and in Mexico, energy reform is the fuels’ tab would have been In contrast, Latin America’s producers to bring capital ties often collide with such rem- situation for many Latin Ameri- economies, up 199,000bpd or likely to lead to more imports as twice as large. state-controlled refi nery fi rms to oilfields are under way in edies, however.

Stolen Super Bowl Nations ban jersey recovered in Mexico Brazil imports

Reuters Boston

he football jersey that over tainted New England Patriots Tquarterback Tom Brady wore in last month’s Super Bowl victory in Houston, Texas, which disappeared hours after the game, has been found in Mexico, the National Football League and meat scandal police said yesterday. Both the jersey worn in Brady’s Reuters off inspectors and politicians derives most of its sales from fi fth league championship over Sao Paulo/Beijing to overlook practices includ- abroad, according to a report by the Atlanta Falcons, and the ing processing rotten meat and Goldman Sachs analysts led by one he’d worn two years earlier shipping exports with traces of Luca Cipiccia. when the team topped the Seat- allout from a corruption salmonella. Shares of Minerva SA and tle Seahawks, were recovered “in scandal in Brazil’s mas- The companies have strongly Marfrig Global Foods SA, which the possession of a credentialed Fsive meat industry spread denied any wrongdoing. are not involved in the investiga- member of the international me- yesterday, with China and South Authorities have emphasised tions, also fell as traders fretted dia,” the NFL said in a statement. Korea suspending some imports that no cases of illness have been over the possibility of further The jersey was found in Mex- and the European Union mull- linked to the investigation. import bans. ico, Houston police chief art ing action, hitting shares of the To minimise the scandal, The scandal “could be enough Acevedo said in a post on Twitter. world biggest poultry producer President Michel Temer said the to compromise temporar- “You don’t come to Texas and BRF SA. probe involved only 21 of Brazil’s ily Brazilian protein’s acceptance embarrass us here on our own With other suspensions ex- more than 4,800 meat process- worldwide”, Credit Suisse Secu- turf,” Acevedo told reporters pected to follow, the Brazilian ing units. rities analyst Victor Saragiotto yesterday. police operation codenamed “Agribusiness for us in Bra- wrote in a Monday note to cli- He added that the case had “Weak Flesh” could deal a heavy zil is incredibly important and ents. nonetheless been investigated be- blow to one of the few sectors of cannot be devalued by a small Chile is temporarily banning cause it had been “the only blem- Latin America’s largest economy group, by a minor thing that can imports of beef from Brazil, the ish that we had from the Super that has thrived during a two- be investigated, regulated and agriculture ministry said yester- Bowl was these jerseys that were year recession. punished if needed,” Temer told day. stolen from the locker room.” China, which accounted for business leaders in Sao Paulo. The European Commission The Federal Bureau of Investi- nearly one-third of the Brazilian “But it cannot compromise said it would monitor meat im- gation helped with the recovery, industry’s $13.9bn in exports last the entire system that we have ports from Brazil and deny any the NFL and police said. year, decided to suspend imports created through the years.” companies involved in a meat Acevedo declined to provide of all meat products from Brazil However, Francisco Turra, scandal there access to the Eu- details on where in Mexico the as a precautionary measure after head of Brazilian beef producers ropean Union market, a spokes- jersey had been recovered or who police on Friday accused com- association ABPA, told a sepa- man said. the suspect was. panies of widespread bribery of rate news conference that the The commission said the The jersey likely could have health inspectors to hide unsani- scandal had put the entire sec- scandal would not aff ect nego- been sold to a collector for “great tary conditions. tor in jeopardy and “destroyed” tiations between the European monetary gain,” Acevedo said. South Korea’s agriculture a hard-fought image of quality Union and South American bloc Brady told reporters the ministry said in a statement that products. Mercosur about agreements on morning after the Patriots’ 34- it would tighten inspections Common shares of BRF and free trade. 28 overtime win that he had of imported Brazilian chicken JBS fell as much as 10% early On the streets of Rio de Janei- packed up the jersey bearing his meat and temporarily bar sales yesterday after posting heavy ro, Brazil’s second-largest city, number 12 after the game, but it of chicken products by BRF, the losses on Friday. the scandal left many consumers had disappeared. world’s largest poultry producer. However, JBS recovered to in doubt. “It’s unfortunate, because More than 80% of the 107,400 trade up 2% by noon (1500GMT) “My freezer at home is full of that’s a nice piece of memora- tonnes of chicken that South as investors bet the scandal meat, and I don’t know what to bilia. So if it shows up on eBay, Korea imported last year came would have less eff ect on the do,” said Maria Fonseca, a sales- someone let me know and I’ll from Brazil, and BRF supplied world’s largest meatpacker, woman. “Should I eat it or just track that down,” he told report- almost half of that. while BRF was still down 2%. throw it all away? It is an enor- ers at the time. “Those are pretty Police on Friday named BRF, BRF could prove more vulner- mous waste. special ones to keep. What can JBS SA and dozens of smaller able to the scandal since a larger “If I lived in the countryside, you do? I’ll take the ring and Brazilian President Michel Temer eats at a steak house in Brasilia after meeting with ambassadors rivals in a two-year probe into share of its operations are physi- I’d start raising my own cows that’s good enough for me.” from countries that import Brazilian meat. how meatpackers allegedly paid cally based in Brazil, while JBS and chickens!” Inmates kill guards, take Officials release sought 47 more skulls found hostages in Guatemala in Mexico mass grave Reuters had recovered more than 250 Mexico City skulls from another unmarked AFP tor’s offi ce for human rights Local media reports said the grave 60kms further north in the San Jose Pinula, Guatemala said about 40 members of the Stage II inmates had made a Gulf state of Veracruz. feared Barrio 18 gang had led series of demands, including nvestigators unearthed the That burial site was uncovered the revolt on Sunday in the the return of comrades who skulls of 47 more suspected by relatives of missing family mprisoned young gang Stage II juvenile centre. had been sent to other centres, Ivictims of Mexico’s drug members, impatient with offi - members killed two guards Emergency services said de- better food, and the easing of war in Veracruz state, just days cials’ apathetic response, who Iand held four others hos- tainees had lit fi res inside the restrictions on visits. after uncovering 250 skulls at a launched their own search for tage in a riot in a juvenile de- facility, causing two of the in- According to police, one separate mass grave used by drug missing family members. tention centre in Guatemala, mates to be hurt. wounded guard at Stage II was cartels, the state’s attorney gen- The relatives’ groups have police said yesterday. A journalist outside the released by the inmates early eral said. exposed the government’s slow The violence broke out late blue-and-white centre saw yesterday and taken to hos- Veracruz, on Mexico’s Gulf progress in attending to rights Sunday in the Stage II juvenile male detainees, their hair cut pital. coast, has long been a stomping abuses and victims. detention centre for boys in the short, crowding at barred doors Negotiations were underway ground for criminal gangs, who The former governor of Ve- town of San Jose Pinula, just to and windows. to try to have the other four re- fi ght over lucrative drug and mi- racruz, Javier Duarte, who be- the east of the capital Guate- Armed police patrolled the leased. grant smuggling routes. longed to the country’s ruling mala City. exterior. “A dialogue is ongoing with Giving details on the latest party, is a fugitive, fl eeing organ- The deadly unrest came less The youth inmates were said various institutions so that grisly fi nd, Jorge Winckler said ised crime charges. than two weeks after 40 teen- to be rebelling against mal- they drop their violent atti- the skulls and remains of mul- Separately, the Veracruz at- age girls died in a fi re at a near- treatment by guards. tude,” Castillo said. tiple body parts were unearthed torney general’s offi ce said it by youth shelter. A similar motive was re- Both the Stage II and Virgin from eight unmarked graves, was investigating the murder Pablo Castillo, spokesman ported in the nearby Virgin of the Assumption facilities are clustered in a 120 sq metre area, of a journalist, Ricardo Monlui, for the national police, said one of the Assumption shelter, managed by the social welfare about 10kms from the town of who was shot dead in the town security guard at the Stage II where teenagers had claimed ministry. Alvarado. of Yanga. Veracruz is the most juvenile detention centre was sexual and other abuse by Its head, Carlos Rodas, and So far, Winckler said, investi- dangerous state in Mexico for killed. personnel before the deadly several of his offi cials were dis- Bolivia Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera yesterday gators had positively identifi ed journalists. A separate police source, March 8 fire. missed and arrested in the wake demanded that Chile immediately return two soldiers and one three-person family, miss- The Committee to Protect who asked not to be named, Staff denied the allegations. of the deadly blaze at the shel- seven custom agents detained over the weekend in an ing since September 2016, and Journalists said in 2016 that later said a second guard had That deadly blaze prompted ter early this month. incident on the shared border. The Bolivians were detained the remains of two other men. at least six reporters had been died. public indignation and numer- The Stage II centre was the on their own country’s territory while attempting to inspect “The work continues,” Winck- killed for their work since 2010, “They are still holding four ous protests that have rocked scene of a battle between ri- three contraband-laden trucks as they crossed the border ler told a news conference, vowing when Duarte took offi ce, adding guards,” Castillo said. the government of President val gangs in 2005 which left 14 from Chile, Linera told a press conference. to track down the perpetrators. it was investigating nine other The Guatemalan prosecu- Jimmy Morales. people dead. Just days earlier, investigators cases. Gulf Times Tuesday, March 21, 2017 23 PAKISTAN/AFGHANISTAN

Pakistan, India Sharif orders reopening of begin talks on border with Afghanistan Indus water row

AFP DPA talks would focus on three Islamabad Islamabad power projects with varying capacities of power genera- tion: Pakul Dal (1,000 MW), akistan yesterday ordered akistan and India re- Miyar (120 MW) and Lower the border with Afghani- sumed talks yesterday Kalnai (48 MW). Pstan to be reopened “im- Pto resolve their disputes “To respect this agreement mediately”, a month after it was over water, in the fi rst diplo- (the Indus Waters Treaty) and closed amid soaring tensions as matic interaction in almost fi nd a solution through it is in Islamabad and Kabul accused two years after tensions over the interest of both countries.” one another of providing safe border clashes between the The minister also spoke haven for militants. nuclear-armed neighbours. regarding the controversial Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Offi cials from the Indus Wa- Kishanganga and Ratle hydro- ordered the two main crossings ter Commission, a 57-year-old electric projects about which on the long, porous border be body to resolve the disputes Pakistan has asked the World reopened as a gesture of “good- between the two countries, are Bank to set up a Court of Ar- will”, a statement from his offi ce holding a two-day meeting in bitration to hear its objections, said. the Pakistani capital Islama- the daily reported. The crossings — Torkham bad. Asif said delays had been at the famed Khyber Pass, and “Pakistan welcomes re- witnessed in the past in the Chaman in Balochistan province sumption of talks,” Water and handling of the Kishanganga — were closed last month after a Power Minister Khawaja Asif project. wave of militant violence killed told a press conference. “When we (Pakistan) went 130 people across Pakistan. The last such meeting took to the court of arbitration, our The attacks, most of which place in May 2015. position was not as strong as it were claimed by the Islamic The resumption of talks could have been if we had ap- State group or the Pakistani Tal- comes weeks after Pakistan proached the court in a timely iban, dented optimism after the put under house arrest Hafi z manner.” country appeared to be making Saeed, the alleged mastermind However, he added that strong gains in its decade-and- of the 2008 Mumbai terrorist Pakistan’s stand on the Ratle a-half long war on militancy. attacks in which 160 people project was “very strong”. Pakistan’s powerful military were killed. “We are working to make as well as the civilian govern- Asif said “Islamabad would changes to the design of the ment swiftly pointed fi ngers at Afghan citizen wait to cross into their home country at the border post in Torkham, Pakistan, on March 7, 2017. strongly defend its interests.” project that are in Pakistan’s Afghanistan, blaming Kabul for Asif said both India and Pa- interest and which are in ac- harbouring those behind the at- reopened “despite” the accu- tial to Pakistan’s security. sands of Afghan refugees in Pa- The Pakistani government kistan must respect the Indus cordance with the treaty.” tacks. sations, citing “centuries-old” The two nations are divided kistan were repatriated last year, estimates that undocumented Waters Treaty as it is in their The two countries would Afghanistan has long accused religious, cultural and historic by the “Durand Line”, a 2,400- with Human Rights Watch ac- trade on the border exceeds interest. not discuss the controversial Pakistan of providing safe ha- links. km frontier drawn by the British cusing Islamabad of coercion, $2.5bn annually. “The talks, postponed since Kishanganga and Ratle hydro- ven to the Afghan Taliban, and “We hope that Afghan gov- in 1896 and disputed by Kabul, threats and abuse. Torkham and Chaman were 2015, have resumed due to ef- power projects, a senior offi cial the claim sparked a diplomatic ernment will take all neces- which does not offi cially recog- Pakistani attempts to control the briefl y opened on March 7-8 forts made by the government. earlier told Dawn. furore as both countries traded sary actions to end the reasons nise it as an international border. previously open border and im- by Pakistan to allow Pakistani They are in the best interests of The talks would conclude allegations. for which this step was taken,” Tensions along the fron- plement customs duties have also and Afghan citizens who had both neighbours,” he said . today and the Indian delega- The statement from Sharif’s Sharif said, adding that lasting tier have been simmering for sparked complaints from traders valid travel documents to return A 10-member Indian dele- tion would leave for New Delhi offi ce called for the border to be peace in Afghanistan was essen- months, after hundreds of thou- used to crossing with impunity. home. gation led by Indian Indus Wa- the same day. ter Commissioner PP Saxena The Indus Waters Treaty was arrived on Sunday for talks, signed in 1960 and involves six First Pak woman two years after water experts rivers: the Beas, Ravi, Sultlej, from the two sides met in May Indus, Chenab and Jhelum. foreign secretary 2015, reported Dawn. Brokered by the World Bank, Pakistan passes landmark Hindu marriage bill takes charge The Pakistani team is led by the fi rst three rivers were given Indus Water Commissioner to India and the other three to Tehmina Janjua yesterday as- Mirza Asif Beg. Pakistan. AFP Following the end of Brit- sumed charge as Pakistan’s new The two-day talks would Asif, who is also defence Islamabad ish rule in South Asia in 1947, foreign secretary, becoming the focus on the designs, disputed minister, said that it would be the sub-continent was parti- first woman in the history of the by Pakistan, of the three con- premature to say that the water tioned into mainly Hindu India country to assume the position, troversial water projects being talks would lead to a resump- he president of mainly and Pakistan, triggering wide- Radio Pakistan reported. Janjua built on the Chenab river. tion of a composite dialogue Muslim Pakistan has spread religious bloodshed in replaced Aizaz Chaudhry, a career Asif told the media that the with India. Tsigned into law a bill al- which hundreds of thousands diplomat who has taken up charge lowing the Hindu minority to were killed and millions dis- as Pakistan’s new ambassador register their marriages for the placed. to the US. Having joined the Pakistan summons Indian envoy fi rst time since partition from Since then, Pakistani Hindus Foreign Service in 1984, Janjua’s India in 1947. – who number around 8.2mn in experience has mainly been in Pakistan yesterday ceasefire violation by the The bill, signed by President the country of an estimated 180 multilateral diplomacy. She served summoned Indian Deputy Indian forces on the Line of Mamnoon Hussain on Sunday, million people – have been un- as ambassador of Pakistan to Italy High Commissioner J P Control,” an off icial from the will “safeguard the legitimate able to acquire the legal docu- from December 2011 to October Singh to protest the alleged Ministry of External Aff airs rights and interests of Hindu A Pakistani Hindu couple performs a Hindu ritual during a mass mentation needed to register 2015. Among her other overseas ceasefire violation on the Line said. families”, a government state- wedding ceremony in Karachi, on March 19. marriages and annulments. postings are stints at the UN in of Control, an off icial said. “J P Singh told Pakistan that ment said. Lawmakers in the southern New York and Geneva. Janjua has “Deputy High Commissioner India did not violate the It will also allow Hindus to fi le Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, community in Pakistan. province of Sindh, where most not served on a major territorial to Pakistan J P Singh was ceasefire and only responded for divorce and remarry, and will head of the Pakistan Hindu “This law is a welcome step... Pakistani Hindus live, passed desk at the headquarters, except summoned today (Monday) to the unprovoked firing from protect the fi nancial security of Council, told AFP yesterday It will remove all diffi culties for their own provincial legislation for a year-long posting at the by the Pakistan Foreign Off ice the Pakistan side,” sources women and children after di- the legislation would solve the registration of Hindu mar- last year allowing Hindus to reg- Soviet Union and Eastern Europe to protest over the alleged said. vorce. many problems faced by the riages,” he said. ister marriages. desk. How much is an Afghan life worth? That depends

Reuters But civil activists say the sys- cases, varies. “This shows ed in this attack,” said Allah Dad, Washington tem is unfair and confusing for that each unit was setting its nine of whose relatives were also often poor and uneducated Af- own policy and that there’s no wounded. ghans. standard operating procedure He was forced to leave his job n March 2014, the US mili- A Pentagon spokesman said (or even financial guidance) as a teacher and now works on tary paid an Afghan man the military leaves the decision across the military for how to his watermelon and corn fi elds. I just over $1,000 to com- on how much to pay to com- make these payments and how “The Afghan government pensate for killing his civilian manders on the ground because much they should be,” said promised to pay for our houses, son in an operation near the they are best positioned to judge Keenan. cars, machinery and livestock border with Iran, according to the incidents. In Allah Dad’s case, the money but so far, they haven’t.” US military records released “Condolence payments in came not from the United States When asked about Allah Dad’s to Reuters. Afghanistan are based on cul- but from the Afghan govern- case, the Pentagon said it does Six months later, another Af- tural norms of the local area, ment. not comment on specifi c inci- ghan father was given $10,000 advice from Afghan partners, The attack that killed his dents. by the US military after his child, and the circumstances of the relatives in Boz, near Kunduz, The Kunduz local government also a civilian, was killed in an event,” said spokesman Adam was the subject of a US military confi rmed Allah Dad’s account American-led military operation Stump. probe, which found in January of the payments and number of in the same province. “US commanders in theater that 33 civilians were killed and his relatives killed. And 68-year-old Haji Allah are therefore empowered to 27 wounded when US and Af- “We understand that no Dad lost 20 relatives, including make decisions regarding pay- ghan special forces returned fi re amount of money can compen- his brother and sister-in-law, in ments as they have the greatest against Taliban fi ghters using ci- sate for the suff ering and loss of a US and Afghan special forces understanding of these factors,” vilian houses and called in US air life,” Salvin said. operation near the northern city Stump said. support. One of the most well known of Kunduz last November. It is unclear how the US mili- The United States did not instances of condolence pay- Allah Dad said he received tary puts these factors in mon- make any condolence payments ments was after a 2015 US air no money from the US military, etary terms. and left it to the Afghan govern- strike in Kunduz that destroyed a though he did get compensation Washington started making ment to decide what it wanted to hospital run by Doctors Without from the Afghan government. condolence payments in Af- do, Captain Bill Salvin, a spokes- Borders which killed 42 people Nearly 16 years since invad- ghanistan in 2005 after realis- An Afghan man inspects a house destroyed during an air strike called in to protect Afghan and US forces man for US forces in Afghani- and wounded 37. ing Afghanistan, the United ing that the Taliban was gaining during a raid on suspected Taliban militants, in Kunduz, Afghanistan, on November 4, 2016. stan, said. The incident received inter- States has no standardized infl uence and goodwill by giving It is unclear why. national media coverage and the process for making compensa- civilians money after fatal US vilians it killed in the Iraq con- tions without a standard operat- Act request, American forces Mahmoud Danish, a spokes- personal attention of then Presi- tion payments to the families strikes, according to the Centre fl ict. ing procedure for making con- have paid Afghan families about man for governor of Kunduz dent Barack Obama. of thousands of Afghan civil- for Civilians in Confl ict, a US- Critics warn the lack of stand- dolence payments,” said Marla $1.2mn for the deaths of at least province, said the Afghan gov- “The President was person- ians killed or injured in US-led based advocacy and research ardisation in compensation pay- Keenan, senior director of pro- 101 Afghans and injuries to 270 ernment paid 100,000 Afghanis ally interested in the Kunduz in- military operations. group. ments means Afghan civilian grams at the Center for Civilians others from the end of 2013 to ($1,500) for each death and cident and that is in part why we It fi rst started paying the fam- The United States does not victims are not treated equally as in Confl ict. 2016. 50,000 Afghanis ($750) for each got interested,” a former senior ilies of Afghan victims as a way have to pay compensation to ci- the confl ict there grinds on. “A man in Kandahar may get Almost all of the victims were of those wounded. White House offi cial said, add- to counter Taliban militants who vilians killed in its military ac- The top US commander in $4,000 for his damaged car civilians. Allah Dad said the United ing that it was rare for senior were doing the same. tions under international and Afghanistan has said several while a woman in Gardez gets Five of the payments were to States should have also taken offi cials in Washington to get in- America’s approach to com- national law. thousand more troops would be $1,000 for her dead child. Ci- members of the Afghan govern- responsibility for the civilian volved in condolence payments pensation is arbitrary by design However, it has made such needed to break a stalemate with vilians deserve better,” Keenan ment, the documents, which victims. in Afghanistan. as it tries to negotiate Afghani- payments going back to the Ko- the Taliban. said. have previously not been pub- “Americans must be account- For that incident, on average stan’s cultural and regional sen- rean War in the 1950s. “It’s of great concern that According to US military lished, show. able for what they did and they the United States paid $3,000 sitivities as a foreign military In some cases, it paid com- we’re talking about stepping up documents obtained by Reuters The amount of payments, have to pay for each and every- for those injured and $6,000 for force. pensation to the relatives of ci- the way that we carry opera- under a Freedom of Information even in apparently similar body who were killed or wound- those killed. Gulf Times 24 Tuesday, March 21, 2017 PHILIPPINES Robredo faces new impeachment complaint

Reuters 1986. It was filed four days af- Manila ter lower house representative Gary Alejano filed an impeach- ment complaint against Du- lawyer for the late dic- terte, accusing him of offences tator Ferdinand Marcos ranging from conflict of inter- Ayesterday fi led an im- est and assets concealment to peachment complaint against drugs-related extrajudicial Philippine Vice President Leni killings. President Rodrigo Duterte is welcomed by Myanmar’s President Htin Kyaw in Naypyidaw yesterday. Robredo for her strong criticism The complaints against Ro- of the administration’s bloody bredo and Duterte will not be war on drugs. handled by Congress until May The complaint for violation of at the earliest, as the legisla- the constitution and betrayal of ture is in recess. public trust was sent by Oliver Congress is dominated by Duterte calls European Lozano to the offi ce of House lawmakers who have sided with Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, a the president. staunch ally of President Rod- Robredo’s Liberal Party is in rigo Duterte. the minority. Alvarez had for several days Duterte has denied wrong- critics of drug war ‘crazies’ been studying whether to fi le a doing and his allies say the im- complaint himself. Leni Robredo: new challenge peachment motion against him “She is the termite of the gov- would be soundly defeated. AFP ernment,” Lozano said in a letter try,” he said in a radio interview A one-third vote in the Naypyidaw seeking endorsement for his six- yesterday. 292-member lower house page complaint. Robredo’s lawyer, Barry Gu- would impeach a high-level of- Robredo, who is not a mem- tierrez, was confident she had ficial, paving for a Senate trial hilippine President Rod- ber of Duterte’s party and was done no wrong. “Truth-telling in which a majority would be rigo Duterte has described elected in a separate contest, can never be an impeachable needed to remove him or her PEuropean lawmakers as may have landed herself in offence,” he told reporters. from office. “crazies” in a salty-tongued re- trouble after issuing a strong The complaint comes amid Duterte on Sunday welcomed buttal of criticism of his deadly rebuke of the popular presi- bitter squabbling between Du- the impeachment complaint, drug war, while vowing again dent’s war on drugs in a video terte and his loyalists and the as well as the prospect of the that all traffi ckers will be killed. sent to the United Nations. opposition Liberal Party and International Criminal Court Duterte fi red his broadside Alvarez said that was “irre- its allies, loosely along politi- putting him on trial over his in a late-night speech Sunday sponsible”. cal lines going back to the time war on drugs, saying his cam- in Myanmar after the European “This is the first time a high of the late president Ferdinand paign would be unrelenting and Parliament issued a resolution government official has sent a Marcos, who was ousted by a “brutal” and he would not be last week condemning “the video clip maligning our coun- “People Power” uprising in intimidated into ending it. high number of extra-judicial killings” in his war on drugs. “I don’t get these crazies. Why are you trying to impose on us? Why don’t you mind your own business,” said Du- Health department: more than terte, who frequently uses President Rodrigo Duterte is welcomed by Myanmar’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Naypyidaw. swear words and other abusive language against his critics. At the speech to a gather- ics did not understand the Phil- Obama a “son of a w****” last 1mn Filipinos quit smoking Since taking offi ce in the ing of the Filipino community ippines. year in response to criticism middle of last year Duterte has in Myanmar’s capital Naypyi- To illustrate his theory on of the killings, as he repeated overseen a ruthless campaign to daw, Duterte warned that many the clash of cultures, Duterte his unsubstantiated allegation DPA do more to stop the suffering teract smoking among women eradicate illegal drugs which he more people would be killed in referred to a recent Time maga- that the US Central Intelligence Manila caused by this epidemic,” Ubial are working,” she said. says are threatening to turn the his drugs crackdown. zine cover article on gender and Agency was plotting to kill him. said. The health department has Philippines into a narco-state. “More people will die. I said sexuality and compared it with “They miscalculated me. “Three out of four smokers drafted a proposed executive Police have reported killing I will not stop. I will continue what he insisted was blanket They thought they would scare ore than 1mn Filipi- in the Philippines also wants order that would ban smoking more than 2,500 people, while until the last drug lord in the Filipino opposition to same-sex me with a jail threat and then nos have quit smoking to quit,” she added. in most enclosed public places rights groups say there have Philippines is killed and the marriage. they would put Obama in front Msince the Philippine Ubial attributed the decline nationwide. been more than 5,000 other pushers (are) out of the streets,” “That’s their culture. It does of me. I told them, ‘What is it to government imposed higher to the increase in prices of President Rodrigo Duterte deaths linked to the drug war. he said. not apply to us. We are Catho- you?’” Duterte said. taxes on tobacco products in tobacco products since 2013 was expected to sign the order Amnesty International and Reacting to criticism that the lics and there is the civil code “Now I am even famous be- 2013, the health department said when the government almost soon, Ubial said. Human Rights Watch have operation targeted the poor, which says that you can only cause I called their leaders sons yesterday. doubled excise taxes, intro- Some commercial estab- said Duterte may be overseeing Duterte said he must “destroy” marry a woman for me (and) of w*****, you are all sons of Citing data from the latest duced graphic health warnings lishments in the Philippines crimes against humanity, with small-time street peddlers as for a woman to marry a man,” w*****.” Global Adult Tobacco Survey in on cigarette packs and banned still allow smoking inside, police allegedly running anon- well as the big-time drug lords. he said. “You stay where God Duterte met Myanmar’s de the Philippines, acting Health smoking in public places. The including in bars, nightclubs ymous death squads. In its resolution, the Euro- assigned you. Do not mix us all facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi Secretary Paulyn Ubial said prevalence of smoking among and hotels. Duterte has insisted he has pean lawmakers also called on up.” yesterday afternoon, before the number of Filipino smokers Filipnos 15 years old and above A number of Philippine cit- not asked his security forces to the UN Human Rights Council Duterte insisted he would not having high tea with the army’s went down to 15.9mn in 2015 went down to 23.8% in 2015 ies, such as the southern city break the law, although on oth- to launch a probe into Duterte’s be cowed by warnings from for- commander-in-chief, Min from 17mn in 2009. from 29.7% in 2009, accord- of Davao,where Duterte was er occasions he has called for drug war, and expressed “deep eigners that he may face pros- Aung Hlaing. “One million Filipinos have ing to the tobacco survey. mayor for 22 years before be- millions of addicts to be killed alarm” at his plans to bring ecution over his drug war. His visit coincided with the quite tobacco use — the big- “Smoking among women coming president, have al- and vowed to pardon police of- back the death penalty. He boasted about call- 60th anniversary of ties be- gest decline we have seen in declined by close to 50%, also ready banned smoking in en- fi cers found guilty of murder. Duterte insisted foreign crit- ing then-US president Barack tween the two countries. Philippine history, and we can a sign that measures to coun- closed places. Police chief assures Human rights agency to continue on safety of De Lima

DPA probe into ‘Davao Death Squad’ Manila

By Dempsey Reyes Lascanas said that the killings for implicating the former mission’s investigation. In conducted its investigation. he Philippine police chief Manila Times were ordered by former Davao mayor in the (DDS) has been 2015, CHR chairman Chito Several witnesses had said yesterday assured the Eu- mayor Rodrigo Duterte, now put to question, especially by Gascon had declared that the that the quarry was one of Tropean Parliament of the the president of the country. Senator (Manny) Pacquiao commission will continue the “dumping grounds” of safety of a top critic of President he Commission on Hu- In a statement issued yes- during the March 6 Senate in- its probe on the DDS to “ul- the DDS victims. Rodrigo Duterte who was arrest- man Rights (CHR) will terday, CHR Commissioner quiry, the testimony itself is timately hold to account all The CHR in 2012 asked the ed on illegal drug charges. Tcontinue its investigation Roberto Cadiz said that the too compelling and detailed to perpetrators.” ombudsman to look into the The European Parliament last of the Davao Death Squad (DDS) testimonies of Lascanas at the ignore,” Cadiz said. The CHR will take as evi- possible administrative and week called for Senator Leila De following the claim of former po- Senate was “too compelling He added that the testimo- dence the human bones criminal liability of Duterte Lima’s release, saying that the lice offi cer Arthur Lascañas that and detailed” to be ignored by nies of Lascanas and Edgar gathered from the Laud for his “failure” to look into charges against her were politi- Leila De Lima: top critic members of the group executed senators. Matobato are “sufficient quarry in Davao in 2009, the killings attributed to the cally motivated, and asked the hundreds of suspected criminals. “Even if Lascanas’ motive basis” to continue the com- when the commission first DDS. government to ensure her safety court could order De Lima’s re- and fair trial. lease. De Lima has been detained at “It was the court that issued the national police headquarters the warrant, which was based on since February 24 when she was evidence. They should ask the arrested on allegations of taking court about her release.” Former Cebu town mayor, eight others face graft charges bribes from drug convicts at the The Philippine government national penitentiary to allow has told the European Parlia- them to continue their trade. ment to “mind their own busi- By Ma. Reina Leanne Tolentino curement of overpriced fertilisers in Siegfred Cataluna. Marilyn Castillo, iden- the fact that the fertiliser purchase was “We don’t need to be remind- ness” after it issued the joint Manila Times 2005. tifi ed in the charge sheet as the then-own- overpriced by 733% … thus causing undue ed, we are really guarding her,” motion calling for De Lima’s re- Other respondents are then-Municipal er of MM Castillo General Merchandise, is injury to the government in the amount of said Director General Ronald lease on March 16. Treasurer Rosalina Maglasang, then-Mu- also charged. P219,120 or the amount disallowed by the Dela Rosa, national police chief. In the motion, the European he Offi ce of the Ombudsman has nicipal Accountant Lecelie Placibe, then- The ombudsman alleged that the re- Commission on Audit” (COA), “or giving “We assure that she is safe and Parliament also called on Philip- fi led a graft case before the Sandi- Municipal Agriculturist Evangeline Puao spondents “procured 166 bottles of liquid unwarranted benefi t, advantage or pref- secured while in detention in pine authorities to “immediately Tganbayan against former Mayor as well as then-Bids and Awards Com- fertiliser at a price of ” P1,500 per bottle erence to” Castillo. The purchase price Camp Crame.” halt ongoing proceedings to re- Avelino Gungob Sr of Consolacion, Cebu mittee (BAC) members Carlito Maglasang, from Castillo and allegedly paid a total of should have been P180 per bottle only, ac- Dela Rosa added that only the instate the death penalty.” and several others over the alleged pro- Florisa Bagasbas, Marilou Herrera and P249,000 for the procurement, despite cording to the charge sheet. Gulf Times Tuesday, March 21, 2017 25 SRI LANKA/BANGLADESH/NEPAL

Nepal to use GPS Rajapakse’s brother ‘led device to deter false death squad’: Lanka court Everest Criminal Investigations The CID said it found evi- In a written report to court, said on condition of anonymity. claims Department says Gotabhaya dence that the death squad the CID said a fresh autopsy re- Wickrematunga had accused Rajapakse directed a secret was controlled by Gotab- vealed that Wickrematunga had Gotabhaya of taking kickbacks unit which is accused of haya Rajapakse who has al- been stabbed to death and not in arms purchases, includ- Reuters assassinating a newspaper ready publicly denied involve- shot as previously recorded in ing a deal to buy used MiG jet Kathmandu editor in January 2009 ment in the killing of former the original death certifi cate. fi ghters, and was due to testify Sunday Leader editor Lasantha Wickrematunga’s body was against him in court when he AFP Wickrematunga. exhumed in September for a fresh was killed. epal will provide GPS Colombo “Testimony from the former forensic test after allegations Rajapakse and several mem- tracking devices to army commander (Sarath Fon- that the original autopsy report bers of his family are under in- Nsome mountaineers seka) shows that there was a had been falsifi ed to deliberately vestigation for large-scale fraud who attempt to scale Mount ormer Sri Lanka presi- special secret unit outside his mislead investigators. and murder during his 10 years Everest this year to prevent dent Mahinda Rajapakse’s authority and controlled by The Mount Lavinia Court as president, in which 17 jour- them from making false sum- Fbrother Gotabhaya di- Gotabhaya Rajapakse through also ordered police to carry our nalists and media workers were mit claims and to track climb- rected a top-secret death squad the then chief of national intel- further investigations and ar- killed. ers in distress, an offi cial said which targeted journalists and ligence Kapila Hendawithara- rest any suspects involved. All deny any wrongdoing and in yesterday. dissidents, a court was told na,” said a CID report which was Speaking to AFP after court turn accuse the new government Climbers who reach the yesterday. read out in the court. hearing, a senior police offi cer of a political vendetta. 8,850m (29,035ft) Everest Criminal Investigations De- “This unit was operated Gotabhaya Rajapakse is accused of ordering the killing of many dissidents. said that authorities were close A retired army intelligence summit must produce pho- partment (CID) told the Mount outside the army command to making more arrests over the offi cer was found hanging at tographs showing them at the Lavinia magistrate’s court that structure and was used to fully challenged Rajapakse at Wickrematunga’s killing, murder, after fi ve military intel- his home in October with a top as proof of their ascent, as Gotabhaya Rajapakse, who was target journalists and other January 2010 elections. which sparked an international ligence offi cers were detained note claiming responsibility for well as a report from their liai- Sri Lanka’s defence secretary dissidents,” added the report. Rajapakse had been accused outcry, drew attention to vio- last month. Wickrematunga’s death. son offi cial who stays at base during his brother’s rule, di- Fonseka who led Sri Lanka’s of ordering the killing of many lence against Sri Lanka’s media “Now that the cause of death But police have said they do camp. rected a secret unit which is ac- successful military campaign dissidents, but yesterday’s po- during Rajapakse’s tenure that has been fi rmly established, not believe the claim and are The government banned an cused of assassinating a news- against Tamil rebels in 2009 fell lice report is the fi rst to implicate ended in 2015 when he lost elec- we can proceed with mak- treating the offi cer’s death as a Indian couple from mountain- paper editor in January 2009. out of grace after he unsuccess- him in an ongoing court case. tions by an opposition alliance. ing further arrests,” the offi cer murder. eering in Nepal for 10 years last year after they faked a photo- graph to show them atop the world’s tallest peak. Tourism department offi cial Protest falls flat Durga Dutta Dhakal said some climbers would be equipped Plans afoot with GPS tracking device on a trial basis in the current climb- ing season to see if this is an eff ective way to prevent hoax claims. to preserve “If this works, we’ll make it mandatory for all climbers to carry the device from next year,” Dhakal told reporters. He said GPS data would be sites linked checked once climbers re- turned to Kathmandu to de- termine whether they had actually topped the mountain. It will also track their move- to 1972 war ments and will be useful to send rescue teams if they are in trouble. By Mizan Rahman The High Court ordered Tourism and mountain climb- Dhaka the government to take steps ing are key sources of income and to protect and maintain the account for four percent of the historic places at Suhrawardy gross domestic product of Nepal. angladesh has taken a Udyan where Bangabandhu The Everest season reaches its project to preserve 360 Sheikh Mujibur Rahman de- climax during a “weather win- Bhistorical places of the livered his historic speech on dow” that typically opens until 1971 Liberation War aimed March 7, 1971 and where Pa- May. at letting the new generation kistani army surrendered on Climbing is recovering from know the glory and facts of the December 16, 1971. massive earthquakes in 2015 that history of 1971 war. Suhrawardy Udyan also in- triggered avalanches which killed “We have taken a project cludes places where Banga- Activists aff iliated with Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal (RPP-Nepal) fall as they try to escape the batons charged by the riot police 19 climbers. A year earlier, ava- worth 1.82bn taka to preserve bandhu gave his speech on personnel during the party’s protest after the election commission rejected their campaigning for monarchy and Hinduism in lanches killed 16 Sherpa guides 360 historical sites of 1971 January 10, 1972, after his re- Kathmandu yesterday. virtually closing the mountain to imbue the new generation turn to the country from exile, for climbers. with the spirit of the Libera- and where Indira Gandhi, then tion War,” said Mominur Rah- prime minister of India, greet- man, assistant chief of Minis- ed Bangabandhu on March 17, try of Liberation War Aff airs. 1972. The government will also The court also asked the set up a Liberation War me- government to form a com- morial museum at each of the mittee to identify the im- Bangladesh cabinet approves draft 360 historical sites, he said. portant historic places and A proposal has been sent to then remove the structures, the Planning Commission last if any, from those places at month for its approval which Suhrawardy Udyan. is now under process, he said, The committee will include law to protect migrant workers adding that the project is ex- historians, freedom fi ghters, pected to be completed by anthropologists, sector com- June 2019. manders, and the persons who By Mizan Rahman legal or other kind of assistance houses in rural areas as well as ment and private organizations principle the draft of the Pesti- The government has earlier were present at the time when Dhaka in favour of expatriate Bangla- use of land across the country. as well as individuals,” said the cides Bill, 2017 giving the Pes- built 65 Liberation War me- Pakistani army surrendered to deshis to realise compensation Provisions of fi ve-year pris- secretary. ticide Ordinance 1979 and its morial monuments at 36 sub- the freedom fi ghters, the court for any kind of his or her loss. on term and a 5mn taka fi ne He, however, said the council amended versions of 2007 and districts in diff erent parts of said. he Bangladesh cabinet The cabinet also approved have been kept as penalties for will be able to empower any gov- 2009 a legal framework making the country. The High Court ordered to yesterday approved a a proposal for the inclusion of off enders. ernment organization to issue them more time-befi tting ones. The High Court in a judg- identify and preserve all the Tdraft of the Expatriate March 25 in the circular issued The law proposes a 27-mem- clearances. The cabinet also approved ment directed the government historic places and martyrs’ Welfare Board Act, 2017 in line by the cabinet division that de- ber high-level advisory council The cabinet also approved in the draft of an agreement to to identify and preserve all the killing grounds across Bangla- with other international laws clared the day as the Mass Kill- led by the housing and public principle the draft of the Tex- be signed between Bangladesh important historic places re- desh and to set up monuments and the international conven- ing Day to observe nationally works minister, which will be re- tile Act, 2017, aiming to bring and India over orbit frequency lated to the republic’s Libera- there in memory of them, if tion on protection of migrants and internationally. sponsible to supervise the urban the textile industry under a legal co-ordination of South Asia tion War. possible. and their family members. It approved the draft of Ur- development directorate or its framework as industries are run- Satellite proposed at 48’E. The draft bill has given a legal ban and Zone Planning Bill, executive council. ning under administrative orders The meeting also approved framework to the issue of expa- 2017 aimed at bringing disci- “The 25-member executive of the government, said Alam. the proposal for signing joint in- SC orders trial in radar graft case triate Bangladeshis, including pline in land management and council will be headed by the pub- All the industries related to tex- terpretative notes as the supple- female migrants, getting neces- restricting the misuse of land in lic works secretary,” said Alam. tiles like garment factories, pro- mentary part of the agreement The appellate division of the moved a petition to resume sary assistance and co-operation Bangladesh. The minister-led panel will act duction and marketing industries between Bangladesh and India Bangladesh’s Supreme Court depositions. by when they will be in trouble The regular weekly meet- as a policymaking body, while of textiles must be registered with on bilateral capital investment has upheld its previous order of Later, another accused in the like illness and death, cabinet ing was held at the Bangladesh the executive council will be in the directorate of textiles, he said, development and protection. scrapping a High Court decision case, former air force chief secretary M Shafi ul Alam told Secretariat with Prime Minister charge of implementing those. adding that the directorate will It also approved the draft to record the depositions of Sultan Mahmud, petitioned reporters. Sheikh Hasina in the chair. “Offi cial clearance from the look after, supervise and monitor of amended policy for giving 26 witness accounts, which the appeals court and the High He added that authorities The bill proposes mandatory advisors’ council will be required textile industries. grant to research fellowship and had not been recorded in the Court order was scrapped. The concerned will have to extend offi cial clearance for building for using lands for every govern- The meeting also endorsed in innovative works. radar purchase corruption case ACC then moved a petition against Jatiya Party chairman H to review the Supreme Court M Ershad, a media report said. decision, which was rejected on A three-member bench of the Monday. appellate division headed by After the appeals court decision, Chief Justice Surendra Kumar the deadline of finishing the trial Sinha has passed the order, will not be limited to March 31, dismissing a review petition said ACC lawyer Khurshid Alam filed by the Anti-Corruption Khan. Commission (ACC) yesterday. The case was filed against five The trial will now resume, with people on April 4, 1992 by the both sides presenting their then Anti-Corruption Bureau. arguments, and be disposed of The accused included Ershad, on the basis of the 12 already Mahmud, Air Vice Marshal (retd) recorded witness statements, Mamtaz Uddin Ahmed, and out of 38, in the case. United Traders owner Shazad Ali On November 24, 2016, the High and director A K M Musa. Court had ordered the lower The case accuses Ershad, in court to complete recording collusion with the others, of depositions of the remaining 26 causing a loss of 640.4mn taka witnesses and the trial as well, to the state by purchasing radar and submit a report before it by systems for Bangladesh Air March 31, 2017. Force (BAF) from the US instead The order was issued after ACC of France while he was in power. Sheikh Hasina presiding over a cabinet meeting in Dhaka yesterday. Gulf Times 26 Tuesday, March 21, 2017 COMMENT

Chairman: Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Attiyah Deputy Managing Editor: K T Chacko Schoolma’am May has

P.O.Box 2888 Doha, Qatar off ered a gift to Sturgeon [email protected] Telephone 44350478 (news), 44466404 (sport), 44466636 (home delivery) The call for a second Fax 44350474 referendum has been triggered by the high- handed and disdainful attitude of the UK GULF TIMES government

By Kevin McKenna London

Temple priest he uninitiated, on fi rst encountering an SNP conference, might think that Tthey were already stepping as CM recipe on to independent turf and that only the fl ourish of a civil servant’s pen was required to make it offi cial. After two or three days of being held in the embrace of such boundless for Uttar chaos? optimism you sometimes fi nd yourself desperately seeking a dose of misery just to feel normal and Scottish once India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh has a more; a Pink Floyd album perhaps, or population of about 205mn, about 60mn more than a video of Great Scotland World Cup that of Russia, the largest country in the world. disasters. Yet, courtesy of Theresa May’s Had it been a separate country, it would have been constitutional intervention, the the fi fth-most populated nation in the world matching waves of optimism washing over that of Brazil, which is three times the size of India, and SNP delegates at the party’s exceeding that of Pakistan. conference in Aberdeen this weekend were turned into something The sheer numbers are enough to send one’s head approaching certainty. In stating spinning, but factor in Uttar Pradesh’s signifi cance her refusal to sanction a second when it comes to Indian politics, and all of it begins to referendum the day after Nicola make sense – well, sort of. Sturgeon had finally expressed her stormed Holyrood again with 47% of That the prime minister has opted in their place”. Even so, whatever intention to seek one, the prime the ballot. In each of these elections to use the future of EU nationals comfort has been gained by unionists It is an established fact of the rough and tumble minister gave the SNP a gift. the SNP fought on a manifesto that living in the UK, including many in in the past in dire economic forecasts world of Indian electoral politics that the party which In doing so, May looked like an included the pledge to seek another Scotland, as a bargaining chip with is weakened when the full Brexit wins Uttar Pradesh wins the country. By sweeping the elderly schoolteacher spelling out referendum if material circumstances the remaining 27 member-states has apocalypse becomes clear. state elections, the BJP has managed to do what no the terms of detention to an errant changed in the UK. Even the dogs in strengthened Sturgeon’s conviction. Yet even without all of this – Brexit; pupil: “You can go home when I the street know that following Brexit The Tory government in sticking to a dictatorial prime minister; the Ukip- party has done before: reduce the regional parties and say you can go home.” Of course, and the fact that 62% of Scottish its hardline stance on this has begun style antipathy to foreign nationals their once-powerful leaders to mere political pariahs she would have felt that she was voters elected to remain in the EU, to resemble the political wing of – another referendum was always with seemingly no succour on the horizon. occupying safe constitutional material circumstances have changed Ukip. inevitable. The SNP is set fair to rule ground. The Edinburgh agreement, signifi cantly. The Conservative In any debate about independence, in Scotland for another generation, Perhaps no region anywhere in the world produces struck before the first independence political commentator and former MP the state of Scotland’s fi nances and the but crucially so too is an increasingly so much intrigue as Uttar Pradesh when it comes to referendum, requires the approval Matthew Parris freely admitted so true nature of its starting defi cit has hard and reactionary right-wing politics. Sons have feuded with fathers, brothers have of No 10 to expedite the transfer later the same evening on the BBC’s been the cornerstone of the unionist government in England. The prospect fought brothers and occasionally wives have taken on of constitutional powers to enable Question Time. argument. of another 15 years of one-sided a referendum on independence. In justifying her position, the prime In recent years Government austerity, anti-trade unionism, anti- their husbands. Add to it the elements of religion, caste Yet, on Thursday, May seemed minister stated that now was not the Expenditure and Revenue Scotland immigration, tax breaks for the super- and big money and you have an explosive mix that merely to be haggling over the date time to hold a referendum, when we (Gers) fi gures have been gloomy rich tax evaders was always going to has often kept the nation on edge and international of the referendum rather than its all needed to work together to secure reading for nationalists, suggesting result in another referendum. observers in a permanent state of thrall. legitimacy. the best deal for Britain in the Brexit that a starting defi cit could be as much This time, though, the SNP Thereafter she and her two Scottish negotiations. This one won’t sail as £15bn. These numbers, though, are believe that a Yes movement, which The thrall continues with the BJP naming a saff ron- representatives – Ruth Davidson, the either, as, in the words of Sturgeon, up guesstimates that pay little heed to has retained its 45% support base, clad Hindu temple head priest as the chief minister Scottish Conservatives leader, and until now, “our eff orts at compromise the exceptional needs and diff erent can win. They will be up against a of the state. Yogi Adityanath, a hardline Hindu David Mundell, the Scottish secretary have been met with a brick wall of spending priorities of an independent weakened Better Together movement nationalist, who has made brazen hate speeches – fell back on to shakier ground. They intransigence”. Scotland. They were established by with no credible leader in Scotland questioned the mandate of Scotland’s With each ill-advised statement a Tory government in 1992 for the and a prime minister trying to fi ght a against Muslims and fi rst minister amid fl imsy rhetoric about on the sovereignty of Holyrood, May specifi c purpose of showing Scotland’s war on two fronts. The fi ght is seeping Perhaps no other minorities, will there being no majority of support in has merely strengthened the case for fi nances in a bad light and cheerfully out of some Scottish unionists, who head one of the world’s opinion polls for a second referendum. Scottish independence. It doesn’t ignore that the fabled black hole in now believe they have been misled region anywhere most underdeveloped Such blithe aspersions, though, fail to matter that Sturgeon has yet to Scotland’s fi nances is the ultimate by the UK government on Brexit and and lawless regions in acknowledge that the 2015 Westminster indicate if an independent Scotland responsibility of a UK government, who are appalled that the UK is now in the world election and the Holyrood election would seek early membership of the which still exerts the lion’s share of following an agenda set by Nigel the world. the following year were as clear an EU. What has triggered the call for fi scal control. Farage, Boris Johnson, David Davis produces so It is a recipe for indication of the will of the Scottish a second referendum has been the Last week, the respected tax and Liam Fox and their desire to build disaster, many people as you are likely to get. high-handed and disdainful attitude specialist Richard Murphy produced another British empire. – Guardian much political In 2015, the SNP returned 56 out of the UK government in refusing to a detailed and articulate takedown of News & Media “liberal” observers of 59 Scottish MPs to Westminster. work with Scotland over Brexit and Gers. He said that they were “failing to intrigue as Uttar say, adding that Prime In 2016 the party became the fi rst in its seeming determination to pursue a collect the data that Scotland needs” zKevin McKenna has been nominated Minister Narendra the history of Scottish democracy hard Brexit with no access to the single and that they were “providing what in this year’s Scottish Press Awards in Pradesh Modi’s government is to gain more than 1mn votes as it market. may be some pretty poor estimates the category of columnist of the year. aggressively pushing its agenda of tearing apart India’s secular credentials and turning into a Hindu nation. But his supporters insist he has been unjustly projected as a villain by the biased left-leaning media America’s confi dence economy when in actual fact he is a “compassionate” leader who has often come to the aid of troubled minorities. By Mohamed A El-Erian business” can cause confi dence to ahead of a possible uptick in economic retooling. The Trump administration His fi ery speeches were all the rage in cyberspace a Laguna Beach fall. Because sentiment can infl uence performance. After all, they are in the would also have to refrain from actual behaviour, these shifts can have business of anticipating developments pursuing protectionist trade measures few days ago, but barely had he taken the oath of offi ce, far-reaching impacts. in the real economy and the corporate that would disrupt the “spaghetti stories have been streaming in about his commitment inancial markets seem In his groundbreaking General sector. In any case, they believe that bowl” of cross-border value chains for to peace and the welfare of everybody irrespective of convinced that the recent Theory of Employment, Interest, they can quickly reverse their portfolio both producers and consumers. caste, religion or social status. surge in business and and Money, John Maynard Keynes positions should their expectations If improved confi dence in the The fi rst thing he did was to ask his party leaders to Fconsumer confi dence in the referred to “animal spirits” as “the change. US economy does not translate US economy will soon be refl ected characteristic of human nature that That is not the case for companies into stronger hard data, unmet furnish details of their wealth and declare their sources in “hard” data, such as GDP growth, a large proportion of our positive investing in new plants and expectations for economic growth of income, thereby indicating that he would not business investment, consumption, activities depend on spontaneous equipment, which are less likely and corporate earnings could cause tolerate corruption under his watch. and wages. But economists and optimism, rather than mathematical to change their behaviour until fi nancial-market sentiment to policymakers are not so sure. Whether expectations, whether moral or announcements begin to be translated slump, fuelling market volatility He has also promised that he would be a just leader their doubts are vindicated will matter hedonistic or economic.” Jack Welch, into real policies. But the longer they and driving down asset prices. In to all and that he would be aggressively pursuing for both the United States and the who led General Electric for 20 years, wait, the weaker the stimulus to such a scenario, the US engine could Modi’s agenda of all-inclusive development more than world economy. is a case in point: he once stated that economic activity and income, and sputter, causing the entire global anything else. Donald Trump’s election as US many of his own major business the more consumers must rely on economy to suff er, especially if these president has triggered a surge in decisions had come “straight from dissaving to translate their positive economic challenges prompt the Be that as it may, but the question remains whether positive economic sentiment, because the gut,” rather than from analytical sentiment into actual purchases of Trump administration to implement Modi will be able to rein him in if he gets carried away he pledged that his administration models or detailed business forecasts. goods and services. protectionist measures. by power and threatens to take Uttar Pradesh deeper would aggressively pursue the But sentiment is not always an It is in this context that the The US is on relatively strong into chaos. policy trifecta of deregulation, tax accurate gauge of actual economic economy awaits a solid timeline for footing to achieve higher economic cuts and reform, and infrastructure developments and prospects. As the policy announcements to evolve growth. Indeed, by animating It’s too early to hazard a guess, but India, and perhaps construction. Republican majorities Nobel laureate Robert J. Shiller has into detailed design and durable the economy’s animal spirits, the the whole world, is on edge, thanks to the politics of an in both houses of Congress reinforced shown, optimism can evolve into implementation. While there is often Trump administration has laid the Indian province. the positive sentiment, as they “irrational exuberance,” whereby some delay when political negotiations groundwork for the private sector signalled that Trump would not face investors take asset valuations to and trade-off s are involved, in this to do a lot of the heavy lifting. But the kind of paralysing gridlock that levels that are divorced from economic case, the sense of uncertainty may there is more to do. Unless the Trump Barack Obama confronted for most of fundamentals. They may be able to be heightened by policy-sequencing administration can work well with To Advertise his presidency. keep those valuations infl ated for quite decisions. By deciding to begin with a cooperative Congress to translate The surge in business and consumer a while, but there is only so far that health-care reform – an inherently market-motivating intentions into [email protected] sentiment refl ects an assumption sentiment can take companies and complicated and highly divisive issue in well-calibrated actions soon, the Display that is deeply rooted in the American economies. US politics – the Trump administration lagging hard data risks dragging down Telephone 44466621 Fax 44418811 psyche: that deregulation and tax cuts So far, the exuberant reaction of risks losing some of the political confi dence, creating headwinds that always unleash transformative pro- markets to Trump’s victory – all US goodwill that could be needed to carry extend well beyond fi nancial volatility. Classified growth entrepreneurship. (To some stock indices have reached multiple out the kinds of fi scal reform that – Project Syndicate Telephone 44466609 Fax 44418811 outside the US, it is an assumption record highs – has not been refl ected markets are expecting. that sometimes looks a lot like blind in “hard data.” Moreover, economic Even if a bump in the economic data zMohamed A El-Erian, Chief Subscription faith.) forecasters have made only modest does arrive, it may not last, unless Economic Adviser at Allianz, was [email protected] Of course, sentiment can go in both upward revisions to their growth the Trump administration advances Chairman of US President Barack directions. Just as a “pro-business” projections. policies that enhance longer-term Obama’s Global Development Council stance like Trump’s can boost It is not surprising that equity productivity, through, for example, and is the author of The Only Game in 2017 Gulf Times. All rights reserved confi dence, perhaps even excessively, investors have responded to the surge education reform, apprenticeship Town: Central Banks, Instability, and the perception that a leader is “anti- in animal spirits by attempting to run programs, skills training, and labour Avoiding the Next Collapse. Gulf Times Tuesday, March 21, 2017 27 COMMENT ‘Good’ populism beats ‘bad’ in Dutch poll

Authoritarianism and such as the closing of all mosques and Islamic schools and a ban on the nativism were the real Qur’an. winners in Netherlands Rutte is not the only mainstream politician to suggest that “bad” elections populism can only be defeated by “good” populism. It is also a popular By Cas Mudde position within the crisis-ridden London social democratic parties of Europe, including the Labour party in the UK. In most cases it seems to mean f we are to believe the a (slightly) lighter form of not just international media, last week populism – mainly directed at the brave Dutch electorate the European elites – but also of Idefeated populism by denying authoritarianism and nativism. And the bid by the Party for Freedom in the Dutch election, the campaigns (PVV) of “the Dutch Trump”, Geert of the two mainstream right-wing Wilders, to become the biggest parties, the Christian Democratic party in parliament. Whether this CDA and the conservative VVD, is just a Dutch phenomenon, or were both increasingly informed by whether populism more widely has authoritarianism and nativism. peaked, seems to be the new topic The leaders of both parties of speculation – although some pretended to defend “Dutch” and commentators simply shifted their even “Christian” values against an gaze to Paris to apply the same alleged threat of Islam and Muslims as analysis to the upcoming French well as their secular, left-wing fellow presidential elections. travellers. Even as a majority of Dutch The Dutch elections were never about people worried about healthcare the defeat or victory of populism. Polls and the welfare state, CDA leader have shown for years that the biggest Sybrand Buma and premier Rutte party in the country – be it the PVV were defending “Christian” traditions or the conservative People’s Party for like Easter eggs and Christmas Freedom and Democracy (VVD) of the trees and racist traditions including prime minister, Mark Rutte – would at Black Pete (Zwarte Piet). Moreover, best get a quarter of the votes, probably Rutte suggested that there were many fewer, and have to start the real Dutch people and probationary arduous process of building a coalition Dutch people, ie those with (Muslim) government of four to fi ve parties. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, right, and far-right politician Geert Wilders at a meeting in parliament after the general election. immigrant roots, and called on the Even if the PVV were included in this latter to “act normal” or “sod off ” coalition– though all other relevant capture the full range of political To be fair, the “neck and neck Netherlands had put a halt to “the (AfD) in Germany, and Donald Trump (where to remained unclear). parties had discounted this possibility developments – including the race” between Rutte and Wilders wrong kind of populism”, implying in the US. Given that the next coalition – it would be the only populist party in emergence of several new populist long dominated much of the Dutch that there is a good kind of populism, The only way Wilders stands out government will almost certainly be government. Hardly a victory for the radical right parties (such as FvD media coverage too. Premier Rutte and suggesting he was a proponent from his ideological brothers and led again by Rutte, and will have the phenomenon. and VNL), the growing success of made a consistent effort to present of it. sisters is his uncompromising position CDA and VVD as its core constituents, There were always two Dutch cosmopolitan parties (D66 and GL), himself as the only politician Everyone in the Netherlands knows on Islam, which takes Islamophobia the question is how much the electoral elections: one in the international the rise of a “Turkish” party (DENK), who could keep Wilders from what Wilders, one of the longest to a whole new level. Almost half of “defeat” of Wilders will really mean. media, framed as the latest iteration and the imminent implosion of the power, although emphasising his serving politicians in the country, his one-page election manifesto, with If the diff erence between “good” and of the overarching struggle between social democrats (PvdA). “irresponsible” or “unserious” stands for: nativism, authoritarianism the Brexit- and Trump-inspired title “bad” populism is mainly a matter an emboldened populism and an Geert Wilders was beaten, but politics rather than his populism. In and populism. It is roughly the same “The Netherlands Ours Again”, was of degree – ie how authoritarian and embattled establishment, and one at the cost of fuelling racism in the fact, on election night Rutte declared agenda shared by the likes of Marine devoted to the “de-Islamisation” of nativist one is – Wilders might have in the Dutch media, which tried to Netherlands in his victory speech that the Le Pen (FN) in France, Frauke Petry the country, and included proposals the last laugh after all. Rebuilding the world’s forests Weather report Three-day forecast

forests. But, with most governments layers of wood to create panels that producing traditional building TODAY By Justin Adams High: 28 C Oxford short on cash these days, fi nancing are as strong as steel or concrete, and materials – must be overcome, the pledge has proved challenging. thus can replace those materials in including by ensuring a level Low : 21 C Inshore: Strong wind with high sea Against this background, we must try buildings. playing fi eld in terms of subsidies. and thunder rain. umankind has always had to engage the private sector to deliver More research is required to Furthermore, public concerns – for a tricky relationship with the needed investment. determine the precise benefits of example, regarding fi re safety or forests. We depend on them When forests have an economic using timber to cut CO2 emissions. infestation prevention – must be WEDNESDAY to regulate the climate value, they are more likely to be One estimate comes from architect addressed, and builders will have to High: 27 C H Low: 20 C and rainfall, clean our air and water, cultivated than destroyed. And, Anthony Thistleton-Smith, one learn new skills. Most important, sustain myriad species of plants and indeed, trees have been cultivated for of the United Kingdom’s leading monitoring will have to be improved Sunny animals, and support the livelihoods of profi t for millennia. Today, productive experts on wooden buildings. He considerably, so that increased over a billion people. Yet we continue forests cover an area of more than a recently noted that, whereas a demand does not result in more to destroy them, to the point that only billion hectares, or about one-quarter typical British home has a carbon deforestation. THURSDAY half the world’s original forest cover of the world’s forested land. footprint of around 20-21 tonnes, a For many countries, the economic High: 24 C remains. Such forests produce fuelwood, CLT home has a negative footprint of opportunities should be sufficient Low: 20 C The price of deforestation can which accounts for about half of 19-20 tonnes. In other words, every to make addressing these challenges S Showers hardly be overstated. Trees consume tree removals. They also produce home built with CLT saves 40 tonnes worthwhile. New plantations could large amounts of carbon dioxide as materials for clothes, oils for soaps of CO2 emissions. If the 300,000 regenerate rural areas, as new they grow, making them vital tools and lubricants, fruits, and other foods, new homes targeted for completion factories created opportunities Fishermen’s forecast for absorbing the greenhouse-gas such as cocoa. Demand for these in the UK this year were built using for investors and entrepreneurs. OFFSHORE DOHA emissions – from cars, factories, products is growing, though not as CLT, it would be like taking 2.5mn Governments and larger companies Wind: NW-NE 12-22/30 KT power stations, and livestock – fast as demand for newspaper print cars off the road. The climate would be able to tap the fast- Waves: 4-7/10 Feet INSHORE DOHA that result in climate change. If we falls as a result of computerisation. benefits could be massive. growing green-bond market to fund Wind: NW-NE 05-15/18 KT continue to lose forest cover, the Paris How can demand for forest As with so many climate measures, the early transition, including the Waves: 1-3/4 Feet climate agreement’s goal of limiting products be increased? A promising cost can be a major barrier to creation of systems using drones global warming to less than 2C (above opportunity lies in construction. implementation. And, according to a and satellite imaging to monitor for Around the region pre-industrial levels) by 2050 will be Timber has always been an United Nations report, CLT is more unsustainable forestry practices. Weather Weather impossible to achieve. In fact, to meet important building material, and expensive than concrete in Europe. Opportunities to align economic today Max/min tomorrow Max/min Abu Dhabi that target, we will need to restore a remains so for residential construction But CLT is still in its infancy, with only development with the reduction S Showers 23/19 Sunny 26/19 Baghdad P Cloudy 23/11 P Cloudy a handful of factories in operation. As of greenhouse-gas emissions are 26/14 signifi cant amount of forest cover that in places like the United States, Dubai S Showers 24/19 Sunny 26/18 is already gone. Scandinavia, and parts of Southeast the CLT supply chain develops, costs rare. Yet that is what reforestation Kuwait City M Sunny 24/14 M Sunny 26/18 There are two ways to approach Asia. But most buildings today are will inevitably fall, as has happened off ers. We must take advantage Manama Sunny 25/17 P Cloudy 26/19 reforestation. The fi rst is to allow constructed using bricks and mortar, with renewable energy. of this opportunity, by pursuing a Muscat S Showers 27/23 P Cloudy 26/22 agricultural lands to fall into disuse, concrete, and, for larger structures, Moreover, builders report that construction transformation based Riyadh Sunny 27/15 P Cloudy 27/18 and then wait for them to revert steel – all materials that produce the total costs of building with CLT on restoring trees, the world’s most Tehran M Sunny 13/05 M Sunny 13/07 naturally to forest. This wouldn’t cost substantial carbon emissions during already end up similar to those of eff ective carbon-capture tool. In this much, but it would take decades. The the manufacturing process. building with concrete, because “new age of timber,” we would grow second option is more proactive: plant While it is unlikely that timber can it takes less time. After all, unlike wood, build with wood, and allow our billions of new trees. fully replace any of these materials, concrete, CLT doesn’t need time to forests to thrive. – Project Syndicate As part of the New York new types of engineered wood are set. Declaration on Forests, signed in making it more competitive. One of Of course, delivering such a zJustin Adams is Global Managing 2014, governments pledged to restore these is cross-laminated timber (CLT), transformation will not be easy. Vested Director for Lands at the Nature hundreds of millions of hectares of which is made by gluing together interests – pressure from industries Conservancy. Live issues Higher risk seen with Abbott dissolving stent

By Bill Berkrot Stephen Ellis, who presented the data of heart-related death, heart attack Washington at the American College of Cardiology related to the treated vessel and need Around the world scientifi c meeting in Washington. Ellis for repeat procedure due to reclogging Weather Weather is director of interventional cardiology of the treated part of the artery. The today Max/min tomorrow Max/min atients who received at the Cleveland Clinic. result was driven by a higher rate of Athens M Sunny 20/11 P Cloudy 21/09 Beirut P Cloudy Cloudy 20/15 Stents are tiny tubes used to prop target vessel heart attacks – 7.3% 18/13 Abbott Laboratories’ novel Bangkok P Cloudy 36/27 Sunny 36/27 dissolving vascular stent had open diseased arteries that have been versus 4.9% for Xience. Berlin Cloudy 13/01 P Cloudy 12/04 a signifi cantly higher rate cleared of blockages. The two stents The diff erence between the two Cairo P Cloudy 26/16 M Sunny 27/14 P Cape Town P Cloudy 33/18 Sunny 28/17 of serious adverse heart events than demonstrated similar safety between stents declined and was no longer those treated with the company’s one and two years, but a diff erence statistically signifi cant when the Colombo P Cloudy 32/24 Sunny 33/23 Dhaka M Sunny 29/19 M Sunny 32/21 widely used Xience drug-coated metal turned up by the end of year two. smaller-vessel patients were excluded, Hong Kong P Cloudy 23/18 S Showers 20/19 stent two years after implantation, Absorb, which is larger than researchers reported. Istanbul P Cloudy 18/07 Sunny 14/06 according to data presented recently. traditional metal stents, is made of Absorb won US approval last July, Jakarta S T Storms 31/24 S T Storms 31/24 New guidelines for blood vessel a plastic designed to fully dissolve but longer-term data may be needed Karachi Sunny 32/21 M Sunny 30/21 London M Sunny 11/06 Rain 09/02 size and proper implantation over the course of about three years, to assess its true value. Manila S T Storms 30/24 P Cloudy 33/24 techniques put in place for the new leaving a naturally flexible blood All of the benefi t of using the larger, Moscow P Cloudy 08/01 Cloudy 10/03 Absorb stent since the study began, vessel. more-diffi cult-to-place stent, “if New Delhi Sunny 34/18 Sunny 36/19 however, should lead to better results, After two years in the trial, called there is going to be a benefi t, will come New York P Cloudy 14/02 Cloudy 02/-6 Cloudy 13/04 researchers said. “The diff erence between Absorb Absorb III, 10.9% of Absorb patients after it has been fully absorbed,” said Paris 11/02 Rain Sao Paulo P Cloudy 23/16 P Cloudy 25/16 They reported that 19% of and Xience when they’re both had experienced target lesion failure, Ellis. Seoul M Sunny 14/02 P Cloudy 15/03 those who received Absorb in the implanted in properly-sized vessels versus 7.9% of those in the Xience “We await long-term outcomes,” he Singapore S T Storms 33/25 T Storms 32/24 2,008-patient trial had it implanted in with good procedural technique is group, a statistically signifi cant said. “If this device doesn’t produce Sydney S T Storms 27/22 T Storms 29/19 blood vessels now deemed too small likely to be quite modest and possibly diff erence. better long-term outcomes, there’s no Tokyo Rain 10/09 Clear 14/04 for the device, hurting overall results. not clinically important,” said Dr TLF is defi ned as a combination point in using it.” Gulf Times 28 Tuesday, March 21, 2017 QATAR

Participants at the appreciation event. Rota fetes Digital Champions ota, a core programme of Labour and Social Aff airs, the Champions’ attending the train- selected to be ‘Digital Champi- ous companies in Qatar to set up companies were awarded certifi - ager at Msheireb Properties said, the Education Above All Better Connections programme ing had signifi cantly improved ons’ feel strongly confi dent in computer rooms in their accom- cates of appreciation. Moham- “We, at Msheireb Properties are RFoundation, hosted an ap- gives employers of migrant awareness of their rights and of using ICT equipment, software modation, and have also trained med al-Naama, acting executive proud to support this innovative preciation ceremony and dinner, workers a practical framework for safety measures (76% and 69% and the Internet. This percentage more than 1,000 ‘Digital Cham- director, Rota said, “The Better initiative that aims to provide at the Hamad Bin Khalifa Univer- providing access to information respectively). has increased to 92% after the pions’ as part of the social devel- Connections programme is one migrant workers in Qatar with sity Student Centre recently to and communication technology The results have also shown training. opment initiative.These ‘Digital of the most successful projects vital information and commu- honour volunteers, and ‘Digital (ICT) tools. remarkable improvement in Since Rota joined the Better Champions’ have been trained Rota has joined. It has enabled nication technology equipment Champions’ of the Better Con- It is a phased initiative to en- workers’ awareness on living in Connections programme in April and empowered to help their migrant workers in Qatar to keep and skills to improve their work nections programme. able labourers with little or no Qatar (45%), using ICT for enter- 2015, more than 180 volunteers peers improve their ICT knowl- in touch with their families back conditions. Through this con- Launched in 2014 by the Min- ICT skills to participate fully in tainment (44%), and to commu- from the local community have edge and skills. home and gain valuable ICT tinuous partnership with Rota, istry of Transport and Com- Qatar’s digital society. nicate for work purposes (33%). been trained to educate work- During the appreciation cer- skills.” we reiterate our commitment to munications and Ministry of An online survey conducted The survey results have also ers in various locations in Qatar. emony, 135 volunteers and 600 Noora al-Rumaihi, communi- accomplish progress in all sectors Administrative Development, by Rota revealed that ‘Digital shown that 79% of the workers The volunteers have helped vari- ‘Digital Champions’ from 17 cation and public relations man- of social development.”

WCM-Q programme aids physician assessment skills Fifth String Festival

training programme communicate eff ectively ends at Katara today by Weill Cornell with a patient, among other AMedicine-Qatar competencies. he Fifth String Festival will conclude at Katara – the Cultural (WCM-Q) has equipped The course was deliv- Village Foundation today. The festival features some of the big- medical professionals with ered by WCM-Q’s Division Tgest names in Oud music from Qatar, the Middle East and be- the knowledge to develop of Continuing Professional yond, including France, Serbia and Kosovo. sophisticated practical ex- Development and other “The event highlights the eff orts of the Cultural Village Foundation aminations to comprehen- WCM-Q faculty and staff in to bridge the best of both eastern and western cultures, by providing a sively assess the skills of the college’s Clinical Skills world-class venue to create an atmosphere befi tting such an illustri- trainee physicians. Centre. ous gathering of musicians,” Katara said in a press statement. The course showed physi- In fi ve sessions over six Katara general manager Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim al-Sulaiti noted that cian-educators from WCM- weeks, the course provided the Oud festival comes as part of a series of initiatives that the Cultur- Q and Hamad Medical Cor- 15 participants with the al Village Foundation adopts to intertwine art and culture. “The event poration how to design and skills to design and deliver a bridges the gap between cultures, enforcing music as an essential conduct an Objective Struc- comprehensive OSCE pro- pillar in building such bridges. The strings of the traditional wooden tured Clinical Examination gramme to maximise learn- instrument, the Oud, create music that every person, irrespective of (OSCE). The OSCE utilises ing outcomes and ensure ef- where he is from, can identify with,” he said. ‘standardised patients’— fective assessment, such as On March 18, performances by some of the fi nest Oud musicians trained actors who play the how to set clear programme in the world left the audience enthralled during the inaugural func- role of patients — to create objectives, write cases, de- tion of the festival at Katara Opera House. The opening ceremony took a lifelike simulated learning vise appropriate checklists place in the presence of Katara general manager Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim environment in which the and scoring systems, give ef- al-Sulaiti and a host of other dignitaries, diplomats, music lovers and clinician is tasked with con- fective feedback to learners residents from all walks of life. ducting a thorough medical after assessment and train The visitors “immersed themselves in an experience of a lifetime” examination. standardised patients. as musicians, who included two renowned Oud players — Ahmad This teaches the assess- WCM-Q’s Dr Dora Sta- Fathi and Abadi al-Jowher — were present among the audience, the ment of core practical skills dler, clinical assistant pro- statement noted. such as how to take a medi- fessor of Medicine, and The organisers of the event have made arrangements for a wide cal history, check vital signs, Deema al-Sheikhly, director range of performances that would appeal to casual visitors as well as perform various physical ex- of continuing professional music lovers. These include concerts at Katara’s Opera House, per- aminations to determine the development, directed the formances at Ziryab theatre and an Oud exhibition in Building 19, Gal- health of the patient, and course. Facilitators and participants of the OSCE training programme. lery 1, as well as Khaliji sessions in Building 19, Gallery 2. Five stages have been set up at the venue, where ensembles consist- ing of eight Oud makers are presenting unique ways of making of the traditional musical instrument in close proximity to the audience. The closing ceremony will also feature a dual performance by al- Dusty conditions persist, light rain expected in parts of Doha Jowher and Fathi.

trong winds are expected in off shore areas today along Swith thundershowers and high seas, the Qatar Met depart- ment has said. Inshore areas, which saw windy and dusty conditions yes- terday, have no warning in store today though it may rain in the early hours of the day. The country has, over the past few days, experienced thundery rain, winds and dust, and yester- day also marked the beginning of Al Sarayat – the “season of sud- den changes”. This period, which will con- tinue until mid-May, is charac- Moments from the festival. terised by “weather fl uctuations as westerly disturbances contin- ue crossing the Arabian Peninsu- la, accompanied by warm fronts at fi rst, followed by cold fronts”, according to the Met depart-

High wind speed Dusty conditions in Doha yesterday evening. PICTURE: Shaji Kayamkulam Wind gusts attained a maximum speed of 53 knots ment. After Sunday’s dramatic cautions to be followed during the north along with a thunder some places at fi rst. Slight dust in Doha on Sunday due to spell of lightning and thunder – dust, prepared in co-ordination cell near Umm Bab. Data released is also likely off shore along with downdraft winds associated as well as some rain — dusty and with the Ministry of Public by the Met department showed cloudy conditions, the weather with thunderstorms, the Met windy weather prevailed across Health, while the Ministry of that Ruwais recorded the highest report shows. department said in a post on the country for several hours Interior advised motorists exer- rainfall of 8.8mm between Sun- There is a possibility of scat- Twitter yesterday. According yesterday, resulting in a sharp cise due caution while driving in day and Monday morning. tered rain, which may be thun- to climate records, similar drop in visibility at a number of dusty conditions. Today’s detailed forecast says dery in some places in the early levels were attained back in places. The situation gradually im- slightly dusty and partly cloudy hours of the day. The wind speed March 1995 (54 knots) and Visibility had fallen to below proved from yesterday evening as conditions are expected in in- may go up to 30 knots in off shore November 1982 (53 knots). 1km in some areas. The Met de- the dust subsided, even as light shore areas, and there is a weak areas during thundershowers, partment re-issued a list of pre- to moderate rain was detected in chance of light scattered rain in with the sea level rising to 10ft.