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Qatar keeps Al Attiyah cynosure its contracts of all eyes as Qatar dispute-free Rally flags off

THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2016 • 25 Rabia II 1437 • Volume 20 • Number 6696 thepeninsulaqatar @peninsulaqatar @peninsula_qatar

Sheikh Jassim meets Saudi King Ministry to Towing charges increase waste management for seized plant capacity

By Raynald C Rivera vehicles raised The Peninsula DOHA: The Ministry of Munici- pality and Environment plans to old law had provisions for towing expand the Domestic Solid Waste charges and fines. Management Centre (DSWMC) Ministry of Interior The new law (No. 16 of 2015) gave upping its capacity from 2,300 can auction off the Ministry of Interior the author- to 5,300 tonnes of waste a day, as seized vehicles if ity to fix towing charges for seized well as build another centre with vehicles. The Department of Traffic a capacity of 3,000 tonnes a day. not claimed in works under the Ministry of Interior. “Now we have some stud- three months So, the Ministry submitted a pro- ies and proposals to expand the posal to the State Cabinet to raise existing plant to upgrade it from rates and fines in the form of a draft the current 2,300 tonnes a day decision. The Cabinet, at its routine capacity to 5,300 tonnes to take us weekly meeting yesterday, approved to 2022 with full capacity. Within The Peninsula the Interior Ministry’s draft decision, three to four years, we will have Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported. another one in the north with a The ministry seizes cars for capacity of 3,000 tonnes for us various reasons, including faulty to achieve QNV 2030 with sus- DOHA: The Ministry of Interior has parking, faulty overtaking, abandon- tainable environment. This is our increased towing charges for vehi- ing a car for long in a public place plan,” said Safar Mubarak Al Shafi, cles seized for violations. or breaking other provisions of the Director of General Cleanliness The charges have been raised to traffic law. Such vehicles are towed Project, Mechanical Equipment QR500 for bigger vehicles weigh- by the ministry using a special auto- Department and Waste Treatment ing three tonnes (when empty) mobile and taken to traffic impound Center at the Ministry of Munici- and above, and to QR200 for light yards of which there are several in pality and Environment. vehicles. the country. According to the 2015 Al Shafi was talking to media- The fine for not claiming a seized law, a seized car must be claimed persons on the sidelines of the vehicle is being raised to QR20 per by its owner within three months. sixth Waste Management and day from QR15. The towing charges, The fine for letting the car Recycling Summit which opened according to the old traffic law (of remain in the traffic police impound yesterday at InterContinental Doha 2007), were QR200 for larger vehi- yard will now be QR20 per day. The City. Like its predecessor, cles (three tonnes and above) and The new law (No. 16 of 2015) also Personal Representative of Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, H H Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad the new waste treatment facility QR150 for light vehicles (under three gives the Interior Ministry the right Al Thani, with Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi being planned, he said, would be tonnes). to auction off a seized vehicle if not Arabia yesterday. Deputising for the Emir, his Personal Representative attended the inauguration designed in keeping with the most The old traffic law (No. 19 of claimed within three months. ceremony of the 30th edition of the Jenadriyah Heritage and Cultural Festival in Saudi Arabia. The advanced technology in the world. 2007) was amended and came into festival was inaugurated by King Salman. force last year. Article 89 of the → Continued on page 7 → Continued on page 7 Economic zones to allow unrestricted repatriation of profits and capitals

The Peninsula Zones Company) 50 years’ concession related to companies, customs or to develop, maintain and manage the licensing, will apply to such busi- economic zones. nesses. The licensing of a business All types of businesses will be to be set up in an economic zone will DOHA: The economic zones Qatar allowed to be set up in an economic be single-window and solely done by is developing will allow investors — zone. Manateq. nationals or foreigners, individuals or They can be proprietorships The draft law has been framed corporations — unrestricted repatri- or partnership firms or any other by the board of directors of Manateq, ation of profits and capital abroad. types of companies or business enti- which will be given the authority to A law is on the anvil which will ties, says the draft law which was develop, maintain and manage one regulate the company which will approved by the State Cabinet at its or many economic zones and fix the develop, maintain and run the special routine weekly meeting yesterday, boundaries of a zone. economic zones and specify regula- reports Qatar News Agency (QNA). It will also have the authority to tions about the businesses to be set Special rules will apply to busi- develop its own, or link to existing up in these zones. nesses operating from the economic ports, whether they are seaports, The draft law, which once effec- zones and no other national law or airports or land check posts, QNA tive, will give Manateq (the Economic regulations whatsoever, whether added. Egypt court overturns death penalty for 149 pro-Islamists

AFP criticised internationally, as the ouster, including six who were con- government cracked down on sup- victed of belonging to an Islamist porters of ousted Islamist president militant group. CAIRO: An Egyptian appeals court Mohamed Mursi. The military overthrow of Mursi, overturned yesterday death sen- The court had also sentenced the country’s first freely elected pres- tences for 149 pro-Islamists accused 37 people to death in absentia, but ident, ushered in the worst domestic of killing policemen in a mob attack they would have to hand themselves bloodshed in the country’s modern on their station, a judicial source said. in for a retrial. The grounds for the history. The court ordered a retrial for the appeals court ruling were not imme- Mursi ruled for only a year, deeply defendants over the attack, which diately available, but the court has dividing the country, and his removal killed 13 policemen near Cairo on overturned hundreds of death sen- was met with escalating protests by August 14, 2013, the day police shot tences over the past year, to the relief Islamists that police dispersed with dead hundreds of Islamist demon- of rights advocates and frustration of live ammunition. strators in the capital. some in the government who have On August 14, 2013, less than two The initial ruling in February urged fast track executions. months after his overthrow, police 2015 came amid a series of death Seven people have been executed broke up two protest camps in Cairo, sentences in mass trials that were for political violence since Mursi’s killing about 700 protesters.

HOME THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2016 03

Kuwait Emir meets Sheikha Moza in London Premier meets Chubu president

Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani yesterday met Japanese Chubu Electric Power Company President and Representative Director Satoru Katsuno and his delegation. Qatar to observe World

Emir of Kuwait H H Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah yesterday met H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Founder and Chairperson, Education Above All Foundation (EAA), on the sidelines of the ‘Supporting Syria and the Region’ conference in London yesterday. Talks dealt with the conference Cancer Day 2016 today agenda, including education of Syrian refugee children. Sheikha Moza highlighted EAA’s role in supporting access to quality primary education for millions of children across the globe in areas of conflict, including Syrian children who have missed out on learning due to the ongoing conflict. Kuwaiti The Peninsula Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al Khalid Al Sabah was present. between healthcare partners and or educating themselves on the signs Pic: AR Al-Baker organisations. and symptoms of cancer, for example. “Everyone can play a part in Another proactive way in which beating cancer — from partners in the public can mark the day is to DOHA: Qatar will today join millions the National Cancer Programme make a pledge to take up breast and around the world to mark World Can- developing processes and services bowel cancer screening. cer Day 2016. to facilitate prevention, early detec- ‘Screen for Life’ programme pro- RAF unveils portal to help students The day will be marked by the tion and diagnosis, treatment and motes education and awareness of Ministry of Public Health, Hamad long-term transitions to the pub- benefits of early detection of can- Medical Corporation (HMC) and the lic who make a decision every day cer in Qatar and aims to save lives The Peninsula have been assigned to reply student “We will soon issue a complete Primary Health Care Corporation about their lifestyles. Together we can by encouraging women aged 45 and queries online. guideline in Arabic for students (PHCC). This year’s theme ‘We Can – I ensure no one feels alone or unsup- above with no symptoms to book ‘RAF Platform’ is accessible on seeking admission and scholarship Can’ underlines the fact that everyone ported after a cancer diagnosis. We breast cancer screening through a http://www.raf-minha.com/. and for studies in international univer- in our community from healthcare would like to remind patients and mammography. DOHA: Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah the portal so far is in Arabic but RAF sities,” said Al Tamimi. providers and policymakers through their families that they can ask for Experts recommend that women Foundation for Humanitarian Serv- plans to add English language so Queries included how to apply for to the public can play a part in beat- support if needed. All partners in should repeat breast screening every ices (RAF) has launched a portal to that more students, especially those admission in a university in Germany, ing cancer. the National Cancer Programme are three years. provide online consultation to Arab of some African countries, could is there any scholarship to study in Minister of Public Health H E Dr working together to ensure that can- The campaign also calls on men and Muslim students to help them benefit. European countries, how to apply Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari said: cer support and services in Qatar are and women aged 50 and above with get scholarships and admission in So far, over 4,000 consultations for the scholarship of Sheikh Thani “Cancer touches everyone in our accessible and supportive.” no symptoms to undergo bowel top international universities. have been provided, Dr Hani Yahya Al bin Abdullah University Education in community in some way. We are The day is also an opportunity for cancer screening through Faecal Academic experts, including Tamimi, Acting Head, International Malaysia and how to get a scholarship well advanced in implementation of community members to take steps to Immunochemical Test, which can senior professors with working expe- Programmes and Projects, RAF, told to pursue studies in foreign universi- the National Cancer Strategy and this reduce the impact of cancer — choos- be taken on an annual basis, as rec- riences in international universities, a press conference yesterday. ties, among others. is a reflection of collaborative effort ing to eat healthily, stopping smoking ommended by PHCC. 04 THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2016 HOME Waste Management and Recycling Summit opens

yesterday’s summit were presenta- Ministry recalls The forum will tions on ‘Waste Management Strategy for the Ministry of Municipality and 2011-2012 provide the required Urban Planning’ by Al Shafi; ‘Surplus clarity and highlight Excavated Material Recycling in Ash- Peugeot ghal Projects’ by Al Emadi; and ‘Use the importance of of Nano technology to manufacture 508 models waste management affordable housing and irrigation products from rubber’. and recycling in Qatar The opening day also featured a Doha: The Ministry of panel discussion on ‘Waste to Energy Economy and Commerce, not a luxury a necessity’. in collaboration with Other presentations included Almana Motors Company, The Peninsula ‘Green Banking and Sustainability’; dealer of Peugeot vehi- ‘Microplastics in Marine Environ- cles, has announced the ment’; ‘Solid Waste Classification recall of Peugeot 508 and Management in Kahramaa’; and models of 2011 and 2012 DOHA: The sixth edition of Waste ‘Reduction of Carbon Dioxide Waste over defective window Management and Recycling Summit Emissions’. lifts. opened yesterday at Intercontinental Participants included govern- The ministry said the Doha The City. ment entities, research institutes, recall is part of efforts to Organised by Nispana, the international waste management protect consumers and two-day event was inaugurated experts, health safety experts, envi- ensure dealers follow up by Engineer Hamad Lahdan Al ronment consultants and recycling on vehicle defects and Mohannadi, Vice-Chairman, Cen- firms. repairs. tral Municipal Council, and Safar The event also features an exhi- The ministry said it Mubarak Al Shafi, Director, Gen- bition showcasing products of Green will coordinate with the eral Cleanliness Project, Ministry Energy and Environmental Services dealer to follow up on of Municipality and Environment, Co, Bee’ah, Al Danah Medical Com- maintenance and repairs along with Dr R Seetharaman, CEO, pany, Matachana, Heliovis and ATM and communicate with Doha Bank; Narendra Kumar, Man- Recycling systems. customers to ensure aging Director, Nispana Innovative The summit is supported by the repairs are carried out. Platforms; and Engineer Khalid ministry and Ashghal and researched It urged custom- Mohammed Al Emadi, Manager, and organised by Nispana Innova- Dr R Seetharaman (centre), CEO, Doha Bank; Safar Mubarak Al Shafi, Director, General Cleanliness Project ers to report any Quality and Safety Department, Pub- tive Platforms. and Mechanical Equipment Department, Ministry of Municipality and Environment; and other officials violations to its Con- lic Works Authority (Ashghal). Doha Bank is the green bank- inaugurating the sixth Waste Management and Recycling Summit at Intercontinental Doha the City yesterday. sumer Protection and Narendra Kumar stressed that ing sponsor; Global Resources and Pic: Baher / The Peninsula Anti-Commercial Fraud the forum will provide the required Industries S.A.R.L gold sponsor and Department through hot- clarity and highlight the importance Lanyard sponsor and The Alliance line: 16001; email: info@ of waste management and recycling of Navi Holding, Dena Nano Tech, Middle East Facilities Manage- is the official project management partner, while Maqsan Oil and Gas mec.gov.qa; Twitter: @ in Qatar. Gulf City and ECO Start Biodiesel ment Association acts as association partner and Qatar Green Build- is panel partner and EDCO is bag MEC_Qatar; Instagram: Among the highlights of are associate sponsors. partners, Qatar Project Management ing Council official sustainability sponsor. MEC_Qatar; and the ministry’s mobile app for Android and IOS: MEC_Qatar Waste ‘management key to sustainable development’ Qatar ties with

The Peninsula sustainable development. management authority announced an Bangladesh “Green banking considers all social ambitious 25-year recycling plan. Abu and environmental factors to protect Dhabi will be split into zones with specific reviewed the environment and conserve natural types of recycling centres introduced to DOHA: Waste management will be a key resources. match the kinds of waste generated there. Doha: Minister for Admin- contributor to sustainable development, “Green banking is also called ethical “The plan aims to integrate new istrative Development and Dr R Seetharaman, CEO, Doha Bank, told banking or a sustainable banking and pro- facilities with existing ones. Landfills Labour and Social Affairs the sixth Waste Management & Recycling motes environmental-friendly practices where waste is dumped and burnt will be H E Dr Issa bin Saad Al Summit which opened yesterday at Inter- and reduces carbon footprint from bank- restructured for more energy efficient and Jaffali Al Nuaimi yester- continental Doha The City. ing activities. environmentally sound methods. day met Bangladesh Giving a presentation on ‘Green Bank- “Green banking will blend customers’ “The landfills in Qatar are running out Minister of Expatriates’ ing & Sustainability’, he said: “Sustainable financial interests with the interests of the of space and new engineered ones need to Welfare and Overseas development is the one that meets the environment. It will also enable environ- be created. Qatar aims to raise the recycle Employment Nurul Islam. needs of the present without compromis- mental sensibility to pay off for clients and share from 8 percent to 38 percent of solid Talks dealt with relations ing the ability of future generations to meet the planet. Green banking is an innova- waste, reducing landfill to 53 percent and between both countries in their own needs. tive solution for sustainable development.” converting waste to energy.” areas of common interest “Banks as responsible corporate cit- Dr Seetharaman also highlighted He also provided insight on global and means of enhancing Dr R Seetharaman, CEO, Doha Bank, giving a presentation izens adopt green banking as part of measures on waste management in GCC, warming, carbon emission trends, and them. on ‘Green Banking & Sustainability’ at the event. corporate social responsibility (CSR) and saying, “In June 2015, Abu Dhabi’s waste the importance of paper recycling. ibq loans campaign offers MacBook Air or iPad Mini

The Peninsula QR350,000 and more, or an iPad mortgage loans — all tailor-made to Mini for new loans worth QR200,000 cater to the needs and demands of and more. our customers.” Hassan Al Mulla, Head, Retail “We continue to find new ways to DOHA: The International Bank of Banking, ibq, said: “The promotion enhance customer experience while Qatar (ibq) has launched an exciting offers customers opportunity to enjoy offering choice and excellence every loans campaign, rewarding custom- value-added benefits with every step of the way,” he added. ers with a MacBook or an iPad Mini. banking experience at ibq. Terms and conditions apply. Customers eligible for loans and “We are proud to offer some of For details, please contact ibq have an ibq credit card will receive the best products in Qatar — from call centre on 4447 8000 or visit the a MacBook Air for new loans worth personal loans, vehicle loans to bank’s website www.ibq.com.qa

PSG coaches playing football with students of Omar Ibn El Khatab School. Paris Saint-Germain Academy back in Doha

The Peninsula College School and will be open to children across the country,” she 200 boys and girls aged 6-16 years. added. Children will be taught skills, Players will have the opportunity including tactical and defensive play- to experience the PSG football school ing, stamina training and the basic DOHA: For the third consecutive which aims to train the next genera- rules of football at the camp. year, the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) tion of sporting stars. Participants will also receive an Academy brought to you by Ooredoo Fatima Sultan Al Kuwari, official PSG Academy diploma at the will take place in Qatar, as the com- Director, Community and PR, Oore- closing ceremony. The launch of the pany pushes to encourage sport and doo, said: “We want to encourage third PSG Academy in Doha is the healthy living across the country. youngsters to get involved, start latest in Ooredoo’s sports initiatives The academy, which will be led running and playing and inspire as the company gets ready to cele- by PSG coaches and supported by sportsmanship. brate Qatar National Sports Day this local players, will take place at Doha “This is a great opportunity for month. HOME THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2016 05 QA begins 4 weekly flights to Ras Al Khaimah

Water projects The Peninsula launch our newest route in the UAE — Ras Al Khaimah. implemented “QA’s network expansion will increase the flexibility and choice for in Africa DOHA: Qatar Airways (QA) started our passengers to travel to and from non-stop service between Doha and emirates in the UAE and we look for- Doha: The Office of the Ras Al Khaimah on Tuesday, its fifth ward to enhancing passengers’ travel Organisation of Islamic destination in the UAE. opportunities from Europe, Asia and Da’wa in Qatar has car- Ras Al Khaimah is known to be a the Americas to new tourist desti- ried out three new water gateway to many of the UAE’s natural nations in the region such as Ras Al projects in Ivory Coast, treasures, popular for weekend geta- Khaimah.” Gambia and Mali, funded ways for travellers from the GCC, and Ras Al Khaimah is in the north- by Qatari philanthropists. a resort destination for longer stays ern part of the UAE, about 45 minutes Over 30,000 peo- for travellers from China, Europe and from Dubai. With the opening of many ple benefited from the India. five-star beach resorts and spas, the projects in Africa, in addi- The inaugural flight arrived with emirate has quickly become one of tion to tens of thousands a QA delegation, led by Chief Com- the most popular tourist destinations of livestock on which they mercial Officer Dr Hugh Dunleavy. in the region. depend so much in their The flight was officially wel- It offers a wide range of activities daily lives. comed by Engineer Sheikh Salem such as water sports, cruises, desert Sheikh Hammad bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairman, camps, golf courses and mountain Abdul Qader, Direc- Department of Civil Aviation, Ras Al adventures. Qatar Airways’ senior management representatives and members of Civil Aviation and Airport authorities tor-General of the Khaimah; Mohammed Qazi, CEO, QA now offers up to 200 weekly of Ras Al Khaimah celebrating the arrival of the airline’s inaugural flight in the emirate. organisation’s office in Ras Al Khaimah International Air- flights from Doha to the UAE, includ- Qatar, said the projects port; and Haitham Mattar, CEO, Ras ing the new four flights to Ras Al aim to provide clean Al Khaimah Tourism Development Khaimah: 105 a week to Dubai Inter- week to Sharjah. Business Class and 132 in Economy. QR1120 at 20:15 and arrives in Ras drinking water for peo- Authority. national Airport; 28 a week to Dubai An Airbus A320 operates the Ras The Doha-Ras Al Khaimah four- Al Khaimah at 22:30; departs Ras Al ple and animals and work QA’s Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Maktoum International Airport; 42 Al Khaimah route, featuring 144 seats weekly operation: Tuesday, Thursday, Khaimah QR1121 at 23:30 and arrives to encourage the com- Al Baker said: “We are delighted to a week to Abu Dhabi; and 21 flights a in a two-class configuration of 12 in Friday and Saturday: Departs Doha in Doha at 23:45. munities to stay in their regions in addition to maintaining and ensuring their social security. Qatar Airways ‘exclusive airline’ of HBL Pakistan Super League He said the journey to find water often leads to frictions between dis- The Peninsula tournaments. and to be a part of their journey,” he a week to Sialkot and daily flights to highlighted this as a historic moment. placed persons and After years of planning and the added. Peshawar. Karachi was first launched “The HBL Pakistan Super League is a residents of areas where launch this month, the tournament, The partnership is the latest in by the airline in 1995, Peshawar in global event and to have one of the water is available, often which follows the popular T20 a series of key sponsorships for QA, 1998, Lahore in 1999, Islamabad in world’s leading airlines as partner leading to fighting and DOHA: Qatar Airways (QA) has format, brings excitement to a sport building on its mission to reach new 2004 and Multan, Faisalabad and with us is great news. I am sure a protracted armed announced a long-term partnership followed by millions of fans around fans through the power and passion Sialkot last year. that HBL PSL fans will be equally conflict. with HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) the world. of sport. Other partnerships include Al Baker said: “QA prides itself delighted with this arrangement. Sheikh Hamad said as the official exclusive airline of the QA Group Chief Executive Akbar FC Barcelona, Al Ahli Football Club, on being an important presence in Hopefully, many of our fans will the projects include drill- tournament, which is emerging as one Al Baker said the association with Qatar Open Men’s and Women’s the Pakistani market where we have make use of the excellent services QA ing of wells of various of the most exciting cricket events in HBL PSL is a great opportunity to Tennis Championships and IPTL, grown our operations rapidly over the offers as they make their travel plans types with a focus on the region. align the passion for travel with the among others. The partnership with past few years, connecting Pakistan to to watch the first HBL PSL.” digging artesian wells, The inaugural season of the passion for sport. “We are excited PSL also aligns with Qatar’s vision in the rest of the world with our direct The opening game will be excavations and building league featuring key Pakistani and about our association with HBL its commitment to promote sports services to Doha and onwards. The preceded by an opening ceremony dams of different types international cricketers will take Pakistan Super League. QA has always globally and in the region. launch of flights to Multan, Sialkot with performances by Ali Zafar and and sizes to save the sur- place in Dubai and Sharjah from championed the connectivity of sport QA operates flights to seven and Faisalabad helped us expand our Sean Paul. Tickets are available online face water available in today until February 23. and sporting achievement. In sport, destinations across Pakistan, non- reach in Pakistan and we are proud to at kyazoonga.ae/psl or fans in the UAE these areas for autumn HBL PSL, featuring five teams we learn to play and win together, stop from its Doha hub, Hamad be flying-in some of the most popular can visit branches of AJ Sports, TCS, and use it for drink- of current and former Pakistani and travel can also teach us and International Airport — double cricketers from Pakistan to the UAE Al Fardan Exchange, Delhi Nihari, ing and irrigation during cricketing stars, and highly skilled inspire us to achieve together. This daily flights to Karachi, Lahore and for this season’s matches.” Kulcha King, Tandoori Junction, Sindh droughts. and popular international players, is partnership aligns QA’s vision to go Islamabad, three flights a week to Pakistan Super League Chairman Punjab, Karachi Darbar and Barbecue one of the sport’s most awaited global places together with our passengers Multan and Faisalabad, four flights Najam Sethi welcomed QA and Delights. 06 THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2016 HOME HBKU to hold Graduate Open House on Monday

role of design and innovation in sustaina- bility, the role of translation in the modern Participants will have world, constitutional law, and how comput- the chance to learn ing has changed our lives. The event will also offer attendees the about multidisciplinary chance to be among the first to hear about programmes and attend four of HBKU’s newest planned programmes under its College of Science and Engineering: sample lectures by A PhD in Computer Science and Engineering; professors M.S. degrees in Bioengineering; Cybersecurity; and Data Science and Engineering. Participants will also have the oppor- tunity to preview the four new innovative The Peninsula programmes ahead of their official launch. The programmes have been designed to respond to ongoing advances in science and technology and reflect local needs and glo- DOHA: Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), bal trends. a member of Qatar Foundation for Education Students enrolling in the programmes will Science and Community Development (QF) be given opportunity to work on crucial issues invites prospective students to its Graduate in their fields through a research thesis or by Open House to be held on Monday at 6pm at working on an industrial project. the HBKU Student Centre. The programmes will join HBKU’s exten- Participants will not only have the chance sive portfolio of graduate programmes — from Participants at a previous event. to hear about the university’s multidisciplinary Sustainable Energy; Biological and Biomedical programmes, but will also be offered opportu- Science; Law; and Public Health; to Audiovis- nity to enjoy sample lectures given by HBKU ual Translation; Public Policy in Islam; Islamic professors. Finance; and Urban Design and Architecture be on hand at the event to offer advice and Graduate Open House, we are giving attend- “Our programmes are designed to give stu- The lectures will match the broad range in Islamic Societies. guidance to those interested in joining the uni- ees a small glimpse of the work being done dents knowledge and skills needed to have of subjects offered at graduate level. The subjects students can pursue at the versity’s expanding student population. by our professors in educating tomorrow’s a meaningful impact on their communities. The sample lectures will offer valuable university are targeted to match the educa- Dr Khaled Ben Letaief, Provost, HBKU, leaders. “As the application deadline for 2016 nears, insight into student life at the university and tional, social and economic goals of Qatar said: “In a relatively short period of time, “We are looking for students who want to I encourage those wanting to obtain a gradu- cover such topics such as food safety and out- National Vision 2030. we have attracted many world-class faculty broaden their intellectual depth by seeking ate degree to visit our Open House and learn break investigation, how basic science can With HBKU’s main 2016 admissions dead- to share knowledge with our growing stu- solution to challenges that lie at the crossroads more about the possibilities waiting for them be used to combat the spread of diseases, the line approaching, the admission team will dent body. By offering sample lectures at our of traditional disciplines. at our university,” Dr Ben Letaief added. March 1 last day for TAMUQ Fall 2016 applications HMC hosts third

The Peninsula Research Forum

The Peninsula DOHA: Texas A&M University at Qatar’s (TAMUQ) admis- sions for Fall 2016 semester for freshman is open through March 1. Prospective applicants must complete the admis- sion requirements. DOHA: Clinicians and researchers from Hamad Medi- They may visit the Texas A&M Engineering Building at cal Corporation (HMC) and other organisations in Qatar the Education City campus and the Office of Admissions gathered recently to exchange research ideas and gain where officers and advisers are available to explain appli- new knowledge at the third Research Forum. cation requirements and the admissions process Sunday Organised by HMC’s Medical Research Centre, through Thursday from 8am to 4pm. the event is held regularly as part of efforts to foster Maha Ayyash, Director of Admissions, said, “I encour- a strong research culture and promote the develop- age students who are strong in academics and willing to ment of high-quality research at HMC and in Qatar. thrive in a university that offers world-renowned engineer- HMC researchers represented the majority of the ing programmes to consider applying to TAMUQ.” 142 delegates, with additional attendees from Qatar Texas A&M commands an international reputation as University (QU), Sidra Medical and Research Center, one of the world’s premier engineering programmes and Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar and Hamad TAMUQ builds on that esteem. TAMUQ students receive Bin Khalifa University. the same top-tier training as students at the main campus. The third meeting addressed current research on TAMUQ offers training and advanced accredited pro- infectious diseases undertaken by researchers in HMC grammes in chemical, electrical, mechanical and petroleum and affiliated biomedical institutes in Qatar. engineering that rank among the top US universities for Dr Abdullatif Al Khal, Senior Consultant and HMC’s Prospective applicants must complete the admission requirements for semester for freshmen. education and research. Deputy Chief Medical Officer, welcomed the partic- Prospective students have become aware of the high ipants. Professor Ibrahim Janahi, HMC’s Executive demand for professional engineers worldwide, and are Director of Research, said, “The forum provides a interested in TAMUQ’s world-recognised, premier engi- The branch campus’ faculty members are among the the Office of Admissions on +974.4423.0043 or visit TAMUQ platform for those interested in research to exchange neering programmes that develop exemplary engineers best in their fields and students have access to state-of- Engineering Building at Education City campus. expertise and research knowledge and encourages and leaders through internationally respected undergrad- the-art engineering facilities and laboratories. Applications are available on the admissions website collaborations among colleagues to strengthen our uate and graduate degree programmes. For inquiries and appointments, students can contact at www.exploretamuq.com research capacity. Research is vital for achieving HMC’s vision for healthcare in Qatar. It enables the develop- ment of new and improved treatments and helps our healthcare teams deliver the safest, most effective and most compassionate care to our patients.” Researchers from HMC and QU presented their studies. Research topics included streptococcus anginosus infections, H1N1 influenza (swine flu), can- didiasis or yeast infections, hepatitis C, food-borne diseases, tuberculosis, pseudomonas aeruginosa (a multi-drug resistant pathogen that causes compli- cated and life-threatening infections) cystic fibrosis, and a study on increasing immunogenicity of influ- enza and human immunodeficiency virus vaccines. Each assembly of the forum consists of two seg- ments to guide researchers and share work across HMC. The first is ‘Bring your research’, a segment where the Research Support Committee provides advice and guidance for researchers on any aspect of clinical, public health, biomedical, molecular and basic sci- ence research. The committee comprises researchers and scientists from within HMC. Nineteen research- ers received support for their ideas and projects from the committee. The second segment is ‘Present your research’ which provides opportunity for biomedicine researchers in Qatar to present ongoing or published research around the central clinical or research topic for each assembly, with the third assembly focusing on infectious disease.

QR8.5m Zakat Fund aid in January

QNA

DOHA: The Zakat Fund at the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs provided QR8.5m worth of assistance for needy families last month. In a statement yesterday, the Fund said the aid aimed to meet emergency and services in 19,000 cases. It included monthly permanent aid worth QR7,182,277 and cut aid worth QR1,300,355. The fund distributes aid after adopting social research procedures for aid seekers to ensure it reaches to actual beneficiaries. HOME THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2016 07 Centre ‘a pioneering facility and unique in world’

Continued from page 1 a capacity of 2,300 tonnes of waste a day, We provide them with containers, visit them around 95 percent of which is recycled or con- The centre has a capacity and deliver lectures on how they should seg- The DSWMC on a 3sqkm area in Mesaieed verted to energy. regate wastes.” is a pioneering facility and unique in the world. “The centre produces 50MW of which of 2,300 tonnes of waste On tyre recycling, he said around 12 mil- “It is the first and only waste-to-energy 42MW goes to the national electricity grid a day, around 95 percent lion tyres have been collected to date. plant in the Middle East. It is unique in the while the remaining 8MW is used to operate “There around 13 firms working on recy- world because it is integrated, having all facil- the centre, thus it is a self-sufficient facility.” of which is recycled or cling tyres and we allocated areas for them ities for recycling in one place — incinerator, In emergency cases, the centre’s capac- converted to energy in Umm Al Affai and Rawdat Rashed. Within composting plant, segregation area, landfill ity can be increased by 20 percent to 2,800 two-and-a- half years, we have treated around and energy recovery,” Al Shafi said. tonnes a day, he added. 2.5 million tyres and are looking for more Many places around the world such as Around 3,000 tonnes of waste is gener- companies to join us.” Europe have incinerators instead of compost- ated a day in Qatar and around 2,200 tonnes Al Shafi is optimistic that more private ing plants because they have more green areas of waste is collected through the ministry’s “This will be a good step for recycling companies will be encouraged to engage in unlike Qatar and other countries in the region General Cleaning Project, and around 600 to paper which will reduce the quantity of waste tyre recycling “because we charge a nomi- which have vast desert areas so they are look- 800 tonnes is collected by the private sector going to the centre and contribute to saving nal fee of around QR36,000 a year to rent the ing at building composting plants, he added. from commercial buildings, he said. the environment,” he said, adding there are area. Tyres are free.” “Qatar has invested around QR4bn for the While majority of the waste is organic (55 two to three paper recycling factories to which As the population swells with the coun- Safar Mubarak Al Shafi, Director, centre, QR2bn for design and building and percent). around 17 percent is paper which paper segregated from the source will be sent. try’s boom, people’s behaviour towards proper QR2bn for 20 years of operation. accounts for 450 to 500 tonnes of total waste Waste segregation, he said, is being exten- garbage disposal remains one of the major General Cleanliness Project, Mechanical It shows how Qatar is committed to the and that’s why the ministry is keen on recy- sively implemented in schools. “We have challenges the ministry faces, he said. Equipment Department and Waste environment and leads in the Middle East cling paper, he said. covered 189 schools, including 89 primary “If they follow rules and dump garbage in Treatment Center, Ministry of Municipality when it comes to environmental issues.” “We will target the ministries, authorities schools two years back, 52 middle schools bins, we will not face these issues,” Al Shafi and Environment, speaking at the event. Operating for four years, DSWMC has and banks which generate a lot of paper waste. last year and 48 secondary schools this year. added.

British expatriates urged Road safety pledge with Sachin to register online to vote on EU referendum

The Peninsula

DOHA: The British embassy has urged British expa- triates in Qatar to register online today to vote on the forthcoming referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union. The UK Electoral Commission yesterday launched a day of dedicated activity to encourage British citizens living overseas to register for the vote. The elections watchdog is hosting Overseas Voter Registration Day today to boost the numbers of UK res- idents overseas on the UK’s electoral registers. With the date of the referendum as yet unknown, the commission has advised UK expats to register sooner so they can be sure they are registered in time. Expats can register online to vote in just a few minutes at www. gov.uk/register-to-vote British Ambassador to Qatar Ajay Sharma said: “The EU referendum will be an important vote for all Brit- ish citizens whether you live abroad or at home. It will affect the UK’s relationship with Europe which impacts on so many aspects of our lives. It is so important that FROM LEFT: Faisal Al Hudawi, Coordinator, Community Reach Out Office, Public Relations Department, Ministry of Interior; everyone’s voice is heard. That is why we are urging Lt. Shaheen Rashid Al Atheeque, Public Relations Officer at the ministry, Lt. Fahad Mubarak Al Abdullah, Traffic Awareness UK nationals living in Qatar to take five minutes on Officer, General Directorate of Traffic, Sameer Moopen, CEO, DM Healthcare Group; and Nikhil Joseph, Senior Manager, Overseas Registration Day to visit https://www.gov.uk/ CRM, Aster DM Healthcare-Qatar at the press conference yesterday. (Right) The poster of the campaign. register-to-vote.” While Overseas Voter Registration Day is not the only day you can register, it is the perfect opportunity By Fazeena Saleem Traffic Awareness Officer, General Direc- A digital poster competition among for everyone to encourage friends, family or colleagues The Peninsula ‘#iPledge’ initiative by torate of Traffic at the ministry, said, “The school students will also be held, along to check if they can take part and ask them to go online message reaches people more effectively with a manual and digital poster compe- to register from wherever they are in the world, said Aster DM healthcare when a popular personality is involved tition on road safety for the public. the embassy. group and the Ministry and we expect the campaign to reach All poster campaigns will be judged At the 2015 general election there were almost DOHA: In a new campaign, people in everyone who use roads. by a panel of judges and depending on 106,000 overseas electors on the register, three times Qatar are urged to make a pledge with of Interior also features “Especially when we educate chil- their popularity on social media. the number on the register ahead of the previous gen- cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar to digital and manual dren about good road habits, they will All winners will be awarded cash eral election in 2010 and the highest number of overseas ensure road safety. poster contests implement them when they grow and prize, certificate, medal and copy of Ten- voters registered ever. This is a fraction of the 5.5 million ‘#iPledge’ is an initiative by the Aster have the ability to influence their par- dulkar’s autobiography. UK citizens estimated to be living overseas, and poten- DM Halthcare Group and implemented ents or motorists to follow safety rules,” For the competition ‘Spot the taxi’, 135 tially eligible to vote on the EU referendum. with Qatar National Traffic Safety Com- he added. Karwa taxis will take part in the cam- To register as an overseas voter, UK residents over- mittee and General Directorate of Traffic The campaign will keep ‘pledge with paign for two weeks, and people can take seas must have previously been registered in a UK and Public Relations Department of the “The campaign will focus on children Sachin’ cutouts at shopping malls and photos with the taxis and post on Aster constituency within the last 15 years. Once registered, Ministry of Interior. because they can play a big role in influ- other places. People are urged to make safe roads page on Facebook. overseas voters can choose how they wish to vote. They The campaign aims to educate peo- encing their parents,” Dr Sameer Moopen, three pledges — not to be on the phone The campaign ends on February 14, can vote by post, by proxy (voting by appointing some- ple, especially students, workers and taxi CEO, DM healthcare group-Qatar, told a while driving; always wear seat belts; and the closing ceremony will be held on one you trust to vote on your behalf), or in person at a drivers. It will also host a poster contest press conference yesterday. and use zebra crossing, subways and foot February 29 where the winners of the polling station if they have travelled to the UK on polling and competitions on social media. Lt. Shaheen Rashid Al Atheeque, Pub- paths and post photos on social media. competitions will be honoured. day. It should be easier to vote by post for the referen- “Road traffic accidents are one of lic Relations Officer at the ministry; and The pledges will be in Arabic, Eng- On February 7, the campaign will be dum as the timetable for postal votes has been extended the leading causes of death and creating Nikhil Joseph, Senior Manager, CRM, lish, Malayalam, Hindi, Urdu, Nepalese, launched in New Delhi by Tendulkar, and to allow postal votes to be sent out earlier than usual, awareness about road safety to prevent Aster DM Healthcare-Qatar were present. Sinhalese and Tamil to reach out expa- will be telecast live on NDTV Doha time giving overseas voters further time to receive, complete them is a timely need. Lt. Fahad Mubarak Al Abdullah, triate communities. 4.30pm. and return their ballot pack to the UK.

Seized car owners to pay fines Cloudy weather Diversion on Al Wukair Road Continued from page 1 The Peninsula In that eventuality, the ministry deducts from sale proceeds of a seized and unclaimed car its fines and charges. And then it returns the remaining amount to the owner. However, if the amount received from sale proceeds of an auctioned car is less than fines and charges, the ministry moves the DOHA: The Public Works Author- court to recover the remaining amount. The law stipulates that the owner ity (Ashghal) will implement a of a seized car must pay all fines and towing charges and only then will he traffic diversion on a section of Al be allowed to take his vehicle back. Wukair main road from tomorrow in coordination with the Traffic Department. The diversion will be in place for around one year and is Fireman Sam visits Lulu today required to facilitate construction of the main carriageway as part of the West Corridor Project. The Peninsula The Civil Defence Depart- Two lanes in each direction on ment has joined with awareness a section of Al Wukair Road will be programmes for the benefit of the closed in about 850-metre sections public. Fireman Sam toys are inter- and traffic will be redirected to an DOHA: Lulu Hypermarket in Al nationally well-accepted among alternative route with the same Gharrafa will host for the first time children. number of lanes in each direction in Qatar children’s all-time hero In line with the visit of Fireman as shown in the map. It was cloudy and the night was cold yesterday, with the weather bureau forecasting a windy and Fireman Sam today at 6pm and he Sam, Lulu outlets in Qatar have Ashghal will install road signs will interact with kids until 9pm. arranged display of a wide range of dusty weather today. Day temperatures today will vary between 19 and 22 degrees C. In Doha, it advising motorists of the diversion Lulu has organised the ‘Meet Fireman Sam toys. could be around 22 degrees during the day. The wind will be northwesterly and cold and will move and has urged road users to abide & Greet’ event in association with Sam has been racing to rescue of at 15 to 35 knots at times. Pic: Salim Matramkot / The Peninsula by speed limits and follow signs Simbo Toys Qatar. his friends for over 25 years. for safety. 08 THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2016 MIDDLE EAST UN envoy suspends Syria peace talks until Feb 25

talks there is more work to be done, aid getting through to besieged cities, not only by us but the stakeholders,” a halt to the bombardment of civil- Staffan de Mistura’s Staffan de Mistura told reporters in ians and the release of prisoners. announcement comes Geneva. “I have indicated from the It was also outraged that while first day I won’t talk for the sake in Geneva a major offensive by the after several days of talking. I therefore have taken Syrian army and allied militias of fruitless talks the decision to bring a temporary was happening on the ground near aimed at starting pause. It is not the end or the failure Aleppo, backed by intense Russian of the talks,” he said. “Both sides indi- air strikes. In a major blow to the indirect negotiations cated they are interested in having rebels, a military source said yester- between the Syrian the political process started. I have day that President Bashar Al Assad’s already fixed a date for the next talks army had cut the last supply route government and the of 25th February.” linking opposition forces in Aleppo to opposition His comments came after several the Turkish border. The government days of fruitless talks aimed at start- delegation meanwhile complained ing indirect negotiations between the that the HNC was disorganised, had Syrian government and opposition. not named its negotiators and that the AFP The hoped-for six months of indi- body contained individuals it consid- rect “proximity talks” are part of an ered “terrorists”. Iraqi soldiers on their armoured vehicles drive towards Alsjarih area, east of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar ambitious roadmap agreed by out- De Mistura said he was asking side powers embroiled in the conflict for the International Syria Support province, to reinforce the security forces fighting the Islamic State militants. GENEVA: The UN special envoy for in November in Vienna. Group (ISSG) of outside countries to Syria announced yesterday a “tem- The opposition umbrella group convene “as soon as possible.” The porary pause” until February 25 of High Negotiations Committee (HNC) almost five-year-old civil war has troubled talks in Switzerland aimed only reluctantly arrived in Geneva killed more than 260,000 people, Arabs and Kurds retake at ending the country’s brutal civil on Saturday, a day after representa- forced millions from their homes and war. tives from President Bashar Al Assad. sucked in a host of regional and glo- “I have concluded frankly that The HNC was insisting on imme- bal powers. The suspension of talks after the first week of preparatory diate steps including humanitarian came just after the arrival of head of Iraq village from IS group Syria’s main opposition in Switzer- land to try to jumpstart formal peace talks, as a defiant Russia vowed no let-up of its aerial bombardment in Reuters predominantly Arab territory for three suicide car bombs to fend off support of the regime. fear of being seen as an occupying the assault and at least eight mili- Riad Hijab’s arrival came as a force by inhabitants and provoking tants had been killed. Sheikh Faris major push to end Syria’s nearly a backlash. Al Sabaawi, one of the three com- five-year war was on shaky ground ERBIL, IRAQ: Sunni Muslim Arab Local Sunni Arabs have been manders of the Hashid Shaabi force after the opposition, outraged at a fighters backed by Kurdish forces training in the Makhmour area as in the area, said he could see mili- barrage of Russian air strikes, can- and US-led air strikes retook a vil- part of the Hashid Shaabi or Popu- tants’ body parts scattered around celled a meeting with the UN special lage in northern Iraq yesterday in an lar Mobilisation Force, a coalition of the village, which was used to launch envoy on Tuesday. example of effective military coop- mainly Shia militias in which Iraqi rockets on Makhmour. The latest Russian bombings eration on the ground between them Prime Minister Abadi would like to The Hashid Shaabi retook since Moscow threw its military against Islamic State (IS) insurgents. include Sunni groups. another village in the area in coor- might behind Assad in Septem- The offensive in the Makhmour “In coordination with the (Kurd- dination with the peshmerga several ber allowed loyalist forces to edge district south of Erbil began early ish) peshmerga and supported by days ago. “We work as one team,” towards breaking a long-running yesterday, resulting in the recapture coalition planes they have a plan to Sabaawi said. rebel siege on two government- of Kudila - part of a series of planned clear and liberate all the areas that The Hashid Shaabi will advance held villages near the northern city operations to clear Islamic State from the terrorists seized,” said peshmerga towards the Islamic State stronghold of Aleppo. Russian Foreign Minister the area, Kurdish and Arab com- commander Qader Qader. “These of Qayara, around 10 km (6 miles) Sergei Lavrov said he saw no rea- manders said. attacks will continue”. further west, Sabaawi said. This ulti- UN mediator for Syria Staffan de Mistura gestures during a news son for the air strikes to stop, while Kurdish forces have driven Speaking via phone from Kud- mately would increase the pressure conference outside President Wilson Hotel in Geneva, Switzerland, slamming “capricious” elements in the ultra-hardline Sunni militants ila with the sound of heavy machine on Islamic State-held Mosul, northern yesterday. the HNC and the smuggling of arms back in northern Iraq, but have gun fire in the background, one Iraq’s largest city, which the pesh- into Syria from Turkey. been reluctant to push further into peshmerga said IS had deployed merga have partly surrounded.

Lebanese army German FM in Tehran Iraqi tribal leader warns kills six and arrests 16 gunmen of new extremist groups

Reuters AFP

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s army killed RIGA: Iraq’s Sunnis must be given a greater role in the political process of the six gunmen and arrested 16 sus- war-torn country in order to prevent the possible rise of organisations even pected militants, including a more extreme than the Islamic State (IS), an Iraqi tribal leader said yesterday. commander from the Islamic “There is no doubt we must remove and defeat IS. But the absence of any State (IS) group, in a raid in the political solution or national reconciliation will pave the way for more rad- town of Arsal near the border ical groups to emerge — some possibly even more radical than IS,” Sheikh with Syria yesterday, it said. Jamal Al Dhari, a leader of the mixed Sunni and Shia Al Zoba tribe, said in an An army statement said interview. The 50-year-old has set up Peace Ambassadors For Iraq (PAFI), soldiers carried out a special an organisation aimed at overcoming his country’s bloody sectarian divide operation against what it called a between the Sunni minority and politically-dominant Shiite majority. terrorist cell that was planning to Al Dhari says he launched PAFI last year in the Latvian capital Riga to attack army posts and kidnap peo- coincide with Latvia’s stint as rotating president of the European Union and ple in Arsal. so forge contacts with Western diplomats. Another army unit stormed an “Sunnis are caught between the brutality of IS and the violence of Tehran- IS-run field hospital in the same backed (Shia) terror groups. area and detained 16 militants, “At the same time, the (Shia-led) Baghdad government has disenfran- it said, including a man named Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (right) with his German counterpart Frank-Walter chised Sunnis from joining a full political process. Ahmad Noun who was described Steinmeier in Tehran yesterday. “So, it’s not about drawing Sunnis away from IS; it’s about creating a cli- as a “dangerous terrorist”. mate that brings Sunnis back into a reformed political process.” A security source said earlier Al Dhari has proposed a five-point national reconciliation plan. that the army had arrested Abu It would put an end to job quotas for Sunnis and Shiites, boost anti-cor- Bakr Al Raqqawi, a local com- ruption efforts and investment in a non-sectarian army, fully review the mander of the Islamic State group, Blast on Somalia airliner Iraqi constitution and finally, launch a national reconciliation process over- and three high profile insurgents. seen by the United Nations. It was not immediately clear if According to PAFI, the al-Zoba tribe comprises both the Sunni and Shi- Raqqawi was Noun’s nom de ite sects of Islam, and with around six million members is among the largest guerre. points to bomb: Pilot in Iraq, a country of 33.4 million people. The source said the army had originally detained 27 people but has released 11 who were not AFP fuselage from inside to out, had of previous explosions, and it had all Israeli policewoman killed, related to the cell. been an explosive device, according the appearances of a bomb blast. Nusra Front and Islamic to reports in the Serbian newspa- It was not caused by any issue of State fighters have staged reg- per Blic. pressurisation, he said, for the blast Palestinians shot dead ular incursions into Arsal from MOGADISHU: A blast that ripped a Pilot Vladimir Vodopivec, 64, told ripped the metal outwards. the barren hills just outside the hole in a commercial airliner shortly a friend he thought it was “a bomb”, “The explosion occurred at the town. after take-off from Somalia’s capi- without giving more details. Photo- passenger level...it clearly comes from JERUSALEM: Three Palestinians armed with rifles, knives and explosives They overran the town tal was probably caused by a bomb, graphs show a large hole — about inside,” he told AFP, adding that at attacked Israeli police outside Jerusalem’s Old City yesterday, killing one briefly in 2014 before with- aviation experts and the pilot who a metre in diameter — just above that part of the plane, there was no officer and wounding another before being shot dead. drawing to the hills after landed it safely said yesterday. the engines on the right wing, with major engine or electrical device to The attack outside the Old City’s Damascus Gate was part of a four-month clashes with the army. The plane, operated by Daallo streaks of soot on the plane. spark such a blast. “In addition, the wave of violence, but was among the most severe in Jerusalem, where many But security sources say that Airlines and flying from Mogad- Vodopivec added that the blast metal is bent forward against the flow assaults have involved knives. Nusra Front and Islamic State ishu to Djibouti with 74 passengers, did not damage the navigation sys- of air - it is not an issue of depressu- The policewoman who died had been shot in the head, medical officials groups continue to have a strong safely made an emergency landing tems, and while cabin pressure was risation,” he said. said. According to Israeli authorities, the Palestinians were approached by presence in the town, where thou- on Tuesday. lost, he was able to guide the plane Video footage taken after the border police for ID checks. sands of Syrian refugees live in Police said two people onboard back safely to land at Mogadishu blast showed people having moved to “As one was producing identification, his accomplices... started firing and dire conditions. were injured, while the government airport. “Passengers were terrified,” the back of the plane with emergency stabbing and managed to wound two female officers,” a police statement said. They say sometimes the insur- has said the blast was believed to be said Abdiwahab Hassan, an air- oxygen masks dangling down as The surviving officer’s injuries were described as “moderate to serious”. gents descend into the town at caused by an issue of air pressure. port official. Aviation safety expert wind rushed around the main cabin, Officers opened fire and killed the Palestinians, police said, adding that night to threaten or kill those who The Serbian pilot has said he Xavier Tytelman said he compared although most people appeared fairly they were from the northern West Bank. They were believed to be 19 to 20 oppose them. thought the blast, which ripped the images of the blast with photographs calm. years old. ASIA / PHILIPPINES THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2016 09 US open to joint naval patrols with Philippines

“I am not going to announce beforehand what we do in terms US Ambassador of freedom of navigation, but suf- to the Philippines fice it to say that the United States will follow international law, will Philip Goldberg continue to enjoy our rights under said the US and the international law to sail through international waters or fly to inter- Philippines both national air space,” Goldberg told a have deep interest media forum. in ensuring freedom Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said last week of navigation and he that the officials discussing possi- is not discarding the ble joint patrols were looking at an area within the Philippines’ exclu- possibility of joint sive economic zone. patrols in the area “I am not going to prejudge what we are going to do and when we are going to do it, whether we are going to do it with the Philippines or with Reuters & AP others, but we do discuss that princi- ple with the Philippines and so I am A May 11, 2015 file picture shows protesters carrying umbrellas with slogans supporting the peace accord between the government and the not discarding that possibility,” Gold- berg added when asked if a proposal Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) as they march towards Congress in Manila. Philippine lawmakers failed yesterday to pass a crucial bill MANILA: The United States is open for US joint patrols with the Philip- aimed at ending a decades-long Muslim insurgency that has claimed tens of thousands of lives, igniting fears of fresh violence. to the possibility of joint naval pines has been approved. patrols with the Philippines in the Tensions have risen in the South China Sea, a US diplomat last two years after China built said yesterday, stressing it would islands on disputed reefs in the Violence fears after Muslim peace setback continue to exercise “freedom of Spratly Islands chain that China’s navigation” in the disputed waters. neighbours fear could be used to Manila protested when a commer- threaten their territories. cial Chinese aircraft landed recently China and Taiwan have nearly AFP of Congress to even secure a vote by signed a peace accord with Aquino’s Iqbal said yesterday that the rebel on one of several artificial islands identical claims to almost the entire yesterday, the final day of parliament government in 2014 to end its strug- leadership was working hard to avoid Beijing has built in the Spratlys, and South China Sea while the Philip- before it adjourns ahead of national gle for independence, which began a repeat, and vowed to continue work- officials say China has essentially pines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei elections in May. Failure to pass the in the 1970s. Under the accord, the ing for peace with Aquino’s successor. declared an air defence identification say parts of the sea belong to them. MANILA: Philippine lawmakers bill means it can not be passed under rebels would have only given up their He told ABS-CBN television there could zone over the sea by issuing “provoca- The United States does not claim part failed yesterday to pass a crucial bill Aquino, who is limited by the con- arms after the law was passed creat- be a feeling of “repression” within the tive” challenges to Philippine military of the territory but says it has interest aimed at ending a decades-long Mus- stitution to a single term, with no ing the autonomous homeland and a MILF ranks, but the leadership was flights in the area. in the peaceful settlement of the dis- lim insurgency that has claimed tens certainty over whether his succes- regional government was elected. The countering with “massive engagement”. US Ambassador to the Philip- putes and in freedom of navigation in of thousands of lives, igniting fears of sor will even pursue a peace deal. vote was meant to take place along- “We just explain to them that here pines Philip Goldberg said the US waters that are critical for world trade. fresh violence. Asked if the failure to pass the side the May general election. lies the problem in the peace proc- and the Philippines both have deep “We seek the best possible rela- Philippine President Benigno bill could spark violence, chief gov- After the collapse in 2008 of ess. We will never cease engaging in interest in ensuring freedom of nav- tionship with China but we would Aquino, whose six-year term ends in ernment peace negotiator Miriam the last attempt to seal a peace the peace process,” he told ABS-CBN igation and he is not discarding the also like to see the engagement of June, had lobbied hard for the pas- Coronel-Ferrer said: “That’s the dan- deal with the MILF, hardline rebels television. Most political analysts say possibility of joint patrols in the area. the entire region on solutions that sage of the bill, which would have ger, that’s why we are taking steps, raided Christian farming villages, Aquino lost lawmakers’ support for Two US warships have sailed are rules-based and not unilateral,” granted the nation’s Muslim minority calling for sobriety.” triggering fighting that left more the autonomy bill after a police raid by China-claimed islands in the Goldberg said. Forging of a code of an autonomous southern homeland. The nation’s largest Muslim than 400 people dead and 600,000 in MILF territory last year killed a Spratly and Paracel island chains conduct in the area “to us is the way However, he was unable to mus- rebel group, the 10,000-strong Moro displaced. Malaysian bomb maker on the United since October. to go,” he added. ter enough support in the lower house Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Chief MILF negotiator Mohagher States’ list of most-wanted “terrorists”.

Protest in Manila Sri Lanka’s former army chief Fonseka Suu Kyi urges patience joins government over presidency decision

AFP AFP party must “think carefully” about its choice of a candidate and sug- COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s former gesting the decision would not come army chief Sarath Fonseka until next month. yesterday joined the coalition gov- NAYPYIDAW: Aung San Suu Kyi The NLD’s massive majority ernment which has vowed to probe tried yesterday to calm nerves over — with almost 80 percent of parlia- allegations of atrocities commit- Myanmar’s tense political transition, ment’s seats — gives it a clear run at ted during the bloody finale of the with her choice of proxy presiden- the presidential selection. island’s separatist war. tial candidate shrouded in mystery Suu Kyi, the centrepiece of Fonseka declared he had days after her party took up its par- Myanmar’s long democracy strug- “nothing to hide” after signing an liamentary majority. gle, is excluded from the presidency agreement with Prime Minister Suu Kyi and hundreds of fel- by a charter clause that bars anyone Ranil Wickremesinghe to become low lawmakers from her National with close relatives who are foreign. part of the government which has League for Democracy (NLD) strode She has sought to sidestep that promised justice for tens of thou- into the legislature on Monday with a problem by vowing to rule “above” sands of war victims. huge mandate from November elec- a proxy leader. But the secrecy sur- “I have always said that I tions, carrying the hopes of a nation rounding a potential candidate has am ready to face any investiga- desperate to rebound after decades sent ripples of disquiet through the Protesters with placards rally in front of the Pakistani embassy in Manila’s financial district of Makati tion,” Fonseka told reporters in under the military yoke. nation. on Tuesday. They are calling for the release of Pakistani human rights activist and fisherfolk Secretary Colombo. “We have nothing to But the democracy champion, There are few obvious choices General Saeed Baloch who was arrested on January 16 by Pakistani paramilitary forces for allegedly hide. I feel that the allegations who is herself barred from the pres- since the pro-democracy move- financing gang wars in Sindh provincial capital. must be investigated.” Fonseka led idency under a constitution scripted ment has been dominated by Suu troops to victory over Tamil Tiger by the former junta, said it was “not Kyi’s charismatic leadership since rebels in 2009, ending the 37-year yet time to form a government”. the 1980s. war, but he fell out with then presi- She was speaking at her first The NLD also faces a still-pow- dent Mahinda Rajapaksa over who press conference since the new par- erful military, which under the deserved the credit. liament. “Don’t be anxious. You will constitution is granted 25 percent Flying solo: Chinese woman only The decorated general was then know when the time comes,” Suu of parliamentary seats — giving it publicly humiliated, stripped of his Kyi told reporters, adding that the an effective veto on charter change. rank, pension and medals collected passenger on New Year flight in a 40-year career. He spent two years in jail and lost the right to con- test elections for seven years. AFP hours, and other passengers departed human migration and overcrowded After winning presidential polls on earlier flights, leaving Zhang to planes, trains and automobiles are a year ago, Maithripala Sirisena used enjoy personalised attention from the the norm. his executive powers to clear Fon- plane’s crew. Many on social media envied seka of treason and other charges BEIJING: A Chinese woman heading The experience was “tuhao”, she Zhang’s good luck in avoiding the lodged against him after he mounted home for the holidays had a commer- said on her social media feed, using enormous crowds. a failed bid to unseat Rajapakse at cial airline flight all to herself after a slang term for the nouveau riche. “What a fluke that you went his January 2010 re-election. gruelling delays winnowed down China Southern schedules show against the big New Year’s current”, Fonseka has always backed other passengers. the flight is normally operated using one comment said, noting that the Rajapaksa’s repeated claim that As nearly 100,000 people found a Boeing 737-700 aircraft, which gen- plane will be completely full on not a single civilian was killed dur- themselves stranded at train stations erally seats 137 passengers. its flight back from Guangzhou, a ing the conflict. in Guangzhou on Monday trying to Statistics on website Flightra- prosperous city that attracts many Fonseka, whose fledgling party leave, the woman, surnamed Zhang, dar24 show that a China Southern economic migrants. failed to win any seats at parlia- documented her unique trip to the flight from Wuhan to Guangzhou on Over the last several days, tens of mentary elections in August, was city on social media. Monday was due to leave at 0640 thousands have been stranded at the not given any immediate role in She posted photos showing row GMT, but did not do until 1639 GMT. city’s trains stations due to weather the government on Wednesday. after row of empty seats on the The huge movement of Chinese conditions. But one commenter saw But sources said he was likely Myanmar’s National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu China Southern plane as it flew from travelling home to spend the Lunar the glass half-empty: “Even under to be nominated to a vacant seat Wuhan. New Year with their families is often these conditions, they still didn’t in the legislature in exchange for Kyi arrives for the opening of the new upper house of parliament in The flight was delayed for 10 described as the world’s largest upgrade you?” supporting the ruling party. Naypyidaw yesterday. 10 THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2016 VIEWS

ESTABLISHED IN 1996

CHAIRMAN SHEIKH THANI BIN ABDULLAH AL THANI

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

ACTING MANAGING EDITOR HUSSAIN AHMAD [email protected]

EDITORIAL Merkel under attack Europe’s nicest cities

t’s an irony of fate. Once hailed as a hero by the world for spreading the red carpet to asylum seekers and setting a powerful example aren’t its happiest ones to the rest of the world, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is now paying a heavy price for the same generosity and empathy towards the refugees. Reports yesterday said that popular support for the it’s no surprise that for the most (71 percent). Similar results of this list. Here, again, Italy GermanI leader has plunged to its lowest level in four-and-a-half years. part, urban Europeans declare appeared when the surveyors stood out. When asked whether Reason: her handling of the refugee crisis. In another disturbing trend, themselves broadly satisfied asked if, generally speaking, the the presence of foreigners was a withwhere they live. There are public administration could be good thing, all six of the Italian the survey conducted by the public broadcaster ARD showed a drop in some predictable exceptions. trusted. cities surveyed -- Turin, Rome, support for Merkel’s conservatives, while support for the anti-immigrant Athenians rank among the most The survey measures per- Bologna, Palermo and Naples -- Alternative for Germany party rose to its highest ever point in the poll. dissatisfied, and there are siz- ceptions and it could just be that ranked among the most negative Merkel has shown rare courage and statesmanship on the refugee able pockets of unhappiness in Italians (or southerners in gen- 15 of all surveyed. issue which surprised and even puzzled her European counterparts. Eastern Europe and Turkey. But eral) are harder to please. But This cannot simply be dis- More than 1.1 million asylum seekers entered Germany last year, and Italy? I doubt it. The results jibe with missed as a reflection of the the welcome they received prompted hundreds of thousands of others The Italian singer-song- slow growth, zero productivity number of foreigners present in writer Roberto Vecchioni caused growth and high levels of unem- a city. Almost one in three resi- to knock at the doors of Europe. Other European countries came under a storm in December when, ployment, especially among the dents of Zurich is foreign-born; huge pressure and Merkel’s magnanimity began to be viewed with during a lecture at Palermo Uni- young. In this, the survey holds a more than a quarter of Stock- suspicion. At home, the initial euphoria at providing refuge to victims of versity, he referred to Sicily as an message for Italian Prime Min- holmers are immigrants with war subsided and gradually metamorphosed into indifference and anger. By Therese Raphael island of excrement (he used an ister Matteo Renzi who, as a about 15 percent foreign-born. The mass sexual assaults on women Bloomberg earthier word), citing the poor former mayor of Florence whose But 89 percent of respondents in in Cologne in Germany on New Year’s state of public services and the reformist rhetoric catapulted Zurich, and 85 percent in Stock- general disorder. Palermo and him onto the national stage, holm, said foreigners are good Eve, allegedly perpetrated by refugees, Once hailed as a Rome are separated by over 900 understands the importance of for their city. hero by the world created a furor, which was exploited to ondoners tend to be kilometers (559 miles) and are city government. If sentiment in Increasingly the world is the hilt by far-right parties. pretty happy with worlds apart in many ways, but Italy’s metropolises grows dour, urban. In 1950, 30 percent of for spreading The right-minded people all over their city. But I know respondents in both were more that may be an ill omen. the world’s population lived in the red carpet to the world would wish that Merkel is few who haven’t on likely than their counterparts in The survey potentially tells urban areas; by 2050 the United not punished for her stance towards occasion flirted with northern Europe to be unhappy us something else about the Nations estimates that will be 66 asylum seekers, Lthe idea of a life in an Italian with the state of public services, importance of cities. At least 80 percent. In Europe, 75 percent refugees. German Chancellor city, a notion that conjures up the condition of their streets and percent of respondents in all live in urban areas. It stands to It’s a huge challenge because 81 sun-drenched piazzas, shaded buildings, public transportation but six of the locations surveyed reason that the better cities meet Angela Merkel is percent of the respondents in the arcades, gelato on tap and lean- and the level of opportunity. said they were happy to live in our needs -- whether in public now facing public poll did not believe the government ing towers. Judging from a Three-quarters of those in their city, with the highest scores transport, housing or health care anger for her was handling the refugee crisis well newly released survey, many most of the cities surveyed said (above 98 percent) recorded in -- the greater the perception that - a sign of rising dissatisfaction with Italian city- dwellers would they felt safe. But barely half of Europe’s north. What is strik- newcomers can be accommo- actions. efforts to limit the influx of those think them mad. those in Rome agreed, about the ing is that there appears to be a dated and add value. That places Every three years the Euro- same as in Marseille, Istanbul correlation between those who urban administrations at the fleeing war and poverty in Africa pean Commission seeks to and greater Athens. Asked about report high levels of satisfaction very heart of the global puzzle and the Middle East. It also shows the measure how city-dwellers in levels of trust, Londoners mainly and those who view foreign- over immigration and integra- challenge faced by the Germany’s grand coalition parties - the CDU, CSU Europe perceive their quality of seem to trust people in their city ers in their city as an advantage. tion. Some are clearly doing and Social Democrats (SPD) - to convince voters they can master the life. For its latest Eurobarome- (69 percent); Romans, at(47 per- Conversely, respondents who better than others. refugee crisis before three state elections scheduled in March. ter survey, 40,000 people in 79 cent, not so much. complained loudest about trans- The policies adopted by countries like Denmark to stem the arrival cities were asked about their In three Italian cities, more portation, public services, safety Therese Raphael is a perceptions about transpor- Bloomberg View editor in of refugees has adversely affected Merkel. Some of them adopted tough than 60 percent of respondents and other issues tended to be tation, health services, safety, did not feel that administrative view the presence of foreigners London, writing about Euro- laws to prevent the entry of refugees, and many Germans started thinking pollution and foreigners. services helped people effi- far less favorably. pean politics and economics. that they have been saddled with a huge number of refugees. Merkel Europe’s cities consist- ciently. Administrative efficiency All but one of the eight cities She was previously edito- herself has toned down her stance in reaction to the public anger, and ently rank among the best in the was, by contrast, praised in with the lowest levels of satis- rial page editor of the Wall has even started adopting an aggressive stance. Responding to public world for quality of living, so Zurich (78 percent) and Belfast faction appeared at the bottom Street Journal Europe. pressure, the government agreed last week to tighten asylum rules. On Wednesday, the cabinet backed plans to declare Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia “safe countries”, which would end their citizens’ chance of being Kerry lectures while Syrians starve granted asylum.

to the law of war.” Unfortunately, the Obama a schoolyard, injuring several children, accord- The Washington Post administration’s handling of the Syrian crisis ing to the New York Times. The Russians and appears to be enabling those very war crimes. Syrians are using military action as leverage in In December, the United States joined with the peace talks - or perhaps as a way of wreck- Quote of the day Russia to pass Security Council Resolution 2254, ing them. They show no interest in bargaining: he people of Madaya, a Syrian town which required the delivery of humanitarian The Syrian government delegation arrived in besieged by the government, are still aid and an end to the bombing of civilian areas Geneva still insisting it would not negotiate with Tstarving. According to Doctors Without as part of a plan to launch peace talks. Yet even “terrorists” - which it defines as anyone bear- Two words that Borders, 16 more people have died of hun- though the sieges have not been lifted and the ing arms against the regime. Muslim-Americans ger despite a single delivery of aid last month, bombing has not stopped, Kerry and UNmedi- Kerry and the Obama administration, bringing to 51 the number who have perished ator Staffan de Misturahave insisted on going meanwhile, are responding with nothing but don’t hear often from lack of food since December. Moreover, ahead with the peace talks, pressuring an oppo- rhetoric. “We haven’t seen a catastrophe like the town of 20,000 people, says the United sition coalition to participate. While issuing this since World War II, and it’s unfolding before enough, and that is Nations chief humanitarian coordinator, is strong statements of disapproval, neither the our eyes,” Kerry said on Tuesday. “People in “the tip of the iceberg.” Close to 500,000 Syr- United States nor the United Nations has taken, Madaya [are] eating leaves and grass or ani- thank you. An attack on ians are cut off from food assistance, Stephen proposed or even hinted at any action to force mals of one kind or another that they manage one faith is an attack on O’Brien told the UN Security Council, and the compliance by the regime of Bashar al-Assad or to capture.” He declared: “The Syrian regime government has denied about 100 of the UN’s by Russia, which is doing much of the bombing. has a responsibility - in fact, all parties to the all our faiths. 113 requests to deliver aid in the past year. While de Mistura was declaring the Geneva conflict have a duty to facilitate humanitarian Secretary of State John Kerry has been talks open on Monday, the regime and Russia access to Syrians in desperate need. And this Barack Obama denouncing this atrocity in recent days. “Peo- were stepping up an offensive against rebel- has to happen not a week from now. . . . It ought US President ple are dying; children are suffering not as an held areas near the city of Aleppo. Opposition to happen in the first days.” accident of war, but as the consequence of an forces reported bombing attacks on hospitals Or else what? On that, Kerry has had exactly intentional tactic - surrender or starve,” he said and other critical civilian infrastructure. Mean- nothing to say. Expect the sieges, the bombing, Sunday. “And that tactic is directly contrary while in Madaya, near Damascus, a shell fell in the starvation - and the statements - to continue.

EDITORIAL TEL: 44557741 / 44557743 FAX: 44557746 / 44557758 P. O. BOX: 3488, DOHA, QATAR E-MAIL: [email protected] ADVERTISING TEL: 44557837 / 780 FAX: 44557870 CLASSIFIED: 44557857 E-MAIL: [email protected] SUBSCRIPTION / HOME DELIVERY TEL: 44557809 /839 FAX: 44557819 E-MAIL: [email protected] OPINION THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2016 11 David Cameron working with Qatar to solve the Syrian crisis

By Ajay Sharma

oday, the British Prime Minis- ter David Cameron will co-host a conference, “Supporting Syria and the region 2016,” with leaders Tfrom Germany, Kuwait, Norway and the United Nations. After almost five years of civil war, with over a quarter of a million dead and millions displaced, the Syrian people badly need the support of the inter- national community. Qatar understands this and continues to be a major contributor of humanitarian assistance through the government and Qatari charities, in particular on education. I am delighted that Qatar will be repre- sented at the London conference by Her Highness Sheikha Moza and the Foreign A file picture shows Syrian children Nor, Saleh and Hajaj Fatema sleeping outside the Swedish Migration Board in Minister, His Excellency Sheikh Moham- Marsta, outside Stockholm, Sweden, recently. mad bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani. It will take an ambitious new approach by the whole international community to provide longer term support for refugees: solution to the current refugee crisis, which affected by the conflict, our humanitarian The London through concrete action on livelihoods and deals with the root causes, rather than just efforts have also been extensive. conference on Syria jobs, and improved access to education – responding to the consequences. Elsewhere, the generosity shown by cannot solve the giving refugees the skills they need for the That means working with the interna- countries such as Qatar and neighbouring future and the best chance of a success- tional community to bring about an end to countries such as Jordan, Turkey and Leb- complex problems ful return home. This will be the focus of the brutal conflict in the country. The UK’s anon has undoubtedly saved many lives facing Syria, and a The UK has been a leading force in the London conference. comprehensive strategy contains three and allowed people to stay close to home, attempts to address the situation The conference will seek to raise signif- strands, covering the political, military and avoiding perilous journeys towards Europe. political solution icant new funding to meet the immediate humanitarian dimensions. Politically, the However, we all need to do more. The remains necessary to in Syria, and the Prime Minister’s and longer-term needs of those affected. UK is deeply involved in the International London conference on Syria cannot solve consistent focus has been on The 2016 UN coordinated appeals for the Syria Support Group working towards a the complex problems facing Syria, and end the conflict. We providing a comprehensive solution Syria crisis call for US$7.7 billion. An addi- political transition to a peaceful future. Mil- a political solution remains necessary to must all act now to tional US$1.2 billion in funding is required itarily, the UK contributes to the campaign end the conflict. We must all act now to to the current refugee crisis, by affected regional governments host- in the region to defeat Daesh. And, as the address immediate needs but also with an address immediate which deals with the root causes, ing refugees. second largest bilateral donor after the US, eye on building for the future. needs but also with an The UK has been a leading force in pledging over £1.1 billion so far to Syria and eye on building for the rather than just responding to the attempts to address the situation in Syria, the region to provide support such as food, consequences. and the Prime Minister’s consistent focus shelter, medical care and clean drinking Ajay Sharma is British Ambassador future. has been on providing a comprehensive water for hundreds of thousands of people to Qatar Multiple meanings of conversion to Islam in the West

‘leave’ Islam in one form or another However, their conversions are often that a Western woman’s conversion to women converts are treated as ‘tro- is said to be almost the same as those undermined by claiming them to be Islam is not an event but an unfolding phies’ who are given pride of place on who convert to it. conversions of convenience rather than life-story in which commitment to Islam the Muslim mantle-piece. Black conver- For Islam to continue to be seen as conversions of conviction. According to deepens as time passes. In fact, some sions have no such value. Conversions a threat to all things Western, one hears this theory, women convert to Islam for women reported that their commit- by South-Asian women, called ‘brown’ from time to time how, in recent years, love and marriage rather than because ment to Islam got stronger after they conversions, are even less regarded. the name ‘Muhammad’ has emerged they see any merit in Islam as a faith. had divorced their born-Muslim hus- Following the launch of the Cambridge as the most popular name in coun- For these women, in actual fact, it is bands who seemed to be sloganeers for report in London in 2013, I was con- tries such as the UK. The right-wing the greatest insult to describe their Islam rather than committed believers tacted by a number of Muslim men who media in this country has bandied this conversions as ones of convenience, in it. These women coined the memo- wanted me to make introductions to about as evidence of increased relig- even when love and marriage were the rable phrase ‘Ditch your man, and keep the unmarried members of the project. iosity among born-Muslims who are initial motives that led them to Islam. your iman (faith)’. When a born-Mus- This request was always conditional joined by converts in pursuit of one The above report, which can be lim husband becomes a hindrance to on the convert woman being white, not grand design of Islamizing the West. downloaded free of charge, made clear true religiosity, his convert wife does black or brown. If this is not a racial Right-wing commentators cannot not turn a blind eye to his errant tinting of Islam, I do not know what it is. By Dr Yasir Suleiman understand how white, middle class ways; rather she takes him Based on the evidence of the Cam- converts give up what they have for a to task, facing him with his bridge report, the story of women’s belief system that is seemingly at odds hypocrisy and false decla- conversion to Islam in the West is a Reports of with the rationality of Western civi- rations of wanting to live an complex one. It certainly is not about here is an obsession with con- lization; a religion that is thought to Islamic life before she ‘fires’ the takeover of the West. It is a story increasing numbers version to Islam in the West, oppress women and to foment strife him as a partner. of women seeking spirituality and of conversions to but not always for the right rea- among its followers, let alone people This hypocrisy extends the ideals embodied in Islam. How- sons. The rhetoric of extremist of different faiths. to the racialized narratives ever, it is also sometimes a story of Islam in the West, TIslamist groups of seeking to convert When asked, Western converts to of conversion to Islam in disappointment due to the hypocrisy year on year, are the West to Islam is, undoubtedly, one Islam talk about spirituality as a prime the West. One of the great of (some) born Muslims who replace reason behind this obsession. The fact reason for converting to the faith. This attractions of Islam to commitment to faith by sloganeering read as evidence of that this rhetoric is more a case of hot is borne out by a landmark study of Western converts is its egal- and a racialized hypocrisy. Also it is this mortal threat... air than substance does not seem to women converts to Islam in Britain: itarian and non-racialized a story in which conversion is prone When asked, allay the fears of some people in the Narratives of Conversion to Islam in ethos. However, this ideal to be treated as an encounter with the West who think of Islam, rightly or Britain: Female Perspectives, launched is not consistently realized ex-colonizer in which the superiority Western converts wrongly, as a mortal threat to West- in May 2013. Since this launch, the among heritage Muslims in of the colonised is vindicated through to Islam talk about ern civilisation. In this context, reports report was downloaded more than the West. In the Cambridge the conversion of the white woman to of increasing numbers of conversions 150,000 times, which testifies to the project, women converts Islam. Without this, the treatment of spirituality as a to Islam in the West, year on year, are huge interest in the topic. Participants narrated how the conver- white convert women as trophies can- prime reason for read as evidence of this mortal threat. in the project underlying this report, sions of ‘white’ women are not make sense. The right-wing media play up these of which I had the honour of being given greater social value by converting to the conversions without ever referring to the Project Leader (see inset image), born-Muslims than the con- Dr Yasir Suleiman (University of faith. the fact that, based on statistical evi- rejected the aspersion that they had versions of ‘black’ women. As Cambridge and the Doha Institute dence, the numbers of Muslims who joined a project of Islamizing the West. this report expresses it, white for Graduate Studies)

All thoughts and views expressed in these columns are those of the writers, not of the newspaper. All correspondence regarding Views and Opinion pages should be mailed to the Editor-in-Chief. 12 THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2016 ASIA / AFRICA

South Africa’s Japan military on Zuma to pay back money for alert over rocket home upgrade launch by N Korea AFP JOHANNESBURG: South Afri- ca’s President Jacob Zuma will pay back some of the public funds used Gen Nakatani, told media briefing. to upgrade his private home, his Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo office said yesterday, attempting South Korea warned Abe said he would work with the to end a two-year scandal that has the North that it United States and others to “strongly plagued his government. demand” that North Korea refrain Public Protector Thuli Madon- would pay a “severe from what he described as a planned sela, the country’s ombudswoman, price” if it goes ahead missile launch. ruled in 2014 that Zuma and his Tension rose in East Asia last family had “benefited unduly” with a satellite launch month after North Korea’s fourth from the work on Zuma’s rural that South Korea nuclear test, this time of what it said residence of Nkandla. Among the considers a missile was a hydrogen bomb. supposed security upgrades were A rocket launch coming so soon a swimming pool described as a test after the nuclear test would raise fire-fighting facility, a chicken run, concern that North Korea plans to fit a cattle enclosure, an amphithea- nuclear warheads on its missiles, giv- tre and a visitors’ centre. ing it the capability to launch a strike “To achieve an end to the Reuters against South Korea, Japan and pos- drawn-out dispute... the president sibly targets as far away as the U.S. proposes that the determination West Coast. of the amount he is to pay should North Korea last launched a long- be independently and impartially SEOUL/TOKYO: Japan put its mili- range rocket in December 2012, determined,” said a presidential tary on alert yesterday to shoot down sending an object it described as a statement. The exact sum will be any North Korean rocket that threat- communications satellite into orbit. determined by the treasury and ens it, while South Korea warned South Korea said the North police ministry, it added. the North that it would pay a “severe should immediately call off the Zuma had previously denied price” if it goes ahead with a satellite launch, which is a violation of U.N. any wrongdoing over the upgrades, launch that South Korea considers a Security Council resolutions, the with opposition lawmakers often missile test. South’s presidential Blue House said disrupting his parliamentary North notified UN agencies on in a statement. speeches by chanting “Pay back Tuesday of its plan to launch what it “North Korea’s notice of the the money!” called an “earth observation satel- plan to launch a long-range missile, His change of position came lite” some time between February 8 coming at a time when there is a dis- ahead of a Constitutional Court and 25. North Korea has said it has cussion for Security Council sanctions hearing next week as opposition a sovereign right to pursue a space on its fourth nuclear test, is a direct parties the Democratic Alliance programme by launching rock- challenge to the international com- (DA) and Economic Freedom Fight- ets, although the United States and munity,” the Blue House said. ers (EFF) unite in a bid to force him other governments suspect that “We strongly warn that the North to refund the cash. such launches are in reality tests of will pay a severe price ... if it goes The upgrades were valued in its missiles. ahead with the long-range missile 2014 at about 216m rand (then “We have defences ready to deal launch plan,” it said. worth $24m). The DA vowed to go with all threats, but in view of the China said North Korea’s right ahead with the legal case, despite announcement I have put the Self to space exploration was restricted Zuma’s apparent climbdown. Defense Force’s Aegis destroyers and under U.N. resolutions. China is DA leader Mmusi Maimane our PAC-3 units on alert and issued an North Korea’s sole main ally though told journalists that Zuma had order to shoot down any ballistic mis- China disapproves of its nuclear “done everything to undermine sile threat,” Japan’s defence minister, programme. the work of the public protec- tor and the constitution” over the Nkandla controversy. All parties are jostling for advantage ahead of municipal elections due later this year that could see a fall in sup- Vulnerable Asia fears Zika virus outbreak port for Zuma’s African National Congress (ANC) party, which has ruled since the end of apartheid. Zuma’s statement stressed that AFP high-density communities of its teeming cit- in 1947, causes relatively mild flu-like symp- The Zika infection was reported in Cam- he “remains critical of a number of ies, where sanitation is often poor. toms and a rash. bodia in 2010 and the Philippines in 2012, factual aspects and legal conclu- “In India particularly there is a great threat But the World Health Organisation (WHO) according to WHO. sions” contained in the damning of the Zika virus spreading quickly given the said it “strongly suspected” the Zika virus of Asian governments are no strangers to deal- public ombudsman report. MUMBAI: Densely packed slums, rampant presence of the Aedes mosquito and favourable being responsible for a rapid rise in cases of ing with deadly outbreaks of viruses and could The president, who has often mosquitoes and a history of rapidly spreading environment,” said Om Shrivastav, an infectious microcephaly, a condition in which a baby is be forgiven if they felt jittery over Zika. Severe been accused of allowing corrup- infections make Asia particularly vulnerable diseases specialist. born with an abnormally small head and brain. Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) killed hun- tion to flourish since he came to to the devastating Zika virus, posing a massive “It would definitely be a big challenge for The UN-body has declared the situation a dreds of people, mostly in China and Hong Kong, power in 2009, is under pressure challenge for the region, health experts warn. Asian countries to control the spread of the “public health emergency of international con- when it spread fear across Asia in 2003. over South Africa’s sharply slowing Thailand confirmed on Tuesday that a virus... considering high population in the cern” and has created a global Zika response Hong Kong-based virologist Malik Peiris said economy. He will make his annual man contracted the mosquito-borne infection, region,” added Shrivastav, who is based in Mum- unit to contain the virus. “there is a danger” that Zika could be confused state of the nation address in par- blamed for a surge in the number of brain-dam- bai, home to Dharavi, Asia’s biggest slum. Eloi Yao, a WHO spokesman in Manila, said with dengue fever and other mosquito-borne liament next Thursday. aged babies in South America, while Indonesia More than half of Mumbai’s 20 million there was a “likelihood” that Zika would spread illnesses, adding governments should carefully The occasion descended into has also reported a domestic case. inhabitants live in slums — at least one million to Asia but described the present risk as “low”. track new cases. chaos last year when EFF lawmak- Officials in India worry it could be next, reside in Dharavi alone — enduring cramped “Right now, we don’t want to raise the level “Zika might come in unrecognised, until it’s ers scuffled with security after noting that the Zika and dengue fever-car- conditions, poor ventilation and a lack of toilets. of anxiety,” he said, noting that Zika had been spreading in an alarming rate,” Peiris, from Hong interrupting him to protest over rying Aedes aegypti mosquito thrives in the Zika, which was first identified in Uganda found in Asian countries before. Kong University, said. the Nkandla scandal.

ICC told Gbagbo forces ‘shot Ivory Australian asylum ruling paves Coast protesters’ way for deportation of infants AFP

Reuters (HRLC) acting for the Bangladeshi woman THE HAGUE: The first witness in had argued it was illegal for Australia to the trial of former Ivorian pres- operate and pay for offshore detention in ident Laurent Gbagbo gave a a third country. harrowing account yesterday of SYDNEY: Australia’s High Court threw out “I hope that the immigration minis- being shot at by troops loyal to a challenge to offshore immigration deten- ter and the prime minister, just like other the ex-leader during an unarmed tion camps yesterday, clearing the way for decent Australians, can see that there is march after 2010 polls. the deportation of dozens of infants born in simply no excuse to take 37 babies, to rip “I was dragging my leg and Australia to detained asylum seekers. children from their classrooms, and ware- saw that the bone was sticking The court rejected a legal test case house them on a tiny island,” HRLC Director out,” the first prosecution witness brought by an unidentified Bangladeshi of Legal Advocacy Daniel Webb said. identified only as P-547 told the woman that challenged Australia’s right to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull International Criminal Court. deport detained asylum seekers to the tiny defended the ruling. “Our commitment His face pixellated on tel- South Pacific island nation of Nauru. today is simply this: the people smugglers evision screens and his voice The detention centre on Nauru houses will not prevail over our sovereignty,” he told disguised to protect his identity, about 500 people and has been widely crit- parliament. Children born in Australia to non- the man told how he was shot in icised by the United Nations and human citizens or parents without legal residency are the leg during a demonstration on rights agencies for harsh conditions and not entitled to citizenship until after their 10th December 16, 2010. reports of systemic child abuse. birthday, and then only if they have lived most He was among thousands The Bangladeshi woman was on a boat of their lives in Australia. of supporters of current Ivorian intercepted by Australian authorities in Under Australia’s immigration policy, President Alassane Ouattara who October 2013. She was detained on Aus- asylum seekers attempting to reach the marched on a television station tralia’s remote Christmas Island and later country by boat are intercepted and sent to in the economic capital of Abid- sent to Nauru. She gave birth to a daughter camps on Nauru, about 3,000km northeast jan following a disputed November, after she was transferred to Australia for of Australia, or on Manus island in Papua 2010 election. medical treatment in 2014 and has remained New Guinea. The ruling will allow Immi- Prosecutors say pro-Gbagbo there with her child. gration Minister Peter Dutton to fulfil his forces killed at least 45 persons, Other families with children born in pledge to deport the infants, as well as 54 A combination picture shows some of the babies born in Australia to asylum seeker mothers who raped at least 16 women and girls, Australia in similar circumstances are now children brought to Australia from Nauru and wounded at least 54 others on face deportation to one of Australia’s controversial offshore asylum seeker detention centres in line to be returned to the camps. Law- for medical treatment and more than 150 that day. on the Pacific Island of Nauru. yers from the Human Rights Law Centre adult family members. PAKISTAN THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2016 13 Airports plunge into chaos over PIA strike

All of Pakistan International Airline’s foreign and domestic flights were suspended, and employees held strikes at airports in major cities across the country

AFP & Reuters

KARACHI: Pakistan’s airports were plunged into chaos yesterday as employees of the national flag carrier protested the deaths of two colleagues killed while demonstrating against plans to privatise the airline. All of Pakistan International Air- line’s foreign and domestic flights Employees of Pakistan International Airlines gather in front of the Benazir Bhutto International Airport were suspended, and employees during a protest strike in Islamabad yesterday. held strikes at airports in major cit- ies across the country. At Karachi’s international airport, International Airlines (PIA), among of the airports, domestic or interna- does not allow me to stay as chairman demonstrators waved placards and companies the government has tional,” said airline spokesman Danyal of this organisation,” the emotional chanted slogans against Prime Minis- pledged to privatise under an Inter- Gilani, although some returning inter- Jaffer said on Dunya Television. ter Nawaz Sharif, calling on the leader national Monetary Fund (IMF) deal. national flights were being allowed “Two people lost their lives. I don’t to reverse a bill that converted the The grounding of flights follows to land. think anything worse than this could carrier into a public limited company. the deaths of two PIA employees A spokesman for the protesters did have happened.” Protest leader Sohail Baloch said: and injuries to several others dur- not immediately answer telephone Once a source of pride for Paki- “We will continue our peaceful pro- ing clashes on Tuesday with security calls from Reuters to seek comment. stan, the loss-making carrier has been tests until our demand is met.” The personnel armed with water cannons, PIA’s management expressed hit by frequent flight cancellations, employees also said they would tear gas and batons near the interna- “deep grief and sorrow” over the and many of its aircraft have been A supporter of Awami Workers Party (AWP) holds a placard during an donate a day’s salary to the families tional airport in Karachi. deaths of its employees, Gilani said, cannibalised to keep others flying. of the two employees who were killed. The two men died of gunshot and asked the government to launch Despite government attempts to anti-government protest in Karachi yesterday. Most flights were grounded, a wounds, hospital officials said, an inquiry into Tuesday’s incident. allay fears the privatisation could company spokesman said, as strik- though police and Pakistan’s para- Since January 26, the strike has lead to mass layoffs, sporadic pro- of up to a year, and an unspecified this will be a disservice to Pakistan.” ing employees disrupted operations military force have denied opening cost the airline about Rs1bn ($9.6m) tests have continued. Prime Minister fine, for those convicted of infringe- In December, Islamabad to protest against a government pri- fire on the crowd of several hundred in losses, he added. Nawaz Sharif this week extended leg- ments. Sharif vowed not to back down announced it would complete the vatisation plan. as it marched toward the Jinnah Inter- In a television interview on Tues- islation to ban the airline’s employees from the reform plan. “Action will be partial sale of the carrier by July, fol- The strike is the latest in a national Airport in the southern city. day night, company Chairman Nasser from striking for six months, the gov- taken against those who have gone lowing years of crushing losses and months-long series of protests against “Most of the PIA flights are not Jaffer said he planned to resign. ernment said in a statement. on strike,” he told reporters on Tues- mismanagement that have battered the plan to sell off part of Pakistan being allowed to take off from any “From this day on, my conscience The law specifies prison terms day. “I believe that any concession on the airline’s reputation.

Journalists and Balloons for sale media houses Changes to blasphemy ‘operating’ in ominous climate law unlikely: Top body

Internews be counterproductive, and may even Internews lead to a rise in the instances of the offence. “There is a need to keep the blas- ISLAMABAD: According to an ISLAMABAD: Council of Islamic phemy law as a cognisable offence, annual report, 2015 saw a sharp Ideology (CII) Chairman Maulana so police have the power to arrest the increase in censorship, with both Mohammad Khan Sheerani has accused without a warrant. This will journalists and media houses fac- said that a ‘review’ of the blasphemy deter people from disrespecting the ing a silent but potent crackdown on law does not mean that it could be Holy Prophet (peace be upon him),” dissent and freedom of expression. changed or amended. the CII report of 1997-98 stated. The report, titled ‘Growing “It is the CII’s responsibil- The last such observation was Sounds of Silence - The Year of ity to review and assess all laws made in 2013, based on a rec- Censorship’, was launched by the formulated in the country,” he ommendation by the Ministry of Freedom Network, an independent said, adding, “if the government, Religious Affairs. The ministry had Pakistani media and civil liberties through the relevant ministry, for- stated that Christian citizens, in the watchdog. wards any amendment(s) in the aftermath of the riots in Lahore’s Defence analyst Imtiaz Gul blasphemy law, then the Council Joseph Colony, had demanded said, “Certain institutions and indi- will certainly look into it”. that the law be amended to ensure viduals faced problems. We also The CII is mandated to review respect for other religions too. need to keep Pakistan’s current all laws in the country and sug- The ministry had suggested that condition in mind while judging gest amendments to bring them in changes be made to the law so that state policies,” he said. accordance with the teachings of the ‘disrespecting Prophet Muhammad According to the report, the Holy Quran. (peace be upon him)’ would become An Afghan boy looks for customers for his balloons on the streets of Mazar-i-Sharif yesterday. murders of journalists, media assist- Maulana Sheerani, who is also ‘disrespecting all the Prophets’; and ants and activists dropped to seven a JUI-F MNA, recently raised hopes an ‘insult to Islam’ be converted to in 2015. However, the climate in among activists when he said in an ‘insult to faith’. However, the CII which the media is operating has interview that the CII would be will- had ruled that there were already grown more ominous. ing to review the country’s blasphemy laws that protected the integrity and The report listed four journal- laws. However, he said that reviewing sanctity of all religious and religious ists who were killed in Pakistan a law did not mean that the CII would personalities, therefore, there was no for their work: reporter Zafarullah amend it to suit the wishes of a certain need to amend the blasphemy law or Cleric praises Indian air base Jatak from the Intekhab newspa- segment of society. formulate a new one. per in Jaffarabad, Balochistan, “Most of the issues are to do with “There are fears that if there tribal journalist Zaman Mehsud implementation of laws, and as far are any formal changes made to attack and warns of escalation from Tank, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as the misuse of the blasphemy law the blasphemy law, it will eventu- journalist Hafizur Rehman of Neo is concerned, well, we can see that ally lead to pressure to abolish the TV from Kohat, and journalist almost all laws in the country are law altogether,” the CII’s research Aftab Alam from Karachi. flouted in one way or the other.” department had ruled. AFP troops are committing genocide on Salahuddin could be part of a “deflec- Two media assistants were also The CII has, in the past, turned The same has been stated annual Kashmiris. Don’t they have a right to tion strategy” to steer blame away killed: Bol TV’s human resource down almost all proposals suggesting report of the CII 2012-13. The report carry out Pathankot style attacks for from JeM, and by extension Pakistan, manager Nauman Ali, and Geo any changes to the blasphemy laws. highlights, “These changes in the their defence?” where it is based. The air base attack News DSNG technician Arshad In Dec 1993, the CII ruled that to stop blasphemy law look like they are MUZAFFARABAD: A Pakistani Saeed, who remains a free man, occurred just a week after Indian Ali - both in Karachi. A prominent the law’s misuse, there was a need to a tit-for-tat move; since there are firebrand cleric yesterday praised also lauded Kashmiri militant leader Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a media activist, Sabeen Mahmud, strengthen laws related to false evi- some Muslims who frame false cases a deadly Indian air base attack last Sayed Salahuddin, who heads the surprise visit to Lahore, raising hopes was killed in Karachi. dence and lodging a false report. against non-Muslims, so this change month that threatened to scupper United Jihad Council (UJC) that has for peace between the two countries. A total 10 journalists and The CII even referred to Sec- will allow non-Muslims to lodge peace efforts between the nuclear claimed responsibility for the attack. Further planned talks between media assistants were attacked tion 193 of the Pakistan Penal Code false cases against Muslims as well.” rivals. Hafiz Saeed, alleged master- “You have only seen one attack the top diplomats of both countries and injured, and there was also a (which deals with provision of false Incidentally, a two-day CII mind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks on Pathankot. Matters could easily that had been due in mid-Janu- marked increase in journalists who evidence) and called on the govern- meeting held in September last and leader of the banned Jamaat- escalate.” Crowds at the rally shouted ary were subsequently postponed. were ‘picked up’ from their homes ment to make the law more stringent year witnessed divergent views ud-Dawa (JuD) group, encouraged slogans including “The war will con- Saeed’s freedom and his frequent or workplaces. to prevent misuse. over the question of awarding the further violence following the air tinue until the liberation of Kashmir” calls for jihad against India irk New The number rose to nine. Most Similarly, on a suggestion by death penalty to those who make base assault in Pathankot that left and “We are ready for jihad”. Delhi, which considers JuD—a UN of the journalists who were picked the Pakistan Law and Justice Com- false accusations. The matter was seven Indian soldiers dead. Indian officials believe another designated “terror organisation”—to up were tribal journalists, and all mission to make blasphemy a the subject of heated debate between Addressing a rally of around one group — the Pakistan based Jaish- be no more than a front for Lashkar- those journalists picked up and non-cognisable offence, the CII in two groups in the CII, and on 18 Sept thousand people in the disputed e-Mohammed (JeM) — was behind e-Taiba (LeT), the militant group later freed involved army and par- April 1998 noted that misuse of the 2013, the CII meeting suggested that Pakistan-administered Kashmir the siege. Strategic analyst Aye- blamed for the 2008 Mumbai attacks amilitary forces, such as the Sindh blasphemy law was a serious issue, the government made amendments region, Saeed said: “800,000 Indian sha Siddiqa said Saeed’s praise of that left 166 people dead. Rangers and the Frontier Corps. but any changes in the law would in the blasphemy laws. 14 THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2016 INDIA SC seeks green technology for cremation areas

advances in terms of different Burial ground near alternatives for cremation of dead bodies”. Taj Mahal led to The court had asked the CPCB judge calling for to examine the matter and submit its proposals to it. remedial steps The court had also asked the Uttar Pradesh government to “present a comprehensive plan for improvement in crematorium/cre- mation area including the use of IANS proposed Green Cremation System and use of technology to reduce the emission of carbon”. The apex court’s direction on NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court December 14 last year came in the yesterday said the green technology course of the hearing in the wake that the Central Pollution Control of a letter by one of its judges Jus- Board (CPCB) is seeking for cre- tice Kurian Joseph, seeking the mation of bodies should be for the apex court’s intervention in protect- entire country and not just for the ing the monument from the carbon cremation ground in the vicinity of emission. Taj Mahal. Justice Kurian Joseph, during a The apex court bench, com- visit to Taj Mahal last year, had noted prising Chief Justice T S Thakur the damage being caused to the his- and Justice C Nagappan, said this toric monument from the smoke Chairman of Bharat Biotech, Krishna Ella, announces the project on the virus at a press conference in Hyderabad yesterday. as senior counsel Vijay Panjwani, emitted from the cremation ground, appearing for the CPCB, told the located barely 300 metres away. court that the pollution-monitoring He brought this to the notice of body has already approached the the apex court and sought its inter- Biotech firm working on two Zika vaccines IITs in Delhi, Kanpur and Kharag- vention through his letter of October pur in its quest for green technology 1, 2015. for cremation grounds to reduce car- Initially, the apex court toyed Reuters & IANS enter pre-clinical trials in animals in virus a year ago, while developing together a group of experts to exam- bon emission. with the idea of shifting the crema- two weeks, Bharat Biotech Managing vaccines for chikungunya and den- ine their validity. Informing the court that CPCB tion ground to some other location Director Krishna Ella said. gue. Zika is closely related to dengue No cases of the virus have been has not yet succeeded in finding any or doing away with traditional open An inactivated vaccine is created and is spread by the same species of detected in India yet, but the health technology that is pollution-free air firewood cremation by replacing MUMBAI: Indian biotechnology com- by killing a pathogen in a way that its mosquito. ministry on Tuesday issued guidelines or effects reduction in the emis- it with electric crematoriums. But the pany Bharat Biotech said yesterday it ability to replicate is destroyed, but Bharat Biotech sells its vaccines on the disease, including an advisory sion of carbon particles from an Uttar Pradesh government expressed was working on two possible vaccines the immune system can still recog- for polio, hepatitis B, H1N1 and rabies, that travel to affected countries be open air cremation using firewood, reservation in adopting either of the to fight the Zika virus, which has been nise it. among others, to more than 65 coun- postponed or cancelled. Panjwani said the scientists at the two options. The court was told that linked to birth defects in thousands Bharat Biotech’s announcement tries, according to its website. The company has informed both pollution-monitoring body were people prefer traditional firewood of babies in Brazil. came a day after France’s Sanofi said “They’ve got a lead, essentially ... the World Health Organisation (WHO) hardly equipped to offer any green cremation as a matter of belief. The virus is spreading rapidly in it had launched a project to develop it’s certainly not a vaccine yet,” said and the government of India about the alternatives for traditional open air While asking CPCB and the the Americas, and WHO officials on a Zika vaccine. Yesterday, Japanese Soumya Swaminathan, the Direc- status of its project. cremation by firewood. Uttar Pradesh government to look Tuesday expressed concern that it drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical tor General of the Indian Council of The company has filed global The CPCB’s response came in for some green technology to reduce, could hit Africa and Asia as well. No also said it was investigating the pos- Medical Research (ICMR), the apex patents for both inactivated and pursuance to the December 14, if not eliminate, carbon emission, vaccine has been developed so far. sibilities of developing a vaccine for body for biomedical research in India, recombinant vaccines. 2015, direction of the court ask- the court had asked the authorities One of the possible vaccines is the disease. funded by the health ministry. He said the company was ready ing it to “examine what alternatives to encourage the people to opt for “recombinant”, which means it is Privately held Bharat Biotech, Swaminathan said it was prema- to partner with Latin American are available having regard to the electric crematorium by not charg- created by genetic engineering, while based in the southern city of Hydera- ture to comment on the two vaccine countries like Brazil for vaccine modern technology and scientific ing the fee. the other was “inactivated”, and will bad, said it started work on the Zika candidates, but the ICMR had put development.

Anupam Kher Taking it by the horns! Woman in German refugee gets Pakistan visa, but won’t camp set to return today travel to festival IANS refugee camp. “I request the Indian government to take me to India... I IANS will give the full details of what hap- pened to me once I reach India,” she NEW DELHI: Gurpreet, an Indian said in Hindi in the video. MUMBAI: A day after Anupam woman allegedly kept at a refugee Following this, Sushma Swaraj Kher claimed he was denied a camp in Germany along with her said on Tuesday that the authorities visa to visit Pakistan for the eight-year-old daughter by her in- were in touch with Gurpreet’s father Karachi Literature Festival, he laws, will reach India this morning, and that the External Affairs Minis- said yesterday that he has now External Affairs Minister Sushma try has got the full report from the been offered one. However, he Swaraj said yesterday. Indian Embassy in Germany. said he has “given away those “Gurpreet and her daughter will Yesterday, Sushma Swaraj also dates” and won’t be travelling. reach New Delhi from Frankfurt by lauded the efforts put in by India’s The actor thanked Paki- flight AI120 at 9.35am tomorrow Ambassador in Germany, Gurjit stani High Commissioner Abdul morning,” Sushma Swaraj tweeted. Singh, and Consul General in Frank- Basit on Twitter for offering him The swift action by the Exter- furt, Raveesh Kumar. The central the visa. nal Affairs Ministry came following European nation has been grappling “Thank you Mr. @abasit- a video posted by Gurpreet, hailing with an international refugee crisis. pak1 (Abdul Basit) for your call from Faridabad in Haryana, on Tues- “We have brought Gurpreet and and offering me (a) visa to visit day in which she claimed that she her eight-year-old daughter from Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying grabs the horns of the bronze bull at the Bombay Stock Karachi. I appreciate it. Unfor- was hoodwinked into going to Ger- the refugee camp to our consulate in tunately, I’ve given away those Exchange (BSE) during his visit to Mumbai yesterday. many by her husband’s family where Frankfurt,” Sushma Swaraaj tweeted dates now,” Anupam tweeted she and her daughter were kept in a yesterday. yesterday morning. The actor was to attend the three-day Karachi Literature Festival which begins tomor- row. While 17 of the 18 Indians who were scheduled to go for Balram Jakhar, a farmer who presided over Lok Sabha the event received their visas, the 60-year-old said he was “singled out”. IANS posts in the Congress. He served as in 1972 when he was elected to the to the view that that the House is the However, Manzoor Ali union agriculture minister in the P V Punjab assembly. Within one year of ultimate master of its own procedures Memon, a diplomat from the Narasimha Rao government and later his election to the assembly, he was in a parliamentary democracy. Pakistan High Commission, as Madhya Pradesh governor during inducted as the deputy minister of co- Following his re-election to Lok said that the actor had not sub- NEW DELHI: A farmer-turned pol- the first United Progressive Alliance operation, irrigation and power. He Sabha in 1984 from Sikar in Rajas- mitted any visa application for itician, Balram Jakhar (pictured), government. remained a minister till 1977. than, he was again elected the his visit. “No visa application who died here yesterday, was an Born on August 23, 1923 at Pan- In 1977, when the Congress faced speaker. He was considered the nat- was given. An invitation is not a able administrator and had the rare jkosi village in Ferozepur district a rout, he won his election and was ural choice for the post for the manner guarantee, it just facilitates the honour of holding some of the high- of Punjab, Jakhar graduated from a chosen as leader of the Congress (I) in which he had presided over pro- purpose. A visa application is est constitutional posts including that college in undivided Punjab’s Lahore legislature party and recognised as ceedings of the seventh Lok Sabha. filed first and then the visa is of governor and Lok Sabha speaker. town and was well-versed in English, the leader of opposition in the Pun- Jakhar had earned the distinc- considered on the basis of an Jakhar, 92, also had the rare dis- Sanskrit, Hindi and Urdu apart from jab assembly. He held the position till tion of being the only speaker to have application. If there is no visa tinction of being elected Lok Sabha Punjabi. received national recognition and he January 1980 when he was elected presided over two successive Lok Sab- application...then no rejection Speaker for two successive terms After graduation, Jakhar took was awarded the title ‘All India Udyan to the seventh Lok Sabha from Fer- has for their full terms, only about a can take place.” from 1980 to 1989. His term as up the family profession of farming Pandit’ by the president in 1975. It was ozepur. He was elected speaker on month short of a full decade. Memon said the actor Speaker saw some significant legis- and made use of modern techniques his leadership role among the farming January 22, 1980. During his tenure as speaker, “failed to produce the evi- lations being passed by the House and for the development of orchards and community that eventually pushed Though he had no experience as Jakhar remained alert to protecting dence of application that has measures to improve its functioning. vineyards in his farmlands which led Jakhar into an active political role at a presiding officer, Jakhar went about the rights and privileges of the mem- been submitted”. In his long innings in politics, to increase in yield. the national level. his new role with confidence and bers individually and of the House Jakhar held several organisational Jakhar’s services in fruit-growing Jakhar’s legislative career began innate common sense. He subscribed collectively. INDIA THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2016 15

Kejriwal offers Vice-President in Thailand loan for salaries of cleaning staff

have been able to find Rs5.51bn for loan. The Delhi government is fac- Demand for ing Rs30bn shortfall in value added CBI probe into tax collection,” Kejriwal said soon after he announced the loan. alleged financial “We had to postpone some of irregularities at our present commitments to the next year to manage this money,” civic bodies he tweeted. Kejriwal also demanded a CBI inquiry into “massive scams” in three municipal corporations of IANS Delhi, ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party. He said his government did not owe any money to the civic bod- ies, as claimed by them. NEW DELHI/BENGALURU: The chief minister said that the Demanding a CBI inquiry into Aam Aadmi Party government had “financial irregularities” in Delhi’s allocated extra funds to the three three municipal corporations, Chief civic bodies in the current fiscal Minister Arvind Kejriwal yesterday compared with the previous year. announced a Rs5.51bn loan for pay- “The BJP, which ruled the MCD ment of salaries to striking workers for 10 years, is responsible for its of two civic bodies. poor financial situation. Funds given Vice-President M Hamid Ansari inspecting the guard of honour at the Government House in Bangkok with Thai Prime Minister General Employees of Delhi’s three civic to civic bodies have been diverted. bodies — North Delhi Municipal Where has the money given to the Prayut Chan-o-cha, yesterday. Corporation, South Delhi Munic- MCD gone?” he said. ipal Corporation and East Delhi “It is a classic case of financial Municipal Corporation — have been mismanagement and corruption. protesting the non-payment of sal- A Central Bureau of Investigation aries for the past few months, and inquiry should be ordered to probe directing their ire at both the Delhi the financial irregularities in the and federal governments for the last municipal corporations,” Kejriwal Ten soldiers missing in Siachen avalanche eight days. demanded. “We are giving Rs5.51bn to the Kejriwal said a joint front of 19 North and East municipal corpora- unions of MCD employees has called AFP soldiers were hit by an avalanche at Indian troops patrol the Siachen region known as Ladakh. tions as loan for payment of salaries for dissolving the civic bodies and the northern Siachen Glacier,” Gos- Glacier, dubbed the world’s highest An estimated 8,000 troops have of workers,” Kejriwal said in Ben- bringing them under the Delhi wami said. battlefield, in the Kashmir region. died on the glacier since 1984, almost galuru, where he is undergoing government. SRINAGAR: Rescuers searched yes- An army statement said the post Avalanches and landslides are all of them from avalanches, land- treatment for a throat problem at a He said doctors of MCD hospitals terday for 10 soldiers feared buried in was being manned by one junior common in the area during the win- slides, frostbite, altitude sickness or naturopathy centre. have requested the Delhi govern- an avalanche in India’s remote Hima- officer and nine soldiers when the ter and temperatures there can drop heart failure rather than combat. The North Delhi Municipal Cor- ment to take over these hospitals to layas near the de facto border with avalanche struck. as low as minus 60 degrees Celsius Nuclear-armed rivals India and poration will also be paid Rs1.42bn improve their functioning. Pakistan, an army spokesman said. “Rescue operations by specialised (minus 76 degrees Fahrenheit). Pakistan, which each administer part against the stamp duty bill, he said. “Deputy Chief Minister Manish The soldiers were hit while on teams from Army and Air Force are In January, four soldiers were of Kashmir but claim it in full, fought Out of Rs5.51bn, the North Delhi Sisodia will see the legal viability duty at a post on a glacier at an alti- under way to rescue the soldiers. The killed by an avalanche, while last year over Siachen in 1987. MC will receive Rs3.14bn whereas of the suggestions for bringing the tude of 5,800 metres (19,000 feet), rescue operations are being closely another four died when their vehicle But guns on the glacier have the East Delhi MC will get Rs2.37bn. MCD-run hospitals under the Delhi Colonel S D Goswami said. monitored from Leh and Udhampur,” was buried under an avalanche near largely fallen silent since a peace “It is with great difficulty that we government,” Kejriwal added. “In the early hours of today, 10 the statement added. Leh, the main city in the high-altitude process began in 2004.

Hunt for suspects who assaulted Talks with US on joint development of aircraft carrier

Tanzanian woman Reuters group is due to meet in New Delhi later fly heavier planes from a carrier was part this month, part of a series of meetings of the discussions with India. in Bengaluru aimed at establishing broader coop- “All of those things are on the table, eration on the design, development there are possibilities, it’s a matter of pac- NEW DELHI: India and the United States and production of the proposed Indian ing, it’s very new technology for us,” he IANS are making progress in talks on the joint carrier. said. development of an aircraft carrier for “We are making very good progress, China has one aircraft carrier, but India, the top US navy admiral said yes- I am very pleased with the progress to state media has hinted new vessels are BENGALURU: Police are look- terday, potentially the biggest military date and optimistic we can do more in being built. The Pentagon said in a report ing for suspects who allegedly collaboration between them. the future. That’s on a very solid track,” last year that China could build multiple attacked and stripped a Tanzanian The two countries agreed to work Richardson told reporters in New Delhi. aircraft carriers over the next 15 years. woman in Bengaluru after a road together on aircraft carrier technology India inducted an old aircraft car- India’s navy, which has long con- accident, a top police official said. as well as jet engines during US President rier from Russia in 2014 while an ageing sidered the Indian Ocean its area of “We have registered a case of Barack Obama’s visit to India last year British vessel is set to retire this year. It influence, has been unnerved by Chinese riot and arson against the accused in a tightening of ties to balance China’s is building an indigenous carrier that is naval forays in the region and its efforts on the basis of the victim’s state- expanding military power in the region. expected to enter service in 2018-2019. to build port infrastructure in countries ment in which she reported of The visiting chief of US Naval Opera- But the navy also plans a third, its stretching from Pakistan to Djibouti on being assaulted due to mistaken tions, John Richardson, said the two sides biggest carrier yet, for which it has sought the African coast. identity by a mob on the outskirts had held talks on a range of issues relat- US assistance especially state-of-the-art After years of neglect, the Indian gov- of the city,” city police commis- ing to the next generation Indian carrier technology to launch aircraft. ernment has approved the navy’s plans File picture of workers in Mumbai dismantling aircraft carrier sioner N S Megharik told reporters from its design to construction. Richardson said the electromagnetic for a dozen new submarines, six of them INS Vikrant, here yesterday. A high-level US-India joint working launch technology that enabled a navy to nuclear-powered. which was decommissioned in 1997. Denying media reports that the victim was also molested, Megha- rik said the African woman had admitted being only assaulted by a frenzied mob after her three Rewarding young talent Ayurvedic drug for male friends deserted her at Soladevanahalli where their car was burnt. “The incident occurred diabetes launched because the mob mistook the vic- tim’s car to be involved in a road mishap on the same night (January IANS diabetes mellitus. “We are sure that 31) when a 20-year-old drunken eminent medical professionals will Sudanese national (Mohammed now recommend it to their patients Ahad Ismai) fatally ran over a suffering from Type-2 diabetes for woman. We arrested him after he KOZHIKODE: The Council for Sci- quicker and consistent response. was rescued from a raging mob,” entific and Industrial Research CSIR’s premier research institutions Megharik said. (CSIR) yesterday launched BGR- have developed and established the Police did not register a case 34 — the country’s first ayurvedic efficacy of BGR-34,” said Rawat. soon after the road mishap and drug designed for Type-2 diabetes Scientists of NBRI and CIMAP the mob attack, as the victim was — which has been scientifically vali- studied over 500 renowned ancient not in the city for two days since dated for its efficacy and safety. herbs and finally identified the six Sunday. “We have formed spe- BGR-34 has been developed best ones listed in ancient ayurvedic cial teams to trap the culprits jointly by the National Botanical texts to be combined in different pro- and render justice to the victim Research Institute (NBRI) and the portions and processed meticulously who declined to file a complaint Central Institute for Medicinal and to develop the drug to fight the life- against the accused for fear of Aromatic Plants (CIMAP), which style disorder. being attacked again. are the research units of CSIR and V Rao, principal scientist CSIR- The victim’s friends told located in Lucknow. NBRI, said BGR-34 is a unique police that on Sunday the furious BGR-34 costs Rs5 per tablet and product that manages the lives mob pulled them out of their car, is available at all major pharmacies of human beings suffering from assaulted them, and molested her. in Kerala. diabetes. The city-based Tanzanian Speaking at the launch, A K S “This product passed several youth association decided to seek Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Smriti Irani, presenting the National Bal Shree Rawat, Senior Principal Scientist, battery of tests and showed hypogly- its embassy’s help in registering an Honours for 2013 at a function in New Delhi yesterday. CSIR-NBRI, said 60 million people caemic activity in experimental assault case. in India have been diagnosed with subjects,” said Rao. 16 THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2016 EUROPE Cameron faces wrath from partymen over EU deal

members of his own Conservative the plan as one that was fair for all In a heated debate in Party and a vicious response from involved. several newspapers to the plan. “I have always said I want the UK parliament, Cameron “Let’s fight this together,” Cam- to remain a member of the European urges fellow MPs to eron told MPs, defending the draft Union on the basis of a fair deal. The measures put forward by European settlement that has been proposed is stand united as he Council president Donald Tusk on fair for the UK and fair for the other faces vitriol from Tuesday that are due to go before all 27 members,” Juncker told the Euro- 28 EU leaders. pean Parliament which must pass the senior members of Even some of Cameron’s allies measures if leaders agree at a Feb. his own Conservative have questioned the package of 18-19 summit. Party measures offered by Brussels. Lon- The Dutch foreign minister, Bert don’s popular Mayor Boris Johnson, Koenders, said the proposal “paves a possible Conservative successor the way for an agreement in the Euro- to Cameron who has been coy so far pean Council”, which brings together about his own position, said: “Most leaders of EU member states. Reuters people looking at this will think that Even some eastern European there is a lot more to do.” countries, which initially balked at Britain’s bestselling newspa- Britain’s plans to restrict welfare per, the Sun, said Cameron had done payments to EU migrants, were sup- LONDON: British Prime Minister “nothing to halt migrants, nothing to portive or at least said they would David Cameron faced the wrath of win powers back for Britain”. “Sorry study the deal. “There is a clause say- his own side in parliament yester- prime minister, but ... it stinks,” said ing that in the case of a sudden influx day, where he stood up to defend a the Sun, which is owned by one of the of wage migrants some payments deal to keep Britain in the European world’s most powerful media barons, could be curbed. We will see what Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron addresses MPs in the House of Commons in London yesterday. Union that was savaged by many of Rupert Murdoch. the interpretation (of the clause) is,” his fellow Conservatives and the euro- Cameron also has to convince Polish President Andrzej Duda said. sceptic press. The deal has so far received a Fox, a leading eurosceptic Conserv- convince doubters inside and out- other EU leaders that the plan, which Cameron has spent months trying Cameron has all but fired the warm response from European cap- ative lawmaker, told BBC radio that side his party that the plan offers the offers measures to curb benefits for to secure a deal so that he can cam- starting gun for a membership ref- itals which must approve it. But at up to five ministers in the prime min- “best of both worlds” before a refer- migrants from other EU states in Brit- paign to stay in a reformed EU. He erendum by throwing his weight home, it risks reopening a longstand- ister’s cabinet were certain to back endum on membership which could ain, will not harm their countries’ promised the referendum in 2013 to behind a reform plan presented by ing rift in Cameron’s Conservative leaving the EU. Many British news- take place in June. interests or cause a voter backlash try to put to rest the divisive subject of European Council President Donald Party, which has been plagued by papers trashed the deal, dubbing it a In a heated parliamentary debate, against them. Europe that dogged his Conservative Tusk on Tuesday, and the battle lines division over Europe for generations. “farce”, a “joke” or a “delusion”, under- Cameron urged fellow MPs to stand European Commission Presi- predecessor John Major and brought are being clearly drawn. Former defence secretary Liam lining the struggle Cameron faces to united as he faced vitriol from senior dent Jean-Claude Juncker welcomed down his hero, Margaret Thatcher.

Support for Merkel British peer declared dead at 4-1/2-year low 42 years after he vanished

Reuters to be issued. “My own personal view, and it Reuters the refugee crisis before three state was one I took I think as an eight- elections scheduled in March. LONDON: Lord Lucan, a British aris- year-old boy, is he’s unfortunately Meanwhile, the AfD rose three tocrat who vanished without trace been dead since that time,” Bing- points to 12 percent. The AfD leader 42 years ago after the murder of ham, now Earl of Lucan, said BERLIN: Popular support for Ger- suggested at the weekend that police his children’s nanny, was officially outside court. man Chancellor Angela Merkel has be given powers to use firearms declared dead by London’s High “In the circumstances I think it’s tumbled to its lowest level for 4 ½ against illegal migrants. Court yesterday, allowing his son to quite possible he saw his life at an years, a poll showed yesterday, with Responding to popular pressure, inherit the title. end, regardless of guilt or otherwise. a large majority of voters sceptical the government agreed last week to The dapper, moustachioed peer Being dragged through the courts that her government has the refugee tighten asylum rules. On Wednesday, disappeared hours after Sandra Riv- and through the media would have crisis under control. the cabinet backed plans to declare ett was found bludgeoned to death in destroyed his personal life, his career The survey for public broad- Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia “safe his house in central London in 1974. and the chances of getting custody caster ARD also showed a drop in countries”, which would end their citi- A car he was using was later found at of his children back. support for Merkel’s conservatives, zens’ chance of being granted asylum. Newhaven on the English coast with “That may well have pushed a while backing for the anti-immigrant The poll showed the public sup- a length of lead piping. man to end his own life but I have Alternative for Germany party rose ported efforts to restrict immigration The fate of Richard Lucan, a no idea.” to its highest ever point in the poll. with 88 percent of those surveyed gambler and socialite known as One of numerous theories about Merkel has come under increas- in favour of cutting benefits for ref- “Lucky”, has intrigued Britons ever what became of Lucan, who would ing pressure to reduce the number ugees who did not integrate and 78 since and there have been reported now be 81, was that he shot himself George Bingham, the only son of the infamous British aristocrat Lord of asylum-seekers after 1.1 million percent approving of declaring North sightings across the world, including and was then fed to tigers at the zoo Lucan, and his wife Anne-Sofie Foghsgaard, leave the High Court in entered Germany last year. Public African countries “safe.” in Australia, India, the Netherlands of his friend John Aspinall. Aspinall central London yesterday. unease has also grown following Meanwhile, Germany yesterday and South Africa. himself said in 2000 that Lucan had mass sexual assaults on women in called a set of EU proposals to keep The High Court declared him weighted himself down with a stone Cologne on New Year’s Eve. Britain from leaving the bloc “ambi- dead in 1999 but the law at the time and drowned himself in the English The survey, conducted on Feb- tious” but said it was still reviewing did not allow his son, George Bing- Channel. the mystery would be explained happened that night, Lucan is guilty ruary 1-2, showed just 46 percent of the package ahead of a crunch sum- ham, to inherit his title. Yesterday, Rivett’s son Neil Berriman with the help of new evidence in of something in my eyes,” he said, Germans supported her, the lowest mit this month. Bingham used new legislation to suc- told reporters he bore no ill feel- the next year. “There is no getting without giving details of the evi- proportion since August 2011. In Government spokesman Steffen cessfully apply for a death certificate ing towards Bingham but hoped away from the fact that whatever dence he referred to. April last year, before the migrant Seibert told reporters that the plan crisis erupted, she enjoyed the back- presented by EU president Donald ing of 75 percent. Tusk on Tuesday was “an ambitious The poll also found that 81 per- package that addresses Prime Minis- cent did not believe the government ter (David) Cameron’s key demands”. Fico rejects was handling the refugee crisis well “We are now reviewing this EU agrees on financing of - a sign of rising dissatisfaction with package in all its details. The Ger- efforts to limit the influx of those man government will continue teachers’ pay fleeing war and poverty in Africa to play a constructive role in the and the Middle East. upcoming negotiations,” Seibert said. €3bn Turkey refugee deal demands Backing for her conservative He noted that Chancellor Angela bloc, comprised of her Christian Merkel had repeatedly stressed her Democrats (CDU) and the Bavarian backing for “a strong Britain in a AFP financial resources to support Tur- for agreements in the Geneva Syr- Reuters Christian Social Union (CSU), also strong European Union”. key in coping with the presence of ian peace talks,” said Jan Egeland, fell four points to 35 points. “Our goal in the end is to have Syrian refugees under temporary secretary general of the Norwegian The results of the poll highlight a comprehensive package that will protection and host communities in Refugee Council. the challenge faced by Germany’s allow Prime Minister Cameron to BRUSSELS: The EU said yesterday it Turkey.” “But in the meantime, it is BRATISLAVA: Slovak Prime Min- grand coalition parties - the CDU, lead a strong referendum campaign had agreed on how to finance a ¤3bn Turkey, the main launching point imperative that we invest in hope, ister Robert Fico refused to give in CSU and Social Democrats (SPD) - to remain in the European Union,” ($3.3bn) deal to aid Syrian refugees in for the one million refugees and education and livelihoods for the to pay demands by striking teach- to convince voters they can master Seibert said. Turkey, in exchange for Ankara’s help migrants who arrived in Europe last civilian population and pave the way ers yesterday, taking a hard line in stemming the flow of migrants, year, has promised to cut the flow of for a more stable future.” against a protest that failed to after resolving a dispute with Italy. people as part of the deal agreed with The donors’ conference comes spark widespread support. The deal means the European the EU at a summit in November. alongside talks in Switzerland on The leftist leader is still tipped Commission, the EU executive, will Meanwhile, charities meeting bringing peace to Syria after nearly to win re-election on March 5 contribute one billion euros to Tur- in London ahead of a Syria donors’ five years and over 260,000 deaths in despite facing two protests by pub- key and the 28 member states will conference today urged more fund- trouble after a wave of intense Russian lic sector workers over low pay in contribute two billion, the commis- ing and protection for refugees on the bombings. Many of the Syrian activ- as many months. sion announced. eve of talks. ists who were present at Wednesday’s Only 11,000 teachers, or 12 Germany is the country making The coalition of over 90 interna- conference in London questioned the percent of the total, joined the the biggest contribution to the fund tional and Syrian groups including wisdom of talking about aid when vio- teachers’ strike, which began on with 427 million euros, followed by Oxfam and the fund set up by Nobel lence is still raging. Jan 25. More than a quarter of Britain with 327 million and France Prize winning Pakistani schoolgirl “To me, it’s a bit surrealistic to those have since returned to work. with 309 million, EU sources said. Malala Yousafzai spoke out the day discuss a school they’re going to The organisation directing Italian Prime Minister Matteo before world leaders meet in London bomb,” said Marcell Shehwaro of the strike, the Initiative of Slovak Renzi had stalled on signing off on for the main event. Kesh Malek, an educational non- Teachers, wants a 140-euro raise the deal because of questions about They urged a significant funding governmental organisation. per month now, a 90-euro raise how the accord would work, but EU increase, greater protection for civil- She called for the imposition of next year, and another 400 million sources told AFP that said Rome had ians both inside and outside Syria, a no-fly zone to stop schools being euros funding for schools. given its approval on Wednesday. better access to education for chil- bombarded. World leaders are set The Education Ministry says “The European Commission dren and making it easier for Syrians to try and raise $9bn (¤8.3bn) for the average gross salary of ele- today welcomed the agreement by who have fled their country to work the millions of Syrians affected by mentary and secondary schools Member States on the details of the 3 in neighbouring states. the conflict. The conflict has forced teachers was 997 euros per month billion euro Refugee Facility for Tur- “Only an end to the fighting and 4.6 million Syrians to seek refuge ($1,080) in 2014, slightly above the key,” the Brussels-based Commission a negotiated political solution will in countries in the region -- Jordan, national average of 858 euros. Chancellor Angela Merkel at the Wendelstein 7-X nuclear fusion said in a statement. stop the suffering of ordinary Syri- Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt -- But teachers argue that “The EU will now be able to ans, which is why it’s important that while hundreds of thousands have includes maximum bonuses that research centre, in Greifswald, Germany, yesterday. swiftly deliver substantial new international governments push attempted to reach Europe. not all receive. EUROPE THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2016 17

Blow to Ukraine’s reform Syrian children’s woes hopes as minister quits

owned companies, which were a Ukraine has struggled economi- Economy Minister plank of a reform programme to turn cally since the 2014 revolt, which was around an economy which shrunk by followed by Russia’s annexation of Aivaras Abromavicius more than a tenth last year. its Crimea peninsula and by war in alleges his ministry There has been mounting pub- the east of the country against pro- lic anger that the new, pro-Western Russian separatists Kiev says are was being hijacked government that came to power after supported by Moscow. Abromav- by corrupt vested a pro-Russian president was toppled icius is a Lithuanian-born former by protests in 2014 has not delivered asset manager who was brought in interests, dealing on promises to stamp out corruption. as one of several foreign experts to another blow to The government’s approval ratings help run Ukraine’s new government. have fallen sharply. He said Ihor Kononenko, a senior Western hopes that Ukraine’s international backers, lawmaker close to Poroshenko, had the country can including the United States and the lobbied to get his people appointed reform itself. European Union, have also become as heads of state companies, culmi- increasingly impatient with the slow nating in an attempt to appoint one of pace of change in a country into his people as Abromavicius’s deputy. which they have pumped billions A candidate showed up, demanding of dollars in aid. A group of envoys, to be appointed, he said. Reuters including the US, German and Brit- After that, “I received a call ish representatives in Kiev, said they from the President’s Administration, were “deeply disappointed” by the whereby I was emphatically sug- resignation, which also sent Ukrain- gested to hire this individual, as well as KIEV: Ukrainian Economy Min- ian sovereign bonds tumbling. another one, who would take the posi- Abdallah, 12, and Dania, 10, whose school was bombed in Aleppo in Syria, sit in a mock up of a ister Aivaras Abromavicius quit Any threat of Prime Minis- tion of my deputy in charge of defence destroyed classroom outside the Houses of Parliament in London, yesterday. The photocall was yesterday saying his ministry was ter Arseny Yatseniuk’s government industry. I responded by declining to organised by Save the Children to highlight the need for education for refugee children ahead of the being hijacked by corrupt vested collapsing would also deeply worry take part in this corrupt arrangement Syria Donor Conference today. interests, dealing another blow to Ukraine’s Western partners, who and by offering to resign my post.” Western hopes that the country can have backed the coalition to keep the Kononenko denied the accusa- reform itself. In his statement, Abro- country from falling back into Mos- tions as “completely absurd”, and mavicius singled out a close ally of cow’s orbit. “Neither me, nor my team said Abromavicius was trying to shift President Petro Poroshenko, accus- have any desire to serve as a cover-up blame for his own failures in running ing him of blocking the ministry’s for the covert corruption, or become the ministry. Yatseniuk said there Irish premier calls elections work and pressing for powerful jobs puppets for those who, very much was a campaign to discredit his gov- for placemen, with the support of the like the ‘old’ government, are trying ernment, and accused Abromavicius president’s office. to exercise control over the flow of of “running from the field of battle.” Abromavicius’s exit could derail public funds,” Abromavicius said in Ukraine’s anti-corruption bureau Reuters prime minister, Kenny appealed to “This is a choice between plans to privatise around 100 state an English-language statement. announced it would start an investi- voters to give his government the whether you want a society that is gation into the allegations made by credit for the turnaround it has fair and equal or more of the same,” Abromavicius. Since coming to power overseen. Gerry Adams, president of the leftist in 2014, the government has pledged to DUBLIN: Irish Prime Minister Enda “Five years ago Ireland’s economy Sinn Fein party told reporters. stamp out the systemic graft that flour- Kenny set parliamentary elections for was close to collapse. (Now) our “.. It’s not about an economic ished under former president Viktor February 26, kicking off campaigning public finances are back on track, recovery, it’s about a social recovery.” Yanukovich and kept Ukraine hooked for what promises to be a tight contest our economy is growing again... and Having grown around 7 percent on Russian money and cheap gas. dominated by a fractious debate there is no more bailout,” he said in in 2015, Ireland’s economy is forecast But many Ukrainians believe cor- over the country’s strong economic a video on Twitter. to be Europe’s best performer for the ruption has not improved, eroding recovery. “This election is about who will third year running in 2016. support for the authorities, deterring Kenny’s conservative Fine Gael keep this recovery going.” An inconclusive outcome similar foreign investment and causing West- party is ahead in the polls but short Ireland exited its international to recent national elections in Spain ern backers to question Kiev’s ability of a majority, even with the support bailout mid-way through Kenny’s and Portugal is unlikely to derail to deliver real change. of current junior coalition partner five-year term, when a quicker and that surge, given Ireland is more They have warned Ukraine not Labour. stronger recovery than elsewhere in vulnerable to external than to to repeat the mistakes of more than If they fail to close that gap, a Europe took hold. internal shocks. a decade ago, when the euphoria of less stable outcome beckons, with But while many voters have But investors have turned more the “Orange Revolution” of 2004, an a minority government, a larger benefited, others are still feeling the cautious on the country’s sovereign earlier popular protest movement coalition including independent effects of the 2008 financial crisis debt, aware that a protracted political that brought pro-Western leaders deputies or fresh elections all and a brutal seven-year austerity stalemate could hamper the flotation to power, eroded amid government possible. programme — a disparity the of state-owned Allied Irish Banks , Ukraine’s Economy Minister Aivaras Abromavicius attends a news infighting and a failure to stamp out Announcing a ballot he hopes opposition was quick to highlight one of Europe’s biggest in the sector conference in Kiev. graft. will make him party’s first two-time on Wednesday. since the financial crisis.

Dutch police to counter drones Russian oppn demands probe into Chechen leader over video with winged AFP in the sights of a sniper rifle. “Today for “extremism.” The footage used Instagram deleted the video, insurgent who is now devoted to Putin warriors we submitted a request to the Rus- in Kadyrov’s post was filmed by prompting an indignant response and rules his North Caucasus region sian security services (the FSB) asking LifeNews, a sensationalist television from Kadyrov who claimed this was a with an iron grip, has threatened them to open a criminal investigation channel known for its close links to breach of free speech. Kasyanov, who Kremlin critics on several occasions AFP MOSCOW: A Russian opposition into Ramzan Kadyrov for threatening security services. served as prime minister from 2000 in the past. party yesterday demanded a formal the life of a public figure,” Parnas law- It was shot last month in the to 2004, said President Vladimir Putin Last month, the Chechen leader investigation into Chechen strongman yer Vadim Prokhorov said. French city of Strasbourg as Kasyanov should be held accountable for Kady- penned a lengthy diatribe against Ramzan Kadyrov after he posted a The party submitted a similar and his deputy Vladimir Kara-Murza rov’s threatening video. Putin’s critics in pro-Kremlin daily THE HAGUE: Dutch police are video of its leader in the cross hairs request to the powerful Investiga- went to meetings of the Parliamentary Kara-Murza said he and Kasy- Izvestiya, calling them a “gang of turning to a phalanx of winged of a sniper scope. tive Committee, which probes major Assembly of the Council of Europe anov considered Kadyrov’s Instagram jackals” who “dream of destroying predators to solve the problem A video posted on Monday on crimes, Prokhorov said. (PACE), including one dedicated to post a “direct incitement to murder.” our state.” of unauthorised drone flights in Kadyrov’s popular Instagram page Another opposition party Yab- slain Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov. “This is a genuine threat,” said The remarks caused uproar pub- restricted areas such as airports showed former prime minister loko has also written to investigators Kadyrov wrote on Instagram that Prokhorov, recalling Nemtsov’s assas- lic criticism of Kadyrov, prompting and over crowds: eagles. Mikhail Kasyanov, the Parnas party and President Vladimir Putin call- Kasyanov had gone to France to raise sination just steps from the Kremlin Chechen authorities to organise a Police officers, who are look- leader, along with his deputy targeted ing for Kadyrov to be prosecuted money for the Russian opposition. in February 2015. Kadyrov, a former mass rally in support of their leader. ing for the best way to intercept unauthorised drones, are con- ducting tests with the birds of prey together with a specialised Dutch company called Guard from Carnival security Germany moves to make it Above, a police spokesman said on Wednesday. “It’s a low-tech solution to a less attractive to migrants high-tech problem,” Dennis Janus said.“We use the birds’ age-old hunting instinct to intercept and AFP be subject to the same condition. neutralise drones,” he said. The aim of centralising the Police released video footage residence of such migrants is to of the tests, which shows an eagle facilitate their likely expulsion in flight firmly grasping the drone BERLIN: Berlin yesterday approved from Germany. with its talons before landing a few a package of measures aimed at The asylum application proc- metres (yards) away. making Germany less attractive to ess, as well as that of appeals, is to The eagles are trained economic migrants, including reduc- be shortened to within three weeks. by Guard from Above, which ing benefits. Other measures include reducing describes itself as the “first com- The package, which is expected social handouts to asylum seekers, pany in the world that uses birds to see smooth passage through and restricting medical grounds pre- of prey to intercept drones.” parliament, includes classifying venting any expulsion of rejected Like elsewhere around the Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria as asylum seekers to serious and ter- globe the use of drones in the “safe” origin countries — a category minal illnesses. Netherlands is booming. which means their citizens would Chancellor Angela Merkel is “For obvious security reasons, not usually gain asylum. battling to reduce the number of you can’t fly a drone just any- Asylum applicants of “safe” newcomers after 1.1 million asylum where,” said Janus, adding that it origin countries, along with those seekers arrived in Germany last year. is forbidden to fly drones in air- whose first applications have been While she has refused to set a ports or over large crowds. rejected, would be required to stay cap on the number of new arrivals, “If a drone falls on somebody it in an official accommodation. Merkel is looking to cooperation could kill,” Janus added. Police are Migrants who have lost their with Europe and Turkey to limit the Female carnivalists pose in front of a so-called ‘women’s security point’ in Cologne, western Germany, also testing a method to “hack” a identity documents, as well as influx, through, among other things, drone’s controls or to catch it in a yesterday. Cologne’s officials and police are preparing ahead of the upcoming carnival season. those deemed to pose a “danger to better policing of the EU’s external net carried by another drone. security and public order”, would borders. 18 THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2016 AMERICAS Obama slams ‘inexcusable’ anti-Muslim rhetoric

threatened to shatter post-9/11 reli- gious solidarity at home. Obama had visited Six days after the 2001 attacks mosques in Malaysia, in New York and Washington, then Republican president George W Bush Indonesia and Egypt visited the Islamic Centre of Washing- as president, but ton, declaring “Islam is peace”. Today, Republican presidential this was his first visit candidate Donald Trump has wooed to one of America’s conservative voters by demanding a ban on Muslim immigrants, while 2,000-plus places of frontrunner Ted Cruz has advocated Islamic worship Christian-only admissions and cham- pioned “Judeo-Christian values”. Yesterday, Obama said: “An attack on one faith is an attack on all our AFP faiths.” He also criticised the media and Hollywood, which he said por- tray Muslims in a narrow way. “Our television shows should have BALTIMORE: US President Barack Muslim characters that are unrelated Obama yesterday offered an impas- to national security,” he said. sioned rebuttal of “inexcusable” Obama had visited mosques in Republican election-year rhetoric Malaysia, Indonesia and Egypt as against Muslims as he made his first president, but this was his first visit trip to an American mosque, seven to one of America’s 2,000-plus places years into his presidency. of Islamic worship. Obama, whose grandfather con- In 2009, a freshly elected Obama verted to Islam, made the short trip traveled to Cairo to call for a “new to the Islamic Society of Baltimore beginning” with the Muslim world. mosque, where he met community Much of Obama’s foreign policy leaders and called on Americans not agenda has focused on improving ties US President Barack Obama participates in a roundtable discussion with to be “bystanders to bigotry”. with Muslim nations, from making a Invoking the Prophet Muham- nuclear deal with Iran to ending wars members of the Muslim community while visiting the Islamic Society mad (PBUH) and hailing the tolerance in Iraq and Afghanistan. of Baltimore (right) in Windsor Mill, Maryland, yesterday. Seven years shown by American political icons But the effort has been stymied by into his presidency, Obama made his first trip to an American mosque, from Thomas Jefferson to Dwight continued confrontation with jihadist offering a high-profile rebuttal of harsh Republican election-year Eisenhower, Obama hit out at anti- groups and military strikes in Afghan- rhetoric against Muslims. Islamic sentiment that is “not who istan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, we are”. Syria and Yemen. we defend ourselves against organ- of the climate of today,” said Riham “We’ve heard inexcusable political Obama restated his case that isations that are bent on killing Osman of the Muslim Public Affairs rhetoric against Muslim-Americans organisations like the Islamic State innocents?” he asked. Council, an advocacy group, ahead that has no place in our country,” he group pervert Islam and do not rep- “It can’t be the work of any one of the speech. said, lauding Muslim-Americans who resent the vast majority of Muslims. faith alone. It can’t be just a burden on “It does upset me a little bit that were sports heroes, entrepreneurs and The president offered “two words the Muslim community, although the it is his first time coming to visit a the architect behind the skyscrapers that Muslim-Americans don’t hear Muslim community has to play a role.” mosque, and there will be kids there of Chicago. often enough, and that is thank you,” That message is a vexed one for who have grown up in this post 9/11 His comments comes as a shrill saying they help unite the country in members of the community, includ- era and their faith is constantly linked election debate has sullied America’s “one American family”. ing those who oppose violence. to national security and extremism.” image abroad, and jihadist attacks But he also called on Muslims to “I know national security will The United States is home to in San Bernardino and Philadelphia help tackle radicalisation. “How do come up in the speech just because around 3.3 million Muslims.

Forest fires in Bogota Zika alarm grows amid transmission link

Reuters from South America to the Western “If you swap enough bodily still struggling to determine which Pacific. fluid, most viruses can probably of the cases of microcephaly have There were new concerns about be sexually transmitted to some a definitive correlation with a Zika the possibility of sexual transmission extent,” Neuman said. infection. Scientists do not yet fully GENEVA/BRASILIA: Alarm over after health officials in Texas said the Officials are scrambling to meas- understand whether Zika itself is the Zika virus spread yesterday, as first known case of Zika virus trans- ure the severity of an outbreak that causing the condition or how it might public health officials investigated mission in the United States was likely began in northeast Brazil early last otherwise be associated with it. a report that an American had been contracted through sex rather than a year, before spreading across the One of the key challenges in terms infected through sexual contact and mosquito bite. country and into the rest of the Amer- of measuring the severity of Zika and Brazil said 4,074 cases of infants with But the focus by public health icas, a region that had never before its believed complications is that the severe birth defects could be linked officials in terms of stemming the suffered from Zika infections. illness shows symptoms in only one to the virus. outbreak remains the Aedis aegypti The Brazilian health ministry of five people who are infected with The widening scare comes two mosquito, the tropical insect known said the number of newborns with it. Even then, for most people symp- days after the World Health Organi- to be the primary source of contagion. microcephaly linked to the virus had toms are limited to minor, flu-like sation (WHO) declared a global health “Control measures need to focus increased to 4,074 as of January 30, aches and fever. emergency because of the growing on the major source of Zika, which from 3,718 a week earlier. And for babies thought to have number of Zika-linked cases of micro- is still overwhelmingly mosquitoes,” The rising number of cases has microcephaly, a complex process cephaly, a condition in which the baby said Ben Neuman, a virologist at Brit- stirred alarm ahead of the Rio Olym- of waiting, lab work and therapy is born with an abnormally small head ain’s University of Reading. pic Games in August, when Brazil’s is needed to determine whether and an underdeveloped brain. Although Tuesday’s report of a second largest city will host tens of the condition is in fact present and Yesterday, the agency once more sexual transmission in Dallas adds thousands of athletes and tourists whether it may have coincided with warned regions beyond Latin Amer- to evidence that bodily fluids might from around the world. Organisers a Zika infection. ica to be on guard, including Europe also transmit the disease, scientists of the Games said they were con- In the figures released on Tues- but also Africa and Asia, the areas and public health authorities said far cerned by the rapid spread of Zika, day, Brazil’s health ministry said that with the world’s highest birth rates. So more research is needed to determine but had not seen evidence of people 709 of the 4,783 instances notified as far, the WHO said the virus has been how much sexual contact might be cancelling travel. possible microcephaly since October transmitted in at least 32 countries, needed for contagion. Health officials and scientists are had been ruled out.

Northern Midwest sees blizzards Work on new Air Force One begins

Reuters AFP current double-decker 747-200s, first journalists that follow him wherever ordered by Ronald Reagan and put he goes. The kitchens can serve up to A helicopter drops water on forest fires on a hill area near into service in 1990, are getting old. 100 people simultaneously. neighbourhoods on the south side of Bogota, Colombia, yesterday. NEW YORK: A major storm system Spare parts are increasingly hard Air Force One is equipped with the brought a mix of bad weather late WASHINGTON: Air force officials to source and the hulking aircraft latest in communications technology, on Tuesday to much of the central and Boeing engineers have started require ever longer times being serv- allowing the president to continue United States, with a band of torna- the years-long process of replacing iced. The Air Force in January last working wherever he is, even if the does downing trees in Alabama and Air Force One, the legendary aircraft year announced it had chosen Boeing United States is under attack. Mississippi and heavy snow blanket- that whisks the American president to build the new planes, but equip- The aircraft also boasts an array Georgia executes prisoner ing the northern Midwest. and his entourage around the world. ping the wide-bodied double-deckers of defensive technologies, including The National Weather Service The Pentagon last week approved for the role is a complex undertaking. electronic countermeasures and anti- said eight tornadoes had hit east- the first of a series of contracts with The total cost of buying and con- missile flares. And it can be refuelled AFP last-minute appeals to halt the ern Mississippi and another had Boeing, the US aerospace giant cho- verting the two planes is unknown, while still flying, enabling it to stay execution, including with the US struck western Alabama, with sen to convert a pair of its 747-8 but the Air Force has requested $3bn airborne for days at a time. Supreme Court, but they were another two possible in the state. jumbo jets — there are actually two over five years for the programme. The new planes will have super- WASHINGTON: The US state of rejected. Critics point to his case The Mississippi storms had blown Air Force Ones — into state-of-the- The work should be done by 2024. powerful engines that will let the Georgia executed its oldest death as an example of the “double roofs off, flipped mobile homes art, luxury command centres. The new planes will doubtless be planes nudge the sound barrier at Mach row inmate yesterday, just days punishment” faced by some death and downed trees, it said. That first contract, worth a rela- very different from the current Air 0.92, faster than the current 747-200s. before his 73rd birthday, in a move row prisoners — spending decades Emergency officials in Ala- tively small $25.7m, is for Boeing to Force One incarnation, though the There will not, however, be an escape critics denounced as emblematic in solitary confinement with no bama’s Pickens and Fayette look for cost savings and get a bet- Air Force has yet to say much about pod like the one depicted in the 1997 of capital punishment’s excesses. prospects but death. counties said the tornadoes had ter sense of the scope of the massive its specifications. Air Force One costs hijacker movie Air Force One. Brandon Jones received a lethal There are now 75 men on death downed trees and power lines. task at hand, the Air Force said. Air about $180,000 an hour to fly and US President Barack Obama has injection at a state prison in Jackson, row in Georgia, which suspended The National Weather Service Force One is an instantly recognisa- provides the president with a spa- said that the perk he will miss the most a corrections spokesman said. executions for several months in said more tornadoes were possible. ble emblem of American power. cious office, a meeting room and a when his term expires will be Air Force The African American man 2015 in response to a controversy in Alabama through the evening. The majestic, light blue-and- health center that can even be con- One. “An amazing plane with an amaz- had spent more than 36 years over the drugs used in its lethal Tornado watches were in effect white liveried jets have “United verted into an operating theater. ing crew, they clear out airspace so you behind bars for the 1979 murder injections. The United States for central Tennessee and central States of America” emblazoned The planes must also carry the don’t have to wait. And you land any- of a white convenience store executed 28 people last year, the Kentucky, which means conditions along their fuselage and a large US Secret Service agents who protect time, you leave anytime,” he told GQ clerk. His lawyers had launched lowest number since 1991. exist for a possible tornado. flag stamped on the tail fin. But the the president, as well as advisers and magazine in November. AMERICAS THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2016 1917

Republican Trump accuses field narrows as two quit

Cruz of fraud Reuters

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON: Campaigning for the Republican in Iowa vote nomination at November’s US presidential election took a nasty turn as the field of candidates nar- rowed ahead of next week’s New accused Cruz of lying to thousands Hampshire primary. of voters about Trump’s policies. Rand Paul, a US senator from The real estate mogul “Based on the fraud committed Kentucky with a libertarian philos- made the sensational by Senator Ted Cruz during the Iowa ophy, pulled out of the Republican Caucus, either a new election should race and CNN said conservative accusations on take place or Cruz results nullified,” Rick Santorum also was quitting. Twitter, telling his six Trump wrote. Both candidates did poorly in Mon- The accusations, the latest in day’s Iowa caucuses. million followers that a long line of Trump insults aimed Santorum, a former U.S. sena- the first-time senator at his rivals, come in stark contrast tor from Pennsylvania, has failed from Texas had to his gracious concession speech to take off in this campaign. CNN, in Iowa on Monday, saying he was citing unidentified sources, said committed fraud in “honoured” to finish second. he planned to suspend his run for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at a campaign event at the Derry Boys and Girls the first caucus of the His tally — just above 24 percent, the White House later and would for second place after Cruz and just Club in Derry, New Hampshire, yesterday. The New Hampshire primary will be held on February 9. endorse another candidate. 2016 US presidential ahead of Senator Marco Rubio — in Earlier, Paul became the sec- election the first vote after months of wall-to- ond Republican to drop out of the wall media coverage raises serious Rubio hits ground in New Hampshire race since the Iowa caucuses, questions about whether showman- behind former Arkansas Gover- ship has a winning strategy. nor Mike Huckabee. AFP A second hiccup, at the New “It’s been an incredible honor Hampshire primary next Tuesday, AFP Party. “When I’m our nominee I will Covington said. Rubio raced out to run a principled campaign for would spell political disaster for the bring the party and the conservative onto the campaign trail early Tues- the White House,” he said in a billionaire. Cruz won 27.7 percent of movement together. I will unify us so day, pressing the flesh at an airport statement. “Today, I will end where NEW YORK: Donald Trump went the vote in the Republican caucus in we can win,” he told about 700 peo- diner and making other stops in the I began, ready and willing to fight on the offensive yesterday, accusing Iowa, staking his claim to be the new DES MOINES: Man of the moment ple packed into the Exeter town hall. small state that holds the political for the cause of Liberty.” Republican rival Ted Cruz of steal- standard bearer of the right. Marco Rubio hit the ground running Rubio begins what he called “the spotlight for the next week. Polls in recent days had shown ing victory in Iowa as he sought Rubio, whose star has risen in yesterday, eager to capitalise on his greatest eight days in American poli- Cruz is also in the Granite State, him with about 2 percent sup- to burnish his standing ahead of recent weeks, won more than 23 per- strong Iowa showing and convince tics” as the undisputed leader among polling in second place after Trump, port heading into Tuesday’s New next week’s primary voting in New cent, anointing him as the Republican US voters he is the singular Repub- the four more traditional candidates. according to the RealClearPoli- Hampshire primary. It is not clear Hampshire. establishment candidate of choice best lican who can defeat Hillary Clinton “He outperformed them 10 to one,” tics poll average. But Rubio is only which candidate might attract The real estate mogul made the placed to defeat presumed Democratic in November. Cary Covington, a political science a point or so behind, and Cruz may Paul’s supporters but Ohio Gov- sensational accusations on Twitter, nominee Hillary Clinton. The charismatic senator from professor at the University of Iowa, actually face a tougher road there ernor John Kasich said he favored telling his six million followers that Polls put Trump firmly ahead Florida did not win Monday night’s said of his establishment rivals John than his rival. some of Paul’s positions, such the first-time senator from Texas had among Republican voters in New Iowa caucuses but he definitely Kasich, Jeb Bush and Chris Christie. Cruz won Iowa because of his as his criticism of government committed fraud in the first caucus Hampshire, but analysts warn that exceeded expectations. Arch-con- “That is very important to the ability to draw conservative evan- electronic surveillance and U.S. of the 2016 US presidential election. anything less than a win in Tuesday’s servative senator Ted Cruz came in Republican Party establishment, gelicals, his bread and butter voters, intervention abroad. “Ted Cruz didn’t win Iowa, he primary will further damage his cam- first, while Rubio finished a strong (because) they’re looking for someone to the caucuses. “If somebody were to ask me stole it. That is why all of the polls paign message that he is a winner. third, just a percentage point behind to rally behind.” The establishment The first and second states on the about some of the issues on sur- were so wrong and why he got far The Cruz insult ensured once Donald Trump. largely finds Trump and Cruz objec- primary calendar have dramatically veillance, I would say that, you more votes than anticipated. Bad!” again Wednesday that Trump Barely after midnight, Rubio was tionable, with concerns that the party different electorates and “history know, I think Rand Paul’s had Trump wrote. headlined the media coverage of on the ground in New Hampshire, will lose the general election if one of suggests that momentum doesn’t some good things to say about He criticised Cruz for putting the Republican presidential elec- preparing for a manic one-week the two wins the nomination. carry over from Iowa to New Hamp- it,” he told NBC News. “You know, out a statement saying that a fellow tion — and once again saving him sprint to the state’s primary on Febru- “They didn’t know who was shire,” said Fergus Cullen, a former when it comes to the use of mil- candidate, retired neurosurgeon Ben from spending millions on campaign ary 9 and declaring himself capable going to put a challenge to the two, Republican state chairman in New itary force, I don’t want to be Carson, was quitting the race, and advertisements. of uniting the fractious Republican and Rubio is providing an answer,” Hampshire. policeman of the world.”

PRAYER TIMINGS

FAJR 04.58 am ZUHR 11.48 am MAGHRIB 05.22 pm SHOROOK 06.16 am ASR 02.57 pm ISHA 06.52 pm 20 THURSDAY

4 FEBRUARY 2016 WEATHER Minimum: 14o C Maximum: 22o C

HIGH TIDE 02:45 - 11:45 Strong wind and high seas. LOW TIDE 09:15 - 19:15

France bans Von Trier’s ultra-violent film

AFP have previously withdrawn permits only for the ministry to ignore their for the film in 2009 and again in 2016 objections and reissue its certificate.

PARIS: A French court banned Lars von Trier's ultra-violent film Anti- christ yesterday, nearly seven years after it won a major prize at the Cannes film festival. It is the third time a traditionalist Catho- lic group has succeeded in persuading French judges to pull the film since it was first released in 2009. The same group has also managed to have two other sexually explicit films tem- porarily withdrawn from French cinemas and DVD stores in the past year. Gaspar Noe's Love was banned by the courts in July and the permit for Blue is the Warmest Colour, which won the top Palme d'Or prize at Cannes in 2013, was withdrawn in Decem- ber over its lesbian scenes. While Love has since been re-released with a new certificate allowing it to be viewed by audiences over 18 years of age, Abdella- tif Kechiche's much-praised love story between two teen- agers is still in legal limbo. An administrative appeals court in Paris agreed and ruled that the culture min- istry had "made a mistake" in its original classification of the film. The notoriously provocative Danish direc- tor, who revels in shocking both audiences and censors, admitted when the film was first shown that it was not for the faint-hearted. Courts www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

PAGE | 22 QE 9,486.71 -146.61 PTS PAGE | 24 Qatargas bags ‘Goal DOW 16,126.86 -26.68 PTS ChemChina Zero Award’ for FTSE100 5,837.14 -84.87 PTS offers $43bn safety performance BRENT $34.47 -$1.75 for Syngenta

THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2016 • 25 Rabia II 1437 thepeninsulaqatar @peninsulaqatar @peninsula_qatar

Qatar keeps its contracts dispute-free: Al Sada

Conference on Arbitration and Dis- and Arbitration and the qualified ICC Qatar Chairman H E Sheikh International pute Resolution, organised by the national cadres who managed to Khalifa bin Jassim Al Thani said International Chamber of Commerce develop it and take it the current level. energy is the major driver of devel- Arbitration (ICC) Qatar, Dr Al Sada said that Qatar The Minister said that the impor- opment in the world and its operations Conference opens enjoys good reputation with its trade tance of energy-related arbitration is require contracts at company and partners because of its commitment clearly visible if the volume of global country levels and, hence, there has to fulfill agreements. trade associated with energy sources to be an unconventional mechanism He said that commercial arbi- and the contribution of the energy to settle disputes between contract- tration is significant because of its sector to global gross domestic prod- ing parties. By Sachin Kumar important role in maintaining inter- uct is considered. This underlines the He noted that ways of settling dis- The Peninsula national peace and security and importance of having a mechanism to putes and international arbitration preventing the deterioration of dis- settle disputes and explain the basics have been widely accepted in several putes. Jointly organised with the that were agreed between parties to agreements because they have assur- International Center for Conciliation trade transactions and collect them ances for investors and save them the DOHA: The Minister of Energy and and Arbitration (QICCA) and the Inter- as a an independent and experienced long wait and complications in regu- Industry H E Dr Mohammed bin Saleh national Court of Arbitration and in reference whose rulings are accepted lar judicial procedures. Al Sada said yesterday that Qatar partnership with Squire Patton Boggs, by all sides. Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim said this strives to produce clean energy and the event was sponsored by Al Sulaiti Andrea Carlevaris, ICC Interna- conference aims to shed the light on is always keen to keep its contracts Law Firm. tional Court of Arbitration Secretary international arbitration with the par- dispute-free so that there would not He added that Qatar is a state of General spoke about the growing sig- ticipation of a group of experts and be a need in future to take matters to institutions where the judiciary has nificance of arbitration, locally and specialists, which, he added, is one of arbitration mechanisms. integrity and independence. The min- regionally. He said more companies in the objectives of ICC Qatar and Qatar The Minister of Energy and Industry H E Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Speaking during the opening ses- ister praised the experience of Qatar Qatar and in the Middle East are tak- International Center for Conciliation Sada at the conference in Doha yesterday. Pic: Abdul B/The Peninsula sion of first International Arbitration International Center for Conciliation ing arbitration route to settle disputes. and Arbitration.

Tajikistan minister visits QIIB and discusses Islamic banking Real estate

The Peninsula and extending support to various transaction development projects in Qatar. QIIB has developed expertise in Islamic value touches banking and has established sev- DOHA: Nematullo Hikmatullozoda, eral regional and international Minister of Economic Development partnerships. QR418.8m and Trade, Republic of Tajikistan paid Hikmatullozoda lauded the a visit to Qatar International Islamic expertise of QIIB in Islamic bank- Bank (QIIB) headquarters. ing, which has carved out a niche for The Peninsula QIIB Chief Executive Officer itself in the global banking system. Abdulbasit Ahmed Al Shaibei received He said Tajikistan was keen to ben- the minister. efit from Islamic banking and utilise DOHA:The combined Al Shaibei expressed happiness at the experiences of Islamic banks in value of Qatar’s real the visit of Tajikistan Minister to the his country. estate transactions bank headquarters. Tajikistan wholeheartedly wel- amounted to QR418.8m The CEO provided a sneak pre- comes investments, especially in the during the fourth week view of Islamic banking in general area of Islamic finance. of January, 8 percent up and its growing importance and role He expressed the hope that compared to the previ- in the global banking system. Tajikistan would be able to attract ous week. However, the Al Shaibei pointed out that Islamic Islamic banks to his country, where total number of deals banking is now gaining ground across his Ministry was making efforts declined to 40 against the world and is being increasingly to convince investors about the 57 deals closed in the hosted by many countries, where attractive investment opportunities third week. many economists and experts have available. The increase in the been convinced of Islamic banking, In particular, Tajikistan is keen transaction value during which is built on solid foundations of on expanding and further cement- January 24-28 was trig- value-based banking and has a bright ing the relationship with the financial gered by a mega deal future. and business sector in Qatar. worth QR100m, Ezdan Al Shaibei also spoke about Hikmatullozoda presented a sou- Holding Group’s weekly QIIB’s experience in Qatar and the venir to Al-Shaibei, which reflects the report said. Nematullo Hikmatullozoda, Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Republic of Tajikistan with QIIB region, pointing out that the bank is culture and civilisation of ancient Among various in the forefront of providing funding Tajikistan. Chief Executive Officer Abdulbasit Ahmed Al Shaibei at the QIIB headquarters in Doha. municipalities, Doha topped both in terms of total number of deals and value. The com- bined transaction value Driven by North American sales, GM posts record profit in 2015 of Doha municipal- ity stood at QR221.3m or 52.08 percent of the country’s total trans- Reuters $39.6bn, it said yesterday. GM quarter was $6.3bn, or $3.92 a slashing white-collar jobs and action value. Doha affirmed an earlier forecast that it share, including a noncash gain revamping its model lineup on Municipality closed 15 will increase earnings per share, of $3.9bn from the revaluation of the continent, reducing costs by deals during the week. DETROIT: General Motors Co rode excluding one-time items, to $5.25 certain tax assets in Europe. The $200m. Al Rayan and Umm sales of SUVs and pickup trucks in to $5.75 this year, from $5.02 a gain reflected GM’s expectation GM generated nearly all of its Salal municipalities wit- North America to a record profit in share in 2015. GM posted a record that it will break even in Europe profits in North America. Outside of nessed the closing 2015, and reaffirmed its forecast net profit of $9.7bn for 2015. this year. GM lost $300m in Europe the region, auto operations earned of 10 deals each. The to do better this year despite signs GM stock fell 1.5 percent to in the fourth quarter. about $100m, as losses in Europe ready-to-move segment that vehicle sales are hitting a peak. $29.20, and has dropped 12 per- Stevens said breaking even and international markets outside dominated the transac- GM, the biggest US automaker cent so far this year factoring in Europe this year “is a com- China offset $600m in income from tions. It accounted for and No. 3 globally by sales, earned in the early losses. “We are well panywide focus.” He said GM has joint ventures in China. GM broke over 76 percent of total $2.8bn in the fourth quarter before positioned for a downturn,” Chief already restructured and now even in South America in the quar- transactions against 2.9 interest, taxes and one-time items, Financial Officer Chuck Stevens “we’ve got the right cost structure.” ter. GM has outlined plans to return percent of open lands and plots. A dealer’s shop that sells different brands or $1.39 per share. said. “We don’t think it’s going to GM’s primary rival, Ford Motor to shareholders a total of $16bn in Wall Street expected $1.21 happen any time soon.” Co, turned a profit in Europe in dividends and share buybacks from in the GM line-up in Oakland, California. per share. Revenues were flat at Net income for the fourth 2015, and yesterday said it was 2015 through 2017. 22 THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2016 BUSINESS Middle Eastern carriers grew 11.3% in 2015

In December, the carriers in the fall in the oil price may impact on supply chains and evermore com- of total cargo traffic, were basically region grew 4 percent and for 2015 in some economies in the region but petitive market conditions.” flat in 2015. Latin America suffered a Regional carriers total they expanded by 11.3 percent growth as a whole remains robust “We have to adjust to the ‘new steep decline of 6 percent. Africa also register 4% growth compared to 2014. enough to support further expan- normal’ of cargo growing in line with saw modest growth of 1.2 percent. The in December In terms of freight tonne kilom- sion in 2016. general rates of economic expansion. freight load factor (FLF) was at times eters (FTKs) it was 42.8 percent for Data on global air freight markets The industry is moving forward with the lowest for some years, falling to an 2015, according to the latest data showing cargo volumes expanded an e-freight transformation that will average 44.1 percent compared to 45.7 released by the International Air 2.2 percent in 2015 compared to modernise processes and improve percent in 2014, driven down by weak Cofely Besix Transport Association (IATA), one of 2014. However, this was a slower the value proposition. The faster the demand and capacity expansion. By Mohammad Shoeb the largest aviation industry repre- pace of growth than the 5 percent industry can make that happen, the The industry’s key challenges are Mannai Facility The Peninsula sentative body. growth recorded in 2014. The weak- better”, he added. expected to be discussed in detail at At a time when carriers from all ness reflects sluggish trade growth in After a strong start, air freight the upcoming World Cargo Sympo- other regions across the globe faced Europe and Asia-Pacific. volumes began a decline that con- sium (WCS), which is to be held in Management difficult times or saw moderate Tony Tyler, IATA’s Director Gen- tinued through most of 2015, until Berlin from March 15 to March 17. DOHA: The Middle Eastern airlines growth, the Middle Eastern airlines, eral and CEO, said: “2015 was another some improvements to world trade The 10th edition of WCS, the names new GM witnessed the fastest growth in the which include the three major GCC very difficult year for air cargo. drove a modest pick-up late in the world’s largest gathering of air cargo world in 2015 registering a dou- carriers (Qatar Airways, Emirates and Growth has slowed and revenue is year. Cargo in Asia-Pacific, account- professionals, will bring together The Peninsula ble-digit growth of over 11 percent Etihad Airways) enjoyed a strong year falling. In 2011, air cargo revenue ing for around 39 percent of freight 1,000 delegates under the theme of compared to the previous year. The as network expansion into emerging peaked at $67bn. In 2016, we are not traffic, expanded by a moderate 2.3 ‘The Value of Air Cargo’ to debate strong growth of carriers was driven markets was supported by economic expecting revenue to exceed $51bn. percent. The key markets of Europe solutions for strengthening air cargo DOHA: Qatar’s leading facil- by favourable economic conditions growth in local economies. Efficiency gains are critical as the and North America, which between and the vital service it performs for ities management company, in the local economies. Political instability and the sector adjusts to shortening global them comprise around 43 percent the world economy. Cofely Besix Mannai Facil- ity Management (CBMFM), recently announced the appointment of Robert Wil- lem Cats (pictured) as the new Country Manager for Qatargas bags ‘Goal Qatar. Cats hails from the Neth- erlands, and has spent most of his career working in Europe, Zero Award’ for the Middle East and Africa. More recently, he also worked as EMEA Account Director for (AT&T / CB Richard Ellis) from safety performance 2008-2012, and was assigned to manage a portfolio of 68 administration facilities The Peninsula first and foremost about caring for across Europe, Middle East our people. Qatargas management is and Africa, including a total of fully committed to ensure safe oper- 15 data centres. Prior to join- ation and to provide a safe work ing CBMFM, Cats worked as DOHA: Qatargas, the world’s largest environment for our employees and International Project Direc- Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) produc- contractors. We accept no compro- tor for Facilities Management ing company, was recently awarded mise in this area. This achievement and Project Management the Shell ‘Goal Zero Award’ in recog- is the result of our belief in the ‘Inci- for (Cofely FMO), and was nition of its continued excellent safety dent and Injury Free’ culture which assigned responsibility for performance. is integrated in all our activities. the Katara Cultural Village The award aims to promote and Qatargas highly appreciates the sup- in 2015. build a strong safety culture in the port received from our shareholder “Robert’s experience industry by recognising and celebrat- partners and looks forward to con- includes developing and ing great safety performance. Qatargas tinued improvement of our safety implementing global FM received the award in recognition of performance.” programmes in the areas of working ten million man-hours with- Randy Lee Stadler, Qatargas Ahmad Helal Al Mohannadi, Qatargas Chief Operating Officer (Operations), receiving the award from Michiel safety, critical environments, out serious leaks or incidents. Chief Safety, Environment and Qual- Kool, Managing Director and Chairman of Qatar Shell Companies, at the Qatargas Headquarters in Ras Laffan. continuous improvement and Ahmad Helal Al Mohannadi, ity Officer, added: “We in Qatargas workflow. His proven lead- Qatargas Chief Operating Officer believe that safety is not a mere col- ership skills make him an (Operations), received the award from lection of policies and procedures. Free’ workplace. We appreciate the people and no leaks. We are proud to safety performance with Qatargas ideal candidate to assume Michiel Kool, Managing Director and Safety is a core value that shapes our recognition of our 10 million man- be working with a partner like Qatar- registering 10 million working hours the General Manager role and Chairman of Qatar Shell Companies, in behaviours and actions, not only at hour safety milestone, and we look gas that shares the same belief, making without significant leaks or incidents. enable CBMFM to deliver the a brief ceremony held at the Qatargas work, but in everything we do each forward to continued collaboration sure that Qatargas staff and contrac- I would like to congratulate all Qatar- best long-term outcomes for Headquarters in Ras Laffan. and every day. In Qatargas, no job is in making 2016 our safest year yet.” tors go back to their homes safe and gas management and staff as well as its our clients as we continue to Al Mohannadi said: “We highly well done unless it is done safely. In Michiel Kool, Managing Director sound every day.” partners and contractors on achieving expand our business in the appreciate the Shell Goal Zero award 2015, Shell brought expertise and sup- and Chairman of Qatar Shell Com- “Shell’s Goal Zero Award to Qatar- this milestone. We look forward to our region,” said Ian Harfield, in recognition of working 10 million port to Qatargas in addressing “Line panies said: “At Shell, what we call gas is a recognition for working with continued partnership with Qatargas CEO of Cofely Besix Facility man-hours without a serious incident of Fire” hazards, bringing us closer to Goal Zero is a deep belief that we can this mindset in day to day operations that maintains safety as a core value,” Management. or release. Our safety programme is our vision of an ‘Incident and Injury run our operations with no harm to as demonstrated by an outstanding he said.

IMF and India to host Asian meet Yahoo to look at strategic alternatives as it pursues spin-off in New Delhi AFP a loss of $4.43bn in the final three Mayer (pictured) said she is launching operating expenses by more than months of last year, due mostly to “a strong plan calling for bold shifts $400m by the end of the year. lowering the value of its US, Canada, in products and in resources” to help Cuts at the company will include NEW DELHI: The International Europe, Latin America and Tumblr revive the company’s fortunes. cutting its workforce by about 15 per- Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Gov- SAN FRANCISCO: Yahoo said it is units. Revenue was up marginally She maintained that the plan cent, or approximately 1,500 people, ernment of India will co-host a cutting 15 percent of its workforce from a year ago at $1.27bn. Yahoo would “dramatically brighten our and closing offices in Dubai, Mexico conference to review Asia’s strong and narrowing its focus as it explores said it was launching “an aggressive future and improve our competi- City, Buenos Aires, Madrid and Milan. economic performance. “strategic alternatives” for the future strategic plan to simplify the com- tiveness, and attractiveness to users, Most of the cuts were expected top New Delhi will host the con- of the faded Internet star. pany, narrowing its focus on areas advertisers, and partners.” take place this quarter. ference titled ‘Advancing Asia: The announcement, coming with of strength to better fuel growth.” The plan is intended to drive Yahoo expects that by the end of Investing for the Future’ from the release of a big quarterly loss, At the same time, it said it was growth in Yahoo’s mobile, video, this year it will have approximately March 11 to 13 next month, the IMF offered the first sign that Yahoo may looking at “additional strategic alter- social and “native” offerings for 9,000 employees and fewer than said. Attendees shall discuss topics be open to a sale or merger after years natives,” suggesting it could seek a advertising, a group of products which 1,000 contractors. That figure is less such as the most effective driv- of struggling to regain its former glory. deal to sell or merge the company. Mayer refers to as “Mavens.” than half the number of workers that ers of growth; income inequality, The California company reported Yahoo Chief Executive Marissa Yahoo said it will reduce were on Yahoo’s payroll in 2012. demographic change, and gender; infrastructure investment; climate change; managing capital flows; and financial inclusion. Prime Minister Narendra Modi Gulf Air and Google expand deal and IMF Managing Director Chris- tine Lagarde will be among the conference’s keynote speakers. Commenting ahead of the con- The Peninsula Kingdom. Due to the success of the Director Google for Work. ference IMF Chief Lagarde said, “As event, Gulf Air and Google are now Gulf Air was recently honoured, Asia’s advanced, emerging market looking to expand their partnership for the third consecutive year, at the and developing economies move to to develop and consider opportunities sixth edition of the “MEET ICT” and the next stage of success, they face DOHA: Gulf Air, the Kingdom of that will enhance the services offered the Bahrain International Technol- the key challenge of how to main- Bahrain’s national carrier, recently to the passengers. ogy Exhibition (BITEX) — held in tain and enhance the region’s high partnered with Google to sponsor Speaking of the partnership, Dr Bahrain in January. During the last growth record while boosting jobs, Google CSI: (Creative Skills for Inno- Jassim Haji, Gulf Air Director Infor- GITEX Technology Week Gulf Air won reducing inequality, accelerating vation) Lab, during GITEX Technology mation Technology, said: “Gulf Air is three major technology awards for the infrastructure and human capi- Week - the largest Information Tech- always open to considering oppor- second consecutive year for “Best tal development and implementing nology exhibition and conference in tunities that can stimulate further Hospitality and Tourism Implemen- other growth-enhancing reforms. the Middle East. innovation and improvement, espe- tation of the Year” and “Middle East I am very pleased to cooperate Google CSI:Lab are user-centred cially from vendors as renowned and Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the closely with the Government of classes focused on sophisticated prob- pioneering as Google.” Year” by Arabian Computer News, and India on this conference that will lem-solving techniques that aid in “Innovation must be at the heart “Best Project Execution of the Year in explore how the region can meet developing an innovative mind-set of every business to be able to tackle the Aviation Industry” by Enterprise these policy challenges through teaching people how to tackle com- future business complexities, busi- Channel. investments in the future.” plex problems and opportunities and ness model evolutions and the speed Renowned for its pioneering Other participants will include foster an innovation culture in a work of decision-making. Google CSI:Lab Information Technology achieve- India’s Finance Minister Arun Jait- environment. is an incredible methodology to help ments, Gulf Air was the first ley; Asian Development Bank Gulf Air’s support of Google move faster in this new digital world, organization in Bahrain to imple- President Takehiko Nakao; Indo- CSI:Lab is in line with the airline’s become more end-user driven and ment Private Cloud Computing in its nesian Finance Minister Bambang corporate social responsibility initi- use a prototype-driven approach to IT operations and thereby introduced Dr Jassim Haji, Gulf Air Director Information Technology, and Michael Brodjonegoro; and Bank Negara atives — helping to increase the influx tackling internal and external chal- numerous innovations and improve- Malaysia Governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz. of technology and new ideas into the lenges,” said Michael Korbacher, ments in its IT function. Korbacher, Director Google for Work, at the event. BUSINESS THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2016 23 Tough start for Mena as S&P GCC index dips by 10.7%

index declining by 10.7 percent in 10 percent by the end, to close Jan at Bahrain markets recorded large 2015, up 39percent compared to 2014, continued in 2016, plummeting oil to January. The regional markets ended 5,997 points. Egypt stock market con- declines in both. Kuwait’s volume and due to income growth, modest rise in fresh lows, as Brent crude hit $27 per The fortunes of Mena in red during the month of January, tinued to be plagued by the foreign value traded improved by 50 percent costs and lower impairment charge. barrel on 20 January, its lowest level markets followed the with Egypt (13.3 percent) and Saudi currency crisis, and the country is and 40 percent, respectively, despite Kingdom Holding (Saudi Arabia, 28 since November 2003. Arabia (13.2 percent) declining the under increasing pressure to devalue fluctuations of oil price and persist- percent) had a bad start to the year Uncertainties around China’s oil price, with most most, followed by Qatar (9.8 per- the pound, Kuwait Financial Centre ent selling pressures. after the company declared an 86 per- economy, Opec’s continued strategy indices recording a cent) and Kuwait price (8.7 percent) “Markaz” noted in its monthly mar- Most Blue Chips ended the month cent slump in Q4 profit due to lower to defend its market share, cou- and weighted (7.4 percent) indices. ket research report yesterday. of January in red, barring Ooredoo income and higher provisioning. Net pled with lifting of Iran’s sanctions marginal recovery in Brent crude fell to $27.88 per bar- The research note said Egypt’s for- (Qatar, 5.7 percent), Emirates NBD profit fell from $71mn in Q4, 2014 to weighed heavily, as the latter released the last two weeks of rel during the month, a fall of over eign currency reserves have declined (UAE, 3.9 percent) and Emirates Tel- $10m in Q4 2015. excess bottled up supply into the mar- the month 25 percent, before recovering and from $36bn in 2011 to $16.4bn, and the ecom (UAE, 0.3 percent). Ooredoo’s Saudi Basic Industries Corp ket. Prices rebounded after January closing the month at $34.74 per bar- country has been keeping the pound Oman division secured three new (Sabic) reported a 29.4 percent drop 20, as heavy blizzards in the US and rel (6.8 percent). S&P GCC declined artificially strong by rationing dollars streams of financing from domestic in Q4 net profit, due to lower prices a possible deal between Opec and by 10.7 percent in January, to close at through the weekly dollar auctions and international banks worth $177m, for its products, particularly in its other producers to cut production 85 points. to banks. Mena markets liquidity and expects the funds to help it to con- metals division, and decline in crude by as much as 500,000bpd buoyed The Peninsula The fortunes of Mena markets fol- had a mixed month, with volumes tinue improving its services and reach prices. Saudi Arabia’s National Com- investor sentiments. lowed the oil price, with most indices increasing by 10 percent and value in the country. mercial Bank (NCB) reported a 16.6 January closed with positive news recording a marginal recovery in the traded decreasing by 4.5 percent. The company also lowered data percent rise in fourth-quarter net from Saudi Arabia, the premium Opec last two weeks of the month. Saudi’s Kuwait, Dubai and Jordan witnessed rates in Myanmar in a bid to increase profit despite fall in deposits, as producer, hinted at possible coop- DOHA: Mena equity market had a TASI index slipped 21 percent in Jan- increases in both volume and value its presence. Emirates NBD, reported higher income from fees and lending eration with other oil producers to tough start in 2016 with S&P GCC uary, before rebounding by close to traded, while Morocco, Oman and a net profit of $1.9bn for the full year helped boost profits. Weak sentiment support the oil market.

Companies in US Another milestone QICDRC welcomes ICC International added 205,000 for Dolphin Energy Court of Arbitration Secretary-General jobs in January WASHINGTON: Companies in The Peninsula the United States added a solid 205,000 jobs in January, down The Peninsula from December but sustaining the DOHA: The Qatar International strong pace of jobs growth of 2015, Court and Dispute Resolution Cen- payroll firm ADP reported. DOHA: Dolphin Energy Limited yes- tre (QICDRC) yesterday welcomed The numbers for December, terday announced that it has reached the Secretary-General of ICC Inter- the best month of last year, were the major production milestone of national Court of Arbitration, Andrea revised up by 10,000 to 267,000 6 trillion standard cubic feet (scf), Carlevaris, and the Regional Director net new jobs. “One of the main rea- since the company started opera- of ICC Dispute Resolution Services, sons for lower overall employment tions in 2007. Sami Houerbi, to its premises in Doha. gains in January was the drop-off The Dolphin Gas Project to register at the end of February Carlevaris, who had earlier been in jobs added at the largest compa- achieved full throughput in Febru- 100% plant availability for the sev- delivering a lecture on the ICC Emer- nies compared to December. These ary 2008 and since then Dolphin enth consecutive year. gency Arbitration Rules at an Energy businesses are more sensitive to Energy has been delivering 2 billion Hassan Al Emadi, General Man- Disputes conference at the Grand current economic conditions than scf of natural gas per day to the UAE ager – Qatar, Dolphin Energy, said: Hyatt, met with the QICDRC CEO, small and mid-sized companies,” and Oman. It is meeting 30 percent “We have a strong track record Faisal Al Sahouti, to discuss matters said Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president of the UAE’s energy requirements in maintaining plant availabil- relating to domestic and international and head of the ADP Research and delivering significant volumes ity because of our commitment to arbitration, the role of the ICC in Institute. of natural gas to each of the coun- the highest levels of HSE, asset Qatar and the work of the QICDRC in The ADP’s January number try’s seven emirates. performance and integrity. Strong relation to litigation and other forms was better than the 190,000 that Adel Ahmed Albuainain, Chief communication, teamwork and uti- of dispute resolution. analysts expected. Manufactur- Executive Officer, Dolphin Energy lising the skills and experience of our Al Sahouti provided the attend- ing employment was unchanged Limited, said: “This milestone is sig- employees and contractors are also ees with an overview of the work as manufacturers grapple with a nificant because it demonstrates the essential factors as is a commitment the QICDRC was undertaking in the strong dollar that hits exports and important role Dolphin Energy con- to continuous improvement. We will field of arbitration which included falling oil prices. tinues to play in sustaining energy continue to make every effort to its present role, namely acting as But there was broad job growth security in both countries, driving ensure gas supply to our customers.” a supervisory body under the QFC across the goods-producing and industrial growth and economic Dolphin Energy Limited was cre- Arbitration Regulations, but more service-producing sectors. Finan- development as well as support- ated to develop substantial energy importantly its aspirations to assist cial activities was a bright spot, ing the transition to a low carbon projects throughout the GCC and to with the development of international adding 19,000 jobs, the most since future. To have met this cumulative create long-term economic wealth arbitration in Qatar and the desire March 2006. production total is a source of enor- and new business opportunities for to provide a fully administered arbi- “Job growth remains strong mous pride.” GCC citizens, far into the future. tration service to those who wish to despite the turmoil in the global The 6 trillion scf production total Dolphin Energy’s major strategic conduct international arbitration in economy and financial markets,” was achieved in spite of a challeng- initiative, the Dolphin Gas Project, Qatar. said Mark Zandi, chief economist ing year when three new export gas involves the production and process- Carlevaris spoke of the grow- of Moody’s Analytics, which helps QICDRC CEO Faisal Al Sahouti with Secretary-General of ICC compressors were commissioned at ing of natural gas from Qatar’s North ing significance of arbitration both to compile the ADP data. “The International Court of Arbitration, Andrea Carlevaris, in Doha. Dolphin Energy’s upstream facilities Field, and transportation of the dry locally and regionally as well as the US economy remains on track to to support the six compressors that gas by sub-sea export pipeline from importance that is to be attached to return to full employment by mid- are already in operation. Qatar to the UAE, which began in having an “arbitration friendly” judi- in resolving civil and commercial Carlevaris thanked Al Sahouti for year,” he said. “This was a huge undertaking July 2007. The long-term customers ciary who understand arbitration and disputes arising within the Qatar welcoming him to the QICRDC and The ADP employment report from an operational, technical and for Dolphin Energy gas from Qatar arbitral concepts and will be ready Financial Centre. In particular, Grout expressed his admiration as regards came ahead of the government’s safety perspective. Installation of the are ADWEC (Abu Dhabi Water & to enforce arbitral awards where stressed the importance of having an the impressiveness of the QICDRC’s January jobs report, scheduled on three new compressors has helped Electricity Company), DUSUP (Dubai appropriate. international judiciary, an efficient facilities. Both expressed their Friday. The Labor Department is enhance availability and reliability Supply Authority) and OOC (Oman During a tour of the QICDRC’s case management system and mak- mututal desire to work together and expected to report the economy of natural gas supplies for the south- Oil Company). Each has signed a facilities, the QICDRC’s Registrar, ing appropriate use of information cooperate on future projects, such as added 188,000 jobs last month, ern Gulf,” Albuainain continued. In gas supply agreement with Dolphin Christopher Grout, provided an technology, including holding “vir- those relating to education and train- slowing from the 292,000 jump in addition, the company is on course Energy for 25 years. explanation of the role of the Court tual hearings”, where possible. ing in the field of arbitration. December. Ferrari net profit jumps 9.4% Swatch profits

Agencies tick lower on stronger franc MILAN: Italian luxury sports carmaker Ferrari announced an increase in its net profit for last ZURICH: Swatch posted a 21-per- year. Net profit rose at the brand cent-drop in its annual net profit, as with the famous prancing horse the world’s biggest watch group was logo by 9.4 percent last year to slammed by a strong Swiss franc and €290m. a struggling timepiece sector. The debt of €1.94bn, the result Last year, the Swiss watchmaker of its spinoff from Fiat Chrysler last saw its net profit plummet to 1.1bn year and entry onto the Milan stock Swiss francs ($1.08bn), dropping by exchange, was considerably higher more than a fifth from 2014, when than the €1.7bn expected by ana- it reported its weakest annual result lysts. Moreover, Ferrari expects the in five years. A Swatch store in central Zurich, Switzerland. debt to rise slightly this year, while The company, meanwhile, said the increase in sales to shift down its operating profit slipped three a gear. While sales rose by 6 per- percent to 8.4bn Swiss francs last by the AWP financial news agency, In 2015, Swiss watch exports cent in 2015 to 7,664 vehicles, the year, blaming especially “the ongo- who had anticipated a net profit of 1.1 shrank 3.3 percent to 21.5bn francs, company only expects a 3.1 per- ing unfavorable currency situation billion francs on an operating profit falling for the first time since 2009. cent gain this year to 7,900 cars. versus the still massively overval- of 8.5bn. Following the announce- The 2015 slump was closely Adjusted operating profit ued Swiss franc.” ment, Swatch saw its share price fall linked to a steep 9.1-percent fall in should also climb by 3 percent The value of the Swiss franc bal- 1.24 percent to 334.70 Swiss francs in demand in Asia, the main market to €770m, but revenues are only looned after the Swiss central bank morning trading as the Swiss stock for Swiss watches, which absorbed expected to rise by half that rate in January 2015 suddenly stopped exchange’s main SMI index inched up exactly half of all the exports last to €2.9bn. artificially trying to hold down 0.46 percent. year. Exports to China have yo-yoed On a conference call with ana- its value against the euro, hitting Swatch, best known for its wildly in recent years, first raking in lysts, the company said it expects exporters in the country hard. brightly coloured plastic-cased several years of double-digit growth this year’s growth to come pri- Stripping out exchange rate watches, meanwhile stressed that its before taking a hard hit following marily from the United States and factors, by contrast, Swatch said its all-important Watches and Jewelry efforts to crack down on corruption Europe, its two main markets, operating profit dipped only 0.9 per- unit had contracted just 0.8 percent in in that country by banning extrava- while China was forecast to be flat cent. The results were largely in line constant exchange rates — less than gant gifts like expensive watches to year-on-year. Ferrari cars on display for sale at the Grand Palais in Paris yesterday. with expectations of analysts polled the overall sector. public officials. 24 THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2016 BUSINESS ChemChina offers $43bn for Syngenta

The transaction is also likely to face Spain’s BBVA The deal is the regulatory hurdles—much of Syngen- ta’s business is in the United States, posts steady latest in a string of where a $18.5bn offer by Chinese state-owned energy company CNOOC overseas investments for US oil firm Unocal failed in 2005 profit for China’s biggest in the face of political pressure. chemical company Ahead of the announcement an Madrid: BBVA, Spain’s analyst at Germany’s Baader Bank second-biggest bank by as Beijing prods its said that an all-cash deal would be market capitalisation, companies to “go welcomed by investors but “it could said yesterday that net pose political problems”. profit last year was largely out” to expand The offer far outstrips China’s the same as in 2014 as biggest overseas acquisition to date, it faced costs linked to CNOOC’s purchase of Canadian oil integrating its Turkish firm Nexen for $15.1bn in 2013. subsidiary. AFP The Chinese government has The bank posted full- encouraged its companies to invest year net profit of €2.6bn abroad to secure raw materials and ($2.8bn), up 0.9 percent markets, while growth is slowing at from the previous year, BEIJING: Beijing: State-owned China home. and slightly beating ana- National Chemical Corp yesterday “They’re (government officials) lysts’ forecasts. offered $43bn in an agreed takeover still thinking in terms of it’s good for It said in a statement for Swiss pesticide and seed giant companies to gain access to these that the third quarter saw Syngenta, in what would be by far the technologies and these distribution a €1.1bn net loss as earn- biggest-ever overseas acquisition by channels,” Arthur Kroeber, manag- ings were weighed down a Chinese firm. ing director at research firm Gavekal by the integration of its The deal is the latest in a string of Dragonomics, told Bloomberg News. Turkish Turkiye Garanti overseas investments for China’s big- The deal is the latest in a string Bankasi subsidiary. gest chemical company, also known of acquisitions by ChemChina, which But in the final quar- as ChemChina, as Beijing prods its last month bought a 12 percent stake ter the group returned to companies to “go out” to expand. in Swiss energy and commodi- Chinese Chairman of ChemChina Ren Jianxin (right) and Syngenta CEO ad interim John Ramsay arrive for a profit which jumped more Syngenta’s board recommended ties trader Mercuria to expand its press conference to present Syngenta’s annual results at the company’s headquarters in Basel, yesterday. than 36 percent. the offer of $465 a share, plus a portfolio. BBVA said it had ben- special dividend, to its sharehold- Also in January, the Chinese com- Rooker, an assistant professor at the 10-member Syngenta board, four of of wheat and soybeans, and Beijing efited in the Spanish ers, saying in a statement that “the pany said it planned to buy Germany’s University of Nottingham. “They’re whom will be existing directors, the hopes to ensure food security for its market from the integra- proposed transaction respects the KraussMaffei Group, which makes acquiring assets that add to their statement added. “Our vision is not nearly 1.4bn people. The government tion of Catalunya Banc interests of all stakeholders”. machinery for producing plastics and competitiveness as global multina- confined to our mutual interests, but supports what it calls “hybrid” crops, and a reduction in bad The statement said the deal “will rubber, for ¤925m ($1.01bn). tionals.” Syngenta said its existing will also respond to and maximise the such as rice but has moved cautiously loans, which experts say enable further expansion of Syngen- Last year it announced the take- management will continue to run the interests of farmers and consumers on genetically modified food, saying it are unlikely to ever be ta’s presence in emerging markets and over of Italian tyre maker Pirelli, company, which will remain head- around the world,” Ren said. China will prevent “unauthorised” varieties. repaid. notably in China”. But it could face renowned for its Formula One equip- quartered in Switzerland, “reflecting is trying to make its farming sector Syngenta chairman Michel Demare Profits rose strongly challenges before going through. ment and racy calendars, in a deal this country’s attractiveness as a more efficient, supporting massive said the deal was “focused on growth in the United States and The Swiss company reportedly valued at ¤7.4bn. corporate location”. After the deal agricultural conglomerates to replace globally, specifically in China and other were also up in Mexico as rejected a higher $47bn bid from “Their acquisition strategy is not ChemChina chairman Ren Jianxin what were once small family-owned emerging markets, and enables long- well as in South America, rival Monsanto in August last year. ‘catching up’ anymore,” said Tyler will take over as chairman of a new plots. The country is a major importer term investment in innovation”. BBVA said, adding how- ever that the results did not include Venezuela which is facing an eco- BoJ probes report nomic crisis. Ford to cut that predicted jobs in Europe

shock stimulus Frankfurt: US auto giant Ford plans to cut hundreds of jobs in Europe in a bid to AFP order to kickstart the economy. It strengthen profitability in was adopted by a narrow 5-4 vote, the region, it said Wednes- a result hinted at in the Nikkei report day, just days after turning which said that BoJ chief Haruhiko in its first annual profit in TOKYO: Japan’s central bank said Kuroda was trying to convince some years. A plan for voluntary yesterday that it was investigating of his sceptical colleagues. layoffs was presented to a high-profile media report that The bank’s meetings are consid- the workforce on Wednes- revealed it was mulling a nega- ered top secret with media waiting in day, a company spokesman tive interest rate policy just before a closed room with no outside com- said, but declined to pro- it made the formal announcement. munication until the board releases vide any concrete numbers The country’s leading Nikkei its policy decision. or timetable for the job business daily published its story The influential paper’s report cuts. A man rides a bicycle past Panasonic Centre in Tokyo, yesterday. online Friday, several minutes before “came before we handed out printed But in an interview to the central bank shocked markets statements to journalists, so it’s not a several different media, with the surprise stimulus after a case of breaching an embargo”, the the head of Ford of Europe, closed-door meeting. BoJ spokesman said. Jim Farley, put the fig- Panasonic cuts sales target The potential leak sent the yen The Nikkei, which bought the ure in the “hundreds” out into a steep dive and sparked a Financial Times last year, is known of a total workforce in the huge rally in Tokyo share markets for its accuracy in reporting corpo- region of around 10,000. AFP has worsened due to (an) economic March net profit would still come in at as investors cheered the BoJ’s new- rate earnings results weeks before In a statement, Ford slowdown in emerging countries 180bn yen. For the latest period, the est weapon in its bid to kickstart the official announcements by com- said that “after return- including China,” the company said Osaka-based firm booked a net profit world’s number three economy. panies. Sceptics are convinced the ing to profit in 2015, Ford in a statement. of 160.22bn yen, up 14 percent on year, “We have started investigating sources are insiders leaking figures of Europe is accelerating TOKYO: Panasonic yesterday cut Also yesterday, Hitachi cited a as sales edged down. The company, the matter,” said BoJ spokesman to the paper. its plan to deliver a vibrant its full-year revenue forecast, cit- slowdown in China as it cut its full- best known abroad for electronics, has Tadaaki Kumagai. Foreign investors have criti- and sustainably profitable ing a slowdown in China and other year net profit forecast by more shifted its attention to lesser-known “We are interviewing BoJ offi- cised the early reports, saying they business.” The carmaker emerging economies, but added that than 20 percent, although the bat- endeavours, including energy and an cials who were in a position to know give their Japanese counterparts an is targeting “higher profit net profit soared in the nine months teries-to-trains conglomerate said auto division that makes various prod- policy discussions and some gov- unfair home advantage being many and pre-tax operating mar- to December. its nine-month profit rose owing to ucts found in vehicles, from electrical ernment officials as they were also time zones ahead, and are usually gin in 2016 and six-to-eight The Japanese electronics giant strength in the US market. components to car navigation systems. participating the meeting,” he added. published first in Japanese. percent operating mar- -- which has been undergoing a Meanwhile, Panasonic’s move to “Its auto-related businesses have The Nikkei did not immediately In December, the Financial gin in the longer term,” huge restructuring to close the door trim its full-year sales forecast came continued to perform well,” said comment on the investigation. Times caused a stir on financial mar- it said. In the past, Ford on record losses in recent years -- on the back of lacklustre sales in Japan Hideki Yasuda, an analyst at Ace The BoJ’s negative rate decision kets after erroneously reporting that has substantially down- trimmed its fiscal year sales target of rechargeable computer batteries Research Institute in Tokyo. “But we -- effectively charging commer- the European Central Bank was to sized production capacity by nearly six percent to 7.55 trillion and housing-related products, includ- need to keep an eye on the sector, cial lenders to park new deposits at leave interest rates unchanged, min- in Europe. yen ($63bn). ing solar power systems. which is sensitive to macro-economic the BoJ -- is aimed at ramping up utes before the ECB actually cut a “The business environment But it added that its fiscal year to sentiment,” he added. lending to people and businesses in key rate. US auto sales dip 0.3 percent from a year in January

AFP 17.68bn vehicles, Autodata said. That General Motors, the largest US compared with January 2015. “The of America, said in a statement. credit encouraged buying and low tops the 17.47bn sales in 2015, the automaker, delivered 203,745 cars and industry is off to a healthy start in “Despite that and the weather con- gasoline prices boosted demand for auto industry’s strongest perform- trucks in the month, up a bare 0.5 per- 2016,” said Bill Fay, general manager ditions in the Northeast portion of fuel-guzzling sport utility vehicles and ance since 2000. cent from a year ago, while Ford sales for the Toyota division. the country, Volkswagen dealers pickup trucks. CHICAGO: Despite a massive snow- “Many brands had their best Janu- fell 2.6 percent to 173,723 units. Volkswagen, which has been improved in terms of retail business.” “We believe industry fundamen- storm that blanketed the East Coast, ary sales ever, suggesting the new-car FCA US, the US arm of Fiat Chrys- struggling to rebuild consumer trust Honda reported sales fell 1.7 per- tals such as the age of the vehicle fleet, US auto sales looked set to keep up party will continue into the new year,” ler Automobiles, turned in a better in the wake of an emissions-cheat- cent to 100,497 vehicles, while Nissan well-managed inventory levels, firm the momentum from a strong 2015, said Karl Brauer, an analyst for Kel- month, with an overall gain of 6.9 ing scandal which has also forced it said it sold 105,734 vehicles, a gain of used-car pricing, good credit availa- results showed late on Tuesday. ley Blue Book. percent to 155,037 units. to suspend sales of diesel models, saw 1.6 percent. bility and low fuel prices will support The sector kicked off the year with “With transaction prices still ris- Toyota sales fell 4.7 percent to sales fall 14.6 percent to 20,079 vehi- In the “green car” sector, electric- higher industry sales in 2016,” Mustafa about 1.15bn vehicles delivered in Jan- ing, incentive levels holding steady, 161,283 vehicles, but the Japanese cles in January. car maker Tesla saw sales jump 120 Mohatarem, GM’s chief economist, uary, down 0.3 percent from a year and minimal auto loan defaults, the automaker noted that in addition to “January sales numbers were percent to 2,200 vehicles. said in a statement. ago, according to researcher Autodata. health of the market remains high the massive winter storm which shut- down due to the seasonal nature of US auto sales touched a new “In addition, household balance Total adjusted sales were at a while demand for new cars shows tered dealerships along the East Coast the fleet business,” Mark McNabb, high in 2015 as a surge in job growth sheets are strong and the labor mar- seasonally adjusted annual rate of no sign of slowing.” there were also two fewer selling days chief operating officer for Volkswagen boosted household incomes, cheap ket continues to improve.” BUSINESS THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2016 25

Private sector Mitsubishi’s net profit drops starts year on a weak note

stocks and commodities this year, although Britain’s huge services sec- Worries about tor appeared to have escaped largely China’s impact on the unscathed. Comparable data on the US economy is due out at 1445 GMT. global economy have “If external concerns grow and hammered stocks some of those downside risks with respect to China crystallise, then and commodities the situation for this year looks this year, although pretty bad,” said Ben May at Oxford Economics. Britain’s huge “But equally, if in a couple of services sector month’s time people are less con- appeared to have cerned about China, there are tentative signs of export growth escaped largely picking up, then it may well be the Vehicles reflected in mirrors at Mitsubishi Motors Corp’s headquarters in Tokyo. Mitsubishi Motors Corp announced its group net profit in unscathed outlook is much brighter.” FY 2015 April to December period dropped by 22.2 percent from a year earlier after it decided to end production in the US. Markit said its latest Purchasing Managers Indexes suggested a quar- terly 0.4 percent growth pace for the euro zone, a rate it has struggled to Reuters beat for a long time. The final Com- posite PMI, an indicator of overall growth in the private sector, at 53.6 China sets 2016 growth target at 6.5-7% just pipped a flash estimate of 53.5 LONDON: The private sector began but was below December’s 54.3. 2016 on a slightly weak note around The pace of expansion matched AFP tough situation and risks in some areas Diminished growth, he said, is an economic indicators. Manufacturing the world, and with scant signs of only the weakest rate clocked over are accumulating,” he said, adding “but inevitable consequence of the coun- data released Monday, for exam- inflation picking up, pressure will the past year and comes as the Euro- we are capable and confident to deal try’s shift to a “new normal” of slower ple, showed activity contracting at its remain on central banks to keep or pean Central Bank battles to push with the issues and challenges.” Xu said and more sustainable expansion fol- fastest pace in three years. Beijing has even ease their already ultra-loose inflation, at a feeble 0.4 percent, BEIJING: China has set its growth tar- China would move to tackle chronic lowing the double-digit growth of the set 2021 -- the 100th anniversary of monetary policies, surveys showed back towards its 2 percent target. get for this year at between 6.5 and 7 problems with overcapacity and under past. China’s economy, a vital driver the Communist Party’s founding -- as yesterday. “It is worth highlighting that percent, the country’s top economic performing “zombie” companies. of global expansion, grew 6.9 percent the deadline for achieving a “moder- While euro zone businesses despite this correction, new orders planner said yesterday, an acknowl- The announcement was the first last year, its weakest rate in a quarter ately prosperous society”, a goal that started the year in slightly better remained at elevated levels, close edgement that expansion will continue time in two decades that the country of a century. includes doubling income from 2010 shape than first thought, this was to multi-year highs, and thus sug- to weaken. has expressed its economic target in a China’s leaders -- who last year levels. partly due to firms cutting prices at gesting that the moderate growth Global investors are closely watch- range, instead of a single number. targeted growth of “about seven per- Li has said the country should keep the steepest rate since March. momentum is likely to be sustained ing the slowdown in the world’s second The spread, said Natixis SA econ- cent” -- are looking to transform the its growth at or above 6.5 percent over In China, where Beijing is in Q1,” said economist Apolline largest economy, which has created omist Iris Pang, “gives more room for economy away from the investment the next five years to achieve that goal. trying to rebalance the world’s sec- Menut at Barclays Capital. turbulence in world markets. policymakers to exercise their creativ- and exports of the past to one more But Yang Zhao, an analyst at Nomura, ond-largest economy, activity in “Deflationary pressures inten- In 2016 “downward pressure on ity to boost the economy.” oriented towards domestic consumer said the 2016 target would likely prove the services sector expanded at its sified, as lower oil prices impacted economic growth still exists and will Chinese leaders have previously demand. But the transition is proving “too challenging” for the country to fastest pace in six months, partially both input and output costs, consist- expand to some extent”, Xu Shaoshi, hinted that they might move away bumpy and the growth slowdown has achieve.“Because of strong headwinds offsetting weakness in the vast man- ent with our view that the moderate chairman of the National Development from strict growth targets. Last year alarmed investors worldwide. and the lack of clarity on how the gov- ufacturing industry. euro area recovery will continue and Reform Commission, told a press Premier Li Keqiang said Beijing had In recent months China has strug- ernment will stimulate the economy, Worries about China’s impact on to take place in a ‘missingflation briefing. “never said we must defend any tar- gled to get a handle on plunging stock we maintain our forecast that real GDP the global economy have hammered environment’.” “Business operations remain in a get to the death”. prices and increasingly anaemic growth will slow to 5.8% in 2016.”

To clear lawsuit Toyota plants to go offline on Decline in global components demand for PCs hits shortage Lenovo’s revenues TOKYO: Toyota said yesterday that all its domestic parts plants would shut for a full day next week, AFP gain in net profit for the third expanding a production suspen- quarter. sion that is set to be its longest Lenovo said net profit for the since the March 2011 earthquake three months ended December 31 and tsunami disaster. HONG KONG: Chinese technology was $300m, a 19 percent increase Toyota said earlier this week giant Lenovo yesterday posted its year-on-year. Analysts polled by that it would temporarily stop first revenue decline for six years Bloomberg had predicted a decline vehicle production in Japan due due to slowing growth in the smart in profit to $242.5m. to a components shortage follow- phone market and falling PC sales, Lenovo announced plans to ing an explosion at a supplier. sending its shares plummeting. slash costs by $1.35bn and cut 3,200 The world’s top auto maker Lenovo said revenue for the staff from its non-manufacturing said the assembly lines would stop October-December quarter declined workforce when it announced first- for six days from February 8 due to eight percent year-on-year to quarter results last August. a lack of components from affili- $12.9bn.Its shares had fallen 10.19 “The competitive cost structure ate Aichi Steel. percent at the close in Hong Kong, across all of its businesses positions Overseas production would not while the overall Hang Seng Index the group well to sustain its growth be suspended. dropped 2.34 percent. even in the current challenging Additionally, Toyota said “The biggest problem is that market environment,” it said in a A Wells Fargo bank branch in Woodbridge, Virginia. Wells Fargo will pay $1.2bn to settle a US lawsuit Wednesday in a statement that their handsets are still not a profit- statement to the Hong Kong Stock that accused it of improperly certifying loans for a federal mortgage insurance programme, the bank production at its “directly owned able business,” said financial analyst Exchange yestersday. and operated” plants in Japan Francis Lun, referring to Lenovo’s Lenovo added that it was on said yesterday. that make parts and components multibn dollar purchase of Motorola. track to achieve $650m in total sav- would also stop on February 8 for “Lenovo planned to turn around ings for the second half of its fiscal one day. Motorola within one or two years but year.The Beijing-based company The six-day domestic pro- so far it hasn’t happened and I think bought Motorola from Google for duction suspension would be the the handset business is too compet- $2.9bn in October 2014, soon after longest for Toyota since one of 10 itive,” Lun, CEO of Geo Securities, its purchase of IBM’s low-end server days following the March 2011 said. business, as part of a strategy of HTC reports third consecutive earthquake and tsunami, said Revenue for the company’s PC broadening the business beyond PCs. company spokesman Nicholas business was down 12 percent for the It has been hit by a decline Maxfield. quarter and revenue for its mobile in global demand for PCs, which Toyota publishes its nine- sector was down four percent com- account for around a third of its rev- quarterly loss of $103m month financial results this week. pared to the same period in 2014. enue, despite efforts to diversify into It did not say if the temporary pro- But the firm posted a surprise other sectors including smartphones. duction shutdown would affect results in the current quarter. AFP profit of Tw$500m in the same period the holiday season. The homegrown Aichi Steel, which produces last year, the company said in a state- Taiwanese brand, once a star of the speciality steel products among ment. Revenue came in at Tw$25.7bn in intensely competitive smartphone sec- other items, was hit by an explo- the three months to December, almost tor, has struggled to maintain its edge sion on January 8 which badly TAIPEI: Taiwan’s struggling smart- halved from the same period a year as Samsung, Apple and strong Chinese damaged parts of its production phone maker HTC yesterday reported earlier, it said. brands like Huawei expand their mar- site. a third straight quarterly loss for However, the figures improved ket share. In a bid to boost its flagging It expects to return to full October-December, although losses from the previous quarter when it fortunes, HTC unveiled a new flag- operation in March. Toyota said narrowed due to holiday season reported a net loss of Tw$4.48bn and ship model—the One A9 -in October Monday that it does not disclose demand and the launch of a new phone. revenue of Tw$21.4 billion, which to take on Apple’s dominance, which its daily production plans, but the Net loss in the fourth quarter was HTC attributed to “good momentum” the company said was well received firm has said it produced 14,000 Tw$3.4bn($103m), compared with a of its Desire line of smartphones in across Asia, the US and Europe. units a day in 2015. 26 THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2016 BUSINESS

QE INDICES SUMMARY QATAR STOCK EXCHANGE QE Index 9,486.71 1.52 % QE Total Return Index 14,795.47 1.52 % QE Al Rayan Islamic Index 3,366.1 1.31 % QE All Share Index 2,529.68 1.40 % QE All Share Banks & Financial Services 2,590.4 0.96 % QE All Share Industrials 2,764.64 3.17 % QE All Share Transportation 2,263.55 0.51 % QE All Share Real Estate 2,041.04 0.93 % QE All Share Insurance 3,996.67 2.61 % QE All Share Telecoms 1,051.44 0.10 % QE All Share Consumer Goods & Services 5,321.57 0.76 %

QE MARKET SUMMARY COMPARISON 03-02-2016 Today 02-01-2016 Previous day Index 9,486.71 9,633.32 Change 146.61 85.49 % 1.52 0.90 YTD% 9.04 7.63 Volume 5,923,443 8,966,585 Value (QAR) 212,328,903.35 317,095,392.26 Trades 4,282 5,042 Up 08 | Down 30 | Unchanged 02

WORLD STOCK INDICES Index Day’s Close Pt Chg % Chg Year High Year Low All Ordinaries 4930.761 -113.192 -2.24 5379.6 4857.9 Cac 40 Index/D 4274.32 -9.67 -0.23 4586.11 4084.68 Dj Indu Average 16153.54 -295.64 -1.8 18351.4 15370.3 Hang Seng Inde/D 18991.59 -455.25 -2.34 21794.84 18534.3 Iseq Overall/D 6324.69 -31.15 -0.49 6791.68 6146.61 Karachi 100 In/D 32084.06 123.45 0.39 33304.4 29785 Nikkei 225 Index 17191.25 -559.43 -3.15 18951.12 16017.26 S&P 500 Index/D 0 0 0 2134.72 1812.29

EXCHANGE RATE Currency Buying Selling US$ QR 3.6305 QR 3.6500 UK QR 5.2497 QR 5.3241 INTERNATIONAL MARKETS - A LIST OF SHARES FROM THE WORLD Euro QR 3.9534 QR 4.0095 COMPANY CLOSE NET VOLUME COMPANY CLOSE NET VOLUME COMPANY CLOSE NET VOLUME COMPANY CLOSE NET VOLUME CA$ QR 2.5912 QR 2.6425 NAME CHG TRADED NAME CHG TRADED NAME CHG TRADED NAME CHG TRADED Swiss Fr QR 3.5612 QR 3.6115 Yen QR 0.0302 QR 0.0308 A C C-A/D 1243 -20.2 22808 Escorts Fin-B/D 4.49 -0.23 20632 Jmc Projects-T/D 213.5 0.6 20976 Thirumalai-B/D 178.4 -13.5 6264 Aus$ QR 2.5512 QR 2.6025 Aarti Drugs-B/D 517 -12.2 1653 Escorts-A/D 126.7 -5.3 121372 Kajaria Cer-A/D 939.1 -10.15 4060 Til Ltd.-T/D 407.1 -28.6 6003 Ind Re QR 0.0530 QR 0.0541 Aban Offs-A/D 173.3 -7 252437 Essar Oil-T/D 260.3 -0.1 81723 Kalpat Power-B/D 188.55 -7.35 6795 Timexgroup-T/D 29.05 -2 17062 Aegis Logis-B/D 95.4 -1.65 20080 Eveready Indu-/D 233 -7 33729 Kalyani Stel-T/D 140.6 -3.6 33016 Tinplate-B/D 68.85 -0.9 47993 Pak Re QR 0.0344 QR 0.0351 Alembic-B/D 37.7 -1.05 207602 F D C-B/D 194 0.15 18625 Kanoria Chem-B/D 64 -3.95 12958 Ucal Fuel-B/D 104.5 -4.4 6115 Peso QR 0.0754 QR 0.0769 Alok Indus-A/D 5.07 -0.06 1539902 Federal Bank-A/D 46.1 -0.45 127277 Kg Denim-B/D 48.75 -1.8 27833 Ucal Fuel-B/D 104.5 -4.4 6115 SL Re QR 0.0250 QR 0.0256 Apollo Tyre-A/D 138.05 -4.4 229056 Ferro Alloys-B/D 5.74 -0.18 11596 Kilburnengg-Xd/D 64.05 -2.95 39665 Ultramarine-B/D 110 -4 12647 Taka QR 0.0458 QR 0.0469 Asahi I Glass-/D 151 5 14309 Fgp Ltd-B/D 4.43 0.21 7925 Kinetic Eng-B/D 101.7 -4.3 7339 Unitech P -A/D 5.05 -0.42 8298884 Ashok Leyland-/D 86.9 -3.85 820961 Finolex-A/D 300.6 -10 7261 Kopran-B/D 55.3 -3.25 99471 Uppergsugar-T/D 73.75 -5.7 14493 Nep Re QR 0.0333 QR 0.0339 Bajaj Hold-A/D 1442.2 4.05 2567 Forbes-B/D 1299.5 -130.5 1415 Lakshmi Elec-B/D 382 -13.1 1130 LONDON SA Rand QR 0.2230 QR 0.2274 Ballarpur In-B/D 15.4 -0.6 273906 Gail-A/D 358.45 -3.25 79815 Laxmi Prcisn-B/D 46 -1.2 1791 Banaras Bead-B/D 47.8 -1.7 5240 Galada Power-B/D 14.9 0.25 1258 Lgb Broth-B/D 464.9 3.2 1174 Bata India-A/D 452.75 -1.45 19891 Gammon India-T/D 16.15 -0.6 137833 Lloyd Metal-B/D 9.92 -0.61 8482 3I Group/D 419.7 -11.1 686731 GOLD AND SILVER Bayer Crop-A/D 3337.4 -125.2 1598 Garden P -B/D 23.65 -0.7 3941 Lok.Hous&Con-B/D 6.57 -0.33 38314 Assoc.Br.Foods/D 3191 -9 245709 GOLD QR132.5713 per gramme Beml Ltd-A/D 1003 -39.9 23348 Godfrey Phil-B/D 1196.25 -40.75 12630 Lumax Ind-B/D 419 -5.3 3824 Barclays/D 167.45 -6.3 33516601 Bh Electronic-/D 1214.85 -5.9 32578 Goodricke-B/D 182 1.6 19969 Lupin-A/D 1699.7 -6.45 29821 Bg Group/D 1018 4 6103800 SILVER QR1.6924 per gramme Bhansali Eng-T/D 19.6 -0.55 103711 Goodyear I -B/D 486.5 -3.2 1245 Lyka Labs-T/D 87.75 -1.65 54880 Bp/D 331.35 -3.75 18790248 Bharat Bijle-B/D 827.25 -35 40509 Hcl Infosys-B/D 40 -3.65 675233 Mafatlal Ind-B/D 260.9 -14.7 6472 Brit Am Tobacc/D 3840.5 -16 1228986 Bharatgears-B/D 70.3 -3 7872 Him.Fut.Comm-T/D 18.15 -2.7 5356044 Maha Scooter-B/D1205.25 -32.5 1639 Bt Group/D 490.85 -5.15 6559033 Bhartiya Int-B/D 531 -22.25 15978 Himat Seide-B/D 187.15 -10.3 59687 Mangalam Cem-B/D 185.6 11.4 11394 Centrica/D 197.7 -1.6 3489002 Bhel-A/D 128.3 -6.55 710944 Hind Motors-T/D 5.79 -0.09 104202 Maral Overs-B/D 29.5 -0.35 4325 Gkn/D 266.1 -4 1670184 Saudi index ends Bom.Burmah-B/D 406.1 -10.4 8532 Hind Org Chem-/D 14.45 -0.45 19311 Mastek-B/D 131.5 -1.7 31178 Hsbc Holdings/D 454.4455 -13.1 16617390 Bombay Dyeing-/D 48.05 -3.95 489321 Hind Unilever-/D 821.45 21.25 228904 Max India L-A/D 352.1 -14.5 9198 Kingfisher/D 321.15 0.8 1827860 Camph.& All-B/D 487.5 4.8 4932 Hind.Petrol-A/D 768.7 -14.75 126851 Mrpl-A/D 60.15 -1.6 74588 Land Secs Grou/D 1086 0 601956 higher; most Gulf Canfin Homes-B/D 997.7 -20.8 6690 Hindalco-A/D 66.85 -1.75 1287296 Nahar Spg.-B/D 103.5 -1 10884 Legal & Genera/D 223.2 -0.8 19352582 Caprihans-Xc/D 90 -1.65 9038 Hous Dev Fin-A/D 1160.8 -16.55 79496 Nation Alum -A/D 33.5 -0.75 100609 Lloyds Bnk Grp/D 61.3886 -0.6 74555099 Castrol India-/D 407.15 -3.85 14561 I F C I-A/D 22.15 -0.6 2077195 Navneet Edu-B/D 85.85 -2.7 9906 Marks & Sp./D 415.2 -0.9 1168876 Century Enka-B/D 174.1 -6.1 13304 Idbi-A/D 57.05 -2.25 926434 Nepc India-T/D 1.93 -0.1 5800 Next/D 6725 -10 165239 markets soft Century Text-A/D 481.25 -22.05 124203 India Cement-A/D 83.9 -3.6 385515 Neuland Lab-B/D 715 16.5 17368 Prudential/D 1278 60.5 5363321 Chambal Fert-B/D 56.7 -0.4 27422 India Glycol-B/D 83.95 -3.45 5355 O N G C-A/D 213.1 -3.65 213535 Rank Group/D 278.2 -1.8 17165 Reuters Chola Invest-A/D 658.9 12.35 1050 Indian Card-B/D 248 -6.1 2163 Oil Country-B/D 27.5 -0.5 2642 Rentokil Initi/D 155.9 -1.2 563785 Chowgule St-T/D 17.7 -0.3 3932 Indian Hotel-A/D 110.1 -0.15 84724 Onward Tech-B/D 72.25 -4.25 7013 Rolls Royce Pl/D 518 -13.5 2365083 Cimmco-B/D 81.6 -4.3 10336 Indo-Tcount-T/D 1181 -9.25 11519 Orchid Pharm-B/D 44.95 -0.3 175668 Rsa Insrance G/D 402.5 -4.4 539601 Cipla-A/D 561.35 -12.65 122378 Indusind-A/D 906.35 -2.4 55747 Orient.Carb.-T/D 530 -3.25 1259 Sainsbury(J)/D 246 -4.5 3014207 DUBAI: A late rebound in oil prices helped Saudi Ara- City Union Bk-/D 81.1 -0.45 17470 J.B.Chemical-B/D 267.65 10.2 172448 Orient.Carb.-T/D 530 -3.25 1259 Schroders/D 2577 -44 183500 bia’s stock market close higher yesterday while most Colgate-A/D 840.75 -14.35 51931 Jagatjit Ind-X/D 64.5 2.95 6619 Oudh Sugar-B/D 45.85 5.05 167244 Severn Trent/D 2184 -14 111789 other Gulf bourses were lower. Real estate shares helped Container Cor-/D 1103.15 -60.8 61042 Jagson Phar-B/D 42.85 -2.45 37389 Patspin India-/D 9.35 -0.15 2459 Smith&Nephew/D 1133 -4 677020 to lift Egypt’s market. Dai-Tichi Kar-/D 350.5 -10.1 1914 Jamnaauto-B/D 138.7 -7.9 202728 Punjab Chem.-B/D 131.7 -18.4 10662 Smiths Group/D 890.5 -16.5 351202 Stocks around the region fell early on after pur- Dhampur Sugar-/D 65.95 -0.05 60745 Jbf Indu-B/D 203.75 -13.25 36181 Radico Khait-B/D 111.95 -2.55 166237 Standrd Chart /D 415.9 -16.8 6115635 chasing managers’ surveys gave fresh evidence that Dr. Reddy-A/D 3007.75 -37.65 16676 Jct Elect P -B/D 0.36 0 6000 Rallis India-A/D 157 -1.1 9702 Tate & Lyle/D 619.5 -6.5 334646 economies are slowing. Growth in Saudi Arabia’s non- E I H-B/D 111.5 -1.9 3276 Jct Ltd-B/D 7.34 -0.38 525559 Rallis India-A/D 157 -1.1 9702 Tesco/D 170.5 -0.6 8122568 oil private sector fell to its lowest level in January since E.I.D Parry-A/D 172.7 -4.75 102683 Jenson&Nich.-B/D 9.05 -0.43 7814 Reliance Indus/D 359.2 5.2 388797 Unilever/D 3052 -26 1238864 the survey began in August 2009, while growth in the Eicher Motor-A/D 16773.6 -423.55 5246 Jik Indust-T/D 1.02 -0.05 1054 Ruchi Soya-B/D 22.9 -0.7 41039 United Util Gr/D 953.53 -7.5 304100 United Arab Emirates dropped to a 46-month low, and Electrosteel-B/D 20.2 -0.55 90219 Jindal Drill-B/D 117 -3.4 1567 S Bk Bikaner-B/D 520 -9.15 1105 Vodafone Group/D 216.3 -5.25 47115566 activity in Egypt shrank for a fourth month. Emco-B/D 29.1 -2 61649 Jktyre&Ind-A/D 86.9 -3.25 150834 Saur.Cem-B/D 51.4 -0.15 182903 Whitbread/D 3926 -28 123394 But Brent crude, which has been closely correlated to the Saudi stock index this year, bounced above $33 a barrel in the afternoon, helping the index close 0.9 percent higher. Petrochemical blue-chip Saudi Basic Industries fell as much as 1.5 percent early on but closed 1.9 percent European indices slump on rising oil stocks higher. Saudi Kayan, another petchem seen by ana- lysts as particularly vulnerable to low oil prices and this year’s rise in gas feedstock prices, surged 5.2 percent. AFP taking its cues from Asia as the Chemical Corp (ChemChina) yes- But slumping oil prices do substan- Apart from petrochemicals, most activity focused demise of the oil prices continues terday offered to buy Switzerland’s tially reduce costs for companies, on second-or third-tier speculative stocks, with Tihama London, Frankfurt to suppress any real risk appetite,” pesticide and seed giant Syngenta especially airlines. Advertising closing down its 10 percent daily limit and and Paris all shed said Brenda Kelly, head analyst for $43bn, which would be a record US benchmark West Texas real estate firm Al Andalus rising by that amount. LONDON: Higher than expected at traders London Capital Group. overseas purchase by a Chinese Intermediate crashed more than Other Gulf bourses fared less well. Dubai’s index oil stocks topping levels not seen around 1.5 percent “Energy and financials are the firm. “US markets look set for a 11 percent on Monday and Tuesday edged up 0.2 percent as Emaar Properties slid 1.0 per- since the 1930s and suggesting while Milan lost 2.8 underperformers today overall. higher and less volatile open on to fall back through the $30 level cent but builder Drake & Scull rose 2.5 percent. weak global economic demand Oil continues to drag on the FTSE Wednesday with merger news for the first time since January 21 Courier firm Aramex tumbled 3.4 percent after helped push stock markets down percent, dragged especially in light of BP’s (poor) set offering a source of optimism after before yesterday brought some reporting a 36 percent fall in fourth-quarter net profit yesterday. The latest figures from down by sharp of results yesterday which tends the agreed deal between Syngenta respite. However, dealers remain to Dh57.6m. Abu Dhabi’s index ended 0.8 percent lower the US Department of Energy weakness in the to set the scene for Shell tomor- and ChemChina and Yahoo hinting on edge ahead of a US report ana- as banks which led the market up earlier this week fell showed commercial reserves of row morning when it reports its at a possible sale,” said CMC Mar- lysts warned could see a further back. First Gulf Bank slipped 1.7 percent. crude as having passed the 500 volatile banking numbers.” kets analyst Jasper Lawler. increase in stockpiles. Qatar sank 1.5 percent, dragged down by Industries million barrel mark to 502.7m sector. Among the biggest fallers, Yahoo on Tuesday said it is Five minutes after Wall Street Qatar. The company fell 3.9 percent; a major petro- barrels. Barclays shed 4.7 percent, BP lost cutting 15 percent of its work- opened, the Dow Jones Indus- chemical and steel producer, it is exposed to both oil That helped to depress Euro- 0.8 percent and Societe Generale force and narrowing its focus as trial Average was up 0.51 percent prices and infrastructure spending in the Gulf, which pean markets down for a second slid 3.0 percent. Top gainer was it explores “strategic alternatives” at 16,235.82 points but then slid is slowing because of governments’ austerity policies. day running, following on from dragged down by sharp weakness the world’s leading luxury prod- for the future of the faded Inter- just into the red as did the broad- Egypt’s index gained 1.0 percent. Several major real sharp losses across Asia although in the volatile banking sector. ucts group LVMH, which rose 4.5 net star. Oil’s ongoing travails have based S&P 500 and the tech-rich estate shares rose and Emaar Misr, which had climbed sentiment did get a small boost Oil prices rebounded after percent record on the back of continued to cast a pall over mar- Nasdaq Composite Index after 6.7 percent on Tuesday after Prime Holding started cov- from a mega-takeover involving slipping back below $30 a barrel, record annual sales and soaring kets with recent price plunges to early small gains on news that erage of the stock with a “buy” rating and a fair value China. London, Frankfurt and enough to edge Wall Street higher operating profit, reported late 12-year lows helping to wipe tril- private-sector employers added estimate of 3.94 pounds, rose a further 5.5 percent to Paris all shed around 1.5 per- at the opening. Tuesday. Despite the Asian eco- lions of dollars off share valuations 205,000 jobs in January, ahead 2.32 pounds. cent while Milan lost 2.8 percent, “Another down day in Europe, nomic turmoil, China National and even raising fears of recession. of the forecast 190,000. BUSINESS VIEWS THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2016 27

Global carmakers More central bank rate cuts wary of China coming before any hike certification shift

By Norihiko Shirouzu its domestic automakers from Reuters competition. Feng Yi, director of the China Automotive Technology and ome global automakers Research Center (CATARC), which are worried that China is oversees the National Technical pushing its weight around Committee of Auto Standardi- as the world’s biggest car sation, said there was no aim to Smarket - by enforcing its own, protect local producers or hinder often outdated, vehicle certifi- foreign automakers. In emailed cation standards on foreign cars. comments to Reuters, he said local China previously allowed glo- standards had lagged those from bal brands to sell cars without Europe, though China was now local certification in many cases, speeding up setting its own stand- as long they were approved under ards, based on European rules. international standards. Chi- “However, because it takes nese rules essentially apply older quite a long time to set up or standards to features such as update standards and prepare bumper strength, brake perform- new auto products, new stand- ance and the size and positioning ards will still be one step behind of lamps and mirrors. compared with (Europe),” he said. Global car makers say the After a decade of double-digit move to enforce local standards growth, helped by subsidies and more rigorously highlights the other policy measures, China’s unpredictability of doing busi- light vehicle sales slowed to sin- ness in China, is a step back in gle-digit growth last year, and technology and could mean costly research firm JD Power predicts re-designs and delayed new car that will likely be the norm for the President of the European Central Bank (ECB) Mario Draghi attends a debate at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, launches. next few years. eastern France, on Monday. In one instance, Chinese “We’ll see more of this as the regulators made an issue of the market slows ... to make sure position of a Nissan Motor car’s state-owned and domestic auto- fog lamps - something that has makers will be solvent,” said John By Balazs Koranyi 25-year low, slows. may need to be delayed somewhat. Traders since impacted other automak- Humphrey, a JD Power consultant. Reuters Chinese stocks have lost over a fifth of now see only one increase if any this year, ers, people with knowledge of the “Without that, a lot of those com- their value since the start of the year, while probably in November, not the three or four matter said. panies won’t be able to withstand a renewed slide in oil prices, a major indi- discussed in December. Odds have shifted Shifting a lamp by a few cen- the raw market forces.” cator of economic activity, took Brent crude quickly, so any more market volatility could timetres can mean re-designing A spokesman for Chinese lobal interest rates are likely to to its lowest since 2003. The CBOE Volatil- erase rate hike expectations for 2016. exterior body panels, investing automaker Zhejiang Geely said he go even lower before they rise as ity Index, the US equity market’s “fear gauge” The problem for central banks is that in stamping dies and lighting did not know if the shift was ben- financial market volatility and the has risen sharply. their tools in a zero-rate environment are assemblies, and delaying planned efiting local car makers. “Geely spectre of deflation raise fresh The European Central Bank responded relatively untested, only moderately effec- launches by more than a year, Auto’s design, R&D and production Gdoubts about central banks’ ability to fulfil by raising the prospect of another rate cut in tive and, because they do not coordinate said people close to the Japanese facilities fully comply with stand- their mandates, policymakers and econo- March while the Bank of England has rowed policy, prone to cancelling each other out. Automotive Manufacturers Asso- ards and certification in China mists said. back from suggestions it could start hiking Returns from quantitative easing ciation (JAMA). and in overseas markets where With markets in turmoil and talk of rates soon. diminish with each round while deeply “It’s an inconvenient and sud- our vehicles are sold,” he said. further Chinese currency devaluation inten- Last week, the Bank of Japan unex- negative rates raise financial stability risks den departure from the status In another case, Honda Motor sifying, expectations for US rate hikes this pectedly lowered its key rate into negative as banking profitability falters and asset quo,” said an executive at a lead- was told by Chinese regulators year have all but evaporated and central territory, abandoning its policy of holding bubbles form. Currency depreciation, a ing international automaker. that sensor frequencies in one of banks from Europe to Canada and Australia rates at zero to avoid potential damage to key policy transmission channel for most “We’re essentially being asked to the on-board diagnostic systems are preparing the ground for more easing. the financial system. central banks, also has limits as too many redo some aspects of new vehicles monitoring engine and trans- Faltering emerging market growth is “The BOJ provides the strongest signal to countries trying to devalue leads to a cur- in China using outdated standards. mission performance and tyre exacerbating concerns, raising the risk that date that the previously assumed zero lower rency war. This may cost us critical time and pressure on one of its new mod- policy easing in too many places at once will bound on rates is no longer valid,” Deutsche “The economic bang for the depreciat- money.” els did not meet their certification cancel itself out and force national banks Bank strategist George Saravelos said. ing buck, or yen or euro is relatively small,” To be sure, compliance won’t standards. into a vicious cycle of competitive currency “Markets should now be pricing that Citi economists Steve Englander and Josh break the bank, but car makers Spokespersons for Nissan and devaluation. global rates across global fixed income can O’Byrne said in a note to clients. are concerned they may be sac- Honda declined direct comment, “The biggest risk for the world econ- sustainably and substantially trade below “A consequence is that if the exchange rificing technical advances as but said they support the JAMA omy at this point is zero in the current and future easing cycles.” rate is the tool of monetary policy, it doesn’t China’s standards can lag global playing a lead role on this issue. an aggressive pol- Money markets now see the ECB’s work nearly as well as advertised, you have norms by as much as a decade. A Toyota spokesman declined to With markets in icy of devaluation in deposit rate sinking to -0.5 percent this year to go much further than you think, for much “They can enforce what- comment. China,” said the head from -0.3 percent while the BOJ said its poli- longer than you think and you are proba- ever standards they want. The The JAMA sent a delegation turmoil and talk of a major central bank cies provided room for more easing if needed. bly in much deeper trouble than you are question is: are those standards to Beijing in November to voice of further Chinese in Europe, who asked The Reserve Bank of Australia, the Bank willing to admit.” high enough to protect consum- its concern to the CNCA depart- currency devaluation not to be named. of Canada and Sweden’s Riksbank have also Neither does policy easing solve the ers,” said Yale Zhang, head of ment that deals with automotive “With uncertainty highlighted risks, keeping the possibility of underlying problem of high debt, which is Shanghai-based consultancy certification, three people close to intensifying, and volatility already policy easing on the agenda. holding back growth and inflation. Automotive Foresight. “People the JAMA said. Feng at the CAT- expectations for high, it would have a The US Federal Reserve has been the big One source with knowledge of the ECB’s think China does not have proper ARC said he was not aware of any big consequence for exception, lifting interest rates in December thinking acknowledged that its room for standards and that’s why the car such meeting. US rate hikes this all economies.” for the first time since 2006, but has already manoeuvre is limited: “We have a lot of quality here is lower.” The European Automo- year have all but The People’s Bank acknowledged headwinds that may delay tools still but all are problematic one way or As European certification bile Manufacturers Association of China has been further hikes. another so they are not the most effective.” standards - the de facto global (ACEA), which represents firms evaporated and fighting to keep the “It is difficult to judge the likely impli- Central banks are nevertheless com- norm - have evolved in line with including Volkswagen, Daimler central banks from yuan stable since Jan. cations of this volatility,” Vice Chairman pelled to act by their unique mandates, advances in technology, China’s and BMW as well as top US man- 6, when its second Stanley Fischer said on Monday. “If these which mostly set targets for inflation. have lagged behind. Foreign car ufacturers, says it prefers its car Europe to Canada sharp depreciation in developments lead to a persistent tighten- ECB President Mario Draghi has makers say this is in part because makers to try to resolve issues and Australia are six months sparked ing of financial conditions, they could signal stressed that the euro zone’s central bank China wanted to help protect themselves case-by-case. preparing the ground fears of more devalu- a slowing in the global economy that could focuses on its mandate, a message echoed ation as growth in the affect growth and inflation in the United by BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda who for more easing. world’s second biggest States.” San Francisco Fed President John said last week his bank would “do what- economy, already at a Williams meanwhile said the next rate rise ever it takes” to achieve its goal. Russia’s crisis produces a paradox: Surging luxury car sales

By Gleb Stolyarov and Jack Stubbs 20 percent against the dollar last year, After a decade of annual sales growth asset, which helped a lot of the premium Reuters means foreign-made luxury cars are con- in excess of 10 percent, the sector has been and ultra-premium brands,” added IHS’s siderably cheaper in Russia than elsewhere. hammered by a steep economic downturn Urquhart. A new Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet since 2013 in major oil producer Russia, Their healthy sales figures also high- s Russia wrestles with an economic costs 11.8 million roubles ($151,687) in Rus- which has been hit by collapsing glo- light the wealth disparity in Russia, brought crisis, more and more Porsches sia, for example; in the United States, the bal crude prices and Western sanctions into sharp focus by the economic downturn and Rolls-Royces are appearing same model sells for $200,400. imposed over Moscow’s actions in Ukraine. which saw real wages - adjusted for infla- on its roads. Maria Malinskaya, showroom head at New car sales plunged 36 percent last tion - fall 9.5 percent in 2015, according to AIt seems something of a paradox; the Rolf car dealership group, said some year and are forecast to decline for the government figures. while mass-market car sales in the coun- premium models were now two or three fourth year running in 2016, according to New cars are out of reach for many try have tumbled along with the rouble and times cheaper in roubles than in dollars. the Association of European Businesses Russians. Prices for Avtovaz’s Lada Granta Falling wages in oil prices, one area is bucking the trend - Richer Russians have also looked (AEB) lobby group. sedan, Russia’s best-selling car last year, the country have luxury cars. to store their wealth in premium autos But few high-end brands are feeling start at 368,900 roubles ($4,694). Sales of Porsche, Bentley, Rolls-Royce rather than volatile roubles, say analysts, the same pain. Bentley sales rose 7 per- With the average monthly salary in the deterred many and Lexus cars all rose last year, even as as foreign-made cars have not tradition- cent year-on-year in 2015 and purchases country at 42,684 roubles in December, people from buying Russia sank into recession. ally depreciated as sharply in Russia as in of Rolls-Royce cars were up 5 percent. Por- buying even a new budget car like the Lada “It’s bizarre,” said IHS Automotive ana- the West. sche and Lexus, whose sales increased 12 Granta represents most of a year’s wages. new cars in any lyst Tim Urquhart. “Even in the absolute Russia’s premium car market has come and 6 percent respectively last year, are At the luxury end of the market, the price bracket, but for depths of despair which the economy is in a long way since the 1970s when only three the only two brands to have maintained base price for a Rolls-Royce Ghost SWB at the moment, these brands still seem to Mercedes reportedly drove on Moscow’s annual sales growth in Russia since the currently stands at 19 million roubles those Russians who be doing ok.” concentric ring roads: one owned by then market peaked at almost 3 million sales ($241,784), the British carmaker told Reu- can still afford top- Falling wages in the country have Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, the other a year in 2012. ters, enough to buy more than 50 Ladas. of-the-range autos, deterred many people from buying new two by world chess champion Anatoly Kar- Porsche and Rolls-Royce said the “Even in a crisis there are people who cars in any price bracket, but for those Rus- pov and dissident songwriter Vladimir devaluation of the rouble had supported have money,” said VTB Capital analyst it could be a good sians who can still afford top-of-the-range Vysotsky. demand for their vehicles. Vladimir Bespalov. “Possibly, it is precisely time to buy. autos, it could be a good time to buy. Today, the wider Russian auto indus- “There was an impulse move to put cash in a crisis that they think it a good time to The weaker rouble, which lost almost try is suffering. into a physical asset, a high-value physical buy expensive cars.” 28 THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2016 BUSINESS BACK TO BUSINESS

SUVs rev up at Delhi auto show sight despite pollution crackdown Japan’s savers

AFP won’t play ball as BoJ turns negative NEW DELHI: India’s flagship auto show opened its doors in New Delhi yesterday with a new batch of die- Reuters sel-guzzling SUVs on proud display, despite industry uncertainty about Central bank a pollution crackdown targeting governor Haruhiko motorists in the capital. TOKYO: The Bank of Japan (BoJ) More than 80 vehicle launches hopes that cutting interest rates Kuroda aims were expected at the Auto Expo 2016, below zero will boost spending to break the the biggest edition in the show’s and investment, but fear, iner- 30-year history, with the Fiat Chrys- tia and years of paltry returns deflationary ler-owned Jeep making its India mean the nation’s army of sav- mindset that has debut and hoping to capitalise on the ers is unlikely to march to the popularity of sports utility vehicles. central bank’s tune. blighted Japan SUVs pouring onto the roads have After the BoJ made its move for decades and been partly blamed for the Indian on Friday to charge banks for get the economy capital’s toxic air which the World holding their reserves from Health Organization has ranked the February 16, some retail banks moving worst on the planet. are already cutting their deposit The Delhi government and the rates, and the rest are expected courts have announced a string to follow suit. of measures to tackle the crisis, Bank of Yokohama Ltd, one including a ban until March 31 on of Japan’s biggest regional lend- became Resona, 320 times what registration of new diesel cars with ers, cut its one-year rate to 0.02 the bank pays now on five-year an engine capacity of two litres or percent from 0.025 percent, and deposits, but he has long since more -- typical of large SUVs or lux- Wrangler Unlimited and Grand “Right now the impact is not too Resona Bank, a unit of fourth- become used to getting scorn- ury cars. Cherokee models will be on sale from much, but more and more in India, largest lender Resona Holdings, fully low returns. “A change of Although the moves have rattled mid-2016, while it plans to invest customers are becoming aware of The Delhi halved its rate to 0.025 percent 0.01 points is such a microscopic the industry, carmakers Wednesday $280 million in its plant in Ranjan- it,” Abdul Majeed, a partner at con- government and on five-year deposits. thing,” said Nishimura, 70, who showed off their new SUVs -- includ- gaon that will produce an “all-new sultancy firm Price Waterhouse and Central bank governor used to own an electronics shop. ing many smaller, cheaper versions of Jeep”, the carmaker said. auto industry expert, said. the courts have Haruhiko Kuroda aims to break “For now, I’ll just wait and see.” the cars that can more easily navigate India’s biggest carmaker Tata With polluting cars in the frame, announced a string the deflationary mindset that Noriko Ainoya, 71, who runs chaotic city streets, aimed at young Motors showed off a range of new electric and hybrid vehicles -- still a has blighted Japan for decades a shop selling handbags in Sug- urban buyers. models as it tries to broaden its niche market in India -- also made a of measures to and get the economy moving, amo, a Tokyo shopping district Among those unveiling these flagging market share, includ- strong showing at the Expo, includ- tackle the crisis, but his compatriots are com- popular with the older genera- “compact SUVs” was Maruti Suzuki, ing two forthcoming SUVs and the ing the BMW i8, a rare example of a pulsive savers. tion, is equally dismissive of the the Indian subsidiary of the Japanese Zica hatchback -- which it plans to hybrid sports car. including a ban More than half of the $14tril- “dimes and pennies” she gets on carmaker better known for its domi- rename following the spread of the Toyota, whose Prius and Camry until March 31 on lion in Japanese households’ her savings. nance in the small car market, which Zika virus. hybrids are among those most registration of new financial assets are either bank But the alternatives are too was holding the global premiere of its “We recognise the need to sought-after by environmentally deposits or cash, compared with risky. “I’m scared to keep money Vitara Brezza. improve air quality, but when we look conscious consumers, said inquiries diesel cars with an only 13.7 percent for the United under the mattress,” she said. Jeep acknowledged it faced the at the targets being set, they should about the Camry doubled in January. engine capacity of States and 34.4 percent for the “But I don’t know about invest- task of reclaiming its 75-year-old be set based on emissions -- limits on India, the world’s fifth biggest euro zone. ing, either, since there’s no brand name in the Indian market, emissions” rather than restrictions auto market, has an extremely low two litres or more -- Ryoji Yoshizawa, director knowing how stocks will move.” where SUVs are often called sim- on engine size, Timothy Leverton, number of cars for its 1.2bn people, typical of large SUVs at Standard & Poor’s Ratings Banks are unlikely, however, ply “jeeps”. There are plans to target Tata’s head of research and devel- with industry figures suggesting there Japan, doesn’t think the cuts to follow Kuroda into negative affluent consumers with its luxury opment said. are as few as 16 per 1,000 people. or luxury cars will change that. territory. “There have been 4x4s. Industry insiders say there are But despite its huge potential, the “Interest rates are already attempts in the past by banks to “The SUV segment is poised to fears that the ban on large diesel domestic passenger car market has very low, so further cuts are introduce charges on deposits, take a quantum leap in the coming cars could be extended to other cit- performed poorly in recent years not likely to have much impact but they failed due to the back- years in light of the emerging market ies also trying to combat air pollution, with sales growth flat or in single dig- on depositors.”Tokyo pensioner lash from retail and corporate trends,” said Kevin Flynn, president or extended for a longer term. its, the Society of Indian Automobile Kozo Nishimura remembers get- clients,” said Yoshinobu Yamada, and managing director of Fiat-Chrys- Carmakers are rushing to offer Manufacturers says. After two days ting 8 percent on his savings banking analyst at Deutsche ler Automobiles India. petrol-powered versions of their of press previews, the show will open at Kyowa Bank, which later Securities in a note to clients. “Jeep is our name and we intend vehicles as well as diesel, for fear to the public on Friday and run until to capture it for ourselves.” Jeep’s motorists may shun the dirtier fuel. next Tuesday.

The weakening outlook for the global economy and Capital any further strengthening of the dollar could have William C Dudley, President of “significant consequences” for the health of the US the Federal Reserve Bank of New Comment economy York

TOP TWEETS BLOGS AND VIEWS Market Talk Angola economy IIF @IIF MoneyBeat in crisis as oil sinks Since #BOJ moved to NAME IN THE MARKET: M&A MEGA DEALS negative interest rates AFP of its value against the dollar last last Friday, JPY has It’s a month into the new year and Angolans are rushing to depreciated close to turn their local savings into more 2% vs USD year and Wall Street is stable units, yet banks are low on already dialing back its LUANDA: Sitting under an foreign exchange. Financial Times @ expectations for 2016 umbrella in the heat of Angola’s The black market is their only FinancialTimes capital Luanda, a vendor holds hope for now. “There is a strong a makeshift currency exchange demand for the dollar,” said a board on which is scribbled “335 young black marketeer on con- @fastFT: GM posts kwanzas: $1”—more than double dition of anonymity. The rate record profit on US the official rate of 155 kwanzas. “can’t continue to go up like this, car sales boom The drop in the price of crude otherwise it becomes dangerous, oil to its lowest level in more than people are fed up”, he said. Private Equity Beat a decade has not only pushed In December, central bank IMF @IMFNews Angola’s currency to record lows, governor Jose Pedro de Morais it has plunged the economy of tried to calm nerves, saying IMF & India to host Africa’s second largest crude pro- there was “no dollar crisis in the conference in New Co-investments-in which ducer into a crisis. country”. Delhi taking stock investors deploy money directly Despite the country’s oil and “There is a balance of pay- of Asia’s economic diamond resources, Angola suf- ment deficit and there are fewer performance into companies alongside fund fers endemic poverty, with more foreign resources, but the 2016 managers-provide a way for than a third of the population of national budget will try to address limited partners to save on fees around 24 million living below this temporary difficulty,” he said. Bank of America News the poverty line, according to the Shortly after his remarks, the and choose their deals. But United Nations. bank devalued the currency by @BofA_News growing competition for co- Fallout from the oil price 15 percent against the dollar. crunch is inflicting even more The devaluation did not come Circumstances deter- investments in 2015 shrank the pain on the already struggling as a surprise, “A weaker currency mine when you should pool of attractive deals poor, and risks threatening the is needed to slow imports demand buy a house, not the stability of the country. The and help exports,” said an inter- economy kwanza currency lost 35 percent nal note from a regional bank. www.thepeninsulaqatar.com PAGE | 32 PAGE | 34 Pakistan launches Federer out for high-octane T20 month after knee league in UAE surgery

THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2016 • 25 Rabia II 1437 thepeninsulaqatar @peninsulaqatar @peninsula_qatar ‘Future stars’ arrive in Qatar for Al Kass Cup

The impressive line-up of play- in 2016, the Al Kass International Cup Twelve elite academy ers means football fans in Doha will has cemented its place as one of the get the chance to watch some of the premier youth football tournaments teams including Real world’s finest young talents in action globally. This year we will continue Madrid, PSG, Inter during the 11-day competition that to build on this reputation with world- will also feature Qatari teenagers. class broadcasting of the outstanding Milan and SL Benfica The acclaimed Aspire Qatar team displays of football that we have come will compete in the including Aspire Football Dreams will to expect from the Al Kass Interna- compete against clubs from Spain, tional Cup. U17 tournament at Italy, France, Japan, China, Argentina, “Following on from the huge suc- Aspire Academy the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia. cess of last year’s competition, Al Kass outdoor football fields Mohammad Khalifa Al-Suwaidi, look forward to showcasing all the live Acting CEO of Aspire Zone, expressed action in 2016 to football fans all over his confidence in the opportunity the the world,” he added. tournament facilitates for Qatari play- Hassan Al Thawadi, Secretary Gen- ers to enhance their skills and gain eral of the Supreme Committee for The Peninsula international experience. Delivery & Legacy, said: “Since its launch “It is a great honour and privilege in 2012, the Al Kass International Cup has to be welcoming some of the world’s been determined to develop a long-last- DOHA: Some of the world’s choice very best young footballing prospects ing legacy that will be passed on to future young footballers have arrived in to Doha for the fifth edition of the Al Al Kass 2015 Champions Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) celebrate on the podium after receiving the winner’s generations. That legacy is designed to Qatar this week for the launch of the Kass International Cup following on trophy in this file picture. continue the success this tournament has fifth annual Al Kass International Cup from the distinguished performance enjoyed in discovering the stars of the set to kick off tomorrow. of our national players, some of whom contact with their peers from some competition, Inter Milan will face games live both online and on TV with future, both from Qatar and from abroad.” At the Al Kass International Cup from Aspire Academy, in the Asian of the sport’s top academies.” Partic- Chinese team Shanghai Greenland, Arabic and English commentary on “The success of this tournament 2016, 12 elite academy teams includ- Football Federation U23 Champion- ipating teams have and will continue while SL Benfica and FC Redbull http://internationalcup.alkass.net. demonstrates the commitment Qatar ing Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, ship,” he said. to arrive in Doha over the coming days Salzburg will play against Aspire Looking forward to another has to grassroots football and to Inter Milan and SL Benfica will com- “Previous Al Kass tournaments as local fans look forward to group Football Dreams and Celtic Glasgow exciting tournament, Essa Abdulla Al- keep showing this country has the pete in the U17 tournament at the have contributed greatly to the devel- stage games between some of the respectively. Hitmi, Chairman of the Organising passion, knowledge and determina- Aspire Academy outdoor football opment of the skills of the budding world’s leading football clubs. Official tournament sponsor Committee of Al Kass International tion to utilize the power of football,” fields. players at Aspire Academy due to On the first day of the Al Kass TV will be broadcasting all Cup, said: “Kicking off its fifth year he added. 30 THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2016 SPORT

QOC joins National Al Attiyah cynosure of all eyes Sport Day celebrations

as MERC Qatar Rally flags off The Peninsula brand new bike. Cycling fans will also be able to watch the Tour of Qatar travel through The Pearl QATAR INTERNATIONAL and challenges to drivers while it is also search of ways to impress. According to DOHA: With the Rio 2016 between 1-3pm. The local hero will RALLY 2016 the only stage which the vehicles will run the clerk of the Rally Marwan Musabah, Olympic Games closing in, The QOC’s National chase his fourth on asphalt. The spectators will be in for the drivers will be in action under the the Qatar Olympic Com- Federations will join the a treat as the drivers display their skills actual rally atmosphere on the following mittee (QOC) will launch celebrations by organ- consecutive title on off with Qatar International Rally 2016 along the short track, drifting and nego- day, and the coming 72 hours will deter- a series of activities to ising activities across home soil at Doha Corniche this afternoon, start- tiating corners at high speed mine the champion of the 34th version of encourage the nation to Qatar, with the main ing at 7pm. Al Attiyah will drive the Skoda Qatar international rally in both classes. rally around and celebrate hubs at Katara, the Cor- The legendary Qatari will go full Fabia R5, much like his fellow country- At 9.00am today, the participating Olympics on National niche, Aspire Park and Al throttle with the aim of capturing his man Abdulaziz Al Kuwari and they are cars will undergo inspection by the FIA Sport Day 2016 which falls Gharafa. With taster ses- The Peninsula fourth consecutive Qatar Rally Champi- joined by Khalid Al Suwaidi who will be technical delegate Lionel Care. next Tuesday. sions and demonstrations onship, following his successful run at the in action in his Ford Fiesta R5. More than 125 marshals will be on QOC will conduct taking place throughout 2013, 2014 and 2015 versions, but there The remaining 12 drivers will com- duty during the rally and the volume of several Olympic sporting the day in over 30 differ- will be 15 of world’s best drivers looking pete for Group N glory, most notably, preparations carried out by QMMF is activities that will be on ent sports, National Sport to spoil his effort, focusing on honours at Lebanon’s Rodolphe Asmar who’ll be something special. offer for all ages and abil- Day provides an opportu- DOHA: Qatar’s national racing icon and the end of the three-day rally. driving alongside Joseph Matar in a Today’s super special stage will ities across Qatar. nity to try new sports and two-time Dakar Rally champion Nasser Today, the Rally will be ceremonially Motortune Racing Mitsubishi Lancer Evo be followed by six more special stages Speaking ahead of pick up old ones.” bin Saleh Al Attiyah will be the cyno- flagged-off with the Super Special Stage IX. The start studded list will also include tomorrow and an additional six on Sat- National Sport Day, Secre- “Sports and activi- sure of all eyes when the FIA’s Middle at the car park along the Doha Corniche. drivers from Kuwait, Lebanon, Jordan urday, ensuring top class racing action tary General of the Qatar ties range from football, East Racing Championship (MERC) flags The 2.7km track will provide excitement and Turkey who will go the extra mile in along a variety of terrains. Olympic Committee, Dr. athletics and handball Thani Abdulrahman Al- to bowling, golf, hockey Kuwari, said: ‘It is a very and para-sport. A full list exciting year for sport of the activities and loca- with the greatest sporting tions can be found on the event in the world just six QOC’s website http://bit. months away.” ly/1RYGdxV. “We are encourag- Speaking about ing everyone to come National Sport Day, together on National Sport President of the National Day and ‘be Olympic’ by Sport Day Organising taking part in our activ- Committee and Assist- ities across Qatar.” ant Secretary General of “Whether you are an Administrative Affairs at aspiring Olympian or sim- the QOC Meshaal Al Kha- ply want to participate for lifa said: “We hope that fun, there is something this year’s National Sport available for everyone. Day will inspire the nation There is no better occa- to take part in sport regu- The local hero sion to be inspired by the larly and lead active and Nasser bin Saleh Al Olympic spirit and unite healthy lifestyles.” Attiyah in action. our nation through our “With so many shared passion for sport, activities on offer for whilst having fun with all interests, ages and family and friends.” abilities, it provides an The QOC will organ- excellent opportunity for ise the activities in the everyone to find a sport Qanat Quartier of The that they enjoy and a club Pearl in conjunction with to join so that they can the United Development carry on participating Company on February long after National Sport 9 from 8am to 4pm and Day is over.” the organizers expect the “It also provides beachfront to come alive an opportunity for our with sporting activities, National Federations to competitions and enter- identify young sporting tainment commemorating talent who can go on to the annual Sport Day.” become Qatar’s future “To mark Doha’s host- Olympic heroes. We ing of the 2016 UCI Road encourage everyone to World Championships, bring their families and there will be an oppor- friends and try as much tunity for visitors to the sport as possible on Feb- activity area to win a ruary 9.” Soyebo makes no mistakes as Al Arabi hammer Al Ahli

The Peninsula QATAR BASKETBALL LEAGUE

DOHA: It was Al Arabi all the way. Soyebo Temi Nar- GAMES ON FEBRUARY 06 cellius produced a tally of AT AL GHARAFA 34 points as Al Arabi ham- INDOOR HALL mered Al Ahli 113-78 in 5:30pm Al Wakrah vs Qatar SC their Qatar Basketball 7:30pm El Jaish vs Al Rayyan League (QBL) game yes- terday. Soyebo also managed throughout the four quar- 8 assists as Al Arabi com- ters of the lop-sided game. pletely dominated the game In a low-scoring clash, played at Al Gharafa Indoor Al Gharafa beat Al Sadd Hall. 57-41. Galloway Kevin O’Brien Todd Edward Dwayne scored 14 points scored 29 points and had 3 for Al Gharafa besides assists to help Al Arabi pick managing 5 assists. up an easy win. Saad Abdulrahman Al-Nasr Khalid Masoud Mohamed scored 12 points (14) and Matalqah Osama while Ndoye Hassino pro- Adel Mohamed (13) also duced a tally of 10 points. well played. For Al Ahli, Muslic Nedim, Adako Joyner Jr. Terrence Lav- Emmanuel Osaro and alle scored 25 points while Salem Omar Abdelkader team mate Seydou Ndoye all scored 7 points each. Elhadj managed a tally of For Al Sadd, Kone 20 points. Mohamed Deba (12) and Elsadiq Mustafa was Abdi Khalid Suliman (10) the other Al Ahli player to were the only two players reach double figures. Mus- to reach double figures. Al Ahli’s Mohamad Aisameldin Abdullah shoots a basket while Mohamed tafa scored 15 points. Raffa Anthony (8) and Daoud Mohamed of Al Arabi attempts to spoil his effort during their Qatar Once Soyebo and Saeed Erfan Ali (6) were the Al Gharafa’s Emmanuel Osaro Adako (on top) shoots a basket during their low- Basketball League match played at the Al Gharafa Indoor Hall yesterday in Edward hit their range, Al othe notable scorers for Al which Al Arabi won 113-78. Arabi remained in the lead Sadd. scoring clash against Al Sadd. Al Gharafa won 57-41. SPORT THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2016 31 QSL: Al Sadd eye return to winning ways

FOOTBALL: AL SADD VS AL Ferreira’s side takes AHLI on Al Ahli in today’s Round 17 match, El have full confidence that things will Jaish coach Sabri be fine and the results of the team will Lamouchi looking for improve starting from Al Ahli match.” Al Ahli new coach Youssef Adam a positive result after assured that he is ready to lead the last round’s loss to Al side against Al Sadd, indicating that he is not a stranger to Al Ahli and Khor knows the players well. “Al Sadd are one of the leading sides in the QSL, but the match will be The Peninsula settled in the field and the better team will win the game. Ahli have been unlucky in recent games,” Adam said. DOHA: Al Sadd’s Portuguese head The former El Jaish coach Adam From left: Al Sadd Portuguese coach Jesualdo Ferreira speaking during a press conference on the eve of the Qatar Stars League (QSL) Round coach Jesualdo Ferreira is confident praised the new signing the Moroc- is side can return to winning ways can striker Mouchine Iajour. 17 match against Al Ahli. Others present were Al Ahli coach Youssef Adam, El Jaish coach Sabri Lamouchi and Al Kharaitiyat coach Amir Osim. when they face Al Ahli in their round “He has settled well with the club 17 Qatar Stars League match today. and will give us an extra edge in the key returning players for El Jaish. against Al Khor and will be looking Qatar Stars League QSL Standings “Al Ahli will be a challenge for us. final third.” “Lucas Mendez and Abdurahman to avenge this. However from what I Fixtures I think we should do well despite us Adam concluded his conference Waleed should be fit for this tie. That seen from their recent matches, there Teams P W L D GF GA Pts Today not having the best results recently” by saying: “ I would like to express will make a big difference to the side are ways I think we can beat El Jaish” Al Rayyan 16 15 1 0 48 14 45 concluded Ferreira at his side’s pre- my thanks to Al Ahli Club for granting in the next few games.” the Bosnian revealed. El Jaish vs Al Kharaitiyat at Al Sadd Club (Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium), Lekhwiya 16 11 4 1 44 20 34 match press conference yesterday. me the opportunity to lead the team “Al Kharitiyat play good football Osim also revealed that Al Khar- 4.30pm “Looking at our results on paper till the end of the season. It is a huge and I expect them to be well organ- itiyat will be without talismanic El Jaish 16 10 4 2 34 16 32 Al Sadd vs Al Ahli at Al Sadd Club they look poor, but that doesn’t show challenge and I am willing to give my ized for this match. I watched them striker Hassan Abdel Fattah, but said (Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium), 7.15pm Al Sadd 16 8 4 4 35 25 28 how well our performances have all for this club.” against Lekhwiya, I think they were that the rest of the squad is fit for the been. Despite this we have plenty of In the other match today, El Jaish unlucky not get a point. However we challenge of El Jaish. Tomorrow Al Arabi 16 7 6 3 23 23 24 Umm Salal vs Qatar SC at Qatar Club positives, the players deserve better too will be keen to forget their last have prepared well and I have faith Talking of changes in the trans- Umm Salal 16 5 3 8 20 19 23 results and this will eventually come.” round match which they lost to Al my team can get a positive result” fer window for Al Kharaitiyat he said. (Seham Bin Hamad Stadium), 4.30pm Ferreira’s side lost 3-1 to Al Wak- Khor. El Jaish coach Sabri Lamouchi Lamouchi revealed. “We have only made one change Lekhwiya vs Al Sailiya at Qatar Club Al Sailiya 16 7 8 1 24 26 22 rah in the last round match. has called for a big leap in perform- In contrast, Al Kharaitiyat coach in the transfer window. We are sat- (Seham Bin Hamad Stadium), 7.15pm Al Gharafa 16 6 7 3 13 19 21 Ferreria also noted that new ance from his side in their clash with Amir Osim predicted a tough test isfied with our professional players Al Gharafa vs Al Arabi at Al Gharafa Al Wakrah 16 6 8 2 23 27 20 signing Bagdad Bounedjah is still Al Kharitiyat. for his side. “Our last two matches at this club; I think that minimal Club (Thani Bin Jassim Stadium), recovering from an injury and una- “We have forgot about the Al Khor have been against Lekhwiya and Al changes in the winter window are for 7.15pm Al Khor 16 5 7 4 15 19 19 On Saturday vailable for selection whilst the match, it is time to focus on Kharitiyat Rayyan, despite playing well we have the best of the club. We don’t want Al Ahli 16 4 7 5 18 24 17 returning Qatar U23 players will be I am expecting a positive perform- zero points from these matches. We to make lots of changes which could Al Wakrah vs Al Khor at Al Wakrah slowly eased backed into the squad ance and a strong result,” remarked will need to work hard if we are to affect the harmony of the side. Play- Club (Saoud Bin Abdel Rahman Kharaitiyat 16 5 9 2 25 33 17 Stadium), 4.30pm after a busy three week period for the French tactician at his side’s pre- achieve a positive result against a ing with the same group will stabilize Qatar SC 16 2 10 4 15 40 10 them at Qatar-based championships.” match press conference. team who is doing well in the league.” us in the long term; I only see that as Mesaimeer vs Al Rayyan at Al Arabi Ferreira concluded by saying. “I Lamouchi also had news on some “El Jaish lost in their last match a good thing for Al Kharitiyat.” Club (Grand Hamad Stadium ), 7.15pm Mesaimeer 16 1 14 1 11 43 4

Sail The Gulf 2016 Qatar’s Balla eyes Asian Indoors glory

The Peninsula ATHLETICS: ASIAN INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS DOHA: Qatar’s Musaeb Abdul- rahman Balla is aiming to raise his performance by a few notches and support that will surely provide him is hoping the Asian Indoor Champi- with extra motivation to claim first onships which is due to take place in place in the 800m final. Doha will be an ideal setting to shift “Competing in Aspire’s beauti- gears and touch new heights ful track with my closest people by The 800m reigning Asian indoor my side means a lot to me and makes and outdoor champion 2015 had been me want to push myself harder to live outstanding, but, it seems the best is up to their expectations and succeed yet to come for the 26-year-old Qatari in front of the home crowd. I want middle-distance runner. to make them all proud, especially “It is true that 2015 was excep- our federation who is taking care of tional for me, nevertheless I am not all our needs and offer us unlimited only hoping to keep up the same support. pace in 2016, but achieve even bet- “This year we may boast of hav- ter results. The first challenge lying ing a fantastic team which can push ahead is the Asian Indoor Champi- Qatar become Asia’s best nation Qatar’s Musaeb Abdulrahman Balla in this file picture. onships, a very special competition once more and repeat the 2014 feat. for all members of the Qatari team, I truly believe that this team has more since it is being held on home turf” potential to top the medal table and “I want to break that record des- “As I said before, I hope 2016 says Balla a 2015 two-lap World Out- can count on the experience we all perately. I came so close to beating will prove to be a great year for me. door Championships finalist. have gained by competing at interna- it last season and I feel my time has This season is extremely important The continental championship tional events in recent years.” come to become Asia’s number one mostly because of the Olympics. takes place from February 19 to 21 Winning in Doha is not Bal- at last. I just need the right race and The progress I made in 2015 was at Aspire Dome. la’s ultimate target for the indoor an ideal pace.” outstanding, but I needed to make A Qatari sailor taking part in one of the races of the Sail The Balla is one of the most recog- season. After narrowly missed the To make it so, Balla has worked more changes in my training and Gulf 2016 in Doha yesterday. Qatar Sailing & Marine Sports nisable figures in Qatar athletics and Asian indoor record last year when on new race tactics and training find the race tactic that suits me the Federation (QSMF) in co-operation with Katara, is organising the as a distinct member of the nation’s he was clocked 1:45.48 in Stockholm, regimes which he aims will assist most in order to go one step beyond”, Qatar International Regatta, Sail The Gulf 2016. Sailors from 18 Asian Championships squad he will the world’s top mark indoors, he has him show an even more competitive deems Balla whose personal best (and countries are taking part in the championship. The event will certainly be backed not only by his now set sights on eclipsing Yusuf Saad spirit ahead of a quite challenging national record) outdoors is 1:43.82 end on Saturday. family and friends, but by all local Kamel’s 1:45.26, the fastest 800m run year which will culminate with the set last July in Barcelona, in one of fans in the Aspire Dome arena, a by an Asian. Olympic Games in Rio. his career’s only two sub-1:44 runs. Final round of Aspire Football League on National Sport Day

The Peninsula The increased exposure will help COMPETITION ON develop the boys and create a higher- NATIONAL SPORT DAY level football culture. DOHA: Aspire Academy yesterday Referees from the Qatar Football conducted a draw that determined Association and coaches from Aspire the groups taking part in the final Group A will consist of Al Sadd SC, Academy will be on-site during the round of the Aspire Football League, Al Rayyan SC and Al Arabi SC, while final matches. The winning teams which will take place on February 9, the 2004 Group B will consist of Al will receive a trip to the Sealine resort coinciding with National Sport Day. Gharafa SC, Al Wakrah SC and Al at the end of the season for members The Aspire Football League is Ahli SC. of the team and staff. Matches will designed to help develop young foot- The 2005 Group A will consist of kick off at 9:15am at pitch 4. ballers who were born in 2004 and Al Sadd SC, Al Khor SC and Al Wak- Aspire Academy first opened its 2005, including those from the Acad- rah SC, while the 2005 Group B will doors in 2004 and is considered to be emy and the clubs within the Qatar consist of Al Ahli SC, Lekhwiya SC one of the leading sports institutes in Football Association (QFA). and Al Gharafa SC. the Middle East. It offers coaches the chance to While the final matches will be The Academy offers an integrated help develop the players’ techniques played between the participating educational program of sports devel- during smaller matches, creating a QFA clubs only, the ongoing league opment, sports science and academic learning environment that enables will still offer the boys from the learning to boys aged 12 to 18. players to develop and master their Aspire Academy exposure to a vari- The school develops well-edu- dribbling, passing, shooting and other ety of techniques, styles and playing cated sports champions, and aims Officials of clubs taking part in the Aspire Football League pose for a group picture after the draw ceremony skills. strategies that will enrich their to become the world’s leading sports at Aspire Academy in Doha yesterday. Following the draw, the 2004 development. academy for young athletes by 2020. 32 THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2016 SPORT

PSL SQUADS Peshawar Zalmi: Shahid Afridi, Wahab Riaz, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Hafeez, Junaid Khan, Aamer Yamin, Imran Khan Jr, Shahid Yousuf, Abdur Rehman, Musadiq Ahmed, Hassan Ali, Chris Jordan (England), Jim Allenby (England), Dawid Malan (England), Darren Sammy (West Indies), Tamim Iqbal (Bangladesh); Supplementary: Brad Hodge (Australia), Isarullah, Taj Wall Karachi Kings: Shoaib Malik, Sohail Tanvir, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Bilawal Bhatti, Iftikhar Ahmad, Nauman Anwar, Usama Mir, Sohail Khan, Mir Hamza, Saifullah Bangash, Shakib Al Hasan (Bangaldesh), Mushfiqur Rahim (Bangladesh), Ravi Bopara (England), James Vince (England), Lendl Simmons (West Indies); Supplementary: Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka), Shahzaib Hassan, Fawad Alam Islamabad United: Misbah-ul-Haq, England star Kevin Pietersen (left), Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal (centre) and Luke Wright watching the proceedings during a trainingsession at the ICC Cricket Academy in Dubai Mohammad Irfan, Sharjeel Khan, yesterday. CENTRE: Former Pakistan batsman (right) Ijaz Ahmed supervising Lahore Qalandars training session. RIGHT: West Indian batting legend Sir Vivian Richards (left) speaks Mohammad Sami, Khalid Latif, Babar with Pakistan and Quetta Gladiators batsman Ahmed Shahzad during the team’s training session. Azam, Imran Khalid, Kamran Ghulam, Umar Amin, Rumman Raees, Amad Butt, Shane Watson (Australia), Brad Haddin (Australia), Andre Russell (West Indies), Samuel Badree (West Indies), Sam Billings (England); Supplementary: Saeed Ajmal, Ashar Islamabad, Quetta to clash in opener Zaidi, Umar Siddiq Lahore Qalandars: Umar Akmal, Mohammad Rizwan, Yasir Shah, Sohaib Maqsood, Zafar Gohar, Hammad Azam, Zia-ul-Haq, Zohaib Khan, Azhar Ali, Naved Yasin, as Pakistan Super League kicks off Adnan Rasool, Chris Gayle (West Indies), Dwayne Bravo (West Indies), Kevon Cooper (West Indies), Mustafizur Rahman (Bangladesh), The entire event will be played at Cameron Delport (South Africa); PAKISTAN SUPER LEAGUE Supplementary: Abdul Razzaq, Pakistan’s Twenty20 two venues - Dubai and Sharjah. BEGINS TODAY “There were countless hurdles to Mukhtar Ahmad, Ehsan Adil, Imran competition featuring stage this event,” said PSL Chairman Butt five teams and Najam Sethi. Quetta Gladiators: Sarfraz Ahmed, “Since there is no international announced to launch the Pakistan Ahmed Shehzad, Anwar Ali, Zulfiqar superstars to be cricket in Pakistan staging the event Premier League in 2011, promising Babar, Umar Gul, Bilal Asif, Asad played in Dubai and like PSL was not an easy task.” to give tough competition to ‘rival’ IPL Shafiq, Mohammad Nawaz, Saad With the popularity of the short- with more money and glamour. Nasim, Akbar-ur-Rehman, Bismillah Sharjah with the final est format of the game, the Twenty20 However, the plans couldn’t see Khan, Kevin Pietersen (England), scheduled on Feb 23 leagues have become a common phe- the light of the day. Butt’s succes- Luke Wright (England), Jason Holder nomena but this tournament is more sor Zaka Ashraf roped in former CEO (West Indies), Elton Chigumbura than just an event for the PCB, which of the International Cricket Council, (Zimbabwe), Mohammad Nabi is resting a lot of hope on its success. Haron Lorgat as an adviser and con- (Afghanistan); Supplementary: Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka), Aizaz Sethi said the PCB is going into sultant but PCB failed to settle on the Cheema, Ramiz Raja Jr The Peninsula the inaugural league with a realis- format of the event and the time of tic approach. the league. “We are not expecting much in the After concerted efforts for most first season. But, I am confident about past of last year, Sethi turned things DUBAI: New franchises Islamabad the future. It will be the biggest thing around and put together a workable PSL launches United today will take on Quetta to hit Pakistan cricket,” Sethi said. formula, managing to attract popu- Gladiators in the opening clash of The idea of launching a Twenty20 lar names like Pietersen, Watson, and ‘The Shooting the first-ever edition of the Paki- league was floated almost a decade Brad Haddin stan Super League (PSL) in a game ago by the then PCB Chairman Dr West Indies’ great Sir Vivian Rich- Star’ trophy that would bring delight to cricket- Nasim Ashraf in early 2008. ards and Aussie Dean Jones have starved fans in Pakistan. After the initial plans were can- been named as mentors and coach The franchise-based league - to celled, former PCB chief Ejaz Butt respectively of Quetta Gladiators and The Peninsula be played in the UAE - has endured a Islamabad United. number of false starts in the last few “The PSL is going to be huge for years but Pakistan Cricket Board FACTS AND FIGURES Pakistan cricket,” said Raja. DOHA: With power-packed (PCB) last year finally managed to “It will give much-needed expo- cricket action ready to take place, put together five teams that have The PCB sold all five PSL franchises for sure to new talent and will help the winning team of the first ever attracted big T20 names like Kevin $93m for a ten-year period Pakistan cricket certainly.” Akram Pakistan Super League will win Pietersen, Shane Watson and Andre Karachi is the most expensive team with said. ‘The Shooting Star’ - a specially Russell. the ARY Group shelling out $26m “This event is significant for Paki- designed trophy by Swarovski. Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi will lead stan. Look what the IPL has done to The Shooting Star was Over 100 players and 10 coaches have Peshawar Zalmi while Misbah Ul Haq Indian cricket. I am hopeful the PSL unveiled yesterday in a ceremony signed up for the PSL. is the captain of Islamabad United. will raise our standards also,” he attended by Najam Sethi, Chair- Pietersen, who finished a hugely At least 80 percent of the revenue from added. man PSL Governing Council, successful stint with Big Bash League the broadcast rights will be split equally “ I am also hopeful of my team’s Naveed Asghar, Chief Marketing side Melbourne Stars, will feature for among the five PSL franchises. The (Islamabad United) victory.” Officer HBL, Andrew Mojica, Man- Quetta Gladiators while Azhar Ali remaining 20 percent will go to the PCB. Having opted to go for a draft aging Director, Swarovski Middle has been named captain of Lahore Players placed in the Platinum category instead of a player auction, PSL East in Dubai. Qalandars. will receive $ 140,000 ensured equal competition and finan- The star-studded press confer- Karachi Kings will have Shoaib cial viability for all stakeholders. ence saw the Shooting Star being Peshawar Zalmi’s captain Malik as their captain. Diamond players will earn $ 70,000 Attracting big UAE crowd which unveiled by Wasim Akram, Sha- The final of the tournament Gold will earn $ 50,000 while Silver will gave the ongoing Masters Champi- Shahid Afridi and his team- hid Afridi, Sarfraz Ahmed, Azhar - which has retired cricket starts earn $25,000, and Emerging players will ons League a thumbs down remain mate during team’s training Ali and Shoaib Malik. Wasim Akram and Rameez Raja as earn $ 10,000. a question though the PSL officials session in Dubai on Tuesday. Also present were the five team brand ambassadors - will be played The winning side, will bring home $1m. have claimed a good response in the owners – Salman Iqbal, Javed on February 23. ticket sales. Afridi, Nadeem Omar, Fawad Rana and Aamer Zaidi. “Pakistan Super League is proud to collaborate with PSL Fixtures Swarovski - a leading global brand Dates PSL T20 2016 Fixtures Venues - for the tournament trophies,” said Feb 4 1st T20 Islamabad vs Quetta Dubai Sethi. Feb 5 2nd T20 Karachi vs Lahore Dubai “The Shooting Star carries huge symbolic value since it is the Feb 5 3rd T20 Peshawar vs Islamabad Dubai first winning trophy of the tourna- Feb 6 4th T20 Quetta vs Karachi Dubai ment and it encapsulates the spirit Feb 6 5th T20 Lahore vs Peshawar Dubai of our League,” he added. Feb 7 6th T20 Islamabad vs Karachi Dubai Peshawar Zalmi captain Afridi Feb 7 7th T20 Quetta vs Peshawar Dubai announced that Javed Afridi, the Peshawar Zalmi owner, will pay Feb 8 8th T20 Lahore vs Quetta Dubai for the entry of every Zalmi fan Feb 10 9th T20 Islamabad vs Lahore Sharjah wearing the team’s shirt. Sharing Feb 11 10th T20 Karachi vs Peshawar Sharjah his thoughts, Afridi said: “This will Feb 11 11th T20 Islamabad vs Quetta Sharjah be a great platform for young play- Feb 12 12th T20 Karachi vs Lahore Sharjah ers to showcase their talent at a global stage.” Feb 12 13th T20 Peshawar vs Islamabad Sharjah Former Pakistani captain Feb 13 14th T20 Quetta vs Karachi Sharjah Wasim, Director Cricket of Islam- Feb 13 15th T20 Lahore vs Peshawar Sharjah abad United, said: “It has taken a Feb 14 16th T20 Islamabad vs Karachi Sharjah long time for this to happen but Feb 14 17th T20 Quetta vs Peshawar Sharjah I am glad that we have our own T20 league. Pakistanis will own Feb 16 18th T20 Lahore vs Quetta Dubai this product proudly and I urge the Feb 17 19th T20 Karachi vs Peshawar Dubai fans to come to the stadium as they Feb 17 20th T20 Islamabad vs Lahore Dubai will see some exciting cricket.” Feb 19 1st Play-off 1st Place vs 2nd Place Dubai Artists Sean Paul and Ali Zafar also spoke to the media as FROM LEFT: Former Aussie wicket-keeper Brad Haddin, Australian all-rounder Shane Watson, West Indian Feb 20 2nd Play-off 3rd Place vs 4th Place Dubai they visited the stadium one day Feb 20 3rd Play-off Play-off 2 Winner vs Play-off 1 Loser Dubai batting legend Sir Vivian Richards and former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram pose for a picture on the before they take Dubai by storm sidelines of training sessions in Dubai ahead of the opening of the PSL. Feb 23 Final TBD vs TBD Dubai with their performances. SPORT THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2016 33 New Zealand quicks demolish Australia

AUSTRALIA IN NZ: FIRST Boult and Henry grab ONE-DAYER three wickets apiece as Australia falter in overs. “Our bowling effort was one of chase to allow huge the best we have put out for a while,” 159-run victory to captain McCullum said, while Aus- tralian skipper Steve Smith felt 300 hosts in Auckland was a gettable target until Bould and Henry fired up. “Losing six wickets in the first 10 overs you’re not going to win too many AFP games when you do that,” he said after the match hoping for a better show in the second match. Henry, a surprise omission from AUCKLAND: New Zealand strike the New Zealand team for next bowlers Trent Boult and Matt Henry month’s World Twenty20 champion- destroyed world champions Australia ships, continued the form that made and set up a comprehensive 159-run him New Zealand’s leading bowler in victory in their opening one-day their recent series wins over Sri Lanka international in Auckland yesterday. and Pakistan. In reply to New Zealand’s 307-8, In his first over he had Shaun Australia were all out for 148 in the Marsh caught in the slips for five 25th over. with a ball that moved across the New Zealand, sent in to bat, made left-hander. an aggressive start with Martin Guptill He followed up with the dismissal (90), Henry Nicholls (61) and Brendon of Steve Smith, bowled for 18, and McCullum (44) getting them past the George Bailey for two. Boult mean- 200 mark in 30 overs. while removed David Warner for The run rate slowed with the 12 and claimed Glenn Maxwell and tailenders but a total in excess of Mitchell Marsh without either scor- 300 at Eden Park, even with its short ing in the game. boundaries, was competitive. Warner was dismissed lbw after Australia were never seriously in being hit on the front pad and after contention with their reply. discussion with Bailey at the other end Their innings began to unravel he decided to walk. at the very start as Henry and Boult However, replays showed that had Trent Boult (centre) of New Zealand celebrates with team-mates after taking the wicket of David Warner of Australia (back right) during their ripped out the top order to have the he appealed the dismissal, it would first ODI at Eden Park in Auckland yesterday. tourists reeling on 41-6 after nine probably have been overturned.

Matthew Wade and James Hazlewood deliveries. Guptill joined SCOREBOARD Faulkner attempted a rescue mission the action, hoisting Kane Richard- for Australia with a 79-run stand for son on to the roof of the stadium, as NEW ZEALAND AUSTRALIA the seventh wicket, but when they fell New Zealand – having one run on the M Guptill (run out-Maxwell) 90 S Marsh c Guptill b Henry 5 six balls apart the innings was effec- board after 14 deliveries – raced to B McCullum b Faulkner 44 D Warner lbw Boult 12 tively done. 27-0 after 19. Spinner Mitchell Santner came on McCullum left the ground to a K Williamson c Marsh b Hazlewood 0 S Smith b Henry 18 for his one over of the game and took standing ovation when his innings H Nicholls c Wade b Marsh 61 G Bailey c Anderson b Henry 2 the last two wickets of Kane Richard- ended on 44 off 29 balls with five G Elliott c Hastings b Marsh 21 G Maxwell c Williamson b Boult 0 son and John Hastings with his first fours and three sixes. C Anderson c Richardson b Hastings 10 M Marsh c McCullum b Boult 0 two deliveries to finish the match sit- Kane Williamson fell for a duck L Ronchi b Hazlewood 16 M Wade c Nicholls b Anderson 37

ting on a hat-trick. but Guptill and Nicholls put on 100

M Santner (not out) 35 J Faulkner b Milne 36 But the main bowling damage was for the third wicket before Guptill was done by Boult with three for 38 and run out. He faced 76 balls and clouted A Milne c&b Faulkner 14 J Hastings c Guptill b Santner 8 Henry with three for 41 in the first eight fours and five sixes but there was M Henry (not out) 5 K Richardson c Williamson b Santner 19 match. no one following who could maintain Extras (B-1, LB-3, W-7) 11 J Hazlewood (not out) 0 Guptill and Nicholls provided the momentum. Total (for 8 wkts in 50 overs) 307 Extras (LB-2, W-9) 11 New Zealand’s Brendon the backbone for New Zealand after With his dismissal, four wickets Fall of wickets: 1-79, 2-81, 3-181, 4-205, Total (all out in 24.2 overs) 148 McCullum gestures McCullum, in his final appearance at fell for 53 runs in 12 overs, with Sant- during the first ODI Eden Park, ignited the innings in typ- ner’s unbeaten 35 at the tail the only 5-231, 6-234, 7-263, 8-290. Fall of wickets: 1-10, 2-33, 3-39, 4-40, 5-40, against Australia at ical swashbuckling fashion. other innings of note. Bowling: Hazlewood 10-1-68-2 (w1); Rich- 6-41, 7-120, 8-121, 9-148, 10-148. Eden Park in Auckland After swinging wildly at the first The second game in the series is ardson 10-1-64-0; Hastings 10-0-39-1; Bowling: Boult 7-0-38-3; Henry 6-0-41-3 yesterday. eight balls he faced, McCullum found in Wellington on Saturday. The rivals Faulkner 10-0-67-2; Maxwell 3-0-30-0 (w2); (w3); Milne 6-0-46-1 (w3); Anderson 4-1-14-1 his target and whacked two sixes and are meeting for the first time after the Marsh 7-0-35-2. (w3); Elliott 1-0-7-0; Santner 0.2-0-0-2. two fours off four consecutive Josh World Cup final. Bangladesh WICB refutes claims it forced Chanderpaul to retire Faulkner recall Nasir out of NZ IANS and Mithun Shivnarine Chanderpaul series says he was forced to AFP ST.JOHN’S: The West Indies Cricket retire by West Indies Reuters Board (WICB) has stated that it has not board. forced anyone to retire. DHAKA: Bangladesh yesterday The declaration was made against AUCKLAND: Australia all- recalled batsman Mohammad Mit- the background of statements made by rounder James Faulkner will miss hun and all-rounder Nasir Hossain Shivnarine Chanderpaul that WICB the remaining two one-day inter- in their 15-member squad for the forced him to retire or else he would nationals against New Zealand ICC World Twenty20 trophy that not be granted a No Objection Certif- after injuring his right hamstring in begins in India next month. icate (NOC) that would allow him to yesterday’s series opener in Auck- Mithun and Nasir were not part participate in the Masters Champions land, the team said. of the Bangladesh squad that drew League set for India in mid-February, Marcus Stoinis, who made 2-2 with Zimbabwe in the recent report CMC. his ODI debut against England in series in Khulna. “I was given a No Objection Cer- September, will replace Faulkner Chief selector Faruque Ahmed tificate by the WICB with a clause in whose injury comes six weeks said they have been picked as it that I retire on the 23rd. If I didn’t before Australia begin their cam- “back-up” to the regular players. announce my retirement they would paign for an elusive Twenty20 “More or less we have an idea have taken it back,” Chanderpaul said World Cup title in India. about our best 11 players. We on Tuesday from Dubai. “James reported increased thought they have the potential to The WICB, in its statement on Tues- stiffness in his right hamstring be the next best,” Faruque told a day refuted the Guyanese batsman’s during the first innings tonight and press conference. assertion. that the participants, to be eligible, of Australia and Sri Lanka due to a 11,000 Test runs, produced scores of found it difficult running during Wicketkeeper-batsman Mithun Four No Objection Certificates must have retired from international loss of form. 46, 13, 1, 7, 25 and 0. our batting innings,” Cricket Aus- played his last T20 international issued were recently for players to cricket.” In his last series for the West WICB suggested it was due to this tralia’s sports science and sport against the West Indies in August participate in the Masters Champions Chanderpaul was dropped from Indies against England, the Guyanese poor run of form he was not consid- medicine manager Alex Koun- 2014 while Nasir was rested during League. The league is open to players the West Indies squad for recent tours batsman who has scored more than ered for selection. touris said in a statement. last month’s series against Zimba- who have retired from international “Unfortunately, with the short bwe. Mashrafe Mortaza will lead cricket. turnaround between games we the side in the tournament. NOCs were granted for Tino Best, do not believe he will recover in Bangladesh will play in the Khrishmar Santokie, Fidel Edwards time to take any further part in qualification Group A along- and Shivnarine Chanderpaul after Mahmood named Surrey’s player-coach the series.” side Ireland, the Netherlands and each player was sent the rules of the Oman. MCL and they subsequently tendered letters of resignation to the WICB, the IANS “It’s great to be coming back to Sur- both as a member of the playing statement said. rey CCC again this summer. Having squad and in his new part-time SQUAD According to the WICB, “the NOCs played all around the world, the coaching role.” were granted on the basis that the play- LONDON: Former Pakistan all- atmosphere on a Friday night at the “Being able to tap into his wealth Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad ers were well aware of their decisions rounder Azhar Mahmood yesterday Kia Oval ground is something special of cricket knowledge and experience Mithun, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Ra- to retire from international cricket named English county cricket club and I can’t wait to be back.” will be a big asset for the club.” him, Sabbir Rahman, Mashrafe Mortaza and therefore allowing them to be eli- Surrey’s new player-coach. “To be given the opportunity to Mahmood who made Test debut (capt), Mahmudullah Riyad, Nasir Hossain, gible for participation in the inaugural In his new role, the 40-year-old coach as well as play is something in 1997 struck back-to-back centu- Nurul Hasan, Arafat Sunny, Mustafizur tournament.” will arrive in mid-May and work I’m very excited about.” ries in the tough tour of South Africa . Rahman, Al-Amin Hossain, Taskin Ahmed “The MCL is an approved tour- alongside the coaching staff, as well Surrey director of cricket Alec The all-rounder featured in 21 nament of the International Cricket as being available for the club’s T20 Stewart said: “We look forward to Tests and 143 and was known for his and Abu Hider. James Faulkner Council and the rules clearly state fixtures. Azhar said in a statement: welcoming Azhar back this summer, big shots. 34 THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2016 SPORT Federer out for month after knee surgery

TENNIS STAR at a major since the Wimble- The Swiss star UNDERGOES SURGERY don semi-finals in 2012, when he last won a Grand Slam title. to miss ATP Unlike great rival Rafael tournaments in Rotterdam and Nadal, Federer has enjoyed a tournaments in Simona Halep of Romania plays a shot against Victoria Azarenka of Dubai this month. relatively injury-free career, Rotterdam and “I am so disappointed to the exception being bouts of Belarus during their 2015 US Open match in this file photo. Dubai have to miss Rotterdam and recurring back pain. Dubai as they are two of my The last time that hap- favourite tournaments on the pened was at the 2014 ATP ATP World Tour,” Federer said. World Tour Finals in London Halep postpones surgery AFP “While this is an unfortu- when he withdrew at the last nate setback, I feel grateful that minute from the final against to play in Fed Cup up until now I have remained Djokovic. mostly healthy throughout The following week, how- BASEL: Seventeen-time Grand my career. My doctors have ever, he returned to action and Reuters at Indian Wells in March. “It’s a great Slam winner Roger Federer assured me that the surgery helped Switzerland win the advantage to have Simona Halep in (pictured) underwent “suc- was a success and with proper Davis Cup for the first time, our team,” Romania captain Alina cessful” surgery on his knee rehabilitation, I will be able to defeating France in the final. Tecsor said. “But let’s not forget that yesterday and will be ruled return to the Tour soon.” Federer will now aim at BUCHAREST: World number three the Czech Republic has a strong out of action for one month, The 34-year-old Swiss being fit in time for the first two Simona Halep decided to postpone team, with players in the top 10, so his agent said. great suffered a four-set defeat Masters Series tournaments of an operation on her nose to play in chances are somehow equal.” Federer underwent the sur- by eventual winner Novak the year at Indian Wells and the Fed Cup against defending cham- Romania’s Alexandra Dulgh- gery to repair a torn meniscus Djokovic in the Australian Miami in March. After that the pions Czech Republic this weekend, eru will miss the match against the sustained the day after his Open semi-finals, going down season switches to clay and the Romanian tennis federation said Czechs due to injury. The Czechs will semi-final match at the Aus- 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, in his eighth the build-up for the French on Tuesday. be led into their World Group opener tralian Open, according to Tony loss to the Serb in their last 10 Open, the second of the year’s Halep announced last month she by world number nine Petra Kvitova Godsick. Grand Slam meetings. Grand Slam tournaments. Fed- would skip the match in Cluj-Napoca and 13th-ranked Karolina Pliskova As a result of the surgery, Federer hasn’t beaten the erer’s only title in Paris came and tournaments in Dubai and Doha, with Barbora Strycova and Denisa Federer will now miss the ATP runaway world number one in 2009. hoping to return to defend her title Allertova completing the lineup. Winger Huberdeau Bryant shines as Lakers end 10-game skid puts Panthers on top Agencies NBA RESULTS Agencies goal from Pierre-Alexandre Paren- teau to shock the Boston Bruins 4-3. LOS ANGELES: Kobe Bryant scored a season- LA Lakers 119, Minnesota 115 Blues 1, Predators 0 high 38 points, and the Los Angeles Lakers ended New York 89, Boston 97 WASHINGTON: Florida winger Troy Brouwer’s deflection gave a 10-game skid with a 119-115 victory over the Min- Portland 107, Milwaukee 95 Jonathan Huberdeau scored twice the St. Louis Blues their first 1-0 win nesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night at Staples Phoenix 97, Toronto 104 and back up goaltender Al Montoya of the season. Scoring his 10th goal, Centre. Houston 115, Miami 102 registered 36 saves as the Panthers Brouwer got his stick on a one-timer Six foul shots by Bryant, who scored 14 of the opened up the second half of the from defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, last 18 points for Los Angeles, in the final 17 seconds season with an impressive 5-2 vic- beating Predators goalie Pekka sealed the win for the Lakers (10-41), who avoided tory over the Washington Capitals. Rinne at 18:55 of the third period setting a franchise mark for consecutive losses. Huberdeau’s second goal of the and giving St. Louis its fourth win They tied the 1993-94 Lakers, who lost their night, a ringing shot off the near post, of the season over Nashville. final 10 games of the season under coach Earvin was his 10th of the season and it sent Blackhawks 2, Avalanche 1 “Magic” Johnson, in a 101-82 defeat by the Char- some in the Verizon Centre crowd Artemi Panarin and Richard lotte Hornets on Sunday. heading for the exits with the Cap- Panik scored first-period goals as Rockets 115, Heat 102 itals down 4-0. The 22-year-old, the shorthanded Chicago Black- James Harden recorded a double-double and who added a first-period assist, has hawks beat the Colorado Avalanche steered the makeshift Houston Rockets to a 115- 16 points in his past 15 games. 2-1. 102 win over the Miami Heat on Tuesday night at Flyers 4, Canadiens 2 Oilers 5, Blue Jackets 1 Toyota Centre. Wayne Simmonds scored a pair In his return from a three-month Harden finished with game highs in points (26) of goals and the Philadelphia Fly- absence because of injury, rookie and assists (14) while carrying the Rockets (26-25) to ers got back to winning ways on Connor McDavid delivered a goal- victory. Houston snapped a three-game skid despite home ice with a 4-2 victory over the of-the-year candidate and added the absence of centres Dwight Howard (suspension) Montreal Canadiens at Wells Fargo two assists in leading the Edmon- and Clint Capela (thigh). Centre. ton Oilers to a 5-1 victory over the Raptors 104, Suns 97 Devils 3, Rangers 2 Columbus Blue Jackets. Toronto guard Kyle Lowry scored 26 points and Defenseman David Schlemko Kings 6, Coyotes 2 DeMar DeRozan had 22 as the Raptors spoiled Phoe- scored a power-play goal with 8:46 It’s hard to imagine Dustin nix interim coach Earl Watson’s debut in a 104-97 remaining in the third period to give Brown’s popularity in Arizona fall- victory over the Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. the New Jersey Devils a come-from- ing any lower. The Los Angeles Kings Reserve guard Terrence Ross had 16 points and behind 3-2 victory against the New captain is already the most reviled 7-foot center Jonas Valanciunas had 14 for the Rap- York Rangers at Prudential Centre. hockey player in the Valley due to tors (33-16), who have won 12 of their last 13. Islanders 5, Wild 3 a colorful history with the Arizona Celtics 97, Knicks 89 Brock Nelson scored the tie- Coyotes. Isaiah Thomas scored 20 points and distributed breaking goal in the final minute of eight assists, but it was the contribution of Boston’s the second period and Frans Nielsen NHL Results bench that was the difference in the Celtics’ 97-89 and John Tavares scored a little more win over the New York Knicks at Madison Square than two minutes apart early in the Washington 2, Florida 5 Garden. third as the New York Islanders beat Anaheim 3, San Jose 2 Reserve centre Tyler Zeller posted a season-high the Minnesota Wild 5-3. Colorado 1, Chicago 2 16 points and 10 rebounds, backup shooting guard Penguins 6, Senators 5 Edmonton 5, Columbus 1 Evan Turner contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds Sidney Crosby scored three con- Arizona 2, Los Angeles 6 and centre Kelly Olynyk added 13 points. secutive goals to extend his recent The Boston (28-22) bench outscored New York’s scoring surge and rally the Pitts- Nashville 0, St. Louis 1 reserves 47-27. burgh Penguins to their fourth Winnipeg 3, Dallas 5 Trail Blazers 107, Bucks 95 consecutive victory, 6-5 over the Boston 3, Toronto 4 (OT) CJ McCollum scored 30 points and Damian Lil- slumping Senators. New Jersey 3, NY Rangers 2 lard added 14 and 12 assists as the Portland Trail Maple Leafs 4, Bruins 3 NY Islanders 5, Minnesota 3 Blazers stayed hot with a 107-95 victory over the (overtime) Milwaukee Bucks at the Moda Centre. Philadelphia 4, Montréal 2 The Toronto Maple Leafs, down Al-Farouq Aminu chipped in 16 points for the Kobe Bryant (left) of the Los Angeles Lakers dribbles the ball against Andrew Wiggins of the by two goals in the third period, Pittsburgh 6, Ottawa 5 Trail Blazers (24-26), who are 9-2 in their last 11 forced overtime and got a power play games. Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday at Staples Centre in Los Angeles, California. Manning factor makes Super Bowl huge for Panthers’ Norman

Reuters NFL Draft, played college football at Colts wide receivers) Marvin Harri- for a better player in the biggest game “I’ll just do my best and try to Coastal Carolina where he became son, Reggie Wayne, Brandon Stokley, NFL: SUPER BOWL 50 of my life. Playing against a guy like contain myself and not get a per- an ardent fan of the Indianapolis (former Colts tight end) Dallas that is - I’m speechless.” sonal foul because I’ll probably get Colts and their then quarterback Clark.” Asked about the prospect of get- so excited, I might do something SAN FRANCISCO: Sunday’s Super Manning. Manning, a 39-year-old future blessings,” said the 28-year-old ting an interception off Manning, stupid,” added Norman, who came Bowl showdown with the Denver “Ever since 1999, 2000, I’ve been Hall of Famer who led the Colts to Norman, who established a lofty Norman replied: “Man, that would away with four interceptions during Broncos is a huge blessing for Carolina a Colts fan,” Norman, considered the National Football League title reputation of shutting down top be huge.” the 2015 season. Panthers cornerback Josh Norman as one of the best cover-corners in the in the 2006 season, is considering receivers this season to earn his first “That would be everything I’ve The Panthers, who booked their he eyes the prospect of trying to shut league, said while preparing for his retirement after playing in his fourth Pro Bowl selection. worked for. place in Sunday’s Super Bowl with a down his childhood idol, Peyton Man- first taste of the Super Bowl. Super Bowl on Sunday, making the “I couldn’t have asked for a bet- “Just to get an interception off a 49-15 rout of the Arizona Cardinals ning. “The guy was just unbelievable showdown ever more special for ter game.” guy like that who will go down as an in the NFC title game, are looking to Norman, drafted by the Pan- at what he did.” Norman. “I couldn’t have asked for a bet- all-time great is just unbelievable.” register their first championship in 21 thers in the fifth round of the 2012 “He had the weapons, (former “Oh man, it’s blessings upon ter opponent. I couldn’t have asked “I can’t even describe it. seasons as an NFL franchise. SPORT THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2016 35

Sexwale to seek CAF support to revive FIFA presidential bid Leicester City’s English striker Jamie Vardy (right) shoots to score his second goal past Liverpool’s Belgian goalkeeper Simon Mignolet Reuters during their English Premier League football match played at King Power Stadium in Leicester, Central England on Tuesday. CAPE TOWN: FIFA presidential candidate Tokyo Sexwale (pic- tured) will seek continent-wide support in a final bid to revive his ailing election campaign at a meeting of African football lead- ers tomorrow. Sexwale was grilled on Tues- Vardy double keeps Leicester day by high-ranking officials of his home South African Football Association (SAFA), who had ear- lier endorsed his candidacy in the race to replace Sepp Blatter. SAFA wanted answers about Sexwale’s election tactics and flying, United come to life the unconvincing progress of his campaign after they had backed his bid for the presidency and Pellegrini will make way for Jesse Lingard headed in Cam- FOOTBALL: ENGLISH EPL SUMMARIES helped him obtain the five nomi- City are safely on top PREMIER LEAGUE Guardiola at the season’s end and his eron Borthwick-Jackson’s cross in the nations needed to stand to replace hopes of signing off with a league title 14th minute before a fine team goal Crystal Palace: 1 Scott Dann 27’ Blatter. of the table while were kept on track by Aguero’s 16th- saw Anthony Martial curl home from SAFA president Danny Jor- United revive glory three-point lead over second-place minute strike - his sixth goal in four Wayne Rooney’s pass after a sweep- AFC Bournemouth: 2 daan called Sexwale’s report to Manchester City. appearances. ing move. Marc Pugh 34’, Afobe 57’ them “comprehensive” but said days Reports had emerged earlier in But Arsenal’s title hopes took a Martial returned the favour in the Manchester United: 3 they would only comment further the day that the 29-year-old England blow in a goalless draw with South- 53rd minute, teeing Rooney up for a Jesse Lingard 14’, Anthony Martial 23’, after a meeting of officials of the striker is due to sign a new contract ampton that left Arsene Wenger’s men tap-in that took the United captain’s Wayne Rooney 53’ Confederation of African Football and he delivered a perfectly timed five points below Leicester and saw tally to seven goals in seven games. (CAF) in Kigali, Rwanda tomorrow, AFP reminder of his talent at the King them slip to fourth place. Exacerbat- West Ham United remain a point Stoke City: 0 in what will be Sexwale’s final Power Stadium. ing Arsenal’s fans’ disappointment behind United in sixth place after a West Bromwich Albion :1 opportunity to win support before He opened the scoring on the was the sight of arch rivals Totten- 2-0 win at home to bottom club Aston Salomon Rondon 90’+2 the February 26 election. hour with a goal-of-the-season ham Hotspur stealing above them into Villa, who had Jordan Ayew sent off Swansea City: 1 Gylfi Sigurdsson 64’ Failure to land an endorsement LONDON: Jamie Vardy scored a contender from wide on the right, third place on goal difference. in the 17th minute for a blatant elbow from African football’s governing brace including a sensational long- running onto Riyad Mahrez’s pass Mauricio Pochettino’s men won on Aaron Cresswell. Sunderland: 0 body is likely to stall Sexwale’s bid range goal as Leicester City sank from the Leicester half, allowing the 3-0 at Norwich City courtesy of a Michail Antonio headed West Manchester City: 1 Sergio Aguero 16’ in its tracks. Liverpool 2-0 on Tuesday to safe- ball to bounce and ripping a ferocious, second-minute Dele Alli goal and a Ham in front in the 58th minute, with There had been some media guard their spot at the Premier dipping strike over Simon Mignolet Harry Kane double - a 30th-minute Cheikhou Kouyate adding a late goal West Ham United: 2 Michail Antonio 58’, reports that dissatisfaction with his League summit. from 30 yards. penalty, won by Alli, and a calm one- on the break. Cheikhou Kouyate 85’ campaign was such that he might Manchester City kept pace, Eleven minutes later Vardy made on-one finish late on. Fifth-placed Salomon Rondon scored a Aston Villa: 0 be asked to withdraw his candi- the day after Pep Guardiola was the game safe, finishing neatly from Manchester United remain five points stoppage-time equaliser as West Bro- dacy on Tuesday but they proved announced as their new manager, Shinji Okazaki’s deflected shot, as off the Champions League places mwich Albion rescued a 1-1 draw at Red Card: Jordan Ayew 17’ unfounded. by winning 1-0 at Sunderland cour- Claudio Ranieri’s men produced after putting Stoke to the sword with home to Swansea City, who had gone Norwich City: 0 Sexwale is a former political tesy of Sergio Aguero, but Arsenal lost another stunning performance to bol- uncharacteristic verve. ahead in the 64th minute when deb- Tottenham Hotspur: 3 prisoner who was jailed alongside ground after a 0-0 draw at home to ster their remarkable title bid. Louis van Gaal’s side had been utant Alberto Paloschi set up Gylfi Alli 2’, Kane 30’ pen, 90’ Nelson Mandela and served as Pre- Southampton. Leicester visit Manchester City booed off after losing 1-0 to South- Sigurdsson to score. mier of Gauteng province, South Manchester United blew off the on Saturday and Manuel Pellegrini’s ampton in their previous game at Old Meanwhile, Marc Pugh and Benik Arsenal: 0, Southampton: 0 Africa’s economic heartland, and cobwebs in a 3-0 win over Stoke men kept themselves within touching Trafford, but they were a team trans- Afobe scored as Bournemouth came Leicester City: 2 Jamie Vardy 60’,71’ later as a cabinet minister in South City, but nothing could overshadow distance of the leaders with victory formed in a display that will give the from behind to win 2-1 at Crystal Pal- Africa. He also proved successful the predatory brilliance of Vardy, at the Stadium of Light in the Chile- under-fire Dutchman some much- ace, who had gone ahead through Liverpool: 0 in mining and other businesses. whose double preserved Leicester’s an’s 100th league game as manager. needed breathing space. Scott Dann in the 27th minute. Wenger on the attack Prosecutors after Gunners misfire AFP had enough chances to win the game. The most disappointing thing is that some play- ers missed chances that they usually take. “ accuse Neymar “Our finishing is very poor at the LONDON: Arsene Wenger shrugged off moment. We have played three Premier criticism that he should have signed a League games now without scoring a goal.” world-class goalscorer in the January “Forster had a brilliant game. But you’d and father in tax transfer window despite acknowledging expect that.” that Arsenal’s finishing has been rather “The rate and quality of chances created poor in recent weeks. was high for a Premier League game but the The Arsenal manager cut a frustrated quality of finishing was poor. Finishing is Barcelona’s Brazilian evasion scheme figure at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday a bit cyclical, up and down at the moment. forward Neymar as the Gunners created plenty of chances It’s very down for us now. We have a dif- leaves Spain’s in a 0-0 draw with Southampton, but ulti- ficult programme, especially away from mately were denied on numerous occasions home, but we need to respond.” national court in by the sheer brilliance of Saints goalkeeper Southampton manager Ronald Koeman Madrid on Tuesday. Fraser Forster. paid tribute to Forster, who kept his fourth It has often been said that, in pursuit of successive clean sheet since returning from winning a first Premier League title since a knee injury last month. 2004, the north London club should have “Our goalkeeper is magic and he was Reuters taxes owed to the inland revenue to the striker’s family - Neymar of contractual frauds involving invested heavily in a proven striker. magic tonight,” Koeman said. in Brazil. Sport e Marketing, N&N Con- Neymar’s image rights, mainly Wenger, though, batted away such “It’s always difficult when you are out “Neymar’s conduct, along sultoria Esportiva e Empresarial through Neymar Sport e Market- claims after his side fell to fourth place, for more than nine months. Knowing you with the others accused, caused and N&N Administração de Bens, ing,” the statement said. five points behind leaders Leicester. need rhythm and games. But since coming SAO PAULO: Brazilian prose- millions in losses to the public Participações e Investimentos. Neymar signed several con- “If you had found a world-class striker, back he was the same.” cutors filed a formal complaint coffers.” Neymar defended himself in a tracts with Santos and Barcelona who could have strengthened the team, “Credit to the medical staff and credit against Neymar and his father on A judge must now decide post on his personal website on to do publicity work but the money then you should have told me,” he said. to Fraser. He is one of the best goalkeep- Tuesday for tax evasion and pro- whether the case goes forward. Monday and said the prosecution was paid into his father’s accounts “Believe me, they do not walk in (off) ers in the Premier League and maybe one viding false information. The allegations refer to image was “seeking the limelight”. He in order to reduce their tax bur- the street and say: ‘I am a world-class of the best in Europe.” Two former presidents of rights contracts from 2006 when invited Prosecutor Thiago Lacerda den, prosecutors allege. They also striker’. Koeman was quick to admit that his Spanish club Barcelona, Alexandre a teenaged Neymar was play- to visit the offices of NR Sports to said he provided false information “They are already at a big club and team had enjoyed their fair share luck given Rosell Feliu and Josep Maria Bar- ing for Santos. Prosecutors allege see the company for himself. The on some contracts. under contract and not available. We have the sheer amount of chances created by tomeu Floresta, were also accused further fraud occurred during prosecution has accused Neymar’s Earlier on Tuesday, both Ney- Walcott, Giroud, Ozil, Sanchez and Wel- Arsenal. by the Prosecution Service in San- negotiations to take him to Bar- father of designing schemes with mar and his father - following beck, who is coming back.” But he emphasised how well Southamp- tos, Neymar’s home town. celona in 2011. the Spaniards as they negotiated on from Rosell and Bartomeu - “Tonight, I don’t think that a miracle ton have played away to the supposedly The prosecution’s statement He eventually joined the Cat- his son’s transfer. appeared in front of a Spanish man would have come in and scored for prominent Premier League clubs. said: “They forged a series of doc- alan side in 2013. “Between 2006 and 2013, the judge to give evidence about the us. As a team, we can score goals.” “Not one team in my one-and-a-half uments between 2006 and 2013 Prosecutors said the schemes player’s father was the principal alleged irregularities surround- “I don’t like to say it was one of those years managing Southampton created what with the intention of reducing the involved three companies linked mentor and mastermind of a series ing his transfer to Spain. nights. We are all disappointed because we Arsenal created against us,” he said. THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2016 36

LADIES TOUR OF QATAR RESULTS

DOHA: Results and standings after stage two of the Ladies Tour of Qatar yesterday. Sheikh Faysal Museum to Al Khor Corniche (120km) Results of stage two 1 Katrin Garfoot (Aus), Orica-Green- Edge, 3:07:13 2 Trixi Worrack (Ger), Canyon SRAM Racing, 0:00:13 3 Amy Pieters (Ned), Wiggle High5, 4 Romy Kasper (Ger), Boels Dolmans Cyclingteam, 5 Chloe Hosking (Aus), Wiggle High5, 0:00:58 Riders are seen in action during the second stage of the Ladies Tour of Qatar which started at Sheikh Faisal Museum and concluded at Al Khor Corniche. The four-day race ends tomorrow at Doha Corniche. PICTURES SALIM MATRAMKOT/SYED OMAR 6 Eleonora Van Dijk (Ned), Boels Dol- mans Cyclingteam, 7 Barbara Guarischi (Ita), Canyon SRAM Racing, 8 Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita), Wig- Garfoot takes charge as Wild gle High5, 9 Gracie Elvin (Aus), Orica-GreenEdge, 10 Tiffany Cromwell (Aus), Canyon SRAM Racing, General Classification after stage 2 crashes at Ladies Tour of Qatar # Rider Name (Country) Team Result 1 Katrin Garfoot (Aus), Orica-Green- Edge, 5:26:07 2 Trixi Worrack (Ger), Canyon SRAM Australian who won the Tour Down Racing, 0:00:17 A day of drama as Under and the national time-trial titles last month. 3 Amy Pieters (Ned), Wiggle High5, four-time champion With Wild riding on a replacement 0:00:19 Kirsten Wild goes bike, Garfoot added valuable time to 4 Romy Kasper (Ger), Boels Dolmans her general classification lead and Cyclingteam, 0:00:23 down with a broken now enjoys a 17-second advantage over Trixi going into day three today. 5 Chloe Hosking (Aus), Wiggle High5, chain on day two of 0:01:02 Pisters is 19 seconds adrift of Garfoot. the four-day race “I was relaxed and came out really 6 Gracie Elvin (Aus), Orica-Green- well. No, I did not expect that (win) Edge, 0:01:07 at all,” Garfoot said. “I did not event 7 Barbara Guarischi (Ita), Canyon think about it.” SRAM Racing, 0:01:08 Rizwan Rehmat The Australian said she was not The Peninsula thinking of the next two stages. 8 Eleonora Van Dijk (Ned), Boels Dol- “Not at all. One stage at a time. mans Cyclingteam, I will look at the next stage later. (I 9 Tiffany Cromwell (Aus), Canyon will) think about it tomorrow. Will SRAM Racing, DOHA: A dramatic crash involving celebrate this stage win maybe with 10 Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita), Wig- four-time champion Kirsten Wild tea and some sweets,” she said with gle High5 , yesterday threw the Ladies Tour of a smile. Qatar title race wide open as Aus- “We had a head start with a bit Points Classification tralian rider Katrin Garfoot won the of training back home in January. I # Rider Name (Country) Team second stage with an admirable solo trained really hard. So I assume get- Result effort that helped her grab the lead- ting back into hard training gives me Australian rider Katrin Garfoot of Orica-GreenEdge raises her hands after crossing the finish line on way to er’s golden jersey. an advantage here. Other riders came winning the second stage of the Ladies Tour of Qatar at Al Khor Corniche yesterday. 1 Kirsten Wild (Ned), Hitec Products, 18 points Wild, riding for Hitec Products, here with basic training. I have done went down with a broken chain yes- many miles already,” Garfoot said. 2 Katrin Garfoot (Aus), Orica-Green- terday but Garfoot (Orica-GreenEdge) “That’s correct - I was doing really 35-second lead, but they were even- won by Shelley Olds ahead of Hosk- sprint. “But our group worked really Edge, 17 remained calm as she weaved her way well at the end of last year. I broke tually caught a kilometre later. ing and Gracie Elvin. well. There were 25 of us. We kept 3 Trixi Worrack (Ger), Canyon SRAM through to win the 120km stage in a my shoulder blade and that made me That’s precisely when the real At the 102-km mar, 10 riders them working. And for some reason, Racing, 12 time of 3 hours 07:13 seconds. wait as I could not train hard,” Garfoot action unfolded among the top con- took off at the front including Hosk- I ended up in the front and that was German rider Trixi Worrack (Can- said when asked about her struggles tenders of the race. Making the best ing, Longo Borghini, Pieters, Van Dijk, my luck today,” Garfoot said. 4 Chloe Hosking (Aus), Wiggle High5, yon-SRAM) finished the final sprint late in 2015. of the crosswind, a group of 11 ladies Kasper, Worrack, Cromwell, Guaris- “It wasn’t that strong today. I 12 at Al Khor Corniche in second with Under a cloudy sky and fairly mild powered away but Wild was left chi, Elvin and Garfoot. don’t think it was average and it was 5 Annalisa Cucinotta (Ita), Ale’ Cipol- Dutch rider Amy Pieters (Wiggle- temperatures, a total of 90 riders took stranded with a broken chain. The Moving closer to the finish in Al enough to break up the group. Gener- lini, 12 High5) claiming third place. off at 12:30pm. After a first attempt at Dutch star remained with the bunch Khor, four riders Pieters, Kasper, Wor- ally I don’t like the wind. But it is good 6 Chantal Blaak (Ned), Boels Dol- Garfoot, 34, made her getaway the 3-km mark, Swedish rider Alexan- nevertheless. rack and Garfoot made the decisive training and hard training and that’s mans Cyclingteam, 10 some 40 kilometers from the finish dra Nessmar managed to break free At the front were Chloe Hosking move to surge ahead. why we are here,” she said. line as riders struggled with cross- from the pack and was later joined by and Marta Tagliaferro, the two best Just before the final kilometre, “I don’t know what will happen 7 Shelley Olds (USA), Cylance-Incy- winds in the north of the country. Yue Bai of China. placed riders in the GC. Garfoot managed the perfect attack over the course of the next two days. I cle p/b Cannondale, 9 As the leading group split in Both ladies enjoyed a maximum After having a 15-second lead the and powered off. am not sure what the plans will be like 8 Amy Pieters (Ned), Wiggle High5, 9 two in the final kilometres, Gar- 2’20 advantage at the 39-km mark front group was caught by 15 other The Australian would never be in the next two days,” Garfoot said. 9 Lizzie Williams (Aus), Orica-Green- foot surged ahead of the packs and before seeing the pack move closer. ladies at the 60km-mark. The lead- caught and she victoriously crossed “I didn’t expect to win the stage so Edge, 9 closed out stage two with a satisfy- The two reached the first inter- ing 26 continued their progression. the finish line with a 13-second gap I haven’t thought about it. Will check ing win. It was a welcome relief for the mediate sprint - won by Bai - with a The second bonus sprint (92kms) was over Worrack and Pieters. with the team. We will see. We still 10 Romy Kasper (Ger), Boels Dol- “I came here to get a good hard have some cards to play. mans Cyclingteam, 7 training session so it (the stage win) “A lot of things here are different. Remaining stages just happened. That’s good. I love it. It The hotels are amazing. The food is was pretty slow at the beginning until great. On the road, it is very flat. It is Stage 3: Al Zubarah Fort to Madi- the first sprint. And then the splitting very fast and very windy. It was that nat Al Shamal - 112kms I can still smile, says injured happened and then the crosswind wasn’t windy but overall it is windy. Stage 4: Aspire Zone to Doha Cor- happened. We were prepared for that. It’s a bit like Holland racing,” Gar- niche - 73kms cycling star after bad fall Most of us did not make it to the first foot said.

The Peninsula

DOHA: A horrific crash late yesterday during stage two of the Ladies Tour of Qatar has almost taken the title chance away from Dutch star Kirsten Wild but she is not complaining one bit. Wild, a four-time winner in Qatar, is 3 minutes 48 seconds adrift of golden jersey owner Katrin Garfoot who won stage two at Al Khor Corniche yesterday. The Hitec Products rider, who won stage one on Tuesday, arrived in Qatar aiming at a fifth title in the desert. “It’s okay. It’s racing,” Wild said with cuts on her right knee and elbows. “I am just bruised. I crashed on my elbow and on my knee. I am happy all my teeth are in place. I can still smile,” she added with a broad grin. “Yeah, it was really disappointing. But my team still Kirsten Wild of helped me a lot so that I could remain in the front but Hitec Products unfortunately I couldn’t make it,” the Dutch rider said. is seen showing “For that (the team’s support), I am really proud but her injury to overall I am disappointed that I couldn’t make it today,” she said. “I crashed over another girl. Then the bunch an official at Al went down. That was the second time. I crashed when Khor Corniche. we were riding. Then I had to change my bike. It was A small pack of riders takes a turn during the second stage of the Ladies Tour of Qatar yesterday. A total of broken,” she said. 90 riders featured in the second stage of the four-day cycling event.