BUSINESSBUSINESS | Pages 1 SPORT | Page 1 Wakrah, Mesaimeer enter second 2,000-plus opportunities worth QR6.5bn for SMEs round published in QATAR since 1978

TUESDAY Vol. XXXIX No. 10798 April 24, 2018 Sha’baan 8, 1439 AH

GULF TIMES www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals

Emir sends message to Kuwait leader IATA backs In brief restoration

QATAR | Offi cial Emir sends greetings to of Qatar’s air Paraguay president-elect His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, His Highness the Deputy Emir Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad al-Thani and HE the Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh connectivity Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani sent yesterday a cable By Joey Aguilar Qatar Airways to add 11 of congratulations to Mario Abdo Staff Reporter Benitez on his election as President His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani yesterday sent a written message to Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah new aircraft this year of Paraguay. al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, pertaining to relations between the two fraternal countries and peoples, as well as the latest Qatar Airways Group chief executive developments in the regional and international arenas. HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohamed he International Air Transport Akbar al-Baker has announced that bin Abdulrahman al-Thani handed the message during a meeting with the emir of Kuwait. Association (IATA) yesterday re- the airline will add 11 new planes iterated that it has always been for Cautionary notice T to its fleet this year as it prepares liberalisation of air space, while main- to launch 16 new destinations in taining its position on air restrictions 2018 and 2019, after adding 11 new It is hereby notified that Gulf against Qatar by blockading countries. destinations last year. Page 6 Publishing & Printing Company “IATA is a trade association and not W.L.L. is the sole owner of the Qatar blasts UAE charge of threatening air safety a political organisation. Our position daily newspaper Gulf Times which from the beginning: we understand tion Hotel. IATA has been working is published from Doha, Qatar, atar Civil Aviation Author- community. The latest statement is The statement said that this was not state sovereignty over their air space, with other organisations such as the and that the newspaper’s only ity (QCAA) has condemned proof of this, it said, adding the reality the fi rst time that the UAE deliberately however, we are for liberalisation,” IA- International Civil Aviation Organisa- website is www.gulf-times.com. Qthe statement by the UAE Civil is that the Qatari military aircraft was sent military aircraft to pass through TA’s airport, passenger, cargo and se- tion (ICAO) to help resolve the current It has come to our notice that by Aviation Authority, accusing Qatar of fl ying towards the north-east of Qatar the airspace in conjunction with the curity vice president Nick Careen told regional dispute, according to Careen. using names similar to Gulf Times, threatening air safety and security. on a mission known to the navigation passage of UAE civilian aircraft with- reporters yesterday on the sidelines of Qatar is under blockade by the Sau- attempts are being made to exploit QCAA reiterated that Qatar is com- services provider in Bahrain follow- out permission from the relevant au- the 31st annual IATA Ground Handling di-led bloc (including the UAE, Bah- the well-established brand name of mitted to maintaining the highest ing the entry of a UAE military aircraft thorities in Qatar, despite repeated Conference (IGHC). rain, and Egypt) for nearly 11 months the newspaper. We hereby caution standards in civil aviation safety and over Qatari waters without the per- calls to the provider of navigation “We would like to see sooner rather since June 5, 2017. all against dealing with those trying security. mission of Qatar. services in Bahrain to co-ordinate in than later the opportunity for custom- Careen noted that negotiations among to masquerade as Gulf Times and In a statement, QCAA said the The UAE military plane was fl ying this regard. ers and goods to be able to transport in the states concerned have been taking aff irm we will not be responsible for United Arab Emirates (UAE) has un- close to the route of the UAE civilian The failure to heed is an irresponsi- an open fashion again,” he explained. place at the ICAO headquarters in Mon- any such acts. fortunately been manipulating facts to aircraft referred to in the statement of ble act by the UAE and Bahrain. The event runs until tomorrow at treal, Canada, discussing about liberali- infl ame and mislead the international the UAE Civil Aviation Authority. - QNA the Sheraton Doha Resort & Conven- sation or opening of air space. To Page 6 Gulf Times 2 Tuesday, April 24, 2018 QATAR Minister stresses New line between Hamad Port and Iraq’s Umm Qasr commitment to integrated digital community

E the Minister of “The constitution also guaran- opments in the fi eld of digital Transport and Com- tees the protection of the rights and physical access. Hmunications Jassim of people with disabilities from In conclusion of her speech, Seif Ahmed al-Sulaiti stressed all forms of discrimination so al-Mansouri expressed hope the ministry’s commitment that they have opportunities to that the conference would to create an integrated digital develop their abilities and in- achieve its objectives and pro- community in Qatar where all volve them in the development vide an interactive environ- individuals have equal access of society.” ment in a scientifi c atmosphere to technology by providing as “Qatar was one of the fi rst in which all participants would many opportunities as possible countries to ratify the Conven- share experiences and learn to enhance the readiness of the tion on the Rights of Persons about the latest developments digital community to partici- with Disabilities in 2008,” he in the fi eld of technology HE the Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Seif Ahmed al-Sulaiti yesterday met with Iraqi Minister of Transport Kadhim pate in building a knowledge- said, adding that the country assistance. Finjan al-Hammami. The meeting reviewed prospects of co-operation in the fields of maritime transport, ports and aviation, and means based economy. has taken a number of actions This year’s edition of GREAT of boosting them, in addition to discussing a number of issues of common concern between the two fraternal countries. In addition, the The minister made the re- and measures in its ongoing ef- conference and the accompa- meeting saw the announcement of opening a new navigation line between Hamad Port and Umm Qasr Port in Iraq, with the first ship set marks in a speech delivered on forts to promote and protect the nying exhibition focus on four to arrive in the Iraqi port on May 1. his behalf by Reem al-Man- rights of persons with disabili- main axes related to technology soori, the ministry’s assistant ties, their full integration into assistance support for the inte- undersecretary of digital soci- society and their involvement in gration of persons with disabili- ety development, at the open- the development process. ties, namely: education, inde- ing of the second edition of the The minister added that pendent living, e-accessibility Educational Conference of As- these eff orts were an affi rma- and innovation. Another axis is sistive Technology for the Gulf tion of Qatar’s respect for its dedicated to autism disorder in Kahramaa, Ashghal presidents brief Region 2018 (GREAT 2018), be- international obligations and co-operation with Qatar Center ing organised by Qatar Assistive implementation of the direc- for Autism and Special Needs, Technology Center (Mada). tives of His Highness the Emir with the three-day conference Minister HE al-Sulaiti Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al- off ering a chance to share infor- Advisory Council on projects’ progress stressed the importance of in- Thani and the embodiment of mation, experiences and opin- vesting information and com- Qatar National Vision 2030, ions across its multiple plat- munication technology (ICT) which stipulates equality and forms, and learn about the new he Advisory Council held ramaa and Ashghal in carrying face and how to address them. Qatar, and spoke to the delega- in launching the potential of justice for all segments society. trends in the fi eld of tech-aid. its weekly session under out major development projects After the discussions, the tion about the unjust siege that people with disabilities and Mada chief executive Maha The activities of the fi rst day Tthe chairmanship of HE in the country and serving citi- Speaker praised presidents of the country is being subjected helping them to achieve inde- al-Mansouri said that atten- included a range of interactive the Speaker Ahmed bin Abdullah zens under the wise leadership Kahramaa and Ashghal for their to, which violates international pendence and self-reliance, tion to the support, integration zones, including Mada zone, bin Zaid al-Mahmoud. His Highness the Emir Sheikh information on the regularity law and the principles of good adding that, in this context, and care for persons with dis- auxiliary technology zone and a At the invitation of the Speak- Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. of work in the development and neighbourliness and does not several strategies and plans abilities is a fundamental re- specialised assistive technology er, Qatar General Electricity and The Speaker thanked al-Ku- construction projects according take into account the bases that have been developed to sup- quirement of international and exhibition in which global com- Water Corporation (Kahramaa) wari and al-Mohannadi for ac- to the plans and with satisfac- should prevail in international port people with disabilities, domestic charters in order to panies off er their latest tech- president Essa bin Hilal al-Ku- cepting the invitation and at- tory completion rates, despite relations. including the launch of the optimise their knowledge and nology products and research. wari and Public Works Author- tending the session. He invited the unjust siege imposed on the The Advisory Council speak- Digital Inclusion Strategy and social potential, especially that A special innovation theatre ity (Ashghal) president Saad bin them to talk to the members country. er conveyed to the Council the the establishment of Mada, their number is estimated to was set up in which experts, Ahmed al-Mohannadi briefed of the Council to listen to their At the end of the meeting, delegation’s appreciation for which is working hard to help be one billion, which makes up inventors and pioneers pre- the Council on the progress of views and answer their queries. he briefed the Council on the the development witnessed them achieve their goals and 15% of the world population. sented a number of workshops infrastructure projects in ac- The discussions focused on meeting held on Sunday with by Qatar and its wishes for an to be able to live independ- Al-Mansouri stressed that on the latest applications, pro- cordance with the comprehen- the progress of the infrastructure the delegation of European early solution to the Gulf cri- ently and have equal opportu- Qatar pays special attention to grams and devices that have sive urban plan being imple- projects being implemented in Parliament’s Qatari-European sis as well as its aspiration for nities in education, work and the rights of people with dis- been successful in the fi eld of mented in the country and what the country, the achievements, Friendship Group. further co-operation and co- independent living. abilities and providing them technology assistance. has been achieved in this regard. the plans and programmes for He said that he explained to ordination between the Advi- The minister pointed out with all services that guarantee Meanwhile, Innovation Fair The Speaker praised the im- the coming period, as well as the the delegation the economic sory Council and the European that these eff orts placed Qatar them a dignifi ed life. “It also presents the most important portant role played by Kah- obstacles the work may and legislative developments in Parliament. (QNA) at the same level as developed believes in the importance of and cutting-edge local and countries in the fi eld of taking technology to help empower regional technological innova- care of people with disabilities. them and build their capacities tions with diverse uses, partic- FM off icial meets He noted that the confer- to achieve Qatar’s national vi- ularly since innovation is one ence provides a valuable op- sion of human development,” of Mada priorities consider- Guinean minister portunity for the exchange she added. ing its position as the region’s CRA: Third phase of price caps on Foreign Ministry Secretary- of knowledge and experience The Mada chief executive centre of excellence in the fi eld General Dr Ahmed bin Hassan and present the latest devel- stated that due to the rapid and of auxiliary technology in the al-Hammadi met yesterday opments, best practices and progressive developments in Arabic language. roaming charges implemented with Guinean State Minister for ICT innovations and technol- technology and ICT, and also Around 55 experts and spe- Investment and Public-Private ogy assistance in the areas of because learning about the lat- cialists from diff erent parts Partnership, Ibrahima Kassory access and education so as to est trends and best practices of the world are taking part he Communications throughout the GCC countries. er GCC countries (including Fofana. The meeting reviewed integrate and empower people are critical to service delivery in GREAT 2018 through 64 Regulatory Authority This year the most signifi - home country) by 3.2% (from bilateral relations between the with disabilities. and achieving integration and workshops and discussion ses- T(CRA) has co-ordinated cant decrease for consumers QR2.257/minute to QR2.184/ two countries and means of “This technology provides access, Mada is hosting the sions on the role, uses and lat- the implementation of the is the price cap for data roam- minute). boosting and developing them. better access to information conference in the hope of de- est trends and developments third phase of the regulation ing charges which have been The roaming charges re- and educational curricula, veloping these services, dis- of technology in the fi elds of on reducing the price caps for reduced by 29.4% across the duction also covered mobile which allows equal educational seminating knowledge and education, digital access and roaming charges within the GCC and will further reduce in data which has been reduced Consultations held opportunities to people with raising awareness of the impact independent living without Gulf Co-operation Council April each year until 2020. by 29.4% (from QR3.094/ A round of political consultations disabilities and others, opens of technology on the lives of neglecting to bring the global (GCC) countries, which has In comparison to the last Mbyte to QR2.184/Mbyte), was held yesterday between up closed doors and breaks persons with disabilities. best practices to the table. been implemented as of April 1. year’s price caps, this year has and sending SMS reduced by Qatar and Hungary. barriers to their aspirations for She highlighted Mada’s The conference concludes The implementation of this seen a reduction in the charges 14.5% (from QR0.255/SMS to Foreign Ministry Secretary- a future and a better life,” the important role in discussing with a wrap-up ceremony that regulation within the GCC of receiving voice calls while QR0.218/SMS). Receiving SMS General Dr Ahmed bin Hassan al- minister said. the latest technological and includes honouring 67 gradu- started on April 1, 2016. The in roaming by 21.4% (from messages remains free. Hammadi headed the Qatari side Al-Sulaiti stressed that the educational innovations and ates from a range programmes regulation covers diff erent serv- QR1.019/minute to QR0.801/ Prices caps are ceilings and in the round of the consultations, Qatari constitution stipu- orientations with a view to to train advanced users in ices that consumers need while minute), making local voice the service providers are free while the Hungarian side was led lates that all citizens are equal educating and familiarising auxiliary technology, besides travelling outside the coun- calls within the visited coun- to compete by setting prices by Szilveszter Bus, deputy state in rights and duties, and that specialists from diff erent fi elds announcing the winners of try like receiving and making try by 3.9% (from QR0.910/ below these regulatory caps to secretary for opening to the south education is the right of every with the technology and its Mada’s digital accessibility voice calls, sending SMS mes- minute to QR0.874/minute), provide more attractive off ers of the ministry of foreign aff airs citizen without exception. uses as well as the latest devel- award. (QNA) sages and using mobile data and making voice calls to oth- to the consumers. (QNA) and trade. Foreign Ministry official meets African ambassadors Ministry workshop discusses mechanism for 2020 census he Ministry of Develop- management and planning is con- automatically with the ministry ment Planning and Sta- ducted, including preconditions in order to proceed with the im- Ttistics yesterday organ- that must be met for conducting plementation of the census. ised a workshop on the working a census based on administra- Al-Kuwari added that the mechanism with partners for the tive records and key factors to be new methodology proposed in 2020 census, with participation worked on to ensure complemen- the implementation of the cen- of specialists, statisticians and tarity between source agencies sus 2020 will meet three basic system analysts from some of the providing the required data and needs; meeting the national government organisations. The to ensure the data quality through requirements for development workshop was part of the prepar- the construction and evaluation and the regional requirements atory stages to conduct census on process in all stages. of GCC countries, and fulfi ll- general population, housing and Sultan al-Kuwari, assistant ing the international needs of establishment in 2020. undersecretary for statistics at the United Nations and other The workshop aimed at in- the Ministry of Development international bodies, while the troducing the basic require- Planning and Statistics, said the census will be implemented in ments of this census through 2020 census will ensure rapid light of the electronic link with a the necessary statistical meth- data collection and dissemina- number of source agencies con- ods, and methodologies, and tion of results and provide them cerned with data on population, the participant’s view on the to users simultaneously, and will housing and enterprises. main activities of the census, ensure comprehensive, sustain- The 2020 census, which coin- which will contribute to the de- able and higher quality, compar- cides with the GCC census, comes velopment and enhancement ing to previous censuses. in line with the recommendations Foreign Ministry Secretary-General Dr Ahmed bin Hassan al-Hammadi met yesterday with ambassadors of friendly African countries of practical knowledge related He called on source agencies of of the UN Statistics Division, accredited to Qatar. During the meeting, they discussed the developments of the Gulf crisis, enhancing the prospects for co-operation to the implementation phase. statistical data to provide infor- which calls for the use of technol- and issues of common concern. Participants can gain a clear mation and work on developing ogy and available databases from understanding of how project their databases and linking them source agencies. (QNA) Gulf Times Tuesday, April 24, 2018 3 QATAR

QLA to relocate to new premises Qatar Leadership Academy (QLA), a member of Qatar Foundation (QF), is to relocate to new premises within the WISH announces two more new Ministry of Defence (MoD) complex at Miqdam Camp for the 2018-19 academic year. QLA, which falls under QF’s Pre-University Education (PUE), strives to create and nurture leaders of tomorrow topics for 2018 summit by promoting excellence in academics, leadership, and By Joseph Varghese many of the world’s healthcare “Health policy-makers and athletics. Staff Reporter policy-makers as we’ve con- leaders who do not invest in The relocation of the school sistently been able to call upon data science are ignoring one reaff irms the strength and depth exceptional experts to work of the most powerful toolsets of the partnership between QF he role of data science with us to shape our detailed, available to help address the and the MoD, and the importance and Artifi cial Intelligence evidence-based reports. For challenges of economic unsus- of the links between the two Tin healthcare as well as WISH 2018 our forum chairs tainability, sub-optimal access parties, which aim to exchange private sector’s role in health- and forum members, each of and patient experience, and practical expertise that provide care are two of the core topics whom is recognised as a leader poor and variable outcomes. students with the knowledge and to be discussed during the 2018 in their chosen fi eld, are explor- Data science and Artifi cial In- leadership skills to support the global conference of The World ing nine diverse topics that de- telligence are rapidly disrupting national priorities of Qatar. Innovation Summit for Health serve scrutiny and I’ve no doubt many industries. In healthcare, Buthaina Ali al-Nuaimi, (WISH), an initiative of Qatar that their fi ndings will deliver we are just beginning to realise president, PUE, QF, said: “The Foundation (QF). many fresh insights that will the possible opportunities that history of Qatar Foundation’s WISH 2018 will be held in help shape health policy around will transform service provision relationship with the MoD goes Doha on November 13-14. WISH the world for years to come,” in the next decade,” explained back to 2005 when the first has also launched Doha Health- said Lord Darzi. Prof Sheikh military academy was launched care week, which will take place Sir Nicholson noted, “Popula- According to Afdhal, the in- to help create the leaders of for the fi rst time in November. tions around the world are liv- augural Doha Healthcare Week tomorrow; we are now looking The topics were announced ing longer and using healthcare will feature a a number of forward to further strengthening during a WISH global research services more than ever before, activities. this collaboration. forum yesterday attended by QF which requires us to search for “It will include a fi lm festival, “Through this relocation, we vice chairperson and CEO HE innovative ways to use private thought-provoking talks, inter- seek to aff ect positive change, Sheikha Hind bint Hamad al- HE Sheikha Hind bint Hamad al-Thani along with other off icials at the WISH event yesterday. sector providers to complement active workshops, sports activi- and are certain this move forms Thani, CEO Offi ce executive di- often-overstretched govern- ties, health check opportunities, a new phase in providing our rector Omran al-Kuwari and local in their fi elds. Sir David Nichol- pital and Sultana Afdhal, CEO, at WISH 2018. The other key ment health systems. Our report and, above all, lots of opportu- students with an environment and international delegates. son, forum chair on role of pri- WISH also were present on the topics include eye health, viral aims to fi nd examples of private nities to explore healthcare in an that strengthens important Addressing a press confer- vate sector in healthcare, WISH occasion. hepatitis, nursing and universal healthcare sector best practice innovative and enjoyable way. values in the fields of academics ence, Prof the Lord Darzi of 2018 and Prof Aziz Sheikh, The two topics will be ex- health coverage, design in health, from around the world and to de- We’re busy developing a diverse and leadership, helps to spread Denham, executive chair of forum chair on data science plored, along with seven other healthcare in confl ict settings, liver recommendations that will programme that will allow us a culture of taking responsibility WISH, said the two topics will and artifi cial intelligence, in subjects by more than 2,000 anxiety and depression, Islamic help provide optimal patient- to engage with a wide range and facing challenges, while be the subjects of in-depth re- healthcare, WISH 2018, Khalid global healthcare policy-makers, ethics and palliative care. focused solutions that meet both of participants and partner strengthening the spirit of ports by two teams of experts al-Emadi, CEO, Al Ahli Hos- practitioners, and innovators “Our summits attract so existing and future needs.” organisations,” she added. national identity.” UDC signs three contracts worth QR334mn for Gewan Island project

By Peter Alagos vestors. Our investment in these forms and tools that support our Business Reporter construction contracts refl ects service delivery model through our commitment towards share- innovation and automation to holders to working with leading enhance the effi ciency of project nited Development real estate development compa- management for our customers Company (UDC), the nies as part of our eff orts to im- and save both time and money. Umaster developer of plement development projects “Our co-operation with SNC- The Pearl-Qatar, signed three that enhance Qatar’s position on Lavalin, a global provider of contracts yesterday worth the global investment map.” professional and project man- QR334mn for the development Al-Othman and agement services, enriches our Ibrahim al-Othman and Hussein Hamieh shake hands after signing of Gewan Island, on the side- Faithful+Gould regional man- global experience in this fi eld, the contract. PICTURES: Thajudheen lines of Cityscape Qatar 2018. aging director Campbell Gray which distinguishes us from Gewan Island, UDC’s cur- signed a contract for imple- competitors,” Gray said. tion networks, power networks, protection rock revetments, rent biggest real estate project, menting the delivery strategy Similarly, al-Othman and Dar telecommunication and low cur- breakwaters, and quay walls for spans across 400,000sq m. The and programme for Gewan Is- Al-Handasah Qatar director rent networks, a gas network, and Gewan Island. Construction island, which derives its name land and working with all stake- of operations Hussein Hamieh a solid waste vacuum network. The works will start in May for a year from the full-round, pink-tint- holders to plan for the earliest signed a contract in the presence scope of services will also cover the and half period. ed and perfectly shaped pearl, possible completion, together of Dar Al-Handasah Qatar resi- environmental impact study, the Gewan Island was designed as will support a mix of property with procurement and manage- dent manager Imad al-Rimawi. traffi c impact study as well as the an extension to The Pearl-Qatar, types, catering for diff erent ac- ment of other consultants and Dar Al-Handasah was ap- preparation of tender documents. off ering its residents a compre- commodation and investment contractors. pointed to carry out the design Also, al-Othman signed a hensive living space merging needs. Faithful+Gould is currently consultancy services pertaining Ibrahim al-Othman and Campbell Gray shake hands after signing the contract with Medco general entertainment and retail out- UDC president and chief ex- overseeing the development of the to master planning, infrastruc- contract. manager Alberto Mino tasking lets with smart technologies. It ecutive offi cer Ibrahim al-Oth- design for the project, along with ture, architecture, and engi- Middle East Dredging Company features a theme park, an air- man said: “We are very confi - providing technical peer review neering consultancy services of ning and infrastructure, as well ing roads and bridges, as well as with the execution of the ma- conditioned outdoor ‘Crystal’ dent that Gewan Island and its and value engineering options. Gewan Island development. as buildings architectural and en- marine works, in addition to water rine works, including marine boardwalk, a green park, and a real estate off erings will attract “At Gewan Island, we will Dar Al-Handasah’s scope of gineering design services. Infra- supply, fi refi ghting, wastewater, dredging and reclamation, con- waterfront retail esplanade that both local and international in- use a unique mix of digital plat- services will cover master plan- structure services include design- storm-water drainage and irriga- struction of sand beaches, shore will attract new brands to Doha. VCUarts Qatar to hold fashion show on May 3

irginia Commonwealth University School Dignitaries at the seminar. PICTURE: Nasar T K Vof the Arts in Qatar (VCUarts Qatar), in partner- ship with Nasser Bin Khaled and Mercedes-Benz, will hold its 19th Annual Fashion Show MEC seminar sheds light on “Pendulum” on May 3 at the Westin Doha Hotel & Spa, the offi cial hotel sponsor of the event. importance of trademarks The show, features the collections of 25 sophomore, he Ministry of Economy Qatar National Vision 2030, as trademark-related issues were junior, and senior fashion and Commerce (MEC) well as its support of a strong covered. students from VCUarts Qa- Tyesterday organised a knowledge-based economy that Through this jointly organised tar, as well as four senior seminar titled ‘Intellectual is based upon on research, de- event, Nama Centre is “look- students from the Univer- Property Rights Protection for velopment, innovation and ex- ing to protect the intellectual sity’s Richmond campus, Entrepreneurs’, in co-opera- cellence in entrepreneurship. property rights of entrepreneurs will take place from 6:30pm tion with the Social Develop- The seminar shed light on and make the owners of small to 7:30pm. Off icials announce the VCUarts Qatar annual fashion show. ment Centre - Nama in pres- the general defi nition of trade- and micro businesses aware of “Pendulum” will showcase ence of some investors and marks, basic advantages for the the importance of their private the individual vision, creativity, and alumni to celebrate its to host VCUarts Qatar’s 19th supported by Salam Studio & entrepreneurs. merchant, manufacturer, serv- businesses trademarks to pro- and styles of VCUarts Qatar’s anniversary. Annual Fashion Show at our Stores, The Gate Mall, Tajmeel The event aimed to raise ice provider and consumer at tect them”, the statement adds. students. The collections will “The “Pendulum” theme Grand Ballroom.” Qatar International Beauty awareness among investors the time of registration in order It is the trademark owner’s present an eclectic mix of day represents our focus in estab- VCUarts Qatar alumna Academy, Bombay Silk Centre, about the importance of trade- to protect product against in- right to submit a complaint to to evening looks that refl ect the lishing a design department Selina Farooqui will be the Inglot, Tribal Gems & Jewel- marks for use in services and fringement of property rights, the Intellectual Property Rights singular aesthetic of each stu- that meets the needs of this guest designer at the show, lery, Apparel Qatar, Charming products, and the need to pro- ensure that consumers are not Protection Department once a dent and their individual con- growing and diverse industry. where she will present her Charlie, and Sara’s Secrets. tect them against infringement confused between products, and trademark is infringed upon, cepts. More than 100 garments, The whole fashion founda- most recent collection. The Awards will be presented by by registering trademarks with guarantee fair competition to counterfeited, falsifi ed or used ranging from evening wear to tion of design is built on re- brand image of ‘Selina Fa- Nasser Bin Khaled and Mer- the department concerned at market products in an effi cient in an unauthorised way. In such children’s wear will be shown at imagining, re-proportioning, rooqui’ is a collaboration be- cedes-Benz, Salam Studio & the MEC. and low-cost manner. cases, the judicial inspector of “Pendulum”. re-fabricating and making new tween the cultures she has Stores, platforms and W Ho- Several MEC intellectual The seminar also discussed the department shall confi rm “Pendulum” is all about again,” Wilkins said. grown up around, the Indian tels. Awards will also be given property rights specialists talked the trademark registration pro- the incident with the minutes time,” said Sandra Wilkins, Gianrico Esposito, general and Arabic infl uences, on con- for outstanding university at the seminar and addressed cedures, the trademark law and of the seizure and list the viola- the chair of VCUarts Qatar’s manager of The Westin Doha temporary garments. Ornate and departmental design and diff erent topics, including the some related issues in order to tions to submit them to the au- Fashion Design programme. Hotel & Spa said, “We are ex- Indian hand embroidery and academic achievements. defi nition of intellectual prop- make investors aware of the law thorities concerned to decide on Wilkins joined VCUarts Qatar tremely proud of this powerful fi ne craftsmanship are the el- Tickets cost QR125 and can be erty and its importance in terms to protect them against infringe- the actions needed in accord- in 1998 and the university has and inspirational partnership ements Selina wishes to keep purchased online from http:// of support for intellectual prop- ment and protect others as well. ance with the law that should been holding a series of events with VCU and as the offi cial alive through her collections. www.qatar.vcu.edu/events/ erty rights in accordance with Several illustrative examples of penalise infringement. for faculty, staff , students Hotel partner, we are honoured The fashion event is being pendulum-fashion-show Gulf Times 4 Tuesday, April 24, 2018 QATAR Sidra treats over 1,000 QNL launches Traditional inpatients in 100 days Gulf Architecture Week

By Joseph Varghese atar National Library (QNL) QNL has recently acquired the During the week, expert panellists Staff Reporter has kicked off ‘Traditional Mission’s entire photographic sur- will explore the Arabian Gulf’s archi- QGulf Architecture Week’ this vey—1,700 colour slides in total—a tectural identity and its wider cultural week with Dr Claire Hardy-Guilbert small sample of which appears in the and economic history through the s Sidra Medicine delivering a photo exhibition and lec- exhibition. The photographs portray story of its traditional architecture marked 100 days ture on Qatar’s traditional architec- the broad range of Qatar’s vernacular, from the 1700s to the 1960s. These Ayesterday since its ture. domestic, public, religious, and mili- events form part of the QNL’s Tra- inpatient facility became This special week continues with a tary architecture. ditional Gulf Architecture Project, operational on January 14, three-day Traditional Gulf Architec- “The architecture of a culture which seeks to create a digital archive it has cared for over 1,000 ture Conference examining the Ara- uniquely refl ects its people and the of historical photographs, architec- inpatients. “In the fi rst 100 bian Gulf’s architectural identity and time and place in which they lived. tural maps and drawings, and publi- days, we have cared for over wider cultural and economic history. This conference will give us a window cations relating to the region’s archi- 500 women and around the Dr Hardy-Guilbert’s lecture in- into past generations of Arabian Gulf tectural heritage. same number of children as cluded an exhibition of architectural inhabitants through the structures The Traditional Gulf Architecture inpatients,” Peter Morris, photographs, drawings, and stud- they created,” said Dr Sohair Wastawy, Conference is organised by QNL in CEO of Sidra Medicine told ies from a survey of Qatar’s historical executive director, QNL. “Though collaboration with Liverpool Univer- Gulf Times in an exclusive buildings conducted by the French many of the buildings discussed no sity’s School of Architecture, Qatar interview. Archaeological Mission to Qatar in longer exist, by understanding how University’s Department of Architec- The high-tech specialty 1984–85. She was accompanied by and why past residents built the way ture and Urban Planning, and Ibrahim hospital for women, young Vincent Aïtzegag, the photographer they did, we can gain added insight Jaidah, CEO and Chief Architect, Arab people and children is a part on the mission. into Qatar’s history.” Engineering Bureau, Qatar. of Qatar Foundation. “We have delivered over 300 ba- bies and conducted over 600 surgeries including a com- Peter Morris Dr Khalid al-Kharazi, neurosurgeon at Sidra Medicine, with plicated but very successful the young patient who was operated for a brain tumour. brain tumour surgery,” he 18-month-old infant to re- (supplied pictures) QFC hosts appreciation event for MoI explained. move a tumour in her brain. The offi cial pointed out It was a complex surgery There is a steady increase in “We hope that most peo- that Sidra Medicine has and we used highly advanced the number of patients since ple in the country will choose he Qatar Financial Cen- ted to providing our fi rms with launched a number of new technology to perform the the main hospital opening to come to us for the special- tre (QFC) Authority has all the support necessary to en- services throughout our procedure. and this is growing as we add ist children’s and women’s Thosted an appreciation sure that they can fully focus on phased opening of the main The operation went very more new services and clin- maternity and gynaecology event for the Ministry of Inte- their individual growth and ex- hospital. “Under Women’s smoothly and the baby was ics,” stated the CEO. services, instead of North rior (MoI), which is responsible pansion.” Services we have launched discharged a few days later,” According to the offi cial, America and Europe, be- for supporting QFC-registered Once a company submits its gynaecology care and the he pointed out. the feedback from patients cause we are able to provide fi rms during their post-registra- application, a dedicated QFC women’s urgent care service. “Our mission here was to and their families has been the same level of care here in tion process. relationship manager is ap- Several new children’s serv- open steadily, seamlessly, very positive. He described Qatar.” he pointed out. Raed al-Emadi, chief com- pointed to provide guidance on ices have been added,” Mor- safely and successfully and a recent case when a local “We have also started to mercial offi cer at the QFC Au- the registration process, ob- ris said. provide great care that we are community member changed see some international refer- thority, thanked the MoI team for taining a licence and setting up “The transition for the expected of. We have made the plans to visit London for rals with patients travelling its continued support. operations. majority of our children’s sure that our patients get the treatment and opting to come to Qatar seeking treatment He said, “Our partners in the QFC fi rms enjoy competitive services is expected to be highest standards of safety to Sidra Medicine instead, as and care with our teams, in- MoI have supported the QFC and benefi ts, such as operating with- completed by the end of the and the best quality care proof of this experience. cluding a patient from North its clients for a number of years in a legal environment based on summer, during which time comparable to any inter- “We are now seeing many America. We have had over now. It’s a partnership that has English common law, the right we will also open our Pae- national standards,” main- people coming to Sidra Med- 100 referrals from outside proven to be invaluable and as to trade in any currency, 100% diatric Emergency Depart- tained Morris. icine for treatment rather Qatar since we opened our such we would like to off er our foreign ownership, 100% repa- ment,” he continued. “We had a very effi cient than going abroad. This is a outpatient clinic. sincere appreciation and grati- triation of profi ts, 10% corporate “We have increased not opening of the hospital as growing proof of the cred- “Several families would tude to the MoI team based in the tax on locally sourced profi ts and only the range of our serv- the entire process went very ibility of our organisation, have most likely travelled QFC for its hard work and ongo- an extensive double tax treaty ices and surgeries but also smoothly, starting with the the calibre of our healthcare elsewhere had it not been for ing dedication. agreement network with more the depth and complexity of birth of the fi rst baby girl, teams and the services we the specialist service avail- “At the QFC, we are commit- than 60 countries. Raed al-Emadi these services. Last week, we Maryam on day one, to the have started to off er,” de- able here at Sidra Medicine,” successfully operated on an fi rst twins in that same week. scribed the CEO. concluded Morris. Recall of Jeep Grand Cherokee models

he Ministry of in the brake booster wa- will co-ordinate with the sumer Protection and Economy and Com- ter shield. The MEC said dealer to follow up on the Anti-Commercial Fraud Tmerce (MEC), in the recall campaign comes maintenance and repair Department through the collaboration with United within the framework of its works and will commu- following channels: Call Cars Almana (After Sales), ongoing eff orts to protect nicate with customers to centre: 16001, e-mail: has announced the recall consumers and ensure that ensure that the neces- [email protected], Twit- of Jeep Grand Cherokee automobile dealers follow sary repairs are carried ter: @MEC_Qatar, Insta- models of 2011-2014 and up on vehicles’ defects and out. The MEC has urged gram: MEC_Qatar, MEC Dodge Durango models of repair them. all customers to report mobile app for Android 2011-2013 over a defect The MEC said that it any violations to its Con- and IOS: MEC_Qatar Gulf Times Tuesday, April 24, 2018 5 QATAR

HE the Minister of Energy and Industry Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada, HE the Minister of Education and Higher Education Mohamed Abdul Wahed Ali al-Hammadi and other dignitaries at the opening of Moushtarayat 2018 yesterday. Support to private sector Qatar Rail’s priority, says CEO

atar Rail is participating in the tries such as information technology, viding all the support we can to help third Government Procurement marketing, advertising, civil engi- them acquire a bigger share of the busi- Qand Contracting Conference neering, contracting, transport and ness opportunities and contract op- and Exhibition (Moushtarayat 2018), storage to engage local suppliers and portunities we provide.” which opened yesterday at the Doha SMEs. The participation of local companies Exhibition and Convention Centre. Commenting on Qatar Rail’s par- in the Qatar Rail projects has reached The three-day event is held under ticipation in the conference, managing a record 80%. Qatar Rail has actively the patronage of HE the Prime Minister director and CEO Abdulla al-Subaie, sought to encourage local companies and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah said: “Involving the private sector in to take part in its international joint bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani. our projects is on top of our priorities. ventures to fast-track the development Moushtarayat 2018 aims to support We always look forward to providing of the local construction and railways small and medium enterprises by ush- opportunities in particular for small business. ering in a wave of new opportunities in and medium enterprises to help them In addition, Qatar Rail’s agreements a wide range of public tenders, publicly to contribute on both the corporate with international companies require announced throughout the year. and the projects levels. Events such as that they partner with Qatari com- Qatar Rail’s participation in the Moushtarayat provide an ideal platform panies in subcontracts. As a result, event cements its commitment to sup- to communicate with those companies 1,998 subcontracts or 84% of all sub- port the private sector, as well as small and to share with them the company’s contracts, have been awarded to Qa- and medium enterprises by providing various needs and help them better un- tari companies. Qatar Rail periodically them with opportunities to take part derstand the vendor selection criteria hosts industry awareness events to in the landmark projects undertaken by and procurement processes to increase introduce new business opportunities the company. their chances in getting awarded. We and engage local suppliers and compa- Qatar Rail will share opportunities are looking forward to increase their nies to boost their participation in the for service providers in various indus- participation in the projects and pro- companies’ tenders. Business Page 1 Gulf Times 6 Tuesday, April 24, 2018 QATAR

Qatar Airways ‘can sustain operations amid blockade’

atar Airways can sus- ly aff ected by the blockade are tain its operations in not aff ecting Qatar Airways Qthe future in the face too much. of an unjust blockade, avia- While losing markets such tion analyst Alex Macheras has as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, said. Macheras said that the airline “In terms of future outlook, picked up internationally and HE the Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Seif Ahmed al-Sulaiti receiving a memento from Qatar Airways Group chief executive Akbar I think Qatar in the Middle reapplied elsewhere. al-Baker yesterday at the opening of the IHGC in Doha. PICTURE: Jayan Orma East is the most sustainable “There are no aircraft because they are actually pre- parked here on the ground … paring for the future,” he told in fact Qatar Airways is short reporters on the sidelines of of planes at the moment,” he the 31st annual IATA Ground added. “If they continue on Handling Conference (IGHC). the course that they are, things Macheras noted that other will continue to be fi ne.” airlines in the region have “In this blockade, there are slowed down a little while Qa- states which are openly vio- tar continuously competes on Macheras: The UAE lating international aviation Hundreds attend a global scale. champion themselves as law,” Macheras said. “The UAE Despite air restrictions by the leader for open skies. champion themselves as the blockading countries (Saudi Yet they were the first to leader for open skies. Yet they Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, close their airspace, were the fi rst to close their air- and Egypt), Qatar Airways massively contradicting space, massively contradicting has continued its expansion, their statements for years. their statements for years. opening new routes and in- “ICAO (the International creasing its frequencies to v arious Civil Aviation Organisation) is dealing with IATA conference destinations in its network around the world. this. Ultimately, we have just to wait and see “In terms of how Qatar Airways and how how it turns out.” Qatar Airways’ achievements “We are tremendously proud to executive Akbar al-Baker said that awards four times since its relaunch Qatar can move forward, the best thing they About the conference, he expressed op- highlighted at the conference be hosting the 31st Annual IATA the event gives the airline the op- in 2002. did is recognise that there is a blockade, in- timism that this year’s edition will bring Ground Handling Conference, the portunity to showcase its highly- However, al-Baker said that being stead of just of complaining about it like awareness not only to the region but also to By Joey Aguilar fi rst time this gathering is taking reputable ground handling and named the World’s Best Airline “is other states may have,” Macheras explained. those outside of Qatar since “not many peo- Staff Reporter place in the Middle East,” the min- ground services business. not the pinnacle but a milestone we “Instead they accelerated everything.” ple are aware of the exact dynamic of the ister said in a statement. “It is sig- He stressed the signifi cance of must maintain”. He said that the airline “grew massively” blockade”. nifi cant that Doha has been chosen the conference this year, saying that Qatar Airways now operates a with new destinations, increasing its fre- “I speak to people (outside the region), for ore than 700 delegates and as the inaugural host in the Middle it not only brings together indus- modern fl eet of more than 200 air- quencies and acquiring new aircraft. example in the US, and when they fi nd out guests from various parts East.” try representatives from across the craft with a network of more than “Such an acceleration plan went into place that I’m in Qatar the whole the time, they Mof the world have gathered “The fact that many delegates globe but also provides a platform to 150 key business and leisure des- and at the same time they were able to realise think I’m going to a country that is under in Doha to take part in the 31st an- have attended this year’s conference learn from each other and showcase tinations across Europe, the Mid- what is happening politically,” Macheras said. siege and struggling,” he said. “Somehow nual IATA Ground Handling Con- is a demonstration of confi dence in best industry practices. dle East, Africa, Asia Pacifi c, North “The best thing they did is accelerate their they don’t know that things have been bet- ference (IGHC). both Qatar Airways and Qatar,” he “Coming here this year in Qatar, America, and South America. plans given the illegal blockade.” ter here since June 5, not just the same.” – By IATA stands for the International stressed. it allows you to see and experience The airline plans to launch a He noted that fl ights that have been direct- Joey Aguilar Air Transport Association. The opening video presentation fi rst-hand the exponential growth host of new destinations this year, The event at the Sheraton Doha highlighted Qatar Airways’ resil- and operating standards that are including London Gatwick and Resort & Convention Hotel, is being ience amid the “illegal blockade now our daily practice in this coun- Cardiff , the UK; Lisbon, Portugal; held under the patronage of Qatar’s against Qatar” as well as the airline’s try and across the Qatar Airways Tallinn, Estonia; Valletta, Malta; Minister of Transport and Commu- myriad of achievements in the past Group,” al-Baker noted. Langkawi, Malaysia; Da Nang, Vi- IATA ‘a trade association, and nications HE Jassim Seif Ahmed al- 20 years. He also highlighted the airline’s etnam; Bodrum and Antalya, Tur- Sulaiti, who attended the opening Echoing HE al-Sulaiti’s state- achievements, in particular win- key; Mykonos, Greece; and, Malaga, yesterday. ment, Qatar Airways Group chief ning Skytrax’s World’s Best Airline Spain. not a political organisation’

From Page 1 rect contradiction to the convention that guaran- QAS to expand internationally: al-Baker e would tees rights to civil over- help fa- fl ight,” al-Baker said. “Wcilitate “We are not a political atar Airways’ ground handling sub- that, and participate in body, we are an airline sidiary, Qatar Aviation Services discussions on behalf of and this blockade has Q(QAS), will expand its operations the industry in order to stripped us of the rights internationally this year to enhance the air- help to fi x problems,” the which are guaranteed to line’s rapid growth plans, Qatar Airways IATA offi cial stressed. us.” Group chief executive Akbar al-Baker has an- IATA director general Despite the siege, Qa- nounced. and chief executive Alex- tar Airways continued Speaking at a press conference yesterday, andre de Juniac had reit- its expansion, opening he said that such move will also give other erated in December last new routes and increas- airlines and airports access to the QAS’s ca- year the organisation’s ing its frequencies to pabilities and “the profi t and performance position for the restora- various destinations in improvements that it deliver to its custom- tion of air connectiv- Careen: Eff ective ground operations its network around the ers”. ity to Qatar, which has are an essential part of the airline world. “We want to progressively roll out across been impacted due to the industry. Meanwhile, the IGHC Qatar Airways’ network, especially where we blockade. 2018 opening yesterday have a very high frequency of operations and “We have always said connectivity be- tackled three key priorities for the industry an opportunity for us to establish a handling Al-Baker (second, left) announcing the QAS’s international expansion yesterday at a press conference. tween Qatar and the rest of the world must be to support the growing demand for air trav- company,” he told reporters. With him are IATA airport, passenger, cargo and security senior vice-president Nick Careen, HIA chief preserved and re-established,” de Juniac told el: harmonising global standards to improve Describing the international launch of the operating off icer Badr Mohamed A al-Meer, and QAS president Murat Nursel. Gulf Times. safety, improving collaboration between QAS as a “logical business decision”, al-Baker Qatar Airways Group chief executive Akbar stakeholders, and developing talent. said that their Ground Services division has performance indicators. announced at the IATA Ground Handling Conference, al-Baker had earlier called on the Interna- “Eff ective ground operations are an es- contracts with ground handlers across the “QAS is without doubt a global leader in since we have a long-term relationship with IATA.” tional Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to sential part of the airline industry’s eff orts to airline’s extensive network of more than 150 this area,” he stressed. “It is signifi cant that Al-Baker noted that the QAS management team holds declare this blockade on the country “illegal”. meet the forecast growth in demand for air global destinations, which measures their key our plans for international expansion were key positions on the IATA (International Air Transport “This blockade is unprecedented and in di- connectivity,” Careen said in a statement. Association) technical working groups, proposing and implementing developments that improve standards across the aviation industry. Launched in 2000 as a local ground handling agent (GHA) at Doha International Airport, the QAS is now known for its high-tech, high-traffi c, and high-growth environment. The company provides solutions for customers “that they don’t have access to through other ground handling agents”. The QAS, the sole ground handling agent at Hamad International Airport (HIA), also manages all ground handling requirements for approximately 225,000 fl ights annually, with 99.5% on-time performance for all inter- national passengers, cargo and executive jet traffi c. “We keep it as a monopoly operator to make sure that the standard of service we want for Qatar Airways is also provided to everybody else,” al-Baker said. “We will give them the same standard of service because as an airport operator we want more airlines to come and use HIA.” The QAS’s ability to stay ahead of the airline’s and the airport’s growth needs and maintain the quality of serv- ice delivery has been a driving factor in its success. It has a multicultural team of 7,487 employees. An established industry leader, the QAS provides a seamless, round-the-clock operation, which surpasses standard ground handling services. The QAS is certifi ed in IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations ISO 9001, RA3 (Regulated Agent), and is a member of the IATA Ground Handling Partnership, proactively participating in various IATA technical groups such as IATA Ground Operations Manual, Load Control and Messaging, Ground Service Equipment and Environment, and Airside Safety Group. – By Joey Agui- lar Qatar Airways to add 11 planes

Qatar Airways Group chief executive Akbar al-Baker has announced that the airline will add 11 new planes to its fleet this year as it prepares to launch 16 new destinations in 2018 and 2019, after adding 11 new destinations last year. Speaking during a press conference on the sidelines of the 31st edition of the IATA Ground Handling Services Conference, al-Baker said that Qatar Airways achieved 99.5% of the ground handling accuracy in 2017, providing services to international airlines, private fleets as well as air cargo and other services. He said that the company delivered 47mn pieces of goods to become one of the least-delayed in delivery of luggage in this sector, with a rate of 0.6 per thousand passengers. More than 2mn tonnes of cargo were delivered last year at an annual rate of increase 25% through Hamad International Airport, which served 36mn passengers and handled more than 222,000 flights in 2017. – QNA Gulf Times Tuesday, April 24, 2018 7 QATAR Charity, CMU-Q to promote computer science education

he Carnegie Mellon Univer- sity in Qatar (CMU-Q) and Tthe Jassim & Hamad Bin Jas- sim Charitable Foundation signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to create the Hamad bin Jas- dle East, the educational, interac- sim Center for K-12 Computer Sci- tive software that was developed ence Education and commitment at Carnegie Mellon, and adapted to funding of QR4mn. The centre will a Middle East context at CMU-Q promote computer science educa- through funding from the Qatar Na- tion in schools throughout Qatar. tional Research Fund. The Hamad bin Jassim Center for These eff orts will include train- K-12 Computer Science Education ing educators who will teach the aims to educate students in the fun- Alice Middle East curriculum in damentals of computer science, help- their schools. In the 2017-18 aca- ing to develop basic computational demic year, all Ministry of Education thinking skills. A second objective is and Higher Education government Off icials of CMU-Q, Jassim & Hamad Bin Jassim Charitable Foundation and QNB Group CEO Ali Ahmed al-Kuwari (right) and Qatar Rail’s managing director and to expose and raise awareness among schools that teach information com- other dignitaries at the MoU signing. CEO engineer Abdulla Abdulaziz T al-Subaie shake hands after signing the agreement students about the importance of munication technology included as HE the Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa computer science to the future of a Alice Middle East in the 11th-grade for Mindcraft, a CMU-Q workshop Qatar, equipping the next genera- al-Thani and HE the Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Seif Ahmed knowledge-based society. coursework. for high school students that intro- tion with the tools to succeed in our al-Sulaiti look on. The MoU was signed by Ishaq “Computer science education is a duces them to computer science dis- technology-based society.” Hashem, board member of the Jas- key component of increasing Qatar’s ciplines such as robotics, cryptogra- “Programmes such as Mind- sim & Hamad Bin Jassim Charitable human development, in line with phy and computational thinking. craft and Alice Middle East spark Foundation and Michael Trick, dean the Qatar National Vision 2030 and “Today, technology is driving an interest in computer science at of CMU-Q. Representatives from the 2nd National Development Strat- nearly every discipline, including a young age, which in turn encour- Ministry of Education and Higher egy 2018-2022. We are pleased that business, fi nance, medicine and ed- ages students to pursue it and other Education, the Ministry of Admin- CMU-Q and the Jassim & Hamad Bin ucation,” said Michael Trick. “This important STEM disciplines as they QNB hails deal istrative Development, Labour and Jassim Charitable Foundation are collaboration between the Jassim & continue their education. As Qatar Social Aff airs, Qatar Foundation for partnering to promote this impor- Hamad Bin Jassim Charitable Foun- becomes more economically diverse Education, Science and Commu- tant area of study in Qatar’s schools,” dation and CMU-Q will increase ac- and self-suffi cient, programmes nity Development (QF) and business said Fawziya al-Khater, assistant un- cess to a high-quality computer sci- like these are incredibly important leaders attended the signing. dersecretary for educational aff airs ence education for students across to prepare future generations,” said with Qatar Rail To reach its objectives, the Hamad of the Ministry of Education and Qatar. The Hamad Bin Jassim Center Saeed Mathkar AlHajri, CEO of the Bin Jassim Center will implement Higher Education. for K-12 Computer Science Educa- Jassim & Hamad Bin Jassim Charita- NB Group has signed a landmark major credit and debit cards issued in Qa- a curriculum based on Alice Mid- The MoU also provides for support tion will have a profound impact on ble Foundation. merchant agreement with Qatar tar and worldwide. QRail, which will see the bank join as “Payments will be possible directly a strategic partner and the offi cial Acquir- at the stations through the Travel Cards er Bank for all TravelCard and Fare Media Vending Machines, on a dedicated web payments. site, and through the mobile app. This will Pakistan builders at Cityscape 2018 The agreement was signed by QNB enable the quick, safe and secure purchase Group CEO Ali Ahmed al-Kuwari and Qa- of Travel Card and top up as well as facili- tar Rail’s managing director and CEO en- tate the purchase of limited use cards. gineer Abdulla Abdulaziz T al-Subaie, on As a strategic partner and the offi cial the sidelines of Cityscape Qatar exhibition Acquirer Bank, QNB will off er its support inaugurated by HE the Prime Minister to facilitate payments in this important and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin project which will bolster the develop- Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani. ment of the transportation sector in Qatar. “This agreement underscores QNB’s QNB Group’s presence through its sub- commitment towards supporting the sidiaries and associate companies extends country’s economy, by enhancing the role to more than 31 countries across three of the private sector and supporting such continents providing a comprehensive projects, which will further boost the na- range of advanced products and services. tional economy,” the bank said in a state- The total number of employees exceeds ment. 28,000 operating through more than “It will ensure that Qatar Rail will be 1,200 locations, with an ATM network of able to accept payments made with all more than 4,300 machines.

Off icials of real estate marketing companies from Pakistan at Cityscape Qatar. The Pakistan pavilion at Cityscape Qatar features a number leading real estate marketing companies. The pavilion, hosted by Nawa i waqt, has Star Marketing, Imperial Mall, NZ Marketing, Saremco and projects DHA multan, DHA bahawalpur, DHA Gujranwala and DHA Peshawar. “Through this event the Pakistani community could make their dream come true for having their own Ooredoo to provide seamless property in Pakistan,” an off icial said. “On the second day of this event, Pakistani community showed very positive response to the Pakistan pavilion.” services on Lusail rail tracks Ministry oredoo has announced that it will unveils plans help Lusail Light Rail Transport Pakistani ‘Smart City’ for online Ooredoo opens Otransform passengers’ digital ex- periences with the most advanced smart services transport technology, thanks to a partner- interests community pre-booking ship with Qatar Rail. The Ministry of The partnership, which was announced Municipality and at the ongoing Cityscape Qatar, will see he ‘fi rst ever Smart City’ of ital Smart City Islamabad, owned Environment (MME) for iPhone 8 Ooredoo and Qatar Rail work closely on Pakistan is creating vibes at by Habib Rafi q Limited, one of most has launched its largest the planning, design, and installation of TCityscape Qatar, which is reputable companies in Pakistan,” technological project the Ooredoo Supernet throughout the taking place at Doha Exhibition and according to a statement. for 2018 to make oredoo will of- trains and stations of the network. Convention Centre until tomorrow. “It is exciting times for Pakistan, services available fer iPhone 8 and The 4-line Lusail Light Rail Transport “A large segment of Pakistani due to CPEC investments,” ob- online. OiPhone 8 Plus system will run 33km across the Lusail Ooredoo and Qatar Rail off icials at the community is interested in the Cap- served Capital Smart City sales and “The nearly five-year RED Special Edition, Smart City. Passengers will have complete partnership signing. marketing general manager Mujeeb project will have an the new generation access to Ooredoo voice and data services Ahmed Khan. implementation phase of iPhone, it was an- while the trams run at-grade, through un- sengers to use their voice and data services “We are fi rst ever Smart City of of 27 months, spread nounced yesterday. derground tunnels, and while travelling during their trips. Pakistan on eastern route of CPEC. across five stages,” Both phones sport a through the stations. Yousuf Abdulla al-Kubaisi, COO Oore- We are operating in Pakistan for explained Hamdah beautiful glass enclo- The Lusail Light Rail Transport system doo Qatar, said: “Using the Ooredoo over 60 years and our track record al-Maadeed, director of sure, now in red, with is expected to begin operations in 2018, Supernet, Lusail Light Rail Transport and history shows we are the right Information Systems a matching aluminium and transport tens of thousands of pas- passengers will always have network ac- company to invest with in Pakistan.” Department, MME, band and a sleek black sengers to the stadiums during the FIFA cess while travelling in Qatar. Ooredoo’s Yasir Mahmood from Qazi In- at a meeting of the front. 2022 World Cup Qatar. advanced infrastructure will enable real- vestment UK said: “We would like committee concerned. Customers can pre- This announcement builds on the exist- time insights on Lusail Light Rail’s per- to invite all Pakistanis from Qatar The initial stage of order their device at ing partnership between Ooredoo and Qa- formance, provide state-of-the-art se- to come and be part of this exciting two months involves Ooredoo.qa/eshop. tar Rail, which is seeing Ooredoo deploy curity for critical national infrastructure, development, it’s a great opportu- developing more than It is expected that the device will arrive in its next-generation In-Building Solution and support smart transport innovations nity for Overseas Pakistanis to build 300 services in various Ooredoo Shops by the end of April. Complete across the Doha Metro’s Red Line for pas- both in stations and on mobile apps.” Mujeeb Ahmed Khan a dream home in Pakistan”. sectors of the MME. details on pricing can be had from ooredoo.qa.

Malabar Gold names promo winner Jumbo woos customers with ‘Mega Promotion’

umbo Electronics bi-annual ‘Mega Pro- motion’ has got off to a fl ying start, it was Jannounced yesterday. Customers shopping at any Jumbo Elec- tronics stores can now save up to 50% on world class brands and also get an assured gift for a minimum purchase of QR1,000. Some of the assured gifts include LG 43” TV, LG K10 smartphone, Jabra Bluetooth headset, electric kettle and Thrumm smart- watch. The assured free gift is based on the price of the purchase. Customers can also benefi t from special of- fers and save up to 50% across all product cat- egories. Some of the leading brands that can be purchased from a Jumbo store include LG, Morphy Richards, Apple, JBL, Harman Kar- don, Brother, Oscar, OnePlus, Indesit, Forbes, Nikkai and a wide range of accessories. Customers can shop using leading bank credit cards at 0% interest and pay over six or 12 months as per the respective bank terms. Cus- tomers can also earn and redeem points from Jumbo Electronics bi-annual ‘Mega Promotion’ is on until May 15. The latest winner of Malabar Gold & Diamonds’ ‘10Kg Gold for 100 Winners’ campaign, Masood three loyalty programmes: Air Miles, Nojoom and his family receives the prize of 100gm gold bar from regional head Santhosh T V in the and Jumbo Digits. During this period custom- The ‘Mega Promotion’ is running till May in City Center Doha, and Doha Festival City, presence of deputy branch head Raju T Johny and other off icials. ers buying extended warranty can get up to 12 15 across all Jumbo Electronics Stores, LG and Spark Lifestyle Electronics at Dar Al months additional extended warranty free. Brand Shop at Mall of Qatar, Harman House Salam Mall. Gulf Times 8 Tuesday, April 24, 2018 QATAR

Volvo Bus Corporation’s Honda’s latest GL1800 award for Domasco oha Marketing Services port, a world-renowned com- Company (Domasco) has pany in transportation services, Dbeen awarded the Mid- to provide Volvo Marcopolo pre- dle East, Africa and CIS (MEAC) mium coach buses. Star Deal for 2017 by Volvo Bus Commenting on the award, Gold Wing launched Corporation (VBC). Domasco managing director The award was presented at Faisal Sharif said: “We are ex- he exclusive distribu- the annual conference of VBC in tremely honoured to be awarded tor of Honda vehicles in Cape Town, South Africa. the MEAC Star Deal 2017. This TQatar, Doha Marketing Domasco is the exclusive dis- award is a recognition of our Services Company (Domasco), tributor of Volvo Buses in Qatar. team’s proactive work with one has launched the all-new 2018 Every year, Volvo Bus Corpo- of the largest transportation Honda GL1800 Gold Wing pre- ration gives out awards in dif- companies in Qatar and our ex- mium motorcycle. ferent categories to distributors cellent relations with Volvo Bus Star Qatari athlete and that have excelled in set cat- Corporation and Marcopolo. The former Asian champion sprint- egories. The award, which was award is further testament of er Talal Mansour was among achieved in the fi rst year of op- our commitment to our custom- those who attended the formal eration for Volvo Buses in Qatar, ers and partners and provides us launch event yesterday at the was a result of Domasco’s con- with the perfect platform to win main Honda showroom, near tract signed with MBM Trans- future orders.” National Mosque on the Khalifa Street and TV signal. Since its introduction in 1975, the Honda Gold Wing has been described as ‘the ul- timate in two-wheeled travel,’ Legendary Qatari athlete Talal Mansour hands over a memento growing in physical size and to Qatar Soul Riders president Khalid al-Hammadi as Domasco’s displacement over the four Greig Roffey looks on, at the launch of the 2018 Honda GL1800 decades, all the while creat- Gold Wing yesterday. ing an enduring and unrivalled reputation for luxury, quality tric screen adjusts for prefer- range is similar to the previous and comfort. ence. design. The Gold Wing is now Honda Gold Wing, accord- The seats provide all-day compatible with Apple CarPlay ing to the company offi cials, comfort and the motorcycle’s so the rider can utilise the per- has amassed a huge fan base in Motorcycle enthusiasts inspecting the features of the new 2018 new features like the smart sonalised information and con- Qatar and numbers have grown Honda GL1800 Gold Wing. PICTURES: Jayan Orma key system, Apple CarPlay and tent inside their iPhone such as manifold over the years, with Bluetooth connectivity bring telephone numbers and music The award was presented at the annual conference of VBC in Cape more riders wanting to be part The new Gold Wing is taking lost none of its power, torque even more convenience. playlists. Town, South Africa. of the Gold Wing heritage. a new direction and it still has and addictive delivery. Hon- The new Gold Wing re- The Bluetooth connectivity “The Honda Gold Wing en- an evocative, fl at six-cylinder da Selectable Torque Control places the relaxed lines of the has been adopted and a USB ca- joys legendary status in the engine that delivers an ava- maintains rear wheel traction outgoing model with a more ble can also be plugged in. country. The new model is more lanche of torque and power. It while the suspension damping honed, athletic ethos. The Honda’s unique Dual Clutch exciting to ride than ever and still remains Honda’s fl agship and Combined Brake System lower portion of the head- Transmission (DCT) is a natural Honda has made the Gold Wing premium `tourer’, loaded with alter depending on the modes lights use five polished optical fi t for the new Gold Wing en- smaller and lighter and added features that allow two people selected. Tour, Sport, Econ and lenses on both sides to create gine and development revolved all the hardware and software a to ride in style. Rain are the four modes of the a Jewel-Eye low beam light around the DCT as the base. modern rider could wish for. It Sharing a common engine vehicle. signature. Using high beam This is the third all-new is very much a true rider’s mo- and chassis platform, the new Hill Start Assist and Idling (in the upper portion) is cre- generation of the system and torcycle,” Domasco managing ‘Wing will be available as the Stop add ease of use and im- ating a stereoscopic impres- the fi rst to have 7-speeds, spe- director Faisal Sharif said in a base model GL1800 Gold Wing, prove fuel effi ciency, said the sion. The front indicators are cifi cally designed for long-dis- statement. and as a ‘Tour’ edition with top company offi cial. housed in the mirrors. tance cruising. While introducing the vehi- box, which will also off er a ver- The performance improve- Capacity of the fuel tank is The new Gold Wing’s DCT cle to motorcycle enthusiasts, sion equipped with Dual Clutch ment is matched by even 4litres less at 21litres. But as features a 1.8km/h forward Honda’s sales and marketing Transmission (DCT) and air greater levels of relaxation: the new Gold Wing is so much Walking Mode with reverse of head at Domasco, Greig Roff ey, bag. the stylish, aerodynamically- lighter and more aerodynamic. 1.2km/h, operated instantly explained the unique features of Optimised for size, the bike’s efficient fairing channels air The improved fuel economy of from a +/- switch on the left the vehicle. new fl at six-cylinder engine has around the rider and the elec- 5.6litres/100km means the tank handlebar. Domasco is the exclusive distributor of Volvo Buses in Qatar.

Shah Rukh Khan to inaugurate new Kalyan Jewellers’ store in Doha

Kalyan Jewellers has announced the opening of a new show- commitment.” The showroom will have an exclusive section room in Qatar. displaying Kalyan’s new brand Muhurat, the wedding collection The new outlet, located at LuLu Hypermarket, D-Ring Road, by Kalyan that features hand-picked bridal jewellery from across will be inaugurated on April 26 by the ‘Badshah of Bollywood’ India. Customers will also see popular house brands such as – Shah Rukh Khan. Kalyan Jewellers chairman and manag- Vedha – festive collection, Ameera - the Arabic collection, Mud- ing director TS Kalyanaraman and executive directors Rajesh hra - handcrafted antique jewellery, Ziah - an exquisite range of Kalyanaraman and Ramesh Kalyanaraman will also be present diamond jewellery, Glo - dancing diamonds, Nimah - authentic on the occasion. The opening of the new store is “in line with heritage Jewellery, Anokhi – uncut diamonds, Apoorva – dia- its commitment to the market”, the leading jeweller has said monds for special occasions, Antara – wedding diamonds, Hera in a statement. TS Kalyanaraman said, “Qatar has been a very – daily wear diamonds and Rang – precious stones jewellery, encouraging market for Kalyan Jewellers. Since we began our the statement noted. Shoppers at Kalyan Jewellers will also be journey here in 2016, we have developed a steady customer able to avail of a festive off er that “guarantees shoppers free base and thanks to our patrons, the brand has had a success- gifts and a chance to win 25 Mercedes-Benz vehicles with every ful journey thus far. On our part, we are committed to bring purchase of gold, diamond and precious stone jewellery”. the best of designs, services and off ers to our customers and The new Kalyan Jewellers showroom launch is scheduled at the new showroom on D-Ring Road is in alignment with this 9pm.

Vodafone Qatar rolls out 1Gbps fi bre network at The Pearl

odafone Qatar has announced that it will roll-out fi - bre connectivity across The Pearl-Qatar following an Vagreement it signed with United Development Com- pany (UDC) yesterday at Cityscape Qatar 2018. Vodafone Qatar and UDC signed an agreement that will see The Pearl-Qatar benefi t from a fi bre network capable of handling speeds of up to 1Gbps. The new fi bre roll-out will enable the provision of so-called ‘triple play’ services that combine voice, high speed Internet, and multimedia over IP, which provides access to high defi nition TV, premium con- tent, video on demand, and home entertainment to thou- sands of buildings and homes on the island. The agreement was signed by Vodafone Qatar CEO Sheikh Vodafone Qatar CEO Sheikh Hamad Abdulla Jassim Hamad Abdulla Jassim al-Thani and UDC President & CEO al-Thani and UDC President & CEO Ibrahim Jassim Ibrahim Jassim al-Othman during Cityscape Qatar 2018 where al-Othman shake hands after signing the agreement UDC is showcasing the progress and development of The Pearl- during Cityscape Qatar 2018. Qatar. More than 27,000 of the island’s current residents and 700 businesses will benefi t from Vodafone Qatar’s high-speed for The Pearl-Qatar is to provide a suite of smart services and fi bre network with a further 7,000 residents and businesses ex- state-of-the-art technologies that enrich the lives of resi- pected to gain access in the coming months. dents across the Island. As such, we are pleased to collabo- Sheikh Hamad said: “We’re proud that Vodafone Qatar’s rate with Vodafone Qatar and introduce their fi bre network fi bre network will help create a gigabit community on The here as it will facilitate easy access to superfast and reliable Pearl-Qatar, transforming its residents’ daily lives and ena- connectivity, entertainment, multimedia and much more.” bling its businesses to innovate. In the past few months, Vodafone Qatar has made sig- “Providing fi bre in The Pearl-Qatar is an important mile- nificant progress in providing key entities with fixed in- stone in achieving our strategic goal for digital services and frastructure and services in line with the company’s com- driving the country’s digital transformation in support of mitment to significantly grow its fixed line network across Qatar National Vision 2030.” Al-Othman said: “Our vision the country.

QIB relocates Private Banking Centre to Al Sadd branch on Suhaim Bin Hamad Street

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) has relocated the Grand Hamad and The Gate Mall Private Banking Centres to the bank’s new flag- ship Al Sadd branch on Suhaim Bin Hamad Street. The new Private Banking Centre off ers “full banking services, privacy, exclusivity and personalised service at an easily acces- sible location in Doha”, QIB has said in a statement. “We pride ourselves on being Qatar’s preferred provider of comprehensive Shariah-compliant financial solutions to high net worth clients since our inception. At QIB Private, we ensure that our custom- ers receive the highest level of personalised service and the financial support they need. This is achieved by assigning a highly qualified and experienced relationship manager to each individual customer,” said D Anand, general manager - Personal Bank- ing Group. QIB’s Private Banking Centre welcomes customers from Sunday to Thursday, between 7.30am and 1pm, while the relationship managers are available for their assigned customers at all times, the bank has said. QIB Private off ers high net worth individuals with a “bespoke service to assist with all aspects of their banking needs”, the state- ment noted. Gulf Times Tuesday, April 24, 2018 9 REGION/ARAB WORLD

Opposition: Rebels accuse Saudi-led coalition US cannot aff ord of killing political head in Yemen to leave Dozens killed after air raid on wedding party Syria yet

AFP Sanaa Reuters Riyadh emen’s Houthi rebels yesterday accused the yria’s chief opposition ne- YSaudi-led coalition of gotiator said the United killing their political leader, SStates cannot aff ord to Saleh al-Sammad, in an air leave Syria as it has yet to achieve strike last week. any of its goals in the region, even Sammad, head of the though President Donald Trump Houthis’ supreme political said recently Washington would council, was “martyred” in the withdraw its troops. eastern province of Hodeida on Saleh al-Sammad “I personally think the US is Thursday, the rebels said in a not capable of withdrawing its statement published via their 54,000 others since March 2015. fi ghters from Syria,” Nasr Hariri Saba news agency. In late 2015, coalition air told Reuters. His death comes as a major strikes on two wedding par- Washington for years support- blow to the rebels who since ties in northern Yemen killed at ed rebels militarily against Syrian March 2015 have been fi ghting least 159 civilians. President Bashar al-Assad, but pro-government forces backed Violence has also hit funerals. ended its train-and-equip pro- by a military coalition led by In October 2016, 140 mourners gramme last year after changing Saudi Arabia. were killed in an air strike on a its focus to the fi ght against Is- “This crime won’t go unan- house in Sanaa. lamic State. swered,” warned the Houthis’ Elsewhere in Yemen yester- It helped an alliance of Kurdish overall leader, Abdul Malek al- day, fi ve pro-government sol- and other militias drive the mili- Houthi. diers were killed and 19 wound- tants from swathes of northern The news came hours after A nurse checks a man, injured by air strikes while attending a wedding in a village in northwestern Yemen, at a hospital in Hajjah, yesterday. ed in clashes with fi ghters in the and eastern Syria last year, in- offi cials in Yemen said dozens of southern city of Taiz, medics cluding the group’s Syrian capi- people were killed and wound- which it said were “among the dead bodies buried beneath the the desperation and inability of Saudi forces said they inter- said. tal of Raqqa, and has deployed ed in an air raid on a wedding most devastating in the area in rubble. the invaders in achieving their cepted a rebel ballistic missile Fighting in the city’s Jah- about 2,000 US troops in the party in the country on Sunday, recent months”. Houthi-run Al-Masirah tel- goals,” foreign ministry spokes- targeting its southern border maliah district came after the country. in another attack the Houthis Rescue teams said the wed- evision said at least 33 people, man Bahram Qassemi said in a city of Najran on Sunday, which governor of Taiz launched an Trump said this month he blamed on the coalition. ding was being held in the including women and children, statement. set a farm ablaze, after another operation against fi ghters he wanted to bring them home soon Medical sources and local of- Houthi-controlled Bani Qais were killed and as many as 55 Also yesterday, the coali- aimed at Jizan was shot down on suspected were behind the mur- but later agreed they should stay fi cials put the number of dead area of Hajjah province, north people wounded in the air strike tion said it shot down two new Friday. der of a Red Cross aid worker a little longer after his advisers between 22 and 33, with at least of Sanaa, when jets carried out on the wedding. ballistic missiles fi red by the At the beginning of April, over the weekend. argued they were needed to stop 40 to 50 wounded, while the the raid. The coalition’s spokesman Houthis, who claimed to tar- Houthi political head Sammad The Lebanese aid worker, Islamic State re-emerging and exact circumstances of the raid A local offi cial said that Colonel Turki al-Malki did not get facilities belonging to the dubbed 2018 “the year of bal- Hanna Lahoud, was shot dead to prevent Iran gaining a bigger remained unclear. at least 23 civilians, includ- immediately respond to a re- kingdom’s oil giant Aramco in listic excellence”, referring to in Taiz on Saturday by uniden- foothold. Doctors Without Borders ing women and children, were quest for comment on the inci- southern Jizan city. cross-border missile attacks. tifi ed assailants who sprayed his The US led limited air strikes (MSF) said on Twitter that a killed in the attack. dent. The coalition reported no Sunday’s deadly strike in Haj- Red Cross vehicle with bullets. against the Syrian government hospital it supports in Hajjah The offi cial, speaking on Iran swiftly condemned the damage or loss of life from the jah was one of a series to have Yemen’s confl ict has sparked along with Britain and France on received at least 65 patients, condition of anonymity, said a raid. strikes, the latest in a string of struck weddings in Yemen’s what the United Nations has April 14 in retaliation for a sus- including at least 13 children, double air strike on the crowded “The escalated bombard- bombardments on Saudi Arabia confl ict, which has killed nearly called the world’s worst hu- pected chemical weapons attack, wounded in the air strikes, party venue had left a number of ment of residential areas proves by the Houthis. 10,000 people and wounded manitarian crisis. which Assad denies. “Daesh is not fi nished,” Hariri said, using an Arabic acronym for NUCLEAR Islamic State. N-test ban monitor “If we don’t treat the reasons that birthed Daesh, then these says he sees Palestinian boy’s leg amputated after border shooting would be temporary victories hope of Iran like shifting sands that disappear here and pop up somewhere else. joining treaty AFP the frontier east of Al-Bureij in teenager Mohamed Ayoub was And fi ghting Daesh is at the top Ramallah central Gaza. killed by Israeli gunfi re during of American priorities.” Iran may be interested in joining He was later taken from Gaza border protests.The 15-year- The only way to end the Syr- a key nuclear treaty if the United to the West Bank for treatment old’s death, and the wound- ian crisis is by reaching a politi- States withdraws its threat to rip octors have amputated but doctors were unable to save ing of other youths brought a cal solution that replaces Assad up an existing deal on Tehran’s the leg of a Palestinian the leg. scathing response from a sen- because he is only interested in nuclear ambitions, the head of Dboy whose image went Attempting to smile as he lay ior United Nations offi cial. military solutions, said Hariri. the CTBTO nuclear watchdog viral after he was shot by Israeli on his hospital bed in Ramal- “It is outrageous to shoot at But there can only be a politi- said yesterday. Lassina Zerbo, troops in clashes on the Gaza lah, Nawfal said he had been children...#Children must be cal solution if the US and Russia executive secretary of the border with Israel. stoning Israeli soldiers close to protected from #violence, not have serious resolve to reach one, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban A picture of 12-year-old Ab- the border when he was shot. exposed to it,” UN special co- he said. Treaty Organisation, was speak- del Rahman Nawfal screaming “My friends went to throw ordinator for the Middle East “It needs an international ing on the sidelines of a nuclear in pain after being shot was stones at the army near Al- peace process Nikolay Mladen- consensus that begins with a non-proliferation conference in widely shared on Palestinian Bureij camp. I went with them Abdel Rahman Nawfal, 12, sits in a hospital bed in the West Bank ov wrote on Twitter. US-Russian agreement,” he said. Geneva, where many diplomats and Arabic social media last and started to throw stones,” city of Ramallah, yesterday. The Israeli army said on Sat- Russia’s entry into the Syrian are concerned about US President week after he was shot near the he said.”Soon after I felt the urday that it was opening an war in 2015 turned the tide in As- Donald Trump’s threat to quit the border fence. injury.” still like to realise that dream. have to get permits from Is- investigation into the incident, sad’s favour, but Hariri said Mos- Iran nuclear deal known as the The shooting occurred on He said he dreamed of be- To leave Gaza for treatment in rael which critics say are diffi - in accordance with standard cow would struggle to restore the JCPOA. Zerbo said that if Iran was Tuesday during clashes along coming a doctor and would the West Bank, Palestinians cult to obtain. On Friday, Gaza procedure. government’s pre-war power. trusted, he was hopeful it might ratify the CTBT, a total ban on nuclear explosions. “I think any support of the JCPOA would get Iran to consider the CTBT,” he told Reuters. “The only way to lever- age (the situation) is to see trust Iraq to rebuild mosque and confidence in Iran that will push them into considering the comprehensive test ban treaty, and this is my hope and this is what I’m working for.” Zerbo told destroyed in IS clash a meeting of diplomats that he had met Ali Larijani, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, in St Petersburg AFP in October 2017 and asked him Baghdad why Iran was not considering ratification of the CTBT. “He said they have nothing against the he United Arab Emirates and CTBT but they are looking at the Iraq yesterday launched a JCPOA and his point was ‘How do Tjoint eff ort to reconstruct we come to the CTBT when there Mosul’s Great Mosque of Al-Nuri is doubt on the JCPOA?’ That was and its iconic leaning minaret, rav- his answer to me,” Zerbo said. aged last year during battles to re- take the city from militants. During the ceremony at Bagh- RIGHTS dad’s National Museum, UAE Cul- Sinai battle chokes ture Minister Noura al-Kaabi said her country would put forward food, medical $50.4mn (41.2mn euros) for the task. supplies: group “The fi ve-year project is not just about rebuilding the mosque, the An Egyptian military campaign minaret and the infrastructure, but A view of the destroyed Al-Nuri mosque is seen in the old city of Mosul in to defeat Islamic State militants also about giving hope to young Ira- northern Iraq, yesterday. in the northern Sinai Peninsula qis,” she said. is choking essential food and “The millenia-old civilisation The Iraqi army accused Islamic mosque in 1172. Al-Habda, which medical supplies to thousands of must be preserved.” The deal was State group militants of destroy- maintained the same structure for residents in the desert region, Hu- signed by Kaabi and her Iraqi coun- ing it with explosives as Iraqi forces nine centuries, was one of the only man Rights Watch said yesterday. terpart, Faryad Rawanduzi, in the steadily retook ground in the em- remnants of the original construc- The New York-based organisation presence of UNESCO’s Iraq repre- battled city. tion. Decorated with geometric warned of a wider humanitarian sentative Louise Haxthausen. It was in this mosque in 2014 that brick designs, the minaret was long crisis if North Sinai continued to be “This is an ambitious, highly IS’s self-proclaimed “caliph”, Abu a symbol of the city. cut off from the Egyptian mainland, symbolic project for the resurrec- Bakr al-Baghdadi, made his only It was printed on 10,000 Iraqi saying the army’s actions “border tion of Mosul and Iraq,” said Hax- public appearance as leader. dinar banknotes before it became on collective punishment”. The thausen. His whereabouts are still un- a symbol of IS rule, when the mili- army launched an operation in Feb- “The work has already begun, known. tants planted their black fl ag at the ruary to crush militants who have the site is now protected... we must Kaabi, the Emirati minister, called top of its 45-metre spire. waged an insurgency that has killed fi rst clear the site, remove the rubble on the international community “to “This is a historic partnership, the hundreds of soldiers, police and resi- (and) document, before we can be- unite to protect universal heritage largest and unprecedented co-op- dents over many years. Air strikes gin reconstructing the mosque and sites, especially those in our Arab eration to rebuild cultural heritage and raids have killed scores of its minaret.” region” in theatres of confl ict. in Iraq ever,” Unesco chief Audrey suspected militants since then, the The famed 12th century mosque The Al-Nuri mosque is named Azoulay said in a statement. military says, as it imposes curfews and its leaning minaret or Al-Hab- after Nureddine al-Zinki, who once The fi rst year of reconstruction and tight movement restrictions da, by locals — was destroyed in ruled over Aleppo and Mosul and will focus on documenting and around towns in North Sinai. June 2017. ordered the construction of the clearing the site, Unesco said. Gulf Times 10 Tuesday, April 24, 2018 AFRICA

Madgascans march to protest election laws ‘Sacked’ Zimbabwe nurses back to work

Reuters AFP forms and then sign forms for resumption of Antananarivo Harare duty. We haven’t heard of any who have been turned back.” Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, who housands marched yester- housands of Zimbabwean nurses re- issued the mass sackings accused the nurses of day in protest against the turned to work yesterday after ending a being “politically motivated.” Tgovernment in Madagas- Tstrike, their union said, adding that fresh At Parirenyatwa, the largest state hospital in car’s capital after the president negotiations were expected in their stand-off the capital, nurses were back at work with long denounced unrest in which two with the government. queues from a backlog of patients. people were killed as a “coup” Some 15,000 nurses fi ghting for better work The nurses are demanding better wages and intended to divide the country’s conditions walked out of public hospitals a complaining about lack of basics in government people. week ago. They were rapidly sacked in a hard- hospitals, including drugs and equipment. On Saturday, police fi red tear- line response from the government as it tries The strike came shortly after a similar pro- gas at an opposition demonstra- to prevent the spread of industrial action in the test by junior doctors demanding a raise in al- tion held in protest against new public sector. lowances, while teachers are also threatening to electoral laws, where one person “Nurses have gone back to work today al- strike. died and more than a dozen were though their grievances still stand,” Enoch After Robert Mugabe’s 37-year rule, Presi- treated for injuries, some caused Dongo, spokesman for the Zimbabwe Nurses dent Emmerson Mnangagwa has vowed to re- by teargas canisters. Association, told AFP. vive the moribund economy and attract foreign Another individual injured in “Some were asked to fi rst fi ll in dismissal investment to fund better public services. Saturday’s unrest, died on Sun- Madagascar demonstrators from the opposition chant slogans during a protest in Antananarivo yesterday. day, Olivat Alson Rakoto, director of a hospital in the city, told Reu- and I warn those who sow unrest parliament,” said Christine Razan- to politicians to fi nd an outcome Rival groups in Somali army clash at training facility ters. and incite people to tear each oth- amahasoa, an opposition lawmaker. that would avoid violence. Yesterday, thousands of dem- er apart that the state will assume Harivonjy Randriamalala, “The security forces invite politi- ival forces in the Somali army yesterday ace guards, a Reuters journalist at the scene said. onstrators, many of them dressed the responsibilities that corre- a 42-year-old father of three cians to discuss and fi nd a political shot at each other in the capital Mogad- General Abdiweli Jama Gorod, the com- in white, assembled in front of spond to these actions.” chldren, said: “We want the presi- solution to a political problem. The Rishu, with one group trying to storm a mander of Somali National Army said they had the city hall and a public square, Supporters of opposition poli- dent to resign. We want freedom police will never accept power that former training centre, soldiers and residents arrested some soldiers who were behind the at- where the coffi ns of the two indi- tician Marc Ravalomanana, a of speech. We want elections in does not come from the electoral said. tempt take away equipment from the facility. viduals killed at the weekend were former leader of the Indian Ocean which all people can run.” process,” he said in a statement. The clash was an indication of the diffi culty “The Somali national forces now have in placed on the ground, the Reuters island nation, say the new elector- Ravalomanana, who was re- He said police would stay away in rebuilding unifi ed security forces for a state hand the few soldiers and offi cers who were witness said. al laws are designed to block him moved in a 2009 coup, has teamed from the area where people were where centralised authority collapsed in 1991 behind today’s incident and we assure we shall On Sunday, President Hery from running in the election. up with the man who succeeded marching. and an internationally backed government, bring them before justice,” he said on state-run Rajaonarimampianina had tough The opposition is also chal- him, Andy Rajoelina, to oppose “The police remind us that their elected last year, faces huge challenges. Somalia News Agency. words for the protesters. lenging provisions on campaign the laws pushed by President Hery mission is to protect the popula- “Some Somali military forces attacked us at Some of the soldiers had fl ed, said Abdirah- “What happened on Saturday fi nancing and access to media in Rajaonarimampianina. tion and its property (...).To avoid the base, they wanted to loot it but we repulsed man Abdullahi, a second soldier, who added: is a coup,” Rajaonarimampianina the laws. Before yesterday’s march began, violent clashes, the police decided them,” soldier Ahmed Nur told Reuters. “Most of my colleagues jumped over the wall said. “We protest these laws that were General Beni Xavier Rasolofoniri- to withdraw from the protected After 90 minutes of sporadic gunfi re, the and ran away with their guns. Others left the “Madagascar is a state of law adopted by corrupted members of na, the defence minister, appealed area (closed to demonstrations).” training facility was secured by presidential pal- guns and ran away and so I had to (fl ee) also.” Gulf Times Tuesday, April 24, 2018 11 AMERICAS

I-DAY PARADE SUPPORT OPEN ROAD APPOINTMENT IN CUSTODY Democrat Manchin to back Harley internship seeks Congressman becomes Man, accused of touching Pompeo at State position to ignite youth market 13th Nasa administrator female passenger, stunned

Democratic Senator Joe Manchin said yesterday he Seeking to jumpstart interest among younger A new administrator yesterday took the helm A 28-year-old Chicago man was in custody would vote to confirm Mike Pompeo as US secretary consumers, Harley-Davidson has unveiled an of Nasa yesterday at a time when the US space yesterday after police used a stun gun to arrest of state, becoming the second Democrat to declare internship for summer staff to immerse themselves agency is weighing new directives from the Trump him aboard an American Airlines plane after he support and making it more likely that Pompeo in motorcycle culture and then sell it through social administration. Representative Jim Bridenstine, a refused to move seats when accused of touching would secure the job. Pompeo, Republican President media. “Do you hate the idea of interning for 40 congressman from Oklahoma, was sworn-in by Vice a female passenger without her permission Donald Trump’s choice to replace the fired Rex hours a week in a cube lit by fluorescent lights? Do President Mike Pence as Nasa’s 13th administrator at Miami International Airport. Jacob Garcia Tillerson as head of the State Department, is unlikely you want to grab life by the handlebars and take at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. began screaming insults on Sunday when airline to get a favorable recommendation from the Senate on the world? Then this is the summer job for you,” Nominated seven months ago by President Donald staff tried to move him to another seat after Foreign Relations Committee, but Manchin’s support the said a job description for #FindyourFreedom Trump to take the top job at NASA, Bridenstine the woman and her boyfriend accused him of could secure approval for him when the full Senate internship. Under the 12-week program, interns was only narrowly approved by the Senate last touching her inappropriately, according to a votes on the nomination. “After meeting with Mike will be given a motorcycle, trained on riding week in a party-line vote. Senators who opposed Miami-Dade Police Department arrest report. Parade participants attend the 2018 Greek Pompeo, discussing his foreign policy perspectives,I and then brought to Harley events after which Bridenstine cited his past statements questioning Police ordered everyone off the plane, which was Independence Day Parade in New York City will vote to confirm Mike Pompeo to be our next they will share their experiences on Facebook, whether human activity has contributed to about to depart for Chicago, according to the on Sunday. Secretary of State,” Manchin wrote on Twitter. Snapchat and other platforms. climate change, which he recently walked back. arrest report and an American Airlines statement.

Nashville schools 9 killed by van ploughing searched for shooter

Reuters over Toronto sidewalk Nashville

Reuters Toronto olice hunting for a gun- man who fl ed after killing Pfour people at a Nashville white van killed nine people and Waffl e House searched pub- injured 16 others when its driver lic schools through the night to Aploughed through a busy To- make sure they would be safe ronto sidewalk on a sunny afternoon when they reopened yesterday. yesterday, according to police, hospital All Metropolitan Nashville offi cials and a Reuters witness. public schools were searched The incident occurred just before and will be checked again before 1.30pm as large crowds of offi ce workers school opens, offi cials said on were on lunch breaks. the department’s Facebook page. At least one witness described the Extra security will be in place driver as appearing to deliberately tar- at school bus stops. get victims on his roughly 1.6km long Schools will be on “lock- rampage. out,” barring all visitors. “Metro The driver was in custody, police said. Nashville Public Schools Parents Police in Canada’s largest city ini- always have the fi nal decision on tially said eight to 10 people had been whether to send their child to injured but later said it was unclear ex- school,” the statement said. actly how many had been hurt or the Police identifi ed the victims. extent of their injuries. Slain outside the restaurant in A Reuters witness said there were Nashville’s Antioch neighbour- at least two bodies at the site of the hood shortly before 3.30am on incident. At least seven people were Sunday were Waffl e House cook brought to nearby Sunnybrook Health Taurean C Sanderlin, 29, and pa- Services Centre’s trauma centre, the tron Joe R Perez, 20, police said. hospital said on Twitter. Inside, the shooter killed pa- It was not immediately clear if the in- trons DeEbony Groves, 21, and cident was a deliberate act by the driver Akilah Dasilva, 23. or a traffi c mishap in a mixed commer- “Please say a prayer for my cial and residential area. family for today is the hardest Canada’s public safety minister, day of my life. Me, my husband Ralph Goodale, told a news conference and sons are broken right now there had been casualties but provided with this loss. Our lives are shat- no further details. tered,” Perez’s mother Trisha “The investigation is at a stage where Perez posted on Facebook. no further information can be con- Dasilva’s mother Shaundelle fi rmed at this point,” Goodale said. Brooks told CBS News affi liate “The police are conducting obviously WTVF her son was a student at their thorough investigation to deter- Middle Tennessee State Univer- mine what happened and why it hap- sity pursuing music engineering: pened, the motivations involved.” “He meant the world to us. He There have been a string of deadly was humble, kind, compassion- vehicle attacks in the United States and ate, outgoing and very creative.” Europe, including an October 31 attack Groves was a Belmont Uni- in New York that killed eight. Firemen cover a victim of an incident where a van struck multiple people at a major intersection in Toronto’s northern suburbs yesterday afternoon. versity senior who studied social Toronto is hosting a Group of Seven for- work and was described by her eign ministers meeting about 30km away. appeared to have been targeting people. side on the sidewalk outside an Anglican Yonge Street is large, divided boule- parked just a few feet away from where high school basketball coach Kim The crash occurred at the corner of “This person was intentionally do- church, north of where the van came to vard at the point where the incident oc- emergency workers busily transferred Kendrick on CBS News affi liate Yonge Street and Finch Avenue in the ing this, he was killing everybody,” the rest in front of a currency exchange in a curred, its centre meridian dotted with people onto stretchers. WTVF as a tenacious player. north end of the city, where a van drove man said. “He kept going, he kept go- condominium tower. planter boxes and sculptures. There was no noticeable change in Two wounded patrons, Shan- onto the sidewalk and hit several peo- ing. People were getting hit, one after Buildings and workplaces in the area Some of the victims were struck in a security around the Intercontinental ita Waggoner, 21, and Sharita ple, said Toronto Police spokeswoman another.” He said a number of the vic- where the van struck pedestrians in To- public square popular with offi ce work- Hotel where the ministers of Canada, Henderson, 24, were being treat- Meaghan Gray. tims were older people and at one point ronto were locked down, and a nearby ers on lunch breaks. the United States, Britain, France, Ger- ed at Vanderbilt University Med- A man who gave his name as Ali told he saw a stroller fl y into the air. subway station was closed and service Aerial photos of the scene posted many, Italy, and Japan were meeting ical Center, both listed in stable CNN he saw the van and that the driver At least one person was struck out- suspended. on social media showed a food truck yesterday. condition yesterday.

US anti-Muslim hate crimes rose by 15% Hate crimes targeting US Muslims Muslim-majority countries. rose 15% in 2017, the second year A revised version of that order, California risks severe ‘whiplash’ from drought to fl ood: scientists of increases, according to a study which also included North Korea, released yesterday by advocacy took eff ect late last year. group the Council on American- Trump drew criticism in No- Reuters Islamic Relations. vember for retweeting anti-Mus- Oslo The group recorded 300 US lim videos posted by a far-right hate crimes targeting Muslims British political group. last year, ranging from the June The 300 hate crimes were a alifornia will suff er more vola- beating of a Muslim man in the slice of the 2,599 incidents CAIR tile weather this century with a Bronx borough of New York City logged as representing anti- C“whiplash” from drought to rain by attackers who called him a Muslim bias in 2017, a figure that and mounting risks a repeat of the dev- terrorist to a November incident was up 17% from 2016. astating ‘Great Flood’ of 1862, scientists when a Muslim family’s Kansas The larger total included har- said yesterday. restaurant was burned down. assment, employment discrimi- Climate change, driven by man-made That was up from 260 in 2016. nation and times when Muslims greenhouse gas emissions, would drive CAIR attributed the increase were subjected to what CAIR more extreme shifts between hot and dry in part to the policies of US Presi- recorded as biased treatment by summers and wet winters in the most dent Donald Trump, particularly government agencies including populous US state, they wrote in the restrictions on immigration from the Federal Bureau of Investiga- journal Nature Climate Change. Muslim-majority countries. tion and Customs and Border Global warming is making California “There has been nothing like Protection. and other regions with similar Mediter- this ever, for the Muslim commu- More than one-third of the ranean-style climates, from southern nity to be regularly the punching incidents involved federal agen- Europe to parts of Australia, drier and bag of the president of the United cies, CAIR said, adding: “This rep- warmer in summer, said lead author Dan- States,” said Gadeir Abbas, an resents an almost unprecedented iel Swain of the University of California, attorney with CAIR. level of government hostility Los Angeles. Responding by email to a re- toward a religious minority within In California in winter “an opposing quest for comment, White House the United States.” trend toward a strong Pacifi c jet stream is spokeswoman Kelly Love said: CAIR said its lawyers investi- projected to locally enhance precipitation A December 7, 2017, file photo of firefighters walking to the fire line at the Lilac fire in Bonsall, California. “The Trump administration stands gated 5,650 reported anti-Muslim during the core months of the ‘rainy sea- for the rule of law and abhors all incidents and concluded that son’,” he told Reuters. 200,000 residents as a precaution near A repeat “would probably lead to con- zero between 2050 and 2100. forms of lawlessness including slightly less than half of them “Natural precipitation variability in the Oroville Dam last year. siderable loss of life and economic damages “Such a future can be partially, but not hate crimes.. President Trump has were authentic. this region is already large, and projected The study said that major urban cen- approaching a tn dollars”, the study said. completely, avoided” if the world takes repeatedly condemned violence, The group’s count of hate future whiplash increases would amplify tres, including San Francisco and Los As part of planning, Swain said the tougher action, Swain said. racism and hate groups.” crimes targeting Muslims is lower existing swings between dry and wet Angeles, were “more likely than not” to state should expand use of fl oodplains He noted that existing government As a candidate, Trump than the FBI’s, which recorded years,” the authors wrote. suff er a freak series of storms by 2060 that can be deliberately fl ooded to soak pledges to limit warming fall well short of promised “a total and complete 307 anti-Islamic hate crimes in They projected “a 25% to 100% in- similar to ones in 1861-62 that led to the up rains, such as the Yolo Bypass which the Paris goals. shutdown of Muslims entering 2016, the most recent year for crease in extreme dry-to-wet precipita- ‘Great Flood’. protects the city of Sacramento. US President Donald Trump, who the United States.” which it has released data. tion events” this century. The storms swamped the Sacramento The study assumes, however, that glo- doubts mainstream fi ndings that green- Soon after taking off ice he Last year’s report measured a California had its worst drought in re- and San Joaquin valleys, fl ooding an area bal greenhouse gas emissions will keep house gas emissions are the main cause signed an executive order ban- 44% increase in hate crimes into corded history from 2010-2016, followed 500km long and 35km wide. rising, at odds with the goals of the 2015 of warming, plans to quit the deal, say- ning most travellers from several 2016 from 2015. by severe rains and fl ooding that culmi- Storms washed away bridges, inundat- Paris Agreement under which almost 200 ing he wants to promote the US fossil fuel nated with evacuation orders for almost ed mines and wrecked farms. nations agreed to cut emissions to net industry. Gulf Times 12 Tuesday, April 24, 2018 ASIA/AUSTRALASIA South Korea halts border broadcasts ahead of Kim summit

AFP from the North — including dis- loudspeaker broadcasts ... as of the Winter Olympics in the South, noting he signalled no intention president called him “Rocket Pyongyang’s announcement was Seoul cussions with arch foes Seoul and today in order to ease military but the question remains whether of actually disarming. “All of the Man” on a “suicide mission.” “a signifi cant decision towards Washington, and most recently tension and to create a peaceful Kim will promise any concrete steps Kim has announced are The rhetoric has softened in re- total denuclearisation of the Ko- a weekend promise to suspend climate ... ahead of the 2018 inter- steps towards dismantling his completely reversible and amount cent months, with Trump hailing rean peninsula” and “raises hopes outh Korea yesterday si- nuclear and missile tests — after Korea summit,” Seoul’s defence nuclear arsenal as demanded by to only words and empty prom- Kim’s promise to suspend tests that the pace will accelerate”. lenced its battery of giant months of surging tensions. ministry said in a statement. Washington. ises — and North Korea is not and close its atomic test site as Kim will step into South Ko- Sloudspeakers that blast The South’s President The North’s military also re- The North’s leader, believed to exactly known to keep its word,” “big progress”. “We haven’t given rean territory for the fi rst time messages at the North’s border Moon Jae-in yesterday hailed portedly began switching off be in his mid-30s, has overseen said Harry Kazianis, director of up anything & they have agreed as leader for Friday’s meeting in soldiers, in a conciliatory gesture Pyongyang’s promise to stop ma- some of its dozens of speakers at four of the country’s six nuclear defence studies at the Center for to denuclearisation (so great for Panmunjom. before Friday’s historic inter-Ko- jor weapons trials as “signifi cant”. the border yesterday, in an ap- tests and Pyongyang hails the the National Interest, a conserva- World), site closure, & no more Previous meetings between the rean summit. He is due to meet Kim on Friday in parently reciprocal move to mute weapons as a “treasured sword” tive think tank in Washington. testing!” Trump wrote on Twitter, two Koreas were in Pyongyang, in Despite tentative hopes of a the truce village of Panmunjom at its propaganda, according to the protecting the country from po- Kazianis cautioned Kim could apparently responding to remarks 2000 and 2007. But it is not Kim’s breakthrough over Pyongyang’s the heavily-fortifi ed frontier. South’s Yonhap news agency, cit- tential US invasion. quickly ramp up again if he does made by an NBC news host. fi rst foray into international di- nuclear arsenal, US President In preparation for the talks — ing government offi cials. The two Kim, who has proclaimed the not get what he wants from the “We are a long way from con- plomacy. Donald Trump warned that a so- only the third of their kind since neighbours remain technically at North a fully-fl edged nuclear upcoming summits, urging the clusion on North Korea, maybe In March he paid a secretive lution to the North Korean cri- the end of the 1950-53 Korean war after the fi ghting ended with power, has also overseen dozens international community to be things will work out, and maybe visit to Chinese President Xi Jin- sis remains a “long way” off , as War — the South switched off its an armistice instead of a peace of missile tests, including in- “hopeful — but not stupid”. Kim they won’t — only time will tell ping in Beijing, aimed at shor- he prepares for his own planned propaganda broadcasts, which treaty, with tens of thousands of tercontinental ballistic missiles conducted the North’s biggest ... But the work I am doing now ing up frayed relations with the meeting with Kim Jong-un. previously fi lled the air in the De- soldiers guarding the mine-in- (ICBMs) capable of reaching the nuclear test yet last Septem- should have been done a long time North’s sole ally, which provides Observers are weighing the militarised Zone with news, music fested land border. US mainland. Analysts are scepti- ber, the same month he branded ago!” Moon was upbeat about an important economic and po- signifi cance of an array of head- and exhortations to the North’s Relations have improved mark- cal over his off er to suspend nu- “mentally deranged” Trump a Kim’s latest move, saying yester- litical buff er against international line-grabbing off ers this year soldiers to defect. “We stopped edly in recent months, driven by clear and long-range missile tests, “dotard,” after the American day in a meeting with aides that opprobrium.

Bus plunges in N Korea, 32 Chinese tourists die

AFP Beijing

hirty-two Chinese tour- ists and four North Kore- Tans were killed when a bus plunged from a bridge in North Korea, Chinese offi cials and state media said yesterday. Two other Chinese nation- als were injured in Sunday’s A Royal Malaysia Police handout shows police off icers holding computer-generated mugshots of the two Enas al-Batsh, widow of Palestinian professor Fadi al-Batsh leaves the forensics wing of the Selayang accident south of the capital men suspected of gunning down a Palestinian man at a news conference in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Hospital in Kuala Lumpur. Pyongyang, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a regular press briefi ng. Lu said China was investigat- ing the cause of the accident and had deployed a team, including medical experts, to North Korea “to assist with the emergency rescue and treatment opera- Images released of suspects tions”. The ministry provided few details but China’s offi cial Xin- hua news agency reported later that the bus had fallen from a bridge in North Hwanghae Prov- ince on Sunday night. China’s in Palestinian assassination state broadcaster showed images of a large overturned vehicle, AFP Hamas who was said to be a a “high-powered motorcycle”. Mohamad Fuzi said the po- sia was making arrangements state’s involvement, suggesting with light rain falling on rescue Kuala Lumpur rocket-making expert, has ac- Fourteen bullets were fi red at lice were conducting a “com- for his body to be sent back instead that it was a “settling of vehicles at night and doctors at- cused Israel’s Mossad spy agen- Batsh during the attack and he prehensive” investigation and a home for burial. “Fadi’s parents accounts” between factions of a tending to a patient. cy of carrying out the killing but suff ered “multiple injuries, in- hunt had been launched for the want his body to be buried in terror group. China was informed about alaysian police yester- Israel has denied the claims. cluding on the head and body”, pair. “We can’t be sure if the two Gaza,” he said. Tensions between Israel and the accident on Sunday night day released compu- Kuala Lumpur police released the police chief told reporters. suspects are still in the coun- Mossad is believed to have as- Gaza are high, with 38 Pales- and its embassy personnel in Mter-generated images photofi ts of the two suspects, The bullets had been sent for try,” he said, urging anyone who sassinated Palestinian militants tinians killed in four weeks of Pyongyang rushed to the scene, of two men suspected of assas- who were seen waiting in the analysis, he added. might have information to come and scientists in the past, but clashes along the border. It was the foreign ministry said in a sinating a Palestinian scientist area where Batsh lived before Police also released images of forward. rarely confi rms such operations. the second high-profi le killing statement. in a drive-by shooting in Kuala the killing. two motorcycles, a BMW and a The scientist’s widow, Enas Batsh’s expertise in making of a foreigner in Malaysia in just The vast majority of foreign Lumpur, as they stepped up a The pictures show two light- Kawasaki, one of which was be- al-Batsh, spent two hours at the weapons could have made him over a year. tourists to North Korea are Chi- hunt for the pair. Fadi al-Batsh, skinned bearded men, one of lieved to have been ridden by the hospital holding his body yes- a target – militants in Hamas- In February 2017 assassins nese, with the Cold War-era al- 35, was struck down in a hail of whom was wearing glasses and suspects. Deputy Prime Minis- terday. Batsh had three young ruled Gaza regularly fi re rockets smeared the banned VX nerve lies sharing a long land border bullets by motorbike-riding at- a white and black helmet. Na- ter Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said at children and had lived in Malay- at southern Israel, usually with- agent on the face of Kim Jong- and operating fl ights between tackers Saturday as he walked to tional police chief Mohamad the weekend the suspects were sia for 10 years. out causing casualties. nam, the estranged half-brother the two countries. a mosque for dawn prayers. Fuzi Harun said the suspects thought to be European and to Abdul Rahim Shehab, a friend But Israeli Defence Minister of North Korea’s leader, at Kuala Western visitors to the North The family of Batsh, a mem- wore dark-coloured jackets, have ties with a foreign intelli- of the scientist’s, said the Pales- Avigdor Lieberman on Sun- Lumpur International Airport, once averaged around 5,000 a ber of Islamist militant group were carrying bags and riding gence agency. tinian representative in Malay- day denied claims of the Jewish killing him within minutes. year, but numbers have been hit recently by a US travel ban — Americans accounted for around 20% of the market — and offi cial warnings from other countries. Tens of thousands of Chinese tourists are believed to visit the China arrests alleged associates of runaway tycoon North every year, with many crossing via train through the AFP his country’s politicians. Guo him a fugitive and had Interpol in criminal matters, China’s documents”. Critics say China’s via state TV. The twins’ confes- Chinese border city of Dandong. Beijing Wengui, a real-estate tycoon issue a “red notice” or a non- State Council press offi ce in- police often use torture to force sion videos were subsequently For some, North Korea provides who fl ed to the United States, binding arrest warrant for him, vited foreign reporters to attend confessions from suspects. aired later yesterday by China’s a window into what Communist spent last year waging a one- reportedly related to bribery ahead of time. Earlier this month human state broadcaster CCTV. China may have looked like dec- hinese police yesterday man guerrilla war against Chi- charges. Guo has applied for po- The press conference by rights group Safeguard Defend- Offi cials in Chongqing told ades ago. announced the arrest of na’s elite by posting a series of litical asylum in the US. Chongqing’s Public Security ers released a report detailing the press conference the forged Chinese tourism to the North Ctwin brothers alleged to graft allegations on social me- Police in the southwestern Bureau also aired video confes- how police have forced many documents were “distributed has continued even though have forged government docu- dia. city of Chongqing held a press sions from the two brothers, high-profi le defendants to make abroad, misleading the public, Beijing has enforced a slew of ments on behalf of a billionaire In December Guo told AFP he conference yesterday to make Chen Zhiyu and Chen Zhiheng, confessions with promises the and creating an evil impact”, ac- United Nations sanctions over fugitive who has made explosive was working for regime change public the latest allegations who were allegedly paid by Guo videos would not be broadcast cording to the Communist Party Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons corruption accusations against in Beijing. China has declared against him. In an unusual move to forge the “secret government — only to later broadcast them mouthpiece People’s Daily. programme. Survey reveals secrets of Australia WWI wreck off PNG

AFP research vessel the R/V Petrel, he added. So far, the images that Sydney used a remotely-operated vehi- have been reviewed reveal that the cle to inspect the sub and collect sub’s stern torpedo tube cap was more than 8,500 high-resolution open, although it is not known esearchers yesterday voiced photos and several hours of video why, Hunter said. renewed hope of discov- footage. AE1, found in more than 300m Rering why Australia’s fi rst James Hunter of the Austral- (1,000ft) of water, was the fi rst submarine sank, after a detailed ian National Maritime Museum, Allied submarine loss in World underwater survey of the long- an archaeological observer to the War I. The sub had joined naval lost wreck off Papua New Guinea US-Australia expedition, said the forces assigned to the capture of led by Microsoft co-founder Paul fresh imagery should help unravel the German Pacifi c colonies in Allen. the mystery of what happened to 1914. HMAS AE1, the fi rst of two E- AE1. On September 14 she vanished Class submarines built for the “We’re not there yet, we’re still after a rendezvous off Herbert- Royal Australian Navy, vanished looking through all the footage ... shohe — present day Kokopo — on September 14, 1914 near the it’s going to give us the detail that near the Duke of York Islands with Duke of York Islands. we need that we didn’t have be- the destroyer HMAS Parramatta. The disappearance of the sub, fore,” he told AFP. Personnel on board Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s research vessel Retired Royal Australian Navy carrying 35 crew members from He said the researchers, who Petrel in a joint US and Australian expedition to survey the wreckage Rear Admiral Peter Briggs said in Australia, Britain and New Zea- also came from the Royal Austral- of Australia’s first submarine HMAS AE1 which was lost at sea with December the most likely cause of land, was the nation’s most en- ian Navy, Curtin University, the all hands on 14 September 1914, and its fate had remained a mystery the loss remains a diving accident. during military mystery until the Western Australian Museum and until its discovery in December 2017. Allen’s Petrel was involved in wreck was found in December fol- the Submarine Institute of Aus- the recent discovery of the wreck- lowing 12 previous expeditions. tralia, previously only had low- “We’re going to be looking for actually help us move forward and age of WWII aircraft carrier USS The new survey, conducted resolution overhead shots of the all sorts of clues. Even the seem- have a better understanding of Lexington off the east coast of earlier this month with Allen’s wreck. ingly most innocuous clues may what happened to the submarine,” Australia. Gulf Times Tuesday, April 24, 2018 13 BRITAIN

TRAGEDY LEGAL CRIME DECISION WARNING Chef dies after collapsing TV commentator sues Man fined over viral Nutritionist banned for Police ‘don’t have cash at London Marathon Facebook over ‘scam’ ads video of ‘Nazi’ dog dangerous health claims to keep minorities safe’

A 29-year-old chef has died after collapsing in the A personal finance expert who appears regularly A Scottish court fined a 29-year-old man £800 after A homeopathic nutritionist who suggested he Scotland Yard no longer has the resources to hottest London Marathon on record, organisers on British television launched legal action against convicting him of disseminating “grossly off en- could cure cancer with diet tips, natural herbs and keep minority communities safe, according to said yesterday. Matt Campbell, who featured in Facebook yesterday claiming it had published sive” material in a viral video of his girlfriend’s dog blood analysis has been banned from making an influential police race advisory group. It says the BBC television show Masterchef: The Profes- more than 50 fake posts bearing his name last reacting to Nazi-inspired cues and footage from “frankly dangerous” health claims. Errol Denton, communities in London at risk of gun, knife and sionals last year, collapsed Sunday at the 22.5-mile year. Martin Lewis, founder of MoneySavingEx- 1930s Germany. A judge at Airdrie Sheriff Court said 52, who called himself a doctor on his website gang crime can no longer get protection from the mark. “Although he received immediate medical pert, lodged a defamation lawsuit against the Mark Meechan’s video was “grossly off ensive and but had no formal medical qualifications, charged police. In a letter to the Home Secretary, the Met’s treatment on the scene from race doctors, he US-based social network over the ads published contained menacing, anti-Semitic and racist mate- £650 for consultations at rented Harley Street Independent Advisory Group calls for “a signifi- died later in hospital,” the statement said. Camp- last year, many of which were used to scam rial.” Meechan was found guilty last month despite off ices. Lord Toby Harris, the chairman of National cant and immediate uplift” in spending. Police are bell, from the Lake District in northwest England, money out of people. Lewis said he would donate his insistence that the video had been a joke, in a Trading Standards, said: “Some of the claims battling a surge in killings and violent crime. This was raising money for a youth charity and told any damages to charity. “I’ve had enough of this. defence that was supported by free-speech advo- made by Denton are frankly dangerous.” Denton, year 12 teenagers have been murdered in Lon- his Instagram followers on the morning of the It’s aff ecting my reputation, but more importantly cates, prominent English right-wing activist Tommy of Woodford Green was fined £2,250, ordered to don. Scotland Yard has announced a 120-strong race he was running in honour of his late father. it is aff ecting real people who are handing over Robinson and comedian Ricky Gervais. But Sheriff pay £15,000 costs and handed a criminal behav- task force to tackle the surge. The Met has made Sunday’s 38th London Marathon was the hottest money in good faith while the scammers are rak- Derek O’Carroll said Meechan’s claim that the video iour order banning him from making false claims £600mn cuts since 2010, with the loss of almost ever recorded at 24.1 degrees Celsius. ing in the cash,” he said. was a joke “lacked credibility.” in the future. 3,000 police staff , and must make further savings.

A PRINCE IS BORN

Catherine, the wife of Prince Wil- liam, gave birth to a boy at a hos- pital in London yesterday, the third child for the British royal couple. What did Kensington palace say? Catherine “The Duchess of Cambridge was safely delivered of a son at 1101hrs. The baby weighs 3.8kg. The Duke of Cambridge was present for the birth. Catherine and her child are both doing well. “The Queen, the Duke of Edin- and William burgh, the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Harry and members of both families have been informed and are delighted with the news. What ceremony is involved? As is tradition, the framed notice welcome of birth was put on display on a ceremonial easel at the forecourt of Buckingham Palace. “The framed bulletin was brought out of the Privy Purse Door and carried across the forecourt, to be placed on the easel,” Buckingham Palace baby boy said. The practice of posting a bulletin Reuters favourite names for a boy. continue to do that,” Joseph said. on the occasion of a royal birth London The offi cial announcement The British royals are rarely has gone on for at least as long as of the birth was made by plac- out of the media glare, but the Buckingham Palace has been the ing a notice on an easel in the baby arrives at a time when the Sovereign’s off icial residence (from atherine, the wife of forecourt of the Queen’s Lon- Windsors have particularly been 1837). The bulletin will be on display Prince William, gave birth don home, Buckingham Palace, in the limelight. for approximately 24 hours. Cto a boy at a hospital in a tradition that has been in place On Saturday William joined After it comes down, it is sent to London yesterday, the third child since it became the sovereign’s the Queen and other senior roy- the Privy Council Off ice in order for the British royal couple and offi cial residence in 1837. als, with the exception of Kate, as that the details of the off icial notice now fi fth in line to the throne. “My warmest congratula- the monarch celebrated her 92nd may be recorded in the Privy Kensington Palace said the tions to the Duke and Duchess birthday at a televised concert. Council records. baby was born at 1001GMT and of Cambridge on the birth of The Queen also played a prom- How important is the new weighs 3.8kg. their baby boy,” Prime Minister inent role at the Commonwealth prince? William was present for the Theresa May said. “I wish them Heads of Government meeting in The new prince is Queen Eliza- birth at St Mary’s Hospital in great happiness for the future.” London last week, where it was beth’s sixth great-grandchild and west London where their other William and Kate met as stu- announced that Charles would fifth-in-line to the British throne two children, George and Char- dents at St Andrews University in succeed her as head of the net- behind siblings George, 4, his lotte, were also born, it added. Scotland. work of mainly former British two-year-old sister Charlotte, their “Catherine and her child are They wed in a pageant-packed colonies. father William, and grandfather both doing well,” the palace said. ceremony at Westminster Abbey While interest in their third Prince Charles, who is heir. Queen Elizabeth, Prince in April 2011 and are treated as child has been more muted than What is the name? Charles, the baby’s grandfather, global celebrities. with the birth of their fi rst, large It is not yet clear. An announce- and other members of the royal The couple now live at Ken- numbers of photographers and ment will come soon. family and Kate’s family have sington Palace and last year Wil- broadcasters from around the Congratulations: been informed and “are delight- liam gave up his day job as an air globe massed outside the hospi- The Archbishop of Canterbury: ed with the news”, it added. ambulance pilot to concentrate tal, along with some dedicated “Congratulations to the Duke and The baby is the Queen’s sixth full time on royal duties on behalf royal fans. Duchess of Cambridge on the safe great-grandchild and is behind of his grandmother, having faced “We’ve been coming out do- delivery of their baby, a brother his siblings George, 4, and Char- some criticism from newspapers ing this for 21 years,” said John for Prince George and Princess lotte, 2, their father William, who dubbed him “workshy Wills”. Loughrey, 63, from south Lon- Charlotte. May God bless them and grandfather and heir Prince He has been determined to don, who was wearing a Union and all of their children with love, Charles in line to the throne. play a hands-on role in bringing Jack onesie and hat and holding a happiness and health.” A 2013 change to the law up his children while also pro- baby doll adorned with a crown. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson: means that for the fi rst time in tecting their privacy, an issue He said he had been camped “Huge congratulations to the Duke British history, a new prince will close to his heart after the death outside the hospital for 15 days. and Duchess of Cambridge on not supplant his older sister in of his mother, Princess Diana, in “We were here for George and the safe delivery of their baby boy the order of succession. a 1997 Paris car crash as her lim- Charlotte and we’ll be there for today.” Previously younger males ousine sped away from chasing the royal wedding too,” he said, Chancellor of the Exchequer would take precedence over older paparazzi. referring to Harry and Markle. Philip Hammond: “Congratula- female siblings. “I think he takes on a lot more However, not everyone in Brit- tions to the Duke and Duchess of William’s younger brother engagements than he used to,” ain is so enamoured. Cambridge on the arrival of their Harry, who marries US actress said royal biographer Claudia “The arrival of a new prince or baby boy.” Meghan Markle next month, falls Joseph. princess highlights the unfair- The Royal Navy: The Royal Navy to sixth on the list. “But compared to members ness of the hereditary principle sent out a picture showing crew Kensington Palace said the of the general public who have — for the millions of children members of the HMS Albion name of the new royal would be full-time jobs, he still has some told they’ll never be good enough standing on deck at sea in a “BOY!” announced in due course. time off to look after the chil- and for the baby whose life has formation. Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge depart the Lindo Wing at St Mary’s Bookmakers have made Al- dren, to give them their baths, to been predetermined,” anti-mon- Hospital in central London with their newly-born son, their third child, yesterday. bert, Arthur, Jack and Fred the put them to bed and I think he’ll archist group Republic said. Fawcett Society calls for Legal setback Children of alcoholic gender equality quotas parents to get help Guardian New and Media interview with the Guardian in London 2016, Ashworth also described Guardian News and Media Sam Smethers, chief executive of sistent structural barriers, which how he would return home to a London the Fawcett Society. hold all of us back.” fridge stacked with cheap alco- “Equality won’t happen on its Figures from the Fawcett Soci- hildren whose parents are hol and no food. own. We have to make it hap- ety also show that black, Asian and alcoholic will be off ered “Some things matter much uotas to get more women pen. That is why we are calling for minority ethnic (BAME) and disa- Chelp under plans an- more than politics, and I have into key positions in poli- time-limited use of quotas and bled women are further excluded nounced by the government. been moved by my Labour coun- Qtics, business and the arts making all jobs fl exible by default.” from decision-making positions. The £6mn package of meas- terpart Jon Ashworth’s bravery in must be introduced to address She called for legislation that BAME women are 7% of the UK ures is designed to help the es- speaking out so honestly about a massive imbalance of power would force companies to adver- population, but just 4% of MPs timated 200,000 children in life as the child of an alcoholic,” in Britain, according to equality tise all jobs on a fl exible basis un- and there are no BAME female England living with alcohol-de- Hunt said. campaigners. less there was a business reason for chief executives of companies in pendent parents, off ering rapid The programme will include With a statue of suff ragist Mil- them not to be. the FTSE 100. There are only two access to support and advice. rapid access to mental health licent Fawcett set to become the The organisation is also urging women MPs in the Commons who Announcing the measures services and support for children fi rst of a woman in London’s Par- the government to enact Section identify as disabled. yesterday, the Health Secretary, and their families where there liament Square today, analysis 106 of the Equality Act, which Caroline Criado-Perez, who Jeremy Hunt, said the conse- is a dependent drinker; funding from the Fawcett Society Sex and requires political parties to report launched the campaign to have quences of alcohol abuse were to identify and support at-risk Power Index has shown that men the diversity of their candidates. a statue of a woman erected in “devastating for those in the grip children more quickly and early still overwhelmingly dominate Despite the law no data is collected Parliament Square, said the bat- of an addiction, but for too long intervention programmes to re- positions of power in every sector and there is no monitoring of party tle for equality was far from over. the children of alcoholic parents duce the numbers of children of society. representation regarding disabil- “If Millicent Fawcett was alive have been the silent victims. needing to go into care. The fi gures show that women ity, ethnicity or gender. today, I wonder what she’d think This is not right, nor fair. The government has also ap- make up only 6% of FTSE 100 Refl ecting on the time it took about how far we’ve come,” she “These measures will ensure pointed Steve Brine as a dedi- chief executives, 16.7% of supreme to get a statue of a woman in Par- said. thousands of children aff ected by cated minister for children with court justices, 17.6% of national liament Square, Smethers added: “The past hundred years for Supporters outside Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in their parent’s alcohol depend- alcohol-dependent parents. newspaper editors, 26% of Cabi- “It is no coincidence that male- women have been momentous and Liverpool react to the announcement that the European ency have access to the support Of the 200,000 children in net ministers and 32% of MPs. dominated decision-making has have left us more liberated than court of human rights has refused to intervene in the case they need and deserve.” England living with alcoholic “When we see this data brought to date commemorated so few of ever before – at least in law. But of British toddler Alfie Evans. Alfie Evans, who is 22 months Hunt paid tribute to Jonathan parents, the NSPCC has reported together it is both shocking and the great women in our history. equality on paper isn’t the same as old, has a rare degenerative neurological condition which Ashworth, the shadow health a 16% rise in calls involving alco- stark – despite some prominent We have to correct this imbal- equality in real life, and as the dis- has not been definitively diagnosed. His parents have secretary, who had previous- hol or drug abuse in recent years. women leaders, men haven’t ance for future generations and mal fi gures outlined in this report fought a legal battle to stop the hospital from turning off ly spoken of an upbringing in The charity receives one call eve- let go of the reins of power and we have to ensure that women reveal, we still have a long way to his ventilator. which his father would fall over ry hour related to drug or alcohol progress is painfully slow,” said today can overcome those per- go.” drunk at the school gates. In an abuse. Gulf Times 14 Tuesday, April 24, 2018 BRITAIN 78 homeless people died over winter, fi gures reveal

Guardian News and Media and brother were among those The fi gures for this winter com- expectancy in the UK. Where local is also homeless, told KentOnline Rough sleeping has increased of Thames Reach, which works London found dead in doorways, crowded piled by the Bureau of Investigative authorities provided a gender, the after her son’s death. “I knew he by 169% nationally since 2010. with homeless people in London, shelters and tents pitched in freez- Journalism (BIJ), which show an fi gures showed that 88% of those was ill, but this came completely An estimated 4,751 people bedded has called for the government to ing conditions since October last average of at least two homeless who died were men. out of the blue and I am devastat- down outside in 2017, but chari- record statistics to help determine t least 78 homeless people year. deaths every week, are likely to be Among them was 41-year-old ed. I have no idea what my future ties say the offi cial statistics fail the true extent of the problem. died on the streets and in This month, the Guardian re- a signifi cant underestimate as no Robert Wallis, who was found dead holds now,” she added. to capture the true level of street The surge in homeless deaths Atemporary accommoda- ported that the number of record- part of the government records next to his mother at a homeless Like many other parts of the homelessness. comes as the BIJ launches its Dying tion this winter, bringing the ed deaths of homeless people has homeless death statistics at a na- drop-in centre in Canterbury in UK, charities in Canterbury have Austerity, rising rents and a lack Homeless project, which aims to number of recorded homeless more than doubled over the last tional level, and local authorities March as heavy snow and sub- reported a surge in rough sleeping of social housing have been blamed establish accurate statistics on the deaths to more than 300 since fi ve years, rising from 32 in 2013 to are not obliged to record the infor- zero temperatures gripped the UK. and homelessness. Community for the apparent surge in homeless issue. Members of the public, char- 2013, research has shown. 77 in 2017. So far, 40 deaths have mation. “I woke up and reached out for workers in the city say they regu- deaths, and charities have called ities and local journalists are en- A former soldier, a quantum been recorded this year, meaning The average age of rough sleep- his hand but it felt really cold. I re- larly check on people sleeping in for multi-agency investigations couraged to report homeless deaths physicist and a 31-year-old man at least 318 homeless people have ers who died in the last fi ve years alised he was dead but tried to re- woodland and the countryside after every death. to put pressure on the government mourning the loss of his mother died since 2013. was 43, around half the usual life vive him,” his mother Eileen, who across Kent. Jeremy Swain, chief executive to offi cially record the data. Windrush generation will get citizenship, pledges Rudd

Guardian News and Media of the steps taken to tackle illegal London immigration had an “unintended and sometimes devastating” impact on Commonwealth mi- he home secretary has grants who were in the UK legally pledged that the Wind- but struggled to fi nd the docu- Trush generation will be mentation needed to prove their granted British citizenship, as status. the government attempted to “This is a failure by successive draw a line under the scandal. governments to ensure these in- Amber Rudd told the Com- dividuals have the documenta- mons that citizenship would tion they need and this is why we be granted to anyone from the must urgently put it right,” she group of Caribbean immigrants said. who wanted it and applicants “I want to enable the Wind- would qualify for compensation rush generation to acquire the for their often “heartbreaking” status they deserve: British treatment. The Home Offi ce citizenship, quickly, at low cost would waive fees, she said, and and with proactive assistance there would be no requirement through the process.” Prince Harry and his fiancee Meghan Markle arrive at a service at St Martin-in-The Fields to mark 25 years since Stephen Lawrence was killed in a racially motivated attack, in for applicants to take a knowl- She said immigration case- London yesterday. edge test on language and life in workers, who had been accused the UK. of being too rigid, would now Rudd’s announcement fol- take “a much more personal” lows a series of Guardian reports approach to making decisions. on the iniquitous treatment of A new customer support centre the Windrush generation, that would be available for people prompted public outrage and trying to navigate the immigra- questions in parliament. tion system. The government has struggled She said a compensation Stephen Lawrence Day to contain mounting pressure on scheme announced by the prime both Rudd and Theresa May over minister last week would be run the impact of its “hostile envi- independently. ronment” policy on immigration. Diane Abbott, the shadow The prime minister, who was the home secretary, said the deba- architect of the strategy while cle should never have happened. running the Home Offi ce, and “Many people think the events to be held annually Rudd have both apologised for around the Windrush generation the distress caused to Caribbean are one of the biggest scandals Guardian News and Media comed the announcement. “I the-Fields in Trafalgar Square, Harry and Meghan were the to build something positive from migrants and their families who in the administration of home London feel honoured she has recog- central London, yesterday was last of the VIP guests to arrive, the tragedy they endured and to settled in the UK between 1948 aff airs in a very long time,” she nised the changes that have been also attended by Theresa May, stopping to talk for a few mo- ensure that Stephen’s story did and 1971. said. “The home secretary said made in Stephen’s name and the Jeremy Corbyn, the London ments to Doreen and Stuart. not end with despair, but contin- Some have been threatened the situation should never have heresa May has an- changes that are still needed.” mayor Sadiq Khan, actor Lenny Crowds who had gathered out- ued with hope.” with deportation, lost their jobs been allowed to happen. She was nounced an annual Stephen Lawrence Day would Henry, singer Beverley Knight, side the church cheered as the Letters of support were also or been denied medical treat- the home secretary. She should TStephen Lawrence Day to be “an opportunity for young and the Metropolitan police couple, who are to marry in less sent by May, Corbyn, Home Sec- ment after changes to immigra- never have allowed them to hap- be held each year on the anniver- people to use their voices and commissioner Cressida Dick. than a month, arrived. retary Amber Rudd, and former tion rules in 2014. pen. sary of the teenager’s murder. should be embedded in our edu- Stephen’s mother, Doreen During the service, Harry read home secretary Jack Straw. Rudd said she was “person- “This was a generation with The prime minister made the cation and wider system regard- Lawrence, and his brother Stu- a letter of support on behalf of his Stephen was murdered by a ally committed” to resolving the unparalleled commitment to announcement at a memorial less of the government of the day,” art greeted guests at the church father, the Prince of Wales. It said: gang of fi ve youths in Eltham, situation with “energy and pur- this country, unparalleled pride service to mark the 25th anni- she added. The fi rst Stephen Law- entrance before the service, “I remember vividly the profound south-east London, on April 22, pose” and an apology was just in being British, unparalleled versary of the hate crime that rence Day will be on April 22, 2019. which was held to celebrate his shock that I felt at (Stephen’s) 1993. Only two, David Norris the “fi rst step”. She added: “They commitment to hard work and shocked the nation and led to Prince Harry and Meghan life and legacy. Many of those at- senseless murder, a feeling shared and Gary Dobson, were convict- are British in all but legal status contributing to society. And it is the Metropolitan police being Markle were among the up to tending the service were wearing by so many people across this ed of murder almost two decades and this should never have been shameful that this government labelled as institutionally racist. 800 people who attended the the orange ribbon lapel badges of country and beyond. I remember, later, and last week Scotland allowed to happen.” has treated this generation in this In a statement, Stephen’s service. the Stephen Lawrence Charita- too, just how deeply moved I was Yard said it had no new lines of She acknowledged that some way.” mother, Doreen Lawrence, wel- The service at St Martin-in- ble Trust. by the determination of his family inquiry to pursue.

Selfie moment Helicopter drug Ambulance staff face smugglers jailed

AFP Police surveillance showed rise in sexual assaults him carrying heavy bags from the London helicopter to a hotel room. Guardian News and Media attacks on emergency workers and about a male patient if they are He was arrested after being London it’s getting worse. These are the working alone. One admitted to wo members of a drug spotted passing on the drugs to most horrifi c and harrowing cases being frightened at fi nding herself smuggling gang who used others. emergency workers can and do in such situations. Ta helicopter to fl y millions At Southwark Crown Court in rowing numbers of front- face in the line of duty,” Azam said. The East of England trust re- of pounds of cocaine into Britain London, Fagnoul admitted con- line ambulance staff are Ambulance staff have de- ported the most incidents with were handed lengthy prison sen- spiring to importing and supply- Gbeing sexually assaulted scribed how patients have sub- 238 over the last six years, but it tences yesterday. ing drugs. at work or having lewd comments jected them to sexual harassment, gave the GMB fi gures for all inci- The helicopter had hidden trap He was sentenced to 17 years made to them, NHS fi gures reveal. indecent exposure and sexual as- dents involving “sexual abuse and doors under the seats to stash and six months in jail. The number of such incidents sault, leaving them traumatised assault”, which includes inappro- the drugs, said the Crown Pros- John Bolter, 36, from south involving ambulance workers in and fearful. priate sexual comments rather ecution Service (CPS), England’s London, was arrested on Sep- England has almost trebled from “I was the victim of a sustained than just sexual assault. state prosecutors. tember 6 driving a car with 20kg 52 in 2012-13 to 145 in 2017-18. incident which began with ver- One experienced male para- The gang smuggled £7mn of of cocaine hidden inside. Figures from eight of the 10 NHS bal and sexual abuse and harass- medic said: “To female members cocaine into the UK from conti- He admitted one count of con- regional ambulance services in ment,” said one ambulance crew of crew it’s a daily thing. When nental Europe. spiracy to supply cocaine and England show a total of 662 phys- member. “My assailant made there is alcohol and a good-look- It was estimated that Belgian was sentenced yesterday to seven ical and verbal sexual assaults lewd and derogatory sexual re- ing woman involved, it almost ringleader Frederic Fagnoul, 50, years and six months’ imprison- between April 2012 and February marks and gestures, grabbed hold always ends in someone wanting was importing 50kgs of cocaine ment. 2018, with the annual number ris- of me and twisted my arm, and their numbers and trying to grope on each fl ight. Dean Francis, 37, from south- ing year on year over that period. also kicked out at me and again them. He rented a helicopter and pi- east London, admitted the same “The fact that this is happening tried to grab hold of me.” “These fi gures are probably an lot to bring the drugs into Britain. off ence. to our ambulance workers as they Another said: “I have been underestimate of the real size of The cocaine would then be un- He was observed meeting Fag- try to save lives is particularly sick- sexually assaulted twice and been the problem because it has be- packed and distributed by car in noul at a hotel in Kent and col- ening,” said Rehana Azam, the na- punched in the side of my face.” A come so regular it’s only reported hidden compartments to be sold lecting drugs on September 5. He tional secretary for public services third said they had been “sexu- when contact is made, and then nationwide. will be sentenced on Thursday. at the GMB union, which repre- ally assaulted, verbally threatened some women can’t be bothered On September 12 last year, he “This was a sophisticated sents about 15,000 staff . The un- with assault (and) fallen on by an because the paperwork is so long Prime Minister Theresa May poses for a selfie with fl ew from Calais on the northeast large-scale operation to supply ion obtained the data under free- aggressive patient whilst in the and in our trust that kind of pa- upholsterer Derek Whitehouse during a visit to Boss Design French coast over the Channel to large amounts of cocaine from dom of information legislation. ambulance.” perwork is fi lled in at the end of during the Conservative Party’s local election campaign in a hotel in Kent. He used the cover the continent into the UK,” said “These fi gures show there is a Some female paramedics are shift when it’s more important to Dudley yesterday. story that he had been night fi sh- William Russell of the Crown national problem with disgusting now reluctant to respond to a call go home.” ing. Prosecution Service. Gulf Times Tuesday, April 24, 2018 15 EUROPE Finland to end basic income trial after two years

Government rejects request Finland decided not to extend its The government has turned “The government is making to a restricted group and are not in the trial, told the Finnish pub- less bureaucratic welfare system for funds to expand scheme widely publicised basic income down a request for extra funding changes taking the system away enough to live on. lic broadcaster YLE: “Two years – has gained traction recently and plans stricter benefits trial and to explore alternative from Kela, the Finnish social se- from basic income,” Kela’s Miska But it was hoped it would is too short a period to be able amid predictions that automa- rules welfare schemes instead. curity agency, to expand the two- Simanainen told the Swedish shed light on policy issues such to draw extensive conclusions tion could threaten up to a third Since January 2017, a random year pilot to a group of employees newspaper Svenska Dagbladet. as whether an unconditional from such a big experiment. We of current jobs. By Jon Henley sample of 2,000 unemployed this year, and said that payments The scheme – aimed primarily payment might reduce anxiety should have had extra time and The Finnish fi nance minister, Guardian News & Media people aged 25 to 58 have been to current participants will end at seeing whether a guaranteed among recipients and allow the more money to achieve reliable Petteri Orpo, told Hufvudstadsb- paid a monthly €560, with no re- next January. income might incentivise people government to simplify a com- results.” ladet that he is looking into trial- quirement to seek or accept em- It has also introduced legisla- to take up paid work by smooth- plex social security system that The idea of UBI – appealing ling alternative welfare schemes, urope’s fi rst national ployment. tion making some benefi ts for ing out gaps in the welfare system is struggling to cope with a fast- both to the left, which hopes it including a universal credit sys- government-backed ex- Any recipients who took a job unemployed people contingent – is strictly speaking not a uni- moving and insecure labour mar- can cut poverty and inequal- tem similar to that being intro- Eperiment in giving citizens continued to receive the same on taking training or working at versal basic income (UBI) trial, ket. ity, and to the right, which sees duced in the UK, when the basic free cash will end next year after amount. least 18 hours in three months. because the payments are made Olli Kangas, an expert involved it as a possible route to a leaner, income pilot ends.

Last Paris attacks suspect Armenian PM resigns Reuters Under a revised constitution, Yerevan the prime minister now holds jailed 20 most power in the tiny south- ern Caucasus nation, while the rmenian Prime Minister presidency has become largely years in Serzh Sarkisian said yes- ceremonial. Aterday that he is resign- Pressure on the 63-year-old ing to help safeguard civic peace to quit had increased sharply Belgium following almost two weeks of yesterday when unarmed sol- mass protests that have plunged diers in the capital Yerevan the impoverished ex-Soviet re- joined the anti-government AFP public into political crisis. protests, which fi rst erupted on Brussels Sarkisian, a close ally of Rus- April 13. sian President Vladimir Pu- Though peaceful, the tumult Sarkisian: In the current situation there are several solutions, but I tin, had served as Armenia’s has threatened to destabilise won’t choose any of them. It’s not my style. Belgian court said yes- president for a decade until this Armenia, a key Russian ally in a terday that the sole sur- month and had faced accusa- volatile region riven by its dec- Sarkisian’s resignation. were mainly domestic and fo- Aviving suspect in the tions of clinging to power when ades-long, low-level confl ict Some hugged police offi cers cused on pervasive corrup- Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, parliament elected him as prime with Azerbaijan. in the street amid repeated cries tion and poverty in a country remained “dangerous” as it sen- minister last week. Moscow, which has two of “Hurrah!”, others beeped car that won independence from tenced him to 20 years in prison military bases in Armenia, was horns, and some residents of Moscow in 1991 but has been over a gunbattle with police in Left: People celebrate in closely watching events. Yerevan were even seen dancing hampered by its confl ict with Brussels that led to his capture. downtown Yerevan after “I got it wrong,” Sarkisian said outside. Azerbaijan over the breakaway Abdeslam’s co-defendant Sarkisian’s announcement. in a statement issued by his of- The protests which top- region of Nagorno-Karabakh Sofi ane Ayari received the same fi ce. “In the current situation pled Sarkisian lasted for 11 days and other issues. sentence, the maximum de- Below: Pashinyan acknowledges there are several solutions, but and saw tens of thousands of But critics have also accused manded by Belgian prosecutors, to his supporters upon his I won’t choose any of them. It’s protesters march through Yer- Sarkisian of moving landlocked after the pair were convicted of release in Yerevan. not my style. I am quitting the evan and other towns, blocking Armenia too close to Russia at terrorism-related attempted country’s leadership and the streets and staging sit-ins that the expense of better ties with murder over the bloody shoot- post of prime minister of Arme- disrupted daily life. the West and increased prosper- out. nia.” On Sunday police had de- ity, and it was unclear whether Four offi cers were wounded in He said that he was bowing to tained three opposition leaders his political demise could lead to the gun fi ght, which came four protesters’ demands and wanted and nearly 200 protesters, draw- a change in foreign policy. months after the November 2015 his country to remain peaceful. ing a rebuke from the European In what may have been a turn- Paris attacks, and days before Armenia’s 2025 dollar-de- Union. ing point in the protests, sol- suicide bombings in Brussels as nominated bond fell 0.83¢ after Police released Nikol Pashin- diers wearing military uniforms a wave of Islamic State (IS)-in- Sarkisian said he would resign, yan, a lawmaker regarded as the marched through Yerevan yes- spired terror swept Europe. hitting a one-year low. main opposition leader, yester- terday morning with the pro- Judges at the court in Brussels Former Armenian prime min- day. testers. said that “there can be no doubt ister Karen Karapetyan, an ally Asked about the crisis yester- Images broadcast on the In- about their commitment to radi- of Sarkisian from his ruling pro- day before Sarkisian’s resigna- ternet and social media showed calism” as they handed down the Russian Republican Party, was tion, the Kremlin called Armenia the soldiers hugging protest- maximum jail term as demanded named as acting prime minis- an “extraordinarily important ers and waving the country’s by Belgian prosecutors at the ter, Russia’s RIA news agency country” for Russia, but dis- national fl ag, in a development opening of the trial in February. reported, citing the Armenian missed the idea it might inter- that the Armenian defence min- “The terrorist nature of the government’s press offi ce. vene, calling the crisis a domes- istry condemned as illegal and facts under question in March Armenia’s political parties in tic matter. promised to harshly punish. 2016 appears to be established,” parliament now have seven days Last week Putin rang Sarki- Opposition leader Pashinyan the judgment said. to put forward the name of a new sian to congratulate him on be- had told Sarkisian that his time Neither Abdeslam, 28, a Bel- prime minister. coming premier. was up in a tense meeting on gian-born French national, nor Sarkisian’s allies remain in key As president, Sarkisian took Sunday. Ayari, a 24-year-old Tunisian positions in the government and Armenia, a country of about “The situation in Armenia citizen, was in court. it remains unclear whether his 3mn people, into a Russia- has changed, you don’t have the Abdeslam is being held in jail resignation will herald any real backed economic bloc and power of which you are told,” he in France pending a separate trial change. bought weapons from Moscow. had told him. “In Armenia, the over the Paris attacks, claimed Protesters loudly celebrated The protesters’ complaints power has passed to the people.” by IS, in which 130 people died. The pair were convicted of opening fi re on a team of Belgian and French police who raided a fl at in the Forest area of Brussels on March 15, 2016, following a Italy president appoints new mediator to help form govt tip-off about the Paris attacks. An Algerian extremist was killed in the raid as he provided Reuters ber, who faces fi erce misgivings by the League after receiving a month as voters snubbed it over country,” Berlusconi said in a covering fi re for Abdeslam – at Rome within the two camps about any similar, highly focused mandate the slow pace of economic re- statement yesterday. the time the most wanted man possible tie-up. from the president, whose op- covery and over fears of rising The centre-right candidate in Europe – and Ayari to escape. PD president Matteo Orfi ni tions are rapidly diminishing. immigrant numbers from Africa. backed by nine parties won 43% Abdeslam was arrested and taly’s president has asked quickly dampened any hope of The bloc of conservative par- It has said repeatedly that it of the vote in Molise, ahead of shot in the leg in a dramatic po- the head of the lower house success. ties, including the League, won wants to move into opposition, the candidate for the anti-es- lice operation three days later in Iof parliament to see whether “There are no conditions for a the most seats at the March 4 but the party is divided and tablishment M5S, with 38%. the largely immigrant Molen- the 5-Star Movement (M5S) and political accord between the PD vote, while the M5S emerged as some of its leaders have said it The result was a setback for beek area of the Belgian capital, centre-left Democratic Party and the M5S. We’ve always said the largest single party. should be open-minded about 5-Star, which had hoped to gain near his family home. (PD) could form a coalition it, and we are repeating it,” Or- Both fell well short of a parlia- its old foe M5S. control of its fi rst regional gov- On March 22, suicide bombers government but initial reaction fi ni said. mentary majority. Mattarella announced his lat- ernment after emerging as the from a cell linked to the Paris at- pointed to a mission impossible. Acting PD secretary Maurizio The M5S has said it is willing est eff ort to end the deadlock the largest party at the national bal- tacks killed 32 people at Brussels President Sergio Mattarella, Martina said that the only way to work with the League, but not day after the centre-right won lot. Fico: I will start work airport and a metro station in the who is struggling to end seven the PD would negotiate with its allies, who include former local elections in the tiny south- In Molise it was again by far immediately. Belgian capital. weeks of political deadlock fol- the M5S would be if the latter prime minister Silvio Berlus- ern region of Molise, giving the the biggest party, with no other Abdeslam’s lawyer Sven Mary lowing inconclusive elections stopped talking to the far-right coni. bloc a boost as jostling continues group reaching 10%, but it fell of technocrats with a limited told reporters that his client last month, asked lower house League, the largest member of The League has so far rejected in Rome over coalition building. back markedly from the 44% mandate, including electoral would likely have to serve the speaker Roberto Fico to report the right-wing bloc. this demand, but continues to “An important national sig- that it took in the same region in reform, to prepare for early elec- full Belgian 20-year term on top back to him on Thursday with Senate leader Elisabetta Ca- repeat its hope for a coalition nal has emerged from Molise. A March. tions in the spring of 2019. of any sentence that arises from his fi ndings. sellati last week failed to broker deal. united centre-right has the abil- If all eff orts to break the Rome Failing that, his last option the French trial over the Paris at- “I will start work immedi- a deal between the M5S and the The PD, which had governed ity to win the backing of Italians stalemate fail, Mattarella could would be to call elections in the tacks. ately,” said Fico, an M5S mem- alliance of rightist parties led Italy since 2013, lost heavily last to rule both the regions and the try to put together a government autumn of this year.

Leukaemia patient falls foul of ‘burqa ban’ A leukaemia patient wearing a medical face mask in Vienna was French Muslims blast anti-Semitism letter as ‘unfair’ stopped under a ban on the full Islamic veil and other face-coverings brought in last year, police admitted yesterday. The 26-year-old, interviewed by the Vice News Austrian website and AFP contacted by AFP acknowledged unbelievable and unfair trial”. said, adding that the signatories, ting her body on fi re, in a crime identified only as “Valentin”, said that he was stopped last Tuesday. Paris that anti-Semitism is a problem. “It creates a clear risk of who also included celebrities treated as anti-Semitic. Doctors had told him to wear his mask to protect his immune system, However, they charged that the pitching religious communities like actor Gerard Depardieu, had Offi cially, the number of anti- which had been severely weakened by an intensive course of chemo- nearly 300 signatories, who in- against one another,” he said. misinterpreted the Qur’an. Semitic crimes fell in France in therapy and other treatment. French manifesto against cluded former president Nicolas The manifesto calls for vers- The writer Pascal Bruckner, 2017 for a third year running, ac- “The first thing they asked me was whether I spoke German or wheth- rising anti-Semitism Sarkozy and former prime min- es of the Qur’an calling for the among those who signed the let- cording to the interior ministry, er I was foreign,” Valentin told Vice News, which specialises in stories Asparked anger yesterday ister Manuel Valls, were blaming “murder and punishment of ter, told France Inter radio that it down 7%. which might not get into mainstream media. “When I explained that I from Muslims who said their re- a whole religion for the actions of Jews, Christians and disbe- had not been intended “to stig- However, Jews are the target of was from Vienna, things calmed down a bit. But then they went after ligion was being unfairly “put on an extremist minority. lievers” to be removed on the matise but to spur on the good- about one-third of France’s re- my face mask.” trial”. “The only thing we can agree grounds that they are “obsolete”. will of reformist Muslims”. corded hate crimes despite mak- The police explained to him that he was contravening the law, which The open letter published on on is that we must all unite However, Tareq Oubrou, imam The letter said that since 2006, ing up only about 0.7% of the carries a €80 ($98) fine. Sunday in the Parisien newspa- against anti-Semitism,” said Ah- of the Grand Mosque of the “11 Jews have been assassinated population. He proceeded to show the police his medication and searched for his per blamed “Islamist radicalisa- met Ogras, head of the French southern city of the Bordeaux, – and some tortured – by radi- The half-a-million-plus Jew- blood test results on his phone. tion” for what it said was “quiet Council of the Muslim Faith um- pointed out that Islam was not cal Islamists because they were ish community is the largest in “The whole thing was quite a stressful experience, but in the end they ethnic purging” in the Paris re- brella group. the only religion whose ancient Jewish”. Europe but has been hit by a wave believed me,” Valentin said. gion, with abuse forcing Jewish Dalil Boubakeur, rector of the holy texts contain anachronistic The latest attack rocked France of emigration to Israel in the past Police spokesman Patrick Maierhofer admitted that the man was families to move out. Grand Mosque of Paris, said that passages. last month when two perpetra- two decades, partly due to anti- stopped and said “the matter was sorted out after a short conversa- After a series of high-profi le the manifesto “subjected French “Any number of holy texts are tors stabbed an 85-year-old Jew- Semitism in immigrant neigh- tion”. attacks on Jews, Muslim leaders Muslims and French Islam to an violent, even the Gospel,” Oubrou ish woman 11 times before set- bourhoods. Gulf Times 16 Tuesday, April 24, 2018 INDIA

JUDICIARY TARGET POLITICS FACILITY CRIME SC rejects plea for cutting Rajasthan to become BJP accuses Akhilesh of Subsidised food for Woman fraudster scenes from Padmavat leading tourism hub: CM patronising criminals SC, ST, OBC students arrested in Jammu

The Supreme Court yesterday rejected Rajasthan was poised to take back the space Uttar Pradesh’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party Food and Public Distribution Minister Ram A woman, who had duped many people in an appeal for chopping scenes from the of the country’s leading tourism hub with the yesterday attacked former chief minister Vilas Paswan yesterday said hostel students Jammu by promising high interest for money Bollywood film Padmavat eulogising the state witnessing a “huge energy” in the sector, Akhilesh Yadav over his “loose comments” in belonging to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled deposited with her, was arrested yesterday, practice of ‘sati’. A bench of Chief Justice Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has said. The recent interviews, warning him that criminals, Tribe and Other Backward Classes families police said. A statement issued by the Crime Dipak Misra, Justice A M Khanwilkar and target of 50mn tourist arrivals by 2020 to patronised by him, will no longer have a free will be entitled to 15kg of food grains per Branch said that its off icials had arrested Pinky Justice D Y Chandrachud told petitioner Swami Rajasthan would be met much earlier, she run under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s month at subsidised rates. Under the new Gupta, alias Saroj, wife of Shiv Gupta of Rehari Agnivesh that once a film is given certification said, as over 47mn have already visited the government. BJP spokesman Manish Shukla PDS scheme, which will be rolled out at the area in connection with an FIR filed in 2015 by the Central Board of Film Certification state by end of 2017. She said aggressive and said that the Samajwadi Party (SP) chief was earliest, over 10mn students from SC, ST accusing her of taking “huge money from (CBFC), there is nothing that can constitute creative marketing campaigns had translated now making statements like “I belong to and OBC classes will benefit. “It is a historic gullible people of Jammu city on the pretext an off ence. Referring to the novel Devdas by into impressive increase in the tourist arrivals. the area of Chambal ravines” but he should step. Under the scheme, students from of providing suitable interest rates against the eminent Bengali classic novelist Sarat Chandra Rajasthan Tourism has bagged 47 awards in the remember that a rule of law prevails in the these communities, where their strength money deposited with her”. She was on the run Chattopadhyay, Chief Justice Misra said: “Read past four years, she added. Raje also thanked state now and anyone who takes law in their is two-third of the total number of hostel after committing the crime and was reportedly the book and see its celluloid version in which the central government for having supported own hands will be brought to justice. He also students, will be given 15kg food grain. If the residing in Ahmedabad. “Off icials of Crime veteran actor Dilip Kumar has performed the the tourism circuits in Rajasthan, while helping asked Yadav, who claims to be the custodian rice is priced at Rs30 per kg in open market, Branch Jammu got inputs about her presence role of main character Devdas – who turns intra-state air connectivity, thus linking Jaipur of the poor and marginalised, why despite the students will get it for Rs6,” Paswan said and laid a trap for her arrest from Jammu alcoholic for the loss of love. Has any lover to Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Bikaner while also many years of SP rule, Uttar Pradesh remains in New Delhi. “We have asked the states to City today,” it said, adding she has admitted become an alcoholic because of the film meeting the long-standing demand of Jaipur backward and the people are still looking for send us the list of beneficiaries as soon as to “having duped people of their hard earned Devdas,” the chief justice asked. being connected to Agra by air. prosperity and development. possible.” money by way of deception”. BJP move to dump son of Yeddyurappa sparks anger

Agencies Vijayendra was to fi le his nomi- Meanwhile, the BJP yesterday Bengaluru nation from Varuna yesterday. released its fourth list of seven After Yeddyurappa made the candidates for the May 12 elec- announcement, BJP workers tion. haratiya Janata Party’s broke down, distressed by what With the latest announce- Karnataka unit president they see as a betrayal of their ment, the BJP has declared its BB S Yeddyurappa yester- leader. nominees for 220 seats for the day announced that his son B Y Shouting slogans against BJP polls to the 224-member state Vijayendra would not contest the chief Amit Shah and party’s assembly. upcoming assembly election. senior leader from Karnataka According to a list fi nalised by Vijayendra was expected to Ananth Kumar, angry workers BJP’s Central Election Commit- stand against Chief Minister Sid- damaged furniture at the venue tee, G R Pravin Patil will contest Congress workers stage a demonstration outside the State Election Commission to protest against violence during filing of nominations daramaiah’s son Yatindra from of the meeting. from Bhadravati while Jaggesh for the West Bengal panchayat polls, in Kolkata yesterday. Varuna assembly constituency in Later, Vijayendra was unable will be party’s candidate from Mysuru. to move out of his hotel because Yeshvanthapura. Yeddyurappa’s announce- of the large number of support- The party has fi elded Lallesh ment at a meeting organised by ers who had gathered outside. Reddy from B T M Layout as- the party at Nanjanagudu, near The protesting workers said they sembly constituency, H Lilavathi Mysuru, triggered massive pro- would resign from the party and from Ramanagaram, Nandini Violence mars fi ling of nominations tests by BJP workers, following vote for former prime minister Gowda Kanakapura, H K Suresh which police used batons to bring H D Deve Gowda’s Janata Dal from Belur and J Preetham Gow the situation under control. (Secular). from Hassan. Varuna, a rural area with Sid- Yeddyurappa’s elder son The Election Commission (EC) for West Bengal panchayat election daramaiah as its current legisla- Raghevendra said they were try- said it has received 1,127 nomi- tor, was prepping for weeks for a ing to control the damage. nations till yesterday, the penul- showdown between Yathindra, a “Seems unlikely that there will timate day before the deadline IANS blamed each other for his kill- them near the Block Develop- Stray incidents of violence pathologist, and Vijayendra. be a change of decision on Vijay- ends. Kolkata ing. ment Offi cer offi ces to submit were also reported from South “This was a decision taken by endra. Yeddyurappa announced Of these, 174 were fi led by rul- While the state BJP leadership papers. 24 Pargana district’s Diamond us,” said Yeddyurappa, the pre- the decision publicly. It is wrong ing Congress’ candidates, 178 claimed that Seikh Dildar was a State Congress president Adhir Harbour, Budge Budge and sumptive chief minister, who to blame the high command. The from the BJP, 141 from the Ja- here was widespread member of their party’s district Chowdhury wrote a letter to the Nodakhali where the CPM ac- headed the BJP’s fi rst southern decision was taken by my father,” nata Dal-Secular (JD-S), 457 in- violence and clashes minority cell and was killed by SEC informing him about the cused guntoting goons of Tri- government when it won the he added. dependents and the remaining Tbetween rival politi- activists of Trinamool, Trina- hostile situation along with a list namool of surrounding the local Karnataka election in 2013. Siddaramaiah has moved from from other parties and regional cal groups in several districts mool’s leader Anubrata Mondal of complaints and photographs of BDO offi ces and beating up their “Vijayendra is not fi ling nomi- Varuna to run for offi ce from two outfi ts. in West Bengal during fi ling said the deceased and his family violence and urged the offi cial to activists. nation today, a common man constituencies – neighbouring These also include more than of nominations for panchayat members belong to their party ensure appropriate actions. The opposition BJP, CPM, (party worker) will be fi elded and Chamundeshwari and Badami in one nomination by certain can- polls yesterday resulting in the for many years. Communist Party of India Congress and PDS had moved he will be fi ling the nomination,” the North. His son, Yathindra, is didates. death of at least one person in “Not just Dildar, but his en- (Marxist) leader Surjya Kanta the court, accusing Trinamool of Yeddyurappa said. counting on Varuna’s loyalty to The last date for fi ling nomi- Birbhum district. tire family are with Trinamool Mishra claimed there was no unleashing massive pre-poll vi- “With folded hands I request his family – apart from his fa- nations across 224 assembly Acting on a Calcutta High Congress for many years. The law and order in West Bengal, as olence against their party work- all of you to support and bless ther, his older brother nurtured constituencies is today. The last Court order, the State Election BJP has brought in miscreants people were attacked. ers to prevent them from fi ling that candidate and make him the constituency till he died sud- date for withdrawal of nomina- Commission extended the last from neighbouring Jharkhand In the morning, Congress nominations ever since the poll win,” he said. denly two years ago. tions is April 27. Voting will be day of fi ling nomination for the to terrorise the locals. He was leader Abu Hasem Khan Chow- process began on April 2. The BJP has not so far offi cially The state’s ruling Congress held on May 12, and counting on state rural election to between killed by them,” he claimed. dhury’s car was allegedly at- Justice Subrata Talukdar on announced any candidate for claimed the development expos- May 15. 11am to 3pm today. Meanwhile, massive clashes tacked with bricks and crude Friday quashed the SEC’s April Varuna. es the BJP’s nervousness. Those who fi led nominations One person was allegedly shot were witnessed elsewhere in bombs outside their party of- 10 order that had cancelled Vijayendra, Yeddyurappa’s “That means to say that they yesterday included Congress dead in Birbhum’s Suri during a the districts of Bankua, Hoogly, fi ce in Murshiadabad district’s the extension of date for fi l- second son, was projected as the are timid. They are not prepared. state unit chief G Parameshwara clash between activists of the East Midnapore and South 24 Shamshergunj. ing of nominations, which the candidate, despite the party not Making all sorts of heroic state- from Koratagere in Tumakuru ruling Trinamool Congress and Parganas over the fi ling of nom- “As many as eight bombs poll panel announced on April announcing any candidate. ments and now saying my son district, Congress leader and the opposition Bharatiya Janata inations. were hurled at my vehicle out- 9 night, directing it to issue a He has been campaigning in is not contesting doesn’t augur Bengaluru Development Minis- Party. State opposition parties ac- side the party offi ce. The car has fresh extended deadline for fi l- the constituency for over a fort- well. It means they are not cou- ter K J George from Sarvagnana- Both the Trinamool and BJP cused Trinamool of attacking been damaged and two of my ing of nominations in consulta- night, and even had rented a rageous to face Siddaramaiah,” gar in east Bengaluru and sitting leadership claimed the victim and terrorising their prospec- associates got injured in the in- tion with the state government house there. alleged Congress leader Veerappa BJP legislator Aravind Limbavali was a member of their party and tive candidates and not letting cident,” he said. and other stakeholders. According to party sources, Moily. from Mahadevapura. Sister blames police for Tussle in Congress for Kerala Rajya Sabha seat

IANS ed on account of his closeness to Latvian woman’s death Thiruvananthapuram the Gandhi family. In Kerala, although the party By Ashraf Padanna Irish partner Andrew Jordan as- their duty correctly and justice is divided between former chief Thiruvananthapuram sert she would never commit sui- is done for her sister. The police race is on within the Con- minister Oommen Chandy and cide, but the police said they were launched a massive search, Ilze gress in Kerala on who will leader of opposition Ramesh awaiting DNA test report for con- said, only ten days after she reg- Abe nominated for a Rajya Chennithala, the two factions he sister of a missing Latvi- fi rmation. istered a complaint and began a Sabha seat the party hopes to win are united in ensuring that Ku- an woman found dead last The body was decomposed parallel search using social media. in June. rien does not get this seat on a Tweek said yesterday she with the head detached. Her photograph carrying Liga’s Three Rajya Sabha members platter. believed it was a murder. Skromane arrived here with her person-missing poster went viral from the state who will retire “Kurien has had a long innings But the Kerala police, whom sister in February for treatment here and moved many. On April 1, from the upper house are outgo- in Delhi and is a six-time Lok she blames for the death by delay- for mental issues. naval divers also joined the search. ing Deputy Chairperson of the Sabha winner from 1980 to 1999. ing search, are not ready to accept “It’s not possible for a woman, Ilze thanked people for the Rajya Sabha and veteran Con- Since 2005 he has been in the it before an expert “medico-legal especially someone under de- “love and aff ection that we can- gress leader P J Kurien, CPM Rajya Sabha and has lost connect examination.” pression, to go to this spot alone. not expect anywhere.” leader C P Narayanan and Kerala with party workers. There are Liga Skromane, 33, living in Somebody had to bring her there,” “I want justice for my sister, Congress (Mani) nominee Joy several others who have not got Ireland, went missing on March the sister, who is three years and therefore, I demand a special Abraham. due rewards for their work. So 14 from Kovalam beach while on younger to her, said. crime investigation team formed Given the strength of the let him step aside and contest the a trip to an alternative health cen- “So she’s not alone when she to fi nd out what happened to Congress-led opposition in the 2019 Lok Sabha election,” said a tre. passed away. The remains of the Liga,” she said. Kerala Assembly, the party can senior Congress leader who did Two fi shermen found her body body were at least one month old. “I want people who come here win just one seat. And it is for not wish to be identifi ed. in mangrove forest by a riverside If the police had acted fast, she to know that the police are there this one seat that there is an in- All along in the Congress in near the seaside getaway, 31km wouldn’t have gone.” to protect them, to stand up with tense tussle. Kerala, seats and posts have been away from the ayurveda centre. Ilze said she was staying back to them, not only for the tourists but Ilze Skromane displays a photo of her sister Liga as she speaks to Kurien, 77, is the forerunner equally shared by various fac- Her sister Ilze Skromane and ensure that the police were doing the citizens of this country.” reporters. and is most likely to be nominat- tions. Gulf Times Tuesday, April 24, 2018 17 INDIA

Railways to hand over century-old heritage bridge to UP govt

IANS Bridge will not be dismantled. It “We have even informed for railway traffi c on June 15, The railway offi cial said that Havelock Bridge to the Andhra wave of protests by historians, New Delhi will be handed over to the Uttar Northern Railway about the de- 1905, and for road traffi c on De- the Uttar Pradesh government Pradesh government. academicians and several non- Pradesh government.” cision to hand over the bridge to cember 20, 1905. wants to preserve the bridge as a The bridge was built by the government organisations – as The decision, he said, was the state government,” he said. The bridge connects Alla- heritage structure. British in 1897. It served Indian well as political parties. Thus, n a bid to save its heritage taken in February after the Ut- According to the offi cial, the habad with Phaphamau from the “The UP government wants to Railways well till it was decom- in 2015, it was decided to hand structures, the Indian Rail- tar Pradesh government wrote to construction of the 61m-long Teliarganj area over the Ganges develop a skywalk over the river missioned in 1997. It was re- it over to the state government,” Iways has decided against the Railway Ministry requesting bridge that caters to both rail river. Ganga on the same bridge,” the placed by the Godavari Arch, a he said. dismantling the 113-year-old that it be handed over the bridge. and road traffi c was sanctioned The offi cial said the road on offi cial said. bowstring-girder bridge built The Havelock Bridge was con- Lord Curzon Bridge in Allahabad “The letter from the UP gov- in 1901 as a state railway bridge. top and railway line below made This is the second instance adjacent to the original bridge. structed with stone masonry and will hand it over the Uttar ernment was received on Feb- The bridge has a single broad the bridge an engineering marvel in which the railways has de- According to the Railway and steel girders. The bridge has Pradesh government for its pres- ruary 8. And a decision to hand gauge (BG) line between the of the time. The railways aban- cided to hand over a century-old Ministry offi cial, in 2012, the 56 spans, each of 45.7m, and is ervation. over the bridge to the state gov- girders and a roadway on top. doned the bridge a while ago, but bridge to a state government. railways had decided to auction 3,480m long. The bridge served A senior Railway Ministry of- ernment was taken within eight The engineer-in-charge was it is still frequented by pedestri- In early 2017, the South Cen- the bridge as scrap. “But news the busy Howrah-Chennai route fi cial said: “The Lord Curzon days,” the offi cial said. Robert Richard Gales. It opened ans and two-wheeler riders. tral Railway handed over the of the auctioning resulted in a until its decommissioning. Modi is only interested in becoming PM again: Rahul

IANS peachment notice given against New Delhi Chief Justice of India by mem- bers of Congress and six other opposition parties was rejected ongress president Ra- by Rajya Sabha Chairman M hul Gandhi yesterday Venkaiah Naidu. Caccused the govern- Referring to Modi’s radio ment of “crushing” the Su- programme “Mann ki baat”, preme Court and said that (from the heart) Gandhi said Dalits may get killed and wom- people will tell him their en may face rapes but Prime “mann ki baat” in 2019. Minister Narendra Modi was “Dalits may get killed, mi- only interested in himself and norities face atrocities, coun- in becoming premier again. try may burn, women may face Addressing a gathering in rapes; it is nothing. Narendra New Delhi to mark the party’s Modi only wants to under- “Save the Constitution” cam- stand one thing that how he Congress leader Kapil Sibal addresses a press conference in New Delhi yesterday. Sibal said his party would appeal the decision by the vice-president to reject a bid to impeach paign, Gandhi accused Modi of can become the prime minister the chief justice, declaring it illegal. destroying country’s reputation (again); what all has to be done abroad and slammed his govern- to be prime minister... only this ment’s record in protecting the is his interest,” Gandhi said, al- weaker sections and minorities. leging Modi was afraid to face The campaign, launched parliament on issues like the against the backdrop of uproar PNB fraud scam, deportation in the country over the rape of Lalit Modi and Vijay Mallaya and murder of a minor girl in and the Rafale fi ghter deal. Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua “If I am allowed to speak Naidu rejects bid to and incidents of rapes in other for 15 minutes on Rafale issue parts of the country includ- in parliament before Modi, he ing in Bharatiya Janata Party- will not be able to withstand ruled Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao it,” the Congress chief said. is also aimed at boosting Con- Referring to the second half gress prospects for the 2019 of the budget session of par- Lok Sabha polls. liament, Gandhi said it was impeach chief justice The accused in the Unnao the fi rst time that the treasury case is a BJP legislator. benches “disrupted” the Hous- Agencies rious tendency of undermining scope of investigation and that court, including distribution of above the minimum 50 to move a Citing Modi’s slogan of ‘Beti es, instead of the opposition. New Delhi the independence of judiciary he “appears to have” anti-dated sensitive cases and appointment motion – but the vice-president Bachao, Beti Padhao’ (save girl, Noting IMF chief Christine which is the basic tenet of the an administrative order. of judges. has fi nal say on such motions. educate girl), Gandhi said it had Lagarde had told Modi recent- Constitution of India,” Naidu “I am mentioning this fact But the ruling Bharatiya Janata Congress leader Kapi Sibal become “Beti Bachao from BJP.” ly that atrocities were being ice-President M Venkai- said in a signed order shared because the phrases used by Party (BJP) has accused the op- said opposition members who Claiming that institutions committed against women in ah Naidu yesterday threw with journalists. MPs themselves indicate a mere position of mounting a “revenge had signed the motion would such as the Supreme Court, high India, he said that despite this, Vout an unprecedented “Considering the totality of suspicion, a conjecture of an as- petition” and playing dirty poli- move the Supreme Court chal- courts, parliament, assemblies the prime minister was quiet. bid to impeach the chief justice facts, I am of the fi rm opinion sumption. The same does not tics. lenging the rejection. and the Election Commission, He also questioned Modi for of the Supreme Court, rejecting that it is neither legal nor desir- constitute prove ‘beyond rea- Misra has refused requests to He said it was unprecedented IITs, IIMs have been built on the associating spirituality with accusations that the top judge able or proper to admit the no- sonable doubt’, which is required defer a controversial case con- that the motion has been reject- basis of the Constitution which cleaning of toilets, saying for in the world’s largest democracy tice of motion on any of these to make out a case of ‘proved cerning the demolition of the ed even before it was admitted. was given to the country by B R him, the only spirituality was in had abused his authority. grounds,” Naidu, who is the misbehaviour’ under Article 124 Babri Masjid, a centuries old Sibal, one of the main movers Ambedkar and the Congress, “becoming the prime minister”. Politicians from India’s two chairman the upper house Rajya (4). Conversations between third mosque that was demolished of the motion, hoped that the CJI Gandhi alleged that people with Gandhi, who faced a ques- biggest parties have clashed over Sabha, said in his ruling. parties with dubious credentials, in 1992 by a Hindu nationalists would keep out of hearing the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh tion during his address, asked allegations against Chief Justice Naidu said the MPs who pre- which have been extensively re- mob who said it was built on the challenge petition. (RSS) background were being journalists if they could pose a Dipak Misra, who is accused by sented the petition were unsure lied upon, cannot themselves site of a temple. “We will certainly move the inducted in these institutions by query to Modi when speaks. opponents of a range of trans- of their own case. constitute any material evidence The topic remains a fl ashpoint petition in the Supreme Court to the Modi government. “That’s the diff erence be- gressions including illegally ac- Page one of the petition used material against the holder of the issue and could have a bearing challenge this order. We are con- “It has happened for the fi rst tween us and them. You attack quiring government land and phrases such as “the facts and offi ce of the CJI,” the ruling said. on next year’s general election, fi dent that when we move the time that four judges of the Su- us and we protect you. That corruption. circumstances relating to Prasad Opposition members last when Prime Minister Narendra Supreme Court, he has nothing preme Court went to the people is what we are. We defend the Naidu said the claims against Education Trust case saw prima week moved the notice in the Modi will be seeking a reelec- to do with it so that it is heard to seek justice. The Supreme press. That is the diff erence the judge led by the opposition facie evidence suggesting that upper house to impeach Misra – tion. and the serious issues which are Court is being crushed, it is be- between us and them. We will Congress Party were “neither the CJI ‘may have been’ involved the fi rst eff ort in India’s history Congress has vowed to appeal constitutional in nature in which ing suppressed. Parliament was continue to do so. And will sup- tenable nor admissible”, quash- in a conspiracy of paying illegal to depose a sitting chief justice. the decision by the vice-presi- we determine whether we will not allowed to run and the press port you because we know you ing the bid. gratifi cation...” It came after four judges in dent, declaring it illegal. bring transparency to the proc- is also being crushed,” Gandhi are brave people. And we will “The allegations emerging The motion also said that the January publicly criticised Misra It secured the support of 64 ess of law will be decided by the said on a day when the im- support your fi ght,” he said. from the present case have a se- CJI was “likely to fall” within the over the functioning of the top members of the Rajya Sabha – court.”

Ministry removes tweet ‘L-G, not Jessica’s sister, on food after outrage

IANS pending upon their origin, to decide convict’s fate’ methods of production, distri- New Delhi bution, storage etc and in this IANS acquittal of February 2006 and freely within the jail complex, country, the less said the better New Delhi sentenced Sharma to life term. those in open jail are allowed to n an embarrassment for the about those standards. That’s The Supreme Court two months go out for work. Both categories government, the Ministry of what you should be focusing later upheld the HC verdict. of inmates live in rooms instead IHealth and Family Welfare on @MoHFW_INDIA,” reacted month after murdered “I have eradicated all anger of barracks. (MoHFW) yesterday removed a one Twitter user. model Jessica Lall’s sis- within me and want to move Sabrina said that she had re- tweet that asked people “What’s Another user said: “This is Ater Sabrina Lall wrote to ahead to live a normal life. I have ceived a letter from Tihar au- your choice?” based on a photo fat shaming. Now that you’ve Tihar jail authorities that she no problem if Manu Sharma is thorities a month ago in which that displayed two women – posted it, hope your women had “forgiven” her killer Manu released, or whatever deal he she was asked if she wished to one overweight, depicting non- ministers take the lead and set Sharma, offi cials said the con- gets,” Sabrina said in the letter. draw money from the victim’s vegetarian and processed food an example!” vict’s fate would be decided by Sharma, son of a former fed- welfare fund. items and the other lean with “Stupidity at highest!!! Is Egg Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal eral minister and Congress lead- “I said that I did not need fruits and vegetables. ?? and Cheese ?? unhealthy? after the jail’s Sentence Review er Venod Sharma, is lodged in money, and I had no objection to Twitterati immediately which scientifi c study proved Board (SRB) submits a report. the jail since his conviction. his release,” she said. slammed the tweet, some call- it? Moreover where do Poor In- Sabrina Lall had written a let- Jail authorities said about A jail offi cial, requesting ano- ing it “stupidity at its highest” dians get Kiwi/Avocado Fruits ter to prison authorities that her three months ago that Sharma nymity, said: “As per Manu while others “fat shaming”. and Berries? Or is it meant to family wants to lead a normal life was shifted to the open prison, Sharma’s transfer order, he has While the fat woman de- be for RICH People? ?? As far as and has no objection if Sharma, which he is allowed to leave at to work at his family NGO Sid- picted foods such as sausage, all scientifi c study all packaged sentenced to life in jail for mur- 8am and return by 6pm every dhartha Vashishta Trust and poultry, meat, burger, donuts, foods are bad or unhealthy!!!,” der, is released from the Tihar day, which can pave the way for work for thousands of children french fries, cola and alcohol, tweeted another user. Central Jail. his fi nal release after 15 years. of underprivileged prisoners to the lean woman showed fruits One user went further and On April 30, 1999, Sharma Jail offi cials said convicts after provide them books, free educa- and green vegetables, along found the source of the image. shot dead Jessica when she re- serving at least 12 years of term tion, and fi nancial aid. The open with a tweet from the min- “So, Ministry of Health @ fused to serve him drink well are fi rst transferred to a semi- jail inmates are only a step away istry: “Good nutrition is one MoHFW_INDIA picks up a past midnight at a party in south open jail and thereafter are eli- from release from incarceration.” of the keys to a #healthy life. stock photo which portray Delhi’s Mehrauli. gible for transfer to the open jail. However, the offi cer said, Jes- Sabrina Lall, sister of Jessica Lall, speaks to reporters in Gurugram Choose wisely, live well”. eggs, poultry, meat and bread The Delhi High Court in De- While semi-open jail inmates sica’s sister cannot decide Shar- yesterday. She said she had no objection if her sister’s killer is “Both veg and non-veg can as unhealthy and tweets that cember 2006 reversed a trial court are allowed to work and move ma’s release but the L-G. released from the Tihar Central Jail. be healthy or unhealthy de- as health advice,” the user said. Gulf Times 18 Tuesday, April 24, 2018 LATIN AMERICA

REVEALED DATA LEGAL ANGER CRIME Four countries off er to 7,667 killed in Mexico BHP, Vale get extension to 10,000 march against Colombia extradites host Colombia peace talks in three months settle mine disaster claim Pinochet-era pensions drug kingpin to US

Four countries have off ered to host the ongoing Some 7,667 people were killed in Mexico in the Mining giant BHP said yesterday it had been Some 10,000 people marched through the Colombia yesterday extradited to the US a former peace talks between the Colombian government first quarter of 2018, up 20% on the same period granted more time by a Brazilian court to negotiate Chilean capital demanding an end to the right-wing paramilitary leader who is accused of and National Liberation Army (ELN), Colombian last year, making it the most violent year in two with authorities on settling a large claim over the privatised pension system created under having headed one of the country’s largest drug President Juan Manuel Santos said. Chile, Brazil, decades, government figures showed. In 2017, the Samarco mine collapse that left 19 people dead. the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet and cartels. Daniel Rendon Herrera, also known as “Don Norway and Cuba, which had been accompanying figure stood at 6,406 violent deaths, according to Samarco, co-owned by BHP and Brazilian mining demanding improved conditions. Waving Mario,” was handed over to agents from the US the talks taking place in Ecuador’s capital Quito, all the Mexican security services. The worst month giant Vale, is facing a 155bn reals ($45.4bn) legal banners, chanting noisy slogans to the sound of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and “is off ered to serve as hosts after Ecuador withdrew, was March, when 2,729 people were killed, most claim for clean-up costs and damages after the trumpets and drums, pensioners and workers en route to the US,” said Colombia’s police chief Santos said. Colombia is now working out the of them shot dead. January’s figure stood at November 2015 collapse of an iron ore tailings with their families marched through Santiago General Jorge Nieto. A former leader of Colombia’s details, which included issues like whether the 2,549 murders, with another 2,389 in February. dam in the Minas Gerais region. Brazilian federal demanding an end to the current system, known “united self-defence forces,” the right-wing current fifth round of talks could be completed in The bloodshed follows a proliferation of gangs prosecutors commenced proceedings in court by its Spanish acronym AFP. The system, which paramilitary groups that formed to fight Marxist Quito, or should be immediately moved to a new involved in drug traff icking, as well as stealing fuel, for the settlement, and later agreed to work manages $170bn in funds, has come under rebels, Rendon is due to appear before a US federal location after Ecuador withdrew. Ecuador said kidnappings and other criminal activities. In 2017, with the two miners to reach an agreement. The fire because of the low returns to pensioners, judge in New York on drug traff icking charges. it would stop hosting the negotiations as long as 25,339 people were killed in Mexico, the highest negotiation period has been extended several who had been led to expect annual payments Rendon was captured in a jungle raid in 2009 but the rebels continue to carry out “terrorist acts”. number since monitoring began 10 years earlier. times, with the due date now on June 25, BHP said. amounting to 70% of their last salary. the Supreme Court initially stopped his extradition. Conservative wins Paraguay presidency with narrow victory

AFP It remains a land of contrasts, Asuncion still marked by the 1954-1989 dic- tatorship of General Stroessner. However, a new generation of araguay’s Mario Abdo Be- voters among the electorate of nitez, who represents the 4.2mn — born after the dictator- Pcountry’s long-dominant ship responsible for the deaths Colorado conservatives, has or disappearances of up to 3,000 been elected president, landing people — seems ready to look to the top job in one of Latin Amer- the future. ica’s poorest countries. “Most people feel resentful The US-educated son of a towards Cartes,” 18-year-old senior aide to the country’s student Alex Gimenez said. late dictator, Abdo Benitez won In Paraguay, 43% of the popu- slightly more than 46% of the lation is aged between 18 and 34. vote, with his centrist opponent Ahead of the vote, Benitez ap- Efrain Alegre taking almost 43% peared confi dent his background in a race that was far closer than would not aff ect his chances. “I A supermarket lies bare after looting during protests against the government’s reforms in the Institute of Social Security (INSS) in Managua. expected. have earned my democratic cre- Opinion polls had consist- dentials on my political journey,” ently given Abdo Benitez, 46, a he said. clear lead of up to 20 points over But Alegre had banked on Alegre in a two-man contest to people voting for change after succeed outgoing conservative almost 70 years of dominance by President Horacio Cartes. the ruling Colorado party. Greeting thousands of excited Accepting that his rival had supporters outside the party won three percentage points Ortega under pressure headquarters, Abdo Benitez more than him, Alegre said that pledged to win the trust of those nothing could stop the pace of who did not vote for him. change. “We think change in Through the election, Para- Paraguay is irreversible, better guay had “set an example” and sooner than later,” he said. shown that “democracy is well Writing in Americas Quarterly established” in the country, he magazine, Oliver Stuenkel, pro- despite reform U-turn said, before paying homage to fessor of international relations his father, whom he described as at Sao Paulo’s Getulio Vargas AFP tion’s main private business peacefully,” 26-year-old po- strators mobilised to counter caused international outrage “a great member” of the Colo- Foundation said the Colorado Managua association — an ally of Ortega litical science student Cliff ord the protests. and concern, with the US, the rado party. party had become increasingly during his 11 years in power — Ramirez said. “We believe there Protesters said the security European Union and Pope Fran- Despite a slow start, turn- aware of the public desire for said it would go ahead with an is no longer space for dialogue,” forces used live fi re against them. cis all calling for calm. out stood at 65% by the time change. icaraguan President anti-government march. he added. A doctor treating those The auxiliary bishop for polling stations closed at 4pm “Paraguayan society is chang- Daniel Ortega was yes- On Sunday, Ortega sought to Student protesters won sup- wounded in the clashes, Eyel Al- Managua, Silvio Baez, said on (2000GMT). As the counting ing faster than its political elite Nterday under pressure placate popular fury, announc- port in neighbourhoods where manza, said in an interview that Twitter that “I don’t see any got under way, it quickly became and a generation is gaining infl u- from widespread street unrest ing he was revoking the pen- residents came out to bang police offi cers were resorting conditions for dialogue with clear the results would be much ence that has no clear memory of despite backing down on a con- sion reform plan that would kitchen pots, and from workers to deadly force. “The wounds Nicaragua’s government.” closer than anticipated. non-democratic rule — a fi rst in tentious pension reform plan have increased both employer and retirees angered by govern- suff ered by students have been He called for a halt to the “re- Analysts said electing Benitez, Paraguayan history,” he wrote. that triggered days of violence and employee contributions ment corruption and the dete- from fi rearms,” he said. pression,” the freeing of youths the son of the personal secretary “Whoever succeeds Cartes... in which at least 25 people were and reduced benefi ts, in an rioration in their living condi- The capital’s streets were arrested and the lifting of a to dictator Alfredo Stroessner, will have to contend with a new killed. IMF-backed bid to cap a rising tions. largely empty yesterday. Many broadcast ban imposed on an suggested that Paraguayans had generation that is out to change Students leading the protests $76mn defi cit at the Nicara- The protests intensifi ed over offi ces reported low employee independent TV station. managed to turn the page on the Paraguay for the better.” vowed to keep up their demon- guan Social Security Institute the weekend as demonstrators attendance. Other groups also demanded darkest chapter of their recent Voters also cast their ballots strations until the 72-year-old (INSS).The increases were the erected barricades of burning Ortega, a former Sandinista Ortega change tack. history. for a new parliament and gover- leader and his wife and Vice- spark that ignited student pro- tires in the streets of the capi- guerrilla who is allied to Vene- “We demand that the Nica- Landlocked Paraguay — sand- nors of the country’s 17 depart- President Rosario Murillo are tests last Wednesday that soon tal Managua, while mobs ran- zuela and Russia, has compared raguan government cease the wiched between Argentina, Bo- ments. ousted. spread to other sectors of Nica- sacked shops in various parts of the protesters to gang members brutal attacks against the dem- livia and Brazil — has enjoyed Tobacco magnate Cartes kept The deteriorating situation raguan society. the city. who spread terror in Nicara- onstrators and the civilian pop- consistent economic growth un- Paraguay on course for year-on- prompted US authorities to or- “The protests are no longer Ortega responded with a gua’s Latin American neigh- ulation,” the Nicaraguan Center der tobacco magnate Cartes, but year growth of about 4% in an der family members of Ameri- just for the INSS, it is against a crackdown that saw the army bours. for Human Rights said in a joint has failed to shake off persistent economy whose major exports can government personnel in government that denies us free- deployed, independent media The unexpected wave of statement with the Interna- poverty, corruption and drug are soybeans, beef and hydro- Nicaragua to leave the country. dom of expression, freedom of muzzled, journalists assaulted violence in an otherwise rela- tional Federation for Human traffi cking. electric power. The Central American na- the press and to demonstrate and pro-government demon- tively tightly controlled country Rights.

Migrant caravan Canadian slain after being Anaya poll prospects accused of healer’s death ‘boosted by TV debate’ Reuters respondents in the telephone Mexico City poll by newspaper Reforma. Guardian News and Media crying out as he lies in a puddle Shipibo Konibo and Xetebo Lopez Obrador came second Lima in front of a wooden home with a council. with 34%, it showed. thatched roof. Arevalo was a “walking library he second-placed con- Pollsters say ad hoc tel- Two men put a rope or rub- of our traditional knowledge, tender in Mexico’s pres- ephone surveys should be Canadian man was beaten ber hose around his neck and the maximum expression of Tidential race won the treated with caution, but as an and lynched in the Peru- drag him along the ground until our culture,” he said, describ- opening televised debate of the initial indication of the ebb and Avian Amazon after local he goes limp and falls silent. A ing her death as “very painful”. campaign on Sunday night, a fl ow of the contest, the positive people accused him of killing an group of people, including chil- The Shipibo Konibo people are telephone survey found, after reception of Anaya was in line 81-year-old indigenous healer, a dren, look on. known for their art and use of the front-runner came under with how many Mexican politi- police offi cer leading the murder General Jorge Lam, the police psychoactive plant brew Aya- relentless attack from com- cal analysts called the debate. investigation told the Guardian. offi cer leading the double mur- huasca. petitors. Lopez Obrador, 64, ignored Olivia Arevalo, a female healer der inquiry, said police were fol- Arevalo’s killing follows the Tapping into discontent many attacks and sought to with the native Shipibo-Konibo lowing several lines of investiga- unsolved murders of indigenous with the ruling Institutional avoid getting into scraps with people, was shot twice and died tion. activists who repeatedly faced Revolutionary Party (PRI) over his adversaries. But he showed on Thursday near her home in “The body had been fully death threats for protecting their corruption and violence, left- signs of irritation as the evening the village of Victoria Gracia in identifi ed (as that of Sebastian ancestral lands. ist Andres Manuel Lopez Ob- wore on, at one point pulling Peru’s central Amazon region of Woodroff e) using fi ngerprints,” Police are also examining a rador has led polls for months, out a board with his polling Ucayali. he said. theory a possible motive may and all four rivals trained their numbers to answer critics. Some villagers blamed Areva- Ronald Suarez, the highest have been that Arevalo’s son fi re on him during the debate. Jorge Castaneda, Anaya’s lo’s murder on a Canadian citi- authority of the 40,000-strong owed money to the Canadian. Second-placed Ricardo co-campaign manager, said zen Sebastian Woodroff e, 41, Shipibo-Konibo people, said the There are also unconfi rmed re- Anaya led the charge, accusing the two-hour debate had who lived in the region and was men responsible for the lynch- ports the killer may have been a Obrador of endangering Mexi- shown his candidate was the believed to be one of her pa- ing had “acted on the spur of the gang member looking to collect a co with a vague proposal to ex- only real alternative to a Lopez tients. moment and resorted to tradi- debt from Arevalo’s son. plore an amnesty for criminals Obrador victory on July 1. Police found the Canadian’s tional justice”. Woodroff e is believed to have to curb the violence, and of “The contrast was very clear body buried in a shallow grave “But we are a peaceful people travelled to Peru from his home hypocrisy for making common between the tired change of about 1km from Arevalo’s home who have always lived in harmo- in Vancouver Island, Canada, to cause with people he had once Andres Manuel and the radical, on Saturday. ny with nature,” he insisted. learn how use traditional medi- called corrupt. fresh, youthful, new change of A cameraphone recording of “We have little confi dence in cine to treat drug addictions. He Central American migrants, moving in a caravan through Running as the candidate of a Ricardo Anaya,” he told Mexi- the lynching was released in the the police as, so often, crimes used the crowdfunding website Mexico, eat as they queue to receive clothes at a temporary right-left coalition, the 39-year- can television. “And I think local press and on social media. against us go unpunished,” said Indiegogo to raise more than shelter in Hermosillo, in Sonora state, Mexico. old Anaya was deemed the win- it became clear that this is an The video shows a bloodied man Suarez, who is president of the $2,000 to fund the trip. ner of the debate by 36% of 245 election between two (choices).” Gulf Times Tuesday, April 24, 2018 19 PAKISTAN Pakistan earning high

Lodhi: the challenge isn’t over, but we are now in a much prestige at UN: envoy better place. Internews to the UN, according a press re- but has also contributed signifi - elections that are due in a few “We have sought to eliminate Violence-related incidents, The energy crisis, Lodhi said, Islamabad lease. cantly in the area of soft power. months’ time,” Lodhi said. all terrorist groups through a including bombings and mili- which has been an impediment to Pakistan has been elected sev- Lodhi also briefed the del- She told the delegation that comprehensive strategy, involv- tant attacks in the country, have growth and economic activity, is en times to the Security Coun- egation in detail on the gains that there is now a fi rm national ing forceful law enforcement declined dramatically and the being addressed and the number akistan enjoys enormous cil and four times to the Human Pakistan has made in the politi- consensus for democracy in the actions and targeted military number of terrorist attacks have of hours of load shedding has respect at the United Na- Rights Council, she said. cal, security, and economic areas. country and that the military is operations as well as actions to fallen by almost 60% since 2010, been signifi cantly reduced. Ptions thanks to its con- Lodhi said that Pakistan’s en- On the political front, she said, part of this consensus. counter violent extremism and and are now at the lowest level On the foreign policy front, she structive role at the world body, gagement at the UN extends to democracy has been strength- Democratic institutions and its toxic narrative,” she added. since 2006. said that the its external engage- ambassador Maleeha Lodhi has all three pillars of the UN sys- ened and consolidated with the traditions are becoming stronger Pakistan’s permanent repre- “This does not mean the chal- ments and strategy emerge from said. tem, peace and security, human country experiencing the longest in Pakistan, Lodhi said, pointing sentative to the UN said that the lenge is over, but we are now in a its key national priorities. “Pakistan’s standing at the rights, and development. period of uninterrupted democ- to an independent judiciary, a country had launched the largest much better place,” Lodhi added. Lodhi said that the defeat of UN, over the years, is refl ected Among the world’s top troop- racy in its 70 year history. vibrant media, and an expanding anti-terrorism operation any- On the economic front, she terrorism and militancy as well in the multiple times it has been contributing countries to UN “Pakistan will see for the sec- and diverse civil society. where in the world, involving the said that Pakistan has transi- as the creation of conditions in elected to key UN bodies,” she peacekeeping, Pakistan’s role at ond time in its history the trans- On the security front, she said deployment of 200,000 troops. tioned from a crisis to a stable which violent extremism cannot told a delegation of the US War the UN has been prominent not fer of power from one elected that Pakistan has turned the tide This, she asserted, had pro- economy and the economy was survive, is fi rst and foremost to College at the Pakistan mission only in the area of hard power, government to another, after against terrorism. duced remarkable results. poised for rapid growth. establish durable stability.

China says ties with National Action Plan bringing Pakistan are secure down number of terrorist attacks

Reuters the Dalai Lama, and will hold an Internews Praise for civilian control over security forces Beijing informal summit in China with Islamabad Xi on Friday and Saturday. Civilian authorities in Pakistan have generally maintained eff ective China will continue to fi rmly control over the security forces, says the US State Department’s an- hina has reassured Pa- support Pakistan, its top diplo- he eff ective implemen- nual report on human rights. kistan that relations be- mat, State Councillor and Fror- tation of the National The report, released in Washington on Friday, also notes that “orderly Ctween the two countries eign Minister Wang Yi, told Paki- TAction Plan (NAP) has transitions in the military [chief of the army staff ] and the judiciary are as fi rm as ever and would stan’s Foreign Minister Khawaja resulted in a discernible down- [Supreme Court chief justice] solidified the democratic transition” in “never rust”, ahead of a meeting Asif at a meeting in Beijing. ward trend in terrorism inci- Pakistan. this week between President Xi “We are ready to work together dents in Pakistan, dropping In a brief introduction to the political situation, the State Department’s Jinping and Indian Prime Minis- with our Pakistani brothers to to 750 in 2017 compared with country report on Pakistan states that in May 2013 the Pakistan Mus- ter Narendra Modi. undertake the historical mis- 2,060 attacks in 2010. lim League – Nawaz (PML-N) won a majority of seats in parliamentary China and Pakistan like to call sion of national rejuvenation A lot of sweat and blood has elections, and Nawaz Sharif became prime minister for the third time. each other “all weather friends” and achieve the great dream of gone into this eff ort, National It also refers to the July 28, 2017 decision of the Supreme Court, which and their traditional close ties national prosperity and develop- Counter-Terrorism Authority disqualified Sharif from off ice over corruption allegations but points have long been viewed with sus- ment,” Wang said. “In this way, (NACTA) national co-ordinator out that the country’s parliament, and not an undemocratic authority, picion by Pakistan’s neighbour our iron friendship with Pakistan Ihsan Ghani said. elected the new prime minister, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, on August 1. and traditional enemy, India. will never rust and be tempered Speaking with Associated In an assessment of the 2013 general elections, the State Department However, Modi has tried to into steel.” Press of Pakistan (APP) on notes that “the government permitted all existing political parties to reset relations with Beijing after There was no mention of the Thursday, he said that the NAP contest the elections, although several smaller parties boycotted the a years of disagreements over planned meeting between Xi and Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif with Chinese State is being implemented with full polling”. everything from their border to Modi in comments made in front Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Diaoyutai State Guest commitment and vigour in co- The State Department shares the observation of international election exiled Tibetan spiritual leader of reporters. House in Beijing yesterday. ordination with all provinces, observers, noting that they generally considered the elections a suc- security agencies and other cess, despite terrorist violence and some procedural problems. stakeholders, establishing writ It also refers to the comprehensive Elections Act 2017, passed on of state throughout Pakistan. October 2, which stipulates special measures to enhance electoral Ghani said that eff ective im- participation of women, religious minorities, transgender persons, and plementation of NAP has re- persons with disabilities. Media campaign to boost manpower export sulted in signifi cant improve- ments in the overall law and order and internal security istered and 1,209 persons ar- protected against misuse by Internews Talking to media, OEC deputy shows will be arranged through ing, scheduled to be held next situation in the country, adding rested. terrorists and their organisa- Islamabad managing director Muhammad community welfare attaché,” he month, he added. that national and international Similarly, in the area of anti- tions, and monitoring of move- Jamshed said that promotional added. Jamshed said that the minis- organisations have lauded ef- money laundering, the authori- ment of persons and of money, campaigns would be launched Pakistanis working abroad try had been asked to allow the forts of Pakistan on rid itself of ties concerned have registered to eff ectively combat money- he Overseas Employment through foreign electronic, print, contribute signifi cantly to the OEC to utilise the funds from the terrorism and extremism. 424 cases and arrested 574 per- laundering and terrorist fi nanc- Corporation (OEC) of Pa- and social media as well as by country’s economy. SLEIF account. “Our citizens have stood be- sons. ing. Tkistan plans to carry out OEC’s Web portal. Jamshed revealed that a Currently, billions of rupees hind their police, military and Around 207 “Suspicious He said other initiatives to massive media campaigns abroad “Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Ku- Rs125mn project was evolved by have been accumulated in the their intelligence agencies, Transaction Reports” (STRs) choke off funding of terrorist to eventually engage foreign wait, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, the OEC last year for immedi- SLEIF account, and these funds never faltering in their resolve were received from the Finan- elements included model law countries in employing Paki- Libya, Malaysia, and South Korea ate marketing and promotional can be utilised for all activities to defeat terrorists and their cial Monitoring Unit (FMU), for facilitation and regulations stan’s skilled manpower. have been identifi ed as potential activities through the State related to promotion of employ- twisted ideas,” he said. and 49 of these converted into of charities, to ensure that every The OEC has worked out these countries for these campaigns, Life Emigrant’s Insurance Fund ment abroad, he added. Highlighting the NACTA’s cases. penny donated to charity is ac- campaigns as an optimum way and the (OEC) is in constant con- (SLEIF) account of the ministry Jamshed said that the OEC is eff orts to cut off the financing The authorities closed 48 counted for. to check drastic decline on this tact with our high commissions of overseas Pakistanis and hu- perturbed by the decline in Paki- of terrorists and their organisa- STRs while 110 are being proc- Regulation and monitoring count after some 4.5mn Paki- on this count,” he said. man resource development. stan’s export of human resources tions, Ghani said that with re- essed. of cross-border movement of stanis working abroad were ad- “Campaigns via electronic It has been approved, in prin- and repatriation of skilled work. gards the issue of Hawala Hundi Ghani said these initiatives currency, eff ective regulations versely aff ected by economic media in GCC countries are not ciple, by the ministry’s Depart- The fi gures have dropped to (an informal money transfer have helped in establishing of branchless/Internet bank- shifts in the Gulf Co-operation possible and for the purpose, mental Working Party and fi nal 500,000 from around 950,000 in system), Rs1,490mn has been stringent controls for making ing are other steps being taken, Council countries since 2015. events, conferences and road- approval is expected at its meet- last three years. recovered, with 919 cases reg- money transfer system fully Ghani added.

More schools for transgender ‘100mn Pakistanis have no bank account’

Internews adults without an account and ported having made or received mies, where most borrowers rely persons to be opened soon Islamabad has the world’s largest unbanked at least one digital payment on formal credit, extended by a population, followed by India using their account in the past fi nancial institution or through (190mn) and Indonesia (95mn). year. a credit card. Internews akistan is home to 100mn Together with Pakistan, Ni- In high-income economies Borrowers in developing Lahore adults who do not have a geria, Mexico, and Bangladesh, the share was 91% of adults economies are most likely to Pbank account, with 13% these countries are home to (97% of account owners) versus turn to family or friends. adults citing religious concerns nearly half the world’s unbanked 44% of adults (70% of account Globally, about 230mn un- fter a successful as a reason for not having ac- population. owners) in developing econo- banked adults work in the pri- launch in Lahore, the count at a fi nancial institution, Women are over-represented mies. vate sector and get paid in cash Afounder of the Gen- a World Bank report on the use among the world’s unbanked, The use of digital payments only and 78% of these wage der Guardian has announced of fi nancial services revealed. with about 980mn without an is on the rise, and the share of earners have a mobile phone. plans to open schools for The Global Findex database account, accounting for 56% of adults around the world making A billion adults worldwide transgender persons in Ka- report said that 21% in Paki- all unbanked adults globally. or receiving digital payments who have an account still use rachi and Islamabad, with an stan and 19% in Turkey cite high They are also disproportion- increased by 11% between 2014 cash to pay utility bills. objective to provide 12 years costs as at least as important as ately represented among the and 2017. If more utility providers of- of academic education (from religious concerns. unbanked in most economies fered an attractive option for primary to higher secondary Those who reported religious as most developing economies 75% of Pakistan’s paying bills digitally, both sides level). concerns as their sole reason for have a gender gap in account unbanked adults possess could benefi t from greater ef- Gender Guardian found- not having an account is minus- ownership, though the size var- primary education or less fi ciency. er Asif Shahzad said that cule – 2% in Pakistan and 1% in ies. Many adults who are em- the school in Lahore has A student exits the first transgender school in Lahore after the first day Turkey. In Bangladesh, Pakistan, and In developing economies the ployed and have an account still started imparting education of class. Below: A class in session. As a whole in South Asia, the Turkey, the gender gap is nearly share of adults using digital get paid in cash. to around 40 transgender share of adults without an ac- 30%. payments rose by 12%, to 44%. About 300mn account own- students with its 15 faculty count rose by 23%, to 70%. The Global Findex database About half of the adults ers globally work in the private members. Globally, about 1.7bn adults also cover payments for private worldwide reported saving sector and get paid in cash, The school was started remain unbanked – without an sector wages as well as other money in the past year, with while 275mn account owners re- with the help of Exploring account at a fi nancial institu- payments for work – such as 71% reported doing so in high- ceive cash payments for the sale Future Foundation, a non- tion or through a mobile money those for the sale of agricultural income economies compared to of agricultural products. governmental organisation. provider – compared to 2bn in products. 43% in developing economies. Unbanked adults tend to have Shahzad said that there is 2014. Globally, 28% of adults re- Nearly half of the adults in low education levels. no age limit for admission in Since account ownership is ceive private sector wages – high-income economies re- Worldwide, 62% of the un- the school. nearly universal in high-income 46% of adults in high-income ported saving for old age com- banked have a primary edu- He said that most of the economies, virtually all un- economies and 24% in develop- pared to only 16% in developing cation or less, compared with transgender students had ex- banked adults live in developing ing ones. countries. about half of the overall adults pressed interest in the fash- economies. In high-income economies, And in both economies alike, in developing economies. ion industry, including learn- China and India, despite hav- most receive these payments 14% reported saving to start, This share is even higher in ing about cosmetics, fashion ing relatively high account own- into an account; in developing operate, or expand a business. Pakistan, at 75%. designing, embroidery and ership, claim large shares of the economies only about half do Almost 50% of adults world- Globally, only 38% of the un- stitching, while some have global unbanked population due so. wide reported borrowing money banked have completed high shown interest in graphic de- to their sheer size. Globally, 52% of adults – or in the past year with a higher school or post-secondary edu- sign and culinary skills. China is home to 225mn 76% of account owners – re- share in high-income econo- cation. Gulf Times 20 Tuesday, April 24, 2018 PHILIPPINES Sunset ride Call to probe non-release of allowance to troops

By Jeff erson Antiporda troops worth P58.849mn. It Manila Times was learned that allowance was withheld when members of the SAF were battling the Maute enator Panfi lo Lacson has terrorist group that occupied sought an inquiry into the Marawi City, capital of Lanao Salleged non-release of del Sur province, in southern daily subsistence allowance in- Mindanao. Lacson in fi ling the tended for Special Action Force resolution cited the need to re- (SAF) troops of the Philippine visit existing laws and their im- National Police (PNP) amount- plementation, to make sure that ing to P58.849mn. police offi cers receive the ben- He fi led Senate Resolution 712 efi ts due them and to punish err- directing the Senate Committee ing parties concerned. on Public Order and Dangerous “We cannot allow, yet again, Drugs to conduct the probe, in another injustice to be commit- aid of legislation, on the alleg- ted against our heroes in uni- edly illegal withholding of the form who are in the forefront of release of the daily allowance our fi ght against the ills of ter- and the explosive ordnance dis- rorism and criminality, lest we posal (EOD) hazardous pay of the risk demoralisation within their Tourists ride on sailboats during sunset at Boracay in the Philippines, yesterday. PNP’s elite team. ranks. Thus the need to probe Lacson noted that the non- the allegations,” he said. release of such allowance, if Lacson, who served as chief true, threatens to demoralise of the PNP from 1999 to 2001, members of the SAF who are the disclosed that SAF members country’s frontliners in fi ghting had approached him to air their terrorism and criminality. grievances on the matter and The resolution was fi led a even furnished his offi ce a copy day after the PNP leadership of their complaint affi davit and announced the removal of Po- annexes fi led before the Offi ce of Panel recommends state lice Director Benjamin Lusad, the Ombudsman. former SAF chief, as the head Meanwhile, Sen. Juan Edgardo of the Directorate for Integrated Angara is pushing for immedi- Police Operations-Southern Lu- ate passage of a bill that seeks to zon. strengthen existing rights and Also sacked were former SAF raise benefi ts and allowances of of calamity in Boracay budget and fi scal offi cer Senior SAF members. Supt. Andre Dizon and Senior Angara also on Wednesday Manila Times on the investigation of DENR Police Offi cer 2 Maila Bustama- said Senate Bill 138 or the Magna Manila and the Department of the In- nte and SPO 1 James Irica of the Carta for the PNP would help terior and Local Government budget offi ce. provide bigger allowances and (DILG), pollution caused by Lusad and the other SAF of- benefi ts to both uniformed and he National Disaster Risk improper waste segregation fi cials allegedly failed to re- non-uniformed police person- Reduction and Manage- and encroachment of protect- lease the allowance of the SAF nel. Tment Council (NDR- ed areas have “adversely af- RMC) yesterday adopted a fected” the ecological balance resolution recommending to in Boracay. President Rodrigo Duterte to The findings of the DOST, declare a state of calamity in meanwhile, revealed that ero- Boracay Island, a spokesperson sion, occurring along the is- Chinese arrested in said. land’s West Beach from 1993 “Following the prevailing to 2003, was “prevalent.” conditions in Boracay Island In a statement, Lorenzana Manila drug bust and the urgent need for its tem- said: “The draft resolution of a porary closure as a tourist des- state of calamity in the affect- tination for purposes of reha- ed barangay covering Boracay Manila Times was arrested in a buy bust op- bilitation, the National Council Island was approved by the Manila eration by PDEA and the Phil- has agreed to recommend to the (NDRRMC) subject to minimal ippine National Police’s (PNP) president the declaration of a modification discussed during Drug Enforcement Group at State of Calamity in Boracay Is- the meeting and for review of nti-narcotics agents ar- Pasaje del Carmen corner Rox- land,” Romina Marasigan said. the Legal Working Group.” rested a Chinese in Ma- as Boulverad in Malate. The recommendation, in Marasigan, meanwhile, Anila and seized in his Authorities confiscated three line with Duterte’s six-month added that the regional dis- possession methamphetamine pieces of plastic packs contain- closure order, covers Balabag, aster management council in hydrochloride or “shabu” dur- ing suspected shabu weighing Manoc-Manic and Yapak in the Western Visayas region ing a raid late Saturday, accord- about three kilograms, which Malay, Aklan for a maximum A view of a seashore partly covered with moss is seen at Boracay, yesterday. showed that there was a sig- ing to a report by the Philippine the Dangerous Drugs Board period of one year. nificant increase in tourist ar- Drug Enforcement Agency (DDB) valued at P15mn; one Marasigan said Defence the NDRRMC meeting, which Natural Resources (DENR), partment of Health (DOH) also rivals for the last five years — (PDEA) office in Metro Manila. white Hyundai Tucson; and Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, representatives from the De- Department of Science and attended. from 1.2mn tourists in 2012 up Xi Qingchu alias Jason Chen, marked money used during the as chairperson, presided over partment of Environment and Technology (DOST) and De- Marasigan said that based to 2mn in 2017. 37, of 562 Alonzo St, Sta Cruz, operations. Court urged to block Duterte off ers 60-day sale of reclaimed land window for rebel talks

By Jomar Canlas undeniably null and void,” he less such lands are reclassifi ed By Ralph Villanueva Manila Times said. as alienable and disposable and Manila Times Marcoleta also asked the tri- declared no longer need for pub- bunal to issue a temporary re- lic use, these lands remain inal- party-list lawmaker straining order stopping the ienable and thus are outside the resident Rodrigo Duterte asked the Supreme Court PRA from selling, transferring commerce of man,” Marcoleta has opened a 60-day A(SC) to void the sale of or conveying the property to any pointed out. Pwindow for peace and a 41-hectare reclaimed land in buyer of third-party purchaser. “It is ineluctable that at the urged the Communist Party of Paranaque City for being illegal time of the execution of the said the Philippines-New People’s and unconstitutional. The reclaimed land Deed of Sale, the aforemen- Army-National Democratic The reclaimed land was sold was sold 30 years ago tioned two offi cial acts, namely, Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) to seize 30 years ago to Manila Bay De- to Manila Bay classifi cation that the subject the chance to resume negotia- velopment Corp (MBDC). Development Corp reclaimed property is alienable tions to end their decades-long In his 33-page petition dated and open to disposition and a war. April 19, 1-SAGIP Party-list Rep. He said “the Deed of Sale dat- declaration that the same is not The president prodded CPP Rodante Marcoleta asked the ed August 23,1988 and the Sup- needed for public service were leader Jose Maria Sison to come high court to compel the Phil- plementary Deed of Sale dated completely absent,” he added. home and participate in the ippine Reclamation Authority February 22, 1989, both executed “Whenever the Executive peace negotiations. (PRA), formerly the Philippine by PEA (now respondent PRA) Branch (the president of the He also promised to give NPA Estates Authority, to repossess and MBDC,” should be declared Philippines upon the recom- rebels the freedom to move the reclaimed property along null and void “for being mani- mendation of the Department around freely if they surrender Roxas Blvd. known as Central festly contrary to Sections 2 and of Environment and Natural their fi rearms. Business Park II, where the En- 3, Article XII of the Constitu- Resources) deems it desirable “Take advantage of the 60 tertainment City sits. The re- tion.” to classify or declare land as al- days. If it (negotiation) suc- claimed land was sold in August The lawmaker said the PRA ienable or disposable and that ceeds, then I would like to 1988 for P472,037,050. should recover possession and the same is no longer needed for thank God fi rst, and the Filipino Rodrigo Duterte: another bid for peace with rebels Marcoleta said the sale of the ownership of the parcels of land public use or service, the presi- people, and the military and the property to MBDC violated the covered by OCT No 02 and TCT dent issues a specifi c proclama- police for their understanding,” on Saturday in a speech at the NPA rebels to surrender their to be nice to you,” he added. 1987 Constitution because re- No 19346. He cited the 2002 case tion for this purpose,” he said. Duterte said. “I cannot do any- 24th National Federation of arms. “You in the guerilla front, Duterte terminated the claimed land should be inalien- of Amari Coastal Development “Unfortunately, petitioner has thing (other than this). I have to Motorcycle Clubs of the Phil- you stay in one place, you camp. peace talks with the commu- able. Corporation wherein the high not come across any proclama- seek peace that is to be sought. ippines Annual Convention in Bring your guns in your camps, nist rebels in November last “The subject reclaimed prop- court ruled that reclaimed lands tion or other equivalent execu- That peace will not come if I am Legazpi City. tell us where you are, you can year after signing a proclama- erty is an inalienable land of the are lands of the public domain. tive act made by the president just here telling stories.” Sison has been in exile in The go out of the camp minus the tion declaring the CPP and NPA public domain and beyond the In the PEA-Amari case, the SC of the Philippines specifi cally “This is a proposal to Sison. I Netherlands since the 1980s. arms,” Duterte said. terrorist organisations.| Last commerce of man. It had never voided the conveyance by PEA declaring the Subject Reclaimed will not go (to The Netherlands) Duterte said he would shoul- “I will give you the com- month, the president gave in to become alienable nor disposa- of 368 hectares of reclaimed land Property as alienable or dispos- since what we are fi ghting over is der Sison’s airfare and other plete freedom to move. I will calls for peace and decided to ble. Thus, the sale or conveyance in Manila Bay to a joint venture able and no longer needed for the Philippines. You come here.” expenses if he will come home not trouble anyone. I will or- give the peace talks with com- thereof to respondent MBDC is it formed with Amari. “Un- public use.” Duterte made the statements to talk peace. He also called on der the military and the police munists another chance. Gulf Times Tuesday, April 24, 2018 21 SRI LANKA/BANGLADESH/NEPAL Billions to rebuild post-quake Nepal are being misdirected

By Annabel Symington and homes to build smaller ones - Paavan Mathema, AFP often at huge cost - instead of Dhungkharka quake-proofi ng their mud and brick dwellings by retrofi tting them with reinforced beams. Prime Minister Ranil illions of dollars poured Build Change estimates that Wickramasinghe into Nepal after a power- some 250,000 homes could be Bful earthquake devastated salvaged in this way, while an- the country three years ago other 150,000 rebuilt since the is being misdirected towards disaster would also need to be building unnecessary new retrofi tted. Lanka homes where old ones could Sturdy wooden pillars secure have been salvaged, experts Shekhar Prasad Timilsina’s warn. house in Dungkharka, a village hopes to Survivors of the 7.8-magni- 45km (28 miles) east of Kath- tude quake that killed nearly mandu, as workers busily mix 9,000 people in April 2015 are concrete and bend rods on his accelerate being pushed to construct new porch. buildings they do not need, “My house did not collapse casting doubt on the effi cacy of but suff ered cracks after the Chinese the government’s $9bn recon- earthquake. I’m glad I did not struction eff ort. have to tear it down and could “It is proposing the wrong retrofi t it,” the 69-year-old projects, solution for a lot of people,” said. said Noll Tufani, Nepal coun- The National Reconstruc- try director for Build Change, a tion Authority, the government says PM charity specialising in disaster- agency overseeing the rebuild- proofi ng. ing eff ort, only approved ret- Building quake-proof homes rofi tting midway through last IANS was a condition of the $4.1bn year. Colombo pledged to Nepal by interna- “We were unsure what to tional donors under the tagline do earlier. With the grant we “build back better”. could have built only a small ri Lankan Prime Minis- The government identi- house,” said Indra Lal Shrestha, ter Ranil Wickremesinghe fi ed 708,000 families whose a trained retrofi tter. Shas said his government homes had been damaged He plans to retrofi t his will work with China to acceler- and set up a $3,000 cash sub- own family home rather than ate ongoing projects and attract sidy programme to encourage razing it. more Chinese investment in or- them to construct homes that “We can live like we used to... Engineers train in retrofitting techniques outside an earthquake-damaged house in the village of Dungkharka in Kavre district, some 45km der to promote economic and would withstand future seismic and are not forced to take on east of Kathmandu. social development in the island shocks. large debts to rebuild,” he said. country. Three years later, just 15% Many villagers live in mud Meanwhile the government- ity, concedes more homes could The UK government’s De- 25,000 homes for retrofi tting In a recent discussion with have been rebuilt under the and stone houses two-and-a- approved designs for new homes have benefi ted from retrofi tting. partment of International but DFID and Build Change say Chinese ambassador to Sri Lanka $2.1bn scheme. half storeys high, with space to are much smaller, forcing fami- “Retrofi tting is important, it Development (DFID) has more could be done. Cheng Xueyuan, Wickremes- The sluggish reconstruction house animals and store grain lies to adjust farming practices should have started earlier,” he committed $7.6mn to a ret- Rebuilding has picked up. The inghe said Sri Lanka had always eff ort has been hit by politi- as well as accommodate a large that are the main source of in- said. rofi tting project with Build government says it is on target strongly supported the China- cal infi ghting, bureaucracy and extended family. come in rural, impoverished “But now that we have opened Change. to complete reconstruction by proposed Belt and Road Initia- confusion among quake victims But the cost of rebuilding Nepal. doors, we expect there might So far around 50 homes have 2020, but faces an estimated tive, the Chinese embassy in Co- over how to obtain the subsidy. with the money provided is be- Yub Raj Bhusal, the head of more people interested to retrofi t been completed. The govern- $1bn shortfall for rebuilding lombo said yesterday. Many felled their damaged yond many families. the reconstruction author- and retain their original homes.” ment has earmarked around homes alone. The prime minister added that his government attached great importance to mega-projects co-operation with China, es- pecially the Hambantota Port, the Industrial Park in southern Court sends cricketer to police custody Sri Lanka and the Colombo Port Alarming rise City in the capital. Ambassador Cheng reiterated Reuters 2016 compared with 2011. Gov- commissioner of police. that China wished to implement Chittagong ernment offi cials say the busi- Nur Mohammad, lawyer for the important consensus reached ness is worth an estimated $3bn Mukta, said they will seek bail. by leaders of the two countries to in smuggling annually. Police said Mukta, a stu- actively push forward the prac- Bangladeshi court yes- Following a tip-off , police dent of a state-run university tical co-operation under the terday sent a female arrested Nazrin Khan Mukta, who plays in the Dhaka Pre- Belt and Road Initiative, so as to Acricketer to two-days’ 23, in the southeastern city of mier League, admitted that she bring tangible benefi ts to the two police custody after she was Chittagong with the yaba tab- sourced the yaba from the near- countries and peoples. of yaba pills arrested with 14,000 pills of lets in her backpack as she was by district of Cox’s Bazar to sell China is willing to work with popular drug yaba, as meth- leaving for the capital Dhaka on it in Dhaka in association with Sri Lanka to push forward the amphetamine is widely known Sunday. some others. Nazrin Khan Mukta latter’s economic and social de- By Rajnish Singh, IANS August 24-25 night last year. in Asia, a senior police offi cer “The metropolitan magis- Cox’s Bazar is a coastal dis- velopment, and promote a new Dhaka Rohingya refugees act as car- said. trate court granted two days’ trict neighbouring Myanmar, Narcotics offi cials say a yaba type of international relations riers of yaba, which is known as Consumption of yaba is remand following an appeal factories in the northeastern pill can be bought for around featuring mutual respect, fair- “crazy medicine”, and hand over booming in Bangladesh, with for fi ve days’ remand by po- part of which, according to 60 taka ($0.714) in Cox’s Bazar ness and justice, and win-win muggling of the highly-ad- the pills to dealers on the Bang- seizures alone jumping more lice,” said Nirmolendu Bi- analysts, are pushing yaba to- but retails for around 300 taka co-operation, the ambassador dictive drug yaba, as meth- ladesh side of the border who than 2,500% to 29.4mn pills in kash Chowdhury, an assistant wards Bangladesh. in Dhaka. said. Samphetamine is widely then take them to the country’s known in Asia, and its soaring main cities, Rahman said. acceptance among the youth and Three young refugees – iden- even celebrities, is a challenge tifi ed as Mohammed Saddam, Bangladesh faces increasingly, Masud Talukder and Jamil Hos- say border guard offi cials. sein – were arrested last week On a recent trip to the bor- in separate drives and over Four rare tigers dead in one month in Nepal der areas of Bangladesh, an In- 100,000 yaba pills were recov- dian media group was told that ered from their possession in the a wave of yaba use has swept Cox Bazar area, the offi cial said. DPA The latest death occurred on rival for the territory,” he said. side the park, according to Aryal. for the results,” he said. over the country as young peo- He said “it is a way to make Kathmandu Sunday at Chitwan National “There could have been a bat- Nepal is wrapping up a na- A census in 2013 put the ple from the middle and upper easy money as one tablet is sold Park, which is located 120km tle for a prey between the two, tionwide tiger census at the number of Royal Bengal ti- income classes are experiment- illegally for 300 taka”. southwest of Kathmandu, said resulting in the death of one,” he country’s protected areas. gers at 198, the survival of ing with this “crazy medicine” A BGB offi cial, on condition our rare Royal Bengal ti- park spokesman Nurendra added. Aryal said the census re- which is credited to Nepal’s and fuelling an alarming surge in of anonymity, said the force has gers have died in the last Aryal. On Thursday, park offi cials sult will shed light on the exact strict anti-poaching laws addiction rates. been facing tough times to stop Fmonth in southcentral “We are not sure what found another wild tiger dead in number of the rare animal in the and community-driven Offi cials of the Border Guards the yaba smuggling because of Nepal, dealing a blow to a cam- caused its death, but we have the buff er zone surrounding the wild. conservation. Bangladesh (BGB) said they have the diffi culty in patrolling the paign to protect the endan- two theories. Because ti- national park. “The increase in their num- An estimated 3,900 tigers seized 5,297,234 yaba pills this 54km of the Naff river. gered species, park offi cials said gers are territorial animals, Two other tigers died late last bers might have caused the are left in the wild across the year up to March and arrested “Smuggling of yaba came yesterday. it might have fought with its month in community forests out- deaths, but we will have to wait world. 151 smugglers, including 15 My- to light some time towards the anmar nationals. The number end of 2015, but the menace has of seized pills was around grown since the infl ux of refu- 14,997,570 in 2017 when 649 gees who are lured by Myanmar people, including 15 Myanmar crime syndicate as carriers. The nationals, were held. internal carriers have increased. Trial run of tri-nation Raids on fi shing boats on the Some of them are desperate just Naff river - which divides Bang- for survival,” the offi cial said. ladesh and Myanmar, countries The Sheikh Hasina govern- bus service fl agged off that share a 271km boundary ment in Bangladesh has called for - have reaped a massive haul of “zero tolerance” on smuggling yaba pills, which is a rage among of yaba, which has one too many Agencies “This marks a beginning of Bangladeshi youth. nicknames and was outlawed in Dhaka sub-regional connectivity,” said “In one raid on March 15, we Thailand in the early 1970s. Nazrul Islam, secretary, Bang- seized 1.8mn yaba pills aban- Another BGB offi cial said ladesh road transport and high- doned in four sacks in the Naff Thailand is one of the largest trial of bus service on ways ministry. He said, the pro- river,” Brigadier General S M sources of yaba while Myanmar Bangladesh-India-Nepal tocol will be signed “soon”. Rakibullah said. is one of the biggest producers Aroute has been fl agged off , After the protocol agreement, Rakibullah, additional director of it. “Yaba pills are produced in what is seen as a major develop- commercial bus service will be general and regional commander labs on the Myanmar side.” ment in cross border transport launched. of BGB’s ad hoc region head- The drug is believed to have service among the three nations. Among others who were quarters in Cox’s Bazar, said: “It led to organised crime rackets, Two buses carrying 80 dele- present during the fl ag-off were is the biggest ever yaba seizure offi cial corruption, street vio- gates of the three nations and led Gaurav Gandhi, fi rst secretary by the BGB. The guards arrested lence and broken families, said by Bangladesh Road Transport (economic) of the Indian High 11 smugglers in March, including the offi cial. Corporation (BRTC) chairman Commission in Dhaka, and Dhan seven Rohingya refugees.” Many syndicates are bringing Fariduddin Ahmed left Dhaka Bahadur Oli, deputy chief of Two buses left Dhaka with 80 delegates of Bangladesh, Nepal and India during the trial run of tri-nation Shahidur Rahman, direc- yaba pills from Teknaf to Dhaka yesterday morning. mission at Nepal embassy. bus service yesterday. tor, BGB Battalion, Feni region, through new routes after the The delegation will reach the Currently, passengers use La- said yaba pills have become an contraband tablets are smuggled Nepalese capital Kathmandu on lmonirhat-Burimari-Changra- the lush green hills on the way. raised doubts as to its implemen- would open four routes with In- easy source of income for the from Myanmar. From Teknaf, April 26, via Shiliguri, scrutinis- bandha-Siliguri route to go to Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and tation. dia and Nepal. refugees who have poured across the pills fi rst reach Patuakhali’s ing in detail all the aspects of the Kathmandu. The new route will Nepal (BBIN) agreed to a road The remaining three countries Though a transport protocol the border since the Myanmar Kuakata in fi shing boats and journey. They will submit a re- cut short the journey by more transport agreement in Bhutan’s in the agreement later undertook was to be signed in Kathmandu military launched a crackdown then make their way through port, based on which a protocol than 100km, while the passen- Thimpuy in 2015. But Bhutan’s a passenger bus initiative. Under on April 27, it is likely to be de- in their native Rakhine state on diff erent modes of transport. will be signed. gers will be able to enjoy some of withdrawal from the agreement this new agreement Bangladesh layed as all sides are not yet ready. Gulf Times 22 Tuesday, April 24, 2018 COMMENT

CHAIRMAN Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Attiyah EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Faisal Abdulhameed al-Mudahka Deputy Managing Editor K T Chacko P.O.Box 2888, Doha, Qatar [email protected] 44350478 (News), 44466404 (Sport), 44466636 (Home delivery) 44350474 facebook.com/gulftimes twitter.com/gulftimes_Qatar GULF TIMES Japan may soften trade stance as US keeps up pressure

Despite calls to resist protectionism and for the United States to rejoin a multilateral trans-Pacifi c trade pact, Japan is gradually shifting gear to adjust to a trade environment shaken up by US President Donald Trump. Japan ramped up its warning over the damage protectionism could infl ict on the global economy, with Finance Minister Taro Aso saying this week that Ethiopian businesses let inward-looking policies would destabilise markets and benefi t no country. Tokyo also sought to play down the rift emerging between Washington and its Group down by new PM’s stance of 20 counterparts, with one offi cial saying the proceedings on the sidelines of the International By Aaron Maasho and Maggie Fick Abiy named 10 new ministers to his the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce soap and other products in 2016 and Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings this week Addis Ababa cabinet on Thursday to clear a path for said. wants to expand. political reform. The International Monetary Fund The government is also looking for were “hardly contentious.” He told the new ministers to tackle said foreign reserves at the end of the partners in the sugar industry. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe failed to convince ocal business leaders at a graft and streamline bureaucracy. 2016/17 fi scal year stood at $3.2bn, less In retail, foreign companies may Trump to rejoin the Trans-Pacifi c Partnership (TPP) banquet in Ethiopia’s capital But he retained the rest of than the cost of two months of imports. not open their own branches although last week were hoping the new Hailemariam’s 34-strong cabinet, The government does not regularly they can bid for contracts with a state pact when the two LPrime Minister Abiy Ahmed including the fi nance minister. release foreign reserves fi gures. wholesalers. “Whether it’s TPP men met in Florida would tell them he planned to loosen That is consistent with remaining The hotel owner said Abiy had Sheraton (SHPF.BO), Hilton (HLT.N), the state’s grip on the economy. a “developmental state”, the term the lectured the business leaders at the Radisson, and Marriott (MAR.O) have or a FTA, you earlier this week. He took power on April 2 promising four businessmen said Abiy used at the dinner with a “moralistic” tone for hotels in the capital. Trump has made it a “new political beginning”. But four banquet. buying foreign cars during a foreign AccorHotels (ACCP.PA) is planning need to negotiate people who heard his dinner speech said His offi ce did not respond to requests exchange shortage. to open three. clear that he prefers he signalled he would stick with policies from Reuters for comment on his Endalkachew said Abiy should listen Ethiopia has also said it would like to similar issues” a bilateral trade deal to keep the government’s hand in policies. to the participants with a “big open create a secondary local currency bond with Japan. sectors such as infrastructure, banking Economists describe a ear”. market, which could increase liquidity and telecoms. “developmental state” as one where the State investment in infrastructure for local and foreign companies. Although Japan still hopes Trump will change his Ethiopia has let foreign companies government is deeply involved in the has been the largest driver of gross Nevertheless, some of the big sectors mind on TPP, it is hedging its bets by being more such as fashion chain H&M set up economy. domestic product growth. are still closed. factories in a decade-long push to The philosophy was embraced by Coff ee is the biggest export, and over Ethio Telecom is one of Africa’s open to other forms of trade deals with Washington, change the economic focus from rebel-turned-statesman Meles Zenawi, 70% of the population is employed in few remaining telecoms monopolies according to Japanese government offi cials with agriculture exports, such as coff ee, to who died in power in 2012. farming. and the state-owned Commercial manufacturing. It continued under Hailemariam. Gold, sesame, khat and livestock are Bank of Ethiopia the largest fi nancial knowledge of the negotiations. Other sectors are also open to “It’s frustrating to see that for also major exports. institution. Bickering over whether to go with a multilateral or investors. all Abiy’s intentions to bring about Abiy looks set to continue Economists say industries growing Analysts say the government must changes in politics, that is not Hailemariam’s plan to shift away from in neighbouring Kenya, such as a bilateral framework could be counter-productive, free up the economy further to sustain translating into the economic sector,” agriculture to manufacturing, currently technology start-ups, are stifl ed by red one of the offi cials said. annual growth rates it estimates said Tsedale Lemma, the editor of the 8% of GDP. tape and low internet penetration. “Whether it’s TPP or a free trade agreement (FTA), averaged nearly 10% in the past decade Addis Standard news website. The government has already There is also no stock market. and to create jobs. Local businesses say they fi nd it hard welcomed Chinese, Turkish, Indian and Alemayehu Geda, economics you need to negotiate similar issues,” said a Japanese Anger over high unemployment fuelled to compete against the state. Western investors in factories making professor at Addis Ababa University, fi nance ministry offi cial.”What’s important is what violence over ethnic tensions that led The government has spent hundreds textiles, garments, leather goods and estimates the unemployment rate, to the resignation of Abiy’s predecessor of millions of dollars in recent years processed agricultural products. while offi cially at 18%, is closer to 50%. you want to achieve, be it TPP or FTA.” Hailemariam Desalegn in February. building roads and railways to support This has contributed to a sharp rise in Reducing it will be key for long-term That approach is a sea change from a few weeks But those at the speech said Abiy the manufacturing expansion. foreign direct investment. stability in Ethiopia, he said. did not outline plans to open up new Many of the projects are funded with The Ethiopia Investment “The prioritisation by the ago, when offi cials had said Japan would never agree sectors, a move which could also ease a foreign exchange. Commission’s spokesman said FDI was government of the manufacturing to open talks for a bilateral FTA. shortage of foreign exchange. Some is borrowed domestically, $2.2bn for the fi rst half of the 2017/18 sector is logical as it would create US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin kept up the He said state spending on depriving local businesses of loans to fi scal year, a 22% increase from the many jobs,” said Michael Ghebru, infrastructure, which has crowded out fund their own projects. same period a year earlier. Chief Executive of Belayab Foods and pressure on Japan, telling reporters on Saturday that local companies, would continue. It also depletes foreign exchange Other sectors have also had foreign Franchise PLC, which opened the fi rst Washington wants a bilateral trade agreement for “Point blank, Abiy said that reserves that could be used to support participation. of ten planned Pizza Hut restaurants demanding the state be out of the other areas of the economy. The government sold the tobacco in Ethiopia this month, the fi rst major “free, fair and reciprocal” trade. business sector is not feasible,” said a This means it is hard for foreign company, National Tobacco Enterprise, foreign food franchise. For Japan, the priority is to meet Trump’s demand hotel owner who was at the dinner. businesses to send profi ts home and for to a Japanese tobacco company in “But there are other sectors that He said Abiy was responding to the local businesses to import. December for $434mn. are bringing in a lot of revenue and for Japan to reduce its huge trade surplus with the business leaders’ requests. Access to loans and hard currency is Heineken and Diaigeo bought the 2 employment as well so their challenges United States. “The state will remain in the business the “biggest headache” for businesses, state-run breweries. should also be put into consideration.” There are ways to do this besides opening up sector.” Endalkachew Sime, secretary general of Unilever opened a factory producing - Reuters markets, such as promising to boost investment or buying more US products, the offi cials said on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak publicly. “It’s better to focus on ways to reduce the US trade defi cit with Japan” in trade negotiations with Washington, another offi cial said. “Japan is already buying a lot of goods from the United States. It can promise to buy more.”

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© 2018 Gulf Times. All rights reserved Ethiopia’s newly elected Prime minister Abiy Ahmed attends a rally during his visit to Ambo in the Oromiya region, Ethiopia on April 11. Gulf Times Tuesday, April 24, 2018 23 COMMENT Macron’s vital message

By Ana Palacio Clearly, Macron’s victory did not mark The criticisms are not Madrid the beginning of a new era of European unwarranted. To be an engine politics so much as the beginning of of change in Europe, France yet another chapter in the ongoing must undergo a deep structural hen Emmanuel Macron struggle for the future of Europe. transformation, which, as student was elected president of Macron delivered this very message protests at Sciences Po and railway France last year, he was earlier this month while addressing the strikes across France show, will be Wpresented as a kind of European Parliament in Strasbourg, very difficult. And to reform the EU, European saviour, a wunderkind who where he declared that “European Macron will need German backing, had burst onto the French political democracy is our best chance,” and which may not be in the offing, scene just in the nick of time. Now, called for a “new European sovereignty” given the apparent turn by Merkel’s many are asking, with a combination that would protect and provide for coalition away from deeper European of schadenfreude and defeatism, the European Union’s citizens. He integration. whether Macron’s star burned too also addressed directly the issue of The danger is here is that by tying bright – and is thus destined to burn complacency: “I don’t want to belong the message too tightly to Macron and out fast. But this focus on Macron’s to a generation of sleepwalkers that his achievements, we may devalue the record so far threatens to overshadow has forgotten its own past. I want to underlying ideas. France might not his crucial message about the future of belong to a generation that has decided get its act together, and Merkel might European democracy. forcefully to defend its democracy.” not leap to reform Europe’s monetary Macron won the French presidency Macron’s rousing call to arms union. But that does not change the not by appropriating veiled is the latest development in a fact that Europe needs to evolve. It nationalist-populist messages, as diplomatic off ensive that included needs new ideas and, most important, Mark Rutte did to hold on to power in hobnobbing with Saudi Crown a new animating spirit. the Netherlands, but by championing Prince Mohamed bin Salman and In his Strasbourg speech, Macron a positive and robust pro-European frank discussions about EU-Turkey set out a potent agenda: the EU must platform. With his ambitious calls for relations with Turkish President Recep convince its citizens that it deserves European unity and dogged support Tayyip Erdogan. That eff ort is now their support, by engaging with them of liberal democracy, Macron inspired continuing, with the jupiterian Macron directly and off ering a compelling hope that the wave of anti-European meeting the mercurial Donald Trump narrative that emphasises the Union’s populism had crested, and that real in Washington, DC, this week. Earlier unwavering commitment to liberal progress was on the horizon. this month, both leaders – along with democracy. But he cannot do it alone. But the last year has produced, at British Prime Minister Theresa May Rather than poke holes in Macron’s best, mixed results. Germany’s federal – ordered strikes on Syrian military methods or circumstances, Europeans election last September delivered a weak installations, following a chemical- should view his message as a challenge. mandate for Chancellor Angela Merkel, weapons attack on rebel-held territory Everyone who believes in the EU must and established the far-right Alternative allegedly carried out by President step up to strengthen it, not just by fur Deutschland as a real political force. Bashar al-Assad’s forces. off ering ideas, but also by fighting for This was followed in February by the Some argue that Macron’s soaring their realisation. Leadership is needed ignominious resignation of European pro-European rhetoric and outsize at all levels. cheerleader Martin Schulz as leader of international personality amount to Macron might be a talented soloist, the Social Democrats. a ploy to boost his popularity within but what Europe needs now is a In Italy’s general election in March, France. After all, his attempts to reform chorus. Unfortunately, too few voices the populist Five Star Movement and the French economy, public sector, have been ringing out. – Project the far-right League party together and labour markets – not to mention Syndicate won more than 50% of the vote. And, his perceived elitist pretensions French President Emmanuel Macron: a wunderkind who had burst onto the French political scene just in the nick of time. in Hungary earlier this month, Prime and imperialist tendencies – have zAna Palacio, a former Spanish foreign Minister Viktor Orban, the poster child produced a swift and severe backlash. to boost their standing at home. adequately to defend that message, about Europe,” they say, “but he has minister and former Senior Vice President of illiberal democracy, secured a third This is almost certainly true. But And, whatever his motive, Macron’s instead getting caught up in the to reform the French economy fi rst,” of the World Bank, is a member of the term – and the chance to reshape the so what? Virtually all politicians try message is sound. practical challenges ahead. This is or “he can’t succeed without more Spanish Council of State and a visiting constitution – with a large majority. to leverage their international status Yet even Macron’s supporters fail the “yes, but” crowd: “Yes he is right German support.” lecturer at Georgetown University.

Justice at work Three-day forecast TODAY Maximum Temperature : 340c Minimum Temperature : 260c S Zuhair Naqvi ensure that assessments are up-to- Doha date and interactive, resulting in WEDNESDAY timely feedback and support, better Maximum Temperature : 330c and quicker improvement among Minimum Temperature : 260c an you remember a time or employees, and a higher sense of THURSDAY instance at work when you satisfaction for everyone Maximum Temperature : 350c were not treated fairly – z Competent, self-confi dent and Minimum Temperature : 260c perhaps you felt underpaid, fair-minded managers. A sure-shot C Fisherman's forecast a less competent colleague was given way to ensure employees are NOT a position higher than yours, or treated fairly is to put them under a WARNING you were made into a scapegoat for dishonest or incompetent boss who’s Inshore : Expected strong wind at somebody else’s mistakes because of more interested in self-projection places. politics? rather than team building Offshore : Expected thundery rain at first/ strong wind and high Actually, I’m asking the wrong In the case of penalties, when sea at places. question! The right question is: “Can dispensing justice, employers must WEATHER you FORGET a time or instance at act cautiously, not rush to decisions, Inshore : Slight dust to blowing dust work where you were not treated but investigate thoroughly before at places and partly cloudy with c of light rain at places fairly?” Well, I can’t, and I suspect I’m penalising individuals. In case of at first. not alone in this. For example, when doubt, the employer must err on the WIND it comes to position or pay, my two side of the employee. In addition, all Inshore : Northwesterly-Northeaster- ly 08-18/22 KT decades of work experience tells me: rules must be applied equitably to all Offshrore : Northwesterly-Northeaster- underpay an individual, and he will employees, regardless of position, ly 15-25/32 KT never forgive you; overpay him, and rank or key-man status. This may the rest of the employees will never be diffi cult for the short-term, but Visibility : 04-8/ 3 KM forgive you. will ensure a much more stable SEA STATE University of Illinois research has environment, and higher employee Offshore : 5-8 FT, rises to 10 FT at shown that even 19-21-month-olds First of all, individuals or teams z They must be honest, fearless, and loyalty in the longer term. places at times. have a general sense of fairness, that are charged with dispensing non-political, while demonstrating Finally, the management hold Around the region indicating that fair treatment is one justice, including setting up company humility and wisdom in their dealings themselves accountable to all Weather of our inherent instinctive needs, policies (compensation and benefi ts, z They must be at arm’s length employees with regards to their Weather tomorrow Max/min aff ecting our emotional well-being rules and regulations, and disciplinary with the rest of the organisation’s decisions. If a decision cannot be today Max/min M Sunny 31/19 both individually and collectively! It measures) and determining treatment functions, with no vested interests easily justifi ed, chances are that it’s Baghdad Sunny 29/16 M Sunny 31/23 therefore comes as no surprise that, of employees in specifi c instances, To ensure that employees are the wrong one! And the last thing that Kuwait City Sunny 31/22 P Cloudy 29/24 as we grow older and become part of must meet certain criteria, as follows: positioned appropriately and treated any of us should want is to end up on Manama M Sunny 29/24 Sunny 33/29 the corporate world, we require our z They must have be positive, fairly, the following are critical: the wrong side of justice at work! Muscat Sunny 32/27 Sunny 23/13 employers to provide us with a just sincere and caring towards employees, z Objectivity and transparency Tehran Sunny 22/12 environment. So how do we defi ne as opposed to considering them to be through SMART KPIs. In other words, zS Zuhair Naqvi is the Managing “justice”. Ali ibn Abi Talib – the fourth exploitable “resources” a clear understanding of expectations Director of DicoTech Qatar WLL and a caliph - eloquently defi ned justice as z They must have in-depth between employer and employee Partner at The Happiness Hub Qatar “putting everything in its right place”. understanding of right and wrong, the z Frequent performance Twitter: #zuhairnaqvi So how do we do that in a corporate law of the land, and of global corporate assessments. For example, Adobe LinkedIn: zuhair-naqvi- context? norms conducts “monthly check-ins” to dicotechqatar Live issues

Around the world Should we really care about inequality? Weather Weather today Max/min tomorrow Max/min Athens Sunny 29/16 Sunny 30/16 By Jason Furman focusing on how policies impact Ramsey growth model. Under these higher taxes on two-thirds of their Beirut Sunny 25/21 P Cloudy 24/19 New York average incomes and other welfare parameters, average output increases constituents, and that voters would Bangkok Sunny 35/28 P Cloudy 35/28 indicators. by 1%. end up working harder to earn the Berlin S Showers 18/12 Showers 18/08 Policies that simultaneously boost But when checked against the same money. Cairo Sunny 28/16 I T Storms 25/17 hat does inequality growth and reduce inequality are numbers that really matter, the Social scientists should continue Cape Town P Cloudy 17/12 Rain 19/12 mean for growth? That the easiest to evaluate, and the most outcomes are less rosy. to ask whether inequality is good Colombo S T Storms 32/27 S T Storms 31/26 is a question economists advantageous to adopt. These types Applying this model to the or bad for economic growth. But Dhaka S T Storms 36/25 S T Storms 34/24 Wstruggle with. But while of approaches – what I call “all good distribution of US household incomes policymakers should focus more Hong Kong T Storms 24/20 P Cloudy 24/21 the social science debate rages on, things go together” policies – are in 2010, I found that while most on how to achieve their economic Istanbul Sunny 23/13 Sunny 24/13 policymakers face another quandary easily applied to education, but households would benefi t from goals. For them, the answer may be Jakarta T Storm 31/25 S T Storm 32/25 altogether: does the answer even can also work in other sectors of higher pre-tax income, two-thirds to obsess less over aggregate data and Karachi Sunny 36/24 Sunny 34/24 matter? the economy that are squeezed by would also face higher taxes. In academic debates, and more on how London S Showers 15/09 S Showers 14/07 I don’t believe it does. imperfect competition. More vigorous addition, households would have less decisions impact real people. – Project Manila S T Storms 36/27 T Storms 34/27 Economic policies in the real antitrust policies, for example, could leisure. As a result, around 60% of Syndicate Moscow P Cloudy 12/05 Showers 13/06 world are nuanced and site- boost effi ciency and improve income households were worse off because of New Delhi Sunny 40/24 Sunny 42/26 specific, making the search for distribution. the tax change, even though average zJason Furman, Professor of the New York M Cloudy 17/11 Rain 14/12 a single answer to the question It is far more diffi cult to evaluate household income went up, driven by Practice of Economic Policy at the Paris M Sunny 22/12 Showers 16/07 of how – and how much – policies that involve a tradeoff gains at the top. Harvard Kennedy School and Senior Sao Paulo P Cloudy 26/17 P Cloudy 28/17 inequality affects growth a between growth and inequality. This scenario does not answer the Fellow at the Peterson Institute Seoul Cloudy 17/05 Sunny 23/07 Sisyphean task. Rather than A simple example illuminates the question of whether the tax policy is for International Economics, was Singapore T Storm 31/27 S T Storm 31/27 concerning themselves with how tradeoff s. I will analyse a 10% a good idea. But most policymakers Chairman of President Barack Obama’s Sydney Sunny 22/14 M Sunny 22/15 to balance growth and inequality, reduction in labour taxes paid for by would likely object if they understood Council of Economic Advisers from Tokyo Cloudy 21/15 Rain 22/16 policymakers would be better off a lump-sum tax using a neo-classical that growth would be achieved by 2013-2017. Gulf Times 24 Tuesday, April 24, 2018 QATAR Al Asmakh showcases ‘unique developments’ at Cityscape ’18 l Asmakh Real Estate De- The Administrative Tower in velopment Company is West Bay was completed at the Ashowcasing its “unique beginning of 2018. The 32-storey developments” during Cityscape project provides 25,000sqm for Qatar 2018, which will run until administrative leasing, and a six- tomorrow at the Doha Exhibition storey hotel with parking for 468 and Convention Centre. cars, nine intelligent elevators, Al Asmakh CEO Fadi Baraka high-tech surveillance system, said Cityscape Qatar 2018 repre- sports club, nursery, mosque, sents an opportunity to showcase restaurant, cafeteria, and busi- a number of the most prestigious ness centre. real-estate projects such as the The Beverly Hills Lusail project Al Asmakh Logistics Park project is the largest residential complex in Bu Fesseela, Lusail 1 project, in Lusail, with a 115,000sqm en- Administrative Tower in West tertainment area. It is expected Bay, Regency Pearl 3 Tower, Bev- to be completed in Q4 2018 and erly Hills Lusail project, and the available for leasing in Q1 2019. Paramount Residences project, Consisting of 114 villas rang- which is a fi rst-of-its-kind in ing from 400m to 600m in Qatar with Hollywood-inspired size, in addition to 20 residen- luxury located in The Pearl-Qa- tial buildings comprising 320 tar. housing units using the latest Baraka said: “We are delighted environment-friendly technol- to be participating in Cityscape ogy, project includes service and Qatar 2018, which attracts a large recreational facilities, and green number of real-estate developers spaces, including a swimming from around the world. It off ers Scale model of one of Al Asmakh’s major projects in Qatar. PICTURES: Thajudheen pool, nursery, and health club. Al Asmakh CEO Fadi Baraka. an exceptional platform to show- The project is one of the new case projects and strengthen in- services to cope with Qatar’s 3,500 workers, 270 housing units will be delivered to key buyers by residential complexes off ering a a private beach, various service of 2019. Paramount Residences vestor relations and real-estate economic growth. The region has in various areas, and a 2,200sqm Q4 2018. The units are priced at new concept of luxury and serv- facilities, health club, children’s consists of 196 residential units development expertise.” comprehensive service networks area for shops. Aside road, trans- QR12,500 per sqm. ice, Baraka said. playground, restaurant, cafe, and consisting of a one room, two According to Baraka, the that support eff orts to bridge the portation, and communications Located in Lusail City, the The Regency Pearl 3 Tower, children’s pool, as well as a bar room, three room, and four de- QR720mn logistics park project gap in the country’s needs in the networks, the project is also project consists of 110 housing completed in Q1 2018, is located with service facilities, and 24- luxe rooms. is ready for leasing, and aims coming years, he said. equipped with other services like units with a bedroom and lounge at the Viva Bahriya area of The hour maintenance and security. The project will feature Para- to provide logistics and storage The project has a variety of a mosque, restrooms, multiple area, which is about 85sqm and Pearl-Qatar and will be available The Paramount Residences mount Homes & Resorts in a services to the country’s small warehouses with a total area of parking for types of vehicles, and includes attractive features and for lease in May. The project units project, located at The Pearl- California-inspired setting. It and medium-sized enterprise 202,000sqm with a variety of commercial markets. advanced services with the latest will be unfurnished. Qatar, is the fi rst-of-its-kind in has a swimming pool, chalets, (SME) sector. Baraka said Al As- dry, chilled, ice-cold, and open Baraka said the Lusail 1 project technology, including recreation The tower has 20 fl oors and Qatar to boast of Hollywood- movie room, sports club with makh developed a storage area areas. It also includes a housing is expected to be completed in areas, playgrounds, sports clubs, consists of 253 units of vary- inspired luxury and is sched- state-of-the-art equipment, and Bu Fesseela, providing logistics facility that can accommodate the third quarter this year and and spacious parking. ing sizes. The project includes uled to be delivered by the end a children’s club. QIC launches new medical insurance ‘Anaya’

By Peter Alagos pany’s strategy to enhance com- is more than 100 health centres, dental implantation, Hollywood identifying the product and its Business Reporter munication with customers and clinics, and pharmacies, and still smile, testing laboratories, peri- appropriate price.” Al-Mannai providing distinctive services to increasing,” al-Mannai told a odical medical investigation, sur- said the price of the product was its clients. press conference yesterday. geries, cosmetic treatments, der- determined to be within reach of atar Insurance Company He said Anaya grants all Qa- mal laser treatments, cosmetic all sections of society “to achieve (QIC) launched yesterday taris and residents in Qatar ac- Anaya grants all Qataris dermal treatments, fat treatment, competitive targets serving cus- Qits latest product, ‘QIC cess to distinct health services and residents in Qatar cutting and connecting stomach, tomer benefi t.” Anaya’, considered as a unique in- from the private medical sector, access to distinct health liposuction, and other services “With this product shar- itiative in the medical insurance covering up to 70% of medical services from the private uncovered with other insurance ing service, prices from service sector across the Middle East. expenses and ensures the provi- medical sector, covering up companies. providers will be varied based Anaya, which caters to the sions of comprehensive medical to 70% of medical expenses “QIC Anaya will include all on the type of each service and citizens and residents in Qatar, consultations for certain medical sections of the society from citi- service provider. This product covers health service charges of specialties and without waiting Al-Mannai said yesterday’s zens, retirees, and residents, and will be provided through com- private medical service providers for prior approvals to obtain the launch, which carries the theme without any restrictions on ages pany branches at West Bay, Abu such as hospitals, health centres, required medical services and ‘Anaya for All People’, is only the in order for the product to be- Hamour, Villaggio, Landmark, private clinics, dental centres, cover all treatments not covered fi rst stage. Succeeding stages will come more inclusive in the insur- Lulu Al Gharafa, Lulu Messila, Al and pharmacies. by medical insurance policies. include comprehensive treat- ance sector, and to be considered Meera Al Mansoura, and on QIC- With only the Qatar ID as a “One of the most important ment and treatment abroad. an integrated project that can Anaya.com, as well as major hos- requirement, the product will be advantages of QIC Anaya is the He said Anaya will share a part fulfi l all needs of all sectors in the pitals,” he said. available by April 30 at all QIC participation of the major hospi- of customers’ expenses for serv- society. Al-Mannai said QIC possesses branches, online, and major hos- tals within service providers net- ices such as medical diagnosis, Each stage in the project will about 80% of companies’ medi- pitals in the country, according to work, notably Al Ahli Hospital, all dental, medical and cosmetic have more coverage for the com- cal insurance sector through its QIC CEO for Mena region Salem Al Emadi Hospital, Doha Clinic services, pregnancy and delivery, prehensive coverage. In the next affi liates and fully-owned com- Khalaf al-Mannai, who stressed Hospital, and Turkish Hospital, optical services, consultations stage, freedom of choice will pany QLM Life & Medical Insur- QIC CEO for Mena region Salem Khalaf al-Mannai. that Anaya is part of the com- and the capacity of the network on nutrition, physical therapy, be provided to the customer in ance Company. PICTURE: Jayan Orma CNA-Q hosts experts in materials engineering

he College of the North The big take-away from the important to prevent produc- Atlantic-Qatar (CNA-Q) meeting was support and mo- tion loss, and protect the envi- Trecently hosted a high- mentum towards developing ronment and personnel safety. level meeting of local materi- national standards for materi- Sharing knowledge and ex- als and corrosion engineering als selection in Qatar based on perience of case studies, and experts at the Meeting for the fi eld study. corrosion prevention are crucial Forum for Material Technology Hanan Farhat, engineering to maintain asset integrity, and in Qatar. In attendance were 31 technology faculty and lead prevent failures,” said Farhat. representatives from the energy corrosion researcher at CNA- Since opening in 2002, CNA- and industry sectors, and aca- Q, is chairman of the forum Q has grown to off er over 35 demic institutions in Qatar. and one of its founders. Farhat diploma and certifi cate pro- The Forum’s mandate is to identifi ed a need for the group grammes in Engineering Tech- establish a meeting platform for in 2015 as previously there was nology, Industrial Trades, In- sharing best practices through no network for building capac- formation Technology, Health peer-to-peer presentations, ity in the material technology Sciences and Business Studies. and encouraging joint industry and corrosion fi eld. This year marks the 16th year Buthaina A al-Nuaimi and Machaille al-Naimi participate in Autism Awareness Walkathon. research projects. “As Qatar’s oil and gas in- that CNA-Q has been provid- The Forum aims to build a dustry expands, so too does the ing technical and vocational stronger material technology need for material and corro- education in Qatar to support and corrosion sector through sion engineering to support it. Qatar’s strategic vision to edu- safety, integrity, environmental Safe operation and prevention cate, develop and retain young QF holds Autism Awareness Day event protection and standardisation. of leaks and failures of assets is Qataris.

atar Foundation (QF) bers of the community come autism awareness walkathon are delighted to see so many peo- observed World Autism together to celebrate and learn around Education City’s Oxy- ple here today. “We are working QAwareness Day recently about Autism Spectrum Disor- gen Park, followed by a variety closely with stakeholders from at Al Shaqab in Education City der (ASD) and show their ac- of awareness, sports, and recrea- across the country, and this is under the umbrella of Renad ceptance and unity. tional activities held in the In- just one example of our year- Academy — part of QF’s Pre- With the many programmes, door Arena at Al Shaqab. round commitment to raising University Education and QF’s initiatives, and events PUE hosts Some of these included horse- autism awareness.” Community Development. with Renad Academy in celebra- riding, storytelling sessions, an Renad Academy also displayed The family-oriented event tion and support of ASD, the obstacle course, football games, art from its fi rst annual Autism included a number of informa- main aim is always to inspire ac- and a ceramic painting workshop. Awareness Art Competition, tion booths hosted by various QF ceptance, trust, and educational Machaille al-Naimi, president of which featured the work of QF entities and relevant community excellence. Community Development, QF, school students, with a dedicated centres with on-site representa- This event refl ects our role and said, “Our World Autism Aware- section displaying the work of tives to speak with visitors and responsibility to our society and ness Day event represents an op- Renad Academy students. answer questions. QF’s ongoing commitment to portunity for us to create greater Awards were presented to Buthaina al-Nuaimi, presi- helping, supporting, and equip- awareness and acceptance of au- the winners of both the Autism dent, Pre-University Educa- ping all students to reach their tism within the local community, Awareness Art Competition and tion, QF, commented, “We’re full potential.” as well as support those with the the annual Autism Awareness pleased to see so many mem- The day kicked off with an condition and their families. We Film Competition. Materials and corrosion engineering experts at CNA-Q forum.