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Opec invites Russia & Four-star Tony Martin non-cartel members matches world record to October meet with Doha win

THURSDAY 13 OCTOBER 2016 • 12 MOHARRAM 1438 • Volume 21 • Number 6948 2 Riyals thepeninsulaqatar @peninsulaqatar @peninsula_qatar

Emir receives UAE National Security Adviser Cabinet okays More foreign varsities draft law to ban littering in woo Qatar students public areas

The Peninsula International Universities Fair 2016 that will take place here from October 17 to 19 with The seventh Qatar participation of more than 90 local and inter- DOHA: The State Cabinet yester- International Universities national universities. day approved a draft law that bans Fair 2016 will take place here Al Horr said 46 percent of the scholarships leaving waste in public areas, even from October 17 to 19 with offered by the Ministry have been directed to if it is privately owned. The cabi- local universities, 35 percent to universities net agreed to refer the draft to the participation of more than in the UK, 13 percent to institutions in the US, Advisory Council. It was prepared 90 local and international and 6 per cent to universities in a number of to replace law No .8 of 1974. universities. other countries. Al Horr said he ministry will The Prime Minister and Inte- start receiving application for the third batch rior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah of scholarships on December 1, this year. bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani A total of 787 applications were received chaired the Cabinet’s ordinary By Mohammed Osman in the current batch and 539 were approved meeting, held at the Emiri Diwan. The Peninsula and 156 applicants were asked to complete The draft law prevents drop- their documents. Only 92 applications were ping or leaving trash in any rejected for failure to meet the conditions. The public area even if it was pri- ministry is still receiving applications for post- vately owned. This includes roof DOHA: Qatar has emerged as one of the fast- graduate studies. tops, balconies, pavements, alleys, est growing education recruitment hubs in the According to the Qatar Higher Education beaches and many others. region due to the extensive scholarship pro- Study Abroad Data of the Unesco Institute for Dumping of garbage will be grammes annually offered to students and Statistics 2016, there are a total of 5,039 Qatari strictly restricted to areas deter- Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met at the Emiri Diwan yesterday, the government employees. students studying abroad for a degree in higher mined by the municipality. Dr Khalid Mohammed Al Horr, Director education. National Security Adviser of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Tahnoun bin The municipality will also of the Higher Education Institute at the min- The seventh Qatar International Universi- Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs Sheikh be in charge of all aspects of istry said that the most popular study abroad ties Fair 2016 at the Qatar National Convention Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the accompanying delegation. Sheikh Tahnoun the cleaning projects. It can also destinations among Qatari students is the UK Centre will provide a good opportunity for conveyed the greetings of UAE President H H Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, decide to recycle or treat garbage. followed by the US and Australia. The most the participating institutions to introduce Vice-President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid The municipality is allowed to preferred discipline is engineering and most their international degree programmes and Al Maktoum, and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of offer those duties to one or more of the seats in the announced fields have been postgraduate programmes to thousands of stu- the Armed Forces Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, wishing the Emir good contractors, in accordance with allocated for this specialisation, said Al Horr. dents, said Dr Al Horr. health and the Qatari people further progress. The Emir entrusted Sheikh Tahnoun the provisions of the law. He was speaking at a press conference to convey his greetings to the UAE leaders. The cabinet also approved held to announce details of the seventh Qatar → Continued on page 4 a proposal by the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs to establish a national committee for combating human trafficking. The Kahramaa launches Snapchat account Blindfolded dinner in the dark committee would be chaired by a representative from the ministry The Peninsula and would have members repre- senting the designated authorities. to mark World Sight Day Some of the roles of the com- DOHA: Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa) has mittee would be to prepare a announced its new account on Snapchat under the following code “KAH- national plan to counter human RAMAA.Live” for developing communications with customers in a bid to trafficking and preparing an keep them upgraded about latest news and activities of the corporation. By Irfan Bukhari celebrate the day which will take remaining three years we will meet annual report on Qatar’s efforts The move aims to set up social communication for its strategic plan The Peninsula attendees on a journey, encourag- the target of treating 5.5 million chil- in the field. to develop direct contacts with citizens and residents in the country. ing diners to discover their senses dren with the support of the Qatari The Cabinet approved a draft Kahramaa looks at relationship with its customers in a wide perspective and experience the world around government,” said Branchu. law on national address, which in line with requirement and necessities of time. It is keen to use this rela- them,” said Florence Branchu, Branchu said that Qatar Creat- will be referred to the Advi- tionship to gain customer’s confidence and provides all what can be offered DOHA: As World Sight Day 2016 Head of Qatar Creating Vision, in ing Vision’s ambit of action was only sory Council. The draft says that to satisfy them and to ensure that they receive right service and informa- is being marked today with Qatar a telephone interview with The India and Bangladesh. those assigned must provide their tion. Thus, Kahramaa launched its account on snapchat as an extension Creating Vision, an initiative Peninsula. “In Qatar we are running aware- national address to the specialised of communications that it has on social media platforms such as Face supported by Qatar Develop- Qatar Creating Vision, launched ness campaign only to make people administrative unit at the Ministry book, Twitter, WhatsApp, You Tube, Instagram, and now on Snapchat. ment Fund (QDF) and Orbis UK, last year has set a target of pro- realize how great was the blessing of of Interior in a set time period. Any Kahramaa, within its efforts, has launched many new e-services on organising a blindfolded-dinner viding 5.5 million eye screenings having an eye sight,” she said, adding judicial declaration or other offi- its website to provide best services in order to raise customer satisfac- to encourage the diners to dis- and treatments to children in India that the initiative was being funded cial notification delivered to the tion. The services provided by the corporation reached 45. Kahramaa cover their senses. and Bangladesh over the next four by QDF. Qatar Creating Vision had national address are considered invited customers to avail of its all distinctive services provided on KM “Oryx Rotana will be host- years. some other partners as well. valid according to the new draft. website and social media platform. ing a Blindfolded Dinner in the “One year has passed since the dark tomorrow (today) evening to initiative was launched and in the → Continued on page 2 → Continued on page 2

Road World Championships under way Qatar Airways Cargo wins Overall Carrier of the Year Award

The Peninsula products and innovative solutions through our growing fleet and rapidly expanding network.” This is the third accolade for Qatar DOHA: Qatar Airways Cargo won the Airways Cargo in 2016, as the cargo prestigious Overall Carrier of the Year carrier was also conferred the pres- award at the Payload Asia Awards event, tigious All-Cargo Carrier award at the voted by readers of the international 33rd Cargo Airline of the Year event and industry publication. The award was the International Award for Excellence presented during a gala dinner event in Air Cargo at the Air Cargo India 2016 in Hong Kong. The awards event was exhibition and conference earlier this attended by more than 250 members of year. the air cargo community from around The world’s third largest international the world. Qatar Airways Vice-President cargo carrier recently took delivery of Cargo Asia Pacific, Guillaume Halleux, its 11th Boeing 777 freighter, taking the received the award. airline’s total count of freighters to 21. Qatar Airways Vice-President for Qatar Airways Chief Officer Cargo Utilising its modern fleet of Boeing 777Fs, Cargo Asia Pacific, Guillaume Halleux, Ulrich Ogiermann, said: “We owe this Airbus A330Fs and Boeing 747 freight- award to each and every cargo employee ers, the cargo carrier offers full, partial receiving the award. at the airline as a reflection of their dedi- and combination charter services via its cation to provide the best services to our established QR Charter solution. provide efficiency and compliance in customers. We would also like to thank Qatar Airways Cargo’s offers a port- the handling of temperature-sensitive Germany’s Tony Martin competes in the men’s elite individual time trial event as part our customers for placing their trust in folio of distinctive airfreight products pharmaceutical and perishable cargo, of the 2016 UCI Road World Championships in Doha, yesterday. → See also page 28 Qatar Airways Cargo as we continue to including QR Pharma, QR Fresh, QR Live transportation of live animals as well as offer our customers the best airfreight and QR Express, which are designed to time-critical shipments respectively. 02 THURSDAY 13 OCTOBER 2016 HOME

Saudi King meets Minister of Economy and Commerce Emir greets King Breast cancer of Spain on National Day awareness DOHA: Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani sent yester- day a cable of congratulations to King Felipe VI of Spain on the occasion of his country’s National drive tomorrow Day, reports QNA. Deputy Emir H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Thani, and Prime Minister for us to work closely with our and Interior Minister H E Sheikh healthcare partners to raise aware- Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Events to include ness on prevention and early Thani sent a similar cable to King survivors’ tales. detection of breast cancer, and to Felipe VI of Spain. share these educational activities with the communities we serve. At HMC, we encourage women aged 45 Call for unified The Peninsula and older to participate in national breast cancer screenings,” said Dr tourism strategy Salha Bujassoum Al Bader, Senior DOHA: Qatar National Library (QNL), Consultant,National Center for Can- DOHA: Minister of Economy and in collaboration with the National cer Care and Research (NCCCR), and Commerce H E Sheikh Ahmed bin Center for Cancer Care and Research Director of Breast Cancer Screening Jassim Al Thani yesterday called (NCCCR), Qatar Cancer Society (QCS) Program at HMC. on GCC countries to adopt a uni- and Primary Health Care Corpora- “We seek to debunk popular mis- fied strategy to boost the tourism tion (PHCC), is organising a breast conceptions in Qatar around cancer sector. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia met with cancer awareness campaign ‘Go as a fatal untreatable disease, for it Speaking at the 3rd summit Pink’ tomorrow at the Hamad bin can largely be treated if detected the Minister of Economy and Commerce H E Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani and Ministers of Tourism of GCC for tourism ministers held Khalifa University (HBKU) Student early,” said Mariam Al Naimi, Gen- from GCC countries at the Royal Palace in Riyadh yesterday. The meeting took place during their visit yesterday in Riyadh, the minister Center in Education City. The event eral Manager of Qatar Cancer Society. to Saudi Arabia to participate in the 3rd summit of GCC ministers of tourism. said that Qatar has eased proce- starts at 4pm. “The awareness of how impor- dures for obtaining tourist visa. The event, which is open to the tant early screening of cancer is has public, aims to raise awareness about some distance to go. By attending breast cancer and will include pres- screenings, there is a greater chance entations, questions and answers for successful treatment. To attain the Cabinet nod to change with experts, survivors’ stories and objective of encouraging targeted Clinic offers free eye test on World Sight Day early screening registration, in addi- groups to undergo screening, the in law on food tion to exhibition by participating PHCC is leading campaigns for the Continued from page 1 they can be part of our story be treated or prevented. In organisations. Breast and Bowel Cancer Screening too,” she added. India and Bangladesh there “We are proud to be part of the Programme,” said Dr Shaikha Abu “If some person or organ- Today, Doha College stu- are approximately 473,000 Continued from page 1 National Breast Cancer Awareness Shaikha, Manager of the Cancer Pro- isation wants to support the dents from primary (year 4 blind children and half of them The cabinet approved an amendment to Month; it’s an excellent opportunity gram Division, PHCC. initiative through donations, and older) and secondary levels could see again with improved some provisions of law no. 8 of 1990 on regu- they can make donations to will participate in a blindfolded access to eye care. Providing lating food made for human consumption. The Qatar Charity which is also our lunch in support of the World access to eye health services is new draft states that the decision to close a given partner in this cause,” she said, Sight Day, announced Doha vital; without early intervention branch must be published on the website of the WISH to publish health education report adding that recent campaign College on its official Facebook many children are forced to give authority that issued the decision and in two run by Qatar Creating Vision page yesterday. up their education, which can local newspapers with a large circulation. The The Peninsula The report will be presented was just an awareness campaign To mark the day, Magrabi lead to isolation and a life time costs should be covered by the branch that vio- during a policy briefing session and not a fundraising activity. Optical will be offering free of poverty. lated the law. Another item on the agenda was at the WISH 2016 Summit, to “Some of the schools in eye tests for the residents The important work under- a draft law regulating the auditing profession. DOHA: The World Innovation take place on November 29 and Qatar have also organised from October 13 to October 15. taken by Qatar Creating Vision The new law is being prepared to replace law no Summit for Health (WISH) is pre- 30 in Doha, and will address a blindfolded lunch to raise Magrabi Optical will also offer initiative will ensure that those 30 of 2004. The new draft included provisions paring to publish a report focusing the critical challenge of achiev- awareness on preventable discounted follow up services whose futures are disrupted pertaining to the right and duties of auditors, as on the challenges of health pro- ing Universal Health Coverage blindness in the developing from Thursday to Saturday and uncertain, are provided well as their disciplinary accountability among fessional education in order to (UHC) in the midst of a chronic world. So, we are encouraging evening. with the support they need - others. The cabinet then approved a proposal by stimulate debate and action on global shortage of competent people to get involved and fol- According to data provided unlocking a brighter future, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education this important topic. health professionals. low Qatar Creating Vision on by Qatar Creating Vision, 50% not constricted by a preventa- to make a financial contribution to Unesco edu- social media, to find out how of childhood blindness can ble health condition. cational programmes. HOME THURSDAY 13 OCTOBER 2016 03

NU-Q to launch Spain’s National Day celebrated Qatar Airways to operate daily study on Qatar’s flight to Luxor foreign aid QNA DOHA: Qatar Airways will be operating a daily service between Doha and Egypt’s tourist destination of Luxor from October 30, the carrier said yesterday. their counterparts in most tradi- The airline currently flies five flights per week to tional donor countries are against Luxor and will provide nearly 30,000 additional seats A recent survey foreign aid. every year to the Egyptian city with the new increase found that majority “As a sociologist, my research in the number of flights. will explore Qatari foreign aid dis- The move adds more options to travellers to Egypt of Qataris support courses and practices on its own where Qatar Airways also operates flights to Cairo expanding terms. This necessitates empirical and Alexandria. foreign aid. studies to outline a more reliable Starting October 30, Qatar Airways will be oper- standard to measure the effec- ating 33 flights per week to Egypt; a daily service to tiveness of Qatari foreign aid from Luxor, 16 flights per week to Cairo and ten flights per Qatar’s perspective, and thus, week to Alexandria. By Fazeena Saleem enhance understanding of foreign Minister of Justice H E Hassan Lahdan Saqr Al Mohannadi along with Ambassador The increase in Luxor flights will give more con- The Peninsula aid from non-traditional donor of Spain to Qatar, Ignacio Escobar, attending celebrations on Spain National Day, at venient options to residents of the city to fly to more countries, especially in the Arab The Ritz-Carlton yesterday. Pic: Baher Amin/ The Peninsula than 150 global destinations in Qatar Airways net- Gulf Region,” said Dr Mahmud. work through its hub at Hamad International Airport. The study will also contrib- DOHA: The Northwestern Univer- ute academically in at least three sity in Qatar (NU-Q) is set to begin a ways as it will train a younger gen- research project on different aspects eration of researchers in Qatar, it of Qatar’s foreign aid to developing will train research apprentices Qatar Airways celebrates Helsinki service countries. to prepare research presentation The study will also examine fac- for academic conferences and to tors that distinguish Qatar among get published in academic jour- The Peninsula here tonight celebrating the launch the donor countries, according to nals and it will encourage scholars of our flights to Helsinki, our fourth Dr Hasan Mahmud, Assistant Pro- and researchers in Qatar to fur- gateway into the Nordics from our fessor of Sociology, NU-Q, principal ther explore Qatari foreign aid and hub in Doha. Qatar Airways is proud investigator of the study. possibly initiate larger comparative HELSINKI: Qatar Airways hosted to be the first Middle East airline to Qatar has recently been rec- studies of foreign aid in other Gulf a VIP event to celebrate the arrival serve Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo ognised as a mid-size foreign aid countries. of its inaugural flight to Helsinki on and now Helsinki. We have a special donor country comparable to New The research project on Qatar’s Monday. relationship with the people in this Zealand and Portugal. While Qatar foreign aid to developing coun- Finnish VIPs and guests from the region and I am pleased to be able to has been donating to poor coun- tries is funded by Undergraduate travel industry and media attended offer them an additional service con- tries for many years, the amount Research Experience Programme the event. necting them to the Middle East, Asia of its foreign aid has increased by (UREP) and three students at NU-Q Vappu Pimiä and Sebastian and beyond,” said Al Baker. 300 percent between 2008 and are involved as research appren- Rejman— two of Finland’s most Qatar Airways’ first flight 2013 from $433m to $1.8bn (Fourth tices. The study will be completed recognised TV and radio personal- touched down at Helsinki airport on National Human Development in July 2017. ities — entertained the delegation Monday where it was welcomed by a Report, Qatar, 2015). The project follows a mixed- throughout the night as masters of VIP delegation from Finland, includ- “This is particularly commenda- method approach involving archival ceremonies. Qatar Airways Group ing Finland’s Minister of Transport ble given the stagnation and decline research, content analysis and inter- Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker wel- and Communications Anne Berner. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker (left) with Qatar’s in foreign aid from the traditional viewing key actors. comed dignitaries including Finnish The award-winning airline will Ambassador to Finland Saud bin Abdullah Zaid Al Mahmoud at Qatar donor countries at present,” Dr Since government ministries Ambassador to Qatar Riitta Swan, fly to and from Helsinki daily with Airways’ event celebrating the start of service to Helsinki. Mahmud told The Peninsula. and departments play the major Qatari Ambassador to Finland Saud an Airbus A320 aircraft, which offers A recent public opinion survey role in managing foreign aid, this bin Abdullah Zaid Al Mahmoud and 120 seats in the Economy Class and found that majority of Qataris sup- study will primarily look at govern- Finnish professional racing driver 12 seats in the Business Class. destination this year. Qatar Airways with a new aircraft being delivered port expanding foreign aid whereas ment foreign aid. Mika Salo. “I am very happy to be Helsinki is the airline’s 12th new is one of the fastest growing airlines, approximately every 10 days. 04 THURSDAY 13 OCTOBER 2016 HOME

Qatar’s envoy to India presents credentials Ooredoo gaming portal DFI launches sees surge in traffic

The Peninsula

Youth Acting DOHA: More people in Qatar are using their smart devices to play games and enjoy mobile entertain- ment, with Ooredoo reporting the highest-ever level of traffic on its Gaming Portal in 2016. Driven by the increasing penetration of smart- phones plus the growing speed, coverage and capacity Workshop of the Ooredoo Supernet, Qatar is emerging as one of the leading markets in the region for online entertain- ment. Gaming has expanded beyond the traditional individuals.” The core of the Doha audience demographic of teenagers and young peo- Film Institute’s ‘Youth Acting Work- ple, and now includes people from all walks of life, Doha Film Institute shop’ is to teach acting through the according to Ooredoo’s research. says programme power of improvisation that encour- The Ooredoo Gaming Portal, which was launched ages students to perform in public in February 2015, has been designed with Nazara Tech- aims to teach acting without a predefined text or prior nologies to enable Qatar’s smartphone users to play through the power direction. Improvisation will help games whenever they want. It offers subscribers the develop creativity and listening ability to download and play unlimited games on a of improvisation skills, as well as make the partic- daily, weekly and monthly basis. that encourages ipants conscious of the body and Once subscribed, customers can download games students to perform its movements. The first half hour Indian President Pranab Mukherjee received yesterday credentials of Mohamed bin onto their devices or play online without having to pay of the session is dedicated to body Khatir Al Khatir as Qatar’s Ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to India. for individual games. This ‘buffet’ style of gaming has in public without a work, relaxation and breathing. The The Ambassador conveyed the greetings and wishes of Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin proven popular with Qatar users, as people look to predefined text or rest of the session focuses on indi- Hamad Al Thani to the President of India and its people for further development try out the latest games without having to purchase vidual and group improvisation and prosperity. The Indian President greeted the Emir and wished the Qatari people every download. prior direction. exercises. further development and prosperity. Subscriptions start at just QR2 per day for a recur- The participants are trained in ring daily subscription. two groups: 8 to 12-year-olds, and 13 to 17-year-olds. There are two ses- The Peninsula sions every week of two-hours each on Monday and Wednesdays with a participation fee of QR1,000. The CNA-Q expands teacher training project sessions for the first group run from DOHA: Doha Film Institute (DFI) 3 to 5pm and for the second group recently kicked off its ‘Youth Act- from 5 to 7pm. The Peninsula to provide teachers with the necessary tools for ing Workshop’ under the mentorship Winner of the first Best Come- teaching and assessing the practical portions of of Tunisian director and actress Afef dian Award in Tunisia, Afef Ben science curriculum so students perform better in Ben Mahmoud. Mahmoud, had her first big-screen DOHA: College of the North Atlantic – Qatar’s international tests, through an increased inter- DFI CEO Fatma Al Remaihi said: role in Jilani Saâdi’s Khorma, and (CNA-Q) Office of Applied Research and Innovation est in the subject. “Our young people are at the heart played the lead in Ibrahim Letaief’s launched the second phase of a teacher training The project is funded by Qatar National of everything we do at the Doha Flous Academy and Nouri Bouzid’s research project called Effective use of Practical Research Fund, and is aligned with Qatar’s sci- Film Institute. From hosting a ded- Making Off, which won awards at Application in Science. The project is being under- entific research programme priorities. icated film event for youth to hosting several international film festivals. taken in cooperation with Qatar University. The project is led by Dr Ziad Said, a Chemistry creative workshops, we are focused She has directed three short narra- The programme achieved huge success in its instructor at CNA-Q, and by University of Qatar’s on nurturing their skills. With the tive films and a documentary, and is first year with teachers at the secondary school Associate Professor in the College of Arts and Sci- ‘Youth Acting Workshop,’ we are currently developing her first fea- level. In the project’s second phase, it has expanded ences, Professor Mohammed Abu Daya. opening doors for young talents to ture-length film, Backstage. to include teachers at the primary and middle This phase of the project will conclude with a understand the nuances of acting, The workshop, which runs until school levels. ceremony honouring the participating teachers and learn the art of improvisation, November 23, is still open for regis- The programme focuses on how to boost stu- in March 2017. CNA-Q is the Qatari campus of the which will help the participants tration. Those interested can email dents’ interest in science through the activation of Canadian technical institution of the same name. CNA-Q’s programme focuses on boosting not just in their creative pursuits [email protected] for practical classroom training and creating a con- Since opening in 2002, the College has grad- students’ interest in science. but also to evolve as confident more details. nection to lifelong learning. Training is designed uated over 5,000 students. Scholarships to be offered at university fair

Continued from page 1 Media also attended the press from Canada, Australia, New students about visa systems. briefing. Zealand, Turkey, Kuwait The first day will be allocated Hanan Al Saadi said, “We and the United Arab Emirates to boys and the second day for Minister of Education and have contacted more than 600 (UAE). girls, including those from pri- Higher Education HE Dr Moham- universities and more than 90 Some universities are also vate schools. med bin Abdul Wahed Ali Al universities from the United King- going to participate through the The Ministry of Administrative Hammadi will open the fair. dom and the United States and embassies of the respective coun- Development, Labour and Social Ali Al Buainain, Director of other countries have confirmed tries in Doha. Affairs which is running scholar- Scholarship and Hanan Alsaadi, to participate in the fair.” Al Saadi said that the British ships on behalf of 17 government FROM LEFT: Jaber Al Shawi, Assistant Director of Communications and Media, Ali Al Project Director, Academic They include 40 universi- Council and the Embassy of the bodies will present opportuni- Buenain, Director for School Scholarship, Dr Khalid Al Horr, Director of the Higher Institutions Licensing Expert ties from the United Kingdom United States in Doha will hold ties for scholarships at the fair, Education Institute, and Hanan Ahmed Al Saadi, programme organiser during a and Jaber Al Shawi, Assistant and 22 from the United States, various orientation seminars said Director of Scholarship Ali press meet, yesterday. Pic: Kammutty VP/The Peninsula Director of Communication and in addition to universities about universities and update Al Buainain. Chevrolet 2014-17 models recalled

QNA

DOHA: The Ministry of Economy and Commerce, in cooperation with Jaidah Automotive, has announced the recall of 2014 -2017 Chevrolet models: Tahoe, Sub- urban, Silverado and Corvette due to a defect in the operation of the airbag system. The recall comes within the framework of ongoing coordination and follow-up by the ministry to ascertain the extent of car dealerships’ commitment to follow up vehicle defects and repair them to protect consumers’ rights. The ministry stressed that it will coordinate with the dealership to follow up maintenance and repair operations and will communicate with customers to ensure implementation of the procedures to fix defects. The Ministry of Economy and Commerce also urged all consumers to report any irregularities by commu- nicating with the Consumer Protection and Combating Commercial Fraud Department. Six-hour traffic diversion on Al Markhiya Street The Peninsula

DOHA: The Public Works Authority ‘Ashghal’ will implement a temporary diversion on three lanes of Al Markhiya Street From Dahal Al Hamam junction towards Lejbailat junction, over a stretch of one kil- ometre. The closure will last for six hours tomorrow starting from midnight until 6am. During this period, Ashghal’s team will install Dynamic Message Signs (DMS) on Al Markhiya Street between two junctions in front of Al Hazm Mall. Traffic will be diverted to the service road adjacent to the closed section of Al Markhiya Street for road users coming from Dahl Al Hamam. HOME THURSDAY 13 OCTOBER 2016 05

Qatar condemns Dr Al Kawari meets Chinese vice-minister Syria’s use of QNA BEIJING: H E Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kawari, Cultural Adviser at the Emiri Diwan and Qatar’s candidate to the post of chemical arms Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), met concluded that the Syrian regime in Beijing yesterday with China’s used chemical weapons in the Education Vice-Minister Hao Ping. Permanent towns of Telmns and Srmin, and During the meeting, Dr Al Kawari Representative of also concluded that the ISIS group presented his vision for the advance- used chemical weapons in the Syr- ment of Unesco and the challenges Qatar to OPCW says ian town of Mare’. facing it and outlined his plan to deal Syria’s action violates Qatar strongly condemned with them, underscoring the atten- international law. the use of chemical weapons by tion of Qatar and China to the goals both the Syrian regime and other of the organisation and their endeav- organisations, the Permanent Rep- ours to support it in different sectors. resentatives of Qatar to the OPCW After discussions, the Chinese said, adding that stringent meas- side appreciated Qatar’s candidate, QNA ures should be taken in this regard, praised his vast experience that and those involved should be held would enable him to play a big role at H E Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kawari, Cultural Adviser at the Emiri Diwan and Qatar’s candidate to the accountable. Unesco, and expressed China’s appre- post of Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) He described the Syrian ciation for the role of Qatar and the with Chinese officials in Beijing. THE HAGUE: Qatar condemned regime’s use of chemical weap- Gulf states in support to Unesco in the in the strongest terms the Syrian ons as a flagrant violation of the sectors of education, culture and her- senior education officials in China, bin Salmeen Al Mansouri, and Sec- National Commission for Unesco regime’s use of chemical weapons Convention and the resolution itage. The meeting was attended by Qatar’s Ambassador to China Sultan retary-General of the Chinese Du Yue. in Syria, and called for the need of of the Security Council No 2118 holding those involved accountable. (2013) and a flagrant violation of This came in a speech deliv- the resolutions of this Council. It is ered by Permanent Representative reprehensible, unprecedented and of Qatar to the Organization for contrary to the rules of international the Prohibition of Chemical Weap- law, he said. ons (OPCW) H E Khaled Fahd Al He expressed Qatar’s deep con- Majority of Gulf youth prefer govt jobs Khater before the 83rd Session of cern about the report of OPCW the OPCW Executive Council being Director General which said that held from October 11 to 14 in The the organisation was unable to The Peninsula work. However, this preference rises 14 per cent had no preference and added. However, it seems balanc- Hague. address the unresolved issues, to 70 per cent across the Gulf states 1 per cent didn’t know. “Persuading ing expectations about public sector Qatar, he said, appreciates the including gaps, inconsistencies, of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, young people to take on roles in the work with the realities of private efforts of OPCW with respect to and discrepancies, in Syria’s decla- DOHA: More than two-thirds of Qatar, Kuwait and Oman. private sector is essential to creat- sector employment for those young the destruction of Syria’s declared ration and related submissions, and young Arab nationals in the Gulf When asked what would entice ing a strong, sustainable economy,” nationals entering the workforce will chemical weapons, and supports unable to verify the accuracy and states still hope to land jobs with them to work in the private sector, said Sunil John. require more effort.” what the OPCW is doing to inves- completeness of Syria declaration in government, despite initiatives to more than half of all young Arabs “These findings show that Elsewhere in the Arab World, tigate the use of chemical weapons accordance with the requirements encourage them to seek out careers surveyed cited higher wages (51 per despite ongoing efforts to make views towards public sector employ- against civilians in Syria, espe- of the Convention and the Council’s in the private sector. cent), followed by better healthcare the private sector more appealing ment differ markedly. In the Levant, cially what the fact-finding relevant resolution. This new finding from the eighth and other benefits (35 per cent), to young Gulf Arabs, the message young people are almost evenly split mission is doing to find the truth Al Khater said “two years ago annual ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller more paid holidays (29 per cent) isn’t getting through as fast as gov- between preference for the public despite the grave risks. Al Khater we mentioned that the international Arab Youth Survey was unveiled by and shorter working hours (27 per ernments – or the private sector and private sectors. pointed out that Qatar’s delegation community made an unprecedented Sunil John, the CEO of ASDA’A Bur- cent). –would like.” In another Survey finding took note of the third report issued effort in giving Syria one opportunity son-Marsteller, at a presentation to In the GCC, where governments “New initiatives and policies, unveiled at his presentation, John by the OPCW-UN Joint Investiga- after another to correct the situation the third Global Islamic Economy have traditionally employed the such as Saudi’s Vision 2030, the revealed that the majority of young tive Mechanism and submitted within a specific time, but the third Summit, held in Dubai yesterday. majority of the national workforce, removal of subsidies on fuel and Arabs – 58 per cent – want to fur- to the UN Security Council on report proves Syria’s non-compli- Across the whole Arab world, half only 15 per cent of young people introduction of VAT across the Gulf, ther their education, be it university, August 24, 2016 pursuant to the ance and its insistence on the use of of young people said they would pre- said they would prefer to work in show that governments are serious vocational training or post-gradu- resolution No 2235 (2015), which chemical weapons.” fer a government job to private sector the private sector, while another about new economic realities,” he ate degree. 06 THURSDAY 13 OCTOBER 2016 HOME First concrete poured at West stand of Al Rayyan Stadium

Delivery Office of the Supreme The 40,000 venue will be reduced to The concrete Committee for Delivery & Legacy 21,000 seats after the tournament for (SC), highlighted the importance of legacy use. The top tier will be disman- pouring signifies the reaching this milestone at Al Rayyan tled and donated to developing football commencement of Stadium: “We are pleased with the nations. progress being made today on the site Approximately 1.75 million man- a new phase in the of Al Rayyan Stadium, which will be hours without lost time incidents construction of the the home of Al Rayyan Sports Club, (LTI) have been completed on site. with one of the biggest fan bases in Al Rayyan’s sporting heritage and stadium. Qatar. Following the recent comple- Qatar’s environment is reflected in tion of the training sites for the team, the design of the stadium. The stadi- the concrete pouring today is another um’s façade will feature a multitude The Peninsula significant step forward towards the of local patterns and designs, which completion of the stadium by 2019.” draw on Qatari culture. Featuring Over 100,000 m3 of concrete an innovative exterior design, it also DOHA: Al Rayyan Stadium, proposed and 6,700 tonnes of structural steel aims to create a sense of place unique host venue through to the quarter- will be used during this phase of the to Al Rayyan in particular, and more finals for the 2022 World Cup, achieved project. The area surrounding the generally to the culture of Qatar and a milestone yesterday as the first con- stadium has also seen major progress the Middle East. Most of the hospital- crete was poured at the location of the in recent weeks with the completion ity and service areas will be located stadium’s West stand five weeks ahead of excavation for the metro by Qatar outside the stadium in dune-like of schedule. The concrete pouring sig- Rail. Works on the road connecting structures, which resemble the sand nifies the commencement of a new the stadium with the nearby mall and dunes that surround desert tents. phase in the construction of the sta- other services surrounding the pre- Sustainability is at the heart dium of one of Qatar’s most popular cinct are also nearing completion. of the design, beginning with the sports clubs, after starting the foun- The main contractor for Al Rayyan deconstruction of the old stadium, Workers at the construction site of the Al Rayyan Stadium. dation excavation. Stadium is a joint venture Company of with 90% of the materials result- Engineer Youssif Al-Musleh, a local company Al-Balagh Trading & ing from the deconstruction being artists to create works of public art The local community was con- majlis visits in the area. The venue Competition Venues Deputy Exec- Contracting Company and Indian con- re-used. Some of the materials will which reflect the history of Al Rayyan sulted about the design and legacy of will serve in legacy as a hub for the utive Director at the Technical struction company Larsen & Toubro. be used by local and international Sports Club. this project with the SC making eight local community. Ihsan organises workshop for elderly women Forum on data revolution issues Doha declaration By Amna Pervaiz Rao The Peninsula The Peninsula for Data Revolution supporting the implementation of the SDGs. The Forum was organised jointly by DOHA: Qatar Foundation for Eld- Qatar Ministry of Planning and Sta- erly People Care (Ihsan) organised DOHA: The two-day Arab Forum tistics and PARIS21 (Partnership in an awareness workshop for elderly on Building Statistical Capacity for Statistics for Development in the women under the title ‘My strength is a Data Revolution was attended by 21st Century) and GCC-Stat. my investment’ yesterday. Dr Suhail more than 100 representatives from The declaration emphasized Awad, consultant and trainer, made international, regional and national the great potential of data revo- presentation at the workshop for two statistical organizations in Doha. lution in the region which is the days. The forum concluded on Tuesday opening up of new data sources, Dr Suhail discussed how to with a Doha declaration. coming for example from Call invest time and the real definition of Implementation of the Sustain- Detail Records, GIS data and data ‘investment’. The audience was told able Development Goals (SDGs) coming from social media. Areas how they can manage their invest- requires a fundamental change of application include public ments, regarding time and money, and transformation of the national health, transportation, migration how one can develop a mindset of statistical systems in countries to flows, to name a few. investment at an early age and then produce the quantity and quality A country-led data revolution not suffer when they grow older. Dr of the data that is needed to moni- roadmap requires a tailor-made Suhail described how a millionaire tor the progress of the SDGs as well approach for each of the Arab coun- thinks and how a monthly income as to reach out to those that are left tries under the current unstable can be managed. behind as increasing demand for situation and varied incomes. A key Real life stories were shared with data requires a revolution, the dec- issue to be addressed in all coun- the women to make it easy for them laration emphasized. tries is to develop an institutional to understand how to spend their The Doha Declaration invited and governance framework that time and money, like the stories of the Ministry of Planning and Sta- opens access to private data while Participants at the workshop organised at the Qatar Foundation for Elderly People Care (Ihsan). Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) related tistics of Qatar to set in motion, in holding high standards of privacy to the investment of time. collaboration with relevant inter- and confidentiality. The investment of money is very from these workshops. These are to educate older women about the to make them aware about the national and regional agencies, a The forum participants called difficult for older people to under- good for us, we got knowledge of economic aspects in life, make most influential aspects on their process that will lead to a data revo- upon regional and interna- stand, and how to manage their what we didn’t learn in our early them understand all the matters of lives,” said Dr Moza Al Ishaq, PhD, lution roadmap for the Arab region, tional organisations to establish pension. ages”, said Umm Khalid at the life that include financial aspects Executive Director of the Corpo- with a specific focus on countries a partnership in support of Data “I would like to attend more workshop. as at the age of retirement the sal- rate Quality and Patient Safety that are currently struggling. Revolution in Arab National Sta- workshops like these. I learnt a lot “The aim of this workshop is ary reduces. It is very important Programme. The forum discussed challenges tistical Systems. QIFF football tournament starts today

The Peninsula

DOHA: The tenth football tourna- ment conducted by QIFF for the Western Union City Exchange Trophy will start today at Doha Stadium. SKIYA Thiruvanan- thapuram will play against KPAQ Kozhikode in the inaugural match at 7pm while KMCC Kozhikode will face YAS Trissur in the sec- ond match. The official inauguration cer- emony will be held on October 21. Representatives of Indian embassy, Qatar Football Association, Qatar Ministry of Interior and Indian Cul- tural Centre will attend. A march Shamsudheen Olakara, QIFF President, P K Hyderali, General Secretary, K Mohammed Easa and A past of all the teams participating Suhail (Vice-Presidents), Tahir (Treasurer), Hussain Kadannamanna (PR Secretary) and Sharaf P in the tournament and cultural Hameed (CEO, City exchange) and other officials at the press conference. programmes are the main attrac- tions of the inauguration ceremony. and runner-up teams in the final Monday at the Marriott Hotel. seamless support for the QIFF tour- Twelve powerful teams repre- match will be awarded cash prizes Western Union City Exchange nament. The encouragement and senting various districts from of QR20,000 and QR12,000 is the tournament’s title sponsor. support of various institutions and Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram respectively in addition to tro- Al Anees Trading, Imalco Trading, government departments have will take part in the tournament. phies while the third and fourth Total Lubricants, Quality Interna- assisted a lot in the success of hith- Unlike previous years, well- place winners will be awarded tional, Jaida Autoparts, Bradma, erto football tournaments that have trained and fully prepared teams cash prizes of QR2,500 each. Partsland, Ali International and marked QIFF as the football rep- are participating in this year’s The final shall be a day of Bosch are the golden sponsors. resentation of Indian Expatriates tournament, the successful tenth celebration, joy and entertain- From the humble beginning in Qatar. episode of the first ever expatriate ment for the Indian community in 2007 at the M E S Indian School In the final match days many football tournament in the country. in Qatar, as per the programmes ground under the then Qatar Kerala sports figures of India will be the All matches from the qual- scheduled by QIFF authorities. Inter District Football Commit- guests of the tournament. Repre- ifying round to semifinals will An extensive welcome com- tee, the tournament has grown up senting QFA, Ali Hamoud Al Naimi, be played at Doha Stadium every mittee including dignitaries of through the past nine years to a Head of Players and Competitions Thursday and Friday evenings Indian community in Qatar has sports festival of the Indian expat Department, Jamale Darjani Spon- starting today. The venue of the been formed. A joint meeting of community. The official apex body sorship and TV Rights and Ali Salat final match on December 9 is Al all the reception committee mem- for football game in the country, Head of Media were also present at Arabi Stadium. The champion bers and sponsors was held last Qatar Football Association is giving the conference. HOME THURSDAY 13 OCTOBER 2016 07

Minister meets British envoy World Standards Day to QEERI discovery: be marked tomorrow

New atom-light The Peninsula agriculture, building and electric- ity, among others. It also mentioned that the Author- DOHA: The General Authority for ity has issued national standard Specifications and Standardization specifications which have interna- interaction will mark the World Standards Day tional and regional references, to tomorrow. serve the national economy and fit The celebration will be under the with local market especially commer- slogan “Standards build confidence”, cial and industrial sectors. Understanding the interac- in order to raise awareness among World Standards Day is cele- Discovery is tions between atoms and light is people of the importance of stand- brated on October 14 every year. It important to QEERI’s research and ards and their role in keeping health was first marked in 1970, in order important to QEERI’s development of new solar cells and safety of consumers, in addition to highlight the importance of inter- research and materials. In addition, this discovery to the impact of raising the quality of national standards specifications may contribute to the development industrial and products sectors. issued by International Organi- development of new of quantum technologies in areas The Authority said in a state- zation for Standardization (ISO), solar cells materials. such as quantum communication, ment that it has achieved many International Telecommunication quantum simulation and computa- Minister of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs goals. Among its achievements Union (ITU) and IEC (International tion, or quantum metrology. H E Dr Issa bin Saad Al Jafali Al Nuaimi with British Ambassador to in the national level was issuing Electrotechnical Commission. It also The indispensable technologies Qatar Ajay Sharma. 15866 standard specifications and recognises the workers’ efforts in The Peninsula in modern life such as a time system technical lists in sectors of food, the field of standards. measured by an atomic clock, and a secure and energy-efficient com- DOHA: Researchers from the Qatar munications system, are based on the Environment and Energy Research fundamental science of the interac- Institute (QEERI), a national tion between light and matter. The QRCS concludes World Elderly Day events research institute of Hamad Bin absorption and emission of light from Khalifa University, have discovered any device is explained based on the new states of interaction between interaction of light and atoms. A fun- atoms and light. damental question as to how strong The Peninsula group of QRCS volunteers, together When light and matter are can the interaction of light and an with media and social media celebri- strongly coupled, they lose their atom be, has not been answered in ties like Asmaa Al-Hamadi, Nasser Al distinct character and merge into spite of years of research. DOHA: Qatar Red Crescent Society Khulaifi, Khalifah Al-Rumaihi, and a hybrid state. Forty years ago it Previously, Dr Sahel Ashhab, (QRCS) has concluded its celebra- Radio Wadha. was predicted theoretically that Senior Scientist, QEERI performed tions of the International Day of The purpose of these visits is to if the strength of this coupling is theoretical investigations and identi- Older Persons 2016, observed glo- bring smiles on the faces of older increased beyond a certain point, fied desirable conditions for achieving bally on October 1. people, show gratitude for their hard the atoms would form a new state, this new state using superconducting A two-week social campaign work and services for their families an unusual molecular state in which circuits. Recently, his collaborators at under the theme of “We Stand by and society at large, make use of the atoms would bind with the pho- NICT carried out experiments using You”, was launched to recognise their experiences, take snapshots tons. Scientists have since debated if devices fabricated jointly at the facil- the contributions of the older gen- of life at their time, draw lessons this was really possible under real- ities of NICT and NTT. erations who played a big role in learnt, and know about the forms of istic conditions. This research has “Well-designed circuits can building and strengthening Qatari social and familial relations in the answered the question. really go beyond what many people families and society, while cherish- past decades. The research conducted in col- thought were unsurpassable limits,” ing the Qatari traditions and values. The closing ceremony of the laboration with the National Institute said D. Ashhab, who provided the Over two weeks, several chari- campaign was held at Sharq Village of Information and Communications theoretical basis and interpretation table activities were held, including & Spa and involved shows by stu- Technology (NICT) of Japan, and the of the experiments. “For techno- visits to social gatherings of older dents of Abdul-Rahman bin Jassim A senior citizen being honoured by the QRCS officials. Nippon Telegraph and Telephone logical applications, sometimes you persons in order to keep in touch Preparatory School and girls of Qatar Corporation (NTT) was published on want the strongest interactions pos- with them and give them a happy Centre for Voluntary Activities. bin Said Al-Kuwari, Abdullah Al- supported the campaign, particularly October 10, in the high-impact jour- sible. You want fast absorption and time. A group of older social figures Abdullah, and representatives of the volunteer groups from Kuwait, Saudi nal - Nature Physics. emission of light,” he said. These visits were made by a were honored, including Sabah volunteer groups and sponsors who Arabia, Oman, and Bahrain. RAF sends QR750,000 in aid for refugees in Chad city

Refugees in Chad with the aid supplies from RAF.

The Peninsula responding a humanitarian call The baskets include rice, flour, corn, made by the Ministry of Social and sugar, edible oil, cleaning materials. Family Affairs of Chad to meet the The quantity was enough for a fam- requirements of basic necessi- ily for three months. DOHA: Sheikh Thani bin Abdul- ties of the people in refugee camps There are about 150,000 refu- lah Foundation for Humanitarian especially the weaker sections of gees from Central African Republic Services (RAF) has dispatched fresh the community like children, peo- in Chad. They are sheltering in sev- humanitarian aid worth QR750,000 ple with disabilities, widows and eral refugee camps set up at the to the Moyen-Chari, a city of Chad orphans. southern part of the country, posing Republic, which houses thousands They also needed medicines for great challenge to the national econ- of refugees from the Central Afri- infectious diseases and foodstuffs omy. They do not have any source of can Republic. for survival. income and needed foods, medicines The aid includes medicines and Al Rashad charitable organi- and shelters. foodstuffs. The project was financed zation, the local partner of RAF, in RAF has been providing aid to by citizens and expatriates from collaboration with the local author- the refugees far the last three years Qatar. More than 20,000 people will ity conducted a study to assess the since the beginning of the crisis. benefit from the project. needs of families. It was found that RAF has recently conducted RAF, in collaboration with its there was a shortage of medicines a survey to assess the critical local partner in the country, has for chronic and infectious diseases cases requiring urgent medical distributed aid materials to 3,500 like malaria and diarrhea. treatments. beneficiary families at three refu- Refugee camps needed clinics There is a plan to send a medical gee camps in the city. to improve the health conditions of team comprising volunteer doctors The camps are Danamajisar, the people. for medical checkups, for conduct- Minamasar and Satamasar. Baskets of basic foodstuffs were ing small surgeries and prescribing RAF has provided the aid distributed to refugees at the camps. medicines to the beneficiaries. 08 THURSDAY 13 OCTOBER 2016 MIDDLE EAST

Abbas pardons Kerry & Lavrov to officer jailed for resume Syria talks criticising him AFP

in Switzerland GAZA: Palestinian President Mah- moud Abbas yesterday pardoned a military officer sentenced to a has included air strikes on hospi- year in jail for criticising him for tals that Washington and Paris said attending the funeral of Israeli Kerry broke off amounted to war crimes for which statesman Shimon Peres, an offi- talks with Russian Syria and Russia were responsible. cial said. The Syrian and Russian govern- A court in the occupied West Foreign Minister ments blamed their foes for breaking Bank had sentenced Lieuten- last week over the the ceasefire and said they target ant-Colonel Osama Mansour to only militants in the city, the last jail and ordered him dismissed offensive, which has major urban stronghold of the West- because he had broken a military included air strikes ern-backed rebels, where more than code of conduct forbidding uni- on hospitals that 250,000 people are trapped under formed officials from expressing siege. political opinions, his lawyer said. Washington and Paris The resumption of talks, despite A displaced Syrian woman stands outside the tent where she is taking shelter at a makeshift refugee camp But a senior Palestinian offi- the offensive, was a sign of the lack cial, who declined to be named, said amounted to near the village of Bariqa on the outskirts of southeastern Syrian border town of Quneitra, yesterday. of options facing Western nations said: “The president has issued an war crimes for which over the Syria conflict, where they amnesty decree in favour of Man- Syria and Russia were worry scaled-up arms supplies for place attack. It was the second day of southern Aleppo. The war has killed vetoing the resolution and suggested sour and the officer will be sent the rebels could end up in the hands heavy air strikes after a lull of several more than 300,000 people, created it was doing the bidding of the United into retirement.” responsible. of jihadist groups. days which the Syrian army said was the world’s worst refugee crisis, States. The officer had been held Russia’s Foreign Ministry said designed to allow civilians to leave. allowed for the rise of Islamic State “What for? To exacerbate the sit- in custody since he posted his Kerry and Lavrov would meet Lav- Rebels said the intensity of the and drawn in regional and major uation and to whip up anti-Russian criticism on Facebook earlier rov in the Swiss city of Lausanne to air strikes on Tuesday and Wednes- powers. Assad, with military back- hysteria in media under their control, this month. While supporters Reuters consider steps towards settling the day had returned to the level seen at ing from Russia and Iranian-backed and to deceive their own citizens,” defended Abbas as making a dip- conflict. The meeting will include for- the start of the Russian-backed cam- militias, aims to take back all of Putin said, accusing France of serv- lomatic and a good-will gesture in eign ministers from Turkey, Qatar, paign to capture Aleppo. Aleppo, which was Syria’s biggest city ing US domestic political interests. attending Peres’s funeral in Jeru- Saudi Arabia and Iran. A senior State Moscow’s intervention just over a before the outbreak of war in 2011. French Prime Minister Manuel salem earlier this month, critics MOSCOW/BEIRUT: US Secretary of Department official confirmed Kerry year ago tipped the scales of the con- The city has been divided Valls also faced criticism from in the West Bank and in the Gaza State John Kerry will meet his Rus- would attend. flict back towards President Bashar between government and rebel con- opposition lawmakers over his gov- Strip said he betrayed national sian counterpart in Switzerland on Yesterday, 25 people were killed Al Assad. trol for years and food, water and ernment’s handling of relations with principles. Saturday to discuss Syria, officials by heavy air strikes on rebel-held The Syrian Observatory for medical supplies in rebel areas are Russia over Syria. Before the funeral, Mansour said yesterday, as a devastating areas of Aleppo, the Civil Defence, a Human Rights, a Britain-based now running low. “Russia has chosen an obstructive called on Abbas on his Facebook bombing campaign of the city of rescue service working in rebel-held organisation that reports on the war, The Observatory also reported attitude and from our point of view page to reconsider his decision to Aleppo intensified. areas, said on Twitter, adding that 15 said it had documented the deaths of heavy air strikes against the rebel- this stance is unjustifiable,” Valls said participate and said it would be The Syrian government launched of them were killed at a market place 55 people killed in escalating bom- held Eastern Ghouta area near after being asked by a parliamentar- “wrong” for the Palestinian leader an assault to capture rebel-held areas in the Fardous district. The Syrian bardment of eastern Aleppo in the Damascus. Russia on Saturday vetoed ian why Paris was adopting a tough to attend. “If it was your decision of Aleppo last month with Russian army has denied targeting civilians. last 48 hours. The Observatory also a French-drafted United Nations position on Russia. to take part in the funeral of the air support and Iranian-backed mili- A Syrian military source said reported that four people were killed Security Council resolution that Despite the war of words, the killer of our children, you were tias, a week into a ceasefire agreed warplanes had struck several loca- in government-held areas by insur- would have demanded an immediate Kremlin said Putin spoke to French wrong, and if you made the deci- by Washington and Moscow. tions to the south and southwest gent shelling. end to air strikes and military flights President Francois Hollande and sion on the recommendation (of Kerry broke off talks with Rus- of Aleppo but Syrian and Russian Clashes between pro-govern- over Aleppo. Yesterday, Russian Pres- German Chancellor Angela Merkel your advisers), you were misled,” sian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov officials could not immediately be ment and rebel forces were also ident Vladimir Putin accused France and said he hoped Saturday’s talks Mansour wrote. last week over the offensive, which reached to comment on the market reported in a rebel-held area in of deliberately luring Moscow into would be “fruitful”. Palestinian dead in Egypt finds other sources after halt in Saudi fuel shipments E Jerusalem clash JERUSALEM: A Palestinian man died after being shot dur- AP but Egyptian officials said this Russian and French draft resolutions Egypt and Saudi Arabia would signal president and the subsequent flow ing clashes in the occupied East week that Saudi Arabia’s Aramco, on Syria at the UN Security Coun- a realignment of Mideast power cen- of billions of dollars in Saudi aid that Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sil- the world’s largest oil company, cil over the weekend has apparently tres and rob the mostly Sunni Arab kept Egypt’s ailing economy afloat. wan Tuesday night. informed Cairo it would not ship angered the Saudis, who oppose Rus- world of a valuable axis in the face Besides Syria, Saudi Arabia had Ali Shyouki, 20, was injured by CAIRO: Egypt says it has secured any fuel this month. sia’s military intervention in Syria of expanding influence by non-Arab expected Egypt to send ground troops gunfire and died after ambulances fuel imports to make up for a short- Oil Ministry spokesman Hamdi and support some of the anti-gov- Iran and Turkey. as part of the Saudi-led coalition were unable to reach him as roads fall caused by Saudi Arabia’s abrupt Abdel-Aziz was quoted by Egyptian ernment militant groups there. Egyptian columnist Abdul- fighting in Yemen, something Cairo had been blocked by Israeli forces decision to halt previously agreed newspapers yesterday as saying that Recently, Egypt has been moving lah Al Sennawy criticised Egypt’s has failed to do. due to the clashes, claimed the Sil- shipments, avoiding a potentially several fuel shipments from other closer to Russia, harshly condemned decision to vote for both reso- The Saudis have also been wan-based community activist politically costly fuel shortage and suppliers have arrived in Egypt fol- by the Saudis and other Arabs for its lutions at the Security Council, angered by meetings between group Wadi Hilweh Information propelling the issue of oil onto the lowing “urgent” tenders. heavy-handed military intervention describing it in an article in the Egyptian officials and representa- Center. centrer stage of an escalating Saudi- There has been no official word in Syria. Al Shorouq daily as diplomatically tives of Yemen’s Iran-backed Shia Videos posted by the group Egypt spat. from Saudi Arabia on the abrupt halt Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, is mov- “inappropriate.” rebels. Egypt has also maintained showed large crowds of Palestin- Saudi Arabia agreed in April of shipments, a decision that appears ing closer to Turkey, which Egypt The Security Council spat was channels of communication with ian youths holding an impromptu to provide Egypt with 700,000 linked to a public spat between the accuses of backing Islamic militants the first public quarrel between Riy- Tehran and enjoys close relations funeral, carrying his body through tonnes of fuel monthly for five two allies over Syria. seeking to topple the Cairo govern- adh and Cairo since the Egyptian with Iraq’s Shia-led, Iranian-backed the streets, and chanting protest years on easy repayment terms, Egypt’s vote in favour of separate ment. Continuing tension between military’s 2013 ouster of an Islamist government. slogans.

1,000 Ethiopians escape Yemen detention

AFP

ADEN: Around 1,000 Ethiopian migrants escaped a detention cen- tre in south Yemen yesterday with the help of their guards, a security official said. The detainees broke out of the centre, where some 1,400 Ethiopians were being held prior to deportation after enter- ing the country illegally, in the province of Shabwa before dawn, he said. The getaway in the provincial A convoy of Iraqi security forces advance on the outskirts of Mosul, to fight against Islamic State capital of Ataq was “well organ- ised”, he added. militants, in Kirkuk, yesterday. “The escapees boarded vehi- cles that were waiting for them to take them to the neighbouring provinces of Marib and Bayda” in Sadr calls for protest against Maliki’s comeback small groups. Loyalists control most of Marib Reuters to take place after the Ashura day, collapse in oil prices curtailed except for the oil-rich Sarwah area without setting a date. Maliki national revenue. where they are fighting the rebels, took one of three ceremonial Maliki served two four-year while insurgents control Bayda. vice-presidencies two years ago, terms as prime minister and his Late last month, Yemeni BAGHDAD: Powerful Shia cleric after he failed as prime minis- conflict with Sadr goes back to the authorities deported at least Moqtada Al Sadr yesterday called ter to stop Islamic State fighters first, when he ordered the army to 220 African illegal immigrants, for a demonstration against a Iraqi from sweeping across the coun- crack down on the cleric’s militia in mainly Ethiopians, from the court ruling that returns his bit- try and was pressured to step confrontations that left hundreds southern port city of Aden, secu- ter rival, ex-prime minister Nouri down by both the United States dead in Baghdad and southern Iraq. rity officials said. Al Maliki, to a vice-presidential and Iran. His bloc in parliament in recent Hundreds of Ethiopians have position. The supreme court ruled months has taken steps to inves- arrived in the south of Yemen in The ruling announced on against a decision last year by tigate and dismiss ministers in the past months despite the con- Monday by Iraq’s supreme court is his successor, Prime Minister Abadi’s government, fuelling spec- flict between loyalist forces and “an attempt to bring back corrup- Haider Abadi, to scrap the three ulation that Maliki is planning to Shiite rebels that has gripped the tion”, Sadr said in a statement on vice-presidencies, in what he said return to power when Islamic State country for more than 18 months. his website. He called for a protest was an effort to cut costs after a is defeated. ASIA / AFRICA THURSDAY 13 OCTOBER 2016 09 EU needs new plan to curb migration: Deby

Reuters agreements,” Deby, the first head EU officials have set up a G5 Sahel fund for Africa to combat the pov- Exams cancelled We can only resolve of state from Chad to visit Germany. strategy that emphasised the need erty and conflicts driving people to “That is the only possibility to slow to deal with the countries as a group. migrate to Europe. over Kenyan the issue if we involve the flow of migration.” “That means other EU countries It has also proposed making BERLIN: The European Union must the G5 frontline He said working with the G5 will have to get engaged, also with development aid conditional on politician’s photo seek a deal with countries across countries would also enable progress the cooperation of the commission,” governments’ cooperation in curb- Africa’s desert Sahel region if it wants states, not through on issues such as drug and human she said. ing migration. to curb an influx of migrants, rather country by country smuggling and terrorism in the Merkel told reporters that Ger- The Group of Five (G5) encom- NAIROBI: Mock primary than focusing on bilateral deals with remote deserts of the Sahel, which many would boost its development passes five nations which have joined school exams in part of individual countries, the president of agreements: Chad host several jihadist groups. aid to Chad by 8.9 million euros to together for an active role in the rap- western Kenya were can- Chad said yesterday. President. Deby, current chairman of the help address water- and food supply idly evolving international order. celled yesterday after a President Idriss Deby was African Union, said 90 percent of issues, noting that it was dealing with Individually and as a group, the local politician had his speaking in Germany where he met the refugees transiting through Niger over 700,000 refugees from neigh- G5 nations work to promote dialogue face printed on the pub- Chancellor Angela Merkel after her also crossed into neighbouring Chad bouring countries. and understanding between develop- licly-funded examination trip this week to Mali and Niger - two stretches 4,200km across northern on their journey north to the Medi- Italian data on sea arrivals so ing and developed countries. papers. of the five countries which form the Africa, from the Atlantic in the west terranean since the Niger route was far this year show a sharp increase The G5 seek to find common Cornel Rasanga’s G5 Sahel security organisation. to the border of Sudan in the east. closed by militant groups. in migrants from several African solutions to global challenges. smiling, avuncular like- Chad, Burkina Faso and Mauri- “We can only resolve the issue Merkel, who has said she will countries including Mali, Senegal The G5 were understood ness was printed in the tania are the three other members of if we involve the G5 frontline states, make Africa a priority for Germany’s and Nigeria. to be the five largest emerging top right corner of mock the Sahel group of countries, which not through country by country G20 presidency next year, noted that The EU last year launched a $2bn economies. exam papers distrib- uted at regional primary schools this week. Local media reported Kenya’s education min- US warns Ethiopia against ister had cancelled the mock exams and said officials involved would emergency crackdown be punished.

AFP the imposition of curfews.” Chinese TV station “Even if these measures are intended to restore order, silencing apologises for map independent voices and interfer- WASHINGTON: The United States ing with the rights of Ethiopians is excluding Taiwan warned its African ally Ethiopia on a self-defeating tactic that exac- Tuesday not to abuse the state of erbates rather than address those emergency it declared this week to grievances,” he argued. BEIJING: A Chinese tel- suppress dissent and welcomed talk Ethiopia is facing its biggest evision station has of political reform. anti-government unrest in a dec- apologised after showing Ethiopia declared an emer- ade, with unrest among the majority a map on a talent show gency on Sunday after six months Oromo and Amhara ethnic groups which did not include of anti-government protests, but which feel marginalized by a minor- self-ruled Taiwan as being on Tuesday Prime Minister Haile- ity-led government. part of China, one of Bei- mariam Desalegn promised that Tensions have been rising since jing’s most sensitive opposition voices would be heard. an Oromo religious festival last political issues. US State Department spokes- week ended in tragedy when police In a talent show man John Kirby welcomed this offer fired tear gas on protesters, trigger- for foreigners learning from the government “to address ing a stampede that left more than Chinese on Hunan Tele- some of the grievances raised by 50 dead. vision on Sunday, a map protesters such as land rights and The declaration of a six-month shown in the background electoral reform.” state of emergency is unprecedented coloured in only the Myanmar border police patrol Wei Thar Li village in Maungdaw located in Rakhine State near the border But he urged President Mulatu in the 25 years the current Ethiopian mainland of China in red to Bangladesh, yesterday, as government security forces pursue attackers. Teshome’s administration to “clar- government has been in charge. and left Taiwan white, ify” how it intends to implement a The United States regards Ethi- according to a screen- state of emergency which author- opia as its key partner in the Horn grab published on the ized “detention without a warrant, of Africa, and works with it in its official People’s Daily’s 12 dead in Rakhine state clashes limitations on free speech, prohi- efforts to resolve crises in neighbor- website. bitions on public gatherings and ing South Sudan and Somalia.

AFP Pyaungpit, a village near the town coordinated attacks on three bor- of Maungdaw. der posts. Troops also discovered seven Most people in the impover- dead after fighting in the nearby vil- ished area are Muslim Rohingya, a Tokyo blackout affects 350,000 homes YANGON: Twelve people have died lage of Taung Paing Nyar. stateless minority Buddhist whom in Myanmar’s Rakhine state in “After the incident, troops found nationalists vilify as illegal immi- recent clashes between armed men seven dead bodies,” the state-run grants even though many trace their AFP lines were also brought to a halt. underground facility operated by the and troops, state media reported Global New Light of Myanmar lineage in Buddhist-majority Myan- Officials said the power outage firm in Niiza City, north of Tokyo. Wednesday, in a growing challenge reported. mar back generations. could be traced to a fire at a facility Power was cut to as many as for the country’s new democratically “Swords and sticks were found The recent unrest has raised the run by utility Tokyo Electric Power. 350,000 homes in the Japanese cap- elected government. with the bodies.” spectre of a repeat of 2012, when TOKYO: Tokyo was hit by a major The cause of the fire was not imme- ital but the lights quickly came back Four soldiers and one attacker The military has been scouring violence in Rakhine left more than blackout yesterday that temporarily diately known. on. There were no injuries. were killed on Tuesday when the region, not far from the border 100 people dead and drove tens of knocked out power to about 350,000 Television footage showed Two train lines were briefly shut hundreds of men wielding pis- with Bangladesh, after nine police thousands of Rohingya into displace- homes and some big office and gov- plumes of black smoke billowing down during the blackout, which tols and swords attacked troops in officers were killed on Sunday in ment camps. ernment buildings, while two train from street-side grates linked to an lasted for less than two hours.

Beijing rebuffs Seoul over sinking of coast Burundi MPs vote to leave ICC guard vessel AFP

Reuters

BUJUMBURA: Burundi’s lower house of parliament yesterday BEIJING: China said yesterday overwhelmingly voted to with- South Korea’s coast guard should draw from the International not have been operating in part Criminal Court (ICC), which of the sea where one of Seoul’s is carrying out a preliminary patrol boats sank last week dur- probe into atrocities commit- ing an operation to crack down on ted during an 18-month political a group of Chinese fishing boats. crisis. South Korean coast guard “The ICC is a tool being vessels regularly chase Chinese used to try and change power” boats for fishing illegally off its in Burundi, charged Aloys coast, at times resulting in vio- Ntakirutimana, a lawmaker Members of Burundi’s lower house of parliament raise their lent confrontations. with the ruling CNDD-FDD, arms to vote on for the withdrawal of the ICC from the capital, The disputes are an irritant during a three hour debate in in Bujumbura, yesterday. in relations between China and the National Assembly. US ally South Korea, even as their While a few lawmakers than 1,000 people dead. human rights abuses. economic relations grow close and argued against the draft law, it ICC prosecutor Fatou Ben- “Given the country’s history, they share concerns about North was eventually passed with 94 souda in April launched a the danger of the crime of gen- Korea’s nuclear weapons and mis- votes in favour, two against and preliminary investigation into ocide also looms large,” warned sile programmes. 14 abstentions. It will next go to reports of “killing, imprison- the recent UN report. South Korea’s Ministry of Pub- the Senate -- also dominated by ment, torture and other forms Burundi has a long history lic Safety and Security, which the ruling party -- before being violence, as well as cases of of violence between its Hutu oversees the coast guard, said approved by President Pierre enforced disappearances.” and Tutsi communities, which one of its patrol boats sank last Nkurunziza. The initial probe is aimed led to a 12-year civil war that week during an anti-illegal fishing The central African nation at determining whether there ended in 2006. operation off the Korean peninsu- has been mired in crisis since is enough evidence to proceed The report prompted the la’s west coast. April 2015 when Nkurunziza to a full-blown investigation by UNHRC to send a Commission Chinese Foreign Ministry decided to run for a third term ICC prosecutors which could of Inquiry to Burundi, a move spokesman Geng Shuang said in office, which he went on to result in drawing up charges taken only in rare situations of where the incident happened win. against those believed to be significant worry. was an area where, according A vicious government responsible for the violence. “It is perfectly clear that this to a bilateral fishing agreement, crackdown on protests and Bensouda’s decision was is a plot to do harm to Burundi,” South Korean vessels should not widespread violence followed, followed by a damning report Gaston Sindimwo, Burundi’s be carrying out law enforcement which some rights organisa- by UN rights experts released vice president, said last week, operations. tions estimate has left more in September, detailing gross referring to the investigations. 10 THURSDAY 13 OCTOBER 2016 VIEWS

ESTABLISHED IN 1996

CHAIRMAN SHEIKH THANI BIN ABDULLAH AL THANI

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

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DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR HUSSAIN AHMAD [email protected]

EDITORIAL Sugar tax When will Iran abandon

oaring obesity rate, especially in children, is one of the biggest global health problems. It’s a problem that Bashar Al Assad? has health experts scratching their heads in anxiety as efforts to address it have proved unsuccessful or become only partially successful despite the in Syria. Unfortunately, recent minister Nouri Al Maliki - yet, Sseveral awareness campaigns launched by healthcare developments in Aleppo exposed Iran’s fatal mistake make no mistake, Iran will never practitioners, NGOs and government bodies. But the World the two leaders’ failure to narrow is that it will abandon its designs on Syria. Health Organisation has come up with a proposal that’s worth their fundamental differences to As a way out of this dilemma, find common ground for a polit- not recognise Iran might seek a compromise considering: introduce a sugary drinks tax. The global agency ical solution. that its strategy candidate that would be accepted has urged all countries to introduce the tax. “If governments tax Despite the disagreement, by most world powers. There is products like sugary drinks, they can reduce suffering and save there is still a serious chance is misguided no harm if that candidate hails lives. They can also cut healthcare costs and increase revenues to reach a consensus. Putin is simply because from the Christian or Druze expected to visit Turkey this minorities. Most importantly, to invest in health services,” said Dr Douglas Bettcher, director of its expansionist the WHO’s department for the prevention of non-communicable month with the aim of restor- Iran will focus on boosting its ing business ties, but primarily relations with the deep state in diseases. zeal tempts it to By Ahmed Al Burai to discuss the Syrian war. the intelligence service and the This is a win-win formula. Governments are financially Al Jazeera The trajectory of Turkey’s for- overstretch in the remnants of Syrian army. sick due to the obesity of their health eign policy recorded substantial whole region. A third scenario would budgets, and imposing a sugar tax will shifts that will soon show a dras- emerge if Assad’s role as guard- WHO has not only help them reduce the health tic change in its alliances. ian of Iran’s interests in Syria ran is undoubtedly the Obama’s administration appears doomed to failure, while urged all budget through a reduction in obesity- related diseases, it will also boost most important ally of repeatedly disregarded Turkey’s and waned. However, the diag- Iran’s strategy in Iraq, Yemen, countries to Syria’s President Bashar Al regional perspectives and urged onal shift in their relations with and Lebanon is still intact. It will their coffers as the sugary drinks and Assad. Without Iran, Assad Turkey to move unilaterally to the United States is likely to con- use Shia proxies and pro-Iranian impose a tax products industry is huge and growing would have been toppled protect its strategic interests. stitute a landmark in the coming Syrian army officers to stretch its on sugary further. Iyears ago. The Iranian regime has The second inevitable case era of the Middle East. control over the Mediterranean drinks to fight Consumption of sugar, including backed Assad politically by main- is Iran’s growing obsession with One can’t simply claim that coast to thwart any attempts to products like sugary drinks, is a major taining its unequivocal red line, expansion in the Middle East. Washington has abandoned its unite Syria under a Sunni anti- the obesity factor in the global increase of people that Assad should not be forced The Iranian regime’s expan- 70-year strategic alliance with Iranian government. to renounce his position in any sionist policy in the Middle East the Saudi ruling family. In mid-September 2015, problem. It’s suffering from obesity and diabetes. transitional period. is no secret and that may urge it However, since Obama the first reports of new an idea worth The WHO advice comes as more and It also backed him militarily to rethink its policies in Syria for described them as a “so-called detachments from the Iranian considering. more countries are planning measures by supplying him with arsenal the sake of another dream. ally”, Saudis have been doubtful Revolutionary Guards arriving to dissuade people from consuming and financial support that has Iran’s fatal mistake is that it of Washington’s commitment to in Tartus and Latakia in west large quantities of colas and other kept him in power. The conven- will not recognise that its strat- Riyadh. Saudis find themselves Syria were made. drinks. tional wisdom says that it would egy is misguided simply because demoted as Washington prepares Eventually, Iran’s mission is A WHO report says that a tax of 20 percent or more can be really hard for Iran to relin- its expansionist zeal tempts it to to replace them with the Iranian to remould post-Assad Syria to quish its buddy in Syria, and yet, overstretch in the whole region. mullahs. a governance style that resem- result in a fall in the sales of sugary drinks. This is not a new idea. looking at it from a more prag- It fails to appreciate that its strat- Regardless of their appar- bles the one in Lebanon and Iraq. It has already been implemented in some countries, like Mexico, matic standpoint, Iran would egies are not welcomed, neither ent enmity, Tehran might soon But let there be no mistake; no and cities which have shown positive results. More countries are surely bet on several horses and by Arabs nor by Turkey. reach an agreement with Wash- scheme can overlook the varia- feeling encouraged to undertake similar measures. For example, is almost certainly setting the Iran’s ambitions in the Gulf, ington just to realise its dreams in ble of a “nation” seeking freedom. Britain is planning to introduce a sugary drinks tax, although not preliminaries for a post-Assad and mainly in Saudi Arabia, are the Middle East. This might mean Ultimately, it is the Syrian peo- until 2018. Other countries, including the Philippines and South Syria. indisputable. Tensions between abandoning Assad just as it relin- ple who will decide on their own There are three possible sce- the two countries have waxed quished the former Iraqi prime future. Africa, too are said to be looking at this idea. narios that would compel Tehran At the same time, it won’t be easy to implement this tax in all to finally abandon Assad. countries. Reports say the industry is flexing its muscles in some The first and most imminent countries and is fighting back to protect its interests. But this is a scenario is when Russia decides challenge the governments must overcome to make our future to reshuffle its own strategy in generations healthy. Syria. The interventionist policy The obesity problem is acute among children, who are of Russia, Iran’s main ally, was theoretically a game-changing consuming more sugar than previous generations due to changes development in favour of Iran’s in lifestyle and the technological advancements which are ambitions in the region. making people static. Governments must address this problem Nevertheless, this resulted in as seriously as they are addressing smoking. threatening Iran’s monopolistic vision in Syria. Recently, Russia seems to have the upper hand in the political decision-mak- ing process that may eventually jeopardise key Iranian interests. Quote of the day On the other hand, Russia- Turkey relations are gradually back on track. Russia and Turkey We will use all our resources are major players with contra- to prevent our brothers in dictory perspectives over the Syrian conflict. Russia has mil- Syria and Iraq from being itarily backed Assad and helped crushed under the wheels him stay in power; while Turkey of global power games, and has supported rebel groups to to keep us from suffering a overthrow Assad. Recently when Recep Tayyip similar fate. Erdogan and Vladimir Putin met in St Petersburg to patch up their Recep Tayyip Erdogan nine-month feud in the after- Turkish President math of the Russian jet crisis, one question was finding a political solution to the ongoing conflict Smoke rising from buildings following air strikes on Damascus’ eastern suburb of Zamalka, yesterday.

EDITORIAL TEL: 44557741 / 44557743 FAX: 44557746 / 44557758 P. O. BOX: 3488, DOHA, QATAR E-MAIL: [email protected] ADVERTISING TEL: 44557837 / 780 FAX: 44557870 CLASSIFIED: 44557857 E-MAIL: [email protected] SUBSCRIPTION / HOME DELIVERY TEL: 44557809 /839 FAX: 44557819 E-MAIL: [email protected] OPINION THURSDAY 13 OCTOBER 2016 11 I’m an anti-Putin Russian; Clinton makes me nervous

Clinton openly dislike each other. She says she sees in him a cold-blooded, self-enriching KGB agent and a bully; he remembers how she appeared to encour- age protests against him in 2011. Those reasons matter little to me. I believe Russia’s place is in an open, free-thinking Western world, and that nationalist populists, including Trump, are destroying that vision of the West. I took part in the 2011 protests and I agree with Clinton’s assessment of Putin. And yet I, too, think a Clinton presidency By Leonid Bershidsky would be bad for Russia -- and that would Bloomberg ultimately hurt the US as well. Clinton’s positions on Russia are based on simplistic ideological lines. In hoever wins the US a campaign speech in late August, she presidential election branded Putin “the grand godfather of will have a hard time this global brand of extreme nationalism” dealing with Rus- -- the brand espoused by anti-immi- sia: The relationship grant political parties in Europe. Indeed, Wbetween the two countries is in tatters. if one took at face value Putin’s recent Donald Trump obviously doesn’t have efforts to build a “conservative” ideol- any answers. Yet, like most of my fel- ogy as an intellectual basis for its rule and low Russians who follow the race, I also his propaganda’s backing of European have misgivings about Hillary Clinton -- nationalists, such a description would be even though, unlike most of them, I am justified. Nothing in Russia can be taken an active opponent of President Vladimir at face value, however. Putin. Putin’s domestic ideology, based on The last time an independent poll- Orthodox Christianity and imperial patri- ing organization -- the Levada Center otism, is skin-deep and inconsistent. Only -- polled Russians on the US presidential 4 percent of Russians regularly attend candidates was in August. Only 12 per- church, even though 72 percent consider A file picture of Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) meeting US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on her cent said they were following the election themselves Orthodox Christians. It’s dif- arrival at the APEC summit in Vladivostok, Russia. closely, and 73 percent said they’d heard ficult to impose fundamentalist values on something about it. Among the news a society that is used to the Soviet Union’s Putin, who has trampled on the Rus- anyone else in Washington has even dis- will be intimidated and desist. The third junkies, 39 percent said Donald Trump hostility to religion, has three times the sian constitution in the most egregious cussed this possibility in public. option is to step up economic sanctions would be a better US president for Rus- abortion rate of the US and contains large ways, is an embodiment of its Article 13: In Syria, President BasharAl Assad is against Russia and wait for the Putin sia, while 15 percent said Clinton would and autonomous Muslim and Buddhist “No ideology can be established as a gov- obviously a dictator, and he’s tight with regime to collapse for economic reasons be better. The state-owned pollster, did populations. ernment-imposed or obligatory one.” Putin to boot. Clinton had urged Presi- while avoiding a direct show of force. its latest poll in July, finding about the Putin, who has donated a month’s sal- The mismatch between an ideolog- dent Barack Obama to be more resolute My fear is that Clinton will choose same proportion of curious Russians. ary to Moscow’s Jewish museum and who ical Clinton and an opportunist Putin in removing him by aiding the Syrian one of the latter two options or a com- That survey revealed that 34 percent of has opened mosques, is not an ideologi- is fraught. Clinton has spoken many opposition. bination of them. That will enable Putin those who’d heard of Trump thought Rus- cal ally of European nationalists like the times about the need to undermine What if President Clinton uses force to step up the anti-Western hysteria in sia-US relations would improve under National Front in France, who manage to and contain dictators. In an interview more directly against Assad? Will Putin Russia -- and almost force him to pick up him; only 6 percent of those who’d heard be both anti-Semitic and Islamophobic. with The Atlantic in 2014, she described shrink from some kind of military con- the gauntlet as soon as possible, before about Clinton believed that of her. Right-wing populists talk with dread of her experience with the Arab Spring frontation with the US? I fear not: Russian Russia collapses economically. He has In part, that can be explained by the Muslim “no-go zones” in European cities; revolutions. generals have been itching for such a test proven many times that he doesn’t have effect of Putin’s propaganda machine, Putin’s Russia has whole regions, nota- “So you can go back and argue, for the last few years, since Russia has a reverse gear. His recent ultimatum to which has been giving Trump more bly Chechnya, where Russian laws are should we have helped the people of rearmed and reformed its military. And if the US is proof that he’s willing to play the favourable coverage than Clinton for two applied only if they are consistent with Libya try to overthrow a dictator who, the confrontation occurs, consequences escalation game. A military escalation reasons. First, Russian state TV always local and religious traditions. Putin’s gov- remember, killed Americans and did a will be even more unpredictable than between Russia and the US could have backs populist rebels in any Western ernment has been harsher than most lot of other bad stuff, or we should have from arming Ukraine. dramatic consequences for my country country on the theory that whatever European ones on ethnic nationalism, been on the sidelines,” she said. It’s clear The Obama administration has -- and also for the US if it allows itself weakens the Western establishment suppressing neo-Nazi groups with as which option she favoured then, boasting, espoused the same ideology as Clin- to be dragged into war with such a dan- is good for Russia. Second, Putin and much cruelty as it has shown Islamist famously, after Moamar Gadhafi’s death: ton, but it has pulled back from actual gerous rival. terrorists. “We came, we saw, he died.” conflict with Putin’s Russia. It has prob- Clinton halfheartedly tried the real- When he came to power, Putin’s own It’s easy to agree with this “democ- ably exhausted its opportunities to keep politik option with Russia during the I believe Russia’s place is in an open, ideology was the usual post-Soviet mix racy good, dictatorship bad” approach, doing both. Putin has seen the pattern infamous “reset.” Her heart wasn’t in it, free-thinking Western world, and of economic neoliberalism, Communist but harder to imagine what it will mean in and resolved to remain the first mover, and Putin felt he was being duped rather internationalism and the veneration of practice. In Ukraine, for example, trying not expecting much American pushback than offered real carrots to join forces that nationalist populists, including a Russian history much rewritten by the to thwart Putin could mean buying the except in words. The next administration with the US as president, Clinton proba- Trump, are destroying that vision Soviets. That it has acquired a veneer of line President Petro Poroshenko is trying will have to act, and there are three dis- bly won’t give it another, better try. I wish right-wing nationalism is in large part the to sell to the West -- that his opportunis- tinct courses of action open. someone would, though: Russia cannot of the West. I took part in the 2011 fault of Western leaders who, like Clin- tic, thoroughly post-Soviet government is One is to remove the ideological red easily be forced onto a democratic, West- protests and I agree with Clinton’s ton, needed to place Putin on their mental a beacon of freedom and a shield against lines, allow that Russia may hold on to ern path. maps and couldn’t quite do it. He was a the Russian plague. Poroshenko’s fond- Crimea and Assad may remain in power That’s why I would prefer a more flex- assessment of Putin. And yet I, too, post-Soviet chameleon, picking the col- est wish is to get lethal weapons from the in Syria, and try to make pragmatic deals ible leader, equally good with carrot and think a Clinton presidency would ours that suited him at any given moment. US Granting it would probably lead to an with Putin -- for example, siding with stick, to lead the US It’s likely, however, That’s what happened with “conserva- even more destructive and deadly phase him against the Islamic State. Another that no such leader exists in the current be bad for Russia -- and that would tism”: He put on the colours of the camp of the now-frozen conflict. What will the is to act as forcefully as possible in both lineup. Trump is unpredictable, which is ultimately hurt the US as well. that would accept him and not try to tell US do if Ukraine is overrun by Russian Ukraine and Syria, risking a military con- the worst thing to be. And that’s where I him what to do. troops as a result? Neither Clinton nor frontation with Russia but hoping Putin disagree with most of my compatriots. Don’t be sure big tech breakthroughs are behind us

- with health care and education -- accounting, payroll, legal services, It isn’t hard to imagine fancier graph will get cheaper as a result of being the most important - where human resources and the rest. It also versions of that technology taking all this automation? If the things we there’s an inherent limit on how includes finance, which is a huge cost over many of the tasks we now spend want don’t fall in price, who cares?” much value information technology both to businesses and to investors. our time and energy on. Machines There are two answers to that. can add. Because in these industries, Technology that makes these will evaluate business proposals for The first is that Lee’s graph includes the main thing you’re buying is rela- thing cheaper will make the busi- banks and other lenders. Machines only the things that people consumed tionships to other human beings, and ness world more efficient, just like will scan contractors and take bids. in the 1980s. But as technology frees those can’t be automated.” cheaper steel makes manufacturing Machines will seek out targets for humans from the work necessary to Lee illustrates his argument with cars more efficient. And it’s here, in mergers and acquisitions. Machines produce the old things, humans will a chart of prices for various goods the realm of white-collar work, will write most of the text of legal spend their time creating new things. There are a number and services in the US economy dur- where I believe the technologies bow briefs. A machine might even write We just don’t yet know what most of of industries - with By Noah Smith ing the past four decades. The chart under development have the poten- my columns someday. In fact, many those things will be. Forty years ago, Bloomberg shows manufactured goods have tial to create huge productivity gains. of the things that white-collar work- video games barely existed -- now health care and mostly fallen in price, while college A lot of effort right now is being ers now spend hours on every day they’re a major consumption item. education being and health care have soared. He rea- poured into machine learning and will be managed by machines. That Who knows what we’ll desire four sons that these are difficult industries artificial intelligence, thanks in part will free up enormous amounts of decades from now? the most important ox tech writer Timothy B Lee for technology to disrupt, since they to technical advances in the field, and time -- machines don’t have to go to Of course, there’s also a second - where there’s used to be one of the most rely so much on human-to-human also thanks to the availability of large meetings or read e-mails. possibility -- the possibility that an inherent limit Vardent techno-optimists. But interaction. amounts of data to train machines. In Technology is fundamentally many humans might become redun- he’s had a bit of a conversion, of late, It’s a compelling argument, a recent interview with Lee, venture about saving labour, and most of dant. If machine learning makes most on how much and is now on the side of those who but I see a number of ways it could capitalist Marc Andreessen explained the labour in the typical white-col- of us obsolete, we will have to alter value information think tech progress is slowing. Maybe potentially be wrong. There’s a why he thinks machine learning is lar work-day consists of thinking. the structures of society to redistrib- it was the economist Robert Gordon case to be made for continued the next transformative technology. Just as factory tools and vehicles ute the massive abundance created, technology can add. who , or maybe years of observing techno-optimism. Essentially, machine learn- saved physical labour in the Indus- in order to make everyone’s leisure Because in these the tech world changed his mind. First, Lee’s chart includes only ing allows machines to do your trial Revolution, smart machines will time as pleasant as possible. This is In any case, Lee now broadly sug- final goods -- the things that con- thinking for you. One of the earli- save more and more mental labour the rise-of-the-robots scenario that industries, the main gests that the inventions of tomorrow sumers buy. But there are a vast est applications was recognizing in the Information Revolution. And lots of people are worried about, but thing you’re buying won’t be as world-changing as those number of other goods that also use addresses on envelopes -- instead since machine learning is still in its it doesn’t have to be a scary thing, if of yesteryear. huge amounts of time and resources of armies of humans sitting there infancy, at least in terms of applica- society changes accordingly. is relationships to The idea that tech will remake to create. Economists call these doing the reading, the process could tions, it’s a good bet that this part of But whichever future occurs, other human beings, our lives, he writes: “has fallen flat in intermediate goods. That category be accomplished with just one or the Information Revolution isn’t over. it seems likely that the world of and those can’t be recent years, and I think it’s going to includes parts and components, two humans managing the machine Now, one might look at Lee’s white-collar work is due for some continue failing in the years to come. but also all the back-office services readers. That’s a big productivity graph and say “OK, fine and good, but much-needed disruption. That makes automated. There are a number of industries that make the business world run improvement. which of the consumer goods on this me a little more optimistic than Lee.

All thoughts and views expressed in these columns are those of the writers, not of the newspaper. All correspondence regarding Views and Opinion pages should be mailed to the Editor-in-Chief. 12 THURSDAY 13 OCTOBER 2016 ASIA / PHILIPPINES Duterte hints no more drills with US next year

Secretary Lorenzana,” he said in a An eight-day combat exercise Duterte said that he’ll speech at the anniversary of the between US and Philippine forces country’s coast guard, referring to ended a day early Tuesday in an air of chart a foreign policy his defense chief. uncertainty because Duterte wanted not dependent on Delfin Lorenzana said in a news to end such drills, saying the maneu- conference last week that he has vers only benefit the US military. Washington. explained to the president the value Outgoing US Ambassador to of the annual military manoeuvres Manila Philip Goldberg said Wash- with the Americans in responding ington wants to continue its robust AP to natural disasters and in potential alliance with the Philippines, saying security crises. both countries benefit mutually from The defence chief said he the partnership. expected a final decision on the Phil- “We have the desire to continue MANILA: Philippine President Rod- ippines’s participation before the two our alliance,” Goldberg said. “Some rigo Duterte said yesterday he has sides started planning the drills. of the things are beyond my control, ordered his defence chief not to Top officials of the US Pacific beyond the US control, but what I prepare for joint exercises with the Command in Hawaii are scheduled can tell you is the US has a string of US military next year as he moved to fly to the Philippines later this commitment to the Philippines, to the to realise his threat to scrap a high- month to discuss a range of defense people of the Philippines, to the eco- profile symbol of his country’s treaty issues, including plans for future joint nomic well-being of the Philippines.” Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte visits the newly inaugurated Japan’s built patrol ship during the alliance with Washington. exercises, said a Philippine defense Aside from halting at least 28 ceremony marking the anniversary of the Philippine Coast Guard, in Manila, yesterday. Duterte, however, reiterated he official. joint combat exercises with US forces would not abrogate a 1951 Mutual Manila’s defence department, each year, including the Balikatan Defense Treaty with the US that however, has asked them to postpone or shoulder-to-shoulder drills that who resent atrocities committed by reasserted its influence in Asia as a Contrastingly, Duterte has provides a security umbrella for the their trip until after the US presiden- involve thousands of American and American colonial forces in the early counterweight to China. reached out to China and Russia. Philippines. tial elections next month and after Filipino troops each year, Duterte 1900s. Duterte, who took office in June Duterte issued a new warning to He has said, however, that he’ll Duterte has finalised his decision has opposed joint patrols with the US Under Duterte’s predecessor, and labels himself as a left-wing pol- his detractors yesterday. chart a foreign policy not depend- to change the Philippine military’s Navy in the disputed South China Sea. Benigno Aquino III, relations with itician, however, has taken steps to “If I don’t respect you anymore, ent on Washington. engagements with US forces, said the He also wants US counterter- the US blossomed as the Philippines scale back his country’s military be prepared for the worst because “I insist that we realign, that official, who spoke on condition of rorism troops out of his country’s sought help in confronting Beijing engagements with the US, which has I can give you gallons of gallons there will be no more exercises next anonymity because of the delicate south, saying they inflame res- over escalating territorial conflicts criticised his bloody fight against ille- of epithets, curses,” Duterte said year, ‘Do not prepare,’ I told Defence nature of the issue. tiveness among minority Muslims, in the South China Sea and the US gal drugs, earning his ire. recently. Philippines invites UN expert to probe drug war Rebel Hong Kong lawmakers challenge China in parliament AFP Govt to open giant AFP losing their seats if they did not take rehab centre soon the oath properly. MANILA: The Philippine govern- Nathan Law, 23, Legco’s ment has formally invited a United youngest lawmaker and a former Nations rights rapporteur to investi- Reuters HONG KONG: Hong Kong rebel pro-democracy protest leader, gate the thousands of killings during lawmakers swore, shouted, banged delivered an impassioned speech President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drums and railed against “tyranny” ahead of taking the oath. crime, a presidential spokesman said yesterday when they took their “You can chain me, you can tor- yesterday. MANILA: The Philippines yester- oaths of office in the city’s parlia- ture me, you can even destroy this “The (presidential) palace has day announced plans to open in ment, as calls grow for a split from body - but you can never imprison sent the invitation to UN Special November what it called a “mega” Beijing. my mind,” he said, quoting India’s Rapporteur Agnes Callamard and drug rehabilitation facility, funded The chaotic first meeting of the independence leader Mahatma is awaiting her response,” spokes- by a Chinese tycoon, to treat up to new term of the Legislative Council Gandhi. man Ernesto Abella said. 10,000 patients in President Rod- (Legco) came after a citywide vote Law, who is calling for self- Since July, Duterte has overseen rigo Duterte’s war on drugs. last month saw victories for sev- determination for Hong Kong, was a brutal crackdown on illegal drugs The news comes six days ahead eral lawmakers advocating more one of the main leaders of the 2014 A man, who was among four people caught with sachets of that has left more than 3,300 peo- of a visit to Beijing by Duterte, autonomy or even independence for Umbrella Movement rallies which Metamphetamine Chloride during a drug raid, is seen handcuffed to ple dead, both at the hands of police accompanied by hundreds of busi- Hong Kong. brought tens of thousands to the a police vehicle, in Quezon City, yesterday. as well as in unexplained circum- nessmen, as he seeks to forge closer Lawmakers are required to streets calling for democratic reform. stances, according to official data. ties with the Asian giant and daily recite a short oath in Legco before Two new pro-independence The United Nations, the Euro- The government initially rebuffed about the safety of mission members airs his dissatisfaction with tradi- they can officially take up their lawmakers, Baggio Leung and Yau pean Union, the United States and Callamard when she announced and their interview subjects. tional ally the US. seats. Wai-ching, added their own words international human rights groups plans to take up Duterte’s challenge. Abella said the government also “This initiative will not only ben- That oath declares repeatedly before the oath, pledging to serve have all raised concern over alleged Callamard said she would dis- asked Callamard “to include in her efit these drug victims whom we that Hong Kong is a “special admin- the “Hong Kong nation”. extrajudicial killings. cuss with Manila the date and scope investigation the killings of law want to help and reach out to, but istrative region” of China. Both displayed flags embla- Duterte has rejected the allega- of her fact-finding mission, state enforcers by drug suspects so that also for the change that we envision The government had warned zoned with the words: “Hong Kong tions and called the campaign an guarantees for her freedom of move- she could obtain an accurate per- for our country,” Health Secretary lawmakers in advance they risked is not China” internal affair of the Philippines. ment and inquiry, and assurances spective of the drug problem”. Paulyn Jean Ubial said.

North Korea removes vice-FM Vietnam urged to free arrested blogger from his post AFP was detained Monday as she vis- human rights,” US Ambassador to ited a fellow dissident in jail in Nha Vietnam Ted Osius said. Trang city. “The United States calls on AFP Quynh, whose critical Face- Vietnam to release these indi- HANOI: The United States and the book posts have included articles viduals and all other prisoners of European Union have called for about civilians reportedly dying in conscience, and to allow all indi- the release of a Vietnamese activ- police custody, was accused of dis- viduals in Vietnam to express their SEOUL: North Korea has purged ist jailed this week for “anti-state torting truth and history, defaming political views online and offline its vice foreign minister as pun- propaganda”, chiding the author- the Communist Party and provok- without fear of retribution.” ishment for the recent defection of itarian nation for silencing critics. ing anti-state violence, according EU Ambassador Bruno Angelet the nuclear-armed country’s dep- Rights activist and blogger to the Ministry of Public Security’s also called for Quynh to be freed, uty ambassador to Britain, South Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, more official newspaper. said that her “arrest goes against Legislators Edward Yiu Chung-yim, (back centre), Sixtus Leung, Korean media reported yesterday. commonly known as Me Nam “This trend threatens to over- Vietnam’s international and domes- The mass-circulation Joon- which means “Mother Mushroom”, shadow Vietnam’s progress on tic human rights obligations”. (back left) and Yau Wai-ching, protest in the main chamber at the gAng Ilbo, quoting an anonymous Legislative Council, in Hong Kong, yesterday. source familiar with North Korean affairs, said that Kung Sok-Ung had been removed from his post and expelled from Pyongyang to a rural farming area with his family. It said the purge was ordered Two dead and 24 injured in Bulacan fireworks blaze by supreme leader Kim Jong-Un following the defection of the North’s deputy ambassador to AFP Mel Berbosa de Castro, 50, her lip and the body of local man unearthed Britain, Thae Yong-Ho, and his still bleeding and her back hurting from beneath the debris hours later. family to the South two months from the blast said. Twenty-four other people were ago. “I saw a bloodied old man run- injured, he added. “Since Thae Yong-Ho’s defec- BOCAUE: A blaze ripped through a ning away looking for his grandchild. Huge and sometimes deadly fires tion in late July, there has been an group of fireworks shops in the Phil- Others were just running for their at sprawling slums, markets and overall inspection throughout the ippines yesterday, killing two people lives.” factories are common in the Phil- foreign ministry,” the source said and leaving 24 others injured, offi- Driver Ricky Salvador, 47, said he ippines, where safety regulations are recently. cials said. helped take a victim with a blood- poorly enforced. “Kung Sok-Ung was held The fire set off a series of ied face to hospital. “It was like a war In May last year, 72 people were accountable for the embassies in explosions at a strip of shops that zone. I saw shards of glass, nails fly- killed after a huge blaze tore through Europe and purged as a result.” overturned a truck and badly dam- ing up in the air. Firecrackers were a footwear factory in the northern South Korea’s Unification Min- aged three other vehicles on a major flying all over.” suburbs of Manila. istry spokesman Jeong Joon-Hee road in Bocaue, a town about 30km The town’s fire marshal, Senior In one of the country’s deadliest- said the ministry was in the proc- north of Manila. Inspector Renan Batchine, put the ever fires, 162 people were killed and A truck was turned over after an explosion during a fire at fireworks ess of “verifying” the report but “I was hurled to the back of the updated toll at two dead, including 94 were injured at a Manila disco in offered no further comment. shop in Bulacan, north of Manila, yesterday. shop by the force of the explosion,” a woman burnt beyond recognition 1996. PAKISTAN THURSDAY 13 OCTOBER 2016 13 14 dead in blast outside mosque in Afghanistan

spokesman Munir Ahmad Farhad, “cowardly” attacks, adding that they adding that 14 people were killed “were clearly designed to stoke sec- The blast came as and 28 injured. His account was tarian tension in Afghanistan”. the IS group claimed confirmed by the provincial deputy The threat of attacks on Shia police chief. The blast came as the was considered particularly serious responsibility for Islamic State group claimed respon- during Ashura, and many foreign twin attacks in Kabul sibility for twin attacks in Kabul on embassies in Kabul had restricted a day before, killing Tuesday that also targeted Shia, kill- staff movements until the end of the ing up to 18 people and wounding week. In 2011 about 80 people were up to 18 people and dozens. killed and more than 100 wounded wounding dozens. Witnesses said gunmen entered when a suicide bomber struck a gath- the Karte Sakhi shrine near Kabul ering of Shia during Ashura in the University late Tuesday, firing indis- heart of Kabul. criminately on men, women and Grieving worshippers described AFP children as they tried to flee. The desperately trying to shelter their interior ministry said one was wear- children against a hail of gunfire dur- ing a suicide vest. ing the Kabul attacks. At the same time, another One mother who gave her name MAZAR-I-SHARIF: At least 14 Shias attacker entered a nearby mosque as Saleha said of a gunman who was A boy receives treatment at a hospital after a bomb blast in northern Mazar-i-Sharif yesterday. were killed yesterday in a power- and took an unspecified number “killing everyone”. ful blast at a mosque in northern of people hostage as they were She was shot in the leg as she CEO Dr Abdullah and other rich ones attack, which President Ashraf Ghani deadliest attack in the capital since Afghanistan, the second deadly commemorating Ashura, the min- tried to protect her child. “While I live abroad. Here, only poor people condemned as a “clear sign of a crime 2001. Its leader Hafiz Saeed was attack on the minority in as many istry said. The UN called the attack was hugging my little son I begged are killed every day.” against humanity”. killed in a US airstrike in Nangarhar days during the major festival of an “atrocity” and put the toll at 18, him not to kill my child,” she said at Another witness, Ali Hussain, said Until recent months the group that same month, and officials have Ashura. though the interior ministry later said a Kabul hospital. attackers “indiscriminately shot eve- had been confined to its strong- denied the July attack marked a turn- “The explosion happened at the it was 16. The child survived, but she ryone they faced. They wouldn’t even hold in eastern Nangarhar, but in ing point for IS in Afghanistan, saying gate of the Shia mosque in the centre White House National Secu- angrily denounced the Afghan gov- spare women and children”. July it claimed twin bombings that the group has been under heavy pres- of Balkh district (in Balkh prov- rity Council spokesman Ned Price ernment for failing to protect them. The IS group’s affiliate in Afghan- tore through Shia Hazara protest- sure from US strikes and Afghan ince),” said the provincial governor’s in a statement condemned both “The families of the president, istan and Pakistan claimed the Kabul ers in Kabul, killing 84 people in the forces on the ground. Islamabad seeks bigger Sharif to embark on 3-day visit to Azerbaijan economic alliance to Internews visit of the prime minister to Azerba- attention to the situation in South ijan. He will be accompanied by a Asia and Pakistan’s policy of peaceful high-level delegation, said a For- neighbourhood. A joint declaration is counter India’s influence eign Office statement. also expected to be signed during the ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz During the stay in Baku, Sharif visit. Pakistan and Azerbaijan enjoy Sharif (pictured) will embark on a will hold talks with the president and close and cooperative relations, three-day visit to Azerbaijan today, Prime Minister Artur Tahir Rasizade. which are underpinned by commo- Internews terrorist attack in Uri as the rea- where he will discuss bilateral The leaders will discuss bilateral nalities of history, culture and faith. son for its decision to boycott the relations and economic coopera- relations, including economic coop- The reciprocated support on the summit. Pakistan strongly denies tion, besides exchanging views on eration, trade and investment. Jammu and Kashmir dispute and the the Indian allegation and India regional and international issues. They will also exchange views Nagorno-Karabakh issue is a testi- ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is exploring has provided no evidence to sup- At the invitation of President on regional and international issues mony to the close understanding the possibility of creating a greater port its claim so far. Yet three other Ilham Aliyev, this will be the first of mutual interest, with particular between Pakistan and Azerbaijan. South Asian economic alliance to Saarc nations Afghanistan, Bangla- counter India’s controlling hold desh and Bhutan joined the boycott. on the eight-member South Asian The boycott led to an indefinite Association for Regional Coopera- postponement of the summit and Lahore witnesses tion (Saarc), observers say. exposed Pakistan’s isolation within Standing guard A parliamentary delegation the group where it once played a key from Pakistan, which is now in role. Among the eight Saarc nations, upsurge in New York, pitched this idea dur- Afghanistan and Bangladesh are ing its five-day visit to Washington India’s strong allies while Bhutan, dengue cases last week. “A greater South Asia is surrounded by India from all sides, already emerging,” said Senator is too small to resist any move from Mushahid Hussain Syed, in one of New Delhi. Internews his interactions with the media. The Maldives, Nepal and Sri “This greater South Asia Lanka have good ties with Paki- includes China, Iran and the neigh- stan, but they are not large enough bouring Central Asian republics.” to take on India. LAHORE: The number of den- He described the China-Paki- “Apparently, the showdown gue patients is on the rise in the stan Economic Corridor as the key forced Pakistan to conclude that in provincial capital of Lahore in economic route linking South Asia its present shape, Saarc will always spite of the tall claims of health with Central Asia. The Gwadar port, be dominated by India. That’s why department and the city district he pointed out, would be the near- they are now talking about a greater government. est warm water port, not only for South Asia,” said a senior diplo- According to a report sent China but also for the land-locked mat while confirming reports that by the Lahore General Hospi- Central Asian states. Pakistan is actively seeking a new tal to Punjab director-general of “We want India to join this regional arrangement. “Pakistan health services, some 100 people arrangement as well,” said Hus- hopes that this new arrangement visited the infirmary with dengue sain, an offer Indians are unlikely will give it more room to manoeuvre symptoms during the first eight to accept as they are comfortable when India tries to force a decision days of the month. The number of with the advantage that Saarc pro- on it,” said another diplomat. such patients was 158 during the vides them. Diplomatic observers in Wash- whole month of September, says Last month, India used its influ- ington say that the proposed the report. Lahore has a dozen or ence in Saarc to isolate Pakistan arrangement also suits China as it so public sector hospitals. when it announced that it would is also worried about India’s rap- Tariq Mahmood Mian, the not attend the regional group’s 19th idly growing influence in the region. President of Family Physicians summit, scheduled in Islamabad on They argue that China can play A policeman stands guard on a shipping container used to block roads as added security is put in of Pakistan, confirmed that dur- November 15 and 16. an important role in persuading place during a religious procession in Karachi yesterday. ing the last one month or so, there India cited Pakistan’s alleged Central Asian republics and Iran to had been a significant surge in the involvement in the September 18 join the new arrangement. number of dengue patients visit- ing general practitioners (GPs) or physicians running private clin- ics in different parts of the city. “Before September 10, GPs sel- dom received a suspected dengue Afghans blame rampant graft for rising militancy patient in a week. Now they have 20 to 30 patients daily and the fig- ure is higher in DHA and adjoining AP Afghanistan is consistently rated by the cor- ghost soldiers, according to Sopko’s most recent themselves against attack, said Attaullah, a areas,” said DrMian, adding that ruption watchdog Transparency International report. member of the provincial council. “Some sell around 40,000 GPs catered to the as one of the world’s most corrupt countries, Helmand is particularly afflicted by cor- their weapons, their ammunition, even in some healthcare needs of the 75 percent KABUL: For the past month, the Taliban have along with Somalia and North Korea. “It is esti- ruption, thanks in large part to its opium fields. cases their buildings, to the insurgents,” said population of Lahore. held control over most of Afghanistan’s Hel- mated that an eighth of all the money that goes The majority of the world’s heroin originates in Attaullah, who like many Afghans has only one “The principal symptoms of mand province, where the majority of the to Afghanistan is lost to corruption,” it said in this southern province bordering Pakistan. The name. “Sometimes they sell the soldiers, too, dengue are high fever, severe world’s opium is grown — and as insurgent a report released ahead of the aid conference. UN Office on Drugs and Crime last year valued along with their equipment.” headache, backache, joint pain, attacks intensify around the provincial capi- The US special inspector general for the crop $3bn a year, equivalent to around 20 A year ago, the government controlled 80 nausea and vomiting, besides tal, residents are blaming rampant government Afghanistan reconstruction, John Sopko, who percent of Afghanistan’s gross domestic prod- percent of the province. “Now, for at least the eye pain and rashes. Generally, corruption for the rising militant threat. is charged with tracing billions of dollars of uct. It helps fund the Taliban insurgency, and past month, more than 85 percent of Helmand younger children have a milder At an international aid conference last American aid, estimates that while the United local officials and military leaders profit from territory is basically under the control of the illness than older ones and adults. week, Afghanistan’s leaders raised $15bn States pays salaries for 320,000 Afghan sol- the industry too. They receive bribes to turn a Taliban and other terrorist groups,” said Abdul The sooner the affected people from their international backers and pledged diers and police nationwide, the actual number blind eye, and sell their military equipment to Ahad Massomi, a former governor of Gereshk consult a physician the better their to clamp down on graft. But corrupt officials of troops is just 120,000. The remainder are cash-rich militants. district, which has shifted between Taliban and chances of recovery,” he said. have hollowed out the national security forces, so-called “ghost soldiers.” Corrupt command- Local officials and residents say that cor- government control for years. He said undiagnosed or not selling weapons and even government buildings ers claim salaries and benefits for soldiers and ruption occurs at every level in the province The insurgents and other drug-trafficking properly treated dengue may to the Taliban, and alienated local populations. police who either don’t exist, have agreed to and everything is for sale, from government groups have joined forces to push the govern- lead to dengue hemorrhagic fever One Afghan official said that Helmand resi- hand over part of their pay in exchange for not jobs, to ammunition and weapons and state- ment out of the opium trade, said a former (DHF) that could be fatal. But with dents were so angry at corruption that they going to work, or who have been killed in battle. owned buildings. Across Helmand, soldiers central government official, who spoke on good medical management, the were turning to the Taliban, despite memories Of the 26,000 security force personnel and police regularly change sides and give up condition of anonymity because he was not mortality rate could be reduced of the extremist group’s harsh rule. officially assigned to Helmand, up to half are their vehicles and weapons rather than defend authorised to discuss the issue. to less than 1 percent. 14 THURSDAY 13 OCTOBER 2016 INDIA Three-day Kashmir gun battle ends; 2 militants dead

forces, left the seven-floor hostel government funds for entrepreneur- complex completely destroyed. The ship development in the job-starved The gunfight, one of building with a capacity for 200 state is located on the banks of the the longest in the inmates was opened with state of river Jhelum. The hostel building recent history of the art facilities less than two years was vacant when the two militants ago, JKEDI officials said. sneaked into it on Monday from the Kashmir, left three Briefing the media, army and river side. The institute had shifted security personnel police officers said two suicide much of its operations to Jammu in attackers, who had entered the com- the wake of the current unrest in the injured when plex on the banks of Jhelum River, Kashmir Valley. JKEDI officials said militants sneaked into were killed. One of them was killed that a couple of cooks were sleeping on Tuesday evening and the second inside the building but they came out the empty hostel. yesterday. as soon as it became evident that the General Officer Commanding militants had occupied its top floor. Ashok Narula said the operation was A caretaker, who stays in the conducted to avoid collateral damage. complex 24 hours, said he saw smoke IANS “We had to proceed very cau- coming out of the top floor and called tiously since the building where the fire brigade and police on Mon- the militants were holed up had 60 day morning. “We don’t know exactly rooms. Two terrorists have been what happened and how the militants SRINAGAR: A three-day-long gun eliminated without any casualty to sneaked in and occupied the build- battle between terrorists and secu- the security forces and two weap- ing. But fortunately there were no rity forces ended yesterday with the ons recovered,” Narula said. employees and no inmates,” he said. army killing two militants holed up in For three days, the security forces The main building of the institute a multi-storey government building kept on aiming rockets, grenades and was attacked in February when three on the outskirts of Srinagar, author- automatic gunfire at the building that Lashkar-e-Taiba militants killed six ities said. had an exterior glass facade. persons — a civilian, three soldiers, The gunfight, one of the longest While parts of the building caught and two paramilitary troopers. The in the recent history of Kashmir’s fire, the militants kept on changing militants were gunned down in the separatist war, left three security positions inside the building and February battle that also raged for An Army convoy drives near a building where militants were hiding on the third day of a gunfight between personnel injured on Monday when using their ammunition sparingly. nearly three days. the army and militants in Pampore. militants sneaked into the empty The entire JKEDI complex was The institute, situated on the stra- hostel building of Jammu and Kash- illuminated with floodlights during tegic arterial road connecting Jammu is located is the lifeline not only for The area around the building had refused an earlier request for mir Entrepreneurship Development the two nights of operation to ensure and Srinagar, had three buildings - a local supplies but is the only all- houses a government-owned join- a police or paramilitary security Institute (JKEDI) in saffron town of the guerrillas did not escape. guest house, a hostel complex and the weather link used by the army to ery factory and a highly secured cover fearing that it may deter young Pampore, some 12 km from here. The seven-storey Jammu and main office building - on 3.5 acres of reach the Srinagar-based 15 Corps complex of medium and shortwave Kashmiri men and women from vis- The resulting 60-hour stand- Kashmir Entrepreneurship Develop- land. The main office building was headquarters that is the nerve cen- radio transmitters of Radio Kashmir, iting the institute. The complex was off, which saw a heavy exchange of ment Institute (JKEDI) hostel that was gutted in the February shootout. tre of the fight against militancy in Srinagar. Ironically, the government- guarded by unarmed private secu- fire between militants and security constructed with the help of central The road on which the institute the state. funded autonomously-run institute rity guards. Abolish Rs500 & Rs1,000 notes to curb black money: Naidu BJP calls for Kerala bandh IANS those who are buying votes and mis- total bank transactions,” he added. Ravana, Naidu said black money was using the people’s mandate. “Politics He also did not favour Income a major cause for these problems. has become shelter for corrupt peo- Declaration Scheme for black money He pointed out that after earn- after murder ple and black money earners,” said earners, saying this only help them ing the money by hook or crook, AMARAVATI: Andhra Pradesh Chief Naidu, also the Telugu Desam Party to turn black money into white. some people resort to drinking liq- Minister N Chandrababu Naidu (pic- (TDP) chief. “They have to give only 40-45 per- uor, going to clubs and indulging in of a worker tured) yesterday sought immediately Terming black money as the root cent money. Their remaining money other immoral activities. abolishing big currency notes and cause for all the evils, Naidu said this becomes white. It’s good for them. Claiming that India is positioned called for making baking transac- could be curbed by abolishing cash They will happily pay this. There is to become super power, Naidu said it IANS tions compulsory in course of time and currency transactions and mak- not even social stigma,” he said. is the only country in the world with to curb black money. ing all transactions through banks Union Finance Minister Arun great values and described the fam- Stressing the need for ban on compulsory. When all payments can Jaitely had said early this month that ily system as country’s greatest asset. THIRUVANANTHAPURAM/ cash transactions, he reiterated his be made through a smart phone, after the first quarter of the Income In an obvious reference to NEW DELHI: The BJP called for a demand for immediately abolish- there was no need for cash transac- Declaration Scheme ended on Sep 30, US Pesidential candidate Don- protest shutdown in Kerala today ing currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs tions, he said. as many as 64,275 declarants have ald Trump’s lewd comments about and demanded a CBI probe after 1,000 denominations. “In course of time we have to go collectively disclosed Rs65,250 crore. women, the TDP leader said it speaks one of its activists was murdered Addressing a news conference in for total bank transactions. We have “Out of the Rs65,000 crore dis- of hollowness. yesterday allegedly by CPI-M his new office at Velagapudi here, he to regulate and create culture. Then closed across the country, Rs13,000 “It’s evident from this that there members in Pinarayi village in also voiced concern that politics has only we can control all evils and then crore was declared in Hyderabad is no leadership in a developed coun- Kannur district. become a “shelter” for corrupt. only everybody will earn money and, out of it, Rs10,000 crore by a sin- try like US,” he remarked. The BJP also accused the Naidu, who had been demand- through genuine way,” he said. gle individual. Who is that, we can’t He also referred to polygamy in state’s Left Democratic Front ing a ban on big currency notes, said Stating that some people were know as per law. Is it possible for a the US. “If you see, Trump has fourth government and Chief Minister he would be writing a letter to Prime becoming rich overnight, he said notes among voters. “This is leading businessman to declare such huge wife. These are no values. This is Pinarayi Vijayan of unleashing Minister Narendra Modi yesterday when questioned, they were launch- to competition among MLAs, who money?” Naidu said. temporary enjoyment but we have “political terrorism” in Kerala. itself in this regard. ing a “counter attack”. also want to make money to win Appreciating Prime Minister values. India is the only country with Condemning the murder of He said abolishing the big cur- Naidu said such people get votes elections. This is a vicious circle and Narendra Modi for stating that there family bond and it is the main reason Remith, a 26-year-old driver, rency notes was necessary to check by distributing Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 the only way to break it is to go for are still people and problems like for our happiness,” he said. Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shah alleged “political vendetta” was the reason for the attacks on party workers in the south- ern state. Villagers in Himalayan “Murder of Remith in Pinarayi is disturbing. Attacks on BJP kar- yakartas (workers) in Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s home landscape grapple constituency is a matter of grave concern and smacks of political vendetta,” Shah said on Twitter. The BJP President said with tourism boom Remith’s father Chavassery Utta- man was similarly killed in 2002. “I strongly condemn this grue- some murder and call upon all Reuters leaders across the political spec- trum and national and regional media to join in this condemna- tion as violence has no place in a LEH: Villagers nestled high in the democratic country,” Shah later Himalayas are grappling with said in a statement in Delhi. lifestyle changes in the world’s fast- “The repeated occurrence of est-growing major economy that political violence in Kannur dis- are eroding their age-old Buddhist trict and in the native village of culture but opening up new oppor- the Chief Minister clearly shows tunities. these are sponsored killings by People have long wrested a liv- the Marxist cadres with the Chief ing from herding goats and tending Minister’s active patronage,” he wheat fields ringed by 6,000 metre added. (19,685-ft) snow-capped peaks, Shah demanded that the while Buddhist monasteries dotting investigation into the murder of the landscape are a reminder of the Children look down from the Royal Palace in Leh, the largest town in the region of Ladakh, nestled high in Remith be expeditiously handed region’s ties to its eastern neighbour, the Himalayas. over to the Central Bureau of Tibet. Investigation by the Kerala gov- Traditions are fading fast as where Gautam Buddha, founder The resulting strain on resources Thiksey monastery nearby, her head ernment. Remith was attacked in larger numbers of the country’s bur- of the religion, is believed to have leaves vehicles clogging narrow adorned with a fur-lined hat studded front of a petrol pump in Pinarayi, geoning middle class flock to holiday 15km distant from Leh, the region’s attained enlightenment. roads, spurring worries about grow- with turquoise stones that is a fam- a police official said. The crime in the tranquillity of the lunar-like largest town. Several thousand are ethnic ing pollution and the risk of receding ily heirloom. spot is near Chief Minister Vijay- terrain. Residents of the village, 3,500 Tibetans who fled across the border glaciers. She says schooling has improved an’s house. Yet living in India’s remote north- metres above sea level, use cow dung after an abortive uprising against But tourism spells a more pros- as wealth has penetrated to the Remith’s murder followed western corner of Ladakh still has to heat their homes and solar power Chinese rule in 1959. perous future for the youth. mountains from the Indian hinter- the killing of 52-year-old CPI-M advantages, says Tashi Phutit (pic- to warm water. They work together Today’s biggest change is the Life has “become much easier land hundreds of kilometres to the grassroots leader K Mohanan, tured), an 81-year old wheat farmer to harvest the fields of each villager, country’s ballooning tourist indus- and much more comfortable,” says south, but change has come at a cost. who was hacked to death by sus- and housewife. “Now we can eat before moving on to the next. try, with the government forecasting Tsering Gurmet, Phutit’s 28-year-old “The children here no longer care pected Rashtriya Swayamsevak better vegetables and wear better Buddhists form the majority arrivals in Ladakh to hit 313,000 in grandson, who is a mountain guide. about the culture and they spend Sangh activists on Monday. clothes. The problem is people are of those dwelling in Leh’s rugged 2017, exceeding the region’s 280,000 Mathematics teacher Phun- less time talking to each other,” the Both murders took place becoming greedy,” she said outside treeless deserts, but make up just 9 residents and ten times the number chok Angmo stands proudly in the 33-year-old said. “They spend their in Vijayan’s Dharmadom her stone-hut home in Stok, a village million of the 1.3-billion population, of visitors in 2002. shadow of the 15th-century hilltop free time on laptops.” constituency. INDIA THURSDAY 13 OCTOBER 2016 15

Surgical strike: Parrikar Polluted Yamuna river dismisses Congress claim

accumulated was vented on Sep- tember 29.” The Congress has At the same time, he also made said surgical strikes it clear that it was a “single one-time operation”. The Minister said that were conducted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led thrice during the government, since coming to power, United Progressive has cleared defence proposals worth Rs250,000 crore. Alliance rule. “...in coming months and coming years, capabilities (will be) improved to a level where no one can take us lightly,” the Defence Minister said. IANS A war of words has erupted over the politicisation of the surgi- cal strikes on the intervening night old cases,” he said. of September 28-29, following a ter- MUMBAI: Defence Minister Mano- The Congress has said surgical rorist attack at an Army camp in Uri Scavengers look for coins and re-usable items among the offerings and wooden frames, which are har Parrikar (pictured) yesterday strikes were conducted thrice dur- in which 19 soldiers were killed. piled up in the Yamuna river in New Delhi yesterday, following the Durga Puja festival. dismissed the Congress’s claims ing the United Progressive Alliance The Opposition has accused the of having carried out cross-border (UPA) rule. government of trying to capitalise forays during its regime, even as he At another event, Parrikar said he on the Army’s action for electoral credited the September 29 surgical did not mind sharing the credit, and gains. Yesterday, a fresh attack was strikes across the Line of Control the 127 crore Indians, including the launched against the government. (LoC) to all Indians and especially “doubting Thomases” can share the “Clearly, the BJP is trying to BJP has edge in UP polls Prime Minister Narendra Modi. credit. He, however, added: “A major exploit the surgical strikes as an Goa bans drones The Defence Minister, speaking at share of the credit goes to the Prime electoral strategy and it has com- & unscheduled an event here, said he would also get Minister.” plete disregard for army sentiments with 170-182 seats: Survey some of the credit for being decisive. “For myself, I would only share or the truth itself,” Congress spokes- flights near BRICS “To my knowledge, there were the credit, at the most, the major person Sanjay Jha said. no surgical strikes carried out in the share goes to the Prime Minister “Parrikar claimed that the Modi summit venue past. Those action can at the best be but the issue, I will at least claim the government had ‘made the army IANS seats. The Congress is likely to win called as ‘covert operations’ where credit for, is decision-making ability realise its prowess and strength’ for only eight to 12 seats in the country’s the action was taken first and the and planning.” the first time. Amit Shah lied to the most populous state, according to the IANS government was informed later. Parrikar also said that the Sep- nation and disgracefully undermined survey. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, But the September 29 strikes were a tember 29 operation was carried out the sacrifice of our armed forces by NEW DELHI: A survey ahead of the the BJP won 71 of the 80 seats in the result of a government decision,” Par- by the Army and not a political party. proclaiming that ‘Army has crossed crucial 2017 Uttar Pradesh assem- politically significant state. PANAJI: All unmanned aer- rikar said at an event hosted by the “I think that should settle the the LoC for the first time in 68 years’ bly elections has given the Bharatiya The survey, however, claimed ial vehicles (UAVs) or drones, Forum for Integrated National Secu- nerves of many people I under- under the Modi Government,” said Janata Party an edge, projecting it that 31 percent of those surveyed para and sports gliding, hot rity in Mumbai. stand quite well, because I am a Congress spokesperson Randeep may emerge as the single largest rated BSP chief Mayawati as their air ballooning have been The Minister said claims by the politician... I understand peoples’ Singh Surjewala. party with at least 170 seats in the Chief Minister choice. Over 30 per- banned up to 100km from Congress of having conducted strikes sentiments are satisfied and when In poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, 404-member house. cent respondents said that the Modi the main venue of the BRICS were being made now, and not when population is satisfied, ‘Wo khuda Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Chief The India Today TV-Axis sur- government at the Centre has not summit by the South Goa the purported strikes took place. jaisa hi hota hai, chhappar phad ke Mayawati said the government was vey said the BJP, as of now, was in fulfilled many of its election prom- district administration from “Some of them may be true, deta hai’ (they are like gods, they doing “natak baaji” (drama) around a position to win 170-182 seats, the ises. In the 2012 assembly polls, the tomorrow, a government some of them may be exaggerated. give in abundance),” he said. “The the surgical strikes in a bid to divert Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) of Maya- SP emerged the winner with 224 spokesperson said yesterday. The number may increase to two- satisfaction of 30 years of boil- the people’s attention from their wati 115-124 seats and the state’s seats, followed by BSP with 80, the “The ban is on low-flying three dozen during elections... the ing within and the steam that had problems. ruling Samajwadi Party 94 to 103 BJP with 47 and the Congress 28. objects such as para gliders, hang gliders, hot air balloons, aero models, airborne video cameras/drones and similar short-range aerial vehicles Karunanidhi wonders about Jayalalithaa’s portfolio reallocation up to a distance of 100km around the Taj Exotica hotel from October 14,” the spokes- person said. IANS Given this situation, the statement On Tuesday, Congress’ state According to him, there is no pro- The spokesperson also from Raj Bhavan yesterday that real- unit President S Thirunavukkara- vision in the Constitution for an acting said that air space restrictions location of the portfolios was done sar, reacting to reallocation of the Chief Minister. Political commenta- had been imposed around based on the advice of Jayalalithaa portfolios, said that it “is a welcome tor Maalan Narayanan said that in 300km from the same hotel CHENNAI: DMK President M Karuna- is a wonder. development for the continued func- 1984, the then Governor Sundar Lal from 4 pm on October 14 to 4 nidhi yesterday said it is a wonder that Karunanidhi also said one can- tioning of the government”. Khurana asked then Finance Minister pm on October 17. Tamil Nadu Governor Vidyasagar Rao not entirely overlook the doubt as to He said the situation is similar to VR Nedunchezhiyan to preside over Flights shall also not be allocated portfolios handled by Chief whether the acting Tamil Nadu Gov- the one that existed when AIADMK the cabinet meetings and not to take permitted to take-off and Minister J Jayalalithaa (pictured) to ernor Vidyasagar Rao had analysed founder, the late MG Ramachandran any policy decisions. land at Goa’s Dabolim air- Finance Minister O Panneerselvam the various provisions of the Consti- (MGR), was admitted to the same The 68-year-old Jayalalithaa was port and subsidiary airport based on her advice. tution in a short span of time. Apollo Hospitals in October 1984. admitted to the hospital on September within the area during the In a statement issued here, Karu- According to the Raj Bhavan state- Senior AIADMK leader C Ponnai- 22 for fever and dehydration. same period. “Only flights by nanidhi said Jayalalithaa is in the ment issued on Tuesday, Governor yan said that the portfolios handled The doctors later said she needed the scheduled flight opera- hospital for the past 19 days and was Vidyasagar Rao has, under Clause by MGR were then allocated to a longer stay at the hospital as she was tors, Indian Air Force, Border advised longer stay there. (3) of the Constitution’s Article 166, Nedunchezian. suffering from infection, and put her Security Force, Indian Navy He said that several leaders, allocated the subjects hitherto dealt According to Ponnaiyan, MGR on respiratory support. and Coast Guard flights, including the Tamil Nadu Gover- with by Jayalalithaa to Panneersel- over the cabinet meetings. “This in 1984 had orally instructed that On October 8, the hospital said: army aviation helicopter nor, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi vam on her advice. arrangement has been made as per his portfolios are to be handled by “The respiratory support is closely flights undertaking air- Vijayan, Congress Vice-President Jayalalithaa held the portfolios of the advice of Hon’ble Chief Minister Nedunchezhiyan. watched and adjusted. Lungs decon- borne quick reaction teams Rahul Gandhi, Union Minister M Public, Indian Administrative Service, and will continue until the Hon’ble “As per the rules, the Chief Min- gestion treatment is being continued. missions and casualty imme- Venkaiah Naidu and others, were not Indian Police Service, Indian Forest Chief Minister Selvi J Jayalalithaa ister can orally tell any one or more All other comprehensive measures diate medical evacuation will allowed to see or wish Jayalalithaa in Service, General Administration, Dis- resumes her duties. Selvi J Jayalalithaa cabinet colleagues to handle the port- including nutrition, supportive ther- be permitted,” the spokes- person when they visited the Apollo trict Revenue Officers, and Home. will continue to be the Chief Minis- folios. This is the practice followed apy and passive physiotherapy are person said. Hospitals here where she is admitted. Panneerselvam will also preside ter,” the Raj Bhavan statement said. across the country,” he said. under way.” From KFC to local flavour, food delivery apps spice up train journeys

AFP with cleaning mops. There is demand cooked food for delivery on the trains, too for a greater variety of options, railway ministry spokesman Anil with customers craving international Kumar Saxena said. cuisine, fast food, as well as local fare. A host of private entrepreneurs MATHURA: Passengers on the coun- The new services are part of are also trying to tap the market, try’s vast railway network have long the process of modernising India’s among them Pushpinder Singh, who complained of the terrible meals on state-owned railway network, which founded TravelKhana (Travel Food) offer to sustain them on long journeys, carries around 23 million passengers with his wife in 2012. The company but a slew of new services bringing a day. Asia’s oldest rail network is a signs up individual restaurants close fast food to their seats is changing the lifeline for 1.2 billion people, but is to stations on busy routes, providing way they dine. creaking from decades of neglect and a delivery service for a fee. From Kentucky Fried Chicken to chronic underinvestment. “There are around 5,000 long dis- Domino’s pizza and a host of local del- Last year the government tance trains with an average journey icacies, today’s train passengers have announced a $137bn five-year of around 770km (480 miles), but only access to a vast array of hot dishes, modernisation plan that includes six percent of them have a proper food all at the click of a smartphone app. introducing free wifi in some stations service,” Singh said. “This is the sec- For passenger Amit V, who has in partnership with Google. tion we are targeting.” ordered a vegetarian curry dish to be Google says the service will cover The key to success is speed — delivered to his seat, the new services 100 stations by the end of this year, delivery services have just a few are a godsend after years of buying with an eventual target of 400 — a minutes to track down their custom- railway food that he says was often further boost to online food delivery ers before the train leaves the station. inedible. “This food is 100 times better services. At Mathura station, deliveryman than the railways food,” the mathe- Last year Indian Railways invited Aman Singh Badhorie takes it all in matics teacher said as he prepared major chains such as KFC to sign up his stride. to board a train for the 19-hour jour- to its e-catering service, which allows Within two minutes he pushed his ney from Mathura, a major rail hub in Employees work at a call centre of TravelKhana in Noida. passengers to pre-order online or by way through an overcrowded carriage northern India, to his home town in phone for delivery at major stations. to locate his customer’s seat, delivered the west of the country. The next step will be to set up his order and taken payment, leaving It is all a far cry from what was on were reports of cockroaches being report said food was cooked in “dirty, In one case, the samosas — a pop- “base kitchens” in major stations to him a full 60 seconds to disembark offer just a few years ago, when there found in dishes, and a leaked internal smelly and waterlogged pantry cars”. ular snack — were kept in a basket allow companies to prepare freshly before the train pulls away. 16 THURSDAY 13 OCTOBER 2016 EUROPE May agrees to demand for debate on Brexit

transparent debate” on how the gov- was clear in parliament that she ernment will enact the public vote to would be “ambitious” in negotiations The British Prime leave EU. with the other 27 EU members to get Minister however, The move spurred sterling, which the best deal. has fallen 18 percent against the dol- “And that will include the maxi- stopped short of lar since the June referendum, with mum possible access to the European promising a formal investors concerned Britain is head- market for firms to trade with and ing for a so-called “hard Brexit”, or a operate within,” May told parlia- vote on her strategy clean break from the bloc’s lucrative ment, a statement which helped before triggering single market of 500 million consum- sterling gain around a quarter of a Article 50 of the EU’s ers in order to control immigration. cent against the dollar. But May, under pressure from Lawmakers say by refusing to Lisbon Treaty. Labour, other lawmakers and glo- debate her strategy, May is undermin- bal financial markets to offer them ing Britain’s centuries-old democracy. more than her catch phrase of “Brexit The leader says she does not want to means Brexit”, stopped short of show her hand before starting some of Reuters promising a formal vote on her strat- the most complex negotiations London egy before triggering Article 50 of the has ever undertaken. A video grab shows British Prime Minister Theresa May (third left) speaking during Prime Minister’s Questions EU’s Lisbon Treaty. “I and many others did not exer- in the House of Commons in London, yesterday. “We’ve always said that parlia- cise our vote in the referendum so as LONDON: British Prime Minister ment has an important role to play,” to restore the sovereignty of this par- plan for leaving the EU before Article Government as negotiations are parliamentary approval and her gov- Theresa May has agreed to demands May’s spokeswoman said yesterday. liament only to see what we regarded 50 is invoked”. entered into which will take place after ernment will defend that position at for parliament to debate her govern- “But we also believe this should as the tyranny of the European Union May accepted the motion with con- Article 50 has been triggered”. London’s High Court today, when a ment’s plans to leave the European be done in a way that respects the replaced by that of a government,” ditions via an amendment, under her “The idea that parliament some- legal challenge led by a pro-EU invest- Union (EU), but ruled out letting it decision of the people of the UK when Stephen Phillips, a Conservative law- name, posted on the parliament web- how wasn’t going to be able to discuss, ment fund manager will begin. vote on triggering the formal Brexit they voted to leave the EU on 23 June maker who voted to leave, told the site. In it, the government said: “The debate, question ... was frankly com- The former interior minister has procedure. and does not undermine the nego- Guardian newspaper. process should be undertaken in such pletely wrong,” May said when asked given little away on her negotiating Early yesterday, May moved to tiating position of the government.” The Labour lawmakers’ motion a way that respects the decision of the by a Labour lawmaker whether par- strategy, signalling that she wanted appease some lawmakers in her rul- “There will not be a vote on trig- called for a full debate on the gov- people of the UK when they voted to liament would get a vote on the to return sovereignty to Britain, ing Conservative Party by allowing gering Article 50.” ernment’s plan to leave the European leave the EU.” government’s Brexit plan. reduce immigration but also have a motion proposed by the oppo- Increasingly conscious that mar- Union and demanded the chamber Any scrutiny must “not under- May has defended her “preroga- the best possible deal for businesses sition Labour Party for a “full and kets are moving on her words, May be “able properly to scrutinise that mine the negotiating position of the tive” to trigger the departure without and trade.

Creepy clowns Remembering history France creates National spotted in The Netherlands Guard to bloster security AP adaptation of our security and AFP defence strategy.” “It is also a response to patriotic spirit that was expressed after the THE HAGUE: The creepy clown PARIS: France’s government has attacks,” he told reporters follow- phenomenon, which has been approved a decree creating a ing the Cabinet meeting. spooking the United States, National Guard to bolster security Guard members’ tasks will vary appears to have arrived in the against extremist attacks across the from patrolling streets of big cities Netherlands after sightings of two country. The Cabinet adopted the to securing major sport and festive people dressed in masks and bear- measure during its weekly meeting events to working in military staff ing weapons, Dutch police said. yesterday. offices. They will be fully integrated One person was seen armed The Guard, which is expected to into regular troops and police forces with a knife and a hammer, grow to 84,000 people by 2018, is for a certain period of the year — dressed in a costume and a scary a new, enhanced version of exist- from few days to several months. clown mask near a park in the ing reserve forces. Following the They can be students, job seekers, southern town of Oss. November 13 attacks in Paris last employees as well as retired police And another was seen early year, President Francois Hollande officers and military veterans. yesterday, after being spotted proposed creation of the force Regular military and police earlier in the week by residents in to include citizens willing to get reserves now include 63,000 people. Almere, close to Amsterdam, fur- involved in serving their country. Students under the age of 25 who ther north in the country. Presidental guards and tourists stand on top of the ancient Acropolis in Athens, yesterday, at a Defence minister Jean-Yves Le join the Guard a minimum of 37 days “Dear killer clown from Oss, ceremony to mark the liberation of the city from the German occupiers during the World War II. Drian said creation of the Guard a year for five years will get a state clearly you find it either pleasant “is a response to the need for an grant of €100 ($110) per month. or fun to give people the fright of their lives,” police in Oss wrote yesterday on their Facebook page. “You probably don’t know, but to play clown in this way is pun- ishable,” they warned, adding Lawyers give up defence of Paris attack suspect they were taking the matter very seriously. Almere police added these Reuters this year, does not want to talk and no 24-hours-a-day camera monitoring victims of the Paris attacks. They have France and back to Belgium, his “possible pranks seem to have longer wants legal representation, his in his high-security jail, conditions a right to know,” he said. country of residence, by car in the become a trend in the Nether- lawyers Frank Berton and Sven Mary which the lawyers have repeatedly A lawyer for some of the victims hours after the attacks on November lands now.” Creepy clown sightings PARIS: Lawyers defending the man said on BFM Television. tried and failed to get changed. of the Paris attacks said it was clear 13. He was later captured in Belgium in more than a dozen US states in believed to be the sole living suspect “We are convinced, and he told us “We have seen him slide away. the suspect had gone back on a pledge and handed over to France earlier past weeks have caused a wave in Islamist militant attacks that killed so, that he will not talk and will use Being watched all the time, with to talk to investigators and that the this year French authorities suspect of hysteria, forcing police and 130 people in France last November his right to remain silent. What can we infrared at night, that drives one round-the-clock monitoring of his him of helping to organise machine schools to scramble to contain have resigned from the case after do? I have said it from the beginning: crazy, and that is a consequence of a cell had nothing to do with his silence. gun and suicide bomb assaults on a spreading jitters. Even the White months in which their client has if my client remains silent, I drop his political decision,” he said. “Salah Abdeslam is refusing to music venue and a sports stadium and House weighed in, warning that refused to talk. defence,” Berton said. Abdeslam’s Belgian lawyer, Sven cooperate,” said lawyer Samia Mak- want to know if he was at one point local law enforcement authorities Salah Abdeslam, who has been Berton, a high-profile French Mary, said the solitary confinement touf. “The video surveillance is just a supposed to play a direct role in the were taking it seriously in the run- held in solitary confinement near criminal lawyer, said that Abdeslam was causing Abdeslam to clam up. pretext,” she told reporters. attacks. No date has yet been set for up to Halloween. Paris since he was captured earlier was refusing to talk because of the “The real victims of this are the Abdeslam was spirited out of his trial.

German cabinet approves more School in tatters troops for air surveillance of IS

Reuters German law requires that individ- said. ual missions must be approved by German involvement in com- parliament. No details were pro- bating IS was “a core part of our BERLIN: Chancellor Angela Mer- vided on exactly how many troops security policy in the region, which kel’s cabinet yesterday approved would be part of deployment. is aimed at countering direct and deployment of additional German Germany already has about 500 immediate danger to Germany, our troops to Turkey to help operate military personnel involved in the allies and the international commu- Nato surveillance aircraft as part fight against IS, including over 240 nity,” the draft legislation said. of the US-led fight against Islamic who are based at Incirlik air base Nato approved new AWACS mis- State (IS), government sources said. in Turkey to operate six Tornado sion in July and could start flying the The Airborne Warning and Con- surveillance aircraft and a refuel- planes this month, although initially trol System (AWACS) aircraft will be ling plane. Others are on board a without German crew since the Ger- based at Konya air base in southern German frigate that is operating man parliament is not expected to Turkey. They will be used for recon- in eastern Mediterranean with the approve the expanded German naissance in support of air strikes French aircraft carrier Charles de role until November. Nato has been against IS targets. Gaulle. operating some AWACS from Konya The German military, or Bun- The total number of German air base since early 2016 as part of deswehr, provides about one third troops participating in the fight a separate mission approved after A view of a collapsed building of Elementary School Number 6 is in Kiev, Ukraine. There were no casualties of crew used to operate and main- against IS is capped at 1,200 and Turkey shot down a Russian fighter or injuries in the incident. tain Nato’s AWACS planes, but will not be increased, the sources jet in border area in November 2015. EUROPE THURSDAY 13 OCTOBER 2016 17 French mayor sparks row with anti-migrant posters

The poster put out by Mayor Robert Eight face charges over Menard, is a reaction to government plans Austria migrant deaths to relocate thousands of migrants around AFP and an Afghan—considered the France. ringleader—have been remanded in custody over the tragedy. Four are accused of man- BUDAPEST: Hungarian police yes- slaughter, while another four could AFP terday said they will seek charges face charges of organised human against eight suspects after wrap- trafficking. A further three suspects ping up a probe into deaths of 71 remain at large. migrants found in an abandoned The badly decomposing bod- BÉZIERS, FRANCE: A French mayor truck in Austria last year, in a grue- ies of 71 people were found inside sparked outrage among rights groups some case that sent shockwaves a refrigerated poultry truck left in yesterday after putting up anti- through Europe. a layby in Burgenland state, close migrant posters and calling for a local “The investigation has been com- to Hungarian border, on August 27, referendum ahead of the arrival of pleted... Police will recommend to 2015. asylum-seekers in his town. prosecutors that they press charges The stench of human decay Under the headline “That’s It, against eight suspects,” said Zoltan emanated from the container They’re Coming”, is an image of a Boross, head of police anti-migrant where bodies lay piled on top of crowd of migrants, all of them men, trafficking unit. each other, crammed into a small outside the cathedral of the southern In total, seven Bulgarians rectangular space. A woman walks by a poster reading “They are coming, Migrants in our town centre” in a street of Beziers, town of Beziers. “The state is impos- southern France, yesterday. ing them on us,” the poster reads. “Migrants in our town centre.” of migrants from the north coast to poster as “nauseating” in a post on Speaking to French radio yester- said he had not been informed that migrants should be accepted. The poster put out by Mayor Rob- dozens of sites around France. its Twitter account. day, Menard said: “I’ll do everything a migrant reception centre was The government plans to break up ert Menard, an ally of the far-right Emmaus, a French group that SOS Racism has called for the to ensure these migrants don’t set- planned in the town and thought the “Jungle”, a shantytown near Calais National Front, is a reaction to gov- works with migrants and other home- region’s governor to step in and stop tle in.” residents should be allowed to vote in northern France currently occupied ernment plans to relocate thousands less people, denounced Menard’s Menard’s planned referendum. Beziers’ mayor since 2014, Menard in a referendum asking whether the by up to 9,000 migrants. Royal reception Germany to impose strict welfare curbs for EU immigrants

AFP German municipalities who were to leave the EU, and it remains to be already struggling with financial bur- seen whether a post-Brexit Britain den of caring for last year’s record will compromise on accepting free influx of migrants and refugees. movement of people in order to retain BERLIN: The German government “It’s clear that anyone who lives access to the single market. yesterday approved a new law to curb here, works here and pays their con- Germany is preferred destina- social benefits for EU citizens who tributions is also entitled to benefits tion for EU citizens, some 4.1 million arrive in the country without a job, of our social system,” said Labour of whom are currently living in the as it responds to pressure to get tough Minister Andrea Nahles after the cab- country. Britain is in second place on migrants. inet adopted the legislation. with some three million EU immi- Under the draft legislation, which But for those “who have never grants calling the country home. still needs to go through parliament, worked here and rely on state finan- Under the draft text agreed yes- EU nationals who have never worked cial aid to survive, the principle applies terday, unemployed EU nationals will in Germany will have to wait five that they should claim livelihood ben- be ineligible for social assistance until years before they can claim benefits. efits from their home country.” they have legally lived in Germany The strict new measure comes The government is keen to show for at least five years. after a federal court ruled last year it has heard voters’ concerns over Those affected by the change in the that every EU citizen had the right migration, as growing opposition to law will however be entitled to claim a to claim benefits once he or she had Chancellor Angela Merkel’s open- bridging subsistence allowance of one resided in Germany for six months. door policy has fuelled support for month. The proposed legislation came Queen Elizabeth speaks to Rod Stewart and Penny Lancaster during a reception and awards ceremony The ruling sparked fears of “wel- the populist, anti-migrant AfD party. in for immediate criticism from poli- at Royal Academy of Arts in London. fare tourism” from countries with a Worries over migration also ticians from the left-wing Die Linke lower standard of living, and angered played a key role in British decision party and the Greens. Presidential Putin accuses France of playing tricks with Syria resolution hopeful in Austria Reuters into account Russian proposals. forum in Moscow. said. to whip up anti-Russian hysteria tightens security Western governments said the He said French Foreign Minister “The French foreign minister in media under their control, and veto showed Moscow had no interest Jean-Marc Ayrault raised the idea flew from Moscow to Washington, to deceive their own citizens,” after death threat in halting the violence. of the resolution when he visited the next day he came out with (US Putin said. “I don’t know if that MOSCOW: Russian President But Putin, who earlier this week Moscow last week and that Ayrault Secretary of State John) Kerry, corresponds to the interests of Vladimir Putin yesterday accused called off a planned trip to Paris after was told the document put too accused Russia of all the deadly sins, European countries or not. But to just Reuters France of deliberately luring his French counterpart Francois much of the blame for the Aleppo no one spoke to or us or discussed service like this the foreign policy Moscow into vetoing a United Nations Hollande criticised Russia’s actions in violence on Syrian government anything with us, and tossed the interests, or maybe even the domestic resolution on Syria and suggested it Syria, launched a stinging attack on forces but that Moscow would not resolution into the Security Council political interests, of their allies, in VIENNA: A death threat by an was doing the bidding of the United France’s handling of the resolution. use its veto if France made some obviously expecting our veto. this case the United States? apparent neo-Nazi on Twitter has States. “It’s not our partners who should amendments. “What for? Knowing our position, “I don’t know. Is that really the prompted Austria’s independent Russia last week imposed its veto be offended by our veto, it’s us who “We expected joint, constructive and not discussing it with us, they role of such serious countries which presidential candidate Alexander on a French-backed resolution on the should be offended,” Putin said, when work with France and with other didn’t chuck in the resolution so it aspire to conduct independent Van der Bellen to reinforce his per- violence in the Syrian city of Aleppo, asked about France during a question permanent members of the Security would pass. But to get the veto. What policies and be called major powers. sonal security with members of the saying the document failed to take and answer session at a business Council. But what happened?,” Putin for? To exacerbate the situation and I don’t know,” Putin told the forum. police special forces, a spokesman said yesterday. Van der Bellen, a former leader of the Greens, narrowly beat Nor- bert Hofer of the far-right freedom France, Germany & Russia Spain National Day Party in a May run-off election, only for the result to be overturned because of widespread irregular- call for Ukraine summit ities in the count, though no foul play was uncovered. The re-run will be held on December 4. AFP people have been killed. A screenshot of a tweet from Ukraine and the West accuse Monday, which has since been Russia of fuelling the fighting, deleted but was provided to a sec- but Moscow denies government tion of media by an official from PARIS: French President Francois involvement. the Greens, said, “I shoot Van der Hollande yesterday spoke with Ger- A peace deal brokered by Ger- Bellen so he has holes like a golf man Chancellor Angela Merkel and many and France in February 2015 court and dies”. Russian President Vladimir Putin reduced the fighting but has failed The Twitter account has a pro- about organising a summit on the to stop it. file picture showing a man with a Ukraine conflict, French officials France said the conditions for a shaved head and a swastika tat- said. solution remained a lasting cease- too on his chest. The name of the The leaders had a telephone con- fire, speeding up disarmament and account includes the number 88, versation about the conditions for obtaining unrestricted access for a common reference among neo- a summit, which will also include Organisation for Security and Coop- Nazis to the “Heil Hitler” salute. Ukrainian President Petro Poro- eration in Europe (OCSE) observers. “The authorities are taking this shenko and will be held in Berlin The West also wants guaran- very seriously. The domestic intel- “very soon”, although no date has tees that local elections “can be held ligence agency thinks the threat yet been set, a statement from the within the framework of Ukrainian has increased,” a spokesman for French presidency said. law and the standards of the OSCE”. Van der Bellen said, adding that his The aim was “to try to make France is pursuing efforts to personal protection was reinforced progress on a negotiated political organise the summit despite tensions FROM LEFT: Spain’s King Felipe IV, Spain’s Queen Letizia, Spain’s Princess Sofia, and Princess Leonor eysterday with members of police’s solution” to the conflict in eastern with Russia after Putin cancelled watch troops march during the Spanish National Day military parade in Madrid, yesterday. Cobra special forces unit. Ukraine in which more than 9,600 a visit to Paris scheduled for next 18 THURSDAY 13 OCTOBER 2016 AMERICAS

Hillary brings in Trump backers Gore as closer on interrupt climate change AP

Obama’s speech MIAMI: Al Gore laid out the envi- ronmental stakes of the presidential race in stark terms during a campaign stop for Hillary Clinton, arguing that video recording from 2005 talking electing her opponent would lead to in vulgar terms about women. “climate catastrophe.” The US President “The fact that now you’ve got Vice-president during Clinton’s delivered a sharp people saying, ‘Well, we strongly husband’s eight years in the White disapprove. We really disagree. We House and a longtime environmen- indictment of find those comments disgusting. But tal activist, Gore served as a closer Republicans who we’re still endorsing him. We still for Clinton on climate change as the continue to support think he should be president.’ That Democratic candidate seeks to appeal doesn’t make sense to me,” Obama to activists and to young people, who Trump’s bid despite told several thousand people at a consider this a key issue. raucous outdoor rally. “The choice in this election is hearing him on a US President Barack Obama campaigns on behalf of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in “Now I hear then some peo- extremely clear. Hillary Clinton will recently released ple saying, ‘Well, I’m a Christian so Greensboro, North Carolina. make solving the climate crisis a top video recording. I’m all about forgiveness because national priority,” Gore said, before nobody’s perfect,’” Obama said. were “auditioning for a reality show.” a major party candidate who would be Polls indicate the presidential race issuing a strong warning about “Well, that is true. I am certainly not Trump is the former host of the NBC promoting those kinds of notions.” is extremely close in North Carolina. Republican Donald Trump. “Her perfect ... and I, too, believe in for- reality show The Apprentice. He urged those in audience to vote, Today, Obama is scheduled to opponent, based on the ideas that he AP giveness and redemption, but that Obama contrasted Clinton’s expe- saying “you’ve got everything to lose” in travel to Pittsburgh to address a has presented, would take us toward doesn’t mean I’m going to elect the rience, qualifications and penchant for the election and civility is on the ballot, White House event on the future of a climate catastrophe.” person president.” “sweating the details” with Trump, who as well as respect for women, tolerance innovation in the US and around the Gore’s history with Florida, the Obama said some Republicans Obama said doesn’t have the temper- and even democracy. world. That evening, he is scheduled ultimate swing state, lent extra weight GREENSBORO, NORTH CARO- were trying to have it both ways. ament, judgment, knowledge or “basic “If you want to send a message to address the Ohio Democratic Par- to his appeal to get out and vote. Gore LINA: Exposing the nation’s sharp “You can’t repeatedly denounce honesty a president needs to have. And in this election, make it a resound- ty’s annual dinner in Columbus. He won the popular vote in the 2000 political divisions as election day what is said by someone and then that was true even before we heard ing message: Turn back the forces of campaigns again for Clinton in Cleve- presidential election, but lost the nears, supporters of Republican say, ‘But I’m still going to endorse about his attitudes toward women.” racism and misogyny,” Obama said. land tomorrow. presidency to George W Bush after a Donald Trump repeatedly inter- him to be the most powerful per- Obama also criticised Trump for The stop in North Carolina, parts Obama opened his remarks by lengthy Florida recount and a shock- rupted President Barack Obama son on the planet’ and put them in threatening during debate to jail Clin- of which are experiencing record reflecting on Hurricane Matthew’s ing Supreme Court decision. as he urged North Carolina Dem- charge,” he said. ton for using nongovernment email flooding in the aftermath of Hurri- toll of death and destruction in North “Your vote really, really, really ocrats to take advantage of early Several minutes after Obama servers when she was secretary of cane Matthew, marked the first of Carolina. counts,” he told the crowd, which voting and cast their presidential started speaking, a young man and a state in Obama’s first term, without three appearances the president has “Thoughts and prayer are with the responded by chanting, “You won!” ballots for Democrat Hillary Clinton. woman who appeared to be Trump the benefit of a trial or due process. scheduled this week in battleground folks who are still dealing with rivers Clinton, meanwhile, vigorously Obama also delivered a sharp supporters moved toward the stage. Obama said the US has stood “in states in the White House race. The that are overflown, homes that are emphasised her plans to develop indictment of Republicans who con- They were quickly escorted out by contrast and in opposition” to those president cancelled a Clinton cam- being flooded,” he said. He urged eve- more clean energy, reduce fossil fuel tinue to support Trump’s bid despite security. kinds of ideas and, “I frankly never paign event last week in Miami ryone to “look out for each other, no production and build more weather- hearing him on a recently released Obama joked that the protesters thought I’d see the day when we’d have because of the approaching storm. matter what.” resistant infrastructure. Trump continues to Trump campaign ‘linked’ to Russian email hacking

AP going to do,” Podesta told reporters. attack partymen Podesta acknowledged the evidence was “circumstantial.” Stone said Podesta’s accusations AP “It is so nice the shackles have NEW YORK: Hillary Clinton’s top were “categorically false” and “with- been taken off me and I can now adviser said FBI is investigating out foundation.” WikiLeaks tweeted fight for America the way I want to,” Russia’s possible role in hacking yesterday that it “has had no contact Trump said in a tweet that brought thousands of his personal emails, with Roger Stone.” WASHINGTON: Donald Trump new concern — near panic in some an intrusion he said Donald Trump’s Podesta said the FBI contacted stepped up his fierce attacks on his cases — to a party trying to stave off campaign may have been aware of him over weekend and confirmed it own party leaders, promising to an all-out civil war before Novem- in advance. was investigating the hacking of his teach Republicans who oppose him ber 8. In another series of tweets, If true, the assertion from Clin- account as part of the ongoing probe a lesson and to fight for the presi- Trump called Ryan “weak and ton campaign chairman John Podesta in other Democratic Party hackings dency “the way I want to.” ineffective,” Senator John McCain would amount to an extraordinary by groups with Russian ties. “I’m just tired of non-support” “very foul-mouthed” and “disloyal” link between Russia and an Ameri- Last week, intelligence officials from leaders of the party he repre- Republicans “far more difficult than can presidential campaign. Podesta said they believed the individuals sents on presidential ticket, Trump Crooked Hillary.” said the alleged ties could be driven responsible are working for Russian said on Fox News Channel’s The “They come at you from all either by Trump’s policy positions, intelligence and coordinating with O’Reilly Factor. He saved special sides,” Trump declared. “They don’t which at times echo the Kremlin, or Assange on the political hacking. ire for House Speaker Paul Ryan, know how to win — I will teach the Republican’s “deep engagement Russian Ambassador to the U.S. who told Republicans he’ll no longer them!” and ties with Russian interests in his Sergey Kislyak dismissed the accu- campaign for Trump with four At a night rally in Florida hours business affairs.” sations as untrue. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton poses with supporters weeks to go before Election Day. later, Trump made no mention of To Podesta, the central figure in Clinton has repeatedly accused “I don’t want his support, I don’t the apparent Republican civil war, the controversy is longtime Trump her opponent of being soft on Rus- after a rally at Miami Dade College in Miami, Florida. care about his support,” Trump said. instead training his fire on his Dem- adviser Roger Stone, who has said sia, pointing to his praise of Russian The Clinton campaign would not raiding our country and surrounding “I wouldn’t want to be in a foxhole ocratic opponent Hillary Clinton. he has been in touch with WikiLeaks President Vladimir Putin as a strong confirm authenticity of Podesta’s the sovereignty of our nation.” with a lot of these people, that I can Trump has acknowledged pos- founder Julian Assange. Podesta also leader, his suggestion that he would leaked emails, noting that Russian Also citing WikiLeaks, Trump tell you, including Ryan. By the way, sibility of defeat in recent days, but raised as evidence an August tweet rethink sanctions against Russian hackers often fabricate documents. said: “The Department of Justice fed including Ryan, especially Ryan.” he tried to shift the blame for his in which Stone said Podesta’s “time officials, his sharp criticism of Nato “The pattern is they hack, they information to the Clinton campaign With his campaign flounder- struggles on Republican defections in the barrel” was coming. The tweet and other policy positions. leak truthful things, and then they about email investigation so that the ing and little time to steady it, he and an election system that may be was sent shortly after WikiLeaks While Podesta didn’t directly build up to leaking documents that campaign could be prepared to cover reverted to the combative, divisive “rigged” against him. On Monday, published scores of hacked emails accuse Trump of assisting in any are either doctored or wholly fab- up for her crimes. What is going on?” strategy that propelled him to vic- he warned of potential voter fraud from other Democratic officials. Russian meddling with American ricated,” said Jennifer Palmieri, In May 2015, Clinton spokesman tory in the GOP primary: Attack in heavily African-American Phil- “I think it’s a reasonable campaigns, he suggested Trump was Clinton’s communications director. Brian Fallon alerted staffers that Jus- every critic — including fellow adelphia, a claim for which there assumption, or at least a reasona- either “willfully ignoring” intelligence Trump seized on hacked emails at tice Department was proposing to Republicans. Those close to Trump is no evidence but one that could ble conclusion, that Mr Stone and officials’ warnings about Russian gov- a rally in Florida, alleging the docu- publish Clinton’s work-related emails suggested it was “open season” on challenge Americans’ faith in a fair the Trump campaign had advance ernment involvement or “an unwitting ments show “Clinton is the vessel (of) by January in response to requests by every detractor, regardless of party. democratic process. warning about what Assange was agent of the Russian Federation.” a corrupt global establishment that’s news organisations.

Wooing voters US Supreme Court to hear case on cross-border killing

AFP in which he and his friends would to pursue justice in either country. touch the border fence separating “If left standing, the Fifth Cir- the two countries before running in cuit’s decision will create a unique the opposite direction. no-man’s land—a law-free zone in WASHINGTON: The US Supreme They say he was shot while which US agents can kill innocent Court agreed to hear the case sur- unarmed and presented no danger. civilians with impunity,” Hernandez rounding a Mexican teenager who Mesa countered that the teen family lawyer Robert Hilliard wrote was fatally shot by an American and his friends had refused to obey in his application to the Supreme officer as they stood on opposite orders and had thrown rocks at him. Court, according to The Dallas Morn- sides of the border. Hernandez’s family attempted to ing News. The crux of the case revolves sue the Border Patrol agent and US The case spurred protests in Ciu- around whether the teen’s family has authorities for unlawful use of lethal dad Juarez and sparked a diplomatic constitutional right to sue the Border force, but the Fifth Circuit Court of mini-crisis between Washing- Patrol agent in US courts. Appeals in New Orleans ultimately ton and Mexico City, with Mexico’s Fifteen-year-old Sergio Hernan- upheld a decision to dismiss the case, then-president Felipe Calderon dez was shot in the Mexican city of stating that US courts had no juris- demanding a “profound and impar- Ciudad Juarez by Border Patrol agent diction since the victim was Mexican tial” investigation. Jesus Mesa Jr from across the border and died in Mexico. The shooting death came amid a Nicaragua’s Constitutionalist Liberal Party’s presidential candidate Maximo Rodriguez (centre) greets in El Paso, Texas in June 2010. The United States declined Mexi- series of similar incidents in which supporters during a campaign rally in San Rafael del Sur, Managua, Nicaragua, yesterday. According to family of the vic- co’s request to have Mesa extradited, US border agents were accused of tim, the teen was playing a game leaving the victim’s family unable using undue lethal force. AMERICAS THURSDAY 13 OCTOBER 2016 19 Flood fury: North Carolina urges evacuations

discouraged people from entering. Greenville before moving to a shelter. Police were stationed at the edge of Flores said she and her husband Authorities closed the evacuation zone to monitor who do not have flood insurance and one bridge across came and went. lack the savings to buy a new home “There are a lot of people that are if their trailer is flooded. She hopes the swollen Tar River hurting, that are living in shelters and they would be eligible for assistance in Greenville and are preparing for major, major flood- from FEMA. warned that several ing,” North Carolina Governor Pat She hasn’t been able to get firm McCrory said yesterday. information on her neighbourhood. A other bridges could Authorities closed one bridge state interactive flooding map shows close, isolating across the swollen Tar River in that areas next to her neighbourhood Greenville and warned that several have flooded. people. other bridges could close, isolat- “Nobody’s been able to get into ing people. The city’s airport was Princeville,” she said, with her expected to remain closed for another 16-month daughter Ilyaona seated week due to flooding. on her lap in a room where the shel- AP Still, Greenville resident John ter stored bottles of water, snacks Benson felt confident his house would and dry food. “I’m very anxious. be OK. His block didn’t take on water Very stressed. I’ve broke down a few during Hurricane Floyd in 1999 and times, just because I’m worried. But GREENVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA: his street is on a steep grade, making I’ve gotta stay strong for her and my Police officers and firefighters in a quick getaway possible. husband, and my family,” she said. eastern North Carolina yesterday “Police, fire people, came around, Flooding conditions in Fayet- cruised low-lying areas and shouted bull-horning and talking to us. They teville were expected to last until a simple message from bullhorns: Get let everybody know to get out,” he tomorrow, while the Neuse River out before the floodwaters from Hur- said. Many people did obey orders in Kinston was expected to peak on ricane Matthew arrive. to leave their homes. Saturday. Thousands of people were At a shelter in Greenville, Bri- “We want you to evacuate these ordered to evacuate, and officials anna Flores was anxiously waiting low-lying areas absolutely and Children play with flags at the American Red Cross Shelter at Carver Heights Elementary School after being warned that some communities to find out more about how flood- immediately,” Kinston Mayor BJ Mur- displaced by the effects of Hurricane Matthew in Goldsboro, North Carolina, yesterday. could be cut off by washed out roads ing affected her family’s trailer home phy told WITN-TV yesterday. “The or bridge closures. In the city of in Princeville, a community along time to get out is now.” armed man in Lumberton who information about the shooting. a hard plastic folding chair at a shel- Greenville, military trucks rumbled the Tar River. She said she and her In a possible sign of storm- became angry with officers car- In the hard-hit town of Lumber- ter put together so hastily there were through leafy neighbourhoods where husband packed two days’ worth of driven tensions, authorities said rying out search and rescue ton, along the bloated Lumber River, no cots. People had to use portable orange traffic cones and police tape clothes and first came to a hotel in a state trooper shot and killed an missions. They released little other Ada Page spent two nights sleeping in toilets outside. Haitians rebuild lives as supplies arrive

AP to start rebuilding homes. gathered in shelters, said Yolette headquarters in Port-au-Prince Meanwhile, more than a dozen Etienne, director for the UK-based raised official nationwide death toll people gathered inside a neighbour’s group ActionAid in Haiti. to 473, which included at least 244 general store in western coastal town She travelled to the department deaths in Grand-Anse. But local offi- LES CAYES, HAITI: Food, water and of Anse-d’Hainault that was serving of Grand-Anse in Haiti’s southwest cials have said the toll in Grand-Anse building supplies began to reach as a makeshift shelter. The store had peninsula to assess the damage when alone tops 500. remote corners of Haiti yesterday as a small generator that provided a lit- she was told about the assaults. Concern also was growing about tens of thousands of people slowly tle light and power to charge phones. “Fortunately, the women organ- an increase in cases of cholera, which rebuilt their lives after a devastat- “We’re looking out for each ised themselves to capture the men and has already killed roughly 10,000 ing Category 4 storm hit last week. other,” said Walna Gevere, who call police,” she said, adding shelters people and sickened more than In the southern seaside com- travelled to her hometown from Port- are taking more preventive measures. 800,000 since 2010. munity of Les Cayes, a UN truck au-Prince to be with her family. The United Nations has called The World Health Organisa- delivered water to Sous Roche neigh- Those who survived the storm have for $120m in aid, noting that about tion pledged to send 1 million doses bourhood while residents including faced great challenges, including going 750,000 people in southwest Haiti of cholera vaccine to Haiti, where 49-year-old fisherman Justin Cambry days without food. The prices of bot- alone will need “life-saving assist- water and sanitation infrastructure stood in line. The delivery marked tled water, bleach and other vital items ance and protection” in the next three has been severely damaged. Sandra the first time the neighbourhood had have jumped by as much as 25 percent months. Overall, at least 1.4 million Honore, the UN envoy for Haiti, said received any help since Hurricane amid worsening shortages. people need assistance, the UN said. the health impact of Hurricane Mat- Matthew hit on Oct. 4. Elancie Moise, an agronomist Meanwhile, US Homeland Secu- thew “cannot be overestimated.” “Life is completely destroyed and director for Department of rity Secretary Jeh Johnson says the Cholera cases were rising in here,” Cambry said. “It will take 20 Agriculture in southern Haiti, said storm’s impact has put on hold a new towns such as Anse-d’Hainault, years to get it all back.” between 80 and 100 percent of crops policy of deporting Haitians in the where 2-year-old Dabens Desrosiers Haitians helped each other regain have been lost across the southern United States without permission, but received rehydration fluid from an IV. some semblance of their pre-hurri- peninsula. the government intends to resume “Daddy, take me home,” he cane lives as they awaited the arrival “Crisis is not the word to describe it in the future. He said US officials repeatedly murmured to his father, of more aid. A community group it,” he said. “You need a stronger will have to “be sympathetic to the Gerson Desrosiers. After three days that formed in coastal village of word. It is much worse. There is no plight of people of Haiti as a result.” of treatment, the boy was about to be Hurricane Matthew victims receive food from the UN’s World Food Les Anglais cleared tree limbs from food for people to eat.” But after conditions change, “we discharged, but there was no home to Programme in Roche-a-Bateaux, in Les Cayes, in the south west of streets and placed them into piles In addition, there have been intend to resume the policy.” return as the family’s wooden shack Haiti, yesterday. while others gathered scraps of wood reports of assaults on women The National Civil Protection was flattened by Hurricane Matthew. Graft-hit Mexican Virginia officer gets jail in shooting death of unarmed teen governor to AP officer of voluntary manslaughter “You’re not sorry for me. You’re “The wrong decision was made Rankin, who was fired from the step down in the death of 18-year-old William sorry for you,” she said outside the that day,” Thorpe said, adding that it Portsmouth police force after being Chapman II. courtroom. “That man deserves to weighs on her every day. “I should’ve indicted, killed another unarmed Morrison couldn’t increase be exactly where he’s at.” stuck with my gut.” suspect four years earlier. But he had AP PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA: A Vir- the recommended sentence, but One of the jurors who convicted Rankin shot Chapman in the been cleared of wrongdoing and the ginia judge sentenced a white, former could have reduced it. He denied Rankin sat behind him in support at face and chest outside a Wal-Mart incident was inadmissible at trial. police officer to two-and-half years defence attorneys’ request that yesterday’s sentencing. Peggy Thorpe last year after a security guard “I think this is a terrible tragedy; MEXICO CITY: The embattled in prison yesterday for fatally shoot- Rankin remain free on bond dur- said she made a mistake when she accused the teen of shoplifting. I wish it had never happened. I wish outgoing governor of an eastern ing an unarmed black teen suspected ing his appeal. found Rankin guilty and information No video recorded the actual kill- none of it had ever occurred,” Rankin Mexico state who faces federal of shoplifting. After the sentence was handed she learned after the trial changed ing, and testimony on the details of testified after being found guilty in corruption investigations said yes- Media outlets report that Circuit down, Rankin said he was deeply her mind. She said Chapman had what happened was conflicting. But August. terday he will step down almost Judge Johnny Morrison sentenced sorry and never meant to hurt a criminal record and was “by no most witnesses said Chapman had “I can’t begin to fathom how two months before his term ends. Stephen Rankin to the maximum anyone. The teen’s mother, Sal- means a good citizen.” She said she his hands up, and prosecutor Steph- much pain that family is going Veracruz Governor Javier recommendation from the jury that lie Chapman said Rankin’s apology apologised to Rankin and he for- anie Morales said the officer could through. I wish I could have done Duarte made the announcement convicted the former Portsmouth rang hollow. gave her. have used force that was not deadly. more to keep him alive,” he added. in an interview with the Televisa network. “Precisely due to this sit- uation (of allegations), I have decided today to ask the state con- Colombian youth set up tent gress for leave from the position of state governor,” Duarte said. “(Veracruz) needs a full-time gov- ernor ... And I need time exactly to city to demand peace deal address these complaints.” Mexico’s ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party stripped AP Organisers say their only goal is to Bolivar yesterday to sew a giant quilt Duarte of his party rights last make sure the peace deal signed last with names of 1,900 victims of the month. In June, it lost the guber- month by government and Revolu- conflict. Each of the names — Manuel natorial election in Veracruz for tionary Armed Forces of Colombia Getial, Rogelio Ramos, Mariluz Uribe the first time. Duarte had become BOGOTA: Dozens of activists have isn’t scuttled. — was written in giant block letters a powerful symbol of alleged cor- raised a multicoloured, makeshift The first two tents were raised on stenciled in ash on individual pieces ruption that the national party tent city in Bogota’s main square to the night of October 5 after as many of white cloth the length of a coffin. feared could drag it down ahead demand government and rebels save as 25,000 people poured into the “This is the act of mourning that of 2018 presidential elections. a deal meant to end a half century streets of downtown Bogota to back hurts the most,” said conceptual Duarte is widely criticised for of conflict — part of a belated out- the rejected accord. Within less than artist Doris Salcedo, who has been his administration’s alleged cor- burst of activism across the country a week, the impromptu encampment overseeing an army of volunteers ruption and the unsolved killings by Colombians stunned at last week’s has grown to 70 tents surrounded by working on her “Adding Absences” of at least 16 journalists during his unexpected defeat of the peace bunting in the colour of Colombian project. “It’s not the mourning of a six years in office. Families comb accord in a referendum. flag and adorned with white balloons union leader, a presidential candi- the hills looking for secret graves The mostly youthful demon- and flowers symbolising peace. date or a journalist. It’s the grief of People sew white cloths with names of victims of the Colombian conflict and any other traces of their miss- strators at what’s called the “Peace Hundreds of other Colombians an entire country that has been bur- ing loved ones. Camp” reject any political affiliation. joined the group in Bogota’s Plaza ied in war.” painted in ash, at the Bolivar square in Bogota.

PRAYER TIMINGS WEATHER Minimum: 24o C Maximum: 37o C

FAJR 04.15 am ZUHR 11.20 am MAGHRIB 05.11 pm HIGH TIDE 02:30 - 14:45 Hazy to misty at places at first becomes hot day- SHOROOK 05.31 am ASR 02.40 pm ISHA 06.41 pm LOW TIDE 07:45 - 21:30 time with slight dust at times.

20 THURSDAY 13 OCTOBER 2016 HOME

ONLINE CHART BUST CRA and ICANN Preparations under way for two hold workshop www.thepeninsulaqatar.com exhibitions by acclaimed artists The Peninsula DOHA: The Communications MOST READ Regulatory Authority (CRA) in The Peninsula collaboration with the Internet First concrete poured at location of Corporation for Assigned Names 1 West stand of Al Rayyan Stadium and Numbers (ICANN) conducted DOHA: Preparations are under way a training workshop on Tues- With baby Waleed, Gaza for two major exhibitions by interna- day to build capacity and skills of 2 population reaches 2 million tionally acclaimed Iraqi artists Dia Al senior technical officials and law Azzawi and Mahmoud Obaidi which enforcement officers responsible Saudi eases Yemen blockade will open next week. for investigating cybercrime, spe- 3 for raid wounded evacuation Presented by Qatar Museums (QM), cifically related to misuse and abuse the exhibitions will in part focus on of Domain Name System (DNS). key moments in the political history The participants were intro- of Iraq and the Arab world and show- duced to strategies, techniques TWEET OF THE DAY case works from two artists from two and tools that information secu- different generations. rity professionals use to identify Taking place simultaneously at abuses of DNS, malicious registra- Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art tions of domain names, addresses and the QM Gallery Al Riwaq for the or hosting. The workshop, con- first time, the Dia Al Azzawi exhibition ducted by Dr Richard Lamb, titled ‘I am the cry, who will give voice Sr. Program Manager DNSSEC, to me? * Dia Al Azzawi: A Retrospective Acclaimed Iraqi artist Dia Al Azzawi prepares for his exhibition ‘I am the ICANN, included demonstrations, (from 1963 until tomorrow)’ will cover and hands-on exercises to provide cry, who will give voice to me?” 9,000sqm and include over 500 works. direct experience to the attendees It will open on Monday at Mathaf: Arab to better understand the method- Museum of Modern Art and on Tuesday continues to act as a mentor to Obaidi. promotion of Iraqi and Arab art to ology for collecting information at QM Gallery Al Riwaq, and run until In a recent interview between international audiences. He has been needed to investigate a crime and April 16. Obaidi and art curator, critic and his- in exile from Iraq for over 30 years, and that is also commonly needed for A day later, QM will open Frag- torian of art, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Obaidi currently lives and works in London. the preparation of court orders. ments, an exhibition by Mahmoud said: “Dia is a very important person Obaidi is an Iraqi-Canadian con- “CRA takes cybersecu- Obaidi, which will run from October who kept Iraqi art together, he is the temporary artist. His conceptual body rity matters very seriously and 18 January 30 at QM Gallery in Katara backbone or spine of Iraqi art. He was of work addresses critical issues of through such workshops we Cultural Village, Building 10. the rope who connected us all. Today injustice and inequality in every- intend to build capacity among Al Azzawi and Obaidi are long- we still have this network between us day life. With a caustic approach relevant agencies and techni- standing friends, having first met because of him.” to current political debates, Obaidi cal professionals to equip them in Amman in 1993. Since then, they Al Azzawi is a renowned artist deconstructs judgments, labels and to intercept and block any DNS have worked on a number of success- who has exhibited extensively and stereotypes that create a constant related cybercrimes,” said Faisal ful projects together, and Al Azzawi has played an important role in the state of tension. Al-Shuaibi, CRA’s Spokesperson.