BUSINESS | Page 1 SPORT | Page 8 Verlaar makes amends for last year’s INDEX DOW JONES QE NYMEX QATAR 2-4, 24 COMMENT 22, 23 REGION 6 BUSINESS 1–5, 18-20 GWC posts 2016 net heartbreak 19,897.00 10,717.34 53.99 ARAB WORLD 6, 8 CLASSIFIED 6-17 +76.00 +28.56 +0.23 INTERNATIONAL 9–21 SPORTS 1–8 profi t of QR205.7mn +0.38% +0.27% +0.43% Latest Figures published in QATAR since 1978

SUNDAY Vol. XXXVII No. 10327 January 8, 2017 Rabia II 10, 1438 AH

GULF TIMES www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals Emir attends Qatar Open final Salons asked In brief not to use

ARAB WORLD | Confl ict Massive tanker bomb kills 48 in Syria town substandard A massive tanker truck bomb ripped through a market by a courthouse in the rebel-held Syrian town of Azaz yesterday, killing 48 people and wounding dozens near the Turkish products border. The attack appeared to be the deadliest yet in the town in northern he Ministry of Economy and beauty products including substandard Aleppo province, which has been Commerce (MEC) has issued a or expired products along with the use regularly hit by bombings targeting Tcircular banning barbershops and of counterfeit cosmetics, the MEC said. rebels and civilians. The Britain-based HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad beauty salons from using substandard, Violations seen at barbershops and Syrian Observatory for Human Rights al-Thani attended yesterday evening expired and counterfeit products. beauty salons also included the display said at least fourteen rebels were the final of Qatar ExxonMobil Open Issued on the basis of Article 2 of Law of misleading labels on hair design and among the dead, but most of those for men which was held at Khalifa No 8 of 2008 on consumer protection, skin care products, which represent killed were civilians, including five International Tennis and Squash the circular falls within the framework a form of fraud when it comes to the religious judges belonging to various Complex. The Emir watched the of the ministry’s eff orts to ensure the nature of the product, its structure, rebel factions. Page 6 match that took place between Andy safety and health of consumers and pro- characteristics and the elements that Murray and Novak Djokovic, globally tect their basic rights. compose it as well as the properties and The law guarantees consumers’ right expected results from its use as stipu- AFRICA | Politics first and second classified players, and finished with the victory of Djokovic to the use of healthy and safe goods and lated on the brand’s label. Akufo-Addo sworn in (2-1) to be crowned with the trophy of services as well as the right to obtain The ministry warned that the prod- as Ghana’s president the 25th edition of the tournament. information and correct data about the ucts used at barbershops and beauty HH Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani, goods and services purchased or used or salons touch on people’s lives given the Ghana’s new President Nana Akufo- the Personal Representative of HH submitted to them. purpose of their use and pose great risk Addo pledged to cut taxes to boost the Emir, as well as a number of their Highlighting the need to comply with if they fail to conform to standard speci- the economy at his swearing in excellencies sheikhs, ministers, senior Article 6 of Law No 8 of 2008, the circu- fi cations or have expired. “Furthermore, ceremony yesterday, whilst also off icials and guests of tournament also lar reminded managers of barbershops substandard products pose a health promising to protect the public watched the match. and beauty salons that the statute pro- hazard to customers as a result of fraud purse by getting value for money on Qatar Tennis Federation President hibits the sale, display and promotion of and counterfeiting in their properties services. Akufo-Addo, 72, defeated Nasser bin Ghanim al-Khulaifi has said substandard, counterfeit and fraudulent and composition.” incumbent John Dramani Mahama that HH the Emir attending the final products. Barbershops and beauty salons have in peaceful elections a month ago, match was “the greatest incentive The circular also highlights the need been urged to inform consumers of the a rare peaceful transfer of power in and motivation for the Qatar Tennis to comply with Article 7 of the same characteristics and potential side eff ects a region plagued by political crises. Federation (QTF) and the organising law, which prohibits the display of false of the products they use. The major cocoa and gold exporter committee to hold such biggest global or misleading product descriptions and Warning salon operators who vio- is half-way through a three-year tournaments.” advertisements. late the law of legal measures such as aid programme with the IMF to fix Right: Former Qatar Tennis Federation The notice was issued after intensive administrative closure, the ministry an economy dogged by high debt chief Ali al-Fardan presents the Qatar inspection campaigns revealed an in- stressed it will not tolerate use of spuri- and inflation. “We will reduce taxes ExxonMobil Open trophy to Djokovic. crease in consumer complaints about ous products. The ministry also stressed to recover the momentum of our PICTURE: Jayan Orma. Sport Page 1 barbershops and beauty salons that that it would intensify its inspection economy,” said Akufo-Addo. Page 9 were making use of non-compliant campaigns to crack down on violations.

First edition of Mahaseel Festival ends

he fi rst edition of Mahaseel Festi- tives of diplomatic missions, visited will continue to host 22 sales outlets val hosted by the Cultural Village the venue and expressed their appre- and 12 mobile vending vehicles which TFoundation - Katara in collabora- ciation of the diverse range of fresh, will off er visitors the best quality of tion with the Agricultural Department organic and locally sourced vegetables produce including fruits, vegetables, at the Ministry of Municipality and En- and fruits on display. honey, poultry and dairy products in vironment, concluded yesterday. The festival witnessed a vivid addition to fl owers.” Hereafter it will be hosted every number of school visits, entailing 1,100 The festival will continue to feature weekend until the end of April, in Ka- students, who were delighted with the several events including competitions tara’s southern area. hands-on experience in gardening of- where students from Qatari schools Mahaseel Festival drew in a large fered at the various agricultural docks could compete in events such as veg- number of visitors, as people from all at the venue and at the various activi- etable decorating and fl oral arrange- walks of life were attracted by the qual- ties present at the fi rst edition of Ma- ments. This was in addition to a weekly ity and variety of agricultural and live- haseel Festival. contest, entitled “Colour your Sketch” stock produce on off er. Members of the General manager of the Cultural Vil- in which winners will receive a voucher public, ranging from schoolchildren lage Foundation - Katara, Dr Khalid bin worth QR200 to purchase items from and media personnel to representa- Ibrahim al-Sulaiti said: “The festival Mahaseel Festival.

The first edition of the month-long Shop Qatar festival was launched yesterday with entertainment shows at the Mall of Qatar. Organised Renowned by Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA), the festival off ers an array of Qatari singer entertainment and shopping activities. Apart from the big discounts Fahad and promotions off ered by outlets at participating malls, the festival will al-Kubaisi also features several food trucks and stalls on the Doha Corniche from performing January 12 to 14. Taking place from January 7 to February 7, Shop Qatar at the launch 2017 off ers residents and visitors discounts on popular brands, and of the raff le draws with cash prizes worth QR4mn. Festival partners include Shop Qatar Mall of Qatar, Ezdan Mall, Hyatt Plaza, Al Khor Mall, Lagoona Mall, Gulf Festival. Mall, Landmark, Dar Al Salam Mall, The Gate and The Pearl-Qatar. PICTURES: Shemeer Rashid Gulf Times 2 Sunday, January 8, 2017 QATAR ‘Qatar Business Minister attends inauguration of Ghana president Forum to boost ties with UK’

QNA in diff erent fi elds, the most im- Doha portant of which are the invest- ments of “Shell” which exceed $20bn, in addition to nearly 600 nited Kingdom’s Chan- British companies operating in cellor of The Excheq- the country. Uuer Philip Hammond He noted that trade exchange has highlighted the importance between the two countries ex- of Qatar Business and Invest- ceeds 5bn pounds a year, which ment Forum, which will be held is balanced in terms of exports in London and Birmingham in and imports, adding that Qa- March this year. tar’s ongoing plans to diversify Speaking to Qatar News Agen- the economy would allow more cy (QNA), Hammond underlined opportunities to increase the HE the Minister of Culture and Sports Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser al-Ali, representing Qatar, attended the inauguration ceremony of that the upcoming forum, which Philip Hammond volume of trade, especially with Nana Akufo-Addo, president of Ghana, in the country’s capital Accra yesterday. The Minister conveyed to the president the greetings of has been planned for nearly nine regard to the services sector such HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and his wishes of further advancement to relations between the two countries. President months, would contribute to rent tour of a number of GCC as healthcare, education, pro- of Ghana reciprocated the Emir’s greetings. further promoting the economic countries, aimed at discussing fessional services, technology relations between the United future co-operation opportuni- and fi nancial services. Kingdom and the State of Qatar, ties between Qatar and the UK, He added that Qatari busi- and explore more investment especially after Brexit. nessmen have good opportuni- FM holds talks opportunities in both countries. He said that his GCC tour also ties to expand their investments Meanwhile, Hammond high- aims to follow up the developing in the United Kingdom, express- with Turkish lighted the distinct and solid re- relations between the two sides, ing hope that the upcoming Qa- counterpart lations between Qatar and the and to affi rm to the UK partners tar Business and Investment Fo- Doha Bank CEO chosen for United Kingdom in all sectors, in the region that Brexit would rum would contribute to further including economy, security and not negatively aff ect his country, promoting the economic rela- HE the Foreign Minister Sheikh defence. or its co-operation and partner- tions between the two sides. Mohamed bin Abdulrahman He pointed to HH the Emir ships with the GCC countries in On the mutual co-operation top overseas Indian award al-Thani held a telephone Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al- the fi elds of security, defence, in the fi nancial services, he said conversation with his Turkish Thani’s meeting with the UK trade and investment. that many Qatari banks are cur- counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu on Prime Minister Theresa May on Highlighting the Qatari invest- rently operating in the British By Ramesh Mathew bureaucrats and a large number bilateral relations and matters of the sidelines of the 37th GCC ments in the United Kingdom, market, allowing them to benefi t Staff Reporter of NRIs are present. mutual interest. Summit in Bahrain last Decem- the chancellor of the exchequer from the experience of “one of Apart from Kumaran, the They also discussed the ber, which he said contributed to said there are opportunities for the world’s largest fi nancial sys- former ambassador to Qatar, developments in the Middle East, strengthening the relations be- Qatar Investment Authority and tems”, and well as the fi nancial rominent Indian expa- Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa, and particularly the Syrian crisis, tween the two countries. for the Qatari private sector. sector experts in London which triate and CEO of Doha CK Menon, the fi rst recipient of means to promote the ceasefire He added that his visit to Meanwhile, there are a variety is one of the largest fi nancial PBank Dr R Seetharaman the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman agreement and the ongoing Doha, in the course of his cur- of British investments in Qatar capitals in the world. has been selected for the Prava- from Qatar, also congratulated preparations for the Astana si Bharatiya Samman 2016, the Seetharaman for his achieve- meeting. highest honour conferred on ment. overseas Indians. While Wadhwa described the In his Facebook post, Indian award as “a long awaited recog- Defence Minister ambassador Periasamy Ku- nition”, Menon said “Seethara- maran announced Seethara- man richly deserved it”. reviews relations Fourth edition of Qitcom man’s selection for the Pravasi A large number of members with Sudan Bharatiya Samman, which is of Doha’s Indian community conferred on the awardee by the Dr R Seetharaman also lauded his achievement. President of India. A prominent personality in HE the Minister of State for expo to be held in March The award will be given away two diff erent banks in the GCC the banking industry through- Defence Aff airs Dr Khalid bin by India’s President Pranab Ku- region. out the Middle East, Seethara- Mohamed al-Attiyah met the mar Mukherji at the conclud- The bank recorded enormous man is an economic expert Sudanese Minister of Defence he Ministry of Transport sectors have been selected for developers to create smart solu- ing ceremony of the two-day growth under his stewardship who has achieved remarkable Lieutenant General Awad and Communications their contribution to the goals of tions in the fi ve key sectors iden- Pravasi Bhatiya Diwas (PBD) and expanded its operations to success for his contributions Mohamed bin Awaf in Khartoum T(MoTC) has announced the Qatar National Vision 2030 tifi ed as critical to Qatar’s smart celebrations in the southern In- some 12 countries. to banking, trade, investment, yesterday. the staging of the fourth edition through the building of a smart future. dian city of Bengaluru tomor- While acknowledging the economics, environment, so- Talks during the meeting dealt of ‘Qitcom Exhibition & Confer- future and relevant digital tools. In addition, the exhibition row. latest recognition, Seethara- cial responsibility, philanthro- with bilateral relations and means ence’ slated from March 6 to 8 will showcase real-life initia- Kumaran termed Seethara- man thanked the country’s res- py and charity. He is also a reg- to promote them. at the Qatar National Conven- The fourth edition of tives that have been developed man’s achievement as “a great idents for their overwhelming ular contributor on economic HE the Minister of State for tion Centre (QNCC) under the Qitcom will focus on for smart cities and deliver the honour and recognition to the support to his professional and issues to leading media outlets defence aff airs arrived in theme ‘Qatar Towards a Smarter providing smart solutions benefi ts of economic diversifi - Indians in Qatar”. community activities. around the world. Khartoum earlier yesterday on a Future’. and services in fi ve cation, improved quality of life, Seetharaman, who has won a Indians from more than 100 A gold medallist while gradu- two-day visit to Sudan. The MoTC said Qitcom is a key sectors: transport, and the environment through large number of accolades over countries across the world are ating in bachelors in commerce, HE Dr al-Attiyah will attend “unique opportunity” for policy environment, health, technology. the past 15 years in diff erent attending the annual two-day Seetharaman is a chartered ac- the opening of “SUR” textile makers, technology providers, sports, and logistics ‘Qitcom 2017’ will feature a areas, has been in Qatar, since celebrations, where a number countant and holds certifi cate factory, which is established and large enterprises to explore range of experts in the fi eld of 2002 when he joined Doha Bank of Indian ministers, top Indian in IT systems and corporate under a Qatari-Sudanese-Turkish and discuss the most pressing The exhibition and conference social media and e-Marketing at a senior level, after stints in professionals, senior Indian management. partnership. challenges in the fi eld of tel- programme will cover a series strategies, location-based serv- ecommunication, Information of events and talks designed to ices, and the implementation of Technology (IT), and tech. promote and empower entrepre- information and communica- Participants will be able to in- neurs and small and medium- tion technology, and other fi elds teract with the latest ideas and sized enterprises (SMEs), and to discuss ideas and solutions for Jet Airways off ers ‘special economy fares’ to Kozhikode smart technologies that apply to include an Innovation Theatre, future innovation to meet the re- the pursuit of the Qatar National Start-Up Matchmaking Zone, quirements for Qatar’s develop- Vision 2030 and have been de- and Innovation Zone. ment plans. et Airways has introduced tended date of travel. erated by Jet Airways on both Indo-Gulf sector. We are con- veloped by global IT and tech Young entrepreneurs from Visitors of the exhibition will “special economy fares” “The tickets booked under one-way and return journeys. fi dent our new promotional companies and other stakehold- high schools and universities also be able to explore unique Jbetween Doha and Calicut the off er will be valid for any- Jet Airways vice-president fares, that will enable our ers. with an interest in IT and tech commercial and educational (Kozhikode) in India, which the time travel, but only for econ- (Gulf, Middle East & Africa) guests to avail signifi cant sav- The fourth edition of Qitcom will also have the opportunity to opportunities and meet directly full-service airline said will be omy class on Jet Airways’ direct Shakir Kantawala said, “With ings, will further reinforce that will focus on providing smart participate through the compe- with executives, corporate man- valid for booking until March 31. fl ight to Calicut,” the India- its unparalleled connectiv- position. Aside from aff ordable solutions and services in fi ve key tition of a ‘Hackathon’. The con- ager, policy specialists, and de- To avail of the off er, tickets based airline said. ity, Jet Airways has established fares, guests fl ying Jet Airways sectors: transport, environment, test will challenge young com- cision makers from Qatar and will have to be booked at least The special fares will be ap- itself as the airline of choice are guaranteed an exceptional health, sports, and logistics. The puter programmers and software abroad. 30 days before passengers’ in- plicable on direct fl ights op- on the extremely competitive fl ying experience.”

Indian FM seeks envoy’s report on death row convicts AECOM is gold sponsor for Mada strategy Indian External Aff airs Minister Sushma Swaraj yesterday sought a report from the Indian ambassador he Qatar Assistive Tech- help them succeed in their noble in Qatar, Periasamy Kumaran, on nology Centre (Mada) cause in Qatar,” said Jason Kroll, two Indian nationals who were Tunder the umbrella of the senior vice president, AECOM awarded the death penalty in the Ministry of Transport and Com- Middle East. “We believe in Ma- Gulf country last year. munication has announced that da’s mission, in their key mes- “I have asked for a report from AECOM, a global engineering, sages, and in their impact; and Indian ambassador in Qatar,” the consulting and project manage- we would like to support them minister said in a tweet. ment fi rm with offi ces in the in creating a community that is She was responding to a tweet Middle East, will be one of its absolutely accessible and inclu- from @bkanagaraja, a Twitter gold sponsors for its new strat- sive for all, including those with user, requesting her to save egy until 2018. disabilities.” Subramaniam Alagappa and Mada is a nonprofi t organisa- Kroll added, “AECOM consid- Chelladurai Perumal, two Indians tion dedicated to enabling per- ers itself a long-standing mem- sentenced to death by the sons with disabilities through ber of the Qatari community and Supreme Court in Qatar. the world of information and we would like to give back to it in On December 8, the ministry had communication technology. The any way that we can.” said, “Subramanian Alagappa and partnership with AECOM Mid- A Fortune 500 firm, AE- Chelladurai Perumal continue to dle East will support Mada in COM had revenue of approxi- remain on death row. The third reaching its strategic goals and AECOM, will be one of Mada’s gold sponsors for its new strategy until 2018. mately $18 billion during fiscal convict, Shivakumar Archunan, his achieving its operational focus year 2015. Mada’s sponsor- case was reviewed by the appeals until 2018. limit to what they can achieve. operational focus revolve partnerships, advisers and quantifi able targets for each ship benefits until the year of court and his death sentence was “As a nonprofi t organisation, We want to support them tackle around three key areas: educa- policy, direct services, and a of the four strategic objectives 2018 include opportunities to commuted to life imprisonment. We we are always looking for part- every aspect of life, from educa- tion, employment, and com- centre of excellence. These and will regularly update them speak during official events had filed a case in respect of all ners to join us in delivering our tion to employment to entrepre- munity. In its mission to help functions together intersect to to help identify strengths and organised by Mada, company three because we believe that the key message and supporting per- neurship to independent living, persons with disabilities stay create value across the board areas of improvement. These information featured on Ma- penalty is too harsh...Our embassy sons with disabilities in reach- by making the tools they need connected in a world that is for persons with disabilities in processes are made possible by da’s website, an appreciation in Qatar continues to closely ing their maximum potential,” accessible through assistive increasingly dependent on the country. sponsorship from partners, such award at the end of the spon- monitor this case in association said Maha al-Mansoori, CEO, technology and other means of technology, Mada has estab- To keep up with the grow- as AECOM. sorship period, to be presented with the lawyer who has been Mada. “When we empower per- access” lished four key functions of- ing need for Mada’s services in “It is such an honour for us at a special event, and much appointed for all three accused.” sons with disabilities, there is no Mada’s strategic goals and ferings: relationships and Qatar, Mada will assign specifi c to be associated with Mada and more. Gulf Times Sunday, January 8, 2017 3 QATAR Al-Emadi Hospital wins top Canadian accreditation

l-Emadi Hospital has been accredited with APlatinum level by Accred- itation Canada International (ACI) following a comprehensive survey in December, 2016. An ACI survey team visited the hospital and conducted trac- ers of diff erent processes related to quality and patient safety and assessed compliance with ACI standards and required organi- zational practices. During the survey, the ACI QU SEHHA campaign proves highly successful. team looked into diff erent quali- tative indices, including the physical layout of the hospital, scope of services, maintenance and provision of a safe health- care environment, processes re- QU-CHS concludes 5th round lated to patient safety and qual- ity improvement, continuous patient care and monitoring, and eff ectiveness of medical inter- of health activity campaign ventions. The ACI Survey team that vis- ited the hospital expressed their atar University College cal sciences, public health, hu- Dr Egon Toft said: “SEHHA satisfaction and pleasure with of Health Sciences (QU- man nutrition, and pharmacy is an exciting opportunity for Al-Emadi Hospital’s systems ACI team with Al-Emadi Hospital’s management. QCHS) has concluded the and medicine programmes. On national high-school students and processes for improving 5th round of its Sciences Educa- the second day of each cycle, to get familiarised with the quality and patient safety. healthcare,” a statement issued tion and Human Health Activity the students had a fi eld trip to healthcare professions at Qatar Al-Emadi Hospital had previ- by the hospital said. (SEHHA) campaign held recent- QU Research Complex and vari- University. This year especial- ously been awarded ACI’s Gold Al-Emadi Hospital’s CEO ly in collaboration with QU Col- ous hospitals at Hamad Medical ly, SEHHA has expanded into a Accreditation and the Platinum Abdulrahman al-Emadi said: leges of Medicine (CMED) and Corporation (HMC). larger cluster level event to in- Accreditation is the next step up. “Getting a certifi cate is easy but Pharmacy (CPH) . CHS dean and QU Biomedical clude the three health colleges. “Al-Emadi Hospital is ex- maintaining and upgrading it is The campaign aims to provide Research Center (BRC) director I believe that this wide expo- tremely proud on behalf of its diffi cult, more so in achieving high-school students with an professor Asmaa al-Thani said: sure will guide the students hardworking and meticulous the Platinum level. in-depth learning experience in “The event continues to off er an in choosing their career path, management and staff to receive Being able to maintain and health-related sciences, and to incredible opportunity for high- therefore, attracting the right this prestigious accreditation, improve the quality of the hos- showcase the myriad of careers school students to broaden their students to the right field.” as it clearly demonstrates the pital and continually making that can emerge from pursuing perception regarding health sci- CPH dean Dr Mohamed Diab excellent progress in its journey rapid progress in even further study in health-related fi elds. In ences and their applications. We said: “SEHHA has been an ex- towards patient safety and qual- improving our superlative and its 5th round, SEHHA drew 70 aim to empower this generation cellent platform to inspire Qa- ity improvement. unparalleled healthcare could Qatari students from 16 interna- with essential qualities that ac- tari students to explore op- This recent accreditation not have been possible without tional and independent schools commodate the ever-increasing portunities in health-related award reiterates Al-Emadi Hos- the consistent and dedicated ef- in Qatar. demands for skilled health pro- disciplines. Through hands-on pital’s mission to provide the forts of all our hardworking staff On the fi rst day of the four fessionals in the recent century. training, this programme has al- best healthcare possible, not just and employees. inclusive cycles, the students SEHHA has been carefully de- lowed students excelling in sci- in the country but the region as This is a tremendous achieve- had the opportunity to interact signed to accomplish its con- ence to experience the colleges well. ment for the hospital and an- with health cluster faculty and to structive purpose and meaning- of Pharmacy, Health Sciences Al-Emadi Hospital strives to other milestone in our journey participate in a wide range of ac- ful rewards.” and Medicine as well as to be make sure all the services pro- towards maintaining excellence tivities that included hands-on QU vice-president for medi- exposed to the roles that health vided are on par with the high- and continually improving the experimentations in biomedi- cal education and CMED dean care providers hold in hospitals.” est international standards in healthcare we provide.” CEO Abdulrehman al-Emadi. Gulf Times 4 Sunday, January 8, 2017 QATAR

Qatar takes part in Khartoum Holy Qur’an contest

QNA 60 contestants from dif- (endowments) and Islamic Doha ferent countries. Qatar is Aff airs is keen to participate QRCS medical team wins the represented by Fahd Sa- in the international compe- lem al-Jaber, a candidate of titions of the Holy Qur’an atar is taking part in the Ministry of Awqaf and and its recitation and Khartoum Interna- Islamic Aff airs, in the cat- achieve advanced positions. Qtional Holy Qur’an egory of memorising, reci- The three top winners hearts of Bangladeshi children Award contest in Sudan, tation, and interpretation of will, respectively, be award- which began yesterday with the Holy Qur’an. ed $40,000, 30,000, and the participation of about The Ministry of Awqaf 20,000. atar Red Crescent tion was received by offi cials Society (QRCS) has from the embassy of Qatar Qsent a medical team and the National Institute to Dhaka, Bangladesh, to of Cardiovascular Diseases conduct its 11th annual pro- (NICVD), where the op- gramme of cardiac catheteri- erations will be performed. sation intervention for poor Ahmed M al-Dehaimi, Qa- children with congenital tar’s ambassador in Dhaka, heart problems. gave instructions to secure At a cost of QR501,600, all facilities for the delega- the one-week visit to Bang- tion. ladesh would see the treat- The delegation has held ment of around 45 cases, out a meeting with associated of 66 cases previously short- professor Dr ABM Abdus- listed in co-operation with Salam, Head of Paediatric Kuwait Joint Relief Commit- Cardiology Department, tee (KJRC). who welcomed the guests The medical team com- and thanked them for this prised Dr Mohamed Noa- noble eff ort . man, Paediatric Cardiol- On the fi rst day, 16 chil- ogy Consultant at St Joseph dren underwent physical ex- QRCS delegation meets Bangladesh off icial. Medical Centre, Houston, amination, and eight of them Texas, USA; Dr Mahmoud (ranging 1.5-12 years of age) al-Soufi , Paediatric Cardi- were successfully catheter- ology Consultant at Dubai ised in the heart. Hospital, UAE; and Abdul- Since 2004, QRCS’s car- lah Ashkenani, Senior Car- diac catheterisation pro- diovascular Technician at gramme has covered the Hamad Medical Corporation treatment of 300 children in (HMC). Sudan, Syria, Gaza, Maurita- Upon arrival, the delega- nia, Morocco, and Jordan.

QRCS physicians and local medics co-operate for the treatment of sick children.

Gulf Times 6 Sunday, January 8, 2017 REGION/ARAB WORLD

18 dead as Yemen Massive tanker bomb kills loyalists attack rebels 43 in Syria border town AFP people in Damascus and its Beirut suburbs without water, accord- AFP ing to the UN. Yesterday, state Aden media said maintenance teams massive tanker truck had arrived in the area 15 kilo- bomb ripped through a metres northwest of Damascus emeni government forces Amarket by a courthouse and were “prepared to enter” to attacked rebel positions in the rebel-held Syrian town of begin repair work. Yon the Red Sea coast Azaz yesterday, killing 43 peo- A source close to the regime yesterday sparking clashes in ple and wounding dozens near said a temporary ceasefi re had which seven soldiers, includ- the Turkish border. been agreed to allow the repair ing a general, and 11 rebels were The attack appeared to be crews to enter, though it could killed, loyalist military sources the deadliest yet in the town take days before the mains sup- said. in northern Aleppo province, ply is restored. The assault on the coastal dis- which has been regularly hit by But there was no offi cial con- trict of Dhubab, just 30 kilome- bombing targeting rebels and fi rmation of a deal or the entry tres north of the Bab al-Mandab civilians. of the repair crews. strait linking the Red Sea and the The Britain-based Syrian More than 310,000 people Indian Ocean, came after the Observatory for Human Rights have been killed in Syria since government sent reinforcements said at least six rebels were the confl ict began in March 2011 from its headquarters in Aden. among the dead, but most of with anti-government protests. The general was killed by rebel those killed were civilians. The fi ghting has displaced more sniper fi re, the military sources Observatory chief Rami Ab- than half the population, in- said. del Rahman said identifi cation ternally or abroad, and proved The government and its al- of the dead was being hampered stubbornly resistant to interna- lies in a coalition recaptured the by the fact that some bodies tional attempts to broker a po- strait in October 2015. were completely burned in the litical solution. But the rebels still control blast. Turkey and Russia want to nearly all of Yemen’s Red Sea Video from the scene convene negotiations in Astana coast to the north, posing what showed huge clouds of smoke later this month, but rebels the coalition says is a threat to rising from a street filled with have suspended participation international shipping. debris and twisted metal, An image grab taken from an AFPTV video released yesterday shows people gathering amidst the debris at the site of a car bomb attack in preparatory talks, blaming In September and October, which bulldozers were work- in the rebel-held town of Azaz in northern Syria. regime “violations” in Wadi two US warships and a United ing to clear. Barada. Arab Emirates vessel contracted Raging fi res were burning in headquarters. The rebels ac- IS. “These kinds of crimes are in Kazakh capital Astana, which continued despite the truce, Elsewhere, an alliance of Arab to the coalition were targeted by several vehicles, and the fi re bri- cused the Islamic State group of only committed by the terrorist regime ally Iran is also help- which does not apply to IS or and Kurdish fi ghters backed missile fi re from rebel-held ter- gade was battling to put them being behind that attack. group Daesh,” he said, using an ing organise. But the ceasefi re former Al Qaeda affi liate Fateh by US special forces moved to ritory. out with a giant water tanker The militant group is present Arabic acronym for IS. and the planned talks have been al-Sham Front, known previ- within four kilometres of the The loyalist off ensive failed and hoses. elsewhere in Aleppo province “They are the ones who target threatened by ongoing violence ously as Al Nusra Front. Tabqa dam held by IS, the Ob- to dislodge the rebels from Civil defence workers, rebels and has sought to advance on civilians and the cadres who are in the rebel-held Wadi Barada The government says Fateh servatory said. their positions as they put up and civilians picked through Azaz in the past. building this country,” he told region outside Damascus, al-Sham is present in Wadi The monitor said the Syrian fi erce resistance, leaving many the rubble of a building, half In October, at least 17 people AFP. which is the main water source Barada, and blames rebels there Democratic Forces had taken wounded on both sides, the of which had tumbled into the were killed in a car bomb attack The blast comes during a for the capital. for cutting water to Damascus the last IS-held village be- commander said. street. on a rebel checkpoint, the Ob- fragile nationwide ceasefire Overnight, the Observa- since December 22. tween them and the dam on the The Yemeni confl ict has Azaz has been repeatedly servatory said. brokered by government ally tory said seven Syrian soldiers Rebels deny the militant Euphrates, which is the coun- killed more than 7,000 peo- struck by bomb attacks, includ- There was no immediate Russia and rebel backer Tur- and two civilians were killed in group is in the region and say try’s largest. ple since the coalition’s mili- ing in November when rebels claim of responsibility for yes- key. clashes, though the fi ghting ap- the mains supply was severed The dam is just 500 metres tary intervention began in said 25 people — civilians and terday’s attack, but Osama al- The truce came into eff ect on peared to have calmed by late after government strikes hit from the town of Tabqa, where March 2015, according to the opposition fi ghters — were Merhi, a lawyer at the scene of December 30, and is intended to yesterday morning. pumping facilities in the area. many senior IS commanders United Nations. killed in a car bombing of a rebel the blast, pointed the fi nger at pave the way for new peace talks Fighting in the region has The damage has left 5.5mn have been based.

Two terrorists killed in Saudi Prince readies strategy for reform Govt plans Aleppo renovation security operation Two “dangerous terrorists” Reuters old overseeing the kingdom’s his “Vision 2030” reform plan to Reuters and hospitals before the government and its allies were killed in a Saudi security Riyadh biggest-ever overhaul of state wean the kingdom’s economy off Beirut took control in late December. operation in the capital Riyadh and society, told visiting re- oil in terms referencing Islamic The cabinet said it had a plan to secure elec- yesterday, the Saudi state news searchers last month he believed tradition and has kept the focus tricity, water and fuel supplies, assess which agency SPA reported. The he young prince leading only a small percentage of the on the economy. he Syrian government yesterday decided a buildings could be repaired, and open roads so agency said a security off icer was Saudi Arabia’s drive for eco- kingdom’s clerics were too dog- The government started try- plan of works to restore services, industry citizens could lead normal lives, media report- also wounded in the operation Tnomic reform has laid out a matic to be reasoned with, the ing to rein in what it saw as ex- Tand security to the war-ravaged northern ed.The cabinet approved an emergency plan by in the Al-Yasmin neighbourhood three-pronged strategy to avoid a journal reported, while more tremist viewpoints after militant city of Aleppo, state media reported. the Education Ministry to repair 50 schools in in northern Riyadh. Saudi media backlash from any conservatives than half could be persuaded to attacks inside the kingdom be- Aleppo, split into a government-held west the eastern sector over six months. identified one of the two militants opposed to his plan, according to support his reforms through en- gan in 2003, pushing hardlin- and rebel-held east since the early days of the By the start of the next academic year, it as Taye’ al-Say’ari and said he remarks reported by Foreign Aff airs gagement and dialogue. ers to renounce Al Qaeda and almost six-year Syrian confl ict, became a focal wants to have repaired 100 schools and it also was being sought as an expert in magazine yesterday. There was no immediate com- violent tactics and sacking those point of the war. includes the rehabilitation of fi ve health cen- making explosive belts used by Deputy Crown Prince Mo- ment from the royal court. seen as disseminating hardline Months of fi erce air strikes and siege on the tres and two hospitals, as well as the renovation militants in suicide attacks. hamed bin Salman, the 31-year- Prince Mohamed has couched views. eastern sector destroyed infrastructure, homes of the international airport and the train track.

Nearly 1,500 attend funeral of Palestinians

AFP Friday. Since October 2015, 246 Pales- rence and to prevent clashes during Hebron tinians, 36 Israelis, two Americans, a funerals. Jordanian, an Eritrean and a Sudanese Israel is still withholding the re- have been killed in a wave of violence, mains of seven Palestinians, from east round 1,500 mourners attended according to an AFP count. Jerusalem and the West Bank, includ- the funerals yesterday in the Most of the Palestinians killed were ing three from Hebron which is a fre- AWest Bank city of Hebron of carrying out knife, gun or car-ram- quent hotspot. two alleged Palestinian fi ghters killed ming attacks, according to Israeli au- Mourners at yesterday’s funerals by Israeli troops last year. thorities. carried pictures of the deceased, Pal- Hatem Shaludi, 25, and 16-year-old Others were shot dead during pro- estinian national fl ags and banners of Mohamed Rajabi were both shot dead tests or clashes, while some died in Is- various Palestinian groups, including in September during separate alleged raeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip. the Hamas. stabbing attacks on Israeli soldiers in Since the start of the violence, Is- It was not known, however, if either the occupied city. raeli forces have confi scated the bod- Shaludi or Rajabi were directly linked Israeli authorities returned their ies of killed Palestinians, often for to Hamas, which controls the Gaza bodies for burial by their families on several months, as a means of deter- Strip.

Gulf Times 8 Sunday, January 8, 2017 ARAB WORLD Iraqi special forces close in on Tigris in IS stronghold Mosul

Reuters eral police had recaptured a hospital complex Mosul, Iraq/Baghdad in Wahda in southeastern Mosul, a signifi cant turnaround after US-backed army units were forced to withdraw from the site last month raqi special forces closed in on the Tigris under fi erce counter-attacks from Islamic river that runs through central Mosul yes- State. Iterday, advancing in parallel with other CTS and federal police “are now moving in troops and forcing Islamic State to retreat in parallel on both axes” in southeastern Mosul, its last major stronghold in the country. Numan said. Islamic State has been driven out of more “We are proceeding side by side...and ad- than half the areas it held east of the Tigris vancing at the same level. This is a very im- river, which bisects the city, but is still in con- portant factor, thanks to which Daesh (Islamic trol of the west. State) has not been able to move its fi ghters. It It will be harder for the militants to defend has to support one axis (front) at the expense Mosul once Iraqi forces reach the river. of another.” Baghdad meanwhile said it had come to an “We have worn down the terrorist organisa- agreement with Ankara over a demand for tion with this type of advance.” withdrawal of Turkish forces from an area Senior CTS commanders met yesterday at a close to Mosul as the two regional powers makeshift outpost in eastern Mosul where life sought to improve ties following a year-long in areas recaptured from Islamic State is slow- spat over the military deployment. ly returning to normal despite heavy damage In a visit to Iraq, Turkey’s prime minister to homes and infrastructure. did not say a deal had been reached, but that Residents lined the streets and vendors sold the issue was discussed and would be resolved. produce, eggs and meat in areas where clashes Tension between the two neighbours in the raged just a few weeks earlier. run-up to the US-backed campaign to drive One of the generals handed out chocolates Islamic State from Mosul, which began in Oc- to neighbourhood children beside a column of Members of the Iraqi special forces Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) advance in Mosul’s Al-Zahraa neighbourhood yesterday during an ongoing military tober, has been just one sign of the coming black Humvees as the distant sound of explo- operation against the Islamic State (IS) group. struggle for infl uence over Iraq’s second city sions rang out. even once the jihadists have been driven out. Friday’s nighttime operation, launched af- The battle for the city has yet to be won but ter a week of planning, had been a particular is beginning to make quicker progress. success, Numan said. Iraqi counter-terrorism forces pushed to CTS forces using night-vision equipment within several hundred metres (yards) of the crossed the Khosr river, a tributary that runs Tigris and a strategic bridge yesterday, the perpendicular to the Tigris through eastern closest they have been, after staging an un- Mosul, via a makeshift earth bridge after Is- precedented nighttime assault the day before lamic State had destroyed permanent ones, he in a nearby district, a spokesman said. said. Advances in recent days have driven mili- Air strikes from the US-led coalition sped tants out of several additional areas east of the that advance into Muthanna district. river. The CTS and federal police are part of a The counter-terrorism service (CTS) 100,000 – strong Iraqi force made up of the spokesman said new tactics and better co- military, Kurdish fi ghters and Shia militias, ordination were helping. backed by US-led coalition air power. “Counter-terrorism forces have been sent Some Sunni Muslim and Kurdish peshmerga about 500 metres from the fourth bridge,” units participating in the campaign received Sabah al-Numan told reporters east of Mosul. training from Turkish forces at the Bashiqa A coalition spokesman said on Twitter that camp northeast of Mosul. Islamic State had damaged the fourth bridge in Turkey’s military presence in northern Iraq a “desperate act” as they lost ground. since well before the Mosul campaign has an- The bridge has already been hit by US-led gered Baghdad, and the two countries traded air strikes to prevent the militants sending re- barbs over the issue shortly before it began on inforcements across the city. Oct 17. CTS seized the Ghufran district, also known Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said as Al-Baath, and entered adjacent Wahda, Baghdad reached an agreement with Ankara Numan said. yesterday over Iraq’s request that Turkish An Iraqi woman carries her child near the town of Bartella as people return to their liberated neighbourhoods in eastern Mosul yesterday. A separate military statement said Iraqi fed- forces withdraw.

Abadi says Turkish troop problem to be solved soon

AFP from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) who Baghdad are based in northern Iraq should be dealt with. Yildirim yesterday said Abadi had provid- ed such assurances. “This is very important raq and Turkey’s prime ministers held for us. We were very pleased with this and it talks yesterday in Baghdad which both shows in the best way what we can do in the Isaid refl ected progress in resolving a bit- fi ght against terror,” he told reporters. ter row over the presence of Turkish troops The PKK, a Turkish organisation, and its lo- in northern Iraq. cal allies control key areas in the Sinjar region, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said at which lies between Mosul and Syria, south This handout photo provided by the Turkish Prime Minister’s Press Office shows Turkish a joint press conference after meeting Turkey’s of the Turkish border. Ankara has blamed a Prime Minister Binali Yildirim (left) and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi holding a joint Binali Yildirim that the issue would be solved number of recent deadly attacks in Turkey on press conference after the High Level Strategic Co-operation Council meeting at the soon.“The prime minister and the delegation the PKK and has hinted it would not hesitate governmental palace in Baghdad yesterday. accompanying him confi rmed that this issue to cross the border to hunt down the Kurdish will be solved in a satisfactory manner soon,” separatists. Abadi said he had a deal with the he said. Turkey has for some time maintained autonomous Iraqi Kurdish region for its forces troops at a base near Bashiqa, a town just to establish control over the Sinjar area. northeast of Mosul, and reinforcements dis- “It should be under the full control of Iraqi patched there in 2015 led to a deterioration in forces and any outside forces are not allowed relations between the two neighbours. to control this area,” Abadi said. Yildirim Baghdad has accused Turkey of violating said his government was committed to re- its sovereignty but Ankara has insisted rebels specting and supporting Iraq’s sovereignty.

TRAGEDY 10 killed in south Morocco bus-truck crash Ten people were killed and 22 others injured yesterday in a crash involving a truck and a bus near Agadir, authorities in the southern Moroccan city said. The collision, in the early hours of the morning, caused a fire onboard the bus, the lo- cal Health Ministry off ice said. An estimated 3,000 people were killed in road accidents in Morocco in the first ten months of 2016. PEOPLE Health fears for detained Sudan opposition figure

The family of detained Suda- nese opposition figure Siddig Yousif have appealed for his release following an “alarming” worsening of his health. The 85-year-old was detained in No- vember along with three other leftist leaders by the National In- telligence and Security Service during a crackdown on protests sparked by fuel price hikes. Gulf Times Sunday, January 8, 2017 9 AFRICA

Akufo-Addo sworn in as new Ghana president

DPA Accra

Ghana’s new President Nana Akufo-Addo inspects a military parade after the ana Akufo-Addo was sworn in yes- swearing in ceremony at Independence Square in Accra yesterday. terday as Ghana’s new president, in Na ceremony applauded for its easy transition of power. “I will not let you, the people of Ghana, down,” wrote Akufo-Addo on his Twitter feed just after he took offi ce. The peaceful transfer of power from I Coast govt ex-president John Dramani Mahama is drawing special attention because another Western African country that had elections at almost the same time – Gambia – re- mains convulsed because its president has in deal to end refused to step down after losing to a chal- lenger. Mahama was even part of a special mis- sion of heads of state who went to Gambia last month to try to convince Yahya Jam- army mutiny meh to give up the Gambian presidency, after he initially conceded defeat in the De- cember 1 elections. Reuters manner of making demands is not At the time, Mahama pointed out how he Bouake, Ivory Coast appropriate. had accepted defeat. It tarnishes the image of our Attending the ceremony in Accra were Ni- country after all our eff orts to re- gerian President Muhammadu Buhari and vory Coast President Alassane vive the economy,” Ouattara said Kenyan Deputy President William Ruto. Ouattara said yesterday that before calling upon the soldiers to Ithe government had reached an return to barracks. agreement with disgruntled sol- Ivory Coast – French-speaking W Africa leaders diers to end a two-day revolt that West Africa’s largest economy – had spread unrest across the West has emerged from a 2002-11 politi- still pursuing African nation. cal crisis as one of the continent’s Gambia mediation The uprising began early on Fri- rising economic stars. day when the soldiers – mainly However, years of confl ict and a West African leaders are still pursuing former rebel fi ghters demanding failure to reform its army, thrown mediation to ensure a peaceful transfer of wage increases and bonuses – seized together from a patchwork of power in Gambia where President Yahya Bouake, the second-largest city. former rebel fi ghters and govern- Jammeh refused to accept defeat in an Over the next two days, soldiers ment soldiers, have left it with an election last month, Liberia’s President Ellen at military camps in cities and unruly force hobbled by internal Johnson Sirleaf said yesterday. towns including the commercial divisions. Sirleaf told reporters after a meeting among capital, Abidjan, joined the mutiny. A member of the uprising close regional leaders in Ghana’s capital Accra that Speaking to his government to the negotiations, which took regional bloc Ecowas did not yet intend to ministers and reporters, Ouattara place in Bouake and were led by deploy its standby military force in Gambia. said he had agreed to take into ac- Defence Minister Alain-Richard “We are committed to a peaceful mediation count the soldiers grievances con- Donwahi, said the mutineers were and a peaceful transfer of power in the Gam- cerning bonus payments and living preparing to leave the streets. bia...we will continue to pursue that for now,” and working conditions. “It’s over,” Sergeant Mamadou Sirleaf who chairs the 15-member body said. “I would like to say that this Kone said. Gulf Times 10 Sunday, January 8, 2017 AMERICAS California pays for Offi cials look for inmate’s surgery

Reuters der dysphoria access to clothing, toilet- Sacramento, California ries and other items consistent with their gender identities. For those like Shiloh whose doctors agree ‘terror’ angle in transgender California prison in- that surgery is medically appropriate, the mate who was born male but iden- state will pay for the procedure. Atifi es as female underwent gender- The cost was not specifi ed. reassignment surgery paid for by the state Transgender Law Center executive di- this week in what is believed to be the rector Kris Hayashi said that by provid- fi rst such case in the United States, her ing Quine’s surgery, the state was setting attorneys have said. an example that would help others obtain The state had promised to refer inmate needed care. Florida shooting Shiloh Quine, then 56, to a surgeon and pay “For too long, institutions have ignored for the procedure as part of a 2015 settle- doctors and casually dismissed medically AFP ment making the state the fi rst in the Unit- necessary and life-saving care for trans- Miami ed States to off er inmates a regular path to gender people just because of who we are such treatment. - with devastating consequences for our Quine, who is serving a term of life with- community,” said Hayashi. he US authorities are out the possibility of parole after convic- Under guidelines adopted in 2015 af- not ruling out “the ter- tions in 1981 for murder, kidnapping and ter the state’s settlement with Quine, Trorism angle” as a po- robbery, had the surgery on Thursday, prisoners seeking to change their bio- tential motive of the Iraq war said Jill Marcellus, a spokeswoman for the logical sex would need to be evaluated by veteran accused of killing fi ve Transgender Law Center, which negotiated medical and mental health professionals, people at the Fort Lauderd- the settlement. and present their cases to a six-member ale International Airport, Under its terms, the state agreed to allow committee of doctors, psychologists and offi cials said yesterday. inmates who are transgender or have gen- psychiatrists. Police interrogated the suspect, 26-year-old Es- Esteban Santiago is shown teban Santiago, through- in this booking photo out much of the night after provided by the Broward the shooting rampage that County Sheriff ’s Off ice in killed fi ve people, wound- Fort Lauderdale, Florida. ed six and sent thousands scrambling for safety before Administration) procedures the authorities shut down in checking in the weapon,” the airport, a major gateway a 9mm semi-automatic to the Caribbean and Latin handgun he had declared Passengers arrive at Ft Lauderdale International Airport after it reopened in Ft Lauderdale, America. and stowed inside his Florida yesterday. “We continue to look at checked luggage. all avenues and all motives Santiago had travelled Following the initial gun- on a plane in checked The international fl ight for this horrifi c attack,” from Alaska to Fort Lauder- shots, a deputy offi cer came baggage. hub was open again yester- George Piro, the special dale, with a stopover in into contact with the gun- “We need to review not day, aiming to run at about agent in charge of Miami’s Minneapolis, Minnesota. man after approximately only the question of should 85% of its normal capacity, FBI fi eld offi ce, told jour- In November, Santiago 70 to 80 seconds, Broward people be able to travel with according to the airport di- nalists. “We are continuing had walked into the FBI’s County Sheriff Scott Israel the fi rearm or even if they’re rector. to look at the terrorism an- Anchorage offi ce exhibit- told reporters. in checked baggage, but we Airport personnel were gle in regards to the poten- ing “erratic behaviour” that Congresswoman Deb- need to take a hard look at also busy conducting the tial motivation behind this led agents to contact local bie Wasserman Schultz, the security around bag- complicated task of return- attack.” police, who took him to a who represents the dis- gage claim areas and not just ing nearly 20,000 pieces of Piro said the suspect ap- medical facility for a mental trict that includes the leave it at that,” she said. luggage and other personal peared to be acting alone health evaluation, Piro said. airport, said the incident “It’s been pointed out items abandoned by pas- and that “every indica- However, he was not brought into question that there are many unse- sengers fl eeing at the time tion is that he did follow placed on a no-fl y list, Piro federal rules that allow cure areas in facilities that of the shooting, offi cials (Transportation Security added. fi rearms to be carried the public travels.” said.

Ricardo Piglia Argentine writer Piglia dies aged 75

DPA Buenos Aires

rgentine novelist and short story writer ARicardo Piglia has died at the age of 75, his pub- lisher Anagrama confi rmed. Piglia, one of the most important Argentine writ- ers of the past 50 years, had been suff ering for several years from amyotrophic lat- eral sclerosis, a progressive neurodegenerative disease. He published his fi rst collection of short stories, The Invasion, in 1967, and followed this with fi ve nov- els, and other collections of stories and essays. The 1980 novel Artifi - cial Respiration, a detective novel which also examines his country’s bloody past, brought Piglia international recognition and was regard- ed as a turning point in mod- ern Argentine literature. For his 2011 novel Target in the Night he was hon- oured with Venezuela’s Romulo Gallegos Prize and in 2015 received Spain’s Formentor Prize for his life- time’s work. Piglia, who lectured and Harvard and Princeton universities in the US, also wrote several fi lm scripts and his novel Money to Burn was turned into a movie by Marcelo Pineyro, winning a Goya Award for Best Span- ish Language Foreign Film in 2001. Gulf Times Sunday, January 8, 2017 11 AMERICAS

Gunman wounds Trump lambasts ‘fools’ US consular offi cial in Mexico

AFP not immediately known. Mexico City The statement said Mexican who oppose Russia ties authorities are in contact with the US embassy and consulate AFP US director of national intelli- Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. exican police hunted in eff orts to locate the shooter. Washington gence, also yesterday, may go at The former senator, who yesterday for a gun- The US embassy declined least a little toward reassuring had advocated tough sanctions Mman who shot and to give more detail about the those critical of Trump’s praise against Moscow, has called the wounded a US consulate of- shooting or the offi cial’s title resident-elect Donald for Putin and desire to improve ban an honor. fi cial who was driving out of a and identity. Trump condemned Rus- relations with Moscow. He was US ambassador to parking garage in the western US offi cials have faced Psia critics yesterday, call- After their meeting with Germany from 2001 to 2005 city of Guadalajara. attacks in Mexico in the past. ing those who oppose better Trump on Friday about fi ndings under the George W. Bush ad- The consulate posted a In 2010, a consular offi cial, relations with Moscow “stupid” that undermine the legitimacy ministration, and served on the video on Facebook showing her husband and the spouse people and “fools” in his latest of his election, intelligence of- Senate Select Committee on In- the shooter, dressed in blue, of another consular offi cial Twitter tirade. fi cials released a declassifi ed telligence as well as economy- waiting outside a shopping were killed in two simultane- His attack comes a day after report describing an unprec- related committees during the center’s garage on Friday, rais- ous attacks in the northern the Republican president-elect edented Russian cyberattack past six years. ing his gun and fi ring at the car city of Ciudad Juarez, which met the country’s leading intel- as part of an ongoing eff ort to He welcomed his nomination before fl eeing. at the time was considered the ligence agency chiefs – includ- subvert American democratic yesterday. The shooting left a bul- world’s murder capital amid ing the director of national in- institutions. “There is no higher priority let impact on the car win- an ultra-violent drug war. telligence, James Clapper, and Although Trump accepted the than keeping America safe, and I dow while the offi cial is seen A year later, gunmen from CIA chief John Brennan – who possibility that Moscow was in- will utilize every tool at my dis- opening his door. the Zetas drug cartel opened told him that Russian President volved in hacking US targets in- Donald Trump: “Having a good relationship with Russia is a good thing.” posal to make that happen,” he Moments before the shoot- fi re on a vehicle of two US Im- Vladimir Putin directed a vast cluding the Democratic National said in a statement. ing, the offi cial, who was migration and Customs En- cyberattack and leaking cam- Committee, the president-elect tally embarrassed!” administration and the media His nomination must pass wearing shorts and a sleeve- forcement (ICE) agents in the paign aimed at helping install held fast to his rejection of the Trump, who has ridiculed which supported (Democratic Senate confi rmation. less shirt, paid his parking northern state of San Luis Po- Trump in the White House. intelligence community’s con- the country’s intelligence agen- nominee Hillary) Clinton against Created after the September ticket at an automated ma- tosi, killing one of the offi cers. “Having a good relationship clusion that Russia interfered in cies, repeated his view that the Trump, Alexei Pushkov, former 11, 2001 attacks, the DNI over- chine, according to another In 2012, two US government with Russia is a good thing,” he the election. fi ndings show “absolutely no parliamentary foreign relations sees coordination between dis- video. After the offi cial walks offi cials – widely reported to tweeted yesterday. “Only ‘stu- He told the New York Times evidence” any hacking aff ected committee chairman, tweeted.” parate agencies including the away, the gunman is seen be CIA agents – and a Mexi- pid’ people, or fools, would think before the meeting that the ac- the election results. “Voting The threat to democracy is the Department of Homeland Se- following him. can marine where wounded that it is bad!” cusations are part of a “political machines not touched!” United States.” curity, the Central Intelligence The FBI off ered a $20,000 in 2012 when they were shot “When I am President,” he witch-hunt” against him. Moscow denies the hacking Coats – who served as a Re- Agency, the Federal Bureau of reward for information about at by federal police offi cers added, “Russia will respect us far He blamed Democrats for the accusations. publican senator from Indi- Investigation, the National Se- the shooter. as they were driving in the more than they do now and both hacking, accusing the Demo- Yesterday, a top Russian law- ana from 1989 to 1999, and curity Agency and others, act- “An offi cial from the US central state of Morelos. countries will, perhaps, work to- cratic National Committee of maker accused US President then from 2011 to the end of ing as the president’s principal consulate was wounded by a Fourteen offi cers were ini- gether to solve some of the many “gross negligence” in another Barack Obama’s administration his term on Tuesday – was one adviser on their work. shot from a fi rearm. ... Ac- tially accused of attempted great and pressing problems and series of tweets on Saturday. of undermining US democracy of six US legislators and three US media reported earlier this cording to the medical report, murder but they were later issues of the WORLD!” “Only reason the hacking instead. White House aides blacklisted week that Trump’s transition he is in stable condition,” the put on trial on charges of us- But the formal announce- of the poorly defended DNC is “The Democratic process in by Moscow in 2014 in reprisal team is working on a plan to scale Mexican attorney general’s ing excessive force, with of- ment of former Indiana Senator discussed is that the loss by the the United States is undermined for US sanctions placed on the down the Offi ce of the Director offi ce said in a statement. fi cials saying it was a case of Dan Coats as Trump’s pick for Dems was so big that they are to- not by Russia, but by the Obama country for its seizure of the of National Intelligence. The motive was mistaken identity. In farewell speech, Michelle Cold snap Obama praises diversity

Reuters Donald Trump has pro- people about justice and Washington posed building a wall along compassion and honesty.” the border of Mexico and Mrs Obama gave a series temporarily banning Mus- of high profi le speeches at irst lady Michelle lims from entering the campaign events for Clin- Obama made an im- country. ton last year and made clear Fpassioned case for em- “If you or your parents are her disapproval of Trump bracing diversity and wel- immigrants, know that you for questioning President coming all religious groups are part of a proud Ameri- Obama’s citizenship and on Friday in a not-so-veiled can tradition: the infusion for the New York business- message to her husband’s of new cultures, talents man’s treatment of women successor two weeks ahead and ideas, generation after after a recording was re- Snow just begins to cover the ground on the North Lawn of the White House in of Inauguration Day. generation, that has made leased in which he bragged Washington, DC, yesterday. In what was billed as her Michelle Obama gives her final remarks as US First Lady at us the greatest country on about groping women. last formal speech before the 2017 School Counselor of the Year event at the White earth,” Mrs. Obama said. Trump was a leader President Barack Obama House in Washington DC. “If you are a person of of the so-called birther leaves offi ce, the fi rst lady faith, know that religious movement that questioned said at an event honour- “Our glorious diversity – The remarks were remi- diversity is a great Ameri- whether President Obama, ing high school counsel- our diversities of faiths and niscent of her vigorous can tradition, too... And who was born in Hawaii, lors that the United States colours and creeds – that is campaign speeches in fa- whether you are Muslim, had been born in the US. belonged to people from all not a threat to who we are, vour of Democrat Hillary Christian, Jewish, Hin- Mrs Obama has kept a backgrounds and walks of it makes us who we are,” she Clinton during the 2016 du, Sikh – these religions lower public profi le since life. said. election. President-elect are teaching our young the election.

Six dead in Mexico gas price protests

DPA protester who was run over Mexico City during looting, while lo- cal media reported another two suspected looters dead exican activists in the state. angry about a 20% A police offi cer died in Mhike in the cost of Mexico City defending a gas petrol called for a weekend station from attackers, al- escalation in protests that though authorities have not have left six dead and 900 yet confi rmed that assault under arrest. was related to protests. In messages on the social More than 900 people have network WhatsApp, protest- been arrested in looting and ers planned a major demon- riots, while protestors have stration yesterday in Mexico blocked roads, shuttered gas City’s central Zocalo square, stations, and torched at least as well as other cities. one police car. Activists in Guadala- The central state of Mex- jara in the western state of ico saw more than 500 ar- Jalisco called on Facebook rests, while hundreds more for a demonstration there were reported in the capital on Sunday. district of Mexico City and Organisers called for the south-eastern state of protests to remain peace- Veracruz. ful while local authorities Authorities said some of the planned to increase po- violence was incited by mes- lice presence in the wake sages and event postings by of six days of demonstra- fake accounts on social media. tions that have increasingly Looters sacked more than devolved into rioting. 350 businesses in 10 states, ac- As of Friday afternoon at cording to Mexico’s retail asso- least six people had died and ciation, and the fear of further more than 20 were reported raids led thousands of stores to injured in riots and looting close their doors, with econom- around the country that began ic losses of as much as 50mn pe- Wednesday following several sos ($2.4mn). The unrest began days of peaceful protests. January 1 when the increased Two protesters were fuel price, part of a plan to liber- killed in clashes with police alize Mexico’s fuel market, came in Hidalgo state, police said. into eff ect and the price of the Veracruz state governor lowest grade fuel surged from Miguel Angel Yunes con- 13,98 pesos (0.68 cent) per litre fi rmed the death of one to 15,99 pesos. Gulf Times 12 Sunday, January 8, 2017 ASEAN Cambodia marks fall of Khmer Rouge

Agencies Phnom Penh

upporters of Cambodia’s ruling party yesterday celebrated the country’s Victory Day, marking the S38th anniversary of the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime. Prime Minister Hun Sen led celebrations at the head- quarters of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), which were joined by thousands of supporters, govern- ment offi cials and diplomats, Efe news reported. The annual Victory Over Genocide Day marks the an- niversary of the fall of Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge regime, which was responsible for the deaths of an estimated 1.7mn people during its rule from April 1975 to January 1979. The event yesterday included a blessing ceremony performed by Buddhist monks, traditional dance per- formances and a speech from the prime minister in which he recalled the challenges with rebuilding the country after the fall of the Khmer Rouge. Following the event, Hun Sen continued to discuss the importance of the day on his Facebook page. January 7 “is the second life of all Cambodian people in Cambodia, living again from the Khmer Rouge re- gime...(It) gave life and freedom to the people”, he wrote in his native Khmer language. However, while the CPP holds large-scale events each year to mark the national holiday, others are less keen to celebrate the day that Vietnamese forces and members Members of a rescue team help a family evacuate a flooded zone in the southern Thai village of Chauat yesterday. of Hun Sen’s government toppled the regime. Taking to his own Facebook page, Sam Rainsy, leader of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, de- scribed the day as a “military and political show organ- ised by the communist Vietnamese”, whom he accused of helping the Khmer Rouge take power in 1975. “They say they came to liberate us from the Khmer Rouge. But if there were no communist Vietnamese in the fi rst place there would be no Khmer Rouge either,” he argued. 18 dead as rains lash southern Thailand AFP submerged, authorities said. ing farmland and damaging more than Military bases across the region have been mobilised to Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand The fl ooding, which was roof-high 1,500 schools in the region. The down- help evacuate fl ood victims, provide temporary shelters and in some areas, has aff ected nearly 1mn pour is expected to persist for at least distribute emergency aid, the government said at a media people in ten southern provinces since two more days, according to Thailand’s briefi ng yesterday. Cambodian Prime Minister and ruling Cambodian eavy rains continued to it started a week ago, the Interior Min- Meteorological Department, which In hard-hit Nakhon Si Thammarat province, two army People’s Party president Samdech Techo Hun Sen hammer Thailand’s flood- istry said in a statement. warned of fl ash fl oods. helicopters were deployed to airlift food to families trapped (right) releases a dove during a celebration marking Hravaged south yesterday, At least 18 people have died and one “The situation is very bad today and inside their homes in Cha-uat district. the 38th anniversary of the Liberation Day in Phnom bringing the death toll up to 18 and is missing, it added, with the rains tomorrow. It’s still raining heavily,” said Bapha Suthiphanya, a 60-year-old who has spent the Penh yesterday. leaving thousands of villages partially turning roads into rivers, inundat- Junjuda Pornsri, a meterological offi cial. past three nights in a makeshift government shelter in the district, said she was forced to evacuate her home after the waters rose above her head. “I was so shocked and scared. I’ve never seen water like this and I also can not swim,” she told AFP. The monsoon rains are unusually heavy for this time of year in Thailand, which normally sees a three-month stretch of relatively dry and cool weather starting in November. It is high season for tourists who fl ock to the kingdom’s is- land resorts, powering a crucial sector of the economy. But the deluge has already disrupted beach holidays in several traveller hotspots, including the popular islands of Samui and Phangan. Hundreds of tourists have had their fl ights delayed, while train and bus services on the mainland have also been sus- pended. Yet some travellers are refusing to let the storm stop the fun, with photos doing the rounds on social media of tour- ists coasting through fl ooded streets on pool fl oats, sipping drinks. “Some tourists are enjoying the fl ooding, they’re taking pictures and going swimming,” said Nongyao Jirundorn, a tourism offi cial on Samui island. Neighbouring Malaysia was also hit by severe fl ooding earlier this week, with thousands stranded in relief centres in two northeastern states. But by yesterday, the number of evacuees in Kelantan and Terengganu had dropped to about 13,500, from almost 23,000 Wednesday, as weather conditions improved and au- thorities forecast less rainfall over the weekend. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak yesterday visited Kelantan and met with people seeking shelter at a relief cen- tre. Gulf Times Sunday, January 8, 2017 13 AUSTRALASIA/EAST ASIA Tsai ‘transit’ through US irks Beijing

AFP Taiwan’s presidential offi ce Taipei and the foreign ministry declined to provide details of Tsai’s itiner- ary during her US stays. aiwan’s President Tsai Deputy Foreign Minister Javier Ing-wen yesterday left for Hou told a legislative commit- Tthe United States on her tee last month the ministry was way to Central America, a trip seeking to arrange meetings with that will be scrutinised by China, members of the US Congress incensed by her congratulatory from both parties as per past call to Donald Trump. protocols, according to the Cen- While the focus of the nine- tral News Agency. day trip is to bolster relations Tsai will visit Honduras, Nica- with Taiwan’s Central American ragua, Guatemala, and El Sal- allies, Tsai’s US stopovers will be vador — among the dwindling closely watched amid specula- number of states that offi cially tion she may make contact with recognise Taiwan. the president-elect and his team. She will attend the presiden- She is to transit in Houston tial inauguration in Nicaragua this weekend and return to Taipei on Tuesday and meet with the via San Francisco next weekend. heads of states of the other three The call with Trump in De- nations. cember after he won the presi- It is also an opportunity to dency upended decades of interact with leaders of other diplomatic precedent in which countries “to show the interna- Washington has eff ectively ig- tional community that Taiwan nored Taipei in favour of Beijing, is a competent and responsible which considers Taiwan a break- partner,” Tsai told reporters Sat- away province to be brought back urday before her departure. within its fold. Taiwan is down to 21 al- Protesters carry portraits of South Korea’s President Park Geun-Hye during a protest in Seoul yesterday demanding the impeached leader resign immediately. Since then, China has stepped lies after the small African na- up military drills near Taiwan, tion of Sao Tome and Principe with speculation its sole aircraft switched recognition to Beijing carrier may pass through the last month. Taiwan Strait during or shortly The Vatican is Taiwan’s high- after Tsai’s trip. est-profi le supporter, but the The drills are seen as a show Holy See’s recently improving of strength by Beijing as its ties relations with Beijing are casting with the self-ruled island and the doubt over ties with the island. Protesters demand Park US deteriorate. Analyst Liao said Beijing “What China cares most about would continue to woo the is- is whether Tsai and Trump will land’s allies as a pressure tactic meet,” political analyst Liao Da- on Tsai, who refuses to acknowl- chi told AFP. edge the concept that there is “These are all warning signals only “one China”. to see how Taiwan will respond, Taiwan’s defence ministry has removal, Sewol salvage as well as testing waters with the declined to comment on specu- US,” added Liao, a professor at the lation that China’s Liaoning air- AFP The corruption scandal has brought Park clarify the mystery surrounding her Soon-Il, to strong-arm donations worth National Sun Yat-sen University. craft carrier may pass through Seoul huge numbers of protesters onto the streets seven-hour absence at the time of the tens of millions of dollars from top fi rms Beijing has asked Washington the Taiwan Strait on its return every week demanding Park’s removal and ferry sinking. which were then funneled to dubious to bar Tsai from fl ying through journey after its fi rst exercise in she is also under fi re over her response to Unconfi rmed media reports have sug- foundations. US airspace. the Pacifi c. undreds of thousands of protestors the Sewol ferry accident in 2014. gested a wide range of theories regarding The president still has her support- “A transit is a transit,” the Tai- The ministry is “monitor- returned yesterday to the streets “Park step down, salvage the Sewol,” Park’s whereabouts, including a romantic ers however, with an estimated 30,000 wanese leader told reporters last ing at all times” the position of Hof Seoul, demanding impeached the protestors, estimated to number liaison, participation in a shamanistic ritual, demonstrators staging a counter-protest week, when asked whether she the Liaoning, spokesman Chen President Park Geun-Hye’s immediate re- half a mn by organisers, chanted as they cosmetic surgery or a 90-minute haircut. yesterday outside the offi ce of a special would be meeting anyone from Chung-chi said. moval and the salvaging of a sunken ferry marched toward the presidential Blue The protesters also urged the govern- prosecutor investigating the scandal. Trump’s administration. The vessel and fi ve other war- which left more than 300 dead. House, the prime minister’s offi ce and the ment to speed up its eff orts to salvage the Waving national fl ags and chanting Trump himself appeared to ships passed south of the island Park was impeached by parliament last Constitutional Court. ship to determine the exact cause of the military songs, the protesters dismissed have ruled out meeting Tsai this outside Taiwan’s air defence month over an infl uence-peddling scan- At 7pm (10:00 GMT) hundreds of disaster. the impeachment move as a conspiracy trip, saying it is “a little bit inap- identifi cation zone last month, dal and the Constitutional Court now yellow balloons were released and the Regarding the corruption case, Park spawned by “pro-North Korean” leftists propriate” to meet anybody until before heading to the South Chi- has to decide whether to confi rm the im- protestors blew out the candles they were has repeatedly denied accusations she seeking to topple the conservative gov- he takes offi ce January 20. na Sea. peachment. carrying as a symbolic gesture asking that colluded with a longtime friend, Choi ernment.

Cool attraction! Lottery windfall stuns offi ce in Australia

Agencies main anonymous, used an offi ce Canberra computer to confi rm their wind- fall, Tatts said. “We were talking in the offi ce wenty-one government (on Thursday) about what we employees have won a would do if we won and now it Tlottery jackpot worth has happened. I just can’t believe A$40.3mn in Australia. it,” the syndicate leader said in a The Queensland workers will statement. each get about $1mn from the “Now I’ll be able to buy a winning ticket, the BBC quoted house and get my teeth fi xed. I’ll lottery owner Tatts Group as be able to aff ord braces.” saying over the weekend. Some of her colleagues who The syndicate members all also won initially thought it was worked at the state’s department a joke, she added. of education. The winners were aged be- The winners, who wish to re- tween 23 and 60.

Spring in the air...

Tourists visit the Ice and Snow Lantern Fair in Baotou City, north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Hong Kong rebel lawmakers met with protests in Taiwan

AFP and Taiwan has provoked a hostile recep- ening its grip on the semi-autonomous China’s Taiwan Aff airs Offi ce last Taipei tion from pro-unifi cation groups on the city. month denounced this weekend’s forum island over what they see as a joint inde- The city’s government recently as a collusion between independence ad- pendence movement. launched a legal bid to unseat a number vocates that is doomed to fail. ro-China protesters waving plac- Television footage showed a scuffl e of pro-democracy lawmakers including The NPP emerged from a 2014 stu- ards reading “Independence will when one of the more than 200 protest- Law, the youngest ever legislator in Hong dent occupation of Taiwan’s parliament Pget you nowhere” greeted Hong ers at the Taipei airport broke through Kong. protesting a trade deal with China that Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua the police line and attempted to throw a Beijing has also been ratcheting up known as the Sunfl ower movement. Wong and three rebel lawmakers as they punch at the Hong Kong activists. pressure on democratically-elected Tai- Its most well-known politician is arrived in Taipei yesterday. Around 50 pro-China protesters also wanese President Tsai Ing-wen and her death-metal rocker Freddy Lim, who un- Wong, along with Hong Kong legisla- gathered at Hong Kong’s airport for Beijing-sceptic Democratic Progressive seated a veteran lawmaker to win a seat in tors Nathan Law, Eddie Chu, and Edward Wong’s departure. Party, which has refused to acknowledge January’s election. People view giant couplets of Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) hung Yiu, is attending a political forum hosted “This really is a bit outrageous,” Wong the concept there is only “one China.” “Rather than attempting to suppress on the city wall in Nanjing, capital city of east China’s Jiangsu by Taiwan’s New Power Party (NPP), said of the reception in Taiwan. The two sides split in 1949 after a civil democracy in Taiwan and Hong Kong, we province. The 16m long couplets were hung yesterday on the which is advocating for recognition of Wong led massive pro-democracy ral- war and Taiwan has been a self-governed hope the Beijing government can spend wall for the celebration of the coming Spring Festival that falls Taiwan as a nation. lies in Hong Kong in 2014 bringing tens of island since. the time to consider democratisation of on January 28. It is a tradition for Chinese to paste couplets on The two-day event aimed at linking thousands onto the streets calling for re- However, Beijing still sees it part of its its domestic society,” said NPP’s Huang walls to solicit good luck during the Spring Festival. democracy movements in Hong Kong form amid concern that Beijing is tight- territory to be brought back into its fold. Kuo-chang at the forum. Gulf Times 14 Sunday, January 8, 2017 BRITAIN

Labour picks fi rst ‘Broken’ NHS faces female candidates to run for mayor

By Helen Pidd She said she was proud to be Guardian News & Media one of Labour’s fi rst two fe- humanitarian crisis male candidates. “It’s really important that By Denis Campbell, Royal hospital, which admitted he Labour party has se- we have many more women in Steven Morris & Sarah Marsh that it was under serious pres- lected its fi rst female senior positions in the Labour Guardian News & Media sure, partly as a result of the ex- Tcandidates to compete party overall, and concerned tra strain hospitals face during for new roles as metropolitan and involved with generating winter. mayors in England. economic growth,” Jeff rey told he NHS is facing a “hu- The deaths are said to have Sue Jeff rey, the leader of the Guardian. manitarian crisis” as happened between New Year’s Redcar and Cleveland coun- Local government was still Thospitals and ambulance Day and January 3. cil, won a ballot of members in very male-dominated, she services struggle to keep up with Many other patients who vis- Tees Valley on Friday. said, particularly in the area rising demand, the British Red ited Worcestershire Royal hos- In the West of England re- of regeneration and economic Cross has said, following the pital this week told the Guardian gion, Lesley Mansell, a coun- growth, with female council- deaths of two patients after long of long waits in A&E, corridors cillor and NHS worker in Bath, lors often looking after health waits on trolleys in hospital cor- lined with patients, and over- won the Labour nomination. and children’s services and ridors. stretched staff doing their best They hope to be elected on more typically “female” areas. Worcestershire Royal hospi- to cope. May 4, the same day as Labour “The portfolio holders with- tal launched an investigation on Dr Mark Holland, the presi- MPs Andy Burnham and Steve in council do tend to be split on Friday into the deaths and did dent of the Society for Acute Rotheram will be standing in fairly traditional gender lines,” not deny reports that they had Medicine, said: “For a long time Greater Manchester and the she added. occurred after long waits on trol- we have been saying that the Liverpool city region respec- If the mayoral elections fol- leys in corridors over the new NHS is on the edge. But people tively. low the pattern of parliamen- year period. dying after long spells in hospital In the West Midlands, MEP tary elections, Labour should On Friday, doctors’ leaders corridors shows that the NHS is Siôn Simon faces a tight race easily win Tees Valley. said more patients could die be- now broken. with Andy Street, who quit The region currently has just cause of the chaos engulfi ng the “We have got to the point as managing director of John one Conservative MP, James National Health Service (NHS). where the eff orts of staff to prop Lewis in October to run as the Wharton, who represents The deaths prompted claims up the system are no longer Conservative candidate. Stockton South. that the health service was “bro- enough to keep the system afl oat. Elections were also sup- He was appointed minister ken”, and long waits for care, We are asking NHS staff to pro- posed to take place in May to for the northern powerhouse chronic bed shortages and staff vide a world-class service, but This picture taken on February 10 last year shows a placard held aloft during a junior doctors’ strike choose a mayor for the Shef- by George Osborne in the last shortages were leading towards with third world levels of staffi ng outside Manchester University Hospital in Manchester. fi eld city region in South York- parliament, but switched jobs what the head of Britain’s A&E and third world levels of beds. shire. under Theresa May and is now (accidents and emergencies) “That so many other hospitals so we know that these patients Guardian that they have had to to cope with the intense demands But that was thrown into a junior minister at the Depart- doctors called “untold patient in England are facing the same often don’t get the same level of wait for up to eight hours at a being put upon them. The situa- doubt before Christmas, when ment for International Devel- misery”. pressures as the one in Worcester care. Therefore I fear that during time outside A&E units to dis- tion is intolerable for both staff the high court ruled the archi- opment. Mike Adamson, chief execu- means that other fatalities could the Christmas and new year peri- charge a patient into the care of and patients, who are all too often tects of the region had failed The West of England only tive of the British Red Cross, said occur. od, people in non-specialist beds hospital staff , because emergen- left in the undignifi ed position of to properly consult residents agreed its devolution deal with his organisation was “on the “I would suggest that the same may have come to harm.” cy departments cannot accept waiting on a trolley in a corridor about the inclusion of Ches- government in November, af- front line”. thing could happen in other hos- Holland added that he could any more admissions, thereby for a bed to become free,” said terfi eld, which sits in neigh- ter one of its councils, North He said: [We are] responding pitals, because lots of hospitals not estimate how many may have lengthening 999 response times. Hassan, who is an A&E consult- bouring Derbyshire. Somerset, pulled out. to the humanitarian crisis in our are under the same pressures.” died as a result. Dr Taj Hassan, the president ant at two hospitals in Leeds. Labour has been criticised The elected mayor will now hospital and ambulance services It is also possible that mainly Fifty of England’s 152 NHS of the Royal College of Emer- Separately, the London Ambu- for not involving enough wom- represent only Bristol, Bath across the country. We have been frail elderly patients admitted to acute hospital trusts were forced gency Medicine, said that fi gures lance Service is looking into the en in the devolution agenda, and North-East Somerset, and called in to support the NHS and hospital over the festive period to declare an alert last month, it obtained from hospitals across possibility that problems when which has led to big city re- South Gloucestershire. help get people home from hos- may have died because they re- and sometimes temporarily scale the UK showed some were treat- its IT system crashed on New gions receiving extra money Labour faces a tough fi ght in pital and free up much needed ceived inadequate care on wards back the level of care they of- ing as little as 50%-60% of A&E Year’s Day contributed to the and power from the govern- the West of England, which has beds. This means deploying our where staff were ill-equipped to fered to patients, because they patients within four hours, far death of at least one patient. ment in return for accepting a very diverse political make- team of emergency volunteers deal with their conditions, Hol- could not cope with the number below the 95% target. Staff had to make paper records elected mayors. up. and even calling on our partner land added. of people seeking medical atten- “Figures cannot account for of 999 calls in what one ambu- Tees Valley is a somewhat ar- Though Bristol’s current Land Rover to lend vehicles to “At the moment, we have lots tion, according to analysis by the untold patient misery,” he said. lance crew member described as tifi cial construct that includes mayor, Marvin Rees, belongs to transport patients and get the of patients in the wrong beds in Nuffi eld Trust health think tank. “Overcrowded departments, “a shambles”. Middlesbrough, Stockton-on- Labour, there are several Tory system moving.” hospitals. That is, patients ad- Every hospital in Essex has overfl owing with patients, can The latest offi cial NHS per- Tees, Hartlepool, Darlington, MPs in the region, including It is believed that one woman mitted as an emergency, but who had to go on “black alert” – the result in avoidable deaths.” formance fi gures, released on and Redcar and Cleveland. Jacob Rees-Mogg in North- died of a heart attack after wait- do not need an operation, being NHS’s highest level – in recent Hassan and Holland blamed Friday, showed that A&E units The combined authority de- East Somerset, Ben Howlett ing for 35 hours on a trolley in a looked after on wards that usu- weeks. the government’s under-funding across England were forced to cided to separate itself from the in Bath and Charlotte Leslie in corridor, and another man suf- ally look after patients with sur- In December, seven trusts of the NHS and social care sys- divert patients to nearby hospi- rest of the northeast of Eng- Bristol North West. fered an aneurysm while on a gical care needs,” he said. had to declare the highest level tems for contributing to hospi- tals 57 times over the Christmas land, which rejected its own Jeremy Corbyn, leader of trolley, and could not be saved. “They may not have nurses of emergency 15 times, meaning tals becoming worryingly full. period. devolution deal with govern- the Labour party, welcomed It is also believed that an- with the right skill mix or the they were unable to give patients “The emergency care system is In addition, 34 hospitals said ment last year. Mansell’s nomination. other patient was found hanged same level of dedicated medical comprehensive care. on its knees, despite the huge ef- they had experienced major Jeff rey, who has led the mi- He said: “Lesley is a pas- on a ward at the Worcestershire cover [as general medical wards], Paramedics have told the forts of staff who are struggling problems coping with demand. nority Labour administra- sionate campaigner for social tion at Redcar and Cleveland justice, employment and equal council since 2015, beat fellow rights, and as a local councillor councillor Chris Barlow, who she understands the issues that represents Billingham North matter to people and, most im- ward. portantly, how to get things ‘Scotland vote off table if UK wins good EU deal’ She will come up against the done. We are very proud that Conservative candidate, Ben Lesley has been selected, and Houchen, leader of the Con- I look forward to her putting By Severin Carrell showed that Scotland wanted to suggested a hard Brexit was now for a second independence vote. servative group on Stockton Labour’s case to the region’s Guardian News & Media remain in the EU. far more likely. On Thursday, Kezia Dug- borough council. voters in the coming months.” Sturgeon implied the answer Soon after a BBC interview dale, the Scottish Labour leader, was yes. on Friday, Sturgeon tweeted the warned that Brexit put the fu- icola Sturgeon has said While insisting that she still front page of the pro-independ- ture of the UK in “terrible peril” she would take a quick believed independence would ence paper the National quoting because it threatened to bolster NScottish independence come in time, she said: “In the the Norwegian prime minister, demand for independence. referendum off the table if the UK timescale of Brexit, which is Erna Solberg, stating that the UK She said defending the cohe- Rolf Harris faces UK wins a favourable, soft Brexit deal what we’re talking about just faces “a very hard Brexit”. sion of the UK was now the big- with the EU. now, what I have just said is if In a further tweet referring to gest challenge for 2017. In an apparent retreat from her we can fi nd a way of protecting Theresa May, Sturgeon said that Her critics will argue Stur- abuse trial tomorrow claims last year that a fast sec- Scotland’s economic interests her quest for an amicable solu- geon’s apparent retreat refl ects ond referendum was now “highly and protecting our democratic tion meant the “ball is in the political reality. likely”, the fi rst minister said her interests in the UK, then I’m up PM’s court”. There is little evidence of AFP He met his wife Alwen emphasis now was on securing a for trying to do that.” Her repositioning also raises strong popular support for a London Hughes there and the pair good deal for the Scottish parlia- Sturgeon published a detailed the question of what type of quick second referendum: a Scot- married in 1958, with a poodle ment and open access to the sin- paper just before Christmas as- Sturgeon: emphasis now on Brexit deal will satisfy Sturgeon tish National party drive to con- as a bridesmaid. gle market. serting that Scotland could se- securing a good deal for the and separately, Scotland’s voters, tact 2mn voters before Christmas ustralian-born enter- Harris performed his songs “I’m putting these options for- cure greater, preferential access Scottish parliament and open many of whom could reluctantly appears to have fl opped. tainer Rolf Harris, who at gigs in London and landed ward in good faith,” Sturgeon told to the EU single market than the access to the single market. accept a far more powerful Scot- Recent opinion polls have Awas a fi xture on British work at the BBC, securing his BBC Radio Scotland. “I’m delib- rest of the UK, and protect free tish parliament within the UK. shown a majority of Scottish vot- television for six decades, will own television show in the erately saying, put my preferred movement, by becoming part Sturgeon’s off er to put in- Constitutional experts say it ers now oppose a quick second go on trial in London tomor- 1960s. option [of Scottish independence of the European Free Trade As- dependence temporarily aside will be impossible for Scotland vote, including a third of SNP row for alleged assaults against His top musical note came in the EU] to one side and asking sociation and then the European in favour of a compromise deal to have separate, preferential ac- supporters, after a short-lived minors. in 1969 with the hit Two Lit- people if we can fi nd a consensus Economic Area, like Norway. will be seen as a clear attempt cess to the single market and free surge in support for a fast rerun Harris, 86, who entertained tle Boys, about two young boys and compromise option.” The Scottish parliament to strengthen her case for a sec- movement without the rest of the after the Brexit vote in June. millions of children until his who grow up to fi ght in a war The fi rst minister was asked should also be given signifi cant ond vote if there is a hard Brexit, UK included. Setting aside the question of fall from grace, will appear at together. whether she was now saying new powers in areas currently where the UK is kept out of the However, all Scottish par- timing, the latest TNS poll in the the trial via video link. The Beatles also performed a that a soft Brexit deal meant a controlled by the EU such as fi sh- single market. ties are putting the UK govern- Herald put overall support for The case will focus on al- version of Harris’ Tie Me Kan- quick second independence ref- eries, agriculture, environmental EU leaders and diplomats have ment under increasing pressure leaving the UK at 45.5% (exclud- leged incidents between 1971 garoo Down, Sport with the erendum was no longer “highly protection and export policy, said this week’s turmoil over the to greatly strengthen Holyrood’s ing “don’t knows”), the same and 2004, amounting to seven entertainer. likely” – the phrase she used im- when they are repatriated after resignation of the UK ambas- powers, as a form of Brexit divi- level as the “yes” vote in the 2014 counts of indecent assault and The entertainer was also mediately after June’s Brexit vote the UK leaves the EU. sador to the EU, Sir Ivan Rogers, dend, in part to dilute demands independence referendum. one of sexual assault. known for his quick sketches The jury will be sworn in on on television, accompanied by Tuesday, and the case is ex- the catchphrase: “Can you tell pected to last up to fi ve weeks, what it is yet?” delving further into the reality Harris even featured in a behind his polished public per- child abuse prevention video, May, Erdogan say Geneva talks ‘real opportunity’ for Cyprus sona. entitled Kids Can Say No, in Harris has already been 1985. stripped of honours in Aus- In his later career Harris AFP from tomorrow in a bid to give the occasion for a lasting and fair troops on the island, property is- But any agreement they reach tralia and Britain, where continued in family entertain- Istanbul new momentum to the process. solution to the Cyprus problem,” sues and how much of the island will have to be approved by their Queen Elizabeth II ordered ment, hosting Animal Hospi- From Thursday, they are ex- Turkish presidential sources is controlled by the two entities respective communities in refer- the removal of his CBE (Com- tal on the BBC from 1994 and pected to be joined by the three said. in a bizonal federation. endums. mander of the British Empire) 2003, as well as art shows. ritish Prime Minister guarantor powers of Cyprus A Downing Street spokesman Cyprus has been divided since Akinci, born in Limassol which – an honour one step below a The claims against him Theresa May and Turkish – former colonial power Brit- added they agreed on the impor- 1974, when Turkish troops in- is now in the Greek Cypriot knighthood. stemmed from a police opera- BPresident Recep Tayyip Er- ain, Greece, and Turkey – amid tance of reaching a successful vaded the island in response to south, has said a referendum on He was held in great esteem tion launched in the wake of dogan have agreed that key talks expectations of a major break- resolution in Geneva. an Athens-inspired coup seeking reunifying the island could be in Britain. allegations against another on Cyprus next week in Geneva through in the United Nations- They saw the talks as a “real union with Greece. held in the summer if the talks He painted an 80th birthday BBC presenter of the same era were a “real opportunity” for a backed talks. opportunity to secure a better The breakaway Turkish Re- went to plan. portrait of the queen in 2005 – Jimmy Savile – who died in fair and lasting solution to the May and Erdogan discussed future for Cyprus and to guaran- public of Northern Cyprus Cypriots on both sides of the and seven years later took part 2011 and was found to have division of the island. the upcoming talks in a telephone tee stability in the wider region”, (TRNC) is only recognised by island in 2004 voted in refer- in her diamond jubilee celebra- used his celebrity status to Turkish Cypriot leader Mus- conversation, where the British the spokesman added. Turkey. endums on a UN plan to reunite tions. sexually abuse dozens of chil- tafa Akinci and President Nicos premier also expressed her con- May would visit Turkey “early The Republic of Cyprus is Cyprus. Although Harris gained ce- dren. Anastasiades of the interna- dolences for the latest terror at- this year”, the spokesman said, however an EU member. It was overwhelmingly ap- lebrity status in Australia, he Operation Yewtree led to tionally-recognised Greek Cyp- tacks in Turkey. without specifying when. Anastasiades and Akinci proved by Turkish Cypriots but left the country for Britain in the conviction of fi ve celebri- riot Republic of Cyprus are due “They expressed the wish the Sticking points in the talks are are under pressure to deliver also overwhelmingly rejected by 1952 aged 22 where he went to ties including Harris and 1970s to meet in the Swiss city for talks upcoming talks in Geneva will be set to be the presence of Turkish progress in the talks. the Greek Cypriots. art school. glam rocker Gary Glitter. Gulf Times Sunday, January 8, 2017 15 EUROPE Portuguese ex-president Mario Soares dies aged 92

AFP ister, prime minister and as a Eu- 1924, Mario Alberto Nobre Lopes by “a great desire to live and by to recognise what they have done He emerged as a fi erce critic of Lisbon ropean lawmaker. Soares was raised in a family op- immense curiosity”. for our democracy,” conservative the steep spending cuts Portugal He was admitted to hospital on posed to the dictatorship of An- “I am a poor man who has been leader Rebelo de Sousa said at the was forced to implement under December 13, and although his tonio Oliveira Salazar. fortunate to have taken stands time. a €78bn bailout deal reached in ortugal’s former president condition initially showed signs His father Joao Soares, a de- and to have been right,” he told Lisbon’s Socialist mayor Fern- 2011 with the EU and Interna- Mario Soares, widely seen of some improvement, he later frocked priest, struggled against the i daily in February 2015, re- ando Medina had also visited tional Monetary Fund (IMF) to Pas the father of the coun- fell into a deep coma from which the regime for decades, suff ering jecting the idea he was an “im- Soares’s bedside. avert bankruptcy. try’s modern-day democracy, he never recovered. long periods of imprisonment mortal” fi gure. “My generation has always Soares accused big European died yesterday aged 92 in Lisbon, The hospital did not reveal the and exile. Several politicians, includ- lived in freedom and we owe nations at the time of being guid- a fortnight after being admitted precise cause of Soares’s death, Reassuringly portly, Mario ing President Marcelo Rebelo de that, to a great extent, to Mario ed by “savage capitalism”. to hospital. but relatives say he never fully Soares was both a charmer and a Sousa and Prime Minister Anto- Soares,” Medina said. He made a fi nal public appear- The founder of Portugal’s So- overcame a spate of illness in humanist known for being spon- nio Costa visited Soares in hospi- While the former president re- ance in July, when he attended a cialist party, Soares spent dec- 2013. taneous and warm. tal in recent weeks. tired from public life for several ceremony held in his honour by ades in politics, serving as the His health further deteriorated A self-defi ned agnostic, Soares “There are certain fi gures who months after a crushing election the ruling Socialist-led govern- This file picture taken on June country’s president from 1986 to after his wife passed away in July said he believed in “humanity have made their mark ... on our defeat in 2006, he reappeared ment. 12, 2010 shows Soares delivering 1996. 2015. and its improvement”, and de- democracy. We don’t need to regularly in the media to com- Visibly frail, he did not make a a speech during an event. He also served as foreign min- Born in Lisbon on December 7, scribed himself as being driven have the same political leanings ment on current aff airs. speech.

Bulgarian anti-graft Freezing cold sending party launches

Reuters shivers across Europe Sofia DPA/AFP/Reuters Istanbul new Bulgarian political party launched yester- Aday, just months before reezing conditions struck an election, aiming to fi ght cor- many parts of Europe yes- ruption, boost economic growth Fterday, causing a number of and improve living standards. deaths in hundreds of weather- Yes Bulgaria, led by former related incidents from France to justice minister in the centre- Turkey. right government Hristo Ivanov, Germany’s weather turned will take part in the early parlia- Arctic, with one part of Saxony mentary election expected to be registering a low of -31.4° Celsi- held in March or April. us and many regions seeing their The Balkan country has been coldest temperatures so far this in political limbo since centre- winter. right Prime Minister Boiko The cold weather front dubbed Borisov resigned following the Axel sent icy rain across many ar- victory of Rumen Radev, a Rus- eas, with the northern part of the sia-friendly candidate backed country the worst hit. by the opposition Socialists, in a Dozens of pedestrians slipped November presidential election. on the ice and injured themselves The populist, anti-estab- in Hamburg, leading to some 50 lishment upset follows a trend call-outs by the emergency serv- sweeping Europe after last June’s ices in the space of two hours. Brexit vote in Britain. Temperatures were expected Yes Bulgaria said it aimed to to edge back up at the start of the capitalise on voters’ disenchant- week. Above: People walk near ment with a corruption-tainted In France, temperatures hit pigeons on Istanbul’s Taksim political establishment in the -13° C near the border with Ger- Square during snowfall Black Sea state, which is likely many. yesterday. to have its seventh government Several cities opened gymna- in the past four years this spring. siums as shelters for homeless Right: A child plays in the “Bulgarian oligarchy is pre- people who would otherwise snow at the Kara Tepe migrant paring to hold another election have to spend the night on the camp on the Greek island of in which to reload the corrup- streets. Lesbos yesterday. tion model,” 42-year-old Ivanov, Temperatures in Moscow fell who was unanimously elected to -30° C overnight and to -24° C Yes Bulgaria’s chairman, said. in Saint Petersburg where police “We have to break the system,” found the body of a man who had added Ivanov, who was justice died of hypothermia. minister until his resignation in One homeless man was found December 2015 after parliament frozen to death under a bridge in watered down changes to the the Czech capital Prague. constitution. One other man died of hypo- thermia when he fell through sheet ice covering a lake in Russia running Prague’s Hradistko district. Italian authorities also report- false news drive ed the death of a homeless man, in Sweden: study probably due to the cold. They did not confi rm reports Russia is increasingly attempting that several other homeless peo- to influence opinion in Sweden, ple had died in previous days. according to a report by the There was heavy snowfall Swedish Institute for International in central Italy and also in the Aff airs and reported on in southeast where the airports at yesterday’s Dagens Nyheter Bari and Brindisi as well as in Sic- newspaper. ily were closed yesterday morn- The study found that Russia ing. has been pushing false news in Ten of the latest victims of the Sweden since 2014. cold perished in Poland where One example cited is a fake sub-freezing conditions remain telegram sent to the media that with -14° C forecast this week- claimed Sweden’s former foreign end. minister Carl Bildt was to become “Seven people died on Friday View of a park taken yesterday through a windshield covered in People cycle through the snow prime minister of Ukraine. in what was the deadliest day snow, in Berlin. in Utrecht, the Netherlands. When suspected Russian this winter,” said spokeswoman submarines entered Swedish Bozena Wysocka from the Polish tributed to those stranded at the some stayed in their vehicles for And in Bulgaria on Friday the waters, the media were often fed government centre for security airport, Anadolu said. more than 10 hours overnight frozen bodies of two Iraqi mi- false information. (RCB). Pegasus Airlines cancelled as they waited for road condi- grants were discovered by vil- Kosovo, Serbia row The disinformation campaign “We recorded three other vic- some 200 fl ights in and out of tions to improve, the Dogan news lagers in a mountain forest in the was at its height when the tims the previous day,” she said. Sabiha Gokcen airport, on the agency said. southeast of the country near the Swedish parliament was voting “This takes to 53 the number of Asian side of the city. Istanbul’s underground train border with Turkey. Reuters Kosovo opposition parties on a deal with the North Atlantic hypothermia victims since No- The Bosphorus strait, which system operated through the Greece likewise has seen fi erce Pristina have called for their EU-me- Treaty Organisation (Nato). vember 1.” runs through Istanbul, and the night for passengers unable to get cold weather this past week. diated dialogue to be halted. Istanbul’s Bosporus Strait was Dardanelles strait further south home on the city’s roads, which In the north near the Turkish “Yesterday we took recip- closed to shipping traffi c yester- were closed to transit shipping were disrupted by dozens of ac- frontier a 20-year-old Afghan osovo Foreign Min- rocal measures with Nikolic Thousands protest day as the city weathered a win- due to poor visibility yesterday cidents by vehicles sliding on the migrant died of the cold on Tues- ister Enver Hoxhaj (and) we will do that again in Paris over 2013 ter storm that caught many resi- morning, Turkey’s coastguard icy surfaces, the municipality day. Ksaid on Friday that in the future,” Hoxhaj told dents by surprise, the Anadolu authority said. said in a statement. With more than 60,000 main- his country had retaliated reporters in Pristina. “There murder of activists news agency reported. The straits are one of the In the Netherlands, several ly Syrian refugees on its terri- against neighbouring Serbia has to be a revision of our re- The halt meant ferry traffi c world’s most important choke people were injured in hundreds tory, Greece has moved many and would do so again after lations with Serbia and a re- Several thousand people between the European and Asian points for the maritime transit of reported accidents. migrants to prefabricated houses an ex-prime minister was ar- vision of the dialogue.” demonstrated in Paris yesterday sides of the metropolis, which of oil, carrying over 3% of global One driver died when his car and heated tents. rested in France on a warrant Also on Friday, ethnic Al- to demand justice and a speedier straddles the two continents, supply, mainly from Russia and slid into a ditch, police said. The temperature in Athens issued by Belgrade. banian protesters in the west- investigation into the 2013 also had to be stopped. the Caspian Sea. Roads became very icy and the yesterday was 0° Celsius and The arrest on Wednesday ern town of Gjakova – mostly murder of three Kurdish activists. In addition, hundreds of fl ights The waterways, connecting train network was disrupted. down to -15° C in the north of the of Ramush Haradinaj, a guer- families of those killed by Sakine Cansiz, a founder of the had to be cancelled. the Black Sea to the Mediterra- Hungary meanwhile saw its country. rilla commander in the 1998- Serb forces during the 1998- Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) Turkish Airlines cancelled nean, also carry large amounts coldest weather in fi ve years, The coldest temperature in 99 war against Serbian rule 99 confl ict – stoned a bus in the early 1980s, and two other hundreds of fl ights in and out of of grains from Russia and Kaza- hitting -23° C in the north, ac- Europe so far this winter was re- who served briefl y as prime that was carrying ethnic Serb Kurdish women were found dead the city’s main Ataturk airport khstan to world markets. cording to the national weather corded on Friday in the Swiss vil- minister in 2004 and 2005, pilgrims marking Orthodox in the Kurdish Information Centre and state-run Anadolu agency The snow reached a depth of bureau. lage of La Brevine at -29.9° C. has heightened tensions be- Christmas Eve. in Paris in January 2013, all shot said dozens of planes were di- as much as 40cm (16”) in some Skiers in Austria and Switzer- That was still much warmer tween the Balkan neighbours. Hoxhaj said Serbia had at close range. verted to other airports because outlying areas of Istanbul and land were warned of a “serious than the village’s record of the Kosovo seceded from Ser- issued more international Some 5,500 people, according of the heavy snowfall, which be- thousands of council personnel risk of avalanches”. coldest temperature ever in bia in 2008. arrest warrants for Kosovo to police estimates, marched gan on Friday evening. worked through the night to keep One French skier died in an Switzerland at -41.8° C on Janu- Both states want to join the citizens, limiting their travel through central Paris. About 6,000 of its passengers roads in the city open, the mu- avalanche in the Swiss canton of ary 12, 1987. EU membership but Brussels abroad. “We will continue our protest were transferred to hotels on Fri- nicipality said. Valais; in Austria’s Tirol a Ger- The frigid temperatures ex- says they must normalise re- Serbia does not recognise until justice is done,” Kurdish day evening due to the cancella- Many drivers abandoned their man skier survived an avalanche pected to continue through the lations before their applica- Kosovo as an independent activist Nursel Kilic told Reuters tions and 20,000 meals were dis- vehicles and set off on foot, while in the Fieberbrunn ski resort. weekend. tions can go ahead. state. television. Gulf Times 16 Sunday, January 8, 2017 EUROPE

French academic Turkey sacks over 8,000 acquitted of aiding in fresh wave of purges migrants

AFP crees published within the state now due to last until April 19. tigation may lose their citizen- investigated will have a fair A court in the eastern city of AFP Istanbul of emergency imposed after the But its scope has been vehe- ship. hearing and, under the latest de- Erzurum on January 5 sentenced Nice, France coup, 8,390 more civil servants mently criticised by the Euro- Meanwhile, police have also crees 276 people, previously dis- two army offi cers to life in jail are to lose their jobs from 63 dif- pean Union and human rights authorised to access the identity missed were allowed to return to over their roles in the failed urkey has ordered the dis- ferent state institutions. activists. of Internet subscribers to inves- work following a probe. coup, the fi rst verdicts to be French court has acquit- missal of almost 8,400 They include 2,687 police of- The three decrees published tigate crimes committed online. The state of emergency has handed out. ted a man for helping mi- Tcivil servants and the clo- fi cers, 1,699 civil servants from in the Offi cial Gazette also or- Ankara blames the coup plot also seen closure orders for doz- Turkey also argues the ex- Agrants who had sneaked sure of over 80 associations, in- the justice ministry, 838 health dered the closure of 83 associa- on US-based Muslim preacher ens of media organs. ceptional security measures are into the country from Italy as cluding sports clubs, in the lat- offi cials and hundreds of em- tions accused of “activities af- Fethullah Gulen and says an un- The latest decrees said 11 of necessary in the face of rising immigration issues play a major est round of purges after the July ployees from other ministries. fecting the security of the state”. relenting campaign is needed to them – mainly from the south- threats from the Islamic State role ahead of this year’s elec- failed coup. Another 631 academics and These include eight sports root out his infl uence from pub- east – could now reopen. (IS) group and the Kurdistan tions. More than 100,000 people eight members of the Council of clubs, mainly from the Kurd- lic life. More than 41,000 people have Workers Party (PKK). “In France today we have the have already been suspended or State were also dismissed. ish-dominated southeast of the Gulen denies the allegations. also been arrested over suspect- The country has been hit right to save people in distress,” sacked in a crackdown on those The dismissals are authorised country. The failed putsch that left 248 ed links to Gulen within the state by two attacks this week, one said researcher Pierre-Alain alleged to have links to coup- by the cabinet and require no A decree also stipulates that people dead, not including the of emergency, with the fi rst tri- claimed by IS against a high-end Mannoni, who had faced a six- plotters in a relentless purge that parliamentary approval under Turkish citizens abroad who do plotters, and thousands more als only now getting underway Turkish nightclub, and the other month suspended jail sentence shows no sign of slowing. the state of emergency, which not respond to a summons to wounded. in the biggest legal process in the which authorities blamed on the for aiding Eritrean migrants who According to three new de- has twice been extended and is testify as part the coup inves- Turkey insists that all those country’s history. PKK in the western city of Izmir. came into France from Italy. The prosecutor said dur- ing the trial in November in the southern city of Nice that people had a “duty” to help, “but not help (illegal immigrants) to stay and circulate” in the country. Austria, EU The judge ruled on Friday that the 45-year-old researcher at French national research centre CNRS had helped three Eritrean women to “protect their dignity”. square off A law in eff ect since 2012 grants immunity to those who help illegal migrants who are not paid if people’s lives are consid- ered in peril. over off shore “You can help people,” Man- noni said after the ruling. “I recommend it, it does a lot of good!” He is one of three people in the processing area to appear in court recently for illegally assisting migrants travelling up through Europe af- DPA The European Commission ter crossing the Mediterranean Vienna/Geneva rejected the proposal that ech- in rickety boats. oed similar ideas that have pre- Their cases have pitched the viously been voiced by German spirit of solidarity against the russels has become de- Interior Minister Thomas de letter of the law at a time when tached from reality when Maiziere. border controls and migration Bit comes to handling the “At the moment there are no This picture taken on January 4 shows the body of migrant with other surviving migrants, who were on a boat which capsized on Wednes- have become hot political issues. refugee crisis, Austrian Defence commission plans to establish day, on a beach after police off icers arrested them in Tripoli, Libya. The right-wing president of Minister Hans Peter Doskozil asylum centres to process appli- the Riviera region, Christian Es- said on Friday after the Euro- cations outside EU territory,” a The Social Democratic minis- Austria and Balkan countries to According to the Austrian People who are not accepted trosi, has repeatedly criticised pean Commission dismissed his spokeswoman of the EU execu- ter accused “parts of the Brus- curb immigration along the Bal- plan, EU offi cials in the planned as refugees should be sent home, activists who help migrants. call for off shore asylum process- tive body said in Brussels. sels establishment” of being “far kan route from Turkey to West- centres would quickly decide Doskozil said. He said on Facebook that Fri- ing centres. The EU would rather seek to removed from reality”. ern Europe had also played a whether migrants are in need of If their home countries do not day’s ruling was “an insult to the Doskozil said in a new set of set up additional bilateral mi- The number of migrants major role, according to Frontex. protection. take them back, they should be work of the security forces who proposals that the European gration deals like the one with who arrived on Europe’s shores However, an estimated The document proposed Ni- be transferred to “protection put their life in danger to protect Union should curb immigration Turkey, she added. dropped by nearly two-thirds to 123,000 migrants still managed ger as a potential location, with- zones”, he proposed, without ours”. and foil people smugglers by Doskozil warned in his paper 364,000 last year, the Interna- to travel this route last year. out naming other countries. specifying where or how they Estrosi added that some Is- banning refugee applications on that a breakdown of the EU- tional Organisation for Migra- Despite the drop in arrivals Asylum-seekers who pass this should be set up. lamist militants had been able to its territory and setting up ap- Turkey deal could result in up to tion (IOM) and the EU border to Europe, the number of peo- hurdle would be directly trans- A co-ordinated EU refugee enter France after passing them- plication centres in regions that 1mn migrants launching jour- agency Frontex said on Friday. ple who died as they crossed the ferred to EU destination coun- policy has so far failed to materi- selves off as migrants. produce many migrants. neys to Europe. The decrease was largely due Mediterranean Sea to southern tries. alise as some of the bloc’s mem- Mannoni was arrested at a toll “This would enable EU coun- “Apparently many in Brus- to a Turkey-EU deal whereby Europe jumped by 34% to 5,079 The document indirectly bers, especially in the east, have booth near the southern town tries to decide themselves who sels have not yet realised that a Ankara took back migrants who last year. advocates an EU-wide cap for refused to take in signifi cant of Menton in October with the may enter Europe, rather than completely new model must be crossed by sea to the Greek is- The deaths in the Mediter- asylum-seekers, by stating that numbers of refugees. three Eritreans including a mi- smuggling organisations,” the created for the European asylum lands and the EU resettled Syr- ranean pushed the 2016 global “every country has capacity In addition, EU countries have nor that he wanted to lodge. minister said in a document ob- system,” Doskozil said on Friday ian refugees living in Turkey. death tally for migrants to 7,495 limits, beyond which integration not found a way to quickly send Another activist, farmer Ce- tained by DPA on Friday. evening in a written statement. In addition, the decision by in 2016, the IOM said in Geneva. is impossible”. back economic migrants. dric Herrou, appeared in the Nice court on Wednesday fac- ing an eight-month suspended Gabriel calls for expulsion of hate preachers prison term for moving some 50 Eritreans into a disused holiday Mosques in Germany run by ultra- village owned by the state. German intelligence chief confronts conservative Islamists known as Security forces emptied the Salafists must be banned, their camp after three days. communities broken up and their In addition to the suspended preachers expelled, German Vice- sentence, public prosecutor criticism after Berlin market attack Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel told Jean-Michel Pretre called for Der Spiegel magazine. Herrou’s vehicle to be confi scat- “On this question I am for zero ed and for his driving licence to By Sebastian Engel way,” Maassen said in the exclu- in 2015, and a warning had come aware of considerably more than tolerance,” Gabriel said when be restricted to driving only for & Joerg Blank, DPA sive interview. in from the Moroccan intelli- 1,200 people that they saw were Spiegel put it to him that the professional use. Berlin Amri drove a large articulat- gence service to the eff ect that “potential Islamist terrorists”. Tunisian who killed 12 people in a Herrou, 37, has become some- ed truck into a row of stalls on the Tunisian was planning an “They are mostly single in- Christmas market attack in Berlin thing of a folk hero around the a Christmas market in central attack. dividuals gathering supporters had been in touch with Salafist Gabriel: On this question I am French-Italian border for driv- erman intelligence is Berlin on December 19, killing 12 As a result, German intelli- around themselves. So one can- hate preachers. for zero tolerance. ing migrants across the frontier, confronted by a dan- and injuring more than 50, many gence agencies, which are large- not speak only of one ‘Salafi st Islamic State (IS) claimed respon- under the noses of the French Ggerous and increasingly of them seriously. ly state-based, have come in for scene’, but we are rather dealing sibility for the attack, in which a desverfassungsschutz domestic police, and then putting them fragmented radical Islamist According to the BfV, Amri criticism, with the opposition with a lot of hotspots,” he said. failed asylum seeker from Tunisia, intelligence agency told Reuters up. movement, the head of the do- had become radicalised in the Left party calling for a parlia- “There are not only one, two, Anis Amri, drove a truck into a his organisation estimated there The verdict in his case is ex- mestic security agency told DPA country’s rapidly changing mentary commission of inquiry. three or four people in charge. Christmas market. were about 40,000 Islamists pected on February 10. in an interview conducted less Salafi st – also known as Wahabi The Bundestag committee Rather there are a great many “Salafist mosques must be in Germany, including 9,200 In early December an appeals than three weeks after the Berlin – scene, which is no longer cen- tasked with monitoring the in- individuals now dominating this banned, the communities broken Salafists. court in Aix-en-Provence up- Christmas market attack. tred on a few well-known lead- telligence services will discuss Salafi st scene. And we have to up, and the preachers expelled. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s held a fi ne of €1,500 ($1,580) Hans-Georg Maassen, presi- ers but has become fragmented. the case later this month. keep an eye on all them,” Maas- And as quickly as possible,” government, to which Gabriel’s against a 73-year-old retired dent of the Federal Offi ce for The agency puts the number “One has to consider the re- sen said. Gabriel told Spiegel in an inter- Social Democrats (SPD) belong professor for helping two Eritre- the Protection of the Constitu- of Salafi sts in Germany at more sources we have at our disposal In addition a great many view published yesterday. as junior coalition partner, has ans avoid a police check. tion (BfV), acknowledged that than 9,700. to conduct surveillance and groups were being set up that Germany has seen sharp in- proposed new security measures The controversy comes less the attacker, 24-year-old Anis BfV investigators had been monitoring of telecommunica- communicate via virtual net- creases in the number of Salafists in response to the Berlin attack, than four months ahead of the Amri, had been on the radar of well aware for months that Amri, tions on a large scale,” Maassen works, using the internet and in recent years. triggering fierce debate in an fi rst round of France’s presiden- the country’s security agencies, whose application for asylum said. WhatsApp, the intelligence In November, the head of the Bun- election year. tial elections. but noted that “the evidence had been rejected, had attended Germany has strict data pro- chief said. “We didn’t have this The Socialist government was thin”. and denied that mis- Salafi st mosques, primarily in tection laws. at all a few years ago.” came under harsh criticism for takes had been made. Berlin and the western state of The domestic intelligence These developments were “We have to take many group- Salafi st scene, although there allowing the infamous “Jun- “Our colleagues in the GTAZ North Rhine-Westphalia. head noted there were “other complicating the work of the ings into consideration,” Maas- was unity on certain goals – gle” migrant camp to develop [joint counter-terrorism centre] They also knew he had used dangerous people in Germany BfV and other agencies, “be- sen said. “including as far as supporting near the northern port of Cal- are tackling the case in a highly at least 14 diff erent names since causing us great concern”. cause we can no longer watch a He pointed to strong rival- (militant) groupings is con- ais, which the authorities fi nally professional and experienced arriving in Germany from Italy The intelligence services were few heads”. ries among leaders within the cerned”. closed in October. Austrian minister calls for ban on public servants wearing headscarf

Reuters Kurz, of the Christian Con- than laws in France, where only but also a secular state,” Kurz lowed to prohibit staff from said: “After such a statement, the issue before sending the law Vienna servative People’s Party (OVP), is the full body veil is illegal, or Ger- said, according to a spokesman. wearing the Islamic headscarf trust is badly shaken.” to parliament. working on a draft law with Muna many, where the highest court in Christian crosses, widespread but only as part of a general ban She said such a ban would send “I’m open to discussions about Duzdar, a junior minister from 2015 restricted lawmakers’ scope in staunchly Catholic Austria, on religious and political sym- the wrong signal. this but in reality one cannot ustria’s Minister for For- the OVP’s senior Social Demo- to ban teachers from wearing the should be allowed in classrooms, bols. Junior minister Duzdar also pick individual religions. If you eign Aff airs and Integra- crat coalition partner who has an headscarf. Kurz said, referring to the coun- A spokeswoman for Austria’s told Reuters that a person can- discuss religious dress and sym- Ation Sebastian Kurz said Arab family background and is “Because there (schools), it’s try’s “historically grown culture”. most prominent Muslim group, not be discriminated against in bols, you have to speak about all on Friday that he wanted to ban Muslim. about the eff ect of role models An adviser to the European IGGIO, noted that discrimina- the workplace on the grounds of religions. We work on a dialogue public servants from wearing the If passed by parliament, the and the infl uence on young peo- Court of Justice (ECJ) said in tion in the workplace on religious their religion and said she wanted with all religious communities,” Islamic headscarf. nationwide ban would be stricter ple. Austria is religion-friendly March companies should be al- grounds was illegal in Austria and to wait for a fi nal ECJ ruling on she said. Gulf Times Sunday, January 8, 2017 17 INDIA Demonetisation a ‘historic’ decision to help poor: Jaitley

IANS executive meet, also said that The economic resolution was which the BJP had now provided. about the number of steps for the of the big states in the country we brought Benami Properties New Delhi the demonetisation decision was focused primarily on demonetisa- Sitharaman said that meas- senior citizens, farmers, pregnant has increased after November 8 Confi scation act, in which there taken because the government tion. Jaitley also hailed number of ures announced by Prime Min- women and many more.” decision of demonetisation, ex- are provisions of punishment “is visionary and committed government’s initiatives that were ister Narendra Modi after de- She also cited Jaitley as say- cept West Bengal.” and penalty and it is more strict- inance Minister Arun Jait- about its promises made before taken in the last two years to curb monetisation were due to the ing how the government set up The minister spoke of a ‘Bena- er than the earlier older one.” ley yesterday termed the coming to power”, according to black money and fake currency. fact that he fully recognised a Special Investigation Team to mi Properties Confi scation Act, “We brought that bill before FNovember 8 demonetisa- minister Nirmala Sitharaman. “He (Jaitley) informed the the hardships faced by the Dal- probe accounts holding black 1988’ which “was never notifi ed a parliamentary Standing Com- tion as a “historic” and “bold” “The demonetisation move of party leaders how and why this its, tribals and women and took money, and “rewrote treaties by the previous governments” as mittee in 2014 and notifi ed it... move towards welfare of the the government on November 8 demonetisation was diff erent steps accordingly to allay them. with many nations and signed well as explaining the diff erence so that the government can con- poor, while serving as a crippling closed the lifeline of terror fund- than the earlier ones.” “Being a sensitive government them all over again, for exchange between 1997 amnesty scheme fi scate benami properties,” he blow to terror, fake currency ing and fake currency. Demon- “The entire executive unani- it reached people who were aff ect- of information as to who’s hold- by the then government, and said, according to Sitharaman. note racket, and insurgency. etisation was a crippling blow to mously agreed that it is a historic ed due to demonetisation steps,” ing how much”. the recent Income Declaration Sitharaman also said that Jait- Jaitley, who presented the terror, fake currency note racket, step,” Sitharaman told report- she said, adding: “The prime Sitharaman said: “Jaitley-ji Scheme during the meet. ley informed the party that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s eco- and insurgency,” she quoted Jait- ers, adding that such a decision minister on December 31 in his informed the party leaders that “The old amnesty scheme formal economy of the country nomic resolution in the national ley as saying. required visionary leadership, address to the nation mentioned the income and revenue of most was not an eff ective one, thus was growing. Mulayam and Akhilesh stick to guns as SP truce talks fail

IANS lators and MPs, to the election Lucknow watchdog. Copies of the af- fi davits were sent to Mulayam Singh’s residence in Delhi but ttempts to broker a peace the staff there refused to accept deal between warring it, the sources said. Afactions in the ruling Late evening Amar Singh left Samajwadi Party (SP) of Uttar for New Delhi and Mulayam Pradesh have come to a naught Singh and Shivpal Yadav are set as both sides yesterday signalled to join him today as they prepare that chances of any truce were to put up their case before the now almost over. poll panel tomorrow, the dead- According to party sources, line set for views from both fac- BJP leaders welcome party chief Amit Shah as he arrives to attend the party’s national executive meeting in New Delhi. the two factions – led by party tions before it takes a call on the chief Mulayam Singh Yadav claim over the party symbol. and his son and Chief Minis- It is also likely that the Elec- ter Akhilesh Yadav – will now tion Commission may freeze the contest the forthcoming state symbol. assembly elections on diff erent Also yesterday, the Bahujan party symbols, irrespective of Samaj Party released its third list who gets the offi cial symbol of of 100 candidates for the elec- the party, the cycle. tions to be held in seven phases BJP doesn’t see poor Yesterday, senior SP leaders between February 11 and March 8. including Shivpal Singh Yadav, The list includes candidates Azam Khan, Om Prakash Singh for seats that will go to polls in and Narad Rai met Mulayam the fourth and fi fth phases. Singh and held discussions on The party has so far an- the possible way out. nounced 300 candidates for the It was not to be so and by 403-member assembly. as vote banks: Modi evening it emerged that the The BSP has fi elded Surendra chances of a rapprochement Singh Verma from Barabanki Sa- Prime minister urges BJP Addressing the BJP National level and called on party work- ment’s note ban that has created allegations by the opposition. were over, the sources said. dar, Mohamed Mubassir Khan workers to educate the Executive meet here, Modi said ers to educate the poor and an unprecedented cash crunch He told them that “they The sources privy to the dis- from Dariyabad, V P Singh from marginalised sections of the party doesn’t see poor and marginalised sections of the so- in the country and also caused should welcome criticism... cussions said that while both Kursi and Kamla Prasad from society about the various underprivileged as vote banks ciety about the various welfare an economic upheaval. Our inner strength will help us Shivpal and Mulayam Singh’s Haidergarh. welfare schemes because for the party “serv- schemes launched by the gov- “Modi...has seen the in moving on the path of truth.” aide Amar Singh had told the Party chief Mayawati has ice to poor is like serving God”, ernment. strength of the people of India The prime minister also party chief that they were “ready cleared the name of Thakur IANS according to Law and Justice “Modi said he himself comes during demonetisation, which talked at length about fi nancing to be the sacrifi cial lambs” if it Prasad Yadav for Saraini in Rae New Delhi and IT Minister Ravi Shankar from a poor family, has seen the people supported (despite) of political parties and said the brought the father and son to- Bareli, Vivek Singh from Uncha- Prasad, who briefed the media poverty. So, his government is facing hardships,” Prasad said. BJP would play an important gether, the truce off er was turned haar, Shyam Sunder Bharti from on the prime minister’s closed committed to work for the de- The minister said Modi laud- role in ensuring that there was down by Mulayam himself. Bachranva, Manish Singh from rime Minister Narendra door address. velopment of the poor and un- ed the people’s “determination transparency in identifying the Mulayam Singh, the sources Harchandpur, Shahbaaz Khan Modi yesterday exhorted “The poor aren’t means for derprivileged,” the minister said. to fi ght against the ills of the sources funding them. said, reiterated his demand that from Rae Bareli and Brijlal Pasi PBharatiya Janata Party the BJP to win elections, and the “The prime minister told society from their inner heart”. “An important thing that the Akhilesh Yadav step down as the from Salon. workers to be the ambassa- party doesn’t see them through party workers that more the ef- “Modi-ji said he himself ap- prime minister talked in the national chief, after which his Candidates have also been an- dors of the government and the prism of vote bank politics. fort at booth level, better is the pealed to the nation to support meeting was the need to bring demand of a larger say in ticket nounced for Unnao Sadar, Bal- reach out to the people at the My government’s priority is result of the polls.” demonetisation and they sup- in transparency in the political distribution would be consid- rampur, Lalitpur Sadar, Jehana- grassroots with his “pro-poor” to change their quality of life,” The prime minister also ported it.” process. When the country is ered. bad, Rampur Khas, Fatehpur, schemes ahead of the February- Modi said. asked party leaders not to seek The prime minister also embracing a culture of trans- The Akhilesh camp has de- Hamirpur Rath, Mahoba Sadar, March assembly elections in fi ve Prasad said Modi emphasised poll tickets for their family urged his party workers not to parency, there is also a need for clined the off er. The chief minis- Chitkrakoot, Balrampur and states, including in the politi- on the importance of reaching members. Modi hailed the poor get disheartened by the anti- transparency in funding of po- ter wanted a “three-month free Pratapgarh. cally signifi cant Uttar Pradesh. out to the people at the booth for their support to the govern- demonetisation campaign and litical parties,” Prasad said. hand to win the polls” and then Earlier, Mayawati presided sit for his father. over a marathon meeting of par- Meanwhile, Mulayam Singh ty offi ce-bearers, leaders, legis- Police register case, EC seeks report on Sakshi Maharaj’s remarks has once again written to the lators, MPs and party candidates Election Commission claiming where she told them to fan out in The Election Commission religious gathering at Meerut in Meerut District Magistrate B for the population explosion. the Supreme Court declared the cycle symbol and has sent their respective constituencies yesterday sought a report from the poll-bound state attracted Chandrakala said adding that “Population is rising rapidly, and that appealing for votes in the some documents along with rel- and work for the BSP’s victory. the Uttar Pradesh administration widespread condemnation the police have also registered so are the country’s problems. name of religion was “illegal”. evant parts of the constitution of z Former army chief General J while police registered a case while his own party distanced a case against the leader. But Hindus are not responsible “I said four wives and 40 the party to buttress his case. J Singh yesterday formally joined against Bharatiya Janata Party itself from his remarks. Addressing a gathering of Hindu for this. Those who talk about children will not be allowed, In a related development, Ra- Punjab’s ruling Shiromani Akali MP Sakshi Maharaj for his “Cognisance has been taken religious leaders on Friday, the four wives and 40 children are cannot be allowed. Mothers jya Sabha member Ram Gopal Dal. He will contest against Pun- speech in which he allegedly about the remarks made by controversial BJP leader called responsible,” he said. are not machines,” he said, Yadav, who is mentoring the jab Congress chief Amarinder blamed the Muslims for India’s him at Augarnath temple. for implementing the Uniform “Remember, if Hindus number calling for equal laws for all, Akhilesh Yadav camp, has sent Singh from Patiala-Urban seat population boom. The chief electoral off icer Civil Code and indirectly held decreases, the country will be irrespective of the number of sworn affi davits of some 5,761 in the February 4 assembly elec- The Unnao MP’s speech at a (CEO) has sought a report,” the Muslims responsible divided,” said the MP, days after children a person has. party leaders, including legis- tions. Heavy snowfall, rain disrupt life in north India

IANS standstill as land and air links with New Delhi the rest of the country, as well as inter-district road connectivity, re- mained suspended yesterday. oderate to heavy snow- All fl ights to Srinagar interna- fall and rain yesterday tional airport were cancelled on Mbrought much-needed Friday itself. relief for people from an otherwise The Jammu-Srinagar national largely dry winter but caused dis- highway, which is the lifeline to the ruption to normal life, especially Kashmir Valley, was closed follow- in the hill states of Jammu and ing heavy snowfall near the Jawa- Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. har Tunnel at Banihal. Hundreds of Met department offi cials said trucks, buses, cars and other vehi- cold wave conditions could prevail cles were stranded on the highway, over hills and plains of north India waiting for the road to be cleared. over the next few days with heavy Vehicles were stranded on several snowfall being reported on the other state highways in the valley. higher reaches of the Himalayas. Power supply throughout the Normal life was aff ected in Kash- valley was shut because of uproot- Tourists stroll in the snow-blanketed Shimla in Himachal Pradesh yesterday. mir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttara- ing of poles and disruption in supply khand following snowfall and rain, grids. Even the high security Gupkar because of massive power failure. lowing heavy snowfall overnight, resulted in the freezing of taps. while moderate to heavy rainfall Road, where the offi cial residences In neighbouring Himachal offi cials said. Electricity supply According to the Shimla Met of- was reported from Punjab, Harya- of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti Pradesh, tourist destinations snapped in Shimla and Manali as fi ce, popular spots like the Mall Road, na, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh and and some of her cabinet colleagues Shimla, Manali and Dalhousie were power lines were damaged due to the Ridge, the US Club and Jakhu Delhi. Kashmir Valley came to a are situated, had no electricity cut off from the rest of the state fol- falling trees. The cold weather hills got more than a foot of snow. Gulf Times 18 Sunday, January 8, 2017 INDIA

SUICIDE CRISIS CRIME DIPLOMACY PEOPLE Woman fails to ‘get’ TN asks Andhra Former soldier shot Rahul to lead Congress Former West Bengal Shiva, kills herself to release water dead in Gurugram delegation to China minister Saral Deb dead

A woman, lamenting her failure to “get” Tamil Nadu yesterday urged Andhra Pradesh A 50-year-old former soldier was shot dead A Congress delegation led by party vice Veteran All India Forward Bloc leader and Shiva despite years of austerities and to release Krishna river water. Chief Minister yesterday by two unidentified assailants, president Rahul Gandhi will visit Beijing former West Bengal minister Saral Deb died fervent devotion, committed suicide in a O Panneerselvam, in a letter to his Andhra police said. Subhash Yadav was shot on the invitation of the Communist Party at his home in Kolkata late Friday night temple in Gurugram, police said yesterday. counterpart N Chandrababu Naidu said: dead while he was standing outside his of China (CPC) for a week from January 15, following a prolonged illness, party sources Anisha Sharma immolated herself in a “I write seeking your urgent personal house in Badshapur town near Gurugram. party sources said. Senior party leaders said yesterday. Deb, who was 82, was the temple at Inchapuri on Gurugram-Pataudi intervention for the release of Krishna water “Yadav received five gunshots and the Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Kumari state library minister from 1977 to 1982 and road on Friday evening. The 22-year-old to meet the drinking water supply to Chennai reason behind the killing was not known Selja, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Rajeev Satav held the co-operative portfolio from 1982 college student performed some religious City which is facing an acute shortage in the immediately,” a police official said. The and Sushmita Dev, among others, will to 1987. He was a six-time state legislator, rituals in an under-construction hall on reservoirs.” Panneerselvam said Chennai victim was rushed to a hospital but he was be part of the delegation. Earlier, a CPC winning from Barasat constituency of North the premises before she poured petrol and Tamil Nadu are primarily dependent declared dead. In another incident in Patel delegation visited India and met Congress 24 Parganas district. Born in Khulna district over herself and set herself afire. “After on the North-East monsoon for the bulk of Nagar area, retired army officer Jagdish president Sonia Gandhi, former prime (now in Bangladesh), Deb was a brilliant devotion and austerity for several years, rainfall. “This year, the North-East monsoon shot his son Mordhawaj, 32, four times. “The minister Manmohan Singh and Rahul student and joined the party while studying I have failed to get .... Shiva, so I am has been highly deficient in Tamil Nadu. accused was allegedly fed up of his son Gandhi in May last year. The delegation had at the Scottish Church College. He was sacrificing my mortal body,” she wrote in Rainfall in Chennai City is deficient by nearly consuming alcohol... Probe is on to find the also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi. the front-runner to organise co-operative a suicide note, police officer Raj Kumar 57%,” Panneerselvam said. “The water level actual cause,” said a senior police officer. Party-to-party exchanges between the CPC movement in West Bengal. Deb initiated said adding the woman was also under in Chennai City’s drinking water reservoirs is The critically injured Mordhawaj has been and Indian political parties are a regular several agricultural programmes with treatment for depression. very low,” he added. hospitalised. affair. Nabard in the state.

JIH voices concern Be a part of over SC judgment India’s growth IANS New Delhi

he Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) yesterday voiced story, minister Tconcern over a Supreme Court judgment that banned the use of religion and caste to seek votes and claimed the order can be “misused”. On January 2, a seven-judge tells diaspora Constitution Bench of the Su- preme Court said that religion, race, caste, community or lan- Prime minister to off icially had to strengthen the bridges even philanthropy. The choice is guage will not be allowed to be inaugurate the event today in that connect it with the mother- yours,” Singh said. misused in elections and that the presence of Portuguese land and create new ones. “Whether you are looking for the election of an elected rep- Prime Minister Antonio Costa, “You can transform your lives adventure tourism, quality educa- resentative will be declared null the chief guest and that of India through four tion, tech start-ups or even a mar- and void if votes are sought on Ts - talent, technology, train- ket for novel utility products, India such considerations. IANS ing and team work - as the prime off ers a plethora of opportuni- JIH president Maulana Syed Bengaluru minister’s vision will make India ties in cities and towns across the Jalaluddin Umari said there was the skill capital of the world by country,” the minister said. no clarity regarding the way in 2022,” the minister told about The event got off to a colourful which the oppression and injus- inister of State for Ex- 400 young members of the In- start. tice meted out to certain castes ternal Aff airs General dian diaspora. Prime Minister Narendra Modi can be voiced during polls. MV K Singh yesterday By 2020, the average age in will offi cially inaugurate the “The judgment does not an- urged the young diaspora to be India will be 29, making it the event today and deliver the key- swer how legitimate grievances a part of India’s growth story by world’s youngest country with note address in the presence of regarding the uplift of specifi c tapping the opportunities the 64% of the population in the Portuguese Prime Minister An- religious communities could country off ers through various working age group, he said. tonio Costa, the chief guest. be addressed during elections,” programmes. The government had recently “With 65% of the Indian pop- Umari told reporters here. “India off ers opportunities to launched a platform for online ulation being under 35 years, it’s “There is a strong possibility be part of its growth story and registration of Indian students a great opportunity for the young that parties contesting elections realise your dreams through abroad, which will help the diaspora to foster friendship, on Hindutva plank will use it as the government’s fl agship pro- ministry estimate their exact discover the country’s hoary a shield for their communal ap- grammes launched to achieve numbers, map them and reach tradition and rich culture and peal to voters and claim they are developmental objectives,” Singh out. identify with its ethos,” said Kar- not seeking votes on the basis of said at the Youth Pravasi Bharati- Singh said the scholarship nataka’s Industry Minister R V religion but on the basis of way ya Divas here, held as part of the programme for diaspora children Deshpande at the inaugural ses- of life,” Umari said. 14th The 14th Pravasi Bharatiya to pursue undergraduate courses sion of the three-day event. In December 1995, a three- Divas (Non-Resident Indian in Indian universities and insti- Lauding the contribution judge Supreme Court bench held Day). tutes had been revamped and of the young Indian diaspora that seeking votes in the name He said the Smart Cities Mis- extended to 66 countries from worldwide, Minister for Youth of Hinduism was not a corrupt sion, Digital India, Skill India, 44 and scholarship amount in- Aff airs and Sports Vijay Goel said practice under Section 123 of Start-Up India and Swacch creased; besides a portal had the American business maga- the Representation of the People Bharat campaign are the govern- been set up for online application zine Forbes had listed about 30 Act. ment’s fl agship programmes for and processing. Indians below 30 years as super “If their logic is accepted by the building a prosperous, skilful, “We will be happy to off er ex- achievers and game changers in courts then it will cause great dam- enterprising, clean and futuristic pertise in your areas of interest. 20 industries, including health- age to our pluralistic polity and pave A sniff er dog checks out a model of an elephant placed at the venue of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas country. Training can also be through care, manufacturing, fi nance and the way for majoritarianism.” event in Bengaluru yesterday. Singh said the Indian diaspora internships, volunteering or sports.

Congress wants minister accused Mehbooba’s brother joins ruling PDP of murder to quit

IANS A Bollywood cinematographer donation camp events, across the Kerala’s principal opposition Srinagar known for his work in movies like state. Congress Party yesterday Omkara and Kaminey, Tasaduq’s Mehbooba arrived here two days asked why a controversial baptism into politics is believed to back in connection with her sched- minister accused of murder was asaduq Hussain Mufti, son have been promoted by family per- uled programme to visit her father’s continuing in off ice. of late Jammu and Kashmir suasion to help his sister with party mausoleum. In a letter to Sitaram Yechury, Tchief minister Mufti Mo- aff airs. There have been reports that the the general secretary of the hamed Sayeed, yesterday formally Meanwhile, Mehbooba off ered late leader, who also served as a fed- state’s ruling Communist Party joined the Peoples’ Democratic prayers at her father’s grave on his eral minister, will be posthumously of India (Marxist), Congress Party (PDP) here on his father’s fi rst fi rst death anniversary. awarded the Padma Vibhushan leader Ramesh Chennithala death anniversary. She visited the grave in Bijbehara award this Republic Day. Padma said Power minister MM Man’si “I will work for peace and pros- town in Anantnag district. Vibhushan is the second-highest continuation in the cabinet was perity of the state where the com- The former chief minister passed civilian award in India. “inconsistent and immoral.” mon man and the VIPs will play and away this day last year following a Mehbooba, who currently heads Man, who faces charges of walk together”, Tasaduq Hussain brief illness in New Delhi. the PDP-Bharatiya Janata Party al- killing a Congress leader Mufti told an impressive gathering The ruling PDP has planned an liance in the state, was elected from three decades ago, was sworn of PDP leaders and workers at the elaborate programme of remem- Anantnag district after her father’s in as a replacement for E P Indoor Stadium led by his sister and brance for its founder on his fi rst death. She is the fi rst woman chief Jayarajan, who had to quit Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti. death anniversary, including blood minister of the state. following nepotism charges, in November. A court rejected Mani’s discharge petition saying there was substantial evidence against him besides his public admission at a rally in 2012. Mani has since dismissed demands for his resignation and has vowed to fight the case “legally and politically.” “For your information, Mani will perhaps be the first minister in the country to face a trial (for murder) while in off ice,” Chennithala said. “It should be recalled that both the high court and the Supreme Court had dismissed his petition (against the charges framed by the previous Congress-led government).” The opposition leader said senior CPM leader VS Achuthanandan, a former chief minister, had submitted a letter to the party questioning Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti prays at her father Mufti Mohamed Sayeed’s grave in the morality of the minister’s Bijbehara town of Anantnag district yesterday. continuation. Gulf Times Sunday, January 8, 2017 19 PAKISTAN/AFGHANISTAN Ex-Pakistani army chief to head Islamic Military Alliance

Internews According to media reports, TV programme, asked the min- minister was also part of the de- work as Pakistan’s ambassador Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Karachi Gen Raheel went to Saudi Arabia ister whether Gen Raheel had liberations,” he added. to the United States during the Emirates, Turkey, Malaysia, Pa- on Dec 27 on a special invitation accepted the position after get- The defence minister’s vague tenure of former military ruler kistan and many Gulf Arab and of the Saudi government. ting government’s permission. remarks notwithstanding, there Gen Pervez Musharraf. African states are included in the akistan’s former army Details of his visit were not “I don’t know its details as is no offi cial confi rmation on Gen Karamat had returned to alliance. chief, retired General Ra- made public, but social media this thing was fi nalised a day or Gen Raheel’s appointment. an active job in 2004 — six years However, Iran is not among Pheel Sharif, is said to be was abuzz with reports that he two ago so defi nitely it would in- In a thinly veiled reference to after he resigned as the army the member-states. on his way to becoming the top had formally accepted the off er clude our government’s approval the exclusion of some countries, chief. Pakistan had confi rmed its commander of a Saudi-led Is- to command the coalition. as he could not independently including Iran, Iraq and Syria, The Saudi-led military alli- participation in the alliance lamic Military Alliance. The Wikipedia page of the assume a responsibility,” he said. the minister said he believed ance was announced on Dec 15, but said at the time that it was General Raheel retired in No- Islamic Military Alliance also The minister went on to say that the whole Ummah should 2015, “to fi ght terrorism, with a awaiting further details to de- vember last year after complet- contained his name as the com- that any such assignment or be part of this alliance “without joint operations centre based in cide “the extent of its participa- ing his three-year term as the mander in chief. posting required proper clear- any exception”. If General Raheel Riyadh to co-ordinate and sup- tion in diff erent activities of the chief of the army staff . When quizzed on the subject ance both from the federal heads the Saudi-led alliance, he port military operations”. It was alliance”. When he was in offi ce, ru- in a Geo News programme, De- government and the General would be the fi rst army chief to said that the alliance had “a duty The United States had also mours were rife that Saudi Ara- fence Minister Khawaja Asif in- Headquarters (GHQ) and a due have accepted a military job after to protect the Islamic nation from welcomed the formation of the bia wanted him to command the directly confi rmed that Gen Ra- process was followed before fi - retirement. the evils of all terrorist groups and alliance and said that an inten- alliance of Muslim countries, of heel had been made the chief of nalising the agreement. In recent history, former organisations whatever their sect sifi cation of the eff ort against which Pakistan is also a part, for the 39-nation coalition to com- “As you are aware that this COAS Gen Jehangir Karamat and name which wreak death and the militant Islamic State group fi ghting terrorism and extrem- bat terrorism. thing was in the pipeline for was the only one who had ac- corruption on earth and aim to as well as against other terrorist ism. Talat Hussain, the host of the quite some time and the prime cepted a government off er to terrorise the innocent”. network was a welcome move. General Raheel Sharif

Train accident Curtain comes down on special military courts

Internews clause in it; so that the criminal on prevailing judiciary, a viola- Islamabad justice system could be reformed tion of basic human rights and in this time. Unfortunately, the against the basic structure of the government hasn’t moved an Constitution. he controversial special inch in this regard,” said Pakistan The petitions were dismissed powers given to Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader Shireen by the apex court. Tarmy to establish tribu- Mazari. Subsequently, about 27 con- nals for trying civilians on ter- Legal expert and former law victs challenged their sentenc- rorism charges are set to end af- minister Ahmer Bilal Soofi said: ing by the military courts alleg- ter two years as the sunset clause “The military courts achieved ing that they did not receive a contained in the legislation cov- their objective partly in terms of fair trial as guaranteed by Article ering trials by military courts giving sentences to people, but 10A of the Constitution as they were to take eff ect yesterday. their real purpose was to act as were neither given copies of the The special powers were given an incentive to upgrade the ex- verdict nor were they aff orded to the army under the 21st con- isting Anti-Terrorism Act. It was the opportunity to engage coun- stitutional amendment and the an inbuilt legislative induce- sel to defend themselves. Pakistan Army (Amendment) ment. But that did not happen. “The statistics on military Bill, 2015, enacted by parliament The long-term objective was not courts speak for themselves — on January 6, 2015, in the after- achieved.” something like over 90% con- math of the Army Public School International Commission of viction rate — and the fact that tragedy. Jurists’ Asia Director Sam Zarifi they lacked transparency makes The two houses of parlia- said: “The lapse of the jurisdic- due process even more unlikely,” Local people gather on a railway track near the accident site in Lodhran district, central Pakistan. At least eight people including ment had on that occasion voted tion of military courts over civil- Sara Belal, Executive Director of seven school children and a driver were killed and four others injured when a passenger train hit a vehicle carrying school children unanimously for the legislation ians is a step in the right direc- Justice Project Pakistan, said. in Pakistan’s central Lodhran district on Friday, off icials said. despite fears among the law- tion, but unsurprisingly there is The trials resulted in con- makers that the tribunals they no sign of the promised reforms victions, imprisonment of and were authorising would not be to strengthen the ordinary crim- death sentences against ter- able to ensure due process to the inal justice system to eff ectively rorists belonging to Al Qaeda, suspects and might undermine handle terrorism-related cases.” Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, democracy. Jamaatul Ahrar, Toheedwal Ji- The legislation contained a “The military courts had Group, Jaish-e-Muham- sunset clause of two years from achieved their objective mad, Harkat-ul-Jehad-i-Islami, Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, Lashkar-i- Sindh governor rejects the date of enactment. partly in terms of giving There was no formal state- sentences to people, but Jhangvi Al-Alami, Lashkar-i- ment either from the govern- their real purpose was Islami, and Sipah-i-Sahaba. ment or the military announc- to act as an incentive Some of the well-known ter- ing the end of the extraordinary to upgrade the existing rorism cases in which sentences were handed down included the forced conversion bill powers for trial of civilians by Anti-Terrorism Act. It the military. was an inbuilt legislative Army Public School, Peshawar, An interior ministry source inducement. But that did massacre, Safoora bus attack, kill- Internews into consideration the protests lowers of diff erent religions No less than the Co-chair- said terrorism cases in future not happen. The long-term ing of activist Sabeen Mehmood, Islamabad from diff erent religious groups instead of creating friction be- man Pakistan People’s Party would be taken up by anti-ter- objective was not achieved” attack on journalist Raza Rumi, against the legislation. tween them. Asif Ali Zardari gave his word rorism courts that were mandat- Bannu jailbreak, Parade Lane The chief minister, in his ad- In November last year, the to the Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami ed to conduct expeditious trials. Military courts began trials in Mosque, Rawalpindi, bombing, ollowing the advice of vice to the governor, said that Sindh Assembly had unani- Sirajul Haq to strike down the Another source confi ded that February 2015. killing of foreign tourists at Nanga Chief Minister Syed Mu- the government wanted certain mously passed the bill, which recently passed forced conver- the interior ministry had made The fi rst convictions were Parbat base camp, attack on a bus Frad Ali Shah, Governor changes in the language of the invited strong criticism as it sion bill in the Sindh Assembly. a “belated and half-hearted” announced two months later in carrying Shia pilgrims in Mas- of Pakistan’s Sindh province bill and thus does not want its contained some provisions that According to media reports, attempt to earn a renewal of the April and the last ones were pro- tung, shooting down of an army Saeeduzzaman Siddiqi yester- approval in its present shape. are considered un-Islamic and Siraj thanked the PPP leader for law providing for the military nounced on Dec 28, 2016. helicopter in Orakzai agency, at- day returned the controversial The MQM conveyed to the unconstitutional. taking into consideration the courts, but that couldn’t hap- The courts, which had been tack on a PIA aircraft in Peshawar, bill unanimously adopted by governor that the bill was passed The bill became controversial religious parties’ reservations pen. given 275 cases, during their Marriott Hotel bombing, Karachi the Sindh Assembly recently in haste without giving the mem- for the reason that it contained against the bill. Another key anti-terrorism two-year tenure sentenced 161 airport attack, sectarian murders against forced conversions. bers adequate time to study it. a provision under which no Earlier, the Sindh Assembly law Protection of Pakistan Act terrorists to death, whereas an- and attacks on law enforcement Sources said that besides the The sources said that the MQM person below the age of 18 could had unanimously passed a bill also expired last year without other 116 were given varying jail personnel and their offi ces, polio chief minister’s advice, the gov- also raised a question on the proc- convert to Islam even out of his against forced religious conver- any succeeding arrangement. terms, mostly life sentences. teams and educational institu- ernor Sindh had also received a ess adopted to pass the bill. free will and choice. sions in the province. Political parties and legal ex- Only 12 convicts have been ex- tions. formal request from the MQM The governor, while return- Such a bar is not only con- The Sindh Criminal Law (Pro- perts criticised the government ecuted so far. Fareed Piracha, a Jamaat-i- that wanted that the bill should ing the bill, cited all these rea- sidered against the teachings of tection of Minorities) Bill, 2016 for not undertaking the needed The establishment of the mili- Islami leader, whose party had not be approved. sons and directed that through Islam but also in violation of the was tabled by PML-F’s Nand Ku- legal reforms to address the rea- tary courts was initially chal- abstained from the voting on the While returning the bill, the a meaningful consultative Constitution. Following protest mar and Khatu Mal Jeewan. sons that had necessitated the lenged in the Supreme Court. 21st amendment in parliament, governor also considered the process, which includes all the by the religious parties, the PPP According to the bill, change setting up of military courts. The petitioners had contend- felt relieved that the military resolution of the Council of Is- stakeholders, such an enact- recently announced to review the of religion will not be recog- “There was a reason why the ed that the 21st amendment was courts had come to an end. “It is lamic Ideology, terming the bill ment be made which should bill to ensure that it does not con- nised until the person reaches 21st amendment had a sunset an expression of no-confi dence a good development,” he said. as un-Islamic besides taking develop harmony among fol- fl ict with the Islamic teachings. 18 years of age. Protest against Syrian atrocities US Marines to return to Helmand

AFP deeper into a quagmire of insta- Last year, Afghanistan saw in- tricts in Helmand, the deadli- Kabul bility, with large swathes of the tensifi ed Taliban attacks across est province for British and US province under the control of the country, leaving Afghan forc- troops over the last decade and fghanistan yesterday the insurgents. es stretched on multiple fronts. blighted by a huge opium har- welcomed the Penta- “The US deployment is im- Around 30,000 people were vest that helps fund the insur- Agon’s decision to deploy portant. This will increase our displaced in Helmand alone, gency. some 300 US Marines to the capacity in fi ghting terrorism,” mostly fl eeing to provincial Nato offi cially ended its com- volatile province of Helmand, defence ministry spokesman capital Lashkar Gah, with the bat mission in December 2014, where American forces engaged Mohamed Radmanish said. city still practically besieged. but US forces were granted in heated combat until their The Marines will train and The roads from neighbouring greater powers in June to strike mission ended in 2014. advise Afghan soldiers and po- districts are heavily mined by at the insurgents as President The Marines will head to the lice offi cers fi ghting Taliban the insurgents. Barack Obama vowed a more poppy-growing southern prov- insurgents in Helmand, accord- “More troops mean more aggressive campaign. ince this spring to assist a Nato-led ing to the US Central Command fi ghting,” Mohamed Qasim, a The US still has some 8,400 mission to train Afghan forces, in (CENTCOM). local elder in Helmand, said of troops in the country. the latest sign that foreign forces “We really need air support in the US deployment. In early December General are increasingly being drawn back Helmand. I hope they (US) sup- “It will certainly aff ect peo- John Nicholson, the chief US and into the worsening confl ict. port our air force, since we don’t ple and their lives. We will wit- Nato commander in Afghanistan, Pakistani demonstrators shout slogans during a rally in Karachi on Friday against the ongoing For years Helmand was the have enough air power in Hel- ness more fi ghting and more said that Kabul directly controls conflict in Syria. More than 310,000 people have been killed and millions forced to flee their homes centrepiece of the US and Brit- mand,” Rasul Zazai, a spokesman displacement in the spring.” about 64 % of the country’s pop- since the conflict broke out in March 2011. ish military intervention in for the Afghan army’s 215 Corps The Taliban eff ectively con- ulation of 30mn, down slightly Afghanistan only for it to slip stationed in Helmand, said. trol or contest 10 of the 14 dis- from 68 % earlier in 2016. Gulf Times 20 Sunday, January 8, 2017 PHILIPPINES

Troops kill two linked to group supporting IS

Philippine security forces yester- Comelec urged to release day killed a foreign national and his female companion who were suspected of being connected to a militant group supporting Islamic State, police off icials said, two days after the group’s leader was also killed. The foreigner, details of data theft probe believed to be Pakistani and identified as Abu Naila, resisted By Catherine S Valente sive breach in the Comelec The Palace offi cial issued the gence” for his failure to estab- sations against him and the with regard to its technology- arrest and attempted to throw Manila Times database before the 2016 elec- call following the recommen- lish a data protection policy Comelec even as he vowed to related activities and services. a grenade while a police and tions, should not be down- dation of the National Privacy that could have prevented the contest the ruling. He questioned as well the de- military team was conducting a played. Commission (NPC) to fi le crim- hacking.“Comelec should “With all due respect to cision pointing to him as solely manhunt in Sarangani province, alacanang has called “The Comeleak has been inal charges against Comelec come clean and hold itself ac- the NPC membership, we be- responsible for the data breach, Chief Superintendent Cedrick on the Commission described as one of the worst chairman Andres Bautista and countable for the millions of lieve that the NPC decision saying “these are matters that Train, a police regional director, Mon Elections (Come- breaches of a government- the poll body itself for the theft data that became susceptible to was based on the misappro- are best left to information said. They were conducting lec) to release the results of an controlled database. Thus, it is of millions of voters’ personal risks such as identity theft and priation of several facts, legal technology (IT) experts.” an operation against Ansar Al- internal investigation into the an issue that simply cannot be records. fraud,” Andanar said. points and material contexts,” “Unlike the NPC, which is Khilafah Philippines (AKP), one data heists that resulted in the swept under the rug,” Andanar Andanar lauded the commis- “Let us put an end to elec- he said. run by IT practitioners, the of a handful of small groups that theft of over 55mn personal said. “We exhort that Comelec sion “for taking the side of the tion-related manoeuvrings and Bautista maintained that the Comelec en banc is currently have pledged allegiance to IS records from the poll body’s release a report of an investi- people whose privacy has been ensure that any attempt to sub- Comelec did due diligence in managed by seven lawyers. and blamed for years of unrest website. gation it conducted on the data violated.” vert the people’s will, no matter protecting its data even before Hence, we rely on our IT De- in the Philippine south.Police In a statement, Presidential leak, if any, to maintain the The commission found how sophisticated, will not suc- the hacking of its website in partment for expert advice on spokesman Romeo Galgo said Communications Secretary credibility of the constitutional Bautista criminally liable ceed,” he added. March 2016, by following gen- website/data security and pri- they were still verifying the na- Martin Andanar said the so- body and uphold the integrity of for the cybersecurity breach Bautista, in a statement on erally accepted standards and vacy and IT-related matters,” tionality of the foreigner killed. called “Comeleak,” the mas- the electoral process,” he added. and guilty of “gross negli- Thursday, denied the accu- international best practices he said. Survey shows most Filipinos trust Duterte

By Catherine S Valente These included the resigna- Manila Times tion of Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo from the Cabinet, the burial of ost Filipinos still former president Ferdinand trust and approve of Marcos at the Libingan ng mga MPresident Rodrigo Bayani, the killing of Albuera Duterte (pictured), according Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr, to the latest survey by Pulse in his jail cell, as well as hear- Asia, despite controversies ings at the House and Senate surrounding the administra- regarding the illegal drug trade tion in recent months. at the national penitentiary The poll, conducted from and the operations of the so- December 6 to 11 among 1,200 called Davao Death Squad, respondents nationwide, among others. showed the president’s ap- Despite these events, the proval and trust ratings both at disapproval and distrust rat- 83% in the last quarter of 2016. ings of Duterte remained at Pulse single digits. Only 5% of re- Asia spondents disapproved of the said the president while only 4% did changes not trust him. Thirteen per- in the cent, meanwhile, were unde- presi- cided. dent’s The poll was conducted ratings through face-to-face inter- were views with 1,200 adults na- “mar- tionwide and has a ±3 margin Devotees watch as a replica of the Black Nazarene is carried along a road during a procession in Manila yesterday. ginal… of error (±6 margin of error on at the the sub-national level). national Sought for comment, Presi- level and across geographic are- dential Communications Sec- as and socio-economic classes.” retary Martin Andanar said the It found that Duterte had Palace welcomed the Filipinos’ Govt gets ready for annual procession the biggest trust rating trust “high approval and big trust” from respondents in Mindan- of Duterte, which he attribut- ao, where he got an “excellent” ed to “people’s appreciation” Manila Times dences (PTCFOR) in Manila. He added that all corrective and Supt. Joel Napoleon Coronel, devotees. Included in these +85 score. The score was how- of the administration’s per- Manila The PCTFOR suspension will maintenance works, particularly director of the Manila Police operations are vendors, illegal ever down seven points from formance. start on 8 am today and will be the fi lling up of potholes, have all District, said as he advised the transport terminals and illegally +92 in September. “We are grateful for this in effect up to 8am of January been done to ensure the safety public to expect “very heavy” parked vehicles. Duterte got a “very good” continued show of public ll systems are in place for 10. of the millions of Black Naza- traffi c. The mayor added they are also trust rating of +69 in “Balance support and confi dence to the annual observance “Members of the military, rene devotees. A 5.96-kilometre Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada checking for uncovered man- Luzon” and in the Visayas. the president. The high ap- Aof the Feast of the Black police and other law enforce- route will be used for the grand yesterday ordered the clear- holes and drainages and hang- This was the same score that proval and big trust speak Nazarene tomorrow. ment agencies are exempted procession. ing of all roads where the Black ing power cables that can pose Duterte got in Balance Luzon volumes about our people’s The Civil Aviation Authority from the PTCFOR suspension The annual Black Nazarene Nazarene procession will pass. risks to devotees and conducting in September, but was down appreciation of the president’s of the Philippines (CAAP) im- and are authorised to bear procession commemorates the “We want everyone to be safe. on-the-spot repairs of unpaved four points from his previous achievements, especially in plemented yesterday a restric- arms provided that they are fi rst parade transferring the re- We want the procession to be as roads. rating in the Visayas. his campaign to rid society of tion against fl ying unmanned on duty and in uniform,” Dela vered statue of Jesus Christ from hassle-free as possible for the Street sweepers will also be Responses per socio-eco- drugs, crime and corruption,” aircraft vehicles (UAV) or drones Rosa said. a church in Intramuros to the devotees participating in it, and deployed along the procession nomic class also showed he Andanar said. in areas where the procession The re-routing of vehicles in Quiapo Church on January 9, also to lessen the inconvenience route and at the Quirino Grand- remains popular with the Fili- “People are now beginning will pass. preparation for the Traslacion 1767. The MPD-Traffi c Enforce- of motorists and commuters,” he stand to continuously sweep the pino masses, rating higher in to feel secure in their homes, The “no fl y zone” (10 nautical- or procession of the Black Naza- ment Unit (TEU) on Friday an- said. streets and remove anything terms of approval and trust in the streets, day and night as mile radius away from these re- rene tomorrow will start today, nounced the road closures and City Engineer Rogelio that could hurt barefoot devo- among Classes D (84% and incidents of homicide, physi- stricted areas) was implemented the Metropolitan Manila Devel- re-routing it will implement to- Legazpi said the clearing opera- tees. 83%) and E (both at 85%) com- cal injury, rape, robbery, theft, to ensure the safety of Nazarene opment Authority (MMDA) an- morrow in connection with the tion is being carried out by more Sustained “anti-criminality” pared with those in the ABC and carjackingwent down, devotees and other people along nounced yesterday. annual procession of the Black than 600 men until today and operations on the days leading to (69% and 72%, respectively). according to PNP data. This the streets. Department of Public Works Nazarene. is mainly focused around the Traslacion are also being carried Duterte kept his high ratings New Year the administration Philippine National Police and Highways (DPWH) Secre- “Closure of some streets will immediate vicinity of Quiapo out by the city police force along even after his administration resolves to deliver (the presi- (PNP), Director General Ron- tary Mark Villar said yesterday be in eff ect as the procession Church such as the streets of the procession routes and its im- was confronted with several dent’s) promise of safe and ald ‘Bato’ Dela Rosa also sus- that all roads along the route approaches and will be opened Villalobos, Carlos Palanca, and mediate vicinities such as Ermi- issues, which could have af- comfortable lives for all,” he pended for two days the permit of the Black Nazarene proces- immediately once the tail end Hidalgo, which are expected to ta, Malate, Intramuros, Binondo fected people’s opinion. added. to carry firearms outside resi- sion are now paved and clear. passes,” newly-promoted Chief be fi lled with Black Nazarene and Santa Cruz. New strategy seeks to crush militancy Tribal leader among three killed in Davao clash Manila Times Fighters and other foreign and the AFP Public Aff airs Offi ce. clear, concise, and direct in his AFP chief also vowed to give Manila local terrorist groups. The plan was crafted by a pronouncement that the top priority to frontline units in the The new six-year security technical working group from priority of the AFP under his assignment of the best offi cers, By Al Jacinto brother Ramon and relative plan replaces the Internal Peace the AFP in consultation with leadership shall be the destruc- enlisted soldiers, airmen, sailors Manila Times/Zamboanga City Dodo, all surnamed Banugan. op military and defence and Security Plan IPSP “Bay- various government agencies. tion of the terrorist groups.” and Marines. He said rebel forces also seized offi cials have discussed anihan” that was implemented To achieve this, Ano disclosed “And as such, we must take weapons from the slain mili- Tthe “Development Sup- in January 2010 and expired on “I desire that we enhance that besides the conduct of fo- care of them. While we en- ew People’s Army (NPA) tia leader they accused as being port and Security Plan Kapaya- December 31, 2016. stakeholder engagement cused combat operations em- deavour to give them the fi ght- rebels killed three per- protected by the 67th Infantry paan,” a new military strategy Put into operation by the pre- to ensure robust ploying the resources of the AFP, ing edge, it is as essential that Nsons, including a tribal Battalion (67IB), and tagged be- that aims to defeat enemies of vious Aquino administration, participation of the “I desire that we enhance stake- we increase their survivability leader they accused of murder- hind the spate of human rights the state and address threats to IPSP Bayanihan has been the religious sector and holder engagement to ensure ro- rate,” he emphasised. ing civilians, during a clash in violation. national security. subject of criticism by leftist local government” bust participation of the religious At the same time, the AFP the town of Caraga, Davao Ori- “The suff ering masses of In a high-level command groups seeking a peace deal with sector and local government.” must look out for the welfare ental. Four of their fi ghters were Caraga rejoice the killing of the conference at Camp Aguinaldo the government. Top military fi eld command- “From our end, I want every- of its personnel and their loved also slain in the battle. Banugans who, with the aid of in Quezon City, Armed Forces The new military strategy, ers, major service command- one here to exercise the high- ones, especially those who were Roel Agustin II, who spoke for the fascist AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief presented to military top brass, ers, Wide Support and Separate est degree of commandership. combat casualties, by expediting the NPA, said they sent a team of the Philippines), have wielded of Staff Gen. Eduardo Ano said defence offi cials led by Secretary Unit commanders, and key staff After all, the most important the processing of the benefi ts due to the town to disarm the group absolute fascist control over the the military’s top priority would Delfi n Lorenzana and key na- of the AFP were in attendance at element of combat power is to them; streamlining the proc- of Cupertino Banugan, leader of peasant and Lumad commu- be the destruction of terror- tional security offi cials, will serve the security meeting presided leadership. Do and give your ess and rationalising the require- the so-called paramilitary group nities in Caraga since the US- ist groups like the Abu Sayyaf as the “blueprint” of how the by Lorenzana. best and together we will cre- ments for promotion, schooling Mandaya Ancestral Defense Arroyo regime under the Oplan Group, the Maute Group, the AFP will conduct its campaigns, Arevalo said that during the ate a winning team and get the and awards; as well was the dis- Unit, but a gun fi ght erupted, Bantay Laya counter-revolu- Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom said Col. Edgard Arevalo, chief of meeting, the AFP chief “was job done,” Ano pointed out. The position of cases, Ano said. killing the tribal chieftain, his tionary campaign,” Agustin said. Gulf Times Sunday, January 8, 2017 21 SRI LANKA/BANGLADESH/NEPAL

Fire breaks Hundreds protest against out in medical Chinese industrial zone varsity AFP bring in about $5bn in Chinese dor Yi said at the launch, add- IANS Colombo investment. ing that 100,000 jobs could be Dhaka But residents are afraid created. they will lose their land to the Prime Minister Wickremes- ri Lanka police fi red tear- project, which is situated ad- inghe said creating the special fi re broke out yesterday in gas to disperse hundreds jacent to a loss-making $1.4bn area for Chinese investors was Bangladesh’s Bangaband- Sof people protesting the harbour that Colombo hopes to aimed at making the debt-bur- Ahu Sheikh Mujib Medical launch yesterday of a special turn into a joint venture with a dened Hambantota port viable. University (BSMMU) in the capi- industrial zone in the island’s Chinese company. “The Hambantota port was tal, with no immediate reports of south that hopes to attract The port has already proved going to sink us (Sri Lanka), casualties, a media report said. billions of dollars in Chinese controversial in itself with but we are now trying to lever- The fi re started around investment. hundreds of temporary dock age it to create new economic 11.20am and soon razed the un- Protesters pelted government workers going on strike in De- activity and boost growth,” derground of a building in the supporters with stones and po- cember demanding that they Wickremesinghe said. Cabin Block area of the hospital lice retaliated with teargas and be absorbed into the main port- The government, which came in Shahbagh, destroying valuable water cannon at the launch, owning company ahead of any to power in 2015, has been try- goods and documents, a police which was also attended by the sale to the Chinese. ing to renegotiate the terms of offi cer said on the condition of prime minister and the Chinese The government denies resi- its $8bn Chinese debt, which anonymity, Xinhua news agency ambassador, a police offi cial dents will lose any land to the includes the construction costs reported. said. new industrial zone, saying of the Hambantota port as well He said several units of fi re- Authorities said about 95% of the area allocated for the as a nearby international air- fi ghters doused the fi re at about 25 people were hurt in the project is state-owned and the port which is used by only one 12.15pm and no casualties have skirmishes, including 12 police. remainder will be bought from airline. so far been reported. Prime Minister Ranil Wick- private owners. They say there The former administration The exact cause of the fi re was remesinghe and ambassador will be no forced acquisitions. relied heavily on China to build unknown so far. Yi Xianliang said the zone “In the next two to fi ve years, ports, highways and railways BSMMU is the fi rst and only in Hambantota, 240km (150 if everything is OK, there will be as Western nations shunned it Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, left, and Chinese ambassador Yi Xianliang look on medical university in Bangladesh miles) south of Colombo, will about $5bn of (Chinese) invest- over its dismal human rights during the opening ceremony of an industrial zone project in the southern port city of Hambantota and considered one of the zenith generate thousands of jobs and ments in this zone,” ambassa- record. yesterday. medical varsities in the South Asia. Since its inception, the uni- versity, with 1,500 beds has also been delivering general and spe- cialised clinical service as a terti- Army ever ready to foil any Bangladesh ary level healthcare centre. opposition party evil force, says PM Hasina offi ce cordoned Everest By Mizan Rahman draws Dhaka ahead of protest 33% more rime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said the PBangladesh army, a force IANS Anti-riot policemen sur- visitors imbued with the spirit of the Dhaka rounded the headquarters War of Liberation, is very much here since morning. ready than ever before to foil Tensions are running high IANS any evil force. aw enforcers yesterday across Bangladesh as the Kathmandu “The people’s confi dence in cordoned off the head- country’s political situation is the army has been strength- Lquarters of Bangladesh’s once again heating up center- ened as the force is equipped largest opposition party in ing on the third anniversary of he number of tourists vis- with vast resources of mod- Dhaka ahead of a demonstra- January 5 elections which 21 iting the Mount Everest ern war machines and capable tion today. parties, including Zia’s BNP, Tregion has risen by 33.66% to operate those effi ciently,” Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina witnessing a manoeuvre exercise by the Bangladesh army at Swarna Former Prime Minister boycotted. in 2016 as compared to 2015, lo- she said at an army exercise, Dweep in Noakhali district yesterday. Army Chief General Abu Belal Muhammad Shafiul Huq is also seen. Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh BNP, which has no repre- cal media reported yesterday. at Swarna Dweep (island) in Nationalist Party (BNP) an- sentation in the parliament, According to Tourist Police Noakhali district. hicle SLC-2, anti-tank missile desh army in 2013 for training ices to the islanders to make nounced the countrywide has been demanding fresh Offi ce, overall 27,465 tourists Hasina said modern arma- METIS-M-1 and professionalism as well as development of the them self-dependent. demonstration after it was elections under a non-party visited the Everest region in 2015 ment of the army and their of the army,” she said. island for habitation, improved The prime minister said the not allowed to hold a rally caretaker government. while the tourist number was tough activities manifest Army Chief General Abu Belal law and order and aff orestation. government has taken steps to in Dhaka to protest against But the ruling party has said recorded at 36,694 in 2016, the their professionalism. “Excel- Muhammad Shafi ul Huq gave Over the last three years, the produce diff erent varieties of the general election on Janu- there will be no general elec- Himalayan Times reported. lent maneuver is an example the welcome address on the oc- island witnessed tremendous saline tolerant paddy and crops ary 5, 2014, which the party tion before 2019. The tourist arrivals in the of modern and strong mili- casion, attended by ministers, progress in terms of infrastruc- in addition to plantation of dubbed as “democracy Political analysts said there mountainous region drastically tary force,” she said praising chiefs of navy and air forces, tural development with con- coconut trees and creation of killing day”. was no alternative but to reach fell after the massive earthquake the exercise of the 11 Infantry parliament members, general struction of two cyclone centers ‘keora’ garden to check erosion. However, Prime Minister consensus over the next elec- on April 25, 2015, and the unof- Division. offi cers commanding (GOCs) of and a container based camp. “The government has also Sheikh Hasina’s ruling Bang- tion issues to avoid further se- fi cial Nepal-India border block- “We don’t want war, but we 11 and 33 infantry divisions. Hasina expressed her pleas- taken initiative to support the is- ladesh Awami League ob- rious confrontation. ade, but it saw a rise in 2016 as have to have every preparation The island popularly known ure for planned use of the newly land people for dairy and poultry serves January 5 as a “victory Scores of people were the situation became more fa- to foil any attempt against our as the Jahaijjar Char surfaced developed island located at the farming,” she said, adding that day of democracy”, Xinhua killed in violence over the vourable, Namche tourist entre- independence and sovereignty,” in 1978. The inaccessible island estuary of the Meghna. Mujib Killa (Mujib Fort) is be- news agency reported. elections. preneur Lama Kaji Sherpa said. she said, adding, “Our armed for long had been used by pi- She said the army, born ing constructed for shelter of the forces are growing up as be- rates as a safe haven, disrupt- through our War of Libera- people and livestock resources fi tting enough required for an ing the activities of the civil tion in 1971, secured its posi- during any natural disaster. Nepal expects fillip from tourism campaign in China independent country.” administration. tion globally as a competent, The prime minister inaugu- “I’m confi dent about the Situated at a 3mn height disciplined and well-organised rated a multipurpose cyclone Nepalese tourism entrepreneurs neighbour dropped sharply facilities for tourists in Nepal. overall capacity of the army after above sea-level, the island is force. shelter centre and planted a have said that the Nepal Tourism after the earthquake. Suman Pandey, chairman, seeing the use of newly induct- about 360sq km in area. In She announced plans to con- sapling of coconut tree. She Promotion Year 2017 in China According to Department Pacific Asia Travel Association ed MBT-2000 tank, APC BTR- 2013, the island was renamed as struct three more cyclone cen- also visited a dairy farm run could be vital to revive Nepal’s of Immigration of Nepal, the (PATA) Nepal, said that the 80, Self-Propelled Artillery Swarna Dweep and the govern- tres in the island within a very by the army and a coconut tourism industry battered by Himalayan country received a promotion will encourage Gun, NORA-B-52, Radar Ve- ment allocated it to the Bangla- short time and extend all serv- garden. earthquake and Indian embargo total of 33,224 Chinese visitors more Chinese people to visit of 2015-16. during the first half of 2016 Nepal. China is the second largest against 39,401 during the same Nepal has attracted Chinese tourist source market for period in 2015, a drop of 28% in tourists in the recent years. Nepal after India. Tourists arrivals. On December 25, 2015, as an arrivals from China was Kishore Raj Pandey, a tourism eff ort to recover the battered increasing in leap and bound entrepreneur, said the promotion tourism industry, the Nepalese Nepal to get Rs1bn in 100 before the catastrophic was definitely good news for government announced the earthquake in April 2015 but Nepal’s tourism industry and waiver of visa fee for Chinese arrivals from the northern Nepal should improve tourism tourists travelling to Nepal. rupee notes from India Environmental activists protest IANS delayed due to the Indian gov- identifi cation for general rencies for exchange facili- Kathmandu ernment’s move to demonetise purpose. ties. As the amount of Indian Rs500 and Rs1,000 currency Similarly, it is providing up to Rs100 notes is dwindled to notes on November 8, reports Indian Rs10,000 for travelling IRs3.5bn in its coff er, once epal’s central bank said, adding the RBI had ear- India through train or air after it will add another 1bn In- will get Rs1bn in lier told the Nepali counter- submitting the respective tick- dian currency, the NRB can NRs100 denomination part to wait till the situation ets and exchanging up to Indian provide exchange facilities Indian notes from its Indian normalises. Rs25,000 upon the doctor’s re- at present ratio by another counterpart by the end of this After demonetisation in ferral for medical treatment in seven months, said Poudel. month to avert shortages of India, the NRB had also low- India. India has been tightening the currency widely used in ered exchange limit of Indian Apart from this limited the supplies of Indian notes the Himalayan country, an banknotes in Nepal, hitting facilities, the RBI has not following the wake of demon- offi cial has said. Nepalis going for treatment sorted out crisis of exchang- etisation. In normal situa- The Reserve Bank of India in India, students pursuing ing banned Indian currencies tion, Nepali banks used to has agreed to provide 1bn Indi- higher studies in various In- of 500 and 1,000 within and provide exchange facilities up an currency of IRs100 denomi- dian colleges and universi- outside the Nepali banking to IRs5,000 for general pur- nation by the end of January, ties, traders doing business channels. Authorities in both poses to any Nepali and Indian said Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) in India and people living in sides held several rounds of citizen, IRs25,000 for travel- spokesperson Narayan Poudel. bordering areas. talks to fi nd a way out for the ling purposes and 50,000 for Nepal’s central bank is send- Outlets of government and exchange facilities of banned medical facilities. ing a team to India to bring the private banks are witness- Indian notes but no decision The demands of Indian cur- notes, Poudel said, adding that ing long queues of people has been taken yet. rency in winter season rises by the end of January, the NRB standing for exchanging the The RBI and NRB have sta- as lot of Nepalis opt to go for will have additional Indian currency after central bank ble agreement that NRB will pilgrimages in various Indian Environmental activists protest against the Rampal coal-fired power plant project near the Sundarbans, in Rs1bn in its coff er. has provided limited ex- import a total Indian Rs6bn sites. The demand of Indian Dhaka yesterday. Global environmental organisations have urged Bangladeshi authorities to reject the Rampal The NRB’s plan to import change facilities up to Indian per annum of various de- currency through the banking coal-fired power plant project in order to protect the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest. Rs100 denomination notes was Rs2,000 on the basis of valid nominations of Indian cur- channel is IRs10mn per day. Gulf Times 22 Sunday, January 8, 2017 COMMENT

Chairman: Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Attiyah Deputy Managing Editor: K T Chacko Pundits befuddled over

P.O.Box 2888 Doha, Qatar [email protected] latest Zardari surprise Telephone 44350478 (news), 44466404 (sport), 44466636 (home delivery) The ex-president’s decision them – to utter frustration. Veteran three weeks later, he was back home. once during the commemoration! He Fax 44350474 to enter parliament with son Javed Hashmi, a member of the What preceded Zardari’s return also made it a point to drive home to fl ock, once famously gave vent to his was the rather vocal and consistent Sharif that his and the scion’s entry confounds all expectation exasperation by suggesting one had to anti-Sharif campaign led by Bilawal was not aimed at “snatching your of an anti-Sharif campaign have a “PhD in politics” to understand Bhutto-Zardari, his 28-year-old son seat” but to “strengthen the system” Zardari. The more grounded can and the party’s chairman. For the and groom Bilawal. with even his own party be forgiven perhaps, for thinking if uninitiated, the scion was anointed Days later, the commentariat is confused! even that degree would not suffi ce to the party’s leader at 19 by Zardari, nowhere near reaching a conclusion GULF TIMES confi gure the Zardari Art of Political who also appended his surname to as to what Zardari’s new gambit is Gamesmanship. the original moniker Bilawal Bhutto all about. To be fair to the political By Kamran Rehmat It is against this backdrop that – just three days after his spouse pundits, there are obvious and rather Doha Zardari manoeuvred to land home Benazir was assassinated in 2007. stark question marks driving the latest just ahead of his late spouse Benazir It was a studied gambit to encash ‘method in madness’. Bhutto’s 9th death anniversary last the sympathy wave on the eve of To begin with, Zardari’s return HIA setting new nterestingly, Pakistan’s oldest month after more than one-and-a- the 2008 general elections; and of has apparently undercut the much political family – dynasty is half years of self-imposed exile. course, the rich political legacy in hyped reinvention of the PPP – probably more like it – is also In one of his rare cavalier moments the long term. there’s certainly no denying a crying Ithe nearest thing to celebrated back in June 2015, the PPP co- In the lead-up to the annual need for one after its spectacular benchmarks for royalty of the kind we have in Britain chairman warned the military December 27 ritual to mourn the decline since losing power in 2013. and from which the country achieved establishment against “over- loss of Benazir at Garhi Khuda Bux, The latest edict has only reinforced independence in 1947. reaching” its mandate in Karachi lest the ancestral fi nal resting place of Zardari’s stranglehold over the party, But it is highly debatable if the “we tear you down brick by brick”. the Bhuttos, there was frenzied smudging the hope that his exile was current Bhuttos – or to be more So stunning was the tirade – in expectation of the announcement to meant to allow his son to refashion airports globally precise, the hyphenated variety which Zardari also pointed to the kickstart an anti-Sharif campaign the PPP. (Bhutto-Zardari) – can hold a torch short and long of tenures: army chief premised in the so-called Panama Intriguingly, it is uncertain how to the erstwhile ones: the acclaimed (“three years”) and political parties Papers case allegedly involving the the father and son’s entry into the Qatar is now home to a ‘5-Star Airport’, the fi rst such prime minister father-daughter duo (“forever”) – that its after-eff ects children of the prime minister, but in parliament will reshape the contours world-scale facility in the Middle East and only one of the of Zulfi kar Ali Bhutto and Benazir prompted him to virtually fl ee from typical Zardari fashion, the form book of party leadership. Khurshid Shah, six in the entire world. Bhutto. the country immediately. was upended by a declaration that Opposition Leader in the National Hamad International Airport (HIA), the home to national But for a polity largely hinged on General Raheel Sharif, the- has left both the connoisseur and the Assembly (lower house of the the Sharifs (Prime Minister Nawaz then army chief, who retired last layman fl ummoxed. bicameral legislature), has said it was carrier Qatar Airways, recently received the prestigious and his brother, Punjab chief minister November, was riding an immense Far from even mentioning the four “obvious” that Bilawal would assume ‘5-Star Airport’ designation by Skytrax, a UK-based Shahbaz) versus Imran Khan for a popularity wave at the time for a hard- demands his son had been drumming the mantle from him. consultancy that reviews and ranks airlines and airports better part of the last half decade, the hitting anti-terror campaign that led, the previous months to tired ears, The party has denied this. worldwide. news cycle has something to cheer amongst other things, to the arrest Zardari announced that he and his On the other hand, what would a about with the return of Asif Zardari of Zardari’s close confi dantes over son were both set to enter the current former president do just sitting in the The 5-Star Airport rating is awarded to airports achieving at the end of last year. alleged links to terror fi nancing. parliament! Let alone buttress parliament as an ordinary member the highest, overall quality performance and recognises The former president and Co- Fast forward to the PPP leader Bilawal’s shrill campaign to hit the if he is not to replace Shah or take up those airports providing excellent facilities for customers Chairman of the Pakistan People’s having reportedly, prevailed upon streets if the Sharif government failed the parliamentary party leadership? combined with high quality airport staff service. Party (PPP) is widely considered to be Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to deny to meet the demands by December There is no offi cial word on this either. Airport quality ranking covers front-line areas for the shrewdest politician in a country an extension to General Sharif after 27, Zardari made it known who was to Aitzaz Ahsan, a party stalwart, only hooked on trying to forever fi gure calls to this eff ect began to make a make way for them to enter the House, conjectured to say that neither of the departures, arrival and transfer, including airport facilities, out his moves when he pulls out the round for much of last year. One of the in the bye-elections. father-and-son duo would take up a customer service, security, immigration, shop outlets and chessboard. fi rst things Zardari did after General Few observers failed to notice a leadership role. food and beverage facilities. Forget fervent supporters, there is Qamar Javed Bajwa replaced General slightly pensive Bilawal as the former So what’s really cooking? Trust The highest rating – fi ve stars – has previously only been no dearth of enemies and frenemies Sharif was to congratulate the new president only casually targeted Zardari to keep everyone guessing! awarded to fi ve other airports worldwide: Singapore, Seoul, who, like or loathe, concede Zardari’s boss in a notable move to mend fences Sharif, and in a fi rst, did not even with the military establishment and mention his late spouse’s name even zThe writer is Community Editor. Hong Kong, Tokyo-Haneda and Munich. craft in moving the pieces – and Qatar can certainly be proud of the fact that it could design and create an ultra-modern airport that serves more than 50mn passengers every year, and will grow to 65mn after the proposed major expansion to enhance the Hamad International Airport’s annual capacity by 2021. The airport, Qatar’s gateway to the world, has been designed with customer experience to the fore. The result is a world-class facility, where the concept of hospitality underpins everything. Customers stepping inside Hamad International Airport, undoubtedly, experience luxury and space, sophistication and elegance. Qatar’s gateway This recognition is particularly timely as to the world has it comes after a year of been designed reaching a number of strategic milestones with customer at HIA, including the introduction of its iBeacon experience to enabled mobile app, the the fore launch of the ‘Smart Airport’ features in the terminal, the operation of the dual passenger train shuttle to concourses D and E and the opening of multiple duty free stores. Moreover, HIA has continued to work closely with Qatar Museums adding multiple international and local art installations across the terminal. HIA is one of the most effi cient airport hub operations in the world, with a 90.5% on-time departure performance for the fi scal year 2016. With HIA already becoming a huge success by providing easy connectivity to millions of passengers globally, the Government of Qatar approved a multibillion dollar TWO GOOD? PPP Co-Chairman Asif Zardari with his son Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. expansion of the airport that will increase the airport’s capacity by more than 30%. The aim is to complete the expansion as soon as possible. It is being designed by British architects Foster and Partners. Simplifi ed Chinese as a tool to increase literacy Although development is on HIA’s top priority, it does not dilute Qatar’s commitment to the environment. Already By Cesar Chelala Simplifi ed character forms were aesthetic values, as well as their Republic of China on the National HIA has a target to improve carbon effi ciency by 30% (by New York created by decreasing the number original meanings. Also, as computer Common Language and Characters 2030) along with a series of initiatives to help save energy of strokes and making the forms of use is becoming more pervasive, establishes that simplifi ed Chinese a considerable portion of traditional the necessity for simplifi cation is should be the standard script, and optimise the consumption of vehicle fuel. hen the communists Chinese characters simpler. This becoming less necessary. relegating traditional Chinese for Air travel not only connects people but also nations, took over mainland, process of character simplifi cation However, there is not an exact certain purposes such as ceremonies, thereby enhancing global economy. Air transport the literacy rate in predates the PRC’s creation in 1949. correspondence between simplifi ed calligraphy, publication of books on contributes to sustainable development and by facilitating WChina was below 20%. It began in 1909, when Lubi and traditional characters. That is ancient literature and poetry and tourism and trade, it generates economic growth, provides It is now 95%, according to some Kui, who was a Chinese educator, why any computer program that research purposes. estimates. The same rate among newspaper editor and publisher, “converts” between the two systems is The original argument for jobs and scale up revenues. young people (15 to 24 years old) is proposed using simplifi ed Chinese bound to make mistakes, particularly simplifi cation was that it would Truly, HIA has transformed the travelling experience now 99.6%, according to the Unesco characters in education. Later, in the if it doesn’t take into account the accelerate the literacy process, for millions of passengers by off ering world-class travel Institute for Statistics. And while the 1930s and 1940s, many discussions context of the written sentence. particularly among older people. effi ciency and the highest possible standards of passenger literacy rate in 1990 was 87% for men took place within the Kuomintang on Others claim that traditional That is why many now claim that, and 68% for women, in 2010 it was the character of simplifi cation and its characters off er a stronger and richer given China’s improved economic and care while setting new benchmarks for airports globally. 98% for men and 93% for women. possible eff ect on literacy rates. connection with the history of the social conditions, the use of simplifi ed Many experts ascribe this considerable Many Chinese intellectuals and Chinese language and traditions and call Chinese may not be necessary any achievement to the simplifi cation of writers have long maintained that simplifi ed Chinese language a travesty longer. To Advertise Chinese written characters, actively character simplifi cation would help of Modern Chinese writing. They However, considering that most promoted by the communists in the increase literacy in China. However, maintain that the writings of Confucius, Chinese speakers in today’s world now [email protected] 1950s. not everybody agreed with this point Lao Tzu and many others make full use use simplifi ed Chinese, it is very diffi cult Display Along with traditional Chinese of view, among them Chen Mengjia of the wide range and expression of to conceive of a change in this trend. Telephone 44466621 Fax 44418811 characters, a simplifi ed set of (1911-1966), a Chinese scholar, poet and traditional Chinese characters. Although some argue that Chinese characters is one of the two archaeologist, who was an outspoken Although for older people simplifi ed compulsory education is what really Classified sets of the contemporary Chinese critic of simplifi cation. When the Anti- characters are easier to learn – lifted the majority of the population Telephone 44466609 Fax 44418811 written language. Simplifi ed Chinese Rightist Movement began in 1957, Chen this explains the rapid increase in out of illiteracy, it is clear that using characters are used in the People’s Mengjia was labeled a rightist and was literacy rates in mainland China – simplifi ed characters has been a Subscription Republic of China (PRC) in mainland severely persecuted and sent to a labour schoolchildren in Taiwan and Hong powerful tool in improving the literacy [email protected] China, Singapore and Malaysia. camp, which led him to commit suicide Kong have no trouble learning the rate of a great number of Chinese. However, traditional Chinese in 1966. traditional characters. Those regions characters are used in Hong Kong, Many critics argue that during have among the highest literacy rates zCesar Chelala, MD, Ph D, is an 2016 Gulf Times. All rights reserved Macau and the Republic of China simplifi cation many Chinese in the world. international public health consultant (Taiwan). characters lose many of their Today, the Law of the People’s and a New York writer. Gulf Times Sunday, January 8, 2017 23 COMMENT Democracy, inclusion, and prosperity Strong government But what brings about a strong over generations, does not become a government? Libertarians preach source of popular resentment. Instead, does not mean simply that the best government is that everyone can dream that they, too, military power, or an which governs the least, a “night will become a Bill Gates or a Nandan watchman” confi ning itself to Nilekani. effi cient intelligence ensuring the security of life, property, The diffi culty in a number of apparatus. Instead, it and contracts. Marxists believe that, Western democracies is that the as Friedrich Engels put it, once the playing fi eld is being tilted. For should mean eff ective, fair victory of the proletariat ends class many in the middle class, prosperity administration – in other confl ict, “the government of persons seems unattainable, because a good is replaced by the administration of education – today’s passport to words, “good governance” things.” Both are wrong: all economies riches – is unaff ordable. The growing need a strong government to develop perception of unfairness is eroding By Raghuram Rajan and prosper. support for the free-enterprise Chicago Strong governments may not, system. however, move in the right direction. Let me turn fi nally to India. Of Hitler provided Germany with Fukuyama’s three pillars, the strongest t is a truism that people eff ective administration: the trains in India is democratic accountability. everywhere want to live in a ran on time (as did India’s trains We also adhere broadly to the rule safe, prosperous country where during our Emergency in 1975-77). of law. Where we have a long way to Ithey enjoy freedom of thought But Hitler put Germany on a path go is in the government’s capacity and action, and can exercise the to ruin, overriding the rule of law, to deliver public services. While democratic right to choose their without which democracy can lead to strong institutions – an independent government. But the world faces a the tyranny of the majority (after all, judiciary, opposition parties, press disarming question in 2017 and the Hitler was elected). freedom, and a vibrant civil society years ahead: how can we be sure By contrast, when combined – prevent government excess, our that political freedom and economic with the rule of law, democratic “checks and balances” require what prosperity go together? accountability ensures that might be called a “balance of checks.” The American political scientist government responds to citizens’ For example, we must not have an Francis Fukuyama has argued that wishes. Of course, various social appellate process so slow that it halts liberal democracies, with their groups and organised interests will necessary government measures. political freedom and economic not always see their programmes But, Fukuyama argues, it did not have History is not destiny – but it is of prosperity for all. The more idle The most heartening development success, have three important pillars: translated into policy; but democratic alternative sources of power in religion infl uential, and it is a perpetual puzzle or corrupt the rich are, the more is that more people across India are a strong government, the rule of law, institutions are nonetheless essential, or culture to shore up the rule of law. why India has taken to democracy, the median voter will vote for tough becoming equipped to compete, and and democratic accountability. I as they enable the non-violent In Western Europe, by contrast, the while some of its neighbours with regulations and punitive taxes. more of our young entrepreneurs would add a fourth: free markets. channelling of grievances. Christian church imposed limits on similar historical and cultural pasts In some emerging markets are unwilling to kowtow to the Strong government does not We cannot ignore the infl uence what the ruler could do. So military have not. Rather than speculating, let today, wealthy oligarchs grew rich government as a matter of course. mean simply military power, or an of history. As Fukuyama points out, competition, coupled with constraints me turn to the relationship between because they managed the system If we are to have prosperity and effi cient intelligence apparatus. China has historically experienced imposed by canon law, led to the democracy and free markets. well, not because they managed political freedom, we must also Instead, it should mean eff ective, long periods of chaos. Unbridled emergence of both strong government Both democracy and free enterprise their businesses well. When the have economic inclusion and a level fair administration – in other words, military competition meant groups and the rule of law. create and thrive on competition. But, government goes after these rich playing field. Access to education, “good governance.” organised themselves as hierarchical In India, the caste system ensured whereas democracy treats individuals tycoons, few voices are raised in nutrition, healthcare, finance, and The rule of law means that a military units, with rulers exercising that entire populations could never equally, the free-enterprise system protest – and the government may markets for all our citizens is a moral government will be constrained by unlimited power. When a group be devoted totally to the war eff ort. empowers them on the basis of their become more autocratic as a result. imperative, precisely because it is a what Indians would term dharma – by eventually emerged victorious, it So war in India was never as harsh income and assets. What, then, A competitive free-enterprise precondition for sustainable – and a widely understood code of moral imposed centralised autocratic rule as in China. At the same time, the prevents the median elector in a system, with a level playing fi eld for democratic – economic growth. – behaviour, enforced by religious, to ensure that chaos did not return. codes of just behaviour emanating democracy from voting to dispossess all, minimises this risk, by allowing Project Syndicate cultural, or judicial authority. And controlling a huge geographic from ancient Indian scripture have the rich? the most effi cient to acquire wealth. Democratic accountability means area required a well-developed elite historically constrained arbitrary One reason that the median voter The process of creative destruction zRaghuram Rajan, former Governor of that governments must be popularly bureaucracy – hence the mandarins. exercise of power by rulers. As a agrees to protect the property of the replaces badly-managed inherited the Reserve Bank of India, is Professor accepted, with citizens empowered to Whenever China was united, it had result, India’s governments are rarely rich and to tax them moderately may wealth with new and dynamic of Finance at the University of Chicago replace corrupt or incompetent rulers. unconstrained, eff ective government. autocratic. be that she sees the rich as creators wealth. Great inequality, arising Booth School of Business. Weather report Hollywood superheroes boosted by China Three-day forecast TODAY High: 25 C By Lisa Richwine/Reuters In 2016, China overtook the United United States and Canada but scored allows 34 foreign imports in its States as the country with the largest $221mn in China, more than half of its theatres annually under a revenue- Low : 17 C Los Angeles Hazy to misty at places at first, number of movie screens. worldwide total. sharing agreement reached fi ve years becoming moderate in temperature Most of the top Hollywood movies It would not have landed among the ago. daytime with some clouds. hina’s moviegoers embraced would have reached the top of the fi lm year’s top 20 fi lms without the revenue The studios behind each fi lm take big-screen superheroes, charts without China. in China. home 25% of ticket sales. MONDAY cartoon animals and a video But the additional revenue is Next in China was Captain America: Hollywood executives hope the High: 26 C Cgame-turned-action fl ick in signifi cant, especially for blockbuster Civil War from Disney’s Marvel number of fi lms will increase when Low: 17 C 2016, adding $1.8bn in ticket sales to fi lms that can cost $200mn or more Studios, which rang up $190mn, as US and Chinese negotiators meet to Sunny Hollywood’s 20 highest-grossing fi lms to make. superhero stories continued to lure hammer out a new deal this year. of the year. “You can grab an extra hundred Chinese crowds. Studios also are lobbying for a share The revenue from the world’s million (dollars) of revenue from Other family-oriented fare of revenue higher than 25%. TUESDAY second-largest movie market the Chinese market,” said Jonathan performed well in Chinese theaters, The outcome of those talks is High: 27 C accounted for 13% of the $13.5bn Papish, fi lm industry analyst for including Disney’s The Jungle Book uncertain after the inauguration as US Low: 18 C generated by the top 20 movies from China Film Insider. “You can’t do that and DreamWorks Animation’s Kung president later this month of Donald Sunny US studios, according to a Reuters anywhere else in the world.” Fu Panda 3. Trump, who has criticised China’s analysis of data from tracking fi rm Box Walt Disney Co’s animated “Family fi lms have been doing trade policies. Offi ce Mojo. That was triple the 4% Zootopia, known in China as Crazy better and better” in China, said Rob China, meanwhile, is trying Fishermen’s forecast to balance audiences’ interest in level fi ve years ago. Animal City, was Hollywood’s biggest Cain, a consultant and partner at OFFSHORE DOHA The numbers illustrate China’s hit there, with $236mn in ticket sales, Pacifi c Bridge Pictures. “As the market Hollywood fi lms with its desire to Wind: SW-NW 3-6KT growing importance to US studios and ranked as the third-highest- expands into third- and fourth-tier grow its domestic fi lm business. Waves: 1-3 Feet such as Walt Disney Co’s Disney grossing movie worldwide. cities, less in major urban areas, it’s The Mermaid was the best-selling INSHORE DOHA Wind: SW-SE 3-12 KT Studios, Time Warner Inc’s Warner China’s fi lm authorities extended becoming more of a family business.” fi lm of the year in China. Waves: 1-2 Feet Bros. and Comcast Corp’s Universal the movie’s theatrical run by two US studios have tried to cater to The fi lm is a Chinese comedy from Pictures. weeks beyond the typical 30 days for Chinese audiences, in some cases popular Hong Kong director Stephen Around the region While China’s booming box offi ce foreign fi lms. fi lming in China or adding Chinese Chow that sold $527mn worth of Weather Weather growth stalled this year in single digits, Zootopia was followed by Legendary fi lm stars. tickets, making it China’s highest- today Max/min tomorrow Max/min the country remains vital for Hollywood Entertainment’s Warcraft, a video Not all of Hollywood’s blockbusters grossing movie in history and the 12th Abu Dhabi Sunny 23/16 Sunny 25/17 studios, box offi ce analysts said. game adaptation that fl opped in the are permitted in China. The country biggest fi lm in the world in 2016. Baghdad Sunny 19/04 Sunny 17/03 Dubai Sunny 25/15 Sunny 26/15 Kuwait City Sunny 21/12 P Cloudy 21/12 Manama Sunny 24/16 Sunny 26/17 Muscat Sunny 25/16 Sunny 26/17 Riyadh Sunny 27/14 Sunny 27/11 Live issues Tehran Sunny 11/02 Sunny 12/02 ‘Look pretty, but save the world, too’

By Nancy Dahlberg these plants were doing something natural plant-based alternatives that Tribune News Service backed by hard science, we got do the same thing. It’s been using and involved in formulation. What we selling them for 30 years. have done is convert standard things Muller said his company is always o you received some beauty into natural alternatives. We can give a discovering and developing new products this holiday choice to the people.” products. For example, one of the season, how lovely. But you Take microbeads, for instance. company’s ingredients comes from Smight want to look at the That’s the more commonly used term an oak tree that secretes a substance ingredients before putting them on for polythylene, a plastic material once that protects itself from insect bites. your skin. typically used in beauty products to “When we saw that, we said maybe Just as consumers are becoming An Alban Muller laboratory. give them texture – think skin scrubs there is something here.” more health conscious about what and the like. They also looked pretty Alban Muller takes this all-natural they eat, they are also demanding a during a recent visit to the Miami in the shampoo bottle. But since they mission a big step further - ecological more natural way of doing cosmetics, offi ce. were not biodegradable, they clogged processes are built into every step said Alban Muller, president of Paris- In some ways, the company is up sewer systems and ultimately of the business, from industrial Around the world based Alban Muller, which has US riding that health-conscious wave ended up in the oceans (8tn daily from procedures such as an extraction Weather Weather offi ces in Miami. that is sweeping the US market, where the US alone, according to one study), system that consumes less energy to today Max/min tomorrow Max/min Alban Muller, founded in 1978, about 20% of Alban’s business is. The killing fi sh that think they are food. It how it composts. Athens P Cloudy 02/-3 M Sunny 03/-1 develops and manufactures a range of perfume and cosmetic industry in took many years, but countries around “We have systems for recycling our Beirut Rain 14/09 Rain 11/08 Rain 28/24 plant-based ingredients and products France is about a $50bn industry and the world have begun banning the use water from the factory [in Chartres, Bangkok 28/24 Rain Berlin P Cloudy -1/-6 Cloudy -1/-4 for the skin-care and cosmetics exports 70 to 80% of its products. of them, including the US. The US ban France], which goes into our gardens, Cairo M Sunny 16/08 Sunny 16/07 industry. For 17 years Alban Muller “We produce more in cosmetics than will be phased in beginning in July. which have reintroduced vegetation Cape Town Cloudy 29/18 Cloudy 26/17 has based offi ces in South Florida that cars – only planes are ahead,” Muller “Microbeads were used because and now we have animals coming Colombo Sunny 32/19 Sunny 32/19 oversee the US and Latin America said. Yet, since its birth, Alban Muller they were cheap and added texture. back. We have kind of a shelter Dhaka Sunny 27/14 Sunny 27/15 Hong Kong M Sunny 24/18 M Sunny 22/18 markets. has always manufactured plant-based It was stupid to use that because of at the factory for pheasants and Istanbul Cloudy -3/-7 S Showers -1/-5 “The public today is checking products. the long-term impact,” said Muller. herons and bees. For people working Jakarta P Cloudy 32/25 S T Storms 31/24 the composition of each cosmetic And interest is growing, particularly “A more green approach is to think, in the factory, it explains to them Karachi Sunny 24/10 Sunny 23/09 product, and consumers are telling in Europe. Muller estimates that in ‘This may be an easy way to do it, but what they should be doing in their London Cloudy 09/06 Showers 11/02 Manila P Cloudy P Cloudy 31/24 the cosmetic producers, ‘This is not France’s Cosmetic Valley alone, about it might have long-term damages and own backyard,” said Muller, whose 32/23 Moscow P Cloudy -25/-31 M Sunny -21/-23 what I want, I want something more 450 companies, including the makers will it cost me more to mop it up?’ company has won numerous awards New Delhi P Cloudy 19/09 Sunny 20/08 in line with my way of life.’ We have of boxes and bottles, formulators and Microbeads are 1% of the product. for its ecological processes. New York P Cloudy -3/-8 P Cloudy -2/-4 seen with Michelle Obama that she labs – have pledged to use ecologically To try to get a better price of a 1% “What we are trying to teach people Paris Fog 07/03 Cloudy 06/04 has been promoting better food, and friendly processes and organic ingredient without looking at all the is think twice because there might be Sao Paulo T Storms 29/21 T Storms 31/21 Seoul Cloudy 11/01 P Cloudy 03/-7 now everybody’s organic. Now it is the ingredients. consequences, it’s stupid.” a better way to do things that will not Singapore M Sunny 33/25 P Cloudy 34/25 same with cosmetics. You are putting He said all of Alban Muller’s Muller’s company has never impact the environment. Let’s not Sydney P Cloudy 29/19 M Sunny 29/21 something on your skin – it’s very products and processes are based on used microbeads in its products or just talk about the cost, but the global Tokyo Cloudy 07/02 Rain 10/02 personal,” said Muller, in an interview science. “Once we demonstrated that formulations but it does have all- cost.” Gulf Times 24 Sunday, January 8, 2017 QATAR

Qatar Museums woos HIA feted on ‘5-Star’ shopping fest patrons nder the patronage of fers on fl ights and hotel book- chairperson HE Sheikha ings, and a great selection of en- UAl Mayassa bint Hamad tertainment. bin Khalifa al-Thani, Qatar Mu- Khalid Yousef al-Ibrahim, seums is participating in this chief strategic planning offi cer at year’s Qatar Shopping Festival Qatar Museums, said, “At Qatar (QSF). As part of QSF, Qatar Mu- Museums, we continue to deliver Skytrax accolade seums will open a pop-up retail our promise of creating cultural store at Landmark Mall, giving experiences outside of our mu- atar Airways has congratulated shoppers the opportunity to pur- seums for everyone to interact Hamad International Airport, the chase exclusively designed prod- with and enjoy. Qairline’s home hub, on achiev- ucts inspired by Qatar Museums’ “We are proud to off er cus- ing the coveted ‘5-Star Airport’ award by collections and exhibits. tomers visiting Landmark Mall Skytrax, the London-based aviation in- During the month-long shop- an additional opportunity to dis- stitute and the gold standard for convey- ping festival, which runs until cover a wide range of quality gifts ing the passenger’s voice in airport and February 7, the Qatar Museums and souvenirs inspired by Qatar airline rankings. pop-up store will include ex- Museums’ extensive, world- HIA is the fi rst airport in the Middle clusively designed products in- class collections, exhibitions, East to receive the honour from Skytrax, cluding art books and jewellery, public art and heritage sites.” which only awards the ‘5-Star Airport’ home décor, gifts, stationery and Qatar Museums’ retail off er- rating to airports that achieve the highest accessories, all of which aim to ing aims to inspire customers to overall quality performance, recognising off er a taste of Qatari culture and continue their creative explora- the provision of excellent facilities for heritage. tion at home. travellers and high-quality airport staff Under the slogan “a brand new Qatar Museums has seven service. tradition”, QSF 2017 is organised retail outlets. Gift shops are lo- The airport quality ranking covers by the Qatar Tourism Authority. cated in all museums, including front-line areas for departures, arrival The month-long shopping festi- the Museum of Islamic Art and and transfer, including airport facilities, val will include various discounts, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Mod- customer service, security, immigration, live concerts, stand-up comedy ern Art; galleries at Al Riwaq and shop outlets and food and beverage facili- shows and a Broadway musical. Katara; and also in Al Zubarah, ties. The festival will host major The Gate Mall and Hamad Inter- Only six airports in the world hold the raffl es, promotions, special of- national Airport. prestigious title, including Singapore, Seoul, Hong Kong, Tokyo-Haneda, Mu- nich, and now HIA. “This just proves that Qatar Airways passengers enjoy a 5-Star experience on the ground in our Doha home, as well as in the air in our modern fl eet,” said Qatar Airways Group CEO Akbar al-Baker. “We are thrilled to have received this well-deserved accolade, and on behalf of Qatar Airways I would like to off er con- gratulations to everyone involved in mak- Qatar Airways Group CEO Akbar al-Baker and HIA chief operating off icer engineer Badr Mohamed al-Meer pose for the media with ing this exquisite airport a reality. the Skytrax 5-Star Airport award. “Hamad International Airport is built around what is most important for our home and hub of Qatar Airways – has rience (FTE) Asia Awards in 2015. The World Airport Awards are based passengers – convenience and service, earned several world-class awards and The Skytrax World Airport Awards are on 12.85mn customer nominations across delivered in a setting that is more than accolades in just three years of opera- the most prestigious accolades for the 110 nationalities of air travellers, and in- just thoughtful and welcoming, but tions. airport industry, voted by customers in cluded 410 airports worldwide. beautiful as well. In addition to the Skytrax 5-Star Air- the largest, annual global airport cus- The survey evaluates customer sat- “The Qatar Airways experience is truly port award, the airport has received Sky- tomer satisfaction survey. isfaction across 39 key performance in- replicated in this stunning building, and trax Middle East’s Best Airport in 2015 The survey and awards process is to- dicators for airport service and product we are now more proud than ever to call it and 2016, Skytrax Best Staff Service in tally independent and guaranteed free of from check-in, arrivals, transfers, shop- our home,” he said. the Middle East 2016, and previously Best any airport infl uence or interference in ping, security and immigration, through Having only opened in 2014, HIA – the Airport Award at the Future Travel Expe- fi nal results. to departure at the gate. The Qatar Museums pop-up store at Landmark Mall.

MIA hosts Bayern Munich stars QC prepares for famine in Yemen

atar Charity (QC) has the fi ve-year confl ict, high pov- authorities of Ibb governorate. completed preparations erty rates among about 12,000 According to fi eld information, Qfor distributing basic food families, high numbers of inter- more than 70% of Al Qafr dis- aid to 700 families living in pov- nally displaced persons, unem- trict’s total population of 140,000 erty, marginalised groups and ployment, high numbers of or- is affl icted by hunger. war-aff ected civilians in Ibb city phans, widows, and sick children The reports of the governorate in central Yemen. are strong grounds that led QC to health offi ce indicate that 14 chil- The deteriorating living and quickly respond to disaster and dren under age fi ve died in Octo- health conditions resulting from relief appeal launched by local ber-November 2016 due to food shortage and lack of healthcare services. “QC’s project that is dedicated to confronting famine and pov- erty in Yemen will distribute two- month food rations to 700 fami- lies. The foodstuff will include 50kg of milled wheat, 10kg of sug- ar, 10kg of rice, 3kg of salt, 500gm of tea, three litres of oil, 900gm of milk and 25 cans of tomato paste,” Nasr Qaed Alzaeem, the director of QC’s offi ce in Yemen said. He has extended his deepest thanks to Qatar for supporting their Yemeni brothers who are living in bad conditions due to the ongoing crisis. Donations to the Yemen cam- paign can be made by calling the hotline 44667711, or via QC’s Players of the Bayern Munich football team visited the iconic Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) on Friday. Xabi Alonso, Thiago, Robert website qcharity.org site, or Lewandowski and Joshua Kimmich were given an exclusive tour of one of the world’s greatest collections of Islamic art, spanning through QC’s headquarters and 1,400 years. Mohamed Nasser al -Othman, Director of Public and International Relations Department, welcomed the players, who its branches within the state, and were also keen to visit the ‘Mohamed Ali: Tribute to a Legend’ exhibition. the collection outlets in the shop- Food packets ready for distribution in Yemen. ping malls. Top acts to share spotlight at Doha Comedy Festival

he fi rst-ever winter edition of Doha Qatari comedian Hamad al-Amari said Comedy Festival (DCF), slated for the last edition of DCF featured a number TFebruary 2-4 at the Qatar National of top comedians from the region and the Convention Centre theatre, will bring to- large audience turn-out underscored the gether a special lineup of 15 stand-up co- importance of stand-up comedy in the re- medians from nine countries, Qatar Tour- gion’s cultural scene. ism Authority (QTA) has announced. “The winter edition promises to build According to each comedian’s reper- on that and off er our audiences a new ex- toire and style, the three nights have been perience with fresh material that touches themed ‘Arab’ (February 2), Khaleeji (Feb- on new topics,” he pointed out. ruary 3), and International (February 4). The Arabic Night will bring together In a statement, QTA said the impressive Bader Saleh Nemr Abou Nassar. some of the region’s brightest star: Nemr lineup of stars includes The Daily Show (Lebanon), Rajae Qawas (Jordan), Niko- host Trevor Noah and winner of America’s “Shop Qatar features a multitude of ac- Social Studios said playing host to one of las Khoury (Jordan), Mohanad al-Hattab Got Talent Paul Zerdin, who will both be tivities making it much more than a shop- the region’s largest comedy shows demon- (Syria), Wonho Chung (Korea) and Mo- coming to Qatar for the fi rst time and per- ping festival. Based on the success we have strates Qatar’s growing prominence on the hamed Salem (Egypt). forming at the DCF’s International Night. seen for DCF in the past few years, the in- global cultural map. The Khaleeji Night will feature the best Tickets for each night range from QR120 clusion of this comedy event in the festi- “Comedy in this region was and is a part of the Gulf: Bader Saleh, Ibraheem al- to QR995 and are on sale at Virgin Megas- val’s entertainment line-up is expected to of our collective cultural heritage and the Khairallah, Moayad al-Nefaie (KSA), Ah- tores throughout the country and online draw large crowds of fans from across the spread of stand-up comedy is testament mad al-Shammari, Abdallah al-Saidan, through the store’s website, in addition to region,” QTA public relations and commu- to the fl ourishing of Arab artistic talents,” and Bashar al-Jazzaf (Kuwait). Shop Qatar booths at malls participating nication director Saif al-Kuwari said. he noted. The International Night will see for the in the festival. “We have been proud to support DCF Zahr added that comedy’s popularity fi rst time in Qatar Paul Zerdin (the Brit- DCF is presented by QTA, and organised since its inception, especially as comedy is presents a golden opportunity for reaching ish comedian, ventriloquist, and winner and produced by The Social Studios. Its a positive means for shedding light on social out to younger generations and creating a of Season 10 of America’s Got Talent) and previous edition was held during the Qatar issues and plays an important role in build- positive impact that encourages them to South African comedian Trevor Noah with Summer Festival and then drew more than ing bridges between cultures,” he added. pursue a future that values innovation for an opening act by Hamad al-Amari (also Trevor Noah 4,000 fans. Hamzeh Zahr, managing director of The success. known as ‘the Qatari Guy’). Paul Zerdin