INDEX BUSINESS | Page 1 QATAR 2, 12 COMMENT 10, 11 QATAR | Page 2 ARAB WORLD 3 BUSINESS 1-8 Hamad Port set INTERNATIONAL 3-9 SPORTS 1-8 QRCS provides for arrival of a Eid clothing for dozen mobile DOW JONES QE NYMEX Yemen’s poor gantry cranes 26,428.32 9,368.17 40.27 children +114.67 -3.58 +0.35 from China +0.44% -0.04% +0.88%

published in QATAR since 1978

MONDAY Vol. XXXXI No. 11629 August 3, 2020 Dhul-Hijjah 13, 1441 AH

GULF TIMES www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals

Covid: ‘Major incident’ declared in Manchester A major incident has been declared in the Manchester area of Britain, Qatar’s ‘Our Eid allowing the creation of a “central command structure” to help tackle the rising number of coronavirus cases, a local off icial was quoted as is One Initiative-2’ saying yesterday. Health minister Matt Hancock said on Thursday the Covid-19 lockdown in parts of project benefi ts northern England - including Greater Manchester, parts of West Yorkshire and East Lancashire - would be tightened because of an increasing 50,000 expatriates rate of transmission. Page 6 zUnder this initiative, jointly launched by several ministries FIFA says no reason for and organisations, 25,000 food coupons have been Swiss to probe Infantino distributed among residents from 17 countries Global soccer body FIFA has said there is no reason for Swiss authorities to he Qatar government joined Organisation, Indian Community Be- launch criminal proceedings against members of the expatriate com- nevolent Forum, Indian Cultural Centre, its president Gianni Infantino who Tmunity in spreading the joy of Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre, the Cul- will continue in his role as normal. Eid al-Adha by launching the ‘Our Eid tural Forum, Indonesian Community As- Swiss authorities said on Thursday is One Initiative-2’ programme to help sociation – Permica, Indian Community that proceedings had been launched them celebrate the festival at home and Centre, Helping Hands - Al Khor, Fili- against the current FIFA boss by convey the importance of staying in- pino Community in Qatar, Non-Resident a special prosecutor looking into doors to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Nepalese Association, Thrissur District meetings he had with Swiss Attorney Off icials with representatives of diff erent communities at the programme. The second phase of the initiative is Souhruda Vedi, Kerala Cultural Centre General Michael Lauber. Lauber implemented as a continuation of the and the Sri Lankan Community Develop- and Infantino have already denied ‘Our Eid is One Initiative-1’, which was ment Forum are covered by the initiative. wrongdoing. Sport Page 2 launched during Eid al-Fitr. Under this The coupons received by the com- initiative, 50,000 Qatar residents from 17 munity representatives will be dis- Three dead in attack on nationalities have benefi ted from 25,000 tributed among needy members of the Afghan jail; prisoners flee food coupons, which included the provi- community, including families, indi- Qatar conducts more sion of necessary food materials for Eid. viduals and workers. An attack claimed by Islamic State on The coupons were distributed on the To convey the joy of happiness on a jail compound in the Afghan city of fi rst day of Eid during a function held the occasion of Eid al-Adha, a total of Jalalabad killed at least three people at the Qatar Charity (QC) headquarters 25,000 Eid greeting cards also were and injured dozens, triggering heavy in Lusail in the presence of 40 offi cials distributed among the community fighting in which scores of prisoners than 500,000 virus tests representing diff erent embassies and members along with the food cou- escaped, an off icial said. Sohrab community organisations. pons. Also 3,000 gifts were distributed Qaderi, a provincial council member, Jointly initiated by the Ministry of among children of the needy families. said a huge car bomb explosion zMoPH reports 107,779 Covid-19 recoveries Foreign Aff airs, Ministry of Interior In addition, 4,000 gifts will be dis- was followed by at least two smaller (MoI), the Ministry of Administrative tributed among the residents of Cov- blasts outside the government- Development, Labour and Social Aff airs id-19 quarantine facility in Umm Slal run prison, and that police then QNA Qatar has one of the lowest Cov- ond wave of the virus and see num- (MADLSA), Qatar Charity and Oore- as well as several gifts and Ooredoo fought attackers who had taken Doha id-19 death rates in the world. bers increasing there are already signs doo, the ‘Our Eid is One Initiative’ has recharge coupons among the workers. up positions nearby. Islamic State’s of this happening in other countries come as another step that strengthens To ensure that the initiative reaches Amaq news agency quoted a military This is a result of: around the world. Now more than the bond between Qatar and members the targeted benefi ciaries, the MoI - in source as saying its fighters had he Ministry of Public Health zVery high quality of care provided ever, we must be careful and protect of expatriate communities and also as co-operation with the MADLSA - set carried out yesterday’s attack but (MoPH) reported yesterday thorough the public healthcare sector the most vulnerable,” the health min- support and eff orts of the Qatar govern- up a Google registration link and shared gave no further details. T196 new confi rmed cases of for Covid-19 patients. istry said. ment towards ensuring the welfare of it with the leaders of all community or- coronavirus (Covid-19) and 201 re- zQatar’s young population. While the restrictions of Covid-19 its expatriate communities” during the ganisations who were part of the initia- ‘Withdrawal of US troops coveries from the virus in the last 24 zProactive testing to identify cases are gradually being lifted in Qatar, it tough Covid-19 times, a press statement tive. QC co-ordinated with Al Meera for will hurt local economy’ hours, bringing the total number of early. is important for everyone to play their issued by the MoI yesterday noted. the delivery of food kits through their people who have recovered in Qatar zExpanding hospital capacity, es- role in controlling the virus by fol- The embassies of the Philippines, Pa- branches in diff erent parts of Qatar. The US government’s decision to to 107,779. pecially intensive care, to ensure all lowing precautionary measures: kistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, The community leaders have been withdraw thousands of troops from The MoPH also announced the patients receive the medical care they zAdherence to physical distancing. Uganda, Tanzania, Tunisia, Gambia, Ni- asked to deliver the coupons to the reg- bases across southern and western deaths of three patients aged 48, 60 need. zAvoid close contact with others, geria, Sierra Leone, Ghana and Kenya, istered benefi ciaries, who could collect Germany will have a huge impact and 71, who all were receiving the crowded places and confi ned closed and expatriate community organisations the food kits from the Al Meera outlets. on aff ected communities, local necessary medical care. The health ministry in a spaces where other people congre- such as the Bangladeshi Community Page 12 politicians have said. Up to 12,000 A total of 500,536 people have been statement said measures to gate. troops from the air force and army tested for the virus in Qatar until yes- tackle Covid-19 in Qatar have zWearing a face mask 160 tonnes of waste removed from beaches are due to leave the region, the US terday, according to the information succeeded in fl attening the zWashing hands regularly defence secretary, Mark Esper, said available on the MoPH website. curve and limiting the spread zMost importantly, it is vital that this week in a move attributed to The MoPH said all new cases have of the virus and the number of we continue to protect the elderly and long-term planning by the Pentagon, been kept in isolation and are receiv- new daily cases and hospital those with chronic medical condi- but which Donald Trump said was a ing necessary healthcare. admissions is continuing to tions. punishment for Berlin’s low defence The health ministry in a state- decline each week Anyone suff ering from Covid-19 spending. According to initial ment said measures to tackle Cov- symptoms should either contact reports, thousands of troops are due id-19 in Qatar have succeeded in zProtecting the elderly and those 16000 helpline or go directly to one to be repositioned to bases within flattening the curve and limiting the with chronic diseases. of the designated health centres to other Nato countries. spread of the virus and the number Even though restrictions are be- undergo the necessary checks at of new daily cases and hospital ad- ing lifted, and numbers are declining, Muaither, Rawdat Al Khail, Umm Stricter virus lockdown missions is continuing to decline this does not mean that the Covid-19 Slal, or Al Gharafa. measures in Philippines each week. pandemic is over in Qatar as every This is important as the earlier the Qatar’s proactive and extensive day between 50 and 100 people are disease is detected the easier it will The Philippines said yesterday it would testing of suspected cases has ena- admitted to hospital with moderate to be to receive the right treatment and reimpose a stricter lockdown in and bled the ministry to identify a high severe Covid-19 symptoms. recover from it. The MoPH has urged The Ministry of Municipality and Environment’s General Cleanliness Department around its capital for two weeks from number of positive cases in the com- “Unless we follow all precautionary people to visit it website for regular has managed to remove 159.5 tonnes of waste from diff erent beaches in the midnight of August 4, as the country munity. measures, we may experience a sec- updates and new information. Page 2 country during the first two days of Eid al-Adha holiday. Page 12 struggles to contain coronavirus infections that have jumped to more than 100,000 cases. President Rodrigo Duterte has approved placing Metro Manila and nearby provinces such as Laguna, Cavite, Rizal and Astronauts make historic return to Earth aboard SpaceX capsule Bulacan under so-called “Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine” until August 18, his spokesman Harry Agencies to have NASA Astronauts return to Earth Roque told reporters. The move New York after very successful two month mission.” followed a call on Saturday by 80 local Concerns about the weather had groups representing 80,000 doctors dogged the end of the mission, with trop- and a million nurses for tighter wo US astronauts returned to ical storm Isaias moving in the region. controls. Page 5 Earth from the International But SpaceX offi cials described the TSpace Station yesterday, ending weather around the splashdown site as Genoa’s new bridge to a historic mission testing human space “very calm.” be opened today fl ight operations for SpaceX hardware. The two astronauts launched from Nasa astronauts Bob Behnken and Cape Canaveral in Florida in May. Just two years after part of Genoa’s Doug Hurley, who captained the It was the fi rst manned launch from Morandi bridge collapsed killing 43 SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, US territory in nearly a decade and the people, a new structure opens in its splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico fi rst time a private fi rm, rather than a place today, an achievement in stark off the coast of Florida’s Pensacola. A capsule with Nasa astronauts government space agency, sent astro- contrast to stalled infrastructure “Welcome back to planet Earth, Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley nauts into orbit. projects elsewhere in Italy. The new thanks for fl ying SpaceX,” mission splashes down in the Gulf of Mexico An opened hatch of the capsule carrying Nasa astronauts is seen as one of the For SpaceX, the rocket company kilometre-long bridge, designed by control said. yesterday, in this screen grab taken astronauts exits it in the Gulf of Mexico, yesterday, in this still image taken from started by Elon Musk, it was the last star architect Renzo Piano, replaces The two astronauts were awoken from a video. a video. major demonstration needed before the old motorway viaduct which for the fi nal leg of the 19-hour trip on Nasa certifi es that the Crew Dragon broke apart in the port city on Aug Sunday by audio recordings from their lots during atmospheric re-entry. Four giant parachutes deployed in- the capsule from the water, following is ready for regular fl ights, paving the 14, 2018 in one of Italy’s worst civil sons, urging them to “hurry home,” af- During reentry to Earth’s atmos- side Earth’s atmosphere, slowing the checks by two fast boats. way for possible tourist fl ights. disasters in decades. Prime Minister ter the capsule undocked from the ISS phere, the capsule’s outer shell with- spacecraft down to about 24km per hour The event, broadcast live by the US The company had previously only Giuseppe Conte, who will attend the a day earlier. stood temperatures as high as 3,500 for splashdown, down from 25,000kph space agency, marked the fi rst water transported cargo to the ISS. inauguration of the new Genova-San Before leaving orbit, the spacecraft Fahrenheit while Behnken and Hurley, it travelled while orbiting Earth. landing since 1975 for Nasa astronauts. At around 80mn euros ($94.24mn) Giorgio viaduct, said it would be jettisoned its bottom half, known as wearing SpaceX’s white fl ight suits A SpaceX recovery ship, carrying “Astronauts complete fi rst splash- per fl ight in a Russian Soyuz capsule, a “symbol of a new Italy rising up the trunk, in order to expose the heat strapped inside the cabin, experienced more than 40 personnel, including en- down in 45 years. Very exciting!” US this was not only expensive, but also a again.” Page 7 shield that protects the capsule and pi- 85 Fahrenheit. gineers and doctors, was ready to hoist President Donald Trump tweeted. “Great blow to US pride. Gulf Times 2 Monday, August 3, 2020 QATAR HBKU college webinar examines court functioning amid pandemic

ow courts have adapted to Covid-19 provided Hthe backdrop for a re- So far, 2,400 vulnerable families have been covered in three districts of Taiz Governorate. cent webinar co-organised by the College of Law at Hamad Bin Khalifa University and the Qatar International Court and Dispute Resolution Centre (QICDRC). QRCS off ers Eid clothing The American Society of In- ternational Law also served as a sponsor of the event, which attracted participants from around the world. for children in Yemen The webinar featured a dis- tinguished panel of experts with vast experience and atar Red Crescent So- knowledge in trying cases and ciety (QRCS), in part- conducting hearings. QICDRC Qnership with its Yemeni contributions were led by its counterpart, has implemented president, the Lord Thomas of the Eid Clothing project for poor Cwmgiedd, and Christopher children of Yemen. Grout, the court’s registrar. Participants in the webinar. So far, 2,400 vulnerable fami- Since the beginning of the lies have been covered in three pandemic, the QICDRC has The webinar highlighted the for e-fi lings and online hear- districts of Taiz Governorate, handled hearings online. Chief important role of technology ings. An interesting observa- with a special focus on the poor, Judge Barbara MG Lynn of the yet also acknowledged its lim- tion from the session is wheth- the displaced and the disabled. United States District Court for its, particularly when exami- er in certain jurisdictions what Mukhtar Amin, executive the Northern District of Texas, nation of witnesses is critical were once ‘live’ hearings, in manager of Yemen Red Crescent the fi rst federal judge to try a to the fact-fi nding process. which legal argument is the Society – Taiz, said: “With sup- criminal case in the US since Proceedings concluded with sole matter before the court as port from QRCS, as is usual eve- the pandemic surfaced, also questions and answers and ad- opposed to admission of evi- ry year, the poor families are be- participated. ditional interventions from an dence and examination of wit- ing given clothes as a gift to their College of Law dean Susan online audience. nesses, will now largely shift to children in order to make them clothes stores had been con- they could not aff ord to purchase families that are displaced, af- L Karamanian, a lawyer who Speaking after the webinar, the online platform. happy during Eid al-Adha. This tracted in advance to provide the new clothes due to high prices, a fected by the war or supported tried cases in US courts, pro- College of Law associate pro- “Our panelists confi rmed year, the deliverables are more clothes that match each family’s press statement noted. by widows, children, orphans or vided insights principally from fessor Dr George Dimitropou- there is no one-size-fi ts-all than the last year due to the in- children.” This year, the project is being disabled persons. the perspective of access to jus- los and moderator of the ses- approach to keeping courts up- creased needs.” The recipient families ex- implemented in the governo- Also, the list of benefi ciaries tice. The discussion primarily sion said: “While disruptive, and-running during crises.” Rajwa Ahmed, project co- pressed happiness with the gift rates of Taiz and Dhale, provid- includes the teachers of public focused on the challenges of Covid-19 has prompted courts The College of Law regularly ordinator at QRCS’ mission, from QRCS, which enabled them ing a total of 11,400 clothing sets schools who have not received remote hearings and new ways to adapt and do so quick- holds events that showcase said: “Under the project, prepaid to bring new clothes for their to 3,800 families. their salaries. The overall budget of structuring in-person trials ly. Many courts, such as the its research interests and ac- vouchers were given to the fami- kids at a time when everyday A social survey had been for the project is $205,455, fully to maintain social distancing QICDRC, the Qatar courts and tivities. For more information, lies, each valued at $45. Some life was becoming diffi cult that conducted to select the eligible funded by QRCS. while respecting due process. US courts, have the technology visit cl.hbku.edu.qa.

MoPH reminder on elderly daycare QatarDebate conducts workshop services at Rumailah hospital for Indian university students he Elderly Daycare Unit is open from 7am-10pm atarDebate Centre, a guishes the workshops that are Tevery day at Rumailah member of Qatar Foun- off ered to students in the Arabic Hospital. Qdation (QF), organised a language as it is a second or third The Ministry of Public virtual workshop for support- language for them. It gives us a Health (MoPH) reminded the ing and enhancing the debating glimpse of the importance of the public of this through a noti- skills of students at Dar Al-Huda Arabic language as individuals fi cation on social media yes- Islamic University, India, re- from diff erent countries of the terday. The unit is for people cently through the Zoom plat- world try to learn it. Not only above the age of 60 years with form. that, they also want to debate medical problems that are not The workshop, in which 47 and express their thoughts and life-threatening but need ur- young people participated, was opinions in Arabic.” gent medical attention. part of the centre’s plans to train As for the students, their re- Rapid assessment and man- For illustrative purpose only. students on the basics of debat- sponse and enthusiasm for the agement are done by the spe- ing and raising the level of de- debate broke the barriers of lack cialist geriatric multidiscipli- id-19, please call the Covid-19 erly from 7am-10pm in an ef- baters at the university and its of mastery of the language, as nary team in a less busy and helpline (16000) or visit www. fort to reduce crowding, which colleges in the southern Indian they were making great eff orts age-friendly setting. The unit moph.gov.qa.” might happen if the service is state of Kerala. to participate and express their can be contacted at 33253128 Hamad Medical Corpora- limited to one period, in addi- The trainees were divided opinions, giving the workshop a or 55193240 to arrange an ap- tion (HMC) had last month tion to working to accommo- into two groups, supervised by distinctive atmosphere. pointment. announced the expansion of date a large number of patients the trainers of the centre, Lotfi Participants in the QatarDebate workshop. At the end of the workshop, “For any life-threatening health services for the elderly to throughout the day,” Gulf Times Baraka and Gaber Abu Hemid. the students expressed their conditions, chest pain, sus- deliver comprehensive care for had reported citing a Qatar The workshop focused on youth debate issues and how to employ applications that enhanced the happiness to learn new concepts pected stroke or diffi culty those who are over 60 years by News Agency report. aged 17-23 years and the pro- them in a correct way. It also fo- theoretical content of building related to the art of debating in breathing, please dial 999 or providing them with services The Department of Geriat- gramme of the workshop in- cused on the various methods of the position of the parties, the the Arabic language, and asked visit your nearest Emergency throughout the day. rics at HMC has called on eld- cluded a number of skills and analysis and the tasks of the two argument and steps of refuta- for more workshops to be held in Department,” the notifi cation “The HMC provides, through erly patients to take advantage training activities on various teams within the debate through tion. Baraka said, “What distin- the future. said. “If you have health-re- the Department of Geriatrics, of the services provided in the lated questions regarding Cov- daycare services to the eld- daycare unit. Strong winds, dust and poor visibility expected from tomorrow: Met dept trong winds, dusty condi- are expected to aff ect most areas open areas with decreasing wind 48C, while the minimum will be tions and poor visibility of the country from August 4-7, speed at night, the report stated. between 27C and 33C across the Sare expected in the country with the speed ranging from 12- In addition, the wave height country. Embassy reveals cancellation from tomorrow, according to the 22 knots during the daytime and is expected to range from 3-6ft The Met department has urged weather forecast. gusting to 30 knots at times in during this period, exceeding people to be cautious, avoid ma- In a report yesterday, the Qa- some places.This will result in 9ft at times in some areas. The rine activities and to follow the tar Met department said north- blowing dust and poor visibil- maximum temperature is ex- latest updates through its offi cial of some Qatar-India fl ights westerly fresh to strong winds ity of below 2km, especially in pected to range between 37C and social media accounts.

ndian carriers, Air India and Mangaluru, August 3; AI 1976 Bengaluru, August 5, 2pm; 6E IndiGo have announced the to Hyderabad, August 5; AI 8708 to Kozhikode, August 5 Action against food outlets Icancellation of some fl ights 1982 to Bengaluru, August 6; (10.05am); and 6E 8719 to Hy- from Qatar under Phase 5 of the AI 1978 to Chennai, August 7; derabad, August 6, 11.25am. Vande Bharat Mission (VBM), and AI 1970 to Delhi, August 9. Prior registration with the Indian The municipal control the Indian embassy in Doha IndiGo: 6E 8713 to Chennai, embassy in Doha is mandatory, department at Al said yesterday. August 3; and 6E 8715 to Luc- the airline said in a post on Twit- Sheehaniya Municipality These fl ights were to travel know, August 4. ter. For bookings, visit goIndiGo.in has conducted an to Mangaluru, Hyderabad, Passengers have been re- As of August 1, 146 fl ights have inspection campaign at Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi and quested to contact the respective been operated from Doha under food establishments in Lucknow, according to infor- airlines for further assistance/ VBM, bringing the total number the Muaither Umm Al mation shared by the embassy information. Meanwhile, IndiGo of repatriated passengers to Zubara area to enforce through social media. The list yesterday said bookings are on 25,876. The fl ights have been op- Law No 8 of 1990 on the of cancelled fl ights is as fol- for fl ights 6E 8759 to Mumbai, erated by Air India, Air India Ex- regulation of human lows: Air India: AI 0970 to August 4, 9.40am; 6E 8722 to press and IndiGo. food control. The campaign resulted in the detection of a number of Doha, Sheehaniya municipalities supervise work at abattoirs food outlets operating without a licence, the Doha Municipality’s health control section supervised days of Eid were allocated for charities at the Doha au- Ministry of Municipality the slaughter of 8,879 sheep and 117 heads of live- tomated slaughterhouse, the Ministry of Municipality and Environment stock at the Doha automated abattoir on the first two and Environment (MME) said. Similarly, Al Sheehaniya said, adding that days of Eid al-Adha. Municipality’s health control section supervised the the necessary legal The slaughtered carcasses were delivered to custom- slaughter of 221 heads of livestock at the mobile abat- procedures were taken ers through outlets at the Doha automated slaugh- toir on Friday. Besides, veterinarians there supervised against the violators. terhouse, Regency signal butchery and Al Kharaitiyat the destruction of an entire slaughtered carcass and butchery, in addition to others. The third and fourth the partial destruction of 16 others, the MME added.

Gulf Times Monday, August 3, 2020 3 REGION/ARAB WORLD/AFRICA

RIGHTS UN ‘dismayed’ at Holiday fun Libya journalist’s prison term Iran reports The UN’s mission in Libya has voiced “dismay” at the sentencing highest virus of a journalist to 15 years in prison in the country’s east, controlled by strongman Khalifa Haftar, AFP reported from Tripoli. “UNSMIL is cases for dismayed by the sentencing of the journalist Ismail Abuzreiba to 15 years imprisonment following a trial by a military tribunal in Benghazi,” it nearly a month said on Twitter on Saturday. “The detention and trial appear to violate Libya’s laws as well as its AFP of Iran’s 31 provinces. “Sadly, international obligations on the Tehran since late June, daily infec- right to a fair trial” and freedom of tions have been on a rising expression, it added. trajectory” in Qom in central The European Union’s ambas- ran yesterday reported Iran, she said. “We are con- sador to Libya, Alan Bugeja, wrote its highest single-day cerned that trivialising the on Twitter that he was “extremely Inovel coronavirus infec- situation and lax observance concerned” by the sentence, which tion count in nearly a month, of health protocols may lead to he said came after the journalist warning that most of its prov- a worsening of the outbreak in had been held in detention for two inces have been hit by a resur- the province.” years or more. gence of the disease. Lari warned against travel to “I call on the authorities to im- The Islamic republic has Mazandaran, a popular north- mediately release him, ensure the been battling the Middle ern tourist resort at the van- respect of his fundamental rights East’s deadliest outbreak of guard of the outbreak where and of freedom of expression,” Covid-19 since late February. daily infections had more than Bugeja said. Authorities in eastern After a lull in deaths and quadrupled in the past six Libya have not specified the exact infections from April to May, weeks. nature of the charges, but, according it now appears that the prov- Offi cial fi gures show a to local media, he was accused of A Palestinian woman floats in the water of the Dead Sea near the city of Jericho in the occupied West Bank yesterday during the Eid inces fi rst hit, including the marked increase in deaths and contact with channels and agencies al-Adha holiday. holy city of Qom, are back in infections since the end of banned in that part of the country. the same place as fi gures have June. been on the rise. As a result, mask-wearing Health ministry spokes- was made compulsory in cov- woman Sima Sadat Lari said ered areas and provinces were that 2,685 more people had given powers to reimpose re- tested positive for Covid-19 strictive measures. in the past 24 hours, the coun- Iranian media said that re- try’s highest single-day count nowned Iranian fi lmmaker Sudan govt welcomes Pompeo since July 8. Khosro Sinai, 79, had died This raises total cases iden- from the virus on Saturday. tifi ed since late February to Celebrated and awarded in 309,437, she added. Another numerous Iranian and inter- 208 people also died during national festivals, Sinai was the same period, bringing the the latest high-profi le fi gure to comments on ending sanctions overall toll to 17,190. succumb to Covid-19 in Iran According to Lari, the situ- following several government AFP package over the 1998 bombings tion” take “positive action”. doesn’t come along often”. bring the issue to a close and for ation is “concerning” in 25 out offi cials and politicians. Khartoum of two US embassies. Independent online news site “There’s a chance not only Sudan to fully return to “be part The US top diplomat told the Sudan Tribune reported the for a democracy to begin to be of the international community”. Senate Foreign Relations Com- government had said in a state- built out, but perhaps regional Bashir had welcomed Al Qae- udan’s government has mittee on Thursday that legis- ment that it “is ready to con- opportunities that could flow da chief Osama bin Laden and welcomed remarks from lation on a settlement should tinue working with the US ad- from that as well,” he said. Sudan was accused of aiding SUS Secretary of State Mike come before Congress “in the ministration to remove Sudan “I think lifting the state militants who blew up the em- Kuwait reports 478 Pompeo this week that he would very, very near term”. from the blacklist and enter sponsor of terrorism designa- bassies in Kenya and Tanzania, like to delist Sudan as a state According to an English- into a partnership relationship tion there if we can... take care killing 224 people and injuring sponsor of terrorism, local media language report by official that benefits both countries”. of the victims of those trag- around 5,000 others. new Covid-19 cases reported. news agency SUNA, the Suda- Pompeo said that the fall edies would be a good thing Sudan’s new government has Pompeo has repeatedly indi- nese transitional government of longtime leader Omar al- for American foreign policy,” agreed to a compensation pack- cated that the State Department on Saturday welcomed Pom- Bashir following mass protests Pompeo said. According to age but a dispute has arisen over QNA agency (Kuna). The fi gures in- hopes to remove the designa- peo’s statement and “promised and the nearly year-old gov- SUNA, Hamdok reaffi rmed “his higher payments to Americans Kuwait clude people, who have come tion, which severely impedes in- to do its level best to meet the ernment of a civilian prime commitment to continue exert- than to Africans, who accounted into contact with those infect- vestment to Sudan, but disputes requirements that would help minister, Abdalla Hamdok, ing eff orts with all friends in the for the vast majority of the ed, and others whose source have arisen on a compensation the (American) administra- marked “an opportunity that United States and abroad” to casualties. uwait declared 478 new of infection is currently being cases of coronavirus investigated.He revealed that (Covid-19) in the past 129 cases are currently in the UNREST K 24 hours, raising the tally to intensive care unit, while the Suspected Boko Flood devastation 67,911, with four people suc- number of active cases stand Haram militants cumbing to the pandemic as at 8,241. Some 2,041 swab tests Ethiopians celebrate the death toll reached 457, a were conducted in the last 24 kill 16 in northern health ministry offi cial said hours, for a total of 509,561, yesterday. added the spokesman. Cameroon fi rst fi lling of Nile dam Kuwaiti nationals, with Earlier, the ministry said Suspected militants from Boko Har- 319 cases, occupy 86.9% and 688 people had recovered from am killed 16 people and wounded non-Kuwaitis, 144, are 31.1% the virus in the previous day, seven others in a grenade attack DPA locally as Abay. People honked of the total caseload, ministry upping the total number of on a camp for displaced people in Addis Ababa car horns, whistled, played spokesman Abdullah al-Sanad those who have overcome the northern Cameroon yesterday, a se- loud music, and danced in said according to Kuwait news disease to 59,213, he said. curity source and a local off icial told public spaces to mark the oc- Reuters. In the early hours, assail- thiopians celebrated the casion. ants threw a grenade into a group fi rst fi lling of the Grand Hashtags #ItsMyDam, of sleeping people inside the camp EEthiopian Renaissance #EthiopiaNileRights and Troops arrest two Palestinians in Hebron in the village of Nguetchewe, said Dam yesterday, fl ooding the #GERD also trended locally on district mayor, Medjeweh Boukar. streets of the capital Addis social media. The Israeli occupation forces northeast of Bethlehem, and The camp is home to around 800 Ababa in support of the often The co-ordinated cel- arrested two Palestinians in another Palestinian after a raid people, he said. The village is locat- controversial project on the ebration, part of a campaign Hebron in the occupied West and search of his house. The ed in the Mozogo district, close to Blue Nile river. dubbed ‘One voice for our Bank yesterday, QNA reported Israeli occupation forces launch the Nigerian border in the Far North Tens of thousands of resi- dam,’ followed Ethiopian from Occupied Jerusalem. daily arrest campaigns in most region. Boukar was informed by A Sudanese family inspect the damages of their home, dents fi lled the streets, many President Abiy Ahmed’s July Security sources said that the parts of the occupied Jerusa- residents that 16 had died. A secu- after torrential rain led to landslides and flash floods, in draped in the national fl ag, 22 announcement that sea- occupation forces arrested one lem and West Bank, as part of rity off icial confirmed the attack and the town of Umm Dawan Ban, southeast of the capital while others waved posters sonal rainfall had led to the Palestinian while passing the its repressive practices against the death toll. The wounded were Khartoum, yesterday. and chanted slogans celebrat- fi rst successful fi lling of the Al-Container military checkpoint the Palestinian people. taken to a nearby hospital. “The at- ing the dam, which is known mega-dam’s reservoir. tackers arrived with a woman who carried the grenade into the camp,” Boukar said, adding that women and children were among the dead. Over the past month there have been twenty incursions and attacks For Iraqi mothers-to-be, hospitals are pandemic no-go zones by suspected militants, Boukar said. Boko Haram has been fighting for a decade to carve out a caliphate AFP — from the war with Iran that They then treat themselves at based in Nigeria. The violence, Kut, Iraq started in 1980 to the US-led home, sceptical they could even which has cost the lives of 30,000 military campaigns and the get an appointment in a country people and displaced millions more, battle against the Islamic State with just 14 hospital beds for has frequently spilled over into raqi midwife Umm Mariam group — have sapped funds every 10,000 people, according neighbouring nations. used to help bring three ba- used to maintain the system. to World Health Organisation Ibies into the world per day. For years international sanc- data. But with mothers-to-be tions made it impossible to get France, by comparison, has STRIFE avoiding pandemic-hit hospi- new medical equipment or even 60 beds for every 10,000 peo- Five militants tals, she now delivers twice that spare parts into the country. ple. number in her makeshift home The government still allocates Hospitals are also facing a dead in Somalia clinic. barely 2% of its annual budget, shortage of oxygen tanks for military operation Across the country recover- which is funded almost entirely those severely aff ected by Cov- ing from decades of war, health by oil sales, to the health minis- id-19’s attack on the lungs. Five militants from the Al Qaeda- centres face shortages of oxygen try. A state-sponsored factory in linked Al Shebaab movement supplies and protective equip- Even before Covid-19 hit this Taji, north of Baghdad, is strug- were killed in a military opera- ment even as coronavirus cases year, Iraq’s hospitals were run gling to fi ll the gap. tion in southern Somalia, QNA soar to almost 130,000, with down, with outdated or broken “Every day, we produce 1,000 reported from Mogadishu. The nearly 5,000 deaths. equipment and staff often poor- to 1,500 oxygen tanks for hospi- Somali News Agency quoted Among those infected in the ly trained and overworked. tals but we also prepare around military sources as saying that the economically battered country, Mais, 29, is expecting to give File photo shows a mask-clad worker refilling oxygen cylinders at a factory in Taji district, north of Iraq’s 100 for those bedridden at army’s special forces killed one according to offi cial fi gures, are birth to her fi rst child in a few capital Baghdad, before delivering them to hospitals amid the Covid-19 pandemic on July 5, 2020. home,” says Ahmed Abdelmut- of the Al Shebaab leaders in the 3,000 medical staff . weeks. laq, the factory’s deputy direc- country’s southern province. The “That’s why many women Last year, she could have nearly $1,500, but she feels she Covid-19 cases to the special- it was just 187,” added Qader tor. sources added that during the now prefer to deliver their chil- gone to a public hospital and has no choice. ised facility. Fadhel, a surgeon at the public Even for those treating them- planned military operation, the dren at my place,” says Umm paid a small, symbolic fee for “All my friends did the same Still, residents are so afraid Al-Karama hospital. selves at home, costs can add special forces killed the leader of Mariam, speaking from the the delivery. “But I was afraid thing because the obstetric they will be exposed to the virus Instead of heading to hospi- up. the Al Shebaab movement and clinic she has set up at her home of Covid-19, so my gynaecolo- services have been exposed to that they have largely stopped tals, Iraqis suff ering from illness Oxygen tanks, Vitamin C four of his personal bodyguards, in Kut, southeast of Baghdad. gist advised me to go to a private patients infected with Cov- going to medical facilities alto- and injuries are fl ocking some- or zinc tablets meant to boost noting that explosive experts were The dire situation is a far clinic,” she said. id-19,” she said. gether. where else: pharmacies. immunity and even some face able to remove landmines planted cry from the Iraq of the 1970s, Private clinics are fl ourishing, One of the nine public hos- Mehdi al-Shuwayli, who “Around 90% of my custom- masks have tripled or quadru- by the militants on one of the which prided itself on one of but few can aff ord them — par- pitals in Wasit province, where heads the local branch of Iraq’s ers describe their symptoms to pled in price, Iraqis trying out important roads in the region. the best healthcare systems in ticularly as Iraq’s poverty rate is Kut is located, has been trans- medical syndicate, said patient me so I can prescribe the medi- domestic remedies said. Earlier, a prominent leader of Al the Middle East, by off ering free set to double to 40% this year, formed into a coronavirus treat- intake has been slashed in half. cation myself, and they can skip Still, they insist, going it Shebaab was killed three days ago state-of-the-art care to its citi- according to a World Bank pre- ment ward. “In the fi rst three months of going to a hospital altogether,” alone is a better choice than in an air strike in the Jilib region of zens. diction. The other eight are trying to 2020, we carried out 400 sur- said one pharmacist, who pre- catching Covid-19 in a dilapi- central Jubba, southern Somalia. But back-to-back confl icts Mais will have to shell out operate as usual, referring all geries. The next three months, ferred to speak anonymously. dated public hospital. Gulf Times 4 Monday, August 3, 2020 AMERICAS US election will be on November 3 as planned, say Trump advisers

Reuters in ballots when he fl oated the delaying the US elections, an idea The Republican president has Meadows skirted the question, “It’s not helpful for the presi- moving toward expanding mail- Washington idea of delaying the US vote. immediately rejected by both been trying to undermine con- saying that “it is responsible for dent to think out loud in a public in balloting during emergencies “We’re going to hold an elec- Democrats and his fellow Re- fi dence in mail-in balloting, him to say that if we try to go to fashion and express some frus- like the coronavirus epidemic, tion on November 3 and the pres- publicans in Congress – the sole claiming repeatedly and without 100% universal mail-in ballots, tration,” he added. as well as other states that will he White House and Don- ident is going to win,” Meadows branch of government with the evidence that it would lead to will we have an election result on The coronavirus crisis is ex- count ballots postmarked No- ald Trump’s campaign said on CBS’s Face the Nation. authority to make such a change. widespread voter fraud. November 3? Now I would sug- pected to drive a surge in mail vember 3 that arrive after Elec- Tsought yesterday to shut Presidential campaign adviser Critics and even Trump’s allies Meadows took up his boss’s gest we wouldn’t even have it on voting in November. tion Day. down the Republican president’s Jason Miller echoed the senti- dismissed the notion as an un- cause yesterday, warning that January 1.” State election offi cials are Yesterday Trump called for musings on delaying the 2020 ment on Fox News Sunday, say- serious attempt to distract from mail-in ballots must be handled Republican Governor Asa working to ensure tens of mil- a lawsuit to be fi led to counter vote, saying that there will be an ing: “The election is going to be devastating economic news, but properly without providing evi- Hutchinson told CNN yesterday lions of ballots can reach voters in Nevada’s legislative eff orts to ex- election on November 3. on November 3rd and President some legal experts warned that dence that they have not been in that the election should be held time to be cast and are returned tend mail-in balloting. White House Chief of Staff Trump wants the election to be his repeated attacks could under- the past. on time and it was up to states to in time to be counted. “This is outrageous. Must be Mark Meadows said that Trump on November 3rd.” mine his supporters’ faith in the Asked if it were irresponsi- ensure balloting be carried out Miller criticised eff orts by met with immediate litigation!” was raising concerns about mail- Trump on Thursday suggested election process. ble for Trump to fl oat the idea, properly. states, including Nevada, for he wrote in a Twitter post.

Mexico captures cartel White House, Congress boss

Reuters Mexico City far from virus relief deal DPA Pelosi, who appeared on Trump to take action on TikTok ‘shortly’, Pompeo says gressive action, but he hasn’t he Mexican army and state Washington the programme shortly before stopped spreading misinforma- security forces have cap- Mnuchin, said that Democrats President Donald Trump will make an announcement tion patterns, phone numbers and information on tion about the pandemic. Ttured Jose Antonio Yepez, didn’t want to accept anything “shortly” on the Chinese-owned social media app friends. On Saturday, he tweeted his a notorious drug gang leader and s millions of Americans less than the $600-per-week TikTok, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said yes- “These are true national security issues, they’re too disagreement with Dr Anthony fuel thief blamed for fanning a drifted toward fi nancial enhanced unemployment ben- terday, as Washington ramps up pressure on Chinese privacy issues for the American people,” Pompeo Fauci, the government’s top surge in violence that has se- Acrisis, the two parties re- efi t that began earlier this year. tech companies. said. infectious disease expert who verely tested the government of mained deadlocked after week- She blamed the impasse on Trump had on Friday signalled that he would ban Tik- “The president when he makes his decision will make recently testifi ed that the US is President Andres Manuel Lopez end talks on another round of Republicans struggling to reach Tok in the United States using emergency economic sure that everything we have done drives us as close seeing more coronavirus cases Obrador. economic relief intended to ease an agreement among them- powers or an executive order. to zero risk for the American people,” Pompeo said. because it shut down less of its Widely known as “El Marro” the burden of job losses from selves. “He will take action in the coming days with respect “We’re closing in on a solution and I think you’ll see economy than Europe did. (The Mallet), Yepez was cap- the worsening coronavirus out- “We are unifi ed in our support to a broad array of national security risks that are pre- the president’s announcement shortly.” “Wrong!” Trump tweeted. tured early yesterday morning break. for the $600,” she said. “They sented by software connected to the Chinese Com- TikTok, a popular social media app among a younger “We have more cases because in Guanajuato state, according Administration offi cials and are in disarray.” munist Party,” Pompeo told broadcaster Fox News. demographic that specialises in short video formats, we have tested far more than to the federal government and Democratic congressional lead- Although Pelosi said some He said Chinese software companies were “feeding is owned by the Chinese firm ByteDance. any other country, 60,000,000. authorities in the central region, ers spent hours on Saturday progress was made on Saturday, data directly to the Chinese Communist Party, their The company insists it does not share user data with If we tested less, there would be one of the principal fl ashpoints huddled in the Capitol suite of she did not share a timeline for national security apparatus”, such as facial recogni- Beijing. – See also page 10 less cases.” of gang violence in Mexico. Speaker Nancy Pelosi without reaching an agreement. The Centres for Disease Con- “This a tremendously suc- reaching a deal on extending en- Senate Republican leaders trol and Prevention (CDC) has cessful blow for the govern- hanced unemployment benefi ts. were absent from the meeting, again proclaimed his support CNN’s State of the Union. ommend using hydroxychlo- reported the United States had ment,” said Raul Benitez, a se- That relief expired on Friday, deferring to the administration for a payroll tax cut, a proposal Although Trump has de- roquine, an anti-malarial drug conducted nearly 53mn tests as curity expert at the National jeopardising many families’ after President Donald Trump that his own party in Congress manded that schools reopen, touted by Trump, as a treatment of Saturday. Autonomous University of Mex- ability to pay for rent and food called their proposal, which in- rejected and was never seriously Birx was notably more cautious. for the coronavirus. The US has become the glo- ico (UNAM). while they wait for opportuni- cluded only $200 for enhanced considered in the negotiations “If you have high case load “The evidence just doesn’t bal epicentre for the pandemic, Boss of the Santa Rosa de ties to return to work. unemployment benefi ts, “sort of on Capitol Hill. and active community spread – show hydroxychloroquine is ef- and many countries are limiting Lima cartel, a Guanajuato-based Treasury Secretary Steven T semi-irrelevant” during a news Meanwhile, one of his top just like we’re asking people not fective right now,” he said. “I American visitors to prevent the gang, Yepez has been engaged Mnuchin voiced concern about conference last week. scientifi c advisers shared a dire to go to bars, not to have house- think we need to move on from spread of the virus. in a bloody struggle for crimi- the legislation’s potentially Trump appeared disengaged picture of the coronavirus out- hold parties, not to create large that and talk about what is ef- But Trump is eager to portray nal control of the state with the multi-trillion-dollar price tag. from the negotiations, spending break, which has already killed spreading events – we’re asking fective.” the situation here as no worse or Jalisco New Generation Cartel “There’s obviously a need to much of the weekend on his golf roughly 150,000 Americans, people to distance-learn at this Giroir forecasted more trag- better than anywhere else. (CJNG), one of the country’s support workers, support the course in Virginia. that contrasted with his own re- moment so we can get this epi- edy in the near future. “Big China Virus breakouts most violent groups. economy,” Mnuchin told This He seemed to sleep little, peated claims that the nation is demic under control,” she said. “Deaths will continue to in- all over the World, including Yepez, 40, is the most high- Week on ABC News. however, tweeting repeatedly weathering the crisis well. Birx was not the only member crease for the next few weeks,” nations which were thought to profi le arrest made yet under But he added: “On the oth- and mostly about unrelated is- “It is extraordinarily wide- of the administration to contra- he warned. have done a great job,” he tweet- Lopez Obrador, who pledged to er hand, we have to be careful sues until after dark on Saturday spread,” said Dr Deborah Birx, dict the president yesterday. Trump recently restarted ed yesterday. “The Fake News bring down record levels of vio- about not piling on enormous and before the sun rose yester- who leads the White House task Admiral Brett Giroir, a top his regular briefi ngs about the doesn’t report this. USA will be lence plaguing Mexico when he amounts of debt for future gen- day. force on the coronavirus pan- health offi cial, told NBC’s Meet coronavirus in an eff ort to show stronger than ever before, and took offi ce in December 2018. erations.” On Saturday afternoon, he demic, during an appearance on the Press that he doesn’t rec- the country that he’s taking ag- soon!” Instead, homicides have fur- ther increased during the Lopez Obrador presidency and last Oc- US ends search tober his government suff ered serious embarrassment when it for Marines, sailor botched the detention of Ovidio Apple fi re grows to missing at sea Guzman, a son of jailed kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. The search and rescue operation The Guanajuato attorney- over 20,000 acres for eight US servicemen who general’s offi ce said soldiers and went missing last week after their state security forces captured landing craft sank in hundreds Yepez with fi ve other people and AFP As of 1530 GMT, more than of feet of water off San Clemente rescued a kidnapped local busi- Los Angeles 1,360 fi refi ghters backed by Island during a training exercise nesswoman. helicopters, water-dumping has ended, off icials announced. Initially notorious for fuel planes and trucks were work- The seven Marines and one sailor theft in a state crisscrossed by rews battled a blaze ing to put the fi re out but it was are presumed dead, off icials said. pipelines and home to a major oil yesterday that was still only 12% extinguished. With the assistance of refi nery, the Santa Rosa de Lima Cthreatening thousands There were no reports of helicopters, ships and boats, cartel has become increasingly of people and homes in south- casualties and the only damage more than 1,000sq nautical embroiled in battles with the ern California east of Los An- so far has been to two buildings miles were searched but it was CJNG, based in the neighbour- geles. and one home. determined that there was little ing state of Jalisco. The so-called “Apple Fire” The edges of the fi re are probability of successful rescue Hundreds of millions of dol- that broke out on Friday near burning on rugged hills that given the circumstances of the lars’ worth of fuel were being the city of San Bernardino are hard for crews to reach, au- incident, off icials said. stolen every year before Lopez has so far charred more than thorities said. The incident occurred when the Obrador cracked down a few 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres) Dense vegetation fuelled vehicle carrying 15 Marines and weeks after taking offi ce. of land, sending up columns of fi re burning near homes, said one Navy sailor began taking on Abetted by the complicity of smoke visible from far away. Fernando Herrera, fi re chief in water about 5.45pm on Thursday, corrupt employees within state- It was so smoky that au- Riverside County. according to the Marine Corps. run oil company Petroleos Mexi- thorities declared an air qual- Hot and dry conditions yes- One Marine was taken to Scripps canos, the lucrative activity gave ity alert on Saturday evening. terday will help the fi re keep Memorial Hospital La Jolla and the Santa Rosa de Lima outfi t At least 2,600 homes and burning. later died. outsize fi nancial heft, said secu- nearly 7,800 people were evac- A probe is under way as to Two others were injured and rity analyst Benitez. uated, and offi cials said it was the cause of the fi re, which of- remain hospitalised. “It’s even more money than Firefighters watch as flames approach a retardant line near a residential community during the Apple not clear when they might be fi cials said may have been set Five other service members were cocaine,” he said. fire in Banning, California. able to come back. deliberately. rescued.

Coronavirus death toll in Caribbean Storm Isaias brushes off Florida, heads up East Coast and Latin America exceeds 200,000 More than 200,000 people have died from coronavirus in Latin America and the Caribbean, with Brazil and Mexico accounting for Reuters Little change was expected in what extreme weather prepara- nearly three-quarters of those deaths, according to an AFP tally Miami the storm’s strength in the next tion and response could look like compiled from off icial sources at 0830 GMT yesterday. couple of days, the NHC said. in the midst of a public health The number of fatalities stood at 200,212 in Latin America and the The Palm Beach area, where emergency as the states battles Caribbean, out of a total 4,919,054 reported cases. saias, downgraded from a President Donald Trump’s Mar- the coronavirus pandemic, De- The death total doubled in just over a single month. hurricane but still a powerful a-Lago resort is located, emerged LaRionda said. Latin America is the second hardest hit region in the world after Itropical storm, moved along largely unscathed from the storm The NHC discontinued a Europe, which has recorded 210,425 deaths and 3,189,322 infections. Florida’s eastern coast yester- after it brushed off its coast, storm surge watch for Florida The United States and Canada are third. day, bringing strong winds but with the authorities reporting yesterday, but warned that the After Brazil and Mexico, the worst-aff ected countries in Latin no longer posing a storm surge no widespread damage and no South and North Carolina coast America are Peru, Colombia and Chile. threat. fl ooding. could still be hit by storm surges According to virus infection numbers as a proportion of the The storm is forecast to move “We still are experiencing – when a storm pushes tidal lev- population, Peru tops the region’s list, followed by Chile, Brazil, upward along the East Coast and some winds,” Lisa DeLaRionda, els above normal – of up to four Mexico and Panama. reach Washington, Philadelphia a spokeswoman for Palm Beach feet (1.22m). The tallies, using data collected by AFP from national authorities and New York City tomorrow County said yesterday. “How- A tropical storm warning was and information from the World Health Organisation (WHO), before proceeding into New Eng- ever, based on the latest forecast, issued for both states, according probably reflect only a fraction of the actual number of infections. land. Residents watch the waves kicked up by Tropical Storm Isaias along those winds should be dying to the NHC. Many countries are testing only symptomatic or serious cases. By 11am (1500 GMT), Tropical the Deerfield Beach International Fishing Pier, in Florida. down early afternoon.” Isaias caused at least two On Saturday Mexico racked up a record number of new confirmed Storm Isaias was about 55 miles Although it appeared that deaths in the Dominican Repub- coronavirus infections, registering more than 9,000 daily cases (90km) southeast of Fort Pierce, cane Centre (NHC) said. said, with its centre moving from Isaias’s impact on Florida would lic and knocked out power for for the first time and passing the previous peak for the second day Florida heading northwest with On its current path, Isaias will off shore of the coast of Georgia not be severe, the storm provided thousands of homes and busi- running, off icial data showed. top sustained winds of 65mph move near or over Florida’s east into the southern mid-Atlantic local emergency management nesses in Puerto Rico, according Mexico’s health ministry reported 9,556 new cases of coronavirus, (100kph), the National Hurri- coast, the Miami-based NHC states today or tomorrow. with a “real-world scenario” of to media reports. surging past the record of 8,458 set on Friday. Gulf Times Monday, August 3, 2020 5 ASIA/AUSTRALASIA ASIA/AUSTRALASIA

Election race heats up in Sri Lanka

Ranil Wickremesinghe, leader of the United National Party speaks to his supporters during a campaign rally on the last day for rallies, ahead of country’s parliamentary election scheduled for Supporters of the Leader of Samagi Jana Balawegaya party, Sajith Premadasa, gesture Leader of Samagi Jana Balawegaya party, Sajith Premadasa, waves at his August 5, 2020, in Galle, Sri Lanka. during a campaign rally yesterday. supporters during a campaign rally in Colombo, Sri Lanka, yesterday.

Vietnam says origin of Danang Curfew imposed in Covid-19 outbreak hard to track

Reuters still many infections out there break is a more contagious one. Hanoi in the community,” a govern- He said with the new strain, each ment statement said of the city, infected person may infect about a popular tourist hotspot with a 5-6 people compared to 1.8-2.2 ietnamese authorities population of 1.1mn. people in the previous period. virus-hit Melbourne said yesterday they were The country reported 34 in- Authorities have taken a series Vfi nding it hard to track the fections yesterday, bringing the of “unprecedented measures” AFP Additional restrictions af- origin of a fresh coronavirus out- total number of coronavirus cas- to fi ght the outbreak in Danang, Melbourne fecting workplaces would be break that began in the central es to 620. The death toll rose by including the mobilisation of announced Monday, Andrews city of Danang and has infected two to fi ve, the Health Ministry several hundred military school added, suggesting that non-es- around 200 people in recent said in a statement. students to help with contact ustralia imposed an sential businesses will face clo- weeks. Health Minister Nguyen tracing and collecting test sam- overnight curfew on its sures. Victoria accounts for the “In Danang, there are many Thanh Long said the strain of the ples, the government said in its Asecond-biggest city yes- vast majority of active coronavi- sources of virus, and there are virus detected in the new out- statement. terday and banned people from rus cases in Australia, recording moving more than 5km from 671 new cases and seven deaths home in a bid to control a grow- from the virus yesterday. ing coronavirus outbreak that is Health authorities have linked infecting hundreds daily. the resurgence to security bun- Declaring a “state of disaster”, gles at hotels used to quarantine Ferry Philippines’ Covid-19 Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews international travellers that al- said Melbourne would move to lowed the virus to leak back into Stage 4 restrictions until Sep- the community. The state’s chief sinks off cases cross 100,000 tember 13 given “unacceptably health offi cer, Brett Sutton, said high” levels of community trans- an estimated 20,000 cases were mission. averted during Stage 3 restric- Thai DPA coronavirus met with represent- The harshest rules in Australia tions, but fl attening the curve to Manila atives of the medical groups on to date will see city residents face hundreds of new cases a day was Saturday, presidential spokes- a curfew from 8pm to 5am for the “intolerable”. island of man Harry Roque said. “We are next six weeks. Only those carry- “We need to see those numbers he Philippines yesterday waging a losing battle against ing out essential work, or seeking through the eyes of our health- reported a record 5,032 Covid-19, and we need to draw or providing care, will be allowed care workers and the kind of aw- Samui, Tadditional coronavirus in- up a consolidated, defi nitive plan out. “The time for leniency, the ful fear that they have about what fections, pushing the country’s of action,” the medical workers time for warnings and cautions is it means for people presenting to total caseload to over 100,000, as said in the letter. over,” Andrews said. “If you are hospital,” he said. one dead medical frontliners warned that One of the doctors who joined not at home and you should be, The virus has spread rapidly the country was losing the battle the call for the two-week lock- if you have the virus and are just among vulnerable residents in against Covid-19. down warned that if the infec- going about your business, you aged-care centres, where gov- DPA The death toll from Covid-19 tions are not halted, “We will be will be dealt with harshly. Lives ernment disaster relief teams Victoria’s state premier Daniel Andrews sanitises his hands as he Bangkok also rose to 2,059, following 20 the next New York City, where are at stake.” have been deployed to replace leaves a press conference in Melbourne yesterday after announcing additional deaths, the Depart- people die in stretchers, in the Melbourne residents will be infected staff . new restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus. ment of Health said. Of the ad- emergency rooms or at home be- limited to an hour of exercise a Outside Melbourne, the rest ferry sank after depart- ditional cases, 2,114 were infec- cause the hospitals are full.” day, no further than 5km from of Victoria will move to a Stage ing from the Thai island tions confi rmed in the past three Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, home starting Sunday night. 3 lockdown from midnight A of Koh Samui, leaving days, while 2,918 were confi rmed who was among those who met Only one person per household Wednesday with people allowed one person dead and four oth- previously but only later added with the medical groups on will be able to shop for essential to leave home only for essential ers missing, the operator said to the tally, the department said. Saturday, said it would be “dif- items each day, also within the work, study, care and needed yesterday. The country’s total stood at fi cult” and “damaging” to peo- same strict radius. supplies. Elsewhere in Australia, The transport ferry was car- 103,185 as of yesterday, it added. ple’s health if a lockdown was Most school and university other states and territories have rying 12 crew members and four The spike in the number of imposed as it would trigger more students in Melbourne will go for weeks reported few or no new passengers when it was caught infections has prompted doc- unemployment and poverty. back to online learning from cases while relaxing restrictions. in stormy weather late Satur- tors, nurses and other health care “We need to manage and live midnight Wednesday, just weeks They have, however, banned vis- day and sunk after departing workers to call on the govern- with the virus which is here to after returning to their class- itors from Victoria and Sydney - from Koh Samui’s port, Raja ment to re-impose a lockdown stay,” he said in a statement.”This rooms, while weddings will also another virus hotspot. Ferry Port said in a statement. in the capital of Manila to recali- means balancing health and the be banned. New South Wales Premier A rescue team was dis- brate the response to Covid-19. economy.” The sweeping new measures Gladys Berejiklian said people patched and nine people were In a letter to President Rodrigo Lopez said there were other follow a city-wide lockdown that were now being “strongly en- rescued within the first few Duterte on Saturday, medical ways to address the concerns of began in early July but has failed couraged” to wear masks, par- hours, it added. groups from all over the coun- the health workers, such as lo- to curb the spread of the virus, ticularly on public transport, in The search continued try called for a two-week lock- calised lockdowns, mass tracing, with Andrews blaming the con- shops and at places of worship throughout the day yesterday down amid government eff orts testing, isolation and treatment, tinuing rise in cases on people as the state attempts to avoid A cyclist passes a group of police and soldiers patrolling the and two crew members were to re-open the economy by eas- as well as stricter compliance fl outing stay-at-home orders. the fate of neighbouring Vic- Docklands area of Melbourne yesterday. found alive on a nearby island. ing restrictions throughout the with health protocols in trans- “These are the decisions made toria. A body was later found and country. portation and business estab- because anything short of this “We are holding the line and demic,” she told reporters in Syd- testing, social distancing and identified as the ferry’s cap- Duterte was meeting with lishments. The public are re- will not keep us safe,” Andrews doing OK but I cannot stress ney. Berejiklian added that unlike hand-washing. Australia’s total tain, according to a statement key cabinet members to discuss quired to wear face masks when said, adding anything less “will enough that the next few weeks in Victoria, masks were not com- reported infections reached al- on the Surat Thani Public Af- the medical frontliners’ appeal they go out of their homes and see it drag on for months and will make or break us, in terms of pulsory but would instead act as most 18,000 yesterday, with 208 fairs Department’s Facebook yesterday, while members of an are told to keep physical distance months and months”. the way we get through this pan- a “fourth line of defence” after deaths in a population of 25mn. page. inter-agency task force on the from other people. China’s young jobseekers struggle despite economic recovery

AFP weekend in Zhengzhou, where options. sarily meant better hiring on the of further education after an Zhengzhou employers in industries ranging Although China’s econo- ground. unsuccessful fi ve-month job from real estate to manufactur- my appeared to make a strong A 27-year-old surnamed search. The crisis is also causing ing were recruiting. Like many comeback in the second quarter Kang, who graduated in 2017, problems for employers. Yang iology student Ma Jin- others, the aspiring teacher is - growing 3.2% on-year - ana- is back in the market after his Changwei, manager at Deyou gjing wandered the hall of “at a loss” and wondering if she lysts caution the rebound may contract in the communications Real Estate, told AFP at the Ba job fair in central China should settle for any job or hold be overestimated, with a gap re- industry in Beijing ended. He Zhengzhou fair it was getting among other young Chinese off work for further education. emerging between national fi g- decided to return to Zhengzhou, harder to hire sales staff based hoping to fi nd work in an econ- “I have applied to seven or eight ures and higher-frequency data. but has only received around fi ve on commission. omy crushed by the coronavirus private schools, but only one has Louis Kuijs of Oxford Economics callbacks after sending more “It feels like jobseekers’ pandemic. called me back for an interview,” told AFP there is no doubt China than 30 resumes to fi rms - and is mindsets have shifted,” he said. Ma, 26, is one of almost 9mn she told AFP at the fair. “I’ve is recovering, but the magni- still looking for a job. “In sales, you may or may not people graduating and entering studied for so many years and tude would determine if growth “The virus outbreak has lim- make deals but with other jobs the job market this year at a time don’t want my family to pay for is “strong enough to re-absorb ited travel and a lot of job fairs there can be more stability in in- of great uncertainty, an issue further training,” she said. “I’m some of the labour market prob- have been postponed or can- come. Because of the epidemic, that has the ruling Communist especially worried about my fi - lems” that emerged earlier this celled,” he said. “I’m extremely fi nancial pressures are larger as Party worried to the point that nances.” year, such as layoff s. anxious.” well.” President Xi Jinping has made it Aware of the risk that mass A gap in growth of a few per- Lu Yifan, 25, said the pan- Offi cials are ramping up ef- a priority. unemployment can spark po- centage points could lead to a demic had caused many overseas forts to boost graduate employ- The world’s second-largest litical unrest - jeopardising the diff erence of millions of jobs Chinese students like him to re- ment, and Premier Li Keqiang economy may have rebounded party’s pledge of prosperity in created, he added. turn home sooner than planned announced over 9mn new roles sharply from a historic virus-in- return for unquestioned politi- Although China’s urban un- - adding to the fl ood of jobseek- will be created this year. A job seeker (right) speaking with a recruiter of a company during a duced contraction, but its young cal power - the government has employment rate slipped to 5.7% ers. And Guangdong graduate A State Council guideline in career fair in Zhengzhou, China’s Henan province. graduate jobless rate in June was been making eff orts to boost in June, 19.3% of new graduates Zhao Jingying, 22, told AFP: “For March said smaller fi rms that more than three times that for graduate employment via state- remained jobless, UOB econo- us (this year), getting a single job recruit graduates with contracts next. Henan authorities, for Nanjing city in Jiangsu province urban unemployment. owned enterprises (SOEs). But mists said in a report, adding off er is a feat.” longer than a year will be given a one, said at least half the recruit- set aside 1bn yuan ($143mn) to Ma was among hundreds of poorer opportunities this year the labour market “continued Another, Beijing-based Huo subsidy, while SOEs will “con- ment positions at SOEs within provide 100,000 internships for young faces streaming in and are pushing some into further to face challenges”. Top-level Ruixi, 23, left university in July tinuously expand” the scale of the province should be reserved struggling graduates, Xinhua out of the job fair on a recent studies, less ideal jobs or other economic data has not neces- but is planning a second round graduate-hiring this year and for this year’s graduates, while news agency reported. Gulf Times 6 Monday, August 3, 2020 BRITAIN

Tory MP facing rape charges ‘should have whip withdrawn’

Guardian News and Media The accused MP, who has not somebody would be suspended tions, which it received on July 31. before a crunch confi dence vote. to him in his conversation with that they are investigated fully. London been named, was taken into custody while the investigation was tak- The arrest came days after In the latest case, a fellow Con- the complainant, but acknowl- The whip has not been suspend- in east London early on Saturday. ing place,” she told Times Radio. Charlie Elphicke, a former Con- servative MP fi rst raised the wom- edges that she reported “abusive ed. This decision will be reviewed He has been released on bail to The complainant, a former servative party whip and married an’s allegation with Mark Spencer, behaviour and threats”. once the police investigation has former Conservative min- a date later this month. parliamentary aide, reported four father-of-two, became the fi rst the chief whip, and Jacob Rees- He also advised her to go to been concluded.” ister arrested on suspicion Party offi cials said they would incidents, alleged to have taken MP in a generation to be convict- Mogg, the leader of the House of the independent complaints and The alleged victim made her Aof rape should have the consider removing the whip at place between July 2019 and Jan- ed of sexual assault. Commons, after speaking to the grievance scheme (ICGS). claims to the ICGS this year. party whip removed immediate- the conclusion of a police inquiry. uary 2020, in Westminster, Lam- He was found guilty of three alleged victim a month ago. Rees-Mogg did not speak to The system was established in ly, the shadow domestic violence Phillips said she found it beth and Hackney. charges of sexual assault in 2007 Questions will also be raised the alleged victim, but encour- the wake of the “Pestminster” minister, Jess Phillips, has said. “shocking” the Tory whip had She alleged that the MP assault- and 2016. about the conduct of Spencer, aged the fellow MP to advise the scandal in 2017 to allow parlia- The MP for Birmingham Yard- not yet been removed pending ed her and left her so traumatised Theresa May’s government faced who spoke to the woman directly alleged victim to go to the police, mentary staff to report allega- ley called for action yesterday the outcome of the investigation. that she had to go to hospital. criticism after removing the whip but took no action, according to sources said. tions of bullying, harassment and after a woman in her twenties ac- “In any other organisation, The Metropolitan police said from Elphicke once allegations fi rst the Sunday Times. A spokesperson on behalf of sexual misconduct. cused the Tory MP of violent as- were this investigation to be go- detectives had launched an in- emerged – in eff ect throwing him It is understood Spencer does the whips’ offi ce said: “These are The accused MP has been ap- sault and coercive control. ing on, this police investigation, vestigation following the allega- out of the party – only to return it not believe a assault was reported serious allegations and it is right proached for comment.

Labour criticises govt drive for White House-style spokesperson

Guardian News and Media “Essential skills” include “ex- London cellent risk management and cri- sis communication skills”. US presidential spokesmen owning Street is being such as Sean Spicer and Anthony accused by Labour of Scaramucci became household Dfl outing Whitehall rules names, and found themselves at to hire a new White House-style the centre of controversy. spokesperson to host daily gov- But in the UK, twice daily ernment press conferences on media briefi ngs have been held live TV. behind closed doors, with a civil A new special adviser is being servant taking questions from a recruited to reply to questions group of accredited journalists, from journalists including re- known as the lobby. buffi ng criticisms from opposi- Questions regarding party tion politicians. matters are referred to the politi- But the special advisers’ code cal party’s spokespeople. of conduct stipulates that po- Under the new plan, a special litically appointed staff cannot adviser – a politically appointed speak publicly or engage in po- civil servant who answers di- People dine at a cafe in the Covent Garden shopping and dining district, amid the spread of coronavirus, in London yesterday. litical controversy. rectly to a minister – will answer The Cabinet Offi ce is aware questions in front of television that the rules will be interpreted cameras. at the discretion of Boris John- According to point 14 in the son. special advisers’ code of con- Labour has criticised the duct, “special advisers must not move, amid concern that Do- take public part in political con- minic Cummings is dropping the troversy, through any form of previous practice of asking min- statement whether in speeches PM eyeing second-wave isters to answer for government or letters to the press, or in books, policy. social media, articles or leafl ets The shadow Cabinet Offi ce … briefi ng on purely party politi- minister, Rachel Reeves, told the cal matters must be handled by Guardian: “Once again, this gov- the party machine.” ernment is showing its willing- A senior government source ness to play fast and loose with suggested it was a normal “spe- lockdown scenarios the rules when it comes to John- cial adviser” job and the code son’s closest advisers. was at the discretion of the prime Guardian News and Media According to the Sunday Times, lifted on Saturday for those in them “speculative”. room with that direct face-to-face “And once again, they are minister. London measures under consideration England, Scotland and Northern The Housing Secretary, Rob- contact with their teachers will showing contempt for the most As EU negotiator, David Frost include asking older people to Ireland, and remains in place un- ert Jenrick, cast doubt on the be a priority for the government basic requirements for account- is among those classed as special shield once again and lockdown- til August 16 for those shielding reported plans to introduce more when we have to make those tough ability. Elected politicians an- advisers but who have also given oris Johnson is considering like conditions for London should in Wales. shielding for older people or be- choices,” he said. swerable to parliament should high-profi le speeches, notably new lockdown measures in there be a second wave. Shielding advice remains in spoke measures for London. The mayor of Greater Man- be delivering the government’s in February when he set out the BEngland should there be a Under the proposals, a greater place in specifi c regions of Eng- He told Times Radio: “This chester, Andy Burnham, said messages; not well-paid ap- UK’s vision for Brexit. second wave of coronavirus in- number of people would be asked land, including Greater Man- is just speculation. You would people in his area “on the whole” pointees accountable to no one In a further development, the fections. to take part in the shielding pro- chester, which are subject to spe- expect the government to be had been brilliant “and I reject but the prime minister.” union for senior civil servants Plans are being assessed after a gramme, based on their age or cial restrictions. considering all of the range of eff orts to blame some for break- The job advert placed on the has claimed that the Cabinet rise in Covid-19 cases forced the particular risk factors that have Other ideas mooted should the options that might be available. ing lockdown rules”. Conservative party’s website has Offi ce has confi rmed suspicions prime minister to slow the lock- been identifi ed since March, said R number escalate in the capital That’s not something that is be- Writing in the Sunday Mirror, led to speculation that the gov- that cabinet ministers are no down easing on Friday, with pro- the Telegraph. include restricting travel beyond ing actively considered.” Burnham called on the govern- ernment is hoping to employ a longer expected to choose their posed relaxations for the leisure It could even lead to those aged the M25 and putting a stop to Asked whether there were ment to ensure people in low- broadcaster who may already be special advisers. and beauty sectors delayed. between 50 and 70 given “per- stays at other people’s houses – plans to put London under lock- paid, insecure jobs are fi nancially well known to the public. A senior offi cial from the pro- Johnson held a “war game” sonalised risk ratings”, in a move similar to policies in local lock- down if Covid rates increased, he supported if they have to self- Placed on the Conservative priety and ethics team wrote to session with the Chancellor, that would add to the 2.2mn downs imposed in Leicester and said: “Not as far as I’m aware.” isolate due to coronavirus. LinkedIn page, the advert de- the FDA union on July 14 to say Rishi Sunak, on Wednesday to people who were deemed most parts of the north-west of Eng- He expected schools to return He wrote: “We shouldn’t scribes the job as a chance to that an appointing minister as run through possible options vulnerable and asked to shield land in recent days. to full capacity in September. spend taxpayers’ money on sub- “communicate with the nation well as the prime minister are ex- for averting another nationwide themselves from society during Downing Street sources dis- “I think you’re right to say that sidising meals out but not sup- on behalf of the prime minis- pected to agree before a “spad” is lockdown that could stall any po- the spring peak. tanced themselves from the reopening schools and getting port the low-paid to take time off ter”. taken on. tential economic recovery. Shielding advice was only detail in the reports, calling our children back into the class- work to protect their health.” Prices jump in July as Scarecrow Competition Govt mulls coin to home move ban lifted commemorate Gandhi Reuters months after he led India to free- London dom from British rule. Daily Mail strength of pent-up demand fol- interest rates. However, concerns As part of a global reassess- London lowing lockdown has injected remain as to the longer-term pros- ment of history, colonialism some real energy into the market.” pects for recovery bearing in mind ritain is considering mint- and racism triggered by the But Nationwide’s chief econo- the risk of further Covid spikes ing a coin to commemorate death in May of a Black man, ouse prices rose by 1.7% in mist Robert Gardner said the re- and rising unemployment as fur- BIndia’s independence hero George Floyd, in the US after July, the biggest monthly vival went deeper than the release lough support falls away.” Mahatma Gandhi, amid grow- a Minneapolis police officer Hincrease in 11 years, ac- of pent-up demand, with moves Experts said growth could also ing interest in recognising the knelt on his neck for nearly nine cording to Nationwide. triggered by families’ experiences be restricted by cautious lenders. contributions of people from the minutes, some British institu- The lender said the bounce back of lockdown. A swathe of low-deposit mort- Black, Asian and other minority tions have begun re-examining refl ected an ‘unexpectedly rapid He added: “Behavioural shifts gages have already been cut, making ethnic communities. their past. recovery’ in the housing market may be boosting activity, as peo- it more diffi cult for fi rst-time buyers Finance Minister Rishi Sunak Many organisations have since a ban on home moves was ple reassess their housing needs to get on the property ladder. asked the Royal Mint Advisory taken initiatives to make invest- lifted. and preferences as a result of life in Lenders are also tightening up Committee (RMAC) in a letter to ments to help the Black, Asian It follows a 1.5% fall in prices in lockdown.” their criteria for the self-employed, pursue recognition of individu- and minority ethnic (BAME) June – the fi rst annual dip in eight Gardner said the upward trend furloughed workers and those who als from those communities, the communities and to support ra- years. looks set to continue in the short have taken mortgage holidays. UK Treasury said in an e-mailed cial diversity. The report said the chancellor’s term, fuelled by the stamp duty Mark Harris, chief executive of statement. Floyd’s death has led to global stamp duty holiday would be likely boost. mortgage broker SPF Private Cli- “RMAC is currently consider- protests against racism, coloni- to boost sales further in the short But he warned most forecast- ents, said: “Lenders remain keen ing a coin to commemorate Gan- alism and police brutality. term. ers still expect the market to suff er to lend but also cautious as to bor- dhi”, the Treasury said. In his letter to the RMAC, But analysts warned of a ‘false when the government’s furlough rowers’ fi nancial positions, given Gandhi, who was born in 1869, Sunak said members of the dawn’ with steep price falls still scheme ends and unemployment the impending end of the furlough advocated for non-violence BAME communities have made possible later in the year. begins to bite. scheme and a number of redun- throughout his life and played a a “profound contribution” and The average house price in- Jeremy Leaf, a north London es- dancies which have already been key role in India’s struggle for in- that the committee should con- creased by £146 per day in July to tate agent and former chairman of announced.” dependence. sider recognising it on the UK’s £220,936, up 1.5% from the same the Royal Institution of Chartered Last month the Centre for Eco- His birthday, October 2, is ob- coinage. time last year. Surveyors, said the positive data nomics and Business Research served as the International Day The RMAC is an independ- But prices are still 1.6% lower refl ected “what we are seeing on predicted house prices would of Non-Violence. ent committee made up of ex- than in April. the ground”. fall by 5% this year and a further Often referred to as India’s perts who recommend themes David Westgate, chief execu- He added: “Activity has been 10.6% in 2021. A scarecrow is pictured outside a house during the “father of the nation”, he was and designs for coins to fi nance tive at Andrews Property Group, given added impetus by the stamp It said it did not expect a return Scarecrow Competition in Betley. assassinated by a Hindu radical minister, the Chancellor of the said: “Since mid-May, the sheer duty holiday and continued low to pre-pandemic levels until 2023. on January 30, 1948, just a few Exchequer. Gulf Times Monday, August 3, 2020 7 EUROPE 45 offi cers hurt in weekend of Berlin protests AFP/DPA or respecting Germany’s 1.5m Several offi cers were injured danger others must expect that Berlin (fi ve-foot) social distancing re- while dispersing the crowd, in- this will have serious conse- quirement. cluding three who were treated quences for them,” Economy The police said on Twitter in hospital after being hit in the Minister Peter Altmaier told na- This file photo taken on April 27, ome 45 police offi cers that a fi gure tweeted by the or- face by shards of glass. tional news agency DPA. shows the last 44m span that is were injured in a wave of ganisers claiming there had been Arrests were also made at Bavarian premier Markus being hoisted between columns Sweekend demonstrations 1.3mn attendees was excessive smaller unoffi cial protests. Soeder, meanwhile, warned in 10 and 11 on the bridge’s eastern in Berlin, including protests and could not be confi rmed. A total of 1,100 offi cers were an interview with the Bild am side in Genoa. against coronavirus restric- Clashes occurred at the main deployed during the day. Sonntag newspaper that now tions, police said as protesters rally, where police were forced A few hundred protest- was “not the time for new re- gathered again in smaller num- to physically remove some of ers gathered to the west of the laxations or naive carelessness”. bers yesterday. the demonstrators and organ- Brandenburg Gate yesterday, The second wave is “practi- The unruly protests, in which isers who refused to move on according to an AFP photog- cally already here”, he said. “It is Genoa’s many demonstrators failed to when told. rapher at the scene, with the creeping through Germany.” wear masks or respect social The crowd, a mixture of hard majority wearing masks and ob- Soeder also said that he was distancing rules, have sparked left and right, and conspiracy serving social distancing guide- opposed to football matches new bridge a chorus of condemnation in- theorists, shouted “We are the lines. with spectators, as offi cials from cluding calls for tougher penal- second wave” as they converged Despite Germany’s compara- Germany’s Bundesliga prepare ties against those who violate on the Brandenburg Gate, de- tively low toll, authorities are to gather this week to agree puts the restrictions aimed at curbing manding “resistance” and dub- concerned at a rise in infections guidelines for the return of fans. transmission of the deadly vi- bing the pandemic “the biggest over recent weeks and politi- Saturday saw 955 new infec- rus. conspiracy theory”. cians took to social media to tions in Germany – a level which spotlight A total of 133 people were ar- Police began dispersing the criticise Saturday’s rally as ir- the country had not seen since rested during Saturday’s pro- crowds in the late afternoon, responsible. May 9, according to the Rob- tests, which included a huge but hundreds of protesters re- “Yes, demonstrations should ert Koch Institute (RKI) disease on Italy’s “day of freedom” demo against mained at the Brandenburg Gate also be possible in times of control agency. coronavirus restrictions, police late into the evening. coronavirus, but not like this,” New infections rose only said in a statement yesterday. Police have launched legal Health Minister Jens Spahn slightly by 240 in the last 24 recovery In this file photo taken on August 14, 2018, rescuers work at the site The arrests were for off ences proceedings against organisers said. “Distance, hygiene rules hours, according to data pub- where the Morandi motorway bridge collapsed in Genoa. including resisting offi cers, for not respecting virus hygiene and masks serve to protect us lished yesterday by the RKI. breach of the peace and the use rules. all, so we treat each other with However, the relatively low By Francesca Landini and for bridge reconstruction, Marco a day in lost revenues and ad- of unconstitutional symbols. In a separate anti-fascist respect.” fi gure was due to limited report- James Mackenzie, Reuters Bucci, the case is both an exam- ditional costs, Bucci said, as it Three offi cers required hospi- demonstration in the southern Others expressed concern ing by local authorities during Milan ple of decades-long failures in interrupted freight traffi c for tal treatment, police said. Neukoelln district, protesters yesterday at Germany’s rising the weekend. Italy’s transport infrastructure months. Around 20,000 people took threw stones at police offi cers, virus numbers and called for The total number of cases and a demonstration of what the Under heavy pressure to ad- part in the “day of freedom” let off fi reworks and damaged higher penalties for those who since the outbreak began is ust two years after part of country is capable of accom- dress the neglect which caused demonstration, the majority not two police vehicles and a local break the rules. 209,893, the institute said in a Genoa’s Morandi bridge col- plishing. the disaster, the government covering their nose and mouth party offi ce. “Those who deliberately en- statement posted online. Jlapsed, killing 43 people, a “There’s a feeling of both re- pushed through an emergency new structure opens in the port gret for what happened and pride decree to sweep aside bureau- city today, in stark contrast to in the work that’s been done,” cratic red tape. Italy’s stalled infrastructure he told Reuters. “We’ve worked Between demolishing the re- projects elsewhere. and shown Italian excellence and mainder of the old structure in The new kilometre-long demonstrated that it’s possible to February 2019 to opening the 100th Salzburg festival kicks off bridge, designed by star architect do these things.” new bridge 18 months later, the Renzo Piano, replaces the old For years, Italy’s economy has speed of the project has been motorway viaduct which broke suff ocated under a mix of poor breakneck in a country with AFP mannsthal and staged every year apart on August 14, 2018 in one governance made worse by cor- crumbling roads and tunnels and Vienna here since. of Italy’s worst civil disasters in ruption and a thicket of vested development plans gathering However, a thunderstorm decades. interests and bureaucracy that dust. forced that performance indoors The accident laid bare years of have stifl ed innovation and fos- While the circumstances be- hile many theatres, – it is traditionally held on Salz- mismanagement and poor main- tered the kind of neglect that led hind the bridge collapse were opera houses and con- burg’s Cathedral Square. tenance and set off an acrimoni- to the bridge disaster. unique, a lot rides on repeating Wcert halls across the And local media reports sug- ous battle between the govern- Genoa itself, surrounded by that momentum elsewhere. globe remain closed, one of the gested that the audience, all ment and Atlantia’s Autostrade rugged hills that constrain road As well as a sense of urgency world’s most prestigious sum- obliged to wear face masks, per l’Italia, the private conces- transport, has seen a motorway and direction, trust and clear mer music festivals opened in found it hard to keep safety dis- sion holder controlled by the bypass project held up for dec- project goals, two things which Austria this weekend – with tances until seated. powerful Benetton family which ades. have often been lacking in big in- strict anti-coronavirus measures Organisers are imposing strict ran the bridge. With the coronavirus crisis frastructure projects, were vital, in place. safety measures on the 110 shows Several former and current still unfolding and billions of said Roberto Carpaneto, head of Organisers of the annual that are still going ahead. executives of Autostrade and euros set to come to Italy from RINA Consulting, part of Perg- Salzburg Festival had originally All 80,000 tickets on sale – transport ministry offi cials have Europe’s newly-agreed Recovery enova, the construction consor- planned a glittering array of 200 down from the usual 230,000 been placed under investigation Fund, addressing such failures tium led by Italian infrastructure events for its star-studded 100th – are personalised to enable by prosecutors and after months has gained a new urgency. groups Webuild (formerly Salini edition. contact-tracing in case of an in- of wrangling, Atlantia is set to As well as the shocking human Impregilo) and Fincantieri. However, they were forced to fection. lose control of its lucrative sub- toll, the collapse of the Morandi “Being able to say what was shelve many of the concerts, op- Spectators have to wear masks sidiary. bridge dealt a severe economic going to happen, when, and why, eras and theatre performances until they are seated, and there A ‘100 Years Salzburg Festival’ is seen aff ixed on a face mask, For the mayor of Genoa and blow to Genoa, costing the city allowed us to build this relation as a result of the coronavirus are no intermissions or catering. pictured prior to the performance of Cosi fan tutte. state-appointed commissioner an estimated €6mn ($7.06mn) of trust,” he said. pandemic and drew up a much Artists unable to keep a dis- slimmed-down programme in- tance of at least 1m (three feet) cases and around 700 deaths. stead. from their colleagues, such as However, new infections have Swedish teenager shot dead near Stockholm Three hurt in racist The month-long festival those in an orchestra, have to un- risen again in recent weeks since kicked off on Saturday with a dergo regular coronavirus tests. tough virus-related restrictions A teenage girl has been shot near a petrol according to a report in the Express newspaper. attack in eastern performance of Richard Strauss’s Also on the programme is the have been largely lifted. station in Botkyrka, outside the Swedish capital Swedish police also reported further incidents in German city blood-curdling opera Elektra in a premiere of a new play, Zdenek One notable recent cluster is at Stockholm, police said yesterday. the area, including a collision. brand-new staging by Poland’s Adamec, by Nobel Prize winner the picturesque Lake Wolfgang, The girl, who was less than 15 years old, was Three young people in a lightweight vehicle Three Guinean men have been Krzysztof Warlikowski. Peter Handke and a new produc- less than 50km from Salzburg. found in the early hours of morning yesterday crashed into a patrol car at an intersection in injured in a racially-motivated The curtain also rose on a tion of Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte by Authorities insist the spread and died of her injuries, a statement said. Taby, which like Botkyrka is located in Stockholm attack in the eastern German city new production of the Every- German director Christof Loy. of the virus is under control at The police are investigating the case as murder County. of Erfurt, one of them seriously, man play, which was written by Austria has so far escaped the Sankt Wolfgang and elsewhere in but have not yet detained any suspects. One of the three passengers, also a minor, died police said on Saturday. one of the Salzburg festival’s brunt of the pandemic, recording the Alpine nation of nearly 9mn The teenage girl was born in 2007 and was of their injuries. One of the men had at times been original founders Hugo von Hof- some 21,000 new coronavirus people. not believed to be the target of the shooting, No off icers were injured in the accident. in a “critical” condition following the attack, which took place in the early hours of Saturday morning on a housing estate in the city’s south-east. Twelve suspects have been Switzerland should tighten coronavirus curbs again: govt adviser arrested following what police described as a “xenophobic attack” that occurred outside a Reuters Switzerland has seen the in infections and had little room restaurants were ordered to close The government has relaxed Ackermann told the Sonntags known meeting place for far-right Zurich number of new cases of Cov- to manoeuvre. to prevent the spread of the virus restrictions on gatherings, al- Zeitung. groups. id-19 surge to more than 200 a “We should intervene early which has infected 35,000 peo- though it still bans events of He said it was diffi cult to say The three victims are being day recently after an average of to prevent exponential growth,” ple and killed 1,707 in the coun- more than 1,000 people. whether large scale events were treated in hospital. witzerland should tighten 35 per day in June. Ackermann told newspaper try of 8.6mn people. The size of public gatherings fuelling the epidemic. restrictions to curb the The Covid-19 respiratory dis- Sonntags Zeitung. “Otherwise Ackermann, who took over should be limited again, said “Initial data ... shows that Scoronavirus again fol- ease is caused by the coronavi- there’s a risk of drastic and ex- as head of the taskforce on Sat- Ackermann, who is an expert in where large numbers of people Police stop man’s lowing a recent spike in cases, rus. pensive restrictions. This must urday, said that he supported microbiology. gather, there are also many in- in order to prevent the need for Martin Ackermann, who be prevented under all circum- making it mandatory to wear “I also believe that the size fections,” he said. “Exact data on bid to move 4m much harsher lockdown meas- heads the body that provides stances.” face masks indoors. of public events should now be who is infected and where (they) palm tree by car ures in future, the new head of scientifi c advice to the Swiss Switzerland has lifted a par- Face masks are currently only reduced to 100 participants, as are infected is absolutely vital. the country’s coronavirus task- government, said the country tial lockdown that was imposed compulsory on public transport there is a risk of an exponential Without this data we are fl ying A man was stopped by police in force said. was on the brink of a big increase in March, when shops, bars and and at political demonstrations. increase in the number of cases,” blind.” Saarlouis in western Germany on Saturday for trying to transport a tall palm tree with his car. Off icers stopped the car because the palm tree, which measured over 4m, was protruding from the Victims of Sinti and Roma Holocaust remembered at Auschwitz car’s sunroof, said police. That put it in violation of maximum vehicle height DPA ropean Holocaust Memorial Day called the Gypsy family camp at Some 20,000 died alone in They laid wreaths at a cer- Council of Jews in Germany, regulations and a made it a Warsaw for Sinti and Roma, commemo- Auschwitz-Birkenau, murder- Auschwitz, where representa- emony, and Heinrich Bedford- Josef Schuster, said that people danger to other motorists. rating Sinti and Roma who per- ing 4,300 men, women and chil- tives of the Evangelical Church Strohm, chairman of the EKD’s had to stand up together for de- Police said they are investigating ished at the hands of the Nazis. dren in gas chambers. in Germany (EKD) and Ger- council, spoke of the shame mocracy and against inhuman- the man for a traff ic violation. tate offi cials and survivors The day is timed to commem- In all, historians estimate many’s Central Council of Jews of Christian anti-Judaism and ity. The driver eventually was able gathered at the Ausch- orate a massacre on the night of some 500,000 Sinti and Roma gathered for their fi rst shared welcomed the joint commemo- Commemorations also took to transport the tree in a large Switz-Birkenau concentra- August 2, 1944, when German perished in Nazi-occupied Eu- remembrance of the Sinti and ration. place online, due to the pan- delivery truck, with the tree lying tion camp yesterday to mark Eu- guards liquidated what was then rope. Roma killed there. The president of the Central demic. down. Gulf Times 8 Monday, August 3, 2020 INDIA

OFFICIAL PEOPLE CRIME CLAIM OFFBEAT Ministry seeks three more Sonia discharged from Two more held in Kerala Delhi woman blames Man stands still for hours months to frame CAA rules hospital, condition stable gold smuggling case dog for car crash as snake slithers up jeans

The home ministry has informed a department Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi The National Investigation Agency (NIA) which A boutique owner ran over four people in Delhi’s A man in Sikandarpur village in Uttar Pradesh’s related standing committee of parliament it needs was yesterday discharged from the Sir Ganga is probing the Kerala gold smuggling case, Amar colony area causing injuries but when Mirzapur district woke up to realise that a cobra three more months to frame the rules of the newly Ram Hospital in New Delhi, three days after yesterday arrested two more people who were confronted by Delhi Police team, she blamed her had slithered into his jeans while he was asleep. passed Citizenship Amendment Act. A senior off icial she was admitted, according to a health allegedly involved in the racket. The NIA arrested dog for the accident. The incident happened near The incident came to light after a video of the said the ministry had raised the issue before the bulletin. Her condition was stable at the time of Mohamed Ali Ibrahim and Mohamed Ali. Both Sapna Cinema in East of Kailash when a speeding same went viral on social media. Labourer standing committee in its recent meeting. The discharge, said Dr D S Rana, chairman (board of them were produced before the NIA court in BMW rammed into an ice cream cart injuring four Lovekesh Kumar had gone to sleep during lunch parliament had passed the amendment to the of management), Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. The Kochi, which remanded them to judicial custody. people. The injured were identified as Mukesh time and when he woke up with the cobra in Citizenship Act, 1955, in December, 2019, following 73-year-old Congress patron was admitted to In the remand report of the two filed by the NIA, Kumar, Sapna Kumari, Guddu and Harshit Kaur. his pants, he slowly stood up and held on to a which the Narendra Modi government notified it in the hospital for routine tests and check-up on it said K T Ramees, a known gold smuggler in During the course of investigation the off ending car nearby pole. Reports claim that Kumar stood January 2020. Rules for legislation should be framed Thursday. She was under the care of Dr Arup the state who was taken into custody by the was seized and 29-year-old Roshani Arora, a resident holding the pole for almost seven hours till a within six months of the date of the president’s Kumar Basu, a chest and respiratory medicine Customs last month, testified that he had passed of Faridabad, Haryana was arrested in the case. The snake charmer was called in. The snake charmer assent or the standing committee on subordinate specialist. On Thursday, she had chaired a on the smuggled consignment of gold to the two woman alleged that she was eating ice cream sitting cut open his pants and took out the snake. Local legislation should be approached for extension of meeting of the party Rajya Sabha MPs which at a parking lot of a hotel in the state capital on inside her car when her dog jumped and the gear of off icials and policemen also reached the village time as per manual on Parliamentary Work. went on for more than three hours. June 28 this year. the car got engaged and the crash happened. on getting information. Shah tests positive for virus, UP minister dies

IANS will have more than 500,000 New Delhi cases of Covid-19 by the end of July and the Supreme Court too came down harshly on the Delhi fter taking personal government for its handling of charge of controlling the the pandemic, Shah took it upon Aspiralling numbers of himself to ramp up the capital’s Covid-19 cases in the national heath infrastructure and em- capital and bringing them down power hospitals with necessary to below a thousand per day, Un- equipments like PPE kits and ion Home Minister Amit Shah ventilators. has himself tested positive for Earlier, BJP leader Jyotiraditya the infectious disease. Scindia, and party spokesman Disclosing it on Twitter, Shah Sambit Patra were also detected said that he got himself tested af- to have the disease. ter “initial signs” of coronavirus. Even now, Madhya Pradesh He said he is fi ne but is getting Chief Minister Shvraj Singh Workers wearing protective gear spray disinfectant inside an empty PVR multiplex that was closed following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease, in New Delhi. admitted to a hospital on the ad- Chouhan, who had also tested vice of doctors. positive, is admitted to hospital. He also urged everyone who Meanwhile, the Yogi Adi- has come in contact with him in tyanath government has an- recent days to self-isolate and nounced a state mourning after get themselves tested. the death of Uttar Pradesh Min- According to the protocol of ister Kamala Rani Varun. contact tracing, those who came The minister, aged 62, died of in contact with him recently, par- coronavirus yesterday. Govt announces new rules ticularly the last 10 days, will be She had been admitted to the asked to undergo Covid-19 tests. Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate In- After the news spread, top stitute of Medical Sciences (SG- politicians including BJP presi- PGIMS) on July 18. dent J P Nadda, Union Minister The council of minister held Ravi Shankar Prasad and BJP a condolence meeting and ob- for inbound travellers general secretary Ram Madhav served a two-minute silence on wished Shah a speedy recovery. the occasion. IANS would undergo mandatory quar- not fi lled in the self-declaration health offi cials present. be kept under institutional quar- Shah has been leading Delhi’s According to an offi cial state- New Delhi antine for 14 days (seven days form on the portal shall fi ll the Thereafter, the self-decla- antine for a minimum period fi ght against the deadly pan- ment issued by Prof R K Dhiman, paid institutional quarantine at same in duplicate in the fl ight or ration form fi lled online will be of seven days and they shall be demic from the front. director SGPGIMS, the minis- their own cost, followed by sev- ship and a copy of it will be given needed to be shown to the air- tested as per the ICMR protocol. After Delhi’s Deputy Chief ter had comorbidities in form of nternational travellers will be en days isolation at home with to health and immigration offi - port health staff . “If they are assessed as asymp- Minister Manish Sisodia appre- diabetes mellitus, hypertension, exempted from institutional self-monitoring of health). cials present at the airport, sea- However, the passengers tomatic/pre-symptomatic/very hended that the national capital and hypothyroidism. Iquarantine on submitting a All travellers are also required port or landport. found to be symptomatic during mild cases, they will be allowed negative RT-PCR test report on to submit a self-declaration “Alternatively, such travellers screening will be immediately home isolation or isolated in the Bachchan discharged from hospital their arrival in India, according form on the online portal at may submit a self-declaration isolated and taken to a medical Covid Care Centre (both public to the latest guidelines issued by least 72 hours before the sched- form on the online portal at the facility as per health protocols. and private facilities) as appro- Bollywood star daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai the ministry of health and family uled travel, according to the new arriving airport/seaport/land- Post thermal screening, the priate,” says the guideline. Amitabh Bachchan and granddaughter Aaradhya welfare. guidelines for inbound interna- port as per the directions of the passengers who have been ex- But, those having mild/ mod- yesterday said were discharged last week. “I However, “this test should tional passengers. concerned authorities, if such empted from institutional quar- erate/severe symptoms will be he had been am back home. I will have to have been conducted within Before boarding a fl ight to facility is available,” reads the antine will need to show this ex- admitted to dedicated Covid discharged from be in solitary quarantine in 96 hrs prior to undertaking the India, not only is downloading new guidelines. emption to the respective state health facilities. hospital, three my room,” Bachchan wrote on journey. The test report should Arogya Setu app on their mobile While announcements in- counters on their cell phones/ Meanwhile, if found negative, weeks after being admitted Instagram, saying he had tested be uploaded on the portal for devices mandatory but at the forming about the pandemic other mode before being allowed they will be advised to further with “mild” coronavirus negative. He thanked his family, consideration”, the guidelines time of boarding, only asymp- need to be made at airports, home quarantine for 14 days. isolate themselves at home and symptoms after testing positive fans “and the excellent care and say. tomatic travellers will be allowed seaports or landports, precau- The rest will be taken to “suit- self-monitor their health for for the disease. Bachchan’s nursing” at the hospital, saying Also, a self-declaration needs to board after thermal screening. tions such as wearing masks are able institutional quarantine fa- seven days. “In case any symp- actor-son Abishek, who was they “made it possible for me to be furnished, vouching for the The same set of rules will also a must, says the health ministry. cilities”, which will be arranged toms develop they shall inform admitted at the same time, will to see this day”. At the time he authenticity of the test report. apply to those crossing through Upon arrival, thermal screen- by the respective state and UT the district surveillance offi cer remain in hospital, while his said he had “mild” symptoms. All others need to give an un- land borders. ing would be carried out in re- governments. or the state/national call centre dertaking on the portal that they During travel, those who have spect of all the passengers by the These sets of passengers will (1075),” it states. Beleaguered Congress Kejriwal attacked over liquor tragedy remarks hit by fresh infi ghting IANS minister asked the AAP leader to Chandigarh verify his facts before shooting his mouth off . IANS The man in the fi ring line is Sushmita Dev also supported Citing the recent April 22 bust New Delhi Rajeev Satav, the newly-elected his sentiments as Satav said n a scathing attack to the of an illicit liquor unit in the Rajya Sabha member who is in- “The malicious attempt to draw Delhi chief minister’s de- Khanna district, Singh said eight charge of the Gujarat Congress Dr Manmohan Singh into this Imand for a Central Bureau accused had been arrested and nternal discord in the Con- and is a former Youth Congress exchange is reprehensible. To of Investigation (CBI) probe into hunt to nab seven others was on. gress has been out in the president close to Rahul Gandhi, say my observations cast a shad- the hooch tragedy, Punjab Chief In another case, the two king- Iopen since Friday as some who raised the issue of decimation ow over Dr Singh’s leadership of Minister Amarinder Singh, yes- pins of an illicit liquor unit in the former Union ministers have of the party and blamed UPA rule. UPA II is a lie, a total misrepre- terday told Arvind Kejriwal to Patiala district were arrested on launched an off ensive on Twitter But Satav also hit back and sentation of facts. mind his own business and not May 22 and June 13, and on July against members of Team Rahul. called it “malicious” as he I hold Dr Singh in high esteem. exploit the tragic event for re- 10, the charges fi led in court. On Friday, party leader Man- slammed the senior leaders for He is above reproach.” viving his defunct Aam Aadmi Another case was unearthed ish Tewari started the attack and dragging the name of Manmo- Meanwhile, comments from Party (AAP) in the state. in May with the arrest of a mafi a it continued on Saturday but han Singh into the controversy. senior leader Digvijaya Singh Singh ticked off Kejriwal over leader. yesterday he trained his guns on He was supported by Manickam added to the controversy. At the the latter’s Twitter remark that The police are awaiting the the BJP. Tagore and Sushmita Dev. recently concluded Congress the case should be handed over chemical analysis report to move After Tewari came out on Satav tweeted “Dr Singh has Rajya Sabha MPs meeting, amid to the CBI. forward, he added. Twitter to defend 10 years of the made commendable contribu- a growing chorus to bring Rahul “So many people have died Expressing full faith in the UPA under then prime minister tions to building modern India. Gandhi back to the post of party and all you are interested in is Punjab Police, which had taken Manmohan Singh, he found sup- He will always be held in high president, Singh advised that making a political gain from it. quick action in all the recent cas- port from fellow UPA ministers — regard. I will discuss my com- Rahul should be more active in Don’t you have any shame?” es, the chief minister said Kejri- Anand Sharma, Shashi Tharoor ments, or those made by any parliament. he asked Kejriwal and told him wal’s demand for the CBI probe and Milind Deora who hit out at other esteemed colleagues, on “I agree. He is diff erent and to concentrate on maintaining was nothing but a political gim- the “ill informed” team of Rahul internal party forums only.” wants to do politics diff erently. law and order in his own state, mick aimed at regaining a foot- Gandhi and asked them to intro- He was supported by Man- We should allow him to do so which was notorious for the hold for the AAP that had lost spect on the 2019 poll defeat. ickam Tagore who tweeted “Ab- but then we also would like him brazen manner in which crimi- ground in Punjab despite being The war within the party erupt- solutely agree with Rajeev Satav. to be more active in parliament nals and gangs were roaming the the principal opposition party. ed when the younger leaders ques- There is merit in keeping party and more accessible to people. streets. Singh said while the cases of tioned the seniors and demanded discussions within the party. As advised by Sharad Pawar he Trashing Kejriwal’s claim that targeted killings in Punjab were introspection on consecutive poll This is the time to combine our should go around India. ‘Yatras’ Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) protesters accuse the Punjab “none of the recent illicit liquor handed over to the CBI, it was defeats on 2014 and 2019 and eff orts to fi ght and defeat Modi/ (rallies) are important to connect government of ‘negligence’ near a civil hospital in Tarn Taran cases has been solved by the lo- the Punjab Police that solved the blamed UPA rule, sources said. Shah and RSS.” with the people,” Singh said. some 25kms from Amritsar yesterday. cal police,” the Punjab chief cases. Gulf Times Monday, August 3, 2020 9 PAKISTAN Pakistan’s daily virus toll General Bajwa: commended high troop morale, operational readiness improves to single digit Army Dramatic decline in fections, the lowest levels since forced a week-long shutdown infectious coronavirus, which The total number of active over the past month. coronavirus cases May, fi gures released yesterday that runs until August 5, to pre- causes the Covid-19 respiratory cases in the country currently This is all happening as Paki- highlighted in the Wall Street revealed. vent the virus from spreading disease. stands at 25,146, with the total stan’s neighbours to the east and chief visits Journal And of all the people who during the Eid al-Adha that was More than 14,003 tests were number of tests conducted as of west – India and Iran – are still are being tested, less than 5% celebrated on Saturday. conducted on August 1. August 1 at 2,010,170. reporting that infection rates are DPA/Internews proved to be infected during the “We believe our curve has fl at- Furthermore, out of 1,859 Meanwhile, 735 hospitals with climbing steadily. troops on Islamabad past three weeks, on average, tened ... and it is a hard-earned ventilators allocated for Cov- Covid-19 facilities have 1,618 Even more surprising, the compared to nearly 25% in June. success,” said Planning Minister id-19 patients, 225 ventilators patients admitted across the newspaper said, the progress in In total, the country has re- Asad Umar, who is leading the are occupied across the country. country. Pakistan came after Prime Min- frontlines he number of people dy- corded some 280,000 coronavi- nation’s battle against the pan- It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan’s success has been ister Imran Khan resisted advice ing of the coronavirus in rus cases and confi rmed nearly demic. there is no patient on ventila- reported in a prominent US from the World Health Organi- TPakistan has fallen to a 6,000 deaths. Three of the deaths yesterday tor in Azad Jammu and Kashmir newspaper. sation (WHO), declaring in May Internews single-digit fi gure for the fi rst So far, more than 80% of peo- were reported in Sindh, two in (AJK), Gilgit Baltistan (GB), or The Wall Street Journal re- that lockdowns are too costly Islamabad time in three months, offi cials ple infected with the disease Punjab, and one in Khyber Pa- Baluchistan. ported that major hospitals are for the poor and reopening the said yesterday, calling the drop have recovered. khtunkhwa, read the National So far a total of 279,699 cases reporting that beds are freeing economy. a hard-earned success thanks to In June, the government Co-ordination and Operation have been detected in Pakistan: up in previously overfl owing The report about Pakistan’s hief of Army Staff Gener- strict social-distancing meas- adopted a policy of sealing off Centre (NCOC) update. 2,086 in AJK, 11,762 in Balu- coronavirus wards, even in Pa- success comes when even the al Qamar Javed Bajwa has ures. virus hotspots in major cities, The previous lowest death toll chistan, 2,157 in GB, 15,052 in kistan’s biggest and hardest-hit United States, a superpower Cvisited troops deployed The South Asian nation re- after a nationwide lockdown for in the country was recorded on Islamabad, 34,160 in Khyber Pa- city, Karachi. with enormous resources at its on frontlines along the Line of corded only six deaths on Satur- nearly two months. April 17, when eight people lost ktunkhwa, 93,173 in Punjab, and It is said that the tally of pa- disposal, is still struggling to Control (LoC) in Khuiratta Sec- day and confi rmed 553 new in- The authorities have now en- the battle against the highly- 121,309 in Sindh. tients on ventilators has halved control the pandemic. tor. The army chief spent time with soldiers on Eid day on Sat- Pakistan, Turkey urday, commended the high troop morale, operational readi- to stay in close ness, and continuous vigil main- contact on issues tained along the LOC. Eid al-Adha brings new trends to While interacting with troops, Pakistan and Turkey have agreed Bajwa said that the Eid al-Adha to stay in close contact on all epitomises the essence of un- issues of common interest. conditional sacrifi ce. A consensus to this eff ect was He said that no one under- reached during a telephone Karachi amid Covid-19 situation stands this spirit of sacrifi ce bet- conversation between Prime ter than a soldier. Minister Imran Khan and Turkish He said the Pakistan Army is President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Internews navirus might have adversely fully prepared and capable of The two leaders also exchanged Karachi aff ected the purchasing power thwarting covert or overt under- views on range of issues. of the masses. takings. Khan congratulated Erdogan The most expensive animal Rawalpindi Corps commaber on the reopening of the Hagia his is the fi rst year that he sold this year was a calf that Lieutenant-General Azhar Ab- Sophia for prayers and informed Fateh Khan, who runs went for Rs180,000. bas received the army chief at him that millions of Pakistanis Tan ancestral animal However, local cattle vendor the LoC. watched it live on television. husbandry business with his Mohamed Farrukh Ansari, who Later, Bajwa also visited the The prime minister said that brother Sardar Khan, has had to sells his animals near Maskan Armed Forces Institute of Car- the Pakistan-Turkey strategic purchase animals from a third Chowrangi, disagrees. diology (AFIC) and the Na- relationship is underpinned by party for sale during the Eid al- He said that the market had tional Institute of Heart Dis- mutual trust, understanding, and Adha. been hugely aff ected due to the eases (NIHD), and performed close co-operation. Every year, Khan, 50, who prevailing coronavirus situa- the groundbreaking ceremony He said that Pakistan deeply hails from Sahiwal, eagerly tion, as the purchasing power of the Centre of Excellence in appreciates Turkey’s steadfast looks forward to the “Bari of the people had been greatly Prevention and Cardiovascu- support for the cause of Kashmir, Eid” (Greater Eid) – also called reduced. lar Research and Development, which Erdogan reaff irmed during “Bakra Eid” (a mispronuncia- Ansari said: “People who where indigenous research on his address to the joint session of tion of Baqr Eid) in Pakistan. used to buy animals for more heart diseases will be carried parliament in February this year. Every year for the past 20 than Rs100,000 (each) this time out, including their preventative The prime minister briefed years, he has taken his family purchased animals for less than measures. the president about Pakistan and a herd of sacrifi cial animals Rs100,000.” Appreciating contributions of government’s strategy to contain (reared all year with the help “Last year, I sold almost 100 Army Medical Corps, the army the spread of the coronavirus, of his fi ve children) all the way animals, and the majority of chief said that the AFIC and the with particular focus on saving from Sahiwal in Punjab to the those were worth more than NIHD are providing high-qual- lives and securing livelihoods. many livestock markets in Ka- Rs100,000. This year, I have ity medical care at the national They also discussed the need for rachi that pop up ahead of the only sold 60 animals to date, level. Pakistan and Turkey to jointly Eid. and a major chunk of those was Bajwa especially lauded the work for medicine development “After coronavirus cases ap- around Rs60,000 to Rs90,000 contribution of doctors and in the face of Covid-19, the peared in my own family, we (each),” he added. healthcare workers as frontline respiratory disease caused by the had to sell almost all of our ani- As with other businesses, the In this picture taken on July 22, Mohamed Naeem, who runs a website that sells goats online to soldiers against the ongoing coronavirus. mals to make ends meet. This is coronavirus pandemic has also customers, uploads a picture of goat ahead of the Eid al-Adha, at a farm in Islamabad. coronavirus pandemic. Erdogan also called President the fi rst time I have travelled all opened the doors for emerging Earlier, Lieutenant-General Dr Arif Alvi to convey warm the way from my native city to startups providing services to orders for cows and goats,” he The young entrepreneur lective sacrifi ce this year due Mohamed Aamer, the Adjutant- greetings on the occasion of Karachi all alone to sell animals customers at their doorsteps. said, adding that if a person highlighted that due to a lack to safety measures, but mostly General of the Pakistan Army, Eid al-Adha and reaff irmed his that I had to purchase from a The founder of one qurbani- wants to buy a baby cow or goat of trust in online ventures from because of the economic crisis. and Lieutenant-General Nigar country’s support on the Kashmir friend,” he said. related start-up, Mohamed six months before the Eid, they the general masses, the major “Not everyone can aff ord an Johar, the Surgeon-General of issue. “Usually, I sell my animals at Aqib Mughal, shared that the can approach the platform for hurdle has been to gain trust, animal during the coronavirus,” the Pakistan Army, received the the Sohrab Goth mandi (live- response of the people has been this purpose too. which he expects to be over- he explained. army chief on his arrival at the stock market) and PIB Colony great so far, even if business Maintaining that the cus- come eventually, over time. On whether their animals AFIC and the NIHD. Pakistanis urged (a neighbourhood in Karachi’s targets have not been achieved tomer can rely on the details In light of safety concerns were cheaper than those avail- District East), but due to gov- completely. provided on his business’s site, and because of the imposition able in the market, he said: “It to strictly follow ernment restrictions on animal He said the outcome has been Mughal underscored: “It is our of varying degrees of lock- is our resolve to facilitate the Chinese team Covid-19 SOPs markets inside city premises, satisfactory and the business responsibility to ensure that we downs for over four months, people, and we provide healthy we only managed to sell animals seems promising for the com- provide the same animal that which have impeded activities animals at reasonable rates.” visits ISPR to mark Prime Minister Imran Khan at the main market this time,” ing years. we display online. in general, more people have Comparing statistics with PLA anniversary has asked the people to Khan said. “We have had customers not “In case there’s miscommu- opted for online booking and last year, he said that the wel- strictly continue adherence Fortunately for him, the only from Karachi, but overseas nication from our side, we re- ijtemaai qurbani (collective fare foundation witnessed an Chinese embassy defence to precautionary measures coronavirus did not seem to as well. Overseas Pakistanis place the animal right away.” sacrifi ces) this year. increase of nearly 40% in book- attaché Major-General Chen to prevent a resurgence of have dampened the spirit of the have purchased animals from For reasonable rates, animals According to Jaff eria Dis- ings this year. Wenrong and his delegation have coronavirus cases in the country. festival. us using online modes of pay- are also delivered to the door- aster Management Cell (JDC) “About 350 cows and 500 visited the Inter Services Public In a social media post, he said Khan said that there had been ment,” Mughal said. step of customers to add to their public relations offi cer Oun goats have been booked in Ka- Relations (ISPR) in connection that the coronavirus pandemic no drastic change in the prices “We started our business this convenience. Abbas Jaff eri, the organisation rachi’s Gulshan-e-Iqbal alone, with celebrations of the 93rd is a global challenge for all of of his animals, as, to his knowl- year with an aim to continue it Mughal said that the animals has received a 100% increase in a week before the Eid,” he said, anniversary of the founding of humanity and that everyone edge, interested buyers are still throughout the coming years, can be sold online at competi- bookings of sacrifi cial animals adding that last year they had the Chinese People’s Liberation needs to remain alert and careful. bidding on animals as per their as people need animals for tive market prices, as the me- as compared to last year. booked 200 cows and 350 goats Army (PLA). He said that during the Eid, all requirements despite the gen- sadqa every now and then. dium uses minimal resources The organisation’s collective altogether. ISPR director-general Major- people should observe standard eral impression that the coro- “We also plan to take pre- and time. sacrifi ce is for the needy – all “We aim to follow all safety General Babar Iftikhar welcomed operating procedures (SOPs) and the meat from the sacrifi ce goes measures prescribed by the the delegation on behalf of Chief avoid unnecessary outings. to those who cannot aff ord it, government, and even our of Army Staff General Qamar Khan prayed for complete he added. butchers will be provided masks Javed Bajwa. elimination of the virus. The JDC representative said and gloves,” Baqi said. Iftikhar quoted the army chief He also said that cash that to date, they have also Amidst the new ventures and as saying that the Pakistan disbursement among the received over 100 animals, precedents being set this Eid Army and the PLA are the key vulnerable segments of society including cows, goats, and al-Adha, 22-year-old Ayesha components of Pak-China under the Ehsaas Programme will camels, as donations from well- Ghani has also made quite an strategic relations, and that we resume after the Eid. wishers around the world. impression. are proud to be brothers in arms. Elucidating on how the or- She is selling 36 animals this Chen expressed his gratitude for ganisation is implementing year in the mandi herself. the Pakistan army’s hosting of the Ship with 17,000 safety measures amid coro- “I had always felt the need commemoration ceremony. navirus fears, he said that the to break the stereotypes that Speaking on the occasion, tonnes of fertiliser animals have been tied at a dis- mandis and animal markets are Chen said that military relations arrives at Gwadar tance from each other. not places for women,” Ghani between China and Pakistan have Moreover, circles are drawn shared, describing the experi- strengthened over the years. A ship carrying 17,000 tonnes on the ground to ensure so- ence of dealing with customers of DAP fertiliser has arrived at cial distancing for visitors who and bargaining on the prices of Gwadar port for the first time. come to see the animals. animals an enlightening and in- Peacekeepers China-Pakistan Economic “We launched this service so teresting process, all in all. Corridor (CPEC) Authority that the poor could also enjoy She, along with her team, had assume mission chairman Asim Saleem Bajwa the same quality of meat as we sold about 16 animals thus far. in the Congo said in a tweet that transportation do,” Jaff eri added. They range in price between of fertiliser to Afghanistan He said that the spirit of Rs100,000 and Rs700,000. Pakistani peacekeepers assumed through the Chaman border helping the needy, which was Ghani shared that she had their duties in the Democratic crossing has also started. seen in abundance when the grown up in Punjab taking care Republic of the Congo yesterday, He said that for the first time, lockdown was fi rst imposed, is of livestock. as part of a scheduled UN bagging of bulk cargo has been being exhibited for the Eid al- She said she often refl ects on peacekeeping mission rotation, done locally instead of at a Adha as well. gender roles in our society. which had been delayed by the foreign port. “People are donating a lot,” “Keeping in mind my pleas- ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Bajwa said that this development he said. ant experience of selling ani- Additional safety precautions are will generate employment A representative of welfare mals in the market this year, I in place to maintain operational opportunities for local organisation Al-Khidmat, Syed plan to bring animals to these strength and to protect the health people, besides boosting the Khizer Baqi, said that many cattle markets every year,” she of the peacekeepers and that of transportation sector. Customers take pictures at a cattle market in Karachi ahead of the Eid al-Adha. people have switched to col- added. the local community. Gulf Times 10 Monday, August 3, 2020 COMMENT

CHAIRMAN Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Attiyah EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Faisal Abdulhameed al-Mudahka Deputy Managing Editor K T Chacko P.O.Box 2888, Doha, Qatar [email protected] 44350478 (News), 44466404 (Sport), 44466636 (Home delivery) 44350474 facebook.com/gulftimes twitter.com/gulftimes_Qatar GULF TIMES Who wouldn’t want to go to Mars these days?

Let’s get out of here. Who hasn’t thought that at some point in the past four months, as we hunkered down in our homes, brooding and restless but with no place to go? The pandemic shuttered our offi ces and made the idea of venturing anywhere more ambitious than a grocery store seem like a perilous journey. Any trip that required a fl ight or a stroll among the masses - even Why Washington may force masked - seemed an unreasonable risk. So is it any wonder, in our longing to get away from this virus-riddled existence, that we have found an escape in space? We have hitched a virtual ride TikTok’s Chinese owner to sell it on the rocket that will take the intrepid Mars rover, Perseverance (of course that’s its name), to the red “TikTok is led by an American CEO, Huawei consistently insists it has no to China have raised security concerns planet. Takeoff for this $2.4bn mission took place on By Russ Mitchell and Suhauna Hussain Los Angeles Times with hundreds of employees and key such intentions. of their own within US companies and Thursday morning, and it’s not a moment too soon. leaders across safety, security, product, In March, Beijing Kunlun Tech, then government entities). According to Sen- and public policy here in the US. We the Chinese owner of the app Grindr, sor Tower, the rate of TikTok installa- While we barely have occasion to drive more than he information-age cold have never provided user data to the sold a 98% stake in the company to a US tion on US devices has not slowed since three miles (when was the last time you bought gas?), war with China heated up a Chinese government, nor would we do private equity company under pressure the Trump administration fi rst raised the space vehicle carrying the JPL-built robotic few degrees on Friday. The so if asked.” from the US government after it was concerns, suggesting consumers, as yet, battlefield du jour: TikTok, The company hired former Walt Dis- found that Grindr engineers in Beijing have not been deterred. explorer will travel 309mn miles. Once it arrives at an T the goofy, wildly popular mobile ney Co executive Kevin Mayer as chief could access personal data on US users, Microsoft did not respond to a re- ancient lake bed, it will tour the surface, scouting for phone app. executive of TikTok and chief operating including their private messages and quest for comment. Generation Z loves TikTok. Presi- offi cer of ByteDance in May. HIV status. There’s also a question about Trump’s evidence of extraterrestrial life and sending back not dent Trump has threatened to ban it. In response to Friday’s report of a If the Trump administration forces ability to force a sale. “I don’t see how just pictures but sounds. Are we even prepared? Secretary of State Mike Pompeo calls it forced sale, TikTok issued another ByteDance to sell TikTok, the list of they could force ByteDance to do any- Suddenly a planet a national security threat. And now the statement: “While we do not com- potential buyers is relatively short, with thing like this, because it’s a Chinese White House, according to a Bloomberg ment on rumours or speculation, we are Microsoft at the head of the line. company,” Holstein said. “Although Suddenly a that is forbidding - with report, is preparing an order to force confi dent in the long-term success of The Redmond, Washington-based they could block it from the American its frigid minus-80 TikTok’s Chinese parent company, TikTok. software giant, which paid $26bn to market, using the Committee on For- planet that is ByteDance, to sell it off , presumably to a Hundreds of millions of people acquire LinkedIn in 2016, is reportedly eign Investment in the US as the tool.” degree temperature US company. come to TikTok for entertainment and in talks about what would be another The committee is a federal interagency forbidding - with and thin, unbreathable The Trump administration’s choice connection, including our community blockbuster acquisition. group that reviews foreign investments atmosphere - seems of an app that teenagers use to share of creators and artists who are build- Wall Street stock analyst Dan Ives and other transactions for national its unbreathable comedy skits and dance moves as its ing livelihoods from the platform. of Wedbush Securities told The Times security implications. more inviting than our cyberdefence beachhead, despite an We’re motivated by their passion and that in his view Microsoft is the only Justin Sherman, a fellow with the Cy- atmosphere pandemic-wracked absence of any proof the app has been creativity, and committed to protecting company with the means and the desire ber Statecraft Initiative at the Atlantic used against US interests, is pure 2020, their privacy and safety as we continue to buy an app reportedly valued by Council, said the Trump administration - seems more Earth. And while our with the president swirling hard-head- working to bring joy to families and ByteDance’s investors at $50bn — nearly still has not laid out a clear justifi cation entire planet put their ed concerns about national security meaningful careers to those who create the combined market value of Twitter for why TikTok should undergo a forced inviting than and corporate espionage into a broader on our platform.” and Snap. sale, with the Committee on Foreign plans on hold, this was campaign of economic and diplomatic TikTok is not the fi rst tech company Amazon, Facebook, Apple and Investment continuing to investigate. our pandemic- one trip that could not gamesmanship against an increasingly caught in the middle of this interna- Google, the other obvious candidates, The argument for Grindr to lose its be postponed. The powerful rival. tional power struggle. have their own problems right now: Chinese owners was outlined more wracked Earth Early last month he told television Though Apple has found a huge “They’re up to their eyeballs in a clearly, Sherman said. orbits of Earth and Mars interviewer Greta Van Susteren that he market for its iPhones in China, big regulatory swirl, the last thing they’re Ironically, a rushed sale to Microsoft align only once every 26 months. If scientists miss viewed banning TikTok as one way to American Internet and app companies going to do is buy TikTok,” Ives said, or another buyer may be a sign any na- retaliate against China’s handling of the have largely been frozen out. with the chief executives of all four tional security concerns around TikTok their shot this time, they will have to wait two years coronavirus outbreak. Facebook, Google and Twitter were companies called to testify at a House were overblown, said Stapp, noting that before trying again. In a news conference on Thursday, blocked in 2009; Instagram in 2014; and of Representatives antitrust hearing the Chinese government would have to with US coronavirus deaths rising past Reddit in 2018. on Wednesday. sign off on the deal. Ten spacecraft - including four rovers - have 150,000, Trump said: “It’s China’s fault. Millions of users in China, however, Were they not under such scrutiny, “The risk here is that the US. eventu- landed there over the past half-century. We are And that’s the way it is.” are believed to be circumventing such TikTok would make a tempting acquisi- ally bans TikTok almost permanently, enthusiastically racking up the frequent fl ier miles to The message may be muddy, but it’s blocks with virtual private networks. tion target. and then that asset goes to zero, de- clear China is on a quest to compro- For years, the White House has The app has been downloaded more stroying $50bn,” Stapp said. “It’s a bad Mars, all in the hopes that one day people will fl y there mise information systems and pull in as lambasted Huawei, China’s leading tel- than 165mn times in the US, according economic outcome.” too. It’s exhilarating that the pandemic didn’t stop this much data about Americans as it can, ecommunications equipment provider, to the Sensor Tower app analytics fi rm, But if the Chinese government said William J Holstein, a China analyst which is attempting to install advanced and billions of TikTok videos have been were relying on “geopolitical con- trip. and technology hawk. 5G cellular systems in countries around uploaded. siderations,” he said, TikTok’s owner The rover isn’t the only extraterrestrial object “China is engaging in information the world. As of July 22, it was the most fre- “wouldn’t be seriously considering that has caught our imaginations and let us, at least systems warfare on a global scale,” said Critics say Huawei could use such quently downloaded app worldwide and selling right now.” (Tribune Content Holstein, author of “The New Art of networks for spying on data streams. No 2 in the US after Zoom (whose ties Agency/DPA) mentally, travel far, far away. Earlier in July, we caught War: China’s Deep Strategy Inside the sight of the fl ashy comet NEOWISE, so named for United States.” “It seems silly, but I don’t think the acronym of the astronomical space telescope they’re really interested in 17-year- that discovered it. And if you missed that, you could olds doing somersaults,” Holstein said. be mesmerised by Venus shining with unnerving “They’re looking for information that helps them get into systems. Let’s say brightness in the predawn sky. you work in military high tech, and they We also watched raptly as Nasa astronauts Robert access your daughter’s phone. They can use that information to try to access Behnken and Douglas Hurley rocketed to the your own phone, your e-mail, your International Space Station in the SpaceX’s Crew computer.” To date, however, no one has pro- Dragon spacecraft in late May. Who didn’t envy them a duced evidence that China is using little bit? - Los Angeles Times/Tribune News Service TikTok in this way. “There’s never been any smoking- gun evidence (the Chinese government has) manipulated TikTok or stolen user To Advertise data,” said Alec Stapp, director of tech- nology policy at the Progressive Policy [email protected] Institute. Display “The app asks for a lot of user data, but so do US apps.” 44466621 44418811 Still, several government agencies have ordered employees to remove the Classified app from their phones. 44466609 44418811 App researchers have discovered that TikTok was copying the clipboard data Subscription in iPhones every few seconds. TikTok had said that was an anti- [email protected] spam measure and ended the practice after it was publicised. After the president fi rst threatened © 2020 Gulf Times. All rights reserved a ban, TikTok issued a statement: TikTok logos are seen on smartphones in front of a displayed ByteDance logo. Gulf Times Monday, August 3, 2020 11 COMMENT Pandemic upends child care plans in US

By Jonnelle Marte and Rachel Dissell more likely to take a career hit than clarify with guidance that parents Cleveland men when they are unable to fi nd child should resort to their typical summer care, studies show. child care plans. A survey https://econofact.org/ Many states, including New York, ost days, Zora Pannell the-importance-of-childcare- Missouri and Louisiana, allow parents works from her dining in-reopening-the-economy by to self-certify each week, under room table, sitting in front Northeastern University between penalty of perjury, that their child care Mof her computer, turning May 10 and June 22 found that 13% centre was closed and that they met off the video on Zoom calls to nurse her of working parents had to resign or the requirements to continue receiving one-year-old daughter, Savannah. reduce their work hours because benefi ts. Pannell has balanced working from of a lack of child care during the Other states, like California and home and caring for her daughter and health crisis, with women impacted Texas, make such decisions on a “case- son Timothy, aged 2, since March when signifi cantly more than men. by-case” basis. she started a new job as a manager In all, of those who said they had lost While child care places are hard to for a language services company the a job due to child care problems, 60% fi nd for toddlers, they are even scarcer same week that Ohio issued a “stay at were women, the survey found. for school-age children and many home” order to stop the spread of the “If women don’t have child care, summer programmes for this age- coronavirus. they can’t go back to work,” said group went online, leaving parents Working from home is an exhausting Karen Schulman, Child Care and Early facing a quandary. daily juggle but she’s more worried Learning Research Director for the Sarah Sapp is hatching plans to rig about being told it’s time to return to National Women’s Law Center. up an old cell phone for her 11-year-old the offi ce. If that doesn’t happen, “you end up son, Avery. Her husband cannot watch the creating a system that is going to result The 37-year-old waitress from North children during the day because he in vast gender inequities”. Olmsted, a western suburb of Cleveland, has a job at a local steel mill and the Prior to the pandemic, the labour fears her son, who sometimes struggles couple have been unable to fi nd a force participation rate for women to pay attention to instructions, isn’t daycare centre they deemed safe and aged 25-54 touched 77% in February, quite mature enough to be left home aff ordable close to their Shaker Heights rising from 73% in September 2015 alone while she serves food and drinks at apartment on the eastern fringe of and close to the peak reached in 2000, Working from home is an exhausting daily juggle for mothers. a high-end tavern. Cleveland. when the share of women in the labour But she feels she has little choice. “I’ve already felt penalised for being force began to plateau, in part because pandemic, with latest data showing the risks of asking for their help again and closer to her apartment and her two- When Ohio initially ordered a working mother,” said Pannell, 30, of challenges accessing aff ordable child economy contracting an annualised perhaps exposing them to a disease year-old. restaurants to close in March, Sapp who is worried she would have to quit care, experts say. 32.9% in the second quarter of 2020 that has proved especially deadly for But fi nding someone to babysit her qualifi ed for state unemployment. if she is not allowed to keep working Pressure looks certain to mount and approximately one out of fi ve the elderly. son is a challenge. But when the state told people it was from home. “Now it’s like I’m in on families in the coming weeks, workers claiming unemployment Chantel Springer, 24, worked at Springer can no longer leave the safe to return to work in May, she was purgatory.” The pandemic upended as various aid programmes and insurance in the week ending July 11. Starbucks in Manhattan during the toddler with her mother, who recently informed that she would no longer be child care plans for many parents in protections that off ered relief to jobless Child care was already scarce before early months of the pandemic but has moved to take care of a disabled sister eligible. the United States, forcing them — parents expire, including enhanced the coronavirus led to the shuttering of been on furlough since June, when whose husband died from Covid-19. Sapp tried to sign her son up for a particularly mothers — to grapple with unemployment benefi ts, eviction thousands of centres. the store cut back on staff to adjust to For now, she is looking to co- day camp at her local recreation centre tough choices that are only becoming moratoriums and a freeze on student More than half of all Americans lower demand and social distancing ordinate schedules with her son’s but it got cancelled. more diffi cult as states push return- loan payments. lived in a child care “desert” as of 2018, requirements. father, who has also returned to work More problems are piling up on the to-work policies to try to revive the “There’s this fragile, invisible thread defi ned by the Center for American Now that her unemployment at a retail store. horizon. battered economy. holding the lives of our moms, holding Progress, a liberal nonprofi t group in benefi ts could shrink as low as Under the CARES Act passed in late Sapp’s school district has told Do they hunt for expensive and the lives of our economy together,” Washington, as an area with no licensed $325 a week, Springer is making March, parents who lost access to child parents they must choose between all hard-to-fi nd child care that could said Chastity Lord, president and chief child care providers or less than one slot arrangements to get back to her job as a care because of the pandemic became online lessons or a hybrid of two days expose their families to Covid-19, executive of the Jeremiah Program, for every three children under fi ve. shift manager. eligible for unemployment benefi ts. shortened days in school and three which is still raging across much of a Minneapolis-based nonprofi t Now, in many states, care centres “I feel like I have to work,” said But the process of qualifying for the days at home when classes resume in the country? Or do they scale back on organisation that supports single accept only limited numbers of Springer, explaining that the reduced programme, which varies from state September. work, or even quit, threatening their mothers and their children. children to prevent the virus from benefits would not be enough to to state, became less clear cut as the Neither of these options would allow fi nancial stability? Finding a way to broaden access to spreading. cover the rent, food, diapers and school year ended and some day care her to work her lunchtime shift. The barriers risk stalling or reversing child care will be pivotal to helping Additionally, families that relied on other costs. centres began to re-open with limited “I feel stuck,” Sapp said. “There the economic gains of recent years the US labour market heal from the grandparents or other older relatives Last month, Springer transferred capacity. doesn’t seem to be a right choice no made by working women, who are economic devastation caused by the or neighbours must weigh up the to a store in Brooklyn so she could be The Labor Department sought to matter how I look at things.” (Reuters)

Keeping poverty reduction front and centre Three-day forecast

TODAY The latest update to the with a national MPI that focused Maximum Temperature : 430c Minimum Temperature : 330c global Multidimensional not just on income but also on the additional social deprivations that TUESDAY Poverty Index shows that were aff ecting Colombians’ lives. Maximum Temperature : 450c many countries have made Our MPI, supported by robust data, Minimum Temperature : 330c served as the basis for developing WEDNESDAY signifi cant progress in concrete programmes and policies Maximum Temperature : 430c improving the lives of the poor that succeeded in reducing Minimum Temperature : 320c multidimensional poverty from 30.4% over the past decade. Rather to 19.6% within eight years. Fisherman's forecast than allow these gains to be Countries that do not yet have an offi cial permanent multidimensional WARNING reversed by the Covid-19 Inshore : Nil poverty indicator could explore the Offshore : Expected poor visibility pandemic, governments must global MPI to see if it could strengthen at some places at first their own eff orts. Either way, all WEATHER seize this moment to redouble Inshore : Mistay at some places governments must place human at first becomes hot their eff orts. dignity and capabilities at the centre daytime with slight of their recovery strategies. dust and some clouds, relatively humid by By Juan Manuel Santos, National governments can’t do night Sabina Alkire this alone, of course. The magnitude WIND Inshore : Northwesterly-North- Oxford of the challenge demands collective action on the part of businesses, easterly 05-15 KT nongovernmental and civil-society Offshore : Northwesterly 05-15/18 oday’s pandemic-induced organisations, and philanthropists. KT humanitarian and economic Now is the time to back words with Visibility : 4-8/3 KM Offshore : 2-4/5 FT crisis represents an action. Leaders must demonstrate grit, Tunprecedented opportunity determination, and endurance, and to go beyond emergency responses combine boldness with pragmatism. and address our economies’ structural Mobilising all sectors of society Around the region fl aws. Many governments’ stimulus around the common cause of ending and recovery packages are already poverty will benefi t not just the poor Weather Weather shaping the future. But leaders across but also the broader economy. Today Max/min Tomorrow Max/min all sectors of society should recognise In the wake of World War II, Eleanor Baghdad Sunny 46/28 Sunny 45/29 this moment as a rare chance to build a Roosevelt noted that, “We cannot Kuwait City Sunny 48/34 Cloudy 47/33 more inclusive and sustainable world, tell from day to day what may come. Manama Sunny 41/36 Sunny 42/35 which will be possible only if we end This is no ordinary time. No time for Muscat Sunny 37/32 M Sunny 37/32 poverty in all its forms. weighing anything, except what we Tehran Sunny 38/23 Sunny 35/23 Ending poverty might seem can best do for the country as a whole.” like an impossible dream, but so In these challenging times, humanity did abolishing slavery and ending has an opportunity to come together apartheid. The launch of the in solidarity on behalf of those left global Multidimensional Poverty behind, and to act with vision and Index 2020 can serve as a catalyst. determination to end poverty in all its Recently released by the United dimensions everywhere. Nations Development Programme At the start of this pandemic, and the Oxford Poverty and Human our friend Amartya Sen, a Nobel Development Initiative, the MPI laureate economist, reminded us of shows that 65 of the 75 countries good and bad examples of leadership studied reduced their poverty levels during times of crisis. He pointed signifi cantly within the last decade. out that during WWII, a rationing Moreover, the country that reduced system in Britain led to more equal poverty the fastest, Sierra Leone, did food distribution, which in turn Around the world so despite the Ebola epidemic that underpinned a sharp increase in life Weather Weather began in 2014. expectancy – of 6.5 years for men Today Max/min Tomorrow Max/min The risk now is that these gains and seven years for women (up from Athens Sunny 35/23 Sunny 34/23 could be reversed. The Covid-19 crisis an increase of only 1.2 and 1.5 years, Beirut Sunny 30/26 Sunny 30/26 requires the commitment of global and respectively, in the previous decade). Bangkok T Storm 31/26 T Storm 30/27 national leaders not only to preserve The lesson from that experience, Berlin Showers 24/15 M Cloudy 23/14 hard-won progress, but also to turn and from Sierra Leone’s over the Cairo Sunny 38/25 Sunny 38/26 a corner in the global eff ort to end past decade, is that forward- Cape Town Sunny 22/12 S Showers 18/10 poverty. This will not be easy, given looking, practical, equitable policies Colombo T Storm 29/26 T Storm 29/26 that the pandemic is exacerbating pre- disadvantages in their daily lives, National Reviews at the UN’s High- enacted during times of duress Dhaka S T Storms 34/28 S T Storms 35/28 existing inequalities. because it simultaneously measures Level Political Forum last month, 21 do work. Let us hope that today’s Hong Kong Rain 27/24 Rain 28/25 It is a “myth that we are all in the deprivations in health care, mention multidimensional poverty. leaders recognise the opportunity Istanbul Sunny 29/21 Sunny 28/22 same boat,” observed United Nations education, and living standards We hope they can wield this powerful in front of them, and adopt the Jakarta P Cloudy 33/24 P Cloudy 34/25 Secretary-General Antonio Guterres across ten indicators. These data tool during the pandemic itself. By multidimensional metrics needed to Karachi P Cloudy 34/29 P Cloudy 33/29 last month. “While we are all fl oating can help us mitigate the pandemic’s emphasising support for the most seize it. – Project Syndicate London P Cloudy 23/13 P Cloudy 22/12 on the same sea, it’s clear that some burden on the 1.3bn people living vulnerable today, all countries will be Manila Cloudy 31/26 S T Storms 33/26 are in superyachts while others are in multidimensional poverty, while in a stronger position to “build back z Juan Manuel Santos, a Nobel Moscow M Cloudy 19/11 P Cloudy 22/13 clinging to the drifting debris.” It is preventing many others from better” after the pandemic. Tackling Peace Prize laureate, is a former New Delhi P Cloudy 34/28 P Cloudy 37/28 thus all the more essential that we becoming impoverished. At the multidimensional poverty is good for president of Colombia (2010-18) and a New York T Storm 30/24 S T Storms 32/23 extend a hand to the poor, who are national level, governments should society, and good for peace. But to turn visiting professor at the Department of Paris P Cloudy 26/14 P Cloudy 23/13 suff ering multiple deprivations, with consider creating their own country- a corner on poverty, commitments at International Development, University Sao Paulo P Cloudy 23/11 Sunny 23/11 Covid-19 adding to what was already a specifi c MPIs to guide eff ective the highest levels are essential. During of Oxford. Seoul T Storm 27/24 T Storm 26/24 crushing burden. strategies for tackling poverty. my (Santos’s) tenure as president of zSabina Alkire is director of Singapore P Cloudy 31/27 M Cloudy 31/27 Using data dating back to 2010, Dozens of countries around Colombia, we complemented the the Oxford Poverty and Human Sydney M Sunny 17/06 P Cloudy 18/08 the MPI provides a comprehensive the world already have. Of the 47 peace process with the Revolutionary Development Initiative, University of Tokyo Cloudy 30/22 Clear 32/23 picture of how people experience countries to submit Voluntary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) Oxford. Gulf Times 12 Monday, August 3, 2020 QATAR

Qatar’s ‘Our Eid is One Initiative-2’ project benefits 50,000 expatriates

The Qatar government joined members of the expatriate community in spreading the joy of Eid al-Adha by launching the ‘Our Eid is One Initiative-2’ programme to help them celebrate the festival at home and convey the importance of staying indoors to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Under this initiative, 50,000 Qatar residents from 17 nationalities have benefited from 25,000 food coupons, which included the provision of necessary food materials for Eid. The coupons were distributed on the first day of Eid during a function held at the Qatar Charity headquarters in Lusail in the presence of 40 off icials representing diff erent embassies and community organisations. Pictured are Qatari off icials with diplomats from diff erent countries. After spending months indoors, easing of curbs brings Eid cheer

By Shafeeq Alingal Residents Staff Reporter welcome lifting of restrictions at esidents are glad that the Eid al-Adha celebrations parks, beaches, Rhave brought some cheer the Corniche, to their lives after having spent several months mostly indoors. other outdoor At the same time, they are aware destinations and that due caution has to be exer- cised during the revelry to prevent more importantly a Covid-19 resurgence. at mosques where With Phase 3 of the gradual lifting of Covid-19 restrictions they were able to getting under way on July 28, just off er Eid prayers before the Eid holidays started, people have been able to come with precautions out of their homes and celebrate the occasion by visiting parks, Museum of Islamic Art Park on beaches, the Corniche and other the fi rst day of Eid, where he spent outdoor destinations with their a few hours with his family. families. As children under 12 years are A man walks along the Doha Corniche against the backdrop of the “We stayed indoors during not allowed inside malls, outdoor West Bay skyline. PICTURE: Noushad Thekkayil the Eid al-Fitr holidays. On the venues have been drawing a large other hand, the gradual easing of number of families who are keen People at the Wakra family beach. PICTURE: Shaji Kayamkulam sults. Most people seemed to have lowing measures like social dis- restrictions since June 15 has al- to give their little ones some pre- cultivated self-discipline and tancing. “All the measures were lowed us to celebrate Eid al-Adha cious holiday moments. Also, the Eid al-Adha is that people have strictions and had an online cel- last Friday. While welcoming the made it a habit. This is visible eve- followed and things went off by spending time outdoors. heat and humidity have failed to been able to take part in the Eid ebration with friends. opportunity to go out and cel- rywhere as even children could be smoothly as they chose to com- The evenings have been full of deter them. prayer at mosques and prayer That changed during Eid al- ebrate a special occasion like Eid, seen strictly following the meas- ply with the rules,” he added. joy for us and others, as people are The advent of Phase 3 was also grounds. This is something truly Adha as the authorities allotted residents also stressed the need to ures. They are also careful while The health authorities had urged able to have a great time at parks welcomed by believers as they special,” said Badrudheen Rah- 401 mosques and prayer grounds follow the preventive and precau- disposing of masks,” Abdul Raoof people to exercise due caution and beaches,” said Abdul Raoof were able to take part in the Eid man Thotty, another expatriate. across the country for the Eid al- tionary measures laid down by the said, adding that most people while celebrating Eid, as any lack Kondotty, an expatriate social prayer at mosques and prayer The resident of Al Wakra had Adha prayer. This enabled Badru- health authorities. have accepted the ‘new normal’. of commitment to the preventive worker. The Fereej Abdul Aziz yards around the country. performed the Eid al-Fitr prayer dheen to take part in the prayer at “The awareness campaigns by Badrudheen added that wor- measures could have undesired resident took his children to the “The greatest thing about this at home due to the prevailing re- a designated ground in Al Wakra the authorities have yielded re- shippers were diligent in fol- consequences. Nearly 160 tonnes of waste removed from beaches

The Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME)’s General Cleanliness Department has continued with its intensive eff orts to clean beaches and public places around the country during the Eid al-Adha holidays. Accordingly, field teams have been doing their work in three shifts round the clock. They managed to remove 159.5 tonnes of waste from diff erent beaches in the country on the first two days of Eid al-Adha using suitable equipment and vehicles, the MME said in a statement yesterday. The field teams formed specifically for the occasion cover all areas around the country with a special focus on recreation facilities and places such as the Corniche, parks and gardens, public beaches and others visited by a large number of people. The garbage containers provided at these sites are being cleared more frequently. Besides, the department also carried out cleaning and sanitising works in open areas and yards designated for the Eid prayer. This was done in co-operation with the entities concerned. Field teams were designated for beach cleaning around the country, with a particular focus on the Corniche, Sealine, Al Khor, Al Wakra, Al Ghariya, Ras Matbakh, Simaisma, Al Ruwais, Abu Zallouf and other beaches that attract a good number of visitors. This was done to ensure that the public could spend a good time there during the holidays. The MME has called on the public to abide by the stipulations of Public Hygiene Law No 18 of 2017 and maintain public cleanliness by disposing of waste in the designated containers only. For assistance or any related reports, people can contact the call centre at 184.