BUSINESS | Page 1 SPORT | Page 12 Qatar’s fi rst pro boxer dreams of big INDEX DOW JONES QE NYMEX QATAR 2-8, 28 COMMENT 26, 27 fi ght at Khalifa REGION 9, 10 BUSINESS 1-7, 14-16 18,059.00 10,367.74 50.35 ARAB WORLD 10, 11 CLASSIFIED 8-13 Nakilat posts +38.00 -22.22 -0.09 INTERNATIONAL 12-25 SPORTS SECTION 1-12 Stadium +0.21% -0.21% -0.18% QR749mn profi t Latest Figures published in QATAR since 1978

MONDAY Vol. XXXVII No. 10244 October 17, 2016 Muharram 16, 1438 AH

GULF TIMES www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals Doha success for Sagan Doha and In brief suburbs to

TURKEY | Security Qatar condemns blast in Gaziantep get 15 new Qatar has strongly condemned the explosion which happened during a security raid in the Turkish city of Gaziantep, resulting in several deaths and injuries. In a statement, the Foreign Ministry stressed Qatar’s solidarity with the Turkish Republic fl yovers and support “for all eff orts made to maintain security and stability in the The design of the new following up on the work carried out country, renewing its firm stance that pedestrian flyovers will take by the company implementing the rejects violence and terrorism in all into consideration the technical project. It will also operate the bridges their forms and manifestations, and development in construction and ensure that the construction is whatever their source or motives”. The progressing within the set timeframe Slovakia’s Peter Sagan celebrates on the podium after winning the men’s road race at the UCI Road World Championships at The ministry’s statement expressed sincere and is compatible with the designs. Pearl in Doha yesterday. PICTURE: Jayaram Sport Pages 1, 2 condolences to the families of the he Ministry of Municipality and The MME source stated yesterday victims and to the Turkish government Environment (MME) has an- that the design of the pedestrian fl yo- and the people and wished for the Tnounced a plan to establish 15 vers has taken into consideration the injured a speedy recovery. Page 18 pedestrian fl yovers within Doha and its technical development in construction suburbs. and would employ the most sophisti- KUWAIT | Politics “The move is meant to maintain the cated technologies to provide the users New season of local farm produce safety of pedestrians and keep up with with all the possible means of conven- Parliament dissolution the urban development in Doha in co- ience. clears way for polls ordination with the Roads Department The available services on pedes- Kuwaiti Emir Sabah al-Ahmed at the Ministry of Transport and Com- trian flyovers would include shops, markets to begin on Thursday yesterday dissolved parliament, the munication,” an offi cial source at MME restaurants, ATMs, toilets and other state news agency reported, clearing explained. related services. They will also be he fi fth season of the local farm sary preparations to open two new yards The yard for selling livestock at Al Maz- the way for an early election in the The Qatar Cabinet had given its nod equipped with escalators and lifts produce markets will begin this at Muaither and Al Ruwais. Work is under rouah, the Al Mazrouah slaughterhouse country. The move was announced in earlier this month to a draft decision by to benefit the elderly and physically TThursday at the Al Mazrouah, Al way to complete construction at the new and the fodder storehouse will remain open a royal decree. No date was off icially the Minister of Municipality and Envi- challenged. Besides, the design would Khor-Al Zakhira and Al Wakrah yards, facilities, and the ministry will announce throughout the week, from 7am until 5pm. announced for the new election. ronment establishing a committee that take into consideration the cultural the Ministry of Municipality and Envi- their offi cial opening to the public in due The MME has decided to improve fa- However, the Kuwaiti constitution will oversee the implementation of dif- and urban nature of the surrounding ronment (MME) has announced. course, according to a press statement. cilities and make some enhancements at says the vote must be held within two ferent stages of an agreement for build- area. The new season will be the longest till The Al Mazrouah, Al Khor-Al Zakhira the markets, the statement notes. Ac- months. Page 10 ing pedestrian bridges. A committee has been formed in- date, running for about eight months. and Al Wakrah yards for selling local veg- cordingly, the fruits section at all three The law states that the committee cluding MME, the Public Works Au- Some enhancements have been made at etables, fi sh and poultry will be open to yards and the fi sh section at Al Khor-Al IRAQ | Action will be chaired by a representative from thority (Ashghal), the Traffi c Depart- the markets for the benefi t of customers. customers thrice a week – Thursday, Fri- Zakhira have become closed and air- the Ministry of Municipality and En- ment and Qatar Development Bank, to The MME said it was making neces- day and Saturday – from 7am until 5pm. conditioned facilities. To Page 28 Army gets ready for vironment while representatives of all supervise the project, according to a Mosul off ensive designated authorities will be members schedule and ensure that the design is The Iraqi army dropped tens of of the panel, the offi cial Qatar News implemented properly, in addition to thousands of leaflets over Mosul before Agency (QNA) reported. resolving any potential diffi culties and dawn yesterday, warning residents an The committee will be charged with challenges. off ensive to recapture the city from Islamic State was in its final stages of preparation, according to a military statement in Baghdad. The leaflets carried several messages, one of them assuring the population that advancing army units and air strikes “will not target civilians”. Page 10

PHILIPPINES | Weather Thousands fl ee as typhoon strikes Typhoon Sarika slammed into the north-eastern Philippines yesterday, leaving at least two dead and forcing more than 12,000 to flee their homes, off icials said. Sarika, known locally as Typhoon Karen, made landfall over the coastal town of Baler in the northern province of Aurora, ripping off roofs and toppling trees and electric posts. Page 24 An architect’s impression of a pedestrian flyover on Doha Corniche.

MEC halts Galaxy Note 7 sales

he Ministry of Economy and The ministry said it has ensured co- Call Center: 16001 Commerce (MEC), in collabo- ordination with the commercial agent E-mail: [email protected] Tration with Samsung Electron- in order to stop selling and using the Social media accounts: ics Company, has announced a “halt device. Furthermore, the ministry has Twitter: @MEC_Qatar in the sales” of the Galaxy Note 7 and urged all customers who have purchased Instagram: MEC_Qatar suspension of the campaign for re- either the original or the replacement Ministry of Economy and Commerce placements of Galaxy Note 7 devices. device to shut it down and stop using it mobile app for Android and IOS: MEC_ Galaxy Note 7 owners can either ex- and communicate with the commercial Qatar change their Galaxy Note 7 for a Galaxy agent and suppliers for the price refund. The initiative by the Ministry of S7 Edge with a refund of the price dif- The ministry has urged customers to Economy and Commerce comes as ference (in the form of cash or Samsung report any violations to its Consum- part of its eff orts “to monitor defective products) or obtain a full refund of the er Protection and Anti-Commercial goods in the market and continuously device price, which is QR2,999, the Fraud Department through the follow- supervise the commercial agents to ministry said in a release yesterday. ing channels: ensure their commitment and adher- ence to policies and procedures” on the maintenance and repair of defective Qatar Airways bans Galaxy Note 7 devices on board aircraft devices. This is being done to protect the Qatar Airways has banned Sam- devices on board the aircraft or in rights of consumers, the ministry sung Galaxy Note 7 devices on checked luggage. This prohibition said. board the aircraft or in checked applies to all flights.” Many coun- Recently, Samsung announced the luggage. The airline, in a travel tries including the US and Canada start of a comprehensive recall cam- advisory said: “Effective immedi- have banned Samsung Galaxy Note paign in all countries where Galaxy ately, passengers are not permitted 7 devices on board the aircraft or in Note 7 was sold, after the explosion of to bring Samsung Galaxy Note 7 checked luggage. the devices while charging due to a de- fect in the battery. Gulf Times 2 Monday, October 17, 2016 QATAR

Qatar-Russia ties reviewed Ministry to start national MMR campaign today

he Ministry of Public vaccine and autism. and Sidra Medical and Research Health (MoPH) will start It is scheduled that the vacci- Centre. The vaccine will also Ttoday the National Im- nation activities for school going be provided free of charge in 20 munisation Campaign against children will be carried out at in- private health facilities such as Measles, Mumps and Rubella dependent, private and commu- Doha Clinic Hospital, El Emadi (MMR). During the campaign nity schools across Qatar. Hospital, American Hospital, Al that runs until November 14, as The vaccination is compulso- Shefa Polyclinic, Aster Medical many as 294,000 children aged ry for all children in the age cat- Centre C Ring Road, Fetoma- HE the Minister of State for Foreign Aff airs Sultan bin Saad al-Muraikhi holding talks with the Russian ambassador to Qatar Noor one to 13 all across the country egory and can be avoided only on ternal Medical Centre, Al Esraa Mohamed Julov, in Doha yesterday. They discussed bilateral relations and ways of enhancing them, in addition to matters of are being targeted. Polyclinic, Aster Medical Centre common concern. The campaign will be con- The vaccination is Plus, Aster Medical Centre – Al ducted in collaboration with compulsory for all children Khor, Al Tai Medical Centre, the Ministry of Education and in the age category and can Syrian American Medical Cen- Higher Education, Primary be avoided only on account tre, Family Medical Centre, Al Health Care Corporation, Ha- of any medical grounds Hayat Medical Centre, Apollo mad Medical Corporation, Qa- Clinic, Dr. Maher Abbas Clin- tar Petroleum Medical Services account of any medical grounds. ic, Al Mansoor Polyclinic, Dr. Qatar to and Sidra Medical and Research The MMR vaccine will be Bashar Bashar Clinic, Al Kayyali Over 450 Lankans availed Centre. available in the morning and Medical Centre, Tadwai Medi- The health ministry has af- evening shifts at all health cen- cal Centre, Atlas Medical Centre attend UN firmed that the MMR vaccine tres under Primary Health Care and Future Medical Centre. “is safe, effective and gives Corporation without any prior The campaign related enquir- of amnesty in September long-term protection”, and has appointment and in the immu- ies can be made on the hotline housing been proved by its use globally nisation clinic of Hamad Medi- numbers; 66740948 for Arabic, for more than 40 years. The cal Corporation. 66740951 for English and on the ore than 450 Sri cial said the fi gures of those who country in violation of the pro- ministry has also dismissed In addition, the MMR vac- e-mail: [email protected] Lankan expatriates approached the Search and Fol- visions of Law No. 4 of 2009 conference rumours, which had been cines will be provided at Qatar Details of the vaccination are Mavailed of the Ministry low Up Department of the MoI Regulating the Entry, Exit, spreading through social me- Petroleum Medical Services, Al also available on MoPH’s website of Interior’s (MoI) amnesty last this month is expected only at the Residence and Sponsorship of dia, of links between the MMR Khor Community under RasGas www.moph.gov.qa month, a Sri Lankan embassy end of the month. Expatriates can exit the country E the Minister of Devel- offi cial said yesterday. The offi cial also expressed the without legal consequences, if opment Planning and The three-month long am- hope that more illegal residents, they leave by December 1. HStatistics Dr Saleh Mo- nesty for illegal residents to if any, would approach the MoI About 6,000 illegal residents hamed Salem al-Nabit will head leave Qatar without facing any authorities next month, espe- took advantage of the scheme Qatar’s delegation to the United legal consequences for over- cially in the last 15 days. in the fi rst three months be- Nations (UN) Conference on staying in the country started on The amnesty is the fi rst in 12 tween March 21 and June 20 Housing and Sustainable Urban September 1. years and the third ever in Qa- during the last amnesty an- Development (Habitat III), to be The Sri Lankan embassy offi - tar. Expatriates residing in the nounced in 2004. held in Quito, Ecuador, from to- day until October 20. Habitat III aims to reinvig- orate political commitment to sustainable urban development, assess accomplishments to date, QGBC launches new microsite address poverty and identify new and emerging challenges facing sustainable urban devel- for Qatar Sustainability Week opment. The significance of the con- ference – held every 20 years atar Green Building news and a list of participating pert advice necessary to unite – lies in bringing countries to- Council (QGBC) has organisations. The site’s events their eff orts under an overarch- gether to discuss the future of Qlaunched a microsite map off ers a detailed list of all ing umbrella to achieve the na- housing and urbanisation, as it www.QatarSustainability- activities taking place through- tion’s sustainability goals. is held in parallel with the start Week.com for Qatar Sustaina- out the week across Qatar and QGBC, a member of Qatar of implementation of the Sus- bility Week ahead of the inau- how to register for them. Foundation for Education, Sci- tainable Development Agenda An off icial from the MEC pastes a notice about the closure of the car showroom. gural sustainability endeavour Qatar Sustainability Week ence and Community Develop- 2030, which is a comprehen- taking place from November 13 aims to create a unique plat- ment (QF), encourages compa- sive plan for all states aimed to 19 across the country. form to showcase the nation’s nies, institutions, businesses, at achieving peace, prosperity Available on the site are a sustainability vision. The oc- universities and members of the and dignity, and providing op- range of information on Qatar casion will provide the sustain- public to take part by register- portunities for all people to en- Sustainability Week, including ability sector in Qatar with the ing their activities and attend- joy good health, according to a Car showroom closed for events, related sustainability support, co-ordination and ex- ing some of the planned events. statement. During the conference, the member states are expected to GMC Envoy adopt a new programme that a month for fl outing norms includes global standards for model recalled sustainable urban develop- Jail, deportation for ment and planning, building he Ministry of Economy Law No. 8 of 2008 on Consumer Consumer Protection Law and The Ministry of Economy and and managing cities in order and Commerce (MEC) has Protection and combating com- its regulations, and intensify its Commerce, in collaboration with to eliminate squatter areas in Tannounced a month’s clo- mercial fraud, which states: “It is inspection campaigns to crack Mannai Trading Company, has stealing Nojoom points many countries around the sure of a car showroom in New prohibited for all suppliers to sell down on violations. announced the recall of GMC world. Doha area for supplying and sell- or display or provide or promote Those who violate laws and Envoy, model year 2006-2007 ing brand new cars that do not or advertise any counterfeit or ministerial decrees will be re- over a potential defect in the Head Doha Criminal Court ade-long history at the com- match the prescribed standard corrupted goods. A commodity ferred to competent authorities, Lamps Driver Module as it may not has sentenced an In- pany, so he entrusted him Top French honour specifi cations. is considered fake or corrupted, who will in turn take appropriate operate properly in the thermal A dian driver to one with his account details. for ambassador This comes in the framework if they do not match the pre- action against them in order to environment. year in jail and subsequent The driver also used to of the ministry’s intensive in- scribed standards or unusable or protect consumer rights. The MEC said the recall campaign deportation for stealing the speak Arabic, so he man- spection campaigns to regulate expired.” The ministry has urged all comes within the framework of Nojoom points of his em- aged to transfer the points French President Francois and control the market and the The administrative closure customers to report any viola- its ongoing eff orts to protect ployer. to his own account using Hollande has awarded HE Sheikh state commercial activities in advertisement will be placed tions to its Consumer Protec- consumers and ensure that car Local Arabic daily Arrayah the ID number of his em- Mishaal bin Hamad bin Mohamed order to crack down on price ma- on the MEC website and at the tion and Anti-Commercial dealers follow up on vehicle defects reported yesterday that the ployer. al-Thani, Qatar’s outgoing nipulation, and disclose viola- expense of the car showroom Fraud Department through the and repairs. man stole Nojoom points Then, he used the points ambassador to France, the tions, fake and counterfeit com- in two daily newspapers in ac- following channels: Hotline: The MEC will co-ordinate with worth more than QR10,000 for his own benefi t. National Order of Merit with the modities that do not conform to cordance with Article No (3) of 16001, e-mail: [email protected]. the dealer to follow up on the from the manager of the The issue was reported to rank of Commander. The National the standard specifi cations. Law No (8) on Consumer Pro- qa, Twitter: @MEC_Qatar, In- maintenance and repair works and company, where he used to the police and though the Order of Merit is designed to A disclosure violation has tection. stagram: MEC_Qatar, MEC mo- communicate with customers to work as a driver. defendant admitted his guilt, honour high-ranking French been issued for a month in ac- The MEC stressed it will not bile app for Android and IOS: ensure that the necessary repairs The employer used to trust he denied the confession in and foreign military and civilian cordance with Article No. (6) of tolerate any violations of the MEC_Qatar are carried out. the defendant due to his dec- the court. dignitaries.

Temporary closure at Rawdat Rashed intersection Promos and prizes galore for

temporary closure will be in Safari Mall 6th anniversary place for two months from Atomorrow (October 18) on the intersection of Rawdat Rashed afari Mall has announced “promos and combos” on all “We have packaged a number Road with Salwa Road (Exit 29). that it is gearing up to food items. of exclusive promotions dur- During the period, a parallel Scelebrate its sixth anni- Another attraction during ing this period, which will be alternative road can be used for versary with a number of pro- the anniversary is the Cook and available only at Safari and no the movement of vehicles in the motions, off ers and prizes. Win competition, to be held at other outlet in Qatar. Off ers area. The closure is being made One of the highlights is Sa- Safari Mall on October 22. The such as 14-inch HiLife laptop to start the implementation of fari Flavour 2016, a food fes- contest is open to women aged for QR399, 700gm chicken free Phase four of Rawdat Al Rashed tival hosted by the Bakery and 18 years and above and will be with 1.8litre Hayat sunfl ower Road Development Project. Hot Food section every year judged by Amrith (of Dhe Chef oil for QR9.75 and similar pro- Further, the entrance from during the anniversary period, fame, Mazhavil Manorama), motions across all departments Salwa Road to Roundabout (2, as according to a press statement with prizes awaiting the win- have been arranged for cus- seen on the map) will be closed from Safari Group. ners. tomers,” said Zainul Abideen, to heavy vehicles and will re- Through the festival, Sa- group director and general main open only for light vehi- fari aims to provide a varied “We have packaged a manager, Safari Group. cles, for a period of two months. culinary experience, off ering number of exclusive Further, the statement notes Heavy vehicles can drive to- Arabic food as well as cuisine promotions during this that the “Win 10 BMW” cars wards Roundabout (1) and then from India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, period’’ promotion has got a “huge re- take a U-turn to the main road. Bangladesh, the Philippines, sponse” from customers. Each The road from Roundabout (2) China, Pakistan, etc. More than From tomorrow until Octo- draw will have two winners towards Roundabout (3) south- 100 varieties will be on off er for ber 20 (7pm onwards), Safari and any purchase of QR50 will bound will also be closed. Driv- food-loving customers as part will host a musical game show make one eligible for the pro- ers coming from Bu Samra will of the festival. Also, in keep- with free entry for all custom- motion, which is available at have to drive towards Exit 24, ing with the anniversary cel- ers. They also have a chance to all outlets of Safari. The fi rst then go back to Salwa Road and ebrations, all outlets in the food win goodies by participating in draw will be held on Novem- enter Rawdat Rashed Road. court of Safari Mall will off er the game. ber 7. Gulf Times Monday, October 17, 2016 3 QATAR Civic Ministry marks World Food Day Qatar calls for action on N-disarmament he Ministry of Munici- stakeholders would refl ect posi- pality and Environment tively on preserving the natural T(MME) marked yester- resources of the country and Nuclear Weapons (NPT). day the World Food Day with a mitigate the negative impacts of QNA Qatar stressed that nu- number of lectures by offi cials climate change. New York clear-armed states failure and experts. Masoud Jarallah al-Marri, to put any specific time The celebrations were held MME director of Agriculture Re- frames for the implemen- under the patronage of HE the search Department, said that the atar expressed deep tation of these interna- Minister of Municipality and department distributes seeds concern over failure tional commitments for Environment Mohamed bin Ab- and seedlings free to local farm- Q to achieve tangible the total elimination of dullah al-Rumaihi, under the ers to encourage their eff orts in progress on nuclear disar- nuclear weapons is of great theme ‘Climate is changing, boosting the local production mament and the repeated concern, adding that the Food and agriculture must too.’ of vegetables. Besides, livestock failure to comply with the failure to implement the Sheikh Dr Faleh bin Nasser producers are given subsidised implementation of the 1995 decisions and results of the al-Thani, MME assistant un- fodder. Review and Extension Con- previous review cycles im- dersecretary for agriculture and Other lectures were given on ference of the Parties to the pinge on their credibility. fi sheries aff airs, stressed the various agriculture issues on Treaty on the Non-Prolifer- This came in Qatar’s speech eff orts of MME in supporting how to improve production and ation of Nuclear and the 13 delivered by Abdulaziz Ham- various activities of the agri- implement sophisticated tech- “practical steps” outlined in dan al-Ahmed, a member of culture sector in the country to nologies in the fi eld to enhance the 2000 NPT review con- Qatar’s delegation to the 71st guarantee food security based on food industry in the country. An ference final document and Session of the UN General As- the best scientifi c practices and open general discussion on the the 2010 Review Conference sembly before the First Com- principles. He also pointed out topics concluded the celebra- of the Parties to the Treaty mittee on the Item “Nuclear that joint group work among all tion. MME off icials at the World Food Day event yesterday. on the Non-Proliferation of Weapons.” Doha meeting seeks to raise awareness on chemical arms

he annual meeting of the representatives of chemical industries and national authorities Tof the state parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) was inaugurated yesterday in Doha. The meeting, which concludes tomorrow, was in- augurated by Major General Staff (Pilot) Nasser Mo- hamed al-Ali, chairman of the Qatar National Com- mittee for the Prohibition of Weapons. Brigadier (Air) Hassan Saleh al-Nesf, deputy chairman of the Committee, addressed the opening session of the meeting and talked about Qatar’s ex- perience in raising community awareness on related issues. He said that the Committee has maintained close co-operation with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education in this regard and held many annual workshops for students to raise their aware- ness on the issue. The Committee has also organised an annual com- petition to design a poster on risks of such weapons, in addition to other prizes on research on the inter- national conventions regarding weapons of mass de- struction. The meeting is aimed at enhancing engagement between national authorities and chemical industry representatives on CWC. The annual meeting of the representatives of chemical industries and national authorities of the state parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in progress in Doha. Gulf Times 4 Monday, October 17, 2016 QATAR

Sierra Leone envoy presents credentials

Secretary-General of the Foreign Ministry Dr Ahmed bin Hassan al- Vision loss Hammadi receiving a copy of the credentials of Siray Alpha Timbo, non-resident ambassador of Sierra Leone to Qatar, in can be avoided Doha yesterday. The secretary- general wished the ambassador success in his mission, and further progress and in most cases, prosperity to the bilateral relations between the two says doctor countries.

n recognition of World Sight der to ensure good eye health,” Day, Hamad Medical Corpo- said Dr al-Ansari. Iration (HMC) is increasing “In 80% of cases, visual im- New Mazda CX-9 ‘ultimate family SUV’ awareness of the global issue of pairment could have been avoid- avoidable vision loss and blind- ed through the appropriate treat- ness. ment.” he all-new 2017 Mazda weather, driver intentions and seven-inch or eight-inch MZD “Approximately 285mn peo- As a glaucoma specialist, Dr CX-9, on display at the more to deliver optimum torque Connect touchscreen infotain- ple worldwide live with low al-Ansari said the most common TNational Car Company- and vehicle control at the re- ment system with commander vision and blindness and of vision impairment problems seen Mazda showroom in Al Nasr, quired time. control knob. these individuals, 39mn are in Qatar include glaucoma, cata- is “the ultimate blend of stun- i-Activsense advanced safety Using both touchscreen func- blind and 246mn have mod- racts and diabetic retinopathy. ning sophistication and a family technologies are designed to tions when parked and a centre- erate or severe visual impair- She said that awareness, pre- SUV,” the dealer said yesterday. help the driver recognise poten- mounted commander control ment which could be otherwise vention and regular check-ups “Being the fi rst Mazda to fea- tial hazards, avoid collisions and knob when on the move, MZD avoided through treatment,” are the best options for people ture the breakthrough Skyactiv-G The all-new 2017 Mazda CX-9 SUV. minimise the severity of accidents Connect safely controls radio, said Dr Zakia Mohamed al- with a high-risk of vision im- 2.5Turbo petrol engine, it deliv- when they are unavoidable. phone, navigation, diagnostic Ansari, specialist at HMC’s pairment, such as individuals ers class-leading performance responses are further enhanced The complete suite includes: and phone functions. Ophthalmology Section. living with diabetes. with real-world effi ciency, with with the latest advances in Driver Attention Alert, Adap- MZD Connect also enables World Sight Day is an interna- To schedule an eye exam, pa- the turbocharged engine off er- Skyactiv Technology, of which tive LED Headlamps, Lane De- voice controls for many func- tional day of awareness, held an- tients are urged to visit their Pri- ing driving excitement never be- CX-9 boasts the full suite. parture Warning & Lane-keep tions as well as fi ve shortcut nually on the second Thursday of mary Health Care Centre for a fore felt in a seven-seat SUV,” the The torque is easy to access in Assist System, Adaptive Front- buttons around the commander October to focus attention on the Dr al-Ansari: focus on eye health referral. company said in a statement. the lower part of the rev range, lighting System, Blind Spot control for selecting favourite global issue of avoidable visual Individuals will then be re- The ‘Kodo - Soul of Motion’ with peak twist coming in at just Monitoring, Forward Obstruc- radio channels or enabling spe- impairment and blindness. and many of these cases could ferred to HMC’s Ophthalmology design is elegant. The spacious 2,000 rpm. tion Warning, Smart Brake Sup- cifi c functions. This year’s global theme is: have been prevented through Department. interior is fi nished with quality The innovative Dynamic Pres- port, High Beam Control, Radar All New CX-9 is available in “Universal Eye Health”. regular checkups. HMC’s Ophthalmology De- craftsmanship in every detail. sure Turbo adjusts boost pressure Cruise Control, and Rear Cross Prestige and Executive grades “People of all ages believe that To help address this, HMC partment provides basic oph- The latest in connectivity, and airfl ow according to engine Traffi c Alert. with a choice of elegant colours if they can see clearly, their eyes provides a screening pro- thalmic care to advanced surgical passenger comforts and i-Ac- speed to overcome traditional All these proactive safety fea- - Soul Red, Snowfl ake White, are healthy. But this may not gramme for all infants born at procedures in the anterior seg- tivsense safety technologies are problems such as turbo lag. tures are in addition to a wide Machine Grey, Sonic Silver, Jet always be the case,” said Dr al- Women’s Hospital and advises ment, posterior segment, oculo- among the highlights. The intelligent, on-demand array of active and passive safety Black, Deep Crystal Blue and Ti- Ansari. that children have follow-up plasty and paediatrics. The direct injection turbo- i-Activ AWD system in the new features, including six Air Bags, tanium Flash. “People of all ages are suscep- screenings when they are six Also it provides comprehen- charged engine provides more Mazda CX-9 uses electronic Dynamic Stability Control, More information and test tible to visual impairment and months old, three years old, sive testing and diagnostic serv- immediate power and torque controls to distribute torque Traction Control System, Elec- drive of the all-new Mazda blindness.” during preschool and a yearly ices such as visual fi eld tests and (250hp, 420Nm torque) for ef- evenly across the vehicle. tronic Brake-force Distribution, CX-9 range could be had by vis- According to the International screening thereafter. optical coherence tomography, fortless acceleration and over- The system sources informa- Anti-locking Braking System, iting the Mazda showroom (Na- Agency for the Prevention of “It is imperative that everyone, fundus photography, ultrasound, taking while maintaining excel- tion from 27 diff erent sensors to Brake Assist and Tyre Pressure tional Car Company) located at Blindness, there are over 19mn including children, has regular, electrophysiology, corneal imag- lent fuel economy. predict changes in driving con- Monitoring System. Al Nasr Street (call 44435965 or blind children all over the world, comprehensive eye exams in or- ing and fl uorescein imaging. The smooth ride and athletic ditions including road surface, New CX-9 comes with a visit www.mazda-qatar.com)

Gulf Times 6 Monday, October 17, 2016 QATAR

Infection prevention campaign begins

he Ministry of Pub- ness among the public on vention and control play conducting a symposium lic Health (MOPH) preventing infections. to prevent infections. The on October 20 where senior Lanka seeks Thas started “Qatar QIPC Week is the fi rst event also aims at educat- offi cials and subject matter Infection Prevention and event at the national-level ing healthcare profession- experts and healthcare or- Control (QIPC) Week”. and it will be an annual als to prevent infections ganisations in the govern- QIPC Week will run un- awareness campaign to as well as raise awareness ment, semi-government til October 22 under the highlight the importance among the public on the and private sector will theme “Break the Chain of infection prevention and important role they play attend. of Infection” in collabo- control practices wherever to protect themselves and University profes- investment in ration with healthcare healthcare is delivered to others. sors and students from facilities and the relevant improve patient safety. Al-Katheeri also high- schools of medicine, nurs- tertiary institutions in Huda Amer al-Katheeri, lighted that the theme ing, pharmacy, health sci- Qatar. acting director, Healthcare for this year’s celebration ences and others will be The celebration in- Quality and Patient Safety “Breaking the Chain of attending the symposium. cludes awareness ac- department at the Minis- Infection” was chosen in In addition to speakers tivities to highlight the try of Public Health, said, line with the celebration from Hamad Medical Cor- health sector importance of infection “Qatar Infection Preven- of International Infection poration, Aspetar and Qa- prevention and control tion and Control (QIPC) Prevention Week that takes tar University, a consultant By Ramesh Mathew practices in all health- Week aims to highlight place in the third week of from the Joint Commis- Staff Reporter care facilities. In addi- the important role that October each year. sion International will tion, there will be a public the best evidence based As part of the celebra- be delivering talks at the campaign to raise aware- practices in infection pre- tion, the ministry will be symposium. ri Lanka is exploring the possi- bility of attracting investments Sfrom Qatari entrepreneurs and government agencies in its health sector, island nation’s Minister of Health Rajitha Senaratne said in Doha yesterday. The minister, who is on a two-day visit to Qatar, said he had held dis- cussions on investment prospects in his country with Qatar Minister for Rajitha Senarathne, left, with his country’s ambassador to Qatar W M Karunadasa Finance HE Ali Sherif al-Emadi. at the Sri Lankan embassy in Doha yesterday. “While apprising the Qatar Minister of the areas where Sri Lanka is looking benefi ts from their investments made health but eff orts are on to make it a for foreign investments, we gave him a in Sri Lanka,” the minister said, adding minimum of 3%.” picture of the current economic posi- their government is also keen on devel- Sri Lanka, he said, is also looking tion of our country and also the sectors oping the physical infrastructure of its forward to foreign capital for building where investments could fetch good drugs and pharmaceutical sectors. more state-of-the-art hospitals after returns,” Senaratne explained. “We have made this proposal to the memorandums were signed with Ger- The Sri Lankan minister said he also local authorities in Qatar, citing the many and Austria to develop advanced spoke to the Qatar Minister on the advantages Sri Lanka had from the centres for nephrology and heart prospects of attracting investments to free trade agreement (FTA) with In- transplantation. his country’s power sector. “We have dia. The investors are expected to gain The minister said eff orts are under- some ambitious plans as well to capi- signifi cantly from the investments way in Sri Lanka to develop further talise on our favourable weather condi- in pharmaceutical and drugs in such treatment methods such as ayurveda, tions to develop solar and wind energy conditions,” he said. The minister said chinese and homeopathy with an eye projects to meet the growing power their studies have found the market is on attracting more visitors from across requirements.” guaranteed for the medicines manu- the world. “We require foreign partici- The minister said Sri Lanka hopes factured as part of the FTA with India. pation for their further development.” there is a scope for developing tourism Senaratne also said his country is Similar foreign investments are also and other projects in one of its islands, working to bolster its E-Health pro- sought to develop a photo-dynamic where adequate land is available for in- gramme and already 40 hospitals therapy centre of international stand- vestors. “Unlike what it used to be, in across Sri Lanka have been brought ards to treat such illnesses as cancer, Sri Lanka, we are processing the pa- under the mission. he said. pers for investments fast these days,” “Now, we are exploring the pos- The minister also explored the pos- he said. sibility to attract foreign invest- sibility of seeking Qatar Red Crescent “With an eye on tapping foreign in- ments, including those from Qatar, assistance, including mobile dialysis vestments, we have waived off tax im- to bring 150 more hospitals under the machines, to providing treatment for posed by the previous government on E-Health programme. “Currently those suff ering from renal diseases in investors so that they could enjoy more only 1.8% of the GDP is earmarked for some parts of his country. Gulf Times Monday, October 17, 2016 7 QATAR HMC to spread awareness of osteoporosis n recognition of World Osteoporo- According to the International Os- about preventive measures so they can sis Day, Hamad Medical Corpora- teoporosis Foundation, approximately better educate their patients. Ition (HMC) is raising awareness of one in three women and one in fi ve men “Osteoporosis is not an unavoidable the prevention, diagnosis, and treat- over the age of 50 will break a bone due threat. Although it can be accelerated ment of osteoporosis this week. to osteoporosis. by various factors such as family histo- Osteoporosis is a condition that “Without early diagnosis and treat- ry, there are steps everyone can take to weakens bones, making them fragile ment, patients may face a future of prevent and fi ght this disease,” said Dr and more likely to fracture, particularly severely reduced quality of life, loss of Nabeel Abdulla, a consultant at HMC’s the hip, spine, and wrist. physical independence and premature Rheumatology Division. Broken bones due to osteoporosis is death,” added Dr Khanjar. “We want the public to understand a serious concern which aff ects more As part of the awareness campaign that they are able to protect bone and than 200mn people worldwide. entitled “Love Your Bones: Protect muscle health at all ages by making “Osteoporosis is under-diagnosed Your Future”, more than 400 HMC and simple lifestyle changes,” Dr Abdulla because it is a symptomless disease that Primary Health Care Corporation phy- said. “This includes increasing ex- usually only gets diagnosed once a pa- sicians will take part in a series of sym- posure to sunlight, avoiding alcohol, tient sustains a fracture. The problem posiums run by HMC’s Rheumatology quitting smoking, performing regular is, once an older patient suff ers from Division at the Medicine Department. weight bearing exercises and eating a fracture, particularly of the hip and The symposium will educate clini- a well-balanced diet which includes spine, this can lead to a cycle of frac- cians about the burden of osteoporosis, milk, cheese and fi sh.” tures resulting in chronic pain, long when to screen for it and when to refer Those who want more information term disability and even death,” said patients to a rheumatologist for treat- about osteoporosis can visit Hamad Dr Izzat Khanjar, senior consultant in ment. General Hospital until October 20 to HMC’s Rheumatology Division. Participants will also learn more collect patient education materials.

Al Khor Park to be closed this Wednesday

Al Khor Park will be closed on Wednesday, October 19, for regular pest control works, Al Khor Municipality has announced. The park will reopen the next day, October 20. Gulf Times 8 Monday, October 17, 2016 QATAR

DIFI conference on QRCS slams air strike on family research and policy begins today

oha International identify the policies that Family Institute are needed to respond Latamneh health centre D(DIFI), a member to the new challenges,” of Qatar Foundation for al-Jehani said. atar Red Crescent Soci- Education, Science and DIFI’s commitment to ety (QRCS) has strongly Community Development, further research on Arab Qcondemned yesterday’s will host the second an- families, and to promote air strike that targeted the civil- nual conference on Family policies that enhance the ian area of Latamneh in northern Research and Policy at the protection and well-being Hama countryside where one of Qatar National Convention families and their mem- its health facilities is active. Centre from today. bers, prompted the insti- The air strike left fi ve dead: The two-day confer- tute to join eff orts with Al a woman, man, and their three ence, entitled ‘The Impact Jazeera Media Network month-old baby girl, as well as of Wars and Confl icts on (AJMN), the conference’s a woman and her one-year-old Arab Families’, brings to- offi cial media partner. son who were waiting to receive gether researchers and As part of the DIFI- medical treatment at QRCS’s policymakers from around AJMN partnership, the fi rst Latamneh Primary Healthcare the world to discuss the day of the conference will Centre. role of research and public see three Al Jazeera corre- Ten civilians were also injured, policies in promoting the spondents share their on- including two staff members of well-being and protection the-ground experiences in the centre, a nurse and a doctor. of Arab families. war and confl ict zones in The air strike heavily damaged The fi rst day of the con- the Arab region, providing the centre, which provides medi- ference will provide partic- policymakers with unpar- cal and healthcare to 900 people ipants with a unique plat- alleled insight and tangi- monthly, mostly mothers and form to address the impact ble evidence of the human children. of confl icts on family for- tragedies and challenges The centre also provides labo- mation and breakdown and facing aff ected families. ratory services and contains a social and economic devel- Hamdi al-Bokari, sen- pharmacy that serves a catch- opment, as well as a coun- ior producer at Al Jazeera ment area for 50,000 people. It try’s demographic struc- Channel, will speak about temporarily stopped its services ture in terms of fertility, the confl ict in Yemen while to assess the safety in the area mortality and migration. Mohamed al-Najjar, head of and its staff . Noor al-Malki al-Je- social media at AJMN, will In a press statement, QRCS said hani, executive direc- elaborate on the ongoing war this direct targeting of defenseless tor, DIFI, emphasised the in Aleppo. Amer Lafi , a cor- civilians “represents a stark viola- crucial role of the confer- respondent at Al Jazeera, will tion of the most basic tenets of the ence in informing future give a fi rsthand account of the Geneva Conventions and interna- policies. “Families in the refugee crisis on the Syrian – tional humanitarian law.” An injured young child receiving treatment. Arab world are under tre- Turkish border, as well as the “It is in direct defi ance of the mendous threat due to the humanitarian crisis in Libya. multiple United Nations Security cal personnel and humanitarian manitarian mission in Syria. It and child care and killing two tod- tional community to ensure the ongoing confl icts in many The second day of the Council Resolutions condemning personnel exclusively engaged in will also continue to uphold hu- dlers and their mothers are clear protection of medical facilities parts of the region. By conference will feature a the direct targeting of civilian are- medical duties, their means of manitarian values and the funda- violations of all international that provide civilians with the hosting this conference, session on the role of non- as in situations of armed confl ict,” transport and equipment, as well mental principles of the Interna- laws,” said Dr Hashem Darwish, medical services they need,” he we would like to shed light governmental organisa- it added. as hospitals and other medical fa- tional Red Cross and Red Crescent head of Health Programmes at noted. on the short-term and tions in providing human- The UN Security Council Reso- cilities.” Movement. QRCS’s Mission in Turkey. Early this month, two direct long-term impacts of wars itarian relief and support lution 2286 (2016) “strongly con- Despite such attacks, QRCS “Targeting a medical centre that “We are appealing for help to air strikes completely destroyed and confl icts on the family for people and communi- demns attacks and threats against stressed that it will not be dis- off ers primary healthcare services stop the killing of innocent chil- QRCS’s Sakhour Primary Health- unit and on men, women ties aff ected by wars and the wounded and sick, medi- couraged from pursuing its hu- with a particular focus on mother dren and calling on the interna- care Centre in eastern Aleppo. and children. We hope to confl icts. IBPN and Gujarat govt ink collaboration agreement

ndian Business and Profes- dent, and Rajiv Kumar Gupta, pharmaceuticals among others. “It is the commitment of the sional Network (IBPN), in as- representing the government of Representatives of various Indian embassy to support IBPN Isociation with a high-profi le Gujarat. The event was presided companies from diff erent sec- in extending assistance to fi nd delegation from Vibrant Gujarat over by R K Singh, deputy chief tors in Gujarat, headed by Gupta, investors for various projects in Summit, held a business net- of mission at the Indian em- principal secretary (labour and Gujarat and other states,” said working event in Doha recently. bassy, and Yasir Nainar, general employment), were on a two- Dinesh Udenia, fi rst secretary At the event, the government secretary of IBPN, expressed the day visit to Doha as a part of at the embassy, in his closuring of the Indian state of Gujarat en- vote of thanks. their Gulf tour. remarks. tered into a collaboration agree- The event included a pres- “We are here to woo Qatari, “We are planning to take a ment with IBPN, the apex body entation on investment op- Indian and other investors and businessmen and investor’s del- of Indian businesspersons in portunities in sectors such as to invite them to attend the up- egation of Qataris, NRI inves- Qatar working under the aegis of oil and gas, chemicals-agro- coming Vibrant Gujarat Global tors and other expatriate busi- the Indian embassy. chemicals, petrochemicals, Summit in Gandhinagar, Gu- nessmen for the Vibrant Gujarat The agreement was signed infrastructure development, jarat, from January 10-13,” said Global Summit 2017,” added K M Varghese and Rajiv Kumar Gupta, flanked by off icials from the Indian embassy and IBPN, at the signing by K M Varghese, IBPN presi- e-commerce and logistics, Gupta. Varghese. ceremony in Doha. Motorists express concern over closure of 2 private petrol stations

By Peter Alagos burden to many people,” he station to cater to motor- While he did not specify installed within the year. Business Reporter added. ists in the northern parts of the exact locations, al-Ku- Citing safety precau- Qatar. wari said the government tions, al-Kuwari added It was observed that three has already identifi ed diff er- that the mobile petrol number of motor- new petrol stations, includ- ent locations in and around stations will be avail- ists have expressed ing the on road towards Doha where the additional able in carefully selected, Aconcern over the the Hamad International 20 mobile stations will be less crowded locations. reported closure of two Airport, appear to be com- private petrol stations in pleted but remain closed to Doha, which, they lament- motorists. ed, would add more to the Speaking to Gulf Times congestion, waiting time, on the sidelines of Woqod’s and longer queues at fi lling annual general meeting stations. held in May, chief execu- “As it is, motorists spend tive offi cer Ibrahim Jaham around 15 to 20 minutes or al-Kuwari said Woqod “will even longer waiting to refu- soon” deploy 20 additional el their cars. But to close not mobile petrol stations in one but two petrol stations and around Doha to address would be a nightmare for mounting clamour from vehicle owners,” a motorist With the reported clo- motorists. complained. sure of the West Bay and He said Woqod has fi - His complaints stemmed University petrol stations, nalised with concerned au- from reports that the Uni- another motorist observed thorities of certain lands for versity Petrol Station that “it would be timely” the deployment of the mo- along Al Jamiaa and Al Fa- for Woqod (Qatar Fuel) to bile petrol stations, which rouq streets and the West open new petrol stations “to will be located in various Bay Petrol Station along ease motorists’ inconven- locations in Doha. Al Istiqlal and Al Intisar ience” when refuelling their “There are currently six streets will close down for vehicles. operational mobile petrol renovations. This year, Woqod had stations and we will soon “Not only is it a hassle to opened three new petrol add 20 more. In addition to experience all sorts of de- stations bringing the total that, we are ordering around lays while refuelling, but number to 34. According to 30 mobile petrol stations, it is a big inconvenience to its website, Woqod opened which we expect to receive the larger public because in January its 32nd service in the next three months. long queues create traf- station in Sawda Natheel They would be on standby fi c congestion along busy and the 33rd in Simaisma and can be deployed as the thoroughfares across the area. In March, Woqod need arises,” al-Kuwari country; this is defi nitely a opened its Ain Sinan petrol said. Gulf Times Monday, October 17, 2016 9 REGION US, UK and UN demand Yemen truce within days

Agencies and the UN should lead the “We cannot emphasise London way in calling for that cease- enough today the fi re.” Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir is greeted urgency of ending the The diplomatic push came (Left to right) US Secretary of State John Kerry, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and by British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson ahead of a violence in Yemen” he United States, Brit- amid signs that a renewed UN Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed make a joint statement on Yemen at meeting on the situation in Syria at Lancaster House in ain and the UN peace peace process may be at Lancaster House in London yesterday. They urged the warring parties in Yemen’s civil war to London yesterday. Tenvoy to Yemen yes- hand. declare a ceasefire within days. terday urged the warring A Saudi-led coalition in- parties in the country’s civil tervened in March 2015 in war to declare a ceasefi re they support of Hadi’s interna- said could start within days. tionally-recognised govern- The United Nations envoy, ment after it was forced to Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, fl ee as Shia Houthi rebels said: “We are here to call for seized the capital. an immediate cessation of The coalition has carried hostilities, which will be de- out hundreds of air strikes clared in the next few hours.” and provided ground troops Cheikh Ahmed said he had to support Hadi’s forces. been in contact with the rebel The Houthi rebels, who are Houthi militia’s lead negotia- allied with forces loyal to ex- tor and with Yemeni Presi- president Ali Abdullah Saleh, dent Abd-Rabbu Mansour are still controlling key areas Hadi’s government. including the capital Sanaa. But he also warned that he The rebels control large hoped for “clearer plans” for parts of the north, their his- a ceasefi re in coming days. toric stronghold areas, and US Secretary of State John other regions of western and Kerry would not predict central Yemen. whether Yemen’s govern- Government forces have ment or rebel forces had ac- recaptured the south and cepted the demand, but said east but failed to make any the diplomats were not oper- signifi cant advances. ating “in a vacuum.” The confl ict has killed al- “This is the time to imple- most 6,900 people, wounded ment a ceasefi re uncondi- more than 35,000 and dis- tionally and then move to the placed at least 3mn since negotiating table,” Kerry told March last year, according to reporters. the United Nations. Kerry was speaking after Civilians have paid the meeting Cheikh Ahmed and heaviest price in an increas- his opposite numbers from ingly dire humanitarian cri- Britain, Saudi Arabia and the sis. The ceasefi re call came United Arab Emirates at talks after meetings in London hosted by Britain in London. with Saudi Foreign Minis- Washington’s top diplo- ter Adel al-Jubeir and senior mat said he, British Foreign UAE offi cials. Secretary Boris Johnson and Kerry met Iranian Foreign Cheikh Ahmed are calling Minister Javad Zarif on Sat- for the ceasefi re to begin “as urday in Switzerland on the rapidly as possible, meaning sidelines of Syria talks. Monday, Tuesday”. “It is a crisis now of enor- The senior envoys, he said, mous proportions with an had been in touch with Ha- increasing economic, in- di’s Saudi-backed govern- creasing humanitarian and ment and with the Iranian- health crisis, and obviously sponsored Houthi rebels who the military components drove him from the country are troubling to everybody,” to push for peace. Kerry said. “We cannot emphasise He added that the release enough today the urgency of of two American prisoners ending the violence in Yem- by Yemen’s Houthi and the en,” Kerry said. evacuation of Yemeni civil- Johnson agreed, saying: ians wounded in a Saudi air “The fatalities that we’re strike were “an important seeing there are unaccept- humanitarian gesture by the able. Saudis to address the hu- There should be a ceasefi re manitarian concern”. Iran MPs call for release of death penalty activist

AFP and mercy of the Islamic Tehran republic” and reunite her with her children. They also highlight Mo- group of Iranian hammadi’s medical prob- lawmakers has writ- lems including “muscular Aten an open letter paralysis”. to the head of the judici- Among the signatories ary calling for the release were parliamentary vice of Narges Mohammadi, president Ali Motahari and an activist sentenced to 10 several female MPs. years in prison. Mohammadi, who was Mohammadi, 44, has also spokeswoman for campaigned against the Iran’s Centre for Human death penalty and was Rights Defenders, went on awarded the City of Paris hunger strike in June after medal earlier this year being denied phone con- for her work on women’s tact with her children, who rights. live with their father in Arrested in May last year, France. the mother-of-two was The authorities relented sentenced in April to a to- after 20 days of the hunger tal of 16 years in prison on strike. various charges, including Under a law passed last “forming and managing an year, she should only serve illegal group”. the sentence linked to the In the letter published most important charge by Iranian media yester- -- in this case 10 years for day, the lawmakers call on forming the “illegal group” Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, Legam which pressed for the head of the judiciary, an end to capital punish- “to apply the clemency ment. Gulf Times 10 Monday, October 17, 2016 REGION/ARAB WORLD Kuwait emir Iraqi army drops leafl ets dissolves over Mosul

Reuters Reflecting the authorities’ Baghdad concerns over a mass exodus that would complicate the of- fensive, the leaflets told resi- parliament he Iraqi army dropped dents “to stay at home and not tens of thousands of leaf- to believe rumours spread by AFP representatives and contribute “This has been the most co- Tlets over Mosul before Daesh” to cause panic, refer- Kuwait City to confronting those challenges,” operative parliament with the dawn yesterday, warning resi- ring to Islamic State by its Ara- the decree said. government,” Saeedi said. dents an off ensive to recapture bic acronym. The move was based on a rec- MP Saleh Ashour even off ered the city from Islamic State was With a pre-war population uwait’s emir dissolved ommendation from the cabinet, congratulations to the Kuwaiti in its fi nal stages of preparation, of around 2mn, Mosul is around parliament yesterday fol- which held an emergency meet- people on the dissolution. according to a military statement 4-5 times the size of any other Klowing tensions between ing earlier yesterday to discuss “I congratulate the Kuwaiti in Baghdad. city recaptured so far from the lawmakers and the government the political situation. people for dissolving the national The leafl ets carried several militants, who swept through over a petrol price hike, set- It came less than 24 hours af- assembly and hope the next as- messages, one of them assuring northern Iraq in 2014 and also ting the stage for early elections ter parliament speaker Marzouk sembly will represent their aspi- the population that advancing hold a swathe of Syria. within two months. al-Ghanem called for snap elec- rations,” Ashour said. army units and air strikes “will The UN last week said it was The surprise move came af- tions, following three requests The 50-member parliament not target civilians” and anoth- bracing for the world’s biggest ter lawmakers in the emirate from lawmakers to grill ministers was scheduled to start the fi nal er telling them to avoid known and most complex humanitar- strongly opposed the govern- over the petrol price hike and al- year of its four-year term tomor- locations of Islamic State mili- ian eff ort in the battle for the ment’s unilateral hike of petrol leged fi nancial and administra- row. tants. city, which could make up to 1mn prices – one of a host of austerity tive violations. Kuwait enjoyed relative stabil- The assault on Mosul, the last people homeless and see civil- measures following a sharp drop No date was set for fresh polls ity in the past three years follow- city still under control of Is- ians used as human shields or in crude revenues. but under the Kuwaiti constitu- ing almost seven years of political lamic State in Iraq, could begin even gassed. Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al- tion early elections must be held turmoil due to disputes between this month with the support of “Keep calm and tell your chil- Sabah’s decree made no direct within two months of the disso- lawmakers, mainly from the op- a US-led coalition, according to dren that it is only a game or mention of the tensions, instead lution of the house. position, and the government. Iraqi government and military thunder before the rain,” a leafl et referring to “delicate regional Kuwaiti political analyst Saleh al- Almost all opposition groups offi cials. said. “Women should not scream developments” and “the dangers Saeedi said the dissolution came as boycotted the previous polls in Islamic State fighters are or shout, to preserve the chil- of security challenges”. a surprise given the current parlia- protest against the government’s Kuwaiti National Assembly speaker Marzouq al-Ghanim leaves dug in and are expected to fight dren’s spirit.” “It became necessary to go ment’s outspoken support for most unilateral change of the voting the assembly building in Kuwait City yesterday after Kuwait’s Emir, hard. “If you see an army unit, stay back to the people to elect their government measures. system. Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, dissolved parliament. They have forced civilians to at least 25m away and avoid any stay in harm’s way during previ- sudden movements,” another ous battles to defend territory. said. Russian President Vladimir Iraq earlier this month Putin said yesterday he hoped launched a radio station to help the United States and its allies Mosul residents stay safe during Saudi replaces envoy who riled Shia militias would do their best to avoid ci- the off ensive. vilian casualties in an attack on The radio is broadcasting from Mosul. Qayyara, a town 60km (about 40 Reuters tension with Baghdad. But in August Iraq asked Riyadh created position, according to Iraqi Shia politicians and mi- “We hope that our American miles) south of Mosul, where the Doha Thamer al-Sabhan in 2015 be- to replace Sabhan after his com- state news agency SPA. litias had made repeated calls partners, and in this case our army is massing forces ahead of came the fi rst Saudi ambassador ments about Iranian involvement He will be replaced by Ab- to expel Sabhan, who has been French partners as well, will act the off ensive. to be posted to Iraq since the 1990 in Iraqi aff airs and the alleged dulaziz al-Shamri, Riyadh’s mil- calling on the Iraqi government selectively and do everything to Qayyara has also an airfi eld audi Arabia yesterday Iraqi invasion of Kuwait – an ap- persecution of Sunni Muslims itary attache in Germany, who to exclude Shia paramilitary minimise – and even better, to that will be used as a hub by the replaced its envoy to pointment which was seen as her- angered local Shia Muslim politi- will be appointed as the charge groups from its military cam- rule out – civilian casualties,” US-led coalition to support the S Iraq whose comments alding closer co-operation in the cians and militia leaders. d’aff aires to the Saudi embassy paign against Islamic State in Putin said in a televised news off ensive in which Kurdish Pesh- about Iranian involvement in fi ght against Islamic State militants Sabhan was appointed minis- in Baghdad, Sabhan said on his order to avoid abuses against conference on the sidelines of merga and Sunni tribal fi ghters Iraqi affairs led to diplomatic in Iraq, Syria and Saudi Arabia. ter for Arab Gulf Aff airs, a newly Twitter account on Friday. Sunnis in Iraq. the Brics summit in India. are expected to take part.

Israel closes OIC hails Unesco resolution on Aqsa Palestinian QNA people in Jerusalem, the capital of the State Jeddah of Palestine, according to OIC. territories The Secretary General, Iyad Amin Madani, commended the OIC group’s ef- for holiday he General Secretariat of the Organisa- forts and the positions of friendly coun- tion of Islamic Co-operation welcomed tries that backed the resolution, which Tthe adoption by the United Nations Ed- would entrench and preserve the Arab- AFP ucational, Scientifi c and Cultural Organisation Islamic identity of Al-Aqsa Mosque. Jerusalem (Unesco) of a resolution that acknowledges Al- Madani stressed the importance of en- Aqsa Mosque /Al-Haram Al-Sharif to be an forcement of these historic and important exclusively Islamic holy site. resolutions, and called, at the same time, on srael closed off the The General Secretariat stressed that this Unesco to shoulder its responsibilities and occupied West Bank resolution was an expression of the condem- take the necessary measures to put an end I and Gaza Strip yes- nation and rejection by the international to the serious Israeli violations against the terday for the Jewish hol- community of all Israeli occupation policies Arab-Islamic heritage in Palestine, especial- iday of Sukkot, the army and actions, designed to cover up historical ly in the cities of Jerusalem and Al-Khalil, said, as concerns rose facts and deny the inalienable political, cul- which run counter to the principles of inter- over whether visits to a tural and religious rights of the Palestinian national law and relevant UN resolutions. sensitive holy site could lead to violence. The restrictions barring Palestinians from enter- ing would remain in place through today, but humani- tarian cases would be al- lowed passage, said an army spokeswoman. Sukkot usually sees an increase in the number of Jewish visitors to the flash- point Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in east Jerusa- lem, which has led to clash- es in past years. Palestinians fear Israel may one day seek to as- sert further control over it. It is the third of three successive Jewish holidays that have led to tensions with the Palestinians in the past. Last week, Jews marked Yom Kippur, while Rosh Hashanah, or New Year, was the previous week. Meanwhile, Israel re- leased yesterday the daugh- ter of a Palestinian who carried out a deadly attack a week ago, after arresting her for praising her father’s shooting rampage, her law- yer said. On October 9 Misbah Abu Sbeih opened fire on civilians in Jerusalem from a car and at police, kill- ing a police officer and a 60-year-old Israeli woman. Five other people were wounded. Abu Sbeih was later killed by police. His daughter Eiman Abu Sbeih, 17, was arrested by Israeli authorities after she posted a video widely shared on social media in which she praised her fa- ther. Gulf Times Monday, October 17, 2016 11 ARAB WORLD US, Britain mulling sanctions over siege

AFP and they should think about tions and President Obama London it now,” he warned. has not taken any option off Kerry, meanwhile, the table.” warned that US President French Foreign Minis- he United States and Barack Obama had not tak- ter Jean-Marc Ayrault said Britain warned yes- en any option off the table stopping the bombardment Tterday that Western in terms of tackling Syr- of Aleppo took precedence allies were considering im- ian strongman Bashar al- during the talks. posing sanctions against Assad’s assault on his own “We see that the regime economic targets in Syria people. along with Russian sup- and Russia over the siege of He too raised the idea port has other objectives,” Aleppo. of sanctions but he played he said following the US Secretary of State down the possibility of meeting. John Kerry branded the military action and insisted “We are always ready to bombardment of civilians that it was his and Johnson’s speak with the Russians and in the Syrian battleground duty to “exhaust” all diplo- with the Iranians but we de- city as “crimes against hu- matic options. mand that the precondition manity” and British For- “We are discussing every is stopping the bombard- eign Secretary Boris John- mechanism available to us ment.” son urged Moscow to show but I haven’t seen a big ap- Ayrault did not confirm mercy. petite from anyone in Eu- whether a no-fly zone “There are a lot of meas- rope to go to war,” Kerry said over Aleppo was on the ures that we’re proposing after talks with French and table. including extra measures German offi cials. “We have tackled many on the regime and their “I don’t see the parlia- initiatives, we have not fi - Rebel fighters celebrate their capturing of the town of Dabiq in the streets of the northern Syrian town of Marea, yesterday. supporters,” Johnson said, ments of European coun- nalised everything but there standing alongside Kerry tries ready to declare war,” is broad consensus on the after talks in London. he said. necessity for pressure (to “These things will even- “Let me make it clear,” stop the bombardments),” tually come to bite the per- added Kerry. “We are con- he said following the meet- Syria rebels capture petrators of these crimes, sidering additional sanc- ing. IS stronghold Dabiq

AFP imposed siege of second city battle, said Dabiq had fallen “after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Beirut Aleppo. fi erce clashes”. Saturday said Turkey would push fur- The Syrian Observatory for Hu- Fastaqim said rebels then went ther south to create a 5,000-sq-km man Rights, Turkish state media on to seize several nearby towns, (1,900-sq-mile) safe zone in Syria. yrian rebels dealt a major and a rebel faction said opposition including Sawran, Ihtimaylat, and The border area has become symbolic blow to the Islamic fi ghters backed by Turkish war- Salihiyah. deeply unstable, and yesterday SState group yesterday by cap- planes and artillery seized control Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news three Turkish police offi cers were turing the town of Dabiq where the of Dabiq. agency said nine rebels were killed killed when suspected IS suicide militants had promised a fi erce bat- The town, in Syria’s northern and 28 wounded during fi ghting to bombers blew themselves up dur- tle. province of Aleppo, is of little stra- capture the towns. ing a raid on their sleeper cell in the The defeat for IS came as the tegic value. Rebel commander Haitham Ib- southeastern city of Gaziantep. United States and Britain warned The Observatory, a Britain-based rahim Afassi said: “I thank God for Fighting continued to rock the they were considering imposing monitoring group, said rebel forces giving us victory. The heros of the city of Aleppo, where government sanctions against economic tar- “captured Dabiq after IS members Free Syrian Army have liberated the troops have been waging a fi erce gets in Syria and Russia, which is a withdrew from the area”. region.” Russian-backed off ensive on rebels key ally of Syrian President Bashar The Fastaqim Union, an Ankara- Video footage showed the streets in the eastern quarters. al-Assad, over the government- backed rebel faction involved in the of the town virtually deserted, with Clashes took place in Aleppo’s black IS fl ags painted on the facades northern and southern outskirts Qatar welcomes control of Dabiq and Sawran of buildings as well as militant graf- yesterday, as well as in the city cen- fi ti. tre, the Observatory said, adding The State of Qatar has welcomed stressing Qatar’s full support to all Dabiq has become a byword that four people were killed in air the successful control of the towns of the actions taken by the Turkish among IS supporters for a struggle strikes on the city’s east. of Dabiq and Sawran in Syria’s government in order to strengthen against the West, with Washington AFP’s correspondent in Aleppo northern province of Aleppo. border security against any and its allies bombing militants. said there had been nearly non-stop In a statement yesterday, the external threats. IS, which seized control of large air raids on the opposition-held half Foreign Ministry said that the The statement said the Syrian parts of Syria and Iraq in mid-2014 of the city since midnight. declaration of recapture of Dabiq people’s sacrifices and struggle and declared an Islamic “caliphate”, Rebel fi re on government-con- and Sawran within “Operation against the barbarism of the Syrian has been dealt a series of military trolled districts of Aleppo left three Euphrates Shield” is a positive regime on the one hand and the defeats this year and is bracing for people dead and more than two development and an important terrorist organisations on the an assault on its key Iraqi strong- dozen wounded, Syrian state news step towards the restoration of the other hand requires a real and hold Mosul. agency SANA said. rest of the Syrian cities. honest stance by the international Turkey launched an unprec- Fighting has surged in the city The statement commended the community to stop the bloodshed edented operation inside Syria on following the collapse last month of important role played by Turkey and alleviate the human suff ering August 24, helping Syrian rebels to a ceasefi re brokered by the United in supporting the Syrian people, of the Syrian people. rid its frontier of IS militants and States and Russia, raising deep in- Syrian Kurdish militia. ternational concern.

Sirte victory

Libyan forces allied with the UN-backed government gather after they captured a new area from Islamic State militants in Sirte, Libya, yesterday.

Jordanians charged with killing sisters for ‘honour’

AFP 20 and 34, “to defend the Amman family’s honour”. “The two brothers were looking for their older sis- wo Jordanian broth- ter, who had been away ers were charged from the family home,” he Twith murdering said. their two sisters in appar- “They found her in the ent “honour killings”, a house of the younger sister, court offi cial said yester- who had married without day. the knowledge or consent The men, aged 22 and 24, of the family.” were charged with murder- They shot the younger ing their sisters on Thurs- sister twice and the older day evening in Naur, 20km one fi ve times, including southwest of Jordan’s capi- once to the head, the offi - tal Amman. cial said. The offi cial, who asked The younger sister’s hus- to remain anonymous, said band, who informed the the brothers claimed they brothers where the women had killed the women, aged were, was also arrested. Gulf Times 12 Monday, October 17, 2016 AFRICA Zuma’s deputy Olojo festival backs embattled fi nance minister

Reuters Opposition files complaint against Gupta family Johannesburg A South African opposition party yester- days after Gordhan filed court papers day filed a criminal complaint against the containing details of exchanges he had outh Africa’s Deputy President controversial Gupta brothers who stand with South Africa’s Financial Intelligence Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday came accused of wielding undue influence Centre (FIC) regarding “suspicious” Sout in support of Finance Min- over President Jacob Zuma. transactions made by firms linked to the ister Pravin Gordhan and said fraud The complaint, alleging graft against Guptas over the past four years. charges brought against him should not the brothers who made their fortune in In his deposition, which was seen by be allowed to undermine his eff orts to South Africa after emigrating from India AFP on Saturday, Gordhan said that sev- revitalise the economy. in the early 1990s, also names one of eral banks had informed the FIC about Women wearing traditional attires attend the Olojo festival in Ile Ife, Nigeria, over the weekend. Prosecutors have ordered Gordhan to Zuma’s sons, Duduzane, a former Gupta more than 70 suspect transactions total- appear in court next month, in what his business partner, and Mineral Resources ling some 6.8bn rand ($500mn). supporters and analysts say looks like Minister Mosebenzi Zwane. Gordan, who has been a vocal op- a plot to discredit and oust a man who “Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) ponent of corruption and excessive gov- has defi ed close allies of President Jacob opened a criminal case against the ernment spending and has repeatedly Zuma. Gupta-led criminal syndicate at the clashed with Zuma loyalists, has himself “Events of the past few days regard- Rosebank Police Station on the 16th of been summoned to court on fraud Absent crew ing summonses served on Finance October,” a statement by the radical left- charges. He says the case against him is DR Congo delays Minister Pravin Gordhan have been of ist party said. politically motivated. concern to many South Africans across “The case relates to instances of cor- Yesterday’s criminal complaint was hits Kenyan all sectors of society,” said Ramaphosa, ruption, theft, fraud, money laundering, filed two days after South Africa’s Public who is seen as a strong contender to re- racketeering and various off ences under Protector Thuli Madonsela had been due place Zuma when his term ends in 2019. the Income Tax Act, Financial Intelli- to release a potentially-explosive report presidential vote airline “I lend my support to Minister Gord- gence Centre Act and the Currency Laws into allegations that Zuma allowed the han as he faces charges brought against of the Republic of South Africa,” it said. Guptas to have undue influence over the him by the National Prosecuting Au- The party had also submitted a sworn government. Reuters ratify the decision today, the state- Reuters thority,” Ramaphosa added. statement from Finance Minister Pravin But at the last minute, the report’s Nairobi ment said. Nairobi Ramaphosa said the charges had Gordhan “as a basis of proof that there release was postponed following court UNC president Vital Kamerhe is been announced as Gordhan prepared is a prima facie case against the Gupta action by both Zuma and another minis- widely expected to become prime to deliver his Medium Term Budget criminal syndicate”, the statement said. ter implicated in the investigation. emocratic Republic of Con- minister as part of the power-shar- oss-making national car- Statement on October 26. Zuma has been under increasing Madonsela’s seven-year term in go’s ruling coalition and ing government ushered in under rier Kenya Airways cancelled The legal action, which shook mar- pressure over persistent allegations the off ice as South Africa’s anti-corruption Dother smaller parties have the talks. Lseveral fl ights yesterday after kets and hit the rand, also comes as the powerful family held undue political watchdog ended on Saturday and the agreed to delay next month’s elec- Kabila, who came to power in 2001 some crew members failed to turn up country is bracing for possible credit sway over him to the extent it could even delayed report will now only be released tions to April 2018 – a move that when his father was assassinated, for work, the latest blow as the air- ratings downgrades. nominate a cabinet minister. on November 1 by new Public Protector will anger opposition groups who says he will respect the constitution line struggles to avert a strike called “Whatever the legal challenges that But he has denied any abuse of influ- Busisiwe Mkhwebane. have accused the president of trying but has yet to rule out attempting to by its pilots. Minister Gordhan may face, we must ence emanating from his links to the The Gupta brothers, Atul, Ajay and to cling onto power. change the country’s laws to enable “Some of our outsourced staff , not undermine the work that the gov- family — who preside over a business Rajesh, have over the years been embroiled Congo’s main opposition bloc him to run for a fresh term. including cabin crew, have stayed ernment jointly with leaders of business empire with interests in mining, trans- in scandals, but the alleged extent of their was not immediately available for The presidents of neighbour- away from work from Friday and we and labour have been doing to stimulate portation, technology and media — to political influence only came to light early comment but has already called ing Rwanda and Congo Republic are working with their employer to domestic and international investment whom he admits he is close. this year after a deputy minister said they a general strike for Wednesday to changed their constitutions last resolve any issues they may have,” in our economy,” Ramaphosa said. The complaint, which names a total of off ered him the post of finance minister press President Joseph Kabila to year to allow themselves to stand for the airline said in a statement. Despite the charges, Zuma has also 13 people and businesses, was filed just before Zuma had removed the incumbent. leave at the end of his mandate in a third term, and Kabila’s opponents Flights to the Kenyan city of continued to express his support for December. say they fear he will do the same. Mombasa, Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Gordhan and denied talk of a rift. Last month dozens died in two Hundreds of people have also Juba in South Sudan, Lusaka in Zam- The ruling African National Con- sition Democratic Alliance, renewed his Legal experts have said the charges days of protests in the capital Kin- died since last year in neighbouring bia, Harare in Zimbabwe and Mapu- gress (ANC) suff ered its worst-ever lo- party’s call for Zuma to resign and called against Gordhan would be extremely shasa against planned delays to the Burundi after its president Pierre to in Mozambique were cancelled cal election results in August, widening on South Africans to join in a solidarity hard to prove in court as they would vote due to what authorities said Nkurunziza pursued and won a because there were not enough crew divisions in the ruling party. march in Pretoria on November 2 when have to show he intentionally fl outed were logistical problems registering third term in offi ce that his oppo- members to fl y safely. Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi was Gordhan is scheduled to appear in court. the law when he granted early retire- millions of voters in the massive and nents say is unconstitutional. Kenya Airways later said that nor- quoted as saying in the Sunday Times Addressing a televised news confer- ment to a deputy commissioner at the impoverished country.. The head of the UN mission in mal service had resumed but off ered newspaper that the decision to prosecute ence, Maimane said it was critical to revenue service and then re-hired him Parties agreed in talks on Sat- Congo warned last week that the no further details. Gordhan was “a declaration of war.” defend the integrity of the Treasury. as a consultant. urday to give more time for voter political impasse poses an “extreme Pilots union KALPA has called an “We want law and order, not institu- “Our view is that all of the machi- The drama is unfolding as Zuma bat- registration and keep Kabila in of- risk” to stability. indefi nite strike, scheduled to start tions used to fi ght nefarious political nations that are taking place are Jacob tles in court to prevent the reinstate- fi ce until the delayed vote, said one Millions died in regional confl icts tomorrow, to protest against the battles,” he was quoted as telling the Zuma’s action in trying to gain access to ment of hundreds of corruption charg- organisation in the discussions, the between 1996 and 2003 and Congo management of the airline, which is newspaper. Treasury...We can’t sit back and allow es against him which were dropped in Union for the Congolese Nation. has never experience a peaceful part owned by the government and Mmusi Maimane, leader of the oppo- that to happen,” he said. 2009, allowing him to run for president. Delegates at the talks would likely transition of power. Air France KLM. Pensioners fi ght to survive as Zimbabwe fl ounders

By Fanuel Jongwe, AFP Though he should at least be and will fail to tackle an economy solace during diffi cult times.” Despite his poor health, he power as Zimbabwe’s economic Harare able to rely on his state pension of hollowed out by land seizures, Another pensioner forced to raises a few pigs and chickens troubles multiply. $89 and private pension of $140 emigration, investor withdrawal, scrape a living, 71-year-old John and grows vegetables at his rural Unemployment is at about 90%, each month, recently he has been drought and endemic corruption. Charumbira, retired in 2011 after house where he moved with his and the country owes lenders in- hey sleep outside banks, unable withdraw it from the bank. At night in Harare, it’s a regular 36 years as a horticulturist in the wife to cut back expenses, as the cluding the International Monetary skimp on meals and sell Hyper-infl ation had destroyed sight to fi nd pensioners camping Harare municipality parks de- property has no piped in water or Fund, World Bank and African De- Tfl owers in hospitals. the life savings of many older on pavements outside banks. partment. electricity. velopment Bank about $9bn. After long years of work, Zim- people until Zimbabwe fi nally “We queue for days for our He has a state pension of just Three of his six children have Last month Zimbabwe slashed babwe’s pensioners are strug- abandoned its own currency in money and sometimes we’re told Zimbabwean pensioner Gift $60 a month, picking up extra left the country to look for jobs its projected growth forecast from gling to survive old age as the 2009 in favour of the US dollar. there’s no money so we go back Kaondera-Shava gestures as cash selling fl owers at schools abroad. 2.7% to 1.2%, blaming the decline country’s economy collapses. But Zimbabwe has been un- home empty-handed,” said Ka- he explains how he fell on hard and hospitals. “I can’t rely on them because on a regional drought, investment With banks short of cash to pay able to stop its economic decline ondera-Shava. times after taking retirement But this is still insuffi cient to they have not been spared by the shortfalls and the cash crunch. out pensions, 80-year-old Gift which has led to a severe shortage “We are heading to a danger during an interview at his home aff ord the $80 a month he needs diffi culties,” Charumbira said. Philemon Tsvinyai, 63, who Kaondera-Shava, a former truck of dollar notes. Banks often have point,” he said. “Imagine! I can in Zengeza, Chitungwiza. Gift’s for his prostate drugs, which used “I survive on earnings from my retired in 2014 after working for driver, bus conductor and factory no cash for customers with ATMs only manage to withdraw my lifetime savings were wiped out to be paid by the city support fl ower nursery and other projects 20 years for a thread and yarn- supervisor, now scrambles to feed empty for months. pension if I join the queue at the when authorities knocked off 12 services until last year. like piggery. I could not have sur- making company, is forced to himself and his son’s family, none The government has said it will bank at 1am.” zeros from the Zimbabwe dollar “Doctors have warned that if vived only on my pension.” work in the fi elds to survive. of whom can fi nd a job. soon start printing its own “bond To supplement his income, Ka- at the height of hyperinflation I don’t take the drugs, I will de- President Robert Mugabe But he insists he actually “Things are just not right,” notes” equivalent to the US dol- ondera-Shava has moved himself in 2007. velop complications which will might be 92 himself, and in in- feels more sorry for Zimbabwe’s Kaondera-Shava told AFP at his lar to ease the cash shortage. and his wife into two rooms so he require surgery too, and where creasingly frail health, but he young. “I have seven children home in Chitungwiza, south of Many however fear the policy can rent out the spare rooms in his So he says he stays home and will I get the money for that?” has vowed to retain his more and they are also struggling. I feel the capital Harare. will only revive hyperinfl ation, house, but there are few takers. reads the Bible, which “gives me Charumbira said. than three-decades-long grip on pity for them,” he said.

Juice stunt turns sour for ruling party

Reuters One woman pinned Kalyppo to a The opposition leader has lost two Accra selfi e-stick. previous presidential races. On Facebook and Twitter supporters Kalyppo is made by Aquafresh Lim- pictured themselves drinking Kalyppo ited which is based in Accra, according n attempt by Ghana’s ruling and even pretending to shower and fuel to its website. party to make fun of the main their cars with it. No one at the company was available Aopposition candidate in the The trend began when supporters of to comment but the secretary general presidential election by posting a pho- the ruling New Democratic Congress of the Ghana Federation of Labour, tograph of him sipping from a small posted a photograph of Akufo-Addo which represents Aquafresh workers, carton of Kalyppo fruit juice has back- drinking Kalyppo as a refreshment be- cautioned that the craze was not nec- fi red, with his supporters adopting the tween campaign stops. essarily a good thing. brand to rally support. It was intended to gently mock “Once the consumers are polarised The new craze for Kalyppo juice, Akufo-Addo, perhaps by making him (along party lines)...the regular sales a locally-produced drink marketed look undignifi ed, but NPP offi cials would be negatively aff ected to the mainly for children, is giving Nana said they then adopted the drink as detriment of the employees,” he told Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Par- a sign of solidarity, in part to boost Reuters. ty the sort of free publicity politicians Akufo-Addo’s credentials as a man of Ghana is one of Africa’s most sta- crave. the people. ble democracies and twice since 2000 As Akufo-Addo’s convoy weaved One campaign aide said the party voters have turfed the government out through a densely-packed neigh- welcomed the boost ahead of the De- of power. bourhood of the capital last week, his cember 7 vote, when Akufo-Addo Growth has slowed since Mahama supporters waved the empty cartons faces President John Mahama, who is took power, in part because of lower aloft and sipped the juice through running for a second and fi nal four- global prices for the country’s com- straws. year term. modity exports. Gulf Times Monday, October 17, 2016 13 AMERICAS

US warship again evades Northwest rocked by high winds, rain; thousands without power missile attack off Yemen Reuters trees, debris and crushed homes and cars in Seattle several communities in western Washington state and Oregon. Reuters situation. All of our ships and crews Transit authorities in Washington state Washington are safe and unharmed.” he US Pacifi c Northwest was pounded closed roads in several counties because of The latest incident comes just two by wind and rain as the remnants of a fallen trees or water. days after the US military launched Ttyphoon moved onshore on Saturday, More than 4,200 customers were without US Navy destroyer was again cruise missiles against three coastal downing trees that crushed property and power in the Seattle area, utility Seattle City targeted in the Red Sea in an radar sites in areas held by Houthi blocked roads, and cutting power to tens of Light reported. Aapparent failed missile attack rebels in Yemen in response to the thousands of electricity customers. Puget Sound Energy reported more than launched from the coast of Yemen, a two previous failed missile fi rings Blistering winds and downpours struck 16,700 customers without power in western US admiral said on Saturday. against the Mason. coastal areas from Washington state to Washington. US defence offi cials said late on Initial reports on the latest inci- northern California as authorities warned In northwestern Oregon, more than Saturday an initial assessment given dent, according to another US defence of possible fl ooding, but no injuries were re- 20,000 customers were without power, by Admiral John Richardson, the offi cial, said the crew detected multi- ported as of Saturday evening. Portland General Electric said. chief of naval operations, had yet to ple missiles fi red toward the Mason, The National Weather Service said winds “If you don’t need to be out and about be fi nalised and the incident was still which responded with onboard coun- topping 64kph were slicing through much of during the period of high winds, certainly being reviewed to determine exactly termeasures to defend itself. No dam- the Puget Sound area, where residents had stay home,” said Matthew Cullen, a National what happened. age was reported to the vessel or other braced for what some feared could be a his- Weather Service meteorologist in Portland, The missile attack, if confi rmed, ships accompanying it. toric weekend storm. Oregon. would mark the third time the USS Thursday’s US counter-strikes, “We may be past peak as far as winds are About 5cm or more of rain was forecast Mason was fi red upon in interna- authorised by President Barack concerned, though winds will remain gusty for coastal areas from Washington state to tional waters in the past week from USS Mason ... eff ective countermeasures Obama, marked Washington’s fi rst at times along the coast,” said National northern California as the remnants of Ty- territory in Yemen controlled by direct military action against sus- Weather Service meteorologist Jared Guyer. phoon Songda came ashore. Iran-aligned Houthi rebels. missiles fi red from the coast of Yem- Another US defense offi cial, pected Houthi-controlled targets in “There will still be travel diffi culties and pe- Seattle has logged two days of rain total- “The Mason once again appears en,” Admiral John Richardson, US speaking on condition of anonymity, Yemen’s confl ict and raised ques- riods of heavy rain, and high wind and rain is ling 7.9cm from a fi rst round of Songda, ex- to have come under attack in the Red chief of naval operations, said during later told Reuters: “We are aware of tions about the potential for further expected to linger into next week.” ceeding by more than 3cm the total for July Sea, again from coastal defence cruise a ship christening in Baltimore. the reports and we are assessing the escalation. Images on social media showed downed through September.

Canada’s liberal champion Trudeau celebrates one year

By Michel Comte, AFP Ottawa

he phenom- enon that is TJustin Trudeau continues to soar one year after his land- slide election. On the eve of this anniversary, the Ca- nadian prime minis- ter’s approval rating Trudeau ... liberal standard-bearer reached 65%, com- pared with the previous Tory administration, which peaked at 42%, while his celebrity and policies have molded him into the new liberal standard-bearer on the world stage. Early on in his mandate, the son of former prime min- ister and liberal lion Pierre Trudeau staked out defi cit spending and open border policies, rejecting the divisive politics of his predecessor Stephen Harper. The former teacher and amateur boxer has earned praise for moves like budgeting billions in spending to bolster a fragile economy, promoting feminism and handing out parkas to Syrian refugees — bucking the rise globally of the ultra-right. His fans include United Nations Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon, US President Barack Obama and IMF managing director Christine Lagarde. Trudeau’s impressive rise — defeating a sitting govern- ment with a third-placed party — is largely attributed to his outreach to Millennials. He has tapped into a genera- tional shift in values and the way people increasingly use social media to communicate, while using his famous name to his advantage. “He has very strategically promot- ed his and his spouse’s celebrity, knowing that you reach a broader number of voters when you do that,” said Duff Co- nacher, co-founder of advocacy group Democracy Watch. “And they will continue to do that because people who don’t pay a lot of attention to politics, if they do vote, will make decisions based on who they like.” Trudeau grew up in the spotlight under the wing of his father, who is considered the father of modern Canada. He is comfortable jumping into crowds to glad-hand and pose for selfi es. Using social media, he reaches out directly to citizens at home and abroad. Meanwhile, the good looks of Trudeau and his family — wife Sophie, a former TV host, and their three young children — have been splashed across the pages of fashion magazines and newspapers, and even a comic book. “People are connecting with this government and its style,” said P G Forest, director of the School of Public Pol- icy at the University of Calgary. “His value set is also very much what people want of politicians at the moment,” he said, adding that Trudeau also has “what I call ‘the Hollywood factor.’ After a few minutes the whole room revolves around him.” The downside of celebrity culture in politics, observers agreed, is that style trumps substance. “The more we talk about the way they look and their personal habits, the less we talk about public policy,” said Alex Marland, a politics professor at Newfoundland’s Me- morial University. The opposition is rudderless with both the Tories and New Democrats due to pick new leaders next year. As the government makes good on more of its 300-plus campaign promises, which may require compromises, some backers will inevitably be disappointed by the out- comes. So far, Trudeau has championed the landmark Par- is climate accord, aboriginal reconciliation, feminism, and is expected to make Canada the fi rst G7 nation to legalize marijuana in 2017. He also exploded on the world stage, following the previ- ous administration’s retreat, declaring: “Canada is back!” This has meant a shift toward multilateralism, including more peacekeeping missions and increased foreign aid. “He is the lone liberal on the global stage,” said Co- nacher, citing Trudeau’s promotion of “tolerance” and the challenge of growing anti-immigration and anti-globali- zation in Europe and the United States. Notably Trudeau has reversed many of his predecessor’s policies.”So when he goes out and speaks on the international scene, it has greater resonance and newsworthiness because it comes after 10 years of policies that are the complete opposite (of those) under the Conservatives,” Conacher said. Some argue that the current competition to be the world’s leading liberal voice is lacklustre. “It’s diffi cult to fi nd Francois Hollande very inspiring, or (Mariano) Rajoy Brey in Spain, or Theresa May or even Hillary Clinton. Obama is on his way out and people soon won’t be able to name an inspiring leader on the world scene at this moment,” said Forest. “So the world needs Trudeau to be a strong liberal voice and a counterbalance to the rising right.” Gulf Times 14 Monday, October 17, 2016 ASEAN Paragliders fi ll Bali’s skies for new world record

AFP Bali in 2009.“The site here Uluwatu, Indonesia is perfect, and the circum- stances,” said Frits Brink, from the Federation Aeronautique ore than 100 multi- Internationale (FAI), the gov- coloured paragliders erning body for air sports, in- Mfi lled the sky over cluding paragliding. Indonesia’s Bali island yes- “It’s a brilliant thing.” terday, as they set a new world Paragliding involves foot- record for the largest number launched gliders, with the of gliders fl ying at the same pilot sitting in a harness at- time. tached to a wing usually made They set off from rugged of fabric. cliff tops in the south of the re- Paragliders don’t have en- sort island and fl ew high into gines but are still capable of the azure sky, fl oating over the fl ying over hundreds of kilo- sea, Hindu temples and red- metres for many hours, al- roofed villages. though shorter fl ights are About 120 paragliders took more common. part, more than the 99 in- The new record followed the volved in the previous world FAI’s general conference this record, which was also set in week in Bali. Paragliders sail through the sky during a record breaking attempt, involving more than 100 paragliders in Gunung Payung, Jimbaran on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali yesterday. Woman charged Thai PM reassures on with royal slur after mob action smooth succession AFP Bo Pud police station yester- Bangkok day demanding the woman be Reuters charged. Bangkok The crowd hurled insults at hai police yesterday the woman, according to videos charged a woman with widely shared on Facebook. hailand has sought to Troyal defamation after a Police said she was charged dispel any concern about mob demanded action over a and then publicly prostrated Ta royal succession after Facebook post allegedly smear- herself in apology before a por- Crown Prince Maha Vajiralong- ing the “heir and regent”, as the trait of the king, who died on korn said he would delay his country mourns King Bhumibol Thursday aged 88 — prompting ascension to the throne while Adulyadej. a wave of grief across the nation. he mourns his father, and the Thailand has one of the Two other similar cases since government stressed yesterday world’s harshest lese majeste the king’s death — in which an- it was working as normal. laws, with jail terms of up to 15 gry crowds urged punishment King Bhumibol Adulyadej years for each count of defaming for alleged royal defamation on died on Thursday after seven or insulting the king, queen, heir social media — have raised fears decades on the throne. or regent. The woman, who has of mob action. He was 88. not been named, was accused of Domestic and foreign media The prospect of complica- posting a derogatory statement outlets based in the country rou- tions in the succession in the on Facebook on Friday, accord- tinely self-censor to avoid falling politically divided country ing to Thewes Pleumsud of Bo foul of the broadly worded law, could alarm fi nancial markets, Pud police in the southeastern while social opprobrium follows but the military government island of Koh Samui. those perceived to have over- has been quick to quash any “She did not post against the stepped the mark. such speculation. late King — it involved the heir Critics say the law — known as The crown prince has re- and the regent,” he said, refer- ‘112’ after its criminal code — has quested that his succession be ring to Crown Prince Maha Va- encouraged witch hunts by the delayed for an unspecifi ed pe- jiralongkorn, and the 96-year- public, with police and courts riod, so he can grieve with the old Prem Tinsulanonda who in obliged to investigate all accusa- people, Prime Minister Prayuth a surprise move became tempo- tions. Chan-ocha has said. rary regent on Friday. The law prevents all but the The government has not set a He declined to give further de- most cursory public discussion date for the royal cremation but tails since doing so could violate of Thailand’s monarchy, or re- a deputy prime minister said the catch-all law. porting or debate on the issue. the prince had asked that it be Prem, a former prime minister Cases have surged since royal- held after a year of mourning, and Bhumibol’s Privy Council ist generals ousted a civilian gov- and the coronation would take head, will act as regent until the ernment from power in 2014. place after the cremation. Mourners light up candles as they pay respects to Thailand’s late King Bhumibol Adulyadej outside of the Grand Palace in Bangkok yesterday. Crown Prince formally ascends The generals have vowed The formal procedure for him the throne. to defend the monarchy from to become king, which involves on his reassurance to the peo- would go ahead as normal to- Mourners dressed in black again on Monday, said Kasem An angry mob descended on criticism. the president of the legisla- ple, Prayuth said in a televised morrow so administration “can from across Thailand have Prunratanamala, head of re- ture inviting him to ascend the address. continue seamlessly”. fl ocked to Bangkok’s gilded search at CIMB Securities. throne, can happen at any time “He asked the people not King Bhumibol, who was the Grand Palace to pay homage to “The market should continue Bridge collapse near Indonesia’s Bali kills eight before his coronation. to be confused or worry about world’s longest-reigning mon- the only king most of them have to rebound,” he said. “Nobody In the meantime, the head the country’s administration arch, was revered as a father ever known. would dare do anything that A bridge connecting two small was particularly busy at the time of the royal advisory council, or even about the succession,” fi gure and symbol of unity in a Buddhist monks have been causes problems for the coun- islands close to Bali collapsed of the accident because people a 96-year-old former army Prayuth said.”He said at this country riven by political crises chanting prayers beside his try.” Prince Vajiralongkorn does yesterday, sending motorbikes had been taking part in a Hindu chief and prime minister, Prem time everyone is sad, he is still over the years, most recently by coffin in an imposing throne not enjoy the same adoration flying into the water and leaving ceremony at a nearby temple. Tinsulanonda, will stand in as sad, so every side should wait a power struggle between the hall, and they will chant for his father earned over a lifetime eight dead and about 30 injured, “Before the bridge collapsed it regent.A semi-offi cial biog- until we pass this sad time... military-led establishment and 100 days as part of the funeral on the throne. an off icial said. The suspension was already shaking,” said disas- raphy of King Bhumibol has a When the religious ceremony populist political forces. rites. He has married and divorced bridge linking Nusa Lembongan ter agency spokesman Sutopo short section on Prem, not- and funeral have passed for a Many Thais worry about a Though the mood is sombre, three times, and has spent and Nusa Ceningan, two small Purwo Nugroho. ing that he was accused of in- while, then it will be an appro- future without him. and almost everyone is dressed much of his life outside Thai- islands popular with tour- “Some motorcyclists and people volvement in a 2006 coup that priate time to proceed.” Thailand’s strict lese- in black, shopping malls, mar- land, often in Germany. ists southeast of Indonesian fell into the sea, and people in removed populist prime min- Government spokesman majeste laws, which have been kets, cinemas and even some Though the king designated holiday hotspot Bali, collapsed the area immediately tried to ister Thaksin Shinawatra from Sansern Kaewkamnerd told applied rigorously since a mili- bars have been open. his only son crown prince in at 6:30pm (1030 GMT), said the save them.” power. reporters yesterday the prime tary government took power Thailand’s battered stocks 1972, shortly afterwards he also disaster agency. The narrow Off icials suspect it collapsed On Saturday, the prince held minister wanted to reassure the in a 2014 coup, have left lit- recovered ground on Friday on raised the possibility of the eli- bridge can only be crossed by because it was overloaded, he an audience with Prem and public about the government’s tle room for public discussion hope for a smooth transition gibility of a princess becoming motorbikes and pedestrians and added. Prayuth and asked them to pass work and a cabinet meeting about the succession. and shares were likely to rise the monarch. Craze for hornbill ‘ivory’ pushes Borneo icon to the brink

AFP has taken off . Yokyok Hadiprakarsa, a category on the International Union by law enforcement in China and In- Pontianak, Indonesia leading expert in helmeted hornbills, for Conservation of Nature’s “red list”. donesia, around a third just in West estimates as many as 500 were killed Now the elite rangers of the govern- Kalimantan. In one case, SPORC units every month in 2013 — or 6,000 annu- ment’s Forest Police Rapid Reaction intercepted four Chinese nationals at striking bird with monochrome ally — just in West Kalimantan, a jun- Unit (SPORC) rarely spot these dis- Pontianak’s international airport with plumage and a formidable gle-clad province in Indonesia’s half of tinctive birds during jungle patrols, nearly 250 casques stashed in their A“beak” , the helmeted hornbill is Borneo. SPORC commander David Mohamed luggage. being hunted to extinction, one of the Helmeted hornbills had been tradi- said in Pontianak. Adam Miller, of Pontianak-based latest victims of a thriving global trade tionally hunted in the past by Borneo’s Instead, they’re uncovering just the conservation group Planet Indonesia, in exotic wildlife. indigenous tribes, but never at levels skulls during raids on smuggler hide- said the smuggling of hornbill ivory For decades poachers in Borneo’s that posed any conservation risk. outs, the decapitated corpses dumped bore many similarities to the elephant western forests focused on capturing This “complete, systematic slaugh- unceremoniously elsewhere. ivory trade in its scale, criminality and orangutans and sun bears, but in the ter of the species” came virtually out of “There is a high value placed on the sophistication. past few years a surge in demand for nowhere, Shepherd said. heads by hunters and collectors,” said “There’s a lot less people doing it hornbill “ivory” has pushed the avian It wasn’t until 2011 that red ivory Mohamed. just to survive. It’s very much a gang- species to the brink. fi rst began showing up on websites ca- “That’s the only thing they want. ster activity,” he said. The product has become so popular tering to Chinese buyers and at high- The rest has no value.” Many traffi ckers are caught not just in China, where wealthy collectors are end wildlife markets along the coun- The commercial trade of helmeted with hornbill ivory but a host of other keen to show off their status by acquir- A recent photo shows plain clothes police displaying a stuff ed hornbill trophy seized try’s borders, such as in Myanmar and hornbills is prohibited by law in China exotic specimens. ing rare or unusual animals, that it is from smugglers in Makassar, South Sulawesi province. Laos. and across its habitat zones in South- A man arrested in Hong Kong in May fetching up to fi ve times the price of Hunting rapidly intensifi ed, es- east Asia: Thailand and Myanmar, as was carrying more than $1mn worth elephant tusk on the black market. brilliant plumage or large bills, but a “red ivory” has grown more prestig- pecially among traffi cking networks well as Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia of ivory and hornbill casques, while “The demand for these luxury items helmet-like block of reddish-gold ker- ious. Experts say a single casque can already well entrenched in West Kali- — the three countries that share Bor- two Malaysians detained in the United is just going through the roof,” said atin at the front of the skulls known as fetch up to $1000, eclipsing the aver- mantan, a key wildlife smuggling hub neo island. States in December were smuggling Chris Shepherd, from wildlife trade a casque. age black market price of traditional with an international airport in the But the rate of seizures — a “tip of both hornbill and orangutan skulls. watchdog TRAFFIC. It’s this soft, ivory-like substance “white” ivory sourced from elephant capital Pontianak. the iceberg” indicator of the trade, Shepherd said this refl ected a grow- “In Asia, it’s really at a scale where that’s carved by craftsmen in China tusk several times over. By the close of 2015, the species had said Shepherd — suggests business is ing trend as collectors seek ever-rarer species like the helmeted hornbill are into luxury ornaments, statues and Researchers say thousands of these progressed from vulnerable to criti- booming. and more exotic wildlife not for use in just being completely decimated.” jewellery — trendy top-shelf trinkets majestic birds have been killed in half cally endangered — leapfrogging two In the 18 months to August 2014, traditional medicine but purely as sta- Poachers aren’t interested in their that have soared in value as so-called a decade alone as demand for red ivory threat levels to the highest possible risk nearly 2,200 casques were confi scated tus symbols. Gulf Times Monday, October 17, 2016 15 AUSTRALASIA/EAST ASIA

Hedgehog Cafe Swimmer dies in Hong Kong harbour race: reports

AFP swimmers, according to re- Hong Kong ports. Local media cited the presi- dent of the Hong Kong Ama- swimmer drowned yes- teur Swimming Association terday in Hong Kong defending the number of life- Aand another was left in guards as suffi cient for the critical condition as they took event. part in the city’s annual cross- “We are very saddened by harbour swim, which attracts the news and will do what- world-class international ever possible to help his competitors. family get through this dif- Local media said the man ficult time,” the South China who died was rushed to hos- Morning Post cited Ronnie pital after being pulled un- Wong as saying. conscious from the water by a RTHK said Wong had con- rescue boat. fi rmed the man’s death and the He was reported to be in his woman’s hospitalisation. forties. The weather was warm and A woman thought to be in sunny, with air temperatures her 60s was separately pulled reaching around 30C. unconscious from the water However, some swimmers and is reported to be in inten- had complained of strong cur- sive care in hospital. rents, the Post said. The 1,500m race saw around It is the fi rst death in the race 3,000 people swim between since it was resumed in 2011 two piers on opposite sides of after a 30-year break, local Hong Kong’s famous harbour – media reported. 500 up from the previous year The decades-long hiatus according to reports. was due to fears over pollution Some local media ques- levels in the water. tioned why only 10 extra life- Although water quality is guards had been added when said to have improved, there the fi eld had expanded so are still environmental con- An employee of Harry Hedgehog Cafe displays the animal in Tokyo. The new animal cafe, which is located in Tokyo’s Roppongi district, offers customers 30 minutes much. cerns over the harbour, where playtime with a hedgehog for 1000 yen ($10) on weekdays and 1,300 yen on weekends and holidays. There was a total of 120 rubbish is frequently seen lifeguards at the event, local fl oating in the water. broadcaster RTHK reported on American swimmer Charles its website. Peterson won the men’s title Swimmers are split into in just 16 minutes 44 seconds racing and recreational this year. Rio Olympics 10km groups – both the dead man open water gold medallist Sha- and the hospitalised woman ron van Rouwendaal from the were taking part in the leisure Netherlands took the women’s Anti-nuclear novice category, which is for slower crown. Ultrasound slows wins Japan election brain ageing: varsity QNA and memory, is reduced with The surprise victory could halt the Cheers of “Banzai!” erupted as me- 2012, is vital to Abe’s energy policy, which renewables and burning more coal and Canberra age. restart of nuclear plants dia began projecting him the winner over relies on rebooting more of the reactors that natural gas. “What we found is that former mayor Tamio Mori, 67, backed by once met about 30% of the nation’s needs. Only two of Japan’s 42 reactors are run- treating mice with scanning Reuters Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s pro-nuclear As the race tightened, the election be- ning more than fi ve years after Fukushima, reatment with scan- ultrasound prevents this re- Niigata, Japan Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and ini- came a litmus test for nuclear safety and but the Niigata plant’s troubles go back ning ultrasound has duction in structure, which tially favoured for an easy victory. put Abe’s energy policy and Tepco’s han- further. Talready been proven to suggests that by using this ap- Yoneyama had more than 500,000 votes dling of Fukushima back under the spot- Several reactors at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa reverse Alzheimer’s disease proach we can keep the struc- n anti-nuclear candidate won an to about 430,000 for Mori with 93% of the light. have been out of action since an earth- in mice, and now it appears it ture of the brain younger as we upset victory in a Japanese regional vote counted in the region on the Japan Sea “The talk was of Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, quake in 2007 caused radiation leaks and could also slow down ageing get older. Aelection yesterday, a blow to Tokyo coast, public broadcaster NHK said. but I think the result will aff ect nuclear fi res in a disaster that prefi gured the Fuku- in healthy brains, according “We are currently conduct- Electric Power’s attempts to restart the Mori, a former construction ministry restarts across the country,” said Shigeaki shima calamity and Tepco’s bungled re- to University of Queensland ing experiments to see if this world’s biggest atomic power station and bureaucrat, apologised to his supporters Koga, a former trade and industry minis- sponse. Niigata voters opposed restarting research. preservation of the brain cell a challenge to the government’s energy for failing to win the election. try offi cial turned critic of nuclear restarts the plant by 73% to 27%, according to an The research at the Queens- structure will ameliorate re- policy. Yoneyama, who had run unsuccessfully and the Abe administration. NHK exit poll. land Brain Institute showed ductions in learning and mem- Ryuichi Yoneyama, 49, a doctor-lawyer for offi ce four times, promised to continue Koga told Reuters it was important that Yoneyama, who has worked as a radio- that scanning ultrasound pre- ory that occur with ageing.” who has never held offi ce and is backed the policy of the outgoing governor who Yoneyama join forces with another newly logical researcher, said on the campaign vented degeneration of cells in The mice were treated with mostly by left-wing parties, won the race had long thwarted the ambitions of Tepco, elected governor sceptical of nuclear re- trail that Tepco didn’t have the means to the brains of healthy mice. either one or six scanning ul- for governor of Niigata north of Tokyo, as the company supplying about a third of starts, Satoshi Mitazono of Kagoshima prevent Niigata children from getting thy- Researcher Dr Robert Hatch trasound treatments over six Japanese media projected, in a vote domi- Japan’s electricity is known, to restart the Prefecture in southern Japan. “Without roid cancer in a nuclear accident, as he said said the work was originally weeks. nated by concerns over the future of the plant. strong support from others, it won’t be had happened in Fukushima. designed as a safety study, but Their brain cell structure Kashiwazaki-Kariwa power station and Reviving the seven-reactor giant, with easy to take on Tepco,” he said. He said the company didn’t have a solid soon revealed a broader role and function were reviewed nuclear safety more than fi ve years after capacity of 8 gigawatts, is key to saving Tepco spokesman Tatsuhiro Yamagi- evacuation plan. for ultrasound in maintaining two hours, one day, one week, the Fukushima catastrophe of March 2011. the utility, which was brought low by the shi said the company couldn’t comment The LDP’s Mori, meanwhile, was forced brain health. and three months after receiv- “As I have promised all of you, under Fukushima explosions and meltdowns, on the choice of Niigata governor but re- to tone down his support for restarting the “We found that, far from ing the treatment. current circumstances where we can’t and then the repeated admissions of cov- spected the vote and would strive to apply plant as the race tightened, media said, causing any damage to the In the next stage of research, protect your lives and your way of life, I er-ups and safety lapses after the world’s the lessons of the Fukushima disaster to its insisting safety was the top priority for healthy brain, ultrasound the team will test the eff ect of declare clearly that I can’t approve a re- worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in management of Kashiwazaki-Kariwa. Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, while promoting the treatments may in fact have ultrasound on the brain struc- start,” Yoneyama told supporters at his 1986. The government wants to restart units use of natural gas and solar power in Nii- potential benefi cial eff ects for ture and function of older mice. campaign headquarters. Tepco, put under government control in that pass safety checks, also promoting gata. healthy ageing brains,” Hatch “Collectively, this research said. is fundamentally changing “In a normal brain the struc- our understanding of not only Oldest panda in ture of neuronal cells in the how to treat Alzheimer’s but to hippocampus, a brain area ex- maintain general brain health,” captivity dies tremely important for learning Hatch said. US military detects failed The world’s oldest ever giant panda in captivity died yesterday aged 38 at a Hong Kong theme park, off icials said. Jia Jia was put down after her China manned space N Korean missile launch health rapidly deteriorated over the last two weeks leaving her unable to walk without diff iculty, mission launch today AFP that might raise already elevated in Pyongyang in October 2010, cial KCNA news agency carried a statement from the Ocean Park Washington tensions on the Korean penin- the Musudan has a theoreti- a foreign ministry statement Hong Kong theme park said. sula. cal range of anywhere between warning that the United States Born in the wild in China’s Reuters dock with the Tiangong 2 space Seoul’s defence ministry also 2,500 and 4,000km. would “pay a high price” for re- Sichuan province in 1978, Jia Jia Beijing laboratory, where they will he US military said Sat- confi rmed the failed launch, The lower estimate covers the cent hostile behaviour that had was given to Hong Kong in 1999 spend about a month. urday it had detected an held near an air base in the whole of South Korea and Japan, “hurt the dignity of the supreme to mark the semi-autonomous “This mission is character- Tunsuccessful launch by northwestern city of Kusong in while the upper range would leadership”. city’s handover by Britain two hina will launch a ised by its longer duration and North Korea of a powerful me- North Korea at 1203 Pyongyang include US military bases on President Barack Obama “will years earlier. two-man space mis- more tests,” Chen Dong, the dium-range missile capable of time (0333 GMT). Guam. come to understand the mean- But as her health declined Csion, Shenzhou 11, to- junior astronaut on the mis- hitting US bases as far away as “This provocation only serves After a string of fi ve failed ing of the price before he leaves over recent days, her food day, offi cials with the space sion, told reporters in a tel- Guam. to increase the international launches, North Korea test fi red the White House”, a ministry consumption slumped from more programme said, taking the evised news conference. “We UN resolutions prohibit community’s resolve to counter a Musudan in June that fl ew spokesman said. than 10kg a day to less than three country closer to its ambi- will focus on improving our North Korea from using ballistic (North Korea’s) prohibited ac- 400km into the Sea of Japan There has been widespread and her weight also declined. tion of setting up a permanent ability to handle emergen- missile technology, and this lat- tivities,” said Pentagon spokes- (East Sea). That test was hailed speculation – backed by satel- “Her state became so debilitated manned space station by 2022. cies in orbit, medical fi rst aid, est test came as the UN Security man Gary Ross. by leader Kim Jong-Un as proof lite imagery showing activity at that based on ethical reasons President Xi Jinping has mutual rescue capabilities and Council is debating fresh sanc- of the North’s ability to strike key military installations – that and in order to prevent suff ering, called for China to establish space experiments.” tions on Pyongyang following “We remain prepared to US bases across “the Pacifi c op- the North is preparing a sixth veterinarians from the Agriculture, itself as a space power, and it Shenzhou 11 will be the its fi fth nuclear test in Septem- defend ourselves and our eration theatre”. nuclear test or a long-range Fisheries and Conservation has tested anti-satellite mis- third space mission for Jing ber. allies” US weapons analysts say suc- rocket launch – or possibly Department and Ocean Park siles, in addition to its civilian Haipeng, who will command The US strategic command cessful Musudan testing could both. agreed to a humane euthanasia aims. the mission and pass his 50th (USSTRATCOM) said the “We remain prepared to de- help the nuclear-armed North The latest Musudan test was for Jia Jia,” the theme park said. China says its space pro- birthday in space. launch, detected just after mid- fend ourselves and our allies develop an operational inter- the fi rst since Seoul and Wash- “This is a day we knew would gramme is for peaceful pur- The spacecraft, whose name day Saturday Korea time, was from any attack or provocation,” continental ballistic missile ington agreed to deploy a so- eventually come, but it is poses, but the US defence de- translates as Divine Vessel, will believed to be of a much-hyped Ross added. (ICBM) capable of striking the phisticated US anti-missile sys- nevertheless a sad day for partment has highlighted its also carry three experiments Musudan missile which North Such launches are usually US mainland by 2020. tem on South Korean soil to curb everyone at the Park, especially increasing capabilities, say- designed by Hong Kong middle Korea has now test-fi red seven reported within hours or even The North has publicly dis- the North’s growing nuclear for the park’s keepers who took ing it was pursuing activities school students and selected times – with one partial suc- minutes by the South Korean played an ICBM, called the KN- weapons threat. care of her over the years,” Ocean aimed to prevent adversaries in a science competition, in- cess. and US militaries, but Seoul’s 08, which uses the same engine Pyongyang has threatened to Park chairman Leo Kung added. from using space-based assets cluding one that will take silk Pentagon spokesman Gary defence ministry refused to say technology as the Musudan but take “physical action” against In July 2015 the giant panda in a crisis. worms into space. Ross condemned what he called why the announcement came so has never been test-fi red. the new system, which has also was presented with a towering After today’s launch at China launched its second a clear violation of UN resolu- long after the event. The North Korean state media been condemned by China as a birthday cake made from ice and 7.30am (2330 GMT) in the re- experimental space lab Tian- tions and urged Pyongyang to First unveiled as an indige- made no mention of Saturday’s US bid to fl ex its military muscle fruit juice with the number 37 mote northwestern province gong 2, or Heavenly Palace 2, refrain from any further actions nous missile at a military parade attempted launch, but the offi - in the region. carved on top in her enclosure. of Gansu, the astronauts will last month. Gulf Times 16 Monday, October 17, 2016 BRITAIN

Farage backtracks on Trump support amid groping claims

Guardian News and Media about his links to Trump in a new Asked about the recent con- While Farage has not explic- you could have a total ban on an- Trump says, who he off ends be- and we don’t care if that change London documentary presented by Jer- troversy over the “Trump tapes” itly endorsed Trump, he has ap- ybody coming into America from cause they see him as their weap- causes a rupture’”. emy Paxman on the US presiden- about groping women, Farage peared alongside him during the one particular religion. on against the establishment and His remarks do not represent tial race to be shown on the BBC told the programme that it had campaign and said he could never “You know, there are lots of they see Hillary as being the epit- a complete disavowal of Trump, igel Farage has qualifi ed today. badly hurt the politician’s chance vote for the Democratic candi- things in this campaign that I ome of that establishment.” but acknowledge he is not entire- his admiration of Donald Farage, who has appeared at a of becoming US president. date, Hillary Clinton. couldn’t support in any way at Farage, who has returned ly easy with some of the Repub- NTrump, saying he could rally with Trump and praised him “I just saw this whole thing as Pressed again about his alli- all and nor do I … But I spoke to temporarily as Ukip leader after lican candidate’s positions. His not support his comments about in the spin room after one of the sort of, an extreme form of al- ance with Trump, Farage told people who were, Trump voters – the shortlived tenure of Diane cooling toward the former Ap- groping women, banning Mus- presidential debates, came under pha-male boasting … as the kind Paxman: “Well, look, it’s not (they were) going to vote Trump James, said people were voting prentice host came amid a fl urry lims from the US or derogatory fi re from some of his Ukip MEPs of boasting that some men do – it just that is it? I mean, there were in this election, and do you know for Trump because of the “lit- of new accusations from women remarks about Mexicans. for defending the controversial doesn’t mean that they actually the comments about Mexicans, what? – they couldn’t care less. tle people saying: ‘We have had who claim Trump sexually as- The Ukip leader was pressed Republican nominee. do it,” said Farage. equally there was the idea that They couldn’t give a damn what enough ... and we want a change saulted them.

Sheltering from the rain Pair gets 18 months Pro-Remain jail for fake marriage article was London Evening Standard London

bride who got her would- be husband’s name wrong ‘semi-parodic’, Aas she prepared to walk down the aisle for a sham mar- riage has been jailed for 18 months. Immigration offi cials swooped on Lambeth registry offi ce as Em- maculate Lumnwi, 29, and Nika says Johnson Lokko, 35, prepared to exchange their vows, Inner London crown Reuters the people made the right deci- nouncing European regulations. court had heard. Lumnwi gave London sion. They voted very substantially People who knew him at that herself away by calling Lokko, to leave the European Union and time have said that Johnson’s who used a French passport un- that is what we’re going to do.” eurosceptic beliefs were not as der the name of Messangan Sergio oris Johnson, who cam- The Sunday Times published deeply rooted as he made out, and Kouye, by his real name. paigned prominently for excerpts from the column, written his Brexit stance was at least partly The bride, a marketing consult- BBritain to leave the European in February, in a front-page article. motivated by personal ambition ant with a masters degree in busi- Union ahead of a June referen- “This is a market on our doorstep, and political calculation. ness, moved to the UK from Cam- dum, argued in favour of remain- ready for further exploitation by Those accusations were again eroon in 2011 on a student visa ing in the bloc in an unpublished British fi rms. The membership fee aired yesterday, with Scotland’s but was turned down when she newspaper column two days be- seems rather small for all that ac- First Minister Nicola Sturgeon applied to stay permanently. She fore backing Brexit, according to a cess. telling Sky that his calculation on enlisted Lokko, a NHS facilities newspaper report. backing Brexit was “based not on manager who was already mar- Former London mayor John- the merits of that argument but ried, to pose as her husband-to-be son, who became foreign aff airs probably what he thought was at the bogus ceremony on March 3 minister in the new government best for his own political advance- last year. He was also sentenced to that took offi ce after the refer- ment”. 18 months at a court hearing. endum, wrote columns both for Popular thanks to his charm and Lumnwi, of Tulse Hill, and and against Brexit to clarify his eccentricity, Johnson had been ex- Lokko, of Camberwell, had both thoughts on the issue, the Sunday pected to put himself forward to denied conspiracy to assist un- Times reported. “It is perfectly true that back succeed David Cameron as prime lawful immigration. Lokko was The report said his “remain” in February I was wrestling minister in the event of a vote for also given a 12-month jail sen- column argued that Britain should with (the question) like I Brexit. tence to run concurrently for mis- be intimately engaged with the EU, think a lot of people in this Cameron had led the “Remain” using identity documents. warned of an economic shock if it country” campaign and announced his res- Sentencing them, judge Nigel left, and suggested British fi nan- ignation the day after the referen- Seed QC said: “These off ences are cial contributions to the EU were a “Why are we so determined to dum. serious. Immigration is a major small price to pay for single market turn our back on it?” he wrote, ac- Johnson decided against that concern, a huge public concern. access. cording to the article. after Michael Gove, a Cabinet Many people are entitled to be in These points all contradict ar- During the campaign, Johnson minister and close ally on the this country...But this was a deci- guments that Johnson made on the travelled around Britain on a bus Brexit campaign trail, betrayed sion to undermine the rules.” He campaign trail, and has continued emblazoned with a slogan sug- him at the 11th hour by announc- said the pair were “clearly good to make. gesting that Britain was send- ing he was standing instead. people” in their professional and Johnson said he wrote the ing £350mn a week to the EU — a Theresa May eventually took personal lives but their off ences “semi-parodic” article backing fi gure rejected as inaccurate by the top job, Gove was sacked from must be punished with a prison Britain’s continued membership experts — and the money would government, and Johnson entered sentence. He added: “The courts of the EU to help confi rm his be- be better spent on the National the gilded halls of the Foreign Of- have made it clear that there had lief that the country was better off Health Service. fi ce — an appointment by May that to be immediate custody.” leaving. Before becoming foreign secre- caused consternation in some Eu- Jill Smith, head of the South “It is perfectly true that back in tary, Johnson was better known for ropean capitals. London Immigration Enforce- February I was wrestling with (the many years for his comic talent, After he said it was “complete ment team, said: “Sham marriage question) like I think a lot of peo- colourful language and dishevelled baloney” to suggest there was a abuse will not be tolerated. Our ple in this country,” Johnson told hair than for his attention to policy link between the EU’s principle investigators work very closely Sky News, adding that he penned detail. of free movement and access to with registrars to identify sus- the pro-EU article after writing “a The son of a senior EU offi cial its single market, he was slapped picious marriages, and will not long piece which came down over- who spent part of his childhood down by French and German min- hesitate to act. Whether you are whelmingly in favour of leaving”. in Brussels, Johnson fi rst made his isters who suggested they could a participant or an organiser, you “I set them side by side and it name as a newspaper correspond- send him a copy of the relevant will be caught and brought before People shelter from a rain storm in a doorway in Brick Lane in London yesterday. was blindingly obvious what the ent there in the early 1990s, where treaty or explain the point to him the courts.” right thing to do was, and I think he wrote numerous articles de- in English. BBC news anchors not to Scotland vote likely be sent to cover stories before ’20: Sturgeon Agencies Sturgeon told her Scot- London tish National Party’s annual Guardian News and Media age numbers and costs “more ef- News channel, the Asian Network, conference last week the de- London fectively and more consistently”. Newsbeat, the Victoria Derbyshire volved government was pre- They say: “The ability of the BBC programme and BBC Breakfast cottish First Minister paring for all possibilities to generate distinctive content is from jetting off . Nicola Sturgeon yester- including independence after he BBC’s star presenters always a priority, but it needs to be A BBC source said: “The new Sday said it was “highly Britain leaves the EU. will be grounded at home balanced against the resulting total deployment guidelines will stop likely” that Scotland would “If (the British govern- Tinstead of being parachuted numbers.” duplication, meaning more cost- hold a new independence ref- ment) insists on taking Scot- in to cover big stories around the eff ective foreign news coverage. erendum before 2020 after land down a path that hurts world, it has emerged, as more “The ability of the BBC If newsreaders are sent now it will Britain voted to leave the Eu- our economy, costs jobs, cost-cutting measures from the to generate distinctive be one per channel and they’ll be ropean Union. lowers our living standards corporation begin to bite. content is always a priority, asked to enhance the journalism, Asked on ITV’s Peston on and damages our reputation Well-known presenters for but it needs to be balanced not merely be a cosmetic presence. Sunday programme whether as an open, welcoming, di- the corporation such as Emily against the resulting total “There is a particular attention she would anticipate a sec- verse country – then be in no Maitlis, Nick Robinson and Huw numbers” on presenters because of their pro- ond Scottish referendum be- doubt,” she told the SNP con- Edwards will no longer anchor fi le, and a perception held by our fore 2020, Sturgeon said: “I ference at its close on Sat- programmes from the heart of an The regulations say that audi- audience that deploying present- think it is highly likely given urday, “Scotland must have unfolding news story, as has been ences believe asking high-profi le ers does not add to our journal- the situation we’re in...if the ability to choose a better typical in recent years when re- presenters to anchor coverage ism.” anything what has happened future.” sponding to major events. of a breaking story on location A new unit devoted to co-or- since then has probably made Sturgeon said economic Instead, they will be confi ned “doesn’t add suffi ciently to our dinating overseas broadcasts has me think that even more so stability has been threatened to carrying out “two-way” in- journalism”. been set up to adjudicate on re- than I did the morning after by the prospect of the UK terviews from the studio with According to the guidelines, in quests from news programmes the referendum.” leaving the European single correspondents on the ground. the “rare circumstances” when to let their star presenters anchor Scotland voted by a large market as well as the EU, tak- Corporation chiefs said reporters a presenter is given permission programmes in situ. margin to remain in the Eu- ing Scotland with it. based in the country often have to cover a story on the ground, The cuts are expected to impact ropean Union, while overall Scotland wants to keep as expert local knowledge and so only one will be deployed “per the BBC’s coverage of the US pres- Britain voted to leave in a ref- many of the advantages of can paint a clearer, more accurate channel or network”, while local idential election, with a pared- erendum that has reignited single market membership as picture of the situation than their journalists and correspondents down news team sent to report on talk of a split between Scot- it can even if Britain leaves, colleagues. will provide most of the news the November ballot. Removing land and the rest of the Unit- and is looking for a bespoke The new guidelines handed coverage. their star journalists and present- ed Kingdom. deal to do so, as is London, down to editors state the changes In particular, BBC bosses want ers from the fi eld will make a 10% Scots rejected independ- where a majority also voted to are designed to help them man- to bar presenters from the BBC saving for the BBC’s news budget. Sturgeon: sounds warning ence two years ago. remain in the EU. Gulf Times Monday, October 17, 2016 17 BRITAIN

Scotland exam board ‘paid invigilators less than living wage’

Guardian News and Media hours or more, or £54.30 for a full But in some cases they ef- wage accreditation scheme, told Peter Kelly, chief executive of tation is a voluntary scheme: The SQA said it stipulated 15 to London day of up to eight hours, despite fectively earn £6 an hour for the the Guardian it had launched an the Poverty Alliance, said it had employers sign up on a voluntary 30 minutes of administration time the Scottish Qualifi cation Au- longest Higher and Advanced investigation after complaints asked the Scottish Qualifi cation basis and there’s a lot of good faith and that almost three-quarters of thority’s status as a living wage Higher language or science ex- were passed to it by Labour MSP Authority to prove that it prop- involved. We rely a lot on the good its exams lasted under two hours, cotland’s examinations employer. ams, invigilators said. Those ex- Daniel Johnson. erly monitored the fees earned by faith of employers to do the right 30 minutes – excluding adminis- board is under investigation Those fi xed fees mean that in- aminations can last between three The claims will unnerve the its 6,000 invigilators throughout thing. There is clearly an issue tration time. Safter claims it has been pay- vigilators should work an average and three-and-an-half hours – Scottish government. Nicola an exam season to ensure each of here.” It said invigilator fees were paid ing thousands of exam invigilators of three hours 20 minutes for a excluding the 45 minutes needed Sturgeon, the fi rst minister, has them received the living wage. He The SQA said it has fi xed fees at the end of each exam season, less than the living wage, in breach morning session, or six hours 40 to prepare for each exam, collating championed the living wage, with said the SQA faced being stripped of £27.15 for a morning session adding that it applied the same of Scottish government policy. minutes a day, to meet the living papers and clearing up, and some- her fellow SNP ministers repeat- of its status as a living wage em- and £54.30 for a full day. These living wage policy to invigilators Invigilators have complained wage rate of £8.25 an hour stipu- times helping students. edly highlighting that strategy at ployer if it failed to do so. were set in 2009 and introduced as it did to its staff . It said it had to they receive £27.15 for a morning lated for all Scottish public sector The Poverty Alliance, the char- the SNP conference in Glasgow “We take this very seriously,” in 2010, now costing it £1.2mn a intervene in very few cases of un- session that can last up to four bodies. ity that polices Scotland’s living last week. Kelly said. “Living wage accredi- year, it added. derpayment. Premier ‘lacks Memories to cherish understanding on seriousness of NHS crisis’

Guardian News and Media later admitted that the fi gure was London not accurate, and are now fac- ing calls to explain the ongoing funding crisis for the service. heresa May is failing to May told Stevens the NHS understand the serious- could learn from the painful cuts Tness of the situation facing to the Home Offi ce and ministry the NHS as winter approaches, of defence budgets that she and the British Medical Association Philip Hammond, the chancel- has said after it emerged the NHS lor, had overseen when they were would be promised no additional in charge of those departments funding in the autumn state- respectively, according to senior ment. May dashed any hopes fi gures in the NHS who were giv- of a cash boost in next month’s en an account of the discussion. economic announcement when Senior Whitehall sources have she met Simon Stevens, the chief confi rmed that Hammond’s Chinese tourists Haiti Chen (left) and Jialin Wang pose for a portrait in London. executive of NHS England, sen- statement on November 23 will ior NHS sources have told the contain no new money for the Guardian. NHS, despite increasingly vocal Instead she told him that the pleas from key NHS organisations NHS should urgently focus on and the public’s expectation of making effi ciencies to fi ll the extra health spending when Brit- £22bn hole in its fi nances, and ain voted to leave the EU. not publicly seek more than the NHS Providers, which repre- “£10bn extra” that ministers in- sents 238 NHS trusts, last week sist they have already pledged to accused ministers of perpetuat- MPs seek ballots to signal provide during this parliament. ing “a bit of a fantasy world” on Dr Anthea Mowat, the BMA how well the NHS is doing after representative body chair, said the worst ever performance fi g- there was “a lack of understand- ures for key waiting time targets ing from the prime minister for A&E care, planned hospital about just how serious the situ- operations and cancer treat- ation is”. She added: “Failure to ments led to warnings that it dissent against Corbyn invest now will result in a disas- was starting to buckle under the ter in the future, both fi nancially strain of unprecedented demand. Guardian News and Media committee, plans to present a likely to receive a free vote on the Aleppo. Some MPs were further not be popular with rank-and- and in terms of patient health Health experts said the NHS London report supporting a third runway issue. angered by his view expressed fi le members. “Policy debate is and care.” would have to ration treatment, to today’s weekly meeting of the Some are pushing for the same by a spokesman last week that healthy but these committees The idea that the NHS fund- shut hospital units and cut staff parliamentary Labour party, and approach to be used to bypass the the focus on Russia “diverts at- don’t make Labour policy,” the ing crisis could be solved with if it gets no extra money soon. abour backbenchers are call for a “votable motion” to shadow cabinet and constrain tention” from other “atrocities”, source said. further effi ciency savings was a Nigel Edwards, the chief exec- preparing to call for a se- gauge the views of MPs. Corbyn’s room for manoeuvre on such as those committed by the “Party members will look un- myth, she said. “The NHS is al- utive of the Nuffi eld Trust think- Lries of MPs’ ballots to sig- If the PLP chair, John Cryer, other contested issues. US-led coalition. “He is trashing favourably at any actions which ready the most effi cient health- tank, said: “If the government nal their dissent from the party’s agrees to call a vote – as he did Chris Leslie, the former shad- the Labour brand,” said one sen- undermine our party or our abil- care system in the world. These has fi rmly decided not to revisit leadership on policy areas where when a motion of no confi dence ow chancellor who chairs the ior party insider. ity to hold the government to ac- are not savings: they are year- NHS funding, this underlines they believe Jeremy Corbyn is out in Corbyn was tabled in June – it backbench economic commit- Another prominent Labour count.” on-year cuts that have driven that the health service faces four of step with mainstream public would act as a strong public sig- tee, said: “There is no reason why backbencher said the comments New internal Labour party fi g- almost every acute trust in Eng- very diffi cult years. In particular, opinion. nal of Labour MPs’ stance. policymaking needs to be the on Russia had been very frus- ures show membership dropped land into defi cit, led to a crisis in balancing the books in 2018 and Heathrow expansion, which Corbyn has said he will not exclusive preserve of the front trating. “They do not speak for by roughly 1,000 in the week general practice and a communi- 2019 when funding will fl atline Corbyn opposes, will be the test try to whip his party to reject a bench. We can’t allow the party MPs, for Labour voters and not after Corbyn’s victory, caused ty and social care system on the looks all but impossible with case for the new approach, which new runway, but pro-Heath- to drift along, because the pub- even, I suspect, for the majority by the resignation of more than brink of collapse,” said Mowat. the current level of services. If one critical backbencher called row rebels believe the lack of an lic are watching and they want to of Labour members. But if you 2,500 members in a single week, In the lead-up to the EU ref- more money from tax or borrow- “constructively muscular”. If ac- agreed party position will make know what we stand for.” disagree with it in public, you get which insiders said was extreme- erendum, the Leave campaign ing is ruled out, the only choices cepted the proposal could see Labour look weak. A source close Corbyn received an angry re- denounced.” ly unusual. However, the drop in claimed that a vote to exit the left may be even less attractive, MPs openly defy the offi cial po- to the leader’s offi ce played down ception at last week’s PLP meet- A Momentum source said membership was compensated union would free up an addition- including reducing access and sition of their leader. the signifi cance of the Heathrow ing for apparently hesitating to signs that anti-Corbyn MPs were by about 1,000 additional mem- al £350mn a week for the NHS. services, closures and reductions Gavin Shuker, chair of La- report being presented to the PLP condemn Russia’s role in attacks trying to undermine the leader so bers joining in the week of Cor- Prominent leave campaigners in staff .” bour’s backbench transport meeting, stressing that MPs were on the besieged Syrian city of soon after his re-election would byn’s victory. Let TfL run London Farmland search for missing child ends trains, says mayor Guardian News and Media A friend of local man Kon- London stantinos Barkas came forward in May claiming that the recently London Evening Standard Transport Secretary Chris there must be no detrimental im- deceased builder could have ac- London Grayling has so far appeared luke- pact on the county’s rail users. We olice have offi cially con- cidentally killed Needham while warm about the TfL proposal, are pleased TfL accepted our non- cluded an excavation of the clearing land around the farm- with insiders suggesting he was negotiable ‘red lines’ as a starting Pfarmland surrounding a house, which was being refur- lans to improve rail services concerned about the impact on point for discussions.” Greek holiday home where British bished by the toddler’s parents. for millions of London com- Kent and other counties outside TfL’s business case sets out toddler Ben Needham went miss- Barkas’s widow Varvara has denied Pmuters have been submit- London. how further devolution would ing more than 25 years ago. he could have killed the boy. ted to the government in a bid to However, he is not thought help tackle the housing crisis, The search on the island of Needham’s mother, Kerry, end the “nightmare” of delays and to be against more devolution with potential for up to 80,000 Kos was declared over yesterday has previously said she had not overcrowding. in principle, and TfL hopes that new homes to be built within one morning, 21 days after it began, thought her son could be dead, Presenting his business case for with county councils on board he kilometre of stations on newly- with crew on the dig applauding and the tipoff had left her fearing devolving suburban rail services could be persuaded to hand over devolved lines, as well as boosting and posing for photographs. for the “worst possible news” each to Transport for London, Mayor more control. economic growth including thou- Forensic experts were sift- day. Sadiq Khan said passengers had TfL’s case focuses on suburban sands of extra jobs. ing through the last of the debris Needham, from Sheffi eld, told been coping with poor services for rail, but spells out that longer- But the main benefi ts would be collected from the site and po- the Daily Mirror: “Not even in my too long. Councils outside London distance services going beyond for commuters, especially those in lice were expected to hold a press worst nightmares has Ben ever have backed the plan, which the London’s boundaries would still south London who regularly suf- conference today when they will been dead … until now. I’ve been mayor says will act as a catalyst for be run by the government and fer poor services and overcrowded reveal what, if anything, they have waking up and fi nding my pillow new jobs and homes. suggests these commuters would trains. learned. wet with tears.” As he submitted TfL’s 99-page benefi t from related improve- Instead TfL says they could Digging on another site in the The dig has taken longer than document to the government, ments. have: immediate vicinity of the farm- anticipated. Investigators have he said the move has cross-party Crucially Kent, which has pre- O More frequent services, in- house had been declared fi nished dug through tonnes of soil at the support from in and outside Lon- viously voiced the strongest ob- cluding the Orpington and Vic- the previous day. two sites, which are about a quar- don, including MPs, London bor- jections, now says it is open to toria route going from six trains South Yorkshire police and ter of a mile apart”. oughs and Surrey, Kent and Hert- discussions. to eight trains an hour, and trains Greek search and rescue teams South Yorkshire police con- fordshire councils. Matthew Balfour, transport from Bexleyheath to London from began excavations in late Sep- fi rmed that digging had been com- Thousands of commuters are spokesman for Kent county seven to nine per hour. tember after receiving informa- pleted, and said today’s press con- regularly let down by suburban rail council, said: “We welcome the O Integrated fares and ticket- tion suggesting the toddler could ference would cover “the work that services in and out of stations such proposal from TfL for the transfer ing, with any freeze in TfL fares have been accidentally crushed by has been conducted so far and will as London Bridge and Waterloo of the Southeastern Metro servic- also being applied to devolved rail a digger. The boy went missing on give additional details about this every day. es, based on our fi rm position that routes within London. Sadiq Khan: vows to end train delays, overcrowding. July 24, 1991. particular phase of Operation Ben”. Gulf Times 18 Monday, October 17, 2016 EUROPE Five die in twin blasts in city at Turkish border AFP Turkish media had initially ties gathered intelligence about just 60km (37 miles) north of the Istanbul spoken of more than one attacker a possible suicide bomb attack Syrian border, has become a hub but the governor and the local by a suspected IS sleeper cell in for Syrians fl eeing the civil war. Police forensic experts examine prosecutor’s offi ce said the body Gaziantep against an Alevi cul- Since the summer of 2015, a blast site, and at an apartment suspected Islamic State of just one bomber was found at tural association. Turkey has suff ered a string of (right) in Gaziantep. (IS) suicide bomber blew the scene. Police confi scated computers attacks in Gaziantep and else- Ahimself up during an anti- The governor said fi ve police and hard disks from the house. where blamed on IS and Kurdish ern city with the aim of staging terror raid in the Turkish city of offi cers and four Syrians were A second suicide bomber blew militants. attacks, and yesterday’s raid was Gaziantep yesterday, killing three also injured. himself up as police hunted for In August, a suicide bombing part of a wider crackdown on police offi cers, offi cials said. Acting on a tip-off , special suspects who fl ed after the fi rst at a Kurdish wedding in the city sleeper cells across the country. A few hours later, a second sui- police used armoured vehicles blast, Yelikaya said. killed 57 people, 34 of them chil- Governor Yerlikaya said that cide bomber – identifi ed as the to block the road where the sus- He was identifi ed as Meh- dren. Turkey “will continue its fi ght chief of IS group “bomb cells” in pected militants were holed up met Kadir Cabael, chief of the The attack was blamed on IS against all terror groups includ- the city near the Syrian border – in a house, the state-run news IS group’s “bomb cells” in the militants. ing Daesh”, using an Arabic acro- detonated his explosives, killing agency Anadolu reported. Gaziantep region and who was In September, the United nym for IS. himself but without causing any Witnesses told private NTV believed to be supplying logisti- States warned of the risk of a ter- Turkey launched an unprec- further fatalities. television that they heard sound cal support to the organisation, ror attack in Gaziantep on busi- edented operation inside Syria The blasts took place shortly of gunfi re and clashes in the area, according to the governor. nesses frequented by Western- on August 24, backing up oppo- after Turkish-backed rebels cap- which is mostly populated by He said the second bomb- ers, including the popular coff ee sition fi ghters, with the ultimate tured the northern Syrian town university students. ing caused no further casualties, chain Starbucks. goal of cleansing its border of IS of Dabiq from the IS group, deal- Video footage released by adding that the suspect’s wife At the time, the US embassy militants and stopping the ad- the northern Iraqi city of Mosul Kurdish militants have also ing a major symbolic blow to the the private Dogan news agency and children who were in the in Ankara warned its citizens vance of Syrian Kurdish militia from IS. staged a number of attacks. Islamist militants. showed several suspects with apartment building at the time that Turkish police were inves- forces which Ankara vehemently Turkey is still reeling from an Adherents of the Alevi branch In the fi rst attack in Gaziantep, their hands tied behind their did not suff er any injuries. tigating a possible “terror cell” in opposes. foiled July 15 coup blamed on US- of Islam are known for their the bomber set off his explosives backs as they were taken to a po- Turkish police have detained Gaziantep. President Recep Tayyip Erdog- based Islamic preacher Fethullah hardline opposition to the Is- to avoid being captured by police, lice car. 19 suspects for alleged links to IS Turkish authorities acknowl- an has also voiced Turkey’s will- Gulen that has been followed by a lamic-rooted ruling Justice and local governor Ali Yerlikaya said Yerlikaya said the raid took group, the governor said. edge that IS militants have built ingness to become involved in a relentless purge of his supporters Development Party (AKP) co- in televised comments. place after Turkish authori- Gaziantep, a major city lying up a presence in the southeast- coalition operation to recapture from all state institutions. founded by Erdogan.

Questions remain on German terror Thousands suspect’s ties to Islamic State group Investigators in Germany are still searching for evidence of involvement by the Islamic State (IS) terrorist militia in the plans of gather in Jaber al-Bakr, a terrorism suspect found hanged in his prison cell in Germany after his arrest last week. So far “suff icient judicially usable connections to IS” have not been Dresden found, a spokesman for the Germany Federal Prosecutor’s Off ice told the Sunday edition of the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper. Police found around 1.5kg of explosives in al-Bakr’s flat in the against eastern city of Chemnitz in a botched raid last week. The 22-year-old Syrian refugee was able to escape to Leipzig, some 100km away, before he was captured and handed over to the foreigners authorities by three other Syrians. Two days later, he hanged himself with his prison T-shirt in his cell. The justice minister for the region of Saxony admitted failings in the DPA penal system under his jurisdiction were at fault for the suicide. Dresden “We all have to something to learn in regard to Islamist prisoners,” Sebastian Gemkow told the weekly Bild yesterday, adding that suicide may have been specifically planned to thwart investigations housands of supporters of into the suspected terrorist act. the anti-migrant organi- Tsation Pegida gathered yesterday in the east German city Arson suspected in asylum centre fire of Dresden to celebrate the sec- ond anniversary of the group’s Swedish police have opened an arson investigation into a fire at founding. an asylum centre in Fagersjo, southern Stockholm early yesterday According to the research which damaged a building and led 37 residents to be evacuated. group Durchgezaehlt, between The fire began in the early hours of yesterday morning and was 6,500 and 8,500 people gath- spotted by a passing police patrol. ered at Dresden’s Theaterplatz, None of the residents at the centre were injured in the blaze which with several hundred counter- Pegida supporters mark the movement’s second year of existence in Dresden. was put out by fire fighters after several hours. demonstrators protesting some The police said they had begun a preliminary arson investigation distance away. den, spawning similar groups in fi rst anniversary of the organisa- Opponents of Pegida were up- a member of the hard-left Left but that they currently had no suspects. A massive police presence has other cities. tion’s activities prompted scuf- set that the city was taking such party in the state legislature. “We will now see if anybody in the area may have seen something,” accompanied the event, and no The marches are marked by the fl es between the group’s mem- eff orts to make sure that Pegida The Pegida celebration had Sven-Erik Olsson at the Stockholm police’s central dispatch unit noteworthy clashes have taken members’ aversion to the spread bers and its detractors. marchers were not confronted been originally set for today, but said. “The technical investigation of the scene will begin tomorrow.” place, police say. of Muslim culture, worries that Prior to the gathering, Dresden with dissent. the square in front of the city’s What appeared to be an attempt at arson at the centre had been Pegida (a German acronym for the political status quo is not police chief Horst Kretzschmer “For Pegida’s birthday, the famous Semperoper had already discovered the night before when oil canisters had been left in an Patriotic Europeans Against the working for them, and suspicions appealed on all sides to respect Dresden authorities are rolling been booked by opponents of the oven with the heat turned up, but staff were able to stop any blaze Islamisation of the West) made that mainstream media is not one another’s right to express out the red carpet once again and group. from erupting. a splash on the German politi- accurately reporting their argu- themselves freely and peacefully, making sure counterdemonstra- Dresden plans to celebrate Sweden took in a record 163,000 asylum-seekers last year, the most cal scene when its members fi rst ments. but also to do so “with decency tions are nowhere to be seen or “openness to the world” at the of any European country relative to the size of its population, before marched two years ago in Dres- A march last year to mark the and respect”. heard,” said Andre Schollbach, event today. a government clamp down saw the numbers fall sharply. Pope Francis raises ‘gaucho priest’, six others to sainthood

AFP Brochero cared for the sick a 14-year-old who was killed Vatican City during a cholera epidemic in in 1928 in Mexico after refus- 1867 and would go on to contract ing to renounce his faith during leprosy, reportedly after shar- the “Cristero” struggle between ope Francis proclaimed ing with a suff erer a gourd of the Catholics and the anti-clerical seven new saints yesterday, herbal tea mate – a South Ameri- Mexican government. Pincluding the Argentine can drink Francis often sips when Salomone Leclercq also died “gaucho priest” who served as off ered to him by pilgrims in the defending his faith. an inspiration for the Pontiff , and crowds. Born in 1745 in France to a fam- two people who were slain for In Argentina, tens of thou- ily of merchants, he entered the their Catholic faith. sands of pilgrims defi ed lightning Institute of the Brothers of the Portraits of the new saints and heavy rain for an overnight Christian Schools – known as the hung high among the columns of outdoor vigil in Villa Cura Bro- “De La Salle Brothers” – where Saint Peter’s Basilica at the Vati- chero, where the “gaucho priest” he served as a teacher. can, where the Pontiff blessed once lived. He was run through with a A banner depicting ‘gaucho seven relics of the saints at a sol- They followed the Vatican sword during the French Revo- priest’ Jose Gabriel del Rosario emn open-air ceremony attend- ceremony on giant television lution after refusing to take the Brochero (1840-1914), Argentina’s ed by some 80,000 faithful. screens. oath of allegiance to the new first Catholic saint, is seen as Many among the crowds were The Pontiff said that the saints French government, and his people hold a vigil in Villa Cura Argentines, some clutching little were those who could help peo- murder, along with that of doz- Brochero, in the mountainous statues of poncho-wearing Jose ple in diffi culty, for they too had ens of other religious fi gures, was Argentine province of Cordoba. Gabriel del Rosario Brochero. suff ered, but triumphed in their seen as driven by a “hatred of the Born in 1840 in the province faith. faith”. And Spain’s Bishop of Palencia of Cordoba, Brochero spent his “The saints are men and wom- France’s second new saint is Manuel Gonzalez Garcia, born days ministering to the poor and en who enter fully into the mys- the mystic Elizabeth of the Trin- in 1877, founded the “Congrega- the sick, travelling the region on tery of prayer. Men and women ity, who died aged just 26 of Ad- tion of the Eucharistic Mission- muleback and building church who struggle with prayer. They dison’s disease in 1906. aries of Nazareth” as well as the schools. struggle to the very end, with A gifted pianist, Elizabeth re- Nuns chat next to a portrait of young Mexican Jose Sanchez del Rio before a canonisation mass led “Disciples of Saint John” and the Francis has praised Brochero all their strength, and they tri- portedly refused several off ers yesterday by Pope Francis at Saint Peter’s Square. “Children of Reparation”. as having had the “smell of his umph,” he said. of marriage to join the Barefoot He enlisted in the seminary of sheep” on him, a phrase he has “May we cry out day and night Carmelites near her house and Maria Fusco, a priest from the Baptist”, known as Baptistine Mary Immaculate” and taught Seville at the tender age of 12, and used in the past to describe the to God, without losing heart,” he undertake a life of contemplation southern city of Salerno, who Sisters. the poor and downtrodden trades it was there that he wrote: “If I best pastors – those who mingle urged. where she dedicated herself to was born to a farmer in 1839 and Fellow Italian Lodovico Pavoni to help them put bread on the ta- would be born a thousand times; with their fl ock and share their The youngest of the new prayer and spiritual writings. went on to found the “Congrega- from Brescia founded the re- ble and faith to help them enter a thousand times I would be a troubles. saints is Jose Sanchez del Río, She is joined by Italian Alfonso tion of the Sisters of St John the ligious congregation “Sons of heaven. priest.” Gulf Times Monday, October 17, 2016 19 EUROPE Mars lander starts its descent Reuters/AFP tain data on the lander’s onboard gramme, represents only the of people and cargo to Mars with from 2018, will deliver a Euro- Frankfurt status, raising. second European attempt to land the ultimate goal of colonising pean rover to the surface of Mars. Ground controllers were even- a craft on Mars, after a failed mis- the planet, with Musk saying he It will be the fi rst with the tually able to re-establish full sion by Britain’s Beagle 2 in 2003. would like to launch the fi rst crew ability to both move across the Mars lander left its moth- links however. Landing on Mars, Earth’s as early as 2024. planet’s surface and drill into ership yesterday after “Everything is back on track,” neighbour some 35mn miles The primary goal of ExoMars is the ground to collect and analyse Aa seven-month jour- spokeswoman Jocelyne Lan- (56mn km) away, is a notoriously to fi nd out whether life has ever samples. ney from Earth and headed to- deau-Constantin of the Euro- diffi cult task that has bedevilled existed on Mars. The ExoMars 2016 mission is wards the red planet’s surface pean Space Operations Centre in most Russian eff orts and given The current spacecraft, TGO, led by the ESA, with Russia’s Ro- to test technologies for Europe’s Darmstadt, Germany, told AFP Nasa trouble as well. carries an atmospheric probe to scosmos supplying the launcher planned fi rst Mars rover, which by telephone, surrounded by “a The United States currently study trace gases such as meth- and two of the four scientifi c will search for signs of past and lot of relieved people”. has two operational rovers on ane around the planet. instruments on the trace gas or- present life. “We have to receive and proc- Mars, Curiosity and Opportu- Scientists believe that meth- biter. The disc-shaped 577kg Schia- ess this telemetry (data) fi rst nity. ane, a chemical that on Earth is The prime contractor is Thales parelli lander separated from and after that we can say what But a seemingly hostile en- strongly tied to life, could stem Alenia Space, a joint venture be- spacecraft Trace Gas Orbiter has happened. But on the side of vironment has not detracted from micro-organisms that ei- tween Thales and Finmeccanica. (TGO) at 1442 GMT as expected, (Schiaparelli) I would say that the from the allure of Mars, with US ther became extinct millions of The cost of the ExoMars mis- starting a three-day descent to separation was a success,” Paolo President Barack Obama recently years ago and left gas frozen be- sion to the ESA, including the the surface. Ferri, head of mission operations highlighting his pledge to send low the planet’s surface, or that second part due in 2020, is This photo taken from the ESA website on March 1 shows an artist’s But in a setback, signals re- at the European Space Agency people to the planet by the 2030s. some methane-producing or- expected to be about €1.3bn impression depicting the separation of the ExoMars 2016 entry, ceived from TGO, which is to (ESA), told Reuters TV. Elon Musk’s SpaceX is devel- ganisms still survive. ($1.4bn). descent and landing demonstrator module, named Schiaparelli, from orbit Mars and sniff out gases Schiaparelli, part of the Eu- oping a massive rocket and cap- The second part of the Ex- Russia’s contribution comes the Trace Gas Orbiter, and heading for Mars. around the planet, did not con- ropean-Russian ExoMars pro- sule to transport large numbers oMars mission, delayed to 2020 on top of that. Germany 20 Serbs arrested tells Tesla not to use over Montenegro ‘autopilot’ term for vote ‘attack plans’

AFP its electric Podgorica vehicles ontenegro said it had arrested 20 Serbs for Mplanning to carry out Reuters attacks after voting ended in Frankfurt the Balkan nation’s tense parlia- mentary elections yesterday. The pro-Russian opposition – Some of the suspects are escorted by Montenegrin police off icers to the special court in Podgorica erman Transport Minis- which opposes plans to anchor yesterday. Montenegro said it had arrested 20 Serbs for planning to carry out attacks after the Balkan ter Alexander Dobrindt Montenegro in Nato – slammed nation’s tense parliamentary elections. Ghas asked Tesla to stop the announcement of the arrests advertising its electric vehicles as propaganda, while Serbia sar- der pressure, with critics accus- Mandic, though, urged his But the issue profoundly di- as having an “autopilot” func- donically questioned its timing. ing his government of cronyism, supporters to be calm. vides the country’s 620,000 tion as this might suggest driv- The attacks would have tar- corruption and links to organ- “Everything has been set people, prompting reminders of ers’ attention is not needed, his geted the state and possibly ised crime. in place to defend Milo Dju- the bonds with Russia and the ministry said yesterday. “senior state offi cials”, Mon- Djukanovic casts his ballot at a polling station in Podgorica. The latest internal party polls kanovic’s government,” he said. alliance’s 1999 bombing of Yu- A spokeswoman for the min- tenegro police chief Slavko Sto- forecast his Democratic Party “Tonight, massive chaos is ex- goslavia. istry, confi rming a report in the janovic said in a statement. Minister Aleksandar Vucic, Montenegro’s long-time ally. of Socialists (DPS) leading with pected – but only in the prime Moscow, already angered daily Bild am Sonntag, said the The 20 were arrested on Sat- quoted by the Serbian news One of the six founding re- less than 40% of the vote, mean- minister’s offi ce, when the re- by the EU’s sanctions against Federal Motor Transport Au- urday night and a 21st individual agency Tanjug, said he had no publics of the former Yugosla- ing coalition partners would be sults are announced.” it over the Ukraine crisis, has thority (KBA) had written to is being sought, he said. information about the arrests. via, Montenegro was joined in a needed to form a government. Djukanovic, who faced large warned of consequences if the Tesla to make the request. “They are suspected of com- “I fi nd it curious that this is loose union with Serbia after the “Even if the DPS could reach anti-government rallies last Adriatic republic joins the At- “It can be confi rmed that a ing to Montenegro with the in- happening today, and that’s all Yugoslav break-up. with their political allies some year, has pitched the vote as a lantic alliance. letter to Tesla exists with the re- tention of carrying out attacks I’ll say,” Vucic said. “As for the The union ended in 2006, tiny majority, that would be choice between ties with the The Democratic Front op- quest to no longer use the mis- on institutions, the police and rest, it would be better for me to when the country narrowly vot- unstable,” said Zlatko Vujovic, West or with Russia, whom he poses membership of either the leading term autopilot for the the representatives of the organs bite my tongue.” ed in favour of independence, director of the Centre for Moni- accuses of funding opposition European Union or Nato, and driver assistance system of the of state,” the statement said. “In Campaigning in small former and relations have been fraught toring and Research, a watchdog parties. is demanding a referendum on car,” she said in a written re- addition, we do not rule out (that Yugoslav Montenegro has been ever since. group. “Are we going to be part of joining the alliance. sponse to a Reuters’ query. they were planning) attacks gripped by tension over vet- Djukanovic, 54, is the only Just over half a million citizens developed European society or a It staged violent protests on A Tesla spokeswoman said against senior state offi cials.” eran premier Milo Djukanovic’s Balkan leader to have held on are eligible to cast their ballot for Russian colony?” he asked sup- the issue in 2015. the autopilot term, describing a Andrija Mandic, head of the plans to forge closer ties with the to power since the collapse of the 81-seat assembly. porters waving national red fl ags Other opposition groups have system operating in conjunction Democratic Front, Montenegro’s West. Yugoslavia began in the early Barricades were put up near at his fi nal rally in the capital. more mixed positions – some with a human driver, had been main opposition, immediately The prime minister is pursu- 1990s, serving several times parliament early yesterday, ap- Montenegro was invited to are pro-EU but would also like used in aerospace for decades, condemned the announcement ing membership of both Nato as prime minister and once as parently to protect the building join Nato in December, and rati- a referendum on Nato – yet they and that the company had al- as “gross propaganda”. and the European Union – an president. against any post-election vio- fi cation of the deal will be put to have spoken of joining forces to ways made it clear to customers In neighbouring Serbia, Prime objective that displeases Russia, But analysts say he is now un- lence. the next parliament. oust Djukanovic. that the assistance system re- quired drivers to pay attention at all times. “Just as in an airplane, when used properly, autopilot reduces driver workload and provides an Four die in French Anti-gay marriage added layer of safety when com- pared to purely manual driving,” she said. protesters return On Friday the KBA – which balcony collapse reports to Dobrindt – wrote to owners of Tesla cars, warning AFP them that their vehicles could AFP normal conditions.” Paris not be operated without their Angers, France The victims were three constant attention. men aged 21, 23 and 25, and an According to the Bild am Son- 18-year-old woman. ens of thousands of ntag report, the KBA letter to our young people died af- The apartment’s two young protesters took to the Tesla said: “In order to prevent ter a balcony collapsed at female fl atmates had invited Tstreets of Paris yester- misunderstanding and incorrect Fa newly-built block of fl ats around 30 friends – most of day to demonstrate against gay customers’ expectations, we de- in France while they were cel- them law students – to celebrate marriage and to call for candi- mand that the misleading term ebrating a house-warming, au- their housewarming after re- dates in next year’s presiden- autopilot is no longer used in ad- thorities said yesterday. cently moving in. tial election to support “tradi- vertising the system.” What started as an ordinary They were not among the vic- tional family values”. Tesla’s autopilot has been the Saturday night for a group of tims, and city authorities have The march was briefl y inter- focus of intense scrutiny since a young friends ended in disaster moved them to diff erent accom- rupted by six topless feminist Tesla Model S driver was killed when the third-fl oor apartment modation as a police investiga- protesters from the Femen while using the technology in a balcony in the western city of tion for manslaughter and invol- group who were quickly sur- May 7 collision with a truck in Angers broke away from the wall. untary injury gets under way. rounded by demonstrators be- De La Rochere attends a news Florida. “We suddenly heard a noise – The probe will seek to deter- fore police intervened. conference before the march which was the collapse – then we mine “how the incident hap- The “Manif pour Tous cam- in Paris. heard the cries,” a neighbour who pened and the cause of the col- paign” has been re-activated lives on the fl oor below, still vis- lapse”, the local prosecution two years after it last held a Three years ago, Manif pour Church tower ibly in shock, told AFP. service said. “A legal expert spe- sizeable protest. Tous mounted a vigorous cam- clock hand falls The crash left 14 other party- cialising in construction is on the Protesters held signs with paign against same-sex mar- goers injured, four of them se- scene.” slogans such “A father and a riage – at one point claiming The minute hand of the clock verely, a source close to the in- Experts were examining what mother – it’s hereditary” as to have brought 1.4mn on the tower of St Catherine’s Church quiry said. was left of the balcony, which they made their way towards streets of Paris. in Hamburg, Germany, detached “Many of the others are in snapped cleanly away from the the Trocadero concourse in But Socialist President and fell about 40m to the psychological shock,” the source apartment block’s exterior wall front of the Eiff el Tower. Francois Hollande defi ed the ground, a spokesman for the fire added. looking over a courtyard. Police said up to 24,000 protests and in 2013 France le- department said yesterday. The balcony brought down the Residents have been evacuated people took part while organ- galised same-sex marriage. Nobody was injured when the two others directly below as it from the block. isers put the number far higher. The movement then faded clock hand came undone on crashed, but there was no one on This is not the fi rst accident of The target of their anger is away, but its leader Ludovine Friday night and crashed to the the lower fl oors at the time. its kind to happen in France. the 2013 law legalising same- de la Rochere said it now had sidewalk below. The city’s mayor Christo- In 2013 a woman in her 80s sex marriage introduced by “a bright future” because Hol- How the clock hand became phe Bechu raised the possibility was killed when a balcony col- then-justice minister Chris- lande’s Socialist government loose still is not known. that a construction fault was to lapsed during a family gathering tiane Taubira. had “destabilised families”. Several German media outlets A picture taken yesterday shows the rear of the building where blame. at a chalet in the village of Man- One protester attending But none of the leading reported that the 2m metal clock four people were died and several others injured after a balcony “If there was no defect, how dray in the northeastern Vosges the march yesterday, 72-year- candidates for the right-wing hand became loose during a collapsed. A dozen people stood on the balcony on the third floor can we understand how such mountains. old retired engineer Michel nomination for next year’s storm. of the recently constructed building, when the accident occurred a tragedy could happen?” he And in 2007, two women were Delaune, said: “I am against presidential election have said The fire department has since shortly before midnight. The balcony collapsed for an unknown asked. “The size of the balcony seriously injured in a similar col- gay marriage and against the they have any intention of re- checked the second hand, which reason, causing the balconies of the two lower floors to collapse did not suggest that it was unable lapse in the Parisian suburb of crappy leaders who oppose the pealing same-sex marriage if is still attached securely. as well. to accommodate 15 people under Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois. power of the people.” they are elected. Gulf Times 20 Monday, October 17, 2016 INDIA

Tamil Nadu Roundup Modi govt spent Rs360mn on publicity to mark two years

By Umaima Shafiq IANS and electronic media advertise- years in offi ce. The expenditure showcased its achievements and The central government and lating Supreme Court guidelines New Delhi ments. incurred on advertisements in Bollywood’s leading names, in- the ruling party had come down and had ordered it to “reimburse The BJP had earlier attacked print media was Rs350.59mn cluding Amitabh Bachchan, es- heavily on the AAP government to the state exchequer” the en- ‘Herbal fuel’ Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party while in the electronic media it poused social causes at the show in Delhi for spending what they tire amount that it had spent on he Bharatiya Janata Par- (AAP) for spending on adver- was Rs 10.06mn. which lasted over six hours. said was a huge amount of pub- its advertisements. inventor jailed ty-led central govern- tisements. Meanwhile, another RTI re- A range of initiatives, including lic money on advertisements and A Comptroller and Auditor for three years Tment spent more than The RTI reply received from ply received from Doordarshan the ‘Swachh Bharat’ campaign, publicity. General (CAG) report had stat- Rs360mn on publicity and ad- the Directorate of Advertising Kendra revealed that the total the ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’, The Delhi government had al- ed that the AAP government’s vertisements for organising the and Visual Publicity (DAVP), expenditure incurred by it on ‘Pradhan Mantrai Ujjwala Yojana’, located Rs5.26bn for publicity expenditure on advertisement A Chennai court last week one-day “Ek Nayi Subah” show Ministry of Information and the “Ek Nayi Subah” show was ‘Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yo- and information for the 2015-16 and publicity had gone up three sentenced Ramar Pillai, the self- in New Delhi to mark two years Broadcasting, revealed that the Rs9.2mn. jana’ and ‘Pradhan Mantri Mudra fi nancial year. This allocation times from the previous govern- proclaimed inventor of herbal of the National Democratic Alli- amount spent by the central The RTI reply revealed that the Yojana’ were highlighted. Also was later reduced to Rs1bn in the ment’s Rs250.25mn in 2013-14 fuel in the late 1990s, to three ance (NDA) administration. government on publicity was advertisements were given to all showcased were moves to boost revised estimates. to Rs810.23mn in 2015-16. years in jail for defrauding people This information was revealed Rs36,64,88,085. leading national dailies apart from farmers’ income, enhance con- A panel set up by the Informa- The report also stated that with his bogus products. in response to an RTI (Right to Prime Minister Narendra other English, Hindi and regional nectivity, step up investment and tion and Broadcasting Ministry Directorate of Information and Four of his associates – R Information) query. Modi-led NDA government had dailies across the country. enhance jobs and improve rail, on content regulation of govern- Publicity (DIP) expenditure Venudevi, S Chinnasamy, R The money for the six-hour organised a gala event at India During the “Ek Nayi Subah” road and air infrastructure, and ment advertisements charged was Rs110.12mn in 2014-15 and Rajasegaran and S K Bharat event in Delhi was spent on print Gate on May 29 to mark its two event, the central government provide electricity to all villages. the AAP government with vio- Rs250.25mn in 2013-14. - were also given similar punishment. The court said that Ramar Pillai had mixed petroleum products and marketed it as Ramar Petrol and Ramar Tamildevi Mooligai Eriporul as if it was extracted from herbs. Ramar had sold the ‘bio-fuel’ throughout Tamil Nadu and Trump vows earned over Rs20mn by cheating the public. He was a school dropout from Rajapalayam in southern Virudhunagar district whose fraud came to light when his products were tested by foreign strong US ties agencies. Man arrested over luxury prize car claim with India if Police arrested Mohamed Rafiq, 45, for cheating several motels by luring them into a competition where the prize was a luxury Audi car. Rafiq was arrested from his he is elected hometown Karur, about 300km from Chennai. Police took action We will defeat terrorism when Trump praised Prime Minister Then in 1979, I had a chance based on a complaint from I’m president, says Republican Modi as a “pro-growth leader” meeting with Ronald Reagan, and a Karur-based motel owner presidential candidate with whom he would like to work. life changed. He spoke in bold Praveen Kumar, who said Rafiq Trump contrasted the growth of bright terms of winning the Cold called him and claimed his motel Agencies India under Modi with that of War and restoring the shining city had won an Audi car for best Edison, New Jersey the US, saying: “I look forward on the hill. He made me want to hospitality. He asked Praveen to to working with Prime Minister preserve the ideals that brought deposit Rs65,000 into a private Modi, a pro-growth leader. me to the US in the fi rst place. bank account as part of his S Republican presidential India’s economy is growing “Highly skilled workers have income status to claim the prize. candidate Donald Trump 7% a year and we’re not growing to wait for 15 years to emigrate le- A gullible Praveen paid the cash Upledged that the United at all. We’ll grow again, very fast, gally,” he said. on May 26 but could not contact States and India would be “best adding 25mn new jobs over the “Now (Barack) Obama wants Rafiq after that. Police found that friends” if he is elected and that next decade.” to give in to Pakistan. These are Rafiq had played the same trick at he would boost intelligence shar- Trump, given a warm intro- reasons I decided to form the (Re- motels and lodges in Coimbatore, ing with India in the battle against duction to the substantial Hindu publican Hindu) Coalition.” Chennai, Vellankani and Madurai. militants. community in central New Jersey, An Amritsar-born technology Trump spoke at an event spon- responded with one of the most entrepreneur, Kumar, who co- sored by the Republican Hindu straightforward platform speech- founded the Republican Hindu AIADMK man Coalition to raise money for vic- es of his campaign. Coalition, is a member of a com- hacked to death tims of terrorism. Trump highlighted cutting tax- mittee set up by Trump for out- It featured Bollywood-style es and government waste, identi- reach to the Asian community. performers who danced in col- fying and eliminating job-killing Outside the venue, protesters Shamugham, 40, a councillor of ourful, traditional costumes. regulation, and restoring eco- held up signs denouncing Trump the ruling All India Anna Dravida “If I’m elected president, the nomic growth and physical secu- and Democratic Party politicians Munnetra Kazhagam party was Indian and Hindu community will rity, especially against terrorism. held a press conference to con- murdered by unknown persons have a true friend in the White Trump told the audience of demn what they said was his di- at Tiruttani in Tiruvallur in House, that I can guarantee you,” about 8,000 ranging in age from visiveness. suburban Chennai last week. said Trump, who noted that as a toddlers to seniors: “We will beat Indian Americans, accord- Shamugham had gone for an real estate developer he has two terrorism,” and also mentioned ing to a series of opinion polls, early morning walk at his water “massive developments” in India. the Uri terror attack in Jammu and are staunchly pro-Democrat and bottling plant in Indira Nagar Prime Minister Narendra Modi Kashmir linked to militants from Trump’s support has been slip- before getting into his car. Some has developed a friendly rela- across the Line of Control (LoC). ping. men suddenly intercepted tionship with President Barack But he avoided any specifi c Organisers sought to address him, threw chilli powder into Obama, a Democrat who wants mention of Pakistan. this by appealing to Indian Amer- his eyes and hacked him to Trump’s opponent, Hillary Clin- He, however, criticised China icans by combining the Trump death before escaping. As it ton, to win the November 8 elec- on economic grounds. appearance with a rally against was early hours, the place was tion. Trump participated in lighting terrorism, an issue about which deserted and a man passing by “We will defeat terrorism when a traditional Indian lamp before Indians are deeply concerned. found Shanmugham’s body and I’m president. We will stand his speech. Edison and surrounding Mid- informed police. shoulder to shoulder with India The event’s main organiser, dlesex County make up the third In another incident, Thangaraj, in sharing intelligence and keep- Shalabh Kumar, introduced largest concentration of Indian 49, an ex-councillor was killed ing our people safe mutually,” said Trump, highlighting Hinduism. Americans in the US, at 115,000 by eight men at Thirumazhisai in Trump. “Hindu values are all conserva- in 2014. suburban Chennai on October 14. He called India a strategic ally tive,” Kumar said. Many residents of the area also Police suspect business rivalry and that “we will be best friends” “Modi understands that con- are staunch supporters of the behind the murders. if he wins the election. servative values create freedom Bharatiya Janata Party and Modi. and opportunity. Wouldn’t it be Attendees at the event, which “India is the world’s largest de- great if we had that in America? was also a fundraiser, expressed Family donates Republican Hindu Coalition chairman Shalli Kumar stands with Donald Trump before lighting a mocracy,” he said. “And is a natu- “I was a Democrat once,” Ku- support for Trump. doctor’s organs traditional lamp at a Bollywood-themed charity concert in Edison, New Jersey. ral ally of the US.” mar said. “I had pictures of JFK.

In a humane act, the family of a leading doctor donated his organs in Chennai last week. G R Ratnavel, 50, who was ‘Personal laws must comply the chief dermatologist and cosmetologist at Chennai’s Stanley Medical College Hospital, went into coma after a freak fall with fundamental rights’ while climbing the rock temple at Tiruchi. IANS demic debate can go on before laws are ordinarily amended af- He was declared brain dead at New Delhi the Law Commission. ter detailed consultations with Apollo Hospitals with intra cranial “The constitutional framers aff ected stakeholders,” he said. bleeding. had expressed a hope in the Di- Jaitley said there is a funda- Ratnavel developed the inance Minister Arun Jait- rective Principles of State Policy mental distinction between re- dermatology department and ley yesterday said that the that the state would endeavour ligious practices, rituals and civil treated many people with Fpractice of “triple talaq” to have a uniform civil law,” he rights. reconstructive surgeries. will have to be judged on the said and added, “the question “Religious functions associ- He also wrote medical books. yardstick of equality and the to be answered is that assum- ated with birth, adoption, suc- right to live with dignity. ing that each community has cession, marriage, death, can “Personal laws have to be its separate personal law, should all be conducted through rituals Magician-soldier constitutionally compliant not those personal laws be con- and customs as per existing re- enters record books and the institution of ‘triple stitutionally compliant?” ligious practices. Should rights talaq’, therefore, will have to Jaitley also accused previous emanating from birth, adoption, be judged on the yardstick of governments of shying away succession, marriage, divorce, A soldier of the Central Reserve equality and the right to live from taking a categorical stand etc be guided by religion or by Police Force (CRPF) from with dignity. Needless to say that personal laws must comply constitutional guarantees?” southern Kanyakumari district that the same yardstick would with fundamental rights. “Can there be inequality or has entered the Guinness Book be applicable to all other per- “The present government has compromise with human digni- of World Records as part of a sonal laws,” Jaitley said in a Fa- taken a clear position,” he said. ty in any of these matters? Some national group for continuously cebook post. Jaitley said that on more oc- people may hold a conservative, performing magic tricks for six Noting that the issue of the casions than one, the Supreme if not obsolete, view that per- hours. constitutional validity of “tri- Court has inquired from the sonal laws need not be constitu- B Ajithkumar, 41, participated ple talaq” is distinct from the government its stand on the is- tionally compliant.” with 160 magicians to break the uniform civil code, the fi nance sue. He said that as communi- previous record of 130 magicians minister, who has also been one “The governments have re- ties have progressed, there is a from Italy. He has been practising of the leading lawyers in the Su- peatedly told both the court and greater realisation about gender Muslim women line up to sign forms to support the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) during magic for nearly two decades. preme Court, said that the aca- the parliament that personal equality. a signature campaign in Ahmedabad yesterday. Gulf Times Monday, October 17, 2016 21 INDIA Brics nations condemn terror Goa Declaration calls for a tion of the Goa Declaration, in India’s neighbourhood and comprehensive response to Modi called for a comprehen- linked to terror modules across the scourge of terrorism sive response to the scourge of the world. terrorism. At yesterday’s plenary meet- Agencies Stating that the reach of ter- ing, the prime minister also Benaulim, Goa rorism has become global, the said that the footprint of in- prime minister said terrorism tra-Brics engagement has ex- “has grown more lethal and panded to include large areas of rics nations yester- adept at the use of technology.” economic activity. day unanimously con- “Our response to terrorism He said the establishment of Bdemned terrorism in all must, therefore, be nothing New Development Bank by the its forms, including the terror less than comprehensive. And, Brics countries and the Con- attacks on India, as Prime Min- we need to act both individu- tingency Reserve Arrangement ister Narendra Modi called for a ally and collectively,” he said. were “signature achievements”. comprehensive response to the In what can be seen as a ref- “In a world of new secu- global scourge. erence to China putting on rity challenges and continuing “We strongly condemn the technical hold the inclusion of economic uncertainties, Brics recent several attacks against the name of Jaish-e-Moham- stands as a beacon of peace, some Brics countries, includ- ed’s leader Masood Azhar in potential and promise,” the ing that in India,” the Goa Dec- the UN Security Council’s list prime minister said. laration adopted at the conclu- of designated terrorists, Modi He laid stress on institution sion of the Eighth Brics (Brazil, said selective approaches to building within the Brics na- Russia, India, China, South Af- terrorist individuals and or- tions. rica) Summit here stated. ganisations would not only be “We look forward to trans- “We strongly condemn ter- futile but also counter-pro- lating into reality the idea of a rorism in all its forms and man- ductive. Brics Credit Rating Agency,” he Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China’s President Xi Jinping prepare to leave at the concluding session of the ifestations and stress that there “There must be no distinc- said. Brics Summit at Taj Exotica hotel in Goa yesterday. can be no justifi cation whatso- tion based on artifi cial and “We must also speed up the ever for any acts of terrorism, self-serving grounds.” work on setting up Brics Agri- whether based upon ideologi- Addressing the media after culture Research Centre, Brics cal, religious, political, racial, the conclusion of the summit, Railway Research Network, and ethnic or any other reasons,” it the prime minister said that the Brics Sports Council.” said. Brics leaders “were unanimous Speaking on the occasion, PM must apologise, says Kashyap “We agreed to strengthen in recognising the threat that Chinese President Xi Jinping co-operation in combating in- terrorism, extremism and radi- called for deepening the part- ternational terrorism both at calisation presents, not just to nership between the Brics IANS ry” for his trip to meet the Pa- trade between the two countries trying to impress him by fake na- the bilateral level and at inter- the regional and global peace, members while stating these Mumbai kistani Prime Minister Nawaz across the border has “not faced tionalism of banning ‘what puts national fora.” stability and economic pros- fi ve nations were “good friends, Sharif on December 25 as at the any kind of opposition, but we you in news’,” he added. The statement comes after perity, but also to our society, brothers and partners that treat same time Johar was shooting Ae must pay the price for it.” Kashyap, known for making last month’s cross-border at- our way of life and humanity as each other with sincerity.” ilmmaker Anurag Kashyap, Dil Hai Mushkil. “And anyone who questions hard-hitting fi lms, has directed tack on an army camp at Uri a whole.” South African President who got trolled by many This did not go down well with my love for the country by shout- movies like Black Friday, Dev D, in Jammu and Kashmir that “We were also one in agree- Jacob Zuma said the world was Fon social media for asking people on Twitter. ing must prove their love by rep- Gulaal, That Girl in Yellow Boots, claimed the lives of 19 Indian ing that Brics need to work faced with new inter-connected Prime Minister Narendra Modi Justifying his tweets, Kashyap resenting the country either on Gangs of Wasseypur and Bombay soldiers. together and act decisively to challenges “which require our to apologise for his trip to Paki- wrote: “Just to make it clear, I com- the border or prove your love by Velvet. India has blamed the Paki- combat this threat.” concerted eff orts to resolve”. stan in December last year, says plain because I expect my govern- representing the country in an The Cinema Owners and Ex- stan-based Jaish-e-Mohamed Without naming any coun- Refl ecting Zuma’s view, he has every right to question the ment to protect us, I question the honourable way. Not by shouting hibitors Association of India on (JeM) group for the attack. try, Modi said: “We also agreed Brazilian President Michel Te- premier. PM because I have every right to. here (on social media),” he said. Friday said that movies featur- New Delhi has since that those who nurture, shelter, mer said that the Brics nations Kashyap vented his frustration “I am not going to address a “And yes Sir Narendra Modi we ing Pakistani actors would not be launched a diplomatic blitz to support and sponsor such forc- faced similar challenges and yesterday after the Cinema Own- party that has become redundant need protection.. It’s really high screened in single screen theatres isolate Islamabad while the In- es of violence and terror are as they should come together to ers and Exhibitors Association of and irrelevant and is trying to fi nd time. I refuse to live in the fear in Maharashtra, Goa and Gujarat. dian Army claimed it carried much a threat to us as the ter- overcome them. India decided not to screen mov- relevance again by using the fi lm created by blind fanatics that you The decision came amid out surgical strikes on militant rorists themselves.” Russian President Vladimir ies with Pakistani actors, a move industry. We have been vulnera- cannot have a conversation with heightened India-Pakistan ten- launch pads across the Line of Earlier in the day, in a re- Putin was of the view that in- that has hit fi lmmaker Karan Jo- ble for long, and have been paying your PM or question him or ex- sions in the wake of a terror attack Control (LoC). stricted meeting of the Brics dustrial co-operation between har’s Ae Dil Hai Mushkil which the price by being used by every- pect from him. on an Indian army camp in Jam- In the plenary meeting of the leaders, Modi said that the the Brics nations should be- features Pakistani Fawad Khan. one to fi nd any kind of standing.” “I would rather ask my ques- mu and Kashmir and the army’s Brics leaders before the adop- “mothership of terrorism” was come more eff ective. He said Modi should say “sor- The director said that the real tions directly to the PM than claim on “surgical strikes”. Gulf Times 22 Monday, October 17, 2016 LATIN AMERICA

LAW AND ORDER WARNING VERDICT LEGAL POLICY Honduras stops crowd bent Central America govts Argentine court fines El Salvador prevails in Temer rules out tax hike on burning down prison ‘failing to protect citizens’ church $50,000 for abuse $250mn mining trade row after cut in fuel price

Police in Honduras stopped buses carrying some Central American governments are failing to A court in Buenos Aires ordered the church A World Bank arbitration panel has found in favour Brazilian President Michel Temer said the 500 gang members and relatives headed to a stem soaring violent crime, pushing people to flee to pay $50,000 to a former seminarian who of El Salvador in a $250mn dispute brought by government has no plans to increase fuel taxes, maximum security prison to set it on fire and north in record numbers, Amnesty International alleged he was sexually abused some 25 a mining company over a gold concession. The a day after state-run oil company Petrobras help inmates escape, police said. Others among said. “El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras have years ago by an Argentine archbishop. The panel at the International Centre for Settlement announced a drop in fuel prices. Friday’s price cut the group had simply been paid to come along become virtual war zones where lives seem to be breakthrough ruling is the first civil court of Investment Disputes also awarded legal costs by Petroleo Brasileiro SA marked a significant shift and help, said police spokesman Luis Osavas. expendable and millions live in constant terror at judgment against the majority Catholic church to the Central American country, finding that following years in which politically driven pricing Police who stopped the 13 buses seized mortars, what gang members or public security forces can in Argentina, legal experts said. The court the case brought by the mining company Pac cost the company billions of dollars. Temer’s gasoline, tyres and other material that was do to them or their loved ones,” Salil Shetty, the issued the judgment of 756,000 pesos against Rim Cayman was without merit. “ICSID rejected comments may dispel market speculation that to have been used to ignite a fire at the Ilama right group’s secretary general, said in a statement. the church in the case of a theology student in all of the mining company’s claims,” Salvadoran the government would seek to increase the CIDE prison in western Honduras. Like other countries “These millions are now the protagonists in one of the province of Santa Fe, who claimed to have attorney general Douglas Melendez said. Pac Rim fuel tax as a way to make up for lost revenue. of Central America, Honduras is ravaged by the world’s least visible refugee crises.” Amnesty been victimised by late Archbishop Edgardo Cayman in 2009 had sought arbitration, claiming “The CIDE, no,” he said. “There are no plans at this powerful street gangs that fight each other for said some 48,000 people from those countries Storni. Seminary student Ruben Descalzo filed that authorities in San Salvador had improperly moment for that.” Temer said any tax increase drug traff icking routes and carry out widespread had requested asylum elsewhere in 2015 — double a lawsuit claiming he was sexually assaulted denied the company environmental permits for its at present goes counter to eff orts by the new violence. the previous year’s rate. by Storni in 1992. exploration projects, rendering them worthless. government to rein in public spending. Mexico eyes Anger at pension system drug lord’s extradition by February

AFP the massacre against military Mexico City personnel,” says the letter from the sons, both of whom have been sanctioned by the US treas- exico aims to extradite ury department as members of drug lord Joaquin “El the Sinaloa cartel. “We have MChapo” Guzman to the never fought with the govern- US by February, a senior offi cial ment, nor do we want to. This said, but his lawyer promised to would practically mean digging “fi ght to the end.” our own graves.” “We hope (to do it) in January With Guzman in prison since or February,” National Security January, his cartel has faced at- Commissioner Renato Sales He- tacks from rivals. Members of Thousands of workers march to protest against the Pension Fund Administrators (AFP) - Chile’s privatised pension system, a legacy of late dictator Augusto Pinochet redia told TV network Televisa, the Jalisco New Generation drug that opponents say is leaving many retirees destitute, in Santiago, yesterday. Launched in 1981, Chile’s “pension fund administrators” have been held up by pro-market giving Mexico’s clearest esti- cartel, which is battling Guz- politicians and pundits worldwide as a model of how to privatise a national pension system, but opponents say the system has left the 10mn Chileans enrolled in it with mate yet of when it could send man’s gang for supremacy in extremely low retirement benefits. the imprisoned Sinaloa cartel Mexico, briefl y kidnapped Jesus chief across the border. Alfredo in August, according to Guzman’s lawyer Jose Refu- US and Mexican offi cials. gio Rodriguez countered: “He can He was released within days have his own personal opinion. I and the motive is unknown. think it will be very diffi cult for it to Offi cials say Guzman’s crimi- happen between now and January.” nal group is also being chal- Refugio Rodriguez told Tel- lenged in its northwestern home evisa that his client has instruct- state of Sinaloa by the Beltran ed him to “fi ght to the end” and Leyva drug cartel. that he can win the case if it “is Guzman’s extradition would UN chief urges against not handled politically.” set up a major trial in the US The foreign ministry approved for the head of a cartel accused Guzman’s extradition in May, of providing tonnes of drugs to but the man who was once con- addicts in the US while fuelling sidered the world’s most power- violence in Mexico. ful drug traffi cker has fi led court The government’s timing for injunctions. the extradition “may be a bit op- aid ‘fatigue’ in Haiti A judge began reviewing the timistic but it is not out of the case on September 26 and it is realm of possibilities,” Alejandro AFP from the devastating aftermath Ban said Monday that a be hurricanes, there will al- trunks form massive heaps on unclear when he will issue his rul- Hope, a security analyst and El Port-au-Prince of a January 2010 earthquake “massive response” was needed ways be catastrophes. We need the sidewalks. Businesses have ing. Guzman can appeal a decision Universal newspaper columnist, that killed more than 200,000 to cope with the destruction, concrete actions to mitigate reopened. against him in a higher court. said. “He will obviously defend people. with 1.4mn people in need of the damage from the next hur- Ban was warmly received at Guzman is facing two extradi- himself with everything he’s got.” N Secretary-General The international aid that urgent assistance after towns ricanes that have not hit yet,” Philippe Guerrier high school, tion bids, one in California for Guzman was captured in Feb- Ban Ki-moon voiced poured in at the time, poorly and villages were almost wiped Privert said. where more than 500 people are drug distribution and another ruary 2014 after 13 years on the Udistress at the “abso- co-ordinated, became a major off the map. Earlier, Ban visited Les Cayes, still huddled. He spoke with a in Texas on charges that include lam, but he escaped a year later lute devastation” caused by a fi asco, with only a fraction of The United Nations has one of the worst aff ected by young man who was wounded, murder and money laundering. from a maximum-security pris- deadly hurricane in Haiti, and the funds reaching the victims launched a fl ash appeal for Hurricane Matthew when it before telling the displaced: His sons, meanwhile, have on near Mexico City through a disappointment at scant emer- of the catastrophe. $120mn to help Haiti, the crashed ashore on October 4, “kembe fem” in Creole (“hang made waves, with authorities 1.5km tunnel, humiliating Presi- gency aid reaching the strug- “I know there is some fatigue poorest country in the West- packing winds of 230kms per in there”). accusing them of being behind dent Enrique Pena Nieto. gling nation. from certain countries, but the ern Hemisphere, cope with its hour. “We have been told to leave an ambush on a military convoy After he was recaptured in Jan- “I am disappointed by the current situation, the current worst humanitarian crisis since “I was very, very sad when we because school has to start last month that killed fi ve sol- uary in Sinaloa, Pena Nieto de- response of the international disaster that hit this country a devastating 2010 earthquake. saw the complete devastation. again, but we don’t have any- diers in the northwestern state manded his speedy extradition. community. I sincerely hope through Hurricane Matthew is But so far, only about 12% But people the world over stand where to go,” said Aivi Jean-Bar. of Sinaloa. The president had balked at and I urge the major donors to beyond description,” Ban said of the needed funds has been with you,” the UN chief said, “They bring us a bit to eat and Refugio Rodriguez gave Tel- extraditing Guzman before his lend their helpful hand,” Ban during a joint press conference raised to help stave off famine speaking in French. drink, but that’s not what we evisa a letter from Archivaldo July 2015 escape, preferring said at Port-au-Prince airport with interim president Jocel- and serious health crises, in- “The United Nations stands need. What we want to know is Ivan and Jesus Alfredo Guzman to put him on trial in Mexico. following a helicopter over- erme Privert. cluding cholera. by your side. We will mobilise where we can go to sleep,” the dated October 2 in which they Guzman is now imprisoned in fl ight of the hard-hit southern At least 546 people were Privert, the interim leader, all resources to help you.” 36-year-old woman sheltering deny their involvement. Ciudad Juarez, a city bordering regions. killed, and more than 175,000 called for long-term support The streets have been at the school with her four chil- “We have nothing to do with Texas. Haiti is only just emerging people have lost their homes. from allies. “There will always cleaned. The branches and tree dren said.

‘Race for life’ Peru president’s Mexico to divvy up approval rating falls

Reuters the Moreno scandal said the natgas pipelines government had responded Lima appropriately. Reuters before taking over the CRE in “We’re not going to lower it,” Kuczynski’s government Mexico City April, Garcia said CFE and state he said. eruvian President asked for Moreno’s resignation oil company Pemex will keep The CRE should begin pub- Pedro Pablo Kuczyn- and reported the possible cor- 2.48bn cubic feet (bcf) of 6.3bcf lishing regional natural gas price Pski’s approval rating ruption to public prosecutors. exico’s state-owned in total pipeline capacity, or al- averages in January so pricing dropped 8 percentage points Moreno has denied wrongdo- energy companies will most 40%. hubs can develop, while the gov- to 55% after a corruption ing and said he was framed. Mkeep about 40% of nat- ernment’s long-standing role in scandal forced him to fire his It is unclear who recorded ural gas pipeline capacity under “What we want is to begin determining fuel prices will grad- health adviser, an Ipsos poll Moreno and made the audio an open season scheme, while next year with a robust ually be relaxed, Garcia noted. published in a newspaper public. reserving 615mn cubic feet for natural gas market where A landmark energy opening fi - showed yesterday. Improving Peru’s feeble new private-sector projects, a we liberalise the price nalised in 2014 stipulates the gov- Kuczynski’s popularity had public health system is a core senior offi cial said. in areas where there’s ernment will stop setting gasoline risen to 63% through Septem- part of Kuczynski’s promise Guillermo Garcia, head of Mex- competition” and diesel prices by 2018. ber after a razor-thin victory in to reduce stark inequalities in ico’s Energy Regulatory Commis- “We will have a calendar June’s run-off election against the Andean country by mak- sion, or CRE, said in an interview Mexico’s existing private in- in which we establish zones right-wing populist Keiko Fu- ing sure all have access to basic the announcement of the capacity dependent power producers will in which (fuel prices) will be jimori. services. allocations is expected this week. keep 1.56bcf of capacity while opened before 2018 and with But leaked audios that ap- The former World Bank Separately, he noted that the 1.64bcf will be allotted to other this calendar in mind, we will pear to reveal presidential economist also has promised CRE will keep at current lev- users with capacity rights, he also establish the zones that will health advisor Carlos Moreno a zero tolerance approach to els an incentive known as net- added. keep maximum prices” set by plotting to “mine” the pub- corruption. metering that requires national “What we want is to begin the government, said Garcia. lic health system for personal The Ipsos poll of 1,289 Pe- electricity utility CFE to buy next year with a robust natural Areas far from refi neries or benefi t may have ended Peru’s ruvians had a 2.7 percentage surplus power generated by gas market where we liberalise ports where fuel imports arrive honeymoon with Kuczynski, point margin of error and was rooftop solar panels. the price in areas where there’s will likely keep government-set 78, a centrist former invest- taken Wednesday through Fri- Moving away from an energy competition,” said Garcia. prices longer, he said. A firefighter climbs the stairs of the Costanera Centre ment banker. day. industry dominated by former To encourage solar investment, Looking ahead, Garcia said Tower in Santiago as part of the “Race for Life” aimed at Only 39% in the poll, pub- Kuczynski’s government state-owned monopolies, Mexi- Garcia said the CRE would main- he would like a bigger staff and encouraging organ donation in Chile yesterday. More than lished in local daily El Com- faced fresh criticism dur- co is in the process of establish- tain the current net-metering budget, beyond a current staff of 500 volunteer firefighters climbed the 1,800 steps of the ercio, said Kuczynski’s gov- ing the weekend after a man ing new rules for more open oil, cap of 500 kilowatts per project, about 350 and an annual budget tallest building in South America to promote and encourage ernment was committed to protesting a copper mine in a gas and power markets. allaying fears the threshold could of roughly 600mn pesos ($31mn). organ donation in the country. fi ghting corruption. But a remote highland region was A top energy ministry offi cial fall due to budget pressures. He declined to elaborate. majority of those familiar with killed in clashes with police. Gulf Times Monday, October 17, 2016 23 PAKISTAN/AFGHANISTAN

DEFENCE MQM rally Plea to make Gen Sharif field marshal

Imran Khan A petition has been filed in the Islamabad High Court seeking the status of Field Marshal for Pakistan Army chief Gen Raheel Sharif. The petition was filed by two lawyers, Raja Samiul Haq Satti and unveils ‘occupy Sardar Saleem Khan, and cites the prime minister and the secretaries of defence and cabinet division as respondents, Dawn reported yesterday. The petition gave details about Islamabad’ plan Gen Sharif and his family, includ- ing that his elder brother, Major Agencies “Likewise, it’s a responsibil- Shabbir Sharif, was killed during Islamabad ity of the federal government the 1971 war with India. to ensure foolproof security in According to the petition, Gen the federal capital. Hundreds of Sharif, whose three-year term eader of opposition Paki- convoys from K-P will be partic- will be up on November 27, stan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) ipating in the protest, and they had launched the Zarb-e-Azab LImran Khan has unveiled need security.” operation, which had countered his “occupy Islamabad” plan Premier Nawaz Sharif’s Ad- the plans of terrorists and that the where party workers will block viser Amir Muqam questioned operation was still on. roads leading to government of- the rationale for PTI’s protest in The petition said that Gen Sharif fi ces in the capital city calling for Muharram when there are seri- A supporter of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM London) chants slogans with others outside had also monitored the ongoing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s ous security threats. “The PTI’s press club after a news conference in Karachi on Saturday. China-Pakistan Economic Corridor disqualifi cation. petty political interests should project. “Now, Nawaz Sharif will have not take precedence over public The petition argued that it was to either resign or will be held interests. They are putting the a universal and divine law that accountable for his proven cor- “Now, Nawaz Sharif will lives of their supporters in dan- whosoever rendered services for ruption,” Khan said yesterday. have to either resign or ger. We would do our best to pro- the nation and humanity “in an ex- The cricketer-turned-politi- will be held accountable vide foolproof security, but some traordinary, exemplary and selfless cian, however, hinted at the pos- for his proven corruption” sense should also knock into the Former president Zardari manner” shall be elevated to the sibility of a change in the sched- heads of Imran Khan 8, Co. They highest level of military hierarchy. ule of the Islamabad lock-down ‘large-scale assembly’ of PTI better grow up and behave in a It requested the court to direct the date, Dawn online reported. supporters in Islamabad. politically mature way,” Muqam respondents to elevate Gen Sharif Earlier, he had announced Oc- Second, the PML-N might told The Express Triune. decides to return to Pakistan to the rank of Field Marshal. tober 30 as the fi nal showdown stage political gatherings in With regard to second strat- date. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, where egy, a PML-N leader from K-P CRACKDOWN “If you want to see Pakistan in the PTI is in power. And third, confi rmed said that they were Internews His return is not a part of any PanamaLeaks and the federal Afghanistan its real vein, come and join the the ruling party could try to cash preparing for staging public ral- Islamabad political deal because the PPP al- government had to accept the PTI in its decisive sit-in in Is- in on rifts within the PTI by woo- lies, corner meetings and related ways takes decisions independ- demand of the joint opposition burns 5 tonnes lamabad,” he said. ing its dissidents in an attempt to activities as part of the party’s ently and in the national interest to constitute a judicial commis- He critcised the incumbent take the sting out of the rally. ‘aggressive defence’ strategy to ainstream leader of the of the country,” he said. sion in this respect. of drugs, alcohol Pakistan Muslim League-Na- Sources, however, say the counter the PTI’s much-trum- Pakistan People’s Party To a question, he said the sen- Answering a question, he said, waz (PML-N) and the previous PML-N is caught up in a dif- peted rally. M(PPP), Senator Reh- ior party leaders were in con- “Give and take is part of politics Afghan authorities yesterday Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) ficult situation insofar as its “Off ence makes a wise de- man Malik, has said that former tact with Asif Ali Zardari, and and PPP is ready to listen to the burned around five tonnes of governments for weakening ‘preventive strategy’ is con- fence,” he said requesting ano- president Asif Ali Zardari, after a they also gave their input about viewpoint of the government but heroin, hashish, drug-making state institutions and also stat- cerned. nymity. “The K-P chapter of thorough consultation with the his return to Pakistan, adding, there is no option except to carry chemicals and alcohol in a show ed that authorities had failed to “It’s Muharram and secu- PML-N has been asked to roll up party members, has now decided “Now the party feels that Asif out transparent investigation of their commitment to curbing act against the prime minister, rity threats are grave. If we sleeves and target the PTI on its to return to Pakistan at the earli- Ali Zardari should be in Pakistan into the PanamaLeaks.” drug traff icking. Chief Minister of Punjab prov- take preventive arrangements, home turf.” est. to play a vital role in ensuring Rehman Malik said Pakistan Piles of drugs as well as some ince Shahbaz Sharif and Finance it would be seen as a coercive Rumours are swirling that Talking from London, he said, political stability in the country.” Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had its 100 bottles of alcohol were set Minister Ishaq Dar who he has act and the PTI would capital- Imran’s party might change the “I had a detailed meeting with Replying to another ques- own political strategy, but the alight outside the western city of deemed as being corrupt. ise on it. And if we don’t en- date of the Islamabad protest. former president Asif Ali Zardari tion, he said no contacts had PPP believed that street agita- Herat, seen as of the three main On August 15, the PTI had fi led sure stepped-up security, who The PML-N would formulate its yesterday, and he (Zardari) in- been made between the PPP and tion would serve no purpose and transit routes for narcotics out of a reference against the prime would be responsible for any counter strategy accordingly. formed me about his decision to Muttahida Qaumi Movement all the political parties should sit Afghanistan. minister calling for his disquali- untoward incident?” asked a “If they change the date or de- return to Pakistan in the shortest (MQM-London) in the recent together and evolve joint policies “This demonstrates our commit- fi cation as a member of the na- PML-N stalwart who holds an lay the protest for a few days or possible time.” past and, “I cannot say whether to resolve the political issues. ment against drug traff icking. tional assembly. important position in the fed- weeks, then we will have more “All the party cadres will be any contact will be made be- He said the PPP strongly con- We are determined to prevent A plea for the disqualifi cation eral government. time to respond. If they choose informed about his (Zardari) re- tween PPP and MQM in the near demns the human rights viola- drug traff icking by all means pos- was forwarded to the Election PTI’s provincial lawmaker an earlier date, we will act im- turn in the next couple of days, future.” tions in Indian-held Kashmir sible,” Herat police chief Ayoub Commission of Pakistan on Oc- Sardar Idrees contested the mediately,” a source in the PML- and the party members will He said the PPP would make and urges the Indian government Ansari told reporters. tober 1. claim. N said. make necessary arrangements in no compromise on independent to bow down before the demands One tonne of heroin, sold gram The ruling party, in the mean- “Security arrangements are Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif this respect. and transparent probe into the of the Kashmiri people. by gram, is worth 40mn euros time, refuses to buckle under no excuse to deprive people of might also travel to K-P to attend when it reaches European mar- pressure. Instead, it’s back to their democratic right to stage his party’s rallies. kets, according to the United the drawing board to map out a a peaceful protest. The PML-N Sources said that the PML-N Nations Office on Drugs and ‘counter strategy’. Let’s see what is free to hold political rallies in leadership planned to capitalise Crime. options does the PML-N have? Peshawar and elsewhere in K-P on schisms within the PTI. There are conflicting accounts of First, the government could where security threats are very The ruling party is establish- 200 new public buses for Lahore how Afghanistan’s war on drugs introduce strict restrictive high. We never stopped them ing backdoor contacts with dis- is going. measures on the pretext of Mu- and instead provided them secu- sidents in the PTI in K-P and Off icials stress their eff orts in the harram security to prevent a rity,” he added. Punjab. Internews the contractor and operator of Customs clearance in Karachi. fight against opium production Lahore the feeder buses. “Though the PMA wishes to start and traff icking but the country last Another bus depot in the La- the feeder buses by tomorrow, all year produced more than 80% of hore Railway Station area would these formalities would take some the world’s opium. China-Pak Friendship Car Rally welcomed in Pakistan he Punjab Mass-transit be transferred to the company by time [to complete],” he added. In addition to channelling hun- Authority (PMA) is all set next week. A Daewoo spokesperson con- dreds of millions of dollars into the A China-Pak Friendship Car Rally that initiated from Silk Road. Tto start running 200 new The authority has not yet fi - fi rmed 65 buses had reached Taliban-led insurgency, drug-based Xinjiang in China has been welcomed in diff erent The participants attended a flag hoisting ceremony public buses on feeder routes for nalised the date to inaugurate Lahore and the remaining buses corruption also undermines the areas of Pakistan and is on its way to Rawalpindi, in Gilgit-Baltistan. the Lahore Metro Bus routes as the feeder buses project as these were awaiting clearance of Cus- nation’s administration. off icials said. The rally will pass through major cities of Pakistan early as December. buses have to pass through war- toms department. Afghans are not only producing According to an off icial, the rally that entered until its final stop in the port city of Gwadar. The feeder bus service will ranty inspection, vehicle in- He said the company was sort- record amounts of drugs, they are Pakistan via Khunjrab Pass on Friday was warmly The rally will also pass through Iran and will be connect the rest of the city with spection, registration, insurance ing out bus terminals and parking- also consuming them. welcomed by the local administration and military finally concluded in the United Arab Emirates. the 27km-corridor of the Metro and installation of e-ticketing related issues with the government. Addiction levels have risen sharply personnel, Xinhua news agency reported. “The China-Pak Friendship Car Rally will not only Bus. and GPS tracking equipment. To a question, he said the company — from almost nothing under the The rally, comprising 20 cars with 52 people on highlight international significance of the CPEC The transportation authority PMA Operations General was simultaneously working on 1996-2001 Taliban regime — giving board, is being held to highlight the significance of but will also further strengthen existing Sino-Pak has already handed over the pos- Manager Uzair Shah said some several aspects of the Lahore Metro rise to a new generation of addicts China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the relations,” the off icial said. session of Green Town Bus De- buses had already arrived in La- Bus service to start the feeder bus since the 2001 US-led invasion of pot to Daewoo Pakistan Express, hore while others were awaiting service at the earliest. Afghanistan. Fed up with no sewers, Pakistan’s slum residents go DIY

Karachi Karachi in northwestern Sindh and launched the Orangi Pilot ensure that more than 90 % technical and engineering sup- Reuters province. Project (OPP). of Orangi Town’s nearly 8,000 port to install the new system. The settlement’s population Now globally renowned, the streets and lanes have sewer “I am sacrifi cing my time and exploded in the early 1970s, project has not only led the DIY pipes — all installed by residents energy to clean my street of the or Sultana Javed, one of when thousands of people mi- sewerage projects which con- — but has developed a network wastewater and protect people dozens of residents living grated from East Pakistan after tinue to expand to this day, but of collaborators drawing in skills from diseases,” Khan said. Fwithout proper sanitation the 1971 war of independence, has built a network to manage from a wide variety of other “It isn’t an easy job but I hope on her street in the Orangi Town which led to the establishment a plethora of programmes that non-government organisations. to get it done in the next couple slum, the fi nal straw came when of the Republic of Bangladesh. range from micro credit to wa- Training to map and docu- of weeks with the co-operation her toddler daughter fell into the Today, Orangi’s population is ter supply, to women’s savings ment drainage channels is pro- and trust of the neighbours.” soak pit where the family dis- believed to have reached around schemes. vided to young people as are Each household plans to share posed of their waste. 2.4mn although no one knows OPP’s director Saleem Al- programmes that equip commu- the total cost of Rs65,679 for ma- Since moving to the Gulshan- the exact fi gure since Pakistan’s eemuddin told the Thomson nity architects, technicians and terials to build the pipeline, which e-Zia area of the slum in Karachi last national census was held in Reuters Foundation that when surveyors to work in the area. will service the entire street. nine years earlier, Javed had poured 1998. activists began working in the So far, say OPP activists, Everyone in the family chips waste into the soak pit, a porous Known locally as “katchi area in 1980, the lack of sanita- around 553 of the more than in to do the digging and lay- chamber that lets sewage soak into abadis”, the fi rst informal set- A labourer works to connect a house to new sewage line in Orangi tion was the most “obvious” and 2,700 Orangi Town settlements ing work, including women and the ground and is often used by tlements emerged in the wake of Town, Karachi. “problematic” area for residents. are documented. children. communities that lack toilets. the Indo-Pakistan war of 1947, While it took the OPP around To date, according to OPP sta- With just a handful of local Javed, whose son caught den- which led to a huge infl ux of ty-driven upgrading projects a working from their homes. six months to convince local resi- tistics, 96% of the settlement’s schools, most families cannot gue fever from mosquitoes near refugees. greater chance of success. As the slum population has in- dents to invest and pay for the in- 112,562 households have la- aff ord transport costs out of the the pit outside their home, be- Unable to cope with the num- Activists estimate that about creased, residents have been cut- stallation of the fi rst sewerage line trines, with residents footing the slum and many young people gan mobilising others among 22 bers — by 1950, the popula- 60% of Karachi’s total popula- ting into the hills that surround on their street, it was not long be- total bill for the sewage system of work with their parents earn- families on her street to install tion had increased to 1mn from tion of 15mn now live in shanty the settlements, destroying fore people were taking their lead Rs132,026,807. ing meagre incomes from small their own sewerage system. 400,000 — the government is- towns. natural bushland around it and and organising themselves. In Gulshan-el-Zia, Javed and businesses like weaving and em- “We are fed up with stench of sued refugees with “slips” giving Unlike in many other slums creating swathes of barren land. “Since the government gets her neighbours decided that broidery. wastewater and frequent mos- them permission settle on any worldwide, however, the lack of Despite the poverty, bustling almost nothing in revenue from to kick-start their works, they Residents don’t just pay for quito-borne diseases like malar- vacant land. services — not housing — is the markets dot the streets and sur- the slum, it therefore pays the needed to choose one person to the installation of the pipes, ia and dengue fever. So, we have By the 1970s, when Orangi’s major problem. rounding industrial areas off er least interest to its developments lead the project and nominated however, they also take respon- decided to lay a sewerage pipe- population exploded, the set- In Orangi Town, communities some employment for unskilled too,” Aleemuddin said. 28-year-old Saleem Khan. sibility for their maintenance. line in our street on a self-help tlements had won a quasi ac- built two and three-room houses workers. “In fact, people in the town He will not only take charge Khan told the Thomson Reu- basis,” Javed, 45, told the Thom- ceptance from the government, out of concrete blocks manufac- In 1980, the development ex- now consider the streets as part of planning but will collect resi- ters Foundation that manholes son Reuters Foundation. which was unable to provide tured locally, activists say. pert and entrepreneur, Akhtar of their homes because they dents’ money and contributions are to be installed at 30 foot in- Orangi is widely cited as Asia’s services or enough housing. Each house is home to be- Hameed Khan, observed how have invested in them and that’s for their new sewer and pipeline. tervals along the street to ensure largest slum and sprawls over A system of upgrading and tween eight and 10 people and many communities were self- why they maintain and clean the Khan will then work closely residents have easy access to 8,000 acres — the equivalent land titling was introduced, an informal economy of micro organising to fi ll the gap in serv- sewers too.” with OPP specialists who pro- connections and can also moni- of about 4,500 Wembley foot- giving some residents a little businesses has emerged as resi- ices — from building homes Nearly three decades on, the vide local communities with ex- tor and maintain their pipes ball pitches — in the port city of more security — and communi- dents have created a livelihood and schools to water delivery — OPP has not only managed to pert design advice, as well as the themselves. Gulf Times 24 Monday, October 17, 2016 PHILIPPINES

INVESTIGATION Probe finds firm’s negligence in blast

Negligence by the owner and employees of Gina Gonzales Duterte won’t ‘barter’ away Fireworks led to an explosion that killed two persons and injured at least 24 more last Wednesday morning along Manila North Road Highway in Barangay Binang 1st in Bocaue, Bulacan, Manila Times reported. Celso Cruz, a chemical Philippine territory to China engineer and chairman emeritus of Philippine Pyrotechnics Manu- AFP are capable of hosting military dispute has been welcomed by facturers and Dealers Association Davao bases. Beijing. Inc, yesterday said their conclu- Duterte had earlier vowed not Yesterday Duterte said he sion was based on results of an to “taunt or fl aunt” the July rul- agreed with senior Supreme investigation of the incident by hilippine President Rod- ing as he aims to improve trade Court justice Antonio Carpio the Bulacan police, the Bureau of rigo Duterte vowed yes- and investment ties, which some that the president could be im- Fire Protection and the municipal- Pterday he will not “barter” critics warned could entail sur- peached and removed from of- ity of Bocaue. Cruz said the probe away territory and economic rendering exclusive economic fi ce if he gave away Scarborough showed that the explosion was rights ahead of a visit to Beijing, rights to the sea to Manila’s pow- Shoal, a fi shing ground within caused by a “devil chemical,” which, where he hopes to mend ties erful neighbour. the Philippines’ exclusive eco- according to an employee who frayed by a row over the South “I will be very careful not to nomic zone that China seized in survived the blast, was kept inside China Sea. bargain anything (away) for after 2012. the store. The “devil chemical,” Duterte will head to Beijing all I cannot give what is not mine “He is correct. I would be im- which will not explode if it is not tomorrow — after a state visit to and which I am not empowered peached. It’s an impeachable mixed with other chemicals, is usu- Brunei that kicks off later — and to do by any stretch of imagina- off ence. I don’t fi ght with that ally used to make firecrackers even will be bringing along a large tion,” he told reporters in Davao statement. It’s all correct it’s all more powerful. “It could be possible business delegation in a bid to city. legal and so I agree with him,” that many chemicals were put in secure Chinese investment as “The international tribunal’s Duterte said. one place, agitating each other and relations sour between Manila decision will be taken up, but “It belongs to the Filipino eventually causing the explosion,” and its traditional ally the United there will be no hard imposi- people. I cannot be the sole au- Cruz said. The blast claimed the States. tions. We will talk and we will thorised agent, for that is not al- lives of Gina Gonzales, 48, owner Duterte yesterday said he maybe paraphrase everything in lowed under the constitution.” of the fireworks store, and Manuel would also raise with Chinese the judgment and set the limits Since coming to power in May, Ayala, 65. The results of the investiga- President Xi Jinping a ruling by of our territories and (exclusive) Duterte’s push to restore ties tion have been submitted to the an international tribunal that economic zones.” with China has been accompa- Philippine National Police’s Firearms outlawed Beijing’s claim to most During the election campaign, nied by fi ery rhetoric against the and Explosives Off ice. Mayor Joni of the South China Sea, includ- Duterte said he was willing to United States. Villanueva last Friday ordered all ing waters close to the Philippine “set aside” the sea dispute in He scrapped a series of annual fireworks stores in Bocaue shut down, coast. return for China building a rail- war games and joint South China to give way to inspection of more China, which rejected the way through the impoverished Sea patrols with the US military than 100 fireworks stores and seven ruling, claims nearly all of the southern Philippine region of after President Barack Obama manufacturers to make sure that they strategically vital waters and has Mindanao. criticised Manila’s brutal war on are strictly complying with Republic President Rodrigo Duterte gestures while delivering a message before leaving for Brunei at the Davao in recent years built artifi cial is- His willingness to launch ne- drug crime which has left more Act 7183, which governs the fireworks International Airport yesterday. lands in the disputed areas that gotiations with China over the than 3,000 people dead. industry in the country. Typhoon weakens after bringing heavy rains and strong winds

Reuters Manila

typhoon that barrelled into northern Philippine Aprovinces yesterday has further weakened as it moved toward the South China Sea, but the local weather bureau said it was closely monitoring another storm that could enter the east- ern boundary by today. Typhoon Sarika dumped heavy rains and unleashed strong winds on northern rice- growing regions, but there were no confi rmed casualties, disaster offi cials said. Weather forecasters said Ty- phoon Sarika was packing winds of up to 120kph yesterday af- ternoon as it moved out of the country.As many as 2,552 fami- lies, or 12,496 individuals, had been pre-emptively evacuated before Sarika made landfall early yesterday. Authorities were forced to Residents carry a motorbike along a destroyed highway following heavy rains brought by Typhoon Sarika cancel ferry services and as A woman prepares a stove as children play at a swollen creek under a bridge in Manila yesterday. in the town of Gabaldon, Nueva Ecija province, north of Manila, yesterday. many as 160 domestic and in- ternational fl ights scheduled for The weather bureau has low- far, out of the Philippine Area concern,” said Ricardo Jalad, ex- Typhoon Sarika was “not that the roof of some houses and up- there was no casualty,” he said, the day. Damage to farm crops, ered storm warning signals but of Responsibility but it’s now in ecutive director at the National serious” as initially expected, but rooted trees, he said. referring to the town where the mostly rice and corn, was esti- said it was keeping a close watch the level of a storm.Over time, Disaster Risk Reduction and there were reports of landslides “We were focused in Baler but typhoon made landfall. “Hope- mated at 53.5mn pesos ($1.1mn) on the next weather distur- while travelling over water, it Management Council. and fl ooding in some areas. local offi cials were able to con- fully, there is indeed no casualty... initially, disaster offi cials said. bance named Haima.“It’s still gains strength so that’s our next Jalad said the damage from The strong winds ripped off duct pre-emptive evacuation so Our monitoring is continuous.” Health dept steps up Plan for task force to support drive against smoking

By Micah Yvana M Vardeleon will help Filipino smokers quit. drug rehabilitation centres Manila Times Studies show that almost half of adult male Filipinos and 9% of adult females (2.8mn) are By Catherine S Valente force and other applicable fund- he Department of Health smokers. Manila Times ing sources, subject to pertinent (DoH) is set to launch to- More than 70,000 Filipinos laws, rules and regulations.” Tday a television advertise- die every year because of smok- Budgetary requirements for ment as one of its instruments ing-related diseases. The fi gure resident Rodrigo Duterte the succeeding fi scal years will to curb tobacco use, according translates to eight Filipinos dy- has ordered the establish- be incorporated in the budget to Health Secretary Paulyn Jean ing every hour. Pment of an interagency proposals of concerned agen- Ubial. This advertisement, however, task force to put up and support cies, the EO stated. The advertisement, which will only be shown in certain drug rehabilitation centres, as In addition, each depart- was shown to media on Friday, areas. Kaloi Garcia, Vital Strat- the government deals with the ment and agency represented is one of the approaches adopted egies’ communications man- deluge of drug users turning in the task force “may receive by the department in its cam- ager, identifi ed the provinces in themselves in to authorities. donations and other forms of paign against smoking which “regions 6 and 7 and maybe the Duterte has signed Executive assistance in accordance with cost the country around P188bn Davao region and Bicol region.” Order (EO) No 4 calling for the applicable laws and issuances” in healthcare and productivity Ubial said the advertisement opening of drug abuse treat- for purposes relevant to the im- losses in 2012. will only be shown in regions 6 ment and rehabilitation centres plementation of the EO. Other approaches include and 7 because these areas have throughout the country. Duterte earlier said a China- implementing the World Health “very active” campaigns against Interior Secretary Ismael funded drug rehabilitation cen- Organisation’s (WHO) Conven- smoking. She explained that Sueno will head the task force, tre was nearing completion at tion on Tobacco Control, the Sin this improves the chances of the with the health secretary and Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija. Tax Law, and the recent Graphic campaign’s success. the chairman of the Dangerous As of October 13, at least Health Warnings Law that will Ubial and Garcia admitted, Drugs Board as vice chairmen. 740,245 drug dependents have be fully implemented on No- however, that the campaign will Other members of the task Loved ones and friends gather in front of the coff in to view the body of Apolinario Eyana Jr, who was killed by surrendered since the gov- vember 4. be diffi cult. force are the Social Welfare sec- unidentified men, during his burial rites inside the public cemetery in Navotas city, Metro Manila, yesterday. ernment started its campaign The advertisement is a “Whether it is diffi cult or not, retary, the Budget secretary, the against illegal drugs last July, 30-second narrative about a we have to implement it,” said director general of the Philip- measures to re-integrate into to establish drug rehabilitation reservations. The Department fi gures from the Philippine Na- young girl who worries about Ubial. pine Drug Enforcement Agency, society individuals, who have centres in military camps to ad- of Health (DOH) will maintain tional Police showed. her future because her father is “We implement it because it and a representative of the Of- fallen victim to drug abuse dress congestion in existing drug and operate drug rehabilitation Of the surrenderers, over dying from a smoking-related saves lives,” she added. fi ce of the President. or dangerous drug depend- centres. The Defence secretary centres in the country, including 686,000 were drug users, while disease. Around 3,000 non-smoking With drug surrenderers ence, through sustainable pro- and Armed Forces chief of staff those in military camps. more than 53,000 were push- Vital Strategies, the partner adult Filipinos die each year be- reaching more than 700,000, grammes of treatment and re- will sit as additional members The EO said funding “shall ers. Only about 500 people have of DOH in the production of the cause of inhaled secondhand the EO was issued “to pro- habilitation.” of the task force, as needed, in be sourced from the appropria- been admitted to rehabilitation advertisement, believes the ad smoke. vide an eff ective mechanism or The task force was directed discussions involving military tions of the members of the task centres. Gulf Times Monday, October 17, 2016 25 SRI LANKA/BANGLADESH/NEPAL Bangladesh hangs JMB leader over 2005 blast

AFP people, mostly foreign hostages, 2007 by a military-backed tremists including JMB’s new A prison offi cial said that Arif Dhaka were killed. caretaker government as part leader Tamim Chowdhury, a had refused to seek presiden- Sheikh Hasina: “We must be prepared to take strong actions “He was hanged to death at of a nationwide crackdown on Canadian citizen of Bangla- tial clemency - his last chance against terrorists and their supporters.” 10:30 pm (1630 GMT) in Khulna Islamic extremists. desh descent who allegedly to stop the hanging - which rison authorities in Bang- jail,” Khulna Police Commis- Arif was sentenced in absentia masterminded the cafe carnage. prompted the authorities to ladesh’s southern city of sioner Nibhas Chandra Ma- and was not detained until July As part of the crackdown, prepare for his execution. PKhulna yesterday executed jhi said, adding that there was 2007. He has been held in Khulna Bangladesh’s courts have also Founded in the late 1990s by a senior Islamic extremist whose heavy security around the jail to jail ever since. In August the Su- fast-tracked prosecution of Islamists who fought in the Af- banned group has been linked to prevent any violence. preme Court dismissed his fi nal Islamist extremists, scores of ghan wars alongside the Taliban, Hasina urges the murder of foreign hostages, Islam, also known as Arif, appeal. whom were already facing death the JMB seeks to impose Sharia police said. was one of seven senior JMB His execution comes as Bang- sentences and languishing in the law on Bangladesh, a Muslim Asadul Islam, 42, a leader of offi cials, including found- ladeshi security forces push a country’s jails. majority but offi cially secular the outlawed Jamayetul Muja- ing leader Shaikh Abdur Rah- deadly new crackdown against Majihi said hundreds of po- nation of 160mn people. hideen Bangladesh (JMB), was man, sentenced to death for a Islamist extremists following lice and the elite Rapid Action JMB fi rst shot to prominence Bimstec leaders hanged for his role in a 2005 bomb attack on a minibus that the cafe attack that has shaken Battalion have been deployed in in Bangladesh when it con- blast that killed two judges. killed two lower court judges on the image of Bangladesh as a Khulna, the country’s third larg- ducted a co-ordinated bombing Bangladesh has blamed the November 14, 2005. moderate Muslim nation. est city, and key roads leading attack on August 17, 2005, with JMB for the July 1 attack on an Six of the men, including Rah- Since July, police have shot to the jails had been blocked to more than 400 small blasts in 63 upmarket Dhaka cafe in which 22 man, were executed in March dead nearly 40 suspected ex- prevent any violence. of the country’s 64 districts. to act against Nepal lifts Chinese President Xi ready terror backers By Mizan Rahman to seriously relook at how work ban in Dhaka Bimstec could be made more eff ective and result-oriented one as well as to draw syner- Afghanistan rime Minister Sheikh gies with other groupings. to visit Nepal: ministry “While we’ve 14 areas of Hasina yesterday urged PBimstec leaders to fi nd co-operation under Bimstec, I Agencies DPA/IANS out the mentors, master- believe we should try to focus Kathmandu Kathmandu, Goa minds, abettors, fi nanciers, more on some key areas like arms suppliers and trainers trade and investment, energy, of terrorists and extremists to connectivity and counter- he Nepal government epal’s Prime Minister defeat terrorism. terrorism for next fi ve years. has lifted the restriction Pushpa Kamal Dahal “We must be prepared to Regular ministerial meetings Ton Nepali workers from Nmet Chinese President take strong actions against on the key areas of co-opera- working in Afghanistan. The Xi Jinping on Saturday on the terrorists and their support- tion are important for building erstwhile K P Oli government sidelines of Brics Summit in ers. I fi rmly believe that within momentum,” she said. had imposed the ban on Nepali Goa, India, following criticism Bimstec we should be able to To improve the lives and migrants from going to Afghani- at home of ignoring relations strengthen our co-operation livelihoods of the people of stan as work destination follow- with China and botching a visIt to address terrorism and rise the region, Hasina said all ing a deadly blast in a bus in Ka- to Nepal by Xi. of violent extremism,” she should aim to develop regional bul on June 20 in which 13 Nepali “The (Chinese) president ex- said. projects which will eff ectively workers lost their lives. pressed readiness to visit Nepal Hasina was speaking at the connect Bimstec to the peo- According to the department of at the earliest convenient date,” Bimstec leaders’ retreat held ples as well as ensure the or- foreign employment director gen- Nepal’s ministry of foreign af- at the tourist city of Goa in In- ganisation’s sustainability and eral, the cabinet took the decision fairs said in a twitter statement dia, a foreign ministry state- visibility. to this eff ect before Dashain festi- right after the 40-minute-long ment said in Dhaka yesterday. For funding regional val, reports Kathmandu Post. meeting between the two top Chaired by Indian Prime projects in the long run, the “Many people suggested that offi cials. Minister Narendra Modi, the prime minister said, “We may the ban should be lifted as there “They talked about promot- retreat programme was also think of a funding mechanism is no more threat as expected,” ing cooperation for develop- addressed by leaders of other of our own, while collabora- the offi cial said, adding, “The ment including infrastructure, Bimstec countries. tion with external funding government lifted the ban as connectivity, trade and tran- The Bay of Bengal Initiative sources can also be explored.” suggestion came from several sit,” the tweet said. for Multi-Sectoral Technical Questioning the commit- quarters that the deadly incident Xi was widely expected to and Economic Co-operation ment of all when she observed was a result of circumstances.” visit Nepal along with Cambo- (Bimstec) is an international that they are yet to fi nally con- Nepal-based US embassy and dia and Bangladesh en route to organisation involving a group clude the Bimstec FTA - which Canadian embassy also suggest- the Brics Summit, but he de- of countries in South Asia and was negotiated in 2004, Hasi- ed the government to lift the ban, cided to bypass Nepal, citing South East Asia. These are na said, “We need to reiter- he said. inadequate preparation, ac- Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, ate our political will in favour However, the restriction has cording to Nepali offi cials. Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan of the FTA implementation. been lifted only to work at the Chinese President Xi said and Nepal. “It’ll help enhance our intra- green zones in Afghanistan. that his country is ready to Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, meets with Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal in the In Bangladesh, Hasina said, regional trade and will boost According to the offi cial, the gov- align development strategies western Indian state of Goa. her government has taken a the Bimstec activities and ernment decision comes with a con- with Nepal and hopes to build zero-tolerance approach to programmes. We may target dition that the company should en- the two neighbours into a com- nication, and enhance mutual economic zones and industrial Nepal faced critical shortages terrorism and violent extrem- to fi nally adopt the four FTA- sure that workers’ residence should munity of shared destiny. support on issues concerning parks in Nepal. of emergency supplies includ- ism. “We’ve also taken mas- related agreements during the be located at duty premises or if the “China and Nepal are close each other’s core interests and He also urged the two sides to ing fuel and medicine for four sive awareness programmes 20th anniversary of Bimstec residence is outside the workplace, neighbours linked by moun- major concerns. strengthen co-operation in ag- months last year as India re- for the youth, for families, next year.” there should be strong security tains and rivers,” Xi said in a He also called for concerted ricultural industrialisation, wa- fused to allow cargo movement for educational institutions. Mentioning that the trans- measures to transport the workers meeting with Nepali Prime eff orts to carry out the con- ter conservation, irrigation and into Nepal. We’ve succeeded in disinte- port connectivity working to and fro. “The hiring company Minister Dahal. sensuses the two sides have hydropower generation. In response, the previous grating the homegrown ter- group has already met, she should have assured of these condi- Since the two countries es- reached on beefi ng up coop- On people-to-people ex- government led by KP Sharma rorists.” expressed her belief that the tions when the department grants tablished diplomatic ties more eration on connectivity, free changes, the Chinese president Oli signed a trade and transit Hasina said as she stood on good work would continue on work permit,” said the offi cial. than half a century ago, China- trade and energy and contin- said the two sides should in- accord with China in March of the podium as one of the four planning, implementing and The government had formed a Nepal relations have withstood ue to push forward co-opera- crease exchanges and coopera- this year to decrease Nepal’s de- founding leaders who had in- monitoring of the prioritized committee on June 23 under then the vicissitude of the interna- tion in their pursuit of tion in such areas as tourism, pendence on India. spired the launching of Bim- projects, with the active sup- labour secretary Bishnu Lamsal tional situation and maintained development. education, culture, youth, me- Beijing has also shown inter- stec way back in 1997 and dur- port of the Asian Development to study and prepare a report on sound and stable development, China is ready to support Ne- dia and local aff airs. est in building road and railway ing the past 20 years, Bimstec Bank (ADB). whether or not to allow Nepali Xi said. pal in its post-earthquake re- Since coming into offi ce three networks to connect the two has made progress in connect- “For enhancing connec- workers to go to Afghanistan for China, he added, attaches construction, especially in re- months ago, the Dahal-led gov- countries. ing our two regions. tivity, we may consider a employment. The committee re- great importance to develop- storing infrastructure, people’s ernment has put more emphasis Though China wants to see “Understandably, our coastal shipping agreement. port suggested sending Nepalis ing relations with Nepal and is well-being and historical relics, on improving relations with In- an early implementation of progress has been slow, but We would also like to see the as migrant workers to Afghani- willing to work with Nepal to he said. dia, which had soured following this accord, it remains wary the groundwork has been MoU on Grid Interconnec- stan only after assurances of deepen practical co-operation. China, he added, encour- a border blockade of Nepal by of political instability inside done. It’s now time to hasten tion signed and implemented workers safety and provision of He called on the two coun- ages its reputable businesses New Delhi over internal Nepa- Nepal and India’s outsized in- the process of integration,” at the earliest, for better sub- residence at work premises by tries to strengthen high-level to invest in Nepal and take part lese ethnic strife that threat- fl uence among major political she added. regional grid connectivity and the hiring companies. contacts and political commu- in the construction of special ened to cross the border. players. Hasina said time has come energy trade,” she proposed. Sirisena holds talks with Modi

IANS gratitude for Sri Lanka sharing South Africa) summit, chose to bonds between India and Sri Goa, India India’s grief. invite countries belonging to the Lanka were further The September 18 cross- Bimstec grouping over those of strengthened. border terror attack on an army Saarc. Sirisena briefed Modi about he solidarity shown camp at Uri claimed the lives of Countries belonging to the the rehabilitation progress in the by the countries of the 19 Indian soldiers. Bay of Bengal Initiative for Mul- Northern Province. TSouth Asia region after India has blamed the Paki- ti-Sectoral Technical and Eco- “Thereafter there was a dis- the cross-border terror at- stan-based terror outfi t Jaish-e- nomic Cooperation (Bimstec) cussion on the thorny issue of tack at an Indian army camp Mohammed for the attack. are India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, fi shermen,” the spokesperson in Jammu and Kashmir has “He (Modi) said that as a re- Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand and said. shown that people of the area sult of the solidarity that the Sri Lanka. “President Sirisena said wanted peace, Prime Minister countries in the region had In yesterday’s meeting, the he wanted a fi rm solution Narendra Modi told Sri Lankan shown after the Uri terrorist two leaders reviewed the devel- to the issue of the fi sher- President Maithripala Sirisena attack, a message had gone opment co-operation and part- men. PM agreed with him yesterday. across that people in our re- nership between India and Sri and said we must fi nd a Modi said the remark during gion want peace and they rec- Lanka. proper solution to this long- a bilateral meeting with Sirise- ognise that the biggest chal- “Sri Lankan President festering issue.” na who has come to attend the lenge to peace and prosperity Sirisena said the participation The two leaders also reviewed Brics-Bimstec outreach sum- is terrorism,” Swarup said at of all leaders of Bimstec will bilateral co-operation in a whole mit in India’s western state of the briefi ng. give new strength to Bimstec host of areas, including energy Goa. He said that Sirisena stated and for exploring synergies and health. “PM briefed President Sirise- that “Sri Lanka fi rmly opposed with Brics countries,” Swarup “This was in the context of the na on the Uri terrorist attack,” all forms and manifestations of said. Hatton hospital. The Sri Lankan India’s external aff airs minis- terrorism”. Stating that he was happy to President thanked PM for all try spokesperson Vikas Swarup Following the Uri attack, In- be in India once again, Sirisena, the projects that India is imple- said in a media briefi ng, add- dia, as host of this year’s Brics according to Swarup, said this menting in Sri Lanka,” Swarup Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of a meeting in ing that Modi also expressed his (Brazil, Russia, India, China, was another occasion when the said. New Delhi in May. Gulf Times 26 Monday, October 17, 2016 COMMENT

Chairman: Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Attiyah Germany and Europe face Production Editor: C P Ravindran

P.O.Box 2888 changing times and equations Doha, Qatar [email protected] Germany’s next chancellor, the time – was confi dent that Germany That all changed with the post-2008 because there is no alternative. Italian could rely on itself, without continually global economic recession, which Prime Minister Matteo Renzi still seeks Telephone 44350478 (news), whoever it is, will have reaffi rming its ties to Europe. exposed weaknesses in the monetary Merkel out when he wants “fl exibility” 44466404 (sport), 44466636 (home delivery) neither German backing Schröder actively pursued Germany’s union’s structure. On top of the damage on budget rules. British Prime Minister Fax 44350474 national interests. He chastised the from the global economy’s woes, the Theresa May’s fi rst offi cial overseas trip nor European acceptance European Central Bank when it kept eurozone was faced with a looming was to Berlin. to serve as European interest rates too high. Greek government bankruptcy. By But both Germany and Europe are And his government defi ed Europe’s March 2010, it was clear that the Greek changing. The AfD’s recent gains have chancellor fi scal rules – described, accurately, by crisis was not going to resolve itself, and come by stirring xenophobic sentiments. then-European Commission President Merkel, slowly but surely, began to take Even if Merkel continues as German By Ashoka Mody Romano Prodi as “stupid.” charge. chancellor after next year’s election, she GULF TIMES The German economy had come to She did not relish the task. On will have much weaker support. Princeton a near-halt, and more austerity would the contrary, she operated on the Meanwhile, the European economy have caused more – and possibly long- assumption that the euro was “a remains moribund, with the Italian ext year, Germany will hold a lasting – damage. machine from hell” – a mess and a fault line threatening to send federal election, and the new Schröder nearly gutted the EU’s burden for her and her country. But shockwaves through Europe. Trust in HMC campaign Bundestag will choose the corporate takeover rules to protect she had little choice; whenever a major European institutions has dissipated, Ncountry’s next chancellor. Volkswagen. His only “pro-European” crisis-management decision had to be and commercial ties among European Whether or not Angela Merkel retains gesture was to wave Greece into the made, all eyes turned to her. countries have predictably eroded, as promotes awareness the role – at the moment, things are not eurozone. Merkel acted as European chancellor, exporters look to more rapidly growing looking good for her or her Christian but always kept her focus on German markets in Asia and the United States. Democratic Union (CDU) – one thing is interests. She understood that the Germany’s next chancellor, whoever certain: Germany’s chancellor will no Merkel acted as German public would not tolerate its it is, will have neither German backing of heart diseases longer be de facto chancellor of Europe. taxes being spent on Europe. Spending nor European acceptance to serve as That will profoundly change how European chancellor, on Greece, in particular, touched a European chancellor. The fi rst casualty Europe works – some of it for the better. but always kept her nerve. So Merkel did the bare minimum could be Greece, which, in lieu of the Every Qatar resident should take note of the ongoing But the disruption could be nasty. – just enough to prevent a meltdown, debt relief that Merkel has been unable campaign by Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) to raise It was not inevitable that a German focus on German but far too little to put an end to the to deliver, may fi nally have to exit the public awareness and promote a better understanding chancellor would assert so much Greek or the broader euro crisis. As a eurozone, leading the entire EU into authority over the European Union. interests result, the crisis continued to develop uncharted territory. of heart-related diseases. The initiative assumes special It was former chancellor Helmut and take on new forms, including, most But the consequences may not be signifi cance given that cardiovascular diseases are one of the Kohl who made it so. After overseeing Early in her tenure, which began in dangerously, in the banking sector in all bad. With no one in charge, the German unifi cation in 1989-1990, he November 2005, Merkel seemed to Italy, the “fault line of Europe.” “stupid” fi scal rules will be more biggest causes of death in Qatar and the number one cause of began to pursue what he viewed as his resemble Schröder more than Kohl. In late 2011, Merkel engineered the easily ignored. Such an expansion death globally. historical task of unifying Europe as Much younger than Schröder and replacement of elected governments of national sovereignty could be a HMC is providing the public with practical information well. Kohl led Europe, from agreement raised in East Germany, she was even by technocrats in Greece and Italy. positive development, if it leads to on the Maastricht Treaty in 1991 to less connected to the signifi cance of No one was happy, and political what Harvard’s Larry Summers calls on what to do in the event of a heart attack and save life. critical decisions about the shape of the “post-war Europe,” both in time and protest movements gained strength “responsible nationalism.” According to cardiologists and cardiovascular specialists, euro in 1998. geography. everywhere, including in Germany, Eurozone governments will need to the signs of a heart attack may vary, nevertheless the most The concept of a common European Feeling no compulsion constantly where the right-wing, anti-euro serve their citizens rather than some currency could have died many times to present her “pro-European” Alternative for Germany (AfD) party abstract European ideal, and live by common is a sharp pain or tightness and squeezing in the during those years. Kohl’s close credentials, she was content to serve was born in February 2013. the discipline of the ballot box and chest. Other symptoms include pain or discomfort in the associate Wolfgang Schäuble, who simply as German chancellor. Merkel took a principled stand on the the market. A German as European is now Germany’s fi nance minister, At fi rst, that worked just fi ne. refugee crisis, accepting more than a chancellor would only tear Europe arms, shoulder, back, jaw or neck and nausea, breathlessness asserted in 1994 that only fi ve countries European economies – including million refugees into Germany. But she further apart. - Project Syndicate and/or dizziness. – not including Italy – were ready to Germany – were riding a giant global did so without consulting her European According to Dr Omar al-Tamimi, director of Heart adopt the single currency. But Kohl economic and fi nancial bubble. While partners or her own citizens. She was zAshoka Mody, a former mission chief for pushed on, insisting that Italy be virtually every country skirted the fi scal soon punished at home. The CDU has Germany and Ireland at the International Hospital’s Emergency Department, a heart attack is the most included. rules, Europeans believed that the euro lately suff ered a string of humiliating Monetary Fund, is currently visiting severe form of acute coronary syndrome. It can be fatal but Kohl’s successor, Gerhard Schröder, was fuelling economic growth and losses in state elections, while the AfD professor of international economic treatment has improved dramatically over the years. Early took a very diff erent approach. Lacking would eventually lead them to political has made substantial gains. policy at the Woodrow Wilson School any personal memories of World War II, union. Simply put, Europe did not need For now, Merkel retains her role as of Public and International Aff airs, treatment for a heart attack can prevent or limit damage to he – like a growing share of Germans at a chancellor. de facto European chancellor, simply Princeton University. the heart muscle. In the event of a heart attack, people can save lives by acting fast and taking the appropriate action. Ali Darwish, assistant executive director, Emergency Ambulance Services, stressed the importance of taking prompt and appropriate steps in the event of a heart attack, adding: “If you think you may be having a heart attack or come across someone who you think may be having a heart attack, it is vital to stay calm.” To provide support for heart attack patients, HMC’s Ambulance Service in conjunction with Heart Hospital launched a telemetry service in 2013 which is currently fi tted in all ambulances in the fl eet. This facility HMC is providing allows paramedic the public crews responding to an with practical emergency involving a suspected heart information on attack, to record and what to do in the transmit the patient’s electrocardiograph event of a heart from the scene to the attack and save life clinical team leader in the National Control Centre. It also enables staff to prepare the appropriate treatment for the patient before their arrival. HMC’s Heart Health Campaign was launched earlier this month and is part of HMC’s commitment to provide the safest, most eff ective and most compassionate care to each Angela Merkel: For now, Merkel retains her role as de facto European chancellor, simply because there is no alternative. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi still seeks and every patient. Immediate steps to be taken in case of Merkel out when he wants “flexibility” on budget rules. a suspected heart attack are as follows: Dial 999 – the call handler will send help and determine if the symptoms you describe could be a heart attack. It is important to answer all the questions asked and follow all instructions provided. New messaging apps gain traction in workplace Make sure the person suspected to be suff ering from a heart attack is seated or lying down. If you have aspirin and By Rob Lever Facebook is among an array of says Mark Beccue, an analyst who artifi cial intelligence “bots.” know that the person suff ering from a suspected heart attack AFP/Washington competitors vying for a slice of this researched the market for Compass “Slack is moving away from just is not allergic to it, try to get him/her to take some. There market, including several startups and Intelligence. being a messaging tool, they want Microsoft. “There’s no friction. Companies to be the home base for enterprise are some defi brillators with operating instructions located ooking to break out of a San Francisco-based Slack has don’t have to go through a major applications, and that’s a diff erent in public places around Doha. Check to see if there is one “messy” e-mail situation, the raised some $500mn at a reported software licence process, you just ballgame,” said Raul Castanon- nearby. nonprofi t group dosomething. valuation of some $4bn, making it one sign up,” Beccue said. “It’s the Martinez, an analyst at 451 Research. org recently switched over to a of the most prominent venture-funded consumerisation of an enterprise Castanon-Martinez said that It is also advisable that all possible should take the Basic L new way of communicating among its tech “unicorns” worth over $1bn. product.” “Slack’s success took a lot of people by Life Support and Automated External Defi brillator and First far-fl ung teams. With some 3mn active users, The global enterprise chat and surprise” but that it may be diffi cult Aid Provider Course off ered by HMC’s Hamad International Moving most internal including nearly 1mn paying for messaging market is set to reach $1.9bn to sustain momentum in the face of communications to the messaging “premium” service, Slack has become by 2019, according to Beccue’s report. deep-pocketed rivals like Facebook and Training Centre in partnership with European Resuscitation application Slack with its “channels” one of the fastest-growing business Slack came at the right time for Microsoft. Council. The two-day course (four hours each day) has two- for various teams made it easier to applications. companies seeking new ways to Microsoft earlier this year co-ordinate the group’s social change Craig Le Clair of Forrester Research improve workplace effi ciency, Beccue announced that its Yammer messaging year validity. projects across 131 countries, said said these services are growing because said. platform would integrate with its software engineer Joe Kent. younger “millennials” have diff erent “I think they are major driver of Offi ce 365 groups, while also off ering To Advertise “All the teams have their channels ways of working. innovation for business productivity,” easy connections to Outlook e-mail and anyone can jump in and see what “They want to work when they want he said. and Skype, aiming for a broad set of [email protected] the others are doing,” Kent told AFP. to, they want chat sessions that better Slack and rivals like Atlassian’s business tools under its umbrella. Display “You can follow the conversation a lot integrate with their social media lives,” HipChat and Microsoft’s Yammer “Microsoft hasn’t made a lot of more quickly.” Le Clair said. off er social media-style interfaces for noise, but they have been aggressive Telephone 44466621 Fax 44418811 Slack, created in 2013, has become Le Clair said many workplaces are messages, and some integrate with in remaining the dominant place in Classified a leader in a crowded fi eld of new facing “information overload” due to business applications to enable voice productivity applications,” Castanon- applications aimed at helping the volume of e-mails that need to be calls, video and other services. Martinez said. Telephone 44466609 Fax 44418811 workplaces move away from e-mail. sorted and prioritised. Slack recently teamed with cloud Facebook meanwhile is seeking to Subscription Facebook this month jumped “The goal is to get out of e-mail computing group Salesforce to use its advantage as “the social media [email protected] headlong into this segment with its hell,” he said. broaden its off erings in services such as world that millennials grew up with,” Workplace application, aiming to Small- and medium-sized customer relations management. Le Clair said. leverage the popularity of the leading businesses fi nd Slack especially Slack also allows organisations to But the analyst said it is not clear if 2016 Gulf Times. All rights reserved social network used by some 1.7bn appealing because of its ease of use create channels for communicating companies and network managers will people. on both mobile and desktop devices, outside the enterprise, powered by move to the Facebook platform. Gulf Times Monday, October 17, 2016 27 COMMENT Uncharted territory of driverless vehicles

As cars become more vehicle’s driverless capability, from the University of South Carolina. zero to fi ve. Smith noted that “on the day the Tesla autonomous, dangers Level 0 is no driver-assist driver was killed, 100 other people posed by lax motorists technology at all. Level 1 covers old- were killed and it did not make the fashioned stuff like traditional cruise front page.” draw scrutiny control. At Level 2, where most driver- In 2015, more than 35,000 people assist technologies stand now, the were killed in traffi c in the United By Russ Mitchell driver is expected to pay full attention. States, an average of 96 people a day. Los Angeles Times/TNS With Level 3, the robot drives most of Distracted driving caused 3,477 of the time, but not all the time. Level 4 those crashes, up 8.8% in a year. is driverless on most roads, and Level 5 Engineering researchers in the ntil recently, there is driverless anywhere. psychology department at the was no question about Ford Motor Co plans driverless cars University of Utah are studying who’s responsible for an by 2021 but will skip Level 3. Google, whether semiautomated driving Uautomobile’s operation: the an early leader in autonomous vehicle technology will make things better or driver. One-hundred per cent. technology, and Volvo, where safety worse. When driverless cars without a is leveraged as a marketing tool, also During the experiments, people steering wheel or brake pedal start say they plan to skip Level 3 and go are put in semiautonomous driving hitting the highway, your only role will straight to fully autonomous. simulators to measure their reaction be ordering the car where to go. “From a technical perspective, times when something goes wrong. Between now and then – about there are really only two levels,” said When subjects were distracted, fi ve years by automakers’ estimates Jonas Nilsson, an autonomous- average reaction time in the simulator – the relationship between drivers driving executive at Volvo Car Group. almost doubled, researcher Kelly and their cars will enter uncharted “Whether the driver is responsible or Funkhouser said. and potentially hazardous territory. not.” The longer the subjects remained Robot-like features will take over an Circling over the issue is the fatal “cognitively disengaged”, the worse increasing share of the driving duties Tesla crash, when a driver crashed into their reaction times got. Some, in fact, – but not all of them. a truck while cruising on Autopilot. fell asleep. Humans and robots will share According to a State Farm survey, many drivers look forward to texting and taking care of other business in their The truck driver told police he heard Funkhouser’s next experiments will the wheel, and it’s uncertain how semiautonomous cars. a Harry Potter movie soundtrack look at diff erent types of alert systems well people will adapt to this in- playing in the crumpled car after the that are intended to keep drivers between state – whether they’ll with ever since the May death of a Supporters, including federal new vehicle sales in 2030 will be crash. engaged. remain appropriately vigilant or leave Model S driver using Autopilot, the transportation offi cials, believe that completely driverless cars. Elon Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, Cadillac recently announced that everything to the machine, possibly at company’s popular driver-assist these cars will prove safer too, though The pace of evolution in driver- said it was the fi rst known fatality in its SuperCruise feature will monitor their own peril. feature. Autopilot users are instructed there’s plenty of statistical analysis yet assist technology varies among more than 130mn miles during which drivers’ eyeballs and send warnings More than a third of respondents to to keep their hands on the wheel and to be done. automakers. Tesla, General Motors Autopilot was activated. when it detects a lack of attention. a recent State Farm survey said that to stay alert, but many – lulled by a No matter what, there will still be and Mercedes-Benz are taking an Musk has pledged to push ahead Thus far, there are few regulations if a semiautonomous car took over false sense of security – have ignored spectacular crashes, and the more aggressive approach. with autonomous features. He aimed specifi cally at semiautonomous part of the driving duties, they’d eat, those warnings. Tesla recently started often humans let their attention drift, Tesla’s Autopilot is the most recently said it “would be morally vehicles. read, text, take pictures and access the rolling out improvements to the the more crashes and bad publicity advanced semiautonomous system wrong to withhold functionality In late September, the US Internet while driving. That would not software that it says will make the there will be. currently available. Mercedes and that improves safety simply in order Department of Transportation and be safe. feature safer. That’s the reality now for the Audi off er semiautonomous features to avoid criticism or fear of being the National Highway Traffi c Safety “There’s something we used to call Automakers say most customers world’s roadways. New vehicles will be that go well beyond adaptive cruise embroiled in lawsuits.” Administration issued loose guidelines split responsibility,” said Hod Lipson, don’t know yet what to make of something in between: part traditional control. The 2017 Cadillac CT6 will Any subsequent tragedies involving for driverless-vehicle development, director of Columbia University’s driverless cars, but many want new automobile, part robot, with the robot have an Autopilot-like set of features driver-assist technologies are likely applying some of them to cars with Creative Machines Lab. “If you give vehicles equipped to take over some increasingly picking up the driving called SuperCruise, in which the car to draw more media attention and driver-assist features. the same responsibility to two people, aspects of driving. The companies duties. will steer, change lanes and pass other continue the debate on auto safety. The agencies made clear in the they each will feel safe to drop the ball. are happy to oblige: More excitement The in-between period could vehicles, all with little driver eff ort. “When there are crashes, there document that they retain the Nobody has to be 100%, and that’s a brings more people into the last awhile. Raj Nair, Ford Motor The same goes for Mercedes’ E-Class. will be a post-crash minefi eld of authority to recall cars equipped with dangerous thing.” showroom, and more options mean Company’s chief technology In carmaker lingo, there are six recrimination,” said Bryant Walker semiautonomous technology that are It’s an issue that Tesla has wrestled higher revenue and profi t. offi cer, estimates that only 20% of levels that generally describe a Smith, assistant professor of law at deemed unsafe. Weather report How will we know driverless cars are safe? Three-day forecast TODAY High: 35 C By Russ Mitchell technology point of view. The bigger something simple and crisp – for Low : 26 C Los Angeles Times/TNS question will be when will the states example, when the car is twice as safe and the insurance companies approve as the average human driver, then you Hazy to misty at places at times (driverless cars). The technology part don’t need a human driver – so that nyone looking for a book we’re comfortable saying within the consumers know the car is safe. about driverless cars – next fi ve to 10 years. And companies – automotive, TUESDAY smart, wide-ranging, When will people be ready, when software, big and small, startups – High: 32 C Anontechnical, easy to will legislation be ready? That’s a everybody will know what the target Low: 26 C understand – was pretty much out of question of political policy. is. Insurance companies will be able to Sunny luck until Driverless: Intelligent Cars Q: Why have driverless cars start calculating things. Everybody will and the Road Ahead was published in suddenly come on the scene? be able to move forward. September. Kurman: There has been a Kurman: We believe the US federal WEDNESDAY The authors, Hod Lipson and Melba convergence of several diff erent government should be more proactive High: 33 C Kurman, have a reputation for clear, enabling technologies, including a about leadership (on a safety metric). Low: 24 C succinct writing about emerging branch of artifi cial intelligence called Q: Surveys show many people Sunny technologies. It’s geared toward deep learning. We fi nally have the data still think human drivers will be nonexperts, but scientists, engineers and computing power and the sensors safer than robot cars. and computer programmers can learn able to process inputs fast enough so Kurman: Humans are terrible Fishermen’s forecast new things too. robots can fi nally “see.” drivers. Every week worldwide an OFFSHORE DOHA Lipson is a roboticist and professor Hod Lipson, associate professor The other part is cultural. It’s estimated 28,000 people die in car Wind: NW-NE 03-12 KT of mechanical engineering at of mechanical and aerospace part Google lighting a fi re under the crashes. Waves: 1-3 Feet Columbia University, where he directs engineering, in his Upson Hall with a automotive industry. And young people Lipson: That’s a huge number. It’s INSHORE DOHA Wind: NW-NE 05-15 KT the Creative Machines Lab. robot. are very comfortable with technology. like a nuclear bomb of Hiroshima scale Waves: 1-2 Feet Kurman, a former product manager Many really don’t want to drive much going off every month. and industry analyst at Microsoft, is an the next fi ve years and ends 30 or 40 and a generation is coming up now that Q: So a safety metric would help Around the region author and speaker with a specialty in years from now, when all the cars are will be thrilled to give up the wheel. these sceptical consumers see the Weather Weather technology and its eff ect on our daily driverless. It’ll be the majority maybe Q: Your book notes that no light? today Max/min tomorrow Max/min lives and the economy. 20 years from now. one has yet developed a hard Lipson: We all need to rally behind Abu Dhabi Sunny 36/25 M Sunny 36/24 If driverless cars deliver as promised, Kurman: There are about 250mn safety metric, for either semi- this. There’s so much benefi t behind Baghdad Sunny 37/18 M Sunny 36/18 Dubai that eff ect will be wide and deep. active cars in the United States autonomous or driverless cars. driverless cars, not just safety. Sunny 35/26 Sunny 34/26 Kuwait City Sunny 37/21 Sunny 37/20 The two answered the following alone. This is going to be a gradual Lipson: The fact is there’s no clear This is really technology that Manama Sunny 33/23 Sunny 32/24 questions from via Skype. Here’s a switchover. If you look at when horses guidelines, no clear goal. It’s actually will enable so many other things to Muscat Sunny 32/25 Sunny 33/25 transcript. were phased out by engines, there pretty simple: Just come up with one happen: environment, real estate, Riyadh Sunny 35/19 Sunny 36/19 Q: When will driverless cars wasn’t a snap transition, there was a fi gure that will inform people how rearrangement of urban living, Tehran Sunny 24/14 M Sunny 22/12 become commonplace? phase-in that took several decades. safe a driverless car is compared to the transportation for the aged and the Lipson: The answer is not a crisp Lipson: People are often asking average human driver. disabled. So many new things are going date. It’s a range that maybe starts in when this is going to happen from a If the government could say to be enabled by these technologies.

Live issues Keep track of your past

By Barton Goldsmith road, so I’m glad I made a sobering revisit my past, and I have been playing There were at least a couple dozen Tribune News Service choice to go back to school and build almost daily. Now I guess I’ll try and early speeches, music from friends a real life – in one place. Music took a re-create what I can. My old vinyls are who have passed away, and my thought backseat to papers and dissertations. stored somewhere too, and eventually was, “Cassettes will never get played ack in the day, I was a singer/ Fortunately, I got published while still I’ll fi nd them, but then I’ll have to fi nd again. Dump them.” Boy was I wrong. songwriter. I like to think in school, so I was able to channel something to play them on. I think it’s I trashed a decade of my history. Around the world that the songwriting part my creative urges into what became called a record player. Nothing else of that time remains Weather Weather adds to my columns in some the column you read today. Not a except a pair of blue high-heeled boots today Max/min tomorrow Max/min B P Cloudy M Sunny 19/12 way. The other day, a friend of mine bad transition of talent, and it makes It makes sense to and fond memories of touring Europe Athens 23/13 was asking me to listen to some of her sense to me that when I became busy and having hair. Beirut Sunny 27/20 Sunny 26/21 T Storms S T Storms 33/26 recordings, as she was entering them in creating other things, making music So you may want to hold on to those Bangkok 31/25 get rid of the old Berlin P Cloudy 13/08 Cloudy 14/08 a local radio show contest, and it made was less important to me. Since then, old photos and papers from your Cairo P Cloudy 32/19 P Cloudy 31/19 me wonder, what the hell happened the occasional serenade was about all things we aren’t using bygone days. You never know when Cape Town Cloudy 21/13 Cloudy 23/14 to my own masters? Back then, the I’ve been good for. you may want to revisit those times Colombo S T Storms 31/25 P Cloudy 31/25 latest thing was digital audio tape and Recently, I took in my guitar to get anymore, but my and reminisce about the things that Dhaka Sunny 33/25 Sunny 33/24 Hong Kong T Storms T Storms 27/26 brought you joy. It’s actually a very 29/26 I remember having one copy. Now I some repair work with the idea of advice is to not be Istanbul Showers 17/13 Cloudy 16/12 can’t fi nd any of the cassettes, and the selling it and getting another one that good tool for lifting your mood and Jakarta P Cloudy 33/25 P Cloudy 32/25 master has probably gone to that place maybe was less fl ashy. I looked at a staving off depression. Karachi Sunny 33/25 Sunny 32/25 where it will likely meet a lot of single couple dozen, and when I got mine too hasty London S Showers 17/09 Showers 13/08 T Storms T Storms 32/25 back, it played like no other, so it isn’t Things change, everything updates, zDr Barton Goldsmith, a Manila 31/25 socks. The whole thing makes me feel Moscow Cloudy 04/02 Cloudy 04/02 stupid. going anywhere, and I’ve been playing and it makes sense to get rid of the psychotherapist in Westlake Village, New Delhi Sunny 34/19 Sunny 35/19 I spent a lot of years humming and again. Not because I have any plans old things we aren’t using anymore, California, is the author of The Happy New York P Cloudy 27/19 Sunny 29/20 strumming, and wrote a few dozen to write or go back onstage (shoot me but my advice is to not be too hasty. Couple: How to Make Happiness Paris P Cloudy 18/08 P Cloudy 16/07 songs, most of which I remember only now), but my neurologist friends say I vaguely remember throwing out a a Habit One Little Loving Thing Sao Paulo M Sunny 33/20 P Cloudy 33/21 Seoul M Cloudy 21/10 P Cloudy 22/10 in fragments. But I stopped playing that playing a musical instrument for case of tapes, without even looking at at a Time. Follow his daily insights Singapore S T Storms 31/26 I T Storms 33/26 when I entered graduate school and just fi ve minutes a day will ward off what was in the rack, and it wasn’t that on Twitter at @BartonGoldsmith, Sydney Showers 22/11 Cloudy 26/13 left that life behind me. Quite frankly, Alzheimer’s and dementia. long ago. The more I think about it, the or e-mail him at Barton@ Tokyo Rain 20/16 Cloudy 25/18 I would have died if I’d stayed on the So it seemed like a good time to more it seems like that was the case. bartongoldsmith.com Gulf Times 28 Monday, October 17, 2016 QATAR

Several large potholes on a road in the Industrial Area. Stagnant water on a road. Residents seek urgent repair of potholed roads in Industrial Area everal residents of the In- dustrial Area have appealed Sto the authorities to repair the roads that are in a very bad condition in the sprawling Doha neighbourhood as the rains fore- cast for the third week of this month would further worsen the situation. A number of roads in the area have been repaired and many others are earmarked for restora- tion. While acknowledging these developments, the residents feel that many of the inner roads and lanes are in a pathetic condition and need urgent attention as they have been in a bad shape for years. Coupled with heavy traffi c, the poor condition of these roads cause a lot of inconvenience to motorists and residents, they said. “The forthcoming rains will exacerbate the situation as the Access to the main road from this inner lane is difficult. Another road without tarmac. craters on the roads will be fi lled with water, making it impossible have worn out. Also, huge puddles added. A recent weather report for drivers to avoid the ‘pits’.” have formed on some stretches said the fi rst rain of the season There are a number of paral- on account of water leaking from was likely around the middle of lel roads along the main streets nearby industrial units and other this month. that are in poor shape. A drive establishments. “Many of the inner lanes have through the area by a Gulf Times Another inner road that is con- been in such condition for some correspondent showed that many nected to the main road leading to time now. While works are being of these roads needed immediate the Asian Town has been closed carried out on several roads in the attention. for several months. Several sec- area, these inner lanes need to be The entire stretch of the main tions of the road are full of pot- fi xed immediately as they are in a road passing through the Al At- holes and fi lled with water, mak- pathetic state,” said a resident of tiya Market neighbourhood, ex- ing it unusable. People living in the area. tending from Street 1 until the end the area also have to take detours Another resident, who is a of the area, has been marked for to reach their residences, shops driver with a local company in the repair and the process of recon- and other establishments. Industrial Area, said it is diffi cult struction is already under way. With the weather becoming and dangerous to drive through Several other roads in the New cooler and rain likely to arrive in the roads during the rainy period. Industrial Area have already been the coming days, these roads can “Many of the roads get water- mended. become a bigger headache for logged when it rains and it is very Inner lanes such as Streets 40, motorists as well as pedestrians, diffi cult to drive through them. 41 and several others are in such say residents. There is every pos- The holes on the roads, which are poor shape that motorists and sibility that many of them will get quite big, cause severe damage to pedestrians fi nd it highly diffi - waterlogged and daily commut- vehicles and sometimes result in cult to pass through them. The ing can become a big problem if it accidents. These roads have to be tarmac on parts of some roads rains as heavily as last year, they repaired urgently,” he noted. A road with craters. WISE to explore joint research New season of local farm with Ibero-American States he World Innovation produce markets to start Summit for Education T(WISE) recently partici- pated in the 25th Ibero-Amer- From Page 1 see the participation of 80 Qa- ican Conference of Education The launch of the new season tari farms, 10 fi shermen and 40 Ministers in Andorra la Vella. comes in the wake of the suc- livestock producers. The group is an association cess achieved over the previ- Mahaseel, which specialises of 23 Spanish and Portuguese ous four seasons, when more in fresh fruits, will take part in speaking nations in Europe, the than 11,000 tonnes of local the initiative this year “with Americas, and in Equatorial fresh vegetables were sold – a variety of fruit products at Guinea in Africa supporting in- “helping win the confi dence of reasonable prices”. Also, Qatfa ternational co-operation in edu- consumers”, the ministry said. Co will display a variety of cation, science, and culture. Some 884 tonnes of vegetables fl owers, roses and decoration Stavros Yiannouka, CEO, were sold in the 2012-13 season, plants in addition to agricul- WISE, hosted a roundtable dis- 1,984 tonnes in 2013-14, 3,615 tural tools. cussion on education priorities, tonnes in 2014-15 and around The ministry will conduct a and announced that WISE would 4,785 tonnes in 2015-16. variety of events in support of partner with the Organisation of Stavros Yiannouka, speaking during the Ibero-American Conference of The introduction of diff erent local production – fi sh, poultry, Ibero-American States (OEI) in Education Ministers. products helped lower the pric- The Al Mazrouah yard is one of the venues of the local farm produce livestock or vegetables – at the presenting a special session at es of vegetables in the country initiative. three yards. Several local pro- the 2017 WISE Summit. bring together global policy WISE, a member of Qatar in general, while the quantum ducers are expected to take part Yiannouka said WISE would makers, educators, business Foundation for Education, Sci- of local farm produce displayed eight months, the longest till third for six months and the in these events. explore possible joint research leaders, and social entrepreneurs ence and Community Develop- at the yards increased year on date, and the extension is ex- fourth for seven months, ac- Meanwhile, some 40 new with the OEI. “I believe we can to discuss, debate and share best ment is exploring joint research year, the statement added. pected to refl ect positively on cording to the ministry. Qatari farms are expected to work together with other part- practices. In this way, I believe opportunities with international Further, the MME has decid- local producers. The MME has been eager to participate in the upcoming ners as well look into research we can learn from one another education leaders and helping ed to extend the market season The duration has increased increase the number of partici- yards at Muaither and Al Ru- issues that are of particular con- and we can support the one pri- to build the future of education with the aim of boosting local over the years, with the fi rst pants, including local farmers, wais. This will take the total cern to Ibero-American States. ority we both exist to promote: in Qatar and worldwide through agricultural production. The season lasting for four months, livestock raisers and fi shermen. number of participating farms We can partner to convene and education,” he added. collaboration. fi fth season will continue for the second for fi ve months, the The three yards are expected to to around 120.