QATAR | Page 16 SPORT | Page 1 Xavi’s Al Sadd in quarters Campaign launched to with feisty remove abandoned win over vehicles in Industrial Area Al Duhail published in QATAR since 1978

WEDNESDAY Vol. XXXX No. 11275 August 14, 2019 Dhul-Hijja 13, 1440 AH

GULF TIMES www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals

In brief Preparations

QATAR | Reaction Qatar condemns attack in Philippines completed for Qatar has strongly condemned an attack in the southern Philippines in which two soldiers and a two-year-old girl were new academic killed. Another girl was critically injured. In a statement yesterday, the Ministry of Foreign Aff airs reiterated Qatar’s firm stance on rejecting violence and terrorism, regardless of the motives and year: offi cial reasons. The statement expressed the condolences of the State of Qatar to the victims’ families and O Five new schools to be opened the government and people of the Philippines, wishing the injured a QNA details about these preparations. speedy recovery. Doha He said fi ve new schools will be opened in the the academic year ARAB WORLD | Confl ict 2019/2020. The new primary, prepara- he Ministry of Education and tory and secondary level schools will Clashes kill nearly Higher Education has completed be located in Al Wakrah, Muaither, Al 60 fi ghters in Syria Tall preparations for starting the Kheesa, Old Airport (Al Matar Al Qa- Qatar’s first-ever indoor snow theme park, Snow Dunes, opened its doors to visitors on the second day of Eid at Doha Clashes between regime loyalists new academic year on August 20 for deem) and Al Manaseer. Festival City. and insurgents in rebel-held administrative and teaching staff and The preparations for the new aca- northwest Syria killed 59 on August 25 for students, a senior of- demic year are carried out in full co- combatants yesterday, a war fi cial said yesterday. operation and co-ordination between monitor said. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham These preparations include pre- the Ministry of Education and Higher (HTS), a militant group led by paring the buildings, classrooms, Education and the General Directorate Syria’s former Al Qaeda aff iliate, school furniture, printing and dis- of Traffi c at the Ministry of Interior, to Snow Dunes at DHFC adds has since January controlled most tribution of books on the first day of ensure the safety of students and the of Idlib province as well as parts of school, filling vacancies and checking school environment throughout the neighbouring Hama, Aleppo and the availability of school buses ac- school year. Latakia provinces. Several other cording to the geographical location The Public Works Authority (Ash- chills and thrills to Eid festival armed rebel groups also operate of each school, Dr Ibrahim bin Saleh ghal) will also play a crucial role in in the region. Page 3 al-Nuaimi, the Undersecretary at the terms of opening and maintenance of ministry said. streets, bridges, tunnels and intersec- ith the collaboration of over across a range of entities is part of a season and get a chance to win cash EUROPE | Controversy In a statement to Qatar News tions, to ensure the smooth fl ow of 30 public and private sec- wider strategy to diversify Qatar’s prizes worth a total of QR400,000 and Agency, Nuaimi said the ministry traffi c using a range of local roads and Wtor partners in hospitality, tourism off erings and develop year- a McLaren Spider 570S for the grand Merkel defends 2015 will hold a press conference after the traffi c diversions. retail, and entertainment, ‘Summer in round options for visitors and resi- prize. migration policy Eid al-Adha holidays to give more As part of its preparations for the Qatar’ has demonstrated the commit- dents of all cultures and ages.” Residents and visitors continue to German Chancellor Angela Merkel new academic year, the Ministry is ment across sectors to further evolve Qatar’s fi rst-ever indoor snow enjoy the last week of ‘Summer in Qa- defended her migration policy launching its sixth edition of the cam- the country’s off erings and build a theme park, Snow Dunes, opened its tar’, which is packed with exciting en- yesterday, saying she believed paign ‘With Education We Build Qatar’ sustainable tourism sector, an offi cial doors to visitors on the second day tertainment events for all. her decision in September 2015 from August 16-24, with the participa- of the Qatar National Tourism Council of Eid at Doha Festival City (DHFC). A Kuwaiti play Khutuat Al Shaytan to open Germany’s borders to tion of many sponsors. (QNTC) has said. Spread over more than 9,500sq m, the is showing at Qatar National Theatre refugees and migrants stranded The initiative aims to strengthen “Eid is a time for celebrating with park off ers a variety of rides and at- until August 17. Blue Man Group will in Hungary was the right one. communication with all parties to pre- family and friends. We at QNTC are tractions suitable for the whole family, entertain with their novel visual arts Speaking at a forum with citizens pare students for the new academic pleased to bring people together for the as well as food and beverages outlets, performance from today until August in north-eastern Germany, Merkel year and to provide them with the holiday as we wind down our largest retail store, and party rooms. 17. Doha Comedy Festival will return said she had to live with the fact necessary advice and guidance and to summer programme,” chief marketing There are Silver, Gold, and Plati- with Omid Djalili, Nemr Abou Nassar, that her decision to have Germany remind them and emphasise the im- offi cer Rashed al-Qurese said. num packages for individuals priced at and Hamad al-Amari tomorrow, while take in significant numbers of portance of moral and psychological Mashal Shahbik from QNTC added: QR190, QR240, and QR490, as well as Kadim al-Saher will charm fans on migrants caused her and her readiness. “This Eid marks the end of our biggest VIP rooms and party packages. Snow August 16 and 17. government problems. The campaign also seeks to motivate ‘Summer in Qatar’ programme, and we Dunes is the third indoor theme park The ‘8th South Indian International the students to attend classes regularly are thrilled to see so many people en- operated by Trimoo Parks at DHFC after Movie Awards’ will showcase the in- EUROPE | Politics and to urge parents and other partners joying the activities on off er, especially The Angry Birds World and Virtuocity. dustry’s best work on August 15 and 16. to participate in the schools’ activities the wide array of indoor entertainment In addition to unique shows and Visitors and residents can also contin- Russia expels to benefi t from the support services events. roaming activities, shoppers can still ue to benefi t from enticing hospitality Ukrainian diplomat Dr al-Nuaimi provided to students and schools. “The collaboration with partners participate in the last raffl e draw of the deals until August 16. Page 16 The Russian Foreign Ministry yesterday announced the expulsion of a Ukrainian diplomat, in response to a similar move from Kyiv towards a Russian diplomat. “The Ukrainian security services set up a provocation, declaring Clashes at Hong Kong airport after fl ights halted a diplomat from the Consulate General of Russia in Lviv persona non grata without a reason. Kyiv O Very tough situation but group of protesters. Some claimed he The situation calmed down after a did not present evidence of any it would be resolved: Trump was an undercover mainland Chinese few hours without the violence wors- unlawful activity conducted by agent and initially refused to let him ening, and the crowds thinned out. Lo- our diplomat that went beyond leave. cal media reported that an injunction fulfilling his professional duties Reuters Medics, however, bundled him onto a had been issued by a local court to clear related to the work of the consular Hong Kong stretcher and forced their way through the airport of protesters. mission,” the Russian Foreign jeering throngs to an ambulance. The action followed an unprecedent- Ministry said in a statement. Several police vehicles were blocked ed shutdown of the airport on Monday. olice and protesters clashed at by protesters and riot police moved Hong Kong’s Airport Authority said Hong Kong’s international air- in amid chaotic scenes, using pepper operations had been “seriously dis- Pport yesterday after fl ights were spray to keep people back. A policeman rupted” yesterday and departing pas- disrupted for a second day as the po- pulled out a gun at one point. sengers had been unable to reach im- litical crisis in the former British colony Protesters also barricaded some pas- migration counters. deepened. sageways in the airport with luggage The weeks of protests began as op- In Washington, US President Donald trolleys, metal barriers and other ob- position to a now-suspended bill that Trump said the Chinese government jects. Others clambered onto check-in would have allowed suspects to be ex- was moving troops to the border with counters as the protesters appeared to tradited to mainland China and have Hong Kong and he urged calm. control part of the airport for a short swelled into wider calls for democracy. Trump said the situation in Hong while. At least two protesters were tak- Demonstrators say they are fi ghting Kong was tricky but he hoped it would en away by police. the erosion of the “one country, two work out for everybody, including Chi- Pro-democracy protesters block the entrance to the airport terminals after a scuff le Another mainland Chinese man was systems” arrangement that enshrined na, and “for liberty” without anyone with police at Hong Kong’s international airport yesterday. held and tied down by protesters at the some autonomy for Hong Kong since getting hurt or killed. “It’s a very tough airport after they thought he was pos- China took it back from Britain in 1997. situation,” he said. testing for the past nine weeks against Thousands of black-clad protesters ing as a reporter. The editor-in-chief of The increasingly violent clashes be- Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Beijing’s growing infl uence in the spe- jammed the terminal chanting, singing the state-run Global Times newspaper, tween police and protesters have roiled Lam warned that Hong Kong risked be- cial administrative region targeted the and waving banners. Hu Xijin, tweeted that the man was a the Asian fi nancial hub. Hong Kong’s ing “smashed to pieces”. international airport for a second day Scuffles broke out in the evening journalist with the paper. He was later stock market fell to a seven-month low Demonstrators who have been pro- yesterday. after an injured man was held by a taken away by ambulance. yesterday. Page 7 Gulf Times 2 Wednesday, August 14, 2019 QATAR ‘Qatar off ers Condolence meeting opportunities for Filipino medical

Homage was paid at a Doha event to India’s former External Aff airs Minister Sushma Swaraj who professionals’ passed away in India on August 6. The event was organised by Overseas Friends of India (OFI) Qatar at Indian Cultural Centre. Indian embassy defence attache Captain Kapil Kaushik was the By Peter Alagos ticularly Filipino doctors and for a ‘consultant’ title unless chief guest. OFI joint secretary Prashanth Gangadharan presided. Hundreds of community Business Reporter nurses, as well as practition- a higher qualification is ob- members were present. ers of ancillary services, such tained. as laboratory technicians and Loayon lauded the ministry personnel, physical thera- and the QCHP for recognising he Middle East may com- pists, and physiotherapists to Filipino doctors, saying that this pete with Europe in terms offer their services amid the not only reinforces the compe- Tof attracting medical burgeoning healthcare sector tency of Filipino medical profes- professionals in a bid to address in Qatar, as well as in other sionals in the country but will Offi cials in Khor, Thakhira the increasing demand for high- countries. also bolster the number of quali- quality and world-class health- In Qatar, Loayon said Filipino fi ed doctors in Qatar. care services, according to an of- doctors are now able to practise “Filipino medical profession- fi cial of the Philippine Business their fi elds of specialisation af- als are also equally in demand in conduct inspection tours Council-Qatar (PBC-Q). ter the MoPH granted equiva- Europe. I believe that the Middle PBC-Q chairman Greg Loayon lency to practise as specialists. East will be competing with Eu- said Qatar has invested heav- Philippine Business Council- In 2017, the ministry, through rope for medical professionals as nspectors at Al Khor and Al the food on display was safe for In the meantime, the vet- ily in developing the country’s Qatar chairman Greg Loayon. the Qatar Council for Healthcare a destination…and so we have a Thakhira Municipality con- consumption and all food sup- erinarians at the Meat Health healthcare system, which would PICTURE: Shemeer Rasheed Practitioners (QCHP) released real opportunity here. Iducted a number of inspec- pliers abide by the health regula- Unit checked carcasses of 456 require both fi rst-rate facilities an updated ‘Approved Specialty “We have a wealth of medi- tion tours on the fi rst day of tions. In addition, the inspectors slaughtered sheep, 22 cows and and human resources. Similarly, the highest in the Middle East, Qualifi cations List for Physi- cal professionals that can really Eid holidays, covering the areas went through the various beach- 25 calves and 15 goats at the he also noted that “Europe is the MoPH said. cians’ in Qatar. serve Qatar; when you look at which had the highest turnout of es of the municipality to check slaughterhouses. They also de- ramping up demand for medical London-based think tank, This list, Loayon said, now the demographics of the popu- people. for any public hygiene violations stroyed four carcasses for be- professionals.” Legatum Institute, also corrobo- includes doctors from the Phil- lation from a profession per- The campaign covered cater- and instruct visitors to dispose ing unfi t for consumption. The Loayon’s statement reaf- rated this in a report, which said ippines who are diplomates of spective, Filipino medical pro- ing kitchens, meat shops, and off garbage only in the contain- inspection tours were also con- fi rms an earlier statement from Qatar’s health system ranked the Philippine Board. He said fessionals are well-equipped slaughterhouses to ensure that ers kept for the purpose. ducted at the fi sh market. the Ministry of Public Health fi fth ‘Best in the World’ and the these diplomates can get the to work with patients of any (MoPH), which reported that fi rst in the Middle East, the min- ‘specialist’ title after three nationality and from all walks Qatar had invested QR22.7bn istry also said. years of work experience from of life, and we have extensive in healthcare last year, a 4% in- According to Loayon, there post qualification degree, un- medical experience at par with crease from 2017. The country’s is an opportunity for medical less more years of experience is international standards,” Loay- healthcare spending is among professionals worldwide, par- specified. They are not eligible on said. Gharrafa Interchange bridge to be partially closed until Friday

he Public Works Author- ity (Ashghal) has an- A dhow stationed on a beach. Tnounced a closure on Al Gharrafa Interchange Bridge for traffi c heading north towards Al Duhail until Friday (August 16). The closure is to lay asphalt on the bridge. Motorists heading north to Al Duhail should use the two-lane traffi c signal already opened at the interchange as shown on the map. Ashghal will install road signs advising motorists of the chang- es on the road and requested them to abide by the speed limit and follow the road signs to en- sure safety. Ashghal recently announced the full opening of Al Gharrafa Interchange to traffi c upon com- The beaches were maintained properly to cater to the large number of visitors during the Eid holidays. pletion of the works to convert Al Gharrafa Roundabout into a signalised junction. Ashghal Opening of the interchange Doha with the northern areas of Al Messila and Al Rayyan in ad- Indian embassy to remain closed tomorrow also completed works to develop contributes signifi cantly to im- the country and provides easy dition to several services, educa- parts of the service roads on 22 proving traffi c in a busy area. Al access to the surrounding areas tional, health, commercial and The Indian embassy will remain closed tomorrow (Thursday, 15 August, 2019) on the occasion of the 73rd February Street. Gharrafa Interchange connects such Al Luqta, Madinat Khalifa, residential facilities. Independence Day of India, it was announced in a statement yesterday. MIA off ering over 35 courses in art and calligraphy

unning until the end of Art in Focus short tours, taking August, the Museum of place daily at 10am and again at RIslamic Art (MIA) presents 12noon. Booking is not required over 35 courses developed by the but further details are available Art and Calligraphy team to ca- on the website http://www.mia. ter to all age groups. org.qa/en/whats-on The calendar of workshops, The last in the series of ‘Alad- includes courses of calligraphy in din’ themed summer camps will Kufi c, Ruq’ah, Naskh, Nasta’liq or be run on August 21 for children Diwani scripts and art workshops aged 6-12 years. Inspired by exploring acrylic or glass painting, the cartoon, children will make drawing, geometry, clay sculpting carpets and jewellery, hunt for and much more. Aladdin’s treasure in the muse- The calendar has been in- um and enjoy the original Disney spired by the museum’s collec- cartoon, of course. Places are tion, which covers 1,400 years limited so booking is essential. of history and a wide variety of More details on the website. materials and forms. The Summer Fun programme Every day during August, MIA has been developed by MIA ed- visitors also have the opportu- ucation department as part of nity to explore the museum’s the museum’s extensive learn- collection accompanied by a ing programme, off ering visitors member of the team of Museum of all ages and backgrounds the Guides. In addition to the regu- opportunity to participate in a lar afternoon tours, available all- wide range of events, activities, year-round at 2pm, this summer research and learning oppor- visitors will also be able to en- tunities designed for schools, joy an in-depth look at specifi c families, adult and specialist au- objects during the new Islamic diences. The Museum of Islamic Art in Doha. Gulf Times Wednesday, August 14, 2019 3 REGION/ARAB WORLD

Eid festivity Khamenei supports Houthi movement, calls for dialogue

Reuters Dubai

ran’s Supreme Leader Ayat- ollah Ali Khamenei pledged Iyesterday Tehran’s contin- ued support for Yemen’s Houthi movement and called for dia- logue among Yemenis to safe- guard the war-shattered nation’s territorial integrity. A Saudi-led coalition has been battling to restore Yemen’s oust- ed government in a devastating four-year war with the Houthis that has killed tens of thousands and pushed the country to the brink of famine. The Houthis, who control the capital Sanaa and most of Yemen’s other populous areas, have stepped up attacks in recent months Palestinian children ride on a toy train overlooking the Mediterranean, while celebrating during the third day of the festival of Eid al-Adha in the Deir al-Balah refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, yesterday. against targets in Saudi Arabia. In response, a Saudi-led coa- lition has targeted military sites belonging to the Houthis, espe- cially around Sanaa. “I declare my support for the resistance of Yemen’s believ- ing men and women...Yemen’s people...will establish a strong government,” state TV quoted Khamenei as saying in a meet- ing with the visiting chief ne- Iran says Britain might gotiator of the Houthi move- ment Mohamed Abdul-Salam. Khamenei, who held talks for the first time in Tehran with a senior Houthi representa- tive, also called for “strong resistance against the Saudi- led plots to divide Yemen”, the release oil tanker soon semi-official Fars news agency reported. A senior source in the Ports and Maritime Organisa- troops seized the British- “A unified and coherent government of the British tion, Jalil Eslami, said yester- flagged Stena Impero tanker in Yemen with sovereign integrity overseas territory denied that day that Britain was thinking of the Strait of Hormuz on July 19 should be endorsed. would happen yesterday freeing the Grace 1 following an for alleged marine violations. Given Yemen’s religious and exchange of documents. The Gulf tanker crisis has ethnic diversity, protecting Reuters “The vessel was seized based added to worsening hostili- Yemen’s integrity requires do- Dubai/London on false allegations,” Eslami said ties since Washington pulled mestic dialogue,” he said, TV in comments reported by state out of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal reported. news agency IRNA.”We hope with six powers, under which Iran’s clerical rulers reject he British territory of the release will take place soon.” Tehran agreed to curb its nu- accusations from the United Gibraltar will not yet re- Iran’s semi-official Fars clear work in return for lifting States and its allies that Tehran Tlease an Iranian oil tanker news agency, quoting uniden- most international sanctions is providing military and finan- seized by Royal Marines in the tified Gibraltar authorities, on Tehran. cial support to the Houthis and Mediterranean despite an Ira- said the tanker would be freed The Iranian capture of the blames Riyadh for the deepen- nian report that it could do so by yesterday evening. Stena Impero drew condem- ing crisis there. yesterday, an offi cial Gibraltar However, a senior source nation from Britain and other The United Arab Emirates, source said. in the government of British European parties to the nucle- Saudi Arabia’s main military The commandeering of the overseas territory denied that ar deal that have been trying ally on the ground for most of Grace 1 on July 4 exacerbated would happen yesterday. to salvage it by shielding Iran’s the war, has drawn down its frictions between Tehran and Although Grace 1 was seized economy from reimposed and forces in Yemen since June. the West and led to retaliatory by British forces, Britain said toughened US sanctions. Iran’s semi-official Tasnim moves in Gulf waterways used yesterday that investigations A Spanish Civil Guard boat sails past Iranian oil tanker Grace 1 as it sits anchored after it was seized in Unlike the seized Iranian news agency said the Houthi to ship oil. into the tanker Grace were a July by British Royal Marines off the coast of the British Mediterranean territory on suspicion of tanker, which was carrying a delegation, which arrived in Britain accused the vessel of matter for Gibraltar. violating sanctions against Syria, in the Strait of Gibraltar, southern Spain yesterday. cargo of up to 2.1mn barrels of Tehran a few days ago, had violating European sanctions by The territory has denied oil, the Stena Impero was on handed a letter to Khamenei taking oil to Syria, a charge Te- Iran’s claim that the action was “As this is an ongoing in- ish Foreign Office spokesman was doing anything improp- its way to the Gulf and empty from the movement’s leader, hran denies. taken on the orders of Tehran’s vestigation, we are unable said. er and in retaliation Islamic at the time it was seized by Ira- Abdel-Malek al-Houthi, but The deputy head of Iran’s longtime foe Washington. to comment further,” a Brit- Tehran has denied the vessel Revolutionary Guards Corps nian forces. gave no details.

Tehran reports new Clashes kill nearly 60 fi ghters in Syria At least 13 die after cattle uranium enrichment AFP the lives of 29 pro-government their fi rst major ground advance rustlers attack village Beirut forces as well as 30 militants and in the province since an escala- allied rebels, the Syrian Observ- tion on the militant-dominated DPA Iran to enrich 300 kilograms atory for Human Rights said. enclave more than three months DPA bodies lying on the ground this Tehran of uranium to a level no high- lashes between regime It came as regime warplanes ago. Juba morning in the cattle camp,” er than 3.67%. loyalists and insurgents pummelled the Idlib region with The region was supposed to be including one child, four Iran made clear over the Cin rebel-held northwest air strikes, killing three civilians protected from a massive gov- women and eight men, said ran says it has enriched past few months that it would Syria killed 59 combatants yes- in the town of Khan Sheikhoun, ernment off ensive by a Turkish- t least 13 people were Aduol. 370 kilograms of urani- withdraw in phases from the terday, a war monitor said. the Britain-based monitor add- Russian buff er zone deal struck killed when a heavily- The identity of the attack- Ium to a concentration of agreement after the United Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), ed. last September. Aarmed group attacked ers remained unclear, but au- 4.5%, both of which would be States pulled out last year, a militant group led by Syria’s Regime forces and anti- But it has come under increas- a village and stole hundreds of thorities suspect it may have in violation of the 2015 nu- reimposing tough sanctions. former Al Qaeda affi liate, has government fi ghters have been ing bombardment by Damascus cattle in central South Sudan, been carried out by residents clear deal reached with global European powers, who op- since January controlled most of caught in fi erce battles in the and its backer Moscow since the a local offi cial said. from neighbouring Tonj state, powers. posed the US withdrawal, Idlib province as well as parts of region for days, as the former end of April that has killed 816 The attackers wounded sev- after a similar attack was car- Behrouz Kamalvandi, a have sought to convince Iran neighbouring Hama, Aleppo and presses with an advance toward civilians, according to the Ob- en others and stole about 230 ried out on their land. spokesman for Iran’s nuclear to remain in the deal. Latakia provinces. a strip straddling the Hama and servatory. cattle in the village of Rum- Last year, an armed group agency, made the claim to the Iran has said it will begin Several other armed rebel Idlib governorates. The violence has also pushed bek East in the Western Lakes from Rumbek East attacked Iranian state-backed news a third withdrawal phase in groups also operate in the region. On Sunday, regime forces 400,000 people from their state, area commissioner Ben- a cattle camp in Tonj, killing agency ISNA yesterday. September, enriching ura- Fighting in southern Idlib and seized the town of Al-Habeet in homes, according to the United jamin Aduol said. dozens and stealing hundreds The 2015 agreement allows nium as high as 20%. rural Latakia yesterday claimed Idlib’s southern countryside, in Nations. “We have confi rmed 13 dead of cattle. Jailed activist told to deny torture in release ‘deal’

AFP They have asked her to...ap- is among around a dozen promi- al-Qahtani of threatening to and to deny the torture doesn’t be free. Whatever happens I am a decades-long ban on female Dubai pear on video to deny the torture nent women activists who are physically abuse and kill her, ac- sound like a realistic demand,” certifying it (one) more time: motorists. and harassment,” her brother currently facing trial after being cording to her family. Walid tweeted. Loujain has been brutally tor- Many were branded as traitors Walid al-Hathloul, who is based detained last year in a sweeping Her brother said she had ini- Her sister Lina al-Hathloul tured and sexually harassed.” by local media and are standing audi authorities have of- in Canada, said on Twitter. crackdown on dissent. tially agreed to sign a document separately said her sibling was Hathloul’s siblings have pre- trial over charges that include fered to release jailed ac- “That was part of a deal to re- She was among a few detain- denying that she had been tor- under pressure to deny the tor- viously complained they were contact with foreign media, dip- Stivist Loujain al-Hathloul lease her.” ees who accused interrogators of tured, as a precondition for her ture claim. pressured by people close to the lomats and human rights groups. in exchange for her video testi- There was no immediate reac- subjecting them to torture — in- release. “(I don’t know) what I’m risk- Saudi state to stay silent over her Their trial has cast a spotlight mony denying that she had been tion from Saudi authorities and cluding electric shocks, fl ogging He added that her family had ing by writing this. Maybe it treatment in detention. on the human rights record of tortured and harassed in prison, the kingdom’s media ministry and groping in detention — a intended to keep the deal secret. will harm my sister. But I can’t Riyadh has faced pressure the kingdom, which has also her family claimed yesterday. did not respond to requests for charge vigorously denied by the But state security offi cials re- keep it to myself,” Lina wrote on from Western governments to faced intense global criticism “The Saudi state security has comment. government. cently visited her again in prison Twitter. release women activists, most of over the murder of journalist visited my sister in prison re- Hathloul, who recently Hathloul also accused former to demand a video testimony. “Loujain has been proposed a whom were jailed last summer Jamal Khashoggi in its Istanbul cently. marked her 30th birthday in jail, royal court media adviser Saud “Asking to appear on a video deal: deny the torture and she’ll just before the historic lifting of consulate last year. Gulf Times 4 Wednesday, August 14, 2019 AFRICA Child soldiers Heroes’ Day celebration and deaths surge in Mali as violence worsens

Thomson Reuters Foundation quadrupled to 229 in the fi rst Dakar half of 2019, up from 59 in the same period last year, Unicef said. he number of children Fulani herders and Dogon forced to join armed farmers have long competed Tgroups in Mali has dou- for land and resources in Mali bled since last year amid wors- but militant groups have ex- ening militant and ethnic vio- ploited their ethnic rivalry to lence, the United Nations said boost recruitment and expand yesterday. their reach. In the fi rst six months In March, suspected Dogon of 2019, the UN children’s militiamen killed more than agency, Unicef, recorded 99 150 Fulani in central Mali, one cases of children in Mali be- of the worst acts of bloodshed ing recruited or used by armed in the country’s recent history. groups, often as soldiers, The insecurity has forced spies, cooks or cleaners, com- over 900 schools to close, pared to 47 in the same period which is another factor driv- last year. ing recruitment of children, “This is very much a refl ec- said Luthi. tion of the deteriorating se- “We know very well that curity situation, in particular when children are out of in the centre of Mali,” Unicef school they are exposed to all spokeswoman Eliane Luthi sorts of other violations,” she told the Thomson Reuters said. Foundation. The fi gures refl ect a wider The West African country trend of children being more has been in confl ict since 2012 caught up in confl icts globally, when militants hijacked an said Keyan Salarkia, an expert ethnic uprising by Tuaregs in on confl ict with British charity the north. Save the Children. Supporters of Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa sing and dance during the Heroes’ Day commemoration in the capital Harare, yesterday. More recently the violence “The rules and the laws of has moved to central Mali, confl ict aren’t being upheld,” where fi ghting between farm- he told the Thomson Reuters ers and herders has surged this Foundation. year. The number of violations The number of children against children in war have in Mali who were killed or tripled globally since 2010, ac- maimed in confl ict almost cording to Save the Children. Burundian child star’s Zambia court adjourns ex-minister graft case death spotlights malaria

Reuters The case is a test on how Presi- Thomson Reuters Foundation in his home city of Gitega, east but across sub-Saharan Africa,” Mukuvare, who is the IFRC’s with popular Burundian com- Lusaka dent Edgar Lungu is addressing Nairobi of the commercial capital Bu- he said, adding that Burundi was East Africa disaster manage- ics and tributes on social media corruption in a government that jumbura. Neighbours in the tiny struggling to stop mosquitoes ment delegate, said many fami- mourned his loss. is struggling with slow economic central African nation told the breeding around homes and to lies increased risk of death by “Another precious life lost,” Zambian court yesterday growth, high debt and shrinking he death of a six-year-old Thomson Reuters Foundation provide bednets to protect peo- delaying seeking medical treat- tweeted James Elder, a regional adjourned until Septem- foreign currency reserves.Fol- YouTube star from a ma- that the primary school student ple while sleeping. The young ment as they did not have money spokesman for the UN children’s Aber the start of corruption lowing the aid freeze, Lungu fi red Tlaria epidemic in Burundi had been suff ering from fever for comic’s death has prompted a and instead attempting to treat agency, Unicef. “Malaria robbed trial involving a former cabinet Community Development and has spotlighted the growing a few days and his mother had wave of tributes and sparked de- the disease with painkillers. his future; as it does to a child minister that prompted some Social Welfare Minister Emerine challenge of combating malaria taken him to a local clinic, but he bate about malaria in Burundi, Malaria, spread when female every two minutes.” Western donors to freeze aid to Kabanshi, who was in charge of in a warmer world, health ex- had died the following day. where the United Nations says it mosquitoes bite humans, kills Although WHO has declared the nation. the funds. perts said yesterday. “The death of Kacaman is very has reached “epidemic” propor- almost half a million people 38 countries malaria-free since Britain, Finland, Ireland and Kabanshi was later charged Darcy Irakoze — known as tragic,” said Marshal Mukuvare tions with almost 6mn cases and each year, with 90% of deaths 1955, its campaign has stalled as Sweden withheld nearly $34mn with failure to follow procedure Kacaman — who was popular of the International Federation 1,800 deaths reported this year. in Africa, according to the World mosquitoes have become resist- in aid to Zambia’s social welfare and guidelines relating to the for his comedy performances on of Red Cross and Red Crescent The Burundian government Health Organisation (WHO). ant to drugs and bednet insec- and education sectors in Septem- engagement of a government- YouTube and in local theatres, Societies (IFRC). says the fi gures are lower — with Irakoze, who played a outspo- ticides and global warming is ber last year because of concern owned company, which distrib- died on Thursday after contract- “We are losing many children 4.3mn recorded cases and 1,400 ken, opinionated character in enabling the malaria parasite to over fi nancial mismanagement. uted the funding. ing the mosquito-borne disease to malaria — not just in Burundi, deaths this year. his sketches, had performed survive in new areas.

Prayer time Two kidnapped locals freed, foreigners still held: army

AFP Congo’s restive east. New York vincial governor had handed Bukavu and Toronto-listed Banro’s two over to Banro the two Congo- gold mines in the DRC’s east lese who he said were taken by have been troubled by illegal local Mai-Mai fi ghters. wo Congolese workers miners and armed groups op- A Banro source confi rmed for Canadian gold miner erating in the region. the release of the two Congo- TBanro kidnapped last “We have confi rmed the lib- lese hostages without giving month in eastern DR Congo have eration of two compatriots and further details. been freed but a South African we are waiting for the release of Banro operates two gold and Zimbabwean remain cap- two other hostages,” said Cap- mines in the east of DR Con- tive, the army said yesterday. tain Dieudonne Kasereka, an go, one in Twangiza in South The four Banro workers were army spokesman for the region. Kivu province and the other in taken hostage after they were He did not give details of how Namoya in Maniema state. caught in an ambush by armed they were released. A Frenchman working for South African Muslims gather to off er Eid al-Adha prayers in an open field in Lenasia, 30km south of Johannesburg, yesterday. men on July 26 in Salamabila A local journalist in Salama- Banro was kidnapped in March in Maniema province in DR bila said by telephone the pro- 2017 but later freed. DR Congo Ebola tsar delighted by drug breakthrough

AFP On Monday, the US National The mortality rate for mAb114 demic a “public health emer- Two other drugs that were cessfully treated. “I thank God,” contagious diseases in cities, Goma Institutes of Health (NIH) said was 34%. A total of 1,892 deaths gency of international concern” also being tested have been ex- Nabintu, who has nine other where population density and two drugs, out of four being have been recorded since the — a move designed to step up the cluded from further use in the children, told journalists. mobility make it harder to trace tested among Ebola patients in outbreak began on August 1 global response. Tshisekedi also ongoing epidemic. “I was ill with Ebola, but now and isolate people who have R Congo’s pointman on eastern Democratic Republic of 2018. appointed Muyembe, a veteran They also diminished mortal- I’m cured whereas my husband been in contact with a patient. Ebola voiced delight yes- Congo, had signifi cantly boosted who was part of the team that ity but did not approach similar died of it...Ebola exists — I have The successful testing of Dterday after researchers survival rates. “We now have two drugs, investigated the very fi rst known thresholds of success. felt it in my fl esh. It kills but you REGN-EB3 and mAb114 will add announced that two prototype The two drugs, known by mAb114 and REGN-EB3. outbreak of Ebola in what was The epidemic in DR Congo can be cured swiftly,” she said, to a small but growing arsenal of drugs boost chances of surviving their lab names as REGN-EB3 These are the two drugs then Zaire, in 1976. is the deadliest on record after “My husband died because drugs against Ebola. the dreaded disease. and mAb114, belong to a class of which we are going to use, Doctors refused to say which more than 11,000 people were he was taken to an ETC (Ebola The authorities have widely Jean-Jacques Muyembe, treatments called monoclonal because according drugs were used to treat the two killed in Guinea, Sierra Leone Treatment Centre) too late,” she deployed a vaccine made by the newly appointed by President antibodies, which are designed to the results which we Goma patients, pointing to the and Liberia between 2014-2016. added. Goma is capital of North US giant Merck — a formula Felix Tshisekedi to co-ordinate to bind to the virus and neutral- have obtained so far, need to respect secrecy in medi- Out of the four cases in Goma, Kivu, a province that has been called rVSV-ZEBOV that is un- the year-long campaign against ise it. these are the two drugs cal trials. two were fatalities. One was wracked by militia groups that licensed but has been widely Ebola, said that out of four con- A total of 681 people had been which are effective” Muyembe simply said, “We a pastor who had gone to the are the legacy of two wars in tested for safety — to protect fi rmed cases in the eastern city recruited for the trial, which be- now have two drugs, mAb114 Ebola-hit town of Butembo to eastern DRC. frontline workers. of Goma, “two have been cured” gan in November. The authorities’ handling of and REGN-EB3. preach and returned home with The epidemic has been con- Nearly 200,000 people have after 11 days of treatment. Data from 499 patients found the outbreak came under severe “These are the two drugs the disease. centrated in countryside in received the jab. There is also Expressing his “great joy,” that mortality among those who scrutiny last month when four which we are going to use, be- The other was a gold miner, North Kivu and neighbouring debate as to whether a second Professor Muyembe said, “This had been given REGN-EB3 fell to cases emerged in Goma, a city of cause according to the results who died on August 2. Ituri province. prototype vaccine, made by a is a strong message for us that 29% compared to a typical death 2mn and a major transport hub. which we have obtained so far, His wife, Esperance Nabintu, But the cases in Goma have subsidiary of US company John- Ebola is curable. Today, the rate of 60-67% among those The World Health Organisa- these are the two drugs which and their one-year-old son have stirred deep concern, given the son & Johnson, should be in- drugs are there.” who had not been treated. tion (WHO) declared the epi- are eff ective.” returned home after being suc- greater diffi culty of combatting cluded in this strategy. Gulf Times Wednesday, August 14, 2019 5 AMERICAS Democrats push Republicans on gun control Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) speaks at a town hall-style event held to reassure nervous By David Morgan, Reuters The Democratic push on gun The measure passed the Trump, who has threatened to immigrant community members in Stamford, Connecticut. Washington control comes after back-to- Democratic-led House in Feb- veto the House legislation and back mass shootings in El Paso, ruary, getting eight Republican sent mixed messages on what Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, pro- votes. kinds of measures he could sign. emocrats yesterday pelled the wide availability of “Is it the solution to all this At times, the president has sought to gain the upper guns in the United States back to violence? It is not...it is a signifi - voiced support for toughening Housing rule change could force Dhand in the gun debate the forefront of political debate. cant and important step to take in background checks for gun buy- with President Donald Trump Democrats said that more than the face of this violence,” House ers. and Senate Republicans, de- 250 mass shootings have occurred Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told But he failed to mention the manding quick action on back- in the United States this year. reporters. idea in an address last week that residents out of their homes ground checks and suggesting With opinion polls show- “Not to act is a refusal to meet focused on mental illness, the that money for Trump’s border ing a majority of Americans in our responsibilities to the Amer- internet, and video games as po- By Carey L Biron, Reuters rates in Los Angeles are very deferrals of up to 18 months to wall be used to fi ght domestic favour of gun restrictions but ican people,” he added. tential causes of shootings. Washington high and aff ordable housing give them time to fi nd some- terrorism. Trump and his fellow Republi- Hoyer said the House Judiciary Trump said yesterday he is largely unavailable. where else to live. Democrats in the House of cans unlikely to give in on tough Committee, which has jurisdic- convinced that McConnell wants Torres, 37, said she and her The housing department did Representatives held a news con- measures, Democrats in Con- tion over gun control, will return to toughen background checks. ears are mounting across son would probably be forced not respond to a request for ad- ference with relatives and friends gress and those vying for their to Washington early to consider “He wants to do background the United States over to stay with friends: “I don’t ditional comment. of mass shooting victims to party’s presidential nomination new legislation that would help checks. I do too, and I think a lot Fa proposal by President know, and, honestly, I can’t im- The proposal brought in more pressure Senate Majority Leader are making it a key plank in their states keep guns away from peo- of Republicans do,” the president Donald Trump’s administra- agine how bad this could be.” than 30,000 responses during Mitch McConnell to call the up- 2020 election contests. ple deemed a threat to them- told reporters in New Jersey. tion that would force tens of She added that many other the recent two-month com- per chamber back from an Au- Congress has failed to pass selves or others, ban assault rifl es “I don’t know frankly that the thousands of families to choose people she knows are in a simi- ment period, which Przylucki gust recess for a vote on gun con- meaningful gun control meas- and ban high-capacity maga- Democrats will get us there.... between splitting up or being lar situation and are “afraid of characterised as unusually large trol legislation that has already ures despite multiple mass zines. We’ll see what happens,” Trump homeless together. what could happen”. for a housing policy. been approved by the House. shootings over the years, mostly A committee aide said a fi nal said. The proposed rule change, Like many US cities, Los An- He also said 90% of those Senate Democratic leader due to lobbying by the National decision to return has not been The Senate could consider on which a national public geles is already dealing with an comments — which were publi- Chuck Schumer was preparing Rifl e Association and other pro- made, however. a weaker version of the House comment period ended in July, acute housing crisis. cally available — were negative. to ask the Trump administration gun groups. McConnell told a radio inter- legislation which would exempt would deny public housing as- The city’s homelessness rate Several pending legislative in coming days to withdraw its Those groups have tapped into viewer last week that calling the all gun transfers, including sales sistance for “mixed-status” rose by 16% in the past year changes from Democratic law- request for $5bn for a border wall a deep-seated suspicion of gov- Senate back into session early between close family members, households — those in which at alone, according to government makers, fl oated since the pro- with Mexico and direct the funds ernment eff orts to interfere with would only lead to political pos- from background checks. least one member is an undocu- fi gures released in June. posal was made public, would to initiatives to combat white gun ownership, which is protect- turing. The House version exempts mented immigrant. “There are over 50,000 peo- bar the housing department supremacy and gun violence, ac- ed by the Second Amendment of Instead, he has instructed the only loans and gifts between Housing secretary Ben Car- ple in the county experiencing from implementing the change. cording to a person familiar with the US Constitution. chairs of three Senate commit- relatives. son said in May — when the homelessness, and we’re go- For now, community advo- his thinking. Democrats are currently tees to work on legislation that The bill, sponsored by Repub- change was fi rst proposed — ing to add something like 20% cates like Przylucki are pushing Schumer wants the funding pressing for Senate action on can be debated when lawmakers lican Senator Pat Toomey and that it was a necessary move more through this policy,” said back against what he said is a to go to FBI domestic terrorism legislation that would expand return from their six-week recess Democratic Senator Joe Manch- to reduce long wait times for Bill Przylucki of People Organ- wave of fear and misinforma- investigations, Department of background checks on gun buy- on September 9. in, failed in 2013 in the aftermath housing assistance. ized for Westside Renewal, a tion, explaining to residents that Homeland Security initiatives to ers by closing a loophole that al- Legislation sought by McCon- of the murder of 20 children and But housing researchers and community development group the proposal may not go for- counter violent extremism, and lows as many as one-fi fth of gun nell would need to garner enough six staff members at an elemen- advocates say the proposal in Los Angeles. ward, while planning for people federal health agency research on sales over the Internet and at gun bipartisan support to pass the tary school in Newtown, Con- would not have the desired ef- “And the people who would be to remain housed if it does. gun violence, the source said. shows to go unchecked. Senate and be signed into law by necticut, in December 2012. fect and would instead lead to added are folks who are even more “Fear has been eff ectively higher rates of homelessness. vulnerable because they would instilled on this and, of course, Analysis from the US Depart- face challenges to employment housing authorities are very ment of Housing and Urban De- and accessing benefi ts because of concerned about that,” said Su- velopment said the rule change this status issue,” he said. nia Zaterman, executive direc- Past-due student loans, card debt could weigh on US growth would aff ect more than 108,000 US taxpayers do not subsidise tor of the CLPHA, whose mem- people. That includes 55,000 housing for undocumented im- bers manage about 40% of US children, many of whom are migrants under current policy; public housing. By Trevor Hunnicutt, Reuters to Federal Reserve Bank of New student loan balances started be- for two-thirds of activity in the American citizens with an un- rather, subsidy rates are prorated On Monday the Trump ad- New York York data released yesterday. ing at least 90 days late during world’s largest economy, and a documented parent, according depending on the number of eli- ministration also announced US consumer debt has con- the three months that ended in growing job market and higher to the Council of Large Public gible members in a household. that starting in October, it in- tinued to hit new peaks, rising June, compared with 9.4% in the wages have helped the longest US Housing Authorities (CLPHA), The rule change would do tends to make it more diffi cult ore people in the Unit- $192bn, or 1.4%, to $13.86tn in January-March period. economic expansion on record a national non-profi t focusing away with that prorating, in- for legal immigrants to become ed States appear to be the second quarter. A comparable measure shows continue this year. on aff ordable housing. stead making the entire house- US citizens or get residency if Mstruggling to keep up The fi gure is higher than the credit card users, too, are falling But fears the US-China trade That is the situation fac- hold ineligible if a single mem- they have used public benefi ts, with their credit card and stu- previous peak of $12.68tn before behind. Payments on about 5.2% of war and other issues could cloud ing Cari Torres in Los Angeles, ber is undocumented. including housing assistance. dent loan debt, which could put the 2008 global fi nancial crisis, ac- those balances were 90 days over- that economic picture led the California. The single mother In a May meeting with law- “If implemented, the rule will pressure on one of the strongest cording to the New York Fed’s US due in the latest quarter, up from Federal Reserve to cut interest from Jalisco, Mexico, is undoc- makers, Carson said he sees the grant immigration offi cers the drivers of economic growth. household debt and credit report. 5.0% in the fi rst quarter. The fi gure rates for the fi rst time since 2008 umented, but her son was born prorating process as “giving aid authority to punish immigrants US credit card balances grew While total student loan balanc- has been on the rise since 2017. late last month. in the United States. and assistance to people who for accessing services legally,” to $868bn in the second quar- es decreased slightly, from $1.49tn Similar delinquency rates de- That could ease pressures for “If the rule goes on, we will are here illegally”. said Ali Noorani, executive di- ter, from $848bn in the previous to $1.48tn in the quarter, the share clined for auto loans, home equi- some borrowers and cause con- be homeless, my son and I,” He also noted that residents rector of advocacy group the three months, and the propor- of those loans being left unpaid for ty lines of credit, mortgages and sumers to load up on more debt she told the Thomson Reuters who lose housing assistance National Immigration Forum, tion of those balances seriously several months increased. other debt categories. to make purchases, a short-term Foundation, noting that rental under the new rule could get in a statement. past due is on the rise, according Payments on some 9.9% of Consumer spending accounts stimulus for the economy.

Canada murder suspects died in ‘suicides by gunfi re’

By Michel Comte, AFP Ottawa

utopsies confi rmed that two bodies discovered in the Ca- Anadian wilds are those of teen murder suspects who apparently took their own lives after weeks on the run, police announced late on Monday. “The two died in what appears to be suicides by gunfi re,” federal po- lice said in a statement. Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, wanted over the murders of an Australian man and his American girlfriend, as well as of a Canadian university professor, had led police on a cross-country manhunt. Initially, the pair were reported missing themselves after their car An RCMP handout photo of Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky from Port Alberni, British Columbia. was found torched in British Colum- bia province, but police then discov- rain, which was infested with mos- 15 along a highway in British Columbia. He said in an interview with Aus- ered the third body, and the teens quitoes and home to bears and Fowler had been living in British tralia’s 60 Minutes that aired on were named as formal suspects. wolves. Columbia, local media reported, but Sunday that “his troubles are over. Last week, police closing in on the The Royal Canadian Mounted Po- the pair had been travelling exten- I’m so sad that he felt that he had to pair had found items linked to the lice (RCMP) said they are conduct- sively. take this road trip.” suspects on the shores of the Nel- ing a forensic analysis of two fi re- Deese’s family told US media that “I’m so sorry for what’s hap- son River. They also found a battered arms located with the teens in order the couple had embarked on a road pened,” he said, but added in de- aluminium boat. to confi rm that these were used in trip through Canada. fence of his only son: “I’m not going Their remains were soon found in the British Columbia murders. Authorities then found the body to say my son is a murderer until I get dense brush in the central province of Investigators and the RCMP be- of 64-year-old Leonard Dyck, a some facts.” Manitoba about 8km from a burned- havioural analysis unit are also con- botany professor at the University of Kennedy Deese, sister of one of out stolen vehicle belonging to one of tinuing to try to piece together the British Columbia, on July 19. the victims, dismissed his com- the victims, discovered on July 22. events that lead to the murders. RCMP Assistant Commissioner ments, saying in a Facebook post: It is unclear when exactly the pair Their fi ndings are to be released in Kevin Hackett has said it would be “Your sorrow is for yourself. You died. However, police said there are the coming weeks. “extremely diffi cult for us to ascertain cannot relate to us, as we had no do- “strong indications” that they had McLeod and Schmegelsky, who defi nitively what the motive was.” ings in the cause of your pain, when been alive for a few days since last were childhood friends, had led po- In an interview last month with you’ve played a part in the cause of being seen near the town of Gillam, lice on a more than 3,000km chase the Canadian Press as the manhunt our pain.” Manitoba — which had sparked a halfway across the vast country to ramped up, Schmegelsky’s father “To the murderers and their fam- massive police search of the area. Manitoba province. said his son was deeply troubled and ily, the appropriate action when mis- Police deployed tracker dogs, a They had been wanted over the had never recovered from his par- takes are made is taking responsibili- drone and search planes equipped murders of Australian Lucas Fowler, 23, ents’ divorce in 2005. ty. The proper public response would with infrared cameras to comb the and American Chynna Deese, 24, who “He’s on a suicide mission,” Alan have been a genuine apology. But we diffi cult, forested and swampy ter- were discovered shot to death on July Schmegelsky said. still forgive you and have mercy.” Gulf Times 6 Wednesday, August 14, 2019 ASIA Body of missing Irish-French teen found in Malaysia

DPAKuala Lumpur

he body of Nora Anne Quoirin, the Irish-French Tteen whose disappearance from a Malaysian resort on Au- gust 4 prompted a nationwide search, was found yesterday. Quoirin, who lives in London, was reported missing from her hotel room by her family 10 days ago at Dusun Resort in the south-western state of Negeri Sembilan, about 80km from the capital Kuala Lumpur. “The family has been brought Nora Quiorin posing with her mother Meabh in a file picture. here to identify the body that was found earlier today, and the fam- ily has confi rmed that the body is Nora Anne,” Negeri Sembilan police chief Mohamed Mat Yusop told reporters outside the forensics department of Seremban hospital. The body was found in a hilly area in a ravine about 2.5km from the resort in the early afternoon and subsequently taken to Seremban Family members arrive at a hospital where rescuers brought the body during a search operation for the hospital by helicopter. Moham- missing 15-year-old Franco-Irish teenager Nora Quoirin in Seremban. ed said Quoirin was “not in any clothing” when her body was dis- frantic 10-day search that in- leased late Monday said. The developmental disabilities. covered by a member of the search volved aboriginal tribe members, girl’s disappearance had baffl ed Photos of the girl had been cir- and rescue team. The police chief local volunteers, hundreds of investigators, who had initially culated on social media as well refused to answer questions about fi remen and police forces from struggled to fi nd concrete evi- as in towns and villages near the injuries on the body, saying that Malaysia, Ireland, the UK and dence pointing to her potential resort. The search and rescue op- it they would have to wait for the France. The discovery comes one whereabouts despite expanding erations also involved playing a result of the post-mortem before day after Quoirin’s parents of- the search to surrounding creeks recording of her mother’s voice determining whether criminal el- fered a reward of 50,000 ringgit and valleys and deploying sniff er in the dense thickets of the resort ements were involved. (US$12,000) for information that dogs to pick up her scent. The in the hopes that Quoirin would The results of the post-mor- would lead police to fi nd her. search for the teen was ham- recognise her voice. Quoirin tem are expected today, the po- The money had been donated pered by the fact that she suff ers lived with her family in London lice chief said. The discovery by an anonymous Belfast-based from holoprosencephaly, a dis- but carried dual Irish and French The body of 15-year-old Irish girl Nora Anne Quoirin who went missing is brought out of a helicopter in of Quoirin’s body concludes a businessman, a statement re- order that causes learning and citizenship. Seremban, Malaysia.

Indonesia ships back tonnes of Aussie waste 40 killed in Bangladesh’s

AFP amid global concerns about the containers might arrive back foreign refuse last year in an ef- Jakarta plastic polluting the oceans and in Australia. Last month Indo- fort to clean up its environment. worst-ever dengue outbreak increasing pushback from Asian nesia returned seven shipping Huge quantities of waste have nations against accepting trash. containers of illegally imported since been redirected to South- ndonesia has shipped tonnes Last month, Indonesia said waste to France and Hong Kong east Asia, including Malaysia, AFP the disease has reached epidemic in the countryside, raising con- of Australian garbage out of it would return the Australian that were seized in Batam Island Indonesia and to a lesser degree Dhaka proportions. cerns that the disease will spread Ithe country, an offi cial said rubbish after authorities found near Singapore. the Philippines. More than 44,000 people have further. The country’s health yesterday, as Southeast Asian hazardous material and house- Those containers were loaded Around 300mn tonnes of plas- been admitted to hospitals with minister said the outbreak was nations push back against serv- hold trash, including used dia- with a combination of garbage, tic are produced every year, ac- t least 40 people have died the illness since January, includ- “gradually reducing” while in- ing as dumping grounds for for- pers and electronic waste, in plastic waste and hazardous cording to the Worldwide Fund in Bangladesh’s worst-ev- ing some 2,100 on Monday alone, augurating an emergency dengue eign trash. containers meant to hold only materials in violation of import for Nature (WWF), with much of Aer outbreak of dengue, of- said health ministry offi cial Aye- ward at a public hospital in Dhaka Eight containers of trash — waste paper. rules. it ending up in landfi lls or pollut- fi cials said yesterday, as overbur- sha Akhter. “We have confi rmed this week. weighing some 210 tonnes —left “Six containers contaminated Batam authorities were also ing the seas, in what has become dened hospitals struggled to treat 40 dengue-related casualties so For the fi rst time on record, Indonesia’s second-biggest city with (hazardous) waste and two preparing to return another 42 a growing international crisis. thousands of patients. far to Monday,” she told AFP. holidays for all public health Surabaya on Monday aboard a containers mixed with household containers of waste, includ- A particular environmental Outbreaks of the mosquito- Local media put the number workers have been cancelled to cargo ship bound for Singapore, rubbish” left Indonesia on Mon- ing shipments from the United concern are microplastics – tiny borne viral infection, which caus- much higher, reporting that the help respond to the crisis, said the local customs agency said. day, said Alvina Christine Zebua, States, Australia and Germany. pieces of degraded waste that es fl u-like symptoms but can be death toll passed 100 last week. health ministry director general The move comes less than a a spokeswoman for the East Java China used to receive the bulk absorb harmful chemicals and deadly if it develops into a haem- The week-long holiday mark- Abul Kalam Azad. week after Australia pledged to customs agency. of scrap plastic from around the accumulate inside fi sh, birds and orrhagic fever, usually occur in ing the festival of Eid-al-Adha “It is getting very tough to cope stop exporting recyclable waste She could not confi rm when world but closed its doors to other animals. the South Asian nation during the has seen hundreds of thousands up with the amount of work pres- monsoon season between June of people leaving Bangladeshi cit- sure,” one medical offi cer told and September — but this year ies to return to their family homes AFP. Chinese ship returns to Former Malaysian PM fails in Vietnam’s Merit-making ceremony exclusive last bid to delay 1MDB trial economic zone A Chinese survey ship returned to Vietnam’s DPA High Court’s) judgement.” The evacuation of the court com- exclusive economic zone Kuala Lumpur ruling exhausts all legal options plex. The scandal surrounding off its coast yesterday, ship for either the defense or prosecu- 1MDB, which was set up by Na- tracking data showed, less tion to delay the trial any further, jib in 2009 to promote foreign than a week after it left the alaysia’s highest court Free Malaysia Today reported. investment in the country, was area where vessels from the has ruled that former 1MDB is the subject of an in- instrumental in his ouster from two countries were locked in MMalaysian prime min- ternational graft investigation government. a month-long standoff . The ister Najib Razak will face trial as over suspicions that US$4.5bn of Widespread anger over what Haiyang Dizhi 8 first entered scheduled next week, despite a public money was misappropri- was perceived to be the gross the zone under Chinese coast last-ditch attempt by his defence ated by high-ranking Malaysian mismanagement of public funds guard escort in July and team to delay the proceedings. offi cials, including the former led to the defeat of Najib’s Ba- appeared to conduct a seismic Najib faces trial on 25 charges premier, his family and closest risan Nasional party in the 2018 survey of waters that are a of money laundering and abuse aides. general election, paving the way potential global flashpoint as of power over allegations that Najib is currently a facing a for opposition coalition Pakatan the United States challenges 2.28bn ringgit (US $543mn) were separate trial on seven charges Harapan to take power for the China’s maritime claims. transferred from state develop- of money laundering, criminal fi rst time. The survey ship, which ment fund 1Malaysia Develop- breach of trust and corruption Prime Minister Mahathir according to Vietnam left the ment Berhad (1MDB) to his per- stemming from illegal transac- Mohamed has made recover- area on August 7, was now sonal bank account. tions totalling US10mn from ing assets purchased with 1MDB headed back to the zone A fi ve-judge federal court yes- former 1MDB subsidiary SRC In- money – which includes a under escort from at least two terday unanimously upheld a ternational to his personal bank US$126-mn superyacht, luxury Chinese Coast Guard vessels, decision by a lower court to hold account. properties in New York and Los according to data from Marine the trial on August 19, with Chief The trial, called the SRC trial, Angeles and diamond jewellery – Traff ic, a website that tracks Justice Tengku Maimun saying was disrupted in late July after one of his government’s top pri- vessel movements. Since that “there was no error in (the a bomb hoax prompted a mass orities since the election. the standoff began, Chinese coastguard ships have also been operating within a Germany-based Lankan family in deadly road accident Vietnamese oil block where a rig leased by Russian oil giant A Sri Lankan family living in two relatives in the crash. She the capital Colombo, and involved Rosneft has been drilling, the Germany was involved in a major remains in a coma and in serious a mini-passenger bus and a lorry data showed. road accident with a lorry on condition, hospital off icials said carrying vegetables, police said. Last month, Vietnam accused their return home to northern yesterday. The lorry driver fled the scene the survey ship and its escorts Sri Lanka, leaving three family Eight others were also injured but later surrendered to police of conducting illegal activities members dead and one woman in the accident and admitted and was remanded into custody in the economic zone and in serious condition. The woman, to the local hospital. The “pending further investigation,” Vietnam’s continental shelf Thailand’s Queen Mother Sirikit (centre) sitting with King Maha Vajiralongkorn (left) and Queen identified only as Selvendran, crash took place on July 28 in according to a police off icer at and demanded that China Suthida during a merit-making ceremony on her 87th birthday at Chitralada Palace in Bangkok. lost her 11-year-old son and Medawachchiya, 230km north of Medawachchiya station. withdraw the vessels. Gulf Times Wednesday, August 14, 2019 7 ASIA/AUSTRALASIA Chinese state media up ante over Hong Kong ‘mobsters’

AFP — which started as opposition to warned there should be no com- attacking the police and using will be cleaned up,” the news an- troop carriers purportedly driv- “If the violent elements in Hong Beijing a proposed extradition law but promise to their demands. increasingly dangerous weap- chor said. In a video posted on its ing to Shenzhen, which borders Kong do not understand this morphed into calls for democratic “Any connivance or support ons”. “Their hysterical purpose is Weibo channel, a CCTV anchor Hong Kong. principle and fail to see the signal reform — as “terrorism emerg- for the mobsters, any appease- to paralyse the SAR government warned viewers: “When dealing The video shows roughly two of the gathering of armed police hinese state media have ing”. ment of them, or sophistry and and combat the authority of the with terrorism, there is no soft dozen armoured carriers appar- in Shenzhen, their actions will ramped up the rheto- Chinese state media has re- excuses for them are an insult police,” the newspaper said in a hand.” ently driving through the south- be self-destructive,” he wrote on Cric against Hong Kong’s peatedly issued harsh criticism and defamation of the Hong Kong commentary. The stern words came as vid- ern city of Guangzhou and other Weibo, saying it was “easy for the pro-democracy campaigners, of the protests, which are the police force guarding their home- On its nightly news broadcast eos were widely circulating on troop carriers leaving eastern Fu- state to smash the set of thugs” in describing them yesterday as biggest threat to Beijing’s rule in land,” the commentary said, add- on Monday evening, state broad- social media of Chinese military jian province. Hong Kong. “mobsters”, warning they must the semi-autonomous city since ing that the unrest posed “great caster CCTV called the protests and armoured vehicles appearing Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of “If they do not pull back from never be appeased and raising the handover in 1997. The offi cial harm to Hong Kong’s overall in- “extreme acts of violence (which to gather in the southern city of the state-run Global Times, said the cliff and continue to push the spectre of mainland security state news agency Xinhua warned terests”. are) tantamount to blatant mur- Shenzhen. The Global Times and on social media that the mili- the situation further beyond the forces intervening to quash them. in a commentary yesterday that The nationalistic tabloid The der.” “Those Hong Kong chaotic the People’s Daily ran a minute- tary presence is a sign that if the critical point, the power of the On Monday, Beijing described “violent radicals” were pushing Global Times said the “most ex- elements are a sludgy, muddy wa- long video compiling clips of ar- situation in Hong Kong doesn’t state may come to Hong Kong at unrest and clashes in Hong Kong Hong Kong into an “abyss” and treme demonstrators have been ter in the historical torrent, which moured personnel carriers and improve, China will intervene. any time.” Citizen ‘heroes’ stop deadly knife rampage in Sydney

AFP Sydney

knife-wielding man killed one person and A attempted to stab sev- eral others in a central Sydney rampage yesterday before be- ing chased and pinned down by members of the public, witness- es told AFP. Police said a 21-year-old Syd- ney man with a history of mental illness is believed to have killed a woman of around the same age in a residential unit before going on the rampage across the city centre. New South Wales police com- missioner Mick Fuller said the man had no known links to ter- ror organisations, but did have a thumb drive with details of Police speak to people outside a hotel at the crime scene. mass-casualty white-suprema- cist attacks in the United States and New Zealand. Witness Megan Hales told A woman is taken by ambulance after a man stabbed a woman and attempted to stab others in central AFP she saw a man brandish- Sydney yesterday. ing a large kitchen knife chasing several people through the busy fl oor offi ce to the street. “We’ve help of another man, “managed move forward,” police spokes- central business district shortly opened the window and seen the to get him down on to the fl oor man superintendent Gavin after lunchtime. guy wielding a knife and jump- and pin him down” with chairs Wood said, hailing the action of A 41-year-old woman who ing on the bonnet” of a nearby and a plastic crate before police the bystanders. “To approach was stabbed is now said to be in car, Paul O’Shaughnessy, a arrived. a person... with clear evidence a stable condition. “Five or six former professional footballer, “We’re a very, very close team, of a stabbing previously, these others were chasing him behind, told AFP. Convinced it was a we’re a start-up recruitment people are heroes.” trying to stop him, they caught terrorist attack, his brother Luke company,” he added. “We’re all Prime Minister Scott Mor- him and restrained him” in front — a champion Muay Thai boxer brothers really, so when you see rison also praised the bravery of of two popular cafes in the heart — led the chase. brothers running, your natural the onlookers. of the city, Hales said. “We all just ran down the instinct is to go and follow.” “The attacker is now in police Four of the pursuers were building and chased him down Police said despite indica- custody following the brave ac- Colombian-born Alex Rob- the street,” said Roberts. “Eve- tions the assailant shouted tions of those who were present erts, and Britons Lee Cuthbert ryone was kind of panicking, no “shoot me” it was not yet clear at the scene and were able to and brothers Paul and Luke one really knew what was hap- whether there was a political able to restrain him,” he said in O’Shaughnessy — all colleagues pening,” he said. “Not your nor- motive. “It would appear at this a tweet. “Our thoughts are with at a recruitment consultancy mal Tuesday afternoon.” stage it is unprovoked but we are all those who have been impact- who raced from their fourth- Cuthbert said Luke, with the keeping a very open mind as we ed by this violent attack.” Investigators are seen around the crime scene in central Sydney yesterday.

Australia off ers climate funding to Pacifi c islands

AFP critical of Australia’s climate Morrison has staunchly de- funding for climate change adap- Sydney policies ahead of this year’s sum- fended Australia’s climate tion but added “it is not a substi- mit amid a diplomatic push from record, insisting the country will tute for action at home to tackle Canberra to counter China’s meet its 2030 emissions reduc- the causes of this crisis -- the ustralia announced a growing power in the region. tion target set under the Paris burning of fossil fuels”. Austral- A$500mn (US$340mn) High-level representatives Agreement. “The $500mn we’re ia’s opposition Labor Party la- Aclimate change pack- from the likes of Tuvalu, Palau and investing for the Pacifi c’s re- belled Morrison’s package “cyni- age for Pacifi c countries yes- Vanuatu have criticised Australia newable energy and its climate cal window dressing” ahead of terday but received a lukewarm for not doing enough, with Fiji’s change and disaster resilience the PIF summit. response from low-lying island Frank Bainimarama saying Can- builds on the $300mn for 2016- “It will not repair Austral- nations demanding urgent action berra’s reliance on coal poses an 2020,” he said in a statement. ia’s reputation with our Pacifi c from their powerful neighbour to “existential threat” to low-lying “This highlights our com- neighbours that has been dam- curb its carbon emissions. islands. There has also been dis- mitment to not just meeting aged by this government’s re- Prime Minister Scott Morri- quiet in the Pacifi c that Australia our emissions reduction obliga- actionary stance on climate son said the funding, drawn from recently approved the giant Adani tions at home but supporting our change,” Labor climate change Australia’s existing international coal mine in Queensland state. neighbours and friends.” spokesman Pat Conroy said. aid budget, would help Pacifi c Tuvalu Prime Minister Enele Greenpeace said the package The tussle over climate ac- island nations invest in renew- Sopoaga did not directly address was nothing more than a diver- tion comes as Australia at- able energy and climate change islanders concerns. “No matter sion of funds from Australia’s tempts to reassert its influ- resilience. how much money you put on the Pacifi c aid programme and “a ence in the Pacific through its The climate-sceptic leader table it doesn’t give you the ex- slap in the face to regional lead- “step-up” strategy, which some made the announcement before cuse not to do the right thing,” he ers”. “This A$500mn accounting regional leaders have warned is A man reacts as waves crash against the seafront on Enoshima Island on the coast of Kanagawa travelling to the Pacifi c Islands told reporters in the tiny nation’s trick will do nothing to address likely to fail without meaningful prefecture, southwest of Tokyo, yesterday. Forum (PIF) in Tuvalu, where capital Funafuti, which is hosting the cause of the climate crisis climate action. The PIF summit island nations threatened by ris- the PIF meet. “(The right thing) that threatens the viability of the officially opened late yesterday Japan braces for storm Krosa in peak holiday season ing seas have vowed to put global is cutting down your emissions, entire Pacifi c,” Greenpeace’s Pa- and continues until tomorrow, warming at the top of the agenda. including not opening your coal cifi c head Joseph Moeono-Kolio with Morrison and New Zea- Japan braced yesterday for a tropical storm set to dump heavy rains on western parts of the country, Smaller members of the 18-na- mines. That is the thing we want said in a statement. land Prime Minister Jacinda threatening to snarl road, rail and air links during the busy summer holidays. Tropical storm Krosa, a Khmer tion grouping have been sharply to see.” Oxfam Australia welcomed Ardern due to arrive today. word meaning crane, was swirling in the Pacific, south of Japan, and expected to make landfall near the city of Hiroshima from today, the weather agency said. Though Krosa is unlikely to strengthen into a typhoon, its broad front meant it could aff ect a large swathe Tokyo issues advisory to Japanese citizens for travel to South Korea of Japan, dumping up to 1,000mm (39 inches) in some parts of the west. “A very large part of western and eastern Japan could face heavy rains, high winds and high tides,” Ryuta Kurora, a spokesman for the Japan Tokyo issued a travel advisory to wartime brothels on August 14 and today and tomorrow. The ministry compensate South Koreans who Meteorological Agency, told a news conference. He urged authorities to review evacuation plans in areas Japanese citizens visiting South marks August 15 as a national day has issued similar travel advisories were conscripted as forced labour- that could be hit by the storm. Korea, ahead of crucial anniversa- of liberation from Japanese rule, earlier this month ahead of protests ers during World War II. Japan hit Krosa will arrive in the middle of Obon, the summer holiday season when many Japanese leave big cities for ries this week, urging them to be which ran from 1910-1945. Japan’s expected near Japan’s embassy or back at South Korea yesterday for their ancestral hometowns to visit family graves. Airlines and train operators warned that the storm could cautious about safety as ties be- foreign ministry advised Japanese consulate in South Korea. Relations removing Tokyo’s fast-track trade cause delays or cancellations, snarling travel just as many Japanese are returning to Tokyo and other cities. tween the neighbours worsen over residents in South Korea and visi- between the two countries have status, with the industry minister “If I can’t get back as planned, the impact on my job could be bad,” one man told national broadcaster NHK. trade and historical issues. South tors to be careful and avoid areas deteriorated since a ruling by South saying Seoul had failed to explain More than 200 people died in torrential rains and flooding in parts of western Japan in 2018, areas that Korea commemorates girls and in which Japan-related protests and Korea’s Supreme Court last year its reason for the latest move in an could also be hit by severe rains from Krosa. women forced to work in Japan’s gatherings are expected to be held that Japanese companies should escalating trade row. Gulf Times 8 Wednesday, August 14, 2019 BRITAIN/IRELAND Scottish court to hear no-deal Brexit scenario

Reuters More Britons support ‘Brexit by any means’ London More Britons would support Prime order to prevent MPs from stopping it.” Minister Boris Johnson using any The poll showed 46% disagreed legal bid to prevent British means necessary to take Britain out with the statement. Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the European Union than would The result was based on the Asuspending parliament to stop oppose him, an opinion poll conducted answers of 1,645 respondents, after lawmakers blocking a no-deal Brexit for the Daily Telegraph has said. those who said they did not know their will be heard at a Scottish court next Johnson has promised to lead Brit- preference had been excluded. month. ain out of the EU on October 31 regard- If the undecided are included, the Police off icers observe as activists climb down from the awning over the Brazilian embassy’s entrance during Extinction A group of about 70 lawmakers less of whether he manages to secure figures are 44% ‘agree’, 37% ‘disagree’ Rebellion climate change protest in London yesterday. from opposition parties are back- an exit deal with Brussels, despite and 19% ‘don’t know’. ing a bid to have Scotland’s highest many in parliament being opposed to The same survey found support for civil court rule that Johnson cannot leaving without a deal. the Conservative Party had risen by six ask Queen Elizabeth to prorogue, or Johnson is seeking a deal with the percentage points to 31%, compared suspend, parliament before Britain EU but has not ruled out suspending with 27% who said they would back London climate protesters paint leaves the European Union on Octo- parliament to prevent lawmakers’ at- the opposition Labour Party. That ber 31. tempts to block a no-deal exit. result was based on 1,783 responses. The case had its fi rst court outing A ComRes opinion poll showed 54% That finding is largely in line with yesterday at which the Court of Ses- of respondents with an opinion on other polls showing an increase in Brazilian embassy blood red sion decided that a substantive hear- the matter said they agreed with the support for the Conservatives since ing would take place on September statement: “Boris (Johnson) needs to Johnson took over from Theresa May, 6, said lawyer Jo Maugham from the deliver Brexit by any means, including who formally quit last month having Reuters Brazil contains about 60% of the month near Brazil’s border with French Good Law Project which is supporting suspending parliament if necessary, in failed to deliver Brexit on schedule. London Amazon rainforest, a bulwark against Guiana. Tribe members alleged he was the challenge. global warming thanks to the vast murdered and it was linked to an inva- English courts do not sit in August. amounts of carbon dioxide it soaks up sion of their lands by wildcat miners. Johnson has said Britain will leave three times to get her withdrawal might cause some short-term issues, limate-change protesters threw and recycles into oxygen. Bolsonaro said there was no evidence the world’s biggest trading bloc on agreement through parliament, has fears are overblown and Britain will red paint at the Brazilian em- Far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, of that. Halloween whether it has a divorce refused to rule out proroguing the thrive outside the bloc. Cbassy in London yesterday to who took offi ce in January, has long The United Nations High Com- agreement or not and that also re- House of Commons and Brexit sup- On Monday, US national security demonstrate against damage to the been sceptical about environmental missioner for Human Rights Michelle mains the legal default position. porters have vociferously encouraged adviser John Bolton said the United Amazon rainforest and what they de- concerns. He argues that the Amazon Bachelet described the death as “a dis- However, a majority of lawmakers him to do so if necessary to ensure an States would enthusiastically support scribed as violence against indigenous is a resource that belongs to Brazil and turbing sympton of the growing prob- in parliament have previously indi- exit on October 31. a no-deal Brexit if that was the British tribes living there. should be economically developed. He lem of encroachment on indigenous cated they would not allow a no-deal “We’re asking the court to declare government’s decision and Washing- Police arrested six activists from the also criticises the existence of protect- land — especially forests — by miners, Brexit. that the prime minister can’t advise ton was ready to work fast on a US-UK Extinction Rebellion group after they ed lands. loggers and farmers in Brazil”. They have been investigating what the queen to suspend parliament and trade agreement. glued themselves to the embassy win- Critics say his rhetoric has embold- Extinction Rebellion said the protest parliamentary procedures can be used stop it voting on no deal,” said one of Anti-Brexit campaigners have al- dows and climbed onto a glass awning ened loggers, ranchers and informal in London was timed to coincide with a to prevent such an outcome, and in the lawmakers in the challenge, Ian ready enjoyed success in the courts. above the entrance. miners, resulting in a dramatic accel- march by indigenous women in Brasilia July backed proposals to make it hard- Murray. A bid to force parliament to have The protesters had splattered red eration of deforestation and in violence yesterday, and that similar actions were er for Johnson to force through any “If the court agrees, then Boris a fi nal say on whether Britain could paint and sprayed red handprints over against the rainforest’s indigenous in- taking place at Brazilian embassies in departure without a deal. Johnson will not be able to suspend trigger Article 50, the offi cial depar- the facade, along with slogans such as habitants. Chile, Portugal, France, Switzerland In June, House Speaker John Ber- the Commons for that purpose with- ture notice from the EU, was backed “No More Indigenous Blood” and “For Last week, data from Brazil’s own and Spain. cow said it was “blindingly obvious” out parliament’s permission.” by the UK’s Supreme Court in 2017. The Wild”. space research agency showed that de- The Brazilian embassy in London that the prime minister could not Brexit opponents say a no-deal di- In December last year, the Euro- Extinction Rebellion, which disrupt- forestation on Brazilian territory had said in response to Extinction Rebel- sideline parliament. vorce would bring disruption at bor- pean Court of Justice ruled that the ed traffi c in central London for several jumped around 67 % in the fi rst seven lion’s actions that it welcomed anyone “That is simply not going to hap- ders and cause signifi cant economic Article 50 notice could be unilaterally weeks earlier this year, said yesterday’s months of the year. wishing to establish a dialogue about pen,” he said. damage, tipping Britain into a reces- revoked after a challenge was brought protest aimed to challenge the Brazil- Bolsonaro has rejected the agency’s Brazil’s public policies, but the right to However, Johnson, who replaced sion. by Scottish lawmakers who also initi- ian government over “state-sanctioned data and fi red its chief. vandalise property did not exist in any Theresa May on July 24 after she failed Supporters of Brexit say while it ated their case in the Court of Session. human rights abuses and ecocide”. A tribal leader was found dead last country.

Wax replicas of Harry, Saying ‘Thank you’ Meghan to be split up Ryanair’s Irish pilots agree at Madame Tussauds Waxworks of Prince Harry and his to talks as strike looms wife, Meghan, are going to be split up, says Madame Tussauds in Lon- don, with each being placed with Reuters one-day strikes this time last year a separate group of celebrities. Dublin before concerns on transfers and pro- The replicas of the couple were motions were settled. unveiled in May last year, shortly The talks today will be overseen by before they married at Windsor yanair’s directly employed pi- the same mediator who brokered that Castle. lots in Ireland have agreed to deal. The Duchess of Sussex will Rattend mediated talks starting “A substantive and meaningful henceforth mingle with some of today to avert a strike their trade un- counter-proposal from Ryanair man- the celebrities who attended their ion said would go ahead next week if agement, which properly addresses wedding, including Victoria and the airline does not properly address all areas of the union’s claim, would David Beckham, and actors Tom a pay claim. need to be tabled tomorrow to pre- Hardy and Priyanka Chopra. Europe’s largest budget airline suf- vent strike action next week,” Forsa/ “Meghan continues to carve fered a number of strikes a year ago IALPA said in a statement yesterday. out her own modern take on life after a rocky start to its move to rec- Members of Ryanair’s British pi- as a royal and we want to mirror ognise unions for the fi rst time, and lots union will stage the fi rst of two her independent celebrity status is under pressure again with pilots in multi-day strikes on August 22, a day in the attraction,” said Steve Dav- its home market threatening to join after Portuguese cabin crew are due ies, general manager at Madame cabin crew in Portugal and pilots in to begin fi ve days of action. Pilots in Tussauds London. Britain on the picket line this month. Spain are also considering a walk out. Harry, meanwhile, will join Irish pilots who are members of Ryanair managed to quell last other members of the royal family the Forsa/IALPA trade union voted year’s disputes by reaching deals with in an adjacent room, the museum overwhelmingly in favour of indus- many unions in Europe on pay and said. trial action from Friday after accus- allowances, but it has yet to move Davies said the change would ing Ryanair of stalling on talks since beyond recognition agreements with not be permanent. pay demands were submitted in late others and further angered staff by The couple’s son, Archie Har- March. informing them two weeks ago that it rison Mountbatten-Windsor, is Prime Minister Boris Johnson hosts a reception to thank hospice staff at 10 Downing Street on Monday night. About a quarter of Ryanair’s 350 had 900 more pilots and crew than it seventh in line to the throne. pilots in Ireland staged a series of needed. Cramped and basic: Greta Thunberg’s voyage to New York

By Alice Ritchie, AFP and she did get seasick, but she fi lmmaker, with the addition of safety, only their comfort. of the things she does are un- Plymouth said “you have to expect that”. two hammock-style bunks, mat- Herrmann has sailed around heard of.” Pierre Casiraghi, a member of tresses and curtains. the world three times and will Thunberg herself is not scared, the Monaco royal family, has of- There are no cooking facilities, be supported by a team on land, saying she is only concerned acing two weeks at sea, fered the yacht’s services for free beyond a small gas stove to heat monitoring the boat’s move- about not getting in the way. eating freeze-dried food for the 3,000 nautical miles to up water to rehydrate freeze- ments and weather. “I think I will spend my time Fand using a bucket as a New York and will skipper it with dried packs of vegan food — the The yacht can travel at up to reading a lot, and sitting and toilet, Greta Thunberg admits German sailor Boris Herrmann. only fossil fuel used on board. 35 knots an hour, but Hermann looking at the ocean lots. And a racing yacht is not the most A monohull racing yacht with The toilet is a blue plastic says they will take it a little eas- just go around the boat,” she comfortable way to cross the At- foils that help it lift out of the bucket, inscribed in black pen ier, averaging more like 10 knots said. lantic. water, Malizia II was built in 2015 with the words “Poo Only Please” throughout the journey. The yacht has a tiller that can But the 16-year-old Swedish but has since been fi tted with which is used with a biodegrada- He is also taking a slightly be used manually, but the tech- environmental activist is ready state-of-the-art solar panels and ble bag that can be chucked over- longer route than usual to try to nology on board makes it more to take the only transport she can underwater turbines. board when used. avoid the worst of the storms. like fl ying a plane than sailing. that produces hardly any emis- They generate more than “The living technique on this While it is designed to tilt for “The autopilot is on, the boat sions to get to a UN climate sum- enough electricity to power its boat is a bit like a camping situ- a faster, smoother ride, Malizia is sailing and then we look at the mit in New York. navigation instruments, auto- ation in the mountains, you have II — named after Casiraghi’s an- weather forecast and the energy “I went out test sailing yester- pilots, water makers and an on- a mattress and a sleeping bag, cestor who took over Monaco, production and consumption, we day and it was very fun. So I think board ocean laboratory that tests a head torch and that’s it,” said known as the “wily one” — has a Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg poses for a photograph check if all the systems work well, it will be quite an adventure,” she the water for CO2 levels. Herrmann. 4.5m canting keel, which makes during an interview with AFP onboard the Malizia II sailing yacht we keep (a) look out,” Herrmann told AFP aboard the 18m Malizia Inside it is dark, cramped and He admits that some people it hard to tip over. at the Mayflower Marina in Plymouth. said. “For that we take shifts, II racing yacht, moored in the functional. think it is “crazy” to take three “Safety is not really an issue,” probably one hour on, one hour southwestern English port of It has been slightly adapted for people with no sailing experi- Herrmann told AFP on board, as thing that has never happened a boat across the Atlantic — it’s off , we alternate sleeping.” Plymouth. Thunberg, who will be travel- ence on such an arduous journey, he made his fi nal preparations. before, that someone with zero unheard of. That just shows “The objective is to arrive safe It was her fi rst time sailing, ling with her father Svante and a but says he has no fears for their “It’s more that this is some- sailing experience goes on such something about Greta — many and sound in New York,” he adds. Gulf Times Wednesday, August 14, 2019 9 EUROPE

POLITICS CLEAN-UP RED LIGHT ANNIVERSARY Renzi warns of recession if Lead decontamination Scientists denounce Germany commemorates Italy holds snap elections starts at Notre-Dame ‘Soviet’ restrictions Berlin Wall construction

Snap elections called for by far-right leader Lead decontamination work on the ground around Scientists have denounced an “absurd” decree Germany yesterday marked 58 years since Matteo Salvini would plunge Italy into recession, Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris started yesterday, that seeks to curb interactions with foreign construction of the Berlin Wall began, former Democratic Party (PD) premier Matteo the French Culture Ministry said. Two streets near colleagues — recommending they seek approval commemorating the occasion with ceremonies Renzi warned yesterday, calling instead for a the cathedral were closed off by police barriers, as before meeting peers from abroad for even and events planned throughout the day. transitional government. Addressing journalists in tourists took photographs. The roof and spire of the a cup of coff ee. A decree by the science and Christian Hirte, the government’s representative Rome, he also pledged unity with PD party leader cathedral, which were destroyed in a devastating education ministry recently sent to Russian for former East German states, said it was Nicola Zingaretti amid rumours that Renzi could blaze on April 15, contained several hundred tons institutes requests that scientists should not a black day in German history and that split and form his own party after Salvini pulled of lead, according to French media. Residents meet their foreign counterparts one-on-one. memorialising the wall’s construction showed the plug on the current coalition. “If there’s an in the immediate vicinity of the cathedral, Alexander Fradkov, a professor of physics that the country would not take a free and election (in October), I don’t know if the PD would especially children and pregnant women, have who heads a laboratory at Russia’s Institute open society for granted. On August 13, 1961, take 25% but what’s certain is that VAT would rise been advised to have their blood tested for the of Problems of Mechanical Engineering said the government of the German Democratic A visitor walks over a plaque indicating the to 25 %,” the centre-left Renzi said at the Senate. toxic metal. A news site reported last month that “it’s a return to Soviet times,” when scientists Republic under the leadership of Walter Ulbricht place where the Berlin wall stood at the “It would be a disaster for the country,” said Renzi, lead levels of 400 to 700 times the off icial health could not meet with a foreign colleague unless began building the Berlin Wall, which separated memorial of the Berlin Wall on the anniversary who governed for the PD from 2014-2016. limit had been found in the ground after the fire. accompanied by a third party. the German capital for 28 years. yesterday of the construction of the Berlin Wall.

Salvini blocks Huge Greece island fi re 2 NGO boats Reuters Rome

talian Interior Minister Matteo Sal- vini said yesterday he was working to Iprevent two rescue ships operated by prompts evacuations French and Spanish charities from bringing more than 500 migrants to Italy in the latest By John Hadoulis, AFP northeast of Athens, started near a Mediterranean stand-off . Athens protected wildlife habitat at about The Ocean Viking, which is run by 3am and was quickly spread by French non-governmental groups (NGOs) strong winds. Doctors Without Borders and SOS Medi- undreds of villagers were Smoke from the fi re billowed as far terranee, has picked up some 356 migrants evacuated yesterday and the as the capital some 90km away. off the coast of Libya since Friday, while HGreek prime minister can- Over 200 fi refi ghters were fi ghting Spanish boat Open Arms has saved some celled a vacation as scores of fi re- the blaze backed by 75 fi re trucks, fi ve 160 people. fi ghters battled a major wildfi re on water-bombing helicopters and six Both vessels are in the central Mediter- the country’s second-largest island of planes on an 11km front. ranean, within easy sailing distance of the Evia, authorities said. The crews faced rugged terrain, Italian island of Lampedusa and are seeking “Conditions are exceptionally dif- violent wind gusts, hills and poor vis- a safe port to disembark the mainly African fi cult and the state’s fi rst priority is ibility, complicating air operations. migrants. to protect lives,” Kyriakos Mitsotakis “The fl ames are 20m to 30m high... But Salvini, the leader of the far-right told reporters outside the fi re depart- You can’t even see the sun,” Panos League who has seen his popularity in ment’s centre of operations, after Agiannitis, a volunteer fi refi ghter at Italy soar since he took offi ce last year and cutting short a vacation on his home the scene, told Athens municipal ra- launched a fi erce anti-immigration crack- island of Crete. dio. “I feared for my life...You could down, said yesterday the boats were not Mitsotakis added that four Canad- feel the heat 250m away.” Rome’s problem. air fi re-fi ghting planes from Croatia “The only way for this fi re to be “I am at work in the ministry this morn- and Italy would be deployed today extinguished is when there’s nothing ing to prevent more than 500 migrants after Greece requested EU assist- left to burn,” he said. from disembarking from two NGO boats, ance. The local Panagia Makrymallis one French and one Spanish,” Salvini wrote As night fell, crews fought to pro- monastery was evacuated fi rst as a on Facebook. tect the villages of Kontodespoti, precaution, TV SKAI said. “I will let you know how this ends. I will Makrymalli, Stavros and Platana after The winds blew the smoke from the not give up.” clearing them of residents. blazing pine forest north toward the Earlier this month, Salvini introduced “We are fi ghting against time to central Magnesia region and south to a new law hiking fi nes for ships that enter contain the fi re. It’s very diffi cult the Attica peninsula and Athens. Italian waters without authorisation to up because of strong winds and heavy State agency ANA said the pine to 1mn euros ($1.12mn). smoke,” Yiorgos Psathas, head of the forests on Evia are part of the “Natura It also provides for the arrest of captains local Dirfys-Messapia municipality, 2000” European network of protect- Firefighters try to extinguish a fire in Kontodespoti, on the island of Evia. who ignore orders to stay away and calls on told state TV ERT. ed areas and habitats. naval authorities to seize their boats auto- “A fi refi ghter was injured after try- Greece has been hit by a spate of ling fi ve-day stretch, with the fi re de- sleep and often without food,” Mitso- On the island of Chios, a fi re started matically. ing to cross the fi re on a motorbike, wildfi res since the weekend, beset by partment noting that 56 fi res had bro- takis said. by a group of more than 40 migrants Buoyed by his success in the polls, Sal- and three cars belonging to campers gale-force winds and temperatures of ken out over the past 24 hours alone. Other fi res yesterday were con- seeking to be rescued after crossing vini is looking to trigger an early election were burned,” he said. 40 degrees Celsius. “I am aware that our fi refi ghters, tained on the island of Thassos, the the Aegean from Turkey — with one in the autumn by bringing down the Italian The fire on Greece’s second The PM acknowledged that the particularly over the last fi ve days, central region of Viotia, and in the of them drowning in the eff ort — was government, confi dent he would emerge as largest island after Crete, located country’s fi re crews had had a gruel- have given their all, they are without Peloponnese region. also battled. prime minister from any new vote. As such, a high-profi le clash with foreign charities will bolster his anti-migrant cre- dentials. Salvini said Libya had off ered to take Music fest back the migrants aboard the Ocean Viking Serbia, Kosovo pushed and said Open Arms should go to Spain. Doctors Without Borders has ruled out taking migrants to violence-plagued Libya, to normalise relations saying migrants are routinely tortured and abused there. Open Arms has called for the European DPA Union to co-ordinate the re-distribution of Belgrade the migrants around the bloc. The United Nations’ refugee agency called on European governments to inter- ermany, France, Italy, Britain and the United States yester- vene, warning that storms were approach- day jointly urged Serbia and breakaway province Kosovo to ing. Grestart their stalled normalisation dialogue and produce a “To leave people who have fled war binding agreement in the interest of regional stability. and violence in Libya on the high seas in The fi ve big Nato countries — the Quint — said in a joint state- this weather would be to inflict suffering ment that they “aim to see the full normalization of relations upon suffering,” said Vincent Cochetel, between Kosovo and Serbia via a comprehensive, politically sus- UNHCR Special Envoy for the Central tainable, and legally binding agreement.” Mediterranean. Serbia and predominantly Albanian Kosovo, which declared “They must be immediately allowed to independence in 2008, are in a state of perpetual tension, which dock, and allowed to receive much-needed has blocked EU-brokered eff orts towards normalisation. humanitarian aid.” The talks have produced several agreements, but little of those Spain said Italy should deal with the im- has been implemented. mediate care. “The status quo prevents progress on Kosovo’s and Serbia’s “International law states that a rescue path towards the European Union (EU) and is simply not sustain- takes place in the closest safe port. With- able,” the Quint warned, saying it was time “to fi nally end the out doubt, right now that means Italy. If it confl icts of the 1990s.” was us, we would do it,” Spain’s acting de- “We call on Kosovo and Serbia to restart the EU-led dialogue... velopment minister Jose Luis Abalos told and ask that both parties avoid actions that will hinder a fi nal Telecinco television. agreement,” it said. The two sides need to signal the will to make However, he also said Europe needed to a compromise, it said. “For Kosovo, that means suspending the forge a “wider” policy to handle migrant tariff s imposed on Serbia,” and “for Serbia, that means suspend- arrivals from Africa. ing the de-recognition campaign against Kosovo.” Italy has taken in more than 600,000 boat Pristina imposed tariff s on imports from Serbia in November in migrants since 2014, but new arrivals have response to Belgrade’s campaign against Kosovo’s entry into the fallen sharply over the past two years, with Interpol and other international organisations. the decline accelerating over the past year. Most Western countries recognised Kosovo’s independence, Latest fi gures say 4,265 migrants have but Serbia continues to claim sovereignty over the territory. reached Italy so far in 2019, down 78% on A musician performs during an international meeting of barrel organ players in Prague yesterday. Backed by Russia, it is also blocking Kosovo from membership the same period in 2018 and down 96% on of the United Nations. 2017 levels.

Kremlin claims it is winning arms race against US despite rocket accident

Reuters gust 8 accident occurred during powered cruise missile vaunted nology” and said Russians were the level that other countries and Washington over arms con- reported on Tuesday, citing local Moscow a rocket test on a sea platform in by President Vladimir Putin last worried about the air quality have managed to reach for the trol have been exacerbated by the offi cials. the White Sea, killing at least fi ve year. around the facility and far be- moment, and it is fairly unique,” demise this month of a landmark Russia’s state weather service and injuring three more. Russia, which has said the yond, a situation he described as Kremlin spokesman Dmitry nuclear treaty. said yesterday that radiation lev- he Kremlin boasted yes- It has pledged to keep develop- missile will have an “unlimited “Not good!” Peskov said. Russia says it is also concerned els in the nearby city of Severod- terday it was winning the ing new weapons regardless, por- range” and be able to overcome But when asked about his Putin used his state-of-the that another landmark arms con- vinsk had spiked by up to 16 times Trace to develop new cut- traying the men who died in the any defences, calls the missile comments yesterday, the Krem- nation speech in 2018 to unveil trol treaty will soon expire. last Thursday, while medics who ting edge nuclear weapons de- test as heroes. the 9M730 Burevestnik (Storm lin said it, not the United States, what he described as a raft of in- In a sign of how serious the treated victims of the accident spite a mysterious rocket acci- US President Donald Trump Petrel). was out in front when it came to vincible new nuclear weapons, situation in the accident area re- have been sent to Moscow for a dent last week in northern Russia had said on Twitter on Monday Nato has designated it the developing new nuclear weap- including a nuclear-powered mains, Russian authorities have medical examination, the TASS that caused a temporary spike in the United States was “learn- SSC-X-9 Skyfall. ons. cruise missile, an underwater advised residents of the nearby news agency reported. radiation levels. ing much” from the explosion Trump said on Twitter that “Our president has repeatedly nuclear-powered drone, and a village of Nyonoksa to leave while It said the medics had signed Rosatom, Russia’s state nucle- which he suggested happened the United States had “similar, said that Russian engineering in laser weapon. clear-up work is being carried non-disclosure agreements ar agency, has said that the Au- during the testing of a nuclear- though more advanced, tech- this sector signifi cantly outstrips Tensions between Moscow out, the Interfax news agency about the nature of the accident. Gulf Times 10 Wednesday, August 14, 2019 INDIA

AVIATION OBJECTION JUDICIARY APPEAL POLITICS Stray dogs force Air India Odisha CM opposes exam SC fines seven states for not Karnataka MLAs move SC Seven cases against UP BJP to abort landing in Goa fee hike by CBSE responding on rights courts seeking urgent hearing lawmaker to be withdrawn

A major tragedy was averted at Goa’s Dabolim Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik yesterday The Supreme Court yesterday slapped a fine of The Supreme Court yesterday asked the rebel The Uttar Pradesh government is preparing to International Airport yesterday after an Air India requested HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Rs100,000 against Uttarakhand and Rajasthan, Karnataka MLAs to submit a memo to the registrar withdraw seven cases registered against BJP MLA aircraft flying in from Mumbai was forced to Nishank to ask the CBSE to reconsider its observing that the states have neither filed for urgent listing of their plea challenging their Sangeet Som. According to sources, the cases were abort landing at the last minute because of stray decision of hiking examination fee for Class 10 responses nor their lawyers were present in the disqualification from the state Assembly. The rebel registered against Som between 2013 and 2017 in dogs trespassing into the runway, a statement and Class 12 students. The CBSE has announced court during the hearing related to issues on MLAs earlier moved the apex court seeking urgent Muzaff arnagar, Saharanpur, Meerut and Gautam Buddh issued by the Indian Navy said. According to a hike in the examination fees of Class 10 and setting up human rights courts in these states. A listing of their plea. The legislators have sought the Nagar. They include the case in Muzaff arnagar during it, the dogs were not sighted by the Air Traff ic Class 12 students. “The abnormal rise, specifically bench comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and B R court’s directions to quash the former Assembly the 2013 riots, violation of Section 144 in Saharanpur Control because it was pitch dark. “AI 033 from of the fees in respect of Scheduled Caste (SC) Gavai also slapped a cost of Rs50,000 each against speaker’s decision to disqualify them from the and Gautam Buddh Nagar and taking out a procession Mumbai, while landing in Dabolim at around and Scheduled Tribe (ST) students by 24 times Odisha, Telangana, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Uttar House. On July 28, then state Assembly Speaker K in Sardhana, Som’s constituency. He was charged with 3am on August 13, reported to ATC (about) dogs has come as a shock,” Naveen said in a letter to Pradesh for not filing a response on the issue of R Ramesh Kumar disqualified the 14 rebel MLAs, inciting riots in Muzaff arnagar. The government has on runway. The aircraft was recovered safely the HRD minister. Examination fee for SC and establishing such courts. On January 4, 2018, rejecting the resignations tendered by them. The sought the details of cases against Som and sources in second approach. Being night hours, no ST students under the CBSE has been increased the court had directed all the states to file their MLAs had remained absent from the House on July in the law department said that the cases would be dogs were sighted by the ATC and the runway from Rs50 to Rs1,200. Similarly, general category responses on the issue of setting up human rights 23 when former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy withdrawn. The government has initiated the process controller,” the statement said. The airport students who were paying Rs750 earlier will now courts as mandated in the Protection of Human put the trust motion to vote. They said the action of withdrawing 74 cases related to riots but the court operates out of the naval base INS Hansa. pay Rs1,500 for five subjects. Rights Act, and appoint special public prosecutors. of the Speaker was illegal and unconstitutional. was yet to give permission for it.

Trinamool protests over Govt says easing Kashmir notice to Puja committees

IANS curbs ‘in phased manner’ Kolkata AFP vided “without any hindrance” est Bengal’s Durga New Delhi and the availability of medi- Puja is caught up in a cines has “been ensured” in Wpolitical tug-of-war every hospital in the valley. as the state’s ruling Trinamool ndia’s government said yes- A main highway through the Congress yesterday held a sit- terday it is easing its lock- region “continues to function in, protesting against income tax Idown in Jammu and Kash- normally”, with 100 heavy vehi- (IT) department’s notice issued mir in a “phased manner” after cles “plying daily” carrying fuel to Puja committees. cutting phone and Internet ac- and other essentials. The members of Banga Janani cess for over a week to prevent Earlier, Attorney General K Samiti, a women wing of Trina- protests over its decision to end K Venugopal told the Supreme mool, gathered at Subodh Mallik the state’s autonomy. Court security in the state ap- Square on early yesterday. An- Fearing unrest, the govern- peared to be getting better. nounced by West Bengal Chief ment snapped telecommunica- “The situation in J&K is be- Minister Mamata Banerjee, the tions and imposed a curfew in ing reviewed every day and sit-in continued till 6pm. the part of Kashmir it controls there are signs of improve- “The IT department has issued on August 4, a day before its ment,” Venugopal said, as the notice to many committees who surprise presidential decree to court heard a plea by an activist organise Pujas, asking them to pay strip the state of its special sta- against the lockdown. taxes. This will be a burden on the tus. The spokesperson yesterday organisers. The Bengal government Tens of thousands of troop also confi rmed for the fi rst time withdrew tax which was earlier there reinforcements have been de- that clashes took place on Fri- on Ganga Sagar Mela. We demand no ployed to the main city of Sri- day after Muslim prayers. taxation on Puja and the organisers,” nagar and other towns and vil- According to residents, Banerjee had said earlier. lages, turning the picturesque around 8,000 people took part Taking a veiled jibe at the BJP, Tri- city into a deserted warren of in a protest, with security forces namool Congress secretary general barbed wire and barricades. fi ring teargas and pellet-fi ring and state Education Minister Partha A home ministry spokes- shotguns to break up the dem- Chatterjee said: “Prior to the elec- person said on Twitter that the onstration. tions, those who said that Mamata restrictions “are being eased “(The) miscreants mingled Banerjee doesn’t let people celebrate out in a phased manner” in the with people returning home cultural events, are now creating Kashmir Valley. after prayers at a local mosque. hurdles for Puja committees with the Normal communication in They resorted to unprovoked help of Central agencies”. the more peaceful Jammu di- stone pelting against law en- Countering the allegations, vision of the state “has been forcement forces to cause wide- Union Minister Babul Supriyo restored after assessment by spread unrest,” the spokesper- Children play with toy guns next to Indian security force personnel in Srinagar yesterday. said Durga Puja is a festival of relevant local authorities”, the son tweeted. Bengali people celebrated across spokesperson added. “Law enforcement author- constitution related to Kash- Police vans roamed the streets Footage fi lmed by AFP on struggle will continue even if the world and there is nothing There was no independent ities showed restraint and mir. late Sunday ordering people to Monday showed hundreds of India keeps Kashmir locked against Trinamool. confi rmation of the easing of tried to maintain law & order Authorities had eased re- stay indoors. people protesting in the Soura down for months. Only solu- “General people are angry with restrictions. Yesterday after- situation. It is reiterated that strictions temporarily on Sun- For Eid on Monday the re- area of Srinagar. tion is that India has to accept those who use cut-money for Puja. noon people in Kashmir could no bullets have been fi red in day to let residents buy food and gion’s biggest mosque, the Jama Three helicopters continu- what Kashmiris want,” one Naturally, there is dissatisfaction still not be reached by phone #JammuAndKashmir since supplies for Eid al-Adha. Masjid, was ordered shut and ously hovered over the area as protester said. when they see no development, di- and the Internet appeared to be the development related to But security was tightened people were only allowed to protesters jeered and shook fi sts “India is a sham democracy lapidated roads in contrast to crores inaccessible. #Article370,” the spokesper- again after sporadic protests pray in smaller local mosques so at the aircraft. and the world should take note of money spent on Puja celebration. The spokesperson said that son added, referring to the involving hundreds of people that no big crowds could gather, “What India has done of the atrocities this country is Hence, there is the need of following medical services are being pro- scrapped article in India’s during the day, residents said. witnesses said. is unacceptable to us. Our doing against us,” another said. some rules,” Supriyo said. 88 members of Flood death toll NLFT surrender climbs to 202 in Tripura AFP/IANS At least 48 people have also New Delhi lost their lives in neighbouring IANS from them for welfare meas- Karnataka state. Agartala ures undertaken,” Deb said. A state government offi cial A tripartite memoran- he death toll from India’s said that 16 people were still dum of settlement (MoS) was monsoon fl oods climbed missing in Karnataka but the ighty-eight members signed on August 10 between Tto 202 yesterday as heavy situation had improved as rains of the banned Nation- the Centre, the Tripura gov- rainfall kept pounding coastal had eased. Eal Liberation Front of ernment and the NLFT facili- regions in the west and south. “We have rescued around Tripura (NLFT), yesterday tating the surrender. After the Authorities have already 677,000 people in the last few surrendered to Tripura Chief signing of MoS, the NLFT rep- moved more than 1.2mn people days and think the water level Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, resentatives also met Home to relief camps. will start dropping in another three days after signing a tri- Minister Amit Shah. The southern tourist hotspot 24-48 hours,” the offi cial said. partite agreement in New According to an offi cial re- of Kerala, which was hit by its Local emergency personnel Delhi with the Centre and the lease, the MoS was signed by worst fl oods in almost a century and troops from the army, navy Tripura government. Union Home Ministry’s Joint last year leaving 450 dead, was and air force have been deployed Rescue operations underway at the site of mudslide in Kerala’s Wayanad. Accompanied by their 125 Secretary (North-East) Saty- once again bearing the brunt of for search, rescue and relief op- family members, NLFT mem- endra Garg, Tripura govern- monsoon downpours. erations. The centre has sanctioned “I was told by the Union min- puram, Kannur, Kasargode, bers of the SD faction, led by ment’s Additional Chief Sec- “The death toll in the state has Indian media have also re- Rs520mn immediate assistance ister of state for home that when Idukki, Kottayam, Thrissur, Er- Sabir Kumar Debbarma, also retary (Home) Kumar Alok increased to 88 ... and there are ported 66 deaths in the western to Kerala, while the state gov- he asked the Kerala chief min- nakulam, Pathanamthitta, Alap- surrendered arms and am- and Sabir Kumar Debbarma still at least 40 people missing,” states of Gujarat and Maharash- ernment has sanctioned three- ister if he was happy with the puzha and Palakkad. munition at Ambassa in the and Kajal Debbarma on behalf Pramod Kumar, Kerala police tra, with hundreds of thousands month free ration for the victims centre’s response, Pinarayi Vi- The meteorological depart- Dhalai district, 100km north of the NLFT. spokesman, said. rescued from inundated regions. of natural disaster. jayan remarked, ‘This is enough’,” ment has issued a red alert in of Agartala. “The government told the More than 250,000 people The monsoon rains are cru- This was announced by Min- said Muraleedharan, who will be Malappuram and Kozhikode The surrendered arms in- NLFT leaders that surren- across the state’s worst-aff ected cial to replenishing water sup- ister of State for External Aff airs touring Wayanad and Malap- for Wednesday and all educa- cluded three AK-47 rifl es, six dered members would be given districts including Wayanad, plies in drought-stricken India, V Muraleedharan. Medicines puram on Friday. tional institutions at Ernakulam, self-loading rifl es, four Chi- benefi ts as per the Surrender- Malappuram and Kozhikode have but they kill hundreds of people worth Rs40mn would also be The worst-hit districts include Thrissur and Kozhikode shall be nese rifl es, four carbines, four cum-Rehabilitation Scheme, been shifted to relief camps. across the country every year. sent, he added. Wayanad, Kozhikode, Malap- closed on that day. pistols, 1,876 ammunition and 2018 of the Union Home Min- other devices, like 16 time de- istry,” the release said. vices and nine wireless sets. The Tripura government Deputy Chief Minister Jish- would help the surrendered nu Dev Varma was also present rebels in construction of their at the event. houses, recruitment in gov- BJP main opposition in Sikkim as 10 SDF MLAs join party Addressing the event, the ernment jobs and education of chief minister urged them to their children. he Bharatiya Janata Party Madhav offi cially welcomed the working president J P Nadda the SDF, which bagged 15 seats. the 13 MLAs joining the BJP, we join the development process According to the offi cial re- (BJP), which did not win MLAs, including Narendra Ku- had already given their nod for Two of the SDF MLAs and one will fulfi l the responsibilities of a initiated by the state govern- lease, the NLFT was banned Tany seat in the Sikkim As- mar Subba, Dilli Ram Thapa, the MLAs’ entry into the party, from SKM won from two seats and constructive opposition in Sik- ment with special thrust on under the Unlawful Activities sembly election, has become the Karma Sonam Lepcha, Pintso Madhav said. so, three seats fell vacant in the kim and strengthen the party’s education, health and infra- (Prevention) Act since 1997. main opposition party after 10 of Namgyal Lepcha, Raj Kumari In the Assembly polls held along Assembly. Thus, the SDF was left base in the state,” Madhav said. structure. The NLFT was involved in the 13 MLAs of the Sikkim Demo- Thapa, Tashi Thendup Bhutia with the Lok Sabha polls in April, of with 13 members and SKM with 16. Local leader Dorjee Tshering “The rebels understood that 317 violent activities in which cratic Front (SDF) – which ruled and Krishna Bahadur Rai, at the the state’s total 32 seats, the Sikkim Speaking to the media, Mad- Lepcha, who also joined the BJP, they were on a wrong path and 28 security force personnel the northeastern state for 25 years party headquarters in New Delhi. Krantikari Morcha (SKM) won 17 hav said the SDF ruled Sikkim said that it is happening for the fi rst have joined the mainstream. and 62 civilians were killed in – joined the party yesterday. BJP president and Union seats and formed the government for 25 years and the BJP wel- time that so many MLAs in the state We expect all co-operation 2005-2015, it said. BJP general secretary Ram Home Minister Amit Shah and overthrowing the 25-year rule of comed the MLAs. “With 10 of have changed parties. (IANS) Gulf Times Wednesday, August 14, 2019 11 LATIN AMERICA Macri blamed for meltdown after

Argentina primary Mauricio Macri

Reuters The results sent a shockwave Earlier in the day, Fernan- leader warned that his country Buenos Aires through markets on Monday dez said “markets react badly could see a wave of migrants amid fears of a return to the past when they realise they were fl eeing Argentina if the presi- interventionist policies of Cris- scammed,” referring to the poli- dential election there returns to pposition candidate Al- tina Fernandez’s government, cies of Macri, whose promised the leftist policies of the Fern- berto Fernandez said he with the peso plunging 30% to recovery has not materialised. andez ticket. Owas willing to collabo- a record low before recovering The cost of insuring against “In political terms, I have rate with Argentina’s current slightly. an Argentine sovereign default nothing to do with Bolsonaro. government after his landslide Refi nitiv data showed Ar- jumped again yesterday, accord- I greatly welcome him speak- victory in Sunday’s primary gentine stocks, bonds and the ing to data from IHS Markit. ing ill of me,” Fernandez said, election sent the peso currency, peso had not recorded this kind Markit’s calculations price the while acknowledging that Bra- stocks and bonds reeling, but of simultaneous fall since the probability of a sovereign de- zil would always be Argentina’s he placed responsibility for the South American country’s 2001 fault within the next fi ve years at “main partner.” market meltdown on President economic crisis and debt de- more than 72%. Fernandez also said US Presi- Mauricio Macri. fault. “The dialogue is open, Monday’s crash in the peso dent Donald Trump was a good Fernandez, who has former but I don’t want to lie to Argen- unnerved emerging market in- leader for his country, but not president Cristina Fernandez tines. What can I do? I’m just a vestors, with markets already for the world. Fernandez, re- as his running mate, pulled off candidate, my pen doesn’t sign jittery over the Sino-US trade garded as a moderate within the a stunning upset in the primary decrees,” Fernandez said in an war. In the NET TV interview, Peronist movement, has pro- with a wider-than-expected interview with Argentine TV Fernandez also took aim at Bra- posed an economic and social 15-point lead over incumbent channel Net TV broadcast late zilian President Jair Bolsonaro pact to combat infl ation, which President Mauricio Macri. on Monday. on the same day the right-wing is running at 55%. Alberto Fernandez Argentina turns back to Peronism in rebuke to Macri

AFP allowed to contest. Such is the Sunday’s result – in what acted Such is the power of Peronism that vive dictatorships, the death of He privatised state companies in Buenos Aires power of Peronism that Macri as a nationwide pre-election its founder, election defeats and response to demands for change even had to make centre-right opinion poll as all of the major Macri even had to make centre-right even the armed confl ict between after the hyperinfl ation and de- Peronist senator Miguel Angel parties had already chosen their Peronist senator Miguel Angel Pichetto the extreme left and right dur- cline of public enterprises dur- uan Domingo Peron died 45 Pichetto his running mate in a presidential candidates – came ing the 1970s. Contreras sees ing the centrist social-liberal years ago but his legacy lives bid to divide the movement’s as a shock for Macri, not because his running mate in a bid to divide the the existence of such distinctive Raul Alfonsin’s administration, Jon in Argentina where his all-encompassing vote. he lost but because of the margin movement’s all-encompassing vote ideologies under the same um- Fraga explained. disciples continue to dominate Yet the Peronist opposition of defeat. brella as Peronism’s strength. Menem’s political model politics while representing a threw a curve-ball as the widely Fernandez’s 47% share is movement’s cross-ideological broad that sectors of society as “Peronism is a political op- failed at the start of the 21st cen- wide spectrum from left to right. popular but corruption-taint- enough to win the October 27 allure endures, even if the po- diverse as blue-collar workers, portunity. It has the political tury, but that wasn’t the end for Following populist candidate ed former president Cristina election outright and avoid a litical movement’s ability to industrial bourgeoisie and the weight that government can of- Peronism. “People started ask- Alberto Fernandez’s sweeping Kirchner surprisingly opted to run-off . It might be scant con- incorporate such a broad range most nationalist elements of the fer the possibility to strengthen ing for more state (intervention) victory in a party primary elec- run as vice president on Fernan- solation, but Macri does at least of traditionally opposing ideas army can all identify with them. your own interests,” said Con- and internationally it wasn’t so tion on Sunday — leaving pro- dez’s ticket. Kirchner elicits as stand to become the fi rst non- is less clear. When it comes to Such ideological acrobat- treras. The key to that strength clear that the market economy business President Mauricio much abhorrence as admiration, Peronist since 1928 to com- Peronism, experts say, the tra- ics are very much in line with is “its capacity to understand, was the only alternative,” said Macri crushed and trailing by but Fernandez is a moderate who plete a presidential term. Peron ditional defi nitions of left and Peron’s own thinking, said po- process and represent the com- Fraga. Nestor Kirchner was also 15 points — a Peronist looks set can appeal to a wider range of spent 18 years in exile following right serve no purpose. litical analyst Rosendo Fraga. plexity, ambiguity and contra- a Peronist but during his presi- to win come October’s general the Peronist electorate. a military coup, but when he Historian Gustavo Nico- “Peron could oscillate from left diction of Argentine society,” dency from 2003 to 2007 he election. And he’s no yes-man: al- returned to his country in 1973, las Contreras explains that the to right without losing his po- said Fraga. “interpreted this change and Since the movement’s incep- though he was once Kirchner’s he declared that all Argentines movement’s three main prin- litical objective, which was to That’s why, in the 1990s, Per- turned towards the centre-left,” tion in 1946, Peronist candidates cabinet chief, he subsequently were Peronists. While that may ciples — political sovereignty, reach, retain or regain power,” onist president Carlos Menem and adopted an “interventionist have won nine of the 12 presi- became one of her fi ercest critics not be true, the continued suc- economic independence and he said. This far-ranging reach managed to implement policies model and populist direction,” dential elections they have been before they buried the hatchet. cess of Peronists shows that the social justice — are suffi ciently has allowed Peronism to sur- that favoured the free market. Fraga said.

Grandi in Chile EU accuses Venezuelan govt of ‘attack’ on congress

DPA litically motivated,” said a state- National Assembly. Regular Bogota ment issued by Maja Kocijancic, elections are not due until late a spokeswoman for EU foreign 2020. Opposition leader Juan aff airs and security policy. Guaido said such plans were he European Union yes- “So far, 25 lawmakers have aimed at dissolving congress terday criticised Ven- been accused by means of and at preventing it from criti- Tezuela’s decision to strip fl awed processes and were cising President Nicolas Ma- four members of the opposi- stripped of their constitution- duro’s government. tion-dominated National As- ally granted immunity,” the Neighbouring Colombia yes- sembly of their parliamentary statement added. “A peaceful terday joined the criticism ex- immunity, calling it “another and political solution can only pressed by Guaido. “The gov- direct attack on the only demo- be achieved, if their political ernment of Colombia reiterates cratically elected body” in the work is not criminalized and its fi rm support for the National country. parliamentary activities are not Assembly of Venezuela and for The decision was taken on by repressed.” its lawmakers, who are being the pro-government Constitu- The Inter-Parliamentary persecuted by Maduro’s ille- ent Assembly, which was cre- Union, a global organisation gitimate and tyrannical regime, ated in 2017 and started func- of national parliaments, also while rejecting early elections tioning as a parallel parliament, criticised the move on Monday. of this legitimate assembly,” sidelining the National Assem- “These violations of the due Foreign Minister Carlos Holmes bly, or congress. process are serious violations Trujillo tweeted. The Constituent Assembly of human rights and an attack Maduro won a second term in accepted a request from the against democracy in Venezue- an election boycotted by most Supreme Court to lift the im- la,” IPU president Gabriela Cue- of the opposition last year. He UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi speaks with Minister of Foreign Aff airs of Chile Teodoro Ribera during a munity of Jose Guerra, Rafael vas tweeted. has presided over an economic meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Aff airs in Santiago, Chile. Guzman, Tomas Guanipa and In another move, the Con- meltdown and is engaged in a Juan Pablo Garcia Canales on stituent Assembly announced power struggle with Guaido, charges including treason and the creation of a commission who has won the backing of incitement to rebellion. The that will consider setting an dozens of countries for his cam- decision was “arbitrary and po- early date for elections of the paign to oust the president. Brazilian tribal women protest Bolsonaro’s ‘genocidal policies’

AFP The latest offi cial fi gures show Maranhao, told AFP. “There have Brasilia a sharp increase in deforestation been many invasions of our lands in recent months compared with by hunters and gold miners.” a year earlier. Activists blame the Brazil’s government has de- housands of tribal women rise on Bolsonaro’s anti-environ- marcated hundreds of territories decorated with feathers ment rhetoric. since the 1980s for the exclusive Tand body paint marched But Bolsonaro has dismissed use of its 800,000 indigenous in- on Brazil’s capital yesterday de- the data as lies and sacked the habitants. Access by outsiders is nouncing the “genocidal policies” head of the government agency strictly regulated. of President Jair Bolsonaro, who tasked with tracking tree clear- An indigenous man take part in Bolsonaro opposes demarcat- faces growing criticism over de- ing. Carrying bows, arrows and protest march against Brazil’s ing more land, claiming indig- struction of the Amazon. spears, the indigenous women President Jair Bolsonaro in enous people already live “like Far-right Bolsonaro wants to advanced on Congress in Brasilia Brasilia, Brazil. a zoo animal.” Elected last year develop the rainforest – seen as carrying a large banner that said with support from the powerful Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who many nations have recognised as the country’s vital to combating climate change “Resist to exist” as they demand- our lands, our ethnicities,” Potira agriculture lobby, Bolsonaro has rightful interim ruler, talks to the media as he attends a session of Venezuela’s National Assembly in – by allowing more mining and ed greater protection of their land. Guajajara, a 22-year-old student pledged to combat illegal defor- Caracas, yesterday. farming in the region. “Bolsonaro wants to wipe out from the northeastern state of estation. Gulf Times 12 Wednesday, August 14, 2019 PAKISTAN

Three parks renamed in Women voters in NW still Rawalpindi

Internews Rawalpindi have a long way ahead he Parks and Horticul- tural Authority (PHA) re- Internews historic day’ as it was for the gional offi ces in the seven tribal their personal grievances like Jamal also accused some her from approaching female Tnamed Nawaz Sharif Park Islamabad fi rst time that tribal districts districts and six frontier regions provision of drinking water and wealthy independent candi- voters in the name of so-called and Shahbaz Sharif Park as Iqbal were given constitutional right for which 16 general seats were some monetary assistance to dates of ‘buying’ the loyalties of tribal customs and traditions. Park and Rawal Park, respec- to have their representation in allocated in the provincial as- run their kitchens. women voters by off ering them “I knew it very well that tively. Besides, NA-52 Park was eela Shinwari, a post- the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa As- sembly. She added that female An elderly woman said after cash amount. breaking the status quo in tribal renamed as Potohar Park. graduate student of sembly after the passage of 25th voters were ignored despite the casting her vote in Landi Kotal She said that except for one areas was an upheaval task but The decision was taken at a HCollege of Home Eco- Amendment in May last year ECP’s condition of 10% female that her only source of earning woman candidate Naheed Reh- then thought that someone had meeting of the PHA with chair- nomics in Peshawar, was over- that resulted in merger of erst- voting in every election. was selling a bundle of fi rewood man Afridi, who was awarded to accept the challenge and raise man Asif Mehmood in the chair. joyed when she came out of the while Federally Administered Jamal was also critical of the which she daily brought from ticket by Awami National Party voice for the most oppressed The PHA decided that in fu- polling station in Landi Kotal Tribal Areas with Khyber Pa- role of almost all the major po- the nearby mountains on her in Khyber, none of the contend- segment of our society,” she ture public parks would not be town of Khyber tribal district khtunkhwa. litical parties, who according to head. ers ran any eff ective campaign added. named after political personali- after exercising her right to vote “There were only a few eld- her did ‘very little’ to educate She said that her husband for women electorates nor did None of the male candidates ties as these were set up on tax- for the fi rst time in the recently erly women at the polling station the tribal female voters about died few years ago and she ex- they organise a female exclusive had any credible answer as to payers’ money. concluded elections for 16 pro- when I went there around mid- the importance of vote and also pected that a wealthy candidate, rally. how they approached female The meeting also approved vincial assembly seats. day and they too had either no or the method of casting their in whose favour she had cast her Afridi not only ran a door- voters during their election the annual budget of the au- “Although I was eligible to little knowledge about casting of votes on the polling day. vote, would provide her some fi - to-door campaign but also or- campaign, nor had they any thority and decided to make vote in last year’s general elec- their votes,” Shinwari said. “It is very unfortunate that nancial assistance. ganised a car rally prior to the specifi c agenda for address- austerity measures. The board tions, yet I missed the oppor- She added that young female a good number of female votes She, however, said that al- closing of campaign related ac- ing the grievances of the tribal decided not to purchase any tunity because of my annual voters were conspicuous by goes waste or rejected simply though the supporters of an in- tivities. women. plant from the open market for university examinations,” she their absence due to traditions because the stamp is wrong- dependent candidate arranged “It was for the fi rst time that Tribal elders in Sheen Qamar the plantation drive and utilise said while emerging from the in most of the tribal districts. ly used and thus the ballot is transport for her to reach the I had direct contact with tribal area of Bara eff ectively banned PHA’s nurseries instead. main gate of Government High- Nausheen Jamal, a social ac- spoiled,” she regretted. polling station yet they disap- women during my political ca- their womenfolk from cast- The PHA chairman said that er Secondary School for girls in tivist from Orakzai tribal dis- ECP said that only 210,626 peared after she cast her vote. reer and they shared their per- ing their vote in the name of the board also approved a spe- Landi Kotal where a polling sta- trict, said that Election Com- (18%) of the total 1,130,517 reg- When pressed as to why she sonal woes and distresses which tribal customs after a decision cial grant of Rs2,500 for each tion for female voters was es- mission of Pakistan failed to istered female voters cast their voted for a wealthy independent they were reluctant to disclose to this eff ect was made during gardener, driver and security tablished. conduct any awareness session votes in the July 20 elections. candidate, she said that male to male candidates,” she said a ‘jirga’, held only a day before guard who participate in the Shinwari, however, was not or campaign for the female trib- The little knowledge local fe- members of her family had per- while sharing her campaign ex- the July 20 elections. Saadullah ‘Glorious Rawalpindi’ project. satisfi ed with the number of al voters. male voters had about the entire suaded her for doing so, though perience. Jan, a resident of Sheen Qamar, He said due to the hard work female voters, who turned up She said that unfortunately exercise was they expected the she was not directly approached Afridi said that her oppo- termed the ban unjustifi ed and of the staff , the PHA beautifi ed for casting their votes on ‘the no woman employee at ECP re- winning candidates to address by any of the candidates. nents tried their best to desist unlawful. the city in the ongoing drive. He said the basic aim of renaming the park at Shamsabad was to pay tributes to the poet of the east, Allama Mohamed Iqbal. Preparing for Independence Day celebration “There was no park named CDA set to launch after Allama Iqbal and the citi- zens had demanded to rename the main park as Iqbal Park,” he claimed. route planner He said the park on Rawal Road was also given a new name as it was constructed from the public money and there was no in Islamabad need to name it after a political personality. Internews department offi cials also face He said the board of direc- Islamabad problems. Route planners are tors also discussed the adver- used in a number of countries tisement rates for lampposts on so we have decided that it main roads and to start decorat- hough route planners should also be launched in the ing the pillars of the metro bus are commonly used in federal capital,” he said. track. Tdeveloped countries to Replying a question, Ahmed help citizens plan the safest and said 540 cameras had been in- clear route before starting their stalled on the route and a con- journey, the Capital Develop- trol room also established. ment Authority (CDA) has fi - “Initially, there was a pro- nalised arrangements to launch posal that people would be LHC to hear such a facility for the fi rst time allowed access to the cameras by the end of the month. just like in some developed Motorists would have to in- countries so that they would foreclosure stall an app on their mobile check the roads live and then phones to keep in touch with the plan for their travel. But later control room of the authority the idea was dropped. How- law case on and choose the clearest route. ever, the police, control room “The idea is to give infor- and other department staff mation to people about clear will have access to cameras.” Sept 13 routes for travel so that they Another good thing is that A vendor holds could avoid inconvenience. people would be able to give Internews Pakistani national The app would be called Capi- their feedback so there will be a Lahore flags as he waits tal Roads Information System room for improvement, he said. for customers at a (CRIS),” CDA chairman Amer CDA spokesperson Safdar market in preparation Ali Ahmed. Shah said 14 cameras had been ahore High Court (LHC) for Independence He said in the fi rst phase in- installed on the highway from Chief Justice Sardar Mu- Day celebration in formation would be available Zero Point to Koral Chowk to Lhamed Shamim Khan has Lahore yesterday. for the Islamabad Express- check the speed of vehicles. fi xed case regarding foreclosure Pakistan celebrates way from Zero Point to Koral Each camera will be able to law for hearing on September 13 its independence on Chowk and soon afterward check a vehicle up to one kilo- on an appeal by Prime Minister August 14. Kashmir Highway would also metre and it will become pos- Imran Khan. Right: A boy wears a be linked with the app. sible to take action against the A fi ve-member bench, head- pair of clip When asked to explain the speed violators, he said. ed by Justice Mamoon Rashid earrings with CRIS, he said if a person wants He said there would be a Sheikh and comprising Justice Pakistan’s national to go from Blue Area to Police helpline and people would also Shahid Waheed, Justice Abid flag to attract Lines they would be able to be able to contact Rescue 1122 Aziz Sheikh, Justice Jawad Has- customers as he check the route fi rst. If they and 115 through the app. san and Justice Asim Hafeez, will is selling patriotic fi nd the road blocked at Zero Towards the development of hear the matter. memorabilia, ahead Point or Peshawar Mor, they a smart highway project, which The PM had appealed to the of Pakistan’s could choose an alternative is scheduled to be launched in LHC chief justice to immediately Independence Day, route to reach the destination. Islamabad by the end of Au- fi x the case, pending since long, along a market in “Currently, motorists get gust, a presentation on the while addressing a ceremony in Karachi yesterday stuck in a traffi c jam and it CRIS was given in which the connection with Naya Pakistan becomes impossible for them CDA chairman reviewed and Housing Programme on July 31. to get out of the place. As a fi nalised the prototype of the The PM observed that an early result, traffi c police and other app, said a statement. decision on the issue would en- able the banking sector extend loaning facilities and ease mort- gage process. The petitioners, Muhamed Shoaib Arshad and others, through their petition, had chal- Ministry declares Islamabad zoo plastic-free zone lenged reintroduction of Section 15 of Financial Institutions (Re- covery of Finances) Ordinance Internews Survey of Pakistan director Altaf cleanliness in zoo and said that tional Cleaner Production Cen- offi cials to chalk out a plan re- product integrity and non- 2001, which empowered banks to Islamabad Hussain said that as per court or- declaring it plastic-free was a tre Co-ordinator Irshad Ramey, garding distribution of alter- availability of alternative pack- sell mortgaged property in case of ders MoCC was managing the zoo revolutionary decision. MoCC representative Zaigham native bags and dissemination aging material. default in payment by a customer. till August 29. He said that they They said they experienced a Abbas and MoCC Joint Secre- of information regarding their Moreover, there is a system of They submitted that Section 15 he Ministry of Climate would submit a report in IHC on drastic change in zoo’s condi- tary Hamid Hashmi distributed availability. labelling and record keeping in of Financial Institutions (Recov- Change (MoCC) taking August 29 after which the court tion in a very short period. cotton bags amongst the partici- Minister was briefed that out place in order to record import- ery of Finances) Ordinance 2001, Tup the gauntlet to im- would decide about awarding au- The visitors said that people pants and stressed upon them to of all the plastic materials poly- er or manufacture’s identify and had been declared ultra vires of prove Marghzar Zoo has de- thority of zoo management. should co-operate with govern- spread awareness in their circles. thene had been targeted being percentage of recycled content. the Constitution by the Supreme clared it a plastic-free zone. Hussain said that zoo was de- ment and zoo administration to Pakistan’s toxic love aff air non-recyclable and hazardous to Media campaign would last Court and the LHC through two The zoo management has clared a plastic-free zone as the maintain its beauty. with plastic bag has to end, the environmental. MoCC sec- until August 24 while 110,000 diff erent judgments. placed a ban on plastic bags and fi rst step while health of animals MoCC has launched an Federal Minister for Climate retary told the minister that each alternative material bags would However, the section was re- bottles while garbage bins have had been a focus for them. All awareness campaign in federal Change Malik Amin Aslam said importer or distributor of such be distributed in various min- introduced in the Ordinance been placed inside the facility animals were being provided a capital to sensitise people about according to a statement. plastic bags had been directed to istries and at general public ba- through Financial Institutions (Re- to prevent littering. It has de- balanced diet according to chart hazards of polythene and ben- After August 14 plastic bags devise a plant or unit for collec- zaars, the statement said. covery of Finances) (Amendment) ployed staff on entrance for col- prepared by experts, he said. efi ts of biodegradable bags. will not be tolerated in the Is- tion and recycling plastic bags. It further said that ICTA and Act 2016 and it was not sustainable lecting plastic items from visi- The zoo in-charge said a Volunteers from social wel- lamabad Capital Territory, Handling post-consumer EPA would impose penalties. in the light of said judgments. tors before their entry. medical board had been formed fare organisations, civil society, Aslam said in a meeting regard- stage would be producers’ re- An SRO in this regards pro- The matter was initially heard The management of zoo was for treatment of the sick hima- students from universities in- ing banning polythene shop- sponsibility. Only exceptions vides a penalty of Rs100,000 to in 2016 by then LHC Chief Jus- recently handed over to minis- layan brown bear. cluding Fatima Women’s Uni- ping bag (plastic bags) at MoCC to plastic packing include in- Rs500,000 for manufacturer or tice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, who try from Islamabad Municipal He added that special teams versity, Quaid-i-Azam Univer- in which senior offi cials from dustrial packaging, municipal whole sellers of single-use plas- suspended the new section 15. An Corporation (IMC) by Islama- have been formed for maintain- sity, FAST National University MoCC, Environment Protection waste, hospital waste and haz- tic bags, Rs10,000 to Rs50,000 LHC full bench heard the matter bad High Court (IHC) after ing cleanliness in zoo and they Islamabad, University of Engi- Agency (EPA) and Islamabad ardous waste. for retailers selling plastic on May 29, but it adjourned the which its appearance is wit- were performing their duties neering and Technology Taxila Capital Territory Administra- The statement said that ex- shoppers and Rs5,000 for oth- hearing till July due to absence of nessing a remarkable change. religiously. took part in the campaign. tion (ICTA) participated. ception criteria are very strict er individuals found carrying attorney general and counsel for In this regard, the Zoological Further, the visitors hailed The organisers including Na- Aslam directed ICTA and EPA and based on the principle of plastic or polythene bags. petitioners. Gulf Times Wednesday, August 14, 2019 13 PHILIPPINES

Recruiters’ group backs ‘Gallery of Sea’ expo OFW dept creation

The Manila Times needs and demands in foreign employment. Manila Francisco stressed the need to involve place- ment and recruitment agencies, OFWs, along with legislators, policymakers, non-government group of recruiters backed the proposal to organisations, civil society groups and the related create a Department of Overseas Filipino government offi ces, in eff orts to fi nd ways to fur- AWorkers (DOFW) that would look after ther protect the interest of Filipino workers. the welfare and well-being of Filipinos working Abroad consists of organisations of more than abroad. 500 recruitment agencies that “collectively, have The Alliance of Bonafi de Recruiters for OFWs’ been responsible for providing jobs to over 1mn Advancement and Development (Abroad), a coa- OFWs, including professionals, skilled workers, lition composed of recruitment agency associa- and household service or domestic workers.” tions, said it welcomes eff orts of government “to Francisco said licensed recruitment agencies improve and streamline the services and proc- act as government partners in addressing unem- esses involved in the deployment of OFWs.” ployment under Section 25 of the Labour Code. “We wholeheartedly support the president’s call In 2018, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas pegged for the establishment of a department dedicated OFWs remittances at $32.21bn. to OFWs, and appeal to our legislators to pass a law Abroad is composed of at least eight diff er- that will create a DOFW that will truly be fair and ent recruitment agency associations, includ- responsive to the needs of our modern-day heroes,” ing the Australia & New Zealand Association of Abroad co-convenor Mary Cecile Francisco said in Employment Providers of the Philippines Inc, a statement on Monday. Association of Philippine Licensed Agencies for In his State of the Nation Address in July, Presi- Technical Internship Programme, Association of dent Rodrigo Duterte batted for the creation of the Professional Philippine Manpower Agencies for department to protect the welfare of OFWs and en- China Inc, Japan Employment Providers of the sure that they have access to government services. Philippines & Consultants’ Association Inc, Or- Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go has ganisation of Placement Agencies of the Philip- fi led a bill that seeks to create a Department of pines, Philippine Association of Service Export- Overseas Filipinos. The measure aims to man- ers Inc, Pilipino Licensed Manpower Agencies age, harmonise and strengthen existing govern- for Taiwan, and Philippine Recruitment Agencies A man rides past hand-painted sails displayed along Roxas Boulevard, part of the Manila Yacht Club’s ‘Gallery of the Sea’ exhibit. ment policies and programmes to address the Association for Saudi Arabia. Five pacts to be signed with Probe sought over UN China during Duterte visit report on fake drugs By Bernadette E Tamayo over-the-counter medicines,” as their victims are of the il- Manila Times Recto said. He said government lusion that they are taking By Mayvelin U Caraballo going to be about cigarette should unmask which of “these authentic medicines that will The Manila Times making machines,” Finance misbranded, spurious, fake, cure them “and not some- Secretary Carlos Dominguez enate President Pro Tem- and falsely-labelled drugs” thing made of flour.” 3rd said. pore Ralph Recto has fi led have entered the market and Recto said the staggering he Philippines will sign “We are going to engage Sa resolution prodding the duped Filipinos. amount of money Filipinos fi ve agreements with with them and say any ciga- Senate to investigate a United “In 2018, no less than Presi- spend yearly for medicines TChina during President rette making machine needs Nations report that the Philip- dent (Rodrigo) Duterte de- and pharmaceutical prepara- Rodrigo Duterte’s visit to Bei- prior government approval pines has become a hotspot for scribed the availability of coun- tions should prod the govern- jing this month, the Depart- so if you know that this is a fake medicines. terfeit paracetamol brands in ment to protect their health, ment of Finance (DoF) an- cigarette making machine The 2019 report of the Unit- the country as a growing threat safety and money. nounced. please don’t give it an export ed Nations Office on Drugs and ordered the arrest of their He noted that about P187bn, In an interview late last permit,”Dominguez added. and Crime titled Transnational makers and sellers,” Recto said. or half of the P372.8bn “out- week, Finance Undersecre- Joven said President Du- Organised Crime in Southeast He said if reports are true of-pocket” health expendi- tary Mark Dennis Joven said terte’s visit would also pave Asia: Evolution, Growth and that fake medicines are sold tures of Filipino families in the first agreement involves the way for a loan facility Impact said the Philippines has cheap in sari-sari (neighbour- 2017 went to pharmacies. China’s donation of X-ray framework. the “highest incidence” of fake hood) stores, “then they are “Households buy half a bil- units to the Bureau of Cus- “The third is a framework medicines in Southeast Asia. victimising the poor who often lion pesos worth of drugs a toms. The second agreement agreement between the DoF The report depicted the have to borrow money to buy day. will seal the trade co-oper- and Cidca (China Interna- Philippines as “a hotspot for medicines or cost-cut by buy- This does not include those ation between the Chinese tional Development Co-op- knockoff drugs.” Recto: expressing concern ing doses lower than what the being bought yearly by private and Philippine customs. This eration Agency) that spells Recto said the report is doctor has prescribed.” hospitals, government, and agreement came after Bei- out the process wherein we alarming because it claims that India and China, entered the “On top of this is the report- Recto said the trade in fake insurance companies that are jing committed to look into can take out loans from Chi- from 2014-2017, fake medi- Philippines through an illicit ed market penetration of local- medicines was “a large scale worth billions of pesos,” he the unauthorised export of na,” he added. cines, mostly from Pakistan, trade network. ly-manufactured counterfeit swindle of the cruelest kind, said. cigarette-making machines The fourth agreement in- to the Philippines that origi- volves the segment of the nated from China, which are Philippine National Railways being used to produce locally South Long Haul Project, counterfeit brands. a 653-kilometre railway Indonesian ship on goodwill visit “We are going to talk to project that will run from Missing student their customs about a number Manila to Batangas, Laguna, of issues and one of them is Bicol and Sorsogon. surfaces as ‘activist’

The Manila Times senior high school students Manila from the Far Eastern Univer- Two soldiers, child sity (FEU), the Polytechnic University of the Philippines ne of fi ve “missing” (PUP), and the University of dead in militant attack senior high school stu- the East (UE) claimed that Odents surfaced and ap- their children have joined peared before some reporters activist organisations Anak- DPA south of Manila, on Monday in Quezon City yesterday, de- bayan, League of Filipino Stu- Manila when suspected members of nying allegations that she was dents (LFS), and the Kabataan the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group kidnapped. Party-list. Caalaman, who was opened fi re at them. Lorevie Caalaman, 19, was a senior high school gradu- wo soldiers and a two- The troopers were killed one of the students reported ate from PUP in 2018, said she year-old girl were killed in the ambush, while two missing by parents who ap- decided to join the Kabataan Tin an attack by sus- girls — a two-year-old and an peared before Wednesday’s Party-list as a full time activist pected militants in the south- 11-year-old — were wounded, hearing of the Senate commit- in August 2018. ern Philippines as the country said Major General Corleto tee on public order and dan- Caalaman assured her par- marked the feast of Eid al-Ad- Vinluan Jr, commander of a gerous drugs into the alleged ents that she was safe and ha, the military said yesterday. provincial anti-terrorism task recruitment of minors by left- would like to visit home soon. The soldiers were travelling force. The two-year-old died ist groups, which Sen. She said, however, that was on a motorcycle along a busy while being treated in hospital, Indonesia’s training ship KRI Bima Suci (945) is docked at Manila’s South Harbour. The ship’s goodwill Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa playing it safe as she had been road in Talipao town in Sulu while the 11-year-old was still visit, which aims to strengthen ties between the Philippines and Indonesia, will end tomorrow. presided over. previously tailed by an uni- province, 1,000 kilometres in critical condition, he added. Parents of the fi ve “missing” dentifi ed person. Israel deports Filipina worker, teenage son

AFP They include those who Sunday night after an appeals thority confi rmed in a statement largely Christian — Filipinos in the wake of the Holocaust. son Kevin was best friends with Jerusalem breached the conditions of their court upheld their deportation, they had been deported, add- Israel arrived to work as caregiv- Perez had arrived in Israel in him. The two boys cried over the residency by starting families in Beth Franco of the United Chil- ing Perez had been in the coun- ers and home help, but according 2002 to work as a caregiver for phone, she said, adding they had the country. dren of Israel (UCI) association try illegally for 12 years and that to UCI, some 600 families could an elderly woman before losing regularly played video games srael has deported a Filipina The families and supporters said. all court appeals had been ex- now face expulsion. her status over having started a and basketball together. migrant worker and her Is- say deporting the children to a But they were taken off the hausted. Franco, also originally Their visas were conditioned family there, UCI said. They spoke in English and He- Iraeli-born teenage son who country which they have never plane after their lawyer request- from the Philippines, said other on the requirement that they do They lived near the Tel Aviv brew, she said, adding that they has never set foot in the Philip- seen and whose languages they ed an urgent hearing on their mothers now feared they and not start a family in the country central bus station and formed can understand but do not speak pines, after 11th hour legal ap- do not speak is a cruel policy. status in a bid to have them re- their children could soon be de- apart from certain exceptions, relationships with other foreign Tagalog, their mothers’ native peals failed, a rights group and Rosemarie Perez was arrested main in Israel. ported over the same policy. the association says. workers, according to the asso- language. authorities said yesterday. by immigration offi cials along On Monday evening, they Last week, migrants, their The issue has particular reso- ciation. They were able to speak by She is among some 600 work- with her 13-year-old son Rohan were escorted to Ben-Gurion children and Israeli support- nance in Israel, where there are Just before the teenager was phone again yesterday, she said. ers from the Southeast Asian na- last week for remaining in the airport where they were put on ers staged a protest in Tel Aviv long-term fears about main- deported, “Rohan borrowed a Of the 29,000 Filipinos in Is- tion who activists say could face country illegally. a fl ight to Bangkok for onward against the policy of deporting taining a Jewish majority in the phone and talked to my son,” rael, some 25,000 have a tempo- deportation over a loss of resi- They had been taken to Ben- connection to Manila, Franco Israeli-born children of mi- country which was founded as said Evangeline Nacional, also rary visa, according to the Phil- dency status. Gurion airport near Tel Aviv on said. Israel’s immigration au- grants.Many of the 29,000 — a national homeland for Jews in from the Philippines and whose ippines consul general. Gulf Times 14 Wednesday, August 14, 2019 COMMENT

CHAIRMAN Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Attiyah EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Faisal Abdulhameed al-Mudahka Deputy Managing Editor K T Chacko P.O.Box 2888, Doha, Qatar [email protected] 44350478 (News), 44466404 (Sport), 44466636 (Home delivery) 44350474 facebook.com/gulftimes twitter.com/gulftimes_Qatar GULF TIMES ECB president’s parting gift to tie Lagarde’s hands

The European Central Bank’s imminent stimulus package is unlikely to cut record low borrowing costs much further but will tie its new president’s hands for much of the next year, giving her little leeway to act while the economy ails. With the bloc’s vast manufacturing sector shrinking, a global trade and currency war escalating and a hard Brexit looming large, the ECB has already signalled more support for the euro zone economy, hoping to arrest a dangerous downward spiral that could lead to a recession. But it faces two big problems: the bloc’s troubles are imported so largely outside the control of monetary policy, and the bank’s What’s behind mass remaining instruments are of limited effi cacy given record low borrowing costs. Indeed, the widely fl agged umpteenth round of ECB monetary easing since 2011 may wipe out the little fi repower the central bank has left and undermine the credibility of its claim that it would one day be able to turn the money tap off . shootings in the US? Germany can already borrow at minus 0.6% for ten years and interbank markets price 30 basis points of ECB deposit rate cuts By Elizabeth Drew governing clause – “a well regulated years when the assault-weapons ban something” about the problem. Hence, Washington, DC Militia, being necessary” (an awkward was in place, and then rose after it even Senate Majority Leader Mitch to minus 0.7% in coming years, putting them in the ballpark of comma, to be sure) – they assert an lapsed. If a tightened new ban were McConnell – who chronically obstructs the reversal rate at which more cuts become counterproductive. individual “right to keep and bear arms” enacted, along with a reduction in the anything supported by the Democrats, Still, ECB President Mario Draghi, who hands the helm to fter every mass shooting in the as if it had been handed down from legal magazine capacity to ten (from as but wants the Senate to remain in Christine Lagarde at the end of October, seems keen to avoid United States, Americans and Mount Sinai. much as 100 now), that would be a sign Republican hands – has said that he any talk that the bank’s fi repower is limited, suggesting that others around the world are In reality, the Second Amendment that Trump and Congress are serious might consider legislation on background policymakers will combine several moderate steps into a Aconfronted with the question is a product of its time, refl ecting the about curbing mass slaughters. But checks and red-fl ag laws. package on Sept 12 to give markets the impression of a big move. of what lies behind this distinctly former colonies’ perceived need to there is little likelihood of it happening. Trump has once again painted himself into a corner. Since the latest “The main goal of the American horror. Though total gun protect themselves from a standing Still, in the wake of the El Paso and deaths in the US have actually declined government army. Moreover, the Dayton shootings, Trump has begun to massacres, he’s been at pains to present “The main goal package is to preserve the over time, mass shootings (those with at weapons of the time were simple objects strike a somewhat diff erent tone on the himself as a reasonable fellow who can fi nancial easing they already least four victims) have become deadlier compared to the deadly semiautomatics issue, indicating that he would support get behind gun reform (and perhaps of the package achieved,” Frederik Ducrozet, and more frequent. Some have had an and magazines that the NRA tries to “very meaningful background checks.” mollify suburban women, his most a strategist at Pictet Wealth especially strong emotional impact on convince “sportsmen” they must have, But Trump talked the same way after a dangerous foes on this issue). But he’s is to preserve Management said. “It would the country. and for which there is no appropriate gunman murdered 17 people at Marjory also noticeably (and typically) anxious be unacceptable for the ECB The back-to-back mass shootings in civilian purpose. (Needless to say, Stoneman Douglas High School in to maintain the loyalty of the rural the fi nancial to admit that any new easing El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, on the gun manufacturers have contributed Parkland, Florida, in February 2018. He voters who form an important part fi rst weekend of August are widely being millions of dollars to the NRA.) soon backed off under pressure from the of his base. Trump has also taken the easing they would be less eff ective because viewed as the straw that will break the Arguments over the meaning of the NRA (which, it is worth remembering, gamble of using racial politics and white of diminishing returns.” back of the US gun lobby, particularly Second Amendment remained at an was implicated in Russia’s eff orts to supremacy as instruments for winning already The package is likely to the National Rifl e Association (NRA), impasse for over two centuries. Then help Trump in the 2016 election). in 2020. When faced with the dilemma include a deposit rate cut and which has long stood in the way came the Supreme Court’s landmark Following the latest two massacres, of trying to assuage suburban voters achieved” fresh asset purchases, and of congressional passage of gun- 5-4 decision in District of Columbia v. Trump also called for a “red-fl ag” law, or keeping the base close, time after possibly a multi-tier deposit control measures. Yet we have heard Heller (2008), which invalidated the which would allow courts temporarily time his instinct has been to shore up rate, which would shield banks from some of the negative side similar predictions before. After the District of Columbia’s ban on privately to confi scate fi rearms from individuals the base. (That didn’t work very well in massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary owned handguns in the nation’s capital. deemed to be a danger to themselves 2018.) eff ect of super low rates. in Connecticut on December 14, 2012, With the Court having become even or others, following notifi cation by a Whatever happens in the next few The cut’s potency is marginal given how low the rate already when a 20-year-old man gunned down more conservative since then, new family member or law-enforcement months, the fact that there are more is. 20 fi rst-graders and six adults, then- gun-control laws that come before it offi cial. Such laws are already on the privately owned guns than people in the And the ECB’s balance sheet is already at 4.7tn euros, president Barack Obama, wiping tears may well suff er a similar fate, especially books in more than a dozen states, US means that any new gun-control indicating that asset buys would have to be massive — and from his eyes, vowed to take action. if President Donald Trump wins re- but many conservatives oppose them law would have only a marginal eff ect, hence politically contentious — to have a tangible impact. On the face of it, adopting meaningful election. on the grounds that they deny due at best. Despite the American public’s JPMorgan estimates that to lift infl ation expectations, gun-control legislation after such The last major gun-control process. Nonetheless, some prominent urgent and desperate demand that a horrendous tragedy should not legislation enacted in the US was the Republicans, such as Senator Lindsey lawmakers “do something,” Trump is the ECB’s easing package would have to equal about half of have been a problem. Polls showed 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Graham of South Carolina, feel they currently on a ten-day golfi ng vacation, its combined measures since 2014, so 1.25tn euros of asset that 92% of the public supported Enforcement Act, which included a ban have to do something about the mass and Congress is on its annual August purchases and another 350bn euros of ultra cheap loans to closing loopholes in the requirement on assault weapons. As a compromise, shootings, and are now championing recess. A lot, including a change in the banks. for background checks – which at that provision came with a number of red-fl ag legislation. national mood, could happen before it And even that might not be enough to put infl ation back on present don’t include examinations loopholes, as well as a “sunset” clause Of course, neither background checks reconvenes. - Project Syndicate target. of individuals purchasing fi rearms at requiring that it be explicitly renewed nor a red-fl ag law would have prevented A weaker euro would defi nitely help, but that is hard to gun shows, privately from another after ten years. In the event, the ban was the slaughter at Sandy Hook (the guns, z Elizabeth Drew is a Washington- individual, or online – and that 62% allowed to lapse in 2004, during George after all, belonged to the shooter’s mother, based journalist and the author, most achieve when the Federal Reserve is also easing and the US supported a ban on high-capacity W Bush’s presidency. whom he killed fi rst). But such measures recently, of Washington Journal: administration is grumbling about a strong dollar. magazines. It was hard to ignore the The prevailing evidence shows that would allow Trump and his fellow Reporting Watergate and Richard Tiering would immediately help banks but it is the most emotional appeal of the shattered mass-shooting deaths fell during the Republicans to claim that they have “done Nixon’s Downfall. diffi cult of the measures to reverse given its complexity and parents who’d come to Washington to would thus tie the hands of Lagarde the longest. plead their case. Yet, even in the wake of Draghi’s farewell package will consume much of the bank’s Sandy Hook, the US Senate voted down remaining fi repower, making it diffi cult for Lagarde to make a two measures to tighten gun-control laws. big fi rst impression — the very thing Draghi did eight years ago To understand why, it’s important when he cut rates at his very fi rst meeting, reversing an earlier to keep in mind that the politics of misconceived hike. gun control emanate from the same Lagarde’s room for manoeuvre on interest rates will also be counter-majoritarian principle that mostly tied by the ECB’s forward guidance, which defi nes the gave Americans the Electoral College. In rate path through mid-2020 and is also seen changing next the Senate, far less populous western, month. midwestern, and southern states – home to hunters and conservative- The ECB could take an even more accommodative stance. leaning John Wayne wannabes – have But every subsequent move comes at a cost, would take the same representation as far larger signifi cant preparatory work and could even involve a broader states like New York and California. review of where the bank is heading. So, even when most Americans favour stronger gun-control laws, that majority position isn’t necessarily To Advertise refl ected in the makeup of the Senate. At the same time, gun-control [email protected] opponents have benefi ted enormously Display from a seemingly nonsensical interpretation of the Second 44466621 44418811 Amendment. Adopted in 1791, the Second Amendment states that, “A well Classified regulated Militia, being necessary to the 44466609 44418811 security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not Subscription be infringed.” Books have been written about the [email protected] amendment’s true meaning, but to gun-rights advocates, neither the plain text nor the historical context of the US President Donald Trump speaks to Customs and Border Protection off icers in the wake of mass shootings in El Paso, © 2019 Gulf Times. All rights reserved amendment matters. By ignoring the Texas, on August 7. Gulf Times Wednesday, August 14, 2019 15 COMMENT Trump’s one-way economy

By Jim O’Neill one must wonder if Trump has been London escalating his threats of additional tariff s against China as a way to pressure the US Federal Reserve to owadays, when people ask reduce interest rates. me how I am, I answer, jok- After all, his recent Twitter tantrum ingly, that I’m doing great, on this issue came shortly after the Nso long as I ignore Donald Fed’s decision to cut its policy rate by Trump’s presidency in the United 25 basis points. In Trump’s view – and States, Brexit, the crisis of the United in the view of the markets – that cut Kingdom’s major political parties, apparently wasn’t large enough. and the performance of Manchester I sometimes wonder if Trump isn’t United. like a James Bond villain, pursuing But recently, the litany of a secret, unnecessarily convoluted unfortunate circumstances has gotten master plan for world domination. so long that the joke is hard to pull off . There certainly isn’t any evident One now must also list the political logic behind most of what he does. crisis in Hong Kong, a burgeoning To be sure, when it comes to foreign diplomatic and economic dispute policy, his populist posturing may between Japan and South Korea, the be intended to goad other leaders Indian government’s revocation of around the world into similar Jammu and Kashmir’s autonomy – behaviour. and India-Pakistan tensions more Indian Prime Minister Narendra generally – and growing turmoil within Modi’s moves in Kashmir, as well South Africa’s ruling African National as the Japanese and South Korean Congress. governments’ tactics toward each Making matters worse, this has other, seem to come straight from the been a particularly rough summer Trump playbook. in terms of the weather: heat waves Politicians around the world are no The central business district in Beijing. The rise of the Chinese consumer could help to address many of America’s own economic problems, if only America would stop across Europe and the US have served doubt telling themselves that if such standing in the way. as a forceful reminder of the growing behaviour is acceptable for the US eff ects of climate change on our leader, it is appropriate for them, too. relationship with broader financial the dollar. To offset that effect, both cuts than previously indicated. But This brings me to a point I have everyday lives. The political logic of Trump’s conditions, by which I mean short- short- and long-term US interest further monetary easing would do made many times before: global Add to all this other persistent domestic strategy, however, is term interest rates, bond yields, stock rates would need to fall significantly. very little to mitigate the risks to the economic growth in this decade and sources of global uncertainty – from harder to explain. Much of it is about prices, the value of the dollar, and And, to be sure, there are some days economy, because these risks are not the next is going to depend on Chinese, the Middle East and Russia under shoring up his voter base for the 2020 home prices. The US economy would when financial conditions do loosen, emanating from monetary-sensitive not American, consumers. At some President Vladimir Putin to social- presidential election. But to win a suffer if these financial conditions because the prospect of new tariffs, sources. point, the US, whether under Trump media disruptions and antimicrobial second term, he will need to peel off grew tighter, but it would barely and thus higher consumer prices, Moreover, Trump’s unpredictability or someone else, must accept this fact resistance – and you have a recipe for more voters at the margins, and it is benefit if they were to loosen. leads investors to pour into bonds, has heightened risks for exporters and recognise it as an opportunity. The despair. not clear that his current approach to It is not clear that Trump and thereby offsetting the tightening and anyone else responsible for rise of the Chinese consumer could If these were normal times, recent domestic policy will win over those his advisers follow these financial effects of a rising dollar and weak making long-term investment help to address many of America’s own global developments would be showing who do not already support him. conditions particularly closely. They equities. decisions. The only way for monetary- economic problems, if only America up as sharply rising risk premia, As always with an incumbent, seem desperate for a dramatic easing, Looking beyond the daily movement policy loosening to work, then, is if would stop standing in the way. – especially given that global growth has much will depend on the economy. yet Trump’s threat of additional of the markets, it is possible that consumers take on a larger role in Project Syndicate slowed substantially over the course Though the US unemployment rate tariffs on Chinese imports has rattled Trump is counting on the Fed driving growth. And yet consumption of 2019. remains very low, the growth cycle global markets – including the shares to become a hostage of fi nancial already accounts for 70% of US z Jim O’Neill, a former chairman of But these are not normal times, has slowed and is now increasingly of many US multinationals – and conditions, especially if bond yields GDP, and the trade war is driving up Goldman Sachs Asset Management and owing primarily to the current state vulnerable. Worse, the US economy led to tighter financial conditions in drop and the yield curve inverts. That consumer prices, potentially setting a former UK Treasury Minister, is Chair of monetary policymaking. Here, seems to have developed a one-way the US, owing to the rising value of could prompt it to pursue larger rate the stage for rising unemployment. of Chatham House. The puzzle of economic progress Three-day forecast even gave birth to sociology, or what expands on his gloomy view of what as central banks and utility regulators. TODAY By Diane Coyle Maximum Temperature : 370c Cambridge she called “Progress Studies 1.0.” automation will mean for the jobs of the But then came the 2008 global fi nancial This is all true, and yet Collison and future, pointing to the adverse eff ects that crisis. With real incomes stagnating for Minimum Temperature : 320c Cowen are on to something. Academic the original Industrial Revolution had many, and “deaths of despair” increasing, THURSDAY o we know how economies de- researchers clearly fi nd it hard to work on the typical worker. Yet Frey also notes it is not surprising that expertise has lost Maximum Temperature : 390c velop? Obviously not, it seems, together across disciplinary boundaries, that a later period of automation, the era its lustre for much of the public. Minimum Temperature : 320c or otherwise every country despite repeated calls for them to do so of mass production in the mid-twentieth This leads to a fi nal point about the FRIDAY would be doing better than it more often. This is largely the result of century, was one of high employment need for a science of progress: what do Maximum Temperature : 400c D Minimum Temperature : 330c currently is in these low-growth times. In incentives that encourage academics to and increasingly broad-based prosperity. we actually mean by “progress”? How specialise in ever-narrower areas, so that What explains the great diff erence should it be measured and monitored, fact, cases of sustained rapid growth, like Fisherman's forecast Japan beginning in the 1960s, or other they can produce the publications that between those two eras? and who experiences it? For many Southeast Asian countries a decade later, will lead to promotion and professional More generally, researchers need reasons, the standard indicator of real WARNING to distil their fi ndings in an accessible GDP growth, which leaves out much of Inshore : Poor visibility expected are so rare that they are often described as esteem. The world has problems, as at some places by early “economic miracles.” the old saying puts it, but universities way for policymakers – particularly what people value, will no longer do. morning Yet when Patrick Collison of software have departments. Interdisciplinary when there are signifi cant scholarly The debate about progress infrastructure company Stripe and Tyler research institutes like mine and Neff ’s disagreements – and persuade decision- therefore raises profound political and Offshore : Nil WEATHER Cowen of George Mason University therefore have to consider carefully how makers to act on them. Yet although the philosophical questions about the kind of Inshore : Misty to foggy at some recently wrote an article in The Atlantic best to advance the careers of younger public broadly trusts academic research, societies we want. If the global economy places by early morn- calling for a bold new interdisciplinary colleagues. The same silo problem most academics are poor communicators falls into recession, as now seems likely, ing becomes relatively hot daytime with some “science of progress,” they stirred up a arises in government, which is likewise (which again refl ects their professional then social divisions and political clouds,humid by night. fl urry of righteous indignation among organised by departments. incentives). Besides, the last thing polarisation will intensify further. And academics. Moreover, fashions in research some politicians want is evidence that the clear message since the turn of the Offshore : Misty with scattered clouds Many pointed to the vast amount can lead to hugely disproportionate disproves a dearly held belief. And even millennium is that if most people do not WIND of academic and applied research intellectual eff orts in specifi c areas. To open-minded offi cials often struggle to experience progress, then society isn’t Inshore : Northeasterly-South- that already addresses what Collison take one example, the ethics of artifi cial fi nd easily digestible academic expertise really progressing at all. easterly 05-15/18 KT Offshrore : Southeasterly-North- and Cowen propose to include in a intelligence is clearly an important on the state of knowledge, particularly on Current academic research – into easterly 03-12 KT new discipline of “Progress Studies.” subject, but is it really the dominant questions concerning novel science and the impact of new technologies, the Today, armies of economists are research challenge today, even in the technology. economics of innovation, and the quality Visibility : 4-8/2 KM researching issues such as what fi elds of AI or ethics? The fi nancial Today, the role of research in changing of management, for example – may Offshore : 1-3 FT behaviour – whether that of government be providing ever more pieces of the explains the location of technology incentives embedded in technology Around the region clusters like Silicon Valley, why the companies’ business models seem to offi cials or of businesses and citizens – is puzzle. But many crucial questions about Weather Industrial Revolution happened when me at least as important as morality in part of the broader crisis of legitimacy economic progress remain unanswered, Weather tomorrow Max/min it did, or why some organisations are explaining these fi rms’ behaviour. in Western democracies. By the early and others have not yet even been today Max/min Sunny 47/31 much more productive and innovative At the same time, some important 2000s, technocrats – and economists properly posed. — Project Syndicate Baghdad P Cloudy 48/31 Sunny 46/34 than others. As the University of economic questions are curiously in particular – ruled the roost, and Kuwait City P Cloudy 44/32 Sunny 39/32 Oxford’s Gina Neff recently remarked underexplored. For example, in his recent governments delegated large swaths of z Diane Coyle is Professor of Public Manama Sunny 39/31 Sunny 33/28 on Twitter, the Industrial Revolution book The Technology Trap, Carl Frey policy to independent expert bodies such Policy at the University of Cambridge. Muscat M Sunny 33/29 Tehran Sunny 33/22 Sunny 34/23

Live issues How Ebola wins

seven dead and 58 injured. water for washing beds and protective international community fail to invest in By Savio Carvalho Around the world London Yet the failure to contain the current equipment, or adequate facilities for strengthening health systems, outbreaks crisis refl ects shortcomings that extend workers to use to keep their hands will continue to impose huge costs on Weather Weather far beyond the DRC. Even as large-scale suffi ciently clean, health centres do communities before being brought today Max/min tomorrow Max/min year has passed since the epidemics proliferate, the international not only fail to treat and cure people under control. Operating healthcare Athens Sunny 35/24 Sunny 34/24 Democratic Republic of the community continues to get even the eff ectively; they become sources of facilities without sources of safe water, Beirut Sunny 31/27 Sunny 31/26 Congo’s health ministry most basic aspects of prevention and disease. In the case of Ebola, such toilets, and hand-washing facilities are Bangkok T Storm 32/26 S T Storms 33/27 Adeclared a new outbreak of preparedness wrong. When it comes conditions can cause thousands to stark examples of just such a failure. Berlin P Cloudy 22/12 Cloudy 22/14 Ebola in the northeast of the country. Yet, to a disease like Ebola – which is highly become infected and die, with a knock- Fortunately, there is reason to hope Cairo Sunny 39/28 Sunny 41/26 far from being contained, the outbreak communicable and has a mortality on eff ect on the economy, peace, and that, at long last, a change for the better Cape Town P Cloudy 17/10 Sunny 18/11 has now become the DRC’s second in rate of around 50% – such lapses have stability. is imminent. This past May, more Colombo T Storm 28/26 S T Storms 29/26 fi ve years to be classifi ed by the World devastating consequences. But those directly aff ected by than 160 years after the link between Dhaka T Storm 31/27 T Storm 32/27 Health Organisation as a Public Health Consider hygiene and water supply Ebola are just the tip of the proverbial hygiene and disease prevention was Hong Kong P Cloudy 31/27 S T Storms 30/27 Emergency of International Concern, – the fi rst line of defence against iceberg. During outbreaks, healthcare established, country leaders at the Istanbul M Sunny 30/23 P Cloudy 29/22 the most severe designation – used just infection. East Africa has some of the provision for other diseases and WHO’s World Health Assembly adopted Jakarta M Sunny 33/24 P Cloudy 33/24 four times previously – that the WHO world’s poorest clean-water coverage routine services are often severely a resolution focused on addressing the Karachi P Cloudy 31/27 S T Storms 30/27 can make. It is the second-largest Ebola for health-care facilities. According to compromised, especially in places lack of water, sanitation, and hygiene London Rain 18/15 P Cloudy 22/13 outbreak ever recorded. data from the WHO and Unicef, 30% where the healthcare system is already in healthcare facilities in lower- and Manila S T Storms 31/27 S T Storms 31/27 A highly eff ective experimental of Uganda’s hospitals have only limited poorly equipped and signifi cantly middle-income countries. The growing Moscow P Cloudy 24/17 P Cloudy 23/14 vaccine against Ebola is available, and water service, meaning that water has underfunded. This year alone, threat of epidemics and related crises, New Delhi T Storm 33/27 S T Storms 32/26 teams on the ground are working hard to be brought onto the premises; for thousands in the DRC have died of including the spread of drug-resistant New York P Cloudy 28/21 P Cloudy 27/21 to bring the virus under control. But, healthcare facilities other than hospitals, measles, as vaccination programmes superbugs, seems to have fi nally shaken Paris Cloudy 22/17 M Cloudy 23/13 with the outbreak occurring within that fi gure rises to 54%. The situation have been scaled back to free up world leaders out of their torpor on Sao Paulo Cloudy 13/10 P Cloudy 21/09 a volatile confl ict zone, the odds are in the DRC is even more dire: 15% of resources for the fi ght against Ebola. developing-country healthcare. — Seoul S T Storms 36/25 Rain 28/23 stacked against them. In the fi rst seven hospitals and 51% of non-hospital Such large-scale health catastrophes Project Syndicate Singapore S T Storms 31/27 S T Storms 31/27 months of this year, 198 attacks were healthcare facilities have no water leave lasting scars on a country and its Sydney Sunny 17/05 Sunny 19/07 carried out against healthcare workers service at all. people. z Savio Carvalho is Global Tokyo Rain 32/27 Cloudy 32/27 or Ebola treatment facilities, leaving Without readily available clean As long as governments and the Campaigns Director of WaterAid. Gulf Times 16 Wednesday, August 14, 2019 QATAR Drive to remove abandoned vehicles in Industrial Area joint campaign to remove all abandoned vehicles Ain Industrial Area was launched yesterday. The initia- tive is implemented by the Com- mittee for Abandoned Vehicles in co-operation with the Min- istry of Municipality and Envi- ronment’s (MME) Mechanical Equipment Department, Doha Municipality and the security entities concerned. Committee vice chairman and MME’s Wildlife Protector- ates Department director Saleh Hassan al-Kuwari, Mechanical Equipment Department direc- tor Marzouk Mubarak al-Misfi ri, Doha Municipality’s General Control Section offi cial Ghanim Nasser al-Qubassi and a number of representatives from other departments at the Ministry of Off icials yesterday at the launch of the campaign to remove abandoned vehicles in Industrial Area. Interior and the Internal Se- curity Forces (Lekhwiya) were number of abandoned vehicles transported to the abandoned mittee started the campaign in present. that would be removed during the vehicles unit at Al Mashaf, which Doha Municipality, followed by Al-Qubassi explained that the campaign would be in the range has accommodated up to 25,000 Al Sheehaniyah and Al Daayan campaign targets the removal of of 7,000 to 10,000. “The cam- vehicles until now and disman- before reaching the Industrial A senior off icial giving instructions after the launch of the campaign. all abandoned vehicles through- paign could continue from one tled 3,000. The unit at Umm Salal Area due to its importance as a out the stretch of the Industrial to three months due to the huge was opened to serve the needs of key location in the country. Af- ing a period of six months for the companies to recycle them. there would be nearly 18,000 Area from Street 16 to 52. Nearly numbers of abandoned vehicles the northern area of the country ter removing the abandoned ve- owners of such vehicles to re- From the start of this year, abandoned vehicles across the 75 abandoned vehicles were in Doha Industrial Area,” he said. and ease the load on the units at hicles, the legal procedures are claim them. Afterwards, the ve- 4,950 abandoned vehicles were country. The campaign is aimed spotted yesterday itself. The offi cial pointed out that Al Mashaf and Abu Hamour. applied according to Law No 18 hicles are sold at a public auction removed from across the coun- at enforcing Law No 18 of 2017 Al-Kuwari expected that the the removed vehicles will be Al-Misfi ri said that the com- of 2017 on public hygiene allow- by the MME or to qualifi ed local try. Al-Misfi ri expected that on public hygiene. 11 fi lms supported by DFI to be screened at Sarajevo festival

he Doha Film Institute lected to the festivals project (DFI) will shine the spot- development porgramme, Tlight once again on Qa- CineLink Industry Days, which tar’s homegrown talent and aims to connect fi lmmakers emerging Arab voices at the with international experts to Sarajevo Film Festival 2019 to be discuss various aspects of fi lm A scene from Abou Leila. held from August 16-23. A to- production. tal of 11 fi lms supported by the Additionally, six short fi lms through fi lm appreciation. DFI, including the ‘Shortcuts to made by Qatar or Qatar-based “The festival off ers educa- Qatar’ titles, have been selected talents will screen at the “Short- tional and networking opportu- to participate at one of Europe’s cuts to Qatar” showcase, in the nities for emerging fi lmmakers largest fi lm events. presence of fi lmmakers from the and has become an important DFI grant recipients Abou programme, Majid al-Remaihi, destination for the discovery of Leila by Amin Sidi-Boumedi- Mohamed al-Mahmeed and Ei- new voices from the Arab world. ene and The Unknown Saint by man Mirghani, who will intro- A still from The Unknown Saint. As our cultural partners, we will Alaa Eddine Aljem will screen duce the fi lms and participate in continue to work with them on to a global audience at prestig- a post-screening Q&A. Naif al-Malki; and Nasser Goes are truly proud of the signifi cant initiatives that focus on sup- ious key sections of the festi- The six short fi lms that will to Space by Mohammed al-Mah- selection of Qatar-supported porting bold voices in cin- Voyager by Khalifa al-Marri. val. A further three DFI grant screen at the ‘Shortcuts to Qatar’ meed; The Bleaching Syndrome fi lms at the festival. Sarajevo is ema from Qatar and the region, recipients and previous Qumra event includes Domestic Acous- by Eiman Mirghani. The screen- one of the largest fi lm festivals and bring fresh perspectives year and builds on its reputa- festival welcomes fi lm profes- projects, Dawiha by Mahdi Ali tics by Majid al-Remaihi; Where ing will take place on 20 August in Europe, and similar to the DFI, and narrative styles to global tion for high-quality program- sionals from across the world for Ali, Mediterranean Fever by Are You Right Meow by Maysam at noon. plays an increasingly important audiences.” ming, strong industry segment, its unique selection of South- Maha Haj and Nouss Nouss by al-Ani; Voyager by Khalifa al- Fatma Hassan Alremaihi, chief role in improving understanding The Sarajevo Film Festival and educational and networking east European and international Leila Albayaty, have been se- Marri; I Am Not My Father by executive offi cer, DFI, said, “We between the East and the West is marking its 25th edition this platforms for young talents. The fi lms. (QNA)

Eid festivities attract visitors to souqs, Katara

Colourful Eid al-Adha festivities dazzle visitors at Souq Waqif, Souq Al Wakrah, and Katara – the Cultural Village throughout Eid. Families enjoyed games and shows across these cultural hubs, as well as at the city’s beaches, where conditions were perfect for soaking up the last of the summer holidays. Malls participating in ‘Summer in Qatar’ kept families busy with special entertainment shows for children of all ages.