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Indian expatriates say S&P affirmed Qatar’s Al Sadd and El Jaish the victory of Aam Aadmi ‘AA’ long-term and edge closer to Party in Delhi polls will ‘A-1+’ short term foreign AFC Champions open a new chapter in and local currency League berth with nation’s politics. sovereign credit ratings. victories.

WEDNESDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2015 • 22 Rabial II 1436 • Volume 19 Number 6338 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com [email protected] | [email protected] Editorial: 4455 7741 | Advertising: 4455 7837 / 4455 7780 Emir, Father Emir join Sport Day celebrations DOHA: The Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani joined citizens and residents in the celebration of the fourth National Sport Day (NSD) yesterday. Visiting the Qatar Sport Federation for Special Needs in Al Duhail, the Emir witnessed the sports activities of federation members as well Asian Games champions. Emir’s participation comes as an encouragement for the different segments of society to exercise and make sport part of their lifestyle. The Father Emir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani accompanied by H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa Al Thani and a number of Sheikhs and ministers joined a walkathon on Al Refaa Street. Continued on page 2 The Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani watching children play at Qatar Social and Cultural Center for Blind yesterday. The Emir visited Qatar Sport Federation for Special Needs in THE PENINSULA Duhail and witnessed the activities. RIGHT: The Father Emir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser playing with kids at Qatar Foundation.

Dusty wind New law on eateries under study to continue DOHA: The dusty weather is likely to continue until tomor- Several measures being planned to promote healthy lifestyle and awareness row, but the winds wouldn’t be as high as before, so dust and DOHA: On the occasion of Qahtani told reporters his min- reporters at the Aspire Park a week or even a month that This initiative was launched to sand hanging in the air will be National Sport Day (NSD) istry has close coordination with where he was taking part in a would suffice.” coincide with the National Sports light. yesterday Qatar announced it the Supreme Education Council marathon with Supreme Council Al Qahtani said a law was Day last year and it continues. When told that it was quite is mulling to issue a law that (SEC) that makes sure school of Health (SCH) staffers. under study that would make it Staircases have been deco- unusual for high winds to stir up would ask the eateries to write canteens sell only healthy food. “The NSD will help create mandatory for all the eating out- rated with stickers and posters dust and sand in Qatar this time ingredients and their calorific Sporting facilities like play- awareness about healthy lifestyle lets to display ingredients and highlighting the importance of of the year, a veteran weatherman value on the food they serve. grounds in several government among our coming generations,” their nutrition, as well as the physical exercise and the health said there hadn’t been enough This is being done as part schools are being made accessi- he said. Qatar is investing so much calorific value of the food they benefits of climbing steps. rains this winter so the surface of a state policy to promote ble to people after school hours in National Sport Day by way of serve to promote healthy eating “You are about to burn five remained dry. healthy habits among its people so they use them to remain declaring it a holiday (which has habits among people. times more calories than using That is why when there are as lifestyle diseases like obesity physically fit. Many people are a cost for it), so it is the duty of “As a simple way to healthy life, the elevators,” reads one poster. high winds blowing from the and diabetes are on an alarm- already using them as there is citizens to take it seriously. we already are encouraging SCH Employees can actually calcu- direction of desert areas, they ing rise. increasing health awareness “Even if one walks, does jog- employees in its headquarters to late how much calories they have stir up a lot of dust and sand, the The Minister of Public Health among people now. ging or some exercise a few use stairs instead of the elevator,” burnt while climbing every floor. weatherman told this newspaper. H E Abdullah bin Khaled Al Al Qahtani was speaking to minutes a day or once or twice said the minister. THE PENINSULA According to him, there were chances of scattered rains last night and that could settle the dust and sand hanging in the air. Emir meets Saudi leader Continued on page 7 US embassy in THE PENINSULA Yemen to close FM: Syria could explode SANA’A: The United States is if crisis not resolved Modi’s party closing its embassy in Yemen, where a rebel group has seized DOHA: Any failure to resolve article published by the London’s mauled in poll control of the capital, embassy the Syrian crisis and end the Daily Telegraph newspaper on the employees and a US official in sufferings of the refugees could occasion of the fourth anniversary NEW DELHI: India’s Washington said yesterday. have grave consequences on the of Syrian civil war. Narendra Modi yesterday suf- Employees of the embassy in region and the entire world, The deprivation, displacement fered his first major election Sana’a said the US mission had The Foreign Minister H E and disruption of families that are setback since becoming prime been getting rid of documents Dr Khalid bin Mohammed Al at the heart of any humanitarian minister last May, as anti- and weapons and staff had been Attiyah has warned. crisis often lead to an increase corruption campaigner Arvind leaving the capital over the past He said Qatar has so far con- in sectarian and ethnic tensions, Kejriwal won a landslide victory days with a view of closing down tributed around $1.6bn to help which extremists can exploit to in Delhi state polls. completely by today. alleviate the suffering of those their own advantage, said the Modi’s Hindu nationalist party The ambassador had informed caught up in the conflict and has Foreign Minister. won just three of the 70 seats in them that Washington may ask pledged to continue its support. “If they succeed, then the the Delhi assembly in elections the Turkish or Algerian embas- “The longer the war contin- task of rebuilding those com- held over the weekend, dealing sies in Sana’a to look after US ues, the more likely it is that the munities once the conflict has a setback to his efforts to con- interests in the country while the humanitarian crisis in Syria will ended becomes much harder, if solidate power and push through embassy was closed. Employees at spread far beyond its borders and not impossible. This is why one much-needed economic reforms. the British, French and German have a profound impact not only of the main aims of Qatar’s aid Former Delhi chief minister embassies said their missions had The Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani with Deputy Crown Prince on the stability and economic programme is to try to soothe the Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi (Common also been getting rid of documents and Second Deputy Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia Prince Mohammed well-being of these neighbouring refugees’ suffering,” he said. Man) Party won 67 seats. AFP and have given local staff two bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in Doha yesterday. states, but of the entire world,” Continued on page 7 months’ paid leave. AFP said the Foreign Minister in an THE PENINSULA See pages 14 & 15 Qatari donates QR500,000 to UAE warplanes back in action INSIDE Page 09 kin of dead expat firefighter DUBAI: The United Arab Emirati F-16s that flew in to for the safety of its pilots. Emirates yesterday launched air Jordan on Sunday carried out The militants later killed the DOHA: A wealthy, generous Qatari has donated QR500,000 strikes from Jordan against the raids against IS, “hitting their airman by burning him alive, Car dealers punished ($137,306) to the family of an expatriate firefighter who died while Islamic State (IS) as an impor- targets and returning safely to releasing gruesome video footage too severely doing his duty last Friday. The Moroccan staffer of the Civil Defence tant Arab ally in the US-led base”, the UAE armed forces of his “execution”. By Muhammad Ali Department was in the team that was trying to control an intense anti-IS coalition returned to command said. Abu Dhabi wanted more done inferno in a warehouse in the Industrial Area late on Friday evening. combat operations. It did not specify how many in terms of search and rescue Al Kubaisi The firefighter complained of suffocation as clouds of dense and The raids came after President aircraft were in action, or where for downed pilots in the con- black smoke were billowing from the fire. He was rushed for emer- Bashar Al Assad said Damascus or what their targets were. flict zones, the New York Times gency medical care and declared dead the following morning, local was being informed about air Following the December crash reported, and the US military Where does IS stand Arabic daily Al Raya reports. The daily said a generous Qatari was strikes against militants in Syria and capture of Jordanian F-16 later deployed aircraft and troops in geo-strategic map? moved by reports of the 36-year-old firefighter’s death while rescuing and that they could help his pilot Maaz Al Kassasbeh, the to northern Iraq to boost its SAR By Dr Ali Al Hail people trapped in the blaze, and gave away QR500,000 in reward for government if they were “more UAE withdrew from the coali- capabilities. the deceased’s bravery to his dependents. THE PENINSULA serious”. tion’s strike missions over fears AFP WEDNESDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2015 02 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com HOME

Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani watching a tug-of-war game and (Right) Father Emir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and other dignitaries taking part in a walk yesterday. Leaders take part in Sport Day celebrations

Continued from page 1 A total of 208 government and the volleyball team, Mubarak Father Emir and H H Sheikha private entities organised activi- Dahi, top football player, Moza bint Nasser attended some ties at venues, including Katara, Mansour Muftah, and 2006 Asian events held by Qatar Foundation Aspire Zone, the Corniche and Footballer of the Year, Ibrahim in Education City. They also saw Qatar Foundation (QF). Khalfan, interacted with visitors. activities such as table tennis for People in large numbers “One of the biggest days of people with special needs, basket- thronged the Corniche for the the year has arrived and we are ball, sack race and tug-of-war. Corniche Walk which started excited to celebrate our nation’s H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al Thani, Chairperson, Qatar Museums Authority Board of Trustees, in H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint at 9am, after which walkers passion for sports while encour- Museum of Islamic Art Park and (Right) H E Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani, Founder and Chairperson, Teach Hamad Al Thani, Chairperson, proceeded to Qatar Olympic aging a healthier and more active For Qatar, at Katara. Qatar Museums Authority Board Committee’s Sport Village where future. The presence of so many of Trustees, took part in activi- over 10 national federations of our best athletes here shows ties in Museum of Islamic Art offered activities and entertain- how important the day is to eve- importantly, inspire more young activities highlighted by the Activities were also held at Park. ment for every age and fitness ryone in Qatar. people to make sports an integral walkathon through Education the Pearl-Qatar, in Al Rayyan, Various venues allocated for the level. “It is fantastic to see the public part of their lives whatever their City under the theme ‘Unlock Mesaimeer, Al Markhiya, Al biggest National Sport Day cel- Athletes, including captain of interact with athletes and take level and ambitions,” said QOC Your Inner Athlete’, in which Gharrafa, Salwa Road, Al Khor, ebration were packed with people Qatar’s 2014 World Championship part in activities. We hope that Secretary-General Sheikh Saoud each stage of the route included Al Wakrah, Umm Salal and Al despite the dusty weather which winning 3x3 basketball team, today has helped inspire some of bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. educational activities to inspire Shahaniya. lasted throughout the day. Yassin Ismail Musa, captain of future sporting heroes and, more Hundreds also joined in QF’s people to lead active lifestyles. THE PENINSULA Aspire Zone bustles with participants despite dusty weather DOHA: Aspire Zone was at the and competitions catered for all They understand the message and said H E Salah bin Ghanem bin heart of the fourth National social segments and age groups the vision behind National Sport Nasser Al Ali after launching the Sport Day celebration yester- drove thousands of families into Day. People every year are becom- ‘Family Cycling’ initiative, a joint day, bustling with activities for action throughout the day — ing more aware of the importance campaign by Aspire Zone and the families and individuals of all despite the dusty weather. of sports. I think the whole society ministry. ages and nationalities — The “I’m amazed by how many got the message and as Minister of The Minister, along with French wide range of sport activities Qataris and residents are here. Youth and Sports I’m very happy,” Ambassador Eric Chevallier and Qatar Cycling Federation Head Sheikh Khalid bin Ali Al Thani rode the first family bikes. “The ministry is keen to par- ticipate in the day which serves the important goal of promoting healthy lifestyles and educating the community on the importance of taking care of their health and fitness. The ministry is working on turning sports into a perma- nent culture in our society, not just a one-day event,” said the Minister who came to Aspire with his family. Sheikh Khalid said, “We are very happy with the development that sports have seen in our coun- try. When the day was marked for the first time, a limited number of places celebrated it, but now Minister of Youth and Sports H E Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser Al Ali riding you see everyone celebrating the family cycle launching the initiative at Aspire Zone yesterday. ABDUL BASIT everywhere. “Aspire Zone continues to be said: “I am happy to see this large Moroccan Ahmad Al Sabbar fin- exceptional in organising activi- number of people engage in activi- ishing first. Synchronised swim- ties for all sports.” ties. This proves the success of the ming sessions for girls, a first Minister of Energy and concept of National Sport Day this year, and Zumba classes also Industry H E Dr Mohammed which the leadership initiated and saw huge turnout. Beach soccer, bin Saleh Al Sada and Minister supported to encourage all people football, science activities, a skills of Public Health H E Abdulla bin to exercise anywhere throughout development programme, run- Khalid Al Qahtani were present. the year.” ning, throwing, vertical jumping Khalid Abdullah Al Sulaiteen, Over 2,000 people took part in and cycling competitions were CEO, Aspire Zone Foundation, a 3km Fun Run with 32-year-old also held. THE PENINSULA WEDNESDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2015 HOME www.thepeninsulaqatar.com 03 Katara marks Sport Day Delhi election: Indians see

DOHA: Thousands took part in National Sport Day activi- ties at Katara Cultural Village a new chapter in politics yesterday. The programme featuring more BY MOHAMMED SHOEB chapter in the history of Indian see the change in the overall mind- than 100 activities organised by 49 and SANAULLAH democracy which will attract more set of Indians in Delhi and the entities began at 7am at Katara professionals and educated indi- impossible dream of a corruption- Esplanade. Last year, Katara DOHA: Several Indian expatri- viduals to electoral politics, who free society coming true.” hosted 83 activities organised by ates in Qatar believe that the had lost hope due to the pervasive Ram Krishna Yadav from the 38 entities. This year’s theme ‘A landslide victory of Aam Aadmi and deep-rooted corruption in the state of Uttar Pradesh said he sound body and a sound mind’ Party (AAP) in Delhi Assembly political system. It is the victory of was supporting AAP because aimed to raise awareness about elections will open a new chapter the common man. It’s the victory Kejriwal delivered what he prom- the importance of sports. in Indian politics. of principles over propaganda,” said ised to the common people during Minister of Economy and The exceptional performance of Amani. his first stint as chief minister for Commerce H E Sheikh Ahmed the two-year-old AAP in the polls Captain Debasish Bhattacharya, hardly two months. “The (ruling) bin Jassim Al Thani, Minister by winning 67 of the 70 seats has who also studied and worked in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also of Energy and Industry H E Dr drawn international attention. “I Delhi for nearly five years, said: promised to reduce commodity Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada, was glued to the TV since morning “Democracy is a wonderful sys- prices, but the prices are going up Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti, watching results minute by minute. tem. Probably the Indians are every day.” Director-General, Cultural I am happy and excited for the peo- realising how powerful voters can Mubarak, a Muslim from UP, Village Foundation, representa- One of the tournaments in progress at Katara. BAHER AMIN ple of Delhi that they have now got be. I would believe and insist that said, “I am opposing BJP mainly tives of government and private a leader they deserved the best,” Kejriwal succeed in each word and because I feel insecure by the grow- entities and sport federations with the recent hosting of World health tests, include those for said Shadab Amani, who studied intention conveyed because the ing communal divide in India.” And were present. Men’s Handball Championship,” diabetes and high blood pressure. and worked in Delhi before com- game has changed. Hope quota for Hakeem Ahmed from Kanpur, UP, “National Sport Day is a Qatari said Sheikh Ahmed. Dr Al Sada said the annual day ing to Qatar. jobs and other privileges would be said, “I am happy that Kejriwal is initiative many countries are fol- Activities included beach foot- seeks to raise awareness about the To Amani, AAP’s or its leader based on economic status, not caste coming to power. The BJP has not lowing. It underlines the impor- ball, boxing, basketball, wrestling, importance of sports and health Arvind Kejriwal’s victory is not a and creed.” Bhattacharya, who also done anything for the people in tance attached by our state to tennis and taekwondo competi- and attract participation from all simple victory of one party over the served in the Indian Army for a the nine months since it came to sports and highlights Qatar as tions. Participants were also segments of society. others. “It is the beginning of a new short stint, added: “I will wait to power.” THE PENINSULA an international hub of sports, offered an opportunity to have THE PENINSULA

Regency Travel & Tours celebrates Sport Day Lulu sponsors QOC events

Lulu Hypermarket Group joined hands with Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) for National Sport Day to promote best practices of sports, sports culture and physical activities and expand the scope of com- Regency Travel & Tours marked National Sport Day for the fourth consecutive year to highlight the importance of sports munity participation. Lulu was gold sponsor of the event organised by QOC in the Sports Zone and set in creating a healthy community. It organised activities for employees at the Regency Head Office on Suhaim Bin Hamad up stalls to promote healthy food. Mohamed Althaf, Group Director, Shaijan M O, Regional Director, Street and at Mesaimeer Sports Club. Events included a 100-metre race, tug-of-war, relay race and a football match. Shanavas P M, Regional Manager, and other Lulu officials were present. WEDNESDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2015 04 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com HOME Govt, private entities mark Sport Day

large number of pri- vate and public estab- lishments, companies Aand organisations celebrated National Sport Day with fun-filled and innovative activities. Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) held health and sports- related activities for staff and their families at Nurses Club, Hamad Bin Khalifa Medical City. A walkathon was followed by basketball, lawn tennis, mini football and mini golf games for adults. Children celebrated the day playing on bouncy cas- tles and enjoying board games. Free blood pressure, diabetes and body mass index, height and weight screenings were held for participants. First aid demonstrations and tips on cardiopulmonary resus- citation through demonstrations on dummies and tips on healthy eating were part of the events. Many employees and children also took time to write or draw a People taking part in a walkathon organised by HMC. health message on a wall mural to commemorate the day. Face painting and drawing activities were other highlights. HMC’s Blood Donation Centre organised mobile campaigns at Aspire Zone and near Sheraton Hotel Doha on the Corniche. HMC staff educated people on the importance of donating blood, offered general health advice and performed routine Hamad International Airport organised a step counting activity to checks. encourage walking as a form of exercise. Hamad International Airport set up a sports activity booth with mini golf and mini football with prizes for winners. It also organised a step count- ing activity to encourage walking as a form of exercise that can be easily incorporated into our everyday lives even when travel- ling. From the time passengers entered the terminal until they reached their boarding gates, the Qatar Petroleum held activities for over 4,000 of its employees and their families at Aspire Zone Park and in number of steps they took and Dukhan. the distance they covered were counted and the information was displayed on every boarding gate to see before they boarded their flights. The airport also organised a Sports Day social media contest where people were asked to sub- mit pictures of themselves par- ticipating in a sporty or healthy activity to win prizes. Qatar Petroleum (QP) held activities for over 4,000 of its employees and their families at Aspire Zone Park. Over 300 staff formed a human QP logo to signify unity in pursuing its strategic objec- Qatargas employees at one of the events organised by the company. Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar joined the festivities with a friendly tives. Minister of Energy and football match featuring faculty, staff and students. Industry H E Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada visited the venue. Sports Club, Doha Golf Club, Al Qatar Red Crescent (QRC) Ashghal organised a special Activities included aerobics Khor Community and the winter conducted sports, recreational, programme at Katara beach. and Zumba, freestyle football, camp in Sealine. and informative activities for vis- Ashghal’s staff and those of basketball hoops, zorb football, Sports like football, beach vol- itors at Katara Cultural Village affiliate companies and their an inflatable obstacle course, wall leyball, basketball, table tennis and QRC teams took part in families competed in games and climbing, and a boot camp com- and cricket were held. There was sports events organised by 46 tournaments, including beach bat course. also a special area for children institutions. football and beach volleyball. A play area was set aside for with bouncy castles, slides and QRC ambulance vehicles There were special activities children under five, along with other attractions. and paramedics at Katara and for children. specific areas for drills and People had the opportunity Diplomatic Club received cases, Carnegie Mellon University in games. to have their blood sugar levels, including fatigue and injuries. Qatar joined the festivities with Selected participants for blood pressure and body mass Serious cases were moved by a friendly football match featur- QP’s weight loss challenge ‘Be index checked in a dedicated ambulance vehicles to hospital ing faculty, staff and students. Healthy, Be a Winner’ were for- area set by Qatargas’s Medical for specialised care. THE PENINSULA mally announced and the win- Department. Over 4,000 employ- ner will be awarded in next year’s ees and families participated in National Sport Day. the activities. Similar events were held in Qatar Fertiliser Company Dukhan, where QP staff took (Qafco) hosted activities for part in football, volleyball, golf, its employees at its club, Al badminton, rugby and tennis Banush. Events included football competitions, water sports and and volleyball, track and field a 5km walkathon. games, shot-put, discus throw, Qatargas held events at the 50-metre, 100-metre and 2,000- gymnasium at its head office metre races, kids games, lemon Ashghal staff at an event at Katara beach. building in Doha, in Al Gharafa and spoon and Shoot the Basket.

Children of Qafco employees taking part in a race at the company’s club. Participants in one of the events organised by Qatar Red Crescent at Katara Cultural Village. WEDNESDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2015 HOME www.thepeninsulaqatar.com 05 QIIB staff join Sport Day festivities Dar Al Sharq marks Sport Day

International Islamic (QIIB) celebrated National Sport Day 2015 with several activities yesterday. A large number of employees took part in a 3km marathon race to mark the day. CEO Abdulbasit Al Shaibei led the celebrations. QIB hosts National Sport Day events

Dar Al Sharq CEO, Abdulatif bin Abdullah Al Mahmoud (third left), Jaber Al Harami, Deputy CEO and Editor-in-Chief, Al Sharq (left), and Khaled Al Jaber, Acting Editor-in-Chief, The Peninsula (third right) with other officials at the event.

DOHA: Employees of Dar Al Jaber, Acting Editor-in-Chief, The Football matches were Sharq celebrated National Sport Peninsula were present. played between teams from The Day with several activities. Staff took part in football, vol- Peninsula, Al Sharq editorial A The event was organised at leyball, table tennis and shooting and B, Kwik Kopy, Administration CEO Abdulatif bin Abdullah contests and a tug-of-war. and Advertising. The advertising Al Mahmoud’s ranch in Umm Prizes were presented to the team won the prize. Amberiah. Jaber Al Harami, winning teams and employees Atif Ghanam won the prize for Deputy CEO and Editor-in- who excelled in different sports table tennis. Chief, Al Sharq, and Khaled Al were honoured. THE PENINSULA

Qatar Islamic Bank officials, staff and their families at the event.

DOHA: Qatar Islamic Bank take part in competitions and commitment to meet Qatar’s (QIB) yesterday marked races, including football, tennis, vision and objectives of these National Sport Day with activi- ball juggling, aerobics, beach hand events which support values and ties at Four Seasons Hotel ball and a contest to select QIB’s good practices. beach. strongest employee. “The leadership’s attention QIB Group CEO Bassel Gamal Participants also enjoyed to sports is manifested in Qatar led bank employees and their snacks and learned about healthy winning the silver medal in hand- families in the celebration. food. ball that reflects the importance The event echoed QIB’s com- Some 46 employees took part sports are getting here together mitment to the objectives in Qatar in a marathon race organised with world-class tournaments National Vision 2030, reiterating by Qatar Central Bank, reflect- held in the country. We hope the importance of sports and ing QIB’s cooperation with other the celebration will inspire our healthy nutritions as pillars of community activities. staff to participate in sports and health for citizens and residents. Gamal said, “QIB’s participa- healthy activities throughout the A football match in progress. Many teams were formed to tion is a manifestation of our year.” THE PENINSULA WEDNESDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2015 06 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com MIDDLE EAST

French Rafale Cairo, Moscow in nuclear plant deal fighter jet sale to Egypt ‘imminent’ Putin in bid to boost ties PARIS: France is close to sell- ing Dassault Aviation-built CAIRO: Russian President Dabaa but it was shut down Rafale fighter jets to Egypt, Vladimir Putin met his after the Chernobyl disaster in sources close to the matter said Egyptian counterpart yester- 1986. In 2008 Putin had overseen yesterday , as Cairo looks to day and agreed a deal to build along with then visiting Egyptian upgrade its military hardware a nuclear plant, as he sought president Mubarak the signing of over fears the crisis in neigh- to boost ties on his first visit to a deal enabling Moscow to bid for bouring Libya could spill over. Cairo in a decade. the construction of the nuclear France and Egypt have been The two-day visit came with power plant in Dabaa. negotiating since a November state the Kremlin bidding to strengthen The two countries also agreed visit by Egyptian President Abdel relations with the Arab world’s yesterday to create a Russian Fattah al-Sisi over 24 Rafale jets, most populous country at a industrial zone along the Suez a Fremm naval frigate and MBDA time when Cairo’s alliance with Canal, whose expansion is a key air-to-air missiles in a deal worth Washington has frayed. project undertaken by Sisi. ¤5bn-¤6bn ($5.65bn-$6.78bn), two Putin is a key non-Arab Putin was received with a industrial sources said. backer of Egyptian President guard of honour and a 21-gun “It’s imminent. For me the sig- Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, who has salute, while posters of him were nature is certain,” a French source faced US criticism for his deadly plastered on Cairo’s main roads said and added that one remaining crackdown on opponents since he greeting him in Russian, Arabic issue was the delivery timeframe. ousted Islamist leader Mohamed and English. Despite exclusive negotiations Mursi in July 2013. After arriving on Monday, he with India for the last three years, Their meeting in Cairo fol- and Sisi had attended a concert at Dassault has not found a foreign lows a 2011 uprising that toppled the Opera House before dining in buyer for its multi-role Rafale. ex-strongman Hosni Mubarak, the landmark Cairo Tower. Putin Billed to be one of the most sophis- whom the Russian leader met on also gave a Kalashnikov assault ticated fighter jets in the world, it his previous trip in 2005. rifle to Sisi as a gift. is also one of the most expensive. Experts say Putin’s visit was Russia hosted Sisi’s predecessor The source said the French also aimed at showing he is not Morsi during his one-year presi- and Egyptian defence minis- isolated internationally despite dency despite having branded his tries, Dassault and other indus- the crisis in Ukraine, where Muslim Brotherhood movement trial firms, including Thales and Russia is accused of fomenting a “terrorist group” in 2003. But Russian President Vladimir Putin (front right) and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi (front centre) attend the Safran, were holding techni- and sustaining a rebellion. Moscow was also one of the first official welcoming ceremony in Cairo yesterday. cal talks. Le Monde newspaper Putin and Sisi made a brief countries to endorse Sisi’s presi- reported that Sisi had approved statement after officials signed a dency last year. “on further military cooperation At the time, Russian media said well as secular dissent. the deal and that the contract memorandum of understanding Sisi visited Russia when he was between our two countries given the two sides were close to signing Washington regularly criticises could be signed today or tomor- to build a nuclear power plant defence minister soon after oust- the current circumstances” in a $3bn deal for Moscow to supply the Egyptian judiciary for hand- row. It did not identify its source. in Dabaa on the Mediterranean ing Mursi — amid deteriorating Egypt, said Sisi. Putin and Sisi missiles and warplanes, includ- ing down lengthy prison sentences A second source, close to coast — Egypt’s first such facility. relations with Washington—and did not take any questions from ing MiG-29 fighters and attack to Mursi supporters and secular French Defence Minister Jean- “If we can reach final decisions, he followed up with an August reporters during their state- helicopters. activists, after often speedy trials. Yves Le Drian, said talks would then we can create a new sector 2014 trip as president. ments, after which the Russian However, Washington has As long as Washington criti- conclude in “several days”. in the Egyptian economy based At their meeting last summer leader left Cairo. since resumed its annual $1.5bn cises “Egypt’s democratic back- Egyptian army and government on the construction of the plant, at Putin’s summer residence in Moscow has sought to secure in aid to Egypt, also delivering slide... it keeps open the door for officials could not be reached for the training of technical staff Sochi, the two discussed Russia a larger slice of the Egyptian Apache helicopter gunships to Putin... to gain influence in Egypt comment. Dassault declined to and development of scientific supplying weapons to Egypt, arms market after Washington fight Sinai jihadists. Egypt’s ties at the expense of US interests,” comment. France secured its first research,” Putin said. which is fighting an insurgency in suspended some weapons deliver- with the US still remain cooler said Anna Borshchevskaya of The major military contract in Egypt Egypt had taken steps in the the Sinai Peninsula that has killed ies in the immediate aftermath than before Mursi’s ouster, with Washington Institute For Near in about 20 years in 2014 with a early 1980s to launch a nuclear scores of policemen and soldiers. of Sisi’s crackdown on Mursi Washington criticising Sisi’s East Policy. ¤1bn deal for four naval frigates. plant to produce electricity in The two leaders also agreed supporters. regime for repressing Islamist as AFP REUTERS Palestinian mission opens in Stockholm Militia chief warns rivals STOCKHOLM: The Palestin- not to destabilise Yemen ians opened an embassy in Stockholm yesterday night, SANA’A: The Shia militia that that “these fears are unfounded. cementing closer ties just has grabbed power in Sana’a The security situation is stable” months after Sweden became warned yesterday against any in Sana’a. the first western European attempts to “destabilise” Yemen Addressing his adversaries, Union country to recognise as the UN brokered a second Houthi proposed what he called Palestine as a state. day of talks aimed at resolving “a partnership” under the “con- Visiting Sweden for the first the crisis. stitutional declaration” by which time since recognition in October, The country has never man- the militia seized power on Friday. Palestinian President Mahmoud aged to achieve stability since He took particular aim at the Abbas called on other countries longtime president Ali Abdullah Sunni Islamist party Al Islah, to follow Sweden’s lead. “Your Saleh stepped down in early 2012 one of the fiercest opponents of recognition...should push forward after a bloody year-long popular his militia, urging it to give up an negotiations in the peace process,” uprising. This includes battling an ideology “that excludes the other”. Abbas said. Al Qaeda insurgency and facing a Speaking on the eve of the Relations between Sweden and separatist movement in the for- fourth anniversary of the start Israel have nose-dived since the merly independent south. of the uprising against Saleh, initial announcement and Foreign Matters worsened in September Houthi urged his supporters to Minister Margot Wallstrom called when the Houthi militia, fearful of celebrate the event en masse off a visit to Israel in January. being marginalised by a proposed in the capital today. On Friday, Israel temporarily recalled its new constitution, seized control matters came to a head when ambassador. Palestinians seek of the capital and began pushing the Houthis said they had dis- statehood in the Israeli-occupied southward into Sunni areas. solved parliament and created a West Bank and the blockaded Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks next to Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom during the That drew fierce resistance presidential council to bring the Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem inauguration of the Embassy of Palestine in central Stockholm yesterday. from tribes and from Al Qaeda. country out of crisis. as their capital. The advance continues, and resi- UN envoy Jamal Benomar has Israel seized the territories in UN General Assembly approved wanted progress on reform. by his Social Democrat party to dents said yesterday that the warned that Yemen is at a “cross- the 1967 Middle East War and has de facto recognition in 2012. “There are challenges: we must recognise a Palestinian state. Houthis had seized Baida, capital roads”, and urged political leaders built Jewish settlements in sev- A total of 135 countries recog- help one another to fight corrup- Their resolution in the UN of the southern central province to “take up their responsibilities eral areas despite international nise Palestine, including several tion, increase gender equality, Security Council calling for the of the same name. and achieve consensus” as he bat- criticism, although it had pulled East European nations that did so improve respect for human rights establishment of a Palestinian state Speaking in a televised address tles for a negotiated solution. out of Gaza. Long-running peace before they joined the EU. and of course continue the state failed in December but they have as the talks carried on at a Sana’a Yesterday evening, some people talks collapsed nearly a year ago Swedish Prime Minsiter Stefan building process,” Lofven said. also moved to join the International hotel, Abdelmalek Al Houthi said participating in the talks said an and the Palestinians forged ahead Lofven said Palestine would A deal signed by the two lead- Criminal Court (ICC). “it is in the interests of everyone, agreement in principle had been with an alternative strategy to open an embassy in Stockholm ers will see Sweden raise aid The parliaments of several both inside and outside the coun- reached, but the Houthis refused achieve statehood. immediately. In most Western to Palestine by 1.5bn crowns European countries, including try, that Yemen be stable”. to confirm that. Most Western European coun- European countries, Palestine ($179.74m) over the next five Britain, France and Spain, have in “The interests of those who The Houthi takeover has drawn tries have yet to give a Palestinian has a diplomatic mission, not a years. Lofven used his inaugural recent months passed non-bind- bet on chaos and want to hurt international condemnation, with state official recognition, as has full embassy. He promised more address in parliament last year ing votes recognising Palestine, the economy and security of the UN chief Ban Ki-moon calling for the United States, although the aid for Palestine but stressed he to fulfill a long-standing promise angering Israel. AFP people will suffer,” the Shia militia President Abdrabuh Mansour leader warned. Hadi, who has resigned, to be Houthi also sought to reassure restored to power. diplomats amid unconfirmed “The situation is very, very reports that some embassies seriously deteriorating, with the Saudi warns of MERS surge in Sana’a intended to close for Huthis taking power and making security reasons. “Some peo- this government vacuum. There linked to baby camels ple are raising concerns among must be restoration of legitimacy diplomatic missions so that they of President Hadi,” Ban said. RIYADH: Saudi authori- that a surge typically occurs flee the country,” he said, adding AFP ties warned yesterday of a around this time of year and possible spike soon in cases “could be very likely” again of the deadly Middle East without proper health educa- Respiratory Syndrome tion efforts. coronavirus (MERS-CoV) “By this time they are two because of the risk posed months, three months (old).... from newborn camels. They are vulnerable to the The World Health infection and so you have more Organisation (WHO) has camels at risk of getting the cited the preliminary results infection. So you have more of studies indicating that infected camels right now cir- people working with camels culating,” he said. are at increased risk of infec- The kingdom has been tion from MERS-CoV, and hardest hit by the virus, which young camels are particularly was first identified three years susceptible. ago. A total of 857 people have Doctor Abdul Aziz bin been infected there, 366 of Saeed, who heads the health whom have died, according to Shia Houthi fighters stand near armed vehicles in the Al Bayda province, ministry centre coordinating health ministry data. south of Sana’a, yesterday. the response to MERS, said AFP WEDNESDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2015 MIDDLE EAST www.thepeninsulaqatar.com 07 Syria army in offensive against rebels in south Hezbollah takes the lead on the frontline

BEIRUT: Syria’s army gained militants, and are seeking a army operation had cut off an ground from rebels in the south higher profile and more help. important supply route for rebels yesterday in what a monitoring But the Nusra Front, Al Qaeda’s from Jordan to rebel-controlled group described as a large-scale Syrian wing, also has a presence areas west of Damascus. offensive in the region backed in the region. Sunni insurgents The mainstream rebel groups by Lebanese Hezbollah fighters also control wide expanses of known collectively as “The against insurgents including Al Syria’s north and east. Southern Front” have received Qaeda’s Syrian wing. Hezbollah’s Al Manar news support from states that oppose The south is one of the last channel said government forces Assad. That aid, some of it mili- remaining areas where main- had captured the town of Deir tary, has been channelled through stream, non-jihadist rebels fight- Al Adas and Syrian state televi- Jordan, a staunch ally of the ing President Bashar Al Assad sion quoted a military source say- United States and Gulf states have a foothold. Just a short drive ing the town of Denaji between that have taken a strong position to Damascus, the area remains Damascus and the far southern against Assad. a risk to the Syrian leader, who boundary town of Quneitra was Meanwhile, Assad said has otherwise consolidated con- taken “a number of terrorists Damascus was being informed trol over much of the west. were eliminated”. about US-led air strikes against “The operation started two The leader of a mainstream jihadists in Syria and that the A general view shows damaged buildings along a deserted street and an area controlled by forces loyal to Syria’s days ago and is very big,” Rami rebel group in the area said the raids could help his government President Bashar Al Assad, as seen from a rebel-controlled area at the Bab Al Nasr frontline in Aleppo yesterday. Abdulrahman, head of the Syrian situation in Deir Al Adas was if they were “more serious”. Observatory for Human Rights “dangerous” and that the nearby In an interview broadcast by rebels fighting to overthrow him. to coordinate with it. It says the “I haven’t heard of (the) army monitoring group, said. He town of Deir Maker had fallen to the BBC, the Syrian leader also “There’s no direct cooperation” raids cannot defeat IS unless the using barrels, or maybe cook- said the offensive aims to take government forces. Syria’s state denied his forces were using with the coalition, which includes international community starts ing pots,” he said, laughing. “We a triangle of rebel-held terri- news agency SANA said the army so-called barrel bombs, crude several Arab governments as well cooperating with Syrian troops. have bombs, missiles and bullets,” tory from rural areas southwest had also killed insurgents near unguided munitions blamed for as Washington, Assad said. Assad said the strikes had the he added, dismissing claims his of Damascus to Deraa city to the town of Sheikh Maskeen, the deaths of thousands of civil- “Sometimes, they convey a mes- potential to help his government, forces were using indiscriminate Quneitra. Syrian media and rebel close to the main north-south ians. British Foreign Secretary sage, a general message. “There but that so far they were not suf- weapons. sources said that battles raged in highway between Damascus and Philip Hammond rejected any is no dialogue. There’s, let’s say, ficiently “serious” to do so. “Yes, “There are no indiscriminate several areas of southern Syria. the Jordanian border. form of dialogue with Damascus information, but not dialogue.” it will have some benefits, but if it weapons. When you shoot, you Syrian troops had been on the A mainstream rebel group and said Assad’s denial of the use Assad said communication was was more serious and more effec- aim, and when you shoot, when defensive in the south, losing con- in southern Syria calling itself of barrel bombs showed he was through third parties, includ- tive and more efficient,” Assad you aim, you aim at terrorists in trol of large areas of countryside “The First Army” said that it either “deluded or lying”. ing Iraq, where Washington and said. “It’s not that much.” order to protect civilians.” near Jordan as well as parts of had started a battle to take con- A US-led coalition began car- Western allies are also carrying Rights groups have accused Assad also denied claims of the border along with Israel near trol of Namer and Qarfa in Deraa rying out air strikes against the out strikes against IS. “More than Damascus of indiscriminate bom- using chemical weapons against the Golan Heights, according to province and would attack six Islamic State (IS) jihadist group one party, Iraq and other coun- bardment of civilians in rebel- his own people in August 2013, in regional military analysts and other locations. It also declared in Syria on September 23, but it tries. Sometimes they convey held areas, including with barrel an attack outside Damascus that diplomats. the main highway leading to has pointedly refused to coordi- messages, general messages. But bombs — crude munitions packed killed up to 1,400 people. The southern rebels, often Damascus as a military zone. nate with Damascus. there’s nothing tactical.” with explosives and shrapnel that “Who verified who threw that described as the best organised A reporter for the Lebanese Al Assad confirmed there was no Damascus has grudgingly are generally dropped by helicop- gas on who?” he said. Asked if his of the mainstream armed oppo- Mayadeen news channel, which cooperation with the coalition, accepted the strikes on its terri- ter. But Assad flatly denied his government was responsible, he sition, see themselves as the last has embedded its journalists members of which he accused of tory, saying it was informed before forces were using barrel bombs, said “definitely not,” adding the hope for a four-year-old uprising with the Syrian army, said from backing “terrorism” in an apparent they started, but has repeatedly describing such claims as a “child- reported death toll was “exagger- and civil war hijacked by Islamist Quneitra that the large-scale reference to their support for other criticised the coalition for failing ish story”. ated”. AGENCIES

Border unrest Windy weather forecast today

Continued from page 1 its intensity,” said the weatherman. Day temperatures could soar up Asked to give more details Meanwhile, the routine weather to 33 degrees C while at night the about the rains forecast, par- forecast for tomorrow said that mercury level will likely average at ticularly if they were expected in high winds will continue to blow between 19 and 22 degrees C. Doha as well, he said that to say affecting visibility. In Doha, the temperature with certainty if it will rain and The seas will be rough and wind expected is between 27 degrees C if it did, where exactly it will, was speed could reach up to 18 and 30 and 22 degrees. Abu Sara will wit- next to impossible. knots per hour. Inshore, south- ness huge temperature difference “All I can say is that the dusty easterly to southerly winds could as the maximum forecast here is weather wouldn’t continue after gather speed up to 10 to 20 and at 33 degrees C and the minimum, tomorrow and is gradually losing times 26 knots an hour. 19 degrees. THE PENINSULA

Shelling in South Sudan oil town Top judge issues final

JUBA: Rebel fighters in South anti-Erdogan broadside Sudan bombarded govern- ment positions yesterday in the ISTANBUL: The outgoing Under Turkish law, Kilic is oil town of Bentiu, a day after head of Turkey’s top court not allowed to run again for the the UN launched a $1.8bn aid launched a final broadside court’s chairman job because he Riot police are positioned in the street during clashes with Tunisian residents of the southeastern town of Ben appeal to stave off famine in the against President Recep Tayyip has served the maximum term, Guerdane, near the border with Libya, yesterday following a demonstration after the seizure of contraband war-wracked country. Erdogan yesterday, warning which is two four-year mandates. fuel crossing into Tunisia from Libya. It is estimated that some 328,000 tonnes of contraband goods pass Loud explosions were heard that the judiciary was being He was to retire next month. The in the northern town, capital of turned into an “instrument of court has elected Zuhtu Arslan through Ras Jedir annually. Unity state and one of the hard- revenge” by politicians. — who is said to be supported by est fought over regions in the Constitutional Court chairman Erdogan — as its new leader. He 14-month long war, and where Hasim Kilic, who announced he was to take power on March 13. 53,000 civilians are sheltering was retiring a month early, said Erdogan claims Turkey’s judici- inside a United Nations camp. the government’s “extraordinary ary is under the sway of his ally- “The rebels are shelling our posi- interest” in the court’s affairs turned-rival Fethullah Gulen, an Libya reopens port; UN talks today tions in Bentiu,” Defence Minister was undermining judicial inde- influential Muslim cleric based Kuol Manyang said. “This is a vio- pendence. “Everybody knows in the United States. He accuses TRIPOLI: Libya reopened its The North African country’s elected House of Representatives lation of the cessation of hostilities the political views of judges and Gulen and his followers of being oil port of Hariga yesterday, two largest oil ports, Es Sider and from the rival General agreement, and we will act in self prosecutors, even in the remotest behind a sweeping corruption ending a strike by guards that and Ras Lanuf, with a combined National Congress (GNC), the defence.” Aid workers in the north- villages of the country. We cannot investigation that rocked then- had threatened to further slash capacity of around 600,000 bar- former parliament reinstated by ern town of Bentiu confirmed the move forward with such a judici- prime minister Erdogan’s govern- exports as rival factions fight rels per day, have been closed by Tripoli’s new rulers. shelling, saying they briefly took ary,” Kilic said. ment in December 2013. for control of the country. fighting between the two loose The UN special envoy to Libya, shelter in bunkers. “The judiciary is not an instru- Erdogan, who labelled the The threat to shut down Hariga confederations of armed factions Bernardino Leon, said the most Fighting broke out in South ment of revenge, it is not anyone’s graft probe an attempted “judi- underlined the fragility of oil ship- since December. influential political and military Sudan in December 2013 when tool to achieve their aims,” he told cial coup”, vowed no mercy in the ments as two competing govern- Nearly four years after civil war groups now supported the proc- President Kiir accused his sacked a news conference in Ankara. fight against Gulen and purged ments and their armed allies are toppled veteran leader Muammar ess, which in the first stage would deputy Riek Machar of attempt- The constitutional court is seen the police force and judiciary, he locked in a scramble for territory Gaddafi, Libya is caught in strug- include a unity government, a ing a coup. The fighting in the as the last bastion of checks and said, to rid them of pro-Gulenist and petroleum wealth. gle between an internationally ceasefire and armed groups leav- capital Juba set off a cycle of balances in Turkey. elements. AFP Hariga reopened shortly before recognised government and a ing cities and strategic facilities. retaliatory massacres across the the United Nations was expected rival administration set up in “We have agreed on an agenda,” country. Both government forces to hold talks to prevent a wider Tripoli after an armed faction he told UN radio. “We still have a loyal to Kiir and rebels loyal to conflict that Western govern- known as Libya Dawn took over long way even if we’re successful Machar continue to fight, despite ments fear will turn Libya into the capital in the summer. in the first stage.” numerous ceasefire deals. The UN a failed state just across the Each faction claims legiti- Maintaining a ceasefire or hold- estimates that 2.5 million people Call to protect refugees Mediterranean from Europe. macy and is backed by brigades ing a political agreement together are in a state of emergency or Libya shut most operations at of former rebels who once fought is a complex task because the two crisis, steps just short of famine. Continued from page 1 the Hariga terminal near Egypt’s Gaddafi, but steadily turned factions are loose coalitions of dif- The latest fighting comes a “We need to protect the refugees from the possibility of manipulation border, the last functioning land on one another in internecine ferent armed groups and politi- day after donors pledged $529m and exploitation by violent militias and other radical groups. Indeed, oil export terminal, on Saturday warfare. cal leaders whose loyalties are not towards a $1.8bn aid appeal by the we must all act to forestall the creation of disadvantaged and deprived after security guards prevented a The United Nations last month always aligned. UN, with over 2.5 million people parts of the Arab population who are perennially vulnerable to the tanker from docking in a protest began a new round of talks in Official Prime Minister Abdullah on the brink of famine. messages of hate propagated by the extremists,” said Al Attiyah. over wage payments. Geneva, which brought some of Al Thinni and the elected parlia- UN aid chief Valerie Amos “For the children and young people languishing in refugee camps, it is “An oil tanker was supposed to the warring factions together to ment are based in the east. They warned the warring leaders they not just about meeting their humanitarian needs, but also about mak- dock at the port this morning, but discuss a unity government and are loosely allied with the town of had to show a commitment to peace. ing sure that a feeling of neglect does not turn into a feeling of despair. the weather was against this. We a ceasefire. Zintan and with former Gaddafi Top US official Anne C Richard said “For despair can easily turn these young people into eager recruits will wait until the weather allows Representatives from both sides army general Khalifa Haftar, who that no conflict around the world for radical groups — and if we turn our backs on them, we risk expos- us to go ahead,” said Omran said those talks would restart in started his own campaign against today filled Washington with as ing them to the lies and distortions of those who seek to destroy our Al-Zwie, a spokesman for the the Libyan town of Ghadames Islamist militants in Benghazi. “much frustration and despair” as values and demonise our faith,” he added. company operating Hariga. today with delegates from the REUTERS South Sudan. AFP THE PENINSULA WEDNESDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2015 08 VIEWS www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

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Cartoon Arts International / The New York Times Syndicate Delhi Spring

EMOCRACY always throws surprises if it is allowed a free reign. And Indian democracy has been throwing surprises recently with its vibrancy Why Ukraine peace talks Dand stunning verdicts. Yesterday, Indians again celebrated the strength and brilliance of this people’s system when the results of Delhi assembly elections were announced. In the election, a two-year-old anti-establishment, anti- may work this time corruption Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led by Arvind Kejriwal BY LEONID BERSHIDSKY decimated the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime attacked the pro-Russian forces near depending on the success of the Minsk Minister Narendra Modi. The AAP won 67 out of 70 seats, the port city of Mariupol, seizing con- talks. That amounted to a US endorse- giving the remaining three to Modi’s BJP, and leaving the S I write this, it’s still not trol of several villages. The government ment of Merkel and Hollande’s peace entirely clear whether there in Kiev backed up the report enthusi- effort, a key element that was missing dynastic Congress Party, which had ruled Delhi for fifteen will be a meeting in Minsk on astically, saying Oleksandr Turchynov, during last week’s Moscow talks. While consecutive years, with zero seats. Among those stunned at AWednesday to hammer out the head of the National Security and the US doesn’t want to get directly the results were the winners themselves – the AAP – which a peace deal for Ukraine. But, unlike Defense Council, was near Mariupol involved in the diplomacy -- a wise tactic, had not expected more than around fifty seats. The Indian last Friday, when German Chancellor leading the operation. given the mutual dislike between Putin media called the verdict a tsunami, a wave, a landslide etc. Angela Merkel and French President These are the most significant mili- and Obama -- it’s assisting its allies by Francois Hollande flew to Moscow for tary developments since last fall in a handing them a stick to use along with It was all of these and much more – a landmark in the talks with Russian President Vladimir war that has claimed at least 6,000 lives. any carrots (such as territorial conces- country’s poll history. Putin, I believe a deal may be close. The separatist rebels’ final push to trap sions) they might be packing for Putin. The news created global headlines. The New York Times The frantic military activity in eastern Ukrainian troops and Azov’s unexpected The talks, then, are shaping up as a dubbed BJP’s defeat, less than a year after the party’s victory Ukraine may actually be evidence of headlong rush into rebel-held territory good old horse-trading session. Every in the polls at the centre, as a ‘smaller political earthquake’. that. both appear to have been timed to pre- party has prepared for it as best it could. Washington Post termed it as ‘stunning defeat’ at the hands Monday, Semen Semenchenko, a cede the Minsk summit. Now, the negotiators’ skills -- and the Ukrainian legislator and field com- If recent leaks from Hollande’s team firmness of their reservation prices, to of the ‘upstart anti-corruption Common Man Party. mander, wrote on Facebook that are correct, the proposals put forward by use a term common in business negotia- The Delhi result has the potential to change the dynamics pro-Russian rebels had cut off the the French president and the German tions -- will be tested. of Indian politics and pundits are busy analyzing its various road between the railroad junction of chancellor include the creation of a Poroshenko is the party with the meanings. But its main message is Debaltseve and demilitarized area 50 to 70 kilometers weakest hand but also with the strong- that it’s a categorical repudiation the Ukrainian- wide around a separation line between est need to resist any watering down of of the unilateralism and arrogance controlled town rebels and Ukrainian troops. Ukraine the September agreements: His fiercely The victory of Artemivsk. has insisted that this line should not patriotic electorate won’t abide a defeat that has come to characterise And if the talks “Strategists, deviate from the previous Minsk agree- (check out the comments under this of an anti- Narendra Modi and his party. damn it!” ment, signed in September. But both Twitter post that mentions a possible Modi came to power with a huge succeed, the he fumed at sides are aware that a viable compro- demilitarized area) and it may cost him corruption majority, and his party has been on past several Ukrainian mili- mise would involve freezing the status his career. a winning spree in the recent state tary command- quo, which is generally more favorable Putin, for his part, will probably be ers. The news to the rebels. inclined to make a deal if the pro-Rus- party against elections, which was attributed days’ skirmishes meant that sev- The Azov’s push only makes sense in sian rebels can secure some gains com- the ruling BJP to his charisma and popularity. won’t be long eral thousand this context. The volunteers, psyched pared to the September deal. In that The PM had developed an aura of Ukrainian troops and patriotic as they are, cannot hope case, Russian nationalists won’t accuse has transfixed invincibility, which the AAP now remembered. were effectively to hold their positions for long against him of betraying the rebel cause, and he India. has crushed to smithereens. The The frequency of trapped near the Russian-supplied rebel artillery, let will be rid of a war he doesn’t need as Delhi result is also a repudiation Debaltseve, cre- alone the regular Russian troops, in the Russia faces the biggest economic cri- ating the poten- area. Besides, if Ukraine was preparing sis of his reign. That’s why he agreed of the communal politics practiced Merkel’s travels tial for a major for protracted war, freeing Debaltseve to take part in the talks rather than by the BJP. The minorities, over the last few Ukrainian defeat. would have been a much higher priority insist his eastern Ukrainian proxies do including Muslims and Christians, The Ukrainian than retaking a few small settlements it for him. felt alienated under Modi and voted for AAP. days, however, military has since near Mariupol. As for Merkel, she has invested so The AAP can celebrate now but the duration of their announced that I believe Russia and Ukraine are heavily in this latest attempt to end the will probably the road has been jockeying for position in preparation fighting in Ukraine that she will use all celebration will again be decided by the people. The young unblocked, but for having to demarcate a new sepa- her considerable skill to ensure there’s party will have to fulfill its promises and will have a tough make the history Semenchenko, ration line in the upcoming talks. The some kind of compromise arrangement. ride ahead because Delhi is a quasi-state and lacks several books. whose troops encircled Ukrainian troops could be If it does take shape, it will prob- powers which other states have. This means Kejriwal will are fighting in a powerful bargaining chip for Putin, ably involve a broad demilitarized zone have to work closely with the federal government led by Modi the area, was while Azov’s successful push could allow around the current separation line, an and the latter is likely to build bumps on AAP’s road. adamant: the separatists still control- Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko international peacekeeping force with led, and had mined, the Debalseve- to say Ukraine is still capable of resist- limited Russian participation, and an This time, Indians voters have proved that their patience Artemivsk road. He called the defense ing, especially with U.S. military aid. agreement to hammer out conditions is limited and want quick results. The result sends a strong ministry spokesmen “fairy tale writers That hypothetical aid has already for a lasting peace at a further round of message to all political parties, both regional and national. in shoulder straps.” been established as a bargaining tool talks. And if the talks succeed, the past They can ignore these messages at their own peril. At the same time, Ukraine’s Azov vol- for Merkel and Hollande after the several days’ skirmishes won’t be long Ultimately, it’s not Modi’s loss or Kejriwal’s win, but the unteer regiment -- a unit run, and partly German chancellor’s trip to Washington remembered. The frequency of Merkel’s triumph of Indian democracy. What has happened to Modi staffed, with extreme right activists and Monday. After their meeting, US travels over the last few days, however, . sporting the Wolfsangel on its insignia -- President Barack Obama said he would will probably make the history books. can happen to Kejriwal too reported, also on Facebook, that it had decide whether or not to arm Ukraine WP-BLOOMBERG The other side Quote of It is urgent to fight corruption in SOEs the day

BSOLUTE power without even lower than cost. It is not rare for trillion yuan, according to the Ministry both. But the reality is that most SOEs effective supervision and SOE employees to channel public of Finance. The dividends they pay have not become stronger and richer accountability for leaders of funds into private firms by whatever to the State was only raised from 20 given the tiny share of the profits they AState-owned enterprises is means they can for their own gains. percent to 25 percent last year. Some hand in to the State, since some of an invitation to absolute corruption. There has long been gossip about have not handed a cent to the State their leaders are more concerned with A Greek exit from This has been proved by the findings the corruption of some SOE leaders, for years. their own pockets. of discipline inspection teams after and what the investigation teams have There is a sharp contrast between What they have done has reduced the euro would be their investigations of several giant discovered more than proves the truth how greedily some SOE leaders try to them to not even qualify as citizens, SOEs. of the chatter. grab public money for themselves by and they deserve severe penalties for very difficult for Some SOE leaders paid for merg- With the support of the State and abusing their power and the miserli- their corrupt actions according to the ers and acquisitions in violation of the their monopoly use of all resources, ness of the companies they lead when law. Of course, the lack of an effective the world economy rules, some deliberately let their private these SOEs should be performing it comes to paying dividends to the supervision mechanism over SOEs and potentially very counterparts make huge profits at the much better than they are. State. is also to blame. Obviously there are expense of their own companies, and The country’s SOEs saw their prof- SOE leaders are running these gaps in the system that need to be damaging for the some subcontracted their businesses its up 3.4 percent last year to about enterprises on behalf of the people and plugged. The fence mending cannot European economy. to their own private companies or 2.48 trillion yuan ($40.81 billion), but the country. They should have had a be delayed until it is too late. George Osborne those owned by their relatives at prices their debts rose 12.2 percent to 6.66 strong sense of responsibility toward China Daily British Finance Minister WEDNESDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2015 QATAR PERSPECTIVE www.thepeninsulaqatar.com 09 Car dealers punished too severely BY MUHAMMAD ALI AL KUBAISI

ecent decisions of the the cars were neither deficient Consumer Protection nor depriving consumers of Department at the the benefit of what they were RMinistry of Economy intended for. However, article and Trade have been highlighted (2) of Consumer Rights stipu- on social media, mainly Twitter lates that the customer has the and WhatsApp, especially when right to: it closed the showrooms of four 1. Receive correct information car dealers. and data; The Department said in its 2. Free choice of selecting report that “the reason for the goods and services having their closure is that car dealers tried qualities matching their features; to cheat buyers by selling them 3. Receive information con- repaired vehicles as if they were cerning the protection of his brand new. The closure decision legitimate rights; was made based on section 18 of 4. File lawsuits if need be. Law No. 8 for 2008.” After reviewing the above For the consumer to be aware rights, we can conclude that of what is happening, we should the car dealers gave consum- address Law No. 8 of 2008 on ers access to the cars to be consumer protection. purchased, let them test-drive The definition of product the vehicles, and gave them the defect in article (1) is “any defi- choice to buy them or not. ciency in the value of goods and The fraud the Department services or usefulness according based its decision on is related to to what they were intended for, Article 6, which says: “The prod- leading to entirely or partially uct is deemed fake or corrupt if depriving the consumer from it doesn’t match the prescribed product and/or service benefit.” standards, is unusable or is past According to this definition, its validity period.” The cars in question were not fraudulent because they were usable and matched the stand- ards of the GCC Standardisation Organisation and Qatar’s specifi- cations. Since the consumers had inspected the cars, there was no It would have need to specifically tell them that Notices announcing the closure of a car showroom for a month are seen pasted on its entrance. been better the cars had undergone minor repairs. to penalise On the seller’s commitment the agent may find an expired change the nature of the com- reasons that the administra- who suffered long-term damage regarding the cars’ condition, battery, a damaged tire or bro- modity, nor its shape, and ulti- tion does not wish to disclose. to their reputation; the dealers there is nothing in Article 15 ken wiper blade. His duty is to mately allowed buyers to fully Closing car dealerships for a 3. Deprived the employees indicating that the agent is replace these. If the paint has inspect the cars so that they may month is different from the clo- from receiving overtime or com- with a fine, required to disclose any external any scratches, the agent has to not claim ignorance about their sure of a butchery, bakery or a missions on car sales. repairs done to cars. repaint the vehicle. condition. restaurant, for which we can find In conclusion, I will not blame part of which Since the consumers had We must not forget that the Article 18 states that the alternatives elsewhere in the city; the judicial officers or question inspected the cars and found car is not a domestic good; it Department’s Managing Director there is no alternative to a dealer their qualifications, but it is could have them satisfactory, it resolves the came from a factory in its coun- is allowed to close the place in a specific brand of car. shameful to call automobile deal- issue of fraud. try of origin, was transported to where the violation occurred for The closure decision: ers “cheaters” for selling repaired been used to Car dealerships traditionally the harbour, loaded onto a cargo a period not exceeding one month 1. Harmed customers who had vehicles. check a car before delivery in ship, unloaded after its arrival at for the first violation. purchased cars from the deal- I personally believe that they compensate what is known as Pre-Delivery its destination port, and stored If the Department claims that ers, especially those who had were not cheaters, especially Inspection (PDI), which is a pro- in a warehouse until it was sold. dealers had committed fraud, booked vehicles and were await- since these dealers have a long the affected cedure carried out by car dealers All this requires a lot of handling as opposed to what I personally ing delivery; history of sincere work. It would worldwide, not just in Qatar. over several months, making it believe, and this was the first 2. Harmed the dealers, who have been better to penalise them customers. During the PDI, the dealer obvious that damage is likely to violation for each car agency, have to pay rents and salaries with a fine, part of which could checks the car before delivery occur. why was the maximum penalty to dozens of staff without any have been used to compensate to the customer. For example, In this case, the dealers did not applied? Unless there are other dividend to cover expenses, and the affected customers. Jordan remains united in adversity Where does IS stand in innocent people in Iraq and Syria have nothing to do with Islam and Muslims. the geo-strategic map? BY DR MOHAMMAD SALEH AL MISFER Moreover, your gruesome acts will never deter Jordanians, Iraqis and Syrians from common assumption among he will of Almighty Allah is irre- in 2003? Do you remember what these tracking, fighting and eliminating you. American and other Western ana- BY DR ALI AL HAIL versible and His command cannot forces did to the prisoners, including two No one has the sympathy to support Alysts and officials is that the US-led Tbe put off. The hero and mar- American jailers — who could have been you anymore, not because of your ideol- international coalition’s air strikes will tyr, Maaz Al Kasasbeh, is not the first Zionists — who let sniffer dogs eat body ogy, but because of what you did to the weaken Islamic State (IS), if not elimi- out so far, directed by American, French Jordanian to meet his Lord while doing parts of prisoners till they died? Do you Jordanian pilot. nate it. and British forces, targeted a small area his duty on the battlefield, fighting a group remember what the Zionists and their Today, the Jordanian people and army The main aim of American analysts on the map, in Kobani, which is part of hiding behind an Islamic front while Islam agents did to refugees in the Sabra and are determined to take revenge from IS and officials is to change the way Arabs Aleppo governorate in northern Syria. is far removed from its actions. Shatila camps? Tell me frankly, what for its actions, not only because of the and Muslims see IS, as an entity fighting This city’s population is around 192,500. Maaz won’t be the last one either, since is the difference between what you are martyrdom of the pilot, but also because of Zionist, American and European forces IS, meanwhile, has ignored the strikes and this group is trying to tarnish the image doing and the actions of Zionists and their the corruption IS is spreading. Wherever in the Middle East and the Arab world, hit Iraq. of Islam and its tolerant values. It is also rabbis? they go they scare the people and brutally since IS had claimed to have redrawn the As for the media, there is no doubt attempting to destroy Arab nations and I doubt that your members, scholars treat whoever falls into their hands. By region’s map and restored it to what it was that what IS broadcasts has a big impact. fragment our homelands for the benefit and leaders are either Zionists or belong burning the pilot they wanted to shake before the Sykes-Picot agreement of 1916. The popularity of IS is on the rise, as was of our enemies. to groups who envy the peace of our Arab Jordan, but the opposite happened. Analysts and officials try through the noticed recently after the events in Paris. This reminds us of the Arab martyrs in nations as you target Sunnis everywhere, The great Jordanian people are today media, commercial outlets and systemic The IS radio station aired a special report Jordan, going back to time to the Battle like in Iraq and Syria. We cannot see your called upon to strengthen their home- programmes to brainwash Arab and supporting and praising the two attacks of Mu’tah and Yarmouk; in addition to faces as you cover them, while fighters in land. The best Jordanian response to IS Muslim minds that IS is a terrorist group in Paris. the Jordanian struggles against Zionism. Islamic history never hid their faces. would be for the country to unite and that kills in the name of Islam. However, It said that the operations were part These will not be the last battles of this What you did to the martyred set aside all sectarian and other differ- Islam disassociates itself from the actions of the war against the US, the West and great nation. Jordanian pilot is a barbaric, hideous ences. This will show how ready they are of IS. Zionists who insult Islam and its most Islamic State (IS), the group that pre- act according to the teachings of Islam. to avenge any attempt to destabilise their Notably, IS operations against the important figure, the Prophet Muhammad tends to be Islamic, dared to burn its hos- Your obscenity and your actions against country. Iraqi government are increasing since it (PBUH). The Paris events served the ide- tage alive. By doing that, IS has committed possesses the element of surprise when ology of IS and were supported by Arabs two crimes: the first is killing a hostage, attacking, and human resources that con- and Muslims. which is a disgraceful and forbidden act tribute to a big extent to its success in Of course, in this analysis were are in Islam, let alone burning him alive. They executing operations. not considering the view that IS is an coldly watched as fire consumed his body This has become clear over the past few American, Western and Zionist creation. as he stood in an iron cage repeating his days in Iraqi cities like Fallujah. This also We are just looking at current events with- declaration of faith. explains the limitations of what can be out considering this conspiracy theory. Islam advocates dealing humanely with more or less described as the international It is noticeable that IS benefits from the hostages, preserving their dignity and American coalition. shortcomings of Al Qaeda, as the former protecting their rights. The Holy Quran According to military analysts, air has already begun establishing the core says that they are among those who are strikes are not enough to resolve the of a strong state. Regional circumstances vulnerable and deserve sympathy, com- war on the ground. The media, directed will probably help them, as America does passion, and care because they are as by America and the West (generally by not favour the use of ground forces, since weak as orphans. Allah Almighty says in Zionist forces) — besides the Arab media it is busy with Asian affairs. Besides, it the Quran: that follows it and implements its agenda has withdrawn its combat troops from the “And they give food in spite of love for — does not want to report this situation. Middle East. it to the needy, the orphan, and the cap- Some American strategic studies cen- Speaking about the American-led inter- tive.” (76:8) tres studied the option of fighting IS on national coalition, it is meant to protect I direct my questions to the leaders the ground but found it useless from the America’s interests in Iraq, in particular. and religious scholars of IS: What is the military and strategic points of view; the America managed to bring to an end difference between you and the Israeli likely financial and human costs were the liberal Sunni regime led by Saddam rabbis who permit killing “others” — any- illustrated by the number of innocents Hussein, and replaced it with a Shia gov- one who is not a Jew? Do you remember killed in Kobane. ernment, and doesn’t want the Sunni- the kidnapping of the Palestinian youth It is clear to those who follow the IS Salafi rule to return as it endangers Israel Muhammad Abu Khadr, who was only 15 media, especially its radio station (IS not at the geo-strategic level. years old, when he was going to perform only has a television station but also pro- It is known that Western and American the Fajr prayer in Jerusalem? He was kid- duces newspapers and other publications) policies in the Middle East are aimed at napped by a group of Israeli settlers who that IS keeps its tactics secret to try and protecting Israel and ensuring its exist- tortured him and then burnt him alive. neutralise the superiority of its enemies ence. This is according to American books, Do you remember the Iraqi hostages in the air. which were later banned and their authors, Children light candles near a poster depicting Jordanian pilot Maaz Al Kasasbeh during a crammed into Abu Ghraib prison by the This explains why these air strikes, who were Americans or anti-Zionist Jews, occupying American and British forces candlelight vigil in solidarity with the family of Kasasbeh, in Amman. thousands of which may have been carried tracked down. WEDNESDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2015 10 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com INTERNATIONAL

East Timor Ukraine battle president picks Araujo as PM DILI: East Timor’s president escalates before chose former health minister Rui Araujo to be the new prime minister of the poverty-stricken country, the government said peace talks yesterday. Araujo replaces independ- ence hero Xanana Gusmao, who stepped down last week to allow Attack on military centre kills 20 for a younger generation to lead. Gusmao, 68, and his ruling KIEV: Intense fighting in using advanced weapons that CNRT party recommended that Ukraine, including a rocket are only available from Russian Araujo take the helm even though strike on Kiev’s military head- arsenals. the New Zealand-trained doctor quarters in the east, killed at Another seven Ukrainian sol- is from the opposition Fretilin least 20 people yesterday on the diers and seven civilians were party. eve of a four-way peace summit. killed in fighting over the last 24 “The president of the republic Pro-Russia rebels sought to hours, Kiev officials and rebels accepted the proposal of CNRT, encircle railway hub Debaltseve, said, including in Debaltseve the most voted party at the last and Ukrainian forces launched which the insurgents claim to legislative elections, which nomi- a counter-offensive around the have surrounded. nated Dr Rui Maria Araujo for strategic port of Mariupol as Despite growing diplomatic the post as prime minister,” the diplomats scrambled to finalise momentum, Ukrainian forces government said in a statement. a deal to end the 10-month war took control of three villages east Araujo is expected to be sworn at the summit in Minsk planned of Mariupol, around 90km south in this week as East Timor’s fifth for today. of the rebel stronghold Donetsk, prime minister since it gained Ukrainian President Petro and fierce fighting was going on independence from Indonesia in Poroshenko said rockets from a for control of two more, senior 2002. Tornado multiple launch system interior ministry advisor Zoryan “Rui’s appointment should for the first time hit the military’s Shkiryak said. transform Timorese politics command centre in Kramatorsk, Rebels, diplomats and media- by ushering in a new period of a regional capital behind the tors gathered in the Belarussian People look at a missile embedded in the street after shelling in eastern Ukrainian city of Kramotorsk yesterday. cross-party cooperation,” said frontlines considered to be under capital to bridge gaps on a possi- Cillian Nolan, deputy director of firm government control and far ble peace deal, which the leaders Monday for lengthy talks with painful for Russia, already reeling peace deal agreed in September in a Jakarta-based think-tank, the from rebel positions. of Ukraine, Russia, France and the US President Barack Obama under the impact of US and EU Minsk, the new plan may extend Institute for Policy Analysis of Local officials said the strike Germany hope to sign in Minsk on the initiative to defuse fight- sanctions. rebel control over territory seized Conflict. killed at least six people and on Wednesday. ing that has killed at least 5,400 Merkel acknowledged in in recent weeks, around 500 “The challenge will be to culti- wounded 21 in nearby residential Rebel negotiator Denis Pushilin people since April. Washington that a drive to get square kilometres (around 200 vate the same kind of authority areas. told the separatists’ news agency Obama agreed to hold off on Putin to put his name to a deal square miles), although Kiev is and credibility as his predecessor.” Foreign ministry official that he was heading to Minsk for sending arms to Ukraine until may not succeed. adamant the demarcation line Dmytro Kuleba tweeted that the talks with mediators from the truce efforts have played out. “I cannot give you a guarantee agreed in September should not Danish govt to rockets were Tornado, “Russia’s Organization for Security and Proponents of sending arms to for the outcome of the Wednesday be shifted. newest Multiple Launch Rocket Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Ukrainian forces argue that Kiev talks and maybe nothing will Hollande has said the proposal snub Dalai Lama System. Ukraine simply doesn’t as well as Russian and Ukrainian needs the weapons to counter come out of it.” includes the creation of a 50 to have it.” representatives. advanced Russian hardware. Ahead of the Minsk summit, 70km demilitarised zone around after Chinese spat Kiev and the West accuse French President Francois But Merkel has opposed send- the European Union decided to the current frontline. Moscow of supplying and training Hollande and German Chancellor ing arms, amid fears that the hold off implementing new sanc- “Eight days ago, they (Ukraine COPENHAGEN: Denmark’s the heavily armed separatists, but Angela Merkel have been con- Ukraine conflict could become a tions against Russia. and Russia) weren’t talking to government won’t be meeting Russia denies the claims. ducting frantic diplomacy, tak- proxy war between Russia and Putin has warned that a each other. Now, they’ve sat at the the Dalai Lama in Copenhagen Rebels say their weapons have ing the “last chance” deal to the West. “number of points” still needed same table,” a French diplomatic this week after the relation- been captured from Ukrainian Poroshenko and Russian leader But some in the West feel to be agreed before the Minsk source said, describing negotia- ship between Copenhagen and forces, although Kiev has cited Vladimir Putin. hi-tech weapons could at least meeting can take place. tions as “very complicated”. Beijing soured following a 2009 numerous cases of the insurgents Merkel was in Washington on make the conflict more costly and Based on a largely ignored AFP visit by the religious leader. “The Dalai Lama has not requested a meeting with the Spy mania makes comeback in Russia amid Ukraine war government,” Foreign Minister Martin Lidegaard said in emailed comments. MOSCOW: What do a nuclear The start of the Ukraine cri- She remembers the first wave of treason and espionage, alarm- Davydova, who has become a “We believe we can best help the scientist, a young mother of sis more than a year ago has of “spy mania” when the security ing rights groups that said nearly cause celebre for the country’s Tibetans to have genuine auton- seven, a church employee and coincided with a ramping up of service targeted scientists in the anyone could fall afoul of the new embattled civil society. omy, their own free culture and a former military factory boss Kremlin efforts to squelch dissent late 1990s. law. Her arrest last month for respect for human rights by engag- have in common? by further sideling opponents and Today, she says, the FSB secu- The wording of the amended allegedly calling the Ukrainian ing in cooperation and a human They’ve all been charged with muzzling what’s left of Russia’s rity service, successor to the legislation is so vague that nearly embassy with information on rights dialogue with China on the high treason, espionage or disclos- independent media. feared KGB, appears to be cast- anyone — including those with- Russian troops movements basis of the constitution that is ing state secrets in newly spy- But the speed and sweeping ing a much wider net. out access to state secrets—can stunned a country where many now in place in China,” he added. phobic Russia. nature of the crackdown, based “The entire spectrum of now be accused of a grave crime have become inured to injustice. Lidegaard said Danish policy With ex-KGB President on new legislation, has been sur- Russian civil society” has been against the state, experts warned. Davydova maintains that she was was “unchanged: we view Tibet Vladimir Putin staking his rep- prising, lawyers and activists say. targeted with treason accusa- “Once an investigator moves to not spying, saying she is just a as a part of the People’s Republic utation on Russia’s takeover of Stavitskaya represented arms tions, Stavitskaya said. The state’s use his imagination, any contact housewife with no access to state of China.” Crimea and the success of pro- control expert Igor Sutyagin, who message, she added, is: “Everyone with a foreigner can be deemed secrets, but had become worried The decision marks an about- Moscow separatist fighters in was sentenced in 2004 to 15 years needs to think seriously about high treason,” Ivan Pavlov told that troops from her town were face for Prime Minister Helle eastern Ukraine, Russia is seeing in jail over handing classified what to say and where.” The New Times opposition apparently being sent to Ukraine Thorning-Schmidt who in 2009 “an upsurge of spy mania,” promi- information to a British company, After Putin returned to the magazine. — where Russia claims it is not pledged to meet with the Dalai nent lawyer Anna Stavitskaya although he says the information Kremlin for a third term in 2012, Pavlov represents the inter- fighting. Lama in an official capacity. said. was available in the public sphere. Russia broadened its definition ests of mother of seven Svetlana AFP AGENCIES

Presidential handshake Hundreds of Mandela took a tea break migrants storm Spain border, on day he left prison JOHANNESBURG: On the sent word and said if he didn’t 35 get through day Nelson Mandela walked come, Cape Town would be torn free 25 years ago, he went miss- apart.” MADRID: Over 600 African ing for more than an hour some- When he finally made it, it was migrants charged the border where between the prison gates so dark Mandela had to read his fence separating the Spanish and the venue where he was to speech by torchlight with a pair of enclave of Melilla from Morocco deliver his first speech. borrowed reading glasses, his own yesterday, with at least 35 man- Mandela’s convoy had left having disappeared in the rush of aging to climb the dangerously Victor Verster Prison, but never his release. high barrier, including five who made it to Cape Town City Hall — February 11, 1990 marks the were injured, Spain’s govern- where a huge crowd was waiting beginning of the dismantling of ment said. to welcome him. apartheid, this year celebrating They were the latest in a flow In a world before mobile its 25th anniversary. of thousands of migrants trying phones, the organisers struggled Mandela was sentenced to jail to reach Melilla and the other to track him down. for life in 1964 for alleged sabo- Spanish north African territory “Now Mandela was free, the tage. He served 27 years, with of Ceuta, which together make up world was waiting to see him stays on notorious Robben Island, Europe’s only borders with Africa. and (ex-finance minister Trevor) then in Pollsmoor and Victor The border assault came just Manuel had no idea where he Verster prisons. hours after Moroccan authori- was,” said the Nelson Mandela His release came days after the ties said they would dismantle French President Francois Hollande (right) and his Romanian counterpart Klaus Iohannis shake hands after a Foundation as it last week country’s last apartheid leader F camps set up around the two ter- revealed the details of just what W de Klerk lifted the ban on the press conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris yesterday. ritories by thousands of African happened that day. African National Congress and migrants seeking to cross into “Trevor Manuel remembers other liberation movements. Spain illegally. Sunday 11 February 1990 as the After tension-packed negotia- Some 400 African migrants day he lost Nelson Mandela,” said tions aimed at transferring power approached the six-metre, tri- Two bombs explode in Tirana the foundation. from whites to the nation’s major- ple-layer fence around Melilla at He was later found sipping tea ity black population, elections around 2am but were repelled by with his shoes off in a quiet Cape were organised. police, the Spanish government TIRANA: Two bombs exploded electricity theft and other crimes, crime and whoever ordered and Town suburban home, his driver Mandela would go on to become delegation in Melilla said. in Tirana early yesterday in and a second bomb damaged a executed the terror against his having made a detour to avoid the the country’s first democrati- Several hours later another what Prime Minister Edi Rama police officer’s apartment. family must know it has given him “crushing crowd” outside the city cally elected president in 1994. He group of around 200 migrants described as terror attacks Nobody was injured in the blasts. and us all the more reason to live hall. “I was wondering what had retired after one five-year term and charged the border fence at apparently intended to hit back Police later found a third bomb up to our duty,” he wrote. happened to you chaps,” Mandela died on December 6, 2013 aged 95. another spot and 35 managed to at a government anti-crime drive. unexploded at a bus station. Rama The prosecutors’ office said in said. It was the last of three short Twenty-five years after he enter Melilla. Five migrants were One pre-dawn blast hit a phar- said on his Facebook page that “the a separate statement that the stops he made that day in the more walked out of prison his clenched injured including two who frac- macy belonging to the father of hands of the state would smother” prosecutors and the police “have than one hour he went missing. fist raised, South Africa now tured leg bones and needed to be Interior Minister Saimir Tahiri, whoever planted the bombs. started investigating crimes with Archbishop Desmond Tutu said boasts of having one of the world’s taken to hospital. who has been leading the cam- “Saimir Tahiri is at the fore- terrorist intent”. the crowd massed around City most progressive constitutions. AFP paign against drug trafficking, front of the state’s fight against REUTERS Hall was getting restive. “I just AFP WEDNESDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2015 INTERNATIONAL www.thepeninsulaqatar.com 11

Britain to review Obama, family confirm IS hostage death cost of Assange Mueller killed in Jordan bombing policing operation LONDON: The cost of keeping WASHINGTON: President authenticated by the intelligence watch on Julian Assange, who Barack Obama and the family community, they concluded that is holed up in the Ecuadorean of US aid worker Kayla Mueller Kayla was deceased,” Meehan embassy in London, is proving a confirmed yesterday that the said. drain on police resources and the last-known American hostage Mueller was Islamic State’s operation is under review, London’s held by Islamic State militants only American woman hos- police chief said yesterday. had died, with Obama promising tage known to have died. The The WikiLeaks founder sought to “find and bring to justice the group has beheaded three other refuge in the embassy in June terrorists who are responsible.” Americans, two Britons and two 2012 to avoid extradition to US officials said the family Japanese hostages - most of them Sweden, where he is wanted for received an email and photograph aid workers or journalists - in questioning over allegations of over the weekend from her cap- recent months. sexual assault, which he denies. tors that confirmed her death but “No matter how long it takes, He faces arrest for breach- said the circumstances in which the United States will find and ing British bail conditions if he she died remained unclear. bring to justice the terrorists who leaves the embassy, which is in the Mueller, 26, was captured in are responsible for Kayla’s captiv- upmarket central London neigh- August 2013 while leaving a hos- ity and death,” Obama, who last bourhood of Knightsbridge. pital in the northern Syrian city year ordered American air strikes London’s Metropolitan Police of Aleppo. She previously had targeting Islamic State positions, have been standing guard outside been working in Turkey providing said in a statement released by the embassy around the clock to humanitarian assistance to refu- the White House. prevent him from fleeing, at an gees from Syria’s bloody civil war. “ISIL is a hateful and abhor- estimated cost of about £10m Islamic State said on Friday rent terrorist group whose ($15m) since the operation began. that Mueller was killed when actions stand in stark contrast to “We are reviewing ... how we Jordanian fighter jets bombed a the spirit of people like Kayla,” can do that differently in the building where she was being held Obama added. future because it’s sucking our outside Raqqa, a stronghold of the Obama offered his condolences resources in,” Metropolitan Police Islamist militant group. to Mueller’s parents Marsha and Commissioner Bernard Hogan- Jordan and US officials have Carl, and her brother Eric, say- Howe told LBC radio, adding that expressed doubt about the ing “Kayla represents what is best the force was facing funding cuts. account of her death offered by about America.” “We won’t talk explicitly about Islamic State, an Al Qaeda off- “Kayla’s compassion and dedi- Kayla Mueller, 26, an American humanitarian worker from Prescott, Arizona with her father Carl Mueller. our tactics, but we’re reviewing shoot that controls wide areas of cation to assisting those in need what options we have,” he said, Syria and Iraq. shows us that even amongst intelligence picture how she died,” of 2014 while in captivity. In it, previously volunteered for schools declining to be drawn on whether Mueller’s family said in a state- unconscionable evil, the essential said one US official, speaking on she states that she was “in a safe and aid organizations abroad fewer police might be deployed ment yesterday that they were decency of humanity can live on,” condition of anonymity. location, completely unharmed including in the West Bank, Israel outside the embassy. “heartbroken” to learn of her Obama said. Even after Islamic State on + healthy” and had been treated and India. Assange’s presence inside the death and released a copy of a let- US officials said they had Friday announced her death on with “the utmost respect + kind- Her family’s statement quoted embassy has caused a diplomatic ter she had written in 2014 while no evidence to support Islamic Friday, the family had expressed ness.” “I have been shown in dark- from a letter they said she sent to impasse between Britain and in captivity. State claims that she was killed hope that she was still alive. ness, light + have learned that her father on his birthday in 2011. Ecuador, which has granted him “Over the weekend, the fam- in a Jordanian air strike, add- “Kayla was a compassionate and even in prison, one can be free,” “I will always seek God. Some asylum. ily received a private message ing the details surrounding her devoted humanitarian. She dedi- the letter states. people find God in church. Some from Kayla’s ISIL captors con- death remained unclear. Two US cated the whole of her young life to “I am not breaking down + I people find God in nature. Some Chile president’s taining additional information,” government sources said that it helping those in need of freedom, will not give in no matter how people find God in love; I find God White House National Security appears most likely that she was justice and peace,” they wrote in long it takes,” the letter states. in suffering. I’ve known for some family caught up Council spokeswoman Bernadette killed in some kind of combat sit- their statement yesterday. Mueller, a 2009 Northern time what my life’s work is, using Meehan said, using an acronym uation in which her captors were The family also released a Arizona University graduate, had my hands as tools to relieve suf- in loan scandal for Islamic State. unable to keep her safe. handwritten letter they said worked for a Turkish aid organi- fering,” the 2011 letter stated. “Once this information was “It’s unclear from the she wrote to them in the spring zation on the Syrian border and REUTERS SANTIAGO: Members of Chilean President Michelle Bachelet’s family were given privileged access to a bank loan, the government acknowl- edged this week, a revelation SpaceX signs that threatens to weaken the US to establish cyber security agency: Official government’s popularity and deal for landing undermine scandal-weary WASHINGTON: The US security to the top of his 2015 Shawn Henry, president of The Obama administration likens Chileans’ trust in politicians. pad in Florida government is creating a new agenda after recent hacking CrowdStrike cybersecurity the new agency to the National Bachelet’s daughter-in-law, agency to monitor cyber secu- attacks against Sony Pictures, agency, said on the CBS “This Counterterrorism Center estab- Natalia Compagnon, obtained a CAPE CANAVERAL, rity threats, pooling and analys- Home Depot Inc, Anthem Inc Morning” programme. “That’s lished after the Sept. 11, 2001, loan worth around $10m to buy Florida: Space Exploration ing information on a spectrum and Target Corp and the federal a good strategy. It’s important attacks, following criticism that land on behalf of a company in Technologies will take over a of risks, a senior Obama admin- government itself. because there’s so many differ- US intelligence agencies were not which she owns a 50 percent mothballed rocket launch site istration official said yesterday. The Democratic president sees ent pieces of intelligence coming communicating with each other. stake, news magazine Que Pasa in Florida to develop landing The Cyber Threat Intelligence it as an area of cooperation with in. You’ve got to collaborate and It will have a similar broad first reported last week. pads for its Falcon family of Integration Center (CTIIC) will the Republican-led Congress. put it together,” he said. focus of providing “integrated, Compagnon clinched the loan dur- rockets, the US Air Force said be an “intelligence centre that will Various federal agencies have The CTIIC will aim for “seam- all-source analysis” of threats, ing the 2013 election campaign after yesterday. ‘connect the dots’ between various cybersecurity components, less intelligence flows among the official said. meeting with Banco de Chile vice- A draft environmental assess- cyber threats to the nation so that including the National Security centers, including those respon- “No existing agency has the president Andronico Luksic, one of ment showed that SpaceX, as the relevant departments and agen- Agency, Department of Homeland sible for sharing with the private responsibility for performing these Chile’s wealthiest men and a member California company is known, cies are aware of these threats in Security, the FBI and the CIA. sector,” the official said. functions, so we need these gaps of the family that controls the bank. plans to build a primary con- as close to real time as possible,” The Obama administration is The White House counter- to be filled to help the federal gov- Bachelet’s son and Compagnon’s hus- crete square landing pad meas- the official said on condition of trying to connect the agencies terrorism coordinator, Lisa ernment meet its responsibilities band, Sebastian Davalos, was also uring 200 by 200 foot and four anonymity. “so that there’s one belly button Monaco, will announce the new in cyber security,” the official said. present at the meeting. round pads measuring 150 feet in Obama has moved cyber for the entire US government,” center in an address yesterday. REUTERS AGENCIES diameter at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Launch Complex 13, which was used for 51 Atlas and Agena rockets between 1958 Back to dust and 1978. Terms of the agreement were CyberCaliphate hacks not disclosed. The assessment was prepared for the Federal Aviation Administration, which oversees commercial space launches and Newsweek Twitter landings in the United States, “This is a classic combination WASHINGTON: Hackers “While the US and its satellites of a highly successful launch past calling themselves are killing our brothers in Syria, Iraq morphing into an equally prom- “CyberCaliphate” threatened and Afghanistan, we are destroying ising future,” Brigadier General US President Barack Obama your national cybersecurity system Nina Armagno, commander of the and his family when they took from inside,” it said. The message Air Force’s 45th Space Wing, said control of Newsweek magazine’s contained a list of names under the in a statement. Twitter account yesterday with heading “brave mujahideen.” SpaceX currently flies its Falcon the words “Je suIS IS,” a refer- The group took responsibility 9 rockets from Cape Canaveral Air ence to Islamic State and the for the intrusion last month of the Force Station’s Launch Complex deadly attack at French news- Twitter and YouTube accounts for 40, used for Titan rocket launches paper Charlie Hebdo. the US Central Command, which between 1965 and 2005. The Air The group, which also took oversees operations in the Middle Force leased the pad to SpaceX responsibility for hacking Pentagon East. The hackers claimed to be in 2007 for its Falcon rockets, and social media accounts last month, sympathetic toward Islamic State, the company is in the process of tweeted “#CyberCaliphate Bloody which is being targeted in bomb- taking over a mothballed space Valentine’s Day #MichelleObama! ing raids by a US-led coalition. shuttle launch pad at the Kennedy We’re watching you, you girls and At the time, several current and Space Center, located just north of your husband!” former US security and intelli- the Air Force base. The Clarion Hotel and Casino is imploded yesterday in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is the first casino implosion The Twitter account showed gence officials said they had never REUTERS in Las Vegas since the New Frontier Hotel & Casino was brought down in 2007. The 12-storey Clarion was a head wrapped in a black-and- heard of the “CyberCaliphate.” opened in 1970. white scarf next to a banner pro- They noted that Twitter accounts claiming “CyberCaliphate.” are more vulnerable to cyber The “Je suIS IS” was a reference intrusions than many company to the phrase “Je suis Charlie” that or federal government websites. emerged last month in support of The attack on Central Command Opposition pushes for Rousseff impeachment victims of the attack by Islamic accounts in early January coin- militants on Charlie Hebdo in cided with Obama’s announcement Paris that killed 12 people. of proposals to bolster American BRASILIA: For the first time evidence that Rousseff knew of or she became Brazil’s president in the misappropriated money, as Newsweek removed the cybersecurity after high-profile since a corruption scandal benefited from the massive graft 2011. well as a recent sharp downturn “CyberCaliphate” banner and hacking incidents including one on erupted at Brazil’s state-run oil scheme. Rousseff has conceded that in Brazil’s economy, appear to tweets and regained control of Sony Pictures that US officials company Petrobras last year, Prosecutors say executives graft took place but emphati- have emboldened Rousseff’s oppo- the account within 14 minutes, blamed on North Korea. senior opposition politicians are at Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as cally denied that she knew about nents in Congress and elsewhere. the magazine said. The Islamic The cyberattack on Tuesday publicly floating the possibility Petrobras is formally known, it at the time. She has urged a In a poll published over the State militant group has seized occurred the same day that of impeaching President Dilma conspired with contractors to full investigation and prosecutors weekend that showed Rousseff’s territory in Iraq and Syria and Obama’s counterterrorism coor- Rousseff. skim billions of dollars for them- have not presented any evidence approval ratings sinking to an all- has declared itself a “caliphate.” dinator, Lisa Monaco, announced She does not face an immedi- selves and political parties when that she was complicit in the time low, 77 percent of respond- The hackers also posted a the formation of a new govern- ate risk of impeachment, lead- Rousseff was the company’s scheme. ents said they believed she knew message intended for the United ment agency to monitor and ana- ing opponents said, but that chairwoman from 2003 to 2010. However, a steady stream of about the corruption at Petrobras. States in retaliation for its actions lyse cybersecurity threats. could change if prosecutors find The scheme continued after arrests and new revelations about REUTERS in the Muslim world. REUTERS WEDNESDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2015 12 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com ASIA / PHILIPPINES

Bangladesh Anwar jailed bans night buses after for five years deadly attacks

DHAKA: Bangladesh has ordered long-distance buses off in sodomy case the roads at night after two petrol bomb attacks killed 16 people during a worsening out- break of political unrest. Malaysia’s highest court rejects appeal The attacks were the deadli- est to hit Bangladesh since the KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s conviction. “The decision to pros- violence began in early January, highest court rejected yester- ecute Mr Anwar and the conduct when the opposition called a day an appeal by opposition of his trial have raised a number nationwide transport blockade. leader Anwar Ibrahim against a of serious concerns about rule of Junior home minister sodomy conviction, sending the law and the fairness of the judi- Asaduzzaman Khan said trans- politician who poses the great- cial system in Malaysia,” National port operators had agreed to keep est threat to the long-ruling Security Council spokeswoman buses off the roads after 9pm, coalition back to prison for five Bernadette Meehan said. although other vehicles would years. Anwar criticised the court say- still run. “No night coaches will The UN Human Rights office ing that in rejecting his appeal it operate until further notice,” he and Australia said they were dis- was “bowing to the dictates of the told reporters. appointed by the ruling. Human political masters”. More than 1,000 buses, trucks Rights Watch condemned it “You chose to remain on the and vans have been firebombed as persecution and Amnesty dark side and drown your mor- in attacks blamed on opposition International said it would have als and your scruples in a sea of activists as part of the blockade, a chilling effect on freedom of falsehood and subterfuge,” he told aimed at toppling Prime Minister expression. the judges who walked out of the Sheikh Hasina. Anwar, the ruling party’s rising court as he spoke. The spiralling violence has star in the mid-1990s before he “I will not surrender,” he said. Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim (centre) talks to media as he arrives at the Palace of Justice in left at least 82 people dead and fell out with then Prime Minister Anwar later comforted his wife Putrajaya, Malaysia, yesterday. injured hundreds of others. Mahathir Mohamad, denied the and children and had a meal with Millions of long-distance trav- charge that led to his second con- them before being taken to the that has ruled Malaysia since Australia said it was disap- unity and the challenge it poses ellers rely on Bangladesh’s buses, viction for sodomy as a fabrica- Sungai Buloh prison, about 30km independence in 1957. pointed and “deeply concerned” but it could also galvanize dissent. whose operators have suffered tion aimed at ending his political from Kuala Lumpur. The decision against him raises about Anwar’s sentence. His political career has been mounting losses since the block- career. A court found the 67-year old the prospect of a fresh bout of Phil Robertson, deputy Asia turbulent since he was sacked in ade began. “I will walk again for the third former deputy prime minister political agitation which could director for Human Rights 1998 after falling out with then Marcia Bernicat, the US time into prison but rest assured guilty in March last year of sodo- make investors even more cau- Watch, called the court ruling a premier Mahathir and then cam- ambassador, described the situ- that I will walk in with my head mising a former political aide. tious about putting money into “travesty of justice”. paigned against corruption and ation as “absolute tragic” after held high,” a defiant Anwar said The conviction disqualifies him an economy so heavily dependent “Prime Minister Najib Razak’s nepotism and led a nationwide meeting the Bangladesh for- in a statement he read out in from political office and contest- on oil and gas revenues at a time government has persisted in its “reformasi” (reform) protest eign minister A H Mahmood court. ing the next election that must be when global prices are so low. politically motivated prosecu- movement. Ali yesterday. “Everyone has a “I maintain my innocence.” held by 2018. Anwar’s party and the opposi- tion of opposition leader Anwar He has been beset by legal role to play stopping that vio- Prime Minister Najib Razak’s Nurul Izzah, Anwar’s daughter tion alliance plan protests against Ibrahim at the expense of demo- problems and spent several years lence. Bangladesh is blessed with government has rejected any sug- who is also a political leader in his the verdict. Hundreds of his sup- cratic freedoms and the rights to in prison after being convicted of democracy and there is a space gestion of interference in the case. Parti Keadilan Rakyat, was also porters outside the court waved non-discrimination and privacy corruption and an earlier sodomy within that democracy to resolve “Malaysia has an independ- defiant. “This is not the end,” said party flags and shouted “Down for all Malaysians,” he said. charge. differences,” she said. ent judiciary, and there have told reporters outside the court. with Barisan Nasional”, referring The UN Human rights office Mahathir remains hugely been many rulings against senior Anwar is head of a three-party to the ruling coalition. said sodomy should not be a crim- influential and his old guard was Japan publisher government figures,” the govern- opposition alliance that made “What has happened today is inal offence. critical of an attempt by Prime ment said in a statement after the stunning gains in a 2013 general not fair but this has happened Anwar has for years been the Minister Najib to introduce reprints Charlie ruling. election which for the first time before ... we will keep fighting,” greatest threat to Malaysia’s reforms after he came to power The United States said it was raised the possibility of a genu- said an Anwar supporter who political establishment. His jailing in 2009. Hebdo cartoons “deeply disappointed” with the ine challenge for the coalition identified herself as Salihah M. could undermine the opposition’s REUTERS TOKYO: A small Japanese publisher yesterday issued 3,000 copies of a book of cartoons by French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. “Are You Charlie? Isuramu Philippine rebels to return guns of commandos killed in raid heito ka fushi ka (Is it satire or hate against Islam)” is an attempt MANILA: The Philippines’ Zulkifli bin Hir, an Al Qaeda- retrievable personal effects of Muslims in the south, known as an erosion of support within the to spark debate in Japan on the largest Muslim rebel group has linked bombmaker with a $5m the fallen SAF in deference to the Bangsamoro, a key compo- ad hoc committee and members nature of free speech, said Akira promised to return weapons US bounty on his head, went the peace process,” the negotia- nent of the peace deal. They had of Congress,” he added. Kitagawa, the head of Tokyo- seized from police comman- wrong when commandos from the tor, Mohagher Iqbal, said in a let- earlier promised to enact the law SAF commander General based Dai-san Shokan. dos killed in a deadly clash, the Philippine police’s Special Action ter to Senator Grace Poe, who is in March and hold a referendum Getulio Napenas told Poe’s inquiry About 40 cartoons are repro- chief negotiator for the guer- Force (SAF) were ambushed and holding a public inquiry on the in May. he took full responsibility for the duced with Japanese language rillas said yesterday, in a bid to 44 were killed. raid. But the law would not pass if a raid. Four civilians and 18 rebels translations, including those save a peace process with the A public outcry has heaped The MILF was still account- vote were held now, said one law- were also among those who died mocking the Pope, French government. pressure on Aquino to abandon ing for all the weapons “to pave maker, senator Francis Escudero, in the raid. President Francois Hollande and President Benigno Aquino faces the peace deal signed in March the way for their return,” Iqbal as emotions are running high He said he had not informed Japan’s 2011 Fukushima nuclear his biggest political crisis over a with the Moro Islamic Liberation said. The rebels also promised after the raid. the interior minister and acting crisis. botched operation to capture a Front (MILF), the largest Muslim to appear at the hearing to show Support for the measure has police chief of the secret mission, However, drawings featuring wanted militant, amid revelations rebel group in the mainly Catholic their sincerity over the peace waned, said Rufus Rodriguez, during which he sought the help the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) that a suspended police general country, and seek retribution for process. head of a special panel in the of United States troops to evacu- show his face pixellated. No other who is a close friend played a cen- the troopers’ deaths. Lawmakers had been delib- House of Representatives that is ate wounded commandos at the characters are depicted in this tral role in the raid. “The MILF has decided to erating a measure to set up a considering the law. height of the firefight. way. The risky mission to arrest return the firearms and any new autonomous government for “I have to admit that there is REUTERS AGENCIES

Flood in Jakarta Nepal sets up Hong Kong panels to probe woman guilty in Thai anti-monarchy war crimes amid Indonesian maid network leader held cries for justice abuse case BANGKOK: Thai police yes- for allegedly forwarding a widely terday said they had disman- circulated forged document on KATHMANDU: Nepal set HONG KONG: A Hong Kong tled an anti-monarchy network the revered king’s health, which up two commissions yesterday woman was convicted yester- that published audio record- went viral. to investigate long-simmering day of beating and starving her ings defaming the royal fam- The movement has also fallen allegations of human rights Indonesian maid and keep- ily following the arrest of its under official suspicion for a abuses and disappearances ing her prisoner in a case that ringleader. small pipe bomb attack outside during the Himalayan nation’s sparked international outrage Hasadin Uraipraiwan, the a Bangkok shopping mall earlier decade-long civil war, a govern- and highlighted the plight of alleged leader of a group call- this month. ment minister said. migrant domestic workers. ing itself the Banpodj Network, In response, Red Shirt leader State forces and Maoist The verdict, read out to a had been on the run for nearly Jatuporn Prompan accused the rebels alike have been accused of packed courtroom, was met with two weeks with police offering a junta of trying to provoke the grave war-time abuses, includ- cheers by activists and support- widely publicised 200,000 baht movement into a “fight” by point- ing unlawful killings, arbitrary ers of Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, a ($6,100) reward for his capture. ing the finger of blame at them. arrests, disappearances, rape former domestic helper who has He was tracked down to a hotel The group — that falls under and torture, during the years of become the face of a campaign for in Bangkok on Monday night and the umbrella of the United conflict which ended under a 2006 improved workers’ rights in the charged under the country’s strict Front of Democracy Against peace agreement. financial hub. and controversial lese majeste Dictatorship (UDD) — has been a Both sides pledged to look into Pictures of the injuries sus- legislation, a senior police official powerful force in Thailand’s near- the crimes within six months tained by the 24-year-old, who was said. “Hasadin is the mastermind decade of sometimes deadly politi- after signing the peace deal. admitted to hospital in her home of this gang but we found no link cal turmoil. But subsequent governments country emaciated and in a criti- with other groups,” national police Thai authorities say the failed to investigate the accu- cal condition after being abused spokesman Lieutenant General Bandpodj Network distributed sations, fearing doing so would by mother-of-two Law Wan-tung, Prawut Thavornsiri told report- audio recordings on CDs that derail a tenuous peace between fuelled anger in Indonesia and ers, adding he had been handed insulted the Thai monarchy. politicians and former rebels, shocked Hong Kong. over to military custody. Six people allegedly belonging leaving alleged perpetrators to Sulistyaningsih hailed the Local media reports said to the network were arrested late rise through the military and ruling but called for reforms to Hasadin had been affiliated with last month—but Hasadin evaded political ranks. ensure Hong Kong employers no the “Red Shirt” movement loyal police until Monday night. “This matter had been entangled longer treated domestic workers to fugitive premier Thaksin The group’s Facebook page, for more than eight years,” law min- “like slaves”. She said that while Shinawatra and his sister which has more than 100,000 fol- ister Narahari Acharya told report- Indonesian motorists push their vehicles as they wade through a flooded she forgave her abuser, she hoped Yingluck, who was dumped from lowers, describes itself as a place ers on Tuesday in Kathmandu after street in Jakarta, Indonesia, yesterday. Flooding in the capital has left at Law would receive the maximum office as prime minister shortly where “the mask is ripped from a cabinet meeting during which the least one person dead and nearly 6,000 displaced, police said. Parts of seven year jail term when sentenc- before last May’s coup. the face of Thai high-society and panels were set up. Jakarta were under two metres of water after heavy rain fell. ing is announced on February 27. Police last week charged a Red the elite”. REUTERS AFP Shirt member with lese majeste AFP WEDNESDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2015 PAKISTAN / AFGHANISTAN www.thepeninsulaqatar.com 13 China expands role in Afghanistan Beijing to help build hydroelectric plant, dam and roads

KABUL/BEIJING: China has previously supported only by other projects would be decided in promised to help build a hydro- Pakistan, which could buy some later trilateral meetings. electric power plant in a violent of the electricity it generates. At the meeting, the diplomats Afghan border region, as well as In 2013, Pakistan said it would also discussed ways to bring road and rail links to Pakistan, also build a motorway connecting Taliban militants to the negoti- in the latest sign it is taking a the Pakistani city of Peshawar to ating table, following a Chinese more active role in Afghanistan. Kabul, as well as a railway line proposal late last year for a “peace The assistance will include an from Chaman, on the Pakistani and reconciliation” forum. unspecified amount of financ- side of Afghanistan’s southeastern “The three sides resolved to ing, an Afghan foreign ministry border to the southern Afghan make concerted efforts in main- spokesman, Sirajul Haq Siraj, city of Kandahar. taining peace and stability in said on Tuesday, a day after sen- Kunar is one of Afghanistan’s Afghanistan,” Pakistan said in a ior Afghan, Chinese and Pakistani most active battlefields, with statement. diplomats met in Kabul. deep valleys and forests near the China has growing interests in “China agreed to support rel- Pakistan border providing cover Afghanistan, which offers a pos- evant initiatives for projects for different factions of the Taliban. sible route to the sea from China’s Afghan refugees gather outside the office of the National Database Registration Authority and the United Nations including the Kunar hydropower China’s involvement could landlocked west. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Rawalpindi for registration. More than 30,000 Afghans living in plant and strengthening road speed up work on these projects, China wants the country to Pakistan have returned home since the start of the year after coming under intense scrutiny following a Taliban and rail connections between though major Chinese invest- be stable, both to help it exploit massacre at a Peshawar school in December. Afghanistan and Pakistan,” ments including a large copper mineral resources and to weaken Chinese Foreign Ministry spokes- mine and railway link near Kabul Islamist militants it says operate woman Hua Chunying told a daily have been put on hold partly in the far western Chinese region news briefing in Beijing. because of militant violence. of Xinjiang, which borders both Red Cross warns situation The planned 1,500 megawatt Siraj said the amount of Afghanistan and Pakistan. dam on the Kunar River, was Chinese financing for the dam and REUTERS worse for Afghan civilians KABUL: The International ascribing the increase to height- to withdraw and Taliban insur- Committee of the Red Cross ened violence in remote regions of gents tried to disrupt a presiden- Taliban turning to organised crime: UN removed more than twice as Afghanistan that also restricted tial election. many dead combatants from civilians’ access to healthcare. The Red Cross only retrieves UNITED NATIONS: The Lapis lazuli mines in north- the Taliban have increased since Afghan battlefields in 2014 than “Persistent and fierce fight- casualties when called on by com- Taliban are increasing their eastern Badakhshan province 2005, with ransoms paid total- in the previous year as fighting ing, including serious violations batants to do so, usually when the dealings with narcotics traf- are controlled by the Taliban ing at least $16m, according to intensified, the charity said. of the rules of war, continue to injured or dead are behind enemy fickers, illegal mining rings who demand around $1m annu- the report. “The scale and depth The ICRC retrieved the have a deplorable impact on the lines. More than 10,000 foreign and kidnappers for ransom, ally from miners in exchange for of this cooperation is new, and remains of 1,372 dead fighters in Afghan population,” said the head soldiers remain in Afghanistan in a worrying development being allowed to mine without builds on decades of interaction the 12-month period, up from 620 of ICRC in Afghanistan, Jean- and continue to engage in com- for Afghanistan’s new lead- fear of Taliban attacks, said the between the Taliban and others the year before. Nicolas Marti. “For the victims bat when needed. On Monday a ers, a UN report said. “They report. In addition, the Taliban involved in criminal behavior,” The Red Cross, a neutral party of the conflict, the situation might US drone strike killed at least are increasingly acting more earn $240,000 to $360,000 per said the report. in the war, retrieves casualties deteriorate even further as the six alleged militants, including a like ‘godfathers’ than a ‘gov- year in extortion from truckers The experts argued that the mainly for the Afghan security funding of humanitarian aid senior commander suspected of ernment in waiting,’” said the who carry the stone away from Taliban’s strengthened ties with forces and the militants they dwindles in the country,” he said having started to work for Islamic report by the UN panel of experts the mines located in a predomi- organized crime would make it fight. US-led foreign forces, who in statement State. on the Taliban. nantly Tajik-populated area. more difficult to foster recon- officially ended their combat mis- Despite the formal end to for- The Red Cross said civilians While the Taliban’s ties to The Taliban also pocket two ciliation as the movement now sion in Afghanistan at the end of eign participation in the war, were frequently caught up in the drugs traffickers dates back to thirds of earnings from chromite has little economic incentive to 2014, mainly use their own evacu- Afghan troops remain locked in a fighting but that the past year the 1990s, the report also details mining in southeast Paktika make peace. The report sug- ation and health services. fierce fight with Taliban militants had seen an 18 percent decline in the movement’s involvement in province and an estimated $16m gested that the Security Council The number of injured fight- trying to gain territory. Last year patients accessing medical serv- controlling natural resources, annually from ruby mining in could use targeted sanctions to ers rose by more than a third was the most violent since the ices due to the worsening security and thus depriving the central Jagdalak, east of Kabul, the take aim at the Taliban’s crimi- last year, the charity said, war began, as Nato troops began situation. REUTERS government of revenue. report said. Hostage takings by nal connections. AFP

Pakistan kills 15 tribal Advancing sea poses threat to Karachi rebels in southwest

ISLAMABAD: A committee of countries which would be affected by depleting because of this almost 400 per they said one kilometre coastal land QUETTA: Pakistani paramilitary forces yes- Pakistan Parliament was informed the rise of sea level. cent excessive use. in Balochistan had already gone under terday killed 15 separatist insurgents and lost yesterday that Badin and Thatta will The NIO official said that for 300 Secretary of the Sindh Board of the sea. The committee was informed one of their own men during a gun battle in a drown by 2050 and Karachi by 2060 days in a year, water did not go beyond Revenue Ghazanfar Ali Shah told the that during the past 35 years more than remote southwestern area, officials said. if immediate steps were not taken to Sajawal in Sindh which was the main committee that there were reports two kilometres of coastal land had been The clash took place at Basima, some 240km check sea intrusion along the coastal reason for the sea intrusion. that some parts of Malir had also been submerged. southwest of Quetta, the capital of restive areas of Sindh. He said that after a cyclone in 1999, affected due to sea intrusion. A survey Senator Taj Haider of the PPP Baluchistan province which is rife with a tribal The Senate Standing Committee on seawater entered the Left Bank Outfall was being conducted to ascertain the informed the committee about some insurgency, Taliban attacks and sectarian violence. Science and Technology headed by Prof Drain (LBOD) which was meant to situation, he added. of the steps the Sindh government had “At least 15 miscreants were killed during a clash Sajid Mir was also informed that a sig- drain out the excess saline water back An official of the Badin administra- taken to check sea intrusion. He asked with security forces,” a spokesman for Frontier nificant part of Malir had already been to the canal. tion disclosed that over 31,000 acres of the federal government to extend help Corps said. “An FC soldier was martyred and three affected by seawater and Karachi also The LBOD has reportedly been the district had already drowned. to the provincial government. others were wounded in the fighting,” the official would not remain safe if steps were not blamed by civil society groups since Prof Dr Sarfaraz Hussain Solangi of The committee was informed that said. Local intelligence and administration officials taken to rectify the situation. the 1990s for altering the drainage and Sindh University briefed the committee the level of seawater was rising at a confirmed the clash and casualties. The warning came from officials of water flow patterns in lower Sindh spe- about the changes in weather patterns rate of 1.3 millimetres per year. A mod- An intelligence official said that the militants the Sindh Board of Revenue and the cifically Badin and Thatta and worsen- and temperatures and its effects on the ern GPS system was being installed belonged to Baloch Liberation Front which has National Institute of Oceanography ing the flooding in the two districts. area. He said the sweet underground along the coastal areas of Badin and been carrying out attacks on security forces (NIO) during a briefing on “intrusion Dr Inam said people obtained under- water was being replaced with saline Thatta to monitor the situation. and government installations in the province of the sea to the coastal areas of Sindh ground water from a 64 cubic kilometre water at an alarming pace. After the briefing, the committee bordering Iran and Afghanistan. Baluchistan, and Balochistan”. Director General of area whereas according to the inter- Officials of the Balochistan Coastal called for ensuring water discharge in Pakistan’s largest but least developed and most the NIO Dr Asif Inam told the com- national standards, it should not be Development Authority told the com- Kotri downstream strictly in accord- sparsely populated province, has been racked mittee that in 1989, the United Nations more than 17 cubic km. He said the mittee that their province was facing a ance with the 1991 Water Accord. for decades by a separatist insurgency that was had included Pakistan in the list of underground water reserves were fast similar situation. Referring to a report, INTERNEWS revived in 2004. AFP Roadside eatery Banned JuD thrives in Pakistan MURIDKE, PAKISTAN: It is listed Security Council resolution, Pakistan I would pay at least 1,000 rupees,” said as a terror outfit by the UN and its said it had frozen the group’s assets after patient Rana Khaliq ur-Rehman. chief has a $10m US government the Mumbai attacks — an undertaking After an earthquake or floods, JuD’s bounty against him, but Jamaat-ud- it has repeated in recent weeks. relief wing, the Falah-e-Insaniyat Dawa (JuD) operates freely across But at JuD’s headquarters, a sprawl- Foundation (FIF), is often among the Pakistan, testing Islamabad’s new ing high-security complex nestled among first aid groups on the ground. resolve to tackle militancy. rice fields in the town of Muridke, north JuD leader Hafiz Saeed — on whom Pakistan vowed to end its tolerance of of Lahore, little seems to have changed. the US has placed a $10m reward for so-called “good” militants after a Taliban Doctor Akhtar Hussain, a wizened old information leading to his capture — is massacre at a school in Peshawar in man with a long grey beard and a broad often seen in the front line handing out December killed 153 people, the worst smile, heads the Al Aziz Hospital in the food. Despite the bounty, he also leads terror attack in the country’s history. heart of the complex which also houses a high-profile public life and regularly The government’s list of 60 or so schools where boys and girls study both delivers fiery anti-India speeches. He banned organisations features the JuD and official government textbooks. led thousands of supporters in a rally in Pakistani Taliban and secessionist rebels Like the Palestinian group Hamas Lahore last Thursday to mark Kashmir from Baluchistan province, but the state and Hezbollah of Lebanon, JuD has set Day, under the eye of a heavy police con- has long shied away from action against up a network of health and education tingent outside the city’s high court. groups considered useful for fighting facilities across Pakistan, including five “The politicians don’t understand our abroad in India or Afghanistan. hospitals, 200 dispensaries, ambulance problems, but the JuD does and helps International powers including the US services and 250 schools. us,” said Saddam Sohail, a 25-year-old and India consider JuDto be no more When AFP visited Al Aziz hospital, builder. “When the US says JuD are ter- than a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), elderly women were lining up in a white rorists, it makes my blood boil,” added the militant group blamed for the 2008 corridor for eye tests. “Laser eye surgery Ghulam Sarwar, a 55-year-old farmer. Mumbai attacks that left 166 people is free,” said Hussain. Further ahead, two Founded in the 1980s to fight Soviet dead. But JuD denies any link to violence, dentists worked their way through their forces in Afghanistan, LeT reinvented and within Pakistan the organisation daily quota of 40 patients each. itself in the 1990s for “jihad” in Kashmir, Afghan customers drink hot milk and eat breakfast at a roadside stall in a market in Kabul enjoys a high degree of popularity for the The cost of treatment for a root canal the Himalayan territory that India and yesterday. work of its charitable arm, particularly is 50 rupees (50 US cents). “It is a frac- Pakistan control in part but claim in full after natural disasters. Following a UN tion of the price. In a private hospital and have fought two wars over. AFP WEDNESDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2015 14 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com INDIA

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal (centre) addresses his supporters with party leaders Kumar Vishwas (right) and Ashuthosh (left) outside their party office in New Delhi yesterday. RIGHT: Young AAP supporters take a selfie with Kejriwal’s cutout picture as they celebrate a landslide win in Delhi Legislative Assembly elections, in Amritsar. AAP tsunami wrecks BJP, Congress BJP trounced in blow to Modi; final results: AAP: 67; BJP: 3 and Cong: 0

NEW DELHI: In one of the most stun- Delhi election Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who had Twitterati hail win, ning comebacks in Indian political history, asked people in Delhi to vote for the AAP, How the BJP has fared previously against the AAP in Delhi Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said it was a “big defeat for the arrogant and yesterday scored a landslide victory in Delhi, BJP - Bharatiya Janata Party those spreading hate”. “The election is a turn- delivering to the BJP its first defeat since its ing point... The country needed this change.” take a dig at Modi AAP - Aam Aadmi Party historic Lok Sabha triumph and reducing Gandhian Anna Hazare added: “The result the Congress, which ruled the capital for 15 60 percent of vote is a defeat for Narendra Modi. What did the NEW DELHI: The Twitterati, The twitterati also used the 54% years till 2013, to a virtual nonentity. BJP do in the past nine months? The BJP the social medium that has been 140-character space to criticise Tens of thousands of jubilant AAP activ- 50 made promises to tackle corruption. Instead a hot favourite of the ruling Modi’s “arrogance”, which they ists celebrated across the capital and in they took anti-people, anti-farmer decisions.” BJP, especially Narendra Modi, said was the sole reason behind many other cities as the 27-month-old party 40 Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister came out in the open yesterday his party’s rout. “Never wear a grabbed a sensational 67 of the 70 seats in the Mufti Muhammad Sayeed said: “The Delhi to take a swipe at the prime suit with your name written on 32.2% Delhi assembly, leaving just three seats to the elections have asserted the diversity of our minister even as it mocked both it!!” Tikeshwat Patel said. “Lesson Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — the highest 30 country and the need to respect it which the the BJP and the Congress in learnt. Arrogance never pays victory margin for any party in Delhi so far. BJP should learn not to ignore.” the aftermath of the sensational #AAPSweep,” another user said. Although Delhi accounts for only 70 of the 20 In Mumbai, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Delhi poll results. The twitterati also hailed the 4,120 assembly seats in the country, the AAP’s Thackeray termed the AAP sweep a ‘tsunami’. “They wanted every Hindu decision of those voters who did spectacular showing had its predictable fallout, 10 “This is a great day for democracy. It was not woman to produce at least four not get swayed by passionate with opposition parties and even BJP ally Shiv just a wave. It was a tsunami which swept kids.. and they couldn’t even win speeches and rather gave the Sena taking potshots at Modi. Delhi. I agree with Anna Hazare that this is four seats in the Delhi assem- AAP a “second chance” to helm 0 The win gave the AAP, India’s youngest a defeat for Modi, not (Kiran) Bedi.” bly!” tweeted Pooja Mehra, an IT the government. 2015 political outfit, 96 percent of seats in a legis- 2013 2014 The AAP was, however, more circumspect professional, taking a dig at BJP “Every ego deserves a thun- state general assembly lature — another record — and a new lease of elections elections elections in its assessment. “It is a giant leap for a small MP from Unnao Sakshi Maharaj der jolt. Every second chance life after it was written off following its earlier party,” AAP ideologue Yogendra Yadav told who had asked Hindu women to demands a redoubled commit- turbulent 49-day stint in Delhi and the later Source: Election Commission of India; NDTV; Reuters the media. “We still have a long way to go produce four children. ment. That’s BJP vs AAP for humiliating rout in the 2014 Lok Sabha battle. S. Scarr, 10/02/2015 (vis-a-vis national politics). We have just got Lauding the over two-year-old me. #AAPSweep,” posted Jona So stunning and sweeping was the victory a toe-hold.” AAP for making a stunning come- Key, a copywriter. Zena Costa in what was supposed to be a tough election One after another, BJP leaders accepted back after a 49-day stint in 2013- shared similar sentiments and with Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself aggressive campaign against Kejriwal and defeat and congratulated the AAP and 14, filmmaker Shirish Kunder said: said: “That Delhi did not fall for leading the BJP’s charge that many AAP lead- called him a “Naxalite” (Maoist) who should Kejriwal. Said Satish Upadhyay, the party’s “AAP has just started its ‘Swachh grandiose speeches and noted ers and workers who had slogged for months be banished to the forests, congratulated the Delhi unit head: “Clearly, we made a mistake Bharat Abhiyan’ against BJP.” the BJP’s inaction instead is broke into tears. AAP leader and offered his government’s full in understanding the people’s mood.” While the day started with so heartening! Wonderful for Kejriwal, 46, had teary eyes as AAP col- cooperation. “We accept our massive defeat,” added #DelhiDecides as the top- Indian politics #AAPSweep.” leagues repeatedly hugged him and lifted him The AAP said Kejriwal will take oath as Communication Minister Ravi Shankar most trending hashtag, within The 46-year-old Kejriwal, an in the air, and congratulatory messages poured Delhi’s chief minister on Saturday, exactly Prasad. Bedi, whose induction as the BJP’s a few hours it was replaced by Indian Institute of Technology in from all over the country thick and fast. a year after he resigned. Delhi Police said it chief ministerial candidate caused fissures in #AAPSweep as the people wel- alumnus, studied mechanical Outside his home, thousands kept chanting will provide “Z” category security that would the party, said: “I have not lost. Let the BJP comed the verdict. “The BJP engineering and then went on to the party’s catchy line: “Paanch Saal, Kejriwal!” include at least 30 commandoes to Kejriwal. assess why they lost. I gave my very best.” hasn’t just been swept away. Or join the Indian Revenue Service, The Congress simply sank, with its chief Kejriwal later reached the AAP office in The AAP is set to bag an incredible 54 crushed by an avalanche. It’s found some “engineering” acco- campaigner Ajay Maken resigning as the par- central Delhi where he told boisterous sup- percent of all votes. It swept all parts of the been hit by a meteorite,” Priti lades coming his way. ty’s general secretary after he finished third in porters waving party flags and brooms—the capital, including the middle class areas as Singh, a twitter user said. “Arvind Kejriwal proves himself his Sadar Bazar constituency. Most Congress AAP election symbol — that the AAP sweep well as the numerous low income neighbour- Govind Keshari, another to be a true engineer. ‘All down’ candidates lost by huge margins, one by 95,000 was “a victory for truth and honesty”. hoods. All social classes, including Muslims Twitter user said: “#AAPSweep in first semester and ‘all clear’ votes. He also urged his supporters not to become and Christians, voted for it overwhelmingly. The concern and interest of com- at the end of second semester!! The BJP suffered far more humiliation, with arrogant, pointing out that it was arrogance Kejriwal himself won easily from New Delhi mon man is supreme, not the #AAPSweep,” posted Hani. While its chief ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi, who which had first decimated the Congress in constituency, where he created history in 2013 religion. I hope, BJP would have the BJP managed to bag only had been personally picked by Modi, losing to Delhi and now the BJP. “This is incredible. by defeating three-time chief minister Sheila learned its lesson,” denouncing the three seats, the Congress failed a little known advocate of the AAP. Two of the We can’t believe it,” AAP leader and former Dikshit. Most AAP leaders also made it com- anti-minority campaign of some to open its account. “Aryabhatta three BJP winners scraped through by just Delhi minister Manish Sisodia said. Senior fortably, including Somnath Bharti, Manish of the Hindu fringe groups that must be so proud of congress 5-6,000 votes in contrast to the giant margins AAP leader Yogendra Yadav called it a victory Sisodia and Rakhi Birla, who were ministers are aligned to the BJP and served today...#AAPSweep,” Dipali scored by AAP candidates. of proverbial David over Goliath. in the earlier Kejriwal government. as its campaign foot-soldiers. Thakkar posted. IANS With the BJP subdued, Modi, who led an In remarks directed at Modi, West Bengal IANS Bedi apologises but asks Muslims, Christians rejoice

BJP to introspect defeat NEW DELHI: Members of the Muslim residents of Triokpuri the city, which also attracted me Muslim and Christian commu- expressed happiness over the win towards his party,” she said. NEW DELHI: BJP’s chief knowledge about Delhi, and said nities, who had voted in large of AAP candidate Raju Dhingan. Amit Gorden, who works with ministerial candidate Kiran the campaigning gave her a chance numbers for the AAP, rejoiced “Finally, truth stood victorious. an NGO, said Prime Minister Bedi (pictured) yesterday apol- to know the city. at the party’s victory yesterday. We are confident that the AAP Modi “keeping mum on attacks on ogised to her party for letting it “I am very happy I got to do They expressed hope that the will solve our problems,” 60-year- Christians is a cause for concern down after she lost from a con- this, because this showed me the capital would see a better govern- old Trilokpuri resident Amina but still I want that people give stituency seen as a ‘safe seat’ real situation of Delhi. I was trou- ment that would be above com- Begum said. some more time to the central by the party, but demonstrated bled with what I saw... the divide munal and caste-based politics. Christians said they were upset government to perform,” he said. her ignorance about the city by between urban rich and urban In Muslim majority areas of over the perceived growing intol- “I voted for the AAP because I admitting how she discovered poor... There is a mammoth gap,” the walled city, in Okhla and erance against the community. saw in them an alternative to divi- during the campaign the yawn- she said. she will continue to be a part of Jamia Nagar in south Delhi, and “The growing intolerance against sive, destructive and hateful com- ing gap between the haves and In a strange admission, she also the BJP. Taking the entire respon- Trilokpuri and Seemapuri in east Christians and the complete munal politics. India is a diverse have-nots. said she was not charged “even a sibility for the defeat, Bedi said: Delhi, there was much celebra- silence on part of Prime Minister and plural country and it should Bedi, who served Delhi as an rupee” for fighting the election, “PM (Narendra Modi) was not the tion. Residents burst fire crack- Narendra Modi has actually led to continue to be so,” said Amelia Indian Police Service officer at adding that it was “rare” that CM candidate, I was. I take full ers and distributed sweets and this debacle for the BJP,” Vivek Andrews, a communication expert various levels and took voluntary this happened. “They (BJP) did responsibility.” danced to the beat of drums, Masih, who works as a counsel with an international NGO. “I am retirement while she was director not take even a rupee for mak- “I want to thank the BJP lead- sporting AAP caps and waving for the Delhi government in Tis a citizen of India, no matter what of the Bureau of Police Research ing me the chief ministerial can- ership which reposed trust in me. the party symbol — the broom. Hazari court, said. my religion or caste is,” she said. and Development, also admitted didate... this is rare that a party I apologise to every worker of Residents of the walled city, “I voted for the AAP because it Homemaker Shikha John said she got to know Delhi only after gives you candidature and does not the party, I could not fulfill their from where AAP’s Alka Lamba has secular credentials and this she was concerned over Modi not she started her campaign. take even a rupee,” Bedi said, while expectation,” she said. won by over 18,000 votes, led vic- very fact tilted the scale towards assuring the people that there She said her constituency thanking the BJP for giving her Minutes later, the former police tory processions and danced to them,” he said. “The BJP and its would be no further atrocities Krishna Nagar, which has had the opportunity. officer in response to a question the tune of Paanch Saal Kejriwal. allies attacking churches in Delhi against the Christian community. former BJP chief ministerial can- Bedi’s entry as the chief min- retorted: “I have not lost... let the “We chose AAP on the issues and elsewhere in the country cre- Pastor of St. James’ church didate and now union minister isterial candidate days before the BJP assess (why they lost), they are of water, power and basic ameni- ated a strong sense of fear among Mohit Hitter said he voted for Harsh Vardhan as its legislator election had left many unhappy in a national cadre-based party. I have ties. But our first priority was the community and they voted for the AAP and feels the BJP “failed since the first Delhi election in the party. She, however, thanked not lost, I gave my very best.” Bedi to choose a party that will be the AAP,” Rajani, who works with to instil confidence” among the 1993, was dirty and needed at least party workers and leaders for lost the Krishna Nagar constitu- impartial on caste and commu- St. Stephen’s hospital, said. minority communities. “I knew a month just for cleaning. their “affection” and apologised ency to a little known lawyer, S K nity based politics,” Amantulla, a “Kejriwal being a common man the Congress will not make it, so She admitted her lack of for letting them down, and said Bagga, by 2,277 votes. IANS 50-year-old resident of Chandni understands what is required and it would have been senseless vot- Chowk, said. he is offering a free wifi service in ing for the losing party.” IANS WEDNESDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2015 INDIA www.thepeninsulaqatar.com 15 BJP’s Delhi rout Is Congress in a free fall? a ‘personal NEW DELHI: The results in Delhi were worse than the Congress could have imagined. The party failed to open its account in the national capital, defeat’ for Modi where it ruled for 15 years till December 2013, raising ques- tions about the party’s electoral PM pays the price for arrogant style tactics, vote-catching ability of the party leadership and its NEW DELHI: He campaigned election day on February 7, Modi dwindling electoral base. like a local leader, handpicked his promised a “world-class city” and As the trends became evident, own chief ministerial candidate said it was his undertaking that despondent party workers again for Delhi and made it a personal he would make Delhi a city that made demands to bring Congress referendum on his leadership. its citizens would be proud of. chief Sonia Gandhi’s daughter Yet Prime Minister Narendra Modi held four rallies in the run Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to the Modi could not halt the AAP jug- up to the Delhi polls, stretching forefront to check the party’s slid- gernaut in these assembly polls from Ambedkar Nagar to Rohini, ing fortunes. and in the process lost his first but his party could not manage to The rout in Delhi was evidently election since his winning streak win even four seats. Kejriwal raced another failure of the party’s began with the Gujarat assembly home in 67 of the 70 assembly seats young leader Rahul Gandhi, who polls in 2002. with his “paanch saal Kejriwal (Five has not been able to change for- Modi delivered Gujarat for his years to Kejriwal)” slogan. tunes of the Congress much since party for three consecutive terms But will Modi be held account- he became the vice-president in 2002, 2007 and 2012 after he able for the massive drubbing his about two years back. was parachuted to the state from party got in the Delhi polls? Not Delhi is the fifth straight loss Delhi in 2001. His portrayal as the if the party leaders and spokes- for the Congress in an assembly party’s prime ministerial candi- men are to be believed. Despite election after its debacle in the date in the 2014 general election the call by Kirti Azad, a medium- Lok Sabha polls last year and is its Congress party workers hold pictures of Priyanka Gandhi as they shout slogans outside the All Indian Congress was a direct result of this winning level leader of the party, that worst. The party lost in Haryana, Committee office in New Delhi yesterday, demanding Priyanka replace Congress party vice-president Rahul spree and he managed to win yet “heads should roll”, most of the Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Gandhi to ‘save the party’. again with the BJP for the first party faces that came on televi- Jammu and Kashmir. The party time getting a full majority in the sion sought to shield Modi and has finished third or fourth in all the Congress in the last few years. Lok Sabha. declared that it was “not a refer- these polls, pointing to the level of His talk of opening up the party Despite assiduous efforts by the endum on his prime ministership”. depths the party is sinking. structures has largely remained an It was an anti-BJP vote in party to firewall him from the BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra All party candidates lost in the idea to be implemented. defeat, the facts are inescapable said it was not a national election Delhi elections — in some cases, Congress campaign for Delhi New Delhi: Kerala CM that the BJP — and Modi per- and did not reflect on Modi. In not even getting into five figures of appeared jaded. During his cam- sonally — has paid the price for fact, BJP President Amit Shah in the votes they received. “I have not paign in Delhi assembly polls, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Putting up a brave face after the putting his own image and repu- an interview last week seems to seen such condition of Congress (in mainly in areas where Congress Congress party was routed in the Delhi assembly elections, Kerala tation at stake in a provincial poll. have sought anticipatory bail for Delhi). Congress is nowhere. This has been traditionally strong, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said yesterday that it was a vote In fact Kiran Bedi’s defeat in his leader saying: “Delhi polls will is something new,” a party func- Rahul Gandhi largely targeted against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the centre. the Krishna Nagar constituency not be a referendum on Modi”. tionary, who has been with the the BJP even as AAP was the “The traditional Congress vote has gone to the AAP and what hap- should be a personal defeat for Modi’s Rs10 lakh suit with his party for over five decades, said. party on the rise in Delhi and pened was there was a strong anti-BJP wave in Delhi,” said Chandy, Modi, who not only chose her in name written on it during US The problems and challenges posed the most direct threat to who had undertaken a day-long campaign for the Congress party in spite of her not even being a pri- President Barack Obama’s visit appear to be mounting for the the traditional vote base of the places where there was a sizeable Malyali population. mary member of the party, but and his supposedly arrogant Congress by the day. Its adver- Congress, including the minori- “The Congress party will introspect on its failures and will work campaigned aggressively for her style of functioning seem to have saries are far more nimble footed ties and weaker sections. alongside the people,” he added. “The people have given a fitting in ways no prime minister has rubbed people the wrong way. and social media-savvy. The All top guns of the Congress reply to people who speak one thing when in opposition and do the done for a local poll. Most political analysts have 129-year-old party has struck to lost the polls. Party’s chief for opposite when in power. The final analysis is there has been a strong The BJP campaign bypassed blamed his arrogant style for BJP’s its traditional methods of cam- campaign Ajay Maken finished movement against the BJP,” said Chandy. IANS local leaders and focussed solely massive defeat in the Delhi election. paigning with Congress president third in Sadar Bazar and could get on Modi’s supposedly personal Veteran journalist and commenta- Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi only about 16,500 votes. Maken charisma. It was obvious that tor Kuldip Nayar said: “The way addressing only a handful of ral- resigned as party general secre- has found it difficult to forge a lowest point and a turnaround Bedi as the chief ministerial can- the BJP carried out a Modi-centric lies in each state going to polls. tary owning responsibility for the revival. While the AAP appears will start,” Gowda said. didate was just a proxy and Modi campaign, any loss is of course a In Delhi, AAP’s youthful lead- debacle. Party leaders had hoped to have squeezed out the Congress He said that party will evolve a intended to exploit his own larger reflection on him (prime minister).” ership brought a freshness to its to win 12-15 seats. from Delhi, it appears poised to firm road map for revival. Political than life image in this election. Kejriwal’s win seems to be the campaign and presented a people- Congress ruled Delhi for 15 do so in Punjab which will go to analyst and senior journalist S Such was his hubris that Modi beginning of a new political era for centric approach to governance. years in succession since 1998 and the polls in 2017. AAP already has Nihal Singh said that Congress stuck his neck out and put himself the country with a focus on local The BJP was able to galvanise its vote share all these years did four MPs from Punjab. was supposed to do badly in Delhi loud and large in every advertise- leaders and local issues — bijli, the youth in the Lok Sabha polls not fall below 40 percent. It came AAP, which has national ambi- but even minority voters deserted ment of the party in the election paani, sadak — instead of high volt- under Narendra Modi. But the down to 24.55 percent in the last tions, aims to become a viable it in favour of AAP as there was — from bus shelters to bill- age foreign policy initiatives which Congress does not appear to have polls following rise of AAP and has opposition to the BJP in all the no hope of the party winning. boards to newspapers. All post- Modi seems to have shown a flair a plan to catch the imagination of now fallen to below 10 percent. states ruled by it and push the He said Congress had a difficult ers and full page advertisements for. As Congress leader Manish the aspirational class or the youth Congress won 43 seats in 2008 Congress to the third place. road ahead and Rahul Gandhi had in newspapers even on the day of Tewari summed it up: “People who comprise a large section of Delhi elections, eight in 2013 polls Congress party spokesperson proved a “non-starter”. “In my polling had full blown pictures of wanted to teach BJP (read Modi) the country’s population. and has now been reduced to zero. Rajeev Gowda said that peo- view, Congress faces a dilemma. Modi with Bedi, the party’s chief and its arrogance a lesson, they Rahul Gandhi has been trying to In states such as Bihar and ple voted to defeat the BJP in Without Nehru-Gandhi fam- ministerial candidate, occupying decided AAP is the instrument of democratise Congress for the last Tamil Nadu, where Congress vote Delhi and there was positive vote ily, the Congress will split. With only inset space at the bottom. their choice rather than Congress.” seven years and the approach has share was less than 10 percent in for AAP. “There was also anti- Rahul as its leader, they will In a personal letter to voters on IANS not led to any many major gains for the last assembly polls, the party incumbency against us. It is the drown,” he said. IANS

Swine flu cases on rise Nitish, legislators in Delhi; DD to share WC Manjhi announces quotas live feed with

PATNA/NEW DELHI: Aiming assembly. It was in the meeting cable operators, to put pressure on Bihar that the decision on the quotas Governor Keshri Nath Tripathi was taken. A JD-U leader close to says Apex Court for inviting him to form the Manjhi, however, said he “may or next government in the state, may not recommend dissolution NEW DELHI: Millions of cricket former chief minister Nitish of the state assembly, but by hold- fans in the country may get to Kumar reached New Delhi yes- ing a cabinet meeting, he wanted see India’s first World Cup match terday to parade the legislators to send a strong message that he against traditional rivals Pakistan supporting him at Rashtrapati is still the chief minister”. on February 15 free of cost as Bhavan today. Principal Secretary in the the Supreme Court yesterday Embattled Chief Minister Jitan Cabinet Coordination Department stayed the Delhi High Court order Ram Manjhi yesterday sought to B Pradhan said the cabinet meet- that barred public broadcaster play the “reservation card” as his ing approved reservation for SC/ Doordarshan from sharing the cabinet approved reservation for STs in all government contracts live feed of the cricket World Cup Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes of Rs50 lakh, as well as the pro- matches with the cable operators, in all government contracts of road posal for reservation of poorest of provided to it by Star TV. construction up to Rs50 lakh and the poor upper castes in govern- Doordarshan will be provided Suspected swine flu patients stand in a queue for treatment at the government Jai Prakash hospital in Bhopal reservation for poor upper castes ment jobs. the live feed of the matches by Star yesterday. Recent media reports have stated that more than 200 people have died due to swine flu. The huge in government jobs. Nitish Kumar earlier said he and which holds exclusive telecasting rise of cases since the beginning of the year has forced the health ministry to review the situation in various Earlier, Nitish Kumar and 130 the legislators would go to Delhi rights for the World Cup, starting legislators supporting him left for to meet the president as they did on February 14. Doordarshan in states, checking to see if medical teams were able to tackle the epidemic if it arises. New Delhi in two batches, Janata not receive any invitation from the turn reaches its viewers through Dal-United chief whip Shrawan governor a day after staking claim cable operators. The Delhi High Kumar said. “In the first batch, 60 to form the next government. Court on February 4 had barred legislators, and in second batch, He, along with 130 legislators Doordarshan from sharing the 70 legislators along with Nitish of his JD-U, the Rashtriya Janta live feed. US, India on same page on N-deal: Official Kumar left for Delhi,” he said. Dal (RJD), the Congress and the At the outset of the hearing, Party MP K C Tyagi said Communist Party of India (CPI) the apex court bench of Justice WASHINGTON: The US and “ongoing engagement with com- nuclear installation shall be liable that Nitish Kumar had reached Monday went to Raj Bhavan in Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Pinaki India are on the same page on panies, so that people can have a for nuclear damage caused by a the national capital, and was Patna to show his strength. Nitish Chandra Ghose issued notice on the “breakthrough understand- clear understanding of what the nuclear incident. likely to meet President Pranab Kumar has accused Manjhi, who the plea by the Centre and the ing” on the India-US nuclear way forward is”, he said when “So I think this is a sign of Mukherjee today. He said the was expelled from the JD-U Prasar Bharati and stayed the deal, but the US companies asked about the “frequently asked an effort to continue to move party would urge the president to Monday, of trying to organise order of the High Court. would still have to make their questions” issued by India on the forward and using the break- ask the governor to invite Nitish defections to stay in power. The court gave seven weeks to own judgments, according to a nuclear deal. through to try to open the Kumar to form the government Manjhi was hand-picked by Star and the Board of Control for senior US official. The US too had been able to con- space to resolve the concerns of as he has the majority. then chief minister Nitish Kumar Cricket in India (BCCI) for sub- Describing the resolution of the sult “with our companies and brief US businesses so that they can “Since we have not heard a deci- as his replacement when he quit mitting their response to the plea liability issue as a key element of them on the ongoing discussions participate in the Indian nuclear sion from the governor, we have last year following the JD-U’s rout by the Centre and Prasar Bharati. President Barack Obama’s “very that we’ve had through the contact industry,” Rhodes said. come to the president,” Tyagi said. in the Lok Sabha polls. In the However, the court Tuesday said successful visit to India”, Deputy group with India”, Rhodes said. “Again, as we said on the trip, Meanwhile, Manjhi, who insisted 243-member assembly, the JD-U that it would hear the matter on National Security Advisor Ben India had on Sunday made companies are going to make their that he remained chief minister has 115 legislators. It is backed by February 17 for the interim relief Rhodes told reporters Monday clear that there was no proposal own judgements. They’re going to till he fails to prove his majority 24 legislators of the RJD, five of sought by Star, which was present that Washington has encouraged to amend the nuclear liability look at the liability pool; they’re in the state assembly, had called a the Congress, two independents in the hearing as a caveator, repre- India to make more information law and that it was on par with going to look at India’s, again, clari- cabinet meeting Tuesday where it and one from the CPI. The BJP sented by a battery of senior law- available on the understandings. international norms. It had also fications of its laws,” he said. was speculated that he may rec- has 88 legislators and is supported yers led by P Chidambaram and This is a part of India’s clarified that the operator of the IANS ommend dissolution of the state by three independents. IANS Salman Khurshid. IANS WEDNESDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2015 16 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com MORNING BREAK

PRAYER TIME Pumpkin

Fajr (Dawn) 4:55 Shorook (Sunrise) 6:12 Zuhr (Noon) 11:48 Asr (Afternoon) 3:00 Maghrib (Sunset) 5:25 Isha (Night) 6:55

WEATHER Weather Today Wednesday Thursday Conditions: Partly cloudy Partly cloudy Partly cloudy Moderate temperature High: 26° High: 26° High: 29° daytime and partly Low: 20° Low: 22° Low: 19° cloudy with slight dust to blowing dust at times and relatively cold by night. DOHA - SUN & SEA

SUN TIDE SEA SUNRISE | SUNSET HIGH | LOW WIND 06:12 17:25 08:15 & 21:30 01:45 & 15:15 17-25/30 KT THE REGION TODAY TOMORROW

HI/LO WEATHER HI/LO WEATHER

MUSCAT 25/22 Clear 25/22 Clear MAKKAH 35/23 Clear 33/23 Partly cloudy KUWAIT 33/18 Clear 29/16 Partly cloudy A visitor looks at the artwork ‘Pumpkin’ by Japanese artist Kusama Yayoi at the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, yes- BAHRAIN 29/19 Partly cloudy 29/19 Clear terday. Kusama is a famous avant-garde artist known for painting with bright-coloured polka dots. SANAA 26/09 Clear 26/09 Clear RIYADH 31/19 Partly cloudy 32/19 Partly cloudy DUBAI 30/19 Clear 31/19 Clear BAGHDAD 24/16 Clear 23/10 Clear Ancient Indian THE WORLD TODAY TOMORROW Facebook launches free epic to be retold HI/LO WEATHER HI/LO WEATHER on Twitter ATHENS 06/01 Chance of rain 07/01 Partly cloudy WASHINGTON 06/-1 Chance of snow 06/01 Partly cloudy Internet service in India NEW DELHI: A lecturer based SYDNEY 29/19 Partly cloudy 29/19 Clear MUMBAI: Facebook has access via mobile phone to more beefed up infrastructure to meet in Britain has reimagined an LONDON 08/03 Cloudy 08/03 Mostly cloudy tied up with India’s Reliance than 30 pared-down web services, the anticipated increase in data ancient Indian epic for Twitter PARIS 07/01 Cloudy 07/01 Partly cloudy Communications to provide focused on job listings, agricul- traffic, but did not give details on audiences, spawning a book and ISTANBUL 04/03 Chance of showers 04/03 Chance of rain basic Internet services on tural information, healthcare and the amount it had spent. spurring a second attempt, this MANILA 29/21 Partly cloudy 29/22 Partly cloudy mobile phones for free, making education sites in seven regional “We address the affordability of time from the perspective of the DHAKA 28/16 Partly cloudy 27/16 Clear India the first country in Asia languages — as well as Facebook’s data by having beneficial services main villain. DELHI 20/10 Partly cloudy 20/12 Clear to get Facebook’s Internet.org own social network and messag- and then we’ll make it scalable for Chindu Sreedharan began ISLAMABAD 22/07 Clear 23/08 Partly cloudy service. ing services. our partners so that once these retelling the Mahabharata on the The companies will first offer It will be available to Reliance’s users want to use more, they microblogging service in 2009, the app in seven of India’s 22 106.3 million subscribers who have just buy the regular (data) plan,” taking more than four years and regions, or zones and it will then handsets capable of handling Markku Makelainen, Facebook’s nearly 2,700 tweets to finish “Epic go nationwide in the next 90 days, Internet traffic. director of Global Operator Retold”, published in December Gurdeep Singh, chief executive of Singh declined to comment on Partnerships, said. as a book billed as India’s first New sensor said to Reliance’s consumer business told who will bear the cost of carrying “One of our goals is to have a Twitter fiction. reporters. this data traffic for free. profitable partnership.” The ancient Sanskrit epic, one The service is run by Internet. Facebook said it had worked Facebook has partnered with of Hinduism’s crucial texts built org, the non-profit organisa- with Reliance Communications more than 150 wireless provid- of around 100,000 couplets, tells measure happiness tion whose backers also include since last October to address bar- ers over the past four years to of a dynastic struggle for power Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung, riers to connectivity. offer free or discounted access to and a cataclysmic war won by TOKYO: It is a problem that has Qualcomm and Opera Software, Both Reliance and Facebook its social network, but the new the righteous Pandava brothers. defeated generations of philoso- and which has the declared aim said they also expected to benefit Internet.org app is the first time Sreedharan’s Twitter version phers, poets and painters, but of making basic Internet services from the venture over the longer the company has added services is told from the point of view of one Japanese company thinks it available to the two-thirds of the term. India has the world’s third- beyond its own website. Bhima, the strongest of the five has come up with a way of know- world’s population which is not largest population of Internet The service comes to India Pandava warriors. ing for sure if people are happy. yet connected. users, and could take the number following similar launches in Now the 41-year-old academic Hitachi High Technologies, a The app, aimed at low income two spot this year. Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Ghana is reading up on Bhima’s cousin subsidiary of ovens-to-trains con- and rural users, will offer free Singh said the company has and Colombia. REUTERS Duryodhana to present a shorter glomerate Hitachi, says its new Twitter narrative from his point of happiness measuring device will view, turning the antagonist into let bosses know if they run a happy an anti-hero. office — or if their employees are “It’s going to be challenging to A Hitachi employee displays the new secretly bored at work. write Duryodhana too, but there’s The company has developed a sensor that measures the activity Art gallery a quick end in sight,” Sreedharan credit-card size wearable device of a group or organisation and said in an e-mail interview from loaded with sensors that deter- analyses its “happiness” tendency. Bournemouth, where he teaches mine where the wearer is and challenges journalism. whether he or she is sitting, stand- Hitachi says the idea behind the “I know where it will start and ing, typing or nodding. system is to help employers find how it will end, much more clearly It also records who is talking to ways that can increase the group’s visitors with than when I began Epic Retold.” whom and for how long, among happiness, thereby improving Such is the appeal of the other activities. their productivity. Mahabharata that when it was The data is then sent back The system, which cannot be replica piece first adapted for television in the to a base unit, which calculates used to measure an individual’s 1980s, city streets emptied out the happiness of the group as a state of mind, will go on sale in LONDON: Visitors at Dulwich on Sunday mornings, with most whole by comparing the patterns Japan in April, with each measur- Picture Gallery peer at the Indians glued to their TV sets. of activity with pre-determined ing tag costing 100,000 yen ($840) Old Masters on the walls, try- Even today, politicians fighting patterns from groups who report a year. ing to spot the $120 Chinese election campaigns often identify being... well, happy. AFP replica hung among paintings themselves with one of the heroic by Rembrandt, Rubens and Pandava siblings, while character- Gainsborough. ising opponents as Duryodhana or “I think it’s that one. It’s just one of his 99 depraved Kaurava looking so pristine,” said Ian brothers. Haul of rare silver coins Mortimer, a 60-year-old from Sreedharan’s narrative takes northwest England, pointing at occasional liberties with the epic, a portrait from 1820 by English annoying a few followers of the unveiled at British Museum painter James Lonsdale. “Epic Retold” Twitter account A visitor stands in front of a work by Italian artist Giambattista Tiepolo in In an audacious move, the with his portrayals of some LONDON: A hoard of 5,200 silver coins discovered by an amateur London gallery has replaced one Dulwich Picture Gallery in London. Mahabharata characters. archaeologist was unveiled at London’s British Museum yesterday, of the 270 paintings in its per- For example Yudhisthira, the as new figures showed a sharp rise in buried treasure discoveries. manent collection with a work “This is a Chinese replica that the certainty that something is eldest Pandava brother, and a One of the largest ever finds of Anglo-Saxon coins from the 10th and knocked up in a few weeks in a was made in 2014, so it is pretty worthwhile just because it is in a traditional byword for integrity, 11th centuries was made by Paul Coleman while out on an organised studio in southern China. obvious when you find it. What’s gilded frame and in an art gallery. proves to be less than honest. dig in central England on December 21. Hung among a world-class col- fascinating is to see it in the Millions of replicas are pro- One of Sreedharan’s initial The treasure, dating from the reigns of King Ethelred II (978- lection that also includes paint- museum context.” duced every year in China. The reasons for microblogging the 1016) and Canute (1016-1035), was buried in the village of Lenborough, ings by Van Dyck, Constable and After Mortimer recorded his Dulwich replica was ordered Mahabharata was to make it pal- Buckinghamshire, and is unofficially estimated to be worth over £1m. Canaletto, the goal is to make choice on the gallery’s iPad, his from Meisheng Oil Painting atable to British colleagues and The coins were found “covered in mud and had very little corrosion ... people re-examine the artworks wife Sue took her turn, pick- Manufacture Co. Ltd in Xiamen, see how Indians reacted to an epic because they were wrapped in a lead sheet like a Cornish pasty,” Pippa around them. ing a portrait of a woman the in Fujian province. reinterpreted for Twitter. Pearce, the curator in charge of cleaning the treasure, said. “It suddenly raises everything other side of the room — mainly The gallery emailed a jpeg “I am curious to see what the “It’s a very rare treasure, and to doubt, they have to look around “because I loathe it”. of its chosen picture, paid $126 conventionalists make of my alter- (it’s) rare to find so many coins all and look at every single picture But she mused: “If nobody gets including shipping via PayPal, nate ending,” he said. together and in such good condi- properly,” said Xavier Bray, chief it at all, what does that say about and received the rolled-up replica Sreedharan, an amateur ball- tion,” she added. curator of the Dulwich Picture what we are looking at?” within three weeks by courier. room dancer with two British “One of the coins is so rare that Gallery. “The project is going to desta- It was stretched onto the frame national championship titles, jug- it immediately took up exhibition in “When you look at an Old bilise how you feel when you look that normally holds the original gled teaching and rehearsals while the money gallery.” Masters painting you’ve got the at a piece of art,” acknowledged painting and from yesterday was working on “Epic Retold”. The treasure is currently being varnishes, you’ve got the brush- Doug Fishbone, the American hung in its normal place, where it Writing for Twitter offers officially valued, and Coleman will work, you’ve got the type of can- artist who came up with the idea. will stay, unannounced, until it is authors a directness “to get on share the bounty with the land- vas that was used, the cracking He said his intention was not revealed to the public on April 28. with the story,” he said. owner. AFP of the paint. to fool people but to strip away AFP REUTERS Wednesday 11 February 2015 22 Rabial II 1436 Volume 19 Number 6338 Price: QR2

www.thepeninsulaqatar.com [email protected] | [email protected] Editorial: 44557741 | Advertising: 44557837 / 44557780 Cameron for pay hike US oil output S&P affirms sovereign party to last credit ratings of Qatar till 2020: IEA LONDON: The United States will remain the world’s top Ratings agency says country’s outlook is stable source of oil supply growth up to 2020, even after the recent col- DOHA: Standard & Poor’s the non-oil sector expanded by oil production will decline as output lapse in prices, the International Ratings Services affirmed Qatar’s 12 percent, resulting in average from maturing fields contracts. “We Energy Agency said, defying ‘AA’ long-term and ‘A-1+’ short annual GDP growth of about 6 expect an average annual decline in expectations of a more dramatic term foreign and local currency percent. S&P projects Qatar’s pop- crude oil production of 5 percent slowdown in shale growth. sovereign credit ratings on the ulation growth will average about 6 over 2014-17. We project largely The agency also said in its Qatar. The outlook is stable. The percent per year until 2017. flat gas output-LNG and Natural Medium Term Oil Market report S&P also affirmed the ‘AA’ long- In S&P’s view, medium-to-long- Gas- given Qatar’s moratorium that oil prices, which slid from term issue ratings on the bonds term challenges to Qatar’s competi- on new investments in the sector, $115 a barrel in June to a near six- issued by Qatari Diar Finance tive position in the liquefied natural while condensate volumes will likely year low close to $45 in January, and SoQ Sukuk A A QSC. gas (LNG) market are likely to increase by about 5 percent per would likely stabilise at levels sub- The agency revised its macroeco- come from new shale production, year over the same period. The S&P stantially below the highs of the nomic projections for Qatar due to Russia’s gas pipeline to China, also expects government spending last three years. steep fall in oil prices. Prices for and increased pressure to delink to slow to an average of 4 percent But IEA Executive Director crude oil in spot and futures mar- LNG contracts from the oil price. for 2014-2017, enabling the govern- Maria van der Hoeven, launching kets have fallen by more than 50 Nevertheless, it sees several factors ment to contain emerging fiscal the report in London, said while percent since June 2014, leading that support Qatar’s competitive deficits in 2015 and 2016.” Opec may win back some custom- S&P to revise down its oil price position in the LNG market. S&P assumes Qatar’s net exter- ers while prices are low, it would assumptions significantly over this “First, we expect global demand nal asset position will remain not regain the market share it held period. “When we last reviewed for natural gas to remain strong, strong, at around 200 percent of before the 2008 financial crisis. Qatar, in September 2014, we absorbing the new supply. Second, current account receipts in 2015- The rebound in oil lost its expected Brent oil prices to average Qatar’s strategy has been to diver- 2018. Qatar has accumulated con- momentum yesterday, with crude $105 per barrel, in 2015 and $100 in sify into all major markets, adjust- siderable foreign assets over the prices falling for the first time in 2015-2018. We now assume an aver- ing the mix of destinations and past decade as a result of its devel- four sessions after the IEA warned age Brent oil price of $55 per barrel contract types according to mar- opment of its natural resources. of more selloffs in the near term in 2015 and $70 per barrel in 2015- ket needs. Moreover, the majority The ratings agency forecast that as stocks continue to rise. 2018. Consequently, we have revised of its exports are under long-term the general government net asset By 1618 GMT, US crude was our macroeconomic projections for contracts, which provide certainty position will remain strong, aver- down $1.87 at $50.99, after a ses- Qatar,” S&P report on Qatar noted. of volume off-take, while built-in aging about 100 percent of GDP sion low at $50.79. Benchmark The ratings agency estimates diversion clauses in the contracts during 2015-2018. The pace of Brent crude fell $1.03 to $57.31. Qatar’s GDP per capita at $71,000 provide additional flexibility to asset accumulation will depend Partly as a result of lower non- in 2015. According to the report, manage quantity and price risks. on how hydrocarbon production Opec output, the IEA predicted the hydrocarbons sector creates Third, Qatar will continue to have and prices develop. Qatar’s assets global demand for Opec crude will about 55 percent of Qatar’s GDP. a cost advantage over many of the to provide many decades of pro- British Prime Minister David Cameron addresses delegates at the British rise in 2016 to 29.90 million bpd, The oil and gas sector grew by new projects in other countries.” duction at current levels. Chambers of Commerce in central London yesterday. Cameron urged after holding at 29.4 million bpd about 2 percent in 2013-14, while The agency also assumes that the THE PENINSULA business leaders to pass on profits from the economic recovery and lower this year. REUTERS energy prices to their employees by giving them a pay rise. Qatar jumps 10 places in 2015 Global Retirement Index

DOHA: Qatar jumps 10 places and Qatar’s strong economic perform- world. The country also has the world’s Qatar are able to benefit from an incred- been laid bare in a recent global survey of ranks at the 21st position in the world ance and rapid rise in national income highest ranking for ‘finances in retire- ibly favourable economy, which offers high individual investors, which showed that ranking of retirement security, accord- has boosted the nation’s rankings in the ment’, which indicates the strength of an wages and relatively low unemployment. only 13 percent of investors worldwide ing to the 2015 Global Retirement 2015 retirement report, which reflects the individual’s financial security relative to The fact that Qatar comes out on top of said they understood their retirement Index, an analysis of 150 countries pub- welfare of retirees in different countries. interest rates, the investment environ- some of the GCC’s fastest growing econo- savings goals very well. Even fewer still lished today by Natixis Global Asset Qatar has moved from 31st to 21st place, ment, inflation, tax pressures and gov- mies is indicative of the nation’s sound said that they understood their retire- Management. overtaking the UAE and Kuwait. ernment indebtedness. Retirees in Qatar finances and stable economy.” ment goals as well. The global findings suggest that retire- The 2015 Global Retirement Index benefit from strong GDP growth of 6.3 Healthcare provision for pensioners in The 2015 Global Retirement Index ment security is uncertain for most reti- shows that Qatar has one of the world’s percent in 2014, a favourably low interest Qatar is also high with a ranking in the focuses on twenty factors that determine rees given unsustainable demand for highest ratings for ‘material wellbeing’, rate, moderate inflation and extremely low 79th percentile, indicating that the coun- the welfare of retirees in different coun- government resources and macroeco- a ranking based on national levels of tax pressure of only 2.9 percent of GDP. try is succeeding in building healthcare tries, which are grouped in to four sub- nomic factors that affect the value of reti- income equality, income per capita and Terry Mellish, Head of Global infrastructure that can keep pace with indices and corresponding with four key ree savings, placing more responsibility on the unemployment index. While ranking Institutional Services and the Middle East its overall economic growth. aspects of those in retirement: health, individual investors for their own welfare relatively low for income equality, income North Africa Business at Natixis Global The lack of financial planning in material wellbeing, quality of life and in retirement. per capita in Qatar is the highest in the Asset Management said, “Retirees in today’s working age population has also finances in retirement. THE PENINSULA

GM’s Barra faces roadblocks in rebuilding Cadillac brand

DETROIT: General Motors Co The fire sale marks a setback Chief Executive Mary Barra’s for Cadillac’s strategy to chal- (pictured) strategy of rebuilding lenge BMW and Daimler AG’s the Cadillac brand has run into Mercedes-Benz brand head-on twin roadblocks: the carmaker in the luxury sedan market. But can’t persuade enough American while an American Cadillac owner sedan buyers to switch from for- will happily consider a BMW or a eign competitors such as BMW Mercedes, drivers of those famous or Mercedes, and it can’t make German cars just won’t put a enough of its Escalade SUVs to Cadillac on their shopping list. satisfy domestic demand. “The problem is, Cadillac is not Even though chrome-bedecked BMW,” said Larry Dominique, Escalades retailing for more than president of ALG in Santa $100,000 each are rolling every day Monica, California, which sets and out of an Arlington, Texas, fac- tracks auto leasing values. “The tory that’s been working weekend ATS is the product that Cadillac Unsold CTS Cadillac vehicles sit in the snow in the back lot of a dealership in Plymouth, Michigan overtime for months, Cadillac still sedans at up to $12,000 off a sticker could have used to build brand can’t keep more than a few weeks’ price that starts at about $33,215. equity, but it was overpriced and Cadillac and its dealers had about “We understand we have a lot price cuts on either model, worth of the big SUVs in stock. By In St. Peters, Missouri, near St. overproduced.” four months’ worth of unsold CTS of work ahead of us with Cadillac,” although it recently tweaked contrast, its dealers are offering Louis, Bommarito Cadillac was Cadillac has wrestled for more sedans and six months’ worth of Barra said last week. option prices. Keeping base sticker discounts of thousands of dollars cutting as much as $17,500 off the than a year to shrink inventories unsold ATS sedans on hand at the Dominique said Cadillac’s prices unchanged could undercut on the ATS sedan, intended to price of a 2014 CTS sedan, which of unsold ATS and CTS models. end of January, an analysis showed. residual values — the projected the resale values used to set lease compete with the BMW 3 series, starts at about $45,345. In mid-December it shuttered In January, GM sales rose 18 end-of-lease values, expressed as prices, Dominique said. and on the CTS sedan, meant to “Cadillac made a commitment the Lansing, Michigan, plant percent, largely on the strength a percentage of the new car’s retail The failure of the ATS and CTS rival the Mercedes E-class. to relieve dealer inventories by that builds the ATS and CTS for of full-size trucks and utility vehi- price — are among the lowest in to hit their targets is costing GM. At Brotherton Cadillac Buick incentivising” the leftover 2014 six weeks. The factory reopened cles. Cadillac sales increased just 2 the luxury segment, ranking near To kindle demand, Cadillac has GMC in the Seattle suburb of sedans, Brad Brotherton said. January 26 on a single shift with a percent, with ATS sales dropping the bottom with Ford Motor Co’s offered subsidized leases, dis- Renton, Washington, owner Brad “Dealers had been asking for that greatly reduced production sched- 8 percent from a year ago and CTS Lincoln and Jaguar. counted financing and rebates. Brotherton is offering 2014 ATS for a long time.” ule. Even with the production cuts, sales down 24 percent. So far, Cadillac has resisted REUTERS

WEDNESDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2015 BUSINESS www.thepeninsulaqatar.com 19

China January HSBC could face legal inflation dips to action over tax dodge five-year-low BEIJING: China’s inflation plunged to a more than five-year low of 0.8 percent in January, British MPs to probe HSBC over SwissLeaks official data showed yesterday, fuelling fears the world’s second- LONDON/ZURICH/ largest economy is on the brink WASHINGTON: HSBC ‘Revelations are just tip of iceberg’ of a deflationary spiral. Holdings Plc faces investiga- The rise in the consumer price tion by US authorities and an GENEVA: The former HSBC employee who leaked sensational index (CPI) was sharply down inquiry by British lawmakers secret documents alleging the bank helped wealthy customers from the 1.5 percent recorded after admitting failings by its dodge millions of dollars in taxes warned yesterday that the rev- in December, and was the weak- Swiss private bank that may elations are just the “tip of the iceberg”. est since 0.6 percent recorded in have allowed some customers to Published at the weekend, the files claim HSBC’s Swiss division November 2009, according to the dodge taxes. helped clients in more than 200 countries evade taxes on accounts National Bureau of Statistics. US prosecutors have stepped containing $119bn. Herve Falciani, an IT worker turned whistleblower, It was also short of the median up efforts to establish whether stole the files in 2007 and passed them to French authorities, but they forecast of 1 percent in a survey of HSBC, the world’s second larg- had not been previously made public. But Falciani said the media analysts by Bloomberg News and est bank, helped Americans evade reports on the documents’ contents were based on just a fraction of came despite a surprise interest taxes after media reports said the the files he gave to the French state. “This is only the tip of the ice- rate cut in November. bank had helped wealthy custom- berg,” the Franco-Italian told France’s Le Parisien newspaper. “There’s Moderate inflation can be a boon ers conceal millions of dollars of more than what the journalists have. Several million transactions to consumption as it encourages assets. US authorities are also (between banks) are also in the documents I transmitted. These consumers to buy before prices go probing whether HSBC manipu- figures could give an idea of what lies at the bottom of the iceberg.” up, while falling prices encourage lated currency rates, and a US The files were used by the French government to track down tax shoppers to delay purchases and law enforcement official said the evaders and shared with other states in 2010, leading to a series of companies to put off investment, investigations could prompt the prosecutions. Dubbed the “Snowden of tax evasion” and “the man who both of which can hurt growth. Department of Justice to revisit a terrifies the rich”, Falciani remains wanted on data theft charges, Analysts warned of deflation 2012 deferred prosecution agree- but France and Spain have offered him protection by refusing to in China, a key driver of global ment with the bank. extradite him to Switzerland. AFP expansion, and urged Beijing to Customers use ATM machines outside an HSBC bank in central London. The agreement was part of a take more measures to boost the $1.9bn settlement that allowed economy. “The weak inflation pro- HSBC to avoid criminal charges front,” said the US law enforce- yesterday after the bank issued stars and Hollywood actors. last year, and wealthy families, the file suggests that the deflation has after it was found to have helped ment official, who requested ano- a statement late on Sunday in Having a Swiss bank account ICIJ said. A spokesman for the become a real risk for China, thus move hundreds of millions of dol- nymity because the investigations response to the media reports. is not illegal and many are held Moroccan royal palace declined paving way for further monetary lars in illicit drug money through are ongoing. The International Consortium for legitimate purposes. The to comment. policy easing,” ANZ economists the US financial system. British lawmakers said they of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), newly released HSBC Swiss cli- Uruguayan soccer player Diego Liu Ligang and Zhou Hao said in “It is quite possible that the plan to open an inquiry into the which coordinated the release of ent list included royalty such Forlan, who was also on the list, a research note. (agreement) may be reopened as bank after it came under fire for details of leaked client data, said as Morocco’s King Mohammed, on Monday denied evading taxes Liu Dongliang, an analyst a result of the bank’s activities on its past practices in Switzerland. a list of people who held HSBC politicians, corporate executives by hiding money in Swiss accounts with China Merchants Bank in either or both the tax evasion and A spokesman for HSBC accounts in Switzerland included including former Santander with HSBC. Shanghai, noted that consumption foreign exchange manipulation declined further comment soccer and tennis players, rock chairman Emilio Botin, who died REUTERS may have started to be affected by China’s growth slowdown, as serv- ices and consumer goods prices slumped last month. “We should get vigilant about HSBC condemns past practices as pressure grows this sign and pay high attention to changes in the job market,” he said LONDON: The head of HSBC’s scrutiny on the world’s sec- been “transformed” and client familiar with the contents of had a structure that put too much in a research note. “Consumption private bank has told staff past ond biggest bank, which was accounts had been closed. Boyles’ memo said. power in the hands of country played a key role in stabilising practices that may have allowed fined $1.9bn two years ago by It sought to drive home that Boyles told staff the bank had heads and not enough in central economic growth last year. If some clients to dodge taxes are US authorities for lax controls message to its staff. “The prac- “absolutely no appetite” to do command. Gulliver has said a consumption cools down while unacceptable, with the company that allowed criminals to laun- tices and the banking model of business with people who are restructuring he implemented in investment struggles to rebound, facing pressure on both sides of der money. It was also hit with that time are no longer accept- evading taxes. The issue adds 2011 may have appeared trivial to the economy will face even more the Atlantic over its conduct. a $618m penalty by regulators in able,” Peter Boyles, chief executive to headaches from the past for outsiders but it was the biggest trouble,” he said. Adding to HSBC’s discomfort, November for alleged manipula- of HSBC’s Global Private Banking HSBC Chief Executive Stuart organisational change in the firm China’s economy grew 7.4 per- British Business Secretary Vince tion of currency markets. since December 2012, said in a Gulliver, who took over four years since it was founded in 1865. cent in 2014, its weakest for almost Cable questioned how quickly its HSBC and Swiss-based banks memo. ago and admitted to lawmakers in A risk for Gulliver is that the a quarter of a century, and slower Swiss business stopped such prac- have been under fire for helping “Our clients want to know February 2013 that HSBC’s struc- US Department of Justice re- than the 7.7 percent in 2013. CPI tices, saying he was troubled by clients avoid taxes for several that we have changed and the ture “was not fit for purpose for a opens its 2012 deferred pros- was 2.0 percent last year, down claims they “may have continued years. HSBC said past compliance past practices they read about in modern world”. ecution agreement with HSBC, from 2.6 percent in 2013 and well much more recently”. measures and controls failed, but the papers have no place in our HSBC has been criticised as which could stiffen penalties or below the government’s target of The reports have renewed said its Swiss business had since modern private bank,” a person being too big and complex, and sanctions on it. REUTERS about 3.5 percent. AFP

Recognition for Al Majid Jawad Marketing Abu Dhabi gas Ministry to conduct firms award $1.6bn deals competitiveness survey DOHA: The Ministry of for release in June. The report will DUBAI: State-run Abu Dhabi Development Planning and measure strengths and weakness Gas Industries Co (GASCO) and Statistics, in collaboration in Qatar’s economic environment Abu Dhabi Gas Liquefaction Co with the Switzerland-based based on 338 criteria measuring (ADGAS) said yesterday they International Institute for different facets of competitiveness had awarded about $1.6bn worth Management Development and compares these with other of contracts to expand the (IMD), will be carrying out an nations. country’s natural gas process- “Executive Opinion Survey” Dr Saleh Al Nabit, Minister ing facilities. during February and March to of Development Planning and The contracts for engineering, assess the level of competitive- Statistics, said: “The report will procurement, construction and ness in different areas of the help identify areas where com- commissioning (EPC) work were Qatari economy in terms of petitiveness could be improved, as awarded to a consortium involv- doing business, said a statement well as provide important infor- ing Italy’s Maire Tecnimont and yesterday. mation for prospective investors Greece’s Archirodon, Spain’s The survey will complement and the general public.” Tecnicas Reunidas, and the hard statistical data and pro- Qatar ranked 19 (out of 60 United Arab Emirates’ National vide qualitative analysis about countries) in the 2014 IMD World Petroleum Construction Co. economic policy, regulations and Competitiveness Yearbook. The The project will develop and various aspects of the business high ranking stems from the expand facilities to boost gas environment which influence strong macroeconomic perform- Al Majid Jawad Marketing & Distribution Marketing Manager R Reji Sam, General Manager Anil Abraham, transfer from offshore to onshore the nation’s competitiveness. ance of the Qatari economy cou- Sim Li Bin, Market Development Manager, Tee Yih Jia Food Manufacturing Pte Ltd and Sunesh Chandran, as part of the UAE’s plans to meet The opinion survey will be con- pled with the ongoing reforms Catering Manager, Al Majid Jawad Marketing & Distribution, the exclusive distributor of the Spring Home increasing local demand for gas, ducted for this year’s IMD World and modernisation of government brand of ready-to-eat Asian convenience food and pastry in Qatar, receiving a recognition for the consec- the companies said. REUTERS Competitiveness Report scheduled institutions. THE PENINSULA utive year-on-year sales growth from 2008 to 2014 during the GULFOOD Exhibition 2015 in Dubai. Japan’s deflationary challenge caught in a bottle of ketchup TOKYO: For Tokyo-based condi- department. Prices on ordinary items prices. Economic theory predicts that Tomomi Akiyama, a financial planner Rival Kikkoman Corp is also raising ments maker Kagome, and perhaps for from toilet paper to frozen meals have consumers spend more in an inflation- in the suburbs of Tokyo, says she has seen prices of tomato-related products by up Japan’s government, the challenge of been rising as companies take steps to ary environment, but that deflationary a rush of new clients since last autumn, to 10 percent. Such announcements have breaking with a decade and a half of offset the weaker yen in recent weeks. mindset can act as a brake. especially suburban mothers. “There is caused a stir, prompting one tabloid to deflation boils down to the price of a That has put pressure on household “When they expect more inflation, a sense of real uncertainty and worry, run a calendar of looming price hikes so bottle of ketchup. spending and consumer confidence less people spend less, not more, because especially among my clients in their 20s shoppers can stockpile. Japan’s most popular ketchup brand than a year after a sales tax hike sent they expect prices to go up, but they and 30s,” said Akiyama. “A lot of people In December, Japan’s core inflation, is hiking prices for the first time in 25 the economy into recession. don’t expect their incomes to go up as also come to me because they are wor- which excludes fresh food but includes years in April, the kind of inflation that Stagnant wages and public concern much,” said Richard Katz, the editor of ried that their family income will not rise oil, stood at 0.5 percent, a quarter of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s economic about the future compound the problems the Oriental Economist, a Japanese eco- much in the future, and they want me to the central bank’s inflation target. Food policies are aimed at encouraging. But facing Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko nomics newsletter. “That’s exactly what’s help them prepare for that.” products, excluding fresh food, rose 3.3 Kagome, like most companies, fears that Kuroda, nearly two years after a pledge happened under Kuroda-nomics.” Kagome representatives say the percent in 2014, including the sales tax consumers are not ready to pay more. to push inflation to 2 percent through a A Bank of Japan survey published in 116-year-old company moved to hike impact. To win over shoppers, Kagome “When you’re managing your daily gro- massive asset purchase programme. January found only 7 percent of people prices after months of internal debate, has introduced a low-sodium ketchup cery spending, it’s an accumulation of Opposition party members have ques- believed the economy would be better reluctantly concluding that cost cuts plus marketing tricks such as special bot- small expenditures. And as you make tioned the effectiveness of that target and a year from now. In December, Japan’s alone could not offset the rapid decline tle caps so children can draw pictures in small purchases, you notice that prices Kuroda’s attempt to smash what he has famously high savings rate turned nega- in the yen and the 40 percent surge in sauce on their food, and a cooking compe- are slowly rising, and consumers get called Japan’s “deflationary mindset”, a tive for the first time, suggesting people tomato paste prices over two years. It tition for the best “omrice”, an omelette worried,” said Fumitaka Ono, a man- recession-era habit where saving money were starting to dip into their reserves will raise ketchup and sauce prices by up served over rice eaten with lashings of ager in Kagome’s product development became a reflexive response to declining to keep up with rising living costs. to 13 percent. ketchup. REUTERS WEDNESDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2015 20 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com BUSINESS Greece readies 10-point plan to win creditors Athens and creditors at loggerheads as key meeting looms: Govt ready to cooperate on 70pc of bailout obligations

ATHENS: Greece’s new leftist At talks kicking off with an the government had “no other ground. But while a steady per- a misstep leading to a very bad Cooperation and Development, government was finetuning a emergency meeting of eurozone thoughts” than settling the formance on the European mar- outcome are growing.” on Wednesday to polish the gov- 10-point plan yesterday in hopes finance ministers tomorrow, matter with Europe — “at the kets also suggested that the draft While Greece’s creditors want ernment’s proposals a day before of persuading its international Greece will plead its case for moment”. measures had soothed some jit- Athens to apply for an extension a full EU summit in Brussels on creditors to rethink their “bar- stop-gap financing with a view According to a finance ministry ters among investors, the conti- to the bailout — and stave off the Thursday. baric” bailout terms and pre- to clinching a reform deal that source, the government is ready nent’s leaders were unlikely to be risk of bankruptcy — the govern- A deal is not expected before a vent the country from crashing will not exacerbate poverty, to to cooperate on 70 percent of its so easily swayed. ment wants a bridging loan to buy further eurozone financial min- out of the eurozone. run from September 1. “After bailout obligations but wants to German Chancellor Angela time for negotiations without the isters meeting next Monday at Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras five years of bailout barbarity, overhaul the remaining 30 per- Merkel has said she expects a austerity shackles. The finance the earliest. But the proposals faced a confidence vote in parlia- out people can take no more dis- cent — which it would replace “sustainable” finance plan that ministry source said such a deal may fall at the first hurdle, as ment over his policies, but while appointment,” Tsipras said in a with the 10-step plan. respects the “basic rules” of the could let both sides save face: “We critics have pointed out that the he was expected to breeze through speech on Sunday. It will offer a series of measures bailout programme, while Britain call it a bridge. They can call it a European Stability Mechanism, his first domestic political test, Defence Minister Panos including lower primary surplus moved Monday to draw up con- technical extension.” which issues bailouts, is not set up time to woo the holders of the Kammenos warned that if nego- targets and cutting debt through tingency plans for a Greek exit Greece is under pressure to to offer short-term loans. purse strings was running out. tiations with the eurozone fail, a swap plan to replace its current from the eurozone — dubbed a win approval for a new deal as And fears persist that even if it Tsipras is pushing for creditors to the country will go to a “Plan B”, EU-IMF bailout deal obligations.. “Grexit”. quickly as possible because the comes through on the European soften the tough conditions of the which could involve asking for The initiative was welcomed by His chancellor of the excheq- European portion of the EU-IMF tranche, Athens could run out €240bn bailout that Greece was funding from the United States, the Greek market, which clawed uer George Osborne, in Istanbul bailout is due to expire at the of money before the summer forced to accept in the aftermath Russia or China. back Monday’s losses to rise more at a G20 finance ministers meet- end of the month. Tsipras will because of a drop in tax revenues, of the financial crisis, to boost its Tsipras had appeared to rule than 8 percent, while the bench- ing, told Bloomberg Television meet Angel Gurria, chairman of leaving it unable to meet its IMF economy through spending. out that idea last week, saying mark 10-year bond also recovered “the risks of a miscalculation or the Organisation of Economic loan repayment. AFP

Kemira revenue up Bundesbank Samsung to soothe ‘Big gets money Brother’ fears over TVs from Lehman SEOUL: Samsung Electronics information will be among the data sought yesterday to downplay captured and transmitted to the collapse concerns that its top-range Smart third party,” the policy said. TVs might be eavesdropping on It’s not the first time Smart TVs FRANKFURT: The German viewers in the privacy of their have been called out for potential central bank or Bundesbank own homes and collecting and “Big Brother” style invasions of said yesterday it has received sharing intimate conversations. privacy. the final instalment of the Anxiety that romantic mur- In 2013, another South Korean money it had invested in murings or domestic rows could electronics conglomerate LG Lehman Brothers, 6.5 years be picked up by the televisions was acknowledged that its smart TVs after the collapse of the US triggered by the South Korean tech were collecting data about owners’ banking giant. giant’s own Smart TV privacy pol- viewing habits without their per- “Our final outstanding claim icy, that warned of the potential mission. The company said it had of around €1.9bn was settled scope of the sets’ voice recognition fixed the problem with an update. in January from the insolvency software. In a statement yesterday, assets of Lehman’s German sub- Using the software means voice Samsung stressed that it took pri- sidiary and the US parent com- commands like “change the chan- vacy issues “very seriously” and pany,” the Bundesbank said in a nel” are transmitted to a third- employed numerous safeguards statement. party service that converts the to prevent the unauthorised the “At the end of a six-and-a-half speech to text and then sends the use of consumer data. The state- year insolvency and recovery command to the television. ment noted that the voice recogni- process, we have not only received “Please be aware that if your tion feature on its Smart TVs was our initial claim of over €8.5bn. Petri Castren, CFO of Kemira (left) looks on as Jari Rosendal, President and CEO of Finnish Kemira corpora- spoken words include personal or an option — and could simply be But with the additional inter- tion delivers the financial statements review for 2014. Kemira said organic revenue growth was 6 percent other sensitive information, that switched off. AFP est and costs of around €0.8bn, due to sales volumes growth in all three segments. we’ve emerged from the process with our accounts in balance,” said Bundesbank executive board member Joachim Nagel. At the time of the collapse of the US investment bank in mid- Vodafone Egypt spending $1.25bn on network September 2008, the Bundesbank, as a member of the Eurosystem of central banks, had claims total- CAIRO: Vodafone Egypt plans Officer Ahmed Essam said in an Investments would cover pur- allow firms to offer both mobile it needs the fixed line part. ling $9.6bn against Lehman. to spend around 9.5bn Egyptian interview. “By end of this fiscal chasing equipment, modernising and landline telecommunications. He seemed upbeat on the The bank had used highly com- pounds ($1.25bn) on upgrading year in March, we would have base stations and creating new Vodafone’s rival mobile phone Egyptian economy, which has just plex financial instruments such as its network over the next three spent more than 3bn (Egyptian) coverage areas in Egypt, the most service providers are Mobinil and started to recover from nearly four asset-backed securities (ABS) as years to keep pace with demand pounds which equals one third of populous Arab country. “This is Etisalat Egypt. With Egyptians years of political upheaval, street collateral for central bank loans. for data services, its CEO said. the allocated investments and also a huge investment in comparison increasingly using mobile phones protests and militant violence. In the ensuing crisis, the mar- Vodafone Egypt, majority more than 30 percent of our yearly to what we used to spend,” said and the Internet instead of mak- “I believe we are as a country on ket for such securities effectively owned by British mobile opera- revenues in Egypt.” Essam, adding the emphasis would ing fixed line phone calls Telecom the front foot at the moment for collapsed. But instead of immedi- tor Vodafone, is the leading com- Financing the planned invest- be on “capturing the data growth”. Egypt has been relying on its data encouraging investments coming ately selling all of its holdings of munications player by customer ments will come from internal Vodafone Egypt is also 45-per- traffic for revenue growth. in and encouraging trade,” he said. such securities, the Bundesbank numbers in the country of 90 resources, Essam added. He did cent owned by fixed-line telecoms Essam said Vodafone Egypt is “GDP growth quarter over quarter gradually sold them off over the million. “Annual investments will not give precise revenue figures for firm Telecom Egypt. Egypt is interested in getting the Internet is starting to tick. The confidence years to professional investors represent more than 30 percent of a company which has around 39 finalising the details of a long- service offered under the unified is starting to be there and it is such as hedge funds. AFP annual revenues,” Chief Executive million subscribers. awaited unified licence which will license but has not decided yet if reflected in the GDP” REUTERS

Qualcomm to pay $975m to resolve China antitrust dispute

SAN FRANCISCO/ Reform Commission’s (NDRC) $975m fine — equal to 8 percent BEIJING: Qualcomm Inc has finding that it violated an anti- of Qualcomm’s 2013 sales in China agreed to pay a fine of $975m, trust law. Asked whether the — was less than the 10 percent the largest in China’s corporate resolution in China could affect of sales maximum allowed under history, ending a 14-month gov- the outcome of ongoing antitrust Chinese law because Qualcomm ernment investigation into anti- probes into Qualcomm in Europe fully cooperated with investiga- competitive practices. and the United States, Qualcomm tors. “Issuing the fine was not our The deal — the details of President Derek Aberle said, “We primary purpose,” Xu told report- which were first reported by fully respect their authority, but ers yesterday, according to a Sina. Reuters on Monday — also we don’t believe it’s likely that com live-blog of his remarks. requires Qualcomm to lower its other agencies will necessarily “Our purpose was to restore royalty rates on patents used in meet similar conclusions.” orderly, free-market competition. China, likely helping local smart- The US firm cut its full-year Qualcomm’s practices had stifled phone makers such as Xiaomi earnings estimate, putting the innovation.” Technology Co Ltd and Huawei cost of the fine at about 58 cents Under the terms of the agree- Technologies Co Ltd. per share, but it raised the lower ment, Qualcomm will offer Qualcomm said the agreement end of its revenue forecast slightly. licenses to its current 3G and 4G removes a major source of con- “It removes a significant source essential Chinese patents, widely cern for its investors, sending of uncertainly from our business used by Chinese device makers, shares of the San Diego-based and positions our licensing group separately from other patents. chipmaker up 2.8 percent to $69 to really participate in the full For companies opting for the in after-hours trading. growth of the wireless market in new agreement, which applies Qualcomm Chief Operating Officer Steve Mollenkopf in New York. China’s expanding high-speed China,” CEO Steve Mollenkopf to phones sold for use in China, 4G network is driving demand said in a phone interview. “It’s Qualcomm will calculate royal- for smartphones with leading- something we’re happy is over.” ties based on 65 percent of the seen them in writing agree to compared with a prior forecast of $4.75-$5.05. On that basis, edge technology, but Qualcomm’s Discussions in Beijing over one phone’s selling price, instead of that and it begs the question of $4.04-$4.34. It raised its fiscal analysts had expected $4.96 per opportunities have been clouded of the most contentious cases on the whole price. of why 65 percent is the right 2015 revenue forecast to $26.3- share, on average, according to by the antitrust probe, which has under China’s 2008 anti-monop- Some on Wall Street have number in China and it’s not the $28bn, slightly raising the lower Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. also contributed to problems in oly law had intensified in recent speculated that even limited right number everywhere,” said end of its previous forecast of $26- Qualcomm is one of several collecting royalty payments from weeks, culminating in meetings concessions made to Qualcomm’s Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon. $28bn. Excluding the cost of the overseas companies, including device makers. between Qualcomm senior execu- licensing business in China could As a result of the fine, fine and other one-time items, Microsoft Corp, to come under Qualcomm said in a statement tives and the NDRC on Friday. affect the technology company’s Qualcomm said it now expects Qualcomm forecast earnings of investigation in China for alleg- yesterday it would not contest Xu Kunlin, head of the NDRC’s licensing deals elsewhere. full-year earnings per share $4.85-$5.05 per share, raising the edly anti-competitive practises. the National Development and anti-monopoly bureau, said the “That’s the first time I’ve ever of $3.56-$3.76 for fiscal 2015, lower end of its previous forecast REUTERS WEDNESDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2015 BUSINESS VIEWS www.thepeninsulaqatar.com 21

Nickel’s bull story; just a India’s new strong GDP simple matter of timing?

BY ANDY HOME

ood things, they say, come to those that wait. Just ask a figures a bit perplexing nickel bull. The nickel market went on a super-charged rally over the BY RAJESH KUMAR first half of last year, the benchmark London Metal Exchange the old calculations was strug- The 2015-16 budget will be understood how they are calcu- G SINGH and TOMMY (LME) three-month price racing up from below $15,000 per tonne to gling to recover from the longest based on an expectation that the lating it, but we are not seeing it WILKES a May high of $21,625. spell of sub-par growth in a gen- economy would grow at the roar- reflected in business as yet.” The trigger was the well-flagged but widely unexpected decision by eration. Yet far from vindicating ing pace of 8 percent or more, one Falling merchandise exports the Indonesian government to ban the export of unprocessed minerals or Indian business, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s source said. Yet revenues will lag. and sluggish non-oil, non-gold in January. At the stroke of a presidential pen, China’s massive nickel government and the stewardship of the economy, the “Everyone is happy that India’s imports suggest demand remains pig iron (NPI) sector lost its main source of feed. Great expectations, central bank, data revi- revised growth numbers are at GDP growth has picked up, but weak in domestic and overseas however, were dashed by reality, specifically a compensatory surge in sions that have trans- odds with evidence on the ground. we are worried over slower growth markets. Exports fell 2.3 percent nickel ore supply from the Philippines. The subsequent price collapse formed the country’s Stalled projects and stretched in tax collections,” the source said. month-on-month in December, was as spectacular as the original rally. And here we are again, the F$2.1 trillion economy into one of capacity in the power, infrastruc- Indirect tax receipts, which while imports of goods other than London nickel market kicking its heels around the $15,000 level. But the world’s fastest growing are too ture and housing sectors are include customs and factory gate oil and gold fell 7.1 percent. the bull story hasn’t gone away. It has merely been postponed. Nickel is good to be true. having knock-on effects down duties as well as levies on serv- Statisticians defend the jump still metal analysts’ favoured upside pick over a two-year time horizon. Now, the search is on for reliable the supply chain to small- and ices, have risen by just 6.7 percent in their growth estimates, attrib- So, will this be nickel’s year (again)? indicators of underlying activity, medium-sized enterprises, said so far in this fiscal year against a uting it to better measurements Possibly, but there are many moving parts to this bull story and at vital for Finance Minister Arun Anil Bhardwaj, secretary general budget estimate of 26 percent for of improved business efficiency its core lies one of the least transparent parts of the global industry. Jaitley as he draws up his annual of the Federation of Indian Micro the full year. that has boosted profits even as One thing is for certain. The Indonesian authorities haven’t changed budget and for Reserve Bank of and Small & Medium Enterprises. A weak tax take also points sales stagnate. The statistical their minds and there has been no lifting of the ban on exports of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram “This is a bit perplexing. The to fragile consumer demand. fog, meanwhile, makes it unclear nickel ore to China. Flows of material between the two countries have Rajan as he weighs whether to cut feedback we are getting on the Although a plunge in global oil how much room Rajan will have disappeared, bar the odd shipment of what is probably nickel-rich iron interest rates again. “Let’s not get ground is not as positive. SMEs are prices has cooled inflation, that has to stimulate investment and con- ore. Indonesian production has also shrunk dramatically. carried away — the ground real- not getting the orders,” Bhardwaj yet to encourage Indian consum- sumer demand without fuelling The International Nickel Study Group estimates mine production ity is very different,” one senior said. “There is an improvement in ers to buy TVs, cars or appliances. inflation after cutting interest was just 170,000 tonnes in the first 11 months of 2014, compared with finance ministry official said after business sentiment, in the envi- Households are still not confident rates last month. 730,000 tonnes in the same period of 2013. China’s NPI producers figures on Monday showed that ronment, but unfortunately there of any quick turnaround in their Financial markets expect Rajan have so far survived this drought much better than expected. It was India’s economy outgrew China’s is no movement on the ground.” fortunes, according to a monthly to make three more quarter-point widely known they had built up significant quantities of stocks prior in the three months to December. Larsen & Toubro, an industrial survey by ZyFin Research. Weak cuts by December in the RBI’s to the January 2014 ban and that the Philippines could generate some Based on a new calculation group regarded as a bellwether demand has hobbled New Delhi’s main policy rate, now at 7.75 per- offset for the lost Indonesian production. But the scale of that offset method, the statistics depart- for the wider economy, lowered its efforts to revive sluggish auto sales cent. “The faster pace of growth caught the market by surprise, as did NPI producers’ ability to blend ment said the Indian economy order book estimates on Monday with tax breaks, leading car mak- puts Mr Rajan in an awkward Philippine ore with higher-grade Indonesian material as a way of grew 7.5 percent year-on-year in and said a recovery in its domestic ers to scale back sales forecasts. position,” UBS economists Edward eking out their stocks. the last quarter and is on track business was at least a year away. Govind Shrikhande, manag- Teather and Alice Fulwood said in The current consensus is that such thrifting is merely delaying the to expand 7.4 percent in the year “India Inc, while it continues to ing director at Indian retailer a note, adding that even if the RBI inevitable. But by how long? It’s all a matter of dirt, because to the through March 31. It was quite be aspiring, is still on the wait Shoppers Stop, is puzzled by the revises up its own GDP estimates untrained metallurgist eye, ore is just that. Even “high-grade” ore a turnaround for Asia’s third- and watch mode,” Chief Financial latest GDP estimates. “Is it a trick there is still room for policy rates from Indonesia contains just 1.7-1.8 percent nickel. Medium-grade ore largest economy, which based on Officer R Shankar Raman said. or a treat?” he asked. “I haven’t to fall. REUTERS averages around 1.5 percent and low-grade ore is more iron ore than nickel. Put simply, Philippine ore tends to be dirtier than Indonesian ore but the devil is in the dirty detail, particularly when it comes to blending. The time-line for NPI producers to run out of the right sort of dirt is therefore necessarily hazy. Some time around the second quarter of this year, according to Nikhil Shah, nickel analyst at CRU, speaking in Reuters Base Metals Forum last week. Give or take a quarter. But at some stage, there must be some impact on NPI production rates. Assessing the scale and timing of that impact is, however, a trickier thing. China’s NPI sector is highly fragmented. The technol- ogy is relatively new and continuously evolving. No-one is even really sure how much China produces. Around 480,000 tonnes last year, according to CRU. CRU forecasts output will decline to around 350,000 tonnes in 2015, although Shah cautioned that “it could be higher if there is more ore from the Philippines.” Declining NPI production should logically mean a boost to China’s imports of nickel. This is the key component of the bull story. But there is the complication of what form those imports will take. But that doesn’t automatically translate into a surge in imports of refined nickel, since Chinese stainless steels may well favour other forms of nickel such as ferronickel. Indeed, Chinese imports of ferronickel have already been trending sharply higher, up 45 percent last year. New suppliers have emerged. Imports from Myanmar have mushroomed, reflecting the start-up of a new plant built with the backing of one of China’s top stainless steel producers, Taiyuan Iron and Steel. Which is probably not what Indonesia’s authorities intended when they cut off ore supplies to China. Still, even factoring in other forms of nickel, there should be some feed-through, albeit of uncertain intensity, to the refined nickel seg- ment of the market. The question then arises as to when an increase in China’s import appetite causes the rise in visible inventory on the LME to stop and reverse. LME stocks are still recording fresh record highs on an almost weekly basis, 426,324 tonnes this week. None of which is to deny the core factual basis of nickel’s bull story. The world has still lost a significant part of its mine supply. At some stage that must translate into higher prices. But as this market found out last year, timing is everything. And timing is dependent on the complex interplay of dirt grades and cost opacity in China, new supply dynamics in Indonesia and elsewhere and the evolution of LME stocks. Oh, and demand of course. If you can work out how all those moving parts fit together, you’ll be a successful nickel trader this year. Good luck! REUTERS Cartoon Arts International / The New York Times Syndicate

US businesses brace for oil investment downturn BY JOHN KEMP biggest sectors combined: electricity directly employ fewer than 500,000 (railroads, trucks and aviation) and new sidings and introducing cen- are mirrored across the industry, ($86bn), hospitals ($51bn) and wired individuals out of a total nonfarm construction (pipelines and roads). tralised train control, the company rig counts and oil field employment il and gas production is telecoms, broadband and cable sup- workforce of 140 million, less than For example, North Dakota’s said last month. could fall by around 35-40 percent fundamental to the US pliers ($49bn). The figures for 2014 half of one percent. tiny Sloulin Field International Lots of other industries depend in 2015 compared with 2014. economy. The sharp down- are likely to have been similar, at Yet direct investment by the oil Airport in Williston, right at the on the oil and gas sector. In 2012, Ultimately, lower oil prices should Oturn in prices will have a least until oil prices plummeted in and gas industry dwarfed capital heart of the Bakken shale oil play, shipments of drill pipe, well cas- provide a net stimulus for the US negative impact on business invest- the second half of the year. expenditures by the more iconic boarded almost 100,000 passengers ings and other oil country tubular economy, since the country remains ment in the short term before the Investment in oil and gas is often industries beloved by economists in 2013, up from 40,000 in 2012, and goods from US manufacturers were a net oil importer by around 5 mil- positive impact on consumer spend- under-rated by economists and poli- and policymakers such as motor just 12,000 in 2008, making it one valued at $6.5bn. OCTG producers lion barrels per day. But the eco- ing takes over further down the line. cymakers because it is associated manufacturing ($27bn), aerospace of the fastest-growing airports in employed almost 7,500 workers at nomic benefit from cheaper energy Oil and gas producers accounted with climate change and pollution ($7bn) and computer systems the country. Sloulin Field, which an average wage of $30 per hour, 20 will take time to filter through fully. for almost $1 in every $8 of new and has none of the favourable con- design ($10bn). Oil and gas jobs are, uses the code ISN for reservations, percent higher than the average for In the meantime, the negative business investment in the US econ- notations of fashionable sectors like moreover, among the best-paid in ticketing and baggage handling, has the private sector as a whole. impact from an abrupt slowdown in omy in 2013, according to new data clean energy, computers and the the economy for highly skilled and plans for a big construction upgrade With oil prices down by around oil and gas investment and employ- published by the Census Bureau. film industry. Oil and gas production semi-skilled workers as well as cas- to handle the increased numbers. 50 percent since the middle of 2014, ment will be immediate. Businesses engaged in oil and gas is also concentrated in parts Texas ual labour. Average wages in the oil On the railroads, surging crude all oil and gas producing compa- “Oil companies are receiving extraction invested $159bn in wells, and North Dakota that are a long and gas extraction sector, at nearly shipments from the Bakken have nies have announced deep cuts to such a painful setback that they structures and equipment in 2013. way geographically and culturally $160,000 in 2013, were almost three- caused severe congestion for grain their capital budgets for 2015. The are cutting back on current spend- Companies engaged in oil and from the universities in California, times the private sector average. and coal shippers along the rail number of rigs drilling for oil has ing immediately as well as reducing gas production support activities the Northeast and Chicago where Even in the support sector, aver- corridor through the northern fallen by almost 30 percent in less future spending plans,” according to invested a further $20bn, taking most prominent macroeconomists age wages and salaries were more US states. In response, Burlington than four months, according to a note published by the famous fund the oil and gas sector’s share of are employed. But the oil and gas than 50 percent higher than aver- Northern-Santa Fe, Warren oilfield services company Baker manager Jeremy Grantham. economy-wide new investment to industry, and its associated supply age. Raw payroll statistics under- Buffett’s railroad, which owns Hughes. In terms of comparative statics, almost 13.5 percent. Back in 2003, chain, support an unusually large state the industry’s importance to most of the track in the area, has Continental Resources, one of the US economy will eventually be oil and gas extraction and support number of well-paid jobs and the the whole economy in supporting announced plans to invest $1.5bn in the biggest drillers in the Bakken, better off as a result of the plunge activities accounted for just 5.3 sudden slowdown in spending as a a multitude of other jobs in sec- its Northern Region in 2015. announced late last year it would in oil and gas prices. But in dynamic percent of whole-economy business result of the collapse in prices will tors ranging from steelmaking (oil A big slice of that investment pro- cut the number of rigs it uses from terms, the transition from oil and capital expenditures. Capital invest- have a measurable negative effect country tubular goods) and heavy gramme will go to expand capacity around 50 at the end of 2014 to 34 gas-led investment to other forms of ment in oil and gas in 2013 was on the economy. engineering (rig and pressure pump in North Dakota and surrounding by the end of March and to an aver- consumer spending and investment almost as large as the next three Oil and gas producing industries construction) to transportation states by double tracking, installing age of just 31 in 2015. If these cuts is likely to be painful. REUTERS WEDNESDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2015 22 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com SPORT

England’s Popovich reaches milestone Parling ruled out of Italy game as Spurs overcome Pacers LONDON: England lock Geoff Parling has been ruled out of Saturday’s Six Nations game Spurs coach clinches 1,000th career NBA win, Parker scores 19 points against Italy due to a knee injury, forwards’ coach Graham Rowntree said yesterday. INDIANAPOLIS: San Antonio Coach Stuart Lancaster is Spurs coach Gregg Popovich expected to name an unchanged claimed his 1,000th career NBA side following the 21-16 opening victory yesterday when Marco win over Wales in Cardiff but Belinelli made the winning shot Parling could have been called on with 2.1 seconds remaining to to the replacements’ bench. beat Indiana 95-93. “Geoff didn’t complete training The defending NBA cham- yesterday,” Rowntree said. “His pion Spurs rallied from 14 points knee is not quite right in terms of down entering the fourth quarter his graduated return to full running to collect the milestone triumph so he won’t be in the mix for this for Popovich, the longest-tenured weekend.”Prop David Wilson missed coach in North American profes- Jamal Crawford (11) the Wales game with a neck problem sional sports. of the Los Angeles which will also keep him out of the “I’ve been here a long time and Clippers takes a Italy match at Twickenham. I’ve had good players. That’s the shot against the “We need to make sure we give formula,” Popovich said after the Dallas Mavericks at it the right amount of time. It has game. American Airlines taken a bit longer than antici- “Time, that’s the most impor- Center in Dallas, pated, but it’s not an issue.” tant element. And we’ve been able Texas, yesterday. Meanwhile, a French pros- to get the players. It’s a tribute to ecutor yesterday called for them more than it is the coaches.” Toulon’s England forward Steffon A night after missing the Armitage to be handed a sus- chance to bring Popovich the his- pended jail term of between five toric win at Toronto, the Spurs and six months for an alleged made it happen at the finish by assault in the port city. outscoring the Indiana Pacers The Toulon tribunal will make 30-14 in the final 12 minutes. its ruling on February 24. Kawhi Leonard drove inside Flanker Armitage and his and flipped the ball to Italian Toulon team mate Xavier Chiocci reserve forward Belinelli, who were arrested last month fol- evaded a leaping defender with lowing an incident involving a 30-year-old man after the a shot fake, stepped inside the were fortunate we made a shot.” third-fewest of those to win 1,000, celebrating.” French guard Tony European champions defeated NBA Results 3-point arc on the left side and Popovich, who has coached the trailing only Phil Jackson (1,423) Parker scored a game-high 19 Leicester in the European San Antonio 95 Indiana 93 sank the go-ahead hoop. Spurs to five NBA champion- and Pat Riley (1,434). points to lead the Spurs, who Champions Cup last December. Golden State 89 Philadelphia 84 Indiana’s George Hill, a former ships in 19 seasons with the Popovich’s total is the most of also had 15 points, eight rebounds Armitage denied any wrongdo- Washington 96 Orlando 80 Spur traded to the Pacers in club, became the ninth coach any active coach and his win per- and five blocked shots from Tim ing, saying he was ‘very inebri- Miami 109 NY Knicks 95 exchange for Leonard, missed a to win 1,000 NBA games and centage is the second-best of any Duncan, 12 points from Belinelli, ated”, adding he did not remember Milwaukee 103 Brooklyn 97 3-pointer at the final buzzer and joined former Utah Jazz coach 1,000-win coach. 10 from Leonard and 12 rebounds having hit anyone voluntarily. “Pop” had his 1,000th victory. Jerry Sloan as the only men with Popovich said he felt no dif- by Danny Green. Armitage has been frozen out Atlanta 117 Minnesota 105 “It was a great game,” Popovich that many wins for only a single ferent than after any of his first Rodney Stuckey led the Pacers of the England squad because Utah 100 New Orleans 96 said. franchise. 999 victories and added with his with 18 points while David West the Rugby Football Union do not LA Clippers 115 Dallas 98 “It was a playoff sort of game. Popovich needed 1,462 games trademark deadpan demeanor. grabbed 18 rebounds for Indiana. select overseas-based players. Oklahoma City 124 Denver 114 Anybody could have won. We to reach the milestone, the “I don’t do too much AFP AGENCIES

Carter and King Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC) celebrates National Sport Day lead Kings past Blue Jackets

COLUMBUS, Ohio: Jeff Carter and Dwight King each had a goal and an assist, and Jonathan Quick stopped 23 shots to lead the Los Angeles Kings past the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 on yesterday. Tyler Toffoli and Dustin Brown also scored for the Kings, and Brayden McNabb added two assists. Scott Hartnell, playing in his 1,000th NHL game, notched his 263rd goal. David Savard had a goal and an assist, and Jack Skille and scored for the Blue Jackets. Curtis McElhinney had 40 saves. Horse racing fans and officials of Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC) pose for a group picture during the National Sport Day celebrations. RIGHT: The horses are put through their Savard’s goal with 1:53 remain- paces during the celebrations. PICTURES BY: JUHAIM ing drew Columbus within 4-3. Quick made four late saves to preserve the lead. Carter, a former Blue Jackets player continually booed by Columbus fans for asking to be traded, helped the Kings win the Skiing: Maze takes second gold at Worlds Stanley Cup after the deal three years ago. He has scored seven BEAVER CREEK, United It was another day of disap- goals in 12 games against the Blue States: Slovenia’s Tina Maze pointment for Lindsey Vonn who Jackets. continued her quest to win five failed to find the podium again in Carter hadn’t had a point in the medals, clinching gold in the front of her hometown fans. Vonn previous four games, but he raised super combined yesterday at the she missed a gate in slalom and his career point total to 498. World Ski Championships to was eliminated after finishing Hanging on to a 3-2 lead head- spoil Austria’s bid for a podium seventh earlier in the downhill. ing into the third period, the sweep. Vonn had to hold back the tears Kings quickly doubled their edge. The 31-year-old World Cup at the finish line. Brown, at the top of the left circle, points leader added to her medal “I’m just really disappointed,” fed another former Blue Jackets haul at the worlds, which includes said an emotional Vonn. “It’s a player - Marian Gaborik - for gold in the downhill and silver in hometown World Championships a shot, with the deep rebound Super-G. and I really tried as hard as I can. glancing directly to Brown, who If Maze claims two more med- I came up short.” was crashing the net. His ris- als, she will equal the all-time Vonn is coming back from two ing shot beat McElhinney for his record of Norwegian great Lasse knee surgeries following a high- ninth of the season at 1:49. Kjus, who earned five medals at speed crash at the 2013 Worlds After Savard scored late, the 1999 worlds in Vail. in Austria. Quick made timely saves on Ryan “I think it would be amazing to “I’m going to try to forget today Johansen’s wrist shot, and against do that,” Maze said. “I hope I can as fast as possible, and move on Artem Anisimov from in close. He do that. Why not if it is possible?” to the next race,” Vonn said. “I’m also muffled a shot by Savard. Maze produced the fastest time going to try and take tomor- The Blue Jackets, who had won in the downhill leg and followed it row off, get my knee rested and their last two games by a com- with a superb slalom run to edge hopefully get ready for GS (giant bined score of 11-2. out silver medallist Nicole Hosp slalom).” AGENCIES of Austria. Vonn, who last month became Hosp’s teammate, Michaela the winningest woman in World NHL Results Kirchgasser took the bronze Cup history, has just one medal Edmonton 2 New Jersey 1 and another Austrian, Super-G so far -- a bronze in Super-G. Los Angeles 4 Columbus 3 champion Anna Fenninger, fin- Vonn could have one last chance ished fourth after the final slalom to grab a medal when she skies Minnesota 5 Vancouver 3 skier, Maze, knocked her off the in the giant slalom on Thursday, Arizona 3 Chicago 2 Slovenia’s Tina Maze clears a gate to win the 2015 World Alpine Ski Championships women’s combined in podium. Austrians took four of but she says she needs to rest her Beaver Creek, Colorado, yesterday. Calgary 4 San Jose 1 the top six places. knee first. REUTERS WEDNESDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2015 SPORT www.thepeninsulaqatar.com 23 French support 2024 Games in Paris Poll finds majority of residents in favour of lodging a bid to stage the Olympic Games

PARIS: The majority of French Light staging the sporting extrav- Games here. But, at the same In Europe, Berlin and Hamburg Pyeongchang Games countdown people are behind Paris lodging aganza in nine years time after time, I can’t just do anything I in Germany and the Italian capi- a bid to stage the 2024 Olympic Rio de Janeiro (2016) and Tokyo want.” tal Rome are considering throw- Games, a poll published yester- (2020). Tuesday’s poll, which found ing their hats into the Olympic day reveals. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo will greater enthusiasm for the 2024 ring while the American city of Almost three-quarters of those make a decision on whether the Games in Paris among 18-24 Boston is also a candidate. questioned in the CSA survey city will lodge a bid by June, her year-olds (88 percent) than the Durban in South Africa could for newspaper Direct Matin sup- office said last week. over 65s (61 percent) found that press to become the first African port the French capital in their Hidalgo has previously been support is nevertheless less solid host of the Games. Istanbul — attempt to secure the Games. lukewarm towards bidding. compared to a similar poll con- who were runners-up to Tokyo Yesterday’s poll found that a “I love the Olympics and I love ducted in 2005. for the 2020 Games — is also con- total of 73 percent would like to sport. But I am pragmatic. I need In that survey, 81 per cent of sidering a new bid. see the Games return to Paris to put things on the table to study those questioned backed Paris’ Cities must make applications for the third time after 1900 and them. ultimately fruitless attempt to by September 15 and then have 1924. “Only then, if we have a chance hold the 2012 Olympics. until January 8, 2016 to place Paris suffered a traumatic loss, of actually winning, will I say There is already a long list guarantees. despite being the hot favourites, to ‘Let’s go!’,” Hidalgo told French of potential candidates for the A short list will be chosen by London to host the 2012 edition. radio RMC. 2024 Games readying their bids the IOC in May 2016 leaving about The findings appear two days “I will not say yes or no on a ahead of a September 15, 2015 14 months campaigning before a before the French Committee sudden impulse. At the moment, deadline announced by the final vote. for International Sport delivers I’m leaning towards sports. I International Olympic Committee A final decision will be taken in its feasibility study on the City of would really like having the (IOC). Lima in mid-2017. REUTERS Ex-Ferrari boss to lead Rome Games bid

ROME: Former Ferrari said Graziano Delrio, state sec- President Luca di Montezemolo retary to Italian Prime Minister Bubka backs Germany’s has been chosen to spearhead Matteo Renzi. Rome’s bid to host the 2024 Renzi announced Rome’s bid Summer Games, the Italian last December despite spiral- planned Olympics proposal Olympic Committee (CONI) ling public debts and corruption announced yesterday. scandals which have engulfed the BERLIN: Pole-vault legend Sergey Bubka has backed Germany’s Montezemolo, who led the Italian captial. planned bid to host the 2024 Olympic Games with Hamburg and organising committee of the 1990 Rome, which held the Summer Berlin both vying to be chosen as the host city. World Cup in Italy, resigned from Games in 1960, shelved plans to “The country is famous for it’s love of sport and is one of the most Ferrari in October and is now bid for the 2020 event two years successful countries in the Olympic Games,” Bubka, an executive mem- Students and officials attend a balloon-launching event to mark a three- head of Italy’s national carrier ago due to concerns over rising ber of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), told German maga- year countdown to the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics at the Alitalia. costs as the country battled an zine Sport-Bild. Alpensia resort in Pyeongchang on Monday. Preparation of test events The 67-year-old has played a economic crisis. Turin held the “An Olympics would surely have a positive effect on sports in for the Pyeongchang 2018 winter Olympics are proceeding as planned, role in almost all of Italy’s biggest Winter Olympics in 2006. Germany.” organisers said yesterday, dismissing concerns by ski chief Gian-Franco companies from car manufactur- The American city of Boston is The 51-year-old Ukrainian is a six-time world champion and is Kasper that some of them would not take place. “POCOG (organising ing giants Fiat to Unicredit bank also a candidate while Germany Sebastian Coe’s rival for the president of the International Association committee) is continuing with preparations for the scheduled test events and Italy’s main business federa- are deciding between Berlin and of Athletics Federations (IAAF). beginning in 2016 as planned, in close cooperation with the central tion Confindustria. Hamburg. In March, Germany’s Olympic Committee will decide whether government and Gangwon province.” organisers said in an e-mailed “Luca Montezemolo is and Paris — who suffered a trau- Hamburg or Berlin will be chosen as their host city candidate to bid statement. “Both have committed their full support to ensure all venues will be the perfect ambassador matic loss to London for the 2012 for the 2024 or 2028 Olympic Games, should the earlier bid fail. will be ready on time,” it said. at international level of an inno- Games — too are mulling over A referendum must then take place in the respective city so the vative Italy that can be trusted,” whether to bid. local population can approve a possible bid. AFP British GP seeks venue after Donington exit

LONDON: MotoGP looks race and was “fully committed Circuit of Wales had been unable the Circuit of Wales is unable to likely to return to Silverstone to delivering the event later this to complete funding arrange- meet the funding arrangements, in August after Donington Park year.” ments, resulting in delays to we are unwilling to provide the cancelled a temporary agree- It did not specify a venue but “almost all of the event’s critically significant funding that DPRL ment to host the British Grand Silverstone, which hosted both important operational plans, from required for the necessary track Prix. Formula One and MotoGP last track works to equipment hire. upgrades to host the British Donington had agreed a deal year and has the infrastructure “This current position could Grand Prix without a signed con- with the yet to be built Circuit to cater for large crowds, is the jeopardise the safe and success- tractual agreement,” it said. of Wales, who last year signed a only viable alternative and would ful running of the 2015 British “We have all of the funding five-year contract for a race they need little preparation. MotoGP at Donington to such an necessary in place to promote cannot host, but announced yes- There was no immediate com- extent, that both the commercial and host the 2015 race in the terday they were pulling out after ment from Silverstone, where the risks and the lack of time are now UK.” payment deadlines were not met. management has changed since too great to allow Donington to Commercial rights holders The race was scheduled for last year’s race. proceed.” Dorna announced last August a August 30 at the Midlands circuit Britain has hosted a motorcy- The Circuit of Wales disputed five-year deal with the southern which hosted MotoGP from 1987 cle grand prix in every year since that, saying in a subsequent state- Welsh circuit which has yet to to 2009 before the Grand Prix 1949, with the Isle of Man TT ment that it was disappointed overcome a public enquiry before went back to Silverstone in 2010. counting as a round of the cham- with Donington’s withdrawal. building work can start on the The Circuit of Wales said it pionship until 1976. “Contrary to claims by DPRL planned $380.68m facility. An aerial view of Donington Park. would continue to promote the Donington’s owners said the (Donington Park Racing Ltd) that REUTERS Kind draw for Argentina; Qatar Qatar’s football family celebrates Sport Day

The Qatar Football Association in Group C at U-20 World Cup (QFA), the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC) and the Qatar Stars League (QSL) AUCKLAND: Six-time FIFA organised various events for their Under-20 World Cup champions FIFA Under-20 World Cup Draw Argentina yesterday secured a staff members and their families dream draw in the tournament Group draw for the FIFA Under-20 World Cup to be played in New to promote and encourage healthy that is credited with launching Zealand from May 30 to June 20. living on National Sport Day the careers of superstars Diego African qualifiers will not be finalised until the Confederation of yesterday. A large football festival Maradona and Lionel Messi. African Football U-20 championships finish on March 22 was organised at Aspire with a day The youth championship will be Group A packed full of events, activities, played in New Zealand from May New Zealand, Ukraine, USA, Myanmar health checks and healthy eating. 30 to June 20 and pools for the Group B Ladies enjoyed private facilities 24-team tournament were drawn Argentina, Panama, Africa3, Austria to enjoy classes in yoga, zumba, at a ceremony at Auckland’s Sky Group C pilates and many more tutor-led City casino. sessions, while the men played in Qatar, Colombia, Portugal, Africa4 “No doubt we will see more a five-a-side football tournament Group D World Cup stars discovered here which was made up of 12 teams. in New Zealand,” FIFA vice-pres- Mexico, Africa2, Uruguay, Serbia Kids and families also enjoyed ident Jeffrey Webb said. Group E some amazing events.QFA Argentina avoided any big- Africa1, Brazil, North Korea, Hungary President Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa name rivals when they were Group F placed in Group B with Panama, Al Thani said: “By celebrating Austria and the third-placed Germany, Fiji, Uzbekistan, Honduras National Sport Day we are setting qualifier from Africa, which will The top two in each group will they’d hope that this squad would an example for the region and be determined next month. qualify for the last 16 along with make up a large part of that side.” the world in promoting sports Hosts New Zealand face a the four best third-placed teams. Five-time champions Brazil line and encouraging the community potentially tricky group featur- Asia’s top qualifier Qatar will up against the top African quali- to practice it throughout the ing Ukraine, USA and Myanmar, battle it out with two-time cham- fier in a group that also includes year, sports isn’t only a one day while Germany will be confident pions Portugal, Colombia and the North Korea and Hungary. celebration it is a lifestyle that we of progressing from a group fourth-placed African nation, Uruguay, a finalist at the last should adapt in order to have a including Fiji, Uzbekistan and with ex-New Zealand defender tournament in Turkey, face healthy and productive community, Honduras. Danny Hay tipping them as a Mexico, Serbia and the second- especially here in Qatar where we Teams were drawn into six dark horse. placed African qualifier. have a relatively young population.” groups of four, with first-round “From what I’ve heard Qatar The New Zealand event is the matches to be played in Auckland, haven’t left a stone unturned,” 20th edition of the tournament, Wellington, Hamilton, Dunedin, he said. They’re obviously host- which is held every two years. New Plymouth and Christchurch. ing the World Cup in 2022 and AFP WEDNESDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2015 24 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com SPORT

Pakistan’s Aamer back in action ‘ Difficult’ to guarantee Ireland games for 2019

MELBOURNE: The Afghanistan and Ireland who are International Cricket Council in the picture. We have to look hopes associate members after them in particular. Ireland and Afghanistan can “They will not only be playing play 10 One Day International matches against the other full matches a year to prepare for members like England, and teams qualification for the 2019 World that may be visiting England, Cup but says it will be “difficult” they’ll also be playing amongst to give them any guarantees. themselves quite frequently. Ireland and Afghanistan, who “We’re working on them hav- will compete as one of four associ- ing at least 10 ODIs per season ate members among 14 teams at leading up to qualification for that the 2015 World Cup in Australia next World Cup. So the opportu- and New Zealand, face a tougher nity will be there. path to qualify for 2019, with the “Australia have talked about number of teams trimmed to 10 tours involving Afghanistan. and the first eight spots allocated “I don’t think we would have according to world ranking. gone down this route if we The remaining two berths for weren’t confident that we, as I say, the tournament in England and (could) make sure that Ireland, Wales will be decided by qualify- Afghanistan both are playing in ing matches between a logjam of the region of 8-10 ODIs per year.” lower-ranked full members and The ICC had originally associate teams. intended to reduce the teams for Ireland have long lamented a the 2015 tournament hosted by Pakistani cricketer Mohammad Aamer bowls during a domestic cricket match in Lahore, yesterday. Paceman Aamer is set to return to domestic paucity of international matches Australia and New Zealand but cricket next month with a Grade-II team in Karachi, an official said, following the relaxation of a fixing ban. The 22-year-old who has featured in 14 against top sides like Australia backflipped after an outcry from Tests, 15 ODIs and 18 Twenty20s for Pakistan will play for Omar Associates in the Patron’s Trophy Grade-II national tournament – one rung below and India as a barrier to their association teams led by Ireland first-class – that begins March 9. The Anti-Corruption and Security Unit of the International Cricket Council (ICC) last month cleared Aamer to play improvement and ability to com- after the 2011 tournament in the domestic cricket in Pakistan with immediate effect. pete at the top level. subcontinent. “It’s difficult to guarantee However, cricket’s global gov- matches for them,” Richardson erning body have been adamant told reporters in Melbourne. 2015 will be the last hurrah for “I think it’s important that we the 14-team format at the quad- provide the top associate mem- rennial tournament which has bers the opportunity. And cer- been criticised for being too long Serial sledgers warned of tainly the indications are that the and having too many one-sided full members will support Ireland results between mismatched in that objective. teams.The World Cup begins on match bans at World Cup “For the moment it’s February 14. REUTERS Afghanistan’s Mohammad ICC plans hefty fines, suspensions against offenders Nabi (right) is bowled MELBOURNE: The in front International Cricket Council of India’s (ICC) will crack down on exces- Mahendra sive sledging between players Singh Dhoni at the World Cup, saying first (left) during offenders can expect heavier their World fines while repeat offenders face Cup warm-up suspension from matches. Umpire (in match in ICC Chief Executive David red) comes Adelaide, Richardson also said players with forward to yesterday. already poor records of on-field behaviour could face immediate intervene as match bans if found guilty of a Australia’s single breach of the ICC’s code of David Warner conduct during the February 14 - (left) argues March 29 tournament. with India’s Bangladesh’s Tamim “That issue has been addressed Rohit Sharma at all the pre-event team brief- (right) during ings,” Richardson told reporters their tri-series delighted with recovery in Melbourne yesterday. match at “I suppose it started a few the MCG in months back already that the Melbourne, SYDNEY: Bangladesh opener tournament,” he added. Despite behaviour in some matches by last month. Tamim Iqbal (pictured) says he Iqbal’s efforts, Pakistan surpassed some players was deemed to be was delighted with his recov- Bangladesh’s total of 246 in the unacceptable and not a good ery from knee surgery after penultimate over and the Tigers example to young fans watching hitting 81 in the narrow World will now target a win in Friday’s the game. Cup warm-up loss to final warm-up against “I think there’s been something Pakistan. Ireland. They will like 12-13 code of conduct charges The 25-year-old then turn their atten- laid in the last few months in left-hander showed tion to their February bilateral series. no ill effects from last 18 World Cup opener “So the crackdown had already month’s operation against Afghanistan, started. I think the teams are not only in this tournament but during the occasionally ill-tem- committee meetings that I’ve during a 168-run stand a chance for revenge going to be told that the umpires some players already sitting with pered Test series with Australia attended and probably will be for the third wicket after their shock intend to remains firm, that offences behind their name, will last month. debated again,” he said. with Mohammad defeat at last year’s the penalties handed out by the be punished with a suspension.” Pundits have suggested a soc- “We don’t necessarily want to Mahmudullah (83) Asia Cup. “We could match referees will be perhaps a The crackdown may give cer-style yellow and red card follow the way that football goes. on Monday.” It’s quite take a lot of positives little bit more serious or higher Australia opening batsman system to better stamp out poor A lot of these decisions are taken satisfying to be back from this practice than before but that hopefully David Warner some pause before on-field behaviour but Richardson after a measured response by after knee surgery match. If we can win everyone will be treated equally charging into a verbal altercation said cricket would continue to match officials reviewing footage and perform well,” the next one, every- and fairly. given he has been found guilty of rely on post-match reviews with of the match afterwards. said Iqbal. one will enter the tournament “For a first offence, you’ll likely breaching the code of conduct on-field umpires and off-field ref- “That obviously cannot happen “My goal is to help Bangladesh with much confidence,” Iqbal said. end up with a fine which no play- twice in two months. erees to analyse incidents and lay when you are brandishing a red or win as many games as possible.” “We have been preparing well ers likes, handing back most of India batsmen Shikhar Dhawan charges where necessary. a yellow card on the spur of the “I am quite happy that I could and have learnt our lessons of the his match fee. and Virat Kohli were also fined “That idea has been debated moment.” REUTERS start well on my return. I needed defeat against Afghanistan in the “But certainly a repeat offence, for conduct breaches in December at a number of previous cricket this confidence ahead of a major Asia Cup,” he added. AFP Disaster plants seeds for New Zealand’s Cup dream

WELLINGTON: When South unit. The pattern Pakistan in the you’re under the pump and that’s Africa rolled New Zealand for of a top-order Squad past month, and something we pride ourselves 45 in a Test innings two years failure leading Brendon McCullum (captain), Corey Anderson, a reputation as on,” says Hesson. “Chasing under ago little did they know they to an innings Trent Boult, Grant Elliott, Martin Guptill, Tom team that fights pressure is important. We’re had also sown the seeds for the collapse has Latham, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan to the end. going to have a lot of chases in Black Caps to become strong been replaced by McCullum, Kyle Mills, Adam Milne, Luke Ronchi, In 2012, the the next few months and we’re contenders for the 2015 World a culture where Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Dan Vettori, Kane year prior to the going to be in pressure situations.” Cup. they believe they Williamson. frank self-analy- New Zealand are opening Notables such as South African can beat any Key player: Brendon McCullum – Much of sis, New Zealand their innings with McCullum, a skipper AB de Villiers and India’s team; the image the New Zealand game is built around their had a disappoint- renowned big-hitter, tasked with Rahul Dravid head a worldwide of a side filled innovative captain. A renowned big hitter, he ing 4-10 ODI setting a commanding run-a-ball chorus of predictions that New with individual is tasked with opening the innings at a run- win-loss record. rate from the start. Zealand, playing on home wickets agendas has a-ball rate. After the “If Brendon doesn’t come off through to the semi-finals, will be been turned into South Africa it’s someone else’s opportunity,” in the final four at least. a “team effort” debacle, it says Hesson, stressing his philoso- Such sound support reflects the ethos. improved to 7-10 in 2013 and pro- phy that the loss of key wickets depth of talent building within a “You can’t have a team-first gressed to the right side of the does not have to have a negative squad producing consistent per- mentality if only a few people are ledger at 9-5 last year. impact. formances far removed from the buying into it. When you have They have won four of their Recent performances show Captain Brendon McCullum will be key to Kiwis’ campaign at the World innings in South Africa which players sacrificing their own per- past five series and three times in New Zealand are capable of pac- Cup. ignited deep soul searching by the sonal records for what the team the past two years New Zealand ing themselves with proven run- New Zealanders. needs, that’s what it’s all about,” have successfully chased down a scorers Kane Williamson and It may have been a Test match says coach Mike Hesson. target of more than 250 – beating Ross Taylor following McCullum Anderson and Luke Ronchi are positions with the squad also but it brought an across the board As a result captain Brendon India, Pakistan and England – as to steer them deep into the capable of finishing off. including quality spinners Daniel shake up of player attitudes with McCullum takes his side into they worked on their World Cup innings. The reliable Grant Elliott Kyle Mills, Tim Southee, Trent Vettori and Nathan McCullum New Zealand’s one-day unit devel- the World Cup off the back of a strategy. is there should the top order fail Boult and Mitchell McClenaghan with Elliott and Anderson proven oping into a fiercely competitive series wins against Sri Lanka and “It’s nice to win games when and destructive big-hitters Corey will vie for the strike bowler all rounders. AFP WEDNESDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2015 SPORT www.thepeninsulaqatar.com 25

India will India break Aussie tour duck bounce back, says Hazlewood with Afghanistan drubbing MELBOURNE: Australian paceman Josh Hazlewood has played down India’s 106-run drubbing in a World Cup warm- Warm-up games: Dhoni’s side claims 153-run win, Scotland pip Ireland up against the co-hosts on Sunday, saying it was a matter of time before the champions SYDNEY: India finally cel- Hassan and Dawlat Zadran got clicked. ebrated a first win on their rid of Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Australia dominated India in marathon Australia tour yes- Kohli. batting, bowling and fielding in terday with a resounding 153- But once Sharma and Raina the Adelaide match to bolster run victory over outclassed had put on 158 for the third their status as favourites to win Afghanistan in a World Cup wicket, there was no way back for the global showpiece which starts warm-up. Afghanistan who opted for bat- on Saturday. The defending World Cup ting practice rather than chase India have been in wretched champions piled up 364-5 in their down the total. form Down Under, however, going 50 overs at the Adelaide Oval with “I’m not a big fan of practice winless from their three matches record-breaking batsman Rohit games, but a bit more time in the in the tri-series against England Sharma making 150 with 12 fours middle does help. Overall it has and Australia in recent weeks. and seven sixes. been quite good,” said India skip- “It’s just a matter of time He was well-supported by per Mahendra Singh Dhoni. until their batting order clicks,” Ajinkya Rahane’s 88 not out with Afghanistan captain Hazlewood told reporters in Suresh Raina hitting a stylish 75. Mohammad Nabi admitted his Melbourne, yesterday. Afghanistan, who will be play- bowlers couldn’t build on the “They’ve got some outstanding ing in their first World Cup solid foundation given them by players and they’ve all got great when the tournament starts on the opening pair. records. I think it’s just a matter Saturday, batted their full 50 “The bowlers couldn’t put ball of time before they get going. overs but managed just 211-8. in the right place, but India are a “They’re a very dangerous Nawroz Mangol was the only champion team and their batting side.” batsman to make an impression is quite long,” said Nabi. Australia have been in omi- with 56. “We started well when we bat- nous form in the lead-up, going There had been some early ted but then the ball began to undefeated to win the tri-series encouraging signs for the Asian skid and we struggled. We played despite missing injured cap- minnows when they had India out the 50 overs, that was a plus tain Clarke, who is nonetheless struggling on 16-2 after Hamid point.” expected to play in the team’s At Sydney’s Olympic Park, warm-up match today against meanwhile, Scotland clinched United Arab Emirates at the Brief Scores an impressive 179-run win over Melbourne Cricket Ground. SYDNEY: Brief scores from Ireland, the strongest of the James Faulkner’s side strain yesterday’s World Cup warm- Associate nations who stunned has been the only major fly in the up match between India and England and Bangladesh at the ointment and Hazlewood under- Afghanistan in Adelaide. 2011 World Cup. scored the fast bowling all-round- Matt Machan made 103 for er’s value as “an edge” over the 13 India 364-5 in 50 overs (Rohit Sharma 150, Indian players celebrate the wicket of Afghanistan’s Nawroz Mangal during their World Cup warm-up match in the Scots with skipper Preston other teams who will compete at Ajinkya Rahan 88 not out, Suresh Raina 75) Adelaide, yesterday. vs Afghanistan 211-8 in 50 overs (Nawroz Mommsen (56) and Richie the World Cup. Mangol 56). Berrington (52) also in the runs. “I think it’s just that batting India won by 153 runs. In reply, Ireland skipper 4-17 off five overs. Ireland lost fielding although I feel we could now. I hope this group can hang edge, probably especially when William Porterfield (23) and Paul nine wickets for just 60 runs with have been busier in the middle around for the next five years,” he Faulks (Faulkner) is in that At Sydney Stirling (37) put on 57 for the first only Gary Wilson (15) managing overs with the bat,” said Machan, added. Porterfield rued his team’s team, to have him at eight at full Scotland 296-6 in 50 overs (Matt Machan 103, wicket inside 12 overs. to join Porterfield and Stirling in who once opened the batting for boor batting. strength is probably the key,” he Preston Mommsen 56, Richie Berrington 52) vs But medium pace bowler double figures. the England Under-18 team. “That wasn’t a 27-over wicket. said. Ireland 117 all out in 27 overs (Alasdair Evans Alasdair Evans then dismissed The Irish side were all out by “We take inspiration from what We were sloppy in the field – “Where other teams probably 4-17). both openers as well as Ed Joyce the 27th over. Afghanistan and Ireland have there’s no excuse for where we have bowlers who can bat a bit, Scotland won by 179 runs. and Niall O’Brien to finish with “We have worked hard on our done. For us the journey starts ended up,” he said. AFP we’ve got Jimmy down there who can finish it off. “I think our quicks as well (are Buttler to an edge). We’ve got great depth in Maqsood wants to emulate ‘Inzy’ our quicks. continue as “Probably those two things are ... above the other teams.” vice-captain SYDNEY: Pakistan’s newest the stars of Pakistan’s only World With Mitchell Johnson to batting star Sohaib Maqsood Cup win. lead the attack and Faulkner yesterday said he hoped to Pakistan Maqsood, 27, showed similar almost certain to be included if LONDON: Wicketkeeper emulate the heroics of his fel- batsmen qualities in Monday’s win when fit, Hazlewood will compete with Jos Buttler will continue as low Multan native Inzamam-ul Shahid his undefeated knock helped left-armer Mitchell Starc and Pat England’s vice-captain dur- Haq by playing a key role at the Afridi (left) Pakistan overcome early jitters Cummins for the remaining pace ing the World Cup, the BBC World Cup. and Sohaib and overhaul their 247-run tar- spots. reported yesterday. Maqsood, who hit an unbeaten Maqsood look get in Sydney. Though one of the junior The 24-year-old was chosen 93 in Monday’s three-wicket on during “My goal is clear and that is to members of the pace battery, by skipper Eoin Morgan to act warm-up win over Bangladesh, a one-day win matches for Pakistan and for Hazlewood has been impressive as his deputy, ahead of Twenty20 said he still watched footage on that I am doing extra hard work,” in his eight one-day matches and international captain Stuart Broad, James YouTube of Inzamam smashing he said. said he would have no problem 2015 World Anderson and batsman Joe Root. Pakistan to victory in 1992. “We are working on playing being picked for “death bowling” Buttler, who has played 49 “Inzamam was a great player Cup warm-up more back-foot shots as we are duties during the World Cup. ODIs and three Tests, assumed and if I come close to what he did cricket match used to playing front-foot shots “Yeah, definitely,” he said. “All the role of vice-captain during in 1992 I would be a proud man,” between in our part of the world,” added the bowlers want to have that last month’s Tri-Series against said Maqsood. Pakistan and the batsman. opportunity to win the game for Australia and India in which “I grew up watching him as a Bangladesh He added that Pakistan’s first Australia whether you’re bowling England reached the final. great batsman,” he added. “I still at Blacktown match, against arch-rivals and the start, the middle or the end. England start their World Cup watch his World Cup knocks on Sports Park defending champions India in “I think the end’s obviously campaign against hosts Australia YouTube whenever I get time and in Sydney on Adelaide on Sunday, was impor- crucial. We’ve seen Starc and in Melbourne on Saturday. it always inspires me to match his Monday. tant for their chances. Faulkner do the job in previous Meanwhile, former captain knocks. “It’s a crucial game for us and games but everyone wants that Michael Vaughan backed England “Inzamam was a great player, if we win that it will be an ideal opportunity to prove themselves.” to perform. “England are start- an icon in Pakistan and it’s my start for us,” said Maqsood. REUTERS ing to look like they might have desire to do what he did in his blazed a match-turning, 37-ball 60 New Zealand. He then chipped in Pakistan will also play the a chance in this Cup - they have career, especially in the 1992 to help Pakistan beat New Zealand with another whirlwind, 35-ball West Indies, Zimbabwe, United got a bit of momentum,” Vaughan World Cup.” in the semi-finals of the World 42 in the final against England Arab Emirates, South Africa and SL name rookie told BBC Radio 5. AGENCIES In 1992 Inzamam, then 22, Cup, also held in Australia and in Melbourne to finish as one of Ireland in Group B. AFP Chameera to Chart-topping Aussies peaking at right time replace Prasad SYDNEY: Sri Lanka have SYDNEY: Australia are peak- and Scotland in their pool and will called up rookie right arm fast ing at the right time for a crack Squad have home advantage for all but bowler Dushmantha Chameera at their fifth World Cup triumph Michael Clarke (capt), George Bailey, Pat their pool game with the Black as a replacement for injured and will go into this month’s Cummins, Xavier Doherty, James Faulkner, Caps in Auckland on February 28. Dhammika Prasad in their tournament at home on top of Aaron Finch, Brad Haddin, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Johnson, the ICC World Cup squad. the rankings. Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Cricketer of 2014, leads the The International Cricket Under the attacking coach- Maxwell, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David attack with fellow left-armer Council (ICC) approved the ing of Darren Lehmann, the Warner, Shane Watson. Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood replacement yesterday after Australians have registered some Key player: Steve Smith: In the form of his and Pat Cummins offering pace Prasad was forced to pull out impressive results and have only life with three ODI centuries since October and and venom. after fracturing his hand while lost one of their last 12 ODIs. coming off four tons in the Test series against While the Australians are well training on Saturday. Australia accounted for the India. Fidgety, quirky batsman who likes to stocked with fast bowlers, there is The 23-year-old Chameera’s third-ranked South Africans 4-1 get on with it and shapes as a match-winner. some concern over the selection of only ODI was against Sri Lanka in a series at home last November Wonderful catcher in the slips cordon and throw Xavier Doherty as the specialist in Wellington last month, in and comfortably beat England in some leg-spin and he will be a key man for attacking spinner. which he returned figures of two and India in a tri-series in the Australia. The Australians relish playing for 60. final weeks before the World Cup. aggressive cricket under Lehmann Sri Lanka, the 1996 champi- Lehmann and fellow selectors those who say Australia may not and David Warner has already ons and runners-up in 2007 and have assembled a strong playing even miss Clarke’s leadership and been told by Cricket Australia to 2011, are in Pool A of the World group around a core of key play- batting. “stop looking for trouble” after his Cup along with co-hosts Australia ers – David Warner, Steve Smith, The home team have tradi- recent clash with Indian batsman and New Zealand, Bangladesh, Mitchell Johnson and possibly tional rivals England first up on Rohit Sharma. England, Afghanistan and skipper Michael Clarke, fitness February 14 at the Melbourne The explosive opener was fined Scotland. issues depending. Cricket Ground, the venue for half his match fee by the ICC for Sri Lanka will play their open- Australia’s Mitchell Starc shows the ball to the crowd after taking his fifth Given stand-in skipper Smith’s the March 29 final. confronting Sharma and demand- ing match of the World Cup wicket for the innings during a tri-series ODI match against India at the phenomenal form with the bat The Australians also have Sri ing he “speak English” during against hosts New Zealand at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, in this January 18, 2015 file photo. this season – three ODI centu- Lanka, New Zealand Bangladesh Australia’s four-wicket win in Hagley Oval in Christchurch on ries since October – there are and associate teams Afghanistan Melbourne this month. AFP February 14. AFP WEDNESDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2015 26 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com SPORT

India meet Nepal Cup final place at as 2018 Cup qualifiers kick off in Asia stake for Barca KUALA LUMPUR: The world’s lowest ranked soccer team, Bhutan, will take on Sri Catalans host Villareal in first leg of semis Lanka next month, while sleep- ing giants India face Nepal in the first qualifying matches for MADRID: Barcelona will be That was the Yellow the 2018 World Cup. targeting a tenth consecutive Fixtures Submarine’s only defeat in Yesterday’s first round draw by victory and taking a big step Today (all times GMT) their last 20 games, but coach the Asian Football Confederation, towards the Copa del Rey final Barcelona vs Villarreal (1900), Athletic Marcelino has warned that he who are yet to find out from FIFA when they host Villarreal in the Bilbao vs Espanyol (2100) will make changes from his side’s how many places they have been first leg of their semi-final clash 2-0 win over Granada with a top granted in Russia, also pitted today. in 27 appearances this season. four finish in La Liga still their Yemen against Pakistan, while The Catalans have clicked into “More than just the goals, the priority. East Timor will face Mongolia. form ever since the club seemed most important thing is to help “We are in the semi-finals of The two-legged ties will be on the brink of an institutional my teammates. We can’t stop the Copa del Rey and still in the played on March 12 and 17, with crisis following a dressing room now, we need to keep going.” Europa League, therefore we have Taiwan up against Brunei and revolt after a shock 1-0 defeat to Captain Xavi Hernandez to rotate players,” he said. Cambodia taking on Macau. Real Sociedad to start the year. returned to the side for Barca’s “The key to this Villarreal is the Bhutan, at 209 the worst ranked Even more judicial activity first league victory in the Basque squad, it is our biggest strength.” side in world football, haven’t against the club and its presi- country since 2010 and the vet- Enrique is also expected to played since losing 5-2 to Sri dent Josep Maria Bartomeu for eran is determined to keep their rotate slightly with Andres Iniesta Lanka in a South Asian Football tax irregularities in the signing of momentum going on all fronts, and Javier Mascherano likely to Federation Championship match Neymar hasn’t disrupted Barca’s with a return to Champions come into the side that started in Kathmandu in Sept. 2013. rhythm. League action against Manchester in Bilbao. In the other semi-final, Brunei, ranked 198th and The Brazilian forward has City also to come at the end of the Espanyol travel to face Athletic under the management of former played a starring role in the run month. Bilbao later on Wednesday. Blackburn Rovers boss Steve alongside Lionel Messi and Luis “We can’t slip up. We already Both sides are in mid-table in Kean, are taking part in a World Suarez. did that at Anoeta (against La Liga and know their only real- Cup qualifying campaign for the All three were on target in Sociedad) and now we feel great istic chances of European football first time since they lost all six Sunday’s 5-2 win at Athletic and depend on ourselves in the next season come from winning matches at the first hurdle for the Bilbao as Barca closed to within league. We are in great form and the Cup. 2002 tournament. a point of La Liga leaders Real we need to make the most of it,” Athletic defender Xabier The duo’s inclusion also make it Madrid, taking Luis Enrique’s said Xavi. Villarreal have already Etxeita will be free to play despite the first time that all 209 member men’s tally to 34 goals in their suffered at the hands of Messi and being sent-off against Barca as associations of FIFA have regis- last nine games. Neymar in recent weeks, but they his suspension only applies to La tered to take part in World Cup “We are getting better every gave Barca a scare as the hosts Liga, but the Basques are likely Athletic Bilbao’s Iker Muniain in action against Ivan Rakitic (right) of FC qualifying, the world governing day, but we need to continue had to twice come from behind to be without the injured duo Barcelona during the Spanish Primera Division match at San Mames body said. working hard to improve,” said to win 3-2 at the Camp Nou on of Ander Iturraspe and Mikel stadium in Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain, on Sunday. CONCACAF, the North, Neymar, who has scored 23 times February 1. Balenziaga. AFP Central American and Caribbean Federation, normally kick-off qualifying for a World Cup but Premier League their first round matches will take place on March 23 giving Asia the TV deal to break Mourinho accuses FA perk of opening the lengthy pro- cedure to find out which 31 teams bank again will join Russia at the finals. The AFC had four-and-a-half qualifying spots at the 2014 World LONDON: England’s Premier of double standards Cup in Brazil, with Jordan losing League is due to announce a out to Uruguay in an interconti- record new domestic television LONDON: Jose Mourinho, the against Norwich last season as comment on the news that nental playoff and missing out on rights deal worth over £4bn Chelsea manager, has accused well as his own player, Ramires, Leicester manager Nigel Pearson joining Iran, Japan, South Korea after a ferocious bidding war for the Football Association of dou- who was banned retrospectively escaped punishment for his and Australia in South America. the 2016-2019 period. ble standards having not taken for four games after an elbow on touchline scuffle with Crystal If, as expected, the AFC are BT ambitiously muscled in on action against Robin van Persie Sunderland’s Sebastian Larsson. Palace’s James McArthur where again granted four-and-half- what had been Sky’s exclusive for an elbow on James Tomkins. Mourinho, who made an elbow he grabbed the Scotsman by the spots their will be at least four territory in 2013 and the satel- The Blues boss remains with- gesture while he emphasised throat. Mourinho added: “I have rounds to determine which of the lite giant could see its dominance out main striker Diego Costa for his point, said: “I need a little only thoughts about myself, not 46 members will play in Russia. eroded further amid reports of the final game of his three-match bit more time to forget why my about Nigel.” The six winners from the first bids from America’s Discovery suspension against Everton on player was suspended, to under- Asked if he had done the same round fixtures involving the AFC’s Network and Qatar’s beIN Sports. Wednesday. stand why some people are pun- thing, he said: “No comment. You lowest ranked members will join Their battle cries are music to Costa was banned for stamp- ished and others aren’t. know...” the region’s 34 other teams in the the ears of the Premier League. ing on Liverpool’s Emre Can and “I need a little bit more time Chelsea lie seven points clear of second round, where they will be After a 77 percent explosion in has questioned why other play- to process that. I was with lots of Manchester City at the top of the drawn in to eight groups of five. the value of the rights three years ers do not get the same treat- attention this weekend. table, but Mourinho is not getting The group winners and four ago, a further 50 percent increase ment as his talisman. Mourinho, “The same people (the FA) who carried away. runner-ups will advance to the has been predicted by British who did not mention van Persie suspended my player didn’t want to Mourinho said: “We are (in the 12-team third round and also analysts. by name, raised the inconsistency suspend a player this weekend, and driving seat). But seven points book spots at the 2019 Asian Cup That has brought the sym- of the governing body’s decision a player could have been suspended with 14 matches to go... if it was finals in a new qualifying format bolic £4bn threshold into view, to on Tuesday after the Manchester this weekend and he wasn’t. 14 points with seven matches to being used by the AFC. which must be added over £2bn United forward did not receive a “I’m still processing that go, you are almost, almost, almost The 12 World Cup hopefuls will from overseas rights-holders. violent conduct charge for what information. there. “But seven points with 14 then be drawn into two groups Candidates had until last West Ham defender Tomkins “Somebody who did this (makes matches to go, there is a lot to of six, with the top two likely to Friday to submit offers for vari- described as a ‘malicious’ act. the elbow gesture) in the face of play for. I’m just confident we can qualify for Russia and the two ous packages of matches, but Referee Mark Clattenburg somebody, and nothing happened. win tomorrow. third place sides probably playing with little to separate the bids, a awarded a free-kick at Upton I know that if it was one of mine... “We will go game after game, off with the winner advancing to second round of the auction was Park but failed to dish out any “Last season, the same thing not think too far ahead. We will the intercontinental tie. triggered. Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho further disciplinary action for the happened when Ramires was think about tomorrow, try and The 24 teams who don’t reach The outcome is expected to be reacts after his team’s English elbow to Tomkins’ face in the 1-1 suspended and a Man City be good tomorrow, play well and the third round stage will take announced today. Premier League soccer match draw on Sunday. player (Toure) kicked a player at try to win at home in front of our part in another tournament to fill When the rights were last up against Aston Villa at Villa Park, Mourinho also highlighted Norwich who was on the floor and supporters. Hoping for a good the remaining spots at the newly for grabs in 2012, Sky won five of Birmingham, on Saturday. other incidents including nothing happened. I’m used to it.” reception after a good result.” expanded 24-team Asian Cup. the seven lots at a cost of £2.3bn Manchester City’s Yaya Toure Mourinho also refused to AFP AFP and currently broadcasts 116 of the 154 matches shown live per season in the United Kingdom. Telecommunications firm BT secured the rights to 38 games Lekhwiya’s Laudrup linked to Japan job per season for £738m, helping to arrest the company’s decline in the era of the mobile phone. TOKYO: Japan’s football chiefs Lekhwiya, over any fees that A JFA negotiator was head- The bidding process ensures refused to comment yester- would need to be paid to release ing to Qatar to thrash out the that no single channel can broad- day on reports linking Danish him from his contract. details of a possible contract with cast more than 75 percent of the former Barcelona and Real “Laudrup is taking a positive Laudrup, including his possible 168 matches under auction. Madrid star Michael Laudrup stance over the idea of becom- annual salary, the Sports Nippon Experts believe Sky will retain to the national team’s vacant ing coach of the Japan national said. the rights to 126 matches, with coaching job. team,” an unnamed source close Japan is on the hunt to find a BT -- whose ambitious expan- Laudrup, who won league titles to the Middle East country’s replacement for Aguirre, whose sion plans are held in check by as a player with some of Europe’s football world told the daily. short reign in charge of the Blue Britain’s telecoms regulator -- biggest clubs, has emerged, along “The possibility of his move to Samurai was brought to a swift hoovering up the remaining 42. with former England coach Japan is high if the issue of pen- end last week as a match-fixing However, any such arrange- Glenn Hoddle, as a possible alty charges can be resolved,” the scandal relating to a previous ment could fall to pieces if a third replacement for sacked Mexican source said. tenure intensified. party enters the dance. Javier Aguirre. Lekhwiya, the Qatar Stars The Mexican was report- The sale price per match, which The Sports Nippon, quoting League club side he is coaching, edly Japan’s highest-ever paid was already as high as £4.28m unnamed sources, said the Japan is joint leaders with former Asian national coach, on an estimated prior to 2013, is expected to rise Football Association (JFA) may Fotoball Confederation (AFC) $2.45m a year. from £6.53m to around £8m. officially offer the job to 50-year- Champions League winners Al But the former Asian cham- The figures are a world away old Laudrup, who is currently Sadd. Both, have 36 points at the pions failed to spark under from the fee of £191m paid in 1992 coaching in Qatar after a two- end of 15 matches in the 14-team Aguirre, with a series of unim- by Sky -- in which media magnate year stint with English Premier league played in a double leg pressive performances that cul- Rupert Murdoch holds a 39 per- League side Swansea City ended format. minated in their humiliating cent stake -- for the rights over with his sacking a year ago. Laudrup is a hero in Denmark quarter-final exit from the Asian a five-year period, at a time when A spokeswoman for the JFA having scored 37 goals in more Cup in Australia last month at the English top flight was not yet declined to comment on the than 100 matches for his country. the hands of the United Arab a global heavyweight. report, saying only: “The issue of A glittering career with Emirates. The new deal will make the the national team’s next coach is some of Europe’s biggest clubs Along with former England Premier League, which is regu- still under consideration.” saw stints at Juventus, Ajax midfielder Hoddle, other names larly watched by nearly three bil- According to the sports daily, Barcelona and Real Madrid, as suggested for the post include lion TV viewers in 170 countries, the JFA is set to open formal well as a brief spell in Japan when one-time Portuguese national the second most profitable sports negotiations with Laudrup’s cur- he plied his trade for Vissel Kobe coach Paulo Bento and current Michael Laudrup, coach of Qatar Stars League club Lekhwiya. championship in the world behind rent employer, the Doha-based of the J-League in 1996 and 1997. Iran coach Carlos Queiroz. AFP America’s NFL. AFP WEDNESDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2015 SPORT www.thepeninsulaqatar.com 27

Etixx-Quick Step team leader Dutch Niki Terpstra waves after wearing the overall lead- er’s Golden Jersey on the podium at the end of stage three individual time trial of the 2015 Tour of Qatar at Losail Circuit in Doha yester- day. Terpstra claimed the third stage, a 10.9 kilometre race-against- the-clock, upstaging time-trial specialists Fabian Cancellara and Bradley Wiggins. RIGHT: Terpstra kicks off stage three individual time trial. Terpstra tops charts in windy Doha Tour of Qatar: The Dutch rider upstages Cancellera and Wiggins in time trial

BY RIZWAN REHMAT

DOHA: Defending champion Niki Terpstra of Etixx-Quick- Step yesterday did the unimagi- Terpstra, celebrates nable - he beat acclaimed time his win in stage trial experts Fabian Cancellara three of Tour of and Bradley Wiggins to take the Qatar after receiv- third stage and the golden jer- ing his prize from sey on day three of the Tour of Sheikh Khalid Qatar. bin Ali Al Thani, Terpstra clocked a time of 14:03 at the windswept Losail Circuit President of Qatar where Cancellara emerged eight Cycling Federation. seconds slower than the 2014 BOTTOM: Belgian Tour of Qatar champion. Tom Boonen of Great Britain’s Wiggins - who Etixx-Quick Step initially produced the fastest team celebrates on time - was a second slower than the podium after Cancellara as dusty conditions receiving the silver made cycling a challenge at the jersey for the rider wind-exposed track snaking with the general around the Losail Multipurpose point lead after the Hall and the Shooting Range. stage three indi- Maciej Bodnar (Tinkoff-Saxo) vidual time-trial. finished in fourth spot and Ian PICTURES BY: A young boy watches the action Stannard (Team Sky) was fifth- SYED OMAR of the third stage of Tour of fastest yesterday. Both cyclists Qatar yesterday. clocked a time of 14:13, 10 seconds slower than 30-year-old Terpstra. Terpstra was delighted with his effort. Tour of Qatar “That is a great (win). I was Results just going for a good time trial The first man to clock a fast all, it’s fantastic,” Terpstra said. Top 10 results in stage three to get up in the classification but time was Lars Boom who had fin- “I set off to put in a good time- 1 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Etixx - Quick-Step to take the stage victory is really ished second of the same time- trial for the overall standings... 0:14:04 nice,” Terpstra said after pulling trial a year ago. But his time of but winning the stage!” he added. 2 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Trek Factory on the golden jersey. 14’33 was beaten by the former “The wind was stronger even than Racing 0:00:08 “Yeah, it was a really good time hour record holder Mathias yesterday, I knew it was going to 3 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Team Sky trial (for me). I was not going full Brandle with 14’21. be hard,” the 30-year-old added. 0:00:09 gas in the first part to save some Then came the UCI World “It was important not to start 4 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo energy for going strong in the time-trial champion Wiggins. too quickly, especially as the final 5 Ian Stannard (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:10 head-wind. My sportive director After clocking the fastest time two kilometres were into the 6 Matthias Brandle (Aut) IAM Cycling was pushing me on and on. Then at the halfway mark, the Brit wind,” he said. 0:00:18 I was going full gas and kicked up went on to conquer top spot with While the last man on the 7 Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Etixx - a good speed up to the finish line,” 14’12. course, Kristoff eventually fin- Quick-Step 0:00:20 he added. Wiggins would finally have to ished 26th, 44 seconds adrift, the 8 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) MTN - “Good to be back in the golden settle for third spot overall as two Tour of Qatar changed leader as Qhubeka 0:00:21 jersey and now we’re going to men managed to do better. Terpstra conquered the overall 9 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing fight hard during the next stages,” “This is the first time I’ve put lead in impressive fashion. Team 0:00:24 Terpstra warned. on the rainbow jersey (as world The 2014 champion now has an 10 Reto Hollenstein (Swi) IAM Cycling In extremely windy conditions, champion) since September. It’s 11-second advantage over Maciej 0:00:25 Terpstra surprised the field of always special, it’s a big event,” Bodnar and 12 seconds over Ian General classification after stage 3 specialists to clock the fastest Wiggins said. Stannard. 1 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Etixx - Quick-Step time of the day’s stage 3 individual First it was Cancellara whose The silver jersey (points classi- 7:53:42 time-trial after riders assembled time of 14’11 looked good enough fication) remains on the shoulders 2 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo at Losail Circuit. to give him his first success this of Boonen while Luke Rowe who 0:00:11 After Monday’s hectic stage year. finished at a great 15th spot yes- 3 Ian Stannard (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:12 that saw Alexander Kristoff con- However, Terpstra went on terday, conquered the pearl white 4 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing quer his first stage win in Qatar to smash that best time. The jersey for the best young rider. Team 0:00:19 and the golden jersey, it was time Dutchman clocked an impressive Today’s fourth stage will start 5 Luke Rowe (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:33 for a totally different exercise. 14’03 that gave him his second from Al Thakhira and end at 6 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha The strong winds, however, had stage victory on Qatari soil. Mesaieed after the riders com- 0:00:36 other plans to make cycling dif- “There were lots of specialists, plete a distance of 165.5kms. 7 Tom Boonen (Bel) Etixx - Quick-Step ficult for the riders. a good peloton. And I beat them THE PENINSULA 0:00:42 8 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) IAM Cycling 0:00:44 9 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team 0:00:46 10 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:00:48 Points classification after stage three 1 Tom Boonen (Bel) Etixx - Quick-Step 21 2 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Etixx - Quick-Step 17 3 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha 17 4 Jose Joaquin Rojas (Spa) Movistar Team 15 Britain’s Luke Rowe pulls 5 Andrea Guardini (Ita) Astana Pro Team 15 on the pearl white jersey 6 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing for best young rider after Team 14 stage three individual 7 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo 14 time-trial of the 2015 8 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Trek Factory Tour of Qatar. RIGHT: Racing 12 Stun artists entertain the 9 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) IAM Cycling 9 crowd before the start of 10 Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ.fr 9 the third stage of Tour of Teams classification after stage three Qatar. 1 Etixx - Quick-Step 23:42:26 2 Team Sky 0:00:24 3 Astana Pro Team 0:00:40 4 BMC Racing Team 0:00:55 5 Team Katusha 0:01:41 6 Orica GreenEdge 0:02:04 7 Tinkoff-Saxo 0:03:12 8 IAM Cycling 0:03:21 9 Team Giant-Alpecin 0:03:38 10 FDJ.fr 0:05:12 Wednesday 11 February 2015 22 Rabial II 1436 Volume 19 Number 6338 Sport Price: QR2 Leading newspaper from Nepal India beat Lekhwiya’s Afghanistan in Laudrup linked

      warm-up game to Japan job

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www.thepeninsulaqatar.com [email protected] | [email protected] Editorial: 44557741 | Advertising: 44557837 / 44557780 Star Wiggins looks to the future after windy Doha spoils plans Tour of Qatar: April is a long way away, says British cycling legend after stage 3 BY RIZWAN REHMAT “This time last year I was scraping at the back of the rou- DOHA: British cycling legend tine. I always come back and World champion and Sir Bradley Wiggins yesterday think where I am in preparation Sky’s team leader finished a dismal third in the because you go on the start line Bradley Wiggins Tour of Qatar individual time like this and you expect to be the waits at the starting trial but the former Tour de way you were at the world cham- line before the stage- France champion casually dis- pionship or whatever,” Wiggins three individual counted the fact that he couldn’t said. manage a win in his favourite “I think it is all part of the big- time-trial of the 2015 class. ger picture. April is a long way Tour of Qatar in Doha Riding his custom-built away. I am so pleased to be so yesterday. Pinarello Dogma F8 road bike at close (to the winner) today,” the the wind-exposed 10.9km track, 2014 World Road Championship Sky giant Wiggins finished behind winner added. stage winner and golden jer- The most decorated Olympian sey owner Niki Terpstra (14:03) said it is tough to predict a race and time trial arch-rival Fabian outcome so early in the season. Cancellara (+8secs). “Like I said at the start you “It was very difficult, yeah. You don’t know how everybody will know on road bikes you are not start. (I have) seen Fabian here a used to that kind of power and it few times — sometimes he’s been was different for everyone. I was in the last group every day, some- pleased to be fairly close to him times he’s like on fire like he was (Cancellara) even though it’s a today,” Wiggins said. couple of seconds,” Wiggins said “We haven’t had any race other outside his team camp at Losail than the world championship. You International Circuit. don’t know where everyone’s at. Same for myself. So much train- ing through the winter. Only a month ago you were drinking and getting fat on Christmas and come here and try to do a world class performance. You just don’t know,” he added. win the world championship),” “This Paris-Niece, the Paris– Paris-Roubaix — guys like Ian and can crash five times and come “Unfortunately the cycling Wiggins said. Roubaix - well, there are a few Luke who have got golds in other back. world puts a massive emphasis on “It is always a dream. It is still more opportunities,” Wiggins races,” Wiggins said. “I just love the race. It was this race but I think everyone in a process to go through the time said as he builds his time trial “It is part of being in that group a real honour to be with those a different stages of preparation trial whether you are a world confidence. and doing a job for those guys and guys last year. It has got noth- at this stage. The likes of (Tom) champion or not. It doesn’t always Wiggins said he will be fea- being a good team-mate. So when ing to do with proving anything. Boonen are always good here. work out,” he said after finishing turing at classics like the E3 my turn comes, they obviously Roubaix is so unpredictable,” Fabian has been up and down in third spot yesterday. Harelbeke in Belgium along with repay it. Wiggins said. over the last few years here,” the Wiggins said he will be casting his Sky team-mates later in the “Rouabix is so unpredictable. “I love to moonwalk as well but Briton said. an eye at the classics as he builds season. It’s like coming through the there are certain things you can’t Bradley Wiggins outside Losail Wiggins said retaining his UCI momentum in what will be a key “It’s all different races but mess, the carnage to get to a do certain things life (laughs). You International Circuit in Doha Road World Championship title year for the Briton ahead of the you got to have that mentality. position where you can use your just have to accept that I may yesterday. PICTURE: SYED OMAR was still important to him. 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de But just to be with that group physical form. In time trial you never win Roubaix,” he added. “Yeah, of course (I want to win Janeiro. — not just me preparing for can predict. In Roubaix you THE PENINSULA Al Kass Cup draws record Al Sadd, El Jaish edge closer to number of online viewers AFC Champions League berth

DOHA: An average of 20,000 DOHA: Goalkeeper Saad Al right-foot volley rebound off the football fans are tuning in online Sheeb was Al Sadd’s hero as post. each day to watch the Al Kass he saved Riffa defender Ozeia’s With no winner still decided, International Cup 2015 since it penalty in sudden death to take the match went into a penalty began last Thursday, tourna- the 2011 winners into the final shootout and after 11 takers a ment organisers have said. round of the AFC Champions side and the scores level at 10-10, With all matches streamed live League play-off as they defeated Ibrahim was able to find the net via the official competition web- their Bahraini visitors 11-10 on from the spot once more but site, internationalcup.alkass.net, penalties following a 0-0 draw Ozeia, who had missed earlier in and other sites with the rights to after 120 minutes in yesterday’s the shootout, proved to have no Al Kass, viewers continue to been preliminary round encounter. such luck. treated to unrivalled coverage of After a lengthy spot-kick Meanwhile, El Jaish strug- their favourite football teams — shootout, the scores were tied at gled to deal with an organised complete with English commen- 10 apiece when Khalfan Ibrahim Al Nahda side but the Qataris tary and expert analysis. scored for a second time before narrowly edged the visitors from As the tournament gathers Brazilian Ozeia failed with the Oman 2-1 — keeping alive their momentum, the impressive rat- decisive penalty attempt at hopes for a third straight appear- ings indicate the growing popu- the Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad ance in the group stage of the larity and reputation the Al Stadium. AFC Champions League. Kass International Cup has built Al Sadd, who will look to make Ely Cheikh Samba El Voullany globally. Former English footballer Kevin Keegan interacts with children during it their 10th appearance in the Al Sadd’s Khalfan Ibrahim (right) had given the Oman champions This year, almost 50 per cent the National Sport Day celebrations in Doha yesterday. continental competition after fights for ball possession against a fourth-minute lead at the Al of those watching the games reaching the quarter-finals last an Al Riffa player at the Sheikh Gharafa Stadium and they held online are from Spain — reflect- — represented by River Plate club managers around the world year, will now travel to the United Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in out against their hosts’ contin- ing the participation of Madrid’s from Argentina and Sao Paulo are following this elite football Arab Emirates next Tuesday to Doha yesterday. ued bombardment for a further city rivals, Real and Atletico. Just from Brazil this year. Tournament competition online,” said Ward face Abu Dhabi club Al Wahda 74 minutes before succumb- after 8pm (AST) on Friday, the organisers also reported an Abdallah, Communications and for a place in Group A. stranglehold somewhat and tried ing to Brazilian striker Wagner tournament reached its online increase in viewers from Germany Marketing Manager for the Al Yesterday, Al Sadd had the to create some danger for the Ribeiro’s leveler. His compatriot viewing peak so far – with 21,400 — with fans of Bundesliga side Kass International Cup. “With upper hand right from kick-off Qataris. Romarinho then snatched victory fans tuning into watch Real Schalke 04 thought to be behind the tournament now gathering and dominated possession for Unable to end the stalemate for El Jaish with a goal in stop- Madrid’s U-17s take on Schalke this rise. momentum, we hope to see more almost the entirety of the first in the regulation 90 minutes, page time to book his side a meet- 04 in their Group B clash. “Given the exceptional calibre fans tune in to take advantage of half but were unable to score. the match went into extra-time ing with Iranian side Naft Tehran Additionally, the 2015 tour- of teams competing in 2015, it our unrivalled coverage of this After the interval, Al Sadd and in the very last minute of next Tuesday for a place in Group nament has also seen a spike is perhaps unsurprising that so world-class competition.” looked to maintain the pressure the extra 30, Ibrahim came very B of the AFC Champions League. in viewers from South America many football fans, scouts, and THE PENINSULA but Riffa managed to break the close to scoring but his powerful THE PENINSULA