BUSINESS | Page 1 SPORT | Page 1 Barcelona block Neymar’s INDEX DOW JONES QE NYMEX QATAR 2-6, 20 COMMENT 18, 19 Economic and liquidity $31mn REGION 7 BUSINESS 1–6, 11-16 conditions key to rate 21,963.92 9,308.91 49.16 ARAB WORLD 7 CLASSIFIED 7-11 +72.80 -97.15 -1.01 INTERNATIONAL 8–17 SPORTS 1–8 decisions, says QCB bonus +0.33% -1.03% -2.01% Latest Figures published in QATAR since 1978

WEDNESDAY Vol. XXXVIII No. 10533 August 2, 2017 Dhul-Qa’da 10, 1438 AH

GULF TIMES www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals NHRC chief in UK meeting

Our Say US deputes 2 envoys to solve Gulf crisis By Faisal Abdulhameed US Secretary of State al-Mudahka lauds Emir’s eff orts to Editor-in-Chief end rift; calls for dialogue and concessions to reach Gulf crisis, beating solution around the bush! Tillerson confirms s the Gulf crisis drags on, Qatar Qatar’s commitment to is gaining more leverage, both at UK Foreign and Commonwealth Off ice director general (political) Karen Pierce met with National Human Rights Committee implementing agreement Athe regional and international (NHRC) chairman Dr Ali bin Sumaikh al-Marri in London yesterday. The meeting reviewed the bilateral relations and means of on combating terrorism levels. The latest gain was the directive strengthening and developing them, in addition to issues of common concern. issued by ICAO, asking the blockaders to financing comply with the Chicago Convention. The July 30 Manama meeting backfi red QNA on the quartet as it highlighted the con- Washington tradictions persisting among them. This is a quick recall: On June 5, the siege countries imposed an arbitrary atar is committed to imple- US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson blockade on Qatar. Following inter- UAE competed to host menting the memorandum of national pressure, they issued an im- Qunderstanding (MoU) signed AFP adds: The US Secretary of State aginary list of 13 demands which was between Washington and Doha on the said he has asked two offi cials, including rejected by Qatar. On July 5, the quar- fi ght against the fi nancing of terror- retired general and former Middle East tet came out with the ‘Six Cairo Prin- ism, said US Secretary of State Rex envoy Anthony Zinni, to work to end the ciples’ with no mentioning of the 13 Taliban offi ce: NYT Tillerson, adding that it is important to crisis. demands. Then on July 30, the block- build confi dence at both bilateral and On June 5, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the aders met in Manama and expressed Otaiba changes colours an embassy in their own country, ac- group Hamas was also arranged with regional level to end the Gulf crisis. United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut their willingness to sit for a dialogue, cording to the New York Times. American approval.) “The United States is following the ties with key US ally Qatar, accusing it provided that Doha implements the faster than a chameleon “Three former American offi cials, Over the weekend, The Times ob- Gulf crisis and is concerned about it of backing extremism and building ties list of 13 demands and the Six Cairo however, confi rmed this week that the tained a leaked e-mail dated September because it contributes to destabilising with Iran. Principles. In other words, the block- QNA UAE had initially sought the Taliban 12, 2011, for the Emirati ambassador the Gulf region and undermines unity Qatar, home to the largest US air aders have been beating around the Washington embassy,” the newspaper added. in Washington, Yousef al-Otaiba, who among the GCC countries, which the base in the Middle East, has denied the bush. With the Manama meeting, the The report added that, “American according to the e-mail, even received United States considers an important claims but has agreed to Kuwait acting Gulf crisis went back to square one. offi cials have regularly said that Qatar “an angry phone call” from the UAE council in maintaining stability in the as a mediator and has come to an agree- However, a new development at he United Arab Emirates (UAE) agreed to host the Taliban offi ce as part Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed at region,” Tillerson told a news confer- ment with Washington to fi ght terror the Manama meeting was the injec- frequently accused Qatar of abet- of a broader American-led eff ort to fa- the time complaining that the Taliban ence in Washington. fi nancing. tion of the word ‘dialogue’. To be fair, Tting Islamist militants, citing as cilitate peace talks in Afghanistan, not had ended up in Qatar and not the UAE. He praised the eff orts exerted by His The parties to the dispute are still not the word dialogue seemed to have one prime example the 2013 opening of because of any support for the Taliban Al-Otaiba said: “They want to be in Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin in direct talks, however, and Washing- been forcefully inserted as a deco- a Taliban offi ce in Doha. However, Emi- or their ideology.” (The opening of a the middle of everything those guys,” Hamad al-Thani in his interaction with ton is keen to pressure its allies in the ration and is meant for foreign con- ratis also tried to get the Taliban to open Qatar offi ce of the Palestinian militant referring to the Qataris. To Page 20 mediation eff orts aimed at resolving the region to mend ties and work together sumption. The meeting also did not Gulf crisis since the fi rst day of the rift. against extremism. fail to add some lies about Qatar, the The Secretary of State noted that the Tillerson told reporters that Qatar is top among them being the claim that United States continues its eff orts and so far fulfi lling its commitment to the Qatar asked for the internationalisa- contacts with all sides of the Gulf crisis United States, but that he had sent sen- tion of the Haj pilgrimage. on a nearly daily basis, adding that re- ior US diplomat Tim Lenderking to the Saudi Arabia has been using reli- solving the crisis requires “signifi cant region to push for progress. gion as a tool in its blockade on Doha. ‘No political prisoner in Qatar; concessions”, which the United States is “And I’ve also asked retired General It imposed unjust restrictions on Qa- now working with the parties concerned. Anthony Zinni to go with Tim so that tar residents, who want to perform He stressed the parties need to sit we can maintain a constant pressure on the Haj. Qatar has only complained to siege nations have thousands’ down and start a dialogue on the causes the ground because I think that’s what the UN about the unjust restrictions. of diff erences in order to reach a solu- it’s going to take,” he said. Riyadh politicised Haj. tion. “There’s only so much you can do In a nutshell, the blockaders have Fair distribution of expressing their opinions. Tillerson asserted that the United with telephone persuasion.” missed several face-saving opportu- “Of late they have stipulated a law States is committed to resolving this Zinni, now 73, was a Marine gen- nities to end their crisis. They could wealth is behind Qatar’s that provides for up to 15 years in jail for dispute and restoring the unity of the eral who once commanded US forces in have availed of the opportunity of the success those expressing sympathy with Qatar.” Gulf, because America “believes its uni- the Middle East. After the military he MoU signed between the US and Qa- He said that even those who took ty is very important to help defeat the served as special envoy to Israel and the tar on combating terrorism on July Arrayah part in the conspiracy to overthrow the ISIS group (Daesh)”. Palestinian Authority. Pages 2, 20 11. Saudi Arabia could have taken the Doha regime in 1995, were eventually par- Haj opportunity and lifted the re- doned by His Highness the Emir. strictions on Qataris. HE al-Attiyah recalled that some of Dialogue the only way to save GCC, says minister The blockaders have reached a atar prides itself on having no them (the conspirators) were employ- phase where a sense of loss is preva- political prisoners while the ees at Qatar Petroleum while he was the HE the Minister of State for Defence have the responsibility of rescuing lent. His Highness the Emir Sheikh Qprisons of the blockading coun- Minister of Energy and Industry. “Their Aff airs, Dr Khalid bin Mohamed whatever remains of this unique Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani wel- tries are full of them, HE Abdullah bin salaries were withheld because of being al-Attiyah, has said that the GCC entity in the Arab World. comed dialogue in his July 21 speech, Hamad al-Attiyah, chairman of Abdul- HE Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah convicted of illegal actions,” he said is not comprised only of the three HE Dr al-Attiyah said in an interview provided that Qatar’s sovereignty re- lah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah Internation- adding he was surprised to receive an countries putting the State of Qatar that even if the siege countries mained untouched, and any solution al Foundation for Energy and Sustain- for Qatar that it has not imprisoned any order from the Emiri Diwan to pay their under siege, but includes all its retracted their violations against is binding on all. Qatar is hopeful the able Development, has said. person in an ‘opinion’ case while in the full salaries to their families and when members. He added that the six Qatar the public will never forget the Kuwaiti mediation will succeed. In an interview with local Arabic daily UAE and other countries thousands of they were pardoned they returned to member countries of the council reason behind the crisis. Page 20 [email protected] Arrayah, he said it was a matter of pride people have been languishing in jails for their jobs unharmed. To Page 20 Gulf Times 2 Wednesday, August 2, 2017 QATAR Number of visitors to country on the rise By Santhosh V Perumal The highest occupancy was the occupancy was at 62% Business Reporter reported in the four-star seg- compared to 55% in the corre- ment at 63% against 57% in sponding month of 2016 with June 2016, fi ve-star 61% (42%), deluxe segment witnessing 59% ome 1.464mn people vis- three-star 60% (40%) and one- occupancy (50% in June 2016) ited Qatar from the begin- and-two star 50% (52%), MDPS and standard 69% (66%). Sning of the year until June, said. The hotel apartment aver- marking a 1.5% increase over The average hotel room rate age room rate was QR400 in the 2016 fi gure of 1.442mn visi- in Qatar was QR462 in June June 2017 against QR412 in the HE Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz al-Kuwari shaking hands with Zambian tors, according to data released compared to QR429 in the previous year period. Deluxe President Edgar Lungu in Lusaka. by the Ministry of Develop- year-ago period. Five-star ho- and standard hotel apartments ment Planning and Statistics tel room rates were at QR638 registered average room rate of (MDPS). (QR620), and four-star at QR459 and QR288 compared to Visitors from the GCC region QR303 (QR292), while that QR481 and QR302 in June 2016. accounted for 43.7% (639,182) of three-star and one-and- The hotel apartments’ yield of the total visitors arriving in two-star was fl at at QR255 and was higher at QR249 this June Al-Kuwari meets Qatar, followed by Asia (includ- QR189 respectively. against QR227 in the corre- ing Oceania) at 24.1% (352,469), Some 1.464mn people visited Qatar from the beginning of the The hospitality industry’s sponding period of 2016. In the Europe at 17.7% (259,121), year until June. yield (revenue per available case of deluxe hotel apartments, other Arab countries at 7.8% room) stood at QR284 in June the yield was QR271 (QR241 in Zambian leader (113,927), Americas at 5.7% the statistics bulletin revealed. which saw a growth of 2.8%. 2017 against QR203 in the same June 2016) and that of standard (83,240) and African countries Visitor arrivals from Europe In line with the tourist arrivals, month of the previous year. was QR200 (QR198). at 1.1% (16,048), according to witnessed the highest growth Qatar’s hospitality industry wit- The yield of fi ve-star hotels Meanwhile, with regard to QNA problems and challenges facing the MDPS monthly bulletin. of 17.7% year-on-year, while nessed a higher 61% occupancy was at QR388 (QR260), four- passenger movement, the total Lusaka UN Educational, Scientifi c and While Gulf countries ac- visitors from the Americas in- this June compared to 47% in the star QR191 (QR166), three-star number of arrivals in Doha reg- Cultural Organization (Unesco) counted for the highest per- creased by 7.1%. African coun- previous year period despite the QR154 (QR102) and one-and- istered a year-on-year decrease and ways to address them. centage of visitors, arrivals tries came next, as their num- diplomatic and economic block- two-star QR99 (QR98). of 22% during June this year, E Dr Hamad bin Ab- Discussions also touched on from Europe and the Americas bers rose by 6.2%, followed ade that started at the beginning In the case of hotel apart- as the total number of arrivals dulaziz al-Kuwari, Ad- a number of issues relating to witnessed the fastest growth, by Asia (including Oceania), of the review month. ments, the MDPS found that reached 246,000. Hviser at the Emiri Diwan culture, education, science and and Qatar’s candidate for direc- human heritage, emphasising tor general’s post of Unesco, yes- that the African continent is a terday met with Zambian Presi- priority and central to the vision dent Edgar Lungu. of the candidate of Qatar so that During the meeting, Dr al- Unesco would be able to fulfi l its Kuwari conveyed the greetings vital responsibilities. Population tops 2.5mn in June of His Highness the Emir Sheikh Dr al-Kuwari said that Unesco’s Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani to role is central to countering terror- President Lungu, wishing the ism. He also reviewed his proposal he population of Qa- According to the ministry fi gure. The total value of so- The bulletin also highlighted in comparison to May fi gures. Zambian people progress and for holding an international cultural tar reached more than bulletin, the total number of cial security reached QR83mn that the total number of ve- Total broad money supply prosperity. day to remember the victims of ter- T2.5mn at the end of June, registered marriages was 206 during June. The fi gure has hicles registered in June stood (M2) recorded about QR532bn For his part, the Zambian rorism and set up small projects fund attaining an increase of 2.8% contracts in June, while the registered a monthly increase 4,471. The fi gure has registered during June, showing an annual president entrusted Dr al-Ku- in countries in need of such funds to over the population fi gure at total number of divorce cases of 6.2% in comparison to May a monthly decrease of 41.6% increase of 7.7% compared with wari to convey his greetings to develop education and culture. the end of June 2016, according was 55 declarations during the fi gure. compared to May, where the June last year. His Highness the Emir and his The Zambian president to data released by the Minis- month. In regard to traffi c cases, a total number of registered On the other hand, cash wishes for the Qatari people of wished success to the Unesco try of Development Planning The period saw a signifi - total of 487 traffi c cases were vehicles was 7,651. equivalents (including de- prosperity and progress, ex- candidate. and Statistics (MDPS). cant increase in the number of recorded during June, resulting As for building permits infor- posits) attained for QR771bn pressing his aspiration to de- Zambia is not a member of A total number of 2,118 births benefi ciaries of social security in a monthly decrease of 12.7% mation, the bulletin shows the during June 2017. The fi gure velop relations between the two Unesco’s executive board, but have been registered in the as the fi gure reached 14,180 in comparison with May, when total number of building per- has recorded an annual in- friendly countries. it is one of the most important month of June. On the other till June this year. The fi gure the fi gures stood at 558. Seven- mits has reached only 411 per- crease of 12.7% in comparison Dr al-Kuwari gave the Zam- countries in Africa, and President hand, 201 death cases were re- registered a monthly increase teen death cases were recorded mits during June, thus record- with June 2016, as it recorded bian president a detailed presen- Lungu is one of those interested in corded during the same period. of 5.4% in comparison to May during June. ing a monthly decrease of 43.5% approximately QR 684bn. tation about his vision to face the education in the African continent.

Emir holds talks with Bulgarian Swiss rights body calls on Saudi President HMC expert advises keeping His Highness the Emir Sheikh to lift curbs on religious rites Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani held last evening a telephone QNA matter of sovereignty, which siege that took place during adequate level of vitamin D conversation with Bulgarian Bern/Paris is contrary to international Ramadan. In the holy month, President Rumen Radev. law. All illegal measures taken the organisation registered nsuring and maintaining skin are at high risk of vitamin D During the phone call, they by the Saudi authorities a number of incidents where the required level of vi- defi ciency,” he stated. reviewed bilateral relations The Swiss Organisation for concerning the obstruction some Qataris were deprived Etamin D is important for “Many people can also be at between the two friendly countries the Protection of Human of the right to worship and the right to perform Umrah, supporting bone, teeth, muscle risk of developing a vitamin D and ways of developing them in Rights (SOPHR) has called on to perform religious rites where a Qatari was also and immune health in children defi ciency as they age because various fields, and discussed the the Saudi authorities to lift all contravene all relevant forced out of the holy site and adults, noted an expert. their kidneys cannot convert latest developments in the region, restrictions imposed on the international conventions, and and deported to Doha, the Dr Mahmoud Zirie, senior vitamin D to its active form and especially regarding the Gulf crisis. right to worship and religious even contradict the off icial statement said. consultant and head of endo- the digestive tract cannot ad- The Bulgarian president aff irmed rituals. All violations committed statements issued by the The organisation added crinology and diabetes division equately absorb vitamin D,” said his country’s stance in support of during the days of the siege, Saudi Foreign Ministry, that it actions were taken by Saudi at HMC, said, “Maintaining Dr Mahmoud Zirie Dr Zirie. mediation eff orts by the sisterly State including encroachment on the facilitates the procedures, while Arabia forcing pilgrims flying healthy levels of vitamin D has “Obese individuals are also at of Kuwait to resolve the crisis through right of movement and travel, in fact, thousands of Qatar’s to Makkah to use airlines been shown to be an important While there are often no risk of being defi cient in vitamin dialogue and diplomatic means. the economic siege on the citizens and residents are facing besides Qatar Airways, which part of overall health as the vi- symptoms of mild vitamin D de- D which is extracted from the For his part, the Emir expressed Qatari people, the infringement more complexed procedures doubles the financial, emotional tamin helps the body absorb cal- fi ciency, symptoms can include blood by fat cells. People with a his thanks to Bulgaria’s position of freedom of opinion and that hinder the normal and physical suff ering. It also cium from food. In older adults, diffi culty thinking clearly, bone body mass index (BMI) of 30 or calling for maintaining the expression, obstructing the performance of their rituals. violates the mobility rights a daily dose of vitamin D and pain, frequent bone fractures, greater often have low blood lev- stability of the region. performance of religious rites Meanwhile, Free Voice mentioned in Article 13 of the calcium helps to prevent frac- muscle weakness and unex- els of vitamin D,” he pointed out. and interfering in the internal Organisation expressed its Universal Declaration of Human tures and brittle bones. Children plained fatigue. Dr Zirie noted that a vitamin D FM holds talks with aff airs of Qatar, are systematic deep concern regarding the Rights. need vitamin D to build strong Dr Zirie explained that people defi ciency can occur if people do violations, that places those administrative harassment that The organisation demanded bones and prevent rickets, which commonly at risk of a vitamin not consume the recommended German counterpart responsible under provisions of may face Qatari pilgrims at holy Saudi Arabia to not use Haj as causes bowlegs, knock-knees D defi ciency include those with level of the vitamin. He stressed HE Minister of Foreign Aff airs international law, SOPHR said in sites this year. a political tool that would harm and weak bones.” inadequate sun exposure, lim- that individuals who follow a Sheikh Mohammed bin a press release. The organisation said the tens of thousands of pilgrims, He noted that research suggests ited oral vitamin D intake, or im- strict vegan diet are susceptible Abdulrahman al-Thani held The statement said that the Gulf crisis extended to aff ect and to take appropriate adequate amounts of vitamin D paired intestinal absorption. to vitamin D defi ciency because a telephone conversation organisation had followed the religious rite in addition political, security, legal and in the blood can play a role in the “Those with dark skin are also most of the natural sources of yesterday with German Foreign the position of the Saudi to all the serious human human rights actions to prevention and treatment of a at risk. The pigment melanin re- vitamin D are animal-based. Minister Ziegmar Gabriel. During foreign ministry in justifying rights violations that the Gulf facilitate the arrival of Qatari number of diff erent conditions, duces the skin’s ability to make He noted that while eating vita- the phone call, they discussed illegal actions that clash with and especially the Qatari or non-Qatari pilgrims arriving including Type 1 and Type 2 dia- vitamin D in response to sunlight min D-rich foods is the best way to bilateral relations and means of international conventions as a people face as a result to the from Qatar. betes, hypertension, glucose in- exposure. Some studies show get the vitamin, it can also be ob- boosting and developing them tolerance, and multiple sclerosis. that older adults with darker tained through supplements. as well as the developments of the Gulf crisis, and a number of issues of mutual interest. Greetings sent His Highness the Emir Sheikh Local Dates Festival attracts thousands Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, His Highness the Deputy Emir Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad he ongoing Local Dates Festi- ity’s general control department has al-Thani and HE the Prime val, organised by the Ministry launched an inspection campaign Minister and Minister of Interior Tof Municipality and Environ- to remove violating caravans from Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin ment (MME) at Souq Waqif, contin- diff erent areas in the municipality. Khalifa al-Thani yesterday sent ues to register impressive sales and The campaign also targets portac- cables of congratulations to visitor fi gures. abins and trailers and will continue for Benin President Patrice Talon The event drew some 5,000 visi- two months. on the occasion of his country’s tors on its fi fth day and also saw sales So far, 250 violating caravans have Independence Day. amounting to nearly 10.9 tonnes of been found parked illegally near hous- dates, according to a statement by es in residential areas. The municipal Attack condemned the MME. The festival began last services aff airs department would be Thursday. contacted to remove the same, the Qatar has strongly condemned and Yousef Khalid al-Khulaifi , director, statement notes. denounced the attack on the Iraqi agriculture aff airs department, MME, Warning notices have been pasted on embassy in the Afghan capital Kabul, said local dates are being displayed at the caravans asking their owners to re- which left two of the embassy staff Al Meera stores as distinguished Qa- move them, failing which the authori- dead. In a statement issued yesterday, tari products. Besides, steps are afoot ties concerned would take necessary the Ministry of Foreign Aff airs to supply more locally produced veg- legal action against the off enders. reiterated Qatar’s firm stance rejecting etables to various shopping outlets The MME’s general cleanliness de- violence and terrorism regardless across the country. partment yesterday removed an aban- of its source and whatever its In addition, the MME is studying doned boat from the Wakrah beach. motives and reasons. The statement the possibility of introducing locally The ministry also informed that Fu- off ered Qatar’s condolences to the produced honey to shopping centres wairit Beach is now open to the public government of Afghanistan and to the in the country. following a successful turtle nesting families of the victims. Meanwhile, Al Wakrah Municipal- season. Some 5,000 people visited the Local Dates Festival on the fifth day, which also saw sales amounting to nearly 10.9 tonnes of dates. Gulf Times Wednesday, August 2, 2017 3 QATAR Qatar girls embrace technology to tackle obesity

oung girls in Qatar ap- collect data related to physical Prof Paul Gately, an expert in pear more likely to use activity and food. childhood obesity from Leeds Ynew technologies in pro- The data was integrated with Beckett University, said the fi nd- grammes to tackle childhood physiological data to gain in- ing that girls engage more than obesity than boys, a new study sights about their health habits. boys was for some surprising, has found. Furthermore, their QCRI’s Dr Luis Luque, who but more research was necessary mothers are more likely to use designed the digital technol- to understand why this was the social media to learn about a ogy, said it was encouraging that case. healthy lifestyle than their fa- overwhelmingly, the mothers “The use of technology to thers, the research found. and daughters were found to be support health-promoting life- The joint study was conducted more proactive in responsibly style change to tackle childhood on the use of digital health for using technology to improve obesity is becoming more im- obesity, with the clinical study their health in Qatar. portant, therefore it is impor- led by Qatar University’s Prof “This is important as they are tant to understand what works Mohamed Ahmedna using tech- not going to just improve their and for whom so that we can nology designed by the Qatar own health but also the health of continue to evolve and improve Computing Research Institute their entire families and commu- the tools necessary to promote (QCRI), part of Hamad Bin Kha- nities,” Dr Luque said. healthy lifestyles,” Prof Gately lifa University. “Gender should be taken into ac- said. More than 50 children aged count when designing digital health The research was funded by between nine and 12 years and solutions in Qatar. Women can be- the Qatar National Research their parents used wearable sen- come leaders in using technology to Fund under a project called sors, mobile and social media to improve health in the future.” ICAN, meaning “I can”. QCRI technology used for obesity study.

WISH organises fun summer activities for autistic children

QNA laborated on such a community search report on autism, pub- Doha programme. lished in 2016, highlights ways The horse riding programme of establishing better support will run throughout August with for children with autism and the he World Innovation Sum- the support of the Equine Educa- need to tackle the societal and mit for Health (WISH), tion division at Al Shaqab. cultural barriers that autistic Twith the support of Qatar The WISH programme of ac- children and their families face. Foundation Recreation Services tivities is mindful that Qatar’s WISH Partnerships and Out- and Al Shaqab equestrian cen- National Autism Plan focuses on reach manager Sultana Afdhal tre, organised a summer activity the need to engage autistic chil- said: “At WISH we consider it programme for autistic children dren through activities that take vital that wherever possible, the from the Qatar Autism Families place outside of the classroom. research we participate in results Association (QAFA). Since it was established in in a direct positive impact in Qa- The programme, in line with 2012, WISH has made autism tar. Qatar’s National Autism Plan, one of its priority areas for evi- “Our research and the Qatar enables children with autism to dence-based research, and has National Autism Plan have high- take part in a range of fun and produced reports, held expert lighted the need to help address healthy activities in Doha dur- panels, and led initiatives in this issues such as social isolation by ing the summer months and area of healthcare. providing activities for children includes swimming classes and Through events, such as its with autism. horse riding lessons. summer programme, WISH is “We hope our summer pro- The six-week swimming pro- ensuring that Qatari society gramme will begin to address gramme, which commenced on benefi ts from the global research that need and benefi t both fami- July 13, is the fi rst time WISH and work it conducts. lies of children with autism and An autistic child learning to swim. QF Recreation Services have col- The most recent WISH re- the children themselves.” Gulf Times 4 Wednesday, August 2, 2017 QATAR

24mn benefit from QC projects in first half of 2017

Nearly 24mn people in 36 countries around In the field of humanitarian and relief the world have benefited from Qatar projects, including shelter and non-food Charity’s development, humanitarian and items, education, food security, water, social projects during the first half of 2017. sanitation and healthcare, Qatar Charity In a press release yesterday, Qatar Charity carried out 148 projects during the same (QC) said that in the past six months it had period, benefiting 9,182,502 people. QF’s fi rst summer implemented 10,703 projects in a number In addition, more than 100,000 benefited of sustainable development areas such as from social projects, such as scholarships, economic empowerment, education, and seasonal projects such as Ramadan Iftar, healthcare, benefiting 14,467,599 people in Zakat al-Fitr, orphanages, people with special 36 countries around the world. needs, families and teachers. camp concludes atar Foundation (QF)’s Pre- pact it has had on each and every one University Education (PUE) of the participants.” Qhas concluded its fi rst Edu- Activities included language cation City Summer Camp. courses by Hamad Bin Khalifa Uni- The camp, which took place from versity’s Translation and Interpret- July 2 to 27, was held at Awsaj Acad- ing Institute, equestrian activities emy in Education City and brought by Al Shaqab, and an introduction to together nearly 150 schoolchildren falconry by the Al-Gannas Society. from across the country. Abeer al-Khalifa, director of Aca- Learners took part in a range of demic Aff airs at PUE, said: “Our fun academic, vocational, and rec- summer camp is open to boys and reational activities. girls between six and 17 years of age, The Education City Summer off ering a wide range of interactive Camp was sponsored by the Su- activities that cater to the individual preme Committee for Delivery & needs of each participant. Legacy, Qatar Petroleum, and Wo- “Whether through painting class- qod. es, photography workshops, muse- PUE president Buthaina Ali al- um visits or horse-riding sessions, Nuaimi said: “We strive to deliver we made sure there was something unique learning experiences that are for everyone at the camp.” Participants of the Education City Summer Camp. specially designed to equip young Sheikh Faleh al-Thani, a parent people with the knowledge, confi - of one the participants, noted: “As best summer camp I have ever been including the Supreme Committee dence and skills they need to excel parents, we are thrilled to see our to. There were so many activities, for Delivery & Legacy, Weill Cornell personally and academically. children taking part in the Education and I particularly enjoyed playing Medicine – Qatar, Texas A&M Uni- “Our inaugural summer camp City Summer Camp. It’s very diverse football as I got to learn new skills.” versity at Qatar, Msheireb Muse- was a tangible demonstration of this and has many engaging activities.” The Education City Summer ums, Mad Science, Doha Film Insti- commitment, and we are delighted Ten-year-old camp participant Camp was organised in partnership tute, the Visual Art Center, QSports, with the incredible success and im- Mira al-Jufairi added: “This was the with a number of local institutions, and the Adventure Rooms.

Envoys laud Katara for showcasing various cultures

Belgium’s ambassador to Qatar Christophe Payot has lauded the continuous eff orts of Katara – the Cultural Village Foundation to partner with various embassies in Doha with the objective of shedding light on various cultures and civilisations. Payot met with Katara general manager Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim al-Sulaiti yesterday to present Ambassador Moach with Dr al-Sulaiti. a proposal on holding an exhibition at Katara in November. enhancing cultural ties between the countries. The event will highlight diff erent elements from the This includes co-operation among cultural history of Belgian comics. entities in the respective countries in addition Dr al-Sulaiti presented a memento to the Belgian to enhancing co-operation between Katara and envoy on the conclusion of his diplomatic mission cultural organisations in Ethiopia. in Doha. The ambassador thanked Katara for its keenness Meanwhile, Dr al-Sulaiti also met with Ethiopian to host various activities and events throughout Ambassador Payot receives a memento from ambassador Mesganu Arga Moach with the aim of the year. Dr al-Sulaiti.

Gulf Times 6 Wednesday, August 2, 2017 QATAR

Smartphones by Qatar Airways to launch OnePlus now available in Qatar

nePlus, a global star- at an aff ordable price without tup challenging con- compromising on quality and 26 new destinations Oventional concepts of the experience expected from technology, has offi cially en- a fl agship device”, the state- atar Airways is launching as these increasingly popular Asian desti- tered Qatar with an exclusive ment notes. many as 26 “exciting” new des- nations and experience our award-win- distribution agreement with There are currently two Qtinations until end-2018, the ning fi ve-star service. We will continue Digital Innovation. OnePlus models — 3T and 3. national carrier said yesterday. to explore opportunities to expand our OnePlus will be available Sajed Jassim Mohamed Su- These include Chiang Mai (Thai- global network of fl ights and add value at Spark Lifestyle Electron- laiman, vice-chairman and land); Rio de Janeiro, San Francisco and by increasing services across our net- ics at Dar Al Salam Mall, all managing director, Digital Santiago, Chile. work in respond to customer demand.” Jumbo Electronics show- Innovation, said: “At Digital Meanwhile, Qatar Airways’ said its The additional Asian fl ights follow rooms, Monoprix at Doha Innovation, we strive to in- rapid expansion plans are continuing the recently announced expansion of Festival City and select hy- troduce innovative products apace after it unveiled even more fl ights Qatar Airways’ existing service to Co- permarkets. that break the norms of con- to top destinations in Asia. lombo and a new service to the Austral- Created around the ‘Never ventional stereotypes of the The award-winning airline yesterday ian capital, Canberra. Settle’ mantra, OnePlus cre- industry that can provide a added extra services to the Vietnamese “The frequency increases have come ates “exquisitely designed superior product off ering to cities of Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, despite the recent GCC blockade, with devices with premium build our customers, and the OneP- as well as to the popular Thai holiday Qatar Airways continuing its ambitious quality and high perform- lus brand is defi nitely a step in destination of Krabi. expansion plans and growth strategy ance hardware”, according to this direction.” Vietnam gets a boost to meet in- to welcome more passengers on board a press statement.“OnePlus The OnePlus 3T is available creased demand from business and to enjoy its award-winning customer thrives on cultivating strong with 6GB of RAM and 64GB leisure travellers. Passengers will ben- service,” the airline said. bonds and growing together memory in Soft Gold colour. efi t from a new direct daily service to Multiple award-winning Qatar Air- with its community of users The OnePlus 3, also with Hanoi, in addition to the existing daily Hamad International Airport, Qatar Airways’ hub. ways has this year been named Airline and fans.” 6GB of RAM and 64GB mem- fl ights from Doha via Bangkok, dou- of the Year by the prestigious ‘2017 OnePlus is known for “pro- ory, is available in Graphite bling capacity to the city. beaches of Krabi, from December 1, Krabi. Skytrax World Airline Awards’ (the viding fl agship mobile specs and Soft Gold colours. Ho Chi Minh City’s daily service will thanks to a daily service. “Thousands of passengers every day fourth time it has won this global ac- also increase by three fl ights a week to Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive already experience the seamless con- colade). 10, with the frequency increases start- Akbar al-Baker said: “The Asian mar- nection between fl ights through our Qatar’s national carrier also clinched ing from January 1, 2018. ket is very important for us, so we are state-of-the-art Doha Hub at Hamad ‘Best Airline in the Middle East’, ‘World’s Meanwhile, holiday-makers will fi nd very pleased to be able to increase our International Airport, and now we have Best Business Class’ and ‘World’s Best even more fl ights to the beautiful Thai fl ights to Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and made it even easier for them to reach First Class Airline Lounge’.

Qatar Airways in codeshare deal with LATAM Airlines

atar Airways has an- Brazil in 2010 with a service from We have witnessed signifi cant Cargo has also expanded its foot- airports from its hub in Sao Paulo nounced a new codeshare Doha to Sao Paulo and onwards growing demand between South print in South America, with Guarulhos Airport (GRU), off er- Qagreement with LATAM to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Over America to Qatar and beyond. Our commencement of freighter serv- ing seamless connections for Qa- Airlines, which will provide Qatar the subsequent seven years, the new codeshare destinations not ices to Sao Paulo,; Buenos Aires; tar Airways passengers travelling Airways passengers with connec- award-winning airline has contin- only meet that demand, but pro- and Quito, Ecuador. from Doha. tions to 25 cities throughout Bra- ued to strengthen its presence in vide a service for our valued pas- Launched in February 2017, the As oneworld alliance partners, zil. the region. Qatar Airways recently sengers in Doha, and from dozens new freighter service aims to meet customers of both airlines are The agreement provides new announced it will commence a new of destinations globally to new, the region’s growing need for im- ensured recognition of their fre- codeshares on LATAM’s routes service to Rio de Janeiro in 2018. exciting places to explore in Brazil. port and export trade with the quent-fl yer status and benefi ts in- between Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos Qatar Airways Group Chief Ex- With this new codeshare, more Middle East and Asia. cluding access to lounges world- Airport and some 25 domestic cit- ecutive Akbar al-Baker said: “This than half of LATAM’s domestic Part of LATAM Airlines Group wide, through check-in, extra ies across Brazil including Rio de codeshare agreement between destinations in Brazil are acces- and a fellow oneworld member, baggage allowance, plus accrual Janeiro, Salvador, Campo Grande, Qatar Airways and LATAM Air- sible to customers fl ying on Qatar LATAM Airlines Brazil serves as and redemption of miles, priority Foz do Iguaçu and Recife. lines Brazil further strengthens Airways.” many as 44 destinations through- check-in and boarding across the OnePlus 3T Qatar Airways began fl ying to the ties between Brazil and Qatar. Additionally, Qatar Airways out Brazil, including 25 domestic carriers’ networks.

Aamal Trading, Bridgestone open auto service centre Huge demand for Ooredoo’s ‘Endless amal Trading and Distribution, a sub- will also off er its services through its fl agship sidiary of Aamal Company, has an- Rapid Oil Change (ROC) service. Anounced the opening of its second ‘First Through these oil change centres, Total Internet Packs’ Stop’ tyre and auto service centre in Doha, in provides a professional oil change service. partnership with Bridgestone Middle East. This partnership further demonstrates Total’s Located on Muaither’s Commercial Street, commitment to enhanced customer service oredoo’s Endless In- the move builds on the success since February and to providing innovative solutions for Qa- ternet Packs, which of the First Stop centre on Salwa Road, which tari customers. Owere launched ear- has demonstrated that Qatari motorists are “First Stop customers will benefi t from a lier this year, have seen “huge highly-receptive to an auto tyre and servicing unique experience through this fully-fl edged demand” from Qatar’s busi- model that is fast, effi cient, and highly price- service centre,” the statement said. nesses as employers look to competitive. As the fl agship retail brand of Bridgestone, provide never-ending local Aamal Trading and Distribution, in a state- First Stop is one of the most successful names data services with bill pro- ment, said: “The centre has been so popular in Europe’s competitive retail tyre and auto tection and minimised data that there was no doubt about the need for service sector, operating in 25 countries. prices. another such facility, off ering even more cus- Currently expanding in the Middle East, Qatar’s businesses are fast tomers the chance to enjoy a convenient auto- Aamal Trading and Distribution is working in becoming global leaders in motive servicing experience.” close co-operation with Bridgestone MEA to Off icials from Aamal Trading and Distribution and Bridgestone Middle East open the enabling mobile workforces, Ooredoo Qatar COO Yousuf In addition to tyre services, Aamal Trading bring the tyre giant’s auto servicing brand to second ‘First Stop’ tyre and auto service centre in Doha. and communication and col- Abdulla al-Kubaisi. and Distribution is capitalising on its part- Qatar. laboration, partially thanks nership with Total Lubricants whereby Total Aamal Trading and Distribution general manager Syed Rashid Hassan said: “We are requiring fl eet services will be able to to the successful rollout of Packs from Qatar’s business- proud to have launched our First Stop auto benefi t from that excellence and con- Ooredoo Endless Internet es as they allow employees to centres here in Qatar. We have seen in the venience.” Packs. collaborate and communicate fi ve months since opening the fi rst outlet The benefi t of First Stop to motor- With more employees via the super-fast Ooredoo that Qatari motorists really appreciate the ists is its ability to provide a convenient working on-the-go from Supernet from their own mo- convenience, comfort, and quality of serv- ‘one-stop-shop’ model, which allows their own mobile devices, bile device without the fear ice we off er. car owners to meet the majority of their Qatar ranks in the global top of bill shock,” said Ooredoo “With our partners at Bridgestone everyday motoring needs in a single lo- 30, and one of the highest in COO Yousuf al-Kubaisi. MEA, we have worked hard to deliver an cation. the Middle East and Africa for Ooredoo Business custom- outstanding customer experience to mo- From tyre sales and routine servicing mobile broadband subscrip- ers on a post-paid Shahry torists who put their faith in us and I’m to battery supply and fi tting, to wheel tions, at 80%, according to a plan can choose Endless In- pleased to say that the opening of another alignment, air conditioning, and brake recent report by the United ternet Packs as a standalone First Stop centre bears witness to the suc- pads, First Stop provides a range of serv- Nations’ International Tel- Internet SIM card, for using cess of these eff orts.” ices to keep motorists on the move at ecommunications Union. on tablets and My-Fi devices, Emre Palali, general manager of Bridge- aff ordable prices, using a menu pricing “We’re seeing strong de- or as add-ons to the existing stone’s Retail Division, said: “We have system that ensures clarity and trans- mand for the Endless Internet Shahry Plans. been excited to see how quickly Qatari parency before any work is undertaken. motorists have embraced the concept of a Founded in 1994, First Stop has grown one-stop-shop automotive servicing ex- rapidly. With a network of around 2,000 perience. That they have done so is testi- dealers specialising in Bridgestone prod- mony to the work of our partners at Aamal ucts, it sells more than 10mn tyres annu- Trading and Distribution. They have done ally and has built a strong reputation on a magnifi cent job in delivering the concept the pillars of “Convenience, Confi dence, of a quick, convenient, easily accessible Comfort, and Care”. auto servicing facility that places a premi- The First Stop retail brand made its um on the quality of the work carried out debut in the Middle East in 2013 and by and the excellence of the overall customer the end of this year it will have increased experience. its network to 34 locations across the re- “With the opening of this new First Stop gion. This expansion will continue with centre, now even more customers, wheth- plans for 100 centres to be operational in er they are private motorists or businesses the near future.

Ooredoo launches new Hala Pakistan key

n its latest move to off er more value App or sending the SMS PK to 121. for Hala customers, Ooredoo has an- The subscription will automatically Inounced the launch of a new Hala Pa- renew every week so that customers can kistan Key. continue to enjoy the benefi ts of the packs. The key, which is designed to help the To cancel the service, customers can SMS estimated 90,000 Pakistani expatriates ‘STOP PK’ to 121. in Qatar stay connected with friends and Ooredoo off ers a host of international family at home, will be permanent and is calling saving options on Qatar’s Supernet available from today. network for customers wanting to adapt With the Pakistan Key, subscribers can their Hala or Shahry services to better suit enjoy a fi xed rate of 20Dhs per minute to all their monthly needs. Pakistan networks 24/7 for QR2 per week. Visit www.ooredoo.qa for full details of Ooredoo customers can subscribe to the Ooredoo’s international call rates. Pakistan Key by logging onto the Ooredoo Gulf Times Wednesday, August 2, 2017 7 REGION/ARAB WORLD

Hundreds OIC slams ‘provocations’ at fl ee eastern Saudi town Al-Aqsa Mosque compound gunbattle Reuters AFP Dubai Istanbul undreds of people have he main grouping of the world’s fl ed a town in eastern Muslim nations yesterday ac- HSaudi Arabia where gov- Tcused Israel of staging provoca- ernment forces are fi ghting gun- tive actions and infl aming tensions with men, activists and Saudi media the Palestinians in a crisis over security reported yesterday. measures at a key holy site in Jerusalem. Fighting has intensifi ed in re- Turkey hosted an extraordinary cent days in Awamiya where au- meeting in Istanbul of foreign minis- thorities have been trying since ters from the Organisation of Islamic May to tear down the old quarter Co-operation (OIC) that Ankara called to prevent militants using the to discuss the tensions in its current ca- narrow streets to evade capture. pacity as chairman of the body. Local activists said Saudi forc- Turkey has full diplomatic relations es have facilitated the departure with Israel after resolving last year a of people fl eeing the clashes that crisis in ties but President Recep Tayyip have killed at least seven people, Erdogan remains vehemently critical including two police offi cers. of the Jewish state’s policy towards the Dozens of families have been Palestinians. given temporary accommoda- The meeting brought together for- tion in a nearby town. eign ministers and top offi cials from key Appeals for shelter for dis- Muslim nations. placed families have appeared Israel angered the Islamic world by on social media and several peo- installing metal detectors and security ple responded by opening their cameras at the Haram al-Sharif holy site homes, while others off ered to in Jerusalem following a July 14 attack in pay for temporary housing out- which gunmen killed two policemen. side Awamiya. The move sparked Muslim protests The government of Eastern and deadly unrest, and last week the Is- Province has received requests raeli government removed the detectors from residents and farmers and cameras. around Awamiya to help them fl ee The site includes the Al-Aqsa Mosque, clashes between security forces one of the holiest sites in Islam. and what it calls armed terrorists, A joint communique issued after the Al Hayat newspaper reported. gathering said the meeting “strongly Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu attends a press conference after the executive committee meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation in Istanbul. “Contracts have been signed condemns Israel’s recent provocative for a number of furnished apart- actions” at the holy site. It urged world powers not to support to change the longstanding agreement “not just with words but with actions”. rift triggered by Israel’s deadly storming ments in the city of Dammam It accused the Jewish state of “em- or encourage Israel’s “illegal colonisa- whereby only Muslims are allowed to “We must act to protect the Al-Aqsa in 2010 of a Gaza-bound ship that left to shelter those interested in ploying collective punishment meas- tion and annexation” of East Jerusalem, pray inside the Al-Aqsa mosque com- Mosque and Palestine,” he said. 10 Turkish activists dead. leaving neighbourhoods near ures and the use of lethal and excessive which Israel occupied in 1967 before pound, although anyone can visit, in- He reaffi rmed a call made by Erdogan The two sides have since embarked al-Musawara,” Al Hayat quoted force against peaceful Palestinian wor- later annexing. cluding Jews. on all Muslims to visit Jerusalem. on a close energy cooperation venture Falah al-Khalidi, governor of shippers” at the site. Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad “Netanyahu will try again to impose In its statement, the OIC accused the to pipe Israeli gas to Turkey. Qatif province, as saying. And despite the Israeli climbdown on al-Malki told the meeting that Israel’s his status quo and we should prepare for Israeli government of “neither (being) But Erdogan, who considers himself Local activists accuse secu- the metal detectors, the OIC statement move to remove the detectors was a the next round which could come very committed to peace nor interested in a champion of the Palestinian cause, is rity forces of driving hundreds accused the government of “persistent “small victory in the long battle for soon and be very nasty,” he added. the two-state solution”, saying its ac- still often critical of Israeli policy. of residents out of Awamiya by public statements...that incite religious freedom”. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Ca- tions were the “most dangerous threat His comments on the crisis have been fi ring randomly towards homes sensitivities, feed tension and incite But he accused Israeli Prime Min- vusoglu said it was time Muslim coun- to the prospects of peace”. among his toughest on Israel since the and cars as they confront armed violence”. ister Benjamin Netanyahu of seeking tries started to help the Palestinians Last year Turkey and Israel ended a reconciliation deal. men in the area.

US-backed forces advance on IS in Raqqa

Reuters Beirut

he US-backed Syrian Demo- cratic Forces (SDF) are on the Tverge of seizing full control of the southern neighbourhoods of Is- lamic State-held Raqqa, a Kurdish of- fi cial said yesterday. The US-led coalition said SDF fi ght- ers advancing from the east were with- in 300m of meeting up with those ad- vancing from the west. The SDF was making “consistent gains” every day, the coalition spokes- man said. On Monday, the World Health Organization said there were criti- cal shortages of medical supplies in Raqqa, where it estimated up to 50,000 civilians remained. A couple flees the Syrian town of Raqqa last week. Separately, Medecins Sans Fron- tieres said many sick and wounded the offi cial, referring to Islamic State. World Health Organization on Mon- people were trapped. “Around 90% of the southern neigh- day described the situation in Raqqa as The SDF launched its US-backed bourhoods are liberated,” the offi cial “particularly worrying”. campaign to seize Raqqa in early June. added. “Raqqa’s main hospital and many The assault on Islamic State’s de The spokesman for the US-led coa- other health care facilities have closed facto capital in Syria overlapped with lition said SDF fi ghters had also cap- due to airstrikes,” it said. “The facilities the campaign to drive IS from the Iraqi tured around 10sq km of territory from that are still functioning face critical city of Mosul, where IS was defeated Islamic State north of Raqqa in the last shortages of medicines, supplies and last month. two days. equipment.” The Kurdish offi cial told Reuters “We’ve seen a less coherent ISIS “Water and electricity are avail- SDF fi ghters advancing from the east defence in Raqqa compared to Mosul. able only intermittently,” it said, add- and the west remain separated by a few ISIS is still using car bombs, booby ing that civilians were unable to move streets where fi ghting continued. traps, and civilians to hide behind, but freely due to travel and security re- Full control of the southern dis- their inability to address the multiple strictions imposed by IS. tricts would sever Islamic State’s last advances from the SDF is apparent,” Medecins Sans Frontieres relayed remaining path to the Euphrates River coalition spokesman Col Ryan Dillon patient reports of large numbers of sick which is to the south of the city. said in response to emailed questions and wounded people trapped inside “There is a fi erce resistance from from Reuters. Raqqa “with little or no access to med- Daesh, so we can’t determine when In an appeal for $20mn to respond ical care and scant chance of escaping exactly we’ll take (full control),” said to the crisis in northeastern Syria, the the city.”

Jordan scraps controversial rape law

Reuters Jordan today,” said Suad Abu-Dayyeh, ents often agreed to such marriages to Beirut Middle East consultant for Equality minimise “family shame”, but she said Now, a global legal advocacy organisa- no girl should be “presented as a gift” tion. to her rapist. ordanian lawmakers have voted to Countries with similar provisions Rights groups said they hoped Leba- abolish a law that lets rapists off the include Lebanon, Bahrain, Iraq, Ku- non, which is discussing amending or Jhook if they marry their victims, wait, Syria and the Palestinian Territo- abolishing a similar provision, would rights campaigners said yesterday. ries, according to Equality Now. follow Jordan’s lead. “Hopefully this They hailed the move — which “I think it is a really a positive step will encourage parliamentarians in comes a week after Tunisia scrapped forward towards ending impunity for Lebanon to revoke it without any ex- a similar law — as an important step sexual assault and ending violence ceptions,” said Abu-Dayyeh. towards ending impunity for sexual against women, but also (for) improv- In Lebanon, rights group Abaad has violence. ing the rule of law,” Adam Coogle, campaigned against the law with bill- Campaigners have said such laws, Middle East researcher at Human boards of women in bloodied and torn which exist in a number of Middle Rights Watch, told the Thomson Reu- wedding gowns. The caption reads: “A Eastern countries, condemn girls to a ters Foundation by phone from Jordan. white dress doesn’t cover up rape.” lifetime of sexual violence and domes- Jordanian parliamentarian Wafa In April campaigners hung white tic abuse at the hands of their rapist. Bani Mustafa, who has campaigned to wedding dresses from nooses on Bei- “It is a historical achievement in end the law, said last week that par- rut’s seafront. Gulf Times 8 Wednesday, August 2, 2017 AFRICA

34 killed in Kenyans for rapid inquiry Madagascar bus crash

AFP into murder of poll offi cial Antananarivo

Reuters t least 34 people died when a Nairobi bus carrying young Christian Aworshippers plunged down a steep ravine in central Madagascar, rotesters yesterday marched police and hospital offi cials said yes- on the offi ces of Kenya’s elec- terday. Ption commission, demanding a Police said 12 badly burned bodies speedy investigation of the murder of a were counted at the site, 70km north senior offi cial that has raised fears over of the capital Antananarivo. the legitimacy of next week’s national Hospitals said that 22 other deaths elections. had been confi rmed after the late- Chris Msando, the election board’s night crash. head of information, communication “The bus struggled to climb a road and technology, was found murdered on a hill and fell down a ravine about on Monday. He had been tortured be- 20m deep,” police spokesman Herila- fore he was killed, authorities said. latiana Andrianarisaona told AFP. Msando oversaw the live transmis- “It caught fi re after rolling several sion of election results, a contentious times.” area that the opposition has said could Photographs showed the white bus be used to rig next Tuesday’s presiden- upside down and badly damaged, sur- tial and parliamentary polls. rounded by burnt undergrowth. The presidential race is very close: The main hospital in Antananarivo Opposition leader Raila Odinga is fa- said in a statement it had accounted voured by 49% of voters compared for 18 dead, while a hospital in the with President Uhuru Kenyatta’s 48%, town of Ankazobe near the crash according to a poll of 5,000 Kenyans scene reported four dead. across 47 counties released yesterday Passengers on the packed bus were by Infotrak Research and Consulting. travelling from the central town of Another poll put Kenyatta in the lead Soavinandriana to a church meeting with 47% and Odinga at 44%, according in the north-western coastal port city to a survey of 4,300 Kenyans released by of Mahajanga when the accident hap- international polling fi rm Ipsos. pened. The close race, the murder, and a Madagascan roads are often poorly history of malfunctions of election maintained, with overloaded bus and equipment have raised tensions in trucks regularly involved in deadly ac- Kenya and provoked a storm of specu- cidents. lation on social media. In January, 47 people, including 10 “It is important that security agen- children and a newly wed couple, were cies expedite investigations as a mat- killed when a truck carrying a wed- ter of utmost urgency,” John Githongo, ding party and guests crashed. a prominent anti-corruption cam- The vehicle was transporting pas- paigner, said during the march by Demonstrators carry placards during a protest over the death of senior Kenyan election off icial Chris Msando, who was found murdered on Monday in Nairobi. sengers the day after the wedding. about 25 protesters. Madagascar, a French colony until “The timing of his torture and mur- “Careless speculation in this time of election commission told Reuters. not followed up his initial complaint. Both the United States and Britain independence in 1960, is one of the der serves to undermine Kenya’s elec- grief only makes the work of investiga- The offi cial asked not to be named. The opposition called for outside off ered to help Kenya investigate the world’s poorest countries and relies tion management body,” he added, as tors harder, and it only adds to the pain Msando had met Ngumbu and an- experts to help ensure the credibility of murder, without saying how. heavily on international donors. the group sang and held up banners of those who loved him,” the president other man at a club, said a statement the elections. Odinga has said the last two elec- denouncing the killing. said, urging the country to remain from the interior ministry. “This murder has jeopardised Ken- tions were rigged. Kenyatta issued a statement con- united ahead of the vote. The man left earlier and Msando and yans’ faith in the credibility of the elec- In 2013, he took his complaints to China formally opens demning the killing of Msando and “This is not the time to allow a trag- Ngumbu left together around 1am, said toral process,” Musalia Mudavadi, a key court and the elections were largely Caro Ngumbu, a woman who had been edy such as this to divide us, to turn the statement. Odinga ally, told journalists. “To restore peaceful. Djibouti military base shot in the head and whose body was brother against brother.” Their bodies were discovered nearby the shaken confi dence in the electronic But in 2007, he called for street found next to Msando’s. Authorities did not say where the following morning. systems that are key to the credibil- demonstrations, and the political pro- hina yesterday formally Kenyatta urged faith in investiga- Msando’s body was found or suggest a Msando had reported to police in ity and the success of the election...the tests and ethnic violence that followed opened its fi rst overseas mili- tors and for the public to refrain from motive. He had deep lacerations on his December that he had received threat- (elections body) should immediately killed more than 1,200 people and Ctary base with a fl ag raising speculation about the motives for the hands and arms and he had been “un- ening messages and phone calls in Oc- secure the services of an internationally forced another 600,000 to fl ee their ceremony in Djibouti in the Horn of killings. mistakably” tortured, an offi cial at the tober, the statement said, but he had recognised expert in the area.” homes. Africa, the same day as the People’s Liberation Army marks its 90th birth- day, Chinese state media said. Djibouti’s position on the north- western edge of the Indian Ocean has fuelled worry in India that it would Malawi ex-president Banda denies graft charge, will return home become another of China’s “string of pearls” military alliances and assets ringing India, including Bangladesh, Reuters innocence. Joyce Banda is wanted for try when she lost in an election to Pe- ephone interview from South Africa, independent audit of the corruption Myanmar and Sri Lanka. Lilongwe arrest over alleged abuse of offi ce and ter Mutharika. She has not returned where she had arrived from the US. revelations, which was conducted by China began construction of a lo- money-laundering off ences, police since 2014. Banda has been living in “I am the only president who got to British fi rm Baker Tilly. gistics base in Djibouti last year. said in Lilongwe on Monday. the United States, serving as a distin- the bottom of corruption and insti- The fi ndings were released in 2014. It will be used to resupply navy alawi’s former president yes- Government offi cials are accused of guished fellow at Woodrow Wilson tuted the fi rst-ever commission of in- “Baker Tilly never linked me to any ships taking part in peacekeeping and terday denied any wrongdo- siphoning off millions of dollars from Center and the Center for Global De- quiry into corruption,” she added. corruption and the rest is what every- humanitarian missions off the coasts Ming in a corruption scandal state funds in the scandal, which was velopment in Washington DC. James Kadadzera, a police public one knows, that even some of my cabi- of Yemen and Somalia, in particular. that erupted when she was in offi ce, revealed in 2013. “I will be coming back because I relations offi cer, said authorities had net members were arrested. I never It is China’s fi rst overseas naval saying she will be going back to the Banda, who was Malawi’s president never did anything wrong and I am obtained an arrest warrant for Banda. shielded anyone who was found to base, though Beijing offi cially de- southern African nation to prove her for two years from 2012, left the coun- innocent,” Banda told Reuters in a tel- While president, Banda ordered an have been part of this,” she said. scribes it as a logistics facility.

Frank Habineza: a rare critical voice in Rwanda

By Fran Blandy, AFP citizenship in order to run in the Kigali 2017 election and has continued to face hurdles at every turn. In 2016 he was evicted from his offi ce and home rank Habineza is an environ- without notice. mentalist running to become Mounting a campaign has also FRwanda’s president for the been a battle. As per electoral law he fi rst time after an eight-year strug- only had one week to raise funds af- gle to register his party and obtain a ter being confi rmed as a candidate, spot on the ballot paper. and three weeks to campaign. The 40-year-old leader of the Neither Habineza nor little-known Democratic Green Party has faced third candidate Philippe Mpayimana death threats and seen supporters are expected to unseat Kagame, who beaten up, imprisoned and forced himself declared “the election is into exile during his bid to enter over” after the referendum. Rwanda’s tightly controlled politi- Several observers see the opposi- cal space. tion candidates as a front to appease “It has been a very diffi cult jour- Western donors and give the im- ney, and also a very dangerous jour- pression that democracy is alive and ney,” he told AFP at an interview in well in Rwanda. his stark offi ce in the capital Kigali, Habineza is painfully aware of this where a bodyguard keeps watch on view, which he rejects. the balcony. “We have struggled for this Born to a Hutu father and a Tutsi space...we have made a lot of sacri- mother in exile in Uganda, he re- Rwandan Green Democratic Party chairman Frank Habineza greets fi ces to be here, even blood sacrifi c- turned to Rwanda to study public supporters during an electoral rally in Burera, ahead of August 4 es. It is not a favour, it is not some- administration. presidential election. thing small,” he said. He also became an active member Habineza says he wants to bring of civil society, campaigning for en- people were detained, imprisoned... baby — was “the hardest thing I have true democracy to Rwanda and al- vironmental protection. others went into exile,” said Habin- ever done”. “It was a big risk to come low for respect of human rights and Habineza was a member of the eza. back because some of my people freedom of expression. ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front His party was blocked from reg- were in prison...the party was dy- However he is criticised for not (RPF), but defected to join opposi- istering before the 2010 polls, and ing,” he said. having clear alternative ideas to tion politics in 2009 to introduce an shortly before the election the Green The party was fi nally able to regis- what Kagame off ers, and of censor- alternative to the iron-fi sted ruling Party’s vice president Andre Rwis- ter in 2013, just a month before par- ing himself in his opposition to the party. ereka’s body was found nearly de- liamentary elections, in which Hab- president. President Paul Kagame has come capitated. ineza chose not to participate due to “They call it political maturity,” under fi re for severely restricting Habineza, who said he had also the lack of time to prepare. he said. free speech and muzzling critical received death threats, decided to In 2015 he was the only one to “If you know that every time you opposition parties. fl ee to Sweden a month later where contest a constitutional reform al- do a demonstration you’ll be put in Aside from Habineza’s Green Par- his family was eventually granted lowing Kagame to seek a third term prison, then you stop doing that. Or ty, all registered opposition parties citizenship. in offi ce. if you know you are doing something routinely back Kagame. In 2012 he decided to return to However a referendum went that will lead you to be killed, you “When we started a party we were Rwanda. ahead, with 98% of the country vot- know you don’t achieve much when physically beaten at some of our He said leaving his wife and chil- ing in favour of the change. you are in the grave so you change meetings by people who had guns, dren — including a one-year-old Habineza gave up his Swedish some strategies.” Gulf Times Wednesday, August 2, 2017 9 AMERICAS Trump once again in hot seat over Russia

AFP president acutely aware of the the one who attempted to mis- works for Russian intelligence. to his son’s defence, accusing the has taken a back seat to White gloomy political landscape. Washington scandal — and determined to lead. A British middleman pitched media of a political “witch hunt.” House chaos amid the departure “Stock Market could hit all- manage it down to a minute level. Somebody can argue the presi- the meeting as an opportunity for One Republican congressman, of Trump’s chief of staff Reince time high (again) 22,000 today. Allies fear that level of in- dent is saying he doesn’t want the Trump campaign to obtain Lee Zeldin of New York, told Priebus, his short-lived com- Was 18,000 only 6 months ago on llegations that Donald volvement, if proven, could put you to say the whole truth.” “very high level and sensitive in- CNN: “I would be really interest- munications director Anthony Election Day. Mainstream media Trump dictated a mis- the president in legal jeopardy, E-mails show that Trump’s formation” as “part of Russia and ed in knowing what the president Scaramucci and press secretary seldom mentions!” he said on Aleading account of a though his lawyer Jay Sekulow eldest son Donald Jr, his son-in- its government’s support” for the knew at that time.” Sean Spicer. Twitter. meeting between his son and a dismissed the report as “misin- law Jared Kushner and his then now president. Possible Trump-Russia col- This latest drip-drip of Rus- Later in the day, Trump will Russian lawyer rattled the White formed”. campaign manager Paul Mana- In a statement — allegedly dic- laboration is the subject of sev- sia-related information has participate in a White House House yesterday — and deepened Politically, it will only inten- fort met Kremlin-connected of- tated by Trump on Air Force One eral Congressional investigations overshadowed what the White event with small businesses. the president’s entanglement in sify allegations that the White fi cials in June 2016 in the hope of coming back from a Group of 20 as well as a sweeping federal House was hoping would be a But just in case there were any the saga. House is trying to cover up con- getting dirt on Democratic rival summit in Hamburg, Germany probe led by special counsel and fresh start with new chief of staff illusions that Kelly could tame Trump’s secretive and per- nections with a foreign govern- Hillary Clinton. — Don Jr said the meeting “pri- former FBI director Robert Mu- John Kelly. Trump’s Twitter venting, the sonal intervention, fi rst reported ment accused of trying to tilt the On the other side of the table marily discussed a programme eller. The four-star general on Mon- president was at pains to dispel by The Washington Post, casts November election in Trump’s were government-connected about the adoption of Russian The scandal has overshadowed day began his quest to impose or- them. doubt on claims he knew nothing favour. lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, children”. Trump’s fi rst six months in of- der on an administration careen- “Only the Fake News Media about a meeting during the 2016 “This was...unnecessary,” one Russian real estate player Ike Trump’s lawyers had claimed fi ce and threatened to ensnare his ing out of control. and Trump enemies want me to campaign that is now central to a presidential adviser told the Post Kaveladze and Rinat Akhmet- he was not involved in the meet- whole administration in a legal Trump was expected to be fo- stop using Social Media (110mn federal investigation. on condition of anonymity. shin, who has denied long- ing or its aftermath, and the Re- thicket. cused on the American economy, people). Only way for me to get It also paints a picture of a “Now someone can claim he’s standing allegations that he publican billionaire had rushed In recent weeks, the scandal a bright spot on the otherwise the truth out!” he tweeted. Trump New approach ‘ready to destroy N Korea’ According to Senator China will not deter North Ko- Graham, there is an option rea unless the United States ex- that involves the destruction acts greater economic pressure of North Korea on China,” Schumer wrote to Trump, a Republican. “The US AFP must send a clear message to Washington China’s government.” Led by the US Department of Treasury, CFIUS reviews foreign Republican senator said acquisitions of US companies on yesterday that US Presi- national security grounds and Adent Donald Trump has can take action on its own or re- told him he would go to war to fer cases to the president. destroy North Korea rather than At least one prominent Re- allow it to develop a long-range publican, Senator John Cornyn, nuclear-armed missile. who is on the Senate Intel- Infl uential lawmaker Lindsey ligence Committee, urged in An F/A-18F Super Hornet jet flies over the USS Gerald R Ford as the US Navy aircraft carrier tests its EMALS magnetic launching system, which replaces the steam Graham, a foreign policy hawk, June that CFIUS change how it catapult, and new AAG arrested landing system in the Atlantic Ocean. told NBC’s Today Show: “There does business because of China. is a military option: To destroy His concern, however, was not North Korea’s programme and North Korea but fear that China North Korea itself.” would close the technology gap Last week, North Korean lead- between the US and Chinese er Kim Jong-Un boasted that his militaries. In an interview with country could now strike any Reuters on Friday, the top US target in the United States after counter-intelligence offi cial suggested the Trump adminis- Venezuela seizes opposition carrying out its latest interconti- nental ballistic missile test. tration was already working on a World powers have been try- plan for a more stringent CFIUS ing to stifl e Pyongyang’s weap- review process. ons programme through United “We’re making signifi cant progress on that, working with leaders Lopez and Ledezma Nations-backed sanctions, but have failed to daunt the regime both sides of Pennsylvania Av- and Washington is growing frus- enue and trying to take a hard Reuters assembly, which was elected on Sun- tack,” said opposition lawmaker Yajaira Lopez’s lawyer said he and Ledezma trated. look at the process,” said William Caracas day in a vote boycotted by the opposi- Forero. were both in Ramo Verde prison, a de- Graham said that if diplomacy, Evanina, National Counterintel- tion. Lopez had been holed up in the mili- crepit penitentiary next to a slum in Los and in particular pressure from ligence Executive, referring to The new assembly will have powers to tary jail of Ramo Verde until last month, Teques, about an hour’s drive from the the North’s neighbour China, the White House and Congress. enezuelan security offi cials seized rewrite the constitution and supersede when he was unexpectedly granted capital. The men are both former may- fails to halt the programme then “I think it’s going to look a lot two opposition leaders from their other institutions, including the opposi- house arrest in what was then seen as a ors in Caracas and high-profi le critics of the United States will have no diff erent than it does now.” Vhomes in overnight raids, their tion-dominated congress. breakthrough in the country’s political Maduro. choice but to take devastating Evanina, whose offi ce oversees families said yesterday, in what critics Both men had been urging protests standoff . Lopez in particular has become the military action. US government eff orts to coun- of President Nicolas Maduro said was against the vote, which they charged was His lawyer, Juan Carlos Gutierrez, told international face of Venezuela’s oppo- “They’ve kicked the can down ter spying, industrial espionage further evidence that he is leading a dic- rigged and a naked power grab by Madu- local media there was no arrest warrant sition, which is calling for early elections the road for 20 years. There will and other foreign intelligence tatorship. ro to avoid free and fair elections which and that Lopez had fully complied with to replace Maduro amid a brutal eco- be a war with North Korea over threats, declined to be more Leopoldo Lopez and Antonio Ledez- he would lose. terms of his house arrest, which banned nomic crisis that has food and medicines the missile programme if they specifi c but noted that China’s ma were both under house arrest, the “12:27 in the morning: the moment him from leaving his home and talking to running short. continue to try to hit America direct investment in the United former for his role in leading street pro- when the dictatorship kidnaps Leopoldo media about his trial. A video showed Ledezma, dressed in with an ICBM,” he said, describ- States quadrupled from 2015 to tests against Maduro in 2014 and the lat- at my house,” Lopez’s wife Lilian Tintori “They have kidnapped Leopoldo his pajamas, being dragged out of his ing his discussions with Trump. 2016, to $48bn annually. ter on charges of plotting a coup. tweeted, posting a video that appeared Lopez because he simply would not building by what appeared to be security “He’s told me that. I believe Two US offi cials told Reuters Their apprehension comes a day af- to show him being led into a vehicle em- break under the pressures and false agents as a woman screamed “They’re him. If I were China, I would be- North Korea’s latest test of an ter the United States slapped sanctions blazoned with the word Sebin, Venezue- promises of the regime,” wrote Freddy taking away Ledezma! Please neighbors! lieve him, too, and do something intercontinental ballistic missile on unpopular leftist Maduro for a new la’s intelligence agency. Guevara, a legislator from Lopez’s Popu- This is a dictatorship!” Ledezma was about it. You can stop North Ko- has shown Pyongyang may now legislative superbody, the constituent “Maduro’s dictatorship is on the at- lar Will party. granted house arrest in 2015. rea, militarily or diplomatically. be able to reach most of the con- “I prefer the diplomatic ap- tinental United States. proach. But they will not be al- North Korea fi red a missile on lowed to have a missile to hit Friday that experts said was ca- America with a nuclear weapon pable of hitting Los Angeles and on top.” other US cities and the United Democrats off er help on tax reform The top Democrat in the US States and South Korea respond- Senate yesterday called on Presi- ed by staging a joint missile ex- dent Donald Trump to block ercise. Reuters Trump, along with Republicans in the Senate some Chinese investments in the Schumer’s plan to prohibit Washington and House of Representatives, has called for major United States in an eff ort to pres- CFIUS from approving Chinese tax cuts for businesses and individuals, saying that sure China “to help rein in North deals would be technically legal lower tax rates would drive the economy and grow Korea’s threatening and desta- but would stretch the mandate S Senate Democrats off ered to work with Re- jobs. bilising behaviour”. of CFIUS, which is supposed to publicans on a bipartisan tax reform package Senator Orrin Hatch, Republican chairman of the In a letter to Trump, US Sen- stop mergers or stock buys that Uyesterday but only if it does not cut taxes for tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, told Reu- ate Democratic leader Chuck pose a threat to national security, the wealthy, add to the federal defi cit or allow Re- ters on Monday that bipartisanship may be neces- Schumer urged the president to according to two CFIUS experts. publicans to enact legislation on their own. sary to ensure that tax reform succeeds but blamed use his authority through the “What sounds like eff ectively The conditional off er may not attract immediate Democrats for slowing down the legislative process. Committee on Foreign Invest- a bar on Chinese investment response from Republicans. In yesterday’s letter, Democrats said bipartisan ment in the US, or CFIUS, to ex- that is being suggested is prob- But it adds to growing signs of interest in bipar- tax reform should off er no relief for the wealthy, cit- ert economic pressure on Beijing. ably legal but quite diff erent than tisan co-operation since the collapse of Republican ing Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s assertion Schumer’s request comes the case-by-case process that healthcare legislation in the Senate last week. last November that there would be no absolute tax amid increasing US concerns CFIUS has used in the past,” said In an August 1 letter to President Donald Trump cut for the upper class. about the threat of North Korea’s Stephen Heifetz of the law fi rm and Republican leaders in the Senate, 45 lawmakers “We hope you agree. nuclear and missile programmes. Steptoe & Johnson LLP who rep- led by Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer Tax reform cannot be a cover story for delivering Trump has repeatedly urged resents clients before CFIUS. said a bipartisan eff ort would raise wages for work- tax cuts to the wealthiest,” the Democrats said. China to rein in its ally North Ko- The task force is facing this ers, grow jobs, promote investment and modernise The Democrats also demanded that Republicans rea. Schumer called on Trump to year what could well be a record the tax system for US businesses. abandon their strategy of passing tax legislation in use the inter-agency committee number of deals, many of them “We are writing to express our interest in work- the Senate with a simple majority under a parlia- “to suspend the approval of all controversial as Chinese fi rms ing with you on bipartisan tax reform,” said the let- mentary procedure called reconciliation. mergers and acquisitions in the scout US targets as varied as ho- ter, which then cited “prerequisites” for Democratic Republicans control the Senate by a slim 52-48 US by Chinese entities”. tels and fi lm studios as a hedge participation that Republicans would likely fi nd margin and say they need reconciliation to avoid a “It is my assessment that against a weaker yuan. hard to swallow. Democratic fi libuster. Gulf Times 10 Wednesday, August 2, 2017 ASIA/AUSTRALASIA

CELEBRITY MYSTERY CONTROVERSY CRACKDOWN DISPUTE Thai junta denies abduction Cambodia PM orders closure Indonesia to lift Telegram Vietnam criticises cinema of anti-monarchy activist of child sex slave charity messaging app restriction on South China Sea island

The Thai military government yesterday denied Cambodia’s premier Hun Sen yesterday ordered Indonesia said yesterday it would lift a partial Vietnam yesterday condemned China’s knowledge of an alleged abduction of an a Christian charity that rescues child sex slaves block on the popular Telegram messaging service construction and operation of a movie theatre anti-monarchy activist taking refuge in Laos, to be shut down, after it featured in a recent CNN app after the company agreed to speed up the on the Paracel islands, as tension between the following media reports of his disappearance report that he described as an “insult” to his removal of terrorism-related content. neighbours rises over energy claims in the over the weekend. “We cannot confirm (his country. The impoverished Southeast Asian nation Last month the country restricted computer disputed South China Sea waterway. The cinema whereabouts) at this stage. We are following up has long been a destination for sex tourists, with access to Telegram because of material related on Woody Island in the Paracels, which are also on it,” said Thawip Netniyom, secretary-general minors often the victims of a flesh trade aided by to radicalism and terrorism, including tips on claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam, is equipped of Thailand’s National Security Council. endemic corruption. A CNN report broadcast on assembling bombs and launching attacks. with the most advanced projection equipment, “I believe he is in hiding somewhere to create 25 July featured three girls who were reportedly The firm’s founder has now promised to move China’s state news agency Xinhua has said. a buzz to discredit the government,” Thawip rescued from the sex trade by Agape International faster to process requests to remove the material “That action by China has infringed Vietnam’s added. Wuthipong Kochathamakun, 48, was Missions (AIM), a charity founded by an American and to set up a direct line to handle such demands sovereignty over Hoang Sa Archipelago, violated Australian actress Nicole Kidman arrives ahead reportedly abducted in front of his home in the pastor which has been operating in the country from the government. “The timeline (to lift the international law and cannot alter Vietnam’s of the Australian premiere of the film Top of the Laotian capital of Vientiane on Saturday by 10 since 1988. The girls had first appeared in a 2013 ban) is this week,” communications ministry sovereignty over this archipelago,” foreign Lake: China Girl in Sydney yesterday. men dressed in black. documentary by CNN. off icial Semuel Pangerapan told reporters. ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said. China will protect its N Korea can hit US sovereignty: mainland: offi cials Reuters that it would not be safe from Two separate US offi cials who to “cold launch” missiles, when reach the United States, the mil- Washington destruction if it tried to attack, discussed the latest test, which high pressure steam is used to itary takes the threat seriously. Xi Jinping propel missiles out of launch “You could have the debate the offi cial KCNA news agency lasted about 45 minutes, said said. it showed greater range than canisters. back and forth of whether the AFP orth Korea’s latest test However, two US intelligence the July 4 ICBM launch, which The shipyard is in Sinpo, capability is proven or not, the Beijing of an intercontinental offi cials, speaking on condition North Korea said lasted 39 min- a port city on the east coast fact of the matter is we take it Nballistic missile (ICBM) of anonymity, said on Monday utes. where the North had previously seriously and we are prepared to has shown that Pyongyang now Kim wants to develop a nucle- One of the offi cials said it had conducted tests of submarine- defend against (it),” he said. The hina will fi ercely protect may be able to reach most of the ar-capable ICBM to deter any greater height, range and power launched ballistic missiles. Hwasong-14, named after the its sovereignty against continental United States, two attack on his country and gain than the previous test because A South Korea defence minis- Korean word for Mars, reached C“any people, organisation US offi cials said on Monday. international legitimacy, not to it used force stabilising engines, try offi cial told Reuters the mili- an altitude of 3,724.9km and or political party”, President Xi The assessment, which the launch an attack on the United which counter the eff ects of tary was watching the situation fl ew 998km before landing in Jinping warned yesterday, as the offi cials discussed on condi- States or its allies that he knows winds and other forces that can in the North closely but did not the waters off the Korean pe- country celebrated the 90th an- tion of anonymity, underscored would be suicidal. knock an ascending rocket off provide more information be- ninsula’s east coast, according niversary of its military. the growing threat posed by The Pentagon declined to course. cause it was classifi ed. to KCNA. The message comes as the Pyongyang’s nuclear and mis- comment on the US assess- CNN, citing a US defence of- Japanese Prime Minister The fl ight demonstrated suc- ruling Communist Party (CCP) sile programmes, and could add ment of the missile launch, fi cial, reported later that North Shinzo Abe spoke with Trump cessful stage separation, and re- faces political resistance in semi- pressure on President Donald even as it acknowledged that Korea had been showing “highly on Monday and agreed on the liability of the vehicle’s control autonomous Hong Kong, where Trump’s administration to re- the latest test represented the unusual and unprecedented lev- need for more action on North and guidance to allow the war- many locals fear Beijing is tight- spond. longest test fl ight of any North els” of submarine activity, in Korea, hours after the US am- head to make an atmospheric re- ening its grip, and in self-ruled North Korea said on Satur- Korean missile. “The specifi cs addition to its third “ejection bassador to the United Nations entry under conditions harsher Taiwan, which China views as a day it had conducted another of our assessment are classifi ed test” this month. said Washington was “done than under a normal long-range rebel province awaiting reunifi - successful test of an ICBM for reasons I hope you under- The ejection test was car- talking about North Korea”. trajectory, KCNA said. cation. that proved its ability to strike stand,” Pentagon spokesman ried out on land at Sinpo Naval The Pentagon acknowledged Independent weapons ex- The Asian giant is also mired China’s President Xi Jinping America’s mainland. The secre- Navy Captain Jeff Davis told a Shipyard on Sunday, the US de- military-to-military talks with perts also said they believed in several bitter border disputes applauds during a ceremony tive North’s leader, Kim Jong- news briefi ng, acknowledging fence offi cial told CNN. It gave US allies Japan and South Ko- the launch demonstrated many with its neighbours, including an to commemorate the 90th un, supervised the midnight only that the missile could fl y no other details about the in- rea after the test. Davis said parts of the United States were ongoing stand-off with India over anniversary of the founding of launch of the missile on Fri- at least 5,500km (3,420 miles), creased submarine activity. that, while the test missile had within range if the missile had territory on China’s border with the People’s Liberation Army, at day night and called it a “stern the minimum range for what the Ejection tests from subma- a lofted trajectory rather than been launched at a fl attened Bhutan. “We will never allow any the Great Hall of the People in warning” to the United States Pentagon classifi es as an ICBM. rines usually gauge the ability the more direct one required to trajectory. people, organisation or political Beijing yesterday. party to split any part of Chi- nese territory out of the country eff orts to centralise the Commu- at any time, in any form,” Xi told nist Party’s control over it. an audience of CCP and People’s Maintaining control is key for Seoul moment Liberation Army (PLA) offi cials Xi ahead of a crucial party con- gathered at Beijing’s Great Hall gress later this year, at which he of the People, who broke out into is expected to further consolidate applause. his grip on power. In his speech “No one should expect us to yesterday, the president stressed swallow the bitter fruit that is that “there shall be no wavering, harmful to our sovereignty, se- no hesitation, and no ambiguity” curity or development interests,” in the PLA’s duty to “unswerv- he said. While China formerly ingly adhere to the Party’s abso- followed a strategy of “hide your lute leadership”. strength”, it has begun to indulge China has for some time been in more frequent, pointed dem- engaged in a modernisation of onstrations of its power. its once-backward armed forces, On Sunday it held a rare mili- seeking military clout commen- tary parade in Inner Mongolia surate with its economic might. in which Xi stressed the need to As part of that eff ort, it has build a world-class army loyal to made major investments in the CCP, and capable of “defeat- building up its capabilities, par- ing all invading enemies”. ticularly in its navy, where it seeks In Hong Kong in June, Xi the ability to project force into the helmed the largest military pa- far seas. rade there in decades to mark the But a major Achilles heel for 20th anniversary of the former the PLA is that it has not fought a British colony’s handover to Chi- real battle since a war with Viet- na. The country in December also nam in 1979, and has a question- sailed its fi rst aircraft carrier near able mastery of modern military Taiwan, where the ruling political techniques, according to some party has angered Beijing by re- Western experts. fusing to acknowledge that both James Char of the Institute of sides are part of “one China”. Defence and Strategic Studies at The ship was on its way to the Singapore’s Nanyang Techno- South China Sea, where Beijing logical University, said the army has pursued claims on territory “lags behind” those of other – despite partial counter-claims major powers. But he added that from nations such as the Philip- recent reforms have at least pines and Vietnam – by building “gradually shifted it away from military facilities and conducting a purely land-based outfi t (more naval exercises. Since coming to defence-oriented), to one that power in 2012, Xi has trumpeted is more joint and able to project the need to build a stronger com- power increasingly further away Tourists pose for photographs at the Han river park in Seoul, South Korea, yesterday. bat-ready military, while leading from Chinese shores”. New Zealand opposition changes leader as poll looms

AFP year lows of 23-24%, giving it no tic voters. “We’ll be talking to a lems. “They’re in disarray, the Wellington chance of forming a government. new generation of voters, but not basic problem isn’t really the Ardern, who was Little’s depu- just about their own personal cir- leadership, it’s they just don’t ty, becomes Labour’s fi fth leader cumstances,” she told reporters. have a positive view of what New ew Zealand’s main op- in four years as she seeks to pre- “As a country, we can do better Zealand can achieve,” he told re- position gambled on a vent the centre-right National than this,” she added. porters. Nleadership change just Party-led coalition winning a Little, 52, admitted he had English took over as leader weeks before a general election fourth term. failed to get his message across of the National Party after John yesterday after polling showed “This team is about to run the during more than two years as Key’s shock resignation late last it was heading for disaster at the campaign of our lives,” she said leader. “Recent poll results have year. While he does not have the ballot box. after winning the leadership un- been disappointing. personal popularity of his prede- The centre-left Labour Party opposed. Ardern was elected to As leader, I must take respon- cessor, the party’s vote share has selected 37-year-old Jacinda Ar- parliament in 2008 after working sibility for these results,” he said. held steady at around 47% under dern to take it into the Septem- as a political adviser and has long “I do take responsibility and English’s leadership. ber 23 election, making her the been seen as the face of a new believe that Labour must have However, he warned the Na- youngest leader in its 101-year generation coming through the an opportunity to perform better tionals could not be complacent history. Labour ranks. under new leadership through to because New Zealand’s compli- The move came after outgoing With her new deputy Kelvin the election.” cated proportional voting system leader Andrew Little quit in re- Davis standing alongside her, she Prime Minister Bill English usually results in minority gov- sponse to a string of opinion polls promised “relentless positivity” said the change of leadership ernments reliant on smaller par- that put Labour’s support at 20- and appealed to young, idealis- would not solve Labour’s prob- ties as coalition partners. New leader of the Labour Party Jacinda Ardern (left) with her deputy Kelvin Davis. Gulf Times Wednesday, August 2, 2017 11 BRITAIN

BAT under graft probe Hospital to shut trauma Reuters London

ritain has opened a formal investigation into sus- Bpicions of corruption at British American Tobacco (BAT) unit because of fi re risk and its subsidiaries, nearly two years after allegations of bribery By Denis Campbell make it too risky for the patients ority is the patients in our care statement that it had received a safety during the move and pre- used as offi ce and storage space, in Africa fi rst surfaced. Guardian News & Media to continue being cared for and our staff who are dedicated report on July 27 from Trenton pare the new locations appro- the trust said. The world’s largest interna- there, hospital managers have in their care for those patients. Fire, whom it had commissioned priately.” Flammable cladding has been tional tobacco company said in decided. “In common with many other after the Grenfell disaster on 14 It did not specify what other found at six other hospitals in a statement that it intended to hospital in Oxford is In a statement yesterday, Ox- organisations with public build- June, to assess fi re safety at four fi re risks the experts had uncov- England and remedial works or- co-operate with the investiga- shutting its trauma unit ford University Hospitals (OUH) ings, the trust has been review- of its main sites, including the ered at the unit apart from clad- dered. tion but did not provide further Aafter fi re safety checks NHS foundation trust, which ing its fi re safety procedures trauma unit. ding. Cladding on an in-patient details. carried out after the Grenfell runs the John Radcliff e, said that and systems following the tragic It immediately convened a But it said: “It is important unit at New Cross hospital in “The SFO confi rms it is inves- Tower fi re revealed that its clad- the trauma unit had to close be- events in London. We will im- meeting of its board. to note that the recommenda- Wolverhampton failed a com- tigating suspicions of corruption ding was a danger to its patients. cause it had been judged to be plement any changes necessary “An extraordinary board tion to move patients is not just bustibility test. in the conduct of business by The John Radcliff e hospital “currently unsuitable for pa- to ensure that our patients are meeting was held on Thursday, because of the cladding, but However, NHS Improvement, BAT p.l.c., its subsidiaries and is the fi rst to have to transfer tients”. safe.” July 27, and a decision made, in because of a combination of fi re the NHS fi nance and quality associated persons,” Britain’s patients to other buildings as a The patients will all be moved In an e-mail to hospital staff , light of the report’s recommen- safety factors with this building, regulator, agreed that it was safe Serious Fraud Offi ce (SFO) said result of the checks which every to wards within the John Rad- Holthof referred to “this diffi - dations, to move the 52 inpatient making it currently unsuitable for staff to continue treating in a statement yesterday. National Health Service (NHS) cliff e by Friday. cult time” for the trust and said beds from the trauma unit to for inpatients.” patients there during action to The maker of brands including hospital trust in England has The trauma unit will be shut the transfer of the 52 patients wards within the John Radcliff e Remedial works to make the tackle the problem. Dunhill and Lucky Strike said in carried out since the Grenfell for up to a year while remedial would pose serious logistical hospital. unit safe “may take up to 12 Safety at the John Radcliff e’s February last year that it had ap- disaster. work is carried out. challenges. “The trust is putting its con- months to carry out”, said the trauma unit before patients pointed a law fi rm to investigate It is moving 52 patients, all of Less seriously ill patients will “This is going to be a very tingency planning in place and trust. are moved is being maintained allegations of historic miscon- whom have serious injuries, af- be discharged to free space for diffi cult task for us to achieve preparing the wards to receive However, the outpatient unit through measures including duct in Africa and that it was li- ter fi re safety experts declared the trauma patients. this in a way that minimises the patients from the trauma unit. on the building’s ground fl oor regular patrols by fi re wardens aising with the SFO. the unit unsafe. Explaining the action, the disruption to patient care,” he “The move is planned for Fri- could safely remain in use while and the round-the-clock pres- BAT said then it was aware of Fire risks at the unit beyond OUH’s chief executive, Dr Bruno wrote. day 4 August, which will allow improvements were carried out, ence of personnel trained in fi re- some of the allegations and had the fl ammability of its cladding Holthof, said: “Our highest pri- The trust explained in its enough time to ensure patient and its upper fl oors could still be fi ghting, Holthof said. looked into them, but was bring- ing in outside lawyers given the number and nature of the al- legations and its zero tolerance of corruption anywhere in the world. The 2016 move came after a Staff at BoE November 2015 BBC programme described cases of BAT employ- ees bribing offi cials in East Afri- can countries including Rwanda and Burundi in an eff ort to un- go on strike dermine anti-smoking laws. The BBC cited internal docu- ments provided by whistleblow- Reuters to set an example to employers ing former employee Paul Hop- London by raising their wages. kins. Unite said that many of Spokeswomen for BAT and the those who were balloted about SFO declined to say which coun- taff at the Bank of Eng- the strike action earned less tries were covered by the inves- land (BoE) began their than £20,000 ($26,400) an- tigation. Sfi rst strike in more than nually. Earlier this year, BAT said it 50 years yesterday in a push for Prime Minister Theresa May had created a board subcommit- higher pay, highlighting grow- has come under increasing tee to monitor matters relating to ing pressure to end tight con- pressure from lawmakers to the investigation between board trols on public-sector wages in end a below-infl ation 1% cap meetings. Britain. on public sector pay rises that It also said it had started a The three-day strike will has been in place since 2013 as project in 2016 to review and overlap with an interest rate part of eff orts to cut govern- strengthen its global compliance decision tomorrow and in- ment spending. procedures. volves maintenance and secu- Although it is operationally The London-based company rity staff at the 323-year-old independent of the govern- last week unseated Marlboro bank. ment, the BoE has also limited maker Philip Morris Interna- About 15 staff members, pay rises to 1% for most staff , tional as the world’s largest in- some wearing face masks of in line with other public bod- ternational tobacco fi rm, fol- Governor Mark Carney, staged ies. lowing its $49bn takeover of Protesters hold up masks of Bank of England Governor Mark Carney and wave flags and placards outside the bank as it staff began a a picket outside the BoE’s cen- The BoE said Unite had bal- Reynolds American. three-day strike over pay, in the City of London. tral London headquarters yes- loted around 2% of the BoE’s terday. 3,600-strong workforce and About 150 people work in that it had plans in place to op- the departments aff ected by erate eff ectively. the stoppage. “The bank has been in talks The employees, who are with Unite up to and includ- part of the Unite trade union, ing today and remains ready EU cities bid to host said they were protesting the to continue those talks at any “derisory” pay settlement that time,” a bank spokesperson the bank had imposed on staff said in a statement. without the union’s agree- Unite said if the BoE fails ment. to resolve the pay dispute, it John McDonnell, the main would consult its members at two Brexit agencies the bank in departments other opposition Labour Party’s top economic offi cial, attended the than just maintenance and se- AFP undermining the EU’s unity at a The EBA, with 159 staff , is per- protest and called for the BoE curity on further action. Brussels time when it is trying to present haps best known for its regular a common front in divorce nego- stress tests on the EU’s fi nancial tiations with Britain. sector in the wake of the global This file photo taken on May 2 in Canary Wharf, east London shows he battle for the spoils “We will now proceed in as- fi nancial crisis. the logo of the European Medicines Agency on the off ice building. of Brexit began yester- sessing all off ers in an objective Six countries – Austria, Bel- The battle for the spoils of Brexit began yesterday as 23 European Tday as 23 European cities manner,” said European Com- gium, France, Germany, Ireland cities launched their bids to host two London-based EU regulatory Rudd to push Silicon launched their bids to host two mission spokeswoman Mina An- and Poland – have made bids for agencies that will be forced to leave the British capital. London-based EU regulatory dreeva. both agencies. agencies that will be forced to The cities seen as leading the Hungary, Cyprus, Slovenia and employees, work opportunities nancial centre has had what we Valley on extremism leave the British capital. race for the EMA are Amsterdam, the three Baltic states of Lithua- for their spouses and schools for view as a long and fruitful rela- Slick videos and glossy bro- Barcelona and Lille in France, nia, Latvia and Estonia have not their children. tionship with the City of London chures abounded as the EU an- with Athens, Bonn, Bratislava, bid for any. It will also look at whether a and we very much wish for that Reuters have sought to misuse your nounced that 19 cities were can- Brussels, Bucharest, Copenha- Britain will no longer be able country already hosts other EU to continue.” London platforms ... this Forum is a didates to be the new home of gen, Dublin, Helsinki, Milan, to host the agencies as it is set to agencies to ensure they are not The cities’ individual bids were crucial way to start turning the the European Medicines Agency Porto, Sofi a, Stockholm, Malta, leave the EU in March 2019 fol- monopolised. all posted on the EU’s website, tide,” Rudd will say, according (EMA), and eight to host the Eu- Vienna, Warsaw and Zagreb also lowing its shock Brexit referen- European offi cials insisted with many trying to outdo each ritain’s interior minister to a statement from the inte- ropean Banking Authority (EBA). in contention. dum vote last year. that they were not trying to suck other as they sought to position will use a visit to Silicon rior ministry. “The responsi- The bids for the agencies – The agency, which employs “The two agencies will need to all business away from Britain, themselves as the natural choice. BValley this week to ask bility for tackling this threat at which together employ more 900 pharmaceutical experts, bi- be relocated in the context of the which will inevitably retain close “We also have a very stylish Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter, every level lies with both gov- than 1,000 people and promise to ologists and doctors from every UK’s withdrawal from the EU. trading links with the huge EU queen, and enjoy fi sh and chips,” and YouTube to step up eff orts ernments and with industry.” bring both money and prestige to corner of Europe, evaluates med- The future locations need to be market on its border. said a video for Amsterdam’s bid, to counter or remove content A source familiar with the new host cities – will be as- icines throughout the bloc. decided by common agreement “Luxembourg has not posi- stressing the continuity with two that incites militants. Rudd’s trip said she had sched- sessed by the European Commis- The German fi nancial hub of of the EU27 member states,” the tioned itself as vultures circling famed parts of British life. After four militant attacks uled a meeting with represent- sion before EU states make a fi nal Frankfurt is the frontrunner for European Council said in a state- round the Tower of London wait- Malta and Warsaw quoted tes- in Britain that killed 36 people atives of YouTube, Alphabet’s decision in November. the EBA, followed by Paris and ment. ing for all those jobs to fl y out our timony from happy expatriates, this year, senior ministers have video sharing platform. The deadline for applications Luxembourg and Prague, while The European Commission’s way,” Luxembourg’s ambassador while the Danish and Irish prime repeatedly demanded that In- She met Facebook, which was Monday at midnight for a Brussels, Dublin, Vienna and assessment will consider criteria George Friden told reporters in ministers acted as salesmen for ternet companies do more to owns messaging platform race that, if it gets heated, risks Warsaw have also bid. such as accessibility for current Brussels. “The Luxembourg fi - their respective cities. suppress extremist content WhatsApp, on Monday, the The choice of new host cities and allow access to encrypted company said. UK must rescue itself from abrupt Brexit ‘disaster’: Hague will be made via a complicated communications. While Internet companies proaching disaster,” Hague said. points system that offi cials have In the face of resistance are eager to remove obviously Britain is heading towards a Brexit disaster “There is the clear potential for Brexit to Hammond has said Britain should avoid disrup- compared to the Eurovision song from the industry, Prime Min- extremist content posted on that could amount to the biggest muddle in its become the occasion of the greatest economic, tion to businesses when it leaves the EU, and contest. ister Theresa May – a former their platforms, they face a lo- history unless finance minister Philip Hammond diplomatic and constitutional muddle in the there should be a transition to allow economies After the commission assess- interior minister – proposed gistical challenge in identify- succeeds in achieving a less abrupt exit from the modern history of the UK, with unknowable to adjust. ment is published on September trying to regulate cyberspace ing and then swiftly removing EU, former Conservative Party leader William consequences for the country, the Government That would mean no sharp change to immigra- 30, European aff airs ministers after a deadly attack on Lon- such material. Hague said. and the Brexit project itself,” Hague wrote in the tion or trading rules after Brexit in March 2019, will then vote on the fi nal choice don Bridge in June. Rudd said three-quarters of Since Prime Minister Theresa May’s failed Daily Telegraph. with the transition period possibly lasting until at a meeting scheduled for No- Home Secretary Amber Islamic State (IS) propaganda gamble on a snap election last month, the future Hague said that an approach to Brexit was 2022, when the next election is due. vember 20. Rudd will meet executives was shared within three hours of Brexit has been thrown into question with needed that made the negotiations simpler, re- The UK Independence Party, which opposes EU Each country will have six of social media and Internet of publication, underscoring squabbling between her ministers over the pace, duced the need for rushed legislation, reassured membership, has called on Hammond to resign voting points – three for its fi rst service providers in San Fran- the need for speed in taking tone and terms of Britain’s departure from the businesses and included staying in the single for what it said was a plan to derail Brexit. preference, two points for the cisco at the Global Internet down extremist posts. club it joined in 1973. market during a transition period. “The anti-Brexit faction in the government, led second and one for the third. Forum to Counter Terror- “Often, by the time we re- May has faced public pressure to temper her Hague, who campaigned to remain a member by reprieved Chancellor Philip Hammond, are If any one country gets the ism, whose partners are Face- act, the terrorists have already plans for a clean break from the EU. of the European Union, praised Chancellor of now actively promoting confusion and uncer- full three points from 14 or more book, Alphabet Incorporated’s reached their audience,” she Hague, also a former foreign minister, said that the Exchequer Hammond for seeking such an tainty, as part of their strategy to undermine members then it automatically Google, Microsoft and Twitter. wrote in an article in the Daily there was a danger that some Brexit supporters approach to the EU divorce. Brexit negotiations and reverse the process,” wins – otherwise there is a sec- The forum was set up to Telegraph, adding that end- were underestimating the risks of a sharp eco- “This is seen by longstanding advocates of Ukip said. ond round for the top three can- co-ordinate the companies’ to-end encrypted messages nomic slowdown or even the possible stalling of leaving as a ‘soft’ position or a climbdown. But Hammond’s spokeswoman did not return calls didate cities, and if necessary a eff orts on removing militant were hindering security serv- Brexit talks with the EU. in reality it is a plan to rescue Brexit from an ap- for comment. third and fi nal knock-out be- content. ices from stopping potential tween the last two cities. “Terrorists and extremists plotters. Gulf Times 12 Wednesday, August 2, 2017 EUROPE Three shot dead in Russian court AFP One National Guard offi cer and all hearings were postponed, the ex-Soviet Central Asian Moscow was hospitalised with a gunshot the lawyer said. states of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan wound, a Moscow region health The fi ve suspects were among and Tajikistan, Tass state news offi cial told Tass news agency, nine who went on trial last year agency reported. ussian offi cers shot dead while the two escorts were be- over a series of high-profi le Investigators said the men three gang suspects on tri- ing treated for injuries from their drive-by shootings around Mos- worked as labourers during the Ral over 17 drive-by killings struggle with the assailants. cow’s ring road. day and acted with tight disci- after they seized their guards’ The two surviving attackers They were dubbed the “Grand pline and followed orders from guns and tried to fl ee a Moscow were in hospital with gunshot Theft Auto” gang by Russian their leader. region court, offi cials said yes- wounds but were not in serious media over similarities with the They used knives and air guns terday. condition, the offi cial said. ultra-violent video game. that had been converted to take People protest against soldiers who participated in last year’s attempted coup as they arrive for their Five handcuff ed defendants A correspondent from Rossiya In the dead of night, the gang bullets. trial at Sincan Penal Institution near Ankara. attacked their guards as they 24 state television reported that members placed metal spikes on After killing their victims, were being escorted in a lift at the defendants took the oppor- roads to burst the tyres of pass- they stole possessions including the court in a town some 20km tunity to attack when the lift got ing cars, then ruthlessly gunned clothes and jewellery. (12 miles) northwest of Moscow, stuck between fl oors, adding that down their drivers and disap- All partially admitted guilt in Russia’s Investigative Commit- they severely beat up a female peared. court. tee said in a statement. convoy guard for 15 minutes. The murders took place be- Russian television reported Turkey opens trial The group reportedly managed A lawyer at the court, Sofya tween 2012 and 2014. yesterday that the leader of the to grab weapons from their es- Rubasskaya, told AFP: “I heard The investigation into the gang gang was “radicalised” and had corts but then got into a fi refi ght shots, there were more than 20 charged the defendants with fought alongside the Islamic after being apprehended by offi c- shots.” murder, “banditry”, robbery and State (IS) group. ers from Russia’s National Guard She said that she saw a wound- arms traffi cking. The Investigative Commit- of 461 defendants as they tried to quit the lift. ed female guard whose “face was The gang’s suspected leader tee said the gang acted only on “Three of the prisoners were all bloody”. was killed during an attempt to “mercenary” motives and did liquidated and two wounded,” After the shootout, everyone capture him. not choose their victims on any Reuters A total of 461 suspects jailed attempting to kill President Re- investigators said. was evacuated from the court All nine men originated from social or ethnic basis. Ankara pending trial were brought to cep Tayyip Erdogan. the courthouse, handcuff ed and If convicted, many of the each fl anked by two gendarme 486 suspects risk life terms in offi cers. prison for crimes that include early 500 suspects in- Seven defendants are still on violating the constitution, at- cluding army generals the run, while another 18 have tempted assassination of the Bulgaria, Nand pilots went on trial been charged but are not in jail. president, trying to abolish the in Turkey yesterday, many of The main defendant in the republic and seizing military them accused of commanding case is the 76-year-old US- headquarters. Macedonia last year’s coup attempt from based cleric Fethullah Gulen, Several similar cases are un- an air base in the capital Ankara. whose followers are blamed by der way in Turkey after the coup Families of those killed or the government for carrying attempt on July 15, 2016 that re- agree to wounded protested outside the out the failed coup. sulted in some 250 deaths. courthouse, with some throw- Gulen is being tried in absen- Some 30 coup plotters were ing hangman’s nooses or stones tia, and denies any role in the also killed. improve toward the defendants as they coup attempt. The authorities declared a arrived under tight guard, Former air force commander state of emergency following shouting “murderers” and de- Akin Ozturk and other defend- the coup and embarked on a relations manding that the death penalty ants stationed at an air base crackdown on Gulen’s network be reinstated. northwest of the capital are ac- and other opponents, arrest- The government declared cused of directing the coup and ing more than 50,000 people AFP a state of emergency after the bombing government build- and purging over 150,000 from Skopje Borisov (left) and Zaev at the off icial signing ceremony in Skopje. coup attempt. ings, including parliament, and public sector jobs. of the Bulgarian nation. acedonia has signed a Relations between Skopje deal to mend relations and Sofi a have been strained Mwith neighbouring for years. Bulgaria in a bid to speed up its Bulgaria considers the Mac- Earth’s 2017 resource ‘budget’ spent by next week: report Nato and European Union ac- edonian language as a dialect cession. of Bulgarian and speeches The landlocked Balkan na- made by visiting Macedonian AFP cording to environmental groups statement, adding: “This means needs at current consumption the planet, said the groups. tion has attempted to join the offi cials were routinely not Paris WWF and Global Footprint Net- that in seven months, we emit- rates. There was some good news, EU since 2005 but its lingering translated. work. ted more carbon than the oceans Calculated since 1986, the however. dispute with Greece – whose However, since Zaev’s fi rst This is a day earlier than in and forests can absorb in a year, grim milestone has arrived ear- While coming earlier every northern province bears the visit in June, Bulgaria is pro- umanity will have used 2016. we caught more fi sh, felled more lier each year. year, the advance of Earth Over- same name as the former Yu- viding translation of his re- up its allowance of plan- It means humanity will be liv- trees, harvested more, and con- In 1993, it fell on October 21, shoot Day has slowed down, said goslav republic – has torpe- marks as a sign of a good will. Hetary resources such as ing on “credit” for the rest of the sumed more water than the Earth in 2003 on September 22, and in the statement. doed Skopje’s eff orts. It also refuses to recognise water, soil, and clean air for all of year. was able to produce in the same 2015 on August 13. Individuals can contribute to The agreement signed yes- its own Macedonian ethnic 2017 by next week, said a report “By August 2, 2017, we will period.” Greenhouse gas emissions stopping, and eventually revers- terday by Macedonian and minority and Macedonian yesterday. have used more from Nature The equivalent of 1.7 plan- from burning coal, oil and gas ing, the trend by eating less meat, Bulgarian leaders represents a schoolchildren are still taught Earth Overshoot Day will ar- than our planet can renew in the ets would be required to pro- make up about 60% of man- burning less fuel, and cut back on milestone in Skopje’s foreign that their country was occu- rive on August 2 this year, ac- whole year,” the groups said in a duce enough to meet humanity’s kind’s ecological “footprint” on food waste, said the report. policy after its conservative pied by Nazi-ally Bulgarians VMRO-DPMNE party left of- during World War II. fi ce in December after 10 years As part of the deal, a research in power. team from both countries have According to the text, the agreed to examine the content deal means Bulgaria “will share of school textbooks. Nearly 70 migrants its experience in order to help The two countries have also the Republic of Macedonia to agreed to open a train line from meet all necessary criteria of Sofi a to Skopje. enter Spanish enclave EU membership and will sup- Macedonia’s bid to join the port it for Nato membership”. EU and Nato has been blocked Macedonian Prime Min- for some time by Greece. Reuters la more than doubled in the fi rst ister Zoran Zaev praised the Athens says the country Madrid six months of the year from the “historic” deal and Bulgarian should not call itself Macedo- same period last year to 3,200 counterpart Boyko Borisov said nia because Greece’s northern people, according to Spain’s in- it “shows to EU that turbu- province bears the same name, round 70 sub-Saharan terior ministry. lent Balkans, which has passed and in 2008 vetoed Skopje’s at- African migrants crossed Once within the enclaves, mi- through a lot of troubles, could tempts to join Nato. Athe razor-wire-topped grants are either returned to their solve problems by agreements Greece claims a historical fence separating northern Mo- country of origin or moved to the without mediators”. right to the term Macedonia rocco from the Spanish enclave Spanish mainland, which many The accord was approved by because the heart of Alexander of Ceuta yesterday, leaving 14 use as a jumping-off point for the Bulgarian lawmakers, support- the Great’s ancient kingdom people hospitalised, the Red rest of Europe. ed even by nationalists who lies in its northern province of Police guard a group of migrants being attended to by Red Cross workers in Spain’s North African enclave Cross said. The migrants used wire cut- consider Macedonia to be part Macedonia. of Ceuta. Local police said 200 peo- ters to breach a gate, according ple rushed the border in a bid to to a spokesman from the Ceuta Immigrant population hits record 18.6mn in Germany reach Europe. government. Around 60 managed to enter Between 1,000 and 1,500 peo- The number of people with an immigrant background 2015 when she opened the borders to hundreds of the territory and were attended ple are camping out in the scrub in Germany rose 8.5% to a record 18.6mn in 2016, thousands of migrants. by the Red Cross. and woods around the enclave largely due to an increase in refugees and migrants, the Around 2.3mn people in Germany have family links Migrants frequently jump or waiting for the opportunity to Federal Statistics Off ice said yesterday. to the Middle East, a rise of almost 51% since 2011, cut through the fences of Spain’s rush the border, he said. Just over a fifth of the population – 22.5% – were first or and around 740,000 people have African origins, an two enclaves in northern Africa, The last major push in to one second generation immigrants with at least one parent increase of 46% since 2011, the figures showed. Ceuta and Melilla, or attempt to of the enclaves was in May when born without German citizenship, the off ice said. The vast majority of the immigrant population, though, reach them by swimming along some 300 migrants attempted to The figures come in the build-up to national elections had links to other European countries. the Moroccan coastlines. jump the fence in Melilla. in September, with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Social Germany took in more than 1mn migrants in 2015 and The number of migrants en- Around 100 successfully Democrat challenger warning against a repeat of 2016. tering Spain via Ceuta and Melil- crossed the border.

Pensioner sets fire German authorities on lookout for tainted eggs to ‘messy’ bakery A 71-year-old woman who set fire to a bakery next door to her DPA centres, are more of a precaution, fore, that was something new for Eggs with X-NL-4015XX home because she was fed up Dusseldorf since the aff ected eggs should no our experts,” said the German ag- stamped on them are deemed con- of the mess it created has been longer be in circulation in Germa- ricultural ministry spokesman. taminated. sentenced to eight months on ny, he said. The increased vigilance in Ger- The insecticide was found in probation by a German court. erman authorities have set Eggs contaminated with the in- many comes as millions of eggs are other eggs as well, though in low The pensioner admitted to up a monitoring system af- secticide fi pronil had been found being recalled in the Netherlands levels. setting fire to the flatbread Gter Belgium and the Neth- in a packing centre in the German after being found to contain high Traces of the insecticide were bakery in the eastern state of erlands issued a recall for eggs state of North Rhine Westphalia, levels of the fi pronil. discovered in eggs from seven Saxony on December 31, 2016. tainted by insecticides, an agri- prompting the state to issue a re- At heightened levels, it can poultry operations over the past Her act was caught on camera. cultural ministry spokesman said call for nearly 900,000 eggs. cause damage to the liver, thyroid few weeks. The fire resulted in damages yesterday. However, there is no health risk, and kidneys, a spokeswoman from One company had supposedly of €4,600 ($5,400), which the However, the eff orts, which the agriculture ministry said. the Dutch food safety agency told used fi pronil to control lice in their defendant claims has been paid also include inspecting packing “We’ve never seen fi pronil be- DPA. coops. back in full. Gulf Times Wednesday, August 2, 2017 13 INDIA Court questions delay in probe into Sunanda’s death

IANS the court was yet to get the fi - multi-disciplinary Special In- The bench was not convinced devices to their manufacturers Even after three years, the New Delhi nal result of the electronic evi- vestigation Team led by the Cen- with the police’s submission on abroad for chip-level retrieval Delhi police had not arrested dence seized, including that of tral Bureau of Investigation into the diff erence in the findings are being obtained from compe- anyone and no custodial inter- the close friends of Tharoor and Pushkar’s death. of the Central Forensic Science tent authorities, the police told rogation took place, Swamy said, he Delhi High Court yes- Pushkar. Shiv Menon, son of Pushkar Laboratory and the Forensic Sci- the bench. adding that the postmortem terday questioned the “We are also concerned as to from her earlier marriage, had ence Laboratory. In response, the court asked examination report confi rmed Tpolice over the delay in who the real culprit is,” said the also approached the court to in- The bench expressed dis- the police to fi le an additional Pushkar’s death was “unnatural” probing the death of Congress bench. tervene in the case on the ground pleasure over the contention in affi davit on the issue before Au- and “due to poison”. MP Shashi Tharoor’s wife Suna- Pushkar, 52, was found dead in that the BJP leader had no locus the status report that data from gust 30, the next date of hearing. Swamy sought a time-bound nda Pushkar in 2014. a Delhi hotel room on January 17, standi on the issue of his moth- Sunanda: mystery continues some mobile phones seized dur- Swamy earlier told the court probe, saying “very infl uential A division bench of Justice G 2014. er’s death. Tharoor’s step-son ing investigation have been de- that there were constant at- people are involved in the case, S Sistani and Justice Chander The court was hearing a plea Menon said Swamy fi led his plea terested in knowing the reason leted and the Indian forensic tempts to block the investiga- leading to attempts to protect Shekhar expressed concern that by Bharatiya Janata Party lead- to get publicity. behind her death and was “only laboratories had been unable to tions and an FIR was registered them, and the matter has faced though the Delhi police had col- er Subramanian Swamy for a On the other hand, Swamy interested in her property in retrieve these. after almost a year and nothing a lot of unnecessary delay al- lected evidence in February 2015, court-monitored probe by a said Pushkar’s son was not in- Canada”. Approvals for sending these had happened since. ready”. Jaitley vows W Bengal flood toll rises to 46 to take action in Panama Papers cases

IANS dence is less than what it was New Delhi till June 30. My estimate is that the states will not run into losses under GST and if they do we will inance Minister Arun Jait- compensate them.” ley yesterday said action The fi nance minister said that Fwill be taken in cases aris- the GST Council will meet on Au- ing out of the Panama Papers gust 5 to fi nalise the details of the disclosures, and the tax depart- anti-profi teering mechanism. ment will go into claims about “We were a non-tax compli- people claiming NRI status to ant society. The trend is being avoid scrutiny. broken. We are meeting on Au- “I want properties from 1988 gust 5. We will fi nalise the entire to be covered under the Benami mechanism of anti-profi teering A woman with her child wades through a flooded road to collect relief materials at a village in Howrah district in West Bengal yesterday. The toll in the floods rose to 46, Act. The money in foreign coun- soon. We need to make a few ex- with fresh reports of seven deaths yesterday, an off icial said. More than 2.7mn people have been aff ected in the state. tries was reported from four amples and everyone will fall in sources, including HSBC, Inter- line,” he said. national Consortium of Journal- “The Council will meet once ists and Panama Papers. These a month. We did rate revisions details need documents. Other- when required. More the rev- wise there is no proof,” the min- enues, the more the states will ister said in the Lok Sabha. get. The states know this. More “In cases of which we are re- revenue for states means more ceiving details, we send notices, money for infrastructure, edu- assess their income tax details cation, health, etc.,” he added. and raise tax demand. According He said the switchover to GST Panagariya quits Niti to the law, criminal proceedings was smooth overall and minor are also carried out. In HSBC and glitches are rectifi able. now in Panama Papers, the pro- Jaitley also dismissed the con- ceedings will be carried out. In tention by some members that some cases details are received, in GST would lead to paying more some it is not. Lot of people claim taxes by consumers. NRI status, we will see if it is valid Referring to apprehensions by Aayog, to return to US or not. It is now a disincentive a Congress member from Kerala and a risky business,” he said. who said his state was depend- Agencies immediately after the erstwhile profi le academic-economist to He said that about two The minister was replying to a ent on tourism for its economy New Delhi Planning Commission, a Ne- quit after Raghuram Rajan who months ago he had expressed query by an opposition member and the houseboat industry hruvian era institution, was resigned as Reserve Bank of India his desire to Modi to be relieved about what the government was would be aff ected, Jaitley said restructured and the new body governor to return to the teaching by August 31. doing in the case of Panama Pa- any levy of tax would be passed rvind Panagariya, an was created. profession in the US. Panagariya said he had to pers disclosures. on to the consumer and the academic on leave from Panagariya was the sherpa Panagariya did not have a make a choice as it would not After the minister’s reply, the houseboat owner would not pay AColumbia University, for the prime minister at the re- fi xed term at the government be possible for him to get the job lower house approved the fi rst it. If somebody can aff ord to stay yesterday resigned as the Niti cently-concluded G20 meeting think tank. he had been doing at Columbia batch of supplementary demand at Rs10,000, he can as well pay Aayog vice chairman, a sudden in Germany and he had always Going by convention, the term University. for grants for 2017-18, for an ad- Rs1,000-2,000 more. development that set off specu- been a supporter of the Modi was to be co-terminus with that At US universities one can ditional expenditure of Rs11,166 “It is the consumer who pays lation about his successor. government, vocally backing Panagariya: quits as Niti Aayog of the prime minister, who is the teach as long as one’s health crore, and three appropriations. the tax. Up to Rs20 lakh turno- Panagariya, appointed vice its various reform measures, in- vice chairman chairperson of the body. permits. On the Goods and Services ver, there is no tax. If the turno- chairman of the restructured cluding the demonetisation. Talking to reporters, Pana- “If I were at 40, then I would Tax (GST) which was imple- ver is up to Rs75 lakh, and if you think tank in January 2015, said There was no offi cial com- murs of dissatisfaction in the gariya said the university was have got a job anywhere... the mented last month, Jaitley said are a trader then you have to pay that he had written to Prime ment by way of reaction but the top government circles about not giving him further exten- kind of job I have at Columbia is the incidence of tax will be lower 1% under composition scheme. Minister Narendra Modi, in- development has come in the the performance of the Niti sion and he would be leaving almost impossible to get at this than the previous indirect tax re- Manufacturers will have to pay forming him that his leave was midst of speculation that there Aayog under the leadership of Niti Aayog on August 31. age,” he said. gime once the input tax credit is 2%, restaurants will have to pay due to expire this month-end could be a reshuffl e in the Niti Panagariya, sources said. availed and the prices will come 5%,” he said. and it was not possible to ex- Aayog where Bibek Debroy, who Before Niti Aayog, Panagari- Baru to be new Ficci secretary general down. Jaitley said this is the fi rst year tend it. also is a staunch supporter of ya served as the chief economist “The methodology of taxa- in which the world economy was In his resignation letter, Pan- Modi and his economics, could of the Asian Development Bank Ficci has decided to appoint the media adviser to former tion has changed, in medium showing signs of slight improve- agariya also said that he wants be the likely successor. and has also worked with the economist and journalist prime minister Manmohan and long term it will bring prices ment. to resume his teaching job at Another name doing the World Bank and the Interna- Sanjaya Baru as its new Singh. Baru has authored down because of input chain He said that exports have im- Columbia University where he rounds is that of Chief Econom- tional Monetary Fund in various secretary general, the Industry several books, including a that is created. Currently cas- proved in India. was professor of Indian political ic Advisor Arvind Subramanian, capacities. chamber said in statement memoir about his tenure as cading eff ect of taxation is there. “Fiscal defi cit has reached economy. who may be shifted to the Niti The Indian-American, who yesterday. Baru will assume Singh’s media adviser, titled The “After input tax credit, the 3.2%. Going ahead we will bring The 64-year-old supply-side Aayog. joined as the fi rst vice chairman off ice on September 1. Baru was Accidental Prime Minister. weighted average of tax inci- it to 3%,” he said. economist took over the post There have also been mur- of Niti Aayog, is the second high-

Opposition parties demand Promotional event Molecular scientist rollback of LPG price rise P M Bhargava dead IANS CCMB staff expressed their IANS Raising the issue in the Lok cooking gas price to eliminate all Hyderabad condolence. In a statement, New Delhi Sabha, Congress member K C subsidies by March 2018. the CCMB noted that he be- Venugopal said the government Parliamentary Aff airs Min- longed to the generation of was working on speedy elimina- ister Ananth Kumar did not re- ne of India’s top sci- nation building scientists who he government’s decision tion of subsidy on cooking gas spond to queries raised by the entists and founder- built the edifi ce of Indian sci- to raise the subsidised do- and this will aff ect the common opposition. Speaker Sumitra Odirector of the Centre ence. He was an international- Tmestic cooking gas by Rs4 man. Mahajan told the opposition that for Cellular and Molecular Bi- ly recognised molecular biolo- a cylinder to fi nally eliminate “International prices of crude she cannot force the government ology (CCMB), Pushpa Mitra gist, thinker, and institution subsidies by March next year led oil are coming down. What jus- to answer. The opposition mem- Bhargava died yesterday after a builder. to protests in parliament yester- tifi cation do you have to end the bers then walked out. brief illness. He was 89. “His interests and engage- day with the opposition demand- gas subsidy? The government In the Rajya Sabha, the issue According to his family, ments covered science as well ing a rollback of the decision. should immediately withdraw was raised by Trinamool Con- Bhargava died at his residence as art and culture and their re- The Lok Sabha witnessed a its decision,” he said. gress’s Derek O’Brien who said at Prashant Nagar in Uppal lation to society. He remained walkout by some opposition Trinamool Congress leader LPG subsidy was being ended here. He is survived by a son deeply engaged in social is- parties after the government re- Sudip Bandopadhyay agreed. when the prices of crude had and a daughter. sues, particularly those relat- fused to back off . “This is anti-people and it should seen a steep fall. Born in Ajmer on February ing to the impact of science on In the Rajya Sabha, opposition be immediately withdrawn.” He was joined by other mem- 22, 1928, Bhargava did his PhD society in India and the world. members forced an adjournment Communist Party of In- bers who trooped near the chair- in synthetic organic chemistry His extraordinary energy and even as Petroleum Minister dia (Marxist)’s P K Sreemathy man’s podium raising slogans from Lucknow University. His commitment will continue to Dharmendra Pradhan said the Teacher said poor families will against the government. pioneering vision and eff orts always inspire us in our future proposal to revise the prices had not be able to aff ord LPG. The chair adjourned the house Bollywood actors Bhumi Pednekar (right) and Ayushmann led to the founding of CCMB endeavours,” it said. been made during the Congress The government told the Lok for 10 minutes amid the din. As Khurrana pose for a photograph during a promotional event here in 1977 as an institution Bhargava also served as vice rule and the Modi government Sabha on Monday that it had the upper house reconvened, for the forthcoming film Shubh Mangal Saavdhan directed by for research in basic biology chairman of National Knowl- wanted subsidies to go only to authorised oil marketing com- Leader of Opposition Ghulam R S Prasanna in Mumbai yesterday. and for seeking its application edge Commission constituted the poor. panies to raise the subsidised Nabi Azad again raised the issue. for the benefi t of the society. in 2005. Gulf Times 14 Wednesday, August 2, 2017 INDIA

PRICE RISE POWER CONTROVERSY TRAGEDY INVESTIGATION Delhi takes steps against Contracts for Kudankulam Sikh body seeks UN 10-year-old student CBI sets up team to hoarding of tomatoes units signed with Russia intervention on ban slips in school, dies probe Manipur killings

Delhi Food and Civil Supplies Minister Imran Russia’s ASE Group of Companies yesterday A Sikh organisation yesterday sought the A Class 4 student at the GD Goenka Public School The Central Bureau of Investigation has set Hussain yesterday asked off icials to carry out said three main contracts were signed with UN’s intervention in the matter of various at Indirapuram in Ghaziabad died yesterday up a special team to investigate cases of intense inspections in wholesale markets to curb Nuclear Power Corp of India Ltd (NPCIL) for countries banning certain religious symbols after slipping on the second floor corridor, police alleged extra-judicial killings by the army, hoarding of tomatoes and onions whose prices nuclear power units 5 and 6 to be set up in of the community. The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara said. The incident occurred in Niti Khand when the Assam Rifles and the Manipur police have spiralled. Retail prices of tomato have shot Tamil Nadu’s Kudankulam. In a statement, the Management Committee (DSGMC) has urged 10-year-old Arman Sehegal, who was to appear in insurgency-hit Manipur, an off icial said up from Rs68 per kg on July 3 to Rs92 on July ASE Group, which is part of Russia’s nuclear the UN secretary general to pass a resolution in an internal examination of the school, was yesterday. “A five-member team led by a 31. Wholesale prices of tomato ranged from Rs16 power Corp Rosatom, said the contracts were in the General Assembly of the world body going to the classroom. As he was walking, he Superintendent of Police was formed last per kg to Rs64 on July 24 and between Rs8 per signed on Monday. According to the statement, to give exemption to Sikhs residing in slipped in the corridor and collapsed. The school week to investigate these cases,” a CBI off icial kg and Rs62 per kg on July 31. Retail prices of the three contracts are for the supply of the different countries to wear their religious management rushed him to hospital where said. The agency’s move comes days after onions have risen from Rs21 to Rs27 per kg. The equipment with long manufacturing cycle, for symbols. In a letter to the secretary general, doctors declared him dead. The father of the the Supreme Court on July 14 directed CBI wholesale prices of onion varied between Rs3.75 the first priority design works and for supply DSGMC general secretary Manjinder Singh student, Gulshan Sehegal, blamed the school for Director Alok Kumar Verma to appoint a and Rs11.75 per kg on July 24 and between Rs3.75 of the working documentation. According to Sirsa highlighted the importance of the the death. “The corridor was not safe to walk,” team of off icers to investigate the killings. and Rs20 per kg on July 31. This huge variation Andrey Lebedev, vice-president for Projects five religious symbols or articles of faith as he told the police, and demanded legal action The court ruling came on a public interest between retail and wholesale prices indicates in South Asia, ASE Group of Companies, the prescribed by the Sikh Gurus. “Wearing these against the institute. “We are examining the CCTV litigation for a probe and compensation with that the possibility of hoarding cannot be ruled construction of units 5 and 6 in Kudankulam is articles of faith is a must for every Sikh man footage and waiting for the postmortem report,” regard to what it said were 1,528 extra-judicial out, the government said in a statement. entering the implementation stage. and woman,” he said in the letter. Superintendent of Police Akash Tomar said. killings in Manipur from 2000 to 2012.

Paytm plans messaging service Clashes erupt to rival WhatsApp as militant

Reuters Mumbai

ndia’s leading digital pay- ments fi rm Paytm plans to leader killed Ilaunch a messaging service by the end of this month to com- pete with Facebook Inc’s What- sApp, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. Paytm, which is backed by Ja- pan’s SoftBank and China’s Ali- in Kashmir baba, wants to attract people in India to use a messaging service Agencies gas, pellet guns and bullets, kill- back of his hand. He was very, embedded in its payments app, Srinagar ing a young man and injuring at very mobile,” a police offi cer said which many already use to buy least 70 others, witnesses and a on condition of anonymity. everything from food to plane police offi cer said. His death is one of the biggest tickets. ndian forces killed a top mili- A woman nurse was wounded blows to Kashmiri separatists Paytm’s messaging service will tant commander in Jammu by a bullet inside a hospital in since the death of another com- let users send audio, video, pic- Iand Kashmir yesterday, trig- Pulwama town, south of Srina- mander, Burhan Wani, in July last tures and texts, said the source, gering clashes in which one gar, when government forces fi red year. who declined to be named. protester was killed and dozens at protesters who had assembled Wani’s killing sparked months “Paytm wants to become a dig- injured. outside, a hospital source said. of widespread protests against In- ital universe for Indian commerce Abu Dujana, a senior fi ghter Hundreds of students and dian rule and left nearly 100 civil- where consumers can communi- from the militant group Lashkar- residents clashed with police in ians dead and thousands injured. cate, shop and use fi nancial serv- e-Taiba, was killed during a raid Lal Chowk, the main commercial Since then, stone-throwing ices,” said Pavel Naiya, an analyst near Srinagar. centre of Srinagar, where shop- civilians, sometimes entire com- at tech research Counterpoint. Troops and police special keepers downed shutters and munities, have increasingly gone Paytm has more than 225mn counterinsurgency forces sur- panicked parents rushed to col- out onto the streets to support users in India. rounded the village of Harkipora lect their children from schools. rebels trapped by military cor- WhatsApp, which had 200mn after a tip off that the militant and Separatists have called for a dons in a bid to help them escape. monthly active users as of Feb- an aide were hiding in a house. general strike today. Dujana, a resident of Gilgit- ruary in India, its biggest single A fi erce gunfi ght followed, po- The state government, in turn, Baltistan region in the Pakistan- market, has also been looking lice sources said. has ordered all schools, colleges administered Kashmir, was said at moving into digital payment A house which the militants and universities to be shut too. to be responsible for a number of services there. used was set ablaze by soldiers Security offi cials say Dujana, attacks on Indian security forces, Earlier this year, another In- and another was blown up with who crossed from Pakistan-ad- including the August 2015 Ud- dian messaging platform, Hike, heavy explosives, witnesses said. ministered Kashmir in 2010, was hampur strike that left two Bor- rolled out an electronic pay- Police said the bodies of the the longest surviving fi ghter in der Security Force troopers dead ments service in its app to cash two militants were charred the Indian-controlled territory and 12 injured. in on the growth in digital trans- “nearly beyond recognition”. and used his popularity to escape “The killing of Abu Dujana is a actions in the country. The 26-year-old Dujana, military traps and mount attacks big success for the security forc- E-payments in India surged who was renowned for evad- on security forces. es and a huge setback to terrorist after the country banned old, ing capture, was considered an He had a reputation for being activities in south Kashmir,” a high-value currency notes late “A++” target by security forces, “a master of disguise” who es- police offi cial said. last year. Firms such as Paytm who hailed his death a “major caped at least fi ve previous mili- Inspector General of Police Mu- have since rapidly increased achievement”. tary cordons. nir Khan said: “Dujana’s killing is their market share. A police offi cer, speaking on “He (Dujana) kept weapons good riddance to a nuisance.” Digital payments in India will condition of anonymity, said and ammunition stashed away The National Investiga- jump nearly 10 times by 2020 to Dujana’s aide was a teenaged lo- in diff erent areas and moved like tion Agency (NIA) will question $500bn, according to a 2016 re- cal rebel and that his burial in a civilian disguised as a student separatist leader Syed Ali Shah port by Boston Consulting Group. his hometown was attended by and sometimes as a labourer,” a Geelani’s younger son Naseem The Wall Street Journal was thousands of mourners. resident of south Kashmir, who Geelani today as part of its probe fi rst to report Paytm’s plan to As news of Dujana’s killing declined to be named, said. into terror funding in Kashmir. launch a messaging service. spread, thousands of Kashmir The militant also appeared at The anti-terror agency issued a Paytm did not respond to an residents came out onto the streets the funerals of slain comrades at summons to Naseem, a state gov- e-mail seeking comment. and clashed with government least twice, but gave police and ernment employee, on Monday WhatsApp was not immedi- Relatives of a Kashmiri civilian mourn during his funeral at Begum Bagh Pulwama, south of Srinagar, forces, throwing stones at them. troops the slip. for appearance at its Delhi head- ately reachable for comment. yesterday. He died during protests against the killing of a top militant commander. Troops retaliated by fi ring tear “He knew the territory like the quarters today for questioning. Modi-Nitish combine spells disaster for Lalu

hose who are castigating the BJP. But it switched sides and with several criminals convicted he probably did not realise was BJP plan was working like clock- Bihar Chief Minister Nitish pitched its tent in the Congress for the most heinous of crimes. that Nitish was already preparing work. TKumar for changing horses camp. So idealism is something Naturally, few will shed a tear for ground for the ouster of the Ya- What does the future hold for in midstream are forgetting the that Lalu Yadav can change but Delhi Diary Lalu for losing power. davs one way or the other. From the protagonists of this drama? elemental principle in politics – not Nitish Kumar. In point of fact, Lalu Yadav the start it was an uneasy alliance Nitish Kumar has already pre- that here there are no permanent The case of the Congress is even By A K B Krishnan himself is responsible for things for Nitish who holds probity in dicted there is no one to chal- friends, only permanent interests. worse. Ever since Independence, coming to such a pass. Nitish public life above everything else. lenge Narendra Modi in the 2019 The two most aggrieved par- or even before that, the Congress Gulf Times Correspondent Kumar said he had tried several It was indeed an error of judge- Lok Sabha elections. Modi, for ties in what happened in Patna had never seen eye-to-eye with times directly with Yadav and ment on the part of Nitish to have his part, is certain to look kindly last week were Lalu Prasad Ya- the Communists. The two parties through the offi ces of the Con- left the alliance with BJP in 2013 towards Nitish and, by exten- dav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) had fought bitter ideological bat- he has no one to turn to. The gov- Nitish cannot be anything diff er- gress Party to get Lalu to come just because that party chose sion, Bihar. Which means that and Sonia-Rahul Gandhi’s Con- tles in West Bengal, Kerala, And- ernor must have known this in ent from other politicians in that clean on the corruption charges. Narendra Modi as its prime min- the “special package” he had gress Party. The two parties, along hra Pradesh, etc. Many of these deciding to swear in Nitish. they all look for the best oppor- Except for reiterating that these isterial candidate. promised for the state – as much with Kumar’s Janata Dal-United had degenerated into violent Kumar could have also recom- tunities to stay in/retain power. charges had been foisted on his Despite its convincing victory Rs1,250bn – could start fl owing (JDU) had fought the 2015 as- clashes too. But witness what is mended dissolution of the as- If greed is what you call it, so be family by the BJP, Yadav did not in the 2015 assembly elections, from Delhi to Patna soon. If Nit- sembly elections in what was be- happening in West Bengal today. sembly and fresh elections which, it because in the present scenario have anything to say. And nobody the ‘grand alliance’ was more a ish can manage to obtain that kind ing termed the ‘grand alliance’ The two not only had a pre-poll as many analysts here felt, would that sort of greed is far better believed Yadav because of his an- coalition of opposites and every- of funds from Delhi, he will be in and had decided to share power electoral alliance – they would have given him added legitimacy than the other one - for fi lthy lu- tecedents. one knew that Lalu Yadav would a happy position to implement equitably. Naturally, when Nitish like to call it “understanding”, not because, after all, he had become cre. The best thing that Yadav could be the one calling the shots from all his election promises. That left the alliance and moved over- alliance – but the Congress had the chief minister on the back of a It is the same sentiment that have done was to get son Tejashwi outside the cabinet. Nitish let in turn could help him return to night to the embracing arms of the even off ered to support Marxist pre-poll alliance. A JDU-BJP coa- Nitish Kumar expressed when he to resign as deputy chief minister. him, to the extent possible, but power in 2020. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), both chief Sitaram Yechuri if he decid- lition at this juncture would have said during his speech in the state That could have portrayed him must have been looking for an es- But all that may be wishful the RJD and the Congress cried ed to contest the upcoming elec- swept to power because the Yadav assembly that “one family (Lalu’s) as a victim and Yadav could have cape route all the while. thinking and much water has to foul. tions for the Rajya Sabha. All this clan’s reputation is at its lowest was trying to throw a veil on cor- taken full advantage of it. Any- That was provided by none fl ow down the Ganga/Yamuna “This is cheating,” the two pro- while the two parties are locked now thanks to the multitude of ruption by citing secularism at way, Tejashwi was only a front other than Sushil Modi, the state before we reach that point. What claimed. “You are only hankering in a constant confrontation in corruption charges it is facing. As every turn.” Lalu Yadav is already for Yadav to get his bidding done BJP’s most senior leader who, is imminent is Lalu Prasad Ya- after power and you have no ide- Kerala. So ideology be damned, for the Congress, its stand-alone convicted for corruption. More within the government, which he through a series of press confer- dav’s fate. Never say never is very ology,” they said. pragmatism be praised. value is negligible and it can only charges have been pressed on could have easily continued to do ences, brought the Yadav cor- apt when it comes to politicians. Now, take a step back and ask It would have been proper for survive on the coat-tails of the lo- him, his wife, eldest daughter and through his elder son Tej Pratap ruption cases to light. Although You can never write a politician the oft-asked question: “Look Nitish Kumar to fi rst resign and cal chieftains. younger son. The amounts being who was also a minister in the Ni- federal agencies like the Central off , especially one like Lalu Ya- who is talking.” Can the RJD or the leave it to the governor to call the But fresh elections with three bandied about are mind-bog- tish cabinet. Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and dav. But with Modi as prime min- Congress rightfully claim to be leader of the largest party, in this more years to go for the present gling. How anyone could amass But as the saying in Sanskrit the Enforcement Directorate (ED) ister and Nitish as chief minister, absolutely without blemish when case the RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, to assembly would be the last thing such wealth in an impoverished goes: “vinashakale vipareetha maintained that they started their the golden days of the RJD chief it comes to sacrifi cing ideology try and form a government. There any legislator, including those state like Bihar is beyond imagi- buddhi” (bad judgments at bad investigations after Modi’s reve- has virtually come to an end. As at the altar of expediency? The was no way that the junior Yadav from the RJD or the Congress, nation. Or maybe that’s why the times). By refusing to budge Ya- lations, it is anybody’s guess what for the Congress, it has proved RJD was once part of the National could have managed the majority would want. And politics is the state is so impoverished. The sen- dav must have hoped that Nitish Modi’s sources were for such in- that losing power is habit-form- Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by because except for the Congress game where no quarter is given. ior Yadav has been hobnobbing Kumar would blink fi rst. What criminating evidence. The grand ing. Gulf Times Wednesday, August 2, 2017 15 PAKISTAN WhatsApp Historic building enforcer to bring new style

Reuters author and contributing editor Islamabad to Newsweek Pakistan. A political source close to the ousted prime minister olitics is a family busi- said Shahbaz believes civilians ness in Pakistan and must grow the $300bn econo- Pousted leader Nawaz my and boost development be- Sharif has looked no further fore they can try to rein in the than his brother Shahbaz for a military establishment. successor, but the prime min- “I have listened to him talk ister-in-waiting is no carbon about this...and he thinks it’s copy and is likely to usher in a a matter of decades before the new style at the top of govern- civilians can interfere with the ment. military,” said the source. Such an orderly handover A less antagonist relation- would contrast with the South ship with the military may Asian nation’s history of po- bode well for his premiership litical turmoil and would likely in a nation where the army has go down well with Pakistan’s a history of staging coups or powerful military, with whom helping topple governments. Shahbaz has been more con- Shahbaz’s critics say his ciliatory than his brother. preference for a small cadre Shahbaz Sharif, 65, has been of advisers over elected pro- in Nawaz’s shadow during their vincial ministers has limited A man rests on the balcony of a historic building in the old Raja Bazar neighbourhood of Rawalpindi, Pakistan. three decades in politics, forg- his popularity within PML-N, ing a reputation as a workahol- and he has never challenged his ic administrator obsessed with brother’s authority. Few expect infrastructure mega-projects that to change. in the vast Punjab province, A senior PML-N source said the family’s powerbase that is Nawaz would take a back seat, home to more than half of Pa- but would likely still call the kistan’s 190mn people. shots on major policy issues. His hands-on style as chief “Nawaz’s decisions will be minister of Punjab — pepper- fi nal,” a senior PML-N offi cial, ing offi cials with WhatsApp who did not wish to be named, messages in the dead of night told Reuters. “But I know Na- Parliament elects — has won him admirers in waz Sharif and he’s just not go- the provincial capital Lahore, ing be interfering too much. a Mughul-era city spruced up He’s not a micro-managing with slick highways and mani- person.” Shahbaz could not be cured boulevards. reached for comment. “Like it, or not, if you want Several aides to Shahbaz to work with Shahbaz Sharif, paint a picture of a tough task- you have to be on the toes all master, berating offi cials to Abbasi as new PM the time,” said Athar Ali Khan, ensure major infrastructure a Punjab government offi cer projects are fi nished on time. Abbasi said Nawaz Sharif was politics and being elected to the Nawaz Sharif was ousted by the who has worked with him for a In May, when a Chinese- the real prime minister National Assembly six times. Supreme Court. long time. built coal-fi red power station He was arrested after the 1999 He is expected to serve as The Supreme Court on Fri- was built in record time, PML- AFP military coup led by General Per- prime minister until Sharif’s day disqualifi ed Nawaz from N took out newspaper adverts Islamabad vez Musharraf, which ended Na- younger brother Shahbaz, a pro- offi ce over undeclared income to boast of their achievement. waz Sharif’s second term as PM, vincial minister, can be elected to and ordered a criminal investi- A liquefi ed natural gas (LNG) and was imprisoned for two years the national assembly and take gation into him and his family. plant was also built in record akistan’s parliament elect- before being released. over the leadership. But Shahbaz’s accession is time. ed ruling party loyalist Prime Minister-in-waiting Abbasi was appointed oil min- nonetheless almost guaranteed Anecdotes of Sharif lashing PShahid Khaqan Abbasi as Shahbaz Sharif went into exile in ister when former premier Sharif due to PML-N’s hefty major- out against politicians and col- prime minister yesterday, after Saudi Arabia along with Nawaz won his third term in 2013. ity in parliament, and it adds to leagues contrast with the def- Nawaz Sharif’s ouster by the Su- after the coup. Abbasi was born in the south- Pakistan’s long history of dy- erential approach to his elder preme Court following a corrup- Shahbaz returned to Pakistan ern port city of Karachi but is a nastic politics. brother. tion probe. in 2007 and was elected chief member of the National Assem- Shahbaz’s governing style is “His biggest weakness is Na- Abbasi is seen as a place- minister in the family’s power bly for Murree — a hill station in in sharp contrast to Nawaz’s waz Sharif,” said one of Shah- holder for Sharif’s designated base of Punjab in 2008, becom- northern Punjab that is a favour- hands-off approach, but the baz’s close aides in Lahore. successor, his younger brother ing the longest serving top offi - ite holiday destination for Sharif. two brothers espouse a similar Opposition politicians have Shahbaz, who must first be cial in the province. Abbasi worked in the US and pro-business ideology. begun to turn their crosshairs elected to the 342-member Na- Leader of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party Maulana Fazlur Rehman A tough administrator with a Saudi Arabia as an electrical en- Their biggest diff erence may on Shahbaz, accusing him of tional Assembly before taking arrives at parliament to cast his vote. reputation for passionate out- gineer before joining politics af- be in their relations with the corruption and vowing to use the top office. bursts, he is known for using ter his father, a minister in Gen- military, which plays an out- the judicial system to bring him Nominated by Sharif’s ruling cian who spearheaded the push year history — roughly half of revolutionary poetry in speeches eral Zia ul-Haq’s government, sized role in Pakistani politics down. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz against Sharif. which has been spent under mil- and public meetings and consid- was killed when an ammunition and currently controls key areas “This is not a democracy, (PML-N), Abbasi secured 221 Abbasi, a long-time ally of itary rule — to be ousted before ered by some to be a workaholic. depot belonging to Pakistan’s of policy such as relations with this is a kingdom,” said Imran votes, Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq Sharif, easily won the majority completing a full term. His scandalous relationships powerful Inter-Service Intel- India and the United States. Khan, leader of the opposition announced on live television. required to become prime min- The top court sacked him Fri- fuelled headlines in the past, but ligence Agency (ISI) exploded in Analysts say Shahbaz has PTI party. He was sworn in at the presi- ister in the PML-N dominated day after an investigation into his marriage to author Tehmina Rawalpindi in 1988. cultivated better ties with the Shahbaz has fi led a Rs10bn dency later yesterday by Presi- parliament, putting into motion corruption allegations against Durrani, his fi fth wife, in 2003 Abbasi has been elected six generals, who cut short the ($95mn) lawsuit against Khan dent Mamnoon Hussain. a process that is expected to ulti- him and his family, bringing his has since dampened the media times as a member of the Na- second of Nawaz’s three stints after the former cricketer- Despite his election minutes mately see a Sharif once again as historic third term in power to an frenzy. tional Assembly since then, and in power with a coup in 1999. turned-politician alleged a before, the new premier used his Pakistan’s premier. unceremonious end and briefl y Shahbaz has been so far large- has previously served as minister “It is well known that Shah- source close to Shahbaz of- maiden speech in parliament to “Whether it’s 45 days or 45 plunging the nuclear-armed na- ly unscathed by claims about for commerce and defence pro- baz Sharif is more practical, fered him a bribe to drop the declare Nawaz Sharif “the prime hours, I am the prime minister of tion into political uncertainty. the lavish lifestyles and luxury duction. more pragmatic vis-a-vis the Supreme Court case against minister of the people of Paki- Pakistan and I am here to work, Observers have said it is un- London property portfolio of He was the chairman of na- army,” said Khaled Ahmed, an Nawaz. stan”. not keep the seat warm,” Abbasi clear whether the court’s ruling the Sharif dynasty, which have tional fl ag carrier Pakistan Inter- “Inshallah one day the real continued, referring to the time will allow the ousted Sharif to played out for months in the rau- national Airlines (PIA) from 1997 prime minister of this country limit on a by-election for Sharif’s run for offi ce again in the future. cous news media. to 1999, until General Pervez will come back and sit on this old seat, which Shahbaz Sharif is Abbasi is the former federal It was an investigation into the Musharraf seized power, over- chair,” he said. expected to fi ll. minister for petroleum and natu- claims, which fi rst erupted with throwing Sharif’s second gov- Sharif supporters in the as- Listing PML-N trademark ral resources, and a businessman the Panama Papers leak last year, ernment. sembly chanted slogans and issues such as infrastructure who launched the country’s most that eventually saw the Supreme Abbasi was arrested after the waved placards bearing larger- projects, he also vowed to crack successful private airline, Air Court oust Nawaz Sharif. coup and imprisoned for two than-life images of the deposed down on tax evaders and private Blue. He and his family have denied years before being released. premier. ownership of automatic weap- Educated in the United States the accusations. In 2003, he setup an airline, Absent from the assembly was ons. at George Washington Univer- Abbasi is expected to act as a Air Blue, the country’s most suc- opposition leader Imran Khan, Nawaz Sharif was the 15th sity, he worked overseas as an placeholder for the Sharif dy- cessful private airline and chal- the cricketer-turned-politi- prime minister in Pakistan’s 70- electrical engineer before joining nasty after three-time premier lenger to PIA. Food security improved in tribal areas: report

Internews The follow-up report to the 2014 ‘Re- moderately food insecure dropped from of the humanitarian and recovery sup- Islamabad turning Home’ assessment provided up- 39% to 23% over the three-year period, port extended to displaced and returning dated evidence regarding food security, said the WFP. families in the region, which was provided livelihoods and the market situation in all The improvement was particularly dra- under the leadership and vision of the Fata he food security situation of tem- seven Fata agencies Bajaur, Khyber, Kur- matic among female-headed households, secretariat. porary displaced persons (TDPs) ram, Mohmand, Orakzai and North and with those defi ned as severely food inse- Speaking on the occasion, Fata’s addi- Twho have returned to their homes South Waziristan. cure decreasing from 19% to zero per cent, tional chief secretary Dr Fida Mohamed in the Federally Administered Tribal Ar- It said that while 44% of the population and moderately food insecure households Wazir said, “I thank the WFP and other eas (Fata) has improved signifi cantly since was defi ned as food insecure in 2014, only decreasing from 55% to 15%. collaborating organisations for the com- 2014, according to a United Nations (UN) 24% was found to be in the same situation Explaining the reasons for improvement mission and support to this signifi cant report released yesterday. in 2017 where they did not have access to [in food security], the report said families study”. Since 2014, he said, there was a The report titled ‘Food Security and or could not aff ord enough food for their faced fewer shocks ranging from natural positive improvement in security and with Livelihoods Assessment of Returned daily dietary and nutritional needs. disasters to illness among people and live- the government’s continued eff orts, some Households Residing in Fata’ was launched At the same time, while 5pc of the peo- stock and they had access to better hous- 250,000 displaced families returned, by the World Food Programme (WFP) un- ple were considered severely food insecure ing, improved water and sanitation and while some 50,000 families were still liv- der the leadership of the Fata secretariat. in 2014 — having an inadequate diet in increased security over the years. ing away from their original homes. It indicated a consistent and signifi cant terms of quality and quantity — now only Launching the report, WFP country Such a large-scale return aff ects mar- A Pakistani parliamentarian from the ruling PML-N party Maiza drop in the total food insecurity rate in the 1% were in such a serious situation. director Finbarr Curran said the fi ndings kets, the provision of basic services, liveli- Hameed outside the parliament. region between 2014 and 2017. The percentage of people who were were an evidence of the positive impact hoods and food security, he added. Gulf Times 16 Wednesday, August 2, 2017 PHILIPPINES Key Maute leaders not rendered out of action: sources

By Moh Saaduddin he (Abdullah) was not on the hostages that Abdullah had Yaman al-Yamani, and Abu Hafs ers,” in 2006 in Cagayan de Oro mitted that operations against the battle zone, hiding along Manila Times battleground during the time, been killed, Armed Forces of and his twin Abu Akmad. City. The KIM last year formed the Maute troops were becom- with civilian hostages in places but he’s expected to come back the Philippines (AFP) spokes- Most were seen in a video, IS Ranao, also known as the ing more diffi cult and “getting such as mosques. On Monday, and fi ght (again),” one of the man Brig Gen Restituto Padilla along with two unidentifi ed in- Maute group, led by Abdullah. slower everyday.”The Maute Defense Secretary Delfi n Loren- ey leaders of the Maute sources said. Jr said. dividuals, prior to the Maute’s It recruited more than 100 “dis- fi ghters continue to plant im- zana said only 30 to 40 terrorists group, including Abdullah Another source said other top “We do trust the narratives May 23 attack on Marawi City gruntled” members of the Moro provised explosive devices were holed up in Marawi. But KMaute, are still alive more Maute leaders also survived the of our escapees from inside. But that forced President Rodrigo Islamic Liberation Front, which (IEDs) in certain places to delay Petinglay said fi gures given by than two months into fi ghting fi ghting but were wounded in then we need verifi able proof Duterte to declare martial law has disowned them. Hapilon’s military operations, said Capt the Defense chief were only es- with government forces since the months-long military of- before we can come up with a over Mindanao. Abu Sayyaf and other allied Jo-ann Petinglay, spokesperson timates. the IS-linked terrorists attacked fensives. “They have received categorical statement,” Padilla Local and international intel- groups supported the IS in 2014. for the AFP’s Western Mindanao More than 500 Maute ter- the city, sources told The Manila medical treatment and are now said. ligence units had identifi ed the Abdulnajid and Hapilon, to- Command. rorists have been killed since Times. back fi ghting,” he said. Aside from Abdullah Maute, plotters in the video except for gether with their men, were “We have been recovering the fi ghting began, the mili- Contrary to earlier reports, “One of them was wounded other identifi ed leaders of the Abdulnajid and a few others. featured in the IS-run magazine plenty of booby traps from the tary claims, and a total of 592 Abdullah Maute remains alive twice when hit by bomb debris, group linked to the IS are his These plotters fi gured in the Rumiyah released in June. Ha- areas. If these exploded, our fi rearms have been recovered and unhurt from the fi ghting, but he was fully treated outside brothers Omar and Madie, Is- founding of the Khilafah Islami- pilon, together with Abdullah’s troops would have to hold back,” from their lairs.“We are getting the Times sources said, citing the battle zone,” the source said. nilon Hapilon, Isnadie Ibrahim, yah Movement (KIM) and its in- brother Omar, had fl ed the battle she said. nearer. Places that need to get their conversations with the The military is still inves- Humam Abdulnajid, Malaysian telligence unit Ghuraba, which zones, according to reports. Petinglay said about 50 to 70 cleared are getting fewer, but at group on July 28. “They said that tigating reports from escaped national Mahmud Ahmad, Abu means “strangers” or “foreign- Yesterday, the military ad- Maute terrorists remained inside a slow pace,” Petinglay said. Faeldon stays, has Duterte’s support Asean, China to endorse

By Catherine S Valente has vowed to implement a harsh Manila Times crackdown on government offi - cials involved in drug traffi cking. He has also promised to fi re any sea code of conduct: DFA e may have incurred the of his appointees if he catches ire of lawmakers for the even a “whiff of corruption” in- By Catherine S Valente as an “outline” that defi nes the Hentry of a huge shipment volving any of them. Manila Times nature of the code of conduct, of illegal drugs into the coun- Yesterday, Faeldon said it was detail the legal basis for it, and try, but Commissioner Nicanor the president who should ask state “how countries should be- Faeldon is staying put at the Bu- him to resign, not lawmakers. he Association of South- have in the region.” reau of Customs (BOC), Finance “I am a soldier. I don’t treat this east Asian Nations “There is no specifi c men- Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd position as a job; it is a mission. T(Asean) and China are tion … but the general head- said. And a soldier does not quit from expected to endorse the frame- ings, it’s an outline, the nature President Rodrigo Duterte his mission, but the soldier can work of the code of conduct on of the code of conduct, what summoned Faeldon to the Palace be fi red. So let the president fi re the South China Sea, the De- principles govern the behav- yesterday, hours after the House me,” he said. partment of Foreign Aff airs said iours of [nations]. I would think of Representatives opened its Before he left the House of yesterday. it’s something more generic so inquiry into the entry of a huge Representatives, Faeldon had to Foreign ministers from Asean there’s no specifi c mention [of shipment of shabu (metham- listen to calls for his resignation and China will gather in Ma- the arbitral ruling],” he told re- phetamine hydrochloride) into from lawmakers and the Philip- nila for the 50th Asean Minis- porters. the country in May this year. pine Drug Enforcement Agency terial Meeting this week. They Bolivar, however, said the Dominguez said the president (PDEA), who accused him and will be joined by their counter- Philippines will push the arbi- has “full confi dence” in the cus- his subordinates of conducting parts from Korea, Japan, United tration ruling on the disputed toms commissioner despite the an illegal raid in Valenzuela City States, Canada and other coun- sea. “Anything that is to our in- controversy. that led to the seizure of P6.4bn tries considered as Asean dia- terest, defi nitely, we will push,” “The chief executive has ex- worth of shabu. logue partners. the DFA spokesman said. pressed his full confi dence in Rep Ace Barbers of Surigao del “We have a commitment Eff orts to fi nalise the pact Commissioner Faeldon and Norte, who led the probe, and from Asean and China to fi nal- have dragged on for years. In told him to focus on serving the House Majority Leader Rodolfo ise, to approve the framework place of a legally binding code, country,” the fi nance chief told Fariñas stressed that the raid in of the Code of Conduct within Asean and China in 2002 set- reporters after the president met Valenzuela City would not build the chairmanship year of the tled for a mere declaration that Faeldon. a strong case against drug traf- Philippines, which is this year. A soldier checks a combat vehicle stationed at the Cultural Center of the Philippines complex where called on all claimants to exer- Some members of the House fi ckers since the raid was only We expect that the foreign min- leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) will meet. The 50th Asean Ministerial cise restraint and stop new oc- had called for Faeldon’s resig- based on a Letter of Authority isters will endorse the frame- Meeting and other activities will be held in Manila from August 2 to 8. Photo: Bob Dungo/Manila Times cupation of areas in the South nation, saying he should be held (LOA)—a document issued by a work as it is currently approved China Sea.But China refused accountable for the smuggling customs commissioner, which by the senior offi cials in — last he added. But Bolivar said no tion of Conduct to Parties in international arbitral tribunal to turn it into a legally binding of illegal drugs from China. The could not supplant a search war- May — to endorse it during their timeline has been set for the ap- the South China Sea. For this nullifying China’s massive claim “code of conduct,” using the in- Bureau of Customs is under the rant. meeting on August 6 in Ma- proval of the code. particular year, in fact since late on the West Philippines Sea tervening time to build its artifi - supervision of the Department “The LOA is not provided for nila,” Foreign Aff airs spokesman “This is actually a very big last year, we have a commitment (South China Sea) may not be cial islands in the area. of Finance. by the (Dangerous Drugs) law. Robespierre Bolivar said. step that we have a framework from Asean and China to com- included in the regional code of Beijing claims nearly all of the Aside from Faeldon and What you did violates the chain “So after it is endorsed, after that will be endorsed by the plete this framework and this is conduct, the DFA said. South China Sea, despite partial Dominguez, Duterte also met of custody. You need to follow the approval process has been ministers in a few days. As you already a major step toward re- Bolivar said the code of con- counterclaims from Taiwan and with Bureau of Internal Rev- the law,” Barbers said. “I don’t done, dealt with, we expect that may recall, there was a diff erent alising the Code of Conduct in duct should refl ect the common several Asean members, includ- enue chief Cesar Dulay. “The really know what your quali- the talks on the actual Code of strategic environment in 2002 the South China Sea,” he said. interests of all parties involved. ing the Philippines, Brunei, Ma- chief executive has asked the BIR fi cations are for that post. You Conduct will begin in earnest,” when we adopted the Declara- However, the ruling of an He described the framework laysia and Vietnam. commissioner to accelerate tax brought embarrassment to the collections to cover unexpected President,” Barbers added. expenses due to natural disas- PDEA Chief Isidro Lapena ters and the Marawi rebellion,” requested an executive session Dominguez added. or closed-door meeting with The meeting at the Palace House members when Barbers Philippine police step up security for Asean meet came a day after the Senate Blue asked him about the conduct of Ribbon panel conducted a fi ve- the May 26 raid in Valenzuela hour hearing on the shabu al- City that yielded P6.4bn worth Reuters said yesterday. Twenty-seven eral groups. They were former is Quiapo, an old commercial ongoing and has killed more legedly smuggled through the of shabu (methamphetamine hy- Manila foreign ministers from the As- hitmen of the communist Alex district close to the presidential than 650 people, mostly rebel Bureau of Customs in May. The drochloride). sociation of South East Asian Boncayao Brigade, or ABB, a palace area, where a bomb dur- fighters. shipment was seized in an opera- Faeldon and other customs Nations (Asean) and its dia- group of assassins that was ing an Asean leaders’ summit in Albayalde said that al- tion led by customs in Valenzuela offi cials were excluded from the hilippine security forces logue partners like Japan, the active in the 1980s. April wounded 14 people. though the ABB was small warehouses days after. executive session. In his opening are monitoring a group United States, India, Canada He said the men had joined The authorities said the and has long been dormant, statement during the hearing, Pof former Maoist assas- and Russia, will gather in Ma- pro-IS militant groups in the motive was a personal dispute. the conversion of some of its During an executive session, Barbers slammed Faeldon and sins who joined militants as a nila from Friday until Tuesday. Philippines and could be plan- Security forces have been on members meant it needed to a broker reportedly claimed customs offi cials for what he de- possible threat to this week’s Metro Manila’s police chief ning to disrupt the upcoming high alert since an alliance of be watched. The Philippines is that customs offi cials were in- scribed as “gross incompetence” 50th anniversary meeting of Oscar Albayalde said there was meetings of foreign ministers. pro-IS fighters laid siege to deploying 13,000 police offic- volved in the smuggling of shabu that led to the entry of P6.4bn Southeast Asian foreign min- no specific threat so far, but “We are watching several en- the southern Marawi City on ers to secure and guard more worth P6.4bn (pesos). Duterte worth of shabu into the country. isters, Manila’s police chief police were monitoring sev- claves,” he said. Among those May 23, a battle that is still than 1,700 delegates.

Abu Sayyaf behead 7 men for Swept in destroying leader’s plantation

Suspected Abu Sayyaf militants beheaded seven men who allegedly destroyed a rubber plantation owned by their leader in the southern Philippines, police said on Monday. The decapitated bodies of the victims were found in the town of Lantawan in Basilan province, 900km south of Manila, on Sunday, said Chief Superintendent Reuben Theodore Sindac, a regional police director. The men were abducted on July 20 after their homes were burned by the terrorists, who were led by two sub-commanders of Abu Sayyaf leader Furuji Indama, Sindac said. Chief Inspector Tara Leah Cuyco, a regional police spokeswoman, said Indama ordered the attack because the seven who were local loggers were allegedly behind the destruction of his rubber plantation. “Accordingly, Furuji directed his men to get those chainsaw owners because his rubber plantation was destroyed,” she said. Abu Sayyaf is one of the most active militant groups in the southern Philippines, and is believed to be allied with the IS. They are holding captive about 20 hostages, including 14 foreigners, in Basilan and nearby Jolo Island. Philippines has fastest growing HIV infections in Asia, says UN report

The Philippines has the fastest growing number of HIV infections in Asia, a report by the United Nations and the government showed yesterday. The Southeast Asian nation saw a 140% increase in new cases from 2010 to 2016, even though the annual number of new infections in Asia-Pacific declined by 13% over the same period, according to the report. “The Philippines has a small window of opportunity to act now and stop a major HIV epidemic from taking hold,” Eamonn Murphy, director of UNAIDS Regional Support Team said in a statement. He called on the government to focus anti-HIV eff orts on those at most risk. Genesis Samonte of the Philippine health department’s epidemiology bureau said. “Risky behaviours are starting very young,” she said. The report also showed that only A man picks up garbage washed ashore at Manila Bay. 35% of males had comprehensive knowledge of HIV transmission and prevention. Gulf Times Wednesday, August 2, 2017 17 SRI LANKA/BANGLADESH/NEPAL Newsman Bangladeshi conjoined twins separated in marathon surgery

IANS held over Dhaka urgeons successfully sepa- rated two nine-month-old Ssisters born pygopagus in a complex operation in Bangladesh capital Dhaka yesterday. Facebook About eight hours into the sur- gery, Professor Ashraf Ul Huq, head, paediatric surgery depart- ment at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, said that “their operation is 90% done successfully.” The multi-hour operation comment processes of the twins, Tofa and Tohura, began yesterday morn- AFP ing at about 7am local time Dhaka (0100 GMT). They were called pygopagus twins, a particularly rare form angladesh police yester- of conjoined twins, in which the day arrested a journalist bodies are joined back to back at Bin the country’s south for the pelvis and lower spine. allegedly defaming a minister Huq said the doctors have in a Facebook post about a dead successfully separated them in goat. the fi rst half of the operation. Dhaka Medical College and Hospital surgeons operate on conjoined twins in Dhaka yesterday. Abdul Latif Morol, a reporter “Their spinal cord, backbone, at a regional Bengali-language urinary system and anus were pair of “pygopagus” twins were The girls were connected on await a surgery in Dhaka. Rabia formulating a comprehensive daily, was detained before dawn separated successfully,” he said. separated,” Huq said. the hips and shared spinal col- and Rukaiya were born joined at plan for their separation. in the coastal town of Dumuria Shortly after their separa- At least 16 surgeons from dif- umns and anus, he said, adding skull at a clinic in the country’s “We’re yet to decide when after a journalist from a rival tion, the infants were taken to ferent Dhaka Medical College and the twins will also likely undergo Pabna district, 216km west of they will undergo an operation newspaper fi led a case under a two separate operation theatres Hospital departments includ- one or more additional surgeries. Dhaka, in July last year. to separate them,” Amin said. draconian Internet law. to complete the rest of the tasks ing anaesthesia, burn and plastic The team of specialist Dhaka They are undergoing treat- In January 2002, Bangladeshi “The complainant said Morol which will take a few more hours. surgery, orthopaedics, neurosur- Medical College and Hospital ment at Bangabandhu Sheikh doctors performed fi rst-ever has defamed the state (junior) A team of specialists, which gery, urology, radiology and im- doctors had earlier treated anal Mujib Medical University operation to separate conjoined minister for fi sheries and live- Abdul Latif Morol... in police net has been working for months aging took part in performing the and rectal problems of the in- (BSMMU) in the capital, which twins who later died. Since then stock, Narayan Chandra Chan- to prepare for the surgery, took operation, he added. fants, who were born in Bang- also set up a team of specialists doctors performed a number of da, after he made a derogatory livestock offi cials and not the part in the operation. “This “We are very hopeful for a positive ladesh’s northern Gaibandha to treat them. separation operations of con- post about him in Facebook,” lo- minister. has been the fi rst time ever in outcome fi nally as the second part of district, 268km from Dhaka. Prof Ruhul Amin, chief paedi- joined twins in the country. cal police chief Sukumar Biswas In an interview with a local the history of pediatric sur- the operation completed surgery of Another pair of conjoined atric surgeon at BSMMU, said sur- Some of them survived and are said. paper the plaintiff said he filed gery in Bangladesh in which a critical part successfully.” twins, Rabia and Rukaiya, also geons and physicians have been leading a healthy life. Chanda was the chief guest at the complaint because he was a an event organised by the gov- supporter of the nationally rul- ernment’s local livestock de- ing Awami League. “We did not partment, a part of his ministry, like the matter (the Facebook at Dumuria on Saturday. post).” At the event livestock, includ- Rights groups have accused Lanka invites more Chinese investors Security ing goats, chickens and ducks, the Bangladesh government of were donated to poor farmers, using Section 57 of the Infor- IANS ment Co-operation Forum in $1.4bn Colombo Financial City Therefore today I invite the but one of the donated goats lat- mation and Communications Colombo Colombo, Commerce and In- project were immensely benefi cial potential Chinese investors to beefed up er died, according to local media Technology law – the law under dustry Minister Rishard Bathiu- for the island country. invest in Sri Lanka and partner reports. That prompted Morol to which the current complaint was deen said that in 2016, Sri Lanka He said there were many with us,” Bathiudeen said. write on Facebook “Goat given fi led – to crack down on dissent ri Lanka has called on received foreign direct other Chinese FDI projects in Statistics from China’s in Jaff na by state minister in the morning and harass journalists. more Chinese investors to investment (FDI) of $801mn. Sri Lanka including in the tex- ministry of commerce showed dies in the evening,” Biswas said. Last month, hundreds of Sinvest in the island coun- Bathiudeen said mega Chi- tile and apparel, fi sheries and total trade volume between The complainant alleged journalists rallied in the capital try, saying that China had in- nese projects such as the recently manufacturing sectors. China and Sri Lanka reached after death that Morol’s post was aimed at Dhaka to demand a repeal of the vested more than $52m dollars signed $1.1bn Hambantota Port “Tourism is another at- $4.4bn. That is a 363% in- “undermining” the minister controversial section after sev- in the country in 2016 alone. agreement between the Sri Lanka tractive sector since Chinese crease in comparison to a dec- “socially and personally” as he eral journalists were detained Speaking at the China-Sri Ports Authority and China Mer- tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka ade back in 2007, which stood of three should have blamed the local and charged under it. Lanka Infrastructure Invest- chants Port Holdings and the doubled from year to year. at $965mn. policemen

Agencies Wildlife sanctuary expanded to save tigers Colombo ecurity has been be beefed AFP darbans – one of the largest hab- tuary was limited to 23% of the help” increase the number of stricted,” he said. The nearly A UN agency last October up in Sri Lanka’s Tamil- Dhaka itats of the tigers – has been de- forest cover, and villagers and wild cats. 350,000 locals who depend on asked the government to halt Sdominated Jaff na city af- clared a sanctuary this week, said tourists had unrestricted ac- “This is a law. We appreciate the Sundarbans to collect fi sh, construction of the 1,320-meg- ter an assassination attempt on the government’s chief forest cess to the rest of the mangrove it. If it’s enforced eff ectively, I’m honey and logs will not be al- awatt power plant, saying there a high court judge and the death angladesh has more than conservator Shafi ul Alam. forest. hopeful it will help the animals, lowed to enter it, he said. was a high chance that pollu- of three security personnel, a doubled the size of the The Sundarbans, which also A 2015 survey found a dra- especially the tigers, to grow in Despite this expansion, the tion from it would “irreversibly senior police offi cial said. Bwildlife sanctuary in the straddles parts of eastern In- matic decline in the numbers numbers,” Khan said. wildlife and the delicate eco- damage” the Sundarbans. “We have to adopt diff erent world’s largest mangrove for- dia, is home to some rare ani- of the Bengal tiger – 106 tigers, Amir Hossain, head of the system of the Sundarbans still “The government should re- strategies now to ensure securi- est to try to protect endangered mals including the Irrawaddy down from 440 during a 2004 government’s Tiger Monitoring face an existential crisis from a think about the power plant as ty of the people and the police,” Bengal tigers whose numbers dolphins and the Bengal tigers, count. Project, said the expanded sanc- controversial power plant at the the extension of the sanctuary Inspector General of Police Pu- have fallen sharply, offi cials said both declared endangered be- Monirul Khan, a tiger ex- tuary “will be a safe roaming and edge of the forest which Prime alone won’t make much dif- jith Jayasundera said. yesterday. cause of poaching and a loss of pert and zoology professor at breeding haven for the tigers”. Minister Sheikh Hasina’s gov- ference for the tigers and other He was responding to queries More than half, or 52%, of the their habitat. Jahangirnagar University, said “People’s movement in the ernment is moving ahead with, Sundarbans animals,” Khan on two incidents, murder of a 6,017sq km (2,325sq mile) Sun- Previously, the wildlife sanc- the decision would “surely extended sanctuary will be re- experts said. said. policeman, who was a protec- tion offi cer of Tamil judge M Illancheliyan last week and the killing of two policemen over Mask seller the weekend. The policemen Nepal parties gear were proceeding to conduct an inquiry over a police complaint when they were attacked by up for third phase people who came in a motorcycle

Jayasundera said there will be special search and patrolling of local elections operations in the area. He said the attackers in the latest incident of murder Agencies leaders to prepare the ground Earlier, the Nepal govern- of two policemen who were Kathmandu for the election. ment had postponed the date seriously injured, have been The Madhes-based politi- of elections in the disputed identifi ed. cal parties have also started Madhesi-stronghold Prov- “We are searching for six oth- epal’s major political their electoral preparation in ince No. 2 by nearly three ers who have also been identi- parties are gearing up various districts of the prov- months and added a third fi ed,” Jayasundera said. Nfor the third phase of ince No. 2 ahead of the third phase in the polls. Two policemen were pro- the local-level polls to be held phase of local polls. Local-level elections could ceeding to conduct an in- in the Madhesi province next However, the newly- not be held after 1997 largely quiry over a police complaint month after it was postponed formed Rastriya Janata Party as a result of the decade- when they were attacked by the government, local Nepal has not yet decided long Maoist insurgency that by people who came in a media reported. whether to take part in the claimed more than 16,000 motorcycle. The third phase of the lo- polls or not as the party has lives in Nepal. In another incident, a po- cal polls held in two decades stuck to its earlier demand of Nepal has been wit- liceman providing security to is scheduled to take place in an amendment to the consti- nessing political instabil- Elenechelian was killed in a eight districts including in tution to address their major ity. Some Madhes-centric shooting incident in Jaff na. The Bara, Parsa, Rautahat, Dha- demands. parties opposed the elec- main suspect of this incident nusha, Saptari and Siraha of Millions of Nepalis voted tions on the ground that who is a former LTTE cadre was southern Nepal under the on June 28 in the second phase the new constitution be arrested by police. Madhesi-stronghold province of the country’s fi rst local- amended to accommodate Justice Ilanechelian had pre- No. 2 on September 18. level polls in two decades as their views: more repre- sided in high profi le abuse and Three major political par- the Himalayan nation took a sentation in the parlia- murder case of Sivaloganathan ties Nepali Congress, CPN- crucial step towards cement- ment and redrawing of Vithya, a young student in May UML and CPN (Maoist ing democracy amid political provincial boundaries. 2015. The incident had caused Centre) have focused their ac- turmoil. The Nepal government has much public outrage. tivities on Province 2 in view In the fi rst round of polls tabled a new constitution The current government has A shopkeeper walks out holding a mask from his souvenir shop in Bhaktapur, near the Nepal capital of the third phase of local held on May 14 in Provinces amendment bill in the parlia- come under criticism from op- Kathmandu, yesterday. level elections scheduled for 3, 4 and 6, voter turnout ment to address the demands position for relaxing security in September 18, deploying top was recorded at 71%. of the agitating Madhesis. the Northern Province. Gulf Times 18 Wednesday, August 2, 2017 COMMENT

Chairman: Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Attiyah Editor-in-Chief: Faisal Abdulhameed al-Mudahka Deputy Managing Editor: K T Chacko

P.O.Box 2888 Doha, Qatar [email protected] Telephone 44350478 (news), 44466404 (sport), 44466636 (home delivery) Fax 44350474 GULF TIMES ‘Kodak moment’

QDB CEO Abdulaziz bin Nasser al-Khalifa and Qatar Chamber chairman HE Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim al-Thani inspect some of the products on display at the ‘Buy Local looms for banks as Products’ event organised by QDB recently. PICTURE: Thajudheen fi ntech makes inroads Banks, especially those built on the traditional National products largely “face-to-face” service model could be facing a “Kodak moment,” no matter what the benefi ts of the “human touch” are. Photography pioneer Eastman Kodak sold the fi rst consumer cameras in the 19th century. But it struggled meet local market needs to face the unstoppable wave of digitisation that sent fi lms into oblivion and fi led for bankruptcy in 2012. QNA The QDB organised a forum titled programme to develop and promote Many anachronistic banks could face such “Kodak Doha ‘Buy Local Products’ on July 11, which their products internationally. moment” or “Uber moment” leading them to brought together 70 Qatari companies The QDB chief said the bank is obsolescence in fi ve to 15 years as the industry is being from fi ve key sectors along with 250 supporting the small and medium ational products managed local buyers to encourage small and enterprises (SMEs) and their products, transformed by technology such as smartphones, to fi ercely compete with medium enterprises to expand their including chemicals, wood, plastics, contactless cards and blockchain, according to former other products from around local business in sectors such as steel electronics as well as food and Barclays CEO Antony Jenkins. Nthe world in the Qatari and iron, plastics, wood, aluminium beverage. Here are some expert predictions on how fi ntech will market at a time when the country is and copper, and general building In order to support the local market working to achieve self-suffi ciency in materials. demand from fresh produce, Hassad bring about an upheaval in the banking industry. term of imported foodstuff s. Following the success of the fi rst Food, Qatar’s premier investor in food Former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers sees Although the national product has edition of “Buy Local Products,” QDB and agri-business sectors, announced a 30% chance that 10 years from now, there would be been in the local market for years, the organised the second edition of the the launch of its newest initiative a fi ntech company with the kind of $250bn market cap siege imposed on Qatar has once again “Buy Local Products” exhibition on Iktefa’, which targets unproductive highlighted the importance of these July 25, with the participation of more local farms, which represents more that some big American banks have now. products after the closure of Qatar’s than 150 companies as well as an even than 80% of registered local farms, to New technologies are poised to sweep through only land port with Saudi Arabia as Mohamed al-Sadah, Hassad Food CEO. wider range of products on showcase encourage their production through investment banks, relieving many employees of well as the encroachments of the siege than the fi rst edition and it was an purchasing farmer’s yearly production roughly a third of their current workload, according to countries on international sea and air instead of the current 10mn chickens opportunity to showcase their products from fresh vegetables and fruits, corridors. a year. and complement the nation’s renewed following clear commercial terms, McKinsey & Co. Cognitive technologies – applications Since the beginning of the siege of He noted that with this increasing objective to localise the country’s supply then sell them in the local market. or machines that perform tasks once requiring human Qatar on June 5, national products pace of production, is expected to chain and increase self-reliance. This move comes with the aim of thought – are now cheap enough that banks can deploy have emerged as a strong alternative make the country 100% self-suffi cient On the sidelines of the forum, increasing the role of the local farms, them across operations to facilitate trades or other to other products, thus increasing of fresh poultry in less than a year. a memorandum of understanding and effi ciently utilising its commercial the production capacity of materials He pointed out in a related context (MoU) was signed between QDB and operations, in order to support the capital-markets business, it said. manufactured in Qatar to meet the to some strategic projects launched by Public Works Authority (Ashghal) to local market demand from fresh Is the industry rising up to the challenge? Britain’s needs of the market. the private sector recently, including launch the ‘Ta’heel’ initiative for SME. produce. biggest lenders are closing branches and increasing In the early days of the crisis, the a project to produce 40mn chickens The new approach gives the “It’s our pleasure to be launching their investment in technology. But those laggards Ministry of Economy and Commerce annually. factories an opportunity to Iktefa’ initiative, we hope that through launched an initiative to support For egg production, Sheikh Dr participate in the implementation of this important initiative will build without the right “culture or mindset” may struggle national products in co-operation Faleh bin Nasser al-Thani told QNA Ashghal’s programmes and projects, bridges of co-operation with local to transform themselves despite their tech spending with major shopping malls by co- that as part of the eff orts to expand through enlistment of Qatari farmers,” Hassad Food CEO Mohamed largesse. ordinating with them to display the the Arab Qatari Company to increase manufacturers in the authority’s al-Sadah. As automation has been sending shivers down national products clearly and placing its poultry production by 100%, and approved supply chain, in addition In a statement to QNA, Hassad a national product logo on local goods thus increased the production of eggs to accrediting local industrial Food’s CEO noted that this launch spines across the Wall Street, some bank staff worry and products. from 60mn eggs to 100mn eggs per products that meet the technical is a continuation of the company’s they will be replaced by machines. But McKinsey has Citizens and residents in Qatar year, bringing the production after the requirements, specifications, and constant eff orts to support the local a relatively benign welcomed the call and launched completion of expansion within the the standard quality levels. market demand, by supplying a message: companies campaigns on social media to support next six months to about 120mn eggs Earlier this year, QDB’s Al Dhameen number of strategic products on a For old- national products under the theme per year. service proved critically important in daily basis via air freight and sea route already making the “Together to Support National He touched on the State’s eff orts to the service of entrepreneurs because to Qatar. fashioned banks transition aren’t Products”. develop Qatari farms, including the these indirect loan facilities are viable The range of high quality products slashing workforces, The ministry called on all prolongation of the agricultural season by both existing companies as well as provided by Hassad includes dairy and money but helping “free restaurants and cafeterias in Qatar for nine months a year, contributing completely new startups. products, table eggs, poultry, fresh to use national products in order to to the plan to achieve 65% self- The purpose of these initiatives vegetables and fruits, from more managers, up valuable subject support these products. suffi ciency in vegetables within two is to strengthen the non-oil and gas than 10 countries including Turkey, experts to do more.” As part of Qatar’s keen interest in years. product manufacturers in the private Kuwait, Azerbaijan, Oman and fi ntech is causing Jamie Dimon, supporting and encouraging local On the other hand, Qatar has sector. Lebanon. chairman and chief production of all national products, achieved self-suffi ciency in the shery fi Through its Tasdeer export “Hassad Food will provide all an upheaval HE the Minister of Municipality and sector, which has now reached 89%. programme, QDB aims to strengthen needed support and services to the executive offi cer of the Environment Mohamed bin Abdullah It is pursuing a short-term plan to the presence of Qatari companies on participating local farm owners in largest US bank, JPMorgan Chase & Co says technology al-Rumaihi in previous statement increase this to 100% in a year. prestigious global platforms, linking order to produce high quality products creates opportunities while keeping costs at bay. said the upcoming period will see The State has three fi sh farming Qatari specialists to international to the local market. There is a fl ip side, though. the opening of two agricultural projects and their combined experts across the world’s production “We co-ordinated with a number production complexes for livestock, production is about 6,000 tonnes per industries. of corporations in friendly countries Gary Cohn, who last year stepped down as president poultry, fi sh and feed production with year. The bank also provides business to provide the local market with a of Goldman Sachs Group, told investors in 2011 that the support of Qatar Development There is also a shrimp fi sh project, development consulting services steady supply of high quality strategic technology had helped the bank to shrink its equities Bank. with a production of 1,000 tonnes of to help entrepreneurs prepare their products, in a cost eff ective manner. staff by more than half over the previous decade. The minister said that based on the fi sh per year, which is enough for the own feasibility studies, conduct “Our fi rst shipment arrived to directives of His Highness the Emir country to export abroad. market research, select appropriate Qatar on June 6, and since then we Not so long ago, across the world, homebuyers, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, For its part, Qatar Development technology and build entrepreneurial are supplying the market with daily entrepreneurs and college students went hat-in-hand the ministry is supporting farmers and Bank (QDB) has focused on capacities to enhance their youthful shipments that are in line with the to the bank to apply for a mortgage, small-business organising such production festivals, accelerating growth and encouraging skills and establish linkages with market need. credit line or student loan. But that no longer is the which will continue to distinguish national projects within private fi nancial and non-fi nancial support “Through our partnership with them from year to year in terms of sector activities in key economic agencies. Widam Food, Hassad Australia will case. For old-fashioned banks and money managers, quantity and quality of production. areas that will generate various QDB Chief Executive Offi cer provide the local market with more fi ntech is causing a dramatic upheaval, possibly the In a statement to Qatar News economic and social benefits for Abdulaziz bin Nasser al-Khalifa than 340,000 head of Australian most since mainframe computers fi rst whirred to life Agency (QNA), HE the Assistant Qatar’s economy in line with Qatar told QNA that “the role of QDB is to sheep (chilled carcasses) over the on the Wall Street in the 1960s. Undersecretary for Agriculture and National Vision 2030. support Qatari entrepreneurs and course of three months, started in Fisheries Aff airs at the Ministry QDB seeks to support local SME entrepreneurs by opening new June,” al-Sadah added. For all its appeal, fi ntech requires the support of the of Municipality and Environment, entrepreneurs in the private sector, horizons for them”. As part of this initiative, Hassad establishment and the watchfulness of regulators if it’s Sheikh Dr Faleh bin Nasser al-Thani, diversify the economy and help He explained that the support will provide several services for the to truly reshape fi nance for the better. pointed to the livestock production Qatari manufacturers to expand their of Qatari entrepreneurs includes participating local farms including Summers says that fi ntech is likely to make a projects that will be implemented industry. providing consultancy services support in developing feasibility during the coming period, saying that The bank also aims to promote and training courses, as well as studies for the farms seeking substantial contribution by removing frictions. But these new projects in Qatar include entrepreneurship in the private sector direct fi nancing through Ithmaar or financial support from concerned regulators should ensure that when fi ntech companies Baladna livestock farm which targets and provide services in the economic indirectly through the ‘Al Dhameen’ entities to build green houses, supply succeed, it is on the basis of genuine effi ciencies, not 40% share in dairy products’ market fi elds through the provision of capital, service, as well as opening markets of agricultural inputs (delayed in the country. guarantees and advisory services. to them by participating in an export payment for a period not more than because of regulatory avoidance or zeal. He pointed also to Ghadeer, 90 days,) technical supervision For banking laggards, fi ntech is at the gate. Maha and Dandy dairy companies’ for the farms, purchase of the expansion to increase production, farms yearly production from fresh according to a plan that is likely to produce under clear commercial To Advertise make the country self-suffi cient after terms agreed by both parties in six months. addition to logistical support and [email protected] In the red meat sector, he said that other services. Display the State of Qatar is witnessing an Moreover, the company announced Telephone 44466621 Fax 44418811 increase in the number of animals up that the targeted capacity for the fi rst to about 20% annually, while working phase is around 60 hectares, which Classified on the development of breeding and produces yearly around 5,000 tonnes of Telephone 44466609 Fax 44418811 increasing the number of animals, fresh produce, this fi gure will increase noting that the total number of these gradually over the next phases. Subscription animals in the country reaches 1.35mn, Hassad also announced that an [email protected] 70% of them are sheep. internal committee has been formed In the fi eld of poultry production, to review and assess all submitted the Arab poultry company is participation requests, and then select 2017 Gulf Times. All rights reserved expanding its poultry production by the local farms that comply with the 100% to about 20mn chickens a year Baladna livestock farm targets 40% share in dairy products’ market in the country. needed specifi cations. Gulf Times Wednesday, August 2, 2017 19 COMMENT Where are Indian, African faces in Dunkirk?

The blockbuster purports policy of the initial retreat that left French troops at the mercy of the to be a historical portrayal, Nazis. In reality, non-white troops but in fact it’s a whitewash were at the back of the queue for evacuation, and far more likely to be By Sunny Singh caught and murdered by Nazi soldiers London than their white colleagues who were able to blend into the crowd. Could we still see our neighbours as hat a surprise that Nigel less than human if we also saw them Farage has endorsed the fi ght shoulder-to-shoulder with “our new fantasy-disguised- boys” in the “good” war? Would we Was-historical war fi lm, call those fl eeing war “cockroaches” Dunkirk. Christopher Nolan’s movie is and demand gunboats to stop them an inadvertently timely, thinly veiled from reaching our white cliff s if we Brexiteer fantasy in which plucky knew they had died for the freedoms Britons heroically retreat from the we hold so dear? More importantly, dangerous shores of Europe. Most would anti-immigration sentiment importantly, it pushes the narrative be so easy to weaponise, even by the that it was Britain as it exists today left – in the past and the present – if – and not the one with a global the decent, hardworking Britons empire – that stood alone against the knew and recognised how much of “European peril”. their lives, safety and prosperity are Dunkirk off ers a lesson – but it isn’t results of non-British sacrifi ces? what Nigel Farage thinks In a deeply divided, fearful Britain, To do so, it erases the Royal Indian Nolan’s directorial choices succeed Army Services Corp companies, which as a Brexiteer costume fantasy, but were not only on the beach, but tasked they fail to tell the story of Operation with transporting supplies over terrain Dynamo, the war, and Britain. More that was inaccessible for the British importantly, they fail us all, as people Expeditionary Force’s motorised and a nation. transport companies. It also ignores All storytellers – and novelists, the fact that by 1938, lascars – mostly poets, journalists, and filmmakers from South Asia and East Africa – The French army deployed at Dunkirk included soldiers from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and other colonies, and in substantial numbers. But we don’t see them. are, ultimately, just that – know counted for one of four crewmen on the power we hold. Stories can British merchant vessels, and thus – and also because it was the colonial equal, these narratives also decide who who staged a white-only liberation heroic British troops be rescued only dehumanise, demonise and erase. participated in large numbers in the troops who were crucial in averting is seen as “us” as opposed to “them”. of Paris even though 65% of the Free by white sailors? What would change Such stories are essential to pave evacuation. absolute catastrophe for the allies. It Does this removal of those deemed French Army troops were from West if brave men fi ghting at Dunkirk wore the way for physical and material But Nolan’s erasures are not limited is also important because, more than “foreign” and “other” from narratives Africa. Perhaps such a circumscribed, turbans instead of helmets? What violence against those we learn to to the British. The French army history books and school lessons, of the past express a discomfort with fact-free imagination is a product of would alter if some of the soldiers hate. But stories are also the only deployed at Dunkirk included soldiers popular culture shapes and informs the same people in the present? More rewriting British history over the past off ered namaaz on the sands before means of humanising those deemed from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and our imagination not only of the past, chillingly, does it also contain a wish decades, not in the least by deliberate rising to face the advancing enemy for inhuman; to create pity, compassion, other colonies, and in substantial but of our present and future. to excise the same people from a policies including Operation Legacy? that one last time? sympathy, even love for those who numbers. Some non-white faces are The stories that we share among utopian, national future? Knowingly or not, Nolan walks in Why is it so important that the are strange and strangers. Stories visible in one crowd scene, but that’s ourselves give us the vision of our A vast, all-white production such the footsteps of both fi lm directors covering fi re be provided by white decide the difference between life it. The fi lm forgets the racialised individual and collective identities. as Nolan’s Dunkirk is not an accident. and politicians who have chosen to French troops rather than North and death. And that is why Dunkirk – pecking order that determined life When those stories consistently – Such a big budget fi lm is a product whitewash the past. African and Middle Eastern ones? and indeed any story – is never just a and death for both British and French and in a big budget, well-researched of many hundreds of small and large But why is it so important for Those non-white faces I mentioned story. - Guardian News & Media colonial troops at Dunkirk and after it. production like Dunkirk, one must decisions in casting, production, Nolan, and for many others, that the earlier – they were French troops This is important, fi rstly, because it assume, purposefully – erase the directing and editing. Perhaps Nolan fi lm expunge all non-white presence scrabbling to board British boats to zSunny Singh is a British-based is a matter of factual accuracy in what presence of those who are still chose to follow the example of the on the beach and the ships? Why is escape. The echoes of modern politics writer. Her latest novel is Hotel purports to be an historical portrayal considered “other” and less-than- original allies in the second world war it psychologically necessary that the are easy to see in the British-fi rst Arcadia Brazil faces lost generation of young workers Weather report Three-day forecast

TODAY Reuters About 4.5mn workers aged 18 to savings and public subsidies in an Marcelo Neri, a former minister of High: 41 C Sao Paulo 24, most of them with more formal unprecedented higher-education strategic aff airs and currently director education than their parents, were boom but are now losing their window of FGV Social, a unit of think tank Low : 32 C Inshore: Hazy at places at first unemployed in the fi rst quarter. of opportunity to turn those degrees Fundação Getúlio Vargas. becomes hot daytime and humid hen Ana Carolina Gomes That amounts to more than a into careers. After shedding nearly 3mn jobs in by night. da Silva became the fi rst quarter of all young Brazilian workers, Ana Clara Ferreira, 26, still owes the 2015 and 2016, the Brazilian economy in her family to earn a government data shows. government for her student loans but slowly resumed job creation in the fi rst THURSDAY college diploma and The jobless rate among teenagers has never used her degree in pedagogy. half of this year. High: 42 C W Low: 33 C followed up with a master’s degree in between 14 and 17 years old already She entered a private college in But most opportunities are odd jobs paediatric medicine, fi nding a good job in the labour force, who are 2010 thanks to a government subsidy in the informal economy, government Sunny seemed like just a matter of time. often a crucial source of income known as FIES, expanded during data showed last week. After three years, the 26-year-old for poor families, has soared to 13 years of leftist Workers Party A rising number of Brazilians are Brazilian is still looking. 45%, contributing to an overall government that ended in 2016. selling homemade sweets or driving FRIDAY “I graduated in June 2014 and unemployment rate of nearly 14%. Ferreira settled for a low-paid job as for Uber to make ends meet, with no High: 43 C thought I’d have a job by December,” An analysis by a local think-tank, an offi ce secretary last month to pay job security and restricted access to Low: 33 C she lamented. “The most I’ve gotten commissioned by Reuters, suggests off her debt. social security benefi ts such as paid Sunny was one group job interview.” that those trying to work while in She says the job demands none of maternity leave and vacation. Brazil’s worst recession on record — school or putting aside studies to fi nd the skills she studied in college and Although economic data shows a two-year-long slump that probably a job are even less likely to get work. she refuses to give up on fi nding work growth slowly resuming, Erick Sobral, Fishermen’s forecast in her fi eld. 19, and his 17-year-old sister lost their ended in the fi rst quarter — has left According to the study by Fipe, OFFSHORE DOHA 14mn people unemployed, the bulk of a research institute linked to “It’s very frustrating,” she said of jobs at a marketing company in Sao Wind: NE-SE 03-12/15 KT them young workers like Silva. the University of Sao Paulo, the the job search. “I was even approved Paulo a couple of months ago. Waves: 1-3/4 Feet Recent graduates are struggling probability of workers with unfi nished in a few selection processes but never Like most unemployed workers INSHORE DOHA Wind: NE-SE 05-15 KT to pay student loans and gain work high school or college studies holding called afterwards to take the job.” interviewed by Reuters, Sobral spends Waves: 1-2/3 Feet experience, turning a demographic a job fell 4% between 2014 and 2016. There are still 2.5mn active FIES his days surfi ng the Web for work boom once considered an engine Frustration among young workers contracts, with about 20bn reais while keeping up with his studies. Around the region of future growth into a drag on the is adding to anger at politicians after a ($6.3bn) per year in the program, He needs a high score on the national Weather Weather Brazilian economy, which may be string of corruption scandals. according to the Education Ministry. high school exam this year to pursue his today Max/min tomorrow Max/min saddled with a lost generation of President Michel Temer’s The government estimates about dream of an advertising career. Abu Dhabi Sunny 43/36 Sunny 43/35 young workers. popularity has tumbled into single 30% of FIES-backed students But without a job, he does not have Baghdad Sunny 51/32 Sunny 49/32 Dubai “If the youth give up investing in digits, and lawmakers openly discuss defaulted on their loans, contributing the money to pay for a preparatory Sunny 44/35 Sunny 45/34 Kuwait City Sunny 44/33 Sunny 44/33 education and the economy starts to the chance of a political outsider to a growing budget defi cit that cost course that thousands of his Manama Sunny 42/33 Sunny 42/33 grow again, there may be a scarcity of winning the 2018 presidential race. the country its investment-grade competitors will take. Muscat Sunny 35/29 Sunny 35/31 teachers, physicians, lawyers and so High youth unemployment credit rating in 2015. “We live with our mother, but she is Riyadh M Sunny 46/30 Sunny 45/31 on,” said Renato Meirelles, head of Sao underscores the deep lasting impact of “Investment in education is not unemployed too,” Sobral said. “I can’t Tehran Sunny 34/23 Sunny 35/23 Paulo-based research fi rm Instituto the recent recession. yielding all the returns we have understand what we did wrong to be Locomotiva. Millions of workers spent time, been expecting for the society,” said here.” Live issues Feeling lonely? Volunteering may help

By Lisa Rapaport loneliness on par with married people At the start of the study, roughly activity that facilitates older adults’ Reuters Health who spend similar amounts of time half of the participants did some social engagement and the formation giving back to their communities. volunteer work. People were more of meaningful relationships with This off ers fresh insight into “how likely to start volunteering during the others,” Li, who wasn’t involved in the olunteering at least two much of a ‘dose’ of volunteering study if they became widows than if study, said by e-mail. “Volunteering hours a week may go a long might be needed to off set loneliness they remained married, and widows may also increase older persons’ way toward helping to ease at widowhood,” said lead study author were also more likely to devote lots of self-esteem and give them a sense Vfeelings of loneliness and Dawn Carr of the Pepper Institute hours to volunteer work. of community, decreasing their Around the world social isolation, a study of recent on Aging and Public Policy at Florida During the study, about 1.5% of the feelings of loneliness after the loss of Weather Weather widows suggests. State University in Tallahassee. participants started volunteering at a spouse.” today Max/min tomorrow Max/min Loneliness is a serious medical “We do not know exactly how least 100 hours a year, and another 6.3% To get these benefi ts from Athens Sunny 33/24 Sunny 35/25 problem for many older adults; volunteering ‘gets under our skin,’ but began volunteering, but less often. volunteering, though, people need Beirut Sunny 30/26 Sunny 29/26 S T Storms 32/28 previous research links it to declines there is some speculation that it is To assess loneliness, researchers to keep showing up, said Dr Carla Bangkok 34/27 T Storms Berlin P Cloudy 26/19 S Showers 29/18 in physical and mental health as well benefi cial because it tends to require examined data from questionnaires Perissinotto, a researcher at the Cairo Sunny 38/26 Sunny 37/26 as premature death, researchers note us to use our mind, it requires us to be that asked how often people felt University of California, San Francisco, Cape Town Showers 15/10 P Cloudy 14/09 in the Journals of Gerontology: Social more physically active, and it almost isolated, left out, or that they lacked who wasn’t involved in the study. Colombo T Storms 29/27 T Storms 29/27 Sciences. Because strong marriages, always requires us to interact with companionship. “For some people, volunteering Dhaka T Storms 32/27 T Storms 32/27 Hong Kong T Storms 32/28 S T Storms 31/28 friendships and social networks can others,” Carr said by e-mail. One limitation is the possibility that regularly can actually help decrease Istanbul M Sunny 29/23 M Sunny 31/23 keep loneliness at bay, researchers For the study, researchers examined less lonely people might be more apt to feelings of loneliness and this is Jakarta M Sunny 33/24 M Sunny 33/24 wanted to see if becoming more data collected from 2006 to 2014 on venture out to volunteer, rather than important because loneliness is Karachi P Cloudy 31/27 P Cloudy 31/27 involved in the community through 5,882 adults aged 51 and older. All of volunteering being responsible for any linked to many health outcomes such London Showers 19/16 Cloudy 21/15 Manila T Storms T Storms 31/26 volunteer work might make loneliness the participants were married at the reduction in loneliness, the authors as increased risk of heart disease, 31/26 Moscow Sunny 27/20 S T Storms 24/13 less common for an especially start of the study, but 667 had become note. dementia, functional decline and New Delhi S T Storms 32/27 Cloudy 33/27 vulnerable group: recent widows. widows by the end. Even so, the fi ndings off er fresh death,” Perissinotto said by e-mail. New York I T Storms 31/22 S T Storms 29/22 They found, as expected, that People widowed during the study evidence of the health benefi ts of “But the volunteering has to be Paris Cloudy 28/19 Cloudy 28/16 feelings of loneliness were much more were more likely to be women, black, regular social interactions, said Dr regular - not just twice a year - to Sao Paulo M Sunny 26/16 Showers 23/13 Seoul S T Storms 33/26 P Cloudy 34/24 intense among recent widows than older, sicker, depressed, and experiencing Guohua Li, director of the Centre for have the benefi t,” Perissinotto added. Singapore S T Storms 31/26 P Cloudy 31/26 married people. But the recent widows cognitive decline. They were also more Injury Epidemiology and Prevention at “Similarly to exercise, you need to Sydney M Sunny 16/09 S Showers 17/10 who started volunteering at least two likely to have had a spouse who was Columbia University in New York City. have a certain amount on a weekly Tokyo Cloudy 27/23 Cloudy 28/22 hours a week developed lower levels of disabled or suff ering from memory loss. “Volunteering in particular is an basis for it to be benefi cial.” Gulf Times 20 Wednesday, August 2, 2017 QATAR Siege countries violated Dialogue only way to aviation laws: al-Sulaiti save GCC: al-Attiyah

QNA QNA have enough time to show his in- Montreal Doha tentions. On remarks made by the Bah- raini Foreign Minister accusing E the Minister of Trans- E the Minister of State Qatari forces of conspiring with port and Communica- for Defence Aff airs Dr the Houthis, the minister said Htions Jassim Seif Ahmed HKhalid bin Mohamed al- that the Qatari forces were never al-Sulaiti said that in the 70 Attiyah has said that the GCC is in Ma’rib as they were charged years of aviation history no not comprised only of the three with protecting seven areas on the country was subjected to a siege countries putting the State of southern borders of Saudi Arabia. and a severe violation of inter- Qatar under siege, but includes He added that the coalition national laws, like the one the all its members. countries had already announced State of Qatar was subjected to He added that the six member that it was one of the journal- by the blockading countries. In countries of the council have the ists of the siege countries who a speech made to the ICAO’s With the ICAO directive issued on July 31, more airspace will be responsibility of rescuing what- was responsible for leaking the executive council in Montreal HE the Minister of Transport available for Qatari aircraft. The airspace marked in blue and green ever remains of this unique en- HE the Minister of State for co-ordinates after he uploaded a on Monday, he added that the and Communications Jassim which is supposed to be controlled by the blockading countries will tity in the Arab World. Defence Affairs Dr Khalid bin photo to social media of himself siege countries placed them- Seif Ahmed al-Sulaiti be open to planes registered in Qatar, experts said. HE Dr al-Attiyah said in an Mohamed al-Attiyah with UAE forces. selves above the international, interview on Monday that even HE Dr al-Attiyah noted that human, and divine laws with- “subjected the lives of passen- immediately, before retracting it siege countries and the inter- if the siege countries retracted ing that it did not realise what the only military coalition Qatar out making any consideration gers to danger and put flight less than two hours later. It also national community to remain their violations against Qatar was being conspired against it is participating in is the Peninsula to fl ight safety and put the lives safety at risk.” encouraged other countries to objective and comply with the and the crisis ended, the pub- except after the hacking of the Shield, and being part of it does of people in severe danger. The The minister noted that due close their own air fi elds. principles of international law, lic opinion will never forget that news agency. not confl ict with having strategic minister stressed that the lack to these procedures that violated HE the Minister of Transport and not to distort those laws in the main reason behind the fab- He stressed that the Qa- partnerships with other coun- of accountability could lead to international agreements, civil and Communications said that order to benefi t narrow interests. ricated crisis was the hacking tari leadership relies on offi cial tries such as Turkey or the United grave violations of safety and the aviation authorities in the UAE Qatar was ready to sit with the “Doing so will lead to a world of Qatar News Agency (QNA) sources unlike the siege countries States or any other country. rights to passage in the future. prevented airplanes going to and siege countries to discuss all is- ruled by the law of the jungle,” and the publishing of fabricated which make decisions based on He said that no nation has the HE al-Sulaiti stressed that leaving from the State of Qatar sues in that fi eld, starting now the minister said. statements falsely attributed to what is published in their papers. right to determine which coun- the siege countries interpreted from passing through the UAE’s and under the supervision of HE al-Sulaiti also praised the His Highness the Emir Sheikh tries Qatar should deal with, as the law in illogical manners Flight Information Region (FIR). ICAO. He also highlighted the eff orts of ICAO in resolving the Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. HE Dr al-Attiyah said no this is a sovereign issue that does that did not give any attention While Bahrain violated its agree- request made by Qatar to ICAO diff erences, and said that those He noted that the only way to nation has the right to not contradict with the GCC to flight safety, leading to se- ments and practically annulled to manage its own FIR, in ac- eff orts have great importance save the GCC will be through di- determine which countries principles. vere humanitarian impact. He one signed with Qatar, acting cordance to the highest pro- not just for Qatar but for the en- alogue, as His Highness the Emir Qatar should deal with HE Dr al-Attiyah renewed Qa- noted that the successive no- unilaterally by prohibiting the fessional and safety standards, tire world. They also have great said in his speech that the emir tar’s willingness to hold a dia- tices to airmen (NOTAM) and use of air fi elds it does not actu- and added that Qatar is well- implication for fl ight safety and of Kuwait is the sponsor for any HE Dr al-Attiyah said that the logue on condition of lifting the arbitrary measures of the siege ally have a right to control. The equipped to carry out that task for the international aviation’s diplomatic dialogue. statement made by the UAE’s siege and avoiding the under- countries “ignored all agree- siege countries also issued a NO- in the view of everyone. legislative environment and its The minister noted that any ambassador to the US highlight- mining of Qatar’s national sover- ments and conventions”, it also TAM for Yemen and activated it The minister also called on the solidity, the minister added. dialogue is subject to lifting the ed that the rift with Qatar was eignty, calling on Saudi Arabia to siege and not infringing on Qa- not diplomatic but philosophical enhance Kuwaiti mediation aim- tar’s sovereignty. as it sought to transform the Gulf ing to resolve the current crisis He also stressed that Qatar region into secular rule. which could aff ect all involved if cannot be accused of interfering He noted that these remarks it goes on any loner. ‘Thousands of political prisoners in siege nations’ with other countries’ internal af- proves which side is intervening He said nothing major should fairs, noting that interference in in the other sides’ aff airs and is be expected from Qatar given it Qatar’s aff airs was going on, but working on changing the beliefs was a victim of the hacking of From Page 1 the population that matters,” he its bad consequences on the a country of strategic depth and it remained patient to protect the of their peoples. its offi cial news agency, adding pointed out. economy. “The 10-day ultima- the largest state in the region that GCC due to its importance in the The minister stressed that that it was enough that Doha was He explained that the fair dis- He stressed that Qatar has tum to implement the demands should be keen on the stability of West and East as it is the last pil- tampering with the beliefs of the open for dialogue and supported tribution of wealth is the secret been keen on ensuring the wel- of the blockading countries was the region,” he said. lar of stability in the Middle East. region’s people is dangerous and the mediation eff orts of the emir behind the welfare of the people fare of both the nationals as well designed to give the impression Regarding the controversy The minister said that it was could push the moderate Sunni of Kuwait. in Qatar rather than the wealth as the expatriates, giving them that in case of non-compliance, surrounding the ‘politicisation’ diffi cult to explain why did the mass in the Gulf towards extrem- He noted that this crisis al- alone. the best options in healthcare bigger sanctions would be im- of Haj, he said all indicators besieging countries take those ism. lowed Qatar the ability to open “The Saudis said Qatar is a and diversifi ed education, while posed , may be launching a mili- showed that there were plans to measures against Qatar at a time He said that the 2013 crisis was up to others thanks to the great small country, which is true; some other countries are im- tary attack, which was not true ill-treat Qatari pilgrims. “It is when there was plenty of meet- not a result of Qatar standing in relationships that His Highness our total production of oil and posing taxes and fees on foreign in anyway.” our responsibility to avoid this ings between leaders of Qatar the face counter-revolutionary the Emir has forged with many gas amounts to 2mn barrels per residents. He expressed his fears that the and guarantee that they do not and Saudi Arabia. forces in the Arab world, as the countries around the world, day and Saudi Arabia produces HE al-Attiyah advised both region may be trying to destroy face any harassment, abuse or HE Dr al-Attiyah said that Qa- recalling of ambassadors was which expressed their solidarity more than 10mn barrels per Qataris and expatriates to be itself. ill-treatment like what had hap- tar did not sense any tension fol- done briefl y after His Highness with Qatar and expressed their day. Wealth is distributed fairly; careful of the psychological “Personally, I leave out the oth- pened during the Umrah,” he lowing the Riyadh summit, add- the Emir took offi ce and did not willingness to help. it is not the size of a country or warfare now being waged, with ers and I look to Saudi Arabia as said. Qatar Museums invites contributions to ‘Tamim Al Majd’ exhibition UAE competed to host Taliban offi ce

Qatar Museums (QM) has invited members and highlights the extent of the goodwill broad sweep right along the perimeter wall From Page 1 similar complaints from Mr bin is its public alliance with the Is- of the community to take part in a unique, towards the country’s ruler that has been of the Corniche, reflecting the diversity Zayed, using a diff erent short- lamist politicians of the Muslim crowd-sourced exhibition to celebrate the expressed by the population since the of comments and messages of support Diplomat Mohamed Mah- hand, “ABZ.” Brotherhood across the region. country’s leadership by contributing their start of the economic and diplomatic made by residents and visitors of all ages, moud al-Khaja, wrote to Jeff rey In an interview last week, al- Qatar role lauded: Qatar ‘Tamim Al Majd’ murals for display. blockade. backgrounds and nationalities. Bearing Feltman, then Assistant Secre- Otaiba criticised Qatar’s alliance played a major role in facilitating Murals are to be collected from around A number of murals of a wide variety the iconic image of His Highness the Emir tary of State for Near East Af- with Islamic politicians and the peace talks between Afghan Qatar and brought together for the of shapes and sizes are expected to be created by Qatari artist Ahmed bin Majed fairs, using the shorthand “HH,” presence of the offi ce of the Tali- offi cials and the Taliban by exhibition, which will take place at the gathered together from all over the country Almaadheed, many hundreds of outdoor presumably to refer to his boss, ban in Doha. Analysts have called opening an offi ce for the group Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) Park later this in the coming days. To ensure the exhibition murals have sprung up around Doha in the foreign minister, His High- al-Otaiba’s stance as opportun- in Doha, a senior Taliban offi cial month. features the widest range of contributions the past few weeks in an unprecedented ness Abdullah bin Zayed. “HH ism of the worst kind. “Otaiba has told Al Jazeera. Titled ‘Tamim Al Majd: celebration of unity,’ from communities and neighbourhoods, QM expression of goodwill. says that we were under the changes colours faster than a The June 2013 opening of the the exhibition celebrates the cultural has said it is taking care of all the logistical Given the mass participation and impression that Abu Dhabi was chameleon and he was calling the unoffi cial embassy allowed for contribution made by the many tens of requirements necessary to transport the personalised nature of the ‘graff iti’ messages your fi rst choice and this is what grapes sour after he failed to get talks to develop, said the Taliban thousands of people who have added their murals to the venue. Those interested in covering them, the murals represent a we were informed” by the United it, as we read in the famed tale,” a offi cial, who is based in the Qa- voices in support of His Highness the Emir taking part can contact QM to have their significant cultural form of expression. Nations envoy to Afghanistan, Doha-based observer said. tari capital. “We got a chance to Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani in recent murals collected and transported to the Those interested in contributing to the al-Khaja said. Once the decision was made to discuss with Afghan diplomats, weeks. exhibition site. exhibition should contact Redouane In a separate e-mail dated locate the offi ce in Doha, howev- journalists and analysts face- The occasion marks a period of cultural The murals will be displayed on the Salahddine at QM, at [email protected]. January 28, 2012, ambassador er, al-Otaiba repeatedly cited its to-face on how peace can be and artistic significance in Qatar’s history grounds of MIA Park and presented in a qa, or call 55376438. al-Otaiba himself wrote to an- presence in his list of grievances achieved in Afghanistan,” he said other American offi cial about against Qatar - the fi rst of which on condition of anonymity.