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TUESDAY Vol. XXXVIII No. 10497 June 27, 2017 Shawwal 3, 1438 AH

GULF TIMES www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals Fireworks light up Doha sky

In brief Demands on

QATAR | Offi cial Qatar very Emir and Boutefl ika exchange Eid greetings His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani exchanged greetings with President Abdelaziz Bouteflika of the People’s Democratic Republic provocative, of Algeria, on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, during a telephone conversation the Emir held yesterday evening.

AMERICA | Judiciary Trump hails SC says Germany ruling on travel ban Donald Trump hailed yesterday’s Demands challenge Qatar’s Supreme Court ruling which sovereignty, says German FM Crisis will not last long, says Kuwait partially reinstates the US It will be diff icult for Doha to president’s travel ban targeting support demands: Gabriel Kuwait’s Deputy Prime Minister Khaled said that the efforts exerted citizens from six mainly Muslim Iran urges Europe to use its and Minister of Defence Sheikh by the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah countries as a victory for national influence to defuse tensions Mohamed Khaled al-Hamad al- al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah will security. “Today’s unanimous Zarif calls for a new regional Sabah has expressed his confidence result in reconciliation among Supreme Court decision is a clear dialogue forum for the Gulf that the Gulf dispute will end soon the Gulf states, stressing that victory for our national security,” countries and it will not last long, Al Jazeera the international community has Trump said in a White House Arabic reported. During a visit to expressed appreciation for Kuwait’s statement. “It allows the travel Reuters the Ali Al Salem airbase in Kuwait, mediation. suspension for the six terror- Berlin prone countries and the refugee suspension to become largely reduce tensions resulting from the big- In his speech in the German capital, eff ective. As president, I cannot list of 13 demands submitted by gest diplomatic crisis in the region in Zarif said the countries who blamed allow people into our country who four Arab states to Qatar as a years. He said some of the demands be- Iran or Qatar for terrorism were trying want to do us harm.” Page 5 Acondition to lift their blockade ing made of Qatar were negotiable, but to avoid taking responsibility for their on the Gulf country is “very provoca- others clearly challenged its sovereignty. own failures in addressing the demands AMERICA | Diplomacy tive” because some items challenge The Arab states are demanding, of their own people. A spectacular fireworks display at Katara - the Cultural Village in celebration of Eid Doha’s sovereignty, German Foreign among other things, that Doha close Al “One day it’s Iran, today it’s Qatar,” US president hosts al-Fitr 2017. Katara is among the various venues hosting Eid activities, with a large Minister Sigmar Gabriel said yesterday. Jazeera television, curb ties with Iran, he said. “It’s an attempt to evade re- Indian prime minister number of people turning up to enjoy the festivities through the day. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emir- shut a Turkish base and also pay repa- sponsibility, escape accountability for US President Donald Trump PICTURE: Jayan Orma ates, Bahrain and Egypt imposed a boy- rations. this very fundamental ... failure of the yesterday welcomed Indian Prime cott on Qatar three weeks ago, accusing it Gabriel said it would be tough for state system to address, to respond to Minister Narendra Modi to the of backing militants - then issued an ul- Qatar to accept all 13 items on what he the demands of its populus.” White House for their first face- timatum, including demands that it shut described as “a very provocative list”. Zarif argued for a new regional dia- to-face meeting, seeking to forge down a Turkish military base in Doha. He said eff orts were under way to logue forum for the Gulf countries a chemistry that can add new Action against Qatari Qatar denies the allegations against defi ne which conditions Qatar could and called for an end to the arma- fizz to a flourishing relationship it and says the demands are aimed at accept, and which it viewed as prob- ments spiral in the region, which he between the world’s two largest curbing its sovereignty. A government lematic. said influenced some Western coun- democracies. Despite diff erences spokesman last week said Doha was re- Gabriel is due to meet Iranian For- tries’ relations with states in the re- over issues such as immigration students illegal: NHRC viewing the list of demands, but did not eign Minister Mohamed Javad Zarif in gion. and climate change, Modi is view them as reasonable or actionable. Berlin today. “What is needed in our region is a re- expected to assure Trump that the he National Human Rights them certifi cates of graduation, closing Gabriel told an event hosted by the Qatar says it is being punished for gional dialogue forum,” he added. United States has nothing to fear Committee (NHRC) said that their educational accounts as well as European Council on Foreign Rela- straying from its neighbours’ backing Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has from India’s growing economic Tit has recorded several serious terminating their registration arbitrar- tions in Berlin that Germany remained for authoritarian hereditary and mili- voiced support for Qatar in its dispute clout. After they began their violations committed against Qatari ily without giving reasons. in close touch with all sides to try to tary rules. with Saudi Arabia and its allies. afternoon talks in the Oval Off ice students by educational institutions in The NHRC said it has presented a likely to centre on issues such as Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain, which series of complaints to the UN Educa- trade and war in Afghanistan, the have cut diplomatic ties and imposed tional, Scientifi c and Cultural Organi- two leaders were expected to give an illegal blockade on Qatar. sation (Unesco). No US arms to GCC states until dispute is resolved a joint statement to reporters. The Committee said in a statement The Committee called on the univer- Page 9 that the arbitrary measures taken by sities and educational institutions in the GCC chose Trump’s visit to do more to combat terrorism, but re- comply with as the condition for lifting these countries, especially UAE, violate three countries to put aside political dif- Riyadh to devolve into confl ict, cent disputes among the GCC coun- the three-week-long blockade. Kuwait ARAB WORLD | Confl ict all human rights norms, principles and ferences and take into account the rights says infl uential Republican Senator tries only serve to hurt eff orts to fi ght is helping mediate the dispute. Mosul battle to end in charters resulting in serious violations of Qatari students and not to put obsta- ISIS (Islamic State) and counter Iran,” Under US law, foreign US arms sales of a range of civil, economic, social and cles on their right to education. Reuters Corker wrote in a letter to Secretary of are submitted to a small group of law- days, says Iraqi general cultural rights, including the right to It said said that it would take up the Washington State Rex Tillerson. makers, including the chairman of The battle to wrest full control of education, the Qatar News Agency re- issue with all relevant international or- Corker and Tillerson have a close the Foreign Relations Committee, for the Iraqi city of Mosul from Islamic ported yesterday. ganisations and accredited institutions. relationship. They speak frequently on clearance during an informal review State will be over in a few days, The NHRC said the unjust siege has The NHRC statement expressed S Senator Bob Corker, chairman foreign policy issues. process before they can go ahead. the Iraqi military said yesterday, aff ected the right of the Qatari students the confi dence that all governmen- of the Senate Foreign Relations Tillerson said on Sunday that Qatar In his letter, Corker said he was pleased as elite counter-terrorism units to education and has deprived them tal bodies and institutions in Qatar, UCommittee, yesterday said he and Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and with President Donald Trump’s trip to fought militants among the of the exercise and enjoyment of this led by the Ministry of Education and would withhold consent for American the United Arab Emirates, which im- Saudi Arabia, which included a summit narrow alleyways of the historic right, as stipulated in international hu- Higher Education and Qatar Univer- arms sales to members of the Gulf Co- posed the boycott on their neighbour of the GCC, which groups Saudi Arabia, Old City. An attempted fight-back man rights instruments. sity, will quickly fi nd alternative solu- operation Council (GCC) until there is a should sit down together to try to reach Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman. by militants failed on Sunday The statement noted that these vio- tions for these students and exempt path forward to resolving the dispute in a resolution. He urged them to “lower “Unfortunately, the GCC did not night and Islamic State’s grip on lations include not allowing Qatari them from certain conditions and the region, where four Arab states have rhetoric” to ease tensions. take advantage of the summit and in- the city, once its de facto capital students to complete exams at the end restrictions in order to preserve their imposed a blockade on Qatar. The four countries have sent a stead chose to devolve into confl ict,” in Iraq, was weakened, a senior of the academic year, refusing to give rights and future. “All countries in the region need to 13-point list of demands for Qatar to Corker wrote. commander said. “Only a small part (of the militants) remains in the city, specifically the Old City,” Lieutenant General Abdul Ghani al-Assadi, commander of the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) in Mosul, said. Qatar banks ‘well-placed to weather crisis’

AFRICA | Tragedy By Santhosh V Perumal As Qatari lenders had already exhib- vide capital support, once again should and economic ties with Qatar. The im- dulbasit Ahmad al-Shaibei said Qatar Business Reporter ited somewhat tighter liquidity metrics this be needed. mediate result, however, has been a ban has contingency plan for the worst case 24 migrants rescued, than many other Gulf Co-operation CI therefore believes that the “Qatari of the use of land, air and water routes scenario and it immediately activated dozens feared dead Council banks during the pre-crisis, banks as a whole are reasonably well for the movement of people and goods the contingency plan following the Twenty-four West African migrants atar’s banking industry is “rea- this is to be welcomed, it said. placed at present to weather the eff ects involving the territory of the three GCC blockade. “This way, we could eff ec- were rescued and dozens more sonably well-placed” to weath- of the dispute, as long as it is not pro- countries. tively manage the situation and ensure feared dead after traff ickers Qer the eff ects of the current eco- “Qatari banks as a whole longed.” The US-based Institute of Interna- suffi cient liquidity in our banking sys- deserted them in Niger’s northern nomic blockade and has already begun are reasonably well Highlighting that the effects tional Finance had said Qatar’s bank- tem,” he added. desert without food or water, a adjusting asset and liability manage- placed at present to would, however, vary by bank and ing industry is well positioned amid the Finance Minister HE Ali Sherif al- senior local off icial said yesterday. ment to enhance liquidity and reduce weather the eff ects of the depend on the extent to which they diplomatic crisis, owing to “limited” Emadi said Qatar can easily defend its The migrants rescued on Sunday reliance on short term funds, according dispute, as long as it is not source customer deposits from the credit exposure elsewhere in the GCC economy and currency against the eco- were part of a group of “70 people to Capital Intelligence, a global credit prolonged” countries concerned, CI said more and the system would be “resilient” as nomic blockade imposed by its neigh- who had left in three vehicles rating agency. generally, a number of Qatari banks long as the ‘repo’ window remains open. bours. from Agadez for Libya,” Fatoumi “Qatari banks have already begun “The Qatar Central Bank has the source a higher proportion of cus- On the sound position of the Qatari “We are extremely comfortable with Boudou, the prefect of the northern adjusting their asset and liability necessary resources to provide liquid- tomer deposits from abroad than is banks, IIF highlighted that the systemic our positions, our investments and li- region of Bilma, said. Agadez is a management in order to increase li- ity support (individual or systemic) usual in the GCC. capital adequacy ratio stood at 16.1% quidity in our systems,” he had said, remote town in Niger on the edge quidity and reduce reliance on shorter should this be needed,” CI said, adding In an unprecedented move earlier and non-performing loans at 1.2% of highlighting that the country’s reserves of the Sahara that has become the tenor interbank funding,” CI said in a it is also likely that the Qatar Invest- this month, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the total loans in 2016. and investment funds are more than smuggling capital of Africa. report. ment Authority would be able to pro- Bahrainand Egypt severed diplomatic Recently, QIIB chief executive Ab- 250% of gross domestic product. Gulf Times 2 Tuesday, June 27, 2017 QATAR Expats show love, support for Qatar at Eid festivities

By Ayman Adly “I have been living in the to Doha two years ago from an- Staff Reporter country for the past 15 years and other Arab country. have seen great advancements Comparing their experience happening in record time. As the of working in other countries he Eid al-Fitr celebrations country prospers, myself and the in the region, many expatriates this year have given many people around me prosper, too. stressed that the work condi- Texpatriates an opportuni- This applies to even those who tions and pay were much better ty to express their love, gratitude do not live here thanks to the re- in Qatar than in those places. and support for Qatar in view of mittances people make to their “I worked in a neighbouring the ongoing blockade imposed families back home,” said a Pa- country before coming here and on the country. kistani expatriate working in the it was very hard to live there – Speaking to Gulf Times, peo- heavy equipment sector. as if you do not have any rights. ple from various nationalities “On the occasion of Eid, we However, it is much better in Qa- and diff erent segments of soci- pray and hope for the continued tar and the payment is secure and ety stressed that the country has prosperity of Qatar. We all stand protected,” said an Arab expatri- given them a chance to enhance by the country, its leadership and ate working as an accountant. the quality of their life and that people,” said an expatriate from While describing the block- of their near ones, including Sri Lanka. ade as unjust, many expatriates Performers engage spectators at a show. those living in their home coun- People enjoying the Eid holi- said their everyday lives have tries. days across diff erent festive not been aff ected thanks to the They hailed Qatar’s wise lead- venues, such as shopping malls, strategies and eff orts of the gov- ership for the numerous achieve- entertainment facilities, beaches ernment. ments observed in the country in and were united in expressing As reported earlier, many peo- their love and appreciation for ple also decided to stay back in Entertainment City, summer festival many fi elds, including security, healthcare, education, sports, the country. Qatar for the Eid holidays. “This infrastructure and several oth- “I may be not making big is a good time to enjoy the fes- ers. They also lauded the govern- money, but it is enough to secure tivities as well as to show one’s venues attract thousands of residents ment’s eff orts to ensure that resi- a good education and better liv- love for the country. Like others, dents can avail of administrative ing standards for my children we too have decided to spend and offi cial services smoothly back home. Without being here, our Eid holidays here instead of By Joey Aguilar and conveniently, as well as to it would have been diffi cult,” said travelling abroad,” said a Filipino Staff Reporter ensure workers’ rights. an Indian taxi driver, who came expatriate.

large number of resi- dents are thronging the AEntertainment City and various Qatar Summer Festival (QSF) venues to spend their Eid al-Fitr holidays in the country this year, it is learnt. Many families who usually travel abroad for long vaca- tions have chosen to stay in Doha this time, taking their children to several attractions, entertainment shows and fes- tive activities organised by Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA). Speaking to Gulf Times, Indian national Bhushan said he de- cided to cancel his plan to travel with his family to Europe and India this summer and instead Eid al-Fitr celebrations at Katara – the Cultural Village, which comprise a wide range of attractions, shows visit tourism destinations in the and activities, are drawing large crowds. country. A performance in progress at the Entertainment City. PICTURE: Thajudheen “I have already watched some of the shows at diff erent malls idea of spending the vacation enter the mega raffle draw on “As Qatar Tourism Authority in Doha and am now planning in the US this year, and instead September 5, the final day of continues with its eff orts to di- to take my family to Al Zubarah decided to take advantage of the the festival, for a chance to win versify Qatar’s tourism off ering Fort. I haven’t seen this Unesco diverse festive off erings in Qatar cash prizes or a super luxury and source markets, the collabo- heritage site since I came to Qa- this summer. car. rative spirit shown by our pri- tar eight years ago,” he said. “In He said his children en- “We are seeing crowds of peo- vate and public sector partners the evening, we will have dinner joyed the interactive and vir- ple enjoying the summer excite- gives us confi dence that we can at Souq Al Wakrah.” tual games, as well as the BMX ment, which this year has been continue to grow and maintain Bhushan added that he also and skateboarding activities, coupled with the joy of Eid al- a thriving tourism sector,” Shah- planned to visit the Museum of at the City, which opened on Fitr. QSF is off to a great start and bik added. Islamic Art and other museums Sunday. we look forward to a colourful QTA has urged visitors and before taking his children back to The Entertainment City forms summer ahead,” Qatar Tourism residents to watch a special the City at Doha Exhibition and part of the nationwide QSF 2017, Authority’s festivals and events event today, the third day of Convention Centre in the weeks scheduled to run for more than director Mashal Shahbik said in Eid, at Doha Festival City from to come. two months in this edition. a statement. 4.30pm. It will include a parade He said he wanted his fam- Some retailers at partici- She lauded the close col- throughout the mall, culminat- ily to experience a diff erent and pating malls are offering 50% laboration and support of Qatar ing in an African Drummer per- unique summer vacation this discounts and special promo- Tourism Authority’s partners in formance, an Ardha dance, the time. tions. For every QR200 spent at the retail, hospitality and enter- Ice Age Show and a concert at Like Bhushan, Filipino expa- any of the participating outlets tainment sectors in organising 9pm by Qatari singer Saoud Jas- triate Rico D also dropped the in these malls, shoppers can the nationwide festivities. sim. Family activities, games enthral Interior Ministry celebrates Eid visitors at Souq Waqif Eid fest with expatriate communities QNA By Peter Alagos Doha Business Reporter he Ministry of Interior he latest instalment of the (MoI) celebrated Eid al- Souq Waqif Eid al-Fitr TFitr with diff erent expa- TFestival started yester- triate communities at the Am- day as the fi rst wave of visitors phitheater of the Asian Town fl ocked to the venue. located in the Industrial Area. The festivities run until June The celebration attended by 30. Asian communities, featured In- The large, air-conditioned tent dian, Bengali and Nepalese cul- houses 23 booths, showcasing tural shows. diff erent types of skill and virtual It also included a number of Expatriate community members staging a cultural show as part of reality games. Children can also awareness shows on the secu- the Eid al-Fitr celebrations hosted by the Ministry of Interior. win toy prizes at several booths. rity and safety services pro- Visitors, especially children, vided by the ministry as well events and activities organised communities residing in Qatar, will enjoy this year’s rides. as the police’s role in the com- by the ministry’s public rela- where they are informed about The “biggest attraction” this munity and the importance of tions department. the services provided by diff er- year, according to one of the festi- the harmonious relation it has The ministry is organising an- ent government entities as well val staff , is the large mirror maze. with the public supporting the other event for the foreign com- as about laws, customs and tra- “There is one area inside the co-operation between both munities in the Al Khor Indus- ditions of Qatar. mirror maze where people can parties to sustain security and trial Area. It also provided them with take what I call ‘the ultimate facilitate services provided Al-Hajri reaffi rmed the min- information on safety and secu- selfi e’ because it allows them to by government entities to the istry’s keenness to organise such rity, al-Hajri added. photograph as many as 10 refl ec- public. events to entertain the Asian Asian Town is a major com- tions of themselves in one shot,” Director of the Security Me- communities, especially labour- mercial complex that includes he pointed out. Kids try out the electric ‘choo-choo’ train. PICTURE: Jayaram dia Department of MoI’s Pub- ers “who are making great eff orts cinema, cricket fi eld, amphi- Aside from the Souq Waqif lic Relations, Captain Hadi in construction projects around theatre and other sports facili- Eid al-Fitr Festival 2017, Souq Al forms of entertainment from Doha Festival City, Landmark, Al opened on Sunday the latest Qa- Mohamed al-Hajri said the the country”. ties to cater for the expat labour Wakrah is also holding its own 5pm to 8pm. Khor Mall and Mall of Qatar, are tar Summer Festival at Doha Ex- celebration is a partnership Events organised by or with communities that work on con- version of Eid festivities. In the Many malls around the coun- also staging their own festivities. hibition and Convention Centre. between the ministry and the MoI for diff erent occasions struction projects and help them fi rst fi ve days of Eid, Souq Al try, such as The Mall along D-Ring The Qatar Tourism Author- The event runs until Septem- foreign communities in Qa- are held to entertain and raise overcome their homesickness, Wakrah will off er rides and other Road, Lagoona Mall, Gulf Mall, ity, in partnership with QSports, ber 5. tar and is part of a number of awareness to benefi t foreign shop and enjoy. Gulf Times Tuesday, June 27, 2017 3 QATAR Fewer emergency cases Philippine I-Day celebrations during Eid holidays

By Joseph Varghese HMC receives 196 calls Dr Ahmed al-Sheikhly, sen- “What is being observed is Staff Reporter ior consultant and physician that there is greater aware- The Ambulance Service at at the Emergency Department, ness among people about food Hamad Medical Corporation said the total number of cases habits and they are acting far here seem to be fewer (HMC) received 196 calls for so far is fewer than in previ- more responsibly. Most people emergency cases at Ha- help yesterday from 6am until ous years. “On the fi rst day we eat the right food as well as the Tmad Medical Corpora- 6pm. These were mostly re- had 430 emergency cases and right amount, which has result- tion (HMC) and many private garding minor cases, including on Monday we had about 500 ed in a reduction of the number healthcare facilities during five road accidents with slight cases. These include three road of emergency cases. This is a the Eid al-Fitr holidays so far injuries. As for paediatric emer- accidents, 10 cardiac cases, positive change and shows that this year compared to previous gency, there were 606 cases 16 trauma cases and 22 medi- people are aware of healthy liv- years, according to offi cials. yesterday at Al Sadd, 257 at Al cal cases while the other cases ing practices more than ever,” Speaking to Gulf Times, of- Rayyan, 77 at Airport Health were general ones. Dr al-Sheikhly said. fi cials at public and private Centre, 27 at Al Daayen and “Most of the emergency An offi cial at one of the lead- healthcare facilities said the six at Al Shamal Health Centre. cases were general and minor in ing private health facilities said emergency cases that had been Most of the cases were treated nature. Other cases, including that there were not many emer- reported were “minor” in na- on the same day. road accidents, were also minor gency cases at the facility. “So ture and there were not many in nature. Most of them were far, there have not been many critical cases. given consultation and medi- cases - just a few cases of stom- The Emergency Depart- guidelines provided by HMC cation,” the physician added. ach ailments were reported. ment at Hamad General Hos- regarding healthy eating hab- There have also been only The patients were treated and pital (HGH) recorded about its during Ramadan and Eid, as fewer cases of stomach ail- sent back with necessary medi- The 119th Philippine Independence Day celebrations in Doha continued with a series of cultural performances 500 emergency cases from well as the safety instructions ments due to heavy consump- cines,” an offi cial said. at City Center Rotana yesterday. Dressed in traditional costumes, talented local performers from various 6am to 6pm yesterday. Some of for motorists and pedestrians tion of food, which generally An offi cial from another organisations displayed the artistic side of Filipinos on stage. A large number of expatriates attended the first the private facilities had a few issued by the Ministry of In- accounts for the most cases private clinic made similar re- and second days of the celebrations. The third day will also feature several performances, shows and activities emergency cases all through terior, have helped in reduc- received at the Emergency De- marks and said the number such as a traditional ‘videoke’ sing-along, ‘Lakan and Lakambini’ pageant and ‘Harana’ - a traditional form of the day. ing the number of cases, say partment, according to the of emergency cases were courting by serenading the lady. It is an indication that the sources. offi cial. negligible.

Drowning victim’s body found The body of a man who had gone WISE starts registration of delegates for 2017 summit swimming in the sea was retrieved yesterday from the Sealine area, according to an off icial. By Joseph Varghese It is expected that more than There will also be opportu- nomic uncertainty stemming innovation, changing mind- tivity, participants enjoy oppor- Mohamed Shakir, director, at the Staff Reporter 2,000 high-profi le delegates nities for networking sessions from confl ict, mass migration, sets toward migrants, among tunities to meet with represent- Ambulance Service Department from over 100 countries will with key strategic partners and growing inequality, ongoing several others. atives of WISE Awards winning of Hamad Medical Corporation, take part in the premier global funders and connect with global rapid technological change and The announcement of the projects, the WISE Accelerator said they took part yesterday in orld Innovation Sum- education conference. More leaders and practitioners from other forces. WISE Prize for Education Lau- enterprises, members of the an operation in the Sealine area mit for Education than 90 international speakers Qatar and the Mena region. The summit will be an op- reate is one of the highlights of Learners’ Voice, and with WISE where the body of an expatriate W(WISE) has started and about 1,200 organisations After the last summit in 2015, portunity to rethink and reor- the summit. The WISE Prize authors. drowning victim was found. the global registration of del- will also take part in the sum- WISE has shifted to a bien- ganise the way learning is de- for Education, established in The WISE Majlis, a central Unconfirmed reports on social media egates for its 2017 summit with mit, whose fi rst edition was nial cycle of summits to allow a livered in an age of disruption. 2010, is a world-class recogni- gathering and exhibition space, suggested the victim was an Egyptian the “early bird” discount off er held in 2009. greater focus on WISE research, Participants will explore and tion of an individual or a team encourages informal interaction national. Community members had closing by June 30. The summit provides a plat- expanded outreach and collabo- discover a host of topics that for outstanding contribution to and includes sponsored booths, earlier posted on Facebook that a The 2017 WISE Summit will form for accessing top-end ration through smaller regional are shaping the future of teach- any fi eld of education. The sum- the popular Learners’ Voice young man had gone missing while convene under the theme “Co- knowledge on the latest inno- engagements. ing and learning, including the mit will also celebrate six WISE Café, the WISE Research kiosk enjoying the first day of Eid on Exist, Co-Create: Learning to vation, research, reforms and This year’s theme refl ects the impact of artifi cial intelligence Awards winning projects se- and the Learning Labs where lo- Sealine Beach. A thorough search by Live and Work Together”, at Qa- trends as well as share the best commitment of WISE to address on education, transforming lected from a number of projects cal students experience the best the authorities concerned led to the tar National Convention Centre practices and insight with inter- important education challenges roles of teachers, leveraging from around the globe. in teaching and hands-on doing retrieval of the body. from November 14 to 16. national infl uencers. in times of disruption and eco- social entrepreneurship for With the emphasis on interac- in the classroom. Gulf Times 4 Tuesday, June 27, 2017 AFRICA

Eid cheer Tanzania ban on pregnant girls in school ‘violates basic rights’

By Kizito Makoye, Reuters against,” Christa Stewart of suicide,” she told the Thomson Dar es Salaam Equality Now said in an e-mail. Reuters Foundation. The east African nation has According to President Magu- one of the highest adolescent fuli, teen mothers would set a ampaigners yesterday pregnancy and birth rates in the bad example to other students if criticised Tanzania’s ban world and 21% of girls aged 15 to allowed back in school. Con pregnant girls and 19 have given birth, according to But critics said the focus on teenage mothers in state schools, a 2015/16 survey conducted by punishing girls was counterpro- saying the measure fuels stigma the Tanzania Bureau of Statistics. ductive. against girls and victims of sex- More than 55,000 Tanzanian “It’s unfair to punish the girl ual violence. schoolgirls have been expelled alone, as that is tantamount to Addressing a rally in Tanzania’s from school over the last decade punishing the victim,” Tanzanian coast region last week, Presi- for being pregnant, the Center columnist Jenerali Ulimwengu dent John Magufuli said female for Reproductive Rights (CRR) wrote in The East African news- students who become mothers said in a report in 2013. paper. would “never” be allowed back in Some wealthier families are While sex with underage girls school — reaffi rming a ban dating able to send their daughters to is criminalised in Tanzania, par- back to the 1960s. private schools but the majority ents may marry off their daugh- “As long as I am president...no end up looking for casual work. ters using a special privilege pregnant student will be allowed On Twitter, the hashtag granted by a 1971 marriage law, to return to school,” he said. #StopMagufuli, promoted by which allows a girl as young as “We cannot allow this immoral Equality Now and other women’s 15 to marry with parental or the behaviour to permeate our pri- rights groups, has been trending court’s consent. mary and secondary schools.” for days. Emily Nyoni was expelled from Denying pregnant girls and Irene Masawe, 21, who was school in Dar es Salaam after get- new mothers access to educa- kicked out of school in Dar es Sa- ting pregnant in 2012, ending her tion is a violation of their rights, laam after falling pregnant three dreams of becoming a doctor. said Equality Now, an interna- years ago, said the ban stigma- She said the president’s state- tional charity defending girls’ tised pregnant girls and could ment would victimise girls. Woman gather to celebrate Eid al-Fitr yesterday at the Independence square in Accra. rights. push them into unsafe abortions. “Some people will hate you “Pregnant girls, especially “Some girls with simple minds because you are pregnant or have those who have been subject might be forced to have risky given birth, they will despise you to sexual violence or exploita- abortions to avoid shame — or as if you have committed an un- tion must not be discriminated even think about committing forgivable sin,” she said.

Guards under fire UN denounces Congo for jail strip show Suicide bombers outh African prison of- fi cials said yesterday they court Kasai verdict Swere considering sus- pending 13 guards after one of the country’s high security jails AFP according to the government. held an “explicit” strip show for Kinshasa On Saturday, prosecutors in inmates last week. hit Nigeria again the trial, which began on June 5, The announcement was made dropped the war crimes charges, after racy pictures of prisoners in AFP left at least 20,000 people dead he UN yesterday criticised but kept the murder charge and orange uniforms, some bare-chest- Maiduguri and more than 2.6mn homeless, a decision by a Congo- others. ed, standing with scantily-dressed is on the verge of defeat. Tlese military tribunal not “You can justify dropping women in black corsets and knee- But Boko Haram has continued to prosecute seven Democratic the war crimes charges because high heeled boots went viral on so- ine people have been to mount sporadic raids and sui- Republic of Congo soldiers for there is no declared confl ict in cial media over the weekend. killed in a string of sui- cide bombings, including on June crimes against humanity. the Kasai,” Aranaz said. Offi cials said the pictures were Ncide attacks in Maid- 19, when its militants killed at “We regret” the tribunal’s de- But it would have been impor- taken during an event on June 21 uguri, a city in Nigeria’s restive least 16 people near a camp for the cision, Jose Maria Aranaz, direc- tant to prosecute the offi cers for at the notorious Johannesburg northeast where Boko Haram displaced just outside Maiduguri. tor of the United Nations joint crimes against humanity because Correctional Centre, most com- militants began a deadly insur- The attacks came after a week- human rights offi ce (UNJHRO) it would send “a strong signal in monly know as “Sun City”. gency in 2009, police said. end of fi erce clashes between Boko and representative of the High the direction of those who are im- “After a preliminary investi- The attacks occurred as Ni- Haram insurgents and Chadian Commissioner for Human Rights plicated in the violence in Kasai”. gation...at least 13 offi cial will be geria began a two-day public troops on several islands in Lake in the DRC, told AFP. The central Kasai region has served with letters of contempla- holiday for Eid al-Fitr. Chad, which borders Nigeria, “Prosecuting these crimes is seen an explosion of deadly vio- tion of suspension,” acting Cor- Police said the bombings, Chad, Cameroon and Niger. a way of preventing other legal lence in recent months, with re- rectional Services commissioner which began late on Sunday, Emergency personnel work at the site of a blast at the campus According to a spokesman violations and further excessive ports of gross rights violations, James Smalberger told reporters. were carried out by seven sui- of Maiduguri University. for Chad’s armed forces, the use of force by the armed forces,” including extrajudicial killings, However, Smalberger’s criti- cide bombers, six of whom were clashes killed eight soldiers and Aranaz said. torture, rape and the use of child cal comments were not enough women. suicide bombers entered a com- blowing themselves up without wounded another 18. The seven soldiers were al- soldiers. to pacify public anger. They targeted the campus of munity on the northeastern out- causing any casualties. But he claimed that the op- ready on trial for war crimes and More than 3,300 people have The “#PrisonStrippers” hash- Maiduguri University and resi- skirts of the city, with two of them “In all, 16 people — including eration had also killed 162 Boko other off ences — including mur- been killed in eight months of tag trended on Twitter for the dential buildings in a district blowing themselves up inside two the (seven) suicide bombers — Haram jihadists and destroyed der, mutilation and cruel, inhu- spiralling unrest, a papal envoy better part yesterday morning, just northeast of the city, which residential buildings, killing eight died in the multiple explosions many motorcycles which are mane and degrading treatment to the country said last week, and as people expressed shock over is capital of Nigeria’s Borno and wounding another 11. while 13 people were injured,” often used in their deadly raids. — apparently committed in the UN fi gures show that 1.3mn peo- the pictures. “So some prisoners State. Another detonated her explo- Isuku said. There have been frequent Kasai region. ple have fl ed their homes. are put in prison for assaulting State police spokesman Vic- sives without injuring anyone, On Friday, Nigeria’s intelli- clashes on the many small is- They are being prosecuted over The UNJHRO believes “offi c- women and then they get a strip tor Isuku said the violence be- while the fourth tried to do the gence service said it had foiled lands of Lake Chad since the a video that emerged in Febru- ers should guarantee the pro- show on Youth Day,” tweeted law gan when a male bomber blew same but was injured and ar- a plan to carry out a series of Boko Haram confl ict began. ary showing a group of uniformed portional use of force by military student Luke Waltham. himself up on campus, killing rested, later succumbing to her co-ordinated attacks targeting Both Chad and Nigeria, along men opening fi re on civilians, then and police elements under their “I thought this was fake news, himself and wounding three se- wounds, Isuku said. Muslims celebrating Eid in sev- with troops from Cameroon, walking among at least 20 bodies. command” and dismiss all ef- but apparently not. It’s an out- curity guards, one of whom later Several hours later, two more eral cities, including Maiduguri. Niger and Benin, are part of a The alleged incident occurred forts to try to put these acts onto rage and a slap in the face to died. female bombers staged an- Nigeria’s military has said the fi ve-nation regional force fi ght- during an operation in a village “isolated members in the army,” victims of crime”, said SAcrime- Minutes later, four female other attack on the university, group, whose insurgency has ing Boko Haram. called Mwanza Lomba in Kasai, Aranaz said. fi ghters. Prize-winning technology helps Ghana farmers to grow

By Stacey Knott, AFP in driving social change across the Accra continent — and with funds at- tached, to help them advance. Organisers say the prize is based gyei Douglas is a farmer who on the idea that “entrepreneurship grows vegetables near Kumasi and local leadership, rather than tra- Ain Ghana’s central Ashanti ditional aid, is the key to sustainable region. He used to struggle to access change”. markets and capital. The information Attah isn’t alone in his quest to he needed was broadcast on the radio use technology to make agriculture but often it wasn’t specifi c enough to more sustainable and productive in improve his yield of lettuce, spring Ghana. onions, cabbage and chilli pepper. The country’s government says Two years ago, the 43-year-old Farm workers work at a farm near Accra. it wants to modernise agriculture, began using Farmerline, which de- including mapping cocoa farms and livers weather updates, the latest from smallholders on family-oper- It puts people in direct touch with collecting data on them. market prices and other details to ated farms with average landhold- farmers, breaking the cycle of pov- In the private sector, agri-tech his second generation mobile phone. ings of less than two hectares. erty and dependency on aid. fi rm Ghalani, set up in late 2016, also “It has helped us improve on our A lack of more in-depth and accu- “The business of agriculture has has data-collection as a key focus, productions through the informa- rate data have been seen as a stum- always been about aid, a feel-good digitising any manual records farm- tion we get from them, it has made bling block for Ghana’s farmers, project,” said Attah. ers may have. things easier for us as compared to preventing them from better pro- “But we are working really hard It also gives farmers access to our previous system,” he told AFP. duction or accessing fi nancial loans. to show you can create a business software to keep better records, and The Ghanaian tech company be- Farmerline off ers a range of serv- around it that provides value to make reports that could put them in hind Farmerline is one of a number ices for both farmers and those who farmers and...you can get paid for a better position to get fi nancing. of start-ups in the West African want to connect to them, includ- those values you create.” CowTribe uses mobile technol- country working to bolster food se- ing non-government organisations, Farmerline this week won the ogy to connect livestock farmers in curity through better access to in- global food companies and local King Baudouin African Develop- northern Ghana with vets, while the formation. businesses. ment Prize, which rewards “excep- start-up Hovver uses drones to help The initiative was established in Businesses can access data and tional contributions to development farmers map out their land. 2012 and has so far helped connect farm auditing services as well as work in Africa”. Attah says the prize has been some 200,000 farmers in 10 coun- farmer profi ling, and farm mapping. The two other winners were “life-changing” for him but also the tries using the mobile technology. For farmers, there are also weath- an online legal services fi rm from farmers he wants to help with the According to 2014 Ghana gov- er forecasts, market prices and agri- Uganda, BarefootLaw, and Kytabu, funds. ernment fi gures, almost half of the cultural tips all off ered as voice mes- which provides school reading con- His next project is an app that working population are involved sages in local languages such as the tent for students across Kenya. helps connect banks to farmers in in agriculture, and just over half of Akan dialect Twi. All three received 75,000 euros need of loans, and is able to use data Ghana’s land is used for farming. A point of pride for Farmerline’s ($83,750) each. to predict how much can be bor- World Bank fi gures indicate some chief executive and co-founder Al- The prize, announced on June 20 rowed and when it will be paid back, 80% of agricultural output came loysius Attah is its business model. in Brussels, aims to highlight work without having to put up collateral. Gulf Times Tuesday, June 27, 2017 5 AMERICAS

CRIME IMMIGRATION MEDIA NATURE Canada nurse gets life for Facebook in talks to Firefighters in Utah killing eight seniors: media produce TV-quality shows have ‘good day’

A Canadian nurse who used insulin to kill eight Facebook Inc is in talks with Hollywood studios Firefighters battling a wildfire in south-west elderly patients in long-term care facilities about producing scripted, TV-quality shows, Utah said they had had a “good day” Sunday has been sentenced to life in prison with no with an aim of launching original programming in their fight to contain a 42,800-acre fire. The chance of parole for 25 years, the Canadian by late summer, the Wall Street Journal blaze, which started on June 17, is still only 10% Broadcasting Corp (CBC) reported yesterday. reported yesterday. The social networking contained but experienced “minimal growth on The wildfire burned up to the the edge of a home Elizabeth Wettlaufer pleaded guilty this month to giant has indicated that it was willing to commit the fire perimeter” on Sunday, according to a but left it standing outside Panguitch, Utah. killing five women and three men in the Ontario to production budgets as high as $3mn per statement by local fire services. “[Sunday] was a towns of Woodstock and London between 2007 episode, in meetings with Hollywood talent good day for firefighters, who were able to have In California, a car accident started a fire in and 2014. The dead ranged in age from 75 to 96. agencies, the Journal reported, citing people success securing areas of particular concern, Santa Clarita in Los Angeles County, triggering Wettlaufer then admitted in court in Woodstock, familiar with the matter. Facebook is hoping to including the many structures aff ected by the mandatory evacuations in some neighbourhoods, about 140km west of Toronto, that she fatally target audiences from ages 13 to 34, with a focus Brian Head Fire,” incident commander Tim Roide the Los Angeles Times reported. injected the victims with insulin for no medical on the 17 to 30 range. The company is expected said. South-west winds could force the blaze to Many parts of western United States have been reasons. CBC reported that she apologised in Protesters against the Texas state law to to release episodes in a traditional manner, spread however, the statement said. The wildfire struggling with heatwaves over recent days. court to her victims’ families yesterday, although punish “sanctuary cities” outside the US instead of dropping an entire season in one go has already forced an evacuation of over 1,500 Las Vegas recorded its equal highest temperature her motive remains unclear. Federal court in San Antonio, Texas. like Netflix. people, according to local broadcaster KUTV. ever on Tuesday of 47.2C.

Senate Republicans ‘to issue revised healthcare bill’

Reuters in repealing former President Washington Barack Obama’s healthcare law known as Obamacare. Meanwhile, some moder- S Senate Republicans ate Republicans have either are expected to issue a withheld judgment or ex- Urevised version of their pressed doubts about replac- healthcare bill yesterday, ac- ing Obamacare with legislation cording to a Republican Senate that is similar to a healthcare aide, as the chamber’s leaders measure narrowly passed by scurried to win support and get the House of Representatives the bill passed by a July 4 holi- last month. That measure ini- day recess that starts on Friday. tially was supported by Presi- The aide who is familiar with dent Donald Trump, who later the plan did not provide details was reported to have described of the changes that are in the it as “mean”. works for the legislation, which One moderate Republican, was unveiled last week and im- Susan Collins, said on ABC’s mediately criticised by both This Week programme on Sun- conservatives and moderates day that she had “very serious A masked demonstrator at a rally by self proclaimed White Nationalists, white supremacists and Alt-Right activists for what they called a Freedom of Speech rally at the Lincoln Republicans. concerns” about the bill fl oated Memorial in Washington. A likely change would be to last week. She also expressed add a provision to encourage doubts that legislation would people, mainly those who are clear the Senate this week. young and healthy, to enrol in Moderates are worried their insurance plans, the Politico party’s approach to healthcare website reported. would kick too many people off A spokesman for Senate their insurance plan. Majority Leader Mitch McCo- A provision ending federal nnell would not comment on funding of Planned Parenthood Supreme Court revives whether votes on whatever bill for one year has also caused is fi nally crafted would be held concerns among moderate Re- in the full Senate on Thursday, publicans. Conservatives have as originally anticipated. been calling for an end to federal At least four conservative Re- funding of Planned Parenthood publicans have expressed op- because it performs abortions, position to the draft legislation, even though they are not per- Trump’s travel ban saying it does not go far enough formed with taxpayer dollars. The legal battle continues and cants, not people who already have visas But those seeking visas to enter the international concern about attacks car- arguments will be heard in October or are US permanent residents, known as United States with no such ties could be ried out by Islamist militants like those in green card holders. barred. The decision endorsed the Trump Paris, London, Brussels, Berlin and other Reuters The executive order also made waivers administration’s contention that the pres- cities. Washington available for a foreign national seeking to ident deserves greater deference from the The state of Hawaii and a group of plain- Family of black man enter the United States to resume work or courts on national security matters. tiff s in Maryland represented by the Amer- study, visit a spouse, child or parent who The court said that Trump’s executive ican Civil Liberties Union argued that the he US Supreme Court yesterday is a US citizen, or for “signifi cant business order distinguished between foreign- order violated federal immigration law and gets nearly $3mn handed a victory to President Don- or professional obligations”. Refugees “in ers who have “some connection to this the Constitution’s First Amendment pro- Tald Trump by allowing his tempo- transit” and already approved would have country” and those who do not, and said hibition on the government favouring or rary ban on travellers from six Muslim- been able to travel to the United States un- the government had committed to review disfavouring any particular religion. over police shooting majority countries and all refugees to go der the executive order. cases for those with some connection to Regional federal appeals courts in Vir- into eff ect for people with no strong ties to The case is Trump’s fi rst major chal- the United States on a case-by-case ba- ginia and California both upheld district AFP year, after the driver informed the United States while agreeing to decide lenge at the Supreme Court, where he re- sis. judge injunctions blocking the order. Chicago the offi cer that he was carrying this fall the legality of the order. stored a 5-4 conservative majority with The Supreme Court left the lower-court Trump signed the order as a replacement a gun, for which he had a legal The case represents a major test of pres- the appointment of Neil Gorsuch, who injunctions against the ban in place, but for a January 27 order issued a week after permit. idential powers. joined the bench in April. There are fi ve only with respect to the challengers to the he became president that also was blocked he family of a black mo- The $2.995mn settlement The justices, in their unsigned decision, Republican appointees on the court and ban themselves and others in similar cir- by federal courts. torist fatally shot by a with St Anthony, a suburb of granted parts of the Trump administra- four Democratic appointees. cumstances, meaning they involve people The revised order was intended to over- TMinnesota police offi cer, the state capital St Paul, avoids tion’s emergency request to put the order Three of the court’s conservatives said in the United States who have relation- come the legal issues posed by the original whose dying moments were a federal civil rights lawsuit, into eff ect immediately while the legal they would have granted Trump’s request ships with foreign nationals abroad and ban, which also included Iraq among the livestreamed on Facebook, “which may have taken years battle continues. to reinstate the order in full, including whose rights might be aff ected if those nations targeted and a full ban on refugees said yesterday it had reached to work its way through the The court, which narrowed the scope Gorsuch. Justice Clarence Thomas warned foreigners were excluded from entry. from Syria. a nearly $3mn civil settlement courts, exacerbating the suf- of lower court rulings that had completely that requiring offi cials to diff erentiate be- But the court said the injunctions were The revised order also jettisoned lan- with the US city that employed fering of the family and of the blocked his March 6 executive order, said tween foreigners who have connection to too broad to also include barring enforce- guage that gave preferential status to per- the acquitted cop. community”, according to a it would hear arguments in October on the the US and those who do not will prove ment of the ban against foreigners who secuted religious minorities, which critics The death of Philando Cas- joint statement by the city and lawfulness of one of Trump’s signature unworkable. have no connection to the United States at said could be taken as favouring Christians tile — one in a series of high- Castile family attorneys. policies in his fi rst months as president “Today’s compromise will burden ex- all. “Denying entry to such a foreign na- and other religious groups over Muslims. profi le shootings of African- “No amount of money could The March 6 order called for a 90-day ecutive offi cials with the task of deciding tional does not burden any American party Trump has called the March order a Americans by police — stunned ever replace Philando,” the ban on travellers from Libya, Iran, Soma- — on peril of contempt — whether indi- by reason of that party’s relationship with “watered down, politically correct” ver- the nation. statement said, adding that the lia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen and a 120-day viduals from the six aff ected nations who the foreign national,” the court said. sion of the January one. His girlfriend Diamond money — to be paid by the city’s ban on all refugees to enable the govern- wish to enter the United States have a suf- The court handled the refugee ban in a But the order still embodied his “Ameri- Reynolds took to Facebook to insurance and not through tax- ment to implement stronger vetting pro- fi cient connection to a person or entity in similar way, allowing the government to ca First” nationalist message and refl ected livestream his agony as blood payer funds — would be used to cedures. this country,” Thomas wrote. exclude from the United States refugee his views of the dangers posed to the Unit- spread on Castile’s shirt and fund a foundation in Castile’s It was blocked by federal judges before The justices said that the travel ban will claimants who do not have any “bona fi de ed States by certain immigrants and visi- the offi cer continued to yell or- name. going into eff ect on March 16 as planned. go into eff ect “with respect to foreign na- relationship” with an American individual tors. ders with his gun drawn. Police car video of the Both bans are now due to partly go into tionals who lack any bona fi de relation- or entity. The administration has said the travel Jeronimo Yanez, 29, was shooting released last week eff ect in 72 hours, based on a memoran- ship with a person or entity in the United Thomas said this will lead to a fl ood of ban is needed to allow time to implement found not guilty of man- shows the exchange between dum issued by the Trump administration States”. That indicates that people from litigation as courts try to fi gure out who stronger vetting measures, although it has slaughter earlier this month Yanez and Castile lasting less on June 14. the six countries and refugees who have has a “bona fi de relationship” with the already rolled out some new requirements for shooting the 32-year-old than a minute before the offi cer Even before the Supreme Court action family, business or other ties would not be United States. not blocked by courts, including addition- Castile during a traffi c stop last shoots Castile at close range. the ban applied only to new visa appli- barred from entry. Trump issued the order amid rising al questions for visa applicants. Court leaves in place California curbs on guns

Reuters a need for self-defence. pansive view of gun rights, with liber- eral purpose of self-defence, the plain- tion as applied to them, was a blow arm possession by individuals con- Washington The San Francisco-based 9th US als sceptical. tiff s argued. to gun control advocates, while the victed of a crime punishable by a year Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the The court has fi ve conservative jus- Last June, the appeals court ruled Trump administration called it a threat or more in jail, the traditional defi ni- policy last year, fi nding that the US tices, including Gorsuch, and four lib- that the Second Amendment does not to public safety. tion of a felony. However, the law does he US Supreme Court yester- Constitution off ers no right to carry a erals. California law generally forbids protect the right to carry concealed Liberal Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg not apply to off ences labelled as mis- day sidestepped one of the most concealed weapon. the carrying of handguns, either open fi rearms in public. and Sonia Sotomayor said they would demeanours under state law that carry Thotly contested gun rights dis- Two conservative justices, includ- or concealed, in public spaces. zThe Supreme Court yesterday re- have granted the appeal to hear the jail time of two years or less. putes in years, declining to rule in a ing President Donald Trump appointee Lead plaintiff Edward Peruta, a San jected the Trump administration’s ap- case. In 2013 and 2014, the men sepa- California case on whether a person’s Neil Gorsuch, said the court should Diego County resident, applied for a peal of a lower court ruling loosening The 3rd Circuit US Court of Appeals rately sued to escape the felon gun- constitutional right to keep fi rearms have heard the case. concealed carry license, but was re- the federal prohibition on convicted ruling does not set a nationwide legal possession prohibition. Emphasising for self-defence extends outside the The US Constitution’s Second jected because he had not specifi cally felons possessing guns in a case involv- precedent. their non-violent off ences and light home. Amendment guarantees the right to shown he was in harm’s way. ing two Pennsylvania men convicted of The Pennsylvania men who chal- sentences, they argued the law violates Gun owners had taken aim at a Cali- “keep and bear arms”. In its landmark Peruta and four others sued San Di- non-violent crimes who challenged lenged the ban, Julio Suarez of Gettys- their right to keep and bear arms under fornia law that bars them from being 2008 District of Columbia v Heller rul- ego County in a case backed by a Cali- the ban. burg and Daniel Binderup of Manheim, the US Constitution’s Second Amend- granted a permit to carry a concealed ing, the Supreme Court held for the fornia affi liate of the National Rifl e As- The justices let stand a lower court’s both were convicted of non-violent ment. gun in public places unless they show fi rst time that the Second Amendment sociation gun rights group. The state 2016 ruling that suggested denying fel- misdemeanours, but the crimes carried The Philadelphia-based 3rd US Cir- “good cause” for having it, with county guarantees an individual’s right to bear intervened in support of the county. ons whose crimes were not serious the maximum possible sentences of more cuit Court of Appeals, in an 8-7 deci- sheriff s making the determination. arms for self-defence in the home. The plaintiff s argued that the sher- right to own guns violated the US than two years, falling within the defi - sion, held that people may challenge The justices let stand a lower court’s The California plaintiff s were aiming iff ’s defi nition of “good cause” violated Constitution’s Second Amendment, nition of felony in the federal gun ban. the ban depending on their particular ruling upholding a San Diego County to extend that right outside the home. the Second Amendment. which protects the right to “keep and Neither Suarez nor Binderup served jail criminal conviction, and found that it sheriff ’s policy of denying such per- Conservative Supreme Court justices Law-abiding citizens should be able bear arms”. That ruling, which allows time. was unconstitutional as applied to the mits unless the gun owner documents generally have been receptive to an ex- to carry weapons in public for the gen- individuals to challenge the prohibi- Federal law generally prohibits fi re- two men. Gulf Times 6 Tuesday, June 27, 2017 ASIA/AUSTRALASIA

DISASTER NARCOTICS JUDGEMENT CRACKDOWN DIPLOMACY Thailand, Myanmar burn Three Australians handed Thailand charges activist New US envoy to China drugs worth nearly $1bn jail in China for gambling for defying junta orders says N Korea a top priority

Thailand and Myanmar yesterday set fire Three Australian casino employees, including A Thai activist was charged yesterday The new US ambassador to China has said to confiscated drugs worth nearly a billion a senior executive, and 16 other employees with defying the orders of the military that stopping the threat posed by North Korea dollars to mark the International Day Against have been sentenced after pleading guilty for government, the latest critic to be arrested will be a top priority, along with resolving Drug Abuse and Illicit Traff icking, authorities “gambling crimes” in China, an official said for activities outlawed since a 2014 coup. the US-China trade imbalance, according to a said. In Thailand, a total of 9.3 tonnes of drugs yesterday. Crown Resorts, owned by one of Rangsiman Rome, 25, who was arrested on video message to the Chinese people released worth 20bn baht ($589mn) was torched in an Australia’s richest man, James Packer, has Sunday, was charged by a military prosecutor yesterday. Terry Branstad, a former Iowa incinerator at an environment management been muddled in a legal tangle after 19 of in Bangkok. He faces four charges including governor, has been described by Beijing as an centre in Ayutthaya province, the Public Health its staff members were detained by Chinese taking part in an illegal gathering in 2015 “old friend” of China. Branstad was confirmed Ministry said. Among the seized narcotics were authorities in October. “Nineteen people were and defying a junta order by distributing on May 24 as President Donald Trump’s new 87mn methamphetamine pills, 1.1 tonnes of sentenced. Of them, 16 received sentences of leaflets against a constitutional referendum ambassador to China but his arrival date has crystal methamphetamine, 169kg of heroin, 10 to 19 months in prison. Three of them, who in 2016. The military overthrew an elected yet to be announced. “Resolving the bilateral Relatives of victims react at the site of a 32kg of opium and 12kg of cocaine, according had less serious crimes, did not receive prison government in May 2014, saying it had to trade imbalance, stopping the North Korea landslide in the village of Xinmo, Mao County, to the ministry. By weight, it was the largest sentences,” a court official from Baoshan restore order after months of at time violent threat, and expanding people-to-people ties Sichuan Province, China. amount of drugs destroyed in a decade. District Court in Shanghai said. protests against the ruling populist party. will be my top priorities,” Branstad said. China releases Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo with terminal cancer

AFP University No 1 Hospital. While The committee called for his try spokesman Geng Shuang told when she was diagnosed with de- Beijing it confi rmed he was being treat- unconditional release and said he a regular news briefi ng: “I am pression after years of detention, a ed for liver cancer, it did not say should be off ered the best possi- not aware of the situation you’re rights group said at the time. whether it was terminal. ble treatment in China or abroad. talking about.” Liu is one of only She could not be reached for hina’s Nobel peace prize “He has no special plans. He is Patrick Poon, China research- three people to have won the No- comment yesterday and an au- laureate Liu Xiaobo has just receiving medical treatment er at rights group Amnesty Inter- bel award while jailed by their tomated message said her phone Cbeen transferred on parole for his illness,” Mo said. The national, urged authorities to en- own government. China strongly was no longer in service. from prison to a hospital for ter- writer was sentenced in 2009 for sure Liu has access to his family. condemned the prize as foreign Liu is also known for his ef- minal cancer treatment, his law- “subversion” after spearheading interference in its internal aff airs. forts to help negotiate the safe yer said yesterday, but concerned a bold petition for democratic re- While the Nobel Committee Diplomatic ties and trade talks exit from Tiananmen Square of supporters called for his uncon- forms. He was awarded the No- said it was “delighted” to between Beijing and Oslo were thousands of student demon- ditional release. bel prize while in jail a year later learn that Liu was fi nally frozen, with China halting Nor- strators on the night of June 3-4, Liu, who has about three years and was represented by an empty freed, it “strongly regrets wegian salmon imports. Rela- 1989 when the military bloodily A file picture received from the family taken on March 14, 2005 of his 11-year sentence to serve, chair at the ceremony in Oslo. that it took serious illness tions were only normalised last suppressed six weeks of protests shows 2010 Nobel peace laureate Liu Xiaobo in Guangzhou in was diagnosed with late-stage Supporters demanded that Liu be before Chinese authorities December. The international in the heart of Beijing. He was southern China. liver cancer on May 23 and grant- granted the best medical care and were willing to release him community has for years been arrested immediately after the ed medical parole days later, law- criticised his treatment so far. from jail” calling for Liu’s release. crackdown and released without University, but was banned from of the Independent China PEN yer Mo Shaoping told AFP. While the Nobel Commit- Liu was arrested in 2008 after charge in early 1991. Liu was re- teaching at state institutions af- Centre, a grouping of Chinese The 61-year-old democracy tee said it was “delighted” to Poon also called for Liu and co-writing ‘Charter 08’, a bold arrested and served three years in ter his involvement in the 1989 writers. PEN Hong Kong called campaigner was being treated learn that Liu was fi nally freed, it “all others imprisoned solely for petition that called for the pro- a labour camp from 1996-1999 demonstrations. He was also for his unconditional release. “At at a hospital in the northeast- “strongly regrets that it took se- exercising their human rights” tection of basic human rights for seeking the release of those banned from publishing in China a time when China wants to have ern city of Shenyang, capital rious illness before Chinese au- to be immediately and uncondi- and reform of China’s one-party jailed in the Tiananmen protests but many of his writings advo- a greater international role, it is of Liaoning province, where he thorities were willing to release tionally released. Communist system. ‘Charter 08’, and for opposing the offi cial ver- cating greater democracy and re- only fi tting that it should show was imprisoned. The Liaoning him from jail”. “Chinese authori- “Adding injury to insult, Liu which was posted online, spe- dict that their actions amounted spect for human rights appeared humanity and compassion to- Prison Administrative Bureau ties carry a heavy responsibil- Xiaobo has been diagnosed with cifi cally demands the abolition of to a counter-revolutionary rebel- in Hong Kong and overseas Chi- wards a man who has never com- confi rmed Liu’s parole, saying in ity if Liu Xiaobo, because of his a grave illness in prison, where subversion as a criminal off ence. lion. nese publications. mitted any violent crime, but has a statement he was being treat- imprisonment, has been denied he should never have been put in Liu’s wife Liu Xia has been un- Liu, who holds a doctorate Some of these articles served dedicated his life to literature and ed by “eight renowned Chinese necessary medical treatment,” it the fi rst place,” Poon said. Asked der house arrest since 2010. She in Chinese literature, was once as evidence in his most recent free expression,” it said on its oncologists” at China Medical said in a statement. about Liu’s parole, foreign minis- suff ered a heart attack in 2014, a professor at Beijing Normal trial. Liu was a leading member website.

Great Barrier Reef Mongolians vote in Eid in China ‘valued’ at A$56bn Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, a vast system of coral reefs off the presidential election coast of Queensland, is worth 56bn Australian dollars (US $42bn), a report said yesterday, AFP like I had no one to work for,” warning of “vast economic Ulan Bator Batbayar Nyamjargal, 24, said consequences” for the country after voting at a polling station if it is destroyed. “At A$56bn, the next to a playground in Ulan Reef is valued at more than 12 ongolians voted yes- Bator. “I thought about the de- Sydney Opera Houses!” Steve terday to choose be- cision for a long time, and I’m Sargent, the director of the Great Mtween a horse breeder, still not 100% sure I made the Barrier Reef Foundation which a judoka and a feng shui master right choice. All three of them commissioned the report, said in in a presidential election rife had issues.” a statement. Prepared by Deloitte with corruption scandals and The campaign was also Access Economics, the report nationalist rhetoric. marked by moments of anti- calculated the total asset value of From the sprawling steppes Chinese sentiment. Mieygom- the Great Barrier Reef, assessing to the capital and even in yurts bo Enkhbold of the Mongolian its economic, social and iconic serving as polling stations, People’s Party (MPP) which brand value for the first time. people went to the polls in the controls parliament published Tourism was the biggest country sandwiched between his family tree to rebuff claims contributor to its value, Russia and China that was once that he had Chinese blood. accounting for A$29bn, Deloitte seen as an oasis of democracy “(The election) is truly testing said, followed by $A24bn in brand full of economic promise. the nerves of voters,” analyst value from those who despite not Nomadic herders fi led into a Gerel Orgil told AFP. “It’s been seeing the reef, value knowing yurt in the city of Erdene Sum, like watching a bullfi ght.” that it exists. Another A$3bn 100km east of the capital Ulan Enkhbold, a horse breeder came from those using it for Bator, to cast their ballots – and former mayor of Ulan Ba- recreational use, like visiting the wearing traditional deel coats, tor, is considered the estab- beaches or diving in the reef’s fedoras and boots. “As a voter lishment candidate. He faces waters. The report also said the I believe justice is the most brash businessman Khaltmaa Great Barrier Reef contributed important thing for Mongo- Battulga of the outgoing presi- Chinese Muslims visit Niujie mosque in Beijing on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr. A$6.4bn to the Australian lia,” said Dendev Boris, 63, who dent’s opposition Democratic economy in 2015-16. unlike others showed up in a Party, who is a property tycoon business suit. “There must be and former head of the judo as- justice in every aspect of soci- sociation. The third candidate ety,” he said. “I haven’t taken is Sainkhuu Ganbaatar of the the corruption allegations too Mongolian People’s Revolu- seriously because they have not tionary Party, a former inde- Hong Kong activists stage protests ahead of Xi visit been proven.” pendent who once headed a The resource-rich nation of feng shui practice. just 3mn has struggled in re- While Enkhbold and Bat- AFP man rights lawyers on the take the fl ag down while self-determination or cent years with mounting debt. tulga are considered the main Hong Kong mainland, while a group the protesters chanted even full independence The next president will inherit contenders, Ganbaatar is ex- of protesters also gathered “democratic self-deter- from China have emerged. a $5.5bn bailout led by the In- pected to garner enough votes in central Hong Kong to mination for Hong Kong’s Wong’s party Demosisto ternational Monetary Fund and to trigger the country’s fi rst ong Kong saw “sing for democracy”. future” and “one country, wants a public referendum designed to stabilise its econo- ever run-off . multiple protests Xi’s visit will be his fi rst two systems has been a lie on Hong Kong’s future in my and lessen dependence on Several voters described the Hyesterday ahead since becoming president for 20 years”, referring to 2047, the year the hando- China, which purchases 80% campaigns as “dark” and ac- of a visit by President Xi in 2013 and will culminate Hong Kong’s semi-auton- ver agreement protecting of Mongolian exports. But vot- cused the candidates of using Jinping to mark 20 years with the inauguration of omous status. the city’s way of life and ers have heard little from the smear tactics to distract from since the city was handed Hong Kong’s new leader, Campaigners like Wong liberties expires. three candidates about unem- real issues. back to China by Britain. Carrie Lam, on Saturday. are calling for democratic Veteran politician and ployment and jobs, their top “Some campaigns focused Pro-democracy activ- It comes as there are in- reforms, promised in the former legislator Emily concerns according to opinion on negative things and didn’t ists including high-profi le creasing concerns Beijing handover deal, to change Lau was among those who polls. Campaigning has instead talk about the issues,” said student campaigner Josh- is trampling the handover a system where the city gathered in a separate pro- focused on their opponents’ al- Nomuna Gankuyag, a recent ua Wong draped a black agreement guaranteeing A passerby walks past a barricade near the hotel where leader is still chosen by a test yesterday afternoon legedly shady pasts. graduate of Seoul National fl ag over a statue symbol- Hong Kong’s semi-au- Chinese President Xi Jinping will stay. pro-China committee and against the detention of Among the accusations are University in her 30s and an ising Hong Kong’s return tonomous status by inter- the legislature is weighted lawyers by China, which a 60bn tugrik ($25mn) scheme Enkhbold supporter. to China in an early morn- fering in a range of areas, harbourfront as security present to the city from towards Beijing. she called “barbaric”. to sell government posts, hefty “The biggest problem is that ing act of defi ance. from politics to education tried to stop them climb- China in 1997 and stands Wong led mass Um- “We fi rmly believe that off shore accounts and a clan- Mongolians don’t trust each Dozens more cam- and media. ing on the famous tourist outside the convention brella Movement rallies a regime that does not re- destine donation from a mem- other. On my Facebook, all I see paigners marched to Chi- In the morning demon- attraction. centre where Xi will at- calling for fully free lead- spect basic human rights ber of a South Korean church is fi ghting. We should be har- na’s representative offi ce stration, a dozen activists The sculpture of the tend anniversary events ership elections in 2014, ... cannot maintain sta- – all of which the respective monious and civil to each other. in the city in the afternoon attached a black cloth to bauhinia, which became during a three-day visit but they failed to win con- bility and cannot secure candidates have denied. “I We need a president who can in a rally against the de- the giant golden bauhinia the emblem of Hong Kong starting Thursday. cessions. legitimacy,” added activist didn’t like the campaigns, I felt unite us.” tention of hundreds of hu- fl ower on Hong Kong’s after the handover, was a Police were called to Since then calls for Joseph Cheng. Gulf Times Tuesday, June 27, 2017 7

BRITAIN/IRELAND

DEFENCE ATTACK TRAVEL PEOPLE New aircraft carrier Muslim woman’s car Southern to axe services as Susan Boyle targeted sets sail for first time torched in hate crime drivers begin overtime ban by teen tormentors

Britain’s new and only aircraft carrier – the A Muslim looked on in horror as her car was Southern Rail warned yesterday it will have Singer Susan Boyle is reportedly planning largest and most powerful ship ever built for deliberately set on fire in a hate crime attack. to cancel more than 1,100 train services on to call in police after being targeted by an the Royal Navy – set off for its first sea trial The woman has been left afraid to leave her Thursday and Friday as drivers resume an intimidating group of teenagers. The 56-year- in Scotland yesterday. HMS Queen Elizabeth, home in Basildon following the incident. indefinite overtime ban. Some routes will have old has been subjected to a barrage of insults a 280-metre, 65,000-tonne vessel, left the Petrol was poured under the car before being no service at all and others will operate a limited and intimidation by a group of around 15 young dock at the port of Rosyth on the Firth of set alight. Police have confirmed that they are timetable during morning and evening peak people, and her spokesperson has revealed Forth estuary near Edinburgh. The ship treating the attack as a hate crime after the periods. The company said it will be restricted they are planning to call in police, reports cost £3bn to build in a project employing victim told them it was religiously motivated to 75% of its usual 2,240 trains a day. From next mirror.co.uk. Neighbours in Blackburn, West 10,000 people and will be the country’s because she is the only Muslim living in the Monday it plans to run a few more daily services Lothian, have blasted the group for targeting future flagship. It can operate with a crew street. An Essex Police spokesman said a fire but details are not yet known. The overtime ban, Boyle, who suff ers from Asperger’s Syndrome. It of 1,000 and 40 aircraft. Britain has been service investigation found the blaze was ordered by the Aslef union, is in protest against has been claimed that in one terrifying incident without any carrier strike capability since the deliberate. Basildon CID are now investigating. the implementation of driver-only operated the primarily-male gang set fire to a piece of The HMS Queen Elizabeth is pulled from its berth government scrapped previous vessels in Sidra Naeem, an Islamic adviser for Essex trains. It is in addition to the separate row over paper and threw it at Boyle. And in another by tugs before its maiden voyage, in Rosyth, 2010 as part of austerity measures to curb a Police and the fire service, said the woman pay after a four-year deal taking salaries to more incident, the teenagers threw stones and hurled Scotland, yesterday. huge deficit. was now afraid to leave her home. than £75,000 was turned down. abuse when Boyle was on a bus.

Six police offi cers hurt May strikes in protest at man’s death

Guardian News and Media £1bn deal for London

ricks were thrown and fi res lit on Sunday as protest- Bers confronted police over the treatment of Edir Frederico support from Da Costa, the 25-year-old black man who died six days after being arrested by offi cers, who, accord- ing to the police watchdog, used force and CS spray against him. Late on Sunday, six police of- fi cers were injured – with four N Irish party taken to hospital – as the large crowd split into several smaller Reuters a stronger and fairer society at remains insecure though she has ones outside Forest Gate police London home,” May said in a statement. promised to get her Conservative station near the scene of the ar- May laced her deal with an at- Party out of what she termed the rest. Earlier demonstrators had tempt to end Northern Ireland’s mess of the election. confronted police at Stratford rime Minister Theresa May political crisis by stipulating the May’s Brexit strategy is under bus station, before moving back yesterday struck a deal to money would only be released scrutiny and her future as prime to the police station as darkness Pprop up her minority gov- to a power-sharing executive in minister is the subject of public fell. ernment by agreeing to at least Belfast, upping pressure on the debate with speculation that she The protests follow the open- £1bn in extra funding for North- DUP to make an agreement with could be challenged from within ing of an Independent Police ern Ireland in return for the sup- their Catholic nationalist rivals. her own party within months. Complaints Commission (IPCC) port of the province’s biggest “The Conservative Party has While May negotiated the DUP investigation into the circum- Protestant party. recognised the case for higher deal, senior Conservatives such stances surrounding the arrest of After more than two weeks funding in Northern Ireland as former prime minister John Da Costa, also known as Edson. of talks amid political turmoil given our unique history and Major raised concerns an agree- Some of the protesters carried sparked by May’s failure to win circumstances over recent dec- ment risks thrusting the province Black Lives Matter posters and a majority in a June 8 snap elec- ades,” DUP leader Foster told re- back into turmoil by convincing others with homemade placards tion, May can now be sure her porters in Downing Street. “We ‘hard men’ on both sides of the which read “Justice for Edson + government can pass a budget welcome this new fi nancial sup- divide to return to violence. How Many More???”. In the early and Brexit legislation. port of £1bn.” The fear was that increasing evening, the crowd chanted “jus- May and Democratic Unionist The deal with the DUP, which the infl uence of pro-British un- tice for Edson” as they marched, Party (DUP) leader Arlene Fos- won 292,316 votes in the elec- ionists over the British govern- while a woman with a loudhailer ter presided at the signing of a tion, will run for the life of the ment could create the perception led them in a chant of “we want three-page so called ‘confi dence current parliament due to end in that London was no longer an justice” as they confronted offi c- and supply’ deal at Downing 2022 but will be reviewed after honest broker of the peace set- ers in Stratford. Street that is some way short of each parliamentary session and tlement reached in 1998. Later on, bricks and other ob- a more formal coalition agree- most of the funding is due in the The US-brokered 1998 Good jects were thrown at offi cers out- ment. fi rst two years. Friday agreement brought an side the police station and some The deal means the DUP’s 10 Even with the DUP’s lawmak- end to three decades of violence small fi res were lit. Police said lawmakers will now vote in sup- ers onside, May’s eff ective ma- in Northern Ireland that killed a male sergeant suff ered facial port of May’s 318 Conservatives jority is slim and her position 3,600 people. injuries and a female constable in the 650-seat parliament on sustained head injuries. the budget, legislative agenda, Four people have been arrested motions of confi dence and Brex- We want you to stay: premier tells EU migrants for off ences including disorder, it. arson and criminal damage. In return, May agreed to least Prime Minister Theresa May want to completely reassure The demonstration was sup- £1bn in extra funding over two told European Union citizens people that under these plans, ported by the UK’s Black Lives years for Northern Ireland, who are already living legally no EU citizen currently in the UK Matter movement, though Da agreeing to raise pensions annu- in Britain that she wanted them lawfully will be asked to leave Costa’s family told the Guardian ally by at least 2.5% and to keep to stay after the country leaves at the point the UK leaves the they did not support it. universal winter fuel payments the EU in 2019. Setting out EU. We want you to stay,” she Da Costa was in a car with two for the elderly. Britain’s plans for immigrants told parliament. But EU citizens other people when it was stopped “I welcome this agreement from EU countries, she said that would face similar restrictions to by police in the Newham area of which will enable us to work to- all those legally in Britain before British nationals if they wanted east London on June 15. The Met gether in the interest of the whole a cut-off date to be decided in foreign relatives to join them in police initially said only that he United Kingdom, give us the cer- future negotiations would be Britain after it left the EU unless “became unwell” and that he had Prime Minister, Theresa May, poses for a photograph with Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader tainty we require as we embark allowed to stay and apply for separate rules were negotiated, “swallowed a large quantity of Arlene Foster, deputy leader Nigel Dodds, and chief whip Jeff rey Donaldson, outside 10 Downing on our departure from the Eu- permanent residence rights. “I she added. drugs”. Street, in central London yesterday. ropean Union, and help us build

Canadian woman Exam system broken, say leads Queen’s Guard teachers as papers leaked Agencies until July 3, keeping watch as London sentries at Buckingham Palace, St James’s Palace, the Tower of London Evening Standard including unanswerable ques- ing shared the night before the London and Windsor Castle. London tions. exam, and a photo of a question Canadian soldier has be- During the changing of the guard She said: “The issue of exam was also available online. Su- come the fi rst female of- ceremony, they have been ac- errors is unlikely to go away as zanne Claudett, head of art at Afi cer to command troops companied by the 35-piece Royal eachers and unions have the English education system St Peter’s Independent School guarding the Queen at Bucking- Canadian Artillery Band. reacted in anger after reverts back to exams as the in Northampton, wrote on the ham Palace. The role of mounting the Texam papers in maths default mode of assessment Times Educational Supplement Captain Megan Couto led Queen’s Guard usually falls to and economics were apparently at GCSE and A-level. As the website that control was needed about 40 Canadian soldiers the British army’s household di- leaked hours before 60,000 pu- quantity of exam papers in- from the exam boards. through the changing of the vision, which is largely made up pils took their exams. creases, on current evidence, She said: “Wondering now guard ceremony at the palace of male troops. Details of the A-level Edexcel the quality of exam questions how many students took advan- yesterday morning, watched by Women in the British army paper Maths C4 which was taken may decrease. tage of this? Then also thinking the usual throng of tourists who have served on frontline duties on Friday by 50,000 pupils, and “When you consider just about students in creative sub- saw history being made. in a variety of roles but until July an another paper Economics 3, how important exam outcomes jects where leaks/mistakes are Before the ceremony, Couto last year they were banned from taken last Monday by 10,000 are going to become, determin- impossible. Not a level playing said: “I’m just focusing on doing close-combat ground roles, so students, were allegedly seen ing A-level choices and stu- fi eld.” my job as best I can and staying no female offi cer has previously on an online forum. Pearson, dent life chances, then the re- Julia Roberts, a teacher at humble. Any of my peers would served as captain of the Queen’s which runs the Edexcel exam quirement to do just one thing Crackley Hall School near Cov- be absolutely delighted to be Guard. By contrast, Canada’s board, said all students would be — present candidates with an entry, said: “This will mean that captain of the Queen’s Guard and military has allowed women to marked fairly. exam with questions they can pupils who haven’t cheated will I’m equally honoured.” serve in nearly all roles since 1989. Yesterday the head of the As- access and answer — becomes get lower grades. Including my As captain of the guard, she took Couto is second in command sociation of Teachers and Lec- paramount.” own daughter as this was her up a position at nearby St James’s in the Patricia’s to Maj Jay Hud- turers (ATL) union, Mary Boust- The subject of the econom- paper.” Palace after the ceremony. son but, having commanded the ed, said the apparently leaked ics paper was allegedly leaked Pearson said: “We are con- Couto’s Canadian unit, the guard last week, he has stepped papers were yet more evidence one hour before pupils sat the tinuing to investigate the al- Second Battalion of Princess Pa- aside to allow her the chance to the exam system in the UK is exam by a user on the online fo- legations of exam malpractice, tricia’s Canadian Light Infantry lead in the ceremonial role. broken. rum Student Room. Their com- which we take extremely seri- (2PPCLI) – known as the Patri- She told the Canadian Broad- She said timed exams are ment said the paper would cover ously. If a breach is confirmed cia’s – has been invited to the UK casting Corporation she did not not the best way to assess austerity and the national living then we will ensure that all Captain Megan Couto (centre) of the 2nd Battalion, Princess to mark Canada’s 150th anniver- know that Canadian soldiers young people’s abilities and wage. students are marked fairly Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) leads her battalion to sary this year. could guard the Queen: “It is a big problems are regularly occur- Snapchat images of the C4 based on their performance in make history as the first woman to command the Queen’s Guard at They are serving as the deal because of the tradition and ring during the exam period — maths paper were allegedly be- the exam.” Buckingham Palace in central London yesterday. Queen’s Guard on select dates the importance of the ceremony.” Gulf Times 8 Tuesday, June 27, 2017 EUROPE

NATURE ACCIDENT NOSTALGIA JOBS LOST CONSPIRACY Spain wildfire spreads 76-year-old crashes car Stalin tops Putin in poll of Rubbish piles raise health Russia says Telegram app near wildlife reserve into the dining room greatest historical figures fears in strike-hit Greece used in terror bombing

Firefighters were battling yesterday to contain An elderly driver in south-west Germany Russians have picked Soviet dictator Joseph Sacks of rubbish and rotting vegetables piled high Russia’s FSB security agency said yesterday the a blaze threatening a renowned national park crashed her car into the dining room of a house Stalin as the greatest figure in history, a new poll yesterday on the pavements of Athens’ port of Telegram messaging service was used by those in southern Spain which has already led to the on Sunday afternoon. The female driver failed said yesterday, beating President Vladimir Putin Piraeus — signs of a mounting labour dispute fast behind the Saint Petersburg metro bombing, evacuation of some 2,000 people. Authorities were to take a corner properly in the district of into joint second alongside poet Alexander turning into a public health crisis. Early morning the latest salvo by authorities after they sending additional firefighters to tackle the flames Linkenheim-Hochstetten, 15 kilometres outside Pushkin. In the poll conducted in April by the commuters dodged past the reeking sacks as threatened to block the app. “During the probe at the Donana Natural Park in southwestern Spain of Karlsruhe, before hitting a wall and a metal Levada Centre independent pollster, Russians trash collectors and other municipal workers into the April 3 terrorist attack in the Saint near Huelva, a fire service spokesman told AFP. fence at high speed. Her Mercedes then crashed were asked to pick the ten greatest individuals entered the second week of their walkout. The Petersburg metro, the FSB received reliable Strong winds and scorching heat were complicating through the side of a house one metre up and of all time. Stalin came out on top with 38%, strikers fear job losses as Greece wrestles with information about the use of Telegram by the eff orts to fight the blaze, which broke out Saturday came to a halt in the dining room, police said while Putin shared second place on 34% its seventh year of austerity demanded by suicide bomber, his accomplices and their near the town of Moguer, off icials said. The fire in a statement. The 76-year-old had apparently with Russia’s beloved national bard Pushkin. international creditors. More specifically, the mastermind abroad to conceal their criminal has not yet hit the neighbouring Donana National fainted at the wheel, police said. The driver Revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, Tsar Peter the workers want better terms for short-term staff plans,” the FSB said in a statement. They used Park, which has been a Unesco world heritage and her 77-year-old passenger were treated Great and first man in space Yury Gagarin came threatened, they say, by a court order banning Telegram “at each stage of the preparation site since 1994 and is well known for the extensive at the scene of the crash, which caused about next in the list of 20 people, with Soviet leader extensions to their contracts. Authorities have of this terrorist attack,” it said. Fifteen people biodiversity of its dunes, wetlands and woods. $55,000 damage to the house. Mikhail Gorbachev in last place on 6%. asked people to keep their trash at home. were killed in the suicide bombing.

Dali remains to be exhumed in paternity case

AFP Madrid

Spanish court has ordered that the re- mains of Salvador Dali be exhumed after Aa woman who claims to be the daugh- ter of the world-famous artist fi led a paternity claim. The Madrid court said yesterday the exhu- mation aimed “to get samples of his remains to determine whether he is the biological father of a woman from Girona (in northeastern Spain) who fi led a claim to be recognised as the daugh- ter of the artist.” “The DNA study of the painter’s corpse is necessary due to the lack of other biological or personal remains with which to perform the comparative study,” it added. The court said the decision could be ap- pealed. A spokesman for the court said the woman who claims to be Dali’s daughter is called Pilar Abel, but refused to give any further details. Dali is buried in his eponymous museum in Figueras, a city in the northeastern region of Catalonia where he died in January 1989 of heart failure after a life marked by the genius of his work and his own eccentricities and ex- travagances. Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi gestures during a news conference in Rome. According to a media report in Catalonia’s La Vanguardia daily, Abel is a psychic. She says her mother had an aff air with Dali when she worked as a nanny for another fam- ily that vacationed in Cadaques, a fi shing vil- lage of white houses where the painter lived and worked for years with his muse Gala. Born on May 11, 1904 in Figueras to a bour- geois family — his father was a legal clerk — Dali Italian centre-right wins developed an interest in painting from an early age. In 1922 he began studying at the Fine Arts Academy in Madrid, where, despite being ex- pelled twice, he developed his fi rst avant-garde artistic ideas in association with poet Federico Garcia Lorca and the fi lmmaker Luis Bunuel. local mayoral elections Soon he left for Paris to join the surrealist movement, giving the school his own personal Reuters his party is still one of Italy’s most tem strangled by bad loans, and to Their strong showing suggests if fourth-largest city, and the capital twist and rocketing to fame. Rome popular nationally. manage half a million migrants who they come together under a single Rome, both to the 5-Star Movement, Dali also made forays into the world of sur- “It could have gone better,” Renzi came by boat from North Africa. leader they would be a force to be which was only founded eight years realist fi lmmaking. said in an early-morning Facebook At 46%, turnout was very low reckoned with at the general elec- ago. Returning to Catalonia after 12 years, he in- taly’s centre-right parties yester- post. “The overall result isn’t great. by Italian standards, with many of tion. 5-Star, which opinion polls say is vited French poet Paul Eluard and his Russian day hammered their centre-left Some losses hurt, starting with the 4.3mn eligible voters probably The centre-right triumphed in 15 slightly more popular than the PD wife Elena Ivanovna Diakonova to Cadaques. Irivals in mayoral elections, offi - Genoa and L’Aquila,” he said, refer- choosing to go to the beach on the of the largest cities in Sunday’s run- nationwide, performed very badly It was love at fi rst site between Dali and the cial results showed, putting pressure ring to another former left-wing sweltering summer Sunday rather off , including Verona, Monza, Como, in the fi rst round of voting on June 11 woman to whom he gave the pet name Gala. on the ruling Democratic Party (PD) bastion city that fell to the right on than the ballot box. Piacenza and Pistoia, compared with and made the run-off in only one of She became his muse and remained at his ahead of a national vote due in less Sunday. Sunday’s vote — the second round four for the centre-left. the 25 largest cities. side for the rest of her life. than a year. Four-time prime minister Ber- for cities where no one candidate Overall, the centre-right won It added eight mayors to its mod- During the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39, Dali An alliance of Silvio Berlusconi’s lusconi hailed victory. “The centre- won more than 50% two weeks ago 79 cities over both rounds of vot- est tally. took refuge in Italy. Forza Italia and the anti-immigrant right is the largest coalition in the — is one of the last before a general ing, gaining control of 25 new cities, “We now have 45 mayors, up from The outbreak of World War II in 1939 saw Dali Northern League won 55% of the country,” he said in a statement. election due by the end of May 2018, while the centre-left won 76, los- 37 before, which is an increase of move to Arcachon, on the southern French At- votes in Genoa, the northern port The results set the stage for the but it may not be a reliable indicator ing 30 administrations, Forza Italia 20%,” 5-Star founder Beppe Grillo lantic coast, but he left once the German army city that was a left-wing stronghold coalition “to get to work on the deci- of what will happen then. spokeswoman Deborah Bergamini said on his blog. invaded France the following year and placed but which the right will now govern sive challenge of returning to govern The fi rst-past-the-post voting said. “Every damned election we are himself in self-imposed exile in the United for the fi rst time in more than fi ve the country,” he said. system used at the municipal level, “We knew the winds had shifted,” growing and that is what counts.” States until 1948 when he and Gala returned to decades. The centre-left has governed Italy which favours coalitions, may not be Bergamini told Reuters. “This is a The northern city of Parma went Spain. PD leader Matteo Renzi, who has for four years, during which time the replicated at a national level, where a major setback for the PD.” to the incumbent mayor who was Much later in 1982, he was shattered, on both been seeking to make a comeback economy grew by only half the euro proportional system is now in place. Genoa is the latest of a string elected as 5-Star’s fi rst ever mayor in a human and artistic level, by the death of Gala since stepping down as prime minis- zone average. But Sunday’s result could help of defeats in the PD’s traditional 2012, but ran as an independent af- and after a seven-year physical and mental bat- ter in December, was the clear loser Three diff erent PD premiers have unite centre-right parties which are strongholds. ter falling out with the movement’s tle to give renewed meaning to his existence, in Sunday’s vote, though polls show struggled to shore up a banking sys- in competition nationally. Last year it lost Turin, Italy’s leadership. Dali himself died in 1989 in a Figueras clinic. New museum boosts Paris claim to be modern art capital

AFP lenciaga, and already has his own private Paris’s beautiful central market was Paris museum in Venice. bulldozed in the 1970s to make way for an But he has been trying for decades to airless underground shopping complex fi nd a home for his collection in Paris. and transport hub which many Parisians ne of the world’s biggest art col- That desire sharpened when his great loathe. lectors yesterday unveiled plans business rival Bernard Arnault, who con- But a vast new steel-and-glass canopy Ofor a spectacular new museum in trols the LVMH luxury goods conglom- unveiled last year to put a lid on the prob- Paris, cementing the city’s claim to be a erate, opened the Frank Gehry-designed lem has also been derided, with one critic modern art capital. Louis Vuitton Foundation for his art col- branding it a “custard-coloured fl op”. French billionaire Francois Pinault will lection in 2014. Asked earlier if he was going to his expand show his $1.4bn collection of modern Pinault has commissioned another his collection to fi ll the new space, Pinault masters in the domed Bourse de Com- Pritzker-winning architect, the Japanese said, “When you see a new work you have merce, within a stone’s throw of the Lou- master Tadao Ando, to convert the mag- to know when to jump on it. vre, long the world’s most visited mu- nifi cent 19th-century Bourse de Com- The big public institutions cannot do seum. merce, which sits on the edge of Paris’s that. The new gallery, which he said would former central market district. “We are a museum in movement and open in early 2019, is also within sight of Ando compared the circular building to (will be) very complementary to the exist- the Pompidou Centre, which houses Eu- the ancient Pantheon in Rome. ing institutions,” he added. rope’s largest modern art collection. He said the concrete cylinder he plans In 2001, Pinault handed the reins of his Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo called the for the inside of the building would be “the empire to his son Francois-Henri, who is museum “an immense gift” to the French cultural epicentre of Paris which in turn is married to the Mexican Hollywood star capital and told reporters that it would the epicentre of culture in the world.” Salma Hayek. help put the city back at the top of the He said he would create three fl oors Since then the man once described as modern art tree. of galleries under the building’s dome, “the most powerful in the art world” has Pinault, 80, holds an enormous trove of whose spectacular frescos representing mostly dedicated himself to his art col- abstract and contemporary masterpieces trade with the fi ve continents are also be- lection, installing it in the Palazzo Grassi in a 3,500-piece collection that goes from ing restored. in Venice and two other historic buildings Mark Rothko to Damien Hirst. The former corn exchange is a part of there. He owns the auction house Christie’s a one-billion-euro urban renewal project The Venice venues will work in tandem and built a fashion empire that contains to give what Hidalgo calls a “new beating with the new Paris gallery, sources close to Billionaire French art collector Francois Pinault and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo visit the ‘Bourse du Commerce’ labels like Gucci, Saint Laurent and Ba- heart” to the city’s Les Halles district. the collector told AFP. which will host the contemporary art museum of the Pinault Foundation in Paris. Gulf Times Tuesday, June 27, 2017 9 INDIA Star facing kidnap plot claim ready to take narco test

IANS “I wish to make it very clear that a call from a close aide of Pulsar Suni, his aide has been recorded. Both were Kochi I am in no way involved in any case. the prime accused arrested in the kid- taken to the home of a magistrate and For long a section in the social media, nap case, linking Dileep to the case. have been remanded in judicial cus- certain online sites besides certain TV Shah, a fi lm actor and director, told tody. alayalam superstar Dileep channels have conspired against me reporters that in March he got a call What has surprised many is the ar- Gandhi murder yesterday alleged that certain and are determined to malign me. All from a person named Vishnu, who rest of Vishnu and his judicial custody Monline sites and TV channels this is being done to take away my fans. asked him to tell Dileep that if the lat- were kept a highly guarded secret. “We convict seeks were trying to malign his reputation by “This is also happening at a time when ter did not give him Rs15mn he would had informed those who need to be in- mercy killing linking him to the abduction of a lead- my new fi lms are to be released shortly. be forced to inform police that the su- formed when an arrest has to be made. ing actress earlier this year and said he is I am ready to take part in any tests, in- perstar was involved in the conspiracy It was the magistrate who remanded Robert Payas, a convict in the prepared to undergo narco analysis and cluding narco analysis, brain mapping, to kidnap the popular actress. them to custody,” George told the me- May 1991 killing of former prime brain mapping to prove his innocence. to clear myself and not to make someone Dileep: accuses TV channels of bid to On Sunday night, the Kochi police dia yesterday morning. minister Rajiv Gandhi, has Dileep, who is shooting in Tenji in else an accused,” Dileep posted. malign reputation arrested Vishnu and his aide for the The latest twist in the case comes appealed for mercy killing to the Tamil Nadu district, in a Facebook post Ever since the actress’ kidnap in blackmail threat. after reports that a fresh statement Puzhal prison management in declared that he was in no way con- February, for some strange reason the Last week, the case took a turn with Ernakulam rural superintendent of was taken from the actress on Thurs- Chennai. nected to the abduction of the popular name of Dileep has been linked to the popular Malayalam fi lm personality, police A V George confirmed to the day by additional director general of Payas, a Sri Lankan Tamil, actress in February this year. case. Nadir Shah, alleging that he received media that the arrest of Vishnu and police B Sandhya. reportedly joined the murder plot because his child had died due to atrocities of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in his country. His petition stated that despite serving nearly 26 years in prison his release along with 3-member seven others had been stalled by a recent Supreme Court order. He requested the prison authorities delegation to carry out a mercy killing or Not a single permit him to commit suicide. A senior police off icer said, “We quits GTA cannot take any decision based on his letter. We have forwarded it to the state home department IANS through the director general of Kolkata police’s off ice and will wait for a blot of graft court verdict.” three-member delegation Five held over of the Gorkha Janmukti AMorcha (GJM) met gov- journalist’s ernor Keshari Nath Tripathi here kidnap, murder yesterday to formally submit against my their resignation letters from the Five people have been arrested Gorkhaland Territorial Adminis- over the kidnap and murder tration (GTA), the developmen- of Kathiravan, 36, a journalist tal board in the northern West working for a Tamil daily. Bengal hills. Kathiravan’s body had been thrown “MLA from Darjeeling Amar into a ravine at Minjur. Acting Singh Rai, ex-GTA chairman Ro- on a complaint by Kathiravan’s govt: Modi shan Lama and deputy chairman wife Amutha, police checked Rabindra Lama were in Kolkata yes- the surveillance cameras on all IANS launching pads across the bor- to explain what’s terrorism. terday to hand over their resignation arterial roads of Chintaripet, where Washington der on October 26 last year, the Terrorists have themselves ex- letters to the governor of West Ben- the couple lived with their three prime minister said no country plained it to them.” gal,” Binay Tamang, GJM’s assistant children. They soon spotted the has questioned the govern- “But when India conducts general secretary, said. car in which Kathiravan had been rojecting his govern- ment’s action. ‘surgical strike’, the world un- Tamang said the delegation, kidnapped and identified a youth ment’s success in the ar- “The entire world could have derstands India is a patient led by Amar Singh Rai, also getting out of it. The youth, Suresh, Peas of fi ghting terror and raised many questions and country but if required, it knows handed over the resignation let- led the police to the other accused. graft, Prime Minister Narendra pointed fi ngers at us over the how to demonstrate its ability,” ters of 43 GJM leaders, includ- The mastermind Yousuf, who was Modi said that there has not ‘surgical strikes’. But, not a sin- said Modi. ing party chief Bimal Gurung, Kathiravan’s brother-in-law, later been a single blot of corruption gle country questioned India’s “We are bound by interna- who resigned en masse from the confessed he had got angry after against his regime and no coun- ‘surgical strikes’ against the tional laws. We believe in the board on June 23. Kathiravan flirted with his wife. try has questioned the ‘surgical terrorist launch pads last year,” idea of Vasudhaiva Kutum- “The other GTA member Police recovered Kathiravan’s strikes’ conducted across the Modi said. bakam (the world is one family). Satish Pokhrel, who is in judi- blood stained body from Minjur. border. Maintaining that the entire This is our character,” he added. cial custody, had handed over Investigations are underway. Addressing the Indian di- world is suff ering because of Modi also said: “We do not the resignation letter to Roshan aspora here, he also promised a the menace of terrorism, which want to disrupt the global or- Lama,” he added. supportive environment for de- is against mankind, the prime der. Following the international The GJM, spearheading the Six injured veloping the country matching minister said, “When India norms and law, in order to ensure movement for a separate state in boiler blast the progress in the US. spoke about terrorism about that the sovereignty, security and of Gorkhaland in the Darjeeling Calling corruption as the root 20-25 years back, for many peace is maintained, we are capa- hills, announced it would resign Six people were injured when cause for which previous gov- countries, it was beyond their ble of taking very stern action.” from the GTA over its diff erences a boiler exploded at a private- ernments were changed in In- understanding. For them it Addressing the diaspora here with the Mamata Banerjee gov- owned rice mill in Alangudi dia, Modi said his government was a law and order problem, as “members of family”, Modi ernment. town in Pudukottai district. The has emerged corruption-free in because they were not the suf- promised a developed India in The GJM chief, who had been injured were admitted to the local the past three years. ferers. Today, it is not required their lifetime. in hiding since a police raid at government hospital, except “Governments were his residence in Darjeeling’s Marimuthu who sustained a head changed because of corrup- Patlebas locality on June 15, had injury and was taken to nearby tion. The common people hat- Huge opportunities for US investors: PM resurfaced on Friday and vowed Tiruchi. In a separate incident, ed this... There has been not a to burn the GTA Regulation Act nearly 49 passengers escaped single blot on our government Prime Minister Narendra Modi market of 1.3bn people,” Modi documents before the public on unhurt, when a government bus in the past three years. And said the partnership between said in an article published June 27 as a symbolic protest they were travelling in caught fire governance is being modified Indian and US businesses can in the Wall Street Journal on against the board. at Acharapakkam in suburban so that honesty becomes an bear enormous fruits, worth Sunday, coinciding with his US Meanwhile, urging the central Chennai. in-built process,” he said to a many billions of dollars over visit. “Indian companies are government to start a dialogue Police praised the alertness of cheering audience. the next decade, and generate adding value to the manufac- about a separate Gorkhaland state, the driver and conductor who “Technology is helping with new employment opportuni- turing and services sectors in a section of GJM leadership yes- evacuated the bus immediately that,” Modi said. ties across both societies. the US, with total investments terday vowed to intensify their ag- after they saw the engine “Increased usage of technol- “The transformation of India of approximately $15bn and itation though actions like “self- smoking. A probe is on into the ogy brings transparency in sys- presents abundant commer- a presence in more than 35 sacrifi ce” and fasting till death. maintenance of machines in both tems. When I think of a devel- cial and investment opportuni- states, including in the Rust “The central government cases. oped India, I think of a healthy ties for American businesses. Belt. American companies should immediately start dia- India, particularly the good The rollout of the Goods and have likewise fuelled their logue about the separate state of health of women and children of Services Tax on July 1 will, in global growth by investing Gorkhaland,” Prakash Gurung, Hospital helps our nation,” he said. a single stroke, convert India more than $20bn in India,” president of the Gorkha Jan- save infants’ lives Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets a group of US business Talking about the army’s into a unified, continent-sized Modi wrote. mukti Yuva Morcha (GJYM), the leaders in Washington, DC. ‘surgical strikes’ on terror youth wing of the GJM said. The privately-owned multi- speciality MIOT hospital in Chennai recently performed two liver transplant surgeries on infants from abroad. Eid greetings Two-year-old Grace Kiarah Cheryl Man loses arm in Slain Muslim teen’s from Sri Lanka, had undergone a corrective surgery in her country for biliary atresia, or poorly crocodile attack family given Rs1mn developed bile ducts. However, her condition had worsened. At MIOT, doctors performed a liver Agencies Dandwate’s left forearm IANS to the Ballabhgarh railway sta- transplant using a small portion Bengaluru was torn off by the crocodile Chandigarh tion and were attacked with of her mother’s liver and used a just below the elbow. “Since sharp-edged weapons and later ‘patch’ technique to enlarge her the crocodile may have eaten thrown out of the train at Asaoti blood vessels. young entrepreneur that part there was no pos- fter remaining silent over railway station in Palwal district. In another case, a similar surgery working in Bengaluru sibility of reattachment,” the the killing of a Muslim Junaid succumbed to his inju- was done on six-month-old boy, A is recovering in hos- medical director of Hosmat Ateenager on a train near ries on Thursday night in a hos- Ahmed Hafidh, from Zanzibar in pital after part of his arm was hospital, Dr Ajith Benedict Ballabhgarh, Haryana Chief pital. His three friends were in- Tanzania. Hafidh suff ered from bitten off by a crocodile in a Rayan, said. “The patient Minister Manohar Lal Khat- jured, two of them critically, and damaged bile ducts and liver. lake on the outskirts of the is in the operating theatre tar yesterday fi nally condemned are under treatment at the All Doctors said both babies had city. The Thattekere Lake is in where further cleaning of the the incident and urged people to India Institute of Medical Sci- recovered well. a forested area. wound, known as debride- maintain peace in the state. ences Trauma Centre in Delhi. Mudit Dandwate, a ment, is being done.” “Police have arrested one ac- Media reports earlier said the 26-year-old IIT gradu- “His condition has stabi- cused involved in Junaid’s killing murderous attack followed ru- Hundreds held for ate, managed to survive a lised and he is now out of the and search is on to nab others. mours about beef eating by the pipeline protest crocodile attack but lost his ICU and in a ward,” Dr Rayan The state government has al- four youths. left forearm on Sunday. Ac- added. ready provided fi nancial assist- One person was later arrested As many as 200 people were cording to what the injured Dandwate reportedly told ance of Rs1mn to the victim’s in connection with the assault. arrested for protesting the man told the doctors, he was friends that in his hurry to get family,” Khattar said. Police authorities said four more laying of crude oil pipelines on visiting a temple in Ram- the dogs out of the water, he On Thursday night, Junaid and accused had been identifi ed, but the Ennore Express highway at anagaram district and was did not see any signs warn- his friends Hasib, Shakir, and have refused to disclose their Tiruvottiyur in north Chennai. walking there after getting ing against crocodiles in the Mohsin were returning to their identities. Accused Ramesh, 35, The protesters claimed the 17km out of his car along with a water. village on a Mathura-bound pas- was arrested from his home in pipeline - to be laid by Chennai friend and his two dogs. The The Ramanagaram su- senger train after shopping at Palwal late Friday night, a senior Petroleum Corporation Ltd dogs scampered off into the perintendent of police, B Delhi’s Sadar Bazaar. police offi cer said. (CPCL) from Chennai port to water, with Dandwate fol- Ramesh, said that while no In his police complaint, Ha- He was later sent to three days CPCL - would aff ect the livelihood lowing, when the crocodile complaint had been made sib said at least 15-20 persons police custody by a local court. of fishermen, the rich marine life attacked. against him by anyone, but boarded the train at Okhla rail- “He is claiming he didn’t stab and pollute the environment. The bleeding man was they had registered a case on President Pranab Mukherjee exchanges greetings on the way station and asked them to Junaid, and has also not dis- The arrested group were later rushed to a local hospital and their own as Dandwate en- occasion of Eid al-Fitr at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New vacate their seats closed who were with him during released after a warning from the then to Hosmat hospital in tered a restricted forest area Delhi yesterday. All four were thrashed all the the crime on Thursday night,” authorities. the city. without permission. way from Tughlakabad (in Delhi) the police offi cer said. Gulf Times 10 Tuesday, June 27, 2017 LATIN AMERICA Mining brings Chile city riches and fear of cancer

AFP it in their bodies. It is blown on “It is not normal that every- Jimenez lived for fi ve years in an But it is also blamed for giving In 1998, doctors detected “There is a whole generation Antofagasta, Chile the wind from the nearby port, one should be dying of cancer apartment building opposite the the city the highest rate of lung dangerously high levels of lead that has had all these things,” where copper from the region’s here,” she says. “It is a death sen- port terminal in the city centre. cancer deaths: more than double in children living near a freight she said. The arsenic threat was abundant mines is loaded and tence for my family.” Her children would play out the average at just under 35 per railway in the city. Further back, brought under control. Now at- lack dust stains the walls shipped across the world. Run your fi nger along the win- on the roof terrace, unwittingly 100,000 inhabitants. Bladder and high levels of arsenic found in tention is focused on the black of the building where Long known as a hub of pro- dow sill in Jimenez’s old home exposed to the dust. skin cancer deaths are also high. the local drinking water between dust blowing from the port. BJaqueline Jimenez and her duction in the world’s biggest and it will come away black with She says medical tests carried “Scientists consider that the 1958 and 1971 are blamed for a The port’s operators, the ma- children once lived in northern miner of the red metal, Antofa- dust that is hard to wash off . out by specialists abroad have Antofagasta area is undergoing a rise in diseases. jor Chilean conglomerate Luk- Chile. gasta has earned a darker distinc- A study by the Public Health confi rmed that the children, biological experiment in having the People born during that peri- sic, have signed a commitment In an industrial city like An- tion as Chile’s cancer capital. Institute identifi ed 16 diff erent now aged 10 and 20, have traces population exposed to such levels od who are now in their forties or to “clean production.” tofagasta, there is perhaps noth- Authorities have called for metals in the dust. The Antofa- of carcinogenic heavy metals. of contamination,” the president of fi fties are at high risk of cancer, Despite that, a court fi ned the ing so unusual in that — but calm, insisting that heavy met- gasta Medical College said it found Mining has helped raise resi- the Antofagasta Medical College, says Catterina Ferreccio, deputy company $1.3mn in October for Jimenez says she fears that this als cannot be breathed in and are “arsenic, cadmium, zinc, chrome, dents’ annual income in An- Aliro Bolados, said. head of the Center for Advanced pollution and ordered them to dust carries a poisonous burden, only poisonous if ingested. copper, lead and manganese tofagasta to nearly double the The scourge of pollution in Study of Chronic Diseases, clean up the area. The port con- and that her children now bear But Jimenez is not convinced. which far exceed Chilean norms.” national average: some $36,000. Antofagasta goes back decades. Epidemiology and Cancer. tinues to operate. Trump policy might cut off remittances to 1mn Cubans

Tribune News Service Such a category could include Washington a quarter of Cuba’s labour force, LeoGrande said. “It’s literally a million people if you count eve- illiam LeoGrande, an ryone who works for the military American University and GAESA that could have their Wprofessor who spe- remittances cut off ,” he said. cialises in US-Cuba relations, GAESA (Grupo de Adminis- says a provision in President tracion Empresarial) is a Cuban Donald Trump’s new Cuba pol- military conglomerate that con- icy could cut off remittances to trols a broad swath of the Cuban more than 1mn Cubans. economy, including the Gav- The memorandum on Cuba iota Tourism Group. One of the policy that Trump signed last cornerstones of Trump’s new week in Miami specifi cally states Cuba policy is channelling US that regulatory changes shall not money and businesses away from prohibit “sending, processing or GAESA and instead encouraging People crowd on to the upper deck and wait to be rescued as the Almirante begins to sink in the El Penol Reservoir in Guatape municipality in Antioquia. receiving authorised remittances” Americans and US companies to - the money that’s sent to family develop economic ties with small members and friends in Cuba. private business people in Cuba. Currently remittances can But widening the prohibition be sent to almost anyone on the on who can receive remittances island - with the exception of could hurt many Cuban fami- members of the Council of Min- lies - those Trump has said he isters, which includes the presi- wants to support with his new dent, fi rst vice president, seven policy, LeoGrande said. Many Search on for tourists as fi rst vice presidents, ministers Cubans are dependent on money and a few other top offi cials, and sent from friends and relatives high-ranking military offi cials. abroad because state salaries But the Trump memo greatly are so low. An estimated $3bn in expands the defi nition of so- remittances is sent to the island called prohibited offi cials. annually. It includes not only ministers, Among the questions, which boat sinks in Colombia vice ministers and members of may by clarifi ed when regula- the council of state and council tions on the new Cuba policy are AFP The admiral in charge of the offi cial Margarita Moncada. Gomez had been found dead. there had been various com- of ministers, but also members written, is how literally to take Guatape, Colombia search, Juan Francisco Herrera, Most of those on the Almi- Speaking before that an- plaints after the accident about and employees of the National the defi nition of all employees of said on Blu Radio that extra rante were rescued by other nouncement, Guzman said the shortage of life jackets. Assembly of People’s Power - the ministry of defence. divers were arriving to “search boats or escaped by themselves, her sister and seven-year-old “Through investigations by Cuba’s parliament; provincial All Cuban males must com- ivers combed the murky inside the boat to determine offi cials said. nephew were rescued from the the ports and transport author- assembly members; local heads plete compulsory military serv- depths of a Colombian whether there are people “It sank extremely quickly. It Almirante but her mother’s ity, we are working to establish of committees for the defence of ice. “Does this mean an active Dreservoir yesterday for trapped in there.” all happened in a few minutes,” hand slipped out of their grasp. what use was made of the life the revolution; directors general, duty private is an employee of the bodies of missing passen- The death toll climbed to sev- a fi re service captain involved in “This is desperate. I don’t jackets by the crew and passen- sub-directors and higher offi c- the ministry of defence, and gers from a pleasure boat that en with 13 people unaccounted the rescue eff ort, Luis Bernardo know where to turn,” she said, gers,” he said. ers of all Cuban ministries and therefore a prohibited person?” sank, killing seven people, as for and 144 confi rmed to have Morales, said. her voice broken and face hag- The reservoir is 68kms from state agencies; employees of the said Robert Muse, a Washing- anxious relatives waited on the survived, the head of the Na- A storm overnight forced the gard after spending the night the city of Medellin and is one ministry of the interior and the ton lawyer. “There still has to shore for news of their loved tional Disaster Risk Manage- search operation to be suspend- searching in hospitals. of Antioquia department’s main ministry of defence; and mem- be more defi nition of what this ones. ment Unit, Carlos Ivan Mar- ed and one diver was hurt in a She said her sister Angela told tourist draws. bers and employees of Cuba’s means.” Authorities did not yet say quez, told a news conference. lightning strike, Moncada said. her that there had been “very Guatape fi lls with tourists on Supreme Court. Also in question is whether a what caused the four-deck Divers were searching as far On the shore of the reservoir, few life jackets” on board the long weekends. The memo also lists secretaries person who is a clerk or low-lev- Almirante to go down in the El as 40 meters underwater in Viviana Guzman waited for news Almirante. Monday was a public holiday and fi rst secretaries of the Con- el employee at an enterprise run Penol reservoir in the tourist “the deepest part of the reser- of her mother Marta Gomez, a Colombia’s Transport Min- in Colombia. federation of Labour of Cuba and by GAESA would be considered town of Guatape, where Co- voir,” where algae were ham- 69-year-old housewife. ister Alejandro Maya said the Visitors come for one- or top editors of all state-run media an employee of the ministry of lombian and foreign tourists pering their progress, said re- The disaster unit chief Mar- company that ran the boat had two-hour cruises on the reser- outlets as prohibited offi cials. defence. take leisure cruises. gional government emergency quez later confi rmed that its licence in order but that voir and to fi sh and jet-ski. Ex-Brazilian minister Anti-Maduro protest Norway to cut forest gets 12 years in prison protection payments Reuters Minister Vidar Helgesen said Oslo payments would be “roughly AFP of investigations into political Lula has repeatedly denied halved, perhaps even more”. Brasília leaders including Lula, who faces taking any bribes during or af- He added that Norway paid fi ve corruption court cases. ter his presidency. He describes orway has told Brazil- 850mn Norwegian crowns Moro is currently considering Moro’s investigation as a cam- ian President Michel ($100mn) in 2016. Brazilian court sentenced a verdict in one of those cases, paign to prevent his return to NTemer that it would Norway has been the big- Antonio Palocci, an in- in which Lula is alleged to have power. halve its payments to help gest foreign donor to protect Afl uential minister during received a seaside apartment as a Rousseff ’s impeachment last safeguard the Amazon rain- tropical forests from Brazil to the leftist governments of Luiz bribe from one of Brazil’s biggest year and replacement by her forest in 2017 to about $50mn Indonesia, partly because they Inacio Lula da Silva and Dilma construction companies, OAS. centre-right vice president because more forests are being are big natural stores of green- Rousseff , to 12 years in prison for Palocci played a central role in Michel Temer was branded by destroyed. house gases and help to slow corruption yesterday. the “Car Wash” scheme, most of the left as a coup d’etat. Rich from producing oil climate change. Palocci, in custody since Sep- which unfolded when the Work- Lula now hopes to make a dra- and gas, Norway has invested Payments are based on per- tember, was convicted of tak- ers’ Party was in power from matic comeback in elections set more than $1.1bn in an Ama- formance. ing bribes and money launder- 2003 to 2016, when Rousseff was for October 2018. zon Fund since 2008 to help Norway paid about a billion ing as part of a huge corruption ejected in an impeachment pro- However, the multiple cor- Brazil protect the forests, crowns a year to Brazil from network centred on the state- cedure for breaking government ruption cases could stop him in which are under threat from 2011-15, when there was a suc- owned Petrobras oil company accounting rules. his tracks, since an upheld guilty logging and their conversion cessful slowdown in forest and huge construction fi rms. Prosecutors said Palocci was a verdict would bar him from run- to farmland. losses. Yet Brazil’s deforesta- He was sentenced to 12 years pointman in the fl ow of “bribes ning for offi ce — or potentially “I expressed concern that tion climbed to 8,000 square and two months behind bars by between the Odebrecht con- see him imprisoned. deforestation has risen some- kilometres in 2016 — about the judge Sergio Moro, who heads struction group and intermediar- A new opinion poll by Data- what (in recent years after past size of Greece’s Mediterranean the “Car Wash” probe tackling ies of the Workers’ Party,” laun- folha released yesterday showed successes),” Prime Minister island of Crete — from 6,200 the giant embezzlement and dering more than $10mn used for Lula would win the fi rst round of Erna Solberg told reporters af- in 2015. kickbacks scheme. party campaign fi nances. a presidential election. ter talks with Temer. Recent losses, however, are The 56-year-old Palocci — a Odebrecht, an industrial con- However, in a hypothetical Temer said Brazil was work- far below the 19,000 sq km re- fi nance minister under Lula and glomerate with projects around second round runoff , he would Opposition activists block access to the Central University of ing to protect the Amazon, for corded in 2005, Brazilian satel- chief of staff for Rousseff , both the world, named Palocci “the draw with environmentalist Ma- Venezuela as they demonstrate against the government of example, by expanding na- lite data show. from the Workers’ Party — is Italian” in its list of code names rina Silva and Moro himself. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas yesterday. tional parks. “Brazil is one of Solberg reaffi rmed a 2015 negotiating a plea bargain with for politicians regularly taking Moro has not declared an in- A political and economic crisis in the oil-producing country the biggest, if not the biggest, agreement to extend forest prosecutors. bribes in exchange for lucrative terest in running for offi ce, but has spawned often violent demonstrations by protesters environmental reserves in the co-operation until 2020.”I see That could add to the avalanche contracts with Petrobras and is hugely popular for his anti- demanding Maduro’s resignation and new elections. world,” he said. no reason to renegotiate that of evidence already driving scores other favours. corruption work. Norwegian Environment agreement,” she said. Gulf Times Tuesday, June 27, 2017 11 PAKISTAN

Eid Mubarak

Men say their prayers during Eid al-Fitr to mark the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan at the Badshahi mosque in Lahore, Pakistan, yesterday. Right: Women say their prayers during Eid al-Fitr to mark the end of Ramadan. Pakistan marks grim Eid Pakistan, China and Afghanistan as tanker inferno toll rises agree to maintain zPrime Minister Nawaz Sharif meets victims zInquiry ordered into tanker peace, stability fire z Compensation for victims announced Agencies It added that “the three Islamabad parties believe that the Quad- AFP rilateral Co-ordination Group Bahawalpur, Pakistan should be revived to create hina, Pakistan and an enabling environment for Afghanistan are com- peace talks and for Taliban to akistan began Eid in Cmitted to maintaining join the peace talks.” mourning yesterday as regional peace and stability, The statement said the three Pthe death toll from an oil enhancing regional connec- parties “support the Kabul tanker explosion rose to 153, with tivity and economic co-oper- process and hold the view that scores more injured after they ation and promoting shared the Shanghai Co-operation were caught in a fi reball while security and development, a Organisation-Afghanistan scooping up spilt fuel. joint statement said. Contact Group should be re- Dozens of grief-stricken rela- The joint press release by vived as early as possible to tives waited outside hospitals in the three countries came af- play a constructive role in Bahawalpur, the nearest major ter Chinese Foreign Minister moving forward the Afghan city to the disaster, to claim the Wang Yi’s shuttle diplomacy reconciliation process.” bodies of their loved ones as in Afghanistan and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ar- that concluded on Sunday, “This would enable the rived to visit victims. Xinhua news agency reported. two sides to maintain Around a dozen of them, car- It said both Pakistan and Af- timely and eff ective rying the blackened remains of ghanistan “are willing to im- communications in case two victims wrapped in white prove relations with each other, of emergencies, including cloth on charpoys, tried to reach strengthen political mutual terrorist attacks” the prime minister in protest but trust, enhance co-operation in were stopped by security per- various fi elds including coun- Ahead of his departure sonnel a few metres away. ter-terrorism, and jointly meet from Islamabad, the Chinese “The day of Eid has become security challenges”. Foreign Minister told a press a day of mourning and pain for According to the statement, briefi ng that his shuttle diplo- us,” Sharif told the media outside Afghanistan and Pakistan macy was aimed at mediating Victoria Hospital, adding he has have agreed to establish a cri- between Afghanistan and Pa- ordered an inquiry and compen- sis management mechanism, kistan, and help the reconcili- sation of Rs2mn for the families In this handout photograph released by the Inter Service Public Relation (ISPR) yesterday, Pakistani soldiers transfer a burn victim from a C-130 which will include prevention ation process in Afghanistan. of the dead, and Rs1mn for the plane in Lahore, a day after an oil tanker fire following an accident on a highway near the town of Ahmedpur East. through timely and eff ective Wang stressed that China injured. intelligence and information never interferes in other’s in- Eid al-Fitr, a normally joyous The accident quickly drew “The death toll has climbed end,” a weeping Mai told AFP, loved ones?” he asked. sharing and other mutually ternal aff airs, never imposes occasion, marks the end of the scores of people from a nearby to 153, and many are in critical adding that they had been so Pakistanis were already griev- agreed measures. its will on others, nor does Muslim holy fasting month of village, many armed with what- condition in various hospitals in badly burnt she was unable to ing for at least 69 people killed “This would enable the two it get involved in geopoliti- Ramadan. ever containers they could fi nd Bahawalpur and Multan,” Javed recognise their bodies. in a series of militant attacks on sides to maintain timely and cal competitions but China is The tanker overturned early despite warnings from the driver Iqbal, chief of Victoria Hospital, “Where will I go now, with Friday. eff ective communications in willing to lend a hand when Sunday on a main highway from and police of the danger. said. whom will I live? My life is but a The country has an appalling case of emergencies, including friends are in need, adding Karachi to Lahore while carrying Minutes later the tanker ex- Relatives waiting outside the curse,” she lamented. record of fatal traffi c accidents terrorist attacks,” it said. that he had candid and in- some 40,000 litres of fuel. ploded, engulfi ng the crowd as hospital could not contain their Mohamed Ayub, in his ear- due to poor roads, badly main- The three countries also depth talks with Afghan and It exploded as crowds gath- well as dozens of other vehicles grief. ly fi fties, lost his brother and tained vehicles and reckless agreed to establish the China- Pakistani leaders and they ered to scavenge for fuel, ignor- in a massive fi reball that sent a Mumtaz Mai, a 40-year-old nephew. driving. Afghanistan-Pakistan Foreign reached broad consensus. ing warnings to stay away. plume of thick smoke into the widow who lived with her two “We have been doomed. It has also long struggled to Ministers’ dialogue mecha- Wang said that China is Police have said details remain sky. nephews, was beating her chest How can we celebrate Eid alleviate a chronic energy crisis, nism to co-operate on issues willing to play a constructive unconfi rmed, but cited witness- The tanker driver survived the and screaming after both were and what would it mean to with regular blackouts crippling of mutual interest, beginning role within its capacity to help es who reported that a tyre on crash and was later taken into lost in the fi re. us when we cannot even rec- industry and exacerbating anger with economic co-operation, Afghanistan and Pakistan in the tanker had burst. custody. “My world has come to an ognise the dead bodies of our against the government. said the paper. improving their relations.

Burn victims overwhelm hospitals after tanker fi re US military chief

Reuters of the victims is our top priority,” makes surprise Lahore Khan said. Hospitals are also arrang- ing DNA testing to identify the visit to Afghanistan akistani hospitals yes- many bodies that were charred terday struggled to treat beyond recognition. Pscores of severely burned At least 20 children are among DPA a spokesman for the Nato mis- victims of a fuel tanker explo- the dead. Kabul sion in Afghanistan said. It was sion that killed at least 156 peo- Many of the burn victims have not clear whether he would ple. been moved the larger cities of also be meeting with Afghan The disaster was one of several Karachi and Lahore. S military chief Gen- offi cials during his visit, which deadly events to mar the run-up Governments hospital are of- eral Joseph Dunford is expected to last several days. to yesterday’s Eid al-Fitr holiday ten-underequipped and the ones Uarrived in Afghanistan His arrival comes as the US marking the end of the fasting in Bahawalpur and nearby Mul- for a surprise visit yesterday considers sending more troops month of Ramadan. tan were set up only to handle for meetings with Nato and US to Afghanistan, which has suf- At least 65 people were killed small numbers, Khan said. offi cials. fered a dramatic decline in se- in bombings in two cities on The oil tanker driver, who sur- Dunford, the chairman of curity since the withdrawal of Friday claimed by Islamist vived, has been detained to assist the US joint chiefs of staff , most international troops, as militants including the Paki- in an investigation, but early re- “will have internal meetings well as the end of their combat stani Taliban and Lashkar-e- ports do not indicate human er- on base” in the capital, Kabul, mission in December 2014. Jhangvi. ror, Khan said. A burst tyre apparently caused He said a separate investi- the speeding fuel tanker to gation was underway to see Quake rattles Afghanistan overturn on a sharp bend on a why police did not disperse the highway on the outskirts of the crowds of people who gathered Afghanistan has been hit by a 5.4-magnitude earthquake early yes- city of Bahawalpur, provincial to collect fuel. terday, according to an alert from the US Geological Survey. spokesman Malik Mohamed “Police did try but we are The epicentre of the quake was 204km deep, in a remote village of Ahmed Khan said. looking into what went wrong,” Pakistani burn victims are treated at a hospital in Bahawalpur, after oil tanker after caught fire following the Kuran wa Munjan district in Badakhshan province in north-east “Rehabilitation and treatment he said. an accident on a highway near the town of Ahmedpur East, some 670km. Afghanistan. So far, there have been no reports of damage. Gulf Times 12 Tuesday, June 27, 2017 PHILIPPINES

Philippine Airforce planes bomb militant positions in Marawi. Right: Rescuers escorting trapped residents and carrying the body (R) of a dead resident from ground zero of the fighting between government forces and Islamist militants in Marawi. VP visits refugees Abducted priest seen fl eeing fi ghting

Reuters absence after a speech in which Balo-I, Philippines he said his health was “imma- terial”, amid raised eyebrows about his failure to show in he vice president of the public for Independence Day on alive as rebels hold out Philippines expressed June 12. Thope yesterday for a swift His offi ce has said he has been The military says the rebels are end to an urban siege by Islam- experiencing fatigue, and his setting fire to homes deliberately ist rebels, and off ered support to aide Christopher “Bong” Go on displaced civilians during a visit June 15 posted images on social AFP normally conducted by a presi- media of Duterte signing docu- Marawi, Philippines dent not seen in public for six ments, and standing in front of days. a television showing a news bul- The trip by Leni Robredo to an letin. Roman Catholic priest abducted by evacuation centre in Balo-i for The resilience and the level of Islamist militants who seized parts residents who escaped a month- organisation of the Maute group Aof a southern Philippine city has long confl ict in nearby Marawi and its affi liates has caused con- been seen alive, the military said yesterday City adds to speculation about sternation in the region about the as troops pressed on with their off ensive. the health of 72-year-old Presi- extent to which Islamic State’s Air and artillery bombardment of en- dent Rodrigo Duterte, whose ab- extremist agenda may have claves occupied by the militants in the sence this month from the public gained traction in the southern largely Muslim city of Marawi resumed eye is the longest since he took Philippines, a region more famil- after an eight-hour truce on Sunday to let offi ce a year ago. iar with banditry and separatism residents celebrate the end of the Ram- Known for a packed public than radical ideology. adan fasting month. schedule and marathon speeches Duterte had long warned that Fires erupted and plumes of dark and several times a day, Duterte’s it was only a matter of time be- white smoke billowed against a blue sky as disappearances during what fore there would be an Islamic the bombs slammed into their targets, AFP has been the biggest crisis of his State contamination. journalists in Marawi said. presidency will add to frequent The battle for Marawi has But military spokesman Lieutenant rumours he is in poor health, claimed the lives of 70 service- Colonel Jo-ar Herrera said the militants which his offi ce denies. men, 27 civilians and 290 mili- were also deliberately burning houses, as Robredo made no mention of tants, according to offi cial fi g- well as using improvised bombs, booby Duterte during her visit, when ures. traps and hostages as human shields to de- she said she hoped life for the Fleeing residents and some lo- lay the troops’ advance, fi ve weeks into the nearly 250,000 people displaced cal disaster offi cials believe many fi ghting. by fi ghting between troops and more civilians may have been Hundreds of gunmen fl ying the black Philippines Vice-President Leni Robredo meets evacuated families at an evacuation centre outside Marawi. rebels allied with the Islamic killed while trapped in areas bat- fl ag of the Islamic State (IS) group occu- State group could soon return to tered by artillery and air strikes, pied parts of Marawi on May 23, triggering government offi ce in charge of peace talks attacks amid sustained bursts of gunfi re. They are the ones facilitating the rigging normal. and infested with Maute snipers. bloody street and house-to-house fi ght- with various rebel groups, said emissar- “Our off ensive operations have resumed of the buildings and houses with bombs,” “All of us are hoping that the Witnesses have reported seeing ing that has claimed nearly 400 lives ac- ies comprised of local Muslim religious and will continue so we can liberate Ma- Herrera said. fi ghting will soon end so the peo- bodies in the streets for days, cording to an offi cial count. teachers met a key leader of the militants rawi at the soonest time possible,” Herrera Eight foreign fi ghters, including those ple can go back to their respec- some decomposing. Father Teresito Chito Suganob, a in Marawi during the truce on Sunday. added. from Chechnya, Indonesia and Malaysia, tive homes,” she told reporters. The military said it was con- Catholic priest assigned to Marawi, was While their main aim was to negotiate But the terrorists were now suff ering were killed in the early days of the battle, “The government has been do- cerned about reports of the pos- taken hostage along with some parish- the release of hostages, the eight religious from a “crumbling” leadership amid re- the government has said. ing everything that we can. We sible beheading of hostages, or ioners early in the siege of the largely teachers who entered the battle zone also ports that top militants have fl ed, includ- In May Philippine President Rodrigo can only hope that this will end captives being forced to take Catholic Philippines’ most important asked if the jihadists wanted to surrender, ing Isnilon Hapilon, who has been tagged Duterte declared martial law in Marawi soon.” up arms against government Muslim city. Hermoso told CNN Philippines. as the emir of the Islamic State terrorist and the southern region of Mindanao Duterte’s spokesman did not troops. Herrera, spokesman for the military “But they had a heated argument, there movement in the Philippines. to quell what he described as a rebellion respond to a request for com- Spokesman Jo-Ar Herrera said forces in Marawi, said the priest had been was disagreement,” he said. “There were “We have validated reports that there aimed at establishing an Islamic State ment on his lengthy absence. soldiers were committed to fi n- seen alive on Sunday in a part of the city adverse reactions (from the militants).” are leadership problems inside,” he said. caliphate in the area. Salvador Panelo, a longtime ishing the job and saving resi- still in the hands of the extremists. The emissaries managed to negotiate the “They also lack ammunition, have very Herrera said they were still trying to friend of Duterte’s and his top le- dents, 13 of which were rescued “We don’t have details of his health. We release of fi ve civilians. limited manoeuvre space and their defen- confi rm reports that Isnilon Hapilon, who gal advisor, said the president was on Sunday. were just told that he was sighted alive,” he Most of Marawi’s 200,000 residents sive position is getting smaller too.” is on America’s list of most wanted terror- as “strong as a bull” and would “Our off ensive operations told reporters, citing accounts from civil- have fl ed the lakeside city, once a favourite He said the bodies of two militants be- ists with a $5mn bounty, had escaped Ma- attend a public event and meet have resumed and will continue ians rescued from the battle zone. summer vacation destination in the south lieved to be from the Middle East because rawi despite a military and police cordon. cabinet members on Tuesday. so we can liberate Marawi in the He also said about 100 civilians were due to its cool climate but now a ghost of their physical features were found at the An attempt by troops to arrest Hapilon Duterte was last seen on June soonest time possible,” he told still in the hands of the gunmen and being town. scene of an earlier air strike, another sign in Marawi on May 23 triggered the ram- 20 in two cities close to Marawi, reporters. used as “human shields”, ammunition car- Fighting resumed with renewed fury that foreign fi ghters had joined the battle. page by the militants. when he met soldiers and evacu- “We are focused and commit- riers and stretcher-bearers. yesterday, with government fi ghter jets “These foreign terrorists involved in the Hapilon is said to be the leader of the IS ees. ted and will accomplish our mis- Dickson Hermoso, a senior offi cial at a and other aircraft carrying out bombing hostilities are bomb experts. in Southeast Asia. That followed a three-day sion.”

De Lima is accused of accept- ing drug money from prisoners when she was justice secretary from 2010 and 2015. She is not entitled to bail and, Stray cats, killers and no regrets: if found guilty, faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. “I’m completely innocent,” she said. De Lima is one of two wom- en and 17 men at the facility. Duterte drug-war foe on life in jail Two of de Lima’s fellow in- mates are former senators de- Reuters implacably critical of the anti- Police say they have shot dead executing drug suspects in a pat- any involvement in the murders. tained on corruption charges af- Manila narcotics campaign and Duterte, 3,135 suspects in anti-drug oper- tern similar to killings in Davao Dressed in her own clothes ter an investigation de Lima had who will complete his fi rst year in ations. They have also identifi ed City where Duterte had been rather than prison uniform, Leila de Lima carried out when she was justice offi ce this week. drugs as the motive in another mayor for 22 years. de Lima appeared relaxed and secretary. hilippine police have ar- “The promise of eradicating 2,000 killings, and are investi- De Lima’s toxic rivalry with healthy as she spoke to Reuters in told their 83-year-old mother She said she is held separately rested more than 80,000 drugs has defi ned his presiden- gating a further 7,000 murders Duterte began in 2009 when, as the visiting room of the detention that she has gone to the United from the ex-senators and the Ppeople during President cy,” she said. “It’s actually a sham and homicides. chair of the Philippine Commis- facility, sealed off by high walls States to study, fearing the truth other detainees, most of whom Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal war on because they are targeting the De Lima and other critics be- sion on Human Rights (CHR), she and rusting barbed wire inside of her arrest would be too upset- are held on murder charges. “My drugs, but few as prominent or wrong people.” lieve many victims were killed by started investigating a spate of the national police headquarters. ting. De Lima said that some- only companions are the stray defi ant as Leila de Lima. Duterte’s drug war, she says, undercover police or their paid vigilante-style killings in Davao But she described her incarcera- one always watches television cats,” she said. De Lima said she A Philippine senator and Du- targets only small-time dealers vigilantes — a charge the police City. tion as a kind of purgatory. with her mother so that they can was given a rabies shot after one terte’s long-time foe, de Lima and leaves drug lords untouched. deny. “It’s personal because of my Pro-Duterte lawmakers change the channel if she appears of them bit her. was arrested in February on drugs Called a “prisoner of con- Last year de Lima chaired a history as CHR chair,” she said. “I threatened last year to screen a on the news. With no television, cellphones charges she says were trumped science” by Amnesty Interna- Senate inquiry into the drug war, investigated him on his own turf tape that purportedly showed de “Psychologically and emo- or electronic devices allowed in up as part of a presidential ven- tional, de Lima believes the real grilling senior police and a self- in Davao.” Lima having sex with her driver. tionally this is very challenging,” her cell, de Lima said she was re- detta. reason she has been locked up confessed hitman in televised A CHR report three years later “They’re sexist pigs,” she said. said de Lima. “It’s worse than discovering books. She was now Held at police detention facil- is to stop her asking questions hearings that transfi xed the na- confi rmed the “systematic prac- “The whole point was to further death.” She said she feared that reading The Rise and Fall of the ity in Manila that she shares with about the thousands of killings tion. tice of extrajudicial killings” embarrass me.” The tape is fake, unknown enemies might poi- Third Reich, William Shirer’s murder suspects and mangy cats, that critics say have stained Du- The inquiry looked into allega- by a group known as the Davao she said. son her, and she only eats food landmark study of Hitler’s Ger- the 57-year-old lawyer remains terte’s presidency. tions that police were summarily Death Squad. Duterte denied De Lima and her siblings have brought in by family and friends. many. Gulf Times Tuesday, June 27, 2017 13 SRI LANKA/BANGLADESH/NEPAL

Eid prayers

A man off ers Eid al-Fitr prayers at the Galle Face esplanade in Colombo yesterday. Muslims around the world are celebrating Eid al-Fitr which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan after the sighting of the new crescent moon. Nepalese Muslims off er Eid al-Fitr prayers marking the end of Ramadan at the Kashmiri Mosque in Kathmandu yesterday.

Four held after bomb Anger in Nepal’s south blast at campaign threatens local polls event DPA AFP “I was shot, but I am still cultural ties with India, have Kathmandu Janakpur joining protests.” long complained that the ex- More than 50 people died in isting federal borders deprive the months-long protests, most them of fair political represen- epal police yesterday ar- anesh Yadav was shot of them shot when police fi red tation. rested four members of by police during dead- into crowds of demonstrators - Many were denied citizen- Na radical Maoist party in Gly protests that roiled a response condemned by rights ship, rendering them stateless, connection with a blast near a southern Nepal in 2015, but he campaigners. until a 2006 law that allowed weekend campaign event. is ready to return to the streets - Analysts say the govern- non-Nepali speakers born and The announcement comes a mark of the intense anger still ment’s failure to address the raised in the country to become two days before critical local felt as the area prepares to go to grievances of the community, naturalised citizens. elections. the polls. which makes up around 20% Yadav said he grew up watch- The members of the Com- Nepal last month began of Nepal’s population, could ing his neighbours mistreated munist Party of Nepal (Maoist), holding its fi rst local elections be holding back the country’s by powerful landowners from a faction of the ruling Maoist in 20 years, a key stage in the progress. the hills of central Nepal and party, were arrested in connec- country’s post-war transfor- Parties representing the faced racism when he went to tion with a Sunday bomb blast at mation from feudal monarchy Madhesi have already forced study in the capital. an election rally along a highway to federal democracy. several postponements of the “There has always been an in south-central Nepal, said Ra- Tomorrow, voting is due local elections, which are sup- attitude of discrimination to- jendra Prasad Chaudhary, a local to take place in the southern posed to pave the way for pro- wards people from the plains,” police offi cer. plains, home to the country’s vincial polls and then national he said. “We arrested them from vari- Madhesi ethnic minority, who elections by January, when the The row that blew up in 2015, ous locations. We are investigat- demonstrated in huge numbers mandate of the current parlia- shortly after a deadly earth- ing if they were involved in the two years ago to protest new ment expires. quake in the country, stemmed blast,” he said. federal borders they say will The government recently from a new national constitu- Four people were injured when leave them politically margin- postponed the polls in the vot- tion that set federal boundaries. the bomb went off at a rally for the alised. ing area that includes Janakpur The Madhesi say these will Maoist Centre party in Sunwal, a The Rastriya Janata Party- - seen as a potential fl ashpoint leave them underrepresented in town in Nawalparasi district. Nepal (RPJ-N), the main par- - until September following lo- parliament and have demanded Madhesi protesters, a marginalised group in the southern plains, gather for a demonstration in Janakpur, Yesterday, an unidentifi ed ty representing the Madhesi cal protests. an amendment that would al- some 300km south of Kathmandu. group detonated an explosive in- community, has already said it “The unaddressed agendas of low the boundaries to be re- side the compound of a mayoral will boycott the polls, raising the Madhes are in a way holding drawn. said they would take part in the broke out in 2007, forcing lead- pur, many hope the government candidate of an opposition party doubts about their legitimacy the country hostage, keeping The government has drawn elections. ers to promise greater regional responds before more radical in the southeastern town of Dha- and fears of a resurgence in the it from smoothly completing up an amendment, but it is un- “The government and major autonomy and representation in secessionist voices gain support. ran, police said. violence. its democratic processes,” said clear whether it has the num- political parties have an oppor- state bodies. “If the main parties become The fi rst round of voting for “This is a fi ght for equality lawyer and Madhesi activist bers it needs to pass the bill in tunity to amend the constitu- That was supposed to be in- sincere, then the constitution local elections last month was and dignity,” 31-year-old Yadav, Dipendra Jha. the face of opposition from rival tion before the September polls, cluded in the constitution, but amendment would not take so largely peaceful, but protests in a farmer, said as he cradled his The Madhesis, who live in parties. which could make a conducive Madhesis say its provisions fall long,” said Saroj Mishra, a shop- the country’s eastern, south- one-year-old son at his home Nepal’s populous southern Senior RJP-N leader Rajen- environment for the election,” short of the promises they were keeper and community leader. western and far western regions on the outskirts of Janakpur in lowlands known as the Terai dra Mahato said his party would he said. made. “But our demands have been against tomorrow’s second phase southern Nepal. and share close linguistic and hold out even after rival parties Mass protests in the Tarai fi rst In the dusty streets of Janak- sidelined again and again.” has raised fears of violence. Lanka blames Professor defending nature with his life garbage pile-up Thomson Reuters Foundation Activists fear the plant, a joint the forest and 69km from the Over two decades, the profes- Dhaka venture between Indian and Unesco Heritage site. sor and his campaign group - the Bangladeshi state-run power “As a result, the scanty amount National Committee to Protect corporations, will destroy the of exhaust from the power plant Oil, Gas Mineral Resources, Pow- for dengue toll eteran Bangladeshi aca- Sundarbans, one of the world’s won’t be any cause for harm to er and Ports - have questioned demic-activist Anu Mu- largest mangrove forests and a the Sundarbans,” he said. the role of several multinational Vhammad is no stranger to Unesco World Heritage site home He said stringent environmen- resource companies in Bangla- AFP well over double the fi gure for death threats so when the pro- to the endangered Royal Bengal tal standards had been approved desh and their relationships with Colombo the whole of 2016. fessor of economics received a tiger and rare Irrawaddy dolphins. by the department of environ- local partners, government con- “It is not something my chilling text message shortly af- Muhammad - author of more ment and were compatible with tractors and politicians. ministry can do alone but we ter midnight, it barely registered. than 30 books - says the man- World Bank and International In 2006, they helped scupper ri Lanka has suff ered a need a collective eff ort.” “Death keeps no calendar, and grove forest is extraordinarily rich Finance Corporation criteria. a British company’s attempt to record 200 deaths from Ansatullah knows no time!” in fl ora and fauna and key to the Muhammad, however, fears an establish a coal mine in Dinajpur Sdengue fever this year, Offi cial fi gures show 210 But a few hours later, on that livelihoods of millions of people. environmental “disaster”. district. The company abandoned Anu Muhammad the health minister said yes- people had died from same October morning last year, “This has also been a huge nat- Speaking in his Dhaka home, the project but four lives were lost terday, blaming a garbage dengue so far this year a second SMS pinged - one he ural safeguard against frequent the economist said he is only too in the battle to clear farmland. “In Bangladesh, for example, disposal crisis in Colombo. - well over double the could not ignore. cyclone, storm and other natural aware of the personal risk he runs Muhammad was also integral following the murders of blog- Rotting garbage has been fi gure for the whole of “Say ‘yes’ to Rampal (a pro- disasters in the country,” he said. in opposing a multi-billion dollar to a 2007 campaign that quashed gers and activists, we docu- piling up in many parts of 2016 posed coal-fi red power plant) “The lives and properties of government project, particularly multi-billion dollar energy mented a sharp decline in ad- the capital since the coun- otherwise you will be hacked to up to 4mn people who live on it one that is championed by Prime investment plans by Tata Group. vocacy for indigenous peoples, try’s main rubbish tip col- The number of infected death incredibly by us!” will be threatened if there is no Minister Sheikh Hasina. A year later, when a military- land, and environmental rights lapsed in April, crushing people in the fi rst six months Reporting the threats to po- Sundarban.” “We need to take this risk,” backed caretaker regime was in as well,” she said. dozens of homes and killing of this year was nearly 70,000 lice, Muhammad learned that Scheduled to open in 2021, the Muhammad said. “By destroy- power in Bangladesh, the professor Muhammad says that deaths 32 people. compared to about 55,000 Ansatullah was probably a plant is expected to burn about ing a natural huge forest, power was threatened with death if he did in state or police custody are not With nowhere to take the cases for the whole of last year, mistype and referred to An- 5mn tonnes of coal each year, and other commercial enterpris- not stop appearing on television. uncommon in Bangladesh and trash, municipal collec- offi cial fi gures showed. sharulla or Ansar al Islam, an Is- pumping out carbon and sulphur es refl ect a blind development In 2009, he was injured when refl ect the breakdown of law and tion has drastically slowed Military spokesman Roshan lamic extremist group. dioxide emissions in the process. paradigm that puts profi t before a public rally against an oil ex- order and legal institutions. and led to huge piles on the Seneviratne said troops had The group, implicated in a se- Despite local opposition and people and environment.” ploration project in the Bay of The economist says his great- streets which authorities say been deployed to help tackle ries of brutal attacks and mur- calls from the UN for the plant to When committee activists Bengal turned violent. est fear now is the Sundarbans are encouraging mosquito- the crisis, while police said they ders against atheist and bloggers, be relocated, the government is investigated the death threats Erin Kilbride, from the human might lose their Unesco listing, breeding. had prosecuted 454 people for had also claimed the murder of a pushing ahead. against him, they told Muham- rights campaign group Front conferred in 1997, with a meet- “The situation could get illegally dumping garbage. lecturer in 2014. Anwarul Azim, a spokesman mad the telephone belonged to Line Defenders, said govern- ing next month to consider the worse if we don’t tackle the Stagnant water left behind Now they seemed to have for the joint venture company, a member of the Awami Olama ments, companies and armed heritage status. garbage problem quickly,” after last month’s fl ooding 60-year-old Muhammad in their the Bangladesh-India Friend- League, an Islamist arm of the groups target activists like Mu- “If we say yes to the largest, Health Minister Rajitha Sen- was also seen as contribut- sights for his role leading a seven- ship Power Co, said it was “un- ruling Awami League. The phone hammad because their deaths coastal mangrove forest in the aratne said as offi cial fi gures ing to the spread of dengue, year campaign against plans to build likely to harm the Sundarbans” owner denied sending the threats. not only aff ect families and world then we must say ‘no’ to showed 210 people had died a tropical disease spread by a $1.5bn coal-fi red power plant in because the plant will be 14km Muhammad says he has no friends but disrupt whole activ- commercial projects harmful for from dengue so far this year - mosquitoes. Rampal, southern Bangladesh. away from the outer edge of intention of giving up. ism networks. its survival,” he said. Gulf Times 14 Tuesday, June 27, 2017 COMMENT

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

P.O.Box 2888 Doha, Qatar with balance and integrity [email protected] Telephone 44350478 (news), zDoha-based network 44466404 (sport), 44466636 (home delivery) responds to a Saudi-led Fax 44350474 bloc’s attempt to shut down its global media operations

ver two decades ago, Al GULF TIMES Jazeera Arabic was launched with a simple mission – to Oprovide reliable information to viewers across the Arab world. Ten years later, in 2006, Al Jazeera English began broadcasting, with the same Gloves come off mission – to provide people around the world with accurate, balanced and impartial information. When Al Jazeera Arabic went on between F1 air in 1996, it was unique in the Arab world. Most media in the region at the time were state-controlled and often unchallenged mouthpieces for the title contenders diff erent rulers and governments in the region. The attempt to silence Al Jazeera is an attempt to silence independent journalism in the region. (Picture courtesy: Al Al Jazeera was diff erent, a truly Jazeera) Formula One fi gures may be lining up to condemn independent voice, with a mission Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel for deliberately driving into to hear and report the human stories a spotlight on the people and stories see and scrutinise. By covering events We have covered stories that have that were otherwise ignored; to cover that would otherwise have remained like the Arab Spring, we don’t create been attacked by Bahrain, the UAE and Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes at the Azerbaijan Grand events with balance and integrity; and in the dark. And we’ve always done so those events. And as is the role of good Saudi Arabia because we showed what Prix on Sunday but few will rue the injection of some to hold power to account. with responsibility and integrity. journalism, we don’t take sides, instead, was really going on. Egypt not only friction into the title race. Al Jazeera Arabic quickly gained a Journalists from all regions of the we hold the powerful to account for the attacked Al Jazeera for its coverage, While every sport — offi cially at least — wants its huge and loyal audience across the world have joined Al Jazeera because decisions they make. but also, shockingly, imprisoned and region. The information we provided they believe in the mission of good We were once accused of bias sentenced our colleagues, whose only main protagonist to be respectful and worthy role became a lifeline to millions of people journalism, and the responsibility because Al Jazeera Arabic was the crime was their commitment to great models, it is hard to deny a true rivalry does not make who wanted to know what was really that goes with it. Every day, we cover fi rst Arabic channel to have Israeli journalism. the championship more exciting. going on around them. Al Jazeera stories from around the Arab world, politicians and commentators on Countries like Saudi Arabia, Arabic has remained the most watched Africa, Asia, Europe, and North the air. But what we were doing was Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE may “They are warriors,” Mercedes motorsport boss Toto news channel in the Arab world and South America. We have over ensuring we heard and challenged silence their own media and their own Wolff said. “They are at war at the moment. They are throughout its history. 3,000 staff , who are among the most all relevant voices in a quest for people’s freedom to speak out, but fi ghting for the race wins and the championship. Al Jazeera Arabic channel has more talented and diverse in the world. good journalism. We were accused because Al Jazeera is watched by so viewers than the combined total of our Their commitment makes Al Jazeera of extremism when we interviewed many people in the Arab world, they “Now the gloves are off . The sport needs the rivalry. main competitors. Al Jazeera English what it is today. We have bureaus in members of the Taliban, but in fact we want us gone. What we have seen today is the ingredient of a great is seen in over 130 countries around over 70 locations around the globe, were asking the hard questions and Despite the pressure being exerted championship.” the world, and is watched by tens of including our headquarters in Doha ensuring we were challenging all sides on Al Jazeera by these countries, millions of people who respect our and broadcast centres in London and of the story. and their calls for our closure, we Hamilton was leading in Baku and on course for a journalism. Washington DC, staff ed by journalists We defend the freedom of have covered the region and events crucial victory when Vettel — claiming the Brit brake- The global audiences are loyal whose courage and work ethic is expression and believe in peoples’ with balance and with impartiality, tested him by suddenly slowing — ran into his car from to the Al Jazeera brand because of unwavering. They report on events right to knowledge. We take no and we will continue to do so. We behind under the safety car. our continuous commitment to fi rst-hand. They report with integrity. sides, we are no one’s messenger are a network which exists to cover journalism; our dedication to covering They carry out their jobs with or spokesperson and we never have all peoples; to hear human stories That raised eyebrows but what followed next was their stories impartially; and our passion, and with responsibility. Their been. from all corners of the world; and remarkable as Vettel drew alongside Hamilton and then determination to tell stories with no commitment to hear the voices of Al Jazeera – like all credible media to ensure our information stands up consciously turned in to bump his rival on purpose. agenda and with total integrity. We those caught up in events is available organisations – has been challenged to scrutiny in every country and by at Al Jazeera believe in our mission: for all to see. Our staff are our “fabric”. throughout its history. We have been every person who watches or reads Hamilton later lost the race to Red Bull’s Daniel people have a right to be informed. They ensure our journalism is of the criticised because our journalism our news. Ricciardo as he had to pit to repair a loose head They have a right to get news that highest quality, is impartial and has shows what is really going on, and The attempt to silence Al restraint while Vettel, penalised only by a 10-second isn’t controlled by the narrative of integrity. sometimes governments, corporations Jazeera is an attempt to silence authorities. Our millions of viewers are a or individuals don’t want what they independent journalism in the stop-and-go order, could skip Hamilton to fi nish They have a right to know what testament to the quality of our work. are doing to be seen. Our offi ces have region, and to challenge everyone’s fourth to the Briton’s fi fth. is going on in their world. Equally, Every minute of every day, in tens been closed in the past by certain freedom to be heard and to be What looked like a race which would cut Vettel’s people have a right to have a voice. of countries, on every distribution countries who didn’t want the truth informed. This must not be allowed To have their stories told when they platform, millions of people to be seen. Most recently by Saudi to happen. championship lead over Hamilton to just fi ve points deserve and need to be heard. choose Al Jazeera as their source Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt. We are deeply proud of our had suddenly increased his advantage to 14. Freedom of speech – and the of information. If we didn’t have The satellite TV and online signals journalism. We respect – and give Senna v Prost, Mansell v Piquet, Schumacher v well, freedom for journalists to carry out integrity, if we were not reliable, distributing our channels have been thanks to – everyone we report several drivers, have lit up championships throughout their responsibilities – may be an our audience are intelligent enough blocked by governments to prevent about, and everyone we inform. We accepted norm in many parts of the to judge and, they would switch us their people seeing our content. Al remain resolute in carrying out our F1 history and with 12 races remaining in 2017, Vettel world, but it is a right which is so off. And for over 20 years, they’ve Jazeera’s staff have been threatened, responsibility of providing reliable v Hamilton could often challenged for political gain in remained loyal to Al Jazeera, and locked up and tragically killed as a information, and giving those we become a new classic. parts of the Arab world. The right to we have always remained loyal to consequence of carrying out their cover a voice. We are unwavering ‘What we have be informed by reliable information them and true to their demands for duties as journalists. Our colleagues in our resolve to continue doing so, Vettel insisted he had is one of the foundations of a healthy information. in Iraq, Syria, and elsewhere have paid and we will proceed to tell the stories seen today is done nothing wrong society. We have been accused of bias, of the ultimate price while doing their of the world from Kabul to Caracas but at least tried to Throughout our long history, catalysing the Arab Spring, of having jobs. and from Mosul to Sydney. We will the ingredient we have remained resolute in our an agenda, and of favouring one group We have also reported about critical continue to do our job with integrity. cool things down by commitment to storytelling, to over another. We reject these allegations and perhaps embarrassing issues in We will continue to be courageous in of a great saying: “I don’t have balanced journalism, and to fi nding and our screens are a testament to Qatar when they arose; including the the pursuit of the truth. a problem with him. and covering stories. We have given a our integrity. All our coverage is on plight of workers on construction sites And we will continue to respect championship’ I respect him a lot for voice to the voiceless. We have shone show online and on TV for anyone to and accusations of rights violations. people’s rights to be heard. the driver he is.” Hamilton, however, was backed by the data from his car which appeared to show the ‘brake-test’ was imagined by Vettel and was in no mood for Can this young prince save Saudi Arabia from itself? reconciliation. “Driving alongside and driving deliberately into a zThe Post explains why Saudi Arabia is at a historic tipping point - and why that matters for America driver and getting away scot-free, pretty much — he still came away with fourth — I think it’s a disgrace,” There’s reason to doubt including bomb deliveries, that the he told broadcaster Channel 4. “I think he disgraced Saudi Arabia’s charming Obama administration suspended. The Saudis say their Houthi enemies himself today, to be honest.” new crown prince are a proxy for Iran, but many experts Hamilton pointed out Vettel has had a history of believe they overstate that case. losing his temper on the track and the German must By David Ignatius Meanwhile, the war detracts from the now walk a tightrope in the next race in Austria on The Washington Post US-led fi ght against the Islamic State, from which the Gulf nations have July 9. A further penalty would likely take him to 12 withdrawn resources. points on his license in a 12-month period and possible ohamed bin Salman , Then there is the blockade of Qatar suspension from the next British Grand Prix. the 31-year-old who by four Sunni Arab countries, another “Vettel is a decent guy normally. This I don’t last week was named Saudi-led initiative, that began Mcrown prince of Saudi on June 5. Saudi leaders said their understand,” Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Arabia, has been working assiduously purpose was to end Qatari support Lauda said. “He is crazy. Lewis will hit him one day. to win friends and infl uence people for terrorism - a dubious claim that in Washington. He’s acquired a lot nevertheless won the support of Not with the car but with his fi st.” of admirers, including in the Trump President Trump. Yet not until last Physical violence would likely be a step too far even White House, by outlining plans Friday, following public criticism for those silently grateful for the edge delivered to the to reform and modernise the Saudi from the State Department, did the season on the Baku street circuit. economy, loosen domestic social blockaders present their demands. controls and - not least - undertake Several of the demands have nothing But it is safe to say, all eyes will be on the pair when tens of billions of arms purchases in to do with terrorism: For example, they line up again in Spielberg, two weeks from now. the United States. Qatar is to close down the Al Jazeera Yet as Prince Salman formally takes television network, the Arab world’s position to succeed his 81-year-old most popular news outlet, which father King Salman, there is growing provides an outlet for critics of the To Advertise reason for doubt about his capabilities. Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman: growing reason for doubt about his region’s dictatorships. The Saudis His market-oriented economic capabilities further demand the closure of a [email protected] reforms look stalled. Meanwhile, military base in Qatar maintained by Display his aggressive initiatives in foreign driving rebel Houthi forces from the epidemic has infected more than Nato member Turkey. Telephone 44466621 Fax 44418811 aff airs are proving self-defeating - capital Sanaa, and it has led to severe 200,000 people since April, according The largest US air base in the Middle and damaging to the interests of the casualties caused by the bombing of to the United Nations. On average, East is also located in Qatar and is a Classified United States. civilian targets. Human rights groups according to UN reporting, a child hub for operations against the Islamic Telephone 44466609 Fax 44418811 As defence minister, Prince Salman have accused the Saudis and their dies every 10 minutes in Yemen due State. Notwithstanding Trump’s has been closely associated with allies, including the United Arab to malnutrition, diarrhoea and other supportive statements, the boycott Subscription Saudi Arabia’s military intervention Emirates, of war crimes. preventable causes. risks serious harm to US interests. Like [email protected] in Yemen, which began not long after Worst, the Saudi coalition has Though it long ago became clear the Yemen war, it should give cause his father ascended to the throne in helped create one of the worst that the war is unwinnable, the for care in embracing the new Saudi January 2015. In every respect, the humanitarian crises the world has Saudi leadership persists - and has crown prince. Though he may be 2017 Gulf Times. All rights reserved campaign has been a failure. It has seen in decades. Some 17mn Yemenis succeeded in persuading the Trump charming, his adventurism makes him not achieved the declared aim of are at risk of famine. A cholera administration to renew support, a questionable ally. Gulf Times Tuesday, June 27, 2017 15 COMMENT Burundi crisis continues to bite

IRIN rights violations are often committed francs over the same period. has projected zero growth in Burundi Bujumbura in a more clandestine, but equally “When the current crisis started, in 2017 and 12.4% infl ation. brutal, manner” than in 2015. the expatriate family I had been Fuel shortages and electricity cuts “For example, a victim told us working for since 2010 left the country have eased now but in April and May urundian President Pierre that in 2016, a police commander and my husband lost his job because they were severe. “We had to queue Nkurunziza announced his threatened him in the following his boss said he didn’t have enough outside petrol stations. Sometimes, intention to seek a disputed terms: ‘I can kill you. I can bury you money to pay him,” said Nicelate we even waited all day without Bthird term more than two and no one will know,’” Ouguergouz Ngayabosha, who lives in the northern getting any,” said taxi driver Thomas years ago, spawning a period of unrest said, explaining that his team had not Bujumbura district of Kamenge. Ndayiragije. marked by extrajudicial killings, a been given permission to carry out She said she struggles to feed her The fuel shortages also exacerbated failed coup, and ethnic division. Given investigations inside Burundi itself. family now and that her children only food infl ation. According to the repeated assurances from government “There are continuing reports of eat one meal a day, which makes it national statistics institute, food offi cials and the dearth of media disappearances. Dead bodies are also hard for them to concentrate at school. prices went up more than 10% in less coverage, you would be forgiven for still regularly discovered,” he added. Adrienne Niyubuntu, a mother than a month in April. thinking that period ended some “According to several testimonies, it of three who said her husband had All this has grave implications for time ago. It did not. The country’s is often diffi cult to identify the bodies. Behind the semblance of normalcy, people still disappear from the streets of travelled to the Democratic Republic jobs and livelihoods. population continues to face armed The modus operandi seems to be the Burundi’s capital. of Congo because he could not bear to For exiled anti-corruption activist violence, civil and human rights same: the victims have their arms tied see his children go hungry, explained Gabriel Rufyiri, there is only one way abuses, while food insecurity and behind their backs and sometimes sessions carried out by the National on some of the houses in Muyange II, how she now has to rely on charity. forward. economic hardship persist. People are their bodies are weighed down with Intelligence Service and the one resident said they had been sold to “These days, it’s my relatives who “Only inclusive negotiations will still fl eeing to neighbouring countries: stones to make them sink once they police, sometimes assisted by the pay for food. try to give me food, because I have no provide a favourable solution to these The UN predicts the number of are thrown into a river.” Imbonerakure – the ruling party’s Yields from the fi rst of the country’s income,” she said. problems of food shortages. Because Burundian refugees will top 500,000 In Bujumbura, residents gave IRIN youth wing. The testimony was two annual agricultural seasons were Budgetary aid suspensions imposed once the political issues are sorted out, by the end of the year. fi rst-hand accounts of loved ones graphic: “clubs, rifl e butts, bayonets, down an average of 25%, but experts by the European Union and some of donors will be quick to lift sanctions On 14 June, the Commission of going missing. iron bars, metal chains and electric at the Integrated Food Security Phase its member states in 2016 are also against the government,” he said, Enquiry on Burundi set up by the UN “My husband received a phone call cables [used] with the result that Classifi cation (IPC) system say this having a serious impact on Burundi’s speaking to IRIN from Belgium. Human Rights Council reported that from people he doubtless knew. He some victims’ bones were broken and only partly explains the widespread economy, according to analyst and anti- A government-led “inter- violations such as the excessive use of left in our car with a friend and never other victims lost consciousness; long food insecurity. corruption activist Faustin Ndikumana. Burundian dialogue” involving 26,000 force, disappearances, and arbitrary came back. Even the car was never needles stuck into victims’ bodies or “The current socio-economic “The sanctions have deprived the citizens and 600 hours of meetings detention by security services – which found,” said the wife of a man close to unidentifi ed products injected into crisis characterised by infl ation, government of a major source of produced a fi nal report in May, all surged amid street protests in the government who asked not to be them; nails ripped out with pliers; shortage of jobs, the depreciation of foreign currency,” he told IRIN. The asserting that the population backed the weeks after Nkurunziza’s April named. “I contacted his old friends burns; and many abuses infl icted on the Burundian franc and a shortage EU suspension aff ects a 43mn-euro various constitutional changes and 2015 announcement – have been – the police, the army, the intelligence male detainees’ genital organs.” of foreign currency, aggravated package of direct support destined putting an end to presidential term continuing. services – but to no avail. I’m losing The commission also noted by a malaria epidemic and the mainly for projects in energy, rural limits. But opposition parties, which According to government fi gures, hope, and what [bothers] me the most that those in exile included many displacement of populations are development, public fi nances, health, were not involved, have dismissed some 720 people have lost their lives is that some of his old friends in the journalists as well as the leaders of factors which infl uence the level of and justice reform. The European the process and the subsequent since the start of the crisis – many police and army don’t answer my most opposition parties, one of which, food insecurity and create a need Union had been funding about half of establishment of a constitutional during the heavy-handed crackdown calls.” the Movement for Solidarity and for a co-ordinated multi-sectoral Burundi’s annual budget. review commission as a sham. around a failed coup attempt in May Another woman in the capital told Democracy, was slapped with a six- approach,” the latest IPC bulletin says. Ndikumana said the lack of foreign Meanwhile, mediation eff orts led 2015. Human rights workers put the IRIN about her brother, who had been month suspension in April. Market prices of basic foods are currency had led to shortages of fuel, by the East African Community are number at more like 1,200. The level a policeman for a long time. “He was Dwindling food supplies have left between 30 and 50% higher than the medicines, and other essential goods. at a standstill, both because some in of violence has subsided but there arrested as he came home from work, more than a quarter of Burundi’s same period last year, according to “The national agricultural investment the opposition regard the facilitator, continue to be sporadic killings from after meeting some relatives,” she said. population, 2.56mn people, in a state the IPC, which did, however, project programme has not received its Tanzanian former president Benjamin gunshots and grenades, which the “Up to now, I have no information of severe food insecurity. Some 3mn much better yields from 2017’s (just planned funds and the agricultural Mkapa, as biased and because police often attribute to criminal about where he went. I don’t know Burundians require humanitarian beginning) second harvest. sector is unable to pay dividends,” Nkurunziza sees the process as a activity. what to do. We haven’t even been assistance. More supply can’t come a moment he said. “We are in a situation where violation of Burundi’s sovereignty. Fatsah Ouguergouz, who chairs allowed to conduct customary In April, four people died of too soon. At foodstalls in the capital, people are impoverished yet certain This week, UN Assistant Secretary- the commission of enquiry, told mourning rituals. We are crying in starvation in Muyange II, an area close IRIN found maize selling for 1,200 dignitaries continue to believe that General Tayé-Brook Zerihoun told the the Human Rights Council that secret.” to the capital, according to local leader francs ($0.70) per kilo, against 400 things are normal because they are Security Council that implementing testimonies collected in refugee camps The commission said refugees Augustin Ntirandekura. Asked to francs less than two years ago, while receiving their salaries or allowances.” the report’s recommendations would “show that since late 2016, human had told its investigators of torture explain the lack of doors and windows green beans were up from 700 to 1,200 The International Monetary Fund likely lead to an escalation of the crisis. Senegal’s corner shops go digital to track trade Weather report Three-day forecast

TODAY AFP that works with icons and voice High: 46 C Dakar commands. The upstart costs of buying a laptop Low : 33 C and the electricity required to run it Inshore: Hot daytime with slight dust. orner shops, markets all day are prohibitive for most, and and street traders are training in accountancy programmes still the traditional way or software such as Microsoft Excel WEDNESDAY most Senegalese do their hard to come by without paying for High: 43 C C Low: 31 C shopping, but micro-businesses are classes. turning to digital means of tracking With sturdy casing and bright Sunny clients in the west African nation’s graphics, Somtou is aimed squarely at informal economy. market traders and small businesses, Amadou Bawol Bah, like many Senegalese co-founder of the Weebi start-up Cheikh Sene. said its Cameroonian creator Ted THURSDAY owners of the corner “boutiques” in Boulou. High: 41 C Senegal, used to have a large ledger he A micro-printer for receipts download or can be bought for 118,000 “It allows those in the informal Low: 31 C fi lled in each day with purchases and completes the mix, Sene added. FCFA ($200) preloaded onto a tablet, sector to manage their work more Sunny credit off ered to his customers. Around half of Senegal’s registered 300 clients have shown an interest in eff ectively, and gives them more “One day I was fi lling in some businesses are one-man traders like the product in the Dakar area. precise estimates of income, revenue details and some cooking oil tipped Bawol Bah, according to government Marieme Assietou Diagne, who and clients,” Boulou said. Fishermen’s forecast That can empower them to better onto the ledger,” he recalled of the statistics, and operate at thin margins manages a health food delivery OFFSHORE DOHA moment in 2015 that wiped out years with clients often reliant on credit business, says she has gained “more bargain wholesale costs and promotions, Wind: NW 05-15/18 KT of careful bookkeeping. paid back at the end of the month. free time and better sales” since using making businesses more eff ective, he Waves: 2-4/5 Feet Bawol Bah’s disaster became the In the case of accidents like Bawol the software. added, while fi ling of tax returns and INSHORE DOHA Wind: NW-NE 05-15/18 KT inspiration for a locally-designed app Bah’s, the app comes with confi dential “It helps us to follow clients – who other government documents became Waves: 1-3/4 Feet called “Weebi”, meaning “easy” in the backup for each user, according to are the regulars, the number of orders, simpler and more accurate. local Pulaar language, and the trader Weebi, so data remains safe in case of and how many meals we are selling Pricing is also fl exible for clients Around the region hasn’t looked back since downloading loss or damage to a device. per day,” she told AFP. “We can reward without much upfront cash. Weather Weather it. After winning a prize for digital loyal customers at the end of the “Some will pay 13,000 FCFA today Max/min tomorrow Max/min “Weebi simplifi es sales and my innovation at the Africa-France month.” ($22) per month for two years, or Abu Dhabi M Sunny 37/32 Sunny 38/31 invoices. The tablet and smartphone summit held in Bamako in January, Other small business owners have 500 FCFA (85 US cents) a day for Baghdad Sunny 48/32 Cloudy 49/31 Dubai replaces the notebook and pen,” Weebi’s ambitions are growing in the begun using “Somtou”, a console two years,” Boulou explained, as the Sunny 39/31 Sunny 41/32 Kuwait City Sunny 46/32 Sunny 47/34 explained Weebi’s co-founder Cheikh capital. launched in May with an interface single payment of 275,000 FCFA was Manama Sunny 41/32 Sunny 41/30 Sene, who began his start-up with two Although just 40 users so far specifi cally designed for Senegal’s prohibitive for many – and he has Muscat Sunny 37/33 P Cloudy 38/33 other Senegalese and a Frenchman. have the app, which is a standalone majority illiterate population taken 100 orders. Riyadh Sunny 43/28 Sunny 44/30 Tehran Sunny 36/24 Sunny 37/26 Live issues Relatives of people with cirrhosis also at risk

By Shereen Lehman NAFLD can run in families, but it family members, also had advanced certainly, what’s the cause, what are Reuters Health wasn’t known if family members are liver fi brosis, compared to 1.4 percent the risk factors, who is at highest risk, also prone to developing fi brosis and of the relatives of controls. The how do we screen for those patients, more serious liver diseases. family members of NAFLD-cirrhosis and what do we do when we detect f a parent or sibling has cirrhosis “My goal is to change practice to patients were 12.5 times more likely disease,” he said. due to non-alcoholic fatty liver develop screening guidelines for who to have liver fi brosis than the healthy It’s important to note that aside disease, a person’s odds of are the patients who are at high risk comparison families. from genetic contributions, fi rst- Ihaving liver scarring are more for developing cirrhosis and should we “The data’s very compelling. It degree relatives often share the same than 12 times higher than for people be screening them,” said senior study reinforces smaller and less well- lifestyle habits, he added. without close relatives who have this author Dr Rohit Loomba of the NAFLD conducted studies that indicate a Currently, there are no proven condition, a small study fi nds. Research Center at the University of higher likelihood of non-alcoholic therapies except diet and weight Around the world Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease California, San Diego in La Jolla. fatty liver disease fi brosis among loss, which is hard to sustain. “But, Weather Weather (NAFLD) is the build-up of extra One reason family members’ risk family members,” said Dr Scott there is an intense effort in the today Max/min tomorrow Max/min fat in liver cells that is not caused was poorly understood is that a Friedman, a liver disease specialist at pharmaceutical and biotech industry Athens M Sunny 34/23 Sunny 36/23 by drinking alcohol. It’s the most diagnosis of fi brosis required a biopsy, Mount Sinai Hospital in New York who to come up with new drugs to treat Beirut Sunny 30/26 Sunny 29/24 S T Storms 33/26 common cause of liver disease in which is a painful medical procedure. wasn’t involved in the study. those conditions before it progresses Bangkok 33/26 P Cloudy Berlin M Sunny 24/16 M Sunny 29/18 the US, the study team writes in the But Loomba and colleagues devised a “So, it’s important, because it to the cirrhotic state, where cancer Cairo Sunny 38/23 Sunny 38/23 Journal of Clinical Investigation. way to detect fat and scarring in the may heighten our concern about and liver failure are real concerns,” Cape Town P Cloudy 15/11 M Sunny 13/07 The more severe form of NAFLD, liver using MRI scanning. the risk of undiagnosed liver disease Friedman said. Colombo T Storms 29/26 T Storms 30/27 non-alcoholic steatohepatitis For the current study, Loomba and in fi rst-degree relatives of patients Loomba said new therapies are Dhaka S T Storms 32/26 P Cloudy 32/27 Hong Kong P Cloudy 32/29 P Cloudy 32/28 (NASH), tends to develop in people colleagues enrolled 26 patients with who’ve been diagnosed with NAFLD, emerging. “There are about fi ve Phase Istanbul Sunny 29/19 Sunny 30/20 who are overweight or obese or who NAFLD and cirrhosis, along with 39 of particularly those who have more 3 trials for the treatment of NASH and Jakarta I T Storms 32/24 S T Storms 32/24 have diabetes, high cholesterol or their parents or siblings, as well as 69 advanced fi brosis,” Friedman said in a especially advanced fi brosis in NASH.” Karachi P Cloudy 35/30 P Cloudy 34/29 high triglycerides, according to the people without liver disease plus 69 of phone interview. Once a patient develops cirrhosis, London Rain 19/15 Rain 19/13 Manila S T Storms T Storms 31/26 American Liver Foundation. their fi rst-degree relatives. There has been a rising awareness there’s a risk of developing liver cancer 32/26 Moscow P Cloudy 21/12 M Sunny 21/11 With NAFLD, the liver may swell The study team took medical and incidence of liver disease and those individuals need to be New Delhi S T Storms 36/28 S T Storms 33/26 and develop scarring, known as histories, performed medical associated with so-called metabolic screened for that, Loomba added. New York P Cloudy 25/16 M Sunny 28/18 fi brosis, or cirrhosis in its more examinations and used MRI to syndrome, which is a constellation “We have a series of tests that Paris S T Storms 26/17 Rain 24/14 advanced stages. NASH often leads to evaluate the livers of all participants. of abnormalities usually including need to be done on those individuals. Sao Paulo P Cloudy 24/12 M Sunny 26/13 Seoul S T Storms 28/20 S T Storms 29/19 more serious liver diseases, including They found that three quarters of obesity, insulin resistance, high blood And then, if the patient is obese Singapore S T Storms 31/26 T Storms 30/26 liver cancer. About a quarter of people the relatives of patients with NAFLD pressure and high blood fats, Friedman for example and if they lose weight Sydney M Cloudy 16/09 Cloudy 16/09 with NASH have cirrhosis. and cirrhosis also had NAFLD. noted. then you can even reverse fi brosis or Tokyo Cloudy 26/22 Cloudy 26/20 Past research has suggested that Seven of these people, 18% of “We’re still trying to understand, progression of the disease.” Gulf Times 16 Tuesday, June 27, 2017 QATAR ‘Demand to close Al Jazeera is intrusion in our internal aff airs’ atar’s ambassador to acceptable”. “I think any person tion they have available to them.” ask another country, that is not policy, our right to have any type there were some demands on the Australia Nasser bin Ha- with a sound mind will see them Although it has not been dis- acceptable,” he said. of a press we like. I think their list that were not under consider- Qmad al-Khalifa has said to be unreasonable and to be un- closed what the list has requested On the demand for Qatar to demands are beyond belief,” he ation. “There are demands, which the demands laid out by the Sau- attainable,” he told ABC radio, as in “compensation”, the ambassa- shut down Al Jazeera, he said: added. cannot be discussed because they di-led bloc are “beyond belief”, reported by news.com.au dor said “they are only after our “They are against any type of free Al-Khalifa said Qatar would are a part of our own jurisdiction. according to Australian media “I think people have to reach money.” press. They want the Arab world look at the list of demands and They belong to us, and they are reports. The 13-point list was some accommodation but, gen- Al-Khalifa said Saudi Arabia to be kept ignorant to what’s go- reply “in due time”. “Our posi- not going to be discussed.” presented to Qatar last week by erally speaking, the way they are and the other Arab nations were ing on. They don’t want to have tion is to look at the legal and He also said the blockade was Kuwait, which is helping mediate now I think they are beyond any “trying to dictate” to Qatar, and any voice for their ordinary peo- political basis,” he said. “We are not aff ecting Qatar as it had been the crisis between the country acceptable position by any coun- claimed they were breaking in- ple.” always ready to sit down and ne- intended. “We are OK with it. and the Arab nations that severed try. In this time and age you can- ternational law. “That is not ac- Further, al-Khalifa said the de- gotiate but it will not be on their It’s not really hurting us as they diplomatic ties with Doha. not tell people what to do in their ceptable. That is a violation of mand was “beyond their right”. own terms, it will be on our terms thought. Some of their countries In an interview yesterday, al- own countries – what to hear and international law, violation of “For us to close Al Jazeera, I think as well.” are suff ering because of it more Qatar’s ambassador to Australia Khalifa slammed the list as “un- what to listen to or what informa- good neighbourhood. When you that is intruding into our internal The ambassador noted that than we do.” Nasser bin Hamad al-Khalifa. Gulf residents separated, ‘Siege is a violation denied basic human rights

ore cases highlighting evant fi le at NHRC includes the daily had mentioned the the adverse humanitar- hundreds of such complaints. In case of a grandmother who of international law’ Mian consequences of the another case, Mohamed Abdulla, would not be able to see her ongoing blockade have emerged. a Qatari man who owns a farm in granddaughter in the UAE, a QNA on the list were dead, or who are it. The ambassador said that the Qatar’s National Human Rights Saudi Arabia, told the daily that Qatari student in the final year Moscow not even residents of Qatar. He statement led the countries to Committee (NHRC) has been he had collected the harvest of of university in the UAE unable noted that Qatar issued a state- retreat under the scrutiny of the receiving such cases since the dates and packed it to be mar- to travel there to complete his ment clarifying all those false al- global public opinion, as it was start of the blockade earlier this keted in Qatar. studies, and a Qatari man who atar’s ambassador to the legations in detail. revealed that their position was month. However, he was denied access had bought some real estate in Russian Federation Fa- The ambassador added that fragile. That, in turn, led to a As reported in Gulf Times ear- to his property due to the block- the UAE but could not access Qhad bin Mohammed al- Qatar will not retaliate or engage deeper questioning of their ac- lier, the NHRC believes that the ade. Abdulla also said he was not the same. Attiyah said yesterday that the in rhetoric against any of those tions. “gross violations resulting from even able to send money to his Mohamed Ibrahim al-Mohan- countries enforcing a siege on countries. Instead, it remained Ambassador Fahad added that the siege aff ect the rights of Gulf workers to export the harvest to nadi, a Qatari man, said he had Qatar have made an unfair deci- committed to the unity of the the absence of any support to these citizens — Qataris and non-Qa- Kuwait. His Saudi friends could bought fi ve apartments in Du- sion, particularly when it comes GCC and stressed that diff erences measures inside Qatar proved to taris — as well as the rights of not off er him any help in this as bai worth more than QR7mn on to the blocking of land, sea, and can be resolved through dialogue. everyone that the Qatari people residents in Qatar.” well, the daily added. instalment and had paid around air routes. He added that these Qatar also welcomed the Kuwaiti are fully behind its leadership. The Recently, local Arabic daily QR1.7mn until now. moves have had a negative im- mediation eff orts. The envoy ambassador said that this was the Arrayah reported about the case NHRC believes that the However, he no longer had any pact on the lives of Qatar’s citi- Qatar’s ambassador to Russia stressed that Qatar’s commitment main reason behind the failure of of Mohamed al-Anzi, a young “gross violations resulting confi dence in the investment af- zens and residents, and stressed Fahad bin Mohammed al-Attiyah. to its values led to panic among the the measures taken by those coun- Qatari man who was treated from the siege aff ect the ter the blockade was imposed as that it’s a clear violation of in- blockading countries, whose posi- tries. He stressed that the State of in Bahrain for cancer and had rights of Gulf citizens — he was banned from travelling ternational law, particularly the decisions were condemned by tions seemed contradictory. Qatar rejects any mandates or in- managed to make considerable Qataris and non-Qataris there. closure of airspace. He added the United Nations High Com- Saudi Arabia’s Minister of terference in its internal or foreign progress. — as well as the rights of Khalid Mubarak al-Buainain, a that Qatar made a complaint to missioner for Human Rights. Foreign Aff airs described the ac- policies. It rejects any allegations However, he is not to follow residents in Qatar” Saudi man living in Doha, said he International Civil Aviation Or- Ambassador al-Attiyah said tion as cutting ties rather than a related to terrorism, and instead up with his doctors in Bahrain had been living in Doha for many ganisation (ICAO) in that regard. that the countries also issued a siege. He added that Saudi Arabia calls for a constructive dialogue due to the ongoing blockade. Arrayah also reported that a years and was married to a Qa- The ambassador also said that terrorist list of individuals and was willing to provide Qatar with related to the security of the GCC. In fact, there are fears that his team of three Kuwaiti veteri- tari woman. He said he had been the blockading countries also is- organisations linking them to food products. The ambassador The envoy said that he sensed condition may deteriorate if he narians recently arrived in Qa- requested by his government to sued a strange decision to punish Qatar, even though that is the noted that the problem was not a positive stand from the Russian does not get timely treatment tar volunteering to provide as- return to Saudi or face a fi ne of anyone who shows compassion role of the United Nations and with the lack of food products, leadership and society towards there, the daily says. sistance to their Qatari friends QR10,000 and a three-year travel with the State of Qatar, even if it the Security Council. He noted but with the impact the siege had Qatar. He noted that the Russian To make matters worse, he was in handling the camels ‘deport- ban, the daily said. is on social media. Such punish- that the list was fi lled with mis- on the lives of many families. people are known to always side studying at a university in Saudi ed’ from Saudi Arabia. Qatari student Saad al-Su- ment could mean jail time and takes and contradictions. Qatar He noted that State of Qatar with those suff ering from injus- Arabia and was forced to put his The veterinarians hurried laiti said he has been studying bail. He added that this move Charity, for example, one of the responded to those remarks by tice. They also understand that academic pursuits on hold due to offer help when they learnt law for four years in the UAE was a clear violation of freedom organisations listed, co-operates highlighting that it doesn’t need such crises were an obstacle to to the blockade. He submitted a about the challenging circum- and this year he is preparing for of expression in countries that with the UN and is known glo- aid. The statement said that lift- fi ghting terrorism and to resolv- complaint to the NHRC listing stances created by the ‘depor- his graduation exams, but can- value freedom and respect hu- bally for its humanitarian aid ef- ing the siege is what is required, ing confl icts in countries such as these grievances. tation’ of camels and other not travel there because of the man rights. He added that these forts. Some of the persons named given that there was no basis for Libya, Syria, and Yemen. The report notes that the rel- animals. In an earlier report, blockade. ‘Dialogue the only way to resolve Gulf crisis’

QNA the tutelage of anyone, pointing out been suspended, he said adding region or the world, that has eco- false accusations in this regard,” he Rome that this is a deliberate step that vi- that there are people who have been nomic relations with Iran. added. olates international laws, especially forced to leave their places of resi- With regard to the false accu- The ambassador expressed his international humanitarian laws. dence and their jobs. sations about Qatar’s support for appreciation for all eff orts aimed atar’s ambassador to Italy He explained that the only possi- The envoy added that Qatar has terrorism, ambassador al-Malki at resolving the crisis, especially by Abdulaziz bin Ahmed al- ble solution to the crisis is engaging communicated with the Interna- stressed that Qatar moves in the re- the State of Kuwait. Ambassador al- QMalki said that the current in dialogue, without involving the tional Civil Aviation Organisation gional and international sphere un- Malki stressed that Italy has never situation in Qatar is a real siege. citizens in this issue, which can be (ICAO) to cancel the decision of der the umbrella of the United Na- stopped dialogue with the State of “The State of Qatar is fully con- resolved between the GCC coun- closing the air spaces of some Gulf tions and is offi cially dealing with Qatar. “The important activities vinced that dialogue is the only way tries. countries because it violates inter- legitimate governments recognised that we undertake have not been to put an end to the current Gulf He added that Qatar is the vic- national laws and conventions. On by the United Nations and not with stopped or postponed. crisis,” he said. In an interview with tim of serious attacks such as the the reasons and tendentious ru- persons or groups. These days in particular, joint La Stampa newspaper, the ambas- unilateral decision of cutting off mours about this crisis, he said that “The State of Qatar has an- projects between the two countries sador stressed that Qatar does not diplomatic relations and closing Iran is geographically close to Qatar nounced that it has co-operated will be identifi ed and the imple- accept deliberate and external in- the airspace as well as sea and land and is linked by bilateral economic continuously with the international mentation of the bilateral agree- terference in the aff airs related to borders. Many families have been interests, which are the same in- institutions to combat terrorism ments that began in previous years, its sovereignty and does not accept separated and many students have terests of any other country in the and it refuse to put its name on is being followed up, “ he said. Qatari envoy to Italy Abdulaziz bin Ahmed al-Malki.

A nation united

The outpouring of love and support continues for Qatar and its leadership through images, banners, posters etc, as is evident from this picture of a lane in Souq Waqif, Doha. PICTURE: Shaji Kayamkulam