BUSINESS | Page 1 SPORT | Page 1 Qatar win thrilling penalty INDEX DOW JONES QE NYMEX QATAR 2-11, 28 COMMENT 26, 27 shootout REGION 12 BUSINESS 1-7, 12-16 QFC aims to triple FDI 23,555.17 7,856.24 57.79 ARAB WORLD 12 CLASSIFIED 8-11 -2.06 -74.54 +0.59 INTERNATIONAL 13-25 SPORTS 1-8 fl ows to over QR200bn to qualify -0.01% -0.94% +1.03% Latest Figures published in QATAR since 1978

THURSDAY Vol. XXXVIII No. 10632 November 9, 2017 Safar 20, 1439 AH

GULF TIMES www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals Emir meets Iraqi foreign minister UN clears In brief

QATAR | Offi cial Emir sends cables of Qatar in condolences to Saudi His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, His Highness the Deputy Emir Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad al-Thani and HE the Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin expatriate Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani sent cables of condolences to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud of Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Defence Prince Mohamed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, Prince workers’ Muqrin bin Abdulaziz al-Saud on the death of Prince Mansour bin Muqrin bin Abdulaziz al-Saud and off icials who died in a tragic accident, praying to Allah Almighty to bestow his mercy upon them and rest their souls in His Paradise and to give patience and solace to their inquiry families.

QATAR | Religion zILO, ITUC welcome Doha’s commitment Emir to perform to bolster worker rights Istisqa prayer His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Agencies They included a sweeping new pro- Hamad al-Thani called yesterday for the Geneva/Doha gramme to upgrade workers’ housing performance of Istisqa (rain-seeking) by creating modern accommodations , prayer today. The prayer is performed His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani met at the Emiri Diwan yesterday with Iraqi Foreign Minister Dr Ibrahim increased healthcare facilities with the in line with the Sunnah of Prophet al-Jaafari and his accompanying delegation. The meeting reviewed the bilateral relations and ways to boost them. The Emir he UN’s labour agency yesterday construction of three modern hospitals Muhammad (peace be upon him) when confirmed Qatar’s keenness on the unity of Iraq. The meeting also discussed a number of topics of interest to both countries, closed a probe into the alleged and four new health centres , a new la- rainfall is lacking. The Emir will perform especially the developments of the region. Tmistreatment of foreign workers bour contract system and a Wage Pro- Istisqa prayer at Al Wajbah prayer area in Qatar, praising a reform plan agreed tection System. along with citizens. by the country. “Qatar’s 2030 vision recognised the Activists and leading international need to improve the living and working QATAR | Conference labour unions had accused Qatar of conditions of its migrant labour force mistreating its expatriate workers well before contractors broke ground Focus on policing and on jobs that included infrastructure on World Cup sites,” the GCO state- security at sport events FM blames siege nations projects for FIFA’s top tournament. ment added. A host of papers were presented by The International Labour Organi- The International Trade Union Con- policing and security experts, based on sation (ILO) had opened in 2014 an federation (ITUC), which co-authored their real experiences, on the second inquiry into whether Qatar had vio- the 2014 complaint to the ILO, also day of the 1st Major Event Safety and lated its obligations under conventions backed yesterday’s decision. Security Conference yesterday. Former for undermining GCC aimed at preventing forced labour. “Qatar has set a new standard for the head of the Safety and Security of Euro Qatar has since agreed to changes Gulf states, and this must be followed 2016, Ziad Khoury, focused mainly on that include the introduction of a min- by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab planning delivery of safety and security QNA imum wage, contracts being lodged Emirates where millions of migrant and precautions to be taken in advance Doha with the government so they cannot workers are trapped in modern slavery,” for a major sport event. Page 2 be changed on arrival in Qatar, and ITUC general secretary Sharan Burrow employers no longer being able to stop said in a statement. QATAR | GCC crisis E the Foreign Minister Sheikh staff from leaving the country. In February 2015, Qatar introduced Conspiracy against Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al- “The transformation of this com- a Wage Protection System designed to HThani blamed the siege coun- plaint into a real commitment by the ensure workers receive their salaries Qatar: al-Muraikhi tries for the dissolution of the GCC as a government of Qatar to make positive electronically, either fortnightly or HE the Minister of State for Foreign Aff airs collective security system. change on the ground for all workers is monthly. Sultan bin Saad al-Muraikhi yesterday In a joint press conference held in a very encouraging development,” Luc And in December it announced the said that the GCC crisis showed there Doha yesterday with his Iraqi counter- Cortebeeck, chairman of the ILO gov- end of the “kafala” system, under was a conspiracy against the modern part Ibrahim al-Jaafari, the foreign min- erning body, said in a statement. which all foreign workers needed a lo- state model Qatar is following and ister said the siege countries refuse to “Around 2mn workers in all kinds of cal sponsor in order to work, main- worked for since the 1990s. He stressed start a dialogue after it failed in proving sectors will now enjoy better protec- tain residency, switch jobs or leave the that Qatari diplomacy is dealing with an its accusations against Qatar. HE the Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani and his Iraqi tion, including a dispute settlement country. unprecedented crisis in the history of the The siege countries continue their counterpart Ibrahim al-Jaafari addressing a joint press conference in Doha yesterday. system, also accessible for the domes- The ILO’s stamp of approval marks a GCC and the region. Page 10 unfair and illegal actions aff ecting the tic workers,” Cortebeeck told reporters. victory for Qatar, analysts said. system of the GCC and Qatar holds ses have been impacted with this crisis prudent approach that relies on dialogue Qatar welcomed the decision and Qatar’s Labour Minister HE Issa BRITAIN | Politics them responsible for the dissolution of which put the siege countries in trouble to settle the crisis, but to bypass Qatar called it “an acknowledgement of the Saad al-Jafali al-Nuaimi told the ILO the GCC as a collective security system. with international diplomacy due to by minimising it, ignoring it by media, important steps the government has forum yesterday the government was Aid minister Patel quits He revealed that the siege countries’ their stubborn behaviour, refusal for di- using hidden and twisted ways and not taken to develop a modern labour sys- working to achieve decent work condi- over Israeli meetings attempts to undermine the Gulf crisis alogue and their commitment to politi- working on solving it is ineff ective. tem and said it was “grateful” to the tions for domestic and migrant workers British aid minister Priti Patel was forced has failed. cal extremism and escalatory language He added that Qatar is overcoming migrant workers building the country’s and had established committees on la- from off ice yesterday over undisclosed The failure refl ected the siege coun- which they continue to adopt. the crisis but is not overcoming the vio- infrastructure. bour disputes. meetings with Israeli off icials after tries’ inability to see the serious reper- He said Qatar adopts a language of lations against the Qatari people, saying Qatar’s Government Communica- “Qatar will remain mindful (about) Prime Minister Theresa May sought cussions that are beginning to surface, reason and calls on all to resort to dia- if their people are not of importance to tions Offi ce (GCO) said in a statement: guaranteeing all rights of workers,” he to reassert her diminished authority he added. logue and to prove that their fears are them, the Qatari people are of great im- “The government will continue im- said, adding Doha was committed to a as she negotiates Brexit. Patel, a Brexit This was especially clear given the based on solid foundation, confi rming portance to their government. proving their living and working con- three-year programme of technical co- campaigner who is popular in the ruling major developments in the region which their failure to invest political money to On the latest Bahraini statements, HE ditions in the years ahead, as Qatar operation with the ILO. Conservative Party, had to abandon a showed the crisis led to a lack of collec- demonise Qatar. the foreign minister said they are inef- pursues our goal of setting the highest The ILO said in a statement the tech- trip to Africa earlier yesterday after being tive security for the Gulf states. The foreign minister said Qatar hopes fective because Bahrain’s decisions were standard for worker’s rights and human nical co-operation would “support the summoned by May to answer questions The foreign minister said the inter- that wisdom will prevail and that the not made by it as everyone knows and rights in the region.” implementation of numerous measures on more unsanctioned meetings that national eff orts to fi ght terrorism and siege countries will overcome their ag- it joined the siege despite not being in- The GCO listed an array of steps tak- adopted by the Government of Qatar”. breached diplomatic protocol. Page 16 its endeavours to settle the region’s cri- gressive behaviour and move towards a volved in the matter. To Page 11 en by Qatar to better workers’ rights. Page 11 Cabinet nod for draft law on setting up tourism council he Cabinet has approved a draft seek to “achieve the best conditions to achieve its objectives, including the In September this year, it was an- historical or natural features, and its ganising offi ces, as well as the promo- law on establishing the National for the implementation of the national “adoption and review of the national nounced that the National Tourism co-ordinates shall be determined by a tion of festivals and tourist events. TTourism Council, which is ex- strategy for tourism and its subsidi- strategy for tourism, preparation for Council would soon replace Qatar decision of the Council of Ministers,” After HE the Prime Minister Sheikh pected to provide a further boost to ary programmes, in order to promote and follow-up on the implementation Tourism Authority (QTA) as part of according to QNA. Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al- Qatar’s tourism sector through a mul- comprehensive development plans of the projects and programmes that Qatar’s eff orts to restructure the sec- Besides, any area issued as a tour- Thani chaired the Cabinet meeting ti-pronged approach. for the tourism sector and organise are part of the strategy, as well as the tor. ist area by a decision of the Council of at the Emiri Diwan yesterday, HE the The weekly meeting of the Cabinet and promote them internally and ex- approval of the State’s development, The council will guide the overall Ministers, based on a proposal by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister yesterday also gave its nod to a draft ternally”, QNA explained, noting that economic and infrastructure plans development of the sector, monitor chairman of the Board of Directors of of State for Cabinet Aff airs Ahmed bin law on tourism regulation in the coun- the council will aim to “improve the and programmes that are related to the tourism sector performance and en- the National Tourism Council, is also Abdullah bin Zaid al-Mahmoud said try, the offi cial Qatar News Agency tourism experience in the country and strategy and following up on its imple- sure cross-sector collaboration and defi ned as a tourist area. the Cabinet yesterday also approved (QNA) reported. show the civilisational, cultural, artis- mentation in accordance with Qatar focus, QTA had said. The draft law includes provisions a draft law on organising business The National Tourism Council is to tic and touristic features of the State”. National Vision 2030”. Meanwhile, the draft law on tour- concerning the licensing and classifi - events. be constituted under the chairman- Under the draft law, the National The Council will also adopt the general ism regulation defi nes a tourist area as cation of hotel and tourist establish- The draft legislation defi nes busi- ship of HE the Prime Minister, the Tourism Council shall exercise all nec- policy of the State regarding tourism and “any area in the territory of the coun- ments, as well as tourism activities, ness events as exhibitions or confer- draft law stipulates. The council will essary powers and terms of reference supervise all aspects of tourist activity. try that has attractive, archaeological, festivals, tourism events and their or- ences. To Page 11 Gulf Times 2 Thursday, November 9, 2017 QATAR

PM meets dignitaries

HE the Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani held separate meetings with the Minister of Foreign Aff airs of Iraq, Dr Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Minister of Interior of Pakistan, Ahsan Iqbal and Minister of Internal Aff airs of Belarus, Igor Shunevich, on the sidelines of the first Major Event Safety and Security Conference, in Doha, yesterday. Ways to strengthen bilateral relations and co-operation between Qatar and the three countries were discussed. Experts highlight policing, ‘Meeting refl ects Qatar’s commitment to combat threat posed by terrorism’ security at major sport events QNA He praised Qatar’s develop- tive propaganda against Islam Doha ment in recent years, which he and Muslims “by showing the said was the result of the im- hospitality and sports loving host of papers were pre- concerns at a session on “Miti- pressive vision of His Highness traditions in our society so that sented by policing and gating security threats during he First Major Event the Father Emir Sheikh Hamad we can have a positive image of Asecurity experts, based major events”. Safety and Security Con- bin Khalifa al-Thani, adding that Muslims in the world”. on their real experiences, on Later, Q-Cert head and Qatari Tference refl ects Qatar’s the accomplishments made un- On bilateral co-operation, he the second day of the 1st Major engineer Dana Yousef al-Abdul- commitment to combating ter- der the leadership of His High- said that they were at a high level Event Safety and Security Con- la spoke on the cyber response rorism in all its forms and the ness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin already, and expressed his coun- ference yesterday. team’s preparations for the 2022 threat it poses to major interna- Hamad al-Thani were a con- try’s commitment to enhancing Former head of the Safety FIFA World Cup. tional events, Pakistan’s Min- tinuation of the eff orts to build a them further by sharing exper- and Security of Euro 2016, Ziad Qatar Infrastructure Devel- ister of Interior Ahsan Iqbal has modern state. tise in the security and manage- Khoury, focused mainly on plan- opment CEO Dr Fahad al-Jaber said. He also expressed his con- ment of international events. ning delivery of safety and secu- highlighted the “Necessity of Speaking exclusively to Qatar fi dence that Qatar will host a He also praised the Pakistani rity and precautions to be taken Deputy Director of the Security Member of the Supreme protecting cyber infrastructure News Agency (QNA), Ahsan Iqbal special 2022 World Cup, which community members in Qatar, in advance for a major sport Committee of the Supreme Committee of the Delivery and during major events and critical said that the event clearly showed will refl ect well on the region saying they contributed to the event, especially when threats of Committee for Delivery and Legacy’s Security Committee and infrastructure resilience”. the very strong commitment of as a whole. He added that the development of the country over diff erent natures are in place for Legacy Major Ali Mohamed al- Head of the Consultancy Unit Detailed discussions on some Qatar to combat terrorism. event will help counter the nega- the past decade. a host country. Ali speaking at one of the Brigadier Ibrahim al-Mohannadi of the major terrorist attacks Head of Sports Conventions sessions yesterday. speaking at the conference. across the world and the secu- ‘Proof of global confidence in Qatar’ unit at the Council of Europe rity responses were held later Sergey Khrychikov explained Chief Superintendent Cuneyt of Brazil Valdecy Junior Ur- in another session featuring The First Major Event Safety and Security Conference, hosted by Doha, the safety, security and serv- Unal recalled the fatal attacks on quiza, Australian Federal Police Major General (Retired) Arthur is proof of global confidence in Qatar, General Director of Project Stadia ices provided during some of the December 2016 at Bisitkas Sta- Superintendent David Berston, Denaro of the UK Armed Forces; at Interpol, Captain Falah al-Dosari has said. high voltage football matches dium in Istanbul and how it was the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Luis Elias, security adviser to Speaking exclusively to Qatar News Agency (QNA), al-Dosari said held in Europe in recent years dealt with by authorities. Chile- Russia Safety and Security head the Prime Minister of Portu- what the conference is a global platform that confirms the partnership and how their body could assist an Police offi cial Eduardo Cerno Alexander Protasov, and French gal; and Kevin Catalina, deputy between the Interpol and Qatar. their organisers in managing and Lozano spoke on the security Ministry of Interior Counter chief and Commanding Offi cer What makes the conference important is the participation of more than thwarting security threats. arrangements made during the Terrorism Unit’s International the Intelligence Operations of 70 countries and over 440 individuals, which is proof of the world’s and Head of Security Department Copa America 2015. Aff airs head Jean Pascal Mari- the New York Police Depart- Capt. Falah al-Dosari addressing Interpol’s confidence in Qatar – that it is a safe country. Al-Dosari added -TNP of Turkey and Ist Degree Federal Police Commissioner ani spoke on an array of security ment. the gathering. that this indicates that Qatar shall host the best World Cup in history. Gulf Times Thursday, November 9, 2017 3 QATAR

Pakistan’s interior minister in Doha meeting

HE the Minister of Development Planning and Statistics Saleh Mohamed Salem al-Nabit holding talks with the Minister of Interior of Pakistan Ahsan Iqbal and his accompanying delegation. They discussed topics of common interest.

Cabinet nod for Emiri draft decision on health ministry organisational structure

QNA determining fees for services per- of exchange of investigations related Doha formed by the Ministry of Economy to money-laundering and the fi nanc- and Commerce. ing of terrorism, between the Financial In addition, the Cabinet approved Information Unit of Qatar and the Fi- he weekly Cabinet meeting, a draft decision by HE the Minister of nancial Information Processing Unit of presided over by HE the Prime Economy and Commerce amending Morocco was also approved. TMinister Sheikh Abdullah bin some provisions of Resolution No 410 Meanwhile, the Cabinet took the Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani, approved of 2014 determining fees for services of necessary measures to ratify a memo- the Emiri draft decision on the organi- the protection of intellectual property randum of understanding between Qa- sational structure of the Ministry of rights. tar Tourism Authority and the Nation- Public Health. Additionally, the Cabinet approved al Tourism Administration of China on The Ministry of Public Health has draft air services agreement between facilitating the arrival of Chinese tour- prepared the Emiri draft decision with a the governments of Qatar and Bolivia. ist groups to Qatar. view to implementing the strategic plan The Cabinet also approved a draft Moreover, the Cabinet reviewed the in the health sector in accordance with memorandum of understanding be- study on regulations of marine fi shing the new requirements and the tasks to tween the Ministry of Foreign Aff airs ports. be achieved. The draft decision has in- of Qatar and Ukraine on co-operation The Cabinet also reviewed the study troduced new administrative units in the between the Diplomatic Institute at prepared by the Ministry of Adminis- ministry’s organisational structure. the Ministry of Foreign Aff airs of Qa- trative Development, Labour and So- The Cabinet also approved a draft tar and the Diplomatic Academy at the cial Aff airs on the Qatari families who decision by HE the Minister of Econ- Ministry of Foreign Aff airs of Ukraine. engage in commercial activities at omy and Commerce amending some A draft memorandum of under- homes. The cabinet took the appropri- provisions of Resolution No 47 of 2005 standing for co-operation in the fi eld ate decisions in this regard. Gulf Times 4 Thursday, November 9, 2017 QATAR Rota announces youth training programme

each Out To Asia (Rota), a Co-ordination of Humanitar- Challenges and Opportunities. programme of Education ian Aff airs, Gulf Liaison Offi ce; Al-Mannai, said: “Following RAbove All (EAA) founda- Khalid Khalifa, GCC regional on from the World Humanitarian tion, has announced its Mena representative UNHCR; Dr Sul- Summit in Istanbul last year, and Youth Capacity Building in tan Barakat, director, Centre the resulting Doha Youth Decla- Humanitarian Action (Mycha) for Confl ict and Humanitarian ration, Mycha is part of a wider training, taking place in Doha Studies at the Doha Institute for commitment to ensure youth from November 11-13. Graduate Studies and Issa Mo- are able to play an equal role as Mycha will provide young hmed al- Ishaq, director of com- policymakers in addressing hu- people, aged 18 – 30, with the munications, Qatar Red Cres- manitarian challenges across the knowledge and skills to plan cent Society, took part. region.” and execute small-scale social During the conference, youth “Youth are the leaders of the The off icials at the press conference yesterday. and community development from across the region will at- future and possess unique ca- projects in crisis-aff ected con- tend a number of workshops on pacities in humanitarian prepar- ture,” al-Mannai added. Human Appeal, Qatar Red Cres- address on the opening day of forts to equip youth with the skills texts. core humanitarian principles edness, response and recovery. Mycha will be organised in cent, Doha Institute, United Na- Mycha. It will be followed by an to play a central role in humani- The details of the programme including Humanitarian Land- Thus, it’s imperative that we partnership with the United Na- tions Envoy on Youth, and United opening panel discussion enti- tarian action across the region. were announced at a press con- scape and Stakeholders, Ac- continuously work to provide a tions Offi ce for the Co-ordination Muslims Relief. tled ‘The Role of Youth in Trans- The results-driven initiative will ference yesterday in which Essa countability and Quality, Project platform for youth to make their of Humanitarian Aff airs, United Tareq al-Ansari, international forming Humanitarian Action: see participants go on to imple- al-Mannai,executive direc- Design and Project Cycle, Con- voices heard and assume ac- Nations High Commissioner for collaboration department man- How Can Stakeholders Support ment their learnings into specifi c tor, Rota; Saeed Hersi, head of ducting Needs Assessment, De- tive roles in shaping the world Refugees, Inter-Agency Network ager, Ministry of Foreign Aff airs Youth Capacity?’ youth-led projects in their home United Nations Offi ce for the fi ning Activities and Goals, and around them for a brighter fu- for Education in Emergencies, in Qatar, will deliver the welcome Mycha is aligned with Rota’s ef- countries. Rota expands activities to North Africa, Philippines

By Joseph Varghese will start the activities within part of Asia. We are really excited of the EAA projects. We have are open to any such opportuni- event hereafter. We are commit- Staff reporter a few months,” Essa al-Mannai, to go there. four volunteer trips every year. ties.” ted for the conference for three executive Officer, Rota told The programme in Sudan will We will be more than happy As for the upcoming Mena years and will nurture it. There- Gulf Times recently. have three components which to take our work to any of the Youth Capacity Building in after, it will be held in other each Out To Asia, (Rota) “We have partnered with Plan are: building schools, building countries operated by Educate Humanitarian Action (Mycha) countries in the region,” said al- a member of Education International a renowned, inde- dormitories and building voca- A Child or Al Fakhoora, pro- conference taking place next Mannai. RAbove All (EAA) Founda- pendent development and hu- tional training centres,” said al- grammes of EAA,” noted al- week in Doha, al-Mannai, said Rota focuses on youth engage- tion, will expand its activities manitarian organisation which Mannai. Mannai. that it aims to empower the ment, volunteering and commu- to North Africa and the Philip- works in 71 countries. Sudan is The official also noted that He said, “We will be happy youth and provide them train- nity service and is the leading pines, a top offi cial has revealed. the farthest we are going and Rota is in conversation to ex- to provide all the support for ing and opportunities. Mycha non-governmental organisation “We are expanding our ac- this is part of an initiative we had pand the services to other our partners. Our current pro- is organised and hosted by Rota in Qatar over the last 10 years. It tivities to Sudan and the announced earlier as Reach Out countries where EAA partners grammes will continue to benefi t and a number of countries from is part of EAA which has several Philippines, with some pro- to Arabia. Tunisia is also part are working. “At present we are several countries. Our volunteer the Mena region are participat- leading organisations such as grammes lined up as part of the of this initiative,” explained al- going ahead with all the current trips are a learning experience. ing in it. Educate a Child, Al Fakhoora and last Gala Dinner projects. We Mannai. projects. Once they are com- Moreover, it has to be safe and “This is the fi rst conference Protecting Education in Insecu- will announce the dates and “As for the Philippines, it is pleted, we will start with some has to be logically suitable. We and Mycha will be an annual rity and Confl ict. Essa al-Mannai

Gulf Times 6 Thursday, November 9, 2017 QATAR Qatar ‘ready to join Council of Europe’s Sports Conventions’

atar is the fi rst country from the es accumulated in diff erent parts of the Middle East to express its will- world, including in Europe, South Af- Qingness to join the Council of rica, America, Australia and where ever Europe’s Sports Conventions. sport events are taking place and where This was revealed by the Council of there are challenges posed to security Europe’s Sports Conventions Division and safety of those events.” A performance in progress on the opening night of the festival. head Sergey Khrychikov while address- The offi cial said it was also important ing a session on ‘Responding to Evolving that the conference brought diff erent Threat Environment’ at the 1st Major perspectives together and was allowing Event Safety and Security Conference people from diff erent regions to learn yesterday. from each of us who was present here. Later while speaking to journalists, “So I think this conference is very good Katara European he expressed the hope that becoming a and extremely useful, not only to Qa- party to the Convention would be ex- tar, but also for participants who learnt tremely benefi cial to Qatar. from each of us and they can go back “First of all, it opens the possibility and use these experiences in their home to work with best experience existing in Sergey Khrychikov countries. Jazz Festival starts the world these days as far as safety and The Council of Europe offi cial is security of sport venues are concerned. understand the standards which fans heading a division in the forum which It would also help the country frame are receiving in their home countries is responsible for the sport conventions atara – the Cultural Village Foundation, in co- man band Favo and a Bulgarian jazz show by the Hilda appropriate policies and mechanisms and how they should be treated here. for all the international legal treaties operation with 11 European embassies in Qatar, Kazasyan Band yesterday. while preparing for the 2022 FIFA World Besides it is also important for Qatar having a binding on the Council. Basi- Kyesterday inaugurated the fourth edition of the Today, audiences will have a date with the Italian Cup,” he observed. to develop co-operation with the coun- cally, there are three main conventions, Katara European Jazz Festival behind Building 5. The band, Filomena Campus Quartet, at 7pm. The band Khrychikov said Europe has suf- tries from where supporters are coming namely the one to integrate safety and festival will continue until November 12. is led by Filomena Campus, an internationally re- fered heavily from football hooliganism. in order to make certain that the World security in football matches, and the The countries participating in the event are Austria, nowned and award-winning Sardinian jazz vocalist, Though it is not completely a European Cup is secure and supporters are not other on anti-doping which was started Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, lyricist and theatre director. phenomenon, in Europe it has been spoiling the holiday. All fans and others in 1989 and international document in Spain, the Netherlands, Romania and Switzerland. Following the Italian performance, Swiss band Marc most acute. who are arriving to enjoy the Cup should the anti- doping fi eld. “The festival will not only entail musical and ar- Perrenoud Trio is scheduled to play at 8.30pm. Their The offi cial remarked Qatar will re- benefi t from the excellent opportunities There is also a convention on manip- tistic performances, but also include workshops that music includes the best qualities of contemporary ceive a large number of soccer fans from provided by Qatar, added Khrychikov. ulation of sport competitions including will be conducted in co-operation with Qatar Music jazz, as composer and pianist Marc Perrenoud, bassist countries where diff erent practices and “I think the Doha Conference shows the so called match-fi xing convention Academy, with the participation of renowned ar- Marco Muller and drummer Cyril Ragamey have de- traditions are in place. Qatar should not only the commitment of Qatar to be which deals with how to control match- tistes,” Katara general manager Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim veloped their own “band sound” over the years. be prepared to accept those practices a pioneer in the region but also it helps fi xing and avoid manipulation in the re- al-Sulaiti said at the inauguration ceremony. On the same day, visitors can also enjoy some Euro- which supporters are used to and should the country to learn from all experienc- sults of competition. “The festival is an opportunity for those interested pean tones from Portugal, by the Lokomotiv band, at to live a one-of-a-kind experience jazz experience 9.30pm. The band aims to explore the fusion between while discovering the various patterns and genres Portuguese traditional rhythms and improvised mu- found in the fi eld,” he added. sic as well as rock elements, African and oriental fl a- The festival kicked off with performances by Ger- vours.

Dignitaries and off icials attending the fourth Katara European Jazz Festival yesterday.

Qatar Airways and all that jazz

atar Airways has fi ve-day festival, which is Year’ by travellers from Airline Lounge’. announced that taking place thanks to the around the world. It also Qatar Airways operates Qit has fl own in 40 participation of 11 European won a raft of other major a fl eet of 200 aircraft to a musicians from 11 coun- embassies working together awards at this year’s Sky- network of more than 150 tries to take part in the with Qatar Airways, the trax awards ceremony, business and leisure des- fourth annual Katara Eu- statement notes. including ‘Best Airline in tinations across Europe, ropean Jazz Festival. Earlier this year, Qa- the Middle East’, ‘World’s the Middle East, Africa, The Doha-based car- tar Airways was voted Best Business Class’ and Asia Pacifi c, North Amer- rier is the exclusive offi cial Skytrax ‘Airline of the ‘World’s Best First Class ica and South America. airline sponsor of the fes- tival, which is being held at Katara – the Cultural Village in Qatar until No- vember 12. The event is set to at- tract large crowds of dedi- cated jazz fans and music lovers. Musicians from Aus- tria, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Romania, the Netherlands and Swit- zerland have been fl own to Doha by Qatar Airways to participate in the festival, which takes place over fi ve music-fi lled evenings, the airline has said in a press statement. Jazz fans will be able to take in the vibe and watch top acts perform in Build- ing 5, Katara. The artistes will be performing every- thing - from bebop, jazz fusion and swing music to trad and smooth jazz, cool jazz and West Coast jazz. Qatar Airways senior vice-president (Market- ing and Corporate Com- munications) Salam al-Shawa said: “We are delighted to once again support this tremendous- ly popular festival, which attracts musicians and music fans alike. The Ka- tara European Jazz Festival has quickly established itself as a fi rm fi xture on Qatar’s cultural map, and we are pleased to be able to fl y in many of the musi- cians playing over the next fi ve days.” The festival is free to enter and no advance res- ervations are needed. Two to three groups a day are expected to perform from 7pm to 9.30pm during the Gulf Times Thursday, November 9, 2017 7 QATAR

ICGS Samarth off icers and crew bid goodbye to Qatar off Hamad Port. ICGS Samarth leaves Qatar after 4-day visit

ndian Coastguard vessel ICGS Sa- and QCG personnel to ICGS Samarth and dian and Qatar Coast Guard ships was marth which was on a four-day visit by ICGS Samarth’s crew to QENF ships. conducted on Tuesday. Iof Qatar left Hamad Port yesterday In addition, sporting fi xtures be- Apart from carrying out detailed morning. The 105m long ship, berthed tween the host Navy and visiting Indi- planning by the operations teams of at the newly built port, was the second an ship further strengthened the bonds participating ships, professional ex- Indian coastguard ship to visit Qatar of friendship between the two coun- changes and briefi ngs were also under- this year. tries, according to an Indian embassy taken to imbibe the best practices being The commanding offi cer of ICGS Sa- communique. followed by each side. marth, DIG KR Deepak Kumar, called A total of 167 children and 17 teach- The sea phase consisted of various on Qatar Coasts and Border Security ers from various Indian schools in Doha maritime drills and manoeuvres at sea Department director, Brigadier Ali A S also visited the ship, made in India by as well as SAREX (Search and Rescue al-Bedeed, at the Coast Guard Head- Goa Shipyard Limited. Exercise) and Steam Past. quarters. He also met senior Qatari The school children were greeted by The commanding offi cer of ICGS Emiri Naval Forces (QENF) offi cers at a friendly and professional ship’s crew Samarth expressed his gratitude to the the Naval base. thereby making their visit educative Qatar Coast Guard and QENF for mak- Other highlights of the port call in- and enjoyable. ing ICGS Samarth’s visit successful cluded cross deck ship visits by QENF A joint passage exercise between In- and professionally enriching. Gulf Times 8 Thursday, November 9, 2017 QATAR QU students win undergraduate awards

atar University College lish Literature and Linguistics top papers from each region are professionals and leaders who recognised for their creativity of Arts and Sciences senior student Zinnira Shaikh named the Regional Winners. can contribute to fulfilling the and innovative approach within Q(QU-CAS) students received the Highly Commend- CAS dean Dr Rashid al-Ku- national aspirations towards a their discipline can only propel won the Regional Winner and ed Award for her paper titled wari said: “We are proud of our knowledge-based economy.” them to become global thinkers Highly Commended awards at “Guilty until proven innocent students’ achievement. This is and potential change-makers.” the Undergraduate Awards (UA) – Media trials of Muslim terror a testament to CAS’ commit- The UA received 6,472 Sandra Das said: “I am hon- 2017 programme. suspects in India”. ment to provide its students papers for its 2017 oured to bring recognition to Chemistry and Earth Sci- The UA received 6,472 pa- with an optimal learning en- awards programme Qatar University and the Col- ences senior student Sandra pers for its 2017 Programme. vironment that ensures their lege of Arts and Sciences for Das received the Regional Win- The top 10% of papers in each success and with opportunities UA executive director Dr the quality of research and the ner Award for her paper titled of the 25 categories are Highly to excel and develop their po- Brenda Cullen said: “It is an supportive mentorship I had “Endothelial Nitric Oxide Ac- Commended, just one paper tential. immense achievement for un- from the faculty. It is motivat- tivity & Bioavailability during from each category is named “This aligns with QU’s vi- dergraduate students to bench- ing to represent QU in such an Obesity Conditions”, and Eng- the UA Global Winner and the sion to shape a generation of mark their work globally. To be international platform. ” The Qatar University campus. Host of activities planned for Doha Learning Week

he World Innovation parents to promote foot- Summit for Edu- ball as a catalyst for social Tcation (WISE), an change through fun exer- initiative of Qatar Founda- cises and skills building. It tion (QF), will launch Doha is taking place at Katara, Learning Week, Qatar’s fi rst from 2pm–9pm. The next education festival tomor- event tomorrow is a career row. decision-making workshop The week-long festival presented by the Qatar Ca- is a collaboration of vari- reer Development Center ous local partners and cel- (QCDC). Participants, in- ebrates local education ini- cluding parents and stu- tiatives and resources that dents, will use practical are available to all. Doha tools and direct guidance to Learning Week includes a help identify potential aca- series of workshops, movie demic and career paths. screenings, exhibitions, The workshop will be tours, and performances. presented in both English Doha Learning Week and Arabic. QCDC, also an will conclude with the 2017 initiative of QF, provides WISE Summit, which takes consulting and training ses- place from November 14- sions in coaching and ex- 16 at the Qatar National ecutive development. The Convention Centre, under workshop is taking place the theme: ‘Co-Exist, Co- in Katara, Building 15, from Create: Learning to Live and 4pm - 6pm. Work Together’. Teach for Qatar will lead a The week starts with workshop, ‘Teacher, why do ‘Generation Amazing Foot- we have to study math?’ to ball’, an all-day activity improve student and teach- from the Supreme Commit- er engagement with math. tee for Delivery & Legacy. The workshop is taking This is intended to engage place in Katara, Building 15, all ages of students and from 6:30pm - 8:30pm.

Mercedes-Benz S-Class recall

The Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC), in collaboration with Nasser Bin Khaled Automobiles, has announced the recall of Mercedes-Benz S-Class model of 2017 because the software of the ambience light does not correspond to specification and there is a possibility of a defect in the seatbelt of the front passenger. The MEC said the recall campaign comes within the framework of its ongoing eff orts to protect consumers and ensure that car dealers follow up on vehicles’ defects and repair them. The MEC said that it will co-ordinate with the dealer to follow up on the maintenance and repair works and will communicate with customers to ensure that the necessary repairs are carried out. The MEC has urged all customers to report any violations to its Consumer Protection and Anti-Commercial Fraud Department through the following channels: Call centre: 16001, e-mail: [email protected], Twitter: @MEC_Qatar, Instagram: MEC_Qatar, MEC mobile app for Android and IOS: MEC_Qatar

Entries sought for Mumbai Film Fest

he 15th Mumbai In- entries is November 15, ac- ternational Film Fes- cording to a communique Ttival (MIFF) is sched- from the Indian embassy. uled from January to 28 to The documentaries and February 3, 2018, the Indian animation fi lm-makers embassy announced in a from all over the world statement yesterday. have been attending the The MIFF, a fl agship fi lm event in past. The Golden event in India, is a biennial Conch, the prestigious top documentary, short fi ction award of MIFF, amounting and animation fi lm festival to approximately Rs6mn organised by the Films Divi- (QR320,000), recognises sion under the Ministry of the best talent in docu- Information & Broadcast- mentary and animation fi lm ing, Government of India. making. Documentary fi lms, short Swati Pandey, Director, fi ction fi lms (up to 45 min- Films Division (+91-22- utes) and animation fi lms 23524095) could be con- produced between Septem- tacted for inquiries on the ber 1, 2015 and August 31, event. Other details includ- 2017 are eligible for entry ing entry form, rules & reg- in the relevant category. ulation are available on the The last date for submitting www.miff .in.

PHCC relocates to new headquarters in Old Salata

The Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) has announced that eff ective from last Sunday, its headquarters has been shifted to a new building located in Old Salata area, close to the General Directorate of Qatar Museums Authority. By the end of the month, all staff will have been relocated to the new off ices. The commercial building is designed using operational best practices to promote health and productivity in the workplace; this is an extension of the corporation’s eff orts to create an working environment that will boost primary care developments. Huda al-Wahidi, executive director, Corporate Communications Department, PHCC commented, “We are incredibly delighted to move to our place in the new headquarters, a welcoming off ice space for our staff and visitors.” Gulf Times Thursday, November 9, 2017 9 QATAR

SriLankan starts daily Melbourne QNB names winners of service

riLankan Airlines has ex- tended its route network ‘ATM Use & Win’ promo Safter launching daily serv- ices to Melbourne on October 29. he names of 40 winners of redeemed on QNB Life Rewards couraging customers to use QNB Moreover, customers can avail In Qatar, QNB has more than banking facilities through the “The new service would be QNB’s “ATM Use & Win” website (liferewardsholiday. ATMs, which are now being up- of the service at any time of the 400 ATMs, through which cus- biological traits of customers’ of great convenience to all seg- Tcampaign have been an- com). graded with the ATM cheque day and instantly obtain a re- tomers are not only able to with- irises, so that they can authen- ments of travellers, including nounced. The QNB Life Rewards Holi- deposit service – another solu- ceipt. draw and deposit cash, but also ticate themselves without using the large number of Sri Lankans The four-month-long cam- day website is a one-stop shop tion that is introduced in Qatar Deposited cheques are in- print cheque books, pay bills, their banking card or personal domiciled in Australia, the many paign, from June 18 to October for all travel needs. by QNB. stantly scanned and processed print account statements, and identifi cation number. Australians who love to travel 18, attracted a large number of The website off ers goods Helping to save precious time under the normal cheque clear- do fund transfers, among other The launch of these new tech- overseas, and people throughout participants who were encour- and services from more than and avoid hassle, the new serv- ance turnaround. banking operations. nologies is part of QNB’s on- Asia who visit down under,” said aged to perform transactions at 300 airlines, 300,000 hotels, ice allows QNB customers to de- The service is currently avail- Also, a select number of QNB going eff orts and commitment SriLankan Airlines chairman QNB automated teller machines and 300 car rentals worldwide, posit their QNB and non-QNB able at ATMs at QNB branches ATMs are equipped with the Iris to providing creative and inno- Ajith Dias. (ATMs) for a chance to win without hidden fees or blackout cheques without the need to in Bin Omran, The Mall, and Vil- scan technology, which uses the vative fi nancial solutions that Expatriates and students form 40,000 Life Rewards points in dates. visit a bank branch and having to laggio, but will be extended to biometric authentication sys- exceed the expectations of its a large community in Australia the form of a voucher that can be The campaign is aimed at en- wait in queues. other ATMs “in the near future”. tem, allowing secure access to customers. and frequently travel back to their native land. Many reside in Melbourne, and other cities in the state of Victoria and neighbouring New South Wales, with smaller num- Two-year closure of access to Al Hedab Street bers throughout the rest of Aus- tralia and New Zealand. SriLankan Airlines chief ex- he access to Al Hedab Street from Al Gharrafa ecutive Suren Ratwatte said: Street would be closed for two years from to- “We have been extending our Tmorrow in order to construct a new 3km un- route network in a systematic derpass on the Dukhan Highway East project, Ash- manner throughout Asia – from ghal has said. the Middle East to the Far East The diversion will help to construct the new un- – and can now provide Austral- derpass, which will extend from Huwar Street to ian travellers excellent options Sheikh Faisal Roundabout and provide free-fl owing in connectivity, with one-stop movement for road users travelling north from Al journeys to the most popular Rayyan Al Jadeed Street to Al Shamal Road. destinations via Colombo.” The proposed access change is located at the inter- A member of the oneworld section of Al Hedab Street and Al Gharrafa Street and global airline alliance, SriLankan has been designed in co-ordination with the General off ers convenient connections to Directorate of Traffi c. 14 cities throughout India, nine The access change will be in operation until mid- in the Middle East and other 2019. destinations. Motorists who usually use Al Hedab Street to travel SriLankan also operates one- to and from the Gharrafa Family Park or Al Gharrafa stop twice-daily services be- Elementary Girls School areas are advised to use the tween Sri Lanka and Australia intersection of Al Hazm Street and Al Gharrafa Street with its codeshare partners to travel to Al Shamal Road, Thani Bin Jassim Street Qantas and Malaysia Airlines. or Qatar Foundation. The airline has deployed its There will be no reduction in the number of lanes modern Airbus A330 aircraft be- in either direction on Al Gharrafa Street, Al Hazm tween Melbourne and Colombo. Street or Umm Al Zubar Street.

Shahid Farid

Siege of Qatar has polarised region’

he siege of Qatar is not a small matter Tand it has polarised the entire region, fi nancial expert Shahid Farid told Qatar Urdu Radio’s live show Haqeeqat yesterday. “Before the siege on Qa- tar started, the entire GCC region felt like one country, but now the region is polar- ised and thousands of peo- ple are aff ected because of the blockade,” he said. Farid works for the su- pervisory body of the Qa- tar Financial Centre and spoke in great detail about the rules and regulations implemented in Qatar to combat money laundering and fi nancial terrorism as per the Combating Money Laundering and Terror- ism Financing Law No. 4 of 2010. “This is a very detailed law as per which Qatar’s National Anti-Money Laundering and Terror- ism Financing Committee functions,” he said. “The law was drafted strictly as per the international standards and Qatar takes great measures to ensure it is eff ectively implemented in the country.” Haqeeqat, which is aimed at engaging and interacting with the large South Asian expatriate community in Qatar, is a joint venture of the Gulf Times and Qatar Media Corporation Urdu Radio. It is broadcast from Sun- day to Thursday on FM107. Log on to Qatar Urdu Ra- dio on Facebook and @Qa- tarUrduRadio on Twitter for feedback and comments about the show. Gulf Times 10 Thursday, November 9, 2017 QATAR ‘GCC crisis unveiled plot against Qatar’s modern state model’

QNA The minister stressed that the requires a joint international ef- poverty and unemployment,” the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Ha- Rome siege countries put themselves in fort to face terrorist organisa- he added. mad al-Thani after the hacking a confl ict with international laws tions and their extremist beliefs, Al-Muraikhi said Qatar is of Qatar News Agency (QNA). and with the hopes of the GCC in order to maintain security and working in compliance with the “Despite the fact that the Qa- E the Minister of State people for unity, as well of that stability in the world.” strategic plans to update local tari authorities revealed the na- for Foreign Aff airs Sul- of the Arab and Islamic world He added that there was no legislations and adopting open ture of QNA’s website, which is Htan bin Saad al-Muraikhi for co-operation. “They are also choice for governments but to policy and media freedom. “Qa- considered an illegal and unethi- yesterday said that the GCC facing condemnation from the co-operate in terms of security tar is also working on consolidat- cal crime, the media campaign crisis showed there was a con- international public opinion for to counter terrorism eff ectively. ing the concept of accepting oth- managed by the siege countries spiracy against the modern state their actions.” He also pointed out to Qatar’s ers, respecting cultural diversity continued,” he said. model Qatar is following and He said that Qatar was exerting active role in the international and religious variety, providing Regarding the Qatari-Italian worked for since the 1990s. He extraordinary eff orts in counter- coalition that saw it take all the modern education based on hu- relations, the minister said they stressed that Qatari diplomacy is ing terrorism and is an active measures issued by the Security man principles and building a are strategic and Qatar cherishes dealing with an unprecedented member of the international Council in that regard, in addi- knowledge-based society,” he this relation which has a history crisis in the history of the GCC coalition for countering terror- tion to ties regionally and bi- added. of friendship and mutual inter- and the region. ism. “In fact, Qatar is a founding laterally with the US and others The minister added that the ests. “The common commitment He stressed that Qatar wisely member in it. Qatar cannot be around the world. He stressed excuses the siege countries used to this relation is to develop it in insisted that it will not forego its accused of fi nancing terrorism or that Qatar will continue its role are void and are an eff ort to jus- various fi elds.” principles nor its rational sover- supporting it.” in that regard. tify the unjust siege. “The real The minister praised Italy’s eignty but will welcome dialogue He noted that the principles The minister said Qatar has purpose behind the siege is an stance regarding the Gulf crisis, and negotiations. of Qatari foreign policy focus on been actively engaged with the attempt to impose guardian- saying it stood with what’s right HE Sultan bin Saad al-Mu- committing to the UN Charter international community to pro- ship, interfere in Qatar’s foreign from the start and has a clear vision raikhi was speaking at a discus- led by respecting the sovereignty mote the global eff orts to fight policy, undermine its leadership to settle the crisis based on a peace- sion on ‘Qatar’s perspective of of countries and avoiding inter- extremism and terrorism and to and interfere in its internal af- ful solution and the need to hold ne- the GCC crisis’, organised by ference in internal aff airs. “The build world peace. “Qatar has fairs. Qatar and for that matter gotiation talks under the proposed the Italian Institute for Inter- HE the State Minister for Foreign Aff airs Sultan bin Saad al-Muraikhi principles also focus on resolving done this through hosting and any other country that is inde- mediation eff orts and the good of- national Political Studies (ISPI) crises peacefully and working on organising many international pendent and sovereign would not fi ces of Kuwait Emir Sheikh Sabah in co-operation with the Qatari by Kuwait Emir Sheikh Sabah dom of Qatari political leader- maintaining international peace forums and conferences on civi- accept this.” al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah. embassy in Rome on Tuesday. al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah. ship in dealing with the siege and stability and encouraging lisations dialogue, strengthening He said the Gulf crisis started He said Qatar welcomes and He stressed that dialogue is “Qatar has expressed its appre- countries’ provocations and dialogue between civilisations the idea of religious tolerance, with void accusations on Qa- values the support to the Ku- the shortest way to resolving ciation of the ongoing mediation media escalations, all while and peoples. renouncing sectarian or eth- tar’s role in fi ghting terrorism waiti mediation by the European confl icts and crises, adding that eff ort that aims to maintain the maintaining the right to re- He stressed that countering nic discrimination, in addition and building world peace, where Union, African Union, the US, Qatar’s position was clear from greater interests of the GCC and spond to their claims and clari- terrorism is a top priority for Qa- to adopting the developmental the siege countries fabricated a Italy, Germany, Asian countries, the beginning in resolving the its people.” fying the facts behind the false tar and considers it the biggest policies in diff erent countries media campaign based on fake other countries and international crisis through mediations led He praised the calm and wis- accusations. threat to the world today. “This that are in need in order so solve statements from His Highness organisations.

QPM takes part in Doha Airlines form frequent fl yer Qatar Airways conference As part of Qatar Sustainability Week, a delegation from Qatar to launch service Project Management (QPM) participated in the fourth annual programme partnership Future Landscape and Public Realm Conference in Doha to Thessaloniki recently. atar Airways yesterday cial offi cer, Ehab Amin, said: The conference aimed announced the launch “This reciprocal relationship at stimulating and Qof its frequent fl yer pro- between Privilege Club and Fly- atar Airways will encouraging investment gramme partnership with its erBonus is a natural extension launch fl ights to Thes- in green infrastructure and longstanding codeshare partner, of the highly productive rela- Qsaloniki, Greece next providing solutions and Bangkok Airways. Qatar Airways tionship that we have enjoyed year, it was announced yes- opportunities to achieve Privilege Club members can with Bangkok Airways since our terday. The award-winning Qatar Airways flights to green landscapes in urban now earn and redeem Qmiles on codeshare partnership began in airline will operate four week- Thessaloniki in Greece will environment. all fl ights operated by Bangkok May 2013. We are delighted to ly fl ights to the Greek city begin on March 27. The conference witnessed Airways. be able to extend the range of commencing on March 27. case studies and interactive Bangkok Airways FlyerBo- benefi ts available to our Privi- Thessaloniki, the airline’s journey to and from Greece. panel discussions, as well as nus members can also earn lege Club members, through our second destination in Greece, By adding Thessaloniki to our highlighting Qatar’s commitment and redeem FlyerBonus points relationship with this trusted is well-known for its many ar- global network, we are pleased to the sustainable growth of on eligible Qatar Airways partner.” chaeological sites and historic to off er our Greece-based pas- green spaces. fl ights. Both programmes re- Qatar Airways will be also structures, including its well- sengers a gateway to more On the other hand, the event quire members to provide adding many more destinations preserved Byzantine mosaics than 150 destinations world- provided an opportunity for their membership card upon to its network in 2017 and 2018, and walls. The relatively small wide through our hub, Hamad design professionals, city reservation or check-in. including Canberra, Australia; Qatar Airways has launched a frequent flyer programme partnership city is considered an open-air International Airport.” planners, urban designers Bangkok Airways vice presi- St. Petersburg, Russia and Car- with Bangkok Airways. museum of Byzantine history, The new service between and decision makers to meet dent Fleet and Network Man- diff , UK. The national carrier and off ers a truly unique cul- Doha and Thessaloniki will be and discuss innovations, new agement, Jirapon Hirunrat, of Qatar is one of the fastest- fl ights to Chiang Mai and Pattaya Awards, which was held at the tural experience for everyone. operated by an Airbus A320 technologies, major challenges, said: “Enhancing reciprocal growing airlines operating one of on December 12, 2017 and Janu- Paris Air Show. This is the fourth Qatar Airways Group chief aircraft, featuring 12 seats in latest projects and future reward benefi ts for our Flyer- the youngest fl eets in the world. ary 28, 2018, respectively. The time that Qatar Airways has been executive, Akbar al-Baker, Business Class and 132 seats in opportunities. Bonus members will enable us Now celebrating its twentieth airline already serves Thailand given this global recognition. In said: “Greece has always been Economy Class. QPM participated in Qatar to deliver a seamless experi- year of operations, Qatar Air- with multiple daily fl ights from addition to being voted ‘World’s one of our most in-demand Qatar Airways currently Sustainability Week through ence when fl ying domestically ways has a modern fl eet of more Doha to Bangkok and Phuket, Best Airline’ by travellers from destinations, and as such, operates three daily fl ights to an internal awareness and internationally across the than 200 aircraft fl ying to busi- with daily fl ights to Krabi around the world, Qatar’s na- we are delighted to off er our Athens, Greece’s capital and campaign for the company’s combined networks of Bang- ness and leisure destinations commencing December 1. tional carrier also won a raft of passengers a direct service to largest city, and provides more employees to promote the kok Airways and Qatar Airways. across six continents. The award-winning airline other major awards at the cer- Thessaloniki, our second des- than 4,000 seats to Athens importance of sustainability We believe that this partnership To meet increased demand for has received a number of acco- emony, including ‘Best Middle tination in Greece. Our new each week. With the addi- and conservation of natural will bring signifi cant benefi ts to popular Thailand destinations lades this year, including ‘Air- East Airline,’ ‘World’s Best Busi- four-time weekly service to tion of Thessaloniki, this will resources that are of great passengers of both Airlines.” from holiday-makers, Qatar line of the Year’ by the prestig- ness Class’ and ‘World’s Best this enchanting city will en- increase to more than 5,000 value to the environment, it Qatar Airways chief commer- Airways will be launching direct ious 2017 Skytrax World Airline First Class Airline Lounge.’ able us to provide a seamless seats per week. said in a statement. Ooredoo sponsors Doha Bank supports ‘Lifestyle Festival’ at Medina Centrale Heba project of QRCS oha Bank has donated ognised by the International QRCS, which has been working cash to Qatar Red Cres- Federation of the Red Cross and tirelessly to support a number of Ahmed al-Henzab handing over the cheque to Saad Shaheen al-Kaabi oredoo announced Dcent Society (QRCS) to Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in good causes in the Middle East as Hamid Moharrar looks on. yesterday that it is the support its ‘Heba project’, which Geneva. and beyond. We are also proud Ooffi cial sponsor of the provides healthcare for Syrian Al-Henzab highlighted the to take part in the ‘Heba Project’ every year. As a CSR leader, we fi rm belief in the value of partner- ‘Lifestyle Festival’ at Medina and Yemeni residents in Qatar. importance of supporting QRCS by addressing the medical needs remain committed to serving our ship as a catalyst of humanitarian Centrale set to take place this Muraikhi said: “The ‘Lifestyle Ahmed al-Henzab, head of humanitarian activities, par- of Syrian and Yemeni residents, community and addressing the and social work towards the wel- winter. Festival’ at Medina Centrale administration and proper- ticularly initiatives like the Heba who are in dire need of assist- pressing issues of each stake- fare and well-being of vulnerable Set in the Pearl, the ‘Life- is the perfect community ac- ties at Doha Bank, handed over Project, which provides Syrian ance and support. holder and to create a more pros- people around the world.” style Festival’ at Medina Cen- tivity where everyone can go a cheque to Saad Shaheen al- and Yemeni residents medical “Our aid is part of our CSR perous country and a better world He also invited all individual trale will provide an alterna- along to shop, eat, and ex- Kaabi, director of resource mo- care at hospitals of Hamad Med- programme, launched with the for everyone,” al-Henzab said. and institutional donors in Qatar tive destination for families plore the beautiful setting on bilisation department, and Ha- ical Corporation (HMC) in Qatar. aim of making a positive impact Al-Kaabi thanked Doha Bank “to follow suit,” enabling QRCS to and friends, to play, eat, and The Pearl. Ooredoo is proud mid Moharrar, head of corporate “Doha Bank is pleased to assist on the lives of marginalised and offi cials and said: “This refl ects further promote its humanitarian shop. to support family-friendly relations at QRCS, a volunteer and support the noble humani- vulnerable groups by extend- their awareness of the causes and and development mission of sav- Starting from November events and we hope to see you humanitarian organisation rec- tarian eff orts undertaken by ing fi nancial assistance to QRCS needs of society, as well as their ing lives and preserving dignity. and ending on January 2018, all there.” shops, food outlets, entrain- Street entertainment will ment, games, competitions, also be provided during the and more will be available festival, including a jazz band, in a 25,000sqm area every human statues, bubble-blow- weekend. ing artists, glass blowing, and US embassy to hold ‘Open Mic Night’ at Katara on Saturday To ensure a truly magi- more bringing street art to the cal event, each month Me- Medina Centrale. he US embassy in Qatar on from 6-8 pm. The evening dience. Artists and audience Writer’s Programme, a joint Ministry schools have participated. dina Centrale Festival will Aura Lifestyle CEO Char- is calling on spoken word is one of many special events members both benefi t. partnership between the US The event also forms part of change its theme, starting bel Mhanna said: “The Tperformers, musicians, organised for the US embassy’s Prizes will be awarded for the embassy Qatar and the Min- Doha Learning Week, the fl ag- with the ‘global lifestyle’ festival is created to sup- poets and writers of all levels Discover America Festival. best performances of the night. istry of Education and Higher ship education festival of the in November, ‘Qatar Na- port community entertain- and ages to share their work at an Open Mic Night is an oppor- Those who like to participate, Education. The mission of the World Innovation Summit for tional Day’ in December, ment and attract tourism ‘Open Mic Night’ on November tunity for amateur performers, can provide their name at the programme is to encourage Education (WISE) taking place and a ‘Spanish Festival’ in to this unique destination. 11, at Katara, under the theme professionals, and just about door, and will be given a slot for Qatar’s youth to read, write, in Doha, November 10-16. January. We will continue to devel- of ‘Transforming Obstacles into everyone else who wants to ex- performance. and think critically about The Discover America Festival Ooredoo Qatar director of op the festival by creating Opportunities’. press themselves, or try out new The ‘Open Mic Night’ is be- important topics in society. will be on-going until Novem- PR and Corporate Commu- many attractive and creative The event takes place in Katara material and share their work ing organised by the youth Since the programme’s incep- ber 18 with various activities nications Manar Khalifa al- activities for families.” building number 15, Main Hall, with other members of the au- outreach initiative, the Young tion in 2014, students from 122 held across the country. Gulf Times Thursday, November 9, 2017 11 QATAR Qatar welcomes ILO decision Government housing by creating modern ac- insights all of those who have commodations for the nation’s provided their international ex- has taken many migrant labourers. pertise and helped shape Qatar’s measures to “Nine new labour accom- legal and procedural develop- modations that will house more ments. improve rights than 340,000 guest workers are “Qatar will continue to work of workers already nearing completion at closely with them to ensure that sites throughout the country. workers’ rights are not only guar- “Qatar’s government has also anteed but developed in parallel atar has welcomed the an- increased health care facilities with international standards and nouncement by the Inter- with the construction of three best practices. Qnational Labour Organisa- modern hospitals and four new “In light of the ILO complaint, tion (ILO) that it will close its 2014 health centres for the nation’s Qatar developed a comprehensive complaint against the country. migrant workers. programme of technical coopera- “Their announcement is an “In addition, a new labour tion to ensure our reforms aligned acknowledgement of the impor- contract system has been inau- with ILO best practice. In October tant steps our government has gurated, and a Wage Protection of this year Qatar committed to taken to develop a modern labour System put in place to facilitate the next stage of these reforms, system that is fair to employers electronic transfer of workers’ and is developing a timeline for and employees alike,” a state- pay,” it said. their full implementation. ment issued by the Government Detailing other steps taken “Qatar is enormously grateful Communication Offi ce said. to ensure workers’ welfare, the to the millions of workers who “Qatar’s 2030 vision recog- statement said: “The govern- have helped build the country’s nised the need to improve the ment has also engaged with infrastructure and who staff Qa- living and working conditions of NGOs like Amnesty Internation- tar’s service industries. its migrant labour force well be- al, Human Rights Watch and the The government will con- fore contractors broke ground on International Trade Union Con- tinue improving their living and World Cup sites. federation to establish best prac- working conditions in the years “In recent years, Qatar’s Min- tices for labour policies and has ahead, as Qatar pursues our goal istry of Administrative Devel- pledged to implement the high- of setting the highest standard opment, Labour and Social Af- est standards for migrant labour for worker’s rights, and human fairs initiated a sweeping new in the region. rights in the region,” the state- programme to upgrade workers’ “We are appreciative of the ment added.

ILO decision heralds new era for workers’ rights in Qatar

Saudi Arabia and of migrant workers are trapped Commitments made by Qatar BWI general secretary Am- “For the International Trans- in the country for the first time. in modern slavery,” said Labour bet Yuson said: “This agreement port Workers’ Federation (ITF) Migrant workers in submitting the UAE must fol- Reform, General Secretary, In- Dismantling the kafala system; A minimum wage will be pre- with QDVC and VINCI, which this means a sea change for complaints to the national dis- low Doha’s lead: ternational Trade Union Confed- Employment contracts will scribed as a base rate covering all complements and builds on our transport workers, in aviation, putes mechanisms will receive eration (ITUC). The complaint be lodged with a government workers; productive cooperation with the in ports, and in public transport. support along with an exten- Sharan Burrow was lodged by the ITUC in 2014. authority to prevent contract Improvements to the exist- Qatar’s Supreme Committee We look forward to working with sive technical and training pro- “New commitments made by substitution; ing Wage Protection System to on Delivery & Legacy, is a major companies to build protection gramme for officials. Qatar to the ITUC and the ILO Employers will no longer be ensure that wage arrears are step towards the full respect of for workers, with good, sus- “Putting these new guide- he International Labour will normalise industrial rela- able to stop their employees systematically settled; workers’ rights in Qatar. We look tainable jobs, recognising in- lines into practice will be done Organisation’s (ILO) deci- tions in the country and have from leaving the country and the Workers’ committees will be forward to working with both ternational standards and best with the support of a signed Tsion to close the complaint opened the way for international contentious issue of workers’ established in each workplace, parties in our ongoing eff orts to practice,” said Stephen Cotton, technical agreement, an ILO of- against Qatar, following the gov- businesses operating in Qatar rights to change employers will with workers electing their own improve the working and living General Secretary of the Inter- fice, the ITUC, and agreements ernment’s commitments to dis- to sign agreements on workers’ be cleared up; representatives; conditions of migrant construc- national Transport Workers’ between global union federa- mantle the kafala system , signals rights and decent work with glo- Identification papers will be A special disputes resolution tion workers in Qatar. As the Federation ITF. tions and companies. Govern- a new era for workers’ rights in bal union federations,” said Sha- issued directly by the State of committee with a timeframe for text of the agreement indicates, A new technical co-opera- ment, unions and companies the country. ran Burrow. Qatar; dealing with grievances. it is ‘founded on the shared be- tion programme between the working together opens a new “Qatar has set a new stand- Building and Wood Workers’ lief that all construction workers ILO and Qatar will support the era for employment rights in ard for the Gulf States, and this International (BWI) will sign a should be treated with dignity, transition to a modern indus- Qatar, with workers’ lives and must be followed by Saudi Ara- union agreement with French tion company VINCI and its joint of the month, covering all their and live and work in decent and trial relations system, with the livelihoods being protected,” bia and the UAE where millions based multinational construc- venture partner QDVC at the end workers in Qatar. safe conditions.” UN body establishing an office said Burrow.

Nod for draft law on setting up QM to celebrate traditions from tourism council FM blames siege nations around the world at MIA Park From Page 1 The draft law includes provi- sions concerning the licensing for undermining GCC atar Museums’ (QM), and classifi cation of hotel and under the leadership of tourist establishments, as well Qchairperson HE Sheikha as tourism activities, festivals, From Page 1 hope that the dialogue includes countries in the region led by Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin tourism events and their organ- With regards to reopening all the Iraqi parties including Qatar. Khalifa al-Thani, is getting ising offi ces, as well as the pro- the Qatari embassy in Iraq, the the people of Kurdistan and Al Jaafari said that Iraqi-Ira- ready to host a colourful event motion of festivals and tourist foreign minister said there is a that these eff orts succeed so nian ties are based on joint in- this weekend to celebrate tradi- events. clear directive from His High- Iraq can be as before. terest and were not established tions and cultures from all over After HE the Prime Minister ness the Emir Sheikh Tamim For his part, Iraqi foreign at the expense of other coun- the world at the MIA Park. Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin bin Hamad al-Thani to urgently minister al-Jaafari said that his tries. International schools and Khalifa al-Thani chaired the reopen and assign an ambassa- country does not support iso- He also said that the ties fo- communities have been invit- Cabinet meeting at the Emiri dor in Iraq for the Qatar-Iraqi lating or besieging any country, cus on facing joint threats such ed to take part in this festival, Diwan yesterday, HE the Dep- relations to have a fresh start. stressing that dialogue was in- as ISIS terrorism. which celebrates the rich and uty Prime Minister and Minis- He confi rmed Qatar’s support dispensable. The minister of foreign aff airs varied heritage of people resid- ter of State for Cabinet Aff airs to Iraq’s fi ght against terrorism He added that dialogue is the called on putting aside regional ing in Qatar. Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid and encourages it to continue its only way to move the region diff erences to face that threat. Countries represented by ei- al-Mahmoud said the Cabinet post-liberation eff orts, express- from isolation to unity. He stressed that Iraq is al- ther the country’s Embassies, yesterday also approved a draft ing Qatar’s commitment to ef- He added that his country ways looking to put its ties to community groups, or schools, law on organising business fectively participation in the re- called for maintaining broth- benefi cial use for its brothers. include Jordan, Egypt, Syria, events. building operation. erly relations ever since the He said that Iraq is concerned Lebanon, Tunisia, Palestine, The draft legislation defi nes The foreign minister also outbreak of the GCC crisis, as with bringing the GCC and Iran Morocco, Bangladesh, Philip- business events as exhibitions praised the victories achieved Iraq rejects the presence of such closer. pines, India, China, Tanzania, MIA Park is getting ready to host a colourful event this weekend. or conferences. “It also defi nes in facing ISIS and liberating the sensitivities between brothers. On the role of Iraq in me- the US, Canada, Turkey, Af- an exhibition as an event that is cities. He expressed hope that his diating between Saudi Arabia ghanistan and Sudan. see individuals from all over the for bringing people closer to- held to display samples, goods, He confi rmed Qatar’s steady visit to Qatar will represent a and Iran, the Iraqi Minister of During the event tomorrow world come together to connect gether, encouraging dialogue machines, models or services stance for Iraq’s unity and the positive turn in ties politically, Foreign Aff airs said that ties and on Saturday, communities over music, books, children’s and deepening understanding related to the commercial, in- solving of disputes through economically, and in terms of between Saudi Arabia and Iran will give a glimpse into their activities and delicious food. We between people. dustrial, banking, agricultural, dialogue and setting a national security as well. were important for Iraq. cultures by showcasing tradi- hope that visitors take this op- This is evident in its Years tourism, real estate, profes- reconciliation programme that He also hoped that the visit He added that they were do- tional clothing items, music, portunity to experience and en- of Culture initiative, which sional, artistic, sports or other includes all parties, noting that will help enhance Arab ties; es- ing their best to boost that rela- games, books and much more. gage with the diff erent cultures was developed and designed sectors, and whether they are Iraq has a history of co-exist- pecially that it carries strategic tionship, similar to their eff orts In addition, a selection of de- that are available right here in to deepen understanding be- national or foreign products ence between all ethnicities and dimensions far beyond the tac- in enhancing Turkish-Syrian licious food and beverages rep- Doha.” tween nations and their people for the purpose of advertising, sects and a prominent posi- tical and security issues. ties. resenting each country will be The event at MIA compli- through mutual exchanges of marketing or promoting them tion among Arab countries and His Excellency said that the He stressed that Iraq is play- on off er. ments QM’s commitment to arts, culture, heritage and sport. - the main purpose of which is worldwide. State of Qatar and the Repub- ing a large role in bringer Saudi Salem al-Aswad, deputy di- promote understanding, recog- Now in its sixth year, the Years to attract tourists from abroad HE the foreign minister sa- lic of Iraq are united by politics, Arabia and Iran closer. rector, Learning & Outreach at nition and appreciation of dif- of Culture programme has creat- to participate or visit,” QNA luted the Iraqi government for economy, and security. He added that he is playing MIA said: “We’re proud to cel- ferent cultures, traditions and ed sustainable platforms for col- said, adding that these do not starting a dialogue with the He noted that Iraq now is a similar role with many coun- ebrate and recognise cultures people in Qatar. laboration and exchange between include any event whose pri- Kurdistan Regional Govern- not only focused on geograph- tries, expressing his hope that from all over the world at MIA QM believes that culture is cultures, lasting long beyond the mary purpose is the direct sale ment in eff ort to avoid Iraq’s ic proximity, but is looking to these eff orts are rewarded with this weekend. It is wonderful to one of the most eff ective tools Years of Culture themselves. of goods to the public. dissolution, expressing his enhance cooperation with all success to benefi t the region. Gulf Times 12 Thursday, November 9, 2017 REGION/ARAB WORLD Iraq needs ‘Marshall Plan’, says Kirkuk archbishop

AFP Mirkis, the Chaldean arch- 60% of the population, “do not Marshal Plan. The survival of Chaldean Christians are the political situation “must be taken to Mosul and nearby Qaraqosh, Lourdes, France bishop of the northern diocese rise to the occasion, nothing can our communities depends at most numerous in Iraq. into consideration,” he said. he said. of Kirkuk, said the US-led inva- be done.” least in part on economics, which Before the fall of Saddam Hus- “You cannot ignore the (need Mirkis said investing in students sion of Iraq in 2003 had “opened The 68-year-old cleric, who demands a comprehensive ap- sein in 2003 they numbered more for) stability in a country that has in Iraq was cheaper than providing top Catholic cleric from a Pandora’s box, and today we see received some of his training proach in the short, medium and than 1mn, including more than lost all confi dence in the future, scholarships in France, adding: Iraq says his country has the consequences of the destabi- in France, thanked the French long term.” 600,000 in Baghdad. so there’s really a lot of work to “Emigration is not the answer, it’s A“lost all confi dence” de- lisation of the entire region.” Catholic Church in a speech on Mirkis noted that Iraq has lost The prelate said IS at its peak do,” added Mirkis, who is also an uprooting, a loss of identity.” spite the rout of the Islamic State Iraq will long struggle with Tuesday for its support to hun- more than half of its Christian had many people in its thrall, archbishop of Sulaimaniyah, in He added: “A Marshall Plan is group, and needs an economic “many diffi culties,” said Mirkis. dreds of Iraqi students who fl ed population in recent years. even if they were “not won over Iraqi Kurdistan. much, much better than spend- and cultural “Marshall Plan”. “We know that sectarian- to Kirkuk from areas that fell to Today, they number fewer than to the ideology”. The “yes” vote in an inde- ing $2,300 to put a student “It’s much deeper than simply ism has failed, American-style IS during a sweeping 2014 of- 350,000. He added: “The media talk pendence referendum in Sep- through a year of university.” giving money,” Yousef Thomas democracy has failed. The only fensive, especially the militants’ “One of the world’s oldest about the defeat of Daesh (an Ar- tember in the Kurdish region Mirkis said Iraqi universities Mirkis told AFP after address- thing that will succeed is a rebirth Iraqi bastion Mosul. Christian communities is disap- abic acronym for IS)... but there – opposed not just by Baghdad “need the experience of a coun- ing a meeting of French bishops arising from the grassroots.” He urged the bishops to fur- pearing in Iraq before our eyes is the mentality that Daesh cre- but also Iran, Turkey and the try like France, which also once in the southwestern French pil- He said that if young people ther their support for Iraq, say- amid widespread indiff erence,” ated.” Kurds’ Western allies – im- needed to rebuild its country” – grimage town of Lourdes. under 30, who make up some ing: “One could think of a new he said. The human, socioeconomic and peded the return of Christians in the aftermath of World War II.

EU and US affi rm Lebanon support after Hariri quits

Reuters remained “committed to a stable, Beirut secure, democratic, and prosper- ous Lebanon” during a meeting with Lebanese army commander he European Union and General Joseph Aoun, a US em- the United States yester- bassy statement said. Tday reaffi rmed support for The meeting was to announce Lebanon after the resignation of a US government reimbursement its prime minister, striking a sharp of $42.9mn for border operations contrast to Saudi Arabia, which conducted by the Lebanese army, accuses Beirut of declaring war a major recipient of US military because of the Shia group Hezbol- aid. lah. The United States classifi es Statements of support from EU Hezbollah as a terrorist group even ambassadors to Lebanon and the as it supports the weak Lebanese United States have set a diff erent state, drawing a line between the tone to their Gulf ally Saudi Ara- two in a long-standing policy. bia, which has lumped Lebanon On Tuesday, the US State De- together with the Iran-backed partment said Lebanon was a Lebanese group Hezbollah as par- strong US partner. ties hostile to it. “The United States strongly sup- Lebanon has been pitched into ports the legitimate institutions in deep crisis since the Saudi-allied the Lebanese state,” spokeswoman Saad al-Hariri resigned on Sat- Heather Nauert said. urday in a speech delivered from “We expect all members of the Saudi Arabia in which he accused international community to re- Hezbollah and Iran of sowing spect fully those institutions and strife in the Arab world and cited the sovereignty and political in- fear of assassination. dependence of Lebanon,” she said. A general view of construction work in Gilo, a Jewish settlement in the mainly Palestinian eastern sector of Jerusalem. Israeli authorities yesterday approved building permits for 240 The circumstances surround- In a statement, EU ambassadors new homes in settlement neighbourhoods in Jerusalem’s eastern sector. ing Hariri’s sudden resignation to Lebanon said they reaffi rmed have given rise to wide speculation “their strong support for the con- that he had been caught up in a tinued unity, stability, sovereignty, high-level anti-corruption purge and security of Lebanon and its in Saudi Arabia, where his family people”. made their fortune, and coerced Lebanon has also received sig- into resigning. nifi cant Western aid to help it cope Saudi Arabia has denied this with the strain of hosting 1.5mn along with reports that it has put Syrian refugees, equivalent to Hamas must disarm: Hariri under house arrest. around a quarter of the popula- It says he quit because Hezbol- tion. lah was calling the shots in the Hezbollah, set up by the Iranian government. Revolutionary Guards in 1982, is The move has pulled Lebanon the most powerful group in Leba- back to the forefront of a regional non, with major sway in govern- struggle between Saudi Arabia and ment and a guerrilla army that Palestine police chief Iran, a rivalry which has also swept outguns the national military. through Syria, Iraq, Bahrain and The group’s role has grown be- AFP Asked whether he could allow Hamas seized Gaza in 2007 statement saying it had fully ring to joint eff orts to prevent Yemen. yond Lebanon in recent years, and Ramallah, Palestinian Territories Hamas’s armed wing to main- following a near civil war with transferred power. militant attacks, as crime-fi ght- It has plunged Lebanon into its fi ghters have provided critical tain their weapons while being Fatah, which currently domi- Hamas, which is considered ing police co-operation between political crisis and hit market con- support to President Bashar al- in charge of police in Gaza, he nates the PA. a terrorist organisation by the the sides had never stopped. fi dence in the heavily indebted Assad in the Syrian civil war. he head of the Palestin- said: “No way”. Last month the two political United States and the European In other developments, Israeli Lebanese state. President Michel Aoun, a Hez- ian police said yesterday “It is impossible. How can I do parties signed a reconciliation Union, has fought three wars authorities yesterday approved A selloff of Lebanese bonds bollah ally who took offi ce last Tthat Hamas must disarm security when there are all these agreement under which Hamas with Israel since 2008. building permits for 240 new continued for a third day yester- year, has refused to accept Hariri’s to allow a landmark reconcilia- rockets and guns and whatever? is meant to hand over control of Israel has maintained a crip- homes in settlement neigh- day, with some of them hitting resignation, saying he fi rst wants tion deal signed last month with Is this possible? It doesn’t work. Gaza by December 1. pling blockade on Gaza for a bourhoods in Jerusalem’s east- their lowest ever levels. him to return to Lebanon so he can rivals Fatah to succeed. “Otherwise how can I be The agreement does not decade, while Egypt has also ern sector, Deputy Mayor Meir The US ambassador to Lebanon meet him in person to understand Hazem Atallah’s comments in charge? Who is going to be specify the future for Hamas’s kept its border largely closed in Turjeman said. said yesterday the United States the reasons. came as cracks began to show standing and saying ‘I am the vast armed wing, the Ezzedine recent years. A city planning committee in the Palestinian reconciliation chief of police, I am in charge,’ al-Qassam Brigades. Multiple previous reconcilia- approved 90 units in Gilo and deal mediated by Egypt over the if I am not controlling every- Hamas has so far refused to tion attempts have failed. another 150 in Ramat Shlomo, Rights watchdog criticises Saudi purge issue of security control of the thing?” disarm. The police chief also said Ab- Turjeman said, the latest in a se- Gaza Strip. He said the 8,000-9,000 On November 1, Hamas bas’s administration had re- ries of moves to enhance Jewish Human Rights Watch (HRW) committee led by Crown Prince The Palestinian Authority Palestinian police who worked handed over control of border sumed security co-ordination presence in the contested Israe- yesterday criticised mass arrests Mohamed bin Salman. (PA) is due to retake control of in Gaza before Hamas took crossings in a fi rst key test. with Israel in the occupied West li-annexed Palestinian sector of in Saudi Arabia over alleged cor- “While Saudi media are framing the Gaza Strip, currently still over in 2007 would return to But in a sign of tension, Pal- Bank, frozen in July. the city. ruption and called on the kingdom these measures as Mohamed bin run by Hamas, by December 1. their posts, rejecting the idea of estinian Prime Minister Rami Attallah said the suspension Turjeman noted the commit- to reveal the legal basis for each Salman’s move against corruption, “We are talking about one merging with the existing Ha- Hamdallah said on Tuesday the of ties had ended two weeks ago. tee also approved 44 units for person’s detention. the mass arrests suggest this may authority, one law, one gun,” mas-led police. PA still did not have full control “Security co-ordination be- Palestinians in their neighbour- Dozens of prominent political and be more about internal power Atallah told journalists in Ram- This, he added, would need of the crossings, with Hamas tween Palestinian and Israeli hood of Beit Hanina. business figures were arrested in politics,” Sarah Leah Whitson, the allah in the occupied West Bank, major fi nancial support as the dominating the police and secu- services have resumed as it used Jerusalem’s status is ultra- the crackdown at the weekend HRW Middle East director, said in a echoing a line from Palestinian police’s budget would eff ective- rity inside Gaza. to be before it stopped,” Attallah sensitive and central to the Is- on orders from an anti-corruption statement. President Mahmud Abbas. ly double. Hamas rejected that, with a said, adding that he was refer- raeli-Palestinian confl ict. Millions of Yemenis suff er as closed borders halt aid

Reuters Cross (ICRC), told the Thomson Reu- The ICRC said on Tuesday that a London ters Foundation by phone from the shipment of chlorine tablets to pre- Yemeni capital, Sanaa. vent cholera did not get border clear- “They need the nightmare of the ance and voiced fears for 50,000 vials ardship is intensifying for confl ict to stop.” of insulin for diabetics due to be de- millions in Yemen, reeling The ICRC and the United Nations livered by next week, which require Hfrom war, starvation and a (UN) have urged the Saudi-led coali- constant refrigeration. major cholera epidemic, after its bor- tion to re-open the border to allow “People are fed up,” Hizam said. ders were closed, blocking vital food life-saving aid in. “They are just trying to survive. and medical deliveries, an aid worker A quarter of Yemen’s 28mn people are Every morning people are looking for said yesterday. starving, while half a million children water, waiting in line to get gas, and The Saudi-led coalition fi ghting under the age of fi ve are suff ering life- trying to work,” he added. the Houthi movement in Yemen said threatening malnutrition, the UN says. The UN Offi ce for the Co-ordina- on Monday that it was closing all air, The Arabian Peninsula nation is tion for Humanitarian Aff airs (OCHA) land and sea ports to stem the fl ow of also battling one of the world’s worst said on Tuesday that the price of fuel arms to the Houthis from Iran. cholera outbreaks, which has infect- jumped 60% “overnight” and the “People have adapted to the situa- ed about 900,000 people and killed price of cooking gas doubled. tion but they can’t take it anymore,” more than 2,100 since April, accord- Hizam said this is a major problem Adnan Hizam, a spokesman for the ing to the World Health Organisation for hospitals, which rely on fuel to run International Committee of the Red (WHO). generators. Gulf Times Thursday, November 9, 2017 13 AFRICA

LANGUAGE BARRIER CIVIL STRIFE CRIME POLITICS BALLOT BATTLE Cameroon cops murdered 11 traders shot dead in Hurt boy dies after S Africa Kenya opposition seeks Kinshasa: Vote pressure due in Anglophone regions central Nigeria: police ambulance held up, robbed time for coalition positions to foreign ‘greed’ for cobalt

Unknown attackers have killed three gendarmes Gunmen have killed at least 11 traders in central An 8-year-old boy died yesterday after the Deadlock over the allocation of leadership The Democratic Republic of Congo said within a week in Cameroon’s English-speaking Nigeria, police said yesterday, in the latest ambulance he was travelling in was held up at posts has forced Kenya’s parliament yesterday foreign “greed” for its cobalt lay region, where residents have been protesting violence in the region, which has been hit by gunpoint and robbed in Cape Town, one of the into an unscheduled three-week recess, behind the “malicious” pressures weighing inequality. Two gendarmes were killed when decades of ethnic and sectarian strife. The world’s most violent cities, local media reported. The lawmakers said yesterday, indicating a on the country’s electoral process. The DRC assailants attacked the town of Bamenda in traders were returning from a rural market in the child had received head injuries in a road accident protracted political crisis could reverberate is in the grip of a crisis over plans to hold Cameroon’s North-West region early yesterday, Riyom district of Plateau state when they were Tuesday night and was being transported to beyond the October election. Lawmakers presidential elections, which were delayed by regional governor Lele Lafrique Adolf told DPA. ambushed by “unknown assailants” on Tuesday, hospital, when the ambulance was ambushed and said that opposition leader Raila Odinga’s President Joseph Kabila’s refusal to step down Five days earlier, masked gunmen had killed said police spokesman Tyopev Terna. “Eleven the medical staff on board held up at gunpoint and coalition wanted more time to negotiate on the expiry of his second and final term last a gendarme in the Anglophone town of Jakiri. people who were returning from a weekly robbed. The delay meant the boy died of his injuries the distribution of parliamentary leadership December. Under a compromise deal, the English speakers in the West African nation village market in Makera village were shot dead yesterday, the African News Agency reported. “The posts to its constituent parties. The coalition vote was scheduled to take place this year. have long complained that they are treated like at about 7.30pm yesterday”, he told AFP. Four ambulance personnel were threatened with firearms have asked for time until the end of Government spokesman Lambert Mende said: second-class citizens and that the government other traders were injured in the attack, which and robbed and their vehicle disabled,” said Robert November to fill leadership positions in the “After rubber, copper and coltan respectively, it is makes less money available to them. happened some 30km south of the state capital, Daniels, spokesman for the provincial Emergency house, including minority chiefs, whips and now our reserves in cobalt which are the cause of Jos, he added. Medical and Forensic Pathology Services. committee heads. these malicious intrusions,” without elaborating. Mugabe warns his potential successors of ‘pitfalls, death’

Reuters poisoning,” he said in a statement is expected to decide at a meeting Harare yesterday. whether to fi re Mnangagwa and his The head of the infl uential allies from the party. war veterans association, Chris Mnangagwa has not been seen in imbabwe’s President Robert Mutsvangwa, said that Mnangagwa, public since his dismissal from gov- An NH 90 Caiman military helicopter takes-off during the regional anti-insurgent Operation Barkhane in Inaloglog, Mali. Mugabe said yesterday the who was sacked on Monday, would ernment but his ally Mutsvangwa Zroute to leadership was long travel to Johannesburg in neigh- said he was “safe and beyond the and full of “pitfalls and death”, as he bouring South Africa “very soon”. reach of the assassins”. accused his fi red deputy and former Mugabe said Mnangagwa, nick- Mutsvangwa ruled out trying to protege of showing impatience in his named ‘Crocodile’, had made the remove Mugabe by force and said bid to succeed him. same mistakes as Joice Mujuru, who war veterans, who had publicly Short on boots and backing, Addressing supporters at the was the president’s deputy for 10 backed Mnangagwa and broke ranks headquarters of his ZANU-PF party years until she was fi red in 2014. with the president last year, would in Harare, 93-year-old Mugabe ac- “You should not try to say because form a broad front with the opposi- cused Emmerson Mnangagwa of the journey is long, then I should tion in elections next year. consulting witchdoctors and proph- take a short cut to arrive quickly. The “We don’t want to abuse the Sahel force faces uphill battle ets as part of a campaign to secure road has lions. There are pitfalls. military to resolve a political prob- the presidency. There is death, beware,” he said. lem. We don’t want them to be- Mnangagwa said he had fl ed Zim- “There is no short cut to being the come the arbiter of political power,” By Aaron Ross, Reuters operational capacity, even though the West Africa to prevent them fi nding new babwe because of death threats and leader of the people. Just as there Mutsvangwa said. Sevare, Mali timeframe is relatively short,” G5 force footholds. was safe. was no short cut to our independ- He was critical of Mugabe’s wife commander General Didier Dacko told But the militant groups in the Sahel “My sudden departure was ence.” Grace, who looks set to become vice visiting UN Security Council envoys last draw more on frustrations with central caused by incessant threats on my ZANU-PF would move to disci- president after a special ZANU-PF nipers from a new West Afri- month, citing a range of needs from aer- governments and the Western forces that person, life and family by those who pline Mnangagwa’s “co-conspira- congress in December. “This is a can force lie prone on a rooftop in ial support to communications equip- back them than a global militant agen- have attempted before through vari- tors”, Mugabe added. coup by marriage certifi cate....and Scentral Mali, scanning the hori- ment to intelligence gathering. da, making security-heavy approaches ous forms of elimination including ZANU-PF’s executive politburo it will be resisted,” he said. zon for militants who have infi ltrated The United Nations, France and the risky, analysts say. this sparsely populated region south of United States have poured billions of “I think local communities in Mali and the Sahara and made it a launchpad for dollars into stabilising the region over Niger feel alienated and confused by the deadly attacks. the past 15 years but have failed to mean- actions of those entities,” said Alexander Thousands of UN peacekeepers, ingfully address the many local griev- Thurston, an assistant professor at Geor- French troops and US military trainers ances driving confl ict, analysts say. getown University who specialises in Is- Cows, chickens cause diplomatic spat and drone operators have failed to stem Political and social tensions, such as a lam and politics in West Africa. a growing wave of militant violence, stalled peace process between the gov- “The problems require political solu- leading international powers to pin their ernment and armed groups in Mali, are tions, ultimately, and the G5 is a small AFP pay little heed to frontiers. Then, sparked protests at the border, and hopes on a new regional force. pushing youths to militancy, as are grow- and underfunded force.” Nairobi last week, Tanzania seized and burnt tit-for-tat trade jabs have seen the But the so-called G5 Sahel initiative ing rivalries between farmers and cattle The G5’s backers say they recognise alive 6,500 chicks that had been two nations blocking the import of faces immense challenges if it is to do herders and rights abuses by national the need for longer-term economic de- brought into the country by a trader, various goods from either country. any better at bringing security to the arid armies. velopment, not just a beefed-up security diplomatic spat over cows and fearing they would spread disease. In March last year Kenya’s energy Sahel region than its countries Burkina In northern Burkina Faso, for exam- presence. In Mali last month, France’s chickens has worsened already Kenyan Foreign Minister Amina minister and his delegation were Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger ple, preacher Malam Ibrahim Dicko has UN envoy Francois Delattre called the Afrosty ties between Kenya and Mohamed said the country’s repre- blocked from entering Tanzania, have managed so far. gained adherents to his militant Ansarul two “absolutely inseparable”. But when it Tanzania, with Nairobi lodging a for- sentative at the East African Com- while their Ugandan counterparts Security sources and analysts say too Islam movement by railing against the comes to coughing up, development of- mal protest against its neighbour, the munity (EAC) bloc had sent a “note were allowed in unhindered. strong an emphasis on military might privileges of traditional elites in a region ten gets short-changed. foreign minister said yesterday. of protest” to Tanzania. Mohamed said the herders had over tackling the underlying causes of scarred by widespread poverty. Initially sceptical of the force, the The latest impasse between the A series of diplomatic and trade “not committed any crime because strife, logistical shortfalls and a lack of Some local groups have affi liated United States pledged up to $60mn last two east African nations began last squabbles have soured relations they had done what they always did, co-operation from regional powerhouse themselves with global franchises such week. month when Tanzania seized and between the neighbours in recent which is cross the border to look for Algeria all raise doubts over whether the as Al Qaeda and Islamic State, whose Even so, commitments from the G5 auctioned off 1,300 cattle which had months. Kenyan traders have com- pasture, and that is the normal be- G5 can succeed where years of Western dwindling presence in the Middle East countries and donors stand at only a wandered across the border to graze plained of mistreatment by Tanza- haviour that we all have,” referring to intervention has not. has led Western governments to zero in third of the estimated $490mn the force in a region where herders typically nian immigration agents, which has grazing practices around the region. “There is a long way to go to reach full on the vast lawless tracts of North and needs in its fi rst year.

Anger seethes on margins of historic clean-up in Nigeria’s Delta

By Libby George, Reuters whose leaders see it as a glimmer movements that hit production King Emere Godwin Bebe Port Harcourt, Nigeria of hope in a benighted land where last year and helped tip Niger- Okpabi of the Ogale commu- many wells are not safe to drink ia into its first recession in 25 nity is on the board of a wider from and fi shing and farming years. Ogoni clean-up effort, and early a decade after two have been devastated. Already one group, the Niger is optimistic its own clean- catastrophic oil spills in “The Niger Delta is at a cross- Delta Avengers, has threatened a up, due to start next year, will Nthe Niger Delta, a com- roads,” said Inemo Samiama, return to violence. work. prehensive clean-up has fi nally chairman of the Bodo Mediation They say the government is not But he fears it will not repli- been launched in the southern Initiative (BMI), which is manag- keeping its promises to clean up cated elsewhere without another Nigerian region. ing the clean-up. the delta and provide more jobs, marathon battle in the London Oil companies and activists “We have a lot of polluted sites. money and infrastructure. courts. hope it will be a blueprint for We need something that we can Other groups who do not ad- “The only place you can get wider rehabilitation but other refer to, some shining example.” vocate violence are also frus- legal success is the international badly polluted communities are The work of the BMI covers trated. courts,” he said. unhappy not to be included. 10sq km, a tiny fraction of the “No clean-up whatsoever has Under Nigerian law, oil com- Earlier this month, crews of 70,000sq km Delta. taken place,” said Deinbo Owa- panies must begin cleaning up young men equipped with high As the workers walk through naemi Emmanuel, attorney for any spill within 24 hours. pressure hoses began to attack gnarled, dead mangrove roots in the Bille kingdom, also in Rivers But the remoteness of spills the crude oil that has blighted the their protective gear and masks, but outside the clean-up area. and lax enforcement mean this creeks and mangrove swamps in oil seeps into their footprints — “People are dying. People are rarely happens. the area where they live. remnants of 2008 spills for which being denied justice.” Ferdinand Giadom, a lecturer The workers from Bodo in Riv- Royal Dutch Shell admitted re- Bodo received support from at the University of Port Harcourt ers State are beginning a three- sponsibility. British law fi rm Leigh Day, which and technical adviser to the Bodo year project that claims to mark a Despite the optimism, en- negotiated a £55mn pollution cleanup, said communities often new approach to cleaning up the vironmentalists point out that settlement with Shell in 2015. block clean-ups in the hopes of delta, the vast polluted swamp- at BMI’s work rate, it will take Leigh Day said it agreed to cash settlements. land that pumps the oil vital to 21,000 years to clean the entire freeze a separate case to force a Even in Bodo, works were de- Africa’s largest economy. Workers flush the crude oil polluted creek shoreline at the Bodo clean-up site in Rivers State, Nigeria. delta, and that’s not including clean-up via British courts in or- layed by two years due to local Four hundred workers will the 10 years of legal battles it took der to give the BMI a chance. infi ghting. clear dead foliage and spilled oil Unlike clean-up operations run measure progress and determine pressure to overcome animosity to make it happen. Ogoni, the wider area in which Shell said most oil spilled last before planting new mangroves. routinely by oil giant Royal Dutch the best cleaning method. and mutual suspicion that have Communities in the other Bodo sits, was the subject of year was due to sabotage or theft The site where they are work- Shell, this one is backed by local Funded by Shell and its joint divided locals, the government eight Delta states are also un- a 2011 UN Environment Pro- for illegal refi ning. ing is small but organisers hope communities and teams of sci- venture partners, the clean-up and oil companies. happy they have no clean-up gramme report warning of cata- It also said that communi- the anti-pollution drive can be entists who will take samples of is the culmination of years of le- Shell declined to say how much plan, fuelling the resentment strophic pollution in the soil and ties block access to sites, making repeated elsewhere in the delta. water, mud and soil in each area to gal wrangling and international it was spending on the eff ort, that underpinned the militant water. cleaning more diffi cult. Gulf Times 14 Thursday, November 9, 2017 AMERICAS US tightens De Blasio re-elected Cuba travel regulations

AFP nomic activity away from the Washington Cuban military and to encour- age the government to move toward greater political and ighter restrictions on US economic freedom for the Cu- travellers to Cuba will ban people,” he said. Tgo into eff ect today, of- Under the directives, Amer- fi cials said, almost fi ve months icans will be forbidden from after President Donald Trump doing business with entities on vowed to crack down. a State Department list headed The US Treasury said the by the Cuban defence and in- measures are designed to steer terior ministries. American travellers away from Also on the list are fi ve major Cuban fi rms tied to the mili- holding companies with ties to tary and towards the commu- Raul Castro’s government or nist island’s fl edgling private military, and which between sector. them control much of the or- Much of the half-cen- ganised tourism sector. tury-old US economic The list goes on to list doz- embargo against Cuba re- ens of major hotels in Havana mains entrenched in law, and several resorts, along with but under former president fi ve Caribbean marinas, ten Barack Obama federal au- stores in touristy Old Havana thorities began to loosen and industries serving the some rules. military. Ties had begun to warm, Two rum distilleries are on New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, flanked by son Dante de Blasio and wife Chirlane McCray, addresses supporters after his re-election in New York City. and in 2015 the countries’ ex- the list, along with a shopping changed ambassadors for the mall, a photo developer and a fi rst time since 1961. real estate broker. But in June Trump appeared In addition, Americans in Miami before a cheering seeking to evade the general crowd of Cuban-Americans, ban on travel to Cuba will only including veterans of the failed be allowed to do so on educa- CIA-backed Bay of Pigs inva- tional trips organised by a US sion, to vow to reverse Obama’s fi rm and with a guide. measures. In addition to staying in That promise fi nally bore privately-run accommodation fruit yesterday, when Treasury and thus supporting small- Democrats win bitter Secretary Steven Mnuchin laid scale capitalism, the travel- out the new or revived rules. lers will be expected to engage “We have strengthened our in authorised exchanges with Cuba policies to channel eco- Cuban people. poll race in Virginia Northam overcame a barrage presidential election, provided a In Virginia, Democrats had Trump takes advantage of attacks on immigration much-needed boost for national worried that if Gillespie won, Re- and gang crime Democrats who were desperate publicans would see it as a green to turn grassroots resistance to light to emphasise divisive cul- of Twitter’s new limit Reuters Trump into election victories. tural issues in their campaigns Washington Democrats had already lost for next year’s elections, when all four special congressional elec- 435 seats in the US DPA political victory,” Trump said tions earlier this year. House of Representatives and Los Angeles in his fi rst post-140-limit emocrat Ralph North- But a strong turnout in the 33 of the US Senate’s 100 seats tweet, using 216 characters. am won a bitter race for Democratic-leaning northern come up for election. Republi- CNN news anchor Jake Tap- DVirginia governor on Virginia suburbs of Washington cans now control both chambers. S President Donald per, meanwhile, used his new- Tuesday, dealing a setback to helped propel Northam, who Gillespie, speaking to crest- Trump was among high found Twitter freedom to post President Donald Trump with a in the end won relatively easily. fallen supporters in Richmond, Uprofi le users to take excerpts from books including decisive victory over a Republi- With nearly all precincts report- Virginia, said he had run a “very advantage of a new 280-char- the Bible, Ernest Hemingway’s can who had adopted some of the ing, he led by a 53 % to 45 % mar- policy-focused campaign.” acter limit on Twitter on Tues- A Farewell to Arms and Her- president’s combative tactics and gin. But voters in Arlington Coun- day, after the company dou- man Melville’s Moby Dick. issues. Exit polls in Cirginia showed ty — a suburban Democratic bled the length of messages Twitter started testing Northam, the state’s lieuten- that one-third of the voters went stronghold bordering Washing- allowed on the social media the 280-character length ant governor, overcame a barrage to the polls to oppose Trump, ton — said national politics were messaging platform. two months ago with a small of attack ads by Republican Ed and only 17% went to support important to their votes. The previous limit of 140 number of people and found Gillespie that hit the soft-spoken him. “Trump talks about draining characters, which had existed that while most initially em- Democrat on divisive issues such Governor elect Ralph Northam (R) and Lt. Gov.-elect Justin Fairfax Democrats also swept the oth- the swamp, but Gillespie kind of since Twitter was launched in braced longer tweets, they as immigration, gang crime and greet supporters at an election night rally in Fairfax, Virginia. er top statewide Virginia races, is the swamp,” said Nick Peace- 2006, had led to “cramming” later returned to using fewer Confederate statues. winning the offi ces of lieutenant maker, who works in marketing in most languages, meaning characters, product manager Trump, who endorsed even bigger than before!” investment banker and ambassa- governor and attorney general, and considered himself a Repub- users had to edit or even leave Aliza Rosen wrote in Twitter’s Gillespie but did not campaign At his victory party, Northam dor to Germany, defeated Repub- and gained seats in the Virginia lican until Trump won the party’s out words to make their mes- blog post. with him, had taken a break from told supporters the sweeping lican Kim Guadagno for the right House of Delegates. presidential nomination. sages fi t, the company said in a “We saw when people his Asia trip to send tweets and Democratic win in Virginia sent a to succeed Republican Chris Democrat Danica Roem beat Peacemaker said Gillespie blog post. needed to use more than 140 record messages on Tuesday message to the country. Christie. a long-time Republican incum- seemed to shift closer to Trump’s Trump, who often has post- characters, they tweeted more supporting the former chairman “Virginia has told us to end Murphy had promised to be a bent to become the fi rst trans- policies after securing the Re- ed messages across multiple easily and more often,” Rosen of the Republican National Com- the divisiveness, that we will not check on Trump in Democratic- gender person to win a state leg- publican gubernatorial nomina- tweets, wrote longer single- said.” But importantly, people mittee. condone hatred and bigotry, and leaning New Jersey. islative race. tion. message updates from his cur- tweeted below 140 most of the But after the outcome, Trump to end the politics that have torn Guadagno, the lieutenant “This is a comprehensive po- In local races across the coun- rent tour of Asia. time and the brevity of Twitter quickly distanced himself from this country apart,” Northam governor, was hampered by her litical victory from statehouse to try, Democratic Mayor Bill de “Getting ready to make a remained.” Japanese-, Korean- Gillespie. said. association with the unpopular courthouse. Thank you Donald Blasio in New York and Marty major speech to the National and Chinese-language tweets “Ed Gillespie worked hard but The Virginia race highlighted Christie. Trump!” Democratic US Rep- Walsh in Boston both easily won Assembly here in South Korea, will continue to have the did not embrace me or what I a slate of state and local elec- Murphy’s win and the North- resentative Gerald Connolly of re-election. then will be headed to China 140-character limit because stand for,” Trump tweeted.”With tions that also included a gover- am victory in Virginia, a state Virginia told Northam’s support- Voters were also picking may- where I very much look for- research found that cramming the economy doing record num- nor’s race in New Jersey, where Democrat Hillary Clinton won by ers at a victory party in northern ors in Detroit, Atlanta, Seattle ward to meeting with Presi- is not a problem in those lan- bers, we will continue to win, Democrat Phil Murphy, a former 5 percentage points in the 2016 Virginia. and Charlotte, North Carolina. dent Xi who is just off his great guages, the company said.

Canadian PM In hinterland Arkansas, President visits Hanoi Trump’s base stand by their man DPA eas within the framework of a Hanoi comprehensive partnership,” said Phuc, adding that ties could AFP various legal issues over a creek better and more people are eating enthusiastically backed Trump. ter a lot of money and for the big range from investment to de- Clinton, Etats-Unis running through his property, but beef.” Peggy Eoff , who organises an- people,” said Brad Mohr, a veteran anadian Prime Minister fence. now says he no longer worries that Fox welcomed what he termed nual chuck wagon races — the who was attending a concert in Justin Trudeau remi- Trudeau also expressed inter- the government is keeping watch. the “new mindset” instilled by the area’s most well-known event — honour of former members of the Cnisced about his past est in potentially reviving the or rancher Dan Eoff , who “I cross the river with my cat- president. along with her husband Dan, said military. as a backpacker and advocated Transpacifi c Partnership trade raises cattle on his property tle, with my truck, every day, and Arkansas is, along with West that Trump “has his pulse on the Trump says he supports the stronger relations with Viet- agreement, which has an uncer- Fin rural Arkansas, President I am not afraid of the government Virginia and Mississippi, is one of heartland”. military, but “he is putting a lot nam during a press conference tain future following US Presi- Donald Trump’s eff orts to loosen keeping eyes on me,” Eoff said. the poorest states in the country. “People here that have to go to of money into something when with Vietnamese Prime Minister dent Donald Trump’s decision to environmental regulations are a Shortly after taking offi ce, In Clinton, a small town of work, everybody is sick of what we really need to put money else- Nguyen Xuan Phuc in Hanoi yes- withdraw from it. weight off his shoulders. Trump removed regulations on 2,600 residents spread along a goes on in Washington; they think where, like the average person’s terday. “I, and my government, and Residents of the small Clinton waterways put in place under his wide road, the main employers are we are dumb little people that healthcare, getting jobs”, said “It’s been a long time, too long, Canadians in general, are very area community in Arkansas who predecessor. schools and the local hospital. don’t know anything, and they Mohr. since a Canadian Prime Minister much open to trade, and we know backed Trump in last year’s presi- “The people he picked to run Two large factories closed in the underestimated the little country Ashton Pruitt, who helps her made an offi cial visit to Vietnam, that trade deals create opportu- dential vote have varied reasons his cabinet are hard...knowledge- late 2000s and a tornado ravaged a people across the US,” she said. husband run the offi ce at Pruitt’s and I’m honoured to visit your nities for our citizens, they create for supporting him, but most cen- able people that know what is go- boat factory in 2008. Voting for Trump’s Democratic Mid-State Stockyards in addition beautiful country,” said Trudeau, jobs and economic growth that tre around the idea that the New ing on, that understand our way of Gas exploration brought a fi - rival Hillary Clinton was not an to working two other jobs, voted adding that he last visited Viet- benefi ts everyone in our coun- York billionaire is understanding life,” Eoff said. nancial windfall for a time but has option for Peggy Eoff . for Clinton in 2016. nam in his twenties. tries.” said Trudeau. of their concerns instead of dis- Mike Fox, who also raises cat- since dried up. Clinton was for years fi rst lady The bubbly 29-year-old, who “I was here in 1995 on a back- He also said that any new trade missing them and their demo- tle, agreed, saying: “We needed a In an attempt to attract new of Arkansas when her husband Bill hosts a country music show on lo- packing trip with friends, and it’s deal would be carefully scruti- graphic. change.” business, Mayor Richard McCor- was governor, a tenure that left a cal KVOM radio from 6 to 10 am wonderful to see how much has nised. And while Trump’s national Fox was at a cattle sale held in mac launched an overhaul of the memory here of a cold person dis- before opening her clothing store, changed and how much has not “Canada will not be rushed approval ratings are at historic an auditorium-like room through wastewater system, but is dis- tant from the concerns of the rural said she has not seen much change changed,” he added. Phuc said into a deal that is not in the best lows, the Republican president’s which a parade of calves, cows and missive of government interven- world. since the election. the talks were “fruitful”. interest of Canada or Canadians,” base, by-and-large, are standing bulls passed to the rhythm of the tion. While he has many support- “I got up and I went to work like “Prime Minister Trudeau and said Trudeau, adding that he by their man and praising his poli- auctioneer’s voice. “Entrepreneurs and small busi- ers, Trump also has detractors in nothing had happened,” she said. I have agreed that both sides would take human rights abuses cies. “He has made things better nesses drive the economy. Any- Clinton. “We want to provide... for our should work closely together to into account when evaluating Eoff , a 68-year-old with a lux- for people in the cattle business,” thing the government starts, it “He is not looking (out) for the children, so we work hard, no implement co-operation in ar- trade agreements. uriant white mustache, ran into said Fox. “The economy is getting never ends,” said McCormac, who average man, he is just looking af- matter who is president.” Gulf Times Thursday, November 9, 2017 15 ASIA/AUSTRALASIA

Chinese icebreaker steams for Antarctica in polar power play

AFP China is ploughing money ing new bases and commission- gether. The multilateral Antarc- and extraction equipment”, Lin not built until 1985, more than hulls are crucial for getting sup- Beijing into polar exploration and re- ing polar-capable ships and tic Treaty bars mineral exploita- said at the administration’s an- 80 years after Argentina estab- plies to iced-in Antarctic out- search as other countries like the aircraft. Offi cials say it intends tion on the continent, but that nual meeting. lished Antarctica’s fi rst base, on posts. Russia has more than 40, United States pull back under to become a “polar power.” may change in 2048 when rules The 334-person crew of the Laurie Island in 1904. while the US has just two, one he Chinese icebreaker funding constraints and a glut of “The fact that China has governing the treaty change. Xuelong, which means “Snow “China will be one of the few of which is years past its prime. Xuelong steamed south other global priorities. coined this new term and has Some researchers worry that Dragon”, will establish a tem- countries with a considerable China has two ice-breakers in- Tfrom Shanghai yesterday An international treaty sus- made it an important part of resource-hungry China’s inter- porary 206-square-metre base number of bases spread out over cluding the red-hulled Xuelong bound for Antarctica, where it pends all territorial claims to their foreign policy shows the est in the South Pole is a thinly on rocky Inexpressible Island, a the region,” said Marc Lanteigne, and a third under construction. will establish China’s newest Antarctica, essentially setting level of ambition and forward veiled cover to allow mapping of leader of the expedition told the a lecturer at Massey Univer- For China, it is more than a base as Beijing strives to become it aside as a scientifi c preserve. thinking that China has,” said the continent in preparation for China Daily. sity Albany in New Zealand. “It strategic priority, Brady said. a polar power. That “provides a precious op- Anne-Marie Brady, a Global a future when mining and drill- This will eventually be devel- demonstrates China is a major The projects in Antarctica are China is a latecomer in the portunity to quickly develop Fellow at the Wilson Center. ing may be allowed. oped into China’s fi fth base, with player on the continent.” the latest to showcase and bol- race for pole position but its in- China’s polar bases”, Qin Wei- Brady’s research, published in Lin Shanqing, deputy director work expected to be completed The United States, in contrast, ster the Communist Party’s case terest in Antarctica has grown jia, director of the China Arctic her book China as a Polar Great of the State Oceanic Adminis- around 2022. operates three permanent bases that it is leading the nation to along with its economic might. and Antarctic Administration, Power, shows that China is al- tration which oversees China’s China has a growing collec- relying in part on decades-old “rejuvenation”. The new station will be the fi fth said at an annual meeting on the ready the pre-eminent spender polar programmes, said as much tion of outposts, with its largest equipment. Argentina tops the “It’s also about stirring up pa- Chinese foothold on the frozen poles last month. on Antarctic programmes, when last week. — the Great Wall station — able list with six permanent bases. triotism and confi dence, which continent, more than some na- China has rapidly built up ac- its logistics, infrastructure and China must speed up devel- to pack in 80 researchers in the Equally important are the expen- is very important to this govern- tions which got there earlier. tivities on the continent, build- research funding are added to- opment of “polar prospecting summer months. The base was sive ice-breakers, whose sturdy ment,” Brady said. Trump warns N Korea of grave consequences Fog frustrates Trump’s ance, US Commerce Secretary attempt to visit DMZ; Trumps Wilbur Ross said at a ceremony receive warm welcome in with US business leaders where Beijing $9bn worth of deals were signed. Trump believes any talks with Reuters North Korea would require it to Beijing reduce threats, end provocations and move toward denucleari- sation, and that no deal can be S President Donald achieved without denuclearisa- Trump arrived in China tion, the offi cial added. Uyesterday seeking help to rein in North Korea after warn- Formal talks ing the North’s leader that the Trump and Xi were scheduled nuclear weapons he is developing to hold formal talks today. Before A US flag flutters in front of a portrait of the late Chinese Chairman Mao “are not making you safer, they leaving for Beijing, Trump cited Zedong at the Tiananmen gate yesterday during the visit by President are putting your regime in grave China as one of the countries that Donald Trump to Beijing, China. danger.” must fully enforce international Trump used some of his sanctions against Pyongyang and “Every step you take down this Festive tune toughest language yet against downgrade diplomatic and com- dark path increases the peril you A visit to the DMZ, despite North Korea in a wide-ranging mercial ties. face.” However, Trump, whose his aides’ earlier insistence he address in Seoul that lodged spe- “To those nations that choose strategy has stressed sanctions had no plans to go there, would cifi c accusations of chilling hu- to ignore this threat or, worse and military pressure instead of have had the potential to further man rights abuses. He called on still, to enable it, the weight of diplomacy, did not spell out any infl ame tensions with North Ko- countries around the world to US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania visit the Forbidden City yesterday with China’s President Xi this crisis is on your conscience,” new approach. rea. isolate Pyongyang by denying it Jinping and first lady Peng Liyuan in Beijing, China. he said. While Trump will try to North Korea has made clear it Trump and his wife Melania “any form of support, supply or convince Xi to squeeze North has little interest in negotiations were greeted at Beijing’s airport acceptance.” the risk of military confl ict. On against what it says are US plans complex in the political and cul- Korea further with steps such as at least until it develops a nu- by a military band playing a fes- “Do not underestimate us and Tuesday, Trump had even of- to invade. The United States, tural heart of Beijing is a regular limits on oil exports and fi nan- clear-tipped missile capable of tive tune and schoolchildren do not try us,” Trump told North fered a diplomatic opening to which has 28,500 troops in South stop for visiting dignitaries, it is cial transactions, it is not clear hitting the US mainland, some- jumping up and down and wav- Korea as he wrapped up a visit to Pyongyang to “make a deal.” Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 rare for a Chinese leader to act as if Xi, who has just consolidated thing US intelligence offi cials ing American and Chinese fl ags. South Korea with a speech to the He went mostly on the attack Korean war, denies any such in- a personal escort, confi rmation his power at a Communist Party say it may be just months away They descended from a red- National Assembly before head- in yesterday’s speech but did tention. of the “state visit-plus” treat- congress, will agree to do more. from achieving. “North Korea is carpeted staircase rolled up to ing to Beijing, where he was mak- promise a “path to a much better “The world cannot tolerate the ment that China had promised China has repeatedly said its a country ruled by a cult,” Trump the main door of Air Force One. ing his fi rst offi cial visit. future” if North Korea stopped menace of a rogue regime that for Trump. leverage over Pyongyang is exag- said in a speech that was inter- That was in contrast to a 2016 Trump painted a dystopian developing ballistic missiles and threatens it with nuclear devas- Trump has threatened action gerated by the West and that it is rupted several times by applause visit to China by his predecessor, picture of the reclusive North, agreed to “complete, verifi able tation,” Trump said, speaking as over China’s wide trade surplus already doing all it can to enforce and ended with a standing ova- Barack Obama, who was forced saying people were suff ering in and total denuclearisation” — three US aircraft carrier groups with the United States and called sanctions. tion. He stopped short of repeat- to exit his plane from a lower “gulags” and some bribed gov- something Pyongyang has vowed sailed to the Western Pacifi c for on Beijing to do more to rein in The Chinese Foreign Ministry ing the derisive nickname “little door in what was seen as a snub. ernment offi cials to work as never to do. exercises — a rare show of such ally and neighbour North Korea, said that China fully and strictly Rocket Man” that he has used to And while in China, Trump “slaves” overseas rather than live “We will not allow Ameri- US naval force in the region. but has expressed admiration for implements UN Security Council describe the young North Korean will not be deterred from using under the government at home. can cities to be threatened with In Beijing, Trump and Chinese Xi and held off on imposing trade resolutions on North Korea, but leader. Twitter, his favoured form of He off ered no evidence to sup- destruction. We will not be in- President Xi Jinping resumed measures. will investigate if there have been Kim, for his part, has called communication, despite its be- port those accusations. timidated,” he told South Korean their “bromance” struck in April During his two-day visit, any contraventions. Trump “mentally deranged.” The ing banned there, according to lawmakers. “And we will not let at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort Trump will ask China to abide During his speech in Seoul, speech came after Trump’s at- an administration offi cial. Attack mode the worst atrocities in history be in Florida, making small talk as by UN resolutions and cut fi - Trump directed his words at tempt to make an unannounced “The president will tweet Trump’s return to harsh, un- repeated here, on this ground we they toured the Forbidden City – nancial links with North Korea, North Korean leader Kim Jong- visit to the heavily fortifi ed bor- whatever he wants,” the offi cial compromising language came a fought and died to secure.” which was shut down to tourists a senior White House offi cial un. “The weapons that you are der separating North and South told reporters on Air Force One. day after he appeared to dial back The North defends its nu- – with their wives before taking said on the plane from Seoul. He acquiring are not making you Korea was aborted when dense “I’m sure we’ve got the gear the bellicose rhetoric that had clear weapons and missile pro- in a Chinese opera performance. also plans to discuss with Xi the safer, they are putting your re- fog prevented his helicopter from aboard this airplane to make it fuelled fears across east Asia of grammes as a necessary defence While the sprawling palace long-contentious trade imbal- gime in grave danger,” he said. landing, offi cials said. happen.”

New Zealand Sydney school crash driver mourns after ‘First ‘deeply sorry’ for tragedy Cat’ Paddles run over by car Myanmar says UN scolding Distraught children laid floral appear in court on November tributes at a Sydney school 29. The school opted to open New Zealand was mourning the yesterday after two eight- as usual yesterday, with coun- loss of the nation’s “First Cat” year-old boys were killed sellors on hand to support yesterday after Prime Minister could harm dialogue on crisis by a car that smashed into returning children, many in Jacinda Ardern’s pet puss Paddles their classroom, as the driver tears as tributes, flowers and was run over by a car in Auckland. expressed her deep sorrow teddy bears were left at the The prime minister’s off ice con- Reuters which have been proceeding this issue bilaterally with Myan- interests. In a nod to China, the over the tragedy. school gates. firmed that the ginger and white Yangon smoothly and expeditiously,” mar, but it was in vain,” the offi - Myanmar statement said it ap- The incident unfolded at the “I cannot begin to compre- rescue cat, also described by Suu Kyi’s offi ce said in a state- cial told Reuters. “This problem preciated the stand taken by Banksia Road Public School hend the sadness being felt Ardern as the PM (Prime Moggy), ment. is not going to be resolved any- some members of the Security on Tuesday when the car by the parents and families died in an accident on Tuesday. yanmar warned yester- In contrast, Bangladesh is- time soon. The UN’s involve- Council who upheld the prin- ploughed into a wooden of the two young boys who “To anyone who has ever lost a day that a scolding de- sued a statement saying Foreign ment in the process is a must.” ciple of non-interference in classroom building with 24 have died in the tragic ac- pet, you’ll know how sad we feel,” Mlivered by the UN Se- Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood A sour note was struck over the internal aff airs of sovereign students inside. cident at Banksia Road Public the 37-year-old leader wrote on Fa- curity Council could “seriously Ali “appreciated the recent the talks last week, as Bang- countries. Two boys bore the brunt of School,” New South Wales cebook, urging people to donate harm” its talks with Bangladesh statement of the UN Security ladesh offi cials voiced outrage To appease council veto pow- the impact and died, while state Education Minister Rob to an animal rescue charity. over returning home more than Council” during a meeting with over Suu Kyi’s spokesman cast- ers Russia and China, Britain three young girls are fighting Stokes said. “My thoughts and “Paddles was much loved, and 600,000 people who fl ed to es- a new resident co-ordinator of ing suspicion that Bangladesh and France dropped a push for for their lives, leaving the prayers are with their families not just by us. Thanks for every- cape a Myanmar military crack- the United Nations in Bangla- might drag its feet over the re- the Security Council to adopt a community in shock. and the entire school com- one’s thoughts.” down. desh. patriation process in order to resolution on the situation and The 52-year-old woman munity.” Paddles proved a popular mem- In a statement on Monday, The Myanmar statement said fi rst secure hundreds of millions the 15-member body instead driver, Maha al-Shennag, A local shopkeeper, who did ber of the prime ministerial house- the Security Council had urged Ali had been invited to Myan- of dollars in international aid unanimously agreed on a formal has been charged with two not want to be named, said hold after Ardern won off ice last Myanmar to “ensure no further mar on November 16 and 17, but money. statement. counts of dangerous driving she knew the dead boys. month, with a Twitter account set excessive use of military force” Bangladeshi offi cials told Reu- Speaking at a conference for The United Nations has de- causing death and with negli- “They would come into our up in her name, @FirstCatofNZ, and expressed “grave concern ters that the earliest the talks Commonwealth countries’ par- nounced the violence during gent driving. shop wanting lollies and attracting more than 11,000 follow- over reports of human rights vi- were likely to take place was liamentarians in Dhaka, Bang- the past 10 weeks as a classic Police have indicated the playing games,” she told ers. Ardern insisted that the cat olations and abuses in Rakhine during the minister’s visit for ladesh Prime Minister Sheikh example of ethnic cleansing to crash was being treated as AFP. “It has aff ected every ran the account herself, saying she state”. a regional meeting in the My- Hasina called for more inter- drive the Rohingya Muslims out non-intentional. Her lawyer single person we know. As a was “polydactyl”, with extra paws Responding, Myanmar’s de anmar capital of Naypyidaw on national pressure on Myanmar. of Buddhist majority Myanmar. Nick Hanna told the Sydney shop owner, and customers that looked like thumbs, allowing facto leader Aung Sang Suu Kyi, November 20 and 21. “I would request all of you to Rohingya refugees say the mili- Daily Telegraph she was coming in and out, everyone her to operate a keyboard. whose less than two-year-old The two sides have to agree a discuss Rohingya issue with ut- tary torched their villages. “deeply sorry for the loss and is talking about it, it is really, She said the cat’s social media ac- civilian administration shares process for repatriation of Ro- most priority and exert pressure The refugees’ have given har- hurt suff ered by the children, really devastating.” tivities were “an enormous source power with the military, said hingya, with Bangladesh reluc- on the Myanmar government to rowing accounts of rape and the school, the families and Ambulance workers said of amusement”. US magazine Van- the issues facing Myanmar and tant to fall back on the drill used stop the persecution of its citi- murder. the community.” they arrived to “a scene of ity Fair said the tech-savvy feline Bangladesh could only be re- for the return of Rohingya refu- zens and take them back at the Meantime, the exodus from “Her thoughts and prayers carnage” with one father was “helping establish Ardern as solved bilaterally, a point she gees to Myanmar in the 1990s, earliest,” she said. Rakhine continues. Several are with all those aff ected,” he describing lifting the car off the latest hip, cool world leader says was ignored in the Security as it wants a more lasting solu- US Secretary of State Rex Till- thousand Rohingya reached added. a dying boy. He said another that America wishes it had”. Twit- Council statement. tion. erson is due to visit Myanmar on Bangladesh last week, many Al-Shennag, reportedly a wid- badly injured classmate, who ter users reacted with grief to the “Furthermore, the (Security A senior Bangladesh foreign November 15, with moves afoot wading through shallows on owed mother-of-four who was later died, lay a few feet away. news, with some calling for a state Council) Presidential Statement ministry offi cial said the United in Washington to table a bill the Naf river on the boundary dropping off a child at the “He was saying ‘I want my funeral and others saying they could potentially and seriously Nations should be involved in calling for sanctions on Myan- between the two countries, and school, has had her licence mum’. She wouldn’t have got were so upset they would have to harm the bilateral negotia- the process this time. mar that specifi cally target the some making a short, but peril- suspended. She was bailed to to see him before he died.” take the day off work. tions between the two countries “For years, we tried to resolve military and related business ous sea crossing in small boats. Gulf Times 16 Thursday, November 9, 2017 BRITAIN

HISTORICAL VERDICT REPRIEVE TREND LEGAL Roman temple restored Top chef ordered to pay Developer rethinks Roaring tiger and robot to Cyclist sued for breaking deep under City of London neighbours £15,000 Earls Court masterplan be coveted toys: retailers cab windscreen in crash

A Roman temple has been restored to its original A top chef whose leaking bath, jacuzzi and Campaigners fighting the £12bn redevelopment Finger-clinging plastic pets, a Toilet Trouble flushing A cyclist whose head shattered a taxi’s wind- site seven metres below the City of London, using toilet dumped water and raw sewage on his of Earl’s Court claimed a major victory yesterday game and a Star Wars Lego “astromech” robot are screen in a “horrific” crash yesterday spoke of sound, lights and misty haze to bring the ruin downstairs neighbours has been ordered to after being told that two estates due to be demol- expected to be among the most coveted Christ- his shock after being sued by the cab firm for up back to life. Built in the third century, the London pay more than £15,000 in damages. Emmanuel ished could return to council control. Residents mas gifts this year, British toy retailers said The Toy to £5,000 in damages. Sasha Evans, 28, said he Mithraeum was discovered by chance in 1954 on Bonneau and his wife Monique were sued by on the West Kensington and Gibbs Green estates, Retailers’ Association also voted the Enchantimals was “lucky to be alive” after suff ering severe head a World War II bomb site. It became an instant neighbours Christopher and Julia Kidder over now owned by developer Capco, received a letter Playhouse Panda Set and the L.O.L. Surprise Series trauma when he was thrown in the air following public sensation, with up to 30,000 people per a decade of “intermittent leaks and seepages” from Hammersmith and Fulham council leader 2 – a set of dolls in plastic spheres – into its top 12 the collision with a Ford Galaxy at a junction in day queueing to see it. The temple was disman- from their Pimlico home. The Kidders had raw Steve Cowan telling them that it has been in talks DreamToys for Christmas. The most expensive toy Nunhead. It was only when trying to take out a tled and reassembled 100 metres away from its sewage flowing through their ceiling and were with Capco “to radically improve the deal” for in the list is FurReal Roarin’ Tyler, a life-like, interactive loan to cover his loss of earnings did he realise original location so the public could see it when forced to move out of their £900,000 flat locals. The letter added: “Capco’s latest proposal tiger cub retailing for £135. “This year’s DreamToys the minicab firm, The Keen Group, had made a post-war rebuilding on the site was complete. temporarily in 2010, Central London County is to develop a new masterplan for the Earl’s Top 12 is an exciting range of innovative toys that claim against him. He claims the court summons But now the ruins have been moved back and Court heard. Kidder, 52, said he and his wife had Court scheme. If that gets planning permission, demonstrate the creativity of the toy industry,” said were sent to an old address before judgement restored, deep beneath Bloomberg’s vast new endured a “15-year nightmare” costing almost we would see the two estates return to council Gary Grant, chairman of the association’s Dream- was imposed in his absence and he was ordered European headquarters by the Bank of England. £130,000 in legal and other bills. control.” Toys committee. to pay £3,500 in damages, plus legal costs.

Top cop to be charged Further blow over theft of sensitive documents to premier as

Guardian News and Media London aid minister’s police chief is to be charged under the Offi cial ASecrets Act after the theft of sensitive documents from his car while he was one of Britain’s most senior counter-terrorism offi cers. future in doubt Marcus Beale, an assist- ant chief constable with West AFP fairs and sexual abuse. fi cial Yuval Rotem in New York. Midlands police, has been sus- London May’s deputy Damian Green “I don’t understand what more pended, putting his career in is being investigated for groping she needs to do to be sacked,” one jeopardy. a journalist in 2014 — which he unnamed minister told the Daily Documents that had been ritain’s aid minister faced denies — while a similar probe is Telegraph newspaper. stored in a locked box were sto- the sack yesterday over underway into the behaviour of During her meetings, Patel len from an unmarked car Beale Bunauthorised meetings in junior trade minister Mark Gar- discussed the possibility of Brit- was using in May, as Britain Israel, as she became the latest nier towards his secretary. ish aid being used to support faced a series of terrorist attacks Cabinet member caught up in a Foreign Secretary Boris John- medical assistance for Syrian and thwarted plots. Other items whirlwind of scandals rocking son has meanwhile been accused refugees arriving in the Israeli- were also taken. Prime Minister Theresa May’s of jeopardising the case of a Brit- occupied Golan Heights, Down- It was announced yester- government. ish woman jailed in Iran. ing Street said. day that Beale had been sum- May summoned International May put off a mooted reshuf- Reports suggest however that monsed to face a charge under Development Secretary Priti Pa- fl e after her election setback, she did not explain to May that the 1989 Official Secrets Act of tel back from a trip to Africa to but some MPs have called on her this involved supplying fund- “failure to safeguard sensitive explain her talks with Israeli pol- to act to assert her power over a ing to the Israeli army, which has documents”. iticians, in which she reportedly government that looks increas- facilitated the treatment of more After the theft, Beale was raised the possibility of Britain ingly adrift. than 3,100 wounded refugees in moved from his post oversee- diverting aid to the Israeli army. On Monday, Patel revealed Israeli hospitals since 2013. ing the West Midlands coun- Patel had apologised on Monday details of her meetings in Israel, In a further development yes- ter-terrorism unit, in which for holding 12 separate meetings which included with NGOs and terday, Israel’s Haaretz newspa- detectives and MI5 officers — including with Prime Minister businesses, and said they were per reported that Patel visited work alongside each other, to Benjamin Netanyahu — during a arranged by Lord Stuart Polak, a military fi eld hospital in the another non-terrorism-relat- family holiday to Israel in August, the honorary president of lobby- Golan Heights as a guest of the ed role. without notifying the Foreign Of- ing group Conservative Friends government. Beale would have had the fi ce or Downing Street in advance. of Israel. Patel’s ministry declined to highest security clearance. The After a public reprimand from But it emerged late Tuesday comment on the report. West Midlands area is second the prime minister, Patel left there had been another two un- Patel was a leading campaign- only to London in its level of London on Tuesday on a three- authorised meetings in Septem- er for Britain to leave the Euro- militant activity. day trip to Uganda, but a govern- ber, with Israel’s Public Security pean Union in last year’s referen- West Midlands police asked ment source said she was return- Minister Gilad Erdan in London dum, and is a prominent fi gure in the Metropolitan police to in- ing home at May’s request. and senior foreign ministry of- May’s Cabinet. vestigate whether the theft of If she is sacked, Patel would the sensitive documents in- become the second Cabinet min- Smiling wax fi gure belies PM’s torment volved any potential criminal li- ister in a week to leave May’s ability by Beale. government, after Michael Fallon Prime Minister Theresa May meanwhile, was battling multiple The Met investigation led to quit as defence secretary on No- gained a wax doppelganger crises at once, with several of the decision that Beale should vember 1 following allegations of yesterday that projected an air her Cabinet ministers embroiled face the charge. sexual harassment. of strength and permanence in scandals, open strife in her A new police chief has been Britain is facing its biggest sorely lacking in her crisis-prone party over how to deliver Brexit put in charge of the West Mid- peacetime challenge in Brexit, government. The wax figure of and persistent debate about her lands counter-terrorism unit. but May has struggled to keep May, stepping out of Number 10 suitability for the job. “Whilst her The Met police said: “The her ministers in line since losing Downing Street in a red power policies may be questioned we summons relates to a Metro- her parliamentary majority in a suit and leopardskin kitten-heeled can guarantee our wax figure politan police investigation into snap June election. shoes, was unveiled by Madame of the prime minister is most the alleged failure to safeguard Months of public divisions Tussauds, a waxworks museum definitely strong and stable,” said sensitive documents after items over the negotiations with the that is one of London’s top tour- Edward Fuller, general manager of were stolen from an unmarked EU have in recent days given ist attractions. The real May, Madame Tussauds. police car in May.” Madame Tussauds unveils their new wax model of Prime Minister Theresa May in London yesterday. way to scandals over foreign af- Rail strikes cause Johnson in Washington Dolphin dies after becoming beached travel disruption London Evening Standard 100%” that it is the same animal London spotted swimming around but believes it to be so. Guardian News and Media Mick Whelan, the general sec- ployed replacement buses on His story was confi rmed by the London retary of Aslef, said: “Our mem- some routes and suggested its much-loved dolphin that Met’s marine team, who had pre- bers on Southern, after careful network was not badly aff ected. was fi rst spotted in the viously tweeted pictures of the consideration and long and hard “Many passengers heeded our AThames nine days ago has animal. ail passengers faced dis- negotiations, have voted to ac- advice to travel earlier, and al- died. They wrote on Tuesday: “Sad to ruption because of a series cept this resolution to our indus- though services were busier than The so-called ‘Thames Dol- tell you that a dead Common #Dol- Rof strikes across fi ve train trial dispute with the company.” usual, everyone was delivered phin’ was found dead after be- phin was washed up on the fore- companies. South Western, one of Brit- safely to their destinations,” a coming beached on a foreshore shore at Wandsworth yesterday. Members of the Rail, Mari- ain’s busiest commuter franchis- spokesman said. of the river. “Our friends at @ZSLMarine time and Transport (RMT) union es, was yesterday running a third Greater Anglia reported only The animal, fi rst spotted on will carry out tests to determine began a 48-hour strike at South fewer trains owing to industrial minor disruption. Southern, October 30, got into diffi culty why it was in fresh water. There Western Railway yesterday, the action over the future of guards which has long been beset by near Wandsworth Bridge and may be others so keep an eye out fi rst time the network had been on trains. poor performance, had major was spotted struggling on land. & report any sightings.” hit by such action in the dispute. There were picket lines at a delays on most of its routes de- Michael White, a roofer who A spokesman for the British RMT members also struck work number of stations, including spite pledging that most services works at a building site on the Divers Marine Life Rescue said yes- at Southern, where the dispute Britain’s busiest station, Water- would run normally. Thames, said he and his col- terday they were waiting for the post began last year, at Greater An- loo, in south London. The RMT The RMT argues that the pos- leagues saw the mammal become mortem to be carried out before glia, Merseyrail and Northern, described participation as “rock sibility of driver-only trains on stuck on Monday evening. they could ascertain how it died. although staff at the last two will solid”. Commuters complained of South Western would discrimi- “We were at work just on the “We did get a call to the Port of return to work today. cancellations and worse-than- nate against older passengers north side of Wandsworth Bridge London Authority on Monday,” There was some hope for normal overcrowding, while oth- and those with disabilities, with and saw it beached on the bank,” he confi rmed. “They went out in Southern passengers when driv- ers adjusted their plans, taking about 70% of the stations on the he told the Standard. a boat to try and fi nd it but they ers voted by a margin of 4-1 to diff erent routes or working from network unstaff ed. “I phoned a number given for could not fi nd it – so that may accept a deal to end their long- home. South Western, like Northern stranded animals and reported have been the same one. We do running dispute over driver-op- The department for transport and Greater Anglia, has said it what had happened. I explained not know for sure.” erated trains. Members of Aslef said the large majority of services has no plans to remove guards – to them that it was beached in The animal had been seen near backed the deal, which includes a were running, while the rail op- but the RMT says the fi rms will shallow water. Putney Bridge, Kew and Rich- 28.5% pay rise over the next fi ve erators also sought to minimise not provide guarantees on this, “But they did not do anything mond last week after it swam 40 years, by 731 votes to 193, a ma- the impact of the strike. while new trains entering serv- Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson arrives for a meeting with about it so when we came back on miles up the Thames and was jority of 79%. Turnout in the bal- South Western, which faced ice could be operated by a driver US lawmakers on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, yesterday. Tuesday morning it was dead.” spotted again by offi cers from the lot was 87%. the worst of the disruption, de- alone. White said he “can’t know Met’s marine team on Sunday. Gulf Times Thursday, November 9, 2017 17 BRITAIN Pressure grows on Welsh Labour over Sargeant’s death

Guardian News and Media been told the detail of the claims told BBC Radio Wales. to people. They have to explain to accused person to be told what al- “I don’t know what happened rible, terrible shock. And it’s kind London against him by the time of his He said anyone being accused their family that allegations have legation they faced, and she called and how it transpired and how of very sobering as well, because death on Tuesday. should know the detail of allega- been made, they can feel extreme- for a full investigation. it was handled. But the Labour it highlights that trial by media Sir Alistair Graham, a former tions, be given time to consider ly vulnerable,” Graham said. “There needs to be an in- party’s process is that once is a dangerous route to go down, ressure is growing on the chair of the committee on stand- them and have an opportunity to “There is a danger you get trial dependent professional body there’s an allegation, the per- because the consequences are Labour government in ards in public life, called for a sen- off er a defence before fi nal con- by media. Having a proper process that comes out and investigates son is supposed to be told what varied and stark, and in this case PWales over the death of Carl ior lawyer to carry out a review. He clusions were made. gets put to one side and the pres- what happened in that circum- that allegation is, because oth- extremely tragic, and my condo- Sargeant, who apparently killed said he did not believe Sargeant, a The question of what, if any, sure comes on the leaders of po- stance, because it doesn’t sound erwise they’re not able to pro- lences and love and hugs go out to himself after being sacked as a married father-of-two, had been formal pastoral care was off ered to litical parties or the government to as though everything that should duce a defence on the issue. So his family and friends.” minister amid allegations of har- dealt with fairly and said the deci- Sargeant after he was sacked has take immediate action. We should have happened, happened. It I’m not sure what happened, but Mark Tami, a friend of Sargeant assment. sion to remove him from the Cabi- also been raised. always remember that justice re- needs to be fully investigated and the procedure defi nitely is (that) and the Labour MP for his con- The senior politician was dev- net had been taken hastily. “There is a duty of care. When quires a fair process.” independently investigated,” she you’re supposed to be told what stituency, said the party had failed astated to lose his job and to be “You don’t dismiss somebody serious allegations come which The shadow minister for wom- said during an interview with the allegation is.” in its duty of care to Sargeant and suspended from the Labour party, from a position without fi rst may go back many years then en and equalities, Dawn Butler, Emma Barnett on BBC Radio 5 She said of Sargeant’s death: all employers should learn lessons and friends have said he had not going through due process,” he there can be a very serious shock said Labour’s policy was for an Live. “It was just heartbreaking. Ter- from the case. One in every 200 people in UK homeless, reveals charity

Guardian News and Media homeless. Some will have spent the London night shivering on a cold pavement, others crammed into a dingy hostel room with their children. And what ore than 300,000 people is worse, many are simply unac- in Britain – equivalent to counted for. Mone in every 200 – are of- “On a daily basis, we speak to fi cially recorded as homeless or liv- hundreds of people and families ing in inadequate homes, according who are desperately trying to es- to fi gures released by the charity cape the devastating trap of home- Shelter. lessness. A trap that is tightening Using offi cial government data thanks to decades of failure to build and freedom of information returns enough aff ordable homes and the from local authorities, it estimates impact of welfare cuts.” that 307,000 people are sleeping Although public perceptions of rough, or accommodated in tem- homelessness are dominated by porary housing, bed and breakfast rough sleeping, Shelter points out Prince Charles shakes hands with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi as Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, looks on ahead of their meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, rooms, or hostels – an increase of that the single leading cause of re- India, yesterday. 13,000 over the past year. corded homelessness is the ending Shelter said the fi gures were an of a private tenancy, accounting for underestimate as they did not in- three in every 10 cases, and often clude people trapped in so-called triggered by a combination of soar- “hidden homelessness”, who have ing rents and housing benefi t cuts. nowhere to live but are not re- Shelter’s fi gures show that as of corded as needing housing assist- April this year 281,000 people were ance, and end up “sofa surfi ng”. living in temporary accommoda- Prince Charles hits back London, where one in every 59 tion in Britain. A further 21,300 people are homeless, remains Brit- were in single homeless hostels ain’s homelessness centre. Of the or social services housing, while top 50 local authority homeless- 4,500 were rough sleeping. ness “hotspots”, 18 were in Greater The government has set great London, with Newham, where one store by its Homelessness Reduc- in 27 residents are homeless, worst tion Act, which comes into force in lobbying claims row hit. next year. This requires local au- However, while London’s thorities to actively take steps homeless rates have remained to prevent households at risk of London Evening Standard to overshadow his 11-day Com- Sources close to Prince “Throughout this period he hacked from the off shore law largely stable over the past year, homelessness tipping into crisis. London monwealth tour to Asia. Charles said he had no active has highlighted many diff erent fi rm Appleby, show that: the fi gures show the problem is However, local authorities are According to the latest batch role in Duchy investment deci- ways in which it might be pos- * The international property becoming worse in leafi er com- concerned that funding for their of leaked ‘Paradise Papers’ doc- sions, stipulating only that his sible to slow or halt the damage empire of the Dukes of West- muter areas bordering the capital, new duties is insuffi cient, at a time rince Charles yesterday uments the Duchy paid $113,500 advisers do not invest in tobacco that is being done. minster pumped dividends such as Broxbourne, Luton, and when pressures caused by housing launched a defence of (£58,000) in 2007 to buy shares or petrochemical companies or “Carbon markets are just one worth millions of pounds into Chelmsford. shortages, rising rents and ben- Phis fi nancial propriety as in a business called Sustainable fi rms that profi t from pornog- example that the prince has companies in Bermuda and Pan- Big regional cities have also seen efi t cuts are increasing pressure on he faced accusations that his Forestry Management (SFM), raphy. championed since the 1990s ama. substantial year-on-year increas- their housing departments. private estate profi ted from an set up to trade in carbon credits A spokesman for Clarence and which he continues to pro- * Former Treasury minister es in the rate of homelessness. In Shelter warned earlier this year investment in an off shore com- from “tropical and subtropical House said: “The prince has mote today.” James Sassoon, who has spoken Manchester, one in 154 people are that more than a million house- pany run by a close friend which forests”. never chosen to speak out on a The shares were sold in 2008 in the Lords in defence of tax homeless (compared with one in holds are at risk of becoming was involved in an industry for Horsebreeder Hugh van Cut- topic simply because of a com- for $325,000. avoidance, is a benefi ciary of 266 in 2016); in Birmingham one homeless by 2020. Rising num- which the prince had lobbied. sem, who the prince had known pany that The Duchy may have The furore came as Charles a Bahamas trust fund that has in 88 are homeless (119); in Bristol bers of families on low incomes are The row over the decision by since the Sixties, was a director. invested in. and Camilla touched down at sheltered a family fortune since one in 170 are aff ected (199). struggling to pay even the lowest the Duchy of Cornwall — which Shortly after the duchy “In the case of climate change New Delhi on the last leg of a the 1950s. Polly Neate, chief executive of available private sector rents in provides a £20mn annual in- bought the shares Charles re- his views are well known, in- tour that has taken in Singapore, It also separately emerged Shelter, said: “It’s shocking to think many areas, leading to ever higher come for the heir to the throne leased a video in which he advo- deed he has been warning of the Brunei and Malaysia. that the MPs’ pension fund has that today, more than 300,000 levels of eviction and homeless- — to buy shares in the Bermuda- cated a carbon credit market as a threat of global warming to our Other revelations from the £6.6mn invested through an people in Britain are waking up ness. registered business threatened new way to protect rainforests. environment for over 30 years. Paradise Papers, documents off shore unit trust in Jersey. Lynx on the loose blamed Charity initiative Mothers cower in fear as gang storms cafe for seven sheep deaths London Evening Standard burglary — this is pure terrorism to London local communities.” Another mother described hid- Guardian News and Media Nick Fenwick, head of policy at the authorities or are being kept ing in the bakery’s bathroom with London the Farmers’ Union of Wales, ex- from the public for some other errifi ed customers dived fi ve other people, saying: “I saw pressed frustration that more had reason. for cover after moped raid- the moped approach and instinc- not been done to catch the lynx “With talk of introducing lynxes Ters stormed a cafe in one of tively thought, ‘That doesn’t look lynx that has been missing or warn the public and livestock to the north of England and even in London’s most exclusive neigh- right’. There were two of them, for a fortnight after escap- owners about her. Wales, this will raise many ques- bourhoods. wearing helmets. Aing from a zoo enclosure He said the farmer, Owen tions about the damage just one The raiders snatched a diner’s “They started smashing the has been blamed for the killings of Jenkins, was badly shaken when of these animals can do in a few laptop after using a hammer to window with hammers but it seven sheep close to the craggy hill he saw the lynx close to the dead days.” smash the front window of Gail’s sounded like gun fi re and people she is lurking on. sheep. The sheep were found Phil Stocker, the National Sheep Bakery in Highgate, a short dis- just panicked. Tables were being Farmers’ representatives have about 500 metres from the zoo on Association chief executive, said: tance from the homes of Kate upended. expressed anger that Lillith the Wednesday last week but Jenkins “There cannot be a clearer warn- Moss, Jude Law and Jamie Oliver. “They struck that window with lynx remains at large and claim had at fi rst not wanted it made ing of the damage lynx will do if Witnesses said those inside considerable force — a lot of force more needs to be done to get her public. they are released into the wild. were mostly mothers who scram- for a laptop. They do it to make back into her enclosure at the Fenwick said: “His sheep were “This incident also backs bled for safety and fl ed to the people frightened. Borth Wild Animal Kingdom in in a wooded fi eld – perfect lynx up what we are hearing from a lavatories, including one with her “They know if they walk north Wales. territory. He went and fetched the number of sheep farmers in Scan- 18-month-old baby. Police said through the door somebody will Although Lillith was defi nitely zoo owner and when the pair came dinavia and other parts of Europe two suspects arrived on a scooter try to stop them. These are tar- seen close to the dead sheep, the back the lynx was following about who tell us of high losses they’ve and one smashed the front win- geted attacks — there should be zoo insists she is not to blame for 10 metres behind them.” experienced from individual lynx dow of the cafe and grabbed a cus- a greater police presence on our the deaths of the animals. She has The police and the Welsh gov- that develop the behavioural tomer’s laptop before fl eeing. streets.” Tom Molnar, Gail’s Bak- caught rats and possibly a rabbit ernment have been informed, characteristic of an opportunistic One mother, who was sitting ery chief executive, said: “We while on the run, but is said to be but he added: “People have been hunter.” at the front of the bakery with worked to protect and comfort looking skinny. treating it as a joke. We had ex- The young lynx was last seen in a friend, said: “People started customers that were present and “If she had been eating sheep pected some kind of statement her enclosure on October 26. At screaming and we all panicked and while a personal item was stolen, she would look like Garfi eld,” to have been issued by now given fi rst, staff thought Lillith may have tried to escape under the tables. all left the bakery safely.” said zoo owner Dean Tweedy. possible dangers to livestock and clashed with her mother, Dee, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and patron of I have never been so scared in my The Met is linking the Highgate “There are dogs, foxes and badg- members of the public. was lying low in her enclosure. national children’s mental health charity Place2Be, life. For a few minutes we thought robbery at about 2.45pm on Mon- ers around here. We don’t believe “The failure to do this has led On Sunday morning, zoo keep- arrives for the annual Place2Be School Leaders Forum these were terrorists that were go- day to a series of mobile phone Lillith is to blame. The reports are to speculation that the deaths are ers went to check on Lillith to fi nd in London yesterday. ing to shoot us all down. robberies in Jackson’s Lane fi ve nonsense.” either not being taken seriously by she had disappeared. “This is not any more about minutes earlier. Gulf Times 18 Thursday, November 9, 2017 EUROPE

Newly-elected Sicily lawmaker held for tax fraud One of the 70 lawmakers elected in Sunday’s regional elections in Sicily has been placed under Nato allies agree on new house arrest on charges of large-scale tax fraud, the Italian financial crimes police said. Cateno De Luca, 45, is accused of engineering a fake invoices scheme with the head of a local small entrepreneurs association, Carmelo Satta, who is also on military headquarters house arrest. The pair allegedly evaded Reuters gional bases have broad support offi cials say, although the size of the number of personnel man- €1.75mn ($2mn), the Guardia di Brussels and show Nato’s focus on its its navy is smaller now than dur- ning Nato’s then 33 commands Finanza said yesterday. traditional task of defending its ing the Cold War era. reached 22,000. De Luca, who was already a territory after out-of-area cam- “We want to pull Nato back There are just seven such member of the regional assembly ato allies backed plans paigns in the Balkans, Libya and to Europe, and we want to focus commands today, with fewer from 2006 to 2012, ran for the yesterday for two new Afghanistan in recent years. more on Nato’s maritime role,” than 7,000 people. centrist UDC party in support of Nmilitary headquarters to Germany is eager to host the Norway’s Defence Minister Nato countries also agreed Nello Musumeci, a conservative help protect Europe in the event logistics command, diplomats Frank Bakke-Jensen said. yesterday to provide cyber who was elected president in of a confl ict with Russia, laying said, given its strategic location The new Atlantic Command weapons to top commanders Sicily with the backing of former the ground for the US-led alli- straddling central Europe, al- would survey a vast area and for use in military operations premier Silvio Berlusconi. ance’s biggest expansion in dec- lowing for swift movement of have the task of making sea lanes and missions, offi cials said, po- His opponents had labelled De ades. equipment and personnel across safe for US reinforcements to tentially allowing the alliance to Luca “unfit” for off ice due to Hoping to add to its deter- borders in the event of a confl ict. Europe, manned by experts in take on computer hackers for the previous brushes with the law: rent factor against Russia, North Maritime nations such as cyber warfare as well as conven- fi rst time. he is on trial for abuse of off ice Atlantic Treaty Organisation Portugal, Spain, France and the tional weapons. The step follows Nato’s deci- and corruption in a previous (Nato) defence ministers agreed United States could host the At- The maritime area between sion last year to make cyber a mayoral role and has been fined to create an Atlantic command lantic command, diplomats said, Greenland, Iceland and Britain is domain of warfare along with €13,000 for misusing his regional and a logistics command to help stressing that no decision had a clear vulnerability for Nato in land, sea and air, although until assembly allowance. respond more quickly to threats yet been taken. Stoltenberg: This is vital for our transatlantic alliance. It is about how a confl ict and that needs better now commanders were limited in Europe, offi cials said. In a staggered response to to move forces across the Atlantic and how to move forces across surveillance in peacetime, dip- to defensive tasks. “This is vital for our transat- Russia’s 2014 annexation of Europe. lomats said. Under the agreement taken by lantic alliance,” Nato Secretary Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula, The decision is unlikely to Nato defence ministers, alliance Blast in Turkish General Jens Stoltenberg told a Nato has already put troops on tentions towards Europe, has fl ank, are another reason for it to revive a much larger Cold War- commanders can now call on al- factory kills five news conference. “It is about rotation in the Baltic states and condemned the moves as an at- be better prepared to deter Mos- era Atlantic Command that was lies such as the US and Britain how to move forces across the Poland, strengthened its pres- tempt to encircle Russia. cow. disbanded in 2002, but it would to take down a hostile server or An explosion at a textile factory Atlantic and how to move forces ence in the Black Sea and sought Nato says that Russia’s war Russia has increased its na- mean an expansion for Nato af- a website, although the details in northwestern Turkey killed across Europe.” to modernise its forces. games in September, which val patrols in the Baltic Sea, the ter years of cutbacks following have yet to be formalised. five people and wounded 16 Costs will not be discussed The Kremlin, which denies massed tens of thousands of north Atlantic and the Arctic the fall of the Soviet Union. “It may be a more proportion- others yesterday, the labour until 2018 but the two new re- harbouring any aggressive in- troops on the alliance’s eastern and deployed submarines, Nato At the height of the Cold War, ate response,” Stoltenberg said. minister said, in what seemed to have been caused by a boiler, according to state media. The force of the explosion in the paint shop of the building caused the roof of the factory to collapse and left extensive damage to Travel chaos ensues some nearby vehicles, footage from the scene, in the Gursu district of the northwestern Bursa province, showed. The state-run Anadolu news as Catalans protest agency said a boiler caused the explosion, and off icials were investigating what happened. AFP litical crisis in decades. “Will you accept the result of “Initial reports from the area Barcelona Huge banners were draped the Catalan referendum or will show that five workers have across at least one tunnel in you continue to help Mr Rajoy lost their lives and 16 people, Barcelona, blocking entry, and in his coup d’etat?” Puigdemont including citizens who were in the rotesters blocked roads activists also cut off main roads said in Brussels. factory’s vicinity during the blast, and train lines across linking the region of 7.5mn peo- Yesterday Belgian Prime Min- were wounded,” Labour Minister PCatalonia yesterday, pro- ple to France and to the Spanish ister Charles Michel denied that Julide Sarieroglu said. voking commuter anger in a capital. his government was “in crisis” She said the wounded were strike called by a pro-independ- At one protest in Sitges, over Puigdemont’s presence, transferred to regional hospitals ence union after separatist lead- southwest of Barcelona, dem- after Flemish separatist mem- and that their conditions were ers were detained in Madrid over onstrators on a highway set bers of his coalition government not critical. their divisive secession drive. up banners, deckchairs, and a spoke out in support of Catalan “There are no risks at the Roads and major motorways table-top game of chess as long independence. moment, but it was a very big were cut in about 60 places, queues of motorists formed. He added that Puigdemont’s explosion that damaged the causing widespread disruption But despite the disruptions, presence in Belgium was a “mat- area,” Deputy Prime Minister in the region, which has been the work stoppage was smaller ter for the courts, not for the Hakan Cavusoglu said. plunged into uncertainty over its than during a general strike on government” (see accompany- Protesters play cards on top of a Catalan separatist flag while blocking the tracks inside the station of now-deposed government’s bid October 3 that followed Catalo- ing report). the high speed train AVE during a partial strike in Girona. to split from Spain. nia’s banned independence ref- Rajoy responded by tweeting: Catholics told to But by early afternoon, the erendum, in which 90% voted to “We must respect the rule of law on and the other half in exile”. No Belgian ‘crisis’ over deposed Catalan leader: PM protests had eased, with only break from Spain. and therefore the independence Authorities said high-speed put away phones around six blockages remaining During that strike most shops of Belgian and Spanish judges.” train links with France were Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel has denied that his government in the region, an interior minis- and tourist attractions closed More than 2,000 businesses disrupted, with a Barcelona- was in “crisis” over the arrival of deposed Catalan separatist leader Carles People should not be playing with try offi cial said. down in Barcelona, while they have moved their legal head- Lyon train forced to turn back, Puigdemont. their mobile phones during Mass, The independence crisis has remained open yesterday, al- quarters out of the region as the but commuter trains were run- His presence in Belgium has sparked tensions between Brussels and Pope Francis said yesterday, shaken a European Union still though the protesters blocked turmoil drags on. ning as normal by midday (1100 Madrid as well as within Michel’s coalition government, which includes speaking to the faithful in St getting to grips with Britain’s access to the heavily-visited Sa- Yesterday’s walkout was GMT). Dutch-speaking separatists. Peter’s Square. decision to leave the bloc, and grada Familia basilica. called by the pro-independence New elections will be con- “There is a political crisis in Spain and not in Belgium,” Michel said, ad- “It makes me very sad when I raised fears of social unrest as Juan Antonio Puigserver, an CSC union but lacked support ducted in Catalonia on Decem- dressing Belgian lawmakers for the first time since Puigdemont arrived celebrate Mass here in the square well as prolonged disruption to interior ministry offi cial, said from Spain’s two largest unions. ber 21 and Rajoy called yesterday with four former ministers on October 30. or in [St Peter’s] Basilica and I see the eurozone’s fourth-largest that participation in yesterday’s Waving pro-independence for “massive participation” in Michel added that the Belgian government’s “interlocutor” was the cen- many mobiles raised. And it’s not economy. strike had been “minimal” in banners and Catalan fl ags, dem- the vote. tral government in Madrid, later eliciting a welcome from Spanish Prime only the faithful, but also many Yesterday Spain’s Constitu- most sectors, except in educa- onstrators called for the release Puigdemont has called for a Minister Mariano Rajoy. priests and bishops,” the Pope tional Court struck down the tion where it reached 31.5%. of sacked government offi cials united separatist front to partic- The deposed leader’s presence is a “matter for the courts, not for the said. declaration of independence A judge in Madrid last week and separatist lobbyists. ipate, but a former government government”, said the Belgian leader from the southern French-speaking “Please! Mass is not a show!” he made by Catalan lawmakers on ordered eight separatist politi- In Barcelona, several thou- ally, the left-wing ERC party, on region of Wallonia. added, reminding that in Catholic October 27 – which led Madrid cians to be remanded in custody sand gathered outside the Cata- Tuesday ruled out running on “I will watch to make sure there is no interference in the independence of Mass, the priest who celebrates to dismiss the government and over their secession drive. lan government building, some the same ticket. the courts,” Michel said. “The Belgian government will ensure the great- “says ‘Lift up your hearts’ and assume control of the region – Deposed Catalan leader of them holding banners read- Spain’s Supreme Court in est respect of the rule of law.” does not say ‘Lift up your mobiles declaring it “unconstitutional Carles Puigdemont, who fl ed to ing: “This isn’t justice, it’s dic- Madrid is due today to resume Belgian judges are reviewing a European arrest warrant filed by Spain on to take a picture’”. and void”. Belgium where he is facing ex- tatorship.” its hearings of six members of charges of sedition and rebellion against the five Catalans. Speaking during his weekly Madrid is organising new re- tradition to Spain, on Tuesday Isabel Nistal, 33, said that she Catalonia’s dissolved parlia- The five fled to Belgium after Spain dismissed the Catalan executive and audience, the Pontiff said that it gional elections in Catalonia for criticised the EU for backing and her husband showed up “to ment, including speaker Carme imposed direct rule on the semi-autonomous region following the decla- was very important to “go back next month as it tries to stem the Spanish Prime Minister Mariano ask for the freedom of our gov- Forcadell, for their role in the se- ration of independence by the parliament there last month. to basics” and rediscover the real fallout from Spain’s deepest po- Rajoy in the crisis. ernment, half of which is in pris- cession drive. meaning of Catholic rituals.

Climate-hit nations: Who will pay rising costs of disasters?

By Alex Whiting, Reuters That means “loss and damage Four years on, though, the ity for global issues in Germany’s work as a professor in the Cli- Bonn is a reality now”, said Saleemul fl edgling mechanism has re- Federal Ministry for Economic mate and Development Lab in Huq, director of the Internation- ceived little fi nance or resources. Co-operation and Development, Brown University. al Centre for Climate Change and Its experts are due to produce said that climate risk insurance A range of other innovative s climate change-driven Development in Bangladesh. a technical paper on possible schemes have the advantage of ideas also are being explored to storms, fl oods and other The question of who might pay sources of fi nance by 2019, which off ering fast payouts which can pay for climate-related losses, Adisasters bring escalat- the mounting costs of disasters is suggests “nothing much is going give communities some protec- including taxes on fossil fuel ing fi nancial losses, how will the a controversial one at the talks. to happen for the next two years”, tion. companies, airlines and shipping costs be paid? That’s a crucial Developed countries – as the said Singh. “We have no clarity “Insurance doesn’t cover all companies. question at the UN climate talks biggest emitters of greenhouse on where money is going to come the damage made, but it gives Other options include a global in Bonn this week. gas emissions – have been reluc- from.” the country a cushion until the carbon tax, and a tax on fi nancial Researchers say that losses tant to discuss the costs, fearing Developing countries looking whole reconstruction eff ort can transactions. Two poodles are prepared before a performance during a contest at from droughts, sea level rise and that they could be held liable. for ways to address rising losses, start,” she said. “The payout is “My speculation is that loss the World Dog Show in Leipzig. other climate-driven shocks are “There are currently no funds however, say that it’s time to relatively quick, and not depend- and damage will gain some trac- likely to reach hundreds of bil- set up for loss and damage – make the process begin to work. ent on donors.” tion when lawsuits really start to 31,000 pooches take over Leipzig lions of dollars a year by 2030 if that’s the main challenge, and Fiji’s ambassador for climate But insurance is no magic bul- threaten corporations and coun- planet-warming emissions con- what we want to see happening,” change, Nazhat Shameem Khan, let, aid agencies say. tries,” Roberts said. More than 31,000 dogs descended on the eastern German city of tinue unabated. said Harjeet Singh, global lead on told Reuters: “Having been ne- The poorest who need it most With some 1,200 climate Leipzig yesterday for a top international show. Just the cost to the United climate change for ActionAid In- gotiated with so much diffi culty, cannot aff ord to pay for premi- change laws now in place global- About 280 diff erent breeds and dog lovers from 73 nations are States to repair the damage ternational. it’s important that we ... should ums unless they are subsidised, ly, the number of court cases are attending what organisers say is “a jam-packed programme” of caused by this year’s hurricanes Plans for addressing loss and try to make (the Warsaw Inter- and insurance cannot cover the on the increase – with at least 10 events aimed at putting the pooches through their paces. Harvey, Irma and Maria – in Tex- damage within the UN process national Mechanism) work ef- loss of something – such as a new cases fi led every year since This includes dog dancing championships, agility competitions, an as, Florida, Puerto Rico and the are enshrined in the Warsaw In- fectively.” family photograph or cultural 2015, according to the London- international flyball tournament along with the European dog diving US Virgin Islands – is estimated ternational Mechanism for Loss Developed countries have tradition – that has no economic based Grantham Institute on Cli- event in the city, which has a human population of about 560,000. to be tens of billions of dollars. and Damage, established in 2013. looked at insurance as one way to value attached to it. mate Change and the Environ- “Happy and relaxed dogs, fit and healthy and embodying the very Attempts to curb planet- The mechanism was created in cut the risks of extreme weather It also cannot deal with a so- ment. best their breeds have to off er – that’s what we can confidently warming emissions are falling the face of opposition from the for poorer countries and distrib- called “slow onset” disaster, “The threat of a lawsuit you predict we will see in the ring of honour,” said World Dog Show short and too little progress has US and some other industrialised ute recovery funds quickly in the such as one caused by years of think would lead nations to ne- chairman Peter Friedrich. been made in helping commu- countries that worried it could aftermath of a disaster. drought, said Timmons Rob- gotiate some kind of arrange- The World Dog Show has been held seven times in Germany since nities and countries adapt to the be used to make them pay for the Ingrid-Gabriela Hoven, di- erts, who is researching ways to ment in exchange for protection 1935. changes. costs of climate damage. rector general with responsibil- fi nance loss and damage in his against lawsuits,” Roberts said. Gulf Times Thursday, November 9, 2017 19 EUROPE EU to sign joint defence pact Reuters ber 13 in Brussels, will tie nations willingness to intervene abroad. Some other members, includ- defence capabilities together as ey and improve joint operations. and equipment, loosely based Berlin/Brussels into tighter defence collaboration Germany has sought to broad- ing Denmark, Portugal, Malta a group. It could also serve as an um- on the EU’s passport-free travel covering troops and weapons. en the pact to make it inclusive, and Ireland, have yet to commit A German offi cial said the brella for projects such as a Fran- “Schengen” zone. The Permanent Structured which some experts say could themselves publicly. initiative won momentum from co-German initiative to design “I welcome integration to the t least 20 countries in the Co-operation, or PESCO, could make it less eff ective. But it was clear that Britain, French President Emmanuel Ma- a new fi ghter jet, and existing maximum extent practical. We European Union will sign be the biggest leap in EU defence “This has to bring about a which intends to leave the bloc cron’s call for a European inter- bilateral military co-operation obviously want to avoid duplica- Aup to a new defence pact policy in decades and may go higher level of commitment if it following the Brexit referendum vention force in September and agreements, such as the close ties tion and maximise transparency,” next week, promoted by France some way to matching the bloc’s is going to work,” said a EU offi - of June 2016, would not partici- US President Donald Trump’s between Germany and the Neth- US Air Force General Tod Wol- and Germany, to fund and de- economic and trade prowess with cial, describing PESCO as a “de- pate, offi cials said. insistence that Europe do more erlands. ters, Nato Allied Air Commander, velop joint military hardware in a a more powerful military. fence marriage”. Britain has long sought to for its security. Eff orts under the pact will be told Reuters. show of unity following Britain’s But diff erences remain be- “The EU already has plenty of block EU defence co-operation, Proposals for PESCO include closely co-ordinated with the Under the plans, Nato would decision to quit the bloc. tween Paris and Berlin over what forums for discussion,” the offi - fearing that it could result in an work on a European medical US-led Nato alliance to ensure focus on collective defence, while After years of spending cut- countries legally bound by the cial said. EU army. command and a network of lo- transparency and avoid any re- PESCO would ensure a quicker backs in Europe and a heavy pact should do, EU diplomats So far France, Germany, Italy, French diplomats said the pact gistic hubs in Europe, creation of dundancies, the German offi cial and more effi cient EU response reliance on the United States said. Spain and around 16 other EU would have several areas where a crisis response centre, and joint said. to events like the 2014 Ebola cri- through the North Atlantic Trea- The French wanted a core countries have pledged to join EU governments would agree to training of military offi cers. One area where Nato and EU sis in Africa, the offi cial said. ty Organisation (Nato) alliance, group of EU member govern- the pact, which could formally be work together and pledge funds, A key goal is to reduce the offi cials see common ground is “This will not happen in com- France and Germany hope the ments to bring money and mili- launched when EU leaders meet including EU military opera- numbers of weapons systems and in the need for a military zone petition with Nato,” the German accord, to be signed on Novem- tary assets to PESCO, as well as a in December. tions, investment and acquiring prevent duplication to save mon- for free movement of troops offi cial said. Le Pen stripped of French Tymoshenko expects a fair US ruling after Manafort indictment immunity over IS pictures By Matthias Williams, Pavel Polityuk and Alessandra Prentice, Reuters AFP tection from prosecution. Kyiv Paris At the time she was a member of the European Parliament. That assembly voted in March krainian opposition lead- rance’s National Assem- to lift her immunity but three er Yulia Tymoshenko said bly has lifted the immu- months later she won it back Uyesterday that she has Fnity from prosecution of after being elected to the French faith in the United States justice far-right leader Marine Le Pen parliament for the fi rst time. system to do the right thing after for tweeting pictures of Islamic Yesterday’s decision of the last week’s indictment of Paul State (IS) group atrocities. 22-member Assembly com- Manafort, the man who helped The decision was taken by mittee is the latest blow to the bring her arch-enemy to power. a cross-party committee in 49-year-old politician, who has A political survivor and the charge of the internal func- appeared adrift since her defeat strident voice of Ukraine’s tioning of the assembly, after a at the hands of Emmanuel Ma- 2004/2005 “Orange Revolution”, request from the authorities to cron in May’s presidential run- Tymoshenko was jailed dur- lift Le Pen’s parliamentary im- off . ing the pro-Kremlin presidency munity over a crime that carries After proving a formidable of Viktor Yanukovych in 2011 in up to three years in prison. opponent, Le Pen lost to Macron a case condemned by Western The leader of the National with a lower-than-expected leaders as selective justice. Front (FN), who ran a failed bid 33.9% to his 66.1% of the vote According to the indictment for president this year, in 2015 after fl oundering badly in a fi nal of Manafort, who was a con- tweeted three pictures of IS vio- Le Pen: tweeted three pictures of IS violence in 2015. TV debate between the pair. sultant to Yanukovych’s Party of lence. The FN also fared poorly in Regions before becoming Don- One showed the body of be viewed by a minor, is a crime slammed the move as a “lowly, June parliamentary elections, ald Trump’s campaign manager, James Foley, an American jour- punishable by up to three years purely political decision” which taking just eight seats out of 577. Manafort used off shore accounts nalist beheaded by the religious in prison and a fi ne of €75,000 violated her freedom of expres- Tensions between rival party to secretly pay $4mn for a report extremists. in France. sion. factions – one led by anti-im- on her imprisonment. The others showed a man in Following a request from Fo- “It’s better to be a (religious migration hardliners, the other Ordered under house arrest an orange jumpsuit being driven ley’s family, Le Pen eventually extremist) returning from Syria by anti-EU nationalists – burst as he awaits trial, Manafort has over by a tank and a man being deleted the image of the Ameri- than an MP condemning the into the open in September pleaded not guilty to a 12-count burned alive in a cage. can, saying that she had been ignominies of IS,” she told AFP, with the resignation of Le Pen’s indictment on charges that in- “Daesh is this!” Le Pen wrote unaware of his identity. suggesting that France was soft- right-hand man Florian Philip- clude money laundering and fail- in a caption, using an Arabic ac- In September, parliament also er on IS members than their op- pot. ing to register as a foreign agent ronym for IS. lifted the immunity of another ponents. Philippot was the architect of of Yanukovych’s government. Circulating “violent mes- FN lawmaker, Gilbert Collard, The authorities began inves- Le Pen’s strategy to detoxify the Money laundering allegations sages that incite terrorism or over similar tweets containing tigating the tweets in December FN brand as well as her unpopu- against Manafort are not new: pornography or seriously harm IS images. 2015 but were not able to press lar plan to pull France out of the Tymoshenko herself made them human dignity” and that can Le Pen, a trained lawyer, charges while Le Pen had pro- eurozone. in a legal case she fi led in New York against Yanukovych, Man- afort and others that was dis- missed in September 2015. “As a result of the work of Yanukovych and his circle, I Tymoshenko: As a result of the work of Yanukovych and his circle, I Venice ended up in prison,” the 56-year- ended up in prison. old Tymoshenko said in an in- terview, in her fi rst public com- She was charged with abuse of Fund (IMF), which has propped ban on ments about Manafort since his power in relation to a gas import up Ukraine’s economy with a indictment. agreement signed with Russia in $17.5bn aid programme condi- She said Yanukovych spent 2009 as prime minister and was tional on economic reforms and large huge sums to blacken her name, jailed. tackling entrenched graft. “... without doubt this aff ected She was freed from prison in The IMF programme is in my life and that of my family February 2014 after Yanukovych choppy waters: as of now Ukraine cruise and team in a certain way, and fl ed into exile to Russia during has refused to implement a sharp Ukraine as well”. the pro-Western Maidan pro- hike in gas prices that it had pre- “That is why I believe that US tests and she addressed crowds viously agreed to, while the Fund ships is justice will deal with the details, from a wheelchair on Kiev’s In- is also studying whether recently including our claims, and we dependence Square because of passed pension changes pass will get a ruling from one of the chronic back trouble. muster. ‘lifted’ most eff ective legal systems in The crowd’s sympathy for “When I served as prime min- the world – the US system,” she her condition did not help her ister I co-operated with the IMF added. though to regain a place in the and I believe that Ukraine can DPA Manafort joined the Trump new pro-Western leadership and have positive co-operation with Rome presidential campaign in March she lost to President Petro Poro- the IMF,” she said, when asked 2016 and later became campaign shenko in the 2014 election. whether she would do as the IMF manager, but he was forced to But the two-time prime min- says or abandon the programme. arge cruise ships will be resign in August as questions ister who still sports a trademark “But it seems to me that there allowed back into the emerged about his previous work peasant braid in her hair is now needs to be a diff erent emphasis LVenice lagoon, but will for Yanukovych’s party. Poroshenko’s main challenger at in this co-operation.” be kept away from St Mark’s Tymoshenko used her fi ery presidential and parliamentary Tymoshenko said that the pro- Square, the Italian government brand of oratory to try to hu- elections due in 2019, according gramme should be focused not has announced, limiting a prac- miliate Yanukovych, but the later to opinion polls. on what she termed a reduction tice seen as an eyesore and a po- proved her nemesis after beating Tymoshenko said Kyiv should in social spending, but instead on tential environmental risk. her in a 2010 election for presi- have a new type of agreement tax reform and reducing the size The decision was taken late dent. with the International Monetary of Ukraine’s shadow economy. on Tuesday, after more than fi ve This picture taken on June 16, 2012 shows a cruise ship in the years of debate. Venice Lagoon. The idea to restrict cruise ships in Venice was fi rst mooted nects St Mark’s Basin to Ven- ship industry for the local econ- Ex-secret police in the wake of the Costa Con- ice’s tourist port, the ministry omy. off icial jailed cordia shipwreck, off the coast said. The Cruise Lines Interna- UN concerned over high risk of of Tuscany, in January 2012. The new rules should be op- tional Association (CLIA), an A senior off icial of Macedonia’s While cruise ships above erational within “about three industry group, was also satis- secret police was sentenced to 18 96,000 tonnes are currently years”, it added. fi ed with the decision. chlorine gas disaster in Ukraine months in prison for destroying banned from the Venice lagoon, “After many months of study The new regulations “meet evidence that could have helped new regulations will let them and very serious work, we have our twin goals of the long-term identify who was behind a dock at the industrial port of found a real solution,” Trans- protection of Venice’s herit- AFP both sides of the frontline di- result of the fi ghting, he said. wiretapping scandal that brought Marghera, following a route port Minister Graziano Delrio age and an assured future for United Nations viding eastern Ukraine have More than 10,000 people down a previous government. quite distant from Venice city said in a statement. “It is pos- the valuable cruise economy been shelled over recent days. have been killed in the confl ict Goran Grujevski, who ran the centre. sible to develop the port, to al- of Venice and the Adriatic”, “The UN is also extremely in east Ukraine that broke out in secret police division conducting Mid-sized cruisers in the low the cruise ships in, without the CLIA said, calling for work he United Nations has concerned about the possible April 2014. the wiretapping operations, 55,000-96,000-tonne range jeopardising Venice’s heritage.” on canal upgrades to start “as raised alarm that an es- release of hazardous chlorine Ukraine and its Western allies was found guilty of destroying will be made to follow the same Cruise ship traffi c to Ven- quickly as possible”. Tcalation of fi ghting in gas stored at both fi lter sta- have accused Russia of plot- documents from the period when route, but might be allowed to ice has boomed in the last 15 On the other hand, anti- east Ukraine could result in a tions,” said the UN resident ting and backing the separatists the wiretapping took place. proceed from Marghera to the years, along with overall tourist ship campaigners spoke of “the deadly chlorine gas disaster. co-ordinator Neal Walker in a in retaliation for the February He is awaiting extradition after tourist port of Venice, provided fl ows, creating employment but worst possible solution”. Fighting between pro-Rus- statement. 2014 ouster of Kiev’s Kremlin- his arrest in Greece last month. that a connecting canal is up- also leading many to question Tommaso Cacciari of the No sian separatist fi ghters and “If a single 900kg gas con- backed regime. Macedonia was thrown into graded, the transport ministry whether the fragile city could Big Ships Committee told RAI Ukrainian troops has intensifi ed tainer is hit, anyone within Moscow denies playing any political turmoil in 2015, when said. sustain ever-increasing tourist public radio that cruise ship near water, electricity and gas 200m might receive fatal role in the war and accuses opposition parties accused then- Only cruise ships that are un- visitor numbers. traffi c would “even double” stations, threatening supplies dose of the poisonous gas,” he the West of plotting an illegal prime minister Nikola Gruevski der the 55,000-tonne threshold Mayor Luigi Brugnaro hailed with the opening of Marghera in the Donetsk region as winter warned. “coup” in 2014 that saw Rus- and his counter-intelligence chief will continue passing by the the latest decision and stressed port to tourist vessels. approaches. Some 1.1mn Ukrainians could sia lose control of its western of orchestrating the wiretapping Giudecca Canal, which con- the importance of the cruise Two water fi lter stations on be deprived of clean water as a neighbour. of more than 20,000 people. Gulf Times 20 Thursday, November 9, 2017 INDIA

HONOUR SCAM IRREGULARITIES MUSIC INVESTIGATION Chennai gets Unesco Delhi court to declare Telangana Wakf Board French bands to tour 14 off icers held over recognition for music Mallya ‘absconder’ off ice sealed India in Nov, Dec cash-for-jobs scam

Unesco has included Chennai in its list of Creative A New Delhi court yesterday began the The Telangana government has sealed the French bands Colt Silvers and Last Train will Assam police yesterday arrested 14 off icers Cities for its contribution to music. Unesco process to declare liquor baron Vijay Mallya off ice of the State Wakf Board, pending an launch a multi-city India tour in November and recruited by the Assam Public Service Commission Director General Irina Bokova said: “These new an absconder in an alleged violation of foreign inquiry into alleged irregularities. Chief December. The bands will perform as part of the (APSC) for their alleged involvement in a cash-for- designations showcase an enhanced diversity exchange rules. Public prosecutor Navin Kumar Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is likely to third edition of the Bonjour India festival, which jobs scam amid indications that another 11 off icers in city profiles and geographical balance, with 19 Matta told Chief Metropolitan Magistrate announce in the assembly today the nature is curated and created by the French Institute in will be arrested soon. The 14 off icers included cities from countries not previously represented in Deepak Sherawat that a non-bailable warrant of the probe and steps to be taken to protect India in association with Alliance Francaise. Colt those from Assam Police Service (APS), Assam Civil the network. The Unesco Creative Cities Network (NBW) issued against Mallya was not executed. the Wakf properties in the state. The revenue Silvers comprises vocalist Tristan, bass player Service (ACS) and allied services posted in various (UCCN) was created in 2004. It highlights its The Enforcement Directorate (ED) moved an department late on Tuesday night sealed Nicolas, guitarist Florian and drummer Julien. The districts. They were picked up from diff erent members’ creativity within seven fields: crafts and application seeking to initiate proceedings to the off ice of the Wakf Board located in Haj band produces intense indie electro rock which is locations early yesterday, the police said. Chief folk art, design, film, gastronomy, literature, media declare Mallya a proclaimed off ender in the House in Hyderabad, off icials said yesterday. inspired by pop culture. Last Train is a story of four Minister Sarbananda Sonowal commended the arts and music. “While diff ering geographically, Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) case. The action came on the orders of Rao, who childhood friends - vocalist Jean-Noel Scherrer, police for the “achievement against corruption” demographically or economically, all Creative Cities The court listed the matter for December 18 was unsatisfied with the answers by the guitarist Julien Peultier, drummer Antoine Baschung and said none of the off icers who had secured jobs commit to develop and exchange innovative best for further hearing. The court was hearing the board off icials about the protection of Wakf and bass player Timothee Gerard, who have been through bribery would be spared. Our government practices to promote creative industries, strengthen final arguments in the 2000 case related to properties. At a meeting with top off icials to making music together for over a decade. They will has adopted a zero tolerance policy against participation in cultural life, and integrate culture alleged violation by Mallya of provisions of the review the functioning of board, the chief begin the tour from Delhi on November 22, go to corruption and the fight against corruption will into sustainable urban development policies,” a erstwhile FERA in arranging funds to advertise minister enquired about Wakf lands and other Chennai, Pondicherry, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Shillong, continue.” The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Assam statement on Unesco’s website said. his company’s liquor products abroad. properties and sought details. Guwahati, Kolkata and Gangtok. government came to power last year.

Kerala CM to table Student held solar probe report today

IANS for murder of Thiruvananthapuram

he Kerala government will table the solar judicial Tcommission probe re- port in the state assembly today, schoolmate which could put the Congress in a tight spot as the report has criticised former chief minister Oommen Chandy’s offi ce for al- leged involvement in the scam. Never before in the history of the state has the tabling of a in Gurugram judicial probe report witnessed such heightened political activ- zTeenager who wanted Gurugram Police Commission- murdered Pradhuman,” the father ity. The more than 1,000-page exams postponed killed er Sandeep Khirwar said the CBI said. report of Justice G Sivarajan Ryan School student was doing its duty and Haryana “We have been co-operating has criticised a huge number of Pradhuman: CBI police will co-operate with the with the police from day one. The top political leaders, including agency. CBI questioned him repeatedly Chandy, his cabinet colleagues, Asked about police offi cials and we co-operated.” sitting legislators, Lok Sabha Agencies who allegedly forced Ashok Ku- The CBI took over the case on members, former legislators and New Delhi mar to admit to the killing, he said September 22 from Haryana po- others. the matter will have to be consid- lice, nearly two weeks after Prad- The multi-million solar en- ered. human was found dead. ergy investment fraud that olice yesterday arrested a CBI sources said many police The teenager was produced rocked the Chandy government student for allegedly slit- offi cials, schoolteachers and stu- before the Juvenile Justice Board in 2013 was led by Saritha Nair Pting the throat of a seven- dents were under the agency’s in Gurugram that decided to and her live-in partner Biju Rad- year-old schoolmate in hopes the scanner in the case. treat him as minor according to hakrishnan. murder would lead to an exam be- The dramatic twist came after the Juvenile Justice (Care and Saritha had close links with ing postponed, federal investiga- “inspection of the crime spot, Protection of Children) Act, 2015 three of Chandy’s offi ce staff , tors said. scrutiny of CCTV footage, call and sent him to three days of who were dismissed after the The 16-year-old is accused records, statements and ques- CBI custody as requested by the case surfaced in 2013. of killing Pradhuman Thakur, a tioning of several people” that agency. On October 11 this year, Chief Class 2 student of Ryan Interna- revealed the suspect had carried a The CBI wanted his custody to Minister Pinarayi Vijayan took tional School in Gurugram, on knife to the school on that day and know about the murder weapon, the fi ndings of the report to the September 8 in an attempt to de- used it to kill his junior school- the planning of the crime and the cabinet. lay an impending test and parent- mate, the CBI said. motive. Vijayan, known for his tough teacher meeting. “The weapon used in the com- The Haryana police had ear- stand including against politi- Police had initially detained a mission of the crime is a knife lier claimed that Pradhuman was cal rivals, has taken forward the bus conductor over the murder, which was recovered initially by killed by school bus conductor report. He not only decided to claiming he killed the boy after police in Gurugram. It is now with Ashok Kumar inside the toilet. accept the probe report but also the young pupil resisted a sex at- us,” the spokesman told reporters While Ashok Kumar was ar- revealed the actions that his gov- tack. here. rested and is still in custody, Prad- ernment would take by appoint- But a Central Bureau of In- He said Pradhuman was a ran- human’s parents and two other ing a high level police probe team vestigation spokesman said they dom target. staff ers have maintained that to register cases of corruption, had credible evidence against the And after the killing, the school the conductor was being made a and also criminal cases for al- “academically weak teenager, was shut for days. scapegoat and that someone else leged sexual exploitation against whose motive was to postpone The offi cer said the prime sus- committed the crime. Chandy and the other accused, the examination and a forthcom- pect was interrogated mainly on The crime made national head- as claimed by Saritha. ing parent-teacher meeting”. the basis of CCTV footage, which lines and stoked concern among After Vijayan announced “He admitted during ques- showed him coming out of the parents over safety in schools. these actions, Chandy and oth- tioning that he wanted to shut school toilet where Pradhuman’s India’s swelling middle class ers slammed the report and the school to defer the exams and body was found with his throat has fuelled the growth of private pointed out that the commission meeting,” CBI spokesman R K slit - a crime that generated shock schools in a country where pub- has gone beyond its brief. Gaur said. and revulsion. lic education is under immense Chandy made a valiant at- A court in Gurugram in Hary- The father of the Class 11 strain. tempt to get a copy of the report, ana sent the Class 11 studen, who student said his son was being Much prestige is placed on aca- but failed, and then the Congress cannot be named for legal rea- framed. demic achievement and children Party demanded that the gov- sons, to three days in CBI custody. He said his son was taken in for face intense pressure to score ernment call a special session of Gaur said the bus conductor questioning by the CBI on Tues- good grades. the assembly, as all such judicial would remain in custody until day. Experts say this has aggravated reports have to be fi rst laid on the CBI off icials produce a16-year-old student of Ryan International School accused of murdering cleared by a court of any wrong- “The CBI told me that my son stress and mental illness among table. Pradhuman before the Juvenile Justice Board in Gurugram yesterday. doing. was being held because he had teenagers. Advani turns 90, greeted DMK not tying up with BJP: Stalin by leaders of all parties IANS “The PM called on Kalaignar Madurai (Karunanidhi). It was a human- itarian gesture. Immediately IANS “Visited residence of former Modi in his congratulatory tweet, media speculated as if some New Delhi Dy PM, Hon’ble Shri L K Advani saying Advani should not mind he Dravida Munne- compromise has been reached. ji and conveyed my best wishes on his disciple turning “hostile.” tra Kazhagam yesterday People even went to the extent his birthday. May god bless him “Warm Birthday greetings to Tscotched speculation it of saying a political alliance haratiya Janata Party veter- and I wish him good health and a Advani Ji! Never mind if any dis- was getting close to the Bharatiya has been struck (between the an L K Advani, who turned very meaningful long life,” Naidu ciple turns hostile. May God bless Janata Party. DMK and BJP). A humanitar- B90 yesterday, was greeted said in a series of tweets. you more cheerful, healthy, long “B’day Greetings to Shri LK DMK leader M K Stalin said ian gesture has been twisted by by leaders across the political Former president Pranab & successful life ahead!” Advani. Wishing him long life, the “dream” of some people of some whose dream will not be spectrum with Prime Minister Mukherjee also extended his Parliamentary Aff airs Minis- good health & happiness. Mentor such a possibility cannot be re- allowed to be realised,” Stalin Narendra Modi saying his eff orts “warm birthday greetings.” ter Ananth Kumar and BJP gen- and guide to us individually and alised and warned Prime Minis- said. had richly contributed to building “May you be blessed with good eral secretary Ramlal were among @BJP4India collectively,” he said. ter Narendra Modi’s government The meeting between Modi the party. health and many more years in those who visited Advani’s resi- Banerjee said: “Wishing a very that his party will not be cowed and Karunanidhi triggered me- Those who greeted the nona- service to the nation,” he tweeted. dence at Prithviraj Road in central happy birthday to Lal Krishna down by threats in its opposition dia and political speculation that genarian leader included Con- Modi conveyed his greetings in Delhi to wish him. Advani Ji. Health and happiness to the Centre on demonetisation the DMK could join hands with gress vice president Rahul Gan- a series of tweets. “Wishing Sh Advani ji on his for a long life.” and other issues. Modi amid a political churning dhi, West Bengal Chief Minister “Birthday greetings to re- birthday. A great leader himself BJP chief ministers including He said Modi calling on his in Tamil Nadu after the death Mamta Banerjee, Andhra Pradesh spected Advani Ji. I pray that he and a mentor to many of us. May Yogi Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh), ailing father and DMK chief M of J Jayalalithaa and the serious Chief Minister N Chandrababu is blessed with good health and a God grant him a long and healthy Raman Singh (Chhattisgarh), and Karunanidhi in Chennai on Mon- infi ghting in the ruling All India Naidu and Rashtriya Janata Dal long life.” life to guide the nation,” Ananth Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Madhya day was a “humanitarian” gesture Anna Dravida Munnetra Ka- chief Lalu Prasad Yadav. Describing Advani as a political Kumar tweeted and shared a pho- Pradesh) were among those who and nothing more than that. zhagam. Advani, a former deputy prime stalwart, Modi said: “He is a leader tograph of him touching Advani’s greeted Advani. Wearing a black shirt along Stalin said the decision to junk minister, started his day by greet- who has distinguished himself feet. with cadre of DMK and allies, high-value notes last year came ing 90 blind children at his resi- through hard work and dedication “Happy Birthday, Advani ji. Stalin broke his silence on the as a bolt from the blue. dence and took breakfast with towards our nation. We BJP kar- Have a lovely day,” Gandhi said in issue while speaking at the op- “The country secured inde- them. yakartas (workers) are fortunate his tweet. position-sponsored “Black Day” pendence at midnight and lost it Vice President M Venkaiah to always receive the guidance of Housing and Urban Develop- protests here. The DMK had too at midnight,” he said, refer- Naidu and Home Minister Ra- Advani Ji. His eff orts have contrib- ment Minister Hardeep Singh called off the protests in Chennai ring to Modi’s speech in the night jnath Singh visited Advani’s resi- uted richly to the building of BJP.” Puri said Advani had been a men- Home Minister Rajnath Singh greets senior Advani on his 90th and coastal districts because of last year announcing demoneti- dence to greet him. Lalu Prasad took a veiled dig at tor and a guide. birthday in New Delhi yesterday. heavy rains. sation. Gulf Times Thursday, November 9, 2017 21 INDIA IndiGo takes responsibility for assault on passenger

Agencies cal news channels, at least two tremely regrettable and wish that nai, waiting for a bus at the air- dent which occurred on October The airline said that Kalra was who were junior to him to prevent New Delhi IndiGo staff members can be seen we would have handled this dif- port when the incident took 15. indeed the one who “instigated the customer from boarding the pinning a passenger down on the ferently,” IndiGo president Aditya place. “What transpired was some- the incident and further pro- bus and holding him back at the ground after an argument on the Ghosh said in the letter. Terming the incident as “un- thing that is not in accordance voked the customer by beginning ramp area itself”. ndiGo said yesterday it takes tarmac. “Whatever may have been the acceptable”, Minister of State with the laid down procedures to shoot a video on his mobile He said: “It is important for us responsibility for an inci- In a seven-page report ad- provocation, whether verbal or for Aviation Jayant Sinha said and resulted in an incident which phone”. to point out that Kalra was not Ident in which its security dressed to Civil Aviation Minis- physical abuse, we could have on Tuesday that the government is a departure from IndiGo’s It said Kalra was a cargo em- terminated because he either shot staff manhandled a passenger at ter Ashok Gajapathi Raju, IndiGo tried to display more restraint,” would decide what action to take ethos,” Ghosh said in the report, ployee and had no reason to ap- a video or, as he is now claiming, New Delhi airport, a day after the used multiple screenshots from Ghosh said while defending once IndiGo submits a report. adding that while the investiga- proach the passenger area. brought this to our attention.” event prompted the government the video to explain the reasons some of the actions of his em- IndiGo, owned by InterGlobe tion was going on the employ- According to Ghosh, Kalra, who The airline also clarifi ed that to launch an investigation into In- behind the incident and what ployees which he says were taken Aviation Ltd, fl ies about one in ees involved were immediately “is claiming to be the whistle- another of its employees Juby dia’s biggest airline. transpired between the passenger to ensure the passenger’s safety. every two passengers in India. sacked. blower, is the one you can hear Thomas was the one who brought In a video, widely shared on and its employees. The video showed Rajiv Katyal It said it had apologised to the One of the employees is Montu shouting in the video and in- the incident to the company’s no- social media and televised on lo- “We fi nd this incident ex- Katyal, who arrived from Chen- passenger on the day of the inci- Kalra who shot the video. structing the other two colleagues tice. A year after cash ban, black money market is still thriving

AFP value notes could not be spent New Delhi and instead had to be banked, would encourage a switch to trace- able digital payments in a country hen India declared most where just 3% had been paying bank notes unusable taxes. Wa year ago in an eff ort Modi personally championed to fl ush out tax cheats, one steel credit and debit cards in the after- manufacturer was so spooked math of demonetisation, beaming he resolved to do business by the down from billboards encouraging book in future. people to embark on a digital revo- But 12 months on from the lution. shock move, the industrialist says But sales from plastic have de- he has gone back to cash under the clined 13% from highs in Decem- Vehicles drive through heavy smog in Delhi yesterday. The Delhi administration described the city as a “gas chamber.” table at the insistence of his buyers ber 2016, when new cash notes - undermining government claims remained scarce. that the bold scheme has cleaned Mobile banking fi gures for Au- up India’s graft-ridden economy. gust, the latest data available, Prime Minister Narendra Mo- showed $16bn in transactions - a di’s decision last November to 20% drop compared with Novem- withdraw high-value notes was ber. intended to root out a culture of Sanjay Moria, a tea vendor in tax evasion so widespread it had central Delhi, said at least half his Govt under fi re as Delhi become the norm. income in the weeks after demon- His Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) etisation came through a popular had won the 2014 election on a payment app, but since then, dig- promise to root out corruption, ital sales had plunged. which had led to popular disillu- “I’ll take any form of payment, sionment with the previous gov- but people are mostly back to ernment. paying in cash,” he said, as offi ce pollution level surges But the move wrought havoc workers sipped hot spiced tea from on businesses in Asia’s third- small paper cups. Schools shut for rest of week; at this stage,” said Deputy Chief and the surrounding northern provoking protest from many improving public transport and largest economy, causing growth Many poorer people, reliant on health ministry advises Minister Manish Sisodia, order- states to immediately tackle dan- who saw the measure as being banning the use of dirty industry to slump to levels not seen since cash, were left scrambling to buy people, children to remain ing the closure until Sunday. gerous levels of pollution in the too little and too late. fuel, are required, said Anumita Modi was elected. basic necessities as their meagre indoors The Delhi administration, capital, even if that meant de- “Nobody seems to get the Roychowdhury of New Delhi’s Now, as businesses from street- savings evaporated in an instant. which described the city as a “gas ploying helicopters to spray jets gravity of the problem,” said Dr Centre for Science and Environ- side stalls to wholesalers rekindle “Was it worth it? Certainly not,” Agencies chamber”, had previously or- of water. Naresh Trehan, the chairman ment. their love aff air with cash, Modi is said Sunil Sinha, principal econo- New Delhi dered schools for young children “Every possible step required and managing director of the “Without the systemic chang- coming under pressure to explain mist at India Ratings & Research. to close only for yesterday. to tackle the situation has been Medanta Heart Institute. es, the scope and impact of the whether the most controversial “It brought huge pain and dis- The federal health ministry already identifi ed, and the need Last November, the city’s emergency measures will be lim- policy of his tenure was worth the ruption. People lost lives, lost their elhi’s government yester- also advised people with breath- of the hour is to put them into worst pollution in nearly 20 years ited,” she added. economic pain. livelihoods.” day ordered schools shut ing problems and children to re- action,” federal Environment forced about a million children to The thick blanket of smog The steel producer, who spoke Authorities also expected that Dfor the rest of the week as main indoors. Minister Harsh Vardhan wrote miss school, while thousands of caused a major vehicle pile-up on on condition of anonymity, said a portion of non-tax payers would air pollution worsened and criti- “People should avoid morn- on Twitter, using the hashtag workers reported sick and people a busy highway on the outskirts his eff orts to keep business above fail to bank their unusable cash for cism mounted over the failure of ing walk or any other strenuous “#DelhiSmog”. queued to buy face masks. of Delhi, reports said. board backfi red when his buy- fear of exposure. But in August the authorities to tackle the public outdoor activity that increases Vardhan also urged the sur- Residents are worried this year High pollution levels were ers insisted on paying cash - and Reserve Bank of India announced health crisis. breathing rate,” the ministry said rounding states of Punjab, Har- as well. The Indian Medical As- driving a major surge for air pu- keeping their payments off the that 99% of the devalued notes Thick smog swathed Delhi, in a statement. yana and Uttar Pradesh to ban sociation has urged organisers rifi ers in New Delhi and its sub- books. had been returned, undermining where pollution readings in some Anti-pollution measures burning on farms, which is seen to call off Delhi’s biggest race set urbs, Amazon.com Inc’s India “They said, ‘we have cash at Modi’s claim that stashes of black places peaked at 500, the most adopted by the Delhi state gov- as a major contributor to the for November 19, to protect run- unit said. home, and if you want to be paid, money would be uncovered. severe level on the government’s ernment in recent years include dirty air, along with high vehicle ners and volunteers. If pollution Air purifi er sales have surged we can pay you in cash immedi- Now traders say they are oper- air quality index that measures limiting car use and taxing trucks emissions and dust from con- increases, emergency measures, 150%, along with a 260% in- ately, but we cannot arrange a bank ating much as they did before the poisonous particles. that pass through the city, but struction sites. such as the suspension of con- crease in demand for face masks payment’,” he told AFP. ban, with cash once again king, as “The air quality in Delhi is de- few have succeeded. The Delhi government said it struction activity, will kick in, the this year, Amazon said, adding The government had hoped the fears of being stung by the taxman teriorating. We cannot compro- Prime Minister Narendra Mo- had sought meetings with state Delhi government has said. that air purifi er sales have risen surprise move, which meant high- have faded. mise with the health of children di’s government also urged Delhi ministers to discuss the burning, Long-term measures, such as 600% in the last month. Himachal Pradesh to hold Man jailed for life for raping nun assembly elections today AFP the state after the assault, trav- Kolkata elled to Ranaghat and identifi ed the accused from a police line up, IANS Political observers say the party’s repeat as he forced the chief public prosecutor Tamal Shimla contest between the Congress Congress to announce him as Bangladeshi man who Mukerjee told AFP. and the BJP is neck and neck as the chief ministerial candidate raped an elderly nun was “She strode straight towards there is no clear wave in favour despite all odds,” a political ob- Asentenced to life in prison the accused and identifi ed him imachal Pradesh will of any party. server said. by a Kolkata court yesterday, in by touching his hand,” he said. hold crucial assembly It is literally a do-or-die bat- For Dhumal, it’s simply the a case that has fuelled anger at Thomas D’Souza, the Arch- Helections today. tle for both chief ministerial fac- battle for “self-survival” after high levels of sexual violence. bishop of Kolkata, told AFP, “The The elections to 68 constitu- es. Both are struggling for their facing a humiliating defeat in the The 71-year-old nun needed incident shook the conscience of encies will be held in a single political survival. 2012 assembly polls. Since then, surgery after the attack in March people. It took the church a long phase in the Congress-ruled One is veteran Congress lead- he was almost marginalised by 2015 when a gang of robbers time to recover from the ghastly state, where the Bharatiya Ja- er and incumbent Chief Minis- the BJP faction led by federal broke into the convent school incident.” nata Party is determined to take ter Virbhadra Singh, 83, who is Health Minister J P Nadda. where she lived. The nun, who cannot be power. pushing hard to get to the helm After thwarting foes within, “What happened to the eld- named for legal reasons, was Offi cials said everything was for a seventh time. Virbhadra Singh donned the erly nun is a blot on West Ben- attacked after the robbers ran- in place for a smooth conduct of The other is the BJP’s Prem battle gear much ahead of his gal’s legacy where Mother Teresa sacked the school in Ranaghat the polling in 7,525 booths. Kumar Dhumal, 73, who is mak- arch rival Dhumal, whose name worked for the poor,” additional and stole cash and other items. A total of 5.25mn voters, in- ing a strong bid to ensure the was cleared by the BJP as its judge Kumkum Singha told a Priests and schoolgirls took to cluding 1.9mn women and 14 party’s win with a record margin chief ministerial candidate just packed court in state capital the streets demanding justice. transgenders, will decide the to silence his detractors within days earlier. Kolkata, where church offi cials Well-wishers closed shops, fate of 338 candidates, 19 of the party. Interestingly, both Virbhadra and some nuns from the convent shuttered schools and held can- them women. The vote count For almost two decades, both Singh and Dhumal are seeking were present. dlelit vigils outside the hospital will be held on December 18 parties in the state have fought re-election from new seats and On Tuesday the court found where the nun underwent sur- along with that of Gujarat. almost every assembly and Lok that is not going to be easy for Nazrul Islam guilty of rape and gery for injuries suff ered during The Communist Party of In- Sabha polls under their leadership. them. attempted murder, among other the attack. dia (Marxist) has fi elded candi- “This time, Virbhadra Singh The Congress leader is in the off ences. Police came under fi re for per- dates in 14 seats while the Aam is fi ghting on two fronts - one fray from Arki in Solan district, Five others arrested, found ceived inaction after 10 men were Aadmi Party (AAP), which made is to establish his son Vikrama- a BJP pocket borough that he guilty of charges unrelated to the detained but no arrests made, its debut in the hill state in the ditya Singh, who is contesting chose himself. Dhumal is con- sexual assault, were sentenced despite the faces of some at- 2014 Lok Sabha election, has his maiden assembly election, testing from Sujanpur, the seat Off icials check electronic voting machines ahead of crucial polls, yesterday to 10 years in prison. tackers being captured on CCTV preferred to stay away. and the second is to ensure the he was asked to contest from. in Dharamsala Himachal Pradesh. The nun, who moved out of footage. Gulf Times 22 Thursday, November 9, 2017 LATIN AMERICA

DECISION DEFENCE CRIME CONTROVERSY LAW AND ORDER Brazil ‘to dilute unpopular France sells five used Ecuador accuses Ambassador’s remarks Police arrest alleged killer pension reform bill’ fighter planes to Argentina Odebrecht of tax fraud anger Ecuadorians of community leader

The Brazilian government will propose a France has sold five used Super Etendard fighter The Ecuadorian prosecutor’s off ice announced Ecuador has asked Argentina to recall its The Colombian police said they had arrested watered down version of its unpopular pension planes to Argentina, which has an outdated it will press tax fraud charges against Brazilian ambassador to Quito after he called Ecuadorians the alleged killer of a black community leader reform this week because the original bill military fleet and is hosting large international construction conglomerate Odebrecht — also dirty. Luis Alfredo Juez earlier told Argentinian campaigning to stop farmers growing coca does not have enough votes to pass Congress, events in coming years, the French ambassador embroiled in a corruption scandal spanning Latin media that he had taken a shower and changed plantations for the country’s cocaine lords. its deputy lower house whip said yesterday. in Buenos Aires said. The planes were negotiated America and Africa. Odebrecht is accused of failing clothes because he did not want to be told that Aris Caicedo had been captured by police in Congressman Darcisio Perondi said a deal could during talks over the sale of four ships from to declare $120mn of revenue in Ecuador between “I’m filthy and picked up Ecuadorian habits.” neighbouring Ecuador and handed over to be agreed today and the governing coalition French shipbuilding company Naval Group to 2012 and 2016, chief prosecutor Carlos Baca said. The foreign ministry said that the ambassador’s Colombian authorities at a bridge on the two will table a “more palatable” proposal tomorrow. Argentina, a discussion that Ambassador Pierre “We have asked the justice department to set a comments “off end the dignity of the Ecuadorian countries’ border, a police statement said. The amendment will keep the establishment of Henri Guignard said in an interview is ongoing. day and time to formulate charges,” Baca said. The people and contradict the respect and friendship He had been on the run since the murder of a minimum retirement age of 65 for men and 62 “We parted with five Super Etendard fighters that allegations against the company, which has yet that should govern the relations between the community leader Jair Cortes. Drug lords in the for women, but other details such as required are a bit old but important for them,” Guignard to respond, rose following a review of an internal two countries.” Deputy Foreign Minister Rolando tense Tumaco region had threatened Cortes and years of contributions must still be worked out, said. He said the planes would allow Argentina to revenue service report filed last March. Meanwhile, Suarez asked Argentinian charge d’aff aires Carlos other community leaders for encouraging the Perondi said. The average retirement age is have some operating planes before the Group of 18 people in Ecuador are accused of playing a part Catella to handle the request to Buenos Aires to substitution of the illegal cultivation of coca leaves. now 55. 20 summit it will host at the end of next year. in the ongoing Odebrecht corruption scandal. recall the ambassador. He was shot dead in the municipality on October 17. Tech junkies seek healing at digital detox clinic

AFP into one of three possible catego- Rio de Janeiro ries: conscientious user, abusive user or dependent, and off ered treatment sessions tailored to in- ike many young people, dividual needs and the gravity of 29-year-old student LL the case. Lloves his cell phone. So The aim of the treatment is not much so, in fact, that his studies, to demonise technology but to al- his work and even his personal re- low addicts to use it in a healthier lationships have suff ered, and his manner. phone eventually became a way to In weekly group sessions they avoid people in the real world. discuss their experiences. That was when he realised he They also are given exercises — needed help. like trying to read a book or watch LL, who like other patients in- a movie without looking at a cell- terviewed by AFP asked that their phone — and taught good practic- full names not be used, suff ers es — known as digital etiquette. from a form of digital depend- The goal is to help a person go ency known as “nomophobia,” a from an abusive user to a con- neologism derived from the term scientious one. Some disorders Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro attends a soccer practice with Argentina soccer legend Diego Maradona in Caracas, Venezuela. “no-mobile-phone phobia.” may need to be treated medica- It is a condition with real psy- tion. As well as causing emotional chological, social and physical problems, nomophobia can infl ict consequences and is on the rise in physical suff ering on an addict. Brazil, home to the fourth largest The center’s physiotherapist, number of Internet users in the Mariana King Padua, explained world. that prolonged use of cellphones, In September, the student and the angle of the users head started on a course of treatment when staring at a handheld EU ‘set to impose’ arms in the Delete Institute, the fi rst in screen, can put so much pressure Brazil to off er free digital detox to on the neck that it causes injuries. online addicts. “The neck muscles are not Set up in the psychology de- adapted to this kind of workload,” partment of Rio de Janeiro’s Fed- she said. eral University in 2013 by psy- Heavy usage of technology chologist Anna Lucia King, the does not necessarily make a per- embargo on Venezuela Delete centre has already treated son an addict: that only happens 800 people suff ering various when their use becomes exagger- Reuters next Monday,” an EU diplomat However, the decisions taken The council will hear from “We need to fi nd ways to en- types of dependency on digital ated. “Abusive behaviour occurs Brussels said, adding that the ministers’ by EU ambassadors at a meeting Luis Almagro, the secretary- sure that free and transparent technology. when the virtual world starts to backing was a formality. yesterday only prepare the legal general of the Organisation of elections can happen in Ven- The profi les vary, from adoles- impinge on the real one, that’s Spain has long pushed for basis for sanctions, without any American States (OAS) and an ezuela,” said Faurie. “What we cents who spend hours playing when people lose control. he European Union is set sanctions on those close to Pres- names. outspoken critic of President have today in Venezuela is a state video games on their computers, to It’s a fi ne line,” said Eduardo to impose an arms em- ident Nicolas Maduro, whom Travel bans and asset freezes Nicolas Maduro’s government. of non-democracy with many adults who have lost a spouse over Guedes, Delete’s specialised dig- Tbargo on Venezuela and Washington accuses of install- would only be imposed on Vene- Argentinian Foreign Minis- violations of human rights and their addiction, or who were fi red ital media researcher. will consider further sanctions ing a dictatorship, but the EU zuelan offi cials “should the evo- ter Jorge Faurie confi rmed the political rights.” from jobs for spending too much The ubiquity of online tech- in response to the political crisis has been divided over whom to lution of the situation require it”, planned council meeting to Venezuelan lawmaker Freddy time on Facebook or WhatsApp. nology and the penetration of the in the South American country, target, while Britain is a signifi - a second EU diplomat said. journalists in New York. Guevara sought refuge at Chile’s Newly enrolled patients un- internet into everyday modern two EU diplomats said. cant arms supplier to Venezuela. Once approved, the arms em- Faurie, who was accompany- embassy in Caracas on Saturday, dergo an evaluation by a multi- life can often blind people to their The measures will bring the Diplomats said the turning bargo will be accompanied by ing President Mauricio Macri, a day after the pro-government disciplinary team and answer own addiction. Many times, it is EU more into line with the US, point for EU governments was a ban on exports of equipment said there was major health and Supreme Court stripped him of questions to establish the source the people around an addict who which imposed sanctions ear- regional elections that appeared that could be used for internal food emergency in Venezuela his immunity and said he would of their dependency. seek help for them. lier this year, and they signal to favour Maduro’s ruling So- repression and of surveillance that the United Nations must be prosecuted on charges pun- Afterwards, a psychologist That was the case for HB, 24, a change of tone in Brussels, cialists last month. equipment, the diplomats said. address. ishable by a decade in prison. evaluates whether there is any whose mother brought her to the which had previously resisted Polls had suggested the op- Meanwhile, the UN Security “Venezuela at the start was a US Ambassador Nikki Haley sort of clinical disorder present, Delete Institute last August to taking a tougher approach to- position would easily win a ma- Council is to hold an informal worry to us. Now it’s painful,” has called on the council to turn such as anxiety, panic attacks, so- treat her dependency on computer wards Caracas. jority but in the end it won only meeting on Monday called by said Macri, who discussed the its attention to Venezuela after cial phobias or obsessive compul- games. “I didn’t even notice that I “The steps were approved yes- a handful of governorships, ac- the US to discuss the deepening crisis with UN secretary-general leading a closed-door meeting sion disorder. had a problem,” she said. “You get terday, paving the way for approv- cording to the pro-government crisis in Venezuela, diplomats Antonio Guterres at UN head- of the top UN body on the crisis Afterwards, they are classifi ed used to it, it’s diffi cult to stop.” al (by the bloc’s foreign ministers) electoral board. said. quarters. in May.

Anti-Hernandez rally Argentina will contest US Bogota ‘winning fi ght against child labour’ biodiesel tariff s: Macri Thomson Reuters Foundation “It’s indisputable that as long Bogota as working conditions of adults Reuters rily soy-based fuel out of the US over beef and other agribusiness don’t improve..children will United Nations market. matters. continue to be part of an alter- Argentina has been trying to “I feel that the European Un- he number of children native generation of income for settle the trade dispute by nego- ion is really committed to fi nding working in Colombia has families,” the centre, based in rgentine President Mau- tiating a minimum price for its an agreement with Mercosur,” he Tfallen by nearly 300,000 Colombia’s city of Medellin, said ricio Macri said his gov- exports, but no deal has yet been said, predicting that a deal could in the past four years but child in its report. Aernment would defi nitely reached. be signed at the WTO ministerial labour remains rife in rural areas, Further driving child labour appeal to the World Trade Or- conference scheduled to happen researchers have said. rates are local cultural attitudes, ganisation if the US commerce “I can assure you (US in Buenos Aires in early Decem- The percentage of chil- under which work is seen as department followed through on commerce) secretary ber. “They know they need some dren aged fi ve to 17 working in character building for children threatened duties on Argentine (Wilbur) Ross is doing his good news after Brexit.” the South American country and as a normal part of develop- biodiesel. best to fi nd an agreement Macri, who is wrapping up dropped to 7.8% in 2016 from ment, the report said. “I can assure you (US com- with the US private sector” a two-day visit to the US dur- 10.2% in 2012 — equivalent to Under Colombian law, chil- merce) secretary (Wilbur) Ross ing which he met with execu- 291,000 children — according dren under 15 are not allowed to is doing his best to fi nd an agree- Macri, who reached out to US tives from companies including to a report by the National Un- work and no child can be em- ment with the US private sector,” President Donald Trump soon BlackRock, Amazon.com and ion School (ENS) research cen- ployed in a hazardous job that Macri told Reuters in an inter- after he was elected in a bid to re- DowDuPont Inc predicted the tre. poses a risk to health or life. view. “Still we didn’t fi nd it but kindle a relationship they formed Argentine economy would grow While Colombia’s child labour In rural areas, child labour I’m still optimistic.” as businessmen before entering “a little more than 3%” in 2017. rates have fallen, about 850,000 rates are nearly double that of Macri, though, replied in the politics, portrayed the dispute as “Yes, I am optimistic,” he said. children still work and are not in urban areas, the report noted. affi rmative when asked whether one between private industries “Everyone says 2.8%, I say a lit- school, either full-time or at all, “This diff erence is under- his government would go to the rather than governments. tle more than 3%.” said the report. standable, but not acceptable, WTO to contest the duties if they The Argentine president, who Macri, whose Cambiemos Most children are found given the lack of decent work in were confi rmed at the prelimi- has made signing trade deals a coalition coasted to a sweep- working in the agriculture, cattle the countryside and access to nary level of as much as 64.17%. priority, said he was optimistic ing victory in mid-term elec- ranching and forestry sectors, as services such as education,” the The US commerce depart- that Mercosur, the trade bloc tions last month, acknowledged well as in hotels and restaurants, report said. ment is expected to make a deci- formed by Argentina, Brazil, that if his forecast came true his Salvador Nasralla, presidential candidate for the Alliance the report said. Hundreds of children in Co- sion setting fi nal anti-dumping Paraguay and Uruguay, would government would likely have to of opposition political parties, gestures during a march It is still common to see chil- lombia have also been forcibly duties on Argentine and Indone- be able to conclude a free trade make payments on debt linked against the re-election of Honduran President Juan dren working on city streets as recruited by gangs to work as sian biodiesel, which threatens deal with the European Union to the country’s economic per- Orlando Hernandez in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. vendors and cleaning car wind- couriers of drugs and arms, ac- to price its exports of the prima- by year-end despite diff erences formance. screens, as well as on farms. cording to human rights groups. Gulf Times Thursday, November 9, 2017 23 PAKISTAN

Maryam angrily Court indicts Sharif on reacts to Panama 3 separate graft charges Papers judgment Internews Agencies Lahore Islamabad usted Pakistani prime he accountability court minister Nawaz Sharif’s hearing corruption cases Odaughter Maryam Na- Tagainst Nawaz Sharif and waz, once again, took a dig at the his family members has rejected judiciary and the military estab- an application fi led by the ousted lishment following the release prime minister for clubbing to- of the detailed judgement of the gether the three references fi led Supreme Court in the Panama by the National Accountability Papers case yesterday. Bureau (NAB). Putting to rest the assumption Maryam Nawaz, After the announcement of that she would observe restraint the judgement, Sharif was called while commenting on key insti- ‘adjectives’ than law. First time to the rostrum and the judge read tutions, Maryam took to Twitter witnessed seat of justice spew- out the charges against him. saying: “This decision (to dis- ing venom.” The former prime minister qualify her father and open cor- She adopted an aggressive was indicted separately in each ruption cases against the Sharif posture towards the judiciary of the three references — he family) could only be under im- and said: “The decision against pleaded “not guilty” to all the mense pressure otherwise such Nawaz Sharif was announced charges. travesty of justice is unimagina- the day the judges showed their While at the rostrum, Sharif ble.” bias by declaring him the Sicil- expressed his concern that since She claimed that her name ian mafi a and Godfather. The the Supreme Court had given a had appeared in the detailed decision was announced the day six-month deadline for the ref- judgment (connecting her to a judge asked the person (Imran erences to be wrapped up, decid- London’s Avenfi eld fl ats) be- Khan) who lost election to Na- ing four references in this period cause she had been vocal in con- waz Sharif to fi le a non-main- would mean each case gets just demning the “injustice” meted tainable petition in Panama Pa- 1.5 months. out to her family. pers case. However, the judge observed On the other hand, Pakistan The decision was announced that the cases could conclude Tehreek-i-Insaf chairperson the day the judges became law- within the timeframe if heard si- Imran Khan was of the view that yers for the petitioner.” multaneously. the detailed judgement had es- She regretted that the reputa- After the indictment, the Pakistani security personnel escort a vehicle carrying ousted Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif (C) as he leaves an accountability court tablished that Sharif had looted tion of the institutions had been court revived summonses for the after a personal appearance to face corruption charges in Islamabad yesterday. and laundered money to pur- put on stake just to seek revenge prosecution witnesses — Sidra chase fl ats in London under the from Sharif. Mansoor of the Securities and fore the accountability court in words used in the detailed order. Safdar in the Avenfi eld reference Meanwhile, Finance Minister name of his daughter. Recently, her uncle Shah- Exchange Commission of Paki- Islamabad yesterday as hear- “This grudge, anger and related to London properties. Ishaq Dar, who was scheduled to Reacting to the detailed judge- baz Sharif and Pakistan Mus- stan and Jahangir Ahmed of Fed- ing resumed into the references words will become a dark chap- Besides other charges, the court appear before the court yester- ment, Maryam posted screen lim League-Nawaz hawk Saad eral Board of Revenue — for their fi led under the directives of the ter of history.” also charged Maryam with sign- day in connection with the refer- grabs of news clips saying: “Qa- Rafi que had advised her to ex- presence in the next hearing. Supreme Court in the Panama Sharif said the judiciary had ing a document in Calibri font in ence trial, fi led an application in noon aur insaf bhi sharminda ercise caution while speaking The Sharif family members left Papers case verdict. penned several dark chapters in February 2006 when that font the court to nominate a pleader. hain (law and justice have been about the judiciary and the army, the court after the hearing was ad- Speaking to reporters as he left Pakistan’s history during dicta- did not exist. The application fi led by Dar’s compromised)! That’s exactly and warned her that a clash with journed until November 15. the court, Nawaz Sharif said he torial rules and the judgement Announcing its judgement, junior counsel stated that he is how minority brings a bad name national institutions would not The court had reserved its rul- already knew the Supreme Court on the review petition would be the court decided to delete Sec- currently in London due to ill to the majority! Victim is not bode well for the country or the ing on Sharif’s application on judgement on the review peti- “written in dark letters” as well. tion 3(a) of National Account- health and would prefer to be Nawaz Sharif but justice itself.” PML-N. Tuesday after hearing arguments tions fi led against the Panama The court yesterday also de- ability Ordinance (NAO) 1999 represented by a pleader in the She added that there were In response to Maryam’s from both the defence counsel Papers case verdict would never cided on an application fi led by dealing with forgery from the court on his behalf. those on the wrong side of his- tweets the PTI chief tweeted: and the NAB prosecution. come in his favour. Maryam Nawaz and her husband charges against the couple. Interestingly, Dar nominated tory seeking short term benefi ts, “Since Maryam did not have Nawaz Sharif along with his “These judges are full of Safdar for deletion of a charge The charge could be reinstated Zafi r Khan as his pleader, the same they would be the “ultimate los- resources to purchase fl ats in daughter Maryam Nawaz and grudge... their grudge and an- related to the use of Calibri font. in case the prosecution comes up person who pleaded on behalf of ers”. Scoffi ng at the inclusion of 1993 it is evident Nawaz Sharif son-in-law retired Captain ger has come out in words,” he The accountability court had with solid evidence against the Nawaz Sharif while he was in Lon- her name in the detailed judge- bought these fl ats with money Mohamed Safdar appeared be- said, commenting on the strong on Oct 19 indicted Maryam and accused related to forgery. don attending to his wife. ment that made her out to be stolen and laundered from Pa- the owner of the Avenfi eld fl ats, kistan. The Supreme Court Maryam said: “It’s the same judgement states you cannot Maryam who didn’t even fi g- fool all the people all the time. ure in the verdict earlier. Now Maryam’s benefi cial ownership avenged because she questioned of Mayfair fl ats clearly estab- Smog may gradually lessen in Pakistan next week and spoke against injustice. lished now and after the detailed (This is) vendetta.” judgement, Nawaz now has a In another tweet, she said: defi nitive answer to his constant Internews Environment Secretary Saif try and at the most in Rawalpindi PIA offi cials said smog or fog National Highway from Lahore “The latest decision (detailed cry of ‘mujhe kyun nikala’ (why Lahore Anjum said reduction in the in- division next week. aff ected fl ight schedule at all air- to Sadiqabad too remained fog- judgement) is based more on was I ousted).” cidence of crop residue burn- But the accompanying wind ports in Punjab. bound, making travel extremely ing in Indian Punjab and slight and expected low temperatures They said because of the diffi cult and risky, Motorway ense smog continued to change in the wind’s direction would gradually reduce smog in weather conditions, fl ights had and National Highways Author- US still hopes to work with Pakistan, says Wells aff ect life and disrupt air, further reduced the intensity of Punjab, further thickening fog either to be diverted to other air- ity Spokesman Imran Shah said. Drail and road traffi c in the smog in Lahore and its adjoining nevertheless. ports or rescheduled. He said the authority staff had plains of Punjab province of Pa- cities. Thick smog or fog had devel- A fl ight from Sialkot and an- been advising motorists to drive The United States wants to that US Secretary of State Rex kistan yesterday amidst reports He said this after the Pun- oped over Lahore and other cit- other from Faisalabad left for slow and in queues to avoid ac- work with both Pakistan and Tillerson conveyed this message that it will gradually lessen due jab chief secretary conducted ies in Punjab, KP and Sindh’s Su- their foreign destinations from cidents. Afghanistan to ensure that to Pakistani leaders when he to rain and low temperatures in a meeting on the issue, asking kkur areas early Monday night, Lahore airport yesterday. Meanwhile, Shah again re- neither country’s soil is used visited Islamabad late last the upper parts of the country secretaries of all departments immediately disrupting rail, The passengers had to travel to ported closure of the Motorway against the other country, says month. Later, while reviewing next week. concerned to continue taking road and air traffi c. Lahore by road. from Pindi Bhattian to Faisal- Assistant Secretary of State his visit to South Asia with the Rain would nevertheless en- strict measures to minimise lo- Lahore airport was closed Motorway remained close to abad at 8pm yesterday. Alice Wells. Ambassador Wells, State Department press corps, hance fog that is persisting cal contribution to smog caused down immediately after thick all traffi c from Pindi Bhattian to It was also closed from Faisal- who is the State Department’s Secretary Tillerson revealed that over upper Sindh, Khyber Pa- by air pollution. fog reduced visibility to zero at Faisalabad, Khanewal to Multan abad to Gojra and from Lahore to point person for South Asia he also told Pakistani leaders khtunkhwa and south Punjab, Chief Meteorologist Ajmal around 9pm. and Lahore to Kot Momin due to Kot Momin due to thick fog. and also a special envoy for that Washington was willing to said the Pakistan Meteorological Shad said a weak westerly sys- It was opened in the morning, extremely poor visibility. Pakistan railways authorities Afghanistan and Pakistan, help Pakistan lower its tensions Department in its weather fore- tem was expected to give rain cancelling all incoming and out- Similarly, the G T Road from said the speed of almost all trains said at a recent news briefing with India. cast. over the upper parts of the coun- going fl ights in the meantime. Peshawar to Lahore and the had to be kept considerably slow. Pakistani girl born in Indian jail fi nally reaches home Internews Islamabad luggage, which he admitted to my father yesterday.” Saifur Rehman recalls the dis- after arrest yet it were the wom- Prodded by other family tressing 11 years they had to go en who were jailed. members, Hina talks almost in through. lad in blue jeans and a “We were worried how we’ll a whisper about having seen “I had to marry off my two light blue T-shirt, Hina be treated,” recalls Fatima. “We her family’s pictures when they daughters in their mother’s ab- Csits quietly between her were so depressed that we ate exchanged letters in jail. “In sence. Now, thank God, my fam- mother, Fatima, and maternal very little for eight days. On the school, I learned Hindi, Pun- ily is complete. aunt Mumtaz. ninth day, the jail superintend- jabi, gidda and boli. I also made But I have hardly spent any Now 11, Hina was born at an ent assured us we were his re- fi ve friends there whom I really time with Hina.” Amritsar jail in August 2006, sponsibility and that he’d take miss.” The former inmates say they soon after her mother, aunt and care of us.” The day of return was no less were treated warmly while they maternal grandmother, Rashida, Four months later, Hina was than a celebration. were in jail. were arrested at the Attari railway born. “I was admitted to a hospital Fellow inmates congratulated Yet the one person they say station on their way to Delhi to at- a month earlier and discharged 15 them, jail staff wished them well, they will be eternally grateful to tend a family wedding on charges days after Hina was born. locals showered them with gifts, is their lawyer, Advocate Navjot of possessing 400 grams of drugs. The woman constables stay- and Hina’s school principal and Chhaba. While Rashida died of a heart ing with me at the hospital took teachers saw her off at the bor- “We will never forget what attack in jail in 2008, Hina set great care of me there,” Fatima der. Chhaba ma’am did for us. For a foot on Pakistan soil for the fi rst says, adding that she had no All three were given new whole year she struggled tire- time on Nov 2 with her mother trouble bringing up Hina and is clothes. lessly for our release. She didn’t and the aunt after they were re- thankful to the jail staff for their Fatima tells me there was an help us because we were Pa- leased. courtesy, help and support. ex-inmate who developed a spe- kistani, but on humanitarian “We have slept only for two The inmates’ fi rst contact cial bond with Hina; she would grounds. She came to see us off hours since we got here. We’re with their family was a few call the child her granddaughter. at the border,” says Mumtaz. elated to see so many people weeks before Hina’s birth when The feeling of stepping back Amid these celebratory mo- coming to meet us. It seems all of offi cials of the Pakistan High Pakistani national Fatima, who had been lodged in the Amritsar Central Jail with her daughter Hina and into their own country was over- ments, there is some bitterness. Gujranwala has come over to us,” Commission visited them for sister Mumtaaz on smuggling charges for over 10 years after being released on completion of their jail whelming, the women say. Hina’s maternal uncle, Shafi q, says Mumtaz, Fatima’s younger counselling. term outside Amritsar Central Jail in Amritsar on Nov 2, 2017. There was happiness, there believes that the Pakistani side sister. The women were assigned a were tears, there was azaan, and did nothing to secure his family’s About their May 7, 2006 or- lawyer, D P Sharma, who as- women’s knowledge. nestly and ensured bail. She even felt upon stepping into Pakistan, of course, some food. release. deal, Mumtaz says they were sured them that he would get “He would tell us he was help- contacted an NGO to arrange but her father, Saifur Rehman, Fatima says that the Punjab “No one from the government arrested purely on suspicion be- them out. ing us for God’s sake, but he’d the Rs400,000 fi ne, but didn’t chips in: “When she came home Rangers cooked food for them asked us what had happened. We cause the real culprit a Lahore- When the case was heard in made around Rs500,000 from charge a penny herself.” she wouldn’t talk for some time. when they crossed over the bor- contacted many MNAs, MPAs, based fellow passenger aboard the sessions court, the women our family,” muses Fatima. Hina was sent to school with She was scared.” der, and welcomed them warmly. even sent a message to the chief the Samjhota Express had left his were convicted. “Then we found out he wasn’t other inmates’ children. “I feel great. I’m really But Hina wouldn’t eat: “I in- minister when he visited before luggage with them while he went Sharma then appealed in the sincere and we sought another She studied just outside the happy to have come to Paki- sisted on meeting my father, the 2013 elections,” he com- to take care of immigration. high court, but kept charging the lawyer. Advocate Navjot Kaur jail premises until Grade 5. stan,” is what she barely says brothers and sisters before eat- plains. “But there was no help All the drugs were found in his family back home without the Chhaba fought our case ear- She’s too shy to recall how she now. “I went shopping with ing anything,” she says. forthcoming.” Gulf Times 24 Thursday, November 9, 2017 PHILIPPINES DoJ panel tells police in teen killings to produce witnesses

By Jaime Pilapil Senior Asst State Prosecutor “It seems that the testimonies courier service and that they Times. The three accused were the victims. The accused po- to Metro Manila. Encinas said Manila Times Ma Emilia Victorio instructed of Soliman and Rosca are their could not locate them at once being implicated in the death of lice offi cers insisted that Arnaiz Soliman and Rosca saw Arnaiz the lawyers of Police Offi cers main defence. We don’t want to since their movement was lim- Carl Angelo Arnaiz, 19, and Rey- was killed in a shootout when he engage police in a shootout. Jeff rey Perez, Ricky Arquilita, deprive them of their right. So, ited having been detained at naldo “Kulot” de Guzman , 14. robbed Bagcal along C-3 Road in However, witnesses of the espite the objection of and taxi driver Tomas Bagcal to you have until Friday to submit Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, The DoJ is conducting a prelimi- Caloocan City sometime on Au- victims said there was no shoot- lawyers from the Public produce Madeline Somilan and the original affi davits or bring Taguig City. nary investigation on charges gust 18. out and Arnaiz even begged for DAttorney’s Offi ce (PAO), Solomon Rosca or submit their them here and subscribe to their “We are thankful to the panel for double murder, torture and De Guzman’s bloated body his life when he was shot by the the three-man panel of the De- original sworn statements. testimonies,” Victorio told the for granting our request since planting of evidence under Re- with at least 28 stab wounds was police offi cers. partment of Justice (DoJ) gave PAO Chief Persida Rueda lawyers of the accused. the two witnesses could give a public Act 10591 (Comprehen- found fl oating in a creek in Ga- The parents of the victims at- three suspects, including two Acosta objected, saying that Dodjie Encinas, lawyer of the clearer account of what really sive Firearms and Ammunition pan, Nueva Ecija on September tended the hearing on Tuesday policemen, linked to the deaths the preliminary investiga- two police offi cers, said his cli- happened. If it was not granted, Regulation Act) and 5. but avoided being interviewed. of two teenagers in August until tion had been going on for two ents received the photocopy of our defence is still strong since RA 9165 (Comprehensive Arnaiz and de Guzman were The two accused police offi cers Friday to produce their two wit- months and that justice was the testimonies of the witnesses they don’t have credible wit- Dangerous Drugs Act) fi led neighbours in a village in Cain- were present but Bagcal failed to nesses. being denied the two teenagers. only last November 4 through nesses,” Encinas told The Manila against them by the parents of ta, Rizal, a province adjacent attend the hearing.

Sandbar plan dropped Aquino charged over after China anger, says defence secretary

AFP sit atop vast oil and gas depos- Manila its. It has been turning reefs in the sea into islands, installing bloody police action military aircraft and missile sys- hilippine President Rodri- tems on them. China’s sweeping AFP Hir, one of the United States’ go Duterte ordered troops claims overlap with those of Vi- Manila most wanted fugitives, the huge Pto scrap plans of building a etnam, the Philippines, Malaysia death toll shocked the nation fi shermen’s shelter on a sandbar and Brunei, as well as Taiwan. and imperilled peace talks with in the disputed South China Sea The Philippines had for many ormer Philippine presi- Muslim rebels. after Beijing complained, his de- years been one of the region’s dent Benigno Aquino was The Ombudsman, an anti- fence chief said yesterday. strongest opponents to Chinese Fcharged in a special court corruption prosecutor, alleged The military in August brought expansionism. yesterday over an anti-militant Aquino had allowed a close ally, bamboo and palm roofi ng mate- A United Nations-backed tri- raid that left 44 police com- police chief Alan Purisima to rials to one of three sandbars that bunal ruled last year that China’s mandos dead, the offi ce of the oversee the raid even though emerged near one of their garri- territorial claims in the sea were government Ombudsman said the Ombudsman had previously sons in the Spratlys archipelago without legal basis. yesterday. suspended Purisima over a sep- in the contested sea, Defence But the Philippines, under Aquino, who ended his six- arate graft case. Secretary Delfi n Lorenzana said. Duterte, decided not to use the year term last year, could be “The President of the Repub- “We tried to put some structures verdict to pressure China, in- jailed for up to 15 years if a spe- lic of the Philippines, while in (on) one of the sandbars near our stead electing to build closer ties cial court fi nds he is guilty of performance of his offi cial and island and the Chinese reacted,” in return for billions of dollars in illegal acts and usurpation of administrative functions, did Lorenzana told a regional secu- investments and aid. Lorenzana powers in the January 2015 then and there willfully, unlaw- rity forum. said the sandbar the military bloodbath, prosecutors said. fully and criminally persuade, “And so the president came had planned to build the shelter Aquino, who was not present induce or infl uence Alan La Ma- to know about this and he said: on was a 500-sq-m (5,382-sq- in court, is accused of allowing a drid Purisima,” the charges read. ‘Let’s pull out’.” ft) outcrop located 4.6km from suspended police chief to over- Hearings in the case have not yet The apparent reversal comes Philippine-held Thitu island. see the operation against a fugi- begun. Benigno Aquino at a time of improving relations Thitu is located about 26km tive Malaysian militant leader. It Aquino had previously ar- between China and the Philip- from one of the artifi cial Chinese turned into a bloody gunbattle gued that he had the authority lies of Aquino’s successor, the sands of lives. However, Duterte intervene, modify or amend or pines, which until recently had islands. with Muslim rebels that claimed to tap Purisima as a “resource fi rebrand Rodrigo Duterte, have defended Aquino yesterday, say- change altogether,” Duterte told bitterly contested their overlap- Lorenzana said the sandbars the lives of 44 police offi cers. person” in the raid. sought to use the raid to attack ing that he could not be charged reporters. ping claims to the sea. were now empty and that Manila While the raid apparently But the Ombudsman said the Aquino, who has criticised Du- with usurpation because presi- “He is the head of govern- Lorenzana later told reporters was not worried China would succeeded in its objective of suspended police chief should terte’s bloody anti-drug cam- dents had full authority over po- ment insofar as the police are that Foreign Secretary Alan Peter occupy them in turn. killing bomb-maker Zulkifl i bin not have had such authority. Al- paign which has claimed thou- lice. “The president can always concerned,” he added. Cayetano advised Duterte there Nevertheless, he said he was was an agreement between the concerned over the potential for two nations not to put up struc- future confrontation as Chinese tures on new South China Sea fi shing fl eets escorted by mari- features. time patrol vessels showed up in “We did not occupy it but waters considered a traditional Four years later, Yolanda victims still cry for shelter some of our fi shermen would like Filipino fi shing ground. to establish a shelter there. They “We have troops there, we (China) saw it and they com- have ships. Their troops could By Catherine S. Valente Wendel Avisado to act as point Vietnam. The President will from the National Housing Au- national highway in Tanuan, plained, so we had to pull out,” confront ours. That’s the kind Manila Times persons in the rebuilding of the also be preoccupied in the days thority (NHA), lawmakers said Leyte. Lorenzana said. of encounter I’m talking about. Yolanda-ravaged communities,” ahead due to Manila’s hosting 205,128 houses were supposed Five body bags were laid on China claims most of the stra- Now if there’s a mis-encounter, Roque said, referring to housing of the Association of Southeast to have been constructed for ty- the ground, representing the fi ve tegically vital sea, through which misunderstanding or miscalcu- s the country commemo- czar Eduardo del Rosario and Asian Nations summit. phoon survivors. But of the fi g- “false” promises made by the $5tn in annual shipping trade lation it could result into vio- rates the fourth anniver- Presidential Assistant Wendel In November 2013, Yolanda ure, only 11.4% were occupied, Duterte administration: the in- passes, and which is believed to lence,” Lorenzana said. Asary of Super Typhoon Avisado, in-charge of Yolanda swept across the Philippines according to the NHA itself. vestigation of the “gang of fi ve” Yolanda (international name: rehabilitation. and left a path of destruction Only 33% have been complet- referring to former President Duterte to raise South China Sea issue at summit Haiyan), Malacanang has reaf- “We remain committed in on several islands and locations ed, although lawmakers believe Benigno Aquino 3rd, former In- fi rmed the government’s com- this regard and we have learned such as Leyte Island, Samar Is- the real fi gures are much lower. terior secretary Mar Roxas 3rd, mitment to rebuild commu- from the lessons of Yolanda as land, Biliran, Negros Occiden- Roque said the President former Social Welfare secretary Philippine President Rodrigo confrontational. Since coming nities aff ected by the disaster far as the rebuilding of Marawi is tal, Cebu, Capiz, Aklan, An- backs moves to hold those Dinky Soliman, former Energy Duterte, in an apparent policy to off ice 16 months ago, the amid continued cries for shelter concerned,” he added. tique, Iloilo, Masbate, Palawan who caused delays in housing secretary Carlos Petilla and shift, said yesterday he planned firebrand leader has been among victims. Duterte visited Yolanda vic- and Dinagat Islands. projects accountable for their former rehabilitation czar Pan- to ask China to make clear its conciliatory to Beijing, despite In a news conference on tims in Tacloban City last year Yolanda, one of the strongest apparent negligence. fi lo Lacson who were accused of intentions in the disputed South a ruling from an international Tuesday, Palace spokesman and openly expressed his frus- typhoons to ever make landfall, “On Yolanda, there are very neglecting the typhoon victims, China Sea during Asia-Pacific arbitration court favouring Harry Roque assured the pub- tration over the slow-paced pounded Tacloban City, de- good lessons learned. The delay housing, aid to farmers, liveli- Economic Cooperation (APEC) the Philippines in its territorial lic that President Rodrigo Du- housing projects for the super- stroying homes and structures in the reconstruction of Yolanda hood and the distribution of the meetings in Vietnam. dispute with China. terte would not turn his back on typhoon survivors. and killing thousands of local devastated areas is simply unac- Emergency Shelter Assistance. China claims almost the entire In the past, Duterte has Yolanda victims. The Chief Executive returned residents. The rehabilitation of ceptable as far as the President “When Duterte paid a visit strategic waterway where repeatedly said he will raise the He said the Duterte admin- to Tacloban in January but still the aff ected communities has is concerned,” he said. to Tacloban City in November $3tn worth of sea-borne goods sea dispute at the proper time istration had learned from past lamented that not all his expec- been slow and the past adminis- Thousands of families af- 2016, he ordered the National passes every year, building and avoided the issue when mistakes when it came to deal- tations were met. tration was widely criticized for fected by “Yolanda” will hold Housing Authority to fast track and militarising artificial Manila hosted two regional ing with Yolanda’s devastation. This year, however, Duterte its perceived ineffi ciency. protests in Tacloban City and the construction of permanent islands. Brunei, Malaysia, meetings this year. The two “We join the victims of Yolan- will not be in the country dur- The House committee on Catarman, Northern Samar. housing units and committed the Philippines, Taiwan and countries will also negotiate da in the crying the very slow ing the Yolanda anniversary on housing and urban development People Surge, a non-govern- to return in December to check Vietnam also have conflicting a military protocol to avoid rebuilding of Yolanda. And to November 8, as he is scheduled reported on the lack of progress mental organisation based in whether or not the NHA had claims. “So, it’s about time, maritime “miscalculations”, address this, the President has to attend the Asia Pacifi c Eco- in housing in Yolanda-aff ected Tacloban City, led a silent pro- met with quotas set by the ad- either in the bilateral or in the Manila’s defence minister said asked General del Rosario and nomic Cooperation Summit in areas in September. Citing data test on November 2 along the ministration.” plenary, I should be bringing yesterday following a brief this important matter to the standoff near a Philippine- surface,” Duterte told reporters occupied island in a disputed Palace suspends before leaving for Vietnam. part of the South China Sea. He said China had to make China-Philippines relations govt work in Duterte arrives for APEC summit it clear to Southeast Asian have often been frosty over the PICC complex countries its intentions in the South China Sea, but ties have South China Sea. “You want warmed under Duterte, who Malacanang has declared a to control the passage or do prefers to not provoke Beijing suspension of work in government we have the free passage?” he and wants to tap it for loans and off ices at the Philippine said, adding he would not be investment. International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City from today to November 15 because of the Duterte to Trump: ‘Lay off ’ country’s hosting of the Asean summit. Executive Secretary human rights when we meet Salvador Medialdea signed Memorandum Circular 32 Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said yesterday he would tell US suspending work in government President Donald Trump to “lay off ” if he raises the issue of human off ices within the PICC complex rights when they meet. Trump will be in Manila on the last leg of his upon the recommendation of the 12-day Asian trip, which includes visits to Japan, South Korea, China, Asean 2017 National Organizing and Vietnam. Trump will attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Council- Off ice of the Director summit in Danang, Vietnam, make a state visit to Hanoi and end his General for Operations. trip with the Association of South East Asia Nations summit in Manila. However, agencies that are directly Duterte, who brooks no criticism of his human rights record and war involved in the delivery of basic on drugs, off ered a comment on what he would tell Trump if he raised services such as security and human rights. “You want to ask a question, I’ll give you an answer. Lay off . safety, health and emergency That is not your business. That is my business. I take care of my country preparedness and the conduct and I will nurture my country to health,” Duterte told reporters before of various Asean meetings and leaving for Vietnam. More than 3,900 Filipinos have been killed in what related activities will continue the police called self-defence after armed suspects resisted arrest in their operations. “To ensure Duterte’s war on drugs. Critics dispute that and say executions are taking uninterrupted delivery of public place with zero accountability, allegations the police reject. service on 08-12 November Duterte was infuriated by expressions of concern by former President 2017, transactions with front Barack Obama’s administration about extrajudicial killings in the line government off ices, located Philippines. Human rights, rule of law and due process were among inside the PICC Complex, may be topics Trump and Duterte would likely discuss during their bilateral talks, processed in other business and/ Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is welcomed upon his arrival at the international airport ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Sung Kim, US ambassador to Manila, said last month. But Trump, who has or satellite off ices of said agencies,” Cooperation (APEC) Summit in the central Vietnamese city of Danang yesterday. been criticised at home for neglecting rights issues in dealings abroad, in the order read. — Manila Times May praised Duterte for doing an “unbelievable job on the drug problem”. Gulf Times Thursday, November 9, 2017 25 SRI LANKA/BANGLADESH/NEPAL

Lanka cuts food taxes as inflation hits record high

Sri Lanka drastically cut import taxes on essential foods Lifeline trails restored to yesterday to curb record high inflation before its annual budget presentation, AFP reports from Colombo. Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera said he was slashing taxes immediately on six commonly Nepal’s quake-hit villages consumed commodities to cut high living costs. By Annabel Symington, AFP Mules couldn’t travel on the In mountainous Nepal, home “Tomorrow I will unveil a budget Lapa damaged paths, meaning all to eight of the world’s highest that will boost the entrepreneurial goods had to be carried precari- peaks, around 2.6mn people – spirit of our young people,” the ously on the backs of porters. 9% of the population – live in minister told reporters. s the dust settled from Journeys that took one or two villages only accessible on foot, “But we also need to address the Nepal’s massive earth- days doubled. according to the United Nations. immediate issue of food prices.” Aquake, a fresh humani- “(The trail) was scary, with The rugged terrain and extreme The government slashed tariff s tarian crisis was just beginning: big crevices, and it looked like temperatures mean that com- on lentils, onions, potatoes, supply lines to remote commu- it might slip away at any mo- munities are only able to farm the cooking oil, dried fish and sprats, nities had been destroyed, and ment,” said Rochit Tamang, 24, land for half the year, relying on staples of the Sri Lankan diet. villagers were starving. a porter from the remote Ruby food stocks through the winter. According to the Colombo Without these trails used Valley just 30km (19 miles) east In the quake-hit districts, food Consumer Price Index, inflation hit by porters and mules to ferry of the quake epicentre. stocks were destroyed in the 2015 7.8% last month, the highest since in goods, more than 1mn peo- The WFP declared more than disaster and remain perilously the index was launched in 2013. ple living in isolated villages in 1.1mn Nepalis “severely food inse- low after two years of erratic rain, The government has blamed central Nepal were desperately cure” – one step below famine – im- said Shrestha of WFP. the record inflation on sharp short on food. mediately following the earthquake, “The local crop production in increases in food prices. What staples did manage to and supplies were shuttled in by places like the northern belt of Tens of thousands of acres of rice creep along these damaged life- helicopter to alleviate the crisis. Dhading is not suffi cient to en- and vegetables were wiped out by lines to local markets quickly But as global disaster eff orts sure food security year round, devastating floods and a severe skyrocketed in price. shifted from emergency response so any kind of natural disaster drought earlier this year that killed “The cost of those items once to reconstruction, the choppers like drought or hailstorm they hundreds in the island nation. they get there becomes prohibitive, stopped, leaving these villages in Mules carry goods along restored trails in Dhading, some 100km northwest of Kathmandu. become vulnerable,” he said. The tax cuts will cost the state especially nutritious food,” said the foothills of the Himalayas to In the Lapa Valley, food prices some $10mn a month, the minister Pippa Bradford, head of the World fend for themselves. through a $6mn project funded live chicks in large whicker bas- Valley in Dhading district. fl uctuate throughout the year, said, an amount that will be Food Programme in Nepal, of the “Even if people had some by British aid. kets on their backs. Food prices have stabilised as said Bam Tamang who owns a compensated for in the national areas worst-hit by the 7.8 magni- money, if they don’t have a trail, Goods are slowly trickling “It was bad and not too fi t for the journey time has reduced. shop in Borang village, a two- budget through fresh taxes or cuts tude earthquake in April 2015. they can’t access the market,” back into communities. Long walking before. Now it is easy It’s far from perfect though, hour walk from the road. in spending, he added. In the months following the said Pushpa Shrestha, who mule trains laden with sacks of to walk. There are more mules with residents in Lapa – a vil- “But it has become much The move comes at a time when disaster, food supplies to these re- works with WFP in Nepal. rice, lentils and sugar snake up and they are able to bring more lage in Dhading two days walk better for us after the trail was Sri Lanka saw a 7.4% dip in worker mote areas, already so limited be- Two years on, these vital steep slopes to the villages, vy- goods,” said mule owner Jitpa from the road – complaining rebuilt,” the shopkeeper said as remittances, its main source of foreign fore that many children suff ered trails are all but restored in Ne- ing for space with porters car- Tamang, who transports goods that owners of mules operate the laden mules plodded past currency, underscoring challenges for from stunting, all but dried up. pal’s four worst-hit districts rying everything from basics to between hamlets in the Ruby like a cartel and fi x prices. his shop. the government’s coff ers. Tap country’s huge maritime resources, says President Hamid By Mizan Rahman He called on navy men to keep “A vast sea area of Bangladesh marine resources as the lim- strict security measures in ma- time boundary, security of ship and maritime patrol aircraft have Dhaka themselves ready to ensure the is full of fi sh, mineral oil, natu- ited land resources is being used rine areas is a must for the na- movement at diff erent routes, been included in the fl eet of navy security of maritime boundary ral gas and other undiscovered frequently everywhere. tional economic development,” and resist smugglers and pirates. during the period of the current and resources. valuable mineral ones. It also “Bangladesh has a 710km the president said. He also asked them to contin- government and opened a new angladesh President Abdul President Hamid was speak- has huge economic potentials. coastal area, and about 30mn Stressing the importance of ue their all-out eff orts to uphold chapter of strengthening the Hamid yesterday said there ing at a commissioning function So, there’s no alternative to us- people of this area are directly performing duties with honesty, the country’s image in the world power of the navy. Bis no alternative to unlock- of four warships that were for- ing the potentials for the de- and indirectly dependent on the fairness, effi ciency and main- arena. The president said the present ing the huge potentials of the mally handed over to the Bangla- velopment of the nation,” the sea for their livelihood. As over taining discipline and profes- Hamid, also the commander- government has already taken country’s vast sea area and using desh Navy at Titumir Naval Base president said. 90% of trade and business with sionalism, Hamid asked the navy in-chief of the armed forces, short- and long-term plans for the maritime resources for the Jetty in southwestern Khulna He also observed that the foreign countries are being con- members to get always ready said a signifi cant number of the navy that are expected to be nation’s further development. port city. whole world is now focusing on ducted via sea routes, ensuring to ensure sovereignty of mari- warships, maritime helicopters materialised by 2030. Gulf Times 26 Thursday, November 9, 2017 COMMENT

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

P.O.Box 2888 Doha, Qatar [email protected] Telephone 44350478 (news), 44466404 (sport), 44466636 (home delivery) Fax 44350474 GULF TIMES ‘Storm in a tea cup’: Catalonia is no repeat of euro crisis

Even though Catalonia’s bid for independence may be Spain’s worst political crisis in decades, it has been no Grexit, Brexit or even Frexit for foreign investors. Overseas holders of Spanish stocks and bonds – and indeed owners of eurozone assets in general – have been quick to dismiss comparisons with a succession of rolling sovereign debt crises that hit the eurozone between 2010 and 2012. Even though Spain’s wealthiest region has a bigger economy than Greece, Portugal and Finland, relatively unfazed Spanish and Catalonian assets to date shows markets are treating the crisis over Catalonia as a largely domestic issue with few if any systemic sovereign, How Americans fell for banking or euro wide threats. While Spain’s blue-chip IBEX equity index is about 7% off the year’s highs, it is still up more than 10% for 2017 as a whole. The Spanish government’s 10-year borrowing costs as well as their risk premium over German equivalents are Russian disinformation lower than where they started the year. The euro exchange rate By Kent Harrington a goldmine of online advertising of issues and the political process – Changes in the news industry are has barely budged. Atlanta data – such as Facebook’s customer conspire to create fertile ground for the increasing that risk. As Internet giants “In Catalonia, targeting software – which enabled sowing of disinformation. siphon away advertising revenue On one level the scale of the “sharing” of Russia’s fake news Consider the evidence: In 2005, from traditional media outlets, social independence fi nancial risk more than s the United States marks the hundreds of millions of times. At one an American Bar Association survey media have become many people’s gross domestic output of fi rst anniversary of President point during this clandestine assault, found that 50% of Americans could not main source of news. Traditional was never the area is of a diff erent Donald Trump’s election, an estimated 400,000 bots – software correctly identify the country’s three news organisations, especially local Athe question of how Trump applications that run automated branches of government. By the time newspapers, are steadily disappearing, constitutional, order. won still commands attention, with scripts – sent millions of fi ctitious the Annenberg Centre for Public Policy shrinking voters’ access to information Catalonia’s debt level – Russia’s role moving increasingly to political messages, which in turn asked the same question in 2015, the that is vital to making informed there was no at around 77bn euros – is centre stage. Each new revelation in generated some 20% of all Twitter percentage of such respondents had political decisions. the investigation of Russia’s meddling traffi c during the fi nal month of the grown to two thirds, and a staggering The numbers are striking. Since legal basis” around quarter that of in the 2016 campaign brings the campaign. 32% could not name a single branch. 2004, 10% of all small-market Greece. vulnerability of the US democratic It is bad enough that the technology This slippage is apparently age- newspapers have closed or merged. Of In addition, 52.5bn euros of that – just over two-thirds process into sharper focus. world’s marquee names were not dependent; a 2016 study of Americans those that survive, over a third have Last week, Congress unveiled prepared to parry foreign meddling in with university degrees found that those changed ownership, concentrating the – is owed to Spain, a further 8.175bn euros to resident legislation that would force Facebook, America’s most important election. over 65 years of age know far more about industry into fewer hands. The result fi nancial institutions, 6.018bn euros to the rest of the Google, and other social media But the social media giants’ persistent how their government works than those has been layoff s, cost-cutting, and world and 10.035bn euros to others, according to the data giants to disclose who buys online denial of responsibility for the volume under 34. diminished reporting on national and advertising, thereby closing a loophole of distorted and false information There is a clear correlation between local issues. from the Spanish central bank. that Russia exploited during the delivered as news, even as Russia’s role democratic illiteracy and a de- As for the media’s civic The international exposure is too small to create ripples election. But making amends through has grown clearer, is more troubling. emphasis on civics, government, responsibility, that, too, seems to across the eurozone even in the event of a Catalonian technical fi xes and public promises to Strip away the technobabble about and history education in schools. In have suff ered. The managers’ manual be better corporate citizens will solve better algorithms, more transparency, 2006, for example, a national study from one investment fi rm that owns default, and the eff ect on Spain would also be limited. only the most publicised problem. and commitment to truth, and Silicon that tracks student performance in three daily and 42 weekly newspapers Catalonia’s total debt to the centre represents just The tougher challenge will be Valley’s “fi xes” dodge a simple fact: its various subjects found that only a does not mince words: “Our customer 4.75% of the Spain’s total debt as of the end of 2016. strengthening institutions that are technologies are not designed to sort quarter of America’s 12th graders were is the advertiser,” the document Independence on its own would neither lead to a vital to the functioning of democracy – truth from falsehoods, check accuracy, profi cient in civics. A decade later, that states. “Readers are our customers’ specifi cally, civics education and local or correct mistakes. Just the opposite: percentage had sunk below 25%. customers,” so “we operate with a lean sovereign default nor to an exit of an existing eurozone journalism. Until gains are made in these they are built to maximise clicks, Not surprisingly, overall educational newsroom staff .” member, which caused consternation earlier in the areas, the threat to America’s democratic shares, and “likes.” quality and access to basic civics Russia’s intervention in the 2016 decade given fears of sovereign redenomination risk, process will grow, resurfacing every time Despite pushing to displace coursework have also suff ered in recent US presidential election was historic, the country votes. traditional news outlets as the years. In 2011, a think tank that ranks but it was also symptomatic of related banking stress and legal precedents that seeped Russian President Vladimir Putin’s world’s information platforms, social the 50 states on the rigour of their bigger challenges facing Americans. across the bloc. intelligence operatives chose wisely in media’s moguls appear content to high schools’ US history courses gave A population that does not fully Economic confi dence and business risk for Spanish mounting their social media attack. ignore journalism’s fundamental 28 states failing grades. A 2016 survey understand its own democracy should Facebook hosts nearly 80% of all values, processes, and goals. It is this of 1,000 liberal arts colleges found concern not only civics teachers, but fi rms and households may be an issue at the margins mobile social media traffi c, while irresponsibility that co-sponsors of that only 18% required a US history or national security experts as well. for equity investors, but this is largely cushioned at the Google accounts for close to 90% of the recent advertising transparency bill government course to earn a degree. The US didn’t need Putin to deliver moment by a booming world economy and the fastest all online-search-related advertising. are seeking to address. High school or university courses that lesson. “If a nation expects to be By inundating these two platforms Still, Russia’s success in targeting by themselves will not keep gullible ignorant and free,” Thomas Jeff erson economic expansion in the eurozone in more than six with automated messages from tens American voters with bogus news voters from falling for bogus news or warned, “it expects what never was years. of thousands of bogus user accounts, could not have succeeded were it infl ammatory disinformation. But and never will be.” – Project Syndicate The chances of secession itself were always slim. Russia was able to stoke discord along not for the second problem: a poorly the viral spread of fake news stories One of the leading investors in Catalonian bonds economic, racial, and political lines. educated electorate susceptible to initiated by Russian agents made one z Kent Harrington, a former senior CIA Moreover, they did it cheaply. manipulation. The erosion of civics thing clear: an electorate lacking a analyst and Director of Public Aff airs, believes the region’s bid for independence was always According to one analysis, with only education in schools, the shuttering of basic civics education is more likely served as National Intelligence Offi cer legally doubtful. modest ad purchases on Facebook, local newspapers – and the consequent to fall for provocations designed to for East Asia and Chief of Station in “Greece was a very diff erent story - the very existence Russian agents gained access to decline in the public’s understanding infl ame partisan tensions. Asia. of Greece as part of the monetary union was called into question. In Catalonia, independence was never constitutional, there was no legal basis,” said Mark Dowding, senior portfolio manager at BlueBay Asset Management, which has been a long term investor in Catalonian debt. If ultimately Catalonia’s independence was always unlikely, the rest was just a “storm in a teacup” for fi nancial markets, Dowding said.

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2017 Gulf Times. All rights reserved Gulf Times Thursday, November 9, 2017 27 COMMENT Qatar experience and lessons for India New stadiums and arenas are coming up, civic infrastructure is being upgraded manifold; hotels, railways, airports and freeways are fast transforming Qatar

By Siddhartha Upadhyay IANS

he world is changing. Sport is a strong vehicle of change. And one of the best examples Tof this phenomenon is Qatar, which is on the fast track of moderni- sation and transformation ever since it clinched the right to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. This is the fi rst time that a mega sporting event of this proportion is being hosted in this part of the world. Khalifa International Stadium. Qatar has been at it for a long time. Finally, its protracted struggle bore fruit. Any sportsperson would vouch for An artist’s impression of the proposed Al Wakrah Stadium. this; nothing succeeds like success. Qatar has suddenly catapulted itself Development and social justice via being built is zero-carbon emitting and the National Vision 2030 where the in the world of sports as a shining star. sports is the vision of Prime Minister climate controlled. investment in sports would be an That Qatar won the bid to hose 2022 Narendra Modi as well. Qatar’s success is not confi ned integral part of a multi-faceted strategy FIFA World Cup, in my view, is simply India has much to learn from the to just winning the bid to host the to ensure that economic development is historic. Qatar experience. World Cup, but its commitment diverse and sustainable. The whole country is in a Just to give you an idea, there will be to modernising and upgrading its There have been wide-ranging transformation mode. seven host cities – Al Daayen, Al Khor, economy. labour reforms to make Qatar an I was in Qatar earlier this year and Al Rayyan, Al Shamal, Al Wakrah, An event of this magnitude is not enviable destination for foreign the change – and the pace of that Doha and Umm Slal –where 12 new just about creating the necessary investment. change – is both bewildering and state-of-the-art stadiums will come sporting infrastructure in a stipulated Under the young and dynamic inspiring. up with capacities of at least 43,000 time frame, but the emphasis is also leadership of Hassan al-Thawadi, It’s estimated that more than $250bn each. on developing and internalising an Secretary General of the Supreme An artist’s impression of the proposed Thumama Stadium will be spent to prepare for the World Cup. And the unique aspect is that part enduring sporting culture in the 2.5mn Committee for Delivery & Legacy New stadiums and arenas are of these stadiums could be dismantled Qataris. of Qatar, sports is the catalyst in that few other initiatives can match. experience has an encouraging coming up, civic infrastructure is after the event and transported to To be able to do that, Qatar is already the region’s social and economic Sport is uniquely equipped to play a message for India. being upgraded manifold; hotels, other less-developed countries to help hosting almost 100 events every year in development. signifi cant role in attaining these goals. railways, airports and freeways are fast set up the infrastructure for sports and various sporting disciplines. In a recent address to the UN, We are aiming for the stars, our feet are z Siddhartha Upadhyay is member transforming the country. encourage people at large to play. The World Cup is not the end, but a Thawadi said: “Events of this stature fi rmly on the ground.” of the Governing Body of the Sports One cannot escape the feeling that Qatar, while creating a real estate means to an end. (the World Cup) can bring billions of India should not just be committed Authority of India and Founder of these changes are symbolic of the marvel, will remain conscious of Last month, Qatar Financial Centre people together from every corner of to ensuring “ease of doing business” STAIRS, an organisation dedicated to ambitions of a small country to make it environmental consequences. (QFC) Chief Executive Yousuf Mohamed the world. They can serve to accelerate in the country, but also “ease of all the uplift of sports. He can be contacted big in the comity of nations. Most of the sporting infrastructure al-Jaida, speaking in London, elucidated and inspire...in a manner and at a pace segments of society to play”. Qatar’s at [email protected] Weather report Sheep can recognise human faces: scientists Three-day forecast TODAY High: 32 C Low : 25 C Reuters The group of celebrities the sheep Off shore: Fine and some clouds London were trained to recognise included at places actors Emma Watson and Jake Gyllenhaal, BBC newsreader Fiona heep have been trained to Bruce and Obama. FRIDAY recognise the faces of celebrities, “We’ve shown that sheep have High: 33 C including former US president advanced face-recognition abilities, Low: 23 C SBarack Obama, by University comparable with those of humans and Sunny of Cambridge scientists who hope monkeys,” professor Jenny Morton, it may help with understanding who led the study, said in a statement. neurodegenerative diseases. In addition to being shown images SATURDAY In a specially equipped pen, sheep of the celebrities facing forward, High: 32 C were shown pictures of people on two scientists also tested the animals’ Low: 24 C computer screens, on one side would ability to recognise the faces in Sunny be an unknown person and on the photographs taken from other angles. other would be one of four celebrities. The animals’ success rate fell by The animal would receive a reward around 15 % when presented with Fishermen’s forecast of food for choosing the photograph of the faces at a new angle, an amount OFFSHORE DOHA the celebrity by breaking an infrared researchers said was comparable to that Wind: NE-SE 03-12 KT beam near the screen displaying it. seen when humans perform the task. Waves: 1-3 Feet If they chose the wrong photograph, Scientists aim to use the sheep as INSHORE DOHA Wind: NW-NE 05-15 KT a buzzer would sound and they would models to understand disorders of the Waves: 1-2 Feet receive no reward. The sheep eventually brain, such as Huntington’s disease, managed to identify the familiar face A sheep approaches a photo of Barack Obama during a Cambridge University that develop over a long time and aff ect Around the region eight times out of every 10. experiment, in Cambridge yesterday. cognitive abilities. Weather Weather today Max/min tomorrow Max/min Abu Dhabi Sunny 31/27 M Sunny 31/26 Baghdad P Cloudy 29/17 Sunny 27/14 Dubai Sunny 32/24 M Sunny 32/23 Kuwait City M Sunny 32/19 Sunny 31/20 Manama Sunny 32/24 P Cloudy 32/25 Muscat Sunny 31/23 Sunny 31/24 Live issues Riyadh Sunny 31/18 Sunny 31/17 Tehran M Sunny 23/13 P Cloudy 21/11 Making your home safe for kids

By Armin Brott to adults or older children. Tribune News Service z Keep bath and shower doors closed. z Never leave water standing in the ear Mr Dad: A few weeks ago, bath, a sink, or even a bucket. Babies you gave some great general can drown in practically no water at all. guidelines for childproofi ng. z In the tub, use a mat or stick- DHow about some details for on safety strips to reduce the risk of specifi c parts of the house? slipping. A: You almost beat me to the punch! z Keep all medication and cosmetics As promised, here they are. high up or locked up. IN THE KITCHEN z As in the kitchen, put locks on z Keep high chairs a few feet away cabinets and drawers to eliminate from walls. Babies’ legs are plenty anything your baby can climb up on to Around the world strong enough to push off the wall and raid the medicine cabinet. Weather Weather knock over the chair. Don’t snicker – z Keep shavers and hair dryers today Max/min tomorrow Max/min I’ve seen it happen. unplugged and out of reach. Athens M Sunny 21/11 P Cloudy 20/13 z Install safety locks on low cabinets z No electrical appliances near the Beirut Sunny 23/18 M Sunny 23/18 and drawers. Be sure to get the kind tub. Bangkok P Cloudy 32/24 S Showers 33/25 Berlin P Cloudy 08/06 Showers 09/04 that keep doors completely closed or It’s never too soon to start childproofing. IN THE LAUNDRY ROOM Cairo Sunny 27/16 P Cloudy 27/16 that don’t let them close all the way z Go back to using powdered or Cape Town P Cloudy 23/15 M Sunny 23/16 (that keeps little fi nger from getting and bubbling pasta sauce may be cool irritation, or worse if eaten or touched. liquid detergent – and keep them Colombo S T Storms 30/25 S T Storms 29/25 pinched). to look at, but they can scald and burn And even if the plants aren’t toxic, do far, far out of sight. Yes, those pre- Dhaka Sunny 32/21 Sunny 32/21 Hong Kong P Cloudy Sunny 28/24 in an instant. you really want your baby to eat dirt or measured packets are a lot more 26/23 z Install oven locks and covers for Istanbul P Cloudy 17/10 M Sunny 16/09 oven and stove knobs. Train yourself z Put your nice China away and drink water from plant trays? convenient, but they’re also colourful Jakarta S T Storms 32/25 S T Storms 33/25 to use back burners whenever possible start using plastic dishes and serving z Pad the corners of low tables, and small, which makes them Karachi P Cloudy 32/19 Sunny 33/20 and put pot and pan handles towards bowls instead. Glass and porcelain chairs, and fi replace hearths. And be extremely attractive to young children, London Cloudy 12/07 P Cloudy 12/09 the back of the stove-top instead of break, and those shards can show up sure your fi replace screen and tools who just love to put small, colourful Manila S T Storms 31/26 S T Storms 30/25 Moscow P Cloudy 02/-1 Cloudy 02/02 letting them hang over the front where for weeks, regardless of how well you can’t be pulled over. things in their mouth. In 2015, there New Delhi Sunny 31/17 Sunny 30/16 they’re attractive nuisances to little sweep. z Keep furniture away from were more than 12,000 accidental New York P Cloudy 13/03 M Sunny 03/-3 hands. IN THE LIVING ROOM windows. Babies are like cats and will laundry packet exposures involving Paris P Cloudy 11/07 Showers 13/09 z When you’re cooking, keep your z Put decals – at crawling-baby climb as high up as they can. Unlike children under fi ve, and that number is Sao Paulo T Storms 26/19 T Storms 26/18 Seoul Sunny 15/06 Rain 16/03 baby out of the kitchen or safely height – on all sliding glass doors and cats, they may fall through the glass. steadily rising. Ingestion or touching Singapore T Storms 31/25 T Storms 31/26 confi ned in a play pen. Never, ever hold low windows IN THE BATHROOMS can do severe damage to a small child’s Sydney P Cloudy 20/13 M Sunny 21/15 your child while you’re anywhere near z Get plants off the fl oor. There are z Install guards on all toilets. (or adult’s, for that matter) mouth, Tokyo Clear 19/14 Clear 16/10 an active stove. Steam, boiling water, dozens of plants than can cause illness, z Use gates to keep access restricted throat, and eyes. Gulf Times 28 Thursday, November 9, 2017 QATAR

12th Heya fashion exhibition drew more than 9,000

he 12th edition of Heya ion business off the ground. In Arabian Fashion Exhibi- addition, adding depth to this Ttion attracted more than year’s programme were the 9,000 visitors over fi ve days, collaborations with the Italian, a 23% increase year-on-year, Germany and Mexican embas- organisers have announced. sies to help nurture and devel- The event brought together op local design talent. fashion enthusiasts and infl u- Beyond the unique shopping encers, families and aspiring experience, Heya’s packed designers to discover more schedule of 11 workshops, than 150 local, regional and in- eight forums and 21 fashion ternational brands from over 15 shows drew huge crowds seek- countries. ing knowledge, guidance and This year saw the largest inspiration. The event dis- number of established and played the latest collection emerging Qatari designers, of abayas, kaftans, jalabiyas, with 65% of exhibitors coming evening gowns, veils and other from Qatar. New partnerships accessories, including for the with Virginia Commonwealth fi rst-time perfume and make- University School of the Arts in up. Qatar and Qatar Business In- Heya Arabian Fashion Exhi- cubation Centre, provided vis- bition was brought to visitors itors with expertise in every- by Qatar Tourism Authority thing from fashion marketing and delivered by partners De- to fi nance, to how to get a fash- sign Creationz.

A vendor displays some of the local products. PICTURES: Nasar T K

‘Qatar Glory’ community A view of the crowd at Heya Arabian Fashion Exhibition. Al-Habbal contest event underway at HBKU starts tomorrow

By Joseph Varghese temming from its keen- between 10 and 15. The third Staff Reporter ness to revive ancient edition has attracted 50 par- Straditions while em- ticipants, which were divided bedding Qatar’s rich culture into 10 teams. round 50 local vendors from Qa- within the hearts of upcom- Al-Habbal competition tar are taking part in ‘Qatar Glory’, ing generations, the Cultural tends to coincide with migra- Aa community event organised by Village Foundation – Katara is tory birds’ arrival in Qatar, in Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) in gearing up to kick off the third search of warm weather. This collaboration with partner universities in edition of Al-Habbal competi- contest plays a signifi cant role Education City. The two-day event that tion tomorrow. in presenting the most impor- was opened yesterday, is taking place at Al-Habbal competition tant elements associated with the HBKU Student Centre. mainly highlights and ad- the environment and wild-life The items showcased at the event are dresses the ancient Qatari cul- heritage to children while em- owned by young, talented Qatari en- tural practice of hunting birds. bedding this heritage in them. trepreneurs and students studying in The two-day competition will Organising committee Education City. There is also a competi- be held at an area called, ‘Arki- chairman Ali Youssef al- tion for the audience to follow HBKU on yah’ related to the Qatari insti- Kuwari, said: “The winner Instagram and tag them on a photo they tute ‘Hassad Qatar’, from 2pm of the fi rst place will receive took of the event. The top three photos to 5pm. QR20,000, while the sec- will win a mini sculpture of one of the fa- The contest is devoted to ond place winner will receive mous Qatari landmarks. the youth of Qatar, citizens QR15,000, and the third-place “Qatar Glory event is a way for HBKU Reem al-Abduljabbar and expatriates, alike, aged team a total of QR10,000.” to engage the community by showcasing the spectacular work of Qatari nationals. in Qatar” booths, diff erent local vendors HBKU takes great pride in celebrating that sell items ranging from jewellery, Qatari culture and heritage and looks for- candles, perfumes, notebooks, and other ward to welcoming entrepreneurs from products, all made in Qatar. across Qatar,” Reem al-Abduljabbar, head All the participating businesses are of student engagement, HBKU, told Gulf homegrown and rooted in Qatari herit- Times yesterday. A lady displaying local products. age. Qatar Glory provides a great avenue “The current political situation fac- for local entrepreneurs to showcase their ing Qatar has impacted all of us in some dividing us, has brought us much closer students to be the future infl uencers and talents and innovative spirit to the pub- way or another, bringing the local com- in solidarity,” the offi cial continued. leaders of the country,” she added. lic. munity much closer. Considering the “Built on unique partnerships with key The exhibits at the event range from The event is an eff ort by HBKU to high- current unique circumstances, we have local and international players, the uni- live painting stations by renowned Qa- light the achievements of the local en- witnessed a positive integration of our versity prioritises community outreach tari artist Fahad al-Maadheed, to food trepreneurs and small scale vendors and community unlike that of the past. The and engagement as an important element stalls and clothing booths, along with support them with public initiatives. The challenges facing our country has unifi ed of its work. HBKU seeks to provide value home interior items, books, and other event is open to the public and will con- A group of teenagers receiving instructions in preparations for both Qataris and residents, and instead of to the local community and empower its products. There are also several “made clude today. Al-Habbal competition. AZF all set to host Aspire Lake Festival

spire Zone Foundation organised for the festival will (AZF) has announced feature a number of visual Athat with preparations performances using specially for the Aspire Lake Festival designed decorations and light almost complete, it is ready to eff ects set to beautiful musi- welcome thousands of visi- cal scores. The performers will tors to the three-day event in be presenting these shows on partnership with Katara and gondolas along the lake. Ooredoo. Nasser Abdullah al-Hajri, Taking place for the fi rst director of PR and Commu- time in Qatar, the event will be nications at AZF, said: “The held from today until Saturday, festival has been carefully de- with two shows scheduled at veloped in partnership with 7.30pm and 9.30pm on each Katara and Ooredoo to high- day. The visiting performers light novel cultural and artistic arrived in Doha a few days ago elements inspired by Italian and were doing their fi nal re- culture. It will be presented for hearsals yesterday, AZF said in the fi rst time in Qatar at Aspire a press statement. Lake, transforming the scenery AZF has allocated a large into a colourful piece of art that seating area to accommodate I believe everyone will enjoy.” more than 1,400 spectators AZF stressed that it is “com- who have expressed interest in mitted to boosting the tourism attending the festival on social and leisure sectors in Qatar media, making it “one of the by introducing new activities top cultural attractions in Doha to attract and excite visitors”. this weekend”, the statement “Due to this innovative ap- notes. proach, Aspire Park has be- To ensure that guests are ca- come one of the most popular tered for, Aspire Zone has also destinations for both recrea- deployed 12 food trucks in the tional and sporting events,” it area close to the event. Besides, added. there will be a fully-equipped More information about the media centre. event can be found on www. The music and lights show lifeinaspire.qa A rehearsal under way at Aspire Park.