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Saturday 27 December 2014 • 5 Rabial I 1436 • Volume 19 Number 6292 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com [email protected] | [email protected] Editorial: 4455 7741 | Advertising: 4455 7837 / 4455 7780

Libya oil fire Dr Khalid new Four women editor-in-chief may contest CMC election Al Jefairi likely to contest again

DOHA: At least four women, (ID) number of a woman for voter including a sitting member, are registration,” she added. expected to try their fate in Agreeing with her, Al Ghazzal the Central Municipal Council said she hoped the election super- Dr Khalid Al-Jaber, the new Editor- (CMC) election in May next visory committee would remove in-Chief of The Peninsula. year. that condition (of asking for This, despite the fact that in mobile number of women) for DOHA: Dar Al Sharq Qatar’s tribal culture, a woman’s registration. has appointed Dr Khalid ability to be in public life and serve “That way a lot of women Al-Jaber as the new editor- society is doubted, says one of the would come forward to register in-chief of The Peninsula. potential woman contestants. their names in the voter list,” she He replaces Khalid Al “A major problem facing us, the added. Sayed, who resigned recently women, is that in our tribal tradi- The other problem facing Firefighters try to put out a blaze in an oil tank in Libya’s Es Sider port yesterday. A fire at one tank spread after more than six years at tion men are preferred to women women is that in Qatar’s tribal to two more tanks after a rocket hit the biggest terminal during clashes between forces allied to competing the helm. in matters like serving society,” culture, their ability to serve soci- governments the previous day. Report on page 8. Dr Khalid holds an MA in said Fatima Al Ghazzal. ety is doubted. journalism from the University For her as well as another “In our tribal tradition, it is the of Florida, USA, and has a potential female contender, men who are preferred in public PhD in political communica- Amaal Issa Al Mohannadi, the life,” said Al Ghazzal. tion from the University of problem is galvanising enough She contested the last CMC Leicester, UK. women to register their names election unsuccessfully from Abu Foggy morning forecast, Before assuming his new in the voter list. Hamour. role, he was the Deputy Editor- This is because for a Qatari This time, after the re-demar- In-Chief of Al Sharq, the sister woman sharing her cell digits can cation of the constituencies, she Arabic daily of The Peninsula. be a sensitive issue, while the poll will be fighting from constituency Dr Khalid Al-Jaber is also officials want everyone to provide No. 10 which includes areas like Abu Samra to be coldest Assistant Professor of Political personal details while registering Al Mamoura, Abu Hamour east Communication, Gulf Studies his or her name in the voter list. and the central market. DOHA: The weather bureau night temperature around 15 dusty with some clouds hovering Program, at Qatar University “Qatari women normally have Al Mohannadi was in the fray has forecast a foggy morning degrees. over the horizon. and a Visiting Fellow at the mobile numbers registered in the in the last election in 2011 from today and said it will affect vis- Abu Samra will be the coldest The wind offshore will be Northwestern University in name of their husbands, fathers, Al Khartiyat. ibility, which could be as poor as place in the country today with northwesterly to northeasterly Qatar. or brothers and they don’t want However, after the re-arrange- one kilometre or less at first in day temperatures likely to be with speed between seven and 15 He is also Principal at the to share these numbers with any- ment of the 29 wards, she will be places. around 21 degrees. At night, the knots. Inland, northwesterly wind Global Media Consultants one,” said Al Mohannadi. contesting from constituency No. The evening will be cold as mercury will drop to 14 degrees will have a speed that could go up organization, Atlanta, USA. Voter registration is through 17 which includes Al Khartiyat usual with the wind direction there. to 13 knots during the day but as He is a scholar of Arab and Metrash 2 service which insists north, among other localities. being northwesterly. In Al Ruwais, which normally night falls, the speed could slow Gulf studies specialising in that applicants give all their per- Fatima Al Kuwari, who also There will be chill in the air as has a pleasant weather even dur- down to five knots. media, political communica- sonal details, she said. fought the last CMC election the wind will blow from the colder ing the summer months, the dif- Visibility will improve to tion, culture, diplomacy and “This, I am sure, is going to unsuccessfully, is expected to be regions of snow-clad Europe. ference between the maximum between 3km and 8km as the international relations. discourage many women from in the fray this time again, from The day will witness moderate and minimum temperatures will day progresses and the fog would He has published several coming forward to register the Old Airport Area. temperature as the maximum be about three degrees. clear. The sea wouldn’t be tumul- books, and research papers in their names in the voter list,” Al The sitting member who is temperature forecast is 21 to 24 The minimum temperature tuous with waves jumping up two numerous academic and pro- Mohannadi told local Arabic daily likely to seek re-election from degrees Celsius. forecast for the place is 18 degrees to four feet high. fessional journals, including Al Raya in remarks published yes- her bastion constituency of Old In Doha, the maximum tem- and the maximum 21. Near the shore, the sea wouldn’t the World Press Encyclopedia. terday. “It is okay as long as you Airport Area is Sheikha Al Jefairi. perature could be around 23 According to the forecast, the be wavy, according to the forecast. THE PENINSULA want home address and identity THE PENINSULA degrees and the minimum or weather offshore will be slightly THE PENINSULA Over the fence Nursery installs Wild seeds to create greeneries

CCTV cameras DOHA: The Ministry of Environment has begun collecting wild seeds from across the country for use in creating greeneries in after caregiver some open areas. The process of collection includes sterilisation and storing the seeds in safe places. The seeds of some trees will gagged toddler be used in Umm Karen nursery for producing more seedlings. The DOHA: A nursery has installed ministry has also begun preparing technical and economic studies CCTV cameras in all its rooms on plant cultivation using containers, and agricultural production after an Asian female assistant without soil. It is marketing local agricultural products in several taking care of children gagged a yards which are gaining popularity with time. THE PENINSULA two-and-a-half-year-old boy by putting an adhesive tape on his mouth to stop him from crying. Syria air raids kill 52 civilians The father of another child who happened to be at the nursery AMMAN: At least 52 civilians were killed and some 175 wounded watched the boy in horror after when aircraft bombed a northern Syrian city controlled by Islamic he recognised him and called his State, as Bashar Al Assad’s government stepped up air raids, resi- father who immediately arrived dents said yesterday. Helicopters and war planes dropped barrel at the nursery. bombs — steel drums full of shrapnel and explosives — on residen- Nursery officials told the father tial and industrial areas in the city of Al Bab and neighbouring of the child concerned that they Qabaseen, northeast of Aleppo, locals said. See also page 5 had called in police. Pedestrians crossing a road by climbing over the fence near Chinese Dragon Mart in the Industrial Area. AGENCIES The matter was reported to KAMMUTTY VP public prosecution, which is investigating, a local Arabic daily reported yesterday. A complaint has also been filed with the Family Development Fish sale to resume near Doha Port along Corniche Department at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, which DOHA: The open area near the fish and prawns will be sold every and saleable stocks will be dis- make sure the fish and other sea- unorganised and vendors used to is the licensing and supervi- Doha Port along the Corniche morning like before. played on them and not kept in food stocks on offer for sale are occupy space along the walkway sory authority for nurseries and Road where fresh fish was sold Doha Municipality has reno- plastic baskets as was the case not exposed to sunlight or dust. randomly. crèches. early in the morning every day vated the place and is all set to before. Each shaded area will be allot- It is expected that more people Following the incident, the earlier has been renovated. reopen the area soon for retail- The practice was unhygienic ted to a vendor, thus guaranteeing would visit the place to buy fresh nursery installed CCTV cameras The area now has a levelled ing fresh fish and other seafood as people used to dip their hands him sufficient space to accom- fish and prawns once the shaded in all rooms to monitor how its floor and is shaded like a shaded stocks like prawns. deep in the baskets and pick fish modate large stocks of fish and area reopens. staff handle children left in their car park. A highlight of the renovated and prawns. prawns as well as customers. THE PENINSULA care. THE PENINSULA It will soon reopen and fresh place is that it has wooden tables The area has been shaded to Earlier, the place was Picture on page 2 SATURDAY 27 DECEMBER 2014 02 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com HOME Ministry discovers illegal winter camp in Al Shamal Inspectors refer owner to public prosecution, camp being dismantled

DOHA: The Environment Protection Department at the Ministry of Environment has discovered a winter camp in Al Shamal which was estab- lished without permission, Arraya has reported, along with pictures of the camp. The department, in collabo- ration with concerned authori- ties, has started dismantling the camp while its owner has been referred to security authorities www.swiss-belhotel.com and public prosecution. The department has also been Tel The unauthorised camp discovered in Al Shamal. conducting a campaign to clean Fax up and rehabilitate open areas, Inspectors seized trucks During its campaign, the greeneries from pollution and during which inspectors have transporting diesel without ministry removed huge quan- destruction. caught many people violating licence on Al Shamal Road and tities of construction waste to The ministry has published the environment protection law. trucks dumping sewage in Al designated areas in Mesaieed brochures to create awareness Tel They also caught many people Khisa near Lekhwiya Stadium and Rawdat Rashid. about the environment with tips Fax felling in trees Al Rafaa in vio- which is not designated for the The campaign aims to clean for protecting it. lation of the law on greeneries. purpose. up open areas and protect THE PENINSULA

Tel Fax Qatar to host 19th meeting of Two erring bakeries Tel + 974 44298888 Fax GCC Environment Ministers closed down

DOHA: Qatar has taken part Programme (UNEP), the regional The ministers were briefed on DOHA: Authorities Tel in the 18th session of GCC min- office for West Asia, the Regional developments with regard to the have temporary closed isters in charge of the environ- Organisation for the Protection GCC award for the environment down two outlets this Fax ment in Kuwait. of the Marine Environment and and wildlife, preparations for a week for selling expired The Minister of Environment cooperation with Turkey, Jordan GCC convention on the protection food and not adhering H E Ahmed Amer Mohamed Al and Morocco in the environment of the environment and a memo- to health and hygiene Tel Humaidi led Qatar’s delegation to field. randum referred by the standing rules. Fax the meeting. The ministers discussed a committee for the conservation The outlets included a Addressing the closing session, draft Gulf environmental ePor- of wildlife and natural habitats on bakery and a sweets shop he invited the ministers to attend tal which will help collect data the creation of a GCC environ- in Al Gharaafa that were the next meeting in Qatar. and disseminate environmental mental security force. caught selling coloured Tel He thanked Kuwait for chairing knowledge to the international Qatar had chaired the 43rd food items in violation of Fax the meeting and the worm hospi- community; the proposed GCC meeting of GCC undersecretar- health standards. tality accorded to participants. network on land degradation ies responsible for environmental The bakery on Al www.doha.hilton.com The meeting discussed issues, studies and the Sultan Qaboos affairs on Tuesday in Kuwait to Hidad Street was ordered including cooperation with the Award for the Human Affairs and prepare for the meeting of GCC shut for five days by Al Tel 44233333 974+ United Nations Environment Environmental Sector. minsters. QNA Rayyan Municipality. The other bakery and Fax 44233000 974+ sweets shop was closed down in New Madinat Khalifa for 10 days for selling expired food Gold loses sheen, to end 2014 on flat note stuffs. The Ministry of BY SACHIN KUMAR and hoping that 2015 will be better Gold has witnessed sharp fluc- Municipality and Urban for gold,” said a senior official of a tuations this year. The first half of Planning has adopted DOHA: Gold has lost its sheen major bullion house. 2014 was bullish as prices went up a policy of naming and this year and is all set to end 2014 Though investors were upset this to QR160 (24 carat per gramme) in shaming outlets that Tel on a flat note, leaving investors year with the prices, jewellery buy- May from QR148 at the beginning cheat or sell expired disappointed. Prices are hovering ers were happy. of year. products following a Fax around the same level seen at the “This year was good in terms of However, prices could not sustain request from the Central beginning of 2014. sale of gold jewellery. Sales were up upward momentum and have been Municipal Council. A gramme of 24 carat was trad- around 30 percent compared to last falling since June. Gold has disap- The ministry has ing at QR148 in Doha yesterday and year due to falling prices. pointed investors in the past two closed 73 outlets, includ- Tel a gramme of 22 carat at QR138. On “The decline in the prices years with the prices falling since ing restaurants and Fax the first day of 2014, a gramme of 24 allowed people to buy more jewel- 2012. cafes, across the country carat was trading at QR148.5 and a lery with same budget,” said Dileep After touching peak in the second recently and published gramme of 22 carat was at QR138.5. Madhavan, Regional Manager, half of 2011, the prices of 24 carat their names on its web- Bars of 116.64 gramme of 24 Atlas, a gold jewellery chain that showed some moderation and hov- site. Restaurants have Tel carat were available yesterday has three retail outlets in Qatar and ered in the range of QR180-QR200 been shut for five, 10, 15, Fax at QR17,263 compared to around 60 in the Middle East and India. until September 2012. They reached 30 and 60 days depending QR17,321 at the beginning of year. “Sales were up in the second half QR210 in October 2012 but have on violations. “Investors who were looking for of the year due to fall in the prices,” been declining since then. THE PENINSULA healthy returns are disappointed he added. THE PENINSULA

Tel Fax Renovated fish market

Tel Fax

Tel Fax

Tel Fax

Tel Fax www.marriottmarquisdoha.com

Tel + 974 44195000 Fax + 974 44195100

The renovated and shaded area near the Doha Port along the Corniche Road where fresh fish and other seafood stocks will be sold soon. SATURDAY 27 DECEMBER 2014 HOME / MIDDLE EAST www.thepeninsulaqatar.com 03 Push for Green Belt Vegetables become cheaper project across Qatar DOHA: The Ministry of will be implemented in different despite growing demand Municipality and Urban municipalities. Planning has finished allocating It stressed that the project land for agriculture and enter- is important as it would pre- DOHA: Demand for fresh vege- tainment projects, Al Sharq has vent dust, reduce humidity in tables and fruits sold at the cen- reported. desert areas and help check tral market is going up, thanks The Central Municipal Council desertification. to the rising population, but a (CMC) has urged authorities to The CMC also demanded that welcome development has been implement the Green Belt project, the ministry establish a special that compared to last year veg- as part of a urban strategy. panel to supervise and implement etables are cheaper now. The council also sought a the project according to the plan. Official figures released on timetable for the project which THE PENINSULA Thursday show that consumption of fresh vegetables in November was up 16 percent over the monthly average. Consumption in the month was 20,369 tonnes while the monthly average was 17,548 tonnes, said Fight ‘against IS needs the Ministry of Economy and Commerce. It added that the prices of more than air strikes’ fresh vegetables had come down by a nine percent in a year, LONDON: If 2014 can be were a significant revenue source. until November (compared to described as the year of the It has little ability to deal with November 2013). Islamic State (IS), it is a fair bet shortages and unemployment. India was the largest exporter that the jihadi group Barack IS continues to use social with a share of a third (32 per- Obama has pledged to “degrade media to broadcast attractions of cent) of total imports, followed and ultimately destroy” will a revived caliphate which tran- by Jordan (18 percent), Iran (12 continue to dominate headlines scends what it calls the artificial percent), and Saudi Arabia and from the Middle East in 2015. borders of states ruled by Arab Pakistan (eight percent each). John Kerry, the US Secretary agents and apostates allied to Qatari vegetables that start of State, has made clear he sees crusaders and colonialists. coming to the market by the fight against it as a long haul But its brutality — beheadings, November had a share of five One of the vegetable shops at the Central Market. that will require more than air crucifixions and mass executions percent and so was China’s share strikes to succeed. How long is in accordance with its “manage- in total imports, according to the was on top of the list of the Fruits were cheaper by nine popular Syrian meat and its place anyone’s guess. ment of savagery” doctrine — figures. consumed items in the month. percent compared to October, seems to have been taken by local Kerry’s claim that attacks by has made it powerful enemies. Fruit consumption was Other popular fruits consumed 2014. The ministry said that the meat and that imported from Saudi the US-led coalition have halted As Middle East scholar Fawaz 5,572 tonnes in November, up included apple, orange, lime and prices of fish were also down five Arabia. They were selling for QR50 IS advances is partly morale- Gerges says, it is little more than seven percent over the previ- grapes and South Africa, China, percent in November and those a kg whereas Indian and Pakistani boosting PR. Yet six months since a “nihilistic killing machine”. ous month. The Philippines was Lebanon and France were major of meat and livestock were stable. meat were available for QR30 a kg it shocked the world by raising Still, IS is made up of different the largest exporter as banana exporters. There was no mention of the on average. THE PENINSULA its black flags over the Iraqi city elements that may give it stay- of Mosul, IS has failed to reach ing power — Ba’athist-era army Baghdad or take Kobani on the officers and Iraqi tribes, as well Protest in Sana’a Syrian-Turkish border in the as Al Qaeda veterans and wan- face of fierce Kurdish resistance. nabe jihadists from across the Cycle tour to In Iraq, it faces a tacit alliance world. of the US, its Western allies and In a landscape strewn with the Doha flagged Iran. Jordan, Saudi Arabia and failed hopes of the Arab Spring, three other Gulf states are doing it is admired by Sunnis, angered off in Riyadh their bit to target it in Syria. by sectarian oppression in Iraq The picture is mixed. IS rules and Syria and who fear Iran and a 400-mile strip from Aleppo in Shia allies such as Hezbollah. DOHA: The Governor Syria to Falluja in Iraq. It runs Extremists in Yemen, Libya of Riyadh Prince social services and infrastruc- and Egypt have sworn allegiance Turkey bin Abdulaziz ture, advertising for contractors to its self-proclaimed caliph, Abu Al Saud, flagged off the and engineers to supply electric- Bakr Al Baghdadi, who calls journey of Fahad bin ity and maintain dams. himself a “leader for Muslims Ibrahim Al Yahaya, Its much-vaunted financial everywhere” and has taken over who is travelling to clout has looked less impressive Osama bin Laden’s mantle. Doha on a bicycle. since the loss of oilfields that THE GUARDIAN Spreading the mes- sage of peace and holding the banner ‘The Gulf is one’, Fahad is expected to arrive in Doha soon, passing through Al Expelled UN officials Hessa province. This is the second cycle tour by GCC citizens to different countries in the region. had ‘insulted Sudan’ THE PENINSULA KHARTOUM: Sudan said yes- people and its political leadership People demonstrate against the deployment of armed militia of the Shia Houthi movement in Sana’a yesterday. terday it had ordered two top in an interview with a Norwegian UN officials to leave Khartoum newspaper”. In early December, a for “insulting” the country and website close to Sudan’s security being “prejudiced” against its apparatus said Zaatari had criti- government. cised President Omar Al Bashir’s Egypt axes Exodus over historical mistakes UN Resident and Humanitarian government in an interview pub- Coordinator Ali Zaatari and lished by the Norwegian daily CAIRO: Egypt has banned the Hollywood was rife with mistakes, including an appar- Committee, Mohammed Afifi, and two his- UN Development Programme Bistandsaktuelt. biblical epic movie Exodus: Gods and Kings, ent claim that “Moses and the Jews built the tory professors. Country Director Yvonne Helle The Sudan Media Centre citing historical inaccuracies, the culture pyramids”. He said, “This contradicts proven Afifi said he took issue with the scene show- were told to leave, in a move criti- quoted Zaatari as saying the minister said yesterday, a day after a simi- historical facts. It is a Zionist film. It gives a ing the parting of the Red Sea in which Moses cised by Secretary-General Ban Sudanese “rely on humanitarian lar move by Morocco. Zionist view of history and contains historical — a prophet revered by Jews, Christians and Ki-moon who urged Khartoum to aid we give them” and that he The film relates how Moses helped Israelite inaccuracies and that’s why we have decided Muslims — is seen holding a “sword” like a reverse the decision. was “forced” to work with Bashir, slaves flee persecution in Egypt under the to ban it.” warrior, instead of a “stick”. He said the part- But the foreign ministry said it wanted by International Criminal Pharaoh Ramses by parting the Red Sea to The ban was decided by a committee ing of the Red Sea is explained in the movie ordered Zaatari, a Jordanian, to Court for alleged war crimes in let them cross safely. comprising Head of the Supreme Council as a “tidal phenomenon” rather than a divine leave for “insulting the Sudanese the western Darfur region. AFP Gaber Asfour said Ridley Scott’s blockbuster for Culture and Head of the Censorship miracle. AFP

Jordan denies IS shot down its warplane

AMMAN: Jordan’s military jet crashed while on a mission yesterday denied claims by the against the jihadists over north- Islamic State group to have ern Syria. shot down one of its warplanes The US military has also dis- which crashed in Syria, after missed the jihadists’ claim to the pilot was captured by the have hit the jet with an anti-air- jihadists. craft missile, saying “evidence “First indications show that clearly suggests that ISIL (IS) the crash of the Jordanian mil- did not down the aircraft”. itary plane in the area of the The crash was the first war- Syrian city of Raqa was not plane from the US-led coali- caused by Dash fire,” a military tion lost since air strikes on IS official said, using another name began in Syria in September, for IS. and marks a major propaganda “But since the wreckage of victory for the Sunni extremist the plane cannot be reached group. and since its pilot is not present, Jordan is among a number of we cannot at this moment countries that have joined the determine the exact cause of air raids against IS. the crash,” the official said in Coalition warplanes have car- remarks published on the army’s ried out regular strikes around website. Raqa, which IS has used as its Maaz Al Kassasbeh, a de facto capital since declaring Jordanians gather outside a mosque during Friday prayers, following a demonstration against IS and for the freedom of pilot Maaz Al Kassasbeh, in 26-year-old first lieutenant in a “caliphate” in June, straddling downtown Amman yesterday. the air force, was captured by large parts of Iraq and Syria. IS on Wednesday after his F-16 AFP SATURDAY 27 DECEMBER 2014 04 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

KAMMUTTY VP

A new destination has opened its doors to visitors keen to experience a Qatari traditional atmosphere in Al Wakra. The Heritage Village of Al Wakra, dubbed the second Souq Waqif, is built to give an old and traditional look and make people feel they are walking through a commercial area existing for years. Hundreds of shops, with mud-coated walls, roofs with palm leaf ceilings and big wooden doors, resemble Qatari Heritage Village opens traditional homes. Located near Al Wakra Corniche, it also showcases a row of dhows. With some restaurants and sweets shops opening recently, the Heritage Village has started receiving visitors though it will officially open soon. It will also host handcraft makers, traditional instrument sellers and a pearl museum. SATURDAY 27 DECEMBER 2014 MIDDLE EAST www.thepeninsulaqatar.com 05 Syria refugees suffer bitter cold of Lebanon winter

ALSAAYDEH CAMP, so cold,” said Abu Ali. “We have the time, but there is nothing I adverse conditions”. In Jabaa, four-year-old Khaled puts pieces furniture you need, then sud- LEBANON: With just blan- no sobia, nothing to heat us up,” can do to keep myself warm, so another unofficial camp in the of paper on the fire to keep it denly you have to leave everything kets to shield them against the he said, referring to a traditional we play anyway,” said 12-year-old Bekaa, the wind beats down from going. behind to live on farmland, with icy wind and rain, Abu Ali’s Middle Eastern diesel or wood- Hammudi, whose striking green the hills as Umm Ali, who is in “The kids are sick all the time, no buildings to block the wind,” family huddles in a flimsy tent powered stove that luckier refu- eyes glistened in the wind as he her sixth month of pregnancy, but none of them go to school, so I she said. “Conditions of life in a in Lebanon — among the thou- gee families have either received wandered around in plastic san- steps out of her tent. can’t stop them from playing out- tent are extremely difficult.” sands of Syrian refugees strug- from humanitarian agencies, or dals, his feet covered in mud. With her stomach bulging from side,” said Umm Ali, her hair cov- This year, after a dry 2013, rain- gling as winter sets in. bought with their savings. The United Nations says more her traditional dress, she ignores ered by a brightly-coloured scarf. fall has been heavy in Lebanon. Sixty-year-old Abu Ali is now “All we have is blankets and than half of the 1.1 million Syrian the rain as she hangs up clothes She has only been to the doc- Umm Ali’s sister-in-law, relatively safe after fleeing the God’s mercy,” said Abu Ali, wear- refugees in Lebanon live in sub- to dry. “What can I do? It’s rain- tor once during her pregnancy, 23-year-old Rajaa, says that even threat of Islamic State group mil- ing a red and white keffiyeh scarf standard housing. ing all the time. We have to keep because she cannot afford health- if she tries to stop her children itants in northern Syria’s Raqa on his head and a traditional Abu Ali’s family is among the 17 on living,” said Umm Ali, who is care. “When little Doaa (aged from playing in the rain, “they province, but some of his 14 chil- camel-coloured Bedouin robe. percent in informal camps, mak- from Aleppo province in northern two) got sick, we spent $66 on have to go to the bathroom -- and dren are already coughing badly. His family’s tiny tent is made ing them especially vulnerable to Syria. medicine,” Umm Ali said. that’s outside”. The women heat They have taken shelter at an from sheets of white plastic and the elements as winter takes hold. Back in her tent, she and her According to Maysam water on the sobia to bathe their unofficial camp in Al Saadiyeh, planks of wood, and only has The UN High Commissioner family sit around the sobia. Mohammad of the British-based children. “You can imagine how a village in the eastern Bekaa straw mats as flooring. for Refugees says humanitarian But Umm Ali has a cough, like charity Oxfam, a pregnant Syrian long that takes,” said Umm Ali. Valley home to tens of thousands A single battery-powered agencies have provided 400,000 several of her 11 children, who woman lost her child last year She said “the worst is night- of Syrian refugees inadequately lantern hangs in the tent, so to people with fuel vouchers or cash sneeze as they try to stay warm. after a major storm struck the time, when we all gather next to equipped to cope with the cold. escape the darkness, Abu Ali’s for November and December, While they have a sobia, they Bekaa area. each other to sleep and the chil- “This is our first winter here. children brave the cold and rain but that funding shortfalls mean don’t have the money to buy “Imagine you were living in a dren wail: ‘I’m cold, I’m cold,’”. We really didn’t expect it to be and play outside. “I am cold all many refugees are left “in cold, diesel fuel or wood. Instead, house, with all the heating and AFP Regime strikes kill 52 civilians in Syria Govt forces kill more civilians than militants: Activists

BEIRUT: Syrian regime air thousands of people since it was who was contacted on Skype. strikes killed at least 52 civil- first deployed in the war in July Syrian state media did not ians, including seven children, 2012. Activists accuse the gov- report the strikes on Al Bab, a in strongholds of the Islamic ernment of killing more civilians city of around 100,000 people that State, a monitoring group said than militants in the raids. has been a target of heavy gov- yesterday in a new toll. Helicopters and war planes ernment strikes since the start The raids struck Al Bab and dropped barrel bombs—steel of US- led military campaign Qbasin Thursday in the north- drums full of shrapnel and explo- against Islamic State in Syria in ern province of Aleppo, accord- sives—on residential and indus- late September. ing to the Syrian Observatory trial areas in the city of Al Bab The Observatory said at least for Human Rights, which relies and neighbouring Qabaseen, 110 civilians had been killed in on a network of activists on the northeast of Aleppo, on Thursday more than 470 air strikes on ground. Previously the toll had and overnight, locals said. rebel held areas in Syria in the stood at 37 dead. “People were going about scrap- last 72 hours, including towns in “At least 52 civilians, including ing a living and there were no insurgent-held eastern suburbs of An overturned tank is seen in a damaged Khan Wazir street, which faces Aleppo’s historic citadel controlled by seven children, three teenagers armed groups in the market, only the capital Damascus, where the forces loyal to Syria’s President Bashar Al Assad, in Old Aleppo yesterday. and two women, were killed in the poor people. Why is Assad killing army has stepped up a two-year Syrian army air raids,” said the us? May God bring vengeance on campaign to retake the area. trying to leave Zebdin, a besieged “There have been unprec- ground to improve its negotiating Observatory, adding that dozens him,” said Yousef Al Saadi, a resi- Eleven civilians, most women rebel-held neighbourhood in the edented air raids across Syria stance in future political talks,” were seriously wounded. dent of Qabaseen and a volunteer and children, were killed by loy- rural outskirts of Damascus, the in the last three days where the Rami Abdul Rahman, head of the The regime air force has killed with the local civil defence group alist snipers when they were Observatory said. regime seeks to make gains on the Observatory, said. AGENCIES SATURDAY 27 DECEMBER 2014 06 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

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Editorial Putin’s woes

Cartoon Arts International / The New York Times Syndicate ANCTIONS do definitely bite. But what bites more are unexpected economic upheavals. In the case of Russian President Vladimir Putin, he has to suffer Sboth, leaving him with few options. Putin has been showing a brave face after US and Europe imposed sanctions to punish him for his actions in Ukraine. Russian economy was too big for the president How Tunisia survived to buckle under pressure, and Moscow was able to carry on despite the curbs without any major impact to its economy. But the sudden, steep plunge in oil prices has changed the situation. The economy took a severe beating, the Arab Spring and the currency rouble, which was reeling under the impact of sanctions, started to follow the path of oil. BY BERNY SÈBE stronger than the discipline needed to the contrary, it demonstrates that the The latest news is that Russians are resorting to panic bow to the verdict of ballot boxes. phase of transition has been remarkably buying expecting the situation to get worse. Signs of panic ET’S face it: once a term laden There have been, distressingly, a well negotiated, and that the country’s buying have emerged with many hard-pressed households with hope for the Middle East, few cases of political assassination, but political culture is mature enough to hoarding sugar and buckwheat, one of the country’s main the idea of an “Arab Spring” strong reactions from civil society and choose its political future peacefully and staples, as the ruble at one point lost one quarter of its Lhas become merely depressing. politicians alike have ensured that poli- fairly. value in just two days. Worried about rising inflation and Assorted humanitarian disasters tics has not descended into open armed The legislative and presidential cam- have followed in its wake – think of the conflict. Similarly, shows of force from paigns of 2014 were fierce, with a real the real value of their wages and savings plummeting, unspeakable violence by the so-called extremist groups have been condemned political debate taking place. poorer Russians have been stockpiling goods they think Islamic State, or the disintegration of by the entire political class, marginalis- But a majority of Tunisians decided will hold their value. Libya’s social and political fabric. In ing violent jihadi groups. they wanted the country to remain The rouble has lost about 40 percent of its value Egypt, the die-hard habit of letting the In the end, decades of state commit- secular, and they have now entrusted against the dollar and euro this year. Ordinary Russians army choose the country’s rulers has ment to education and development a party with an experienced bench to are finding that their savings have returned. Elsewhere, as in Bahrain, paid off, ensuring that political dialogue address the key problems which have revolts nipped in the bud – or repressed remained the preferred mode of negoti- developed over the last few years: inse- only half their value and are likely with the help of muscular police forces ation for the majority of the population. curity, the threat of extremism, inflation The economic to be washed out if the currency – have been Once hard-fought negotiations had and, above all, unemployment. crisis is continues to fall. All signs are that silenced for good. given birth to a new constitution (the To be sure, the task is Herculean, and it will continue its plunge unless And yet, the third one in the country’s history, after high expectations will make it all the proving to be Putin opts for a U-turn in his cradle of the those of 1861 and 1959), Tunisian voters more politically perilous. But it augurs The country Arab Spring is were allowed to choose freely their coun- well that outgoing president Moncef as harsh as policies, which is highly unlikely once again lead- try’s path. Last October, they showed Marzouki did eventually recognise the climate at least now. The former finance that started it ing the way. With their disappointment with the main vic- his defeat, while Rached Ghannouchi, minister Aleksei L Kudrin, a long- all shows that the peaceful elec- tors of the constituent assembly, and president of the Islamist party Ennahda, for ordinary time friend of Putin, warned this tion of Beji Caid almost 40% voted for Essebsi’s Nidaa implicitly endorsed Essebsi between Russians. week of a full-blown economic crisis a consensual, Essebsi, Tunisia, Tounès party – which supports secular- the two rounds, assuring everyone that and called for better relations with the first Arab ism, social democracy and liberalism. there was no risk of a return to dicta- And Putin secular, country where Conceived in reaction to the per- torship. Equally, Essebsi himself often the United States and Europe. democratic popular protests ceived threat of an over-Islamisation refers to the Qur’an in public – a clear seems More than the sanctions, it’s proved to be of Tunisian society, and to preserve strategy to alleviate the fears of moder- unwilling to the oil fall which has hurt Russian country can enough to get rid Tunisia’s founding national principles ate Islamists. economy more. Moscow is one of of an autocrat, since independence from France in 1956, While other states around it flounder change. the largest exporters of energy emerge from has just shown this party has often been criticised for and collapse into horrendous, perhaps in the world, and relies on this the storms of the world that an allowing some politicians of Ben Ali’s intractable, violence, Tunisia has shown orderly manage- Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD) it possesses the political maturity nec- natural resource for much of its revenue. Energy revenue revolution. ment of a revolu- to regain currency in post-revolutionary essary not only to play by the rules of accounts for more than half of the government’s budget. tion was always Tunisia. And at 88, the president-elect democracy, but also to accept the result Oil is now hovering around $60 per barrel from around an option on the can hardly be seen as a newcomer. He of pluralist elections while also fighting $115 in June. The fall has been so sharp and so quick that table. was a member of the nationalist party extremism. it has unsettled the economic planning of many energy In four short years, Tunisia has gone Neo-Destour, which fought from the Indeed, the country seems to be liv- through the entire cycle of ousting an 1930s onwards to gain independence, ing up to the reputation of its prestig- producers, including Russia. apparently lifelong president, electing a and he subsequently served in various ious predecessor, Carthage, praised by The economic situation is proving to be as harsh as the constituent assembly, producing a new key roles under the country’s first presi- Aristotle for its political organisation climate for ordinary Russians. And they are left with no constitution, and organising a round of dent, Habib Bourguiba. which he thought in many respects option other than suffer because Russia is no democracy fully democratic legislative and presi- Essebsi was also a former president superior to all others. A beacon of the and Putin is not known to change his foreign policy after dential elections. of the Tunisian parliament under Ben ancient Mediterranean two and a half listening to public opinion. He would rather wait for the It has successfully navigated the Ali in the early 1990s, and was the first millennia ago, Tunisia has just shown murky waters of post-revolutionary prime minister of the post-Ben Ali tran- that it can still be a beacon of peaceful economic storm to fizzle out, even if it causes substantial instability, when the future of a country sition for nine months in 2011. change and enlightened democracy in damage, than lose face before his enemy. becomes so open that the temptation But his record doesn’t mean the leg- the Arab world in the 21st century. to use political violence can be much acy of the revolution is under threat. On THE GUARDIAN The other side Quote of Region ought to put its differences aside the day

T IS NO secret that some of the players in the Middle East. Even the Daesh as that common enemy that live through cycles of proxy wars at region’s most bitter rivals share radicals have displayed characteristics will bring them together and put an the expense of innocent people held a common enemy in the radical of pragmatism and strategic thinking, end to decades of proxy conflicts. hostage by petty rivalries. As govern- Ifanatics who have taken over making alliances at times and putting Even temporary cooperation can have ments fight, only the people will suffer The press is so free large parts of Iraq and Syria. Daesh aside their fanatical beliefs when the a cascading effect in terms of trust. and the region will fall deeper into the (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) need arises. They have identified an That kind of trust can eventually pave abyss it finds itself in. Let 2015 be in Turkey that one not only threatens to challenge the ultimate objective and have strived to the way for the settlement of rest of the year when the countries of our can make insults, Middle East state system by tearing work towards it no matter what means the issues that the regional players region will decide that the blood of apart its borders, but it also plans they use. Their adversaries have have differences over. innocents is much more valuable slanders, defamation, to spread its culture of death and unfortunately not been as wise. While Now is the time to grab the oppor- than bitter rivalries. Let it be the racism and commit destruction across the region. regional heavyweights recognise the tunity to put the differences aside. If year in which Daesh can be ‘cred- This group represents a direct and gravity of the Daesh threat, they have a threat this grave cannot bring the ited’ for bringing together the region hate crimes that are immediate threat to every nation — not built up the courage to face it regional adversaries together, then in a united front that will eventually not tolerated even in a threat that requires a united and together. Perhaps they should see there is little hope that anything will. destroy it once and for all. coordinated response from the major a bright side in the emergence of The region will, therefore, continue to Gulf News democratic countries. Recep Tayyip Erdogan Turkish President SATURDAY 27 DECEMBER 2014 VIEWS www.thepeninsulaqatar.com 07 IS exercise in state-building crumbling Services are collapsing, prices are soaring and medicines are scarce in towns and cities across the ‘caliphate’ proclaimed in Iraq and Syria by IS, belying the jihadists’ boasts that they are delivering a model form of governance for Muslims. BY LIZ SLY There are also signs of falling morale among at least some of the fighters whose he Islamic State’s (IS) vaunted expectations of quick and easy victories exercise in state-building have been squashed by US-led air strikes. appears to be crumbling as liv- A notice distributed in Raqqa this month Ting conditions deteriorate across called on fighters shirking their duties to the territories under its control, exposing report to the front lines, and a new police the shortcomings of a group that devotes force was created to go house-to-house to most of its energies to fighting battles root them out. There is no indication the and enforcing strict rules. hardships are likely to lead to rebellion, Services are collapsing, prices are soar- at least not soon. Fear of draconian pun- ing and medicines are scarce in towns and ishments and the absence of alternatives cities across the ‘caliphate’ proclaimed in deter citizens from complaining loudly, Iraq and Syria by IS, residents say, bely- residents said in interviews while they ing the group’s boasts that it is delivering were on visits to neighbouring Turkey a model form of governance for Muslims. or over the Internet. Slick IS videos depicting functioning But the deterioration is undermining governing offices and the distribution of at least one important aspect of the IS’ aid fail to match the reality of growing self-proclaimed identity — as a state, deprivation and disorganised, erratic dedicated to reviving the 7th-century leadership, residents say. A trumpeted caliphate that once ruled the Muslim IS currency has not materialised, nor world. Governing is as central to that goal have the passports the group promised. as the military conquests that occurred Schools barely function, doctors are few as IS fighters swept through much of and diseases are on the rise. Syria and Iraq over the past year. In the Iraqi city of Mosul, water has The group’s momentum on the battle- Umm Ali (centre), the mother of 11 children and six-month pregnant, sitting by the 'sobia', a traditional diesel or wood-powered stove at a become undrinkable because supplies of field has been slowed by the US-led cam- refugee camp in Jabaa, a village in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon. They fled the northern Syrian city of Aleppo after violence on December 20. chlorine have dried up, said a journalist paign, which has helped reverse or stall living there. Hepatitis is spreading and IS offensives on many fronts, from the Whether the IS administration was fear of the obligatory three-day jail sen- IS functionaries continue to exact pay- flour is becoming increasingly scarce. tiny town of Kobane in northern Syria to ever as capable as it has been portrayed tence for a first offence — and a month ments, going door to door to collect taxes “Life in the city is nearly dead, and it is the farmland south of Baghdad. appears to be in doubt, Syrians say. Those for a second. Public executions for theft, from shopkeepers and fees for electricity as though we are living in a giant prison,” That IS is also failing to deliver services who could afford to flee areas controlled blasphemy and dissent are on the rise. and telephones. he said, wishing not to be named. in the areas it controls calls into question by IS have done so, disproportionately A new punishment, for homosexuality, “If the regime did not supply telecoms In the Syrian city of Raqqa, IS’ self- the sustainability of its larger ambition. including professionals and technocrats in which the accused is thrown off a tall and salaries, I don’t think IS could sur- styled capital, water and electricity are The IS “is not this invincible monster whose skills are needed to run govern- building, has been implemented twice in vive,” said Hassan Hassan, a Syrian ana- available for no more than three or four that can control everything and defeat ment services. recent weeks. lyst with the Abu Dhabi-based Delma hours a day, garbage piles up uncol- everyone,” said an activist in the eastern Syrians say the IS administration is Crime has plunged, and for many resi- Institute. “It charges people for things lected and the poor scavenge for scraps Syrian city of Deir Al Zour, describing overseen by a network of shadowy emirs dents the order is a welcome alternative the regime is providing. But it’s not viable on streets crowded with sellers hawking the ineffectual delivery of services there. or princes. Lower-level positions are to the lawlessness that prevailed when as a state.” anything they can find to sell. “The idea that it is well organised and an occupied by Syrians or foreigners who more moderate Syrian rebels were in Tensions are emerging between the Videos filmed in secret by an activist administrative entity is wrong. It is just often lack administrative or technical charge. Syrians who lived for decades local populace and the foreign fighters, group show desperate women and chil- an image.” skills. “IS has become too big to control under the regime of President Bashar estimated by US officials and analysts at dren clamouring for handouts of food, A Raqqa businessman who travelled itself,” said a Syrian aid worker who Assad are accustomed to obeying orders, about 15,000, or about half the total fight- while photographs posted on the Internet to Mosul recently said the Iraqi city is regularly interacts with IS officials and and many have adapted to the new rules, ing force. Foreigners get paid in dollars, portray foreign jihadists eating lavish in far better shape than his city in Syria, did not want to be identified to compro- said a government employee in the while Syrian recruits, known as munasir, spreads, a disparity that is starting to where people are being driven away by mise his dealings with the jihadists. He former tax department who collects his or helpers, are paid in Syrian pounds. stir resentment. the spectre of hunger and devastating finds them willing and cooperative, “but salary from the government though he IS fighters get treated in their secret Government workers in Syrian as government bombings that have killed they’re not smart, and they’re not capa- is no longer working. “Dash are not as field hospitals, while civilians are forced well as Iraqi cities, continue to be paid mostly civilians. ble. They have no expertise.” cruel as the regime was,” he said, using to rely on the collapsing private hospitals, by the Syrian government, travelling The bombardments have played a big For most citizens, the main interaction an Arabic name for the jihadists. With said Abu Mohammed, an activist with each month to collect pay from offices in role in straining the infrastructure, forc- with the IS is with its ubiquitous police the IS in charge, “if you don’t do anything ‘Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently’, a government-controlled areas. ing the jihadists to abandon many of its and security agencies, including the noto- wrong — according to their standards, group that draws attention to conditions “IS doesn’t know how to do this stuff,” government buildings. US attacks on rious Hesbah, which patrols the streets in not ours — they will not bother you.” under the IS. He uses a nickname to pro- said the US official. “When stuff breaks small, makeshift oil refineries many citi- quest of those transgressing the group’s There is no indication that the IS tect his safety. “People are fed up with down they get desperate. It doesn’t have zens relied on for income have deepened harsh interpretation of Islamic law. income, estimated at $12m a month, is them and would like to get rid of them. engineers and staff to run the cities, so the deprivation, leaving many without Shopkeepers shut stores five times a suffering. Syrians continue to sign up But they don’t have the ability.” things are breaking down.” income and sending prices soaring. day for prayer. Smokers have quit for because there are no other jobs available. WP-BLOOMBERG Clinton looks to shore up support on the left A less than merry She has aligned assassinated in 1968 during his idealistic run for the White House. season for Rousseff Clinton said she is proud to have been part of an administration that ended extrajudicial herself with Obama on BY DOM PHILLIPS transfers and abusive treatment of terrorism detainees. The practices were the subject of liberal-friendly issues, an exhaustive Senate report this month that razil’s President Dilma Rousseff may not be having as happy a concluded that the CIA had engaged in tor- Christmas as the rest of her country. It has been a tough year: including immigration, ture and that the methods were ineffective in BA gruelling re-election victory, humiliation for the national team gaining useful intelligence. in an otherwise successful World Cup, a flailing economy, and a scandal The crowd in a Manhattan hotel ballroom involving beloved state-controlled oil company Petrobras, dubbed Big climate change and on December 16 applauded at the statement Oil, that just won’t go away. Plus, local media gleefully reports, she and thrilled to her broader theme of right- is cramping her holidays with a crash diet to lose weight before her diplomatic relations ing social wrongs. “What would Kennedy say second inauguration ceremony on January 1. about the fact that still today over 16 million Rousseff may have consoled herself by joining millions of families all children live in poverty in the richest nation over Brazil watching the December 23 TV special by singer Roberto with Cuba. on earth? What would he say about the fact Carlos — an iconic Brazilian crooner whose annual special is a national that such a large portion of economic gains institution. Brazil’s Bing Crosby — in a white suit. BY ANNE GEARAN have gone to such a small portion of our popu- Rousseff’s aggressive re-election campaign in October’s acrimonious lation,” she said, asking about the persistent election stoked fear in voters over what would happen if opposition illary Rodham Clinton, Democratic wealth gap among blacks and Hispanics and candidates won. They would, the campaign said, deliver the country front-runner for president, is work- hardly tipping her hand by remarking on the unequal treatment of black men in the to white-shirted bankers and cancel social policies like the Workers Hing to shore up support among liberals matters that will be part of the presidential criminal justice system. Party’s flagship income support scheme, “Family Allowance.” in hopes of tamping down a challenge from campaign. Clinton has said she is considering “What would Kennedy say to the thou- After the election, Rousseff appointed banker Joaquim Levyas as the left in the battle for the 2016 nomination. a second run for president and would prob- sands of Americans marching in our streets Finance Minister to turn around the stumbling economy. In his first She has aligned herself with President ably reach her decision after January 1. An demanding justice for all? To the young people speech, he said he would consolidate social advances, assuring that the Obama since the November midterms on lib- announcement looks likely in the spring. with their eyes open and their hands up?” Family Allowance was safe — in the hands of a white-shirted banker. eral-friendly issues, including immigration, There are potential Democratic candidates The remarks were more in keeping with Brazil loses when emotion takes over strategy, as its World Cup climate change and diplomatic relations with who could appeal to portions of the party’s lib- Clinton’s early career as a lawyer and human campaign showed. Television footage of the national team lining up in Cuba. In a human rights speech this month, eral base, including former senator Jim Webb, rights champion than her later work as a the tunnel for the semifinal against Germany showed apprehensive, she condemned the CIA’s use of harsh inter- Va., Maryland governor Martin O’Malley and politically moderate senator and failed presi- nervous Brazilian players beside relaxed, confident Germans. Brazil rogation tactics and cases of apparent police Senator Bernard Sanders, I-Vt. Many progres- dential candidate or as a diplomat. They also was humiliated in a historic 7-1 defeat. brutality against minorities. sives are urging a bid by Senator Elizabeth appear designed to address a populist hunger Instead of learning from that epic loss, Brazil apparently prefers to Recent statements suggest a concerted Warren, D-Mass., whose populist anti-Wall among Democrats for a candidate attuned to forget it. Emotion is muddying the Big Oil scandal that went public effort by Clinton to appeal to the Democratic Street message draws large crowds. economic inequality and the concerns of work- in March, when an investigation dubbed Operation Car Wash led to Party’s most activist, liberal voters, who have Clinton has been meeting campaign advisers ing people, including many who would prefer a the arrests of money-changer Alberto Youssef and former Petrobras often eyed her with suspicion and would be and consulting people, from business leaders to run by Warren. The next day came word that supply director Paulo Costa. Petrobras executive-turned-whistleblower crucial to her securing the nomination. sitting Democratic political figures, on issues American Alan Gross had been released from Venina Fonseca denounced irregularities in e-mails to Petrobras CEO But the positions also tie her more tightly she might address in a campaign. prison in Cuba and that Obama planned a Graça Foster since 2008 — Foster was promoted to her job in 2012 and to a president who remains broadly unpopular, She has been making a point of addressing larger diplomatic opening to the island nation says Fonseca never alleged corruption. providing new lines of attack for Republicans topical matters at events and other appear- that looms large in US politics. Clinton wel- During the election, this was a dry, corporate scandal that many jostling to oppose her if she runs. ances. The former secretary of state’s office comed Gross’ release and praised moves to voters couldn’t understand. Now it has been humanised by Fonseca, One Democratic strategist said the moves has released statements in her name in sup- engage with Cuba. She wrote in her memoir who detailed them during a suitably emotional interview broadcast on are “more prophylactic than anything. If she port of Obama’s announcement of executive Hard Choices that not getting Gross out was the prime-time television show Fantastico on December 21. didn’t say anything, the media and the liberal action on immigration and the planned nor- one of the regrets of her tenure and that she Given the work the judges, prosecutors and police are doing in the groups that care about this stuff” would criti- malisation of relations with Cuba. had suggested to Obama as she left the admin- Big Oil scandal, the results could be transformative. With Carlos sup- cise her or nurse a grudge. Clinton has not yet Her appeals to liberals were on display istration in 2013 that the time might be right plying the soundtrack, Brazilians could continue to laugh and cry at said she is a candidate. last week at a gala award ceremony in New for an overture to Cuba. their country’s problems. But at least they would have the vocabulary Strategists from both parties said she is York named for Robert F Kennedy, who was WP-BLOOMBERG to appoint institutional responsibility afterward. WP-BLOOMBERG SATURDAY 27 DECEMBER 2014 08 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com MIDDLE EAST Turkey has world’s freest press: Erdogan We’re not Europe’s scapegoats: PM Arrested ANKARA: Turkey has the fre- The remarks also coincided est press in the world, President with the release pending trial Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yes- of a 16-year-old schoolboy who schoolboy terdy, brushing off accusations was controversially arrested on that media freedoms were being charges of insulting Erdogan by eroded under his rule. accusing him of being the “chief freed “Nowhere in the world is the of corruption”. press freer than it is in Turkey. But Erdogan said: “You cannot ANKARA: A Turkish court I’m very sure of myself when I say insult them (his family) like this yesterday freed a 16-year-old this,” he said in a televised speech in any other country. There is no high school pupil arrested for to a conference in Ankara. limit to the insults (we receive). “insulting” President Recep “The press is so free in Turkey You cannot run such headlines in Tayyip Erdogan, amid accu- that one can make insults, slan- Europe or the US.” sations his detention was the ders, defamation, racism and “Europeans accuse us as if latest sign of a lurch to author- commit hate crimes that are such things never happen in itarianism under the strong- not tolerated even in democratic their countries. No one raises man leader. countries.” their voice when journalists are The boy, Mehmet Emin “I’ve personally experienced detained in Europe.” Altunses, was released following this, so has my family,” he He launched another bitter a complaint by his lawyer, but added. attack on the European Union, he still faces trial in the future, Turkey was the world’s top the latest episode in a bitter row the official Anatolia news agency jailer of journalists in 2012 and that erupted with the EU’s criti- reported. Altunses was met by 2013, ahead of Iran and China, cism of the raids on opposition his parents as he left the main according to the international media. courthouse building in the city Committee to Protect Journalists, “We are not the scapegoats of and immediately fell into the before improving to tenth place the EU,” said Erdogan. arms of his mother, Turkish tel- Demonstrators hold a banner featuring a photo of 16-year-old Turkish teenager Mehmet Emin Altunses, who this year. “We are not a country that evision pictures showed. was released from jail, two days after his arrest, during a protest in Ankara yesterday. Erdogan’s comments came Europe can criticise, wag its fin- But the teen defiantly declared less than two weeks after police ger at and scold without them his political activism would con- raids on opposition media linked looking in the mirror themselves.” tinue, saying he was not a ter- central Turkish city of Konya, and immediately taken for inter- Altunses had accused Erdogan to Erdogan’s arch-foe Fethullah “Those days are over. The old rorist but a “soldier” of modern a bastion of the ruling Islamic- rogation by police. A court then of being the “chief of theft, brib- Gulen prompted a furious reac- Turkey does not exist anymore,” Turkey’s secular founder Mustafa rooted Justice and Development ordered his arrest. ery and corruption”. tion from the European Union. he added. Kemal Ataturk. Party (AKP), where he accused Reportedly a member of an Despite his release, Altunses Erdogan has blamed Gulen for The slanging match with “There is no question of tak- Erdogan and the ruling party of online youth group, Altunses in still remains accused of insulting concocting stunning corruption Brussels has dealt a new blow to ing a step back from our path, corruption. questioning denied links with Erdogan and faces trial at a date allegations that emerged last year Turkey’s long-running bid to join we will continue along this road,” He was detained by police at a political party but confirmed yet to be specified. He risks up to concerning ministers and his own the 28-member bloc, but analysts he said. Altunses had delivered school in Konya in the middle of he had made the statements in four years in prison if convicted. inner circle that also touched his believe it has not yet been written a speech on Wednesday in the lessons on Wednesday afternoon question. AFP own son Bilal. off. AFP IS claims Fire spreads to more oil tanks in Libya Iraq suicide BENGHAZI: A fire at an oil struggle between former rebels Ali Al Hassi, spokesman for a has had two governments and former Gaddafi officers such as storage tank at Libya’s Es Sider who helped topple Muammar security force allied to the inter- parliaments since a group called ex-general Khalifa Haftar. bombing that port has spread to two more Gaddafi in 2011 but are now fight- nationally-recognized govern- Libya Dawn seized the capital in The fighting has reduced Libya’s tanks after a rocket hit the ing for power and a share of oil ment, said the fire had spread August by expelling a rival fac- crude output to 352,000 barrels a country’s biggest terminal dur- reserves. On Thursday, both sides to two more tanks but the exact tion, installing its own prime min- day, NOC said on Thursday. Es killed 38 ing clashes between forces allied reported an initial hit on an oil damage was unclear. ister and forcing the recognized Sider and Ras Lanuf ports had to competing governments, offi- tank during clashes, blaming each Hassi had blamed the rival premier, Abdullah al-Thinni, to been processing an estimated BAGHDAD: The Islamic cials said yesterday. other for the damage. force for shooting at the first tank operate out of the east with the 300,000 bpd until their closure. State group claimed it carried Es Sider and its adjacent Ras Since then, “the clashes have while trying to take the port with elected House of Representatives. Es Sider is fed from fields run out a suicide bombing south of Lanuf terminal have been closed hit several tanks which are burn- speed boats. The rival force had Thinni accuses Libya Dawn of by Waha Oil Co, a joint-venture Baghdad that targeted Sunni since a force allied to a rival gov- ing,” said Mohamed El Harari, blamed the other side for using relying on Islamists. The Tripoli- of NOC with US firms Hess, fighters who oppose the jihadists, ernment in Tripoli moved east spokesman for the state National war planes. based government says Thinni’s Marathon and ConocoPhillips. in which 38 people were killed. trying to take them, part of a Oil Corp (NOC). The North African country forces have allied themselves with REUTERS The bomber attacked the fighters, known as Sahwa, while they were gathering near a military base in Madain on Anti-govt protest Two militants shot dead Wednesday to receive their pay, also wounding at least 56 people. at Cairo checkpoint IS claimed the attack in a message posted online titled “Statement on the Martyrdom CAIRO: Police yesterday shot attacks on the army and the Operation in the Madain dead two members of Egypt’s police, including one on November District”, and identified the most active jihadist group 28 in Cairo that killed a brigadier bomber as Saifeddin Al Ansari. Ansar Beit Al Maqdis, the inte- and a soldier. Police also found guns IS spearheaded a sweeping rior ministry announced. and ammunition in an east Cairo militant offensive that has over- It claimed one of the men killed apartment used by one of them. run much of Iraq’s Sunni Arab at a checkpoint east of the capi- Militants have killed scores of heartland since June — areas tal had been responsible for the security personnel since Morsi that Shia-led government forces militant group’s operations in the was overthrown, saying the have sought local Sunni help to Cairo region. attacks are in retaliation for a recapture. Ansar Beit Al Maqdis brutal government campaign The Sahwa, or “Awakening” in (Partisans of Jerusalem), which against his supporters. Arabic, dates back to the height has allied itself to the Islamic The widespread crackdown has of the US-led war in Iraq, when State group, is based in the Sinai left at least 1,400 people dead and Sunni tribesmen joined forces Peninsula, and claims to be behind more than 15,000 jailed. with the Americans to battle most of the major attacks on the Most of the deaths occurred insurgents including IS’s pred- security forces since the army when police stormed two pro- ecessor organisation, the Islamic ousted elected Islamist president Morsi protest camps in Cairo in State of Iraq. Mohamed Mursi in July 2013. August last year. Hundreds more The Sahwa were key to greatly Police spotted the jihadists’ have been sentenced to death but temporarily reducing the car at a checkpoint, the ministry after perfunctory mass trials. violence, but when Iraq’s govern- statement said. A roadside bomb struck an ment took over responsibility for “The occupants of the car Egyptian army vehicle late on their salaries they were some- opened fire to try to get away, but Thursday had killed an officer and times paid late or not at all. the police fired back,” it added. a soldier in the insurgent flash- Now Sunni fighters, includ- “Three policemen and two point of the Sinai Peninsula ing the Sahwa and other armed Shia protesters in Bahrain hold up national flag as they take part in an anti-government demonstration in the civilians there by chance were The attack occurred south of tribesmen, again have an impor- village of Jannusan, west of capital Manama, yesterday. The Sunni-ruled kingdom held parliamentary elec- injured” and the two jihadists the town of El Arish, scene of tant role to play in the fight tions last November that have been boycotted by the main opposition Al Wefaq movement which calls for were killed, it said. frequent attacks by Islamist mili- against IS. democratic reforms. The ministry said the two men tants on security forces. AFP killed had taken part in several AGENCIES

Iran expands policy of ‘smart filtering’ of the internet Four Shabab fighters killed DUBAI: Iran is to expand what it calls social restrictions, but it was not clear if uncensored in Iran but some user accounts morally dubious content, which in Iran “smart filtering” of the Internet, a pol- it would mean more or less Internet free- were subsequently blocked, notably @ could be anything from pornography to MOGADISHU: Four fight- icy of censoring undesirable content on dom. Iranians on Twitter expressed con- RichkidsofTehran, a page full of photos of realtively innocuous images of women ers from Somalia’s Al Qaeda- websites without banning them com- cern that, as part of the new policy, the young, rich Iranians flaunting their wealth. not wearing the mandatory Islamic dress, linked Shabab rebels were pletely, as it used to, the government said government would try to block VPN access In a cat-and-mouse game, another but also material that might be politically killed and another four cap- yesterday. to such sites. account dedicated to the same pursuits damaging. tured in an attack by the The Islamic Republic has some of the “Presently, the smart filtering plan is quickly appeared under the name @ Social media were widely used in the Islamists against an African strictest controls on Internet access in the implemented only on one social network RichkidsofTeh. anti-government protests of 2009 to organ- Union command centre, offi- world, but its blocks on US-based social in its pilot study phase and this process will “Implementing the smart filtering plan, ise and spread news about a movement that cials said yesterday. media such as Facebook, Twitter and continue gradually until the plan is imple- we are trying to block the criminal and was eventually crushed by security forces. The militants launched an YouTube are routinely bypassed by tech- mented on all networks,” Communications unethical contents of the Internet sites, Under former president Mahmoud assault on the AU force’s heav- savvy Iranians using virtual private net- Minister Mahmoud Vaezi said, according to while the public will be able to use the gen- Ahmadinejad, Tehran floated the idea of ily fortified headquarters in works (VPNs). official news agency Irna. eral contents of those sites,” Vaezi told a replacing the Internet with a national Mogadishu on Thursday, killing Under the new scheme, Tehran could lift He appeared to be referring to news conference. intranet that would not be connected to three soldiers from the union’s its blanket ban on those sites and, instead, Instagram, the photo-sharing site owned by The policy would be fully in place by June the worldwide web and would be controlled local peacekeeping mission filter their content. Facebook, which is already being filtered, 2015, he said. by Iranian authorities, a plan than appears known as AMISOM and a civil- The policy appears to follow President but not blocked. Iranian authorities are not only con- to have fizzled out. ian contractor. Hassan Rowhani’s push to loosen some Instagram was initially available cerned about what might be considered REUTERS REUTERS SATURDAY 27 DECEMBER 2014 INTERNATIONAL www.thepeninsulaqatar.com 09 Kiev, rebels swap prisoners New Russia military No new date for talks; Ukraine suspends train, bus services to Crimea doctrine labels Nato KOSTYANTYNIVKA: Ukraine and pro-Russian rebels swapped hundreds of prison- as main threat ers yesterday as part of a new push for peace that came despite MOSCOW: The Kremlin yes- about it joining the alliance. Kiev’s decision to cut off key terday branded the expan- Despite its new anti-Nato edge, transport links to breakaway sion of Nato as a fundamental the Russian doctrine remains Crimea. threat to Russia in a revised primarily defensive in nature, The prisoner exchange on a military doctrine that dra- calling any military action by dark and isolated stretch of a matically reflects deteriorating Russia justifiable only after all road north of the devastated east- relations with the West. non-violent options to settle a ern rebel stronghold of Donetsk The new document, approved conflict have been exhausted. unfolded as negotiators from both by Russian President Vladimir In the same vein, it notes sides held video talks on Skype at Putin, decries the “reinforcement the “decreased likelihood of a reviving stalled negotiations. of Nato’s offensive capacities large-scale war against Russia”, A round mediated by European directly on Russia’s borders, and although it does list a number and Russian envoys in the measures taken to deploy a global of increasing threats to stability Belarussian capital Minsk on anti-missile defence system” in like territorial disputes, “inter- Wednesday was due to have been Central Europe. ference in the internal affairs” of followed by a final one yesterday Nato was already seen a major nations, and the use of strategic at which a comprehensive peace threat in an earlier version of the arms in space. accord was signed. doctrine published in 2010, but Russia’s new military doc- But Wednesday’s acrimoni- the war in Ukraine has further trine also introduces the con- ous session broke up after five raised tensions to levels not seen cept of “non-nuclear dissuasion” hours with a deal reached on only since the Cold War. based on maintaining a high the least contentious of the four The alarmed tone of the new degree of preparedness of con- agenda points: a prisoner swap version comes in the wake of ventional military forces. It involving 222 guerrillas and 145 repeated protests by Moscow also urges active participation Ukrainian troops. over Nato’s decision to position in regional security organisa- And Ukraine’s suspension yes- troops in alliance member states tions like the Commonwealth of terday of all bus and rail service to like Poland or the Baltic states Independent States, made up of Crimea — a decision made citing Prisoners from the self-proclaimed People’s Republic of Donetsk walk as a Ukrainian soldier stands guard prior that border Russia. nine former Soviet Republics; security concerns that effectively to a prisoner exchange in the eastern Ukrainian city of Yasinovataya, near Donetsk, yesterday. The Kremlin has also opposed and the Shanghai Cooperation severed the peninsula of 2.3 million Nato’s American-driven plan Organisation formed by Russia, from the mainland — added to the prisoner originally brought by the The suspension of bus and train including much of its electricity to base its anti-missile defence China, and several ex-Soviet hostile tenor of the negotiations. insurgents refused to rejoin his old services to Crimea effectively cre- and water. shield in Central Europe, which Caucasian republics. The video conferences have so military unit and was eventually ates a Ukrainian transport block- Violence arising from Kiev’s Moscow views as directed fore- It reserves, however, the right far failed to produce a new date taken back to Donetsk. ade to and from the region, as conflict with pro-Russian sepa- most against Russia. to use the country’s nuclear arse- for direct talks. “All of my relatives are in Ukraine has already banned sea ratists has been confined almost The doctrine’s harsher tone nal in the event of aggression Yet the prisoner handover Russia,” the ethnically-Russian and air traffic with the territory, exclusively to eastern regions of also follows Wednesday’s deci- against Russia or its allies, or in went off without a hitch and now Alexei Samsonov said. “I consider which is still serviced by Russian Ukraine, and has not affected sion by Ukraine to abandon its case of “threat to the very exist- stands out as a rare example of what the Ukrainian army is doing airlines. Crimea. But the Ukrainian gov- non-aligned status — a symbolic ence of the state.” cooperation between the two bit- not to be right.” However, other road transport ernment has repeatedly warned move that provoked Moscow’s Among the principal duties ter enemies. State security sources in Kiev including passenger cars and lor- of a build-up of Russian forces on anger by potentially clearing the listed in the doctrine for the Some of the captives expressed said the separatists were still hold- ries will still be allowed to travel the peninsula. way for Kiev to request Nato country’s armed forces during surprise and joy at having the ing about 500 government troops into and out of Crimea. State rail firm Ukrzaliznytsia membership. times of peace is the protection chance to go home in time for New after yesterday’s exchange. Although controlled by Moscow, said cargo trains would be sus- Ukraine faces a huge task to “of Russia’s national interests in Year’s Eve — the most cherished of The same source said Ukraine Crimea’s only land link is with pended from yesterday, while bring its military up to Nato the Arctic”, a strategic region in all the holidays celebrated in once- would be willing to swap them for Ukraine and it has remained passenger routes would gradually norms, and key members of Russia’s future energy develop- communist eastern Europe. several dozen rebels now languish- dependent on the Ukrainian cease running over the weekend the alliance, including France ment to which the United States One of the 146 Ukrainian ing in the country’s jails. mainland for most of its supplies, and on Monday. AFP and Germany, remain sceptical and Canada also lay claim. AFP US-funded radio station Colombia’s Farc rebels free captured soldier raided in Azerbaijan BOGOTA: Colombia’s Marxist took place in a rural zone in the type of happening does not occur The government has said it Farc rebels have freed a sol- municipality of Jambalo (Cauca),” again,” President Juan Manuel will not agree to such confirma- BAKU: Prosecutors in Asia for Reporters Without dier captured during an attack the group said in a statement. Santos wrote on Twitter. tion until later in the peace talks. Azerbaijan yesterday raided the Borders, said in a statement. on a military patrol last week He was released to a delega- The Farc began a pre- It responded vaguely to the Farc’s offices of Radio Free Europe/ “President Ilham Aliyev’s in which five other troops were tion comprising members of the announced ceasefire at midnight other demand that the army not Radio Liberty’s local service, government is methodically killed, the group said yesterday. International Red Cross, and last yesterday, hours after the attack, again citing its constitu- according to its director who crushing each of the remaining The soldier was captured by of representatives from the Cauca attack. The group has tional duty to protect Colombians. condemned the move as a crack- independent news outlets one the Farc, or Revolutionary Armed Colombian, Cuban and Norwegian halted combat temporarily over The Farc has proceeded with the down on free media in the tightly by one. International bodies and Forces of Colombia, while soldiers governments. Cuba and Norway the Christmas period in the last ceasefire nonetheless. controlled Caucasus nation. Azerbaijan’s foreign partners need patrolled a road in the southwest- are guarantors in peace talks few years but this time announced In a statement on Thursday, the Prosecutors searched the offices to respond firmly to such deter- ern province of Cauca shortly after between the rebels and Colombian the ceasefire would be indefinite. Farc said 2015 would be “defini- of US-funded Radio Azadliq mined ruthlessness.” the group had bombed it. government that have been ongo- The truce is conditional upon tive” for peace amid progress in “accompanied by armed police, The move came after a promi- “The soldier Carlos Becerra ing since late 2012. confirmation by an impartial negotiations with the government saying they have a court order to nent investigative reporter work- Ojeda has been liberated today “We hope this liberation dem- international entity, and will end launched by President Santos in shut down the office,” its director ing for Radio Azadliq, Khadija by the guerrillas of the Jacobo onstrates the irreversible decision if the Farc come under attack by 2012. Kenan Aliyev said. Ismayilova, was arrested in early Arenas column of the Farc. This to end the conflict and that this government troops, the rebels said. REUTERS “Our equipment and computers December and placed in pre-trial are being confiscated. Journalists detention for two months. are being forced out of the office. In a statement earlier this Our telephone and Internet lines month, President Aliyev’s chief are down,” he said. of staff, Ramiz Mehdiev, accused “What happens is just part of an Radio Azadliq journalists of “trea- Irish court lets pregnant brain-dead woman die overall crackdown on free media son”, calling them a “fifth col- in Azerbaijan.” umn” working for foreign security DUBLIN: Ireland’s high court a woman and her unborn child a controversial constitutional ban dignity in death and subject her Press freedom group Reporters services. ruled doctors can withdraw life have an equal right to life. on abortion. father, her partner and her young Without Borders condemned the In recent months, Azerbaijani support for a clinically dead The woman was 14 weeks preg- The high court’s judgement children to unimaginable distress,” raid and said RFE/RL was “the prosecutors have staged similar pregnant woman yesterday, in nant when she was declared clini- accepted medical evidence that the judgement said. latest victim of the government’s raids on other foreign-funded the latest case to trigger heated cally dead on December 3 after the foetus has “no realistic pros- It described continuing medi- campaign to stamp out media groups. debate on the country’s strin- suffering a brain injury. She has pect of emerging alive” and that cal treatment as “a futile exer- pluralism”. Rights groups say authorities gent abortion laws. been on life support since but is only legal uncertainty had brought cise which commenced only “Words fail for describing the have been clamping down on oppo- Despite requests from the wom- “deteriorating rapidly”, the court the case to this point. because of fears held by medi- scale of the crackdown under way nents since Aliyev’s election to a an’s family for her to be allowed heard. “To maintain and continue cal specialists of potential legal in Azerbaijan,” Johann Bihr, head third term last year. to die, doctors continued life sup- The case touched on a deeply the present somatic support for consequences”. of Eastern Europe and Central AFP port as the Irish constitution says divisive issue in Ireland, which has the mother would deprive her of AFP

Boxing Day hunt Evans Paul to be Ivory Coast’s former new Haiti PM PORT-AU-PRINCE: Haitian President Michel Martelly on first lady goes on trial Thursday named veteran politi- cian Evans Paul prime minister ABIDJAN: Ivory Coast’s armed groups, taking part in an to lead a new government, as former fi rst lady Simone Gbagbo insurrection movement, disturb- he seeks to defuse a crisis over went on trial yesterday for ing the public order” as well as long-delayed elections. “attempting to undermine the “tribalism” and “xenophobia”, The announcement followed the security of the state” in events said state prosecutor Simeon resignation of Laurent Lamothe leading to a bloody 2010-2011 Yabo Odi. from the post earlier this month crisis that left thousands dead. He pledged the trial would be in the face of repeated calls for Gbagbo, who has been held for “fair and transparent.” A six- him to quit over the failure to three years and is also wanted by member jury, including three hold legislative elections for the an international court for crimes women, was sworn in and the past three years. against humanity, entered the hearing suspended until Monday. A former political activist, Paul Abidjan court where she is stand- The trial is viewed as the big- was part of the movement that ing trial with 82 others, to cheers gest judicial challenge faced by toppled former dictator Jean- and applause from the public. the post-crisis government of the Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier in The 65-year-old wife of ex- west African nation. 1986. He was elected mayor of president Laurent Gbagbo took Nicknamed the “Iron Lady”, the capital Port-au-Prince and a front seat before the judge next Gbagbo is being tried for her role was seen as a close ally of then- to her husband’s last prime min- in events leading to months of president Jean-Bertrand Aristide. ister and party chief Pascal Affi post-election violence that left Arrested in 1988 under the mili- Members of the Old Surrey Burstow and West Kent Hunt ride to Chiddingstone Castle for the annual Boxing N’Guessan. some 3,000 people dead and badly tary government of Prosper Avril, Day hunt in Chiddingstone, southeast England, yesterday. Since a ban stopped fox hunting with hounds, All 77 men and six women rattled the economy of the pros- Paul was held in prison and tor- hunts continued with dogs chasing down a pre-laid scented trail instead of a fox. were charged “with undermin- perous cocoa-producing nation. tured by the military. AFP ing national defence, setting up AFP SATURDAY 27 DECEMBER 2014 10 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com ASIA / PHILIPPINES

Sri Lanka floods, 118,000 flee worst Malaysia floods mudslides kill 14 COLOMBO: Floods and mud- slides triggered by heavy rain have killed at least 14 peo- Premier Razak under fire after photos show him golfing with Obama during storms ple in Sri Lanka and driven 80,000 from homes, police KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s medical supplies, food and drink- and officials said yesterday as worst flooding in decades forced ing water to victims. the country marked the 10th some 118,000 people to flee as Around 100 tourists stranded anniversary of the tsunami. Premier Najib Razak came in a remote resort in central Police said 10 were killed under fire after photos showed Malaysia’s Mutiara Taman in mudslides in the central him golfing with US President Negara Resort were rescued and region where 38 people lost Barack Obama during the sent to a relief centre. their lives in a similar disas- storms. Razak called on rescue workers ter in October. Four drowned At least five people have been trying to reach victims to step up in flooding triggered when killed by the rising waters and their efforts to deliver food and authorities opened the sluice there appeared little respite on water. But he came under fire gates at reservoirs to reduce the way yesterday, with forecast- when photos emerged of him play- pressure on their dams. ers predicting further heavy rain- ing golf with Obama in Hawaii, fall across unaffected southern with Malaysians questioning why Japan, China to parts of the country. he was not at home to deal with As local media carried photo- the crisis in posts on his official resume hotline graphs of people wading through Facebook page. flood waters as deep as two metres Critics also charged his gov- TOKYO: Japan and China and entire houses submerged by ernment with failing to respond will restart talks on creat- rising water, the government quickly, with some lambasting ing a maritime hotline next faced criticism for not declaring authorities for not declaring a month, for the first time in a state of emergency to help dev- state of emergency in the worst- over two years, Japan’s public astated communities. hit regions. broadcaster NHK said yester- Seasonal flooding hits Malaysia “The PM needs time to take a day. Japanese Prime Minister every year and forces tens of thou- break,” Deputy Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese sands from their homes, but the Muhyiddin Yassin was quoted as President Xi Jinping agreed latest round has forced authori- saying by the New Straits Times. in November to advance talks ties to evacuate around 118,000, Yassin insisted the government to set up the mechanism, mostly in the northeast, state had responded appropriately to An aerial view of flooded streets of the National Park in Kuala Tahan, Pahang, yesterday. More than 100,000 people which would prevent unex- news agency Bernama reported. the flooding. “Unless there was a have been evacuated in five northern states of Malaysia . pected military encounters in Rising flood water has rendered total breakdown in electricity or the waters and airspace of the roads unusable and authorities water supply, or if the number of He is expected to land in families who have lost loved ones,” so far spared the worst of the East China Sea. have suspended train services in evacuees rises to over hundreds Kelantan, one of the most he said in a statement. “I want to flooding, including the southern some of the worst-affected areas. of thousands, we will not declare severely-hit states, meet peo- see the situation and be with the state of Johor, which neighbours Gas leak kills 3 Communications have been badly a state of emergency.” ple and discuss measures with people.” Singapore. Some states and hit. The government said Razak authorities to help victims. The Malaysian Meteorological districts across Malaysia have at Korea N-plant Military officials said additional had decided to cut short his year- “I am deeply concerned by the Department warned of a heavy decided to cancel New Year cele- helicopters from Kuala Lumpur end vacation and return today to floods. I feel for the people who downpour over the next few bration plans as a mark of respect SEOUL: Three people were were sent yesterday to deliver oversee rescue operations. have lost their homes, and the days in parts of the country for victims. AFP killed in a gas leak yester- day at an under-construc- tion atomic reactor in South Korea, but the national nuclear operator ruled out any connection to a cyber- Beijing raises Nepal China backs HK Philippine militants attack that targeted the plant last week. Workers appeared leader’s work to have inhaled nitrogen gas while performing safety aid in diplomacy push BEIJING: China’s central ready to resume talks checks in an underground government fully approves of cable room at the Gori plant KATHMANDU: China is Force that guards districts bor- the leadership of Hong Kong’s MANILA: Maoist-led guer- demands to release political near the southeastern port increasing aid to Nepal by dering Tibet. Beijing will build Chief Executive Leung Chun- rillas in the Philippines say prisoners. city of Busan, Korea Hydro more than five times from fis- the academy as a gift on top of ying and the work of the ter- they are ready to resume peace The government cautiously and Nuclear Power said, add- cal 2015-16, officials said yester- the annual aid of $128m, up from ritory’s government which has talks with the government welcomed the rebels’ interest ing no radioactive leaks had day, to develop infrastructure $24m, Krishna Prasad Devakota, shown itself “unafraid of chal- after Pope Francis’ visit to in returning to the negotiating been reported. in the landlocked nation where a Nepal official, said. lenges”, Premier Li Keqiang the mainly Catholic state next table. regional rival India has long “As neighbours China and Nepal said yesterday. month, in a renewed bid to end “We want to resume talks on China extends wielded political influence. have common security needs... we The former British colony was the 45-year conflict. the basis of a doable and time- The jump in assistance was need to work together to crack roiled recently by three months of About 15,000 New People’s bound agenda,” Teresita Quintos rail to Xinjiang announced after talks between down on illegal border crossings pro-democracy demonstrations, Army (NPA) fighters and sup- Deles, the president’s adviser on visiting Chinese Foreign Minister and transnational crimes,” Wang branded illegal by Beijing and the porters yesterday gathered in a the peace process, said. BEIJING: China tied the Wang Yi and his Nepali counter- told reporters. Hong Kong government. village on the southern island of NPA guerrilla leaders operat- restive far-western region of part Mahendra Bahadur Pandey, Traditionally, Tibetan exiles “Over the last year, you Mindanao to support calls for the ing the mining and plantation Xinjiang closer to the rest of part of a deepening engagement captured by Nepali police were and the Hong Kong Special resumption of peace negotiations areas in Mindanao said they the country yesterday, open- which is expected to lead to a visit handed to the United Nation’s Administrative Region’s govern- by their leaders living in exile in were open to talks but would not ing a high-speed rail line by President Xi Jinping next year. High Commissioner for Refugees ment have been unafraid of chal- Europe. lay down their arms and halt an between its remote capital India and China have been for onward journey to India where lenges, have united in struggle, “The resumption of formal offensive against the military. and a city nearly 1,800km courting the Himalayan nation as the Tibetans’ spiritual leader, the steadily pushed forward projects, talks of the panels shall be after “There should be no illusion away. A bullet train with they worry about its slow transi- Dalai Lama, is based. maintained Hong Kong’s broad the papal visit,” Jose Maria that the ongoing peace negotia- speeds of up to 250kmph tion from a constitutional monar- But China says the refugees stability and realised new devel- Sison, a university professor and tions... will soon lead to compre- departed the Western Chinese chy to a republic and the end of a are illegal migrants and has opment,” Li told Leung, accord- founder of the Communist Party hensive agreements on social, city of Lanzhou for Xinjiang’s 10-year civil war in 2006 that has been pressing Nepal to crush ing to the official Xinhua news of the Philippines, told a local economic and political prob- capital Urumqi, with female left deep divides. their movement. The number of agency. newspaper in an interview from lems as basis for a just and last- attendants in ethnic costumes China is concerned about the Tibetans entering Nepal from “The central government offers his base in The Netherlands. ing peace,” the rebels said in a serving 622 passengers, state presence of Tibetans in Nepal, China has fallen from about 2,500 full approval of your work and the The Pope is due to arrive in the statement. broadcaster China Central many of whom have crossed the six years ago to about 200 a year. work of the Special Administrative Philippines on January 15. The decades-long conflict has Television showed. treacherous Himalayas from their Beijing’s greater involvement in Region’s government.” Peace talks brokered by killed more than 40,000 people homeland. Wang laid the founda- Nepal comes as India steps up its In a later meeting, President Xi Norway stalled three years ago and stunted growth in resource- Kai-shek kin tions of a police academy to train engagement with its neighbours. Jinping echoed Li’s support. after the Manila government rich rural areas. officers of Nepal’s Armed Police REUTERS REUTERS rejected Maoist-led rebels’ REUTERS jailed in Taiwan

TAIPEI: A Taipei court yesterday sentenced a great-grandson of former Taiwanese leader Chiang Kai-shek to six months in Candles, prayers and tears on tsunami anniversary prison for making threats against staff at his ex-school. KHAO LAK: Tearful mourn- reconstruction, with more than Andrew Chiang You-ching, ers lit candles yesterday to $13.5bn collected in the months 24, was convicted at the Shilin remember the 220,000 people after the disaster. Almost $7bn district court of intimidation who died a decade ago when tsu- in aid went into rebuilding more charges for posting threats nami waves devastated coastal than 140,000 houses across against the Taipei American areas along the Indian Ocean, Indonesia’s Aceh province, where School on Facebook as well as in one of the worst natural dis- most of the nation’s 170,000 vic- emailing them to its staff last asters in human history. tims were claimed. year. He can appeal or pay a On December 26, 2004 a The disaster also ended a dec- fine of Tw$180,000 ($5,800) in 9.3-magnitude earthquake off ades-long separatist conflict in exchange for not serving the Indonesia’s western tip generated Aceh, with a peace deal between sentence, the court said. massive waves that pummelled rebels and Jakarta struck less the coastline of 14 countries as than a year later. Suu Kyi urges West far apart as Indonesia, Thailand, Mosques held prayers across Sri Lanka and Somalia. the province, while people visited to spur reform Among the victims were thou- mass graves -- the resting place of LONDON: Myanmar’s oppo- sands of foreign tourists enjoying many of Indonesia’s tsunami dead. sition leader Aung San Suu Christmas on the region’s sun- But a Red Cross display of Kyi yesterday called on the kissed beaches, carrying the trag- hundreds of salvaged ID docu- West to encourage her coun- edy into homes around the globe. ments and bank cards served as try’s government to enter In southern Thailand, where grim reminder that many victims meaningful reform talks half of the 5,400 dead were holi- vanished. but told it not to reintro- daymakers, people recounted In Sri Lanka, where 31,000 duce punitive sanctions even stories of horror and miraculous people perished, survivors and though democratic reforms survival as the churning waters, relatives gathered to remember were foundering. laden with the debris of eviscer- around 1,000 victims who died Suu Kyi criticised the West ated bungalows, cars and boats, when waves derailed a passenger for being too optimistic about swept in without warning, oblit- train. change but said it could help by erating resorts and villages. The mourners boarded the pushing for talks. A minute’s silence in the resort restored Ocean Queen Express “That’s a problem with the of Khao Lak, much of which was and headed to Peraliya where international community. They washed away, was broken by a People lay flowers on the memorial tiles of their loved ones in a German, Austrian and Swiss ceremony for families it was ripped from the tracks, have not lost interest in Burma, lone trumpeter, as mourners lit of victims killed in the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, at the wave-shaped tunnel that forms the Tsunami Memorial around 90km south of Colombo. they still want Burma to have white candles, some sobbing. Park funded at Baan Nam Khem, Phang Nga province in southern Thailand. The tsunami first hit Sri a happy ending,” she told BBC Among international commem- Lanka’s southeastern coast, trav- Radio 4’s Today Programme, orations, in Sweden, which lost a memorial service in Uppsala tsunami, giving little time for different continents. elling across the island at about using the country’s old name. 543 citizens, the royal family and Cathedral in the afternoon. evacuation, despite the hours-long The world poured money and 500km an hour and killing 31,000 AGENCIES relatives of the victims attended There was no warning of the gaps between the waves striking expertise into the relief and people. AGENCIES SATURDAY 27 DECEMBER 2014 PAKISTAN / AFGHANISTAN www.thepeninsulaqatar.com 11 PPP divided on Plot to attack speedy courts, to oppose move key jail busted; in parliament

ISLAMABAD: Despite hav- ing agreed on the constitution three arrested of speedy courts, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) of Asif Zardari is still divided on their establishment under military Bid to free prisoners on death row officials, as majority of its lead- ers have opposed the move dub- LAHORE: Intelligence agen- lifting of a six-year-long morato- bing the courts a threat to the cies in Pakistan have carried rium on execution of terror con- independence of the judiciary, out a raid in Kot Lakhpat area victs, the Interior Ministry had sources here said yesterday. of the Punjab capital Lahore and warned law enforcement agencies According to sources, a major- arrested three suspected ter- that extremists might target pris- ity of PPP leaders who attended rorists — including two women ons to liberate their accomplices. a meeting of political leadership — who were allegedly planning After this alert, security of all at the Prime Minister’s House, to attack the Central Jail, Kot the jails across the country was chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Lakhpat. tightened. At Lahore’s Central Sharif, on Wednesday had res- According to officials, the intel- Jail two companies of army, two ervations about the formation ligence agencies traced a suspi- companies of rangers and Punjab of speedy courts and decided to cious call on the basis of which police were deployed both in and oppose the constitutional amend- they raided a house at a residen- outside the jail. ment when the government will tial locality, Farid Colony, near the Security pickets are also placed be bringing in Parliament for central jail. across the jail in a radius of two enactment. During the raid, the intelli- kilometres and even the residents Children hold flags as women supporters of Jammat-e-Islami (JI) stage a protest against the Taliban attack on an “We will not support any gence agencies personnel arrested are allowed to move after proper army-run school in Peshawar, in Islamabad, yesterday. move that is against the basics of two women and a man and also checking and confirmation of democracy and the independence found in upper portion of the identity. of judiciary,” a senior party leader house a rocket launcher, uniform Meanwhile, police and secu- Security forces kill facilitator of said, requesting anonymity. of the armed forces, bow and rity forces continue their search Sources said PPP Parliamentary arrows, latest weapons, maps of operation against illegal Afghan Leader in Senate Raza Rabbani, the central jail as well as other nationals and terror suspects and Senator Farhatullah Babar and documents. rounded up hundreds of people Peshawar school massacre Vice President PPP Sherry The suspects had planned to including suspected terrorists. Rehman still had strong views attack the central jail, had com- Islamabad police also contin- PESHAWAR: Pakistani secu- believed to have facilitated the Waziristan killed at least four about the speedy courts under pleted its reconnaissance and ued its raids on the third con- rity forces have killed a Taliban school attack, although the extent militants on Friday, officials said, the military officials. were waiting for their compan- secutive day and arrested more commander who allegedly or capacity of his alleged involve- the second such incident in a However, sources said ions. “Women were to be used in than 400 suspects, mostly Afghan facilitated the Peshawar school ment was not yet known. week. Another drone strike in Opposition Leader in the Senate the jail attack,” one of the sources nationals. According to Islamabad massacre, which left 150 peo- “Authorities are currently North Waziristan on December Aitzaz Ahsan of the PPP sup- said, adding that the suspects Police spokesperson Muhammad ple dead in the country’s worst interrogating the injured terror- 20 killed at least five militants, ported the move and floated the were moved to an unknown place Naeem, the arrested people are ever terror attack, officials said ists,” Shah said. officials said. idea of bringing a constitutional for interrogation. being interrogated while some of yesterday. He described Saddam as an The area is generally off-limits amendment for the establishment Security forces have carried out them have been released. Named only as “Saddam”, the important commander in the to journalists, making it diffi- of speedy courts. further raids on indication of the In Gujranwala, police arrested militant was killed on Thursday Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek- cult to independently verify the Party leader and Opposition alleged terrorists. eight Afghan nationals and reg- night in a gunfight with security e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and number and identity of the dead. Leader in the National Assembly There are 63 convicts, who have istered a case against them. In forces in the restive Khyber tribal said he had masterminded several Washington pressed Islamabad Khurshid Shah had also taken a been awarded death sentence in Narowal, police rounded up eleven area, which borders the north- bomb attacks. Saddam and his for years to wipe out militant soft stance on the speedy courts cases of terrorism, confined in the illegally staying Afghan nationals. western city of Peshawar where accomplices had been involved in sanctuaries in North Waziristan, that has also weakened the oppos- central jail. In Jaranwala, police arrested ten last week’s horrific attack took several recent attacks on security which have been used to launch ing voices within the PPP. These death-row prisoners Afghan citizens. place. forces that had resulted in heavy attacks on Nato forces in Sources said those opposing include five convicts — Ehsan Police took three Afghans into “Commander Saddam was a casualties, Shah said. Afghanistan. the move, including Rabbani, had Azeem, Asif Idrees, Amir Yousaf, custody from Mitro and five from dreaded terrorist, who was killed The Taliban and other militants The Pakistani military says it decided to continue to oppose it in Kamran Aslam and Umar Abbottabad. Security forces also in an exchange of fire with the have taken refuge in Khyber from has killed more than 1,700 mili- parliament. Nadeem — who were awarded took into custody eight suspects security forces in Jamrud town a major army offensive launched tants so far in its heavy offensive Sources said before attend- capital punishment by Field from Risalpur during a search of Khyber tribal region,” top local in June in North Waziristan, in the tribal zone, with 126 sol- ing the meeting, when the PPP General Court Martial and the operation. Police also arrested administration official Shahab Ali another restive tribal area on diers having lost their lives. leaders consulted co-chairman stay order against their execu- members of banned organizations Shah told a press conference in the Afghan border that has been Pakistan has ramped up its and former president Zardari, tions has been vacated a day from Samundri and six activists Peshawar. a hub for Al Qaeda and Taliban anti-terror strategy in the wake he also opposed it and asked the earlier by Lahore High Court of such outfits from various parts “Six of his accomplices were militants since the early 2000s. of the December 16 slaughter at party leadership to take a tough Rawalpindi bench. of South Punjab. injured and arrested.” Meanwhile, a US drone strike an army-run school in Peshawar. stance. According to sources, after INTERNEWS He added that Saddam is on a Taliban compound in North AFP INTERNEWS

US drone strike kills four in No data on thousands of unregistered madrassahs ISLAMABAD: In wake of the record of the unregistered semi- Religious Affairs and Inter were assassinated in such attacks. attended school. At structural northwest Peshawar massacre of over 130 naries in the country which also Faith Harmony in 2005 after “The narrative of extremism level, parallel systems of edu- children at the hands of terror- run into thousands. promulgation of Madrassas and revolves around the religious cation in terms of elite private ists and the subsequent political In the federal capital Islamabad Societies Registration (Second discourse and is presented, to schools, government schools and Pakistan consensus against terrorism, alone there are at least 187 reg- Amendment) Ordinance 2005. comparatively less educated peo- religious seminaries were liable the need of bringing all the reli- istered madrassahs as per record Official sources in the Capital ple, with great zeal and primitive for development of strata in a PESHAWAR: A US drone gious seminaries (madrassahs) while reportedly there are at least Administration and Development logic. Many scholars are afraid society that fails to find any com- strike killed at least four mili- within the ambit of security 446 unregistered madrassahs built Division say there are around 450 to challenge the archaic views of mon bonds,” it adds. tants in Pakistan’s restive tribal apparatus has been reiter- on the green belts of the capital government schools in Islamabad extremists and some of them have “These parallel structures region near the Afghan border ated because, according to the having around 22,000 students while the registered and unreg- been martyred for speaking the open different avenues for grad- yesterday, Pakistani security Ministry of Interior documents and no one dares to touch the istered madrassahs outnumber truth and exposing the fallacy of uates of respective streams and officials said, the second such a large number of identified ter- illegal madrassahs. government schools and there is terrorists’ narrative”, the policy breed disharmony and griev- incident in a week. rorists either are or have been According to the Interior no record of students studying in states. ances. Serious cleavages have The strike targeted a Taliban students of madrassahs where Ministry data, Punjab has 14,954 the madrassahs. “The education system of appeared in the society as a compound in North Waziristan, they were brainwashed to take registered madrassahs, Sindh The National Internal Security Pakistan needs structural over- result of these systems and one of seven semi-autonomous up arms against the state. has 4,264, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Policy 2014-2018 while referring hauling and it is regarded as one continued existence in parallel tribal districts that border There are at least 22,052 reg- (KP) has 1,400 and Balochistan to madrassahs says that religious of the least effective systems in spheres compounds the possibili- Afghanistan, and an area that istered madrassas in Pakistan has 1,247. rhetoric is used to motivate the the world with deplorable physi- ties of violence among divided has been a hub for Al Qaeda and as per record of the Interior The registration of madrassahs young people to commit suicidal cal infrastructure. Less than youth,” the policy adds. Taliban militants since the early Ministry while there is a little started with the Ministry of missions. Many political leaders half of the women have never INTERNEWS 2000s. “A US drone fired two missiles which hit a compound... killing four terrorists,” a senior security official told AFP, speaking on con- dition of anonymity. Bilawal unlikely to attend Another security official con- firmed the strike and casualties. Another drone strike in North Benazir death anniversary Waziristan on December 20 killed at least five militants, officials said. KARACHI: For the first no confirmation as yet about The area is generally off- time since the assassination of Bilawal’s return,” the former limits to journalists, making it Pakistan People’s Party chair- president’s spokesman, Senator difficult to independently verify person Benazir Bhutto in 2007, Farhatullah Babar, said. the number and identity of the her son and party Chairman, Senator Jehangir Badar, who was dead. Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, is likely recently appointed political adviser Washington pressed Islamabad to skip her death anniversary to Bilawal, said: “I am waiting for for years to wipe out militant because of reported differences confirmation from the chairman sanctuaries in North Waziristan, with his father, Asif Zardari. whether he will come or not.” But which have been used to launch Zardari, who is the party’s co- he hastened to add that there were attacks on Nato forces in chairman, had gone to London to no differences between the son Afghanistan. persuade his ‘angry’ son to return and the father and those spread- The Pakistani military home so that he could attend the ing rumours about these would not launched a major offensive in the anniversary event in Garhi Khuda succeed in their vested interests. area in June and says it has killed Bakhsh in Larkana on Saturday. Talking to journalists at the more than 1,700 militants so far, But by all indications he did not suc- Bhuttos’ mausoleum in Garhi with 126 soldiers having lost their ceed. “Zardari is returning home Khuda Bakhsh where he reviewed lives. alone as Bilawal prefers to stay arrangements for the event, Sindh The latest strikes came after in London,” a source privy to the Chief Minister Qaim Shah said Pakistan ramped up its anti- development said. either Bilawal or Zardari would terror strategy in the wake of a The spokesmen for Zardari take part in the death anniver- December 16 attack on an army- and Bilawal had little to say when sary. “We expect both will be here run school in Peshawar which approached for comments on the on the occasion and, if not, one killed 150 people, 134 of them matter. “Zardari is returning to of them would definitively attend children. Supporters of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) hold candles during a rally in Lahore yesterday to commemorate the take part in Benazir’s death anni- the event,” he said. AFP seventh death anniversary of slain former premier Benazir Bhutto. versary function, but we have INTERNEWS SATURDAY 27 DECEMBER 2014 12 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com INDIA PDP, BJP called Shutdown against killings hits life in Assam GUWAHATI: A 12-hour dawn- Parishad, All Assam Tea Tribes to-dusk shutdown yesterday Student Association, Adivasi called to denounce the killing Chhatra Sangathan, Akhil Assam of a large number of tribals by Bhojpuri Parishad, All Assam for talks on Bodo militants affected normal Minority Students’ Union and life across Assam, officials said. some other groups supported the Adivasis or tribals took to the shutdown. streets in large numbers with Several prominent citizens also forming govt bows and arrows to protest the staged a sit-in-demonstration at December 23 killings blamed Dighalipukhuri area in Guwahati on the anti-talks faction of the to protest against the killings and National Democratic Front of demand security for the people Uncertainty after split poll verdict Bodoland (NDFB). in the violence-hit Kokrajhar, Streets wore a deserted look Sonitpur and Chirang districts. JAMMU/SRINGAR: Amid have a better connect with the during the shutdown and most Some of the violence affected persistent uncertainty following Narendra Modi government. commercial establishments and people in Sonitpur district, mostly a fractured verdict, Governor The former separatist said his educational institutions remained adivasis, took to the streets in NN Vohra yesterday invited party had nothing in common closed. large numbers with bows and both the PDP and the BJP for with the PDP or the National There were reports of stray arrows to protest the killings. talks over government forma- Conference. He also asked the incidents of violence from differ- In Kokrajhar, the violence- tion in Jammu and Kashmir. Congress to stay away from gov- ent parts of the state as supporters affected people and many other Raj Bhavan sources said that ernment formation. of the shutdown blocked vehicular organisations blocked roads to Vohra had written separately to The National Conference won 15 traffic at many places and dam- protest against the killings. They the Peoples Democratic Party and seats and its former ally Congress aged public property, forcing the also shouted slogans against the the Bharatiya Janata Party, which 12. Seven seats went to independ- police to resort to a cane charge in perpetrators of violence. have won 28 and 25 seats, respec- ents and smaller parties. many places, including Guwahati. The protests were more intense tively, in the 87-member assembly. In New Delhi, former Jammu Two city buses run by Assam in upper Assam districts, par- The governor wants leaders of and Kashmir chief minister State Transport Corporation ticularly in the tea belt areas of the two parties to explore the pos- Ghulam Nabi Azad of the Congress were damaged by the shutdown Dibrugarh, Tinsukia and Sivsagar sibility of forming a government urged the BJP to take care of the supporters in the Bhangagarh and districts, where there is a sizable in the country’s only Muslim- “sensitivity” of the people of the Christian Basti areas of Guwahati, population belonging to the tea majority state, the sources said. state before plunging into govern- police said. tribes and adivasi communities. The sources added that Vohra ment formation. Police resorted to a cane charge Some of the protestors also had invited the BJP because of “It is very sad there was a frac- at the city’s Fancy bazaar area, set a truck on fire in Dibrugarh, its claims that it had the support tured mandate... What I am con- where people came out in huge expressing their anger against the of six of the seven independents cerned about is that BJP is being numbers to enforce the shutdown. recent massacre. elected to the legislature. insensitive as far as Jammu and No one was, however, injured Official sources said at least 60 The term of the outgoing assem- Kashmir is concerned,” he said. during the shutdown, police said, adivasis were massacred by Bodo bly ends on January 16. “They (BJP leaders) have adding that some of the shutdown militants on Tuesday in Kokrajhar, The development came even as camped in Srinagar. What is the supporters were arrested and later Sonitpur and Chirang districts, the National Conference reiter- rush?” he asked. released after the shutdown ended. while 10 Bodos were killed in ated its support to a PDP govern- Azad cited the example of late The shutdown was called by retaliatory attacks. ment after its parleys with the prime minister Indira Gandhi, who several adivasi groups, includ- Three people died on Wednesday BJP drew flak from within its made way for National Conference ing the All Adivasi Students’ when police opened fire at thou- ranks. leader Sheikh Abdullah to be Association of Assam and All Tai sands of people who took to the Tribal demonstrators shout slogans and burn effigies representing separatist Outgoing Chief Minister the chief minister although the Ahom Students’ Union. streets in Dhekiajuli in Sonitpur rebels and Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi at Borgang, in Sonitpur district of Omar Abdullah said his National Congress had a majority. The Assam Yuva Parishad, the district to protest the Bodo mili- the northeastern state of Assam, yesterday. Conference had offered support to He also said that a PDP- youth wing of the Asom Gana tant attack. IANS the PDP for government forma- National Conference-Congress tion but had not given any written combination would be good for commitment. the state. “Looks like PDP is playing mind The Communist Party of India- games with the BJP (by) leaking Marxist, meanwhile, called for a about a letter of (our) support that “secular government” in the state. doesn’t exist,” he tweeted. “Only a “The formation of the govern- Raghubar Das to be Jharkhand CM verbal offer conveyed.” ment has become complicated National Conference spokesman because of the nature of the result RANCHI: Jharkhand will get According to BJP sources, Sudesh Mahato told reporters. told the media after being elected Junaid Azim Mattoo said that his and a hung assembly,” it said. its first non-tribal chief min- Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Although tribals make up only BJP legislature party leader. party had extended support to the It alleged that the BJP “is trying ister tomorrow when veteran party president Amit Shah and 27 percent of Jharkhand’s popu- That happened in the presence PDP through a statement made by to impose its political design in the BJP leader Raghubar Das takes chief ministers of some BJP-ruled lation, the state has always had of BJP observers JP Nadda and Abdullah three days back. formation of the government. This oath at the head of a coalition states will attend the event. a tribal chief minister. Das will Vinay Sharsabuddhe. “There need not be any writ- should be resisted in the interests government. After getting elected as the break the cycle. Neelkanth Singh Munda pro- ten communication to confirm of the unity of the state and safe- Das, 60 and a five-time legislator party legislature leader, Das and Das, who became a BJP national posed the name of Das, which was the offer. The statement made by guarding its special status. from East Jamshedpur, will be the AJSU leaders met Governor Syed vice president in August, has seconded by two BJP legislators, C Omar sahib is formal enough, and “It is imperative that a secular 10th chief minister of Jharkhand. Ahmad at Raj Bhawan at 4 pm twice been the party’s president P Singh and Saryu Rai. it is now for the PDP to accept government is formed in Jammu He will take oath at 11 am. and staked claim to forming a gov- in Jharkhand. He became deputy The BJP and AJSU won a sim- it or not. It is for them to come and Kashmir and the secular The swearing in ceremony will ernment. Ahmad invited them to chief minister in the Shibu Soren ple majority in the 81-member out with what they want to do,” forces should rise to the occasion take place at Ranchi’s Morabadi form a government. government after the 2009 assem- house. The BJP emerged as the he added. keeping in mind the larger inter- ground and is expected to draw The AJSU said it would be part bly elections. single largest party with 37 seats Sajjad Lone, whose Peoples ests of the unity and integrity of tens of thousands of supporters of of the BJP government. “Development of Jharkhand is while the AJSU won five seats. Conference won two seats, yes- our country.” the Bharatiya Janata Party and its “We fought the elections my priority. All sections, including Born on December 18, 1954 in terday told CNN-IBN that a BJP The CPI-M has one member in ally, the All Jharkhand Students together and will form the gov- tribals, minorities and others, are Jamshedpur, Das has been with government would help the state the assembly. IANS Union (AJSU). ernment as ally,” AJSU president on the development agenda,” he the BJP since 1980. IANS

Frequent furloughs for Sanjay Dutt to be probed President signs two MUMBAI: In a surprise devel- granted the leave. We have to find October on medical grounds. latest Aamir Khan megahit, PK, opment, the Maharashtra gov- out under what law he has been In December 2013, he secured and celeb parties, while exhibiting ernment yesterday decided to granted the furlough,” Shinde told another 28 days’ furlough to his new set of eight abs built up key ordinances inquire the “repeated” furlough media persons here. attend to his ailing wife Manyata, in prison. leave granted to incarcerated If Dutt was extended the facil- attracting charges of favouritism. Since May 2013, Dutt is serv- NEW DELHI: President auctions for the blocks that were Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt. ity, why was the same not appli- Shinde declared that if Dutt ing the remainder of his five-year Pranab Mukherjee signed two ordered cancelled by the Supreme Minister of State for Home cable to others, he asked. could be granted leave again and prison term awarded for illegal key ordinances yesterday, clear- Court, while that on insurance will Ram Shinde said that the deci- Shinde directed the deputy again, then the probe would go possession and destruction of ing the way for the auction of operationalise reforms in the sec- sion follows reports of “preferen- inspector general (prisons) to into the cases of other convicts arms before the Mumbai blasts coal blocks that were ordered tor, the bill for which was okayed tial treatment” being extended by conduct the probe and submit who applied for leave but were of March 1993. cancelled by the Supreme Court, by the Select Committee of the the jail department to the actor, his report in the matter, two days denied the same. In February this year, the and for a hike in the foreign Rajya Sabha. who is serving a five-year sen- after Dutt walked out on a 14-day “We shall not allow this injus- Bombay High Court has also equity cap in the insurance “With the repromulgation of tence under the Arms Act. furlough from Yerawada Central tice to anybody. The report I have commented on the diligence in industry from 26 percent to 49 the ordinance on coal, the unfin- “We have information that Jail in Pune. sought will not favour anybody,” granting the actor’s requests for percent. ished process of allocations can around four-five other convicts Last year, Dutt’s furlough he said. furlough, which was not visible The legislations for the two begin again,” Finance Minister have requested for furlough, but attracted controversy when he Dutt’s latest furlough saw him in the case of other convicts who measures could not be taken up Arun Jaitley said after the cabi- only Dutt has been repeatedly walked out of jail for 28 days in attending a special show of the applied for leave. IANS in the Rajya Sabha as the opposi- net decision, adding that reforms tion did not allow the upper house, will not be halted if the opposition where the government is in minor- does not cooperate. ity, to conduct business during the A day after the cabinet approval Saint’s anniversary last few days of the winter session for the allocation of coal blocks, a that ended on Tuesday. web portal was formally launched $1m given to A cabinet meeting on for e-auction of 24 coal mines Wednesday, presided over by Prime which will be held in February. tsunami fund Minister Narendra Modi, decided Soon after, the tender documents BANGKOK: India yesterday to issue the two ordinances so as were also released. donated $1m to the UN tsunami to send a strong signal that the On insurance, the industry preparedness fund to strengthen government will pursue reforms expects the upward revision in early warning systems for natu- and would not allow disruptions the foreign equity limit to result ral disasters in Indian Ocean in parliament to come in the way, in an additional capital infusion of and southeast Asian countries. an official said. around $8bn by 2020. This apart, it The announcement to contrib- The ordinance on coal is neces- is also expected to help in increas- ute to the UNESCAP Multi-Donor sary for the government to hold ing insurance penetration. IANS Trust Fund for Tsunami, Disaster and Climate Preparedness in Indian Ocean and Southeast Asian Countries was made on the occasion of the remembrance cer- emony to mark the 10th anniver- Swine flu claims woman’s life in Delhi sary of the Indian Ocean tsunami NEW DELHI: Delhi recorded its first swine flu death after a that left over 230,000 people dead, 51-year-old woman succumbed to the disease at a private hospital, a release from the Indian embassy hospital officials said yesterday. in Bangkok said. Over 40 people have died of swine flu, caused by the H1N1 virus, “India joins the international across India this year. It claimed three lives and more than a dozen community in its efforts to pre- people were hospitalised in Hyderabad in December alone. pare for any such natural calam- The woman, who died two days ago, was brought to the Sir Ganga ity in the future by establishing Ram Hospital in the capital on December 21 after being diagnosed effective early warning systems,” with the deadly virus in a hospital in Ghaziabad, in neighbouring Uttar External Affairs Minister Sushma Kashmiri Muslims offer a prayer outside the shrine of Sufi saint Naqashband Sahib on his birth anniversary, Pradesh. “The patient at the time of admission was in a critical state. Swaraj was quoted as saying in a in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, yesterday. She had lung failure and was on a high frequency ventilator support,” message. IANS said a statement from the hospital. IANS SATURDAY 27 DECEMBER 2014 BUSINESS www.thepeninsulaqatar.com 13

No need for sovereign fund: Saudi minister Saudi has $733bn net foreign assets

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s fund, saying its annual earnings finance minister said there was would cover a large part of the no need for the kingdom to cre- budget deficits which the state might ate a sovereign wealth fund to now run because of cheaper oil. manage its oil wealth, rebuffing But Finance Minister Ibrahim suggestions by prominent offi- Alassaf, speaking to Saudi televi- cials and businessmen. sion late on Thursday after pro- At present, the surplus pet- jecting a budget deficit of SR145 rodollars of the world’s top oil bn for 2015, said he saw no need exporter are mostly invested for such a change. abroad by the Saudi Arabian “I believe the kingdom’s policy Monetary Agency (Sama), its is the most suitable for its cir- central bank, which had net for- cumstances,” he said, adding that eign assets worth SR2.75 trillion Saudi Arabia had ridden out the riyals ($733bn) in October. global financial crisis in 2008 with Most of that money is believed relatively little damage. to be in low-risk US dollar assets Sama’s international reserves such as US Treasury bonds and are managed professionally by bank accounts, which tend to earn Saudis as well as by international low returns compared to the more fund managers, and the return Shoppers look for bargains in Selfridges department store in central London during the first hour of business yesterday, in the post Christmas, Boxing aggressive, higher-risk invest- from investing the reserves is Day sales. ments favoured by some other similar to — and in some years rich oil exporters. higher than — the returns of So as oil prices have plunged Norway’s sovereign fund, he said. this year, there have been calls for Over the past five years the Online sales hit Boxing Day shopping in UK Saudi Arabia to create a sovereign total return on Sama’s reserves wealth fund that would invest its was around 11 percent and over LONDON: Significantly fewer Boxing Day to try to entice footfall trends and it seems their order of the day,” she said. money more actively, making up the past 10 years, including the Britons went out to shop on domestic and foreign consum- influence cannot be ignored in Even so, some retailers reported for the reduction in oil revenues. period of the financial crisis, it Boxing Day this year, initial data ers to engage in a second wave relation to Boxing Day.” record demand. Bluewater centre The kingdom’s Shura Council, was 7 to 8 percent, he added. showed, suggesting pre-Christ- of buying after Christmas. But Diane Wehrle, the firm’s retail in Kent said deep discounts were an advisory body to the govern- Alassaf also noted that Saudi mas online discounts led many Springboard said many shoppers insights director, said Christmas expected to draw enough shoppers ment, has discussed a proposal Arabia already had a large, to spurn what is traditionally a would be making their purchases Eve footfall had also fallen 5.2 to contribute to record annual for a sovereign fund this year, but domestic state fund, the Public bumper day for retailers. online. percent year-on-year. results. Retailers in London’s without reaching a conclusion. Investment Fund, which unlike Retail data company “The scale of the drop this “It is a worrying time for retail- West End said they expected cus- Saudi billionaire Prince a foreign-focused fund was help- Springboard said footfall for the year falls outside of an ongoing ers. Christmas used to be a trad- tomers to spend over 50 million Alwaleed bin Talal, one of the ing to develop the local economy first three hours of December 26 retail trend,” it said. “The double ing period which could be relied pounds ($78m) on December 26, kingdom’s leading international by investing in local companies in was down 10.5 percent year-on- impact of early discounting and upon, but it has now become a singling out Chinese, Nigerian and investors, urged the government areas from technology to agricul- year. Many large retailers launch online shopping was clearly seen battle-ground for consumers with Middle Eastern buyers among top last month to establish such a ture. REUTERS sales offering big discounts on to negatively affect pre-Christmas price and convenience being the spenders. REUTERS

Japan says yes to Novartis Japan Post announces psoriasis drug plan for Tokyo share listing GENEVA: Swiss pharmaceu- tical company Novartis said TOKYO: Japan Post yesterday- IPO in 1998, the country’s biggest and a local branch where many of yesterday it has won approval confirmed a long-awaited plan share sale to date. Japan’s ageing retirees withdraw to market its Cosentyx pso- to list its shares in Tokyo with Japan Post’s chief executive their pension payments. riasis treatment in Japan, the government-owned firm Taizo Nishimuro said Friday That system has long drawn making it the first country to set for what could be one of the that finance minister Taro Aso criticism both inside and outside authorise commercialisation world’s biggest share sales. had signed off the IPO plan, but Japan, with financial institutions, of the drug. The parent company, along added that the sale’s timeline carrier services and foreign gov- The Japanese decision allows with its insurance and banking would be decided “after consult- ernments arguing that the pub- Novartis to sell secukinumab, units, would launch an initial pub- ing with relevant ministries and lic body was operating in sectors sold under the name Cosentyx, to lic offering in the middle of the brokerage firms”. where it competed directly with adult patients suffering psoriasis 2015 fiscal year, which begins in He added that there was no private businesses. vulgaris and psoriatic arthritis, April, but executives declined to set deadline to sell off as much The government of former and who aren’t responding to comment on the size of the initial as half of the sprawling company Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi other medication. sale. which has a network of some split the state-owned behemoth The drug is considered by Plans for the IPO come amid 24,000 bureaux across many of into four units in 2007, to handle experts to have potentially enor- hopes starting to privatise what the thousands of islands that deliveries, savings, insurance and mous market value of between is effectively the world’s biggest make up the Japanese archipel- counter services at each of its post $1bn and $2.5bn annually. It’s bank could boost investor senti- ago, and sits on assets worth up offices. estimated 3 percent of the ment and spur efforts to cut red to 14 trillion yen. The government retained full world’s population — or over tape in Japan’s highly regulated “We have to consider market ownership of the group at first, 125 million people — suffer from economy. trends and various other fac- with plans for the bank and insur- some form of psoriasis, includ- Company executives said much tors — at this point, there is no ance units to go fully private by ing over 400,000 individuals in as 50 percent of the holding concrete date,” Nishimuro told 2017. Japan alone. company and its financial units reporters in Tokyo. But the plan was stalled Psoriasis vulgaris is a skin could ultimately be sold off, with The group’s mail-delivery unit after the long-ruling Liberal disease provoking thick, itchy Bloomberg News reporting that will likely remain untouched amid Democratic Party lost power to lesions, while the articular vari- its combined market capitalisa- social and political pressure to the Democratic Party of Japan ant causes stiffness and pain in tion may reach 8.0 trillion yen maintain the status quo, includ- between 2009 to 2012. joints. ($67bn). ing the presence of post offices After returning to power in Novartis said in a statement Japanese media earlier said the across the nation, even in the 2012, the current LDP-led gov- that during clinical testing of the size of the sale could ultimately most remote villages. ernment has resumed privatisa- drug, 70 percent of patients expe- The sign board of the Japan Post seen in the Ginza shopping district in rival that of mobile phone giant The branches also offer services tion project. rienced improvement or com- central Tokyo yesterday. NTT Docomo’s seven trillion yen for cash deposits and insurance, AFP plete clearing of their psoriasis symptoms. Approval in Japan follows the recommendation by European drug regulators in November that Cosentyx be approved for sale as a first-line treatment of LG offices raided over washing machine row psoriasis. Similarly, the US Food and SEOUL: South Korean prosecu- of business and said LG home Changwon was also searched. that its washing machines and flat-screen TVs. Its smaller Drug Administration is expected tors raided the Seoul headquar- appliance division president Jo “Our office is under scrutiny by were defective. LG rejected the rival LG is one of the world’s to approve the medication in early ters of LG Electronics yesterday Seong-Jin was among those who investigators,” an LG spokesman accusations in a statement, say- biggest manufacturers of home 2015 after its panel of experts following allegations that the damaged machines displayed at said, declining to give details. ing the company is “concerned appliances including refrigerators issued a similarly positive recom- firm’s executives vandalised September’s event in Berlin. Samsung said surveillance that its business activities and and washing machines. mendation in October. their rival Samsung’s wash- Investigators seized docu- video footage from the fair brand image will be severely The two have for years locked Novartis says Cosentyx is a ing machines at a trade fair in ments and computer hard showed several men — which damaged because of the competi- horns in the home market over human monoclonal antibody that Germany, company officials said. disks during yesterday’s raid they later identified as LG exec- tor’s unilateral and unreasonable a series of bitter PR disputes neutralises a protein present in Samsung Electronics had on LG headquarters, Yonhap utives — destroying door hinges opinion”. regarding the supremacy of their high levels of concentration in filed a lawsuit accusing the LG news agency said, adding that on the washing machines. Samsung produces a range of products and technology patent psoriasis patients. executives of defamation, prop- the company’s home appliance Samsung has also accused LG electronic products and leads the lawsuits. AFP erty damage and obstruction factory in the southern city of of making slanderous claims global markets for mobile phones AFP SATURDAY 27 DECEMBER 2014 14 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com BUSINESS Russia forecasts slump as bailed-out bank gets more funds

MOSCOW: Slumping oil prices have Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told our budget break even at $70 per barrel more than three weeks earlier in the day, currency in Russia and a spike in deposit put Russia’s economy on course for a journalists yesterday the economy could by 2017,” said Siluanov. At 1320 GMT, the rouble traded at withdrawals, heaping pressure on a vul- sharp recession next year, its finance shrink by 4 percent in 2015, its first con- Russia’s government imposed infor- over 54 per dollar, a sharp rebound from nerable banking sector whose access to minister said on Friday, as authorities traction since 2009, if oil prices averaged mal capital controls this week, includ- its recent all-time lows of 80 but still far international capital markets has already scaled up their bailout for the first bank their current level of $60 a barrel. ing orders to large oil and gas exporters weaker than the 30-35 range it was trad- been restricted by Western sanctions. to succumb to the recent rouble crisis. Siluanov also said the country would Gazprom and Rosneft to sell some of ing at in the first half of 2014. Siluanov said on Friday that authori- The economy is slowing sharply as run a budget deficit of over 3 percent next their dollar revenues in a bid to shore up “If oil goes down to $50 (per barrel)... ties would provide additional capital to Western sanctions over the Ukraine year if the oil price did not rise. the rouble. Russians have kept a wary eye I don’t think our authorities will be able the country’s second-largest bank, VTB, crisis deter foreign investment and spur “Next year we will, without doubt, have on the exchange rate since the collapse to artificially maintain the (rouble) rate and fellow state lender Gazprombank. capital flight, and as a slump in oil prices to bring the Reserve Fund into play,” he of the Soviet Union, when hyper-inflation even with higher sales by exporters,” said VTB could receive 250 billion roubles severely reduces Russia’s export revenues said, referring to one of Russia’s two wiped out their savings over several years the head of treasury at a major Russian and Gazprombank 70 billion roubles to and pummels the rouble. rainy-day funds intended to support the in the early 1990s. bank, who asked not to be named because help fund investment projects, including The government has taken steps to economy at times of crisis. The rouble’s will inevitably lead to he is not authorised to speak to media. those planned by Russian Railways, he support key banks and address the deep- Crude prices have almost halved from higher inflation next year, which after On Friday, Russian authorities also said. It was not clear whether this sup- ening currency crisis in the past week, their June peak amid a global glut and a years of stability threatens President significantly scaled up rescue funds for port would be in addition to the 1 trillion including a sharp and unexpected inter- decision by producer group Opec not to Vladimir Putin’s reputation for ensur- Trust Bank, saying they would pro- rouble capital boost the banking sector est rate hike, but analysts are pessimistic cut output. Saudi Arabia said yesterdayit ing Russia’s prosperity. vide up to $2.4bn in loans to bail out is set to receive as part of legislation on the outlook for both the economy and was prepared to withstand a prolonged The Russian currency slipped yester- the mid-sized lender. The falling rouble recently approved by parliament. the rouble. period of low prices. “We need to have day after hitting itsstrongest levels in has prompted panic buying of foreign REUTERS

China shares soar to Robot restaurant fresh four-year high US stocks rise; Dow up for 7th straight session

SHANGHAI: Chinese shares new corporate support policies the biggest winners yester- rose to a new four-year high aimed at boosting the economy. day. Shanghai-listed Industrial yesterday, extending recent The Shanghai index has gained Securities surged by its 10 percent gains as financial shares jumped over 20 percent since the central daily limit to 15.25 yuan while on hopes of further monetary People’s Bank of China (PBoC) Shenzhen-listed Shanxi Securities stimulus measures, dealers said. announced a surprise interest also rose 10 percent to 16.36 yuan. The benchmark Shanghai rate cut in late November. The Banks extended further gains, Composite Index soared 2.77 per- market has experienced wide with Industrial and Commercial cent, or 85.06 points, to 3,157.60 swings with hectic market turno- Bank of China gaining 3.59 on turnover of 488.9bn yuan ver since then. percent to 4.62 yuan while ($79.9bn). The index rose 1.58 China Business News reported Agricultural Bank of China added percent over the week. yesterday that the PBoC would 3.59 percent to 3.46 yuan. The close marked the highest allow banks to enlarge their Wall Street stocks yesterday since November 8, 2010 when the deposit base by adding deposits rose in opening trade as the posi- Shanghai index ended at 3,159.51 from non-bank financial institu- tive momentum from this week’s points. The Shenzhen Composite tions, while setting the reserve US economic growth report lifted Index, which tracks stocks on requirement ratio (RRR) — the the market higher. Five min- China’s second exchange, rose amount of money banks must utes into trade, the Dow Jones 1.04 percent, or 14.86 points, to keep on hand — for these insti- Industrial Average stood at stood 1,439.48 on turnover of 221.2 bil- tutions at zero. The report cited at 18,061.10, up 30.89 points (0.17 lion yuan. It lost 1.78 percent for an unidentified analyst as saying percent). The Dow had gained the week. that such a move would have the six straight sessions and jumped Chinese shares jumped more same effect as cutting the RRR by above 18,000 for the first time on than three percent on Thursday giving banks more money to lend. Tuesday. A cook works in front of robots at the kitchen of a restaurant in Hefei, Anhui province in China. The restaurant, after the government announced Securities firms were among AGENCIES with a space of 1,300 sq metres and a total of 30 robots to cook meals, delivers dishes and welcome costum- ers, is reported to be the biggest robot restaurant in China. ‘Lucky bags’ sale China business regulator under China challenges India’s probe for graft polished diamond throne BEIJING: The deputy head of NEW DELHI: India’s long- diamonds directly to India. of diamond and jewellery service one of China’s business regula- held position as the world’s top During President Vladimir firm Rapaport Group. tors, the State Administration diamond polisher is being chal- Putin’s visit to New Delhi this India is looking to build a spe- for Industry and Commerce, lenged by soaring output from month, Russia’s state-run dia- cial notified zone where compa- is under investigation for sus- China, compelling the south mond monopoly Alrosa signed nies can import rough diamonds pected corruption, state media Asian country to seek help from a dozen deals to increase direct on a consignment basis and re- said yesterday. ally and top rough diamond rough diamond deliveries to India export unsold ones, mirroring Sun Hongzhi is “suspected supplier Russia to defend its that would help reduce the cut China’s investor-friendly trad- of serious violations of party market share. taken by middlemen in the secre- ing zones that avoid complicated discipline and law” and was India has traditionally relied on tive precious gems trade. export and import taxes. being investigated by the ruling the middlemen in trading hubs The direct deals would also “These are positive moves Communist Party’s anti-graft of Antwerp, Tel Aviv and Dubai reduce risks linked to Western for the industry,” said Mehul watchdog, Xinhua news agency for its supply of rough diamonds, sanctions imposed over Russia’s N Shah, committee member of said, using the usual euphemism which mainly come from Russia annexation of Crimea, while Modi India’s Bharat Diamond Bourse. for graft. It gave no other details. or Africa. Most of the world’s dia- is additionally seeking arrange- “It will increase profit margins of Reuters was not able to reach Sun mond output is sent to India for ments that would allow Russian the Indian diamond manufactur- for comment. cutting and polishing before being jewellery makers to send rough ing industry and make it more The State Administration for retailed around the world. diamonds to India and re-import competitive.” Industry and Commerce also has But China has managed to polished stones duty-free. Despite China’s upper hand in an anti-trust role, along with break the established trade route But to compete effectively securing rough diamonds, its cut- at least two other government by getting diamonds directly from with China, India will also need ting and polishing industry is not departments, and was involved African mines in which Chinese to streamline its tax and import as organised as India’s and rising in questioning Microsoft Corp companies have a stake. This has rules, industry sources said. labour costs are a problem. this year on the compatibility of boosted the value of China’s net “China is not going to displace “The Chinese diamond pol- its Windows operating system exports of polished diamonds by India as the leading diamond ishing industry works on a con- and Office software suite. Sun 72 percent in the past five years polishing hub any time soon, but tract-basis and through joint joined the body in 2011, having to $8.9bn. India needs to reform its archaic ventures,” said Rapaport. “They Employees of a department store place products into ‘lucky bags’ for been moved there from previous While India’s exports, sup- tax rules to make the Indian dia- are consistent at mass producing their new year sale in Tokyo yesterday. The bags will go on sale on jobs in the northeastern province plied by firms such as Asian Star mond polishing industry more small stones, but lack the exper- January 1 when most major department stores resume their business of Jilin, where he held coal and , Gitanjali Gems Ltd and Venus attractive for foreign miners,” tise required for bigger and finer after the new year holidays. agricultural roles, according to his Jewel, rose 49 percent to $14 bil- said Martin Rapaport, chairman stones.” REUTERS biography. REUTERS lion over that time, shipments have seen a sharp drop this year. “China’s active procurement of rough supply from African countries was reducing the sup- Oil rises further above $60 ply available to Indian manufac- turers,” said Sandeep Varia, an LONDON: Oil rose further to be more and more about a bat- DOE report, which showed a 7.3 executive of Indian industry body above $60 a barrel yesterday as tle for the oil resources and this million-barrel rise in crude inven- Assocham. “Many units across unrest in Libya cut supplies, off- will not end well.” tories to their highest December the country had to lay off work- setting a growing supply glut in Brent crude was at $60.59 at level on record. Analysts had ers due to losses.” top consumer the United States 1409 GMT, up 35 cents, while US expected a seasonal decline. As a result, China’s share of the and weak imports by Japan. crude added 38 cents to $56.22 in Nonetheless, Brent still man- global polished diamond market Fighting in Libya has cut out- thin trade as many countries were aged to close above $60 on has tripled to 17 percent in the put there to 352,000 barrels a day, still on Christmas holiday. In Libya, Wednesday, validating that psy- past decade, according to data a state oil company spokesman a rocket set a storage tank at the chological support level as the from the United Nations. India’s said on Thursday, or about half country’s biggest export terminal, bottom of Brent’s trading range share has fluctuated between 19 November’s average. This coun- Es Sider, on fire as armed factions of $60 to $70 for now, Jakob said. and 31 percent. tered the US Department of allied to competing governments Crude imports by Japan, the Indian Prime Minister Energy’s (DOE) report showing fought for control, officials from world’s fourth-biggest oil buyer, Narendra Modi, who comes from a big stockbuild. both sides said on Thursday. dropped 17.3 percent in November the western state of Gujarat “Libya is a supportive factor,” Yesterday, officials said the from a year earlier to 14.68 mil- where the polishing industry is said Olivier Jakob, analyst at blaze had spread to two more lion kilolitres (3.08 million bpd), centred, has answered calls to An employee checks the shape of a diamond through a magnifying glass, Petromatrix in Zug, Switzerland. tanks. The market had come government data showed on bolster the diamond sector by inside the polishing department of a processing unit in Surat in Gujarat. “The fighting in Libya is starting under pressure from Wednesday’s Thursday. REUTERS convincing Russia to sell rough SATURDAY 27 DECEMBER 2014 BUSINESS VIEWS www.thepeninsulaqatar.com 15

Abe sidelines Mitani as Japan In his worst investment he pension fund enters new era BY YOSHIAKI NOHARA and SHIGEKI NOZAWA got it wrong; dead wrong HEN Takahiro Mitani’s term as head of the world’s larg- est retirement fund finishes in March, so too will the old BY CHRIS MAYER Wera of Japanese pension management. It borrowed a lot of money to buy up cem- in my Loewen experience: Never think a The former Bank of Japan official saw his power ebb during a eteries. A statement issued by the company stock can’t go to zero. five-year reign at the $1.1 trillion Government Pension Investment OU probably don’t want to think summed up the problem well: “In the past No matter how much you love it, no mat- Fund, as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office with the goal of about your worst investment. You three years the company’s growth strategy ter how much you checked it out, no matter overcoming deflation. Mitani, 65, will be the last person to wield should. Generally, you’ll learn more emphasized cemetery acquisitions, as com- how safe it seems, you should invest only sole control of a bond-heavy GPIF after the biggest overhaul in from your mistakes than your pared to the historical emphasis on funeral what you can afford to lose. What com- the fund’s history. successes. home acquisitions.” pounded my mistake in Loewen was the Abe, 60, has reshaped government by putting his own people YMy worst investment was in the stock In three years, it ballooned from 651 fact that I put what was a big slug of the in positions of power at institutions across the nation. Mitani, of Loewen Group, which was in the “death locations to 1,701 — including 348 more money I had at the time into it. who watched Masaaki Shirakawa get replaced at the BOJ and care industry.” It was, at the time, the sec- cemeteries. As a side note, when most people think proponents of Abenomics surround him at the fund, acquiesced ond- largest funeral company in North Growth sounds great. But if it’s funded about their worst investment, they usually to the new order after months of resistance. The GPIF he leaves America, operating more than 1,000 funeral by a lot of debt, look out. Even the steadi- think of losing all their money. What hurts has less reliance on domestic debt, a broader asset mix and plans homes and 400 cemeteries. est businesses can get in trouble with too even more to think about is the lost oppor- to revamp governance. Let’s face it. People die every day. So you’d much debt. tunity of what I could have done with that “The wind has blown in a certain direction, and Mr Mitani think that would be a safe industry in which In Wall Street parlance, people call com- cash instead. belongs to an era that has probably passed,” Jonathan Allum, a to invest. I thought so. panies like Loewen “roll ups,” or businesses In June 1999, Apple shares were trading London-based strategist at SMBC Nikko Capital Markets, said This was in the late 1990s, and the tech that gobble up lots of smaller ones in an at $6 and change (split-adjusted). Today, the by phone on December 10. “His background is at the BOJ, from boom was in full swing. I knew tech was industry to grow larger. Usually, they fund shares are $109 a pop. Instead of vaporiz- an earlier period of its history,” he said “It was time to change.” going to be trouble. In an effort to get out- these purchases with debt. And usually, ing my $3,000, I could’ve had 500 shares of Mitani became the public face of that shift at an October 31 side those hyped sectors, I liked the idea of these are companies to avoid. Apple and about $50,000 today. press conference. As cameras rolled and flashed in a rented confer- owning something more staid and reliable Worse, Loewen went on a binge, acquiring That’s an extreme example. But there ence room in Tokyo’s Roppongi area, he bowed, introduced himself, — like funeral homes and cemeteries. cemeteries, which were not as profitable were a lot of stocks I could’ve bought, even and spoke into seven microphones. Finally, Japan is heading for I had studied finance at the University of as running funeral homes. In 1998, the last in the bubbly years of 1999, and done very “appropriate inflation,” he said, explaining why the fund would put Maryland. I was 27 years old, a corporate full year of results, cemeteries represented well over time. Losing that pot of money in half its assets into equities and slash local debt to 35 percent of banker and was just starting to have success almost 40 percent of sales versus just 15 Loewen meant I cut off those possibilities. holdings from 60 percent. as an investor. I knew my way around finan- percent of sales in 1994. So, the business And that mistake was much larger than Mitani took over GPIF in 2010 with no experience in the asset cial statements. I dug into the business and was changing dramatically for the worse. As $3,000. management industry, a staff of about 70 people and a pay packet liked the cash flows and its steady nature. an investor, I missed this key warning sign. Anyway, I’ve since lost more money worth 17.46m yen ($145,330) for his first year. With prices in Japan The stock, I thought, was super-cheap with Here is a candid moment from its man- investing in a stock than I lost in Loewen. decreasing for more than a decade, holding 68 percent of assets lots of upside. agement in 1999, when it was on the brink But on a percentage basis, Loewen eas- in local debt fit with the pledge he made to gain the public’s trust My confidence was riding high. So high, of bankruptcy and too late to matter: “In ily is the worst investment I ever made. through safe and efficient investment. in fact, that I put my entire IRA — about recent years, we have lost that focus as Fortunately, it happened early in my invest- That changed soon after Abe came to power. In April 2013, $3,000 — into Loewen’s stock. It was a mod- the company has concentrated more on ing life. I looked at it then, and I still look at Haruhiko Kuroda announced record stimulus just weeks after est sum, looking back, but it was a lot of cemetery sales and less on funeral home it today, as a kind of tuition. I’ll never forget Abe put him in charge of the central bank. Stocks soared, the yen money for me at the time. operations that are our most profitable, core the lessons learned. slumped and in May consumer prices stopped falling. And I lost it all. assets.” Mayer is founder and editor of Capital & By November, the BOJ’s preferred measure of inflation was climb- Such a thing is a shock to your net worth. So there you go. You want to be sure your Crisis, a value investment newsletter. He’s the ing at an annual pace of 1.2 percent. Mitani faced a public attack on It’s also a shock to your ego. Where did I investment sticks to what it does well. But author of World Right Side Up: Investing his investment strategy, with a report commissioned by Abe paint- go wrong? even if you are sure about a business, you Across Six Continents. ing a picture of a badly run fund that was out of step with the times. Loewen got in trouble with too much debt. should remember something else I learned WP BLOOMBERG GPIF should consider cutting local bonds as the nation moves toward 2 percent inflation, and Mitani’s role as sole decision- maker should be replaced with a board structure, the panel led by Takatoshi Ito wrote. “The portfolio revamp was a done deal from the start and forced through by the government,” said Akio Kato, Tokyo-based general manager of the trading department at Kokusai Asset Management Co. “It was clear they took over the management of Japan’s pension savings.” Nevertheless, said Kato, “Results are everything in investment. GPIF did well over the past year and increased pension money. That’s part of Abenomics’ success for sure.” Japan’s Topix index has almost doubled under Abe, buoying GPIF’s assets to a record 130.9 trillion yen at Sept. 30. The fund returned an average 2.9 percent a quarter since the premier came to power, compared with 0.8 percent in the two years before Abenomics. The measure rose 0.9 percent to 1,426.02 Wednesday in Tokyo, heading for a 9.5 percent gain this year. Unlike Shirakawa at the BOJ, who resigned before his term was up, Mitani chose to defend himself, speaking out against the Ito report and the Abenomics behind it. In two interviews with Bloomberg News, in June and December 2013, he expressed doubt that the BOJ would get inflation up to two percent in two years. He was among the first to say GPIF shouldn’t be used to boost stock prices, a position that would become widespread among opponents of Abe’s plans for the fund. Ito’s report overstated the risk inflation posed to domestic bonds, he said. None of that was evident on October 31, when Mitani announced that Abenomics was working, inflation was accelerating and the time was right to make changes. By then, Abe had installed Yasuhisa Shiozaki, known for advocating changes at the fund, as health minister. Three members of the group that wrote the report saying GPIF needed to change its ways were on the fund’s investment committee. Shiozaki’s appointment “delivered the final blow,” said Kyoya Okazawa, Tokyo-based head of global equities and commodity derivatives at BNP Paribas, who suggested that Mitani stopped resisting around this time. Seki Obata, a former member of GPIF’s investment committee, commended Mitani for sticking around. “He had the pride of a former BOJ man and wasn’t happy about many things,” Obata said in an interview in Tokyo on Dec. 9. “He could have turned his back and rejected Abenomics, but he dealt with the changing environment and struck a delicate balance under tough circumstances.” WP-BLOOMBERG Cartoon Arts International / The New York Times Syndicate Oil glut: Drillers under pressure to scrap rigs BY DAVID WETHE rigs against higher quality rigs to producers consolidated and drill- no longer meets current stand- declined to comment about fur- Hercules has better liquidity this get pricing lower.” ing was postponed. ards also eliminates a cash drain. ther plans to decrease its fleet and time around. FFSHORE oil-drill- About 140 older rigs would “There is an old saying: If our Floating rigs left idle in a harbour referred to last week’s statement, “Am I scared? No,” Rynd said. ing contractors, who need to be scrapped to make way customers get a cold, we get pneu- can cost as much as $12,000 a day which said “additional rigs may For producers, lower drilling last year were able to for the new vessels scheduled monia,” John Rynd, chief execu- to sit “cold stacked,” meaning be identified as candidates for vessel costs may help encourage charge record rates for delivery by 2020, according tive officer of Houston- based they’re not part of the supply of scrapping.” them to push ahead with explora- for their vessels, are to Andrew Cosgrove, an analyst Hercules, told investors this rigs being marketed for new work. Hercules and Noble Corp. didn’t tion despite oil’s drop. Houston- nowO under pressure to scrap old at Bloomberg Intelligence. That month. “We’re getting pneumo- The contraction is already return phone and email messages based oil producer Noble Energy rigs at an unprecedented pace. pace would double the number nia right now.” under way. Transocean, owner of seeking comment, and an Ensco Inc. says this is a good time to lock The recent five-year low in oil scrapped in the previous six years Next year may be worse. the biggest fleet of offshore drill- spokeswoman had no immediate up relatively inexpensive leases on prices is threatening an industry and even eclipse the 123 vessels Explorers and producers are ing rigs, said in a statement last comment. rigs. already grappling with a flood retired since 2000, according to expected to cut offshore spend- week it will scrap seven “floaters” In addition to killing off older “In kind of a backwards way, of new vessels and weakening data compiled by Bloomberg. ing by 15 percent, with “grievous” in addition to the four it previ- rigs, drillers are taking other steps pullbacks like what we’re seeing demand. More than 200 new rigs Booming offshore exploration cuts coming for exploration, Bill ously announced and will take to preserve cash. These include today are good” for explorers, are scheduled to be delivered in earlier in the decade encouraged Herbert, an analyst at Simmons a fourth-quarter charge in the suspending dividends and share Noble Energy Chairman Charles the next six years. That’s a 25 a flurry of rig orders. That’s now & Co, said in an e-mail. range of $100m to $140m as a buybacks, delaying construction Davidson told investors Nov. 13 percent jump from the number leading to a potential market Earnings for the world’s five result. Floaters, typically for deep- of new rigs already ordered and at an energy conference. “Why currently under contract. crash in a global industry pegged biggest offshore rig contractors water jobs, are distinguished from deferring costly five-year main- wouldn’t you drill in deep water? To cope, many rig owners will to generate revenue of $61.5 bil- are expected to fall an average of “jackups,” which have retractable tenance checkups wherever pos- I like $300,000 a day versus try to keep revenue up by culling lion this year. Low oil prices are 18 percent, according to analysts’ legs that moor onto the seafloor sible. Some companies are even $500,000 a day, any day.” older vessels to balance supply compounding the problem, alarm- estimates compiled by Bloomberg. until drilling is done. delaying tugging new rigs halfway Rig owners will essentially be and demand. ing investors. Only one company is seen increas- Transocean and Hercules are around the globe from construc- at the behest of their customers “The older assets, particularly Three of the four worst per- ing profit in 2015: Seadrill Ltd. expected to scrap the most vessels tion shipyards in Asia to defer next year, said Luke Lemoine, an those built before the 2000 time formers in the Standard & Poor’s The third-biggest offshore rig in the near term, according to BI. mobilization costs. analyst at Capital One Financial period, are really less desired by 500 Index this year are offshore contractor by market value has Hercules has seven shallow-water The immediate future may Corp. in New Orleans. the industry,” James West, an rig contractors: Transocean, 75 percent of its rigs backed by rigs, all in the Gulf of Mexico, not be totally bleak. While Rynd “Price doesn’t necessarily drive analyst at Evercore ISI in New Noble Corp and Ensco. Hercules contracts next year, the highest that have been cold-stacked for may be concerned, he sees the demand,” Lemoine said in a phone York, said in a phone interview. Offshore Inc, the largest provider among the five largest drillers, an average of five years. current downturn shaping up interview. “Demand generally Those vessels “are only causing of shallow-water rigs in the Gulf according to BI. A spokeswoman from Vernier, better for his company than drives the price.” the customer base to use those of Mexico, has fallen 84 percent as Retiring older equipment that Switzerland-based Transocean the last one, in 2009, because WP-BLOOMBERG SATURDAY 27 DECEMBER 2014 16 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com CLASSIFIEDS

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MIAMI: The Miami Heat weren’t in a giving mood on Thursday as they spoiled the Christmas Day return of LeBron James to southern Florida. James tallied a team high 30 points and eight assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers lost 101-91 to his former team in one of five NBA contests on the Christmas holiday. It was James’s first game in South Beach since spurning the Heat to rejoin his hometown Cavaliers in the offseason. “A lot of emotions come back and you know, I spent four years here with those guys,” he said. “We put in a lot of hard work and dedication just to do the best we could.” James, who got a big pre-game ovation from the crowd of 19,800, won two NBA titles in four seasons with his former team, which has fallen to a sub .500 club since he left. But Miami didn’t play like a struggling team. They were a determined bunch, especially James’ former sidekick Dwyane Wade, who finished with a game-high 31 points. The Heat victory also comes just 48 hours after a disappointing 91-87 loss to the lowly Philadelphia 76ers. “It could have been easy for us to be down on ourselves after that loss but we weren’t,” said Wade, who hugged and chatted with James on the court after the final buzzer. There were no hard feelings between James and the Heat fans either, as he received plenty of applause and just a smattering of boos during the Norris Cole (front) of the Miami Heat reacts to a play during a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at American pre-game introductions. Airlines Arena on Thursday in Miami, Florida. The Heat also played a video tribute to James during one of the timeouts. “What me and my team-mates created while we and spent seven seasons before including seven offensive boards, seven rebounds, and the Los were here is going to last forever,” said James, who signing a three-year contract while forward Serge Ibaka scored Angeles Clippers shook off a led the Heat to four championship appearances. with Chicago last summer. 21 points. rough first half to defeat the “You can never take that out of the (history) books. The Lakers (9-20) lost for the Forward Matt Bonner led the Golden State Warriors 100-86 at “I gave everything and more to the city while I fourth time in five games and Spurs (18-12) with 17 points. Staples Center. was here. I never disrespected the city, the fran- stumbled to 5-10 on the road. Point guard John Wall totaled Point guard Chris Paul had chise, or any of my teammates.” They played the second consecu- 24 points and 11 assists and the 22 points, seven rebounds and But James said he had yet to speak with Heat tive game without guard Kobe Washington Wizards rolled to four assists and forward Blake president Pat Riley. Bryant, who sat out because of a 102-91 victory over the New Griffin finished with 18 points, 15 “If the opportunity presents itself I don’t mind, soreness. York Knicks at Madison Square rebounds and six assists for the but I don’t know what his mindset is,” he added. Bulls guard Derrick Rose Garden. Clippers (20-10), who ended a James promised reporters a “huge” press con- scored 20 points with six assists Wall posted his 17th double- two-game losing streak. ference once he retires at which he would answer in nearly 32 minutes. double and made 10 of 17 shots DeAndre Jordan added 14 questions more freely. Guard Russell Westbrook from the field as Washington (20- points and 12 rebounds. Klay Wade said he was pleased to see the cheers out- scored 34 points and dished out 11 8) avoided its first three-game Thompson led the Warriors number the boos for James. assists to help the Oklahoma City losing streak. with 15 points, while point guard “That is the way it should be. There is no reason Thunder defeat the San Antonio Shooting guard Bradley Beal Stephen Curry finished with 14 to say anything negative about LeBron James,” said Spurs 114-106. added 17 points as the Wizards points, nine rebounds and seven Wade, who scored 24 of his 31 points in the first half. Fans in San Antonio, and a shot 51 percent from the floor (44 assists. AGENCIES Meanwhile, Forward Pau Gasol scored 23 points national television audience, were of 86). Forwards Nene and Kris against his former team as the Chicago Bulls cruised denied a marquee matchup of Humphries contributed 14 and 12, NBA Results to a 113-93 win against the Los Angeles Lakers. small forwards when Oklahoma respectively. Washington 102 NY Knicks 91 Guard Jimmy Butler added 21 points for the Bulls City’s Kevin Durant and San Forward Carmelo Anthony Oklahoma City 114 San Antonio 106 (20-9), who extended their winning streak to five Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard sat due scored 34 points for the Knicks, Miami 101 Cleveland 91 games. to injuries. who lost their sixth in a row. Gasol also pulled down 13 rebounds against the Thunder center Steven Adams Reserve guard Jamal Crawford Chicago 113 LA Lakers 93 Lakers, with whom he won two NBA championships had 16 points and 15 rebounds, scored 24 points and grabbed LA Clippers 100 Golden State 86 James seizes lead in all-star voting

NEW YORK: Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James grabbed the early lead in fans vot- ing for the 2015 National Basketball Association Cleveland all-star game. Cavaliers Two-time all-star game MVP James has a slim forward lead over Golden State Warriors guard Stephen LeBron Curry. James James, who has started 10 consecutive all-star smiles after games, has a league-best 552,967 votes, while Curry losing to the sits just behind him with 549,095 votes. Miami Heat New York forward Carmelo Anthony (265,170) at American and Chicago’s Pau Gasol (247,953) are on pace to Airlines start in the frontcourt for the Eastern Conference Arena. The next to James. Washington point guard John Wall (299,209) and James’ former team-mate with Miami, Heat won Dwyane Wade (265,917), lead all East guards. 101-91. New Orleans Pelicans power forward Anthony Davis is third in overall voting with 524,623 votes. Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, who is off to his worst season since 2003-04, has 521,542. Voting will continue through January 19 and the starters will be announced on January 22. This sea- son’s game will be played February 15 at Madison Square Garden. AFP Packers face Lions in marquee matchup

LOS ANGELES: The Green Bay last Sunday. If Green the Packers say they are the NFC South Division title as the Packers host the Detroit Lions in Bay beats the Lions not worried. Falcons just need a win while the one of several high-stakes contests and Seattle loses to St. “I don’t think there’s Panthers need a win or a tie. in the final weekend of the National Louis, the Packers will much concern at all,” Carolina has won its past three Football League’s regular season. have home-field advan- said receiver Jordy games and 11 of past 12 in December. There are play-off spots and division tage throughout the Nelson (pictured). “I The Washington Redskins host titles to be determined including the playoffs. think he’ll be ready to the Dallas Cowboys, who can clinch critical Green Bay game which will The Lions, who rallied go. So, we’ll see how his a first-round play-off bye with a win see the winner earn the NFC North to beat Chicago 20-14 week goes and we’ll find – but only if Seattle and Arizona also Division title and a first-round bye. last week, have lost 23 out on Sunday. I think lose. Both teams have already clinched consecutive games at he’ll be fine, though.” Cowboys star DeMarco Murray postseason spots and the Packers are Lambeau Field. Two teams with los- needs just 29 yards to break Emmitt a perfect 7-0 at home this season. Green Bay quarter- ing records square off Smith’s 1995 club rushing record. Green Bay claimed their spot in the back Aaron Rodgers in a winner-take-all Washington won the first meeting play-offs for the sixth straight sea- suffered a left calf game when Carolina this season between the two teams, son with a 20-3 win over Tampa Bay injury in the win over Tampa Bay but visits Atlanta. The winner will claim 20-17 in overtime. AFP SATURDAY 27 DECEMBER 2014 SPORT www.thepeninsulaqatar.com 19 Captaincy is fitting Smith Captain Smith leads from well: Rogers MELBOURNE: From bashing big scores to firing back a few choice words at sledging oppo- nents, the captaincy is fitting Australia’s Steven Smith well, the front to torment India according to opening batsman Chris Rogers. Smith compiled a watchful The Australian Test skipper is poised for third century of the series half-century to see Australia to stumps at 259-5 on day one of the third test against India yesterday, MELBOURNE: Australia’s “I think three scores in the 50s continuing a stellar run of form Steve Smith played another cap- is good in some respects but it’s Scoreboard for the baby-faced batsman nick- tain’s knock and Chris Rogers also very disappointing,” Rogers Australia (I innings): named ‘Smudge’. and Shane Watson hit fifties said. C Rogers c Dhoni b Shami ...... 57 Unbeaten twice in the series- on the opening day of the third “As an opener you do the hard D Warner c Dhawan b Yadav ...... 0 opening test in Adelaide with Test against India in Melbourne work and put yourself in a posi- S Watson lbw Ashwin ...... 52 scores of 162 and 52, Smith struck yesterday. tion where you can get a big score S Smith (batting) ...... 72 a match-winning 133 in Brisbane Before a Boxing Day crowd of so to get out like that was disap- S Marsh c Dhoni b Shami ...... 32 standing in for injured captain almost 70,000, Smith joined team- pointing because I felt good today, J Burns c Dhoni b Yadav ...... 13 Michael Clarke to drive Australia mate David Warner in reaching I felt my feet were going and I had B Haddin (batting) ...... 23 to a 2-0 series lead. 1,000 Test runs for the calendar a real desire to get a big score.” Extras (B-1, LB-6, W-1, NB-2) ...... 10 Unbeaten on 72 at the year with his unbeaten 72. Watson followed six balls later Total (for 5 wkts) ...... 259 Melbourne Cricket Ground, the At the close, Australia were in off-spinner Ravichandran Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-115, 3-115, 4-184, 25-year-old is in the box seat 259 for five after winning the Ashwin’s seventh over with an ill- 5-216. to help Australia seal the four- toss with Brad Haddin seeking a judged sweep shot and was out leg Bowling: I Sharma 21-6-54-0 (2nb), Yadav match series a game early. confidence-boosting innings on 23. before wicket for 52 in 89 balls. 20-2-69-2, Shami 17-4-55-2 (1w), Ashwin “There’s definitely an echelon Smith passed 50 for the fourth Watson had a let off on 37 near- 27-7-60-1, Vijay 5-0-14-0. of batsmen at the moment who time in five innings in this series ing lunch when Shikhar Dhawan India: S Dhawan, M Vijay, C A Pujara, V Kohli, seem to be above and beyond,” among them an unconquered 162 fumbled him at second slip at the A M Rahane, K L Rahul, M S Dhoni, R Ashwin, Rogers, who scored 57 for his in Adelaide and 133 in Brisbane. third attempt off Shami. Mohammed Shami, I Sharma, U T Yadav. third successive half-century of So far he has amassed 447 runs It was Watson’s 23rd half-cen- the series, told reporters. at 223.5 for the series. tury in Tests with just a below-par “Davey (Warner) to a certain Smith, who won his first Test as conversion rate of four centuries extent and now Smudger (Smith). skipper in four days in Brisbane in his 55th Test for the senior top “It’s phenomenal to watch and last weekend, was well positioned order batsman. great to be a part of. (Smith) is for his third ton of the series after It was the 27th time in 102 just growing day by day and it’s Rogers and Watson missed out on Test innings Watson had been scary to think how good he can be. cashing in on solid starts. dismissed leg before wicket. “Someone threw a ball back at “It’s phenomenal to watch and Shaun Marsh again failed to him today and he had the confi- great to be a part of. He is just go on after a solid start and was dence to say a few words back at growing day by day and it’s scary caught behind by Dhoni off Shami him so it looks as if he knows he to think how good he can be,” with no addition to his tea score Australia’s batsman Brad belongs and he knows he’s one of Rogers said of Smith. of 32 off 83 balls. Haddin is hit by a bouncer from the better players in the world at “Someone threw a ball back at Debutant Joe Burns was given India’s paceman Umesh Yadav the moment.” him today and he had the confi- a rousing welcome as he came out (not pictured) on the first day Rogers has enjoyed his return dence to say a few words back at to bat at four wickets down and of the third cricket Test at the to form, but was disappointed to him so it looks as if he knows he got a roar with his first scoring Melbourne Cricket Ground be dismissed in the 50s for a third belongs and he knows he’s one of shot off Shami for three. (MCG) in Melbourne yesterday. successive time. His contributions the better players in the world at Burns hoisted Ashwin over have been timely, however, given the moment.” mid-wicket for four in a positive opener David Warner’s form has Rogers hit his third straight show of confidence at Test level. tailed off after his back-to-back half-century of the series and But he lasted 27 balls before he centuries in the first Test. Watson made 52 in a 115-run attempted a pull shot on 13 and “I know it probably doesn’t stand before they were dismissed bottom-edged through to Dhoni seem like it but there are times five minutes apart in the hour off Yadav. it can be a little bit intimidating after lunch. Warner, who scored twin tons batting with Davey as well,” said The pair managed to put on 59 in the opening Adelaide Test, Rogers of Warner, who was out runs off 131 balls for the fourth was out in the second over of the for a duck. “He scores so quickly wicket. innings. India made two changes from number six, while speedster Varun to Australia by the end of the that you can look up and think, Rogers, who scored 116 in last He only lasted six balls before the team that lost the second Aaron made way for Shami, who Melbourne Test. ‘I’m not scoring quick enough, I’m season’s corresponding Boxing he played across Umesh Yadav Brisbane Test, with debutant was off the field for injury treat- Dhoni’s tourists trail 2-0 in the not being aggressive enough’. Day Test against England, pushed and edged to Dhawan at third slip Lokesh Rahul and Mohammed ment late in the day. four-match series after defeats in “So I think at times I’ve prob- at paceman Mohammed Shami for a duck. Shami coming into the side. Team officials said Aaron was Adelaide and Brisbane, and have ably got out trying to force it a and was snapped up behind by M Shami and Yadav finished with Rahul, who replaced Rohit flying home for his grandfather’s not won at the MCG for 33 years. little bit up the other end from S Dhoni for 57. two wickets each. Sharma, was selected to bat at funeral and would be returning REUTERS Davey.” REUTERS McCullum’s super ton leaves Sri Lanka stunned

CHRISTCHURCH: Brendon McCullum came agonisingly Scoreboard New Zealand’s Most Sixes in Test cricket Player Span Matches 6s close to breaking the world captain Brendon New Zealand (I innings): McCullum bats AC Gilchrist (Aus) 1999-2008 96 100 record for the fastest Test dou- T Latham c Kaushal b Eranga ...... 27 during the first CH Gayle (WI) 2000-2014 103 98 ble century as he bludgeoned Sri H Rutherford b Lakmal ...... 18 Test against JH Kallis (SA) 1995-2013 166 97 Lanka’s attack around Hagley K Williamson b Prasad...... 54 Sri Lanka in Oval to lead New Zealand to 429 R Taylor (run out-Silva) ...... 7 BB McCullum (NZ) 2004-2014 91* 92 for seven at the close on the first B McCullum c Karunaratne b Kaushal ... 195 Christchurch V Sehwag (India) 2001-2013 104 91 day of the first Test yesterday. J Neesham c Sangakkara b Mathews ...... 85 at Hagley Park BC Lara (WI) 1990-2006 131 88 McCullum had raced to 195 B J Watling lbw Mathews ...... 26 Oval yesterday. CL Cairns (NZ) 1989-2004 62 87 from 134 balls before the home M Craig (batting) ...... 5 IVA Richards (WI) 1974-1991 121 84 skipper was caught in the deep by Extras (LB4, W2, NB6) ...... 12 Dimuth Karaunaratne off debu- A Flintoff (Eng) 1998-2009 79 82 Total (for 7 wkts) ...... 429 ML Hayden (Aus) 1994-2009 103 82 tant spinner Tharindu Kaushal, Fall of wickets: 1-37, 2-60, 3-88, 4-214, KP Pietersen (Eng) 2005-2014 104 81 sparking a rush to the exits from 5-367, 6-420, 7-429. the capacity crowd of 8,000 in Bowling: Lakmal 17-3-83-1 (1nb); Eranga MS Dhoni (India) 2005-2014 90* 78 Christchurch. 18-1-82-1; Mathews 9.3-1-34-2; Prasad RT Ponting (Aus) 1995-2012 168 73 The existing record was set in 12-2-62-1 (2w); Kaushal 22-0-159-1 (5nb); CH Lloyd (WI) 1966-1985 110 70 the same city when New Zealand’s Thirimanne 2-0-5-0. SR Tendulkar (India) 1989-2013 200 69 Nathan Astle took 153 balls to Sri Lanka: J K Silva, F D M Karunaratne, K C IT Botham (Eng) 1977-1992 102 67 reach his double century against Sangakkara, H D R L Thirimanne, A D Math- England at Lancaster Park in CG Greenidge (WI) 1974-1991 108 67 ews, N Dickwella, H A P W Jayawardene, P H CL Hooper (WI) 1987-2002 102 63 2002. The 33-year-old McCullum T Kaushal, K T G D Prasad, R M S Eranga, R A N Kapil Dev (India) 1978-1994 131 61 belted 18 fours and 11 sixes in his S Lakmal. innings as he became the first M Jayawardene (SL) 1997-2014 149 61 New Zealand batsman to surpass 1,000 Test runs in a calendar year Williamson with the score on 103 and broke his own national record and the floodgates opened. for the fastest century, which McCullum punished anything came off 74 balls. short by slashing it to the cover- Kiwi star hailed for his 195 Mark Craig was on five after point boundary and when the Sri wicketkeeper BJ Watling was Lankan bowlers pitched up, he CHRISTCHURCH: New he had Sri Lanka on the ropes He equalled McMillan’s New and change the tempo and the trapped lbw for 26 in the final simply belted the ball back over Zealand’s big-hitting skipper at the oval, a venue purpose built Zealand record of 26 off one over way an innings is heading very over but the hosts were in a their head. He shared in a 126- Brendon McCullum was hailed after the city’s former cricket when he smashed three sixes and quickly. He’s so destructive. I dominant position after they had run partnership with Williamson yesterday for his rollicking 195 ground at Lancaster Park was two fours off six balls from Sri think, probably the most destruc- been asked to bat by Sri Lanka’s (54) and then a 153-run stand in to dramatically turn the open- destroyed in the devastating Lanka’s strike bowler Suranga tive and domineering player who Angelo Mathews on a green pitch. 19.3 overs with all-rounder Jimmy ing day of the first Test against 2011 earthquakes which claimed Lakmal. has played for New Zealand.” “Once I got under way and Neesham (85). Sri Lanka. 185 lives. He also equalled the New The innings capped a stel- managed to create a partnership “I was trying to be a little His dominating 134-ball per- McCullum spreadeagled the Zealand record of 11 sixes in lar year for McCullum who in with Kane (Williamson), the aggressive when the ball was up to formance which led New Zealand field, smashing 18 fours and 11 an innings, one short of the February became the first New runs began to flow quite nicely,” get them to back their length off to 429-7 at stumps also carried sixes, in a record-breaking per- world record of 12 sixes held by Zealander to join the elite club of McCullum told RadioSport. “It and that would create a scoring special significance for the 8,000 formance that New Zealand bat- Pakistan’s Wasim Akram. cricketers to score 300 in a Test was nice to have a good solid day opportunity,” McCullum added. people who packed Christchurch’s ting coach Craig McMillan rated In his career, McCullum has innings. and put ourselves in front of the “I think there is still some- Hagley Oval. the best opening day in New now hit 92 sixes, closing in on the Against Sri Lanka he starred game and put some pressure back thing in the wicket for the bowl- They were looking for an out- Zealand Test history. world’s best of 100 by Australian in two century partnerships -- on Sri Lanka.” ers if you bowl the fuller length, standing performance to mark “It was a very special day. It Adam Gilchrist. with Kane Williamson (54) and Despite the bowler-friendly so hopefully when we do get the the return of Test cricket to the was the sort of day this venue “Even in your wildest dreams Jimmy Neesham (85) -- as he led conditions, Sri Lanka’s attack did ball in hand we can create some earthquake-battered city and the and this city deserved with what you would never have picked a day his side out of trouble and put not look penetrating, despite New opportunities.” signs were against them until they’ve gone through,” McMillan of Test cricket like that, especially them in command of the Test. Zealand slumping to 88-3 shortly When he was eventually McCullum strode to the crease said. when the pitch is a little bit on When he was eventually after lunch and the match seem- undone, caught by a diving with New Zealand at 88-3. As McCullum bludgeoned the the green side and you lose the undone, caught by a diving ingly swinging back towards the Dimuth Karunaratne to give off- The wicket was green and bowling, he took just 74 balls to toss,” McMillan said. “I don’t Dimuth Karunaratne to give off- visitors. spinner Tharindu Kaushal his McCullum, who lost the toss, was crack the fastest century in New think I have enough superlatives spinner Tharindu Kaushal his Suranga Lakmal, how- maiden Test wicket, McCullum forced to bat on a pitch where he Zealand Test history and became to describe (McCullum’s) innings. maiden Test wicket, McCullum ever, dropped a simple caught left the ground to a standing ova- desperately wanted to bowl. the first New Zealander to score “He has the ability to dominate, left the ground to a standing ova- and bowled opportunity off tion. REUTERS But within a session and a half 1,000 runs in a calendar year. dismantle bowlers very quickly tion. REUTERS SATURDAY 27 DECEMBER 2014 20 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com SPORT

Qatar A team clinches 16th GCC Volleyball Championship title

The winning Qatar A team’s players pose for a group photo along with the officials after defeating Bahrain A team in the final of 16th GCC Beach Volleyball Championship at the Al Gharafa Stadium in Doha, yesterday. RIGHT: Qatar A player Mahmoud Essam celebrates an all-important point that gave his side win over Bahrain in the final. RIGHT: Players of top three finishing sides - Qatar A, Bahrain and Qatar B pose for a picture on the podium. As many as ten teams took part in the tournament. PICTURES BY: BAHER AMIN Elgar, Du Plessis punish Windies for sloppy fielding

South Africa reach 270-2 on first day after getting flurry of chances Manuel Neuer

PORT ELIZABETH, South Du Plessis was put down by Africa: Dean Elgar and Faf du Marlon Samuels at gully off Neuer cautious Plessis punished the West Indies Jerome Taylor when he had eight for fielding lapses as South and again by Devon Smith diving over Ballon Africa built a strong position on to his right off left-arm spinner South the first day of the second Test Suleiman Benn when he had 26. Africa’s in Port Elizabeth, yesterday. One ball after Du Plessis’ sec- Dean Elgar d’Or prospects South Africa were 270 for two ond escape, the left-handed Elgar plays at the close after being sent in to went down the wicket to Benn and a shot BERLIN: Germany’s World bat in overcast conditions at St was well out of his ground as the during the Cup winning goalkeeper Manuel George’s Park. ball squeezed through to hit low first day of Neuer on Friday played down Elgar made a Test-best 121 and on the pad of captain and wick- the second his prospects of securing the shared a second wicket partner- etkeeper Denesh Ramdin. Elgar Test World Player of the Year award ship of 179 with Du Plessis, who was on 48 and to add insult to against over holder Cristiano Ronaldo finished the day on 99 not out. the disappointed bowler he went the West and Lionel Messi. The West Indies missed four down the wicket again and lofted “I’m certainly not favour- Indies at chances to break the Elgar-Du Benn to the straight boundary to ite,” the Bayern Munich star S.George Plessis stand. The West Indian raise his fifty. told German daily Süddeutsche bowlers could feel aggrieved as Elgar could have been run out Park Zeitung. they bowled with much better on 73. After a mix-up with Du in Port “The other two are interna- control and discipline than they Plessis, he was several metres Elizabeth, tional ‘marques’, they’ve clearly did in Centurion where they were short of safety when Kenroy yesterday. got an advantage.” heavily beaten by an innings and Peters’ throw from midwicket If Neuer does receive the 220 runs in the first Test. missed the stumps at the bowler’s Ballon d’Or he will be the first end. of his countrymen to do so since West Indian troubles did not Lothar Matthaus in 1990 and only Scoreboard end with the missed chances. the second goalkeeper after Lev South Africa (I innings): Benn left the field after falling his second at St George’s Park reaching a half-century off 137 play Test cricket for South Africa. Yashin, of the then Soviet Union, D Elgar c Ramdin b Peters ...... 121 heavily while trying to stop an - where he has now scored 323 balls. He faced 228 balls before He replaced the injured Quinton in 1963. A N Petersen c Johnson b Gabriel ...... 17 Elgar drive. runs in three Tests at an average the close and hit 12 fours and de Kock. He was the 85th player For Germany coach Joachim F du Plessis (batting) ...... 99 Holder was prevented from of 107.66 compared to 362 runs at two sixes. to be capped since South Africa Loew, the 28-year-old would be a H M Amla (batting) ...... 17 bowling in Benn’s place in the 22.62 in 11 appearances at other Elgar and Alviro Petersen put returned to Test cricket in 1992. worthy recipient. Extras (LB-4, W-5, NB-7) ...... 16 next over because he had not venues. on 47 for the first wicket before Leg-spinner Imran Tahir “Manuel deserves this reward, Total (for 2 wkts) ...... 270 been on the field long enough It was slow going for much of Petersen played a rash stroke replaced seamer Kyle Abbott, he’s taken the game to a new To bat: A B de Villiers, S van Zyl, T Bavuma, V after being treated for a hand the day, with South Africa sel- against Shannon Gabriel and was with spin expected to be a factor dimension,” Loew told domestic D Philander, D W Steyn, M Morkel, Imran Tahir. injury. Instead Taylor had to fill dom getting their run rate above caught by Leon Johnson, running on the St George’s Park pitch. news agency SID, subsidiary to Fall of wickets: 1-47, 2-226. in at a time when he would have three an over. Elgar took 127 balls back from cover. AB de Villiers, who will con- AFP. Bowling: J E Taylor 19-4-64-0 (2nb, 1w); K expected to be resting up ahead of to reach 50 and 208 balls for his Peters and Gabriel were among tinue to keep wicket innings in Neuer, Ronaldo, who has K Peters 15-6-44-1; J O Holder 13-5-25-0 taking the second new ball. century. three seam bowling changes in the first Test after De Kock’s claimed the FIFA honour twice, (1nb); S T Gabriel 15-0-52-1 (3nb); S J Benn Benn returned in time to bowl He batted with more fluency the West Indian bowling line-up, injury, played in his 97th consecu- and Messi, a four-time winner, 25-3-81-0 (1nb); M N Samuels 1-1-0-0. four overs before the close as the later in his innings and had with the tall Holder also getting tive Test since his debut ten years are the three finalists for the West Indies: D Ramdin (capt), K Brathwaite, West Indies delayed taking the faced 239 deliveries, hitting 18 his first game of the series. ago. De Villiers moved one ahead 2014 Ballon d’Or with the winner D Smith, L Johnson, M Samuels, S Chander- new ball until the last over of the fours, when he edged a catch to Batsman Temba Bavuma of Australia’s Adam Gilchrist, the announced on January 12. AFP paul, J Holder, J Taylor, S Benn, S Gabriel, K day. Ramdin off debutant left-arm became the sixth black African previous record-holder for most Peters. The left-handed Elgar made seamer Kenroy Peters. Du Plessis - and the first since Lonwabo consecutive Tests from his debut his third Test century - and was even slower than Elgar in Tsotsobe four seasons ago - to in the longer version. AFP Toure favourite for African honour

CAIRO: Manchester City’s Qatar Optimist Cup 2014 kicks off today Yaya Toure will be favourite to collect a record fourth succes- DOHA: The six-day Qatar Turkey, India and Netherlands sive African Footballer of the Optimist Cup 2014 – contested will have one girl competitor each Year crown after he was named by 32 Sailors from eleven coun- in the event. in the list of final three nomi- tries - will kick off from today As many as three races will be nees by the Confederation of This at Katara’s Cultural Village. competed per day, depending on African Football. December The event, which is open for the weather conditions. The Ivory Coast midfielder 2013 file competitors born in 1999 or after, Hosts Qatar will field a total of faces competition from Borussia photo shows is organised by Qatar Sailing and 13 sailors in the weeklong event. Dortmund and Gabon forward action from Rowing Federation (QSRF) in The Qatari squad includes Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the last cooperation with Doha Sailing Khairadin Bu Shama, Zeyad as well as Nigeria goalkeeper edition of Club. The event will end on Al Awalma, Yasin Benzarti, Vincent Enyeama, who plays for the Qatar January 2. Ali Al Sharshani, Abdullah Al Lille. Optimist Besides hosts Qatar, sailors Sharshani, Moshin Al Sharshani, Toure has collected the award Cup. The from Algeria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Mohammad Al Sharshani, Ali Al for the last three years, matching China, Denmark, Germany, India, Marhoun, Rashid Al Awalma, the feat achieved by Cameroon’s 2014 edition Netherlands, Switzerland and Abdulrahman Al Nasr, Ghanim Samuel Eto’o and Ghana’s Abedi of the event Turkey will be seen in action at Al Sulait and Rashid Talfat. Pele. starts today the championship. Meanwhile the Organising Victory again would mean he at Katara’s The first day is reserved for Committee chaired by Khalifa joins Eto’o on four titles overall Cultural practice and also for the opening Al Suwaidi, the QSRF President but would be the first player to Village. ceremony while one day is set held coordination meeting with reach that milestone in consecu- aside for team racing. different committees to discuss tive seasons. The winner will be Qatar is one of the four coun- organisational issues and ahead announced in Lagos on January 8 tries which will field sailors in of the championship. after votes from head coaches of both the boys and girls categories. THE PENINSULA the 56 associations. REUTERS Most Popular Bangladeshi Newspaper

PROTHOM ALO WEEKLY SATURDAY 27 DECEMBER 2014 Published every Thursday SPORT www.thepeninsulaqatar.com 21 Available in all leading stores in Qatar       Tel: 4465 0600 Email: [email protected]

Qatar prepare for Estonia friendly

Qatar team’s players attend a training session ahead of their friendly match against Estonia, to be played today at the Lekhwiya Stadium. The friendly match is a part of Qatar’s preparations for next month’s Asian Cup to be played in Australia. The Qatar squad under the supervision of head coach Djamel Belmadi, started training on Wednesday for the Estonia friendly. Soon after the game, the national squad will depart for Australia via a chartered flight and will reach Canberra tomorrow. The Asian Cup will be played on January 9 to 31. Qatar have been drawn in Group C along with Iran, the UAE and Bahrain. RIGHT: Qatari star Khalfan Ibrahim (right) kicks the ball as coach Belmadi looks during the training session. Chelsea, City notch up victories United deny festive cheer to New Castle, Liverpool end winless run on Boxing Day

LONDON: Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United showed their rivals no seasonal cheer yesterday as they pulled away from the pack in the Premier League with one-sided Boxing Day victories. Leaders Chelsea set the tone by overcoming West Ham United 2-0. City followed suit with a 3-1 success at West Bromwich Albion and United kept pace by beat- ing Newcastle United 3-1, with Wayne Rooney scoring twice and making one. Chelsea continue to lead City by three points, with United seven points further back, while West Ham’s loss allowed Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, Swansea City and Liverpool to make up ground in the race for the top four. Goals in each half from John Terry and Diego Costa – his 13th of the campaign – earned Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea a one-sided home win over West Ham, who slipped to fifth. West Ham were expected to provide a stern test after a run of five games without defeat, but despite Morgan Amalfitano hitting the post late on, Sam Allardyce’s team were well beaten in what was the London rivals’ 100th encounter. “We played a very good game against a very difficult opponent. When we scored, we had the game always under control,” Mourinho told Sky Sports. “I am really happy. We are doing very well.” City were again without injured strikers Sergio Manchester City’s Spanish midfielder Jesus Navas applauds supporters after the English Premier League match against West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns in West Bromwich, central Aguero and Edin Dzeko at a England, yesterday. RIGHT: Chelsea’s Ivorian striker Didier Drogba (right) vies with West Ham United’s English midfielder Kevin Nolan during their EPL match at the Stamford Bridge in snow-splattered Hawthorns, but London, yesterday. they made short work of West

Brom regardless, to register a Rooney broke the deadlock in the top four, three points below Sigurdsson’s curling 13th-minute Adam Johnson put Sunderland English Premier ninth consecutive victory. the 23rd minute, tapping in after United, by winning 3-1 at Crystal free-kick. Liverpool ended a run ahead in the first minute, but Fernando punished an error by a sliding Radamel Falco steered Palace, who slipped into the rel- of three games without victory by Ramirez equalised with a specula- League Results goalkeeper Ben Foster to put City Juan Mata’s pass across goal, and egation zone. winning 1-0 at Burnley through tive shot and then teed up James ahead in the eighth minute, with added a second goal 13 minutes Sadio Mane rounded Allan Raheem Sterling’s first league Chester before Nikica Jelavic LONDON: English Premier a Yaya Toure penalty and a David later with an assured finish from McGregor to put the visitors goal since September. added a third in injury time. League results yesterday: Silva goal extending the visitors’ Mata’s pass. ahead in the 17th minute, with Liverpool lost goalkeeper Brad In the last match of the day, Burnley 0 Liverpool 1 (Sterling 62) lead before Brown Ideye scored a The United captain, who played quick-fire goals by defenders Ryan Jones to injury, which saw the Arsenal exploited West Ham’s Chelsea 2 (Terry 31, Costa 62) West Ham 0 late consolation. in midfield again, teed up Robin Bertrand and Toby Alderweireld dropped Simon Mignolet sum- defeat by edging Queens Park Crystal Palace 1 (Dann 86) Southampton 3 “I am very pleased with the van Persie to head home the making the game safe before moned from the bench, and Rangers 2-1, despite losing Olivier (Mane 17, Bertrand 48, Alderweireld 53) performance,” said City manager hosts’ third eight minutes into the Scott Dann scored late on. Merseyside rivals Everton also Giroud to a second-half red card. Everton 0 Stoke 1 (Bojan 38-pen) Manuel Pellegrini. second half, before Papiss Cisse Tottenham also exploited West lost their goalkeeper in a 1-0 Alexis Sanchez saw an early “It was very difficult to play, replied with a late penalty. Ham’s defeat by winning 2-1 at defeat at home to Stoke City. penalty saved by Rob Green, Leicester 1 (Ulloa 48) Tottenham 2 (Kane 1, especially in the second half. In “We make progress in every bottom club Leicester City. Tim Howard was forced off in but atoned by heading in Kieran Eriksen 71) the first 45 minutes, both teams game, but we are also doing bad Christian Eriksen’s 71st-minute the second half at Goodison Park, Gibbs’s drilled cross in the 17th Manchester United 3 (Rooney 23, 36, Van could play and we did very well things in every game and we have free-kick secured victory after after Bojan Krkic had scored the minute. Persie 53) Newcastle 1 (Cisse 87-pen) and scored three goals. In the sec- to improve that,” United manager Leonardo Ulloa had cancelled out game’s only goal from the penalty Giroud was sent off for lower- Sunderland 1 (Johnson 1) Hull 3 (Ramirez ond half, it was more difficult.” Louis van Gaal told BT Sport. Harry Kane’s first-minute opener spot in the 38th minute. ing his head into Nedum Onuoha’s 33, Chester 51, Jelavic 90) Manchester United returned “But I’m satisfied because we for Spurs. In the day’s other game, Gaston face early in the second period, Swansea 1 (Sigurdsson 13) Aston Villa 0 to winning ways following last are dominating a lot of games. Swansea climbed as well, mov- Ramirez scored one and made but Sanchez teed up Tomas West Brom 1 (Ideye 87) Manchester City 3 weekend’s 1-1 draw at Aston We’re not always winning, but ing to within four points of the another as Hull City escaped from Rosicky to make it 2-0 before (Fernando 8, Toure 13-pen, Silva 34) Villa by sinking Newcastle at Old that is coming.” Champions League places by beat- the bottom three by coming from Charlie Austin replied with a Arsenal 2 QPR 1 Trafford. Southampton moved into ing Aston Villa 1-0 thanks to Gylfi behind to win 3-1 at Sunderland. 79th-minute penalty. AFP SATURDAY 27 DECEMBER 2014 22 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com BREAK TIME

Into The Woods (2D/Comedy) SHOWING AT VILLAGGIO & CITY CENTER TV 1 – 10:00 AM, 12:05 PM, 2:00 PM, 4:00 PM, 6:00 PM, 8:00 PM, LISTINGS TEL: 444933989 444517001 10:00 PM, 11:55 PM Paddington (2D/Comedy) 2 – 10:30 AM, 1:00 PM, 3:30 PM, 6:10 PM, 8:30 PM, 11:00 PM Annie (2D/Comedy) 3 – 11:00 AM, 1:30 PM, 4:00 PM, 6:30 PM, 9:00 PM, 11:40 PM Better Off Ted Narayan Sewa The Water Diviner (2D/Drama) 12:40 Alaska: The Last 8:00 News 13:00 7:30 4 – 10:00 AM, 12:15 PM, 2:30 PM, 4:45 PM, , 9:15 PM, 11:35 PM Frontier 8:30 Earthrise 13:30 My Name Is Sangh Home (2D/Horror) – 7:00pm 13:30 Alaska: The Last 9:00 Al Jazeera World Earl 09:00 Trendsetters of Camp X-Ray (2D/Drama) – 10:15 AM, 12:30 PM, 2:45 PM, Frontier 10:00 News 14:00 Last Man Bollywood 5 5:00 PM, 7:15 PM, 9:30 PM, 11:30 PM 14:20 Alaska: The Last 10:30 Inside Story Standing 09:30 Khana Khazana Omar Wa Salwa (2D/Comedy/Arabic) Frontier 11:00 News 16:00 The Colbert 11:30 Snack Attack 6 – 10:50 AM, 1:00 PM, 3:15 PM, 5:30 PM, 7:45 PM, 12:15 AM 15:10 Alaska: The Last 11:30 The Stream Report Firangi Twist Home (2D/Horror)– 10:00pm Frontier 12:00 News 17:00 Late Night With 12:00 Bollywood Cut Night At The Museum: Secret of The Tomb 16:00 Gold Rush 12:30 101 East Seth Meyers 13:00 Mad About 7 (2D/Comedy) – 10:40 AM, 12:40 PM, 4:40 PM , 9:10 PM 16:50 Gold Rush 13:00 NEWSHOUR 18:30 Modern Family Dance Tusk (2D/Comedy) – 2:40 PM, 6:50 PM,11:20 PM 17:40 Alaskan Bush 14:00 News 19:00 Modern Family 16:00 Zee Connect P.K. (Hindi) (2D/Comedy) 19:30 Young & Season 4 8 People 14:30 Inside Story – 11:00 AM, 2:00 PM, 5:00 PM, 8:00 PM, 11:05 PM 18:30 Get Out Alive With 15:00 Crude Harvest: Hungry 16:30 10 on 10 The Hobbit: The Battle of The Five Armies Bear Grylls Selling Mexico’s Oil 20:00 The Tonight 18:00 Neeli Chatri 9 (IMAX 3D/Adventure) 19:20 Deadly Islands 16:00 NEWSHOUR Show Starring Waale – 10:10 AM, 12:50 PM, 3:30 PM, 6:10 PM, 8:50 PM, 11:30 PM 20:10 Manhunt 17:00 News Jimmy Fallon 19:00 Sapne Suhane Into The Woods (2D/Comedy) 21:00 Garage Gold 17:30 The Stream 21:00 The Daily Show Ladakpan Ke 10 – 11:15 AM, 1:45 PM, 4:15 PM, 6:45 PM, 9:15 PM, 11:50 PM Garage Gold NEWSHOUR Global Edition 19:30 Jodha Akbar Winx Club: Mystery of the Abbys (2D/Action) – 3:00pm 21:25 18:00 21:30 The Colbert 20:00 Jamai Raja 1 Into The Woods (2D/Comedy) – 5:00 & 7:15pm 21:50 Dukes Of Haggle 19:00 News Omar Wa Salwa (2D/Comedy/Arabic) – 9:30pm 22:15 Dukes Of Haggle 19:30 Innovate Africa The Water Diviner (2D/Drama) – 11:30pm 22:40 Dukes Of Haggle 20:00 News Annie (2D/Comedy) – 2:30 & 6:15pm 23:05 Airplane Repo 20:30 Inside Story 2 Winx Club: Mystery of the Abbys (2D/Action) – 4:30pm 23:55 Street Outlaws 21:00 NEWSHOUR MALL Paddington (2D/Comedy) – 8:30pm 00:45 The Fighters 22:00 News 10:00 Keeping The 05:40 TCM Presents P.K. (Hindi) (2D/Comedy) –10:30pm 01:35 How It’s Made 22:30 TechKnow Faith-PG15 Under The...-U Tusk (2D/Comedy) – 2:30pm 02:00 How It’s Made 23:00 Head to Head 3 12:30 Hitchhiker’s 07:00 Meet Me In St. Night At The Museum: Secret of The Tomb Guide To The Louis (2D/Comedy) – 4:15pm Galaxy-PG15 08:55 Bells Are Ringing Ormayundo Ee Mukham (2D/Malayalam) – 6:00pm 14:30 Mystery, 11:00 Ben-Hur-PG P.K. 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(Hindi) (2D/Comedy) – 10.45pm 08:30 The Adventures Of Australia Lebowski- Under The...-U Annie (2D/Comedy) – 2:30pm Huckleberry...-FAM 11:00 Happy Endings 22:00 Cool Hand Luke 3 Vellaikara Durai (2D/Tamil) – 4:45pm 10:20 High Society-FAM 11:25 Happy Endings Omar Wa Salwa (2D/Comedy/Arabic) – 7:15pm 12:10 The Wings Of 12:00 Melissa & Joey The Water Diviner (2D/Drama) – 9:15pm Eagles-FAM 12:25 Melissa & Joey Tusk (2D/Comedy) – 11:30pm 13:55 TCM Presents Under 13:00 Army Wives Night At The Museum: Secret of The Tomb The...-U 15:30 Fit For Fashion 1 (2D/Comedy) – 2.30pm 12:10 The Wings Of 16:30 The Listener 05:00 The Great Ghost 10:00 Megacities P.K. (Hindi) (2D/Comedy) – 4.15 & 10.45pm Eagles-FAM 17:30 How I Met Your Rescue-PG 12:00 Diggers Into The Woods (2D/Comedy) – 7:00pm 13:55 TCM Presents Under Mother 07:00 Dawn Rider- 12:30 Diggers The...-U 17:55 How I Met Your 09:00 Ender’s Game- 13:00 Hard Time Paddington (2D/Comedy) – 9:15pm 14:30 The Main Attraction- Mother 11:00 Superman: 14:00 Chasing UFOs ROYAL 16:00 Penelope-FAM 18:30 According To Jim Unbound-PG 15:00 Jurassic C.S.I. Winx Club: Mystery of the Abbys (2D/Action) – 2:30 & 4.30pm 17:40 Invasion Quartet- 18:55 According To Jim 13:00 The Croods-PG 17:00 Naked Science 2 Night At The Museum: Secret of The Tomb 19:05 Courage Of Lassie- 19:30 Grey’s Anatomy 15:00 Austenland- 18:00 Master Of PLAZA (2D/Comedy) – 6.30pm 20:35 Valley Of The Kings- 20:15 Grey’s Anatomy 17:00 Ender’s Game- Disaster Camp X-Ray (2D/Drama) – 8:30pm A Good Day To Jurassic C.S.I. 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HYPER C RSO S W O RD 123456789 1011121314 4 Strabismus 27 Messiah 5 1901 Kipling book 29 Hung out to dry 15 16 6 Big ___ 30 Groks 7 Words before 33 Kind of pump 17 18 “to be born” 34 Beauty and “to die” in 35 Goes head to 19 20 21 22 Ecclesiastes head 8 Not this type?: 23 24 25 26 27 36 “Trust me” Abbr. 37 “My Big Fat Greek 9 Change course at 28 29 30 31 Wedding” writer/ sea star 10 Physicist ___- 32 33 34 38 “Go, team, go!,” Marie Ampère e.g. 11 Common 35 36 37 38 42 GPS line: Abbr. conjunction 44 Wove (through) Yesterday’s answer 12 Looking sheepish, 39 40 45 Sooner or later say How to play Hyper Sudoku: 46 Wee A Hyper Sudoku Puzzle is solved by filling the numbers from 1 to 9 into the blank cells. A Hyper 13 Southern city 41 42 43 44 45 46 48 U.S. chain Sudoku has unlike Sudoku 13 regions (four regions overlap with the nine standard regions). In all that’s the stores since 1985 regions the numbers from 1 to 9 can appear only once. Otherwise, a Hyper Sudoku is solved like 47 48 49 setting for a normal Sudoku. “Midnight in the 49 Cartoon dog Garden of Good 52 Setback 50 51 52 53 54 53 It’s by no means a How to play Kakuro: and Evil” long shot The kakuro grid, unlike in sudoku, can be of any 55 56 57 58 59 14 Beauty’s partner size. It has rows and columns, and dark cells 21 Celeb who got 56 Football stat: Abbr. like in a crossword. And, just like in a crossword, 58 Scammer’s target 60 61 the 2,500th star some of the dark cells will contain numbers. Some on the Hollywood 59 Mark on a card cells will contain two numbers. Walk of Fame in 62 63 However, in a crossword the numbers reference 2013 clues. In a kakuro, the numbers are all you get! They denote the total of the digits in the row or 24 Easy runs column referenced by the number. 25 Trellis strip ACROSS 41 Abdominal and lower-back Within each muscles, collectively collection of cells 1 Modern traffic director? AL I EN ABDUCT ION - called a run - any 10 Punk theme 42 Embarrassed of the numbers 1 15 London’s ___ Barnett 43 Unleashes on VIOLA MIDPOINTS to 9 may be used School 47 Writes a Dear John letter, GENI I ANTARCT I C but, like sudoku, 16 News anchor O’Donnell say each number may 49 Novelist Isabel only be used once. 17 One who’s not out all CLOSET OSOS night? 50 Where one PR I SMS I NN Yesterday’s 18 Steer might take a bullet: Abbr. answer 19 T-Pain and Ice-T output 51 Some seaweeds WRO TET OTEET OTAL 20 Time’s 1963 Man of the 54 Actor Franco of “Now You ET AS OBESE TENET Year, informally See Me” 22 Pick up 55 Skateboard trick named TIET OLEOTET ES Baby Blues By Jerry Scott and Rick Kirkman 23 John or James after its originator ESTA ET ICKET HMO 26 Fashion designer Marshall 57 Not reserved 28 Et ___ 60 Female lead in “Brigadoon” REEK ING HOME IN 29 Back 61 They’ll never hold water NAH TERESA 31 Ship captained by Vicente 62 Big celebrations Yáñez Pinzón 63 Paid a visit FAHD COW ARDS 32 West of Nashville F I REEATER ESTER 34 “Martin Chuzzlewit” villain DOWN 35 Silver screen name? 1 President beginning in OVEREXERT RUBLE 39 “___ Pleasure” (Charlie 1995 BEARDLESS SPASM Chaplin movie) 2 Delaware Valley Indians ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE 40 Fixed, as lining 3 Hip place

SATURDAY 27 DECEMBER 2014 24 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com MORNING BREAK

PRAYER TIME Snow in Berlin

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WEATHER Weather Today Sunday Monday Conditions: Clear Partly cloudy Partly cloudy Moderate temperature High: 23° High: 26° High: 27° during the day Low: 17° Low: 17 Low: 20° with some clouds, and relatively cold by night. DOHA - SUN & SEA

SUN TIDE SEA SUNRISE | SUNSET HIGH | LOW WIND 06:17 16:53 08:00 & 20:00 00:30 & 15:30 08-16/20 KT

THE REGION TODAY TOMORROW

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MUSCAT 27/18 Partly cloudy 28/21 Clear MAKKAH 33/22 Clear 33/22 Partly cloudy KUWAIT 23/11 Partly cloudy 27/11 Clear BAHRAIN 21/14 Clear 25/15 Clear A man walks through the snow-covered Glienicke Palace forest during sunset after the first snowfall in Berlin, yesterday. SANAA 21/05 Clear 22/05 Clear RIYADH 26/13 Partly cloudy 27/16 Clear DUBAI 27/17 Clear 26/17 Clear BAGHDAD 16/10 Partly cloudy 20/10 Partly cloudy The Interview THE WORLD TODAY TOMORROW PlayStation, Xbox offline takes in $1m in HI/LO WEATHER HI/LO WEATHER

ATHENS 12/06 Clear 15/14 Partly cloudy limited release WASHINGTON 12/05 Partly cloudy 10/04 Rain in ‘hacker attack’ LOS ANGELES: Madcap SYDNEY 24/18 Partly cloudy 22/17 Rain WASHINGTON: The online comedy The Interview took in LONDON 05/01 Rain 05/-1 Clear gaming networks for Sony’s one million dollars in its lim- PARIS 07/-1 Rain 00/-3 Clear PlayStation and Microsoft’s ited release opening day, Sony ISTANBUL 10/02 Rain 09/07 Clear Xbox consoles — hot gifts this Studios said yesterday, after the MANILA 27/23 Partly cloudy 28/21 Partly cloudy Christmas — went dark in what film was turned away by major DHAKA 25/14 Clear 25/14 Clear hackers said was a coordinated theatres. DELHI 12/05 Clear 11/04 Clear attack. “The limited release, in under ISLAMABAD 18/05 Partly cloudy 18/04 Clear The disruption started 10 percent of the amount of thea- Christmas Day and went into tres originally planned, featured yesterday, PlayStation and Xbox numerous sellouts and a first-day said on their Twitter feeds, adding gross over $1m,” said Rory Bruer, that they were working to restore global distribution president from service. Sony Pictures. Doggy love works A subsequent message posted After initially planning to halt to the Xbox status page early yes- release of the film that sparked terday upgraded service to “lim- an international incident, The ited” — a sign that support teams Interview opened in about 300 cin- wonders in Italy jail were making inroads in fixing the emas, mostly small independent problem. theatres, on December 25. BOLLATE: With a bark of with people with Alzheimer’s or A new Twitter user going by the The film was also released excitement, Titti, Tato and children with psychophysical name “Lizard Squad” took credit online for rental or purchase. Carmela scamper down the cor- problems, with the same dignity for the disruption, claiming it had An error message appears when trying to log in to the Sony PlayStation Major US theatre chains ridors of the Bollate prison near it’s been done with us,” he said, as the “nation on strings.” network for the online game Call Of Duty Advanced Warfare, in New York announced last week that they Milan and are enveloped by Titti, tired out by the game, settles The name is the same used by City, yesterday. would not show the film after prisoners who shower them with down for a snooze nearby. a group of hackers that has tar- threats from hackers who claimed treats, pats and hugs. The theory of using animals geted Sony in the past, though account said yesterday: “We’re While a direct connection a cyberattack of Sony Studios. It’s pet therapy day, and Valeria as agents of socialisation and it was not possible to verify the aware that some users are having between The Interview and the The low-brow comedy featur- Gallinotti, founder of the Dogs relaxation dates back to the 18th Twitter account’s authentic- issues logging into PSN - engi- service disruptions could not be ing Seth Rogen and James Franco Inside association, has brought her century. ity. The account did not return neers are investigating.” confirmed, some gamers were con- revolves around the fictional assas- labrador, doberman and a mon- Later Sigmund Freud and request for comment and only Its @AskPlayStation Twitter vinced a link exists. sination of North Korean leader grel to play with inmates in Italy’s Florence Nightingale favoured the became active Wednesday. account wrote early yesterday, a “I blame that darn movie The Kim Jong-Un. It infuriated North model jail, where a host of such use of dogs or other pets during Sony this month was hit by a day after the difficulties began: Interview,” wrote as2009man on Korea, who the US has blamed for initiatives keep repeat offender during sessions or while treating sophisticated hacking attack that “Our engineers are continuing to a PlayStation community forum the cyberattack. rates at a record low. patients. stole massive amounts of data from work hard to resolve the network message board. “Considering the incredibly Convicted murderers and sex It is also a way of tackling soli- its servers. The US has blamed issues users have experienced “It’s the gift that keeps on giv- challenging circumstances, we are offenders scoop up the canines tude within the towering walls at North Korea for the attack, with today. Thanks for your continued ing,” he said. extremely grateful to the people for kisses, burying their hands in the medium-security facility in the hermit state seen as furious at patience!” Another poster to the same all over the country who came their fur and play endless games northern Italy, set up in 2000 as the release of a Sony movie com- Meanwhile, Microsoft on a site forum said he was getting fed up out to experience The Interview on of fetch with tennis balls in the an experimental project designed edy, The Interview, which parodies for its Xbox customers pleaded with the game world’s vulnerabil- the first day of its unconventional prison yard, chasing them oblivi- to cater to prisoners who wish to leader Kim Jong-Un. with its game fans to be patient. ity to repeated denial of service release,” Bruer said in a statement. ous to the rain. study or learn work skills. After initially cancelling the “We’re aware of this issue, and (DDoS) attacks. The film played to packed the- “My dream was to organise pet Maurizio, 36, who was found December 25 release of The we’re working to find a fix ASAP! “A DDos attack is like a semi atres across the US, with many therapy sessions in prison because guilty of ordering five mafia kill- Interview, Sony backtracked and We appreciate your patience in the (truck) driver intentionally jack- viewers coming out to make a it’s the one place where there is a ings and expects to serve at least brought it out in a few US theat- meantime, and we encourage you knifing his rig on a busy interstate statement about free speech. total lack of affection, where dogs 30 years of a sentence which offi- ers and made it available online to retry signing in when you get a and shutting down traffic for a few A file sharing website reported can create calm, good moods, emo- cially ends in 2087, has done time — including through the Xbox chance. We’ll update you as soon hours,” said one gamer, who wrote the film had been illegally down- tional bonds and physical contact,” in over 15 prisons and said Bollate console and, soon, the PlayStation. as we know more,” the message under the name “shadoefax.” loaded over 750,000 times. Gallinotti, 47, told AFP. is “by far the most advanced in Sony’s @PlayStation Twitter said. AFP AFP She volunteers once a week to terms of giving you opportunities teach the prisoners how to train to recreate yourself”. the animals—with treats handed Italy has the second-highest out for sitting, shaking paws and level of prison overcrowding in Meal time lying down—as well as how pet Europe, partly due to the number therapy works so that some can of convicts who commit crimes Blues singer go on to set up their own initia- once released, landing them back tives once released. behind bars. Adams dead “I have always loved animals, I While 78 percent of prisoners in had a cat and dog at home, and pet Italian jails go on to become repeat NEW YORK: Singer Alberta therapy has been wonderful,” said offenders, in Bollate just 20 per- Adams, who was known as Nazareno Caporali, who is serving cent do so. Detroit’s “Queen of the Blues” life for murder, With training for cooks, electri- before a career resurgence in The 53-year-old, who divides his cians and carpenters, as well as her 80s, has died at age 97, her time between the dogs and study- courses such as painting, yoga and label said yesterday. ing for a third university degree, gardening on offer, there’s a wait- “On the big scale, she was really said he wanted to pass on the joys ing list to get in. the last of the great post-World of pet therapy to others. In exchange for a chance to War II blues singers,” said RJ “I hope one day we will be able spend their mornings playing ten- Spangler, who helped her relaunch to give to someone else what we nis, learning a foreign language or her career in the 1990s through have received, by doing pet therapy playing with dogs, inmates must his Eastlawn jazz and blues label. agree to conditions including living Adams started as a tap dancer with sexual offenders, traditionally in Detroit clubs before her break housed separately. filling in for ill singer Kitty Nicolo Vergani, 25, a former Red Stevenson. She soon became Cross volunteer, said he wanted to booked to perform with blues work with animals once he has fin- greats, including T-Bone Walker, ished serving time for sexual acts Louis Jordan, John Lee Hooker with minors, and hopes to special- and jazz pioneer Duke Ellington. ise in zoology after he gains his Birds eat seeds from winter bird feeders made of plastic bags in Przemysl, Poland, yesterday. Local residents Her career eventually was biological science degree. feed the wild birds during frosty weather. reduced to club gigs around AFP Detroit. AFP