COMMUNITY | Pages 4-5 SPORT | Page 1 War epic Bublik 1917 wins causes best fi rst shock drama fi lm in Qatar, Golden Verdasco Globe advances published in QATAR since 1978 TUESDAY Vol. XXXX No. 11420 January 7, 2020 Jumada I 12, 1441 AH GULF TIMES www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals Protest against Ugandan pop-star MP’s arrest In brief US top offi cial QATAR | Phone call Amir, Mahdi discuss denies decision Iraq developments His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani held yesterday evening a telephone conversation to leave Iraq with Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi. During the phone call, they discussed the developments in Iraq and eff orts being made to reduce Earlier reports said US has notified tension to maintain security and Baghdad of its troop withdrawal stability in the country and the entire region. for onward movement,” read a letter ARAB WORLD | Confl ict AFP/Reuters Washington/Baghdad from United States Marine Corps Brig- UN Libya envoy blames adier General William H Seely III, the commanding general of Task Force Iraq strike on Haft ar ally S Defence Secretary Mark Es- to his Iraqi counterpart. The United Nations Libya envoy per denied yesterday that US The authenticity of the letter, which said yesterday that a country Uforces would pull out of Iraq, was addressed to the Iraqi defence supporting commander Khalifa Supporters of Ugandan singer-turned-politician Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine react near a police station after after a US general’s letter told the Iraqi ministry’s Combined Joint Operations Haftar’s self-styled Libyan he was arrested on charges of unlawful assembly before starting his first public meeting in his constituency ahead government that troops were prepar- Baghdad, was confi rmed to Reuters National Army (LNA) was likely of presidential election next year in Kasangati town, suburb of Kampala yesterday. Wine, a popular figure among ing to depart “in due deference to the independently by an Iraqi military responsible for a deadly drone young Ugandans, announced last year he would challenge the incumbent President in the 2021 elections, and was sovereignty” of the country. source. attack on a military academy in scheduled to begin a week-long series of consultations ahead of the vote yesterday. “There is no decision whatsoever to “We respect your sovereign decision the capital Tripoli. After briefing leave Iraq... There has been no decision to order our departure,” it said. the UN Security Council, a visibly made to leave Iraq. Period,” Esper said, “In order to conduct this task, Coa- frustrated Ghassan Salame one day after the Iraqi parliament voted lition Forces are required to take cer- had a message for countries in favour of ordering the US military out. tain measures to ensure that the move- supporting either Haftar’s LNA “That letter is inconsistent with ment out of Iraq is conducted in a safe or the internationally-recognised where we are right now,” Esper added. and effi cient manner,” said the letter, Government of National Accord HMC introduces drones to Explaining the confusion, Pentagon dated Jan 6. (GNA): “Keep out of Libya.” Page 6 Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley As the letter was signed by a US of- said the offi cial US letter informing fi cial, it was not immediately clear AUSTRALIA | Environment Iraq that American troops would begin whether it applied to forces from the Govt sets $1.4bn for boost emergency service pulling out was “genuine” but not in- 76 countries which make up the inter- tended to be sent at this time. national coalition. ‘long road’ aft er fi res “This was a mistake from McKen- A US defence offi cial and an Iraqi Reserve troops fanned out mparting a quantum boost to “The introduction of the drones is routes,” the offi cial explained. zie,” Milley told reporters, referring defence offi cial confi rmed the letter across fire-ravaged regions in its capabilities, Hamad Medical another step forward for the Ambu- The drones are controlled by Am- to US Central Command commander was real and had been delivered. three Australian states yesterday ICorporation’s (HMC) Ambulance lance Service and further enhances bulance Service staff close to the in- General Frank McKenzie. “It shouldn’t It said helicopters would be travel- after a horror weekend, as the Service has begun using drones to en- our ability to provide high-quality cident scene. have been sent,” Milley said. ling in and around the Green Zone as government pledged $1.4bn over hance assessment of incident scenes emergency services to Qatar’s popu- However, the drones can fl y long According to earlier reports, the part of the preparations. two years to help recover from the to ensure the very best medical re- lation,” explained Thomas Reimann, distances from the operator by pre- United States-led military coalition AFP could hear helicopters fl ying devastating months-long crisis. sponse can be delivered. executive director, Healthcare Co- programming a determined fl ight against Islamic State said that it was low over Baghdad throughout yester- Catastrophic bushfires have turned The drones help the Ambulance ordination and Support Services at path. pulling out of Iraq and would be repo- day night. swathes of land into smouldering, Service teams undertake a thorough HMC’s Ambulance Service. Rashid Andaila, senior manager, sitioning forces over the next few days On Sunday, Iraq’s parliament voted blackened hellscapes and assessment of the surrounding areas, “The drones provide a detailed Communication Technologies at and weeks. in favour of rescinding that invitation destroyed an area about the size providing the information needed. overview of a complex scene to help HMC’s Ambulance Service explained “Sir, in deference to the sover- and ousting all foreign troops. of the island of Ireland, according The drones, used for the fi rst time us better understand a wide range of that the drones have already proved eignty of the Republic of Iraq, and as It came in reaction to a US precision to official figures. Authorities warn at the end of September 2019 for the elements, including the number of to be a valuable addition to the serv- requested by the Iraqi Parliament and drone strike on Baghdad that killed Ira- the disaster still has weeks or IAAF World Athletics Champion- causalities involved, what hazards ice. the Prime Minister, CJTF-OIR will be nian general Qasem Soleimani and top months to run. Page 9 ships in Doha, are now being used on are on site, the exact location of am- “We are still in the early stages of repositioning forces over the course of Iraqi commander Abu Mahdi al-Mu- an ‘as-needed basis’. bulance units, and access and egress using the drones, but it is already the coming days and weeks to prepare handis, among others. To Page 5 INDIA | Unrest clear that our ability to fully assess University rampage incident scenes is being enhanced. The most common utilisation of sparks new protests the drones so far has been tether- Protests were held across India ing the drones one hundred metres yesterday after masked assailants directly above the scene, enabling a wielding batons and iron rods bird’s-eye view of the incident,” stat- went on a rampage at a top Delhi ed Andaila. university, leaving more than two “The images can be viewed locally dozen injured. Controversy over through a bespoke viewing case or Sunday’s violence at Jawaharlal streamed to the Mobile Command Nehru University (JNU) comes as a and Control vehicle, or any prede- new challenge to the government fi ned HMC computer. as it confronts major nationwide The drones also improve our ability protests against a new citizenship to assess incident scenes in diffi cult to bill that critics say is anti-Muslim. reach areas, such as the Sealine area. Some students blamed the Through rapid assessment of the university attack on right-wing scene via the drone, we can quickly activists, but they also accused and accurately determine which re- Yemeni Houthi rebels take part in a demonstration in Sanaa yesterday to police of doing nothing to stop the The drones are controlled by HMC Ambulance Service staff close to an sponse units are best suited to the denounce the killing of Iranian major general Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi violence. Page 11 incident scene to enhance its assessment. situation,’’ added Andaila. paramilitary chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. Big rise in reuse of treated wastewater for agriculture By Santhosh V Perumal against 188,000 cu m the previous year West Waste Water Treatment plant, irrigation of green spaces saw a 2% 3.62mn cu m or 15% of the total treated ment across Qatar. Its mandate also in- Business Reporter period; indicating Doha’s pragmatic which is today the country’s largest jump year-on-year to 5.42mn cubic wastewater. Such discharge however cludes the complex IDRIS project – the initiatives towards management and operating wastewater treatment plant. meters, which accounted for 23% of saw 57% and 30% decline year-on- Inner Doha Re-sewerage Implementa- protection of water resources. The increased treatment of waste- total treated wastewater during No- year and month-on-month respec- tion Strategy. atar has substantially strength- Qatar’s treated wastewater stood at water comes amidst 1% increase both vember 2019; even as it reported 17% tively. A key component of its Doha South ened its eff orts towards cleaner 23.54mn cu m out of 23.72mn cu m of year-on-year and month-on-month plunge on a monthly basis. As per Ashghal’s website, among the sewage infrastructure project is the Qenvironment as it refl ected in a wastewater received during Novem- in population to 2.77mn during No- The treated wastewater reused in projects in progress include Doha South gravity based 16-km-long Main Trunk robust double-digit growth in the re- ber last year.