BUSINESS | Page 1 SPORT | Page 1 Qatar face Iran in bid for second INDEX DOW JONES QE NYMEX QATAR 2, 20 COMMENT 17, 18 RasGas delivers fi rst ARAB WORLD 3, 4 BUSINESS 1-12 successive LNG cargo to India’s 16,465.44 9,185.12 31.17 INTERNATIONAL 5-15,19 CLASSIFIED 9 +314.03 -220.26 +0.69 ISLAM 16 SPORT 1-12 Petronet under new deal +1.94% -2.34% +2.26% victory Latest Figures published in QATAR since 1978

FRIDAY Vol. XXXVI No. 9968 January 15, 2016 Rabia II 5, 1437 AH

GULF TIMES www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals Qatar hikes In brief petrol price, QATAR | Reconstruction Houses for Palestinian families from tomorrow Palestinian Minister of Public Works and Housing Mofeed al-Hasayneh, diesel stays and the Chairman of the Qatari Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza, Ambassador Mohamed HH the Deputy Emir Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad al-Thani met at his Emiri Diwan off ice yesterday with the UN High al-Emadi, announced in a joint press Commissioner for Human Rights Prince Zeid bin Ra’ad al-Hussein and his accompanying delegation. During the meeting, they statement yesterday the start of reviewed a number of topics of mutual interest. the distribution of apartments of unchanged HH Sheikh Hamad residential city in the first phase from tomorrow. atar Fuel (Woqod) has hiked them from QR1/litre to QR1.50 for local The statement added that a big petrol prices steeply with eff ect companies, and QR1.80/litre for joint celebration will be held on the Qfrom yesterday midnight. ventures. territory of the city of Khan Younis Following the raise, the price of Su- The earlier rate of QR1 per litre had for distribution of 1,060 housing units UN hails progress in per 97 gasoline is now QR1.30 a litre, been eff ective since late January 2011 with an area 130sq m of each unit. an increase of 30% from the earlier QR1 when distributors suddenly raised the and the price of Premium 90 is QR1.15 a prices of petrol, diesel and kerosene. litre, from QR0.85, a hike of 35%. According to sources, the govern- ARAB WORLD | Confl ict There is no increase in diesel prices. ment decision not to increase diesel ‘Use of starvation a Qatar labour reforms The last hike in petrol prices was in prices will help curb infl ationary trends war crime’: UN chief 2011, while diesel prices went up in as the movement of goods will not be- QNA/Reuters and the positive developments with levels. He also met yesterday with HE 2014. come dearer. Qatar imports a large part The intentional starvation of the Doha regard to the foreign labour rights the Prime Minister and Minister of In- Woqod, a joint-stock company, is of its food and non-food requirements Syrian people in besieged areas record during his meetings with sever- terior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin exclusively responsible for the distri- by road from the UAE and Saudi Arabia. constitutes a war crime, said UN al Qatar offi cials and his visit to the La- Khalifa al-Thani, and a number of the bution of fuel needs in the country. Qatar was the last among the GCC Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. atar has made progress in its bour City, adding that all this progress State’s offi cials. In a circular sent out yesterday, Wo- countries except Kuwait to raise fuel “The use of starvation as a weapon eff orts to improve the lives would not have occurred without the He stressed that the steps taken by qod instructed petrol stations to inform prices in the recent past. Saudi Arabia, of war is a war crime,” Ban says. Qof migrant labourers, the UN political will of the authorities and of- the Qatari government about foreign all customers about the new prices be- Bahrain, the UAE and Oman revised “All sides - including the Syrian High Commissioner for Human Rights fi cials in Qatar. workers employment refl ect a real po- fore dispensing fuel. their respective fuel prices upwards in government which has the primary said in Doha yesterday. During his visit, the UN envoy spoke litical will to address the issues that The meters have to be readjusted in the last six months. responsibility to protect Syrians - are “From what we have seen there is with construction workers while on a relate to employment in the state. The accordance with the new prices. The UAE had increased petrol prices committing this and other atrocious progress. We are convinced there is tour of the new worker accommo- UN High Commissioner for Human “Boards and stickers announcing the by over 24% in July last year, followed acts prohibited under international genuine will to tackle rights issues,” dation camp built on the outskirts Rights welcomed the steps taken by petrol prices have to be replaced in the by Saudi Arabia which in December humanitarian law.” Ban called on Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein told reporters in of Doha by the government to host Qatar regarding this fi le and said that shortest possible time,” it said consid- raised petrol prices by 50%. all international actors to press Doha after a two-day visit to the State. 100,000 foreign workers. the Commission will co-operate with ering the fact that there was only a few Bahrain had on Monday announced a warring parties to allow unimpeded Prince Zeid also condemned the ab- Replying to a question in this regard, Qatar in this regard. hours left to make the changes. hike of more than 50% in petrol prices, humanitarian access. Page 4 duction of a number of Qatari nation- Prince Zeid said: “We found that there Qatar has made progress: A wage Woqod has also asked petrol stations while Oman has set new selling prices als in Iraq, saying it represents a viola- is a clear and tangible achievement protection system requiring compa- to display the announcement about the for domestic gasoline and diesel fuels tion of human rights. regarding the foreign workers’ issue, nies to pay salaried workers by elec- petrol prices hike prominently, for the from today. AFRICA | Health He was speaking at a press confer- through the application of the legisla- tronic bank transfer came into force in benefi t of customers. Kuwait lifted subsidies on diesel and WHO declares end of ence yesterday evening at the conclu- tion, especially the new legislation of November. Petrol stations in Doha last night saw kerosene early 2015. sion of the conference on the role of Kafala system.” He also praised the results of the long queues of motorists rushing to fi ll In Oman, the revised price for gaso- Ebola in West Africa the UN High Commissioner for Hu- He said that he met yesterday with conference in Doha, expressing his up before the new prices took eff ect. line 95 octane will be 0.160 rials per li- The biggest Ebola outbreak in man Rights in the protection and pro- HH the Deputy Emir Sheikh Abdullah deep thanks and appreciation to the Petrol prices in Qatar are still among tre, while the price for 90 octane will be history has ended after raging motion of human rights in the Arab bin Hamad al-Thani, where talks dealt leadership in Qatar, led by HH the Emir the most aff ordable in the world. 0.140 rials per litre. The price for diesel in West Africa for two years, the region. with a number of issues that relate to Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani for In 2014, Qatar raised diesel prices for will be 0.160 rials per litre. Oman is to World Health Organisation (WHO) He said he had noticed this progress human rights at the regional and local hosting this vital and important event. the fi rst time in three years by raising review the new prices monthly. Page 20 declared yesterday in Geneva. The announcement by the UN health agency came 42 days after the last case was confirmed in Liberia, the final of three West African countries with active transmission of the virus. Sierra Leone was declared free of IS suicide attackers hit Indonesian capital Ebola transmission on November 7 and Guinea on December 29. Page 5 sponsibility. Jakarta police said the at- National police spokesman Anton AFP Qatar condemns Jakarta blasts Jakarta tack - which also destroyed a police Charliyan said the Algerian managed AMERICA | Detainees post - was carried out by a network to escape with bullet wounds, but the Guantanamo transfer with links to IS in Syria and indicated second man was shot dead on the spot. Qatar condemned the blasts that rocked condemnation of violence and terrorism ‘signifi cant milestone’ slamic State suicide bombers and Indonesian extremist Bahrum Naim, “Soon afterwards, two men riding... Jakarta yesterday, leaving a number of in all its forms and manifestations, gunmen struck the capital of Indo- thought to have joined the militants, motorbikes, ran into a police post and people killed and injured. In a statement whatever its source or motivation are. The White House said yesterday Inesia yesterday, executing a West- may have been involved in plotting it. blew themselves up,” he said, adding issued yesterday, the Foreign Ministry The statement expressed Qatar’s sincere it had reached a “significant erner and blowing up a Starbucks in an Police said the fi ve-strong cell that four offi cers had been left in a critical denounced the criminal acts that in no condolences to the families of victims milestone” in reducing the number assault police said bore the hallmarks of struck yesterday included three suicide condition. way belong to humanitarian values, and the Indonesian government and of detainees in the military prison at the Paris attacks. bombers who initially targeted a Star- “From what we see today, this group and represent an assault on innocents people, wishing speedy recovery for the Guantanamo Bay to 93, down from The assault on a district packed with bucks near a major shopping mall. is following the pattern of the Paris at- and civilians, reaffi rming Qatar’s wounded. 242 when President Barack Obama malls, embassies and UN offi ces also After the fi rst explosion, men armed tacks,” he added, referring to a wave of first took off ice. “This is a significant left an Indonesian man dead and 20 with pistols took two foreigners hos- killings on the streets of Paris in No- milestone on the road to closing the others injured, in what the country’s tage - an Algerian and a man Ottawa vember that left 130 people dead. “Our nation and our people should “We also condemn the act that has facility,” White House spokesman president called “acts of terror”. said they had been told by Indonesian Indonesian President Joko Widodo not be afraid, we will not be defeated by disturbed the security and peace and Josh Earnest said. Page 3 The Islamic State group claimed re- authorities was a Canadian. urged people to remain calm. these acts of terror,” he said. spread terror among our people.” Page 7 Electronic payment system launched at Woqod fuel stations

By Ramesh Mathew Speaking to journalists, Woqod’s that the chip is active and will con- token and the available balance dis- Staff Reporter IT Department manager Yousef al- tinue to remain on until the nozzle is played on the customer’s registered Sulaiti said the electronic system of removed. mobile number. payment for fi lling fuel would not To avail of the facility, a customer Already, individuals and companies oqod has introduced a sys- only help companies and individual needs to register with any of the fuel owning 60,000 vehicles are currently tem of electronic payment customers to ensure proper fi lling installation facilities of Woqod, in- using tokens issued by the compa- Wat its fuel stations, it was of fuels but would also eliminate the cluding the main station on the Doha- ny for fi lling up their vehicles. They announced yesterday. The ‘Woqodi’ possibility of any fraud being perpe- Industrial Area Road in Abu Hamour. would soon be issued chips and re- system is based on an electronic chip, trated by the personnel at fuel sta- On registration, the customer will be charge tokens. which is delivered to a customer, who tions. intimated on his/her mobile number Replying to a query, the Woqod of- registers with the company. The new electronic system ensures by the company. fi cial said once the whole process is The new system is being imple- that once the fuelling is over, the cus- Once registration formalities are completed, recharge coupons will be mented in three phases. The fi rst phase tomer will be issued an automatic re- completed, recharge tokens will be is- made available at many establishments covers owners of 60,000 vehicles al- ceipt, which includes the location of sued to the customer. However, the de- across the country. Initially they will be ready registered with Woqod and who the fuel station, time, day and quantity nominations of the tokens are still be be available only at the installations and are regularly using the company’s fuel of fuel purchased. decided, said al-Sulaiti while assuring select fuel stations. stations. While the second phase cov- The chip is to be installed on the that they would be reasonably priced. The official also said their com- ers new companies, the third will cover right side of the fuel mouth of a vehi- It could be something like QR350 for pany may introduce a multiple util- the public. cle. Under the new system, once the individual customers and QR500 for ity token with which payments could The entire process of issuing the nozzle of the fuel dispenser touches companies. also be made for LPG cylinders and Woqod IT Department manager Yousef al-Sulaiti demonstrating how the ‘Woqodi’ electronic chip would be completed in the mouth of the petrol tank, a green Once fi lling is over, the exact other services available at Woqod system functions on a vehicle at Woqod station at Legtaifiya yesterday. the current year. light will automatically fl ash to ensure amount will be deducted from the stations. PICTURE: Jayaram Gulf Times 2 Friday, January 15, 2016 QATAR

Qatari expert aims Official to improve quality QC gets licence to Emir issues decrees of patient care HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani yesterday issued the following decrees: he fi rst certifi ed Root work in Pakistan 1. Decree No 1 of 2016 ratifying Cause Analyst in Qatar, an agreement on economic, TDr Moza al-Ishaq, is using he Pakistani authorities technical and scientific her expertise to train local and have granted Qatar Char- co-operation between the regional healthcare profession- Tity (QC) a licence to prac- governments of Qatar and Costa als in the area of risk manage- tise humanitarian work in the Rica signed in Doha on 1/04/ 2014. ment to enhance patient safety country. 2. Decree No 2 of 2016 ratifying within a hospital environment. With this, QC has become one an Agreement between the “Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is of the fi rst two non-government governments of Qatar and South an innovative quality improve- organisations (NGOs) – from Africa on the avoidance of double ment approach that involves the Dr Moza al-Ishaq among 127 applicants – to be taxation and prevention of fiscal investigation of the ‘root cause’ of given a licence to operate in the evasion with respect to taxes an incident or error in order to de- across HMC to encourage staff south Asian country. on income and the protocol velop the most eff ective solutions to be proactive in patient safety. In a statement, QC has said attached thereto signed in and minimise potential risks for “We are dedicated to developing the decision is part of the Paki- Pretoria on 6/03/2015. patients,” explained the executive leaders at every level of the organi- stani authorities’ eff orts to or- 3. Decree No 3 of 2016 ratifying a director of the Corporate Quality sation through ongoing training on ganise the activities of civil soci- Memorandum of Understanding and Patient Safety Programme at the core values of integrity, collab- ety bodies in their territory. (MoU) on co-operation in Hamad Medical Corporation. oration, and innovation. With this All memorandums related to the field of education and This extensive quality im- approach, each member of staff licensing NGOs had been sus- scientific research between the provement process looks at how understands his or her contribu- pended by the Pakistani govern- governments of Qatar and the a particular problem occurs so tion to improving each and every ment since November 2013. NGOs Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine preventive strategies can then one of our patients’ healthcare ex- were required to apply again for signed in Doha on 8/05/2012. be developed to prevent it from perience,” she said. a licence and follow a number of The decrees shall be eff ective reoccurring. Recent improvements also in- standards and mechanisms for from the date of their issuance “Having this sophisticated clude the implementation of a fi eld work in the country. Off icials signing documents to mark the occasion. and shall to be published in the procedure as one of our key im- highly advanced, state-of-the- The fi rst two approved appli- off icial gazette. provement approaches has defi - art incident reporting system. cations are those of QC and the sociation. Its activities cover nitely contributed to a stronger Dr al-Ishaq took the lead on this Belgian Doctors without Borders. the fi elds of health, education, Ratification culture of safety within our fa- signifi cant project which marked Faysal al-Fahida, QC’s di- economic enabling, relief, water cilities,” she said. a tremendous improvement since rector of operations, thanked & sanitation and craft training documents Dr. al-Ishaq has pioneered 2011, involving a shift from a pa- the Pakistani authorities for its centres. several of HMC’s risk manage- per-based to a web-based system. faith in the organisation, saying In the fi eld of social care, QC HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim ment initiatives and staff train- The fi rst Qatari to graduate this proved the credibility and sponsors more than 4,000 or- bin Hamad al-Thani yesterday ing programmes in addition to from the Partners Healthcare In- transparency of Qatar Charity’s phans, poor families and stu- issued the following ratification developing the RCA approach. ternational Fellowship and also work. dents. documents: These include the Risk As- the fi rst Qatari to become an Im- Al-Fahida stressed that QC The offi ce in Pakistan co- 1. Endorsing an air services sessment and Risk Register, the provement Adviser under a pro- conveys, through its offi ces, a operates with local organisa- agreement between the Patient Safety Training Pro- gramme jointly off ered by HMC message of hope to needy people tions to ease the suff ering of the governments of Qatar and gramme, and the HMC Quality and the Institute for Healthcare around the world, regardless of neediest categories of people. It Liberia signed in Doha on May Coaching Programme that focus Improvement, Dr al-Ishaq cur- their identity. also co-ordinates with Unicef to 21, 2014. on incorporating best practices rently supervises a number of The news was also welcomed implement projects pertaining 2. Endorsing an agreement on to aid the delivery of the safest, quality improvement projects by the media in Pakistan, both to water & sanitation, health fa- co-operation and joint news most eff ective and most com- and is an ardent advocate for pa- English and Urdu, as well as by cilities, awareness and suburban exchange between Qatar News passionate care to patients. tient safety. those concerned with humani- seminars and organise festivals Agency (QNA) and the United With the support of multi- She is involved in research tarian work in the country, who on the occasion of Global Hand- News of India (UNI) signed in New disciplinary teams from HMC’s work that focuses on care deliv- felt it important to commend washing Day. Delhi on March 25, 2015. Risk Management Department ery systems, the implementation QC and the way it conducted its The festivals include the dis- One of the projects involved providing houses for poor families in 3. Endorsing a Memorandum of and many medical teams, Dr al- of system change, and clinical work. QC’s offi ce also received tribution of thousands of per- Pakistan. Understanding (MoU) on radio Ishaq has led numerous qual- transformation in healthcare congratulatory calls. sonal hygiene kits to school and TV co-operation between the ity improvement workshops and improvement in the quality QC had started its activities students in Rajanpur, Rahim Yar with Unicef to construct facili- networks for the displaced in governments of Qatar and India for hundreds of staff members of patient care. in Pakistan in 1992 as a local as- Khan and Bannu. QC also works ties for the disabled and sewage Waziristan. signed in New Delhi on March 25, 2015. 4. Endorsing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on scientific and technical co- operation between Qatar’s Civil Qatar condoles German Aviation Authority (QCAA) and the Earth System Science Organisation (ESSO) of India’s Ministry of Earth Sciences signed victims of Istanbul blast in New Delhi on March 25, 2015. 5. Endorsing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on QNA tanbul killing and wound- The statement voiced co-operation in the field of Doha ing a number of German Qatar’s trust and support diplomatic training between the tourists. for eff orts of the Turkish Diplomatic Institute of Qatar’s In a statement issued authorities to preserve se- Foreign Ministry and Indian he Foreign Minis- yesterday, the Foreign curity and stability in the Foreign Ministry’s Foreign Service try stressed Qatar’s Ministry expressed Qa- country, reiterating Qa- Institute signed in New Delhi on Tsolidarity and sym- tar’s condolences to the tar’s fi rm stance in rejec- March 25, 2015. pathy with Germany fol- German government as tion of violence and ter- 6. Endorsing the ratification of a lowing the blast that hit well as its people and fam- rorism in all its forms and Memorandum of Understanding the Sultanahmet district ilies of the victims of that manifestations, whatever (MoU) on co-operation in the in the Turkish city of Is- heinous crime. the motives and causes. field of communications and information technology between Qatar’s Ministry of Information and Communications Technology and India’s Ministry of Communications and Information Year-long traffi c diversion Technology signed in New Delhi on March 25, 2015. Emiri decision from tomorrow near Ikea issued

he Public Works constructed lane leading Road, reaching Wadi Al HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Authority, Ashghal, to Wadi Al Ebb Street. Ebb Street. Motorists from Hamad al-Thani yesterday issued Thas announced a The second section in- the Ikea Store to Al Ebb the Emiri Decision No 1 of 2016 temporary closure and di- cludes the closure of two area will need to use Wadi renewing the membership of the version for one year from lanes stretching over 650m Al Askar Street leading to Board of Directors of the Qatar tomorrow on two sec- on Dohat Um Al Maa Street Wadi Al Ebb Street. Financial Markets Authority tions of Dohat Um Al Maa (two-way section), north The diversion, located (QFMA). Street, east of Al Kharaiti- of the roundabout located within Zone 70 in Al Ebb The decision shall enter into yat Interchange (N8) on east of Al Kharaitiyat In- area, is required to carry force from 17/1/2016 and shall be Al Shamal Road, near the terchange. Traffi c from the out the improvement published in the off icial gazette. Ikea Store (as shown on south will be diverted to a works of Al Kharaitiyat In- the map). newly constructed link road terchange (N8) as part of Emir issues The fi rst section in- between Al Shamal Road and the North Road enhance- cludes the closure of two Dohat Um Al Maa Street, in ment project. decree lanes stretching over 140m front of the Ikea Store. Ashghal will install road on Dohat Um Al Maa Street Traffi c heading from Al signs advising motorists of HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim (one-way section), south Kheesa Interchange to Al the diversion. The author- bin Hamad al-Thani yesterday of the roundabout located Ebb area will be diverted to ity has requested all road issued Decree No 6 of 2016, east of Al Kharaitiyat In- Wadi Al Asma Street, then users to abide by the speed appointing Abdulaziz Mohamed terchange. Traffi c will be to Wadi Al Banat Street, limits, and follow the road Ahmed Qassem al-Emadi as diverted through a newly and onto Arab League signs to ensure safety. vice-chairman of the State Audit Bureau. The decree abolishes any provision that contradicts with its provisions. The decree shall be eff ective starting from its date of issue and shall be published in the off icial gazette.

FM receives Yemeni Minister

HE the Minister of Foreign Aff airs, Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al- Attiyah met the Yemeni Minister of Human Rights, Ezzedine al-Asbahi in Doha yesterday. Talks during the meeting dealt with the latest developments in the Yemeni issue in addition to a number of regional issues and developments of common interest. Gulf Times Friday, January 15, 2016 3 REGION/ARAB WORLD

Iran says reactor core removed in Kerry, Saudi FM meet key step for deal

AFP Dubai to soothe frayed ties ran has removed the core of its Arak heavy water re- actor and fi lled part of it with cement, a crucial step AFP Iunder a soon to be implemented nuclear agreement London with world powers. A spokesman for Iran’s Atomic En- ergy Organisation told state television the work was done on Wednesday, paving the way for UN nuclear inspectors S Secretary of State John to announce Iran has met its commitments. Kerry and Saudi Foreign Asked yesterday if the core had been removed from the UMinister Adel al-Jubeir in- reactor, spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi replied: “Yes- sisted yesterday that their coun- terday we fi nished the central part and the openings have tries’ ties remain strong despite been fi lled with cement.” recent tensions over Washington’s Such measures mean the reactor will not be able to pro- outreach to Iran. duce any weapons-grade plutonium from spent nuclear The top envoys met in London for fuel, cutting off a potential pathway to an atomic bomb - talks on a variety of Middle East is- an aim Iran has always denied pursuing. sues, including the wars in Syria and Kamalvandi’s comments came ahead of “Implementation Yemen and the imminent imple- Day” for the nuclear agreement between Iran and six powers mentation of the Iran nuclear deal. - Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the US. Washington has used the deal, At that time the deal will come into eff ect and nuclear- under which Tehran agreed to limit related sanctions on Iran will start to be lifted. its nuclear ambitions in exchange Iranian and US offi cials have said Implementation Day for a softening on sanctions, as a will come soon, probably by Sunday but possibly earlier. springboard to seek more produc- The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic tive ties with its old foe. Energy Agency, must fi rst issue a report confi rming Iran But at the same time Riyadh’s re- has met its side of the deal. lations with Iran, long hostile, have IAEA inspectors are now in Iran, Kamalvandi said, and plunged to new lows. Saudi Arabia they would be sending their report to the watchdog’s cut off diplomatic contact with Te- headquarters in Vienna. hran last week after an Iranian mob The IAEA has not commented on when it will declare its ransacked its embassy there. fi ndings and diplomats in Vienna also said it was not yet Saudi Arabia has regarded Ker- certain when the IAEA would report. ry’s cautious outreach to Tehran - Reports emerged Monday that Iran had removed the and burgeoning relationship with core at Arak, but a top offi cial later denied this was the its Foreign minister Mohamed case, insisting Tehran was still working on a deal to rede- Javad Zarif - with suspicion, and sign the reactor. the London visit was designed to Although China and the US were expected to help Iran rebuild trust. redesign the reactor core, deputy foreign minister Abbas “We agree, fi rst of all, the alli- Araghchi said on Wednesday that an Iranian company ance, the friendship between the would modernise it. US and the kingdom of Saudi Ara- Under the deal, Iran has already reduced the number bia remains a lynchpin of our ef- US Secretary of State John Kerry addresses media persons in London yesterday as Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir looks on. of its active centrifuges - fast-spinning machines that forts in the region. It’s important. enrich uranium - and transferred the bulk of its low-en- We both agree with that, on both US - over its web of infl uence in “We want to try to see if there’s Al-Jubeir responded: “I think or Libya, the most eff ective ways riched uranium stockpile to Russia. sides,” Kerry told reporters as he the Arab world. a way, moving forward, to resolve if you look at the challenges our for us to work though these chal- On Monday, President Hassan Rouhani pledged that welcomed al-Jubeir. “We also understand the chal- some of these problems without region faces, whether in Syria, lenges is through our close part- Iran was about to enter “a year of economic prosperity”, Without mentioning Iran, Ker- lenges that the kingdom and other moving to greater confl ict. The whether in Yemen, whether ter- nership and alliance with the US of with sanctions lifted, and said his government had deliv- ry expressed sympathy for Saudi countries feel in the region about in- last thing the region needs is more rorists, whether in Iran’s interfer- America.” The pair’s meeting was ered on its promises. Arabia’s concerns - shared by the terference in their countries,” he said. confl ict,” he continued. ence in the aff airs of the region, to continue. “The government is running the country under sanc- tions not under normal circumstances. In the coming days we will witness a rolling up of the sanctions scroll in this country,” he said. On the back of the nuclear deal, Rouhani wants to make greater inroads in domestic policy, with even modest so- cial and political reforms in the Islamic republic. UN peace envoy leaves But he has faced criticism from hardline groups about the nuclear accord, with opponents warning it could lead to “infi ltration” by the US in Iran’s economy and other Yemen empty handed arenas. Helping hand AFP rebels and their allies to attend a new were killed yesterday in a bombing in Sanaa round of peace talks. main southern city Aden, in the third The envoy had met with government such attack targeting security personnel offi cials, who are temporarily based in in as many days, security offi cials said. he UN envoy to Yemen yesterday Riyadh, before he headed to Sanaa. “The two policemen were killed left the rebel-held capital empty Foreign Minister Abdel Malak al- when their vehicle, in which an explo- Thanded after a mission aimed at Mekhlafi had said on Saturday that the sive device was planted by unknown reaching an agreement for talks between talks initially scheduled to start yester- assailants, exploded,” the sources said, the insurgents and the government. day had been postponed until January adding that a third was wounded. “We have not set a new date for 20 or 23. The bodies of both policemen were the next round of talks,” Ismail Ould The envoy said the rebels had taken charred by fl ames that engulfed the Cheikh Ahmed told reporters at Sanaa positive steps during his visit, includ- vehicle, witnesses said. airport before departing the confl ict- ing the release of the Minister of Tech- On Wednesday, unidentifi ed gun- riven country. nological Education, Abdel Razzak al- men killed two policemen in Aden, one The Mauritanian diplomat said Ashwal, a prominent member of the Al day after a police lieutenant colonel he was alarmed by the “suff ering of Islah Sunni Islamist party. from the airport’s investigation unit Yemenis”, but he expressed hopes of a Four other detainees, including ac- was shot dead as he left his home. “quick return” to the negotiating table. tivists and journalists, were also set There has been a string of killings by The Yemeni government sat down free, he said. jihadists in Aden targeting members with the rebels and their allies last He also said he received assurances of the security forces and the govern- month in Switzerland for six days about the condition of Defence Min- ment, which has set up its temporary of talks that ended without a major ister General Mahmud Sobeihi, who base there. Emirates Red Crescent secretary general Mohamed breakthrough. is being held by the rebels, as well as Al Qaeda and the rival Islamic State Atiq al-Falahi hands a food aid box to a displaced Ould Cheikh Ahmed had arrived in Nasser Mansour Hadi, a brother of group both have a foothold in the city, Iraqi woman at the Bahrka refugee camp, 10km UN Special Envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed Sanaa on Sunday for a visit aimed at President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi. where jihadists occupy government west of Arbil, northern Iraq. addresses a press conference at Sanaa international airport. convincing the Iran-backed Houthi Meanwhile, two Yemeni policemen buildings and patrol several districts.

Palestinian stabs another Israeli soldier, shot dead Lebanese protest delay in garbage disposal 10 Yemeni Guantanamo Palestinian stabbed an Is- raeli soldier yesterday in DPA detainees arrive in Oman Athe northern West Bank Beirut and was shot dead, the Israeli army said, in the second such in- AFP sponse to a request by the US admin- cident of the day. ebanese protesters and Muscat istration for help to resolve the issue A patrolling army vehicle was security forces scuffl ed of detainees at Guantanamo Bay,” the attacked north of the West Bank Lyesterday in the capi- foreign ministry said in a statement city of Nablus, an army state- tal Beirut in connection with a en Yemeni former inmates carried by state news agency ONA. ment said. months-long crisis over rub- from the US detention centre The statement did not give further “When the forces exited the bish disposal. Tin Guantanamo Bay arrived details, but typically Guantanamo vehicle in order to assess the The violence started when in Oman yesterday, Muscat’s foreign inmates are released on condition situation an assailant drew a some of the demonstrators ministry said, as Washington strug- they undergo a rehabilitation or re- knife and stabbed and wounded tried to storm the building of gles to close the notorious prison. integration programme to make sure an IDF offi cer,” the statement the Environment Ministry in The transfer is the largest to a sin- they do not threaten US security in- added. central Beirut protesting what gle country at any one time under terests. “The force responded and they said was the authorities’ the administration of US President The US has been working to re- fi red towards the attacker, re- failure to end the problem that Barack Obama, and brings the facil- patriate low-risk inmates from the sulting in his death,” the army started in July. ity’s population down to 93. Guantanamo facility, located at a US said, without giving details of The protesters from the group About 780 inmates have been held naval base on the southeastern tip of the extent of the offi cer’s injuries We Want Accountability called there since it opened in January 2002. Cuba. or how the vehicle was attacked. for “explanation and transpar- “Just last night, after a deliberate Another former Guantanamo in- Palestinian security sources ency” about a government plan and careful review, we completed the mate was repatriated this week to identifi ed the attacker as Hay- to export Lebanon’s waste. transfer of 10 Yemenis - roughly 10% Saudi Arabia, where he was to join the tham Yassin from the village of Police arrested 10 protesters. of the total remaining Gitmo popula- kingdom’s programme to rehabilitate Assira al-Shamaliya near Na- No injuries were reported. tion - to the government of Oman,” militants. blus, believed to be in his mid- The crisis started in Beirut US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter On January 9, the last Kuwaiti pris- 30s. and its suburbs in July when said in Florida. oner at the detention centre returned The attack came just hours af- Lebanon’s largest landfi ll in “Like every transfer that came be- home to a family reception after 14 ter a separate stabbing attempt Naameh, in southern Leba- fore it, the decision to transfer these years of detention. in the southern West Bank. non, was shut down after the detainees happened only after a thor- And in November, the Pentagon In that case, the Palestinian government failed to renew Lebanese civil society activists scuff le with riot police as they try to storm the Lebanese ough review by me and other senior said that the US had transferred fi ve assailant was shot dead before he the contract of the company in Ministry of Environment during an anti-government rally in Beirut to protest against security offi cials of the government.” detainees from Guantanamo Bay to injured anyone, the army said. charge of the facility. government policies to solve the waste crisis. Oman received the men “in re- the United Arab Emirates. Gulf Times 4 Friday, January 15, 2016 ARAB WORLD Tunisians celebrate revolution anniversary AFP way, because the revolution - was awarded the Nobel Peace Tunis brought us some democracy, and Prize for helping to save its tran- that’s important.” sition to democracy. There was a heavy police pres- The 2014 elections saw the housands gathered yester- ence at yesterday’s celebrations, secular Nidaa Tounes led by Beji day in the Tunisian capital after Tunisia suff ered a wave of Caid Essebsi top legislative polls Tto mark the fi fth anniver- deadly jihadist attacks last year. and in December that year Es- sary of the overthrow of longtime Ben Ali stepped down on Janu- sebsi won Tunisia’s fi rst free dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali ary 14, 2011 after tens of thou- presidential vote. in the uprising that inspired the sands of Tunisians took to the But the country has struggled Arab Spring. streets to oppose his 23-year to revive its economy, with pov- Tunisians thronged Habib rule, and fl ed to exile in Saudi erty and unemployment still high. Bourguiba Avenue, the main Arabia, where he remains. There has also been a surge in thoroughfare in central Tunis and The revolution inspired similar jihadist violence since Ben Ali’s the epicentre of the country’s uprisings in Egypt, Syria, Libya, overthrow, most dramatically in revolution fi ve years ago. Yemen and other Arab countries the attacks on the Bardo museum Some attended political rallies, but only Tunisia is considered a and on a Mediterranean resort chanting revolutionary slogans success story of the Arab Spring. last year that killed a total of 60 like “Work! Freedom! Dignity!” Syria and Yemen have de- people, all but one of them for- Tunisian women take part in a rally on Habib Bourguiba Avenue in Tunis yesterday to mark the fifth anniversary of the 2011 revolution. and waving Tunisian fl ags, while scended into civil war, Libya is eign tourists. others listened to concerts or wracked by political chaos and “We are proud of the Tunisian Essid last week announced a custody and alleged torture of Egypt arrests Facebook page administrators reminisced about the uprising. violence, and in Egypt the ouster exception, which dazzled the major cabinet reshuffl e, amid detainees, the rights group called For many, the anniversary of Hosni Mubarak was followed world. Tunisia broke once and growing public frustration at the for investigations of the security Egyptian security forces have of the Muslim Brotherhood, as raised mixed feelings, with fi erce by unrest and eventually a mili- for all with authoritarianism and lack of progress in improving the forces. arrested two people for managing well as calling for marches on pride at the revolution tempered tary overthrow of his Islam- tyranny,” Prime Minister Habib economy and at continued jihad- “Torture and repression were multiple Facebook pages they said the coming January 25,” Interior by concerns over continued eco- ist successor Mohamed Mursi, Essid said in a statement to mark ist attacks. hallmarks of former president were used to support the outlawed Ministry spokesman Abu Bakr nomic problems and a rise in ji- the country’s fi rst freely elected the anniversary. Critics have raised concerns Ben Ali’s regime; they must not Muslim Brotherhood and encourage Abdel Karim said on an Egyptian hadist violence. president. “We are working together to of a return to some of Ben Ali’s be allowed to become defining protest, the Interior Ministry said. talk show. He identified those ar- “The revolution did not help Tunisia in contrast organised fulfi l the many demands of the authoritarian practices, with features of post-uprising Tu- “The administrators of these rested as a 26-year-old man who me in any way - prices went up, widely hailed elections in 2011 revolution, especially the guar- Amnesty International saying nisia,” Said Boumedouha, the pages were arrested on charges managed 41 Facebook pages and many young people are still mar- and 2014, adopted a new consti- antee of a dignifi ed life for all,” yesterday that the “human rights deputy director of Amnesty’s of inciting against state institu- a 22-year-old woman who was the ginalised,” Latifa, a 40-year-old tution and last year its National he said, adding that “winning the gains of the uprising are sliding Middle East and North Africa tions and spreading the ideas administrator for six sites. seamstress, told AFP. Dialogue Quartet - a group of war on terrorism remains an es- into reverse gear”. programme, said in a state- “But I came to celebrate any- four civil society organisations sential condition”. Citing cases of deaths in police ment.

Whale tale! A whale skeleton Egypt boosts security being displayed at the Wadi el-Haitan Fossil and Climate Change Museum in Fayoum, 60km in key tourist resorts south of Cairo.

Reuters An additional 250mn Egyptian ing a Russian passenger plane, Cairo pounds ($32mn) will be allocated killing all 224 people on board, for security. most of them tourists returning “These additional measures home from the Red Sea resort of gypt is introducing a se- bring our tourist security to an- Sharm al-Sheikh, across the wa- ries of new security meas- other level. However, we will not ter from Hurghada. Eures at its holiday resorts, stop there. We constantly re- Last month, Egypt hired global the tourism ministry said yes- view our capabilities ... and will consultancy Control Risks to review terday, a week after suspected continue to do so,” said Tourism security at its airports but said it had militants armed with knives Minister Hisham Zaazou. found no evidence so far of terror- wounded three European visitors Egypt is fi ghting a wave of Is- ism or other illegal action linked to to Hurghada. lamist militancy and suspected it. In November Russia said the jet The measures include install- militants armed with knives was brought down by a bomb. The ing additional closed circuit tel- wounded two Austrian tour- disaster has cost Egypt about 2.2bn evision (CCTV) camera systems ists and a Swede at a hotel in Egyptian pounds ($280.97mn) a in the Red Sea resorts of Sharm the Egyptian Red Sea resort of month in direct losses. al-Sheikh and Hurghada, the Hurghada last Friday. Egypt earned about $7.2bn in ministry said in a statement, Security forces shot and killed tourism revenues in 2014, still The government is also buy- at least one of the attackers after a far cry from around $12.5bn ing new scanning and detec- they stormed the beachside Bella before the 2011 uprising, which tion equipment and increasing Vista hotel, offi cials said. ushered in a period of political the number of security person- In October, Islamic State turmoil that scared away tourists nel and sniff er dogs for resorts. claimed responsibility for down- and foreign investors. More aid reaches trapped Syrians; doubts cast on peace talks

Reuters tee of the Red Cross director of ed before they enter negotiations said it would deliver 120 tonnes under siege. There are still Rus- Madaya, Syria/Beirut operations, said in New York. with the government planned for of wheat fl our to Madaya, and 60 sian attacks on villages, schools Aid offi cials hoped to bring in January 25. tonnes to al-Foua and Kefraya. and hospitals. There is no sign of more supplies, with fuel deliver- A prominent member of the A UN offi cial said the convoy goodwill.” id supplies reached a be- ies set for Sunday, according to political opposition to President also included medical supplies, There are about 15 siege loca- sieged Syrian town and Stillhart. Bashar al-Assad told Reuters that blankets, and clothing. tions in Syria, where 450,000 Atwo trapped villages yes- “We hope ... this eff ort will date was unrealistic, reiterating The World Health Organiza- people are trapped, the UN says. terday for the second time this continue,” said Yacoub El Hillo, opposition demands for the lift- tion is awaiting an answer from The Syrian government has week, raising hopes of further the UN resident and humanitar- ing of sieges, a ceasefi re and the the government to a request to said it is ready to take part in the deliveries to help people dying of ian coordinator in Syria, who ac- release of detainees before nego- send medics and mobile clinics, talks, but wants to see who is on starvation. companied the convoy. tiations. its representative in Damascus the opposition negotiating team The Britain-based Syrian Ob- A senior UN human rights offi - “I personally do not think Jan. said. and a list of armed groups that servatory for Human Rights, cial said the use of starvation was 25 is a realistic date for when it “The scenes we witnessed in will be classifi ed as terrorists as which monitors the war, said aid a war crime whose perpetrators will be possible to remove all ob- Madaya were truly heartbreak- part of the peace process. trucks had started entering the should be prosecuted. stacles facing the negotiations,” ing,” said Marianne Gasser, the Underscoring the complica- town of Madaya near the border “Starving civilians is a war George Sabra told Reuters. most senior offi cial with the In- tions on that issue, a senior Rus- with Lebanon, and the villages crime under international hu- A total of 45 trucks carrying ternational Committee of the An aid convoy from the Syrian Arab Red Crescent enters the besieged sian offi cial condemned as ter- of Kefraya and al-Foua in Idlib manitarian law and of course food and medical supplies are Red Cross in Syria. town of Madaya. rorists two rebel groups that are province in the northwest. Syrian any such act deserves to be con- due to be delivered to Madaya, “The conditions are some of represented in a newly-formed state media said six trucks had demned, whether it’s in Madaya and 18 to al-Foua and Kefraya, aid the worst that I have witnessed in US, Russia and other powers on “But he still has to defi ne how opposition council tasked with entered Madaya. or Idlib,” said UN Human Rights offi cials said. my fi ve years in the country. This Wednesday that January 25 was to press ahead with this mecha- overseeing the negotiations. For months, tens of thousands High Commissioner Zeid bin The Syrian Observatory said cannot go on,” she said. still the intended date. nism which to me is not looking “We do not see Ahrar Al Sham have been blockaded by govern- Ra’ad. it had recorded 27 deaths in Ma- The talks planned for Janu- But even with the backing of good because all sides are not or Jaysh Al Islam as part of the ment troops in Madaya and sur- “Should there be prosecu- daya from malnutrition and lack ary 25 in Geneva are part of a the US and Russia, which support agreed on the parameters.” opposition delegation because rounded by rebel forces in the tions? Of course. At the very least of medical supplies, and at least peace process endorsed by the opposite sides in the confl ict, the Rebel groups that back the they are terrorist organisations. two villages. there should be accountability 13 deaths in al-Foua and Kefraya UN Security Council last month peace process faces formidable idea of a political settlement is- We believe that the opposition “According to the ICRC team for these crimes.” due to lack of medical supplies. in a rare display of international obstacles. sued a statement on Wednesday delegation should be represented that entered Madaya, the peo- The siege of Madaya, where The population of Madaya is agreement on Syria, where the “The meeting is due in a bit rejecting any negotiations before not by terrorist representatives,” ple were very happy, even crying people have reportedly died of estimated at 40,000, while about war has killed 250,000 people. more than 10 days, but before goodwill measures from Damas- the RIA news agency quoted when they realised that wheat starvation, has become a focal is- 20,000 live in al-Foua and Ke- UN Special Envoy for Syria then de Mistura will present in cus including a ceasefi re. Deputy Foreign Minister Gen- fl our is on the way,” Dominik sue for Syrian opposition groups fraya. Staff an de Mistura said after New York what he has achieved,” Sabra, the opposition politi- nady Gatilov as saying in Moscow Stillhart, International Commit- who want all such blockades lift- The World Food Programme meeting representatives of the said a senior western diplomat. cian, said: “There are still towns yesterday. Gulf Times Friday, January 15, 2016 5 AFRICA

Family of Angola rebel chief Savimbi sues makers of popular video game

AFP lisher Activision Blizzard. to one of Africa’s longest and released its Black Ops II game in recounts: “Our dog in the fi ght ers disagree that they misrepre- the street as the character” from Nanterre Lawyers for both parties de- bloodiest confl icts, which erupt- 2012. was a guy named Jonas Savimbi. sented Savimbi. the game. scribe the case involving defa- ed after independence from Por- The off ending clip shows You think I’m nuts? This guy...” Etienne Kowalski, a lawyer for It is not the fi rst time that his- mation over a video character as tugal in 1975. Savimbi, known as the “Black The family’s lawyer Carole Activision Blizzard, said Savimbi torical and political fi gures have he family of slain Angolan a fi rst. The war left at least half-a Cockerel” by his supporters, ral- Enfert said Savimbi is represent- is represented “for who he was... appeared as characters in Call of rebel chief Jonas Savimbi Savimbi was the founder and million people dead and forced lying his troops from the back of ed as a “big halfwit who wants to a character of Angolan history, Duty. Tare suing the makers of leader of the National Union for some 4mn civilians to fl ee their a tank as the MPLA advances on kill everybody”, an “outrageous” a guerrilla chief who fought the Cuba’s Fidel Castro, slain the popular video game Call of the Total Independence of An- homes in the oil-rich nation. them, gunfi re rattling all around. image that does not refl ect his MPLA”. former US president John F Duty for representing his char- gola (UNITA), which fought a As charismatic as he was con- He yells out phrases such as personality as a “political leader Kowalski said the video game Kennedy and former Panama acter as a “barbarian”, their law- 27-year civil war with the gov- troversial, the bearded Savimbi “fi ght, my brothers” and “we and strategist”. shows Savimbi in a “rather fa- dictator Manuel Noriega have all yer said yesterday. ernment in Luanda. often appeared in uniform with a must fi nish them... death to the “A warlord, yes, (but) he was vourable light” as a “good guy made appearances. Three of Savimbi’s children, He was killed in battle against cocked red beret. MPLA”. an important person in the Cold who comes to help the heroes”. Noriega fi led a lawsuit in 2014 who live in the Paris region, are MPLA government forces in Ten years after his death, it The mission is to rescue one War, he was a friend of (Nelson) The complaint also notes that in the US complaining that the seeking €1mn in damages from 2002, paving the way for a peace was this war fi gure his children of the game’s main protagonists, Mandela,” she said. his son, who closely resembles game portrayed him in a bad light, the French branch of game pub- deal that would bring an end discovered when Call of Duty Frank Woods, who at some point However the game’s publish- his father, is often “recognised in but the case was thrown out. ICC urged to drop case against Ruto

AFP been based have disappeared,” The Hague said Khan. For instance, at an ICC hearing in September 2011 enya’s Deputy Presi- to determine whether Ruto dent William Ruto’s should face trial, prosecu- Klawyer yesterday urged tors alleged he had attended the International Criminal at least 11 meetings to set up a Court to drop a crimes against criminal network to carry out humanity case against him, the violence. saying prosecutors had failed But no proof was presented to prove his role in poll-linked during Ruto’s trial that such The country director of the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Desmond Williams (left), the head of Liberia’s Ebola response, Tolbert Nyenswah (centre) and bloodshed. meetings ever took place, WHO country representative, Dr Alex Gasasira hold up a certificate announcing an end to the latest flare-up of the Ebola virus, in Monrovia, Liberia, yesterday. “The evidence is palpably Khan said. missing,” Karim Khan told a “The prosecution is in dire three-judge bench at a hearing straits in their bid to maintain to assess whether Ruto has a that there was a criminal or- case to answer for his involve- ganisation that resembles at ment in deadly 2007-08 post- all what they said they would election violence. prove when this trial started,” Ruto, 49, and his co-ac- Khan said. cused, radio boss Joshua arap “Their case has completely Sang, 40, face three crimes broken down,” he said. WHO declares end against humanity charges in- Violence broke out after cluding murder, forcible de- opposition chief Raila Odinga portation and persecution from the Luo ethnic group arising from the unrest af- accused then president Mwai ter disputed elections in late Kibaki, a Kikuyu, of rigging 2007. the elections. Prosecutors say more What began as political ri- than 1,300 people died and ots quickly turned into ethnic to Ebola epidemic 600,000 others were left killings of the Kikuyu people, homeless in the worst unrest who in turn launched reprisal Health specialists caution ing out that there had already the outbreak that infected al- another small cluster of cases the economic damage of the in the east African power- attacks. against complacency, been 10 small fl are-ups because most 29,000 people and claimed emerged. outbreak, which devastated the house since independence Both Ruto and Sang reject saying the world is still of the persistence of the virus in 11,315 lives, according to offi cial The WHO came under fi re mining, agriculture and tourism from Britain in 1963. the accusations and last year underprepared for any future survivors. data. for its sluggish response to the industries in Liberia, Sierra Leo- Ruto, dressed in a dark suit, their lawyers fi led a request for outbreaks of the disease UN chief Ban Ki-moon The real toll is suspected to be epidemic, which local healthcare ne and Guinea, at $2.2bn over light blue shirt and yellow tie, the world’s only permanent warned the region can expect much higher, with many Ebola systems were woefully under- 2014-15. listened intently and nodded war crimes court to drop the AFP sporadic cases in the coming deaths believed to have gone un- equipped to handle. Over 500 WHO director Margaret Chan his head and smiled at times charges as there was “no case Monrovia year but added “we also expect reported. healthcare workers died in three described the next three months as Khan presented his argu- to answer”. the potential and frequency of After the last patient is de- west African countries at the as “the most critical,” as foreign ments. Prosecutors closed their those fl are-ups to decrease over clared in the clear, a 42-day height of the outbreak. medical groups shut down oper- “One of the main charac- case in September 2015 and he world breathed a sigh time”. countdown - twice the incuba- Brennan acknowledged the ations in west Africa and nation- teristics... is that the key ele- the defence’s case is yet to of relief yesterday as a Reaction to the announce- tion period of the virus - begins WHO’s initial inertia but said al health ministries take over. ments on which this case has start. Ttwo-year Ebola epidemic ment was muted in Monrovia, before the country is proclaimed the organisation had “done a The scientifi c community that killed 11,000 and triggered a where locals have become ac- Ebola-free. lot of soul-searching”, pointing echoed the WHO’s cautious global health alert was declared customed to good news on Ebola Ebola causes severe fever and to a “major reform” it is under- tone, noting that much research Court orders arrest of rebel leader over, with Liberia the last coun- being followed by setbacks, and muscle pain, weakness, vomit- going. still had to be carried out on Eb- try given the all-clear. there was no offi cial programme ing and diarrhoea. In many cases While Cuba sent doctors, ola, despite claims by Russia on A Nigerian court yesterday Delta (MEND). He commanded The deadliest outbreak in the of celebration. it shuts down organs and causes Western governments off ered Wednesday, with little accom- ordered the arrest of former thousands of rebels who history of the feared tropical Aminata Kanneh, a 32-year- unstoppable internal bleeding. little until foreign aid workers panying detail, that it had come Niger Delta militant leader attacked oil and gas facilities virus wrecked the economies old entrepreneur, said people Patients often succumb within started falling ill and returning up with a vaccine. Government Ekpemupolo on in the oil-rich south, and and health systems of the three were “no longer afraid” because days. home for treatment, sparking “Mass travel, development, theft and money laundering kidnapped workers, in the worst-hit west African nations recent fl are-ups were dealt with From a Guinean infant who fears of a global pandemic. habitat encroachment, large- charges totalling more than 2000s until a government after it emerged in southern quickly. was the fi rst victim, the epi- The concerns inched higher scale global trade and war and $175mn. “A warrant of arrest amnesty was introduced in Guinea in December 2013. “The pronouncement today demic quickly spread into when three cases of infections civil unrest mean that future has been issued forthwith 2009. “Tompolo” was then At its peak, it devastated is a joy but does not call for cel- neighbouring Liberia and Sierra came to light outside Africa -two outbreaks of deadly diseases to compel his attendance awarded lucrative contracts Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leo- ebration because we may experi- Leone, notching up more deaths in the US and one in Spain. like Ebola are inevitable,” said in court,” judge Ibrahim to “provide certain services” ne, with bodies piling up in the ence another outbreak,” she said. than all other Ebola outbreaks The US, Britain and other Jonathan Ball, Professor of Mo- Buba, sitting at the Federal to the Nigerian Maritime streets and overwhelmed hospi- Liberia, the country worst combined. countries eventually rallied to lecular Virology at the Univer- High Court in Lagos, said in Administration and Safety tals recording hundreds of new hit by the outbreak with 4,800 Liberia was fi rst to be declared the cause, sending thousands of sity of Nottingham in Britain. response to a prosecution Agency (NIMASA), prosecutor cases a week. deaths, discharged its last two free of human-to-human Ebola troops and medics to Africa in “Whilst we can try to de- request. Ekpemupolo, Festus Keyamo said. It is known Rick Brennan, the World patients from hospital - the fa- transmission in May, only to see 2014 and developing a number velop vaccines and treatments popularly known as “Tompolo”, that many former militants Health Organisation’s chief of ther and younger brother of a the virus resurface six weeks of promising potential vaccines for some, it won’t be possible to is one of the most high-profile were awarded government emergency risk management, 15-year-old victim - on Decem- later. and treatments. mitigate against all threats with former militant leaders security contracts for oil hailed an important milestone ber 3, 2015. It was offi cially credited with But the economic ravages of these types of intervention. We of the Movement for the and gas facilities, as well as but told reporters in Geneva that Africa’s oldest republic was beating the epidemic for a sec- the epidemic are still being felt. can’t simply think job done, Emancipation of the Niger pipelines. “the job is still not done,” point- the last country still affl icted by ond time in September before The World Bank estimates move on.”

Kidnapped girls’ parents, Zimbabwe denies supporters meet Buhari Mugabe death reports AFP Eye news website for starting Agencies A total of 276 teenagers were told them there was no “reli- Harare the rumours. Abuja seized from their dormitories able intelligence that would “This is the way the website at the school in Chibok, in the enable them to rescue the girls seeks to improve its hits in or- northeastern state of Borno, on as immediately as we are de- he Zimbabwe govern- der to get dirty money... There undreds of parents and April 14, 2014. manding”. ment yesterday denied is a fi nancial incentive to the sympathisers of more Fifty-seven managed to es- Buhari has said he is prepared Treports that veteran grim lie,” he added. Hthan 200 schoolgirls cape soon afterwards but the to negotiate with any “credible” President Robert Mugabe, 91, The Herald said that Mu- abducted by Boko Haram mili- others are still being held and Boko Haram leaders for their re- had collapsed and died in Sin- gabe was in the “Far East” but tants in northeast Nigeria met have not been seen since they lease. gapore after rumours spread did not specify which country. President Muhammadu Buhari appeared in a Boko Haram Some parents of the girls were rapidly about his alleged ill The president, who is the yesterday to renew calls for their video message released in May, so distraught that during the health. world’s oldest national leader, release. 2014. march they sat down in the mid- Under the headline “Presi- has ruled Zimbabwe since in- The 300 or so marchers, many The abduction caused out- dle of the road, weeping. dent well, fi ne”, the state-run dependence in 1980. of them crying, trekked through rage around the world and fo- Buhari, who was elected last Herald newspaper said sto- Despite his age, he contin- the capital Abuja before being cused attention on the bloody March, has promised to stop ries about Mugabe’s health ues to give long speeches in taken in buses for an audience insurgency, which has left at Boko Haram. Thousands of emerged each year when he public, but speculation over with Buhari at his offi cial resi- least 17,000 dead since 2009 and young women and girls have took his annual leave outside his health mounted last year dence. forced some 2.6mn from their been captured in past years and the country. when he tripped and fell down After the behind-closed- homes. in some cases raped, forcibly “You cannot doubt that some steps at a televised cer- doors meeting, former educa- The BringBackOurGirls group married, trained to fi ght and there will be a story on the emony. tion minister Oby Ezekwesili, has kept up the pressure on the made to participate in armed at- President’s alleged death He also read a speech to who leads the BringBackOur- government with regular dem- tacks, sometimes on their own every January,” presidential parliament in September ap- Girls protest group, said Buhari onstrations and daily vigils in towns and villages, according Members of the “BringBackOurGirls” movement and mothers of the spokesman George Charamba parently unaware that he had asked for more time to rescue the Abuja. to human rights group Amnesty missing schoolgirls march to press for the release of the schoolgirls told the paper. delivered the same address a 219 schoolgirls. But Ezekwesili said Buhari International. kidnapped in 2014. Charamba blamed the Zim- month earlier. Gulf Times 6 Friday, January 15, 2016 AMERICA Republican sharks circle Trump for

Trump is greeted by supporters during a campaign rally at the Pensacola Bay Centre 2016’s fi rst debate in Pensacola, Florida on Wednesday. AFP a potential vice-presidential Trump’s toxic brand of ethno- Trump, former Florida governor The main debate, broadcast on The heartland state of Iowa ton, frustration over the nation’s North Charleston pick, attacked the celebrity bil- nationalism. Jeb Bush, unleashed an ad savag- Fox Business Network, kicked off kicks off the voting in the race for lacklustre economic recovery, lionaire in the party’s offi cial Party leaders gathering in Bal- ing Trump for the way he mocked around 9pm (0200 GMT today), the Republican nomination on and fear about a growing terror- response to President Barack timore for the annual Republican a reporter with disabilities. while three low-polling White February 1. ism threat. epublicans are squaring off Obama’s State of the Union ad- congressional retreat refused to “That’s why I called him a jerk,” House hopefuls compete in an New Hampshire follows eight The latest incident with Iran, in their latest US presiden- dress. be drawn into discussing Trump. Bush says in the spot. “What kind undercard event three hours ear- days later. the seizure and then release of Rtial debate just 18 days be- “During anxious times, it can But they were clear about their of person would you want to have lier. Trump will be joined on stage 10 US Navy sailors, is sure to fuel fore all-important fi rst votes are be tempting to follow the siren support for Haley, with House in the presidency who does that? There is an unquestionable by conservative Senator Ted accusations by the Republican cast in the nominations race, and call of the angriest voices. We Speaker Paul Ryan hailing her on At what point do we say, ‘Enough paradox in the establishment Cruz, his nearest competitor; candidates that Obama’s weak frontrunner Donald Trump will must resist that temptation,” she Twitter as “one of the most ef- of this, let’s start solving prob- drilling into the man who for Senator Marco Rubio; retired foreign policy is leaving the world likely face attacks from all sides. said. fective leaders in our party”. lems’?” months has led Republican polls neurosurgeon Ben Carson; New more dangerous. Seven candidates will take The political shot resounded Senator John Thune, a mem- Trump, who has relentlessly by a substantial margin. Jersey Governor Chris Christie; Trump set off a global re-fi the main stage in South Caro- in a Republican Party torn by a ber of Senate leadership, said he proven his savvy in the cam- Critics warn that Trump is Ohio Governor John Kasich; and storm by calling for a ban on lina, with six focused on how to struggle between a rebellious thought Haley was spot on. paign, sought to turn Haley’s a self-promoter who lacks the Bush. Muslims entering the United knock the real-estate tycoon off rank-and-fi le drawn to Trump’s “What we want to do is articu- criticism into a positive. temperament or experience to be Fiorina will join the undercard States, and has pledged to deport his perch and fi nally bring the outsider populism and the par- late a clear, positive vision agen- “As far as I’m concerned, an- commander-in-chief. debate with former Arkansas millions of undocumented immi- 2016 campaign to a debate about ty’s conservative establishment. da,” he told reporters, although ger is OK. Anger and energy is “He is the Kim Kardashian governor Mike Huckabee and grants if elected. issues rather than an obsession By picking Haley, the daugh- he defl ected questions about what this country needs,” Trump of politics,” low-polling former former senator Rick Santorum. The anti-establishment with Trump and his infl amma- ter of Indian immigrants, GOP whether Trump was right for the told CNN in reacting to Haley’s business executive Carly Fio- Senator Rand Paul, who missed Trump said he was unfazed by tory, name-calling rhetoric. (Grand Old Party) leaders – who party. “When we have a nominee, remarks. “I like her, she’s a very rina told the Des Moines Register the cut for the main event, said he the party leadership’s shots They received a dramatic boost reportedly greenlighted her hopefully we’ll be able to sync up nice woman, but she’s very weak newspaper. “But this isn’t a real- is boycotting the undercard. across his bow. when South Carolina Governor speech – were eff ectively an- with them and their agenda.” on the subject of illegal immigra- ity show. It’s not entertainment. Trump has ridden a wave of “They have to do what they Nikki Haley, considered by some nouncing they had had it with One candidate confronting tion.” It’s deadly serious now.” populist anger with Washing- have to do,” he said.

Off icer acquitted after injuring Eyeing his legacy, Indian grandpa A federal judge has acquitted an Alabama police off icer orator Obama charged with violating an Indian grandfather’s civil rights by throwing him to the ground and causing him serious injuries after to switch off the the case previously went to two mistrials. US District Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala on Wednesday teleprompter granted a motion for an acquittal filed by attorneys for Eric Parker, 27, accused of By Andrew Beatty, AFP tightly scripted politics. using unreasonable force while Washington But political gravity has working as a police off icer in caught up with Obama. Madison, Alabama. The Republican-controlled In the February 2015 incident, or a decade, President Congress is unlikely to allow which was caught on video, Barack Obama leaned on many of his off erings to pass its Parker caused injuries to Fdazzling oratory to ad- lips. Sureshbhai Patel, then 57, vance his politics. Presidential policy addresses which the Indian national is not Now, in a bid to shape the will no longer carry the same expected to fully recover from, 2016 election and his legacy, he’s executive weight, unless backed his lawyer has said. turning off the teleprompter. by the rare threat of unilateral Obama speaking during an event at the University of Nebraska Omaha’s Baxter Arena on Wednesday. The decision to acquit Parker “He wants to do less talking action. came after juries in Huntsville, at people and more talking with All the while, would-be suc- as an example of things to come. important, I think it changed the That off ers the White House While not ending the Civil Alabama twice deadlocked on people,” said White House com- cessors to the presidency are “He talked to a number of terms of the debate.” a useful contrast to the bom- War or presiding over a tidal whether Parker deprived the munications director Jen Psaki, wrenching the spotlight away. people who had strong disa- If future exchanges are simi- bast of Republican frontrunner wave of socially defi ning legis- grandfather of his civil rights in sketching a new approach for “The danger for a president in greements with him, and that larly appealing, “he will pick up Donald Trump, but it might also lation, Obama could provide a a case that drew international Obama’s fi nal year in the White the last year of his presidency, is something he has expressed news coverage for them in ways allow Obama a fi nal shot at his model for debate, according to attention. House. with the Congress controlled to us he wants to do quite a bit that underscore his agenda”, she failed campaign promise to ease Kathryn Olson of the University Parker faced up to 10 years in For sure, there will be more by another party, is that he be- more of,” she said. “He knows said. “It becomes a way of seed- partisanship. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. prison for the incident. speeches and more soaring rhet- comes irrelevant,” said Kathleen that helping to facilitate that di- ing the ground to make it more “It’s one of the few regrets of “He has to get people talking Patel, who testified in both trials, oric. But Obama will increasing- Hall Jamieson, a communica- alogue is something that he can hospitable to a democratic Con- my presidency – that the rancor to each other, that is going to be was on a morning walk two ly use forum-style discussions tions professor at the University play a role in doing as president.” gress and a Democratic presi- and suspicion between the par- necessary but not suffi cient for weeks after moving from India to get his message across. of Pennsylvania. By ditching the dais, Obama dent.” ties has gotten worse instead any kind of change in this coun- to help his son’s family care That starts in Louisiana when The White House wants to was better able to frame the de- The recent televised gun de- of better,” Obama told Con- try,” she said. “Showing people for a young child when he was he debates his recent State of the keep Obama relevant by, quite bate on gun control, according bate – despite addressing a su- gress and an audience of 31mn talking to each other – includ- stopped by police responding to Union address with voters. literally, changing the terms of to Hall Jamieson, putting across percharged subject, in the midst on Tuesday. “I have no doubt a ing him listening and talking to a suspicious person call. Engaging unpredictable and the debate. new lines of argument, in a more of an ultra-partisan election president with the gifts of Lin- people – is important, it’s maybe Parker abruptly flipped Patel onto often unsupportive members of Psaki pointed to a recent tel- engaging way. campaign – was also notable for coln or Roosevelt might have his best chance to make a diff er- the ground during the encounter the public is risky in America’s evised discussion on gun control “I thought it was rhetorically its civility. better bridged the divide.” ence.” in front of Patel’s son’s home.

The Revenant leads Oscar nominees amid diversity woes Three winning tickets

By Piya Sinha-Roy and gender artist Lili Elbe in The for $1.6bn Powerball Alex Dobuzinskis, Reuters Danish Girl. Los Angeles In the best actress category, previous Oscar winners Cate Reuters states said, and offi cials have not Blanchett and Jennifer Law- Los Angeles said if anyone in California had ioneer-era drama The Re- rence return to the race this year. claimed the prize. venant led the Oscar nom- Blanchett was nominated for One ticket was sold at a Pinations yesterday with 12 her role in lesbian romance Car- n unprecedented $1.6bn 7-Eleven convenience store in nods, including best picture, but ol, and Lawrence for playing the Powerball jackpot will be Chino Hills, east of Los Angeles, actors of colour were shut out Miracle Mop inventor in Joy. Adivided among three win- offi cials said. for the second straight year. They will compete against ning tickets purchased in Ten- Two other winning tickets The Revenant and Mad Max: rising star Brie Larson for her nessee, California and Florida. were sold in Munford, Ten- Fury Road will vie with The Big role in psychological thriller Each ticket is worth $528.8mn, nessee, and Melbourne Beach, Short, Bridge of Spies, Brooklyn, Room, Charlotte Rampling for lottery offi cials said in Califor- Florida, lottery offi cials in those The Martian, Room and Spot- British drama 45 Years and Sao- nia, one of 44 states plus Wash- states said. light for best picture, the highest irse Ronan for Irish immigrant ington DC and two US territories In November, a Tennessee honour in the fi lm industry. tale Brooklyn. that sold millions of Powerball ticket holder claimed a $144.1mn The Revenant also landed Oscar voters, who usually tickets. prize. nominations for lead actor for favour artistic fare over block- The winning numbers were The prospect of becoming Leonardo DiCaprio, support- buster fi lms for the coveted best 08 27 34 04 19 and Powerball 10, instantly rich sparked a ticket- ing actor for Tom Hardy and picture prize, this year put three picked in a drawing on Wednes- buying frenzy that had been ex- director for Mexican fi lmmaker big budget fi lms in the race: day night. pected to reach a rate of $1.3mn Alejandro Inarritu, whose Bird- The Revenant and The Martian, The odds of having the correct per minute during Wednesday man won the best picture Oscar A screen showing the Oscar nominees for Best Picture as announced by actor John Krasinski and which earned seven nods, and numbers: one in 292mn. evening’s rush hour, Gary Grief, a year ago. Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs is seen at the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in Beverly Hills. Mad Max: Fury Road. There had been 20 Powerball executive director of the Texas “We gave it our all on this fi lm, Director Inarritu will face off drawings since November 4, the lottery, told a news conference. and this appreciation from the Outta Compton were among get ignored is tragic,” said Regi- the promoting of diverse prod- with George Miller for Mad Max; last time there was a winning To receive the full jackpot Academy means a lot to me and those not making the cut. nald Hudlin, who will produce uct and diversity among fi lm- Adam McKay for The Big Short, ticket for the jackpot. amount, winners must accept a my colleagues who made it pos- Will Smith, who stars in foot- the February 28 ceremony where makers,” said Academy presi- about the 2007 US fi nancial This allowed the prize money multi-year annuity, whereas the sible,” Inarritu said in a state- ball head-injury drama Concus- the winners are announced. dent Cheryl Boone Isaacs, who collapse; Lenny Abrahamson to reach a record $1.586bn. lump sum cash payout for the ment. “Champagne and Mezcal sion, and Idris Elba from Beasts Comedian Chris Rock will is black. for Room; and Tom McCarthy It was the largest lottery prize jackpot was about $983.5mn, will run tonight!” of No Nation were among the host it. DiCaprio, who has yet to win for Spotlight, about the Boston ever off ered in North America, lottery offi cials said. The Oscars, voted on by the black actors who were not nom- The 2015 hashtag #Os- an Oscar, will compete with Globe’s probe into child abuse by and no other lottery in the world For every $1 worth of Pow- Academy of Motion Pictures inated. carsSoWhite was quickly re- Bryan Cranston in Hollywood Catholic priests. had ever featured a jackpot of erball sales, half goes to prizes, Arts and Sciences, can have up “In a year with an extraordi- vived on Twitter yesterday. blacklist tale Trumbo, Matt Da- Veteran fi lmmaker Ridley that size that could be won on a 40% is earmarked for things to 10 best picture nominees, but nary number of great perform- “Action needs to be taken to mon in space adventure The Scott, who won a Golden Globe single ticket. such as education, and 10% goes voters selected just eight. ances by black actors that were make sure that the industry as a Martian, Michael Fassbender as last week for directing The Mar- The winners in Florida and to retailers who sell the tickets Star Wars: The Force Awak- embraced by audiences and em- whole is more inclusive with the technology visionary Steve Jobs tian, was snubbed in that cat- Tennessee have not come for- and administrative costs, Grief ens and hip-hop movie Straight braced by critics, for them all to hiring and the mentoring and and Eddie Redmayne as trans- egory for the Oscars. ward, lottery offi cials in those said. Gulf Times Friday, January 15, 2016 7 ASEAN

A terrorist holding a gun walks towards bystanders in central Jakarta yesterday in a photo provided to Indonesian police shelter behind a vehicle as they pursue suspects in Jakarta yesterday. Reuters by Xinhua News Agency. Indonesia braces for tourism slump

By Aradhana Aravindan, ministry said that it was sticking Orient Travel and Tours, a travel from Jakarta and a major attrac- Reuters to that target despite the gun and agency based in Kuala Lumpur tion for tourists, was a target of Singapore bomb assault. and the operator of MariMari. militant attacks more than a dec- The government has removed com, a hotel booking website. ade ago, when a nightclub bomb- visa requirements for visi- In the Netherlands, whose ing killed 202 people, most of ndonesia faces a drop in tour- tors from 84 countries making tourists visit Bali for its beach them tourists. ist numbers, at least in the a short visit, and is working to resorts and other big islands for Noviendi Makalam, spokes- Ishort term, following yes- give visa-free entry to more a taste of the country’s colo- man for Indonesia’s tourism terday’s attack in central Jakarta nationalities in a bid to attract nial history, some travel agents ministry, expected tourist arriv- claimed by Islamic State, in a more travellers. received phone calls from con- als to the capital to drop over the blow to Southeast Asia’s biggest Indonesia, famous for the cerned customers. next 2-3 months. economy already growing at its idyllic island of Bali, its dramatic “It’s early days, but I don’t He estimated that Jakarta slowest pace since the fi nancial volcanic landscapes and ancient think it will be too bad,” said contributed around 30% to the crisis. temples, was estimated to have Willem Linders, who operates country’s total foreign tourist ar- An Indonesian and a Canadian welcomed 10mn foreign tourists roughly 200 group tours to In- rivals. were killed, along with fi ve at- in 2015. donesia through his travel agency Travel and tourism directly tackers, while 20 people, includ- Some travel agents said they Indonesia Tours. contributed around $23bn to In- ing a Dutchman, were wounded. had received calls from worried The number of Dutch visitors donesia’s economy in 2014, or Two of the militants were taken tourists, but they predicted that to Indonesia has jumped nearly about 3.2% of GDP, according to alive, police said. the eff ects of the attack would be 50% over the past decade from a report from the World Travel & The attack could frustrate shortlived. a low after the Bali bombings to Tourism Council. President Joko Widodo’s ambi- “I think this incident will defi - more than 169,000 in 2014, ac- It forecast that fi gure to rise by tions to nearly double tourist nitely have an impact on travel to cording to the Indonesia statis- 6% last year, and to show an an- arrivals to 20mn people by 2019, Indonesia, especially to Jakarta,” tics offi ce. nual growth of 5.3% from 2015- although Indonesia’s tourism said Terence Cheong, director of Bali, located hundreds of miles 2025. A woman holds a placard during a candlelight protest in Surabaya against the Jakarta attack yesterday.

Couple jailed Jakarta sets up peatland restoration agency Thailand wary of more over grisly Reuters “I have tasked this agency with creat- The fi res cost Indonesia $16bn, accord- dengue cases this year Jakarta ing and implementing an action plan so ing to the government. that we can convince the world that we Eff orts by Indonesia and neighbour- murder of are very serious about overcoming the ing countries to prevent the fi res, and put Reuters ing to identify the best way to ndonesia’s President Joko Widodo damage caused to forests and peatlands,” them out after they start, have shown lit- Bangkok use French drugmaker Sanofi ’s has set up an agency to restore about Widodo told reporters. tle success. The fi res last year only ended dengue vaccine Dengvaxia and Japanese man I2mn hectares of carbon-rich peatland The agency will work until 2020 in when the rainy season arrived. other control and prevention damaged by fi res that sent smoke across seven provinces on Sumatra, Kalimantan, A $565mn lawsuit brought by Indone- he number of dengue tools currently under develop- the region last year angering neighbour- and Papua islands. sia against a pulp and paper company was cases in Thailand is ex- ment. AFP ing countries. The fi res and pollution were particularly rejected by a court last month, dealing Tpected to spike this year, Experts described 2015 as a Bangkok The region suff ers every dry season bad last year because of dry weather caused a blow to government eff orts to punish a researcher said, as experts milestone year, with Dengvaxia from so-called haze caused by smoulder- by the El Nino weather phenomenon with those who set the fi res to clear land. from across Asia met to discuss being approved last month in ing fi res, often set deliberately to clear smoke blanketing neighbouring Singapore The Southeast Asian nation is the introduction of the fi rst ever Mexico, the Philippines and Thai couple was jailed yes- land for palm oil plantations on Sumatra and Malaysia for weeks and drifting as far world’s fi fth-largest emitter of green- dengue vaccine to control and Brazil. terday over the murder of an and Borneo islands. north as the Thai capital, Bangkok. house gases. prevent the disease. “We’ve been working on Aelderly Japanese man whose Dengue - which causes fl u- dengue vaccines for 70 years, dismembered body was found stuff ed like symptoms and can develop and now we have a licence for a into plastic bags in a canal outside of into the deadly dengue haem- vaccine,” said Duane Gubler of Bangkok last year. orrhagic fever - is the world’s the Duke-National University A Bangkok court heard that Som- Fish tale fastest-spreading tropical dis- Singapore Graduate Medical chai Keawbangyang suff ocated the ease, with the annual number School. bedridden Japanese victim, Yoshinori of cases increasing 30-fold in Gubler and other experts Shimato, 79, and then discarded piec- the last 50 years, according to welcomed the new vaccine even es of his body in plastic bags in a canal the World Health Organization if it was “not perfect” and did in Samut Prakan province, which ad- (WHO). not protect equally against the joins the Thai capital. The disease is endemic in 128 four diff erent serotypes of den- Somchai, 48, confessed to the mur- countries - compared with nine gue. They also said the vaccine der, which prosecutors said took place countries experiencing severe alone would not be enough to between mid-September and October dengue epidemics prior to 1970. stamp out dengue. 13 last year. Asia has the most cases, with “The perfect vaccine would He was initially given the death 67mn people infected per year, give equal protection to all sero- penalty, but this was reduced to life researchers say. types,” Gubler said. imprisonment due to his confession. In Thailand, the 2016 “We have a whole host of Somchai’s wife Pornchanok Chai- caseload may be on par with the dengue control tools in the yapa, who is also 48, confessed to last big outbreak in 1987, when pipeline that can be integrated emptying nearly $20,000 from the there were about 170,000 cases, with the vaccine,” he added. dead man’s bank account using his said Dr. Usa Thisyakorn, profes- “We’ll have to integrate it (the ATM cards. She had been the victim’s sor of pediatrics at Chulalong- vaccine) with vector-control lover. korn University in Bangkok and methods. This meeting is to get She denied being an accomplice to chairwoman of Asian Dengue the public health community on the murder, but was given a 20-year Vaccination Advocacy (ADVA). board in endemic countries.” sentence for her part in the crime. “We have had a lot of patients There is no dedicated treat- “Somchai killed Shimato due to his in this season. It’s a big predic- ment for dengue, also known as jealousy and it is believed that he dis- tor that we’ll have a big prob- breakbone fever, and patients membered his body after his death,” lem with dengue this year. If are generally asked to rest, drink the court verdict said. even in the cool season we have plenty of fl uids and take medi- “But there was no witness who saw dengue, then it will be worse in cation to bring down fever and Pornchanok colluding in the murder the following year” in the hot reduce joint pains. so the court gave her the benefi t of the and rainy seasons, Usa said on Scientists are developing an- doubt,” it added. the sidelines of the Asia Dengue tiviral drugs to inhibit virus rep- Shimato was in Thailand as a Japa- Summit organised by ADVA. lication in humans, in addition nese language teacher. “It is quite, quite bad. Last to vaccines. There are tens of thousands of Jap- year, in 2015, we had 140,000 They are also working on ge- anese workers in Thailand, many of cases. We predict that this year, netic modifi cation to control whom are employed by car manufac- we will also have a bad season,” the mosquito population, and tures such as Toyota and Nissan who A man types on his cellphone while walking past an exhibit of a fishing boat at Government House in Bangkok. Thailand’s said Usa, speaking on Wednes- introducing bacteria that blocks have major plants in the kingdom. government yesterday delivered a progress report on eff orts to clamp down on illegal fishing, in a last-ditch attempt to show day night. the dengue virus within mos- Swathes of Bangkok are dedicated progress made ahead of a visit by the EU next week. Thailand, the world’s third-largest seafood exporter, faces a ban after the At the two-day summit in quitoes, said Dr. Raman Velay- to Japanese restaurants and karaoke EU issued the country a warning, or “yellow card”, in April for failing to crack down on illegal, unreported and unregulated Bangkok, which ended yes- udhan, WHO coordinator for bars specifi cally targeting expats from fishing. terday, scientists, doctors and the dengue and vector ecology Japan. government offi cials are try- and management unit. Gulf Times 8 Friday, January 15, 2016 AUSTRALASIA/EAST ASIA

THUNDERSTORM ‘DEATH ROLL’ SOVEREIGN NATION LOCKDOWN Severe weather in Sydney Croc bites off woman’s arm China slams ‘interference’ Security scare at iconic kills man, disrupts flights in northwestern Australia in rights lawyers’ case Sydney Opera House

Severe thunderstorms in Sydney yesterday killed A crocodile has bitten off a woman’s arm in a China yesterday criticised the US for calling for Sydney’s iconic Opera House was cordoned at least one person and injured another, police “death roll” at a creek in a small northwestern the release of several detained human rights off yesterday in a security scare sparked by said, with winds of 122kph lashing Australia’s Australian town, sparking a hunt to trap and lawyers, asking it to refrain from interference, in “information on social media” with people busiest airport, besides ripping down power kill the animal. The woman, aged in her 60s, the latest instance of friction over a thorny issue cleared from the harbour front precinct before lines and closing roads. A man was killed and a was at Three Mile Creek in Wyndham, about in relations. The US is concerned about China’s police declared it safe. Metal barriers were woman passenger suff ered critical injuries when 3,200km north of Perth, on Wednesday ongoing crackdown on human rights lawyers, erected with onlookers kept about 150m a falling tree crushed their car in the city’s west, afternoon when the croc lunged. “She was US State Department Deputy spokesman Mark away from the building, with police off icers which emergency services said took the initial beside a very small creek 300m down from Toner said on Wednesday. “The US urges China and security personnel guarding the area in a brunt of the storm. The fierce winds, rain and hail our Five Rivers Cafe on the Great Northern to drop these charges and immediately release 90-minute lockdown. “Following information struck Sydney after a blistering day that drove Highway... at some stage, a crocodile came these lawyers,” Toner told a regular news on social media, police conducted an operation temperatures to 39 degrees Celsius, the Bureau of out and attacked her,” cafe owner Michael briefing. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman in the vicinity of the Opera House and Manly Meteorology said, forcing disruptions at the city’s Snowball told AFP. “It came out of the water Hong Lei told a daily briefing yesterday: “Foreign as a precautionary measure,” New South Wales international airport. A Sydney Airport tweet urged and grabbed her and did a death roll and took governments should respect China’s judicial police said in a statement. “That police operation Tourists look at the Sydney Opera House after a passengers to check with airlines for flight details. her arm off near the elbow.” sovereignty and refrain from interfering”. has now concluded.” security scare yesterday.

N Korea slams Davos snub

Reuters Seoul/Geneva

orth Korea said yes- terday that the World NEconomic Forum’s deci- sion to withdraw a ministerial invitation to a meeting in Da- vos, Switzerland, following its recent nuclear test was “based on unjust political motivation” driven by the US. In a U-turn, the Geneva-based WEF announced on Wednesday that North Korean foreign min- ister Ri Su Yong’s invitation to the January 20-23 meeting had been revoked after Pyongyang carried out a fourth nuclear test in defi ance of a UN ban. In a letter to the organiser from its UN ambassador in Geneva, seen by Reuters, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea said it had hoped to have the opportu- nity to demonstrate its economic performance and promote eco- nomic cooperation. It would have been the fi rst time in 18 years that a North Korean delegation attended the event, a gathering place for elite from the worlds of politics, busi- ness and entertainment. “Unfortunately, however, the WEF side has unilaterally can- celled the participation of the Girls hold dolls featuring Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party chairperson and presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (inset) during a campaigning rally in Hsinchu ,Taiwan. DPRK delegation based on un- just political motivation which clearly runs counter to the na- ture and position of WEF as an international forum for discus- sion of economic issues,” said the letter. But Myong Nam Choe, deputy ambassador at North Korea’s Taiwan votes for president diplomatic mission in Geneva, told Reuters: “It was physically hand-delivered. We were wait- ing outside the WEF to make sure the organisers got it the fi rst in a battle for its identity thing in the morning”. Seoul prepares big AFP Voters are also angry that the eco- fi rst between the two side since their quo” and has toned down the DPP’s tra- “If after two or three years the Tsai message boards in Taipei nomic benefi ts from closer ties have not split - bolstered those fears. ditional pro-independence stance. Ing-wen administration refuses to dem- fi ltered down to ordinary Taiwanese. Anger erupted in 2014 when student- Her moderate message is not just de- onstrate any enthusiasm for political mind games The Democratic Progressive Party led protesters occupied parliament over signed to assuage China but to calm nerves dialogue, then it’s possible that Beijing aiwan is expected to turn its back (DPP) - which takes a much more scep- a trade deal they said had been agreed in the US - Taiwan’s main ally - which does might employ tougher tactics,” he added. outh Korea is preparing to on closer ties with China when it tical approach to China relations - is behind closed doors. There were also not want to see a rise in tensions. China has marginalised Taiwan on escalate its psychological Tvotes for a new president tomor- tipped to win Saturday’s vote, and make protests last year over school textbooks The vast majority of voters also want the world stage as its infl uence has Swarfare against North Ko- row, in an election symbolising the is- its leader Tsai Ing-wen Taiwan’s fi rst criticised as too China-centric. to maintain peace with China. grown - another source of voter anger. rea in response to its latest nu- land’s battle for identity. woman president. Voters fear Taiwan will eventually be Beijing has warned it will not deal Only 22 countries formally recognise it clear test with giant electronic As citizens prepare to go to the polls, “I’m concerned the government is “snatched” by Beijing, says Lee Shiao- with a leader who refuses to recognise and even the US has only unoffi cial ties. message boards along the border. many frustrated Taiwanese are calling eager to pursue ties with China with- feng, Taiwanese culture professor at the Taiwan as part of “one China”. But for many, everyday issues will take South Korea has already set up for change as fears grow over China’s out carefully calculating the risks,” said National Taipei University of Educa- The concept is enshrined in a tacit precedence tomorrow, when the KMT walls of loudspeakers on the bor- increasing infl uence, casting a gloom Lee Yi-chung, a Taipei businessman in tion. agreement between the KMT and Bei- is also expected to lose its majority in der that have been blaring bursts exacerbated by economic woes. his 40s who will be voting DPP. “I don’t “They want to say ‘no’ to China,” said jing known as the “1992 consensus” and parliament. of anti-North Korean slogans Current president Ma Ying-jeou was want Taiwan to be ruled by China.” Lee. “Surveys show that more and more is the bedrock of closer ties, which the Low salaries, rising housing costs and and “K-pop” music since last voted in by a landslide eight years ago, Taiwan is self-ruling after splitting people here, even second or third gener- DPP has never formally endorsed. shrinking exports are among a raft of Friday, a tactic the North con- promising prosperity through warmer with the mainland in 1949 following a ation mainlanders, consider themselves But analysts say Beijing will not want economic problems. siders insulting. relations with Beijing. civil war, but Beijing still sees it as part Taiwanese rather than Chinese.” to alienate Taiwan as that would work “I don’t care about China ties, I just South Korea’s defence minis- But trade deals and a tourism boom of its territory, to be reunited by force if The DPP’s Tsai says Taiwan must against its reunifi cation goal. want the economy to get better,” said try said yesterday it was prepar- under his ruling Kuomintang (KMT) necessary. move away from economic dependence “I think at least in the fi rst year Bei- Yang Chien-yi, 24, an offi ce worker in ing to install the old electronic have been off set by deep unease that Ma has been accused of secret deal- and that public sentiment will infl uence jing will try to show conciliatory ges- Taipei. “The KMT is incompetent and bulletin boards, which media China is eroding Taiwan’s identity and ings over trade pacts and his historic her cross-strait strategy. tures,” said Willy Lam, professor at only looks after the interests of big busi- said were last used in 2004. sovereignty by making it economically summit with China’s president Xi Jin- However, in a sign of pragmatism she the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s ness groups while regular people are suf- “It takes some time to arrange dependent. ping in Singapore last November - the also says she will maintain the “status Centre for China Studies. fering. I think the DPP could do better.” them because the electronic bulletin boards that were used before were dismantled or old,” Kim Min-seok, spokesman at the South Korean defence minis- try, told a news briefi ng. Japan lawmaker comes under fi re for ‘comfort women’ slur But Kim said no fi nal decision had been made on whether to go ahead with the installation. Reuters scribed as “fi nal and irreversible”. LDP lawmakers yesterday morning. ate misunderstanding. I sincerely apol- to each reckless remark made by a The bulletin boards in the past Seoul/Geneva The plight of the “comfort women” - “They were professional prostitutes,” ogise to those who were troubled.” shameless lawmaker,” foreign ministry carried slogans such as “Come a euphemistic expression used in Japan Sakurada told the gathering, according Immediate confi rmation of the spokesperson Cho June-Hyuck told a over to the Republic of Korea”, and South Korea to describe them - is a to Jiji Press, referring to wartime sex reports was not available. Calls to regular press briefi ng, stressing the is- South Korea’s offi cial name, and Japanese lawmaker said yester- hugely emotional issue that has for dec- slaves from Korea. Sakurada’s offi ce went unanswered. sue is understood internationally to “North Korea is a diffi cult place”. day wartime sex slaves forced to ades marred ties between Seoul and To- “That’s business,” he added. “We should not respond to every have marked a “grave human rights vio- North Korea appears to have Awork for Japan’s Imperial Army kyo, which ruled the Korean peninsula Sakurada, also a former senior vice remark by a lawmaker,” chief cabinet lation” against the women. responded with its own psycho- were “professional prostitutes”, before harshly as a colony from 1910 to 1945. minister of education, culture, sports, secretary Yoshihide Suga, the govern- “What is important at this point is logical operations. It is suspect- he was forced to retract the remarks and The landmark agreement has sparked science and technology under Abe, said ment’s top spokesman, said before the ensuring the victims are not scarred ed of sending hot air balloons issue an apology, local media reported. an angry reaction from some of the vic- further that Japan “is too much fooled reported retraction, again and creating a mood to steadily dropping leafl ets critical of the The comments from a senior member tims and South Korean activists, who by propaganda,” an apparent question- He stressed, however, the importance implement the agreement.” Seoul government into the South of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling take issue with Japan’s refusal to accept ing of the accounts of the women and of “sincerely” fulfi lling the accord with Up to 200,000 women in Asia, many on recent nights. party provoked criticism from Seoul, formal legal responsibility for the sex other evidence. South Korea. of them Koreans but also from China, The North is also using its just two weeks after Tokyo off ered an slavery. But later in the day, he reversed course Sakurada’s initial comment likening the Philippines and what is now Indo- own loudspeaker broadcasts, al- apology and a 1bn yen ($8.5mn) pay- Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker and retracted the remarks, saying in a comfort women to prostitutes drew a nesia, and others, are estimated to have though South Korean offi cials say ment to surviving South Korean women Yoshitaka Sakurada initially made the statement reported by public broad- sharp rebuke from South Korea. been forced to have sex to Japanese sol- those appear intended to muffl e under an agreement both nations de- comments during a meeting with 10 other caster NHK: “My comments could cre- “I don’t feel the need to respond diers during World War II. the broadcasts from the South. Gulf Times Friday, January 15, 2016 9 BRITAIN

LEGAL PEOPLE VERDICT DECISION HEALTH No charges against man in Deporting Italian-born Three men convicted Hens culled after bird flu Mayor imposes first sugar immigrant smuggling case burglar ‘not justified’ over Hatton Garden raid strain found on farm tax on city hall drinks

A former British soldier who tried to smuggle An Italian-born burglar who has lived in Three men have been convicted of involvement The Scottish government has ordered a cull of A sugar tax to help tackle obesity came a step a four-year-old Afghan girl into Britain at her the UK almost continuously for over 60 in the Hatton Garden raid, the largest burglary tens of thousands of hens after a mild strain closer yesterday after City Hall became the first father’s request was yesterday cleared of all years and become “a home-grown criminal” in British legal history. Carl Wood, 58, from of H5N1, or bird flu, was identified on a farm in government building in the UK to bring in its own charges related to aiding illegal immigration. A cannot be deported back to Italy despite his Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, and William Lincoln, Fife, it said. “Laboratory tests have identified a levy. Boris Johnson announced that there would be French court gave 49-year-old Rob Lawrie only a “reprehensible” record, the Court of Appeal has 60, of Bethnal Green, east London, were both very mild strain of the H5N1 virus and a humane a 10p charge on all added-sugar soft drinks sold in suspended 1,000-euro fine on a charge of putting ruled. Benedetto Vassallo, now 68, who arrived in found guilty of conspiracy to commit burglary, cull of almost 40,000 birds has now begun,” a the building’s cafe, with proceeds going to health the child’s life in danger - by transporting her in a the UK with his parents as a young child in 1952, and conspiracy to conceal, convert or transfer statement said. It added that the flu was “quite campaigns. The mayor described tackling obesity storage compartment of his van rather than on a has been convicted on 31 separate occasions criminal property. Hugh Doyle, 48, of Enfield, distinct” from the pathological strain which has as “one of the biggest” health challenges, adding: “I child seat with a seatbelt. Lawrie, an unemployed in respect of 68 off ences mainly for dishonesty, north London, was found guilty of concealing, caused several hundred human deaths in other hope this initiative will allow us to raise awareness father-of-four, had befriended the girl and her including numerous burglaries. But the appeal converting or transferring criminal property. parts of the world. The government said it had of the problem and encourage people to think father in a squalid migrant camp in northern judges upheld a first-tier immigration tribunal The theft happened over the Easter weekend restricted movement of poultry for 1km around about their diets.” David Cameron said last week France. “Compassion was in the dock today and decision that deporting Vassallo, now judged to last year in London’s jewellery quarter, and saw the farm in Dunfermline, north of Edinburgh, and that he did not want to rule out introducing a sugar France sent out a message that compassion will be at low risk of reoff ending, was not justified an estimated £14mn-worth of jewellery and that 40,000 birds would be humanely destroyed tax but indicated that he would prefer not to resort win,” he told reporters after the trial. under European immigration regulations. valuables stolen. with their eggs as a precautionary measure. to such punitive measures.

Salmond Lumiere London Festival opens ‘a stupid Armed patrol man’, says Trump doubled in Reuters London

S Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump Uhit out at former Scot- London amid tish First Minister Alex Salmond yesterday, calling him “an em- barrassment” as he defended his ownership of a prestigious Scot- tish golf course. The attack is the latest in a feud between the pair, stemming from terror fears Trump’s objection in 2013 to a Scottish government-approved London Evening Standard raise the number of armed of- In addition a task force of spe- off shore wind farm project near London fi cers that we have by 600. This cialist offi cers would be increased one of his golf courses. increase will more than double to make it up to 400-strong and Trump has found himself the number of armed response be the “second phase” of offi cers under scrutiny from British cotland Yard yesterday vehicles on our streets and grow to confront armed attackers. He politicians more generally after doubled the number of a highly-trained specialist part refused to disclose the number they voted last week to debate a Sroutine armed patrols in of our capability. This is because of armed response — or Trojan call to ban him from the UK due London to counter the threat of a we know that the threat we cur- units — on patrol. Firearms of- to public outcry over his pro- Paris-style terrorist attack. rently face is likely to be a spon- fi cers are all volunteers and Met posal to stop Muslims entering The Met will also boost to 400 taneous attack that requires a bosses are now recruiting inter- the US. a specialist squad of fi rearms of- fast response to deal with it. This nally to fi ll the new posts. Ques- Calling Salmond a “stupid fi cers who are trained to storm increase has started already and tions were raised over morale man”, Trump accused him of buildings occupied by gun- every day we are getting strong- among marksmen in the wake of destroying landscapes by sup- wielding fanatics. er. It will be an expensive option, the shooting of 28-year-old Jer- porting wind farm projects and Scotland Yard chief Sir Ber- but is vital to keeping us safe.” maine Baker near Wood Green said he “disgracefully” released nard Hogan-Howe announced He added: “My fi rearms offi c- crown court last month. from prison a Libyan convicted yesterday morning that he was ers are our heroes - we expect Police called for greater legal of blowing up Pan Am fl ight increasing the total number of them to run towards a terrorist protection for offi cers who kill 103 over the Scottish town of trained marksmen by 600, tak- attack and take action to con- suspects, particularly in light of Lockerbie in 1988. ing it to around 2,800 in a £25mn front and stop that threat.” the new counter-terrorism tac- “Alex Salmond is an embar- move. tics which will see them stepping rassment to Scotland,” he said. The announcement came as over casualties. Trump’s statement was issued suicide bombers and gunmen The number of offi cers trained as a response to Salmond, who yesterday carried out a maraud- to carry guns in London had had said on Wednesday on a ra- ing attack on the Indonesian fallen in recent years to around dio programme that it would be capital Jakarta, leaving at least 2,200. better for Scotland if the billion- seven people dead. There were Mayor Boris Johnson said: aire developer and former reality reports of gunmen on motor- “Keeping Londoners safe is my TV star were not the owner of bikes throwing grenades, with “My fi rearms offi cers are number one priority, and while the Turnberry golf course in the explosions at a Starbucks cafe our heroes - we expect this city remains one of the saf- south west of the country. and United Nations offi ces in the them to run towards a est in the world, the terrible Salmond, a campaigner for city. terrorist attack and take events in Paris last year remind Scotland’s independence from Sir Bernard yesterday said action to confront and stop us that we have to be prepared the United Kingdom, also said he was doubling the number of that threat.” to meet any potential terrorist he would support Interior Min- armed response vehicles on pa- threat. ister Theresa May if she did issue trol in the capital to improve the In a recent training exercise “Increasing our armed re- Trump with a travel ban, ending force’s ability to respond quickly police revealed that special- sponse capabilities, alongside his comments by suggesting that to a gun attack. ist fi rearms offi cers were now additional training and support, Trump wore a toupee. In a statement Sir Bernard trained to ignore injured victims is absolutely essential and we In a previous row, Trump had said: “In the days following but to “go forward” and tackle welcome the commissioner’s called Salmond a “has-been and Paris I asked my fi rearms team terrorist gun attackers. announcement and the funds totally irrelevant”. to increase the number of armed Speaking on LBC radio Sir being made available by the Half-Scottish Trump, who response vehicles available on Bernard said: “We are going to Home Offi ce to support it.” speaks proudly of his Gaelic her- our streets, which we did. Now double the number of armed Armed response vehicles rou- itage, defended his ownership of I have decided that we take the response vehicles that patrol tinely patrol London’s high gun Turnberry, one of the two golf A woman walks past a light sculpture in Leicester Square in London. Thirty light installations, steps to increase these numbers in London. These are the fi rst crime boroughs and are manned resorts he owns in Scotland, say- including a garden of giant plants, were switched on yesterday for the first London Lumiere on a permanent basis. phase of our response, whether by three specialist marksmen ing he was spending £200mn on festival. “To do so, the Met will now it is an armed bank robbery or a armed with Glock pistols and a revamp. start putting plans in place to terror attack.” Heckler & Koch carbines. Grayling signals support Actor Rickman dies of cancer aged 69 for Britain’s exit from EU Reuters Barber of Fleet Street and as the London Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, for which Reuters membership unchanged would has promised will come by the he won a Bafta, the British equiva- London be disastrous for Britain,” end of 2017 and says he will ctor Alan Rickman, whose lent of an Oscar. Grayling wrote. campaign to stay in the EU if roles ranged from Holly- He also won a Golden Globe and “I have always believed that he succeeds in getting what he Awood villains to Professor an Emmy during his career and senior minister yester- it is imperative that his rene- calls ‘the best deal for Britain’. Snape in the Harry Potter fi lms, despite his reputation for play- day suggested he could gotiation takes place and de- The prime minister has sug- has died after a battle with cancer ing the “baddie”, he was also ac- A campaign to leave the EU livers as much potential change gested he wants the referen- aged 69. claimed for more sensitive roles in if the bloc failed to meet Prime as possible ... I want Britain to dum to take place this year, With his aquiline features and fi lms such as Truly Madly Deeply, Minister David Cameron’s “de- choose between a changed re- possibly in June at the earliest, cultured - if often menacing - and Love, Actually. mands for change”, in one of the lationship and leaving.” and has expressed confidence English accent, he became one “Everybody loved Alan. He was strongest criticisms of the bloc he can secure change in the of Britain’s best-known actors of always happy and fun and crea- from a cabinet member. “Simply staying in the EU four areas where he is seeking stage and screen over the last 30 tive and very, very funny,” veteran In a carefully worded article with our current terms of to redefine Britain’s member- years with a career stretching from actor Michael Gambon told BBC for the Telegraph newspaper, membership unchanged ship terms. the Royal Shakespeare Company radio. “He had a great voice, he Chris Grayling, the leader of would be disastrous for But some of his closest ad- to sci-fi spoof Galaxy Quest. spoke wonderfully well, he was in- the House of Commons lower Britain” visers and dozens of lawmak- “The actor and director Rick- telligent, he wrote plays and he di- chamber of parliament, said ers in the ruling Conservative man has died from cancer at the rected a play. So he was a real man the European Union was head- Cameron’s spokesman said Party have indicated that they age of 69. He was surrounded by of the theatre and the stage.” ing towards further integration the premier was “relaxed” are not convinced the renego- family and friends,” his family said The Guardian newspaper said that Britain should not follow. about the article, which he was tiation will bring the change in a statement yesterday. Rickman was always politically A Cameron ally, Grayling aware was being written. they want and have suggested A graduate of London’s Royal active with the left-wing Labour did not say outright that he “He (Grayling) has set out they will vote to leave the Eu- Academy of Dramatic Art, Rick- Party and his wife, Rima Horton, would campaign to leave the that there are clear problems ropean Union. man got his big break appearing his partner of more than 50 years 28-member bloc after the with the status quo in terms of Earlier this month, Cam- the Broadway version of Les Liai- whom he married in secret last prime minister’s renegotiation the relationship that we have eron bowed to pressure to al- sons Dangereuses in the mid-1980s year, had been a Labour council- of Britain’s relationship with with the EU, and that is exactly low government ministers to before making his fi rst major fi lm lor in London. “Really sad to hear the EU, but he outlined what he the position the prime minister campaign to leave the EU once appearance as Hans Gruber in Die about Alan Rickman. Brilliant ac- described as his “strong Euro- has taken,” he told reporters. talks had been completed, Hard soon afterwards. tor, deeply principled man. My sceptic views”. Cameron wants to reform heading off the prospect of That was to be the fi rst of many heart goes out to Rima and his “Simply staying in the EU Britain’s ties with the bloc be- multiple resignations from his performances as a villain, includ- family,” Ed Miliband, Labour’s with our current terms of fore a referendum which he top team. Alan Rickman: ‘brilliant actor, deeply principled man’ ing Sweeney Todd: The Demon former leader said on Twitter. Gulf Times 10 Friday, January 15, 2016 EUROPE

We are the world Bomb attack at Turkish police station kills six Reuters 40,000 people over three dec- There was no immediate greater rights for Kurds. Cinar, Turkey ades. claim of responsibility. Since it launched its insur- The confl ict is a challenge to As rescue workers continued gency in 1984, fi ghting has Turkey’s security forces, which to search for bodies, the Reuters stayed largely in the country- urdish militants have are fi ghting on two fronts. reporter saw a sixth body being side, but the latest violence has attacked a police sta- On Tuesday, 10 German tour- pulled from the wreckage. focused on urban areas, where Ktion in southeast Tur- ists were killed in Istanbul in a A security source said it was the PKK youth wing has set up key with a truck bomb, killing suicide attack by a suspected that of a police offi cer’s wife. barricades and dug trenches to six people including a baby and Islamic State militant. “It was a really loud blast, as keep out security forces. A photo taken yesterday shows notes and flowers lying in tribute to victims at the site of the deadly two toddlers, in one of the big- Prime Minister Ahmet Da- if it was in our house,” said Ali Two towns on the Syrian and January 12 attack in the Istanbul’s tourist hub of Sultanahmet. gest strikes since the confl ict vutoglu said a fi ve-month-old Devran, a resident in his 30s. Iraqi borders, along with the Sur reignited in July, security offi - baby was among the dead in “We went and helped carry the district of the regional capital cials said yesterday. Cinar, vowing in a speech that wounded to ambulances. Some Diyarbakir, have been subjected The overnight blast ripped Turkey would continue its fi ght had suff ered burns.” to round-the-clock curfew for the facade off the station in the against “every kind of terror”. A security source said 1.5 more than a month amid opera- small town of Cinar. Security sources said a one- tonnes of explosives were used tions by security forces. A Reuters reporter saw nearby year-old and a fi ve-year-old had in the blast. Civilians have been caught Academics targeted after windows blown out, shop shut- also died, along with a police of- Coinciding with the bomb at- in the middle. Figures from the ters mangled and streets cov- fi cer and an unnamed fi fth per- tack, PKK fi ghters opened fi re pro-Kurdish HDP party show 87 ered in debris. son, and 39 people were wound- on a nearby security complex, civilians have been killed in Sur The mainly Kurdish region ed, including six police. triggering a fi refi ght, but no and the two towns in that time. signing petition for peace has suff ered a surge in violence PKK militants attacked the casualties were reported, the Thousands have left their since a two-year ceasefi re be- police station and adjoining ac- statement said. homes. Residents complain that tween the state and Kurdistan commodation around 11.30pm The PKK, designated a ter- the operations have been indis- DPA The academics have also been their communities in the south- Workers’ Party (PKK) rebels (2130 GMT), the provincial rorist group by Turkey, the criminate and that the sick have Istanbul threatened with violence. east, Turkey has eff ectively de- collapsed, reviving an insur- governor’s offi ce said in a state- United States and the EU, says been prevented from getting to Sedat Peker, a nationalist clared war on its own people,” gency that has killed more than ment. it is fi ghting for autonomy and hospital. Turkish criminal leader pledged Chomsky wrote. cademics in Turkey who to bathe in their blood which Human rights groups have signed a petition calling would “fl ow in streams”. been critical of the strict round- Afor peace amid a surge in More formally, Erdogan has the-clock curfews Turkish secu- violence between state secu- said that the academics were rity forces are implementing in rity forces and Kurdish militants spreading “hatred” and “impos- the southeast. Germany Key suspect in Paris attacks has are facing pressure, including ing the language and tone of the Kurdish offi cial say dozens of a criminal investigation, which terror organisation on public civilians have been killed. was opened yesterday. opinion”. The Turkish army says it has presents contacted lawyer, says report Prosecutors are considering The president was referring to killed 370 alleged militants in charging the academics with the armed Kurdistan Workers’ just two districts in the southeast carrying out propaganda for a Party (PKK). since it launched a tough fresh app for DPA/Reuters among them and blew himself Mary told the newspaper terrorist organisation, the state- A two-year ceasefi re between off ensive last month. Brussels up at a restaurant. at the time that his motiva- run Anadolu news agency re- the state and the PKK broke The PKK, listed as a terrorist Since then, Abdeslam’s tion was to fi ght against the ported. down in July, and hundreds of group in the US and EU, has been refugees whereabouts have been un- “abuse of power”, arguing that The academics’ statement was people have died in renewed waging a 30-year battle with the aleh Abdeslam, a key known. the prosecution services were critical of the government’s of- fi ghting over the last six months, state for greater rights and au- suspect in the November Two acquaintances are be- “surfi ng on fear to get even fensive – which was dubbed a including civilians. tonomy for the Kurdish minor- DPA S13 Paris terrorist attacks lieved to have helped him re- more power” in the wake of “massacre” – and use of heavy Prime Minister Ahmet Da- ity in Turkey, which makes up at Berlin who has since been on the run, turn to Brussels, but a series the Paris attacks. weapons in neighbourhoods in vutoglu rhetorically asked why least 15% of the country. has contacted a lawyer in Bel- of police raids failed to locate Federal prosecutors also the mostly Kurdish southeast of the academics chose to “align” Kurds have for decades com- gium, the Belga news agency him. gave no information yester- the country. themselves with terrorists, Ana- plained of systemic discrimina- he German government reported yesterday, citing an There have been reports day. President Recep Tayyip Er- dolu reported. tion. has presented a new unnamed source. that Abdeslam may have made “For now this is nothing dogan has taken to almost daily Left-wing US academic Noam The Kurdish language was Tsmartphone app that Abdeslam – a French citi- his way to Syria. but a rumour, which we will public bashings of the group, Chomsky, who supported calls banned for a number of years, aims to provide basic informa- zen who lived in Belgium The lawyer, Sven Mary, has not react to,” the prosecution which started with about 1,100 for peace, was singled out by Er- though recently restrictions have tion about how to navigate life in – was in Paris at the time of not commented, according to services told Belga. signatories, but this has since dogan for criticism. been relaxed. Germany to the throngs of mi- the attacks, in which 130 peo- Belga. Some media were speculat- doubled, according to organisers. In an e-mail to the Guardian The backlash against the grants entering the country. ple were killed by assailants He had said in December ing that Abdeslam might be At least one academic was newspaper, Chomsky hit back academics comes as Reporters “Ankommen”, the word for armed with machine guns and that he was prepared to repre- ready to turn himself in. suspended from her job at Duzce at Turkish policy in the mostly Without Borders ranks Turkey “to arrive” in German, was de- explosive vests. sent Abdeslam, Le Soir news- It was not clear when the University in northern Turkey for Kurdish southeast of the country. 149th out of 180 countries for veloped by the government in His brother Brahim was paper reported. contact took place, if at all. joining the call for peace. “With the sieges imposed on freedom of the press. co-ordination with the Goethe Institute and public broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk and is meant to act as a guide for new- comers during their fi rst weeks in the country. Teacher in avalanche Presented by the ministry for migration and refugees (BAMF) on Wednesday, the app is avail- tragedy faces probe able in English, German, French, Arabic and Farsi and provides information on German laws and AFP at the resort was three on a scale customs, courses in the German Grenoble of fi ve – meaning a single skier language as well as apprentice- can set off a snowslide, said Do- ships and jobs. minique Letang, director of the It is available for Android via French teacher faces a National Agency for the Study of Google Play with plans to adapt manslaughter investiga- Snow and Avalanches (ANENA). it for the iOS platform in the Ation after he led a group “In 90% of cases, it’s the ac- coming months. of students onto a closed skiing tion of a human being that causes “Understanding how Ger- piste in the French Alps where an avalanche,” Letang said, not- many works is the basis for get- an avalanche killed two of them ing that when the risk stands at ting on well together,” the app’s as well as a Ukrainian tourist, a fi ve, skiing areas are closed. website says. “Everyone has the prosecutor said yesterday. He described the avalanche as same obligations and has to obey The teacher cannot be taken “a typical case of a slab of snow German laws. But everyone has into custody “for the time being” formed by the heavy winds in the same rights too.” because he was seriously injured recent days. Fresh snow did not A plethora of language and in Wednesday’s accident and is attach enough” to the older layer, orientation apps for refugees in hospital in the south-central he said. have been developed in Germany city of Grenoble, prosecutor Letang added that the group in recent months. Jean-Yves Coquillat told a news should have been “properly The so-called Welcome App, conference. equipped” with a probe, a shovel created in Dresden last year, was A 16-year-old girl died on the and an avalanche transceiver downloaded more than 15,000 spot while a 14-year-old boy for fi nding people or equipment times in 2015. died later in hospital. buried under snow. Anke Domscheit-Berg, a dig- The 57-year-old Ukrainian The skiing season got off to a ital activist who organised a so- man who was killed was not part slow start in France as unsea- called Refugee Hackathon last of the school group. sonably warm temperatures October, says that too many apps “The investigation should de- left slopes bare over the festive are being developed simultane- termine the psychiatric state of season, with skiers and snow- ously and that there needs to be the teacher and his ability to lead boarders having to make do with a centralised database to avoid a group,” Coquillat said. artifi cial snow until the recent overlap and duplication. People place candles yesterday, at Les Deux Alpes resort in the French Alps, in tribute to the victims of the avalanche. He said that the piste was snowfall. “closed with the usual netting Local mayor Stephane Sauve- with warnings in several lan- bois said “foolhardy risks were Anti-govt protests grip Azerbaijan, 55 arrested Prison chief arrested for ‘stealing 50km road’ guages – four languages” and taken” when the group ventured that the group climbed over the onto the closed piste. Azerbaijan has arrested 55 protesters, said in a statement. “Police forces have Russia has detained a senior prison also sold them on for a profit, investigators netting “fully aware” of what Outside the students’ school off icials said yesterday, after police used restored public order.” service off icial on suspicion of stealing a said. they were doing. in Lyon, some 110km from the tear gas to disperse anti-government “Fifty-five protesters were arrested,” 50km stretch of public road. Protopopov, now acting deputy chief of The Bellecombes piste of the site of the disaster, dozens of rallies across the energy-rich country hit the ministry said, adding they had been Alexander Protopopov oversaw the the national prison service, faces charges Deux Alpes ski resort, at an al- candles were lit alongside notes hard by falling oil prices. charged with disobeying police and dismantling of a concrete highway and of misappropriating of state property titude of some 2,500m (7,000’), such as “Thoughts with the stu- Mass protests gripped the former Soviet “committing antisocial acts”. sold off the slabs as prison service chief while using his off icial position, which is rated a black piste – France’s dents and pupils” and “Thoughts Caspian nation earlier this week amid “Similar events took place in (the) in the far northern Komi region, the could lead to 10 years in jail. highest diffi culty rating. with the families, stay strong”. swelling discontent over price increases Lenkaran, Fizuli, Agdjabedi and Agsu Investigative Committee said. While heading Komi region’s prison It had been closed all season Students at the school were and the collapse of the national currency, districts of Azerbaijan during protests The road, which was made up of over service from 2010 to 2015, Protopopov because of a lack of snow. But incredulous over the tragedy. the manat. organised by the (opposition) Popular 7,000 reinforced concrete slabs, was won awards, including a medal for heavy snowfall in recent days “We’re still in shock,” said “Protesters on Wednesday used Front and Musavat parties,” the ministry “dismantled and driven away” over the creating “spiritual unity”, according to the has blanketed the mountains, one who gave his name as Alain. force against representatives of the said. period of more than a year, between 2014 prison service’s website. prompting authorities to warn of “This outing takes place several law enforcement agencies during an Local media reported that police used tear and 2015. Investigators said the scheme had cost a high risk of avalanches across times a year, with the same in- unsanctioned march in Siazan district” in gas against stone-throwing protesters in The concrete slabs were subsequently the Russian Federation over 6mn rubles the French Alps. structors, and there have never eastern Azerbaijan, the interior ministry Siazan and several other provincial towns. used by a commercial company which ($79,000/€73,000). The risk level on Wednesday been any problems.” Gulf Times Friday, January 15, 2016 11 INDIA

Aadhaar increased access and reduced corruption, says World Bank

IANS IDs called Aadhaar “to open bank in the making by a 15-member population remains excluded information fl ows, and facilitat- still offl ine in North America. portunities for people who face Washington accounts, monitor attendance of team led by co-directors, Deepak from the ever-expanding dig- ing the rise of developing nations With the Internet enabling barriers in fi nding jobs or pro- civil servants, and identify recip- Mishra and Uwe Deichmann. ital economy with the benefi ts of that are able to take advantage of more products to be exported to ductive inputs. This promotes ients of government subsidies,” However, the report noted rapid digital expansion skewed these new opportunities,” said more markets, often by newer inclusion for women, for persons iting how India increased noted the new World Develop- that while the Internet, mo- towards the wealthy, skilled, and Kaushik Basu, World Bank Chief and younger fi rms, the report with disabilities, and for people access and reduced cor- ment Report 2016: Digital Divi- bile phones and other digital infl uential around the world. Economist. noted fi rms in India, Jamaica, in remote areas, the report said. Cruption in public services dends, released here yesterday. technologies are spreading rap- In addition, though the China has the largest number and the Philippines have cap- Kerala state, for example, set by providing unique digital iden- “In public health services, idly throughout the developing number of Internet users world- of Internet users, followed by the tured a share of global markets up the Kudumbashree project to tifi cation to 1bn people in fi ve simple SMS messages have prov- world, the anticipated digital wide has more than tripled since US, with India, Japan, and Brazil for services ranging from tra- outsource information technol- years, the World Bank says digital en eff ective in reminding people dividends of higher growth, more 2005, 4bn people still lack access fi lling out the top fi ve. ditional back-offi ce services to ogy services to co-operatives of technologies can promote inclu- living with HIV to take their life- jobs, and better public services to the Internet. The world’s offl ine population long-distance online tutoring. women from poor families; 90% sion, effi ciency, and innovation. saving drugs,” said the 350-plus have fallen short of expectations. “The digital revolution is is mainly in India and China, The Internet’s ability to reduce of the women had not previously Indians are using their digital page report that was two years As many as 60% of the world’s transforming the world, aiding but more than 120mn people are transaction costs increases op- worked outside the home. Delhi odd-even Community fishing scheme ends today, govt to review impact

IANS chaired by Chief Minister Arvind New Delhi Kejriwal,” Rai said. “On the basis of results, it will be decided when to implement he Supreme Court yes- the second phase of the scheme terday declined an urgent in the national capital.” Thearing of an appeal chal- Rai said the government will lenging a Delhi High Court nod organise an event at Chhatrasal for the city government’s curbs Stadium on January 17 to thank on cars to fi ght pollution. the people of Delhi who made the The trial run of the odd-even odd-even scheme a “success”. scheme ends today. He said the capital’s residents The Delhi government hinted followed the rules willingly for re- that the scheme that stipulated ducing pollution levels in the city. plying of odd-numbered cars He also spoke about the fourth only on odd dates and even- car-free day in the capital. numbered cars on even dates for “The fourth car-free day will 15 days from January 1 may be re- be organised on a 6km stretch introduced in the future. from Delhi University Metro sta- Villagers take part in a community fishing event during the Bhogali Bihu celebrations at Goroimari Lake in Panbari, some 50km from Guwahati, yesterday. Bhogali Bihu Declining an early hearing, a tion to Chhatrasal Stadium on is a harvest festival celebrated in the northeastern Assam which started yesterday. bench of Chief Justice T S Thakur, January 22,” Rai said. Justice A K Sikri and Justice R Ba- The car-free day, held on numathi took a dim view of the the 22nd of every month, was plea fi led by a young lawyer. launched by the Aam Aadmi party “You are challenging it for government in October last year publicity. It is a publicity stunt,” to create awareness about using the court told lawyer-petitioner public transport and thus bringing B Badrinath. down pollution levels in the city. Pointing out that the govern- He said the fourth car-free ment was taking steps to curb day would witness participation pollution as people were dying of by teachers and students of Delhi India, Pakistan delay it, the court asked: “Why a young University who will lead a cycle advocate is having diffi culty in rally. It will be observed between reaching the court” and observed 8am and 4pm. that “we are doing carpooling, The fi rst car-free day was held but you are not helping”. on October 22 on the Red Fort- Talking to reporters here, India Gate stretch, the second Delhi Transport Minister Gopal in Dwarka on November 22, and talks after airbase raid Rai said a decision on the sec- the third in Lakshmi Nagar on ond phase of the scheme will be December 22. New Delhi has demanded came just days after Prime Min- would go ahead. Swarup wel- India had no information tact to fi rm up the dates for the taken after a review of the 15-day The monthly exercise is aimed action against the Jaish-e- ister Narendra Modi became the comed the arrests and said India regarding the arrest of Jaish- meeting of the two foreign sec- trial period and its impact. at curbing air pollution. The in- Mohamed that it suspects of fi rst Indian leader to visit Paki- would work with a team of in- e-Mohamed leader Azhar retaries,” Khalilullah said in Is- “We have called a meeting on creasingly toxic air in the capi- carrying out the attack on stan in 11 years, raising hopes of vestigators Pakistan is sending Masood, according to Swarup. lamabad. January 18 to review the impact tal had prompted the judiciary the Pathankot airbase a softening in relations between to Pathankot, near the border Asked whether the Indian “Mutual consultations are on of the odd-even scheme in the to nudge the city government to the neighbours. between the two countries. government thought this time regarding the rescheduling of past 15 days. The meeting will be check pollution. Agencies There had been fears it could “We welcome the statement Pakistan was serious about the talks,” he added. New Delhi derail talks between the foreign issued by the government of bringing the Pathankot attack- Seven Indian military per- secretaries of the two coun- Pakistan yesterday on the in- ers to book unlike in the case sonnel were killed in the Janu- ‘Luxury tax’ on samosas sparks row tries that had been tentatively vestigations into the Pathankot of the 26/11 Mumbai terror at- ary 2 attack on the base, which ndia and Pakistan said yes- scheduled for this week. terrorist attack,” Swarup said. tacks, he said: “We will go by was followed by a raid on an The Bihar government has said the much-loved pastry snack was terday they have postponed But external aff airs ministry “The statement conveys what objective evidence we see Indian consulate in Afghani- it will impose a “luxury tax” on met with baff lement on social Italks after a fatal attack on spokesman Vikas Swarup said that considerable progress has on the ground. We are not go- stan that has also been linked to samosas - one of the country’s media. “Weird tax alert! Ready an Indian airbase that New talks would take place in the been made in the investiga- ing to go by empty statements. Jaish-e-Mohamed. most popular snacks - sparking for samosa politics?” Twitter Delhi blames on a banned Paki- “very near future”. tions being carried out against So far, what Pakistan has done The group was set up to fi ght widespread outrage. The state user Shruti Malhotra wrote, stan-based group. “The foreign secretary spoke terrorist elements linked to the we have welcomed and we hope Indian rule in Jammu and Kash- government announced plans while Azeem Shaikh posted: Islamabad said the talks were to his Pakistani counterpart to- Pathankot incident.” they will continue with these mir. this week for the new levy to “Eh? Please leave the humble being “rescheduled”, a day after day and will set a date for the Asked why the talks had eff orts.” Pakistan banned the group off set an anticipated plunge in #samosa alone.” Opposition it announced the arrest of sever- talks in the near future,” he said been deferred, Swarup said the Earlier in the day, Pakistan in 2002, the year after it was revenues when a ban on alcohol politicians warned the tax would al Jaish-e-Mohamed militants. at a media briefi ng. foreign secretaries may have foreign offi ce spokesman Qazi blamed for an attack on the In- sales comes into force in April. hurt ordinary people. “This is a Neither side specifi ed, how- Asked whose ball the court felt it would be better to have M Khalilullah said talks be- dian parliament. Cosmetics, perfumes and some foolish, anti-people idea that will ever, a new date for when the was now in, he replied in Hindi, wide-ranging talks “slightly tween the two foreign secretar- It arrested the group’s leader sweets were also among the hurt the masses,” Devesh Kumar, talks would take place. “when the husband and wife away” from the shadow of the ies, scheduled for today, have in the wake of the 2008 Mum- “luxury” items to be taxed at spokesman for the Bharatiya The January 2 assault on the are willing, who is the priest to Pathankot attack and its after- been postponed. bai attacks, but he was later re- 13.5%, but the decision to include Janata Party in Bihar, said. Pathankot airbase in Punjab interfere”, indicating the talks math. “Both countries are in con- leased.

Students walk Holy dip barefoot on US tourist drowns in rice broken glass About 70 students walked barefoot over broken glass in an apparent bid to overcome paddy, say Goa police exam phobia and stage fright, sparking a probe into the unusual character-building Agencies in contact with the family, and ting the report will we be able exercise. Panaji is actively working with Indian to know the exact cause of his Children as young as 12 took part government and police offi - death,” Gaonkar said. in the ceremony on Wednesday cials,” she added. Goa Chief Minister Laxmi- intended to boost their mental n American tourist has The incident happened in kant Parsekar said police had health at a private coaching drowned in a rice paddy Korgao village, in Pernem, also been chasing Holt and centre in Gujarat. Ain the resort state of close to the border with the that he had died after “inhaling Video footage, picked up by Goa, according to reports, with neighbouring state of Mahar- sludge”. TV channels, shows students the US consulate saying yester- ashtra. “What I was told is that he slowly stepping along about day it was working with police North Goa superintendent of was chased by people and po- a metre-long line of thick, on the case. police Umesh Gaonkar said the lice. He got afraid and started broken glass. There were no Caitanya Holt, 30, was be- locals started chasing the tour- running. He fell in a paddy fi eld injuries reported from the ing chased by local villagers ist because they suspected him and died after inhaling sludge,” incident. and police in northern Goa on of being a thief. said Parsekar. “We have ordered a probe into Tuesday night when he fell into Police claimed Holt, from The foreign national’s death the incident where a private tutor the fi eld and died after inhaling Ohio, was acting in an erratic rocked the Goa assembly on is instructing students to walk on muddy water, according to the manner. Wednesday, with the govern- broken glass,” state Education reports. “He went to the homes of ment saying he choked on mud Minister Bhupendrasinh The American was report- villagers and asked irrational while the opposition ‘techni- Chudasama told reporters on edly being chased by locals be- questions, which made the cally’ dubbed him a murder Wednesday. cause he was suspected of be- people suspicious. They began victim. Rakesh Patel, who runs the ing a thief. to chase him away. The chase Congress leader Pratapsinh Hindu devotees arrive to take a holy bath and perform rituals at the Gangasagar Island, some coaching centre in Vadodara, “We are aware of this case,” of 2-3 km ended in the fi eld, Rane said the incident was 150km south of Kolkata, yesterday. More than 500,000 Hindu pilgrims and sadhus gathered at defended the exercise, saying Heidi Hattenbach, a spokes- where the unfortunate incident technically a murder and it the confluence of the River Ganges and the Bay of Bengal during the Gangasagar Mela to take “there is a science behind it”. person for the US consulate in occurred,” Gaonkar said. would deter foreign tourists a ‘holy dip’ in the ocean on the occasion of Makar Sankranti, considered to be of great religious “This will remove fear and Mumbai, said. “We have sent the body for from choosing Goa as a holiday significance in Hindu mythology. disbelief from the students’ “Our consular staff has been postmortem. Only after get- destination. minds,” he told reporters. Gulf Times 12 Friday, January 15, 2016 INDIA

Videography, webcasting to help Bihar curb cheating in exams

IANS students surface on a regular ba- government is committed to en- chairman of the Bihar School perintendents of police have been taken against offi cials and teach- National Students Union of India, Patna sis. suring cheating-free exams,” Ed- Examination Board, said CCTV asked to invoke Section 144 of ers. said the state government’s com- Ahead of the Class 10 and Class ucation Minister Ashok Choud- cameras would be installed out- the CrPC and ban illegal gather- Gajender Sharma, a teacher at a mitment to ensuring cheating- 12 exams in Bihar in February and hary said. side the exam centres and videog- ings and groups at all examination government school in Arwal dis- free exams should be supported n a major reform of the sys- March, the education depart- He said stern measures would raphy would be conducted inside centres an hour before exams be- trict, termed as a positive move by all. tem, mass cheating in Bihar ment has asked offi cials to begin be taken against anyone attempt- the centres. gin. In addition, parents, guard- the eff orts to curb mass cheating “Students, their parents and Imay become a thing of the preparations for ‘clean’ exams by ing to cheat. Thousands of security per- ians, family members and friends at exams. family should come forward to past if a plan to use high-tech installing CCTV cameras and or- According to education de- sonnel would be deployed in and would be kept away from the cen- “It was shameful to see last year help government agencies to con- gadgets and deploy extra secu- dering videography and live we- partment offi cials, nearly 1.4mn outside of examination centres. tres. photographs going viral, nation- duct cheating-free exams,” Sahu rity forces at exam centres bears bcasting of examination centres. students will appear for interme- Offi cials said not more than three At a high-level meeting chaired ally and internationally, showing said. fruit. Additional security forces are also diate exams from the last week of students would be allowed to sit by chief secretary Anjani Kumar people climbing a school wall in However, Manish Kumar Singh Mass cheating has become an being deployed. February and around 1.5mn will on a bench during any exam to Singh here on Tuesday, it was de- the state to fl ing answer sheets of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi annual feature in March every “We have decided not to toler- write the matriculation exams in minimise the chances of cheat- cided that if cheating is reported to students inside the building,” Parishad seemed sceptical. year when reports and visuals of ate and compromise on this any March. ing. from any centre, exams there Sharma said. “It is big task and not possible,” guardians and friends helping more. The Grand Alliance-led Lalkeshwar Prasad Singh, All district magistrates and su- would be cancelled and action Manish Sahu, a leader of the Singh said.

Travel agents under probe over UK Govt starts visa fraud

AFP Bengaluru debate on hree Indian travel agents are under investigation af- Tter British authorities said yesterday they had been provid- ing visa applicants with fake im- migration stamps. launch of The agents from Bengaluru allegedly supplied counterfeit immigration stamps to support their clients’ visa applications to several countries including Brit- ain. The scam was uncovered after GM mustard eight applicants applied for UK visas using passports contain- The prime minister has ated, and that commercialisation ing fake immigration stamps, the shown he is keen to push for would be preceded by a careful British Deputy High Commission technology in farming, which analysis of risks and benefi ts. in Chennai said in a statement. sustains more than two-thirds India’s GM mustard makes use “The agents advised the appli- of India’s population of three genes already incorporat- cants to get the stamps to show ed in rapeseed hybrids in Canada, that they were all well-travelled Reuters the US and Australia and exten- and to hide the fact that they had New Delhi sive biosafety tests have revealed all broken the rules of their previ- no cause for concern, Pental said. ous UK visas,” it said. Also, oil derived from its seeds After British immigration of- ndia’s chief scientifi c adviser does not contain any of the pro- fi cials retained the suspicious has urged Prime Minister teins linked to the three genes documents, the applicants tried INarendra Modi to decide the used, he added. to apply for new passports saying fate of the country’s fi rst geneti- While things are moving in the their old ones had been lost, trig- cally modifi ed (GM) food crop, Chidambaram: says India should right direction, Pental acknowl- gering further investigations by mustard, and a recent meeting not hesitate in going ahead with edged that overcoming opposi- authorities. suggests authorities may support GM mustard launch . tion would be diffi cult. “We are aware of a number of commercialisation. Grassroots groups associated travel agents across India who While the path to a commercial the very fact that the ministry with Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Par- encourage applicants to submit launch is fraught with political called a meeting (on January 4) ty (BJP) have opposed GM crops fraudulent documents or pass- opposition, allowing GM crops is suggests they are serious. Also, if fearing the reliance on expensive ports that have been tampered critical to Modi’s goal of attaining India’s top scientist is writing to seeds patented by multination- with,” said Samuel Darling, re- self suffi ciency in edible oils. India the PM then it surely is signifi - als like Monsanto. Pental, how- gional manager for the UK’s Im- spends more than $10bn annually cant.” ever, said the mustard project migration Enforcement Risk & on vegetable oil imports and GM In a letter sent to Modi, was state-funded so seed prices Liaison Overseas Network. mustard - with yields 38% higher Principal Scientifi c Adviser R would be reasonable. Those found guilty of visa than normal varieties - will give Chidambaram said GM food Monsanto launched Bt cot- fraud could have their passports Modi a chance to slash this bill. crops were widely prevalent glo- ton in India in 2002, selling seeds revoked, receive a ban of up to The prime minister has already bally and their use would only directly and licensing local pro- ten years on travelling to the UK shown he is keen to push for tech- rise as changing weather patterns ducers. The GM cotton, which as well as other countries includ- nology in farming, which sustains hit farm output. India already produces its own insecticide, has ing the US and Australia and face more than two-thirds of India’s consumes oil derived from a GM helped India become a leading criminal proceedings. population, by reversing an eff ec- rapeseed grown in Canada. producer and exporter of the fi - “It’s important that people tive ban on fi eld trials of GM food “India, in my opinion, should bre. Monsanto is also developing know the consequences of being crops soon after taking offi ce in not hesitate to be the fi rst intro- GM corn varieties. caught, before they agree,” Dar- 2014. Earlier, as the chief minis- ducer of new advanced technol- Prabhakar Kelkar, the national ling said. ter of Gujarat, he had backed the ogy, after convincing itself, of general secretary of the farmers’ In 2009, a British court jailed widespread adoption of GM cot- course, about its value to the us- body affi liated to BJP’s ideological three Indians for providing fake ton by farmers. ers and the nation, its economic parent, the Rashtriya Swayamse- degrees and identities to hun- GM mustard is next on the viability, its safety and environ- vak Sangh, said the government dreds of immigrants, in what country’s radar. Results from ment friendliness,” Chidambaram should not go ahead until every prosecutors at the time said was safety tests conducted on the wrote in the letter sent in October. seed variety was found to be fool- the biggest visa scam ever seen in hybrid oilseed crop over the past “GM food crops fall into this proof. the UK. decade were submitted to the category.” “We’ll make people aware of They were jailed for orches- government in September. India’s environment and for- the ill eff ects, especially after pest trating the fraud factory in west “I am hoping that its com- est ministry that is responsible attacks devastated GM cotton London that allowed Indian and mercial launch happens,” Deepak for assessing GM crop applica- crops recently,” said Kelkar. “But Pakistani nationals to study and A scientist holds a genetically modified (GM) rapeseed crop under trial in New Delhi. While things are Pental, the main scientist behind tions said the 3,100-page mustard if the government approves then work in Britain. moving in the right direction, experts acknowledge that overcoming opposition would be diff icult. the GM oilseed crop, said. “And safety report was being evalu- what can we do?” Jallikattu lovers say event Irani opens new IISER campus in Kerala is part of Tamil culture neering colleges affi liated to it, is By Ashraf Padanna Gulf Times Correspondent also being set up there. IANS miracle if Jallikattu is to be held the occasion cause air pollution. Thiruvananthapuram Chief Minister Oommen Chennai this Pongal. “We need to tackle the prob- Chandy was the chief guest of the At least one village in Madurai lem, not kill the event,” argued M inaugural function. district is in mourning since there Murugesan, a former civil servant ederal Human Resources The physics and biology blocks tunned by the Supreme will be no Jallikattu now. who views Jallikattu as a part of Development Minister Sm- and additional hostel facilities Court’s refusal to allow Jal- “I have seen Jallikattu for the Tamil tradition. Friti Irani yesterday opened for 500 students are expected to Slikattu, many in Tamil Nadu past 24 years,” K Mahesh, a me- “It is perfectly possible that the new campus of Indian Insti- be ready next year and all aca- hope and pray that the ancient chanical engineer and a vegetable things may be happening in Jal- tute of Science Education and Re- demic activities will be shifted to bull taming sport doesn’t fade exporter in Alanganallur, said. likattu that may not be correct,” search (IISER) here. the permanent campus from the away. “The entire village is in mourning.” he said. “Correct the mistakes, The IISER Trivandrum, which ‘transit campus’ in the academic The court ruling came on In Jallikattu, a young man is correct the deviations. Why ban opened in 2008, was until now year 2016-17. Wednesday, a day before Tamil expected to hang on to the bull’s Jallikattu?” functioning from the College of Even though the fi rst phase Nadu began celebrating the four- hump for a stipulated distance or In 2014, the Supreme Court Engineering Trivandrum campus. of construction commenced in day Pongal festival when Jallikat- hold on to the hump for a mini- banned the sport, upholding a The new campus is spread over March 2011, the work was delayed tu is held in many rural parts. mum of three jumps made by the central government notifi cation. 200 acres in Vithura village near by the contractor. “We are hoping Jallikattu does bull. Many young men die or get On January 8 last year, the cen- the Ponmudi hill station. The three-storey chemical sci- not become one more old item to wounded in the process. tral government issued a notifi ca- IISERs are a group of premier ence block has three common be discarded,” I T Seeman, an ad- The sport’s popularity has tion permitting Jallikattu subject science education and research instrumentation laboratories, 28 vocate in Madurai and an owner gone up in recent times, with lo- to certain conditions, which was institutes in India. Currently, research labs, six teaching labs, of Jallikattu bulls, said. cal businesses introducing prize later stayed by the court. there are fi ve IISERs, others being one computer lab, 12 classrooms, “The sport is part of Tamil rural money. Finally, on Wednesday, the in Bhopal, Kolkata, Mohali and 33 faculty rooms, a seminar hall, life and also provides livelihood to Jallikattu lovers said the ban court made it clear that the bull Pune. and a landscaped court. several families that trade in the on the event by the Supreme taming event can’t be held. This is a major institution of The Central Public Works De- animal,” he added. Court, in response to petitions Old timers say the Jallikattu bull national importance coming up in partment has now been entrusted Jallikattu enthusiasts say eve- from animal lovers, amounted to is bought when it is two months the area, identifi ed as the higher with the second phase of the con- ryone is ready to abide by safety throwing out the baby with the old. It is ready for the sport when education hub of the state, after struction and campus development prescriptions so that the event bath water. it is three years old. Indian Institute of Space Tech- at an estimated cost of Rs3.8bn. continues to be held rather than Many demanded to know if “We can judge the animal by its nology (IIST). During the last three years, three allow an age old tradition to van- Diwali, the pan-Hindu festival attitude, alertness and naughti- The permanent campus of the batches of BS-MS students (114 ish. of lights, would ever get banned ness,” explained a Jallikattu bull APJ Abdul Kalam Technological students) have passed out of IISER- But they can only hope for a because the fi recrackers used on owner. Smriti Irani speaks at the inauguration of the new campus . University, which has 154 engi- Thiruvananthapuram. Gulf Times Friday, January 15, 2016 13 LATIN AMERICA

POLICY HURDLES VERDICT FORECAST HONOURED Rousseff signs amnesty on Farc casts doubt on Colombian gangster gets Drought to last through Chilean architect Aravena undeclared off shore assets March peace deal target 11 years prison sentence June, says Santos wins Pritzker Prize

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff yesterday The Farc has warned that “substantial hurdles” A septuagenarian Colombian drug lord who has Colombian forecasters predict that a severe Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena has won signed a bill that gives amnesty to holders of in negotiations could prevent it signing a peace admitted to conspiring to traff ic cocaine sold drought caused by the El Nino weather the prestigious 2016 Pritzker Prize, earning undeclared off shore assets in exchange for a fine, deal with the government by March 23. “There in the US was ordered to spend 11 years in a US phenomenon will get worse before it gets better, praise for “powerful” designs that address key part of eff orts to cut a swelling budget gap and are objective causes and factors that will probably prison, federal prosecutors in New Jersey said. which probably won’t be until June, President social and economic challenges of the 21st revive investment in the recession-hit economy. prevent that from happening on March 23,” Salomon Camacho Mora, 71, was sentenced by US Juan Manuel Santos said. “The drought’s going century. “Innovative and inspiring, he shows The law off ers amnesty from prosecution to the Farc’s lead negotiator Joaquin Gomez told district judge William Walls in Newark, New Jersey, to get a lot worse between now and March,” how architecture at its best can improve Brazilians if they bring unreported foreign funds reporters. He spoke in Havana where peace talks 15 months after pleading guilty. The defendant said Santos, delivering the bad news at a press people’s lives,” said Tom Pritzker, chairman home and pay a 30% fine in the form of tax. that have been going on for three years between was also ordered to forfeit $1.6mn and eight conference flanked by his top ministers, as he of The Hyatt Foundation, which awards the When the bill was approved in the Senate late the Communist rebel group and the Colombian Colombian properties. A lawyer for Camacho urged his countrymen to continue following prize. The 48-year-old Aravena, who is based last year, government off icials said it could help government resumed after a Christmas break. did not immediately respond to requests for rigorous water conservation measures. in Santiago, will receive the $100,000 award raise about 11bn reais ($2.74bn) in revenues. On September 23, President Juan Manuel Santos comment. Known to associates as “Papa Grande,” Unusually warm temperatures caused in the and bronze medallion at a ceremony at UN Rousseff vetoed parts of the bill, including one shook hands with Farc leader Timoleon Jimenez on meaning Big Daddy,, Camacho was originally Pacific around the equator by El Nino are known headquarters in New York on April 4. He is the that steered part of the collected fines to regional the core of the proposed peace deal, and the two indicted in 2002 but remained a fugitive until he for causing weather extremes, and typically lead 41st Pritzker laureate, and only the fourth from governments. vowed to reach a final accord within six months. was captured in Venezuela in January 2010. to less rain in South America. Latin America. Guzman’s Polluted water ‘obsession’ with actress led to arrest

Reuters Del Castillo took to Twit- Mexico City ter to thank her supporters and wrote: “Not surprisingly many have chosen to make etails of fl irtatious up items they think will make phone messaging chats good stories and that aren’t Dbetween Mexican drug truthful.” lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guz- She pledged to give her sto- man and actress Kate del Cas- ry in due course. tillo have gripped Mexico, and The warmth between the an offi cial said his “obsession” drug lord and the actress has with her led him to lower his surprised even Mexicans in- guard and be caught. ured to the often stranger- Guzman, 57, was arrested in than-fi ction events of the the northern city of Los Mo- drug war. Stores in Mexico chis on Friday, six months af- City sold pinatas resembling Dead fish lie on the shore of Guanabara Bay in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Thousands of dead fish have washed up on the shores of Rio’s Guanabara Bay not far from where events ter a dramatic second jailbreak the pair, with “del Castillo” are being held at this year’s Olympic Games, environmental off icials said. The incident was the latest involving water quality in the bay, where sailing, open water swimming, through a tunnel in his cell. brandishing a pistol with “I and triathlon races are due to take place at the Games in August. He is now back in the same love Chapo” written across it. prison. The newspaper said some Mexican authorities said of the messages were copied they intercepted a series of from an intercepted phone instant message conversa- used by one of Guzman’s law- tions in which del Castillo, yers. Another of his lawyers 43, brokered a secret meeting said reports the two were close between Guzman, herself and were “speculation.” Hollywood star Sean Penn in Later messages between the October, helping them trace two appear to have been re- the kingpin. trieved from a BlackBerry de- Argentina to present A senior government offi - vice that a lawyer bought for cial, who declined to be iden- del Castillo on Guzman’s or- tifi ed, said one reason Guzman ders. The kingpin wanted her left his redoubt in the Sierra to have a pink handset but in Madre mountains of Sinaloa the end agreed to gray. for Los Mochis was because Guzman’s ties with del Cas- he was desperate to set up an- tillo began publicly in 2012 plan on ending debt row other meeting with the Los when the actress, who has Angeles-based actress. fronted campaigns for Reuters “Then we will recommend a the creditors to submit their own then held out for better terms characterised by heavy govern- “I’ll look after you L’Oreal and Ford, wrote New York/Buenos Aires new date for us to all sit down proposal for negotiations at the when Argentina restructured ment spending that aimed to more than my own an open letter calling and discuss the proposal,” Fi- same time. its debt. boost the domestic economy. eyes,” Guzman said, on the capo to “traffi c nance Secretary Luis Caputo Earlier, Finance Minister Al- They are broadly known in Ar- The new government aims according to tran- in goodness” and say- rgentina will propose a told reporters after holding his fonso Prat-Gay told a news con- gentina as “vultures” for picking to reduce this defi cit to 4.8% of scripts of the exchang- ing she believed more solution to its long-run- fi rst face-to-face meeting in ference in Buenos Aires it was in on the carcass of the economy GDP this year and 3.3% in 2017, es published by news- in him than the govern- Aning legal battle with US New York with the creditors su- Argentina’s interests to reach a after the default plunged mil- in part by eliminating subsidies paper Milenio. “I’m very ment. creditors over unpaid debt to a ing Argentina over debt it de- deal. The previous government’s lions of Argentines into poverty. for public services for the 30% moved,” she replied. The conversation US court-appointed mediator faulted on in 2002. failure to do so had cost the Not all the holdouts bought their to 40% of wealthiest Argentines, “Nobody has ever carried on after the by the week of January 25, the fi - Caputo said he met with the economy, he said, with creditor bonds on the cheap however. Prat-Gay said. Subsidies would looked after me.” meeting with Penn at a nance ministry said. main litigants such as Elliott claims in New York having risen In addition to the debt battle, be maintained for those who The government time when authorities Solving the more than dec- Management Corporation’s to $9.9bn from $2.943bn origi- Argentina’s new centre-right needed them, he added. offi cial said the were in hot pursuit of ade-long debt battle would en- NML Capital as well as smaller nally. government, which took offi ce Infl ation has already eased messages were gen- Guzman, who narrowly able Argentina to return to global ones known as the “me-too” Former president Cristina in December, also inherited a back to levels seen before Ar- uine and that Guz- escaped a raid authori- credit markets and could mark bondholders. Argentina’s off er Fernandez had refused to settle primary fi scal defi cit of 5.8% of gentina’s 26.5% devaluation in man “had a kind of ties say was made pos- the start of a new wave of invest- would include all of them, he with the hedge funds like NML GDP in 2015, Prat-Gay said. December, Prat-Gay said. The obsession” with the sible by leads gathered ment in Latin America’s third- said. Capital that bought Argen- “The primary fi scal defi cit new government aims to bring it actress that was his from his contacts with largest economy, kickstarting In a separate statement, the tine bonds on the cheap after is at its highest in 30 years,” he down to between 20% and 25% undoing. del Castillo. growth. fi nance ministry said it expected its massive 2002 default and said. Fernandez’s two terms were this year from 28% in 2015. Drug lord freed from Drugs seized Ecuador to co-operate in Assange quizzing jail slams Fujimoris embassy since 2012. AFP Quito He has repeatedly refused Reuters “A Keiko Fujimori govern- Peru’s interior ministry said to travel to Sweden to answer Lima ment would be disastrous,” authorities would keep an eye to the rape allegation, saying Chavez said. on him. cuador said it will co- he fears he would then face Peru under her father’s Colombia arrested Chavez operate with Swedish extradition to the US and trial notorious former Pe- leadership became corrupted in 1994 and extradited him to Eprosecutors after they over the leaking of hundreds ruvian cocaine king- by drug traffi ckers, “a narco- Peru, where a military court formally requested permis- of thousands of classifi ed US A pin who was released state ... that’s undeniable, he gave him a life sentence. He sion to interrogate WikiLeaks military and diplomatic docu- from prison after 22 years added. was later retried and sen- founder Julian Assange at his ments in 2010. on Wednesday has criti- Fujimori’s campaign and tenced to 25 years for drug hideout in the Ecuadoran em- Patino questioned why it cised Keiko Fujimori’s run for Alberto Fujimori’s lawyer did traffi cking. In 2007 his sen- bassy in London. had taken Swedish authorities president and said the An- not immediately respond to tence was reduced to 22 years. “We will co-operate with “so long” to agree to ques- dean country became a “nar- requests for comment. Chavez said he used to pay the Swedish authorities so tion Assange under Ecuadoran co-state” during her father’s Chavez’ comments come Alberto Fujimori’s close ad- they can take some statements. law, and said it fuelled “suspi- 1990-2000 government. as Fujimori has been trying viser and spy chief, Vladimiro We have said that from the be- cions.” Demetrio Chavez, nick- to break from the tarnished Montesinos, for protection ginning,” said Ecuadoran For- “We believe there really named “The Vatican,” reiter- legacy of her father to win over but called off the arrangement eign Minister Ricardo Patino is a process of persecution” ated that he once paid the gov- middle-ground voters. Fuji- after Montesinos asked him to in an interview with news site against Assange, he said. ernment of former president mori is not expected to win double the bribe to $100,000 Ecuadorinmediato. Last March, Swedish pros- Alberto Fujimori $50,000 per outright the fi rst-round vote per month. Chavez said Al- He said the interroga- ecutors off ered to question month to fl y drugs to Colom- scheduled for April 10. berto Fujimori was aware of tion would take place under Assange in London, dropping bia from his private runway Fujimori could pardon her the deal. Ecuadoran law because the their demand that he come to near a military base without aging father if elected to the Montesinos, also in jail for 44-year-old Australian, who Sweden. interference. top job - a move many Peruvi- corruption, has denied the faces a rape allegation, “is un- But Quito refused to allow Alberto Fujimori has denied ans support. accusations. Prosecutors said der our country’s jurisdiction.” an interrogation until the two any dealings with Chavez. He Chavez is believed to have Montesinos ran a mafi a that He said he did not know countries signed an agreement is now in prison for corruption been one of the top suppliers penetrated the military, courts “exactly what the procedure on general legal co-operation and human rights abuses. of cocaine paste for late Co- and Congress. is,” but that Ecuadoran pros- - which they fi nally did in De- Keiko Fujimori, 40, has been lombian drug traffi cker Pablo Peru is nearly tied with ecutors would carry out the cember. the frontrunner in the 2016 Escobar in the early 90s. Colombia as the world’s top questioning - though Swed- Swedish prosecutors race for the presidency for Chavez said he plans to con- producer of cocaine. Anti- Police off icers guard packages of cocaine seized in Cartagena, ish prosecutors could also be dropped a sexual assault probe months and enjoys a double- tinue living in Lima as a free corruption advocates warn Colombia. Defence Minister, Luis Carlos Villegas, reported that present, he added. against Assange in mid-Au- digit lead over her closest ri- man. He asked society for for- that drug traffi ckers may try to four tonnes of cocaine had been seized by police in two days. Assange has been holed gust after the fi ve-year statute vals. giveness. infl uence this year’s elections. up in the Ecuadoran of limitations expired. Gulf Times 14 Friday, January 15, 2016 PAKISTAN/AFGHANISTAN Musharraf warns India IS claims Pakistan TV against any mischief station attack IANS Islamabad AFP on them,” local police station Islamabad head Sajjad Bokhari said. He added that police were ormer Pakistan President not sure that a grenade had Pervez Musharraf has he Islamic State group been used and they were try- Fwarned India against em- said yesterday it was ing to confi rm the nature of barking on any “mischief”. Tbehind an attack on the device. “In case India perpetrates a Pakistani television sta- Security analyst Amir Rana something wrong against Paki- tion that injured one person, said the IS group is trying stan, we will also retaliate and in a claim warning the media to bolster its foothold in the infl ict pain where it hurts the against “concealing facts.” country by ramping up attacks most,” Musharraf said in an in- Two assailants on a motor- and called on Pakistan to do terview to SAMAA TV. bike threw an explosive device more to curb their infl uence. “We are not just any small that appeared to be a grenade “At the moment their vis- country, we can also retaliate,” and fi red gunshots at the ARY ibility is low, so it is the time he added. Pakistani TV offi ces in Islama- that authorities move swiftly Musharraf’s remarks came bad late Wednesday, but fl ed against IS people before they days after the terror attack when security guards fi red at could launch any big attack,” on an Indian Air Force base in them, the station said on its Rana said. Pathankot by terrorists set to be Facebook page. Pakistani police said in De- linked to a Pakistani group Jaish- One employee was wound- cember they arrested eight e-Mohamed. ed when his head was struck suspected IS extremists after The attack killed seven secu- by shrapnel, the station added. a raid in the central province rity personnel. Security forces Pamphlets in Urdu and Eng- of Punjab, accusing them of killed all six attackers. lish tossed by the attackers planning attacks. Referring to the incident later, during the assault urged media In May last year, the jihad- Defence Minister Manohar Par- not to side with “apostate army ists claimed responsibility for rikar at a seminar said “unless and government of Pakistan in an assault that killed at least pain can be transmitted to them, their global crusade against Is- 43 members of the Shiite Is- they will always end up giving lam... by concealing facts.” maili minority in Pakistan’s pain to us. I am pained when my A radio broadcast from southern port city of Karachi. soldier dies”. the Islamic State group later Islamabad has offi cially de- Meanwhile, a Pakistani news- claimed the assault. nied the Islamic State organi- paper has urged the government Police said no arrests have sation is operating in Pakistan, to “permanently” dismantle the been made so far and that they but authorities have expressed Jaish-e-Mohamed (JeM), prais- were probing the attack. fears the extremists could fi nd ing Indian and Pakistani leaders “We are busy with inves- recruits among the coun- for not allowing the Pathankot tigations and have found try’s myriad Islamist militant terror attack to develop into a some leads and are working groups. full-blown crisis. “Past experience suggests that JeM, like some other banned Deadlock over biometric voting system organisations, has access to so- phisticated legal counsel which A deadlock persists over A participant of a meeting of can help protect its operations cost of the hardware security the parliamentary electoral and its leaders’ freedom,” the module (HSM) proposed to reforms committee yesterday, Dawn said in an editorial. “This be installed in each biometric presided over by Finance time JeM, and others like it, verification machine in Minister Ishaq Dar, said that must be fully and permanently Pakistan having off line data the proposed addition of the dismantled.” of voters stored in it, with no HSM to the machine would The editorial said the “mature possible solution in sight for increase its cost from $200 to responses” of India and Paki- the time being. $2,000. stan to the January 2 terrorist Sources said that the National Talking to reporters after attack on the Indian Air Force Database and Registration the meeting, Dar said the (IAF) base in Pathankot “appear Authority (Nadra) wanted committee had expressed to have thwarted” whatever the Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif arrives with Pakistan Army Chief of Staff General Raheel Sharif for a high-level meeting at the Prime international standard satisfaction over the progress JeM wanted to achieve. Minister House in Islamabad on Wednesday. Pakistan said it has arrested several militants belonging to the group believed to be behind a fatal HSM to be installed in each made so far on the issue of “But why was the group still attack on an Indian air base, a move that could help soothe irritated relations with New Delhi. machine to make sure that in electoral reforms. able to plan and execute such case of its theft the encrypted He said a lot of work had an audacious and sophisticated of the reported arrest of JeM that have been banned by the a free man; other well-known the border has prevented it from data would remain safe in been undertaken and attack on the air force base?” it founder leader Maulana Masood state have simply changed their leaders of the group apparent- becoming a full-blown crisis.” the face of decryption threat because the next general asked. Azhar, who India says plotted names or gone temporarily into ly routinely roam the country The Dawn said Pakistan must posed by cyber terrorists. elections were two-and-a- A Pakistan government state- the Pathankot operation. hiding, only for them to reappear preaching jihad. ensure that the initial actions The Ministry of Information half years away there was no ment on Wednesday said several “Thirteen years after the stronger and more resilient. “It is fairly obvious that lead- against JeM were converted Technology, on the other need for haste. JeM activists had been arrested group was banned by the state, “In the case of JeM, the state’s ers of banned outfi ts publicly ex- into “sustained and meaningful hand, wanted Nadra to hand “Some people were anxious and its offi ces sealed as part of a why was it able to still operate failures have been exceptionally horting violence is likely to lead measures that ensure the long- over the off line data to it and for elections last year,” he crackdown on the group follow- offi ces that are only now being egregious. to some kind of disaster or crisis. term dismantling of militant get the job done through said, in an indirect attack on ing the Pathankot attack. sealed?” the Dawn asked about “Until yesterday (Wednes- “Pathankot has certainly been groups. private vendors at a lower the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf But the Foreign Offi ce said the JeM. day), when he was reportedly the former, though mature po- “Too often steps taken in haste cost, the sources said. (PTI). yesterday that it was not aware “For too long, militant groups detained, Masood Azhar was litical leadership on both sides of have unravelled over time.”

PM Sharif grants six-month Over 700 civilians dead in Helmand in 9 months DPA injured, the Afghan Independ- Rights Commission are exag- Islamabad ent Human Rights Commission gerated, Afghan news agency said yesterday. Pajhwok quoted Omar Zwak, extension to Afghan refugees The Taliban have stepped a spokesman for the Helmand ore than 700 civilians up attempts to gain territory in governor, as saying. have died or been in- Helmand. But experts say that many ci- Internews The sources said that the the prime minister used his pow- The federal ministry had sent Mjured in the last nine At least fi ve of the prov- vilian deaths and injuries aren’t Peshawar prime minister had discretion- ers and gave temporary extension a summary to the prime minister months in the southern prov- ince’s 14 districts are being accounted for. ary powers to grant extension to to PoR card holders up to June in November 2015, seeking one- ince of Helmand. fought over, while three more Due to the bad security situ- refugees for six months and the 30,” said the offi cial. He said the year extension for the registered Since the end of March last are occupied by the militant ation, non-governmental or- akistani Prime Minister matter would be put up before cabinet would make a decision refugees. year at least 232 people have group. ganization workers are rarely Nawaz Sharif has granted the federal cabinet to legalise the whether to extend the stay of reg- Pakistan has been hosting mil- died and at least 502 have been The fi gures from the Human on site. Psix months of “temporary” extension in their stay. lions of documented and undocu- extension to the registered Af- The decision was taken two “As the cabinet could not mented Afghan nationals for the ghan refugees whose legal stay days ago, and the Ministry of meet, the prime minister past 35 years and granting exten- in Pakistan expired in December State and Frontier Regions (Sa- used his powers and gave sion to the registered refugees since 2015, sources said. fron) has informed all relevant temporary extension to 2009.The Afghan government, Fog blankets Lahore The order has facilitated more quarters, including home de- PoR card holders up to during a tripartite commission than 1.5mn refugees with Proof partments and police according- June 30” meeting held in Kabul in August of Registration (PoR) cards as ly, said a federal ministry source. 2015, had requested Islamabad to they can now stay till June 30. “As the cabinet could not meet, istered refugees for a year or two. extend the stay till December 2018.

Film Ho Mann Jahaan crosses Rs100mn mark

Internews dip after a very successful fi rst audiences and that unlike other where we saw an excellent turn- Karachi week. Upon its opening, the fi lms; people are fl ocking to cin- out, occupancy has been close to coming-of-age fi lm had grossed emas in groups to watch. 20 per cent,” Rauf said. approximately Rs32.5mn in the “During daytime we have uni- Although he was unable to here the business in space of two days but it has only versity students and groups of single out a particular reason for the opening week sets earned approximately Rs70mn friends coming over and in the the decrease in demand, Rauf Wthe tempo of a fi lm’s since then. night families come to see the fi lm.” felt the success of Dilwale made progress on the box offi ce, the Nonetheless, the fi lm is sailing it diffi cult for the fi lm to sustain second week ensures the ulti- smoothly in local multiplexes. “The fi rst week for the on single screens. mate fate of the fi lm. Pakistani Khorem Gultasab, general man- fi lm was just brilliant and It will be interesting to see fi lm Ho Mann Jahaan has sus- ager of Super Cinemas in La- even recorded excellent whether Ho Mann Jahaan will tained a healthy business after hore, said:“The fi rst week for the turnouts during weekdays” cross the Rs200mn mark at the the completion of its second fi lm was just brilliant and even local box offi ce or not, but owing week. recorded excellent turnouts dur- While the movie may have im- to Mahira’s popularity among The movie has ticked the ing weekdays. Even in the second pressed multiplex audiences, its expats living in North America Rs100mn mark - a fi gure quoted week people are coming to see life is on the verge of being cut and United Kingdom, it is likely by Chief Executive Offi cer (CEO) the fi lm and it has 60 per cent short at single screen cinemas. that its international collection of ARY Films, Jerjees Seja. occupancy.” Farrukh Rauf, director of Capri would help exceed that mark. However, despite reaching the He believes that it is the na- Cinema, hinted that they may Ho Mann Jahaan was released A man walks beside his donkey and cart carrying steel bars on a foggy morning in Lahore, milestone, Ho Mann Jahaan’s ture of the fi lm’s content that take the fi lm down this week. on January 1 across 85 screens in Pakistan yesterday. performance witnessed a slight has worked for the multiplex- “Barring the second weekend Pakistan. Gulf Times Friday, January 15, 2016 15 PHILIPPINES

Taxi driver allegedly attacks and wounds passenger with katana Joint sea patrols By Iza Iglesias After a few minutes, Arradaza The QCPD has asked Arra- Manila Times said he noticed that they were daza to also fi le a formal com- going to Cubao, prompting him plaint at the Land Transporta- to tell the driver to go to Project tion Franchising and Regulatory fter a series of reported 4 instead, irking Publico in the Board (LTFRB). incidents involving arro- process. The taxi was found to have Agant and rude cab driv- Upon reaching Columbia and been originally operated by ers, some of which had gone Miami streets in Cubao, Publico Sangalang, but it has been sold with US sought viral on social media over the stopped the cab and told Arra- and transferred to Belley. last several days, a taxi driver daza and his son to get out. The driver previously worked AFP “There is a need for more col- through the Sea – a major ship- clad commitment to the defense allegedly attacked his passenger Father and son did so. with Euro Taxi. Manila laborative presence in the South ping lane, rich fi shing ground of the Philippines”. with a katana (Japanese sword) Publico followed them and Meanwhile, LTFRB board China Sea. Thus, in addition to and potential source of mineral “The US side emphasised that on Wednesday night in Quezon started to pull at Arradaza’s member Ariel Inton said yester- freedom of navigation operations resources. it will not allow China to control City. sling bag. day that the hike in the number he Philippines has called of the US, we are also suggesting Tensions fl ared last month the South China Sea and will act In an attempted homicide When Arradaza resisted, of reported incidents involving for joint patrols with the that we patrol the area together,” when the US fl ew two B-52 to ensure that freedom of naviga- case fi led in Quezon City Police Publico returned to the taxi. taxi drivers has become alarm- TUnited States in the dis- spokesman Peter Paul Galvez bombers close to fl ashpoint is- tion is respected,” it added. District (QCPD) Station 7, com- He took out the katana and ing. puted South China Sea, where told reporters. lands that have been artifi cially The Philippines, which has plainant and passenger Bayani proceded to attack Arradaza, “Alarming in the sense that Manila has festering territorial Galvez did not specify where built up by China, reportedly by one of the weakest militaries Arradaza, 40, said that he was who managed to disarm the taxi illegal acts are no longer about dispute with Beijing, a defence in the South China Sea the joint mistake. in the region, has been seek- wounded in the attack after ar- driver. over-charging or refusal to department spokesman said yes- patrols would be conducted. Philippine and US foreign and ing closer defence ties with the guing with the taxi driver. But fearing for his son’s convey passengers, now we’re terday. China has confl icting territo- defence secretaries have also just United States, accusing China of At 6.40pm on Wednesday, life, the victim, who had been talking about more violent acts The remarks came after the rial claims with the Philippines concluded a meeting in Wash- increased aggressiveness in the Arradaza and his 10-year-old wounded, threw the sword such as attempted homicide; Philippine’s Supreme Court up- in the waters, as well as Brunei, ington to discuss their security disputed waters. son boarded the Sangalang taxi away and fl ed with his son. in other words, there are some held a 10-year security agree- Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam. ties. In April 2012, after a tense driven by suspect Manuel Pub- Publico picked the weapon drivers out there who are will- ment opening the door for the While the United States does The Philippine defence de- stand-off with Philippine ships, lico at UP Bliss, Quezon City, and ran after the two but pas- ing and ready to injure, and US to operate more troops and not support any of the claims, it partment said in a statement the Chinese vessels took control of and asked to be taken to Project sersby and other motorists even kill their passengers,” In- equipment out of the Southeast has warned China against try- meeting had concluded “with the a shoal just 220km off the main 4, also in Quezon City. stopped him. ton said. Asian archipelago. ing to restrict air and sea passage US side reiterating the US iron- Philippine island of Luzon. Poe returns to roots as a cloud Concern over ‘emerging’ terrorism hangs over her presidential bid threat following attacks in Jakarta

By Karen Lema & Martin Petty, AFP linked to Islamic State (IS( militants, However, Padilla said that the po- Reuters Manila which control large swathes of Iraq lice and military forces continued to Kalibo and Syria, was suspected of carrying monitor the “usual threats from local out the killings, though the identities terrorist groups, such as the BIFF and hilippine security forces ex- of the attackers have yet to be estab- the ASG”. enator Grace Poe returned this pressed concern over an lished. The Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), week to the rustic island where P“emerging threat” of terrorism, “Our security forces are well aware blamed for many of the Catholic na- Sshe was abandoned as an infant, after suicide attackers struck the In- of the emerging threat and have been tion’s deadliest bombings, as well forging ahead with her presidential donesian capital yesterday. conducting operations to prevent ter- as the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom campaign under a cloud of controversy Police said fi ve suspects and two ror acts anywhere in the country,” said Fighters (BIFF) Muslim guerrillas, as she struggles to prove she has Fili- civilians were killed, while 10 other a joint Philippine military and police have pledged allegiance to Islamic pino blood. people were injured, after a series of statement on the Jakarta incident. State fi ghters. Poe fl ew into Kalibo, one of the main explosions and gunfi re tore through a Military spokesman Colonel Res- The military has said both groups towns on the island of Panay, for a Starbucks cafe in Jakarta and shook an tituto Padilla told AFP that there had had in the past sheltered foreign mili- whirlwind tour on Tuesday, posing for embassy district. been no recent specifi c threats picked tants fl eeing prosecution for the 2002 selfi es with excited fans, meeting the Indonesian police said a local group up by the authorities. Bali bombings in Indonesia. local bishop and doing radio interviews to reach a wider rural audience. “Part of the reason why I am really going around is to tell the people that I Students take a selfie with Poe during the senator’s visit at a school in the am still very much in the race and I am Antique province on Tuesday . not giving up,” Poe told Reuters before she embarked on her journey to Panay end with territory. Sometimes you are While she has been travelling on a island. elsewhere but your heart is really for borrowed private jet, Poe insists her Poe’s Dickensian life story has be- the country,” Poe said in the interview. pro-poor campaign is about inclusive come one of the main narratives in To strengthen her case, she said she growth and leaving no Filipino behind. the Philippines presidential election is awaiting the results of DNA tests in- Dressed in her trademark white polo scheduled for May 9. volving three people who could be her shirt, Poe promised to build on retir- Found in the Jaro Cathedral on Pa- relatives. ing President Benigno Aquino’s pro- nay in 1968, she was eventually given “It’s an emotional process to go grammes of creating jobs and build- to a Philippine couple who became through, especially when I consider ing infrastructure, which have helped prominent in cinema and politics in a my adoptive parents as my parents,” propel one of Asia’s fastest growing country with a long history of political she said. “Although the DNA evidence economies. melodramas. is not necessarily a requirement of the Her support, she says, comes from Her adoptive father, the late ac- law it will probably make the process recognition that she’s among a vast tion movie hero Fernando Poe, would short for us.” number of “new Filipinos” who have himself make an unsuccessful run for The Supreme Court will hear argu- spent time overseas and shouldn’t be president in 2004, fending off charges ments next week before making a fi nal penalised for it. that he, too, did not have proper citi- judgment on whether she can stay in “Your aspiration is really for the zenship credentials for the presidency. the election race. country to be better. I think that’s ex- The fi rst-term senator, moved to The controversy does not appear to actly what I’ve gone through – a Fili- the United States during her univer- have dented Poe’s popularity among pino who may live elsewhere but who sity years and spent much of her adult a public known for craving drama and cares just as much for the country,” she life in Fairfax, Virginia, marrying an putting more store in personality than said. American of Philippine origin and policy. She remains in the lead in a De- Remittances from Filipinos working working as a school teacher. cember opinion poll for the presiden- overseas totalled almost $24bn in 2014, The 47-year-old mother of three re- tial race. and are one of the country’s biggest ONE SMOKER. turned to the Philippines in late 2004 Ramon Casiple, executive director sources of foreign exchange. after Fernando Poe died and topped of the Institute for political and elec- Poe is battling for the presidency the Philippine Senatorial race in 2013, toral reform, said that Poe’s decision to against Vice-President Jejomar Binay, running on his legacy. stay on the campaign trail pending the tough-talking Davao mayor Rodrigo But last month, the Commission court verdict would work in her favour. Duterte, and former interior minister TWO PATIENTS. on Elections disqualifi ed Poe on the “In the meantime, she will be an un- Manuel Roxas, who is Aquino’s hand- grounds that she could not prove she derdog. Filipinos love underdogs,” he picked successor. has Filipino blood and failed to meet a said. Poe says her comparative inexperi- 10-year residency requirement. Poe drew big crowds in Panay, an ence isn’t a disadvantage. She has appealed that decision to island that is home to Boracay Beach, “You don’t have much baggage with the Supreme Court. one of the country’s most popular you,” she said of her career in public “Loyalty to the country does not tourist destinations. offi ce. TOBACCO KILLS Duterte ‘would declare martial law’

By Ritchie A Horario corruption in government and main- Commissioner Rowena Guanzon of & William B Depasupil tain the integrity of his administration. the Commission on Elections (Come- Manila Times The former mayor also vowed to re- lec) to recuse herself from disqualifi ca- store law and order and to intensify the tion cases fi led against him. campaign against illegal drugs. Vitaliano Aguirre, Duterte’s law- iving up to his tough guy image, “Almost all crimes are drug-related yer, reiterated the call a day before the former Davao City mayor Rodri- nowadays. I will restore order. Crime deadline for submission of memoran- Lgo Duterte said yesterday that he has to be stopped. Illegal drugs have to da. will not hesitate to declare martial law be stopped,” he said. Once all parties have submitted if he wins this year’s presidential race. His next move will be to ask Con- their comments today, the disqualifi - He, however, clarifi ed that impos- gress to pass a measure restoring the cation cases will be deemed submitted ing military rule will be an “extreme death penalty. for resolution. option” and it will have to meet some Capital punishment will be imposed Aguirre said it would be for the best conditions. for all heinous crimes caused by illegal interest of everybody if Guanzon will One situation that would compel drugs, he said. no longer take part in the deliberations him to resort to martial law is a con- Duterte also admitted that solving of the case before the First Division. stitutional crisis brought by confl icts Metro Manila’s traffi c problem will In a 17-page motion for disqualifi ca- between the executive and legislative be diffi cult but he will not back down tion and/or inhibition, he claimed that branches regarding allocation and re- from the challenge. Guanzon is closely associated with lease of budget. “There is no silver bullet to all our Maria Sheila Bazar, counsel of John “If you threaten me with impeach- problems, even those in Metro Manila. Paulo delas Nieves, one of those seek- ment and create a constitutional crisis, But I will look for solutions,” he said. ing the disqualifi cation of Duterte. I will be forced to declare a revolution- The mayor told his audience that Guanzon and Bazar, according to ary government,” Duterte said at the losing the presidential race will not be Aguirre, are members of the Justice special joint meeting of the Rotary devastating for him. Gender Network, a women’s right Club of Makati and Manila. “I never tasted defeat in my life. I group. He added that he will appoint would be very happy if I experience Aguirre noted that only Guanzon former military offi cials to his Cabi- one before I die,” he said. voted to throw out Duterte’s certifi cate Issued in Public Interest by GULF TIMES net because they can help him address Also yesterday, Duterte called on of candidacy. Gulf Times 16 Friday, January 15, 2016 THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH Al-Bukhari: the master in the science of Prophetic narrations

is mother woke up with a start and said happily: “What a pleasant dream! Allah’s messenger HIbraaheem, may Allah exalt his mention, appeared in my dream, and said: “O woman! Allah restored your son’s eye sight because of your frequent supplications”. She said: “O Allah, make it a glad tiding. “O Allah answer my supplications and restore the sight of my child.” The pious mother walked to her son’s room, hardly able to move her feet. When she reached his bed, she was about to wake him up but she hesitated. Her broken heart was beating and she kept tenderly and kindly caressing his head with her shaky hands. She was still supplicating and hoping that Allah would answer her frequent supplications and cure her son. The young boy woke up and started looking in amazement and moving his eyelids in confusion. He said in a breaking voice: “Mother!! I can see you, I can see your beautiful face! I can see my room and my toys!!” All perfect praise be to Allah! All perfect praise be to Allah! Allah gave me back my eyesight!!” She was so happy that she thought she was dreaming. But she soon realised that it was real when she saw her beloved son running and playing as he used to do. Filled with faith and happiness, she said: “All perfect praise be to Allah! All perfect praise be to Allah who has the power to do everything.” One day, when the mother was tidying up the house in the morning, she came across a few papers containing some narrations of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam. She remembered her beloved husband and said sadly and painfully while wiping the tears off her cheeks: “May Allah have mercy on you, Muhammad’s father. You were a man who used to fear Allah. You dreamed for a long time The King Hussein Bin Talal Mosque is seen as the sun sets in Amman, Jordan. that your son Muhammad would be a religious scholar! I promise you that I will do my best to may Allah have mercy on him, didn’t end Bukhari, may Allah have mercy on him, set mission and started to strive in his long journey had Allah’s consciousness at all times. After achieve your dear wish, Allah willing.” Then there. His shaykh and teacher Muhammad Ibn out on a relentless endeavour to visit all the of writing this great book in 217 AH when he was Imaam Al-Bukhari, may Allah have mercy on she called her son kindly, and Muhammad Salaam Al-Bekandy, may Allah have mercy on Islamic territories out of his love for compiling twenty three. him, became famous throughout the world, hurried to her obediently. Then, she said to him, the scholar of Buhaaraa and the scholar of the Prophetic narrations. He traveled to Hijaaz Because of that dream, Al-Bukhari, may Allah thousands of scholars came to him as students him: “It is time for you, my son to seek religious Prophetic narrations across the Transoxus (now (Saudi Arabia), Levant (Syria, Jordan, Palestine have mercy on him, traveled thousands of miles of the leader in memorisation of authentic knowledge and benefi t yourself and the people Turkistan), used to ask him to revise some of and Lebanon), Egypt, and Khurasaan (a vast moving from one Islamic territory to another, narrations until the number of people who around you. Tomorrow I will send you to a small his books and corrected any mistakes he found. area between north east Iran, southern Russia, undergoing all sorts of diffi culties, hardships, attended his study circles in Baghdad reached school where you can memorise the Qur’an, Scholars used to wonder in astonishment: and western Afghanistan). He visited Basrah and weariness, sometimes to obtain only one 20,000. Among the most remarkable fi gures learn Prophetic narrations and study the Arabic “Who was that boy who edits the books of his and settled for some time in Baghdad which narration of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa of his students were Imaams At-Tirmithi, An- language to become an honourable scholar like professor?!” was the capital of the Abbasid state at that sallam. He sometimes even had to eat grass to Nasaa’ee, Muslim, and others, may Allah have your father, Ismaa’eel, may Allah have mercy Imaam Bekandi, may Allah have mercy time. He greatly benefi ted from these journeys satisfy his extreme hunger after he had spent all mercy on them. on him. on him, used to say proudly about his clever seeking knowledge. He had the pleasure of his money. Even the few hours of night in which In 250 AH, Al-Bukhari, may Allah have mercy The young boy, Muhammad, said cleverly: student: “This boy is unique of his kind.” meeting most the narrators of Prophetic he snatched short naps to rest a while, were not on him, left to Nisabor, a city in Khurasaan and “Mother! Was my father an eminent scholar?” On many occasions Imaam Bekandi, narrations at that time, sat with them, listened so resting for him, as he used to wake up 15 to stayed there for a while teaching the people. The mother replied: “Yes, my son.” may Allah have mercy on him, talked to his to the narrations, and memorised whatever 20 times a night to lit his lamp and sit to classify Then he decided to return to his dear city, Muhammad, then said politely: “I promise you, colleagues about his student, Al-Bukhari, may knowledge they had. the narrations he had collected. Al-Bukhari, Bukhara, and when he did the people rushed Mother, that I will follow his footsteps seriously Allah have mercy on him, who memorised may Allah have mercy on him, made a pact with to welcome him in a great celebration in which and exert all my eff orts.” 70,000 Prophetic narrations by heart. In Aft er 16 years of continuous eff ort and himself that he wouldn’t include a narration huge tents were pitched and decorations were The city of Bukhara (now in Islamic addition to this, he never reported a narration hard work, Al-Bukhari fi nished his from any narrator until he had personally met hung. They threw fl owers and golden and silver Uzbekistan) was located at that time in one of of the companions, may Allah be pleased with valuable book that comprised around him, and listened to the narration with his own coins on the Imaam upon his arrival into the the greatest countries beyond the Transoxus them, or the generation following them unless 7,000 authentic narrations which ears. He never accepted narrations except from city. There was an overwhelming atmosphere (now Turkistan). Schools of knowledge he knew when and where they were born, as he selected from amongst 600,000 the ones who were known for being honest, of happiness that prevailed throughout all where people could learn Arabic, the Qur’an, well as where they lived and died! authentic and non-authentic narrations diligent, accurate, fearing Allah, and having Bukhaaraa. Allah Willed, out of mercy to the history, and Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) were The years passed and Muhammad Ibn a sharp memory. After this process, he would Imaam, that Al-Bukhari, may Allah have mercy spread throughout the city. The young boy, Ismaa’eel, may Allah be pleased with him, One night, Al-Bukhari, may Allah have have a ritual bath; pray two Rak’as and then on him, would only meet his Lord after peace Muhammad Ibn Ismaa’eel Al-Bukhari, may reached the age of sixteen years. He felt a great mercy on him, had a strange dream that later include only the narration that had met all these and happiness had found their way into his heart Allah have mercy on them, then set out to need to go and seek knowledge in every corner had a great impact on his life. He saw himself conditions in his book. again. One day, the people of Samarqand sent a quench his thirst for knowledge from these of the world to satisfy his thirst for knowledge. standing before the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi After 16 years of continuous eff ort and hard message for him asking him to come. He agreed sweet springs. Early in his life, he showed He headed to Makkah, accompanied by his wa sallam, holding a palm-leaf fan in his hand work, Al-Bukhari, may Allah have mercy on and packed with great joy. When he started signs of intelligence that surprised everyone mother and elder brother, Ahmad, in 210 AH with which he pushed all evil away from the him, fi nished his valuable book that comprised walking towards his animal he said: “Take me around him. He had a sharp mind, an attentive to perform Haj (pilgrimage) and seek more Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam. He was around 7,000 authentic narrations which he back, I have become weak and very ill”. When heart, an amazing memory, and an incredible knowledge. After the pilgrimage, his mother so confused and surprised that he went to selected from amongst 600,000 authentic and they took him back to his house, he said some ability to memorise. Before he was ten, he had and brother Ahmad returned to Bukhara while his scholars, may Allah have mercy on them, non-authentic narrations. He overlooked many supplications then he laid on his bed sweating memorised the whole Qur’an, mastered the he stayed in Makkah to move between its asking them to interpret his dream. They said authentic narrations so that his book wouldn’t a lot, then his pure soul ascended to its Creator. Arabic language, covered much of the Fiqh, domes of knowledge: East, and west; North and happily: “You will clear the lies and false claims be too long. He chose to name the book “The His death, may Allah have mercy on him, was and memorised many Prophetic narrations. South. Before the end of two years in this sacred away from the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa Authentic Book Encompassing a Brief Authentic on a Friday night, the beginning of the month His pious good mother always encouraged her city, he started writing his book The Issues of sallam.” Al-Bukhari, may Allah have mercy on Narrations of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi of Shawwaal, 256 AH (870 AD). He was sixty- son and prepared a suitable atmosphere for the companions, may Allah be pleased with him, then remembered his teacher, shaykh Is- wa sallam, his Tradition and Life” to become two years old when he died. He was buried in him to acquire knowledge. When Al-Bukhari, them, and their Followers which marked the Haaq Ibn Raahawayh, the prominent scholar of the title of the most authentic book after the the village of Khartank which is now known as may Allah have mercy on him, fi nished his beginning of his renowned books. Khurasaan, when he told his students once: “It Qur’an. The book is known as ‘Saheeh Al- ‘Khawaajah Saaheb’. May Allah have mercy upon studies in the small schools, his wise mother * Al-Bukhari, may Allah have mercy on would be great if you can compile a concise and Bukhari’ (The authentic narrations reported the great Imaam and may Allah admit him into thought to send him to the well-known study him, always loved to visit Madinah. Among brief book containing the authentic narrations of by Al-Bukhari, may Allah have mercy on him). Paradise. Aameen. circles in Bukhara, Samarqand, Bekend, Marw, the fruits of his visits to that blessed place the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam.” This book became well known and it gave him a Article source: http://www.islamweb.net/ and Nesabor. He became famous among the was writing his book: “The Big Book of These words echoed in Al-Bukhari’s heart and high rank that someone like him truly deserved emainpage/ scholars to the point that he used to argue History” which is considered the fi rst book he remembered that dream which was always in to achieve. He, may Allah be pleased with him, with his professors and even corrected them that comprises the names of the narrators of his mind since he started learning the Prophetic had a vast knowledge, great manners, a tolerant sometimes!! Prophetic narrations and the details of their narrations. Thereupon, he immediately made an nature, dignity, and an untainted tongue. He The success and physiognomy of Al-Bukhari, lives. From that wonderful sacred spot, Al- intention to actively and seriously pursue this cared so little for this life, he had deep faith, and The two most authentic books of Hadith

aheeh Al-Bukhari: Of all the Hadith. It was also the fi rst book to is Saheeh Al-Bukhari. Qur’an that complements the meaning issues at stake in the fi qh, the lslamic Hadiths (chains) than Imaam Muslim . works of Hadith, Saheeh Al- contain only authentic Hadiths, while of the Hadiths quoted. jurisprudence, but rather to produce Besides considering all the conditions Bukhari and Saheeh Muslim previous books contained authentic Some facts about Saheeh Al- 7. Finally, much more could be said a collection of sound traditions, an of a Saheeh Hadith, Imaam Al-Bukhari Sare regarded as the most and non-authentic Hadiths, as well Bukhari: about this monumental work, however, authentic record, on which future stipulated a further condition that a authentic and authoritative books, as sayings of the companions and 1. It contains 7,275 Hadiths, which he it is enough to say that many people have studies of Hadith could be based. narrator should meet the person from after Al-Qur’an. Indeed the very word others. Imaam Al-Bukhari died in his chose from the large number of Hadiths reached fame and achieved the highest whom he is narrating the Hadith. “Saheeh” means “authentic”. hometown, Bukhara in the territory that he had collected. qualifi cations by studying the book, Some facts about Saheeh Muslim: Imaam Muslim however, did not Saheeh Al-Bukhari was compiled by of Khurasaan (West Turkistan), in the 2. The number of complete researching it and commenting on it. 1. The book contains 4,000 non- stipulate the evidence of meeting the Imaam (leader) of Hadith, Muhammad year 256H. unrepeated Hadiths is 2,230. repeated Hadiths and 12,000 repeated narrator from whom he is narrating, Ibn Ismaa’eel Al-Bukhari, born 194H He grouped the traditions of the 3. All the Hadiths mentioned are Saheeh Muslim: ones. but according to him, it is suffi cient to in Bukhara, central Asia. He travelled Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam authentic. Saheeh Muslim is the second most 2. Many narrations are mentioned in accept the Hadith of a narrator if he at an early age seeking knowledge under various headings dealing 4. The conditions for accepting a authentic book of Hadith after Saheeh Saheeh Al-Bukhari, but with diff erent lives in the same period and there was to Hijaaz (Makkah and Madinah), with specifi c points of Islamic Hadith were very stringent. Such as: Al-Bukhari, compiled by Imaam chain of narrators. the possibility of meeting the narrator Ancient Syria, Iraq, Egypt, etc. He jurisprudence. In his time, the schools a) The chain of narrators must be Muslim ibn Al-Hajaaj Al-Nisapuri . 3. In every chapter more than one from whom he is reporting the Hadith. devoted more than 16 years of his of law had been generally established linked, i.e. every narrator must have Born in 202H and died in 261 H. He Hadith with the same meaning but So, the condition of Imaam Muslim was life to the actual compilation of this and his objective was to catalogue the met his predecessor, (the man of whom travelled widely to gather his collection with diff erent chains and text are less strict than the condition of Imaam work. He learnt from more than 1,000 traditions he regarded as authentic in he heard the Hadith from, up to the of Hadith to Iraq Hijaaz, Ancient listed. The fi rst Hadith in each chapter Al-Bukhari . scholars. relation to their respective topics of Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam.) Syria, and Egypt. He learnt from many is the strongest, followed by weaker While Bukhari’s compilation is It is said that Imaam Al-Bukhari jurisprudence. b) For it to be enclosed in the Saheeh, scholars, most of which were Al- narrations in order to strengthen considered the more reliable of the two, collected over 300,000 Hadiths Before he recorded each Hadith, the narrators must be of the highest Bukhari’s teachers. He also learnt from weaker narrations. Muslim’s arrangement of his material and he himself memorised 200,000 he would perform ablution and off er caliber regarding their piety, manners, the Imaam Al-Bukhari himself and 4. Excellent classifi cation. has been recognised as superior, and of which some were unreliable. He a two-Rak’ah prayer and supplicate memory, integrity, etc. became his most loyal student. Like 5. The book is forwarded by a detailed rightly so. While Al-Bukhari made wrote many books especially on the to Allah. Many religious scholars of 5. The book is not a mere book of Imaam Al-Bukhari, Allah have mercy introduction about the basis of the the traditions in his collection testify bibliography of Hadith narrators and Islam tried to fi nd fault in the great narrations; it is essentially a course upon him, he, Allah have mercy upon sciences of Hadith. to his own schedule of various points other books on various issues of Fiqh remarkable collection, but without of study on Hadith, its derivatives, him, wrote many books on the sciences Saheeh Al-Bukhari is preferred of law, Muslim left them to speak for (Islamic jurisprudence). However, his success. It is for this reason, they inductions and research. of Hadith. over Saheeh Muslim based on the themselves. book ‘Saheeh Al-Bukhari’, stands out unanimously agreed that the most 6. Each one of its 97 chapters is He, Allah have mercy upon him, authenticity of the Hadiths. Imaam Article source: http://www. for being the most authentic book of authentic book after the Book of Allah headed by a relevant verse from the sought not so much to complement the Al-Bukhari was stricter in selecting islamweb.net/emainpage/ Gulf Times Friday, January 15, 2016 17 COMMENT Toward a new Islamic golden age

A better understanding of citations in international journals, as and collaborations), each in its own the various issues and well as patents – is disproportionately way, according to its strengths and low relative to population and weaknesses. And it has called on all possible remedies could fi nancial capabilities. Muslim institutions to embrace meritocracy enable science to fl ourish countries spend, on average, only and shun gimmicks likes paying about 0.5% of their GDP on research for “collaborations” to boost again in the Muslim world, and development, compared to the publications. A quick rankings boost with far-reaching benefi ts global average of 1.78% of GDP and is never worth the risk of reputational the OECD average of above 2%. The damage in the longer term. for its economies and number of people working in science These steps require a bottom-up societies fi elds in the Muslim world is also well programme of change. That is why the below the global average. task force has now put out an open By Nidhal Guessoum Eighteen months ago, a call for universities across the Muslim Sharjah nongovernmental, nonpartisan world to join a voluntary Network of task force of international experts Excellence of Universities for Science – convened by the Muslim World (NEXUS). Overseen by the task he Muslim world’s past Science Initiative and the Malaysian force, this self-selected peer group – contributions to science Industry-Government Group for comprising university administrators and education were High Technology, and co-ordinated and faculty who recognise that Textraordinary. The Islamic by me – set out to explore the sorry change must start from within – will “golden age” – during which state of science in the Muslim world implement the steps that the task scholarship and learning fl ourished and determine how universities could force has devised. across the Muslim world – lasted help to improve the situation. A better The hope is that once the fi rst many centuries, and included the understanding of the various issues group of universities’ eff orts begin to establishment of the world’s fi rst and possible remedies could enable bear fruit, more institutions will join. universities. Today, however, Muslim- science to fl ourish again in the Muslim The resulting momentum will create majority countries lag well behind the world, with far-reaching benefi ts for pressure for ministries, regulators, and rest of the world in terms of education its economies and societies. other policymaking bodies – which and research. This must change if the Our review of the state of science may be the most resistant to change – region is to provide modern jobs and at universities in the Muslim world to take complementary steps. better lives to its booming population took into account not just budgets Universities are hubs of research, and keep up with global development. and research, but also issues like the critical thinking, and lively debate, As it stands, only one university status of women in science studies where the next generation is not from the Muslim world – Turkey’s and careers. Moreover, we conducted only exposed to established facts and Middle East Technical University – a thorough review – the fi rst of its theories, but also learns to dissect makes the top 100 in an international kind – of how science is taught at ideas, pinpoint fl aws, and help enrich ranking, and only a dozen or so can be universities in the Muslim world, and expand our knowledge base. At found in the top 400 in various other including pedagogical methods, Turkey’s Middle East Technical University: among the top 100 in an international ranking . a time when the Muslim world is lists. While there are no international textbooks, language of instruction, facing unprecedented challenges, standardised tests in science and censorship of “controversial” topics such as science academies, industry internationally tried and true teaching world’s low research productivity. the importance of creating a healthy math at the university level, fourth-, (such as the theory of evolution), and associations, and civil-society methods, particularly “inquiry-based” But the reality is that such efforts academic environment cannot be eighth-, and tenth-grade students in the role of religion in science classes. organisations. and “active-learning” approaches. will produce more real-world overstated. – Project Syndicate/ the Muslim world test below the global In a just-released report, the task For academic institutions, one Of course, such a shift would require benefits than a single-minded Mohamed Bin Rashid Global average in these subjects, according force concludes that, though the major goal should be to build students’ professors to receive training in these focus on publication, which can Initiatives, 2016 to the Trends in International overall state of science in the Muslim capacity for creative thinking and methods. inadvertently encourage plagiarism Mathematics and Science Study world remains poor, much can be done critical inquiry. To this end, the task Professors should also be and junk science. zNidhal Guessoum is Professor and the Program for International to improve it eff ectively and effi ciently. force recommends broadening the encouraged to dedicate themselves The task force has recommended of Physics and Astronomy at the Student Assessment. And the gap with The task force off ers specifi c education of science-focused students to writing textbooks and conducting that national policymaking bodies American University of Sharjah, United students elsewhere is widening. recommendations for academic to include humanities, social sciences, science outreach, not just publishing grant universities more space to Arab Emirates. He coordinated a task Moreover, research output – as institutions, national policymaking languages, and communication. At the more papers. This recommendation innovate (especially in curricula) force on science at universities in the measured by publications and bodies, and other stakeholders, same time, it calls for the adoption of may be surprising, given the Muslim and evolve (in research programs Muslim world. Weather report Closing Asia’s emerging skills gap Three-day forecast TODAY High: 23 C Low : 13 C By Jong-Wha Lee struggling to fi nd jobs. devise ways to transform their TVET system, actual skills training Partly Cloudy Seoul Despite variations among countries education and training systems, so should be shifted to the private sector, in Asia, some weaknesses in policies that workers acquire the skills they thereby transforming the current and systems designed to boost skills need to boost economic growth and supply-driven system to one that sia is facing a human-capital development are endemic. Among productivity – the key to better jobs responds eff ectively to changing SATURDAY challenge. Over the last the most damaging is the inability of and higher wages. Most important, market demand. High: 24 C three decades, signifi cant many countries to impart the right governments must make skills To this end, governments should Low : 16 C Agains in workforce size skills through pre-employment and acquisition a central feature of encourage public-private partnerships Sunny and quality helped Asia to become on-the-job training. national development policies. At a focused on, for example, identifying a hub of global supply chains – and In India, for example, only 0.8% time of rapid change, education and the labor market’s unmet needs, thus to sustain rapid progress toward of students, on average, participated skills training should be coordinated setting TVET policy priorities, SUNDAY advanced-economy income levels and in formal technical and vocational with, say, trade and industrial policies developing curricula and national High: 24 C living standards. But with workers education at the secondary level from to improve the chances that emerging standards, training TVET teachers, Low : 14 C increasingly unable to meet the 2006 to 2010. The country’s technical labor-market requirements will be and implementing cost-sharing Sunny demands of the labour market, the and vocational education and training met. mechanisms. Governments must also region’s remarkable development (TVET) system has enough capacity Moreover, general education and ensure better access to TVET systems success could be derailed. to train less than one-quarter of the TVET systems need to be restructured. for disadvantaged groups, including Fishermen’s forecast Asia has plenty of educated young 13mn people entering the labor market In many Asian countries, formal children from poor families and rural OFFSHORE DOHA workers. But, at a time of industrial each year. TVET is rarely available to education is often overly academic areas and employees in SMEs and the Wind: NW 08-18 KT upgrading and ever-increasing workers in small and medium-size or simply low-quality, undermining informal sector. Waves: 2-4/5 Feet technological sophistication, the enterprises (SMEs) or the informal not only graduates’ employability, but In the coming decades, Asia will INSHORE DOHA Wind: NW-NE 03-12 KT knowledge and skills gained in sector, and it receives too little public also their capacity to reap the benefi ts continue to contribute a large number Waves: 1-2 Feet school are often insuffi cient. As fi nancing. of further TVET. To be eff ective, of workers to the global labour market. a result, youth unemployment, Moreover, across Asia, a lack of secondary and tertiary schools must How well equipped these workers are Around the region underemployment, and job involvement by private companies – produce graduates with both soft to meet ever-evolving market needs Weather Weather dissatisfaction are on the rise. that is, potential employers – further skills, such as communication and will be a key factor infl uencing not today Max/min tomorrow Max/min Throughout Asia, a signifi cant undermines the ability of TVET teamwork, and relevant technical only Asia’s trajectory, but also that of Abu Dhabi P Cloudy 23/14 P Cloudy 23/14 share of workers feel they are over- systems to respond adequately to skills. Here, stronger partnerships the entire global economy. – Project Baghdad Sunny 19/07 Sunny 18/06 or under-educated for their jobs, changes in the labour market, thereby between educators and employers to Syndicate Dubai P Cloudy 23/16 P Cloudy 23/17 Kuwait City P Cloudy while employers often lament a lack reducing graduate employability. In develop curriculum standards, create Sunny 18/12 19/11 Manama Sunny 20/14 Sunny 21/17 of qualifi ed graduates. A Manpower Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka, internship opportunities, and provide zLee Jong-Wha is Professor of Muscat Sunny 26/18 Sunny 26/18 Group survey shows that 48% of less than one-quarter of companies fi nancing would be help signifi cantly. Economics and Director of the Asiatic Riyadh Sunny 24/12 Sunny 25/11 employers had diffi culty fi lling conduct formal in-house training. A As for TVET systems, both Research Institute at Korea University. Tehran M Sunny 15/03 M Sunny 12/02 vacancies in Asia in 2015, compared dearth of well-qualifi ed teachers and their capacity and quality must be His most recent book, co-authored with to 28% in 2006. Meanwhile, many ineff ective governance exacerbates the improved. As governments improve Harvard’s Robert J. Barro, is Education university graduates – including a situation. their capacity for supervision, co- Matters: Global Gains from the 19th to whopping 45% in South Korea – are Governments across Asia must ordination, and regulation of the the 21st Century. Live issues The precision medicine chimera

By Sandro Galea and Ronald Bayer of the NIH, such “a broad research change that. The reason is simple: of right, and the cost of care was Boston/New York programme […] to build the evidence Clinical medicine in general, though no longer a barrier to treatment, base needed to guide clinical practice” is far from perfect, is not the problem. inequalities persisted; a substantial precisely “what is needed now.” On the contrary, great advances proportion of the population S President Barack Obama’s But in focusing on the detection and have been made in the fi eld in recent continued to fare poorly on health administration recently treatment of diseases at the individual decades, resulting in a strong capacity indicators. Around the world issued an appeal for ideas level, precision medicine neglects to treat and cure sick people. Moreover, the inequity wasn’t Weather Weather to advance its “precision broader health patterns. When one But not everyone benefi ts equally simply a gap between the rich and today Max/min tomorrow Max/min U M Sunny 17/13 medicine initiative,” which will takes a closer look at the health of from that capacity. What really the poor: People at every income Athens 17/14 Showers channel millions of federal research populations – in particular, the poorer determines public health, as many level did better than those at the level Beirut Sunny 18/12 Sunny 19/13 dollars toward eff orts to tailor clinical segments of society – “what is needed studies have confi rmed, are factors just below them. Advocates for the Bangkok P Cloudy 32/26 P Cloudy 33/26 Berlin Snow 01/-3 M Cloudy 0/-3 treatment to individual patients. now” looks quite diff erent. like income, housing conditions, social precision-medicine agenda are largely Cairo Sunny 20/09 Sunny 21/09 The idea of personalised medicine, Though the US outspends every policy, and the distribution of money, silent on these factors infl uencing the Cape Town Cloudy 31/19 Sunny 34/21 which builds on dramatic advances other country in the world for health power, and resources. When one health of populations. Colombo M Sunny 32/22 M Sunny 32/22 in genetics and molecular biology, care, the health of its population considers that large swaths of society None of this is to say that precision Dhaka M Sunny 26/16 P Cloudy 27/15 Rain S Showers 19/17 certainly sounds appealing – and is relatively poor. In 2013, the still struggle daily with the forces of medicine should be abandoned Hong Kong 16/14 Istanbul M Cloudy 11/09 Cloudy 13/10 not only in the US, but also in Britain National Research Council and the institutionalised racism, the persistence altogether. But it should not absorb Jakarta S T Storms 32/24 P Cloudy 33/25 and elsewhere. Unfortunately, the Institute of Medicine issued a bleak of large health disparities would seem to such large sums of scarce public Karachi Sunny 28/12 Sunny 27/16 assumption that precision medicine report documenting the extent to be a foregone conclusion. money – funds that could be London Sunny 06/0 Sunny 05/-1 will benefi t public health by improving which Americans lag behind their Indeed, a broad range of empirical channelled toward eff orts to improve Manila P Cloudy 32/22 P Cloudy 32/22 Moscow Cloudy -7/-18 Snow -6/-8 clinical practice does not hold up. counterparts in other high-income studies has demonstrated that clinical the health of the many, not the few. – New Delhi Sunny 22/09 Sunny 22/07 Much of the scientifi c leadership countries in terms of birth outcomes, intervention, however important, Project Syndicate New York M Cloudy 10/05 S Showers 08/-1 in the US, particularly at the National heart disease, sexually transmitted cannot remedy health inequalities. Paris P Cloudy 06/0 P Cloudy 06/0 Institutes of Health, has thrown their diseases, chronic lung disease, motor- Perhaps most convincingly, the zSandro Galea is Dean of the Boston Sao Paulo Rain 24/20 Showers 23/18 Sunny M Cloudy 05/-4 University School of Public Health. Seoul 05/-6 enthusiastic support behind Obama’s vehicle accidents, and violence. Whitehall Studies of the British Singapore T Storms 32/26 T Storms 31/26 initiative. According to Harold Varmus, Americans fare better only when they Civil Service in the United Kingdom Ronald Bayer is Professor at the Sydney Rain 20/17 P Cloudy 21/17 director of the National Cancer reach the age of 75. revealed that even when health-care Columbia University Mailman School Tokyo Clear 1 0 / 0 1 Cloudy 11/01 Institute, and Francis Collins, director Precision medicine is unlikely to services were provided as a matter of Public Health. Gulf Times 18 Friday, January 15, 2016 COMMENT

Chairman: Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Attiyah Editor-in-Chief : Darwish S Ahmed Production Editor: Amjad Khan The right incentives for

P.O.Box 2888 Doha, Qatar [email protected] a low-carbon future Telephone 44350478 (news), 44466404 (sport), 44466636 (home delivery) When it comes to resolving a the shorter run, to reduce other kinds Should expectations suddenly change, The implication is clear: When Fax 44350474 problem as urgent as climate of consumption to off set the rise in the herd might turn and run in the policymakers get to work designing cost. When it comes to resolving a opposite direction, causing CO2 prices strategies for executing the Paris change, Keynes’s famous problem as urgent as climate change, to soar. agreement, they should not rely dictum – “In the long run, Keynes’s famous dictum – “In the long Yet another problem with the heavily on rising energy costs to run, we are all dead” – clearly applies. price-based approach to mitigating advance their objectives. A strategy we are all dead” – clearly Moreover, even if consumers climate change is that it fails to that assumes that the market will applies did respond effi ciently, fossil-fuel account for markets’ potential to punish those who do not invest in a GULF TIMES prices are dictated largely by heavily create perverse incentives. When the low-carbon future is not realistic. By Thomas Fricke fi nancialised markets, which tend cost of conventional energy rises, new A better approach is possible: Berlin to be extremely volatile. The sharp suppliers see an opportunity; thus, Directly reward those who do invest decline in oil prices over the last 18 before June 2014, when oil prices were in a low-carbon future, whether months is a case in point. Not only high, investors poured resources into by enhancing energy effi ciency or Syria regime back he climate agreement that have oil prices themselves failed to developing shale oil and gas in the developing clean energy sources. world leaders reached in Paris spur a reduction in consumption; United States. The additional supply, For example, governments could last month has been widely they have undermined incentives to however, ultimately causes prices to implement accelerated depreciation Tcelebrated for establishing develop alternative energy sources. fall, reducing the incentive to invest in schemes for investment in low- the ambitious target of limiting the Investing in, say, solar power may alternative energy sources or energy carbon businesses; off er subsidies on the off ensive increase in global temperature to have seemed worthwhile when oil cost effi ciency. This is a normal market for investment in energy-effi cient well below 2C above pre-industrial $100 per barrel, but it looked a lot less reaction, but it does not advance the buildings; and create policies that levels. But the agreement is just appealing when the price dropped fi ght against climate change, which favour industrial innovation aimed one step, albeit an important one. below $50. would require steadily rising costs. at reducing emissions and boosting with Russian help Policymakers now must fi gure out Conceivably, policymakers could The fi nal reason why negative competitiveness. All of this would how to achieve this goal – no easy feat, raise taxes to off set such declines. But incentives alone are inadequate to make fossil fuels less attractive to both especially given that, contrary to the such hikes sometimes (like now) would mitigate climate change may be the investors and consumers. Last summer, Syria’s regime was on the back foot conventional wisdom, steadily rising have to be huge, and adopting erratic most irrational: after some years of While an approach based on such after a series of military defeats, but in recent weeks it costs for conventional energy cannot policies that mirror the volatility of rising taxes, the public is staunchly positive incentives would be costlier has capitalised on a Russian air campaign to recapture be counted on to propel the necessary the market is never a good idea. opposed to any policy that may than tax hikes in the short run, shift toward a low-carbon future. Carbon pricing could experience a increase energy prices, regardless of the long-term benefi ts can hardly territory. At fi rst glance, the logic of negative similar fate. In the European Union, whether current prices are high or low. be overstated. At a time of strong The gains have been limited, and have relied heavily economic incentives seems sound. carbon prices have been low for People are so convinced that energy resistance to higher energy costs, this on support from mostly Shia foreign fi ghters from If, say, driving a gas-guzzling car several years, and for now market costs are “exploding,” despite the may well be among the most eff ective Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement, as well as Afghan and becomes more expensive, people will participants seem to be following the recent oil-price collapse, that any new – not to mention politically savvy – presumably be less likely to do it. But herd in believing that they will remain project implying even slightly higher mechanisms for advancing the goals Iraqi forces, and Iranian “advisers”. the impact of changing fuel prices is so. But there is no guarantee that free prices – even if overall energy prices set out in Paris. – Project Syndicate But they have allowed the regime to retake the partial and delayed. While drivers may emissions trading will not function are still lower than they were fi ve years initiative and go on the off ensive after a humiliating purchase a more fuel-effi cient car in like other fi nancial markets, producing ago – is now exceedingly diffi cult to zThomas Fricke is Chief Economist of string of defeats. the long run, they are more likely, in sharp fl uctuations in CO2 prices. initiate. the European Climate Foundation. Perhaps the regime’s biggest success since Russia began air strikes last September was this week’s capture of Salma, a town in coastal Latakia province that became a rebel stronghold after its 2012 capture. Simultaneously, the army is seeking to encircle the city of Aleppo, advance in the south of central Hama province and east in Homs, and is on the off ensive in the key rebel town of Sheikh Miskeen in southern Daraa province. “The Russian intervention has undoubtedly been of immense value to the Syrian regime, which was very much on the back foot in mid-2015,” said Torbjorn Soltvedt, head of Middle East and North Africa at the Verisk Maplecroft risk analysis company. “The intervention has largely succeeded in halting rebel advances led by the FSA (moderate Free Syrian Army rebels) and the Islamist Army of Conquest, and eased mounting pressure on the regime,” he said. The Army of Conquest rebel alliance, which “The Syrian includes Al Qaeda regime was very affi liate Al-Nusra Front, dealt the regime much on the a particularly severe blow last year with the back foot in capture of all of Idlib mid-2015” province. But Russia’s strikes have brought new pressure to bear on opposition forces, with the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights saying Moscow carried out some 120 strikes on Salma before its capture by Syrian regime forces. Soltvedt said Russia’s air campaign would “continue to play a hugely important role in the confl ict,” but he cautioned “there is little to suggest that the Syrian Sizing up US election’s opening round army can roll back gains made by the rebels in 2015 in the short term.” By Elizabeth Drew economic recovery, ever-widening Conservative fundamentalist Hispanic heritage make Democrats Washington, DC wealth and income inequality, and a Christians – traditionally a powerful nervous. But he is now being tested Experts noted that the regime’s gains so far have not racially infused sense of insecurity force in the Iowa Republican caucus as never before, and he’s made some been geographically vast. (particularly among white men) – – had been largely backing another mistakes (including something as silly French geographer and Syria expert Fabrice Balanche f you fi nd America’s presidential makes for volatile politics. anti-establishment candidate, the as turning up in boots with “Cuban” said the advance in Salma, along with the recapture of election campaign puzzling, you Trump, in particular, is channelling noted neurosurgeon Ben Carson. But, heels that made him look faintly probably have a better grasp of the same populist anger on the right as Carson’s campaign has collapsed ridiculous). the Kweyris military airport in Aleppo and additional it than those who are willing to that fueled the rise in 2010 of the under the weight of his obliviousness On the Democratic side, the huge wins in southern Aleppo amounted to about 400sq km I predict an outcome. At this point, Tea Party, which opposed both the to policy, Cruz has emerged as the crowds turning up for the self- of retaken ground. with both major parties set to choose government’s bailout of the banks greatest threat to Trump in the early described Democratic Socialist Bernie The regime was relying heavily on not just Russian their nominees in state-level primary that had caused the 2008 fi nancial contests. Sanders are also motivated largely elections or caucuses, there can be crisis and President Barack Obama’s A fi rst-term senator from Texas, by perceived economic injustice support but also Shia militants. no predictions, only informed (or healthcare programme. But the Tea Cruz is smart, serious, and nasty. In (creating a possible overlap – which “Russia’s goal is to clear the Jabal Turkman and uninformed) guesses. Party candidates who swept into the current political climate, he wears Sanders has noted – with Trump Jabal Akrad regions (of Latakia) because rebels there The fi rst major contest, in Iowa on Congress in 2010 failed to deliver on the scorn of his Senate colleagues – supporters). It should be no surprise can directly threaten Russian bases in the province,” February 1, is usually tricky to forecast, their promises to repeal “Obamacare” he’s detested by almost all of them – that Sanders – substantive, authentic, because the outcome relies more and substantially cut federal spending, as a badge of honour. That approach, and uninhibited by the need to placate Balanche said. on organisational prowess than on further infl aming much of the along with his record as Obamacare’s the party’s various interest groups – “Then comes the recapture of Aleppo, because Assad popularity. The main question, in both Republican base. So the preference greatest congressional foe and his is posing such a strong challenge to wants to remain president of Syria and Syria means the Republican and Democratic races, is of the possible Republican voters has displays of religiosity, is clearly Hillary Clinton, the long-presumed Aleppo and Damascus. If he rules only Damascus, he’s whether the candidates can get enough been for someone who hasn’t been working for him. Democratic nominee. He leads most only a half-president.” of their supporters to the caucuses – “tainted” by “Washington.” Those who assumed – as many polls in New Hampshire, which relatively small gatherings held in the Trump – roughly half of whose did – that Bush would walk away neighbours his home state of Vermont, Vasily Kashin, an expert at Moscow’s Centre for evening in wintry conditions. supporters have only a high school with the Republican nomination were but also some in Iowa. Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, said Russia On the Republican side, Ted Cruz education or less – is especially deft misreading the political barometer. Nonetheless, given Clinton’s has been able to “partially” achieve its main goals: and Donald Trump are within the at pandering to racial prejudices and The Bush name is no longer magic, organisational advantages (particularly preventing the regime’s collapse and creating more margin of polling error of each other in hostility toward immigration. And and Jeb had been out of politics for the overwhelming support of other both Iowa and New Hampshire, which his supposed success in business (his eight years when he entered the race. Democratic offi ceholders), only favourable conditions for talks. votes eight days later. Although Trump record is actually mixed) convinces Moreover, the pressures facing a some dramatic and unforeseeable leads by an enormous margin in his followers that he knows how to national candidate are quite diff erent development could block her path to national polls, the strength of his Iowa get things done, while his enormous – both more magnifi ed and more the party’s nomination. Her greatest To Advertise organisation is unknown, and what personal wealth is seen as making him diff use – from those facing a governor. challenge, in the primaries if not in matters are the state-level results incorruptible. Yet some believe that it’s too soon to the general election, is likely to be [email protected] as the nominating process moves An important consideration to write Bush off . an enthusiasm gap: Support for her Display ahead. His challenge is that many of bear in mind, though, is that Trump Senator Marco Rubio of Florida – a candidacy, while broad, is not deep. Telephone 44466621 Fax 44418811 his supporters have never actually has been benefi ting from the fact supposedly “establishment” candidate Indeed, because she lacks the intense participated in an election. that the fi eld is so large. When other who has been moving up in the polls connection with voters needed to Classified Trump’s success so far refl ects candidates drop out, the picture – is arguably the exception to the encourage them to turn out in a close Telephone 44466609 Fax 44418811 his shrewdness at reading the times could be quite diff erent. Whether an pattern so far. But, based on his record race, her frontrunner status could, and pleasing a crowd. (His reality “establishment” fi gure – one backed in the Senate, the “establishment” paradoxically, become her greatest Subscription television show, The Apprentice, gave by the party leadership, such as former label is debatable. Rubio, the epitome weakness. – Project Syndicate [email protected] him plenty of practice.) The electorate Florida Governor Jeb Bush or New of a young man in a hurry, has taken is angrier and more fearful than in Jersey Governor Chris Christie – can positions – for example, on the Iran zElizabeth Drew is the author, most recent presidential contests, and both catch on with voters will become nuclear deal – that have incensed the recently, of Washington Journal: 2014 Gulf Times. All rights reserved he and Cruz are capitalising on it. clearer only after Iowa and New Senate Republican leadership. Reporting Watergate and Richard That sentiment – a product of slow Hampshire have voted. Rubio’s slick speaking style and Nixon’s Downfall. Gulf Times Friday, January 15, 2016 19 SRI LANKA/BANGLADESH/NEPAL Terror Colombo eyes China investments suspects killed in Dhaka

Agencies arrested during the overnight Dhaka raid, police said. Police have stepped up a crackdown on local militants angladesh police yester- after the country was left reel- day shot and killed two ing from an upsurge in deadly Bsuspected commanders violence last year blamed on re- from a banned militant group ligious extremists. An excavator reclaims sand from the sea at “Colombo Port City” construction site, backed by Chinese investment, in Colombo yesterday. Sri Lanka is to go ahead with blamed for a deadly bomb blast The government rejects the a $1.4bn Chinese-backed real estate project after some changes to its terms, a minister said on Tuesday, signalling readiness to accept more Chinese investment in the in Dhaka, offi cers said. Islamic State’s claims of respon- face of a balance-of-payment crisis. Detectives raided a Jamayetul sibility for many of the attacks, Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) including the shooting murders hideout in the capital around of two foreigners. midnight following a tip-off , Prime Minister Sheikh Hasi- triggering a shootout with po- na’s secular government insists lice. the IS militants have no presence “Two militants were wound- in the country. It instead accuses ed as police fi red back after the the JMB and other local militant Vehicle prices in Lanka to rise: importers militants hurled a grenade and groups as well as the political started shooting indiscrimi- opposition of trying to destabi- nately. They were declared dead lise the country. Agencies November 18, 2015; customs pected a tax relief from the gov- individual imports,” he said. a period of fi ve years from the after they were brought to Dhaka The country has been plagued Colombo duty, which increased on No- ernment for the release of the “The tax deduction was im- date of registration without Medical College Hospital,” a po- by unrest in the last three years, vember 20, 2015 and the cur- imported vehicles from the cus- posed on the individual im- prior approval from the general lice statement said. and experts warn that a long-run- rency rate fl uctuation,” he said. toms. But the government sud- porters, who opened the Letters treasury,” the statement issued One of the commanders ning political crisis has radicalised ollowing the new budget Because of the price increase denly issued a statement through of Credits (LCs) on or before the by the fi nance ministry said. named as Kamal, alias Hiron, opponents of the government. proposals taxes on ve- the imports would be limited, the fi nance ministry to release budget 2016. People’s aspira- He said about Rs70,000 was a suspect in the attack on a In November, police shot and Fhicles would increase by he said. motor vehicles imported by indi- tion of owning an electric car would have to be paid in demur- Dhaka shrine in October that left killed another JMB commander, 20%, the chairman of Lanka He also urged prospective viduals for personal use on Let- has now become a pipe dream rages for each vehicle, which two dead and dozens injured. called “Albany”, accused of being Vehicle Importers’ Association buyers to buy from the existing ters of Credit opened before the with the fi nance ministry’s had landed at the Hambantota Deputy commissioner San- the main suspect in the shrine Mahinda Sarathchandra said stocks as they hoped to sell them eff ective date of the 2016 budg- statement. Port about two months ago. war Hossain said commanders blast. yesterday . based on the old tax regime. et,” Sarathchandra said. “Motor vehicles should have Sarathchandra urged the fi - Abdullah al-Noman and Kamal Experts fear the JMB is at- “This will include the condi- Sarathchandra said on aver- “Even President Maithripala been imported and registered nance minister to review the were both prime suspects in the tempting to re-group, years af- tion of the vehicle as well,” he said. age the price of a vehicle could Sirisena had instructed for re- on or before March 31, in the issue and implement a system- murder of a police constable at a ter its top leaders were executed “The tax would be increased increase by Rs500,000 follow- ducing the tax on electric cars name of the importer under atic way to implement such in- check-post in November. over a 2005 nationwide bombing with the addition of customs ing the budget. by 5% after the budget pro- whose name the LC was opened creases, so that importers and Three JMB militants were also campaign by the group. valuation, which increased on “As an association, we ex- posal, this also is applicable to and shall not be transferred for customers were not aff ected.

New India envoy Quake rebuilding to arrives in Bangladesh Newly-appointed Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Harsh Bardhan Shringla, take years: offi cial yesterday pledged to focus on implementing issues agreed between leaders of two neighbours as he arrived in AFP tents in subzero temperatures Dhaka on his new diplomatic assignment. Kathmandu nearly nine months after the “My mandate is to ‘deepen and strengthen’ 7.8-magnitude quake, which de- Dhaka-Delhi ties for the greater interest of stroyed more than half a million the people of the two countries,” he told ens of thousands of Nepa- homes in the country. newsmen on his arrival at Hazrat Shahjalal lis left homeless after A $4.1bn reconstruction fund International Airport yesterday. TApril’s massive earthquake was set up in June, but work on Shringla said leaders of both the countries will have to spend years living in rebuilding was delayed by law- had already agreed to many “very intensive temporary shelters, the country’s makers’ failure to pass a bill con- and flourishing decisions” that need to be reconstruction chief has said. ferring legal status on the NRA. “implemented as soon as possible.” Sushil Gyewali said it would Gyewali will oversee the fund Shringla, who, prior to his new appointment, take another two to three years to and has vowed swift action to served as India’s ambassador to Thailand, rebuild houses damaged or de- help quake victims, who have re- succeeded his predecessor Pankaj Saran who stroyed in the April 25 earthquake, ceived little aid beyond an initial left Dhaka on December 19 to join as Indian which killed nearly 9,000 people. $150-per-household govern- envoy in Moscow. According to an Indian High “Certain people might be in a ment payout. Commission statement, in a career situation to rebuild their houses “Certainly (reconstruction)... spanning over 30 years, Shringla has held before monsoon but we can- has been delayed - it is true and various positions in New Delhi and in Indian not expect that all the houses everyone knows it. But we have missions in Paris, Hanoi and Tel Aviv. He has will be reconstructed... it will to start immediately and we have also served as minister/counsellor in the take around two to three years to make up the time,” he said. Permanent Mission of India to the United (more)”, said Gyewali, head of Over the next few weeks, some Nations, New York and as consul general in the National Reconstruction 1,500 engineers and 200 surveyors Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and Durban, South Authority (NRA). He said in an will fan out across quake-devas- Africa. Shringla has served in the ministry of interview that the fi rst house tated villages and towns to assess external aff airs as joint secretary (director will be inaugurated in March. damage and draw up lists of vic- general) responsible for Bangladesh, Sri Tens of thousands of quake tims before the NRA can disburse Lanka, Myanmar and the Maldives. survivors are still living in fl imsy aid worth $2,000 per household. Nepal’s ex-king yet to pay 10 years’ power bills

IANS edge any letter sent by NEA raising the erties like land and house for the next Kathmandu issue of unpaid power dues. three generations. The NEA, he said, has run up a loss Asked why had the NEA failed to cut of Rs7mn in the last 10 years. power to the Nagarjuna Palace or im- epal’s last monarch Gyanendra After the staff refused to receive pose a ban on selling of the property as Shah has not paid his electric- NEA’s letters, the electricity authority per the Electricity Act, Chitrakar said Nity dues for the last 10 years, knocked on the doors of Nirmal Niwas, that since Gyanendra was a respected the state-owned Nepal Electricity Au- another palace in Kathmandu where national and former head of the state, thority said. Gyanendra used to live as former roy- they did not initiate action against Gyanendra, after vacating the al highness until the infamous royal him. Narayan Hiti Royal Palace here in massacre in 2001. “Instead of taking action against 2008, has been living in Nagar- Sagar Raj Timilsina, Gyanendra’s him, we decided to collect the tariff , if juna Palace, a royal property on the personal secretary, reportedly told the possible,” he added. northern outskirts of the Kathmandu NEA offi cials that the liability comes The staff at Nagarjuna Palace told Valley. under the Prime Minister’s Offi ce and the NEA offi cials that all properties He has not been paying the elec- not the Nagarjuna Palace. of the formal royals had been nation- tricity dues for the Nagarjuna Palace Until 2008, the PMO used to pay all alised since 2008 after Gyanendra va- which he has been occupying since bills and tariff s incurred to the palaces cated the Narayan Hiti palace. he left the Narayan Hiti royal palace, a belonging to the royals. “So, it is the duty of the government Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) of- According to the Electricity Act, to pay the bills,” the Nagarjuna Palace fi cial said. if a consumer fails to pay electricity staff were reported to have told NEA NEA assistant director Mukunda bills for two months, his/her power offi cials. Man Chitrakar, who looks after au- connection will be cut and if any con- Nepal has started to nationalise the diting at the NEA, told media persons sumer continuously fails to pay bills properties of former royals after the here that the staff at Nagarjuna Palace for another six month, a ban will be nation declared itself a republican have repeatedly refused to acknowl- placed on sale of his/her private prop- state in 2008. Gulf Times 20 Friday, January 15, 2016 QATAR QU ranked Rushing to fill up fi rst among 200 global institutions atar University (QU) from Qatar as a whole. In the National Priorities Research was named number one September 2015 SciVal Analysis Programme of the Qatar Nation- Qamong 200 institutions of Scopus Data, QU was shown al Research Fund. worldwide in the international to top the chart of international “This result is a proud mo- outlook indicator in the overall institutions in international col- ment for QU and a boost for the Times Higher Education World laboration. environment of robust collabo- University Rankings list (THE- Commenting on the recent rative research that contributes WUR) 2015-16. achievement, QU president to positioning the university as This was announced by QU Dr Hassan Rashid al-Derham a leader in academic and re- Long lines of vehicles overflowing on to the streets were seen at fuel stations in Doha yesterday evening after Qatar Fuel (Woqod) yesterday, based on a news brief pointed to several key factors search excellence in the GCC hiked gasoline prices with eff ect from yesterday midnight. The prices of Super and Premium grades of petrol in the country have on the THE’s offi cial online fo- – QU’s vibrant culture of col- region. The attraction of high- gone up to QR1.30 and QR1.15 per litre, respectively, from today. PICTURE: T K Nasar rum. The international outlook laborative research, its healthy qualifi ed faculty and research- indicator considers the pro- research budget and ambitious ers from all over the world also portion of an institution’s in- research roadmap targeting lo- contributed to strengthening ternational staff , international cal, regional and international the university’s global dimen- students, and research papers issues, along with the State of sion, and to establishing solid co-published with at least one Qatar’s stated commitment to fundamentals for diversifi ca- author from another country. research and to steering the tion and knowledge enhance- THE used the “international country towards a knowledge- ment.” Kahramaa security cameras outlook” indicator of the WUR based economy. Baty observed that an insti- to create the list and all institu- “International collaboration tution’s global outlook is one of tions in the top 800 of the rank- stands at the core of our research the key markers of a prestigious ing were considered, THE-WUR strategy in which we encourage university. editor and THE editor-at-large our researchers towards a cul- “The top institutions hire linked with command centre Phil Baty said. ture of knowledge-sharing in faculty from all over the world, On international collabora- seeking solutions to problems attract students from a global tion, QU currently holds 32.9% within their society and be- market of top talent and col- he security surveillance of the overall percentage (70%) yond,” he stated. laborate with leading depart- cameras in Kahramaa of institutions in Qatar on in- Dr al-Derham pointed out ments wherever they happen to Thave been linked with ternational collaboration, which that QU’s ever-increasing re- be based. It is great news that the National Command Centre means that papers emerging search eff orts have resulted in Qatar University is the topmost (NCC). from QU that are co-authored over 1,500 co-authored publica- international universities in the The linking was launched with international researchers tions from 718 collaborating in- world. It is a sign of great poten- by Director General of Public make up one-third of all inter- stitutes and these have achieved tial, competitiveness and dyna- Security Staff Major General nationally-collaborated papers top funding success under the mism.” Saad bin Jassim al-Khulaifi , on Wednesday in the presence of Kahramaa president engineer Essa Hilal al-Kuwari and digni- taries from Ministry of Interior and Kahramaa. Hamad Port receives giant bulk grain ship Speaking on the occasion, the Director General said that the linking was implemented amad Port yesterday re- in line with the integration ceived a giant bulk grain of the security system in the Hship “Aeolos,’ carrying country, which stems from the 30,000 tonnes of barley. The state’s interest in protecting vessel arrived from the Port of the strategic water reservoirs Rouen in France. and electricity plants, and the This is one of three similar ship- use of modern technology that ments to be received at the port, helps the security personnel and will be uploaded by direct de- in performing their tasks and livery system, without storage. controlling the strategic in- The basin of Hamad Port is stallations. 17m deep to receive such large “Since water and electric- Director General of Public Security Staff Major General Saad bin Jassim al-Khulaifi, Kahramaa president cargo ships. Given the 4km ity are strategic requirements engineer Essa Hilal al-Kuwari and other off icials listening to a briefing at the launch of the linking. length and 700m width of the of the country, the security of port basin, ships need not wait the water reservoirs and power service sectors and state secu- stations will be linked within quick co-ordination between to unload as multiple vessels can stations has become a joint re- rity authorities, Kahramaa was the fi rst quarter of 2016. All 250 the NCC and Kahramaa. be catered to simultaneously. sponsibility of the NCC and keen to link its all water reser- Kahramaa power stations and “The NCC is capable of man- The Port is also linked to an Kahramaa,” Staff Major General voirs and power station with more than 40 water reservoirs aging the situations and con- extensive network of external al-Khulaifi explained. the NCC. will be linked soon. trolling the stations,” Ministry expressway to ensure smooth Engineer al-Kuwari said The fi rst phase of the project The fi rst responder, in the of Interior’s Security Systems movement for trucks to transit that as per government direc- has been completed by link- event of any incidents, will be director Major Jassim Abdul goods. The giant bulk grain ship Aeolos at Hamad Port yesterday. tions on integration between ing 27 stations whereas 21 more Kahramaa and there will be Raheem al-Sayed added. Bicycle sales drop during peak season in Doha

By Joey Aguilar Staff Reporter

he winter season has failed to meet the expec- Ttations of many bicycle stores in Doha, posting a huge drop in sales since September last year. Speaking to Gulf Times, Skate Shack sales manager Anton Joseph Pillai said they were ex- pecting the sales to surge during this period – known to be a peak season for cycling. “We sell an average of 250 to 300 units in December every year but this was reduced to about 175 last month,” he said. The fi gure translates to around 42% decline in the number of units sold and the past four months had been “very chal- lenging” compared with the output in the same period in Skate Shack sales manager Anton Joseph Pillai (right) and one of his staff showing some bicycle models at their Salwa Road branch in Doha. PICTURES: Joey Aguilar Right: Bicycles on display at another leading 2014, according to Pillai, who outlet on Salwa Road. cited rising competition and possible economic slowdown as during winter every year, the the past few years but last year the Qatar National Sport Day ent parts of the world are taking He stressed that the opening choices and prices of bicycles reasons for the drop. sales manager said few partici- was diff erent, it may be part of celebration next month will help their own bikes with them,” he of some bicycle stores in Doha may slightly go down due to ris- He noted that the demand pants have considered buying their austerity measures,” Pillai boost their sales. added. had further “sliced their share ing competition. for diff erent types of units such new bicycles. added. While the World Cycling A supervisor of another lead- of the pie.” A number of major But he expressed apprehen- as racer and mountain bikes, as He lamented that regular cus- Several stores in malls also Championship in Qatar set this ing sports shop in Qatar told sports shops are also expected to sion that the trend will continue well as bicycles for children, had tomers such as companies and posted a signifi cant drop in bicy- October will help promote the Gulf Times their bicycle sales fell open in the country this year, ac- until the end of the third quarter decreased. organisations have stopped their cle sales during the same period, sport, Pillai said the event may by 30% last month. “We did not cording to the source. this year. Cyclists in Qatar nor- Despite many competitions orders recently. especially in December. How- slightly improve their sales. expect such a drop in sales, es- The good thing, he said, is mally limit their rides during and races taking place in Qatar “They usually order in bulk in ever, he expressed optimism that “Most cyclists from diff er- pecially this winter,” he said. that custumers will have more summer.