Qatar Airways Refunds Over $1.2 Bn to 600,000 Customers Since March

QatarTribune Qatar_Tribune Wednesday QatarTribuneChannel qatar_tribune August 19, 2020 Dhu Al-Hijjah 29, 1441 Vol.13 no. 5029 qR 2

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Business 9 Sports 13 Value of real estate QOC announces updated fine trading exceeds 2020 calendar of High : 40°C QR2.78 bn in July sports events LOW : 33°C

Qatar Airways refunds over $1.2 bn to 600,000 customers since March and in Qatar Airways we hope they FM greets his Airline processes almost Throughout the COVID-19 find an airline they can trust.T he all refund requests crisis, Qatar Airways amount we have paid out in refunds new Omani has undoubtedly had an impact on has offered unrivalled our bottom line, but it is our duty to counterpart Tribune News Network flexibility and reliability to do the right thing for our customers Doha and trade partners and as an airline TNN /Agencies customers who need to we are strong enough to mitigate the Doha Qatar Airways (QA) has paid out change their travel plans impact of this.” over $1.2 billion in refunds to almost Qatar Airways took a number of Deputy Prime Minister and 600,000 passengers since March, important measures to ensure that Minister of Foreign Affairs demonstrating its commitment to it could manage the unprecedented HE Sheikh Mohammed honouring obligations to passengers number of refund requests – over bin Abdulrahman Al Thani who need to change their plans due to 10,000 per day at the height of the has congratulated Badr bin the impact of the COVID-19. crisis – from passengers who needed Hammad bin Hamoud Al Bu- In a statement, Qatar Airways to change their travel plans in light saidi on his appointment as said it has worked hard to process of COVID-19. Firstly, it increased its Minister of Foreign Affairs of almost all refunds requested since automation capabilities, with cus- the Sultanate of Oman. March 2020 (96 percent). tomers being able to request their re- In a tweet, the FM The airline is now processing valid for two years from the date mile radius of the original, exchange Qatar Airways Group Chief Exec- fund online, from which point it can wished his new Omani coun- all new refunds back to the original of issuance. Passengers can also their ticket for a future travel vouch- utive Akbar Al Baker said: “With the largely be processed automatically. terpart success and to the form of payment in less than 30 days. choose to change their travel date er worth 110 percent of the original impact of COVID-19 on global travel, The airline also automated travel bilateral relationship further Additionally, the airline intro- or destination free of charge as of- ticket value, or swap their tickets for passengers have had to change their voucher requests, so that passengers development and growth. duced an unrivalled flexible book- ten as they need, change their ori- Qmiles. plans at short notice and it has been were able to receive a voucher within The FM also appreciat- ing policy that has proved extremely gin to another city within the same Over one third (36 percent) of difficult for them to plan ahead with 72 hours of requesting it online. ed the efforts of the former popular with passengers. country or any other destination on Qatar Airways passengers selected any certainty. What they want and minister, Yusuf bin Alawi, for Qatar Airways tickets are now the airline’s network within a 5,000 one of these options over a refund. deserve are flexibility and reliability, Continued on page 3  his diplomatic efforts that will remain eternal in the history of the Gulf and the region. “I congratulate my brother His Excellency Badr QP enters into farm-in pact bin Hammad bin Hamoud Al Busaidi on his appointment as Minister of Foreign Af- with Angola’s Sonangol fairs in the sisterly Sultan- ate of Oman, wishing him PSG storm Tribune News Network success and the bilateral re- Doha ● The block, with a drill ready lationship between our two opportunity covers an area of brotherly countries further into CL final Qatar Petroleum (QP) has en- approximately 3,600 square development and growth. tered into a farm-in agreement My full appreciation to my with Sonangol, the national oil kilometres, and is expected brother His Excellency Yusuf company of Angola, and Total to to be drilled as part of a 2020- bin Alawi for his diplomatic acquire a 30 percent participating 2021 drilling programme. efforts will remain eternal in interest in Block 48, located in the the history of the Gulf and ultra-deep waters offshore Angola. ● While QP and Sonangol the region,” the FM said in a The block, with a drill-ready will have 30% participating tweet on Tuesday. opportunity covers an area of ap- interest each, Total will have Al Busaidi has been proximately 3,600 square kilom- 40% in Block 48 in the diplomatic service eters, and is expected to be drilled since the 1980s and held a as part of a 2020-2021 drilling number of posts, including programme. country.” Angolan Government. Upon re- foreign ministry secretary- Minister of State for Energy He added, “This is our first op- ceipt of approvals, the parties’ re- general. Affairs, the President and CEO portunity in Angola with both So- spective interests in Block 48 will of Qatar Petroleum HE Saad nangol, and our long-term partner, be as follows: Total (40 percent - bin Sherida Al Kaabi said, “Con- Total, an experienced operator Operator), Sonangol (30 percent) , tinuing on our journey to build a with significant in-country pres- and Qatar Petroleum (30 percent). world-class exploration portfolio, ence. We would like to thank the Block 48 is located in the ul- Qatar’s embassy to Paris Saint-Germain’s Brazilian defender Marquinhos heads the by securing interests in promis- Angolan authorities, and our part- tra-deep waters offshore Lower provide medical aid ball to score a goal during the UEFA Champions League semi-final ing exploration blocks in diverse ners in this block for their support. Congo Basin, approximately 400 football match against Leipzig at the Luz stadium in Lisbon, Portugal, geographies, we are pleased to be We look forward to a longstanding km northwest of Luanda and 200 to Morelos, Guerrero on Tuesday. PSG beat Leipzig 3-0 to reach the final. (AFP)pa ge 13 part of this exciting ultra-deep and fruitful partnership.” km West of Soyo onshore facilities. in Mexico (PG 3 ) water opportunity in Angola, a The farm-in agreement is sub- The average water depth in the leading oil and gas producing ject to customary approvals by the block is around 2,500 metres.

COVID-19 recoveries jump Ooredoo announces cashback Mutineering troops seize on money transfers to Lebanon Mali’s president & PM by 267 to reach 112,355 AFP Tribune News Network Bamako Tribune News Network Doha Doha Rebel troops seized Malian Ooredoo , Qatar’s leading telecom- President Ibrahim Boubacar Qatar on Tuesday reported 293 coro- munications operator, has announced Keita and Prime Minister navirus (COVID-19) cases, the Ministry a special new promotion in support Boubou Cisse on Tuesday in of Public Health (MoPH) said in its daily of its customers with loved ones in All customers sending a dramatic escalation of a report. Also, 267 people recovered Lebanon, in the wake of the devastat- transfers to Lebanon using months-long crisis. Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar from the virus in the past 24 hours, ing explosion at Beirut’s port. MoneyGram via Ooredoo Neighbouring states Keita and PM Boubou Cisse. bringing the total number of recoveries The new offer for Ooredoo Money Money will get 100 percent of in West Africa, along with in the country to 112,355. customers allows them to transfer their transfer fee as cashback France, the European Union to diplomats in New York. In a statement, the MoPH said all money to Lebanon at no charge, to their accounts and the African Union, con- “We can tell you that the the new cases have been introduced to helping them support their loved demned the sudden mutiny president and the prime min- isolation and are receiving necessary ones back home at such a difficult and warned against any ister are under our control” healthcare. time. their accounts, meaning the transfers unconstitutional change of after they were “arrested” at “Measures to tackle COVID-19 All customers sending money will be sent without cost. power in the fragile country. Keita’s residence in the capi- in Qatar have succeeded in flatten- daily cases and hospital admissions is to Lebanon using MoneyGram via The offer is in addition to giving The UN Security Council will tal Bamako, a rebel leader, ing the curve and limiting the spread continuing to decline each week,” the Ooredoo Money will get 100 percent Lebanese customers extra free min- hold emergency talks on the who requested anonymity, of the virus and the number of new MoPH added. of their transfer fee as cashback to utes to call their loved ones. page 2 crisis on Wednesday, according told AFP. page 7 02 Wednesday, August 19, 2020

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Quick read Sulaiti meets Ukrainian ambassador Culture ministry, QFFD project to aid Minister of Transport and Communications HE Jassim Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti met with Ambassador of Ukraine to Qatar HE Andrii Kuzmenko in Doha on Tuesday. The two officials reviewed relations between the two friendly countries in the fields of displaced Syrian children continues ports, transportation and communications, and the means of developing them. (QNA) QNA an example for the interac- children thanks to the efforts especially the Fourth Goal on Doha tion between various Qatari of Qatar Red Crescent Society. education. institutions to implement the Minister of Culture and The QUEST initiative aims The Ministry of Culture and Qatari support and assistance Sports HE Salah bin Ghanem mainly to ensure that chil- Sports and Qatar Fund For to the Syrian refugees and dis- Al Ali stressed that support- dren and young people, who Jassim Foundation distributes Development (QFFD) con- placed. ing the Syrian refugee chil- have suffered the outcome of tinue the implementation of a The Ministry of Culture dren is a humanitarian duty the Syrian crisis, are able to QR1.181 mn assistance in July project to support the knowl- and Sports, represented by aimed at preserving their get the necessary education edge and reading activities for the Qatari Publishers and right to knowledge, strength- and skills that enable them to QNA assistance, payment of late displaced Syrian children in Distributors Forum, selected ening their will to live, in- move to formal education and Doha debts for some cases, as well the camps in Turkey, Jordan and acquired books accord- stilling optimism in them find good jobs in the future as the distribution of cash and Lebanon, as part of the ing to criteria that respond to and developing their creative to be active members of their Jassim and Hamad Bin Jas- and in-kind assistance to QFFD initiative ‘QUEST’. the perceptions that nurture faculties to contribute to the community. sim Charitable Foundation poor families, orphans and QFFD supports to the pro- human thought and establish renaissance of their society The Ministry of Culture provided a total of QR1.181 widows from both citizens ject amounted to QR7 million, in new generations the condi- in the future. and Sports, through the pro- million in assistance to eligible and residents, the statement embodying the deep com- tions for the revival of socie- Minister of Culture and Sports QFFD Director-General ject to support the activities groups in Qatar in July. said. mitment of Qatar to support ties. HE Salah bin Ghanem Al Ali Khalifa Al Kuwari said the of displaced Syrian children The foundation stated that The foundation added that the humanitarian needs of The implementation of the partnership comes as part of in the camps, continues to the aid was allocated to needy it follows a flexible system in the Syrian people and affirm- MoU between the Ministry displaced Syrian children in QUEST initiative supported achieve its vision and mis- families and others after scru- its monthly financial and in- ing the role of education and of Culture and Sports, repre- the camps in Turkey, Jordan by the Fund to support the sion to mobilise the society tinising their circumstances, kind assistance that might knowledge in shaping the fu- sented by the Qatari Publish- and Lebanon. The partnership Syrian refugees to help them and individuals through cul- based on the organisation’s be increased according to the ture of Syria, in partnership ers and Distributors Forum, continued till the 30th edition receive good regular education ture and sports, to achieve social responsibility and in ful- needs, noting that its chari- with international and region- and QFFD was launched on of the exhibition. and develop the capabilities of a life approach in which the filment of its vision of provid- table operations department al organisations. the sidelines of the 28th Doha Under the MoU, various youth and children in order to person preserves his dignity ing health and education for a conducts a comprehensive The partnership between International Book Fair in De- books were purchased from ensure a good future, adding and becomes an active mem- better life. study of cases through field the Ministry of Culture and cember 2017, aiming to sup- various publishers and were that the project serves the Sus- ber in building his local com- The aid included social research. Sports and QFFD provides port the cultural activities for then sent to the Syrian refugee tainable Development Goals, munity.

Qatar attends 44th GCC SO meet P akistan FM meets Qatar’s ambassador Minister of Foreign Affairs of QNA Pakistan Makhdoom Shah Doha Mahmood Qureshi met with Ambassador of Qatar to Pakistan THE State of Qatar participated in HE Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrah- the 44th meeting of the GCC Stand- man Al Thani in Islamabad on ardisation Organization (SO). Tuesday. During the meeting, Chairman of Qatar General they reviewed bilateral coopera- Organization for Standardisation tion and other issues of common and Metrology (QGOSM) Engineer concern. (QNA) Mohammed bin Saud Al Musallam represented Qatar at the meeting held via virtual communication technology. The meeting discussed a number of important issues, including the memorandum of the presidency of the GCC Standardization Ooredoo’s cash back for money transfers to Lebanon Organization regarding the follow up to the decisions of the organi- Chairman of QGOSM Engineer Mohammed bin Saud Al Musallam Tribune News Network fers to Lebanon using MoneyGram in the aftermath of the terrible ex- sation’s technical meetings No 42 Doha via Ooredoo Money will receive 100 plosion. Helping the communities in and 43. on the outcomes of the Technical tional Electrotechnical Commis- percent of their transfer fees as cash- which we operate, especially in times With regards to the specifica- Committees (TCs) for Metrology’s sion (IEC). The unified financial Ooredoo has announced a spe- back to their accounts, which means of need, is a key focus for Ooredoo as tions and standards, the meeting meetings during the period from system for implementing stand- cial new promotion to support its that transfers will be sent free of part of our corporate social respon- discussed the adoption of Gulf November, 2018, until June, 2020, ardisation services was also dis- customers with loved ones in Leb- charge. sibility strategy, and we are proud to standards and technical regula- in addition to the report of the cussed. anon following the devastating ex- This offer is in addition to giving do what we can to support our cus- tions and their amendments, in ad- President of the Gulf Metrology As- The meeting concluded with plosion in the port of Beirut. Lebanon’s customers extra FREE tomers in such a difficult time. dition to the follow up of the work sociation for the period from April, the review of the implementation The new offer for Ooredoo Mon- minutes to call their loved ones. Customers who do not already of the GCC technical standardisa- 2017, until June, 2020. of the strategic plan of the GCC ey customers allows them to send Sabah Rabiah Al Kuwari, PR di- have the Ooredoo Money app can tion committees. Additionally, the meeting dis- Standardisation Organisation dur- money transfers to Lebanon free rector at Ooredoo, said: “We know download it from the App Store or The participants also discussed cussed authorising the Stand- ing the period from 2016-2020, of charge, helping them to support that our many customers with Google Play. They can then instantly technical work guides and the ardisation Organisation to sign in addition to the organization’s their loved ones back home in such friends and loved ones in Lebanon register and make instant cash de- memorandum of the presidency of the agreement on translating the strategic plan for the period from a difficult time. want to get in touch with those back posits with debit cards and then start the Standardisation Organisation standards issued by the Interna- 2021-2023. All customers who send trans- home and support them financially sending transfers straight away. Ashghal to temporarily close Ashghal invites entries for Green Award 2020 Tribune News Network contractors and consultancies presentation each. Following Award in 2019 were the follow- Doha to adopt the best environmental the site visits and presentations, ing: Quality Based Structure Al Khaleej St from Thursday and sustainability measures in the selection committee will (WLL): For the roads and in- THE Public Works Authority construction stage, including in confirm the date of the awards frastructure as part of the Resi- Tribune News Network (Ashghal) has announced the air quality management, ground ceremony where the winners of dential Subdivisions Project in Doha opening of entries for the Green water recycling, carbon emis- the Overall Green Award and south of Wukair (Packages 02, Award for the year 2020. The sions reduction, material recy- Special Recognition Awards for 03 & 04). The Public Works Author- award this year has been ex- cling and cost efficiency. year 2020 will be announced. UCC and InfraRoad Joint ity (Ashghal) has announced panded and is open to all the The initiative aims to assess The Green Award Initiative Venture: For the roads and in- a temporary closure of Al contractors of Ashghal’s ongo- the effectiveness of sustainabil- by Ashghal has proven to be a frastructure as part of the Resi- Khaleej Street and the under- ing projects under the Project ity management across projects dential Subdivisions Project in pass at the Gulf Interchange Affairs Department, and is no under implementation and South of Wukair (Package 01), in both directions, in the sec- longer limited to the projects reward companies with out- The Green Award is an annu- and the roads and infrastructure tion between Wadi Mush- within Ashghal’s Roads Projects standing and continuous per- al event, which was launched project in south of Al Meshaf eireb Interchange and Gulf Department (RPD). formances. The initiative also in 2018 by Ashghal’s Quality (Package 03). Interchange, from Thursday, Ashghal has urged those in- seeks to identify distinguished and Safety Department The winner of the Green August 20, until Sunday, terested to submit their entries sustainability practices on site (QSD) and Roads Projects Award in 2018 was a joint ven- August 23. by August 31, 2020. and share innovations and prac- ture between Boom Construc- The traffic restriction, The expansion of the ini- tical solutions with others for Department tion Company & Lotus Trading to be implemented in coor- tiative is aligned with Ashghal’s adoption on a wider scale. and Contracting that included dination with the General continuous improvement strat- The timetable for this year’s great success and was declared roads and infrastructure project Directorate of Traffic, will egy and its commitment to raise event was formally released by the ‘Best Government Initiative’ in the North of Al Nasiraiyah facilitate the completion of the bar in the implementation of Ashghal’s QSD on July 12. for sustainability policy by the (Package 02), roads and infra- the wearing course, as part the best international practices A selection committee will Qatar Green Building Council structure as part of the Resi- of the B-Ring Road Develop- for environmental procedures be established with representa- in 2019. It was also shortlisted dential Subdivisions Project in ment Project. in Ashghal and the construction tives from Ashghal’s QSD and recently for the 2020 Sustain- north of Wukair, development During the closure period, industry. Projects Affairs department. ability Impact Awards by Brit- of link road between Commer- road users will be required to The Green Award is an an- The selection committee will ish Institute of Environmental cial Road and Wakrah Main use Ibn Mahmoud Street and nual event, which was launched review all the applications and Management and Assessment Road (Package 04), & construc- Al Diwan Street, parallel to Al in 2018 by Ashghal’s Quality shortlist projects for the Green (IEMA), in the Sustainability tion of foul sewer, pumping Khaleej Street, to reach their road signs to guide motorists to abide by the speed limit and and Safety Department (QSD) Award 2020. The shortlisted Campaign for Public Sector cat- station, and surface water deep destinations. of the temporary closure and follow the signs to ensure their and Roads Projects Department projects will then be visited on egory. well injection in west of Mashaf Ashghal said it will instal has requested all road users safety. (RPD). It aims to encourage site and called for a 15-minutes The winners of the Green (Package 05). Nation Wednesday, August 19, 2020 03 Qatar’s Embassy will provide medical, QA redeployed employees to preventive assistance to Mexican states help handle online requests, QNA Mexico City phone calls from customers

The Embassy of Qatar in Continued from page 1  Airbus A350 aircraft. Mexico will provide medical The airline’s variety of and preventive aid from Qatar In terms of manpower, Qa- modern, fuel-efficient air- Charity to the states of More- tar Airways redeployed em- craft has meant it can con- los and Guerrero in Mexico ployees from other areas of tinue flying by offering the to combat the outbreak of the the business – for example right capacity in each mar- coronavirus (COVID-19) pan- its Cabin Crew and Ground ket. Due to COVID-19’s im- demic, the embassy has an- Services staff – to join the pact on travel demand, the nounced. airline’s global network of airline has taken the decision This was announced dur- customer contact centres to to ground its fleet of Airbus ing a meeting of Mexico’s help manage the large vol- A380s as it is not commer- Undersecretary for Multilat- ume of online requests and cially or environmentally eral Affairs at the Secretariat customer phone calls. Although Qatar Airways is justifiable to operate such a of Foreign Affairs Martha The airline has also now seeing a decrease in the large aircraft in the current Delgado with Ambassador of worked hard to make the re- number of refund requests, it market. Qatar to Mexico HE Moham- fund and rebooking process remains committed to hon- With entry restrictions med bin Jassim Al Kuwari, as easy as possible for its ouring its policies to passen- around the world now eas- in the presence of Minister trade partners, continuing gers and trade partners. ing, the airline continues to of Health in Morelos Marco to use the industry standard Qatar Airways is one of lead the recovery of global Antonio Cantu and Undersec- gratitude for Qatar’s continu- bassador Kuwari stressed the noted the efforts of Qatar to global distribution system the few global airlines to travel, operating over 500 retary of Tourism in Guerrero ous support for Mexico and distinction of the Qatari-Mex- provide the necessary medical (GDS) – a largely automated have never stopped flying weekly flights to over 80 Noe Peralta. acknowledged the bilateral ican relations and joint coop- assistance to friendly coun- process that is simple to use throughout this crisis and destinations worldwide via The undersecretary of relations between the two eration between the two countries to combat the outbreak for travel agents – to pay out continues to utilise its full Hamad International Airport Foreign Affairs expressed her countries. For his part, Am- tries in various fields, and of the COVID-19 pandemic. refunds. fleet of 30 Boeing 787 and 49 (HIA). Italian Embassy & QF launch joint social media campaign on MoPH organises 2 orientation events research & science diplomacy Tribune News Network pandemic and the collection of The campaign can help build bridges between the scientific communities of the two countries, says ambassador Doha restrictions imposed. The second event, CPD Pro- ailyn agonia The Ministry of Public Health vider Accreditation Orientation, doha (MoPH) organised two orien- aimed at detailing the standards tation events for CPD provid- and processes for the accredita- THE Embassy of Italy in Doha ers in Qatar through Microsoft tion of CPD providers, applica- and Qatar Foundation (QF) Teams. The first orientation tion review, decision-making, have embarked on a joint so- of the Activity-Based Accredi- audit, live audit and appeal cial media campaign aimed tation System was aimed at processes in a very interactive at promoting their bilateral non-accredited CPD provid- discussion. cooperation in the field of re- ers in the State of Qatar and The two workshops are part search and science diplomacy. was attended by CME/CPD of the efforts of the Health Pro- It was launched on the programme coordinators from fession Department at MOPH to embassy’s official Twitter and different healthcare institu- raise the level of health services Facebook accounts by Ital- tions in the State. in the country by providing ac- ian Ambassador to Qatar HE The presentation detailed credited continuous profession- Alessandro Prunas on August the activity-based accreditation al development activities so that 12 wherein he highlighted the process, followed by an inten- licensed health professionals in importance of research in pro- sive discussion and Questions the State of Qatar can improve gressing cooperation between and Answers session as part of their skills and professional Italy and Qatar. the National Continuing Medi- knowledge in order to keep up The campaign will pre- cal Education and Professional with all new developments in sent a series of video clips by Development Accreditation the health sector, in addition Italian and local QF research- System. The session highlighted to meeting the requirements of ers, featuring leading Qatari the online delivery of activi- renewal of a license to practice entities like QF Research De- ties in line with the new global the profession for health practi- velopment and Innovation’s trends called for by the ongoing tioners. (QF RDI) internationally rec- ognised Qatar Genome Pro- gramme, as well as the three national research institutes Italian Ambassador to Qatar HE Alessandro Prunas MoCI recalls Mercedes-Benz C Class, under Hamad Bin Khalifa O’Kennedy, vice president for jects and sharing their experi- CLK, CLS, E-Class models of 2005/06 University (HBKU) at the fore- be essential to disseminate diplomacy” or, as I like to call Research, Development, and ences of being part of Qatar’s front of efforts to seek novel information about existing it, “diplomacy for science and Innovation (RDI) at QF and and QF’s RDI ecosystem. The The Ministry of Commerce of the ongoing efforts of the solutions to grand challenges QF programmes to gener- research” can be instrumental Vice President for Research at materials will serve as a win- and Industry, in cooperation Ministry to protect consumers facing Qatar and the region ate greater awareness among in building bridges between HBKU, said, “Collaboration is dow to the cutting-edge initia- with Nasser Bin Khaled Auto- and ensure that dealers fol- namely, the Qatar Biomedi- the Italian scientific research the scientific communities of a crucial factor for highly ef- tives that have the potential to mobiles, Mercedes-Benz deal- low up on vehicle defects and cal Research Institute (QBRI), community, as well as high- our countries and bring about fective research. It contributes bring about positive impact to er in Qatar, has announced repairs. Qatar Computing Research light the contribution of Doha- closer interaction for the ben- to both accelerating scien- both countries, as well as the the recall of the Mercedes- The ministry said that it Institute (QCRI) and Qatar based Italian scientists and ex- efit of people beyond borders. tific progress and it enhances wider international commu- Benz C-Class, CLK Class, CLS will coordinate the mainte- Environment and Energy Re- perts as a means to encourage The COVID-19 global emer- quality of the work. Our part- nity. Class and E-Class models nance and repair work with search Institute (QEERI). new research, development gency has made us realise that nership with Italian research According to the embassy, 2005-2006 over the adhesive the dealer and will communi- “When I took office few and innovation partnerships we need to improve common centres and scientific experts the campaign has been devel- joint between the glass cover cate with customers to ensure months ago, I had the chance between our countries”, Am- tools to respond to health cri- is part of QF RDI’s effort to oped also to highlight the per- and the sliding sunroof frame that they have completed the to meet many Italian re- bassador Prunas commented ses and this can be achieved place Qatar at the forefront of sonal commitment of these that does not comply with the necessary repairs. searchers working at QF in- about the initiative. by reinforcing the network scientific research and techno- scientists and experts, who manufacturer’s specifications. The ministry urged all cus- stitutes, and I realised that The official also said that of relations that are already logical advancement and pro- are devoted to their academic As a result, the adhesive pow- tomers to report any violation there was a growing number the initiative was one of the in place between our coun- vide solutions to national and and professional careers in er of the adhesive joint may to its Consumer Protection of local projects involving few examples of areas of joint tries. Italy is eager to further global needs.” areas, such as environmental decrease and the sliding roof and Anti-Commercial Fraud top Italian research centres. interest between Italy and increase diplomatic efforts to In particular, the campaign policies and sustainability, ar- panel may be completely re- Department, which processes When I discussed with QF Qatar, which are also the two encourage research and scien- will feature Italian and local tificial intelligence, precision moved from the vehicle. complaints, inquires and sug- the ways to enhance bilateral countries’ top national pri- tific cooperation with Qatar.” QF researchers highlighting medicine and, more recently, The recall campaign is part gestions. (TNN) cooperation, we felt it would orities. He added, “Science On his part, Dr Richard their ongoing research pro- the COVID-19 pandemic. Al-Shamal Municipality destroys 200kg of food unfit for human consumption

Tribune News Network Doha

The Al-Shamal Municipal- ity, represented by the Health Control Department of the Municipal Control Depart- ment, carried out an inspection campaign on food shops in the Mina market, during which about 200 kg of food- stuffs found unfit for human consumption were de- stroyed. The Ministry of Mu- Beach in the northern part of Law No 18 of 2017 regarding ment of Services Affairs, pest control and 225 applica- nicipality and Environment Qatar. public cleanliness. Sixty (60) continued sterilisation and tions for rodent control. (MME), represented by the Meanwhile, the General of the reports were reconciled disinfection campaigns in On its part, Al-Sheehani- Public Hygiene Department, Control Department in the and eight were transferred 95 regions and 2,815 streets ya Municipality, represented in coordination with the Pro- Municipality of Al-Khor and to the security authorities to within the geographical by the Services Affairs De- tection and Wildlife Depart- Al-Thakhira in July carried take legal action against the boundaries of the municipal- partment, continues mosqui- ment and the Natural Re- out 108 inspection tours dur- violators. Besides, one aban- ity. The municipality also im- to control campaigns, as it serves Department, removed ing which 89 minutes of vio- doned car was removed. plemented 1,781 requests for carried out an anti-mosquito a dead sea cow and two dead lation were issued in accord- Al-Rayyan Municipality, insects and rodents control, campaign in both Sheehaniya sea turtles from Al-Arish ance with the provisions of represented by the Depart- including 1,556 requests for and Kharib. 04 Wednesday, August 19, 2020 Nation

World Humanitarian Day QRCS set to mark World Humanitarian Day today The day commemorates sacrifices of humanitarian workers across world

Tribune News Network Doha

Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) will mark the World Humanitarian Day today (Wednesday), when the world appreciates the heroic sacrifices of humanitarian workers, commemorates those killed while performing their professional and humanitarian duty, and reiterates a call Qatar Charity among for the protection of relief and health workers as they continue, despite the odds, to help top 10 entities fighting people most in need. Under the theme of ‘Pro- viding Life-Saving Support During the Pandemic’, World coronavirus in Qatar Humanitarian Day comes as the world has been fighting Tribune News Network the COVID-19 pandemic over Under the theme of ‘Providing Life-Saving Support During the Pandemic’, World Humanitarian Day Doha the past months. comes as the world has been fighting the COVID-19 pandemic over the past months. Relief workers are deal- Qatar Charity (QC) is ing with unprecedented chal- among the top 10 institutions lenges and hurdles to de- striving to combat coronavi- liver humanitarian aid and rus (COVID-19) in Qatar , ac- services to the vulnerable cording to a poll conducted by across the world. As an active Ipsos, confirming Qatar Char- member of the International ity’s successes in the field of Red Cross and Red Crescent humanitarian interventions Movement, QRCS serves a not only inside Qatar but also central mission of mobilising to many countries through its the power of humanity for the urgent assistance. best interest of the vulnerable Within Qatar, Qatar Char- everywhere. ity, in cooperation with the It capitalises on fruitful Ministry of Administrative tive of obstacles as its teams Commissioner for Refugees, partnerships with the Inter- Development, Labour and So- used horses and motorcycles emergency assistance to Syr- national Federation of the cial Affairs and the Ministry of to distribute food baskets in ian refugees throughout Leba- Red Cross and Red Crescent Health, reached out workers, Indonesia. non at a cost of $1.5 million. Societies (IFRC), the Interna- inspection, distribution of missions and offices were engaged in the COVID-19 re- families with limited income As part of the urgent re- It also implemented, in tional Committee of the Red masks and gloves to the pub- aligned to keep an eye on the sponse are given training and and members of the commu- sponse to the outbreak of the cooperation with the United Cross (ICRC) and a network lic, and delivery of food bas- situation, coordinate with advice on how to avoid infec- nities in Qatar affected by the virus, Qatar Charity estab- Nations Office for the Coordi- of National Societies in 192 kets to the families affected the host National Societies tion and deal with confirmed pandemic. lished 14 community isolation nation of Refugee Affairs, the countries. by the lockdown. and government authori- and suspected cases. QC provided assistance units in northern Syria, in co- establishment of 14 commu- In the face of the COV- Workers’ Health Centers ties, provide various possible All the protective tools and services to more than operation with the United Na- nity isolation units at an esti- ID-19 outbreak, QRCS has continued to work as normal, forms of logistic and special- are supplied, such as masks, 1,168,952 beneficiaries. tions Office for the Coordina- mated cost of $1.6 million for played a significantrole by and the fleet of ambulance ised support, and take all the gloves, shoe covers, face Qatar Charity has also tion of Humanitarian Affairs. 2,800 camp residents. supporting the efforts of the vehicles was deployed to preventive measures within shields and personal protec- fully equipped two buildings In Sudan, Qatar Charity To meet the humanitar- government and sectors of transport the infected cases. the ongoing humanitarian tive equipment (PPE). Social for isolation for workers in the sent a seven-tonne medical ian needs resulting from the Qatar to contain the health Two units were opened to operations. distancing and personal saniti- Industrial Area. aid plane that included per- outbreak of the coronavirus in and economic consequences, do swabbing, in cooperation Over the past few months, sation are ensured at all times. The buildings include 213 sonal protection materials Syria and Jordan, Qatar Char- as well as helping many fellow with Hamad Medical Corpo- there have been COVID-19 While working on the rooms that accommodate and equipment for medical ity and the United Nations National Societies to mini- ration (HMC). control efforts for some ground, some QRCS person- about 852 patients, in ad- personnel working in combat- Children’s Fund (UNICEF) mise its impact on the vulner- Medical professionals 300,000 beneficiaries innel got infected with the virus. dition to providing sanitary ing coronavirus. signed two agreements worth able segments of society. were stationed at the Me- Bangladesh, Turkey, Syria, Immediately, the organisa- bags for workers. Besides, medical aid from $2 million to provide water, Early in the crisis, QRCS kaines quarantine camp 24/7 Gaza, Iraq, Yemen and Leba- tion provided them with full QC also organised aware- Qatar Charity reached several sanitation and hygiene ser- launched a Volunteer for to provide a wide range of non. These contributions in- care and treatment until their ness and preventive cam- countries, including Lebanon, vices to Syrian refugees in Qatar campaign, which re- medical services for the included health care, food aid, recovery. They withstood the paigns for workers by distrib- Tunisia, Palestine, Pakistan, Jordan. cruited 13,800 young women mates. At the QRCS Training health education, protective calamity by virtue of their uting personal hygiene tools, Kyrgyzstan, Yemen, Mali, The cooperation between and men to do many activi- and Development Center, supplies for medical profes- high spirits and the support sterilisers and masks, as well Chad and Kenya. Qatar Charity and UNICEF ties. These included guidance dozens of courses and lec- sionals, coronavirus testing from QRCS leaders. as awareness leaflets in differ- Since the beginning of the also included awareness-rais- of consumers at shopping tures were held for the medi- equipment, and quarantine/ On World Humanitar- ent languages. outbreak, Qatar Charity has ing efforts to protect people centres, management quar- cal workers and volunteers isolation facilities. ian Day, QRCS would like to Across the world, Qatar been keen to contribute to the against the dangers of coro- antine facilities, medical and engaged in the operation, in Realising their invaluable send a Thank You message to Charity has provided support international efforts to limit navirus as it launched a cam- logistic services, health edu- addition to health education humanitarian role, QRCS se- those heroes, in the name of to several countries around the spread of the virus and paign on social networks tar- cation, psychological support, events for the public. cures all protections for re- everyone in society who were the world to confront the cor- has provided, in cooperation geting children and parents to restoring family links, street Internationally, QRCS’ lief, medical and voluntary protected against, or treated onavirus pandemic, irrespec- with the United Nations High enhance their protection. disinfection, public hygiene 19 foreign representation workers on the field. Those from, such a serious disease.

New Education Policy 2020 to allow students to Indian expat gets pursue their passions, says Indian academician membership of Int’l

Tribune News Network tion.” Doha Jawed Ahmad, president Arabic Federation of AMUAAQ, welcomed the THE Aligarh Muslim Univer- distinguished guests, media Tribune News Network sity Alumni Association Qatar persons, community leaders Doha (AMUAAQ), affiliated to the and the online audience, talk- Indian Community Benevo- ing briefly about the efforts to DR Amanulla Vadakkangara lent Forum (ICBF), which op- support the community dur- has become the first Indian ex- erates under the aegis of the ing the pandemic. patriate in Qatar to get mem- Embassy of India, Qatar, or- Others who attended bership of the prestigious Inter- ganised a webinar recently on the webinar included Mo- national Arabic Federation. The the trending topic of ‘New Ed- hammed Farman Khan, Dr Beirut-based federation has ucation Policy 2020’, on Zoom Ashna Nusrat, Mohammed members from different parts application. Faisal Naseem, Dr Nadeem of the world, engaged in teach- Speaking at the webinar Jilani, Shahabuddin Ahmad, ing and popularising Arabic. Dr Amanulla Vadakkangara attended by more than 650 Prof. Atif Iqbal, Dr Aman- The federation promotes people, the chief guest, Prof ullah Khan, Irfan Moham- Arabic language through vari- ra is also the honourary mem- Faizan Mustafa, vice-chan- mad Khan, Aftab Pathan, ous programmes involving Ar- ber of the academic council cellor, NALSAR University of Tanweer Aalam, Rizwan abic scholars, researchers and of the Arabic department, Fa- Law, Hyderabad, praised the Ahmad, Himanshu Kumar students. rook College, India. His books new policy saying: “The liberal In all, 650 people attended the AMUAAQ webinar that was held held through Zoom application. Sharma, Dr Shadab Ansari, Vadakkangara, formerly on spoken Arabic are very policy together with the choice Ashrafuzzaman Chowdhary, the head of Arabic department popular among various expa- based credit system offered by Alumni Affairs Committee, directors system and focus on approximately 90 percent of Mrs Archana Das, Dr Choud- of Ideal Indian School, Doha, triate communities. the University Grants Com- Aligarh. teachers’ training. He, how- the budget is spent on salaries hary Mohammed, Najmul was nominated for the fed- “I am delighted to be asso- mission will allow students to Prof Mustafa said the new ever, stressed the need for es- and pensions and only10-12 Hassan Khan, Samina Fazli, eration based on his contribu- ciated with a world forum and pursue their passions, paving education policy focused on tablishing more minority uni- percent on development, re- Nigar Akhtar, Dr Saba Hasan, tions to promoting Arabic lan- would do my best to promote way for a new era in Indian the flexibility of subjects with versities. search and infrastructures. Dr Tausif Altamas, Mamnoon guage and literature not only various activities of this organ- education system.” interdisciplinary courses, Furthermore, he welcomed Meanwhile, Dr MS Bukha- Ahmad Bangash, Ahmad Im- among the students, but also isation,” said Vadakkangara. The moderator at the which was a good move. He the focus on inter-disciplinary ri urged AMU alumni to work tiyaz, Irfan Ansari, Ghufran among the public. Membership to this fed- event was Dr Zahidul Haque, also lauded the decision to set learning in higher education towards the benefit of their Ali khan, Abhay Patil, Khur- Vadakkangara is the au- eration is open to all who are associate professor, Univer- up foreign universities, noting and teaching in mother tongue alma mater. Stressing the sheed, Saudan Singh, Anwar thor of more than 40 books on involved in teaching and pro- sity of Hyderabad. Prominent that it should have been done and regional languages in the importance of staying con- Nafees Khan, Dr Gita Chaw- Arabic language and his books moting Arabic language . Or- among the attendees were in 2010 itself when it was pro- foundation years. nected through online events, la, Mohammed Abuzar, Mrs are being prescribed in schools ganisations/ publishers can Dr MS Bukhari, chief patron posed for the first time. He also called for alloca- he said, “It is the new norm as Sheeba Khan, Dr MS Has- in India and abroad. His book nominate people, or persons AMUAAQ, and Prof MM Su- Prof Mustafa also appreci- tion of six per cent of the Gross the COVID-19 outbreak has san, Mrs Anwer Sultana, Prof on the history of Arabic litera- can directly submit their cre- fyan Beg, principal ZH College ated the syllabus reduction by Domestic Product (GDP) to disrupted regular gatherings. Tahseen Fatma, Jawed Alam, ture is a recommended refer- dentials for membership. For of Engineering and Technol- 30 percent, direct admission education by states as well as The AMU and its alumni are Shagufta Khanum and Saba ence source for Arabic degree more details visit https://alar- ogy and chairman of AMU to PhD, revision of board of the central governments, as contributing a lot to educa- Anees. courses in India. Vadakkanga- abiahunion.org/ Wednesday, August 19, 2020 05 Reports by L N Mallick For events and press releases email Pakistan Prism [email protected] or call (974) 4000 2222 L N Mallick

Pak Youth Society organises online event to celebrate Pakistan Independence Day The show included a live speech contest aimed at representing the voices of youth. The event, which was shown live on Facebook and YouTube, attracted more than 1,100 viewers

ak Youth Society–Qa- was ‘Pakistan and Independence’ of Pakistan. The contestants clear- bad, Pakistan as the chief guest. tar, one of the oldest and it was left to the participants ly demonstrated that their voice in Muhammad Tahir Jamil played forums of the Pakistani to add their own personal perspec- the national dialogue is important the role of chief judge for the live community in Qatar, tives. The contest was divided into and they are ready and willing to speech contest along with a panel organised a live show two categories. The first category fight for the country they love. The of judges. The winners from the Ponline to celebrate the 74th Paki- included contestants of age 11 and contestants also honoured their first category included Syed Oka- stan Independence Day of Paki- older, while the second category heritage by dressing in traditional sha Bilal who secured the first stan in coordination with online was for contestants aged 10 and attire representing the colours of position, Rehab Ahsan who came platform MeetwithRana. younger. In total, 12 participants the flag in their decorations. This second and Hania Amjad who got The online broadcast show registered from Qatar, Pakistan made the show quite spectacular the third position. In the second was hosted by Rana Anwar Ali, and Saudi Arabia. for the audience. category, Muhammad Bin Amjad who presented a series of daily The contestants from the first Towards the conclusion of the secured the first position, Abdul- live shows from August 1 to 14, as category included Ammad Jibran speeches, and to allow the judges lah Aaban got the second position part of Pakistan Independence Day Yousuf, Hania Amjad, Rehab Ah- time for deliberation, the show and Muhammad Aayan secured the celebrations. The aim of the event san, Ramla Kamran, Syed Okasha continued on by inviting key third position. The judges stressed was to bring the community mem- Bilal, Emad Mughal, Muhammad guests from the Pakistani commu- the importance of participation of bers togetther. Hasaan Ilahi, Mariyam Omar and nity. Notable members of the com- the youth and encouraged everyone The show on August 12 com- Fatima Yousuf. Contestants from munity included Syed Intisar Hus- to celebrate Independence Day. prised a live speech contest aimed the second category included Mu- sain, Rashid Latif, Tahir Mahmood The show concluded with to represent and honour the voices hammad Bin Amjad, Muhammad Chaudhary, Qaisar, Hafizullah a prayer for the prosperity of of Pakistan’s youth. The event, Aayan and Abdullah Aaban. and Ashraf Siddiqui. President of Pakistan. Anwar Ali thanked which was shown live on Facebook The contestants delivered bril- PYSQ Qazi Mohammed Asghar the guests and participants for as well as on YouTube, attracted liant speeches in Urdu and English and community members shared making the show a special occa- more than 1,100 viewers. Anwar and expressed their thoughts on their messages and thoughts per- sion. Community members greatly Ali started the programme by in- the Independence Day of Pakistan. taining to the Independence Day. appreciated the efforts of Anwar viting a young participant to recite The ideas that were shared ranged Syed Intisar Hussain regaled the Ali and expressed their support a few verses from the Holy Quran from the history of Pakistan, to the audience with patriotic songs. Fa- for the show through various likes, and played the national anthem. sacrifices of forefathers, the value mous writer and poet, Junaid Azir, reactions, and messages through The topic of the speech contest of the nation, and the future vision also joined the show from Islama- social media.

Punjab Music Group marks 74th Independence Day of Pakistan

unjab Music Group (PMG) recently organised an event to mark the 74th Independ- Pence Day of Pakistan. The event kicked off with the national anthem of Pakistan. Speaking on the occasion, Nazakat Ali Khan, chief organ- iser of PMG, recalled the sacrifices rendered in the creation of the homeland. Mohamed Sard- ar, AR Rahman Bangash and Syed Naeem Shah Gillani, PMG special guests, along with Sheeraz All Khan, President of PMG, Atiqur Rehman, Vice President Shahid Rasheed, Chairman Ab- dul Jabbar, General Secretary and Aurang Zaib, ljaz, Heera and Ejaz Ahmed Chand also spoke on the occasion. The event concluded with a cake cutting ceremony. Most people know Nazakat Ali Khan as a tabla player who provides musical accompani- ment to local vocalists during musical concerts held in Qatar. But he is working with a mission in his mind – a mission of providing a platform to local artistes where they can polish their la- tent skills. With this mission in mind, Khan established PMG with the help of a group of like- Nazakat Ali Khan minded people around a decade ago. The group started its activities by organis- Later, the group decided to broaden horizons ing concerts at various locations in which lo- of its activities by inviting renowned artistes from cal artistes from different nationalities were different countries. The forum also organises The group started its activities by organising concerts at various locations in which local artistes from different nationalities were invited to perform. invited to perform. functions on the national days of Qatar. 06 Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Established September 3, 2006 hamad bin suhaim al thani chairman Opinion adel ali bin ali managing director dr hassan mohammed al ansari editor-in-chief

Trump’s Continued Assault On Mail-In Voting Russia’s Sputnik

The president’s action is an insult to voters, election officials working tirelessly to ensure the integrity Vaccine Gamble Is of the upcoming election, and the core values of American democracy HERE is a plot against American democ- working tirelessly to ensure the integrity of All About Putin racy unfolding in plain sight. the upcoming election, and the core values of T After months of attacks on the US American democracy. Postal Service and vote-by-mail, President In the midst of this crisis, and without Putin’s hurried decision to give go-ahead to the vaccine without mandatory 3rd Donald Trump admitted that the two efforts a deal on the next relief package amid a re- are connected as a part of one voter disen- cession, Senate Republicans who have been state trial has raised serious questions about its efficacy. Putin wants to garner franchisement effort. In a Fox Business Net- abiding Trump’s efforts shamefully ad- work interview, Trump said that the sticking journed until after Labor Day. They should political win without following proper protocol in producing the vaccine point for him in the negotiations over a new immediately resume session and fund the coronavirus economic relief package is post Postal Service — as well as provide aid to the office funding: “If we don’t make a deal, that many struggling across America. Clara Ferreira Marques about genuine evolution. After former fac- means they don’t get the money. That means In Pennsylvania, state lawmakers should Tribune News Service tory worker Valentina Tereshkova became they can’t have universal mail-in voting. They also work quickly to change the deadlines in the first female cosmonaut in 1963, it was just can’t have it.” the vote-by-mail law to ensure that every vote HERE was no clearer way of signal- another 19 years before another woman fol- Then, on Thursday evening, Inquirer re- that was cast on time is counted. The Supreme ling how Russia sees its coronavirus lowed her into orbit. porters Jonathan Lai and Ellie Rushing broke Court should extend the deadline if lawmakers vaccine: Moscow named it Sputnik, Judy Twigg, a professor at Virginia the news that USPS warned Pennsylvania that fail their duty — but that can open Pennsylva- after the satellite whose launch in 1957 Commonwealth University who studies some ballots won’t be counted in the Novem- nia to litigation after the election. In addition, marked the start of the space race, and Russian politics and health, points out that ber election because of Pennsylvania’s tight all counties should plan on having many ballot Tforced the West to confront an unexpected, it is much like the virtual reality of Putin’s deadlines for requesting and casting ballots — drop-off boxes well ahead of the election, an- and terrifying, technology gap. superweapons announcement in 2018, citing “overwhelming” risk to voters. Pennsyl- other measure that Trump opposes. Announcing the world’s first regulato- which promised invincible next-genera- vania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar sub- Trump’s effort will discourage some peo- ry approval last week, President Vladimir tion technology. It was made against the mitted a letter to the state’s Supreme Court, ple from voting by mail when we will likely Putin sought to repeat the propaganda backdrop of genuine advances, but sug- requesting they extend deadlines so ballots still be in the midst of a pandemic in Novem- masterstroke. Yet the rushed endorse- gested a need for big wins the president that arrive up to three days after the election ber. Voting in person will be a risk — par- ment, after just two months of small-scale could boast about — even if, like some of can be counted. ticularly to poll workers who are volunteers human testing, is less an affirmation of that military technology or a promised In the June primary, tens of thousands of and tend to be older. To have as many polling Russian scientific prowess than it is an AIDS vaccine, they don’t ever materialise. ballots arrived late and were only counted be- stations open as possible on Election Day, expression of Putin’s hankering for Soviet- Putin clearly wants a win against a vi- cause Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf and young, healthy Pennsylvanians who are less era international clout. It’s a premature of. Corner-cutting will hardly reassure a rus that spoiled his 2020. The landmark local courts extended deadlines. Since then, at risk for severe COVID-19 should consider victory lap that suggests a worrying need skeptical population. constitutional plebiscite intended to ce- Trump donor-turned-postmaster general, volunteering as poll workers. for affirmation at home too. There is also the fact that a national reg- ment his leadership was delayed by the Louis DeJoy, has issued new policies — such There is no one way to block Trump’s Russia has been in a hurry to win the ulator’s OK doesn’t win you the global vac- pandemic, as was a Victory Parade mark- as prohibiting overtime — that have caused attack on democracy. With less than three vaccine race from the start, spotting the cine race. According to the World Health ing the 75th anniversary of the defeat of massive mail delays. In Philadelphia, some months until the election, ensuring the in- political benefit of being first with the in- Organization, several candidate vaccines Nazi Germany, which few world leaders residents have gone up to three weeks with- tegrity of the American vote will require all oculation the world is waiting for. It said in are already ahead of Russia’s in the final attended. An oil crisis hasn’t helped mat- out mail. Trump’s voter disenfranchisement levels of government and ordinary citizens to July that one of its prototypes, developed by phase of testing, including one developed ters. While the economy is doing less badly campaign and assault on the Postal Service step up. It’s not too late to stop this threat to the Gamaleya Institute, had completed the by the University of Oxford and AstraZen- than feared, households are still in pain, is an insult to voters, county election officials American democracy. initial phase of tests. Then it began talking eca Plc, which uses a similar technology. protests persist in the country’s Far East, up plans for a mass vaccination programme Some, unlike Russia, have published data Belarus is in revolt on his doorstep and in the fall, brushing aside accusations that to support their claims. there are potentially awkward elections for Moscow-backed hackers tried to steal re- So why bother? First, for the glory. regional assemblies in September. search abroad. My colleagues in Moscow re- Even if this announcement has been met With a vaccine promise, he is again a ported officials and billionaire tycoons had with widespread skepticism, the White protective father of the people: To make been getting the shots since April. House felt the need to reassure US citizens the point, Putin remarked publicly that Now, ignoring public objections from that it was moving as fast as possible. De- one of his own, rarely spoken-of, daugh- the trade body representing the world’s top veloping nations, meanwhile, are listening ters was inoculated. pharmaceutical companies in Russia, the carefully to a country that might share its Much will depend on what happens country has pressed ahead with an official vaccine with them. next, beginning with the promised pub- green light — even before the gold-standard, Then, for the research kudos. Putin lication of data on the vaccine in a major phase 3 trial that would typically involve wants to restore a reputation for scientific international journal. Russia has dis- thousands of subjects. Sweeping aside excellence that has been tarnished by years missed its doubters, but facts will be key standard research procedure, Putin said in of underinvestment after the collapse of the to winning them over. a televised meeting that all necessary checks Soviet Union, and a dramatic brain drain. In the end, a historic space exploit had been cleared. It’s a triumph of spin over Most importantly, perhaps, this is about may not have been the best metaphor to scientific protocol that even US President burnishing goodwill at home. choose. These days Russia’s programme Donald Trump hasn’t been able to pull off. The rush in the laboratory is propor- faces setbacks, including competition The scale of the gamble makes it hard tionate to Putin’s need for affirmation in the from private companies such as billion- to comprehend, even in a country that has face of weak approval ratings — at record aire Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Tripping up in counted more than 900,000 cases of the lows, even after voters approved constitu- the vaccine race will be costlier. pneumonia-like illness. With only early- tional changes that give him the opportu- stage tests, as my colleague Max Nisen nity to stay in power until 2036. In today’s (Clara Ferreira Marques is a pointed out, Russia is taking a huge bet Russia, there is still a warm feeling around Bloomberg Opinion columnist on the vaccine actually protecting enough Soviet successes like the space programme. covering commodities and people, safely. While adverse effects from That’s true even if many of those firsts were environmental, social and (Tribune News Service) vaccines are rare, they are not unheard as much about the headlines as they were governance issues.)

Will COVID-19 Further Drag Down Japan’s Dismal Birth Rate?

The uncertainty over how long the pandemic will last further complicate Japanese women’s plans to have children

Thisanka Siripala met from 127 million to 88 million pan’s national debt level is two and about raising a family. Kato argued Tribune News Service — but the low fertility variant indi- a half times the size of its economy that “work style reforms” could cates an even lower possibility of 82 — the worst among OECD nations. help change “the decision making APAN’S current population de- million. What’s most alarming is the While France and Sweden spend ap- behind having children.” cline is only the beginning of its number of women of childbearing proximately 2 to 3 percent of GDP on Lifetime employment in Japan Jspiralling socioeconomic woes. age in 2065 will be a meager 14 mil- family policies, Japan’s mountain of has also come under fire in recent Demographic projections highlight lion — making up just 17 percent of debt leaves room for only 1.3 percent years for normalising employee that, starting from 2021, popula- the total population. to tackle low fertility. “If we spent loyalty and discouraging an ex- tion decline will shift into overdrive, And now, the economic fall out of more on helping young people with tended leave of absence, to the accelerating exponentially year on the global COVID-19 pandemic and income to support children, then disadvantage of women who wish year. the uncertainty over how long it will maybe the birth rate would improve to have children. This outdated An Internal Affairs Ministry last is further complicating young but we can’t spend more on young job-for-life system, although on resident registry survey in January people’s plans to have children. Even families,” Kato said. the way out, clashes with the mod- found that the country’s total popu- before the outbreak, Japan’s econ- Yu Korekawa, the director of ern push for work-life balance and lation shrank by a record 500,000 omy had suffered from a period of the National Institute of Popula- forces women to choose between compared to the previous year, stagnant growth. It has since slipped tion and Social Security Research having a child or a career. which is the biggest drop since 1968. into a formal recession and, as the pandemic isn’t expected to have a widening gap between births and in Tokyo, said that responsibility Korekawa said that while work- But Japan’s consecutive population virus shows no signs of slowing, the significant impact Japan’s down- deaths. In May the cabinet an- doesn’t lie solely on the govern- place culture is not the root cause decline is nothing new to demogra- country is on course to plunge deep- ward population trend, even if the nounced a new package of low fertil- ment. Policies used to prevent a of low fertility, women tend to fall phers, who first forecasted the popu- er into economic crisis, aggravating outbreak persists for two to three ity countermeasures featuring child population explosion in develop- victim to a corporate ladder based lation would start shrinking after financial burdens on young people years. “We can’t change popula- care leave, expansion of child care ing countries — such as one child on the length of service. Surveys 2010 all the way back in 1979. and young households. tion decline in the short term,” Kato support, and financial incentives for or family planning policies — can- show that women prefer to take Japan’s bleak long-term total Still, Hisakazu Kato, a professor pointed out. “It will take 50 to 60 infertility treatments, but how the not be applied in the reverse case time off and return to the labour population projections are calcu- of economics at Meiji University, years to change Japan’s fate.” new programmes will be financed is of raising women’s fertility. force and pick up where they left off lated in line with low, medium, and told The Diplomat that COVID-19’s In the last decade, government still unclear. COVID-19 could have one in- in their career after six to 10 years. high fertility variants, with the me- impact would be unlikely to signifi- efforts to support child rearing and Japan’s poor finances limit the direct benefit for Japan’s fertility Many women resort to low-skilled dium estimate the most commonly cantly worsen Japan’s demographic boost the fertility rate toward the effectiveness and quality of child crisis: By forcing a shift to more or part-time work in the absence of referenced. Using that projection, by outlook. Given the long-term na- official birth rate target of 1.8 have care and child rearing policy meas- flexiblework styles, more young skilled or senior positions after an 2065 Japan’s population will plum- ture of the problem, Kato says the made little progress in slowing the ures available to young people. Ja- Japanese could feel confident employment gap.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED ON THE OPINION AND ANALYSIS PAGES ARE THE AUTHORS’ OWN. QATAR TRIBUNE BEARS NO RESPONSIBILITY. World Wednesday, August 19, 2020 07

News Gaza’s only power plant shut down over fuel shortage in brief DPA of energy per day to supply The energy supply in the “Hamas should know that Gaza/Tel Aviv its 2 million inhabitants. In Strip is to be reduced to this is not a game,” said Rivlin. Lebanon issues the past it had only been able three to four hours a day, He also thanked firefighters for second arrest The only power plant in the to provide 210 megawatts, of Gaza’s energy provider said, their efforts to extinguish the warrant in port Gaza Strip shut down on Tues- which 120 came from Israel, blazes. “Terrorism using incen- blast investigation day due to a lack of fuel, Pales- 30 from Egypt and the rest was as there are some power diary kites and balloons is ter- tinian authorities said. produced by the power plant. supply lines still running rorism just like any other,” said Beirut A Lebanese judge The energy supply in the Israel suspended fuel ship- from Israel and Egypt. the Israeli president. has issued a second arrest Strip is to be reduced to three pings and closed its border Israel captured Gaza from warrant over the Beirut port to four hours a day, Gaza’s en- crossings with the Gaza Strip loon terrorism” - setting ablaze Egypt in the 1967 Six-Day War, explosion that took place on ergy provider said, as there are last week in response to Pales- agricultural fields in southern but unilaterally pulled out its August 4 and killed at least some power supply lines still tinian cross-border attacks. It Israel with incendiary balloons. army and evacuated its settle- 180 people, the state-run running from Israel and Egypt. also restricted the fishery zone During a visit to southern ments in the Strip in 2005. Israel National News Agency (NNA) The energy provider on Gaza’s coast. Israel, President Reuven Rivlin imposed a blockade on the Strip reported on Tuesday even- warned that the lack power After a coronavirus-related threatened the Hamas move- in 2007 and continues to con- ing. Judge Fadi Sawwan would affect “all aspects of life lull, Palestinians have stepped ment that rules Gaza, saying trol Gaza’s borders, along with issued an arrest warrant A picture shows a power generating facility in the middle of the Gaza in the Gaza Strip negatively.” up cross-border attacks from that “if they want war, they will Egypt, frequently closing cross- for the port director, Hasan Strip as Gaza’s electricity authority announced that more service cuts It added that the Strip Gaza this month, including get war,” in response to the se- ings in response to rocket fire Koraitem, a day after a simi- would be implemented due to lack of fuel. (AFP) needed about 500 megawatts what Israel describes as “bal- ries of incendiary balloons. and violence along the border. lar decision was made for the customs chief, Baderi Daher. The arrest warrant for Koraitem came after four hours of interrogation, NNA South Africa reported. More than 16 rolls out second Hezbollah member guilty of Rafic people have been detained pending investigations into coronavirus the Beirut port blast, a judicial source said. vaccine trial On August 7, a Bei- Hariri’s murder: UN tribunal rut judge ordered the AFP detention of Daher, his pre- Johannesburg AFP attack. decessor, Shafik Merhi, and Leidschendam, Netherlands Judges said there was suf- Koraitem. (DPA) South Africa will launch ficient evidence to show that clinical trials of a US-de- A UN-backed tribunal on Tues- Ayyash was at the centre of a Pakistan to conduct veloped coronavirus vac- day found a member of the network of mobile phone users trials of Chinese cine with 2,900 volunteers Hezbollah Shiite movement who scoped out Hariri’s move- this week, the second such guilty over the 2005 murder of ments for months before his coronavirus vaccine study in the African coun- former Lebanese prime min- assassination. Karachi Pakistan regula- try worst hit by the disease, ister Rafic Hariri but cleared The judges said evidence tors have approved final- lead investigator Shabir three other suspects after a also linked phones used in the phase testing of a Chinese- Madhi said Tuesday. years-long trial. attack to Hezbollah command- made vaccine against the Known as NVX- The long-awaited decision er Mustafa Badreddine -- who coronavirus, officials said CoV2373, the vaccine was prompted mixed reactions, was indicted by the court but Tuesday, in the country’s developed by US biotech with the late Hariri’s son Saad is believed to have been killed first ever clinical trial of its company Novavax from telling journalists outside the in the Damascus area in May kind. the genetic sequence of Special Tribunal for Lebanon 2016. According to Pakistan’s SARS?CoV?2, the virus (STL) he “accepted the tribu- The Hariri bombing trig- National Institute of Health that causes the COVID-19 nal’s verdict.” gered mass protests that drove (NIH), regulators have ap- disease. “Everybody’s expectation Syrian forces out of Lebanon proved the testing of a vac- It will be administered was much higher than what after three decades. cine under development by to the first volunteer in came out today, but I believe But the court said there CanSinoBio and the Beijing the randomised, observer- that the tribunal came out with was not enough evidence to tie Institute of Biotechnology blinded trial on Wednes- a result that is satisfying. We Former Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri leaves the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) at Damascus to the crime. China. day. accept it,” said Saad Hariri, Leidschendam on Tuesday, after the expected verdict on the 2005 murder of his father former Lebanese An EU spokesperson said The medication is “It’s a two-dose sched- also a former prime minister, premier Rafic Hariri.( AFP) “the European Union reiter- already undergoing Phase 3 ule, and they get two ei- after attending the hearing ates the need to fight impunity trials -- or large-scale test- ther vaccines or placebos... at the STL’s heavily fortified Lebanon to impose lockdown for two weeks to stop surge in virus cases and strengthen accountability ing on humans -- in China, spaced three weeks apart,” courthouse. and the rule of law at the inter- Russia, Chile and Argentina. professor Madhi of the Jo- Salim Ayyash, 56, was con- Beirut Lebanon’s Interior Ministry said on Tuesday that a general lockdown will be imposed in the national level”. Saudi Arabia will also take hannesburg-based Univer- victed in absentia by the STL country for two weeks in order to slow the spread of the coronavirus. A lawyer for Oneissi part, NIH said. sity of the Witwatersrand based in the Netherlands, over “A general lockdown will be imposed in Lebanon from Friday morning until September 7, in addi- slammed the prosecution’s “This will be the first (Wits), told AFP. a huge suicide bombing in Bei- tion to a 6 pm-to-6 am curfew,” an Interior Ministry statement said. case, saying “it was obvious ever Phase 3 clinical trial With 589,886 cases and rut that killed the Sunni bil- On Monday, Lebanon registered a record high of 456 new coronavirus cases. The total number from the start it would not for any vaccine in Pakistan,” 11,982 deaths, South Africa lionaire politician and 21 other of COVID-19 cases has reached 9,337, with 105 deaths, since the pandemic started in the country hold,” against his client. the NIH said in a statement. is fifth in global rankings people. in February. The ministry said that the lockdown will not affect the clean-up, reconstruction and aid Tuesday’s verdict came as Pakistan’s inclusion for countries with the most “The trial chamber finds efforts in areas that were hit by the Beirut port explosion on August 4. thousands of Beirut residents in the trials would help it infections. Mr Ayyash guilty beyond rea- The ministry said the sectors exempted from the lockdown are public institutions, security forces, have expressed anger at the secure “preferential vac- Since the country also sonable doubt as a co-perpe- health and medical facilities, food and essential factories, and banks and financial institutions. authorities after the port blast cine supply and pricing”, it accounts for 20 percent of trator of the assassination of It added that the airport will remain open during the lockdown. (DPA) triggered by a warehouse fire added. global HIV infections ac- RaficH ariri,” said David Re, that set off large amounts of The coronavirus has cording to UNAIDS 2020 presiding judge of the tribunal. stored ammonium nitrate. claimed more than 6,000 data, 240 medically stable, Addressing victims of the But judges said there was bib Merhi, 54, over the blast, was no evidence to directly The disaster led to the lives in Pakistan but cases HIV-positive adults will attack, he said: “We sincerely not enough evidence to con- which changed the face of the link Syria -- the former mili- Lebanese government’s resig- have been dropping for also participate in the clini- hope the verdict today will give vict Assad Sabra, 43, Hussein Middle East. tary overlord in Lebanon -- or nation and compounded Leba- several weeks. (AFP) cal trial. you some sort of closure.” Oneissi, 46, and Hassan Ha- The judges also said there Hezbollah’s leadership to the non’s severe economic crisis. “It’s critical that we understand how these vaccines work in populations that have HIV, especially in South Africa where they Quake in central Philippines kills one, damages COVID-19 facility constitute up to about 12 to 15 percent of the adult pop- DPA Most of the damage was in the rubble, police said. At structure.” tershocks might cause the dam- said Rino Revalo, Masbate’s ulation,” said Madhi. Manila in Cataingan, a town in Mas- least 48 residents of Cataingan Cabatana said many resi- aged houses to collapse.” provincial administrator. Wits University said bate province, about 430 kilo- were hurt after being hit by de- dents were out in the streets No tsunami alert was issued “We advised personnel in studies of the Novavax A magnitude-6.6 earthquake metres south of Manila, where bris, said town Mayor Felipe after they were warned against since the tremor struck inland our hospital and coliseum to vaccine in non-human struck the central Philippines the epicentre was located, ac- Cabatana. returning to their damaged and the fault’s movement was avoid using the buildings until primates have shown pro- on Tuesday, killing one person, cording to the Philippine Insti- “Police are going around to homes. horizontal, Solidum said. these are properly assessed,” he tection against the coro- injuring nearly 50 more, and tute of Volcanology and Seis- check on residents and deter- “We urge everyone to check The town’s district hospital added. navirus infection in nasal damaging houses and other in- mology (Phivolcs). mine if there are others who their houses and if there is and a public coliseum housing The Philippines is located passages as well as protec- frastructure, including a coro- A retired police colonel was were injured,” he said. “The damage, do not return because asymptomatic COVID-19 pa- on the Pacific Ring of Fire, tion against lung disease. navirus quarantine facility, of- killed when his three-storey engineer’s office is also assess- it’s dangerous,” said Renato tients also suffered huge cracks where about 90 percent of the ficials said. house collapsed and buried him ing the damage to public infra- Solidum, Phivolcs director. “Af- and fallen roofs and beams, world’s earthquakes take place.

Iran backs Putin’s call for Mali president and prime minister arrested by mutinous soldiers Security Council summit DPA during a parliamentary elec- parts of [the capital] Bamako. Bamako tion in April, which gave his We advise Australian citizens on arms embargo administration a firm majority. in Mali to seek shelter, remain Malian President Ibrahim Soldiers started to mutiny indoors and monitor local me- DPA rity Council members - the US, Boubacar Keita and Prime early Tuesday in the garrison dia,” Australia’s ambassador to Tehran Britain, France and China - as Minister Boubou Cisse have town of Kati, 15 kilometres Mali said on Twitter. well as Germany and Iran’s been arrested by the military in north-west of Bamako. Gunfire The US embassy also told Iran threw its backing be- leaders. an apparent mutiny, army of- was heard in the capital. A pho- citizens in Bamako to “shelter hind a suggestion by Russian The meeting would aim to ficer Sidi Gakou told dpa Tues- tographer told dpa there had in place.” “The US Embassy President Vladimir Putin to prevent a confrontation in the day. been several thousand protest- is aware of gunfire and unrest hold a videoconference sum- council, according to the state- “The president and his ers on the streets, with people in the area of Kati, as well as mit of the UN Security Coun- ment. prime minister have been ar- firing into the air. ongoing police/military opera- cil on the decision to extend a The UN Security Council rested,” Gakou said by phone. Earlier in the day, the Eco- tions in Bamako,” it said in a weapons embargo. had on Friday resoundingly “They are being taken to Kati nomic Community of West Af- statement. “We are aware of Mr Pu- rejected a US bid to indefinite- military camp.” rican States (ECOWAS) said it The warnings come after tin’s good will, as well as his ly extend an arms embargo The African Union Com- was “greatly concerned” about several weeks of political ten- intent to reduce tensions with on Iran, a move US Secretary mission condemned the arrests a mutiny taking place. sions and repeated anti-gov- this summit,” government of State Mike Pompeo called and called for the immediate Soldiers should return to ernment protests. spokesman Ali Rabiei said on “inexcusable.” US President release of both leaders. barracks, refrain from “uncon- Talks between the gov- Tuesday. However, he added Donald Trump now wants to Earlier on Tuesday, the stitutional action” and instead ernment and the opposition, that such a summit was not trigger the “snapback” mecha- government had released a try to resolve political differ- which is led by popular cleric feasible at this time due to the nism in the Iranian nuclear statement calling for calm, ences through dialogue, ECO- Mahmoud Dicko, a former ally Washington’s “insincere” at- deal to impose sanctions on admitting that soldiers might WAS said in a statement. Malian soldiers are celebrated as they arrive at the Independence of Keita, have so far failed. titude. Iran. have legitimate frustrations France, a former colonial square in Bamako on Tuesday. Malian president and prime minister “This remains a fast-mov- “But as soon as we receive The arms embargo on Iran and saying they were prepared power in Mali, also condemned have both been arrested by the military after months of unrest. (AFP) ing situation, but initial indica- an official invitation, we will is set to end in October, under to engage in a dialogue. the mutiny. tions point to the mutiny being answer it,” Rabiei said, accord- a provision of UN Resolution Mali has been struggling to “France has learned with eign Ministry said in a state- in the volatile West African na- within the national guard,” said ing to the ISNA news agency. 2231, in which the Security maintain stability since tens of concern of the mutiny that has ment. tion, urging their citizens to Alexandre Raymakers, a senior Putin called last week for Council backed the nuclear thousands of opposition sup- started today in Kati, Mali. It The US, Austral- stay at home. Africa analyst at risk manage- a videoconference summit deal between Tehran and six porters accused Keita of gross condemns this serious event in ian, and Swedish embassies in “There are reports of gun- ment consultancy Verisk Ma- between the permanent Secu- world powers signed in 2015. intimidation and vote-buying the strongest terms,” the For- Mali warned of possible unrest fire and civil disturbance in plecroft. 08 Wednesday, August 19, 2020 World Trump 2016 campaign head colluded Trump lashes out at Michelle Obama with Russian spy: Senate report after Democratic convention takedown AFP Russian intelligence officer, and Oleg AFP In her pre-taped remarks to the Washington Deripaska, a Russian oligarch close Milwaukee convention, Michelle Obama urged to Vladimir Putin, the Senate Intel- Americans to rally behind Demo- The chairman of President Donald ligence Committee said. US President Donald Trump lashed crat Joe Biden, her husband Barack Trump’s 2016 election campaign se- “On numerous occasions, Mana- out at former first lady Michelle Oba- Obama’s former vice president, in cretly shared campaign information fort sought to secretly share internal ma on Tuesday after she delivered a November’s presidential election. with a Russian intelligence officer, campaign information with Kilim- scathing takedown of his leadership Biden “will tell the truth, and posing a “grave” espionage threat to nik,” including polling and strategy on the opening night of the Demo- trust science,” she said in a jab at the United States, a US Senate report Paul Manafort details, it said. cratic convention. Former US First Lady Michelle Obama Trump, who has been accused of said on Tuesday. Report said sharing took place “I thought it was a very divisive ignoring the advice of scientists on Before and during his nearly six lican political consultant, directly just as Russian GRU intel and a gov- speech, extremely divisive,” Trump if it wasn’t for Barack Obama,” he how to respond to a health crisis months on the Trump campaign, and indirectly communicated with ernment-linked social media operation told reporters at the White House. said. “I would be building buildings which has left some 170,000 Amer- Paul Manafort, a veteran Repub- Konstantin Kilimnik, identified as a sought to tilt the election toward Trump. “Frankly, I would not even be here someplace and having a good time.” icans dead.

EU leaders urge Putin to WHO urges nations to join push for talks in Belarus AFP Minsk global shared vaccine bid European leaders urged Russian President Vladimir AFP In the first, doses would be Putin to push for dialogue in Geneva allocated proportionally to all neighbouring Belarus on Tues- participating countries simul- day, as opposition supporters The WHO wrote to every coun- taneously, in a bid to reduce protested President Alexander try on Tuesday urging them to the overall global risk. Lukashenko’s disputed elec- quickly join its global shared In the second phase, in- tion win for a 10th day. vaccine programme -- and dividual countries’ threat and Thousands of demonstra- People holding placards with spelled out who would get its vulnerability level will then tors gathered on Independ- an image of Belarus’ President eventual coronavirus jabs first. come into play. ence Square in central Minsk Alexander Lukashenko protest The World Health Or- Tedros said front-line on Tuesday evening waving against disputed elections re- ganization’s director-general workers in health and social the red-and-white flags of the sults, in Minsk on Tuesday. (AFP) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreye- care settings would get first opposition and calling on Lu- sus said that without vaccinat- phase priority, “as they are es- kashenko to resign, the latest dialogue”. ing the planet’s highest-risk sential to treat and protect the in a wave of protests after the In Kremlin readouts of the populations simultaneously, it population, and come in close president claimed he had won two calls, Putin emphasised would be impossible to rebuild contact with high-mortality a sixth term in the August 9 that interfering in Belarus and the global economy. risk groups” he explained. ballot. putting pressure on its author- And he said the most ex- He said initial data showed EU chief Charles Michel ities would be “unacceptable”, posed 20 percent of each that adults over 65 and those said on Twitter he had spoken as the European Union moves country’s population -- includ- with particular pre-existing to Putin and added that “only to impose sanctions over the ing front-line health work- conditions were at the highest peaceful and truly inclusive vote and a brutal police crack- ers, adults over 65 and those risk of dying from COVID-19. dialogue can resolve the crisis down on protesters. with pre-existing conditions A medical worker takes a swab sample from an elementary school student, to be tested for COVID-19 “For most countries, a in Belarus”. The flurry of calls came -- would be targeted in the first before schools open for the new semester, in Handan in China’s northern Hebei province. (AFP) phase one allocation that builds German Chancellor An- ahead of an emergency video wave of vaccinations, once the up to 20 percent of the popula- gela Merkel and French Presi- summit of European Union WHO-led COVAX shared facil- tion would cover most of the at- dent Emmanuel Macron also leaders to discuss Belarus on ity can roll out a proven safe WHO warns people under 50 risk groups,” said Tedros. spoke with the Russian leader, Wednesday. Belarusian state and effective vaccine. “If we don’t protect these whose country has close eco- news agency Belta said Putin “The fastest way to end this The fastest way to end this driving virus spread in Asia-Pacific highest risk people from the vi- nomic and military ties with its and Lukashenko had also spo- pandemic and to reopen econ- pandemic and to reopen Manila Coronavirus cases infected with very mild symp- rus everywhere and at the same neighbour. Merkel told Putin ken by phone to discuss the omies is to start by protecting economies is to start by in Asia-Pacific countries are toms or none at all. time, we can’t stabilise health that authorities in Minsk must Russian president’s calls with the highest risk populations protecting the highest risk now being driven by people “What we are observing systems and rebuild the global “enter into a national dialogue European leaders. everywhere, rather than the populations everywhere, under the age of 50 who may is not simply a resurgence. I economy.” with the opposition and so- Lithuanian lawmakers on entire populations of just some not know they are infected, believe it’s a signal that we’ve In the absence of a vaccine, ciety to overcome the crisis”, Tuesday urged Western gov- countries,” Tedros told a vir- rather than the entire the World Health Organization entered a new phase of the the WHO scotched notions that while Macron urged the Rus- ernments not to recognise Lu- tual press conference. populations of just some said on Tuesday, warning of a pandemic in the Asia-Pacific 50 percent of people having de- sian leader to foster “calm and kashenko as president. The novel coronavirus has countries “new phase” in the pandemic. (region).” veloped resistance to the new killed nearly 775,000 people Many have mild or no WHO data on the cur- coronavirus would be enough and infected almost 22 million WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom COVID-19 symptoms and rent phase of the contagion to achieve “herd immunity” Russian general killed by since the outbreak emerged Ghebreyesus risk infecting the elderly and showed around two-thirds of and thereby stop transmission. in China last December, ac- other vulnerable populations, Japan’s infections were among WHO emergencies director cording to a tally from official signed up to COVAX -- an ef- the WHO’s Western Pacific those aged under 40. Michael Ryan said the planet ‘explosive device’ in Syria sources compiled by AFP. fort to pool the costs and re- regional director Takeshi Kasai More than half of the was “nowhere close to the lev- MOSCOW: A Russian major general was killed and two service- Researchers and pharma- wards of finding, producing told a virtual briefing. caseloads in the Philippines els of immunity required to men wounded when an improvised explosive device went off near ceutical giants are racing to and distributing effective vac- “The epidemic is chang- and Australia were also in that stop this disease”. a Russian convoy in eastern Syria on Tuesday, news agencies produce a vaccine, with nine of cines -- while a further 80 have ing. People in their 20s, 30s age group. “We must redouble People should “not live in quoted the defence ministry as saying. the 29 currently being tested on expressed interest but are yet and 40s are increasingly driv- efforts to stop the virus from hope of herd immunity being The ministry said the device went off while the convoy was re- humans forming part of the CO- to commit fully. ing the threat,” Kasai said. moving into vulnerable com- our salvation. Right now, that turning from a humanitarian operation near the city of Deir Ezzor. VAX Global Vaccines Facility. The WHO wants countries “Many are unaware they’re munities,” Kasai said. (AFP) is not a solution,” he added. The statement, released to the Interfax, RIA Novosti and “If there’s a winner in vac- to signal a firm interest by Au- Aylward said it would take TASS news agencies, said the three servicemen were wounded cines, we’ll have one, there’s gust 31. ment and pooling risk across them to join,” Tedros said. “very high” levels of vaccina- in the blast and that a “senior military advisor with the rank of absolutely no question,” said “The COVAX Global Vac- multiple vaccines, which is why He specified that the allocation to achieve herd immunity, major general” died while being evacuated and provided with WHO advisor Bruce Aylward. cines Facility is the critical today I sent a letter to every tion of vaccines would be rolled as the vaccine would likely not medical assistance. No further details were provided. (AFP) Some 92 countries are mechanism for joint procure- member state encouraging out in two phases. work in everyone injected.

News in brief Spain ex-king under fire over move to UAE Hungarian minister under Finland rations paracetamol over supply fears AFP image with political commen- lent on the latest troubles. fire over Croatia yacht ‘lies’ Barcelona tators, even those in favour of While Juan Carlos is not HELSINKI: The sale of some commonly used medicines will the monarchy. under formal investigation, AFP telephoning EU counterparts be restricted in Finland in order to ensure enough availability Spain’s former king Juan “It’s a good choice for him, officials in Spain and Swit- Budapest to discuss the crisis in Belarus. during the next predicted coronavirus wave, the health ministry Carlos came under fire on but it is a bad choice for the zerland are looking into rev- Opposition parties ac- announced on Tuesday. Tuesday for moving to the Royal Household and for the elations about his financial Hungary’s foreign minister cused the minister of lying Users of the painkiller paracetamol and of the anti-inflam- Middle East, with critics call- image of the crown,” Alberto affairs made by a former mis- was accused of lying on Tues- and called for his resignation. matory drug Dexamethasone will only be allowed to buy up to ing it the “worst” destination Lardies, a journalist who has tress, German businesswom- day after he was spotted on a “Szijjarto lied that he was three months’ supply in one go, under special measures which because corruption allegations written several books about an Corinna Larsen. yacht in Croatia while posting working in an office while are to be introduced immediately and continue until January he faces have links to the re- the Spanish monarchy, told She said Juan Carlos had social media pictures appear- he was holidaying on a bil- next year. (AFP) gion. AFP. collected a payoff relating to ing to show him hard at work lionaire’s luxury yacht,” the The palace announced on “Not only are we talking of a 2011 high-speed rail con- in an office. Socialist party said in a state- Anti-govt protesters defy virus measures Monday that he had moved countries where human rights tract in Saudi Arabia that was According to the investi- ment. to the United Arab Emir- are not respected... but also awarded to a consortium of gative journalism news site The images raised ques- in Argentina ates (UAE) on August 3, the he ends up where he allegedly Spanish firms, according to a Atlatszo.hu, Peter Szijjarto tions about Szijjarto’s links to BUENOS AIRES: Thousands of opposition demonstrators took 82-year-old saying he wanted mediated to collect commis- leaked recording apparently was photographed on Sunday the yacht owner, Laszlo Szijj, to the streets in cities across Argentina on Monday to protest to prevent his personal affairs sions, where he allegedly lined made without her knowledge. aboard a luxury yacht in Croa- a construction magnate who against President Alberto Fernandez and his plans to extend from undermining his son his pockets,” he said refer- A Swiss prosecutor is fo- tia owned by a leading busi- has been listed as Hungary’s confinement measures against the coronavirus. King Felipe VI’s reign. ring to corruption allegations cusing on $100 million that nessman. fourth richest businessman Demonstrators defied social distancing rules to answer While the announcement linked to Saudi Arabia. late Saudi king Abdullah al- In Facebook messages and has won many state ten- calls to protest against a government announcement last ended two weeks of specula- The main political parties, legedly deposited in 2008 into Thursday and Sunday how- ders in recent years. Friday to extend containment measures in the Buenos Aires tion over the ex-king’s where- which have in the past rallied an account to which Juan Car- ever Szijjarto, alongside im- The party said Szijjarto’s region until August 30. abouts, it appears to have in defence of the royal house- los had access, the Tribune de ages of himself in office set- actions may also have posed The capital is home to 90 percent of the country’s growing done further damage to his hold, have so far remained si- Geneve newspaper reported. tings, said he had been busy national security risks. coronavirus caseload. (AFP)

Montenegro delays start of school over coronavirus PODGORICA: Montenegro will postpone the start of the school Virus-hit UK creates new institute to fight pandemics year by one month due to the the “uncertain” status of the AFP died in Britain, the worst toll in Health Secretary Matt and “external threats”, includ- a novel flu, or another major coronavirus pandemic, the education ministry said on Tuesday. London Europe, and the country is still Hancock said the system ing from biological weapons. health alert, hitting us right Countries across the Balkans have been debating how to struggling to implement an ef- would learn from South It will deal with emergen- now in the middle of this battle safely resume classes after a summer of rising coronavirus The British government on fective test and tracing system. cies, local outbreaks, testing against coronavirus,” he said in infections. “A regular start date carries risks for children’s Tuesday announced a shake- The government is scrap- Korea and Germany’s Robert and contact tracing, as well as a speech. health,” the education ministry said, announcing that the first up of public health policy with ping Public Health England Koch Institute “where their coordinating analysis, surveil- He said the system would day of school would be moved from September 1 to October 1. a new institute to focus on in- (PHE), the government agency health protection agencies lance and research. learn from South Korea and In neighbouring Serbia, which has been much harder hit fectious diseases in the wake with responsibility for health had a huge, primary, focus Health Secretary Matt Germany’s Robert Koch Insti- by the virus, the government recently decided to let parents of of the devastating coronavirus emergencies in England as well on pandemic response” Hancock said the institute will tute “where their health pro- students in the first four grades choose whether to send their outbreak. as issues such as smoking and start work immediately, as the tection agencies had a huge, children to school or continue online in the fall. (AFP) More than 41,000 people obesity. Institute for Health Protection changes could not wait. primary, focus on pandemic confirmed with COVID-19 have In its place, a new National will focus on infectious diseases “My single biggest fear is response”. Global markets: Dollar falls, stocks slide, techs lead page 10

Wednesday, August 19, 2020

27,831.69 9,775.28 38,528.32 2,004.04 −13.22 pts +79.96 pts +477.54 pts Gold +0.94% UK retailer M&S axes 7,000 jobs Dow QE sensex on virus fallout page 11 Price percentage Price percentage 28.27 Brent 45.30 -0.15% WTI 42.74 -0.35% Silver +1.57% QSE index extends gains amid rally in Gulf, US stocks

TNN & Agencies percent. percent to close at 3,986.23 since 2016. The Nasdaq 100 “Momentum is currently may be psychologically inter- Doha The volume of shares points. QSE All Share Index outperformed, with giants positive as the actions of the esting, but these milestones traded decreased to 331.906 added 0.69 percent to close at Amazon.com and Tesla jump- Fed and other major cen- should be taken in stride, Most Gulf bourses ended million from 436.867 million 3,041.31 points. ing more than 2.5 percent. tral banks continue to drive according to Chris Larkin, higher on Tuesday, with Qatar on Monday and the value of Meanwhile, US stocks After a torrid surge from yield-seeking investors into managing director of trading extending gains for the third shares decreased to QR563.66 climbed to a record as technol- the fastest bear market ever, racier equities and away and investment product at day in a row on the back of million on Sunday from ogy shares rallied. The dollar the S&P 500 is poised for its from bonds,” said Fawad E*Trade Financial. gains in banking shares. QR701.89 million in the previ- fell to the lowest in more than quickest rebound on record Razaqzada, an analyst at “It may hold some short- The Qatar Stock Exchange ous trading session. two years, while Treasuries amid Federal Reserve stimu- ThinkMarkets. term importance for traders (QSE) main index gained Indices of six sectors out advanced. lus and a jump in technology “While things could look who have built this into their 79.96 points, or 0.82 percent, of the seven closed in the posi- The S&P 500 pushed to- companies. While stimulus a lot different in the not-too- strategy, but for the most part, at the end of Tuesday’s trading tive territory. The QSE Total ward its all-time high after talks have stalled, better-than- distant future, the short-term anybody participating in the to close at 9,775.28 points. Return Index gained 0.82 briefly surpassing its February feared economic data and cor- picture certainly looks bullish market should look past these Lender Masraf Al Ray- percent to close at 18,792.65 peak in three of the past four porate earnings have instilled right now.” relatively arbitrary moves and an climbed 2.2 percent and points. QSE Al Rayan Is- sessions -- as a report showed optimism that a recovery is The fact that the S&P 500 focus more on fundamentals,” Commercial Bank leapt 3.4 lamic Index increased 0.61 housing starts rose the most taking shape. is breaking through a record he said. IATA checklist Value of real estate trading to help airlines exceeds QR2.78 bn in July navigate through QNA Doha COVID-19 crisis The trading volume of reg- Agencies covers nine sections including istered real estates at the Montreal pre-arrival notification, check- Ministry of Justice’s real es- in, embarkation and disem- tate registration department The International Air Trans- barkation, aircraft cleaning, stood at QR 2.78 billion in port Association (IATA) has onboard air quality, in-flight July this year. issued an airline self-assess- operations, flight and cabin The data of the analyti- ment health checklist to help crew, crew layover and airport cal real estate bulletin issued operators navigate through facilities. by the Ministry of Justice the COVID-19 pandemic that For example, Iata details showed 644 real estate trans- has transformed the norms of steps for aircraft sanitisation. actions were recorded during travel. “The operator shall have July. When compared with The checklist is designed to aircraft cleaning and sanitis- June, the number of real es- complement the International ing procedures for the flight tate index registered an in- Civil Aviation Organisation’s deck, if used, oxygen masks, crease of 41 percent, while (ICAO) guidance on air travel, passenger cabin and cargo the index of traded areas in- IATA said in a statement. compartments, as well as the creased by 60 percent. The ICAO’s “Take-off: The municipalities of Guidance for Air Travel Doha, Al Daayen and Al through the COVID-19 Pub- The checklist is designed Rayyan topped the most ac- lic Health Crisis” is a global to complement the tive trades in terms of fi- standard framework of risk- International Civil Aviation nancial value, followed by based temporary measures Organisation’s (ICAO) the municipalities of Umm for governments and the air guidance on air travel, Salal, Al Wakra, Al Shamal, transport industry to operate IATA said in a statement. Al Khor, Al Thakhira and Al The municipalities of Doha, Al Daayen and Al Rayyan topped the most active trades in terms of financial value. safely during the pandemic. Shahaniya. “Safety is always the num- access panels for the air con- The value of the transac- that the municipalities of Doha municipality by 24 per- four properties in the Umm actions, equivalent to 13.6 ber one priority for air trans- ditioning system, potable wa- tions of the Doha municipality Doha, Al Daayen and Umm cent, Al Rayyan municipality Salal municipality, three in percent and Al Wakra, with port. And the challenges of ter system, intercom system amounted to QR 1.24 billion, Salal were the most active by 15 percent, Umm Salal and the Doha municipality and 4 transactions, equivalent to COVID-19 have added a new and any other system that while that of Al Daayen mu- municipalities. Al Wakra municipalities by 8 one in each of the Al Rayyan, 3.9 percent of the total num- dimension to our efforts,” has an access panel used by nicipality was QR 556.18 mil- Doha accounted for about percent each, Al Samal mu- Al Khor and Al Daayen mu- ber of mortgages. IATA Director General Alex- ground and/or maintenance lion. The value of Al Rayyan 24 percent of the total, fol- nicipality with 8 percent and nicipalities. The real estate trading andre de Juniac said. personnel,” according to the municipality transactions lowed by Al Daayen mu- Al Khor and Al Thakhira mu- The volume of mortgage data shows that the real estate “Developed with input checklist. It also outlines steps amounted to QR377.324 mil- nicipality by 22 percent and nicipality by 5 percent. transactions that took place in sector continues its steady from industry, public health to ensure onboard air quality lion, while that of Umm Salal’s Umm Salal municipality at The average price per July 2020 reached 103 trans- growth in various fields of in- authorities and governments, is optimum. municipality was QR309.56 19 percent. Both Al Rayyan square foot for July 2020 actions with a total value of vestment and trade. ICAO’s Take-off guidance is “The operator shall have million and that of Al Wakra and Al Wakra municipali- ranged between QR515-991 QR2.148 billion. It confirms strong and ac- the global standard for safe procedures to ensure the best municipality stood at QR170.3 ties accounted for 12 percent, in Doha, QR225-389 in Al Doha municipality re- tive trading activity during the operations. IATA’s self-assess- possible aircraft internal air million. followed by Al Shamal mu- Wakra, QR291-527 in Al corded the highest number of current year, especially after ment checklist is a practical quality when passengers are The Al Shamal municipal- nicipality by 8 percent and Rayyan, QR247-432 in Umm mortgage transactions with the issuance of new laws and implementation guide to help embarking and/or are on ity recorded trading amount- Al Khor and Al Thakhira by 3 Salal, QR303-475 in Al Daay- 41 transactions, equivalent to decisions related to real estate airlines comply.” board,” it said. ing to QR73.35 million, while percent each. en, QR179-294 in Al Khor and 39.8 percent of the total num- sector, real estate registration, IATA’s 30-page Health IATA’s health checklist that of Al Khor and Al Thakh- Regarding the number of Al Thakhira, QR124-263 in ber of mortgages, followed by as well as attractive laws for Safety Checklist for Airline for airlines will be important ira municipality reached QR transactions index (sold real Al Shamal, and QR155 in Al Al Rayyan municipality with domestic and foreign capital. Operators provides the stand- for implementing the ICAO’s 49.36 million and that of the estate), trading indicators Shahaniya. 23 transactions, equivalent to These data confirm the ards, recommended practices, Council Aviation Recovery Al Shahaniya municipality showed that the most active The trading volume re- 22.3 percent, Al Daayen with strength of Qatar’s economy associated guidance material Task Force (CART) recom- reached QR3.38 million. municipalities during July vealed the registration of the 18 transactions, equivalent and the continued growth of and other supporting informa- mendations, said the ICAO’s In terms of the traded were Al Daayen municipality highest value of ten properties to 17.5 percent, Umm Salal the real estate sector as one of tion needed for an airline to council president Salvatore area index, indicators showed with 32 percent, followed by sold in July 2020, including municipality with 14 trans- its key components. conduct a self-assessment. It Sciacchitano.

Quick read Norway’s wealth fund takes $21b hit in H1 ‘My Vodafone Portal’ launched to support businesses Norway’s sovereign wealth Tribune News Network fone Portal is available 24/7 Saad Al Hebabi said, “We are fund, the world’s biggest, lost Doha on desktops, tablets or mobile striving to reduce complex- $21 billion in the first-half of the phones. ity in order to transform the year as a rebound in stock mar- As part of its commitment to The new portal is designed Vodafone Business customer kets wasn’t enough to erase its help Qatar’s businesses suc- to benefit and help Vodafone experience into an effortless record decline earlier this year. ceed in a digital world, Voda- Business users keep track digital journey. My Vodafone The fund declined 3.4 percent, fone has launched ‘My Voda- of all their employees’ plans Portal puts the power in each or 188 billion kroner ($21 billion) fone Portal’, a self-service tool and avoid bill shocks, as well customer’s hands to easily over the period. “Even though for businesses of all sizes. as manage all of their mo- and simply manage their ac- markets recovered well in the From basic functionali- bile numbers under their accounts digitally, and with real second quarter, we are still wit- ties such as viewing account counts. time information, at their nessing considerable uncertain- and profile details or bill Real time usage balance own convenience.” ty,” the fund’s Deputy CEO Trond summary, Vodafone busi- of plans and add-ons will be For more information Grande said in a statement. It’s ness account holders can also available with the ability to on My Vodafone Portal and been a tumultuous period for the download their bill history, activate add-ons for individu- Vodafone’s end-to-end so- $1.2 trillion fund. In addition to make payments against dif- al mobile numbers. New fea- lutions for large, medium the market chaos that’s played ferent bill profiles, subscribe tures will constantly be added and small enterprises, busi- havoc with returns this year, the to roaming packs, monitor to provide more self-service ness customers can visit investor has been dragged into usage, balance and more. features. www.vodafone.qa/myportal a political debacle over the ap- For ease of use and abso- Vodafone Qatar Busi- or contact their account pointment of its new CEO Nicolai lute convenience, My Voda- ness Unit Director Mahday manager. Tangen. (Agencies) 10 Wednesday, August 19, 2020 Economy & Business Al Ahed Holding takes a huge stride in boosting customer relationship

Jaber bin Ahmed Al Sulaiti, customer base, through im- ‘Al Ahed has embarked on transformation process Al Ahed Chairman, stated, “Al proving operational efficiency to equip itself for the upcoming large projects in Ahed Holding has embarked and distinction, speed of pro- on transformation process to ject completion and increas- the field of oil, gas and N Field expansion’ equip itself for the upcoming ing the company’s financial large projects in the field of oil, performance. This program Tribune news network Live implementation of gas and North Field expansion.” contributes effectively to set- DOHA SAP S/4 HANA was done in Jassim Mohammad al ting the wheel of digital trans- April 2020 in DOPET, one of Mansoori, CEO, said, “This formation at the national level Al Ahed Holding Company its subsidiary companies. De- project comes within the and achieving Vision 2030.” successfully implemented spite COVID-19 and market company’s transformation I Horizon Qatar and the SAP S/4 HANA system in Al challenges the company suc- program, which is based on Highbar India conducted the Ahed Trading and Contract- ceeded in implementing SAP three main pillars, namely the process of business process ing Company, which is one of in record time and is consid- strategy, attracting qualified reengineering with objective the subsidiary companies, the ered one of the first EPIC com- talents and the third is an inte- of improving operational effi- company said in a statement panies in Qatar to implement grated digital information sys- ciency, lean management, and on Tuesday. SAP S/4 HANA. Officials ofA l Ahed Holding Company at an event in Doha recently. tem. The relationship with the excellency.

US housing Huawei generates Global markets: starts surge revenue of $64 bn 23% in July AFP in first half of 2020 Dollar falls, stocks Washington Tribune news network US home construction Doha started in July surged 22.6 percent compared to June, Huawei recently said it the Commerce Department made revenue of $64.23 bil- slide, techs lead said on Tuesday, as the sec- lion for the first half of 2020, Revenues tor continued to expand at a 13.1 percent increase year- a frenzied pace despite the on-year, with a net profit Huawei’s carrier, enterprise, coronavirus pandemic. margin of 9.2 percent. and consumer businesses Strong US building start data for July provided some support for the dollar The vast majority of the Huawei’s carrier, enter- achieved $22.58 billion, increase came in apartment prise, and consumer busi- $5.13 billion, and $36.19 AFP buildings which exploded by nesses achieved $22.58 billion in revenue, London nearly 57 percent, with the billion, $5.13 billion, and respectively South and Northeast show- $36.19 billion in revenue, Global financial markets ing the largest gains, accord- respectively. traded in a narrow range on ing to the report. Registering the high- current situation, informa- Tuesday, with the dollar un- Single family homes est net profits of the three tion and communications der pressure on concerns started in the month rose company divisions, Huawei technologies (ICT) have be- over the US economic out- just 8.2 percent, the report Consumer Business Group come not only a crucial tool look while tech stocks contin- said. (BG) recently shared details for combating the global ued higher on the belief they The increase put housing of a revolutionary new expe- challenges, but also an en- will fare best in the new coro- starts at a 1.5 million annual rience for consumers - the gine for economic recovery. navirus era. rate, seasonally adjusted, Seamless AI Life experience. Huawei reiterated its Strong US building start far higher than the modest The product of a long- commitment to working data for July provided some gain economists had been term business plan focused with carriers and industry support but on its own was not expecting, as builders take around the innovative partners to maintain stable enough to ease worries about advantage of extremely low 1+8+N product and soft- network operations, accel- the economy as US-Chinese interest rates and the pent- ware ecosystem, Huawei’s erate digital transforma- tensions spike and Democrats up demand for homes. Seamless AI Life experience tion, and support efforts to and Republicans are dead- The dramatic gain last is set to help users stay con- contain local outbreaks and locked over a new virus recov- month came on top of the nected effortlessly and at all reopen local economies. ery package. surge in June to a 1.22 mil- times. The complex external The dollar tested two-year lion annual rate, revised up Together with a newly environment makes open lows as a result, with senti- from the 1.19 million initially announced range of IOT collaboration and trust in ment on the currency hit by reported. ecosystem partners and Ap- global value chains more fears the US snap-back from And more construction pGallery applications, Hua- important than ever. Hua- the pandemic is already run- is in the pipeline, as build- wei promises to make life wei has promised to contin- ning out of steam. ing permits issued jumped more seamless and intel- ue fulfilling its obligations Additionally, markets are The dollar tested two-year lows on Tuesday as a result as a result of US-China tensions. another 18.8 percent com- ligently connected for con- to customers and suppliers, anxious because the US cen- pared to the prior month, sumers. Users everywhere and to survive, forge ahead, tral bank is committed to pro- sions took a new twist with the ble tax hikes if Joe Biden beats cent at 4,938.06 the report said, with double- can now simply tap to con- and contribute to the global viding as much cheap money US expanding sanctions on President Donald Trump in EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.7 digit increases in permits for nect and enjoy the rich ben- digital economy and tech- as needed to bolster the econ- Chinese telecoms giant Hua- the race for the White House. percent at 3,283.22 single-family and multi-unit efits of a SeamlessAI Life. nological development, no omy absent another stimulus wei to further limit its access The Democratic Conven- New York - Dow: DOWN 0.1 homes. As countries around the matter what future chal- package. to computer chips and other tion kicked off Monday with percent at 27,813.12 Prior to the pandemic, globe are grappling with the lenges the company faces. “The dollar continues to US-made products. the theme being that Biden Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.2 home sales prices were rising fall with investors expecting The two rivals’ “Phase 1” will be good for the economy, percent at 23,051.08 (close) given strong demand, and af- the Fed to maintain its expan- trade deal agreed at the begin- said Edward Moya at OAN- Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 0.1 ter the central bank slashed sionary monetary policy for a ning of the year appears safe DA. percent at 25,367.38 (close) the benchmark interest rate long time owing to concerns -- but that could change. “Wall Street seems con- Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.4 to zero, low mortgage costs the persistence of COVID-19 “For the moment, the fact vinced that Biden’s tax policy percent at 3,451.09 (close) have spurred a fresh rush will weigh on the econom- the... trade deal remains in will not kill the stock market... Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1930 from of homebuyers and boosted ic recovery,” noted Fawad place, and will do while the two a Biden presidency could offer $1.1876 at 2050 GMT confidence of builders. Razaqzada, market analyst sides choose not to hold their greater certainty and stabil- Dollar/yen: DOWN at 105.41 yen “Homebuyer demand re- with ThinkMarkets. six-month review that was to ity for the economy,” Moya from 105.99 yen mains robust, inventories are “The greenback is also sup- have taken place last weekend, added. Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3227 tight, and there is a need for pressed because of the lack of is seen as overriding the build- from $1.3107 new units to keep the pace of (safe)haven demand for the ing evidence of a technology Key figures around 1600 GMT Euro/pound: DOWN at 90.18 sales going,” said Mike Fra- reserve currency, with inves- cold war now under way,” said London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 pence from 90.58 pence tantoni, chief economist at tors evidently favouring for- National Australia Bank’s Ray percent at 6,100.66 points West Texas Intermediate: DOWN the Mortgage Bankers Asso- eign currencies, gold and bit- Attrill. Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 0.3 0.4 percent at $42.63 per barrel ciation. “Housing is certainly coin,” he added. Analysts said there was not percent at 12,881.76 points Brent North Sea crude: FLAT at one of the bright spots in the Washington-Beijing ten- too much concern about possi- Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.7 per- $45.35 per barrel struggling economy.” TikTok ramps up defence against US accusations

Tok in 2017, citing national cy” in the TikTok case. TikTok has never provided any US user security. Chinese foreign minis- data to the China govt, nor would it do so TikTok said the US action try spokesman Zhao Lijian “risks undermining global on Monday said TikTok had if asked, the firm said in a post businesses’ trust in the Unit- done everything required ed States’ commitment to the by the US, including hiring AFP On a web page titled “The rule of law, which has served Americans as its top execu- San Francisco Last Sunny Corner of the In- as a magnet for investment tives, hosting its servers in ternet,” TikTok maintained it and spurred decades of Amer- the US and making public its TikTok has stepped up its de- was setting the record straight ican economic growth.” source code. fense against US accusations about the platform. TikTok also repeated its But the app has been “un- that the popular video app is “TikTok has never pro- intention to “pursue all rem- able to escape the robbery a national security threat, de- vided any US user data to edies available to us in order through trickery undertaken nouncing what it called “ru- the Chinese government, nor to ensure that the rule of law by some people in the US mors and misinformation” would it do so if asked,” the is not discarded.” based on bandit logic and po- about its links to the Chinese company said in the post. Software giant Oracle is litical self-interest,” Zhao said government. “Any insinuation to the weighing a bid to join Micro- at a regular press conference. The video-snippet sharing contrary is unfounded and soft in the race to acquire part TikTok separately Mon- service launched an online in- blatantly false.” of TikTok, Bloomberg report- day announced an alliance formation hub on Monday af- US user data is stored ed early Tuesday, citing peo- with music distribution plat- ter President Donald Trump here, with a backup in Singa- ple familiar with the matter. form UnitedMasters, playing gave its Chinese parent firm a pore, according to TikTok. It has preliminarily ap- to budding artists and their 90-day deadline to divest Tik- The company, owned by TikTok said the US action “risks undermining global businesses’ trust in the United States’ commitment to proached companies includ- fans despite US steps to bar Tok before the app is banned China-based ByteDance, also the rule of law. ing Sequoia Capital to join a the popular app. in the United States. launched a new @tiktok_ bid for the app’s operations in The deal to integrate Unit- A previous executive or- comms Twitter account to ad- Tok could be used by China to The US leader early this On Friday, Trump signed the US, Canada, Australia and edMasters into TikTok prom- der, prohibiting US entities dress issues in real time. track the locations of federal month also ordered a ban on a separate executive order for New Zealand, the report said. ised to build on a trend of from doing business with Tik- As tensions soar between employees, build dossiers on the messaging app WeChat, ByteDance to sell its inter- China meanwhile Monday the platform being a way for Tok, will take effect 45 days the world’s two biggest econo- people for blackmail, and which is used extensively in est in Musical.ly, the app it slammed Washington for us- musicians to be discovered by after August 6. mies, Trump has claimed Tik- conduct corporate espionage. China. bought and merged with Tik- ing “digital gunboat diploma- posting short-clip videos. Economy & Business Wednesday, August 19, 2020 11 Amazon to expand technology hubs, UK retailer M&S axes corporate offices, 7,000 jobs on virus fallout adding 3,500 jobs AFP senior vice president of hu- M&S employs more than 80,000 staff, of whom the vast majority work in the UK Washington man resources at Amazon. “These 3,500 new jobs AFP Amazon unveiled plans on will be in cities across the London Tuesday to hire 3,500 new country with strong and di- employees as part of an ex- verse talent pools. We look Marks and Spencer, the pansion of its technology forward to helping these British food and clothes re- hubs and corporate offices communities grow their tailer, said Tuesday it will across the United States. emerging tech workforce.” cut around 7,000 jobs as the The US technology and e- In New York -- where coronavirus pandemic in- commerce giant said the lat- Amazon had announced but creasingly pushes customers est plans call for some 2,000 then canceled plans for a to shop online. new jobs in New York City, high-profile headquarters -- The job cuts, to be imple- where Amazon has acquired the announcement confirms mented over the next three the landmark Lord & Taylor Amazon’s acquisition of the months, include losses from building on Fifth Avenue. iconic Lord & Taylor depart- its central support centre, in The move comes after ment store building earlier regional management and Amazon -- which has seen this year, in a deal reported across its UK stores, the group gains in revenue during the to be worth nearly $1 billion, said in a statement. pandemic from its e-com- from office-sharing startup Marks and Spencer em- merce and cloud computing WeWork. The building will ploys more than 80,000 operations -- said it would be used for some 58,000 staff, of whom the vast major- make permanent 125,000 square meters (630,000 ity work in the UK, where its of the 175,000 jobs it added square feet) of office space, decades-long cherished status since the start of the public according to Amazon. among shoppers has dimin- health crisis. Amazon, whose expan- ished in recent years amid The latest moves expand sion has attracted increased fierce online competition. Amazon tech hubs in Dallas, antitrust scrutiny in the US Chief executive Steve Detroit, Denver, New York, and elsewhere, said its glob- Rowe said the job cuts would Phoenix, and San Diego and al workforce now stands at enable the company to become represent an investment of some 876,000. In addition a “leaner, faster business set some $1.4 billion, according to e-commerce and cloud up to serve changing customer to the company. computing, Amazon has op- needs”. “People from all walks of erations in streaming video Alongside the losses, life come to Amazon to de- and music and artificial intel- Marks and Spencer “expects to velop their careers -- from ligence and owns the Whole create a number” of positions recent graduates looking for Foods supermarket chain. to help meet a surge in online a place to turn their ideas It recently unveiled demand for its products. into high-impact products, plans to invest $10 billion While total group sales Pedestrians walk past an M&S store in central London recently. (AFP) to veterans accessing new for its planned space-based slumped by around one fifth jobs in cloud computing internet delivery system that in the 19 weeks to August 8 -- Spencer has further been hit percent in the two months to venture being a success and into its deepest recession on thanks to our upskilling pro- will deploy more than 3,000 which included most of the pe- by customers working from August 8, Marks and Spencer further accelerating growth record. grams,” said Beth Galetti, low-orbit satellites. riod Britain was in lockdown home. said. in Marks and Spencer’s food Even though the UK econ- -- online revenue surged near- “An added blow from the By contrast, food revenue sales,” he said. omy is beginning to rebound ly 40 percent year-on-year, it current crisis is that the type grew 2.5 percent. The retailer joins the likes as the government eases strict said. of clothes we’re after has “The company should of UK department store chains confinement measures -- gross “It is clear that there has changed too, and not in M&S’ thank its lucky stars that it has Debenhams and John Lewis, domestic product grew by 8.7 been a material shift in trade favour,” noted Sophie Lund- a successful food arm,” said as well as pharmacy group percent in June -- analysts ex- and whilst it is too early to Yates, equity analyst at Har- Russ Mould, investment di- Boots, in cutting thousands pect a surge in unemployment predict with precision where greaves Lansdown. rector at AJ Bell. of jobs owing to fallout from by the end of the year. a new post-COVID sales mix “Consumers are more in- “The next big test for COVID-19. Finance minister Rishi Su- will settle, we must act now terested in leggings than a new Marks and Spencer will be the Official data last week nak plans to end in October to reflect this change,” the re- office outfit these days,” she imminent launch of its supply showed that Britain’s econo- the government’s furlough tailer said. said. deal with (online supermar- my shrank by one fifth in the scheme that is paying up to 80 Known for its off-the-peg In stores, sales of cloth- ket) Ocado for UK online food second quarter, more than any percent of wages for around suits and sandwiches enjoyed ing and household items such orders. European neighbour, as the 10 million workers during the by office workers, Marks and as furniture, slumped by 30 “A lot is riding on this joint lockdown plunged the country pandemic. Only ‘good’ debt can save Norway oil fund loses $21 bn in first half Europe’s economy: Draghi AFP posted a negative return, of 1.6 percent, Oslo while bond investments, which account AFP ning up vast amounts of new “If, however, debt is used for 27.6 percent of assets, posted a gain of Rome borrowing because of the huge for unproductive purposes, it Norway’s huge sovereign wealth fund, 5.1 percent. government subsidies needed will be seen as ‘bad’ debt and the world’s biggest, lost 188 billion kroner “Even though markets recovered well Former European Central to keep businesses and house- its sustainability will be erod- (18 billion euros, $21 billion) in the first in the second quarter, we are still witness- Bank chief, Mario Draghi, holds afloat during the worst of ed.” The eurozone has taken half of the year as the global economy ing considerable uncertainty,” Grande called on European govern- the pandemic. an economic unprecedented reels from the COVID-19 pandemic, the said. ments on Tuesday to ensure hit as a result of months of cor- central bank said on Tuesday. The fund is meanwhile still mired in the colossal amounts of debt onavirus-related lockdowns. The fund, in which the Norwegian controversy over the appointment of a countries are running up in The eurozone has taken Last month, the European state’s oil revenues are invested, was hit new chief executive. the wake of the coronavirus an economic unprecedent- Commission forecast that the by plummeting share prices, with stocks Nicolai Tangen, a billionaire who pandemic are invested in up- ed hit as a result of 19-nation bloc’s economy would accounting for 69.6 percent of its invest- founded the AKO Capital hedge fund in grading their economies so months of coronavirus- shrink 8.7 percent this year after ments. London, is due to take over the fund on that future generations can related lockdowns. many countries, including Italy Its share portfolio posted a nega- At the end of June, the fund was valued at September 1, replacing Yngve Slyngstad benefit. and France, posted double-digit tive return of 6.8 percent in the first six 989 billion euros who is retiring. “The debt created by the contractions in gross domestic months of the year. But critics have complained about pandemic is unprecedented But such debt was only product in the second quarter. At the end of June, the fund was val- executive, Trond Grande, said in a state- Tangen’s possible conflicts of interest, as and will have to be repaid sustainable if it is used for Draghi, largely credited ued at 10.4 trillion kroner (989 billion eu- ment. well as his use of tax havens. mainly by those who are productive purposes, such as with saving the euro from ros), up from the 9.98 trillion kroner seen “However, the sharp stock market de- The central bank has meanwhile been young today,” Draghi warned investment in youth, infra- collapse during the eurozone at the end of the first quarter. cline of the first quarter was limited by a criticised for irregularities in the recruit- at the opening of the “Meeting structure for production, or debt crisis, said the measures “The year started with optimism, but massive monetary and financial policy re- ment process. 2020” in Rimini, an annual research, Draghi said. taken by governments and the the outlook of the equity market quickly sponse,” he added. As a result, some major political par- international Catholic festival “In that case, it will be seen central banks to prop up the turned when the coronavirus started to Real estate investments, which rep- ties are opposed to Tangen’s appoint- of reflection. Europe is run- as ‘good’ debt,” he said. economy had been “correct.” spread globally,” the fund’s deputy chief resent 2.8 percent of the portfolio, also ment, and it remains up in the air. Google rallies YouTubers against Australian news payment plan closely watched around the world, Unlike other countries’ so-far Australia’s proposals are being closely as regulators increasingly train their unsuccessful efforts to force the focus on the rapidly changing sec- platforms to pay for news, the Aus- watched around the world tor. tralian initiative relies on competi- News media worldwide have suf- tion law rather than copyright regu- AFP to email their concerns to the body fered in the digital economy, where lations. Sydney behind the plan. The Australian Competition and The landmark measures would Consumer Commission, which is Google has urged YouTubers include fines worth millions of dol- The landmark measures would drafting the government’s code of around the world to complain to lars for non-compliance and would include fines worth millions of conduct, hit back at Google’s open Australian authorities as it ratchets force transparency around the dollars for non-compliance and letter saying it “contains misinfor- up its campaign against a plan to closely guarded algorithms which mation”. force digital giants to pay for news tech firms use to rank content. would force transparency The consumer watchdog said the content. YouTube’s boss in the region around the closely guarded digital giant would “not be required” Alongside pop-ups warning “the Gautam Anand, following a similar algorithms which tech firms to share additional user data with way Aussies use Google is at risk”, letter from the managing director use to rank content the news media or charge Austral- which began appearing for Austral- of Google in Australia, wrote a mes- ians to use its free services “unless it ian Google users on Monday, the sage to the platform’s creators and chooses to do so”. tech titan also urged YouTube crea- artists. big tech firms overwhelmingly cap- “The draft code will allow Aus- tors worldwide to complain to the “My primary focus is supporting -- taking funds away from smaller tors, to music artists and beyond.” ture advertising revenue. tralian news businesses to negotiate nation’s consumer watchdog. you and your work to build a thriv- creators, he warned. The legislation will initially fo- The crisis has been exacerbated for fair payment for their journal- “The YouTube you know and ing creator ecosystem,” Anand said. “The imbalances created by this cus on Facebook and Google -- two by the coronavirus-triggered eco- ists’ work that is included on Google love is at risk in Australia,” the The proposal would create an proposed law could potentially af- of the world’s richest and most pow- nomic collapse, with dozens of Aus- services,” it said in a statement. company tweeted from its YouTube “uneven playing field” and allow big fect all types of Australian creators, erful companies -- but could eventu- tralian newspapers closed and hun- It has strong support from local Creators account Monday, also en- news businesses to demand larger far beyond those who focus on news: ally apply to any digital platform. dreds of journalists sacked in recent media outlets and is expected to be couraging those outside of Australia shares of money from the platform from vloggers, to educational crea- Australia’s proposals are being months. introduced this year. 12 Wednesday, August 19, 2020 Economy & Business

Walmart Pandemic-hit profits Chile GDP boosted by plunges e-comm, 14 percent

US stimulus AFP payments Santiago Chile’s GDP plunged 14.1 AFP percent in the second quarter, New York the Central Bank said Tues- day, after the coronavirus Walmart reported pandemic mauled economic Tuesday a jump in second- activity with the exception of quarter profits as e-com- the vital mining sector. merce sales surged during Among the worst-hit sec- the coronavirus pandemic tors were manufacturing, and US stimulus payments construction and the hotel boosted sales, including and restaurant sector. In the for discretionary items. first quarter, Chilean GDP Executives said they had increased slightly by 0.2 had generally made pro- percent. gress in addressing short- “In the second quarter ages of cleaning supplies of the year, economic activ- and grocery staples that ity decreased by 14.1 percent sold out earlier in the pan- compared to the same period demic. last year. But Walmart did not “The result is the conse- provide full-year profit quence of the health emer- targets and executives gency associated with COV- said the outlook remained ID-19, which has had an clouded by the unpredict- impact on people’s mobility able course of the virus and the normal functioning of and whether Congress will production establishments,” enact another round of fis- the Central Bank said. cal stimulus. The country’s huge min- “There’s just a lot of ing industry was the only uncertainty right now,” PwC survey captures evolving sector to see an increase over Walmart Chief Executive the period, rising 1.6 percent, Doug McMillon said on a buoyed by demand from Chi- conference call with ana- na. lysts. Chile’s is the world’s lead- sentiment of industry leaders ing copper producer, and mining accounts for up to 15 percent of GDP and half of exports. The survey addresses the need for technology and private sector investment in the Middle East The major mining companies have continued activity Tribune News Network technology. the survey respondents agree during the pandemic, instead Doha When asked to name the on the importance of private applying strict health proto- top key challenges facing or- sector funding, in line with the cols and reducing the number Sharply falling oil prices ganisations in the region, 52 2018 survey (80 percent). of workers on site. However, and the impact of COVID-19 percent of respondents iden- Survey respondents are trades unions have reported have resulted in the capital tified risk and change man- acutely conscious that suc- high levels of contamination. projects and infrastructure agement as one of their or- cessful projects will depend Coronavirus infections in industry in the Middle East ganisation’s five most pressing more than ever on deeper pri- Chile peaked during the sec- Walmart reported on August navigating a perilous market internal challenges. Whereas, vate sector involvement and ond quarter, with 387,000 18, 2020 a jump in second- landscape, forcing many pro- financial performance (40 greater public investment ef- cases to date, and more than quarter profits. Net income jects to either be cancelled or percent) was ranked third as ficiency, given the impact of 10,500 deaths. was $6.5 billion, up nearly temporarily placed on hold. a major internal challenge. the oil price and COVID-19 Analysts Capital Econom- 80 percent from the year- PwC’s latest Middle East Almost 37 percent of respond- on state budgets. More re- ics said economic recovery ago period. Capital Projects and Infra- ents said funding and financ- cently, Qatar’s new PPP law, had been stalled by a decision structure Survey, conducted ing remained an issue. announced in May 2020, aims to extend strict lockdown “And so much variance between February and April Externally, 57 percent of to facilitate private invest- measures in major cities, in- in how customers are feel- 2020, captured the evolving respondents identified de- ment in a pipeline of projects cluding the capital Santiago. ing about their situation. sentiment of industry leaders layed payments from clients in various sectors. However, it said, “with And this decision that the as the pandemic progressive- which did not vary much be- pandemic pushed organisa- tifying Artificial Intelligence Maarten Wolfs, PwC Mid- new daily coronavirus cases government has got to ly influenced their strategic tween the pre-March 3 and tions to digitalise functions (AI) and machine learning in dle East Capital Projects and on a downward trend, there make about phase four in- thinking. post-March 3 results, under- and operations. Where 67 their top five, compared with Infrastructure Leader said: are early signs that these strict vestments is an important The data was gathered scoring the degree to which percent of those surveyed be- just 50 percent in the pre- “Over the past two years, measures are working,” add- one.” during a “pre-COVID-19” pe- delayed payments are an en- lieve digital innovation will COVID-19 sample. we’ve seen a gradual increase ing there had been a gradual Net income was $6.5 riod before March 3, 2020, during issue for the industry either transform (29 percent) “The overall message from in countries across the Mid- pick up in activity in August. billion, up nearly 80 per- the time frame relevant to the due to the length of supply or effect significant change the survey is clear: technology dle East looking at alternative “This, combined with cent from the year-ago Middle East, and a subsequent chains. (38 percent) to the infrastruc- will be the major enabler for ways to attract finance to the large fiscal and monetary period, boosted by a large “during-COVID-19” period af- On the other hand, there ture market over the next two organisations as they optimise region. The dual crisis has ac- stimulus, should mean that gain based on its invest- ter March 3, 2020. was a significant difference years. costs and improve productiv- celerated the need for Public Chile’s recovery strengthens ment in Chinese company The survey outlines how between the pre- and post- COVID-19 has also sharp- ity in order to maximize value Private Partnerships and as from here. Indeed, we expect JD.com. the economic shock due to March 3 results regarding ened the perceptions about from capital portfolios and ad- governments look to reduce the recovery to be among the Revenues rose 5.6 COVID-19 and the lower oil market volatility, ranked sec- the top five technologies to dress the daunting challenges their capital expenditure even fastest in the region over the percent to $137.7 billion prices has compelled the in- ond (50 percent) in the over- disrupt the industry in the that lie ahead,” said Andrew further, we expect to see a fur- coming years. We expect a 7% and included a lift from dustry to address long-stand- all survey as a major external next two year with two-thirds Stead, PwC Middle East Capi- ther increase in private financ- contraction in GDP this year, a 97 percent increase in ing issues such as lax project challenge. (66 percent) of the post- tal Projects Services Partner. ing to help bridge the funding followed by a solid 8.5% re- Walmart US e-commerce management and inadequate The survey finds thatthe March 3, 2020, sample iden- Eighty-three percent of gap and kickstart projects.” bound in 2021.” sales. - Shifting consumer behavior -The world’s biggest retailer cited robust demand for groceries and heavy use of e-commerce New Flight Simulator game takes off with French studio in cockpit from home-bound consumers. AFP streaming, with an Xbox ver- The Microsoft collabora- Sales were strong for Bordeaux sion due later. Microsoft also tion is something of a take-off electronics, outdoor liv- plans to adapt it for a more for Asobo, which was founded ing items and other goods Many aircraft are still ground- immersive experience on HP’s by 12 gaming friends in an with higher profit mar- ed due to the coronavirus pan- upcoming virtual reality head- apartment in Bordeaux. The gins, the company said. demic, but would-be and real set, the Reverb G2. French studio has become Changes to customer pilots took to the virtual skies Illustrating its technical known for video game adap- behavior amid social dis- on Tuesday with a cutting-edge complexity, the desktop ver- tations of several Pixar films, tancing protocols have update of Microsoft’s vener- sion comes on no fewer than including “WALL-E” and “Toy led to a supply crunch for able Flight Simulator game. 10 DVDs and requires at least Story 3”. sometimes unlikely items, The bestselling title dates 90 GB of hard-disk space -- An important milestone such as adult bicycles and all the way back to 1982 -- prompting some complaints was Asobo’s release in May fishing rods. when home computers had of installation problems from 2019 of “A Plague Tale: Inno- Walmart now esti- less processing power than a early buyers. Powerful hard- cence”, which won multiple mates that there are 35 graphics card today -- and Mi- ware is a must. industry awards and resonates million Americans who crosoft tasked French develop- - ‘Lockdown antidote’ -But in a world beset by a virulent fish, up from 25 million ers Asobo Studio with giving it in general, critics gave sky- disease. before the pandemic, re- the first overhaul since 2006. high praise for Asobo’s hyper- The difference between sulting in limited supplies Two of Asobo’s co-found- realistic graphics and attention 2002, when the studio was for tackle, hooks and bob- ers even took flying lessons to cockpit detail, with review created, and now “is like learn- bers, executives said. over the past four years to in- aggregator Metacritic scoring ing to fly on a small plane and The company is work- ject real-world experience into the game 93 out of 100. at the end being the pilot of an ing on a subscription- their design efforts, and the “Microsoft Flight Simu- Airbus”, Bossard said. based order-and-delivery firm enjoyed access to Micro- lator is the most incredible - Cockpits, clouds and Kili- model similar to the Ama- soft’s Bing satellite mapping experience I’ve ever had on a manjaro -Microsoft’s game has The video game “Microsoft: Flight Simulator” is promoted at the Microsoft Xbox press event ahead of the zon Prime service. Mc- and cloud-powered process- computer,” commented IGN indeed offered generations of E3 gaming convention in Los Angeles in June last year. (Mark RALSTON/AFP) Millon said he would an- ing. reviewer Seth Macy, who professional pilots, as well as nounce further details at a “The lessons were essential served in the US Air Force. enthusiastic amateurs, the op- 2006, and the onset of artifi- in their area of flight such as community which has been later time. (to introduce) something sen- “The realism, the depth, portunity to train in painstak- cial intelligence, gave the de- turbulence from thunder- waiting for several years. Mi- The company reported sory to the game,” one of them, the almost limitless replayabil- ing detail on a fleet of aircraft. signers the ability to map out storms, rather than generic crosoft doesn’t have room for higher sales at Walmart Martial Bossard, told AFP. ity -- it’s like nothing I’ve ever The 2020 version gives much of the world with star- clouds. error,” French games expert US, the company’s biggest “What sensations does a played before.” them control of everything tling clarity, from the azure The anticipation would Laurent Michaud said. unit by far, with consum- pilot feel? How does the plane The Guardian newspa- from a Pitts Special S2S bi- seas of the Caribbean to the have been great among gam- For Asobo, a successful ers making fewer trips react under a cloud and above per noted some scenery had plane to an Airbus A320 Neo graceful peak of Mount Kili- ers at any time, but all the launch will offer a springboard to stores, but spending the sea? In past simulations, it been replicated only with low- or widebody Boeing Dreamlin- manjaro. more so now after coronavirus towards “bigger games, budg- more. Walmart’s whole- was a bit rigid,” said Bossard, resolution textures, including er, and the option to fly from The realism is heightened lockdowns devastated airline ets and teams”, he said. sale Sam’s Club saw an in- who is lead software engineer the cityscape of London. But an array of airports around the by real-time weather data de- travel this year. “When there are such high crease in new members by for the game. overall, in a five-star review, world past detailed cityscapes rived from Microsoft’s Bing “Flight Simulator is a title expectations, you can’t disap- 60 percent. The new title went on sale it called the game the “perfect and soaring cloud formations. servers, which gives armchair that’s been played by tens of point. Asobo’s reputation is at initially for PCs and online lockdown antidote”. Software advances since aviators the actual conditions millions of gamers, there is a stake.” Barcelona appoint Ronald Koeman as the new coach page 14 WEDNESday, AUGUST 19, 2020 Paris Saint-Germain storm into Champions League final in style

Paris Saint-Germain supporters react at a cafe terrace in Paris as they watch the UEFA Champions League semi-final played in Lisbon, Portugal, on Tuesday. (AFP)

Paris Saint-Germain supporters react and play a drum in Paris as they Paris Saint-Germain’s players celebrate with Brazilian defender Marquinhos after he scored scoring the team’s opening goal during the UEFA Champions League semi-final against watch the UEFA Champions League semi-final between Leipzig and Leipzig at the Luz stadium in Lisbon, Portugal, on Tuesday. PSG now await the winner of the second semis between Bayern Munich and Lyon to be played on Wednesday. (AFP) PSG, played in Lisbon, Portugal, on Tuesday. (AFP) Marquinhos (13’), Angel Di Maria (42’) and Juan Bernat Velasco (56’) strike a goal each in 3-0 humbling of Leipzig in Lisbon DPA were far less troubled by in- first semi-final berth in 1995 against Atalanta, and di Ma- nied by the outside right post presence felt, with Marcel Sab- area and the Brazilian flicked Lisbon experienced Leipzig behind but now it all came together ria was back from suspension in the sixth after a perfect itzer’s free-kick deflected over the ball on with his heel for di closed doors at the Estadio as they became only the fifth as they replaced Marco Icardi through-ball from Mbappe the bar and captain Yussuf Maria to slot into the bottom Paris Saint-Germain were da Luz than they were in the French league team to reach and Pablo Sarabia. and a minute later a goal not Poulsen firing just wide. right corner. on fire on Tuesday as they quarter-finals where they had the final of the elite event – Sergio Rico meanwhile given because a bad clearance But on the other end Ney- Neymar aimed inches right crushed RB Leipzig 3-0 to trailed Atalanta until the 90th with the lone title coming deputised in goal for injured from goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi mar almost surprised the Ger- on another top opportunity reach the Champions League minute before winning 2-1. from Olympique Marseille in Keylor Navas and Leandro had hit Neymar’s arm before mans when he didn’t cross a but the third eventually came final for the first time. PSG have amassed 40 1993. Paredes came on for not fully falling to Mbappe to hit into free-kick from way out on the the 56th when Mukiele slipped Angel di Maria scored once French titles and the 1996 Eu- PSG will return to the Es- fitI drissa Gueye in midfield. the net. right into the penalty area as and di Maria crossed to the di- and set up the other goals from ropean Cup Winners Cup title tadio da Luz on Sunday to Leipzig coach Julian The favourites broke the expected but tried his luck di- minutive Bernat whose glanc- Marquinhos and Juan Bernat but Champions League suc- meet Olympique Lyon or Bay- Nagelsmann made just one deadlock in the 13th when rect and was denied again by ing header went into the far as the star-studded Parisians cess has been their top prior- ern Munich who contest the change compared to the sur- Marquinhos was left un- the outside right post. right corner. tormented Leipzig’s defence ity ever since they came under other French-German semi- prise 2-1 win over Atletico marked to head home di Ma- PSG threatened with al- Mpabbe headed wide and with their attacking might led Qatari ownership in 2011 and final on Wednesday. Madrid, with Nordi Mukiele ria’s free-kick from the left most every attack and got their had a shot saved by Gulacsi by Neymar and Kylian Mbap- hundreds of millions were in- Mbappe returned into the in for Marcel Halstenberg in into the far corner. second in the 41st. Another as PSG comfortably cruised pe who were also outstanding vested to fulfil this ambition. starting 11 of Thomas Tuchel’s defence. Leipzig, playing only their poor clearance from Gulacsi home to move within one vic- on the night. There were many fail- team from an ankle injury af- PSG were in command second Champions League ended up with Paredes who tory of the trophy they want to The French champions ures over the years after a ter being only used as a sub right away, with Neymar de- campaign, finally made their instantly fed Neymar in the lift so badly.

Second semi-final: Lyon vs Bayern Munich Coach Flick trusts Bayern Munich to Lyon want to be ‘little stone in ‘start from scratch’ and see off Lyon shoe’ to make Bayern stumble AFP League’s top-scorer this sea- DPA Lisbon son on 14 goals -- three short Lisbon of Cristiano Ronaldo’s record. Bayern Munich coach Hansi Bayern winger Serge Gna- Olympique Lyon want to Flick trusts his side to forget bry, who has seven so far in continue their giant-killing their demolition of Barcelona the competition, including ways on Wednesday against and “start from scratch” when four in the 7-2 thrashing of Bayern Munich although they they face French giant-killers Tottenham away in the group know full well that they are Lyon in Wednesday’s Champi- stages, says they must not un- outsiders in the Champions ons League semi-final. derestimate Lyon. League semi-final. Bayern marked themselves “I think we were all sur- Lyon reached the last four as favourites to lift the trophy prised by the end result for only second time when they by hammering Barcelona 8-2 (against Barcelona), but Lyon beat Juventus in the last 16 and in their quarter-final last Fri- will be a different opponent in Manchester City in the quarter- day when Thomas Mueller a different game,” said Gnabry finals, and hope for something and Philippe Coutinho both “They’ve beaten Juventus similar against the five-time scored twice. and Manchester City - both champions from Germany. The shockwaves are still Bayern Munich’s players attend a training session at the Jose Alvalade those teams were favourites. It “We are not a high moun- Lyon’s French midfielder Houssem Aouar attends a training session at being felt in Barcelona where stadium in Lisbon, Portugal, on Tuesday on the eve of the UEFA looks like we’re favourites now tain but a little stone in the shoe the Restelo training ground in Lisbon, Portugal, on Tuesday. (AFP) both coach Quique Setien and Champions League semi-final against Lyon.(AFP) and we have to be careful.” that can make you stumble,” sports director Eric Abidal Flick knows what to expect coach Rudi Garcia told a virtual the have no weak point but no the deciding goals in Saturday’s have been sacked. Flick takes confidence from against Barcelona. Less from Lyon coach Rudi Garcia. news conference on Tuesday. team is perfect. 3-1 against City. Following that jaw-drop- the “very good atmosphere” and than 100 percent will not be “They are very compact in Lyon run into a Bayern If we casn impose our game Garcia said that the latest ping victory, Bayern are “re- “enormous quality in training”. enough”. His side have won defence, can run all day and side that thrashed Barcelona we can achieve something.It is wins have boosted the team: ally hungry” for more success, “That gives you confidence in their last 20 matches in all are strong on the counter-at- 8-2 and is unbeaten in 28 not only about defending, we “You get the appetite while you says captain Manuel Neuer. the team. I’m relaxed because, competitions, securing an tack,” he said. games of which they have won know we can pose difficult for are eating, we have this appe- However, semi-final op- I know that they’re very focused eighth straight Bundesliga ti- “We want to reach the final 27 and scored 94 goals. the opponent.” Lyon are praised tite. We have the desire to reach ponents Lyon have punched and have big goals.” tle and lifting the German Cup and beat Lyon, knowing full But Garcia insisted: “If we for their solid defence and fast the final.” Lyon’s Portugal goal- above their weight by beating The Bayern boss warns in the process. well that it’s not that easy, so just looked at the stats then we forwards such as Dutchman keeper Anthony Lopes was also Juventus and Manchester City “the game starts from scratch. Their striker Robert Le- we have to be on the front foot would stay in the hotel. Memphis Depay and Moussa cautiously optimistic while also to reach the last four. We have to play like we did wandowski is the Champions from the first minute.” “We know who we play, Dembele who came on to score knowing what he will likely face. 14 Wednesday, August 19, 2020 Sports Europa League QSL last round promises thrilling end to unusual season Ayeni Olusegun title in 2016 in style but have Doha since fallen off, which was crystalized by a disappointing When the QNB Stars League fourth-place finish last sea- kicked off last year in August son. The arrival of Uruguayan for the 2019/20 season, no coach Diego Aguirre, Algerian one would have predicted that star Yacine Brahimi, and Qa- the champions would emerge tari international Abdulaziz precisely one year later. The Hatem seemed to rejuvenate coronavirus pandemic caused the side, but a disappoint- a halt to sporting activities ing loss in the AFC Champi- globally. The QSL was not ons League qualifying stage left out as the league was sus- means the league title is a pended in March with Al Du- must-win for the Lions. hail leading the standings but Reigning champions Al closely followed by Al Rayyan. Sadd saw their slim hope of The league restarted in retaining the title die out last July amid a string of health weekend, but Xavi Hernan- Inter Milan’s Belgian forward Romelu Lukaku scores his team’s fourth goal past Shakhtar Donetsk’s Ukrainian goalkeeper Andrey Pyatov during the UEFA Europa League semi-final and safety precautions. With dez’s side will have their eyes in Duesseldorf, Germany, late on Monday. (AFP) just one more round of match- fixed on the AFC Champions es left, it promises a thrilling League after a poor league finale to an unusual season – campaign. both at the top and bottom. Al Gharafa, Al Arabi and Leaders Al Duhail kicked Al Sailiya showed little in their Lukaku, Martinez fire off the restart with a shock games to challenge the peren- QNB Stars League Standings (Top 4) Pos Club M W L D GF GA GD Pts 1 Al Duhail 20 14 2 4 36 16 20 46 five-star Inter into final 2 Al Rayyan 20 13 1 6 37 15 22 45 3 Al Sadd 21 14 5 2 50 28 22 44 4 Al Gharafa 20 9 6 5 32 28 4 32 AFP cess and they took their tally to scored 14 goals in five Europa celo Brozovic’s corner with a away from a slow Shakhtar Düsseldorf (Germany) a combined 54 for the season. League games since dropping powerful header. backline before firing through “It was an incredible night, into the competition form the “When Inter scored their Pyatov’s legs. Inter Milan are destined something we have been Champions League, but their second goal we simply col- “I’m a forward and I’m for “great things” under An- dreaming of,” said Martinez, talented array of Brazilian for- lapsed,” said Castro. “After here to score, it’s something tonio Conte, according to who has been strongly linked wards barely laid a glove on a 2-0 we made so many terrible inside me,” said Lukaku, who Lautaro Martinez after the Ar- with a move to be Luis Su- characteristically well-organ- mistakes.” showed United the predatory gentine and Romelu Lukaku arez’s successor at Barcelona. ised Conte defence. Only a brilliant save from instincts they were lacking in both scored twice to thrash “We proved that Inter are 36-year-old Andriy Pyatov had a 2-1 defeat to Sevilla in the Shakhtar Donetsk 5-0 in Dus- ready for great things, we are Moraes spurns best denied Martinez classy second other semi-final on Sunday. seldorf and reach the Europa ready for the final.” Shakhtar chance with a lob long range early in Conte is famous for his League final. After a slow start, Mar- “Don’t get fooled by the result,” the second half, but he gave high demands of his players, Danilo D’Ambrosio was tinez put Inter on course for said Conte. “We were good not the veteran ‘keeper no chance but Lukaku believes the hard also on target for the Italian their 10th European final as he allowing them to play the way to set himself with brilliant work Inter did before Italian giants, who will face Sevilla in powered home Nicolo Barel- they wanted. The lads played quick hit for his 21st goal of football’s return from a three- Friday’s final in Cologne. la’s cross to open the scoring exactly how a European game the season. month shutdown due to the Inter have endured a lean on 19 minutes. should be played.” Lukaku extended his run coronavirus pandemic is bear- Six time Qatar Stars League winners Al Duhail gearing up for the decade since winning the Cham- Shakhtar are one of Euro- Shakhtar had one golden of scoring in now 10 straight ing fruit. crucial final round clash against Al Ahli on Friday. pions League in 2010, but closed pean football’s great survivors chance to level when Mykola Europa League game 12 min- “We worked really hard in the gap on Juventus at the top as the Ukrainian champions Matviyenko’s cross picked out utes from time as this time the camp,” added Lukaku. “It’s of Serie A to just one point in continue to thrive despite not Junior Moraes, but the Brazil- Martinez played provider be- tough but you see the results Conte’s first season in charge playing a match in their home ian-born Ukrainian interna- fore his strike partner slotted of the hard work. We want to and are now one win away from city of Donetsk for six years due tional’s header was too close low into the far corner. keep going.” a first trophy in nine years. to a war in eastern Ukraine be- to Samir Handanovic. Five minutes later the Scoreline: Inter Milan (ITA) 5 Martinez and Lukaku’s pro- tween government forces and Two minutes later, In- former Manchester United (Martinez 19, 74, D’Ambrosio lific partnership has been the Russian-backed separatists. ter landed the killer blow striker had his 33rd goal of 64, Lukaku 78, 84) Shakhtar source of much of Inter’s suc- Luis Castro’s men had when D’Ambrosio met Mar- the campaign by accelerating Donetsk (UKR) 0 Barca president Clippers rally to beat Mavericks; Al Rayyan players train ahead of their Friday clash versus Al Wakrah. announces Koeman Nuggets edge Jazz in OT Al Rayyan have won the QSL Falcon Shield eight times.

AFP draw against Umm Salal but nial top three. as the new coach Los Angeles have since managed to win Al Wakrah has secured their last three matches- two another season in the top “Koeman will be Barca’s Kawhi Leonard scored 29 of those by a lone goal. flight in a season where coach next season,” Bar- points and had 12 rebounds The Red Knights have had they stunned Al Sadd 2-1 in tomeu told the side’s televi- and Paul George tallied 27 to scrap through the season, January. sion channel. points as the Los Angeles Clip- especially after Rui Faria’s exit However, the bottom “If everything goes OK, pers held on to beat the Dallas midway into the season, as sides promise a blockbuster Koeman will be the coach we Mavericks 118-110 in the open- strikers Almoez Ali, Moham- finish, especially as the last announce and will guide this ing game of their playoff series. med Muntari, Han Kwang two teams Al Khor and Al team and the players with a “This is my tenth year in Song, and Yousef Msekni Shahania face off in a winner- different project. the league and I still get but- have not been clinical in front take-all clash. Both 11th and Ronald Koeman. “It’s someone the support- terflies,” said George. of goal. 12 respectively, both sides ers know well, not just as a “It took the second half Though the Falcon have been defensively weak. AFP player but also as a coach.” for me to get going but I un- Shield’s destiny remains in A draw for Al Khor will ensure Madrid Koeman is a hero at Barca derstood just to let the game their hands, the six-time they play the relegation play- after starring for them as a flow.” Kawhi Leonard (right) of the LA Clippers reacts with Marcus Morris Sr. champions have been far from off against the second-placed Former Barcelona mid- player under Johan Cruyff Dallas’s 21-year-old star after hiting a jump shot against the Dallas Mavericks during the fourth their best and perhaps have team from the second divi- fielder Ronald Koeman has and scoring the winning goal Luka Doncic scored a game quarter in Game One of the Western Conference First Round during benefited from the other title sion, while Al Shahania needs been appointed the club’s new in the 1992 European Cup fi- high 40 points to become the the 2020 NBA Playoffs at AdventHealth Arena at ESPN Wide World Of challengers, particularly Al a win to at least take part in coach, the La Liga giants’ pres- nal – the Catalan club’s first first player in NBA history Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, on Monday. (AFP) Sadd being inconsistent. the playoff. ident Josep Maria Bartomeu ever success in Europe’s top to record a 40-point perfor- However, on Saturday, Also, the race for the top said on Tuesday. club competition. mance in his playoff debut. ing to intervene in a skirmish Nuggets overcame a 57-point they face a struggling Al Ahli scorer will be decided on the Koeman, who has been His coaching career has “He is the future,” George between his teammate Doncic performance from Donovan side that is yet to win a league final day. The goals have been in charge of the Netherlands been mixed and he arrives with of Doncic, who also had nine and Clippers Morris. Mitchell to defeat the Utah match since January 23, when scarce this term as only 341 since 2018, replaces Quique Catalans in crisis. assists and seven rebounds. Porzingis, who argued Jazz 135-125 in their first they beat Al Sailiya by a lone goals have been scored so far Setien who was sacked after Setien was fired on Mon- “We didn’t expect to stop him the ejection, appeared to give round playoff series. goal. With the league title the compared to 399 at this stage Barca were knocked out of the day after the heavy loss which but we wanted to wear him Morris a light push in the Nikola Jokic finished with price, facing a team low on last season. Champions League quarter- meant Barca finish the season down as much as possible.” chest. It was his second tech- 29 points and 10 rebounds for confidence may be the right Akram Afif and teammate finals in a 8-2 defeat to Bayern trophy-less for the first time Marcus Morris had 19 nical of the contest. Denver, who were taken to tonic for the Red Knights Baghdad Bounedjah lead the Munich on Friday. since 2007. points for the Clippers, who The Mavericks were lead- overtime by the Jazz for the whose game will kick off at the chart with 14 goals each, a far According to reports Koe- Earlier on Tuesday sport- will try to go up 2-0 in game ing the series opener 71-66 at second-straight contest. same time as rivals Al Rayy- cry from last season in which man and his agent were ne- ing director Eric Abidal was two of the best-of-seven series the time of the ejection. Por- “I’m smiling because those an who have much tricky tie the duo bagged 26 and 39 gotiating a two-year contract axed, who also paid the price on Wednesday. zingis had 14 points and six are the games you want to be against Al Wakrah. goals, respectively. Al Rayy- late on Monday, with the sec- for the Bayern trouncing and Dallas had to play much rebounds in 20 minutes. in,” Murray said. For Al Rayyan, the Fal- an’s Brahimi is second on 13 ond year dependent on the a campaign of internal conflict of the second half without Also, Jamal Murray “Those are the games that con Shield would put an end and could be the front runner outcome of the presidential by surrendering the La Liga ti- star player Kristaps Porzingis scored 36 points, including are the most fun and most to years of mediocrity. The for the player of the year after elections. tle to Real Madrid. after he was ejected while try- 10 in overtime, as the Denver competitive.” Lions won their last league an impressive debut.

Quick read FIFA cancels next round of internationals outside Europe Ligue 1 season start reshuffled after Marseille virus cases Lausanne: FIFA on Tuesday announced international matches will only be played in Europe in the window that opens at the end of August Marseille: The French football league (LFP) on Tuesday reshuffled the opening weekend of Ligue 1 to reduce travel for players. FIFA said in a statement it was replacing the period scheduled from August 31 to September 8 with a new after the game scheduled to kick off the season was postponed following three more positive corona- window from January 24 to February 1 next year “for all confederations except UEFA.” This means non-European players will not have to virus tests at Marseille. Marseille were due to play Saint-Etienne on Friday evening in the first game travel to play with their national team. FIFA said the new period in January and February had been chosen with the African Cup of Nations shown by the league’s new broadcast partner Mediapro on its specially created pay channel, Telefoot. in mind, with “the exact dates to be determined at a later date”. FIFA said its Council had decided on these calendar changes “in re- The LFP filled the Friday evening slot by bringing forward the game between Bordeaux andN antes, sponse to the global disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic that continues to plague many parts of the world.” It also cancelled the initially scheduled for Saturday. It will be the first league match in France since March 8. The LFP said women’s international, scheduled for September 14-22, for all confederations except UEFA. (AFP) the postponed Marseille match was to be played on either September 16 or 17. (AFP) Sports Wednesday, August 19, 2020 15 Qatar Olympic Committee announces updated 2020 calendar of sports events

Tribune News Network Doha

The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) on Tuesday announced an updated calendar of events and tournaments to be organ- ized by the sport federations and authorities in the country. The updated calendar, which is due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, has seen the rescheduling of the dates of many championships and tournaments. Prominent among these being the IAAF Diamond League which will The 4th Qatar PSA (Professional Squash Association) World Championship has now been scheduled for December 10 to 14 at the Khalifa be held on September 25, International Tennis, Squash and Badminton Complex. and the 2nd Qatar Men’s ITF World Tennis Championship of international champion- from October 12-18. ships have been postponed Others are the QSF Squash to next year, including Davis Open Championship (Octo- Cup, 3rd FIG Artistic Gym- ber 18-21), 3rd Qatar Men’s nastics World Cup (Men and ITF World Tennis Champi- Women), Table Tennis Quali- onship (October 19-25), 1st fiers for Tokyo Olympics, 28th Qatar ITF World Tennis Tour GCC Aquatics Championship Junior Open (October 26-31), and GCC Club Championship. Qatar Classic Squash Cham- Meanwhile, the 2020 pionship (November 1-7), 2nd ASTC Triathlon Asian Cup has Qatar ITF World Tennis Tour been added to the calendar of Junior Open (November 2-7), events and it will take place FIBA 3x3 Basketball World from December 4-5. Tour (November 20-21), 4th At the domestic level, Qatar Men’s ITF World Ten- Volleyball Cup Final will be nis Championship (December concluded on September 30, 7-13), 4th Qatar PSA World Qatar Basketball Cup final on Qatar will play host to the FIBA 3x3 Basketball World Tour on Championship (December 10- October 13, Qatar Handball November 20th and 21st. by the country’s Ministry of 14) and 5th Qatar Men’s ITF Cup October 14, HH the Amir Public Health to curb the World Tennis Championship Volleyball Cup final on Octo- HH the Amir Basketball Cup events and tournaments are spread of COVID-19 and to (December 14-20). ber 16, HH the Amir Handball final on October 28. in full compliance with the keep all athletes and partici- On other hand, a number Cup final on October 20 and The QOC and all its sport preventive measures issued pants safe and protected. Hussain seeks new mindset Indian gaming firm Dream11 named IPL main sponsor after bad light blights Test AFP New Delhi AFP Test in broadcast fees. Southampton England’s Dom There was particular frus- The Indian Premier League Bess (left) and tration among some pundits on Tuesday named Indian Nasser Hussain has called Pakistan’s when the umpires took the fantasy gaming company on cricket to adopt a new Azhar Ali bump players off for bad light on Dream11 as its lead sponsor, “mindset” after bad light fists after play- the second day – at a time replacing China’s Vivo which blighted the drawn second ers agree to when Pakistan’s T20 squad was dumped following a dead- Test between England and Pa- end the game were enjoying a practice ses- ly border clash between the kistan at Southampton. as a draw on sion on the adjacent ground countries in June. Only 134.3 overs were sent the fifth day of without floodlights – and IPL chairman Brijesh Patel down across five days in a their second when the fourth day’s play was told AFP that the four-month match marred by rain delays as Test at the abandoned before an even- deal for sponsoring the glitzy well as the spectacle of players Ageas Bowl in ing where the Ageas Bowl was Twenty20 cricket tournament being taken off the field for bad Southampton bathed in sunshine. was worth almost $30 million. light even when the Ageas Bowl on Monday. Dream11, which beat sepa- floodlights were in use. (AFP) Misbah’s pink-ball rate bids from local online ed- Not since the same two concerns ucational firms Byju’s and Un- teams met at Lord’s in 1987, “We cannot have the old academy, was already among when 112.5 overs were bowled, mittee. Among the suggestions Southampton, which will be- mindset of doing everything the IPL’s minor sponsors. has a Test in England been so it could consider are allowing gin with England 1-0 up in a you can to go off,” said Hus- Consumer electronics gi- badly affected by weather in- more play under floodlights three-match series. sain. “We can’t afford to lose ant Vivo originally paid $330 terruptions. and greater use of the pink ball Given players, officials and spectators that are desperate million for a five-year deal up Umpires Richard Kettle- that is already deployed in offi- broadcasters are all onsite and for cricket.” to 2022, equating to around borough and Michael Gough cial day/night Tests. the series is being played be- Meanwhile Australia great $66m each season. were widely criticised for their Reports have suggested hind closed doors because of Shane Warne called for the The IPL suspended thAT strict interpretation of the the England and Wales Cricket the coronavirus, the argument pink ball to be developed to a deal earlier this month amid light regulations, with former Board (ECB) may be about to that spectators would be in- point where it could be used for growing anti-China sentiment. Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni boards a bus England captain Hussain tell- follow other nations by opting convenienced by starting ear- all Test cricket. “The crowd will According to a revenue- before a team practice at the MA Chidambaram cricket stadium in ing Sky Sports: “Merely be- for earlier start times in matches lier no longer applies. see it better and I think we will sharing agreement between Chennai on Tuesday. (AFP) cause conditions are not ideal, affected by bad light, rather than “These are unusual times,” stay out there longer,” he said. the Board of Control for Crick- merely because the red ball is sticking rigidly to 1000 GMT said Hussain, an advocate of But Pakistan coach Mis- et in India (BCCI) and IPL Nortje to replace Woakes in Delhi Capitals team not picked up as well, is not a starts and making up ‘lost’ overs earlier starts. “When you have bah-ul-Haq, in a column for franchise owners, the teams reason to walk off the field.” later in the day, when natural an opportunity to play and the the Pakistan Cricket Board earn 50 percent of the income New Delhi: South African fast bowler Anrich Nortje will replace The International Cricket light can be fading. world is watching, do every- website, was sceptical. from the central rights. Chris Woakes of England in the Delhi Capitals squad for the Indian Council is now set to discuss The new approach could thing you can to stay on.” “The pink ball is very dif- This year each of the eight Premier League, the franchise announced on Tuesday. Woakes the issue of bad light at the be implemented as soon as Sky pays the ECB some ferent to the red ball and I’m franchises would get around had pulled out of the tournament in March due to family commit- next meeting of its cricket com- Friday’s third Test, also at £20 million ($26 million) per not sure that using it for a $2 million from the title spon- ments after being bought by Delhi for $200,000 in the December whole match – in daylight – is sor deal as opposed to $4 auctions. Nortje, 26, will join fellow South African Kagiso Rabada Azhar Mahmood joins England staff for Pakistan T20s a good idea,” he said. million they got every season in the Delhi squad. “I am excited to join the Delhi Capitals, a team Bad light regulations origi- since Vivo signed up. that was the talk of the tournament last season,” Nortje said of London: Former Pakistan all-rounder Azhar Mahmood and bowling coach will be a member of Eng- nated before batsmen wore The Indian government the franchise, coached by Australian great Ricky Ponting. “With its land’s backroom staff when they face his native country during an upcoming three-match Twenty20 helmets and before floodlit has already banned dozens exciting mix of experienced and young players, and a stellar coach- series, it was announced on Tuesday. Mahmood, 45, has plenty of English county experience from cricket. Concerns have been of Chinese smartphone apps ing line-up, there is no doubt this is going to be a massive learn- his time with Surrey and Kent. Until last year he was a member of Pakistan’s coaching staff under expressed about the risk of in- -- including the popular video- ing experience for me.” Nortje, who was named as Cricket South Mickey Arthur but left as part of a post World Cup clear-out when the contracts of the South African jury to umpires and deep field- sharing platform TikTok -- Africa’s newcomer of the year for 2020, has played six Tests. He and his assistants were not renewed by the Pakistan Cricket Board. But Mahmood will now support ers who may not see a hard-hit and also taken other measures was with the Kolkata franchise last season, but a shoulder injury England bowling coach Jon Lewis during a series at Emirates Old Trafford starting on August 28. shot coming their way. to restrict trade with China. cut short his chances of making an IPL debut. (AFP) Meanwhile England have recalled Dawid Malan after the Yorkshire batsman missed the recent one- “The general public will find Dream11 is part-owned by day series win over Ireland. (AFP) it very hard to understand why China’s Tencent, according to England squad for Pakistan T20s: Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow (wkt), Tom Ban- we are not playing with flood- the firm’s website. The Times This year’s IPL is not be- huge revenue earner for BCCI ton, Sam Billings, Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Lewis Gregory, Chris Jordan, Saqib Mahmood, Dawid lights on,” said Mike Atherton, of India daily cited the BCCI as ing held in India because of and before the coronavirus Malan, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, David Willey. Fixtures: Aug 28: England v Pakistan, 1st T20; Aug 30: like Hussain an ex-England saying that Tencent’s invest- the coronavirus epidemic. It is pandemic was estimated to 2nd T20; Sept 1: 3rd T20 (All games at Old Trafford). captain. “The game is danger- ment in Dream11 is “negligible” due to start in the UAE on Sep- generate more than $11 billion ous in any circumstances.” and “can be resolved internally”. tember 19. The T20 league is a for the Indian economy. 16 Wednesday, August 19, 2020 The Last Word Sidra Medicine to live-stream cardiac procedure at int’l symposium More than 2,000 health- PICS-AICS and acting chief dren and adults with congeni- Hijazi. Saloos, medical co-director of Qatar Foundation entity will care professionals are expect- medical officer at Sidra Medi- tal heart disease.” The live interventional the Heart Center. ed to virtually sign in to join cine, said: “I am very proud to “Despite the current pan- cardiac procedures relayed Sidra Medicine Heart participate in the 23rd PICS-AICS to PICS-AICS this year. Sidra see the Sidra Medicine banner demic, we have quickly adapt- from Sidra Medicine’s Heart Center provides preventative, be held from September 11 to 13 Medicine will also transmit, flying high at international ed to bringing the symposium Center in Qatar will be con- medical and surgical care for via broadband WIFI, two live symposiums and showcasing online as we firmly believe ducted on two patients born patients with congenital heart interventional cardiac pro- our world-class expertise and that the need to network and with congenital heart defects. disease, including adults, or Tribune News Network (PICS-AICS) to be held from cedures from its brand new teams from Qatar conduct- educate within the clinical fra- The procedures will be led by acquired heart conditions in Doha September 11 to 13. state-of-the-art Cardiac Cath- ing complex procedures. Our ternity is an ongoing process. Prof Hijazi, who is also the children and young people. PICS-AICS is one of the eterization Laboratory at its virtual presence at PICS-AICS The live transmissions are executive chair of Medicine The Center boasts a world- Sidra Medicine, a member largest cardiac symposia Heart Center to the PICS-AICS this year is part of our commit- also a testament to our focus and the medical director at renowned team, cutting edge of Qatar Foundation (QF), will dedicated to the latest break- delegates on September 13. ment to optimising healthcare on medical education and the the Heart Center, Dr Younes facilities and a best-in-class participate in the 23rd Annual throughs in the treatment of Commenting on Sidra for patients and playing a key sharing of best practice meth- Boudjemline, director of the model that delivers compre- Paediatric and Adult Inter- patients with congenital and Medicine’s participation, Prof role in advocating for cutting odologies with peers from all Cardiac Catheterization Labo- hensive ‘one-stop’ care for pa- ventional Cardiac Symposium structural heart diseases. Ziyad M Hijazi, founder of edge therapies to care for chil- over the world,” added Prof ratories, and Dr Hesham Al tients and their families. UCL Qatar students and HBKU Press, QNL to fund alumni come together to open access publication publish museology book Tribune News Network of research documents Doha

UCL Qatar students and alumni The deal will financially support researchers with restricted budget and pay have joined hands to publish a the article processing charges associated with publishing their research book titled ‘Studying museums in Qatar and beyond’. Tribune News Network The book is a collection of Doha research papers written by students that explore pressing topics THE Hamad Bin Khalifa Univer- in the field of museum studies. sity Press (HBKU Press) and Qatar The book, which is accessible on National Library (QNL) recently the UCL Discovery webpage, is signed an agreement to fund and the latest initiative by UCL Qatar support researchers from Qatar- aiming to enrich discourse on the based universities and institutions museum and cultural heritage in publishing their research as management sectors both in Qa- open access works. reach out to more Qatari scholars costs. It will provide financial sup- tar and globally. The published content funded and help further in their progres- port to authors with a restricted Participants included Qa- by Qatar National Library would sion.” budget and pay the article process- tari students Issa Al Shirawi and be made available in QScience Open access content is free for ing charges associated with pub- Wadha Al Aqeedi. The former ex- The book is a collection of Connect, HBKU Press’ multi-disci- readers and patrons of academic lishing their research. amined the relationship between research papers written by stu- plinary, peer-reviewed online jour- libraries to access and read. The The authors are required to artists and institutions, while the nal, hosted on QScience.com, or as benefits of publishing open access make the funding request during latter investigated performance dents that explore pressing open access monograph books. research are many. The lack of sub- the submission process to QSci- art curatorship, with an emphasis topics in the field of museum “By working with QNL, we are scription barriers allows research ence Connect. on works from the Arab world. studies. The book, which is able to provide affordable publish- to be accessed by readers from low The final research will be made Shirawi, who is now work- accessible on the UCL ing solutions to local researchers and high income countries alike; it available to the global scholarly ing for Qatar Museums, said: Discovery webpage, is the lat- who seek publication and a dedi- increases the discoverability of the community in the QScience Con- “Working on this project gave est initiative by UCL Qatar cated journal to disseminate local work which allows for more devel- nect journal, which is fully open ac- me the opportunity to make my aiming to enrich discourse on research regionally and interna- opments within the field and possi- cess under HBKU Press. The jour- research accessible to a global tionally”, explains Dr Rima Isaifan, ble collaborations; and it increases nal publishes articles in English, or audience and I am honoured to the museum and cultural herit- head of Academic and Journals citation and visibility of authors as in Arabic, which are immediately be able to contribute to the inter- age management sectors both Publishing at HBKU Press. “HBKU there are no restrictions to down- and permanently available online. national discourse on museums in Qatar and globally Press endeavours to consistently loading and reading these articles. The articles in QScience Connect management. I am thankful to support the local academic pub- However, the cost of publishing are licensed under the terms of the the academic staff and members lishing landscape. Through agree- open access varies and is sometimes Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 at UCL Qatar for the support and ratorship, interrelations between ments like these we are able to es- exclusionary to researchers who are International Licence (CC BY 4.0), for involving me in a project that western and non-western prac- tablish ourselves as a cornerstone unable to fund the publication of which permits unrestricted use, showcases the importance and tices as well as cultural policies, of Qatar’s knowledge-based econo- their work. With open access, the distribution and reproduction of ongoing development of cultural among others. my by providing a unique local and charges associated with publish- the content in any medium, pro- heritage and museology in Qatar emotion in museums and finally, Speaking about her involve- international platform for scholar- ing scholarly communication have vided that the original author(s) and beyond.” Syeda Arman Zabi from India ment in the project, Dr Bounia ship and discovery.” shifted from being paid by the end and source are credited. QScience Other students included Igna- discussed strategies that muse- said, “UCL Qatar has produced Dr Alwaleed Alkhaja, senior users, or academic libraries, to the Connect is indexed in the Directory cio Zamora Sanz from Spain, who ums use to construct narrative some outstanding research that intellectual property librarian and authors/researchers themselves, of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), focused on Hamad International and produce knowledge around will continue to resonate and in- Open Access Fund manager at which is not always possible. EBSCO and Google Scholar. Airport’s public art pieces and traumatic events. form the future of the museums’ QNL, said: “We are committed to For academic researchers, pub- Interested authors and re- the impact such displays have The book was edited by Dr Al- professions and of the knowledge supporting the researchers of Qa- lishing a number of research papers searchers who are affiliated to a on travellers as well as how they exandra Bounia, associate profes- on cultural heritage management tar to publicise their findings as annually is essential for enhancing graduate institution in Qatar, and fit within Qatar’s wider cultural sor in Museum Studies, and Dr for years to come. Some of this far and wide as possible. Wherever their careers. However, without fi- who would like to publish their policies. Catharina Hendrick, lecturer in research was produced by our we can, we will support innovative nancial support, many researchers work with HBKU Press with fund- Lina Patmali from Greece Museum Studies. students with their dissertations scholars, creative thinkers and sci- are simply unable to publish their ing opportunities provided by Qa- explored the meaning and im- The topics covered in the re- and I am proud of the work they entific pioneers to maximise the works. tar National Library, can send que- portance of self-reflective exhibi- search papers explored themes have put on this book, which aims impact of their works across the Qatar National Library is pro- ries to [email protected]. tions and institutional curatorial discussed as part of the Master to make all the knowledge they world. viding a solution to the financial For more information on HBKU practice. of Arts programme in Museum acquired and the research they “Open access is one of our core barrier to publishing by making Press’s academic online platform Lejla Niksic from Bosnia and and Gallery Practice offered at developed visible and accessible values and working with partners funding available for Qatar-based and its associated journals, please Herzegovina discussed effect and UCL Qatar. These include art cu- to all.” like HBKU Press enables us to researchers to offset associated visit https://www.qscience.com .

QF scales up mission to expand Qatar’s solar energy vision Tribune News Network solar deployment, due to its Doha natural environment, installation capacities are mov- Governments across the ing at a slower rate than in globe are increasingly focus- Europe or the US. Countries ing on the benefits of sus- like Qatar are quickly realis- tainable energy and Qatar ing that solar is the future, is no different. As part of its says Eyl-Mazzega, not just national vision, the country for environmental reasons is working to create harmo- but for economic and politi- ny between environmental cal ones as well. protection and economic “This is clearly a region of growth. strategic importance,” says To that end, projects like QEERI’s Outdoor Test Facility Scientists at Total Research Center-Qatar Yousef Al Jaber Eyl-Mazzega. “They under- the one being undertaken stand that wasting energy at Qatar Environment and photovoltaic components a solar power plant that will Total looked at key areas electricity, is the most use- especially as Qatar moves costs a lot of money and costs Energy Research Institute in desert conditions. The be capable of producing 800 across the globe in order to ful technology for the Middle into the limelight as host of a lot in political capital in the (QEERI), part of Qatar Foun- zone will also monitor per- megawatts – meeting 10 per- find the right ecosystem to East. Solar thermal energy the FIFA World Cup Qatar climate change agenda.” dation (QF) member Ham- formance in real time and cent of Qatar’s peak electric- test, deploy and commercial- – which harnesses sunlight 2022. With a global focus Ultimately, the new solar ad Bin Khalifa University validate the results through ity demand. ise its cutting-edge solutions. to transform it into heat – is on sustainable energy and research zone will benefit not (HBKU), are a step towards simulation tools. “Total aims to develop The company ultimately less appealing to desert envi- Qatar’s exceptional sun ex- just Qatar and the region, but fulfilling that goal. The project is part of not and commercialise new low- found the perfect partner in ronments, where solar irra- posure, experts believe the similar climatic areas across Since mid-June, and con- just Qatar’s vision, but To- carbon solutions to provide QEERI, with the institute’s diance is significantly differ- country can’t afford not to the world. tinuing over a two-month tal’s increasing move into sustainable energy for the extreme desert conditions ent from other regions. Solar move towards solar energy “Total’s solar testing fa- period, Total’s Gas, Renewa- sustainable energy. The com- future,” says Yousef Al Jaber, and commitment to sustain- energy is also, according to innovations. cility at QEERI reduces car- bles & Power branch – and pany aims to reach zero car- vice president of Innovation able energy research. Since Dr Vermeersch, an inexpen- “It’s the right time,” says bon emissions, while sup- specifically its Paris-based bon emissions within their & Change Management at 2013, QEERI has been dedi- sive energy source. Marc-Antoine Eyl-Mazzega, porting Qatar in developing T-lab – has expanded its so- operations by 2050, and is Total Qatar and acting direc- cated to addressing the coun- Dr Vermeersch says, “So- director of the Center for En- leading-edge technologies lar research zone at QEERI’s therefore investing highly in tor of Total Research Center- try’s energy and water secu- lar is different. It’s the cheap- ergy & Climate at the French and inspiring future engi- Outdoor Test Facility. The low-carbon solutions. Qatar, which is located in rity challenges. est source of energy in most Institute of International Re- neers to work on more sus- extension, featuring three In addition to the solar QF’s Qatar Science & Tech- Dr Marc Vermeersch, ex- countries. It’s disruptive. The lations in Paris. “All stars are tainable solutions,” says trackers, bifacial modules, research zone at QEERI, Qa- nology Park. “We therefore ecutive director of QEERI, global message is: solar is the aligned for this type of pro- Total’s Jaber. “This in turn inverters, sensors and power tar recently signed an agree- decided to push the bounda- says says that solar photo- way to go.” ject to take off.” creates a healthier environ- optimisers, looks to improve ment with Total, alongside ries of our innovative capa- voltaic energy conversion, It’s a message that is be- But while the Middle East ment for our future genera- the performance of Total’s Japan’s Marubeni, to build bilities towards new limits.” which converts sunlight into coming increasingly louder, has the most potential for tions.”