ISO 9001:2008 CERTIFIED NEWSPAPER EU seeks billions Costa sends of euros to Chelsea clear; revive economy Liverpool down Business | 18 Sport | 28 Sunday 14 September 2014 • 19 Dhu’l-Qa’da 1435 • Volume 19 Number 6188 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com [email protected] | [email protected] Editorial: 4455 7741 | Advertising: 4455 7837 / 4455 7780 Pre-marriage counselling PM attends Police College meeting for Qataris on the anvil Bid to check high rate of divorces; draft law ready DOHA: Qatar is taking a closer making the counselling manda- the prospective bride and groom. look at the possibility of mak- tory for wedding is ready and has Al Sharq said it talked to ing pre-marriage counselling been forwarded to the authorities the Director of the Family mandatory for marriage in an concerned. Counselling Centre, known as apparent bid to check the soar- The idea is to check the high Family Consultancy Centre, Mona ing rate of divorce. rate of divorce in the country. Al Khulaifi, on the above issue. Courses may be designed by the The source told the daily that She said 219 divorce cases were authorities concerned in future Malaysia has made such counsel- referred to them between January for pre-marital counselling and ling compulsory for marriage and and March of this year. Of these, men and women wanting to it has helped bring down the rate bids for rapprochement were being marry must attend those courses, of divorce substantially. made in respect of 107 cases. albeit separately. “The rate of divorce in Malaysia Some 44 of the cases were final- They must then obtain a cer- is down between 40 and 70 per- ised and no patch-up was possi- The Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, who is also the tificate that indicates that they cent after this pre-marital coun- ble, she said. Some 50 cases were Chairman of the Police College Supreme Council, presiding over the second meeting of the Council at the have attended the mandatory pre- selling law was introduced,” Al already settled and estranged College’s headquarters in Al Sailiya. During the meeting, the Council was briefed on the preparatory proce- marriage counselling course. Sharq said. Divorce rate is simi- couples got back together. This certificate would have to larly quite high in Qatar and Mahmoud Abul Ala, a mar- dures including educational and training plan for the academic year 2014/2015. be produced for a marriage to other GCC states as well. riage counsellor, said why divorce be registered by the authorities The counselling course might takes place is because the wife concerned in the country, reports be designed to provide the man and husband do not know what Al Sharq. This would be like the and woman practical insights into their responsibilities are. This is Turkish President mandatory health checks a man married life and the challenges particularly true of divorces that and woman must undergo in that might surface up and how to take place within five years of a Workers to be screened arrives today order to get married. The rule of make adjustments. marriage. compulsory health checks applies According to Al Sharq, there Prospective brides and grooms DOHA: Turkish President to both, Qataris and expatriates. are some conservative families in are not given an opportunity to for hepatitis at home Recep Tayyip Erdogan will It is, however, not known if Qatar that do not discuss details see and know each other after arrive in Doha today on an offi- the pre-marital counselling rule with their daughters after fixing engagement and that’s why the DOHA: Foreign workers seek- prevention and control strategy, cial visit. The Emir H H Sheikh would apply to both or only to the their marriage. rate of divorce has been going up, ing employment in Qatar will enhancing education and aware- Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Qatari community since divorce Such unwanted trends in the said Ala. He lauded plans to make have to screen for hepatitis in ness, strengthening surveillance, Turkish President will discuss expatriate communities is not so community could be effectively pre-marriage counselling compul- their home countries starting sustaining high vaccination cov- bilateral relations and ways to common. Al Sharq quoted reliable checked if pre-marriage counsel- sory for marriage. from end of this year, according erage and developing research enhance them. sources as saying that a draft law ling is made compulsory for both, THE PENINSULA to a senior official. agenda to address knowledge gaps QNA Pre-arrival test for hepatitis and improve the health response will be part of a compulsory medi- to viral hepatitis. cal screening for some chronic “People come from different 70pc of new El Jaish beat Al Arabi diseases. “It’s recommended to test backgrounds. Some are with- for hepatitis before arrival, cur- out prior knowledge about their students at QU Hamas official rently we are working on it. Pre- medical history and many don’t arrival screening is to start by end give true details. Employers need are females rules out of this year,” said Dr Ahmed Ismail, quick results but sometimes it Consultant and Chief Laboratory needs more time to confirm if DOHA: Qatar University will Services, Medical Commission, the person actually has the infec- open for the new academic year direct talks Supreme Council of Health. tion, sometimes six to 12 months,” today with 3,200 new students, The Medical Commission con- said Dr Ismail. In 2013, a total of of whom more than 70 percent with Israel ducts health checks on newly 1,021 non-Qataris and 178 Qataris are females and a nearly equal arrived foreign workers to make were found with different types number, Qataris. GAZA CITY: Hamas former sure that they test negative for of hepatitis. The newly enrolled students Gaza prime minister Ismail HIV, tuberculosis, hepatitis B and Meanwhile, a study conducted include 2,232 Qataris and 2,286 Haniyah said yesterday that the C to be entitled to a work visa. by the Medical Commission females. Of the total 936 male stu- militant Islamist Palestinian However, only some segments of among single workers this dents, 562 are Qataris, the Qatar group would not hold any direct foreign workers including health year has found that prevalence News Agency said yesterday. talks with Israel. care professionals, nursery teach- of hepatitis C virus infection Qataris constitute about 70 There would be “no direct nego- ers, cabin crew, food handlers, among single male workers was percent of the new students tiations with the Zionist enemy”, hair dressers and athletes are 0.8 percent. while Qatari females (1,670) Haniyah said in a public address screened for hepatitis B and C. The study titled ‘Viral hepatitis constitute more than 73 per- in the Gaza Strip, and called Dr Ismail, speaking at C serological and behavioural sur- cent of the total female students. on Western-backed Palestinian the ‘National Viral hepatitis vey among single male labourers Females including foreigners President Mahmoud Abbas to Symposium’, said that screen- in Qatar’ found that only 5.9 per- account for more than 71 per- “review” his own strategy of talks ing for hepatitis should not be cent of single male workers had cent of the total new students. with Israel. Hamas does not recog- expanded for everyone seeking received information on hepati- The total number of students nise Israel which denounces Hamas employment here unless a strong tis C infection. Around 42 per- at QU has reached 18,000, with a as a “terrorist” organisation, and evidence is found about high cent of workers included in the significant growth over the past the two sides have never had any prevalence of the disease in their study have reported at least one three years. The new students overt direct contact. home countries. practice that puts them at risk have been selected from more But on Friday, exiled Hamas In his presentation on of hepatitis C infection. Ear or than 7,000 applicants based on official Mussa Abu Marzuq — ‘Screening for viral hepatitis body piercing (21.9 percent), tat- a strict admission criteria, QNA along with Haniyah one of the among expatriate population tooing (13.3 percent) and injecting said quoting a university official. movement’s two deputy lead- seeking employment in Qatar: with used needles or syringes (7.4 Qataris have been given pri- ers — said direct talks with the Al Arabi’s Sayed Ashkan Mohammad and El Jaish’s Ali Sanad Al Nuaimi Challenges and recommen- percent) were most reported risk ority in admission and no eligi- Jewish state might be unavoidable in action during the Qatar Stars League match at Lekhwiya Stadium dations’, Dr Ismail suggested practices. THE PENINSULA ble Qatari candidate has been See also page 4 in light of planned negotiations in yesterday. El Jaish won 3-1. See also page 27 KAMMUTTY VP developing national hepatitis left out. THE PENINSULA Cairo to consolidate last month’s tentative Gaza truce. “If the situation remains as it is now... Hamas could find itself forced to do this,” Abu Marzuq said, referring to the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza after 50 days of Israeli pounding from air, land and ‘No’ campaign leads Scottish polls sea, which ended on August 26. “From a legal (Islamic) perspec- LONDON: Scottish support far from over,” Blair McDougall, debate saying a breaking up of the before its official release. It showed tive there is nothing wrong with for independence seems to be campaign director of the “Better UK would not be a sensible step.