QATAR | Page 28 SPORT | Page 1 Nasser al-Attiyah comes INDEX DOW JONES QE NYMEX QATAR 2–10, 28 COMMENT 26, 27 REGION 10 BUSINESS 1-5, 17–20 second in QM expo off ers 15,912.00 9,185.12 29.42 ARAB WORLD 11, 12 CLASSIFIED 6–16 -369.00 -220.26 -1.78 INTERNATIONAL 13–25 SPORTS 1–12 talent expression Dakar rally -2.27% -2.34% -5.71% Latest Figures published in QATAR since 1978

SUNDAY Vol. XXXVI No. 9970 January 17, 2016 Rabia II 7, 1437 AH

GULF TIMES www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals First phase of Hamad City in Gaza opens IAEA green In brief light for SAUDI ARABIA | Blaze Fire at oil waste storage tank A fire that broke out yesterday at ending Iran an industrial oil waste storage tank in the Saudi industrial city of Jubail was brought under control without any disruption to operations, Saudi petrochemical company Kayan said. The company said in sanctions a statement that there were no casualties. Kayan, the fifth-largest The Vienna agreement was petrochemical manufacturer by nailed down after two years market value in Saudi Arabia, gave of rollercoaster negotiations no details on what caused the fire. following the June 2013 election of Saudi civil defence earlier reported Iranian President Hassan Rouhani the fire having been brought under control and published photos on its AFP Twitter account of fire trucks trying Posters depicting HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and HH the Father Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani Vienna to control the flames. are seen on a building as people attend the opening ceremony of the first phase of Qatari-funded construction project “Hamad City” in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip yesterday. Qatar provided more than 1,000 apartments to residents of the Gaza SYRIA | Confl ict Strip whose homes were destroyed in the 2014 war with Israel. The 50-day conflict killed 2,200 Palestinians and left 100,000 he UN atomic watchdog yester- IS attack ‘kills homeless, according to the UN. “Today, we are inaugurating the first phase of the Hamad residential city (project),” Qatari day gave the green light for last envoy Mohamed al-Amadi told reporters. A total of 1,060 apartments were completed and the title deeds were being handed TJuly’s landmark nuclear deal be- IAEA director general Yukiya Amano 75 regime forces’ out to their new owners, he said. Qatar has allocated a total of $407mn for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, including tween Iran and six major powers to en- giving a statement in Vienna yesterday. At least 75 Syrian soldiers and homes, infrastructure and a hospital. He said the project was delayed for a year due to “restrictions on the entry of construction ter into force. pro-regime militiamen were killed material” imposed by Israel since 2006, which maintains a blockade on the Palestinian enclave. Addressing the event, Hamas The International Atomic Energy toppled the US-backed shah, and at a yesterday in a multi-front attack by leader Ismail Haniya said that a rehabilitation and prosthetic hospital would be opened soon as part of the Qatari project in Agency (IAEA) said its “inspectors on particularly explosive time in the Mid- the Islamic State (IS) group on the Gaza. He extended thanks to the government and people of Qatar for the projects being carried out in Gaza. Page 2 the ground verifi ed that Iran has car- dle East. eastern city of Deir Ezzor, a monitor ried out all measures required under The four Iranian-American detain- said. The fighting came as regime the (July deal)... to enable Implementa- ees to be freed by Iran included Wash- forces battled IS in the northern tion Day to occur”. ington Post correspondent Jason Reza- province of Aleppo, repelling The announcement means that a raft ian and Saeed Abedini, a pastor from an assault and killing at least 16 of painful US, EU and UN sanctions Idaho, a senior US offi cial said yester- fighters from the group. The Syrian against Iran can be lifted, allowing oil day. Observatory for Human Rights said Hamad hospital begins exports to resume and opening up the The others are Amir Hekmati and IS had advanced into the northern 80mn-strong country to business. Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari, Wash- tip of Deir Ezzor city, in eastern Iranian Foreign Minister Mohamed ington said. A fi fth American, identifi ed Syria, and captured the suburb of Javad Zarif said earlier as he arrived for as Matthew Trevitick, was also to be re- Al-Baghaliyeh. Page 12 a fi nal round of talks in Vienna with US leased as part of a diff erent process. emergency dept expansion Secretary of State John Kerry that it In exchange Washington said it had TAIWAN | Politics was a “good day for the world”. granted clemency to seven Iranians, Pro-independence By Joseph Varghese has also been brought under the de- It also follows news of a prisoner six of whom are dual US-Iranian citi- Staff Reporter partment’s area.” swap between Iran and the US in an- zens, and dropped charges against 14 candidate wins polls He said: “We expect the primary other sign of thawing relations be- more. The leader of Taiwan’s opposition health centres to treat minor emer- tween the two foes since the July 14 The agreement, heralded as US Presi- Democratic Progressive Party, Tsai s part of expanding the Emer- gency conditions, so that it will de- agreement. dent Barack Obama’s biggest major for- Ing-wen, promised to uphold her gency Department at the Ha- crease the pressure on HGH emergen- The steps taken by Iran, com- eign policy triumph, has by no means country’s sovereignty after winning Amad General Hospital (HGH), cy department. Satellite emergency bined with ultra-close IAEA inspec- been universally cheered, however. the island nation’s presidential work has already started on a new sta- departments have been opened at the tions, extend to at least a year - from Obama’s Republican opponents election yesterday. Pro-independence tion which is expected to be completed health centres. Similarly, the hospi- a few months previously - how long charge that it fails to do enough to en- candidate Tsai had been leading with in 2018, a senior offi cial has said. tals meant for the single workers that Iran would need to make one nuclear sure Iran will never get the bomb, a more than 50% of the vote ahead Speaking to Gulf Times on the side- will be opened in diff erent parts of the bomb’s worth of fi ssile material. complaint shared by Israel, Iran’s arch of Chu Li-lun of the ruling Chinese lines of the International Conference country, will also help to reduce the They include slashing by two-thirds foe widely assumed to have nuclear Nationalist Party (KMT). Tsai, a law in Emergency Medicine and Public burden on the emergency department its uranium centrifuges, reducing its weapons itself. professor, is set to become the first Health, Sheikh Dr Hassan bin Ali al- at the HGH.” stockpile of uranium - enough before Iran’s imminent return to the oil mar- female president of Taiwan when she Thani, head of the Trauma and Vas- Dr Hassan noted that HGH was the deal for several bombs - and re- ket has contributed to the sharp slide in replaces the KMT’s incumbent Ma cular Surgery Section, Hamad Medi- built to cater to the medical needs of moving the core of the Arak reactor the price of crude to 12-year lows of un- Ying-jeou on May 20. Page 16 cal Corporation (HMC), said the new a population of half a million. “Now which could have given Iran weapons- der $30 per barrel this week. station that is in the developmental the population is fi ve times higher. In grade plutonium. The deal has more than a decade to TURKEY | Weather stages will add more capacity and fa- terms of capacity, we are coping with Iran has always denied wanting nu- run, which is likely to be a bumpy road, cilities to existing ones. the situation. But we expect that the clear weapons, saying its activities are experts say, not least if more hardline High winds hit Dr Hassan explained: “It is a Sheikh Dr Hassan bin Ali al-Thani: says new facilities and the satellite centres exclusively for peaceful purposes such governments take power in Tehran or Istanbul fl ights three-storey building with more the emergency department at the will be able to take care of the mi- as power generation. Washington. Turkish Airlines yesterday cancelled space and resuscitation units. It will Hamad General Hospital is one of the nor cases and thereby streamline the In what was hailed as a momentous The two countries are still far from be- 95 flights because of strong winds take a few years to complete. We ex- busiest in the world. whole situation.” diplomatic breakthrough, the Vienna ing best friends, as witnessed by Iran’s at its hub in Istanbul, according pect that it would be operational by Dr Hassan maintained that the agreement was nailed down after two recent capture of 10 US sailors in Iranian to a statement on its website. 2018 but a lot depends on several a steady increase in the number of pa- HGH emergency department was an years of rollercoaster negotiations fol- waters, although their improved rela- Flights in and out of Istanbul’s factors and we cannot give an exact tients. It also included around 45,000 essential part of Qatar’s healthcare lowing the June 2013 election of Iranian tions did help ensure their swift release. Ataturk Airport were aff ected. “Due time period for the opening of the paediatric emergency cases. This is in network by providing effi cient, high President Hassan Rouhani. Iran violated a UN resolution in Oc- to storm-strength ‘lodos’ winds, new facility. However, the work has addition to the visits to the paediatric quality, evidence based care to each The highly complex deal drew a line tober when it test-launched a medi- flights on January 16 and 17 have already started.” emergency centres.” and every patient. under a standoff dating back to 2002 um-range missile capable of carrying a been cancelled to reduce potential He said: “The emergency depart- According to Sheikh Dr Hassan al- “Right from the ambulance service marked by failed diplomatic initiatives, nuclear warhead, a UN panel of experts capacity,” Turkish Airlines, Europe’s ment at the HGH is one of the busiest Thani, HGH has taken several meas- paramedics to our emergency depart- ever-tighter sanctions, defi ant nuclear concluded in a report in December. fourth-biggest carrier, said. The in the world. Last year, the HGH emer- ures to increase the capacity of the ment nurses and our trauma resuscita- expansion by Iran and threats of mili- A “snapback” mechanism ensures lodos is a warm southwesterly wind gency department treated over a mil- emergency department. “The day- tion unit consultants, our emergency tary action. that many of the sanctions can be swift- in the Sea of Marmara that blows at lion patients. We witnessed over 20% care facility at the department has care clinicians play an instrumental role In addition it put Iran and the US ly reimposed, and a special joint com- times throughout the year and can increase in the emergency department been converted to the emergency de- in ensuring the right level of care for the on the road to better relations some 35 mission is meant to handle any misun- raise high seas. visits last year as each year we witness partment as well as the dialysis unit patients,” he highlighted. Page 4 years after the Islamic revolution that derstandings. Page 10 Qatar’s economy ‘very well manageable’, says top banker

By Pratap John economic slowdown is going to be cerned, there is no panic. But there investors…speculators will stay out- comes the role of treasury in banks. Chief Business Reporter challenging, but it is not going to up- will be challenges down the road be- side the market. And people will start Treasury in banks should secure long- set our economic plans. It is not going cause of the global economic uncer- thinking in a rational way.” term funding to meet any obligations to stop our major projects from going tainties.” Asked whether the dollar peg would in the short to medium term. Here we atar has distinct advantages ahead,” al-Shaibei said in an interview Al-Shaibei said he remained quite force Qatar to mirror the US Federal need an effi cient treasury.” that come in handy when with Gulf Times. “optimistic” about the Qatari econ- Reserve (Fed) in terms of interest rates, Clearly, he said, there are challenges Qnavigating through the cur- Qatar’s government has always been omy. The government has made it al-Shaibei said: “Personally, I don’t to the fi nancial system at large because rent economic challenges, says conservative in terms of pricing oil for abundantly clear it stays commit- expect any changes in the interest of the lower oil prices and other global prominent Qatari banker and QIIB budget preparation, he said ted to Qatar’s economic development rates in the short to medium term. I uncertainties. chief executive officer Abdulbasit A “Even when the oil price was in programme. All the major projects are don’t think the Qatar Central Bank has “But what we are going through is al-Shaibei. three-digits, our budgeted oil price steaming ahead and the banks are busy to follow the Fed. This is because the a cycle. This is not the fi rst time it is “We have an economy that is very was very low. For many years, the oil with lots of these. gap is huge between US Fed and QCB happening. In the past we have man- well manageable. The size of our pop- price stayed high and because of our “This is the right time to optimise rates.” aged it quite well. God willing, we will ulation is to our advantage. We also prudent policies, Qatar has been able our resources. The focus now is on ef- On the perception of a liquidity manage it this time round as well,” al- have huge natural resources, reserves Al-Shaibei: optimistic about the Qatari to build up adequate reserves and in- fi ciency in spending. In this kind of problem in the GCC fi nancial system, Shaibei said. ‘Spending eff iciency and investments. The current global economy. vestments. So as far as we are con- environment, you will fi nd the real with banks in particular, he said: “Here key to success’: Business Page 1 Gulf Times 2 Sunday, January 17, 2016 QATAR Qatar provides 1,000 new homes for displaced Gazans

Reconstruction meets a fraction of Palestinian enclave’s needs ; Qatar also donates housing complex for poor in central Gaza

Reuters Gaza

atari-funded con- struction projects have Qprovided 1,000 new dwellings for Palestinians left homeless by the 2014 Gaza war with Israel, and a similar number for low-income fami- lies in the territory, offi cials said yesterday. The country’s contribution is the sole signifi cant sign of re- Palestinians wave their national and Qatari flags as they attend the opening of the ‘Hamad City’ project, building in the Gaza Strip, where sponsored by Qatar, in the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis yesterday. some 100,000 people remain displaced 18 months after the fi ghting, with economic growth stifl ed by Israeli and Egyptian blockades. The Qatari donations have bu- Posters depicting HH the Father Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin oyed Gaza’s Hamas rulers, irking Hamad al-Thani and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are seen on a building as people attend the Israel and the US-backed Pales- opening ceremony of Qatari-funded construction project ”Hamad City”, in Khan Younis in the tinian administration based in southern Gaza Strip yesterday. the occupied West Bank. After the 2014 war, Qa- use to rearm or build fortifi ca- tar pledged $1bn for building tions, although it began easing projects in Gaza, of which $50mn restrictions in October under was paid to owners of destroyed a mechanism overseen by the houses to fund the rebuilding of United Nations. shelters. Qatar envoy Mohamed “Only 400,000 tonnes of ce- al-Amadi said 1,000 new homes ment have entered Gaza since had been completed since. October 2014, or the equiva- “Qatar exerts every eff ort to lent of Gaza’s need of cement in help the people of Gaza in the two months only,” said Tabbaa, fi elds of electricity, agriculture, who is also in charge of public infrastructure and housing, in- relations at Gaza’s Chamber of cluding the rebuilding of com- Commerce. pletely destroyed houses,” al- Offi cials said yesterday that Amadi said. Qatari funding had provided an- Gaza economist Maher al- other 1,060 new homes in the Tabbaa said reconstruction ef- Gaza town of Khan Younis for forts were being hampered by low-income families. diffi culties in bringing raw ma- An Indonesian-funded hos- terials to Gaza. pital opened in Gaza last month, Palestinians pose for a photo with their new property contract during Palestinians receive property contracts during the opening of the ‘Hamad City’ project in the southern Israel bars the import of prod- the fi rst new medical centre in the opening of the Sheikh Hamad residential project in the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis yesterday. ucts it suspects Hamas might the territory in a decade. Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis yesterday.

Gulf Times 4 Sunday, January 17, 2016 QATAR

German offi cial meets Qatar’s envoy Health Minister opens three-day erman Federal For- ed al-Khulaifi . Munich Security Confer- eign Offi ce State They reviewed relations ence, which will be held GSecretary Stephan between Qatar and Ger- between February 14 and Steinlein has met Qatar’s many means of enhancing 16. emergency medicine conference ambassador to Germany aspects of co-operation in They also discussed is- Abdulrahman bin Moham- the next phase in light of sues of common concern. By Joseph Varghese are coming down in the country. We Staff Reporter are the fi rst country to identify the causes for Mers Corona Virus and take adequate measures to prevent ore than 1,400 national the spread of the disease.” and international delegates Sheikh Mohamed said: “The con- Mare taking part in the Inter- ference will be an opportunity for national Conference in Emergency mobilising more synergy for provid- Medicine and Public Health that ing better healthcare and supporting got underway at the Qatar National the people of the country. The Qa- Convention Centre yesterday. tar dietary guidelines as well as the Jointly organised by the Supreme campaign for reducing the amount Council of Health (SCH) and Ha- of salt in the food items are other mad Medical Corporation (HMC), steps to reduce and prevent several the three-day conference was in- life style diseases in the country.” augurated by HE the Minister of Sheikh Dr Hassan bin Ali al-Tha- Public Health Abdullah bin Khalid ni, head of Trauma and Vascular al-Qahtani. Surgery Section, HMC highlighted Addressing the gathering, HE al- that emergency care is an inte- Qahtani said that Qatar was keen to gral part of any healthcare system. provide excellent healthcare serv- “Emergency departments serve as ices to the entire population of the sites of surveillance for the com- country through its facilities. munity’s health. They have a greater HE al-Qahtani noted: “Qatar is impact not only during epidemics working hard to provide integrated but also even during routine medi- healthcare to prevent diseases and cal care. Infl uencing the behaviour improve the health services. There on an individual basis can prevent is a great collaboration between exacerbation of chronic illness and the public health department and reduce the risk taking behaviour to emergency medicine department to prevent injury,” he added. provide integrated healthcare serv- The conference is taking place ices. Moreover, the National Health HE the Minister of Public Health, Abdullah bin Khalid al-Qahtani addressing for the second time worldwide and Strategy also aims at improving the the gathering at the opening ceremony PICTURES: Shameer Rasheed for the fi rst time in the GCC. The health services all across the nation conference will discuss a number of by focusing on prevention of diseas- Thani pointed out that his depart- He explained: “We are keen to topics including infectious diseases, es and improving the fi tness of the ment was keen on co-ordinating ensure that emergency and public emergency responses and medical individuals.” the health services between vari- health departments work together practices during natural disasters Director of Public Health at SCH, ous healthcare organisations in the to reduce the number of trauma among others. The conference will Sheikh Dr Mohamed bin Hamad al- country. cases. The traffi c related fatalities come to an end tomorrow.

Some of the delegates at the opening ceremony. Gulf Times Sunday, January 17, 2016 5 QATAR

Cypriot minister visits WISE

he Minister of Education and Culture of Cyprus, TProfessor Costas Kadis, visited the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE), as part of his visit to Qatar Foundation for Education, Sci- ence and Community Develop- ment recently. Stavros N Yiannouka, CEO of WISE, gave a detailed brief- ing on the vision and mission of WISE, including its support for Qatar Foundation’s goal to build a knowledge-based economy. Professor Kadis was presented with the latest WISE research publications, welcoming the documents and affi rming that the research would be extremely helpful to his government’s edu- cation reform eff orts. Professor Kadis invited WISE to explore ways to support and enhance his ministry’s eff orts to improve student learning and educational outcomes through innovation. Professor Costas Kadis with Stavros N Yiannouka. Professor Kadis visited Doha at the invitation of the Minister tion, HE Dr Mohamed Ab- and was accompanied to QF the ambassador of Cyprus of Education and Higher Educa- dul Wahed al-Hammadi, by the Ministry offi cials and Charalambos Panayides.

Ooredoo launches Windows 10 devices

oredoo has an- after the software com- who buy a Microsoft Lumia touchscreen pens, compat- nounced that cus- pany’s upgrade to its new 950 or 950XL will get a free ible keyboards, and a docking Otomers will be able operating system Windows display dock, 6GB data card, station for the phones. to buy the latest models of 10, and all devices now sold one month free Shahry sub- The new devices are also Windows phones and tab- via Ooredoo will be compat- scription for all new and up- 4G+ enabled, allowing cus- lets from selected Ooredoo ible with the new operating grading customers, and 10% tomers to get the most out of shops and online via the e- software, enabling a host of off Offi ce 365 software for one the Ooredoo Supernet, with Shop this week. benefi ts such as the abil- year for business customers. access to superfast mobile This is the fi rst time that ity to keep everyone’s digital Customers who buy a data speeds and an incred- Ooredoo has been able to life in sync across all Win- Surface Pro4 i5 tablet or ible browsing experience. sell the state-of-the-art dow devices, enhanced no- smart Wi-Fi Netgear device Full details of the Oore- Windows devices, and to tifi cations, Xbox and Offi ce along with a new Micro- doo’s plans, pricing, and of- start-off the company will Apps, and more. soft Lumia will also get the fers are available at www. have a selection of the lat- Customers can pick-up the above off er plus a free 15GB ooredoo.qa. For more infor- est Windows smart devices latest Surface Pro4 i5 tablet data card. mation on Windows devices, available, including the starting from just QR4,399 To ensure that users can visit: https://www.micro- brand new Microsoft Lumia and the latest Microsoft Lu- protect their new technology soft.com/en-us/windows/ 950 DS, 950 XL phones, and mia 950 from QR 2,099. and enjoy the latest accesso- phones. Customers can the Surface Pro4 i5 tablet. To celebrate the launch of ries, Ooredoo will also launch fi nd out prices for the latest Ooredoo’s Windows Microsoft, Ooredoo has an- a host of Windows extras in device launches at http:// launch has come recently nounced that all customers its shops, including covers, www.ooredoo.qa/eshop/. Gulf Times 6 Sunday, January 17, 2016 QATAR

Ministry publishes journal of trademarks

The Ministry of Economy brands. It also includes to implement the Law No.9 and Commerce (MEC) registration requests for for 2002. The law regulates has issued a journal of trademarks that had been trademarks, commercial trademarks registered approved before, besides identification, trade names, in the country during the trademarks that were geographical identification, Al Furjan markets - a tale December. modified. and industrial designs. The journal includes 985 The applicants can submit The journal will be trademarks for trades any objection they might distributed among the and services, of which 54 have on the trademarks agents and representatives are local brands and the published in the journal. of applicant companies in rest being international MEC issues such journals Qatar. of struggle and success

By Ayman Adly istry of Economy and Staff Reporter Commerce (MEC) said that the issue of rent was outside the jurisdiction of the min- hile a large number istry as it is controlled by of shop opera- another entity. Wtors at Al Furjan The other entities that (neighbourhood) markets see have taken part in imple- their business growing, oth- menting the Al Furjan project ers are struggling to meet the are the Ministry of Finance, operation costs, it is learnt. the Ministry of Municipality Though the monthly rent and Urban Planning, Qatar of QR6,000 per shop is Chamber and Qatar Devel- Al Furjan Market in Duhail area. PICTURE: Thomas Bonnie James considered highly competi- opment Bank. tive for most areas in Doha, Residents of the areas said they preferred to stick Hamama, Rawdat Aqdim, said that they were strug- the operators of such shops where Al Furjan markets are to the regular outlets that Al Thumama, Al Mearad, gling to keep their shutters need to pay other costs such located, praised the initia- they had been patronising. Umm Al Seneem, Hazm open but would run the busi- as salaries and service and tive for off ering easy access The operators of such Al Markhiya, Al Aab and ness as long as possible in the utility bills. to buying groceries and outlets also admitted that Jarayan Nujaimah. hope that things would im- Some areas, for instance medicines. it would take some time to Most of the operators of prove in the near future. Al Thumama, have seen a Regarding the shops that attract customers and gain newly opened shops at ar- The Al Furjan project growing footfall, especially sell electronic goods, home their confi dence and urged eas within Doha said that aims to have 44 markets at for groceries as well as ea- appliances, accessories and the support of the entities they were hopeful that the designated areas with a teries. Barber shops and clothes, many residents concerned to help them keep business would pick up as total of 645 shops covering laundries are also doing well. prefer to buy them from the their business running until local residents got used to 28 basic commercial ac- When asked about the outlets or malls as they off er they start making profi t. dropping by. tivities that cover the main concerns of those strug- options and better prices. The areas designated for However, those located needs of the inhabitants of gling to continue opera- About salons and tailor- Al Furjan markets include outside of Doha, particularly the neighbourhood for con- tions, sources at the Min- ing shops, some customers Al Qutaifi ya, Rawdat al- in areas with less population, sumer goods and services.

4,000 students attended road safety training in 2015

he General Direc- at the Ministry of the In- Second road safety brand Sheikh Faisal bin Fahad used in the Students for torate of Traffi c has terior, said: “The Students and seeks to transform 12 al-Thani, deputy managing Road Safety programme Tpraised Maersk Oil for Road Safety programme to 18 years old students into director of Maersk Oil Qatar, features cutting-edge Qatar’s social investment is a partnership between road safety ambassadors said: “Maersk is committed technology deployed in the road safety programme for the General Directorate of through interactive presen- to Qatar for generations to Formula 1 and aviation in- helping reduce road acci- Traffi c and Maersk Oil Qa- tations and driving simula- come and there is no bet- dustries, including a full dents in the country. tar. The past year has been tor training in schools and ter example of this than real car cockpit, and an ad- More than 4,000 stu- the most successful to date at community events. Students for Road Safety, a vanced display system with dents attended road safety for Students for Roads In 2015, 1,400 students programme that is aff ecting a wraparound screen. A training in its state-of-the- Safety. By working together benefi ted from the pro- grassroots behaviour change custom-made traffi c artifi - art driving simulator and to coach students on posi- gramme through school among 12 to 18 years old in cial intelligence engine re- in schools and community tive road behaviours, we are visits and more than 2,600 schools and at community fl ects common behaviours events last year. bringing tangible benefi ts to were reached through com- events. Last year has been on Qatar’s roads like tail- Brig Mohammed Saad Qatar.” munity events arranged by the programme’s most suc- gating, failure to indicate, al-Kharji, director, Gen- Students for Road Safety the General Directorate of cessful year so far.” fl ashing lights and cutting eral Directorate of Traffi c falls under the national One Traffi c. The driving simulator across cars at roundabouts. Gulf Times Sunday, January 17, 2016 7 QATAR Bankers can ‘help raise awareness on global warming’

By Peter Alagos “But globally, cost con- Business Reporter trol, rationalisation, and fi scal prudence have been the norm. That is the focus ankers play a sig- now. Qatar is a sustainable nifi cant role in help- economy and it has a pol- Bing inculcate among icy framework that is akin the youth the importance to revenue and cost disci- of “green banking” in the plines, and I think steps are campaign against glo- being taken to achieve this.” bal warming and climate On Qatar’s fuel price hike change, Doha Bank CEO Dr on Thursday, he added: R Seetharaman has said. “That is part of the ration- Speaking on the sidelines alisation process, which is of the 11th Al Dana Green bound to happen. It is living Run held yesterday at the within the means, as always. Aspire Zone, Seetharaman Qatar is still a sustainable said bankers can help raise economy.” awareness on global warm- Seetharaman explained ing by advising big indus- that Qatar’s long-term rev- tries to reduce their carbon enues and contracts in the emissions and by inculcat- global LNG supply chain ing among the youth hab- and the country’s diversifi ed its that promote a culture projects in multiple mar- of green mission in their kets and investments are personal lifestyle. R Seetharaman during the 11th Al Dana Green Run. among the factors “that will “The way forward is PICTURE: Jayan Orma help in consolidation and for more renewables. Gulf sustainability in real terms.” states should invest more on in investing or lending in towards carbon emis- “Economic funda- green missions, including socially-economic respon- sion reductions and bank- mentals remain strong,” carbon emissions reduction sible projects. ers can play a signifi cant Seetharaman stressed. and carbon-neutral pro- “That’s precisely what role to achieve this.” He said that while cur- grammes, as well as on wa- was emphasised during Asked if Qatar will im- rent oil prices cannot be ter and waste management,” COP21 – huge amounts of pose further rationalisation sustained even though it Seetharaman said. investments are going in measures following the re- may lose further in the He added: “I have seen the the emerging markets in cent reduction in oil prices, short term, “oil prices will development of many bank- the fi elds of solar energy. Seetharaman said: “Look- recover in the medium and ers’ networks into green Gulf states are now also fo- ing at the fi scal framework, long-term.” banks … a portion of capi- cusing their sights on solar, government expenditure Seetharaman forecasts tal from real estate or loans and this is the way to go has been moderated around that oil prices will hover be- must be invested in socially- forward. With the chang- the essentials – healthcare tween $40 and $45 per bar- responsible projects, which ing dynamics on the use and education. Also, none rel in the medium-term and is a good commercial model. of fossil fuels, I think it’s of the major projects are around $60 to $65 per barrel There is a better meaning time to diversify ourselves going to be given up. in the long-term. Gulf Times 8 Sunday, January 17, 2016 QATAR Qatar Charity brings succour to besieged Syrian town

s part of an ongoing ef- number 92428 to donate QR500, near the Syrian borders. through QC website: qcharity. fort to deliver aid to the to 92429 to donate QR1,000, or QC plays a central role to al- org, or through QC headquarter Abesieged Syrian town of they can contact the hotline of leviate the suff ering of refu- sand its branches in the state, and Madaya, Qatar Charity (QC) has Qatar Charity 44667711. gees and displaced people in the outlets at shopping malls. managed to distribute food ra- The reports of the interna- Lebanon. About 10,000 Syrian Donations can be made to Syr- tions to the starving residents of tional humanitarian organisa- refugees at the Lebanese city of ia campaign via SMS, by sending the town, in co-operation with tions indicate that the majority Arsal have benefi ted from the re- the word “Syria”, to the number Al Rahma International Charity. of the deceased in the town were lief project carried out by Qatar 92632 to donate QR50, and to QC aid convoy will be fol- elderly people and infants due Charity. the number 92642 to donate lowed by other relief convoys to the acute shortage of food, The project included distrib- QR100 and to 92428 to donate during the coming period. QC particularly milk. Thousands uting food baskets for 3 months QR500, and to 92429 to donate opened the doors even wider of Madaya residents and resi- in favor of 1650 families liv- QR 1,000. The campaign has also for donations and contributions dents of the western countryside ing in camps such as Kuwait Al designated the hotline number to Madaya, as part of the Syrian of Damascus including “Za- Khair, Yassar Idlib, Al Noor, Al 44667711 to donate and to re- campaign “Syria, Harsh Winter”. badani” and “Baqin” are facing Kalamoon housing, Al Bonian Al spond to inquiries related to it. Aid materials included pre- death, due to the deteriorating sabai, Al Zaeem, and Al Rahma . As part of its eff orts to support pared food such as wheat, len- humanitarian conditions and the QC has distributed 1,825 es- the health sector, Qatar Charity tils, chickpeas, beans, semolina, severely cold winter. sential materials to 15 Syr- has expanded “Aldaraj” Health sugar, corn and rice, in addition QC has launched its campaign ian refugees’ camps in Lebanon Centre in Gaza. This project to meals and fresh meat. “Syria ...Harsh Winter “, begin- within “Life’s Backbone” project aims to establish a health center QC has appealed to Qatari ning from Rihaniyya area along at a cost of QR1,825,000. This that could prevent the spread of philanthropists and residents the Turkish border in order to project provided assistance for infectious diseases and epidem- to redouble their donations and provide warm kits for the dis- 8,400 Syrian refugees in Leba- ics, provide the needy groups support Syrians who are facing placed in Syria, and refugees in non, as part of QC eff orts to help with basic health services and hunger and death in the besieged southern Turkey. The fi rst batch Syrian refuges. raise health awareness. town of Madaya. of the campaign included more People can donate to the cam- QC has funded this project at Ready-to-eat meals can be do- than 250,000 pieces that were paign “Syria ... Harsh Winter” a cost of QR500,000, as part of nated to the residents of Madaya distributed on 508,000 people. through Rayan Bank account its eff orts to help the Palestinian via SMS. Individuals can send the QC delegation distributed number: people and reduce their suff er- word “Madaya,” to the number 2,000 food baskets to 10,000 IBAN / QA40MA- ing caused by the Israeli occupa- 92642 to donate QR100, to the Syrian refugees in Rihaniyya city FR000000000003111111001, or tion’s cruel practices. QC volunteers distribute aid materials.

QC to open new camp Qatar Charity (QC) has an- nounced the opening of a new camp for the displaced Syrians on the Turkish-Syrian border, Bullets and bombs not enough which includes 500 tents. QC has distributed a similar number of tents to the aff ected families in rural areas of Hama, to fi ght extremism, says Qatar Aleppo and Latakia as part of its winter campaign in Syria. In a press statement yester- QNA tackling its prevalence. bombs” were not enough to the international com- day, QC said that the total New York Delivering a statement to win the war on these munity’s eff orts to prevent beneficiaries of these tents before the annual meet- phenomena and that they and combat violence and have reached more than 6,000 ing of the United Nations need a deeper and more extremism, disseminate displaced Syrians. atar has reit- Alliance of Civilizations strategic long-term ap- the values of brotherhood, Faisal Rashid al-Fehaidh, erated its firm (UNAOC) Focal Points proach as well as a politi- tolerance, peace and sta- Executive Director Opera- Qstand rejecting Meeting in New York on cal determination to ne- bility to serve humanity as tions, Qatar Charity said: “The violence and extremism the item “Preventing and gotiate on pluralistic and a whole, and pointing to establishment of the camp on in all its forms, stressing Combating Violence and comprehensive solutions its continuing mediation the Turkish-Syrian border, and that “bullets and bombs” Extremism”, Dr Hassan to regional confl icts. eff orts to resolve various the distribution of tents will were not enough to win Ibrahim al-Mohannadi, Dr al-Mohannadi international and regional help displaced Syrians face the the war on extremism Vice-Chairman of the stressed the Commit- issues. winter and provide warmth for and that understanding Qatar Committee for the tee’s keenness since its He referred in this con- the aff ected families.” the root cause of terror- Alliance of Civilizations, inception to adopt poli- text to the Committee’s ism was a prerequisite to said that “bullets and cies aimed at contributing important and active role in defusing many confl icts and disputes between dif- ferent religious, ethnic and sectarian groups in diff er- ent countries of the world and achieving remarkable successes. Dr al-Mohannadi said: “We in Qatar reject all forms of violence and ex- tremism. HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani has stressed our clear and categorical re- jection of terrorism and religious extremism re- gardless of the analysis of their causes and means of dealing with them. Qatar’s fi ght against terrorism and denial of extremism stem from their social and cul- tural threats to our soci- ety, religion and nation”, he added. Qatar has established many institutions and agencies aimed at spread- ing the culture of co- existence and dialogue among civilizations and religions, fi ghting ex- tremism and rejecting vi- olence, Dr al-Mohannadi said referring to the Doha International Centre for Interfaith Dialogue, which seeks to spread the culture and acceptance of others and peaceful co-exist- ence. The Centre founded in 2007 contributed to building bridges of co- operation and understand- ing between the followers of religions and diff erent civilizations and cultures around the world, he add- ed. Established in 2010, the Qatar Committee of the Alliance of Civilizations set the 2014-2016 Plan of the State of Qatar for the UN Alliance of Civiliza- tions (AOCs) to ease ten- sions between diff erent nations and peoples, re- move the causes of division and misunderstanding and build well-established re- lationships among them in order to achieve the hu- manitarian goal of peaceful co-existence, acceptance of others and respect for diff erent peoples and cul- tures, Dr al-Mohannadi explained. Qatar has also estab- lished the Hamad Bin Kha- lifa Civilization Centre in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2014, aimed at serving Muslims in Europe and to be a beacon for a deep- er understanding of the teachings of Islam. Gulf Times Sunday, January 17, 2016 9 QATAR Sheikh Faisal welcomes delegation from QU

heikh Faisal bin Qas- of our youth by leading the sim al-Thani, chair- small and medium business Sman, Al Faisal Inter- segment that will support national for Investment our local economy. “ (AFII), welcomed a delega- Commenting on the ini- tion from Qatar University tiative, Dr Nitham Hindi, (QU) at his Museum in Sha- dean, College of Business haniya recently. and Economics at Qatar More than 1,200 stu- University, said: “We thank dents have benefi tted from Sheikh Faisal for his con- Al Faisal Educational Fund, tinued support in provid- which was created in 2009 ing the educational fund, as a joint initiative between which is consistent with Qatar University and Al Faculty and students with Sheikh Faisal at the museum. Qatar University’s strategic Faisal International for In- plan, as well as the College vestment. perience in stock trading. ment portfolios for them to of Business and Economics’ The Al Fasial Educa- Al Faisal Educational manage under the supervi- mission statement. Further, tional Fund was created to Fund worked on fi nancing a sion of faculty members. the Al Faisal Educational enhance the education of portfolio to allow students On this occasion, Sheikh Fund provides our students Qatar University’s College studying at the Faculty of Faisal said: “The invest- with a unique opportunity of Business and Econom- Management and Econom- ment in our youth is syn- to learn fi rst-hand about ics students. The goal of the ics, to actually invest in the onymous with investment socially responsible invest- fund is to link theoretical Qatar Exchange in order to in the future of our beloved ment and to gain a practical studies with hands-on ex- refi ne the investment tal- country Qatar. I fi rmly be- understanding of the opera- perience at the Qatar stock ents and train them to take lieve that it’s our responsi- tion of the Qatar Exchange. exchange and other Gulf studied investment risks, bility to build a new genera- The students will also be markets. It gives students at through the provision of tion of investment experts provided the opportunities, QU a unique opportunity to capital to allow students to who will go on to become support, mentorship and learn investment and gain carry out real investments skilled entrepreneurs. They resources that they need to scientifi c and practical ex- and the creation of invest- will refl ect the true picture realise their ambitions.”

Regency Group launches travel website

egency Group Hold- The group has entered site is to off er “maximum to serve the customers in a ing has announced into the online space with customer satisfaction.” quick and eff ective manner. Rthat it has forayed a unique advantage of hav- www.myholidays.com The “share” button on this into the online travel space ing understood the needs was built using the latest new booking platform noti- with the launch of www. of today’s customers hence, technologies, diff erentiating fi es the price of air tickets myholidays.com The new myholidays.com has mod- itself from the highly-com- and hotel rooms to customers website was designed to elled its services to cater to petitive marketplace and via SMS, e-mail, and social meet the changing demands a customer’s inclusive travel also minimising risk for the media channels. Further, the of the evolving travel mar- experience. customers. For instance, the “express booking” feature ket, specifi cally in the GCC. The website is also ahead advanced fraud detection enables customers to buy air The website displays a of the curve, as it is built system will allow customers tickets and book hotel rooms variety of integrated serv- on a functionally-solid and to book fl ights as well as ho- with a single-click. It also lists ices and solutions for the technically-sound founda- tel rooms through a secured fl ight route maps, ratings, and traveller in one single plat- tion to off er the best and payment gateway. The web- reviews of hotels that will en- form, thereby enabling cus- fastest services for its cus- site also has its own built- able customers to take an in- tomers to book air tickets tomers. In short, the prime in Customer Relationship formed decision while book- and hotel rooms online. focus of the travel web- Management (CRM) tool ing fl ights and hotel rooms. Gulf Times 10 Sunday, January 17, 2016 QATAR/REGION Iran and the US free prisoners as goodwill gestures US Secretary of State John Kerry meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif in Vienna yesterday. Among the Americans being by the US, UN and European “Today is a good day for the this week for the first time in 12 freed are Washington Post Union, Iran said it was releas- Iranian people as sanctions will years. Tehran says it could boost ing achievement for Rouhani, reporter Jason Rezaian ing five Americans and the US be lifted,” the Isna agency quot- exports by 500,000 barrels per elected in 2013 in a landslide and Christian pastor Saeed announced it was freeing seven ed him as saying. day within weeks. on a promise to reduce Iran’s Abedini, while Iranian news Iranians charged with sanctions The sanctions, mostly im- The nuclear deal is opposed international isolation. He was media said seven Iranians violations, in what US officials posed in the last five years, have by all of the Republican candi- granted the authority to negoti- held for violating sanctions described as a humanitarian cut Iran off from the global fi- dates vying to succeed Obama ate the deal by Supreme Leader would be freed gesture. nancial system, drastically re- as president in an election in Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Among the Americans be- duced the major oil producer’s November. “There are some people who Reuters ing freed are Washington Post exports and imposed severe Nevertheless, Ted Cruz, a see peace as a threat, who were Vienna reporter Jason Rezaian and economic hardship on ordinary conservative senator from Tex- always against (the nuclear Christian pastor Saeed Abedini, Iranians. Most will be lifted im- as and one of the Republican deal) and will continue to op- while Iranian news media said mediately. frontrunners, tweeted in sup- pose it,” Foreign Minister Zarif, ran freed five Americans, seven Iranians held for violating Even before the expected an- port of the release of Christian a US-educated fluent English including a Washington sanctions would be freed. nouncement that sanctions convert Abedini: “Praise God! speaker, was quoted as saying IPost reporter, yesterday as Iranian Foreign Minister Ja- would be lifted, Iran’s Mehr Surely bad parts of Obama’s lat- by Isna. the two countries staged a se- vad Zarif and US Secretary of news agency reported that ex- est deal, but prayers of thanks- He has argued, including in ries of goodwill gestures ahead State John Kerry, who devel- ecutives from two of the world’s giving that Pastor Saeed is a New York Times op-ed col- of the announcement of the oped a close rapport during largest oil companies, Shell and coming home.” umn last week, that Iran wants lifting of international sanc- months of unprecedented talks Total, had arrived in Tehran for The prisoner deal was nearly to help the global fight against tions against Tehran under a hammering out last year’s deal, talks with state firms. Shell de- derailed in December by loom- militants. nuclear deal. met in a Vienna hotel before the nied it. ing new US sanctions on Iran “It’s now time for all - espe- US President Barack Obama sanctions announcement. Under the deal, Iran has for test-firings of a ballistic cially Muslim nations - to join pardoned three Iranian-Amer- “Implementation day” of the agreed to forego nearly all en- missile capable of delivering a hands and rid the world of vio- icans charged for sanctions nuclear deal is a turning point riched uranium, which world nuclear warhead. lent extremism. Iran is ready,” violations, and US officials said in the hostility between Tehran powers feared could be used to But the Obama administra- Zarif tweeted yesterday. four others would be released, and Washington, and is a prize make a nuclear weapon. Once tion officials decided to delay But US-Iranian hostility still in a thaw in relations between for both Obama and Iranian sanctions are lifted, Iran plans the new sanctions after Zarif remains deeply entrenched. the two nations that has shaped President Hassan Rouhani. to swiftly ramp up its exports warned Kerry that any such Apart from the nuclear issue, the Middle East since Iran’s Is- The two leaders have faced of oil. censure of the Islamic Repub- Washington maintains sepa- lamic Revolution of 1979. strong opposition from hard- Tens of billions of dollars lic could endanger the prisoner rate, far less comprehensive The ending of sanctions liners at home in countries that worth of Iranian assets will be swap. sanctions on Iran over its mis- would bring the Middle Eastern have called each other “Great unfrozen and global companies The Obama administration sile programme. country of 80mn people back to Satan” and part of the “axis of that have been barred from do- says the deal reached last July Iran has tested missiles since the global economic stage after evil”. ing business there will be able offered the best possible pros- the nuclear agreement, draw- several years away. “With the release of the IAEA to exploit a market hungry for pect of ensuring Iran would not ing threats from Washington to Ahead of the International chief’s report, the nuclear deal everything from automobiles to develop a nuclear weapon, and tighten those sanctions. A week Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will be implemented, after airplane parts. could never have been achieved ago Iran detained 10 US sailors announcement in Vienna that which a joint statement will Iran’s expected return to an without the support of allies, on two boats in the Gulf, al- A photo taken on September 10, 2013 shows Iranian-American Tehran had complied with a deal be made to announce the be- already glutted market is one which was always contingent on though they were released the Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian and his Iranian wife reached last year to curb its nu- ginning of the deal,” Zarif was of the main factors contribut- a pledge to lift sanctions once next day after Tehran said it had Yeganeh Salehi while covering a press conference at Iran’s foreign clear programme in return for quoted as saying in Vienna by ing to a global rout in oil prices, Iran complied. concluded they had entered its ministry in Tehran. Iran freed Rezaian yesterday as part of a prisoner the lifting of sanctions imposed state news agency Irna which fell below $30 a barrel For Iran, it marks a crown- waters by mistake. exchange with the US.

Special off ers for Mercedes Benz A class

asser Bin Khaled Automobiles, a very suitable price. the exclusive dealer of Mercedes “These off ers refl ect NBK Automo- NBenz in Qatar, has launched spe- biles full commitment of Qatar society cial off ers for the “sporty and luxurious” to off er them the best benefi ts. We hope Mercedes Benz cars A Class. everyone can benefi t from these deals The off ers come within the compa- and drive one of the most luxurious ny’s policy “to provide customers with sporty cars ever.” the best savings and allow them drive The A-Class is the pride of the new the car that is distinguished by its sporty generation of Mercedes-Benz sport design, high performance and highest NBK Automobiles has launched cars. Aimed at a young, modern target standards of safety”, a company state- special off ers for the sporty and group, the vehicle is the perfect com- ment said. Customers can buy this car at luxurious Mercedes Benz A Class. panion in everyday life as it off ers its oc- a starting price of QR119,000 . cupants even more comfort than before Khaled Shaban, general manager of Mercedes Benz cars. We are pleased while remaining as dynamic as ever. NBK Automobiles, said: “Nasser Bin to inform all customers about our of- With its elegant and sporty design, Khaled Automobiles continues its fer on A Class, the favourite automo- high safety standards, the car is a symbol amazing offers on various models of bile for youth and sporty cars fans at of power and luxury.

PHCC holds event for dental staff

The Oral Health Division at the Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) organised the ninth Continuing Professional Event for its dental staff . The workshop was attended by a large number of staff from the dental department of PHCC. The first part of the day focused on medico-legal matters. The participants were given a presentation by Dr Mobin, manager for Licensing and Credential at PHCC, that focused on the new licensing requirements and the areas where staff need to focus to obtain and maintain their licence. It was followed by another presentation on legal matters by Ibrahim Ali Ibrahim, legal director, PHCC. This presentation covered topics of informed consent, medical liability and prosecution aspects. The event looked at referral pathways between PHCC and Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC). Two consultants from HMC’s dental department explained the new referral protocols and process between PHCC and HMC. Dr Asmaa al-Khateeb, head of the Oral and Dental Department, said that PHCC was working with the training workforce department to organise events and workshops in corporation with relevant institutions and parties to enable the staff to be informed about everything new in the dental field. Gulf Times Sunday, January 17, 2016 11 ARAB WORLD ‘Kurdistan faces economic tsunami’ Deputy PM says crisis Then Islamic State overran a “The fact that the control con- “This is a tsunami. Either we re- undermines war against Islamic third of Iraq, driving more than 1mn tinues to lie 100% with the central act and respond to it or get dragged State in Iraq refugees into the region of 5mn and government and the lack of clarity under. The initial step is to stop the scaring off foreign investors. with our share of the budget and ship from sinking”. Reuters In an eff ort to tackle the crisis, how it’s calculated would restrict us The region, which has racked up Erbil, Iraq Kurdistan ramped up independent from going along with what’s writ- between $15-$18bn of debt, is also oil exports last year to more than ten in the 2016 budget,” Talabani considering ways of raising money 600,000 barrels per day (bpd), but said. abroad such as soft loans, bail- raq’s Kurdistan region is in at current prices the region is still “We don’t want to rule out a outs, pre-payment agreements and danger of being drowned by an left with a monthly defi cit of 380- deal, but we want a deal that’s monetising assets, including oil in- Ieconomic “tsunami” as global 400bn Iraqi dinars ($717mn). fair,” he said, adding that it need frastructure, Talabani said. oil prices plunge, its deputy prime Asked whether the KRG was not entail the KRG exporting oil Plans to issue a $500mn Eu- minister said, warning it could un- calculating it might be better off via SOMO. robond were derailed last year by dermine the war eff ort against Is- resuming oil exports under Bagh- After the oil-fuelled economic falling oil prices and rising politi- lamic State. dad’s auspices in return for a slice boom it enjoyed in the wake of the cal tensions but could be revived in Four months in arrears and deep- of the revenue from their combined US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, the the future: “We certainly haven’t ly in debt, the Kurdistan Regional exports of more than 3.8mn bpd, Kurdistan region faces spending scrapped that idea but it’s shelved Government (KRG), which depends Talabani said it would make little cuts and economic reform, and is for now.” on oil revenue to survive, has been diff erence. also looking eff orts to raise non-oil Despite recent gains on the bat- hit hard by oil’s slump below $30 “I don’t think this is a calculation revenue. tlefi eld, Talabani said he did not per barrel this week from over $100 we’re thinking of or they’re think- In December, the KRG cut the al- expect an off ensive to retake the a barrel two years ago. ing of because it doesn’t actually lowances of ministers and other of- northern city of Mosul this year: “I Even before oil’s most recent change the equation for anyone.” fi cials by as much as 50% and elim- don’t think the Iraqi armed forces losses, the autonomous region was “At this oil price, a couple of hun- inated perks enjoyed by senior civil are ready”. unable to meet a bloated public dred thousand barrels here or there servants, and Talabani said bigger The peshmerga will play a role in payroll including the salaries of its is not going to fi x Baghdad’s prob- changes were on the way. the off ensive whenever it happens, own armed forces, the peshmerga, lems and it’s not going to fi x ours. “We’re not bankrupt yet but if we but the Iraqi army must take the Iraqi Kurdistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani speaks during an interview with which are on the front line against We have to think of another formula don’t enact structural and actual lead, he said. Reuters in Erbil. Islamic State. to fi x our economic problems”. reforms the current situation is not In the meantime, more needs to “The world is focused on the war A deal last year whereby the KRG sustainable,” Talabani said. be done to fi nd a political solution. against ISIS but nobody wins a war agreed to export 550,000 bpd of The reforms will target three “I don’t see any traction on politi- bankrupt,” Qubad Talabani said in crude through Iraq’s state oil mar- main areas: fuel subsidies, the cal reconciliation in Iraq,” Talabani the interview on Thursday, using an keting fi rm SOMO in exchange for power sector and the public payroll, said. Compared with a year ago, acronym for Islamic State. “I think the reinstatement of its budget which costs the region 875bn Iraqi Sunni disenfranchisement was now this is something the coalition share was never properly imple- dinars ($804mn) per month. deeper and Shia mistrust of Sunni against ISIS really do need to factor mented. The KRG has already opened up intentions greater, he said. into the equation.” The same arrangement is em- the fuel market to private compa- “All of these are factors that are The peshmerga have emerged as a bedded in Iraq’s 2016 budget, but nies and will consider selling parts going to slow down our progress in key component of the US-led coali- Talabani indicated the KRG did not of the electricity sector, Talabani the war to degrade and ultimately tion’s strategy to “degrade and de- intend to implement it. said. destroy ISIS”. stroy” the radical militants, driving them back in northern Iraq with the help of air strikes. Iraq’s southern oil exports unaff ected by clashes But Talabani said the economic crisis threatened progress on the Iraq’s exports from its southern very good, I don’t see any impact The crude shipments from the battlefi eld: “The most dangerous region have been running at an on our oil operations,” he said. south account for all of Iraq’s impact it can have is on morale. average daily rate of 3.297mn Iraq sent an armoured army central government’s oil sales as We are getting desertions. People barrels per day (bpd) so far this division and a police strike force the Kurdish Regional Government are leaving their posts - it will in- month, higher than December’s into the southern oil city to disarm in the north in mid-2015 pursued crease.” average and unaff ected by tribal residents as fighting between rival independent sales in an escalating The oil price crash has com- clashes, an oil company executive Shia tribes intensified, local off icials row over oil export rights and pounded Kurdistan’s economic said yesterday. and security sources said on Friday. budget payments. woes, which began in early 2014 All the fields are running normally, Iraq exported 3.215mn bpd on The southern regions are far from when Baghdad slashed funding to state-run South Oil Company’s average in December, according areas of conflict with Islamic State the region to punish it for export- deputy director general Salah to the oil ministry. The country militants in the north and west, but ing crude on its own terms in pur- Mahdi told Reuters in an interview produces most of its oil from the recent tribal fighting raised fears of suit of economic independence in Basra. “The security situation is southern region. disruptions to energy operations. from Iraq. Rania slams cartoon of drowned Syrian boy

Jordan’s Queen Rania has hit back at a cartoon in French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo depicting drowned Syrian toddler Aylan Kurdi as a grown-up refugee committing sexual off ences in Germany. In response Queen Rania posted a cartoon on Facebook and Twitter by Jordan’s Osama Hajjaj depicting the little boy lying face down on the beach alongside an older child with a backpack and finally a doctor. The queen added the caption: “Aylan could’ve been a doctor, a teacher, a loving parent.” “Queen Rania gives an elegant and eff ective rebuttal that refutes the shameful Charlie Hebdo cartoon. She is such a class act!” Facebook user Jane Shartzer commented on the queen’s page. In September, the queen in a speech in Berlin urged Europeans not to “bolt the door for fear of the unknown” in response to the growing flood into the continent of refugees from Syria’s brutal conflict. The Charlie Hebdo drawing has triggered sharp criticism on social networks while Aylan’s relatives in Canada expressed “disgust”. The magazine, contacted on Thursday by AFP, declined to comment. On January 7, 2015, gunmen killed 12 people in an assault on the Paris off ices of Charlie Hebdo, which had been a target for blaspheming Islam.

Rania: hits back Gulf Times 12 Sunday, January 17, 2016 ARAB WORLD Palestinian textile company bridges the divide

By Kate Shuttleworth the Israeli-Palestinian divide by Her grandmother started get- “I started this whole thing with Samia al-Botmeh, policy ad- (about $25) a day, while women In 2012, the last year for which Beit Jala, West Bank servicing both markets. ting orders for school uniforms. two sewing machines. Thank God viser for the Palestinian policy earn 81. Across the Palestinian fi gures are available, Palestin- The business started from Ta- Eventually demand grew, and for everything,” she says. network al-Shabaka, says the territories, nearly a quarter of ian imports were worth $3.83bn, mara’s grandmother’s house in the family added more sewing Today, the factory produces low participation rate of Pales- the workforce is unemployed, while exports stood at $739m. amara Alarja walks be- the Palestinian Christian town machines. Geries quit his job half of its own fabric (the rest is tinian women is striking as girls and the economy is stagnating, Almost three-quarters of those tween the factory fl oor, of Beit Jala in the mid-1960s. and created a fabric knitting and imported) and employs 70 peo- have high education rates. propped up by foreign aid. imports came from Israel, fol- Twhere machines making Leila Alarja, now 79, and her dyeing section in their home. ple, of whom 50 are women, a “By 2000, Palestinian girls had The long-running confl ict lowed by Turkey and China. and dyeing fabrics are whirring, husband, Geries, 85, had lit- By the 1980s, Arja Textile fi gure that defi es a trend in the higher school enrolment rates means restrictions on the move- Keeping Arja Textile Company and her offi ce, where 20 orders tle money in the 1960s - Geries Company was fully operational Palestinian territories. and lower dropout rates than ment of people and goods. The open has been a struggle in the are in progress. worked as a waiter in a local ho- and in the 1990s two tall fac- In a speech to mark Inter- boys,” she says. “Palestinian girls’ Palestinian economy is heavily face of two intifadas - Pales- The Palestinian woman, 29, tel and Leila started sewing at tory blocks were built around the national Women’s Day in 2015, primary and secondary school reliant on Israel, which buys 90% tinian uprisings against Israel, is managing the only remaining home. They had nine children. couple’s house, employing more the president of the Palestinian enrolment ratios are also higher of Palestinian exports, including which have weakened Palestin- textile factory in historic Pal- “It grew slowly over time. than 120 local Palestinians. Central Bureau of Statistics, Ola than boys in the entire Middle raw material and produce. ian businesses. The explosion estine. Not only does the busi- When her children were teenag- Inside her house today, Leila sits Awad, said only 19% of Pales- East and North Africa region.” According to PalTrade (Pales- of Chinese imports and steep ness have a history of female ers she had gotten good at sew- playing on her iPad and checking tinian women participated in According to Awad, the gender tine Trade Centre), exports have overheads for water, electricity leadership, it is defying the Is- ing and had expanded to two on her grandchildren on Facebook the labour force, compared with pay gap is also wide, with men long lagged behind imports to and fuel have only made things raeli occupation and bridging sewing machines,” says Tamara. as she enjoys her retirement. about 71% of men. earning, on average, 106 shekels the West Bank and Gaza Strip. harder. IS attack kills 35 pro-govt soldiers in Syria: monitor The Syrian Observatory The monitor said Russian Russian war planes carrying out for Human Rights says the warplanes were carrying out strikes in the region between the militant group had advanced heavy air strikes in support of regime-held Kweyris airbase into the northern tip of Deir regime forces as they sought to and Al-Bab. Ezzor city repel the militants. The regime has advanced to- Syrian men inspect a damaged vehicle in the rubble following a reported air strike by Syrian government forces on the Sukkari neighbourhood Government-held areas in wards the town, an IS bastion, of the northern city of Aleppo yesterday. Agencies the city had been under siege in recent days, and is now within Damascus by Islamic State fi ghters for 10km of it, according to the Ob- more than a year and more than servatory. 200,000 people there are living That is the closest regime t least 35 Syrian soldiers in dire conditions lacking food forces have come to Al-Bab since and pro-regime militia- and medicine. 2012. Jordan a stepping stone towards Amen were killed yesterday A Syrian source said that the The Britain-based monitor in a multi-front attack by the group has been trying to attack also said regime forces had taken Islamic State group on the east- the city almost on daily basis and a string of villages nearby. ern city of Deir Ezzor, a monitor yesterday it “carried out several Roughly 30km south of the a new life, say refugees fl eeing war said. assaults. There are a number of Turkish border, Al-Bab fell into The fi ghting came as regime civilians martyred.” rebel hands in July 2012, and IS forces battled IS in the northern Islamic State supporters on militants captured it in late 2013. AFP 600,000 fi gure given by the UN In early December, UNHCR said as he dusted off his clothes province of Aleppo, repelling a social media said the group had The fi ghting in Al-Bab is just Amman refugee agency UNHCR. and New York-based Human caked in sand. militant assault and killing at also captured an army weapons one of up to seven fronts on During the fi rst two years of Rights Watch issued separate He too came from Daraa, after least 16 fi ghters from the group. depot. which regime forces are seeking the Syrian confl ict, there were 45 pleas urging Jordanian authori- losing hope that he would be able The Syrian Observatory for Elsewhere, regime troops were to advance in Aleppo province, bdelhadi Zarara, six chil- crossing points along the 378km ties to allow all the refugees to to fi nish his last year at univer- Human Rights said IS had ad- locked in fi erce clashes with IS in capitalising on a Russian air dren in tow, juggles with frontier. enter the desert kingdom, warn- sity there. vanced into the northern tip of Aleppo province, with at least 16 campaign that began on Sep- Ahis emotions as he cross- Now just two remain open, in ing of deteriorating conditions. “Security conditions won’t Deir Ezzor city, in eastern Syria, militants killed after a failed at- tember 30 es into Jordan, as thousands of rocky, hard to access areas de- But Jordan has stood its allow it,” he said. and captured the suburb of Al- tack on a government position The various battles are in- other Syrian refugees wait in no- void of water, shade or vegeta- ground, allowing only a trickle Hassad, who crossed into Baghaliyeh. near the town of Al-Bab, the Ob- tended in part to cut rebel supply man’s land hoping their turn will tion, according to UNHCR. at a time in and insisting that it Jordan with his wife and fi ve The advance puts IS in control servatory said. lines into Aleppo city, the pro- come. One of them is at Hadalat, must screen newcomers to en- children, said he had to pay peo- of around 60% of the city, with State television also reported vincial capital and Syria’s sec- Zarara, 39, says “there was 500km northeast of the capital sure they are genuine refugees ple smugglers 100,000 Syrian the regime holding the rest, ac- that regime forces had repelled ond city. nothing left for me in Syria,” where Amman, while the other is at and not armed militants seeking pounds ($440) for each member cording to the Britain-based an assault. The city itself is divided and his wife was killed a few months Rokbane, 70km further east. to infi ltrate the country. of his family. monitor. The Observatory said heavy regime forces are now hoping to ago in a regime bombardment that Around 1,300 Syrians are “Our security is above every- “I am hoping for a better fu- Syrian state news agency Sana fi ghting was ongoing through- eff ectively encircle the opposi- also destroyed the family home in stuck in Hadalat, while in thing else,” said Mahayra. ture for my children,” he said, said regime troops had repelled out yesterday in the area, with tion-held east. southern Daraa province. Rokbane 15,000 are trapped in After the confl ict erupted in adding that Jordan would only an IS attack on the area around According to Jordanian au- dire conditions, said General March 2011, Syrians who sought be a stepping stone towards their Al-Baghaliyeh and infl icted UN demands aid access to besieged towns thorities, the number of Syrians Saber al-Mahayra, the head of refugee in Jordan were mostly new life. “heavy losses” on the group. stuck along its desert border Jordan’s border guards unit. from the southern Daraa prov- “Our goal is to travel to Eu- Deir Ezzor is the capital of Condemning Syria’s “barbaric” from starvation in the town of with Syria jumped from a few Intensifi ed fi ghting in Syria, ince across the border, he said. rope, soon I hope,” he said. Deir Ezzor province, an oil-rich sieges, the UN demanded Madaya, where aid deliveries hundred three months ago to including the launch of Russian But recent newcomers have Army trucks lined up on the region that borders Iraq and is immediate access to besieged finally arrived this week. A total 16,000 by the start of January. air raids in September in support travelled from as far as Raqa, Jordanian side of the Hadalat mostly held by IS. towns to deliver food, medicine of 35 people have died there They are fl eeing the nearly of Damascus, has sparked a fresh the self-declared capital of the crossing to transport the new- The regime has clung onto and other life-saving aid to since early December, according fi ve-year war, leaving behind wave of refugees seeking safety Islamic State group in northern comers to a reception centre portions of the provincial capital civilians facing starvation. to medical charity Medecins death and devastation in the in Jordan, Mahayra said. Syria. where refugees would undergo and the adjacent military airport “There can be no reason or Sans Frontieres (MSF), which hope of making a new life in Jor- Zarara and his children arrived “In a bid to weed out jihadist medical checks and further se- despite repeated IS attacks. rational, no explanation or warned a dozen more patients dan or beyond, with many eyeing in Hadalat in October. infi ltrators, the army is carry- curity controls. Observatory chief Rami Abdel excuse, for preventing aid from “could die very soon if they Europe as their fi nal destination. “There weren’t many people ing out meticulous controls at After that they will be taken Rahman said heavy fi ghting was reaching people,” UN aid off icial are not evacuated.” Madaya’s But only 50 to 100 will be around and we had nothing to the border,” Mahayra said, add- to one of two refugee camps in continuing yesterday afternoon Kyung-Wha Kang on Friday 40,000 residents have been lucky enough to cross into Jor- protect us from the cold and the ing that two suspected militants northern Jordan - Zaatari or after the IS assault, which began told an emergency Security living under siege by pro- dan each day, according to the rain,” he said. who tried to pass for refugees Azraq - which are run jointly by with a suicide car bomb blast Council meeting on ending government forces for months. army and aid agencies. The Jordanian army gave them were recently arrested. the Jordanian authorities and carried out by a member of the the blockades. France and “The barbarity of this tactic The kingdom says it is hosting food and blankets but it was only Riyadh, 23, was one of the the UN. militant group. Britain requested the urgent cannot be overstated,” Kang told 1.4mn Syrian refugees - equal to several weeks later that UNHCR lucky few who entered Jordan on The camps are home to about Eight of the regime forces talks after reports emerged of the council. “You cannot let more 20% of Jordan’s population and provided shelter in the form of Thursday after “83 painful days” 20% of all Syrian refugees in the killed were shot dead by IS mili- dozens of people who have died people die under your watch.” more than twice as many as the tents, he said. trapped in no-man’s land, he kingdom. tants, the Observatory added. Gulf Times Sunday, January 17, 2016 13 AFRICA

‘Waiting for someone 23 killed in Burkina to save or kill you’ By Joe Bavier, Reuters tions. It was echoing and extremely Abidjan loud ... They kept coming back and forth into Cappuccino. So you’d think ‘It’s over’, then they’d come back and l Qaeda fi ghters singled out shoot more people.” white people during an attack “They would come back and see Faso militant siege Ain Burkina Faso’s capital Oua- if the white people were moving and gadougou, returning repeatedly to a then they would shoot them again,” Reuters that four assailants, including an “Arab” restaurant popular with foreigners to she said. “My friend had a dead white Ouagadougou and two “black Africans”, were killed. execute the wounded lying amid over- person on top of her, bleeding onto Another survivor, a French architect turned tables and chairs, a survivor her. But his body saved her.” called Ludovic who was at an outdoor said yesterday. Soon the power went out, plunging ecurity forces in Burkina Faso re- bar near Cappuccino when the attacks While some 150 hostages were the restaurant into darkness as cus- took a hotel in the capital yester- started, said he saw three assailants sin- freed, around two dozen people from tomers who had not been killed lay Sday from Al Qaeda fi ghters who gling out white victims before running 18 diff erent countries died. motionless, feigning death. seized it in an assault that killed two into the Splendid hotel. “It felt like something had exploded “There was a child ... I could hear dozen people from at least 18 countries Separately, an Austrian doctor and in the restaurant,” said a Slovenian the child speaking to the mother for a and marked a major escalation of Islam- his wife were kidnapped overnight in woman who was in the Cappuccino while and the mother answering. She ist militancy in West Africa. the Baraboule area in the north, the se- restaurant, opposite the Splendid. kept telling him to keep quiet,” the Until Friday night’s attack, the land- curity ministry said. It was not clear if “At fi rst I thought it was a fi recrack- woman said. locked nation, an ally of Western gov- there was a link to the hotel attack. er or a fuse. But then it continued and As the room started to fi ll with ernments against jihadist groups in the The couple had been taken near the I realised that, okay, they are shooting smoke, the mother started gasping for arid reaches of the southern Sahara, had town of Djibo close to the country’s at us,” the social anthropologist, who air before eventually falling silent. It largely been spared the violence that border with Mali. The doctor had been did not want her name to be used, told is not known whether she or her child has plagued its neighbours. running a hospital in the region for Reuters in neighbouring Ivory Coast survived. The assault follows a similar raid in years, according to offi cials. by phone. “It seemed like indiscrimi- With the smoke thickening, the November on a luxury hotel in Mali’s The foreign ministry in Vienna said nate shooting at fi rst.” Slovenian in her hiding place was capital Bamako which killed 20 people, it had appointed a crisis management Two men, one tall and bearded, the faced with a stark choice. including citizens of Russia, China and group to deal with the incident. other young and short, then burst into “I thought I would die from as- the US. The attackers torched cars and fi red the restaurant, packed with a mix of phyxiation because there was smoke The Ouagadougou assault, claimed by in the air to drive people back before local Burkinabe and white foreign din- and fi re. So my gut feeling was that Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), entering the Splendid Hotel and taking ers enjoying a Friday night out. I take the risk now to go out and get marked an expansion of operations for hostages. “They were dressed all in black, shot or I die from choking on the fi re or Islamist militants who are stepping up French and US military personnel and their faces were showing. They burning. I heard the crackling sound of their activities, echoing the growth of backed up Burkina Faso security forces weren’t hiding their faces. They had fi re,” the survivor said. Islamic State in the Middle East. when they launched their operation Kalashnikovs ... and they also went “It was so dark ... I bumped into ta- President Roch Marc Kabore said 23 to reclaim the Splendid Hotel before and shot people with a handgun.” bles and there was glass on the fl oor people of 18 diff erent nationalities were dawn yesterday, though their progress The woman dashed for a hiding ... I didn’t even dare look if there were killed in the 146-room Splendid Hotel through the building was slowed by ex- place as the gunmen started singling bodies. And when I got out, there were and a nearby Cappuccino restaurant Special police forces conduct search operations in Ouagadougou. plosives planted by the militants. out white customers. She managed to people hiding under cars as they were popular with Westerners and French France normally has up to 200 special squeeze between the wall and a bench slowly trying to get away.” soldiers based in Burkina Faso. The au- tions. It was echoing and extremely loud. precedented,” Kabore said when he vis- forces troops in the country as part of a and lay there for two hours. The woman made her way to a com- thorities gave no further details of the It went on for a long time,” the survivor, a ited the scene of the attack. “These are regional anti-militant operation. “I wasn’t sure if my feet were pound next to the restaurant where victims. Slovenian social anthropologist told Re- vile, cowardly acts and the victims are A Reuters witness said major clashes showing. That was my biggest fear. other survivors had gathered. It was One Cappuccino survivor said din- uters. “They kept coming back and forth innocent people.” ended after a period of sustained gun- I thought they might see my white another hour before soldiers arrived to ers at fi rst mistook the gunfi re and ex- into Cappuccino. You’d think it was over, French ambassador Gilles Thibault fi re and explosions that appeared to fo- feet and come and shoot me,” said the escort them to safety. plosions for fi recrackers before two then they’d come back and shoot more put the death toll at 27 and said on cus on the Cappuccino restaurant early woman, who has been visiting Burkina “I kept looking at my watch, but it gunmen, dressed all in black and bran- people. They would come back and see if Twitter that around 150 hostages had yesterday. Faso for two decades. didn’t seem to make any sense, be- dishing AK-47 assault rifl es, burst in at the white people were moving and then been freed in an operation that received Sporadic gunfi re continued through From her hiding place, the woman cause it was so slow. It felt so long, around 8.30pm (2030 GMT) on Friday, they would shoot them again.” support from French and US forces. the morning however. The fi nal assail- saw little but could hear the attackers’ because every minute you’re waiting fi ring indiscriminately. “The situation we’re experiencing Burkinabe authorities said that ant was killed later in another nearby movements. for someone to come and help you and “We heard shots, grenades, detona- since yesterday in Burkina Faso is un- around 33 people had been injured and hotel, the Hotel Yibi, offi cials said. “We heard shots, grenades, detona- save you - or kill you.” Museveni a no-show at fi rst presidential vote debate

Agencies Museveni aides have been The other major challenger, Ama- participants were barely known Kampala quoted in local media in recent ma Mbabazi, has long been Mu- and inexperienced debaters. days saying that Museveni would seveni’s right-hand man, serving Maureen Kyalya, a former not be able to participate due to most recently as prime minister presidential adviser, repeatedly s Uganda held its fi rst- other campaign commitments. before being sacked in a power attacked Museveni for what she ever presidential debate But others have said that Mu- struggle last year. called failed policies, including a Aon Friday night, the most seveni, who seldom submits to “The situation in Uganda is so widely-mocked plan to give away barbed comments were directed interviews, had little to gain from bad that clearly we have to make 18mn hoes to farmers this elec- at an empty lectern on the far the event. He has turned down a choice: do you want change or tion season. right side of the stage. debate invitations in the past. do you want more of the same?” Besigye and Mbabazi have both The lectern was labelled with “He is a coward. Museveni said Mbabazi, who is running as accused Museveni’s government the name Yoweri Museveni, who could not withstand taking tough an independent. of using Uganda’s security agen- has governed Uganda for three questions,” Nassimbwa Hami- Museveni has been credited cies to intimidate supporters, decades and is heavily favoured dah, a Besigye supporter from with returning economic sta- including arrests and beatings, to win another fi ve-year term Uganda’s central region, said bility to Uganda - a prospective and interference with campaign at the polls next month. But the during a break. crude oil producer and Africa’s events. president was a no-show at the This is expected to be one of largest coff ee exporter - after On social media, there were US-style televised event. the toughest elections yet for years of turmoil. reports that neighbourhoods in “I came here expecting that Museveni, 71, a key western ally But his critics point to high un- Kampala and elsewhere in the indeed Museveni would be here. who came to power after waging employment, crumbling health country were experiencing pow- Unlike me, Museveni is our serv- a 5-year guerrilla war. centres and underperforming er outages, leading some users ant,” said Kizza Besigye, a long- Both of the president’s two ma- schools, and say he has failed to to speculate the black-outs were time opposition fi gure who is jor challengers have long histories address rampant corruption. orchestrated by the government challenging Museveni for the with him: Besigye was once Mu- The session in the capital to limit debate viewership. fourth time with Uganda’s big- seveni’s personal physician, but Kampala included a total of seven “Is this a national conspira- Presidential aspirants attend the first-ever Ugandan presidential debate in Kampala on Friday night with gest opposition party. the two fell out in the late 1990s. candidates, though most of the cy?” said one Twitter user. the empty seat on the right lying vacant after incumbent Yoweri Museveni skipped the event.

Militants ambush aid convoy, attack market in Mali

AFP Bamako

wo soldiers and a guard were killed in two separate attacks in Mali on Friday, government and army Tsources confi rmed yesterday. In the first attack, two soldiers were killed when an aid convoy they were escorting was ambushed in northern Mali on Friday, security sources said, a week after the kidnapping of a Swiss national in the same area. A local military source said two of the assailants were also killed during the exchange, around 70km from the desert caravan city of Timbuktu. “We quickly fi red back at the assailants, whose identity we aren’t exactly sure of,” the source told AFP. A Malian security source confi rmed the deaths and said one of the attackers had been arrested. Late Friday, armed men attacked a market in Di- oura in the central Mopti region, a source from the Malian army said. The attackers killed a guard from the Water and Forests Agency, according to a local policewoman. In 2013, the jihadists were chased from the region by a French-led military intervention, with a regional French counterterrorism force still conducting military operations in the area. But entire swathes of Mali’s north remain beyond the reach of the Malian army and foreign troops. In November, 20 people - 14 of them foreigners - were killed in an attack on the Radisson Blu hotel in the capital Bamako which was claimed by two jihadist groups. Gulf Times 14 Sunday, January 17, 2016 AMERICAS Tenn. couple fi rst offi cial winners of Powerball jackpot

AFP “They’ll get a small check today for a few He checked the ticket four times, but even Washington million,” said Hargrove. then couldn’t quite believe it, so the couple The couple have opted to receive a one- waited for the news to come on in the morn- time cash payment of $337mn rather than ing and confi rm there had been a winner in ottery offi cials confi rmed on Fri- $528.8mn divided into annual payments Munford, which is northeast of Memphis. day that a Tennessee couple held one over 29 years. There is no state tax on lottery Lisa said there had been no time to plan Lof three winning tickets for a world winnings in Tennessee. how to spend the money but she does not record $1.6bn jackpot and handed them a “More stress comes with that ticket,” Lisa intend to quit her job. “I’ll be there on Mon- symbolic check for $528.8mn. told a news conference in Nashville after fl y- day,” she promised. John and Lisa Robinson said they had ing in from New York, where the couple had The Robinsons said they only played the barely slept since defying the odds to hit the appeared on national television. lottery when the jackpot got particularly jackpot, but they smiled when a lottery ex- The Robinsons said they had consulted high in hopes of getting “a little piece of the ecutive handed them a giant check before a the Internet and followed the advice they pie.” phalanx of television cameras. found there, hiring an accountant and a John said he did not make enough money John works at a maintenance distribution lawyer to help them navigate their riches. to play every week. “Actually, I was on way centre and Lisa for a dermatologist. Their Their lawyer, Joe Townsend, asked the home from work, and she had called me and adult daughter Tiff any stood next to them media to give them time to rest before de- she said, ‘Are you going to stop and get a with their rescue dog Abby. ciding on any further media appearances. couple lottery tickets?’” John told NBC. The Robinsons, from the tiny town of “They’re almost 48 hours without any “I really didn’t feel like stopping that Munford, with barely 5,000 residents, ap- sleep,” he told reporters. night, but I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll stop’... I peared overwhelmed by their incredible luck The family’s life changed forever when wasn’t feeling good, and I handed the tickets in the Powerball jackpot draw on Wednesday. John bought four Powerball tickets at to her and said, ‘I’m going to go lay down,’” The chances of winning were one in 292.2mn. his wife’s request just a few hours before he said. The couple told reporters that they want- Wednesday’s live television draw, then The winning numbers were 4, 8, 19, 27 and ed to pay off their daughter’s student loans, headed off to sleep because he was not feel- 34, drawn from fi ve white balls, and 10 as the but had no plans to move and wanted to ing well. so-called Powerball number on a red ball. continue working. They intend to donate It was his custom to buy four tickets, one The identities of the two other winning funds to their church and a children’s hos- for each member of his immediate family. ticket holders have not been revealed. A pital and to help friends. The couple also have a son. ticket in California was bought at a Los An- Rebecca Hargrove, president of the Ten- Only after checking the numbers three geles convenience store and one in Florida nessee Lottery Corporation, said they would times did an astonished Lisa alert her hus- from a Melbourne Beach supermarket. have to wait 10 days for their actual win- band. The previous US jackpot record of nings, which the commission would pay “I went running down the hallway, ‘John, $656mn, on March 30, 2012, was scooped by Biologist Laurie Thompson holds giant panda cub Bei Bei as he makes his public debut at the Smithsonian’s after retailers send in the proceeds of record John, you’ve got to check these numbers!’” three winners from North Carolina, Puerto National Zoo in Washington yesterday. ticket sales. she told NBC’s Today show. Rico and Texas.

Top Canada court green lights assisted suicide Washington welcomes

By Randall Palmer, Reuters servative government by Prime Minister which had already put its own law into eff ect Ottawa Justin Trudeau’s Liberals. The newly elected in December. giant panda cub Bei Bei justice minister had asked for the decision to Since the change in provincial law on De- be suspended for an extra six months. cember 10, one person carried out an assist- he Supreme Court of Canada decided Instead, the court gave the go-ahead for ed suicide in Quebec City, a spokeswoman AFP at the ball of fur inside its sound- Obama and her Chinese counter- on Friday to allow doctor-assisted assisted suicide to begin now under certain for the health and social services centre for Washington proof glass enclosed pen. part Peng Liyuan - during a state Tsuicide across the country under cer- conditions and granted the federal govern- the Quebec City region said in an email. Some wore hats, sweaters and visit to Washington in September. tain circumstances, while giving the gov- ment four more months to come up with a There is no way to say whether this was gloves with pandas on them. Bei Bei means precious in ernment more time to pass a law governing national law. the fi rst assisted-suicide under the new ashingtonians got Visitors came into the pen in Mandarin. the practice. The Canadian government said it re- laws as Quebec does not currently keep such their fi rst close-up groups of 50 at a time and were Like his big sister Bao Bao and The decision came as offi cials confi rmed spected the judgment and the additional statistics, said Joanne Beauvais, a spokes- Wlook yesterday at the allowed about 10 minutes to view their older sibling Tai Shuan, Bei that a patient had already been helped to die time would help it develop an approach woman for provincial Health Minister Ga- giant panda cub Bei Bei, the new the panda, an endangered spe- Bei will be handed over to China in the French-speaking province of Quebec. “that protects the most vulnerable among etan Barrette. star of the National Zoo. cies. at age four. Bei Bei’s twin brother The court had overturned a ban on physi- us while respecting the inherent dignity of The Supreme Court ruling said people Until now, the cub could Upon leaving, some got right died shortly after birth. cian-assisted suicide last February, putting all Canadians.” outside Quebec can apply to their provincial be viewed only through the back in line to see Bei Bei again. Their parents, Mei Xian and Canada in the company of a handful of Polls show physician-assisted suicide has superior court for judicial authorization “to so-called Panda Cam, a video His keepers had worked to get Tian Tian, are on loan from China Western countries to make it legal. broad support but the issue has divided politi- those who wish to exercise their rights” to hookup that has allowed people him used to people by having zoo and will remain in Washington at But it had said the decision would not take cians in Parliament as they grapple with how to doctor-assisted death. to watch the now fi ve-month- employees and reporters stop by least until 2020 under a recently eff ect for a year, giving the government time protect vulnerable Canadians while respecting Friday’s decision was split 5-4, with Chief old cub since its birth. to see him. The offi cial media de- renewed agreement. Under that to produce legislation. their rights and choices at the end of life. Justice Beverley McLachlin and three oth- A line formed outside the pan- but was a month ago. accord, the zoo pays $500,000 a The work got off schedule because of the The court ruled doctors would be allowed ers disagreeing with giving an exemption to da enclosure yesterday morning Bei Bei has already been fussed year to support conservation ef- October election and the defeat of the Con- to facilitate the death of patients in Quebec, Quebec and to other individuals. before opening time to get a look over by two fi rst ladies - Michelle forts in China.

Bowie memorial FBI nabs A woman stands Oregon occupier takes near the makeshift memorial for ‘Scream David Bowie outside park vehicle to market his home in the Manhattan borough Robber’ of New York City. Reuters Boston

By Brendan O’Brien, Reuters Milwaukee member of the group of armed men who have seized a US wildlife refuge in Oregon in an anti-government Aprotest, has been arrested after driving a government ederal authorities have cap- vehicle to a local supermarket, offi cials said. tured a Colorado bank robber The arrest was the fi rst made since the group took over Fknown as the ‘Scream Robber’, buildings at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on Janu- less than a month after he was placed ary 2 in the latest confl ict over the US government’s control on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted” list, of land in the West. the agency said. Law enforcement offi cials had so far kept their distance The FBI took Myloh Jaqory Mason, from the site, located about 50km south of the small town of 25, into custody at a motel in Thorn- Burns in Oregon’s rural southeast, in an eff ort to avoid a vio- ton, Colorado, north of Denver, on lent confrontation. Friday on several charges including But police arrested Kenneth Medenbach, a 62-year-old attempted fi rst-degree murder and resident of Crescent, Oregon, after he drove a vehicle owned aggravated robbery, the FBI said in a by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to a local supermarket on statement yesterday. Friday, the Harney County Sheriff ’s offi ce said in a statement. It said Mason is believed to have He was charged with unauthorised use of a motor vehicle. robbed a bank in September in Lake- Medenbach could not be reached for immediate comment wood, Colorado, just west of Denver, and it was unclear if he had retained an attorney. where he and two other suspects The group, led by the sons of a Nevada rancher who with a wore costumes and masks from the large group of heavily armed men successfully stared down movie Scream, a horror fi lm released federal agents in a 2014 dispute over grazing fees, had ear- in 1996. Weather hampers search for missing Marines lier made a public call for help with supplies to cope with the The masks were inspired by Ed- winter weather, with temperatures at the reserve expected to vard Munch’s 1893 painting ‘The dip below freezing in the coming days. Scream’. Reuters “We’ve seen debris through the entire area,” A Coast Guard helicopter crew spotted That plea led to shipments of sex toys, glitter and nail Mason is also accused of rob- Honolulu said Lieutenant Scott Carr, a Coast Guard debris in the water off the town of Haleiwa polish, which prompted online video complaints by the oc- bing another bank with two other spokesman. on the north shore of Oahu but they did not cupiers. suspects in Lakewood in Novem- The CH-53E helicopters, belonging to the fi nd passengers. The debris fi eld spanned The occupiers declared their move a show of support for ber while wearing bright green and igh waves expected for the next sev- 1st Marine Aircraft Wing from the Marine more than 14km off the coast, the Coast two local ranchers, Dwight Hammond Jr and his son Steven, white skeleton masks. They shot two eral days will hamper the search for Corps Air Station at Kaneohe Bay, were on Guard said. who were returned to prison earlier this month for setting people during their getaway, the FBI H12 Marines missing at sea after two a routine training mission when they were “Thoughts and prayers are with our Ma- fi res that spread to federal land. said. helicopters collided near the island of Oahu reported to have collided just before mid- rines and their families in Hawaii as search A lawyer for Hammond family has said that the occupiers “The crimes allegedly commit- in Hawaii, US Coast Guard offi cials said on night local time (1000 GMT), Coast Guard eff orts continue,” General Robert Neller, do not speak for the family. ted by Mason and his accomplices Friday. Two Coast Guard cutters and several spokeswoman Sara Mooers said. commandant of the Marine Corps, said in a Residents have expressed a mixture of sympathy for the on November 18 made clearly evi- Coast Guard aircraft were searching, along The wide-ranging search for the Marines message on Twitter. Hammond family, suspicion of the federal government’s mo- dent his extreme danger to the en- with two US Navy warships and local police was hampered by high surf and poor vis- No distress call was issued by either air- tives and frustration with the occupation. tire public,” Lakewood Police Chief and fi re department helicopters, the Coast ibility from rain storms. The rescue eff ort craft. Authorities were notifi ed by a man The chair of a local Native American tribe called on federal Kevin Paletta said in the FBI’s state- Guard said. will continue on sea and air throughout the standing on the beach who saw a fi reball offi cials to remove the occupiers. ment. A safety zone has been set up from the night, though bad weather will continue to over the ocean after seeing the helicopters “Armed protesters don’t belong here,” said Charlotte Ro- It is unclear whether the other shoreline that matches up with the accident hamper the eff orts, said Mooers. “It does fl ying in that area, Carr told media persons drique, chair of the Burns Paiute Tribe in a Friday statement. suspects have been captured. site to 13km out to sea, the Coast Guard said. move things around and keeps us busy.” at a news conference. “They should be held accountable.” Gulf Times Sunday, January 17, 2016 15 ASEAN

Radical websites, Man accused of fi nancing social media accounts Jakarta attacks arrested blocked AFP phones were also seized in the Reuters Jakarta raids, along with plans detailing Jakarta future attacks. Amid the raids more details ndonesian police announced have emerged about the brazen ndonesia shut down at least yesterday they had arrested assault, with police confi rming 11 radical websites and sev- Ia man they believe fi nanced a suicide bomber struck a Star- Ieral social media accounts the deadly Jakarta attacks, al- bucks cafe and offi cially releas- yesterday after a deadly gun and leging the suspect received the ing the identities of the attackers bomb attack claimed by Islamic funds from the Islamic State and their victims. State rocked the capital earlier in group (IS). The dual Algerian-Canadian the week. National police chief Badro- citizen shot by militants was Authorities said several ac- din Haiti said 12 suspects had named as Tahar Amer-Ouali, counts had been found on social been detained in nationwide while the sole Indonesian killed, networking website Facebook raids since Thursday’s attacks, Rico Hermawan, was being fi ned expressing support for Thurs- including one accused of bank- by the police when the attackers day’s attack in Jakarta’s com- rolling the suicide bombings and blew up a traffi c post. mercial district, which killed shootings that left seven dead. Twenty-six others were in- seven people including fi ve “One of the people detained jured during the 21-minute as- militants, and injured around 30 had received fi nancial transfers sault, including six police of- others. from ISIS to fund the operation,” fi cers and a security guard who The brazenness of the as- he told reporters, using another remains in a coma. sault, which lasted several acronym for IS. However other details remain hours, suggested a new brand Police had suspected a broader unclear, with authorities still of militancy in a country where extremist network helped carry struggling to provide concrete low-level strikes on police are out the attacks, warning a larger information on the shock attack common. team of planners, fi nanciers and that unfurled in broad daylight “We are monitoring many bomb assemblers was likely still on a busy street. websites and public complaints at large. Police left open the possibility about this,” said Ismail Cawidu, The attack has been claimed that one of the fi ve alleged mili- a public relations offi cial at the by IS, which has ruthlessly tants responsible for the ram- communications ministry. carved out a self-proclaimed page might have been a civilian The government had also sent caliphate in Syria and Iraq, and caught in the crosshairs, stress- letters to social media compa- Indonesian police have more ing their investigation into his nies such as Facebook, Twitter specifi cally blamed a South- identity was incomplete. and Telegram requesting that east Asian affi liate of the group Claims that dual suicide radical material be immediately known as Katibah Nusantara. bombers were responsible for blocked or taken down, Cawidu Haiti said the amounts trans- the grisly carnage at a police post said. ferred were “quite large” and have also come into doubt, with The alleged mastermind be- channelled through Indonesian investigators now speculating hind this week’s attack, an In- extremist Bahrun Naim, believed hand-held explosives could have donesian citizen fi ghting with IS to be the founding member of been used. Jakarta Police medical division chief off icer Musyafak shows a photo of suspected dead militant identified as Afif, alias Sunakin, at Jakarta in Syria, is believed to have used Katibah Nusantara and who po- More certain was the identi- police headquarters yesterday in this photo taken by Antara Foto. social media extensively to share lice say orchestrated the Jakarta fi cation of Afi f, the attacker in his beliefs about Islamic State attacks from Syria. blue jeans, black T-shirt and a last year after serving a seven- Another of the militants iden- Katibah Nusantara, which is made with signifi cant Muslim popula- and communicate with contacts The 12 arrested in the sweep black hat pictured preparing to year sentence for involvement tifi ed was also a former convict, up primarily of Malay-speaking tions have repeatedly warned of in Indonesia using blog posts and across Java and Indonesia’s raise his handgun in a photo that in an Islamic paramilitary camp, police said, with little known Indonesians and Malaysians, it the potential for their citizens to mobile messaging apps. half of Borneo were associates rippled across Indonesia’s hy- and had been recruited to IS by about the other two confi rmed would mark the fi rst violence in return from fi ghting alongside IS Authorities believe there are of Naim, the police chief said. peractive social media universe. Naim, the believed ringleader of attackers. Southeast Asia by the group. in the Middle East and carry out up to 1,000 IS sympathisers in Pistols, bullet clips and mobile He was released from prison Katibah Nusantara. If confi rmed to be the work of Authorities across the region violence at home. Indonesia. Four IS-linked militants in police net Ethnic groups

AFP “Congratulations E8 CK In a statement, Khalid said the dia reported that a 16-year-old But concern has risen in the Kuala Lumpur (anti-terror unit) for arresting 28-year old Malaysian admit- boy clad in militant attire held multi-faith nation over growing one male suspect on Friday at ted that he was planning to be a a woman at knife-point at a hardline Islamic views and the place faith in a train station... Weapon and suicide bomber. supermarket in northwestern country’s potential as a militant alaysian authorities IS documents were confi scated “The suspect admitted that he Malaysia. breeding ground. have arrested four sus- (from the suspect),” the police had planned a suicide attack in “Investigations revealed that Authorities say dozens of Ma- Mpected militants and chief said on his Twitter ac- Malaysia and was awaiting in- he was infl uenced by the IS laysians have travelled to Syria to confi scated a weapon along count. structions from a member of IS movement through social me- fi ght for the radical IS group and Suu Kyi govt with Islamic State group (IS) The train station is located in Syria,” he said. dia and wanted to prove that warn they may seek to return documents, national police chief near the iconic Petronas Tow- The police chief added that on he was capable of such acts home and import its ideology. Khalid Abu Bakar said yesterday. ers in the heart of the capital January 11, three Malaysian IS by threatening the woman,” Since 2015, police have ar- Security forces have been on high Kuala Lumpur and houses a huge suspects were arrested by secu- Khalid said. rested numerous suspects whom alert in the predominantly-Muslim shopping mall frequented by rity forces after being deported The teenager was later ar- they say were IS sympathisers for peace country in the wake of deadly co- foreigners. from Turkey. rested and is being held in police plotting attacks. ordinated attacks in neighbouring The country’s counter-terror- “They were fi rst detained custody. Opposition lawmakers, how- Indonesia earlier this week that ism assistant director Ayob Khan in Turkey while attempting Muslim-majority Malaysia ever, say the terror arrests have AFP But her party scooped up a were claimed by IS. Seven people, Mydin Pitchay later confi rmed to sneak into Syria to join IS practises a moderate brand of Is- been shrouded in secrecy, mak- Yangon vast majority of elected seats including fi ve assailants, were killed that a knife and IS documents were fi ghters,” Khalid said. lam and has not seen any notable ing it diffi cult to gauge the actual across the country, even beat- during the incident. confi scated at the suspect’s house. Earlier this week, local me- terror attacks in recent years. threat level. ing out some ethnic parties on ebel negotiators ap- their home turf in the frontier plauded talks with My- regions. Ranmar authorities yes- At the opening of the peace terday at the end of fi ve days talks on Tuesday, Suu Kyi of discussions, but said the pledged to make peace a pri- real business of crafting peace ority of her administration, Rampaging rests with Aung San Suu Kyi’s citing “the mandate given to government-in-waiting. us by the people and ethnic The delicate negotiations minorities.” to end long-running wars be- Speaking yesterday, Salai tween Myanmar’s patchwork Lian Mone Ar Khaung, a rep- elephants force of ethnic minorities and the resentative from rebel eth- state have been steered by the nic group the Chin National current quasi-civilian gov- Front, said he was hopeful that ernment, which replaced a the NLD would understand military junta in 2011. his people’s wishes for greater villagers to But the diffi cult task of im- autonomy. plementing the peace process “The new government came will be handed over to the new from the hearts of people and government, led by Suu Kyi’s it is believed that they love National League of Democ- democracy,” he said. “So I tree-top refuge racy (NLD) party, which will strongly hope they will hear take offi ce later this year after the wishes of people who are sweeping historic elections thirsty for peace.” AFP Villagers in Kyat Chaung, last November. However, signifi cant stum- Taik Kyi, Myanmar a farming community 100km “This peace talk was like bling blocks still lie ahead, north of Yangon, said they a foundation for upcoming with several major ethnic ar- yearned for the days before the peace conferences,” said Col mies boycotting the talks al- ushed from their forest elephant rampages started three Khun Okkar, of the Pa-O Na- together and refusing to sign a home by encroaching farm years ago. tional Liberation Organisation ceasefi re in October. Pland, wild elephants are Now they scamper up home- (PNLO), an ethnic rebel group Another critical challenge driving fearful villagers in a My- made bamboo ladders to their in Myanmar’s Shan State. will be Suu Kyi’s strained re- anmar township to seek refuge elevated huts whenever they “The next government will lationship with the nation’s in tree houses while the animals hear the thundering sound of lead the real peace talk,” he still hugely powerful mili- storm their rice paddies looking elephant feet, which is usually said. tary, which holds the key to for food. several times a week. People standing near a tree house in Taik Kyi village on the outskirts of Yangon. Representatives from armed securing a lasting peace. The elephants have tram- “We want them to be taken ethnic factions, the govern- The Myanmar army’s top pled crops, destroyed homes away ... so we can live peaceful- 1990 and 2010, according to gion, according to the World elections in November - said on ment and army, agreed this representative vowed yester- and even, villagers say, killed ly,” said Than Shin, a 57-year-old the UN Food and Agriculture Wildlife Fund. Thursday it would address My- week to conclude the peace day to co-operate with the people in their path — forcing farmer. Organisation. But the endangered species is anmar’s medley of environmen- process within the next next administration as the families in Kyat Chuang to build Spurred by the loss of their Experts say the chief driv- increasingly threatened by habitat tal issues after assuming offi ce fi ve years, said Aung Min, a negotiations continue. new shelters made of wood and forest habitats, the elephants, ers of forest loss are logging and loss, a thirst for ivory, and traffi ck- later this year. government minister who “The Tatmadaw (Myanmar bamboo on higher ground. and villagers they have been ter- large-scale land concessions for ers who smuggle the animals into “We will try to restore the facilitated the meetings. army) will help any govern- “We have had to move our rorising, are some of the casu- commercial agriculture handed Thailand for the tourist industry. environment in Myanmar that Ahead of November’s elec- ment succeed in the peace huts into the trees, so we are alties of Myanmar’s alarming out under decades of opaque The newly-elected National has been ruined for many dec- tions, analysts predicted that process,” Khin Zaw Oo, a safe,” explained San Lwin, who rate of deforestation, one of the junta rule. League for Democracy (NLD) ades,” Soe Nyunt, vice chair- Suu Kyi, 70, would struggle to former lieutenant general, told dashes several metres up a tree to fastest in the region. Myanmar’s population of wild - the pro-democracy party of man of the NLD’s environmental win support among minority reporters. “The government his thatch-roofed shelter when The country lost almost Asian elephants is thought to Aung San Suu Kyi that swept to conservation committee, said. voters because of her ethnic will change soon but the peace the elephants are near. 20% of its forest cover between be one of the largest in the re- a thumping majority in landmark “It will not be easy,” he added. Bamar heritage. process will not stop.” Gulf Times 16 Sunday, January 17, 2016 AUSTRALASIA/EAST ASIA

Self-harm at Australia detention centres ‘once every two days’

AFP in Australia even if found to be refu- self-harm or actually self-harms they tention network, which include peo- Sydney gees. are immediately provided with both ple held for breaking immigration laws Nauru aid workers say Canberra should apologise The Fairfax Media report, using Im- counselling and medical services,” and asylum-seekers living in the com- migration Department logs obtained the spokesman added in a statement munity, stood at 706 over the same The Australian government should guards was released late on Friday. The elf-harm by asylum-seekers be- through Freedom of Information laws, yesterday. “The services provided in 12-month period. apologise for ejecting nine welfare work- report, by former chief executive of the ing held at Australia’s off shore found there were 188 self-harm in- both Nauru and Papua New Guinea are A total of 1,459 asylum-seekers were ers from an immigration camp on Nauru high court Christopher Doogan, found Sdetention centres takes place on cidents involving asylum seekers in broadly comparable with health serv- being held on Manus Island and Nauru for alleged misconduct after a report that the welfare workers were fired average once every two days, a report Nauru in the 12 months to July 2015. ices available within the Australian at the end of 2015, according to immi- cleared them of any wrongdoing, one under political pressure and that there said yesterday, with some prospective Self-harm incidents at the Manus community.” gration fi gures. Some 28,919 people are of the aid workers told media yesterday. was “no evidence or reliable information” refugees swallowing poison, cutting Island camp on PNG numbered 55 for The incidents reported included under detention or live in the commu- The government-ordered independ- for their dismissal. The Pacific island themselves and attempting suicide. the same period. asylum-seekers stuffi ng tea bags nity within the onshore detention net- ent report into the deportation of nine of Nauru is home to one of Australia’s Under Canberra’s hardline immi- An immigration department spokes- down their throats, attempting to work, the fi gures show. Save the Children employees from the controversial refugee detention centres. gration policy, Australia sends asylum- man said the number of self-harm hang themselves by bedsheets or other A Senate inquiry into the Nauru fa- Australian government’s immigration It hosts about 500 asylum seekers and seekers that attempt to arrive by boat incidents at the two off shore camps makeshift nooses, and a woman who cility last year found that conditions detention centre on Nauru in October has been widely criticised for harsh to the Pacifi c islands of Papua New “have reduced considerably in recent “poured boiling water over (her) lower were inadequate and unsafe, with sub- 2014 after raising concerns from asylum conditions and reports of systemic child Guinea and Nauru for processing. months”. “Where an individual in a limbs”, the report said. missions to the hearing including alle- seekers’ about sexual harassment from abuse. They are barred from being resettled regional processing centre threatens Self-harm cases in the onshore de- gations of rape and other abuse. US, allies press Taiwan’s Tsai warns China Beijing to back after landslide poll victory strong resolution

AFP Taipei over nuclear test

sai Ing-wen of Taiwan’s AFP “strongest possible contents main opposition party Tokyo at the earliest timing”. Tsent a warning to China China, a permanent mem- after a landslide victory to be- ber of the UN Security Coun- come the island’s fi rst female apan, South Korea and the cil, is North Korea’s economic president yesterday, as voters US yesterday ratcheted up benefactor, but traditional ties turned their backs on closer ties Jpressure on China to sup- have become strained as Bei- with Beijing. port the “strongest possible” jing’s patience has worn thin Fireworks lit up the sky at the punishment against North with Pyongyang’s behaviour headquarters of Tsai’s Demo- Korea, following Pyongyang’s and unwillingness to rein in its cratic Progressive Party (DPP) as nuclear test earlier this month. nuclear weapons ambitions. thousands gathered to celebrate Japan’s Vice Foreign Minis- But China’s leverage over the historic win over the rul- ter Akitaka Saiki, US Deputy Pyongyang is mitigated, ana- ing China-friendly Kuomintang Secretary of State Antony lysts say, by its overriding fear (KMT). Blinken and their South Ko- of a North Korean collapse and In her fi rst comments to me- rean counterpart Lim Sung- the prospect of a reunifi ed, dia, Tsai warned that Chinese Nam held a one-day meeting US-allied Korea directly on its “suppression” would damage at a Tokyo guesthouse, where border. ties with the mainland. they called on Beijing to sup- “It’s our expectation along “Our democratic system, na- port a strong UN Security with our colleagues... that tional identity and international Council resolution targeting China will demonstrate a real space must be respected. Any Pyongyang. leadership at the Security forms of suppression will harm “We strongly hope that Council with us in assuring the stability of cross-strait rela- China, as its neighbour and that there are signifi cant con- tions,” she said. the most infl uential country sequences for North Korea’s Support for Tsai has surged on North Korea, will fully co- actions,” Blinken said. as voters have become increas- operate with the international “The bottom-line is that ingly uneasy about a recent rap- community to adopt a strong the failure to take signifi- prochement with China under resolution,” Saiki told a joint cant measures now almost outgoing KMT president Ma Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (centre) celebrates her victory in Taipei yesterday. news conference. guarantees that North Korea Ying-jeou. Saiki said the three coun- will continue to repeat this Her victory came on the same wan’s major ally — which does British Foreign Secretary completely overturns the history to block searches for “Tsai Ing- tries are aiming to help adopt exercise of testing nuclear day that outrage erupted over not want to see tensions fl are. Philip Hammond also congratu- of Taiwanese elections. Never wen” and “Taiwan elections” a UN resolution with the weapons,” he added. the treatment of 16-year-old In her address to media she lated Tsai and said he hoped Tai- before has the DPP got anywhere on the Twitter-like Weibo net- Taiwanese K-pop star Chou pledged to “work towards main- wan and China would “continue near such a level in national work. Tzu-yu, who was forced to taining peace and stability” in their dialogue to resolve diff er- elections,” said Jonathan Sulli- Although Taiwan is self- record a video apology after an- relations with China, but em- ences and maintain the recent van, professor of Contemporary ruling after it split with China gering Chinese netizens by fl y- phasised it must refl ect public trend of constructive relations”. Chinese Studies at the Univer- following a civil war in 1949, it ing a Taiwanese fl ag in a recent will. Tsai remains president-elect sity of Nottingham. has never declared independ- online broadcast. Jubilant supporters expressed until she takes offi ce on May 20. Analysts said ties with Bei- ence and Beijing still sees it as Tsai specifi cally referred to their faith in Tsai as she later ad- Tsai secured 56.12% of the jing would inevitably cool as part of its territory awaiting re- Chou in her address, saying her dressed the crowds, promising to vote, according to the Central China watches Tsai closely. unification. case had “shaken Taiwanese so- be a strong leader. Election Commission, with Chu “Cross-strait ties will be Ma has overseen a dramatic ciety”. “I’m very confi dent — we were on 31.04%. slowing in the near term as rapprochement with China “This particular incident will cheated by Ma’s government for It was by far the biggest man- Beijing considers her to be in- since coming to power in 2008 serve as a constant reminder to so long,” said Jimmy Lai, 45. date ever won by a DPP presi- dependence-leaning. Future culminating in a summit with me about the importance of our The US congratulated Tsai on dent. developments will depend on Chinese President Xi Jinping in country’s strength and unity to the victory. KMT candidate Eric Chu her actions,” said Li Fei of the November. those outside our borders,” she “We share with the Taiwan called the defeat “an unprec- Taiwan Research Institute of Yet despite more than 20 said. people a profound interest in edented drastic change for the China’s Xiamen University. deals and a tourist boom, closer Tsai has toned down the DPP’s the continuation of cross-strait KMT” as the party also lost con- Tsai disappeared from Chi- ties have exacerbated fears that US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left), Japanese Vice traditionally pro-independence peace and stability,” the state- trol of the legislature for the fi rst na’s most popular social net- China is eroding Taiwan’s sov- Foreign Minister Akitaka Saiki (centre) and First Vice Minister of message to assuage Beijing and ment from US State Department time. work following her victory, ereignty by making it economi- Foreign Aff airs of South Korea Lim Sung Nam conclude a joint news calm nerves in the US -- Tai- spokesman John Kirby said. “This is a stunning result that with censors working swiftly cally dependent. conference at the Japanese Foreign Ministry in Tokyo yesterday, ‘Racist’ video game Japan bus company in deadly pulled after uproar crash ‘violated safety regulations’ AFP stores — Apple’s iTunes store Sydney as well as Google Play. A spokeswoman for tech gi- AFP the bus company may have violated safety ant Google, which offers apps Tokyo regulations — by failing to give the driver video game allowing through Google Play on its An- written instructions on what route to take players to kill Australian droid mobile platforms, would — according to the Yomiuri Shimbun and AAboriginals has been re- not comment on the game but Japanese bus operator whose vehicle the Mainichi Shimbun newspapers. moved from mobile stores after said the tech giant would re- plunged off a mountain road, killing One expert quoted by the Yomiuri also more than 50,000 people signed move “applications that violate A14 people and injuring dozens more, suggested the bus operator may be at fault. an online petition against the our policies”. is suspected by offi cials of violating safety “I suspect the bus operating company’s “racist” app. Apple did not immediately regulations, local media reported yester- negligent safety management could be The app, “Survival Island respond to AFP requests for day. behind the accident,” said Hajime Tozaki, 3 — Australia Story”, tells us- comment, and the game’s de- Young skiers — many in their teens or professor of public transport policy at ers that they have to fi nd ways veloper could not be immedi- early 20s — were asleep on the bus when Waseda University. The accident occurred to stay alive in “one of the most ately reached for comment. it careened off the road before dawn in the only days after authorities imposed penal- dangerous places in the world”, Australia’s Race Discrimina- ski resort town of Karuizawa on Friday, the ties on the company for failing to give re- including having to “fi ght with tion Commissioner Tim Sout- country’s worst such accident for 25 years. quired medical checkups to some drivers. aboriginals — you invaded their phommasane wrote on Twitter Twelve students aged between 19 and The operator did not immediately com- home!”. that it was “unacceptable to see 22 as well as the driver and a second driver ment but the travel agency boss denied the The change.org petition, such promotion of violence and were all killed, and 26 others injured. company neglected safety standards and which has been signed by more hatred against Aboriginal peo- Police are investigating bus operator promised to help bereaved families. than 50,000 people since it was ple”. ESP and Keyth Tour, a Tokyo travel agency But Tomokazu Abe, whose daughter set up on Friday, called for the Aborigines, the most disad- which organised the ski package tour, but Marie, a 22-year-old student who was app to be pulled from mobile vantaged Australians, are be- authorities have yet to announce the cause among the victims, hit out at the agency. stores, adding that “killing in- lieved to have numbered around of the accident. “They didn’t contact us and I have called digenous Australians is not a 1mn at the time of British settle- Transport Minister Keiichi Ishii yes- but no one answered,” he told reporters. “I game”. ment. terday visited the site, from where the can’t trust them. I can’t feel their sincer- “Selling games that promote There are now just 470,000 wrecked vehicle had already been removed, ity.” racism and negative stereo- out of a total Australian popu- with the gnarled crash barrier still showing Rules governing the working conditions types of indigenous Australians lation of 23mn, and they suff er the impact of the collision. for long-distance bus drivers were tight- is not acceptable,” the petition disproportionate levels of dis- Police suspect the driver lost control as ened after an April 2012 accident left seven added. ease, imprisonment and social he tried to make a sharp turn after the bus people dead. By mid-day yesterday, the problems as well as signifi cantly hit the barrier, according to broadcaster That bus hit a wall after its driver dozed app had been pulled from the lower education, employment Bereaved families visit the bus accident site to pray for the victims in Karuizawa, NHK. off at the wheel. Many passengers were on two dominant smartphone app and life expectancy. Nagano prefecture yesterday. But the Transport Ministry suspects their way to visit the Tokyo Disney Resort. Gulf Times Sunday, January 17, 2016 17 BRITAIN

Fans mourn Bowie with jazz parades and glittery parties

AFP/DPA fi nd their own ways to mourn the The groups in a Facebook Sign in Texas capital changed to David Bowie Street New York rock legend. posting encouraged fans to join Bowie – a pioneer of glam rock them and to “dress in your best A music festival organiser helped make the Texas capital of Austin a little at the start of a half-century ca- Bowie outfi t or something more bit funkier this week by putting up a skillfully crafted sign that dubbed a rom an outrageously cos- reer marked by constant reinven- strange” – likely an uphill task downtown road David Bowie Street. tumed parade to a bac- tion – apparently did not want a considering the rocker’s range The city of Austin, none too pleased about what it sees as vandalism to a Fchanalian party in heaps of soppy public funeral. of characters from the androgy- street named for Alamo defender James “Jim” Bowie, will allow the sign to glitter, memorial events to David He had stayed discreet about nous extraterrestrial rocker Zig- stay up until next week to honour the British music great, who died a few Bowie are multiplying as fans his 18-month battle with cancer gy Stardust to Jareth the Goblin days ago and wrote hits such as Changes. that killed him last Sunday at age King. “We appreciate Austin’s reputation as the live music capital of the world 69, and his family said it would To many fans, Bowie’s impor- and recognise David Bowie for all he did for the music industry and hold a private ceremony. tance lay in his openness to new more,” the Austin Department of Transportation said. Above: Projected photos of David But Bowie’s death has trig- personas and identities, with his Roland Swenson, co-founder of the South by Southwest festival, put up Bowie used for the Heroes album gered an avalanche of mourning music off ering a welcoming new the sign out of show of respect for the music great, a lawyer for Swenson cover by photographer Masayoshi around the world with many fans world for those who had none. said. Sukita and a framed picture of looking to grieve together. One of the most prominent Bowie by photographer Jimmy King Arcade Fire, the Canadian celebrations has been the “Bow- are seen during a memorial event indie rockers championed by ieBall”, fi rst launched in 2006 does provide a home for all the “I will let that magic be what it for Bowie in the main hall of Berlin’s Bowie when they started out, an- in the rocker’s adopted home of misfi ts, who can feel like they is for that moment,” he said. Hansa recording studio on Friday. nounced that the group would New York. belong in some way,” he said. Fans earlier celebrated Bowie lead a parade this weekend Taking to heart Bowie’s lyric to “We’re going to go bigger, we’re in Brixton, the area of London Below: Floral tributes are placed through New Orleans. “put on your red shoes and dance going to go harder and we’re re- where he was born, with a street in front of a mural of David Bowie, Arcade Fire was to be joined by the blues”, revelers each year have ally going to do it in a way that party hours after news of his painted by Australian street artist the celebrated Preservation Hall picked their most outrageous pays proper homage to this won- death. James Cochran, in Brixton, south Jazz Band, keeping up the New outfi ts, often donning drag, and derful man.” In one of the most organ- London. Orleans tradition of musical fu- hit the fl oor to ample amounts of BowieBalls have sprouted up ised events, hundreds of fans neral parades. glitter and confetti. elsewhere, with an edition in – some with faces painted like Above: A sign for In the wake of the Starman’s Chicago on January 7 that cele- Bowie’s character Aladdin Sane Bowie Street in the death, BowieBall founder Deryck brated Bowie’s birthday and new – mourned him on Friday at his Texas capital of Todd said that he is talking with album, Blackstar, with almost no studio in Berlin where he record- Austin, named for Jim leading concert promoter Live one knowing that he was about ed three of his landmark albums. Bowie, a defender of Nation to expand signifi cantly to die. From 1976 to 1978, Bowie lived the Alamo, is seen as the event, which features DJs and Todd, through his dealings in the Schoeneberg district of it has been changed musicians who perform cover with the singer’s entourage, said former West Berlin. to ‘David Bowie versions of songs. that Bowie himself was aware of Bowie’s family has welcomed Street’ to honour the Todd, a designer, said that the the BowieBall and appreciated it. the tributes, but stressed that it music great. 10th anniversary BowieBall will Past BowieBalls have been was not involved. take place in the coming months captivated by tales that Bowie “Just as each and every one of Right: Bowie fans sing and expected it again to draw himself showed up secretly in us found something unique in attend a tribute to the passionate Bowie fans who were costume, although Todd ac- David’s music, we welcome eve- late music icon in never among “the cool kids”. knowledged there was little evi- ryone’s celebration of his life as Rome yesterday. “I really hope that this event dence. they see fi t,” a statement read.

600 stopped from Homeowners can utilise entering Syria ‘disproportionate force’ By Hannah al-Othman grossly disproportionate”. to judges and juries throughout able to avail himself of the de- “We welcome this judgment, householder – and quite possi- AFP Evening Standard The judges rejected a human England and Wales on how to fence if the degree of force he which confi rms that the provi- bly at least one of the other four London rights challenge brought by the deal with similar cases. used was reasonable in the cir- sions under the Crime & Courts persons involved in the restraint family of an alleged intruder The householder defence was cumstances as he believed them Act 2013 are compatible with our – would have been charged and ouseholders can use who was left in a coma after be- introduced by Parliament under to be.” obligations under human rights prosecuted for unlawful wound- ome 600 Britons have “disproportionate ing confronted by a householder the Crime and Courts Act 2013. Agreeing with the president, legislation.” ing or another off ence of vio- been stopped from going to Hforce” against intruders in Gillingham, Kent, in the early Peter Collins, Denby’s father, Mr Justice Cranston said the Later the Collins family said lence.” SSyria to try to join Islamic in their homes as long as they hours of December 15, 2013. argued that the new law was “plain words” of the section that they were “disappointed” The family’s statement added: State (IS) and other militant reasonably believe it is neces- Police investigators found incompatible with Article 2 (1) read in their legal context “mean by the ruling, and were consid- “Denby’s family continue to be- groups, Foreign Secretary Philip sary, the High Court has ruled. “householder B”, had used a of the European Convention on that in householder cases the ering an appeal against the deci- lieve that the current law insuf- Hammond said in comments re- Senior judges ruled the so- headlock to restrain Denby Col- Human Rights which protects force used in self-defence is not sion. fi ciently protects a member of ported yesterday. called “householder defence”, lins, but the householder was the right to respect for life. unreasonable simply because it In a statement released by the the public from extreme vio- Meanwhile, some 800 have which was strengthened by the not charged with any off ence. However, both judges rejected is disproportionate – unless, of family’s solicitors, Hickman & lence being used in self-defence made it through since 2012, with Coalition Government, was not The Collins family believe that his application. course, it is grossly dispropor- Rose, they said: “Denby Collins where, for example, the person half of them still thought to be incompatible with European hu- had the incident occurred before In a ruling on Friday, Sir Brian tionate”. has been in a coma since De- is left in a coma or is killed be- inside the war-torn country, he man rights laws. the recent change in the law, declared: “In the circumstances The ministry of justice wel- cember 2013, having been put cause they’re treated, rightly said, in comments reported in They stressed in a landmark B and possibly other members I conclude that the criminal law comed the ruling. in a neck lock and restrained on or wrongly, as an intruder into the Guardian and the Daily Tel- ruling that they were not giving of his family, would have been of England and Wales on self- A spokesman said: “Being the fl oor by a householder who someone’s home. egraph newspapers. individuals “carte blanche” to charged and prosecuted for un- defence in householder cases, confronted by an intruder in claimed to believe that Denby “They continue to hold the “Approximately 800 Brits use any degree of force to protect lawful wounding or another of- taken as a whole, fulfi ls the your own home can be a terrify- was an intruder into his home. view that it should be suffi cient have been to Syria, of whom half themselves and their loved ones. fence of violence. framework obligation under Ar- ing ordeal. That is why the last “Denby’s parents are confi - for the CPS to prove that force are still there. But on top of that However, the said force was President of the Queen’s ticle 2(1).” government strengthened the dent that, had the incident in used by anyone in self-defence 800, we have stopped another not necessarily unreasonable Bench Division Sir Brian Lev- But the judge warned: “The law to give householders greater which Denby was subjected to is disproportionate for a person 600,” he said, on a visit to south- and unlawful “simply because it eson and Mr Justice Cranston headline message is and remains protection to defend themselves life-threatening force occurred to be convicted for an act of vio- ern Turkey. is disproportionate – unless it is used the case to give guidance clear: a householder will only be from intruders. nine months earlier, then the lence of this type.” The foreign secretary said the number of Britons stopped in Turkey had gone up in the past eight months due to Ankara re- assessing the scale of the threat posed to Turkey by the Islamic Corbyn warns big biz over low pay, wage gap State. He said greater co-ordination between London and Ankara had Reuters control of the Labour Party in should be turning a blind eye,” of British Industry (CBI), which the political left for the Labour also played a part. London September, said that too much Corbyn told a socialist confer- said it did not support his idea of Party, also proposed maximum Hammond said besides for- of the proceeds of growing com- ence in London, his fi rst major intervening in company wages. “pay ratios” between the highest Corbyn: only profitable eign airstrikes, the interception pany profi ts benefi t the wealthi- speech of the year. “The idea of politicians step- and lowest salaries within com- employers will pay dividends. of jihadists aiming to link up ritish opposition leader est and called for “pay ratios” to Britain has already announced ping into the relationship be- panies. with IS was placing extra strain Jeremy Corbyn said yes- be introduced to help tackle in- a compulsory “national living tween a private company and He said that Britain’s pay in- stability and wealth creation,” he on the group in its Raqa head- Bterday that he would stop come inequality. wage” of at least £7.20 ($10.26) its shareholders would be a sig- equality was only second to the added. quarters. big companies from distribut- “Only profi table employ- an hour for people aged over 25 nifi cant intervention, and not United States among the Group Corbyn’s leadership has split “There is evidence (IS) is fi nd- ing dividends unless they paid ers will be paying dividends. If in April, rising to around €9.35 one that we would support,” of Seven (G7) economic powers. Labour lawmakers between his ing it diffi cult to recruit to the their workers the living wage as they depend on cheap labour for an hour by 2020. Matthew Fell, CBI chief of staff , “Not only is this unfair, it ac- left-wing allies and moderates, brigades in Raqa because of the part of his proposals to promote those profi ts then I think there’s Corbyn’s proposals were added in a statement. tually holds back growth. A more some of whom have questioned high attrition rate of foreign fairer working conditions. a question over whether that’s criticised by a leading employ- Corbyn, whose election was equal society is not only fairer, it his ability to lead the party to fi ghters,” he said. “Not just those Corbyn, a socialist who won a business model to which we ers’ group, the Confederation seen as a major shift back to does better in terms of economic victory in a 2020 election. targeted in UK drone strikes, but US strikes against prominent targets including foreign fi ght- ers. “Generally they are very stretched now – their manpower Lead developer quits bitcoin, says cryptocurrency ‘has failed’ on the ground in relation to the territory they’re holding is very thin.” By Jemima Kelly, Reuters publishing platform Medium. up to 24 transactions to be proc- of things go wrong – all hell Bitcoin was trading at around technology that underpins bit- British fi ghter jets joined the London Along with Gavin Andresen, essed every second. breaks loose,” he told Reuters in $390 on the itBit exchange by coin in fi nancial markets. US-led coalition bombing IS who was chosen by bitcoin’s While that is still a fraction of late December. 2000 GMT, down from $430 be- Stephan Tual, the former targets in Syria after parliament elusive creator Satoshi Na- the 20,000 or so that Visa can Hearn reckons the bitcoin fore Hearn’s blog post was pub- chief operating offi cer of block- backed the move in December. itcoin slid by 10% on Fri- kamoto as his successor when process, it would increase every community has “failed” in its lished. chain fi rm Ethereum, who now Britain was already involved in day after one of its lead he stepped aside in 2011, Hearn year, so that bitcoin could con- governance of the cryptocur- In his December interview, works at blockchain-based app attacking IS targets in Iraq. Bdevelopers, Mike Hearn, has been locked for months in a tinue to grow. rency’s code. Hearn said that when people re- developer Slock.it, also reckons said in a blogpost that he was battle with the other lead devel- But the new software has not “What was meant to be a new, alised that the bitcoin network bitcoin’s future looks shaky. ending his involvement with the opers over whether the “blocks” been adopted by the “mining” decentralised form of money was at breaking point, the price “Bitcoin is outdated tech- cryptocurrency and selling all of in which bitcoin transactions are computers that secure the net- that lacked ‘systemically impor- would fall. nology – almost prehistoric by his remaining holdings because processed should be enlarged. work, the majority of which are tant institutions’ and ‘too big to “The current price of bitcoin crypto standards,” he said. “It’s it had “failed”. Each block currently has a ca- in China, according to Hearn. fail’ has become something even is supported almost entirely by because of petty quarrels such as Hearn, one of fi ve senior de- pacity of one megabyte, which Hearn says the bitcoin net- worse: a system completely con- people speculating on its future, these that it hasn’t been able to velopers who has spent more Hearn says is “an entirely arti- work is about to run out of ca- trolled by just a handful of peo- in the assumption that this could evolve in fi ve years.” than fi ve years working on the fi cial capacity cap”, and allows pacity as the volume of transac- ple,” he wrote. be the money of tomorrow,” he Others were more upbeat. Web-based currency, said he a maximum of just three pay- tions increases. Just months ago, in August, said. “So if the network starts to “I’m not ready to declare that would no longer be taking part in ments to be processed per sec- And when that happens, the Hearn told Reuters that whether collapse, then a lot of people are Bitcoin has failed,” wrote US development. ond. network will become unreli- or not Bitcoin XT was adopted, going to look at it and say: well venture capitalist Fred Wilson. Hammond: Approximately “Despite knowing that bitcoin In August, Hearn and An- able, with payments unable to the cryptocurrency would live maybe we’ve miscalculated (its) “Sometimes it takes a crisis to 800 Brits have been to Syria, could fail all along, the now in- dresen released a rival version of be processed and vulnerable to on. future value.” get everyone in a room ... so if we of whom half are still there. But escapable conclusion that it has the current software, called Bit- fraud. “If we thought it might be the Hearn is now working for the are going to have a crisis, let’s get on top of that 800, we have failed still saddens me greatly,” coin XT, which would increase “If an IT system runs out of end of bitcoin, we wouldn’t do R3CEV consortium of banks on with it. No better time than stopped another 600. Hearn said in his post on blog- the block size to 8mb, allowing capacity like that, then all kinds it,” he said then. working on using the blockchain the present.” Gulf Times 18 Sunday, January 17, 2016 EUROPE

Mankind’s CO2 emissions ‘may delay next ice age’

AFP next ice age was probably about Earth’s orbit, combined with the Holocene, following the Indus- were then used to forecast future Human interference with the kind with its emissions from Paris 50,000 years away anyway, wrote infl uence of planet-warming trial Revolution, has become ones. climate meant the current inter- burning fossil fuels that deter- the team led by Andrey Ganopol- greenhouse gases in the atmos- known as the Anthropocene – To date, humans have added glacial period could be the long- mines the future development of ski of the Potsdam Institute for phere. the period when human activi- about 500bn tonnes (gigatonnes est yet, the team said. the planet.” uman-driven climate Climate Impact Research (PIK) in Temperate “interglacial” peri- ties started infl uencing Earth’s or Gt) of carbon (C) to the atmos- “Like no other force on the Commentators pointed out change may have put the Germany. ods normally last about 20,000 geological processes. phere via carbon dioxide emis- planet, ice ages have shaped the that while ice ages are by no Hnext ice age off by about But current trends of CO2 to 30,000 years, according to sci- “It is mind-boggling that hu- sions. global environment and thereby means pleasant periods for life 50,000 years, said scientists this emissions from humans burn- entists. mankind is able to interfere with The UN’s climate science panel determined the development of on Earth, the potential benefi ts week, highlighting our species’ ing oil, coal and gas, “are already Once every 400,000 years or a mechanism that shaped the has said the total must be limited human civilisation,” said PIK di- of a delay were far outweighed by ever-more dominant infl uence suffi cient to postpone the next so, an inter-ice age period will world as we know it,” Ganopolski to 1,000 Gt C if global warming is rector Hans Joachim Schellnhu- the short-term harms from glo- on Earth’s natural cycles. ice age for another 50,000 years”, last longer than that. said in a statement. to be held in check at a relatively ber. bal warming. Carbon dioxide (CO2) concen- he said. “The bottom line is that The last ice age ended between His team used computer mod- safe two degree Celsius (3.6° “For instance, we owe our fer- “The suppression of an ice age trations in the atmosphere could we are basically skipping a whole 14,000 and 11,000 years ago, giv- elling to simulate conditions in Fahrenheit). tile soil to the last ice age that also is not as directly signifi cant as override other infl uences to make glacial cycle, which is unprec- ing rise to the Holocene, Earth’s the atmosphere, ocean, ice sheets “In the 1,000 Gt C scenario, carved out today’s landscapes, the enhanced warming of what this the longest inter-ice age pe- edented.” current geological period, which and global carbon cycle simulta- the probability of glacial incep- leaving glaciers and rivers be- would otherwise have been a riod in Earth history, they wrote Ice ages are caused partly by has been an unusually mild inter- neously. tion during the next 100,000 hind, forming fj ords, moraines gently cooling planet,” said Chris in the journal Nature. changes in Sun exposure caused ice age era. The results matched the tim- years is notably reduced,” the and lakes. Rapley of University College Without human infl uence, the by natural variations in the The most recent part of the ing of the last eight ice ages, and team wrote. “However, today it is human- London.

ESA boss has ‘crazy’ Three probes launched plan for village on into France drug trial the moon AFP tested, a new drug meant to treat “fully and constantly mobilised” how it could have resulted in AFP Rennes mood disorders such as anxiety. to attend to the victims and their such a tragic situation”, he said. Paris A total of 90 volunteers – families. Representatives from Bial healthy men aged between 28 “Social and psychological care were also on site and taking part rench authorities launched and 48 – were given the experi- has also been put in place,” the in the probes with “total trans- he European Space three investigations yes- mental drug in the Phase I trial. hospital added in a statement, parency”, according to Peaucelle. Agency (ESA)’s new boss Fterday at a research labo- Six of them were taken to hos- noting that legal support has The Portuguese fi rm issued Telaborated on Friday on ratory in the northwestern city pital last week. also been off ered to the victims a statement on Friday insisting his vision for a multinational of Rennes into a drug trial that Pierre-Gilles Edan, head of and their relatives. that it had followed “interna- research village on the moon – a left one person brain-dead and the neurology department at “All of the volunteers are be- tional best practice” in develop- leading contender for a project to three others facing potentially the hospital in Rennes where the ing contacted,” it said. ing the drug and said it would succeed the International Space irreversible brain damage. volunteers were taken, said on The head of Biotrial said yes- co-operate with the investiga- Station (ISS). Judicial police carried out late Friday that aside from the man terday that the lab was co-oper- tion to “determine in a rigorous For now, it is just an idea – on Friday the fi rst searches at the who was brain-dead, three oth- ating with the investigators. and exhaustive manner” what called “crazy” by some – but one Biotrial lab which had performed ers were suff ering a “handicap “Our thoughts remain with had happened. that Jan Woerner said was being the trial on behalf of Portuguese that could be irreversible” and the victims and their families France’s national drug safety widely discussed as the end of pharmaceutical company Bial. another also had neurological but our energy this morning is body confi rmed it was the worst the ISS looms large. Yesterday they were joined problems. entirely committed to assisting incident to have taken place in a A picture taken yesterday shows the logo of the Biotrial laboratory The broad concept is a base for by representatives of France’s The sixth volunteer had no the investigators and to fully co- drugs trial in the country. on its building in Rennes, western France, where a clinical trial of an lunar exploration by humans and social aff airs inspectorate gen- symptoms but was being moni- operating in the investigations Each year thousands of volun- oral medication left one person brain-dead and five hospitalised. robots, potentially a stopover for eral (IGAS) and the national drug tored. under way,” Francois Peaucelle teers participate in clinical drugs spacecraft and possibly even a safety agency (ANSM). The CHU university hospital told journalists at a press brief- trials and experts point out that A teacher in Rennes who has said the 33-year-old, who re- mining site. The probes are seeking to in Rennes, where the six are be- ing at the site. tragic results are rare. participated in such trials told quested anonymity. “It’s not to build some small determine if the tragedy was ing treated, said yesterday that The investigators and inspec- But the incident in Rennes has AFP he would not do it again. He admitted to being attract- houses over there and then to caused by an error in the trial’s they remained in a stable condi- tors “are trying to understand ... raised concerns about such ex- “I will not do it any more and ed by the “easy money” that have a city hall and a church and procedures or in the substance tion, adding that its staff were what could have happened and periments. I’m going to advise against it,” participants received. whatever,” said Woerner, who took over as ESA director general last July. The Moon Village would have “multiple uses and multiple us- ers”, he told journalists in Paris. Rome won’t be ‘remote controlled’ by Brussels, says Renzi “Maybe one country is more interested in science, another may be a private company inter- Reuters time when we could be remote Rome, Renzi shot back that he Renzi is whether the Commis- ested in mining ... and another Rome controlled from the outside is would not be “intimidated by sion will grant Italy more fi scal may be interested to use the over,” Renzi said in a speech in sound bites ... Italy deserves re- leeway, which is already fore- moon as a stepping stone for fur- Caserta, Italy, yesterday that spect”. seen in the 2016 budget. ther exploration,” he explained. talian Prime Minister Mat- was broadcast on TV. Caught between the cross- Renzi is trying to reverse years “This is the overall scheme, teo Renzi said yesterday that “Europe cannot only be a fi re of two anti-euro opposition of German-led austerity that and we are now discussing of IRome would not be “remote bundle of rules that we have to parties in Rome and wrestling quashed growth during the eu- course worldwide whether there controlled” by Brussels, ratch- follow,” he said while speaking with stubbornly low economic rozone debt crisis as he seeks to is enough interest in that to go eting up a dispute with the at a ceremony to open new mu- output after three years of re- breathe life back into the econo- ahead with it.” European Union over defi cit seum space to the public at the cession, Renzi has opened up my, the eurozone’s third biggest, The timing, he added, would spending and immigration. city’s 1,200-room Baroque pal- disputes with the EU on several with state spending. be “post-ISS”. Renzi’s comments followed a ace of the Bourbon kings. fronts. “For Europe, which is fi nally The orbiting science station is heated, long-distance exchange Juncker invited Renzi to tone For example, Italy has blocked exiting the most acute phase of a joint project of Europe, Cana- with European Commission down his criticism of the Com- an EU plan to set up a €3bn fund the crisis, it’s crucial to decide da, the United States, Japan and President Jean-Claude Juncker mission “at every street cor- to help Turkey stem the big- whether to encourage signs of Russia. on Friday and show the Ital- ner” on Friday in Brussels, say- gest infl ow in decades of asylum recovery or to keep yanking All members but the European ian premier is not ready to back ing that he kept the bitterness seekers into Europe, saying the on the parking brake,” Foreign Union have agreed to operate and down. resulting from attacks “in his money should come from the Minister Paolo Gentiloni said in fi nance the ISS to at least 2024. “Italy must make itself heard, pocket”. EU budget, not national ones. an interview with Corriere della Woerner insisted on Friday Renzi: Italy deserves respect. and communicate ... that the In a television interview from But what is most important to Sera newspaper. that the ISS “has its value” and said he hoped to convince mem- ber states that “ESA should con- French teacher tinue” its involvement in the project. in avalanche Europe is currently commit- tragedy charged Greeks march to parliament to protest pension reform ted until 2020. As for the future, “I see the A French teacher who took Moon Village as the ideal suc- students onto a closed skiing Reuters strike against the planned re- cessor of the International Space piste in the French Alps where Athens form, the third such walkout in Station for ... exploration”, said an avalanche killed two of them three months. Woerner. “So far, there is no and a Ukrainian tourist has Turnout will indicate the competitive proposal on the ta- been charged with involuntary reek workers marched level of resistance the govern- ble.” homicide, his lawyer said through the streets of ment faces as it pushes through Unlike the ISS, he explained, yesterday. GAthens yesterday to unpopular measures. a lunar village required no “for- The 47-year-old who was protest the leftist-led govern- This week lawyers staged one mal decision” among countries. seriously injured in the accident ment’s planned pension reform, of their biggest rallies in recent “It is more an understanding of was charged at his bedside in which the country’s interna- years. many nations to go together to hospital in the south-central city tional creditors have demanded They have threatened to step the Moon.” of Grenoble in the presence of as part of its third bailout. up labour action and farmers What is important, however, is the prosecutor, investigating About 3,000 public and pri- are also preparing pension pro- a discussion on the best location magistrate, and court clerk in the vate sector workers, pensioners tests. to settle. “Is it the far side? Is it case. and students rallied peacefully Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras the near side? Is it the poles?” “He recognises his responsibility, outside parliament. was fi rst elected a year ago Once a spot is chosen, said he is not in denial. They held banners reading promising to end austerity. Woerner, individual countries “He did not realise the danger “You cannot bargain with social After tough negotiations, he or space agencies will decide because many people had taken security” and chanted “Your signed up to a third bailout in how they want to take part in the this piste over the previous two hands off our pensions!” July and was re-elected in Sep- project. days,” lawyer Benedicte Tarayre “We will fi ght to protect our tember on a mandate to imple- Who would take part? told AFP. rights and force the government ment it while protecting the “Russia has some lunar mis- Two pupils – a girl, aged 16, and to withdraw this monstrous vulnerable. sions planned, so why not have a boy, 14, from a school in Lyon plan that it calls a reform,” the Greece’s fi rst bailout review Demonstrators march and hold banners during a rally in central Athens yesterday, called by Greek them as part of the Moon Vil- – were killed in the avalanche secretary-general of the pri- is expected to offi cially begin main workers’ unions to condemn a planned overhaul of Greece’s pension system. lage?” asked Woerner, noting on Wednesday along with the vate sector union GSEE, Nikos next week. also that “the Chinese are plan- 56-year-old Ukrainian man. Kioutsoukis, told Reuters. The lenders currently see Stathakis told the Real News said this week his New De- the country’s fi scal woes. ning some lunar missions”. According to prosecutors the Turnout in recent protests a fi scal gap of well over 1.5% newspaper he expected a com- mocracy party would reject the Yesterday he met Norbert- He did not mind that some piste was closed off with netting has been weak, mainly due to of GDP for 2016, according to promise to be reached. pension reform bill. Walter Borjans, fi nance minis- think his idea hare-brained. and warnings in four languages austerity fatigue and resigna- sources close to the talks, and The government, which has An Alco poll for today’s Proto ter of the German state of North “The word ‘crazy’ is exactly but the group climbed over the tion after fi ve years of belt- expect tough talks on pension a slim parliamentary major- Thema newspaper put New Rhine-Westphalia, which has something I would like,” he said. netting “fully aware” of what they tightening and two bailouts reform. ity, has sought broad political Democracy 3.9 points ahead of given Athens details of ac- “We have to think out of the box. were doing. that have shut businesses and “We will defend what is non- support for the reforms that Tsipras’s Syriza. counts held by Greeks in Swit- That means new ideas.” The Bellecombes piste of the pushed up unemployment but negotiable for us,” Labour Min- it needs to legislate to pass the As part of the bailout and to zerland. The scheme will come up in Deux Alpes ski resort, at an have not pulled Greece out of ister George Katrougalos told review and start talks on debt appease angry voters, Tsipras “We’re determined to fi ght talks with the space agencies of altitude of some 2,500m (7,000’), crisis. Greek Skai TV, referring to pen- relief. has also vowed to go after tax tax evasion and your infor- the US, Japan, Canada and Rus- is rated a black piste – France’s On February 4, labour unions sion cuts. But newly elected conserva- dodgers and fi ght corruption, mation and help are critical,” sia in the coming weeks, on the highest diff iculty rating. will stage a 24-hour general Economy Minister George tive leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis which many Greeks blame for Tsipras told Borjans. future of the ISS. Gulf Times Sunday, January 17, 2016 19 EUROPE

UN to seek new Merkel ally threatens to help for refugees sue over refugee policy in Turkey Reuters Seehofer (left) would send the Reuters Berlin federal government a written Istanbul request within the next two weeks to restore ‘orderly prominent ally of Ger- conditions’ at the nation’s he United Nations’ refu- many’s Angela Merkel borders. gee agency will seek ad- Ahas threatened to take Tditional resources for her government to court over Merkel (right) has vowed to Turkey, the world’s largest host its open door refugee policy as ‘measurably reduce’ arrivals this of refugees, and push for more political pressure grows for the year, but has refused to resettlement, its head said yes- chancellor to reduce the number introduce a cap, saying that it terday, as the civil war in Syria is of new arrivals. would be impossible to enforce set to enter its sixth year. Bavarian state premier Horst without closing German borders. The UN High Commissioner Seehofer said he would send the for Refugees (UNHCR) has called federal government a written re- Instead, she has tried to con- for a “massive resettlement” of quest within the next two weeks vince European partners to take Syrian and other refugees within to restore “orderly conditions” on quotas of refugees, pushed for Europe to distribute hundreds at the nation’s borders, through reception centres to be built on of thousands of people amid the which 1mn migrants and refugees ing doubt among Germans about Democratic Union (CDU), and is Europe’s external borders, and largest movement of refugees passed last year alone. Merkel’s “we can do this” mantra the main entry point for migrants led an EU campaign to convince since World War II. “If it doesn’t follow, the state in the face of Europe’s biggest and refugees. Turkey to keep refugees from en- “We will do whatever we can government will have no other migrant crisis since World War II, The state’s fi nance minister, tering the bloc. But progress has to help the Turkish government choice but to fi le a suit at the especially since sexual assaults in Markus Soeder, told Der Spiegel been slow. fi nd additional resources for Federal Constitutional Court,” Cologne on New Year’s Eve were that Merkel’s refugee policy was “If the measures have no im- people who are living here under Seehofer told Der Spiegel maga- blamed on migrants. not democratically legitimised pact in the spring, we’re moving temporary protection to make zine yesterday. Merkel’s popularity has and said parliament should vote towards numbers that become their lives as good as we can,” Seehofer has issued a series of dropped since the assaults, a poll on the matter. diffi cult,” Gabriel said. Filippo Grandi, who took the ultimatums to Merkel in recent showed on Friday. Senior fi gures from the Social Finance Minister Wolfgang helm at the UNHCR this month, months to press her into taking Bavaria, a conservative state Democrats (SPD), Merkel’s sec- Schaeuble has proposed a spe- told reporters in Istanbul. immediate action to limit the that borders Austria to the south, ond coalition partner, have also cial tax on gasoline in EU states “We will work on other as- infl ux of migrants, only to back is the home of Seehofer’s Chris- broken ranks in recent days. to fi nance refugee-related costs pects as well ... We will work on down at the last minute. tian Social Union (CSU), sis- SPD leader Sigmar Gabriel such as strengthening external more resettlement opportuni- His comments refl ect grow- ter party to Merkel’s Christian joined the critical voices yester- borders. ties,” he said after meeting refu- day. In remarks to the Suddeutsche gees at camps near the Syrian “We have to get from a chaotic Zeitung newspaper, he said: “If border in his fi rst visit as com- to an orderly immigration,” he national budgets or the EU budg- missioner at the agency. told several regional newspapers. et are insuffi cient, let’s agree to The UNHCR currently sup- Border checks needed to be set up, for instance, a tax of a ports Turkey with relief items, improved and refugee quotas certain amount on each litre of The party’s vice-president Ju- man fi nance ministry stressed fi eld monitoring and technical introduced to control how many petrol.” lia Kloeckner, who claims to have that Schaeuble’s comments were advice. people come to Germany, he said. “This way we would have the talked with Merkel, said such an aimed at speeding things up. About 10% of the 2.2mn Syr- Germany could take in more means for a European response to idea was indefensible because it “Things are moving too slowly ians sheltering in Turkey stay in than the 200,000 refugees pro- the refugee issue,” he added, in an tells taxpayers that it’s up to them in Europe,” Schaeuble told the camps. posed by Seehofer as a cap for apparent reference to beefi ng up “to pay the bill” for refugees. newspaper, adding that he fully The rest struggle to make ends this year, but the quota should security at the European Union’s A business group within the backed Merkel’s eff orts to solve meet in cities around the coun- be signifi cantly below last year’s outer borders in order to stop the party accused the fi nance min- the challenges posed by the mi- try, often working illegally for a number, he said. migrant infl ow. “Finding a solu- ister of indirectly campaigning grant crisis. fraction of the minimum wage. Merkel has vowed to “meas- tion to the problem must not fail against welcoming the refugees, “I support, with the full force Grandi praised Turkish plans urably reduce” arrivals this year, because of a lack of means.” while the government’s coalition of my convictions, what the to award more work permits to but has refused to introduce a His petrol tax proposal howev- partner the left-wing SPD party chancellor says: we need to solve some refugees, calling it a “very cap, saying that it would be im- er met with swift criticism even warned about playing one faction the problem starting from Eu- courageous and important ges- possible to enforce without clos- from within the ranks of his CDU against the other. rope’s external borders,” he said. ture ... work permits will help Gabriel: We have to get from a chaotic to an orderly immigration. ing German borders. conservative party. Schaeuble said it was the New Otherwise, he added, “Europe people live a better life, whether Year’s Eve mass sexual assaults will fi nd itself in an even bigger they’ll stay here long or short”, in Cologne on women blamed on crisis”. he said. Arab and North African men that Asked if all EU countries Otherwise, refugees depend had stepped up the pressure to should increase their payments on aid organisations’ handouts fi nd “a solution to the problem of to Brussels to fi nance joint ref- or must beg for money, he added. controlling the European Union’s ugee-related costs, Schaeuble Only 7,300 work permits have external borders”. said: “If someone is not willing to been issued to date, offi cials “The problem must be solved pay, I’m nonetheless prepared to said, but the government plans at a European level,” he said. do it. Then we’ll build a coalition to off er more permits to discour- “Otherwise, it won’t just be of the willing.” age refugees from crossing ille- Germany that suff ers the conse- Schaeuble gave no details on gally into Europe, a minister said quences, as some seem to think, how high the extra levy on gaso- this week, amid European Union but our neighbours will be mas- line should be and whether Brus- pressure to reduce the fl ow of sively aff ected too, as will the sels or the EU states would be in migrants. Balkans, and all the way down to charge of collecting it. Greece.” A fi nance ministry spokesman Contacted by AFP, the Ger- declined to comment. Police hold fi ve for exploiting workers

AFP Madrid

panish police said yester- day that fi ve Romanians Shave been arrested sus- pected of exploiting their fellow countrymen after luring them to work in the fruit and vegeta- Migrants arrive yesterday at the train station in Passau, southern Germany, from where they will take a special train bringing them to western ble harvest in Spain and then not parts of the country. Schaeuble: Things are moving too slowly in Europe. paying them for their labour. The arrests were made in Se- Demand spikes ville in southern Spain after a complaint was lodged in the for weapons northern Basque Country where “a man of Romanian national- Demand for self-defence Austria will deny entry to migrants ity said he had been lured by a weapons has spiked in and promise of a dignifi ed salary and around the German city of a decent job in the (Spanish) ag- Cologne since the New Year’s Eve riculture sector”, police said in a mass sexual attacks blamed on statement. migrants, police said on Friday. aiming to pass through Germany Once he and others had ar- Cologne police said on Facebook rived in Spain from Romania, they had received a large number they were “squeezed into often of applications for licences Reuters pass through to points further back,” Austrian Interior Minister joint solution has to be reached,” door refugee policy in the face abandoned houses, in deplorable allowing people to carry imitation Vienna/Ljubljana north, mainly in Denmark and Johanna Mikl-Leitner told state Sefi c told reporters. of increasing diffi culties housing sanitary conditions” where they handguns that can fire flares and Sweden – which have both tight- broadcaster ORF. “We will stop He said that Slovenia would migrants and a spate of sexual as- were “threatened and which teargas, called “gas pistols” in ened border controls to stem the them directly on our southern have to act on its own in the event saults on women by young male they could not leave except to Germany. ustria said on Friday that infl ux. border (with Slovenia) as of the that no joint solution was agreed. asylum seekers. work in the fi elds”, police said. Public fears have risen since New it would deny entry to mi- Germany has been sending a end of next week.” Hundreds of thousands of mi- Only about 90,000 have ap- “The workers did not receive Year’s Eve, when hundreds of Agrants intending to pass few hundred migrants back over A Slovenian interior ministry grants have streamed through plied for asylum in Austria last any kind of fi nancial remunera- women were groped and robbed through its northern neighbour its border into Austria every day offi cial said later that Slovenia Slovenia and Austria into Ger- year but fears about migrants tion for their work,” added po- in a throng of mostly Arab and Germany rather than apply for since the start of January, Aus- would have to follow suit in order many since September last year, have nevertheless contributed to lice, accusing those behind the North African men outside the asylum there, prompting Slov- trian police said. to avoid a build-up of migrants when the countries threw open a rise in support for the national- exploitation of hoarding the main railway station of Cologne. enia to its south to announce a Many of those barred lack valid in the tiny Alpine state of 2mn their borders to a wave of people ist far right. workers’ salaries. Sales of pepper spray and teargas similar move to avoid becoming a documents but seek to travel on- people. fl eeing war and poverty in the Government ministers from Aside from arresting fi ve peo- have also spiked in Cologne and refugee bottleneck. wards to Sweden. State secretary Bostjan Sefi c Middle East, Afghanistan and the Social Democrats and their ple in Seville, police conducted nearby areas. Slovenia and Austria, strad- “What is the situation cur- said Slovenia was liaising with elsewhere. junior coalition partner, the Aus- several searches and identifi ed A shop owner in Neuss, north dling the route of asylum seekers rently on the German-Austrian Austria, Germany and other Germany itself has taken in trian People’s Party, have said the administrator of a company of Cologne, told the Rheinische trekking from the Mediterranean border? That only those who countries on how to control the 1.1mn migrants, the vast majority more must be done to reduce tasked with negotiating work Post daily. “It’s mostly men towards wealthy northern Eu- want asylum in Germany are be- migrant fl ow, which has kept up of those to have entered Europe the number of people arriving, contracts with farmers – which buying spray for their wives and rope, acted after Germany began ing let through, and those who despite frigid winter cold. over the past year. though they have disagreed on were often merely verbal agree- daughters.” turning back migrants aiming to want to travel onwards are sent “The states have agreed that a But it is rethinking its open how to achieve that. ments. Gulf Times 20 Sunday, January 17, 2016 INDIA

MYSTERY CRIME ASSESSMENT ALERT EDUCATION Three of family found Villager blinded in Rs650bn tax refund so Cop decamps with W Bank to help Bihar dead in Kolkata flat fight over supremacy far this fiscal year: off icial four service rifles in computer literacy

Three members of a family were found dead A man was blinded and beaten up allegedly The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has Jammu and Kashmir police have issued an The World Bank may help Bihar in imparting inside an apartment in Kolkata’s Palm Avenue by his rivals in a Bihar village in a fight for made refunds of a record total of Rs650bn so far alert after one of colleagues in Anantnag computer education and communication skills to area yesterday, police said. “They were identified supremacy, police said yesterday. The incident in the current financial year, the government said district disappeared with four service rifles. “A millions of youths, state off icials said yesterday. as Jessica Fonseca, 42 and her 16-year-old twin occurred on Friday night when Raju Alam of yesterday. “Between April (2015) and now, CBDT policeman, who was the personal security guard “World Bank country director Onno Ruhl during sons Darren and Joshua,” Special Additional Gaya district’s Sirmaur village was blinded by has issued refunds to 1.98 crore assesses for an of an off icer injured in a firing incident last month, his meeting with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Commissioner of Kolkata Police Debasish Boral members of a rival group, considered powerful. amount of Rs65,000 crore. This is a record in has decamped with four assault rifles from Friday evening promised all possible assistance said. Police also recovered three bloodstained “Raju Alam was blinded after both his eyes itself,” Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said in a Bijbehara (Anantnag),” a senior police off icer said for computer education and communication kitchen knives and a 25-pound dumbbell from were badly damaged with a sharp knife. He was tweet. “In the last month’s special drive, 18.28 lakh yesterday. Constable Mashooq Ahmad failed to skills to youths,” an off icial said in Patna. Ruhl was the crime scene. Jessica’s husband Neil Fonseca, admitted to hospital. Doctors told his family assesses whose refunds were below Rs50,000 report for duty at the off ice of the sub-divisional impressed with the chief minister’s plan of basic who was found critically injured, claimed that members that he may lose vision,” a district involving a sum of Rs1,793 crore have been police off icer (SDPO) at Bijbehara for two days, computer and communication skills. “Onno Ruhl his wife killed her two sons before killing herself. police off icial said. Police have lodged a case issued,” he said in another tweet. The CBDT had in raising suspicion, he said. “A check in the police praised Nitish Kumar’s scheme for youths and other Neil claimed he had a fight with Jessica and in against six people. According to the police, December 2015 asked its Central Processing Centre station led to the discovery that four AK assault initiatives of development,” the off icial said. The a fit of rage, she stabbed her two sons and also Raju and the accused have an old rivalry over in Bengaluru and field off icers to expeditiously rifles were missing. It is suspected that the World Bank will also soon release money approved attacked him with the dumbbell. maintaining supremacy in the village. issue refunds of amounts less than Rs50,000. constable has decamped with the rifles.” for improving the quality of education in Bihar.

Nationwide campaign on safe disposal Rahul blasts of syringes

IANS New Delhi BJP and RSS

ealth experts across the country have decided Hto launch a nationwide drive to prevent the needle-stick injuries caused by unsafe dis- over ‘rigid posal of insulin syringes and pen needles by diabetics. The decision was taken fol- lowing recent surveys stating that most of the syringes and pen needles used for insulin and immunisation are disposed off thinking’ in an unsafe manner, leading to needle-stick injuries. Congress leader urges A few years ago, we had launched some or patting some others. Approximately 65mn Indians students not to put “labels on the National Rural Employment The route was chosen care- living with diabetes use about people, industry or things Guarantee Act (NREGA), it was fully, giving Gandhi an opportu- 160mn insulin syringes and strongly resisted, but now it nity to walk through the Muslim about 50mn pen needles annu- IANS contributes in a large measure to pockets and middle-class areas ally along with about 40mn sy- Mumbai the 9% growth as it was inject- of Bandra west, coming down to ringes used for immunisation. ing cash into rural economy and Mahim Causeway where thou- The programme, likely to start it built a rural infrastructure,” sands of fi sherfolk live in the in a week, will also sensitise ongress vice-president Gandhi said. Fishermen’s Colony, then onto diabetes care professionals to Rahul Gandhi yester- Though Indian farms are now Dharavi slum which has a mixed their responsibility towards the Cday attacked the ruling divided and not capable of sus- bag of north Indians, south Indi- physical environment, while re- Bharatiya Janata Party and its taining families, he said agricul- ans, Dalits, Maharashtrians and inforcing the need for interdisci- ideological mentor Rashtriya ture was not a problem for the Muslims. plinary co-operation between all Swayamsevak Sangh for what he farmers, but for the business- Throughout the journey, stakeholders. termed as their “rigid thinking” men, industrialists, etc. Gandhi was fl anked by Mum- According to an article in In- which hampers creativity and “The UPA had a strategy of bai Congress president San- dian Journal of Endocrinology start-ups in the country. supporting farmers, but the jay Nirupam, Congress general and Metabolism, over 200mn Interacting with students of present government has a diff er- secretary Gurudas Kamat, Kurla insulin devices are generated in the prestigious Narsee Monjee ent focus which is not on farm- legislator Naseem Khan, sev- India each year and every day Institute of Management Stud- ers or agriculture... They tried eral other former parliamentar- over 1,000 healthcare work- ies (NMIMS) here, Gandhi said to stop NREGA and other UPA ians, legislators, former state ers in hospitals are injured with the BJP and RSS have “a clear policies, but we put pressure on and central ministers and party a needle. This especially hap- idea of what the world should them,” he said. offi ce-bearers. pens during insulin syringe/pen be” according to their viewpoint. The Congress-led United Pro- “I call upon Prime Minister needle re-capping, intended for “When you are intolerant, you gressive Alliance was in power Narendra Modi that before he re-use. curb the movement of ideas... for two consecutive terms until talks about ‘Make in India’, he “While modern insulin tech- India needs openness, fl exibil- it was dislodged by the BJP in should come and see this place nique guidelines address the ity... You can’t have start-ups national elections in 2014. and implement ‘Make in Dhar- need for appropriate disposal and be intolerant at the same Later in the day, the Congress avi’ which generates businesses of needles and syringes, safe time,” Gandhi said. leader visited Dharavi, once and services worth hundreds of disposal of insulin delivery Citing examples, he said the ranked as Asia’s biggest slum. crores of rupees daily,” Gandhi sharps is seldom practised in Congress Party brought and en- It was meant to pep up the said. clinic and home care environ- couraged a culture of tolerance party organisation for next year’s Spread across more than 550 ment,” said S V Madhu, head of in the country, people were free civic elections. acres of land, Dharavi, with a medicine and endocrinology at to discuss ideas which ultimate- Accompanied by a host of population of around 1.3mn, has GTB Hospital. ly culminated in the freedom senior Mumbai and Maharashtra a thriving local economy and The programme will be sup- movement. Congress leaders and more than small household businesses with ported by the Forum for Injec- Gandhi urged the students not 40,000 activists besides a posse their products sold around the tion Technique (FIT), an auton- to put “labels on people, indus- of security personnel, Gan- country and even exported glo- omous organisation supporting try or things, as labels are human dhi put up an impressive show bally. people with diabetes using in- inventions” and stifl e growth. walking from Bandra Bandstand Old timers and residents re- jectable therapies to achieve the Hitting out at the BJP-led to Dharavi slum - a distance of membered a similar road show best possible health outcomes government’s policies, the Con- roughly 5km. put up by his father and late that can be infl uenced by correct gress leader said India was es- Party workers carrying Con- prime minister Rajiv Gandhi injection technique. sentially an agrarian economy, gress fl ags, placards and banners from Dharavi to Asalfa Village in Data from the FTI states that but the present administration followed him enthusiastically. Ghatkopar, a distance of around apart from syringes, rough- was not doing enough for the Gandhi kept a brisk pace, 10km. ly 90.6mn vials, cartridges farmers. but broke the tempo often to Unlike the changed scenario and prefi lls are consumed in a “We have been a traditional accept garlands, flowers, shake in 2016, Dharavi three decades 12-month period, adding to the agri-economy, but we have made hands with people, exchange ago was a wretched slum pocket, burden of glass and plastic on a smooth transition from agri to words with the slum-dwell- shunned by most politicians and the environment. Congress Party vice-president Rahul Gandhi waves during a march in Dharavi in Mumbai yesterday. IT and knowledge economy now. ers, putting his arms around avoided even by Mumbaikars.

Police probe absolves Mani 8,000 chickens being of allegations in ‘bar scam’ culled over bird fl u IANS H5 strain of Avian Infl uenza,” he By Ashraf Padanna who suff ered losses of Rs5bn, and ill-motivated. Sukesan also Agartala said. Gulf Times Correspondent was the provocation for raising details some of the statements “It has been decided to im- Thiruvanathapuram the allegations. and their locations contradict- mediately commence the culling Biju Ramesh, the self-styled ing the claims. uthorities in Tripura yes- of birds and destruction of eggs working president of the Bar After forensic examinations, terday started culling and feed material among other nvestigators in Kerala have Hotel Owners it was also found that the CDs Amore than 8,000 chick- things so as to control the fur- failed to gather evidence of Association and who made the submitted by the controversial ens and ducks after a fresh out- ther spread of the disease with- Icorruption against a top pol- allegations against Mani, him- hotelier containing purported break of bird fl u in the state, of- out loss of time,” said Sarkar, itician who was forced to resign self lost Rs70mn in a year after conversations between the ho- fi cials said. who is personally supervising as a senior minister two months the government refused to re- teliers talking about the bribes “We have started culling of the culling of birds. back in the ‘bar scam’. new his nine licences as part of were doctored. He had also ed- chickens, ducks and other poul- It has also been decided that all K M Mani, the 82-year-old its phased prohibition policy. ited the recordings to support his try birds today at the govern- the ducks and poultry birds would leader of Kerala Congress (M) re- Ramesh runs 12 hotels in the allegations. ment-run animal farm at Gan- be culled within a radius of 1km of signed in November as fi nanced state capital and he came up with Sukesan also informed the dhigram in western Tripura. We the focus of infection, including minister after the Kerala High the allegations as his “losses” court the hoteliers’ body col- have told offi cials to complete the neighbouring villages. Court made adverse remarks continued, the report submit- lected Rs20mn from members the culling drive at the R K Nagar According to the offi cial, in based on preliminary fi ndings. ted to the Vigilance court here as “Legal Fund” to hire lawyers government animal farm at the addition to the culling, surveil- However, a detailed probe by yesterday says, and he wanted to fi ght the ban in the Supreme earliest,” Tripura government’s lance would be carried out over the Vigilance and Anti-Corrup- to threaten the government Court. animal resource development a further radius up to 10km to tion Bureau (VACB) using scien- through the allegations. The special court, which department (ARDD) director monitor further spread of infec- tifi c methods found that hotel- The detailed report, prepared posted the case to February 16 Manoranjan Sarkar said. tion, if any. iers who raised the allegations by superintendent of police (SP) for arguments, asked the VACB “After the death of some chick- The northeastern state of were lying, and that they were R Sukesan under the instruc- to hand over the case diary and ens, ducks and birds we have sent Tripura was fi rst aff ected by not in the places they claimed to tions of the court admits he was all other documents related to it. samples to various local and out- avian infl uenza in April and May have met the minister and hand- wrong to believe in the state- Mani resigned after Kerala side laboratories,” Sarkar said. 2008, forcing the authorities to ed over money. ments of “witnesses” related to High Court judge Kemal B Pasha “The National Institute of cull millions of poultry birds. The VACB, in its 76-page re- the liquor baron. wondered if he could continue in High Security Animal Disease The bird fl u has resurfaced in port, concludes that the govern- When their mobile phone offi ce during investigation say- A poultry farm worker attempts to catch a chicken during a culling Laboratory in Bhopal has con- the northeastern state of Tripu- ment’s decision not to the liquor tower locations were examined, ing “Caesar’s wife must be above operation after an outbreak of avian flu at a government poultry fi rmed that the samples from the ra, bordering Bangladesh, after licences of nearly 750 hotels, their claims were found wrong suspicion.” farm in Gandhigram, on the outskirts of Agartala yesterday. government farm are positive for three years. Gulf Times Sunday, January 17, 2016 21 INDIA AAP fi res up Punjab’s political scene ahead of polls

IANS state’s politics on a new trajec- AAP, leaders of the two bigger Minister Parkash Singh Badal. one decade of Akali Dal rule. From tials in state politics. The party Janata Party leader Navjot Singh Chandigarh tory. parties are now not only taking That the AAP rally was the main massive corruption to farmers’ su- won four Lok Sabha seats (out of Sidhu have been in talks to include That the AAP factor is going on each other politically but are focus among political confer- icides and failing agriculture in the 13) in Punjab, making its maiden him in the young party and project to infl uence the February 2017 together targeting the AAP and ences of all parties at the ‘Maghi agrarian state to the drugs men- parliamentary debut in the April- him as its face. A well-known and henever assembly assembly polls in Punjab can be its leader Arvind Kejriwal, the Mela’ reflected the growing im- ace - Kejriwal minced no words to May 2014 general elections, de- upright person, Sidhu enjoys good elections are round seen from the fact that the two chief minister of Delhi. portance of AAP in Punjab. In blame the Badal family for all of spite being rejected by the rest of support across Punjab. Being a Jat Wthe corner in Punjab, main, and traditional, political Kejriwal, who addressed his the numbers game too, the AAP Punjab’s ills. the country. Two of its winning Sikh and a celebrity only adds to political fi reworks are expected. players in the state - the ruling first big political rally at Mukt- rally won hands down against The AAP, which still does not MPs recorded the highest mar- his credential as a probable chief This time is a little diff erent with Shiromani Akali Dal and the op- sar in Punjab’s politically domi- the crowds at Akali Dal and have a prominent face to project gins among all successful candi- ministerial candidate. That he is the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), a position Congress - have realised nant Makwa belt in the south- Congress rallies. as its next chief minister for Pun- dates in Punjab. sulking in the BJP, which has made relatively new entrant in Pun- that the new party is giving them west earlier this week, went Kejriwal used the opportunity jab and is trying to build up party There are murmurs in political him almost redundant in state pol- jab’s political space, fi ring up the a tough fi ght. ballistic in targeting the ruling to blame the Badals for progressive cadres in the state, knows it has circles that the AAP and cricketer- itics, gives fodder to speculation of scene and promising to take the From being dismissive about Badal family headed by Chief Punjab’s ruin, especially in the past already established its creden- turned-politician and Bharatiya his joining the AAP. W Bengal Joint military exercise now a pit of hell, says Left Front

IANS with some dreams. We Leftists Singur, West Bengal will rid West Bengal of the pa- thetic state of aff airs. We will do it,” he thundered. he Left Front yesterday Bhattacharjee said the state resurrected an old slogan needed both agriculture and Tin poll-bound West Ben- industry - the former for feed- gal emphasising the need for in- ing the people, and the latter for dustries, as it called for evicting ensuring jobs to the scores of un- the ruling Trinamool Congress employed youths who were the from this rural hamlet, which a future of the state. few years back saw violent peas- Pointing to the abandoned ant protests against ‘forcible’ Nano plant, which is now the land acquisition that fi nally cul- subject of a legal battle between minated in ending the Front’s the Banerjee government and the 34-year reign. Tatas, Bhattacharjee said: “Only Protesting against then chief agriculture won’t do. In Singur, minister Buddhadeb Bhattach- we had planned the huge plant. arjee’s bid to set up the Tata Nano Had the plan fructifi ed, the car small car plant here in Hoog- plant and the large number of Indian and French soldiers take part in a joint exercise ‘Shakti 2016’ at the Mahajan Field Firing Range in Bikaner in Rajasthan yesterday. hly district by acquiring a large ancillaries would have complete- chunk of land, the main opposi- ly changed Hooghly district. tion of that time, Mamata Ban- “We had then said agriculture erjee’s Trinamool Congress, had is our base, industry is our fu- spearheaded the protests that ture. We have to take the same saw the automobile giant move road to move ahead,” said Bhat- out the unit to Sanand in Gujarat. tacharjee, setting the tune for the “Agriculture is our base, in- Left Front’s campaign pitch for dustry is our future” - the Left the coming assembly elections. Front slogan once prominently The protest march - demand- seen on walls across the state and ing jobs, industries, agricul- PM pledges incentives heard in all its meetings - was ture and protection of farmers’ raised yesterday by none other rights - would cover 191km till than Bhattacharjee, who re- West Midnapore district’s Sal- turned to this area after fi ve years boni, where, signifi cantly, the to fl ag off a protest march against then Left Front government had lack of factories and jobs in the planned a 10mn tonne integrated state during Banerjee’s rule. steel plant to be set up by the Saj- to promote startups Slamming the Trinamool re- jan Jindal promoted JSW Steel at gime, Bhattacharjee said Wesat an investment of Rs350bn. The government views measures under Start Up India and will not face inspections research parks, fi ve bio-clusters “The regime intended to be Bengal now resembles a “pit of After the Left Front lost power startups as key to providing including exempting startups for labour or environmental and a mission with sector-spe- created is intended to give com- hell”. to the Trinamool in 2011, the jobs for aspirational young from income tax for their fi rst law compliance for three years, cifi c incubators, labs, pre-incu- plete freedom from the state,” “Our boys and girls have no plant became stillborn, largely Indians and plans to off er three years. while patent application fees bation training and seed money. Jaitley said. future. We are only regressing. because of lack of coal linkage. easier access to bank loans “We have a million problems will be slashed by 80%. During the day-long event, “The more the sector becomes Youths don’t have jobs. No fac- Only a few days back, the through the “Start up India, but at the same time we have Entrepreneurs will be able several interactive sessions were unregulated the better it will be,” tories are coming up. People of foundation of a cement plant Stand up India” campaigns over a billion minds,” Modi said, to register their businesses in a held with stakeholders, min- he said. entire India are laughing at us. promoted by JSW and entailing adding that the government will day via a mobile app - in sharp isters and mandarins on topics In September Modi visited “Even the existing factories an investment of Rs8bn was laid Agencies earmark Rs25bn ($370mn) for the contrast to the current bureau- ranging from innovation and Silicon Valley calling on deep- are closing shop. Jute mills are at Salboni. New Delhi plan annually over four years. cratic process - and will be able funding to promoting women pocketed investors to turn their closing down, every day in news- The Left Front has been mock- “We want to start a system of to wind down failures in 90 days, entrepreneurs and mentoring. attention to India’s thriving papers you will read the death ing the government for failing to hand-holding for startups. The Modi said. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley startup ecosystem, with large news of a tea garden worker. start the integrated steel plant, ndian entrepreneurs will government will be like a friend The prime minister joked that said earlier in the day that sim- tech hubs in the cities of Ben- They are dying of hunger, lack of and instead managing only the receive generous tax breaks and a mentor,” he said. had he possessed more entre- pler tax rules for startups would galuru, Hyderabad and Mumbai. medicines. cement factory that entails a Iand face dramatically re- New Delhi views startups as preneurial fl air, the one-time be introduced in the upcoming A report from tech industry “I had been thinking and much lower investment and duced red tape when starting key to providing jobs for aspira- tea-seller would have been able budget in February to unshackle body Nasscom in October 2015 thinking whether I should come would ensure fewer jobs. and closing a business, Prime tional young Indians and plans to open a hotel chain. them from the complex regime said India had the world’s fast- here. Then I decided that I need- Launching a scathing at- Minister Narendra Modi said to off er easier access to bank “No matter what Narendra faced by large companies. est-growing startup commu- ed to tell you these things. So I tack on Banerjee, Bhattacharjee yesterday, as he launched a pet loans through the “Start up In- Modi can or cannot do, the youth He promised an end to the nity, which the government says have come,” said Bhattacharjee, took a dig at her pet slogan “Ma, initiative to bolster India’s fast- dia, Stand up India” campaigns of the country can,” he said. “licence raj” - bureaucratic con- is the third largest globally. whose words were greeted with Mati, Manush” (Mother, Land growing startup scene. fi rst announced in August last The list of incentives also in- trols dating from British colonial However, there are fears the tumultuous applause by the and People) and said “Ma, Mati, Speaking at a gathering of year. cluded 35 new incubators under rule mandating endless permits tech bubble may be bursting, crowd. Manush - this drama is now ob- 2,000 entrepreneurs from In- Under the measures outlined the public-private partnership that have stalled multi-billion with analysts warning that “We have come here to evict solete. We have seen enough. dia, Silicon Valley and else- yesterday, startups will also be mode, 31 new innovation centres dollar projects and small inves- many online startups are over- this government. We have come Stop this and quit.” where, Modi outlined a slew of exempt from capital gains tax at national institutes, seven new tors alike. valued.

Won’t tolerate terror any more, Police search for politician, says Parrikar India’s capacity to put up with terrorism has reached its limit sons after fatal accident and “we will do something”, De- fence Minister Manohar Parrikar said yesterday in reference to IANS “It is more or less confi rmed, Rejecting Chatterjee’s asser- the attack on Pathankot air Kolkata Sambia was driving the car,” said tions, Revolutionary Socialist force station that killed seven Boral, adding the police raided 10 Party leader Ashok Ghosh said: security personnel. “The coun- places across the city in search of “It was Mukul Roy (former Tri- try’s capacity for tolerance is olice yesterday said a son the three men. namool general secretary) who over. As defence minister, my of a former legislator was Earlier in the day the state’s had inducted Sohrab into the tolerance capacity is over. We Pbehind the wheels of a car ruling Trinamool Congress rub- Trinamool. Chatterjee is now will do something,” Parrikar said which fatally knocked down an bished claims that Sohrab was a denying only because Sohrab is in response to a question about Indian Air Force offi cer. Trinamool member. wanted in the case.” the January 2 terrorist attack. The police had earlier issued a With the police yet to make Bharatiya Janata Party leader He said the government knew look-out notice against former any arrest or trace the Sohrabs, Roopa Ganguly too hit out at the what was required to be done. Rashtriya Janata Dal legislator opposition parties have been Trinamool for shielding the guilty. “I am not saying we will do this Mohamed Sohrab and his two accusing Chief Minister Mama- “It has been almost four days but or that. But this should not hap- sons as all the three were on the ta Banerjee’s government of police are still clueless and not able pen, we cannot tolerate it, it is run after the accident. thwarting the investigation to to make any arrest. Sohrab, being enough.” Following the attack While the police had ini- shield the politicians who is said a Trinamool leader, was allowed to on the air force station which tially suspected Sohrab’s elder to have joined the Trinamool. fl ee, only because he is a Trinamool is suspected to be carried out son Ambia Sohrab to be driving “Sohrab had become an MLA on leader, police can’t fi nd him,” said by the Pakistan-based Jaish- the sports utility vehicle which the support of the Left Front, but the actress-turned politician. e-Mohamed, Parrikar had said mowed down Corporal Abhi- he is being projected as a Trina- The accident took place at the on Monday that any “individual manyu Gaud on January 13, Spe- mool leader. Trinamool never had Indira Gandhi Sarani (erstwhile or organisation” harming the cial Additional Commissioner of any links with Sohrab, he is neither Red Road) which is being kept country “should also receive the Police Debasish Boral said it was a member or nor a leader of the out of bounds for civilian traffi c pain of such activities” and “how, the younger son Sambia who was party,” Trinamool secretary gen- during mornings for the Republic Actress-turned BJP leader Roopa Ganguly (centre) and other party activists take part in a demonstration when and where should be your driving the car. eral Partha Chatterjee said. Day parade rehearsals. against West Bengal government in Kolkata yesterday. choice”. Gulf Times 22 Sunday, January 17, 2016 LATIN AMERICA Venezuela declares ‘economic’

emergency Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro gestures ahead of his annual State of the Nation address at the National Assembly in Caracas on Friday. AFP the economy shrank 4.5% in the private companies’ resources, coff ee cup, as his mentor, late Here are the numbers to prove month, Maduro secured a Su- measures to cut short Maduro’s Caracas fi rst nine months of 2015, the imposing currency controls and leftist fi rebrand Hugo Chavez, it,” he said, referring to the new preme Court injunction reducing mandate, which expires in 2019. central bank said, while infl ation “other social, economic or po- used to do. statistics. its majority from two-thirds to Maduro accuses capitalist forces for the same period came in at a litical measures deemed fi tting.” At other points, Maduro Venezuela has the world’s big- three-fi fths, limiting his rivals’ of waging “economic war” on enezuelan President Nico- painful 108.7%, fuelled by crip- Addressing the legislature, sounded a more conciliatory note, gest known oil reserves, but the powers to force him from offi ce as Venezuela by starving it of goods. las Maduro admitted be- pling shortages. Maduro said the plunge in oil saying he was ready for dialogue. current price slide has slashed they have vowed. Analysts say the political Vfore a hostile legislature “These catastrophic fi gures prices over the past year and a Addressing the issue of what its revenues, straining Maduro’s The opposition Democratic deadlock threatens to worsen the on Friday that the oil-rich nation (are) the result of an economic half had the country trapped in the opposition calls political policies of oil-fuelled social Unity Roundtable (MUD) initially hardship that drove voters to the is mired in a “catastrophic” eco- situation that in another era of re- an “economic storm” that pitted prisoners from within its ranks spending. defi ed what it calls the pro-Ma- opposition. “If Maduro’s dis- nomic crisis, hours after decreeing gressive neoliberal and capitalist two models against each other. - one of its most acrimoni- The current National Assem- duro court. course continues to be the same, a two-month state of emergency. policies would surely have pushed “The socialist model is the ous disputes with Maduro - the bly, inaugurated 10 days ago, is But it bowed to pressure from the only way the results can Maduro’s fi rst state of the na- (the Venezuelan) people into un- only one, not the neoliberal mod- president said: “We are ready and the fi rst controlled by the op- the judiciary Wednesday, when change is by getting worse,” said tion address before the newly employment,” said Maduro. el that wants to come and priva- willing to talk about this and any position since Chavez came to three of its lawmakers agreed to economist Luis Vicente Leon. opposition-held National As- Earlier, the leftist leader tize everything,” he said to jeers other issue necessary to discuss power in 1999. quit while authorities investigate On the streets, some Venezue- sembly, which is locked in a bitter sought to seize the initiative in from opposition lawmakers. for the peace that Venezuela de- Institutional arm-wrestling them over the Maduro camp’s al- lans were fed up with both sides. power struggle with his admin- his standoff with the legisla- “You will have to come and mands of us.” threatened to paralyze the legis- legations of electoral fraud. “This just keeps getting worse. istration, came as Venezuela’s ture, decreeing a 60-day state of overthrow me if you want to pass National Assembly speaker lature until last-minute compro- Leaders have been wary of fan- Now they’re going to deal with central bank released its fi rst “economic emergency.” a privatization law. No, no and Henry Ramos Allup, a fi erce mises set the stage for Maduro ning tensions, mindful of deadly the problem even less because economic growth and infl ation It gave the administration spe- no!” Maduro opponent, delivered a to deliver his annual presidential street clashes in 2014. they’re fi ghting over the Assem- statistics in more than a year. cial temporary powers to boost Dressed in his red, yellow and scathing rebuttal to his address. report. The so-called “supermajor- bly,” said Juan Molina, a 44-year- The fi gures show the magni- production and ensure access to blue presidential sash, Maduro “For 17 years, we’ve followed a After the opposition won a ity” would have allowed the op- old security guard. “I don’t know tude of the country’s recession: key goods, including taking over periodically sipped from a white wrong-headed economic model. landslide election victory last position to launch constitutional how this place is going to end up.”

Waterworld! Pena Nieto’s ex-ally Chapo’s jail arrested in Spain treatment Reuters Madrid

panish police arrested a former ally of Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on Friday in a money- slammed by Slaundering probe, potentially raising awkward ques- tions for his ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). Humberto Moreira, who was the PRI chairman in 2011 before he stood down after a debt scandal was uncovered in Coahuila, the northern state he had governed, was ar- his lawyers rested at Madrid’s international airport, Spanish police said. AFP after six months on the run and His detention was part of an operation against money Mexico City sent back to prison - this time laundering and other crimes, according to a Spanish court with two tanks posted outside offi cial who spoke on condition of anonymity. and heavily beefed-up security In an apparent reference to Pena Nieto’s tweet to an- awyers for recaptured measures. nounce the capture of drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guz- Mexican drug lord Joaquin Interior Minister Miguel Angel man a week ago, Spanish police tweeted news of Moreira’s L“El Chapo” Guzman con- Osorio Chong denies Guzman detention with the hashtag “mission accomplished”, ech- demned prison authorities on has been refused access to his oing the president’s words. Friday for refusing them access lawyers, saying he met with one Details of the Spanish probe were not immediately to their client, after being denied on Tuesday. available, but it raised hopes among opposition politicians permission to bring him fl uff y Gonzalez demanded proof of that Moreira might face prosecution over the debt debacle. slippers, a toothbrush and other that. “Not even if they had caught “Nobody in the Coahuila government has explained items. Adolf Hitler alive would they have what happened to that money,” said Senator Ernesto Cor- Two of Guzman’s lawyers gave done to him what they are doing dero of the opposition National Action Party (PAN), an an indignant press conference to Mr Guzman,” he said in a radio ex-fi nance minister who led initial investigations into the outside his maximum-security interview earlier this week. debt. prison after they were not al- Guzman was being held under Moreira is not wanted by the law in Mexico. Mexico’s lowed to visit their client and “extra security conditions,” Ren- Foreign Ministry said it would provide him with consular bring him clothes and other per- ato Sales, Mexico’s National Se- assistance should he need it, as it does for all citizens. sonal items. curity commissioner, told Radio Cubans walk on a flooded street after heavy rains lashed Havana on Friday. Moreira maintained he had been misled by offi cials and Lawyer Juan Pablo Badillo said Formula. denied any wrongdoing. he feared for Guzman’s health The government earlier said and safety. that “El Chapo” is in a section of “There’s a growing fear the prison where the most dan- (among Guzman’s lawyers) that gerous criminals are held - the something may happen to him, same area where he escaped from because it’s suspicious that they in July. Infl ation-hit Argentina to issue higher denomination banknotes won’t even let his defence at- Sales however said that this torneys look at him, ask him time Guzman is being held in a how he’s feeling, what he’s been diff erent wing, and that all the Reuters President to donate his official salary to needy soup kitchen of cash machines and the reduction of the through, whether he’s been tor- nearby cells are empty. Agents Buenos Aires cost of moving cash around,” the bank tured,” he said. shuffl e the fallen drug lord in an Argentina’s new president Mauricio Macri, people daily in the poor neighborhood of said in a statement. “I hold the prison directors unscheduled manner between a business-friendly conservative from a Villa Soldati on the Argentine capital’s south Reducing infl ation is one of the main and the interior minister respon- the diff erent cells. rgentina’s Central Bank said on wealthy family, will donate his salary to a side, newspaper Clarin reported. The former challenges for Argentina’s new centre- sible if Mr Guzman is the victim Furthermore, federal agents Friday it would issue higher de- Buenos Aires soup kitchen, a local newspa- executive gave his salary to the same char- right government, which took offi ce last of any illness caused by the cold,” with cameras attached to their Anomination banknotes this year per reported on Friday. ity when he was mayor of Buenos Aires. December promising to reduce imbalanc- said lawyer Jose Luis Gonzalez, helmets work in two-hour shifts and next, in the face of double-digit in- Macri, who earns 100,000 pesos a The 56-year-old Macri, who took off ice es in the economy and kick-start growth. showing journalists the items he keeping a strict eye on the pris- fl ation that has gnawed away at the value month as president ($7,500) - 61,000 pesos on December 10, has implemented a series The Finance Ministry had said it wants had packed in a small blue suit- oner. of the local currency. after taxes - will sign his paycheck over to of free-market reforms aimed at reviving to bring infl ation down to between 20% case for his client. Sales said that Guzman has no The largest bank note in Latin Ameri- a private charity that feeds 1,800 needy Argentina’s flagging economy. and 25% this year from around 28% last Guzman, the kingpin of the privileges, not even the ones he ca’s third biggest economy is the 100 peso year. It aims to bring infl ation down to 5% powerful Sinaloa drug cartel, es- enjoyed in his earlier prison stint, bill, currently worth $7.4. Cash machines in 2019. caped from the same prison out- and that he was especially upset often run out of money over long week- From mid-year, the Central Bank will the 1,000 peso note. “The incorporation The Central Bank said the new ban- side Mexico City on July 11. when forced to get all of his hair ends because they cannot contain enough start circulating 200 peso and 500 peso of bills of higher denomination is a prac- knotes would be printed with images of He was recaptured a week ago cut off . bills to satisfy demand. bank notes, and next year will introduce tical necessity for the better functioning the country’s indigenous animals.

Ecuador hit by first Zika virus cases cuador said on Friday it has fi rmed by laboratory tests, the Guatemala leader calls for ‘justice’ against war-era offi cers detected its fi rst two cases of fi rst two native cases. That is, we Ethe Zika virus, a mosquito- now have cases of the virus being borne disease similar to dengue fever transmitted by mosquito bites that AFP rales added that he did not want to see Among them fi gure Benedicto Lucas Guatemala’s long civil war resulted in that has been linked to birth defects. happened in Ecuadoran territory,” Guatemala City action that would “prejudice” the coun- Garcia, the armed forces chief during 200,000 people killed or registered as Ecuadoran offi cials had previ- she told a press conference. try’s values. the 1978-1982 presidency of his brother missing, according to the UN, which at- ously detected four people who ar- Health Minister Margarita Gue- “What I want, as do all Guatemalans, Fernando Romeo Lucas Garcia, who tributed more than 90% of the atrocities rived from other countries with the vara said the two patients were a uatemala’s new president, Jimmy is that justice be done - but justice, not ruled over the darkest years of the con- committed to the armed forces. disease, which is spreading through 23-year-old woman infected in Morales, said on Friday he wants revenge,” he said, answering questions by fl ict. During the military ceremony Friday, Latin America and the Caribbean. the northwest and a 15-year-old G“justice, not revenge” meted out to reporters. A lawmaker who helped found Mo- Morales announced that he was giving But this is the fi rst time it has boy infected in the southwest. She ex-army personnel accused of atrocities Eighteen retired soldiers were detained rales’ party, former offi cer Edgar Ovalle, the army the task of rebuilding 8,000km been transmitted on Ecuadoran said they were in stable condition. during his country’s 1960-1996 civil war. last week on accusations of participation is also implicated in the atrocities. Pros- of roads in rural parts of the country. soil, said Veronica Espinosa, dep- Zika can cause fever, rash, joint Following an armed forces ceremony in massacres of indigenous people and ecutors have asked that his parliamen- The decision cuts out private contrac- uty cabinet minister responsible pain and conjunctivitis, with recognising him as commander-in-chief in the disappearance of a boy during the tary immunity be lifted so he can face tors that had traditionally been given for monitoring outbreaks. symptoms usually lasting less just one day after he was sworn in, Mo- civil war. charges. funds to carry out such work. “We have now detected, con- than a week. Gulf Times Sunday, January 17, 2016 23 PAKISTAN/AFGHANISTAN

POLITICS GOVERNANCE JUDICIARY COMMUNICATION CRIME Zardari due in New York Sahrif forms panel to SC to take up treason Islamabad likely to lift Temple attack in Pakistan for medical check-up clear RTI draft law case plea tomorrow YouTube ban within days ‘not because of faith’

Former Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari is If the government of Pakistan is to be believed The top court will take up on January 18 former Pakistan is likely to lift the ban on YouTube Asserting that Hindus were not persecuted in her expected to reach New York next week along this time, the federal Right to Information (RTI) chief justice Abdul Hameed Dogar’s plea against within days to reciprocate the move by Google, country, Pakistani journalist-author Reema Abbasi with his son Bilawal, Chairman of the PPP, law is soon becoming a reality, as the prime the Special Court’s order to investigate his role the parent company, which launched a localised yesterday attributed land-grabbing rather faith and younger daughter Aseefa on a private minister has formed a committee to clear in promulgation of emergency on November 3, version of the website in Pakistan earlier this behind attacks on temples in Pakistan. “No temple visit for a medical check-up. According to the draft law without approval of the cabinet. 2007 during General Pervez Musharraf’s rule. week, off icials at the helm of developments has been razed on ground of faith. Yes, when the local PPP leaders, Zardari is waiting for his Minister for Information Pervez Rashid said that The Supreme Court’s three-judge bench, headed confirmed. The Internet giant, on Tuesday, Babri Masjid demolition happened, there was a son and daughter to join him in London for a five-member committee of PML-N lawmakers by Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, will hear Dogar’s announced the launch of YouTube’s localised backlash in Pakistan, but otherwise the attacks flying to New York. He has been living in Dubai will now finalise the draft law in a meeting on petition against dismissal of his plea by Islamabad versions for Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, on temples were not because of faith,” Abbasi for several months and, according to former January 21 and it will then be laid before the High Court (IHC) on December 9. The IHC, after addressing Islamabad’s long-standing dispute said at the Kolkata Literary Festival in India. “So interior minister Rehman Malik, who visited house as a government bill. preliminary hearing, had dismissed the petition as regarding the availability of blasphemous when people see headlines about a temple being him there, was not feeling well. Zardari is also The law draft was approved by the Senate non-maintainable. The three-judge Special Court content on the world’s largest social video attacked, they should look into the fine print likely to discuss Pakistan’s political situation and Standing Committee on Information in April 2014 has directed the Federal Investigation Agency sharing platform. where they will find that the reasons are land- preparations for the next general elections with but it has been awaiting the cabinet’s approval (FIA) to investigate the role of various alleged YouTube has remained blocked in Pakistan since grabbing or greed,” said the author of Historic party leaders during his stay in the United States. for two years. facilitators in imposition of emergency. September 17, 2012. Temples in Pakistan: A Call to Conscience.

Sharif, army chief Panel to oversee Pak-China to visit Saudi, Iran economic corridor project to reduce tensions

Agencies IANS Islamabad Islamabad

consultative meeting of akistani Prime Minis- Pakistan’s senior political ter Nawaz Sharif and Aleaders decided on Friday Pthe army chief, General to form a steering committee Raheel Sharif, will visit Saudi headed by Prime Minister Nawaz Arabia and Iran to diff use the Nawaz Sharif and Gen Sharif Sharif to oversee the implemen- tension between them. tation of the China-Pakistan The top civilian and mili- Iran, a few days after Iranian Economic Corridor project. tary leaders would pay a day- demonstrators stormed the It was decided that all the four long visit tomorrow to meet Saudi embassy in Teheran. provincial chief ministers would Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and be included in the committee, Aziz al-Saud and will discuss some other states broke off which would meet every three with him the latest situation ties with Iran over the attack. months to review the progress of in the Middle East and the The UAE downgraded rela- the mega project. kingdom’s relations with Iran, tions while some others re- All participants reaffi rmed Dawn reported. called their envoys in protest. their complete support to the The next stopover will be in The Iranian government project and agreed that the new Teheran where meetings will quickly distanced itself from institutional framework will be be held with the top Iranian the attack, saying the protest- able to better accommodate the leadership aimed at defusing ers entered the Saudi embassy regional concerns in future, an tension with Saudi Arabia. despite widespread eff orts by offi cial statement said. Saudi Arabia cut ties with the police to stop them. The prime minster’s offi ce said the meeting was convened to “share information with and address the reservations of Pakistan wants comprehensive dialogue: Dar political parties and govern- ment of Khyber Pakhunkhwa Pakistan won’t allow its territory against any country. regarding the China-Pakistan territory to be used for He told Radio Pakistan Economic Corridor,” the state- terror attacks and it seeks that the dialogue process ment said. a comprehensive dialogue between Islamabad and New A cell will be created in the with India, Pakistani Finance Delhi “has slowed down” ministry of planning, Ddevel- Minister Ishaq Dar said on after the terror attack on an opment and reform for coordi- Friday. IAF base in Pathankot which nation and information sharing Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif attends a meeting on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) with political leaders in Islamabad on Radio Pakistan quoted Dar New Delhi has blamed on with the provinces, the state- Friday. as saying that Islamabad Pakistani terrorists. ment said. wished “to move ahead for The foreign secretaries of Recently China and Pakistan tation of a 3.8mn-tonne coal $500mns, mainly through China Economic Corridor. and energy infrastructure, be- a comprehensive dialogue India and Pakistan were to signed a fi nancing agreement on mine and the construction of a Development Bank and Habib The corridor aims to connect tween the ports of Gwadar in with India to resolve all meet in Islamabad on Friday a coal power project located in 660,000-kilowatt power station Bank. Pakistan with China via a net- Pakistan and Kashgar in Xin- issues” between the two but the meeting has been the Thar Coalfi eld in Pakistan’s near the mine. The project is expected to be work of highways, railways and jiang. It was established to help countries. postponed. Sindh province. China will contribute $800mn completed by the end of 2017, pipelines. lift Pakistan out of its economic Dar added that Pakistan Minister Dar said he hoped The project will cost in excess to the fi nancing, while the Pa- and it will be the fi rst such The corridor will be a 3,000- slumber and boost growth for won’t allow any misuse of its the talks would begin soon. of $2bn, including the exploi- kistani partners will provide project in the China-Pakistan km network of roads, railways the Chinese border economy. Pakistan executed Police to prepare media houses security plan 332 after reinstating Internews and report to him about short- tors should be used for physical guards should be vetted by the There should be bunkers Karachi comings. search of visitors. Special Branch and Intelligence outside the buildings of media death penalty SSP Security-II Imran Riaz It was stated that all media Bureau. houses at vantage points and briefed the participants on mat- houses should maintain com- Media houses have been asked important telephone numbers n the wake of growing attacks ters related to security of the in- puterised records along with to hire private security guards must be displayed at important AFP are awaiting their punishment on media houses in Pakistan, stitutions. numbers of national identity only from registered companies. places. Islamabad for years,” Asma Jahangir, a ISindh province police au- The meeting decided that di- cards of visitors and all vehicles It was suggested that there It was also proposed that car lawyer and human rights ac- thorities have decided to prepare visional SSPs would meet secu- entering their premises must should be at least one armed parking must be at a safe dis- tivist in Pakistan, told AFP. a comprehensive security plan to rity offi cers of media houses to be scanned with bottom-view guard in all vans/buses/DSNG tance from the main building. akistan announced this The plan “can succeed only if protect the organisations. assess issues faced by them and mirror. vans of media houses. These The meeting was of the view week that authorities it is fully implemented, but here The decision to formulate a consequently comprehensive CCTV cameras must be in- vehicles should have cameras at that there should be no en- Phave executed 332 crimi- we see a selective or very little ‘standard operating procedure’ plans would be issued by the of- stalled at important points cov- the four corners and one dome croachments and hawkers out- nals and militants since lifting implementation,” she said. (measures to be taken) was tak- fi ces of divisional SPs. ering entrances, adjoining areas camera at the top-centre of side the premises of media a moratorium on the death pen- She went on to accuse the en at a meeting presided over by The representatives were in- and access roads and the cam- DSNGs. The windowpanes of houses. alty in 2014, the fi rst time an of- government of failing to act Additional Inspector General of formed that outer perimeter eras must have a storage capacity vans/DSNGs must be bullet- The SHOs concerned have fi cial tally has been released. consistently, citing the men Karachi Police Mushtaq Ahmed walls of buildings of all media of at least 15 days of data. proof. been directed to place a check- The South Asian nation un- convicted of murdering jour- Mahar and attended by repre- houses should be at least eight- The camera system must be It was proposed that the staff ing register inside the buildings veiled a sweeping plan to curb nalist Daniel Pearl in 2002, sentatives of media houses at foot high with two-foot diam- backed up by UPS and genera- of media houses must get clear- of media houses and the check- militancy after Taliban assail- who were handed death sen- the Karachi Police Offi ce, ac- eter barbed wires. tors. ance from the Special Branch ing offi cer should point out any ants gunned down more than tence years ago but have yet to cording to a police spokesper- There should be minimum Administrations of all media and Intelligence Bureau. lacuna. 150 people, most of them chil- be hanged. son. numbers of entry gates and an houses should have complete “Entrances of all media hous- “The offi cer will try his level dren, at an army-run school But supporters of the plan The AIG directed SSPs and exist gate in all buildings. bio-data of all private security es should have zigzag concrete best to remove all shortcomings in Peshawar on December 16, argue that executions are the SPs concerned to visit media Walk-through gates must be guards and details of arms and barriers as well as jersey barriers after discussion with the admin- 2014. only eff ective way to deal with houses, assess security concerns at entrances and metal detec- ammunition held by them. The along with the walls.” istration of the media house.” A six-year moratorium on the scourge of militancy in Pa- the country’s death penalty kistan. was lifted and the constitu- According to the report sub- tion amended to allow military mitted to parliament, 172 re- courts to try those accused of ligious seminaries across the carrying out attacks. country have been also been Pakistan likely to register seminaries in tribal areas Hangings were initially rein- closed on suspicions of having stated only for those convicted links to militant organisations. of terrorism, but in March they Ten websites related to Internews madrassas in the tribal border- president has the powers to ex- every madrassa in the region, The offi cial said the process were extended to all capital of- militant activity had also been Peshawar lands. tend any law to Fata whenever where local authorities have no had been partially completed in fences. blocked, it said, while more They said the legal mechanism necessary. legal powers or tools to regular- Kurram and Bajaur agencies and In a written reply submit- than 70 shops have been shut- did not exist for the registration Following the extension of the ise religious educational insti- Frontier Region Kohat. ted to the parliament on Fri- tered throughout Pakistan for uthorities will get legal of madrassas in Fata and that the said act to the tribal region last tutions. “The general public will not day, the Ministry of Interior selling material deemed to powers to start registra- president under Clause (3) of Ar- year, the Fata civil secretariat An offi cial in the know said get access to the data of ma- and Narcotics Control said 332 promote hate speech. Ation of madrassas (reli- ticle 247 of the Constitution had will frame rules for the registra- that the geo-tagging of ma- drassas,” he said. people had been executed in Meanwhile 2,000 people gious seminaries) in Pakistan’s ordered to extend the said act to tion of seminaries. drassas was launched in the re- The industry department has the country. have been arrested under the Federally Administered Tribal the region to begin registration In the absence of legal cover gion in line with the guidelines been registering madrassas and However, opponents of the plan’s scope while a similar Areas after the extension of the of madrassas. to register madrassas, a wing has of the National Action Plan, nongovernmental organisations policy stress that Pakistan’s number of cases of hate speech Societies Registration Act 1860 The notifi cation said for the been established in the Fata di- which was framed last year in in the four provinces as well as legal system is unjust, with have also been registered. to the region, said offi cials. words ‘provincial government’, rectorate of education that had the aftermath of the deadly the Islamabad Capital Territory rampant police torture and In June 2014, the army The offi cials said President wherever occurring, the words started enlistment of religious terrorist attack on the Army under the Societies Registration poor representation for vic- launched the “Zarb-e-Azb” Mamnoon Hussain had signed ‘federal government’ in the act institutions. Public School and College Pe- Act. tims during unfair trials, while operation in a bid to wipe a notifi cation in this regard were substituted, while for the Besides starting enlistment, shawar. “Presently, the directorate of the majority of those who are out militant bases in North and issued directions for the words ‘civil courts’, wherever the law and order department He said the geo-tagging of education has started enlist- hanged are not convicted of Waziristan tribal area and so extension of the Societies occurring, the words ‘courts of of the civil secretariat has also madrassas had been completed ment of madrassahs function- terror charges. bring an end to the bloody Registration Act 1860, which political agents and assistant started geo-tagging of semi- in South Waziristan Agency, ing in tribal areas. When rules “They (government) are decade-long Islamist insur- was currently enforced in the political agents’ were substi- naries in seven Fata agencies Khyber Agency, Orakzai Agency, are framed, then madrassas will hanging petty criminals but gency that has cost Pakistan Islamabad Capital Territory, tuted. and six Frontier Regions (FRs) Frontier Region Bannu and Fron- be registered properly,” said an- known terrorists on death row thousands of lives. to Fata to start registration of Under the Constitution, the to record precise location of tier Region Dera Ismail Kahn. other offi cial. Gulf Times 24 Sunday, January 17, 2016 PHILIPPINES Govt’s pension Religious fervour hike veto ‘may hurt Roxas’

By Joel M Sy Egco SSS pensioners will “hurt” Manila Times Roxas and his Daang Matuwid (straight path) slate. Dr Aries Arugay of the Uni- he presidential veto on versity of the Philippines Dili- the bill seeking a P2,000 man claimed that Roxas’ rivals Thike in Social Security will feast on the issue and use it System (SSS) pensions may as a weapon against him. take its toll on the candidacy “We can’t discount this of administration presidential possibility because it’s elec- candidate Manuel “Mar” Rox- tion time and any issue can be as and other Liberal Party (LP) used,” he said, echoing Casi- bets, political experts said. ple’s views. “It will impact negatively. In vetoing the bill, Aquino In the campaign environ- explained that “the stability ment now, any failure or is- of the entire SSS benefi t sys- sue against the administration tem, whose present member- will aff ect Roxas,” Institute ship comprises about 31mn for Political and Electoral Re- individuals, will be seriously form executive director Ramon compromised in favour of 2mn Casiple said in a text message pensioners and their depend- to Manila Times. ents.” The president said he re- Mathematically, he ex- turned the enrolled House Bill plained that the hike will result 5842 unsigned because of its in an annual payout of P56bn, “dire fi nancial consequences” which would dwarf the SSS’ that may compromise the en- annual investment income of tire benefi ts system. only 30 to 40bn. “While we recognise the ob- Roxas’ running mate, Ca- jective of the bill to promote marines Sur representative A child dressed as a Sto Nino joins residents of Manila’s Tondo district as they carry religious icons of the baby Jesus on the eve of the annual Sto Nino feast during a the well-being of the country’s Leni Robredo, expressed the procession yesterday. The Philippines is Asia’s bastion of Catholicism and the Sto Nino feast is one among dozens of religious festivals honouring various saints and private-sector retirees, we fear that Aquino’s move will religious icons, a legacy of three centuries of Spanish rule across the archipelago. cannot support the bill in its make them “suff er.” present form,” he told Senate “Administration candidates President Franklin Drilon and will suff er because somehow, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. we will be hit,” she said. Aquino maintained that ap- She claimed that Aquino proving the pension increase should have approved the bill would leave the SSS bankrupt not only because it will ben- as it would deplete the Invest- efi t pensioners but also to earn ment Reserve Fund to “zero” brownie points for the ruling by 2029. Liberal Party. Police see no spillover of Besides Casiple, a political However, Robredo said she science professor interviewed trusts that the president has by ABS-CBN believes that a justifi able reason for veto- the veto on the bill that would ing the measure and that she have benefi ted more than 2mn would abide by that decision. Indonesia terror attack PNP spokesman Chief Supt. tightened their watch on port The PNP offi cial added that immediately after the Jakarta The police chief added that Wilben Mayor has said and airports to prevent foreign the Directorate for Intelligence bombings, which was claimed on January 11, three Malaysian that intelligence agents terrorists from slipping into the may be co-ordinating with In- by the Islamic State in Iraq and IS suspects were arrested by are working round-the-clock country. donesian offi cials to ensure that Syria (ISIS). security forces after being de- gathering information PNP spokesman Chief Supt. international terrorists hiding Malaysian authorities have ported from Turkey. and monitoring Wilben Mayor told report- there will not be able to enter the arrested four suspected mili- “They were first detained perceived threat groups ers in Camp Crame in Quezon Philippines. tants and confiscated a weapon in Turkey while attempting to City yesterday that intelligence The Philippines and Indo- along with Islamic State group sneak into Syria to join IS fight- By Anthony Vargas agents are working round-the- nesia are members of the As- (IS) documents, national police ers,” Khalid said. Manila Times clock gathering information sociation of Southeast Asian chief Khalid Abu Bakar said. Authorities say dozens of and monitoring perceived threat Police or Aseanapol that are One of them, a 28-year old Malaysians have travelled to groups. constantly exchanging infor- Malaysian, admitted that he Syria to fight for the radical IS he Philippine National “The Directorate for Intelli- mation to safeguard against was planning to be a suicide group and warn they may seek Police (PNP) doused fears gence is busy working and gath- terrorism, Mayor explained. bomber. to return home and import its Tof a possible terror attack ering information and moni- He said the PNP and the “The suspect admitted that ideology. in Manila similar to the bomb- toring the movement of known Armed Forces of the Philip- he had planned a suicide attack Since 2015, police have ar- ings in Jakarta, Indonesia, that threat groups in the country pines (AFP) are working to- in Malaysia and was awaiting rested numerous suspects killed at least seven people, specially in the southern part,” gether to stop terror attacks. instructions from a member of whom they say were IS sympa- Manuel ‘Mar’ Roxas: setback to campaign saying security agencies have Mayor said. The PNP raised its alert level IS in Syria,” Khalid said. thisers plotting attacks. Disqualifi cation cases turn IS sympathisers among four off Poe, Duterte supporters killed in clash with troops By Anthony Vargas Buntong.An M4 rifl e was re- news team, whom they consid- & Moh Saaduddin covered from the attackers. ered “spy” of the government. By Llanesca T Panti Manila Times Murillo said that local se- The rebels were resisting and Manila Times curity forces in Lanao del vowed to derail the ongoing Sur have been already alerted peace process in Mindanao wo suspected support- against the armed group sus- between the government and he disqualifi cation cases ers of the Islamic State pected to be supporters of the MILF, saying that “those fi led against former Davao Tof Iraq and Syria (ISIS) ISIS. who joined the people ‘shaking TCity Mayor Rodrigo Du- and two civilians were killed Inspired by Islamic State of hands’ with the infi dels are also terte and Senator Grace Poe have following clashes with gov- Iraq and Syria (ISIS), local ji- their enemy.” turned off potential supporters ernment troops, which the lo- hadist militants have claimed Authorities were closely for their presidential bids, Davao cal militants claimed to have responsibility for several at- monitoring the activities of City representative Karlo Nog- initiated on Friday in Lanao tacks in Lanao del Sur includ- the ISIS-inspired groups in rales, a nephew of Duterte, said. del Sur. ing the Friday encounters. Lanao del Sur and the city of “If the situation does not Colonel Roseller Murillo, Marawi. change and the disqualifi ca- commander of Marawi city- Murillo said that Local residents and offi cials tion cases against Mayor Rody based 103rd Infantry Brigade of local security forces in Lanao del Sur expressed remain pending in the Comelec the Philippine Army, identifi ed in Lanao del Sur alarm and urged the Philippine (Commission on Elections), then the civilians as Panundi Sultan have been already government and the MILF to we cannot expect the numbers and his son, Aiman. alerted against the “establish close co-ordina- to change for the better. We are Murillo said the victims were armed group suspected tion” to avoid a repeat of the aware that there are support- killed by armed men under a to be supporters of ISIS dreaded Mamasapano massa- ers who like to come out, but are certain “Maute group” at about cre in Maguindanao on Janu- afraid all would be for naught if 6am in Barangay Gata, Buadi- The group – combined ary 25, 2015. A source of Manila Mayor Duterte is disqualifi ed,” puso Buntong town. members of the Khilafah Is- Times who requested anonym- Nograles said. Relatives of the victims re- lamiyah Movement (KIM), its ity, said majority of the resi- “The same is true with the taliated, killing one of the at- covert unit Ghuraba (or stran- dents want the peace process case of Senator Poe,” he added. tackers, reportedly wearing a gers) and some former mem- to continue. Several disqualifi cation cases Grace Poe (left) and Rodrigo Duterte are facing hurdles to their presidential bids by the disqualification cases. headband encrypted with the bers of the Moro Islamic Lib- The MILF on Tuesday re- were fi led against Duterte at the words “ISIS.” eration Front (MILF) – hailed leased a statement saying that Comelec. All petitions ques- ranked fourth. “That is why we disqualifi cation cases. We need fi cation is permanent. That is The offi cial believed that their fallen members “after failure of the Congress to pass tion the validity of the former are calling on the Comelec to to step up our information drive not accurate and her newest ad military vehicles were the tar- having done their part on jihad the Bangsamoro Basic Law mayor’s substitution for Martin speed up the dismissal of dis- that Senator Grace is a candidate clarifi es her candidacy,” Gatch- get of the attack. as martyrs.” (BBL) would benefi t radical Dino who petitioners claimed is qualifi cation cases against May- and the people can vote for her,” alian said. Members of the 65th In- They said two of their groups and consequently lose running for mayor of Pasay City. or Rody. They should not fear his Romulo said. But the administration camp fantry Battalion rushed to the brothers were killed and sev- their infl uence towards their Poe is also facing several dis- candidacy. In any case, we are In the SWS January 2016 sur- attributed Binay’s rise in the scene and pursued the gun- eral others were wounded in supporters in the troubled qualifi cation cases at the Come- thankful to those who continue vey, Poe’s rating went down to presidential survey to premature men. the attack. Muslim region. “The equation lec and Supreme Court. She was to support Mayor Rody. We call 24%, two points behind Binay’s campaigning and splurging on While on hot pursuit, the The radical militants said in Mindanao will change radi- earlier disqualifi ed by the poll on them to keep that trust that 26%. advertisements. troopers encountered another their operation on Friday was cally. There will be widespread body for not being a natural- change is coming,” Nograles The High Court has scheduled “The results are not surpris- armed group in Barangay Lilod to punish alleged “drug syn- frustration, which is a fertile born Filipino and for failing to said. oral arguments on Poe’s case for ing. Once Binay occupied his in Maguing town, a known dicates” in the province, but reason to recruit people espe- meet the residency requirement Pasig representative Roman January 19. post as vice president, he has stronghold of drug syndicates were intercepted by the mili- cially the youths to fi ght the set by law for presidential can- Romulo, who is running for sen- Valenzuela City representa- been campaigning to be the next in the province, and killed one tary. state,” it said. didates. ator under Poe’s Galing at Puso tive Sherwin Gatchalian, also a president. And just last month, of the armed men and wounded The group also claimed re- The statement was in reac- In the latest Social Weather ticket, also blamed the Comelec Senate bet of Poe, said the dis- he spent P700mn for his adver- another. sponsibility for the killing of tion to the reported pledging Stations (SWS) survey, Vice disqualifi cation cases for the dip qualifi cation cases had confused tisements and yet, he is yet to tell The army commander said two soldiers in Marawi City of allegiance to the ISIS by President Jejomar Binay edged in Poe’s ratings. the public. us where all these money came that the gunmen in Magu- last December, who were on the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) out his contenders, leaving Poe “The disinformation and con- “Some people are just mis- from,” Rep. Ibarra Gutierrez of ing were the same group who a mission in connection with in Basilan, led by Isnilon on second place. Duterte was fusion were brought about by the taken that the Comelec disquali- Akbayan party-list said. staged an attack in Buadipuso the shooting of an ABS-CBN Hapilon. Gulf Times Sunday, January 17, 2016 25 SRI LANKA/BANGLADESH/NEPAL/MALDIVES

Bangladesh begins moral education for police

In an unprecedented move, the Bangladesh police department has launched Maldives allows Nasheed counselling sessions to check moral degradation of its members, detective branch joint commissioner Monirul Islam said yesterday. In response to a query about the recent incidents of torture by policemen, he said: “The police to travel to UK for surgery headquarters has formed a probe committee to investigate the AFP allowed specialist treatment team pressuring the govern- President Yameen, a half- incidents. Actions will be taken Male abroad. ment of Yameen to uncondi- brother of former strongman against the policemen if they are A spokeswoman for the ex- tionally release Nasheed or face Maumoon Abdul Gayoom who found guilty.” leader’s Maldivian Democratic targeted sanctions from the ruled for 30 years until his defeat The probe committee will also he Maldives’ opposi- Party said lawyers were meet- international community. at the fi rst multi-party elections look into the matter whether tion leader Mohamed ing with Nasheed at a prison The sudden change of heart by Nasheed in 2008, has cracked the off icers in-charge of the TNasheed, who is serv- island near the capital yesterday by the Maldivian government down on dissent and arrested respective police stations were ing a 13-year jail term follow- following the hardline govern- came amid a fl urry of high-level political opponents. guilty of negligence in monitoring ing a controversial trial, has ment’s surprise announcement. diplomatic activity involving Yameen has said that a blast their subordinates, he added. been allowed to travel to Brit- The 48-year-old was con- neighbouring India, Sri Lanka aboard his speed boat in which On Friday, an inspector of the ain for surgery, the Maldives fi ned to jail in March 2015 on and former colonial power his wife and two others were Dhaka South City Corporation government said yesterday. terror charges relating to the Britain. injured in September was an at- (DSCC) was beaten up severely Nasheed, who became the arrest of an allegedly corrupt India’s Foreign Secretary tempt to assassinate him. by some patrol policemen in country’s fi rst democratically judge in 2012, when he was still S Jaishankar visited Male for He sacked his defence min- plain clothes in the capital’s elected leader in 2008, has com- in power. talks with the government and ister and impeached his deputy Dholairpar area. plained of a spinal cord problem The UN has said his trial was stopped over in Colombo this president Ahmed Adeeb over In another incident a sub- requiring specialist surgery seriously fl awed and that he week while Sri Lanka’s Foreign allegedly attempting to kill him. inspector of Mohammadpur that is not available in the small should be released and provid- Minister Mangala Samaraweera In July, Yameen sacked his police, Masud Sikder, has Indian Ocean archipelago. ed compensation for wrongful made an unscheduled visit to then deputy and running mate been accused of torturing a “The government of the Re- detention. Male on Thursday. at the 2013 elections, Mohamed Bangladesh Bank off icial on public of Maldives has granted The government of President Britain’s Deputy Foreign Jameel, on a charge of treason. January 9. permission to former president Abdulla Yameen has refused to Minister Hugo Swire was due in Jameel remains in self-im- The sub-inspector, who also Mohamed Nasheed to travel to accept the UN ruling and is re- Male yesterday shortly after the posed exile abroad while several threatened the bank off icial the United Kingdom to under- sisting international pressure to government’s concession was opposition activists are either with death if he failed to pay take a surgery at his request,” release Nasheed. initially announced on Twitter in jail or face prosecution for al- him 500,000 taka ($6,250), was the foreign ministry said in a His lengthy jail sentence was by the Maldivian foreign min- leged anti-government activi- suspended on Saturday. brief statement. commuted to house arrest in istry. ties. On Friday, the police The concession was on the July, but two months later po- None of the countries has Nasheed was forced out in headquarters formed a three- “condition (Nasheed) serve the lice took him back to prison, in commented publicly on what what he called a coup led by the member committee, led by remainder of the sentence upon a surprise move that drew fresh was discussed during the visits, military and police in February Additional DIG Harun-or-Rashid, return to the Maldives after the criticism from the UN and the but diplomatic sources said that 2012. Since then, the Maldives, to investigate the allegations of surgery”, it said. United States. backroom manoeuvring had a leading destination for up- torture on the bank off icial and Nasheed’s lawyers had de- London-based barrister contributed to the decision to market tourists, has remained Mohamed Nasheed complains of a spinal cord problem requiring DSCC off icial, and submit a report manded for months that he be Amal Clooney is on the legal allow Nasheed to travel. in political turmoil. specialist surgery. within seven days. Nepal announces start to Key leaders steam-rollered charter through parliament: Madhesi leader

IANS was promulgated on September the Nepali parliament following post-quake reconstruction the restoration of multi-party Kathmandu 20 last year after two constitu- ent assemblies struggled for over democracy in Nepal in 1990. DPA seven years to frame the new “It has been an uphill climb... Kathmandu constitution amendment charter. The 215-page document and the summit is yet far... but bill tabled by the Nepal was endorsed by 90% of the 598 we are committed to securing Agovernment in parlia- constituent assembly members our rights fi nally,” cautioned the ost-earthquake recon- ment barely three months after voting in favour - more than 60 Madhesi leader, who is highly re- struction was formally the new statute was promulgat- Madhesi members boycotted the spected as a “moderate”. Pbegun by the government ed shows the ruling elite accepts voting process. “The major three parties are of Nepal yesterday, nearly nine that the new charter is faulty and just doing drama in the name of months after the devastating needs to be corrected, a promi- “The major political negotiations... the government quakes. nent Madhesi leader has said. parties steam-rollered the is ignoring the demands raised Twin earthquakes in Nepal “There is an acceptance that constitution through the by Madhesis despite our having in April and May killed nearly there is an error in the constitu- House ... the document is presented the demands to the 9,000 people, according to po- tion and, therefore, an amend- not one emerging out of government in written and oral lice, in the country’s worst na- ment bill has been brought,” consensus, as it should have” forms time and again,” he said. tional disaster. Mahanta Thakur, senior leader “I don’t know how many President Bidhya Devi of the Samyukta Loktantrik Thakur said the major politi- times I will have to say that the Bhandari led the symbolic ges- Madhesi Morcha (SLMM) spear- cal parties in the Himalayan na- bottom-line demand of the tures during the ceremony in heading the almost fi ve-month- tion - the Nepali Congress, the Madhesi Morcha is demarcation the capital Kathmandu. old anti-constitution agitation, Communist Party of Nepal (Uni- of states... we need two federal The work will be directed by said yesterday. fi ed Marxists-Leninists) and the states in the Terai region from the National Reconstruction “Maybe, it is not satisfactory Unifi ed CPN (Maoist) - obdu- Jhapa till Kanchapur, but this Authority, which took shape ... it is to be seen how far it ad- rately continued to ignore the de- government acts like it knows in December after wrangling dresses our concerns,” Mahanta mands raised by the Madhesi po- nothing about it,” Thakur said. politicians fi nally agreed on an Thakur, who has led the agita- litical parties and the indigenous Nepal’s Terai region stretching executive director. tion in the southern Terai region groups of the southern plains of from the Mechi river in the east The reconstruction of homes of the Himalayan nation, added. the Nepal Terai forcing them to to the Mahakali river in the west will not begin until April, how- The Madhesi Morcha has been boycott the CA proceedings. and comprising Madhes in its ever, because surveying work is Nepalese Prime Minister KP Oli, centre left, unveils a poster as he formally begins the reconstruction stewarding the protest against “The major political parties eastern part and the tribal-dom- incomplete, the authority said. campaign in Bungamati village on the outskirts of Kathmandu yesterday. the new constitution, express- steam-rollered the constitution inated Tharuhat in the western The delays have already tak- ing dissatisfaction over the new through the House ... the docu- region has traditionally suff ered en a toll on the displaced, as A statement signed by four said the statement from agen- indoor pollution and result in a statute’s content, including de- ment is not one emerging out of immense discrimination from more than a dozen quake vic- UN agencies and other aid cies such as the World Health spike in cases of pneumonia. marcation of the federal units, consensus, as it should have,” the Kathmandu-centric ruling tims reported died in temporary groups said the most vulnera- Organisation, Britain’s Depart- More than 800,000 Nepali and has called for an inclusive said the soft-spoken Teraian elite that predominantly com- shelter as the Himalayan winter ble, including pregnant women, ment for International Devel- children under fi ve had pneu- constitution and citizenship. leader, who quit the Nepali Con- prises the Brahmins (Bahuns) set in. the elderly, children and people opment and the German Devel- monia in 2014 and around 5,000 Besides Thakur’s Terai Madh- gress in 2007 - after an almost and Chhetris of the Nepal hills. The international communi- with chronic conditions such opment Cooperation. died, said the UN Children’s es Loktantrik Party, the Morcha three-decade-long associa- The major agitation demand ty had pledged $4bn to recon- as diabetes and cardiovascular “Access to life-saving emer- Fund, Unicef. has three other major constitu- tion - to form the Terai Madhes is for the formation of two prov- struction work in Nepal. disease were already being af- gency services, including sur- But for women like Bhandari, ents - the Sadbhawana Party, Loktantrik Party. inces in the Nepali Terai - the Humanitarian agencies have fected. gery, intensive care and blood with three mouths to feed, us- headed by Rajendra Mahto; Fed- “This agitation is for rights, Madhes extending from the warned that with health care “Disruptions to public health transfusion, as well as referrals ing fi rewood is her only option. eral Socialist Forum-Nepal, led opportunities and equality ... it is Mechi river in the east to the facilities lacking over half of programmes, including routine of complicated cases, have been “For now, my priority is to by Upendra Yadav; and the Terai against discrimination on the ba- Narayani river in mid-western their total essential require- immunisation, will have an ex- severely impacted.” somehow cook meals and feed Madhes Loktantrik Party-Nepal sis of identity,” said the 66-year- Nepal and Tharuhat pradesh ments, the humanitarian impli- tremely serious and lasting im- The rising dependence on my children. Everything else headed by Mahendra Yadav. old Thakur, who presided as from the Narayani to the Ma- cations were “grave”. pact on the health of children,” wood will also increase more comes after that,” she said. The new Nepali constitution Speaker over the lower house of hakali river in the west. Top banker’s removal led to Padma Heading home fund cancellation threat: Hasina

By Mizan Rahman Without mentioning any- managing director post of that failed to win the legal battle. Dhaka one’s name, Hasina said the bank as the particular person Hasina said there was huge fund was withdrawn by the went to the court and the court pressure on her government World Bank at the provocation gave the verdict. to reinstate him (Yunus) as the rime Minister Sheikh of a particular person. “And you “That person violated the law managing director. Hasina yesterday alleged know that very well,” she said, of that bank and remained as the “So, there was tremendous Pthat she had been threat- in an oblique reference to Nobel managing director for 10 years. pressure from various quarters ened that funding to the Padma Prize winner Muhammad Yu- If anyone failed to win (the le- … they had created a hell on us in bridge project would be stopped nus, who was removed from the gal battle) in the court, that is that two years. We then decided if a particular person was not post of Grameen Bank manag- Sheikh Hasina speaking at not our responsibility … it’s not to construct the (Padma) bridge there as the managing director ing director (MD). an award function in Dhaka the responsibility of the people with our own resources…if any- of a particular bank. The prime minister said there yesterday. of the country. Could the con- one wants to help us with money “Some high offi cials from the were unprecedented eff orts to struction of the Padma bridge be we’ll receive, but we’ll show the US told me that funding would be attach the stigma of corruption phoned off all the money through stopped for that?” she said. world we can deliver,” she said. stopped if a particular person is to her government. “I myself corruption…they didn’t disburse Bangladesh Bank, the cen- The prime minister thanked not there in the (managing direc- and my family members were a single penny, but before that tral bank, in 2011 removed Yu- the people of the country for tor) post (of the bank),” she said. the prime targets… Even they they had created the confusion,” nus, then 70, from the manag- their all-out support to the The Bangladesh PM was didn’t spare my cabinet mem- Hasina said, adding that she took ing director post of Grameen government for constructing speaking at the Kazi Mahbub bers and secretaries,” she added. the matter as a challenge. Bank saying that he passed the the bridge with own resources. Sri Lankan fishermen return to port in the southern town of Ullah Award function at Shilpa- Hasina said, “A serious confu- The prime minister said retirement age of 60 years. “That support has given us a tre- Galle, 130km from Colombo, yesterday. kola Academy in Dhaka. sion was created that we had si- she had nothing to do over the Yunus then went to court and mendous strength,” she added. Gulf Times 26 Sunday, January 17, 2016 COMMENT

Chairman: Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Attiyah Editor-in-Chief : Darwish S Ahmed The World Bank needs to be Production Editor: C P Ravindran

P.O.Box 2888 a more responsive institution Doha, Qatar [email protected] The World Bank’s governments are willing to pay to or two. Furthermore, its fi nancial been its ability to share expertise and avoid it. structure enables it to be more to develop and reinforce norms among Telephone 44350478 (news), management and member A 20-year loan from the World autonomous, self-sustaining, and the governments to which it lends. 44466404 (sport), 44466636 (home delivery) countries need to work Bank has an interest rate of about 4%, resilient than most other multilateral In practice, however, the Bank has Fax 44350474 and the poorest countries can borrow institutions. These are the attributes it struggled to do this eff ectively. together to create a faster, for less than 1% (“International must leverage. Borrowers have often been reluctant more responsive Development Association loans”). For starters, the Bank is uniquely to accept its advice, which they Nonetheless, many countries placed to play the role of a “balancer” perceive as driven more by theory institution are choosing much more expensive in the international aid system, and ideology than by evidence and commercial loans or bond issues. helping to ensure that funds fl ow practice. By Ngaire Woods For example, Ghana, despite being toward the countries that most need Local offi cials in charge of GULF TIMES eligible for IDA loans, recently chose them. Individually, governments implementation know that if the Oxford to raise money from the bond market, give a lot of aid, but most of it goes to Bank’s advice proves impractical, from which it received an interest rate recipient countries with which they unrealisable, or fl awed in some other he World Bank is quietly several times higher. have special ties or relationships. way, it is they, not some technocrats sliding into insignifi cance, This “bilateral aid” is subject to sitting in Washington, DC, who will as its core fee-paying The World Bank is the whims and trends of the aid lose their jobs (or the next election). Global investors Tclients increasingly seek industry, sometimes fl owing only into Experience suggests that the other lenders. If it is to survive, its uniquely placed specifi c sectors or to back particular Bank’s advice has infl uence only management will need to streamline approaches. if its messenger is someone who its loan approval processes and to play the role of The result is that some countries get really knows the country (ideally as should buckle up leverage the unique assets that more aid than they need, while others a resident), is an expert on the issue distinguish it from its competitors. a “balancer” in the don’t get enough. at hand, and has the power to get The Bank once comfortably earned According to Britain’s Department approval in Washington. enough to be self-sustaining. Today, international aid for International Development, only Senior Bank staff deployed in for a bumpy ride it is rapidly becoming welfare- system fi ve of the 30 countries deserving the regions for long periods, such as Jim dependent. largest aid allocations get close to the Adams in Tanzania and Uganda, or Periodic contributions from right level. David Dollar in China, have enviable wealthy governments have propped No wonder emerging economies are The Bank is uniquely placed to track records. The Bank as a whole, A few months ago, an acronym FANG was created to up lending to poor countries, but excited by the establishment of the counterbalance the caprices of however, is unlikely to succeed if it refl ect on four gigantic and iconic Internet companies, these are unlikely to be increased, Brics countries’ New Development individual donors and ensure a better continues to attempt to become a whose shares have witnessed a massive run on the stock and some may be discontinued as Bank and the China-led Asian global allocation. Until now, however, centralised provider of solutions. donors redeploy aid budgets to refugee Infrastructure Investment Bank: Both its lending has tended to follow donor In short, the World Bank’s market. programmes. institutions have promised faster fashions, rather than complementing management and member countries They represent Facebook, Amazon, Netfl ix and Google, The problem is not that emerging lending. them. need to work together to create a whose stock market performance was one of the biggest economies have no desire to borrow; If the World Bank is to survive, A second rationale for the World faster, more responsive institution, global economic stories of 2015. they desperately need funds for its management must streamline Bank is the need for “counter- one that exploits its unique advantages A research by the FT statistics group shows that this infrastructure and other investments. its complicated and unwieldy cyclical” aid. At present, when the to balance aid fl ows, provide counter- grouping will have gained nearly 60% in terms of stock The problem is that the Bank is too bureaucracy, fi xing what internal rich part of the world catches an cyclical support and off er meaningful slow to process loans, which has reviews described over a decade ago economic cold, the poorer countries advice. value last year. increasingly made it the last choice for as “fragmentation, duplication, and face a double contagion: Their trade This approach could win back the But many analysts say a rather important question for many of its potential clients. delay” in assurance, safeguards and earnings plummet, and fl ows of aid fee-paying clients that comprise its investors looking ahead to 2016 is whether or not the run Whereas a commercial lender fi duciary processes. At the same time, and investment from richer countries self-sustaining resource base, provide in the FANG stocks will continue. might take three months to prepare the institution must identify what it is dries up. it with its global reach and allow it to With global economy slowing down considerably on and disburse a loan, the Bank takes uniquely positioned to do. The resulting halts to projects continue to play a vital role in boosting more than two years. And its eff orts to In 2013, the Bank declared a new or policies – half-built hospitals, economic growth and reducing the back of depressing commodity prices, mainly oil, speed up the process, which began in goal – to eradicate extreme poverty by unexpected shortages of medical poverty in developing countries. - besides the Chinese woes, many analysts are estimating 2013, have reduced the average time 2030. But this makes it just one of a supplies, bridges to nowhere – play Project Syndicate that stocks, regardless of the sector, will face challenges only slightly, from 28 months to 25.2 multitude of organisations seeking to havoc with their economies. As in 2016. months; in some regions (accounting address poverty. the Bank reviews its fi nancial- zNgaire Woods is dean of the A slowing economy aff ects one and all. No sector for a third of the Bank’s lending), the What makes the World Bank special management practices, a more Blavatnik School of Government wait has actually increased. is that it is made up of 188 countries consciously counter-cyclical approach and director of the Global Economic remains insulated from the global economic malaise. One clear indicator of the Bank’s and can act on behalf of all of them, could be adopted. Governance Programme at the Desperate investors will try out everything – sectors performance is how high a premium rather than being beholden to one A third rationale for the Bank has University of Oxford. that are either growing, or may potentially expand in the period ahead. But then share price strength need not be a refl ection of an improvement in the intrinsic value of a company business. It is said the success of the FANG group of socks is a symptom of the rise of a new model for the No sector economy that revolves remains round services rather than manufacturing. insulated from Many global investors have seen a shift in the the global bull market, which is economic increasingly getting dominated by a handful malaise of large stocks in place of smaller companies earlier. But so far this year, stock markets around the world have seen investors fl eeing, amid concerns over global economy. The new year’s stock-market rout deepened last week, dragging the Dow Jones Industrial Average down almost 10% from its highs of late last year and sending investors fl ocking to safety. The broader S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes are already in a correction mode, having endured a swift and tumultuous descent in just two weeks. The sell-off continued in Asia. China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and India have all seen their stock markets putting investors on edge on fears about commodity prices and the outlook for global growth. The Middle East bourses also sank to multi-year lows at the weekend as investors cashed out after Brent A group of students gathering on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to recite Dr Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech in Washington, DC. Each child took a turn reciting a small portion of the full speech until it was complete to honour the American civil rights pioneer’s birthday. The US commemorates the life and death of crude oil slipped below $30 a barrel and global markets Martin Luther King Jr tomorrow. Martin Luther King Jr Day is observed in the US on the third Monday in January every year. resumed selling off . Market analysts have warned investors it is best “not to get carried away” at times of great uncertainties. They Remember King’s commitment to doing what’s right caution that the hype and excitement around a few big stocks, and eclipse for riskier small companies are classic By Darryl Lorenzo Wellington police brutality directed against portray Black Lives Matter activists as King opposed the Vietnam symptoms of the top of a bull market. Tribune News Service African-Americans. “rioters” (though the demonstrations War and other American military They underscore the fact that key global markets have King would, undoubtedly, have have been largely peaceful), King interventions on the grounds that grown nervous in the fi rst two weeks of 2016, in view of supported the Black Lives Matter would have responded that the they were fruitless, inhumane and an accelerating slide in commodity prices that is raising omorrow, the US movement against police brutality. movement’s critics are avoiding the fiscally wasteful. “A nation that commemorates the life and Racism in the criminal justice system real issue of systemic injustice. continues year after year to spend fears that the global economy is headed for a major death of Martin Luther was after all an issue in his lifetime. No doubt King would have decried more money on military defence slowdown. TKing Jr, who extolled the recent tragic mass shootings and the than on programmes of social uplift The World Bank last week trimmed global growth transformative power of self-sacrifi ce King’s work called failure to pass even limited gun control is approaching spiritual death,” he expectations, and while few analysts now predict a US and love, and led a movement which measures in Congress. said. recession, many are saying that investors should buckle indelibly contributed to tearing down attention to the Early in his life, before becoming There can be no doubt that King the walls of legal segregation. committed to nonviolence, King would have had similar criticisms up for a bumpy ride. King’s work called attention inherent injustice of owned a weapon. But he gave it up, of foreign wars and military Looks like 2016 will be a more challenging year for to the inherent injustice of racial as his belief grew in “the value of interventions today. global markets! and economic segregation as racial and economic compassion and nonviolence” that King admonished his own well as discriminatory housing “helps us to see the enemy’s point of generation on the pressing need to laws and employment practises. segregation view, to hear his questions, to know undo racism, and he will continue to To Advertise His commitment to nonviolence his assessment of ourselves”. admonish future generations: “The exemplifi ed a form of activism that “We can never be satisfi ed as Given his belief in confl ict time is always right to do what is [email protected] was devoted to practical goals, while long as the negro is the victim of resolution and transformational right.” Display guided by the better angels of human the unspeakable horrors of police nonviolence, King would have wanted Telephone 44466621 Fax 44418811 nature. brutality,” King said. to see America become a society with zDarryl Lorenzo Wellington is Over the past few years, American King faulted racism and poverty as few guns as possible. a poet and critic living in Santa Classified politics has been riddled by mean- for most social ills. He strongly In his day, King promoted a Fe, New Mexico. He wrote this for Telephone 44466609 Fax 44418811 spirited partisanship, even bigotry. It disbelieved in “blaming the victim.” massive readjustment of national Progressive Media Project, a source seems certain that King would have He disapproved of rioting, but called expenditures. He believed that of liberal commentary on domestic Subscription been dismayed. it “the language of the unheard”, and excessive military spending siphoned and international issues. Readers may [email protected] Republican presidential candidate an act of desperation. He asked that money from programmes at home. write to the author at: Progressive Donald Trump is drumming up society sympathise with victims, He hoped to see “a reordering our Media Project, 409 East Main Street, support by demeaning Latinos, but condemn slums, poverty and priorities so that the pursuit of peace Madison, Wis. 53703; e-mail: pmproj@ 2014 Gulf Times. All rights reserved Muslims and women. Video unemployment. will take precedence over the pursuit progressive.org; Website: www. technology has exposed commonplace Today, when critics attempt to of war”. progressive.org Gulf Times Sunday, January 17, 2016 27 COMMENT A new approach to anxiety treatments Feelings of fear occur when a present itself, while feelings of anxiety more eff ective. The basic idea is that possible source of harm usually involve the possibility of harm the symptoms involving nonconscious in the future. processes should be targeted is nearby or likely to present Worldwide, the lifetime prevalence separately from those involving itself, while feelings of of anxiety disorders is about 15%, conscious processes. and the cost to society is enormous. I suggest the following sequence. anxiety usually involve the In the late 1990s, it was estimated Start with nonconscious exposures possibility of harm that the economic burden of anxiety (using subliminal stimulation to totalled more than $40bn. The total bypass conscious thoughts and in the future cost is most likely signifi cantly higher, feelings that can be aroused and because many anxiety disorders are interfere with the exposure process) to By Joseph LeDoux never diagnosed. dampen the response of areas like the New York Counter-intuitively, the reason amygdala. that the most frequently prescribed Once the nonconscious systems anxiety medications don’t address are under control, use conscious hen researchers want to the underlying problem is that they exposures to treat conscious evaluate the effi cacy of are working exactly as they should – symptoms. new anxiety treatments, according to the criteria used to design Finally, employ more traditional Wthe traditional approach them. psychotherapies: Verbal interactions is to study how rats or mice behave in Most treatments based on studies with the therapist aimed at helping uncomfortable or stressful situations. using mice or rats do make anxiety patients work on changing beliefs, Rodents shun brightly lit, open spaces, disorders easier to live with. What reevaluate memories, encourage where, in the wild, they would become they fail to do is actually make people acceptance of one’s circumstances, easy prey. less fearful or anxious. acquire coping strategies, and so on. So their natural tendency in a test The reason for this is simple. The There is also a place for drugs in apparatus is to fi nd areas that are brain systems that control behavioural this approach, but not as a long- poorly illuminated or close to walls. responses in threatening situations term solution. Rather, drugs can be The longer a medicated animal spends are similar in rodents and humans, used to make the exposure treatment in areas in which it is unprotected, the and involve older areas deep in the more eff ective (the pharmaceutical more eff ective the drug is judged to be brain that work nonconsciously (for d-cycloserine has shown some in treating anxiety. example, the amygdala). promise in this regard). But the drugs that have resulted On the other hand, the systems The effectiveness of an approach from this approach are not actually that produce conscious experiences, that recognises that different brain very good at making people feel less including feelings of fear and anxiety, systems control different symptoms anxious. Neither patients nor their involve evolutionarily new regions of has yet to be properly evaluated, therapists consider the available the neocortex that are especially well but research suggests that it should options – including benzodiazepines developed in the human brain and work. like Valium and selective serotonin poorly developed in rodents. It would also be noninvasive and reuptake inhibitors like Prozac or Conscious feelings are also would require only a repurposing of Zoloft – as adequate treatments for dependent on our unique linguistic frequently used procedures. Given anxiety. capacities – our ability to controlled symptoms triggered by to tolerate bright, open spaces), that result in conscious experiences. the magnitude of the problem, a stone After decades of research, some of conceptualise and name our inner threatening stimuli, they are less medicated anxiety suff erers are more This doesn’t necessarily mean better so easily reached should not be left the big pharmaceutical companies are experiences. It is telling that the eff ective when it comes to conscious likely to be able to return to their drugs. unturned. - Project Syndicate raising the white fl ag and cutting back English language has more than feelings of fear or anxiety. jobs. But, because the treatments do Nonconscious responses can also on eff orts to develop new anti-anxiety three dozen words for gradations of The drugs we have can help patients not directly address conscious brain be treated with exposure therapy, in zJoseph LeDoux, professor of science, drugs. fear and anxiety: worry, concern, who, in order to avoid situations processes, the anxiety itself does not which repeated interaction with a neural science and psychology, and But we cannot aff ord to give up on apprehension, unease, disquietude, that inspire fear or anxiety, such as always go away. threatening stimulus is orchestrated child and adolescent psychiatry at treatment for the so-called anxiety inquietude, angst, misgiving, crowded subways or being judged by If treatments are to become more in order to dampen its psychological NYU, is director of the Emotional Brain disorders, which encompass problems nervousness, tension and so forth. their peers or superiors, have stopped eff ective, our approaches will need eff ects. Institute at the Nathan Kline Institute related to both fear and anxiety. Consequently, though animal going to work. to become more nuanced. We will Findings about how conscious and and NYU. His latest book is Anxious: Feelings of fear occur when a possible studies are useful in predicting how Just as medicated rats are less need to treat the systems that operate nonconscious brain systems work may Using the Brain to Understand and source of harm is nearby or likely to a drug will aff ect nonconsciously behaviourally inhibited (more able nonconsciously diff erently from those enable us to make exposure therapy Treat Fear and Anxiety. Letters Weather report Three-day forecast

TODAY We must stamp out Worry over found in a way that does not aff ect the High: 24 C standard of education. Low : 14 C Expected poor visibility at places food adulteration admissions at first due to fog and strong wind JV daytime Dear Sir, Dear Sir, (Full name and address supplied) MONDAY Food adulteration is quite The newly-arriving expatriate High: 23 C common now, it seems. The other parents face a huge problem as it is Please send us your letters Low : 14 C day, a few apples I bought from a a huge struggle for many of them to Sunny store were found coated with wax. get admission for their children in By e-mail When I put them in hot water, the schools in Qatar as the seats in them [email protected] wax melted. Most of the apples we are limited. Fax 44350474 TUESDAY eat are covered with a thin coat of New regulations setting the Or Post High: 24 C wax. This could be dangerous to maximum number of students in a Letters to the Editor Low : 15 C our health. class aim well. Gulf Times P Cloudy P O Box 2888 Apples in stores often look quite A wax-coated apple after being But as the number of new Doha, Qatar shiny. Scratch them and you will immersed in hot water. students seeking admission is see the wax coating coming out. higher than the number of seats Fishermen’s forecast All letters, which are subject to ed- Adulterated food pose a major health and for this, it is essential to stamp out available, this creates immense iting, should have the name of the OFFSHORE DOHA hazard and steps must be taken to end food adulteration. problems and gives anxious Wind: NW 15-22/25 KT writer, address and phone number. Waves: 4-7/8 Feet the practice. moments for parents. The writer’s name and address We must work together to raise the Pradeep Kumar The situation needs to be addressed INSHORE DOHA may be withheld by request. Wind: NW 08-18/22 KT next generation of healthy children (e-mail address supplied) immediately and a solution is to be Waves: 1-3/4 Feet

Around the region Weather Weather today Max/min tomorrow Max/min Abu Dhabi M Sunny 26/16 Sunny 27/13 Baghdad Sunny 19/07 P Cloudy 21/11 Live issues Dubai Sunny 25/17 Sunny 26/16 Kuwait City Sunny 20/09 Sunny 21/13 Manama Sunny 21/16 Sunny 22/14 Muscat Sunny 26/17 Sunny 26/16 Riyadh Sunny 24/11 Sunny 26/12 Careful of caregiver burnout Tehran Sunny 12/03 Sunny 12/04

By Barton Goldsmith it’s really important to take care of Tribune News Service yourself, so you can continue taking care of the one who needs you. There are support groups for f you’ve ever been the caretaker caregivers. Call your local hospital of a loved one, or even if you and ask if they can recommend any are a professional in the field, in your area. The Internet can also be Iit’s a tough job, and you have to very helpful. You can keep a journal learn a few tricks to give the other to get your feelings out. You can post person and yourself the care you on Facebook or blog to release some both deserve. of your stress, and getting positive I’m currently the caretaker for a feedback will help keep you strong. loved one in hospice. It’s pretty much Remember that you are doing an a 24/7 job, but right now I can be there amazing thing here. You have given up for her and I’m going to embrace every much of your life to care for a person moment we have together. But the who is almost ready to leave. This is truth is I’m tired. a gift to both of you, but it is one that Daily morning runs to the doctor for takes a lot of energy, so brace yourself Around the world injections, trying to fi nd something and fi nd ways to get the support you Weather Weather she’ll eat, cleaning up after her. I’ve need to keep going. today Max/min tomorrow Max/min become numb to most of it. Being This is not an easy process; there are Athens P Cloudy 14/05 Cloudy 07/03 woken at all hours has turned into tears and laughter and a wild ride with Beirut P Cloudy 20/15 Rain 17/12 Bangkok P Cloudy 32/26 P Cloudy 32/26 just napping any chance I get. Getting someone who may be bedridden. But Berlin M Cloudy 00/-5 P Cloudy -2/-6 up before 6am is not why I became a the gift you are giving will come back Cairo Sunny 22/10 Cloudy 16/09 writer. to you. Cape Town Sunny 37/22 Sunny 33/22 One of the ways I give myself a By caring for another, you are being Colombo P Cloudy 32/22 Sunny 33/22 Sunny 27/16 mini vacation is to imagine being in your best self, and the other person is Dhaka 27/15 Sunny Hong Kong Rain 19/12 M Sunny 18/14 the south of France. The pressure getting the help he or she deserves. It’s Istanbul Rain 14/02 Snow 03/-1 of watching a loved one die and all good. Just remember to take care of Jakarta S T Storms 33/26 S T Storms 32/26 tanking on the task of caring for yourself. Karachi Sunny 27/14 Sunny 27/13 that individual really means that London P Cloudy 04/02 Showers 04/01 Manila M Sunny 33/22 P Cloudy 32/23 you are giving up at least part of, fun things like having dinner. I enjoy caregiver much easier. zDr Barton Goldsmith, Moscow Snow -2/-17 Cloudy -10/-13 if not most of, your life. You now that kind of energy and get nurtured There will be times when it feels a psychotherapist in Westlake Village, New Delhi P Cloudy 21/07 Sunny 21/09 come second, and any seasoned through it. like it’s too much. You may even California, is the author of The Happy New York Cloudy 03/-3 P Cloudy -1/-7 caregiver will tell you to put your What works best for me is when have thoughts that you’d wish the Couple: How to Make Happiness Paris Rain& Snow 04/-2 Cloudy 02/00 P Cloudy P Cloudy 26/18 own oxygen mask on first, but other people come by and hang out, so person you are caring for would a Habit One Little Loving Thing at Sao Paulo 26/16 Seoul Cloudy 08/-3 Cloudy -3/-14 when it comes to a loved one, that I don’t have to leave my loved one, and just pass peacefully, and then you a Time. Follow his daily insights on Singapore S T Storms 32/26 T Storms 33/26 rule can get overlooked. they can also say hello and bring her feel guilty. This happens because Twitter at @BartonGoldsmith, or Sydney P Cloudy 23/16 P Cloudy 26/17 One thing that helps is being around a little love and good energy. Times you are overwhelmed and perhaps e-mail him at Tokyo Clear 10/02 Cloudy 09/02 other positive people, doing simple like these make the process of being a approaching burnout. Now is when [email protected] Gulf Times 28 Sunday, January 17, 2016 QATAR

Tuymans poses with some of the artworks. QM expo off ers talent expression atar Museums (QM) has tion are Katrina Boyd, a teacher tionalism and belief, or to headline internationally of the key fi gures announced the fi ve lucky at Al Khor International School; social and political events, could of a new generation of fi gurative Qwinners of the “Luc Tuy- Michael Perrone, a professor at be opened up to a nuanced debate. painters, widely credited with mans Challenge” competition, VCU-Qatar; healthcare manage- By bringing major international having contributed to the revival who will now see their artworks ment professional Mohamed Mus- artists and their exhibitions to of painting in the 1990s. His works displayed in QM’s latest exhibition lim and students, Devi Sari and Qatar, such as Luc Tuymans’ “In- are featured in museum collections titled, “Your View”, which will be Maryam Nasser. Each individual tolerance”, QM is continuing to worldwide including The Art In- on show at the QM Gallery, Al Ri- hugely impressed Tuymans with infl uence aspiring artists from the stitute of Chicago; Centre Georges waq until January 31. their artworks, all of which are in- region and to educate local com- Pompidou, Paris; Los Angeles Presented under the leadership spired by media-driven images of munities about international art. County Museum of Art; MoMA, of its chairperson, HE Sheikha Al important moments in history that In line with QM’s vision to inspire New York; Pinakothek der Mod- Mayassa bint Hamad bin Kha- have aff ected the world and how an indigenous culture of creativ- erne, Munich; Solomon R Guggen- lifa al-Thani, the competition was we perceive it today. ity and innovation in Qatar, “The heim Museum, New York and Tate inspired by the work of interna- Tuymans uses art to show- Luc Tuymans Challenge” sought Gallery, London. tionally-acclaimed Belgian artist case his views on history, media to engage local artistic talent and Among his major solo shows are Luc Tuymans, whose major retro- and how we look at images. Well to further inspire creativity in the a presentation of the artist’s por- spective “Intolerance” is currently aware from the outset of his ca- country. traits, Nice. Luc Tuymans, at The on display at the QM gallery at Al reer that painting as an art-form Competitors were asked to sub- Menil Collection, Houston in 2013. Riwaq until January 30. “The Luc was widely considered in crisis, mit a high-resolution photo of Previous major survey shows in- Tuymans Challenge” invited crea- Tuymans adopted a contrasting their painting to a dedicated web- clude those organised by Moderna tives from across the country to stance. Painting became for him site, including details of the in- Museet Malmo, Sweden in 2009 express their views of world events a vehicle through which the most spiration behind their work and a and Tate Modern, London in 2004. though art. urgent and volatile issues, whether brief biography. In 2001, the artist represented Bel- The winners of the competi- relating to history, identity, na- Luc Tuymans is widely regarded gium at the 49th Venice Biennale. Library launched at HGH paediatric continuity clinic

amad Medical Corporation (HMC) in col- laboration with the Childhood Cultural HCentre recently inaugurated a small li- brary for children at Hamad General Hospital’s (HGH) Paediatric Continuity Clinic. The library was installed as part of an ongoing co-operation between HMC and the Childhood Cultural Centre and in order to foster a love of read- ing among children visiting the clinic, according to HMC’s chief communications offi cer Ali al-Khater. The library is attractively designed to encour- age children to read, and off ers books, magazines and educational toys. The initiative also aims to increase the children’s knowledge and enable them to develop their language skills and creativ- ity, as well as to engage in fun and entertaining activities during their visits. “The provision of this library is part of our campaign, ‘I read’ launched by the centre in 2012. The Paediatric Continuity Clinic team. Below: The library at HGH. We provided the library to a group of institutions, most notably HMC which has always fully sup- ported eff orts to bring happiness and improve the quality of life of their patients, especially chil- dren,” said Abdullah Hamid al-Mulla, director of Public Relations of the Childhood Cultural Cen- tre. The children also received gifts during the library’s inauguration. The Paediatric Continuity Clinic opened in November 2015 at HGH’s Outpatient Department to provide patient-centred care for children. The clinic enables each patient to stay in one as- signed treatment room where the patient’s nurse, paediatric specialist or medical resident comes to them, so that the patient does not have to move around. With eight themed treatment rooms, the clinic is open Sunday to Thursday from 7am to 3pm.

Diverse events lined up for winter festival

or the third year in a row, the children with the Qatari cultural and animals exhibition by Kanari World Cultural Village Foundation Ka- national identity, and Qatar’s fl ora. pet store, performances by various Ftara will launch its 2016 edition To raise awareness on healthcare cultural bands, assorted activities by of the Winter Festival on January 24. during the winter season, two health the Ministry of Municipality and Ur- It will continue until January 28 at campaigns are set to be launched dur- ban Planning, games at the beachfront the Katara esplanade. ing the festival. One campaign will organised by Katara, a photo exhibi- This year’s edition draws a signifi cant be organised by Bin Muftah’s medical tion, kids workshops, painting work- participation of ministries, institutions centre to raise awareness on common shops for adults and a display of hand- and private sector entities, all set to diseases during winter, foods to eat crafts by Qatar University’s alumni present a wide range of diverse events during the season, and some healthy association, and an introductory expo including performances, theatrical habits to follow. The other campaign by Qatar News Agency. shows and educational workshops. is by Al Rabiee medical centre on skin- Katara has always been keen to or- In this edition of the festival, the care during the winter season. ganise these educational and enter- Childhood Cultural Centre is planning Meanwhile, Al Gannas Society is or- taining festivities in winter with the several activities including competi- ganising information sessions aimed participation of the private and gov- tions and games, and gifts distribution. at junior falconers, and other sessions ernment sectors in Qatar, a statement Qatar Heritage and Identity Centre is for falconry and hunting using saluki said. The third edition of winter festi- featuring a unique educational the- dogs. The festival will also feature a val is launched with an aim of attract- atrical show highlighting the winter variety of events and activities includ- ing the public and children in specifi c. season besides numerous entertaining ing exhibitions and workshops by Al These festivities are expected to give activities. The show is organised with Galayel competition. children a glimpse of Qatari lifestyle an aim of acquainting the public and Other activities include birds and during winter.