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HIA ranked fourth best Nakilat sets up JV, airport in adds four new LNG the world vessels to its fl eet published in QATAR since 1978

THURSDAY Vol. XXXX No. 11136 March 28, 2019 Rajab 21, 1440 AH

GULF TIMES www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals

NMoQ refl ects Qatar’s history, aspirations: Amir

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Kuwait’s First Deputy His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and His Highness the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and Her Highness Sheikha Moza Prime Minister and Defence Minister Sheikh Nasser Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah look at HE Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani at the bint Nasser attending the dinner banquet with former French president Nicolas Sarkozy after the one of the exhibits at the new museum. inauguration of the National Museum of Qatar. inauguration of the museum yesterday. His Highness the Amir inaugurates National Museum of Qatar The immersive new museum, housed in an architectural masterpiece by Jean Nouvel, embraces as its centrepiece the restored historic Palace of Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim al-Thani (1880-1957), son of the founder of modern Qatar

Highness Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Philippe, Kuwait’s First Deputy Prime number of heads of companies and lisation and Qatari heritage. By Joey Aguilar Inside Staff Reporter al-Thani, His Highness Sheikh Abdul- Minister and Defence Minister Sheikh international institutions, directors of The new building, which includes lah bin Khalifa al-Thani, His Highness Nasser Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, museums, academics, fi lm directors, and surrounds the old palace, is de- Sheikh Mohamed bin Khalifa al-Thani, Oman’s Heritage and Culture Minis- and other celebrities from around the signed by architect Jean Nouvel. The Amir tours NMoQ – P 27 is Highness the Amir Sheikh HE Sheikh Jassim bin Khalifa al-Thani, ter Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq al-Said, world also attended the opening. innovative design is based on a natural Celebs shine at opening – P 27 Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani of- HE the Prime Minister and Interior Germany’s Minister of State for Inter- Speaking on the occasion, His High- phenomenon caused by a sand forma- Dedicated to Qatar history – P 11 Hfi cially inaugurated yesterday Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser national Culture Michelle Muntefer- ness Sheikh Tamim paid tribute to tion known as the desert rose, called in the National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ) bin Khalifa al-Thani, HE the Speaker of ing, former President of France Nicolas the initiative of His Highness the Fa- Qatar as Qahuf. Visual treat in store – P12 – a desert rose-inspired architectural the Shura Council Ahmed bin Abdullah Sarkozy, Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi, ther Amir to expand the museum, the Sheikh Tamim pointed out that Qa- Treasured traditions – P 12 masterpiece that tells the story of Qa- bin Zaid al-Mahmoud, and Qatar Mu- Azerbaijan’s adviser Souda Mohamed original building of which was built in tar builds museums not to store art Noted French artist’s feat – P 12 tar and its people in an immersive way seums (QM) Chairperson HE Sheikha Aliev were among those present. 1975 in the old palace of Sheikh Abdul- collections, or showcase the past, but through its 11 interlinked galleries. Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa al- A number of Sheikhs, ministers and lah bin Jassim bin Mohamed al-Thani, to enlighten the public, residents and ‘Platform for dialogue’– P 13 Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported Thani. heads of diplomatic missions accred- and above all his vision and launching visitors, with the country’s past and ‘Qatar unique in architecture’ – P 13 that the ceremony was attended by the Turkish Vice-President Fuat Oktay, ited to Qatar, several prominent fi gures a process in which modernity is inte- present and position in the world. ‘History, resilience and soul’– P 13 Amir’s Personal Representative His French Prime Minister Edouard in politics, culture, art, media, and a grated with the Arab and Islamic civi- To Page 28 Gulf Times 2 Thursday, March 28, 2019 QATAR

PM meets Omani culture minister and Turkish vice-president Ministry opens registration for govt school admissions

QNA Doha

he Ministry of Education and Higher Education an- Tnounced that the regis- tration and acceptance process for government schools has be- gun for the academic year 2019- 2020 according to the age groups and timeline set by the registra- tion offi ces at the schools. It added that the fi rst phase of registration, including auto- matic transfer of students from grades 6 and 9 to the specifi ed HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani, met Oman’s HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani met Turkish schools. Minister of Heritage and Culture Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq al-Said and the accompanying delegation, on Vice-President Fuad Aktay and the accompanying delegation on the occasion of their visit to the country The Ministry of Education has the occasion of their visit to the country to participate in the opening ceremony of the National Museum to participate in the opening ceremony of the National Museum of Qatar. During the meeting, they set the minimum age require- of Qatar. During the meeting, relations between the two countries and ways of strengthening them, discussed the development of the bilateral strategic co-operation relations between the two countries and ments for kindergarten, pre- especially in the field of culture and heritage preservation were discussed, in addition to a number of means of enhancing them in various fields. The meeting reviewed the important current issues of mutual school and grade 1. issues of mutual interest. interest at the regional and international levels. Qatari parents and GCC citizens can enrol their children born on or before 31/12/2015 in kindergarten, and children born on or before 31/12/2014 in pre-school grade. Qataris and nationals of GCC Qatar-Rwanda military ties reviewed countries can enrol their children born on or before 31/12/2013 in grade 1. Citizens of other nations can enrol their children born on or before 30/9/2013 in grade 1. Cabinet reaffi rms The ministry has also identi- fi ed the stages of registration, early transfer, documentation and conditions to register for new or transferred students from stage to stage or to re-enrol Qatar’s rejection in public schools for the aca- demic year 2019/2020. of US decision on Qatar attends

HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Aff airs Dr Khalid bin Mohamed Arab League al-Attiyah met Rwanda’s Minister of Defence, Albert Murasira, and his accompanying delegation, in Doha yesterday. The meeting focused on military ties and the ways to enhance them. HE al-Attiyah Golan Heights held a luncheon banquet in honour of the Rwandan minister of defence and his accompanying meeting delegation. The meeting and the banquet were attended by a number of ranking off icers at the QNA the recognition of the legitimate ister of Education and Higher Qatar Armed Forces. Doha rights of the Palestinian people, Education on the executive reg- QNA foremost of which was the right ulations of the law on Regulating Tunis to establish its independent Higher Education. he Cabinet’s regular State with Al Quds as its capital. The project aims to regulate meeting, chaired by HE Cabinet then reviewed topics the governance of the higher unisia hosted yesterday Tthe Prime Minister Sheikh on its meeting’s agenda as fol- education sector, enhance the Speaker meets Russian ambassador an Arab League meeting Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa lows: quality of higher education in- Tat the level of permanent al-Thani, yesterday reiterated First, the Cabinet approved stitutions, and regulate the work representatives, chaired by Tu- Qatar’s rejection of US recog- the draft resolution of the Coun- of private educational institu- nisia’s Arab League representa- nition of Israel’s sovereignty cil of Ministers to issue the ex- tions and university service cen- tive Najeb al-Muneef. over the occupied Syrian Golan ecutive regulations of the law on tres. Qatar’s delegation was chaired Heights. organising tenders and auctions The draft resolution includes by Permanent Representative to Following the meeting, which issued by Law No 24 of 2015, and the provisions relating to the the Arab League, ambassador took place at the Amiri Diwan, to take the necessary procedures regulation of the licensing of Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz al-Sahl- HE the Minister of Justice and for its issuance. private higher education insti- awi. Acting Minister of State for Cab- The preparation of the draft tutions and their programmes, The meeting will discuss 21 inet Aff airs Dr Issa Saad al-Jafali executive regulations replaces university service centres, the items on its agenda. al-Nuaimi stated the following: the one issued by Cabinet de- specification of the conditions They include the develop- The Cabinet also expressed its cision No 22 of 2016 to comply of private higher education in- ments on the Palestinian issue, deep regret over this US decision, with the amendments to the law stitutions and university serv- the Arab-Israeli conflict, the but maintained that it does not and to provide the requirements ice centres, and determining activation of the Arab peace in- change the fact that the Golan is and needs of governmental bod- which records and files must be itiative, the Israeli occupation’s a Syrian Arab land. It highlighted ies quickly and effi ciently. kept. violations in the occupied city that the recognition was in con- The draft includes the defi ni- The fourth item was approving of Al Quds, the follow-up of fl ict with the Charter of the Unit- tion of rules and procedures for a draft decision by HE the Minis- settlement developments, the ed Nations, principles of interna- the organisation of tenders and ter of Municipality and Environ- wall and the refugees, in ad- tional law, UN Security Council auctions. ment on the quality of air. dition to the situation in Libya Resolution 497, adopted unani- Second item on yesterday’s The draft decision aims to and Yemen. mously on 17 December 1981, agenda was approving a draft maintain the quality of air by en- The meeting will also discuss which rejects Israel’s occupation decision by HE the Minister of forcing a set of regulations pro- supporting peace and develop- of Golan and considers it null. Finance to establish sections in tecting the environment. HE the Speaker of the Advisory Council, Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid al-Mahmoud, met the ment in Sudan, in addition to The Cabinet reaffi rmed that a the administrative units com- The fi fth and the last item was Russian ambassador to Qatar Noor Mohamed Khulouf yesterday. During the meeting, they supporting Somalia, and Co- just, comprehensive and lasting prising the Ministry of Finance approving an agreement be- discussed bilateral relations between Qatar and Russia and ways of developing them in various moros. peace would not be achieved in and to indicate their responsi- tween Qatar’s Ministry of Justice fields, especially in the parliamentary sector. Arrangements for the 140th General Assembly of the the region without Israel’s with- bilities. and Ministry of Justice, Trans- Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and associated meetings, which will be hosted by Doha from April drawal from the Arab territories Third item was approving a parency and Human Rights of 6 to 10, were also reviewed during the meeting. Greece. it occupied in 1967 and without draft resolution by HE the Min- Traffi c safety panel holds meeting HIA ranked fourth best airport in the world with Ashghal he National Traffi c Safety Committee held a meet- amad International customer satisfaction across 39 discussion on customer service Ting yesterday with the Airport (HIA) has been key performance indicators for and passenger experience, while Public Works Authority (Ash- Hranked the fourth best airport service and product – Ioannis Metsovitis, HIA’s vice- ghal) as part of a series of in- airport in the world at the Sky- from check-in, arrivals, trans- president of Operations, chaired teractions with representatives trax World Airport Awards 2019, fers, shopping, security and im- the session on Airport Design, of ministries and authorities which took place yesterday dur- migration, through to departure Planning & Development in the concerned to follow up on the ing the Passenger Terminal Expo at the gate. Middle East & Asia, also dis- implementation of the national 2019 in London. The Skytrax World Airport cussing the next phase of HIA’s strategy for traffi c safety. HIA has also once again been Awards took place in parallel to highly-anticipated expansion Undersecretary of the Ministry ranked as a fi ve-star Airport and The Passenger Terminal Expo plan. of Education and Higher Educa- was honoured with the title of & Conference 2019, the world’s The second phase of HIA’s ex- tion, Dr Ibrahim al-Nuaimi, said ‘Best Airport in the Middle East’ largest annual airport exhibition pansion plan, launched in early that the aim of the meeting is to for the fi fth year in a row and and airport networking event of 2019, will accommodate a ca- identify the achievements of Ash- ‘Best Staff Service in the Middle the year, where HIA delegates pacity of 53mn passengers annu- ghal and to address the challenges East’ for the fourth year in a row. gave a series of addresses on air- ally by 2022 as well as an increase and fi nd solutions to activate the The awards recognise HIA’s port planning and development, in cargo capacity to 3mn tonnes road safety plans in Qatar. innovative facilities, fi ve-star asset management, customer per year. In addition to physical President of Ashghal, Dr Saad customer service and state-of- experience, and airport-airline capacity enhancements, Met- Ahmed al-Mohannadi, stressed the-art terminal which accom- sustainability collaboration. sovitis discussed the expected during the meeting the need to modates more than 30mn pas- HIA’s vice-president of Fa- improvements in operational form a joint team between the sengers annually, according to a cilities Management, Michael effi ciency, including increased co-ordinators of the various statement. McMillan, discussed asset man- automation to allow 50% of pas- ministries to work on imple- The 2019 World Airport agement at HIA as a strategic sengers to perform self check- menting the plans and achiev- Awards by Skytrax are based on HIA chief operating off icer engineer Badr Mohamed al-Meer and the executive management team with approach rather than a formula, in, increase in airspace capacity, ing the objectives of the na- nominations from millions of the Skytrax awards in London yesterday. asserting that both a collective and optimised baggage handling tional strategy for traffi c safety. passengers across more than 500 shift in beliefs and attitudes is processes. The expansion is a key The committee also stressed participating airports world- fi cer engineer Badr Mohamed al- our fi ve-star status and our ti- comes to the airport experience needed and that asset manage- part of Qatar’s preparations to the need to give priority to the wide, making them one of larg- Meer, stated: “We are delighted tles as ‘Best Airport in the Mid- and will continue to invest in our ment requires personal com- host the 2022 World Cup where construction of bridges and pe- est passenger interaction survey with our progress and ranking dle East’ for the fi fth consecutive facilities, services and technolo- mitment as well as professional the country will witness a large destrian tunnels to reduce traf- awards in the world. at this year’s Skytrax Awards as year and ‘Best Staff Service in gies that distinguish us as the development. number of visitors to the global fi c accidents, especially in the Commenting on the results we successfully moved up in our the Middle East’ for the fourth airport of choice for millions of Sujata Suri, HIA’s vice-pres- sporting event. industrial zone and the areas of the Skytrax World Airport ranking to ‘Fourth Best Airport consecutive year. We are com- passengers around the world.” ident of Strategy & Customer HIA is set to celebrate its where Qatar 2022 stadiums are Awards, HIA chief operating of- in the World’ while maintaining mitted to raising the bar when it The Skytrax survey evaluates Experience, chaired the panel 5-year anniversary this May. located. - QNA

Gulf Times 4 Thursday, March 28, 2019 QATAR

Commander of Amiri Naval Forces meets Italian defence minister

HE the Commander of the Qatar Amiri Naval Forces Major General (Naval) Abdullah bin Hassan al-Sulaiti has met the Minister of Defence of Italy Elisabetta Trenta and her accompanying delegation. The meeting included a brief overview on the Amiri Naval Forces, and a tour of the war training centre and the Mohamed Bin Ghanem Al Ghanem Maritime Academy. The meeting was attended by ranking off icers at the Amiri Naval Forces. Qatar University launches 7th CSR report and 3rd exhibition

atar University (QU) at the Ministry of Education CSR and supporting their hosted yesterday and Higher Education and position locally and abroad Qthe launch of the 7th Qatar University to choose through a digital archiv- Corporate Social Respon- HE Sheikha al-Mahmoud to ing system according to the sibility (CSR) Report and be the Person of the Year in highest professional stand- 3rd Exhibition under the CSR for the year 2018. This is ards. Its outputs contrib- theme of “Volunteering” in in recognition of her eff orts ute to the consolidation of partnership with QatarCSR throughout her career in in- social responsibility in the Network. spiring generations through Qatari culture and heritage. Held under the patron- many achievements and ini- The exhibition is a high- age of HE the Prime Minister tiatives.” level platform that allows and Interior Minister Sheikh Sheikha al-Mahmoud is organisations to partici- Abdullah bin Nasser bin Kha- the fi rst minister of educa- pate in an academic forum lifa al-Thani, and attended by tion and the fi rst Qatari and hosted by QU in order to en- HE the Minister of Educa- Gulf woman to occupy this hance students’ awareness tion and Higher Education important ministerial posi- of CSR by creating an actual Dr Mohamed Abdul Wahed tion, demonstrating com- interaction with the pub- Ali al-Hammadi, the cer- munity confi dence in the HE the Minister of Education and Higher Education Dr lic and private sectors and emony honoured HE Sheikha capabilities and potentials Mohamed Abdul Wahed Ali al-Hammadi receives from QU multinational institutions. al-Mahmoud, the former of Qatari women. president Dr Hassan al-Derham the Person of the Year award Qatar CSR Network is an minister of education as CSR QU president Dr Hassan on behalf of HE Sheikha al-Mahmoud. academic platform estab- Person of the Year 2018 in al-Derham praised the CSR lished in 2007 that works recognition of her inspiring report that the institution is the keen interest of major showcasing CSR initiatives, in partnership with QU and lifetime achievements toward has been issuing annually institutional leaders in cor- in addition to developing adopts the national vision generations of students over and said, “Qatar Univer- porate social responsibility the skills and discovering to strengthen Qatar’s inter- 20 years of her educational sity continues to be prouder and their continued pres- the capabilities of QU stu- national standing; a noble career. year after year in seeing its ence in the annual report.” dents. The CSR report is mission to provide equita- Dr al-Hammadi delivered graduates become leaders The annual event repre- an academic research book ble opportunities for all to a speech on behalf of Sheikha of governmental, non-gov- sents the largest academic/ with rich content highlight- participate positively in the al-Mahmoud saying, “It is ernmental and academic in- business forum and a lead- ing major corporations’ society and promote best a national pride for all of us stitutions. What is striking ing academic platform achievements in the fi eld of practices for business. Gulf Times Thursday, March 28, 2019 5 QATAR

Qatar-Germany ties reviewed

HE the Minister of State for Foreign Aff airs Sultan bin Saad al-Muraikhi met the visiting Minister of State for International Cultural Policy at the Federal Foreign Off ice of Germany, Michelle Muntefering. During the meeting, they discussed the bilateral relations and means of enhancing prospects for co-operation between the two countries, in addition to matters of mutual interest. The meeting was attended by a number of off icials at the Ministry of Foreign Aff airs. QGP showcases progress at Royal Society in London

atar Genome Pro- of the leading large-scale personalised healthcare. the global precision medi- gramme (QGP) – a national genome projects “QGP’s comprehensive cine arena, paving the way Qmember of Qatar to join the event, which was vision is based on seven towards the implementa- Foundation (QF) and part also attended by leading pillars, covering a wide tion of genomic medicine. of Qatar Foundation Re- scientists from around the range of initiatives rang- “QGP is made possible search, Development, and world and health decision- ing from fostering genomic through a national collabo- Innovation – has partici- makers from the UK gov- research, building human ration of institutions such pated in the ‘100,000 Ge- ernment. capacity, drafting poli- as Qatar Biobank, Hamad nomes Project’ celebrations At the Royal Society – cies and guidelines all the Medical Corporation, and in London, organised by one of the oldest and most way to facilitating clinical Sidra Medicine.” Genomics England, the Na- prestigious scientifi c insti- implementation,” said Dr Established in 1660, the tional Health Service (NHS) tutions in the world – Dr Ismail. Royal Society’s fellowship England, and the Royal So- Said Ismail, QGP director, Dr Asmaa al-Thani, board list includes prominent ciety. shared insights about the vice-chairperson of Qatar scientists like Isaac New- The 100,000 Genomes progress Qatar has made in Biobank and chairperson ton, Charles Darwin, Albert Project recently reached its the fi eld of genomics, QGP’s of QGP Committee, said, Einstein, Francis Crick, and goal of sequencing 100,000 fi rst phase achievements, “QGP is one-of-its-kind Stephen Hawking in addi- genomes, and Qatar Ge- and its future plans. He also endeavour in the Middle tion to over 280 Nobel Prize nome Programme was one highlighted Qatar’s vision of East, and a major player in Laureates. Gulf Times 6 Thursday, March 28, 2019 QATAR

First Qatar Visa Centre in India opens

The first Qatar Visa Centre (QVC) in India was opened yesterday in the capital, New Delhi, in the presence of off icials from both Qatar and India, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) tweeted. Six more centres ‘QIFF off ers will be opened in India in the coming days in the cities of Mumbai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kochi. Previously, QVCs were opened in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The QVCs will simplify and accelerate work visa procedures for expatriates coming from these countries and enable them to complete fingerprinting and opportunity to biometric data processing, medical checkup and employment contract signing in their home countries, the MoI said. budding chefs’

By Shafeeq Alingal Qatar International Food Staff Reporter

Fest heads toward fi nale atar International Food Festival (QIFF) is gaining huge momentum and turning out to Qbe a venue for chefs to meet and share expe- ollowing an exciting eight days ies can try scrumptious Indian riences, celebrity Egyptian chef and TV show host of food festivity, entertainment specialties from Tandoor restau- Salma Soliman told Gulf Times yesterday. Fand culinary performances by rant, Zaff ran Café, Indigrill, and “QIFF lends an opportunity to budding chefs to world renowned chefs, Qatar Inter- 7th Street Mumbai Spices and learn the latest culinary techniques while food en- national Food Festival (QIFF) 2019 watch famous Indian chefs at Live thusiasts are helped taste recipes from across the heads toward its fi nale on Saturday, Cooking Theatre. world,” she said. promising its visitors a fun-packed Tomorrow (Friday), Chef Sur- Salma, in Qatar to attend the ongoing QIFF at fi nal weekend. jan Singh Jolly will be enthralling Oxygen Park, led a session at cooking master class- Since its opening on March 20, the audiences with mouthwater- es at Chef’s Garden Restaurant in Education City Salma Soliman QIFF has been bringing Education ing Punjabi cuisine at 3.15pm while yesterday. City’s Oxygen Park to life every day famous chef, TV show host, judge “Qatar is a place that hosts everybody and it’s chef. “These days, people tend to travel across the with food aromas, live musical per- and food stylist Ranveer Brar will home for expatriates from all over the world. And world and they are brought together. There is no formances, colourful light shows and demonstrate his versatile dishes at their tastes and recipes have found a place in Qatar,” Egyptian or Italian chef in a world that’s getting delightful cheers of children – all 10pm. she said while observing that QIFF lent her an op- closer,” she says adding people become more open enjoying great outdoor fun. Today (Thursday), there will be portunity to become acquainted with famous chefs to tastes of others and their techniques of cook- Renowned Qatari chef Noora al- also an exclusive Indian classical and current trends in cooking. ing. “There are no geographical limitations while it Kuwari and Tasneem al-NasrAl- dance performance by Rina Jana Salma, who is currently a chef by profession, comes to cuisine,” she says. lah from Kuwait along with Food group at 7pm and Artistic Yoga per- holds a master degree in ophthalmology. In fact, According to Salma, travelling makes people per- Network’s popular celebrity chefs formances at 4.30pm, 6pm, 7.30pm, unfl inching passion drew her towards cooking. fect by helping them assimilate various cultures. “It from South Africa Jenny Morris and 10pm. “Typical thinking of a high school graduate made also helps people experience tastes and taste reci- and Siba Mtongana will be show- QIFF2019 has dedicated a me a doctor. High school graduates don’t know pes. I use to visit groceries and eateries when I am in ing their culinary magic to QIFF whole ground (O2) exclusively what they want. Girls want to become doctors other countries. I taste street food in order to help visitors at the Live Cooking to children with all their favour- while boys opt engineering. And I was keen to seri- myself enjoy and understand local eating culture,” Theatre today. ite foods, fun activities and am- ously try a hand with cooking after I found people she says. Tomorrow (Friday), Turkish chef ple playing space including two love my food and preparation. I wanted to take a Salma is part of eff orts by international agen- Elif Edes Tapan will be demonstrat- large sand pits. There’s a Mini Zoo turn towards cooking,” she says. cies to ensure food safety, combat starvation and ing his master skills along with Aisha where children can enjoy a pony Salma calls herself a chef who is self taught. “I malnutrition and reduce rate of food wastage. She Altamimi from Qatar and Al Yazi al- ride and an exclusive ‘Kidzania pursued a short term course in cooking in Italy. But, has worked with Zero Hunger Programme by World Awadh from Kuwait. Qatar’s celeb- Go’ booth off ering fun activities I am getting improved through teaching my self. I Food Programme undertaken by United Nations. rity chef Mohamed Jassim Belkhams like TV station, Radio Station, use to correct the errors and do new things.” She uses to learn her followers to reduce wasting will join the cooking theatre on Sat- 360 Virtual Reality and a Rightz- Salma always tries to simplify complicated foods food and reuse leftovers. urday with another appearance by Keeper Zone for toddlers. and put West and East together. For her, cooking is “I am trying to develop a public sense of reusing Jenny and Siba. Visitor can watch the impressive all about innovation. “I choose a French recipe and things as much as possible. And teach them to make Under the theme of Qatar-India Oxygen Park as never before through an American recipe and bring the two into singular food with minimum grocery,” she says. Year of Culture, this year’s QIFF vibrant laser lights and smoke ef- one. I mix all the recipes including Arabic ones with Salma hosts TV shows and runs a YouTube chan- has showcased the diverse fl avours fects every day at 8.30pm in the main others and bring out new recipes,” she says. nel of her own. Named ‘Salma’s Kitchen’, her chan- and vibrant cultural shows. Food- ground O1. The Egyptian chef wants to be called a global nel has got subscribers from across the world. Gulf Times Thursday, March 28, 2019 7 QATAR Chef who loves to combat starvation

By Shafeeq Alingal Staff Reporter

or Siba Mtongana, the celebrity chef and host of television show, Flife is not all about cooking. She loves to combat starvation and wasting food, and help the society meet its nu- tritional requirements. The chef from South Africa is in Qatar to take part in the ongoing Qatar International Food Festival (QIFF) at Oxygen Park. Yesterday, Mtongana attended a session at cooking master classes at Chef’s Garden Restaurant in Education City where she interacted with students and budding chefs. As a chef, she tries not only to make food tasty and beautiful but also to ensure nutrition to all at a time when malnutrition remains a concern in various parts of the world including Africa. “I fi nd happiness in doing my best for the improvement of the society in terms of ensuring food safety and eradicating poverty,” she says. Siba Mtongana: “I find happiness in doing my best for the improvement of the Mtongana believes a chef is obliged society in terms of ensuring food safety and eradicating poverty.” to ensure that people eat healthy and nutrient food. “As a celebrity and in- the world. “We are helping each other who wanted her to become an inde- fl uential person, I use my infl uence in a and making eff orts for food security,” pendent strong woman opposed her positive way and address the problems she said. decision to choose cooking as a career. in the society,” she said. Mtongana is qualifi ed in Consumer Mtongana’s mother was a teacher and Mtongana is part of several initia- Science in Food and Nutrition. But, she she wanted her daughter too become tives meant to eradicate poverty and likes to call herself a born chef. Food a teacher. But, Mtongana opted for malnutrition and ensure food to all. was the thing which she grew up with. cooking and does justice to her mother She is active with the programmes “My mother who cooked for the very by becoming a strong lady. carried by NGOs and is the ambas- big family was my fi rst teacher. Later, I Mtongana who came to Qatar for the sador of Food Bank South Africa. By wanted to live with food and cooking. fi rst time is excited and said she feels joining hands with such organisa- Natural talent helped me become one at home. “Qatar is amazing and people tions Mtongana sensitises the society of the top students,” she said, adding here are too lovely. Qatar is rich with its against wasting food and tries to feed she studied to cook through observa- expatriate population. And a foreigner starving people with food that goes tion not through recipes. here doesn’t feel like an outsider. And waste. “University helped me put things I will come back to Qatar and QIFF if I “Whenever we grow, we have to in a professional way. But, I owe my get an opportunity and my diary allows make sure that we grow with the com- gratitude to my mother who taught me to do,” she added. munity by lending a helping hand,” she me to maximum use the content and Mtongana is the host of famous says adding that she often delivers the not waste anything during cooking and cooking show Siba’s Table by leading same message to her friends all over eating,” she said, adding her mother channel Cooking Channel. Gulf Times 8 Thursday, March 28, 2019 QATAR Qatari tourists Panda Hypermarket opens in Msheireb among biggest spenders in

Panda Hypermarket, located on Al Khaleej Street near the Jaidah flyover in Msheireb, was opened recently. Present on Spain: envoy the occasion were Mishal Essa al-Mannai; Ali al-Misnad, Kurumberi Moosa, managing partner; Faris Ahmed, general manager; Bekal Mohamed Shali, managing partner; Ismail Bekal, Yahiya Kurumberi and other off icials. By Peter Alagos “Available in both English and Ara- Business Reporter bic, the website highlights places to be explored around the main destina- tions of Madrid, Barcelona, and Ma- atari tourists are among the laga, recommendations for families, biggest spenders when on shopping, halal restaurants, mosques, Qholiday in Spain, according and also off ers a link directly to the Ooredoo is platinum sponsor of to a top Spanish diplomat, who said BLS website, the company responsi- Spain has recorded a 150% increase in ble for processing Schengen visas to tourist arrivals from Qatar in the last Spain,” she said. four years. Alfaro said that so far the general 13th GES Annual Careers Fair “The average credit card spend for trend from Qatar is to visit Spain in a Qatari tourist in Spain is the high- the summer months of July and Au- est in the world at $1,512 as against Spanish ambassador Belen Alfaro. gust. oredoo has announced that it an insight into the many career oppor- the standard spend of $1,413 per GCC PICTURE: Shaji Kayamkulam “Medical tourism is another im- is the platinum sponsor of the tunities at Ooredoo. visitor,” Spanish ambassador Belen portant area. Medical tourism in Spain O2019 Gulf English School Ca- GES has also extended invitations Alfaro revealed during a meeting with since 2018. In 2019, the airline will grows up to 20% each year, many reer Fair, to be held today from 8am to students from Year 9 upwards from Qatar-based travel agencies yester- also be increasing its seat capacity on coming from Arab countries. The until 1pm on the school’s campus in Al other Qatar schools, in order for them day. this route. reasons why more and more medical Gharafa. to meet with the educational estab- She said travellers from the GCC “The aim of the embassy of Spain tourists opt for Spain are its remark- The fair – being held for the 13th lishments and companies and under- have doubled their arrivals into Spain and its Tourism Offi ce is to educate able quality at the health level (among consecutive year – aims to bring to- stand what both have to off er. from 119,000 in 2014 to 240,000 and highlight other beautiful loca- the top 10 in the world), the absence gether Qatar’s leading educators from Speaking of the event, Manar Kha- tourists in 2018. Spain had more than tions in and around these cities that of waiting lists, good weather, post- both public and private institutions, lifa al-Muraikhi, director of PR and 34,000 tourists from Qatar in 2017, are highly accessible by high speed operative comfort, excellent value for providing them the opportunity to Corporate Communications at Oore- Alfaro said. train or are a short ride away, thereby money, our consumption habits, and showcase their career advancement doo, said: “We are fully committed to Alfaro explained that a major con- increasing the average length of stay the gastronomic and cultural off er opportunities and draw students’ at- supporting the communities in which tributing factor for the growth in ar- in these cities,” she said. they fi nd in Spain. tention to the further education cours- we operate, and promoting the impor- rivals is the increased connectivity Alfaro said the Tourism Board of “In 2017, around 140,000 health es they off er. als, in line with Qatar National Vision tance of education for all. This event is with Spain. Spain “is working very closely” with tourists were served in Spain. The The event will also be attended by 2030, and has stressed the prime op- the ideal opportunity for us to demon- “In the past two years, Qatar Air- travel agencies in Qatar on how to plans are to serve 200,000 health local, regional and multinational com- portunity the event provides for them strate our commitment, and we are sure ways has increased its frequency and promote diff erent destinations in tourists by 2020. The future looks panies looking to attract the cream of to present their industry and career it will be an invaluable opportunity for capacity to Madrid and Barcelona Spain. It is also one of the few tourism positive for tourism growth from Qa- Qatar’s talent to their organisations. choices to an audience eager to explore all attending. We are very much looking with 21 fl ights a week to Madrid and boards that have invested in creating tar to Spain, based on a recent study Gulf English School (GES) has high- their future paths. forward to meeting the students and 18 fl ights a week to Barcelona, and has www.spain.info/gcc – a website with by Forward Keys on future bookings lighted its student body – compris- Ooredoo will be hosting a booth at sharing with them the incredible career also added a seasonal route to Ma- information specifi cally-tailored for received with an increased projection ing 74% Qatari nationals – as a draw the event, and will be sending a team opportunities here at Ooredoo, with a laga that runs from June to September the GCC traveller. in arrivals,” Alfaro said. for companies aiming to increase to represent the telecommunications view to attracting new talent to work their employment of Qatari nation- leader, meet with students and provide with us and help shape our future.”

Doha Bank opens registration for Green Run

oha Bank has opened free online registration for the 2019 Al Dana Green Run, which will take place tomorrow at Al DBidda Park. The 14th edition of the annual run has been organised by Doha Bank and supported by Qatar’s Ministry of Culture and Sports, Qatar Sports for All (QSFA) Federation, the Traffi c De- partment and Aspire Academy. Al Dana Green Run is open to people of all age groups and fi tness levels, off ering six running categories, including pro- fessional athletes, families and special needs, among others. Winners from each category will be awarded many prizes, while plenty of surprises will also be on off er for audience members, who will be treated to free entertainment all day long. The family-friendly event will also feature a dedicated fun zone area at the venue to entertain visitors of all ages with a range of activities, such as kids’ concerts and dance parties, face painting, infl atables bouncy houses with gi- ant slides, football and basketball competitions, as well as colouring crafts workshops, Doha Bank has said in a statement. Dr R Seetharaman, Doha Bank CEO, said: “Following the great suc- cess of the last Al Dana Green Run, having 6,000 participants, this year has more winners with cash prizes and vouchers from partners. We encourage everyone to participate in and be part of this run. Doha Bank celebrates its 40th anniversary by giv- ing prizes of QR2mn to one winner and QR1mn to another winner, and there will be more than 100 oth- er Al Dana winners.” Ahmed al-Henzab, head of the Administration & Property Department, noted: “We look forward to bringing the local com- munity together once again to promote sustain- ability and a healthy life- style, and, above all, to show our respect and soli- darity to Qatar and its wise leadership.” QSFA president Abdul- rahman al-Dosari said, ‘We are thrilled to col- laborate with Doha Bank’s Al Dana Green Run once again for its 14th edition. I believe that it is our duty to support this unique event as Qatar is on its way to becoming a global sports destination.” For more information about the Al Dana Green Run and to register for the event, one can visit www.dohabankmara- thon.com Gulf Times Thursday, March 28, 2019 9 QATAR

Aspire Wonderland Festival wows visitors CNA-Q hosts co-curricular event

ollege of the North At- the CNA-Q Skills Competition they are learning through their lantic – Qatar (CNA-Q) for the 10th year — it is both a studies. Chosted its largest co- demonstration and a celebra- Again this year, the college curricular event of the academ- tion of skilled trades. partnered with local schools to ic year — 10th annual CNA-Q It is a testament to the Col- include hundreds of secondary Skills Competition. lege’s commitment to advance students in the competition, The event off ers 30 diff erent the profi le and application of giving more young people the competitions around campus — technical and vocational edu- opportunity to be involved in in Engineering Technology and cation and training (TVET) in science, technology, engineer- Industrial Trades, Information Qatar, by engaging students in ing and mathematics (STEM). Technology, Health Sciences, applied education to be knowl- Some competitions are com- Business Studies and Academ- edge workers for the future,” pleted individually, while oth- ics — simulating a variety of said Samah Gamar, vice presi- ers are group competitions real-world tasks that students dent, Academic. where students solve real-life will perform in the workplace More than 300 college stu- scenarios. The event was sup- once they graduate. dents competed against their ported by Qatar Petrochemical “We are so pleased to hold peers to test the technical skills Company.

Some 5,000 visitors flocked to Aspire Park to watch animated fantasy characters, depicted using state-of-the-art lighting techniques, after Aspire Zone Foundation (AZF) kicked off the Aspire Wonderland Festival on Tuesday. “As the sun descended on Tuesday, an imaginary gateway to the world of fantasy and folk tales was opened to the public with innovative light techniques,” AZF said in a statement yesterday. Also, the Aspire lake features a “spectacular dancing water fountain moving with a world of majestic melodies”. Audiences will have the opportunity to enjoy the dancing fountain shows again today at 5pm, 6.40pm, 7.40pm, 8.40pm, 9.40pm and 10.40pm. There will also be additional weekend shows at 11.40pm tomorrow and on Saturday. The participants of CNA-Q’s 10th annual Skills Competition. UDC gears up for Medina Ooredoo announces sponsorship of popular camel racing festival

oredoo has announced Centrale Fest at The Pearl that it is the platinum Osponsor of the upcom- nited Development Com- combining arts, music, and lei- val. A long tunnel decorated with ing outlets, and an eclectic mix of ing camel racing festival tak- pany (UDC), the master sure activities for children and fl owers and colourful lights will top brands. ing place at the Al Sheehaniya Udeveloper of The Pearl- families, residents, and visitors. be erected at Medina Centrale UDC’s tradition of hosting camel racing track. being awarded the sword from example of a traditional Gulf Qatar and Gewan Island, is gear- Located between the resi- where the activities will include a festivals across the island falls in The festival – set to take His Highness the Amir Sheikh sport. ing up for its fi rst Medina Cen- dential, shopping, and dining street parade. line with the company’s eff orts place from March 30 until April Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, “It’s vital we preserve Gulf trale Festival, an outdoor event district of Porto Arabia and the The festival will feature a dedi- to promote The Pearl-Qatar as a 10 – is one of the most popular Ooredoo has said in a statement. and Qatari culture, and sup- that will feature a variety of serene beachfront community of cated children’s area that will be one-stop destination for shop- camel racing events in the Mid- Speaking about the event and porting events that promote family-oriented entertainment Viva Bahriya, the vibrant town home to a playground, remote- ping, dining and leisurely living. dle East, attracting some 6,000 sponsorship, Manar Khalifa this is a huge priority for Oore- programmes. centre will bring together resi- control racing car tracks, face Over 13mn vehicles entered the camels and hundreds of train- al-Muraikhi – director of PR doo. We look forward to seeing The festival, which will run dents and visitors to celebrate art painting, drawing, and plant- island in 2018, a 17% increase ers from Qatar and elsewhere in and Corporate Communica- some excellent racing during from April 4 to 7 from 4pm to and music. related workshops. Children will from around 11mn in 2017, re- the Gulf. tions at Ooredoo – said: “We the festival, and of course we 9pm, will take place at Medina Graffi ti artists, caricaturists, also enjoy train rides and mascot fl ecting the island’s success year The event features a range are delighted to be sponsoring wish all entrants the best of Centrale, the most lively and dy- and musicians will engage the shows. after year in cementing its posi- of races run over distances of this prominent event, which is luck for the main race!” namic community in the heart of audience through entertainment Families and visitors will have tion as an iconic site attracting 4km, 6km and 8km, and the fi - known as a popular fi xture on For more information on the The Pearl-Qatar and will feature and music shows taking place easy access to a variety of new tourists and visitors and housing nal race is considered the most the Gulf region’s camel rac- camel racing festival, one can vis- a number of festive activities throughout the four-day festi- lifestyle off erings, high-end din- Doha’s fast growing community. prestigious with the winner ing calendar and is an excellent it http://www.hejen.qa/portal. Gulf Times 10 Thursday, March 28, 2019 QATAR Qatar Charity’s drilling unit provides water for 150,000 people in Sudan he South Darfur State’s humanitarian commissioner, Jamal Youssef Id- riss, thanked Qatar Charity for its drilling unit that managed to dig 50 ar- Ttesian wells in three months in the state, and provided water for 150,000 people in Sudan. The drilling unit managed to dig 50 artesian wells in three months in the South Darfur State.

He also praised Qatar Charity’s efforts in bring about peace and reconstruc- tion in the Darfur region through the implementation of development and hu- manitarian projects that contributed to the development of the state and the stability of its citizens. Through its drilling unit, which is one of the successful projects since its inception in 2016, Qatar Charity aims to contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the field of water and sanitation by providing clean and safe water, especially in states like North Kordofan and South Darfur that suffer from the scarcity of water. Qatar Charity’s drill unit managed to dig 88 artesian wells in the North Kordofan State during 2018. Some 68 wells were drilled in different localities of the South Darfur State, 50 of which were funded by the Qatar Fund for De- velopment (QFFD) as part of the water projects in South Darfur. Also, some 20 wells were dug in the North Kordofan State. Many wells evolved into integrated solar-powered water plants. The num- ber of beneficiaries of the project reached 150000 persons in villages and edu- cational complexes. The beneficiaries expressed their pleasure at the achievements made by Qatar Charity through its drilling unit that contributed to bringing about a change in their lives by digging wells for them. helps others in the implementation of water projects in the target countries to They also praised the efforts of the benefactors in Qatar for providing as- serve the goals of sustainable development. sistance to the people of Sudan, thanking Qatar Charity for its outstanding role Also, Qatar Charity has earlier, set up four water plants in many villages and achievements in the states of Darfur, where it has remained the most prom- Some 88 artesian wells scattered along the Nile River, at the cost of QR 7.5mn, to meet the needs of inent supporter of development and humanitarian projects in region. more than 87,000 people for clean drinking water. It is worth mentioning that, in 2014, Qatar Charity entered into a contract were dug during 2018 These plants have production capacities ranging from 500m3 to 2,800m3 with a German company to import some of the world’s latest drilling rigs to dig per day as well as they are equipped with tanks, service and administrative artesian wells in Somalia, Niger, Burkina Faso and Sudan in order to contribute facilities, and laboratories for water quality tests, in addition to carrying out to solving the water problems in these countries, providing training to the cad- Currently, the drilling unit contributes to saving money that was previously regularly functional and operational testing of these plants. res working in Qatar Charity’s drilling units. being given to contractors to implement Qatar Charity’s water projects. It also Gulf Times Thursday, March 28, 2019 11 QATAR

A general a view of National Museum of Qatar. QUOTE Unquote

HE Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, Chairperson of Qatar Museums National Museum Qatar is an ancient land, rich in the traditions of life in the desert and by the sea. It is also a country whose modern history has been defined by oil, with all the dramatic change that its discovery brought. Today, as we enter a new era, Qatar’s trajectory onto the contemporary world stage has been “ just as rapid. Already we are in the vanguard of technological advance and are preparing, through the ambitious 2030 Qatar National Vision, an outward-facing, creative and sustainable future for all our people. But a future must grow out of an understood and integrated past. So, as we move forward, we are focusing is dedicated to the strongly on culture, in diverse forms. We are delving into our Arab heritage while also exploring the arts as they are evolving today, both within Qatar and far beyond. In particular, we are encouraging our own young artists, many of whom are women. They are drawing on the unique perspective that their place in the global village allows them. At the same time they are looking to connect, ever more strongly, with their peers across the world, and in this we are supporting them. Culture connects people, and through international festivals, our new museums and an array of programmes for exploration and exchange, the arts in Qatar are both growing organically from within, and reaching out across the seas. The National Museum of Qatar supports our history of Qatar ambition to celebrate the local in the global, the global in the local, and all our shared humanity. passing nomads as much as local aggregate of mineral crystals oc- anywhere. Looking more closely, ” fi shermen and pearl divers. And curring only in arid coastal re- you can fi nd a few elements that so the native fauna and fl ora, and gions, is the fi rst architectural appear to be vertical but, in real- the nomadic peoples and their structure that nature itself cre- ity, are not. You only get the im- long-held traditions, are the very ates, through wind, sea spray and pression they are because that’s fi rst features of the history of Qa- sand acting together over millen- the natural scheme of things. tar. nia. It’s surprisingly complex and The museum occupies a vast Three economic miracles oc- poetic. area. From the moment you step curred to shake up this over- Taking the desert rose as a inside you’re struck by the rela- whelming tranquillity. The fi rst, starting point turned out to be tionship between the form and dating from Roman times, was a very progressive, not to say the scale, between the theme associated with pearl fi shing and utopian, idea. I say ‘utopian’ and the diff erent eras dealt with the pearl trade. because, to construct a build- … between the small desert rose The second, in the aftermath ing 350m long, with its great big that comes down to us from out of World War II, was the amaz- inward-curving disks, and its of the mists of time and this out- By Jean Nouvel ing discovery of oil, followed 20 intersections and cantilevered size creation. As for the desert, Architect, years later by the discovery of elements – all the things that it’s always there, even if it has National Museum of Qatar another treasure: gas. The desert conjure up a desert rose – we morphed into something else peninsula of Qatar and its people had to meet enormous technical completely. suddenly saw enormous, daz- challenges. This building is at the As you walk through the dif- he National Museum of zling change and the country cutting-edge of technology, like ferent volumes, you never know Qatar emerges from a turned into a real crossroads, al- Qatar itself. what’s coming next in terms of Tdesert that has ventured luring and open, and attracting The museography that grew the architecture. The idea was to all the way to the sea. On the site, visitors from far and wide. out of this specifi c history and create contrasts, spring surpris- the Royal Palace of Sheikh Ab- The building I designed need- these specifi c considerations es. You might, for instance, go dullah bin Jassim al-Thani rises ed to refl ect these three diff erent provides an experience that’s from one room closed-off pretty up, a 20th-century landmark of stories. The fi rst, which covers architectural, spatial and sen- high up by a slanting disk to an- major heritage value to Qatar. a long period, is the story of the sory all at once. Inside, you fi nd other room with a much lower A fireworks display held as part of National Museum’s opening ceremony. The National Museum is dedi- peninsula and its inhabitants. spaces that don’t exist anywhere intersection. This produces cated to the history of Qatar. The second is an exploration of else in the world since it’s the in- something dynamic, tension. The Baraha gives an idea of make up its structure are heavy of fi lms that provide glimpses of Symbolically, its architecture the coastal and desert lifestyles terlocking of all these disks that As in a lot of other muse- the scale of the Royal Palace. It’s and form a sort of cushioned diff erent aspects of Qatar and evokes the desert, its silent and as well as the pearling industry, forms the building, inside and ums, the circuit forms a loop. a sheltered space, with the mu- barrier that acts as a sunscreen. its history. Made by fi lmmakers eternal dimension, but also the and third covers the spectacular out. The result is a construction The complete tour takes about seum built around it. Thanks to When the sun hits the building and video artists handpicked for spirit of modernity and daring acceleration that gave the king- made of geometric spaces. two hours and ends in discovery disks tilted at diff erent angles, it from east or west, the disks cast their talent as creators of evoca- that have come along and shaken dom – in just a few decades – the I owe my love of things that of the old Royal Palace, which also off ers shade. This space can long protective shadows. tive poetic images, these fi lms up what seemed unshakeable. power and prosperity we associ- aren’t quite vertical to one of my has been restored. From certain accommodate outdoor events, The building doesn’t have a lot are sensitive testaments to past So it’s the contradictions in that ate with it today. teachers and mentors, Claude points, you can access the Ba- performances, theatre pieces, of openings, and the few win- eras. history that I’ve sought to evoke Because of its economic power, Parent, with whom I worked a raha. events connected to the exhibi- dows it does have are set back so They will never be shown any- here. Qatar has become a world leader great deal. A number of fl oors are Following the time-honoured tions. that they’re always out of reach where else, as they’ve been made Qatar is also about the peoples in fi elds as diverse as education, on an incline. template, this is a central court- The Baraha is also connected of the sun. The interior spaces specifi cally for the museum who settled along the seaboard, communications, and energy You walk under them, you walk yard surrounded by buildings to the outdoor spaces of the old can be air conditioned more eco- and formatted to fi t the shape setting up these coastal towns technology. up, and you become aware that where travellers would come and palace. From there, you can stroll nomically as a result. and scale of the walls they’re that became ports of call for The desert rose, a fl ower-like there are hardly any vertical lines unload their merchandise. along a promenade at the water’s The skin of the building is screened on. edge. I wanted to create a struc- made of high-performance glass The fi lms translate the way ture that evoked the local geog- fi bre-reinforced concrete that’s the architecture is tailored to raphy and, in keeping with the the same sandy beige colour in- the expression of a museography tradition of the place, to ensure side and outside the building. specifi cally designed to evoke that it off ers maximum protec- As for the museography, I have the scale and power of the land tion from the sun. worked in close collaboration and history of Qatar, from time The building is extremely en- with the National Museum to immemorial to the present mo- ergy effi cient. The disks that launch the opening with a series ment.

The map of the National Museum of Qatar. A view of the exhibits inside the National Museum of Qatar. Gulf Times 12 Thursday, March 28, 2019 QATAR Qatar’s oldest Qur’an on display Visual treat in store at NMoQ HE Sheikha Amna bint To test our ideas, one of our earliest ini- tiatives was to organize a pilot project, tell- Abdulaziz bin Jassim ing the story of the historic Palace of Sheikh al-Thani, Director, National Abdullah: the former home of the ruler and Museum of Qatar describes seat of government, and the original site of the National Museum. NMoQ journey, from its To discover how our themes and methods conceptualisation to the would resonate with people, we presented a three-month-long exhibition about the formal inauguration Palace. When 11,000 people came to visit and visit to the National Museum of Qa- told us how much it meant to them, we tar is an all-encompassing journey, knew we were on the right path. Acarrying you from millions of years Working hand-in-hand with our out- ago to the edge of tomorrow. standing design team, we continued to give The journey sweeps you across the inland the new NMoQ its astonishing reality. desert, and plunges you into the depths of Every element of the museum that took the sea. It embeds you among nomadic po- shape, inside and out, became a refl ection ets and artisans, and ushers you into today’s of the lives and aspirations of the Qatari gleaming towers and bustling refi neries. people. Music, storytelling, commissioned art- The magnifi cent architectural design works, ancient artifacts, rare and precious by Jean Nouvel, which like the desert rose objects, and dazzling, monumental fi lms seems to grow out of the landscape, enfolds are all part of the experience, which com- the beloved, renovated Palace of Sheikh Ab- bines wide-ranging scholarship with the dullah bin Jassim as the very core of the new One of the “objects of great significance” on view at the National Museum of Qatar is the Al Zubarah Qur’an, known as the oldest Qur’an created in Qatar authentic faces and voices of the people of Museum. and was calligraphed by Ahmed bin Rashed bin Juma bin Helal al-Muraikhi in Al Zubarah at the beginning of the 19th century. PICTURE: Joey Aguilar Qatar – the true source and inspiration for Commissioned artworks by local and this museum. international artists – Ali Hassan, Aisha Just as the museum itself is a journey, so Nasser Al-Sowaidi, Roch Vandromme, too was the process that led to its creation. Jean-Michel Othoniel, and more – add a Qatar Museums and the National Mu- variety of highly personal visions to our seum team felt strongly that we wanted to themes. create a living experience for our people – a The result is a museum that tells a story museum with a heart. in three overarching chapters – Beginnings, Treasured traditions and life of the That meant, fi rst of all, that our galleries Life in Qatar, and The Modern History of should be full of movement, Qatar – divided into eleven sound, colour, and a sense of It is a journey – and like sections. discovery. any true journey, it does Each section is a distinc- We believed we had the not merely take people tive, 360-degree environ- Qatari people take centre stage potential to go beyond even from one place to another. ment, which brings you into the most exciting existing It changes the travellers the heart of its theme. museum displays and de- themselves and helps You encounter the natural By Joey Aguilar merely take people from one place velop something truly im- redefi ne them habitat and wildlife of Qa- Staff Reporter to another. It changes the travellers mersive. And we believed tar through a kaleidoscopic themselves and helps redefi ne them,” the substance of those experiences ought visual experience by fi lmmakers Christophe the NMoQ director stressed. to come from the Qatari people themselves. Cheysson and Jacques Perrin. reasured local traditions and A number of international art- So we began a decade of planning and You meet the people of Qatar and begin the life of the Qatari people ists have also been commissioned organising. To develop our ideas about the to learn about their traditional way of life Ttake centre stage at the Na- to develop site-specifi c works for form that our exhibitions might take, we through fi lmed oral histories, selected from tional Museum of Qatar’s (NMoQ) NMoQ, including French artist Roch visited institutions throughout the world, more than 500 that we recorded, and au- permanent galleries, featuring the Vandromme (sculptural group near surveying the most advanced, engaging thentic artifacts salvaged from a ship that works of Qatari artists. the historic Palace of Sheikh Ab- displays of history, natural history, and art. sank a thousand years ago. The remarkable masterpieces by dullah bin Jassim al-Thani), Syrian To develop the content of NMoQ, we be- The gallery about life in the desert cen- Aisha Nasser al-Sowaidi, Ali Hassan, artist and fi lm director Simone Fat- gan to organise meetings with the public, tres on a complete bait al-sha’r, or nomads’ Bouthayna al-Muftah and Sheikh tal (sculpture), Iraqi artist Ahmed inviting Qataris to share whatever stories tent, accompanied by a breath-taking fi lm Hassan bin Mohamed al-Thani stand al-Bahrani (installation) and French and materials they might care to off er. by the great director Abderrahmane Sis- on conspicuous areas at the new mu- artist Jean-Michel Othoniel (Alfa We asked them to tell us what they most sako, starring the actual family to whom the seum, which opens to the public to- sculpture). wanted to see and hear in NMoQ. tent belonged. day. Described as an immersive and We held more than a dozen of these The presentation about contemporary life According to Qatar Museums experiential museum, which opens meetings, which were attended by more and today’s liquid natural gas production (QM), each artist has taken per- to the public today, is organised in than 400 people. includes a grand-scale model of Doha itself, sonal histories and memories to cre- A section of the museum. PICTURE: Nasar T K three “chapters” — Beginnings, Life Out of them came a richness of informa- a multi-user interactive wall for calling up ate site-specifi c pieces, connecting in Qatar, and Building the Nation — tion—of life—that became the essence of information and images, and a 30-screen visitors to “the story of Qatar and its It portrays a traditional and local According to NMoQ director HE presented in eleven galleries. NMoQ. video installation by John Sanborn. people in unexpected ways.” ritual and transforms it into a global Sheikha Amna bint Abdulaziz al- According to QM, the visitor’s Our next step was to distil this essence With all this, and more, the museum we Hassan’s wall installation titled concept of home systems. Thani, QM aims to highlight the chronological journey, which ex- into themes that would run through the have created is not a showcase for a collec- ‘Widom of a nation’ refl ects the im- Evoking the connections between works of local artists at the opening tends through more than 1.5km of museum. tion. age of the Qatari fl ag with an excerpt the land, motherhood and national of the museum, which refl ects Qa- experiences, starts in the geological We imagined the special combination of It is a journey – and like any true jour- from a poem by the country’s Found- identity is Sheikh Hassan’s monu- tar’s heritage and gives voice to its period long before the peninsula was space, sights, sounds, and materials that ney, it does not merely take people from one er, Sheikh Jassim bin Mohamed bin mental sculpture ‘Motherland,’ dis- people’s aspirations. inhabited by humans and continues would carry our visitors along—including place to another. Thani. played at the museum entrance and “Each of their extraordinary crea- to the present day. the artworks and fi lms we could commis- It changes the travellers themselves and Al-Sowaidi, a graduate of the leads visitors to the permanent gal- tions is a unique and moving contri- “I hope that everyone who joins sion to help tell our story. helps redefi ne them. prestigious Fire Station: Artist in leries. bution to the breathtaking experi- in the journey of the NMoQ will be At the same time, we were gathering I hope that everyone who joins in the Residence programme and par- NMoQ also showcases al-Muftah’s ence that the museum off ers,” she moved by the experience. I hope they scholarly insights and information from our journey of the National Museum of Qatar ticipant in the internationally-ac- traditional jewellery-inspired instal- said. will come out with a deeper under- local and international network of subject will be moved by the experience. claimed Contemporary Art Qatar ex- lation titled ‘Kan Ya Ma Kaan’, de- “With all this, and more, the mu- standing of life in this ancient and specialists. I hope they will come out with a deeper hibitions, takes museum-goers to his signed to complement the museum’s seum we have created is not a show- modern land, and a greater sense The depth of knowledge from these part- understanding of life in this ancient and work ‘Central Midkhan’ at NMoQ’s contemporary architecture. It has case for a collection. It is a journey— of wonder at all it off ers the world,” ners helped us shape the adventure in mu- modern land, and a greater sense of wonder VIP Lounge. been displayed at the Café 875. and like any true journey, it does not Sheikha Amna said. seum-going that was beginning to emerge. at all it off ers the world. Renowned French artist’s monumental work unveiled

By Joey Aguilar Art refl ects abstract beauty of Arabic calligraphy Staff Reporter Alfa arises like majestic black up, highlighting the curves of the reeds along the 900m long museum’s architecture. lfa, a monumental art shores of the lagoon. Othoniel’s enchanting aesthet- installation by interna- From various angles, silhou- ics revolve around the notion of Ationally-acclaimed con- ettes reflected on the water evoke emotional geometry. temporary French artist Jean- the abstract beauty of Arabic Using the repetition of modular Michel Othoniel for the National calligraphy. elements such as bricks or his sig- Museum of Qatar (NMoQ), was During the day, every half hour nature beads, which are a recur- unveiled yesterday during the ar- the sculptures transform into ring motif, he creates sculptures chitectural masterpiece’s offi cial fountains, launching arabesques whose relationship to human inauguration. of water towards the sky. scale ranges from intimacy to “It was done to be something At night, the water jets light monumentality. more theatrical and joyful, espe- cially at night, because my idea, my concept is always to bring joy was to create something related below, and appears in the shape to the public,” said the artist, who to the desert rose-inspired archi- of a blooming rose when ob- was commissioned to develop the tecture, designed by renowned served from the front. site-specifi c work for NMoQ. French architect Jean Nouvel. QM, under the patronage of Citing the complexity of his lat- The black fountains, activated its Chairperson, HE Sheikha Al est piece, Othoniel said the fi ve- once an hour, have been shaped Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa year project with Qatar Museums to resemble Arabic calligraphy or al-Thani, worked with local, re- (QM) is the biggest and most dif- the tall reeds that calligraphers gional and international artists fi cult installation he ever built – use to make their pens. for many years to commission comprising 114 individual fountain Othoniel, in collaboration with and acquire artworks for key lo- set within the museum’s lagoon. QM, also built the impressive cations in and around HIA, as Their streams have been de- public art piece at the Hamad well as other parts of the country. signed to evoke the fl uid forms of International Airport (HIA) ti- It aims to create easily acces- Arabic calligraphy. tled ‘Cosmos’, a one-of-its-kind sible cultural experiences for all The artist noted that this stun- sculpture providing a unique ex- those who live in and visit Qatar. ning art work in Qatar, a huge perience to a multicultural audi- The artist expressed his keen public art piece (nearly 1km long) ence at the airport. interest in doing public art, that refl ects the country’s herit- Cosmos is the artist’s fi rst art where an artist spends time in age and culture, is fi ve times big- work to be installed in an airport, the street apart from holding ger than his glass fountain sculp- representing a colossal celestial shows in museums, galleries and The National Museum of Qatar forms a backdrop for Alfa, a monumental art installation by internationally-acclaimed contemporary ture in the gardens of Chateau de globe echoing the trajectories of privately-commissioned ones. French artist Jean-Michel Othoniel. Versailles. travellers from around the world Othoniel was born on January “We based this idea on reeds with more than 30mn passengers 27, 1964 in Saint-Etienne, and hallmark of his work, he used Such material, he stressed, is fountains, linking the shape of Othoniel, whose works have you have in the desert, which is passing through HIA last year. now lives and works in Paris. stainless steel, covered with ce- one of the strongest elements the jet to the shape of the archi- architectural dimension, has used by the people to make bas- The striking piece resembles He shows a fondness for ma- ramics, for Alfa citing the coun- used for outdoor sculptures tecture (NMoQ) to follow all the permanent installations in pub- kets or elements for the house,” bright calligraphy drawn in space terials with reversible properties. try’s hot temperatures during the “The idea was to turn these shape of the petals of the (desert) lic and private places around the he said, adding that the concept when observed side-on or from While glass has become the summer. (individual) sculptures into rose,” the artist explained. world. Gulf Times Thursday, March 28, 2019 13 QATAR Museum opening ‘has created exceptional platform for dialogue’

By Joey Aguilar Staff Reporter

he National Museum of Qatar (MoQ) which opens Tto the public today (March 28), is set to take visitors on a unique and interactive journey: from the period before the pe- ninsula was inhabited by hu- mans, and continuing up to the present day. “The opening of NMoQ is a source of immense pride for our country, and an exceptional mo- ment for engaging with people from around the world,” Qatar Museums (QM) Chairperson HE Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani told a press conference yesterday. “Culture connects people, and with this new museum we believe we have created an exceptional platform for dialogue,” she said. Along the museum’s 1.5km gallery path is a series of en- compassing environments, each telling its part the country’s his- His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani with children at the opening of the His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani with Qatar Museums Chairperson HE Sheikha tory with a combination of ar- National Museum of Qatar yesterday. Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani at the inauguration of the National Museum of Qatar. chitectural space, music, poetry, oral histories, evocative aromas, The heart of the 52,000sq m Film Institute using cutting- “The Archaeology of Qatar” tory fi lm by Jon Kane. “Life in Al other rare and splendid objects, Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Ha- archaeological and heritage ob- NMoQ is the restored historic edge technologies and were shot incorporates displays of some Barr (Desert)” brings to life the particularly the Pearl Carpet of mad al-Thani and His Highness jects, commissioned artworks, Palace of Sheikh Abdullah bin within the borders of Qatar. 1,000 archaeological artifacts, challenges, joys, and satisfactions Baroda, testifying to the role of the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad and monumentally-scaled art Jassim al-Thani (1880-1957), son Organised in three ‘acts’, the from luxury items to functional of living in the inland desert. The the pearling industry for many bin Khalifa al-Thani, has at its fi lms, among others. of the founder of modern Qatar. fi rst ‘act’ comprised of galleries everyday objects, which trace gallery includes a complete Bait years as Qatar’s main link with centre a 5m-diameter wooden One of the “objects of great It was the actual home of Sheikh one, two and three; ‘act’ two is life on the peninsula from the al-Sha’r (tent), displays of sadu the world. model of the city of Doha. It fea- signifi cance” on view at the Abdullah and the fi rst National from gallery four to seven, and earliest human presence thou- weaving, and clusters of cooking “The Modern History of Qa- tures a multi-user interactive National Museum is the Al Zu- Museum, which opened in 1975 ‘act’ three forms the last batch of sands of years ago to the thriv- utensils, surrounded by sounds tar” is told through a series of wall that enables visitors to ex- barah Qur’an, known as the old- and it closed two decades later in galleries. One of the unique fea- ing towns of the 1800s. A fi lm of poetry being recited and the interlinked spaces, the fi rst of plore archival images related to est Qur’an created in Qatar and the 1990s. tures of NMoQ exhibits include by Jananne al-Ani (Archaeology, aroma of coff ee. which covers the years 1500 to the country’s development over written in Al Zubarah at the be- Organised in three chapters encouraging visitors to touch the 2017) brings Qatar’s archaeolog- A sweeping fi lm by Abder- 1913 and presents historic fi g- these years. This was the period ginning of the 19th century by (“Beginnings, Life in Qatar, and objects displayed in its galleries. ical sites into the gallery, com- rahmane Sissako (Life in Al Barr, ures from Rahmah bin Jaber and when revenues from oil and liq- Ahmed bin Rashed bin Juma bin The Modern History of Qatar), “The Formation of Qatar” bining aerial views with compel- 2017), shot in beautiful silver- Isa bin Tarif to the leaders un- uefi ed natural gas (LNG) made Helal al-Muraikhi. NMoQ brings to life the forma- incorporates a display of fos- ling close-up images of objects nitrate style, unfolds on the long der whom Qatar emerged as a possible a dramatic transforma- Another spectacular artefact tion of the peninsula and its sils of plants and animals that from pre-historic times into the walls of the gallery, taking the united nation, Sheikh Mohamed tion, including massive urban at the museum collection, “and natural habitat, the heritage of represent seven time periods of Bronze Age and beyond. viewer through the daily cy- bin Thani and Sheikh Jassim bin development. a testament to the fl ourishing life in Al Barr (the desert) and on the country in the distant past. “The People of Qatar” begins cle of life. “Life on the Coast” Mohamed bin Thani. The gallery also features an pearl-trade relations between the coast, the political develop- A fi lm made under the creative with an exploration of move- features a large-scale model of Exhibits enable visitors to oral history fi lm about the Father the Indian subcontinent and the ment of modern Qatar, and the direction of Christophe Chey- ment as a fundamental element the important centre for trade delve into this past by access- Amir, directed by Tala Hadid, Arabian Gulf,” is the Pearl Carpet discovery of oil, to the country’s sson (The Beginnings, 2018) en- in the identity of the Qatari and pearling Al Zubarah, one of ing archival documents, historic Rowdha al-Thani, and Amal of Baroda. multifaceted relationships today circles the viewer with images of people: seasonal movement be- the largest and best-preserved maps, and more, and a fi lm by al-Thani, and a major video art Considered as one of Qatar’s with the larger world. the formation of the peninsula tween Al Barr (the inland desert) coastal cities in the Arabian Gulf, Peter Webber (Shadows of His- installation by John Sanborn greatest national treasures, the Oral history fi lms, archival and early life-forms, while dig- and the coast; movement to fi nd and Qatar’s fi rst Unesco World tory, 2018) poetically evokes the (Alchemy, 2016): a creative pres- renowned carpet was com- photographs, maps, texts, mod- ital displays bring to life long- water and pastures, and move- Heritage Site listing. moments before the decisive entation of the signifi cance of missioned in 1865 and embroi- els, and digital learning stations extinct plants and animals and ment to buy and sell goods. Capturing the rhythms of life battle for unifi cation. LNG, playing on 30 high-reso- dered with more than 1.5mn of establish the narrative, along now-vanished landscapes. The gallery is organised during the heyday of Al Zuba- A second space focuses on the lution monitors of varying sizes. the highest quality Gulf pearls, with some of the most dazzling “Qatar’s Natural Environ- around a three-dimensional rah is another fi lm by Abder- transitional moment between “Qatar Today,” a gallery near along with emeralds, diamonds, treasures of Qatar’s history and ments” features models and ex- sculpture of the peninsula and rahmane Sissako (Al Zubarah, 1913 and 1972, under the reigns the conclusion of the perma- and sapphires. heritage. hibits about indigenous plants tells the story of how survival 2017), which is projected on a of Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim nent gallery route, will showcase NMoQ director HE Sheikha Surrounding the objects and and animals from the Arabian depended for centuries on a no- six-screen backdrop that wraps al-Thani, Sheikh Ali bin Abdul- the achievements of the reign Amna bint Abdulaziz bin Jassim bringing the experience to life is oryx, the sand cat, and the madic way of life. around the model of the site. lah al-Thani and Sheikh Ahmad of the current Amir and recent al-Thani said: “We have cre- a sequence of short art fi lms that deathstalker scorpion to the Objects in the gallery include A second fi lm, by Mira Nair bin Ali al-Thani, from the col- history including the blockade ated galleries full of movement, NMoQ commissioned from a largest of all fi sh, the nine-me- elaborate camel saddles, leather (Nafas/Breathe, 2014), is pre- lapse of the pearling industry to imposed in Qatar in June 2017, sound, and colour in order to en- roster of distinguished interna- tre-long whale shark. water bags, and an array of arti- sented on two facing screens, the discovery of oil. which brought unprecedented gage our public fully, with their tional fi lmmakers. In a kaleidoscopic fi lm expe- facts rescued from the wreck of each approximately 31m long, An impressionistic 360-de- challenges to the country and its senses and emotions as well as The fi lms are projected at im- rience by director Christophe the Cirebon, a trading vessel that immersing viewers in the physi- gree fi lm installation by world- people. their intellects, and have as- mense scale and with hypnotic Cheysson and legendary fi lm- sank 1,000 years ago off the Indo- cal and emotional hardships of renowned video artist Doug Through a striking immersive sembled creative and authentic clarity against the walls of the maker Jacques Perrin (Land and nesian coast. The faces and voic- pearling. A second oral history Aitken (The Coming of Oil, 2017) digital installation, the gallery content that is so rich that peo- galleries, with each one uniquely Sea, 2017), visuals of birds fi ll a es of Qatar’s people enter the gal- fi lm by John Kane completes the evokes the beauty and impact – which will open as part of a ple will discover something new suited to the dynamically curv- 50m wide screen, schools of fi sh lery, recounting their experiences experience. “Pearls and Celebra- of the discovery of oil. A third second phase of development of with each visit. It is now time for ing, irregular shape. All fi lms swim through the deep, and a of living in this land, through a tions” includes a sparkling dis- space, telling the story from 1972 NMoQ – dynamically represents the discoveries to begin.” were produced by the Doha windstorm dazzles the senses. specially commissioned oral his- play of jewellery, costumes, and to 2013 under the reigns of His these events. Qatar is very unique in Institution captures Qatar’s architecture: Koolhaas history, resilience and soul Mansoor bin Ebrahim al-Mahmoud, Qatar Museums Executive Board Member has By Joseph Varghese said the new museum refl ects how we Staff Reporter imagine our past and the historic events that shaped our country’s identity, celebrates our interactions with the desert and the oha is currently the sea, and acknowledges how our society has most ambitious and ex- modernised rapidly, while becoming a centre Dperimental urban centre for innovation and international exchange of architecture in the region and the world, a top architect he new National Museum of Qatar, which told Gulf Times yesterday. has been more than a decade in the making, “The architectural mar- Tis a source of immense pride for our nation, vels in the country have been connecting Qatar’s past with its diverse and cos- very exceptional and have im- mopolitan present. pacted many including me in a Full of heart and soul, the museum expresses the big way,” said Rem Koolhaas, The panellists during the discussion. PICTURE: Ram Chand collective memory of the people of Qatar. It refl ects the renowned Dutch architect how we imagine our past and the historic events who designed the iconic Qatar beautiful buildings,” he added. millenniums through the sand older buildings around us. By that shaped our country’s identity, celebrates our National Library (QNL) build- Earlier, Koolhaas, was joined and the wind, with an intersec- the mid-1990s, we saw a cul- interactions with the desert and the sea, and ac- ing. in the panel discussion by not- tion of blades in a random and tural movement and transition knowledges how our society has modernised rap- He was speaking on the ed French architect Jean Nouvel complex system. And when you in Doha’s architecture. When idly, while becoming a centre for innovation and Mansoor bin Ebrahim al-Mahmoud sidelines of a panel discus- who designed the National Mu- have this symbol of the desert genius architects started com- international exchange. sion, ‘Architecture as Face of seum of Qatar, renowned Swiss on such a scale, it becomes ing, we began to redefi ne our People are central to this story, and this breath- Museums’ Gallery Al Riwaq. An iconic institution a Nation” at QNL, which was architect Jacques Herzog, pio- something very heroic from a identity. Now we are redefi n- taking space fosters a sense of connection, awe, and that recently celebrated its tenth anniversary, the attended by Qatar Museums neering Qatari architect Ibra- scientifi c and technical point of ing our identity and this is the enchantment. Through the beautifully designed Museum of Islamic Art was our fi rst large-scale chairperson HE Sheikha Al him Jaidah, and Dutch architect view.” beauty of having such archi- immersive galleries, visitors will experience com- cultural project and set tremendous expectations Mayassa bint Hamad bin Kha- Ben van Berkel (founder and Berkel stated that every tects working here, which will pelling storytelling that engages the imagination for the role of art and culture in the Arab world. lifa al-Thani and a number of principal architect of the archi- place has a specifi c character- help our younger architects in through oral histories, commissioned artworks, The collective impact of these institutions refl ects other dignitaries. “I was able to tectural practice United Work istic, which makes it interest- many ways,” he noted. music, archaeological and heritage objects, site- the wider urban, civic, and cultural development work with some of the build- Studio). Architecture author ing for architects. “In Doha, “When we speak about iden- specifi c art fi lms, and more. Each element adds its of Doha. Each contributes something distinctive to ings here which could fully de- Philip Jodidio was the modera- for example, the sea meets tity, we are always speaking own perspective to the complex narrative of Qatar. our goal of transforming Qatar into an Arab capital velop and realise my ambitions tor. the land in an interesting way, about the vernacular aspect. With the opening of the new National Museum, of culture. in architecture,” explained Speaking about what in- which helps me as a Dutch ar- Qatar has evolved just like any Qatar Museums has created an institution that will One of the central missions of Qatar Museums Koolhaas. spired him to design the Na- chitect get a new perspective other country. HE Sheikha Ma- serve our own people, helping us reconnect with is to build connections through culture, to en- “Doha as a centre of archi- tional Museum of Qatar in the on design and architecture. yassa started preserving our our roots, educate our youth about our ancestors, courage co-operation and mutual understanding. tecture has some of the most shape of a desert rose, Jean Qatar therefore has one of the modern history along with the and show that Qatar has always fl ourished by being The new National Museum of Qatar advances the striking buildings in the world. Nouvel said: “I wanted to give a best settings for architects to old ones such as the Amiri Di- open to diff erent peoples and ideas. nation’s cultural vision on the global stage, serv- As of now, I cannot recol- symbol linked to the eternity of be creative and try new ideas,” wan, the Fire Station, the min- Qatar Museums has located this new institution ing as a hub for discovery, creativity, and com- lect any other place with such the desert and at the same time said Berkel. istries among others. So our at the heart of a public realm that we are shaping munity engagement and off ering boundless edu- distinct architectural display to the dynamism and mod- Jaidah recalled that early in early modern history is a tran- as a key civic quarter for Doha – one that connects cational opportunities. This institution captures of elegant buildings. Doha ernism of the Qatar of today. his career, “identity was de- sition that has been well docu- the National Museum with cherished institutions what is truly remarkable about Qatar: its history, has an amazing number of A desert rose is created over fi ned as what we see of the mented,” added Jaidah. including the Museum of Islamic Art and Qatar resilience, and soul. Gulf Times 14 Thursday, March 28, 2019 HOL STIC Wellbeing Seven ways to help someone through a panic attack My vegan rituals - what works for me By Amy Sedghi Encourage deep breaths attacks can be feeling unreal or der, almond butter and raw cacao. Guardian Encourage the person to detached,” says Martin Antony, a Its high in amino acids — which a breathe slowly and deeply – psychology professor at Ryerson lot of people consider vegans lack Mind advises counting out loud University in Toronto, Canada. — and also fibre, and other muscle ore than 13% of people or asking them to watch while Grounding techniques, or other building ingredients. are susceptible to panic you calmly raise your arm up and ways to feel connected to the As part of my health habits, I also Mattacks, which can be down. The NHS and No Panic present, can be eff ective – Mind try to sit in the sun for at least 30 very intense and distressing. So also publish guides to calming suggests focusing on the texture minutes per day, or every couple of what are the symptoms and how breathing exercises. of a blanket, smelling something days, depending on work. Absorb- best can you respond? with a strong scent – and even ing Vitamin D from the sun is very Be careful not to be dis- stamping your feet. important, and I do believe in the Educate yourself missive healing power of the sun. It can help According to the Mental Your “don’t panic” may be Ask them what they need By Ghanim al-Sulaiti release toxins, and works magic on Health Foundation (MHF), 13.2% well-intentioned, but try to People can often feel exhaust- the skin. I also drink turmeric water of people have experienced a avoid any potentially dismissive ed after a panic attack. Gently ask throughout the day which is tasty, panic attack. If you know some- language and phrases. As Matt them if you can get them a glass I’m often asked about my vegan and has scientifically-proven health one who suff ers from them fre- Haig, author of the best-selling of water or something to eat. way of life — and specifically how I benefits, such as the potential to quently, it can be helpful to bet- Reasons to Stay Alive, puts it: (Caff eine, a psychostimulant, is integrate my health habits, exercise, prevent heart disease, and cancer. ter understand what they are. “Don’t belittle them. They’re best avoided). They may be feel- and vegan lifestyle as a Qatari living It’s also an anti-inflammatory, and Attacks can last between fi ve and among the most intense experi- ing shivery or too hot. At a later in Doha. Qatar’s healthy areas have antioxidant too. 30 minutes, with symptoms in- ences you can go through.” point, when they have recovered, undergone a momentous journey For lunch, I’ll try to have a raw meal, cluding rapid breathing, sweat- you might like to ask them what of transformation in recent years. as I’ll have a cooked dinner. Eating ing, a racing heart, shivering and Try a grounding exercise they fi nd helpful during or after The growth of new facilities, parks raw ensures I’m absorbing the maxi- feeling sick. The NHS, MHF, the “One of the symptoms of panic an attack. and open spaces ensure that we mum nutrients from the food, as it’s mental health charities Mind, can live a healthy life, and is helping in its purest form. I’ll have a mixed Time to Change and No Panic to transform the country. vegetable wrap — substituting the have resources available. As a vegan dedicated to pursing a tortilla bread, for a collared green healthy lifestyle, I find myself taking wrap (bread tends to slow down di- Stay calm advantage of Qatar’s investment gestion and makes everything little “If you’re having a short, sud- in health and fitness sector all the more sluggish). I’ll have it with some den panic attack, it can be helpful time. Plus, I try to eat as healthily as form of hummus, perhaps a green to have someone with you reas- possible. or beetroot variant. I’ll also add suring you that it will pass,” Paul remaining calm yourself can pro- attack or that they might die. It is Here’s an insight into a day’s worth avocado, in order to ensure I have Salkovskis, professor of clinical vide comfort. important to reassure the person of health habits, rituals and routine. healthy fats included in my diet. psychology and applied science experiencing an attack that they On Saturday morning, I’ll start the If the afternoon is your best time at the University of Bath, says in Be reassuring are not in danger. The symptoms, day by drinking 1 litre of mineral wa- to be active, (as it sometimes is for offi cial advice from the NHS. It is Panic attacks can be highly dis- attributable to the body’s fi ght ter. At night, your body repairs itself me) — a walk around the neighbour- important to ride out the attack tressing; some people describe or fl ight response, typically peak and casts out all the toxins in the hood, or even the beach if it’s pos- and not look for distractions; just feeling as if they are having a heart within 10 minutes. body. When you drink water on an sible, can be beneficial and allows empty stomach in the morning, you me to enjoy fresh air. Furthermore, will flush out these harmful toxins, walking on the sand can significant- leaving your body fresh and ready ly reduce stress levels, and relax How to take care of your nails for the day. Drinking water also the mind. helps in increasing the production By dinner time, I’ll have something of muscle cells and new blood cells. like a warm quinoa bowl, with By Emine Saner Use a nail fi le for shaping, or if it thicker nails it may be easier to Shortly after, I’ll head to the gym — sweet potatoes and fresh kale. It’s Guardian hurts when you clip your nails. cut them then. With brittle nails, armed with a green cold-pressed delicious, full of nutrients, and high You don’t need to use it in just however, cutting them when they juice. I’ll typically take a strength in protein. one direction, but do fi le gently to are soft may make things worse. class which focuses on muscle We all know how important sleep eep them short, don’t avoid damage. There is no harm in giving your building, or I’ll join a boxing work- is — and living in a fast-paced 2019, be afraid to fi le and re- Fingernails should be given a cuticles a gentle trim, but don’t out. Boxing is cardio, which helps sleep can sometimes be perceived Kmember to moisturise, curve, while toenails should be overdo it – they protect your nail keep our heart healthy, increase as a luxury. But whether you own says a leading dermatologist. cut straight across, to prevent in- bed from infection by keeping out body strength, and also improves a business, study, work in shifts or Nails should be kept fairly short. growth. You can cut a little down debris. hand-eye co-ordination. whatever — making a good night The longer they are, the more eas- the sides of your toenails, espe- You should moisturise your The cold-pressed juice that I con- sleep a priority will have great ben- ily they are damaged – especially cially if you are prone to ingrow- hands and feet, including your sume during the class has cucum- efits on your overall health. Person- your fi ngernails, if you work with ing toenails, to take them away nails and cuticles, every day. The ber, celery, spirulina, leafy greens, ally, I try to sleep around nine hours your hands. If they are fi ne, you from the skin. If you have persist- thicker the cream, the better. If lemon and apple. Such green juices per night — the amount of hours can use a normal clipper; for any- ent problems with an ingrowing you use polish, give your nails a are rich in minerals and vitamins, I know I can function on, without thing thicker – usually toenails, toenail, you will need to see a doc- break from time to time so that air and a better substitute than most being tired during the day. but sometimes fi ngernails – you tor. Your nails will be softer after and moisturiser can reach them energy drinks, which are often high To summarise, we have to work out will need a heavy-duty version. a bath or shower, so if you have and prevent discolouration. in caff eine. I take my energy from what is best for us, and what works the chlorophyll in green juices, as for our bodies. If you’re wanting chlorophyll is a cell reviver that to improve health, try to create a wakes up both the body and the realistic health schedule that works mind — giving the right amount of for you, and integrate organic, plant- The restlessness of ‘daily’ habits energy, and helping digestion. based foods and drinks to fully feel Upon returning home from the the rewarding eff ects. gym, I’ll prepare a smoothie. As a routine but maintaining the vegan, I make a plant-based protein The author is an expert in vegan same reward. For example, if you shake with almond milk, hemp wellbeing and health. decide to replace your habit of seeds, sprouted vegan protein pow- Instagram handle: @Ghanim92 using a laptop/phone before you sleep, identify the reward you get from this behaviour fi rst. In my case the reward is being enter- tained after a long day of work. Wellness Meal Plan To maintain this reward of en- tertainment I would replace the routine with another form visual stimulus, like a comic book, a crossword or a magazine. This is a better habit and by maintaining By Sanah Thakur it regularly I can train my brain to be equally satisfi ed. Change has become para- mount to existence today. We’re Calm your habits changing our jobs, our hair, our Break down a bigger goal into breakfast smoothies, our texting smaller habits: For example, lingo, our operating systems and ‘I want a healthier daily rou- our bedtime rituals. Water is tine’ can be broken down into, boring; we’re drinking fl avoured We despise consistency because regions of the brain are associ- creases the need to snack later smaller, achievable habits, drink tea. Air isn’t pure; we’ve scent- it creates a restlessness within. I ated with specifi c functions due on. We’re unconsciously even warm water when you wake ed it. Exercise is mundane, why fail to recall when I last slept and to consistent neural repetitions killing the daily habit of simply up, sleep at 9:30 pm and walk stick to one form of it? And in woke up at the same time every from our earliest developmen- eating a meal in peace. around the house for 30 mins. this world, where YouTube vid- day, opened my eyes to morn- tal stages. The brain is visual Focus on ONE habit: Once it eos follow a more rigid routine ing light instead of phone dis- when it supports habits that are Accepting regularity as ex- is unconscious and automatic, Dark chocolate fudge of updating, it’s hard to remain plays or ate home cooked food vision-like and auditory with citing move on to accommodating an- loyal to the boring ‘daily’ habits. for a week consistently. These those that are touch-like. The Maintaining this habit of other habit. Base: When was the last time you en- are habits I’m not proud of, yet new age, habitually changing change isn’t going to benefi t us Don’t “spoil” your habit: 1 cup of almond fl our gaged in, ate, drank or believed my mind refuses to replace them individual, confuses this basic in the long run. It might seem Consistency is key. Trying to 100 grams of 74% dark chocolate (use vegan chocolate for this in the same thing every day for with the dullness of basic rou- biology. When we start stimu- more exciting to reward yourself change things up every two recipe) more than a fortnight? tines. lating visual areas while engag- with a new exercise routine or weeks will motivate your rest- 1/3 cup of almond butter ing in sensory activities, for ex- bed time ritual every week. But less mind to focus on the reward 1 tbs of coconut oil The new habit of change Habits and the brain ample, watching tv while eating fueling this need to crave excite- rather than the process. 1 tbs of maple syrup A renowned author once said, Habits of thoughts and ac- dinner, we’re creating a habit of ment and diff erence in our daily Mistakes are milestones: 1 tsp of vanilla “Human beings are creatures tion are the fundamental blue- focusing all visual attention on habits is shortening the mainte- Don’t be hard on yourself for the A pinch of salt of habit. It’s amazing what we print of human brain activity. the screen. Therefore, eating nance of any routine at all. Peo- minor setbacks in training your can get used to”. Indeed, human With every habit we develop, is boring without the excessive ple wonder why we can’t commit brain. Treat your mistakes like Method: beings today have acquired a our brains form neural connec- visual stimulation and the brain to relationships today; perhaps google maps treats them – by Melt together; the dark chocolate, coconut oil, almond butter. habit of change – to constantly tions that are repeated. Every seeks distraction. This lack of we should start with committing rerouting yourself. Add salt, maple syrup and vanilla to the mix. Add the chocolate reinvent our every day, fl ash- time we do the same thing, attention on the sensory act of to a regular habit fi rst. Research- mix to your almond fl our and you have your delicious fudgy choc- ing images of this championed these patterns are stimulated eating, makes us less likely to ers highlight that changing an The author can be contacted on olate! Press the mix into a container. change through social media. and strengthened. Diff erent remember that we ate and in- old habit requires replacing the Instagram @sincerelysanah

Topping: 25 grams of dark chocolate A pinch of salt A pinch of coff ee Be your own kind of beautiful A pinch of Beetroot powder Coconut fl akes a bit more effort with my ap- For as long as I can remem- than the way we look. I feel like always appreciated and are gra- And/or any topping you like! You can top with fruits or nuts or pearance, there are going to be ber I had issues with certain I wasted time associating my ciously accepted, but it’s only drizzle some nut butter! Or sprinkle with some cinnamon! a lot of people there tonight, features on my face. I could self-worth on my physical ap- when you notice the beauty of I probably should have worn blame the media for the beauty pearance. I know, we shouldn’t someone’s spirit that’s when Method: false eyelashes, I should have standards it promotes or those have regrets, but it would have you really see them. Melt your dark chocolate and drizzle on top of the fudgy choco- tied my hair up so I look more who told me to do plastic sur- been nice to come across more As a human being, you are so late base. Top with salt, coff ee, coconut fl akes and beetroot pow- put together.” gery but I won’t. positive and realistic examples much more than the way you der. Refrigerate for 30min. Cut them into medium sized bites and When I saw the pictures Over the last few years I de- of women while growing up. look. You have so much depth, enjoy the taste of eating right! and videos post-event those cided to feel good about who Maybe then myself and many wisdom and energy to give the thoughts were reconfirmed, I am from the inside, the way other young people wouldn’t world, despite the way you but then all of a sudden I had we feel about our looks is usu- have wasted time giving their look. Maybe society looks at another thought. “I was at- ally an indicator of the way we appearance more time than it the outward appearance, but By Shefa Ali tending the event as a panellist, think about ourselves. deserves. God and the people who love people were coming to hear Now, I ‘get it’ we are all beau- If I ever become a mother to you truly see you and under- I was in my car on the way what I had to say, I should be tiful in our own way. I’m kind a little girl or boy, I’ll make sure stand your heart. to an International Women’s more concerned about want- of over caring too much about they understand how valuable Day event a couple of weeks ing the ladies being interested the way I look these days, like they are, irrespective of their The author is a consultant and ago, when the thought came to in what I had to say, rather than really, there are way more im- outer beauty and physicality. coach. Instagram handle: @miss_ my mind “I should have made how I look like.” portant things in the world Compliments on looks are shefa, Website: missshefa.com Gulf Times Thursday, March 28, 2019 15 REGION/ARAB WORLD

Kuwait defence minister holds talks with Italian counterpart Hamas chief appears in public A photo provided by the Kuwaiti Reuters ties hit in the air strikes. Security is a major issue for news agency Gaza/Jerusalem Towns in southern Israel re- Netanyahu, in power for a dec- KUNA yesterday opened classrooms and schools ade and beset by corruption al- shows were also operating in Gaza, legations that he denies. Kuwait’s he leader of the group where streets were fi lled with He is facing his strongest Defence Hamas viewed the rub- traffi c. Hamas’ top leader, Is- electoral challenge from a cen- Minister Sheikh Tble of his bombed offi ce mail Haniyeh, emerged from a trist coalition led by a former Nasser Sabah in Gaza yesterday, appearing in secret location to see what was general. Seven Israelis were in- al-Ahmad al- public as an uneasy calm took left of his wrecked offi ce, tar- jured in Monday’s initial rocket Sabah meeting hold after two days of cross- geted by an Israeli air strike on attack that hit the village of with his Italian border Palestinian rocket at- Monday. Mishmeret, 120km north of counterpart tacks and Israeli air strikes. “The occupation,” he said, Gaza. Elisabetta But while violence eased referring to Israel, “should Twelve Palestinians have Trenta in amid Egyptian mediation, Is- not be under the illusion it can been wounded by Israeli strikes, Kuwait City. raeli forces along the Gaza break the will of our people.” Gaza health offi cials said. After frontier and fi ghters in the Ha- A senior Israeli offi cial, who a daylight lull on Tuesday, Pal- mas-run Palestinian enclave spoke on condition of anonym- estinian rocket attacks and Is- were on hair-trigger footing. ity, retorted: “Haniyeh should raeli strikes resumed after dark, No deaths have been report- fi nd himself a new offi ce before but only briefl y. ed in Gaza and Israel since the he starts sounding off .” The latest escalation is the latest clashes erupted on Mon- Even if the crisis subsides, biggest since November be- day. it could shadow Israel’s April tween Israel and Hamas, which Israel’s Iron Dome anti-mis- 9 election, in which right- fought three wars between sile interceptors have destroyed wing Prime Minister Benjamin 2008 and 2014 and have come some Palestinian rockets and Netanyahu has campaigned on to the brink of a fourth several fi ghters in Gaza vacated facili- a tough security platform. times since.

LEGAL Saudi court resumes women activists’ trial

A Saudi court resumed yesterday Troop fi ring kills Palestinian the trial of prominent women activists facing charges related to their human rights work and contacts with foreign journalists and diplomats, in a case that has sharpened Western criticism of the kingdom. medic in West Bank clash The women, including rights campaigner Loujain al-Hathloul, AFP university professor Hatoon al- Ramallah Fassi and blogger Eman al-Nafjan, were expected to respond to charges including some that Palestinian volun- rights groups say fall under an ar- teer medic was killed ticle of the kingdom’s cybercrime Aby Israeli forces during law stipulating jail sentences of up clashes in the occupied West to five years. Bank yesterday, the Palestinian Western diplomats and media, health ministry said. including Reuters, were denied Sajid Muzher, 17, was killed in entry to the hearing and escorted the Dheisheh refugee camp near from the building, despite petition- Bethlehem in the southern West ing the authorities to attend amid Bank, the ministry said. global scrutiny of the case. He was shot by Israeli forces Three dozen countries, including while volunteering as a medic, a all 28 EU members, Canada and ministry spokesman said. Australia, have called on Riyadh to The Israeli army did not free the activists. comment on the death but said British Foreign Secretary Jeremy troops were responding to a “vi- Hunt and US Secretary of State olent riot”. In a statement, Pal- Mike Pompeo both raised the is- estinian health minister Jawad sue during recent visits to Riyadh. Awad said the “occupation’s killing of a volunteer medic by shooting him in the stomach is FALLOUT a war crime.” Iraq orders arrest The Palestinian Medical Re- lief Society confi rmed he was of ex-governor working with them, saying in after ferry sinking a statement he was shot while trying to treat a person wound- Iraq’s judicial authorities have ed in clashes. issued an arrest warrant for the Israeli forces frequently en- sacked governor of Ninveh as part ter West Bank refugee camps to of investigations into the sinking carry out arrests or other op- of a ferry that killed more than erations, often sparking clashes 100 people, off icial news agency with residents. INA reported yesterday. In a statement, the army said The INA published copies of arrest that during “operational activ- Palestinian mourners attend the funeral of Sajid Muzher, 17, after he was reported killed by firing during clashes in the Dheisheh refugee camp near the West Bank city of Bethlehem, yesterday. warrants — issued by a Nineveh ity in Dheisheh Refugee Camp, court in charge of investigating southwest of Bethlehem, a vio- It said it had received a re- killing in a statement, saying the lives. Their protection must be that if confi rmed the death by Israeli forces and full impu- corruption cases — against former lent riot was instigated.” port regarding an injured Pal- man was killed while providing ensured,” said Gerald Rocken- “would mark at least the fourth nity in Israel highlight the need governor Nofal al-Akoub and “Dozens of fi ghters hurled estinian, without further de- care to the injured. schaub, head of the WHO offi ce clearly identifi able Palestinian for the International Criminal other local off icials. They were also blocks and fi rebombs at the tails. “We are saddened by this for the West Bank and Gaza. medic gunned down by Israeli Court to open a formal probe placed on travel ban list, accord- troops, who responded with riot The World Health Organisa- tragic loss. Health workers Omar Shakir, Human Rights forces in the last year.” into serious crimes committed ing to the report. dispersal means.” tion “strongly condemned” the provide critical care and save Watch country director, said “Routine unlawful killings in Palestine,” he said. On Sunday, the Iraqi parliament voted to sack al-Akoub and his two deputies over alleged corrup- tion and negligence. On Thursday, a boat carrying people celebrating Nowruz, which marks the Kurdish Pompeo says US New Year, capsized in the Tigris Boutefl ika’s key allies back River near Mosul, the the capital city of Nineveh, killing 110 people. Mideast plan set to The ferry sinking has prompted calls for tougher action against discard old ‘parameters’ army plan to oust leader corruption and mismanagement. REVIEW AFP Reuters ance from the leaders of mass Rouhani inspects Washington Commitment to Algiers demonstrations fuelled by an- punish those behind ger over alleged corruption, flood damage in Khashoggi’s murder nepotism and economic mis- ecretary of State Mike lgeria’s army appeared management who said the plan northern Iran Pompeo suggested US Secretary of State Mike Pom- certain to secure the end still did not go far enough. President Hassan Rouhani yes- Syesterday that an up- peo told a congressional hearing Aof President Abdelaziz “Protests will continue... terday inspected damage caused coming US peace plan would yesterday that the Trump Boutefl ika 20-year rule after Algerians’ demands include a by flash floods in northern Iran break with longstanding un- administration is still working winning over his key allies but change of the political system,” and promised compensation to all derstandings on issues such “all across the government” the managed exit plan was re- Mustapha Bouchachi, a lawyer those aff ected as the nationwide as Jerusalem and Israeli set- to identify and hold account- jected by protesters demanding and activist, told Reuters. death toll reached 30. tlements, saying the old ap- able anyone responsible for the overthrow of the entire po- “The implementation of Ar- Rouhani, accused by critics of mis- proach had failed. the murder of Saudi journalist litical elite. ticle 102 (the part of the consti- handling the crisis, took several President Donald Trump’s Jamal Khashoggi. Questioned The shift by several pillars tution that covers declaring a ministers with him to Golestan administration is expected to at a House of Representatives of the establishment yester- president unfi t for offi ce) means Province, whose governor was present an outline of a Mid- hearing, Pompeo said he would day was a clear signal that the that the symbols of the system dismissed on Saturday amid pub- dle East peace plan shortly commit to holding anyone 82-year-old president — who will oversee the transition pe- lic outrage over his absence from after Israel’s April 9 election, accountable who was found to has rarely appeared in public riod and organise presidential work. He had been abroad when although the Palestinian Au- be responsible, even the most since suff ering a stroke in 2013 A man looks at newspapers in Algiers, yesterday. elections,” he said. the disaster hit. thority has rejected US medi- senior off icials, a reference to — has little to no chance of Even if both sides dig in, At least 30 people have been ation over Trump’s landmark Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed staying in power for much long- Such a ruling would have to a statement. That move came no Algerians want to risk re- confirmed dead and hundreds recognition of Jerusalem as bin Salman. “We will continue er in the North African country, be ratifi ed by a two-thirds ma- after Algeria’s biggest union turning to the dark days of suff ered injuries in the floods, of- Israel’s capital. to work to identify those who an oil and gas producer. jority of members in the two and a powerful party that is the 1990s, when the army’s ficials said on Wednesday. “I’m very confi dent that are responsible for Jamal The army’s powerful chief houses of parliament. part of the ruling coalition an- cancellation of elections that “We will rebuild Golestan just as it what was tried before failed Khashoggi’s murder and hold of staff , Lieutenant General In the heaviest blow to the nounced they would back the conservatives were poised to was before, and we will stand by and I’m optimistic that what them accountable,” he said. Ahmed Gaed Salah, told offi c- ailing leader, the ruling FLN military’s approach. win triggered a civil war that your side,” Tasnim news agency we’re doing will give us a ers in a speech broadcast on party said it backed the army’s The army has been patiently killed 200,000 people. quoted Rouhani as telling a gath- better likelihood that we’ll Tuesday that the solution to bid to have the constitutional waiting for the right moment to Back then, conservatives ering of villagers. achieve the outcomes that tee’s Democratic chairwoman, the crisis would be the depar- council declare him unfi t for of- intervene. had marched in the streets In a country more accustomed to would be better for both the Nita Lowey, asked him if the ture of the president on health fi ce. Now that the generals have under the watchful eye of the drought, Rouhani said the floods, people of Israel and the Pal- Trump administration stood grounds. “We announce our support emptied Boutefl ika’s inner cir- military. caused by torrential rain, had estinian people as well,” Pom- by the decades-old US posi- Salah called on Algeria’s for the initiative as a start to cle, they are well positioned No women had taken part aff ected 25 of Iran’s 31 provinces peo said as he testifi ed before tion in support of a two-state constitutional council to rule a constitutional plan that will to play their traditional role of and the men were bearded, in and that the scale of the disaster Congress. Pompeo repeatedly solution between Israel and whether Boutefl ika was fi t for allow us to protect our country kingmaker in any transition. sharp contrast to the protests had overwhelmed emergency demurred when the commit- the Palestinians. offi ce. from dangers,” the party said in The military will face resist- which erupted five weeks ago. services in some areas. Gulf Times 16 Thursday, March 28, 2019 AFRICA Death toll from attack on Mali herders rises to 157

Reuters their homes, marked an escala- they expected that number to said that armed men, dressed as Tacit outsourcing of the fi ght and disbanding an anti-militant Guinguere told Reuters. Bamako tion in violence between Dogon rise. traditional Dogon hunters, at- against militants to vigilante vigilante group called Dan Na He said the attack was carried hunters and Fulani herders that The Prosecutor of the Inter- tacked villages populated by Fu- groups with scores to settle has Amassagou, whose Dogon fi ght- out by Fulani-led militants dis- killed hundreds of civilians last national Criminal Court, Fatou lani herders. unleashed ethnic violence across ers were suspected of being be- guised as Dogon. he death toll from Satur- year and is spreading across Af- Bensouda, said this week that the The Dogon suspect the Fulani the Sahel. hind the massacre. Extremist groups linked to Al day’s attack by gunmen rica’s Sahel, the region between crimes may fall under the court’s of harbouring extremists, charg- In neighbouring Burkina Faso The group has denied its mem- Qaeda and Islamic State have Ton villagers in central Mali the Sahara to the north and the jurisdiction and that a delegation es the Fulani deny. at the end of December, an eth- bers were involved and rejected exploited ethnic rivalries in Mali has risen to 157, a government continent’s savannas to the will be sent to Mali. The attack came less than a nic Mossi militia group killed the government’s dissolution. and its neighbours Burkina Faso spokesman said, confi rming it as south. A UN Security Council mission week after an assault by militants dozens of Fulani in revenge for “We will continue to exert our and Niger in recent years to boost one of the worst recent atrocities “The offi cial death toll is 157,” was already visiting the former on an army post killed at least 23 the killing of a village chief by activities as per usual, ensuring recruitment. in a country beset by ethnic vio- government spokesman Amadou French colony to seek solutions soldiers, also in Mali’s central re- militants. the protection of populations Some 4,500 French troops are lence. Kotia said. to the violence when the attack gion. Malian President Ibrahim until the state decides to live based in the Sahel, most of them The attack, in which women Offi cials on Saturday said that took place. That attack was claimed by an Boubacar Keita responded to the up to its security role,” Dan Na in Mali. The United States also has and children were burned in about 134 had been killed, though An offi cial from a nearby town Al Qaeda affi liate. attack by replacing two generals Amassagou spokesman Marcelin hundreds of troops in the region. Risks abound for children orphaned by the disaster

Reuters power lines were still down. Nairobi Reports of missing children and unaccompanied children are being registered by the Inter- housands of children national Committee of the Red who survived a cyclone in Cross (ICRC) on their website, Tsoutheast Africa face fresh he said, with the priority being risks in its aftermath - being sold to reunite families as quickly as into slavery by human traffi ck- possible. ers or forced into early marriage About 350 people registered by families struggling to survive, on the website - either looking aid workers say. for missing relatives or marking Traffi ckers often prey on lone themselves as safe. children caught up in chaotic About 24 children are reg- scenes such as Cyclone Idai, they istered as missing, with teams said, while parents might mar- on the ground collecting more ry off their young girls as they names of the lost and missing. struggle to eke out a life. Mozambique is a source, tran- Women wait in a line to receive relief supplies from South Africa’s disaster relief organisation Gift of the Givers in Estaquinha, about 80km west from Beira, Mozambique. At least 700 people have died sit, and, to a lesser extent, desti- and nearly 3mn have been af- nation country for men, women fected after Cyclone Idai ham- and children who are traffi cked mered Mozambique’s port city of into forced labour and sexual Beira on March 14 before moving slavery, according to the US State inland to neighbouring Malawi Department’s 2018 Traffi cking in and Zimbabwe, the United Na- Persons report. tions said. Children are often forced to With the UN estimating up work in sectors such as farming Cyclone-hit Mozambique to a million children aff ected in and mining. Mozambique alone, aid workers Women and girls are often are particularly concerned about lured to cities in Mozambique or orphaned children and those South Africa with promises of separated from their families employment, only to be sold into who are fending for themselves domestic or sexual servitude, it reports 5 cholera cases almost two weeks on. added. “In crises like these big, natu- Experts say post-disaster traf- ral disasters, children and par- fi cking has become common in AFP is in Beira and the area around,” “There will be more cases be- crops - primarily maize - were “So they are taking precau- ents can easily lose one another,” developing nations as an increase Beira, Mozambique the health offi cial, Ussein Isse, cause cholera is epidemic. When washed away just weeks before tions of isolating those who have Rik Goverde from Save the Chil- in extreme events caused by glo- told journalists, referring to the you have one case you can expect the main April-May harvest, it diarrhoea... so it cannot spread.” dren charity told the Thomson bal warming leaves the already port city that bore the brunt of more. We are implementing pre- said. A long line of women in Reuters Foundation by phone poor even more vulnerable. ive cases of cholera have the cyclone’s force. ventive measures to limit the im- Nearly 3mn people across Mo- bright dresses waited under from Chimoio, 200km north- The breakdown of social insti- been confi rmed in Mozam- Cholera, a waterborne disease pact,” Isse said. zambique, Malawi and Zimba- the baking sun in Estaquinha, west of Beira. tutions makes it hard to fi nd food Fbique following the cyclone that thrives in conditions of poor In Beira’s morgue, 90% of bwe have been aff ected, accord- 80km west of Beira, to receive “Children are out there on and humanitarian supplies, leav- that ravaged the country killing hygiene, causes acute diarrhoea those killed by the cyclone and ing to the WFP, and 500,000 emergency supplies from South their own - without the super- ing women and children at risk of at least 468 people, a government that can prove fatal if untreated. its aftermath had been identifi ed displaced. African NGO Gift of the Givers vision or care of a trustworthy kidnapping, sexual exploitation health offi cial said yesterday. “We were expecting cholera and collected by their families. More than 700 people have on Tuesday. adult. They can easily fall victim and traffi cking. Cyclone Idai smashed into cases and we were prepared for “We’ve had a lot of work in the been killed in Mozambique and Environment Minister Celso to sexual violence or human traf- Aid workers say young girls Mozambique on March 15, un- this. We have put all the meas- past week, it’s been very hard,” Zimbabwe and hundreds are Correia said around 170,000 fi cking. We are aware and very could also be forced to wed as leashing hurricane-force winds ures in place to try to mitigate said morgue offi cial Manuel Gi- missing, according to an AFP people were living in govern- concerned about it.” parents who have lost homes and and heavy rains that fl ooded the spread of cholera as much as rimoyo, who added that around toll compiled from fi gures pro- ment relief camps but stressed Goverde said that one mother crops are pushed to the brink and much of the centre of the poor we can,” said Emma Batey, a co- 50 bodies remained unidenti- vided by governments and UN that conditions were improving. he met had lost three children, seek ways to ease the burden on southern African country and ordinator at the COSACA emer- fi ed. agencies. “Most of them already have swept away in fl ood waters, while the rest of the family. then battered eastern Zimbabwe gency aid consortium. UN humanitarian aid chief The International Organisa- doctors there and clean water other colleagues had come across “Mozambique is already and Malawi. Stagnant water, decompos- Mark Lowcock has appealed for tion for Migration has said that and other means of assistance. children who had seen their par- among the top 10 countries in The Red Cross has previ- ing bodies and lack of sanitation $282mn of relief aid over the Cyclone Idai and its aftermath The situation is getting better,” ents die. the world with the highest rates ously warned of a “ticking bomb in overcrowded shelters in Mo- next three months for Mozam- “could rank as the worst disaster he said alongside Isse at the me- The charity’s helpline had re- of child marriage - around 48% of disease” and called for the zambique could create breeding bique. to hit the region in decades”. dia briefi ng. ceived about 10 calls from fami- of girls are married before 18,” deployment of medicines and grounds for typhus and malaria The Un’s World Food Pro- “In Beira city they have fi ve “The biggest challenge re- lies reporting missing children, said Anne Hoff , Plan Interna- health professionals to avert a in addition to cholera, experts say. gramme (WAP) said roughly cases of malaria and 100 cases of mains bringing help to families.” he said, though this was likely tional’s Country Director in Mo- full-blown health disaster. COSACA said further heavy 3,125sq km of land had been diarrhoea. Soon we’ll have more Roads made impassable by “just the tip of the iceberg” as zambique. “We have fi ve cases of cholera rains “would complicate the sit- swamped. updates, but they are still receiv- fl oodwaters and debris are grad- some telecommunications and which have been confi rmed. This uation”. About 400,000 hectares of ing other (patients),” Isse said. ually being unblocked.

Top award for teacher Opposition reject president’s Boko Haram attacks in poll win in divided Comoros eastern Niger kill 10

AFP hiccups but we count ourselves meant voters were unable to ex- AFP town hall, the police barracks Moroni, Comoros lucky because they could have ercise their civic right in condi- Niamey and the prefecture,” he said, re- been worse,” Azali told journal- tions of calm,” said a joint state- ferring to the offi ce of the state ists. ment issued by observers from representative. he opposition in Comoros “The easy bit is behind us, the the African Union, the Comesa en people were killed A local resident said several yesterday rejected the diffi cult bit - building the nation east and southern African bloc, along with two suicide houses had been burned and Tre-election of President - is ahead of us.” and the Eastern Africa Standby Tbombers in a co-ordinated wounded children in the police Azali Assoumani, saying his vic- Azali’s rivals quickly rejected Force. attack late Tuesday by Boko Har- camp had been taken to the local tory came at the cost of massive his rallying call. Interior Minister Mohamed am militants on a town in eastern hospital. fraud, as the angry mood threat- “For us there wasn’t an elec- “Kiki” Daoudou insisted the Niger, the local mayor said. Another inhabitant said ened to spark a new political cri- tion on Sunday - it was a coup election was the most transpar- “Two female suicide bombers “armed Boko Haram” attacked sis on the archipelago. d’etat,” said Mugni Baraka Said ent he “had ever seen” in Co- blew themselves up and gun- the district of Dileram, “killing The head of the CENI election Soilihi, the third-placed candi- moros. men then attacked civilians,” the civilians and torching homes”. board, Djaza Ahmed Moham- date. For months the opposition has mayor of the town of N’Guigmi, N’Guigmi lies in the north of eda, proclaimed Azali winner “We call on the international accused Azali of behaving like a Abba Kaya Issa, told AFP yester- the Diff a region, near Lake Chad, on Tuesday, with 60.77% of the community not to recognise dictator. day. which has borne the brunt of vote. Azali’s re-election,” Ahamada Azali staged the poll after Co- “We have a provisional toll cross-border infi ltration by the Azali, a retired colonel who said. morans voted in a referendum, of 10 dead plus the two suicide Nigerian-based extremists. previously led a coup, ruled the Both observers and commu- boycotted by the opposition, to Peter Mokaya Tabichi, winner of the renowned Global bombers,” along with “seven or Eight people were killed last country between 1999 and 2006, nity groups have questioned the support the extension of presi- Teacher’s Prize, is welcomed by his students yesterday eight” wounded, he said, blam- Thursday in the village of Ka- and was re-elected in 2016, left credibility of the vote. dential mandates from one fi ve- upon arrival at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta Airport from Dubai. ing “Boko Haram elements” for ridi and 14 died in four attacks on his 12 poll rivals trailing. Polling stations were ran- year term to two. Tabichi, a mathematics and physics teacher at Keriko Mixed the assault. Saturday. Opposition Juwa party candi- sacked, ballot boxes were stuff ed He could theoretically rule un- Day Secondary School in Pwani village, Nakuru County, won “One of the suicide bombers Fourteen soldiers have been date and lawyer Mahamoudou by police and observers were til 2029, critics say, and several the Global Teacher Prize for 2019, and with it a prize money blew herself up in the courtyard killed since February 16. Ahamada came in second in Sun- prevented from overseeing the opposition fi gures were arrested of $1mn on March 24. He beat finalists selected from over of a policeman’s home, which The army says it killed “more day’s ballot, but won only 14.62% integrity of the vote, according to around the time of the referen- 10,000 nominees and applications from 179 countries around is located inside the police bar- than 200 terrorists” in the region of votes cast. several witnesses. dum. the world. racks, and the second triggered at the end of last year, as well as “It’s true there were (electoral) “The incidents witnessed her explosives belt between the 33 others on March 12. Gulf Times Thursday, March 28, 2019 17 AMERICAS

MOURNED PROBE CAUSE UNKNOWN POWER-LESS SPRING BLOOM Florida shooting survivor, Canada Church investigates Blaze tears through St Louis Fort Lauderdale left in the Embassy files complaint who killed self, identified child sex abuse by clergy museum of rare documents dark after electrical fire on behalf of worker

Police have released the name of a second The Catholic Church in Quebec has A massive fire broke out in a museum of rare A transformer fire ignited by a lightning strike Parkland school shooting survivor who took commissioned a former judge to investigate manuscripts in St Louis, provoking fears over the plunged much of the city of Fort Lauderdale, his life last weekend, days after the suicide of possible sexual abuse of children by clergy in fate of its priceless documents, off icials and media Florida, into darkness on Tuesday night, police another student. Police in Coral Springs told AFP the Canadian province over seven decades, the said yesterday, although the extent of the losses and utility off icials said, but there were no yesterday that Calvin Desir, 16, died Saturday archdiocese of Montreal said yesterday. Former was not immediately clear. About 80 firefighters immediate reports of injuries. The blaze, which lit of an apparent suicide. Desir was one of the Quebec superior court judge Anne-Marie Trajan worked for two hours to douse Tuesday’s blaze up the night sky with raging balls of flame several survivors of a shooting rampage on Valentine’s will assess “the number and the nature” of such at the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum, the stories high, engulfed one of three transformers Day last year at Marjory Stoneman Douglas allegations against clergy members going back fire department said yesterday on Twitter. As the housed at the stricken electrical substation in High School when a former student walked in to 1950. The archdiocese said the investigation four-alarm fire burned, firefighters scrambled to the city, Florida Power & Light (FPL) spokesman with an AR-15 assault rifle and killed 17 people. A was “inspired” by similar probes of clergy sexual haul out boxes, statues and other artefacts, the Bill Orlove said. The fire and resulting blackout week before, another survivor of the massacre, abuse elsewhere in the world. “We all wish to St Louis Dispatch newspaper said. It was unclear came as Fort Lauderdale played host to throngs 19-year-old Sydney Aiello, took her life. Coral prioritise transparency and to get to the bottom yesterday morning what was in the museum of visiting college students converging on the city Springs police are to hold a town meeting on of things in the search for truth,” Montreal since its holdings rotate among a dozen museums and neighbouring South Florida communities this People walk through a poppy field in Lancaster, mental health and suicide prevention. Archbishop Christian Lepine said. across the United States. month for spring break festivities. California.

Unvaccinated kids face public space Guaido calls for more ban in New York measles outbreak

By Andrew Hay, Reuters protests in Venezuela New York By Shabtai Gold and Denis Duettmann, DPA New York suburb has banned children not Washington vaccinated against measles from public Aspaces, such as schools and shopping malls, as it fi ghts the state’s worst outbreak in decades of enezuela’s self-declared the potentially deadly disease. president Juan Guaido yes- Rockland County declared a state of emergency Vterday called for renewed on Tuesday and said the ban would remain in place protests against the government, for 30 days or until unvaccinated children get the as US President Donald Trump also measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) shot. upped the rhetoric against President The Rockland announcement follows measles Nicolas Maduro. outbreaks in California, Illinois, Texas and Wash- Guaido called for protests across ington and is part of a global resurgence of the viral the country on Saturday to demand infection, according to the US Centers for Disease Maduro’s resignation. Control and Prevention. “The regime is on the brink of col- “We will not sit idly by while children in our lapse,” he said. community are at risk,” County Executive Ed Day He also appealed to the army to said in a statement. side with the opposition. “This is a public health crisis, and it is time to “Soldiers, do your duty,” he said. sound the alarm.” “We do not want rebellion, we want There have been 153 confi rmed cases of measles free elections.” in Rockland County, about 18km north of Man- Meanwhile, Trump blasted Ma- hattan, mostly among children who have not been duro, saying “everything is broken” vaccinated. in Venezuela, citing a precipitous The ban began at midnight yesterday after fall in oil exports and the power and which unvaccinated children were not be permit- water cuts. ted in locations such as places of worship, schools “They have plenty of pressure and shopping malls. right now...Other than military, you Outdoor spaces like playgrounds are excluded cannot get more pressure than they from the ban. have,” Trump said about the Maduro People medically unable to get vaccinated are government, adding what was hap- exempt. pening is a “tragedy.” The outbreak began when a traveller visited Is- He repeated that all options are on rael and returned to a predominantly ultra-Ortho- the table with regards to Venezuela. dox Jewish neighbourhood of Rockland County. Trump also demanded that Rus- There have also been at least 181 confi rmed cas- sian forces “get out” of Venezuela, es of measles in the New York boroughs of Brook- as he criticised Moscow for putting lyn and Queens since October, mostly among troops in the country. Orthodox Jews, according to the city’s health de- “Russia has to get out,” Trump partment. said at the White House when asked US President Donald Trump hosts Fabiana Rosales de Guaido, wife of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, at the Oval Office yesterday. The New York and Washington outbreaks began about the types of complication the after US travellers picked up measles in foreign intervention has created. peo yesterday warned that some The US no longer views Maduro as closest to him, trying in that way to ing aid and said that this was a poor countries, where the disease was running ram- “What’s going there is unfathom- 2mn additional refugees may fl ee the president of Venezuela and has destabilise him,” she said. political decision. pant, and brought it back to places where vac- able to everybody who sees...We are Venezuela and seek shelter in neigh- switched its recognition to Guaido. The US is urging Maduro to step “Even from a dictator’s stand- cination rates were too low by US public health getting reports that are horrible,” bouring Latin American countries, At the White House, Rosales was down and Trump has said before point this is not good,” he chided the standards. Trump said at the White House, as he testifi ed before lawmakers on referred to as the “fi rst lady.” that he wants recently arrived Rus- Venezuelan leader. The disease has spread mostly among school- sitting next to Fabiana Rosales, the Capitol Hill. She said that the power crisis and sian troops to leave Venezuela. Pompeo said that the US will sup- age children whose parents declined to get them wife of Guaido. These people would join more intense food shortages were leading They landed in the country in a port the Venezuelan people, but vaccinated, citing reasons such as philosophical Guaido declared himself interim than 3mn Venezuelans who have al- to deaths among children and the bid to prop up the government, in cautioned that the country’s road to or religious beliefs, or concerns the MMR vaccine president of Venezuela earlier this ready fl ed in recent years to escape elderly. a move the State Department had recovery would be long. could cause autism, authorities said. year, quickly earning the support of the economic and political crisis “Venezuela is going through a condemned as a “reckless escala- “This will be a years-long under- Large scientifi c studies have demonstrated that several Western nations, including that has consumed the country. terrible crisis,” she said through tion.” taking...to get the Venezuelan peo- there is no link between vaccines and autism. the US. This week, much of the country a translator, seated beside the US Maduro has repeatedly blamed ple back on their feet,” Pompeo told Offi cials say the measles outbreaks off er a les- Washington has imposed sanc- has been without power, in a further president. Washington for Venezuela’s prob- the House Appropriations Commit- son about the importance of maintaining a mini- tions against a number of Venezue- sign of infrastructure collapse. She also accused the Caracas gov- lems, including the recent power tee. mum 95% ‘herd’ level of immunisation against lan individuals, including Maduro Pompeo blamed Maduro for the ernment of arresting and harassing blackouts that he said were caused The “Maduro decimation” was dangerous, preventable diseases such as measles. and his inner circle, as well as the economic problems and said the real people in her extended family as a by cyberattacks by the US and the also leading to troubling signs of an Rates as low as 60% were found in parts of New state-run oil company PDVSA. sources of the crisis predate the sanc- means to get at her husband. opposition. uptick in narco-traffi cking in the re- York where measles spread, State Health Com- US Secretary of State Mike Pom- tions Washington imposed this year. “They are hitting everything Trump accused Maduro of block- gion, he added. missioner Howard Zucker had said in February. Lawmakers slam Trump’s plan for diplomacy, foreign aid cuts

By Lesley Wroughton and Senate Republicans again block effort seeking release of Mueller report Patricia Zengerle, Reuters Washington For the third time in a week, US summary can not possibly il- and possible connections be- Senate Republicans yesterday luminate what this thorough of tween team Trump and Moscow. blocked a measure calling for an investigation uncovered,” said While he found there was emocrats and Republi- special counsel Robert Mueller’s Feinstein, referring to Barr’s sum- conclusive evidence that Russia cans in the US Congress report on Russian election inter- mary description of the report. influenced the vote, Barr in his Dyesterday rejected Presi- ference to be publicly released. Senate Majority Leader Mitch summary cleared Trump and his dent Donald Trump’s proposed Amid the squabble over the McConnell objected, stressing team of any collusion with Russia cuts to diplomacy and foreign aid timing and scope of the release, the need for Mueller and Barr to regarding election interference. budgets as dangerous to national a senior Republican senator review the report and determine Two previous eff orts by Senate security, setting the stage for assured that Attorney General what can be publicly released and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer a budget battle with the White Bill Barr will release the special what must be redacted. to advance the House measure House. counsel’s findings in a matter of “I think we should be consistent were also blocked, actions the top The ranking Republican on the “weeks, not months.” in letting the special counsel actu- Democrat denounced yesterday House of Representatives sub- Senate Democrat Diane ally finish his work, and not just on the Senate floor. committee that oversees State Feinstein took to the Senate floor when we think it may be politically “When we read reports that Department spending, Hal Rog- asking for unanimous consent to advantageous to one side of the Barr only wants to release a ers, said he was “disappointed” pass the non-binding resolution, other for him to do so,” he said. summary, and Leader McConnell (From left) Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Tom after viewing Trump’s budget which cleared the House in mid- Mueller and his team spent is unsupportive of transparency, Udall (D-NM) hold a press conference to unveil the ‘For The People Act’ at the US Capitol in Washington, request, which he said slashes March by 420 to 0. 22 months investigating Russia’s something doesn’t smell right,” DC. Originally introduced in the House of Representatives by House Democrats, Senate Democrats are the State Department budget by “The fact is that a four-page meddling in the 2016 US election, Schumer said. now drafting companion legislation that seeks to expand voting rights, limit gerrymandering, and limit about $11bn to $40bn. the influence of private donor money in politics. Rogers said spending on diplo- macy and foreign aid was “a cen- development,” she said. get Russia’s growing threats to Pompeo said resources would He said the budget also re- on in his 2020 re-election cam- devastating to the health of tral component of our national In written remarks submitted the United States and Western also fund efforts to reach an quests new authority to support paign. women around the world,” Fran- security.” to the committee, Secretary of world. agreement with North Korea on a democratic transition in Ven- Democratic Representa- kel said. Democratic Representative State Mike Pompeo said the pro- “China is proactively apply- ending its nuclear programme ezuela, including transferring up tive Lois Frankel called Trump’s “Your administration is abor- Nita Lowey, who chairs the full posed budget covered diplomatic ing its power and exerting its and push back against Iran’s to $500mn to foreign assistance budget proposal “embarrassing tion obsessed,” she said, add- Appropriations committee and eff orts in trouble spots in Asia, infl uence in the Indo-Pacifi c re- activities in Iraq, Yemen and accounts. and dangerous.” ing that removing funding for the subcommittee, also rejected the Americas, Europe and Latin gion and beyond,” Pompeo said, Syria. Trump’s proposal calls for Frankel, like Lowey, sharply women’s health issues had “dev- the proposed cuts. America. adding: “This budget prioritises “The proposed request will spending more US taxpayer criticised an expanded anti- astating eff ects” for the health of “I am astonished that three He said it proposed boost- countering Russian malign infl u- allow us to protect our citizens money on the military and a abortion policy outlined by women around the world. years into his administration ing State Department funding ence in Europe, Eurasia, and Cen- at home and abroad, advance US-Mexico border wall, while Pompeo on Tuesday, which cuts Committee Republicans said the president still does not ap- focused on countering China’s tral Asia, and further strengthens American prosperity and values, overhauling social safety-net funding to groups that support they backed the policy and Rep- preciate the merits of sustained increased aggression in Asia and the department’s own systems and support our allies and part- programmes in a budget plan abortion. resentative Martha Roby thanked investments in diplomacy and strengthening systems to tar- against malign actors.” ners overseas,” Pompeo said. likely to die in Congress but live “Your budget and action is Pompeo for his stance. Gulf Times 18 Thursday, March 28, 2019 ASIA

Bangladesh mother has Seven Thai parties form twins one month after coalition to thwart junta fi rst birth AFP AFP vote on Sunday with 7.6mn bal- Dhaka Bangkok lots, according to preliminary results. Its main rival Pheu Thai got Bangladeshi mother has even political parties 400,000 fewer votes, but is stunned doctors by giving formed a coalition in now aiming to take the majority Abirth to healthy twins 26 SThailand yesterday, vow- of seats in the lower house with days after a fi rst child was born ing to thwart a military-backed its newly-formed coalition. prematurely. proxy in a bid to end years of The seven-party bloc Arifa Sultana, 20, gave birth to a junta rule following the coun- claimed it would take 255 out of baby boy last month through nor- try’s fi rst election since a 2014 the 500 lower house seats that mal delivery, but doctors missed coup. are up for grabs, but with all of- the presence of a second uterus. A junta-aligned party and its fi cial results yet to be confi rmed “She didn’t realise she was still main rival have both claimed the numbers are not ironclad. pregnant with the twins. Her wa- the right to govern the country A clearer picture of the lower ters broke again 26 days after the after Sunday’s vote, prompting house could emerge as early as fi rst baby was born and she rushed a political standoff . tomorrow when more compre- to us,” Sheila Poddar, a gynaecolo- Questions over irregularities hensive fi gures are expected to gist who treated the woman, said. are swirling following invali- be released. Podder carried out an emer- dated ballots and accusations of But the party still cannot gency caesarean section to de- skewed numbers. elect a prime minister with- liver the twins - one boy and one Pheu Thai, affi liated with out commanding more than girl - last Friday. self-exiled former premier half - or 376 - of all 750 seats in The young woman from Jes- Thaksin Shinawatra, joined the combined lower and upper sore district in southwest Bang- forces with six other parties in a houses. ladesh was allowed to go home bid to halt military-backed fac- The balance of power is with her three healthy babies on tions from leading the country. stacked in the junta’s favour Tuesday. Podder said there were “We want to stop the regime thanks to a charter it drafted Pheu Thai Party’s prime ministerial candidate Sudarat Keyuraphan (left), Future Forward Party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit no complications. from hanging onto power,” creating 250 military-appoint- (second left), and leaders of other parties hold up agreements during a news conference to form a “democratic front” in Bangkok yesterday. “I haven’t seen any case like Pheu Thai’s prime ministerial ed upper house seats. this in my 30-year plus medical candidate Sudarat Keyuraphan That means non-military repeatedly delayed and was seen party’s secretary general Sonti- the ground for eff ect. Election Commission unexpect- career,” Dilip Roy, chief govern- told reporters. parties like Pheu Thai need an as a test for Thailand’s tattered rat Sontijirawong told reporters. Despite the coalition eff orts edly said it would delay the fi nal ment doctor in Jessore, said. “Pro-democracy parties re- avalanche of votes in order to democracy, which has seen at Its leader said the party was to create a united front, it will count. Roy questioned the actions of ceived the most trust and con- elect a prime minister. least 12 coups since 1932. confi dent but was waiting to see be almost impossible for them to The head of Future Forward, a Khulna Medical College Hospi- sensus by the people,” she add- The coalition formed yes- Phalang Pracharat did bet- how many seats it would get. get the votes they need to elect a newly-formed party that target- tal doctors for not detecting the ed, conceding that fi nal results terday does not include two ter than expected by clinching A small protest was held prime minister, said Aaron Con- ed fi rst-time millennial voters, second pregnancy. have not yet been released. other high-profi le parties - the most popular votes, and the outside its party headquar- nelly, Singapore-based research urged a swift tally of votes across Hailing from a poor family, Sul- Thailand has been ruled by a Bhumjaithai and the Demo- junta-backed party dismissed ters yesterday, led by activ- fellow at the Institute for Inter- the country. tana said she was happy with the junta since a 2014 putsch led by crat Party - which together the coalition’s claim to be the ist Ekachai Hongkangwan national and Strategic Studies. “We are calling for the Elec- three children but felt concerned General Prayut Chan-O-Cha, have around 70 seats so far democratic choice. who cautioned potential al- They “seem to be laying down tion Commission to perform its how she would bring them up. the prime ministerial candidate and whose allegiances are still “Please stop using ‘democrat- lies from joining forces with a marker, claiming the legitima- duty in a free and fair manner,” She said her husband earns bare- for the Phalang Pracharat Party. up for grabs. ic front’ because in this election, Phalang Pracharat. cy to oppose the junta in the next the party’s telegenic billionaire ly 6,000 taka ($70) a month as a la- But Phalang Pracharat Phalang Pracharat is expect- no matter how many votes each “I don’t want any snakes parliament”, he said. leader Thanathorn Juangroon- bourer. “I don’t know how we will stunned the pro-democracy ed to seek its own allied bloc. party receives, everyone enters to enter the party,” he said, Initial results have been gruangkit said yesterday after manage such a huge responsibility camp by winning the popular Sunday’s election had been the election democratically,” throwing reptile repellant on plagued by controversy after the joining the coalition. with this little amount.” Cambodia returns land taken from indigenous people

Thomson Reuters Foundation major victory”, the communi- lages to Vietnamese rubber “It has taken more than three Bangkok ties still needed compensation growers Hoang Anh Gia Lai years of dialogue and negotia- and help rehabilitating their (HAGL). tions, but this is an important land and waterways, she said in The indigenous communities issue that aff ects indigenous ambodia has returned a statement. fi led a complaint in 2014 over lives and their traditional rights land taken a decade ago Since the early 2000s, “serious” environmental and over land,” said Eang Vuthy, Cfrom indigenous com- Cambodia has awarded large social eff ects with the World executive director of Equitable munities for a Vietnamese swathes of land as concessions Bank’s International Finance Cambodia. company’s rubber plantation, to foreign companies for mines, Corporation (IFC), which had “Foreign investors must a sign that foreign investors power plants and farms, to spur invested in a fund that fi nanced be held accountable for any are facing greater scrutiny over economic growth and alleviate HAGL’s ventures in Cambodia violations and harmful im- rights violations, analysts said poverty. and Laos. pacts when they ignore due yesterday. Such deals, which covered A dispute resolution process process, including consulting The governor of the north- more than a tenth of the coun- was set up, and HAGL agreed to with communities and gain- eastern province of Ratanakari try’s surface area by 2012, have stop further land clearances. ing their consent,” he told the on Tuesday asked the agricul- displaced more than 770,000 A year later, HAGL agreed Thomson Reuters Foundation ture ministry to take out 64 people, human rights lawyers to return land that was not by phone. An electricity board worker fixes electric lines in Colombo yesterday. areas from the land conces- say. planted or cleared, and its con- The communities last week sions, including forests, wet- Following protests and cessions were reduced by more fi led a new complaint with the lands and burial grounds that pressure from rights groups, than 60%. IFC over environmental and belonged to a dozen indigenous Cambodian Prime Minister The company, which pulled human rights violations, and communities. Hun Sen announced a mora- out of negotiations earlier the loss of land reserved for The decision “represents torium on new concessions in this year, did not immediate- farming, he said. Lanka urges energy saving an unprecedented recogni- 2012, and promised to review ly respond to emails seeking As cross-border investments tion of indigenous land rights old ones. comment. in the region increase, disputes over business interests in But land rights activists Tuesday’s decision returns a over land have also risen. Cambodia,” said Dam Chanty, say the reviews did not lead to further 742 hectares, according Last year, Cambodian farm- executive director of High- signifi cant changes. to the Highlanders Association ers who said they were forcibly as blackouts continue landers Association, an indig- Ten years ago, the gov- and advocacy groups Equitable removed from their land for enous rights organisation in ernment gave about 19,000 Cambodia and Indigenous Rights sugarcane plantations, fi led a Ratanakari. hectares (73sq miles) of land Active Members, which are rep- case in a Bangkok court against AFP But while the move was “a belonging to 12 indigenous vil- resenting the communities. a Thai sugar fi rm. Colombo Govt halts artifi cial rain project

Sri Lanka yesterday said it has is worthwhile to continue as there is 7 killed as bus hits ri Lankans endured a third halted its artificial rain project in no moisture in the clouds,” Ceylon funeral procession straight day of blackouts drought-hit areas due to lack of Electricity Board general manager S Students attend military parade Syesterday, with families moisture in the clouds. D W Gunawardana said. in Vietnam sleeping outdoors to escape the The power and energy ministry The Sri Lankan government on heat and businesses stockpiling said that following the success of March 22 successfully tested arti- Seven people were killed and fuel as a crippling power short- its pilot project carried out above ficial rains above the Maussakelle three others injured in northern age grips the island. the Maussakelle Reservoir last reservoir area to provide clean Vietnam yesterday after a bus hit Authorities warned Sri week, which caused heavy rains water to hundreds of families. a funeral procession, authorities Lankans they must slash their for 45 minutes, the project has An air force helicopter was used said. energy use in coming months been temporarily halted because to spray chemicals on the clouds, The accident occurred early or face extensive power cuts as clouds did not contain suff icient 8,000ft above the reservoir, yesterday at an intersection on a severe drought bites into hy- moisture to trigger artificial rains, resulting in 45 minutes of rains. National Highway 2C, 50km to the droelectricity production in the Xinhua news agency reported. Hundreds of families remain north west of Hanoi, when a bus Indian Ocean nation of 21mn. “As far as triggering artificial rains aff ected by months of severe mowed down a group of people The cabinet ordered street in the Maussakelle and Castlereight drought due to lack of rains and attending the funeral. lighting be reduced and in- catchment areas is concerned, we delayed monsoon rains in central Four people died immediately, structed state institutions to have to further examine whether it parts of Sri Lanka. (IANS) while three others died in curb energy usage by 10%, as hospital, according to Khuat Viet hours-long rolling blackouts left Hung, deputy chairman of the millions sweltering across the shortage in 1996, when the is- sion of Sri Lanka said it would National Traff ic Safety Committee. country. land went without electricity for seek legal action against the state- The bus driver, Phan Thanh Phu, Daily restrictions were im- four straight days. owned Ceylon Electricity Board was arrested. posed on Monday but Sri On social media, images of after receiving complaints about He blamed the accident on misty Lankans outside the capital parents and children sleeping unscheduled power cuts being weather conditions, police said. Colombo, where power has not in their cars with the air condi- imposed across the country. Road accidents are a leading been interrupted, said random tioning running generated sym- The board said the drought cause of death in Vietnam, with periods of “load shedding” had pathy - and anger - as blackouts forced them to rely on coal- one person dying almost every been imposed without warning dragged into another day. powered generators, which fre- hour. for the better part of a week. About a quarter of the island’s quently break down, causing the A total of 8,244 people were Some businesses were hoard- electricity is generated by hydro cuts. killed in road accidents last year ing fuel for generators, fearing plants but capacity is approach- The 1996 mass power cut fol- and nearly 14,800 people were Myanmar university students take part in a military parade to mark the 74th Armed the situation would not improve. ing zero after the monsoon failed lowed a similar pattern, when a injured, according to the National Forces Day in the capital Naypyitaw yesterday. The shortages conjured up to bring adequate rains. lack of rain saw hydroelectricity Traff ic Safety Committee. (DPA) memories of a major power The Public Utilities Commis- supplies plummet. Gulf Times Thursday, March 28, 2019 19 ASIA/AUSTRALASIA

China expels ex-Interpol chief Meng from Communist Party

AFP principles ... does not report riously tarnished the party’s im- number of sensitive portfolios, discussions around Interpol’s campaign, which critics say has Meng’s wife Grace last week Beijing personal matters in accordance age, seriously damaged national including the country’s coun- general policies and interna- served as a way to remove the urged French President Em- with regulations ... and refuses interest ... and should be seri- ter-terrorism division, and was tional co-operation take place. leader’s political enemies. manuel Macron to discuss her to implement the decision of the ously dealt with,” the CCDI said. in charge of the response to vio- Shortly after his disappear- In October, the country’s husband’s case with Xi during hina has expelled former Party Central Committee,” the The case has been handed lence in China’s fractious north- ance last year, Beijing informed public security bureau linked the Chinese president’s offi cial Interpol chief Meng Central Commission for Disci- over to the state prosecutor’s western region of Xinjiang. the international police organi- Meng’s detention to a broader visit to Paris. CHongwei from the Com- pline Inspection (CCDI) said in a offi ce, and his “illegal income” Upon his 2016 election to the sation that Meng had resigned as initiative to “completely remove In her written appeal, Meng munist Party and dismissed him statement. Meng had used state has been confi scated, it added. Interpol presidency, there were president, and that he had been the pernicious infl uence” of demanded that her husband be from his offi cial positions, the assets to support his family’s Meng, the fi rst Chinese head of concerns by rights groups that charged with accepting bribes. Zhou Yongkang, a former secu- allowed to receive visits from his country’s graft watchdog an- lavish lifestyle while abusing his Interpol, had risen through the Beijing could use the organisa- News of Meng’s sacking rity tsar who was sentenced to lawyers. nounced yesterday. position to get his wife employ- ranks of the country’s feared se- tion to round up Chinese dissi- comes just a day after the coun- life in prison in 2015 for bribery, Since her husband’s arrest, Meng, who served as the vice ment, the watchdog said, adding curity apparatus. dents overseas. try’s former head of Internet abuse of power and leaking state she has remained in Lyon — minister of public security, van- that he “illegally accepted huge He had a 14-year career over- But day-to-day operations censorship, Lu Wei, was sen- secrets. where Interpol’s headquarters ished in September last year amounts of property from oth- seeing various top public secu- are overseen by the Interpol tenced to 14 years in prison for Meng was appointed vice se- is based — under French police during a visit to China from ers”. rity bureaux in China, includ- secretary general, though Meng bribery. Meng and Lu are part curity minister by Zhou in 2004. protection. She has also applied France, and was later accused of “Meng Hongwei seriously ing the country’s armed police presided over the organisation’s of a growing group of Com- More than 1mn offi cials have for asylum in France and said she accepting bribes. violated the party’s political dis- force. As vice security minister, General Assembly and Executive munist Party cadres caught in been punished so far during Xi’s fears for her life and that of her “Meng Hongwei has no party cipline and political rules ... se- Meng has been entrusted with a Committee meetings, where key President Xi Jinping’s anti-graft six-year tenure. twin sons. N Korea embassy raid puts shadowy group in spotlight

Reuters Of the 10 suspects, the docu- Seoul ments listed the names and birth dates of seven, including citizens of Mexico, the United States, and shadowy group seeking South Korea. All but one are un- to overthrow North Ko- der 30 years old. Arean leader Kim Jong-un The identifi cation of at least North Korean leader Kim Jong-un holds a military meeting in Pyongyang, North Korea. has been thrust into the interna- some of the individuals in the tional spotlight after a Spanish group may have undermined be reached for immediate com- and a name that North Korea still foreign intelligence agencies. court investigating a break-in at their cause and perhaps endan- ment. Hong was among several often uses to refer to itself. “I’m still inclined to believe North Korea’s embassy in Ma- gered their lives, analysts and ac- LiNK activists who were arrested On its website, the group used there was some professional in- drid named apparent members as tivists said. and deported from China in late soaring language to declare itself volvement, because taking over a suspects. “It was too risky,” said one 2006 as they were trying to help the “a provisional government” foreign mission is not an easy op- Cheollima Civil Defense, also South Korean human rights ac- a party of North Korean refugees of Free Joseon as “the sole legiti- eration,” said Korea Risk Group known as Free Joseon, fi rst went tivist who previously worked escape. In a statement, LiNK said mate representative of the Ko- director Andrei Lankov. public in 2017, when it said it with one of the suspects. “Now Hong had not been involved in rean people of the north.” “They took computers and was protecting the family of Kim that their identities are known, any way with the group for more hard disks, but if you don’t have Jong-un’s half brother Kim Jong- they won’t be able to carry out than 10 years and LiNK had no Lingering questions highly specialised capabilities for nam, who was murdered in a Ma- Kim Jong-nam activities as before.” information on his current ac- The website also began to sell breaking the codes, it’s probably laysian airport. The Mexican national named tivities. Hong told a newspaper in “post-liberation blockchain vi- not going to be useful to anyone Spanish authorities unsealed on the backs of those seeking “purported to reach conclusions by Spanish authorities as one 2011 that the Arab Spring upris- sas” that can be bought with but major intelligence agencies.” court documents yesterday ac- only to protect others,” Cheolli- without any input from repre- of the embassy raid’s leaders, ings then unfolding were “a dress cryptocurrency, and on March 11 Cheollima Civil Defense said cusing at least 10 individuals ma Civil Defense said in a website sentatives” of the group. Adrian Hong, is a longtime activ- rehearsal for North Korea”. it claimed responsibility for de- on Tuesday that no governments of storming into the embassy, post, apparently acknowledging “There are a number of state- ist who helped found the refugee Kang Cheol-hwan, a defector facing the North Korean embassy were involved or were aware of restraining and beating some for the fi rst time its involvement ments attributed to the judge in aid organisation Liberty in North and founder of the North Korea in Kuala Lumpur. North Korea the embassy operation before- staff members and holding them in the raid. “They have chosen to media reports that do not accu- Korea (LiNK), and later led an or- Strategy Centre in Seoul, said has not publicly commented on hand. hostage for hours before fl eeing side with Pyongyang’s criminal, rately refl ect what happened in ganisation preparing for an “im- Hong went so far as to travel to the Madrid break-in, nor fi led a It said it had shared “certain with stolen computers and hard totalitarian rulers over their vic- Madrid,” he continued, without minent, dramatic change” in the Libya to research the aftermath complaint with Spanish police. information of enormous po- drives. Such an action would be tims.” elaborating. country, analysts said. of Muammar Gaddafi ’s ouster. The group’s brazen actions tential value” with the FBI at the one of the most militant opera- It disputed police allegations “It was, in any event, highly Spanish court documents said Cheollima Civil Defense takes its led some to speculate that there agency’s request, but that agree- tions ever carried out by activists that weapons or violence were irresponsible to disclose pub- Hong played a leading role in the name from a winged horse com- could be serious dissent against ments of confi dentiality “appear opposed to North Korea’s gov- used in the break-in. Lee Wo- licly the names of people who are break-in, and that after fl eeing to monly featured in East Asian my- Kim Jong-un taking shape. But to have been broken”. The US ernment. losky, an American attorney who working in opposition to a brutal the United States he contacted thology. other analysts were more scep- State department said on Tues- “Parties seeking to ‘out’ those represents Free Joseon, said in a regime that routinely and sum- the FBI to off er information that Free Joseon, meanwhile, ref- tical, and say there are lingering day the US government was not in Madrid have painted a target statement that the Spanish court marily executes its enemies.” had been stolen. Hong could not erences the last Korean dynasty, questions over possible ties to involved in the raid.

NZ police probe mosque attack Indonesia foils illegal Bloom in Tokyo links after man dies in stand-off Facebook sale of

AFP The NZ government this week komodo dragons Christchurch ordered a judicial inquiry into whether the South Pacific nation’s AFP Mangera said in a statement. hristchurch police Jakarta The dragons, which can launched an urgent in- intelligence services could have only be found in their natural Cvestigation yesterday to prevented the attack amid criticism habitat on a cluster of islands fi nd out whether a man who died ndonesian authorities said in eastern Indonesia, were after an early morning stand- the white supremacist gunman went yesterday they had seized sold for between 15 and 20mn off with armed offi cers had unnoticed as they were too focused Ifi ve komodo dragons and rupiah ($1,000-$1,400), links to mosque attacks which dozens of other animals be- Mangera said. killed 50 people. Police raided on Muslim extremists ing sold on Facebook, as the In a separate case, three the 54-year-old man’s home country battles to clamp other people were arrested in on Tuesday night and found a tional memorial for the attack mitted anything from physical down on the illegal wildlife East Java over the alleged on- cache of fi rearms after receiving victims on Friday and police surveillance to the monitoring trade. line sale of otters, leopard cats a tip-off from the public about have urged the public to remain of telecommunications activity. The vast Southeast Asian and pangolin, Mangera said. “suspicious behaviour”. vigilant. It comes as New Zea- “The whole gambit of what archipelago nation’s dense If convicted, the smugglers They stopped the man in his land’s intelligence minister said would otherwise be described tropical rainforests boast could face up to fi ve years in car in the Richmond Park area, he was allowing spy agencies to as intrusive activity,” he told the some of the highest levels of prison and a 100-mn-rupi- just outside central Christch- carry out “intrusive” activities New Zealand Herald. “The pur- biodiversity in the world and ah fi ne. The haul of komodo urch, and began negotiations following the gun rampage. pose of a warrant is to author- it has for years been a key dragons comes just a day after that lasted for about three The government this week ise and eff ectively make lawful source and transit point for authorities seized more than hours. Police eventually ap- ordered a judicial inquiry into what would otherwise be un- animal traffi cking. 5,000 endangered pig-nosed proached the vehicle and found whether the South Pacifi c na- lawful activity.” Five smugglers, identifi ed turtles from smugglers in In- the man critically injured with tion’s intelligence services could Little denied New Zealand only by their initials, were ar- donesia’s easternmost prov- a stab wound that soon claimed have prevented the attack amid had proved a “soft target” for rested in Semarang and Sura- ince Papua. his life. criticism the white supremacist the accused gunman, an Aus- baya on Java island for alleg- The turtle — which has a They did not explain how he gunman went unnoticed as they tralian with apparent links to edly traffi cking the komodos distinctive snout-like nose got the wound. They said there were too focused on Muslim ex- right-wing groups who report- — the world’s biggest lizard and webbed feet — is only were no fi rearms in the vehicle, tremists. edly moved to the country with — along with bearcats, cocka- found in Australia and New which was also cleared by ex- Andrew Little — the minister the intention of carrying out an toos and cassowary birds. Guinea, an island shared be- plosives experts. responsible for the GCSB and attack. “The suspect VS sold the tween Papua New Guinea and “A high priority investiga- SIS intelligence services — said Little said he maintained komodos online through Fa- Indonesia, and is protected tion is underway to determine he had signed powerful surveil- confi dence in the intelligence cebook,” East Java police under Indonesian conserva- whether or not the deceased lance warrants as information services, adding it was “prema- spokesman Frans Barung tion laws. man posed a threat to the com- gathering continued in the wake ture” to say they had failed until munity,” police said. of the attack. the inquiry into their actions With the South Island city on “I have given authority to the was complete. Fugitive tries to flee Australia on jet ski alert after New Zealand’s gun agencies to do intrusive activi- “Until there’s a very micro- massacre less than two weeks ties under warrant, the number scopic look at what the agencies Australian police yesterday said they had apprehended a British ago, police said they would also of those (warrants) I’m not at have been doing and whether suspected drug off ender, who tried to flee to Papua New Guinea look for any links to the mosque liberty to disclose,” he told Ra- they’ve missed anything, I can’t on a jet ski. Border police said they received a tip-off that “a man, attacks. “At this time there is no dio New Zealand. say for certain,” he told RNZ. possibly armed with a crossbow and carrying additional fuel and evidence to suggest this person Little said intelligence serv- “It’s important for me, the supplies, had been seen launching the jet ski” from a peninsula in had any involvement in the at- ices typically monitored 30-40 agencies, but ultimately for the far northeast of the country. The suspect — “a 57-year-old UK tacks of March 15, however this people but that number had public confi dence that we let national who was subject to an outstanding warrant for drug-related forms an important part of the now increased, although he that commission of inquiry do charges in Western Australia” — was caught on mudflats off an island investigation,” they said. was unwilling to reveal by how its job and reach its conclu- just kilometres (miles) from the Papua New Guinea mainland. He had Visitors row boats past cherry blossoms in Tokyo. Christchurch will host a na- much. He said a warrant per- sions.” travelled roughly 150km across the Torres Strait. Gulf Times 20 Thursday, March 28, 2019 BRITAIN/IRELAND

Cyprus backstop? Ireland is not the only island with Brexit in the air despite Brexit muddle By Michele Kambas, Reuters Xylophagou, Cyprus

While the European Union and Britain wres- tle over the “Irish backstop” issue in their stalled Brexit agreement, a similar problem May resignation pledge is taxing another island at the other end of the continent — Cyprus. DUP refuses to back current May’s deal, defeated in parliament Several options would see much In addition to military compounds, 22 withdrawal agreement by 149 votes on March 12 and by 230 closer alignment with the EU than communities with 11,000 people live in the All eight alternative fail to get votes on January 15, means Britain May envisages, including staying in so-called Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs), a Parliament backing would leave the EU single market and the single market or a customs union. British-controlled vestige of colonial rule customs union as well as EU political In the “indicative vote”, MPs were that remains nearly 60 years after the rest Reuters bodies. able to support as many proposals as of Cyprus gained independence. London But it requires some EU rules to apply they wished. None of the proposals Under the withdrawal agreement with unless ways can be found in the future produced a majority, but the narrow- the EU, so far rejected by the British parlia- to ensure no border posts need to be est defeat, by just eight votes, was for ment, this territory would have remained ritish Prime Minister Theresa rebuilt between British-ruled Northern a proposal to keep Britain in a perma- linked to the bloc under a customs union. May yesterday off ered to quit in Ireland and EU member Ireland. nent customs union with the EU. With no deal, the SBAs, which comprise Ba bid to get her European Union Many Conservative rebels and the Oliver Letwin, a 62-year-old Con- 3% of Cyprus’s land mass and are a farming divorce deal passed, but the North- DUP object to this so-called Irish servative former cabinet minister who breadbasket, could be thrown into legal lim- ern Irish party crucial to getting the backstop, saying it risks binding Brit- led parliament’s unusual power grab, bo. Trade is an EU competency, which means agreement through parliament were ain to the EU for years. said it was disappointing that no op- any arrangement cannot be hammered out unmoved and said they would reject Jacob Rees-Mogg, who heads the tion had immediately produced a ma- bilaterally between Nicosia and London. it again. ERG group of pro-Brexit Conservative jority, but that this had been expected, Cypriot residents say they are in the If the Democratic Unionist Party lawmakers, said he would reluctantly and that parliament could try again to dark. “Of course it’s a concern but unfor- had swung behind May, it might have vote for May’s agreement but only if fi nd that majority on Monday. tunately nobody has informed us about convinced many eurosceptic rebels the DUP backed it or abstained. Britain was originally due to leave anything,” said Christos Misos, a farmer within May’s Conservative party to An ERG spokesman said after the the EU on March 29 but last week who helps run a family business in the back her deal, but the DUP’s move group held a meeting: “there is no way the EU granted a postponement until community of Xylophagou, famed for its made it highly unlikely it would get enough votes are coming out of that April 12. red-soil potatoes, a prized Cypriot export. through at a third attempt. room to put the (Withdrawal Agree- The uncertainty around Britain’s “Will we need to pay customs duties for The DUP’s decision now puts pres- ment) through”. most signifi cant political and eco- our products to go to Europe? What will sure on parliament to come up with a To succeed, May needs at least 75 nomic move since World War II has happen to us? We want someone to tell plan to prevent a “no-deal” Brexit on lawmakers to come over to her side. left allies and investors aghast. us — if they know — because things look April 12, the new deadline set by Brus- Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at the House of Commons yesterday. If May’s deal did pass, her offi ce said Supporters of Brexit say that, while really fluid.” sels last week. there would be a contest to replace her the divorce might bring short-term EU law does not apply in the SBAs “We will not be supporting the gov- proach — and new leadership — in the Bercow repeated his warning that he after May 22 to provide new leadership instability, in the longer term it will but under the protocol agreed when the ernment if they table a fresh meaning- second phase of the Brexit negotiations would not allow a third vote unless for the next stage of Brexit. allow the United Kingdom to thrive. Republic of Cyprus joined the EU in 2004, ful vote,” the DUP said in a statement. — and I won’t stand in the way of that.” the motion had changed substantially Boris Johnson, former foreign Opponents say it will leave Britain Union law applies in areas such as customs, Deputy party leader Nigel Dodds May’s gesture is the latest dramatic since its last defeat. minister, prominent eurosceptic poorer and weaker, cut off from its value added tax (VAT), agriculture and made clear in a tweet that this meant turn in the United Kingdom’s three- Many Conservative rebels who and potential leadership candidate, main trade partners. fisheries. they would be voting against. year Brexit crisis, but it still remains want a cleaner break from the EU had was among those to have now swung Most voters think the negotiation “If Britain leaves the EU without a deal May’s departure would not alter the uncertain how, when or even whether made clear they would only consider round behind May’s deal, the Times has been handled badly and there may we will be obliged to have customs checks terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, it will leave the EU. supporting her agreement if May, who reported. now be a slight majority for staying in for the trade of goods,” Cypriot govern- but it could give Conservative euro- If May does go, she will become the voted to remain in the EU in the 2016 While May was addressing her law- the EU, recent polls suggest. ment spokesman Prodromos Prodromou sceptics who have opposed it a greater fourth Conservative prime minister in referendum, gave a fi rm commitment makers, MPs in the main chamber Many Conservative MPs say May said. say in negotiating the terms of Brit- a row to have fallen foul of divisions to resign. debated eight Brexit options ranging herself has caused the chaos over Brexit The British military bases, he said, were a ain’s future relationship with the EU. over Europe within her centuries-old May, who voted to remain in the EU from leaving abruptly with no deal to by not negotiating harder with the EU. “special case”. “I have heard very clearly the mood party, following David Cameron, John in the 2016 referendum, had already revoking the divorce or holding a new “It was inevitable and I just feel “For the moment we do have a deal of the parliamentary party,” May told Major and Margaret Thatcher. promised to step down before the next referendum. she’s made the right decision. She has which is part of the general agreement. a meeting of Conservative lawmakers The government is expected to election, due in 2022, but by off er- Lawmakers had voted on Monday to actually read the mood of the party, Maybe it will be based on that protocol to (MPs). bring May’s agreement back to par- ing to go sooner hoped to increase the grab control of the Brexit process for a which was a surprise,” said Conserva- continue the negotiations to find a way “I know there is a desire for a new ap- liament on Friday, but speaker John chances of her Brexit deal passing. day in a bid to break the impasse. tive lawmaker Pauline Latham. out,” he said. The SBAs are separated into two main areas — the Western Sovereign Base Area of Akrotiri close to the coastal city of Limas- sol, and the Eastern Sovereign Base Area of Dhekelia, an enclave which straddles the Angst and apathy outside parliament as lawmakers debate options fertile Kokkinochoria region and the only transit route to the tourist party town of Agia Napa. Reuters Protesters at parliament were also They are classified as a British Overseas London united by a low confi dence in British Territory and help project British military lawmakers’ chances of fi nding a way power in the Middle East. out of the Brexit mess. People there say they have had no obert Unbranded stands out “If they’re just going to quibble contact with authorities on the potential from other protesters outside among themselves, we’re not going impact of Brexit. Rthe British parliament, and not to get anywhere,” said George Cowie, Future development of their properties, just because of his red jumpsuit, wild a retired soldier standing with other now subject to some restrictions because hair and unusual surname. anti-EU protesters near the MPs’ en- of their status within the SBAs, is a primary In a public space otherwise domi- trance to parliament. concern. nated by vocal supporters and op- He called May’s deal with the EU “It’s a bit like the Vatican, a state within a ponents of Brexit, Unbranded carries “appalling” and wanted her replaced state,” said Christofis Kashiouris, the com- signs protesting the impact of plastic by someone who could come up with munity leader of Ormidhia, a community in bags on the environment. a better one. the Republic of Cyprus, but surrounded by “Many people tell me that my pro- Rival protester Ruth Fryer, a retired the SBAs. test is more important,” he says, then teacher wearing a “We Still Love EU” Senior EU off icials say the issue is legally nods towards parliament. “But eve- badge, was also despairing. complicated but their over-arching aim is to ryone is focused on the guff in there.” “My biggest hope is that MPs do ensure there is no disruption. That focus was intense yesterday as what they’re paid to do, which is to “What we want to ensure is that nothing Prime Minister Theresa May vowed put the national interest fi rst and stop is changing,” one off icial said. “It is not to quit in return for parliament pass- Brexit,” she said. straightforward, but the objective is that we ing her EU divorce deal at the third Now scaff old-clad and undergoing would pursue no controls on goods.” attempt, and lawmakers discussed renovations, the parliamentary build- Britain and Cyprus are keen to stress last-ditch options to break the Brexit ing is for some people a metaphor for their intent to make any transition as seam- deadlock. a feeble legislature that is unable to fi x less as possible, even though they are still Outside, veteran pro- and anti-EU the country’s Brexit woes and feels re- trying to work out how. protesters with fl ags and placards took mote from normal life. The British High Commission (embassy) up well-worn positions on nearby The debate yesterday initially in Nicosia said it deeply valued “the distinct pavements and squares, their rivalry seemed to confi rm this, with one law- and long-standing arrangements on the and modest numbers refl ecting how maker mocking another over the posh SBA-Cyprus border” as well as the daily Brexit has both divided and exhausted private schools they both attended. A performer holds the Union Jack (left) and an EU flag outside the Houses of Parliament yesterday. benefit it brought to people. the nation. Others articulated what was at “To be clear, in a Brexit with a Withdrawal Only 7% of Brits recently surveyed stake just two days before Britain was But yesterday at least, protesters Jaguar led by police outriders. “The debate is more rancorous now Agreement, people living and working in by NatCen Social Research said the originally due to leave the European were subdued and few. Most EU supporters gathered at the than it was in the run-up to the (2016) the SBAs will see no changes in their daily government had handled Britain’s exit Union. Most Brexit supporters clustered other end of the Palace of Westmin- referendum,” she said, declining to routines. The agreement in no way changes from the EU well, with those who vot- “The government still do not have by the MPs’ entrance to shout or wave ster, where the national and global give her surname. “People’s views are the UK’s commitment to the SBAs or to ed Leave and Remain almost equally a plan B. It is incredible, to say the signs at passing politicians. media have set up makeshift studios. so entrenched.” upholding the Treaty of Establishment that dismayed. least,” said Jim Cunningham of the Boris Johnson, the former foreign Maureen, a company secretary, said She described Britain as a sta- underpins the current arrangements. In An earlier poll by Ipsos Mori ranked opposition Labour Party. minister and leading Brexiteer, arrived she was protesting to persuade law- ble country, then corrected a no-deal Brexit we are confident we can politicians as Britain’s least trusted Some politicians complained that by bicycle, dismounting to negotiate a makers to deliver Brexit, but had given herself.”Take that back. We were a come to a similar arrangement with our profession after advertising execu- the atmosphere outside parliament scrum of photographers. May swept up trying to change the opinions of or- stable country. This is making us a Cypriot partners,” it said in a statement. tives. had become ugly and intimidating. through soon after in an armoured dinary people. laughing stock.”

Mum’s the word on new Air pollution linked with teen psychotic episodes

marriage certifi cates By Lin Taylor, Reuters the paper, published in the journal pollution particles, such as dust Yet with the UN predicting that London JAMA Psychiatry. and smoke. two-thirds of the global popula- “While the study could not show The scientists said young peo- tion will live in a city by 2050, fur- By Sonia Elks, Reuters the change. “Only fathers’ names were formerly pollutants caused adolescents to ple who experience psychotic epi- ther research into the health eff ects London recorded when marriages were registered, a igh levels of air pollution have psychotic experiences, our sodes are more likely to develop of air pollution is crucial, said the custom unchanged since 1837,” she said. in England and Wales have fi ndings suggest that air pollution serious psychotic disorders such study’s co-author Frank Kelly. “This clear and historic injustice reflected the Hbeen linked with psychot- could be a contributing factor in as schizophrenia or other mental “Children and young people are British couples will be able to include their time when children and wives were considered ic experiences in teenagers, such the link between city living and health issues including suicide at- most vulnerable to the health im- mothers’ names on their marriage certificate property of men and it is high time for this to be as hearing voices and intense par- psychotic experiences.” tempts. pacts of air pollution owing to the under a change in law yesterday, hailed as a corrected.” anoia, scientists said yesterday, as The researchers used data from Earlier this month, the United juvenility of the brain and respira- step forward for women’s rights. The system had long attracted protest from poor air quality in British cities a two-decade long study examin- Nations (UN) said air pollution tory system,” said Kelly, a professor Church of England leaders also praised the women’s rights activists, who said it symbolised comes under scrutiny. ing more than 2,200 British chil- should be viewed as a human rights of environmental health at King’s change, which passed into law this week, saying a system that treated women as second class Children and adolescents living dren born in 1994-5, and com- issue, causing 7mn premature College London. the previous system demeaned women and citizens. in a city were twice as likely to ex- pared it with national air pollution deaths a year globally, including “Uncovering the mechanisms was out of step with modern times. Previously, “A country’s laws set the tone for how it treats perience a psychotic episode than data from 2012, when the children 600,000 among children. linking the urban environment marriage certificates in England and Wales only its people,” said Niki Kandirikirira, the head of those living in rural areas, said re- would have been about 17 years The researchers said their fi nd- to psychosis should be an urgent included space for fathers’ names. programmes at women’s rights group Equality searchers at King’s College Lon- old. ings do not indicate that greater health priority.” “We have finally achieved tangible progress Now. don, who described their study as About 30% of children reported air pollution caused the psychotic Britain in January pledged to towards the equal treatment of both parents,” “Something like this may seem like a small the fi rst of its kind in the country. at least one psychotic episode be- episodes, and that there could be become the fi rst major economy said the Bishop of St Albans in a joint statement legal inequality but in reality it is part of a much “We found that adolescent tween the ages of 12 and 18, with other contributing factors like to adopt air quality goals based on with Caroline Spelman, a lawmaker who works wider pattern of inequality rooted in patriarchy psychotic experiences were more the highest rates in cities with noise pollution and increased World Health Organisation recom- closely with the church and had campaigned for and discrimination against women.” common in urban areas,” said heavy exposure to nitrogen diox- stress levels, which they did not mendations, as it works towards Joanne Newbury, lead author of ide, nitrogen oxides and tiny air examine. phasing out diesel cars. Gulf Times Thursday, March 28, 2019 21 EUROPE

POLLUTION INVESTIGATION NOT A RADICAL JUSTICE ROYAL VISITOR EU parliament approves ‘Independence symbols’ Austria train sabotage Ex-Soviet defence minister ban on single use plastics land leader in hot water suspect ‘acted alone’ found guilty of war crimes

European lawmakers yesterday voted The Spanish prosecutor for Catalonia will The Iraqi man who allegedly tried to A Lithuanian court yesterday found former overwhelmingly for an EU-wide ban on single- investigate regional president Quim Torra derail German trains says he did not have Soviet defence minister Dmitry Yazov guilty of use plastic products such as the straws, cutlery for disobedience over his failure to remove accomplices and denies that he was part of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his and cotton buds that are clogging the world’s pro-independence symbols from government a terrorist cell. “He also said that he did not role in a 1991 crackdown against the Baltic state’s oceans. The text had already been approved in buildings. Spain’s electoral committee ordered have a radical background,” lawyer Wolfgang pro-independence movement. The Vilnius court negotiations with member states and EU off icials Torra to take down symbols such as the regional Blaschitz told Austrian newspaper Die Presse. sentenced Yazov, 94, in absentia to 10 years in and it will now be rapidly approved into law. The Estelada flag and yellow ribbons from public The suspect, who was detained in Vienna prison. He was the highest-ranking person on ban comes into eff ect from 2021. EU Commission buildings across Catalonia that had been put up this week, claimed to have written a “political a list of 67 former military off icials and army King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands Vice-President Frans Timmermans said Europe was as a show of support for separatist leaders who statement” to German politicians, but he off icers being sentenced after the three-year (centre) stands next to a boat of the Royal not the worst source of plastic pollution, but that are on trial for their part in a 2017 independence cannot explain why a flag of the Islamic State trial. While only two of the accused were present Netherlands Sea Rescue Institution during the pioneering measure could serve as an example referendum. In a court document, prosecutor extremist movement was found near one of in court yesterday, all 67 were found guilty and a working visit to Terschelling, northern to the world. “Our change of the economic model Francisco Baneres Santos said Torra would be the two crime scenes last year, the lawyer received sentences of between four and 14 years Netherlands, for SamenDoen (Doing Together), has a global impact,” he said. The law passed by investigated for failing to remove the symbols added. “This whole thing is still a mystery to in prison. The Russian foreign ministry did not a programme designed to strengthen local 560 votes to 35 in the Strasbourg assembly. within the required 48 hours. me,” Blaschitz said. immediately respond to a request for comment. communities.

Cruise ship lost engines Portugal, Spain combat due to less lubricants

By Gwladys Fouche, Reuters unseasonal wildfi res Oslo Reuters/AFP Lisbon/Madrid he engines of a luxury cruise ship, that nar- Trowly escaped disaster undreds of Portuguese fi re- during a storm off Norway on fi ghters struggled yesterday to Saturday, failed because of rel- Hcontain wildfi res which erupted atively low levels of lubricating far earlier in the season than usual be- oil in the engines, the Norwe- cause of unexpectedly hot and windy gian Maritime Authority said weather. yesterday. Ten fi res were burning across the The Viking Sky, with almost country, most in the north, several 1,400 passengers and crew months before the late spring season aboard, sent out a mayday signal when fi re crews are normally in place. on Saturday as it drifted in rough Across the border in Spain, fi re- waters in the Norwegian Sea to fi ghting crews aided by lighter winds within 100m of land. made progress yesterday in their bat- All four engines had failed, but tle against a wildfi re which broke out in crew managed to restart one of the northwestern amid unusually warm the engines just in time. weather, offi cials said. “Our conclusion is that the Hundreds of fi refi ghters and soldiers engine failure was directly backed by seven helicopters and fi ve caused by low oil pressure,” the water-dropping planes were fi ghting Norwegian Maritime Authority the blaze which broke out on Monday said in a statement. near the village of San Xoan de Laino “The level of lubricating oil in in the northwestern Spanish region of the tanks was within set limits, Galicia, the regional government said in however relatively low, when the a statement. vessel started to cross Hustad- Offi cials evacuated two schools in the vika,” it added, referring to the area on Tuesday because of the advanc- stretch of water where the inci- ing fl ames but the blaze was no longer dent happened. threatening built-up areas, it added. The heavy seas probably A spark from a high-voltage power caused movements in the tanks line is the “most probable” cause of so large that the supply to the lu- the wildfi re, which was then fuelled by bricating oil pumps stopped, the strong winds, the vice president of the regulator said. regional government of Galicia, Alfonso This triggered an alarm in- Rueda, told local television. dicating a low level of lubricat- Meteorologists said global warming ing oil, which in turn caused an had made it diffi cult to predict where automatic shutdown of the en- blazes would erupt. gines. “We are having signifi cant fi re out- Rescue services airlifted 479 breaks in areas where we didn’t know people, hoisting them one-by- the risk was high,” Miguel Miranda, one onto helicopters, before the president of the Portuguese Institute weather subsided on Sunday and of Meteorology (IPMA), told Portu- a tow could begin. guese radio station TSF. “We are in un- Built in 2017, the ship belongs explored territory, we have never been to Viking Ocean Cruises, part of through this.” the Viking Cruises group. Helicopters dropped water on fl am- It yesterday acknowledged the ing woodlands near the tiny village of probe’s fi ndings in full. Gondomil on Portugal’s northern edge Flames from a forest fire approach the village of Gondomil, near Valenca, Portugal. “We have inspected the lev- near the Spanish frontier. els on all our sister ships and A fi refi ghter there told Reuters the in the central town of Pedrogao Grande on Wednesday, compared with a March In the district of Esposende, also in Temperatures are forecast to hit 29 are now revising our proce- force was waiting at a wooded area until in June 2017, killing 64 people and in- average of 12C. northern Portugal, a wildfi re on Tues- degrees in some parts of Galicia, which dures to ensure that this issue the weather conditions made it possible juring more than 250, the worst disaster “This meteorological scenario means day forced authorities to evacuate two is heavily wooded in native oaks and could not be repeated,” Viking to fi ght the blaze. There were no imme- in modern Portuguese history. an increase in the fi re risk index with fa- schools due to high levels of smoke. It pines and has large areas of imported Ocean Cruises was quoted as diate reports of casualties or fi gures for The government warning prohibits vourable conditions for the rapid spread has since been put out. eucalyptus plantations. saying in the statement by the property damage. farmers from using slash-and-burn of fi res throughout the mainland, with Authorities in Galicia estimate the Another three smaller fi res were ac- Norwegian Maritime Author- Portugal’s government issued a wild- methods and requires employers to au- high to very high levels,” the Civil Pro- blaze has so far ravaged around 850 tive in other parts of Galicia which had ity. fi re alert on Tuesday evening, with no rain thorise absences for workers who serve tection agency said on its website. acres of land, making it the worst wild- so far destroyed a total of around 140 Earlier yesterday, the Vi- in sight and temperatures at the start of as volunteer fi refi ghters. The most aggressive wildfi re raged in fi res since deadly blazes hit the region hectares, including one which aff ects a king Sky left the port of Molde, the week that soared as high as 28 degrees Temperatures are expected to remain the municipality of Oliveira de Azemeis in October 2017. Firefi ghters said lighter national park. where it had been anchored Celsius, far above seasonal norms. unseasonably hot, according to IPMA, since the early hours of Tuesday, with 450 winds had helped them get the upper Last month was the second driest since Sunday, for repairs at a The weather conditions resemble with the temperature in the northern fi refi ghters on the ground who managed hand against the blaze although they February this century in Spain, accord- shipyard in Kristiansund, some those that caused a devastating wildfi re river city of Porto expected to reach 24C to bring it under control on Tuesday. cautioned temperatures remained high. ing to national weather offi ce Aemet. 70km away. Roma seek protection after attacks sparked by fake news

By Francis Curta and The attacks appeared to have scared,” said Georghe Marcus, Police reminded social me- Sarah Brethes, AFP been sparked by the re-emer- one of around 150 Roma from Ro- dia users that under French law Paris gence of a long-standing online mania, Serbia and Moldova who spreading a false rumour could hoax that has circulated in France live in wasteland next to a ca- be punished with fi nes of 45,000 for years in which people warn nal. “We’re not sleeping because to 135,000 euros ($50,000 to thnic Roma leaders yester- of a white van being used in at- we’re keeping guard all night.” $150,000). day called for round-the- tempted kidnappings of young Roma people were also chased Tens of thousands of Roma Eclock police protection women or children. in the Paris suburb of Clichy- people have lived in France for for their communities in Paris Police have renewed their calls sous-Bois and had to seek ref- centuries, but a fresh infl ux of after a series of vigilante attacks on Twitter not to relay the claims uge in a supermarket to escape some 20,000 people, mainly sparked by false reports of at- and have confi rmed that there violence, according to Ciucin from Romania and Bulgaria, tempted kidnappings. have been no reports of kidnap- and judicial sources who spoke to since the 1980s has led to the Police arrested 20 people fol- pings in the area. AFP on condition of anonymity. creation of new slums and in- lowing attacks on Monday night Government spokesman Ben- On March 16, a gang of around creased tensions, according to a on Roma people in suburbs jamin Griveaux termed the at- 20 young people attacked two 2017 study by the government- northeast of Paris following false tacks “unacceptable”, adding people in a white van in the Paris sponsored National Centre for rumours spread on messaging that this showed “the absolute suburb of Colombes, leaving Scientifi c Research (CNRS). apps and social media warning of need to fi ght ‘fake news’”. both with light injuries, police Successive French govern- abductions. “Spreading such rumours in said. ments have sought to dismantle “We are calling today on the a highly organised and viral way Many rumours appear to have the slums and repatriate recently interior ministry...for immediate on social media results in vio- been spread on the Snapchat arrived Roma who, while allowed protection by way of round-the- lence (and) the stigmatisation of messaging service, as well as to travel freely in Europe, are not clock police presence,” Anina a community,” he said, calling the on Facebook where posts from eligible to apply for jobs in France Ciucin, a lawyer and spokesper- process “detestable”. people claiming their children unless they meet certain qualifi - son for The Voice of Roma group In one attack on Monday night or family members had been ap- cations. told RMC radio. in the suburb of Bobigny, some proached by strangers or abduct- Between 10mn and 12mn Roma She said the reports were “a 50 people armed with sticks and ed have been widely shared. people, also known as Roms, revival of the medieval stereo- knives set upon Roma living in a In December, police in the live in Europe, of whom 6mn are type” of Roma in which “gypsies nearby slum, setting fi re to their town of Versailles, west of Paris, within European Union borders, are likened to thieves and child- parked vans. issued a warning about abduc- according to the Council of Eu- A member of the Roma community adjusts the roof of a shack yesterday in a camp that was attacked catchers.” “Since then we’re constantly tion rumours carried online. rope human rights group. during the night of March 25 in Bobigny, near Paris. Gulf Times 22 Thursday, March 28, 2019 INDIA Crisis hits Goa govt as new CM sacks his deputy

IANS from the ministry. He was doing er ahead of the government. split from the regional party and ed to fi eld candidates against the political party, then he is always conservative vote bank in the Panaji anti-government activity. We Speaking to reporters after joined the BJP in the early hours BJP. welcome. We told them that we coastal state. are in an alliance government, Sawant dropped his most senior of yesterday. Sawant said the BJP was not are ready to take you in and in- Dhavalikar claimed that the but his brother Deepak Dha- minister amid rising acrimony Deepak Pauskar, one of the responsible for the split. ducted them into the party at BJP was poaching MLAs from oa Deputy Chief Minis- valikar is contesting in Shiroda between leaders of the Bharati- two MLAs who joined the BJP, “We did not split the party. night,” he said. other parties because the ruling ter and Maharashtrawadi (assembly by-election). Again ya Janata Party and the MGP, is expected to be sworn in as a Two of their MLAs – Babu Aj- Meanwhile Deepak Dhava- party was unable to get its own GGomantak Party (MGP) and again we had requested him, Dhavalikar said: “At night, the cabinet minister, the chief min- gaonkar and Deepak Pauskar – likar said his group was consid- legislators elected. leader Sudin Dhavalikar, who but he is not ready to (withdraw) chowkidars (watchmen) who ister said. split the party, formed a diff er- ering fi elding candidates in the “There is little chance of the held the Public Works Depart- so we took the decision,” Sawant have committed dacoity on MGP The political development and ent group and came to us. They Lok Sabha elections as well as BJP MLAs winning in the current ment ministry, was dropped told reporters, after the cabi- have shocked the people of Goa. rift between the ruling BJP and said they felt unsafe within their all the three assembly by-elec- political atmosphere. That is why from the cabinet because of net recommended Dhavalikar’s People of Goa are watching this. the MGP is expected to spill over party,” Sawant said. tions. they are breaking MLAs. If one anti-government activity, Chief sacking to Goa Governor Mrid- People will decide on the course into the upcoming campaign for “They also said there was a If the MGP sticks to its stand, goes by what happened today, this Minister Pramod Sawant said ula Sinha. of action.” two Lok Sabha seats and three fear that they would be rendered the going will get tough for the national party uses and throws yesterday. He accused Dhavalikar of The development comes hours assembly by-elections, in which as unattached MLAs or sacked. BJP, considering that both par- people and parties. They are try- “Dhavlikar has been dropped putting the interest of his broth- after two of the three MGP MLAs the MGP, once an ally, is expect- When a person wants to join a ties appeal to the sizeable Hindu ing to fi nish the regional parties.” BJP hopeful of winning 20 seats in Karnataka

IANS ter contesting against each other Bengaluru in the May 12 state elections. “Our seat-sharing has been decided on winnability and to iding on the popularity of prevent division of votes. We Prime Minister Narendra are confi dent of getting more RModi and the “achieve- on the basis of performance of ments” of the National Demo- our nine-month-old coalition cratic Alliance government, government in the state,” state the Bharatiya Janata Party is Congress spokesman K E Rad- upbeat on winning more seats hakrishna told IANS. than the Congress and Janata Unfazed by the prospects of Dal-Secular (JD-S) combine in facing joint candidates, the BJP Karnataka in this year’s general is betting on the “lack of chem- A kite-maker prepares kites with election symbols of political parties at his shop in Kolkata yesterday. elections. istry” between the cadres of the Polling for the 28 parliamen- Congress and JD-S at the booth tary seats in the southern state level and dearth of cadres in will be held on April 18 and 23, many constituencies across the with 14 seats in each phase. Five state to woo the voters. seats are reserved for the Sched- Though the allies agreed to uled Castes (SCs) and two for contest in the ratio of 20-8 the Scheduled Tribes (STs). The seats, the JD-S gifted one more votes will be counted in all con- seat (Bangaluru North) to the BJP in bloody struggle stituencies on May 23. Congress, as it has no winnable “We are in a strong position to candidate and lacks cadres and win at least 20 seats across the resources to take on the BJP’s state this time, as majority of the outgoing member and federal people want Modi to continue minister D V Sadananda Gowda as prime minister for the stabil- from the constituency. ity, growth and development the “After much bravado, the with Trinamool for votes NDA government provided dur- JD-S agreed to contest from ing the past fi ve years,” BJP state only seven seats and not the 12 Reuters beatings, vandalism and making BJP did well at village council Rather than emphasising its aggressive and strong-headed unit spokesman Vamanacharya or 10 it had hard bargained for Kolkata false allegations to the police. polls last year and a recent sur- national agenda, such as driving politician with grassroots appeal. told IANS. earlier with the Congress. It has After losing three state elec- vey showed the party winning economic growth and providing Posters of Banerjee in a quin- As a gateway to south India, fi elded Pramod Madhwaraj, a tions late last year, and with eight out of the 42 parliamentary aff ordable housing, the BJP in tessential Bengali lower middle- Karnataka has been a harbinger former Congress minister, from t an election rally in the weak farm incomes and slow jobs seats in Bengal, up from two cur- West Bengal has been focusing class cotton sari and rubber fl ip of the right-wing party over the Udupi against our sitting MP eastern state of West growth undermining his backing rently. more on accusing TMC of cor- fl ops are seen across the state. last 15 years and consolidated its Shobha Karandlaje,” Vamana- ABengal, a local leader in the BJP’s traditional Hindu base To be sure, Modi could win the ruption and Banerjee of running In January, she brought to- presence in the coastal, northern charya said. from Prime Minister Narendra in the north, Modi is driving hard national election without taking a dictatorship. gether more than 20 regional and central regions of the state, The Congress gave tickets to Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party to pick up support in West Bengal. many seats in West Bengal. The BJP said it had to cancel parties, including the Congress, besides Bengaluru. eight of the nine outgoing mem- (BJP) described how workers The push has set him and the What could have been a close several visits by senior leaders to on one stage in Kolkata, under After suff ering a humiliating bers, denying re-nomination to from the state’s ruling Trina- BJP on a collision course with contest has changed in recent address rallies as Banerjee’s ad- the ‘United India’ banner. defeat in the May 2013 assembly its Tumkur member S P Mud- mool Congress (TMC) had dis- fi rebrand TMC leader and Chief weeks because of a suicide car ministration denied permission It was a show of opposition to elections due to a split, the party dahanumegowda, as JD-S su- rupted a public meeting in Janu- Minister Mamata Banerjee. bomb attack in Kashmir that for their helicopters to land. the BJP that drew hundreds of bounced back in 2014 Lok Sab- premo H D Deve Gowda opted to ary by destroying their vehicles. For Banerjee, popularly called killed 44 paramilitary troopers. The BJP’s West Bengal presi- thousands from rural Bengal. ha elections, winning 17 seats contest from there after fi elding “So, we thrashed them in re- ‘Didi’ or elder sister, defeating That led to an Indian warplane dent Dilip Ghosh said police and Banerjee has announced gov- against nine by the Congress and his grandson, Prajwal, from his taliation, smashed their vehicles the BJP’s challenge is vital to ce- attack on what the Indian gov- other government offi cials were ernment subsidies and incentive two by the JD-S. traditional Hassan seat. and burnt their party offi ce,” ment her power base and bolster ernment said was a “terrorist” being used by Banerjee to thwart schemes aimed at benefi ting the Maintaining the momentum, With the old Mysuru region Arup Das, a district secretary of her image as a possible future training camp in Pakistan, and democracy in the state. poor. the party won 104 of the 224 being a stronghold of the JD-S the BJP, roared at the rally in the prime minister if opposition subsequent retaliation by the “I’ve announced openly eve- But critics say she is attract- seats in the May 2018 assembly over the years, the regional party town of Kharagpur. parties win enough seats to form Pakistanis. ryone should carry batons, bam- ing voters by funding local clubs elections. But its government is contesting in four of the 14 “Stand up and protest,” Das a coalition government. Pollsters say they expect Modi boos and if goons attack you, you and organising events, such as bowed out after three days on seats in the fi rst phase and in said to the crowd. “Trinamool “BJP is rising in West Bengal,” to get a boost because of the hit back. So we are fi ghting back. mass marriages, where gifts can May 19, as it fell nine short of the three in the second phase. Congress will run away in fear.” said Udayan Bandyopadhyay, sense of nationalism stirred by Now goons are afraid to turn up,” be made. halfway mark (113) for a simple To retain the Mandya seat, Political diff erences have head of the political science de- the events in Kashmir. said Ghosh. Hindu groups linked to the majority. the JD-S fi elded Nikhil, another been erupting into tension and partment at Bangabasi College in And the disarray among par- On Saturday, Congress presi- BJP also accuse her of appeas- The Congress had won 80 grandson of Deve Gowda and the sometimes violence across India Kolkata. ties opposed to the BJP will also dent Rahul Gandhi, also accused ing Muslim voters, who make seats and the JD-S 36. As it lost son of state Chief Minister H D ahead of the general election in There is a sense of anti- play in its favour. the TMC of regularly harassing up about one-third of the elec- the mandate, the Congress en- Kumaraswamy, against actress April-May, but it’s particularly incumbency that is working The BJP has been holding a se- and beating up its workers in torate, by providing separate tered into a post-poll alliance Sumalatha Ambareesh, contest- bad in West Bengal. against Banerjee, who has won ries of mega rallies in West Ben- West Bengal. schools, hospitals and training with the JD-S and formed a coa- ing as an independent with the Both the BJP and the TMC are the previous two state assembly gal headlined by top BJP leaders, Still, it will be an uphill task to institutes for the community lition government on May 23 af- support of the BJP. accusing each other of killings, elections, Bandyopadhyay said. including Modi himself. defeat 64-year-old Banerjee, an and handing out stipends. Bollywood star joins Congress, UDF aims to end long likely to contest from Mumbai drought in Attingal

IANS who has again been fi elded by IANS on April 29, along with 17 oth- Rekha starrer Kalyug (1981). Thiruvananthapuram the Communist Party of India New Delhi/Mumbai ers in Maharashtra in the fourth But, it was the highly-ac- (Marxist), is a proven parliamen- phase of elections. claimed Shekhar Kapur-direct- tarian who has won admiration However, it was Bollywood ed fi lm Masoom that catapulted ill the Congress-led for his stint in the Lok Sabha. He ell-known Bollywood actor Govinda who had earned her to fame and signifi cantly United Democratic is said to be popular in the con- actress Urmila Ma- the title of ‘giant-killer’ in 2004 boosted her fi lm career. WFront taste victory stituency. His father K Anirud- Wtondkar yesterday when – in a major upset – he Later, she worked with some of in Kerala’s Attingal Lok Sabha han won the seat in 1967. joined the Congress Party. trounced former petroleum the biggest actors in major fi lms constituency that it last won The Bharatiya Janata Par- Matondkar, 45, who shot to minister Ram Naik, who is now like Dacait, Bade Ghar Ki Beti, 30 years ago in 1989? The party ty sprang a surprise when it fame as a child star in Masoom the governor of Uttar Pradesh. Narasimha, Chamatkara, Aa is certainly hoping so, having brought in 45-year-old Sobha (1983), is likely to be named In 2009, Naik faced his second Gale Lag Jaa, Rangeela, Indian, fielded two-time former min- Surendran, known for her razor- the Congress candidate for the consecutive defeat, this time at Judaai, Daud, Satya, Kaun, Mast, ister and incumbent legislator sharp tongue and hard-hitting Mumbai North Lok Sabha seat. the hands of the Congress’s Sanjay Dillagi, Khoobsurata, Jungle, Adoor Prakash, whom it con- speeches and who has been the She was welcomed into the Nirupam. But, in 2014, Nirupam Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya, Ek Hasina siders one of its best candi- party’s face on television in the party by top Congress leaders, was defeated by Shetty during Thi, Om Jai Jagadeesh, Bhoot, dates. state. including party president Rahul the BJP wave which catapulted Pinjar, Maine Gandhi Ko Nahi Since 1989, the Congress has While the advantage of being Gandhi. Narendra Modi as prime minister. Maara and Speed, among others. tried to wrest the seat by fi elding a resident rests with Sampath, “I am here to stay – even after The name of Matondkar, mar- Besides, she has acted in Mar- heavyweights like M M Hassan, Prakash, 63, is a fi ve-time leg- the elections,” she said. ried to M A Mir, a Kashmiri, has athi and South Indian language M I Shanavas, G Balachandran islator from Konni in Pathan- If nominated, Matond- been doing the rounds for the past fi lms and several television serials. and Bindhu Krishna, only to fi n- amthitta district and is known kar’s formidable rival would be few days as the Congress grappled Incidentally, besides Mum- ish second as veteran Varkala for maintaining very cordial Bharatiya Janata Party incum- for an eff ective counter to the BJP. bai North-West (now, Mumbai Radhakrishnan, after a hat-trick relations, especially with Vel- bent MP Gopal Shetty in the Matondkar started her fi lm North-Central), Mumbai North of victories, passed the mantle to lapally Natesan, the chief of the constituency, which was once career as a seven-year-old child is the only Lok Sabha constitu- the then young A Sampath, who powerful Sree Narayana Dharma regarded as a BJP bastion. star in the Marathi fi lm Zaakol ency in the country’s commer- Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Madhya Pradesh chief fi rst won in 1996 and then again Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam, the- Mumbai’s six Lok Sabha con- (1980). She got her fi rst role in cial capital which has elected a minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan sits at a roadside restaurant after in 2009 and 2014. socio cultural body of the Hindu stituencies are going to the polls Bollywood in the Shashi Kapoor- well-known fi lm personality. attending a rally at Kolaghat in Purba Medinipur district. The 56-year-old Sampath, Ezhava community. Gulf Times Thursday, March 28, 2019 23 INDIA Monsoon likely to be robust, says weather offi ce

Reuters for India’s farm-dependent but the sector employs more than nomic growth and keep food Pacifi c Ocean, can cause severe and 104% of a 50-year average of A positive IOD creates a barrier New Delhi $2.6tn economy, arrive on the half of the country’s 1.3bn popu- prices and overall infl ation sub- drought in Australia, Southeast 89cm for the entire four-month in the eastern Indian Ocean and southern tip of Kerala around lation. dued. Asia and India, while drenching season beginning in June. all the southwesterly winds blow June 1 and retreat from the desert “It’s really early to talk about That could also add to pressure other parts of the world such as the In 2017 and 2018, rainfall was towards the Indian subcontinent, ndia’s monsoon, crucial for state of Rajasthan by September. the pattern that this year’s mon- on India’s central bank to cut in- US Midwest and Brazil in rains. 95% and 91% of the long-term causing rains in the country. Asia’s third largest economy, India’s 263mn farmers wait soon will follow, but we do know terest rates. The emergence of a strong El average respectively. Weather offi cials say a positive Iis likely to be a robust and for monsoon rains to plant crops that practically no one is predict- On the downside, higher pro- Nino triggered back-to-back The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) IOD played a big role in bringing healthy one this year provided such as rice, cane, corn, cotton ing a strong El Nino,” K J Ramesh, duction could mean farmers con- droughts in 2014 and 2015, only phenomenon could also be a pos- adequate rains to India in 1967, there isn’t a surprise El Nino and soybean because nearly half director general of the India Me- tinue to get hit by low crop prices, for the fourth time in over a cen- itive development, said Ramesh. 1977, 1997 and 2006. phenomenon, the country’s top of the country’s farmland lacks teorological Department, told a major cause for concern in rural tury, driving some Indian farmers The IOD phenomenon is char- The IMD is likely to make its government weather offi cial said irrigation. Reuters. India in the past two years. to penury and suicide. acterised by higher sea-surface fi rst offi cial forecast of this year’s yesterday. Farming output makes up just Plentiful monsoon rains could A strong El Nino, marked by a The IMD defi nes average, or temperatures in the Indian monsoon rains by the middle of Monsoon rains, the lifeblood less than 14% of India’s economy lift agricultural and wider eco- warming of the sea surface on the normal, rainfall as between 96% Ocean. April. India a ‘space power’ after anti-satellite missile test

Teachers and students release coloured smoke as they celebrate after India shot down one of its satellites in space with an anti-satellite missile in a AFP at a range of things – including the country’s national security test, inside their school premises in Ahmedabad, Gujarat yesterday. New Delhi defence against nuclear-capable interests and is alert to threats ballistic missiles,” Ankit Panda, from emerging technologies.” of the Federation of American Modi said the test did not vio- ndia said yesterday it de- Scientists, told AFP. late any international treaties stroyed a low-orbiting sat- “This is how the message is and was for the betterment and Iellite in a missile test that going to be perceived in Islama- safety of India’s 1.3bn people. Anti-satellite weapons: rare, proved the nation was among bad.” The announcement comes the world’s most advanced space A spokesman for Pakistan’s ahead of a national election in powers. foreign ministry said countries which Modi is seeking a second In a rare address to the nation that had “strongly condemned” term in offi ce. just weeks out from a national the demonstration of similar Voting starts on April 11 and high-tech, and risky to test election, Prime Minister Naren- technologies in the past should will last nearly six weeks, with dra Modi said India had joined work towards preventing the close to 900mn Indians eligi- the United States, Russia and militarisation of space. ble to vote in the world’s largest Reuters been destroyed if the missile had tion Burnt Frost, using a ship- which tracks objects in orbit for China in accomplishing the feat. “Boasting of such capabilities election. New Delhi been armed. launched SM-3 missile to destroy the US military, had no immedi- A missile fi red from a testing is reminiscent of Don Quixote’s Under election laws in force, The Soviet Union performed a defunct spy satellite. ate comment on yesterday’s test. facility in Odisha downed the tilting against windmills,” the the government is forbidden similar tests around the same Debris from anti-satellite tests Destroying an enemy’s satel- satellite at around 300km in “a spokesman said. from announcing new policies or ndia tested an anti-satellite time. can create problems for other lites, which can provide crucial diffi cult operation” that lasted The United States and the other major developments that weapon yesterday, saying the In the 1960s and early 1970s, satellites and spacecraft in orbit, intelligence and communica- around three minutes, Modi said. former Soviet Union carried out could benefi t the ruling party. Iindigenously produced in- it tested a weapon that could be as tiny bits of junk whiz through tions in war, is considered an ad- “This is a proud moment for their fi rst successful anti-sat- “The timing and the manner terceptor was used to destroy an launched in orbit, approach en- space many times faster than a vanced capability. India,” the prime minister added, ellite missile tests in 1985, and of the announcement, with elec- object in orbit. emy satellites and destroy them rifl e bullet. With the successful test yes- in his fi rst televised national ad- China in 2007. tions around the corner, will cer- Such a weapon allows for at- with an explosive charge, accord- The International Space Sta- terday, India theoretically holds dress since late 2016. All are now said to be work- tainly lead to speculation,” Dhru- tacks on enemy satellites – blind- ing to the Union of Concerned tion, for example, regularly other countries’ satellites at risk. “India has registered its name ing on so-called Star Wars laser va Jaishankar, Delhi-based fellow ing them or disrupting commu- Scientists, a non-profi t research tweaks its orbit to avoid debris of Pakistan, with which India in the list of space superpowers. weapons to destroy satellites. in foreign policy with Brookings nications – as well as providing a and advocacy organisation. all kinds. traded airstrikes last month, Until now, only three countries With satellites increasingly India, told AFP. technology base for intercepting In 1985, the United States test- China’s 2007 test is considered has several satellites in orbit, had achieved this feat.” important because of their intel- Opposition Congress presi- ballistic missiles. ed the AGM-135, launched from the most destructive. launched using Chinese and Modi said the anti-satellite ligence gathering role – and ma- dent Rahul Gandhi congratulated India, whose space programme an F-15 fi ghter jet, destroying an Because the impact took Russian rockets. missile test was peaceful, and not jor nations seeking to gain a foot- India’s scientists on the feat but has developed launchers, satel- American satellite called Solwind place at an altitude of more than But China, which put dozens designed to create “an atmos- hold in space – the United States also wished Modi “a very happy lites and probes to the moon and P78-1. 800km, many of the resulting of satellites in orbit in 2018 alone, phere of war”. in 2014 rejected a Russian-Chi- World Theatre Day” – refer- Mars, created the interceptor There were no tests for more scraps stayed in orbit. according to state media, could “I want to assure the world nese proposal for a treaty to ban ring to celebrations also marked used in yesterday’s test domes- than 20 years. The US test in 2008 did not see India’s fl edgling capability as community that the new ca- weapons in space, saying it was around the globe on March 27. tically, Prime Minister Narendra Then in 2007, China entered create as much orbital debris, more of a threat. pability is not against anyone. “fundamentally fl awed” because Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Modi said in a broadcast on tel- the anti-satellite arena by de- and because it was at a lower al- India needed to build anti-sat- This is to secure and defend fast- of the lack of weapons verifi ca- defended the announcement, evision. stroying an old weather satellite titude, atmospheric drag caused ellite weapons “because adver- growing India.” tion measures. saying for “a deterrent of this The United States performed in a high, polar orbit. much of it to fall toward Earth sary China has already done it in But analysts said the test India’s foreign ministry said kind there is no better than the the fi rst anti-satellite tests in The test created the largest or- and burn up. 2007,” said Ajay Lele, senior fel- would not go unnoticed in China the country “has no intention prime minister to inform the 1959, when satellites themselves bital debris cloud in history, with India’s foreign ministry said low at the Institute for Defence and Pakistan and could be inter- of entering into an arms race in world”. were rare and new. more than 3,000 objects, accord- in a statement that its test was Studies and Analyses. preted as a show of New Delhi’s outer space”. India has made giant strides in Bold Orion, designed as a ing to the Secure World Foun- done in the lower atmosphere “More than anything I would advancing military capabilities. “We have always maintained its space journey in recent years. nuclear-tipped ballistic missile dation, a group that advocates to ensure there was no debris in say through this India is sending “This is less about shooting that space must be used only for It launched a record 104 satel- re-purposed to attack satellites, sustainable and peaceful uses of space and that whatever was left a message to the subcontinent,” down satellites and more about peaceful purposes,” the ministry lites in a single mission in 2017, was launched from a bomber outer space. would “decay and fall back onto he added. proving high-altitude ‘hit-to- said. and has also built a reputation for and passed close enough to the The next year, the Unit- the earth within weeks”. “India is saying that we have kill’ profi ciency, which is the core “At the same time, the govern- low-cost space exploration and Explorer 6 satellite for it to have ed States carried out Opera- The US Strategic Command, mechanisms for space warfare.” competency required to get good ment is committed to ensuring science missions. Elections important to Sarabjit’s sister wants save country: Priyanka BJP ticket from Haryana IANS He was on the death row in Chandigarh Pakistan since 1990 after being IANS elections, Rahul Gandhi will be- Modi’s announcement yester- convicted by Pakistani courts for Amethi come the prime minister. day that India became “a space bomb blasts in Lahore and Multan, Answering a question on the superpower” by becoming the he sister of Indian prisoner which left 14 people died. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) de- fourth country to acquire anti- Sarabjit Singh, who died in Elections for the 10 Lok Sabha ongress leader Priyanka scribing the NYAY scheme an- satellite capability. Ta Lahore jail after a brutal polls in Haryana are to be held on Gandhi Vadra said yester- nounced by Rahul Gandhi a Congratulating the scientists attack on him in 2013, has sought May 12. Cday that she has asked the bluff , she said: “Those who bluff for achieving this feat, Gandhi a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket for In other news, BJP national party workers to campaign hard are now saying like this. What- said, “It’s a wonderful achieve- contesting Lok Sabha elections president Amit Shah said federal as the coming Lok Sabha elec- ever the Congress promised, it ment. I am very proud of the from Haryana, party leaders said minister Giriraj Singh will contest tions are of national importance has delivered. We waived farm- Defence Research and Devel- yesterday. the Lok Sabha elections from the to “save” the country. ers’ loans in Madhya Pradesh, opment Organisation (DRDO) Dalbir Kaur wants to contest Begusarai parliamentary constitu- Speaking to reporters after Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan as which was founded by Jawaha- from Sirsa, a senior party leader ency in Bihar and not from Na- holding a marathon meeting promised after coming to power rlal Nehru.” told IANS. wada. with the par-ty workers for over in those states.” Asked about contesting the He said it was for the party lead- “Giriraj Singh will be contesting fi ve-and-a-half hours, Vadra She also said that a lot needs Lok Sabha polls, she said, “I have ership to take a decision. from Bihar’s Begusarai. I have lis- said: “I have not told the party to be done to eradicate poverty not decided yet. If my party asks “I have met several BJP leaders, tened to all his grievances and the workers that (Congress chief ) from the country. me to contest, I will. My wish is including state president Subhash party organisation will sort out all Rahul Gandhi will become the Slamming Prime Minister to campaign for the party.” Barala. If given a chance, I will win issues. I wish him all the best for prime minister after the elec- Narendra Modi’s government, Gandhi arrived in Uttar the election,” Kaur told reporters the elections,” Shah tweeted. tions. the Congress general secretary Pradesh on a three-day visit early here. She formally joined the BJP on According to the seat sharing “But I have asked them to said, “No government has per- yesterday. Clad in a blue sari, she December 25, 2016. deal with the other National Dem- campaign properly and go to formed as badly as this govern- arrived at the Chaudhary Charan “Even before joining the BJP, ocratic Alliance (NDA) constitu- every house and tell that this ment.” The Congress leader also Singh airport in Lucknow to kick I was close to party leaders and ents in Bihar, the Nawada seat, election is to save the country. In accused the Modi government of start her campaign covering Am- campaigned for their leaders in represented by Giriraj Singh, has this election, the victory of the politicising the issues of national ethi. Haryana,” Kaur said. gone to the Lok Janshakti Party country is more important than security. During her campaign yester- Her brother Sarabjit Singh, 49, (LJP) of federal minister Ram Vilas the victory of Rahul Gandhi.” “A lot of issues have been po- day, a young Congress worker, died after a brutal attack by fellow Paswan. Her remarks came shortly af- liticised which should not have who was on a video call with his prisoners on April 26 inside La- Singh had expressed his unhap- ter many party workers who at- happened. And I am saying this friend, came close to Vadra’s car hore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail. piness over the matter, hinting tended the meeting claimed that repeatedly wherever I am going and requested her to speak to his Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra gestures as she He was a resident of Bhikhiwind that he may not contest the polls she had told them to campaign that real issues should be dis- friend. And much to everybody’s meets with party workers and supporters at Musafirkhana in the town in the border district of Tarn from Begusarai where he was be- properly as after winning the cussed,” she said, referring to surprise, she readily obliged. Amethi district of Uttar Pradesh yesterday. Taran in Punjab. ing shifted. Gulf Times 24 Thursday, March 28, 2019 PAKISTAN

Sharif leaves the Kot Lakpat jail Airspace opened for all fl ights Internews Tajwar said that after opening of nounced that various parts The development is a part Islamabad the airspace on Tuesday, Paki- of the country out of bounds of Pakistan’s new visa policy stan International Airlines (PIA) to foreigners and requiring to encourage tourism in the resumed its fl ights on all airports no-objection certifi cates country. akistan has opened its of the country as its fl ights to (NOC) to visit are now open According to the new policy, airspace for all domestic and from Lahore to Islamabad to them. the government has decided to Pand international fl ights operated as per schedule. Chaudhry shared an in- provide the e-visa facility to 175 after keeping it closed for 28 He further said that PIA terior ministry notifi cation countries and visa-on-arrival days because of escalation in fl ights to and from Karachi to on Twitter which said that to 50 countries. Visa-on-arriv- tensions with India. Multan would also operate ac- “Free movement of foreign- al will also be provided to Indi- The country had partially cording to the schedule. ers shall be allowed in open an-origin British and Ameri- Pakistani former prime minister Nawaz Sharif (right) leaves the Kot Lakpat jail after his release in resumed fl ight operations from The spokesman said that PIA cantonments except prohib- can citizens holding US or UK Lahore yesterday. Pakistan’s Supreme Court on March 26 granted former premier Nawaz Sharif bail Islamabad, Karachi, Peshawar fl ights to and from Karachi-Su- ited and restricted areas with passports. for six weeks, suspending his sentence and giving him the freedom to obtain medical treatment of and Quetta earlier this month. kkur would also operate as per visible signboards. The bor- Tour operators that are ap- his choice within the country. Now fl ight operations from schedule. der crossings will be open and proved by the International all airports for internation- He also said that the national non-restricted.” Air Transport Association al and domestic routes will fl ag carrier’s fl ights for Baha- Additionally, the notifi ca- (IATA) will now be allowed be resumed as per schedule, walpur, Rahim Yar Khan and D tion stated that Pakistan-ad- to bring groups of tourists to but transit fl ights will stay G Khan had also resumed op- ministered Kashmir, Gilgit- Pakistan. suspended. erations, but fl ights for Sialkot Baltistan and Chitral shall be Imran Khan’s ruling party in Flight operations were sus- would be resumed on March 28 non-restricted/non-prohibited its manifesto promised to de- Islamabad warns against pended after Pakistan closed after repair work on the Sialkot except Pak-China border (10 velop 20 new tourist destina- its airspace on February 27 for airport’s runway was completed. miles), Pak-Afghan border (10 tions during its tenure, at an all international and domes- A fresh notice to airmen said miles), Pakistan-administered average of four a year. tic fl ights in the wake of the that fl ight operations to and Kashmir along Line of Con- The tourism department in- threats in outer space security situation. from Islamabad International trol (5 miles) Parts of Gilgit- tends to explore tourism poten- The Civil Aviation Author- Airport, Karachi, Lahore, Pe- Baltistan along Kashmir Line of tial in Kurram tribal district and ity had issued notices to all air- shawar, Quetta, Faisalabad and Control (5 miles) and Siachen, the Samana hill station in Orak- Reuters age of mankind and every nation international instruments to men about the closure of the Multan shall remain available as along Line of Actual Contact zai tribal district under the plan Islamabad has the responsibility to avoid prevent military threats re- country’s airspace. Earlier this per operation hours. (10 miles). and has also selected 25 areas actions which can lead to the lating to outer space,” it said, month, Pakistan had resumed However, fl ights for Bangkok, “Another landmark achieved. in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where militarisation of this arena,” Pa- without mentioning India by limited fl ight operations from Kuala Lumpur and New Delhi NOC regime for foreigners sites will be identifi ed for the akistan issued a call kistan’s foreign ministry said in name. Islamabad, Karachi, Pesha- will not operate due to security comes to an end. Imran Khan’s promotion of tourism. against military threats a statement. “Boasting of such capabili- war and Quetta after closing it reasons. vision is to make Pakistan a Recently, the government Pin outer space yesterday, “We hope that coun- ties is reminiscent of Don Quix- for about one week. Later, re- PRIOR TRAVEL AP- heaven for tourists, and follow- also announced it would open hours after India said it had shot tries which have in the past ote’s tilting against windmills,” stricted fl ight operations were PROVALS FOR FOR- ing new visa regime, this im- the Kartarpur Corridor for Sikh down one of its own satellites in strongly condemned demon- it said, in a reference to the de- also allowed at the Allama Iqbal EIGNERS ABOLISHED: portant policy decision of end- pilgrims from India in 2019 and a demonstration of its growing stration of similar capabili- lusional hero of the 17th cen- International Airport. Federal Information Minis- ing NOC requirements is a leap has outlined a plan to facilitate power in space. ties by others will be prepared tury Spanish novel by Miguel de PIA spokesman Mashood ter Fawad Chaudhry has an- forward,” Chaudhry said. them. “Space is the common herit- to work towards developing Cervantes. PM’s Afghan Sweet harvest Rs3.4bn claimed in comments crackdown on tax taken out dodgers

Internews of context: Islamabad

akistan’s Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has ministry Plaunched crackdown on evaders of income tax and sales tax and through raids on Reuters “In his comments, diff erent premises has gen- Islamabad the PM had referred erated tax demands of over to Pakistan’s model Rs8bn and so far recovered where elections are Rs3.4bn. akistan moved yesterday held under an interim In another campaign to cool a row with Af- government” against recovery of arrears of Pghanistan over reported taxes and crackdown against comments by Prime Minister through ethnic Pashtun biggest evaders, the FBR Imran Khan that were taken to lands. made nine arrests, attached suggest that Kabul should set For years, Afghanistan and 76 properties and 46 vehi- up an interim government to the United States have ac- cles, 4,000 bank accounts at- help smooth peace talks with cused Pakistan of support- A beekeeper wearing protective gear checks a honeycomb at a bee farm in Peshawar yesterday. tached and imposed embargo the Taliban. ing the Taliban as a way for in one case where the FBR The comments, made to Pa- Pakistan to limit the infl u- bound the concerned busi- kistani journalists on Monday, ence of its old rival, India, in ness not to remove its stock prompted a furious reaction Afghanistan. from the premises. in Afghanistan and led to the Pakistan denies that. “In recovery of arrears, we government recalling its am- Khan has promised to help launched the campaign two bassador in protest at what it to fi nd a political settlement to months ago and achieved major described as “irresponsible” the long-running Afghan war. $2.5mn pledged for dams results in the ongoing month,” remarks. Afghan Chief Executive an FBR offi cial says. It was the third time in just Abdullah Abdullah did not Internews events of overseas Pakistanis in making dams and address- but today it came down to about The FBR has projected mas- over a month that Kabul has appear to be appeased by Pa- Islamabad and generously contributing to ing the water crisis the way he 1,000 cubic metres. “Pakistan sive shortfall in its whole his- demanded an explanation kistan’s clarifying statement. the dams fund. succeeded in constructing the has only two large dams; Canada tory since inception as this in- from Islamabad over com- “The remarks about Af- Referring to the donation of world class cancer hospital for has 933 large dams out of total creasing shortfall might touch ments related to peace talks ghanistan’s future ... that were akistanis living in Canada earrings by a minor girl, he said: the poor. 15,000 dams.” Rs485.9bn till June-end. aimed at ending 17 years of expressed by Pakistan’s Prime have pledged $2.5mn for “This spirit is our valuable asset He commended the partici- Senator Javed regretted that The declining trend in FBR’s war in Afghanistan. Minister, Imran Khan, are not PDiamer-Bhasha and Moh- and with this we can overcome pation of other political parties, Pakistan could store water revenue collection might con- The Pakistani foreign min- acceptable for any Afghan cit- mand dams as fundraising in the any crisis.” including the Pakistan People’s only for one month against the tinue in remaining four months istry issued a statement say- izen,” he said. country gains momentum. Head of ‘IamPakistanMove- Party, in the event and said that minimum requirement of four (March-June) period of the cur- ing that Khan’s comments, US and Taliban offi cials Details released by the ruling ment’ Syed Ahmed purchased “we should collectively strive for months, whereas Egypt had wa- rent fi scal year and it was feared reported in various forms by have held several rounds of PTI’s central media department the earrings and donated the this cause keeping aside political ter storage capacity of 33 months that the tax shortfall might Pakistani media outlets and talks but the Taliban have re- particularly mention a minor amount to the dams fund. diff erences”. and the United States of 30 stand at Rs252.7bn in next four picked up in Afghanistan, had fused to talk to the Afghan girl who donated her earrings for Senator Javed returned the He said Pakistan received months. months. been taken out of context and government which they con- the cause. earrings to the girl and said he around 145mn acre ft (MAF) of He lamented that water worth The FBR had already faced misinterpreted. sider an illegitimate “puppet” Senator Faisal Javed, who is had witnessed the same passion water annually but could only about $22bn went to waste in shortfall of Rs233.2bn in fi rst “In his comments, the PM regime. part of a fundraising delegation and generosity from the peo- save 13.7 MAF of the total wa- Pakistan every year, adding that eight months (July-Feb) period had referred to Pakistan’s That has raised concern in also comprising former chief ple of all ages, especially youth, ter fl ow. “We waste about 90 the government had worked out and after projected shortfall of model where elections are Kabul about the Taliban and justice Mian Saqib Nisar and during fundraising for Shaukat per cent of the total water fl ow a strategy for the construction of Rs252.7bn in next four months held under an interim govern- United States striking a deal former federal minister Firdous Khanam Memorial Hospital. because we don’t have stor- Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand the overall shortfall might touch ment. The comments should that leaves them out. The Ashiq Awan, lauded eff orts of Speaking at a fundraising age capacity.” He said per capita dams. “More than Rs50 million historic peak of Rs485.9bn not be misinterpreted to imply US has assured the Afghan the Pakistani community in event in Canada, Senator Javed water availability in Pakistan are fl owing into the dams fund during fi rst year of the new interference in Afghanistan’s government that would not Canada for holding magnifi cent said Imran Khan would succeed in 1947 was 5,600 cubic metres daily,” he said. government. internal aff airs,” the ministry happen. said. Afghan President Ashraf “Pakistan has no other in- Ghani, whose mandate of- terest in Afghanistan but to fi cially expires in May, faces promote peace through an ‘Af- a re-election battle this year, ghan owned’ and ‘Afghan led’ but amid gathering political Opposition leader fi les defamation suit against minister political process.” uncertainty the election date Relations between Af- has been twice postponed and pposition leader Ahsan PML(N), served the legal notice based upon unfounded, false and the Multan-Sukkur motorway kistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) ghanistan and Pakistan is now due to take place on Iqbal has served a legal through his counsel. baseless statements against him, project to a specifi c company which, he said, were national as- have been plagued by mis- September 28. Onotice to ruling PTI’s The counsel submitted that merely to injure his repute and and received Rs70 billion as a sets and proof of brotherly rela- trust and at times hostility, Shut out from the peace serving Minister for Communi- his client elected fi ve times as to damage his credibility,” the bribe through his front man tions between Pakistan and China. since Pakistan’s independ- talks, Ghani has faced pres- cations Murad Saeed and sought a member of the National As- counsel submitted in the notice. Javed Sadiq. “Your statement clearly ence in 1947. Afghanistan sure from political rivals to damages worth Rs10bn over sembly and had served in key While addressing a press con- The counsel said that such a shows that you have launched has never recognised their step aside and allow a care- alleged defamation. government positions. ference on February 8, Saeed statement not only damaged his a campaign against my cli- common border, drawn taker government to take over, Iqbal, former federal min- “You have launched a cam- alleged that Iqbal used his infl u- client’s reputation, but also that of ent through diff erent false during British colonial rule a suggestion he has rejected. ister and a senior leader of the paign of vilifi cation and slander ence as federal minister to award key projects such as the China-Pa- tactics.” (Internews) Gulf Times Thursday, March 28, 2019 25 PHILIPPINES

Military plane catches fire with 120 people on board

A Philippine military plane caught fire with more than 120 people on Call for probe into drug claims board yesterday shortly before taking off for the disputed South China Sea, an air force spokesman said. Emergency teams at the Clark Air Base in Pampanga prov- ince, 84 kilometres north of Manila, against former Duterte adviser responded to the incident, accord- ing to air force spokesman Major AFP investigate,” said Senator Leila ics ties and Acierto is a dis- drugs, according to Acierto ment Agency head Aaron very close ties to (the presi- Aristides Galang. The air force Manila De Lima, who is behind bars on graced cop with an agenda. who also presented to report- Aquino said on Monday he dential palace) being linked to has suspended operations of its charges she says are politically Acierto was fired last year ers photos of Duterte with the received the report but he the drug trade is a very serious remaining C-130s pending inspec- motivated. over 2015 criminal charges al- ex-adviser and another Chi- and the national police chief matter.” Opposition congress- tion, he added. The aircraft was awmakers critical of Phil- The allegations surfaced this leging he was among police nese man he accused of drug cleared the businessman of man Gary Alejano also said on its way to the western city of ippine President Rodrigo week after ex-police colonel who illegally issued licences links. “I discovered that our drug links. Acierto’s allegations put into Puerto Princesa and then Pagasa LDuterte yesterday called Eduardo Acierto told reporters for guns that ended up in the president, President Rodrigo On Tuesday, Duterte said he question Duterte’s anti-drug Island, the largest area claimed and for a probe into a fi red police he alerted his superiors in 2017 hands of communist rebels. Roa Duterte, is always in the has known the former adviser stance. occupied by the Philippines in the offi cial’s allegations that one of to warn Duterte about the ad- Acierto told journalists his company of two people with — a Chinese national — since “This is a glaring irony,” he South China Sea. “It was about to the leader’s ex-advisers was in- viser. work revealed that the ex- serious involvement in illegal 1999. He owns retail business- added. take off when (the plane’s left side) volved in the narcotics trade. But instead of acknowledge- economic adviser to Duterte drugs,” Acierto said. es in the president’s hometown Police say they have killed caught fire,” Galang said, adding Duterte’s signature policy is ment of the warning, Acierto was involved in a clandestine Within a year of filing the of Davao. 5,281 drug suspects or dealers that investigators were still deter- an internationally-condemned said he found himself facing methamphetamines labora- report about the adviser, the Yesterday, opposition Sena- who fought back against ar- mining the cause of the fire. There crackdown on drugs that has accusations of involvement in tory that authorities raided in ex-officer said he was accused tor Francis Pangilinan said he rest as part of the campaign were 115 passengers and seven killed thousands, and the claim the drug trade. the southern city of Davao in of helping a large shipment of backed calls for an investiga- Duterte launched shortly after crew members on board the plane has led opponents to question Duterte and other top of- 2004. methamphetamine enter the tion into Acierto’s allegations. taking power in mid-2016. when the incident happened. The his intentions. ficials have fiercely refuted The businessman was country. “There are several troubling Rights groups say the passengers included students “If you really hate illegal the drug allegation, saying the “mainly responsible in fa- He said he now lives in hid- questions needing answers,” number is at least triple that from the National Defence Col- drugs, drug users and pushers, former adviser — a Chinese cilitating the importation and ing and fears for his life. he said.”A Chinese national and could amount to crimes lege of the Philippines. prove it now Mr Duterte and... businessman — has no narcot- transshipment” of the illegal Philippine Drug Enforce- and presidential adviser with against humanity. 11 ‘famous actresses’ Prominent presidential on watchlist: police critic charged again

By Roy Narra (PNP), National Bureau of In- had fully validated the various AFP Manila Times vestigation, and various baran- lists. “It will go fi rst through the Manila gay (villages) have their own validation process. We just can’t watchlists. disclose the list to the public he Philippine Drug En- “Imagine, 31 celebrities, and without even undergoing some hilippine authorities said forcement Agency (PDEA) it is just on the PDEA watchlist. process of validation. Again, it’s yesterday they had fi led Tyesterday said 11 famous If we combine them all together, a long process and I just hope Pmore criminal charges actresses were on the agency’s it can reach up to 100, probably,” that time will come that we against Maria Ressa, a veteran watchlist. the PDEA chief said. would have validated all of them, reporter and prominent critic PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino, however, said they including those in the media of President Rodrigo Duterte, Aquino said the agency’s drug were still validating their own who are also engaged in drug ac- six weeks after detaining her list included a total of 31 celebri- list containing names of those tivities,” Aquino said. overnight. ties, mostly in their 20s to 30s. allegedly involved in drug ac- He added that they already Ressa is the chief executive “Our list has big names. Of the tivities. Levi Ortiz, PDEA Special have a raw list of people in the and editor of online news site 31, only three of them are old. All Enforcement Service director, media who were also involved in Rappler, which has reported of them are young,” he said. previously said the two celebri- drugs. extensively on Duterte’s deadly He revealed that two of these ties pushing shabu and ecstasy Aquino said the PDEA, how- anti-drugs crackdown that has celebrities were drug pushers, were in contact with drug dealer ever, had yet to organise the me- claimed thousands of lives and one a pusher of shabu and the Steve Pasion, who was killed in a dia list. which rights groups say may be other of party drug ecstasy. buy-bust on March 11. The government previously a crime against humanity. Aquino said there could be Based on text messages un- released a list of so-called nar- Ressa has accused Duterte of about 100 celebrities on the covered by PDEA operatives, copoliticians and village offi cials using prosecutions against her, drugs watchlist if all intelligence the two celebrities ordered 200 allegedly dealing in drugs. including ongoing cases of al- units from diff erent agencies pieces of ecstasy from Pasion. It said the move was meant to leged tax evasion and libel, to merged their lists. The Armed He, however, added that they guide voters on who to choose in silence critics and intimidate Forces of the Philippines, the would not publicise the names of midterm elections in May the press. Ressa insists the site Philippine National Police these 100 celebrities until they this year. is not anti-Duterte, saying it is just doing its job to hold the government to account. The journalist, together with six other current and former Measles death toll continues to rise Rappler board members and editors, has now been accused The number of measles cases continues to rise ropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan), of securities fraud. almost two months after the Department of Health 987 cases and eight deaths; Bicol Region, 694 Rappler said Ressa is abroad. (DoH) declared an epidemic, Manila Times cases and six deaths; Western Visayas, 1,371 cases However the six others reported. The DoH’s Epidemiology Bureau and five deaths; Central Visayas, 1,115 cases and 10 charged posted bail on the new recorded 23,563 cases and 338 deaths from Jan 1 deaths; Eastern Visayas, 1,023 cases and 24 deaths; charges yesterday. Maria Ressa: criminal charges to March 21, 2019. Zamboanga Peninsula, 302 cases and one death; Ressa, 55, and the six others For the same period last year, there were only Northern Mindanao, 1,159 cases and 10 deaths; were accused of allowing for- sale according to a statement comment on the fresh cases tually posted bail for allegedly 5,006 cases. Of the 23,563 cases, 78% were unvac- Davao Region, 489 cases and seven deaths; Socc- eigners, through a 2015 bond issued to the press by a state when contacted by AFP. libelling a businessman in a cinated. Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, sksargen (South Cotabato, Cotabato Province, Sul- sale, to take control of her me- prosecutor. The country’s corporate news article written in 2012. Rizal, Quezon) had the most number of cases with tan Kudarat, Sarangani, General Santos), 478 cases dia business. It said this allowed the buyer, regulator revoked Rappler’s Ressa, who has Philippine 4,838 and 98 deaths. Metro Manila came in second and four deaths; Autonomous Region and Muslim Under the constitution, the a foreign fund, “to intervene in business licence last year over and US passports, was named with 4,568 and 87 deaths, followed by Central Mindanao, 451 cases and four deaths; Cordillera media is an economic sector the management, operation, the bond sale, but the site a Time Magazine “Person of Luzon with 3,761 and 57 deaths. Administrative Region, 367 cases and one death; which is reserved for Filipinos administration or control of continued operating as it ap- the Year” in 2018 for her jour- Ilocos Region reported 1,035 cases and 12 deaths; and Caraga, 576 cases and two deaths. Bataan had or Filipino-controlled entities. Rappler Inc and Rappler Hold- pealed the case in the courts. nalism and her February 13 Cagayan Valley, 349 cases and two deaths; Mima- no case of measles. They were also charged with ings Corporation”. Last month, Ressa spent a arrest sparked international securities fraud over the bond Ressa’s lawyer declined to night in detention but even- censure.

As communist revolt marks 50th year, no end in sight to killings

AFP from Ferdinand Marcos’ 1972- deadly reach are rooted in the as the Philippines economy Manila 1986 dictatorship, when the leg- Philippines’ deep poverty and has grown at more than 6% per islature was shuttered, the free the group’s ability to raise large year for most of the last dec- press muzzled and thousands of sums of money, even after the ade, one of the fastest rates in hilippine policewoman opponents tortured or killed. US labelled it a terrorist group in Asia. Ruby Buena’s introduction At its peak in the 1980s the 2002. Decades of peace eff orts have Pto one of the oldest com- group had some 26,000 fi ghters It imposes a so-called “revo- come to naught, including the munist insurgencies in the world in its ranks, but the number is lutionary tax” in its strongholds, burst of optimism produced by was a roadside bomb blast fol- now around 4,000, the military the equivalent of 2% of any busi- the election of President Rodrigo lowed seconds later by an erup- says. ness project, that police say gen- Duterte, who has called himself a tion of gunfi re. Its main stronghold is in the erates a minimum of 200mn pe- socialist. “I thought it was my time to Philippines’ restive south, but sos ($3.8mn) per year. Talks seemed to initially make die,” said 25-year-old Buena, also scattered in the nation’s Failure to pay results in vio- progress, but devolved into who instead woke up in a hospi- centre and a few areas in the lence, like torching a company’s threats and recrimination. In tal with a cracked pelvis to learn north. heavy equipment or facilities. 2017 Duterte declared the peace three of her colleagues were dead According to rarely revised of- This year promises to be a par- eff ort offi cially dead, though in the 2018 attack in the central fi cial fi gures, the Maoist insur- ticularly lucrative one due to sporadic moves to revive nego- Philippines. gency has killed up to 40,000 — legislative elections set for mid- tiations continued. In a nation plagued by armed less than a third of the estimate May. Candidates are hit with Duterte branded the talks dead groups ranging from kidnap- for the separatist rebellion in the “permit-to-campaign” fees if yet again in a speech on March for-ransom outfi ts to secession- south. they want to hold events in NPA 21, saying the communists “can ist movements, the communist But while the killing in the so- areas. maybe talk to the next president New People’s Army (NPA) is called Moro insurgency dropped Experts see entrenched pov- of this republic one day.” among the deadliest. off signifi cantly even before a erty in the Philippines, where The political wing of the com- Yet after decades of failed landmark 2014 peace deal, the one in fi ve people live on less munist eff ort, the Communist peace eff orts there is no end to NPA has maintained its cam- than $2 per day, as key to the Party of the Philippines (CPP), the killing in sight as the cam- paign of violence. NPA’s continuing presence. sees no end to the violence ei- paign marks its 50th year. Complete statistics on po- “NPA is living in a fertile en- ther. The NPA launched its rebel- lice and civilian deaths are not vironment,” Rommel Banlaoi, “The revolutionary forces... lion to create a Maoist state on available, but military figures chairman of the Philippine In- have no choice but continue the March 29, 1969 — months before show the communists were its File photo shows guerrillas of the New People’s Army (NPA) stand in formation in the Sierra Madre stitute for Peace, Violence and people’s war until total victory the fi rst human landed on the deadliest opponent for the pe- mountain range, located east of Manila. Terrorism Research, said. is achieved,” said party founder moon. riod of 2014-2018, killing 444 “The main reason why they Jose Maria Sison, who lives in It grew out of the global com- soldiers. spikes in killing like the 2017 about 1,200 people, most of “In terms of threat to national were created 50 years ago — feu- exile in the Netherlands. munist movement, fi nding fer- This outpaced kidnap-for- Marawi siege. whom were enemy fi ghters, ac- security, NPA is the biggest for dalism, bureaucratic-capital- “If they do not fi ght back, they tile soil in the Philippines’ stark ransom group Abu Sayyaf and The fi ve-month siege — where cording to government fi gures. now,” military spokesman Noel ism, and imperialism — is still can only suff er the monopoly of rich-poor divide. Islamic State group-aligned fac- militants seized the southern It destroyed much of the cen- Detoyato said. here,” he added. violence by the exploiting class- The rebellion also benefi ted tions responsible for periodic city of Marawi last year — killed tre of the city. The NPA’s staying power and The hardship endures even es,” he said. Gulf Times 26 Thursday, March 28, 2019 COMMENT

CHAIRMAN Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Attiyah EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Faisal Abdulhameed al-Mudahka Deputy Managing Editor K T Chacko P.O.Box 2888, Doha, Qatar [email protected] 44350478 (News), 44466404 (Sport), 44466636 (Home delivery) 44350474 facebook.com/gulftimes twitter.com/gulftimes_Qatar GULF TIMES Slowing Chinese economy is a global concern

China’s $13tn economy, second in size only to the US, accounts for almost a third of global growth each year. The country is now facing its most diffi cult economic environment in years. China’s policymakers in March lowered the offi cial economic growth target for 2019 to a range of 6% to 6.5%. The economy expanded 6.6% in 2018, already the slowest in almost three decades. A severe slowdown in China could shave 1.5 percentage points off US GDP growth over two years, according to a report by Bloomberg Economics. Western transparency is Among commodity exporters, Russia would be hurt the most. Just as trade-dependent Singapore and Hong Kong would suff er badly, so too Taiwan, Thailand and other countries that feed components to China’s massive manufacturing machine are threatened. fuelling Chinese repression The ripple eff ect of the slowing China is being felt across the world. Apple cut its revenue outlook for the fi rst time in almost two decades, citing weaker demand in China. By Antonio Foglia CPC is building a centralised database countries are implementing. Little make it clear that FATCA was enacted in London to underpin a “social credit system” wonder, then, that wealthier Chinese response to outrage over a non-existent Starbucks, which has been opening a new store in China that will monitor the behaviour of residents are anxious. A sort of rolling problem. every few hours, saw its same-store sales growth begin to all Chinese, it is no surprise that the economic purge may ensue, and the The new vulnerability of Chinese slow in 2018. Jaguar Land Rover shut a UK plant for two espite repeated government study app for “Xi Jinping Thought” is Chinese government may conveniently residents should make it equally clear weeks in October, blaming sinking demand in China. eff orts to stimulate the reportedly the most downloaded on blame slower growth on criminal “tax that using anger at tax avoidance Chinese economy, the Apple’s Chinese App Store, ahead of dodgers.” to curtail people’s right to protect The travel and tourism sector is especially nervous. The country’s animal spirits even WeChat. What the OECD’s technocrats missed themselves – or at least part of their country accounts for more than a fi fth of the money spent D remain depressed. Under the illiberal regimes of the is that tax avoidance was rarely the capital – from the uncertainties of their annually by tourists travelling outside their homeland, And the unexpected reason for this past, this would have triggered a deluge main motivation for individuals hiding home country is morally wrong. It is almost twice as much as the next-biggest spender, the US. may be the automatic exchange of of jokes. But not anymore, because the money abroad. Most wanted to diversify also fi scally irrelevant at best. fi nancial information between the CPC’s use of artifi cial intelligence and their risks by hiding some of their Residents’ overseas savings are About one of every four jets that Boeing builds is bound for world’s major economies, which is social media gives it a level of control wealth in safer jurisdictions. Privacy already subject to withholding taxes in China. allowing the Communist Party of China over its subjects that no dictatorship is crucial for those who live under the countries where they are ultimately China, for sure, is a key (CPC) to learn about the bank accounts has ever achieved. capricious regimes or are potentially invested. Because taxes withheld in this The ripple eff ect driver of global growth. that Chinese residents hold overseas. The Chinese know well that exposed to kidnapping or extortion. The way usually become tax credits in the This exposure has eff ectively whatever they might gain through freedom to choose in which country to saver’s home country, their government of a slowing The world’s second- transformed wealthy Chinese families’ their industriousness is essentially hold one’s savings has a deeper meaning may well end up recovering a negative largest economy’s $34tn fi nancial lifeboats into torpedoes aimed only a temporary, revocable loan than plain fi nancial diversifi cation. net amount of taxes after the costs of China is being pile of public and private back at them. Worse yet, President from the CPC, as the recent Most of all, these Chinese residents operating the cumbersome new regime debt, however, has for long Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption forces experience of Alibaba founder Jack wanted to gain the very freedom that are taken into account. felt across the can fi re these weapons whenever they Ma has highlighted. Sensible Chinese their government denies them – It is easy to dismiss the impact of CRS been a growing concern wish. The resulting anxiety is most entrepreneurs therefore saw it as a duty including the right not to have their on wealthy Chinese as simply a problem world across the world. likely contributing to China’s economic to themselves and their families to stash destinies entirely tied to those of the for the rich. And most of the comments While China has not slowdown. some of their wealth overseas. country where they live. under one of the few news articles published any offi cial data on the size of its outstanding The sad irony is that the torpedoes Tens of millions of Chinese residents With its misguided CRS crusade about the issue exude frightening were armed by the Paris-based OECD – hold an estimated total of well over $1tn against tax avoidance, the OECD xenophobic schadenfreude, rather than debt, analysts have estimated it at between 200% and 283% the club of developed countries that see in undeclared assets abroad. They now is following the bad example set by compassion for economic fugitives gross domestic product at the end of 2017. At $6.7tn, and themselves as committed to democracy face the nightmare of being treated like the United States with the Foreign from a repressive regime. a record over 50% of GDP, private debt is now crimping and a market economy. By introducing criminals, as the Chinese authorities Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). That stance is both morally consumer spending power. the Common Reporting Standard may use the information received from Introduced in 2010, FATCA has had alarming and economically short- (CRS) as a way to reduce tax avoidance, foolhardy Western governments as a estimated implementation costs of sighted. Sinking these Chinese There are now signs of fundamental changes at the well-meaning Western technocrats tool of repression. at least $60bn, and has reduced tax entrepreneurs’ lifeboats may prove highest levels under President Xi Jinping. After decades have unleashed a programme with Unlike almost all other countries revenues outside the US by some $10- deeply demotivating, with potentially of focus on hitting growth targets delivered breakneck potentially dire long-term economic implementing the CRS, China did 20bn. The US government, meanwhile, signifi cant adverse eff ects on economic expansions accompanied by fouled air and water, a shift consequences for China, and for several not introduce a voluntary disclosure has recovered only about $11.1bn in effi ciency and growth. If that happens, other countries, too. scheme allowing people to declare taxes (or 0.2% of its yearly tax revenues) China’s 1.4bn people would not be the towards more balanced development for the economy is These technocrats should have felt previously hidden overseas assets and through fewer than 57,000 voluntary only ones to suff er. – Project Syndicate conspicuous. more sympathy for those who, unlike pay a penalty to avoid criminal charges. disclosures, which cover resurfaced Antonio Foglia, a board member China’s top offi cials last week pledged to lower tariff s them, live under an illiberal regime. At And fl eeing China is no longer an assets equivalent to about 0.1% of of Banca del Ceresio, is a member of the and expedite debt sales in 2019 as they seek to manage an a time when president-for-life Xi is option, given the harsh immigration US households’ net worth. These Global Partners’ Council of the Institute becoming ever more assertive, and the restrictions that potential destination embarrassing and rarely cited fi gures for New Economic Thinking. economic slowdown while tackling the trade standoff with the US. They also reaffi rmed policies to better protect intellectual property rights, forbid forced technology transfers and reduce restricted areas for foreign investment toward the level of access in free-trade zones. China’s banking and insurance regulator is studying a “new round” of measures that would further open the country to foreign fi nancial institutions. The enduring challenge for China, however, is how to wean the country off its debt drip without intensifying an economic slowdown, not just in the country, but across the world. The US still remains the hub of global economic activity, but a sneeze in China can send a contagious cold across the fi nancial world.

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© 2019 Gulf Times. All rights reserved Chinese President Xi Jinping Gulf Times Thursday, March 28, 2019 27 QATAR Amir tours National Museum of Qatar

QNA Doha

is Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Ha- Hmad al-Thani toured the National Museum of Qatar yes- terday, accompanied by Turk- ish Vice-President Fuat Oktay, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of Kuwait Sheikh Nasser Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, and Minister of Herit- age and Culture of Oman Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq al-Said. During the tour, the Amir viewed the different items on display. The exhibits, accom- panied by a digital exhibition, shed light on the geological formation of the Qatari Penin- sula, its natural surroundings, the archaeological sites and monuments, and the lives of the people of Qatar. The Amir was briefed on the important exhibits and collec- tions related to pearls and jew- ellery design, as well as the gal- leries of the modern history of Qatar since the discovery of oil and gas. Upon arrival at the museum, the Amir signed the fi rst ticket of the National Museum of Qa- His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani touring the various sections of the National His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani signing the first ticket of the National tar as the fi rst visitor after its of- Museum of Qatar yesterday. Museum of Qatar. fi cial inauguration. Later the Amir attended a dinner banquet which was held at the Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al-Thani Palace, on the occasion of the open- ing of the National Museum of Qatar in honour of the Amir and the guests invited to the ceremony. The banquet was attended by His Highness the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Kha- lifa al-Thani and Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser. His Highness the Personal Representative of the Amir Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al- Thani, His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Thani, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Khalifa al-Thani, HE Sheikh Jassem bin Khalifa al-Thani, HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani, and HE the Speaker of the Advisory Council Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid al-Mahmoud attended Dignitaries attending the National Museum of Qatar opening ceremony yesterday. the event. It was also attended by Vice- Heritage and Culture of Oman Federal Foreign Offi ce of Ger- Virginia Raggi, Adviser at Az- missions accredited to Qatar, in number of heads of companies and those interested in herit- President of Turkey Fuat Oktay, Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq al- many Michelle Muntefering. erbaijan Souda Mohamed Aliev addition to a number of promi- and international institutions, age sites from around the world Prime Minister of France Ed- Said and Minister of State for Former president of France and a number of Sheikhs, min- nent fi gures in the fi eld of poli- directors of museums, academ- were also present on the occa- ouard Philippe, and Minister of International Culture at the Nicolas Sarkozy, Mayor of Rome isters and heads of diplomatic tics, culture, art, media, and a ics, fi lm directors, celebrities sion. Celebrities shine at opening ceremony

number of celebrities and well-known fi gures Afrom various fi elds at- tended the offi cial inaugura- tion of the National Museum in Qatar in Doha, by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, yesterday. They included Jean Nouvel, ar- chitect; Jeff Koons, American contemporary artist; Takashi Murakami, Japanese contem- porary artist; Olafur Eliasson, Icelandic-Danish artist; Victo- ria Beckham, businesswoman and fashion designer; Natalia Vodianova, supermodel, phi- lanthropist and entrepreneur; Diane Von Furstenberg, fash- ion designer; Rem Koolhaas, architect; Johnny Depp, actor; Jose Mourinho, professional football coach; Nicolas Sarkozy, former President of France; Carla Bruni, singer-songwriter and supermodel; Naomi Campbell, businesswoman and model; Olivier Rousteing, French fash- ion designer and the creative director of Balmain; Jacques Herzog, architect; Pierre de Meuron, architect; Luke Evans, actor; and Sonam Kapoor, ac- tor. Johnny Depp Victoria Beckham Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni

Naomi Campbell Jose Mourinho Rem Koolhaas Sonam Kapoor Gulf Times 28 Thursday, March 28, 2019 QATAR ‘Desert rose’ museum tells Qatar’s history

From Page 1 ing the visitor by adding culture to entertainment and relaxation. “The museum presents our “Qatar is committed to the formulation of our past, our work programmes to host the environment and our experi- 2022 World Cup - a celebration ences in the perspective of the of sport, arts, culture and the present. It is therefore a formu- spirit of the community with the lation of our Arab-Qatari cul- solidarity and unity of all foot- tural identity, and museums are ball fans and people of goodwill not repositories of the past, but from all over the world. our present is embodied in how “Qatar has made many we read our history and position achievements for the benefi t of within humanity in general. its citizens, in terms of quality “The National Museum tells of life, and in the fi elds of edu- the story of our people. It also cation, health, environment and encourages the discovery of the others. It continues to welcome nature of the country and its people from all over the world. historical eff ects, economy and Progress through diversity and urban development, and much tolerance remains at the core of more. It provides a space to re- our commitment to the devel- fl ect on what Qatar has done and opment and nurturing of a har- what it aspires to do. monious and prosperous society, “By sharing this information guided by human values. with visitors, we want museums “Qatar has become much and other cultural institutions to stronger since June 2017. Its citi- create a climate of dialogue with zens and residents work together ourselves and others, giving our to build the country, strengthen people a wisdom voice in shap- the economy, maintain human The National Museum stands as an expression of Qatari identity and heritage, giving voice and telling the ing our future. dignity and defend the truth, get story of the country and people to the world. “The National Museum is the to know each other and exchange product of a collective work of experiences, and most impor- many institutions and individu- tantly, they exchange friend- als, and represents what we are as a ship and respect,” Sheikh Tamim country characterised by open dia- said, QNA added. logue and co-operation in all fi elds. Among the well-known fi gures His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani speaking at “Through our programmes and celebrities who attended the the opening of the National Museum of Qatar yesterday. and educational exhibitions, we offi cial inauguration of NMoQ will add a great addition to Qa- yesterday were Jean Nouvel, ar- tar’s growing cultural landscape, chitect; Jeff Koons, American including our university institu- contemporary artist; Takashi tions, our pluralistic media, our Murakami, Japanese contem- national library, which contains porary artist; Olafur Eliasson, a million books in its prestig- Icelandic-Danish artist; Victoria ious building opened last year, Beckham, businesswoman and the annual book fair, as well as fashion designer; Natalia Vodi- festivals and numerous artistic anova, supermodel, philanthro- activities in Katara, old souqs, pist and entrepreneur; Diane Von art galleries, and many other in- Furstenberg, fashion designer; stitutions and initiatives. Rem Koolhaas, architect; Johnny “Our goal is to build a knowl- Depp, actor; Jose Mourinho, pro- edge-based economy and hu- fessional football coach; Carla man development. The economic Bruni, singer-songwriter and model we off er and the richness supermodel; Naomi Campbell, of sport and culture are, in our businesswoman and model; Ol- opinion, the best indicator of ivier Rousteing, French fashion the healthy growth of any coun- designer and the creative direc- try. The rich cultural scene has tor of Balmain; Jacques Herzog, become an important economic architect; and Pierre de Meuron, His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani with component of tourism, enrich- architect. dignitaries. His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani addressing the audience.