BUSINESS | Page 1 SPORT | Page 12 Federer storms into

INDEX Melbourne DOW JONES QE NYMEX QATAR 2-5, 28 COMMENT 26, 27 QIC’s gross written REGION 6 BUSINESS 1–12, 18-20 premium jumps 19% semis 19,938.79 11,057.83 53.15 ARAB WORLD 7-9 CLASSIFIED 13-17 +138.94 +107.49 +0.40 INTERNATIONAL 10–25 SPORTS 1–12 to QR9.9bn in 2016 +0.70% +0.98% +0.76% Latest Figures published in QATAR since 1978

WEDNESDAY Vol. XXXVII No. 10344 January 25, 2017 Rabia II 27, 1438 AH

GULF TIMES www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals Slovenia beat Qatar 3-way bid to In brief boost Syria ARAB WORLD | Confl ict Iraqi forces take full control of east Mosul Iraqi forces have taken full control truce after of the eastern side of Mosul, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced yesterday, around three months after the launch of an off ensive to drive Islamic State militants out of the city. “This is a major achievement for the Astana talks Iraqi forces,” al-Abadi told a press conference in Baghdad. “I call upon AFP A ceasefi re brokered by Russia and these heroes to quickly liberate the Astana, Kazakhstan rebel-backer Turkey has been in place rest of Nineveh province, especially since late December but both rebels the western side of (Tigris) river.” “We and Damascus have complained of re- have proved that Daesh is shrinking ussia, Iran and Turkey agreed peated violations. and disappearing,” he said, using an yesterday to bolster a fragile The rebels — who insisted they Qatar’s pivot Youssef Ali jumps to shoot on goal during their quarter-final match against Slovenia in the 25th IHF Men’s World Arabic acronym for Islamic State. Rtruce in Syria but rebels and Da- would use the Astana talks to push Da- Championship 2017 yesterday at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris. Slovenia won 32-30 to enter the semi-finals. Islamic State militants took control mascus made no progress towards a mascus to respect the truce — refused of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, in broader settlement to end the war after direct talks with the regime on Monday mid-2014. Page 8 two days of talks. because of its continued bombardment The three main sponsors of the ne- and attacks on a fl ashpoint outside the gotiations in Astana announced the Syrian capital Damascus. AMERICA | Politics creation of “a trilateral mechanism to Regime negotiator Bashar al-Jaa- Trump revives blocked observe and ensure full compliance fari said after the end of the talks that with the ceasefi re” in place since late the meeting “succeeded in achieving Israeli settlement action oil pipeline projects December. the goal of consolidating the cessa- US President Donald Trump Moscow, Tehran and Ankara — all tion of hostilities for a fixed period yesterday revived two oil pipeline key players in the confl ict — also agreed paving the way for dialogue between projects blocked by his predecessor armed rebel groups should take part Syrians.” an obstacle to peace: UN on environmental grounds, signalling in a new round of peace talks set to be But he insisted that operations his determination to undo Barack hosted by the United Nations in Geneva will continue against key flashpoint Obama’s legacy. Trump gave a next month. Wadi Barada, an area 15km (10 miles) Agencies referring to Israel’s announcement on External Action Service (EEAS) said conditional go-ahead to the Keystone “There is no military solution to northwest of Damascus, where rebels United Nations/Brussels settlements. Israel’s plans fl ew in the face of inter- XL pipeline — which would carry the Syrian confl ict and it can only be have demanded the regime stops at- “There is a need for the two parties national objections, saying they “fur- oil from Canadian tar sands to US solved through a political process,” tacks. to engage in a bona fi de negotiation to ther seriously undermine the pros- refineries on the Gulf Coast — and said the fi nal statement by Russia, Iran There were few details about the he United Nations yesterday reach the goal of two states, Israel and pects for a viable two-state solution”. an equally controversial pipeline and Turkey. proposed ceasefi re monitoring mecha- denounced recent Israeli ini- Palestine, two states for two people,” “It is regrettable that Israel is pro- crossing in North Dakota. Both Russia — the driving force behind nism and it was unclear what impact it Ttiatives to accelerate settlement he said. ceeding with this policy, despite the had been put on hold by president the meeting — has become the major will have on the ground. construction in occupied Palestinian The United Nations considers the continuous serious international con- Barack Obama’s administration on powerbroker in Syria after changing The Kremlin’s envoy at the talks Al- territory, stressing that “unilateral ac- settlements to be illegal and an obstacle cern and objections, which have been environmental grounds. the tide on the ground with its military exander Lavrentiev said it will involve tions” are an obstacle to peace based to peace, as it reaffi rmed in a recent UN constantly raised at all levels,” the support for leader Bashar al-Assad. experts from Russia, Turkey and Iran on a two-state solution. Security Council resolution which the EEAS said in a statement. But while the Kremlin has succeed- meeting in Astana. “For the secretary general there is United States under former US president On Sunday, just days after US Pres- BRITAIN | Referendum ed in sidelining the West with its new The rebels had earlier opposed Iran’s no plan B for the two states solution,” Barack Obama’s administration declined ident Donald Trump’s inauguration, Court: parliament must drive to play peacemaker, there were involvement in monitoring the cease- UN chief Antonio Guterres’s spokes- to veto, for the fi rst time since 1979. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signs Moscow will struggle to trans- fi re as it sees Tehran and the militias man Stephane Dujarric said. Israel yesterday announced the gave the green light for the construc- approve start of Brexit form military gains into wider progress it controls as a main source of the vio- “In this respect any unilateral deci- construction of 2,500 settler homes in tion of 566 settlement homes in East The British government must towards peace. lence. sion that can be an obstacle to the two the occupied West Bank, the biggest Jerusalem, a predominantly Palestin- win parliament’s approval before The latest diplomatic initiative to Neither they nor the regime — which state goal is of grave concern for the initiative of its kind in years. ian sector of the city illegally occupied starting talks to leave the EU, the end the bloodshed in Syria that has was opposed to Turkey’s role — signed secretary general,” he said. Meanwhile, the European Union’s by Israel. Supreme Court ruled yesterday, in cost 310,000 lives comes one month the fi nal declaration. Dujarric said the UN’s position on diplomatic service said yesterday Is- The announcement refl ects the a landmark judgment and setback after regime forces, aided by Russia and UN Syria envoy Staff an de Mistura settlement construction in the West rael’s plan for 2,500 more settlement Israeli government’s clear determi- for Prime Minister Theresa May. Iran, dealt a crushing blow to the rebels said his organisation was ready to assist Bank and East Jerusalem “has not homes in the occupied West Bank se- nation to take advantage of the new The legal case has revived divisions by retaking full control of the country’s in developing the mechanism and “en- changed.” riously undermines the prospects for situation created by Trump’s election, within British society after last second city Aleppo. sure that it helps strengthen the quality “We would include that in the cat- peace with the Palestinians. after eight years of tense relations with June’s referendum which saw 52% The meeting was expected to see the of the ceasefi re.” egory of unilateral actions,” he said, In a statement, the European Union the Obama administration. Page 7 vote to leave the European Union fi rst face-to-face negotiations between As a further reminder that the con- after a bitter campaign that split the the regime and the battered armed op- fl ict is far from over in Syria fi ghting country. Page 17 position since Syria’s confl ict erupted continued to rage yesterday with ma- Cool conditions to continue in 2011, but the defi ant rebels refused jor militant groups not covered by the and mediators were forced to shuttle truce. Cool conditions will continue to prevail between the two sides. Rebels were battling former Al Qae- MEC recalls iPhone 6S 2015 in the country today, the Qatar Met Rebel negotiator Mohamed Alloush da affi liate Fateh al-Sham Front in the department has said. Strong winds and said the “intransigence of Iran and the country’s north, a monitoring group high seas in off shore areas in the early regime” was responsible for “no nota- said. he Ministry of Economy and 6S is aff ected by entering the se- hours have also been forecast. ble progress” in the negotiations. As the talks were ending, Russia’s Commerce (MEC), in co-op- rial number at the link www.apple. Northwesterly winds will blow at Alloush did say that Russia now ap- defence ministry said its warplanes Teration with Ali Bin Ali Tech- com/ae/support/iphone6s-unex- 18-28 knots in off shore areas before pears more willing to push Assad’s had bombed the Islamic State militant nology Solutions, has announced epctedshutdown/ or connecting decreasing to 5-15 knots by the regime harder to ensure peace, and group in Syria’s Deir Ezzor region. the recall of iPhone 6S (manufac- with the company to take the nec- afternoon. Windy and dusty conditions Moscow’s representatives blamed both Meanwhile, UN agencies and aid turing year 2015) for unexpected essary action. were experienced in diff erent parts of sides for violating the truce deal. groups appealed for $4.63bn (4.31bn shutdown issues. The MEC has urged all customers Qatar yesterday, resulting in a drop in “The Russians have moved from a euros) in 2017 to help Syrians who have The procedure is a part of MEC’s to report any violations to its Con- visibility in some areas. Strong winds party to the confl ict, and are trying to fl ed their country’s war and sought ref- eff orts to ensure the commitment sumer Protection and Anti-Com- and high waves were also reported be a guarantor,” he told reporters. uge in neighbouring countries. of the agents and dealers to follow mercial Fraud Department through from off shore areas. Today, a minimum But rebels said they refused to dis- The appeal is on top of the $3.4bn up and correct the defective goods, the following channels: Hotline: temperature of 12C is expected in cuss a Russian-drafted new constitu- that the UN estimates is needed this in addition to protect the rights of 16001, e-mail: [email protected], Mesaieed, Wakrah and Abu Samra, and tion for Syria that Moscow said was year for the 13.5mn people still in consumers. Twitter: @MEC_Qatar, Instagram: 14C in Doha. The maximum, on the other meant to accelerate political negotia- Syria who have been affected by the The ministry has urged con- MEC_Qatar, MEC mobile app for hand, will be 18C in Dukhan and Abu tions to end the confl ict. conflict. sumers to check if their iPhone Android and IOS: MEC_Qatar Samra and 21C in Doha and other places. New care facility opens for home-bound workers

n keeping with Qatar’s consist- provided at HMC’s rehabilitation and said the project has shown the value recovering from a traumatic brain injury. ent efforts to augment the welfare long-term care units. of diff erent organisations working to- He recalled that Bayt Aman has al- Imeasures for expatriate labourers, Mahmoud al-Raisi, chief of con- gether eff ectively. He especially lauded lowed him to recover fully from his in- Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) tinuing care at HMC explained that the support from the Community Po- juries in a safe and caring environment. yesterday officially opened Bayt Bayt Aman provides a safe and re- lice and Human Rights Departments at “It has also given me the opportunity to Aman. storative environment for expatriate the Ministry of Interior. ease myself back into everyday life, do- The care facility is for expatriate la- workers who have completed medical The Bayt Aman villa was donated to ing things like cooking and cleaning. I bourers in the fi nal stages of recovery treatment and are waiting to return HMC by the Qatar Building Company am very thankful to both HMC and the following illness and waiting to return home. (QBC), whose owner, Abdulhameed Ministry of Interior for supporting me to their home country. “The accommodation will help our Mostafawi described the gesture as and my family before I return to Nepal,” Bayt Aman, a villa in Al Thumama, guests who have completed their treat- part of his organisation’s social re- Mukhiya added. can accommodate up to 12 guests at a ment at HMC to fully recuperate and sponsibility. The opening of Bayt Aman follows time and is staff ed 24 hours a day, seven re-adjust to their normal routines so Bayt Aman has been open for seven the recent expansion of facilities across days a week by a charge nurse and pa- they are better able to return to living months and so far helped 13 guests. Jer- HMC, including the start of care serv- tient care attendants. their everyday lives.” man Mukhiya, from Nepal, will be leav- ices at two new hospitals, the Commu- Guests being cared for at Bayt Aman Opening Bayt Aman, Ali al-Khater, ing Qatar shortly and has been staying at Representatives from HMC, the Community Police and Human Rights Department at nicable Disease Center and the Qatar no longer need the clinical supervision, HMC chief communications offi cer, Bayt Aman for six and a half months after the Ministry of Interior and Qatar Building Company with a Bayt Aman guest. Rehabilitation Institute. Gulf Times 2 Wednesday, January 25, 2017 QATAR

In brief Qur’anic Botanic Deputy PM meets Sudanese delegation

Emir to attend Garden launches Air College graduation event

HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin photo contest Hamad al-Thani will patronise today the graduation ceremony of the fourth class of the Air he Qur’anic Botanic Gar- fying the location,the image is the right to call for the original College at Leader Mohamed bin den, a member of Qatar taken. raw fi le for the winning photos Abdullah Al Attiyah College at Al TFoundation for Educa- The fi rst prize winner will re- and failing to present the raw Udeid Air Base. tion, Science and Community ceive QR 5,000; second prize fi le will disqualify the relevant Development, has launched winner will get QR4,000 and the picture(s). Images awarded at FM gets phone call Ghars 2017 Campaign Photogra- third prize winner will be award- other contests are not allowed. HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Aff airs Ahmed bin Abdullah bin phy Contest for university stu- ed QR 3,000. The images should have the Zaid al-Mahmoud met the assistant to the President of Sudan Musa Mohamed Ahmed and his from Jordanian dents in Qatar. Three winners will be hon- resolution of 300 dpi and 3,000 accompanying delegation yesterday in Doha. Talks during the meeting covered bilateral relations counterpart Themes for the contest are: oured at a prize distribution cer- pixels. and ways of enhancing them. They also reviewed the progress of Darfur peace process, ‘The most attractive tree/trees emony held at the student centre Candidates can submit the especially the agreement signed on Monday between the Sudanese government and the Sudan HE the Minister of Foreign landscape in Qatar’; ‘The big- of Hamad Bin Khalifa University entries on a CD or memory stick Liberation Army/ Movement (SLA/M) “The Second Revolution”, in accordance with the Doha Aff airs Sheikh Mohamed bin gest and oldest trees in Qatar’; at Education City. at the front desk of HBKU Stu- Document for Peace in Darfur. The meeting was attended by Sudanese Presidential Envoy for Abdulrahman al-Thani yesterday ‘The tree’s components (roots, Contestants must respect the dent Centre. Diplomatic Contact and Negotiation over Darfur Dr Amin Hassan Omer, Sudan’s ambassador to received a telephone call from bark, stems leaves, fl owers, fl o- ethical and legal aspects of the They can also e-mail the im- Qatar Fath al-Rahman Ali Mohamed, and off icials at the Cabinet General Secretariat. the Minister of Foreign Aff airs of rescence) and Ghars (plant- submitted images. ages in high quality for printing Jordan Ayman Safadi. ing) trees initiatives in Qatar The entries should not show and publishing to [email protected] They discussed relations between (at houses, streets, and public any violation or abuse of the The entries must be accom- Qatar and Jordan and ways of places). environment or human rights. panied with the name as well as enhancing them, in addition to Those interested can register No major changes in the photos contact details of the applicants. issues of common interest. at www.qbg.org.qa and submit are allowed and entering frames, More details can be collected entries on or before March 31. signs, date or time make them by calling 44548301, 66261160 Cancer Society to participate A contestant can submit three unacceptable. as well as through e-mail from Advisory Council to fi ve photos, preferably speci- The award committee has [email protected] team to take part in GCC awareness week in PUIC meeting A delegation from Qatar Advisory atar Cancer Society 5km on Feb- Dr Sheikh Khalid bin Jabor Council will participate in the (QCS) will participate ruary 4, at al-Thani, chairman of the Gulf 12th conference of Parliamentary Qin the activities of the 10am on Doha Union against Cancer as well as Union of OIC member-states GCC week to raise awareness of Corniche, QCS chairman said that QCS, (PUIC) in Mali. cancer in the region under the with the par- by participating in the GCC The three-day meeting scheduled slogan “40% protection; 40% ticipation of Awareness Week, aims to raise to start tomorrow will tackle cure,” organised in the fi rst 500 people awareness on the risk factors a number of topics, including week of February every year. from diff erent that cause cancer, and to pro- the election of vice-presidents The campaign aims to unify age groups, to mote a healthy lifestyle. from the African and the Arab media messages in the GCC, highlight the “It also aims to encourage groups in addition to discussing under the Gulf Union against importance Dr Sheikh early detection of cancer and the secretary-general’s report Cancer care in co-operation of sport in the Khalid bin Jabor activation of national pro- and a number of draft decisions with Gulf Centre for Cancer prevention al-Thani grammes for the fi ght against presented by special committees. Control and Prevention. of diseases, cancer as a shared responsibil- The meeting will also examine On this occasion, QCS has especially cancer. There is also a ity between government and and adopt the reports and launched a marathon walk for raffl e draw for participants. non-governmental sectors.” draft resolutions of the seventh meeting of the committee on Palestine, sixth conference on Muslim women parliamentarians and the consultation meeting of the secretaries general of the Temporary closure of link road PUIC member-parliaments. Children participate in an Arabic calligraphy workshop at the event. The PUIC 12th conference will also address issues of he Public Works Author- environment and sustainable ity (Ashghal) has an- development in addition to Tnounced that it will tem- coordination on human rights Qatar Foundation Islamic porarily close for a month the issue in the international fora. 500m link road connecting Al Shafi Street with Al Rayyan Al Jadeed Street. Qatar participates history festival a huge draw The diversion, implemented in Arab Planning in co-ordination with the Traf- fi c Police Department, will start Institute meeting undreds of families at- was open to community mem- sions, puppet shows, a live tomorrow (January 26), Ash- tended ‘The Beacon of bers, regardless of their back- calligraphy station, movies ghal has said in a press state- Qatar is taking part in the 1st HKnowledge and Light’ grounds, languages or cultures. under the stars, Qur’anic Bo- ment. meeting of the Board of Trustees festival, held at Qatar Founda- “It also aimed to strengthen tanic Garden discovery activ- During this period, road us- of the Arab Planning Institute for tion’s Education City Mosque friendships, develop public ities, a kids’ corner, astrology ers travelling towards Doha the year 2016-2017 which will be over the weekend. knowledge, and emphasise that workshops, and stories of the and Bani Hajer from Al Shafi held tomorrow in Kuwait. The two-day festival provided the EC Mosque welcomes all Prophets. Street will be required to use The Ministry of Development an opportunity for community residents of Qatar.” The Education City Mosque, alternative routes along Al Jas- Planning and Statistics said that members of all ages and from all Dr Omar Abdelkafy gave the open to the public, has the ca- sasiya, Al Qalaa Street and Al HE Minister of Development backgrounds to learn about Is- Khutba at the event, and held a pacity to host nearly 3,000 peo- Wajba Street to connect to Al Planning and Statistics Dr Saleh lam and Islamic history. Q&A session before the activi- ple in total and holds a lecture Rayyan Al Jadeed Street (see the main carriageway on Ash- road users to abide by the speed Mohamed Salem al-Nabit will Mohamed al-Ghurbani, head ties commenced. every Friday, with translation map). The traffi c diversion ghal’s Al Rayyan Road Upgrade limit of 50km/h for the length attend the meeting. The meeting of Islamic Affairs, Community The programme, delivered services in English, Urdu, and is required to allow for util- project, Phase 1, the statement of the diversion and follow will discuss the annual report Development Department, Qa- in both Arabic and English, sign language for non-Arabic ity works, installation of traf- explains. the newly installed traffi c road of 2015-2016, the financial tar Foundation, said the event included storytelling ses- speaking members. fi c signals and construction of Ashghal has requested all signs to ensure their safety. contributions received from members, Arab funds, Kuwaiti contribution for the 8th financing plan (2015-2020) in addition to a few other topics. The Arab Planning Institute is an Body of Filipino cyclist to be repatriated soon, says embassy Arab development institution that aims to support economic and social development he body of Filipino ex- According to sources, Bacay, who was supposed to join the covering new places. This is just but known to be an Ilocano (who administrations in the Arab patriate Ed Bacay, who an engineer who actively par- group but could not due to some the beginning of a new and ex- is a native of Ilocos region in countries; through functions that Tdied in a road accident on ticipated in various cycling com- other development. citing 2017 UFMBQ rides.” northern Philippines). His body cover developing national human December 25, is expected to be petitions and races in the coun- The victim’s last post on his Bacay had participated in sev- is in the Hamad hospital morgue. resources, provide consultation repatriated to his home country try, was a member of the United Facebook account was on De- eral races of the group held in About 400 cyclists had organ- services, institutional support, soon, the Philippine embassy in Filipino Mountain Bikers Qatar cember 18 when he uploaded diff erent locations in Qatar, in- ised an event in Doha on Decem- and establish researches and Doha has said. (UFMBQ). several pictures of a ride from cluding the UFMBQ Race 2 Rid- ber 30 in honour of Bacay. report. Speaking to Gulf Times, the He was with six other Filipino the Ceremonial Road to another ing in Tandem held on December Filipino community members, embassy said they are awaiting the cyclists on a morning ride on the location, captioned as “Search- 16, his Facebook posts show. particularly cycling groups, are Envoy presents results of the police investigation. fatal day, said one of the sources, ing for the uncharted trails. Dis- He was a resident of Makati saddened by his untimely demise. Ed Bacay credentials

Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos yesterday received the credentials of Qatar’s QC income project ambassador Abdulaziz Ali al- Naama. Ambassador Abdulaziz Ali al-Naama conveyed HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad benefi ts 50 poor al-Thani’s greetings to the Greek president. President Pavlopoulos reciprocated the Emir’s greetings and wished the ambassador Kenyan families success in his mission to enhance friendship and co-operation between Qatar and Greece. QNA Regional Director of Qatar Lekhwiya to Doha Charity offi ce Mohamed Hus- sein Omar said that the econom- hold exercise atar Charity (QC) has ic empowerment project execut- funded an income project ed by QC in northeast of Kenya Qin Kenya which provides contributed to restoring life in The General Command of the herds of cattle to impoverished the area which was abandoned Qatari Armed Forces on Tuesday families in northeast of Kenya. by many of its citizens. announced that the Internal Some 50 families have benefi ted He added that providing the Security Force (Lekhwiya) will from the project. families with herds of cattle en- carry out abseiling exercise from Qatar Charity aims to support ables them to create a living for a height of 10.5 and 5 metres in families who lost their cattle due themselves rather than depend- Lekhwiya camp on January 31 to the drought in the region re- ing on humanitarian aid since from 7:30am to 11am. sulting in extreme economic ob- the lifestyle of the area fully de- The General Command has stacles for the citizens. pends on cattle ranching. Qatar Charity providing drinking water to poor families in Kenya. cautioned visitors to the area.

Gulf Times 4 Wednesday, January 25, 2017 QATAR QU-CENG hosts university industry network session epresentatives from on building capacity, capa- leading industries bility and infrastructure. Rand government “We are now focusing agencies attended a uni- on research impact on the Floor salesmen of TVs attend a training camp. versity industry network economy and the society session hosted by Qatar in Qatar. Such interaction University College of En- will help in addressing gineering (QU-CENG) to problems and challenges highlight the relevant engi- through our research fund- neering research priorities ing programmes and lead to LG conducts training camp of Qatar National Research more innovation and entre- Fund’s (QNRF) National preneurship opportunities Priorities Research Pro- in the country.” gramme (NPRP) 10th cycle Dr Aiman Erbad Dr Munir Tag Prof Amira said the and identify opportunities event highlighted the spirit on latest technology in TVs for collaboration between Erbad, as well as CENG fac- provide services that fulfi l of collaboration between academics and stakehold- ulty and staff . the requirements and needs academia and industry, and ers. The programme included of the local business and in- its crucial role in providing G Electronics, in as- Floor salesmen of LG TVs The OLED Signature Se- fect colour and, with HDR The event was attended a presentation on CENG’s dustry. outstanding outcomes that sociation with Video across leading hypermar- ries G6V & OLED 4K TV Dolby Vision, you get an by CENG dean Dr Kha- multidisciplinary research “This will contribute to address needs related to ac- LHome & Electronic kets and Jumbo Electronics series E6V were the main immersive entertainment lifa al-Khalifa, QNRF’s priorities presented by Prof promoting the existing re- ademics and stakeholders. Centre, recently conduct- showrooms attended the highlights of the training experience,” said Sajed Jas- Information and Commu- Amira, and presentations search activities between Dr Erbad observed that ed a training camp at the training camp. Ashley Ko- programme. Other mod- sim Mohamed Sulaiman, nication Technology Pro- delivered by Dr Tag and Dr academia and industry, the research sector at QU LG Qatar offi ce to impart cherry, TV product trainer els like Super UHD UH950 vice-chairman and man- gramme director Dr Munir Erbad. Highlighted topics while advancing further is building platforms of knowledge and benefi ts from LG Gulf in Dubai, series & UH855 series were aging director, Video Home Tag, CENG associate deans were ICT, materials and na- partnerships between both collaborations between re- of the latest technology in conducted the camp. also covered. & Electronic Centre. for Academic Aff airs Prof notechnology, energy and sectors in the fi eld of re- searchers and industry to televisions. LG conducts regular “Our objective is to keep The initiative included Abdelmagid Hammuda, for environment, biomedical search, which will benefi t help QU researchers devel- LG’s televisions are training programmes to customers better informed roleplay and tests, while development and industrial engineering, and infra- the society in Qatar and the op the industrial sector, its equipped with advanced update the product knowl- about the technological the two best performers relations Dr Saud Ghani, structure and livable envi- region.” services and products. “The technologies, such as HDR edge of its sales staff . Dur- advances in televisions so were rewarded with an LG and for Research and Grad- ronments. Dr Tag recalled that role of industry is impor- with Dolby Vision, 4K res- ing this session, the bene- that they can make an in- Sound Bar. Product and uate Studies Prof Abbes Dr al-Khalifa described QNRF has been funding re- tant to guide the research olutions and intuitive we- fi ts of LG’s OLED 4K range formed decision in their sales managers from Video Amira, and QU director of that the event aligned with search over the last decade towards fi nding solutions bOS operating system for and Super UHD 4K TV purchase. LG OLED TV’s Home were also present for research support Dr Aiman CENG’s ongoing eff orts to during which the focus was for today’s challenges.” smart TVs, and more. were highlighted. perfect black creates per- the training camp. Tonnes of beach waste removed Al Maysan Heavy Equipment launches Yutong buses

l Maysan Heavy Equipment Com- Apany, affi liated to Jaidah Group of Compa- nies, launched an “in- dustry-leading brand” of buses ‘Yutong’ as an ex- clusive dealer in Qatar. Chinese ambassador Li Chen, Jaidah Group Group executive director Mohamed Jaidah, Jaidah Equipment & Al May- san managing director Ayman Ahmed, Yutong (Middle East) sales di- rector Jacky Cui, besides a number of diplomats from the Chinese em- bassy in Qatar and Jaidah The cleaning campaign at the northern western beaches of Qatar has concluded Group executives were with the removal of 3,152 tonnes of various refuse materials, including oil and present. grease washed ashore. The campaign was launched in November last year. Mohamed Jaidah said, “Jaidah Group has a his- tory of long standing re- lationships with major international manufac- turers, which make Jaidah Group perfectly suited for satisfying the high de- mand of equipment and vehicles to cater to Qatar’s Mohamed Jaidah with dignitaries during the launch of Yutong buses recently. construction boom driven by Qatar National Vision are of high quality and es- Middle East countries will Yutong has achieved plete range from 25-seater 2030.” pecially labour transporta- be replicated in Qatar also. many successes globally and to 66-seater buses, suited He expressed his confi - tion buses have competitive The Yutong bus factory in regionally and has bagged to the diff erent needs of dence that Yutong buses prices.” China has the biggest pro- many awards for quality and construction, transport will satisfy and exceed the He said the success story duction capacity of up to 310 effi ciency. and tourism companies and expectations of customers of Yutong buses in other buses a month. Yutong buses have a com- leasing companies. in Qatar. Ahmed said, “Yutong is world’s largest manufac- turer of buses for the last six years consecutively.” Yutong is China’s only ISO TS 16949:2002 certifi ed manufacturer. The high safety standards, comfort and the aff ordable prices make Yutong superior to other bus brands. Ahmed emphasised that aftersales service played an important role and a dedicated service centre catering to customers would start functioning at Street 36 of Industrial Area, from early next month. “We will also provide mobile services for main- tenance by professional technicians to fl eet cus- tomers,” he said. Ahmed added that the long term strategic part- nership between Jaidah and Yutong would bring about “the best of both companies and provide high quality and comfort- able buses” in Qatar. Jacky emphasised that Qatar was an important market for Yutong. He said, “Yutong buses Gulf Times Wednesday, January 25, 2017 5 QATAR Three violations Saplings given to campers detected during MEC inspections he Ministry of Economy commercial activities in order and Commerce (MEC) to crack down on price manipu- The Ministry of Municipality and Environment’s Department of Environment Protection, Wildlife Thas conducted surprise lation and violations and pro- and Protectorates, in co-operation with the Public Gardens Department, has distributed 800 wild inspections at commercial out- tect consumer rights. tree saplings to owners of winter camps at desert areas and farm owners as part of the ‘Plant It’ lets in Al Shamal town and Al Further, the MEC stressed initiative, which aims to enhance the green cover in the country. An off icial and a farmer are seen Ruwais in a bid to monitor their that it would not tolerate any planting a sapling. compliance with Law No.8 of violation of the Consumer Pro- 2008 on consumer protection. tection Law and its regulations, The inspection campaigns and would intensify inspections resulted in the detection of to crack down on violators. It three violations, according to a will refer those who violate laws statement from the MEC. and ministerial decrees to the During the inspections, competent authorities, to take QIB’s new campaign off ers shops were fi ned for failing to appropriate action against the display prices and Arabic labels, perpetrators. as well as off ering unlicensed The ministry has urged all discounts in violation of Law consumers to report violations additional profi t on saving No.8 of 2008 and Decision No.5 or submit complaints and sug- of 1984 regarding discounted gestions through the call cen- sales (promotions). tre: 16001, e-mail: info@mec. atar Islamic Bank (QIB) pliant fi nancial products and fi ts. Return is given to the average The three violations resulted gov.qa, Twitter: MEC_QATAR, has launched a new cam- services suite and is open to all daily balance with the profi t dis- in fi nes of QR11,000. The min- Instagram: MEC_QATAR and Qpaign providing cus- QIB customers. tributed on quarterly basis, while istry said the campaigns were the MEC application on iPhone tomers with additional profi t D Anand, Personal Banking customers are free to draw from within the framework of its ef- and Android devices: MEC_ on their additional savings. The Group general manager at QIB, the account at any time. An MEC off icial carries out inspection at a saloon. forts to monitor markets and QATAR. initiative aims to foster a culture said: “We are always working The savings account comes of saving among customers and to off er our customers fi nancial with free e-Statement (daily, encourages them to save more services that support their fi - weekly or monthly, upon cus- on quarterly basis. nancial health and lifestyle. For tomer’s request), free instantly The new campaign encour- this reason, we have introduced issued debit/ATM card, and ages customers to save more by this campaign in order to en- 24/7 access to their accounts GU hosts lecture on US polls today off ering them to earn 50% more courage our customers to save via phone, Internet, and mobile expected profi t rate on their in- more in anticipation of their fu- banking. eorgetown University in Dr Potolicchio will seek to The presentation is informed cremental deposit amounts. ture needs and aspirations.” QIB has recently launched a Qatar (GU-Q) is hosting explain why Donald Trump won by the questions Potolicchio Customers who increase their “As the leading Islamic bank number of new products and Gtoday a public lecture on the race, defeating Hilary Clin- has received from audiences savings account average bal- in Qatar, we are always looking services, including the new the recent US presidential elec- ton. “The talk will give a scien- while travelling abroad and lec- ance during the quarter with a for innovative ways to address salary transfer campaign, the tions. Dr Samuel Potolicchio, tifi c breakdown of why Trump turing on the topic in China, minimum of QR50,000 get to the fi nancial interests of the comprehensive Ladies Banking pictured, director, Global and pulled off the most stunning Russia, Brazil, and Italy. It will holds a PhD from Georgetown earn 50% extra on the expected people in Qatar. We are pleased Proposition to meet the needs Custom Education at the Mc- ascent in American political also include commentary on the University and has served as annual profi t rate on that addi- to start the year with a unique of all women in Qatar and a new Court School of Public Policy history, and forecast what this newly-appointed president’s the president of the Preparing tional balance. The off er is avail- off er which keeps the customers’ credit card with fl exible pay- at Georgetown University, is the may mean for the future of poli- cabinet decisions and the start Global Leaders Foundation, a able throughout 2017 and profi t needs at the core of our strat- ment option, whereby custom- speaker at the event taking tics,” said Potolicchio. “We will of his term of offi ce. leadership training programme is paid on quarterly basis. egy,” Anand added. ers can pay as low as 5% per place at 6pm today, at GU-Q’s also judge the eff ectiveness of The scholar, who specialises in for rising leaders from over 100 This campaign is part of QIB’s Savings accounts at QIB pro- month on their card outstanding Education City campus. the presidential transition.” political and social communications, countries. comprehensive Shariah-com- vide customers a number of bene- balance. Gulf Times 6 Wednesday, January 25, 2017 REGION Nato seeks closer ties with Gulf,

Qatar’s Minister of State for Defence Aff airs HE Dr Khalid bin Mohamed Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (centre) and Kuwaiti First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister al-Attiyah, at the inauguration ceremony of the Nato-ICI Regional Centre Sheikh Sabah al-Khaled al-Sabah at the inauguration of the Nato Istanbul Co-operation Initiative (ICI) Regional in Kuwait City yesterday. Centre in Kuwait City. launches new centre

AFP international organisations. Kuwait City “We face common se- curity threats like terror- ism, weapons proliferation, ato chief Jens and cyber attacks. And we Stoltenberg yes- share the same aspirations Nterday called for for peace and for stability,” boosting security co-oper- Stoltenberg said. ation with the Gulf states “So it is essential that we as the Western military alli- work more closely together ance opened its fi rst offi ce in than ever before. We have the region. now developed individual “It will be a vital hub for co-operation programmes co-operation between the with all our Gulf partners,” alliance and our Gulf part- he said. ners,” Stoltenberg said at Stoltenberg said that the inauguration of the cen- over the past year, Nato has tre in Kuwait in the presence trained hundreds of Iraqi of Prime Minister Sheikh offi cers in Jordan to better Jaber Mubarak al-Sabah. fi ght the Islamic State group. The centre is based on “We are now extending the Istanbul Co-operation our training and capacity- Initiative (ICI), which was building eff orts into Iraq it- launched by the Nato lead- self,” he said. ers in 2004 and aims to Nato continues to fi ght boost security links with terrorism in other ways, in- the Middle East, in particu- cluding with direct support lar Gulf states. to the anti-IS coalition, he Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain said. and the United Arab Emir- The centre will strength- ates are members of ICI en the military-to-military while the remaining two co-operation and the fi ght Gulf Co-operation Council against terrorism and ex- (GCC) states — Saudi Arabia tremism, Stoltenberg said. and Oman — plan to join. The centre will help the Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Gulf states by providing ad- Sheikh Sabah Khaled al- vanced training courses on Sabah said the region is fac- cyber security, energy se- ing serious challenges that curity, chemical, biological require co-operation with and nuclear weapons.

Parliament bid to curb austerity steps

Kuwait’s parliament is trying to restrict the cabinet’s ability to impose new fees on citizens and reduce price subsidies, an eff ort that threatens government plans to strengthen state finances in the face of low oil prices. Opposition candidates won about 24 out of 50 seats in elections last November that were seen by many Kuwaitis as a referendum on austerity measures. That gave the op- position more power to oppose government initiatives. Yesterday Safa al-Hashem, a spokesman for the National Assembly’s financial and economic committee, said mem- bers of parliament had proposed cancelling a law passed by the previous assembly which ratified a rise in electricity and water tariff s. MPs also proposed a measure confirming the right of the National Assembly to regulate and approve any move by the government to impose fees. The measures would constrain government eff orts to save money by reducing energy subsidies and increasing non-oil revenues. A victory by parliamentary opponents in these areas could help them block other austerity plans, such as a drive to reform public sector wages. Hashem, speaking to reporters after the committee met with Finance Minister Anas al-Saleh, said Saleh considered the two proposals to be legally and constitutionally flawed, and asked for two weeks to respond to them.

UNREST At least 40 dead in battle for port Fighting for a key port city on Yemen’s Red Sea coast has left at least 40 rebel and pro-government fighters dead, military off icials said yesterday. Loyalist forces said Monday they had captured the port of Mokha, almost three weeks into an off en- sive to oust Shia Houthi insurgents and their allies from Yemen’s southwestern coast. But they exchanged fire overnight with rebels still holed up in the port on Mokha’s southwestern edge. Clashes continued yesterday on the southern and eastern out- skirts of the city. “Despite the significant human toll, the Houthis are still in the centre of Mokha,” a military off icial said. Rebel snipers were reported to have slowed the loyalist advance. At least 28 rebels and 12 pro-government fighters have been killed in fighting in the past 24 hours, military and medical sources said yesterday. That brought to nearly 200 the number of deaths on both sides since the off ensive began. Houthi forces had controlled Mokha since they overran the capi- tal Sanaa in September 2014 and advanced on other regions aided by troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. Forces supporting President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, backed by a coalition, launched a vast off ensive on January 7 to retake the coastline overlooking the Bab al-Mandab strait. The strait is a strategically vital maritime route connecting the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

CRIME 16 ‘terrorism’ suspects arrested Saudi security forces have arrested 13 Pakistanis and three locals suspected of having links to militants who blew themselves up during a weekend firefight with police, authorities said yesterday. The interior ministry also identified the two militants who detonated explosive belts during Saturday’s raid in the Red Sea city of Jeddah as locals. Marzouk Anzi and Khaled al-Sourwani had both taken part in previous militant attacks in the kingdom, and Sourwani had links with the Islamic State group, the ministry said. Authorities also seized arms and materials for making explosives from the building where the men blew themselves up, the off icial Saudi Press Agency said. In late October, Saudi authorities said they had arrested eight militants and disman- tled several “terrorist” cells linked to IS, including one that had planned to attack a major football match in Jeddah. Those ar- rested included two Pakistanis, a Syrian and a Sudanese citizen. Gulf Times Wednesday, January 25, 2017 7 ARAB WORLD

Father of Israel’s plan for 2,500 new convicted soldier seeks settlement homes slammed leniency Reuters government. On Sunday, two Jerusalem days after Trump’s inaugura- tion, Israel announced plans for AFP hundreds of new homes in East Tel Aviv srael announced plans yes- Jerusalem, and the right-wing terday for 2,500 more settle- Netanyahu told senior ministers Iment homes in the occupied he was lifting restrictions on he father of an Israeli sol- West Bank, the second such settlement construction across dier convicted of man- declaration since US President the board. Tslaughter for shooting Donald Trump took offi ce sig- “We can build where we want dead a prone Palestinian assail- nalling he would be less critical and as much as we want,” an of- ant pleaded for leniency for his of such projects than his pred- fi cial quoted Netanyahu as tell- son at a sentencing hearing yes- ecessor. ing the ministers. terday in a case that has divided A statement from the Defence Following yesterday’s an- the country. Ministry, which administers nouncement, the prime min- Charlie Azaria told a military lands Israel illegally occupied in ister’s offi ce listed some of the court that he believed his son 1967, said the move was meant West Bank areas slated for new Elor and his family had suff ered to fulfi l demand for new hous- construction, but not all were in enough since the soldier was ar- ing “to maintain regular daily settlement blocs. rested some 10 months ago. life”. Most of the construction, “I have agreed with the de- “I want to tell you that this it said, would be in existing set- fence minister to build 2,500 punishment of 10 months is tlement blocs that Israel intends new homes in Judea and Samar- enough,” the longtime former to keep under any future peace ia (West Bank) — we are build- police offi cer testifi ed at the agreement with the Palestin- ing and will continue to build,” hearing in a court at Israel’s de- ians. Netanyahu said in a tweet. fence headquarters in Tel Aviv. However, a breakdown pro- Defence Minister Avigdor “It has been 10 months since vided by the prime minister’s Lieberman is himself a settler. we stopped living. We are suff er- offi ce showed large portions of The Defence Ministry state- ing. After everything I’ve given the planned homes would be ment said 100 of the new homes to the country, this is physical outside existing blocs. would be in Beit El, a settlement and psychological abuse... About 350,000 settlers live which according to Israeli media We are out of energy,” he add- in the West Bank and a further has received funding from the ed, breaking down in tears. 200,000 in East Jerusalem, family of Trump’s son-in-law, Sergeant Azaria, 20, a dual which Israel illegally occupied Jared Kushner. French-Israeli national, was ap- in 1967. David Friedman, a staunch plauded by his family when he Beyond the major blocs, most supporter of Israeli settlers who arrived for the hearing, with his of which are close to the border Trump has nominated to be his mother taking him in her arms. with Israel, there are more than ambassador to Israel, has served Azaria was not to be sentenced 100 settlement outposts scat- as president of the American in yesterday’s hearing, with wit- tered across hilltops in the West Friends of Beit El, a group that nesses testifying about his char- Bank. raises funds for the settlement. acter before prosecutors submit Nabil Abu Rdainah, a spokes- It was not immediately clear their recommendations. man for Palestinian President A Palestinian woman sits in a field in the West Bank village of Deir Ballut yesterday. whether yesterday’s announce- His army counsellor, a former Mahmoud Abbas, condemned ment was the fi rst in relation to teacher and fellow soldiers were the Israeli announcement and tremism and terrorism and will Gaza Strip, from which Israeli tlements illegal and an obstacle paign, Trump indicated he the new construction. among those testifying on Azar- said it would have “conse- place obstacles in the path of troops and settlers withdrew in to Israeli-Palestinian peace as would dispense with former There are several stages in- ia’s behalf. Azaria faces up to 20 quences”. any eff ort to start a peace proc- 2005, for an independent state, they reduce and fragment the President Barack Obama’s op- volved in approving and build- years in prison, though there “The decision will hinder any ess that will lead to security and with its capital in East Jerusa- territory Palestinians need for a position to settlement building, ing settlement homes and have been reports that prosecu- attempt to restore security and peace,” he said. lem. viable state. a stance that delighted Prime announcements frequently tors will recommend between stability, it will reinforce ex- They want the West Bank and Most countries consider set- During the US election cam- Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s overlap or are reissued. three and fi ve years. Gulf Times 8 Wednesday, January 25, 2017 ARAB WORLD UN ‘racing’ to prepare civilian aid ahead of battle for west Mosul

Reuters Mosque, on the western side, join the off ensive against Islamic Baghdad that Islamic State leader Abu State. It became an offi cial wing Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a of the Iraqi armed forces last “caliphate” under his rule in year. More than 160,000 civil- he United Nations said 2014, spanning large tracts of ians have been displaced since yesterday it is “racing Iraq and Syria. Mosul has been the start of the off ensive, UN of- Tagainst the clock” to pre- the largest city under IS control fi cials say. pare emergency aid for hundreds in either country, with a pre-war Medical and humanitar- of thousands of endangered ci- population of about 2mn. ian agencies estimate the total vilians in Mosul with an Iraqi A US-led coalition is provid- number of dead and wounded army off ensive looming to oust ing air and ground support to — both civilian and military — at Islamic State from the western Iraqi forces in the battle that several thousand. half of the city. began on Oct 17, the biggest in Islamic State has “continued Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Iraq since the US-led invasion of to attack those fl eeing or at- al-Abadi confirmed yesterday 2003. tempting to fl ee areas that are that government forces had More than 100,000 Iraqi controlled by it”, UN human taken complete control of east- troops, members of regional rights spokeswoman Ravina ern Mosul, 100 days after the Kurdish security forces and Shia Shamdasani said in Geneva yes- start of the US-backed cam- Muslim paramilitaries known as terday, and was also shelling dis- paign to retake Iraq’s second Popular Mobilisation are par- tricts retaken by the army. largest city from Islamic State ticipating in the off ensive. She added that air strikes tar- (IS) insurgents who seized it Iraqi forces estimated the geting Islamic State insurgents in 2014. UN officials estimate number of militants inside Mo- in Mosul had also killed civilians, 750,000 people remain in Mo- sul at 5,000-6,000 at the start although facts and casualty fi g- sul west of the Tigris River that of operations three months ago, ures were hard to verify. flows through the last remain- and say 3,300 have been killed in The militants blew up a land- ing major urban centre held by the fi ghting since. mark hotel in western Mosul on Islamic State in Iraq, after a se- Military preparations to re- Friday in an apparent attempt to ries of government counter-of- capture western Mosul have be- prevent advancing Iraqi forces fensives in the country’s north An elderly woman carries bottles of water she received from Iraqi security forces in Antesaar neighbourhood of Mosul, Iraq yesterday. gun, with Popular Mobilisation from using it as a base or a sniper and west. militia preparing an operation position once fi ghting shifts The west side could prove “We are racing against the western Mosul are distress- pocket held by militants — the Abadi told a news conference in in “the next two-three days” to west of the Tigris. more complicated to take than clock to prepare for this,” UN ing,” she said in a separate northern suburb of Rashidiya, Baghdad. pave the way for the main of- The Mosul Hotel, shaped like a the east as it is crisscrossed by humanitarian co-ordinator Lise statement.”Prices of basic food Major General Najm al-Jubbou- He also said new US President fensive on the western bank of stepped pyramid, stands close to streets too narrow for armoured Grande told Reuters. and supplies are soaring...Many ri, commander of the northern Donald Trump has sent messag- the Tigris, the overall campaign the river. vehicles, allowing militants to Humanitarian agencies were families without income are eat- front, told the local Mosuliya TV es off ering to increase the level of commander, Lieutenant General State television said the army hide among civilians. setting up displaced people ing only once a day. Others are channel. assistance to Iraq. Abdul Ameer Yarallah, told Mo- had set up temporary bridges The militants are expected to camps accessible from western being forced to burn furniture to “I now call on these (armed Trump has made the fi ght suliya TV. across the Tigris south of the put up a fi erce fi ght as they are Mosul and pre-positioning sup- stay warm.” forces) heroes to move quickly to against IS a foreign policy prior- Popular Mobilisation is a coa- city limits to allow troops to cornered in a shrinking area of plies in them, she said. Government forces yesterday free what remains of Mosul, es- ity. lition of predominantly Iranian- cross in preparation for the of- Mosul. “The reports from inside fi nished clearing the last eastern pecially the right (western) side,” It was from Mosul’s Grand trained groups formed in 2014 to fensive on western districts. Bomb classes and gun counts: trauma of children under IS

Reuters portant years of his life. Mosul, Iraq He should have been in the third grade; now he goes back to fi rst.” chools in the east of The northern city is the Iraqi city of Mosul coming back to life with Sare seeking to return markets and shops reo- to a semblance of normal- pening and people sell- ity after two years under ing once-prohibited goods Islamic State rule when such as cigarettes openly on they were either shuttered the streets yet the damage or forced to teach a martial of battle is everywhere — curriculum that included and fi ghting rages just a few lessons in bombmaking. kilometres away. Around 40,000 students At Kufa Boys’ School, — most of whom have been children run around the kept at home by their par- concrete yard wearing new ents since the militants cap- bright blue school bags tured Mosul in 2014 — will provided by Unicef, in the attend around 70 schools in shadow of neighbouring School children react to a camera as they attend a class after registering in school in Mosul, Iraq. the coming weeks after the buildings reduced to rubble. buildings have been checked One schoolyard in the for unexploded bombs. area has been turned into a US-backed Iraqi forces cemetery covered with doz- have retaken most eastern ens of freshly dug graves. districts of the city and are Yet a return to normal- preparing to push into the ity will not be easy for chil- western part of Mosul, the dren, who bears the scars of largest city held by Islamic living in the Islamic State’s State across its self-pro- de facto capital in Iraq and claimed caliphate in Iraq the bitter battle for the city and Syria. since late last year when Teachers and parents told Iraqi forces launched the Reuters about the militants’ biggest ground operation in brand of education received the country since the U.S.- by those children who have led invasion of 2003. attended school over the They could face psycho- past two years, including logical hurdles, as might many children of militants. their teachers, many of who This included chemistry told Reuters they had been lessons on bombmaking threatened with being hung and maths classes devot- from their schools’ walls if ed to tallying up weapons they did not continue teach- caches, they said. ing under Islamic State. “In math, my six-year- “Our role is bigger now old son was counting rifl es. than it was two or three In other classes, he was be- years ago because you need ing taught about suicide to deal with the children’s bombing,” said Mishwan psychological state be- Yunis, a 41-year-old water fore you can teach them,” ministry worker whose son said Omar Khudor Ali, attends Kufa Boys’ School. headteacher of nearby Ba- “He lost two very im- dayel Boys’ School.

OPINION Cleric warns US on embassy move Moving the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem would be a declaration of war, influential Iraqi cleric Moqtada al- Sadr said yesterday. “Transferring the US embassy to Jerusalem would be a public and more-explicit-than-ever declaration of war,” he said in a statement. In a break with previous admin- istrations, new US President Donald Trump has pledged to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and relocate the US em- bassy there from Tel Aviv. Sadr, a Shia cleric whose militia once fought US occupation forces in Iraq, called for the “formation of a special division to liberate Jerusalem were the decision to be implemented.” Sadr said the Cairo-based Arab League as well as the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation, the world’s main pan-Islamic body, should take a decisive stand on the issue or dissolve themselves. The Najaf-based cleric also called “for the immediate closure of the US embassy in Iraq” should Washing- ton go ahead with its promised embassy transfer in Israel. Gulf Times Wednesday, January 25, 2017 9 ARAB WORLD UN to need $8bn Jordan’s king this year to help to visit Moscow displaced at home Reuters Geneva

he United Nations said yesterday it will need a Ttotal of $8bn this year for Syria talks to provide life-saving assist- ance to millions of Syrians in- AFP side their shattered homeland Amman and to refugees and their host communities in neighbouring countries. ordan’s King Abdullah II will visit Moscow The fi rst part, a $4.63bn ap- today for talks with President Vladimir peal for 5mn Syrian refugees — JPutin on the Syrian crisis and “the fi ght 70% of whom are women and against terrorism”, a palace statement said. children — was launched at a The two leaders will discuss “developments Helsinki conference. in the Middle East, especially the Syrian crisis Funds will be used to pro- and the peace process” between Israel and the vide food, rent, education and Palestinians, yesterday’s statement said. healthcare. Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi met his A separate appeal for an es- Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow timated $3.4bn to fund its hu- yesterday, the offi cial Petra News Agency re- manitarian operation to help ported. 13.5mn people inside Syria after The meetings come as Syrian regime and nearly six years of war, is being rebel delegates hold indirect peace talks in fi nalised. File photo shows a member of the Syrian Civil Defence, known Kazakhstan, organised by regime backers “The crisis in Syria remains as the White Helmets, evacuating a child following reported Russia and Iran and rebel sponsor Turkey. one of most complex, volatile government shelling on the rebel-held town of Douma, east of The three sponsors of the talks agreed yes- and violent in the world,” UN the Syrian capital Damascus. terday to establish a joint “mechanism” to humanitarian chief Stephen monitor the frail truce in Syria. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi attend O’Brien told a news conference. with few in camps, UN refugee the right direction, but we can’t Jordan has consistently called for a “com- a meeting in Moscow yesterday. Attempts to end the confl ict chief Filippo Grandi said. tell. We’ve had disappoint- prehensive political solution” to the crisis in in Syria have so far failed. “Even if Syrians have ments in the past,” Grandi said. its northern neighbour that erupted in 2011. point in 2015 after rebels seized the Syrian of hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees After two-day talks, Iran, stopped arriving in Europe in Providing livelihoods and re- Amman is one of the few Arab capitals that side. from Syria. The United Nations says it has Russia and Turkey earlier an- any signifi cant numbers, I hope storing basic utilities are a pri- still has diplomatic relations with Damascus. It has also sealed its frontier with Iraq. registered 650,000 Syrian refugees in Jor- nounced a trilateral mechanism that everybody realises that ority in Syria, said Helen Clark, The two countries share a 370-kilometre The Jordanian economy has been hard hit dan, but authorities say as many as 1.3mn are to observe and ensure full com- the Syria refugee crisis has not administrator of the UN Devel- border, but Jordan closed the fi nal crossing by the Syrian crisis, particularly the burden now living there. pliance with a ceasefi re. gone away and continues to af- opment Programme (UNDP). “Of course we fear that it will fect millions in host communi- “Even were there to be a po- get worse,” O’Brien said. “And ties and continues to be a tragic litical settlement tomorrow, REPRIMAND even if peace was to take place situation,” he said. we would still be here seeking Morocco TV channel censured over makeup for battered women from tonight, the humanitarian It was too early to say wheth- support for humanitarian re- needs within Syria would con- er any solution would lead to lief for a country that has been A public television station in Morocco was given an off icial reprimand yes- a woman with a swollen face, with the presenter telling viewers that she was tinue for a good time to come.” further displacement or people brought to its knees, with 85% terday for broadcasting a sequence on how to use make-up to conceal the not really injured, and that these were just “cinematic eff ects”. Yesterday, the Five countries — Lebanon, returning to their homes. living in poverty, 50% in unem- bruises of battered women. It was transmitted last November — marking country’s High Authority for Audiovisual Communication (HACA) said the se- Turkey, Iraq, Jordan and Egypt “There is uncertainty sur- ployment and with the severe the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women — by 2M quence “violated certain legal and regulatory provisions”. HACA said in a state- — host nearly 5mn Syrian refu- rounding the political process, economic and social impacts on its morning magazine programme “Sabahiyate”. The sequence depicted ment it was forbidden to “incite violence against women, directly or indirectly.” gees, a “staggering number”, we all hope that it will move in on the neighbourhood.” Gulf Times 10 Wednesday, January 25, 2017 AFRICA Roadside bomb Monkey see! kills 4 troops in Somalia town

Reuters gency across Somalia aimed at toppling Mogadishu the Western-backed government in Mogadishu, claimed responsibility for the bombing. t least four soldiers were killed “We planted the bomb last night. At and fi ve wounded yesterday least seven soldiers died,” Sheikh Ab- Awhen a roadside bomb that Is- diasis Abu Musab, the group’s military lamist militant group Shebaab said it operations spokesman, told Reuters. planted exploded outside a military The Kenya Defence Forces said the camp in a town near Mogadishu, offi - Shebaab fi ghters were killed during cials said. an operation to fl ush them out of the Further south, Kenyan soldiers work- southern town of Badhaadhe, where the ing under the African Union Mission in group had taken control of a mosque Somalia (AMISOM) killed seven She- and a police station. baab fi ghters in a Somali district on the It said it recovered rifl es, ammuni- countries’ border, Kenyan authorities tion and two 81mm bombs among other said. items. The blast in Afgoye, about 30km Shebaab, which is affi liated with Al southwest of the capital, took place a Qaeda, aims to impose its own version day after the insurgent group carried of Islam on the Horn of Africa state. out a raid on the same town that was The group once held large swathes repulsed by government troops, Major of Somalia including Mogadishu before Osman Abdulle, a police offi cer, told being ousted from the capital in 2011 Reuters. and losing further ground. But it con- A vervet monkey passes in front of a woman on the shores of lake Naivasha, Kenya yesterday. Shebaab, which is waging an insur- tinues to pose a formidable threat.

Nigeria suicide bomber had ‘baby strapped to her back’ In-laws ‘steal from’

AFP responsible while the state government Kano blamed Boko Haram, which has fre- quently targeted Madagali, including in December, when some 45 people were female suicide bomber who at- killed. tacked a town in northeast Ni- Boko Haram, which has been fi ght- Zimbabwe widows Ageria earlier this month was car- ing to create a hardline Islamic state in rying a baby at the time, the country’s northeast Nigeria since 2009, began us- By Reagan Mashavave, AFP tifi cate and we will not have problems ows in Zimbabwe, said it alone had main relief agency said yesterday. ing suicide bombers in mid-2014. Harare like this one,” said Malunga. handled at least 1,700 cases in the last But the National Emergency Man- Women and girls, some reportedly “Widows must fi ght for their rights, three years. agement Agency (NEMA) said it was aged 10 and younger, have been used they should be strong and should not “Women have to register their es- unclear whether this was a new tactic to target checkpoints, bus stations, s Maliyaziwa Malunga mourns give up,” she added, recalling that her tates and they should do so imme- on the part of Boko Haram Islamists to mosques, churches, schools and mar- her dead husband, she also husband’s relatives engaged in fi st- diately after the deaths of their hus- allow would-be bombers to evade de- kets to infl ict maximum civilian casual- Abattles against his relatives fi ghts over her house in Chitungwiza, bands,” Lucia Masuka-Zanhi, legal tection. ties. who plot to seize her house in a cus- outside Harare. programmes director at LRF, told AFP. “From the report we got after the Last week, the group’s leader Abu- tom that aff ects thousands of women The HRW report called for the gov- “Women can assert their rights Madagali attack (on January 13), one of bakar Shekau admitted for the fi rst time in Zimbabwe each year. ernment to protect vulnerable, often through the courts and each case will the female suicide bombers had a baby they had used women in the confl ict. A Human Rights Watch report re- Maliyaziwa Malunga speaks in Harare elderly widows. be decided on its facts.” strapped to her back,” said the NEMA Experts studying suicide bomb- leased yesterday details how in-laws yesterday after Human Rights Watch “The impact of property grabbing The government said it supported coordinator for Adamawa state, Saad ings have said children are likely to be in the country routinely expect to take released a report yesterday detailing on widows is devastating,” said its au- better protection for widows and would Bello. unaware they are being used as human property and money from bereaved how in-laws in Zimbabwe routinely thor Bethany Brown. act to enforce the law more widely. “However it is not clear whether it bombs but that women using children widows soon after their husbands die. take property and money from “Women whose property was taken “This practice contravenes the law was a coincidence or a strategy they and babies as cover for suicide attacks When Malunga’s husband died in bereaved widows soon after their from them spoke of homelessness, which entitles the surviving spouse to employed to avoid detection by security was rare. 2013, his relatives locked her in her husbands die. destitution and loss of livelihoods.” inherit property,” Ivan Dumba, an of- personnel. In 2008, US investigators suggested home, forced her to open her cash box, The report is based on interviews fi cial from the ministry of women af- “This was one isolated case and it will a blast blamed on Al Qaeda which killed and stole $4,000 and the title docu- because of stress,” the 53-year-old with 59 widows across Zimbabwe’s 10 fairs, told a press conference in Harare be premature to arrive at a defi nite con- at least 35 at a wedding reception north ments to her property. said. provinces last year. where the report was launched. clusion that the use of babies in suicide of Baghdad may have been carried out “I lock my doors always fearing HRW said Zimbabwean widows “(My brother-in-law) has taken “We will increase the volume to attacks has become a trend.” by a bomber pretending to be pregnant. some of those in-laws will come and who are thrown out of their homes by all of my fi elds,” Deborah, 58, from condemn such practices...It is critical At least two people were killed and Two years earlier in Sri Lanka, anoth- harass me,” Malunga, who is still in a their in-laws often have little chance Mashonaland East, told researchers. we investigate this issue as we need to 15 others injured in the explosions in er woman believed to be feigning preg- legal tussle to fi ght off the relatives, of justice because many marriages are “Now, he says that I cannot walk on get to the bottom of it.” Madagali at a checkpoint manned by lo- nancy carried out a suicide bomb attack told AFP. under customary law and not regis- ‘his’ fi elds...Maybe he is really happy HRW said that, according to Zim- cal hunters, at a military post and a bus that killed 11 and wounded the country’s “It is so painful to go to courts and tered. to see us suff er.” babwe’s 2012 census, there were about station. army chief. Tamil Tiger separatists were it is stressful. I lose sleep, my blood “My advice is for married women The Legal Resources Foundation 590,000 widows in the country, and that Police said four female bombers were blamed. pressure is high and I have lost weight to go to court and have a wedding cer- (LRF), an organisation helping wid- most women over 60 were widowed.

Jammeh gets to ‘keep’ luxury car collection State visit Gambian ex-president Yahya Jammeh await shipment. The spokesman added will be allowed to keep his collection that the decision was also aimed at Swaziland orders schools of 13 luxury cars and fly them out to minimising return visits by Jammeh. his exiled home in Equatorial Guinea, a “He leaves with all his properties spokesman for new president Adama so he is not coming up and down to to teach only Christianity Barrow said yesterday. check,” Sallah said. Barrow’s spokesman confirmed to Another Barrow spokesman had AFP an agreement had been struck to alluded angrily to the luxury cars on AFP “What plan does the government facilitate Jammeh’s exit on Saturday Sunday, but did not say that the new Mbabane have in place for our children who in order to end a weeks-long impasse president had agreed that Jammeh are not Christian?” he told AFP. caused by the ex-leader’s refusal to rec- could leave with them. “They will be taught one thing at ognise Barrow’s election victory. As of yesterday, the source added, waziland’s schools opened home and taught something else at “What is very clear is that arrange- “10 cars” were still earmarked for future yesterday for the new aca- school.” ments were made and the government shipment, which diplomats and others Sdemic year under new gov- The US State Department’s Inter- was fully prepared and supportive of familiar with the matter confirmed ernment orders to teach only national Religious Freedom Report ex-president Jammeh to leave and as included a Bentley, Land Rovers, a Mini Christianity, a move criticised by said some schools have long sought a result they found it is better to leave Cooper, and another Mercedes. “No in- opponents as fuelling intolerance of to prevent Muslim pupils from leav- with all his properties instead of com- formation or orders have been given by Muslims. ing early for Friday prayers. ing down and checking properties,” this new government to stop shipping Offi cials said that old text books It also said some Christian groups spokesman Halifa Sallah told AFP. the cars,” the airport source told AFP. were being replaced with new ones “discriminated against non-Chris- An airport source who saw the The news is likely to anger Gambians that mention only the Bible, and that tian religious groups, especially in cargo being prepared on Saturday who have also learnt Jammeh took off schools were required to submit a list rural areas where people generally Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip night when Jammeh flew out of the with $11mn of state funds, leaving the of qualifi ed religious studies teachers held negative views on Islam.” Erdogan inspect a guard of honour in Maputo yesterday at the start of the country said “two Rolls Royce and one coff ers nearly empty. An “entry-level” ahead of the start of term. The new education policy comes Turkish president’s state visit to Mozambique. Erdogan is on a three-day (Mercedes) Benz” were loaded onto Rolls Royce costs $250,000, and most “Other religions will not be of- after public complaints over Asian tour to east Africa that includes Tanzania, Mozambique and Madagascar. a Chadian cargo plane, while others Gambians live on less than $2 a day. fered at primary and high school and Muslim migration into the level,” said Pat Muir, a top educa- country led parliament to set up a tion ministry offi cial, adding that commission of enquiry last year. the policy sought to avoid confusing Some illegal migrants have since pupils. been deported, and Minister of “At tertiary level they will be able Commerce and Trade Jabulani to make a decision to learn about Mabuza told parliament that a law Opposition leader leaves DR Congo for medical treatment other religions,” he said. making it harder for foreigners to Some surveys put Swaziland’s set up businesses in Swaziland was Muslim population as high as 10%, in the pipeline. AFP complicate negotiations over the time- family said he was going to Belgium cal treatment in former colonial power but the US Department of State in Church leaders in Swaziland wel- Kinshasa table for a New Year’s Eve deal under for medical tests. “He’s not dying, but Belgium, with hundreds of thousands of 2015 put the fi gure at about 2%. comed the Christianity-only syl- which Kabila will stay in offi ce before he has to go for a test in Brussels,” the people taking to the streets to welcome Many Swazis combine Christian- labus. new elections are held in late 2017. source said. him home. ity with indigenous beliefs, and reli- “Christianity is the bedrock re- ongolese opposition leader The country’s infl uential Catholic A senior UDPS offi cial expressed Kabila, who has been in power since gious freedoms are written into the ligion on which this country was Etienne Tshisekedi yesterday bishops brokered the deal in a bid to greater concern over the health of “the 2001, was due to step down on Decem- country’s 2005 constitution. built,” said Stephen Masilela, presi- Cheaded to Belgium for medical prevent more bloodshed in a crisis that Old Man”, as Tshisekedi is aff ectionately ber 20 at the end of his second and fi - The education ministry last week dent of the Swaziland Conference of treatment — just as his party is trying to has already claimed dozens of lives in known among his political allies, saying nal mandate, but has shown no signs of instructed all head teachers to en- Churches. negotiate a power-sharing deal follow- the chronically unstable nation. the opposition leader’s health had rapid- wanting to leave offi ce. sure that the syllabus would not Swaziland, with a population of ing President Laurent Kabila’s refusal to The UDPS, saying it wanted to put ly deteriorated. “This could be a one-way Tshisekedi is supposed to head a tran- mention any religion other than about 1.2mn, has been ruled by King step down. an end to “rumours”, published a state- trip, we can’t rule that out,” the party of- sitional body that will be set up until the Christianity, including Islam and Mswati III, Africa’s last absolute The 84-year-old head of the Union for ment overnight saying its leader would fi cial said on condition of anonymity. elections due at the end of the year, with Judaism. monarch, since 1986. Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), be leaving for Brussels on Tuesday on a The UDPS statement said Tshisekedi a prime minister to be named from op- Sahid Matsebula, a Swazi-born The country suff ers dire poverty a historic heavyweight in DR Congo’s trip that had been “postponed several would be returning to Congo as soon as position ranks. Muslim who works for a mosque and has struggled to lift its econ- opposition movement, took off from times because of the political situation possible to “take up his historic respon- He had unsuccessfully fought the near the capital Mbabane, said the omy, and has faced international Kinshasa’s airport aboard a private plane in the country”, without specifying the sibilities”. 2011 presidential election against Ka- government’s policy could worsen criticism that the government sti- at 6am, an AFP journalist reported. reason for his departure. Tshisekedi had made a triumphant bila, a vote which the opposition alleged religious friction in the southern fl es dissent, jails its opponents and The departure of the frail leader could But a source close to the Tshisekedi return in July after two years of medi- was marked by massive fraud. African nation. denies workers’ rights. Gulf Times Wednesday, January 25, 2017 11 AMERICAS

Trump invited to address Trump plans to keep joint session of Congress AFP establishment in his inaugura- Washington tion speech. He is likely to address several of the objectives that he hopes S House Speaker Paul to accomplish in the fi rst 100 Ryan yesterday an- days of his presidency, notably Unounced that he has in- a repeal and replacement of the Comey as FBI chief vited President Donald Trump Aff ordable Care Act, the health to address a joint session of Con- reforms implemented by his Reuters gress late next month, an invita- predecessor Barack Obama. Washington tion in keeping with Washington But the complex issue already tradition. appears to have set Trump on “Today I am inviting President course for a possible clash with resident Donald Trump intends to Trump to address a joint session Republicans. keep FBI Director James Comey of Congress on February 28,” Shortly before his swearing-in, Pin his post, a person familiar with Ryan told reporters. Trump told The Washington Post the decision said yesterday, amid reports “This will be an opportunity that he wants the replacement that US law enforcement and intelligence for the people and their repre- plan to provide “insurance for agencies are scrutinizing Trump associ- sentatives to hear directly from everybody,” a proposal that usually ates over their ties to Russia. our new president about his vi- has been opposed by his party. Comey, a Republican, drew furious sion and our shared agenda.” Republicans in recent weeks criticism from Democrats for announc- The White House and both have sought to shift the language ing just 11 days before the November 8 chambers of Congress are now to include a call to provide every- election that the FBI was looking at addi- controlled by Republicans. one with “access” to health care. tional emails related to Democratic presi- Trump will come to Congress Ryan’s formal invitation ful- dential candidate Hillary Clinton’s use of as a change agent. fi lls a tradition that provides an a private server. But he entered the White incoming president with the op- Four days after the election, Clinton House with poor national ap- portunity to address Congress privately blamed Comey for her elec- proval ratings, and he may al- within weeks of taking offi ce. tion loss to Trump, telling donors Trump ready have some repair work to A joint session of Congress was able to use the FBI chief’s comments do with the leadership and rank usually occurs in the House of about the e-mails to attack her in the and fi le of his own Republican Representatives chamber, and is waning days of the campaign. Party, after he off ered a searing attended by all 100 US senators On Sunday, Comey got a warm hand- repudiation of the Washington and 435 representatives. shake and pat on the back from Trump during a reception at the White House. Trump would not confi rm yesterday EPA grants, contracts temporarily frozen that Comey was staying on when asked about it during an Oval Offi ce appearance President Donald Trump’s cleanups and research. It was with top US auto industry executives. administration has asked the unclear if the freeze would impact The news about Comey keeping his job Environmental Protection existing contracts, grants and was fi rst reported by the New York Times, Agency to temporarily halt all agreements or just future ones. which said he told his top agents Trump contracts, grants and interagency Myron Ebell, who headed Trump’s had asked him to remain in the post he agreements pending a review, EPA transition team until his has held since 2013. according to sources. inauguration last week, said he An FBI director is appointed to serve The White House sent a letter to believed the move was related a 10-year term, but may be fi red by the the EPA’s Off ice of Administration to Trump’s executive order on president at any time. Mike Pompeo (left) is sworn in as CIA Director by Vice President Mike Pence as his wife Susan Pompeo looks on at Eisenhower and Resources Management Monday temporarily halting all For example, former president Bill Executive Off ice Building in Washington, DC on Monday after Pompeo was confirmed for the position by the Senate. ordering the freeze on Monday, an government hiring outside the Clinton in 1993 dismissed William Ses- EPA staff er told Reuters. military. sions after a Justice Department internal server to conduct government business information when she used the private The Times reported last week that US “Basically no money moving “A freeze at EPA on some other watchdog report that revealed unethical during her 2009-13 tenure as secretary email server. law enforcement and intelligence agen- anywhere until they can take a things like grants and contracts conduct such as taking FBI aircraft on of state. The FBI director then announced two cies are looking into intercepted com- look,” the staff er said, asking not appears to have happened,” personal trips. Comey sent a letter to the US Congress days before the election that a review of munications and fi nancial transactions to be named. Ebell told Reuters in an e-mail Trump had sharply criticized the Jus- on October 28 announcing that the FBI the new emails did not change the bureau’s as part of a wider investigation into po- The EPA awards billions of dollars yesterday morning. tice Department during the campaign was investigating more e-mails as part of previous fi nding that no criminal charges tential ties between Russian offi cials and worth of grants and contracts An EPA spokesman did not for not bringing criminal charges against its investigation into whether the former were warranted against Clinton, but the Trump associates including former cam- every year to support programmes immediately respond to a request Clinton for her use of a private e-mail secretary of state mishandled classifi ed political damage had already been done. paign chairman Paul Manafort. around environmental testing, for comment.

Press secretary promises ‘never to lie’

Reuters Spicer defended his right to Washington give the administration’s point of view. He said he had been includ- resident Donald Trump’s ing television and online view- press secretary promised ers in his remarks on Saturday Preporters on Monday that about the size of the inauguration he would never lie after a week- crowd. end briefi ng in which he made He told reporters that Trump statements about the crowd size and his advisers had been frus- for Trump’s inauguration that trated by “demoralizing” cover- were debunked. age that he called a “constant In comments to reporters on attempt to undermine his cred- Saturday that became known as ibility.” the “alternative facts” briefi ng, “I want to have a healthy rela- White House spokesman Sean tionship with the press,” Spicer Spicer declared that Trump’s said. crowd was “the largest audience Spicer answered questions on a to ever witness an inauguration wide range of policy issues, with a — period.” focus on trade policy. Photographs showed the He did not take questions from crowds at Trump’s swearing- reporters on Saturday. in on Friday were smaller than “That moves it away from the Barack Obama’s fi rst presidential acrimonious session on Satur- inauguration in 2009. day,” said Martha Kumar, a po- Spicer’s statement drew fur- litical scientist and emeritus ther criticism after Trump ad- professor at Towson University viser Kellyanne Conway said on in Maryland who studies the re- Sunday the White House had lationship between the White wanted to “put alternative facts House and its press corps. out there” to counter what she Spicer took questions from 43 re- said was a biased media. porters — more than twice the aver- At his fi rst formal White House age, Kumar said in an interview. briefi ng on Monday, Spicer was He also said he would start tak- White House press secretary Sean Spicer holds asked by a reporter if he intended to ing questions from four “Skype the first of daily briefings of the Trump always tell the truth from the lectern. seats” later this week to allow administration in the Brady Press Briefing Room “Our intention is never to lie to news organizations outside of at the White House in Washington, DC on Monday. you,” he replied. Washington to participate.

Adviser reassures Canada on trade ties

AFP said this and other proposed measures, present here at the retreat,” Trudeau Ottawa such as a “border tax” on imports, are spokesman Cameron Ahmad said. not aimed at Canada. “A high level of engagement between “Canada has been a great partner for our government and the US adminis- senior economic adviser for US the US for as long as anybody can re- tration certainly continues,” he added. President Donald Trump told member,” Schwarzman said. White House spokesman Sean Spicer, APrime Minister Justin Trudeau “There may be some modifi cations, meanwhile, told reporters that Trump and his cabinet on Monday that Cana- but basically, things should go well for would meet with his Canadian and Mex- da should not fear the trade intentions Canada...It’s a model for how trade ican counterparts in the next month. of the new American administration. relations should be, it’s a positive sum “He’s already spoken to both the Speaking at a retreat in Calgary to game. Canada is well-positioned.” president of Mexico and prime min- map out Ottawa’s demands in a rene- Trump has regularly assailed China ister of Canada about his desire to re- gotiation of the North American Free and Mexico on trade and vowed to re- negotiate, and I think as he meets with Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Trump ad- claim manufacturing jobs lost overseas. both of these individuals over the next viser Stephen Schwarzman said Cana- The US president’s son-in-law 30 days or so, that’s going to be a topic,” dians should not be “enormously wor- and senior White House adviser Jared Spicer said. ried” about the protectionist rhetoric Kushner is expected to travel to Cal- “Now, if they come in and express a coming out of the White House. gary to speak with Trudeau and his willingness to do that, you could nego- Trump pledged on the campaign trail team. tiate it within the current parameters to secure a new trade deal with Canada But a spokesman for Trudeau said and update it through the existing and Mexico or, failing that, ripping up the visit would not occur. structure,” he said. the 1994 trilateral trade pact. “We can now confi rm to you that no “If they don’t, and he decides to pull But Schwarzman, who is also head other offi cials from the US administra- out, we would have to go back to the of the investment fi rm Blackstone, tion, beyond Mr Schwarzman, will be drawing table in the future.” Gulf Times 12 Wednesday, January 25, 2017 AMERICAS

Massachusetts La La Land ties record with sued over ban on assault weapons

Reuters 14 Oscar nominations Boston

AFP un rights advocates have sued Massachusetts Los Angeles over the state’s ban on assault weapons, say- Ging that a crackdown begun last year on “cop- ycat” assault rifl es is a vague and unconstitutional omantic showbiz musical La La Land violation of gun ownership rights. yesterday topped the Oscars nomina- The lawsuit, fi led in federal court late Monday, Rtions list with a whopping 14 nods, ty- challenges a 1998 state law banning rifl es includ- ing the all-time record set by Titanic and All ing the AR-15 and AK-47 and a July 2016 directive About Eve. The movie — a whimsical tribute by the states attorney general banning guns that are to Hollywood’s Golden Age of musicals, set in similar in function but have been slightly modifi ed to modern-day Los Angeles — earned nods for meet state requirements, such as by replacing folding best picture, director for 32-year-old Damien stocks with fi xed models or removing fl ash suppres- Chazelle, and for its two stars, Ryan Gosling sors. and Emma Stone. The group of gun owners, dealers and the state’s In second place were sci-fi movie Arrival Gun Owners Action League, who have the backing of and coming-of-age drama Moonlight, tied at the National Rifl e Association, said the July decision eight nominations each. by Attorney General Maura Healey banned guns that This year’s crop of nominees clearly re- had been purchased legally in the state over the past fl ected a push by the Academy of Motion Pic- two decades and infringed on the right to bear arms ture Arts and Sciences to show more diversity (From left) Best actor nominees Casey Aff leck, Andrew Garfield, Ryan Gosling, Viggo Mortensen and Denzel Washington. protected by the Second Amendment of the US Con- after the #OscarsSoWhite controversy of the stitution. past two years, with multiple black actors and “Massachusetts prohibits fi rearms it pejoratively fi lmmakers earning nods. defi nes as ‘assault weapons,’ which is a non-techni- For best actor, Gosling will be vying for a cal, entirely fabricated, and political term of uncer- golden statuette at the February 26 Oscars tain defi nition and scope,” the 33-page lawsuit con- bash along with Golden Globe winner Ca- tends. sey Affl eck (Manchester by the Sea), Andrew It said that 1.2mn such weapons were sold across Garfi eld (Hacksaw Ridge), Viggo Mortensen the United States in 2014 and that that type of fi rearm (Captain Fantastic) and Denzel Washington represented 20% of US gun sales in 2012. (Fences). The suit asks a federal judge to overturn the 1998 In the best actress category, France’s state law and to block the state from enforcing its July Golden Globe winner Isabelle Huppert was ban on “copies or duplicates” of assault rifl es. nominated for her performance in the rape- “The assault weapons ban keeps dangerous, mili- revenge thriller Elle, along with Stone, Ruth tary-style weapons off our streets,” said Jillian Fen- Negga (Loving), Natalie Portman (Jackie) and nimore, a Healey spokeswoman. Meryl Streep, who earned her 20th nomina- “We will vigorously defend the law and continue tion for Florence Foster Jenkins. our enforcement eff orts.” Industry watchers had predicted that Cha- Gun rights are a hotly debated issue in the United zelle’s La La Land — buoyed by a record seven States. Golden Globe awards earlier this month — Advocates for years have succeeded in fi ghting off will triumph at the nominations. (From left) Best actress nominees Isabelle Huppert, Ruth Negga, Natalie Portman, Emma Stone and Meryl Streep. attempts to restrict weapons possession on the fed- But few thought it would tie for the all- eral level, contending that access to a wide range of time record set by Titanic and All About Eve. In the running for best supporting ac- The foreign fi lms nominated are Land of to join the 6,000 plus Academy members that weapons is needed for personal protection, hunting La La Land will vie for best picture honors tress are three black actresses: past nominee Mine (Denmark), A Man Called Ove (Sweden), bestow the Oscars were women and nearly as and shooting sports. with eight other fi lms (current rules allow for Viola Davis for Fences, Oscar winner Octavia The Salesman (Iran), Tanna (Australia) and many people of color. Gun-control advocates, who highlight the guns’ up to 10 nominees in this category) including Spencer for Hidden Figures and Naomie Har- Toni Erdmann (Germany). All 20 nominees in the main acting catego- use in mass shootings at places such as schools and Arrival, grim family drama Manchester by the ris for Moonlight. They will compete against The nominations were revealed in the pre- ries at last year’s Oscars were white for the nightclubs, have responded by focusing their eff orts Sea and Moonlight. past Oscar winner Nicole Kidman (Lion) and dawn hours in Los Angeles in an online broad- second year running, prompting calls to boy- on promoting new restrictions at the state level. Others in the coveted top category are the Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea), cast, not at the traditional press conference. cott the glitzy event and an angry social media Liberal-leaning Massachusetts has some of the fi lm adaptation of August Wilson’s play Fenc- who was nominated three times before. Unlike previous years, this year’s nominees backlash under the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite. strictest gun regulations in the country. es, Mel Gibson’s bloody WWII drama Hack- In the best supporting actor category, Jeff include a number of black actors and fi lm- The Academy’s board of governors has “We are drawing a line in the sand where Massa- saw Ridge, the western Hell or High Water, the Bridges (Hell or High Water) will take on Ma- makers, a move that should ease the diversity vowed to double the number of female and chusetts’ gun control agenda tramples the funda- real-life tale of NASA’s black female math- hershala Ali of Moonlight, Dev Patel (Lion), row that has cast a shadow over the Oscars for ethnic minority members by 2020. mental individual right to defend oneself and family ematicians Hidden Figures and Garth Davis’s Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea) and the past two years. Late night funnyman Jimmy Kimmel will in the home,” James Wallace, executive director of the family drama Lion. Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals). Almost half the 683 people invited last year host the Oscars on February 26. Gun Owners’ Action League, said in a statement.

Canadian pipeline leaks Bush Senior out of intensive care, Barbara released oil on aboriginal land AFP Barbara Bush was discharged but ex- Chicago pected to return to remain by her hus- band’s bedside, where she has been for Reuters cent to the spill, is leading cleanup ef- much of their hospitalisation. Calgary forts. “There are a number of pipes in ormer president George H W Bush “They really, truly are therapy for the area,” he told reporters in Regina. was transferred out of intensive each other,” Mynderse said. “When “Until we excavate it, we won’t know Fcare on Monday as he recovered she’s not there, he’s looking for her.” pipeline in the western Ca- with 100% certainty which pipe.” from pneumonia, while his wife Barbara The couple “thank their fellow nadian province of Saskatch- The incident happened in the was discharged from the hospital after a Americans and friends from around Aewan has leaked 200,000 lands of the Ocean Man First Nation bout of bronchitis, doctors said. the world for their prayers and good litres of oil in an aboriginal commu- 140km southeast of the provincial The 41st president and former fi rst wishes,” Bush family spokesman Jim nity, the provincial government said capital of Regina, according to the lady were admitted to Houston Meth- McGrath said in a tweet. on Monday. province. odist Hospital last Wednesday. He posted a photo showing the The government was notifi ed Ocean Man Chief Connie Big Ea- George H W Bush, 92, was suff ering former president sitting in a hospital late in the afternoon on Friday, and gle said the spill was 15m in diameter from bacterial pneumonia and was in- bed, dressed in a gown and smiling. 170,000 litres have since been recov- on Friday. tubated during a 48-hour period to help Barbara Bush is at his side, her hand ered, said Doug McKnight, assistant Ocean Man has 540 residents, him breathe. He is now breathing on his on his arm, wearing a lavender sweater deputy minister in the Ministry of one-third of whom live on the re- own and could be discharged as early as set and her trademark pearls. the Economy, which regulates pipe- serve, Big Eagle said. Friday or this weekend. The former president and fi rst lady lines in Saskatchewan. She said an area resident who had Barbara Bush, 91, who had viral bron- have received many messages of sup- Oil pipelines are viewed by the smelled the scent of oil for a week chitis, was hospitalised as a precaution. port, the doctors said, including from a oil-rich provinces of Alberta and located the spill and alerted her on Physicians Amy Mynderse and Clint family who hand-delivered a get-well Saskatchewan as a critical life- Friday. Doerr said at a news conference that card. The card is in Bush’s hospital line to move crude to the coast, but The chief said there are no homes the two were recovering well, but full room, they said. they have drawn fi erce opposition near the spill but it is about 400m recovery could take another week or Former president George H W Bush and his wife Barbara Bush at the Houston The couple has been surprised by from environmental and indigenous from the local cemetery. two. Methodist Hospital in a January 23 handout photo released to the press yesterday. the public concern. Mynderse said that groups. “We have got to make sure that “X-rays continue to improve, so before she headed to the Monday news It was not immediately clear how Tundra has done everything that they no obvious re-accumulation of ma- of breathing medications” and a full kinson’s that only aff ects the lower body. conference, George H W Bush asked the current incident happened or can to get our land back to the way it terial in his airways that would then course of antibiotics. Advanced age was of greater concern. her: “People want to know about me?” which company owns the under- was. That can take years,” she said. again put him behind the eight ball (at Bush has Parkinson’s disease, which “This age group doesn’t have as much “They’re very grateful for the love ground pipeline that leaked the oil. “They have assured me that they a disadvantage),” Doerr said about the has left him in a wheelchair, but doctors reserve as a decade ago, let alone 40, 50 that people showed them, and just are McKnight said Tundra Energy follow up and they don’t leave...un- former president, adding that he will said it was not a major factor in this lat- years ago. It doesn’t take much, from a extremely humbled and I think a lit- Marketing Inc, which has a line adja- til we are satisfi ed.” need a “fairly aggressive combination est illness. respiratory standpoint, to get into trou- tle bit awed by how beloved they are,” His is a less-common version of Par- ble,” Doerr said. Mynderse said. Teenagers go to court over ‘unlawful’ conditions at Wisconsin youth facilities

Reuters as defendants, as well as the supervisor The four plaintiff s are not named in Chicago of the facilities and the security director. the lawsuit because they are minors. The Wisconsin Department of Cor- They are represented by their parents. rections will review the suit, spokes- Two are currently in custody at Lin- isconsin was sued on Mon- man Tristan Cook said by email Mon- coln Hills and one is in Copper Lake, day over conditions at two day evening. Some 15% to 20% of the complaint said. Wjuvenile detention facilities detainees at the facilities are kept in The fourth was previously in cus- in the state’s northeast, where teen- solitary confi nement for 22 or 23 hours tody at Lincoln Hills but is now at an- agers claimed they are routinely sub- a day, the complaint said. other facility. ject to unlawful solitary confi nement, “Many of these children are forced Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake, shackling and pepper spray. to spend their only free hour of time which share a campus around 350km The American Civil Liberties Union per day outside of a solitary confi ne- north of Milwaukee, Wisconsin have and Juvenile Law Center fi led the law- ment cell in handcuff s and chained to been the subject of multiple com- suit against Wisconsin Department of a table,” the complaint said. plaints and investigations in recent Corrections offi cials on behalf of four “Offi cers also repeatedly and exces- years. unnamed youths at the Lincoln Hills sively use Bear Mace and other pepper An investigation into allegations School for Boys and the Copper Lake sprays against the youth, causing them including child neglect and sexual as- School for Girls in Irma, Wisconsin. excruciating pain and impairing their sault at the facilities was launched by The civil rights class action lawsuit breathing.” State Attorney General Brad Schimel in fi led in the US District Court for the The complaint added that, “these January 2015, according to local media. Western District of Wisconsin named practices constitute serious violations The FBI joined the investigation in two department of corrections offi cials of the children’s constitutional rights.” December 2015. Gulf Times Wednesday, January 25, 2017 13 ASEAN Indonesian province on alert as haze fears grow

AFP typically during the months-long for water-bombing to help the re- Jakarta dry season later in the year. gional government,” disaster agency The fires are deliberately started spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho to clear land quickly and cheaply said. Several provinces were criti- n Indonesian province that for palm oil and pulpwood planta- cised in 2015 for failing to declare suff ers annual outbreaks of tions. emergencies quickly enough. Ahaze-belching fi res said yes- The 2015 blazes were among the The blazes typically start earlier terday it was declaring an early alert worst on record and sent clouds of in Riau due its high concentration to prevent blazes burning out of con- toxic smog floating across South- of carbon-rich peatland and a wide- trol after forecasters predicted a dry east Asia, leading large numbers to spread practice of using fi re to clear 2017. fall ill. land. Riau, on the western island of Su- A US academic study estimated The Meteorology, Geophysics and matra, announced the move after a that the crisis may have led to over Climatology Agency has predicted few “hotspots” — areas of extreme 100,000 premature deaths. that this year will be drier than 2016, heat detected by satellites which of- The alert status in Riau — below when an unusually long rainy season ten indicate fi res — were sighted this the more signifi cant “state of emer- prevented major outbreaks of fi res. month. gency”, which typically indicates a Widodo urged eff orts to stop the It came a day after President Joko large number of fi res burning fi ercely blazes including setting up fi re pre- Widodo urged local authorities to — was set to remain in place until vention task forces. take early steps to prevent a repeat April and allows the province to re- He told a meeting of ministers and of the haze crisis of 2015. The fi res quest more resources from central senior offi cials: “It is only January occur every year on Sumatra and the government. but it is already looking dry, there- Indonesian part of Borneo island, “We are preparing helicopters fore we cannot be careless.” A helicopter operated by National Disaster Mitigation Agency dropping water over a fire in Kampar, Riau province in August 2016.

Hong Kong customs to release Singapore’s seized troop carriers

Hong Kong is to release ar- of the suspected breach. moured vehicles belonging The investigation might to Singapore impounded lead to criminal prosecu- in the Chinese-ruled city tion,” Tang was quoted as Thai court muzzles media on their way home from saying, while adding: “The military exercises in Taiwan, military vehicles and the Singapore said yesterday. associated equipment will Hong Kong customs seized be returned to Singapore the troop carriers in Novem- through the carrier.” ber. Beijing, which regained The seizure of the vehicles sovereignty over the former came amid mounting as traffi cking trial begins British colony of Hong Kong regional uncertainty and in 1997, then warned coun- signs of tension between tries against maintaining China and Singapore, which AFP military ties with Taiwan. has deepened its security Bangkok Singapore’s foreign aff airs relationship with the United ministry said Hong Kong States over the last year authorities would release and remains concerned ozens of people includ- the Singapore Armed over Cahina’s assertive ter- ing a general arrested in Forces’ troop carriers and ritorial stance . DThailand’s crackdown on other equipment to the Singapore and Taiwan have human traffi cking appeared in Singapore government a military relationship from court yesterday to begin present- but the ministry did not the 1970s, involving the use ing their defence but journalists give details. Hong Kong’s of Taiwan for Singapore were barred from reporting trial commissioner of Customs infantry training. Beijing proceedings. and Excise, Roy Tang, said has grudgingly tolerated The kingdom has long been a in a statement the vehicles this agreement since re- major hub for human traffi cking were seized because of “a establishing diplomatic ties and people-smuggling, with of- suspected breach of the in the 1990s with Singapore, fi cials accused of turning a blind Hong Kong law”. which recognises Beijing’s eye and even of complicity. Thai- “Hong Kong Customs has “one China” policy that says land’s junta launched a belated completed its investigation Taiwan is part of its territory. crackdown in 2015, a move that uncovered grim camps on the Thai-Malaysia border and led to dozens of arrests. Malaysia boat death toll rises to 12 But it also led to the sudden closure of the traffi cking route, leaving thousands of people — Two more bodies washed ashore in Malaysia yesterday after the mainly Rohingya migrants from sinking of a boat overloaded with illegal Indonesian immigrants, rais- Myanmar and Bangladesh — ing the death toll to 12 with about 25 still feared missing. abandoned by gangmasters on The bodies were found on Tanjung Leman beach near the south- land and at sea. eastern town of Mersing, said Saiful Lizan Ibrahim, local head of the More than 80 suspects, includ- Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency. ing local offi cials and senior army “Security forces found the two bodies – both men – believed to be general Manas Kongpan, packed Lieutenant General Manus Kongpan (centre), suspected of involvement in human traff icking, arriving at the criminal court in Bangkok in this 2015 Indonesians,” he said, adding that a sea search has been suspended into a chamber at Bangkok’s main photo. Dozens of people including a general arrested in Thailand’s crackdown on human traff icking appeared in court yesterday to begin presenting due to bad weather. criminal court yesterday for the their defence but journalists were barred from reporting trial proceedings. The boat was believed to be carrying about 40 Indonesian illegal opening of their defence on an ar- immigrants when it capsized in rough seas off Mersing. ray of human traffi cking charges. ings have since become more tials. “As a matter of basic judicial a nexus for lucrative smuggling series of human traffi cking scan- Two passengers were rescued and taken to hospital. Reporters watched proceedings commonplace, particularly in principles, trials should be public networks used by persecuted Ro- dals — including in its lucrative The 27-ft (9m) boat, designed for only 15 people, was travelling from on a television screen in a side military tribunals and for royal unless there is a very good rea- hingyas in Myanmar, and Bangla- fi shing and food production sec- Indonesia’s Batam Island to Malaysia, Saiful said. room. But they were told by court defamation prosecutions. son why they’re not,” Sam Zarifi , deshi economic migrants, on their tors. The junta has vowed to clean Some 45 off icers were combing the shore in search of survivors. offi cials that any reporting of But it is rare for such restric- Asia director for the International way to Malaysia. up the country’s image. But con- Indonesian illegal migrants often make the perilous journey in small what was said at the trial had been tions to be placed on a criminal Commission of Jurists, told AFP. Many were held in pitiful jun- victions have so far been few. In rickety boats to Malaysia in search of work, mainly in construction banned since the start of proceed- trial. The alleged involvement of The Thai Navy has sued report- gle camps on the Thai-Malaysia September a man was jailed for and agriculture. Last November a speedboat believed to be carrying ings last year. No reason was given senior military offi cers in the trade ers for investigations that alleged border suff ering beatings, rape 35 years by a Thai court for mas- illegal Indonesian migrant workers returning from Malaysia sank for the decision. is an incendiary topic given that the complicity of their offi cers and murder until relatives paid terminding a smuggling network. near Batam. Thailand’s generals seized the ruling junta proudly shows in human traffi cking. Southern ransoms. Thailand’s image has The defence is expected to end by More than 40 people were missing. power in 2014. Secret court hear- off its anti-corruption creden- Thailand has long been known as been battered in recent years by a March. Myanmar’s Wa State suff ers as fewer Chinese come to party

Reuters the once bustling gambling in- The stocky 25-year-old is the international community,” Pangsan, Myanmar dustry is not the only casualty typical of the wealthy, if narrow, said Tun Kyi, who oversees the from the falling number of high- Wa elite. The rubber plantation Wa Healthcare Bureau. The Wa roller mainland punters. aff ords him a comfortable life education programme is in an n a remote casino in north- From shopkeepers to moto- in a mansion overlooking Pang- equally poor state. The illiteracy eastern Myanmar, China’s taxi drivers, local people said san, and fancy gadgets such as rate stands at 90%, with 83% of Ipervasive campaign against Beijing’s tightening of visas for the newest model of iPhone and adults having less than a year of graft has taken its toll. Hundreds Chinese gamblers travelling to a fi ne-tuned Toyota Hilux truck. schooling or none at all, accord- of local traders and farmers place the Wa in recent years — part of ing to a 2008 report by Health petty bets as low as 10 cents, out- the anti-corruption campaign The Wa State is now trying Poverty Action. numbering a few Chinese who launched by President Xi Jinping to diversify its economy, That is in sharp contrast to were once the VIPs of a gambling — has cast a shadow on liveli- which relies heavily on Myanmar’s illiteracy rate of less hall decorated with chandeliers hoods in the reclusive territory. China as a market for its than 5%, based on data from the and Renaissance-style paintings. The Wa State is now trying to exports of rubber and United Nations. Business own- “The business has been re- diversify its economy, which re- metals such as tin ers and the Wa political elite ally bad since Chinese tourists lies heavily on China as a market send their children to China for stopped coming,” said casino for its exports of rubber and met- All these goods are unattain- schooling. waitress Ling Ling who was con- als such as tin. able for regular citizens in Wa, “Their parents want them to sidering leaving Pangsan, capital Reuters visited the rugged ter- where life expectancy, at 60, is learn Chinese and to work in Chi- of the self-proclaimed Wa State ritory in October — a rare trip by a fi ve years below Myanmar and na, because children educated in that borders China, to look for major international news organi- 16 years behind neighbouring Wa schools can’t join the Chi- better paying jobs. sation that off ered a glimpse into China. Some Wa farmers rely on nese education system and have The three-storey gambling the Chinese-speaking statelet of a World Food Programme (WFP) no opportunities,” said Wa Wa parlour, with some 1,000 work- 600,000 people that is beyond operation to supplement what Myint, a teacher at an elementary ers, off ers games from jackpot the control of Myanmar leader they can produce. school of 700. slot machines to high-stakes Aung San Suu Kyi’s government. The agency, active throughout Back in downtown Pangsan, VIP rooms featuring bets of up to The Wa State took shape in Ethnic performers dressed as United Wa State Army soldiers perform a traditional dance in Mongmao, Wa the area which has also experi- bright, neon signs dangling from $16,000. It is deep in the Wa hills 1989, after the Communist Party territory in northeast Myanmar. enced outbreaks of vaccine-pre- low-rise hotels, massage par- in one of Asia’s poorest regions, of Burma disintegrated follow- ventable diseases such as tuber- lours and bars light up the main where its majority ethnic Wa ing a purge by Wa leaders. The vast scale, underwent an eradi- Many plantations are backed nesses in the territory from gaso- culosis, had planned to deliver street a few minutes walk from a farmers earn an annual income 30,000-strong UWSA signed a cation campaign against the by investors from China, along- line to mining. 152 metric tons of food last year border crossing with China. of $115. ceasefi re with the Myanmar army plant used for production of her- side businessmen connected to “I hope there is more foreign through its community asset cre- A rowdy birthday party is un- In the statelet the size of Bel- shortly afterwards and the two oin more than a decade ago. the Wa State leadership. Their investment so that I can diversify ation programme. der way in a two-storey karaoke gium controlled by the United Wa sides have not fought in years. Poppy fi elds were replaced by “state-supported private com- my business,” said C Yang, son of “We don’t have enough doc- lounge that resembles a Roman State Army (UWSA), Myanmar’s Wa leaders say the region, plantations, mostly rubber, as panies”, as described by several a UWSA commander who owns a tors and we are in need for temple, with life-size sculptures strongest ethnic armed group, which used to grow opium on a well as coff ee and tea, they say. Wa leaders, control key busi- rubber plantation of 132 acres. medicines. We need help from by its gate. Gulf Times 14 Wednesday, January 25, 2017 EAST ASIA China says Mongolia learned lesson after Dalai Lama visit

Reuters gards him as a dangerous separa- Ministry’s website. China also A week after the November quoted as saying. Mongolia has in India. Beijing regards him as Beijing tist and warned Mongolia before hoped Mongolia would “scrupu- visit, China imposed fees on been working to boost economic a “splittist”, though he says he the visit that it could damage ties. lously abide by its promise” not commodity imports from Mon- ties with its powerful southern seeks genuine autonomy for his “The Dalai Lama’s furtive visit to invite the Dalai Lama again, golia, charging additional transit neighbour and use Chinese in- Himalayan homeland, which hina said yesterday it to Mongolia brought a negative Wang said. costs on goods passing through vestment and know-how in min- Communist Chinese troops hopes Mongolia has impact to China-Mongolia rela- The Mongolian minister was a border crossing into China’s ing and infrastructure projects. “peacefully liberated” in 1950. Clearned a lesson and will tions,” Chinese Foreign Minister not available for comment but northern region of Inner Mon- Mongolia had previously said Rights groups and exiles say keep a promise not to invite the Wang Yi told Mongolia’s Minister the Chinese ministry said he ex- golia. the Dalai Lama’s trip had nothing China tramples on the religious Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai of Foreign Aff airs Tsend Munkh- pressed regret at the negative “Mongolia fi rmly supports to do with the government and he and cultural rights of the Tibet- Lama again after his visit in No- Orgil by telephone. impact caused by the visit and the one China policy, consist- had been invited by Mongolian an people, accusations denied vember led to a chill in relations. “We hope that Mongolia has reaffi rmed his government’s po- ently holds that Tibet is an in Buddhists. by Beijing, which says its rule The Dalai Lama is upheld as a taken this lesson to heart,” he sition that the Dalai Lama would separable part of China, that the The Dalai Lama fl ed Tibet af- has ended serfdom and brought spiritual leader in predominantly said, according to a statement not be invited again, fi rst stated in Tibet issue is China’s internal af- ter an abortive uprising against prosperity to a once-backward Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Buddhist Mongolia, but China re- posted on the Chinese Foreign December. fair,” the Mongolian minister was Chinese rule in 1959. He is based region. Lama.

China to push Mandarin to protect dying tongues Beijing reiterates South

Reuters Beijing

hina will “unswervingly” stick to the promotion of Manda- rin for ethnic minorities, the government said yesterday of a China Sea sovereignty Cpolicy that has ignited sporadic protests, and will also step up protection for threatened tongues on the verge of extinction. Reuters “It’s a question of if those is- gation and wants talks with na- hearing whether he supported a move against China, except to Language politics have long been tricky in China, especially in Beijing/Washington lands are in fact in international tions directly involved to fi nd more aggressive posture toward say: “I think, as we develop fur- restive minority areas like Tibet and Xinjiang where non-Chinese waters and not part of China a peaceful solution. “We urge China and said: “We’re going to ther, we’ll have more informa- languages are widely spoken and have offi cial support including be- proper, then yeah, we’re going the United States to respect the have to send China a clear signal tion on it.” ing taught in school. hina said yesterday it had to make sure that we defend in- facts, speak and act cautiously that, fi rst, the island-building Tillerson narrowly won ap- The pushing of bilingual education in Tibetan regions has set off “irrefutable” sovereignty ternational territories from be- to avoid harming the peace and stops and, second, your access proval from a Senate committee protests in recent years, though many parents also want their chil- Cover disputed islands in ing taken over by one country,” stability of the South China to those islands also is not going on Monday and is expected to dren to learn Mandarin to improve their job prospects. the South China Sea after the Spicer said. Sea,” Hua said. to be allowed.” win confi rmation from the full The government has pushed Mandarin for decades to give a com- White House vowed to defend Chinese Foreign Ministry “Our actions in the South The former Exxon Mobil Corp Senate. mon means of communication in a country where thousands of Chi- “international territories” in the spokeswoman Hua Chunying China Sea are reasonable and chairman and chief executive Military experts said that nese dialects and many dozen non-Chinese languages like Tibetan strategic waterway. told a regular news briefi ng yes- fair. No matter what changes did not elaborate on what might while the US Navy has exten- and Uighur are spoken. In a lengthy policy document mapping out White House spokesman Sean terday “the United States is not happen in other countries, what be done to deny China access to sive capabilities in Asia to stage development goals for ethnic minority regions over the next fi ve Spicer in his comments on Mon- a party to the South China Sea they say or what they want to the islands. But analysts said his blockading operations with years, the central government said it would promote teaching in day signalled a sharp departure dispute”. do, China’s resolve to protect its comments, like those of Spicer, ships, submarines and planes, Mandarin. from years of cautious US han- China claims most of the sovereignty and maritime rights suggested the possibility of US any such move against China’s “Fully promote and spread the national common language and dling of China’s assertive pur- South China Sea, while Taiwan, in the South China Sea will not military action, or even a naval growing naval fl eets would risk script,” the government said, referring also to the use of the simpli- suit of territorial claims in Asia. Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philip- change,” she added. blockade. Such action would a dangerous escalation. Aides fi ed Chinese script offi cially used in China. “Raise the ability and “The US is going to make sure pines and Brunei claims parts of Tillerson’s remarks at his risk an armed confrontation have said that Trump plans a level of ethnic minority students to grasp and use the national com- that we protect our interests the sea that commands strate- Senate confi rmation hearing with China, an increasingly for- major naval build-up in East mon language and script.” there,” Spicer said when asked gic sealanes and has rich fi shing prompted Chinese state media midable nuclear-armed military Asia to counter China’s rise. Focus must be put on areas with limited Chinese abilities, it added, if Trump agreed with comments grounds along with oil and gas to say at the time that the Unit- power. It is also the world’s sec- China’s foreign ministry said without naming any locations. The government also pledged help for by his secretary of state nomi- deposits. China’s sovereignty ed States would need to “wage ond-largest economy and the earlier it could not guess what threatened tongues. “Increase eff orts to protect ethnic minority lan- nee, Rex Tillerson. over the Spratly Islands in the war” to bar China’s access to target of Trump accusations it is Tillerson meant by his remarks, guages in imminent danger,” it said. The United Nations estimates On January 11, Tillerson said South China Sea was “irrefuta- the islands, where it has built stealing American jobs. which came after Trump ques- more than 100 languages in China are at risk of dying out, including China should not be allowed ac- ble” Hua said. military-length air strips and Spicer declined to elaborate tioned Washington’s longstand- Manchu, mother tongue of the country’s last emperor, as Mandarin cess to islands it has built in the But China was also dedicated installed weapons systems. when asked how the United ing and highly sensitive “one- takes over. contested South China Sea. to protecting freedom of navi- Tillerson was asked at the States could enforce such a China” policy over Taiwan. All decked up Japan launches fi rst satellite for military communications

Reuters economic zones claimed by both. Tokyo Japan, the main US ally in Asia, is concerned that a recent in- crease in Chinese military activi- apan launched its fi rst mili- ty in the area is a sign it is looking tary communications satellite to extend its military infl uence Jyesterday to boost the broad- from the neighboring South Chi- band capacity of its Self Defence na Sea as a challenge to US mari- Forces as they reinforce an island time dominance. chain stretching along the south- In the nine months from April ern edge of the East China Sea. to December, Japan scrambled Under Prime Minister Shinzo fi ghter jets to counter Chinese Abe, the military is operating aircraft approaching Japanese further from Japan’s home is- airspace 644 times, almost dou- lands as it takes on a bigger role ble the 373 times a year earlier, to counter growing Chinese mili- Japan’s Ministry of Defence an- tary activity in the region. nounced on Friday. The satellite lifted off from In December, China’s fi rst Japan’s Tanegashima space port aircraft carrier, the Soviet-built aboard an H-IIA rocket and suc- Liaoning, accompanied by sev- cessfully entered orbit, said a eral warships, sailed through the spokesman for Mitsubishi Heavy passage between the Japanese Industries, which builds the Southwestern islands of Mikado launcher. and Okinawa and into the Pacifi c The satellites is one of three for what China described as rou- planned so-called X-band satel- tine exercises. lites, that will quadruple broad- The launch marks the success- band capacity, unify a fractured ful resumption of a programme and overburdened communica- that was halted last year by an tions network and allow commu- embarrassing mishap. The fi rst nications across more territory. of the three satellites, which Japan and China are locked in was meant to go into space from a territorial dispute in the East Europe’s Space port in French China Sea over a group of un- Guiana, was crushed during a inhabited islands known as the fl ight from Japan after a blue tar- Chinese children pose for a photograph beside a tree decorated with lanterns ahead of the Lunar New Year in Beijing. The Lunar New Year, known locally as the Spring Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in paulin covering its transport box Festival, falls on January 28 this year and marks the Year of the Rooster in the Chinese calendar. China. The two countries are also blocked valves meant to equalise at odds over the exploitation of the internal air pressure as the gas fi elds that straddle exclusive cargo aircraft descended. Tourism body backs boycott of Japanese hotel group

Reuters room of the fi rm’s more than hotel,” Zhang said in a statement Japan’s wartime occupation of pan should work together on Shanghai 400 hotels. on the body’s website. “We call Nanjing, and the resulting mas- common issues facing the in- Motoya, using the pen name on Chinese groups and the many sacre is a highly contentious is- ternational community, rather Seiji Fuji, wrote that stories of tourists that visit Japan to resist sue between the uneasy neigh- than focusing too much on the hina’s tourism admin- the Nanjing massacre were “im- APA’s wrong approach and avoid bours. “unhappy past”. istration has urged tour possible”: “These acts were all spending money at this hotel.” China says Japanese troops Japan attracted about 6.3mn Coperators to sever ties said to be committed by the Jap- APA did not immediately re- killed 300,000 people in the tourists from China last year, with a Japanese hotel chain after anese army, but this is not true.” spond to requests for comment. city. A post-war Allied tribunal the largest such bloc of visitors, an escalating row over the hotel- The China National Tourism Offi cial support for a boycott put the death toll at about half up nearly 28% from 2015. Their ier’s denial of the 1937 massacre Administration is fi rmly op- of the Japanese chain escalates that. To the fury of China, some spending helped buoy the slug- by Japanese troops in the Chi- posed to APA Group’s “provo- calls that had circulated online conservative Japanese politi- gish economy, in areas from ho- nese city of Nanjing. cation” of Chinese tourists, and in some of China’s state-run cians and academics deny the tels to cosmetics. A furore erupted this month spokesman Zhang Lizhong said media. The offi cial Xinhua news massacre took place, or they put APA President Motoya previ- over books by Toshio Motoya, yesterday. agency added its voice yester- the death toll much lower. ously said Chinese tourists only president of Tokyo-based hotel “We demand that all opera- day, calling the incident “only Japan’s Deputy Chief Cabi- made up 5% of the chain’s cus- and real estate developer APA tors with international tours and the tip of the iceberg of Japan’s net Secretary Koichi Hagiuda tomers in Japan and that he did Group, that air his revisionist online platforms completely ultra-right wing’s eff orts to re- downplayed the incident on not expect the row to aff ect the Japan’s H-IIA rocket carrying the Kirameki-2 satellite is launched from views and are placed in every stop all co-operation with this vise the nation’s war history.” Tuesday, saying China and Ja- hotel. Tanegashima Space Centre in Kagoshima prefecture, yesterday. Gulf Times Wednesday, January 25, 2017 15 AUSTRALASIA/EAST ASIA

The last frontier East Timor drops spying claims against Australia ast Timor has withdrawn withdraw two arbitration cases “The commission and the its Australian espionage before the permanent court parties recognise the impor- Eclaims in the permanent of arbitration (PCA) in The tance of providing stability and court of arbitration as a “con- Hague: the “espionage case” certainty for petroleum com- fi dence-building measure”, as and a second arbitration con- panies with current rights in the two countries continue to cerning jurisdiction of a gas the Timor Sea,” the joint re- South Korean and US soldiers prepare to take part in a demonstration as part of a joint annual winter exercise in Pyeongchang, some negotiate over their maritime pipeline from Bayu-Undan to lease said. 180km east of Seoul. The Korean peninsula is the world’s last Cold War frontier as Stalinist North Korea and pro-Western South Korea border. Darwin. “The parties are committed have been technically at war since the 1950-53 conflict. In 2013 it was revealed the The dispute over the Timor to providing a stable frame- Australian government had Sea – more precisely the lu- work for existing petroleum bugged the Dili cabinet room crative oil fi elds beneath the operations (and) the commis- of the East Timor government sea – has pre-empted and then sion intends to do its utmost in 2004 – under the guise of overshadowed the short and to help the parties reach an Australian aid-sponsored ren- chequered history between agreement that is both equita- ovations. independent East Timor and ble and achievable.” Zookeeper urges people to catch The East Timor government Australia. In order to provide a stable claimed the espionage gave The fi elds are estimated to framework for existing petro- Australia an unfair advantage hold 9tn cubic feet of gas and leum operations, Australia and in negotiations over the Cer- 300m barrels of condensate East Timor have agreed that deadly spiders as antidote runs low tain Maritime Arrangements in and liquefi ed petroleum gas the 2002 Timor Sea Treaty and the Timor Sea (Cmats) treaty, worth about $53bn. its regulations would remain in which divides future revenue But the agreement to ter- force in its original form until a Reuters the public to hand in spiders that just can’t.” Funnel-web spiders vision of the blood plasma and from the tens of billions of dol- minate Cmats and “commit- fi nal delimitation of maritime Sydney are milked for the venom used to live throughout southeastern vaccine maker CSL Ltd, which lars worth of oil and gas that lie ment to good faith talks” ap- boundaries has come into ef- produce an antidote. Australia, but the only known converts it into the life-saving beneath the sea. pear to have mended mistrust fect. The anti-venom programme killer is the Sydney funnel-web antidote. In a joint statement issued in the relationship and helped Father Frank Brennan, n Australian zookeeper was now at risk after too few spi- spider, found in the Sydney re- Despite the terrifying reputa- yesterday by the East Timor with the progress of negotia- former director of the Jesuit yesterday urged people to ders were donated last year and gion and as far north as New- tion of Australian wildlife, no- and Australian governments, tions. Refugee Service in East Timor, Acatch and donate deadly a recent heatwave encouraged castle and south to Illawarra, the body has died from the bite of the two countries confi rmed Both countries are engaged adviser to the church-consti- funnel-web spiders, to help re- more spider activity and bites, park says on its website. a funnel-web spider since the East Timor had withdrawn in a year-long compulsory tution working group in that plenish stocks of antidote run- the park’s general manager, Tim “The large fangs and acidic anti-venom programme began in from Cmats and the treaty conciliation, overseen by the country and professor of law at ning low after a spate of spider Faulkner, said yesterday. venom make the bite very pain- 1981. Catching venomous spiders would cease to operate from 10 permanent court of arbitra- Australian Catholic University, bites. “We rely on community sup- ful,” it said, noting that a major is safe, as long precautions are April this year. tion, and say they are working said the fl edgling country had The Australian Reptile Park, port to keep this program alive,” bite can cause death within an followed, Faulkner said. “With As the fi nal in a series of towards a fi nal agreement on a taken a huge gamble in its ne- the country’s sole supplier of Faulkner said in a telephone in- hour if left untreated. an appropriate jar and a wooden “confi dence-building meas- permanent maritime boundary gotiations. – Guardian News funnel-web venom to antidote terview. “We have tried to catch After milking the spiders, the spoon, you can fl ick the spider ures”, East Timor agreed to by September this year. & Media producers since 1981, relies on enough spiders ourselves and we park delivers the venom to a di- into the jar so easily,” he said. Gulf Times 16 Wednesday, January 25, 2017 BRITAIN Sled Dog Rally Southern ‘worst’ train operator

Guardian News the London and south-east London railway can be a work of fiction which passengers cannot rely on. As passenger numbers rise, outhern’s status as Brit- parts of the rail network will ain’s worst-performing remain brittle until welcome Strain operator has been improvements are in place and confi rmed by the national rail working. passenger survey, which shows “Southern, Thameslink, Gat- growing dissatisfaction across wick Express and Network Rail the country. must continue to collaborate to According to research from produce a more robust timeta- the independent watchdog ble. Transport Focus, 66% Passengers need a better bal- of Southern’s passengers were ance between peak and off -peak satisfi ed with their last journey, services, reliability and capac- compared with an overall fi gure ity.” of 81% nationwide, down 2% Rail companies said the survey Husky dogs pull rigs with their mushers during practice for the Aviemore Sled Dog Rally in Feshiebridge, Scotland. from the previous year. showed four in fi ve passengers While the satisfaction score were satisfi ed with their train appears relatively high, com- journeys overall. pared with the results of pre- Jacqueline Starr, of the Rail vious polls by consumer and Delivery Group, which repre- commuter groups, the survey sents train operators and Net- — conducted at stations last au- work Rail, said: “We know we tumn — asks passengers to con- must do better. sider only the last journey they We’re sorry when customers took. don’t get the service they ex- Transport Focus said it was pect, including those aff ected by Survivor of gun attack unable to poll some Southern strikes. customers because trains were Everyone in the railway is not running. working hard to make train The survey found that the journeys better from start to experience of rush-hour South- fi nish.” ern passengers was particularly She said much of the disrup- poor. tion was caused by engineering played dead on beach Only 30% said their last jour- work that would eventually de- ney had been punctual, and only liver a better service. Allison Heathcote was shot spite travel advice warning of a Fisher, 75, who was a retired one in eight said the company “After decades of underin- in the stomach but survived threat from terrorism. former engineer and caretaker had dealt well with delays. vestment, and with passenger It also heard that tour op- who loved wildlife and bred koi On Southern’s sister service, numbers soaring to 4.5mn a day Guardian News erators working for the fi rm told carp, shot twice by Rezgui from the Gatwick Express, just 12% on thousands more trains, the London embassy offi cials they did not a range of about three yards as of peak-time travellers believed railway is full in many places,” want “an army of police” on he sat on a sunlounger. their ticket was value for money. Starr said. the streets of Tunisia because it In a statement read to the Nationally, 47% of passengers Andy McDonald, Labour’s he widow of a British would scare tourists, although inquest, holidaymaker Alan thought their rail ticket was val- transport spokesman, said the man killed in a terror- they did accept some increase in Foster, who was sitting nearby, ue for money. results “expose the failure of our Tist attack on a beach in security was required. said: “He [the gunman] was Scotland’s rail service showed privatised railways”. Tunisia has told an inquest she Lawyers representing fami- holding the gun [at] hip level a decline in perceived punctu- “It’s becoming more diffi cult played dead between two sun- lies of 20 of the Britons who when he shot the man.” ality and satisfaction, down 7% for the government to justify al- loungers after she had been shot died are to accuse Tui of “prac- Angie Fisher, 69, who was a year-on-year at Scotrail, while lowing private and foreign state- in the stomach. tically hiding and keeping out of retired bank manager and hair- regional train operators in Eng- owned companies to take money Allison Heathcote, who was the limelight” dresser, was shot fi ve times, in- land and Wales saw their ratings out of the system that should be 48 at the time, was staying at FCO warnings about terror- cluding in the head and neck, a drop to 84% on average. used to improve services or hold the Imperial Marhaba hotel ism in Tunisia, according to postmortem revealed. But commuters across south- fares down,” he said. in Sousse with her husband, papers submitted in advance of A former British soldier who east England remain the most The satisfaction results ap- Philip, on a holiday to celebrate the resumption of the inquests. saw the Fishers, both from dissatisfi ed. pear high in comparison with their 30th wedding anniversary. Last week, the inquest was Leicester, on the beach told how After Southern, the next other polls. The couple, from Felixstowe, shown how Tui customers were he later walked past the gunman worst-performing train service A survey published this were sunbathing on the beach The bodies of people are seen after an armed attack on a tourist able to access the FCO advice after mistaking him for a secu- was Thameslink, which is part of month by the consumer group outside the hotel on the morn- hotel in Sousse, Tunisia. via links on booking pages on rity guard. the same franchise operated by Which? found that only 21% ing of 26 June 2015 — three days the fi rm’s website. Keith Hawkes, who served Govia Thameslink Railway, with of Southern customers were before their anniversary — when ning away from the scene as she 30 deaths including “pen por- Giving evidence to the in- with the Gurkhas during a 22- 73% satisfaction. satisfied, down from 44% the Seifeddine Rezgui, 23, opened shouted for help. traits” of those who died. quest, Tui representatives said year career, said he saw Rezgui The other brands in the fran- previous year. fi re, killing 38 holidaymakers, She then heard the sounds of Philip Heathcote, who was they did not carry out regular with an AK-47 assault rifl e and chise, Great Northern and Gat- An online poll of about 1,000 among them 30 Britons, includ- gunshots getting louder as she 53 when he died, was described security risk assessments and narrowly avoided being shot wick Express, Southern passengers by the ing Philip Heathcote. realised the gunman was re- as a man who “called a spade did not agree security audits himself. scored 78% and 82%. Neigh- newly formed Association of In a statement to the London turning to the beach. a spade” by his widow, with were necessary as they were In a statement read to the bouring Southeastern, also run British Commuters found less inquests into the British deaths, “I was fearing for my life,” she whom he had one son, James, told the advice would not be inquest, Hawkins described by Govia, scored just 77%, while than 1% would be likely to rec- Allison Heathcote, who was lat- said. “I lay still on the sand try- who is 27. changing. security offi cers who arrived as another commuter network in ommend the train service. er put into an induced coma for ing not to move in an eff ort to He worked for Goldstar The hearing later heard from a mess, saying: “They looked the south-east, Greater Anglia, A Transport Focus spokes- a month, described the moment not draw attention to the fact I transport as a traffi c operator, the daughter of a couple who like anyone off the street, they scored 79%. Hull Trains had the woman said the long-running she was shot. was still alive. was an avid Manchester United were just three months away didn’t have any uniforms and overall highest satisfaction score survey, which polls about “I became aware of being I realised my best chance of fan and a youth cricket coach. from their 50th wedding an- one guy must have been 20 at 97%, followed by Heathrow 60,000 passengers annually and shot in my upper right arm,” she survival was to play dead.” Last week, the inquest heard niversary when they were both stone.” Express and Merseyrail. is classifi ed as an offi cial statis- said. Heathcote said she was not evidence from the Foreign Of- killed on the beach. The inquest has previously Anthony Smith, chief execu- tic by the government, remained “It was a stinging pain. aware at this stage if her hus- fi ce (FCO) and Tui, the travel Fighting back tears, Donna heard criticism of local law tive of Transport Focus, said: valid, but said the organisation I was conscious that I had band had been shot.”At the fi rst fi rm with which all 30 of the Bradley told the inquest that her enforcement, who were ac- “The results around the country had started to conduct addi- been shot elsewhere on my body opportunity I was asking Phil if Britons killed had booked their parents, cused during a Tunisian inves- are disappointing. tional research to “gather other but strangely I did not remem- he was all right. holiday. Ray and Angie Fisher, did not tigation into the mass killing Scottish passengers and those kinds of experience”. Most of ber bleeding from my injuries There was no response from The inquest heard claims that live to meet their fi rst grand- of deliberately delaying their travelling in peak hours in Lon- Southern’s service was planned and I was not actually aware I Phil and I realised he had not Tui travel agents had reassured child, who was born two days arrival at the scene to confront don and the south-east are bear- to be restored on Tuesday for the had been shot in my abdomen.” made it.” some of the survivors that Tu- before the inquests resumed, to Rezgui. ing the brunt of poor perform- fi rst time since early December, She said fellow holidaymak- The inquests are hearing in- nisia was 100% safe when they their son Adam and his fi ancee. The hearings are set to con- ance. although 12 RMT drivers were ers were screaming and run- dividual details of each of the booked their trip to Sousse, de- A witness said he saw Ray tinue until the end of February. “The timetable on parts of offi cially on strike.

Prince Harry says jokes help Cloud over parliament cope at veterans’ support centre

Reuters Tidworth

ritain’s Prince Harry spoke of soldiers’ need for “a dark sense of humour” to cope with Bthe aftermath of serving in confl ict zones as he visited a support centre for ex-servicemen suf- fering from anxiety, depression, stress, anger, and alcohol issues. The prince, who served with the British forces in Helmand, Afghanistan on two operational tours, was visiting the Help for Heroes Recovery Centre in Tidworth, Wiltshire, in southern England, where Prince Harry during a visit to a Help For Heroes he learned more about the therapeutic benefi ts of Recovery Centre at Tedworth House in Tidworth. outdoor activities. Speaking to former soldiers involved in a pro- with people who had endured similar experiences gramme to build an Iron Age roundhouse, Harry had helped him. touched on a macabre brand of humour that civil- “Being outside in the woods, where there is no ians could fi nd hard to understand. real noise, being here with people who are like- “It’s that dark sense of humour”, he said. “A minded, similar injuries, similar situations...brings lot of civilians don’t get it and actually it can be you all together and...more than anything it’s ther- frowned on sometimes but...without it, you can’t apeutic,” he said. In a sit-down session with ben- function at all, it’s got to be...part of the recovery efi ciaries of the Help for Heroes programme, Harry process.” stressed the need to reach out to those suff ering The Help for Heroes service provides free and from debilitating depression and anxiety. confi dential aid to former service personnel and Harry, 32, has been active in raising awareness of their families, as well as the families of those still the challenges faced by veterans, including helping serving. to organise the inaugural London Invictus Games, a Mike Day, a former soldier, described how be- sporting event for wounded servicemen and wom- The Big Ben clock tower and parliament are seen in London. ing outdoors at the centre in a natural environment en, in 2014. Gulf Times Wednesday, January 25, 2017 17 BRITAIN Parliament ‘backed the referendum

Reuters our future into our own hands? It London is becoming ever clearer that this is a choice that Scotland must make.” here are some reaction to Tim Farron (Liberal Demo- the judgment of the Su- crats): “I welcome today’s judg- Tpreme Court on the Brexit ment. But this court case was process: never about legal arguments, The PM’s spokesman: “The it was about giving the people British people voted to leave the a voice, a say, in what happens EU, and the government will de- next.” liver on their verdict — triggering “The Liberal Democrats are Article 50, as planned, by the end clear, we demand a vote of the of March. people on the fi nal deal and Today’s ruling does nothing to without that we will not vote for change that.” Article 50.” “It’s important to remember Gina Miller, lead claimant: that parliament backed the ref- “This ruling today means that erendum by a margin of six to members of parliament we have one and has already indicated its elected will rightfully have the support for getting on with the opportunity to bring their inval- process of exit to the timetable uable experience and expertise we have set out.” to bear in helping the govern- “We respect the Supreme ment select the best course in the A man arrives at the supreme court in central London yesterday. Court’s decision, and will set forthcoming Brexit negotiations out our next steps to parliament — negotiations that will frame shortly.” our place in the world and all our Jeremy Corbyn: “The govern- destinies to come.” ment has today been forced by “There is no doubt that Brexit the Supreme Court to accept the is the most divisive issue of a sovereignty of parliament.” generation but this case was “Labour respects the result of about the legal process not poli- the referendum and the will of tics. Straightforward Brexit the British people and will not Today’s decision has cre- frustrate the process for invok- ated legal certainty based on our ing Article 50.” democratic process, and pro- “However, Labour will seek vides the legal foundations for to amend the Article 50 Bill to the government to trigger Article prevent the Conservatives using 50.” Brexit to turn Britain into a bar- Paul Nuttal, (UK Independ- bill, says government gain basement tax haven off the ence Party): “This decision is coast of Europe.” hardly a surprise but in the end it The government asserts that “In a joint judgment of the Northern Ireland and Wales be- ber, would ignore Corbyn and deal which prioritises access to “Labour is demanding a plan will make no real diff erence. the time table still stands majority, the supreme court fore she triggers Article 50. vote against triggering Article 50, the European single market of from the government to ensure The will of the people will be holds that an act of parliament is That decision could help the while the small Liberal Democrat 500mn people, or potentially it is accountable to parliament heard, and woe betide those pol- Agencies required to authorise ministers to government to avoid potential Party said it would oppose Brexit even block Brexit altogether. throughout the negotiations and iticians or parties that attempt to London give notice of the decision of the delays to its Brexit timetable. unless there was a second refer- Sterling initially rose on the a meaningful vote to ensure the block, delay, or in any other way UK to withdraw from the Euro- But Scottish fi rst minister endum on the fi nal deal. news that the government had fi nal deal is given parliamentary subvert that will.” pean Union,” Neuberger said. Nicola Sturgeon said May has Meanwhile, the Scottish Na- lost its appeal, but it then fell approval.” “It will embolden those who he British government said “To proceed otherwise [than a “clear political obligation” to tional Party, which has 54 MPs, over half a cent to hit day’s lows Nicola Sturgeon: “It is vital rail against the decision of the it will table a “straight- consulting parliament] would be consult Scotland despite the vowed to put forward 50 “serious against the dollar and euro af- that the Westminster parliament people. Tforward bill” allowing a breach of settled constitutional court ruling. and substantive” amendments. ter the ruling that the devolved is now given the fullest possible It may give heart to those in parliament to vote on triggering principles,” he said the majority In a major speech on Brexit However, the opponents of assemblies did not need to give opportunity to debate and decide the EU, used as they are to ignor- formal Brexit negotiations, af- of the judges had agreed. last week, May said she planned Brexit are still likely to be some their assent. upon the triggering of Article 50 ing their own people, to attempt ter the country’s top court ruled David Greene, a lawyer for one to negotiate an agreement that way short of the numbers needed Those who campaigned for and also the terms of the UK’s to play hard ball in the negotia- on Tuesday that it must consult of the plaintiff s, welcomed the involves Britain leaving the EU to either delay May’s timetable or Britain to leave the EU said the negotiating position. tions.” lawmakers. ruling as a “victory for parlia- single market, in what critics to stop it. vote on triggering Brexit should SNP MPs will seek to work “I am convinced that though “We will shortly introduce leg- mentary democracy and the rule called an economically damaging The upper chamber, the be a mere formality. with others across the house of this skirmish has been lost in the islation,” Brexit minister David of law”. “hard” Brexit. House of Lords, could also seek “Any attempt to delay the commons to stop the march to- courts, the war will be won”. Davis told parliament following “My client is delighted by to- She promised that parliament to amend the plans but minis- Brexit process... would be an wards a hard Brexit in its tracks.” Arron Banks, chairman of the supreme court ruling.”This day’s judgment,” said Greene, will vote on the fi nal agreement ters are confi dent that unelected unforgivable betrayal of the Brit- “The Scottish government will Leave.EU: “Today’s judgment will be the most straightforward who represented Deir Dos San- to leave the EU, most likely in peers would not try to stop Brit- ish people,” said Richard Tice, bring forward a Legislative Con- gives our out-of-touch estab- bill possible.” tos, a London hairdresser. 2019. ain leaving the EU after voters co-chairman of the Leave Means sent Motion and ensure that the lishment the ability to soften or Davis urged lawmakers to help Dos Santos has reportedly A majority of 52% of voters backed Brexit by 52-48 % in last Leave campaign.“The Lords Scottish parliament has the op- delay the clean Brexit a majority ensure the bill is passed “in good gone into hiding after suff ering opted to leave the EU in the Brexit June’s referendum. should also follow suit; any delay portunity to vote on whether or of the British people voted for.” time” and not to “thwart the will a barrage of abuse following the referendum on June 23. May’s spokesman said the by them would ensure their abo- not it consents to the triggering “The people have been let of the people” following the ma- launch of his legal challenge. The ruling means the Brexit court’s decision did nothing to lition.” of Article 50.” down. Parliament gave us a refer- jority vote for Brexit in a referen- He did not appear at the court process is now open to scrutiny change the path of Brexit or her While yesterday’s ruling has “However, it is becoming endum and the people had their dum in June. on Tuesday. from lawmakers, the majority of timetable. settled the argument over the clearer by the day that Scotland’s say yet the power has now been Conservative prime minister The other main plaintiff , in- whom had wanted to stay in the Davis said: “The point of no role of parliament in starting the voice is simply not being heard or handed back to Westminster Theresa May, who commands vestment fund manager Gina EU. return was passed on June 23rd Brexit process, other hurdles and listened to within the UK. by our unelected establishment a working majority of 16 in the Miller, said she was “shocked by However, the main opposi- last year. headaches await May. The claims about Scotland judges. This decision shows how 650-seat parliament, has said the level of personal abuse” she tion Labour Party has said it This judgement does not Scotland’s First Minister being an equal partner are be- broken the system is — true de- she plans to trigger Article 50 of has suff ered during the legal ac- would not block Brexit although change the fact that the UK will Nicola Sturgeon said the court’s ing exposed as nothing more mocracy is being thwarted.” the Lisbon Treaty, which sets the tion. it would try to amend the legisla- be leaving the European Union.” decision on devolved assembles than empty rhetoric and the very Richard Tice, co-chair of rules for a two-year negotiating Miller said Brexit was “the tion. Last week May set out her raised the spectre of another foundations of the devolution Leave Means Leave: “It is regret- process for a nation leaving the most divisive issue of a genera- “Labour will seek to build in stall for negotiations, promising Scottish independence referen- settlement that are supposed to table that anti-democracy cam- EU, by the end of March. tion”, but said the court case was the principles of full, tariff -free a clean break with the world’s dum because Scots, who voted in protect our interests... are being paigners have delayed the Brexit “Our timetable for invoking “not about politics, but process”. access to the single market and largest trading bloc as part of a favour of staying in the EU, were shown to be worthless. process for so long.” Article 50 by the end of March “Today’s decision has cre- maintenance of workers’ rights 12-point plan to focus on global not being treated as equal part- “This raises fundamental is- “No more time must be wasted still stands,” Davis said. ated legal certainty based on our and social and environmental free trade deals, setting a course ners. sues above and beyond that of EU on this — a one line bill must be The 11 supreme court judges democratic process,” she told re- protections,” party leader Jeremy for a so-called “hard Brexit”. May’s spokesman also stressed membership. tabled this week in parliament upheld a high court ruling and porters outside the court. Corbyn said. Some investors and those that the government’s assertion Is Scotland content for our fu- and a clear timetable set out to rejected the government’s appeal In a boost to May, the supreme Media reports have suggested who backed the “remain” cam- that Article 50 was irreversible, ture to be dictated by an increas- ensure that Article 50 will be by a majority of eight to three, court judges ruled that the gov- that up to 80 Labour lawmakers paign hope that lawmakers, but another legal case is being ingly right-wing Westminster triggered no later than the end of said David Neuberger, the su- ernment is not legally obliged to (MPs) in the 650-member House most of whom wanted to stay in prepared to challenge that view government with just one MP March as promised by the prime preme court’s president. consult parliaments in Scotland, of Commons, the lower cham- the EU, will force May to seek a in the courts. Page 26 here — or is it better that we take minister.” Air quality plunges in cities London vista from London to Belfast

Guardian at more than 99% capacity, there continue for the next few days it London are no gaps in the schedule that should become clearer, with im- can be used for delayed fl ights proved air quality from today. and as a result, some passengers “There is high pressure to the he continuing cold, still may experience disruption to south-east of the UK and that is weather is expected to see their journeys today.” causing still, cold, damp weather Tpollution levels soaring in He added that passengers causing frost and freezing fog. London with freezing fog bring- should check their fl ight status “However, the [air] fl ow will ing more disruption at airports with their airline before travel- increase from Wednesday and and on the roads across the south ling to the airport. although it will still be cold that of England. “As always, Heathrow’s top will bring clearer weather … and The mayor of London, Sadiq priority is the safety of passen- better air quality.” Khan, issued the highest alert for gers and we apologise to those According to the latest data pollution in the capital on Mon- whose travel has been aff ected by from the department for envi- day and experts said air qual- today’s weather.” Road users in ronment, food and rural aff airs, ity was expected to remain unac- the south were also being warned by Monday evening eight regions ceptably low yesterday. of diffi cult driving conditions. of the UK were rated as having Widespread freezing fog also Dorset police reported 31 col- high or very high levels of air pol- brought disruption for travel- lisions on Monday — six times lution, including the south-east, lers and commuters. Heathrow more than usual over that time south-west, the east Midlands announced it was to cancel 100 on an average weekday. and Northern Ireland. fl ights and there were also prob- The force is urging motorists In particular, parts of Bristol, lems reported at Gatwick, London to take extra care yesterday, while Belfast and Nottingham were City, Stansted and Southampton the Met Offi ce warned that jour- among those fl agged as hav- airports. A Heathrow spokes- neys were likely to take longer ing high 24-hour mean levels of man said: “Persistent freezing fog than usual because of the “adverse PM2.5 particulates. Experts said across the south-east has reduced conditions”. Alex Burkhill, a me- that was caused by the still con- visibility at Heathrow again today. teorologist at the Met Offi ce, said ditions, car fumes and a peak in A man walks his dog in front of the setting sun on Primrose Hill in London, yesterday. “With [the airport] operating although the cold weather would the use of wood-burning stoves. Gulf Times 18 Wednesday, January 25, 2017 EUROPE

Erdogan calls for Italy avalanche toll up as action against copter crash adds to pain Gulenists AFP in Maputo Farindola, Italy

AFP he death toll from an ava- Maputo lanche that swamped an TItalian mountain hotel rose to 15 yesterday, with 14 still urkish President Re- missing, as a nearby helicopter cep Tayyip Erdogan has crash left six people dead and Tcalled on Mozambican dealt another blow to a region leader Filipe Nyusi to take ac- reeling from earthquakes and tion against the exiled cleric he the heaviest snowfall in decades. blames for last year’s failed coup. The emergency response heli- Erdogan was echoing the call copter came down in thick fog to arms that he made during a near Campo Felice, a popular ski stop in the Tanzanian capital Dar resort 120km (75 miles) east of es Salaam on Monday as part of Rome, during the evacuation of his tour of three African coun- an injured skier. tries. There were reports of a loud He told a reception in Maputo explosion being heard. that “we are aware that Fethulla- “Rescue teams have reached hists have a presence here in Mo- the wreck of the helicopter and The wreck of the helicopter following a crash yesterday in the mountains near the ski resort of Campo zambique”, referring to Fethul- they found the bodies of the six Felice, central Italy. lah Gulen’s Hizmet movement deceased in the snow,” a police which is linked to a network of spokesman told AFP. looking into whether environ- ($26,800) repair done. tunnelling through thick stone schools across the world, in- Campo Felice, located at 710m mental risks were properly taken The hotel, a four-star spa fa- walls may be almost intact. cluding in Africa. (2,330’) altitude but with pistes into account during the con- cility where George Clooney New routes have been dug “They have a vast sector of up to just over 2,000m, is close Rescue workers inspect a cleared road by the site of the Hotel struction and subsequent reno- once stayed, was built into a into the rubble but progress re- schools and associations all to the epicentres of earthquakes Rigopiano in Farindola, central Italy. vation of the hotel. hillside at 1,200m altitude on mained painfully slow with the around the world, and they have that struck the region last Events on the day of the dis- the eastern slopes of Monte Gran fi rst responders often digging a wide network here in Mozam- Wednesday and were followed been able to get there before up hope of fi nding more people aster itself, when guests were Sasso. with their bare hands because of bique as well,” Erdogan said. by the killer avalanche. news of the deaths came. alive with morale amongst the unable to leave because of snow- Campo Felice is on the other fears of masonry or snow slides. Turkish offi cials accuse Gulen Police said there was no ap- The tally of bodies found in exhausted rescuers having been blocked access roads, are also in side of the near 3,000m peak The avalanche occurred three of using his private education parent link between the crash the ruins of the Rigopiano rose to boosted on Monday when three the spotlight. that dominates the region. hours after the last of four mag- network to build infl uence and of and the seismic activity or the 15 on the sixth day of an increas- puppies were retrieved alive The local council had only The survivors pulled from the nitude fi ve earthquakes shook running a “parallel state” inside avalanche. ingly forlorn search through the from under the rubble. one functioning road-clearance ruins on Friday were all treated the region in the space of four Turkey. But it came as fi refi ghters and snow-covered wreckage. Italian authorities are investi- vehicle and had deployed it to for mild hypothermia, suggest- hours. “What they’ve tried to achieve mountain police grappled with Eleven staff and guests sur- gating the chain of events lead- reach isolated hamlets with eld- ing that anyone still alive nearly Police have calculated the in Turkey, they will try to achieve their aftermath. vived the disaster, two men who ing to the avalanche to see if the erly residents rather than clear- four days later would have had to force of the impact on the three- in Mozambique sooner or later,” A team of fi rst responders who we outside when the avalanche tragedy could or should have ing the road to the hotel. have found some way of keeping storey stone and wood structure said Erdogan. “This is something had been helping the rescue ef- struck and nine people, includ- been avoided. A second snow plough had warm. as being equivalent to it being hit that we request from you ... a fort at the Hotel Rigopiano was ing four children, who were A preliminary manslaughter broken down earlier in the Rescuers have not ruled that by 4,000 fully-loaded trucks. friend in need is a friend indeed.” dispatched to the helicopter found on Friday. investigation has been opened month and staff were awaiting out because they believe some The fi rst funerals for the vic- Since a failed coup on July 15 crash site but would not have Rescuers have refused to give with the prosecutor in charge authorisation to get a €25,000 rooms they are trying to reach by tims were held yesterday. which tried to overthrow Er- dogan, the government has launched wide-scale purges, detaining, sacking or suspend- ing thousands of people in the public sector. Erdogan’s fi ve-day tour of Af- Polanski quits French fi lm rica will also see him visit Mada- gascar before he returns home. Another key priority of the trip has been to promote Turk- ish infl uence on the continent jury after public outcry and to stimulate trade between Africa and Turkey. The Turkish strongman AFP “deeply saddened Roman Po- “surprising and shocking” that cism of his attendance. brought around 100 Turkish Paris lanski and aff ected his family”, the controversial fi lmmaker had While the choice of the Fran- business leaders with him for the his lawyer Herve Temime said in been chosen for the awards. co-Polish fi lm-maker caused offi cial tour. a statement. A petition calling for the outrage for some, the director irector Roman Polanski Last month he won his legal 83-year-old to be removed gar- won backing from many French has pulled out of his role fi ght to end eff orts by the United nered nearly 62,000 signatures. industry insiders. This 2014 file picture shows Polanski with his Best Director award Das the honorary host of States to extradite him from his Polanski’s lawyer Temime “I spoke to him yesterday by for La Venus A La Fourrure (Venus in Fur) during a photocall at the the “French Oscars” – the Ce- native Poland for unlawful sex said the decision to pull out phone and I think we shouldn’t 39th Cesar Awards ceremony in Paris. sars – after pressure from wom- with a minor. had been made “in order not to have added problems to the en’s groups and the government Polanski confessed to the disturb the Cesars ceremonies, problems. He’s deeply hurt,” ture minister Aurelie Filippetti drugging Geimer before having over his child rape case. crime, which dates back to 1977. which should focus on the cin- said the director of the Cannes defended him last week as a sex with her. The setback underlines the Leading French feminist ema and not on the appointment fi lm festival, Thierry Fremaux, “great director ... who should be He pleaded guilty to unlawful pariah status of the maker of group Osez le feminisme (“Dare of the (event’s) president”. yesterday. allowed to preside over the cer- sex with a minor, or statutory Chinatown and Rosemary’s Baby to be Feminist”) had called the His victim Samantha Geimer “It’s a case you need to know emony”. rape, as part of a plea bargain for many outside the fi lm indus- decision by the French Academy has previously appealed for the well in order to speak about it. I His third wife, French actress under which he served 42 days try almost four decades after he of Cinema Arts and Techniques US case to be dropped, saying know it well but I’m not going to Emmanuelle Seigner, posted a in detention while undergoing was accused of raping a 13-year- to invite Polanski “shameful” that she wanted to move on. add my own comments,” he told picture of a forest on Instagram psychiatric evaluation. old in Los Angeles. and urged people to protest out- Temime added that Polan- RTL radio. yesterday where she said she had However, in 1978, convinced The controversy over his ap- side. ski himself had attended many The French Academy of Cin- woken up “far from human nas- that a judge was going to scrap Erdogan: What (the Gulenists) pearance at the Cesars ceremony France’s minister for wom- festivals and ceremonies in the ema Arts and Techniques had tiness and stupidity ... and lies”. the deal and hand him a hefty have tried to achieve in Turkey, next month, where he would en’s rights, Laurence Rossignol, course of his life and had re- praised Polanski as an “insatia- Polanski, who was 43 at the prison sentence, Polanski fl ed to they will try to achieve in have given the opening speech, said on Friday that she found it ceived top awards without criti- ble aesthete” and former cul- time of the rape, was accused of France. Mozambique sooner or later.

UN Refugee Agency Austrian teen says he built ‘test bomb’ in Germany awarded German Reuters was arrested on Friday after tip- lic places in Vienna including structions on the Internet.” Both he and the Austrian had Vienna off s from unspecifi ed foreign its underground transit system He added that what had been experimented with materials to countries. might have been a target. established in the questioning create explosives in the Neuss Willy Brandt prize Austria alerted Germany to a “A test bomb seems to have was changing daily. apartment, it said. n Austrian teenager ar- related suspect, a 21-year-old been put together,” Austrian An interior ministry spokes- German authorities have been rested on suspicion of who was arrested in the western Interior Minister Wolfgang So- man declined to elaborate. on high alert since a Tunisian DPA into a Berlin Christmas market. Aplanning an Islamist at- city of Neuss on Saturday. botka told broadcaster ORF, even The German admitted during whose bid for asylum had been Berlin The International Willy tack in Vienna has told investiga- A boy thought to be 12 has also though no explosives were found questioning that the Austrian rejected rammed a truck into a Brandt Prize, worth €25,000 tors that he built a “test bomb” in been held in Austria. in the apartment in question. had visited him for two weeks at Christmas market in Berlin on ($27,000), is awarded every Germany, where another suspect Whether the German and “That is all we can announce to- the end of last year, a spokesman December 19, killing 12 people. he United Nations Refu- year by the SPD to people and has been arrested, Austria’s inte- Austrian suspects are believed to day from the questioning.” for the Duesseldorf prosecutor Police in Vienna have been put gee Agency was awarded organisations committed to rior minister was quoted as say- have planned separate attacks or Asked what he meant by a test said on Monday. on heightened alert since Friday’s Tthe prestigious Inter- understanding and peace. ing yesterday. a joint one, and of what nature, is bomb, Sobotka said: “Where one Germany’s Focus magazine arrest and have increased patrols national Willy Brandt Prize by Previous winners include The Austrian suspect, a not clear. tries to put together materials had said the man was planning at transport hubs and busy public Germany’s Social Democrats Berlin State Opera conductor 17-year-old with Albanian roots, Austria has said that pub- obtained on the market from in- an attack on police and soldiers. places. (SPD) on Monday. Daniel Barenboim and Nato The United Nations High Secretary General Jens Stolten- Commissioner for Refugees, berg. German court tries asylum-seeker Filippo Grandi, accepted the A separate prize for politi- award from SPD chief Sigmar cal courage went to the Turkish accused of deli knife murder Gabriel at the party’s Berlin journalists’ trade union TGS, Tags eyed for returning militants headquarters. which the award panel said is A Syrian asylum-seeker accused of killing his girlfriend with a Gabriel, Germany’s deputy committed to freedom of the deli knife and injuring passersby in southern town went on trial chancellor, said he was “deep- press and freedom of expres- AFP to be considered,” Hans Peter Sobotka told reporters before a yesterday in the German city of Tuebingen. ly humbled” to hand out the sion in Turkey. Vienna Doskozil told Austrian radio. cabinet meeting yesterday that The man is facing murder and attempted murder charges for award given the global plight of TGS has helped journalists “I defi nitely think that it would the use of electronic tags, which allegedly stabbing to death his 45-year-old girlfriend, who was refugees, especially children. arrested since July’s failed mili- be appropriate that ... they are he also supports, would require reportedly pregnant, outside the deli they both worked at in Chancellor Angela Merkel, tary coup. ustria’s defence minister monitored, that the authorities new legislation. Reutlingen. whose Christian Democrats are Brandt was a leader of the suggested yesterday that know what they are doing, whom Around 300 people have either He then went on to injure and threaten other people with the knife. in coalition with the SPD, has Social Democrats, who served Asuspected Islamist mili- they are meeting. It’s very im- left or were intercepted trying to The incident took place on July 24, just two days after a German- been alternately praised and as West German chancellor tants returning from the Syrian portant,” he said. leave Austria to fi ght in Syria, ac- Iranian teen went on a shooting spree at a Munich shopping mall, criticised across the world for from 1969 to 1974. war should wear electronic tags Austria’s centrist govern- cording to the interior ministry. leaving nine people dead. her open-door policy on mi- He won the Nobel Peace under a planned package of new ment has been preparing a raft Around 40 have died there The court is trying to determine the exact age of the defendant, gration in the face of the Syrian Prize in 1971 for his eff orts at “anti-terror” measures. of measures to beef up security while some 90 have come back. who says he was not of age at the time of the crime despite the fact civil war. reconciliation with communist “There are several possibilities and reduce illegal immigration, Austria has so far been spared that his asylum documents state that he was. In December, 12 people were East Germany, the Soviet Un- on the table ... electronic ankle including tighter border controls by the string of attacks by Islam- If this is true, his case would have to be considered by a youth killed after a failed Tunisian ion and Eastern Europe during tags for people posing a potential and more video surveillance. ist extremists in other European court. asylum-seeker rammed a truck the Cold War. threat are defi nitely something Interior Minister Wolfgang countries in recent years. A verdict is expected in early April. Gulf Times Wednesday, January 25, 2017 19 EUROPE

Kosovo leader hopeful German SPD’s Gabriel ahead of talks with makes way for Schulz Serbia AFP/Reuters the general election, Gabriel el, 57, a former schoolteacher, Berlin said: “Yes. It is my responsibility would also off er to give up his as (party) chairman.” chairmanship of the Social AFP Gabriel is part of Merkel’s Democrats, a position he has Pristina he head of Germany’s So- loveless “grand coalition” gov- held since 2009. cial Democrats (SPD) has ernment, as well as chairman of Gabriel is the longest serving Tabandoned an expected the SPD, which, like many of its leader of the SPD since former osovo’s President Hashim bid to challenge Chancellor An- European sister parties, is riven Chancellor Willy Brandt. Thaci said yesterday that gela Merkel in September’s gen- by disputes between its leftist Gabriel told Stern and Die Khe hoped for long-await- eral election, nominating former and centrist wings. Zeit that he now aimed to be- ed recognition from former foe European Parliament speaker “All the polls have shown that come foreign minister, replacing Belgrade as he left for a meet- Martin Schulz instead. people don’t want a grand coali- Frank-Walter Steinmeier who is ing in Brussels with top Serbian Sigmar Gabriel, 57, who cur- tion any more. In people’s minds expected to be elected German leaders. rently serves as vice-chancellor I stand for that. So Martin Schulz president next month. The European Union-bro- and economy minister in Mer- is the most suitable man,” one News website Spiegel Online kered meeting comes as ties be- kel’s government, revealed the person at the SPD party meeting said that Gabriel told SPD lead- tween the two Balkan countries decision in media interviews, quoted Gabriel as saying. ers yesterday that with his de- have reached their lowest level saying that his chances of vic- Polls show Merkel’s conserva- cision he wanted to ensure “the since they opened talks to im- tory would be dismal. tive Christian Democrats (CDU) survival of the party”, which he prove relations back in 2011. Speaking ahead of a party as the clear frontrunners over has led since 2009 without ever Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian in- meeting in Berlin to news weekly the SPD ahead of the September presenting a viable alternative to surgents fought Serbian forces in Stern, Gabriel proposed Schulz, 24 poll, despite unease over her Merkel, who took power in 2005. 1998-1999 and the former prov- speaker in the Brussels parlia- liberal asylum policy. Party sources told German ince unilaterally declared inde- ment until last week, as a can- If confi rmed, Schulz faces a news agency DPA that Brigitte pendence in 2008, but Serbia’s didate. very tough job beating Merkel. Zypries, a former justice minis- denies Kosovo’s sovereignty. Although Merkel’s conserva- However, an opinion poll con- ter, would take over the economy Tensions have heightened in tive bloc enjoys a double-digit ducted this month by the Emnid brief. recent weeks but Thaci voiced lead over the Social Democrats, institute for the Bild newspa- Merkel, 62, announced in No- This picture taken on December 12, 2015 shows Gabriel with Schulz at the annual SPD federal congress optimism before leaving for Schulz – who must still confi rm per showed that in a direct vote vember that she would seek a in Berlin. Brussels. he is willing to run – was widely Schulz would win 38% versus fourth term at the helm of Eu- “This is the opening of the seen as a more promising con- 39% for Merkel, compared to rope’s top economy. unemployment and a dearth of The top-selling Bild had re- An insurgent anti-immigra- fi nal chapter of dialogue which tender than Gabriel. a result of 27% for Gabriel and Her popularity has endured viable challengers within her ported earlier this month that tion party, the AfD, is currently will lead to mutual recognition “If I were to run, I would fail, 46% for Merkel. despite misgivings about her own party. Gabriel had made up his mind to polling at around 15%. between Kosovo and Serbia,” he and the SPD with me,” Gabriel Schulz, who has spent most refugee stance, as voters look to Gabriel had long hesitated to run for the top job, on the advice Meanwhile the opposition told reporters. said. of his political career in Brus- a safe pair of hands in the wake say whether he would carry the of former chancellor Gerhard Greens, who served in a centre- Earlier this month, Belgrade Asked by the Die Zeit news- sels, declared late last year that of Britain’s vote to leave the Eu- banner for the Social Democrats, Schroeder, 72. left coalition under Schroeder sent a train towards Kosovo paper whether he was stepping he wanted to turn his back on ropean Union and the inaugu- who have seen their support Polls show that Merkel’s CDU from 1998 to 2005, have indi- painted in the colours of the Ser- aside because of a poll show- EU politics to focus on his home ration of Donald Trump as US plummet in Merkel’s shadow. are the top pick for the national cated their willingness to join bian fl ag, covered in the state- ing that the party rank-and-fi le country but did not specify his president. The news nevertheless came election with around 37% sup- Merkel in government if they ment “Kosovo is Serbia” in mul- overwhelmingly believed Schulz ambitions. She has also been buoyed by as a shock to political observers port, followed at a distance by managed to security a majority tiple languages and decorated would have a better chance in Stern reported that Gabri- steady economic growth, low in Berlin. the SPD with about 20%. together. inside with Serbian Orthodox imagery. Kosovo said it was a “provoca- tion”. The train was stopped from crossing the border over fears Bulgaria it would be attacked, according Europe chokes under freezing smog to Serbian Prime Minister Ale- ksandar Vucic. sets early Members of Kosovo’s eth- AFP ing smog forced the cancella- most polluted European capi- nic Albanian majority were also Paris tion of around 100 out of 1,300 tals. outraged by the arrest in France fl ights at Heathrow airport for But so far, offi cials have not vote for in early January of former prime the second day in a row, while imposed any specifi c restric- minister Ramush Haradinaj, un- eavy pollution envel- Met Offi ce forecasters had a tions. der an international warrant is- oping much of Europe “severe” warning in place for all Lawmakers in the Krakow re- March 26 sued by Serbia. Hprompted emergency of England. gion of Poland, considered the Belgrade wants to try him for measures across the continent Madrid has not issued an area with the dirtiest air in the alleged war crimes commit- yesterday. alert since a seven-day stretch country, approved on Monday Reuters ted against civilians during the A toxic cocktail of extreme of high pollution that ended an anti-smog plan that calls for Sofia 1990s confl ict. cold, no wind and heavy burn- January 1, which saw the city replacing the most polluting Relations have further dete- ing of coal and wood for heating impose the fi rst driving restric- heating stoves by 2023. riorated in the town of Mitrovica has left many regions shrouded tions based on licence plates in Poland also plans to ban the ulgaria’s president has in northern Kosovo, where Serb in smog. Spain. use of low-quality coal – an im- called an early national authorities have started erecting In many countries, including Eastern Europe has also been portant but costly measure in Belection for March 26 and a concrete wall on the banks of Britain, France and Brussels, of- hit by blanket of smog, exacer- a country where coal is used to appointed former parliament the Ibar river. fi cials have cautioned against bated by the heavy use of wood heat 72% of homes. speaker Ognyan Gerdzhikov as The wall’s construction, by a physical exertion for children and coal for heating during the Piotre Kopalka, 31, was caretaker prime minister until bridge that divides the town’s and the elderly, and for people cold snap. among protesters who present- then. Serb-dominated north and with respiratory problems. Hungarian offi cials have is- ed a petition calling on Warsaw Gerdzhikov, 70, currently a largely ethnic Albanian south, Offi cials in Paris have ordered sued pollution alerts for about to enact measures similar to professor of law and head of has angered Pristina, which older, more polluting vehicles 20 cities, including Budapest, those in Krakow. an arbitration court, served as says it is cementing the town’s off the road since Monday, and where cars without catalytic “We want to live in a healthy speaker of parliament in a cen- divisions and must be knocked cut the price of public trans- converters have been forbid- city,” he said, wearing a black trist government from 2001 to down. port. den from roads from Monday to robe and an anti-pollution 2005. Ahead of the meeting, Kos- Speed limits have also been Wednesday. mask, and carrying a scythe. Kiril Ananiev, 61, currently ovo’s Prime Minister Isa Mustafa reduced in many parts of In Bulgaria, pollution has “The situation in Warsaw is a deputy fi nance minister in said the dialogue with Belgrade France. smothered the capital, Sofi a, more and more worrying, we charge of budgets, will take over “has no alternative”. In London, a cloud of freez- already considered one of the have to act.” as fi nance minister, two sources Vucic and Serbian President familiar with the matter told Tomislav Nikolic are due to at- Reuters. tend the talks. President Rumen Radev, who Stanislava Pak, an adviser to took offi ce this month, had to Nikolic, told state-run RTS tel- call an early election after the evision they were “expecting the centre-right government re- intensifi cation of dialogue and signed late last year following hope for the establishment of a the presidential election loss of ‘red phone’ with Pristina so that its candidate. concrete problems can be avoid- He will dissolve the parlia- ed in future”. A view of Budapest is seen with the parliament building between ment on Friday. Vucic said on Monday that the ‘Lanchid’ (Chain Bridge, foreground) and the Margaret Bridge “The head of state sets March although he did not “expect (background) yesterday as the level of air pollution approaches 26 as the date for the general much” from the Brussels meet- dangerous levels. election. With another decree, ing he still expected a “calming the president appoints Ognyan of the situation and clear mes- Right: The iconic Eiff el Tower is barely visible in the smog Gerdzhikov as interim prime sages”. yesterday. minister,” the president’s offi ce said in a statement. Russia-friendly Radev is also expected to appoint diplomat Radi Naidenov, at present Bul- garian ambassador to Germany, Meteors ‘did not enrich ocean life’ German and Belgian troops as interim foreign minister in a bit to reaffi rm Sofi a’s commit- ment to its allies in the European AFP two phenomena were unre- have changed the environment Union and Nato. Paris lated,” researchers wrote in the just enough to stimulate diver- in Lithuania for Nato moves The main task of Gerdzhikov’s journal Nature Communica- sifi cation of existing life, the interim government will be to tions. theory goes. ensure that the Balkan country n explosion of ocean life For study co-author Anders The question of what caused AFP while a ship carrying logistical deployments would force Rus- holds a fair election and main- some 471mn years ago Lindskog of Lund University in it remains open, but Lindskog Vilnius equipment docked at the Baltic sia to think twice about any tain fi scal stability to protect the Awas not sparked by a me- Sweden, the data showed “there speculated it was likely a com- Sea port of Klaipeda, Lithua- provocations in the region. Bulgarian currency’s peg against teorite bombardment of Earth, is no measurable ‘extraterres- bination of events and proc- nia’s military spokesman cap- “The deployment of a well- the euro. said a study yesterday that trial’ infl uence on biodiversity” esses. he fi rst group of German tain Andrius Dilda told AFP. armed battalion makes a snap The centre-right government challenges a leading theory. in Earth’s oceans. “It is reasonable that the very and Belgian troops ar- Last summer, the North intervention scenario less like- of Boiko Borisov steered eco- Without off ering an alter- The GOBE, which vastly ex- high sea levels that prevailed Trived in Lithuania yes- Atlantic Treaty Organisation ly. Russia will need to calculate nomic growth and cut unem- native explanation for what is panded marine life diversity, during the Ordovician ... sim- terday as part of a Nato move to (Nato) ordered continuous how Washington, London or ployment to an eight-year low, known as the Great Ordovi- kicked off 70mn years after the ply gave more space for life to reinforce its eastern fl ank. troop rotations on its eastern Berlin would react,” he said. while cutting fi scal defi cit, but cian Biodiversifi cation Event fi rst explosion of life on Earth thrive,” he told AFP. A group of German offi c- fl ank as a tripwire against Rus- The historic burden of Na- its failure to tackle widespread (GOBE), researchers from Swe- during the preceding Cambrian “Combined with the pres- ers have landed in the Baltic sian adventurism in states for- zism has made EU heavyweight graft in the EU’s poorest country den and Denmark said the crea- period, some 540mn years ago. ence of many small continents state’s capital Vilnius to co- merly under Moscow’s control. Germany a reluctant military has frustrated voters. ture expansion started some Some scientists contend (allowing for more endemic ordinate the deployment of a Apart from the German-led leader. Political analysts say the par- 2mn years before the space rock that the Ordovician event was faunas, adding to the sum of 1,200-strong battalion that battalion in Lithuania, Canada Lithuania’s President Dalia liamentary election, Bulgaria’s bombardment. sparked by a collision of objects diff erent species) and benefi cial will include forces from several will lead a multi-national bat- Grybauskaite has called Berlin’s third since 2013, is again unlikely This was based on fresh dat- in the asteroid belt between climate change (cooling, most Nato members. talion in Latvia, Britain in Esto- decision to lead the Nato bat- to produce a strong majority ing of crystals from meteorite- Mars and Jupiter raining debris likely), we have a pretty nice Hours earlier, some 30 Bel- nia and the US in Poland. talion a “breakthrough” toward government able to implement bearing sediments in Sweden. down on our planet. ‘recipe’ for biodiversifi cation,” gian troops arrived at another Vilnius University analyst it playing a greater role in Euro- the judicial, economic and other “This study shows that the Such a bombardment may he said by e-mail. airport in western Lithuania Deividas Slekys said that the pean defence. reforms the country needs. Gulf Times 20 Wednesday, January 25, 2017 INDIA

DISPUTE DECISION POLITICS CLOSE CALL POLICY Advise Kerala to stop dam Cabinet approves RSS protests killing Running train engine Head Post Off ices to plans, Tamil Nadu tells PM new pension scheme of cadre in Kerala detaches from bogies off er passport services

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam The Cabinet yesterday gave approval for the The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh Barely two days after the derailment of the Passport Seva Kendra services will now be urged the central government to advise Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana 2017 (VPBY- yesterday staged a protest in New Delhi Hirakhand express in which 41 persons were available at all Head Post Off ices across the Kerala to stop construction of check 2017) as part of financial inclusion and social against the alleged killing of “hundreds” of killed on the Odisha-Andhra border, the bogies of country, it was announced yesterday. “Every dams across the river Bhavani. In a letter security programmes. “The scheme would Bharatiya Janata Party and RSS cadres in the Bhubaneswar-Anand Vihar superfast express district Head Post Off ices (HPO) will extend to Prime Minister Modi, Panneerselvam be implemented through Life Insurance Kerala by Communist Party of India (Marxist) got detached from the moving engine in Rourkela the services of Passport Seva Kendra,” said Kerala must be advised not to take Corporation (LIC) during the current financial supporters and demanded a stop to it. yesterday. However, no injuries or casualties were Minister of State for External Aff airs, V K up any project or works without obtaining year to provide social security during old age Hundreds of RSS workers gathered at the reported. “The engine of the train accidentally got Singh, said. “All work related to passports Tamil Nadu approval. Kerala should not and protect elderly persons aged 60 years Jantar Mantar and raised slogans against detached from the bogies near Birajapalli about can be executed in the post off ices,” he start work on the dams until the Cauvery and above against a future fall in their interest the CPI-M workers and the Left-ruled Kerala 10-15 minutes after leaving Rourkela Railway said. This is the first time the external aff airs Management Board and the Cauvery Water income due to uncertain market conditions,” government for allegedly being behind the Station,” said a railway off icial. The passengers on ministry will share the powers it has under Regulation Committee come into force, he the finance ministry said in a statement. The killing of its cadres in the state. The protest the train panicked and raised an alarm. The driver the Passport Act with another ministry. said. Citing reports of Kerala planning to scheme would provide an assured pension was led by RSS’s joint general secretary realised that the rest of the train was not behind The pilot project for this joint venture construct six dams across the river Bhavani, based on a guaranteed rate of return of 8% per Dattatreya Hosabale. Delhi Bharatiya Janata after travelling about 2km. Later, the driver between the external aff airs ministry and which is a tributary of the river Cauvery, annum for 10 years, with an option to opt for Party unit president Manoj Tiwari told brought the engine back and the passenger train the department of post will be inaugurated Panneerselvam told Modi there is a great pension on a monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or reporters, “They were killed because they left for New Delhi after changing the engine, the today at the Mysuru HPO in Karnataka and concern and anxiety among the people. annual basis. supported the ideology of BJP and RSS.” off icial added. at Dahod in Gujarat.

Akhilesh lashes out at Modi, BJP attacks Mayawati

IANS Sultanpur Shahrukh ttar Pradesh Chief Min- ister Akhilesh Yadav Ukicked-off the assembly poll campaign for the Samajwadi Party (SP) yesterday and urged people to vote him back to power, so as to take forward the develop- as man dies ment work initiated by him. Addressing two back-to-back public rallies here, the chief min- ister said that while the BJP gov- ernment at the Centre had only made false claims, the BSP (Ba- hujan Samaj Party) government before the SP government only in stampede worked for making parks of stone and erecting statues. IANS rushed to hospital where he was issued prior to this kind of event,” The more the ‘Cycle’ (SP sym- New Delhi declared dead. he said. bol) pedals ahead, the more the However, some reports sug- Meanwhile Railway Minister state will speed up on the path to gest he died because of suff oca- Suresh Prabhu yesterday ordered prosperity, he told the gathering, haratiya Janata Party gen- tion due to the teeming crowds. a probe into the death. which intermittently raised slo- eral secretary Kailash Police had to use batons to dis- “Directed the director general gans in his favour. BVijayvargiya yesterday perse the crowd and this led to of Railway Protection Force to This was Akhilesh’s fi rst rally slammed Bollywood superstar injuries to some people. investigate the matter and take after he took over as the national Shahrukh Khan, even comparing Commenting on the incident, stern action against any lapse,” president of the party after oust- him to underworld don Dawood Vijayvargiya yesterday told re- Prabhu said in a tweet. ing his father Mulayam Singh Ya- Ibrahim, after the death of a fan porters: “If Dawood Ibrahim Shahrukh Khan, who reached dav following a protracted feud at the Vadodara railway station comes on the street, there would New Delhi by train, expressed within the family. during the promotional tour of be a crowd to see him ... You can’t grief over Pathan’s death. Call- This was also Akhilesh’s maiden the actor’s movie Raees. gauge the popularity on the basis ing the incident unfortunate, rally since he sealed an electoral Ditching the usual air travel to of crowd. I will not comment fur- the 51-year-old actor said he was pact with the Congress. Both par- go to a city for fi lm promotion, ther... People have understood saddened and praying the family ties are contesting the staggered Shahrukh – known for innova- what it means.” of the deceased stays strong. The assembly polls together with an tive marketing ideas – boarded Meanwhile Delhi Bharatiya Ja- dead man was a relative of a col- “aim to stop the Bharatiya Janata the August Kranti Rajdhani to nata Party unit President Manoj league travelling with the actor. Party (BJP) from coming to power”. Delhi from Mumbai. Tiwari demanded that Shahrukh “One of our colleagues was Alluding to the alliance’s secu- However, a crowd went berserk compensate Pathan’s family. travelling with us. Her uncle lar credentials as a formation, at the Vadodara railway station “I appeal to brother Shahrukh came to see her at Vadodara. He the chief minister also said that in a bid to catch a glimpse of the Khan to come forward and com- suff ered a cardiac arrest. It was if the people were to support the actor. Many started banging the pensate the family properly, and really unfortunate,” Shahrukh combine and they come to power, windows of the air-conditioned also condole with them as it all told the media at the Hazrat Ni- the state will see further develop- coach. Stones were thrown to happened in his gathering,” Ti- zamuddin station here. ment while protecting the secular grab the actor’s attention. wari said. “We started the journey think- credentials of the state. Cricketers Irrfan and Yusuf The BJP MP termed Pathan’s ing we all will travel, spend time “The Modi government has Pathan had also turned up at Va- death an unfortunate incident with each other... When one of only fooled people with false dodara station to meet the super- and said: “It is a very unfortunate your own loses someone on a trip hopes and in reality done nothing star, adding to the fan frenzy. incident and the death of any- like this, it saddens us all.” other than making people stand Social activist Farid Khan body is painful.” Even in Delhi, the actor in long queues outside banks and Pathan of Hatikhana area of Va- Tiwari also appealed for couldn’t get out of the train for ATMs to take out their own mon- dodara, who reached the Vado- checking security arrangements almost 15 minutes due to a huge ey,” he said and pointed out that dara station with his wife and and avoiding any security lapses turnout. Shahrukh was accom- many people died in the serpen- daughter as the family adores the caused due to a celebrity. “Even panied by fi lm director Rahul tine queues “even as the prime actor, fell unconscious report- the security agencies should en- Dholakia and actress Sunny Leo- minister made fun of people”. Actor Shahrukh Khan waves to fans at the Surat railway station. edly after a cardiac arrest. He was sure that proper orders have been ne for the promotional tour. Rahul, Akhilesh shake hands and Dixit smiles broadest he Congress Party has just someone of that rank, especially against Modi. Unfortunately, Dix- trying to pick holes in the biggest pers and if, for any reason, the escaped from a double when he had just won a battle of it also was alleged to be one of the annual economic exercise. And court had ordered postponement Twhammy by tying up with wits against his own father, report- benefi ciaries of the said payoff , yes, you are going to hear the same of the presentation, these offi cials the Samajwadi Party (SP) for the edly annoyed Akhilesh Yadav who Delhi Diary but Rahul presumably thought once again very soon. would have been spending a long upcoming assembly elections in threatened to fi eld SP candidates she can be sacrifi ced if he can get With elections to fi ve state as- cloistered life. Luckily that did not Uttar Pradesh. in all 403 constituencies. By A K B Krishnan Modi’s scalp. Dixit had denied any semblies beginning the same happen. It was a touch-and-go aff air as Before the Election Commis- wrongdoing and had also main- week as the budget, there is extra There are those who believe the the new SP president and state sion of India (ECI) ruled in favour Gulf Times Correspondent tained that the diary jottings on interest in what Finance Minister main pro-poor, pro-farmer poli- Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav of Akhilesh and against his father which the case was supposed to Arun Jaitley is going to do. If he cies of the government have al- almost called off the seat-sharing and party founder Mulayam Singh be based were all spurious. goes for sops and doles, there is ready been initiated by the prime talks as he sensed that both Rahul Yadav on the party symbol issue, Congress can hope for a better with the case directly, he had gone So when the court eventu- going to be a major outcry from minister himself during his New Gandhi and his sister Priyanka the chief minister was reportedly showing this time around. to town with what he claimed was ally snubbed the plaintiff , lawyer the opposition. The ECI will not Year’s speech to the nation. They were acting pricey. ready to concede as many as 142 How it will play out for the SP is evidence to “burst the balloon” Prashant Bhushan representing also take kindly to any special feel it is now the turn of the sal- Although the Gandhi scions seats to the Congress. a diff erent matter altogether. The of the prime minister. The apex the NGO, Common Cause, Dixit’s provisions in the budget that are ary earner and the middleclass had initially talked to Yadav di- Senior leader Ghulam Nabi Yadavs, as a community, had been court said the so-called evidence sigh of relief was heard all over aimed at the states going to polls. who had to put up with a lot of rectly, when the time came for a Azad says his party had wanted “a brought up on a steady anti-Con- was nothing but a scrap of paper. Delhi. And now with the yoke of In fact, it has forbidden Jaitley problems in the wake of the de- sit-down negotiation for seats, respectable number of 150 seats gress diet for decades by Mulayam An alliance with the Samajwa- UP chief ministerial candidate from doing any such thing. monetisation of high value notes. the Congress Party sent Prashant spread across the state” to accom- Singh and suddenly they fi nd di Party is certainly more to the off her shoulders, Dixit has every Jaitley has been given the go- Speculation is that several tax re- Kishor and Dhiraj Kumar Srivas- modate all castes and religions. themselves on the same side and benefi t of Rahul Gandhi than to reason to smile as broadly as she is ahead by the Supreme Court to lief measures are on the anvil. tava whose own political creden- So, we must take it that what the are asked to support and vote for Akhilesh Yadav, so the Congress wont to. present the federal budget on Whatever Jaitley will do there tials are nothing to brag about. party eventually got - 105 seats - the Congress. There is bound to be vice-president has some reason February 1 as planned. The court is no denying that this is going to Kishor’s claim to fame is that is not exactly “respectable”. confusion and consternation. to cheer. threw out appeals that the budget be the most crucial budget for the he strategised Narendra Modi’s But with the ECI recognising And then there is the Shivpal But the person rejoicing the It’s a make or break should not be presented before Modi government. march to victory in the 2014 par- his claim to the symbol as well as Yadav factor for Akhilesh to con- most is three-time former Delhi budget for Modi March 11, the last day of polling in The goods and services tax liamentary elections and then presidency of the party, Akhilesh tend with. The chief minister’s chief minister Sheila Dixit. She Uttar Pradesh. (GST) is set to take eff ect from jumped ship, as it were, to ma- was in no mood to relent. And uncle has been delivered a slap in had very reluctantly agreed to “A very pro-poor, pro-devel- Looks like Jaitley knew all along July 1. Demonetisation is still a noeuvre Nitish Kumar into chief then the Gandhis sent two lowly the face in the symbol imbroglio be hoisted as the chief ministe- opment budget that addresses the that he was on a strong wicket. work in progress and, despite the ministership of Bihar the follow- partymen to seal the deal even and although he himself has se- rial candidate of the Congress need of the hour. I congratulate Last week he had prepared the entrenched positions, no one is ing year. though the Congress Party main- cured a ticket to fi ght the polls, Party for UP. She obviously did the fi nance minister for his vi- traditional ‘halwa’ for the offi cials absolutely certain it was a big suc- Srivastava is a former Rajasthan tained that the two were not in- Shivpal is not the kind to sit quiet not want to leave Delhi – if she sion” – Narendra Modi. of the fi nance minister in charge cess or a monumental failure. The government employee who has vested with any powers to negoti- and take things as they come. and her party were to win power “A totally pro-rich, pro-corpo- of printing the budget papers. world economy is nowhere near been with the Gandhis for more ate nor were they expected to. Back to the Congress Party in UP, a very remote possibility, rate budget that will bring further About 100 of these offi cials have the healthy zone. America’s new than a decade and loyalty is his But all is well that ends well, for though. Just as well that there is one might add – but being the distress to the rural poor and the to spend nearly a fortnight con- president has declared a protec- calling card. the Congress Party was looking a tie-up with the top state party “disciplined soldier of the party” common man” – Rahul Gandhi. fi ned to the underground space of tionist policy that will aff ect the Rahul Gandhi enticed Kishor down the barrel of near-obliter- because Rahul Gandhi had suf- that she is, Dixit put up a brave Haven’t we heard all this be- the printing presses and cannot entire world. Private investment who, apparently, was willing to ation in the state and a pre-poll fered a major blow to his cred- face and said she was up to it. She fore? Probably the words were dif- have any contact with the out- to boost production and employ- provide his services to the highest arrangement with the ruling party ibility just over a week ago when knew she was in for a drubbing ei- ferent, but the sentiments could side world till the minister rises ment has not taken off the way bidder. So, there is no ideological in the state can only do Rahul the Supreme Court threw out an ther way, but a seasoned politician not be anything but the same. You to present the budget proposals in the government had wanted. In baggage for Kishor to drag along. Gandhi’s party good. With Priya- attempt to charge Prime Minister has to take setbacks in her stride. have the government on the one parliament. the midst of all this, Jaitley has But this also means he is a political nka Gandhi getting ready for a Modi with corruption. Although Then came Rahul Gandhi’s side praising its fi nance minister Jaitley had gone ahead and or- to present a “promising” budget. lightweight and having to deal with much wider campaign role, the Rahul did not have anything to do “earth-shattering” allegations and the opposition on the other dered printing of the budget pa- Some task that! Gulf Times Wednesday, January 25, 2017 21 INDIA Actor Dileep Militants killed is new Kerala fi lm exhibitors’ forum chief

The KFEF had been three screens two years ago. demanding that producers “We have the support of the give the federation a 60% vast majority of the cinema share in film revenue at every owners, and at least 100 of them screen instead of the existing have attended the meeting,” the 50:50 sharing pattern. FEUOK president told reporters after the meeting. By Ashraf Padanna “This is going to be a collec- Thiruvananthapuram tive of those who love cinema. The movie industry should move seamlessly forward, and there he split in the fi lm exhibi- should not be such strikes any- tors of Kerala was formal- more. Many theatre owners were Tised yesterday with a new part of fi lm production as well, body, Film Exhibitors United and their stakes are high.” Organisation of Kerala (FEUOK), Dileep said the new body had coming into being. FEUOK also the support of almost 90% of claimed to have majority support KFEF members, which means it among the exhibitors. would have a membership base Actor Dileep, who was elected of 168 theatre owners with a total Soldiers stand guard near the site of gunfight at Bakura in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district, some 25kms from Srinagar, yesterday. Police and troops killed three president at the FEUOK meeting of 300 screens. suspected militants in two separate gunbattles in Kashmir yesterday yesterday, said he would ensure The actor revealed that his ap- that disruptions in the fi lm in- pointment had the support of dustry were a thing of the past superstars Mohanlal and Mam- and nobody would be allowed to mootty, both of whom have pro- resort to such protests anymore. duction houses as well. “We are here to make sure Antony Perumbavoor, Mo- there’s no stoppage in the free hanlal’s producer and business fl ow of the entertainment in- partner, is the vice-president of dustry and that the fi lmgoers are the new body. never disappointed,” he stressed. The strike had stalled the New Year-Christmas fi lm releases Chennai police faces the like Mohanlal’s Munthiri Vallikal Thalirkkumbol, Dulquer Sal- maan’s Jomonte Suvisheshangal, Prithviraj’s Ezra and Jayasurya’s Fukri. “There’ll be no stalling of fi lm releases anymore. No blockades. heat over arson claims No negative attitude towards producers. All producers and IANS life,” it said in a statement. the sprawling beach and forci- for seven days and acted just for calling the demonstrators distributors are with us,” Dileep Chennai “Police even entered houses bly began removing the thou- when the state assembly was set anti-social and anti-national. “We are here to make reiterated. Industry sources said and started beating people sands of protesters who had to pass a bill to legalise the bull George said the police acted on sure there’s no stoppage that some 350 ‘A’ class theatres indiscriminately. The police gathered in support of the lift- taming sport. Monday because “anti-nation- in the free fl ow of the had remained shut during the ife in Tamil Nadu was blocked the major routes lead- ing of the Supreme Court ban He condemned Chennai po- al forces” had infi ltrated the entertainment industry strike leading to a loss of nearly normal yesterday after a ing to Marina Beach as well as on Jallikattu. lice commissioner, S George, Marina protest. and that the fi lmgoers are half a billion rupees. Lday of violence linked to Chennai city.” This triggered largescale never disappointed” The Kerala Cine Exhibitors As- Jallikattu, but police came un- A video showing women and violence in parts of Chennai, Peta responds to Kamal Haasan’s dare on rodeos sociation, of mostly rural B and C der attack for breaking peaceful men in police uniform setting leaving some 60 people injured The Kerala Film Exhibitors Class theatres, had not joined the protests and for allegedly in- fi re to vehicles and huts and and leading to about 40 arrests. Peta India yesterday respond- name, helps animals in India Federation (KFEF) had been strike. So too had the multiplexes, dulging in arson. damaging two-wheelers here Violence was also reported from ed to actor-filmmaker Kamal only and is an Indian entity.” forced to withdraw its indefi - a new culture fast catching up in The National Human Rights on Monday went viral, sending distant Madurai district. Haasan’s dare to ban bull rid- Peta US, on the other hand, nite shutdown – that entered its cities like Thiruvananthapuram, Commission (NHRC) took suo shockwaves across the state. Pattali Makkal Katchi leader ing rodeos in the US. The ac- has been working to stop 30th day on January 14 – after Kozhikode and Kochi. motu cognizance of media re- Police said the video was a fake. Anbumani Ramadoss sought a tor claimed the animal rights animal abuse in the US since Dileep convened a meeting of Dileep said the FEUOK would ports that police attacked, ar- Although a small group of probe by the CBI and by a Ma- organisation helps animals 1980, where bull fighting is like-minded cinema owners and attend a meeting convened this rested and damaged private people remained at the Marina dras High Court judge into the only in India. Kamal Haasan, illegal and cruel activities decided to end the impasse. week by Cinema Minister A K property in order to disperse a beach yesterday, life was back violence in Chennai and Ma- who feels Jallikattu should associated with the rodeo, The KFEF had been demand- Balan to discuss the formation of large pro-Jallikattu gathering. on track in Chennai. durai. not be banned but regulated, which the actor refers to, ing that producers give the fed- the proposed regulatory authori- The NHRC issued notices to “Buses as well as suburban He said there was suffi cient recently told Peta in a tweet: are also against the law eration a 60% share in fi lm reve- ty as recommended by the Adoor the Tamil Nadu chief secretary, and metro trains are operating proof to prove that police and “Peta go ban bull riding rode- in many states, Joshipura nue at every screen instead of the Gopalakrishnan committee set the director general of police as usual,” an offi cial said. anti-social elements indulged os in Trump’s US. You’re not added. “The rodeo is further existing 50:50 sharing pattern. up by the previous government and Chennai’s commissioner of A large contingent of police in the violence and not protest- qualified to tackle our bulls. prohibited in the UK, The Dileep, who also owns a pro- to suggest reforms. The industry police. remained at the Marina. ers. Empires have been made to Netherlands, and elsewhere. duction house and a restaurant is deeply divided over the pro- “The visuals on news chan- The railways for the fi rst time Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam quit India.” In response, Peta Spanish supporters of in Kochi, ventured into the mul- posal with the Film Employees nels show that police set on in recent days did not cancel leader M K Stalin demanded a India CEO Poorva Joshipura another organisation, Peta ti-screen business through a new Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) of fire huts, autos, motorcycles, any train fully though partial judicial probe into the police said: “People for the Ethical Europe, have made bull arm, D Cinemas, opening its fi rst fi lmmakers and technicians stat- vegetable shops and other cancellations and diversion of action. Treatment of Animals (Peta) fights in many areas of Spain multiplex at Chalakudy near the ing that government control on properties in Chennai. The trains were announced. He said the police watched India, as is indicated by its illegal,” Joshipura said. Kochi International Airport with the industry was not desirable. bleeding students ran for their On Monday, police invaded the protest from the sidelines

Probe Official visit Mallya charged against in loan default

Kejriwal Reuters Mumbai

IANS New Delhi ijay Mallya, the fugitive liquor Vand aviation he Delhi Police yesterday tycoon, was yesterday ordered its economic of- charged with conspira- Tfences wing (EOW) to cy and fraud connected initiate a preliminary inquiry into to a Rs9bn ($132mn) allegations of cheating, forgery loan granted by a gov- and fraud against Delhi Chief ernment-owned bank, Minister Arvind Kejriwal and a spokesman for the others for irregularities in public Central Bureau of In- welfare department (PWD) work. vestigation said. According to a senior police The head of the Force India Formula One offi cer, EOW has started an in- team and a former owner of an Indian Pre- quiry into the matter but has mier League cricket team, one-time billionaire not currently registered any Mallya moved to Britain last March after being charge-sheet. It had on Friday pursued in courts by banks seeking to recover called the founder of Road-Anti about $1.4bn the authorities claim is owed by Corruption Organisation, Rahul his Kingfi sher airline. Sharma, to join the inquiry team The CBI, in its charge-sheet, accused Mallya for providing documents and of diverting from the country Rs2.54bn in- necessary information. tended for the now-defunct airline. “A complaint in this connec- In total, charges were brought against Mallya tion was lodged by Kislay Pan- and nine other people, as well as the airline itself. dey, an NGO’s lawyer who also A former chairman and managing director of approached a local court in fi ling the government bank, IDBI Bank, was arrested a petition against Kejriwal and along with another four bank executives. his brother-in-law, Surender The CBI also arrested the airline’s chief fi - Kumar Bansal for alleged cor- nancial offi cer and three senior offi cials. ruption in roads and sewer lines The CBI spokesperson said the offi cials work,” the police offi cer said. would be held in judicial custody until Mon- Meanwhile a Delhi court has day, pending a bail hearing. agreed to hear a defamation case A spokesman for Mallya could not immedi- fi led against Delhi Chief Minis- Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme ately be reached for comment despite calls and ter Arvind Kejriwal and others by Commander of United Arab Emirates Armed Forces, a text message. New Delhi Municipal Council vice General Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, with The arrests made were the fi rst since 2014, chairman Karan Singh Tanwar, ac- Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he arrives in New when the CBI initiated an enquiry into loans cusing them of dragging his name Delhi yesterday on an official visit. provided by the bank to the already debt-rid- in an advocate’s murder case. den airline. Gulf Times 22 Wednesday, January 25, 2017 LATIN AMERICA

WARNING DISASTER PLANS ECONOMY ANNOUNCEMENT Mexico says ready to quit Chile ‘eyes new deals’ with Brazil’s current account Remittances to El Salvador talks with US if necessary Pacific trade pact members deficit fell in 2016: data surge to record high

Mexico could walk away from negotiations with Chile will continue to pursue trade deals even Brazil’s central bank recorded a current account Remittances to El Salvador jumped by 7.2% US President Donald Trump’s administration if though the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is deficit of $23.507bn in 2016, shrinking from in 2016 compared to the same period a year its demands cross certain red lines, the economy off the table after US President Donald Trump the previous year and covered entirely by earlier, reaching the highest level in the minister said yesterday. During the US election, withdrew the US from the pact, Foreign Minister the $78.9bn in foreign direct investment that country’s history and marking the biggest Trump vowed to make Mexico pay for a massive Heraldo Munoz told journalists. Munoz said that flowed into the country, central bank data increase in a decade, El Salvador’s central bank border wall and threatened to finance it by tapping while another regional trade deal without the US showed yesterday. In December, the country’s reported. Remittances, which mostly come into the $25bn in remittances that Mexican might be possible, “it wouldn’t be the TPP.” The current account gap widened from the previous from the US and underpin the impoverished migrants sent back home last year. “There are South American country has invited ministers month to $5.881bn. That compared to a median Central American country’s economy, totalled very clear red lines that must be drawn from the from other TPP members as well as China and forecast of a $4.5bn deficit in a Reuters poll $4.58bn in 2016. “The accumulated (amount) start,” Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo told South Korea to a summit in Chile in March to of analysts. In 2015, Latin America’s largest between January and December 2016 the Televisa network. Asked whether the Mexican discuss how to proceed, and has received positive economy had an external deficit of $58.8bn constitutes the highest amount in the history delegation would walk away from the negotiating responses at a high level, Munoz said. “The TPP as and foreign investment inflows of $74.4bn. The of remittances received in El Salvador and the table if the wall and remittances are an issue, A forest fire rages in the town of Litueche in the it was going forward is off the table. That doesn’t central bank expects the country’s current highest growth rate in the last 10 years,” the Guajardo said: “Absolutely.” O’Higgins region, south of Chile, yesterday. mean that Chile is going to change tack,” he said. account deficit to widen to $28bn in 2017. bank said in a statement.

ELN ready to call for bilateral Bogota eyes ceasefi re

Reuters Bogota bullfi ghting

olombia’s second larg- est rebel group, the ELN, Cis ready to call a bilateral ceasefi re with the government while they negotiate an end to fi ve decades of war, a guerrilla ban after negotiator said yesterday. The government and the Na- tional Liberation Army (ELN) will begin formal peace talks in Ecuador on February 7, once the insurgent group frees a kid- napped politician and authori- ties pardon two jailed rebels. protests The sit down will end three years of back and forth between Highest court to debate if A 2016 law already declared frustrated at the return of the the two sides and hopefully stop practice violates laws against animals “sentient beings” that spectacle. a confl ict that pit leftist rebels mistreatment of animals should receive “special protec- “When it was banned we felt a against right-wing paramili- after protesters tried to tion against suff ering and pain, sense of triumph over the elites, taries and the military, killing disrupt first bullfight in especially that caused directly or not just for animal rights activ- over 220,000. Colombia’s capital city in four indirectly by humans”. ists but for a whole society that President Juan Manuel San- years Bullfi ghting was banned in doesn’t want more violence,” tos was awarded the 2016 Nobel Bogota in 2012, but the current said Avirama, an ecologist. “The Peace Prize for his eff orts af- Guardian News and Media mayor, Enrique Penalosa has return of the bullfi ghts is a huge ter negotiating peace with the Bogota said that he is bound to uphold backward step.” Revolutionary Armed Forces of the court’s ruling by renting the She lamented that the protests Colombia (Farc), the nation’s bull ring to the bullfi ghters as- themselves turned violent, with biggest rebel group. olombia’s highest court sociation. demonstrators throwing bottles, “We are willing to have a bi- is to consider a national stones and brick and police fi ring lateral ceasefi re from the begin- Cban on bullfi ghting just “When it was banned we teargas. ning,” ELN negotiator Aureliano days after protesters battled felt a sense of triumph “Cultural heritage and en- Carbonell told Reuters in a tel- with riot police as they tried to over the elites, not just tertainment are no justifi cation ephone interview from Ecuador. disrupt the fi rst bullfi ght in the for animal rights activists for any activity that causes an- “That would help create an- country’s capital city in four but for a whole society guish, suff ering and the cruel other climate to the peace proc- years. that doesn’t want more death of these animals,” said ess; send the nation a positive Offi cers used pepper spray and violence” Ricardo Mora, of the group message.” teargas against the demonstra- World Animal Protection, in a Carbonell is not a well-known tors on Sunday as they shouted Penalosa – who opposes bull- statement. ELN commander and he declined “murderers” and “torturers” at fi ghting – supports proposed The group called on Bogotá to provide personal details. Juan bullfi ghting enthusiasts on their legislation that would seek to residents to not attend the bull- Camilo Restrepo, chief govern- way to Bogota’s iconic redbrick “mitigate pain in bullfi ghting” fi ghts to show respect for the ment negotiator, has said he will bull ring. and would give municipal of- bulls. seek a “de-escalation” of the The constitutional court ruled fi cials the power to ban them in Bullfi ghting is permitted in confl ict. in 2015 that bullfi ghting was part their localities. just eight countries around the An early bilateral ceasefi re of Colombia’s cultural heritage Previous attempts to pass world but has been restricted in would contrast with the Farc and could not be banned. But to- legislation in congress banning some regions so that the spec- talks, which stretched for four day, that same court will debate the practice outright have run tacle does not end in the bull’s years in Cuba and were con- an opinion by one of its magis- aground in committee hear- death. ducted mostly amid fi ghting and trates which reportedly argues ings. In Ecuador, voters in many bomb attacks. that the practice violates Co- Foreseeing large protests, cities, including the capital Qui- A bilateral ceasefi re was called lombian laws against mistreat- 1,200 police were on hand on to, prohibited bullfi ghting in a in the fi nal stages of talks. ment of animals. Sunday for the bullfi ght. 2011 referendum. Several states Carbonell said the ELN, which The court is also studying a Hundreds of protesters, in Mexico have also banned the has battled a dozen governments separate case that asks the court many dressed in black as a blood sport. since it was founded in 1964 and should penalise any actions re- symbol of mourning, stood at In Spain, where the tradi- is considered a terrorist group lated to abuse of animals not every entrance to the ring. One tion began, the constitutional by the US and European Union, only in bullfi ghting but in cock of then was Maytik Avirama, court reversed in October 2016 would allow former president fi ghts and rodeo-type games 25, who said she had partici- an earlier ban on bullfi ghting in Alvaro Uribe’s participation in French President Francoise Hollande and his Colombian counterpart Juan Manuel Santos visit the where animals can be mistreat- pated in anti-bullfighting pro- Catalonia passed by the regional the talks. Farc concentration zone of Caldono, Colombia, yesterday. ed. tests since she was 14 and was parliament. China’s State Grid buys Anti-Maduro protest Chile borders ‘to stay Brazil power fi rm CPFL open to immigrants’ Agencies poverty or economic collapse Santiago across the continent. While AFP states of Rio de Janeiro and Sao “continuing its path of growth” there are few signs of a backlash Rio de Janeiro Paulo. and strengthening its own po- against newcomers, tensions It runs 10,000kms of power sition in the sector, CPFL’s hilean President Michelle could mount as Chile enters its transmission lines in Brazil and president Andre Dorf said in a Bachelet has said the fourth year of sluggish growth. hina’s State Grid has has another 6,000kms under separate statement. CLatin American country Yet, Chile remains a newcomer concluded a deal to construction, the company The deal off ered Brazil a remains open to immigrants. to mass migration, Bachelet said. Cbuy a majority stake in said. boost as it fi ghts to scramble “We feel that immigration isn’t Immigrants represent about 3% Brazil’s electricity giant CPFL CPFL is the largest private out of its deepest recession in on a massive scale,” Bachelet said of the population, a much lower for $4.5bn, the companies an- power company in Brazil and decades and stabilise the public in an interview at the presiden- proportion than the 12.6% average nounced yesterday. the country’s third largest util- fi nances. tial palace in Santiago. “This can in the Organization for Economic The purchase of a 54.64% ity provider overall. “This investment is good continue. We just need the peo- Co-operation and Development. stake in CPFL for 14.19bn re- It supplies power to 24mn for Brazil because the country ple who want to come to Chile go Tensions exist “in some sec- als will advance the Chinese people and is a leading supplier needs non-speculative foreign through all the appropriate proc- tors,” Bachelet said. “The problem company’s presence in Brazil, a of renewable energy, it said in a capital for infrastructure serv- esses and fulfi l all the conditions.” in Antofagasta and in other cities huge market with some 200mn statement announcing the deal. ices like this,” the president of The number of foreigners with is that they work in the informal inhabitants. The Chinese fi rm said it the Electricity Sector Asso- permanent residency in Chile market and employers prefer to The world’s largest utility aims to extend its presence in ciations Forum, Mario Menel, has doubled in the past 10 years, hire migrants before others.” company and China’s largest electricity transmission and said. reaching the highest propor- The government is preparing state-owned enterprise, State distribution in Brazil as well The Chinese deal gives CPFL tion in modern times. More than to present a bill that will update Grid has pursued deals around as generation from renewable an opportunity “to expand, 34,400 Haitians came in the fi rst legislation that dates from Au- the world. sources. and this can set an example for nine months of last year alone, gusto Pinochet’s dictatorship and Its attempted purchase of an “The aim of acquiring con- other Brazilian companies,” he and the fl ow is rising by the that treats migration as a threat. Australian electricity network trol of CPFL Energy is to diver- said. month, according to the police Bachelet looks at the issue from a last year was blocked over na- sify State Grid International’s State Grid distributes elec- department. Coupled with Co- diff erent point of view. tional security concerns. business portfolio and to use tricity to nearly a billion peo- lombians, Peruvians, Domini- “The great majority of mi- But it boasts other invest- existing synergies between ple across China through local cans and Venezuelans, Chile is grants coming to Chile are peo- ments in Italy, the Philippines, CPFL and its transmission as- subsidiaries. now taking in immigrants at a ple looking for a better life and a Portugal and Hong Kong, the sets to strengthen our leading In December, it signed up to Venezuelan opposition leader and governor of Miranda state similar pace to the UK, relative better future for them and their company said in a statement. position in the Brazilian elec- build a $1.5bn power line across Henrique Capriles talks to the media during a protest against to their populations. families,” she said. “We need to It entered the Brazilian mar- tricity sector,” it said. Pakistan. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government on a Chile’s status as South Ameri- make sure that if migrants are ket in 2010 and already oper- The Brazilian company sees It also bought a stake in the main highway in Caracas, Venezuela, yesterday. ca’s wealthiest nation is attract- working they do so under the ates transmission lines in the the deal as “fundamental” to Greek operator ADMIE. ing thousands of people fl eeing same rules as Chileans.” Gulf Times Wednesday, January 25, 2017 23 PAKISTAN/AFGHANISTAN

Pakistan test Second batch of Afghan fi res N-capable refugees arrives in Kabul ballistic missile DPA AFP Islamabad Kabul akistan yesterday con- eported after years of liv- ducted a test launch of a ing in Germany, 26 young Psurface-to-surface bal- DAfghans arrived in Kabul listic missile capable of carry- yesterday with only one thought ing nuclear and conventional in mind: fl eeing this war-torn warheads up to 2,200km, the country. military said. Escorted by 80 German po- The missile, named Aba- lice offi cers, their plane landed beel, was tested within days shortly after 7.30am — the sec- of Pakistan launching its fi rst ond batch deported under a dis- submarine-based nuclear- puted Afghan-EU deal signed capable missile. last October and aimed at curb- Having the sumbarime mis- ing the infl ux of migrants. sile gives the South Asian na- “What would you have me do tion more room to hit back in here? There is only death!” said case of a nuclear strike, known 19-year-old Ramid Afshah, re- as second-strike capability. turning from Germany after fi ve Pakistan’s military said years — a country it had taken the new missile was aimed at him six months to reach. “validating various designs and technical parameters of “The police came to pick us the technical system.” up yesterday morning at Pakistan and its rival, India, 4am and we were treated conducted nuclear tests days like animals” apart from each other in May 1998. Airport police spokesman Both South Asian neigh- Mohamed Adjmal Fawzi said at bours have since been devel- least one of the 26 was “suff er- oping the fastest-growing ing” and showing signs of psy- stockpiles of nuclear warheads chological distress, adding: “He in the world, as well as com- could be brought back to Ger- peting missile-based delivery many.” system. Several of the migrants said The latest launch comes they had been arrested on Mon- amid tensions between the day at dawn and sent to Kabul Afghan refugees who have been deported from Germany arrive with their belongings at the international airport in Kabul yesterday. two countries after an attack with just a small piece of luggage in September last year by mili- or a backpack containing their pregnant girlfriend, I won’t fi nd cording to UN fi gures. De Maiziere argued that Tali- After that they face an uncer- tants in the disputed valley of An Ababeel ballistic missile belongings. work here and there’s no secu- Some 250 people staged a pro- ban attacks largely targeted tain future, with Afghanistan Kashmir, which left 19 Indian launches from an undisclosed “The police came to pick us up rity,” he said. test against the deportations at “representatives of the interna- already so overwhelmed by peo- soldiers dead. location in Pakistan. yesterday morning at 4am and Afghanistan has been battling Frankfurt airport on Monday tional community” in Afghani- ple fl eeing fi ghting that offi cials we were treated like animals,” an insurgency since a US-led night, Sarmina Stuman of the stan and not the civilian popula- have warned of a humanitarian said Arash Alkozai, 21. coalition toppled the hardline Afghan Refugees Movement told tion. crisis. Alkozai, who had come to Taliban in late 2001. AFP. A fi rst fl ight carrying 34 men Standing just outside the Pakistan PM inaugurates Metro bus project Germany when he was 16, was The confl ict caused some “Afghanistan is simply at war, arrived in Kabul in December, airport, appearing lost in the living in Munich with his family 9,000 deaths or injuries among which is why we are protesting a third of whom had been con- fog and melted slush, a man Pakistan Prime Minister were present at the event, before taking a room in the city. civilians in the fi rst nine months against expulsions to a country victed of crimes ranging from called Milad said he had spent Nawaz Sharif yesterday Dawn news reported. After leaving school he had of 2016, according to the United like Afghanistan,” she said. theft to homicide, according to 11 years in Germany and want- inaugurated a metro bus The Premier later took a studied auto repair, all the while Nations, which is to publish its In December German inte- the German authorities. ed a “cigaratte and a drink” service in Punjab province’s ceremonial ride on one of the learning to speak his adopted annual report by the end of the rior minister Thomas de Maiz- That did not appear to be the before he set off in search of Multan city, off icials said. buses to formally begin the tongue “perfectly”. month. ière justified the expulsion of case yesterday, when the pas- an uncle. Punjab Chief Minister service, which will initially “I cannot say anything nega- In 2015 the number of civilians Afghans in order to preserve sengers were able to leave the Told his second wish could Shahbaz Sharif, Governor operate 35 buses. The project tive about this country that killed or wounded was more than the “right” of asylum in the airport freely. not be fulfi lled in the conserva- Rafique Rajwana, Law had been completed at a cost helped me. I respect its decision 11,000, the highest recorded country, the only one in Europe They will be sheltered by the tive Islamic republic, he said: “I Minister Rana Sanaullah and of over 28bn Pakistani rupees but now I’m living a nightmare. since 2009, with children paying to open its doors wide to refu- government for at least two don’t actually know this coun- other high-ranking off icials ($267mn). I’ve left behind my three-month a particularly heavy price, ac- gees. weeks. try.” Govt to curtail powers Taliban Afghanistan orders arrest tell Trump of federal ombudsman to leave of vice-president’s guards AFP and sodomised. tions, proposing to resolve the Internews eral Tax Ombudsman shall act as has introduced a parallel judi- Afghanistan Kabul The country’s attorney gen- matter by the traditional medi- Islamabad Wafaqi Mohtasib (Ombudsman), cial system in all ministries and eral launched an investigation ation of tribal elders rather than in addition to this own duties. government offi ces to address into the allegations after local through conventional courts. The Mohtasib may set up re- grievances and complaints about Reuters fghanistan’s attorney media said Ishchi underwent a The controversy has once he government of Paki- gional offi ce as, when and where maladministration and injustice Kabul general has ordered the medical examination at the US again drawn attention to how stan has decided to curtail required. in these departments. Aarrest of nine body- air base at Bagram north of Ka- Afghan warlords and strong- Tthe powers of the Federal “Authorities of provincial Under this system, all minis- guards of Vice-President Ab- bul to confi rm the abuse. men operate with impunity, Ombudsman after the state-run functionaries, etc, the Mo- tries and federal government of- he Taliban have called on dul Rashid Dostum for sexually “The investigating team has hobbling Western-backed ef- offi ce pointed out massive irreg- htasib may, if the considers it fi ces have designated President Donald Trump abusing and torturing a rival, an issued an arrest warrant against forts to restore peace and re- ularities and corruption in fed- expedient, authorise, with the ‘grievance offi cers’, not below Tto withdraw US forces offi cial said yesterday. nine of Mr Dostum’s body- build the nation after decades eral and provincial departments. consent of a provincial gov- the rank of BS-19, to register and from the “quagmire” of Afghan- Dostum, a former warlord guards who were involved in of confl ict. The government has in this ernment any agency, public hear complaints against these istan, saying that nothing has who has a catalogue of war the case,” Jamshid Rasuli, the Observers have been scepti- regard prepared a bill to make servant or other functionary departments on behalf of the been achieved in 15 years of war crimes to his name, has been spokesman for the attorney cal the government will sack or amendments to the Establish- working under the adminis- Federal Ombudsman. except bloodshed and destruc- accused of abducting Ahmad general’s offi ce, told AFP. bring charges against Dostum, ment of the Offi ce of Wafaqi Mo- trator control of the provin- Through a notifi cation ef- tion. Ishchi in November last year “The team has also asked Mr who has survived all previous htasib Order 1983 and the Fed- cial government to undertake fective from Oct 1 last year, the In an open letter to the new US during a traditional game of Dostum to either respond to the allegations of abuse. eral Ombudsmen Institutional the functions of the Mohtasib grievance offi cers were empow- President published on one of its Buzkashi, or polo using an ani- queries himself or through his Despite his human rights Reforms Act 2013. under clause (1) or clause (2) ered under Section 33 of the Fed- offi cial web pages, the insurgent mal carcass, in the northern legal channels. record, Dostum was invited to Under the bill Federal Om- of Article 14 in respect of any eral Ombudsman Act to hear and movement said the United States province of Jowzjan. But he has not responded join the National Unity Govern- budsmen Institutions (Amend- matter falling within the juris- decide cases amicably. had lost credibility after spend- Dostum allegedly kept Ish- yet,” he said. ment in 2014 in an attempt by ment) Act 2017 which will soon diction of the Mohtasib; and it The Federal Ombudsman also ing a tn dollars on a fruitless en- chi hostage in his private com- Dostum was not immediately President Ashraf Ghani to at- be tabled in the National Assem- shall be the duty of the agency, introduced “informative stands tanglement. pound for five days, where he available for comment but has tract the support of his mostly bly, the Federal Ombudsman will public servant or other func- and boards” placed at the recep- “So, the responsibility to was said to have been tortured previously denied the allega- ethnic Uzbek constituency. not able to interfere in the aff airs tionary so authorised to un- tions of all ministries and de- bring to an end this war also rests of provincial governments and dertake such functions to such partments for public awareness. on your shoulders,” it said. regional offi ces. extent and subject to such con- List of all focal persons/griev- The Taliban, however, warned At meeting was held in the law ditions as the Mohtasib may ance offi cers of ministries and Trump against relying on the ministry yesterday to discuss the specify.” departments are available at the kind of “unrealistic” reports Winter woes proposed bill and fi nalise a plan Salman Faruqi, the incum- website of the Federal Ombuds- presented to former presidents for tabling it in parliament. bent Federal Ombudsman, has man. by their generals, saying: “They Under the bill, the Federal reportedly taken some drastic In January this year, the would emphasise continuation Ombudsman cannot appoint measures to provide for a virtual Federal Ombudsman sought of war and occupation of Af- provincial ombudsmen or set up alternative judicial system in the the Presidency’s assistance in ghanistan because they can have regional offi ces and the Federal country through his offi ce by broadening its network to the better positions and privileges in Tax Ombudsman cannot serve checking bottlenecks and irreg- level of district and union coun- war.” as acting Federal Ombudsman in ularities in federal ministries like cils to closely monitor and check The United States would not the latter’s absence. interior and foreign aff airs and maladministration in govern- accept foreign forces on its The new bill will remove the some provincial departments as ment departments and address territory or even in a neigh- following clauses of the previous well as police. people’s grievances. bouring country, said the Acts: “The Mohtasib holding of- His two reports on police and However, the proposal could Taliban.It accused Washington fi ce, on commencement of this jail reforms were appreciated by not be materialised because, it of imposing a “surrogate ad- clause, shall continue to per- the Supreme Court which had is believed, it was quite a dif- ministration” on Afghanistan form his functions and exercise ordered the provincial govern- fi cult decision for the president in the face of popular Muslim his powers in all matters under ments to implement in their belonging to the ruling Pakistan resistance. this Order in respect of such dis- provinces recommendations Muslim League- Nawaz to give a “You have to realise that the tricts till such time a Mohtasib is made in the reports. go-ahead to the idea due to some Afghan Muslim nation has risen appointed on fi rst occasion for According to the Federal Om- political compulsions. up against foreign occupation,” these districts under clause. budsman, his offi ce had last year “If offi ces of Federal Ombuds- it said. “Provided that till such time addressed a record number of man are established at the union The Taliban have made steady the acting Ombudsman is ap- 94,000 complaints against an councils’ level, irregularities of inroads against the Western- pointed, the Wafaqi Mohtasib average of 16,000 complaints government departments will backed government in Kabul (Ombudsman) shall act as Om- attended in previous years. be exposed and ultimately the since coalition forces ended budsman of the concerned offi ce It addressed more than government will be blamed for their main combat mission in and in case the Wafaqi Mohtasib 320,000 complaints over the these,” said a senior offi cial at the 2014, with government forces An Afghan man caries gas cylinder on his shoulder on the snowy day on the outskirts of Kabul is absent or unable to perform past three years. Presidency, who did not want to now in control of only two thirds yesterday. function of his offi ce, the Fed- The Federal Ombudsman be named. of the country. Gulf Times 24 Wednesday, January 25, 2017 PHILIPPINES

Police extort Protest against Chinese construction on Spratlys South Korean golfers: superior

AFP all faced the sack. However Manila he said the offending offic- ers would not face criminal charges because that would hilippine policemen require the South Koreans, robbed and extorted who had fled, to return to the Pmoney from three South Philippines. Korean golfers as part of a sus- “They don’t want to come pected larger racket targeting back. They are terrified,” he tourists from the neighbour- said. ing nation, a senior offi cer said The incident took place in yesterday. the same gated subdivision The announcement fuelled where policemen abducted a fears of police abuse under South Korean businessman the cover of President Rodrigo in October, Aquino said. Duterte’s deadly war on crime, The businessman, abduct- after authorities announced ed in a fake anti-drug opera- last week policemen murdered tion, was strangled inside the a South Korean businessman national police headquarters then extorted money from his in Manila but his wife, think- wife. ing he was alive, later paid “They came to the Philip- about $100,000 in ransom, pines just to play golf but they authorities said last week. went through a traumatic ex- Aquino said the two inci- perience,” said Chief Super- dents were not related but he intendent Aaron Aquino, the suspected rogue policemen regional police head. had targeted many South Ko- He said the three South reans in the Angeles area. Koreans were staying in an “I suspect there are many upscale gated community in (such incidents) but most of Angeles City, about two hours’ the crimes committed against drive north of Manila, when the South Koreans are not Environmental activists display placards and streamers as they protest the continuing construction of military bases across various reefs in the Spratlys Islands in West policemen barged into their being reported. They are all Philippines Sea during a rally in front of the Chinese consulate in Makati city, Metro Manila yesterday. house under the pretext of afraid,” he said. carrying out an illegal gam- The murder of the business- bling raid on December 30. men has shocked and angered They robbed the Koreans the South Korean government, of their computers, jewel- with Foreign Minister Yun lery, golf clubs, golf shoes and Byung-Se demanding those 10,000 pesos ($200), accord- behind the crime be brought to ing to Aquino. justice. He said the three South Ko- The police have come under reans were then held at a police intense scrutiny as the front- station for about eight hours line troops in Duterte’s ef- Duterte blames CIA until a friend paid 300,000 forts to eradicate illegal drugs pesos for their freedom. in society, with human rights The three reported the in- groups accusing them of mass cident to the South Korean extrajudicial killings. embassy, which informed the Duterte has vowed to shield national police, Aquino said. police from any murder charg- This led to an investiga- es, and told them he accepts for botched terror raid tion that found seven police- them getting “sideline” mon- men were involved, accord- ey as long as it is not from drug AFP blessing,” Duterte said, referring into the raid concluded the ing to Aquino, who said they activities. Manila to Aquino. United States played a “sub- “Why was it kept under stantial” role by providing wraps? It was actually an opera- training, equipment and intel- hilippine President Ro- tion of the CIA.” ligence to the Filipino forces. Govt apologises for murder of businessman drigo Duterte said yes- Duterte made the allegations However it did not refer to the Pterday the US Central in a speech to widows and other CIA. The Philippine government yesterday apologised to the South Intelligence Agency secretly relatives of the 44 policemen Responding to the Senate re- Korean government and people for the killing of a South Korean orchestrated a botched raid tar- killed in the raid, after receiv- port in 2015, a US government businessman seized by police off icers on bogus illegal drugs geting an alleged terrorist that ing them at the Malacanang offi cial said at the time: “This charges. left 44 Filipino policemen dead presidential palace. Duterte has operation was planned and ex- Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella also expressed condo- two years ago. during his seven months in of- ecuted by Philippine authorities. lences to the wife of the man who was strangled allegedly by Police commandos killed fi ce sought to loosen the Phil- We refer you to them for details police off icers on the same day he was taken from his house Zulkifl i Abdhir, who was on the ippines’ longtime alliance with of the operation.” north of Manila in October. US government’s list of “Most the United States while forging Spokesmen for the US embas- “We apologise to the South Korean government and people for Wanted Terrorists”, in the raid in closer ties with China and Rus- sy in Manila and Aquino did not this irreparable loss,” Abella said.”We commit the full force of the remote farmland in the south- sia. immediately reply to requests for law to ensure that justice is served and not delayed.” ern Philippines, where various The controversial politician reaction to Duterte’s latest com- “To the Korean people, please accept our sincerest and deepest separatist rebel groups and more has branded former US president ments. regrets,” he added. The suspects in the case, all members of a po- hardline militants are based. Barack Obama a “son of a *****,” Duterte also alleged yesterday lice anti-narcotics task force, allegedly seized the victim in Octo- However gunmen ambushed and made unsubstantiated accu- Aquino held back reinforce- ber on a fake arrest warrant and extorted 5mn pesos ($100,000) the attacking police commandos sations that the CIA is plotting ments and let the commandos in ransom from his wife. The victim was strangled to death inside and killed 44 of them in a day- to assassinate him. die because the government did a vehicle in the national police headquarters in Manila on the long battle, with a Philippine Aquino had justifi ed the po- not want to risk a fresh war with day he was seized, according to one of the off icers arrested in Senate investigation blaming lice raid, saying that Zulkifl i had the MILF, which had signed a the case. The man’s body was then cremated in a funeral parlour, poor planning and co-ordina- President Rodrigo Duterte gestures while addressing families of the been training militants in the peace agreement 10 months ear- whose owners and employees are also being investigated. tion for the deaths. 44 Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) members southern Philippines in how to lier. Legislators and human rights groups warned that the South The raid was carried out dur- who were killed in a 2015 police operation, during a dialogue at the make bombs. “It is not enough to tell the Korean’s killing highlights abuses under the government’s ag- ing the term of Duterte’s pred- presidential palace in Manila yesterday. The United States had said people it was your fault. You gressive anti-drug campaign. Since Duterte came to power in late ecessor Benigno Aquino. Zulkifl i was a top militant in the (Aquino) must tell me what you June, 2,256 suspects had died in police operations against drug It derailed Aquino’s ef- ratist group, the Moro Islamic “It was an American adven- Southeast Asian militant group did. You fed the soldiers to the users and pushers by mid-January, forts to forge a peace pact Liberation Front (MILF), to ture with the co-operation of Jemaah Islamiyah. lion’s den to be eaten by death,” with the nation’s main sepa- end a decades-long rebellion. some, and apparently with your A Philippine Senate report Duterte said.

Nod to attach Getting ready for big day Senate ethics panel to Marcos probe De Lima properties By Jeff erson Antiporda Manila Times By Jomar Canlas Manila Times he Senate ethics commit- tee will proceed with the he Supreme Court (SC) Tinvestigation of Sen. Leila has granted a petition as- De Lima after it found the eth- Tsailing the Sandiganbay- ics complaint fi led by the House an’s cancellation of a notice of of Representatives and the sup- lis pendens issued over property plemental complaint fi led by a alleged to be ill-gotten by former lawyer suffi cient in form and president Ferdinand Marcos and substance. his associates. The committee, however, dis- Lis pendens is a written no- missed the two other complaints tice of a pending suit involving fi led by Abelardo de Jesus and Leila De Lima: under scrutiny property usually fi led before the Ronillo Pulmano for lack of ju- appropriate offi ce. risdiction. the ethics complaint against De In a ruling, the SC’s Second During the committee hear- Lima in December in connec- Division held that the anti-graft ing presided by Senate majority tion with the latter’s repeated court “should have issued an or- leader Vicente Sotto on Mon- refusal to attend the probe on der of preliminary attachment day, senators agreed to limit the the alleged proliferation of ille- considering that the requisites chamber’s probe on the com- gal drugs inside the New Bilibid of the law – including that of plaint fi led by the House of Rep- Prisons (NBP). Executive Order No 14 – have resentatives against De Lima to The lawmakers alleged that De been substantially met and that violation of Article 150 of the Re- Lima violated the law when she there is factual basis for the is- vised Penal Code (RPC) and the advised her former bodyguard suance of the preliminary at- second supplemental complaint and lover Ronnie Dayan to hide tachment.” of De Jesus which also tackles and not face the House inquiry. Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Maria the same issue. Sotto said the committee Imelda Marcos and Irene Marcos Rep. Reynaldo Umali, head of will consolidate the complaints Araneta are the supposed regis- the House Committee on Jus- against De Lima. tered owners of a land in Cabuyao, Miss Universe candidates listen to a briefing from an instructor during a rehearsal for the upcoming beauty pageant on tice, and Speaker Pantaleon Al- The committee will give De Laguna and covered by a Transfer January 30 in Manila yesterday. varez and Majority Leader Rep. Lima 15 days to submit her re- Certifi cate of Title (TCT). Rodolfo “Rudy” Farinas fi led sponse. Gulf Times Wednesday, January 25, 2017 25 SRI LANKA/BANGLADESH/NEPAL

Chickens Bangladeshi man seeks mercy culled after bird fl u killing of sons and grandson outbreak IANS AFP live below the poverty line. Mahbubul Alam, a doctor Dhaka Dhaka An estimated 600,000 Bang- who has treated the Hossain ladeshis suff er from incurable family, said there was no cure diseases, yet the country has for their condition and they angladesh authorities have esperate to end their just one palliative care centre lived in extreme pain. culled 2,268 chickens fol- suff ering, an impover- and no hospice services. “It’s a humanitarian case. Blowing a fresh outbreak of Dished Bangladeshi father This leaves few treatment Everyone should come forward bird fl u at a commercial farm last has begged permission to kill options for Hossain’s sons, aged (and help).” week in Dhamrai on the outskirts three terminally ill members 24 and 13, and eight-year-old A government offi cial who of capital Dhaka, an offi cial said of his family, sparking a rare grandson, who are affl icted with visited the family after Hos- yesterday. debate about euthanasia in a Duchenne muscular dystrophy. sain’s appeal grabbed nation- “We’ve detected avian infl u- deeply conservative society. This rare genetic disorder al headlines said the request enza, known as H5N1, in a com- “I have taken care of them for is characterised by progres- was “the plea of a helpless mercial farm last week,” Habibur years. I took them to hospitals in sive muscle degeneration and father”. Rahman, a bird fl u control offi cial Bangladesh and India, I sold my patients rarely live beyond 30 “He asked for their medi- in the government, told Xinhua shop to pay for their treatment years of age. cal assistance, or permission to news agency. but now I’m broke,” said To- Hossain said his sons were kill them. But who will give the “Some 2,268 chickens were fazzal Hossain as he describes aware of their condition but permission to kill?” he said. culled on January 16 after detect- his years-long struggle to cope could do little for themselves, Authorities were trying ing avian infl uenza in the com- with the costs of looking after unable to move and confi ned to fi nd ways to help Hossain mercial farm,” he said. his two sons and grandson. to their beds. The grandson can bear the cost of their care, the Apart from this, he said eight “The government should de- still go to the washroom, but his offi cial added. to nine crows were found dead in cide what it wants to do with condition is worsening. Their plight has sparked a Rajshahi district, 256km north- them. They are suff ering and “I told them about the letter. rarely-seen debate about eu- west of capital Dhaka, earlier this have no hope of recovery. I can’t I told them (about seeking per- thanasia in Bangladesh, where month. bear it any longer.” mission for their deaths). They even attempted suicide can land The wild crows were later test- Hossain, a fruit vendor from did not take it seriously. Per- one in prison. ed positive for highly contagious the rural west of the country, haps they did not understand So-called “mercy killing” H5N1 bird fl u virus, he said. wrote to his local district ad- the severity of the situation,” is forbidden both under the Rahman said his department ministration pleading for them he said. secular law of the land, and by Tofazzal Hossain, right, who has sparked a debate over assisted suicide, is seen with his two sons and is yet to confi rm the sources to either help care for his loved His eldest son, 24-year-old religious code adhered to by the grandson (second left) in Meherpur. of fresh attacks of the disease, ones – who suff er from an in- Mohammad Abdus Sabur, said Muslim-majority population. “but it may be due to germs of curable form of muscular dys- he spent his days watching tel- “Euthanasia is completely il- sion of it, said Nur Khan Liton, thoughts and prayers amid calls “I think this will lead to bird fl u remained as we faced trophy – or “allow them to be evision and talking with their legal in Islam. It is the govern- head of local rights group Ain O for the government to improve healthy debate about assisted huge outbreak in the past put to death with medicine”, he father. ment’s duty to take responsi- Salish Kendra. its paltry health services. death,” he said. years”. said. “I tell father not to worry too bility for every citizen,” Islamic “They consider it an act of Nezamuddin Ahmed, the head “But before launching into Special steps have already One of Asia’s poorest coun- much,” he said. cleric and scholar Fariduddin murder. It’s the duty of the gov- of Bangladesh’s sole palliative this, the government should been taken to further moti- tries, Bangladesh lacks any An AFP correspondent’s at- Masoud said. ernment and society to look af- care centre in the capital Dhaka, strengthen palliative care vate farmers to adopt preven- kind of free healthcare and tempt to ask the son about his fa- The overwhelming majority ter these victims,” he said. said it was time for an “honest services here. There has to be tive measures since the disease medical treatment is often ther’s desperate appeal was met of Bangladeshis not only dis- But sympathy for Hossain’s discussion” about the issue and something we can all do to ease found to reemerge after no-out- beyond the reach of the tens with stern rebuke from Hossain, approve of mercy killings but family has run deep on social improving care for those suff er- the suff ering of these helpless break during winter last year, he of millions of inhabitants who who said it would hurt them. would oppose the mere discus- media, where many have off ered ing from incurable diseases. people.” added. Lankan Court rejects bail rupee ends slightly plea of cricketer weaker on AFP bail. It also asked the jail au- dowry worth millions from her Dhaka thorities to look after the health family. of Sunny as he was sick,” Sunny’s Sunny has denied all the ac- dollar lawyer M Muradduzaman said. cusations, including the claim court refused to grant bail Police arrested the left-arm that the couple had been se- to Bangladeshi cricketer bowler in a Dhaka suburb on cretly married for more than demand AArafat Sunny yesterday Sunday after his longtime girl- two years. after he was charged with post- friend Nasrin Sultana, 23, fi led If found guilty Sunny could be ing “intimate” photos of his a complaint two weeks ago. jailed for up to 14 years and fi ned Reuters girlfriend on social media. In her complaint Sultana 10mn taka ($125,000) under the Colombo Metropolitan magistrate Za- said Sunny opened up a fake country’s strict Internet law, kir Hossain said another court Facebook account in her name which local right groups say is be- which deals with Internet-re- and posted “intimate photos” ing used to crack down on dissent. he Sri Lankan rupee lated crime would instead hear which she found “off ensive and Bangladesh Cricket Board ended slightly weaker the bail application, meaning defamatory”. president Nazmul Hasan has Tyesterday as importer the 31-year-old spinner would She also claimed that they said that Sunny, who has played dollar demand outpaced mild remain behind bars on remand had been married since 2014 16 One-Day Internationals and greenback sales by exporters, at a Dhaka prison. and fi led a separate lawsuit 10 Twenty20 internationals, while the market expects the “The court directed us to against Sunny on Monday, ac- could be banned from the sport downward pressure to con- move to the cyber court to seek cusing the player of seeking if found guilty. tinue until some steady for- The precise height of Everest has been the subject of some controversy. eign infl ows come in, dealers said. Jute bags Rupee forwards were active, with two-week forwards ended mandatory at 150.95/151.05 per dollar after for packaging 2 Bangladeshis it traded at 151.10/20 in early Doubt over Everest’s 11 more trade, compared with Monday’s close of 150.90/151.10. commodities However, the dollar stead- held in Malaysia ied yesterday, recovering The Bangladeshi from a dip on fears that US exact height spurs government has made President Donald Trump’s jute bags mandatory focus on protectionism over for packaging of 11 for suspected fi scal stimulus suggested more products to boost his administration might be domestic use of the content to gain a competitive fresh expedition golden fibre, in wake of advantage through a weaker the imposition of anti- links with IS currency. dumping duty on jute The spot rupee was quoted Guardian News Service Rao said he would be send- The fi rst attempts to deter- goods imported from around the central bank’s ref- New Delhi ing a team to the peak of the mine the height of Mount Ever- Bangladesh by the Indian IANS Malaya who had joined IS mil- erence level of 150.15, dealers mountain including three or est by this method recorded it government. Dhaka itants based in the southern said. four agency offi cers “who are accurately to within 30ft. The An off icial order issued Philippines. “This downward pressure nyone who aspires to physically fi t, able-bodied and precise height has since been yesterday made the use Malaysian police said the will persist until we see steady climb Mount Everest qualifi ed to go”. “The rest will the subject of some contro- of jute bags for onion, wo Bangladesh nation- arrests meant that police had infl ows,” a currency dealer said, Amight already be one be professional mountaineers,” versy, including over whether ginger, garlic, pulses, als were arrested in eff ectively destroyed a new IS asking not to be named. inch closer to their goal. he said. the fi gure should include the potato, flour, chilli, TMalaysia for suspected cell which had planned to turn Dealers also said exports could Indian scientists have an- They will spend about two mountain’s snow cap or just the turmeric, coriander seeds links to the Islamic State (IS) Sabah into a transit station for be hurt as severe drought condi- nounced they will send an ex- hours at the summit, enough rock underneath. and husks of rice and militant group, media report- Southeast Asia and South Asia tions hit production of tea and pedition to the peak of Mount time to take GPS readings of Rao said the expedition wheat mandatory, Xinhua ed yesterday. terrorists to join a Philippines- other commodities. Everest to confi rm theories the distance between their co- would involve the usual level news agency reported. Malaysian Special Branch’s based IS group led by Mahmud The rupee has been un- that Nepal’s devastating 2015 ordinates and satellites orbit- of danger but that he had been The use of jute bag is Counter-Terrorism Division and Isnilon Hapilon. der pressure due to rising earthquake shrank the world’s ing above. The data – accurate inundated with volunteers now compulsory in held four persons, including imports, net selling of gov- largest mountain. to within a centimetre – will among his staff . “The risk is the preservation and the two Bangladesh citizens, “Preliminary probe ernment securities by for- The 7.8-magnitude earth- take around two weeks to be compensated by the recogni- transporting of 20kg or in separate raids between revealed that the cell had eign investors and a central quake killed thousands processed. tion,” he said. “They will be more of 17 commodities. January 13 and 19 in Kuala combined with an Abu bank decision to adjust the of people and reshaped To cross-check, a team will recognised as having summited The Bangladesh Lumpur and Sabah, the Daily Sayyaf group, which had spot rupee reference rate to a the landscape across the also be deployed to measure the the mountain.” government in a similar Star reported. pledged allegiance to Abu record low of 150.15 rupees to Himalayan nation. mountain the old-fashioned He said the expedition, order had earlier The suspects included a Bakar al-Baghdadi” the dollar. Satellite readings have way: by triangulation, the same which will cost about $700,000 made use of jute bags 31-year-old Filipino and a Sri Lanka’s central bank sold suggested the impact of the method used by the Welsh sur- and be conducted jointly with mandatory for six 27-year-old Malaysian woman. “Preliminary investigation $458mn worth of development earthquake reduced Everest’s veyor Sir George Everest, an the Nepal government, would products – paddy, rice, The Bangladesh men, aged revealed that the cell, led by bonds on Thursday and inves- height – offi cially recorded earlier boss of India’s surveying happen when conditions and wheat, corn, fertiliser and 27 and 28, worked as sales- Mahmud, had combined with tors say they expect the move by India and Nepal as 8,848m agency, to determine the peak’s staff were ready. sugar. men, and were arrested last an Abu Sayyaf group headed will take ease the pressure on the (29,029ft) – by somewhere height in the 1850s. “We’re preparing our people, India on January 5 Thursday in Kuala Lumpur. by Isnilon, which had pledged rupee. between a few millimetres It involves standing at a acclimatising them, training imposed anti-dumping They were suspected of hav- allegiance to IS leader Abu Foreign investors have and an inch. horizontal surface at a known them in mountaineering,” he duty ranging from $6.30 ing ties with suspected IS mil- Bakar al-Baghdadi,” police net sold 19.8bn rupees But ongoing doubts within distance from the mountain, said. to $351.72 per tonne itants in Bangladesh and plan- said in a statement. ($132mn) worth govern- the scientifi c community have and using a high-powered, tel- The new, updated height on imports of jute and ning to join a terror cell led by Malaysia is a major desti- ment securities in the two prompted India’s surveying escopic protractor to determine would be used to assist in sci- jute products from Mahmud Ahmad, according to nation for Bangladeshi job- weeks ended January 18, agency to fi nd out for sure, the angle between that point entifi c studies and to determine Bangladesh and Nepal the report. seekers. Around four lakh according to the latest said India’s surveyor general, and the peak. In other words, the position of the underlying to protect the domestic Mahmud Ahmad was a Bangladeshi nationals are now central bank data. Swarna Subba Rao. trigonometry. plates, he added. industry. former lecturer at University working in the country. Gulf Times 26 Wednesday, January 25, 2017 COMMENT

Chairman: Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Attiyah Deputy Managing Editor: K T Chacko Brexit plans unlikely to be

P.O.Box 2888 Doha, Qatar slowed by Article 50 defeat [email protected] Telephone 44350478 (news), Reuters 44466404 (sport), 44466636 (home delivery) London Fax 44350474 rime Minister Theresa May’s plans to start the process of Britain leaving the European PUnion by the end of March are unlikely to be hindered or slowed by yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling the GULF TIMES government must seek parliamentary approval. In the ruling, judges on Britain’s top judicial body upheld an earlier High Court decision that lawmakers had Haves and have-nots: to give their assent before May can invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty which formally starts two-years of the world needs to divorce talks. However, the legal defeat, while an A grab taken from the televised live feed shows the President of the Supreme Court David Neuberger (centre) as he delivers inconvenience and embarrassment judgement in case to decide whether or not parliamentary approval is needed before the government can begin Brexit for the government, is not expected to negotiations, inside the Supreme Court in central London yesterday. bridge the divide delay its Brexit timetable or, as some investors and pro-EU supporters have a greater infl uence on what the Sources from both May’s ruling from some Conservative MPs, who hope, make it possible to stop Britain fi nal deal should look like. Conservatives and the opposition oppose a “hard Brexit”, and other The chief executive of Time Warner getting paid leaving the bloc. Senior ministers in May’s Labour Party have told Reuters smaller parties such as the Scottish $34mn, 629 times as much as the median worker Part of this is because the Conservative government, which had there was scope for a bill to be Nationalists and Liberal Democrats. opposition is divided. been expecting to lose the case, have accelerated through parliament, The greatest potential threat to May at the company in 2014; 16 billionaires coexisting “We will not block Article 50,” already drawn up a series of options, without restricting debate, to comes from parliament’s unelected with 358mn people living in extreme poverty in Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main including a short, tight bill which will ensure it could pass before the end upper chamber, the House of Lords, sub-Saharan Africa … are we living in a world that opposition Labour Party which quickly be put before parliament’s of March. where many peers remained strongly perpetuates growing inequality at an unprecedented campaigned against Brexit, said last lower chamber, the House of Labour, though, faces a particular opposed to Brexit and do not have week.” All Labour MPs (members of Commons. problem as many of its traditional voters to worry about. level? parliament) will be asked to vote in Although before June’s referendum working class supporters voted to If the Lords were to vote against There are some hard-to-digest facts and fi gures, that direction next week, or whenever the vast majority of MPs in the leave the bloc and have been wooed approving the triggering of Article 50, especially if brought into the debate in isolation. the vote comes up.” Commons backed staying in the EU, in recent years by the anti-EU UK the Brexit timetable could be severely Not all Corbyn’s colleagues may go most now say they would back Brexit, Independence Party (Ukip). delayed. As of 2014, nearly half of the world’s population – along, but May can get the votes she especially those in England and Wales Whilst not blocking Brexit, Corbyn, However, the government is more than 3bn – lived on less than $2.50 a day, while needs for overall passage. whose constituents had strongly who himself was an EU critic for many confi dent the bill will pass through more than 1.3bn endured extreme poverty (less than However, what the decision could backed leaving the bloc. years, has said he would fi ght for the Lords because there would be do is give an opportunity for Labour MPs voted overwhelmingly to Britain to have full access to the single a constitutional crisis if unelected $1.25 a day). More than 2.1bn children are now living in and other lawmakers who oppose a support the timetable of May’s market “with reasonable management peers were to thwart the will of poverty, with 22,000 of them dying each day for lack “hard Brexit” — an agreement with Conservative government for invoking of migration”. the people expressed both through of food, according to the Unicef. On the other hand, the EU that puts immigration curbs Article 50 before April in a non- Labour could try to amend any the referendum and from their an estimated one-third of global food production goes above access to the single market — to binding vote in December. bill to ensure this, attracting support representatives in the Commons. to waste – around 1.3bn tonnes every year – says the Food and Agriculture Organisation. Runaway inequality created a world where 62 people own as much as the poorest half of the world’s Rich-poor inequality Weather report population in 2016, according to international aid Three-day forecast charity Oxfam. This number fell from 388 in 2010 threatens societies TODAY and 80 in 2015. And the wealth of the richest 62 has High: 21 C increased by more than half a trillion dollars to $1.76tn Low : 14 C Strong wind and high sea at first. and just nine of the ‘62’ are women, says Oxfam. Internews Interestingly, the report also claims Islamabad that inequality is fuelled by the fact From 1979 to 2011, infl ation-adjusted after-tax that big businesses and the super-rich income for the top 1% of households in the US jumped use their connections to make sure THURSDAY 200%; and the top 1% of earners took home 95% of the onsider the following fact: that government policy works for High: 22 C Low: 16 C gains in the fi rst three years of the recovery from the Since 2015, the richest 1% them. has owned more wealth than They use a network of tax havens to Sunny 2008 recession. China’s Cthe rest of the planet. avoid paying their fair share of tax. income gap has grown A recent report “An economy for Contrary to popular belief, most When people wider than America’s the 99%” by Oxfam has put the gap super-rich are not ‘self-made’. FRIDAY between the rich and the poor to Analysis from Oxfam has shown High: 24 C are starving, even as hundreds of be far greater than what was feared that over half of the world’s Low: 16 C millions of people were before. billionaires either inherited their Sunny societies tend lifted out of poverty. It has claimed that just 8 men own wealth or accumulated it through With anti- the same wealth as 3.6bn who make up industries that are prone to corruption to unravel the poorest half of the world. and cronyism. Fishermen’s forecast establishment forces The report details how big The report has also interviewed OFFSHORE DOHA manifesting themselves in populist surges in such businesses and the super-rich are ordinary people in some of the Wind: NW 18-28 KT fuelling inequality by evading taxes, poorest countries and provides a good Waves: 7-10 Feet previously unthinkable outcomes as US election driving down wages and using their indicator of how inequality aff ects INSHORE DOHA Wind: NW 05-15/18 KT and Brexit, International Monetary Fund managing power to infl uence politics. people. Waves: 1-3/4 Feet director Christine Lagarde has called for greater Winnie Byanyima, Executive Seven out of ten people live in wealth distribution to respond to populist advances Director of Oxfam International, has a country that has seen a rise in Around the region said that “it is obscene for so much inequality in the last 30 years. Weather Weather across the world at the Davos recent gathering. wealth to be held in the hands of so Women are hugely disadvantaged today Max/min tomorrow Max/min Income disparity and the resultant social unrest are few when 1 in 10 people survive on less amongst this group as they work Abu Dhabi P Cloudy 21/16 Sunny 22/15 than $2 a day. Inequality is trapping in poorly paid sectors and take a Baghdad M Sunny 17/10 M Cloudy 18/08 the issues most likely to have a big impact on the world Dubai P Cloudy 22/14 Sunny hundreds of millions in poverty; disproportionate amount of unpaid 23/16 economy in the next decade, according to an earlier Kuwait City M Sunny 19/09 P Cloudy 20/14 it is fracturing our societies and care work. Manama Sunny 20/12 Sunny 21/15 WEF assessment. undermining democracy.” The report indicates that based on Muscat S Showers 20/17 Sunny 22/16 Middle East policymakers need to look no farther The report has laid emphasis current trends, it will take women Riyadh Sunny 19/08 Sunny 24/12 on inequality as a major issue that a whopping 170 years to be paid the Tehran Sunny 08/03 Rain 11/06 than the Arab Spring countries to know what that is affl icting the world and has put same as men. would mean for the region. When people are starving, forward some startling facts to prove Stark inequality has also resulted in societies tend to unravel, no matter whether they are how stark it is. public anger and has been manifested Incomes of the poorest 10% of in recent global events such as the ruled by an elected government, or an autocrat. people increased by less than $3 a election of Donald Trump in the US, Post-Arab Spring, Gulf countries, which already year between 1998 and 2011, while the Brexit in the UK and the election of provide generous welfare assistance to the citizens, incomes of the richest 1% increased President Duterte in the Philippines. have lunched massive spending programmes to ensure 182 times. The report has made some Growing inequality threatens to pull suggestions for achieving a more development reaches the poorer sections of the societies apart. ‘human’ economy. society. It leads to increase in crime and This includes eff orts by Sure, a mathematically perfect equality in any insecurity and undermines the fi ght to governments to increase taxes on high end poverty. incomes and wealth to ensure a more society by any measure is too utopian a dream to Multilateral organisations such as level playing fi eld and to generate turn into reality. But reducing inequality is not just the World Bank have kept the twin funds for investment in health, the prerogative of institutions like the World Bank, goals of fi ghting poverty and working education and job creation. towards shared prosperity as their Governments must ensure that or economists, or the policymakers to brood over. foremost agendas. economies work for women. It is also a shared commitment and goal for every Former US president Obama in his They must make eff orts to remove responsible member of the society. departing speech to the UN General obstacles to women’s access to Global inequality, for sure, isn’t a zero-sum game, Assembly also emphasised on global education and ensure a level playing inequality as a crucial agenda when fi eld. Around the world but more unequal societies suff er from higher he stated that “a world in which 1% of A concerted eff ort by governments Weather Weather unemployment, social instability and reduced humanity controls as much as 99% and the private sector is needed to today Max/min tomorrow Max/min will never be stable”. fi ght inequality across the world. Athens P Cloudy 12/05 Cloudy 08/03 investment. Beirut P Cloudy 21/13 Showers 16/12 Bangkok P Cloudy 33/24 P Cloudy 32/23 Berlin Cloudy 01/-2 M Sunny 02/-4 Cairo M Cloudy 23/11 M Sunny 21/09 Cape Town Cloudy 24/16 Cloudy 26/16 Colombo T Storms 31/23 S T Storms 31/24 To Advertise Dhaka Sunny 29/16 Sunny 30/17 [email protected] Hong Kong Sunny 21/17 Sunny 19/18 Istanbul Showers 06/01 Rain&Snow 02/-1 Display Jakarta Cloudy 31/25 I T Storms 32/25 Karachi P Cloudy 24/13 Sunny 22/12 Telephone 44466621 Fax 44418811 London M Cloudy 06/-2 Sunny 05/-1 Classified Manila P Cloudy 29/22 S Showers 29/22 Moscow Cloudy -9/-21 M Sunny -16/-17 Telephone 44466609 Fax 44418811 New Delhi I T Storms 26/14 Rain 20/12 New York M Sunny 11/06 Showers 12/03 Subscription Paris P Cloudy 02/-6 Sunny 06/-1 Sao Paulo S T Storms 28/21 T Storms 26/20 [email protected] Seoul Sunny -1/-9 Sunny 06/-3 Singapore T Storms 29/23 T Storms 30/24 Sydney Cloudy 24/20 Cloudy 25/21 2017 Gulf Times. All rights reserved Tokyo Clear 08/-2 Clear 09/0 Gulf Times Wednesday, January 25, 2017 27 COMMENT Breaking the WHO’s glass ceiling

By Peter A Singer and Jill W Sheff ield especially for a position such as this: the percentage of Ethiopian women And while he is a receptive listener, he had a Director-General from Africa. Toronto/New York the candidate’s past achievements, with access to contraception, and in is also decisive, which is an attribute This fact alone is not a reason to pick leadership style, and the diversity that reducing maternal mortality by 75%. for the leader of the world’s foremost a candidate; but in Ghebreyesus’s he or she brings to the table. When Ghebreyesus was Ethiopia’s health institution, especially during case, his direct experience working his year, the World Health With respect to the fi rst foreign minister from 2012 to 2016, global public-health emergencies. in developing countries makes him Organisation will elect a consideration, Ghebreyesus has a he gained extensive diplomatic Then there is Ghebreyesus’s uniquely qualifi ed to tackle our new Director-General. Last proven track record of success. As experience, not least by leading extensive leadership experience toughest global health problems, TSeptember, WHO member Ethiopia’s health minister from 2005 negotiations for the Addis Ababa within global health institutions. As which tend to hit developing countries states nominated six candidates to 2012, he championed the interests Action Agenda, the international Board Chair of the Global Fund to the hardest. for the position: Tedros Adhanom of all of the country’s citizens, and community’s plan to fi nance Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria It is time to break the WHO’s Ghebreyesus, Flavia Bustreo, Philippe strengthened primary-care services. the United Nations Sustainable between 2009 and 2011, and as Chair African-leadership glass ceiling. Douste-Blazy, David Nabarro, Sania He created 3,500 health centres and Development Goals. This same knack of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership Sustainable development is truly Nishtar, and Miklos Szocska. Today, 16,000 health posts, and dramatically for diplomacy is now needed to bring between 2007 and 2009, Ghebreyesus achievable only when leaders of global the WHO Executive Board will expanded the healthcare workforce WHO member-states together for co- pushed through sweeping changes institutions are from the communities shortlist three candidates; and in May, by building more medical schools and operative action on collective health that dramatically improved both most aff ected by those institutions’ the World Health Assembly will elect deploying more 38,000 community- challenges. organisations’ operations. What’s work. one of those candidates to succeed based health extension workers. Ghebreyesus’s leadership style is more, he helped them raise record- Ghebreyesus’s candidacy Margaret Chan. Ghebreyesus’s eff orts now serve also perfectly suited for this role: he breaking fi nancial commitments from presents the WHO with an historic All of the candidates have presented as a model that other countries seek speaks last, and encourages others to donors: $11.7bn for the Global Fund, opportunity, which its Executive a vision for how they would lead to emulate as they try to achieve share their views. He also knows how and $3bn for Roll Back Malaria. Board should seize today. – Project the organisation, and we personally universal health coverage for their to spot and nurture talent, and how This is precisely the kind experience Syndicate know and admire several of them. citizens. He is the only candidate who to bring the best out of the people and expertise that the WHO needs in But, ultimately, we believe that has achieved such results at a national Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus around him. He would undoubtedly today’s global health environment, zPeter A Singer is Chief Executive Ghebreyesus is the most qualifi ed level. boost organisational morale and and it explains why the African Union Offi cer of Grand Challenges Canada. person for the job. Our endorsement is Ghebreyesus is also a longtime girls. In fact, his eff orts to strengthen motivate the staff to deliver maximum has offi cially endorsed Ghebreyesus’s Jill W Sheffi eld is an independent based on three considerations that are champion and advocate of gender Ethiopia’s health system played a value and effi ciency – to the benefi t of candidacy. Amazingly, in its almost consultant and longtime advocate for important in any hiring process, and equality and the rights of women and crucial role in more than doubling all member states and their citizens. 70-year history, the WHO has never women’s health and rights. Considering switching to a vegetarian diet

Tribune News Service Vegetarians have an advantage in dark green vegetables are good plant and prevent anaemia. Dairy and eggs health. Diets that don’t include fi sh strawberries, citrus fruits or tomatoes) Washington that they usually eat more fruits, sources when eaten in suffi cient are good sources, if you include these and eggs are generally low in active at the same time as you’re eating iron- vegetables and whole grains than quantities. Calcium-enriched and in your diet. Older adults tend to have forms of omega-3 fatty acids. Canola containing foods. As with iron, zinc isn’t people who consume meat. fortifi ed products, including juices and more diffi culty absorbing vitamin B-12 oil, soy oil, walnuts, ground fl axseed as easily absorbed from plant sources as it uestion: I am 58 and The key to a healthy vegetarian diet, cereals, are other options. Vitamin D from food and may want to consider and soybeans are good sources of is from animal products. Cheese is a good considering becoming a as with all diets, is to include a variety also plays an important role in bone fortifi ed foods or vitamin supplements a plant-based form of omega-3s option if you eat dairy. Plant sources of vegetarian. I know it will of foods. No single food can provide health, immune function and in the to make up for any defi ciencies. This called alpha-linolenic acid. However, zinc include whole grains, soy products, Qbe important to make sure I all the nutrients your body needs. It’s reduction of infl ammation. Vitamin D is especially true for those on a vegan conversion of alpha-linolenic acid to legumes, nuts and wheat germ. get enough protein, but are there other especially important for older adults is added to milk, some brands of soy and diet, which excludes dairy products. the omega-3 types that are best for zIodine. Iodine is a component in nutrients I should focus on, as well? to be aware of their nutritional needs, rice milk, and some cereals. If you don’t zProtein. Protein helps maintain heart health is much less effi cient. thyroid hormones, which help regulate A: Following a vegetarian diet is since ageing can increase the risk of eat enough fortifi ed foods and have healthy skin, bones, muscles and zIron and zinc. Iron is a crucial metabolism, growth and function a healthy way of eating. Multiple nutritional defi ciencies. Talk with your limited sun exposure, you may need a organs. Eggs and dairy products are component of red blood cells. Dried of key organs. Plant-based diets are studies have linked vegetarian diets to doctor or a registered dietitian about vitamin D supplement derived from good sources, and you don’t need to beans and peas, lentils, enriched cereals, typically low in iodine. However, just a reduced incidence of chronic disease developing a healthy vegetarian eating plants. Of note is that research studies eat large amounts to meet your protein whole-grain products, dark leafy green one-fourth of a teaspoon of iodised and cancer. Excluding meat or animal plan that meets your needs. In general, suggest a high intake of vegetables and needs. You can get suffi cient protein vegetables, and dried fruit are good salt a day provides a signifi cant products makes a diet healthier, but though, pay attention to these nutrients: fruits is associated with increased bone from plant-based foods (e.g., soy sources of iron. Because iron isn’t as amount of iodine. there are other factors to consider. zCalcium and vitamin D. Calcium mineral density, which is probably due products, legumes, lentils, seeds, nuts easily absorbed from plant sources, With just a little planning, a As with all dietary patterns, it’s helps maintain strong bones and to mechanisms other than calcium or and whole grains) if you eat a variety the recommended intake of iron for vegetarian diet can easily provide important not to rely too heavily on prevent fractures, which is especially vitamin D. throughout the day. vegetarians is almost double that of you with all of the nutrition you need processed foods, which can be high important as you age. Milk and dairy zVitamin B-12. Vitamin B-12 is zOmega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 nonvegetarians. To help your body absorb and likely will improve your health. – in calories, sugar, fat and sodium. foods are highest in calcium. However, necessary to produce red blood cells fatty acids are important for heart iron, eat foods rich in vitamin C (e.g., Mayo Clinic News Network Gulf Times 28 Wednesday, January 25, 2017 QATAR

Festivities galore

People of various ages and from diff erent walks of life have been thronging Souq Waqif in Doha in large numbers to enjoy the various shows and attractions on off er as part of the ongoing Spring Festival. Children’s activities, fun rides and cultural performances are among the highlights of the festivities. PICTURES: Shemeer Rasheed

Encroachment Hadara, Kayan pact demolished to promote Muslim by ministry department

he Ministry of Mu- the request of the entity con- nicipality and Environ- cerned and a violation report women’s advancement Tment’s (MME) health issued. control section at Doha Mu- Al Daayan Municipality has By Joey Aguilar nicipality has conducted an conducted a large scale clean- Staff Reporter inspection campaign at a ing campaign at Semaisma number of food outlets. open area. The MME Gardens The inspectors came across Section at Doha Municipal- bdullah Abdul Ghani Foundation expired food and drinks con- ity has beautifi ed the sports for Cross-Cultural Understanding centrates used to prepare roundabout with a number of A(Hadara) and Global League of Is- juices at a cafeteria in the Old ornamental plants and fl ow- lamic Women Organisations (Kayan) have Airport area. Also, expired ers. signed a partnership agreement to address food products were found in- The MME’s building per- key issues and concerns faced by Muslim side a restaurant at Msheireb mits section at Al Rayyan families, particularly women and children, Area, while bags of frozen municipality dealt with 780 in various countries. spinach past the expiry date requests and applications The agreement was signed earlier this were found stored at a bakery during December 2016. It is- week at the Hadara Foundation offi ce in Al at New Salata Area. All the sued 143 building permits, 19 Wakrah. outlets were issued violation demolition permits, 139 build- Hadara is a private institution that sup- reports according to law no 8 ing completion certifi cates, ports projects related to culture and edu- for 1990. 29 building maintenance per- cation, among others, while Kayan is a Meanwhile, the MME’s mits, 417 licenses for adver- non-profi t Islamic association working to mechanical equipment de- tisements and 33 digging and protect and promote the advancement of partment has removed an en- excavation works permits. Be- women. croachment on state property sides, it handled 244 contracts Founded in 2013 in Britain, Kayan is now at Hazm al-Markhyah, where registered in December. The working with 77 women organisations an interlock constructed on collected revenue from such from 26 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, land assigned for a service transactions and related fi nes and the Arab world. road was removed based on amounted to QR582,982. Speaking at the press conference, Ha- dara board of trustees chairman Salman Abdulla Abdul Ghani stressed the impor- tance of their partnership with Kayan, “which is dedicated to take care of Muslim women in all respects”. Hadara board of directors chairwoman Hadara board of trustees chairman Salman Abdulla Abdul Ghani (centre) with prominent guests at the event. PICTURE: Ram Chand Buthaina Abdulla Abdul Ghani echoed the statement of Salman citing the need to in- family and women’s issues. ues and to promote the positive presence community work related to family and tensify and redouble eff orts to achieve the Apart from the launch of Kayan’s me- of Islamic approach on women’s issues in women’s issues. objectives and goals of the agreement. dia identity at the event, Hadara said it the local, regional and international fo- Among the attendees were Dr Ali Mo- The partnership seeks to “activate the will also start managing the association’s rums. hiuddin Qara Daghi, secretary-general role of the family at all levels to eff ectuate executive offi ce “in its new phase” as part “This partnership will also help unify of the International Union for Muslim its structural and productive role”, and fo- of the partnership. The move aims to push eff orts in resolving contemporary prob- Scholars; Dr Adel Hassan Hamad, adviser cus “on scientifi c research and fi eld stud- for close co-operation and integration to lems of women, and protects children and on women’s and family issues, Dr Rashid ies in the intellectual sphere and commu- achieve common goals. families from deviant and anti-Islamic al-Hajri, principal of Gulf Academy, and nity development”, according to Hadara. Kayan board of directors chairwoman ideas,” she said. Sheikh Ahmed al-Buainain, secretary- Hadara also cited the need for an “eff ec- Dr Noura Khaleed al-Saad expressed con- The event last Sunday was attended by general of the World Federation of Islamic tive co-ordination and constructive co- fi dence that the partnership will contrib- a group of scientists, academics, and rep- Preachers, as well as women prominent in operation between the Islamic women’s ute in building an “intellectual system and resentatives from diff erent institutions the fi eld of family and community work in The MME Gardens Section at Doha Municipality has beautified organisations in the world” in addressing knowledge derived from our Islamic val- locally and abroad who are interested in and outside Qatar. the sports roundabout with ornamental plants and flowers. ‘Shoot and Show Your Profession’ exhibition at Katara ome 45 photographs out of 400 submissions from SQatar residents have been selected for the ‘Shoot and Show your Profession’ exhibition jointly organised by Katara – the Cultural Village, Youth Hobbies Centre, and Bedaya Centre. In a statement, Katara said the exhibition revolves around a pho- tography and videography compe- tition, where participants are asked to capture a picture or a video that clearly displays their profession. The launch of the exhibition also saw the awarding of the top three winners in the photography and videography competitions, which started on October 1 and Off icials of Katara, Bedaya Centre, and Youth Hobbies Centre led the concluded December 21. inauguration of the ‘Shoot and Show Your Profession’ exhibition. In the photography category, cash awards were given to Ronald Ameen (fi rst place), Fatima Mo- ager Mohamed al-Hajri, and the Vinluan who won the fi rst place hamed (second place), and Mo- Bedaya Centre general manager followed by Mohamed al-Yaf’ie hamed al-Yaf’ie (third place). Reem al-Suwaidi. (second place) and Aisha al-An- The exhibition was inaugu- The competition is in line with sari (third place). rated by Katara deputy general Katara’s eff orts to educate and Winners for the videography manager Ahmad al-Sayed, Youth involve the public in initiatives contest include Mohamed al- Hobbies Centre general man- that combine arts with daily life. An entry that portrays a dhow maker.