ISO 9001:2008 CERTIFIED NEWSPAPER Tuesday 2 July 2013 23 Shaaban 1434 - Volume 18 Number 5748 Price: QR2 Al Sada urges Brazil crush sustainable gas Spain to win development title again Business | 17 Sport | 26 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com [email protected] | [email protected] Editorial: 4455 7741 | Advertising: 4455 7837 / 4455 7780 Emir receives Syrian officials Wildfire rages Private sector in Arizona; 19 firemen killed PRESCOTT: Reinforcements under watch on poured yesterday to battle a runaway wildfire which quad- rupled in size overnight after killing 19 firefighters in one of jobs for Qataris the worst such incidents in US history. The Yarnell Hill fire, which killed all but one member of a Labour Ministry plans tougher action 20-strong “hotshot” team, was the biggest loss of firefighters’ lives DOHA: The private sector is schools on how best they could since the September 11 attacks, likely to be closely monitored by be fit for the local job market, and the most from a US wildfire the Labour Ministry to ensure according to the Cabinet. in 80 years. “The fire exploded that they provide jobs to citi- Under the proposed restructur- into a firestorm that overran the zens and comply with the jobs ing, the Labour Minister would local Granite Mountain hotshots,” quota for locals as prescribed by have directly under him several Governor Jan Brewer said. The the Cabinet. departments, including public fire has ripped through more than There is a proposal to relations, communications, plan- 8,000 acres, some 135km north entrust the National Workforce ning and studies as well as legal The Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani yesterday met the President of the Syrian National Council, of Phoenix and was zero percent Development Department affairs. The undersecretary would George Sabra, at the Emiri Diwan. The president congratulated the Emir on assuming power. The former presi- contained. See also page 11 (NWDD) under the ministry with be in charge of finance, admin- dent of the council, Abdul Basit Sida, and the vice president, Mohamed Farouk, were also present. the task of interacting with pri- istration, human resource and vate companies and making sure information technology. that they employ citizens and fol- The ministry would have three low the Cabinet’s job nationalisa- undersecretaries and under one tion guidelines. would be the recruitment depart- Army gives Mursi 48-hour ultimatum The Cabinet has proposed that ment that clears visas for foreign the NWDD be placed directly workers and their families. The CAIRO: Egypt was thrown into d’etat. “Obviously we feel this is a Mursi had not yet lost his backing. Square was a scene of jubilation under an assistant undersecretary inspection and labour relations fresh turmoil yesterday when military coup,” an aide said. “But “We don’t make those decisions as the possibility of renewed mili- of the ministry. The proposal is departments (the latter receives President Mohamed Mursi’s the conviction within the presi- just by counting the number of tary involvement in politics was part of broader recommendations complaints from workers) are also aides said that he would not dency is that [the coup] won’t heads in a protest march but greeted enthusiastically by many of the Cabinet on the restructur- proposed to be under him. give in to the threat of a mili- be able to move forward without we do make decisions based on protesters, who have lost trust in ing of the Labour Ministry which The Cabinet has also proposed tary coup hours after the army American approval.” whether or not a government is the presidency and its opposition. has recently been merged with that the new Ministry of Youth gave him two days to placate According to a statement on listening to the opposition, main- The National Salvation Front, the Social Affairs Ministry. and Sports should have 13 depart- the millions who have taken the president’s Facebook page, taining a free press, maintaining the largest opposition grouping, The general secretariat of the ments. The ministry would have to the streets calling for his Mursi met Al Sisi along with the freedom of assembly, not using greeted the announcement, hop- Cabinet has said in its recommen- an undersecretary. departure. prime minister late yesterday. violence or intimidation, con- ing that it may pave the way for dations that the job of the NWDD The youth centres department The head of the armed forces, The aide’s comments implied ducting fair and free elections,” their greater involvement in gov- should be to push Qataris in pri- under the new ministry (which General Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, that the presidency was hopeful he said. ernment. The bloc said it would vate sector jobs. “The department was earlier with the Ministry threatened direct military of continued US support. They But in Egypt, events suggested not hold talks with Mursi. must ensure that percentage of of Culture, Arts and Heritage), involvement in the political proc- also suggested the presidency was the tide had turned, with 10 min- Many hope the army will set jobs that the Cabinet had earlier would have the authority to ess “if the demands of the people banking on the likelihood that the isters resigning and the headquar- up an interim technocratic cabi- fixed for nationals in the private license youth centres. There are are not realised”, in a statement military would not risk upsetting ters of the Muslim Brotherhood, net to supervise the rewriting of sector is achieved,” said the gen- 29 centres and requests to set up implying that Mursi should either the US, which provides it with the group from which Mursi hails, divisive Islamist-slanted constitu- eral secretariat. The department more centres and clubs are likely step down or call early elections. significant funding. burnt and ransacked in an all- tion, whose drafting Mursi forced should also guide Qatari students to be received by the new minis- The presidency said that it The US president, Barack night siege. through last November, and new of secondary and preparatory try. THE PENINSULA viewed the statement as a coup Obama, meanwhile, said that As evening approached, Tahrir presidential poll. AGENCIES Al Hamad elected AAA chief Traffic eases on Doha roads as summer holidays begin DOHA: Traffic on Doha roads have been easing is out of the country during August. Population fig- as summer holidays have begun and schools are ures for August 2012 reflect that some 108,655 peo- closed. ple, including citizens and expatriates, were out of More than 46,000 people left the country in June, the country, a vast majority of them on vacation. presumably a vast majority of them expatriates who The figures also suggest that there has been a went home vacationing during the summer break. massive increase in the population in the last one They apparently include single workers and expa- year since May 2012. triate families most of whom travel home during the The population in May 2012 was 1,795,828 (about long summer break. The population of the country as 1.8 million), which rose to 1,963,124 (over 1.96 mil- on June 30 was 1.9 million, down from a little more lion) in May this year, showing an increase of 167,296. than 1.96 million the previous month, data released The QSA said in its report for June that these by the Qatar Statistics Authority (QSA) show. were preliminary figures. In July and August the The QSA calculates the monthly population based population is expected to go down further as more on people, both nationals and expatriates, who are and more people will be leaving on vacation. The President of Qatar Athletics Federation, Dahlan Jumaan Al Hamad, addressing the media in the Indian city in the country and does not take into account those Qataris are likely to go vacationing after Ramadan of Pune yesterday. He beat India’s Suresh Kalmadi to become the new president of Asian Athletics Association. who are overseas at the time of the head count. as most of them prefer to spend the holy month at Figures show that the maximum number of people home, community sources say. THE PENINSULA The election took place ahead of the Asian track and field championships which start in Pune tomorrow. Report on page 28 Snowden seeks asylum in Russia, says will disclose more MOSCOW: Vladimir Putin has for Kim Shevchenko, a staff member at sounds coming from my mouth.” ministry. Putin appeared to leave him- not working with Russia’s secret services. the first time floated the idea of the the airport’s consular department said: Snowden has been trapped in Moscow’s self some latitude, noting that Snowden “Mr Snowden is not our agent, never was US whistleblower Edward Snowden “The UK citizen Harrison passed on a Sheremetyevo airport since June 23 after would be unlikely to meet his conditions and isn’t today. Our special services have remaining in Russia, hours after the request by Snowden to be granted politi- flying in from Hong Kong, from where for staying in Russia. “Considering that never worked with him and are not work- fugitive applied for political asylum in cal asylum.” He said he called the foreign he leaked top secret documents detailing he considers himself a human rights ing with him.” the country. ministry, who sent a courier one hour NSA surveillance programmes. activist and a fighter for human rights, he Russia maintains one of the world’s Snowden applied for asylum at the con- later to pick up the request. Stripped of his US passport, he has probably doesn’t plan to stop this work, most developed intelligence mechanisms sular office at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo He declined to say where Harrison or been stuck in limbo since.